A.N: So, first thing's first. I want to acknowledge this for everyone who read my announcement awhile back about my burnout. As I've said before, I'm burned out on a few stories whose quality I no longer believe in as of now and need to step back on for now, until I reach a point where I can once again believe in the quality of those stories. I have not given up on Wild Hunt though, or writing for this site in general. Unfortunately, my curse and biggest flaw is that I believe in making sure my absolute best is given to the people who take time out of their day for the sake of my work. And unfortunately, that's going to cause moments like what happened the other week.
So with that out of the way, please enjoy this chapter of Wild Hunt.
Chapter 54: Stand Your Ground
Professor Ozpin found himself staring at his next major obstacle with a mixture of concern and utter bewilderment. After taking a moment to process his surroundings, he bluntly admitted, "This is getting too weird. I want out of this damn world." He bluntly admitted.
The Cheshire Cat then appeared next to Ozpin. "This is your next challenge, Professor!" He exclaimed. "It is so mad, so insane! Wouldn't you agree?"
Ozpin hummed at this as he stared out at his next challenge: An entire army of men made of red playing cards, carrying spears. Behind them all was a massive, crimson red castle that the sun hit just right, making it glisten. "I…lost count after the first couple thousand soldiers." He admitted.
"Oho? Ready to give up yet? That would be the sanest thing you could do, ya know!" The Cheshire Cat pointed out.
"Well, after everything I have been through, if people did call me insane, I wouldn't necessarily be bothered. In fact, to some degree, I would actually agree with them." Ozpin smirked. "That in mind, with how far I've come, why would I stop now, hmm?"
This made the Cheshire Cat in amusement. "Oho! You are insane!" He declared. "Yes, yes, yes! I love it! To survive in a world like this, you've got to be as mad as a hatter, Professor Ozpin!"
Ozpin let out a hum at this. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I've been fighting the same war for thousands of years. Perhaps I've been trying different strategies to win with every single failure I've undergone, it doesn't change the fact that I continue fighting what seems like an unwinnable battle. Ozpin acknowledged inwardly.
His grip on his cane tightened. Ozpin lifted it like a fencer, ready to duel. Whether it's insane or not, I have a duty. Not to the gods, but to the people who deserve to live safely from her influence. So I will not let this mad world hold me! There are too many who depend on me, knowingly and unknowingly!
The army of card soldiers all trained their spears on Ozpin simultaneously. Then, Ozpin heard the loud shrill voice of a woman that he could only assume resided in the castle. "Off with his head!"
Ozpin's expression turned to utter bewilderment. "Umm…what?" He said in a flat tone of voice.
"Ah, yes, that is the Red Queen of Hearts! Quite the temperamental tart, wouldn't you agree, Professor Ozpin?" The Cheshire Cat exclaimed.
Ozpin let out a light hum. "Certainly not the best at first impressions." He noted. "I mean really, she sees me for the first time ever and her first reaction is 'off with his head'?"
"Perhaps you just have that effect on people, Professor." The Cheshire Cat offered.
Ozpin instinctively glared at the cat for that rude comment. He then cracked his neck. "Forget it then, queen or not, I'm going to drop all formalities if she's going to be that rude to me." He declared.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Emerald Sustrai emerged from the small forest fire that Weiss Schnee had created with her glyphs exploding. Soot covered her body due to being caught in the explosion, but otherwise she looked fine. "You're pretty damn deranged for some prim and proper bitch." Emerald spat.
"Coming from the girl insanely devoted to a mass murderer, that's practically a compliment." Weiss countered.
"Still, thanks a ton for showing yourself." Weiss smirked. "Now I don't have to set the whole forest on fire to smoke you out."
Emerald was briefly taken aback by that statement. "Oh my gods," she muttered in disbelief, "you actually would have done that, huh?"
"Gotta win, right?" Weiss pointed out. "Whatever side you're on in a fight, if there's one thing each side has in common is that both have to be prepared to do what it takes to win. In that regard, you can't worry about things such as noble status or winning with style. Maybe that was who I was back then, but I've done some of my own growing since Vytal."
Emerald narrowed her eyes. She certainly pulled a few gutsy moves during the tournament. Cinder said that she was the biggest threat because of her family's Semblance. But I brushed it aside back then because everything I saw actually told me Cinder was being overcautious. I saw a girl with a fighting style that was too damn rigid. Probably the result of a sheltered upbringing. Emerald remembered. But this isn't the same rich girl from then. Damn it, must be that blasted Hansel's influence. He fought like a lunatic too.
