"Lu... na..." Newton muttered those words with difficulty.
The boy was in her arms as the girl with a blue hood walked away from Beacon.
Invading and hacking the systems was easy; the ability to manipulate sound always was handy in such things. Oobleck, that was the biggest obstacle, didn't notice anything when she went out of the room to 'call Tracy'.
"Just wait a bit, Newton. I know men dislike to be carried, but it's currently faster this way. I'm making sure no one sees us, okay?"
"Vlad... where... Vlad..."
'I knew it would be bad' thought the girl. 'But not to this point. Does that mean he sustained real damage due to the vision? Ugh... I just hope he can still hold on to me'.
She arrived at her targeted location: the woods near Beacon, the place she left Vlad's motorcycle: The Cursed Mermaid.
Luna carefully made Newton sit and then sat in front of him.
"Okay, Newton. I know this will be a bit hard, but... try to hold on to me. If you can't, I can try to tie you or I can slow down, but we need to get back to Jammer. Think you can handle it?"
Newton's eyes were closed, but the boy nodded and hugged her from behind. Luna felt insecure; Newton's arm strength was too weak.
"Change of plans" she said. "I will try to get a rope and-"
"No..." he muttered. "Go... now..."
Luna clenched her teeth. The situation was not good. Far from it.
'Vlad... where are you?'
She turned on the motorcycle and started to drive.
RWBY: Against All Odds
Past...
- Many people misunderstand me.
The young girl was sitting alone surrounded by corpses.
- They think I never care for anything or that I never take it seriously.
In the middle of a field of death, a smile appeared on her face.
- Maybe they are right. After you survive and watch them fall, it's difficult to treat everything in the same way as others.
A single tear dropped on the ground.
- When you reach the bottom again and again, you can't help but start to see the good side of everything. Some die, others survive.
"Stop it Newton!" She shouted upon grabbing his wrist.
"Let me go!" Shouted the young boy covered in scars. "I need to go!"
"No" she calmly said upon releasing him. "Vlad was ready to give away his life. He knows that this way all the others will surviver. It's one life for the entire city. If you go, it's just one more death".
- I became someone able to easily open hand of what I had.
"No" said Newton.
- I became someone unable to understand others.
"You don't understand what this is about, right Luna?" Newton's eyes were full of disappointment.
- I was never able to understand those things. Until I met you, Vlad.
"Back there, I let you stop me. When the White Fang attacked, Vlad let you stop him. When the Schnee attacked, we let you stop us..."
- I thought I learned what bonds are about...
"But not now. This isn't about recklessly taking the danger. I know... I know there are times when we have to open hand of what we love. But there are also times when we can't just let others sacrifice themselves alone".
- But I was wrong.
"This is about friendship, Luna. And there are still a few things you have to learn about it. I hope one day you will".
She saw his back as he ran. It was as if she saw a man running to his death.
- I was a fool. Sacrificing? Letting go? What life is there after this? It's just making yourself alone. Over and over. Let one die for two to survive, when was it that this felt so wrong?
Luna stared at him and clenched her fist. Going there meant death.
"But..."
- But...
- "If it is to live without them, I might as well die".
Arc 2 - Fallen Hero
Her body hit the cold hard ground. Her armor seemed to be beyond repair and she could feel the blood running out.
Newton was on his knees. An arm was broken and probably a few ribs.
Vlad was standing. Both wings broken and also a leg. But he was still standing.
"It's... over..." she muttered.
That was the maximum they could do. Now they would die. Even if they somehow survived, at least Luna would die from the bleeding.
- The strange part was when it didn't feel bad at all to die like a dog. It was as if for once I made the right choice. It was stupid. It was suicide. But it felt so right.
"It's not over yet" said Vlad.
Still standing. Still surrounded. Stil empowered by an opponent beyond them.
- Then I saw it... our miracle...
A pillar of blood-red light rose from the city. It pierced the skies and twisted in the air in their direction.
- Yes... there are times when we must let go of what we love. There are times when we have to afford a great loss for a greater gain.
