Well, now I feel really bad about that last A/N, where I said I wouldn't be fazed if I had cancer. Especially in light of what happened.
You will be missed, Monty. Without you, I'd have never become the person I am today. A writer churning out my best work in years, and a hopefully up-and-coming animator, wholly inspired by the words you lived by.
Chapter 33: We Musn't Panic. We Musn't Panic!
Real life was not kind. Even if our little highway pursuit and subsequent fight had made headline news, classes were still going to happen. There would be no reprieves, no exceptions. Especially not with Professor Goodwitch at the helm of Combat Studies a few days later.
"Class, today we will be observing how best to fight when one is outnumbered. Miss Nikos has volunteered her services as the role of the lone fighter. Now, who wishes to volunteer themselves as her opponents?"
I just scoffed, and looked at my scroll in my lap, trying to see what classes I still had for that day. Weapon Management with Professor Kor (that wouldn't be so bad), Grimm Studies with Professor Port (a free pass for a snooze, especially since the professor hadn't brought in a single Grimm since that incident with the Boarbatusk), and a free study session.
"We'll do it."
A familiar voice yelled out behind me, causing me to flinch. Looking back, I saw a still-bandaged Cardin standing, his mace across his shoulder, with his teammates flanking him. As he looked at me, he just planted a heavy boot on my back, as if trying to put me in my place. I didn't care: Cardin was still the jackass he had presented himself to be, and I wasn't going to involve myself again. But if he touched Yang… Well, he better pray for mercy from whatever divine lord he believed in, because I would grant him no such luxury.
"Very well, Cardin. Your team will report to the Blue Team locker rooms. You will have five minutes to prepare yourselves, before the match will commence." Goodwitch stated, her voice stern. Cardin nodded, and pretended to fumble with his mace. As it clattered beside me, he knelt beside my ear, and whispered something.
"Don't worry, boy toy. You'll get yours soon enough." He hissed. I just clenched a fist, reining in all my willpower to resist stabbing him in the face. He snickered, and walked away. Yang just rubbed my shoulder.
"It's okay, sweetie. You know he's just a wuss. Besides, even Vomit Boy outshines him." She whispered in my other ear. I just turned to her.
"It's not that, Yang. He's only been out of the hospital for two days, and he's still just the same. He hates me, and I hate him." I whispered back, looking at the Scroll in my hands, and offhandedly playing a game of Snake, trying to beat my high score of three.
"You ever thought about, I dunno, being nice?" Yang whispered to me. I just shook my head.
"Be nice to the guy who threatened to kill me, and hurt both of us emotionally? Not gonna happen." I hissed. Why bother with shallow conversations and halfhearted interactions when he refused to change his ways? Cardin was a douche, plain and simple, and he wouldn't change a bit in a million years.
"Still, maybe give it a try?" She asked, gripping my chin, and forcing me to look up into her eyes. Her mouth was suggesting it, but her eyes were demanding it. She didn't even need to activate her semblance: one look told me if I didn't do as she asked, another thread would come loose on my hammock. I groaned, and rolled my eyes.
"Fine. I'll try to talk to him."
The horn sounded, and Pyrrha strode out of a dark hallway, lined with dark red strips of light, into the combat arena. From the opposing side, in a similar hallway, but illuminated in a deep blue, Team CRDL strode out, weapons ready. Cardin and Sky's weapons I already recognized by sight, but Russel and Dove's were new to me.
Russel had a pair of knives holstered on his belt, with a large spool of Dust crystals positioned as a handguard. Dove, however, simply carried a sword, simple in it's design, with a trigger located just beneath the handguard, and a groove sliding down the center of the top half of the blade. A pistol-sword, perhaps?
"A reminder: the match will end when the combatant's Aura has been depleted, or if they are no longer fit for battle. You may start when you hear the bell." Goodwitch's voice sounded, before she strode off into the darkness surrounding the arena. The lights dimmed, so that the arena was the only visible point in the room.
A spotlight illuminated a certain part of the floor, where Pyrrha stood, her weapons at the ready. Team CRDL charged, with the obvious intent of overwhelming Pyrrha with a four on one assault. And had they been paired with any other student, they would have succeeded. Unfortunately for them, Pyrrha Nikos was legendary for a very good reason. Moving with grace, precision and agility, Cardin's team weren't able to touch her. Every swipe she evaded, every bullet she dodged, and she was able to counter long before anybody even knew it.