Emerald took a deep breath. Okay, now calm down, Em. You're useless to Cinder like this. Prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19…okay, there we go. If her fighting style has been switched up for a more destructive, aggressive style that makes full use of those glyphs of hers, and not like some ice skating ballerina, then I need to switch up my style as well.
Emerald readied her own weapons. "I guess you're not really as beneath me as I thought." She acknowledged. "I underestimated you, my bad."
Weiss could not tell if Emerald was apologizing to her, to herself, or to Cinder. "You're right, if I'm going to beat you, I can't fight like a thief, I have to fight like the Huntress and assassin that Cinder trained me to be." Emerald continued.
With that, Emerald charged towards Weiss. Weiss raised Myrtenaster, ready to counter, only for the ground to suddenly crack beneath her feet. A centipede-like Grimm came out of the ground, drawing Weiss' attention. A Grimm? No, an illusion!
Weiss turned her attention back to Emerald, only to suddenly be treated to the sight of two of the same girl rushing her, running in a zig-zag formation to constantly swap places. Damn it, even if I know she can use illusions to trick me, that brief moment where they appear is enough to make my thoughts falter and lose focus! Weiss realized.
Weiss was then slashed across the stomach by Emerald's weapons. I've got her now! Weiss recovered from the attack and fired several icy projectiles from miniature glyphs.
Emerald leapt into the air to avoid Weiss' projectiles, only for Weiss to suddenly take another slash to the side.
Emerald then materialized at her side as the Emerald that leapt into the air dissipated into mist. To beat someone being uncharacteristically aggressive, you've got to match them with your own aggression! Emerald declared inwardly.
Weiss aimed Myrtenaster at Emerald once more, only for a shadow to suddenly envelop her. She looked up to see a burning tree falling towards her. Instinctively, she rolled out of the way and was then peppered by a volley of gunfire from Emerald.
She still outpaces me in terms of physical abilities. Weiss realized. If I don't adjust soon, I'm done for!
Emerald grinned at Weiss' exposed neck, watching as Weiss stumbled away, dazed from the gunfire. She tried to steady herself with Myrtenaster. I'll take her head now!
Emerald then charged Weiss, content in her victory. However, she was suddenly forced to her knees by an extremely dense pressure when she was ten feet away from Weiss. "What the fuck?!" She exclaimed.
Weiss chuckled, recovering from Emerald's last attack. "You're not the only one who can set traps, Emerald. Look at your feet."
Emerald did as asked and gasped when she saw she was inside a purple-colored glyph. "A gravity-based glyph. I wasn't just steadying myself with Myrtenaster, I was laying my next move down." Weiss revealed. "I knew that with your Hallucinations messing with my head, you'd be comfortable enough to go for a direct assault. In fact, all you could do was a direct attack because you didn't want to give me the chance to recover."
"You…bitch!" Emerald snarled as Weiss trained Myrtenaster on her.
Nearby, in the middle of a different battle, Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black were still trading blows with each other. Punches against kicks. Mercury scowled as Yang matched him blow for blow. Yang, for her part, was getting rather confident in her own chances for victory. After watching a guy like Gin go to work with his own kicks, this guy's not that scary anymore. She admitted to herself.
However, there was admittedly one thing that worried Yang. Why was Mercury not using his Semblance. Semblances often had very distinct sounds or just had very obvious appearances. Neither of those were showing up for Yang. Is he not taking me seriously? No, we've fought twice, he should know that he can't just brush me off, especially after I've decked his sorry ass a couple of times today. So what's up?
Yang then took a moment to gauge the power she was storing thanks to her Semblance. Still good on that front. As much as I'd like to just take him out, there are still too many unknowns about him. But damn it, Ruby and Blake are running ahead when that crazy bitch Cinder is probably out there somewhere. I need to catch up with them as well.
Yang then grabbed onto one of Mercury's legs and attempted to throw him into the air. However, Mercury kicked her in the jaw, emptying a shell into her face as well. The force of the impact forced Yang to let go as he pushed off to create some distance. Then, Mercury threw a midair roundhouse kick that fired another shell that curved and struck Yang in the shoulder. If he's one of those Huntsmen who lacks Semblances, then that's insane! Yang noted.
