Rated T for descriptions of violence and coarse language. Written because I saw their fight my inner MMA fighter wondered why Pyrrha didn't just choke Cinder out when she had her arm around her neck, and to satisfy my muse by actually writing this out.
Disclaimer: Don't own RWBY.
The woman in red was easily the greatest opponent Pyrrha had ever faced. Levitation and the casual use of fireballs made for one of the most unique opponents Pyrrha could ever ask for.
Taking a closer look at her opponent's fighting style, Pyrrha honed in on it being apparent that the red woman was almost entirely relying on her new powers rather then any sort of huntress skill. Her powers required free range of movement and some degree of concentration. Which meant she would be most vulnerable in extreme close quarters combat, where she would be unable to swing her hands around freely and her focus would be most easily broken. In conclusion, she would need an opportunity to close the gap between them and from there apply a choke hold to end the fight.
Pyrrha would need to test this theory of hers though, it wouldn't do for the red woman to pull out some new power to render her plan pointless. How fortunate for her then that her opponent gave her a perfect test case as the red woman charged towards her through the air in an easy to track path. This would be the best test case possible given the circumstances, to see if the red woman was as vulnerable to extreme close quarters as Pyrrha suspected she was.
The moment came quickly and her training carried her through as she shifted into the correct position, bracing her feet against a wall and wrapping her right arm around the red woman's left arm when she came in range. From there is was a simple matter to throw her, and in the time it took for the red woman to recover Pyrrha knew her plan would work. If she could pull off another surprise attack like that, victory would be hers.
Unfortunately, her test case meant the red woman would be on guard for such a trick. A distraction would be required, to trick her into opening herself up for another attack. Quickly recalling her weapons, Pyrrha closed the distance before her opponent could completely recover and shield bashed her opponent's center of mass and followed up with quick slashes from her blade. It did little to slow the red woman down, but that wasn't the point. The opening she would need was starting to appear. Committing to what would be either her victory or her bane, she hurled her weapons, unsurprised to see the red woman casually deflect them away. In diverting her attention to her weapons, the red woman was exposed.
Pyrrha charged, rapidly closing the distance. Contact was made as they spun in the air. The first hiccup in her plan occurred around then as her instincts willed her sword back into her right hand as they almost hit the ground, which meant she would be doing a one armed choke instead of using both arms. There was a small explosion on contact with the floor, something that Pyrrha aura easily absorbed. The explosion didn't matter. What mattered was that in the time that had passed, her left arm had wrapped around the red woman's neck. Dipping her shoulder and elbow, Pyrrha completed the movement required for a one-arm rear naked choke, her forearm brace against one side of the red woman's neck and her bicep against the other, with her left hand gripping around her right shoulder. The blood circulation between her opponent's head and the rest of her body was now, in theory, cut off.
In the next seven seconds, their fates would be decided. If Pyrrha could hold on long enough, the red woman would pass out due to oxygen loss. Failure, of course, was not an option.
The red woman moved to stand back up, focusing on the sword on Pyrrha's hand that she held onto. An immediate reaction occured from Pyrrha as her knee drove into the red woman's leg, right behind her knee. The effect was immediate, the red woman dropping her leg in response.
Two seconds. Five until knockout.
Pyrrha's sword started to burn. A dilemma quickly arose. Dropping the sword would mean the red woman would target her arms, but it would mean that she could shift into a two-armed choke, making her position more difficult to dislodge.
In another circumstance, Pyrrha might have hesitated. Other fights didn't have the lingering feeling that this would be her last. As such, priority in defeating her opponent, regardless of cost, was in the forefront of her mind. That made the choice in front of her obvious. She dropped her sword and promptly shifted into two armed rear naked choke position, her right hand bracing against the red woman's head, generating pressure on her head.
Three seconds.
The red woman seemed surprised, give that she didn't immediately go for her arms. If she tried to do something, she clearly lacked the focus to do so. That was good. Victory inched closer.
Four seconds.
The red woman's hands reached her arms, one hand settling on her left elbow near her forearm brace, the other trying to grab her right arm.
Pyrrha affirmed her resolve. Victory was close, it had to be.
Four and a half seconds.
Her arms started to heat up. Pyrrha did her best to ignore it.
Five seconds.
Her arms were burning, her aura doing its best to prevent the terrible burns the red woman wanted to inflict. Yet at such close and extended contact, it would do less and less to prevent injuries.
Six seconds.
Pyrrha thought the heat was wavering in intensity. Either it actually was and the red woman was losing focus or the intensity was the same but her brain was blocking it.
Then the burning sensation sharply intensified. A scream nearly formed. It was harshly bit back.
Seven seconds.
Her arms were still burning. She wanted to scream. She wouldn't. She hated (and the hate came so easily) the red woman for doing this to her.