Finally, it was down to just Dove and Cardin versus Pyrrha. But as Cardin swung his mace, he accidentally struck Dove, flooring him, and depleting his aura to red. Now Cardin was alone. But the angry look in his eyes told us all.
Teammates don't matter. All that matters is that I win.
Cardin charged for one final assault, but Pyrrha was ready. His every move was dodged, with Pyrrha landing another strike in retaliation. Finally, Cardin swung his mace upwards in a rage, desperate to land a single hit on the Amazon. Pyrrha just tumbled away, gripped Cardin's chest and threw him skywards. Leaping after him, Pyrrha slammed the butt of her weapon into Cardin's skull, sending him to the ground with a sickening crunch.
*DING*
The match was over. Pyrrha's aura was still at maximum, while Cardin, Dove, Thrush, and Lark's aura had all plummeted dangerously close to zero. Professor Goodwitch walked up to Pyrrha and Cardin.
"And that's the match. Well done, Ms. Nikos. With your skills, you should have no problems qualifying for the tournament." She beamed at Pyrrha, who merely turned her head and shrugged nonchalantly, as if to say that the spectacle was merely nothing special.
"Thank you, Professor."
Turning to her scroll, Goodwitch typed on it, removing CRDL's faces from the scoreboard, leaving Pyrrha's mugshot on the screen above us.
"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match," the professor explained. She glanced over the audience, looking for a suitable candidate.
"Any volunteers?" No one responded. After a moment, Professor Goodwitch looked towards Blake, who was busy reading a book. I didn't want to pry, personally, but I could have sworn I saw a drawing resembling the White Fang logo. It wasn't spying, really: she had had that book out, scribbling in it's pages, and flicking through it incessantly, as if it was all that mattered.
"Ms. Belladonna? You've been rather docile for the past few days. Why don't you-"
"I'll do it!"
Looking back further into the audience, I saw that the voice had come from Mercury, his hand raised eagerly. Prof. Goodwitch eyed the man with a cautious eye.
"Mercury, is it? Very well, now let's find you an opponent. We have Ezekiel Lasius, Xylia Feldberg…"
"Actually, I wanna fight… her." Mercury interrupted, pointing a finger at Pyrrha, who was clearly taken aback at this choice.
"Me?"
Goodwitch looked to Pyrrha, then back to Mercury.
"I'm sorry, but Ms. Nikos has already completed her match. I suggest you find a different-"
"Professor? It's okay. It won't be a bother." She smiled. Prof. Goodwitch sighed, and motioned for Mercury to go and prepare.
Five minutes later, Mercury emerged onto the arena, but he didn't seem to be carrying a visible weapon. I leaned forward, scrutinizing the silver-haired man, but nothing seemed to be standing out as a notable weapon. Nevertheless, I waited, watched as the combatants circled each other warily, never taking their eyes off of each other. Finally, after a few seconds charged with tension, Mercury leapt forward with blinding speed, swinging his legs at Pyrrha. She easily blocked his kicks, striking back with swipes of her sword, which he dodged and parried with relative ease. Pyrrha slammed her shield into Mercury, sending him skidding back, causing the ground to spark as he slid.
Finally, I understood: Mercury's weapons must have been some kind of weaponized greaves. Any kick would be enhanced by some kind of firearm. In retrospect, they were a lot like Ember Celica, just mounted on the legs.
Mercury charged again, clearly hoping for more powerful strikes. Pyrrha merely blocked some strikes, and effortlessly dodged the rest, weaving under the kicks with ease. Finally, Pyrrha retaliated, swiping with her sword in a reverse grip. But Mercury simply kicked it out of her hands, the pair watching as it embedded into the floor.
Taking the chance, Mercury reacted first. He kicked out at Pyrrha, but she was just as quick: she raised her hand, and weaved under the kick. Mercury then tried to aim for a straight push kick, but all he hit was Pyrrha's shield. The shot from his boot exploded against the metal, and he backflipped away, landing gracefully some ways away. Pyrrha dived for her sword, quickly swiping it up, and rolling to her feet.
