RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and created by the late and great Monty Oum.
I highly recommend these two RWBY stories, they are fantastic:
4 Years of Beacon by smstanton: One of the best, most adorable Arkos fics I've ever read but it also has a great dramatic story about both Jaune and Pyrrha's lives.
Overcoming Darkness by dracohalo117: A dark, mysterious fic that has only three chapters so far but I cannot wait to see where it goes.
Read, review, and tell me how I can improve, what you liked and what you didn't. Your feedback is appreciated, thank you! Thanks to all the reviewers, I appreciate all your kind words and thoughts.
RWBY: Destiny of Remnant
Chapter 14: A Duel of Fates
Fotia walked down the hallway towards the throne room with Steppenwolffe and Ziz following her. She shook the Blood Blade in her grip and looked at the helmet of her armor, with these in her possession she didn't need to worry, Arc would be dead soon enough and hopefully the phantasm of Nikos would go with him. She sheathed her sword and made sure Akouo was properly adjusted before she glanced at Ziz and noticed the distant look on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I just took your advice and looked up what happened to my old team. Not really what I was hoping for." Ziz admitted.
"Closure is rarely ever what you hoped for." Steppenwolffe said, as even after all these years he still felt bitter about how the Faunus revolution turned out and that most Faunus had chosen a the weaker way of submission to the humans, living under a delusional banner of equality. He hoped that in time Mistress Salem would allow him to work side by side with the White Fang, as he was very impressed with how they operated.
"Hopefully this duel will give me some satisfying closure." Fotia said optimistically as they arrived at the throne room door. It opened up and the three Grimm hybrids walked in to the room where Cinder, Dr. Giger, Dr. Sherizawa, and Dr. West awaited them along with Salem who sat upon the throne while Norvik stood free of his straightjacket with Ozpin held in place by Grimm Knights.
Fotia walked in front of Salem and bowed down. "I am prepared to fight for you, Mistress Salem. I will destroy my enemy for your glory." She said confidently.
"I know you will, my dear Fotia." Salem said with a kind smile. From nearby Ozpin tried to speak but couldn't make a sound, he wanted so desperately to cry out to Pyrrha and tell her who she was, but he was utterly helpless.
Fotia did notice him, however. "Who is that?" she asked.
"This is the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, William Ozpin. I have decided to force him to endure one last failure, his greatest. You see, my dear Fotia, Ozpin allowed Arc into his academy despite how weak he was, he thought the Arc and Nikos would be the perfect team. Now we will show him just how great his failure truly is." Salem said as several Grimm Knights took their place in front of Ozpin
Fotia nodded and said "I will do it."
Just then the doors opened once again and Ruby was brought in, flanked by Emerald, Mercury, Neo, and a squad of Grimm Knights. Her mouth was gagged and her aura had been drained for most of the night so she was in so shape to fight right away.
"I guess that is Ruby Rose." Fotia said.
"Correct, she has been quite the trouble maker." Cinder said as Ruby looked at them, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of Fotia. She gave out a muffled cry of surprise through her gag and tried to run to her, only to be held down by the Grimm Knights.
"Hello Ruby, are you ready for tonight's entertainment?" Cinder asked with a smug grin.
"Even if she is, she's shit outta luck 'cause I forgot the popcorn!" joked Ante as and his eight enforcers marched Jaune into the room. Cinder sighed in annoyance and repressed the urge to kill Ante, as they still needed him for the time being, but he had done his job; Arc was here unharmed, apparently without a struggle by the looks of it and with his chest and shoulder armor returned.
Ruby tried to speak again, somewhat startled by Jaune's physical appearance. Jaune noticed her look and gave her a bittersweet smile. "I know Ruby, these thugs showed me what I look like now. I hope Yang won't be jealous." He joked, referring to his now violet eyes.
Ruby, despite the tears she was trying not to shed, managed to give her first friend from Beacon a genuine smile.
"Oh brother, let's just get on with this." Mercury said.
"Quite right, Mercury. Cinder, give Mr. Arc his sword." Salem instructed.
Cinder nodded and walked over to her trophy case and took out the Crocea Mors and one other thing, a newly repaired Milo. "Like it, Arc? I decided not to let one of my trophies remain damaged so I had it repaired. You should be grateful for that." Cinder said as she tossed him the Crocea Mors which Jaune caught easily.
"So we gonna do this here and now?" he asked.
"Not here specifically, down in the pit." Cinder said as West took out a remote and pressed a button, opening up the floor and revealing the pit with a ramp came out of an opening and led down to it. Ruby didn't fully know what was going to happen, but from the way both Jaune and the Grimm-Pyrrha were holding their swords she could tell it wasn't anything good.
"I can see that Ruby is confused, so let us clarify the situation for her; I have decided that since Jaune has somehow withstood the hybridization and he persists in trying to convince our friend Fotia here that she is the late Pyrrha Nikos, they shall fight to the death. If Fotia succeeds she shall officially have my love and trust, but if Arc wins he shall be allowed to live, but he will undergo a little... change, not only will he become a Grimm hybrid for good but he will have a new soul placed within him, that of my old friend, Norvik the Hunter." Salem said as she gestured to the old man.
"Why hello children, nice to finally meet you face to face, Ozpin has told me so much about you." Norvik said as he gestured to Ozpin as the Grimm Knights parted to reveal the gray-haired man.
"Professor!" cried Ruby through the gag. She was totally horrified by what was going on before her, she wished her eyes would come to her rescue right about now but nothing happened at all. She looked to Ozpin, looking worse for wear, who seemed to have accepted his defeat. She then looked to Pyrrha who was brainwashed into thinking she was someone else... but they still had a chance. Jaune could do it. This time they could save Pyrrha.
"Ozpin! We thought you were..." Jaune began before Salem stopped him.
"Oh no, I wouldn't allow Cinder to kill Ozpin, that is a pleasure I'll save for myself and only when I have achieved my destiny, but right now he's here to watch this duel, to watch how significant his failure truly is." Salem explained. She smirked inwardly, knowing that no matter what the outcome of this fight she would win; Ozpin would be forced to watch as his students kill each other and she would get a young, promising Hunter-in-training would be a tool for her whims.
"Fotia, Jaune, take your places. At the far end, if you would, Arc." Salem ordered.
Jaune and Fotia walked down the ramp into the pit, Jaune glanced at Fotia and said "Don't worry, I promise both of us will make it out of here."
"I know I will, you'll be taken out of here in a body bag." Fotia said as placed her helmet over her head, her red eyes shining through the eye-slots.