Mercury landed and quickly launched himself at Yang with two shells fired at the ground to act as an ignition boost. He used the momentum to throw a somersaulting axe-kick. Yang held both arms up and managed to block the kick, but her knees nearly buckled from the force of the impact. Mercury then fired an errant shell that whizzed past the top of Yang's head. He landed on his hands and then pushed himself upwards into a backwards flip before letting fly another shell into Yang's stomach.
Yang groaned from the blow, recovering in time to knock Mercury's roundhouse kick away. Mercury was forced to use his hands to grab Yang's wrists, forcing the two into a standoff. Both desperately tried to get the upperhand in terms of raw physical strength. "You caught me by surprise earlier." Mercury admitted. "In our last fight, you just kept throwing hands. And if that didn't work, you just threw hands harder. But look at you now, destroying stereotypes like some girl-boss."
"And in our last fight, you were a smug asshole." Yang countered. "Fast forward to today, and you're still a smug asshole."
"Yet here we are, still evenly matched. Now how about you get mad and lash out like you're supposed to." Mercury taunted. "Get that hair all fiery and those eyes all red. Ya know you want to, Blondie. You know that I piss you off."
"You do, but the way I see it, we're evenly matched without me having to get pissed." Yang noted. "How about you do what the bad guys are supposed to do and bust out your own trump card and make me use mine, eh?"
Mercury's smug smile faded. "Come on then, Mercury." Yang taunted. "Show me that Semblance of yours, already. You ain't gonna beat me without it."
This is just to confirm. If he doesn't have one, then he's definitely tough to have gotten this strong without relying on a Semblance. But if I know he doesn't actually have one, I can use mine without fear.
"Oi, Blondie." Yang was cut from her thoughts by an eerily calm Mercury. "Anyone ever tell ya you're a bit too good at pushing the wrong buttons?"
Before Yang could react, Mercury jumped up and kneed her in the gut. He then fired a shell that turned said knee into a straight-up kick that hit her square in the jaw. Yang yelled in surprise as she was sent airborne by the attack. He set up his next move so quickly! And that flexibility is crazy! Yang noted.
Mercury then threw another powerful kick to the stomach that sent her through a tree. "Ooh, let's all point and laugh at the guy with no Semblance. Check me out with my totally badass Semblance, girls." Mercury mocked, upping his pitch to cruelly mimic Yang.
"Let me explain something to you, Blondie." Mercury continued. "Yeah, I do have no Semblance. But here's the thing, it ain't because I never developed one. To be more specific, I had a Semblance."
"But my old man? He decided to take it with his Semblance. You know what he told me? He told me I'd get it back once I was stronger."
There's a Semblance out there that can steal Semblances? Yang was shocked.
"So I got stronger, but here's the kicker, I never got it back!" Mercury yelled, eyes wide with rage now. "So I killed him. I killed him and I thought that would give me back what was mine, but in the end, it didn't! I guess the Semblances that the bastard held onto died with him! Would've been nice if my dad gave me that little tidbit of info. He'd still be alive if he did."
Yang's eyes widened. The idea of someone killing their own father was unheard of for her. "Next thing I know, I'm hanging with Cinder and her number one cheerleader." Mercury revealed, before he smiled cruelly. "But you know what the silver lining of this is? I realized I don't need a Semblance. Do you have any idea how many guys with Semblances I've killed? I'll give you a hint, you're gonna need more than two hands to count it out."
Yang felt sick to her stomach. Someone openly bragging about murder disgusted her. "And you know what? It felt good!" Mercury yelled. "If there was one good thing my old man did for me, it was teaching me that I could tear people down without having to rely on some special power! It feels good to be better without being 'special'!"
"And let me tell ya one more thing, Blondie!" Mercury continued. "All you are is just another notch on my belt of death! And I don't have to hold back on you for my boss' plans to come to fruition."
"So come on!" Mercury screamed. "Let's see that Semblance of yours! At least die knowing you did your absolute best, yeah?"
Without hesitation, Yang rose to her feet. Hair started to ignite in flames and eyes glowed red. "Have it your way." She growled hatefully at her opponent.
Meanwhile, deeper inside Ever After Forest Team JNPR stared at their newly-arrived assailant an utter terror. Jaune Arc was the first to think what was on all of their minds. So there was a second assailant on Cinder's level, all this time!
Lie Ren took his thoughts further as he gauged the level of power hidden in the hulking behemoth known as Hazel Rainart. Sweat poured out of his pores rapidly when he realized just how doomed they were, barring a miracle. He's on a completely different level! Even as relaxed as he appears right now, he still outclasses us by a longshot! Hell, even with Pyrrha…even if we all went at him together, we'd still lose!
