Chapter 6: The Rematch
"Cinder. You survived." Raven said, putting a hand on her sword.
"Surprised?" Cinder asked with a smirk.
"And you're still as arrogant as ever." Raven retorted.
Cinder's smile vanished. "You're one to talk. Thinking you deserve to be the Spring Maiden. We both know that's far from the truth."
"Who deserves what is irrelevant. What matters is who has power. And what we both really know is I have the power to beat you with a finger twitch."
"Trust me, this time will be different." Cinder replied, making a glass sword out of thin air.
"Alright then. Me first." Raven then sprang forward, drawing her sword and prepared to strike Cinder. Only to hear a loud bang and watch her sword turn to dust.
Caught off guard, Raven failed to notice Cinder's attack. Flying backwards from a slash against her chest, she saw Cinder flying towards her. Picking up her scabbard, Raven blocked Cinder's second strike and managed to push her back. Keeping her eyes on the trees around her, she saw a bright burst of energy come towards her. Using her scabbard to shield herself, she watched as it also turned to dust. Raven then pushed her hand towards the trees, a wave of red fire coming from her hand. Setting the trees on fire, she saw a figure fly in the air, shotting a few red bolts her way. The distance between them made her reaction time quick, dodging each bolt and sending another wave of fire towards her second attacker.
Landing next to Cinder, the Mandalorian kept his blaster pointed at Raven. "So, you realized you can't fight me alone?" Raven taunted Cinder. "For once, you made a smart decision. Not that it'll save you."
Turning to her partner, Cinder's eye was burning again. "Stand aside. I can take her myself."
Seeing the armored warrior step back, Raven smirked. Her plan had worked. Raven knew that Cinder had an ego bigger than the continent of Anima, which was pretty damn big. Calling her out would make Cinder angry, her attacks, while powerful, reckless.
Her eyes glowing a red fire, Raven summoned a long blue sword from the air and lunged at Cinder. Cinder summoned another glass sword and lunged back.
Slashing. Blocking. Feats of tremendous power. Djarin was shocked to see all of this in front of him. He knew if he stepped in at any moment, he wouldn't stand a chance. His armor may be able to stand the power of Raven's sword, but not against her fire attacks. Beskar was one of the strongest metals in the galaxy, but like every metal, it had a melting point. And Djarin was confident Raven and Cinder's fire could melt it.
Watching the two Maidens soar and lunge at each other in the air, each of them blocking the other's attacks, Djarin took note that they were evenly matched. Suddenly, a torn-up piece of cloth flew into Djarin's helmet. Quickly removing it, he saw it was Cinder's cape. Removing the scope from his rifle, Djarin looked back to the sky, managing to get a good look at Cinder. Specifically, her left arm. Only, it looked like an arm. It was a long, black, distorted limb with three "fingers" that resembled claws. A Grimm's claws. Under his helmet, Djarin's jaw dropped, astonished at the secret Cinder had been hiding right under his nose. Wondering how in the hell Cinder had a Grimm arm as her own, another question popped in his mind: what else was she hiding from him?
Landing at the ground, Raven and Cinder were exhausted. Their swords destroyed and their Auras flickering, both of them knew they couldn't hold out for much longer. Raven had underestimated Cinder; her powers were stronger than the last time they fought. Out of desperation, she tried her first strategy again. "Your powers have gotten stronger Cinder. But they're not enough. You know they'll never be enough. At the end of the day, no matter how much power you've gained, the fact that I'll still be standing here proves that you'll always be weaker than me. Weaker than anyone on Remnant. And you know it."
Hearing these words made Cinder want to snap, her rage burning brighter than the fire inside her. But surprisingly, she kept her composure. Laughing, she turned back to Raven. "I do know Raven." she retorted. "I finally know… that I should watch my back."
Turning around, Raven expected to find the armored warrior pointing his pistol at her. However, she didn't see anyone. Realizing she'd been tricked, she turned back to face Cinder. Only to feel her Aura shatter and three claws sink into her stomach.
A red light pulsing through her arm, Cinder could feel her strength returning. Raven could feel Cinder feeding on her power and essence, she needed to act fast. Raising her left hand to summon more fire, she felt a glass dagger impale her chest. Watching her fall to the ground, Cinder knew that she had won. Not only that, she proved Raven wrong. Her power was enough. Reveling in her victory, Cinder thought about how she proved everyone wrong. Everyone who called her weak, spineless, worthless. Once she was done here, she would show the world her true power and strength. The power she was denied, the power that was rightfully hers, the power that-
"AAAAHHHHH!" Cinder screamed like a banshee as she felt her Grimm arm disintegrate. Turning to her left, she saw the Mandalorian pointing his blaster where her arm used to be. The pain unbearable, Cinder kneeled to the ground. However, her arm started to grow back, making her pain worse. Once her arm returned, she stood back up. "What is WRONG with you?!"