- But there are also times when we just have to stick to each other and take the risk. There are times when we can't walk forward because we would rather die if it is to have such results.
Present...
The girl had already arrived in Jammer.
Entering their own room, she carefully lied Newton down on his bed.
At that time, his words echoed in her mind:
- "This is about friendship, Luna. And there are still a few things you have to learn about it".
Luna smiled. 'I guess I finally did learn it...'
She was about to walk away, but a hand grabbed her wrist.
"?"
"Luna..." Newton's eyes were opened, but they lacked their usual glow. "Please... don't go..."
*sigh*
"I will just ready a medicine, okay?"
As he let go of her, she carefully walked to the chemicals. Ancient technology had its setbacks as he was suffering right now.
It wasn't just self-defense; a normal civilian needed to know the least about medicine to deal with the worst.
So, she made what he needed and a bit more. 'With this drug, he will sleep for a while'.
She calmly put it on his lips and saw him drink. It didn't take long for him to faint.
"Sorry, Newton" she kissed him on the cheek. "You aren't ready to face the danger".
Picking her scroll, she called Tracy one last time:
"I'm ready".
Chapter: Cornered
Meanwhile...
Hospital...
Jaune sat on the bench of the waiting room. His eyes were lifeless.
Too much had occured during the night and, if Tepes' death wasn't enough, Ren's accident was the final trigger.
'Why?' He thought.
"Why?!" He muttered.
The dried blood of Tepes.
The fresh blood of Ren.
A death had just happened.
A death could come soon.
'You two knew all along...' He realized upon looking atthe past.
He could hear Vladimir's words, echos of the night in his hazy mind:
-The enchanted hero took down the impure villain, because no matter what happens, he would win, right? No matter what the villain did, no matter what he wanted, no matter who he is or his efforts, he will always be defeated by the talented hero blessed by heavens, right?
When Vlad coughed blood, Jaune remembered the scene of his death.
-Because that's what you wanted, right? To humiliate me in your little fantasies!
'Why' Jaune could hear the echoes getting stronger. 'Why can't I deny his words?'
And then, he remembered Ren's words before the fight
-Why, Jaune?
'I don't know, Ren... I just wanted to...
- There is no need for that. You are doing that for personal reasons.
'Maybe... no. I really was.'
-Everything points at the fact that Vladimir has been playing a hunting game. He didn't need to eliminate Blake and Yang. You fighting him is giving him exactly what he wants.
'Yes... you realized everything and I ignored you'.
-What if there is a big purpose on that? Did you stop to think about it?
'No, I didn't. I really... really didn't'.
- What if this is more important than the assassination? Fighting him now will only cause more problems.
Jaune hung his head low.
"They already happened" he muttered.
'Both were right... I didn't fight Vladimir to stop some sort of evil. I just wanted to satisfact my fantasies. The perfect villain was there: a red-eyed man that took down my friends one by one, just waiting to be defeated by the hero'.
Jaune clenched his teeth.
'If... if I stopped to notice he was just playing a role to make me fight him... if I stopped and listened to Ren would any of this have happened? If, back there, I realized the truth would anything change?
"No" he admitted it. "It would have happened anyway".
He remembered when the resonance happened.
'I learned the truth midway. But I still continued to fight. By that time, it wasn't for revenge nor to give him what he wanted. I just wanted to beat him down irrationally. I even realized he could barely remain standing and fought to my heart's content'.
"Ren, you were right..."
'I did this for personal reasons. I wanted to be a hero and for that I needed a villain. I had to see the corpse of a man that died as a hero and needed my friend to risk his life for me to realize this'.
And now, that was happening.
He could hear the news from a tv somewhere by the end of the corridor. Fights were being started between faunus and humans due to the brutal nature of Tepes' death. How long would it take for Chimaera to make its move.
'How long will it take for them to suspect me?'
"This is the worst scenario" he muttered. "I have no arguments to defend me and Ren when the time comes. With him like this, I won't have his help. And while this all happens, a murderer with a war machine is out in the streets. Great hero I am, taking the fall for the villain and dragging my friend with me".
