Authors Note: Stick with me, everything will be explained in time.
It was like being shaken awake, with no gentle transition between Pyrrha being asleep and being fully-awake, adrenaline flooding to her head, forming the familiar rush of combat. It was jarring, disorienting, and she couldn't even remember how she had gotten here.
The spinning in her skull was interrupted by a sudden force that collided with her face and snapped her head back, pain rippling throughout her head as her Aura absorbed the impact. Pyrrha grit her teeth and reached out, ignoring the way her body wanted to pull away and instead moving in the direction of the attack.
Even if she felt confused and disorientated, combat was a familiar element to her, something that she had mastered. Still, the dull headache rocking her head was hard to not focus on, had she taken a blow to the head before now? Her sword made contact with her opponent as they let out a cry of pain. She took the chance to flip back and disengage, looking over her shoulder to check on her team.
The fight was going well, her team having the advantage in close combat, so long as they could avoid the sniper shots being fired at them. So long as they could keep up the pressure, their opponents would lose, outnumbered and out-matched, their hopes of victory rested upon their sniper.
Pyrrha turned to the tree line, bringing her shield up to block a bullet while zeroing in on where she had seen the shooter run off to. Actually, as she thought about it, she couldn't remember seeing her go there, she simply… knew.
She struggled to remember how she got here. The festival was… it had started last week, hadn't it? It had to have, she was standing in the arena after all. She remembered it distantly but… it felt like it had happened months ago, not days. Why couldn't she-
Her head ached and distracted her just as Brawnz jumped back in to attack her. She got her sword up in time to divert his fist to the side, moving her shield up to block his next attack when a thought struck her.
How had she known his name? She was fairly sure she'd never actually met him before and she couldn't remember them saying his name over the loudspeakers before the fight had started... In fact, the more she thought about it, she couldn't even remember stepping out onto the arena.
Her head throbbed as her opponent pushed forward, forcing her back. Pyrrha made no attempt to hold her ground, instead pulling back and allowing herself time to think.
Focus, she had to focus. Jaune had a plan for them to follow, she just had to… she couldn't remember. What had he said for them to do?
"Ren!" Nora cried out as her partner was electrocuted by Nolan.
Pyrrha turned to see Ren lying on his back, attempting to collect himself, while Nora moved to engage his opponent. She paused for a moment, taking the time to assure her teammates weren't in any danger, before her opponent was back on her.
She maneuvered herself to place Brawnz between her and the sniper as the crowds began to cheer. A moment later Professor Port's voice boomed out over the stadium, explaining her teammate's semblance as Nolan made his mistake.
It wasn't anything that she hadn't heard before and so she tuned it out, focusing on her own fight. A moment later, she stumbled forward as her thoughts caught up to her.
Had the professors ever talked about Nora's semblance before? As they spoke, Pyrrha had that familiar feeling of a lesson, one that had already been taught and was being repeated, like she had heard those exact words before, but… she'd never heard them talk about it before. Had she?
Pyrrha wasn't sure if the pain that went through her head was an attack or her headache, but it forced her back all the same. It also served as the reminder that they were in a fight, and that she didn't have the time to focus on her deja vu.
With a soft shake of her head she focused, lowering back into a stance and blocking the next attack. A moment later she watched as Nora sent her attacker flying back, her own opponent cursing under his breath and pulling back. Pyrrha moved to pursue but ducked back as another shot from the sniper hit her in the shoulder, her aura absorbing what would have certainly been certain death had she been a civilian. Moving back she ignored the pain in her shoulder, trying to gather an understanding of her surroundings.
She heard Jaune yell something back towards Nora as her teammate turned to scale the mountain. Ren moved to distract the sniper while Jaune moved up to stand beside her. He smiled and Pyrrha couldn't help but return it, despite the pain in her head.
Jaune looked forward just in time to bring his shield up and block his attackers strike. The first blade pushed his shield back while the second actually managed to smash it into his head, dazing him a bit.
Pyrrha rushed his attacker and forced him back, buying Jaunethe time that he would need to gain his bearings. Roy was a skilled, capable fighter but his saws left little in the way of defense. Once he was no longer pressing her, the fight began to turn in her favor, until his teammate showed up.
Brawnz attacked from behind, her instincts warning her at the last second allowing her to block the strike. With her back turned to one fighter, and her shield currently blocking the other, Pyrrha was forced to reassess how the fight was going. She couldn't see Jaune, but she could hear the sound of combat nearby, Nolan and he locked in a spar while she was forced to deal with two at once.
It wasn't an uncommon tactic, since people usually viewed her as the larger threat. She'd ran into that kind of problem a few times during her tournament fights but she'd always managed to come out on top. Numbers were always good, but it was never a guarantee.
She knelt down and twisted, kicking her legs out as she did and forcing her opponents back. As her feet came back down she threw her shield at Branwz before spinning with the momentum, transforming Milo into its rifle form and firing a quick few shots at her other opponent.
