10 - What Is Power For
The tiger's flame-yellow eyes found Ren. It didn't seem startled or even cautious, but it watched Ren all the same as it drank from the stream. He watched it from across the wide river, which was probably a good thirty feet across, but even from this far away, the beast looked massive. Ren's father was knelt beside him, so Ren knew he was safe, and yet still he felt he might cry as the tiger's unreadable glare stayed on him.
The forest was calm today. The rivers gave a steady flowing hiss, the trees rustled in a gentle breeze, the air smelled of dirt, salt, and berries. A good day to hunt, Ren's Father would say. That was why they'd come out here—to catch some warthogs for the village feast—and Ren was finally old enough to get his first hunting lesson. So the last thing he had expected to see in a forest rarely known even for having Grimm, was a fully-grown monstrous tiger.
"Father?" Ren asked, looking up at him. He didn't answer. Just stared at the tiger with that same expression he always wore. Tired, but focused. Fighting off sleep.
Ren was hoping his father had an answer for their current problem. With the tiger here, all the other animals were probably all eaten already. Maybe there was nothing left to hunt… except the tiger itself. Ren swallowed nervously and looked back at the animal. He couldn't help but think it looked hungry. That it looked at him and his father—but himself, in particular—like they were its next meal.
Maybe they'd turn back and go home. That gave him some relief. There was probably no food to hunt, and he didn't see the point in killing a tiger. They could try next season. Had to be better than getting eaten.
"Father?" Ren asked again, this time tugging his sleeve. But again, he did not answer, or even move.
Ren felt something strange, then. Strange, yet familiar. It was like there'd been a breeze, only it wasn't one you could feel. The feeling tingled his skin, made his heart jump, caused him to shake a little. But it wasn't just him. The leaves rustled northward, the dust in the air was pushed away, and ripples appeared in the water that traveled all the way to the drinking tiger.
Ren jumped when the tiger stood up. Still looking calm and strong, but now its attention had found someone else. Ren's father stood up and glared the beast down. It was the same way he glared down the hunting dogs when they were being trained. The same way he stared down bandits and scared them away from the village. The same way he stood up to packs of Beowolves and made them run away.
And like the dogs and bandits and Grimm, the tiger turned and stalked away, disappearing into the forest.
"Son." came his father's deep, but gentle voice, which at both times made him feel afraid and safe. Ren stood and looked up at him, swallowing again. "A tiger's roar can paralyze the creatures that hear it, even humans. Do you know why?"
Ren shook his head.
"Guess."
"Because… it's loud?"
"In a way. The lower a sound's frequency, the farther it travels. Sounds below twenty hertz are called infrasound and they can travel very far, permeating through buildings, cutting through forests, passing through mountains. The infrasounds produced by a tiger's roar can paralyze or disorient the creatures that hear it, making them easier to catch. You could say a tiger has the ability to paralyze its prey with fear alone." Ren's father looked off to where the tiger had gone. "In the times when men were lower than beasts on the food, they saw and likely experienced what tigers could do, and in time learned to replicate their power."
Ren wasn't sure he understood, but he pretended he did, since he knew his father didn't like explaining things twice. "Is that what you did, Father? You scared it away?"
"Yes."
"But, I didn't hear anything. You didn't roar."
He turned back to Ren. "True. A human's voice cannot produce the power other animals can. So we learned to use our internal energies which helped us survive. Once, men were powerless before the forces of nature, and were mere prey. But in time, we developed powers which pushed us to the height of the food chain, where we have battled for dominance against the Grimm, and each other, even to this day. The war continues. And all the kings of the world sit on lofty thrones."
Ren wasn't sure he understood, and that made him a little upset, but he was relieved that the tiger was gone more than anything else. However it was done, he didn't care. Still, he pretended to understand and nodded. Maybe he'd figure out the other stuff later.
His father put a hand on his shoulder. Squeezed it gently but firmly. "My son, it is a sorry fact that strength governs this world. Especially outside the kingdoms. We may be free out here, but to keep our freedom, to protect our families, power is needed. You cannot afford to be weak. Do you understand?"
Ren didn't understand, but he didn't like the sound of it, either. He felt tears well up and tried to scrub them away, not wanting his father to see. He sniffled and said, "But… don't we have you, Father? You protect us. You're strong."
Ren's father placed his hand on Ren's back, tucked him close as they walked on. Ren didn't know why, but he couldn't hold back the tears then, and he hugged his Father's side, wishing they could just go home.
His father's voice was strong, but haunting as he said, "I will not be strong forever."
Ren knew he was different from his teammates.