As she lunged for her foe, he merely turned away, and said two words, which surprised everybody present.
"I forfeit."
Pyrrha stumbled out of her lunge, skidding to a halt past him. She looked at him, puzzled.
"You… don't even want to try?" She asked. I found it weird: both their first strikes were clearly easy, trying to see what the other could do to counter. From there, that was when they really cut loose. But for Mercury to forfeit so quickly… something didn't feel right.
"What's the point? You're a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart."
Prof. Goodwitch stepped forward, as Mercury strutted off into the darkness.
"In that case, Ms. Nikos is the winner of the match… again."
The bell sounded, and Blake jerked her head back, rubbing a tired eye. I sighed: Blake wasn't doing too great, and to be honest, it was starting to worry us. Dark shadows had appeared under her eyes, her bow had drooped slightly, and her eating habits had regressed back to barely realising that food was placed in front of her.
As we began to leave, Goodwitch's next reminder chilled me to the bone.
"And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."
This made me panic for a number of reasons. Firstly, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't dance to save my life. On numerous occasions, my dancing had been compared to Commander Shepard. Secondly, I hated wearing formal clothes of any kind; ties felt like nooses, I hated buttons, and everything was either too tight or too loose. Finally, and most importantly, Yang would be expecting me to ask her, no doubt. Not that it would be a bad thing, but she'd probably expect some grandiose gesture.
This wouldn't be solved with some on-the-fly plan pulled out of my ass. I'd have to plan.
There was no doubt about it.
I was doomed.
Looking up dances on my Scroll proved fruitless, as all I scrounged up were either barely memorable routines, or routines that I could easily remember, but required flexibility beyond what I thought was physically possible, dexterity beyond my years, and strength beyond my abilities.
So in the end, I just borrowed a dance mat from storage, and began to practice in secret. But it was awkward, not having a single notion of what I was doing, beyond the numbered footprints on the mat beneath me. It didn't help that when I got a step wrong, or mistimed my steps, a small, but painful electrical shock coursed through my body. Eventually, after three hours of steps, shocks, and pained swearing, I just gave up, sick of the small electrocutions, and constant doubts in my head telling me I'd just step on more toes than I would the dance floor. I rolled up the mat, and trudged back to the storage room to put the useless piece of junk back where it belonged.
*THUMP*
"Ouch!"
Before I knew it, I was sitting on my rump in the hallway, rubbing my head. Looking forward, I saw a familiar face in a similar position to mine, sitting on the floor, while rubbing her face.
Emerald. My face flushed, and I felt my body grow hotter.
"Darrel? We really must stop meeting like this. Rumours could start!" She cried out.
"We-um, I, uh, ah…" I stammered, trying to find some sort of coherent thought. Why was Emerald so damned attractive?! I had Yang, didn't I? What is wrong with me?!
"Um, Darrel? Are you okay?"
I blinked, and saw that in my stupor, Emerald had gotten to her feet, and was offering me a hand. I took it, and she hoisted me up.
"You okay? You seemed a little preoccupied."
I shook my head.
"Naw, it's nothing. Just… heading down to storage." I answered. Looking around for the dance mat, which had gone flying, I saw it wedged beneath a nearby table.
"Putting that back?" Emerald asked. I nodded, kneeling down and gripping it with both hands, tugging it out with difficulty. Emerald knelt beside me.
"Here, let me help you." She offered, putting her hands on the mat, dangerously close to mine. Trying to suppress a blush, I pulled with her, and the mat was yanked out from it's refuge. But as we did so, the fastener slipped off, and the mat unrolled on the ground, revealing it to Emerald. She looked down at the mat, then back to me. Then to the mat. And again to me.
"You're using this thing… why?" She asked. I decided to spill the beans. No point in lying, as I had a feeling she knew.
"Yang wants me to go to the dance, but all I really know how to do is fight. So I just borrowed an old dance mat, and tried to teach myself." I sighed. Emerald just strode across the mat, taking care to avoid the electric areas. She took my hand, and walked over, dragging me onto the mat.