The red woman tried to stand again. Pyrrha's knee disabused her of that notion.
Any second now, and it'd be over. Any second now. Then the burning would stop. It had to. Pyrrha had done everything right.
Eight seconds.
Her arms were in pain they had never known, but she could not budge, not matter how hard that bitch pulled at her arms with that burning grip of hers, trying to free herself. If he arms moved, she would die.
The red bitch tried to stand up again, this time trying to kick her or otherwise do something with her legs. She hit Pyrrha's leg armour and was swiftly sent back to her knees.
She decided around now that when the red bitch was finally unconscious she'd gouge the bitch's eyes out.
Nine seconds.
Her left arm might be burned beyond repair at this point. The skin around her elbow felt like it might have melted to the bone, but she couldn't confirm it due to it being out of her vision. That was okay though, it was still locked in place. She could retire from the huntress profession in good faith if this was the final thing she did if the red bitch rendered her arm useless.
She also decided that cutting off the red bitch's hands would be an excellent idea. Bitch deserved it.
Nine point five seconds.
Her aura broke. Or at least, she thought it did. It was hard to tell when her world consisted entirely of burning and clinging to idea that the red bitch would soon be dead.
Ten seconds.
The burning stopped. The red bitch went limp. A haze filled her mind.
Pyrrha's arms moved, and the red bitch slumped to the ground.
She had done it. Her opponent lasted as long as she could, but that wasn't good enough against Pyrrha. With a small stumble she picked up her weapon with her quivering hand and for a moment she was glad that her sword arm wasn't the one that was horrifically burned. An unwillingness to see the damage inflicted onto her resulted in her trying to hide her left arm out of her vision, which proved only moderately successful. She thought for a moment that she saw her left arm with only moderate burns, with the worst clustered around her elbow, but at this point she was mostly numb and possibly hallucinating about the extent of the damage suffered (whether these hallucinations were trying to hide the damage or to make things worse was a question not asked).
The sword was about to descend when Pyrrha finally realised she had company. The massive Grimm that had been circling around Beacon had settled outside and was staring at her. Actually, given its position, it might be staring at the red bitch. She couldn't really tell and she wasn't really sure if she cared, unless it wanted to steal her kill.
It was just watching though. Unblinking. Clearly it wasn't going to kill her or the red bitch at the moment. So then, why was it perched where it was?
'Your negativity', her ever faithful mind, even with the numbness factored in, dutifully supplied, 'It was drawn by your negativity.'
'Oh,' she thought in response, 'Of course.'
The promises she made to herself about what she'd do the red bitch came back into mind. Uncertainty filtered into her hazy mind about the validity of those promises. Inflicting such gruesome injuries to a defeated opponent might prevent her from retiring, after all. The reasoning behind such a conclusion (something about insanity?) was sketchy but it didn't really occur to her. It wouldn't do to fail at the end and not earn her retirement. So she simply settled for the most efficient course of action by continuously striking towards the heart.
It didn't take long to deplete the red woman's aura. An image of a man in green floated in her minds eyes and left just as quickly as it came. The strike that finally broke her aura, unfortunately, missed the heart. Shifting her blade, the final strike descended and did its bloody business. There was no sense of satisfaction in it, just a sense of exhaustion tinged with a bit of clarity that it was finally over. Well, whatever, it didn't matter if there was no sense of pride in this. Pyrrha didn't really care at this point. Her opponent was dead. That's all that mattered.
It was sweet victory, even if she couldn't feel the sweetness or the sense of victory. Life was like that sometimes. Maybe the person who just appeared (was she trying to talk to her?) would feel the sense of victory and sweetness instead.
She thought she heard something behind her as a rush of energy surged away from the red woman. Her vision went blurry as the feeling of being back in that pod deep underground returned briefly, but was quickly replaced with more exhaustion. Any new insights, or any sort of power that this Maiden business might have granted to her (did she even get the powers?), was lost at the moment and her mental state suggested it wasn't a big deal. At least, it did until there was a loud noise, and the distinct feeling that something was coming towards her and that she should call her shield up to protect her.
'Oh wait, I don't have my shield,' was the thought that crossed her mind.
She thought she heard one of her old sword and shield training instructor chastising her, something about not always have a weapon to protect yourself and the danger of being weaponless. In a brief moment of clarity, piercing through the haze of her mind, she recognised the voice she was hearing to be one that was young, pained, and oddly familiar.
Then the world went white. There was a ringing in her ears.
'Can I retire now?' was her last thought before she lost consciousness.
AN: It would have been glorious to take down Cinder with something as simple as a choke hold, really turning her own MO against her. I don't think aura does anything against stopping a rear naked choke. If it turns out it does, or if it turns out Pyrrha wasn't properly trained in wrestling/MMA techniques, well, this is an AU for a reason.
First time writing here, reviews welcome.