The ramp retracted as Salem, Mercury, Emerald, Neo, Norvik, Ozpin, and Salem stood before it while Ante (who was recording the fight with his scroll) and his enforcers stood to the left of them with Ziz, Steppenwolffe, and Jude stood to the right and finally at the end of the room, behind Jaune Ruby was held in place by some Grimm Knights and was accompanied by Giger, Sherizawa, and West. Nearly everyone who was under Salem's employ looked excited, ready to see some bloodshed except for Emerald and Trooper, both of whom had looks of guilt on their faces, Ziz appeared to be conflicted, West, Little Steve, Lao, Merrick, and Sherizawa seemed neutral, and Zhan kept his true feelings hidden inside.
Jaune stood to the far end of the pit and looked right at Fotia as he held Crocea Mors in both hands and respectfully bowed to his opponent. The way he and Pyrrha would bow to each other before they trained on the balcony.
Fotia was taken aback by this at first, but found it rather honorable of him to bow to his adversary so she returned the bow, having some newfound respect for the blonde.
Salem observed the two and gave them both a small smile before she said "Go."
The two teenagers both unsheathed their swords, with Jaune's sheath transforming into a shield. Fotia hooked Akouo on a brace on her arm and used both hands to hold the sword up into a battle-ready pose. Jaune lifted his sword up from its drooping position and pointed it at her.
"I will save you, Pyrrha." He said.
"Stop calling me that." Fotia said as she pointed the blade at his throat before she returned to her beginning position, holding the sword up firmly with both hands.
"It is who you are." Jaune said as he walked towards her as he copied her form, he remembered the lessons his teachers at Vale had taught him, the skills he had learned from Ashe, but most importantly he remembered all the things Pyrrha had taught him, all the knowledge he received from her. He relaxed his body and kept his balance as he held the sword out. "I won't fail you again."
The two pointed their blades at one another, Fotia glaring at Jaune through her helmet. 'Need to get that thing off of her.' He thought to himself. He could not hear Pyrrha inside of his head at the moment as she was too busy giving him every thing she could for additional power and strength.
Fotia shook her blade towards herself in a 'bring it on' motion. Jaune held Crocea Mors sideways, making the light reflect off it. Fotia's glare intensified as she swung her sword around, showing off her skills. After a solid five seconds of impressive swings and slashes at the air she stopped and looked to Jaune for a reaction, only to see that he was now only a mere five feet away from her. He lifted his blade out, sliding it along Fotia's.
He gave her a smile and then spun around, showing off his own moves, which were not as impressive as hers as they were much more simplistic. He would have been dreading this, after all this was supposed to be the mighty Pyrrha Nikos twisted into a tool for evil and not holding back, but luckily he had part of Pyrrha's aura within himself, that gave him a slight edge or at the very least a slim chance.
Fotia cried out as she struck forward with a powerful blow which Jaune parried, she struck again towards his hand but he brought the sword back and blocked her again. He twirled around, aiming to hit her hip but she struck back and the two swords clashed head on. Jaune pulled back and lunged at her but she sidestepped it, which she followed up by trying to slash him across the side but he managed to stop with his shield.
Jaune used this to turn around and try to strike her but, as he predicted, she effortlessly blocked it with a fast parry. She held up the Blood Blade with one hand as she thrusted forward which he smacked away with a swipe of his shield. He slashed at her and hit her shield dead on. Jaune gave her a sad smile, which confused her.
"What are you smiling about?" she asked.
"Just thinking about all our spars back at Beacon, how you'd always tell me to do my best no matter how many times you beat me, partner." He said.
Fotia snarled as she began surging against him with a relentless series of strikes and slashes. Why did he persist in this? She couldn't be Nikos, she just couldn't! She could remember the farmland she grew up in, she remembered her whore of a mother, her drunkard father... the beatings, the cold nights in the barn with the animals as storms raged outside, the days she'd go without food... wait, if that was true then how was her body in such prime condition? It would take longer than a few months to be in the shape she was in... it'd take years...
A look of doubt crossed her face and Jaune saw this. "Remember! Please!" he cried as he slammed his shield into her sword. She simply growled in response and struck his shield with her sword. Jaune swung his blade at her head but she ducked with a perfectly timed lean backwards. She struck upwards and the two blades clashed once more, she slid her sword up and nearly cut him across the face, forcing his to retreat.
He saw that Fotia moved a lot like Pyrrha did but it was sloppy, unrefined, inexperienced. He secretly hoped that the Pyrrha within was giving it everything she had to stop her body from killing him. In reality Fotia had little of Pyrrha's skills as she had been trained by the forces of Salem for only a few months and what little of Pyrrha's skill set she did have came from physical memory, not mental.
'Pyrrha, you still there?' he asked mentally.
'Can't talk right now, Jaune. I'm trying to concentrate on keeping up your aura.' Pyrrha said to him
Fotia smirked and took advantage of his distraction and she lunged forward, repeating her earlier move and striking at him over and over again with so end in sight. He blocked, parried, struck back, and clashed with her as she pounded him relentlessly with her crimson sword. He backed into the wall and saw the look in her eyes as she prepared to strike a killing blow. He dodged it and used him Semblance to jump behind her and he slammed his sword into her shoulder armor.
She cried out in surprise as she turned around and their swords clashed yet again as Jaune launched into a series of seven strikes, pushing her back. She grimaced beneath her helmet as she watched him stop his barrage.
"Come on! Give me your best shot!" he demanded.
She lunged her sword at his head but he blocked it, she then tried to stab him in the legs but the point of his sword met hers as they clashed close to the ground. He jumped forwards, startling her a bit before he wildly swung his sword around, trying to force her back but she did not back down as she struck his sword mid-swing and smashed him in the face with Akouo.
Jaune cried out as he was forced to back up once again, trying his best to block Fotia's blows as she surged forward for a third time. He ignored the pain in his face as his aura began healing him up and he forced himself to fight on, both of their blades meeting in a frenzied series of strikes and clashes. She jumped up and swung her sword towards his face, aiming for his eyes but he leaned back as the blade sailed by a mere centimeter from his nose.
She continued pressing forward until she decided to fight a little dirty. She swung her body around and tried to slash him across the back, only for him to hoist the Crocea Mors over his head and down his back to successfully block the attack. She grunted in frustration and swung around again, this time she aimed she his neck but he managed to block her once more.
"I must admit, Arc, you are a worthy opponent... much better than they led me to believe." Fotia said as she pressed her sword forward, but he held it in place.
