HI HI!
Okie Dokie so I see a couple of you actually went on my twitch, thanks for that btw, EthosTheET out here being my first on literally every platform XD
I wanted to make this chapter longer, but where I ended it this time was a really cool intro to the next chapter, which I will be working on soon since this arc is coming to a close.
If you haven't already, on my twitter the ever amazing Ciel (Aka TheRealRohan) the first person to draw fanart for me, did a great drawing of female Nova in Summer Rose's outfit that Yang gave her, so I'd be happy if you go and check it out, leave a comment, etc, and check out all the other artworks that people have sent me. They work hard to make them and I think they deserve all the love in the world for it.
Author Lore Time: So I started this fic on December 27th, 2019. As you guys know I'm an Electrical and Computer Engineering student, and at the time was the end of the 1st semester of my 2nd Year, and it was the first semester I'd ever actually passed all my courses. I'd been struggling like crazy because of how hectic my lifestyle is. I used to wake up at 4:30 AM every morning to get a bus for 6 AM to get to class for 8 AM to then spend 3 hours after classes waiting on another bus to inevitably get home after a full days classes at around 6 to 8 p.m sometimes 9 if the traffic was bad. Then I would have to do tons of assignments and prep work for labs, I was getting roughly 2-4 hours of sleep a night and that was during class days. You can imagine how much I was struggling to keep up with everyone.
Anyway, the point is, I was in a rough spot of my life, and that semester I was like, "If I can pass everything, then I might as well try my hand and publishing my writing". Then I started writing this fic, and the responses were so positive that it gave me the inspiration to push through. Every time I was feeling like I couldn't do something, I remembered that if I can make half-decent writing that entertains people, then I can finish this task.
The bottom line is, this is the first semester I was able to get all A's in every course, it's my first time seeing a single A on my exam results let alone 5 of them. I just want to say thanks for sticking with this story because the fact that you kept reading until now, and hopefully will continue until this story is over, it means a lot to me. It helped me feel like I was actually doing something again.
Sappy stuff aside here's the chapter, enjoy ^_^
Chapter 51: The Coming of Spring Part 2
EDITED: I took the reviews to heart and after rereading it from a different perspective, and some input from Ciel, I realized that Nova was just super OOC and way out of line with some stuff. In my head, it didn't pan out the way I wrote it and it was my fault for trying to do it that way, so I changed up the fight with Cinder and Nova a bit. He seemed way too edgy in the original fight and in my head he was more cryptic and dangerous than edgy and murderous, it's a fine line between the two but it came out all wrong, so I went back and fixed it.
In Haven's Hall, the majority off fighting had still been going on. Ruby and Hex were still stalling Emerald and Mercury because until they could find some way to interfere with Emerald's illusions there was no real way of directly attacking them. Usually, all it took was one misstep but in this close-quarters area with not enough room to move around, Ruby's crescent rose felt hindered in its strike patterns since her enemies were keeping to the corners and stairs, as if they were aware that her attacks were the more devastating of the two.
To say the reaper was infuriated was an understatement, but she was also slightly grateful. In a battle of attrition, she wouldn't be bested, and with her training, she wasn't sure she had full control over her advanced Aura Manipulation to use it in combat.
Jaune had been progressively healing Weiss over time while Oscar held off Hazel. The wound had finally closed and now it was just a matter of time before Weiss was finally recovered. The strangest thing of it all was that Jaune had been pumping Aura into Weiss for the last ten minutes and there was no sign of it stopping as if the blonde boy had an unlimited supply of it.
"Jaune are you okay? You've been doing this for a long time…" Ren asked cautiously, if Jaune used all of his Aura to heal Weiss then for any forthcoming battles, he would be bone dry.
"That's the thing… I feel like I can just keep going…" Jaune said airily, focusing on the process.
"But… you're expending so much Aura…"
"Well… Pyrrha always did say I had a lot of the stuff… Nova as well… I guess they both saw my potential before I did…" Jaune smiled as he turned up to his friend.
Ren could see the pain through his gaze. Jaune, more than anyone, wanted to be the one with Nova fighting Cinder, taking revenge for what happened to Pyrrha. They all felt the same anguish, being unable to fight on the same lines as their friends for the sake of the fallen, but there wasn't much they could do… they weren't superhuman.
