Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan run series made purely for entertainment purposes. Elizabeth Briar belongs to Mojo1586 and Pyrrha Nikos, (along with the rest of RWBY) belongs to Rooster Teeth.
I've got a brief announcement to get out of the way before the chapter proper. Due to a number of factors, namely time constraints and the radically different fighting styles employed by RWBY OCs, we can no longer include a fight scene at the end of every chapter. While we will do our best to paint a vivid picture of how these fights will turn out, don't expect a full fight scene all of the time.
Which chapters get a fight will primarily be determined by our schedules. If anyone is willing to write fights for us it would be greatly appreciated. Now, on to what everyone came here for.
Pyrrha Nikos Vs Elizabeth Briar
The Minstrali Champion Vs The Deceiver
Born 17 years before the Battle of Beacon Pyrrha Nikos was a Huntress in training who operated before Cinder Fall's rise to power. Training at Sanctum academy she quickly rose to prominence after becoming the four time victor of the Mistral Regional Tournament, an unprecedented feat. From that point onward she became an international celebrity, her face and deeds known throughout Remnant.
At the age of seventeen Pyrrha joined Beacon Academy, hoping to hone her skills and become a Huntress. Early in the year she developed a romantic interest in Jaune Arc, her partner and leader. During her time at Beacon she began the training Arc, who had applied with false papers, as a swordsman and warrior. She was rather successful, and in the space of a few months Arc went from an incompetent weakling to a skilled fighter capable of facing Grimm in single combat.
Nikos also took part in several battles and sporting events in Vale. Most notable among them being the Valen Breach, the Vytal Tournament, and the Battle of Beacon, where she would meet her demise. During the Vytal Tournament it was revealed to Pyrrha that she was suitable to become the next Fall Maiden.
This sent her into emotional panic, being forced to weigh the responsibility of becoming a Maiden against being with the man she loved. Things came to a head when Pyrrha faced the android Penny during the third round of the Vytal Tournament. After a fierce battle Pyrrha was placed under the influence of Emerald Sustrai and was tricked into killing the artificial life form.
The destruction of Penny was the catalyst for Cinder Fall's plans, and a combined force of Grimm and White Fang attacked Vale. Soon afterwards a virus implanted in the CCT caused Atlesian AK-200s to attack both their creators and Valen allies. During the chaos Ozpin took Pyrrha taken to a secret chamber underneath the Emerald Tower and attempted to give her the powers of the Fall Maiden. His gambit was unsuccessful when Cinder Fall killed Amber Autumn, gaining the full power of the Maiden.
Ozpin instructed Nikos to leave the chamber, and stayed behind to face Cinder alone while she escaped. The old man was defeated by Cinder, and the new Maiden ascended to the top of the tower.
As she fled Beacon Pyrrha decided to confess her love to Jaune Arc, kissing him before shoving him in a locker and pursuing Cinder. After a titanic duel in Ozpin's former office Nikos was defeated, and executed by the new Maiden, destroyed by that should have been hers.
Elizabeth Briar was the daughter of an Altesian humanitarian worker who traveled Remnant. After the rise of the White Fang five years before the Battle of Beacon they began a rampage across the world, leaving blood in their wake. Elizabeth was one of their earlier victims, loosing her father, witnessing her brother's torture, and enduring the Fang's brutality personally.
These events left Elizabeth and her brother Edward desperate and without a home. Eventually they were picked up by the Red Hand and trained to become Trappers, the superhuman butchers of Humanity's saviors. During basic training Briar learned a wide range of skills that would serve her well including marksmanship, hand to hand combat, and the use of knives.
At the conclusion of Briar's basic training she underwent the Gen 2 physical augmentation procedure, boosting her strength, agility, reflexes, senses, and stamina to superhuman levels. She made a swift recovery and was apprenticed to the renowned bounty hunter Fortuna Marigold along with fellow Gen 2 Joel Ambrose.
Under Marigold's tutelage Elizabeth learned Dust Infusion, becoming highly skilled in both internal and external variants of the art. She also formed a romantic connection with Ambrose, meant as a distraction from the horrors of her past and the battlefield.
After Joel Ambrose and Fortuna Marigold left the Red Hand Elizabeth threw herself into her work, operating as an assassin for the Red Hand. Her most notable display being the murders of two Atlesian Specialists during a raid on an Atlas military train.
Her success ultimately worked against her. Elizabeth's maverick attitude and excellent track record had her under surveillance by the Red Hand before the Bastion Purges. After she ran from the carnage she was injured by Lucas Violette's chief enforcer, Virgil Jett.