"I owe most of it to you." Jaune said before he lurched forward and the two began trading blows, the metal blades crashing against one another without reprieve until they both made moves that completely missed each other, this gave Jaune the opportunity to make a rather unorthodox move; he ran past Fotia, got behind her and leaned back, lunging his sword upwards as he did so but she easily met the strike as she swiftly turned around. Jaune jumped up and struck the Blood Blades with his shield but she met his blow by spinning around and hitting his shield with her own.
She made a stabbing lunge, aiming for his chest but he quickly moved his torso so the blade went under his armpit and he quickly moved so she could not sever his arm. He struck back and leaned in, grabbing the helmet, only for her to bring her head forwards and smash it against his.
"Ah!" he cried as he galloped backwards, he could feel his blood running down his forehead and out of his nose, but his vision was still good enough to see Fotia running at him with her sword ready to impale his body.
He quickly sidestepped it but had to repeat the action as she lunged at him again. Soon he was weaving through the sword as it tried to stab him. "Why did you try to take off my helmet? Want a clean shot at my head?" Fotia asked.
Jaune swiped his sword sideways, catching the Blood Blade and forcing her back a bit as they engaged in a small series of strikes and parries. "No, I want to see your face. The face of my partner, my best friend, the face of the girl I love!" he yelled as he stopped fighting.
Everyone watched as Jaune threw his shield down, but kept a steady grip on his sword. "What is he doing?" Ziz whispered to Steppenwolffe.
"Something both incredibly brave and stupid." The wolf Faunus said to her.
Salem watched; this was like many fights she had seen in her long lifetime but she knew it was only the beginning, things would soon escalate. Cinder looked down to the fight, surprised by how well Arc was holding up. By all rights he should be dead by now; maybe their intel wasn't as accurate as she thought.
Fotia approached Jaune, lowering both her blade and her head. "Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, hopefully.
Fotia looked up at him with glaring red eyes. "You are an idiot." She said as she smashed her fist into his head, knocking him to the ground.
Ruby cried out a muffled "NO!" in horror as Fotia raised her sword up to end the fight, but Jaune managed to block it. The two pressed against one another, staying in place as the two blades struggled to move even an inch.
"Your precious Pyrrha Nikos is dead, accept it Arc." Cinder called from above. Jaune roared out in anger as his Semblance activated, the bright shield of aura surprised Fotia and she backed away as Jaune ran past her.
Jaune looked up at Cinder and yelled "I know she's still in there! I can save her and if I can't I'll avenge her!"
"Your duel is with me, Arc!" Fotia called, ready for the duel to resume.
Jaune looked back at her and sighed. "So it is." He said, and with that he rushed forward unexpectedly fast. He jumped up and kicked her in the helmet, surprising most in the room. He landed as ducked down as Fotia swung her sword, aiming to cut him in half, he retaliated by slashing upwards and pressing her sword back. Fotia yelled out as she struck back with a downwards slash but he dodged it and spun around, aiming use the sword to damage her helmet but she quickly parried it. The two held each other's blades, pressing against each other until Fotia pressed forwards and nearly knocked Jaune down. She brought her sword up high in the air behind her head and brought it down with a mighty swing that scored a hit across Jaune's chest armor, knocking him down.
"Yeah!" cheered Mercury from above.
"Kill him now!" yelled Ante.
Fotia went to finish Jaune off but he kicked both of his legs upwards, powered by his Semblance the kick was stronger than Fotia had anticipated and she went flying backwards onto her rear. She quickly got up just in time as Jaune came flying at her. She ducked down as Jaune stomped on her back and jumped off of her, landing behind her. Fotia recovered, jumped up, and swung her sword around trying to decapitate Jaune but she missed.
The two swords met once again in a powerful clash, the two looking right at each other.
"Give up." Fotia ordered.
"No, you won't send me away, not again." Jaune said as he pressed forward and knocked her back.
Fotia backflipped twice to gain distance and she struck upwards to meet Jaune's slash. She ducked down and ran around him to try and stab him through the back but he twirled around and met her strike. Fotia jumped over him and tried to strike him again but he parried her blow once more.
They entered a fourth round of trading strikes and parries, both of them pounding their blades against each other. Fotia had the upper hand as she was out to kill Jaune while Jaune wanted to do as little harm to her as possible. Fotia kept striking with powerful blows while Jaune blocked and parried; only occasionally getting in a small offensive strike as she backed him up against the wall.
"Your sad delusion has cost you greatly, Arc. Even if I am Pyrrha Nikos I don't see how I, or anyone else for that matter, could possibly fall in love with a pathetic, weak, foolish little pawn like you!" Fotia yelled as she smashed him into the wall.
Jaune looked up at her tears in his eyes. "Do it." He said.
Fotia brought her sword up and prepared to kill him... but she found she couldn't do it.
'You will not harm him.' The voice of Pyrrha Nikos said to her. The Pyrrha within was using everything she had to stop her body for this brief moment. It had been a huge strain just to speak to Fotia, this was Pyrrha using every ounce of strength her spirit had to keep her body from killing the one she loved.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" Fotia screamed as she tried to move.
Up above everyone was confused.
"What's going on? What's happening to her?" Emerald asked.
"I honestly don't know." Cinder confessed before she looked up to Salem, who didn't even glance at her apprentice. She just watched the battle before her.
Jaune looked up and could see that Fotia was struggling to move.
"Take her, my knight, strike now!" the voice of Pyrrha said in his head.
Jaune yelled loudly as he struck out with the Crocea Mora and slashed Fotia across the helmet.
Fotia cried out in surprise as she stumbled back, half of her helmet shattered and on the ground with specks of blood. Fotia covered her face with her hand as she walked backwards to get away from Jaune. She removed her hand from her face as her aura began healing her.
She looked up to Jaune as she swung her sword back and forth to keep him at bay. He simply tossed the Crocea Mors from one hand to the other then back again.
"You'll be okay, Pyrrha, I know you will." He said.
Fotia screamed out in anger as she ripped what was left of her helmet off her head. "Look at me, Arc! I may look like Nikos but we are different entities, I am going to do something she never could: kill you!" Fotia yelled as she twirled her sword around in her hand. Her rage was keeping anything of her true self away.
Jaune sighed and said "You won't kill me, I won't kill you, all three of us are going to walk out of here and go home; you, me, and Ruby. I don't care if I die, but I'll get you out of here no matter what!"
Fotia ran forward and struck Crocea Mors with the Blood Blade so hard it went flying out of Jaune's hands.