Yet, amidst all the power Nova had, none of them envied him… in fact, Ren would go so far as to say he pitied the boy. It was easy to forget that Nova and Ruby were among the youngest of their group before Oscar came along. Ruby still maintained her childish antics and her height still alluded to the fact that she was two years younger, but Nova felt older than all of them. It was like that because they looked to him as their leader, he was the level headed mature leader they befriended and silently idolized… but he was also the one carrying the most burden. Nova and Ruby bore the weight of the world on their shoulders heavier than any of them, and that was something that eternally etched respect into his soul.
"Ugh… I feel like I got stabbed by a giant spear…" Weiss said grumbling as she peeled open her eyes.
"WEISS!" Nora exclaimed, almost throwing the girl's head off of her lap.
The white-haired girl flinched at the loudness before her surroundings registered. She was staring up at the concerned faces of Jaune, Ren, and Nora, Nitro was standing behind them, his back turned and his weapons out, standing guard from any enemies that would try something on them. It was only then she realized that she was enveloped by a white aura that was not her own, the source was apparently Jaune. She was about to protest as to why he was touching her when she realized her wound was almost gone… and her aura was being restored simultaneously.
"Jaune… whatever you're doing… keep going…" Weiss said with a glint as she flashed a white glyph in the palm of her hand. The three got the message… Weiss was recharging power…
Back with Oscar, he was staring at the hole in the wall where Hazel was thrown through. He was amazed by his own power, a few weeks ago he couldn't even dream of doing even one of the things he just did in that fight… but now he was standing here, a farm boy turned warrior who'd just tossed a man almost three times his size through a concrete wall.
Normally this would have been cause for celebration, but Hazel had other plans.
"Don't let your guard down… something's wrong…" Ozpin said in Oscar's mind.
Oscar would've asked about it had at that very moment, a wave of pressure like the weight of a steel beam drop down on him and everyone in the room. The walls shook, the ground quaked and the only thing that echoed in his mind at that moment was the instinct to run.
He slowly turned to his friends, but they all looked deathly pale. They knew who owned that pressure, and Oscar wasn't sure he wanted to find out. It certainly wasn't Hazel, the large man was strong to be sure, but that level of pressure could only come from something described by one word… a monster. Not a Grimm or a fairy tale goblin… but something so terrifying it made giant Nevermores look like newborn ducklings.
Oscar saw Ruby and Hex stop fighting Emerald and Mercury, even Nitro's arms were shaking.
In his daze, Oscar didn't even register when Hazel stabbed two red dust crystals into his arms and reared his frame into the room.
"OSCAR WATCH OUT!" Ozpin yelled, but the boy was too slow to react. He barely had a chance to turn in time to see Hazel charging at him with bloodlust and rage, his veins glowing with the dust infusions. Oscar was frozen, was his time as a Huntsman this short-lived that a single misstep led to his downfall?
"Sit the fuck down you berserker…" the sound of an icy voice said from near him. A white conical shard like a stinger shot through the air and impaled Hazel, right through his chest. Dropping him to his knees. Weiss Schnee stood by Oscar, a giant white Lancer Queen hovering in the air behind her, like a beast of the end.
Hazel didn't even register the pain of being impaled until his limbs began to fail him, dropping onto his knees he shakily saw the stinger impaling him through his chest.
Still, he tried in desperation, crawling on his knees and arms, dragging his dying body across the floor, roaring in rage as he grew closer to Oscar.
"OZ…PIN!... I'LL…KILL…YOU…!" the man yelled through choking gasps for air as he fought against his failing organs to claw his way to the horrified boy. Blood oozing out of his mouth and wound as he trailed a line of blood on his way to the base of the staircase where Oscar stood. His eyes burning with rage until the very end… until the fire finally died in his eyes, rolling to the back of his head as his body fell limp… his right arm reaching out inches from Oscar's feet.
Weiss and Oscar had watched in horror during the whole ordeal. It was one thing for a man to just die… but it was another to watch as he pitifully struggled until his final breath.
"Hazel… there was good in you… but your thirst for vengeance blinded you until the very end… I'm sorry it had to end this way…" Ozpin said solemnly in Oscar's head.
