Knox: What's this one based on?

King: It's called Sengoku Basara. It's like Japanese history meets anime.

Knox: Like Samurai Warriors?

King: Kind of. Just crank up the crazy to bonkers.

Knox: Fun.

King: Definitely. Both in game and anime form. But it might be an aquired taste. Who knows?

Inspiration: Sengoku Basara

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When the next world opened up, it showed a large field in autumn. The fields of Sekigahara. The beautiful fields awash with the cool golden tints of autumn.

Yang looked at the scene and couldn't help but smile. It was a beautiful, tranquil scene. Sure, she'd prefer something more bombastic, usually metropolitan, but she could appreciate the simple beauty before her.

Then, the camera fell back. The cool autumn scene divided in half. At the left and to the East was a bright, hopeful day. To the right, and the West, was like a dark and sinister night. Beneath both were two large armies. One adorned in gold and brown and the other drenched in purple and green. After pulling back further, the sky was shown to be divided in half between day and night.

Ruby was amazed by the scene, "Woah! How is the sky like that?!"

Ren shrugged, "It's likely a trick designed to represent the two sides."

The camera pulled in to show the back of a person walking through the soldiers in darkness. Her mint colored hair was cut short to her shoulders, showing her black gemstone design on her back.

Emerald raised an eyebrow, "Okay. So that's supposed to be me, then?"

Mercury leaned back and placed his feet up on the chair in front of him, "Looks like it."

Emerald looked out over the opposing army washed in light. Those maggots were inconsequential to her. She had only one target for her ire, one man that she gathered an army to destroy. "ARC!"

Her yell carried over the field to a man sitting in a field chair. He was dressed in a golden hooded vest and pants with boots, his hood obscuring his face. He stood up and brought his hood back, revealing it to be Jaune Arc, commander of the Eastern Army and head of the Arc Clan. A man dedicated to peace, to the point where he held no ire for anyone. He stood before the world, unarmed, in defiance to this land of war. His greatest hope was to bring the people together in peace.

Everyone from Beacon and among the huntsmen couldn't help but feel this was a worthy goal. Even if many felt it was impossible due to human nature, they still felt it was a goal worth striving for.

Jaune looked out to the army opposite him. This battle was long brewing, despite his hopes. He let out a sorrowed breath. "So, we truly have no choice?"

"Looks like it." Standing not too far way was Yang Xiao Long, dressed in blue and black samurai armor, her helmet adorned with a long golden crescent. She also had an eyepatch over her right eye, lost to disease as a child. At her sides were six matching katana swords, the claws of the One-Eyed Dragon.

Yang gasped, "Woah! Check me out! I look so cool!"

Blake, however, wasn't as impressed, "Why would you need six swords?"

Ruby turned to her teammate, "Better question, how would she use them? Is it switching out or is there a weird combo thing?"

Yang crossed her arms, looking out over the armies, "I still think this needed to happen sooner."

Jaune sighed, "I had hoped she could still be reasoned with. Unfortunately, I was wrong."

Yang was quiet a moment. "Think you can kill her?"

Jaune never gave her an answer, simply beginning to walk off into his army.

Emerald was confused. They apparently knew one another in the past, and now she wanted to kill him. But why would that be?

The camera stuck with Yang as she sighed. "Good luck…" She uncrossed her arms and made for her horse. She had a fight of her own to get to once the battle starts. A certain Tiger Cub remained in her sights.

This got Sienna's attention. She was the only tiger-faunas in the room, so she was intrigued to see where this goes.

After a while, the armies grew restless. And soon, they roared out and charged to one another. Steel clashed with steel as the two armies began their assault. This was not a kind scene. This was war. The golden grass beneath them began to splatter with red.

As the fighting raged, a giant iron ball slammed into the ground. At the other end was Qrow Branwen, his hands bound to the ball. "Just my luck… Stuck in a war I never wanted…"

Qrow held his flask up to his counterpart, "Amen, brother."

A jovial laugh rang out behind him. Peter Port, with giant sword over his shoulder, walked up behind him. "Come on. Where's your fighting spirit?!"

"Back home in the mines…"

Port just laughed it off. "Then step aside and let me handle this."

Qrow just moved away, gesturing for him to take over.

Port walked up ad slammed his sword into the ground, giant grin on his face, and roared out over the crowd, "Come on! You youthful warriors of our age! Come and test your metal against a generation's finest!"

Port chuckled a bit. "I may need to remember that one."

His students just rolled their eyes.

There was an impact in front of him. As the dust cleared, a woman in a giant mechanized suit looked down toward Port. She was silent, her voice long lost to her. But what she did have, was her strength and loyalty. She was the pride of the Arc clan, Nora Valkyrie.

Nora shook Ren in excitement, "Oh my gosh! Look at me! I look so awesome!"

Ren was starting to get dizzy, "Nora!" This got her stop shaking him, but he was still a lightheaded.

Port laughed. "Valkyrie! It's always a pleasure to face you in battle."

Nora's body sparked with electricity and she pulled a large lance from her back. The tip of her lance started to spin around, revealing it to be a drill.

Port grinned and set his blade skyward in preparation for a battle. "Come on!"

The two leapt to one another, but the camera transitioned away as their weapons clashed.

Nora groaned, "No! Go back! I wanna see the fight!"