Suddenly, a door opened. A girl with bear ears was at the end of the corridor.
"Sup' Tracy?"
Tracy glared at Luna.
"Act seriously for once".
The siberian husky faunus raised her hands with calmness.
"And I will. So, what is the plan?"
Tracy looked around. The situation in the city was bad. The faunus really started a commotion and authorities were called. The streets were a mess and now they wouldn't be able to get near the remains.
Tracy bit her lip. 'Now I won't be able to locate Arc too...'
"Luna, do you have means to search local cameras or something with your power? If an Atlesian Paladin came out..."
Luna shook her head.
"Won't work" she neared a post and pointed at a street lamp. "They used an EMP generator. We can deduce most technology was fried".
Tracy thought about it for a while.
"Then... can we track the Paladin by the destruction or the areas affected by the pulse?"
Luna shook her head again.
"Too much destruction. The Paladin seems to have gone in circles across the city for a while and the pulse was like a circle; we can determine where it started, but not where the Paladin went. He could have gone out through many ways. We would need eye-witnesses to track him."
"And that wouldn't work" muttered Tracy. "The modifications included a few boosters. The Paladin has some sort of flight capabilities. Whoever did this wanted to kill Vlad for a while and probably planned thoroughly. Which means they wouldn't get caught in sight. Even if they did, we can't find a person out of nowhere".
Luna nodded upon sitting on the ground.
"Which means we won't have results now. Unless..."
"We find Arc. Or someone related to him".
"On these streets?" Asked the blue hooded girl. She could hear the noise from afar. "It seems like a riot is about to occur."
"You sent Xiao Long to the hospital" saod Tracy. "Also, Arc and his friends were waiting there during the night. Probably, we can encounter them there".
"Hmm..." Luna thought about it for a while. "I didn't use H.B. much during my fight with Xiao Long. I just gripped her neck, but... didn't you say Belladonna was defeated by Vlad?"
Tracy opened her eyes wide.
"She was wounded by Dracungnir!"
"And the doctors from here don't have the slightest idea of wounds inflicted by [Sin]s. If we are lucky, Pyrrha Nikos will be at the hospital too".
"Then, there we are going".
She had brown hair reaching her waist and light brown eyes.
The girl wore a metallic and black dress, somewhat of a punk style. A guitar was on her back and the dress had many spikes. The fabric around them was red, as if to look like blood.
When her eyes and Jaune's met, she said:
"Let me guess: a friend of yours was caught on the riot too?"
Jaune looked at her bear ears. Symbol of a faunus heritage.
"No... it was just an accident".
"I see..."
The girl then walked through the corridor. During the way, she nearly tripped on Jaune's feet. Nonetheless, she apologized and sat far away.
When he looked at her again, he felt as if he had seen her smile, but regarded it as his imagination in the end.
And the time continued to pass...
Walking through the streets, the girl of red hair read her scroll.
"It seems Mary finished her job, Chad".
"Perfect" answered the person walking in front of her. "Tell her to wait there until Arc gets out. She can't raise any suspicions".
The red-haired girl nodded once again and they stopped.
They were at the place they needed to arrive. Now, everything left to do was find some sort of reporter and put the data in a place he would find.
It wouldn't take long for it to be in the first page of every journal, something like: "Breaking News - The Faunus Corpse That Caused a Riot Belonged to a Prince".
After that, it would only be a matter of time for old grudges to arise again.
The door opened again. Who would it be that time?
Jaune turned his head and opened his eyes wide.
She was there.
Two girls.
One of them had red hair and green eyes. Pyrrha.
But the other girl... what was he supposed to tell her? Beg for forgivness? Run away?
'What do I... what do I do?'
But the girl did something unexpected: instead of anger, she showed concern and hugged him.
"We came as fast as we could when Ruby called us" Nora spoke upon releasing him. "Is... is he okay?"
Jaune averted his eyes from Nora's and met Pyrrha's gaze. She probably noticed what his expression meant.
Nora too understood it.
"I... see..."