"Oh boy." Jaune managed to mutter before Akouo whacked him across the head and sent him down to the floor. Fotia tried to strike him but he rolled out of the way, screamed up to his feet and ran over to retrieve his sword. He brought it up to block another attack from Fotia and managed to kick her once again, allowing him time to distance himself from her.
The two combatants faced one another, eyeing each other warily, not knowing how much longer either one could go on. Fotia struck forwards twice but Jaune parried her both times, looking a bit tired as he did so.
"I'll tell you this one last time: give up." Fotia demanded.
"Never. I'll die before I give up. You didn't give up so neither will I." Jaune said.
Fotia screamed out in anger as she jumped forwards, swinging her sword wildly. Jaune ran backwards to avoid being cut apart and once Fotia landed he swiped at her only to be blocked. The two began exchanging blows yet again, both of them giving it their all. Fotia knocked Jaune into the wall again with a kick to the gut. Jaune parried a blow that would have ended the duel and used his free hand to grab her by the arm, pull her close and slapped her across the face. Fotia cried out in pain as she ducked to avoid another hit, which gave her the opportunity to use the hilt of her sword to bash Jaune in the back as he tried to get up, causing him to stumble sideways.
The two returned to trading blows yet again, the blades slashing relentlessly together countless times, faster than anyone in the room, bar Salem, could count. The metal swords clashed dozens of times as they fought all over the pit, both of them moving so fast that it seemed like they were dancing.
They had only scored a few minor hits on each other, thin and non-lethal scratches that did no harm except for painful stings. They constantly switched between offense and defense, attacking and blocking, back and forth, up and down the pit. It was a stalemate.
"This is perfect, two warriors locked in an epic duel forever, just the way it should be." Jude said, satisfaction dripping from his voice.
"It cannot last forever; soon one of them will lose." Cinder told him.
"This is turning out better than I hoped!" Ante said as his scroll continued recording.
Thirty seconds passed, during that small time period the two swords clashed a total of ninety-four times. Jaune and Fotia locked eyes as they circled each other, sweat covering their bodies, mixing in with the blood.
"This is a fight I've been wanting, but I did not think it'd come from you." Fotia said.
"Hey, you trained me." Jaune said with a smile.
Fotia just glared at him and she charged, she began spinning around with her sword out, trying to strike Jaune however she could even as he kept blocking her. Jaune swung around and met her next blow, causing the two swords to crash against one another. The two were practically shoulder to shoulder now, but not for long as Fotia jumped away and swung at Jaune's head, only managing to cut off a lock of his messy hair.
Jaune slashed, scoring a hit on Fotia's body armor, but she retaliated with a might blow to his shoulder armor, managing to knock it off and wound his shoulder. "AH!" Jaune cried in pain as he grabbed his shoulder.
Fotia smirked, trying to hide the horrible of regret she was feeling inside. She turned her back to Arc and looked up to Salem, who nodded in approval, but made a gesture to the boy behind the youngest Grimm Commander.
Fotia quickly turned around and blocked two of Jaune's strikes. She reached forward, grabbed his arm and twisted it, forcing him to scream out in pain. She used her strength to spin him around by his arm and then she smashed an aura powered punch directly into his face, sending him back onto the floor.
She tried to slam her sword down on him to end the duel but he quickly rolled away and jumped up. She slashed forward, trying to hit him across the chest but he was too well guarded there. She glanced down at his legs and smirked. She swung her sword low, aiming to sever the legs at the knees but he jumped up just it time and delivered a powerful kick to her face, sending her on the floor.
Jaune retreated and reclaimed his shield, just in time as Fotia had recovered and was currently rushing towards him in blind rage as she began swinging her sword at him, but now that he had recovered his shield he could just hold her off until he needed to make his next move... or so he thought, Fotia jumped up and thrusted her sword downwards and struck a powerful blow on the shield forcing Jaune to drop it so he could block her next attack.
Fotia backed away and twirled her sword around; creating a deadly spinning fan that could easily kill anyone close enough to it. She looked at Jaune and said "Come, choose your destiny."
Jaune glared at her and ran forward; delivering a powerful and lighting fast series of strikes she was barely able to block "I. Don't. Believe. In. DESTINY!" he yelled as he jabbed his hand forward, grabbed hers and squeezed hard, forcing her to drop the Blood Blade.
He now wielded both swords; he looked down at her and could see fear in her eyes. He hated it.
"Catch it." Jaune said as he tossed the Blood Blade to the other side of the pit.
"W-w-what?" she asked, confused.
"You have the Semblance of polarity, use it to grab the sword." He said.
"You're insane!" Fotia shouted.
"You have her within you, I know who you really are! You can be saved!" Jaune cried as Fotia got up.
"You know nothing of me, Arc." Fotia spat before she rushed him with her shield as her sole weapon. She collided into Jaune and knocked him back a bit, but he jumped up, spinning in the air like a tornado and slammed his sword into Akouo, knocking it off her arm brace and sending her back down on the ground.
"Use your Semblance, now!" Jaune ordered as he held up Crocea Mors.
"I can't!" Fotia cried, now fearing for her life.
"Yes you can!" Jaune shouted as he swung his sword down.
Everyone was amazed by this. Ruby was scared out of her mind, Cinder's eyes were as wide as they could go, Ante's grin turned into a dropped jaw, and even Salem was a little shocked.
Fotia cried out in horror and closed her eyes; she reached out and felt something strange flow through her body, a power that felt both alien and familiar to her. Something flew into her hand and the powerful clang of sword smashing into sword was heard.
Fotia opened her eyes and gasped as she saw the Blood Blade had been brought back to her by the newfound power... a Semblance.
"W-what is this?" Fotia asked.
Jaune smiled as he backed down. He hadn't even gotten close to killing her, he never would. Pyrrha's plan to reactivate her Semblance was to disarm her body, get the sword away from Fotia, and make her think he was going to kill her, but he would have stopped in time had the Semblance not activated. 'Good plan, Pyr.' He said mentally.
"Thank you, Jaune." His own little piece of Pyrrha told him as her body got up.
"What the hell is this, Arc? What are you doing to me?!" she demanded.
"It's not me, it's you. The real you. Not Fotia Drakos, but Pyrrha Nikos." Jaune said with a loving smile and look in his eye.
"STOP IT!" Fotia screamed as she ran forward and smashed into Jaune, once again knocking him into the wall. Jaune managed to slump down to the left as Fotia stabbed the Blood Blade into the wall, as she had been trying to stab him in the head.
Jaune forced himself up and he parried a few strikes from Pyrrha before he began swinging his sword around his body to keep her back. Fotia glared at him and began to mimic his actions. The two slowly made their way to the center of the pit, swords dangerously swinging until...
