Introduction: The Day We've Waited For
AN: Now that this semester's classes have calmed down enough to where I can just show up and collect the free points, it's time to begin the next saga of RWKY. Specifically, a prequel.
More specifically, a prequel focusing on our villains.
Given the events that happened in RWKY proper, I think we all know how this story ends. How, then, to make a story that everyone already knows the ending to still interesting. I've got some ideas, mostly by switching up the villains.
I said it before in the first story (mostly with General Erection), but it most certainly applies here: certain canon characters WILL be OOC. Not might. Will. Neo Politan, for instance, is more or less getting retconned.
But, that's still a little bit off. For now, before we all get into the edgelord clusterfrack that Munsell will doubtlessly turn this story into, how about we have some fun?
Ladies and germs, may I humbly present… Mistral's Red Devils.
There were some days that absolutely, positively sucked. Days when her siblings managed to somehow screw up seven things when there were only five things to do. Days when she needed to be babysitter, caretaker, handygirl, and nurse, and all of that without even getting into whatever the hell Stizza decided to do that day.
Today, Falu decided, would not be one of those days.
Even if she had to leave her two brothers for a few minutes, which was basically a catastrophe waiting to happen, the fact that she got the opportunity to get popcorn made this a day worth taking it easy. And not just popcorn, but soda too! And with extra butter, even! On the popcorn, not the soda. She felt like splurging. A quick look in a convenient mirror on the way back to her seat reminded her that splurging wouldn't be a bad thing in Falu's case. Raggedy, tattered skinny jeans that came out of last week's dumpster, an Achieve-Men tshirt that was surprisingly intact for how long she's had it, and a pair of recalled calf-length boots that a shop owner gave to her out of pity all covered a probably too skinny frame. Her hair was nice though, she did try her best with that, a deep and dark red pulled back into a sloppy ponytail.
Getting shouldered to the side made sure Falu knew that she probably spent a bit too much time admiring herself in the mirror, and it took a halfway decent juggling act to make sure the coveted snacks didn't go flying. After regaining her balance - and taking a moment to spare a glare at the guy that pushed her away - she started off at a slow jog to get back to her seats. Assuming, of course, she still had seats. Or that she wasn't about to be ejected for whatever her brothers had managed to do.
Fortunately, today seemed to be all heads for her, as the two heads of close-cropped hair had managed to not leave their seats and try to ruin things somehow. It was the smaller of the pair that heard her first, as always, and piercing brown eyes glared at her for a moment before softening upon her recognition. The goatee was a dead giveaway as to the identity, even ignoring the immediately obvious.
"You have food?"
The voice was deep, too deep. And it most certainly didn't come from the guy looking at her. The solid block of muscle next to him, looking more at home in a horror movie than taking up two seats in the Mistral Coliseum, turned around at having noticed his brother move. No beard this time, only a bit of stubble.
Falu rolled her eyes. "Yes, Crim, I have food." Two large boxes of popcorn went to the big guy, along with an extra large soda. "You got a Professor Spice. Lemme know how it is, yeah?" Crim gave a nod.
"Cost?"
The new voice made Falu stop short. Broken, rough, hoarse. Her other brother didn't like talking. Like, at all. Stizza gave him more than a little shit over it, but it also meant that when he talked, you listened.
Dropping to the seat on his left, Falu handed him a more reasonably sized box and cup. "Free for competitors. Chow down, Munsell. Got you a Mountain Fog. Bit lighter, bubblier. I think you'll like it." The words seemed to assuage her smaller brother's worries, as he tentatively sipped at his straw before humming in approval. With a boy that talked so little, being able to interpret his humming, grunting, and groaning was a skill worth having, and this one told her she could kick her feet up and let her eyes fall to center stage. "How's Stizz doing?" she asked offhandedly.
"Fine," Crim said. Falu snorted, expecting but still not amused at the lack of information he gave; Crimson was not one for deep and involving conversation. "I should be down there," he suddenly blurted out. "Me smash puny Nikos."