"Me?! What's wrong with you?" Djarin retorted. "What did you do to her?"
"I was taking what was mine!" she answered "What can help me get the lamp!" Djarin made note of how she said "me" instead of "us".
"That's not the point! I saw your face while you were doing…that. You were enjoying it!"
"So what? You're no better than me. You're a survivor, a killer."
"Not like this!" he yelled. "The Mandalorians may be killers, but we're not savages! We take pride in showing our strength, not making our enemies suffer!"
"Oh, spare me the lecture!" Cinder retorted. "You shouldn't care what I do, or how I do it."
"Should I?" he replied. "Because you haven't been completely honest with me. Were you ever going to tell me about that?" he asked, pointing to her arm. "What else have you not told me? How do you expect me to trust you if you're keeping secrets like this?"
"I don't need your trust! I demand OBEDIENCE!"
That did it. At this moment, Djarin knew he was wrong to ally himself with Cinder. He couldn't keep a monster like this around anymore. He couldn't endanger the Child's life any more than he had already. Cinder had to go.
Firing another shot from his blaster, Cinder was able to dodge it. Extending her arm to an impossible length, Djarin had no time to react before her hand grabbed him by the throat. Djarin tried to use his jetpack to gain altitude and break her grip, but Cinder just tossed him against a tree. His jetpack damaged from the impact, all Djarin could do was struggle and watch as Cinder came closer.
"Did you think you actually had a chance against me? YOU!?" she yelled at the top her lungs. "You're weak, just like Neo! Give her a little holier-than-thou lecture and she cries like a child! I don't need either of you! Once I'm done with you, I'll-" she stopped as a blaster bolt hit the tree, right above her head. Spinning her head, she saw Neo holding another blaster, a look of fear on her face. Dropping the Mandalorian, Cinder summoned a sword and charged at her former partner.
Suddenly, Cinder stopped in her tracks, holding her neck with both hands, her sword disappeared. Looking at the ground, she saw the Child holding his arm out to her, choking her with the Force.
Before she could do anything else, Cinder felt a familiar sensation in her back. As Neo saw Cinder fall to the ground, she saw the Mandalorian catching his breath and holding his blaster pistol. Djarin had it set to stun, predicting a blaster bolt to her back would have just pissed Cinder off even more.
Seeing Neo extend a hand to him, Djarin grabbed it and felt himself come off the ground. "Thank you." he said. Neo smiled and nodded in response.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
Showing her Scroll, Djarin read "I could see and hear the explosions from your ship. Figuring you two were in trouble, I took a gun and the kid to see what was going on."
"Wait, you heard us? We're not that far from the city, they would have heard us too. Were you followed?" Neo shook her head. "We need to-"
"Help." Looking behind Neo, Djarin saw the Child at Raven's side, holding his hand on her stomach. "Help." the Child repeated.
Walking over to Raven, Djarin and Neo saw that the wound on Raven's stomach was healing. But when Djarin put his hand on Raven's neck, he could feel her pulse fading.
"It's not working." he turned to the Child. Whatever Cinder did to Raven, she did it for too long. She was going to die.
Feeling a weak grip on his arm, Djarin looked to see Raven holding his arm, mumbling something. Djarin leaned closer, trying to make out what she was saying. "Kill…me."
"I understand." Djarin responded, as he took out his vibroblade. Neo understood it too. Plunging the blade into her heart, Raven took another breath…and breathed no more.
Seeing this, the Child realized he failed to save Raven. Lowering his head, he started to cry. Seeing this, Neo picked him up and cradled him in an attempt to comfort him.
Standing up, the Mandalorian turned his attention to the Child. "I'm sorry."
Sending Neo and the Child back to the Razor Crest, Djarin wrapped Cinder's arm in bandages and carried her into Argus. He had a new plan: bring Cinder to the proper authorities and see if they knew anything about Ruby and her friends. However, every eye in the city watched the Mandalorian as he carried Cinder towards the military base. Observing everyone else, he noticed something off about some of the people; they seemed to have something on their heads. They looked like…ears?
Ignoring them, he took a trolley to the base. The other passengers stayed clear of him, whispering among themselves.
