Emerald eyes that had seen more than his fair share of life and loss through out the years looked at his daughter who sat across from him in their Villa's parlor. The prized Nikos heirloom, her famous red sword, was resting against the couch she sat on. The Shield of Vale himself sat in another chair, mindful of his still healing back.
Commander Atreus Nikos, the People's Councilman, wasn't disappointed in his daughter because he understood why she did what she did when she agreed to whatever Torchwick had wagered so that her friend could get some closure. Jaune Arc was still recovering from his wounds, but claimed he would stick around until after Pyrrha's fight before going back to Vale to further facilitate the prisoner release.
"The King will be in attendance as well." He delivered the news, the match was to take place in a week's time. "Are you sure you will be fine in there? With King Lionheart in attendance your life is out of mine as well as Torchwick's hands." Atreus was planning on meeting with Torchwick on good faith about the upcoming match – and to set up insurance should things go south. But it was useless now.
The famed fighter nodded her head, "Father, I will be fine in there." She held a determine gaze, "What gives me an edge is the fact that I have been watching and learning the Reaper's fighting style."
Jaune sighed as he buried his face in his hands, "It's my fault I got us-"
"Hold your tongue," Atreus shot back to the Valesian Commander, "You followed through on what you wanted and now you have to follow through on what is now a consequence of it. Like how my own daughter is." He narrowed his eyes at the former enemy, but let it go as he remembered the shape that Jaune was in when he returned to their Villa.
Jaune sighed, "Allow me to pay the fees to the Fall family for her entry in the Arena, please." He held a determine gaze.
Atreus bit his cheek, "I'll allow it." He stood suddenly which caused Jaune to flinch slightly in his seat, "Come now, let us spar so that I may have some peace of mind on your form." He motioned for his daughter to come outside into the courtyard.
"Your form is back." Nadir grinned as he tossed the practice sword off to the side, he grabbed the wooden ladle from the water barrel and took a large gulp of water. The ladle was handed to his practice partner.
Ruby gladly took the handle as she refilled the contents and quenched her own thirst, "What do you mean it's back? I don't think it ever changed." She was a bit perplexed at the statement.
"The last few weeks of you fighting has been vicious, you fought like a caged animal – you can't tell me for certain that you didn't sense a change too. Especially when you fought against Commander Arc. I've never seen you so ruthless before." The Wilding raised a brow at the younger Gladiator.
Ruby sighed, "I… I did, I don't know why, but I just got such a high while fighting and I just felt so good and so free." She reflected on a few of those matches, there was one or two opponents in there that she absolutely decimated in the most grotesque matter.
Steady eyes looked over the smaller Gladiator, "I noticed you calmed down significantly after… Lady Schnee paid a visit." A knowing grin was plastered on his face as he kept his voice low.
Ruby's face grew bright red at the mention of last week's party, "N-Not that you were better off… I believe it was nine young and beautiful women that you and Sun had to attend to."
The Wilding huffed, "I could give you the details if you're so anxious to bring it up, Sun and I ended up double teaming the birthday girl. She had this peculiar spot inside her-" A ladle of water was tossed in his face.
"Sh-Shut up, I get it." The tips of her ears had turned completely red.
Nadir chuckled to himself as he used his discarded tunic to wipe off the excess water.
Ruby was back to normal. Or as close to normal as you could get with all things considered. If there was ever an opportunity, Nadir made a mental note to thank the Schnee Merchant for what ever she had done for the Gladiator.
The two snapped their attention as they heard the distinct tread that belonged to the slaver. Neo looked down at their practice swords in the way side and motioned for them to go another around.
"At once, Lady Neo." They both bowed their heads as they quickly shuffled to their practice area.
The slaver looked up at the Master who stood from the second floor balcony as he over saw the training, there was a lot riding on the Reaper in the upcoming match. He received word from Cinder that the King was going to be in attendance of what the Kingdom was calling "The Match of the Century".
It was both a love-hate thing for Roman whenever the King was around, on several occasion the King had even freed victorious Gladiators that performed exceptionally well in the Arena. But it was thanks to Roman's gladiators that the Torchwick name was held in such high regard amongst the high nobility, it helped that the King was a fan of Gladiator battles and it boded well for Roman that he raised the best around.
However, King Lionheart was a wildcard that Roman had no control over, if the King wanted a slave free, it was done.
So he decided to go all in on Red for what is probably the last time.
The slave master made a face, despite all that trouble he had gone through, Ruby Rose is so much closer to freedom than she thought.
He seethed once more at the thought of him losing yet another cash cow Gladiator.
