A/N: Hey guys! So I've been noticing that some of you reading this have next to no idea what Shadow Fight 3 is. I would like to ask you to take some time to read the lore (go no further than Chapter VII Part 2. Trust me. Only a select few can be able to withstand the absolute brain frying ridiculousness of the Transformation Planes). Trust me. None of this will make sense without context.

Without further ado, Chapter 5 guys.

Chapter 5: Wrath of the Triple Style Fighter

P.O.V: Pyrhha

Pyrhha was in big trouble.

Apparently disarming Cardin was a really bad idea. His hand to hand capability was surprisingly decent, even more so than hers, dare she say it. His brutal fighting style, mace or no, was more trouble than Pyrhha had predicted, with each hit Cardin delivered even more powerful than the last, each punch laced with strength that comes not from a person's Aura alone, but years and years of conditioning and training, honed to its utmost limit. And she was definitely feeling it from him now. But… that wasn't right. How come he was displaying his skill now, but didn't do so at the beginning of the school year?

Cardin made a slow, yet menacing approach towards the hoplite, his knuckles bone white and practically begging to meet her face. Apprehensively she raised her weapons, bracing herself for another beatdown.

P.O.V: Teams RWBY and JN(P)R

Ren and Blake watch on, concern etched on their faces as they watch the battle unfold.

The two teams had been genuinely surprised when Cardin began putting up a decent fight against their friend. It was common knowledge to them that the lumbering hulk hadn't much in the line of a good arena track record (how could he? He lost almost every battle he fought after the Forever Fall incident). So the sight of seeing Cardin actually putting the best fighter in Beacon on her toes was worrisome.

"Damn. Much as I'd hate to admit it, he's good." Remarked Team RWBY's brawler, Yang, watching Cardin punch the living snot out of their friend. "Strange form, but effective."

"How could that be though? He gave no prior indication that he was an adept fighter," Weiss said, watching the battle with a curious look. Then, it happens again. The strange white glow. Each hit he made while he was glowing seemed to pack a meaner punch than without it.

"Whoah, did you see that? He did the thing again!" Ruby exclaimed. "It's like every time he attacks, he does that weird glow thing."

Blake had noticed it too- although a little earlier into the fight, before Cardin had gotten disarmed. "I see it too, Ruby. What's up with that glow? And how's it helping him?

Ren finally spoke up, "I think I might have an slight idea as to how it benefits him. Call it a hunch, actually. Watch closely."

Pyrhha is knocked back a bit when Cardin delivers a mighty uppercut. Raising her xiphos, she charges and slashes at Cardin's breastplate, the attack not even fazing the tower of strength. Balling his fist up, he begins charging up another attack, before launching a powerful three hit punch combo, glowing white as he does. Pyrhha steps back as his first hit missed its mark, and attempts a downward swing on the brute's head. But the attack does next to nothing, the sword hitting true, but Cardin doesn't even flinch. Instead, Pyrhha is caught in the second and third hit of Cardin's punch combo, before the brute knocks the hoplite backwards with a frontal kick. Only then did the white glow disappear.

It finally dawns on the two teams. As the realization hits them, a cold shiver travels down their spines.

"Incredible…" Blake mutters under her breath, watching the spectacle as it unfolds. "He can't be knocked off balance when he glows."

"You might be right," Ren replies, then adding quietly, "And if you are, then I think our friend's in trouble."

Ever the helpful, Ruby, esteemed leader of Team RWBY, yells out a warning to Pyrhha. "Pyrhha! Get back! He's unstoppable when he glows white!"

P.O.V: Cardin/Xhang

The frontal wasn't hard- he didn't put too much force into it. But apparently it was strong enough to literally send her back a decent amount. The redhead dropped to a crouch, before opening fire with her rifle again. To make sure his Aura doesn't get chipped off, he deactivates it, opting to go Unbreakable instead. The bullets began to hit Xhang, wincing but otherwise unharmed, and allowing him to break into a sprint towards Pyrhha. The hoplite, in a panic, tried to evade the incoming brute, sidestepped a good distance away from her original position, but it was too little too late. The brute suddenly launches an arm forward, his hand grabbing her by the ponytail, and violently yanking her back to him. Xhang then wraps his arms around her waist, lifts her up into the air, and slams her back first into the floor, the crowd wincing, going "Oooh…" at the sound of the hard impact.