"Come on, lemme help you. Follow my lead." She smiled warmly. Taking my other hand, she pressed it against her back, and held my other hand up. Humming a tune, she began to step on the mat, gracefully avoiding the electric areas with ease. Instinctively, I followed along with her rhythm, somehow managing to find the right steps. As we danced, I began to feel more at ease. It felt… more natural somehow. I didn't know how to explain it, but as we waltzed, I decided not to try.
"See? It's easy. All you need to do is relax. Focus on your core, keep an ear on the music, and most importantly, don't think about anything. Just do." She smiled, winking a red eye at me. But unfortunately, this threw me off, and before I knew it, my foot and leg were crackling angrily, and I leapt back, feeling raw energy flowing through me. I landed, and immediately began spasming wildly, my muscles twitching with electricity. Emerald loomed over me, suppressing a laugh.
"You see? Let something throw you off, and before you know it, your focus is gone." She smirked. As I felt the pain subside, she knelt down beside me.
"If you want, I could help you out, give you a few more pointers?" She asked. Finally feeling my muscles cease their incessant twitching, I sat up, and looked at her.
"You want to teach me how to dance?" I deadpanned. Emerald just shrugged.
"Well, if you want to disappoint Yang and tread on your dance partner's toes, feel free to refuse. Until then, meet me in Classroom 295." She stated, before standing up, and walking off. Standing up, I watched her go, swaying her hips as she walked, turning into a room, and shutting the door behind her. But bizarrely, I didn't hear the lock click. Rather, I heard hushed voices. My curiosity piqued, I tiptoed to the door, and saw that it was slightly ajar. Looking through the crack, I saw Emerald sitting on the floor, tapping on a Scroll. Mercury was leaning on the wall, reading a comic book, while Cinder sat on a bed, a bundle of black fabric laid neatly on her lap, and a needle in hand.
"… about the wait. Got held up."
"Lemme guess. Some hot-shot warrior wanting to flaunt his skills?"
"Mercury, do us all a favour and shut up. Anyway, Cardin Winchester. Should we put him on the list, Cinder?"
My eyebrows raised. List? What list?
"No need. I've heard rumours that he was beaten by an Ursa Major. He won't be an issue. Next?"
"Alikqi Caleum."
"Hey, I've seen him around. Isn't he the guy who doesn't flinch from attacks?"
"Yeah. One of the training dummies got him bad. All that happened was the dummy lost it's arm, and was quickly beaten to death with it."
"Interesting. Caleum may prove to be quite the brick wall. But even the sturdiest of walls can be removed… with just a little bit of pressure in the right place. Add him to the list."
Emerald tapped on her scroll, the Hunter's name coming up on the small screen. She looked up.
"And finally, Pyrrha Nikos."
Mercury looked up from his comic book, while Cinder threaded her needle through the fabric on her lap.
"Ah, the invincible girl." Cinder sighed, as if she had heard of her. But that wasn't surprising: Pyrrha was legendary for a good reason. Not many could say they were winner of their regional combat tournament for four years running.
"You know, I wouldn't use the word "invincible."" Mercury stated, making quote marks with his fingers on the last word. Cinder looked up, now wholly interested in what Mercury had to say.
"Oh? Do tell." She purred. The silver haired male looked between his two female compatriots. Emerald looked to Cinder.
"Her Semblance is polarity, but you'd never know it just by looking at her."
"After she made contact with my boots, she was able to move them about however she wanted. But she only made small adjustments." Mercury continued on.
"Just enough to make it look like she's untouchable. She doesn't broadcast her power, so it puts her opponent at a disadvantage." Emerald finished. Cinder looked to the ceiling, pondering over the explanation.
"Hmm… people assume she's fated for victory, when she is really just taking fate into her own hands. Interesting." She thought aloud, finally looking back to the duo, and pointing her needle at Emerald.
"Add her to the list."
Emerald nodded, and tapped on her scroll, typing in Pyrrha's name. I was growing worried. What was this? A kind of hit list?
"You'd be able to take her down, no problem." Mercury suggested, closing the comic book, and sliding to the ground.
"It's not about overpowering the enemy. It's about… hmm, I think it best to continue this elsewhere, away from prying eyes. Who is at the door?"
I spun away from the doorframe, my back to the wall, now breathing heavily. They'd seen me, and I was in trouble. I went to run, only for my foot to land on the rubber dance mat that lay some feet away. And it was still plugged in. A familiar shock coursed up my leg, causing me to yell for a good long while. Finally feeling the current abate, I fell backwards, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms. I didn't see who the arms belonged to, as what followed was a single punch to the face, knocking me out cold.
