A/N: More fun, more fun!
"You have grown." Imaar commented, nodding at Jaune. The man took a step to his right, stepping over one of the bandit's bodies, Jaune taking a step to his left to kept the man equidistant with him. "If you had been on Nirn, found the right teachers… you could have grown into something great." The man sighed, a small chuckle slipping through. "How fortunate of me that this wasn't the case."
"What do you want, Imaar?" Jaune asked firmly, hand gripped on Crocea Mors. The masked man paused, looking at the boy for a second, before spreading out his hands, his body language showing that he wasn't here for a fight.
"I'm here to talk." Imaar said. "I was hoping that you would… reconsider my offer. After seeing what I am capable of, and after seeing what you are capable of, I would like to say that working together, this world would give way much simpler than now."
"My answer hasn't changed. In fact, how about this." Jaune puffed out his chest, a rise of bravado flowing through him. "You leave Remnant right now. And I won't have to- have to kill you."
Imaar tilted his head to the side at Jaune's words, a hum coming from him. "You'll kill me? Are you sure about that?" Jaune didn't answer, instead keeping still and Crocea Mors in front of him, ready for any type of foul play. "I don't know. Seeing the way you handled these… scum, I'm not too confident that you could kill me in cold blood."
Professor Goodwitch took a step forwards, pointing her crop at the man. "But I can." She said, drawing in her power and throwing a tree trunk at him, aimed to crush the man where he stood.
Imaar raised his staff upwards, and slammed it into the ground, a streak of lightning striking the trunk and blasting it aside, into separate pieces.
"Wow that was cool." Ruby muttered quietly, her eyes firmly glued on the staff that he was holding. Jaune took a look too, wondering how dangerous the weapon could be. There were more staves and sticks attached to the man's back, ready to be drawn at any moment, it seemed.
Maldovah! Do you see what he has? Vedrahgol's voice permeated through Jaune's skull, slightly startling him.
What, the bundles of sticks behind his back?
No. The golden handle behind them all.
Jaune subtly craned his neck, trying to see what Vedrahgol saw. The was a flash of gold as Imaar took another step to the right, Jaune mirroring his movements.
Yeah. What about it?
That… is an Elder Scroll. The dragon gasped, rearing up. Be very careful about what happens next. With that scroll, the Dovah-Sonaak could wipe this whole party out in seconds. Jaune's skin crawled at the thought, a shiver making its way down his spine.
That thing's that powerful? Jaune wondered, sweat starting to form.
Even more than you think, Vedrahgol replied. No one really knows what the Scrolls do, or what it their function, but they have powers to unmake the world itself when used in the wrong way.
So what's Imaar going to do with his? Jaune questioned, his stomach getting queasier and queasier the longer Vedrahgol continued to talk.
I do not know. But you must make sure that he doesn't even touch the scroll.
That won't be hard at all. Jaune thought to himself sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Straightening up, Jaune took a deep breath in, looking at the man.
"… I see you are all eager to kill me." The man said quietly, one of his hands stroking the staff that he held in his hand. "If you think you have a chance, by all means, stay and die." Suddenly the mask turned, looking at each and every person standing in front of him. "But if you value your lives… I give you hope. Run." The man said seriously, taking his first step forwards. "Run and do not look back, for you will only see death and destruction behind you." Imaar drew himself up to his full height, the air around him filled with menace. "I will give you a minute to decide."
And silence fell around them.
No sound was uttered from both sides, and even the trees and animals didn't make a sound, no Grimm heard for miles. It felt like even the wind stopped blowing, to let everyone ponder on their decisions in complete silence.
No one moved though.
Every single person in the ARC unit stood tall, weapons in hand as they got ready, tensing and untensing, waiting for the appropriate trigger.
A minute passed by.
The dragon priest stood there, looking back and forth at the thirteen standing against him, and nodded once, a slow acknowledgement to them.
"So be it."
And lightning coursed through the air, striking Professor Goodwitch in the torso, sending her flying backwards. Quickly the man grabbed another staff, so fast that it looked as if the object had teleported into his hands, and pointed it at the group, an enormous fireball streaking towards them.
"Fus Ro Dah!" Jaune screamed, the force of the shout powerful enough to rip the fireball into sparks, the blonde knight charging in with another battle cry. That was enough to spur everyone into motion, all thirteen of them surging forwards with screams of their own.
The battlefield, if that's what it could be called, exploded with action, Jaune having a hard time keeping track of everything happening around him. He was sure he heard Nora's grenade launcher, Ruby's Crescent Rose, and a hell of a lot of metal hitting metal. Jaune did the best he could, swinging at the man, who ducked and weaved through the attacks, wielding so many staves more fluidly than Jaune could wield Crocea Mors. Lighting, fire, ice, and so much more flew around the man, like an impassable barrier, the thirteen of them actually getting pushed back by the one man.
Jaune tried to find openings, and discovered that his shouts were the only thing that could keep them standing. He drew every bit of knowledge he had learned from Vedrahgol, blasting as many as he possibly could, only stopping when he felt his throat protesting, an early warning to tell him when he might've lost his voice permanently.