Oscar was too frozen for words, it was his first time seeing a real dead body… and up close… knowing he'd contributed to this person's death made him feel queasy…
Weiss on the other hand visibly turned paler than she already was and threw up on the floor… if she even had anything to throw up.
Oscar turned to her and placed a hand on her back, "Hey… are you okay?" he asked tenderly.
Weiss turned shakily to him, her earlier bravado gone, at that moment she was nothing more than a scared girl. In the short time Oscar had known her, he never thought he'd see the day Weiss Schnee lost her cool like this.
"S-Sorry… you had to see me like this… I-I've never killed someone before…" Weiss responded hugging herself. "How the fuck did Nova do this…? It feels… horrible…"
That statement raised questions within Oscar, and to say he wasn't curious was an understatement, but there were more pressing matters to attend to… like the hulking figure that towered like a giant on the other end of that doorway.
Now that their attention on Hazel was gone… they could see the massive man and an army of White Fang standing outside that door.
"Weiss, Oscar, I don't think you have time to stand around… I know this is insensitive to say… but stand up… because if we don't, I think we're all going to die here…" Nitro said joining them, though his eyes were trained on the hole in the wall, or rather the people on the other side.
"Who's that…?" Oscar asked shakily.
"Almost three meters tall, massive muscular frame, void black hair and eyes, the army of White Fang behind him… there's only one person I think that could be…" Nitro said nervously.
"Onyx…" Weiss finished her eyes widening in horror.
Back in the vault passage, Cinder, Raven, and Vernal had already crossed the walkway and were greeted by a large tree, its branches fanning like a grown cherry blossom tree, except unlike the eternal pink of the aboveground forests, this one was evergreen. The fruits on the tree were round and glowing like lights, illuminating the darkness of the cavern-like stars.
Across the perilous bridge and passed the tree was a massive door, most likely in place as the gateway to the Relic of Knowledge. The bridge was wide enough, it was more like a glorified flat platform, but just one step too far and you would plummet Oum knows how far into the seemingly endless depths below.
Breaking out into a fight here would not only be perilous for both parties… but risk the stability of the room. It wasn't plastered and constructed like the one at Beacon. The Haven Relic Vault room was a bare cave, most likely done on purpose to allude to the natural aesthetic of the Spring Maiden. Either way, as pretty as the place was, it had delicate construction. It would withstand an earthquake maybe, but not the impact force of powerhouses in a fight.
It was almost as if Ozpin wanted the room to collapse if a fight broke out.
"Vernal, go…" Raven instructed as they calmly crossed the platform. Vernal stepped forward and made her way to the door.
"Okay… here we go…" she said as she inhaled deeply. Drawing on the Maiden powers within her, feeling the flow of the magical energy extend from her aura, until… *SLING* *CRUNCH* *SQUELCHH*
"VERNAL NO!" came the panicked sound of Raven. The girl was unsure why her master was panicked until…
Vernal was torn from her trance by the sudden intense pain coming from her abdomen. As if the flow of magic had dulled her sense of pain prior, she now opened her eyes. Her nerves skyrocketing in absolute mind-numbing excruciation as gripped onto her abdomen, was a long, stretched out Grimm hand, sinking its nails into her body and crushing her bones.
"It's nothing personal kid… it's just that… the game was rigged from the start~" Cinder said sultrily said as she stared down the shocked Vernal, who was clutching at the arm for dear life.
There was a brief moment of pause before all wind left Vernal's body, and she fell limp to the floor, leaving Cinder staring confused.
"Where's the Spring Maiden's power…?" Cinder asked shakily as she felt nothing coming from Vernal. She was supposed to inherit the powers of the Spring Maiden, as per the rule of succession… so why wasn't it there?
"Because… Vernal's not the Spring Maiden…" Raven said darkly causing Cinder to turn around shakily. "I AM!" Raven flashed the blue glowing eyes signifying the power of the Maiden, magic erupting from them similar to Cinder's.
"She must've trusted you a great deal before she died to give you the power… no doubt a grave mistake…" Cinder returned, her eyes glowing in response, summoning a flaming sword made of black glass.
