The heat was near instant as the flames washed over me. I'd brought my arms up, shielding my body slightly, yet my armor had kept me mostly safe from any damage they could have done.
I didn't even see her move.
"Not bad." She smirked as her arm lowered. "That little suit of yours really does take the place of aura huh. I wonder how much of a beating it can take? I do hope you're ready because I like it rough!"
The woman swayed herself to the side as a clink echoed. The wall behind her broke as small chunks fell to the floor. I looked over to see Pyrrha lowering her weapon as it morphed into it's blade form. She brought up her shield, holding a stance that reminded me of my instructors back when I was starting out swordplay. Her face was calm, but her eyes held a fury to them that had my guard raised.
"I'm not to be underestimated." The champion spoke as Cinder's smirk morphed into a sultry smile. My skin crawled as she spoke; venom laced throughout her words.
"I would never dream of it, after all you've been the most fun I've had in years."
Instantly I found myself set upon as the very air around me seemed to burn. I shot myself forward towards her, intent on closing the gap. A pressure made itself known against my chest and I was lifted off the ground in a daze. Before I could even process what happened I felt more pressure.
With a crash the wall crumbled as bits of stone fell around me. The pain in my side told of where she struck, and from the looks of it I'd ended up in one of the walls. I pulled myself from the warped metal and made to face her again.
Strong; too strong for a hunter.
Aura was widely known for it's ability to increase the users strength by extreme amounts, but the way she hit felt wrong; I knew this as a cry filled my ears as she made contact. I didn't know exactly how or for what reason, but she possessed the same gift as I. Yet the rage she bore didn't radiate from her entire body, and as I looked over to the clash between her and Pyrrha I was able to make out that my previous guess was indeed correct.
Just her arm... but why?
The gift of Grimm could have empowered her further and yet she only possessed it within a single arm. Was it a choice? Did she not like the idea of turning herself completely Grimm? I could understand the sentiment if it was true as such a drastic change, even on myself, had taken some getting used to. But Cinder looked to be a woman with a lust for power; a type of person I seemed to have a knack for running into.
Pyrrha sent a flurry of quick stabs towards her midsection, occasionally going for a limb or two. Cinder however seemed to have no trouble defending at all, and even seemed to enjoy it. Each strike was blocked with her own sword which sparked with every clash.
"You are quite skilled, no wonder Ozpin favors you." Cinder taunted as Pyrrha's look soured further. Their blades seemed to lock for a second, only for Cinder to back away as shards of broken metal shot from around the room towards her at near blinding speeds.
She never even tried to dodge; instead she simply stood there with a smirk for the half second between her and the rogue debris. A gust of wind nearly threw me back as I miraculously remained on my feet. I dug my clawed fingers into the broken tiles of the floor as I struggled to keep my eyes open.
"Polarity is quite the powerful tool I will admit. Honestly had I not been paying attention to the small pulls against my blade I'd have not noticed, but in these last moments I'm sure you'll come to understand I am very perceptive." The metal was flung away as the winds died down and Cinder raised her arm. "Now come, I'm in the mood for a bit of fun."
My blade clashed against hers with a screech. She wore her smirk, but I'd already seen what happened as she blocked. For just a moment she stumbled, which revealed to me that my armored strength outpaced her own. Again and again I crashed down with Pale Bloom, and Cinder blocked each strike with apparent ease no matter the direction or angle I took, but each time she was moved just a tad.
Just a little more.
My attack's weren't getting through and each time she seemed to make a show with her defense, yet I wasn't relying on that. My focus was on her blade; specifically the cracks that began to form along it. She herself may have been able to take a beating, but her weapon could not. With one last push I gave my all and watched with slight satisfaction as the sword shattered from my final strike.
My victory was short lived however as when I went in for a more direct approach she hopped back and whisked out a puff of flame before her. A brand new blade lay tauntingly in her grasp as she let out a slight chuckle.
"That was fun, but I have plenty of toys to play with so don't think our game has ended yet."
Pyrrha launched forth as she engaged the woman once more, seemingly more ferocious as her slashes and stabs were much more targeted; directed more towards lethal damage than before. The champion looked done with everything, and appeared to be willing to end the battle permanently.
I couldn't agree more with the sentiment.
With a heavy burst of speed I joined in and our fury weaved into a mesmerizing dance. For every opening Pyrrha or I caused the other would press, and soon enough we started to make some sort of headway with the first successful hit going to her; a light slash having managed to catch Cinder by the hip.
Neither of us let up, and soon more and more of our strikes got through. Cinder herself started to lose the smirk, and I saw a hint of agitation briefly prick at her lips. That annoyance caused her to make mistakes, which Pyrrha dove to punish. I tried to follow, yet my vision was cut off as pain flowed through me.