Falu had picked the exact wrong time to be taking a drink of her own soda, and nearly drowned on it as Crimson picked the conversation back up. After recovering from nearly drowning due to her brother's choice of wording, she reminded, "Look, we all know you can fight. But that Pyrrha girl would dance circles around you. Literally." Some movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention back to the ring; it seemed like the contestants were coming out for the final match of the tournament. "Stizza's got a better chance than you do against someone as agile as she is."
She'd better, at any rate. There was a stupid amount of prize money on the line – a veritable fortune, by their standards. Stizz, I hope you can put your shotgun where your mouth is. We're counting on you, up here.
"And now for the main event!" the announcer yelled, getting the party started.
Falu cleared her throat and sat up straighter in her seat. "Alright boys," she announced. "We ready for our magic trick? Gotta stand up for our sister, after all. Seems like hell anyone else is."
Stizza Rosette was in love.
With what, you may ask?
Everything.
First off, with her new jacket; Stizza always had a thing for leather, and there was this perfectly good light brown jacket just sitting on top of the garbage. Who cares if it had a mystery stain on the inside? Went perfect with her red crop top, dark brown skinny jeans, and black boots. But really, it should say something when a leather jacket was the thing she was least excited about.
The door opened from the locker room, beckoning out to a cheering crowd, the promise of spectacle, and the intoxicating smell of fire Dust. Stizz loved a good fight normally, and if you were trying to tell her that she'd be competing with the Pyrrha Nikos for a shot at way too much money in the fight of her life? Yeah, she'd have called you a filthy lying liar before today. And speaking of…
"Mm, momma likes," Stizza purred as she reached the center of the arena at the same time as her opponent, sweeping her eyes up and down her form. Seriously, ignore the amount of grandstanding opulence that went into it… a corset, miniskirt, and thigh-high boots for a combat outfit? Stizz winked at the other redhead in the arena, before adding on, "Think we can make time for another round after this bout?"
Her opponent rolled her eyes. Not one for the direct approach, methinks. Damn if I don't enjoy the view, though. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer," Pyrrha replied. Holding her sword before her and giving a slight bow of a salute, she recited, "Good luck, and fight well."
"Pfft, screw good luck," Stizza scoffed, before her eyes widened. Damn these nerves of hers – she'd completely forgotten to load her weapon! Starting the process of loading her shotgun with its shells, she offered back, "I'll take you up on that good fight, though. Been a while since I've had this much fun. Looking forward to it."
Nikos blinked at her, pretty green eyes opening and closing a few times before they settled on Stizz racking her gun. "If fun is what you're here for, I'm afraid the press and sponsors might make things more complicated than that once this fight is over."
"Then fuck 'em." The reply seemed to take Pyrrha aback. "I'm here for two reasons: more money than I've ever seen in one place, and the best fight in my entire life." Brushing her own deep red bangs out of her hair, Stizza said, "You can keep your sponsors and fancy people. I'm just here for the good time."
"A good time…" Pyrrha muttered. A small, tentative smile spread across her face, one which Stizza reciprocated. Finally, my dance partner knows how to enjoy herself after all! "It's been a while since I've had a good fight myself," Nikos admitted.
"Then fuck the press, fuck the sponsors, and fuck anyone who says otherwise. Let's enjoy ourselves."
"CONTESTANTS!"
Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit. Completely forgot about the announcer!
With the booming voice forcing itself back to the forefront of their attentions, both Pyrrha and Stizza started taking steps back, Nikos bringing her shield before her and her spear pointed out. Stizza just smirked and took aim for center mass.
"BEGIN!"
Nikos' charge ended only a few instants after it began, the poor girl finding herself flung backwards in the middle of a fireball. She recovered marvelously though, as she always did, and after a bit of sliding back she brought her guard back up, flawless emeralds peeking over bruised and dirtied bronze.