The two ceased this action and they both brought their swords forward, the two blades clashed against one another at the perfect angle with the perfect amount of force and friction, creating a dazzling shower of sparks.
They engaged in a series of parries once again, striking each other a total of five times before they pressed their respective blades towards one another.
Jaune knew he couldn't keep this up much longer, but it wasn't time to make his finishing move, one that would restore Pyrrha and bring her back. He leaned in and said "It's almost done; soon we'll be together again."
Fotia roared in frustration as she slashed at him only to be easily blocked. They held their respective swords against each other.
"You don't give up, do you Arc?" Fotia stated.
Jaune glanced up at Ruby and smiled. "To quote one of my best friends: nope!"
Fotia didn't respond, instead she had another question as she noticed something odd about his shield.
"Your shield, why does it have two emblems on it?" she asked.
"The two yellow arcs represent me and the red circle with an arrow in it is for you." Jaune answered as they struck each other once again.
"You would... bare the emblem of a fallen partner?" Fotia asked as she kept hew sword up.
"To remember her, to honor her, to tell the world of her... and to let everyone know that I love her." Jaune said as he allowed the question to distract him and Fotia took advantage of that.
She knocked him down to his knees with Akouo and she swung her blade down only for him to parry it. He swung Crocea Mors to drive her back, but to no avail as she rushed forward and tried to slash him across the torso but he quickly sprung up to avoid being hit. She slashed again, this time scoring a hit on his forearm.
"No you don't!" Jaune yelled as he slashed her across her chest armor, striking it so hard that it was torn off.
Fotia cried out in pain as she managed to score a hit on Jaune's thigh. Jaune grunted as he swung his sword to meet her next attack, the two blades clashing yet again. Fotia did not relent, she kicked Jaune in the chest, sending him on his back but he quickly recovered and jumped back up, returning the favor by punching her in the face.
Fotia was unphased by the blow, however, as she grabbed Arc's free hand with hers and twisted it so that Crocea Mors was turned sideways, allowing her to parry the old sword. She gave him a sorrowful look as she began to press forward, planning to decapitate him with his own sword.
Jaune yelled out in defiance as his eyes began to glow a powerful, brilliant sapphire and he forced Fotia off of him. Despite his Grimm transformation his eyes would still shine their natural color when his Semblance activated. He jumped over and landed on the other side of the pit. He held his sword with both hands and looked to Fotia as she prepared to attack. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up, he had to weaken her enough so he could make his move to save her but she was too good, he could feel a small cut on his neck from her attempt to behead him so she meant business.
"I hope I'm not making this too easy." Jaune said between pants.
"This is... much more difficult than I thought it would be." Fotia admitted before she rushed him. She swung the Blood Blade twice trying to slash him but with her third swing he managed to parry her sword and force it to the ground so he could knee her in the stomach. She got up and slashed upwards, managing to cut him across the cheek.
She rushed him and he sidestepped her, he rushed her but she dodged his swing. She began to swing her blade at him as he evaded every strike she made at him until she hit him in his chest armor and sent him flying into the wall as well as making him lose his grip on Crocea Mors.
"Finish him, now." Cinder ordered.
Fotia rushed Jaune and slashed at him but he easily ducked her swings until he managed to jump down, grab Crocea Mors, and block another attack.
"Fotia, his Semblance is emotion; use that to your advantage!" Cinder called.
The youngest Grimm hybrid nodded and quickly struck back at Jaune. "How does it feel, Arc? How does it feel to be such a monumental failure? You couldn't save Nikos, you couldn't save Ruby, you can't save yourself, you won't save anyone from Mistress Salem!" she scolded as she let loose a barrage of swings, strikes, slashes at Jaune.
"I know you're not in control, Pyrrha, but you can be again! Fight it! I know you're in there somewhere!" Jaune yelled.
"Even if she is here I'd sooner die than be with you!" Fotia screamed. She actually regretted saying that, she didn't mean it. Despite everything she actually liked Arc a little. He was handsome and he seemed to be a good person, he was just hung up on the idea that she was Nikos.
Was she Nikos?
No... no that would be insane, laughable, stupid... but why was she finding the idea more and more plausible?
Why couldn't she remember her old life that well? The farm... the details were becoming vague and blurry... she couldn't remember her parents names... she... what was happening to her?
She shook her head and saw that Arc had not made a move. He looked hurt, shattered by the words that had came out of her mouth.
"I know that's not true, it's these people, Pyrrha. You have to see how wrong you are, how terrible these people are... how that thing" he said as he pointed to Salem, "needs to be stopped."
"No, this world is a horrible place that allows millions to suffer without point. Mistress Salem will perfect this world! Make it a paradise!" Fotia said as she ran at Jaune.
Jaune held his ground until she was in arm's reach and then he struck out bare hand, palming her in the face. He used her temporary disorientation to strike at the Blood Blade, attempting to disarm her only to be grabbed by the arm and flung into the wall. He leaned to the right to avoid getting slashed down the chest and then he said "A paradise?! These people will make the world into a horrible, dark place where anyone who doesn't give into them will suffer and die, that's no paradise. This world isn't perfect, I know that, but it is worth fighting for!"
"Y... you're... GAH!" Fotia screamed as she rushed forward and struck Jaune again. "You're an idiot, Arc! If Nikos fell in love with you... if I fell in love with you then I deserve to die!" she said.
Jaune screamed out in anger as he struck at Fotia seven times until his sweat accidentally made his lose his grip on his sword and then Fotia made her move. She stabbed the Blood Blade into the ground, grabbed his head, and smashed it into her knee. She pulled his hair to hoist him up so she could punch him repeatedly. Soon Jaune's eyes were darkened and blood flowed from his nose and lips.
"Anything else to say?" she asked.
"Yeah... I hope you fought Cinder just as hard as you fought me." Jaune said.
Fotia picked him up and tossed him to the far side of the pit, she used her Semblance to tear off a metal panel from the wall, she hauled it down and pinned Jaune to the ground with it. She looked to the Crocea Mors and held out her hand, bringing it to her with her Semblance.
Ruby screamed out through her gag, her eyes glowing silver in horror, sorrow, and anger. Salem was forcing Pyrrha and Jaune to kill each other... why? She... this was all her fault! If she had been fast enough back at Beacon she could have saved Pyrrha and her friends could have been together like they were supposed to be and... everything was gone now.
She wasn't good enough.
She looked up at Salem and all she could feel was hatred. Salem evidently felt this radiating off of Ruby as she looked right at the young Huntress and grinned before her attention returned to the fight.
