First of all, thanks to everyone for the support!
Second, it's time to respond to the reviews!
To Divine Blizzard, yeah, as funny as it is, I thought hard about whether to put it in or not and just decided not to lol
To Skeletalrepublic, thanks for the praise! I'm happy that you're excited for the fight, and I hope this plays out well!
To Shimuza, THE MAN IN THE MIRROR NODS HIS HEAD!
To MysticSpider, that's probably one of the most sus things in MGRR XD
To DeadFire354, you'll just have to find out!
To The Storm Master 567, yeah, Indigo's state is something that will be touched upon when we reach Remnant. Other than that, spoilers, so I can't say much!
To Kabuto S. Inferno, their differences between what they thought Jaune was and what he really is now is of course going to be a major point. And thanks for the input for sentences! I'll be sure to go back and edit that out. Thanks for the support!
To mera mera no mi, happy that you're exited!
To TheIncredibleCommentMachine, eh, I wouldn't know, heheh.
To Salamandra134, of course it will be, as well as other things!
To NeroAlmia, thanks for the compliments! I'm happy that you're enjoying it so far. As for the Sundowner – 9/11 line, yeah, it's probably that. Still though, I thought for a while and decided not to put it in. Sorry if what resulted didn't satisfy enough.
To Zakuzilla, thanks!
Now, let's dance!
The sound of a chopper motorcycle roared across the lonely and dusty badlands. As the badlands' signature dust cleared, the rider's features became visible. A black, near-full-body cyborg with a visor covering his eyes and wild silver hair waving in the wind. Sensing the dwindling time he has left, the cyborg increased his throttle and sped with the bike faster down the lone highway.
The cyborg's CODEC rang. "Raiden." Boris said from the other end, "How are things going along?"
"Nothing on the radar so far." Raiden answered. "But I got a feeling he's going to show up any moment now. The silence of this place is giving me an edge."
"Well, good thing your instincts are as honed as ever." Boris chuckled. "And when you find him-"
"I'll keep the CODEC open." Raiden reassured him. "You guys can listen in. And maybe Dok can make sense of all of this."
"I will try my best." Doktor said. "And as soon as I am able, I will run a more thorough examination of these… anomalies… we've encountered today." Doktor smiled. "As well as taking care of the brains, of course."
Silence stretched on for a few more seconds, until Raiden's visor identified two figures coming up ahead. Raiden clenched his teeth. "They're coming up."
As the two figures became larger, Raiden slowly decreased the bike's speed. Eventually, the bike came to a stop in front of the two figures. One was a tall, blond-haired fighter with a small goatee and ponytailed hair, equipped with a mechanical right arm. The other was a wolf faunus-cyborg with jet black hair and eyes.
The blond man had his eyes staring straight at the wolf-faunus' own and had his mechanical right hand on the wolf faunus' shoulder. The blond man smiled and patted the wolf faunus on the shoulder. With that, the wolf faunus turned to Raiden and began walking towards the ninja.
"Raiden."
Raiden tilted his head at Bladewolf. "Having a little heart-to-heart?"
"I have analysed his words and actions." Bladewolf said, "I am unable to ascertain his… motivation."
Raiden turned to look at Jaune. The samurai smirked as he relaxed his posture. "Hey, Raiden." He shrugged. "Took you long enough. What, was the bike too slow?"
Raiden kept his cool. "Save it. I came here for an explanation. You promised answers."
Jaune sighed dramatically. "Always so serious, huh? Well, I guess the best way to start is, have you ever heard of Aura?"
"What? You mean like the legends?"
Jaune mockingly opened his arms. "Exactly! Now, tell me what you know about it!"
Raiden searched his memories. "It heals the user and can negate damage when an impact hits them. Some stories say it can also be used to enhance combat abilities, to increase attack power…" It all clicked in Raiden's head. "No way…"
"That's it!" Jaune smiled. "You got it all figured out. Though, looks like your Semblance seems to be increasing your power and senses, far past normal Aura-enhancement boundaries." Jaune shrugged. "Eh, at least from what I've seen, anyway."