"I'm sorry, Nora" said Jaune. "If it wasn't for me, Ren wouldn't be in this state... if only I listened to him sooner..."
"Jaune" Nora put a hand on his shoulder. "What are you talking about? How can this be your fault? No one is blaming you".
"But-"
"Now, if you excuse me" Nora interrupted him. "I would like to wait alone for him here... go back to Beacon, Jaune. You must be tired".
Jaune wanted to argue, but never had seen Nora smile like that. So fake. So forced.
So hurt.
"Got it".
Meanwhile...
Yang followed Ruby through that maze of alleys.
"Sooo... why are we going here again?"
"Because something is happening, sis" said Ruby. "Something big. And Weiss is still in Beacon, Blake is still wounded and Ren just suffered an accident. We are the only ones that can do something about it".
"And why here?" Yang walked with difficulty. The ground was dirty and the passages were getting narrow.
"Because about here is her store and she is the only one that can talk to us about the Impaler Vampire".
"... Ruby, who is she?"
"Arachne".
Pyrrha observed Jaune as they walked out of the hospital.
Eyes so empty, yet filled with such melancholy.
"Jaune, are you okay?"
The boy opened his mouth, but closed it again.
"I... I don't know what I have to do..."
"What do you mean?"
"Something is happening Pyrrha. Something big is happening and Vladimir Tepes was just the start" Jaune averted his eyes. "I'm way too behind to catch up now, but time isn't helping. Things and things are occuring and it's just going worse!"
Pyrrha put her hands on his shoulders and looked at him in the eyes.
"Jaune, calm down. Ruby called me because she knew you would need help. You have been up all night fighting and running and with everything you have seen, you need to rest up a bit".
"I don't have time for that!" He shouted. "Don't you see? I will only be repeating my mistakes if I take this lightly again? I... I can't even believe it... he is the only one who predicted so far! I... traded places with him! I need to find him and now, he is the only one who can help me".
Pyrrha felt more and more that the stress was getting too much onto Jaune.
"Jaune, who are you talking about?"
Jaune was already breathing heavily.
"I traded places with him... he was the actual person that tried to stop the greater disasters from happening... he is the one that put the lives of others before everything else. I became the bully that fought for personal reasons, but he realized everything ahead. He even saved Blake! I need to talk to him!"
Pyrrha noticed how dark the bags under Jaune's eyes were. He was clearly out of his mind.
"Jaune" Pyrrha grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry, but you aren't going anywhere in your state. At least, tell me who you are trying to find".
"Cardin".
"Cardin?!"
Jaine nodded.
"I'm sure he is the only one who can help me right now. Cardin knew what would happen if we fought Vladimir. He must know more. If it's him, he may know what I have to do!"
"Calm down! Jaune, I know you have been through much, but there is literally no reason to do anything right now. There are times we can't do anything. Tepes died. Ren is in the hospital. You have to recover".
"I can't!" He shouted again. "Ren saved me! I can't leave him now! Don't you see, Pyrrha? Ren and me were the last ones that fought with Vladimir. We will be the prime suspects once they discover the identity ofthe corpse and I have no arguments to defend us. The worst part is, once my background is checked, things will only get worse and worse. It will be me, who faked my way to Beacon and Ren, that protect my secret".
"That is correct" shouted a female voice in the distance.
Jaune and Pyrrha turned around surprised.
Two figures were there.
A girl with silver hair covered in a blue hood, with orange eyes and shorts, and a black shirt with a crescent on it.
The other was a girl with tanned skin. Purple long hair and eyes. Her dress was purple and gold and bandages covered her arms and legs. A black scarf was on her neck.
"The Silver-Clad Werewolf" muttered Pyrrha.
"And Tracy Khufu" Jaune recognized her. The girl Vladimir gave up his life to protect.
Tracy stepped forward and pointed at him.
"Jaune Arc. You are under suspicion of participating on an assassination attempt on our leader".
Pyrrha stepped between Jaune and Tracy.
"You are not a force of the authority. You don't have any right to take him".
