Weiss awoke once again, this time for good.
It was the day of her and Pyrrha's vengeance.
Nothing was going to stop her from hurting those who hurt Ruby.
She got up and dressed quickly, but quietly, noticing Blake and Yang were still sleeping, still embracing.
She grabbed her sword, and headed to the arena for warmup.
When she got there, Pyrrha and Jaune were there, training side by side, going through movements.
Jaune was definitely not the clumsy-ass kid Weiss met on their first day. He'd really filled out and put on a bit of muscle.
As Weiss watched, He and Pyrrha began to spar. It began as one sided, the red-headed gladiator gaining the upper hand right off the bat.
Weiss' jaw dropped when the sides flipped, Jaune's sword somehow managed to cut past Pyrrha's defenses, and knocked her shield away.
Pyrrha reached out with her polarity, but Jaune kicked up, disrupting her pull, and leaving her somewhat defenseless.
He pressed his advantage, eventually locking blades with her.
'She has him now… he can't possibly be… wow… he's stronger than her…' Weiss thought as Pyrrha was slowly sinking down.
She suddenly dropped to one knee, sweeping with her leg.
He jumped over her leg, causing him to lose his momentum, and she stood again.
He swung his hilt upward, using her sword as a fulcrum, and catching her chin with his hand guard, then swung out with his shield, bashing her sword from her grip.
Weiss knew now that Jaune would attack if Pyrrha dropped her guard, even for a moment, and was proven correct when Pyrrha put her hands up in surrender.
Weiss couldn't help but smile. This was the first time she'd seen the blonde win, let alone against someone as skilled as Pyrrha.
He nodded to her, staring at her.
She was doing the same.
Weiss suddenly felt very self-conscious… especially when the two moved forward in synchrony, lips colliding with fervor.
Weiss coughed slightly, startling the two out of their embrace.
Both turned beet red when they saw they had an unexpected audience.
"Oh… ugh… *cough* Well-Well done Jaune… My training isn't going to waste…" Pyrrha coughed, scratching the back of her head nervously.
Weiss just stared. It was finally a thing… Jaune and Pyrrha.
She couldn't help feel a bit let down. She would never admit it out loud, but Jaune's seemingly endless pursuit of her was actually quite cute.
Students began to enter just then, cutting off Weiss's upcoming reply.
"Well… seems like two students decided to have an unsupervised sparring match." Goodwitch said, also entering the room.
"It… wasn't entirely unsupervised, Ma'am." Weiss said, turning a little red.
"Ah, well, don't make a habit of it." The teacher said.
In the corner, she saw three people sitting, a guy with gray-black hair, a girl with green hair, and a girl with… pink and brown hair? The former two seemed to be conversing, or arguing, while the last girl eyed them both with what seemed like contempt.
Goodwitch began to address the assembled students.
"Good morning everyone! Now, today we will have team sparring. And it seems like we have visitors in our midst… a Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai?" She called out.
Mercury and company looked up, and the boy answered, "Yeah… you're forgetting one, though, professor… our friend, GHISDOA… Also from our… school."
"Oh?" Goodwitch said, a sounding surprised.
"Did you want all three of us down there, professor? Our teammate hasn't fought another student in a very long time…" Emerald asked.
The professor glanced at Weiss, who nodded.
2 vs. 3, and she'd seen none of her opponents in a match before…
"How bout… Ms. Nikos? Ms. Schnee? You two haven't fought for a while either…" She nodded, and, along with Pyrrha, approached the floor.
The enemy was already there. Pyrrha could take the boy… she excelled at one on one… Emerald looked easier, Weiss could handle her.
The last one, Chocolate, was a different story. All though the girl was one of the smallest girls she'd ever seen, she gave off the most dangerous vibe…
"Professor… 3 on 2 isn't exactly fair… even if it's against a champion and a trumped up rich girl…" Mercury said, sneering a bit.
"HEY!"
Goodwitch sighed. This Chocolate girl hadn't signed up for today's class… but her contract she couldn't turn away another student…
She pushed her glasses further up her nose, and huffed, "Very well… do I have another volunteer for this fight? Perhaps you, Mr. Wu-"
Jaune cut her off, standing up, and shouting, "I'll do it."
'What? No… this wasn't part of the plan… He's no match for any of them… even if he did beat Pyrrha once…' Weiss thought to herself, but by the time she made ready to argue, Jaune had already entered the floor.