After escaping from the carnage Elizabeth teamed up with other Trapper dissenters in an attempt to assassinate Lucas. This plan ended in utter failure, and Briar was forced to flee. Stealing a prototype ship and outmaneuvering the frontier city's defenses she took part in the Battle for Vale. Briar's ultimate fate is, as of this writing, unknown.
A/N: Hello everyone, Wa7chface and I are excited to bring you out first cannon Vs OC matchup. However, there are a few things we need to clarify about this match. Namely, the sources we will be drawing from concerning each fighter.
We will only be taking Pyrrha's abilities from RWBY Volumes 1-3 into account. Her appearances in RWBY Chibi being non cannon and her abilities in any fanfiction being inconsistent at best. This will not be drawing from Team AMBR: Finding Redemption. For Elizabeth Briar we will only be drawing from Team AMBR: Finding Redemption. As Wa7chface's Rule of Tyrants takes place too far back in Elizabeth's career for us to draw any conclusions relevant to this contest.
One more thing. This chapter, along with everything we do here in this series, is our option. If you happen to disagree, that's fine. All we ask is that you remain civil if you choose to voice your disagreement, and be able to defend your argument.
Physical Capabilities and Handicaps
Pyrrha Nikos was a tall and athletically build human female, born seventeen years before Battle of Beacon. As a Huntress in training Pyrrha was in excellent physical shape, showcasing excellent speed and agility. Past this, she never showed any particular strengths or weaknesses.
As a Second Generation Trapper Elizabeth Briar's physical abilities were pushed far beyond those of normal Humans, their abilities better compared to a Faunus. She displayed excellent strength, speed, reflexes, and dexterity.
However, these enhanced abilities are a double edged sword. Due to her enhanced senses Elizabeth is unusually susceptible to loud noises like gunfire. While we do not believe that she's as sensitive as her contemporary Virgil Jett, who would be in debilitating pain if in immediate proximity to a high caliber gunshot, she is still relatively vulnerable.
It should also be noted that Trapper Augmentation doesn't change a person's build, it simply enhances what's already there. Since Elizabeth had a relatively light build before she underwent the augmentation her levels of strength, while beyond that of an Aura trained human, isn't anywhere near that of Joel Amberose, Glimmer Fulmark, or Alexander Capaneus.
This is easy to call. There are very few cases where I would give a normal human the edge over a Trapper in a physical sense. Normally, Trappers are superior to normal humans in nearly every way. While Pyrrha can contend with Liz in speed and acrobatics there's no way in hell she can compete with Briar's strength. Elizabeth Briar takes the edge in Physical Abilities and handicaps.
Weapons and Equipment
As a Trapper focused more on infiltration than combat Elizabeth carried far lighter weaponry than her contemporaries. Her primary weapons were Thorns, Dust cored that were triggered by her Aura. It should also be noted that Briar's vambraces hold Dust which can be deployed for External Infusion.
During her escape from Bastion Briar also acquired a set of new body armor utilized by Trappers. This armor is a composite of Bastion forged Silver and Kevlar. Such materials made it resistant to most low to medium caliber non-Dust rounds, the most protected areas being her chest and back. However, protection on the inside of her elbows, knees, neck, and ankles was practically nonexistent.
Pyrrha Nikos wielded two different weapons, Milo and Akoúo. Milo was a tripple form weapon with modes concerning a Xiphos, a Spear, and a Rifle. Akoúo was a medium sized shield resembling a Greek Hoplon. Both weapons were magnetic, allowing the champion to manipulate them with her Semblance.
This is rather difficult. Elizabeth's weapons are far more devastating than Pyrrha's, but Pyrrha's weapons are far more flexible and can be applied in far more combat scenarios. Elizabeth had better armor but Pyrrha's rifle can likely pierce it. At the end of the day, Elizabeth's Dust meets Pyrrha's armament beat for beat. Elizabeth Briar and Pyrrha Nikos are equal in equipment.
Semblance
Pyrrha's greatest asset in battle was undoubtedly her Semblance. With the power to control magnetism she was able to manipulate her opponent's weapons and armor with relative ease, as long as those weapons were made of magnetic materials.
Due to the clear advantages of this ability Pyrrha used it constantly in a subversive manner, perfecting to avoid more grandiose displays of power. Nikos was constantly utilizing the magnetic properties of both her weapons and her opponents, granting her the title the Invincible Girl. On a small scale she was able to manipulate the weapons on a battlefield with pinpoint precision and on a larger scale she was able to lift and throw several of the giant steel gears from Beacon Tower, each of which weighed several hundred pounds.