"Emerald told me that this sword is an heirloom of the Arc bloodline, it's only fitting that this should be what kills you." Fotia said. She aimed the blade of the Arcs at Jaune and used her Semblance to launch it at him. As she did so she was a little disturbed by how natural her Semblance seemed to be.
Jaune saw the sword coming right at him.
"Not beating me this time." He muttered as he used his Semblance to create a shield. The Crocea Mors stopped in midair and sloped downwards, stabbing into the metal wall panel. Jaune kicked the panel off of his lower body and yanked the sword out. "We're not done, I can do this all day." He said with a cocky grin as he looked right at Fotia, who had a shocked look on her face.
"Okay, he's way better than I thought he was." Emerald admitted.
"Tell me about it..." Mercury said, sounding disappointed.
"Oh, this is the best time I've had in years! Oh how wonderful!" Norvik cheered.
Cinder remained silent, she thought that the girl would kill Arc for sure but now... now she was beginning to see what her master wanted with Arc.
Fotia couldn't believe it... Arc just wouldn't die! She had to stop him... she needed to stop him... why? Why... why?
Fotia let out a crazed scream as she charged forward with the Blood Blade, ready to kill but Jaune held his sword up and stood his ground.
"I'll be the one to save you this time, Pyrrha." He said.
The two swords clashed yet again.
The next minutes was a bit of a blur all told, the two teenagers were moving so fast and so brutally that no one save for Salem and maybe Merrick, who had been trained for years to keep his eyes on fast moving targets, could keep track of the fight. Salem herself had counted a grand total of one hundred and seventy-three clashes.
The two young warriors stopped fighting, both of there were utterly exhausted from the fight, sweating up a storm as well as being battered, bloodied, and bruised.
"So I guess a break is out of the question." Jaune said between pants.
Fotia actually laughed at that, a small and bitter giggle before she said "Arc, no matter how this ends I want you to know... you are a good warrior and a worthy adversary. Let's finish it now."
"Fine by me." Jaune said.
They rushed at each other for one final bout.
The swords struck each other twice before she attempted to take out his legs again, only to fail once more. They parried each other thrice before Jaune swung for her head but she easily dodged it as he knew she would. Fotia slashed at him again but he blocked it and followed it up with a high sweeping kick which she also dodged, their swords met one more time before Jaune smashed her in the face with a rage fueled punch that sent her sprawling on the floor.
Fotia got up and used her new powers over metallic objects and she sent bits of torn up wall panels flying dangerously fast at Jaune but he slashed all the airborne shrapnel down. He rushed at her and she quickly held up her sword again and the two blades met and created another shower of sparks
The two stood mere inches from each other.
Fotia sighed and said "We're face to face, my lovely foe."
"See, I knew you're still there." Jaune said with a goofy smile. Fotia sighed and she answered his comment with an elbow to the nose. Jaune drew his head back as blood poured out anew and then brought his head forward, bashing it against Fotia's. Fotia drew back and held the Blood Blade in a blocking stance as Jaune struck at her once more. She swung at his stomach but he jumped backwards to avoid an evisceration.
Fotia looked up to the enforcers and she got an idea. She reached out and pulled down Fireball's flamethrower, Trooper's small grappling hook, four of Lao's explosive orbs, and one of Ante's daggers.
"Hey!" yelled Fireball.
"What the hell is she doing?!" cried Trooper.
"Aw shit, I'm actually starting to feel bad for this kid." Lao said.
"It can't get any better than this! If I sell this I'll make a fuckin' boatload of lien!" Ante said, not caring that one of his daggers had been taken.
Fotia let all but the flamethrower fall to the ground and she activated the fiery weapon and spun it around to create a flaming whirlpool in midair. She sent it flying at Jaune who easily dodged the spinning flame.
She then sent three of the four explosives at Jaune. Jaune avoided the first one but the second one knocked him out of the air and onto the ground rolling. As he tried to get up the third one went off and smashed him into the wall. "Okay, me and these walls are very well acquainted by now." He joked as he got up, only to see the fourth explosive roll in front of him.
"Crap." He muttered got away from the explosive before it knocked him down on his rear. He jumped back up as Fotia charged once more and he met her head on, their swords clashed twice before they both threw powerful punches that met partway and the recoil sent them both crashing onto their backs.
Fotia grabbed Damien's dagger and threw it at Jaune, but she only scored a small scratch on his cheek before the dagger exploded on impact with the wall.
They charged on another again but Jaune launched his right leg forward and kicked her onto the ground, but she grabbed his left leg and pulled him down with her. She lurched forward and landed on top of him and began assaulting him with a series a punches on the chest, stomach, and face before he grabbed her hair yanked her back, forcing her off of him.
Both recovered and got up, ready to go at it with their swords. They preformed their now familiar dueling tactics but this time their blades only met seventeen times before Fotia used her Semblance to bring down one of the lights above. Glass shattered onto the floor and Jaune was temporarily distracted as he was forced to shield his eyes from bright light exploding, which allowed Fotia to use the final weapon she had stolen from the enforcers, she used Trooper's grappling hook to bind Jaune's legs together. Jaune tripped back but he quickly used his family's sword to cut himself free only to look up and see Fotia about to end him.
'NO!' screamed the voice of Pyrrha from within Jaune. Jaune swung Crocea Mors up, but it wasn't just his own aura and strength powering the swing, but Pyrrha's too. They were giving everything they had to save each other.
The two blades clashed.
The Blood Blade shattered.
"What?!" Fotia, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Giger, Ziz, and Steppenwolffe all cried out at once.
Salem was honestly surprised. This had turned out to be most entertaining.
Ante's enforcers were silent with shock while their employer made idiotic squeals of excitement.
Ruby felt relieved, Jaune had won against all odds. She felt so happy for him but began to worry for Pyrrha.
Jaune sheathed his sword and let loose a series of four punches to Fotia's body before he grabbed her and flipped her over his head, slamming her to the ground.
The entire room went silent. It had taken all of his strength, and despite all odds he had managed to defeat her. He felt like he was going to fall unconscious right then and there he was so tired but he knew he needed to keep moving, he needed to bring Pyrrha back.
Salem stood up and said "Well done, Jaune Arc. Finish her."
Jaune glared at the Mistress of Grimm and said "Go fuck yourself."
Cinder's eyes burned with anger as she yelled "How dare you speak to her like that, you pathetic..."
"No Cinder, I want to see what he does next." Salem said calmly.
Jaune walked to Fotia and knelt down to her.