Pyrrha Nikos, for her part, was replaying what Hazel said to her specifically. "Only one person has to die today."
That…that at least means they haven't killed anyone else, right? Pyrrha tried to force a smile before all the color drained from her face. Even so, that only means they're more than willing to kill everyone if I don't cooperate with them. If I do cooperate, everyone else lives. The needs of the many vs the needs of the few. It's no contest.
"But you know what will happen if she gets her hands on what you have." A familiar voice rang out in her head. "You say it's the needs of the many vs the needs of the few, Pyrrha. But the reality is, protecting the power of a Maiden actually falls under the former. That woman cannot be allowed to gain the full power of a Maiden."
"I will take your silence as you are too afraid to speak." Hazel told them. "That is fine. However, please note that time is of the essence for us."
"After all," Hazel continued, "I have a mission to complete, as do your teachers. So I will say it again. Pyrrha Nikos, come with me, immediately. Only one person has to die today, and that should be you."
What should I do? Pyrrha wondered. I know I can't let Cinder get the other half of the Fall Maiden's power, but I also can't force people to keep getting hurt, or worse, for my sake! But I…I just don't see a version of this where this ends well. I'm not strong enough to beat him.
"Screw you, man!" Pyrrha was cut from her thoughts by the venomous voice of Jaune Arc.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha was shocked to see the look of hate on Jaune's face.
"So Pyrrha has to die so everyone else lives?" Jaune glared at Hazel. "The fuck kind of logic is that, huh?"
"It's the only logical outcome." Hazel shook his head. "If people value life the most, that means they value their own lives. Huntsmen society pretends that its 'brave heroes' are courageous in the face of death. But I tell you this, every Huntsman I've killed was frightened by the prospect of death. Children like you should not have to fear such a thing, especially when the method to avoid it is so simple."
"So what, we're supposed to just bow down to your logic just because you think it's logical?" Jaune demanded.
"Do not be angry at me, young man." Hazel was shockingly gentle for a man threatening them. "If you are to get angry at anyone. Be angry with the fool who fills your heads with delusions of grandeur."
"No, I think I'm getting mad at the right guy." Jaune shook his head. "You come here, attack us, demand we sacrifice our friend to you, and you won't even accept any blame or responsibility for that? And you even have the nerve to act like you're the reasonable one here?"
"I'll say this once, you're just a worthless villain, and acting like you actually are fair and moral isn't going to change that you're no better than Cinder is!" Jaune declared. "And there's no way in hell Pyrrha's going anywhere with a guy like you!"
The memories of the Vytal Festival were still fresh in Jaune's mind. When Team RWBY went up against Roman Torchwick and the White Fang back before, Jaune had honestly believed they were just hunting down common criminals. But he knew better now. Roman and the White Fang were small-time compared to the people who were pulling the strings. People who would destroy an entire kingdom, kill anyone that got in their way, all to get what they want. And they would do it with no regrets. And the worst part was that someone very dear to Jaune was caught in the middle of all of it. This latest attack pushed him to his breaking point.
Nora and Ren both smiled while Pyrrha just looked at Jaune in shock. The fact he would pick now of all times to be almost stupidly courageous actually terrified her. Jaune then planted his sword in the ground and threw a quick middle finger at Hazel. "So how about you just fuck off instead and leave us alone, if killing bothers you that much? Because I, for one, am sick of you people, who throw entire kingdoms into chaos, kill innocent people, and act like you're in the right!" Jaune screamed.
When I came to Beacon, all I wanted was to live up to my ancestors. I wanted the glory of being a man worthy of the Arc name. So yeah, I probably had the most selfish reason of anyone in my class who wanted to be a Huntsman! Jaune acknowledged as he pulled Crocea Mors back out of the ground. But even so, there are just some things that you can't ignore. I get that now. And that includes evil like this!
Hazel sighed and cracked his neck. "Very well, if that is truly your answer." He conceded before giving Team JNPR a cold glare. "But know that this hurts me."
Nora responded by charging Hazel with Magnhild raised over her head. Roaring, Nora leapt into the air and swung her hammer downwards, aiming to cave Hazel's skull in with a single blow. Hazel, however, casually grabbed Magnhild and tossed Nora aside with it. Ren knew he wanted to check to make sure Nora landed okay, but he also knew that if he took his eyes off of an enemy like Hazel for even a second, he would get hurt at the very least, and at worst…well, he did not want to think about that.