Pyrrha's abilities were often the deciding factor in her fights. Due to the metallurgy of weapons in the RWBYverse she enjoyed a massive advantage over her opponents.
Due to her position as one of the Red Hand's best infiltrators Elizabeth's Semblance was a major boon. She was born with a color shifting Aura and could leave impressions on others, manipulating their first impressions of her to affect emotions. The impact of this ability is inconsistent at best.
If an opponent is able to learn what Elizabeth is doing and possesses the mental discipline to resist than her Semblance is all but useless. Benjamin Carson was able to resist to the point of practical immunity after only a single exposure, but her longtime compatriot Virgil Jett was still somewhat vulnerable.
This leaves us with two theories. One, Virgil is somehow not able to immunize himself from Elizabeth's Semblance despite his extended exposure. Two, Virgil is unaware of Elizabeth's Semblance and is therefore unable to defend himself against it.
We believe the second is more likely. Virgil Jett is a psychopath, but he is incredibly disciplined. This is the man who managed to keep calm in the face of Atlesian attack on the Red Hand base, setting up a brilliant ambush, stand his ground against an enraged Rieka Murasaki, and drive himself through the Dust attacks of Elizabeth Briar despite his fear of fire.
If this is the case Pyrrha would be incapable of defending against Liz's semblance. While it may not have a devastating effect on combat like Weiss's Glyphs or Sun's clones psychological warfare is a potent weapon.
Due to the specifications of Elizabeth's weapons and armor, namely the general lack of magnetic material in her weapons and armor, this was incredibly difficult to call. Pyrrha's Semblance would allow her to defend against Elizabeth's Thorns but Liz's Semblance would off balance Pyrrha, a gut feeling of fear making her reluctant to engage. As we are unaware how Pyrrha would've reacted under such circumstances I'm forced to assume she would still engage, but extremely cautiously. Meanwhile, Pyrrha's Semblance would effectively neutrelize Elizabeth's primary weapon. Pyrrha Nikos gets the edge for Semblance.
Martial Arts Training/Dust Abilities
As the top 1st year student at Beacon Academy Pyrrha Nikos was a high level martial artist and duelist. Pyrrha's greatest martial asset was her Semblance, often utilizing a constant, discreet application to interfere with the enemy's weapon. This bolstered her fighting style, a highly aggressive offense based around overwhelming the enemy through sheer attack frequency backed up by an evasion/deflection based defense.
As with nearly every other Hunter at Beacon Academy Pyrrha's offense was incredibly aggressive, with the clear intent to overwhelm the enemy as quickly as possible. She accomplished this through speed based bladework, constant and rapid shifts in her weapon's mode, along with skillful integration of unarmed strikes.
Her defense was where her Semblance held the most influence. By manipulating the metal in an opponent's weapon Pyrrha was able to change the trajectory of an attack to either miss my a hairsbreath, or allow Pyrrha to more easily parry the blow. This was by far Pyrrha's most effective tactic, and earned her the title "The Invincible Girl."
As effective as Pyrrha's method was it had one massive problem. It relied heavily on her Semblance, which wasn't always perfect. Her Semblance has been overwhelmed by sheer multitude of attacks on more than one occasion, including a brief exchange with Dove Bronzewing and Russell Thrush, and several times against Penny Polentina. Her defenses were also drastically reduced against enemies who did not use magnetic weapons, as was shown against Cinder Fall.
Taking into account Pyrrha's performance against CRDL, BRNZ, Penny, and Cinder, it is possible that her defense became, if not reliant upon, heavily based around her Semblance. Evidence of this can be found when comparing her battles against Penny and Cider. Penny clearly had a greater offensive mêlée output than Cinder, but Cinder landed far more hits. Similarly, she had far less trouble penetrating Penny's guard.
Ultimately, Pyrrha Nikos was a highly skilled martial artist, but was cursed with a powerful Semblance. She used her Semblance so often that she compromised her native defenses, and in the end she paid the price.
Elizabeth Briar was one of the few Generation 2 Trappers who did not receive combat training before she was recruited into the program, her first experiences being in Red Hand boot camp. Therefore, she was not as skilled or experienced in martial arts as her contemporaries.
It can be assumed that Elizabeth was capable in unarmed combat, her enhanced physicality making up for any disparities in skill, and likely has a basic understanding of knife fighting and marksmanship. However, there is a great deal more to be said of her application of Dust.
As the apprentice of Fortuna Marigold Elizabeth Briar had access to a great deal of knowledge about Dust application. Normally this took the form of Elizabeth's aura triggered Thorns, though she did have prodigious skill with Infusion. This was the act of directly combining a Hunter's Aura with Dust, amplifying the connection, and therefore power, of a Dust Mage to their Dust.