'Semblance?' It took a moment for Raiden's mind to click. "That's real too?! The Aura-based power?! What, you're gonna tell me that the Grimm are lurking around here too?!"
Jaune chuckled as he looked around. "Grimm, huh?" He had a slightly wistful look on his face. "Well… that's for me to know, Jack~" Jaune mocked. Then, the samurai rubbed his chin. "But I've gotta ask, how's Aura working out for you right now? Last I checked, Aura wasn't capable with U.C technology."
"Dok managed to tune some of my nanomachines to this energy frequency." Raiden answered. "But now it's time for me to ask. I remember Aura being characterised as having a glow." The ninja growled. "Question is… where's yours?"
Jaune clenched both of his fists. Then, his Aura's glow surrounded his body. It quickly subsided, however.
Jaune smirked. "There it is. Happy now, Jack?" However, Jaune thought to himself, 'It's taking a lot of concentration to control this right now… preventing my Aura and nanomachines from fighting with each other. With the Aura-lock nanomachines shutdown, I have to manually adjust the two of them at all times. Keeping them both at an equal 50/50 state…' He felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck, not that Raiden could see. '…Heh, quite the challenge.'
Raiden scoffed. "Then I guess you're not all talk after all." He was sure Doktor was taking notes from where he was at, behind the CODEC. But Aura and Semblances, seriously?
Raiden decided to push on. "Then one more question. Why risk your neck out for me? Sundowner said so himself - the plan's over 90% done."
"Hmm… Why I helped you out, huh?" Jaune seemed to think it over for a moment. Then, he shrugged and smirked. "Heh, who knows? I just, well, I didn't feel like doing the old man any favours anymore."
"Then why stick around in the first place? You could have easily ran away. The path you cleared showed that."
"Why I didn't run? Simple." Jaune chuckled and pointed a finger gun at Raiden. "You."
"Huh?"
"And besides," Jaune waved a hand. "You want to go through, right? Get to Solis?" Jaune smirked as he opened his arms. "Then I can't in 'good conscience'let you through just yet. We've still got this to settle, Armstrong or no."
Raiden shifted his eyes, looking down for a moment. Then, he steeled himself and. He turned off the bike's engine. The ninja looked straight at Jaune and lowered the bike's kickstand. The ninja moved his head, gesturing in between the two rocks at his side.
Jaune kept his smirk on and nodded in agreement.
As one, they moved to the in between the two rocks. Their steps echoed across the badlands' silence.
Raiden spoke in a low tone. "I don't care who thinks I'm right." Then, he glared at Jaune. "And I've got cause enough for killing you!"
"Heheheheh…. So you've finally accepted yourself, huh?" Jaune smirked. "That's great, Jack. And it took a while, too. Damn slowpoke."
Bladewolf stood a safe distance away from them, eyes darting from his former ally to his current one. His eyes looked slightly downcast. "Must you really fight?"
They both stopped and turned to face each other. As they each took their positions, Raiden and Jaune's hands inched closer to their swords. One to HF Sword, and one to HF Murasama.
Raiden's eyes flickered to Bladewolf. He closed his CODEC connection down. "Don't interfere."
Jaune slightly nodded his head. "This is between us."
Their hands finally reached their hilts. As one, they both drew their swords. Raiden leaned low and pointed his HF Sword upwards, while Jaune bent his knees with his right foot forward and put HF Murasama squarely in his middle front.
Raiden's visor closed in. "And it ends here."
Both of their eyes hardened. Their stances became as firm as cyborg-grade steel.
"Okay…" Jaune trailed off. His mask closed in, "Let's dance!"
Raiden and Jaune circled each other, their swords gripped tight and their eyes ready for any movement. The warm wind of the badlands blew past their bodies. A tumbleweed rolled across their field of vision, bouncing along the dirt being blown by the winds. With a final bounce, the tumbleweed exited their field of vision.