"Neo!" Roman called out, he knew just what he needed during this bout of anger and tension, "I would like to have a word."
The slaver's unique eye colors flashed back and forth as she blink rapidly, she nodded her head in affirmation while she watched Roman stalk off the balcony. A coy grin worked it's way on her face as she waved at the slaves to continue their training.
It was never a word that Roman wanted to have from her, it was rather a thing that she had more than generously provided during the course of their relationship as Slave Master and Slaver.
Neo licked her lips in anticipation as she sauntered up the stairs of the Villa.
She couldn't sleep.
Most of the night she spent tossing and turning, which was unusual since Ruby had never once lost sleep the night before a match, it was the exact opposite as she wanted her senses and body to be in top shape for the fight. But this one, she just couldn't sleep.
It was probably the stories that she heard from Nadir – Pyrrha Nikos was undefeated in the Arena and had bested Bolin Hori during a match. She was untouchable in a fight, they say that no one has ever seen her bleed.
And Ruby believed it from the few times that she had seen the Mistrali Commander in person, there wasn't a single scar on her body – a stark contrast in comparison to Ruby. Her body was like a tapestry and all of her different battles and fights had left different stories woven into it.
'It feels like I'm up against an impossible opponent tomorrow.' Ruby got out of bed after deciding it was useless to try to keep sleeping. She was grateful for the few luxuries that she had as one of Roman's best since she was able to wander around the open courtyard. Unlike most the other gladiators and prospects, they were kept under lock and key at night. Prospects having to share cells with half a dozen others while the gladiators were allowed their own cell.
She took note of the two guards that stood their ground by the gate and she merely exchanged a silent look with them. As long as she didn't do anything stupid (like run away) the guards would leave her be. She sat underneath a tree in the corner that was used greedily for it's shade in the spring and summer months when they trained. For now she wanted to listen to the rustle of the trees as she leaned her head back on the bark.
How many times had she done this as a child?
In the orphanage she would often have nightmares about the fires, so much to the point that she began to feel claustrophobic upon waking up. It became a habit of hers to sneak out in the middle of the night and go stargazing while perched on a tree branch to get a better view of the sky.
Of course here, she couldn't do that because the moment she would start climbing this tree the guards would be all over her and her pleasant midnight stroll would be ruined.
She looked up at the sky, it was a little warm for a mid-autumn night and Ruby appreciated the gentle breeze that wasn't too cold. Then again, Mistral was always warm – at least in comparison to Vale during this time of year.
She didn't recognize a lot of the constellations in the sky, probably because she never learned to tell them apart on this side of Remnant. She made an excellent Scout during her time in the Army. Never got lost and was always the first to find something.
She remembered the time when Ren couldn't find Nora for the life of him and was on the verge of giving up before Ruby offered to lend a hand. Within minutes they found her holed away in-between a rock and a cliff side, she was stuck. Ren and Ruby laughed for a good 5 minutes at the orange-haired scout who whined for them to hurry up.
The Valkyrie slipped into the crevice while trying to find a nice place to hide from Ren. Nora loved doing that from time to time, playing childish games while they were out in the field. And the two didn't mind it as it made the days less dull while the waited around for a scouting assignment.
"Who would like to volunteer for this first assignment?" Commander Port was frank to his troops of 3rd Battalion where all of the light cavalry and scouting outfits were organized under. 3rd Battalion was very small in comparison to the rest of the 127th, but that was mostly due to the nature of their purpose. Usually the Commander would simply let his junior officers dole out the assignments, but this one was different and important as well.
There were hushed murmurs as the scouts were unsure of the assignment; usually it didn't take this much to get people to go on a scouting assignment. The soldiers of 3rd Battalion took pride in their job - which was to forge ahead of the main unit of the 127th and find the enemy.
Part of the issue was due to the fact that the entire 127th Brigade was the first unit to step foot on the Mistral waters during the war. And the Mistrali enemy had a reputation of fierce fighters who rarely showed mercy to captured soldiers.
From Seeker Company a small soldier stood, silver eyes determined to answer the Commander's request. "I'll go."
"Who is that?" The Commander questioned as he tried to jog his memory to see if he remembered this one, she was vaguely familiar, but alas Port never really interacted with scouts and light cavalry as often as he did with the troops that made up the main fighting force.
"Corporal Ruby Rose of Seeker Company." She answered back, she gave a crisp salute to the officer, Port returned it with as much enthusiasm.
"We need you to go ahead of the main body and see if you can call out an enemy positions within 10 miles of where we landed." He double checked the map, eventually they would have to secure enough land mass for the rest of 2nd Division to get here, for now it was just the 127th Brigade out here alone and unafraid.