"You will pay for this…" Raven snarled drawing her own blade from around her belt, selecting a dust infused black blade with weight and strength.
"Aw, Raven, surely you saw this coming~? A woman of your stature would surely have seen this double-cross happening a mile away… yet you still let it happen. Were you not expecting it this soon?" Cinder taunted.
"I've seriously had enough of your shit!" Raven screamed, launching herself at Cinder, drawing her sword and aiming it at the woman's neck.
Cinder easily leaned backward and avoided the strike before countering with her own blade, swinging in the same manner. Raven dashed back and tried to strike from a different angle, lunging from below, but Cinder didn't even bother to move, reading the attack and blocking it easily.
The fact that her opponent seemed unphased by her attacks irritated Raven to no end. Grunting she tried to send rapid assaults, dashing and striking from all angles in a series of hit and run maneuvers. Cinder effortlessly reacted, blocking from the front, sides, and back without even breaking a sweat.
"Are you really this slow?" Cinder asked airily.
"I'm just getting started…"
The air around Cinder began to chill and the wind began to speed up. Suddenly Raven shot through the air, blade in hand. Her attacks creating a sonic boom as she broke the sound barrier, her blade striking with speed and precision at Cinder's chest.
The Fall Maiden was flung backward with immense force, crashing into the tree in the center.
"Ugh, you bitch!" Cinder yelled and summoned another sword and launched herself at Raven, firing blasts of fire in barrages as she zoomed through the air.
Raven danced around dodging each fireball in succession, clashing swords with Cinder as she entered within range. The shockwave of powers colliding rippled through the cavern, reverberating off of the walls and rattling the ceiling.
With one swift move Raven knocked her back, onto the platform while she remained in the air, held up by the wind forces.
"I think it's about time we end this," Cinder snarled. She placed her hands in front of her and began drawing on the magic within her and summoned a giant sword of flames and glass, it extended far above her head, a giant two-handed claymore. This sword radiated with intense power as if it was a physical manifestation of her power.
"I couldn't agree more…" Raven summoned her own sword, not her katana, but a giant blade of crystal and ice. Unlike Cinder's claymore, it was more like a large and inexplicably long Taichi blade.
Both powers clashed sending another shockwave rocking the cave causing a tremor. The resounding blast broke both swords and sent both combatants spiraling to the floor.
...
"Yikes, would you look at this shitstorm… a flaming bitch fighting a bird… and here I thought Cinderella was a friend to the animal kingdom…" a new voice said echoing through the cavern.
Raven and Cinder whipped their heads around to the sound to see Nova and Yang come through the entrance.
"You followed us?!" Cinder exclaimed in fury. "I should've known those incompetent fools would be too inadequate to hold you back…"
"Harsh words considering they look up to you like a goddess…" Yang said dryly.
Cinder just grunted in response.
Upon seeing the state of them he felt a disgusting feeling creeping down his spine.
"Let me see if I get this right. You were going to open the vault when Cinder betrayed you and killed Vernal, then instead of her getting the Spring Maiden's powers… Raven got it instead and then tried to kill Cinder in her rage but it ended with Raven losing?" Nova said piecing it together.
"That's actually… pretty accurate… but I haven't… lost… yet…" Raven said through gasps.
"Sit the fuck down birdy, you were already drained from having used your semblance so many times in the span of a few hours that you couldn't fight her at full strength. Not only that but your body is still adjusting to the powers so continuing this any further is just suicide," Nova said folding his arms.
"But…"
"I'll fight her for you. I got my own grudge to settle…" Nova responded cracking his knuckles.
"Why would you do that? I betrayed you. If I were you I'd let us kill each other then finish off whoever remained…" Raven said bitterly.
Nova chuckled, "Tempting as that sounds, I still think you're a good person Raven. You didn't betray us because you wanted to, you did it because you weren't really given a choice… were you?"
Raven didn't say anything. Her silence spoke volumes to Nova.
"Besides, at the end of the day you are the biological mother of my big sis here," He gestured his thumb to Yang, "As shitty of a mother you are… you're still not a bad person…"
"I'll help you. I want to take a crack at this flaming bitch." Yang said punching her hands together.
"No, Yang you take Raven and retrieve the Relic. I want a one on one with this snake."
"You sure…?"