"I don't need one. I will leave that for my immunity" spoke the girl calmly.
"Immunity?"
Jaune opened his eyes wide.
"It can't be! You are a noble too? You have diplomatic immunity?"
"Noble?" Pyrrha didn't understand it. "Jaune, what are you talking about?"
"Tepes, the Impaler Vampire was actually the prince of Chimaera".
"That is besides the point!" Shouted Tracy impatiently. "Vlad isn't here, but I'm making sure we will find him. I can't simply lose time while he... You, Jaune Arc, are the prime suspect. Choose your fate! You either come peacefully, or you will come by force. Unlike Newton, Luna and I are nobles, so local authority means nothing to us!"
"Indeed" spoke Luna with a smile. "Not that it matters, after all, it isn't like any of you can escape".
Jaune clenched his teeth. Pyrrha didn't move away and spoke:
"And what are you going to do?"
Tracy lightly tilted her head.
"Why, verify the truth, of course".
"You are planning to torture him, aren't you?"
"Torture, coerce, drug him, there are different means to ascertain the truth" the box on the back of her waist opened and four bandages extended upon the air. "Regardless, this has nothing to do with you. Stand on our way and you too shall be taken".
At the same moment, Luna took her backpack from her back. With a blue flash, the girl stood covered in a silver armor.
'This is bad' thought Jaune. 'I still haven't recovered from my fight. If every member of team VLNT is at least as strong as Vladimir, there is no way we can win'.
'But...'
"Run" was the word he heard.
"What?"
Pyrrha had already drawn her weapons and was in fighting stance.
"I will hold them off" she spoke again with courage. "Run away and find Cardin".
"Wait, Pyrrha-"
"We have no time" she spoke seriously. "I don't think I can hold them off for long, Jaune. You have to find Cardin".
Jaune stepped back, that was actually the most logical thing to do. If Vladimir truly was the weakest from Chimaera, Luna and Tracy were at least stronger than him. In the condition he and Pyrrha were in, a fight was supposed to end in loss.
But the moment he stepped back, he remembered what Tracy told him: Vladimir stood behind to let her run away.
The result was his death.
If Tracy and Luna wanted so much to ascertain the truth to the point of torturing him, what would happen if they got their hands on Pyrrha? How long would it take for them to actually believe in him after that?
Running away certainly was tempting...
'But I don't want to see a scene like that ever again'.
The body reduced to charcoal...
Ren being carried by the paramedics...
Would Pyrrha be the next one in that tragedy?
'Not if I can do something about it' so he jumped forward.
"Jaune?!" Pyrrha spoke surprised.
"Sorry, Pyrrha. We are in this together".
He drew his weapons too and stood there. Two opponents probably at their full power. The Silver-Clad Werewolf and The Mummy of Impossible Defeat.
And they were supposed to win such fight.
Luna just shook her head.
"Hot-headed idiot. This wasn't the time to do that. You just dug up your own grave".
"We will see about that" said Pyrrha. Surprisingly, she didn't reprimand him, but stood by his side.
"Hardly" spoke the girl in silver armor. "You two suffered wounds from Vlad's spear. Which means, if I do this..."
Luna clenched her fist. Blue glowing markings appeared on her manople and on that time, both Jaune and Pyrrha staggered in pain.
Jaune looked at his chest. The wound was closed, but felt as if it was pierced again.
Tracy walked forward.
"You take care of Nikos, Luna. I don't care how you want to play, just make sure she doesn't interfere with me".
"Honky-donkie!"
Tracy glared at Jaune.
"A foolish choice to stay behind. It didn't matter as the result would have been the same, but it was still foolish".
"If it was you instead of me and Vladimir instead of Pyrrha, are you saying you wouldn't have done the same?"
Tracy simply stared at him.
"Your words are not worth trust. Right now, you are either a fool or making me think so. Everything you do defies logic and certainly a good way to make someone mistaken is by acting the way you are. However, this battle has been lost before it started".
"What do you mean?"
Tracy pointed at Jaune, at his chest.