He had never considered himself very strong. It had always been enough to stand among his peers. To be capable. His desire was pretty straightforward. He wanted to kill Grimm and that was all. While it was certainly necessary to be strong, at the end of the day, killing Grimm was usually a matter of knowledge and efficiency, rather than raw combat ability. His peers could have all the big dreams and great ambitions, since he didn't need one. He just wanted to do his part in removing Grimm from the world. It was not some distant, intangible dream. It was an achievable, realistic goal which would soon be able to act upon. Ren did not care enough to want to be better than other people.
That was before Pyrrha had jumped into the air, upside down and spinning in the air like a spinner top, laughing like a psychopath, as if she was playing a game, and everyone else were her toys.
Pyrrha pointed her hand out with a manic laugh and fired another ball of red aura. She never actually aimed it at anyone, which was a great relief, since the damage it did to anything it did hit was nothing short of devastating.
The resulting blast was so great that it forced Ren to stop and raise his aura. He held steady as a crater was punched into the ground, sending chunks of wet earth into the air, ripping trees out by their roots. He shook his head in disbelief. He'd never known Pyrrha to be capable of such raw destructive power. She'd always seemed more pure in skill and technique. Something like this was oddly more Nora-like.
Speaking of Nora, she had been sent flying back shortly after him, causing them both to lose distance. Ren caught her from a potentially bad fall, and would have asked if she was okay, but by the eager grin on her face, the answer was plain.
He was drawn again to Pyrrha's laughter as she leapt through the trees like a high speed pinball, overflowing with pure energy. Yang and Blake followed after Pyrrha, shouting for her attention, and likely going unheard.
Yes, Ren knew he wasn't the strongest… but was the gap between him and Pyrrha that big?
Nora was hopping up and down. A surge of electricity dashed through her hair like a damaged spark plug. There was a bit of blood on her forehead, but her smile was like that of a child who'd gotten an early birthday gift. "Never seen Pyrrha like this before! Or even laugh like hard. But I love it!"
There was definitely something to be said in how Pyrrha seemed ecstatic at using her powers in a more destructive manner. Very unexpected. Now that Ren thought about it, he wondered if she'd learned this from the way Nora fought. The gods knew one could not get through a single fight with Nora without weathering a storm of explosions.
"We'd better catch up." Ren heaved, "It's gonna be tough contesting her raw power. Well, for me."
Nora patted his shoulder. "Silly Renny. You leave Pyrrha for me. You go find our leader."
"Are you sure you can handle her?"
Nora shook her head at his dismissal, like Ren had said the craziest thing she'd ever heard. Then slapped him on the back hard enough to make him stumble. "Can I handle her? Oh ye of little faith!" and Nora darted off, hooting and cheering the whole way like she was headed to a concert or something.
Ren grinned and shook his head. He ought to have learned by now who he was dealing with. Yes, Pyrrha in this state was quite dangerous. He'd never seen her fight like a crazy person. But Nora had fought like a crazy person all her life.
And when it came to pure power, there were few who could contest her.
Weiss set her hands on her knees and tried to steady her breathing.
They were back at the warping glyph now. Once Weiss had seen what Pyrrha was doing, she decided not to stick around long enough to see the results firsthand. Besides, even from far away, the effect was evident. It was taxing enough simply warping herself, but two people took off a great chunk of aura. For all the training she'd done, all the improvements and additions to her physical strength, durability, and stamina, her below average aura pool remained a massive hindrance.
"Well that was freaking close!" whined Ruby with a huge sigh, as if she'd had just completed a desperate sprint from the chaos. "Since when could Pyrrha do something like that? I've never seen it during training!"
"Some things are too dangerous or too difficult to use even in sparring." mumbled Weiss. Abd wouldn't know it. Her strongest glyphs either took time or preparation to use effectively. The warp was a poignant example.
Ruby puffed her cheeks. "So she's been holding back all this time?"
"More likely there simply wasn't time to use it in matches. That attack took some time to prepare, and her strange behavior kept me from realizing that. In a real fight, she'd never get that attack off. Not without help."
"Do you think she was telling the truth about where Jaune is?"
"Whether she's lying or not, if we follow her, she'll lead us to him. No doubt, she's on her way there now. Yang and the others too. We'd better get ahead." Weiss managed to regain her energy and got ready to go before looking around. "Wait, where are those students?"
The clearing was empty now. All the knocked out students were gone now. Looking ahead, she could see the top of the distant tower far ahead. "They must have woken up and headed for the tower! We have to move!"
Weiss dashed on ahead without waiting. She could not let anyone get in the way of her fight. Or worse, steal a potential victory. They bolted through the forest and the world became a blur around them, as Weiss's heart pounded with anticipation. Even if she'd only had a break for a few minutes, every second lost was a big deal. Even Jaune could get overwhelmed if enough people fell upon him at the same time.