Xhang had been studying the Legionary fighting style for over two years, and suffice to say it, he had been pleasantly (and morbidly) surprised at the amount of grappling attacks the Legion had created ever since their inception. Stranglehold was a personal favorite- a kick to the groin, followed by a violent slam to the ground- but he was saving that for a 'just in case' scenario. Besides, the spear did the job just fine. Clumsy, doesn't work most of the time, but very effective when it does meet its mark.

Getting back up, he puts a respectful distance between him and Pyrhha, giving her time to recover for a while. The redhead shakily climbs back to her feet, using her javelin as a crutch. Xhang frowned. Sure, his attacks were hard, but were they really enough to cause any significant damage? Then, he looked up at the screens.

Cardin Winchester: 34%

Pyrhha Nikos: 54%

By the Elders! Her Aura's dropped just only by a mite. I gotta put a little more into my A-game before she sniffs out my technique.

He watches the redhead clamber back up to her feet, getting ready to charge again, when suddenly a voice rings out from the audience. They both turn to the source.

A girl, probably around the likes of 14-15, clad in black and red, shouts out with a voice that echoed across the entire auditorium, loud and clear as day.

"Pyrhha! Get back! He's unstoppable when he glows white!"

…Joy

His eyes travel back to the hoplite, who then returns the favor as well. They stare at each other, one quietly studying the other, waiting, anticipating.

Then he calls out to her.

"Well, you got the basic idea of what I'm doing," Xhang says, grinning halfheartedly. "The question is…"

He lifts his foot up and stomps forward, before raising his arms into a boxing position.

"Can you keep up with it?"

Pyrhha replies by entering a combat stance of her own, her face masked with a determined scowl.

Xhang laughed, merriment twinkling in his eyes. "Haha! Well then, I'll take that as a yes. Here we go!"

And with that, the two combatants charged.

They were closing in on each other fast, their footfalls echoing across the auditorium. Then, Xhang raises a fist, preparing a powerful punch to start. He slowly begins to glow as well.

Pyrhha just barely in the nick of time managed to raise her shield to block Xhang's incoming fist, the sheer power of the punch rattling the bones in her arm. It hurt, but it was somewhat manageable. The brute tries to catch her off guard by performing a Legionary uppercut, Pyrhha , at this point has seen this attack one times too many. To stop the incoming blow, she backflips, her feet banging into Xhang's unprotected lower jaw (did he seriously just turn off his Aura there? Jeez, what a moron…) before bounding forward with her shield raised high, bashing him hard in the face. Stumbling backwards, he suddenly grabs hold of Pyrhha's shield with one hand, before his other hand latches onto her forearm. Combining the weight of his body, his skewed balance, and his own strength, as he hits the ground behind him, he drags Pyrhha along for the ride, her shield acting as a sort of anchor. Before Pyrhha could fully loose her balance, kicking his feet up, he jams them into her waist, lift her into the air a bit, and fully extend his legs, the energy of the sudden move throwing her over him and causing her to hit the ground as well, a few feet away from Xhang's head. Rolling over so that he faced the floor beneath him, he pushes himself up with one hand, and balling his other hand into a fist, bounds forward and attacks Pyrhha on the ground, with the redhead rolling away moments before the fist banged against the spot where Pyrhha's head had lay.

Backing up a safe distance away from the brute, Pyrhha shifts her javelin into a xiphos, before spinning and slashing at Xhang, who manages to block it using his arm guard, the blade sliding off it with an ear splitting screech. Before Xhang could even blink, she retracts her arm and thrusts it forward, the shortsword charging straight at Xhang's face. In a panic, he activates his Aura in a whim, the blade harmlessly glancing off his face, but it flickered as his Aura dropped. The impact sends the shadow fighter to the ground once more.

33%.

Deactivating it, he pulls his foot back, and sends it straight into Pyrhha's shin, the blow shoving her back a bit, giving him enough time to jump right back onto his feet.