Due to her malleable, color shifting Aura Liz was the first Mage who was able to manipulate all four kinds of Dust during Infusion. (Wa7chface: Infusion has been used by a grand total of four people, not exactly a big sample size.) This unprecedented versatility proved to be her greatest asset, as she was able to keep her opponents on their toes with a massive variety of attacks. Briar also showed a great amount of magnitude in her powers, manipulating large amounts of Dust.
Her powers with External Infusion took the form of a Dust cloud, with mechanisms in her Vmabraces blending together several kinds of Dust which are then manipulated by direct interaction with Briar's Aura. This cloud surrounds Elizabeth. The Dust acts like a screen which melts most projectiles, Briar to launch Dust based attacks from near complete safety.
As powerful as Infusion was it had problems. There is only a finite amount of Dust Elizabeth can control at any given time, limiting both her offensive and defensive output. She is also operating on a time limit, as her Aura can only sustain External Infusion for so long. I would put this limit at ten minutes, as Briar has roughly the same level Aura as a 1st year Beacon student.
In conclusion, Elizabeth isn't the best warrior, but she is a powerful Dust Mage who used her powers with precision and magnitude. While she may not be some unstoppable force like Joel Ambrose or Virgil Jett, she is certainly formidable in her own right.
Pyrrha and Elizabeth are two very different beasts when it comes to martial arts. Pyrrha relied upon her Semblance and aggression to achieve victory while Elizabeth used Dust and her physicality. While our first impulse was to hand this edge to Pyrrha on the back of her Semblance we must take one thing into account. The only thing Pyrrha would be able to effect would be Briar's Thorns, everything else is non magnetic. Therefore Pyrrha's greatest asset is neutralized. Meanwhile Elizabeth's Infusion offense and defense remains as potent as ever. Elizabeth Briar gets the edge as a-
Judge: Wait, what should we call this category?
Wa7chface: I don't know.
Judge: I wanna say martial arts, but Liz got an edge off of etherial power, not physical.
Wa7chface: Alrighty then. Elizabeth Briar gets the edge in whatever the hell this category is called.
Verdict
Judge: No one can deny that Elizabeth Briar and Pyrrha Nikos are two very different fighters. However, they have one thing in common. They're both tricksters who sell themselves as all powerful, but rely upon esoteric abilities to defeat their opponents. Pyrrha relies on her Semblance, Elizabeth used a combination of her Semblance and Dust. One's first impulse would be to compare this fight to Pyrrha's fight with Cinder, where she clearly held the edge in martial arts and held her own against a Maiden. However, this doesn't account for Cider's extreme arrogance.
Wa7chface: Cinder had just received the full power of the Fall Maiden, and believed that she was invincible. Therefore she was perfectly willing to engage Pyrrha in close quarters combat, where Pyrrha had an advantage. Elizabeth isn't that arrogant, and wouldn't make the same mistake. Against someone of Pyrrha's renown, she would use External Infusion as early as possible.
Judge: While Cinder is undoubtedly more powerful than Elizabeth, she also had no qualms fighting Nikos in close combat, and didn't try to maintain distance. Briar would do everything in her power to keep Pyrrha far away, where her advantage was greatest.
Wa7chface: This fight would play out in a similar fashion to the the battle between Darth Sideous and Yoda in the Revenge of the Sith novelizatation. Initially they would face off in martial arts combat, and Pyrrha would take the early edge.
Judge: Elizabeth would know that she cannot win in close quarters, and would use a Thorn to force Pyrrha to break off.
Wa7chface: Once she had a bit of distance between them Elizabeth would break out Infusion and start blasting away at range, any retaliatory fire absorbed by the Dust Screen.
Judge: From here on out Elizabeth would be racing against the clock, trying to break through or bypass Pyrrha's defenses before her Aura or Dust supplies were exhausted. Fortunately for her, Pyrrha would constantly try to reengaged in close combat, and making herself an easy target for Wind and Ice Dust.
Wa7chface: This problem would only worsen if Pyrrha tried to throw her spear or shield, as the weapons would, at best, become half molten slag. It may take a few minutes, but Elizabeth's Dust would wear Pyrrha down. We declare Elizabeth Briar the victor.
Judge: Remember this is just our opinion. If you disagree, let us know in the reviews or PMs. Just try to be civil.
Wa7chface: Or use all those dirty, dirty words you learned from Reddit on us. This is the Internet after all.
This was the first time we analyzed two fighters where we didn't have much to say about heir martial arts abilities. How did we do?