Weiss broke the treeline, came upon the cliff that oversaw the lower half of the forest, and the mess of ruins in its center. Just as she did, Weiss saw some students in the trees below. A few dozen them like dark dots hopping along the trees, beelining toward the tower like ants to a mound of honey.
Weiss made ready to jump after them, but caught something out of the corner of her eye. Pure instinct made her jump away and a bullet grazed her cheek. Once the bullet hit the ground, it blew a flaming dent in the ground, leaving the earth scorched. That was familiar.
Looking to her right, she frowned to find Sky Lark standing at the cliff's edge, his sniper-halberd pointed her way, and wearing a scowl to rival her own. "In a hurry, princess?" he said.
Weiss gritted her teeth. Not more distractions. "I've not the patience for you, Lark. You must have seen the rule change. We are no longer adversaries."
Sky pulled the holster back, discharging a bullet casing, and aiming at her again. He'd upgraded his halberd into a sniper model based on Crescent Rose sometime last year, and apparently Ruby had helped him with it. What a mistake that seems now. "Oh I know." Sky said as his eyes narrowed to deadly slits. "And we don't give a shit what the new rules are. We're here for payback, and you'd best believe we'll get it in blood."
Two things happened. Weiss realized that Ruby was nowhere in sight. Despite being the fastest by leagues, she hadn't arrived yet, when she supposedly had been right behind her.
The next thing was that Ruby answered this thought by flying through the trees, tumbling across the grass like she'd been rammed by a truck. Shortly thereafter, Russel came next, daggers on the draw, and charging her down.
Weiss dodged one of Sky's bullets and dashed to intercept Russel. But it seemed he had thought of this, for he swung one of his daggers at her and sent a Flying Aura Slash her way.
Weiss thought quickly and raised a blocking glyph, but was forced to stop as a result. By now Ruby was up, and she flashed toward Russel and kneed him in the jaw, sending him reeling. But it was a short-lived victory, because Sky made good on his claim by kicking Ruby in the jaw hard enough to draw blood and sending her flying off the cliff.
But their attackers were hardly done. They opened fire on Weiss without a moment's hesitation, forcing her to dive off the cliff after her partner, using her air-step glyphs to cushion her descent. Thankfully, she found Ruby quickly, just now getting up and wiping her bloody nose. It was rare to see Ruby look truly warthful, but Sky and Russel had earned it. Weiss couldn't say she didn't feel the same way, but the more time and energy they spent here, the less they'd have against Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Let's get to the ruins first." she advised, "I don't doubt they'll follow. No point in giving them the terrain advantage."
Ruby grinned. "You really want to fight Jaune, huh?"
Weiss sighed, but saw no point denying it. "You got the chance to fight him. I didn't." Honestly, back then, Weiss wasn't sure if it'd be a fight worth seeing, or even if she'd deserved it. But it was a new year now, and her goals had not changed, only evolved. "He's a hurdle in my path to being the best I can be. I can't let anything get in the way of that. Not even those idiots. That's all it is."
They jumped as bullets came raining over them. Russel and Sky had descended now and were coming at them from the trees.
"I've got a plan! Tell you on the way," Ruby shouted, "Keep up!"
Ruby got a head start, but Weiss made sure to use her muscle boost and air-steps to keep up with her. Soon enough, they'd completely outpaced their pursuers. Not like it mattered.
Everyone was headed to the same place, after all.
Pyrrha's laugh was crazy infectious. Like she had heard a funny joke and just couldn't stop thinking about it. Yang found it difficult to resist as her base instincts took over and the thrill of a good fight set her body on fire.
A wave of students had come at them and Yang fired a chain of missile rounds to break their formation, while ducking and dodging their return-fire. One missile caught a dude midair and sent him flying into a tree, while she sprang away from the spread of a machine gun. Punch, fire, punch, dodge, fire, fire, click. Damn it.
Yang pulled another clip out, but then had a sudden fun idea. She hurled the clip and the approaching team, then fired a missile from her other gauntlet at it. The resulting blast is what finally broke them, even felling the surrounding trees and setting the grass on fire. Most had managed to escape the blast radius, but they looked hesitant now, which for Yang simply wouldn't do.
"Aw, you're done already?" Yang grinned madly as she loaded her empty gauntlet. "Come on, you pussies! Gimme a better fight than this!"
One guy came rushing up with a bat. She remembered his name—Marco Brown, from Luke Greene's team. Not especially strong, but tricky despite how simple his weapon looked. Good enough, Yang supposed.