Charging at her, the lumbering brute attempts a Dynastian flying punch, but this time Pyrhha was well prepared. As he soared through the air, she backed up a foot as he went Unbreakable, his fist whooshing through empty air. As his feet touched the ground, his Unbreakable Interval over, the resulting momentum of the attack carried him, wide eyed, straight into a trap.

Relinquishing her grip in her shield, she grabs it by the tip, spins and throws, banging into Xhang's chest-plate, staggering him. However, before she could recall it back, he grabs the shield, winds up, and throws, the metal circle flying at Pyrhha with a speed that rivaled her strongest swing. She hits the ground fast, the shield slicing through the air, before embedding itself into the floor behind her.

She tries to get up, just in time to see Xhang charging at her, his knuckle primed and ready, and was in the onset of fully glowing. Rotating her body forward, she swings her leg out in a fast, clean leg sweep (seriously, it can make a Herald jealous), catching him off guard, his centre of balance abruptly skewed, causing him to trip. Her javelin and shield flying into her hands, she leans backward on her rifle, the muzzle buried into the floor. Then, kicking her feet off the ground so that her entire body was balancing on too of the rifle, she fires.

Propelled by the recoil of her weapon, Pyrhha pulls one leg close, her knee reaching up to her chest, and extends the other outward. Closing the distance, the outstretched leg banged into her opponent's chest plate. Before Xhang could lose balance, Pyrhha thrusts her other leg out, her foot slamming into his face, before pointing her rifle behind herself, and firing again, the force of the shot sending her upwards, the foot still on Xhang's chest bashing into his lower jaw (at least he managed to activate his Aura in time). Backflipping into the air, she throws her shield at him. The resulting impact was enough to send him flying backwards, crashing into the ground in a messy heap, groaning. Pyrhha's feet touch the ground, the shield flying back into place on her arm.

The shadow fighter struggles to his feet, his head spinning, stars dancing across his vision, his Aura flickering weakly. Shaking his head to will the stars to leave, he looks towards the big screen again.

His heart sank.

28%.

He didn't had time to ruminate on it, though. Pyrhha was running at him, fully intent on ending the match right then and there.

Well. That just sucks.

Deactivating his Aura, he brought his arm guards forward as Pyrhha swings with her xiphos, the blade once more sliding past the metal with a screech. And then, at that moment, it all began to take a severe nosedive.

The two combatants engage in a fierce close quarters exchange, the mightily exhausted Xhang struggling to meet Pyrhha's strikes. With his technique found out, and with Pyrhha adapting her strategy, his own blows either:

1: Got blocked and parried.

2: Was expertly evaded.

3: Meet its mark, which had, unfortunately, a slim chance of happening.

He began to get hit much more often, his own attacks becoming sluggish as his exhaustion began to take its toll. Multiple instances, he had to turn his Aura on to take most of the blows, flickering even more as the engagement prolonged. Not even his Unbreakable attacks helped; the hoplite just blocked or waited it out until it was over to rush in and hit him. And then, at that point, the shadow fighter realized something, as Pyrhha could already tell.

One way or another, he was going to lose.

That, and Pyrhha's going to absolutely beat the living crap out of him for what he had done and have fun doing it. Well, for what Cardin had done anyway. Not exactly a comforting thought.

He was on the verge of completely tiring out. Each hit he made added to his exhaustion, and every hit he took added to it two fold. What's more, his Aura began to drop fast as well, with Xhang forced to activate it to keep things fair. Unbreakable or not, it mattered little. Pyrhha would just find a way around it anyway. As he took a shield bash to the gut (ow), Xhang, his mind slightly dimmed by the prolonged battle, wondered how was he going to stop redhead from tearing him a new one. None of his attacks were fast enough for him to catch her off guard, as she would see them coming. They were just too slow.

Just too slow.

Slow.

Hold on a sec. Slow…

Something took hold of him. He feinted a punch, with the redhead taking the bait, swatting his arm away to slice at his chest, only for Xhang's other arm to suddenly swing out and clock her in the face, causing her to stagger back. To make sure she really backs up this time, the shadow fighter musters up enough strength to deliver a decent frontal kick, throwing her backwards, 6 meters away from him. With some breathing room, and time to spare, he looked down at his armor.