They made their move.
Raiden leapt forwards high into the air, holding his HF Sword in a single grip and bringing it down. At the same time, Jaune slid forwards and swiped HF Murasama above him. The two swords clashed, blue and red electricity sparking against each other as their users fought for control.
Jaune and Raiden's eyes burned as they gazed intensely at their opponent.
Eventually, Raiden pushed through and landed on the ground. Jaune stumbled back yet remained undamaged.
The samurai chuckled. "Pretty good..."
Jaune put his sword in a ready position. Then, he rushed at Raiden and swung HF Murasama from his left. Raiden blocked it. Jaune swung his sword again, this time from his right. Raiden blocked that too.
Jaune decided to mix it up. He grabbed his sheath with his left hand and put it above him while also sheathing his sword in the process. As the sword clicked into position, Jaune's finger pulled the sheath's trigger. Jaune gripped his sword tight as HF Murasama flew out of the sheath and swung downwards. Raiden blocked it with his HF Sword, his knees bending ever so slightly from the impact.
Jaune grinned and reverse-gripped his sword. He swung HF Murasama back upwards. Raiden's eyes widened as he realised that he couldn't block this attack.
Quickly, Raiden dodged to his left and HF Murasama hit blank air. Raiden dashed forwards, sword moving to attack. As he got closer to Jaune, however, he was kicked back by the blond's right foot. Raiden slid back and kicked up dust as he stopped.
Jaune slowly lowered his sword and entered the Rodrigues Shadow Style stance again. He smirked at Raiden as he circled him. "Come on, fight! It's just you and me now, Jack!"
Raiden grit his teeth. He growled "Fine. I'll come to you."
With a yell, Raiden charged again. He swung his sword at Jaune. The samurai blocked Raiden's first strike. He pushed Raiden's sword back and smoothly blocked the second strike. Jaune blocked the third strike. He expected that at this rate, he could well be overwhelmed. However, what Jaune didn't expect was for Raiden to drop his sword after being blocked.
As the HF Sword fell, Raiden spun and caught it with his foot. With a yell, he struck at Jaune again, this time with his sword-attached-foot. Jaune attempted to block it, however, he wasn't strong enough. Raiden fully broke through Jaune's guard.
As the blond swordsman reeled from the blow, Raiden swung his sword upwards and hit Jaune dead-on. Jaune flew back from the impact and cried out in pain. He tumbled on the ground to a good distance away.
Jaune came to a stop, dust surrounding his prone body. He growled as he got up, waving his hands to blow the dust away. As he stood, he put his hands in a classic Iaidō position, the katana's infamous draw-attack move. His eyes narrowed in focus as he prepared himself.
A second ticked by, and not a moment longer.
In blinding speed, Jaune launched himself at Raiden. As he got close, he unsheathed and attacked with HF Murasama in one smooth motion. However, Raiden blocked it just in time.
'Shit!' Jaune's eyes widened is surprise as his right hand flew back from the unexpected block.
Raiden yelled and unleashed The Ripper. A red glow instantly overcame his body, his senses and abilities enhanced to an insane degree. Raiden laughed loudly as he swung down at Jaune's right arm with newfound speed. From the impact, HF Murasama flew out of Jaune's grip and planted itself on the ground a few metres away.
Jaune looked briefly at his hand, his eyes slightly wide in surprise. Then, he smirked and looked back at Raiden. The blond swordsman chuckled and opened his arms "Show me a good time, Jack!"
Raiden clenched his jaw and gripped his sword tight. He carefully prepared himself for what Jaune might do next. He growled a low tone. "I'm ready when you are."
Jaune laughed. "Then here I come!" With glee, the samurai closed his mechanical right hand to a fist and dashed forwards at Raiden. Raiden parried it with his sword and Jaune stumbled back. Raiden attempted to follow up with an attack, but Jaune had already backflipped away to a safe distance.