"I thought I saw that first shell was different from the others," Pyrrha said, and the words made Stizza frown. She really, really didn't need her opponent noticing that was the only high-explosive shell she had. "I hope you don't think you'll be able to rely on the tricks that got you here in the first place against me. I've seen it all."
"Have you, now?' Stizza challenged, racking her shotgun and firing again. Pyrrha was ready for the move, though, dodging left, then right, then making a frenzied zigzag of an approach to throw her aim off. One last dodge, and Pyrrha dove straight in for the engagement, and it was all Stizz could do to flip her weapon around and match her charge. Spear point met axe blade, before the recoil from a final shot let Stizza finally bully through the challenge. Unfortunately, her opponent seemed to have been ready for that, and Stizza was unready for Pyrrha's challenge to collapse entirely. Overextended and off balance, she still managed to swing her weapon around to clumsily knock the spear aside, only to catch a shield throw up the side of the head.
She staggered, waving her weapon before her and firing her last shell to keep Pyrrha from taking advantage. With a bit more room between them, Stizz took the opportunity to try and reload what she could. Needing more time before a reengagement, she threw out, "I can't decide whether to fangirl over the fact that I'm getting my ass kicked by you of all people, or to be pissed off that just worked on me."
Pyrrha offered another smile, and… almost seemed to hang back? Was Nikos straight up letting her reload? In lieu of a direct answer, she instead offered with a smile, "I watched your earlier fights. You and your brother work really well together, and you make a formidable team. You're a good fighter, Stizza Rosette. You should be proud."
Stizz's eyes narrowed. Was Pyrrha actually doing what she thought…
"But I'm afraid this match is not fated in your favor," Nikos continued. "Your tricks won't work here, and your brother can't save you from your recklessness. You're alone."
Yup, Nikos just wrote me off. Fuck my fangirling, fuck spontaneous girl-crushes, and fuck this condescension. This bitch is going down.
"Alone?" Stizza barked out with a laugh. "You think I'm alone down here?" She raised one hand up and gave a two-fingered salute to the stands. She wasn't even sure where the gang was, but they'd see it anyway. "Alright, baby doll. Rule one of dealing with the Rosettes…"
Furious binging sounded from the scoreboards, attracting everyone's attention. Where the Aura meters had shown an 81-87 lead in favor of Pyrrha Nikos, Stizza's bar started climbing dramatically. And climbing. And still it climbed, until it finally came to a stop… at an Aura level of 381.
Stizza's chuckling got Pyrrha's attention back. Showtime, bitch. "Rule one is… we ain't ever alone. You fight one of us, you fight all of us."
She'd seen the signal; they all did. Crimson might have set his popcorn down with a grumble, but their sister had asked for helped. It was only fitting that they answered. Falu ruminated on their shared Semblance, even as her eyes greedily took in the fight and her soul siphoned its power to the sister that needed it more than she. Their bond… their Link. It went far beyond what any other brothers and sisters had, she knew that much. But the specifics… what their Semblance did was fairly obvious. How it did it, though – figuring it out was still a work in progress.
One way or another, their Auras were linked together. All four of them. Any one could draw not only on their own power, but also on the power of any other. Well, provided they were close enough, anyway. It was… a little bit trippy, if Falu was being honest. She couldn't figure out whether they just shared their own reserves of Aura, or if all of them shared one massive Aura reserve together, or if it was something completely different. Whatever the means, the ends were clear: if anyone needed more Aura, the other three could give them their Aura.
Stizz needed it, by the looks of things. That opening exchange had proved Pyrrha Nikos' superiority in skill, assuming it hadn't been preeminently obvious. After a brief moment of shock at seeing the Aura meter reflect their Semblance, both girls started tearing into each other, Stizza brawling with all the decorum and mannerisms of Mantle's famed berserkers of however many years ago and Pyrrha responding with calculating and measured efficiency. Two entirely opposed fighting styles were on display, but their Semblance was the only reason it was viable – it only took ninety seconds before Stizz's Aura dropped below the 300 mark, showing that anyone else would've had their Aura break by this point.