"I'm so sorry, I had no choice." He said sadly.
"Go ahead, finish me off. I don't deserve to live." Fotia said miserably as tears began to stream out of her eyes. "I'm a failure."
"Don't say that. Other people can call you a failure but you can't call yourself one. Everyone fails at something but it's only when you let your failures get to your head that you truly become a failure." Jaune said as he grabbed Fotia's hand and looked up to Ruby with a smile, which she returned despite the gag.
"I can help you." He said to her.
"How?" she asked.
"I can show you who you really are." He said.
"I don't even know who or what I am anymore so how can you?" Fotia asked.
"Because I love you." Jaune said.
Fotia looked at him and saw no lie in his eyes, all she saw was love.
"Enough of this. Fotia, you can redeem yourself for this failure if you kill him now." Salem said patiently.
Fotia licked her lips, tasting coppery blood. She needed to make her choice, now or never. She looked from Salem to Jaune, and then back to Salem to give her answer.
"No. Arc, show me who I really am." She said.
"About time." Jaune said as he grabbed her head and his eyes began to glow blue once again.
A powerful feeling surged through Foita's head and something happened.
She remembered.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." Jaune said as his aura surged into her, the fragment of Pyrrha within him returning to her body.
Fotia remembered two loving, wonderful parents known as Hera and Zeus Nikos who did their best to raise her despite their duty as Hunters. She remembered how she was praised for being talented and special at the age of five, remembering that at the age of seven she was allowed to wield a spear for the first time and how proud her parents looked. She could remember the training sessions she went through, how she spent four years perfecting her skills and her body under some of the best trainers Remnant had to offer, she remembered tournaments and contests she was entered into, the victories, the medals and trophies she won how after a while she stopped enjoying her fame.
"Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." Jaune continued as he kept pouring his aura into her.
Fotia remember how other kids wouldn't want to play with her, saying that she was too good and would win at everything. She remembered the friends she had before her fame had strayed away from her, deciding it would be best if they parted ways.
She remembered getting a spear and a shield, Milo and Akouo. She remembered going to Sanctum Academy, hoping to have a happy school life with new friends and new adventures... but no one wanted to be with her. They were all intimidated by her and those who wanted to be her friends wanted to use her fame for their own personal gains. She went through those four years at Sanctum alone, winning spar after spar, tournament after tournament until she earned the nickname the invincible girl and how hollow those victories felt.
"Infinite in distance and unbound by death." Jaune said as he gave her everything he had, a brilliant light of bluish white mixed with crimson and bronze began to shine off of their bodies.
Fotia remembered enrolling in Beacon Academy, hoping to the gods that she'd find friends, someone who'd see her for her... and at first she thought that wouldn't happen but someone came along that touched her soul and made her world new.
Jaune Arc, a goofy, handsome blonde who didn't even know who she was until Weiss mentioned that cereal she was the mascot of. She remembered meeting with him in the Emerald Forest after she helped him land safely, she remembered unlocking his Aura and... she could remember everything now.
She remembered Ren, stoic, kind, patient Ren. She could remember Nora, energetic, over the top, lovable Nora...
Together they were Team JNPR.
She remembered Jaune's infatuation with Weiss and how she could barely contain her own feelings for the blonde, how she wanted so badly to tell him but feared rejection...
She remembered seeing him stand up to Cardin Winchester for her, training with him on the balcony, seeing him kill that Death Stalker, him wearing a dress in public to apologize to her, their dance...
She remembered the vault, the Fall Maiden... Amber.
She remembered that afternoon in the courtyard and their discussion about destiny. She remembered how their hands touched and how she ran.
She remembered her fight with Penny...
"I release your soul..." Jaune cried.
She remembered tearing Penny apart, running to the vault with Ozpin and a very confused Jaune. She remembered the botched transfer.
She remembered the imposing sight of Cinder with the powers of the Maiden.
She remembered running and... she was forced to make a choice, a choice she now regretted more than anything.
She remembered that kiss.
She remembered betraying him by shoving him in that locker and sending him away.
She remembered the fight.
The arrow in her chest.
"... and by my shoulder..."
She remembered who she really was now.
She was not Fotia Drakos, she was Pyrrha Nikos, champion of Sanctum, daughter of Zeus and Hera Nikos, The Invincible Girl, partner of Jaune Arc, and Huntress-in-training.
"... protect thee." Jaune finished.
Everyone remained silent, trying to figure out what had just happened, but Ruby knew. Ashe had told them that if the Ultimate Attack of the emotion Semblance was reversed it could restore memories; it was a way to rekindle love and friendship. Ruby was beaming with happiness now, happy that her friend was back.
The girl in the pit looked up to the boy.
"Pyrrha?"
"Jaune!" she cried as she lurched forward and hugged him tightly.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune cheered as he hugged her back, pressing their worn out, bloodied, sweaty bodies together. They both cried tears of joy as the duo of Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos were finally reunited.
"I thought... I thought..." Pyrrha said as she began to remember what Jaune had been through in her absence, the fragment of her soul within Jaune had been returned and with that her knowledge of his experiences during those four months.
Jaune shushed her and he grabbed her sweaty hair and pressed her head against his, their lips uniting in a powerful, passionate kiss which she eagerly returned. They ignored everything around them, right now all they cared about was each other.
Up above Ante had stopped recording, while muttering "Total fuckin' cop out." He went ignored by nearly everyone while his enforcers just stood, utterly dumbfounded by what they had just seen. Jude felt disappointed, as he too had expected to see one of them die but he did enjoy the battle. Neo just had a big smile on her face, but she kept it hidden with an illusion. Mercury wasn't pleased as he had been hoping to see Jaune die but he did notice the conflicted look on Emerald's face. Emerald didn't know what to think, by all accounts she was shocked but at the same time she felt relived that both of them were still alive and she also felt jealous for some reason.
Giger was awestruck, by all accounts it should be impossible to break the mind control they had placed over Nikos, but then again that wasn't exactly his area of expertise. West was just lost and didn't know what to make of the sight in front of him. Sherizawa remained stoic but even he was a bit surprised by what had transpired.
Ziz gave a neutral face but she was secretly happy for the younger girl while Steppenwolffe growled in anger at the sight.
Cinder was utterly baffled. How? How did Arc win? How?! It should have been impossible, how did he defeat a champion like Nikos? How?! She glared down at the two as they continued to kiss and hug, with Jaune whispering comforting words to his partner. Cinder looked up to Salem, wanting permission to end this nonsense.
Salem shook her head, "No, let them have this. I am not completely without mercy." The Mistress of Grimm said quietly.