"Trust me… this is my fight…" Nova said darkly.
Yang extended an arm to Raven, "Take it, we've got a job to do."
Raven glanced at the extended arm pensively, and instead swatted it away, pushing herself to her feet.
Seeing the woman struggle made Yang roll her eyes in annoyance. The blonde then proceeded to yank Raven up by her collar roughly, "Too proud to accept your own daughter's help, you really are the world's greatest mom," Yang said bitterly.
Raven didn't say anything until they reached the doorway to the vault, "What makes you so sure you can trust me? I might just kill you and take the Relic for myself. It sure as hell would be better than giving it to Ozpin…"
Yang sighed, "You could do that, but then I could easily beat you in that state you're in. Besides, Nova thinks there's good in you, and if you saving me all that time ago on the train means anything, I'd like to believe him. You may not have been there for me, but you were watching me weren't you… all this time, never intervening."
"You knew?"
Yang just shook her head, "No, but it's not hard to figure out now that I know what bird you look like. I have vague memories of it hanging around Patch sometimes, watching me and Ruby. Deny yourself all you want but you kept coming back because you still cared enough to at least watch your daughter grow… even if you refused to be a part of her life."
"Yang there's a reason I couldn't… the reason I left Tai and you… I was…"
"Save it for when we get out of here, I'll hear you out if you stick around long enough."
The vault door opened and in it was a vast desert, unlike the cavern the vault seemed to be in a place far away from here if it was even in the same dimension. The sky inside the vault, whether it was real or not was bright and sunny unlike their own night sky, and there were no deserts in Mistral that were close by.
The relic stood floating atop a lone rock peeking out amidst the rolling dunes of sand. It was shaped like a lantern or a lamp of intricate design with a blue luminescent body.
"So that's the Relic of Knowledge?" Yang asked unsurely.
"It must be… considering it's the only magical artifact in the room…" Raven said dryly.
"What you've never seen it before?"
"Nope, Ozpin never saw it fit to show even his most trusted companions what his so-called precious relics were like…" Raven responded. "Are you starting to see now why I don't trust him?"
Yang nodded, "Me and you both…" she walked up and grabbed the relic. It was lighter than she expected, almost weightless if not for its solidity. She would've admired it more had a shockwave not shot through the open vault door causing them to turn around in alert.
-Back with Nova-
Nova stood across the platform from Cinder, the dust of the earlier fight finally settling and Cinder's fatigue was beginning to wear off.
"Cinder Fall. The enemy I didn't see coming, even though you looked suspicious as shit back at Beacon, I thought my only major concern was Onyx and the White Fang. Yet here I am, staring at the face of the person who not only helped that murderous fucker break into Beacon but also ended up almost killing me and my friends, fucking hell you even threw a spear at Weiss!" Nova barked, his fists clenching in rage as the temperature of the room began to drastically increase.
"She was a Schnee, she had it coming!" Cinder brushed it off. "Just like every single one of you privileged shits at Beacon, living comfortable lives while the rest of us struggled to survive because we were weak. You're an Aspect of Remnant so you should be familiar with the Rules of Nature… out here, only the strong survive."
"So, you threw away your humanity to become a monster? Killing hundreds of innocents and ruining the lives of countless civilians for the sake of power?!" Nova roared in anguish.
"You don't understand what it was like… being weak and powerless while the men in power take advantage of you. Tear you to pieces and throw you away like garbage? Every single one of them deserves what's coming." Cinder seethed. "You don't see it the way I do. In the darkness of despair, I found solace, I realized that the only way to get what you want in this world is to have power… to make them pay. you need to make them fear you."
Nova grimaced at the visual she was painting with her words, "That doesn't justify what you've done. People can be really shitty, I get that. I know what it feels like to be cast out and left to die. Onyx made sure of that…" his eyes began to twitch in anger, "but I saw the light. Someone reached out to me and helped me. Back then I was willing to do whatever it took to survive, no matter the cost. But someone showed me that some costs are never justified to their outcome…"
"Then you and I are not so different then… you must've felt the hatred I had… why don't you join us? We can take down this society together, create a new world." Cinder offered out her hand.