"Well, it's definitely closer now," Falu muttered off-handedly, watching Pyrrha duck underneath a roar of buckshot before sweeping Stizza's legs out from under her, who in turn rolled away from the counter and spun back up with a rising slash from the axe blade on her shotgun's stock. Stizza's rate of Aura loss was hilariously unsustainable for anyone else, and while even with their Semblance this wouldn't be a long fight – Pyrrha's Aura was taking a steady if slower dive.
"Take away her shield," Crim blurted out softly, "and the fight is ours."
Falu blinked, surprised that her larger brother had managed to piece that together. But true enough, this had turned into a battle of attrition where Pyrrha's only advantage was her shield; if that were out of the picture…
Suddenly, somehow, she managed to catch a smirk on Stizza's face, and just at the same time her arm snaked underneath the back of her new jacket. Even so, it was the smirk that gave her away. She knew that smirk. It was the smirk that Stizza always got when she had an idea that would cause Falu no small headache. She could even feel one coming on now, and this far up in the stands she had no chance of stopping her in time. Even Munsell groaned, doubtlessly seeing the same thing she did. All Falu could do is drop her head into her hands.
"Godsdamnit, Stizz. What the fuck are you doing now?"
As usual, Stizza was making things up as she went along.
Physicality-wise, she and Pyrrha were pretty much even. She was stronger, Pyrrha was faster. Their gear had Pyrrha the winner in that category, what with her shield and actually having armor, but Stizz was pretty sure that being able to use her siblings' Aura pools evened that out. That skill, on the other hand…
That skill though.
Pyrrha Nikos was an outright terror on the battlefield and backed up all those years of training and experience with a frighteningly tactical mindset. Letting her sit back and dictate how the fight would happen was a good one-way ticket to the loser's lounge. Stizza didn't like the loser's lounge. It was for losers. And she wasn't. A loser, that is. An all-out, hilariously aggressive assault was the only move she had that could keep the Invincible Girl on the back foot. It was a horrible idea – for every hit she managed to land, Pyrrha landed at least three of her own – but their Semblance made this fight in the realm of possibility.
Right now, they were in a bit of a stalemate, but Stizz could already tell that it wasn't going to last. Even ignoring how quickly both their Auras were dropping, Nikos was already starting to adapt to the frenzied fighting style she was up against. If Stizza was going to win this, then she needed a wildcard and now.
So Stizza had pulled an uncharacteristic move last night and actually did her homework. And then, she did what she did best – totally unrelated incident that led to her losing a couple fingers off her left hand notwithstanding.
She improvised.
Pyrrha must have been expecting a trick of some kind, for the second Stizz's hand went to the small of her back she launched her own assault, spear lancing forward to try and turn her into a Rosette kebab. Stizza rolled under the attack, snorted at the thought of how it was the wrong kind of impalement, and chucked what she was hiding straight at Nikos.
Pyrrha's furrowed brow at the loud clang and sudden weight on her shield gave way to widened eyes, but Stizz chuckled and drew her attention. "More tricks?" Nikos sighed, seemingly half resigned and half exasperated. "Weighing down my shield with a magnet won't make you magically win."
"Did you seriously think I would fight you fairly?" Stizza chirped back. "By the way, that's not just a weight. Tick, tick, boom!"
A green diode lighting up at the phrase was all the warning Pyrrha had to curse and throw her shield as far away as she could, and just in time as it was engulfed in yet another fireball. A fireball that Stizz sadly did not get to appreciate, as she was more concerned with pressing her newfound advantage. Their Auras were down to 87 on Stizza's side, and 37 on Pyrrha's. Nikos was just low enough that one last all-out assault should take her down to the red. Stizz was hitting harder, and Pyrrha without her shield couldn't either defend or retaliate nearly as well as she had been earlier. Right?