"Yes, sir!"
"We'll come with you." Nora whispered under her breathe to her friend. Ren nodded his head in affirmation.
Ruby was glad that she had Ren and Nora to watch her back.
'It seems like a different life time now.' Ruby was melancholic as she vaguely recognized a constellation in the sky.
She closed her eyes once more, this time the wind carried her off to sleep.
The armor gleamed a deep gold and bronze mix, her chest plate was secured as she double-checked the vambraces before moving down to the armor she wore on her legs. The weight was too familiar and she smiled to herself when she saw that everything was on properly. Here and there were a few nicks and dings she had picked up over the years from the constant battles during the war and from during her time as a Gladiator. Finally, she grabbed the gold head piece that she always wore into battle and placed it upon her temple.
Pyrrha Nikos looked every bit like a true Mistrali Commander as she stood tall in her armor.
On the stand before her stood the famous sword and shield that was passed down to the different generations of her family.
Milo and Akouo, the respective names of Pyrrha Nikos' sword and shield. She hooked the red blade onto her back and then the shield right on top of it. Normally she would go around town with just Milo at her side, only into battle would she carry Akouo.
"How do I look?" Pyrrha asked as she stepped out into the Villa's parlor, her father and Jaune were waiting for her.
"Like a warrior." Jaune let out first.
"A champion." Atreus corrected with smiled as he was confident in his daughter after the week of swordplay and training they had gone through. "It's time to show the Kingdom what a true Gladiator looks like."
Pyrrha breathed in deep to help contain the sigh.
There were few times where she would be nervous before stepping into the Arena, and this happened to be one of them.
Meanwhile at the Torchwick Villa, Neo tossed the plain sword and shield that Ruby always used in the Arena into the cart. Ruby then tossed into the back the armor that she would always wear, she would usually put it on right before her fight. With an effortless leap, she made it into the back of the cart. Neo motioned to the Guards to open the gate.
Ruby yawned as she stretched her back out, she scratched the skin underneath her collar a bit to get some sweet relief from the itching sensation she had all morning.
"Wait!" Roman called out from the first floor patio, he was still adorning his sleeping robes. Melanie followed behind him, Ruby raised a brow at the scene while Neo simply rolled her eyes.
Roman Torchwick was insatiable.
"You're not going in that get up." The slave master instructed, "Melanie is going to get your good trousers and tunic that you wear for special occasions. You're going to where your wolf armor into there today."
Neo was perplexed, Roman specifically instructed the Core Four to never wear their ornate armor into the Arena because they were expensive and most importantly top quality metal that would be difficult to repair should they get ruined. He spared no expense when it came to parading his Core Four at his lavish parties.
Torchwick picked up the questioning look on the slaver's face, "The King will be in attendance and I want Red looking just as good as her opponent."
Ruby nodded as she got out of the cart and followed Melanie down into the dressing chambers below. This would be her first time seeing the King, she heard from Bolin about the leader of Mistral a long time - he had to fight in front of him once when it was Pyrrha as his opponent. She shrugged at the thought, it made sense since Pyrrha was her opponent for today.
In half an hour Ruby emerged in her garb. The black trousers were tucked into the black leather boots, her tunic was in great repair and had a blood red color to it. The black and red accented metal chest piece with the wolf head on it was polished by Melanie before Ruby had thrown it on and the rose design on both her shoulders shone brilliantly in the morning moonlight. She touched both her black metal vambraces one more time to make sure they were snug.
Roman looked over the Gladiator and liked the appearance, he held a Gladius in hand that had a black handle to it and the metal looked new and the edge of the sword glinted like diamond. Neo held out a dark shield with a silver lining around it for Ruby to take.
The gladiator dutifully took the new gladius and shield, the armor she wore allowed her to strap the shield on her back and she hooked the gladius on to her right side. The garb was a little bit heavier than usual, but it wasn't going to impede her. Ruby was already used to wearing the armor from the demonstrations she had done before during parties.
"Your regular sword and shield isn't going to hold well against Lady Nikos' Milo and Akouo, the steel used to create those weapons are said to be the strongest in all of Remnant. These are from my family's personal armory." Roman's green eyes looked over the sword and shield, "My grandfather was said to have won it off of a legendary smith from Atlas, they have never seen combat until now. So do me a favor and do not let my family's name go in vain." He seethed the last part.
"Yes, Master Torchwick." Ruby bowed her head.