"Who is he?"
"Who's that he's carrying?"
"Doesn't he look like…?"
"No, it can't be. The borders are closed."
"But he's wearing the same armor."
Hearing this made the Mandalorian turn his head toward them. They immediately fell silent.
Arriving at the base's gate, it immediately closed in his face. Two large soldiers walked up to the gate.
"Our orders are clear: The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!" one guard stated.
"Please!" the other said.
"Have a good day!" the first one finished.
"I-" the Mandalorian started.
"A GOOD DAY!" they both yelled.
Ignoring their…strange behavior, he continued "I'm carrying a known fugitive. One of the people who attacked Haven Academy. Cinder Fall."
Looking at each other, the guards immediately looked back at the Mandalorian. "Approach!" they ordered.
Coming closer to the gate, he showed them the woman he was carrying. Leaning closer to get a good look, they immediately stood at attention. "Very well!" the two said.
"You may speak with our commanding officer!"
"We will fetch her at once!"
Turning around, the guards started to march, chanting "Hup hup hup" and "Atlas Atlas Atlas" as they entered the base.
"And I thought droids were annoying." he said to himself.
A minute later, the gates opened with the two guards returning.
"Introducing!"
"Special Operative!"
"CAROLINE CORDOVIN!"
A short, old lady in a white uniform walked in front of them, stopping to look at the Mandalorian. Taking giant strides closer, she got a closer look at his prisoner.
"You captured her?" she asked.
"Yes." Djarin replied.
"Take her away." she ordered the guards. Marching towards the Mandalorian, the one on the right took Cinder and marched into the base with his fellow guard, as they chanted again.
"Be careful with her. She's very strong, and once she wakes up, she'll be angry."
"We've dealt with fugitives with powerful Semblances before. We'll be prepared." Cordovin said to the Mandalorian. "You've done the kingdom of Atlas a great service. It seems we are in your debt."
"If that's true, I need information." he replied.
"Well, that depends." she said.
Pulling out Neo's Scroll, he showed her a picture of team RWBY.
"Oh, them." Cordovin coldly replied. "Yes, they were here earlier today. They were trying to get into Atlas, when they clearly knew the borders are closed. I sent them away, of course."
"Were any of them carrying this?" he asked, showing the picture of the Relic of Knowledge he drew.
"She was." she replied, pointing to the girl in the upper left corner.
"They're trying to deliver it to Atlas. I don't know why. They probably wouldn't take 'no' for an answer." Djarin stated.
"If you're right, rest assured the people of this base will stop at nothing to make sure they won't pass."
Remembering what the people on the trolley were saying, he asked one more thing. "I'm also looking for a Mandalorian."
Cordovin looked confused when he said this. "I'm sorry, I…don't know what that is." she answered.
"Someone who looks like me." he described.
"Like you? Well, I actually recall seeing a certain Atlesian Huntress that looks like you."
"That Huntress wears Mandalorian armor?"
"If that's what you call it, then yes. Before the city of Argus lost contact with the rest of the world, she was a very public woman. Every news channel in the city reported on her actions. I don't remember her name, however. You wish to see for yourself, don't you?"
"I do." Djarin replied.
"My orders stand, I cannot let any unauthorized personnel leave this base. But I can make you a deal. I too am concerned about those children returning. They're students from Beacon Academy in Vale. If they try to make their way by force, and you help capture them, I'll allow you to take them to Atlas personally so they can face the proper punishment for their actions!" she yelled while stretching her arms with a grin.
"…Deal." he replied.
Looks like he would be staying on Remnant a little longer.
Author's notes: well, this was unexpected. I managed to get enough work done to squeeze some room in for a new chapter. Surprise! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
To ItsClassic, seems like last chapter was a punch to the gut for you. Hope this one didn't hurt too badly.
To Mandalore the Survivor, thank you for posting those links. I haven't had the chance to look at them, but I really want to. I've been focused on learning about the canon Mandalore, so I'm sure the legends material will be twice as interesting and cool. Also, thanks for introducing me to the Mandalorian language, I think I might be able to work the brand of "Dar'manda" in my story. Hope I hear from you again. Until then, PAR KOTE BAL IJAAT BE MAND'ALOR!
Please tell me what you think of this chapter. One part of me is saying I should take my time and try not to write a 2,000-word chapter in one night, and think things over before writing. But another part of me is really excited about writing this part of the story that I can't seem to stop. So, if you feel the events of this chapter were rushed or if you have any other problems, PLEASE let me know.