He swung at her head and she ducked. He rode that momentum and spun on his heed, bringing the swing back around to go at her knees. Yang simply raised her aura, intent on tanking the blow, absorbing the force, and catching Marco with a strong right. She hadn't expected to be swept off the ground.
It wasn't that the blow was that strong, it was that at the last second he'd aimed at her ankle and used the momentum of the swing to take her balance, knock her right off her feet. Smart. She liked that.
But Yang managed to think quickly and fired an explosive round at the ground, shooting herself backward. Then once her feet touched the ground she blasted herself straight back at him, and landed that right punch she'd planned on, sending him flying away like a flicked rock. She licked her lips with excitement. You really couldn't underestimate anyone anymore.
That's when she heard an explosion and turned to find a cloud of pink dust in the air, courtesy of Nora's hammer. She sailed through the air on the haft of Magnhild like it was a skateboard, cackling like a maniac all the way, straight past Yang, and after Blake and Pyrrha further back.
Blake intercepted her, but it seemed some things never changed. Nora barreled right through Blake like she was a stop sign in front of a speeding car. Blake quite literally flipping through the air like a pancake. Then Nora slammed her hammer down onto Pyrrha, who'd raised her shield to block it with both hands. Girl didn't even hold it for an instant.
Pyrrha's guard was immediately crushed, and she had to use aura to leap out of the way, leaving Magnhild to smash the ground instead.
Despite that clash, the two were all smiles, like two friends just having the time of their lives, except they were trying to kill each other. Strange how fun it was. Nora lifted her hammer up, hopping on her toes with excitement, sparks in her hair. "Come on, Pyrrha! Up and at em! Aren't we still having fun!?"
Pyrrha bit her lip and pointed a finger at her, having already charged another one of those aura blasts. The impact thankfully didn't hit the ground this time, so when Nora dodged it, it simply tore through the trees behind her. Then Pyrrha ran off, still bolting for the tower.
"Aww boo!" Nora huffed, but chased after Pyrrha anyway.
Yang would have followed, but now Blake was in trouble with the other students giving chase, so she hurried over, socked one girl in the jaw and kicked her off, then helped Blake up. "You okay?"
"Fine," Blake said, standing up. Her eyes immediately narrowed as she pointed her gun. "More company."
Yang turned to see who she was aiming at. Cardin. Dove was by his side naturally, but he was joined by Marco now, and a few more students, looking like a band of raiders.
"Are you helping Jaune?" Cardin questioned.
"Made a promise." shrugged Yang, "A girl has to be good on her word."
"Are you serious?" said Marco, "Aren't you trying to win?"
"I'd worry about yourself, sweetheart. How are you gonna beat the champs if you can't get through us?" touted Yang.
Cardin hefted his mace. Last year, Yang wouldn't have been intimidated in the slightest, but things were different now. You couldn't underestimate anyone. "Who says we can't?"
"Oh I do! Unless you're gonna prove me wrong?" Yang beckoned the group with a finger, like a stripper luring in new customers. "Bring it, bird-boy. Show a girl a good time."
But it was Dove who came first. He darted towards Yang and stabbed at her with his gun-blade, rooting his feet in place upon impact so the blow struck hard and true. Yang blocked with her gauntlet, reinforcing with a bit of aura just to be sure, then swung back. Dove doubled back, and the revolver wheel on his sword spun, and he fired a wave of golden dust bolts at her, in a manner that looked pretty similar to how Goodwitch used her semblance.
Yang and Blake weaved through the hail, and just in time for Yang to dodge Cardin's overhead attack, then his uppercut, then his next overhead, dancing on the backfoot as he chased her back. She blocked his mace, he parried her punch, she caught him with a left, he countered with a right. Every blow made was an exchange, a trade, the one difference being who benefited more from each impact.
Cardin's mace ignited with aura and he smashed it onto the ground, unleashing a shower of rubble that pelted Yang's aura. She escaped the mess, but Cardin met her where she'd run, raised his weapon to force a guard, then booted Yang in the chest, sending her crashing through a tree. Literally through it. Such raw power.
"Not bad!" Yang giggled excitedly as she pushed to her feet, "Not bad at all!"
Yang dropped to her hands and toes, like a lioness in the tall grass, ready to pounce. She super-charged her muscles with aura, then sprang toward Cardin at full force, her fist winded back. He jumped into the air to avoid her, which worked out well since it allowed her to punch Dove in the jaw and send him spiraling. She sprang off her toes once again as Cardin landed, but he managed to dodge again, so she landed on the ground behind him. Yang spun around and struck him in the back of the head, or almost did. He straight up dodged her punch without looking at her, then spun around and landed an uppercut with his mace like it was a goddamn golf club and she was the ball.
Yang flipped in the air and landed a few feet away, rubbed the pain out of her jaw.