"Very well. Mr. Arc, Ms. Schnee, and Ms. Nikos verses Mr. Black, Ms. Sustrai, and Ms… Strawberry…" Goodwitch called out, and their aura bars as well as profiles came onto the overhead screen one by one.
"Jaune, if you mess this up, so help me…" Weiss whispered to her new forced teammate.
"Don't worry. I got this…" He whispered back, though he sounded very nervous.
3
2
1
BEGIN!
-Jaune POV-
He immediately regretted his spur of the moment decision.
Black and Sustrai rocketed forward, clashing instantly with Weiss and Pyrrha, who held their own.
That left him and Strawberry.
She twirled her weapon, a simple looking umbrella, idly, staring at him.
He drew his own weapon, Crocea Mors, and unfolded his shield infront of him.
She still didn't move forward.
On his left, Pyrrha was barely holding against Mercury's powerful kicks.
While he watched, one of the boy's pants legs went up, just for a split second.
And he saw metal. Lots of it.
"Pyrrha, use polarity on his leg! Metal!" He shouted out, and Pyrrha instantly complied.
She'd learned to trust him quickly, thankfully, and pulled his foot forward with her semblance.
Surprisingly, it flew forward, faster than expected, and he followed, shouting in surprise.
He slammed into the wall, taking a good portion of damage to his aura, but was still kicking.
Weiss on the other hand, was easily overwhelming her green haired opponent.
The girl in question was being practically flung around like a bean bag… until she wasn't.
She disappeared, reappearing behind Weiss, pulling a blade from behind, and swinging.
"Weiss! Dodge!" He shouted.
Sadly, Weiss hadn't known him long enough to receive the same kind of trust Pyrrha gave, and the blade connected with her aura, cutting it down a quarter.
Suddenly, he felt a sudden weight plow into his chest, sending him rag dolling backwards.
Strawberry had taken advantage of his distraction, and joined the fight.
He jumped to his feet and stabbed at her.
She easily avoided, slapping the sword aside with her surprisingly sturdy umbrella, and slamming the crook into his stomach.
There were sudden flashes off to his right, and saw Mercury doing some kind of breakdance moves… spawning odd white globes which were swirling around him, then launched them at his teammate, who took the hit full on.
On the other side, Emerald was flashing around Weiss, seemingly teleporting herself, dodging all of Weiss' attacks.
He managed a glance at their aura bars. Both were very close to red.
Except for his… which was still nearly full.
He didn't have time to ponder this, however.
Another hard object struck him in the face, spinning him, only to receive a hard kick to his back.
This time, though, he was more ready, and instead of flying forward uncontrollably, he tucked and rolled.
BUZZ
BUZZ
Two people had been removed from the fight.
Weiss and Pyrrha.
Emerald, who still had half aura, and Mercury, who was in the dark yellow still remained.
Strawberry, meanwhile, still had a full aura.
'Dammit… I… can't beat all three… Weiss and Pyrrha couldn't even take them one on one…' He thought to himself.
He looked at the overhead screen, for once hoping to see his own aura close to death, but it was still… a hair away from being completely full.
He looked down, and noticed his enemies had surrounded him.
He managed a glance back at the stands, where Pyrrha and Weiss now sat. Weiss was crying. Pyrrha looked afraid.
'No. I will finish this fight. Or die trying. For Ruby.' He thought determinedly, thinking of his fallen friend.
Then something in his mind snapped. A warmth gathered in his hands, and behind his eyes.
It wasn't uncomfortable… but not really that welcomed either.
He noticed Mercury and Emerald had stopped cold, looking at him with a strange look in their eyes… it was fear.
Strawberry had the same look, though less so than her teammates…
What was going on?
-Mercury POV-
Mercury hated Jaune… If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have taken so much Aura damage… But just as he was getting ready to jump the little jerk, he blinked, and was suddenly… not in the arena anymore.
"What? Where?" He said, looking around.
He was somehow in his old house, before he burned it down.
"What? But-"A sharp pain suddenly exploded through the back of his head, and he looked around behind him.
There was a man there, with white hair, and a bionic hand…
"Dad?" He asked, suddenly nervous.
"You… BRAT!" His father roared, and made to hit him again.
Mercury smirked, and raised his legs to defend himself… only to find them real again.
Marcus Black's metal fist slammed into his kneecaps, shattering them.
"I practically raised you… and THIS is how you repay me?" His father smashed his elbows next.
Mercury was now utterly defenseless, and frozen with fear.
Marcus Black, his father, was the only person he ever feared.
-Emerald POV-
She opened her eyes to darkness.