"You'll win so many hearts today with that look." Roman smiled at his handiwork once more, "Go now, Neo. I'll meet you in the stands in a bit."
The slaver nodded her head as she motioned for the cart driver to go.
For the first time in a long time, Ruby felt like she was going to war.
The cart ride was one of the few things Ruby enjoyed about going into the Arena, she was able to leave the Villa and have a look at the Kingdom outside of it. The cobble street twisted as they went deeper into the city. The stone and marble houses were becoming closer and closer together as they got to the heart of the city which is where the Great Stone Coliseum was located.
The different smells of the city enveloped her, the savory taste of freshly cooked mutton in her mouth, the crisp smell of fresh fruit being sold, and then her personal favorite were the sweet confections that would be baking in random shops along the road.
She would give almost anything for a fucking cookie.
As they got closer to the coliseum, a slew of voices from the crowd would call out with whistles and praise as random strangers would call her namesake.
"Reaper!"
"Look there she goes! That's the Reaper!"
"I hope Commander Nikos kills you!"
"Don't die without putting up a good fight!"
"Show Nikos that you mean business!"
Ruby kept an indifferent face at the mixed bag of comments.
The cart came to a halt and Ruby landed on her feet easily. The guards of the coliseum opened up the iron gate for the slave to go through.
"Ruby!" The familiar tanned face and brown eyes were easy for the Gladiator to spot in the crowd.
Ruby stopped for a moment to wave to Bolin Hori, but was shoved along by one of the guards to keep moving.
"I'll be watching today!" Bolin called after, he watched as the armor-clad gladiator walked into those dark tunnels.
"She looked pretty good in that get up." The girl on his side commented, her turquois hair danced in the wind and hugged her garments closer to her body at the slight chill.
"That's the ornate armor I mentioned before." Bolin explained, "Usually we're not supposed to wear it into the Arena because it's made out of high quality metal and Roman likes for it to look pristine during his occasions."
"Why is she wearing it today?" Reese Chloris asked as she followed her childhood friend into the civilian entrance of the Coliseum.
Bolin shrugged, "It's probably because of the King." It was before Roman made the special order for their armor, he remembered Roman fussing with his appearance and had the best armor pieces on hand given to him for his own match against the same Pyrrha Nikos all those years ago.
"So what did your armor look like?" Reese was curious, Ruby looked absolutely dashing in hers so she wondered what Bolin looked like.
"I had the black boots and trousers that Ruby had on, but my chest piece was dark gold and there was some ornate design on it, I think it might have been a dragon or a snake, I can't remember." Bolin recalled as the two strolled into the Arena, he felt his heart beat increase as he walked into the corridors.
This was his first time back in the Arena since his release.
Reese gave a comforting squeeze of his hand, "I'm right here." She sensed his uneasiness.
The former gladiator smiled tenderly at his childhood friend, "Thank you." Bolin Hori couldn't have asked for a better reward for surviving his time under Torchwick.
To say the Coliseum was packed would be an understatement.
The marble stands were sectioned off for the first time in a while, the only ones allowed were the high nobility and of course King Lionheart himself.
Weiss Schnee had to settle for the lower seats around the marble stands, usually any commoner could sit there, but today the lower seats were sectioned off for the rest of the nobles who couldn't sit in the marble stands. Klein was with Weiss for once in the Arena, usually he would pass up the offer to go as he didn't have an image to uphold with the rest of the Mistrali nobles who absolutely enjoyed the sport.
"Weiss!" A familiar voice called out, it was Coco and Velvet who were fast approaching her.
The Merchant smiled at her two friends and motioned for them to come sit closer to her.
"Isn't this wild? I haven't seen the Coliseum this full ever." Velvet commented as she readjusted her robes into a more comfortable position.
"And it's only going to be one fight today too." Coco whistled low, "It seems like the whole Kingdom is packed in here today."
"I suppose it's not every day that you get to watch Pyrrha fight." Weiss let out.
Velvet nodded her head, "It's not just Pyrrha, everyone is crazy to see how it's going to be with the Reaper. For the past two weeks that's all I've heard anyone talk about – 'The Champion of Mistral vs. The Champion of the Arena! The fight of the century!'" The Faunus put on her best announcer voice which got a giggle out of her two companions.
"Room for two more?" Yatsuhashi and Fox stood over the group.
"Yes, I have some room right here." Klein called to the two.
"Thank you, Klein. Sorry if you're a bit cramped now." Fox thanked.
The man smiled, "It's alright, it's only for one match so it won't be so unbearable."
"Good point, otherwise I'm sure half this stadium would have left by now." Yatsuhashi observed as he too was amazed by the sheer volume of people.