Down in the pit the two teenagers sat, holding each other.
"I'm so proud of you, Jaune... you saved me." Pyrrha said.
"Pyrrha... I love you."
Pyrrha smiled as tears of happiness came out of her eyes. "I love you too." she said as she hugged him tighter.
Norvik didn't like this, he looked to Salem and whispered "I want my new body, what will you do to him?"
"We shall see." Salem said before she noticed that Ozpin was silently smiling. He looked up to her and made a gesture that beckoned her to come closer. She used her powers to lift him up, making him float in midair and brought him close as she used her powers to cancel out the drug that kept him silent.
"What are you smiling about?" she asked.
"Do you remember what I told you all those days ago? About the weaknesses of the darkness?" the old headmaster asked.
"I do." Salem confirmed.
"I think I'll tell you the other weakness now. The second weakness of the darkness is love. Love is more powerful than anything, it can heal wounds both physical and emotional, it can save lives, and it is a brighter, much more powerful light than any thing else. Love can ignite stars." He said as he looked down on the two young warriors.
Just then most of the people in the throne room could hear an explosion from the outside.
"What was that?" Mercury asked.
"I'll check with the exterior guard." Cinder said as she took out her scroll and spoke into it. "Lancaster, report." No answer. "Lancaster? Something's wrong." Cinder said.
"I'll check it out." Sherizawa said as he and several Grimm Knights departed from the throne room.
Cinder nodded and pressed a few buttons on her scroll, signaling all guards to be on alert and for Grimm Knights to report to the front of the factory.
Ozpin looked at Salem with a small smile and said "Are you distressed Salem? I am surprised."
Salem sighed as she placed Ozpin back on the floor and said "Right then." She jabbed her hand out and used her powers to rip Jaune away from Pyrrha and up into the air.
"No!" Pyrrha screamed, but before she could do anything, Ziz flew down and restrained her.
"Sorry about this kid." the winged woman said as she held the tired out girl back.
"No, no! Let me go!" Pyrrha yelled as she struggled.
"Now Pyrrha, my dear, have you learned nothing from your time here?" Cinder asked, "The world needs this to happen, we need to purge the world of a impurities, we need to get make this world a place safe from all things cruel and wicked, dark and terrible and we alone can cleanse it. We can kill all those who deserve to die."
"No! I'll never believe those lies again! For months you've poisoned my mind by telling me the world is a dark, cruel place but now I realize the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you! You are the ones who deserve to die!" Pyrrha screamed as she tried to get out of Ziz's grip.
"You insolent little..." Cinder began as her amber eyes started to glow.
"No, we shall punish her another way." Salem said as she looked to Jaune. Her blood red eyes began to glow as well as a dark beam of pure black aura shot out at Jaune.
Jaune screamed in pain as he began writhing in midair, trying to get free.
"No! Stop it! Let him go! Please!" Pyrrha begged.
"Salem, stop it! Take me!" Ozpin cried, only to be ignored.
Ruby cried out through her gag, trying desperately to break free as the Grimm Knights held her down. Her eyes began to glow again.
Salem stopped blasting Jaune with her dark aura and said "Well Arc, now do you believe in destiny?"
Jaune glared up at her as his his body shook weakly.
"No, but do you want to know what I do believe in?" he asked.
"Do tell." Salem encouraged.
"I believe that you, and the people you surround yourself with are what's wrong with the world. You're nothing but death, disease, injustice, inhumanity, torture, anger, hate, racism, greed, rape, murder, pain, cruelty, infidelity, ugliness and corruption made flesh! I believe you monsters are every possible thing horrible, evil and dark incarnate! That's what I believe in, YOU BITCH!" Jaune spat out in a furious scream, his throat straining to get his point across.
Silence fell again, everyone was shocked that boy who was supposed to be a weak, cowardly, failure would dare say that to the all powerful Mistress of Grimm.
Salem smiled gently and said "You're tired, Jaune. It is time for you to go. You're ours now."
"Mine, to be specific. We're going to share a body, Jaune... and we will do such things together." Norvik said, a crazed grin spreading across his face.
"No! Please don't! I'll do anything you want just let him go!" Pyrrha begged.
"No Pyrrha! I'm not worth it!" Jaune cried.
"Enough! Destiny is calling for you Jaune, heed its call." Salem said darkly as she looked to Ruby, as the young girl's eyes began to glow a bright silver as she struggled as hard as she could to free herself from the Knights' grips
Just then a massive explosion could be heard as the factory began to shake.
"What the hell was that?" cried Tom-Tom.
"Get ready boys, looks like things are just starting!" Ante said.
Cinder took out her scroll and answered a call from Sherizawa. "I hate to state the obvious but we're under attack, get everyone you can out front now." the doctor said.
Cinder nodded and looked to Salem.
"My friends, it seems that some ignorant fools have launched an attack on us, we cannot allow this to go unabated. Prepare for war and prepare the ship, we'll have to abandon this factory." Salem said.
Just then Cinder's scroll rang again, the caller ID showing the name Lancaster, the head of the living guards.
Cinder answered the scroll and said "Lancaster, what is going on out there? Who is attacking us?"
"Take a guess, sis." said the voice of Ashe.
"Ashe." Cinder hissed.
"Correct, now let Ruby and Jaune go and maybe we'll only kick your ass a little bit, oh and tell Saul Jude to come out here so I can shove my shotgun up his ass and then down his throat. " Ashe demanded.
Cinder began shaking furiously as she cut off Ashe. She heard the sound of muffled laughter and saw that it was coming from Ruby.
"What's so damn funny?" Mercury asked.
"Take off the gag so she can answer." Cinder said.
West did so and once he did Ruby looked Cinder dead in the eye and said "You're screwed."
To Be Continued...
So Pyrrha is back for real! We can only hope this happens in the show proper. Okay, this chapter was originally going to be much longer but I decided to cut this segment off because I didn't want it to be overshadowed, so it is now it's own chapter.
Tell me if you liked the fight because I worked really hard on it, like most of an entire day trying to get it as good as I could. It was heavily inspired by a lot of the lightsaber duels in Star Wars with the Anakin vs. Obi-Wan fight from Revenge of the Sith and various duels from The Clone Wars animated series being the main inspiration, hell even the title of this chapter is a reference to the track 'Duel of the Fates' from Episode I.
If it wasn't clear Jaune's plan was to get Fotia's helmet off and weaken her enough so he could use the reversed Ultimate Attack on her.
Please tell me what you think of this chapter, I put everything I got into it, so please leave a review, a kudos, or a comment.