"Dracungnir pierced your body. By now, you must have realized the wounds inflicted by our weapons don't cure easily. However, before that, Vlad's spear was poisoned. You must have some sort of natural resistance to manage to stand so long without feeling it, but by your eyes and skin I can see it's slowly taking effect" Tracy's eyes were determined. "You must be feeling weaker and weaker. Your mind has been clouded and it's getting harder for you to do complex thinking. I guess when we ran during the night, it accelerated the poison".
Jaune stepped back. 'So that's why... this is bad, she is right. I can't come to answers and if there is poison corsing through my veins, fighting again will only make it worse. I have been up all night, how long do I have?'
Running during the night.
The terror of seeing a corpse.
The despair of seeing a friend critically hurt.
If Jaune truly had natural resistance, he felt that he took it to the extreme to handle a poison after so much. Now, he didn't have the same luck.
The armored girl walked to Tracy's side.
"A girl with her body screaming in pain and a boy that should have fainted long ago. You might as well just give up and save the trouble".
"Sure, I will do that" said Pyrrha. "If you promise to not harm him, that is".
"Pyrrha!" Jaune shouted her name.
'This is bad... I can't formulate a strategy! There is no way we can beat those two wounded if we can't think of a plan'.
Blue markings appeared all over Luna's armor. At that moment, Tracy's four bandages extended in the air.
"Let us begin, purebloods, the rite of combat!"
The bandages came to them. The armored girl advanced.
The battle started.
"Don't let the bandages get you!" Shouted Jaune.
Both he and Pyrrha jumped back.
The four bandages carved into the ground they were before. Tracy pulled herself by them and shot against the duo.
Jaune imediately blocked her kick with his shield, but was sent back rolling on the asphalt.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha advanced upon the girl.
Slashing three times and she blocked the hits thrice with the back of her hand.
The bandages on her waist enveloped Pyrrha's arms while the two others penetrated the ground. Pyrrha was thrown back on the air.
"Luna, take care of her!"
Barely giving an order, Tracy advanced once again upon Jaune.
'This is bad' he thought. Her speed and strength were no joke. 'She is actually stronger than Vladimir!'
Pyrrha rolled on the ground and got up.
Her body was aching and her wounds, that should have been cured, were pulsating.
The girl wearing a silver armor with wolf motifs stood in front of her.
"You fake it pretty well, but your breathing doesn't lie, Nikos" said Luna. "Vlad really messed you up".
Pyrrha didn't listen. She kept her calmness. The enemy was covered in an entire armor, which meant she was imprevious to attacks.
But an armor was made of metal and metal was something she could use.
Actuvating her semblance, she didn't think twice: she would send that girl as far as she could.
"Ha!" Luna laughed. Blue markings appeared over her armor and nothing happened. She didn't even tremble.
"What..."
"Pyrrha Nikos. Semblance: Polarity" the girl shook her head. "Did you ever fight in an actual war, girl? Enemies that could control magnetism were way too much of a pain, so" she pointed at her self. Or rather, her armor. "I made sure this wouldn't be manipulated against my will ever again. Too bad, Pyrrha. Maybe you aren't hot stuff after all".
"Argh!" The punch connected into Jaune's stomach.
He nearly fell to his knees.
His strategy failed.
With slow steps, the Mummy of Impossible Defeat closed in.
"You thought since I use the Mummy Maker too much, my physical skill would pale in comparison" she shook her head. "Foolish choice. Did the poison affect you that much? Lack of ability was such an obvious weakness that I would have dealt with it a long time ago!".
'This is bad...' His hands were trembling. His body wasn't moving at his will.
At the distance, Pyrrha was fighting Luna. No one would come for his help.
In front of him, the girl's purple eyes were full of skepticism.
"You better show me your true skills, Arc. I know you are hiding something and something big. Well, doesn't matter" she got into fighting stance once again. "I will pry the truth over all your lies once I'm over with you".
Jaune got up again. And readied his sword.
"I am innocent" he said.
"We shall see. Your sword skills are lacking, therefore you must have something else to fight. I wonder what it is. I guess there is only way to find out".