"Do you guys think it's a record for having this many people in here?" Weiss too was curious if there was an event the past much like this one.
"Good chance, I've been coming to the Arena since I was kid and I've never seen it this packed." Fox commented as his friend nodded in agreement.
Ruby Rose couldn't even hear herself think in the underground passageway, the walls and passageways simply boomed with incoherent noise.
In the time waiting, she practiced waving the sword and shield around just to make sure she had a good sense of balance for the weapons. They weren't so drastically different from what she usually used, but she could tell that they were a lot sturdier.
'I could probably even cut through most normal armor with this.' She swung the gladius a few more times just to be sure she had a good feel.
"Reaper!" A guard approached her cell and unlocked it, "It's time."
Ruby nodded her head and hooked the sword back onto her belt, she grabbed the shield and slung it on her back.
Despite the fact that each step was bringing her closer to the mouth of the Arena, she felt it become strangely quiet. Her mind was beginning to shut out the noise and the adrenaline was beginning to course through her veins. A cold sweat dripped down her temple, but she paid no mind. She had probably walked through this opening hundreds of times before and each time she would come walking right back out one piece.
'This time should be no different.' Ruby breathed in deep as she finally stepped into the sunlight.
Weiss Schnee smiled at the sight in front of her, Ruby Rose was adorned in her best armor and clothes that flattered her in the best way possible.
"Probably one of my most favorite designs I've ever done." Coco smiled at her handiwork.
"She looks like a pristine Officer in that get up." Velvet complimented.
"It is with great honor that I introduce to Your Highness, Champion of the Arena and Gladiator of House Torchwick – The Reaper!" Roman stood in his most elegant robes of white and red as he bowed to the King. Surrounding Roman were the high nobility, the King's Councilman and their family members, and of course Neo who stood to his right.
The Councilman of the Scholars, Bartholomew Oobleck looked the most indifferent of the three as it was obvious he came due to the King himself being in the Arena. Oobleck's opinion of the Arena was an unpopular one that he had learned to keep to himself.
The Councilman of the King, Salem Fall, sat on the King's right hand side and showed some slight amusement for today's festivities. With her was her daughter Cinder and her two usual escorts of Emerald and Mercury. Mercury was the only slave in the marble stands.
King Lionheart was dressed in Mistral's signature deep red robes mixed in with some black. He was easily twice the size of Roman and looked to be able to hold his own in the Arena should someone be foolish enough to raise a blade towards him. Deep onyx eyes looked the slave over and his gold crown sat upon a mane of dark auburn hair. With an approving nod, he motioned for his last Councilman to continue on.
The Councilman of the People, Atreus Nikos, was another formidable man to take note of. He was a man of high caliber since he stood at the same height of King Lionheart himself. His short red hair was kept neat like his beard as he motioned to the other end of the Coliseum.
Ruby had never heard the Arena explode like it did once she walked out.
"I present to Your Highness my humble daughter and Champion of Mistral!" The crowd roared once more, "Commander Pyrrha Nikos!"
It was a first in a long time for the Reaper, she heard Pyrrha's name echo all over instead of her own.
'They are proud of their country, after all.' Ruby thought sheepishly.
"Now then - rise and salute our glorious King!" Atreus announced in a deep voice that simply vibrated through out the whole Arena.
Every citizen, slave, and foreigner rose and rendered the proper courtesy to the King.
However, mid-way through the salute, Jaune (who sat not too far from Weiss) and Pyrrha both exchanged a curious expression.
Before anymore could be thought of it, Atreus continued on, "By your will, Your Highness." He bowed to the King as the rest of the stadium sat down, King Lionheart stood slowly and he scanned his eyes over both the competitors.
"Today's match shall be for the honor and glory of our humble Kingdom of Mistral. Both of you will fight and conduct yourself in such a way to do our country proud." His majestic voice swept across the Arena. "And so, let this match – Begin!" He roared.
And with it the ground shook, and the whole Coliseum was practically up in arms.
Immediately both Gladiators drew sword and shield alike and began to size the other up. Careful footsteps were taken as the distance between the two began to shrink ever so slowly.
The Reaper was tense, ready to react at what ever movement the Mistrali Commander would make. Pyrrha remained light on the balls of her feet as she studied her opponent more carefully. With all those years of experience under her belt, Pyrrha could practically smell how nervous the smaller Gladiator was before.
And the Reaper had every reason to be.
The Champion of Mistral was fast.