Pyrrha heard a foot fall behind her as her time ran out. Planting both her hands on the ground, she pushed herself up while kicking with her feet. Moving with the momentum, she managed to get back on her feet, reaching out her hand just as her shield returned.
She moved to block a strike from behind only for there to be none. As she turned back towards her one remaining opponent she heard Jaune call her name.
May was going to take a shot at Nora while she had her back turned. Pyrrha… didn't know how she knew that. A part of her wanted to stop and try to figure it out but she couldn't, she had to help Nora.
Turning her back on her opponent was something she had always been taught not to do, the danger there being obvious, but she did so without hesitation. Trusting in Jaune's plan.
It would work, she just knew it.
Pyrrha shifted her weapon into its javelin form and threw it at Branwz, his back still turned to her. The surprise and force of it was enough to make him disengage Jaune, buying them the time they needed.
Her partner angled his shield as she leapt over Brawnz and onto it. Bracing herself, she hugged her shield to her chest and focused on her semblance. Jaune pushed up with his shield as she kicked herself off of it, with the aid of her semblance she was effectively catapulted up into the air. Her shield stopped the shot just as Nora crested the hill, the sudden force launching her back into the rocks.
She heard an explosion from Nora's weapon as she fired her first shot. A moment later she heard an even larger blast as the entire arena shook.
She stood slowly, her back aching from where it had collided with the rock. Her aura should have prevented any real damage from being done, but the pain was worse than she had thought it would be. By the time she was moving, her team had already regrouped.
"Let's finish this!" Jaune gestured with his sword. "Ren, Nora, Flower Power, go!"
Ren and Nora looked at him in confusion.
"You… guys don't remember, do you?"
"Flower power?" Ren's voice was neutral, even as Nora giggled.
"Oh come on!" Jaune turned his back to their opponents. "That's your partner attack name! You bring the flower, Nora brings the power!" Ren didn't look impressed. "Pyrrha, whats ours?"
Pyrrha took her eyes off of team BRNZ, trying to think of an answer.
"Arkos." It was a blending of their names, something Jaune had been all too happy about when he explai… wait, when had he explained it to her?
He… he hadn't, at least no-
Pyrrha winced, forcing her eyes closed as she tried to block out all light. Her headache only got worse the more she struggled to think.
"Pyr?" Jaune's voice was filled with concern and helped give her something to focus on beside her own thoughts.
"I'm fine, just a headache."
"Still?"
Still? She wasn't… no, it was the same one she had had since going to see Tsune, but that had been weeks ago. Hadn't it?
Again her head throbbed, forcing her to keep her eyes closed.
She heard Jaune sigh. "Nora, just hit them with your hammer."
"With pleasure!"
Pyrrha wanted to laugh at the amusement in her teammate's voice but couldn't muster the strength to. A moment later, and the buzzers rang out signaling their victory. Professor Port's voice booming out over the arena. She tuned it out as they exited the arena.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Jaune walked closely beside her and, judging by the way he was watching her, was prepared to catch her should she fall.
"Y-yeah, just a bit tired." She smiled as best she could. "I'm already starting to feel better."
"That was awesome!" Their sister team rounded the corner, Nora leaping forth to pull them into a hug. Weiss and Blake both glared at the girl and stepped to the side, while Ruby moved away with semblance-enhanced speeds, Yang was the unfortunate individual to not notice her impending fate.
Pyrrha's smile grew a little more honest as her friends interacted, the gentle atmosphere seeming to ease up the pain within her head at least somewhat.
"Pyrrha?" She jumped at suddenly being addressed, Ruby looking at her with concern.
"I'm fine." She answered quickly, too quickly, and it was clear that Ruby thought so. As the younger girl stared at her, Pyrrha felt her resolve crumble away. "I was really out of it in that fight."
"I noticed." Ruby blushed slightly. "Not that you weren't great, you were totally awesome and all, but you seemed…" She didn't seem to be able to find the word.
"You're right, whatever it was." Pyrrha replied. "But I'm feeling better now, really." Much to her surprise, she was being honest. The headache had completely subsided, the pain along with it, and she felt normal again.
"Are you sure?" Ruby looked into her eyes and Pyrrha couldn't help but fidget slightly.
"Im sure."
"-and a chance!" Pyrrha turned back to the main conversation. She could feel Ruby watching her but wrote it off as her just being worried. Despite her young age, Ruby had shown to be far more perceptive when it came to other people's emotions.
"So who are you sending on to the doubles rounds?" Yang asked. "Well, besides Pyrrha, I mean."
Pyrrha usually blushed at such comments, implications that she was just such an obvious choice, but she didn't this time. She wasn't embarrassed, or even nervous.
She was afraid? The idea was so absurd that even she didn't understand it. What was there to be afraid of? She had fought in plenty of fights when she was doing tournaments, why did the doubles terrify her so much?