"Tempting offer but no thanks. I want Onyx's head on a platter and, now that I have people that I care about, anyone that threatens their existence is on my hit list." Nova glowered.
"They can come too… I'm sure something can be arranged~"
"Keep your forked tongue in your mouth. The words of someone who betrays their allies for power isn't someone I want to associate with… besides, you're working for Salem and Onyx. Do you think either of them would hesitate to bury you for their own purposes? Sorry, but I'll change the world my own way."
"With what? Peace and love? I thought you were smart, but I guess you're just as naïve as that Ruby girl." Cinder grimaced, her only workable eye squinting in distaste, her facial muscles looked awkward trying to shift themselves along with that ceramic portion of her face.
"Ruby is naïve in thinking that we can save everyone and that everyone is worth a second chance, I won't deny that, but she is pure and that's what makes her such an amazing person. She's not naïve in thinking that the world can be changed peacefully. I just think that… some people need to be removed from the equation… like carving out a cancer tumour."
"So, what're you? The hero who'll beat the bad guys and save the world? What if Ozpin's the bad guy and you're on the wrong side?"
"Hero? I'm not some fucking hero of justice who gets to dictate what's good or bad. I'm just a guy trying to make a peaceful world so that the people he cares about can live their lives without worry. I'm doing what I want, and what I want just happens to be the opposite of whatever it is you're doing," Nova wagged his finger at her.
"The end justifies the means, within reason. You're so full of shit and hypocrisy it makes me sick…" Cinder growled.
Without another word, Nova launched himself at Cinder within a flash. The maiden barely had a chance to react when his left arm, glowing hot with fire, came within a hair's fraction of space from her face. She felt her eyebrows singe from the heat as she leaned back to dodge.
He was fast, faster than the last time she'd seen him. If not for her Maiden senses, her head would've come clean off. Nova was on a completely different level from Raven. Her first instinct was to backflip out of his range of attack and summon her glass bow, shooting off a volley of glass arrows covered in fire.
"Hmph, keeping your distance won't help you…" Nova said as his claws extended, flames began to erupt out of them until claws made of fire extended out of his arm. His left black iris began to glow orange as it illuminated a burning flame.
The arrows that Cinder had shot before came raining down on the dragon, but his skin began to erupt in scales, the glass arrows shattering harmlessly against his iron-like scales. Cinder didn't stop firing as Nova faced each arrow head-on, any arrow that came toward his eyes were easily dodged due to his aura sensory field giving him a heads up so he kept walking forward until he was almost within range.
Instantly Cinder dropped the bow and tried to back off again but Nova was too quick, swiping with his extended claws he tore into Cinder, sending her flying against the cavern wall.
"Don't *cough* get ahead of yourself *cough cough* " Cinder said pulling herself from the crater and using her flames to fly into the air. "I'm just getting 'warmed up'…"
Nova was about to make a snarky comment about bad puns when Cinder's entire demeanor began to shift, her eyes began to glow signifying she was drawing on the true power of the Fall Maiden and raised her arms above her head. The dragon prince watched in horror as a mass accumulation of fire began to generate above her head like a miniature sun.
In response Nova began to channel his own fire, combusting the air around him in a similar manner to generate a fireball of his own. Except, unlike Cinder's, his was like a container of tiny explosions within the fire, a continuously combusting weapon of destruction.
Cinder hurled the ball down at the dragon who desperately threw his own incomplete version at her, the two masses of fire canceling each other out in a mass explosion that rippled a shockwave across the cavern rocking the cave and causing stalactites to fall from the ceiling, forcing both combatants to dodge around.
"Fuck that was some firepower…" Nova cursed as he recoiled from the blast and dodged the falling rocks. Cinder might not be combat savvy but she was certainly packing a punch. "I feel drained after countering that, Maidens really can draw power from nothing…"
Nova's powers used his Aura as a battery source, even though he's supposed to be the Aspect of the natural laws of the world, he felt it unfair that his powers had to come from within himself instead of thin air like a Maiden.
His thoughts were torn from him as a blast of fire came hurtling toward him again, smaller than the previous one, still powerful.
Through the dust smoke, Nova was forced to dance around like a madman just to avoid the endless barrage. All it took was one misstep on his part, his clumsiness tripping him over a fallen rock that caused him to get struck by a blast of fire.
