Heretic notes: New chapter, yay! Going back to study now
Remember, the OST you will have to play is
Land of Fans and Music 2 - 2 - 33 - The Dance of Oblivion
The blade of darkness ripped the light
The shockwave destroyed everything in its path
A one-sided war rather than a fight
Yet he stood against the Black Knight's wrath
It would be surprising for anyone if Cardin actually managed to stand a chance. Jaune, empowered by curse merely slashed the war and the black shockwaves travelled and destroyed at range.
Cardin already had fallen once and he wouldn't be able to stand against that slash twice. He would either lose all of his auta or die.
And yet...
"Why won't you DIE ALREADY!" Jaune shouted in anger, at his inability to kill his opponent.
Panting, Cardin evaded the next slash.
Chapter: Cardin VS Jaune
"You will... have to try... better than this..." Cardin smiled. "Jaunny-boy"
"GRR!"
Another slash, another shockwave.
That one was horizontal this time around. Cardin merely ducked and invaded.
"You know the funniest part, Jaune?" Cardin got up. "You landed more hits on me when I beat you up in Beacon than now with all that power"
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
Three more slashes. All in different angles as he advanced.
Cardin ran away, kept his distance and rolled on the ground, evading him.
'Good, if he keeps falling for my taunts, I can buy myself the time I need'.
Yes, all part of the strategy.
Jaune was insane right now and his rage blinded him. His attacks lacked skill and were too easy to read.
They were dangerous and should one land, Cardin would lose. And yet, that didn't happen.
With his power from the anger, Jaune lost his abolity to formulate strategies. Taken away by the chrse, his emotions made him easy to deal with as long as Cardin kept his distance.
'But if this keeps up, I'll lose' he realized.
It was a matter of time. His stamina would end up giving in while Jaune's power only grew because of the curse. The perperators for whatever that was happening in Vale would complete their plan soon enough.
Heretic: You know the drill, play Dance of Oblivion!
There were only three outcomes:
1- Jaune defeated Cardin now
2- The battle would drag on and Cardin would lose later
3- Cardin wins by either defeating Jaune or breakong the curse.
'But how the f#ck can I beat him?' He asked himself. 'There is no way that I can do this all and... and...'
The memories of the Forever Fall incident flashed upon his eyes again. Jaune alone versus a far more powerful opponent.
'I don't have any guarantee I can win' he realized it. 'I have no way to determine I can do this all without getting injured. There is a big risk here...'
But...
'They all have been doing this all along and I have just been running away'.
The incidents a few nights away and all the adventures teams RWBY and JNPR had. Everytime, they jumped in even with all the danger.
"I'm finishing this now" he muttered. "You heard me, Jaune? I said I'm beating you NOW!"
And he stepped forward against the Fallen Hero.
The blade of darkness ripped the light
He evaded every slash in his direction and closed in.
"What's the matter, Jaune?" Cardin teased him again, to make him do the moves he wanted. "Too scared to face me on close combat? You never beat me after all!"
The schockwave destroyed everything in its path
"I will make you regret those words!"
Jaune held his blade with two hands and closed in.
A one-sided war rather than a fight
The mace and the sword clashed.
A mace is a heavy weapon and a sword is fragile in comparison. Under normal circunstances, that clash would end with the mace's victory
But those were not normal circunstances.
SLASH
The sword cleaved the mace in half.
Nothing would protect Cardin anymore.
And yet...
Yet he stood against the Black Knight's wrath
As soon as his mace was destroyed, he let go of it and used the free hand to hold and push Jaune's sword hand away.
He advanced, grabbed Jaune and knocked him on the ground.
Cardin quickly grabbed his next weapon: a sharp fragment with the size of a knife - one of the many remains of Jaune's destroyed shield on the ground.
Jaune on the ground and Cardin on top of him. That was his only chance.
He held the fragment to the skies and Jaune knew what awaited for him.
He closed his eyes.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
...
?
Nothing happened.
He opened his eyes.
Cardin smiled to him.
"I win, Jaune".
Even taken by the curse. Even with all his rage. Even after all that...
"Why?" All he asked was a simple question. "Why you gave up? I will KILL you, Cardin".
Cardin let of the shard.
"But I won't kill you".
"You mock me to the very end".
"No" Cardin looked at him in the eyes. "You gave me a chance back there. You proved to me that even I deserved something like that. You deserve as much. We aren't monsters, Jaune. We don't have to die".
Jaune opened his eyes wide. Cardin smiled.
"Haha... I knew that... there was still something in there... If you can act surprised instead of angry... this means there is still hope..."
"Cardin?"
Jaune felt it - the viscous red and warm liquid covering his stomach slowly - blood.
His gaze fell from Cardin's eyes to his stomach and he understood.
"Too bad... I thought... even for a second... that I could save you..."
Cardin's eyes closed and he fainted, his body falling by Jaune's side.
"No..."
And Jaune understood - Cardin took the risk, but he didn't win the bet.
He didn't evade all of Jaune's slashes - at least one of those hit.
One slash hit him.
"No no no no no... CARDIN!"
Cracks appeared on the air. All around Jaune, it seemed as if reality was breaking apart.
The curse was finally broken and he could finally be free.
But reality didn't change.
By his side, Cardin was still mortally wounded.
"What... what have I done..."
"That's why I didn't like this plan" a female voice broke the atmosphere.
Fear and despair. Jaune turned his neck slowly.
And she stood there. The girl that defeated him, that pierced his chest with the sword, that tried to kill him.
Telka stood there.
''Please'' Jaune begged. "I... I...''
RWBY: Against All Odds
''You are a threat'' she said. ''I have too much at stake to risk it for the suicidal idiot that tried to destroy everything we built''
She raised the sword.
She readied the stance.
The blade went down and...
BANG
Telka blocked the bullet.
Roses scattered and a red hooded girl jumped in the air.
An oversized scythe clashed against the sword, sending Telka a few steps away and building distance between her and the trio.
''Ruby?'' Asked Jaune in surprise.
Ruby Rose was panting, but she quickly glanced at Cardin and asked no questions.
''Take him and leave!''
''To think...'' Telka got up. ''This would happen'' she glanced at Ruby. ''I never thought you would waste so much aura just to reach here fast enough'' the girl of coyote ears readied her stance. Far away, a star ascended to the skies. ''Fine, I will be killing the three of you!''
Arc 3 - Reversed Roles - End
Heretic notes:
Good to see you guys again even though this has been rather small.
Tests coming up and procrastination on studies happened. I'll go study now, next week will be a bloodbath.
I hope you guys enjoyed the finale of the Reversed Roles arc. I told you guys it would be a small one.
Well, this has all been planned beforehand. Except the poem.
Damn, that poem was cool. I had the idea out of nowhere just to make this a bit cooler due to the small size of the chapter in comparison to the big space of time since the last one.
I'll go study now, see you guys again!
Heretic, out!