I was knocked back - though still standing - as I fought to regain control of my body. Throughout the whole fight Cinder had made use of fire, which I stupidly assumed to be her only strength, which left me unprepared for the electrical current that flowed through my body. It took a few seconds but I managed to get my senses straight, just in time to see Cinder as she smirked. She let loose the arrow from her bow - a weapon I never even knew she had - which blindingly tore through the air towards me.
In another fit of desperation I flung myself away; embedding into the wall again, although this time in a different spot. Regardless I was ultimately untouched by the arrow as I broke out and faced her. I felt my body slouch as it struggled to keep me standing.
"H-heh, you almost got me. Let me guess, another of your toys?" I steadied my breathing and took another stance as I ignored the ache beating throughout my sides. "You'll have to do better than that." She looked to giggle at that, which put me on greater guard than before.
"Don't be ridiculous, with your speed I knew you'd see it. I just wanted you out of the way." A feeling of dread flooded through as a particularly venomous sheen flickered across her eyes. Quickly my head shot back as her voice cut across my ears.
"I wasn't aiming for you."
Everything was so agonizingly slow. Pyrrha crumpled to her knees as all sound vanished, desperately grasping towards her chest as the arrow stood tauntingly, pierced through her very core. My body went numb as I rushed to her, all the while the wound burned and amber seeped out with a poisonous glow.
The arrow did something, and the flood of light across Pyrrha's skin pushed me into overdrive. Without thinking I tore it from her, only to see it did nothing to the spread. Everything almost seemed to stop as panic tore my senses away. The pressure I placed on the wound was useless as well and I felt the warm flow of life dirty my palms, slipping through and around my fingers to stain the pristine white armor I bore.
Nothing seemed real, and I sat there for what seemed like an eternity as my mind set to taunt me for my failure.
How many times has it been now? How many times will I let them all down?
Her eyes looked into mine, wide and fearful as choked breaths rattled past.
Did I ever really have a chance? If I'd trained more would things have been different?
Her body seemed to pale slightly as the blood coated my hands.
I should have found the others first. We would have been able to win.
The scarlet hue seemed to wash from her flowing hair, and blackened mist shadowed my arms.
But what choice did I have? If I ran it might have been too late. Running head on was my only option.
Dark cracks flowed across her skin as the smoke seeped in, seeming to almost align with the dark violet that burned my greyed flesh.
"Then why does it feel so bad?"
Ruby's voice echoed throughout my mind, even as my armor faded away.
"If it's the best choice then why does it hurt?"
Her words sung almost hauntingly as I felt Pyrrha's chest fall and rise.
"Because we're powerless..." The answer slipped from my lips as I felt the last remaining shard of hope shatter. Powerless, with all the strength and abilities within I was powerless to do anything. I couldn't save Pyrrha; I couldn't protect Blake; I couldn't catch Cinder.
And I couldn't save Angela.
Why even try? How can I defend others when I can't even defend myself?
I was stilled, torn from my thoughts by a soft breathing. It flowed like music, and I'd finally focused on the world around me. The blood that matted my hands was gone, as if it were never even there, and as my eyes roamed upward until I finally saw that which knelt before me.
"P-Pyrrha?" My words stuttered as I gazed upon her.
Her once lively skin had faded, brushed with cracks as if the shell were about to break. Night seemed to lurk behind as the abyss looked to fade along the neighboring flesh. Her hair matched my own, along with the once emerald iris's that stared in confusion; they took a scarlet hue, and yet unlike mine the white of her eyes remained.
"V-V..."
The world spun almost sickeningly as I lost all feeling, and for a few seconds I waited for it to pass. It did, and as everything steadied I found myself confused as to what had occurred. I tried to squint, I tried to breath, and yet to no success. I looked off in the distance, a peculiar sight before me that brought up a single question.
Is that my-
.
.
"And stay down!" Yang shouted as she knocked out another grunt. Weiss glanced over with an annoyed look.
"Do you really have to make one-liners every time we do this?"
"It's part of the charm. Got to come up with a good quote to sell merch." Yang replied as Weiss sighed.
"You're unbearable."
"Can we keep moving please?" Blake called out as the other two rushed back. "We don't have a lot of time remember."
"We're making headway aren't we?" Yang spoke as Blake sighed.
"We need to keep moving." Ruby interjected before the Faunus girl could reply. "There are still people in there who need saving."
"Ruby's right, just because we've dealt with this area doesn't mean we've won. We have to keep our guard up." Weiss told as Yang loaded up her gauntlets once more as she looked to Blake.