Yelling, Ren slashed at Hazel with StormFlower. Hazel calmly blocked the slashes with his forearms. Then, Ren did something that actually surprised Hazel. Ren tossed both his weapons into the air and delivered a palm-strike right into Hazel's stomach. Then a second, more powerful blow slammed into Hazel with a concussive blast that actually lifted him off his feet and blew him into a tree. He stopped upon impact, but the tree behind him collapsed from the force.
He channeled Aura into his palm for a second, stronger strike. A common technique used by Mistralian monks. The lad certainly looks like he's Mistralian by origin…must have spent some time in a monk temple.
Ren then caught StormFlower and started firing on Hazel. Hazel scowled when he saw static electricity coursing across his body. He's trying to slow me down by paralyzing me with an electric charge. Unfortunately, I neither feel this, nor am I damaged enough for this to slow me down in the slightest.
Nora then suddenly latched onto Hazel's shoulder. "What?" Hazel said flatly.
Nora roared as electricity started dancing around her body. Hazel then felt her grip tighten on her. She then raised her right fist and began throwing haymaker after haymaker into Hazel's jaw. Her physical strength is increasing? Wait, is this because of the electricity? The attack wasn't just to stop me. No, it was to empower her as well. Clever. However…
Hazel then leaned back and threw his forehead right into Nora's fist. Nora's eyes widened as she felt her arm dislocate. Hazel then threw her off of him. "Nora!" Ren yelled in worry.
Hazel then cleared the distance between himself and Ren in a single bound. Ren gasped before he was suddenly sent horizontally by Hazel's muscular forearm slamming straight into his jaw. "Pyrrha, get ready!" Jaune exclaimed, horrified at the sight of seeing his two friends being absolutely slammed by this juggernaut of a man.
Pyrrha gripped her weapon as she stared at Hazel. We have to survive this. Jaune, Nora, Ren…if they're really going to fight like this for me, I have to make sure that we all survive this!
"Just stop." Hazel ordered sternly. "This is a waste of time and effort."
"That's not for you to decide!" Jaune declared, rushing ahead of Pyrrha while forcing a courageous look on his face to hide the terror he felt in charging a man so much stronger than him. "Come on, Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha snapped to attention and threw her shield at Hazel like a frisbee. She used Polarity to make her shield spin faster and strike Hazel in the jaw. Hazel grunted. The centrifugal force of the shield actually stunned him for a brief moment. Then, Nora came up from behind and nailed him in the back of his head with Maghnild.
Jaune then swung Crocea Mors into Hazel's stomach repeatedly, desperately trying to break through Hazel's Aura somehow. Hazel recovered from the two blows to the head, only for Pyrrha to suddenly redirect her shield back to her, striking Hazel as well. Ren, for his part, recovered from being clotheslined out of nowhere by Hazel.
"Take this!" Ren yelled, throwing a palm strike to Hazel's knee, making it buckle slightly from the force of the impact.
Hazel then let out a small groan while Nora prepared another swing with Magnhild. These children…why do they all fight so hard? He wondered, thinking back on all the confrontations he had with the students of Beacon throughout this mission. Team CRDL's foolish charge and their leader's last ditch effort to stop him; Team CFVY trying to 'take responsibility' as upperclassmen and that rabbit-girl actually slowing him down a bit; and now this team of children fighting to protect their own with everything they had.
They're so young…the poor fools don't yet know that all of this is meaningless. They're just pieces on a chessboard, and the players are playing a never-ending game of chess. They will die for nothing. Just like all of the others below them. Just like you…Gretchen.
At the thought of his precious little sister, Hazel's eyes widened in rage as he suddenly ducked under Nora's swing. Overextending, Magnhild smashed into Jaune's shield instead, pushing back the blonde boy. Hazel then reached over his shoulder and grabbed Nora by the face. Hazel tossed Nora over his shoulder and smashed her face first into the ground.
Hazel then threw another clothesline into Ren's face that sent him airborne. He quickly followed up with an elbow drop that sent Ren to the ground with a powerful blow to the stomach. "Ren, Nora!" Pyrrha yelled out for her friends.
Hazel looked at Nora, who was now motionless. Then he looked at Ren and found the same. A bit of blood was staining his hair. "Two down, two to go." He said coldly.