"I aint trying to fight you, Blondie." Cardin said, pointing his mace at her again. "Always got time for that later. Just piss off out of our way!"
Marco came crashing at Cardin's feet, and Dove came hurrying over just as Blake landed at Yang's side. She whispered, "We're wasting time on them. Jaune and Pyrrha need our help. We can win the race there. There's no point holding them off here."
Oh right. Yang had almost forgotten about that, she'd been enjoying the fight so much. It had been a while since she'd had a truly fun one. Still, Blake was right. There was a mission at hand. Unfortunately, the fun would have to wait.
"You don't want this, Xiao Long." argued Dove, "You're messed up enough already."
Yang looked at herself. They weren't bad injuries by any means, but she did have a scrapes, and that last blow from Cardin had left her jaw aching. "Shit, you're right. Well watch this, bird-brain."
Yang activated her semblance. Felt the stored energy surge through her bones, muscles, and skin. But instead of converting it to raw doubled-up power, she directed it specifically at her wounds. Her aching jaw, her chest, even her hands from countless punches. The pain quickly washed away, and suddenly every scrape she'd taken had closed up. Any ache or strain was dulled to nothing.
Yang tested her jaw to ensure it had worked, then sent her cheesiest grin at her shocked opponents. It certainly seemed impressive, but it took a pretty big chunk out of her aura, and she needed to take a lot of punishment beforehand. It was more of a temporary forced healing, which once it wore off, the wounds would open up again. In all it was like a second chance at a fight, but only possible after accumulating enough kinetic energy to convert to raw aura. Still, it was better not to tell them that.
Yang raised her fists at them. "So, you bitches up for round two?"
The three of them did not. They simply turned and darted toward the tower. Damn. Yang hadn't noticed at all that they'd gotten switched around. So much for showing off. Blake and she chased right behind them.
Pyrrha's amp was running low. Fun time was over. She had to find Jaune and fast. Whatever he was planning, she hoped he was ready.
She'd made it out of the forest, though the tower interior was something of a downgrade as an environmental advantage. The huge corridors stretched on forever despite her desperate sprint through them, laden with pillars both standing and crumbled, high windows overgrown with moss, random holes punctured in the walls. She had no choice but to run straight as well, since any other routes seemed too tight or dark to take a risk on. Besides, Jaune would be at the top of the tower, so a straight shot was probably the best option. Probably. Out of the forest, yes, but not out of the woods.
Pyrrha jumped as an explosion went off behind her. Four thousand degrees of pure heat right on her ass. Nora's manic laughter followed, so Pyrrha stepped on the gas. Grenades pelted her path from all sides. The ground, the walls, the ceiling, scattering charred debris and pink fumes, blowing new holes in the structure. A hellstorm of pretty but deadly artillery.
The corridor opened into a massive room. Maybe the size of a sports field. It was strewn with columns of various states which had to be the shaky foundational legs of the tower, slowly losing the battle of time. They stretched into higher floors, staircases, balustrades, and platforms, which then went on to support more, into infinity. It gave the place this sense of incompletion, like a child's building block set half completed. A maze confused with itself.
Pyrrha heard a blast behind her and immediately dived to her right as Nora came flying past. She righted herself in the air, landed on the ground, then backsprang into the air, landing on a pillar suspended by rusty chains.
"Helloooo!" Nora waved chipperly, as if this was just a friendly meeting in the hallway. "Call me crazy, Pyr-Pyr, but I get the impression you're avoiding me." Nora tutted and wagged her finger in disapproval. "Don't you know rejection only makes me want you more? Are you all outta juice?"
"Plenty to spare," Pyrrha half-lied. She still had extra aura to spare, and because of that she didn't feel tired. But regardless of the amount of aura she had, she couldn't just use Repulse over and over without consuming a ton of aura. And that was assuming she didn't need to use it for something else. Jaune was close now, so she had to save the extra aura for defensive purposes in case the plan went wrong. Whatever the plan was. "Don't suppose you'd rather team up with us?"
Nora cackled. A long streak of lightning danced across her hair, curled down her cheek, traced across her mouth. One end of her normally curled bangs was standing on end, making her look more unhinged than normal. "Aww, but then I wouldn't get to fight you. I would have chased you for nothing. Nope. Time to put up, baby girl."
And Nora raised one foot, high, high into the air, held it like a ballet dancer with perfect balance. "This is why you never skip leg day!" And she stomped on her platform so hard that it disconnected the chains. They fell to the ground together, and while Nora landed first, the pillar did not land at all. Because Nora was holding it up with both hands, body coursing with lightning. "Catch!" she yelled.