"Yeah yeah I know. So Blake: get any of my good angles?" The blond asked with a smirk as Blake sighed and looked back to the scroll.
"We need to focus, we'll worry about things like that la-" Her eyes widened as she stumbled on the spot.
"Something wrong?" Yang asked as Blake fumbled with the scroll, panic adorned her face as she looked back.
"We've lost all signal!"
"What?! What do you mean we've lost signal?!" The brawler replied as Blake fumbled more.
"I can't get a connection!"
"How much did we get then?" Weiss asked with a calmer voice, although a slight panic lingered within.
"I don't know! I was just holding it out as we fought!"
"Oh come on! You mean to tell me we probably got none of that?!" Yang yelled as Ruby stepped between the two.
"Okay let's calm down. So we lost most of the stream, and yeah that's bad, but there's nothing we can do until we get signal again. Let's just focus on getting deeper in. We might be able to get to the CCT and see if we can hook up there and spread news of our success."
"True..." Weiss pondered as she looked towards the distance. "If the signal here is bad then there's no way we can get a livestream. We'll just need to take a video and upload it directly through the CCT."
"Okay fine." Yang let out a frustrated breath as she checked the dust in her gauntlets. "At least get some good angles this time."
With the plan set the team rushed off, ready to take on anything that stood in their way. Strangely enough after a while of pushing through Ruby was the first to reach a realization.
"Where is everyone?" She questioned aloud as the group slowed.
"We just got done pounding several Grimm already. Why, you want more to play with?" Yang asked as Blake deadpanned.
"Don't phrase it like that."
"Like wha-" Her eyes widened and she grumbled with a sour look. "Whatever, you know what I meant."
"It's not that. I mean what happened to the White Fang?" Ruby clarified as the four looked around.
"Huh, now that you mention it where are they?" Yang slipped as Blake scowled.
"This isn't right. They started this whole thing and were attacking back at the docks. They should still be here fighting."
"True, but we've not seen any of them for the past hour or so." The voice startled the team as they drew their weapons in the direction of Clover who held his hands up in defense. "Easy, we're not here to fight."
"Wait, aren't you the one who was with Winter?" Questioned Weiss as the man nodded. The group dropped their weapons as he spoke.
"Yeah, we've been tasked with clearing out the Fang from Beacon along with the others, but so far they seemed to have disappeared."
"Do you know why?" Asked Ruby as he shook his head.
"Honestly we have no idea. We thought it might have been because they were looking for something, but so far nothing seems to have been taken." Clover looked to the distance. "I also got word from Winter that Vermillion was headed to the CCT to find the headmaster, so we were headed there to meet up with him."
"V's there?" Questioned Yang as Clover nodded.
"This is perfect! We can team up together and upload the video at the same time!" Ruby cheered as Yang smirked.
"And we can get some shots of soldier boy here to spice things up!" Yang fist pumped. "Ah yeah! Things are looking up!"
"Let's save the celebrations for later." Weiss told as she looked to Clover. "The scrolls are down at the moment. You wouldn't happen to know why would you?"
"Not entirely, but we suspect something might be happening at the tower. It's another part of the reason we're headed there." Cover replied as Weiss sighed.
"Well, do you know how my sister is doing?" The heiress tried as the man wore a smile.
"From the way she sounded she's holding up fine. She seemed more worried about you, asking to look out for you if we met." He explained as Weiss let out a sigh of relief. "Now then, let's move while the Grimm are gone. We don't have much time before they come at us again."
"Right!"
.
.
Adam wasn't exactly happy with the turn of events, but he didn't need to be. Everything had already been in place, but the lower number of machines from Atlas meant less destruction.
Cinder had promised the world would witness their triumph, but with the sudden loss in scroll signal he heavily doubted people would really see anything.
"Sir, we've pulled out almost the entirety of our forces, just as you asked." The report came from Saw as he walked up and stood at his side. Adam smirked as he looked off in the distance at the chaos filled city.
"Good."
"Sir, if I may: is there any particular reason we aren't down there right now? All the panic and destruction would aid in our assault."
"It would, but most of that is due to the Grimm. Atlas, it seems, wasn't as bold as I would have hoped, and I'm not risking all of our men simply to do what the beasts themselves are perfectly capable of. With the signal down there's no way for any of the outside world to see us retreat, meaning we don't need to waste anymore time or lives." Adam explained as Saw faced the sight of Beacon in the distance.
"And Blake? I thought you wanted to capture her." He asked as Adam smirked.
"There will be time enough to deal with her later. Right now however we need to return to Menagerie."
"To go after the deserters?" Saw questioned as Adam chuckled.