"ARGH!" He yelled as he was stung by the fire, for some reason it felt like it was burning him even though his body was essentially immune to being burnt. The recoil had him stumble and crash against another larger rock, smashing the armlet on his hand. The very same device that kept his body in regulation, having been smashed, caused a flash of orange to penetrate the thick dust clouds, causing Cinder to flinch as she neared him.
When the smoke cleared, female Nova was kneeling on the floor, covered in cuts and bruises, in a coughing fit.
"Holy shit lady… do you have like infinite power?" Nova grumbled as she struggled to her feet.
Cinder blinked, "Well… this was… unexpected…" she said in surprise.
"Yeah yeah, get over it. This is just who I am now. And you need to learn to not drop your guard!" Nova yelled as she used the boulder that separated them as a ledge to flip off of and cartwheel kick Cinder backward.
The Fall Maiden yelped in pain as a resounding crack was heard, and if the feeling against Nova's shoe was anything to go on, she was pretty sure she broke her nose.
"FUCK THAT WAS MY NOSE!" Cinder yelled as she got back onto her feet, her nose bleeding, and her aura fizzling out and breaking.
Nova was beginning to run low on her own aura. Aura based attacks were out of the question now, it was just a matter of who was more skilled in combat. Nova ran at her with full speed, hurtling her fist toward Cinder. The Fall Maiden narrowly dodged and generated a glass sword mid-air and swung it at Nova's head. The dragon tried to block it with her scaled armour but the glass was different this time, it was infused with magic rather than covered with it.
As the shards shattered against her scales, Nova's skin began to burn, smoke fizzling from them as she felt herself taking real damage beneath it all. Her semblance wasn't working against Cinder because these attacks weren't physical, they were made of magic. Magic seemed to penetrate Nova's defences despite her efforts. Blood began to ooze out of the cuts that were forming along her skin, but Cinder wasn't doing much better. With every punch Nova threw, Cinder's body was slowly becoming bruised now that her aura was out. All it took was one swift claw swipe to Cinder's left arm to leave her recoiling in pain.
"Interesting... so you're left arm is more vulnerable than the rest of you... maybe attaching a Grimm arm to you wasn't such a great idea after all, hm?" Nova asked folding her arms as Cinder retreated. The nanomachines in Nova's body began to work overtime to try and patch up the wounds, but cuts inflicted by magic were slower to heal.
"I think it's about time I end this..." Cinder threatened.
"My thoughts exactly..." Nova countered, but he thought Cinder was running low on power. There wasn't much she could do now that her stamina was running so low... right?
Nova wasn't prepared when Cinder summoned whatever remained of her strength and shot a raging inferno of fire at Nova, like an unending stream, it collided with Nova enveloping her in the fire.
"RRAAAGHHHH!" Nova screamed as she felt like her body was being incinerated by the fire. Was she really going to die here? At the hands of someone like Cinder Fall?
"No… I won't… fucking… go down… here! Not until I have my family back! Not until Onyx pays for what he's done!" Nova yelled.
As if responding to her emotions, the Agniseki on her left arm began to glow and resonate. Scales began to erupt around the arm as Nova thrust it forward to try and block the fire. It was then that Nova felt it, the fire was hurting her, but it wasn't actually harming her. The pain was there but her body wasn't being burnt… why?
Was it the Agniseki? She looked to her arm, the stone was resonating with power, but it felt like it wasn't just the stone… then her gaze turned to the source of the fire, Cinder herself.
Nova couldn't see her… or rather he couldn't see Cinder herself. What she saw was the flow of energy, as if the Agniseki was enhancing her vision and showing her Cinder's internal flow of magic. It was like complex wiring of circuitry in the shape of a human, but something was off. There was severe darkness emanating from Cinder's left arm. The Fall Maiden's power in her body was completely avoiding that area like the plague, instead choosing to escape outward, bottlenecking itself on her right arm.
Cinder's body was rejecting the Maiden's power, even if she didn't notice it. Nova could feel it now, in the fire that enveloped her.
Cinder's fire was screaming in pain, the Agniseki was giving it a voice. The pain and anguish of the past Fall Maidens, their legacies embedded in the magic like the traces of DNA. It was telling Nova that it didn't want to be in Cinder anymore.