Bolin's eyes went wide at how quickly Pyrrha closed the distance, "She's gotten so much better." He knew that Ruby was going to have a tough time even before the fight, but now… he knew that his friend had some serious work cut out for her.
'Holy Dust.' Ruby barely dodged the deadly combination of shield and sword that Pyrrha had busted out the gates with. She was almost stabbed in the cheek by the famous red sword Milo, but she caught on to the trick at the last possible moment.
She spun around in time to meet Akouo with her own shield from Torchwick's personal armory. Upon impact, Ruby knew that if this were her regular fighting garb the shield wouldn't hold up long and she would possibly have a broken arm by now. The smaller fighter deflected the swing from Milo. Quickly, Ruby lashed out a low kick aimed for Pyrrha's knees.
But the Commander parried it and followed up with another thrust of her sword. She noticed the peculiar way the Reaper brought up her shield, and quickly Pyrrha figured out why the next second – her opponent was setting up for this well executed backward sword slash that was aimed for her neck.
Thankfully, Pyrrha had seen the Reaper do this trick once before during her previous bouts in the Arena. She quickly jumped backwards and the strike missed it's mark.
'Just like what me and Sun thought…' Ruby thought as she decided it was her turn to charge in, 'She knows my tricks… but it doesn't mean she can keep up with all of it.'
The flurry of Ruby's sword flashed before the audience, a wild cloud of dirt was picking up and it was obvious that Pyrrha was now on the defensive as she kept backing up. Silver eyes flashed at the opening, she knew Pyrrha had fallen for the sword feint and she saw her chance. Ruby threw as much of her body weight as she could behind the shield bash and smiled as she caught the Commander off balance.
The Reaper was quick to capitalize at the chance as the next thrust of her sword was aimed for the Commander's throat. Pyrrha had good reflexes because she brought over the edge of her shield to meet the edge of the blade, and instead the strike scrapped across her chest plate.
Ruby grit her teeth, but she had to admit that Pyrrha was talented indeed.
Once more, Pyrrha showed off her speed again, it was her turn for a lightning quick sword combination. Ruby bounced the blade off her shield as much as she could, quickly losing ground as the Commander continued the immense pressure on her. With some grit, Ruby stepped forward unexpectedly, and caught her into a sword lock with both of their shields simply pushing against each other. It was taking as much effort and strength on both sides to keep the intense lock as each fighter pushed as hard as they could to dominate the other.
Now it was the Champion of Mistral's turn to show some tricks.
Pyrrha twisted her wrist, and the next thing Ruby knew she saw the pointy end of Milo looking directly at her. At the last second, the Reaper arched her neck as far to the side as she could to avoid getting skewered. Once the dust settled, a long gash underneath the Reaper's eye could be seen and a stream of blood was coming down.
Ruby thanked Oum that she didn't lose her eye just then.
The Arena shook like thunder once more, Pyrrha's name rumbled throughout the stands. Roman gripped the arm of his lavish chair, he knew Pyrrha was tough – but he didn't expect her to be this tough.
'Faster… I have to be faster, that's the only way.' The slave breathed in deep and the mental image of the snake-like Grimm flashed within her mind's eye 'I have to be fast like a King Taijitu.' She recalled her few times fighting one in Vale's Forever Fall forest during a scouting mission, they weaved in and out so nimbly despite their size. She remembered that she had to out maneuver the Grimm in order to slay it.
The memory was fresh on Ruby's mind as she charged back into the fray. Her legs pumped and she stayed as light as possible on the balls of her feet as she danced around the Mistrali Commander. Pyrrha couldn't tell the difference between the attacks and the feints with how quickly the Reaper was moving.
She had never seen the Reaper use this style before.
Ruby smiled as she landed a strike on Pyrrha upper right arm, the strategy worked – but the slave's legs cried in exhaustion from having to keep up with such strenuous foot work. But she wouldn't let her opponent know she was getting tired, Ruby Rose kept a straight face as she stalked around Pyrrha, right outside of her striking zone.
The Reaper smiled low at the sight, 'Even Gods can bleed.'
Pyrrha made a move – but Ruby was faster as she beat her to the first strike in the new exchange. The slave gritted her teeth as her lungs screamed for air, but she pushed through because she knew that the moment she slowed down, Pyrrha would capitalize on it.
Unexpectedly, the handle of Milo came down on Ruby's upper thigh, the impacted muscle there began to spasm and the slave lost her balance, Ruby barely had time to register that she had hit the ground. Ruby already had her shield raised once Pyrrha moved in on the position. The next couple of sword blows Ruby still managed to block with her shield despite being flat on her back on the ground.