Pyrrha ran. The pillar came crashing like a semi-truck, and the impact nearly carted Pyrrha off her feet, but luckily only made her stumble. That single mistake allowed Nora to close the distance.
Again the ground trembled as Magnhild slammed into the ground, and again, and again, pushing Pyrrha into a bootlegged game of whack-a-mole. Even though the swings were wide and quite telegraphed, they were still risky to challenge. Dodge, dodge, dodge, it was the name of the game, as Nora's hammer laid waste to anything it made contact with, and kept Pyrrha's ears ringing with the song of mayhem.
Finally, Pyrrha saw an opening, but didnt use it to attack. Instead she grazed Magnhild with the back of her hand, attaching her magnetism to it. Had to double back again, as Nora nearly caught her in a huge uppercut.
Pyrrha hurled her shield at Nora, and wasn't surprised to see the girl merely tilted her head to the side to dodge it completely, all while wearing that crazy grin. A grin she'd seen before in Nora's more wild moments. She was always teetering this fine line between weird and insane. It really did depend on the day.
"Do you want to know why I like to skip?" Nora asked.
Pyrrha paused. "What?"
And Nora struck true. The head of Magnhild smashing right into her chest like a charging billy goat. Pyrrha crashed into a wall twenty feet away, went through even, and landed on the other side, coughing hard as the world spun.
Nora stepped through the hole. The contrast of light coming from behind and shadows inside the walls turned her into a black silhouette, with only those shining blue-green eyes piercing the darkness. That, more electricity causing more of her hair to stand like they were stiff with fear. Fear of their owner. "I said… do you know why I like to skip?"
Nora snatched Pyrrha by the collar and hurled her out of the hole with insane strength. Pyrrha used her semblance to right herself and landed on her feet, but she was still taken for a loop. Nora had crazy strength yes, but this seemed greater somehow.
Topically, Nora skipped toward her like a kindergartener playing hopscotch. That massive hammer in her hands seemed too big for a girl so small. Her entire body was flowing with electricity now, as if she was a generator dashed with a bucket of water. Her hair was standing entirely on end now, like the ragged bristles of an overused broom. And in an instant, Pyrrha put something together that she should have realized long ago.
"Your muscles produce electricity." she gasped. It explained so much. Nora's hyperactive and athletic personality. The reason she would hop and skip oftentimes instead of walking like a normal person. The expressive and erratic ways her arms moved when she talked. Every time she exerted her muscles, she produced electric currents, which in turn, powered her semblance, strengthening those very muscles.
No wonder Nora never seemed to get tired or run out of energy. She was quite literally a perpetual motion machine.
Nora pointed at her temple as if she knew exactly what Pyrrha was thinking. "Bingo-ringo."
Pyrrha once again leapt out of the way as Nora came literally shoulder charging at her. The madwoman barreled through a pillar instead, and brought the whole thing tumbling down, unfortunately in Pyrrha's direction.
Pyrrha hurled her sword at a platform above, and the moment it stuck, she pulled herself toward it with her semblance. She flipped onto stable ground, turned quickly to get an eye on—
"Yoo-hoo!"
Nora was already on the platform with her. Literally sitting there cross-legged like she'd been waiting there the whole time. And with her grenade launcher pointed right at Pyrrha.
It was only out of pure instinct that Pyrrha raised her shield.
Again she crashed through something. A pillar this time, tearing all the foliage and debris as she fought to regain ground. This was insane. Nora had never moved so fast before, not even with her semblance active. This was nearly Weiss's base speed.
Nora came at her again, flashing like a streak of pink light, while her insane laugh reverberated inside the ruins. Pyrrha met Nora's hammer strike with a reinforced block, then diverted Nora's follow-up with her semblance. She tried to do the same when the third came, but the back of Magnhild unleashed a burst that reclaimed its initial momentum. Pyrrha just managed to spring away, dodged three more swings, then back-punched Nora across the face. That might have been cause for celebration but…
"Tag back!" Nora chirped, headbutting Pyrrha so hard it sent her flying.
Pyrrha's heels scraped as she landed on her feet, and she gritted her teeth together in pain. This was getting tougher by the second. Nora had never been an easy fight, but she had certainly never been difficult. It didn't even seem like Nora was doing much different. She was simply faster, stronger, and smarter than before.
But somehow, instead of it making her angry or even annoyed, Pyrrha found herself excited.
This was really, really fun.
Pyrrha stood up straight, cracked her neck to one side, and transformed Milo into spear form as Nora stood before her. Her eyes were glowing and leaking electrical charges, her hair was a halo of fire, and her mouth was spread in a massive toothy grin. That mad scientist smile. A demon who'd slipped through the gates of hell for the chance to rampage.