"W-Why aren't you dead?!" Cinder yelled as she increased the intensity of the flames.
Nova opened her eyes, her left eye glowing a burning orange, "You didn't think about it, did you. The Maidens' powers and the Grimm are polar opposites. Just like your arm can take damage because it isn't protected by Aura, your body is steadily integrating the Grimm into it…"
"What are you babbling on about? Just die!"
"I'm saying… that this isn't your fire… not anymore…."
"W-what?!"
Nova's entire body began to erupt in scales and armour, her fangs poking out more and her eyes turning to reptilian slits, "Flames of the world hear my decree, as Aspect of Fire, I command you!" she said in a voice that seemed to be layered in different pitches.
The flames that were being blasted at Nova began to become controlled and form around her, being absorbed into her body, recharging her powers. Wings of Flame sprouted from Nova's back, towering behind her.
"Cinder Fall, for hurting my friends and killing the last Fall Maiden, become cleansed from this world, BY FIRE!" Nova echoed.
Cinder watched in fear as the fire that she was controlling suddenly stopped flowing on her command, and became sucked out of her, as if Nova was draining her of her power.
"NO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Cinder screamed in terror.
"Ending this fallacy, bringing balance back to the natural world. I see now, why I was born the Aspect of Fire. I was sent here to stop you… from threatening the world…"
Nova's fist became enveloped in a burning blue flame, that turned orange, then red, then white-hot. The flames curling around the armour scaled fist like wisps of death.
Cinder saw the emissary of destruction stalking toward her. She was out of options, her stamina drained, her last-ditch effort in stopping her and proven fruitless, and now her powers had failed her. Through her eyes, she saw not a vicious dragon, but the embodiment of her past sins, towering behind the dragon, like a monument of pain, yet in spite of it all, she never regretted any of them. The dragon leaned toward her ear, and said, "This is for Pyrrha and Weiss, and all the lives you've ruined."
With those words, Cinder felt the burning sensation of flaming claws sink into her stomach, burning her flesh from the inside. She couldn't scream, she couldn't even say a single word as she was beginning to fade away.
"Burn in hell…" Nova said as she pushed Cinder off of the ledge, her body plunging into the endless abyss below, the light of life fading from her eyes.
Just before her body completely disappeared, a luminescent ball of orange shot out from the darkness and hit Nova.
It wasn't an attack, rather… it felt like… she was being recharged… The fire that she was wielding didn't feel like someone else's anymore… it felt like… hers…
"Nova! Woah what the hell happened?! Where's Cinder?!" Yang asked incredulously.
The dragon slowly turned around and the first thing Yang noticed was the bloodied claws on Nova's left arm, "Oh… you…"
"I did what had to be done…" Nova said now facing them, and Yang could see, the glowing eyes of power.
"Nova what…?"
"You're... the new Fall Maiden!" Raven gasped in shock, her eyes widening along with Yang's. They were now staring at the Aspect of Remnant that not only commanded reign over the natural world... but over magic as well...
"Did you actually kill her?" Yang asked shakily.
Nova dropped to her knees, her eyes tearing up, "Yang, some people are beyond redemption..."
So, what do you guys think?
Remember when I said really really early on that I had this idea for female Nova? Well, here it is. See, I have plans to make the villains in RWBY more than the show portrays them. I think that Salem is the only genuinely scary villain and that everyone else was having a hard time either being annoying, trying to be good, or a mix of both rather than just pure evil. What do I mean by that? You will find out later down the line.
In my head at the time of volume 5's release, I was like "They should have legit killed Cinder here," Then volume 7 happened and I was like, hmmm maybe I might be able to do something here...
If you go back to in the earlier chapters of volume 4, where Qrow was talking about possible candidates for the inheritance of the Fall Maiden's power, that was around the first time maybe I was foreshadowing that something would happen to Cinder in the near future. Idk if anyone actually picked up on it but if you did kudos to you.
I'm not saying you should go back and try to dig up the clues I'd been sprinkling along the way but there are some especially in the recent chapters. One thing I can give you is that Onyx's motives aren't entirely as they seem.
Remember Nova's father? Yeah, have fun with that.