Which is why, when her first swing went just a hair wide, Stizza knew something was up. Her axe zigged when it should have zagged, and not only did she miss but her opponent managed to get a slice in across her right thigh. Stizz hissed through the pain, transitioning the overhead slash into a horizontal one that should have bisected Nikos at the waist… but missed again, streaking as far low as Pyrrha's knees and providing a wonderful opportunity to leap over and plant a high-heeled boot right into Stizza's cheek.
The final straw was when Stizza fired off what should have been the fight-winning shot – her opponent was in midair, with no way to dodge, staring down a shotgun loaded with birdshot a mere three feet away, and no shield to block the round. It should have been impossible to miss. It should have been impossible to dodge. And yet, when Stizz pulled the trigger on her weapon, the recoil somehow kicked the gun to the right, every single pellet magically swerving around the girl that was supposed to be completely helpless.
The fight was over, at that point. The same magical recoil that made her miss her shot also left her wide open, so obviously here came little miss Invincible Girl with her signature finishing combo. That sword came by and slashed at her stomach, Pyrrha's free arm grabbing Stizza's and wrenching the shotgun out of her hand. The sword changed into a spear and the haft got hooked around her ankle, and at that point Stizz just closed her eyes and hoped that the upcoming shield smash – or punch to the face, in this case – didn't hurt too badly.
The buzzer sounded almost immediately after Stizza got launched halfway across the stage with a left hook that had way more force behind it than it should have. "And with that, in spectacularly brutal fashion, the fight is over! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you your winner, the now record-holding four time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament… Pyrrha Nikos!"
"Hmm… most certainly interesting. Do you have what you needed, Mercury?"
The young man to her left annoyingly slurped up the last of his soda before finally kicking his feet off the seat before him. "Yup. Nikos is pretty good, but I've got her number. Something's going on there, but I'll still beat her if it comes down to it."
"Excellent," Cinder purred. Pyrrha Nikos was good, almost too good by most people's standards. If Ozma desired to stand in her way, then he would almost doubtlessly choose Nikos to be the obstacle. "And you, Emerald? Do you have what you were looking for?"
No answer came.
Raising her eyebrow, Cinder looked to her right. She had no misunderstanding of her other underling – Emerald Sustrai practically worshipped her for taking her off the streets in Vale last year, and was all too eager to please her. The fact that she hadn't immediately answered Cinder's question was almost unheard of. Equally unheard of was the nearly blank stare Emerald gave the arena. The girl wasn't in her Semblance, Cinder knew that much, but was she staring at the Nikos girl? No, a closer look showed that she was staring at Pyrrha's opponent.
"Emerald." The girl jumped in her seat with a small yelp, clearly surprised. That was bad. Discipline would need to be meted out for such carelessness. "What are you staring at?"
"Stizza," the girl replied. "It's… it's really them. They're still alive."
One fine eyebrow raised. More unusual behavior. It was concerning. "Do you know her?"
Emerald opened her mouth, then shut it, clearly thinking. Whatever it was she was thinking of, it clearly gave her an idea when she lit up like an Unspecified Winter Holiday tree. "Cinder, ma'am, I'd like to introduce you to some old friends of mine. I think they'll be able to help the plan marvelously."
Emerald's behavior was so utterly uncharacteristic of the passive near-servant Cinder had grown to know that she took a look back at the defeated girl, only just now climbing back to her feet dejectedly and scowling at her weapon. This was… unusual. Too unusual. Something this strange bore looking into. Leaving stones unturned, she knew from experience, was a good way to invite trouble.
So, Cinder turned to Emerald with a small smile. "By all means, lead the way."
AN 2: I mean, winter doesn't start until December 21st, so it is still technically fall.
Alright, with lame excuses out of the way, let me give this thing a proofread and we can get this ball rolling!
Also, I learned my lesson from RWKY proper. I'm not promising an upload schedule. I'll try for something like once every two weeks, but no guarantees.
And with that out of the way, let's move on to Reader Respons… oh. Right.
Well, until next time, folks!