Jaune chuckled mockingly. He kept his arms ready, slightly opened to the side, and paced around from where he was at, beckoning Raiden forth. "Come on, come on!"
Raiden roared, The Ripper encasing his body in a fiery red glow. He ran at Jaune and attempted to do a sliding attack. Jaune smirked as Raiden slid foot first. He nimbly stepped aside. Then, as Raiden passed, he grabbed Raiden's foot and swung him around.
The Ripper faded as Raiden panicked. 'Shit shit shit!'
"Rrargh!" Jaune released his grip and sent Raiden flying into one of the rocks. The rock broke from the impact into a hundred pieces as the ninja flew straight through it. After that, Raiden rolled on the ground, coming to a stop a few seconds after.
Raiden slowly got up. He coughed slightly. He wiped his mouth off of any grime and looked at Jaune, arms still wide open. Taunting him to come forth.
Raiden felt The Ripper flowing angrily again. Yelling, Raiden unleashed his Semblance and dashed at Jaune with all of his enhanced state.
Jaune threw a side kick at the approaching Raiden. With newfound speed, Raiden dodged nimbly to the side and let Jaune's kick hit empty air. Raiden bared his teeth and brought his HF sword down.
Jaune's eyes widened. 'He dodged!'
In haste, Jaune put his foot down and caught Raiden's HF Sword l with his mechanical right hand. He struggled to hold it back and gripped the sword with his left hand too. They both yelled as they tried to overpower each other.
Raiden pushed forwards, his body still enhanced by The Ripper. He pushed against Jaune more and more, the samurai slowly but surely buckling down. With a final grunt, Raiden brought down HF Sword with all his body and forced it through Jaune's hold, slicing a deep wound across the samurai's torso. Jaune staggered back in surprise as Raiden kneeled with his bloodied HF Sword gripped to the side.
"Hahahaha..." Jaune grinned wide." Now this is a FIGHT!"
Jaune flicked his mechanical right arm and HF Murasama came flying back to him. This time, he held it with only his right arm. His left arm rested ready on the hilt of his other sword.
'I haven't seen him use that one in combat before...' Raiden thought. 'I have to be careful.'
"So, Raiden." Jaune asked, snapping the ninja's attention back to focus. The samurai grinned "Ready to do this for real?"
"Yeah..." In spite of himself, Raiden couldn't help but grin too. He growled with glee, The Ripper still flowing free. "Let's."
Silence stretched on for a moment.
"Rargh!"
"Haah!"
The two of them rushed at each other at the same time. Their swords clashed mid-attack once again. They both skid past each other yet were still in attacking range. Jaune swung HF Murasama as he turned around. Raiden ducked under the blow but was caught off-guard when Jaune unsheathed HF Crocea smoothly and swung it upwards at the vulnerable Raiden. Raiden was forced to accept the hit dead-on.
Raiden took a step back from the blow, yet quickly reigned himself in. He firmed his stance and blocked a strike by HF Murasama. He jumped, avoiding a low swing by HF Crocea. As the ninja flipped in the air, he swung down from above Jaune. The samurai brought his two swords up and used them to block the strike. Raiden landed behind Jaune and dashed back in.
Jaune focused as he heard Raiden closing in. He turned around at the last second and blocked Raiden's attack with HF Murasama. He forced Raiden's blade back with unexpected speed, using HF Murasama's hilt to hook the blade. As Raiden's arm was pushed pack, Jaune moved to strike Raiden's face with HF Murasama's pommel. Raiden tilted his head to the side just in time and let the attack miss. He brought his foot up and kicked Jaune in the leg. The samurai cried out in pain and buckled down. With an opening, Raiden moved to strike Jaune across the chest. The ninja was interrupted mid-swing when HF Crocea cut his chest, faster than he could register. As Raiden staggered back, Jaune kicked Raiden away with a side kick. Raiden skidded back a few metres away.