Jaune's eyes widened. He took them both out so easily…
"No…they shouldn't have…" Jaune turned to Pyrrha, who was staring at her two friends with horror. "Not for me…not for me…"
"Pyrrha, you have to get away, now!" Jaune exclaimed, getting back to his feet and charging Hazel without hesitation.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaimed.
"Get out of the way!" Hazel was starting to lose his patience. He threw his arm at Jaune, who blocked it with his shield.
"I won't!" Jaune dug his heels in. His golden aura flared, much to Hazel's surprise.
He didn't budge? Was that his Aura? His Semblance? Hazel wondered.
Jaune's vision blurred. Hazel roared as he took the opening and began to pummel Jaune in the face repeatedly with blows to the head. Jaune's Aura instinctively flared with each blow, allowing Jaune to remain standing after each punch.
Pyrrha's eyes widened when she saw the boy she loved being brutalized by the juggernaut before them. Jaune has incredible amounts of Aura and it's clearly trying its best to protect him, but this monster is so strong, he won't last long!
Pyrrha instinctively looked at the unconscious forms of Nora and Ren. Not for me! Not for me!
Pyrrha's right eye suddenly lit up in flames. "Leave him alone!" She screamed at Hazel, using her Semblance to pull Jaune away from Hazel. She also threw her shield into Hazel with enough force to push the surprised juggernaut away from her friends.
Hazel then got a good look at the extremely angered woman and saw something that actually gave him pause: Pyrrha had instinctively driven her javelin into the ground and was now creating a rapidly growing fireball. That's- Hazel was cut off by a roar of rage from Pyrrha.
"DIE!" Pyrrha screamed in rage, blasting a wave of fire that actually engulfed Hazel entirely.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Cinder Fall was wiping fresh blood from her body when she sensed something that made her own eye light up in flames. She smiled wickedly. "Ah, so that's where you are, my other half." She chuckled, taking note of the small forest fire that had just been created.
You couldn't hide from me forever!
Elsewhere, Hansel, Ruby and Blake took note of the explosion as well. "What the hell was that?" Blake exclaimed.
Hansel narrowed his eyes. "That's where Nikos is! We have to get her out of there! If Cinder gets her hands on her, we're fucked!"
Ruby's eyes widened. Pyrrha's Semblance is Polarity though. Then all that stuff…it's all true. Oh Gods, Pyrrha!
Back at the location of the life or death struggle between Team JNPR and Hazel Rainart, Pyrrha found herself stumbling about, her vision blurring from the sudden burst of power. What…what happened? She wondered.
"Your body is still not completely used to the power of the Fall Maiden." Came the voice of Amber in her head. "That was a small amount of power, but you're still not used to it yet."
Then, much to Pyrrha's horror, Hazel came strutting out of the flames, burnt but still very much alive. She watched in shock as the burn marks on Hazel's body regenerated back to normal flesh. "You're kidding…that wasn't enough?"
"And here I was trying to be kind." Hazel lamented. "If you love your friends as much as you clearly do, you would have seen the bigger picture and went with me for their sake. Instead, you enable them to fight and die for you."
"No…I wasn't…no!" Pyrrha yelled.
"Perhaps taking on the Fall Maiden's power gave you a greater fear of death, no?" Hazel wondered. "After all, Her Grace has been hunting your kind for years…longer than you've been alive, little girl."
Hazel then looked around at the other three downed members of Team JNPR. "This is what happens when you selfishly drag others into situations such as this. People get hurt. People that didn't have to get hurt. And it only gets worse when it's people you love."
"I told you to shut your damn mouth!" Jaune suddenly rose to his feet.
"Jaune…" Pyrrha looked at her crush in surprise.
Hazel scowled. "Hmph, still standing? And here I had brushed you off as no threat whatsoever. It seems you have quite the powerful Semblance protecting you, boy. Not only that, but some impressive amounts of Aura too. A pity they're both wasted on such a useless child."
"Semblance? Aura? To be honest, I barely knew about any of that shit when I came to Beacon." Jaune glared defiantly at Hazel as he marched towards him, ignoring Pyrrha's protests. "But hey, if I've really got a Semblance that can help me stand up to a guy like you, fine by me."
"Jaune, please no!" Pyrrha yelled. "It's over!"
"Not yet it's not." Jaune muttered.
"No, boy, it is." Hazel insisted before throwing a powerful backhand that caught Jaune in the jaw. Jaune's golden Aura flared as Jaune stumbled backwards.