"Wakey-wakey!"
A loud voice in my ear shot me to an alert position. From the seconds worth of panic I had, I appeared to be in the bathroom of a dorm room, with the lights turned off. I was sitting on a chair, my wrists bound by glass manacles, as black as ash. Before me stood a familiar group.
"Ease up, Mercury."
"Enough. Go and ensure we have privacy. Now." Cinder's cold voice reverberated through the room. Both Emerald and Mercury swiftly left the room, shutting the door, and bathing us into total darkness. The outline of Cinder strode forward, and crouched, so her eyes were level with mine.
"Darrel Conway, correct?" She asked, with a tone that treaded a very thin line between soothing and terrifying. I nodded. She waved her hand, and the manacles crumbled to ash, releasing me. I looked in confusion.
"You must listen to me very carefully. You received a call on a crimson scroll your first night here, asking you to help seek a way to protect this world from annihilation. I was the one who placed that call. My name is Cinder Fall, and I need to talk with you. Now, I need to know two things. First, has Kimba told you who her foes are?" Standing before me was a Cinder Fall unlike any I had seen before. All I had known of was subtle threats, ambiguous plotting, and unsavory ideals. This one was almost begging me for information.
"Uh… what?"
She just placed her hands on my shoulders.
"Kimba! The white lion Faunus! Has she told you who her enemies are?" Cinder hissed. Nonplussed, I stuttered out a response.
"Um, i-it was th-the White Fang."
She growled audibly.
"Kimba is fooling you. She does not want the Reckoning to be prevented. She only wishes for the world to be neatly corralled up into…"
"Waitwaitwaitwait! Hold on! Why do you know about this?" I asked. Cinder sighed.
"Kimba and I… we have a… a history. But that matter is pointless. I need you to remain focused. Kimba wishes for the Reckoning to occur, simply so she can shift the balance of power. She appears to operate alone, but she has an army at her disposal. As soon as all available military groups are exhausted dealing with the uprisings of Grimm, she will unleash a worldwide coup. Following this, humanity and Faunus alike will be indoctrinated to serve her."
Cinder's words flowed faster than I could process them, but somehow, I managed to keep up. If Kimba was using me to further her own goals, then… but she had told me she wished to prevent the Reckoning.
And Cinder? I knew that she was using the White Fang for an unknown purpose, but what was it?
"You may know that I have the White Fang, and Roman at my disposal, and I understand that this may be difficult to believe, but they are the only ones who believe that the Reckoning will come to pass. They want to prevent the Reckoning as well, but as of late, I am finding it difficult to trust Torchwick. I fear he seeks to usurp me, and utilize them to assume control over the city. At this point, all I have left to trust are Mercury, Emerald… and yourself."
My head was spinning. Cinder was trying to prevent the Reckoning? But Kimba had stated that her enemies wished to let the Reckoning happen, so that they could take over. The same story, with both sides holding weight in their argument. In the end, I didn't know who to believe.
"Cinder, I'll admit that I don't trust you. That much I can do. But what you're saying… it's making my head hurt. Why do you think I'll help you?"
"Think about this, Darrel. I am in a position where I can fulfill my role as your protectorate. I have promised you a way home. Has Kimba offered you such a reward?"
That made me stop and think. Never in our conversations did Kimba ever mention that she would send me home. And the fight with the Wahtani, plus the White Fang raid… she had abandoned me on both accounts. Was she just… using me?
"It's clear that this turn of events may have you thinking. I'll let you go now, but Darrel? Please… think about what I've told you." Cinder explained, opening the door, and ushering me out into the dorm, and into the halls. She held the door open, and Mercury and Emerald strutted back inside, shutting the door and clicking the lock. I stood there for a while, still trying to piece together everything. But it was useless: Too much information was floating around. Too many questions and not enough answers.
What else was new?
AAAAAAAAAAAGH!
I love Chicken Run.
Aliqki Caleum is property of ShadedExalt. He may appear further down the line, IF the storyline allows it. Ezekiel Lasius and Xylia Feldberg are characters of my own creation.