As she thought about it she realised something, the doubles didn't scare her. It was what came after. Something about the single matches…
Pyrrha clenched her fists, knuckles turning white as she gripped her weapons.
She was a champion fighter, she had fought in countless tournaments in Mistral and she had been alone in more than half of them, and yet she was still afraid.
"I…" Her voice was quiet, but it still drew the group's attention to her. Their own conversation cutting off in an instant. "I don't think I should go on." The group stayed silent and Pyrrha tried to calm her nerves. "I don't think I should fight anymore."
"Why not?" Jaune asked in confusion. He didn't seem disappointed but his words still shook her. How could she explain it? How could she explain why she didn't want to go on when she was almost certainly the best choice? Skill aside she had experience in tournaments and the farther away from the team phase they got the better she would be.
So how did she explain it?
"I-Im sick." She winced at the concerned looks from her friends. "I don't know if you saw it in the arena, but I'm not at my best right now. If I go on I think I would start making even more mistakes."
Her team shared a brief look amongst themselves before turning back to her.
"If you're sure, Nora and Ren can take the doubles and Nora can go on after that." Neither of the two complained.
Pyrrha felt relieved beyond belief. "Yes, yes, I'm sure." She felt a weight lift from her shoulders as her friends turned back to each other, speaking quietly. A moment later the world began to spin.
"Pyrrha?" Ruby was standing in front of her and helping to hold her steady. Despite her best efforts to stay standing, Pyrrha fell to the ground. The world went dark.
Pyrrha sat up in her bed, before immediately regretting her actions as her head throbbed in pain. It took her a moment to recognize her surroundings, mostly due to the blinding light that made it difficult to keep her eyes open.
She was in the Beacon infirmary.
"How are you feeling Miss Nikos?"
Pyrrha jumped at the voice, frantically looking around the room to try and identify who was speaking.
"Oh my, here, allow me to close the blinds." A moment later the room dimmed and Pyrrha sighed in relief. "How's that?"
"B-better?" Her head still hurt but she was able to open her eyes. "How did I get here?"
"Your team brought you in." Tsune stepped over from the window, moving away from the light and into a darker area that allowed pyrrha to focus on her better. "It seems you passed out from exhaustion and hit your head in the fall. You've been here overnight."
She'd passed out? That… wasn't exactly a first. More than once in her early days of training she'd pushed herself to the point of passing out, but… she hadn't been nearly so drained, had she?
"I must have over done it."
Tsune chuckled warmly. "I'd say that's an understatement."
Pyrrha shook her head softly, attempting to ignore the growing heat in her cheeks. "How soon can I-"
"You'll be able to leave in a few hours, don't worry." Tsune reassured her, stepping over to grab the clipboard at the end of her bed. "You'll also be fit to compete if you still wish to."
Pyrrha's blood turned cold. "No!" she turned away in embarrassment. "I-I mean, that would probably be a bad idea. I-I'll just let Ren take my place."
"You mean Miss Valkyrie, correct?" Pyrrha looked to her in confusion. "In order to move onto the singles you have to have competed in the doubles, meaning Miss Valkyrie would have to be the one moving on."
The… singles? but… they hadn't even fought the doubles matches yet how-
Her thoughts were cut off as the pain welled up once more.
"Hmm, I'd like to run some additional tests before you leave." Tsune stepped towards the door. "It's just a precaution, I assure you. In the meantime, I believe team RWBY's representative is about to fight, Miss Xiao Long." She gestured towards a screen set up on the wall. "You can watch it there if you wish."
A moment later she was gone. Pyrrha stared at the screen in confusion, struggling to understand what was happening.
Yang was about to fight? Something was… wrong. Yang was in danger!
How did she know that?
Pyrrha shook her head and reached for the remote on the nearby stand. She had to watch, had to see.
The screen flicked to life and she watched her friend take center stage, facing off against Mercury Black. The camera zoomed in on Yang for a moment.
Yang was a little nervous but she was fine, of course she was, but then… why was she still so worried?
Authors Note: So subtly isn't one of my strengths, clearly, but hopefully its at least enjoyable. If it's confusing that's kinda intentional, just stick with it and you'll understand in time.
Following that up, I regret to say I may be switching to bi-weekly uploads. Not certain yet, but it may be good for this story as well as my own sake. If I have a chapter good and ready to go every week you'll get it, but I'm only willing to guarantee you will get one every two weeks.
I'm still gonna strive for every week but I'm also going to try and let it get a bit more in the editing department. More often than not I get the chapter to my editors an hour or two before upload time and that's just not fair, to them or to you all, so I'm gonna be working to change that.
I'm not certain when this will take effect, you might still get one chapter a week until we reach a certain point (which I can't name because of spoilers) so we don't lose the momentum. Again, nothing is certain yet but be prepared for it.
I hope you enjoyed and as always don't forget to review and let me know what you think.
Sincerely, SE