She tried to move her arms and legs, but something was restricting her.
"Hello?" She called out.
"Well… Well… Well… My little thief is awake…" A sultry tone came from behind her.
Suddenly, a bright light blinded her, but only for a second.
She looked down, and found herself tied to a chair… firmly, with no chance of escape.
"Who's… Who's there?" She called.
"Don't you recognize me?" The voice said again, now familiar.
A woman stepped into her field of vision.
"Cinder?" She asked, incredulous.
This was definitely Cinder… but different.
She had glowing yellow eyes, and her head was wreathed in flame.
"Wha-? Why am I-?" She asked, unable to form full sentences.
"I… have no more need of you…" Cinder said, shaking her head in mock sadness..
"I have achieved my goals… I am the ultimate Maiden… Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring… all their powers are now mine." She said, smiling evilly, "You were only a means to an end… and you know it. You've always known it… following me like a lost dog who wants an owner… But every pet must be put down if it becomes diseased… or unwanted…"
Anger swelled in Emerald's chest.
"I followed you because I thought you wanted equality… Because I thought you were powerful enough to end all this crime… to stop the Government's rotted core… but all you wanted was power…"
The anger died as Cinder got closer, summoning white flames to her hands.
"I want no more power… I have all I want… except… Now I want YOURS!" She screamed, throwing her hands out, and engulfing her with screaming flames.
Emerald's only fear was of being used, burned, and both being done by her who she considered to be her closest friend.
-Neo/Strawberry's POV-
Neo… wasn't sure how to handle what was now happening. Mercury had fallen backward, slamming his knee and his head at the same time. Emerald collapsed. And struggled against an unseen force, screaming loudly.
The last combatant, the dumb blonde boy… had grown several inches, and gained several pounds in muscle mass.
Neo still thought she could win. Use his sudden size against him… until his fist lashed forward with unbelievable speed and smacked her small frame back several feet.
"Hehe… You have no chance. I am faster. Stronger… more powerful than you could ever be, little girl." The thing said, grinning wide… wider… too wide.
It's face split down the middle, revealing bone and muscle.
'What… Is that thing!?' She thought to herself, unable to ask the question aloud.
"Down on your knees and beg for mercy. See where that gets you. You beat me? Go head and try." It said, holding out it's hand.
A giant sword, at least three times her height, appeared out of thin air.
The thing lifted it single handedly as though it weighed nothing. A giant hammer, the head easily four times her width appeared in the other.
He swung the collosal sword in her direction, which she attempted to dodge, backflipping quickly.
Just as she landed on her feet, the hammer slammed into her torso, easily throwing her into a wall.
Her aura protected her from any real injury, but it was still painful.
She suddenly felt herself get hoisted in the air by her feet.
"I am a god, and YOU are beneath me." The thing said again, and began slamming her repeatedly into the ground, making craters with each hit.
He finally let her go, after the umpteenth slam, and began to shrink.
"You are beaten. You're agility. Your small size did NOTHING!" It said, regaining human features.
Neo's only fear was being beaten… and monsters…
-Jaunes POV-
Well… somehow, he won.
One by one, his adversaries collapsed to their knees, begging and screaming.
He looked at Goodwitch with confusion.
Her face bore the same, if not more confusion.
"Um… technically, this is still a fight?" She shouted over their screams, and motioned for him to win, somehow, and quickly.
He walked to the nearest struggling enemy, and kicked at them, taking pleasure with each kick. It both sickened him and made him happy to cause pain.
Each kick was punctuated with a repeated, "This is for Ruby."
He repeated this on the other two, until all three auras hit red.
"Match Winner… Jaune Arc?" Goodwitch shouted, still very confused.
"Jaune!" Someone shouted, pointing at the over screen.
He looked, and was surprised to see his aura was… completely gone. No red, no yellow, definitely no green.
A warm fuzziness seized his limbs, and befuddled his mind.
All he could say was, "Flrgaburbur…"
Before passing out, He saw Pyrrha and Weiss jump into the arena, and rush towards him.
He was out before they got there.
A/N: Alright. Before you wonder, Jaune's semblance is causing his enemies to see and feel their worst fear. Using it on one person depletes his aura a centimeter a second. On three people? A triple that, and speed it up. Also, the pain the three evils felt was perceived only by their minds. No actual damage was inflicted… Damage on the mind, however, can be considered worse. So was their sound defeat to your liking? P.S. If anyone can spot all the references I made in this chapter, they may receive a prize.