With a heavy grunt, the slave rolled to the side and simultaneously she kicked Pyrrha's feet out from underneath her.
Ruby quickly brought up her sword with the intent to drive it down on her opponent's stomach, but Pyrrha chose to give up her shield to catch the Reaper's sword arm mid strike. The slave was impressed by the Commander's prowess as she managed to hold her steady there despite the now reversed positions. Ruby spotted Pyrrha's sword arm come up for a strike, but before the Mistrail could begin the swing, Ruby let her body fall onto the Commander's elbow to prevent the swing. Ruby's shield came loose in the tussle as she struggled against the Mistrali.
With both weapons knocked out of the other's hand, they attempted to grapple the other. It was a battle of dominance in the gritty dirt as elbows and fists went flying and hands tried to strangle the other's neck. Sand was being kicked up every where, and both fighters had to struggle to keep their eyes open to watch and react to the other. Ruby proved to be the scrappier of the two, nothing was off limits as she attempted to bite, scratch, and even try to gouge the Mistrali Commander. The slave even knew her way around the few head lock's and body vices that Pyrrha tried to get her into.
Pyrrha had enough of it as she managed to lodge a solid kick into Ruby's stomach which sent her flying off of the Commander.
Ruby caught a glimpse of a sword handle and immediately picked it up, Pyrrha had done the same and in an instant two realized they were holding the other's sword. The slave remembered what Nadir told her about Milo, it was a proud Nikos family heirloom that was passed down and made from the highest quality steel in all of Remnant, something Roman Torchwick echoed earlier this morning as well.
Ruby looked down at the red blade, she could feel the power emanating from the weapon - the long history of the Nikos family was right there in the palm of her hands.
The Coliseum hushed at what the Reaper did next.
Ruby flipped the blade so that Milo's handle was pointed towards it's rightful owner. Pyrrha blinked in confusion, she thought it was a strange feint at first, but smiled to herself as she noticed the gesture was genuine.
Silver eyes were clear as day, a whisper of a smile was present on the slave's face. Pyrrha Nikos saw that the Reaper respected her a great deal. She returned the favor as Pyrrha approached her opponent and the two exchanged swords.
The audience was confused at the exchange – but it only made them cheer louder once they realized what was going on.
"Classy move, Reaper!" Someone yelled.
Roman smiled to himself as he let out a breathe he didn't notice he was holding, the name Reaper began to ripple through the Arena. Atreus nodded his head in approval at the move and everyone watched as both opponents squared off against the other.
No shields this time, just swords.
Both Gladiators were breathless, the bout had lasted much longer than the other had anticipated and the tussle in the sand didn't help either.
Pyrrha moved first, albeit slower than before – but Ruby wasn't able to use it to her advantage as she wasn't better off herself. A blur of red and black and white sparks was all that was seen in the middle of it all.
On each fighter a new sword wound seemed to appear with every exchange.
It was turning into an endless cycle - run in, clash swords, try to avoid a lethal blow or two, and then break apart only to rush back in again for more.
The Reaper looked most in her element, all bloodied and bruised, something the audience was so used to seeing because they knew her to be a hardy one that didn't give up.
The Commander was a sight to see, it was the first time anyone had seen the Pyrrha Nikos as torn and bloodied as she did now.
Ruby spit to the ground, it was a line of red since the inside of her cheek was cut up pretty bad. With a deep breathe she charged with all that she had left in her, Pyrrha had done the same as the two Gladiators met each other half way.
They locked swords, and both fighters knew that this was it – this was the decisive move. Pyrrha pressed hard as she had both hands on the handle of Milo. Ruby pressed back with one hand on the flat of the blade – her finger tips that touched the edge of the sword began to bleed but she refused to let up as she was desperately trying to over whelm her opponent.
Weiss Schnee gasped - the harsh sound of a blade snapping in half echoed across the eerily silent Arena.
On her knees was the Reaper while the Mistrali Commander held the edge of Milo against her throat – a slight cut had opened up from where Pyrrha pressed her blade.
Ruby Rose felt her heart drop – she had lost.
"It was an honor." She echoed the words she had heard once before, her mind unable to form any other sentence. The audience was silent, the slave's last words were clear for everyone to hear.
Eyes that burned like metal in the forge looked into the emerald jade that were to be her ultimate maker.
She took a deep breathe, closed her eyes, and thought back on it all.
The Arena – fighting so desperately at the whimsical command of her wretched Master.
The slaves – making some unlikely friends in the most damned of places.
The war with Mistral – she thought it to be pointless in the end, what did she get out of it now?