He, at first, spotted nothing noteworthy, as his armor wasn't really much. Just a chest plate, arm guards and a laughable amount of plating around the legs.

Wait.

Xhang mentally kicked himself. Of course. The breastplate. It was heavy, and it was really slowing him down. The arm guards too. No wonder he was getting exhausted fast. Add to that, this isn't his old body anymore. In his old body, he was more accustomed to the weight of Legionary armors, and mind you, they are heavy as fuck. His eyes then turned to Pyrhha. She stood there, sword and shield at the ready, her gaze inscrutable, her face unreadable. Her feet were tense, ready to spring.

He turned his attention to the screen. 24%. Really close to red now, his bar a rich orange. If his Aura drops to 19%, it was game over.

No. He can't have that. He won't have that. This entire fight, he'd been more than content to hold back, letting Pyrhha punch him around a good amount.

No more.

He's done playing around.

Placing his hands around vital parts around his breastplate, he inhaled, exhaled, and pulled with all his remaining strength. Slowly, the straps holding the piece of armor began to rip, the metal gradually deforming, until finally, with a loud SHRRIIIP, the straps tore completely, and the plating bent to a point where it was irreversibly damaged. With an audible huff, he let the piece of metal fall to the floor. He then grabbed hold of his arm guards, and one by on, they too were violently ripped away. The loud ripping of fabric, and the groaning of metal being bent beyond shape, echoed throughout the auditorium. Students watched with puzzled expressions, wondering why the hell he'd do that to his only line of defense. Glynda watched with a curious expression, quietly assessing Cardin's next move. In all her years as a combat teacher, no one in living memory has ever done something like this before.. Pyrhha however just dropped all pretense of combat awareness and just stared at him like he was insane.

Metal on metal ringed as the arm guards joined the breastplate on the ground. Xhang stood, unarmored sans the leg protection, which posed no threat to his mobility. He may be without protection now… but when was that ever a problem for him?

Determination and thinly veiled anger flowed through his aching body. Any and all vestiges of exhaustion that were present were all but forgotten. Reinvigorated through the removal of his armor, he cracked his neck, air escaping his bones as they made an audible snap.

Then, Xhang began to walk, calmly and casually, towards Pyrhha.

At this, the redhead suddenly remembered what she had been doing, and assumed a battle stance again. What on Remnant was that guy doing? Shifting her xiphos into rifle mode, she took aim, and pulled the trigger. The bullet exited the muzzle of the weapon with a loud bang, and soared through the air, heading straight at her combatant.

He, at first, did nothing, still walking right towards the bullet. Then, he jumped.

Cannonball was a very difficult Dynastian attack to perform (Xhang's new body's bulk is NOT helping matters. At all). Only the most experienced Dynastians are capable of executing it. Luckily, Xhang so happens to be one of those experienced people.

He spun like a tornado through the air, the bullet whizzing past him by a hairbreadth (holy smokes he felt the bullet singe his eyebrows a bit). Pyrhha could only stare as suddenly, being pulled down by gravity, the airborne Xhang brings his right leg out as if roundhouse kicking midair as he lands. The hoplite couldn't react fast enough as the shadow fighter's shin and boot collided against the back of her head, sending her to her knees. Muscle memory went to work. Having had his back turned to her upon landing, he thrusts out his left leg back, the boot slamming into the poor redhead's face, sending her back up to her feet, giving him enough time to jump again. This time as he landed, he brought both feet out, slamming into Pyrhha's head two times in a row, with his adversary slamming into the ground face first. Cartwheeling over to the right side of Pyrhha's prone figure in a manner similar to Ape Rampage's 4th hit, he backflips, his foot (again) slamming into Pyrhha's face, sending her back up to her feet, clutching her face in agony.