Tracy got in a different battle stance. Full of openings, with her arms extended to both sides while standing completely still in a respectable pose. It was as if she was about to announce something.
Or ready something.
"What are you doing?" Asked Jaune.
"A semblance is merely the natural affinity of aura a normal person has. The personal manifestation of it, a representation of oneself and his natural traits. Therefore, as long as you understand the principle with your mind, body and, you can do miracles beyond its restriction".
Tracy punched the air and a fireball was shot from it towards Jaune.
He barely blocked it with the shield and felt the metal heat up.
"What the..."
'It can't be' he thought.
His opponent had her right hand covered in fire.
Tepes' words from their battle flashed in his mind:
- That's right, telekinesis isn't my semblance...
'So, she too' he realized. 'Or rather, maybe she was the one who taught him that... this is bad. Tracy knows how to use abilities outside her semblance'.
"Here I come..." She readied her stance again. "Defend yourself!"
Punching the air, the flames covered Jaune's vision.
The explosion sent him all the way back, crashing in the hospital's front welcoming sign.
Struggling to stand, he started to feel dizzy.
"You..." he tried to speak. "You are making the poison inside me react!"
"Clever" answered Tracy apathically. "Not many can notice that, yet you could" her eyes were filled with determination. "It makes me wonder what is the truth behind your background Arc. If you could notice that, you clearly have much more hiding".
"You know I don't have it Khufu!" Shouted Jaune back. "Vladimir told you about me, didn't he? It's the truth, I'm just a fraud" he looked at his sword, his relic. "Just a liar".
"Oh, a liar you are" she nodded. "That is undoubtable. And that's why the truth shall be extracted".
"ARGH!" A struggling cry pierced the battlefield.
Far behind Tracy, the armored Luna held Pyrrha by the neck. The girl's face went pale and it didn't take long for her to faint.
"Persistent little thing" muttered Luna upon throwing Pyrrha on the ground. "But I have to admit she was quite skilled to go so far with such wounds" the girl started to walk in their direction. "But she still lacks the knowledge that comes with constant losses".
"Pyrrha... no..." he muttered.
He knew. He knew she was defeated by Tepes.
He knew with her wounds it would be hard for her to put up a fight.
He knew they didn't have much of a choice than run away.
But that situation...
When Tepes defeated her, both sides sustained heavy injuries.
Now, that wasn't a fight. There wasn't a single scratch on Luna's armor and Pyrrha's unconscious body was on the ground.
'What is this that I am feeling?' A strange emotion was rising inside of Jaune. 'It isn't anger... it isn't sadness... it is...'
"I will ask one last time" said Tracy. "What is your involvement with the murder attempt of Vladimir Tepes?"
Jaune finally realized it. Opponents with eyes filled with distrust. A battle he was fated to lose.
Cornered with his back against the wall.
Despair - that was the word. And more.
The strange feeling that a hero shoudn't posess. The strange situation such a person shouldn't be in.
'Just like a villain' he thought. 'Getting his poetic justice by being cornered before a complete and devastating defeat'.
Heretic Notes:
Hero, Villain blah blah blah.
Victim - that is the true word.
That is what this arc is all about.
There are different ways to become a villain. In the end, if everyone believes you are one, then what are you if not an actual villain?
Face off against two powerful opponents while in a disadvantageous situation - it's the second time you guys see that.
You saw it in Arc 1 when Jaune and Ren cornered Vlad.
Now you are seeing it from another point of view - the one of the person cornered.
You are wounded and two opponents won't believe a single word you say.
"Hey, I have been doing this because I just wanted to fight powerful opponents" - this is unbelievable, right?
Just like saying "I faked my way to Beacon because I wanted to be a hero" in this situation is hard to believe.
I think this arc will be longer than arc 1 and also that it will have less battles.
By the way...
C - ?
L - ?
M - The three bears.
T - ?
[CaLaMiTy]: Anti-RWBY
Have fun guessing who the others are. I will update this during the notes as the chapters pass
Heretic, out!