"Hmph, so I was right, your Semblance is protecting you instinctively. Or perhaps you are in the correct situation to passively activate it without even realizing?" Hazel mused.
"Told ya already, wouldn't know about any of it." Jaune replied.
"Jaune, please!" Pyrrha pleaded. "I don't want you to die for me! I don't want any of you to die for me!"
Move, body, move! Pyrrha pleaded inwardly, but to no avail. The attack had left her far too exhausted to do anything other than scream.
"Listen, Pyrrha, there are a lot of things that this guy is wrong about, you didn't selfishly drag us into this situation." Jaune promised her. "It's not just that the people you love are getting hurt."
Hazel backhanded Jaune again. Jaune shockingly remained standing. Jaune looked over his shoulder and smiled at Pyrrha. "It's that the people who love you are fighting for you." Jaune corrected. "You never once had to ask any of us to fight and die for your sake. We chose to fight for you instead, all three of us did."
"We all love you." Pyrrha's eyes widened at that declaration.
Hazel scowled and threw an uppercut into Jaune's jaw, sending him stumbling a bit. Jaune quickly regained his balance and continued to stand his ground against Hazel. Hazel, for his part, was beginning to lose his patience. "Just stay down, boy! It's over, you've lost!" Hazel yelled as he began to pummel Jaune repeatedly while Pyrrha screamed at him to stop. "Don't you get it, you never stood a chance! How this fight would end was written from the start!"
Hazel eventually let up. Jaune was starting to look like a bloody mess, but he was still standing. His Aura was starting to shimmer weakly. Hazel's punches were finally wearing down his large Aura. "I always knew it, you know." Jaune muttered.
"Knew what?" Hazel demanded.
"I always knew…nobody ever really expected much of me." Jaune admitted. "Jaune Arc, the weak little failure in a family of seven super successful sisters and a family history of great, great warriors."
"I forged my transcripts to get into Beacon, I got the position of leader when I never once deserved it, and I'm still so damn far behind everyone else that it's not even funny at this point." Jaune revealed. He then gave Hazel a defiant smirk. "What does that say about you, since you still can't seem to kill me, huh?"
Hazel glared at Jaune for this statement. He delivered a haymaker to Jaune's head that actually made Jaune wobble backwards. However, he recovered enough to still glare at Hazel with all the defiance he could muster. "But even so, this isn't about being the strongest or the weakest!" Jaune declared as he readied Crocea Mors for one last defiant attack. "This is about taking you on! Right here! Right now!"
Jaune roared as he charged Hazel one last time. Pyrrha could only watch in horror as Hazel sighed and readied one final punch. Jaune swung Crocea Mors, only for Hazel to act quicker and throw a punch with enough force that half of Jaune's ribs broke from the impact. Jaune gasped as he was lifted off the ground.
"JAUNE!" Pyrrha screamed as Jaune went sailing past her.
Then, Jaune's flight came to an early end as he was caught by someone. That someone found himself remembering a conversation with Ozpin about this boy he wrote off as a weakling who cheated his way into Beacon. "You're letting a kid who forged his transcripts stay in this school, when he repeatedly demonstrates that he's way too far behind. He's not strong enough, nor does he have the fortitude to be a Huntsman. No surprise though, since he cheated his way in. I'm telling you, a guy like that is only going to get anyone he works with killed, Professor."
"Jaune has proven my faith in him was justified in his own way." Ozpin had said with a smile.
"Give him a chance and he will do the same for you, Hansel."
Hansel Kobalt stared at the barely conscious Jaune Arc in his arms, who was clinging to life at this point from the brutal beating he had received from Hazel Rainart. Ruby and Blake could only gape in horror at the state their friend had been left in. Then Ruby saw a brief, proud smile flash over Hansel's face. She was then shocked when Hansel spoke to him.
"Nice fight, man." Hansel praised sincerely. "You should be proud of yourself."
Hansel then gave the coldest, most downright hateful glare Ruby had seen from him since Jack the Ripper right at Hazel Rainart. She felt a chill run down her spine, remembering how that particular fight had gone. Her fears were only confirmed when she heard Hansel speak in a tone of voice that matched his glare. "Leave the rest to me." Hansel declared.
A.N: And with that, the moment I've waited years for has arrived. Hansel vs. Hazel. And that is not an exaggeration. I have looked forward to writing this fight for years. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you all next time.