Jaune sheathed both his swords and placed his left hand on HF Murasama's sheath. He kept his mechanical right arm in front of him, ready to catch the blade when it was fired.
Jaune attempted to dash in but stumbled just a bit. He tried to focus as his vision blurred slightly. His torso flared with pain from the wound Raiden hen Jaune had caught his HF Sword. Aura attempted to heal it, but Jaune fought back. If it were to start healing, then he'd soon lose control of his nanomachines.
He fought through the pain and firmed his footing. With a yell, Jaune rushed at Raiden with his maximum speed. The ground blew beneath him as he burst through. The sound of blank gunfire echoed across the badlands, the blast enhancing Jaune's speed. He slashed with HF Murasama at Raiden. Raiden blocked it, yet still staggered back multiple steps.
Jaune skid to a stop behind Raiden. In only a fraction of a second, he had already turned around and was dashing with gunfire-enhanced speed and power once again. Raiden managed to follow it and blocked the second strike with better strength.
Jaune skid to a stop behind Raiden again. He turned around again and launched himself again, this time without the gunfire. Instead, as he went with a slightly slower speed, he unsheathed HF Crocea and threw it at Raiden. The ninja deflected the blade and HF Crocea flew into the air.
Jaune grinned beneath his mask. Now much closer, he pulled the trigger on HF Murasama's hilt. His speed and striking power were once again enhanced by the gunfire. Raiden could only stare in shock as Jaune appeared in front of him, his guard wide open and Jaune's sword already moving.
Raiden yelled out pain as HF Murasama cut a wound across his torso. He stumbled back as Jaune continued to speed past. As Jaune came to a stop, the samurai could hear Raiden tumbling towards him.
Jaune turned around just in time as Raiden came to a stop behind him. The ninja regained his senses just in time to see HF Murasama raised in front of him. Raiden rolled away as HF Murasama hit the ground beside him.
Raiden hastily pushed himself back up. When he looked up, Jaune was already rushing at him, leaving HF Murasama and using his hand to pull HF Crocea towards him as he dashed. The sword came to the samurai's hand just as he entered Raiden's range.
Jaune yelled as he brought the sword down on Raiden. Raiden tilted his body back and let HF Crocea miss him. He moved to strike, his HF Sword meeting Jaune's HF Crocea, both mid-attack. Jaune didn't expect this and staggered back.
Raiden kept up the attack. He slashed upwards with his HF Sword, cutting a wound on Jaune's leg. Jaune groaned as Raiden cut another wound on his hip.
As Raiden moved to end his combo with a final overhead slash, Jaune grit his teeth and gripped HF Crocea tight. He focused. Then, the samurai parried Raiden's attack just in time and delivered four slashes across Raiden's body. As Raiden stepped back, Jaune yelled loudly and kicked Raiden away. The ninja was sent out of attacking range.
Jaune's wound on his leg sprouted out more blood. He groaned and was forced to kneel, leaning heavily against his sword as he blearily looked to where Raiden was. The samurai's breath was becoming strained. A faint taste of iron was seeping into his mouth. Blood tricked out of the edges of his lips. "Heheh..."
Jaune smirked and wiped it with his hands. He shifted HF Crocea to his left hand and used his mechanical right arm to pull HF Murasama towards him.
Raiden readied his sword, the wounds on his chest flaring with pain. He coughed up red cybernetic blood, but quickly caught himself and looked at Jaune.
The two swordsmen's feet shook, barely able to stand up anymore. Their wounds were severe, though not quite battle-ending just yet. They both stared at each other, gazes filled with various emotions, chief among them respect.
Jaune slowly brought both of his swords into a ready position. Raiden did the same with his. Their feet stopped shaking, ready for what comes next.
"HERE I COME, RAIDEN!" Jaune rushed forwards with all his speed, the ground beneath him destroyed as he focused all of his nanomachines on his speed. He blurred in front of Raiden, covering the entire battlefield in mere milliseconds. He swung down at Raiden with both of his swords.
