A Destiny Shattered

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY-obviously, because then Pyrrha wouldn't have DIED! T^T and I also don't own the music that inspired me while I get through writing this in my heartbreak: To The Wonder by Aqualung, ft. Kina Grannis. Also, I'm still holding onto the hope that Pyrrha didn't actually die (this is just how I cope with feels and sadness and heartbreak). ARKOS MUST HAPPEN!

Pain.

It was a sensation she was used to: as a renown huntress and fighter, she'd learned to take a beating. But sitting there, on her knees, unable to move...it was the most painful, frustrating thing she'd ever experienced. Well, one of the most painful.

The most excruciating feeling she'd had was the feeling of her heart getting crushed when she kissed Jaune, for the first and most likely last time. She sent him away, while she went to fight to her last breath. She knew it was wrong - he'd probably start blaming himself again - but it was what was right.

She couldn't even confess to him, or write him something comforting to lessen the blow if she didn't make it out of this battle.

Now she was on her knees, with a bad ankle due to the magical arrow that had pierced right through it (bone and all), facing the most evil person she'd ever encountered. Cinder's eyes were cold, empty, and heartless. Her smile was a curved twist of barbed wire on porcelain skin that made her own crawl with shivers. The sound of her black heels clacking against the ground were like little gunshots.

But she would not look weak, even in defeat. Pyrrha Nikos would not go down in both body and spirit.

The fearless redhead breathed in, biting back the pain. It smelled like machinery, metal, ashes, and death. Nothing pleasant entered her nose. Only 17, and she faced her last battle with the stench of war.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours," Cinder's voice was emotionless and icey, and Pyrrha wanted her to shut up, especially when she felt a cold, slender hand come under her chin to lift her head up and meet her empty amber orbs. "But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could never have imagined."

Pyrrha bit back her pointless hatred and spite, and ripped her face out of Cinder's palm. She held her chin high, gazing back at her levelly with pride and inner strength that could never be stripped away.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Her words sparked something, she could see that. Cinder's glowing amber eyes lit with a bitterness and hatred she'd never seen before. She almost looked...resigned.

"Yes." She curtly hissed, almost spitting out the word.

Someone had ensured that her destiny would not be pleasant.

With that knowledge, Pyrrha felt a little satisfied. It was selfish and terrible of her, yes, but at least she knew that Cinder would not win in the end. Then again...if she wasn't winning, who was?

But it didn't matter, because Pyrrha knew this would be the end for her. She wouldn't be able to fulfill her destiny of becoming a huntress and protecting the world, because it had come to greet her too quickly. All of her talents, all of her training, all of her schooling...and none of it helped her come out victorious in the end.

Her heart was beating rapidly, because despite her bravado, Pyrrha was scared. She didn't want to die, she had so many plans! She wanted to see Jaune one last time, to tell him she loves him. She wanted to say how she felt about her friends, how important they were to her. She wanted to travel and become the best huntress she could be.

But as soon as Cinder materialized the glass bow and arrow, she knew.

It soared through the air in a matter of seconds, impaling her right through the chest. She gasped, the pain striking her all at once. It blinded her for a moment, and it was getting harder to breathe. She could've survived it if given medical treatment, but...that seemed highly unlikely. Blood stained her chest, seeping from the wound and dripping down her body.

She couldn't even move her hands to inspect it, she was paralyzed with fear and pain.

Out of her peripherals, she could see a flash of black and red: Ruby. She wished she could talk, so that she could tell her it was okay, and it wasn't her fault. She didn't fail Pyrrha; she could never do that.

Cinder's hand came to rest on the top of her head, and a strange sensation filled her body. Oh...her Fall Maiden powers were reducing her body to nothing. So this was what that felt like. She was literally disappearing into thin air.

Her eyes turned hot with tears that trailed down her face. She was terrified. She didn't want to go, she didn't want to leave Jaune and everyone else. Not like this. Not like this...

What about her destiny?

Pyrrha shut her eyes as her body started to leave, willing herself to conjure up what she wanted to see last the most: Jaune, smiling at her.

A final breath, and she completely disappeared.

I love you, Jaune.

She hoped her silent words reached him. She hoped he'd never forget her.

You're the best team anyone could ever ask for.

She hoped Ren and Nora understood that.

You're the most amazing classmates, friends, and comrades I've ever had.

She hoped the others - Team RWBY, Team CFVY, Team SSUN, and so many others, knew that.

I can't fulfill my destiny...

No, she couldn't. But perhaps...someone could for her. She'd like that.

I'm so sorry.

Her plans and dreams were crushed, and so were the hearts of those that loved her so dearly. But even though Pyrrha Nikos no longer thrived with the living, everyone silently knew that she lived within each and every one of them. But it wasn't the same. Nothing was ever going to be the same again.