Landing on his feet, he stared at Pyrhha as she tried to regain her bearings, blinking rapidly to get the stars in her eyes to leave. Finally, after an agonizing minute, she assumes a combat stance again, but only barely got into it as Xhang charged again, leaping through the air, before tucking his right leg in. Attempting to block it did nothing, as the incoming knee blew through the block, the force of the impact pushing her back a tad. Pyrhha tries to slash at him, but he backhands the xiphos out her grip, the weapon flying out of the ring. He then delivers Torque, the three hit attack chipping away at Pyrhha's Aura. As he deals the last blow, he switches gear, stooping low to execute a powerful leg sweep, before switching to perform Floor Work, a 5 hit move that did wonders to catch her off guard, given the move's low approach. The last leg sweep pushed her back a good distance, allowing him to close the distance. Dashing forward, he starts with a Herald punch, before shifting into a multitude of punches from all three factions. Legionary back punches, Dynastian frontal punches, Legionary forward punches, Herald back punch, every single attack coming in faster than when they ended. The crowd began to collectively wince as the one sided beatdown continued, Xhang unrelenting in his approach. Finally, he dashed forward once more, winding up, and thrusting his arm forward, his hand spread open, executing a Herald heavy attack that pushes Pyrhha backwards.

Pyrhha brings her xiphos back to her hand, and slashes at Xhang, who ducks, and uses his crouch position to perform a Dynastian uppercut, the impact so hard the students closest to the ring felt the impact as if they too were hit as well. Pyrhha recovers and tries to sweep off her opponent's footing, but suddenly, Xhang jumps, executing Knife Juggler's 4th hit, hitting her square on the head. And just as she was about to try to counterattack, he stoops backwards and performs a Herald horse kick, his boot slamming into Pyrhha's gut, forcibly evicting the air in her lungs.

Disoriented by Xhang's attack combos, she tries to attack, swinging wildly with her xiphos, but to no avail, as Xhang expertly evades the attacks. He rushes forward, and kicks her in the gut, Pyrhha doubling over in pain, which apparently was what he wanted to let happen, as he steps forward, raises his foot above the hoplite's head, and brings it down hard, his heel cracking against her Aura, which was beginning to flicker. Good. To finish up Mule Kick, he does a back kick into her chest knocking her back. Before she could recover, he executes Battering Ram. A swift kick to the face, a 180 turn, a charge forward with his elbow slamming into her chest, and a quick elbow to the noggin. To keep the distance, he Legionary frontal kicks her away, her weapons flying out of her grip.

Alright! Time to wrap this up!

He then unleashes the most brutal hand to hand display the school's ever witnessed: a series of punches and kicks that flowed gracefully and seamlessly into each other as they were executed. He dared not stop, for fear of Pyrhha finding a way to counter him was all too real. Punch, kick, uppercut, horse kick, roundhouse, knife hand, bicycle kick, axe kick, he didn't even bother checking what attacks he performed and which faction they belonged to. Years of training began to seep into his moves, years of muscle memory beginning to resurface once more. One coherent thought formed through the monotony of his head: Xiang Tzu would be proud, no doubt about it.

And now, for the grand finale!

He rushed forward and performs Ape Rampage's fourth hit, his feet slamming violently into Pyrhha's head, before front flipping towards her, again with the same result. Hitting the ground, he spins a clean 360, executing a Dynastian back kick, his boot hitting Pyrhha square in the cheek. Yelling at the top of his lungs, he rushes forward, balls up his fist, and swings.

Pyrhha closes her eyes, anticipating the incoming blow, wincing prematurely as she waits for Cardin's fist to hit her. She waited. And waited.

But it doesn't come.

Apprehensively, she opens her left eye. And yes, there it was! Cardin's fist, knuckles white and all, nearly touching her nose by an inch. But that's pretty much just about it. No further than that. Just an inch away from her face, but no more. Then slowly, the hand begins to back away, the blood returning to the knuckles as the fist unclenched, before falling limp at Xhang's side.

The brute just stares at her, sweat pooling off his face, his clothes dampened and torn by the stress of the battle. He was panting hard and fast, his lungs desperately trying to get blood to flow through his entire body. Strangest of all, however, was his expression. Gentle, calm, not livid or blank. He held a kind gaze in his eyes, with none of the malice typical of Cardin.

She looks at him, a look of confusion coloring her face. Why did he stop? He could have landed the blow nice and simple, but instead chose to stop.