"No, and before you ask yes I know a good forth of ours fled as this all started. Fear is a powerful motivator as you know, and with our success here I'm feeling plenty merciful. They'll live, I'll even make an announcement of forgiveness when we get back. We need to keep morale high after all, and what better way then an act of generosity?"
"If it's not to go after them then what is the real reason?"
"The brothers say they have news. I received a message yesterday that they discovered something about V, something that shatters our previous notions of him." Adam smirked as he faced Saw.
"Let's just say I'm interested in what they have to share."
.
.
Pyrrha didn't know how to feel.
Even as Vermillion's body slumped against her and began to fade she found her eyes locked onto the head which lay back against the wall. She felt the warmth of his blood as it flowed from his neck and across her skin, seeming to seep between the cracks and underneath her armor.
"Hmm, looks like my guess was right. His aura was completely empty after the armor faded. Oh well, I guess that was just a good spot of luck on my part now wasn't it." The woman before her said as the sly smile across her face seemed to laugh.
"Y...y-you..." Pyrrha couldn't get her words to form as her mind felt as though it were twisted in all sorts of knots.
"Heh, he wasn't all that difficult to deal with; I suppose the mistress was wrong in the end." Cinder faced her with a soft look as demented joy sparkled in her eyes. "Now then, how shall I deal with you."
Pyrrha couldn't move. She couldn't find the will to speak or yell, or stand or run, or cry or fear, or weep or shake. The girl couldn't even find the strength to breath. She couldn't feel anything... save something new which her mind had trouble identifying. The champion understood it, knew it, but she couldn't find the words to describe it. It was locked in her, fighting against the chains.
Yet as the body of Vermillion faded and the pauldron he wore clattered to the ground she finally understood the feeling held inside, the feeling that viciously tore from it's chains.
Hate.
Pure and honest hate. It was something the girl had never truly felt before, something alien and new. Both horrifying and beautiful the hate ripped a path through her core as if free from a life-long bond. So terrifyingly comfortable was the dreaded emotion that all she could do was sit back and shiver in it's freedom.
Die... I want you... to die.
Such a though felt foreign to the arena champion who had spent her life only ever wishing joy and comfort to those around her. Pyrrha ignored the pain and pleasure that coated her, instead simply wishing the same death silently towards the woman who brought on all the destruction that polluted Beacon.
Cinder seemed to flinch slightly, looking to ignore it as she walked up.
"How about we make this q-" She stumbled, grasping at her arm as her breathing became sporadic. "What the-" She did it again, although this time her arm shuddered and blackened.
A whining screech filled the air as the dark limb flailed and clawed of it's own accord at the woman.
"DAMNIT! WHY ARE-" Cinder's eyes settled on Pyrrha, who's thoughts consisted of only horrid wishes upon the woman. "YOU!"
Pyrrha remained kneeling as Cinder fought her own arm; although unknown to the champion the wound that pierced her chest had vanished, and her iris's burned with a bright glow. Fury filled the champion's mind as she failed to pay attention to what was happening. Soon enough she found herself flying back, her eyes catching the rippling winds that surrounded her foe.
She fell hard to the ground below, standing almost instantly as her sight was free of the vile woman.
NO!
Pyrrha would not let her escape, and as her senses returned she bolted back to the tower with renewed energy, leaping and climbing as she struggled in panic to get back up. Upon reaching the top she saw that Cinder was gone, and in a fury she let out a guttural roar.
The scream itself shook the very ground she stood on, and as she dropped to her knees she felt drained. Everything was heavy and she had trouble keeping her eyes open. Yet her vision zeroed in on the black rose that stood defiantly on the crumpled floor. Unlike the rest of Vermillion's clothes which lay in tatters everywhere the pauldron had remained pristine.
Slowly she crawled over to it and took it in her arms.
I should have died...
Yet she lived. He'd done something to her, something that she never noticed at the time. However it cost him his armor, and with it his life. Pyrrha saw the dark cracks rippled down her arms; she saw the way her skin seemed to fade of life. It scared her more than anything, but that fear was overcome with grief.
It should have been me.
It was all her fault, and there was nothing she could do about it. Pyrrha was tired, the most tired she had ever been. And even as distant voices filled her ears like whispers she just couldn't keep her eyes open.
Pyrrha succumbed to the slumber.
Author's note
...
Here we are again.
I still have trouble with fight scenes, but I think this one was passable enough this time. We also got Adam showing up again, this time with new plans set in motion.
And then there's Pyrrha, oh boy there's Pyrrha. Let's be real here, you never thought this would all blow over swimmingly did you? Sure she survived just barely, but at a cost.
A life for a life.