Raiden held them back just barely with his superior strength. The three colours of electricity, red, yellow, and blue, sparked around them in their clash. Jaune pushed back with all he had, smirk in place. "Haha! Is this it, Raiden?!
Raiden roared, focusing on The Ripper even more. He pushed the two blades away at once. As Jaune staggered back, Raiden quickly slashed at Jaune's torso. The wound on Jaune's armour squirted blood out.
Raiden flipped his sword into a thrusting position. "Play time's over!" Raiden lunged forwards and pierced Jaune through his torso wounds, his HF Sword's edge protruding from Jaune's back.
Jaune coughed blood. "Ack!"
Raiden pulled his sword free. The ninja stumbled back, barely on his feet.
Jaune let out a breath as Raiden withdrew. The samurai chuckled out loud, blood seeping out of his mouth. His mechanical right arm went over to his chest. Jaune pulled it back and stared at his right palm.
Stained with his blood.
Jaune chuckled. "Heheh... That's...good..." His knees shook, forcing him to kneel.
Raiden's visor retracted. He was hunched in on himself from exhaustion, not to mention the numerous wounds from their fight finally starting to take a toll as The Ripper faded out. He gazed at Jaune.
Jaune staggered and attempted to stand back up. "Raiden… Listen... Armstrong... Ack!" Jaune fell back to one knee. Blood dripped from his wounds, staining the dusty dirt he stood on. Nonetheless, he grit his teeth and carried on. "Armstrong... isn't what you think-!"
Jaune coughed up more blood. He looked at Raiden, blood already seeping into his teeth and trailing down his mouth. "He's... strong... Stronger than... even me..." His breaths became more and more laboured. "Don't... lose to him too... Stop him..." Jaune's eyes narrowed, his voice becoming cold. "...Whatever it takes."
With shaking hands, Jaune sheathed HF Crocea. Raiden tensed, thinking Jaune was going for another attack. Instead, Jaune smiled as he unhooked the sheathed sword and threw it at Bladewolf. Raiden looked on in surprise as Bladewolf caught it and put it at his back. The faunus nodded at Jaune. The samurai smiled back.
Jaune turned back at Raiden. "Well? What are you-akh! - waiting for?!" Jaune's eyes turned to anger "GO! YOU DONT HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT!"
"Jaune..."
"GO!"
Raiden relaxed his posture. He sheathed his sword and nodded his head. Raiden turned around and ran towards Solis, Bladewolf following close beside him.
Jaune's anger disappeared. An easy smile made its way on his face. He grunted and pushed himself up, staggering towards the remaining large rock. As he reached it, he relaxed and let his back hit the rock. He slid down the rock, blood trailing on its surface from his wound.
Jaune gasped for breath. "So Jack's finally did it…"
It's over.
He could finally rest.
Jaune chuckled. Raiden will continue the fight; Bladewolf should hopefully help Raiden out. His chuckles turned to blood-sprouting coughs.
Jaune's eyes softened as Aura started to glow around him.
He was tired.
So, so tired.
After all these years, going around the U.C, fighting, killing, all these endless battles, it all lead up to this. A bout with an equal. Someone he could pass on his beliefs to.
He finally did something good.
Jaune closed his eyes, a smile still in place as Aura attempted to heal him. And now, it was time to rest. He's given it his all...
He chuckled one last time. He's done lots of horrible things. Has lots of regrets, killing people who didn't deserve it.
'But this... Heh, I don't regret fighting him one bit. '
HF Murasama rolled onto the dirt as the grip that was holding it relaxed. Jaune's right hand fell to the ground with a clang, his face losing all sense of tension as his eyes closed. It tilted downwards with nothing to hold it back up. The wind blew his hairs softly, swaying back and forth as the Aura glow continued to surround him.
'... Not one bit.'
….That's that.
Remember to tell me what you thought in the reviews!
See you next time!