And still the man stood there impassively, two staves in his hands, blasting away, occasionally letting loose a shout or two that would keep them on their toes. He was a whirlwind, and anything that tried to get close was ripped to shreds.
What do we do? Jaune asked. Vedrahgol growled, shaking his head.
There are many things that we can do, but should not, The dragon replied, as if he was talking to himself. Focus on the priest, and find a weakness.
I don't see anything. Jaune replied, frustrated.
Try harder.
Jaune clicked his tongue, dodging a wayward lightning blast, trying to focus his eyes to find a weakness. It wasn't something that Jaune was very good at, always having trouble exploiting things like that when in practice matches. When it came to finding a specific weakness during a fight like this?
It was damn near impossible.
I certainly don't have the ability to exploit weaknesses so easily, Jaune thought, jumping out of the fray. But there's someone here who is.
"Pyrrha! Ruby!" He called out, catching their attention. "I need your help!"
It took a little while for them to separate from the fight, but Jaune was still able to help out whenever he could with a well placed shout or two, forcing Imaar to focus a little bit of his concentration on stopping Jaune.
Ruby and Pyrrha landed beside Jaune, looking at him inquisitively.
"Can you help me spot a weakness?" Jaune asked, pointing at Imaar. "I need to find something that'll help me get past that wall." The two of them nodded, and stood there like statues, watching the fight from a distance.
The time in between was nerve-wracking, Jaune forcing himself to sit out as well, watching his friends get tossed around when he wasn't able to help. Suddenly Ruby pointed to a spot to the left of Imaar.
"There! Do you see that?" She asked Jaune, who squinted at where she was pointing, before he shook his head, not sure what she was looking at. She didn't speak for another second, before pointing again. "There!"
"What're you talking about, Ruby?" Jaune asked, confused. She turned to look at him with an annoyed expression, pouting a little.
"Don't you see it?" She cried out.
"Not exactly." Jaune replied, rolling his eyes. "I don't think I'd be asking you if I did."
"Look closely," Pyrrha stepped in, getting close to the blond knight. "Wait for it... there!" Jaune looked, and found a small shimmer where she pointed, and squinted. It was true that he could see the faintest disturbance of air there.
It was a tiny opening, but it was there.
"Okay," Jaune muttered to himself, a plan formulating in his mind. "I think I can work with this."
Jaune took a deep breath and took off, getting close to that spot, waiting for the perfect time to strike out.
When the haze come to again, Jaune leapt, tearing through the wind wall, close enough to touch Imaar, who immediately knew something was off. The priest turned and pointed one of his staves at the blond boy, letting off a blast of fire, which Jaune deflected with his shield. Not knowing what to do, Jaune charged at the man, tackling him onto the ground, where the two of them struggled back and forth with each other. Imaar found the upper hand when one of his hands found purchase on Jaune's head, grabbing the knight's hair and pulling him aside, tossing him across the side.
Standing up, Jaune let screamed a shout, letting the blast ripple through the air and combust, flames rushing to engulf Imaar.
The masked man waved it away with contemptuous ease, before raining down lightning and hellfire on Jaune, causing him to fall on his knees while his shield took the pressure of the attack.
I can't win this on my own, Jaune realized, desperately looking to find someone to help him. There wasn't anyone though, the rest of them still separated by the wind wall that had been created.
"It's over Jaune." The man said coldly, taking steps closer to the boy. Jaune raised his head, a defiant snarl on his face. Imaar tilted his head to the side, a little amused by the feeble display of strength. Without another word, the man grabbed another of his staves, ready to strike down Jaune with a finishing blow.
"Wuld Nah Kest!" Jaune shouted, almost teleporting past Imaar, dodging the strike. Without much thinking, Jaune dove again, but instead of aiming to take the man, he grabbed onto the second biggest target: The Elder Scroll. Ripping it off of Imaar's back, Jaune fall down, scrambling away from the man.
"No!" The man yelled, shooting another magical burst of energy at Jaune. The boy grit his teeth and let it hit him, propelling him backwards a little further.
His head swam, but Jaune pushed through, hoping that the power of the Elder Scroll would aid him in this fight. Opening the artifact, he was blinded by light brighter than the sun, a roar of snow filling his ears.
Again Imaar screamed, this time tinged with fear.
After that, the battlefield grew silent, even the howling winds subsiding. Jaune rubbed his eyes furiously, trying to regain his sight back. In the meantime though, Jaune was able to hear the crunch of boots on snow.
"See? I told you the Scroll would point the way." A male voice said calmly, Jaune hearing a softer, more feminine voice scoff.
"Yes, but it could have very well killed us both instead." The female one said.
When Jaune's sigh finally cleared up, he was met with the backs of a muscled man and a slim woman, the same ones that he had seen in his dream, staring at Imaar.
Imaar took a step back, hands shaking a little, before he whispered one word in despair.
"Dovahkiin."