Very well. If they were all letting their demons out.
Pyrrha's fingers curled hard as she swirled her hands over her head, molding the remainder of the borrowed aura into a Repulse. Then she added more of her own. A stupid move and she knew it, and yet it felt so necessary. After all, how could she not go all out? Consequences be damned! The ball grew larger and larger, a great red vortex spinning over her head and pushing away the very air it occupied. Then, she crushed her trembling hand into a skin-biting fist, and the Repulse condensed to a pinprick. Pyrrha pointed it at Nora with a smirk, and Nora showed unparalleled joy by laughing like a lunatic, lightning shooting off her body in mighty bolts. The clash was inevitable.
The unfortunate downside of her Repulse technique was that it only became dangerous upon being fired. In essence, it required momentum to actually do any damage. If, somehow, she were interrupted before shooting it, it would completely vanish, and all the aura went with it.
Weiss had perhaps guessed this, because she would have run Myrtenaster through Pyrrha's head, had she not dodged. It wasn't a total loss though, since Nora had not been interrupted at all, resulting in her charging headlong into the heiress's back and plowing her through a wall. Left her legs dangling out of the crater like a scene from a cartoon. There was no time for laughs, for enemies fell upon them like heavy rain.
By the dozens they came, all their pursuers coming from many different corridors or gaps in the walls, converging onto Pyrrha like wolves. With that, fun time was officially over. Better now to find Jaune. Hopefully he had recovered by now.
But when Pyrrha attempted to run, a girl jumped in her way, double pistols pointed in her face. "Hand over the scroll, Nikos."
A fist crashed into the girl's jaw, a fist attached to Yang. That fist then became and outstretched hand as she said, "Need some help, P-money?"
"Please." Pyrrha said with immense relief.
Blake landed beside them, wearing a look like the mouse with a cat on its tail. "Then get moving!"
It was war. Everyone had completely forsaken the fact that they weren't enemies and set to raising hell. Dust was everywhere—fire and ice and lightning spraying around like the world's deadliest splatterpaint. Matchups of every variety. Duels and one man armies, duo on duo, teams reuinited, partners somehow turned traitor. They'd heard the call and it had beckoned their warrior hearts to celebrate in the only way they knew how. Students hissed and jeered, shouted and roared, laughed and cried to this jaunty tune of battle. As Pyrrha ran, she had to duck and dodge every manner of debris—gunfire, rubble, dust, even people as they fell all around her.
Yang caught some fellow as he came at her and punched him through a wall. "Where's Jaune?" she called out over the noise.
"The roof!" Pyrrha pointed. "Follow me!"
So they headed upward. They jumped from broken platforms, climbed ruined staircases, swung off hanging chains, scaled sheer drops, as they gunned for the crest of the tower. Those who still remembered the mission were doing them same, and Pyrrha thought of a colony of ants all racing to the exit of the ant mound, fleeing a predator, or rather, chasing prey.
A Huntsman must hunt, after all.
Pyrrha made another jump and nearly cleared the next floor, but crashed into a white glyph. It launched her back down, and she caught a glimpse of Weiss jumping at her. Before she could strike, Blake kicked Weiss in the jaw and sent her flying down instead, then caught Pyrrha's hand, using her sword to tether them to a stable platform. Still, there was no time to celebrate. They might have been allies, but three on a hundred was still poor odds.
"I hope you've got a plan, Pyrrha." Yang said as she came to pull them both up. she pulled them up.
"Reach Jaune," Pyrrha heaved, "Whatever comes next, ask him!"
"Was this your plan?" asked Ren, "To cause a scramble?"
Jaune stood at the top of the tower. The gray clouds were clustering together, boiling like a storm was on the way, and Ren faintly heard distant thunder. His leader didn't seem bothered by this, for had his arms crossed and eyes closed, like an old man who'd stepped out onto his porch to think. For an instant, Ren was reminded of his father. And because of that he felt a strange twist of yearning and envy.
"Pretty much." Jaune said, calmly. "Put enough people in a tight enough space and conflict creates itself. Especially if they all want the same thing. All I did was bring everyone together. You all did the rest."
Ren chuckled. "You've always been smart."
"Have to be, if I want to win."
"What was that thing you did? How did you prevent everyone from using their aura?"
Jaune's demeanor didn't change. Well, not completely. He just swallowed. A subtle thing, barely noticeable, but in the context of a confrontation, it was a very specific tell that Ren knew Jaune to do. If he swallowed like that before answering a difficult question, for whatever reason, then that meant…
"Semblance Reversal."
He was lying.