The redhead opens her mouth to speak. "Why didn't you keep going?"

"I didn't need to, Pyrhha. Look up," he says, gesturing towards the screens. She looks towards them.

Cardin Winchester: 24%

Pyrhha Nikos: 14%

Her bar was red. Her Aura flickered weakly. No explanation was needed.

"Cardin Winchester wins by Aura depletion!" Glynda calls out, stunning the entire auditorium into silence. The students, especially Teams RWBY and JN(P)R couldn't believe their own ears and eyes. Cardin won. Against Pyrhha. They were too shocked to be anything that's angry, saddened, or any of that sort.

"I gotta be dreaming…" Jaune breaths out in disbelief, breaking the silence between his comrades.

Ren was as equally bewildered as his leader was. "No Jaune, you're not. This is all really happening."

Ruby took it the hardest. "I really wish I was, though…"

Glynda approached the two combatants, but her attention was solely on the victor. She regarded Cardin carefully, analyzing the brute with a critical gaze, making him slightly nervous.

"Mr. Winchester, I have seen my fair share of hand-to-hand fights in my entire career as deputy headmistress," she begins, eyeing him carefully as she does, "and that? That was nothing like I've ever seen before. Brutal, fast, unpredictable, you displayed skill that only experienced Huntsmen exude. And even then, no Huntsmen I know is capable of the kind of barehanded fighting you performed today. What's more, even before you were disarmed, your performance with your weapon was leaps and bounds beyond your previous matches. Before, you held little regard for your actions, choosing to act before you think. Here? You carefully planned each move, using your strength and the weight of your weapon in more ways than one. To say I was surprised is a big understatement."

Xhang nodded politely, trying not to say anything. Glynda continued. "Although there is something that puzzles me. You did not display this kind of skill at the beginning of the school year, but instead decided to display it now. Care to explain, Mr. Winchester?"

He felt eyes on him. Pyrhha most of all.

Anyone would start to feel intimidated at this level of attention. Not Xhang.

He simply shrugged. "Misdirection. Lull my opponents into a false sense of security, make them expect the same thing over and over and over. Suffice to say, it did the job. Besides, I prefer not to show my cards just yet."

Glynda gave him a curious look, but then decided to end it at that. She turned to Pyrhha. "Miss Nikos. You fought accordingly as usual, and because of this, your opponent's sudden shift in tactic caught you off guard, leading to your defeat. Do not be discouraged, because when you're a fully trained Huntress, you must learn to be prepared, for sometimes the foes you will be facing against will not fight in the same manner as you'd expect. There will be times when you will be brought out of your comfort zone, and it's this that your enemies will attempt to take advantage of. Do you understand?"

Pyrhha nodded glumly.

"Good. You may return to your respective teams."

Pyrhha turned around and was about to make her way off the stage, when suddenly…

"Hey Pyrhha!"

She turned. Cardin slowly approached her, limping slightly. The redhead raised her eyebrow, wondering what Cardin wanted.

He finally caught up to her, and held out something in his right hand. Two somethings. Miló and Akoúo.

"Don't forget about these," he says with a… friendly tone? That was odd.

She took her weapons from his hand. Then, walking past her, he places a hand on her shoulder, before leaning in to whisper.

"You haven't done too badly, Pyrhha, don't worry. You certainly put me on my feet, that's for sure." Then he relinquishes his hand, and walks down the steps, and back to his team, leaving a very confused Pyrhha to ruminate on his words.

A/N: Finally, I'm finished! I am trash at fight scenes, so any criteria regarding this is appreciated to the max. Please, I need pointers on that the next time I do this. Another problem I face during writing is properly portraying the characters. Xhang, I can handle, but the rest of the canonical RWBY cast? Halp.

Anyway, as I have said at the beginning, I recommend you look at the lore of the Shadow Fight franchise. None of this will make sense without it. Also, if you're a Shadow Fight junkie, you'll recognize the names of the moves executed by Xhang here. For those who aren't familiar with them, look at the wiki please. Save me some headache.

Anyway, read and review, leave some criteria and comments, hope you liked this, and Laugh, signing off!