She thought back to Vale, the cottage she purchased and frantically wanted to back home to. To go back and simply think that her time in Mistral was just a bad dream. She thought back to Ren and Nora, absently walking around the Kingdom of green and high cliffs and beautiful coast lines that the Great Beacon tower over looked. Mrs. Peach with her fresh fruit that she would buy at least twice a week. Commander Port who had that bad habit of giving the troops terribly long speeches. Madame Weatherly who doted on Ruby when she first arrived at the orphanage, and soon began to chastise her for her childish whims of sneaking out and even stealing from the local food vendors when she was hungry.
Patch… what she could remember of Patch was a small island with large rolling hills and beautiful forests.
Yang, her older sister with a mane of blond and amethyst eyes that still haunted her to this day. Her older sister that she remembered chasing after in the woods and eating delicious strawberries together with.
Weiss… if only things were a bit different.
A single tear rolled down Ruby's cheek, but it was unseen beneath the dirt and blood that caked her face. She opened her eyes and looked directly at her maker once more.
Ruby could only hope that Pyrrha would give her a painless death.
"Live on Reaper! I give you the judgment of life!"
But it was the King that would ultimately decide her fate.
"Fuck." Roman felt sick as he exited the Arena.
He. Bet. Everything. On. Red.
"Not looking too hot there, Roman." Cinder followed him into the alleyway that he ducked into.
A weak smile, "I know you know how much I lost just now because of that damned weakling." He gritted his teeth, "She should have kept that fucking sword Milo – she would have won!" He ran a nervous hand through his hair, the Torchwick name was done for – he was so sure that Red could do it.
And she would have! If she just wasn't so fucking dumb! She had Milo, the famed Nikos sword, at her disposal - but she chose instead to give it back!
"There, there my dear Roman." A new voice interrupted the two. "I have a proposition for you."
The slave master straightened up at the sight of the Salem Fall, "Mistress Fall, what brings you to this part of town."
"Relax, dear. I'm only here to help." Salem's smile grew, "I just need something from you in exchange."
Behind her stood Cinder's usual crew of Mercury and Emerald.
"Cheer up, pal. It's just the beginning of something new." Mercury quipped, his arms were crossed and the air about him was not like that of a slave at all.
Emerald chuckled, "He looked like he was going to hurl for a second there." Her eyes danced around the slave master as she was getting her kicks for the day.
Cinder chastised the two, "Hey now, Ro is a friend – so place nice with him you two." Her voice sultry, but underneath it laid something else that put him slightly on edge.
Roman Torchwick took a moment to regain his composure; he was heading into territory unknown.
The autumn sunset of Mistral was one of her favorite sights to watch. She was in love with the gentle colors that kissed they sky and would eventually make way for the velvet night. Watching the suns ray fade from such a strong fire into something soft and then finally closing it's eyes all together.
"Hey." The second voice interrupted her thoughts, Pyrrha smiled and motioned for Jaune to take a seat next to her.
The two were sitting on the roof of her Villa.
"Jaune…" The inside of her mouth was a bit sore, but she would survive. They had the best medic try to attend to Pyrrha first, but the Mistrali Commander grew cross as she demanded they check out her opponent first who sustained equally, if not a bit more damage.
"You wanna talk about what you saw too?" He was straight to the point, in a few days he was going to get on a boat back to Vale to help facilitate and bring to a close the prisoner exchange.
Pyrrha nodded, "That salute, I had to look twice just to be sure." The movement was sharp and well discipline, the years of practice obvious as soon as she saw it.
The Shield of Vale agreed, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing too." He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought of the implications behind it.
Pyrrha Nikos said it first, "The Reaper used a Valesian salute."
A/N:
And there you have it, Ruby vs. Pyrrha.
I personally always thought that if Ruby and Pyrrha ever got into a friendly spar it would be of epic proportions, but Pyrrha would ultimately win.
Well, that's all I've got for now. I'm finally on vacation back home right now, and I will say life is wonderful. I'll probably take off the next few weeks to relax from everything, but I might do a little bit of writing while I'm here - but I also might now.
I've penned probably a quarter of chapter 10 right now, so as far as updates go I think my next goal is to have chapter 10 up by the end of september for those that are curious.
Thank you for everyone who took the time to review, I do take into consideration the things I've read in your reviews and apply it to the over all flow of the story. It definitely helps out a lot when I start writing new chapters and look at the over all outline of how I want each chapter to go.
And once more, thank you for reading this chapter of Gladiator and I do hope to see some of you again in the next one.
Cheers,
DevilRed