Ren wasn't very interested in the answer, being honest. It was an absurd and potentially game changing ability, but Ren's goals had nothing to do with competition, and he didn't care that Jaune was stronger than him. Well, he didn't care too much. But he was interested in the lie, or rather the reasoning behind it. He was tempted to ask now, but it was hardly the best time. Besides, he had his reasons for coming here.
He drew Stormflower, flourished them for familiarity, and held them at the ready. "This isn't like me, but I'm here to fight you, Jaune."
Jaune opened his eyes. From strangely calm and stoic, to wearing that kind and defenseless face he knew him for. "Alone? That is unlike you."
"Don't worry, I'm not upset with you. It's just something I want to do." Needed to do, more like.
Jaune unfolded his arms. He had this look that Ren couldn't quite work out, which was quite a feat. This strange stare that seemed both knowing yet curious, as if he couldn't place for certain what ailed Ren's mind, but had a very close guess. That look, again, reminded Ren of his father.
Jaune's blue eyes met the ground, deep in thought. "Want to know something my dad told me? Apparently, a tiger's roar can paralyze animals that hear it."
Ren froze.
"It's something with how low the hertz is. Sends these sound waves through your body that make you tense up. Making it easier for the tiger to pounce. It even works on other predators. Crazy, right?"
Ren heard the thunder again. It was closer now. Far closer.
Jaune adopted a small, almost wistful grin, like he was imagining something pleasant. "I mean, think of what that means, this animal's roar is so strong that it literally makes you freeze in fear. Think of what it must be like, wielding that much power. Terrifying…" But Jaune didn't look terrified at all. The exact opposite, in Ren's opinion. Jaune then looked up at him. "Ren… what do you think power is for?"
Ren's thoughts went to the past, like they often did. He remembered all the things he'd had, all the things he'd lost, what little remained to treasure. He wasn't sure now if all the strength in the world might have made a difference back then. Nevertheless, it was hard not to blame himself, when it had all seemed so preventable. But that was what it meant to be weak. To demand fairness from an unfair world, rather than enforcing it yourself. A man needed strength, a man needed power. Whatever his virtues, a weak man simply cannot bend reality to his favor.
It's a sorry fact, but strength governs this world. And the more of it you had, the more of the world you controlled.
Ren steeled his nerves and looked straight into Jaune's eyes. "To protect what's important, I'd say. What about you?"
Jaune nodded, seeming to give it some thought. "At first, I just wanted to get good enough. Just to be on everyone's level. I wanted to meet the requirements of a hero. For the longest time, I thought that was all I needed. But then I got it. I finally got what I wanted and while I was happy," and he shook his head, "I wasn't satisfied. Ever since that day, I've wondered how far I can go. How high is the ceiling? Is there a ceiling at all? I want to find out. But a roar is a double-edged sword. You might scare off the weak, but what about strong? What if your roar alerts other tigers?"
Jaune drew his sword, but the shield came with it. The shield folded around the blade and extended until it was a solid blade of white and gold finish. Thick and heavy as a greatsword. It was a greatsword. Jaune hoisted it up with two hands, held the blade flat side forward in a wide stance, while Jaune's body was absolutely flooded with aura. "I don't think they'd be too happy with another beast roaming the jungle."
Ren's heart pounded with a fury. That look in Jaune's eyes. Different than he was used to. It was exactly like the tiger that stared at him from across the river, trying to decide whether he was prey or threat. He had a million questions spinning in his head, and lamented that they'd have to be shelved for later. He had to focus on what was right in front of him. This would be a tough fight plainly and in terms of stamina, he wouldn't last long against Jaune in his normal state. If Jaune got aggressive, there wasn't much he could do against his semblance. He sucked in a breath, then breathed out. He wouldn't be happy unless he could push Jaune to his full strength. Ren refused to settle for anything less. This would be a tough match, but he could win.
With this power, he could do anything. So long as he was strong enough.
So Ren closed his eyes, concentrated his aura in a heavy flow and poured it into his brain. Back, then middle, then front. Calm. Waves. Peace. His semblance burst to life. A single droplet of water fell from the sky to calm to the rampant waves. His mind was calm, his emotions were dulled, his will was unbreakable. A necessity since this ability required absolute focus. There could be no turmoil, no monsters, no nightmares. Just him in an empty world.
Ren would continue to grow strong, so that no tragedy like his village would happen again. So that he could prevent any and all bad futures. He was always looking toward the future, because no matter what, the future was always promised. So when opened his mind's eye, and he peered into the limitless void, bore witness to the immediate future… Lie Ren saw his victory.
The only thing to find out now was if he was strong enough to make it real.
Updates are sadly gonna be slow for the foreseeable future. I need to work two jobs these days and my writing motivation is chaotic as a result. Still, I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and I'll see you in the next one!