When the screen returned to the battle at large, they saw Blake swinging a pair of spears with two blades extending out from the base of the main blade. She moved like a burning hurricane through soldiers dressed in gold. Rather than in a bow atop her head, her ribbon was wrapped over her forehead. "Have at you! I will not fall today! Bring your best and I shall do the same! Fight me to try to claim my power!"

The lesser soldiers started to creep backward. Blake was too powerful for any of them to face. They froze hearing a horse behind them, and as it jumped over them. Yang hopped off the animal as it ran off. She stood opposite Blake with a grin, "Hell of a speech. I'm sure Sienna would be proud."

Blake grinned toward her longtime rival, "I can only hope to be as great a warrior as Lady Kahn. To that end, I'll fight the best warriors of our age. I'll be the greatest warrior this age has ever known!"

Sienna glanced toward Blake. She almost found the idea compelling. She looked up to Gira, and if Gira's daughter looked up to her? That would be amazing. But… After what she allowed the White Fang to become, she could see why Blake might hate her instead.

Yang chuckled, "Ha! Alright then! Let's see what the protege of the Tiger of Kai can do!" Yang was getting excited, drawing all six blades between her fingers like a set of claws, electricity surging through them. "Bring it on!"

Yang gasped, "Holy crap! Can people actually do that?!"

"Technically." Ruby was excited too, but more subdued, "But you'd have to have very strong hands and finger grip.

Blake drew her spears across each other, having them erupt into flames. "Let's go!"

The two brought their weapons together, causing another transition.

Yang slammed her fist into her chair, "No! Go back!"

Now, the camera followed Emerald as she charged through the army of gold. She had one target. One man she hated. She swung her katana around to clear the area to look around. She heard a horn ring out over the field and followed the sound to a field off to the side. The war at large was being waged in the distance. She slowed to a walk as she found herself face to face with Jaune Arc again. As she approached her target, the camera pulled up to show the sun and moon meeting together in an eclipse.

Jaune went wide eyed, having yet to experience the scene, "Woah…"

Ruby and Tai chuckled, having had the same reaction.

Yang focused on the scene at large and fell back in her seat, "I guess this is the fight we're supposed to see?"

Nora huffed, still a little annoyed, "I guess…"

Emerald glared toward Jaune, "Arc… Today, I shall finally avenge Lady Cinder."

Emerald felt a chill run up her spine. That was her motivation? Revenge for Cinder's death? Would she become like that if Cinder died?

Emerald dragged a foot back across the ground, hand hovering over her sword, "Today you die!"

Jaune's face was somber. "Emerald… We don't have to do this…"

"Shut up!" She flew forward and swung her blade for Jaune's neck.

He ducked the attack and swung around to backhand her side, pushing her away. He adopted a boxer's pose and dipped away from each attack.

As they watched the scene, Yang's face adopted a seriously! kind of look. "That's my fighting style!" The guy even had golden gauntlets.

"Hey! Yeah!" Tai blinked at the screen, a bit proud the style is spreading.

Jaune, unlike the brawler in the audience, was prioritizing dodging the swinging blade. He didn't have an aura, after all. Or a semblance that makes him stronger with damage. He had to keep himself out of harm's way. But that's not to say he won't fight back. Occasionally, a duck would be matched with a punch. One punch in particular pushed Emerald back, her feet dragging across the ground.

"Yeah! Go fearless leader!" Nora pumped her fist into the air in excitement.

"Yeah!" Yang was cheering for Jaune out of a sense of kinship as brawlers. "Show her who's boss!"

Jaune turned to Pyrrha, "This is kind of weird… I know they're talking about the version on the screen, but it's still me, kind of."

Pyrrha placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I can imagine."

Emerald growled, "Stop it… Stop that… STOP HOLDING BACK!"

"Woah! What?!" Yang was really intrigued now. What was his limit of strength?

Jaune looked off to her in sadness. "Please Emerald. We can stop this."

"NO! You don't deserve to say that to me! Not after you killed Lady Cinder!"

"She was an insane tyrant!"

"Shut up!"

"She used you! Used us! She didn't want peace, she wanted fear! She wanted people to fear her!"

Cinder grinned. It seems she shared something in common with this variation. Unfortunately, her counterpart was dead. A shame, really.

That 'used you' like didn't sit right with Emerald, though. Was Cinder really just using her? Did she ever actually care?

"SHUT UP!" Emerald roared out again. Her eyes seemed to glow and her body erupted with a dark, murderous aura. "I will kill you! You hear me?! Lady Cinder will be avenged!"

Jaune sighed in defeat. He wanted to bring the land together in peace. But it was clear Emerald wasn't listening. He was going to have to get serious. As Emerald approached again, he slammed his fist into the ground. The impact caused the earth beneath him to rise upward around him. Emerald jumped off the earthen rock, twisting in the air to land on her feet again. Jaune used the other hand to punch forward. Though she was out of physical range, he created a wave of air pressure from his fist to force her to duck to the side as the stone behind her cracked from the assault.

Yang jumped in her chair, "Holy crap! How do I learn how to do that?!"

Emerald growled and placed her blade away into its scabbard. A quickdraw. A motion too fast to see with the naked eye. Jaune, however, was too well versed with Emerald's fighting style. He wasn't faster than her, he understood that. So, he had to work around that. As Emerald blinked forward to lop his supposedly traitorous head from his neck, he punched upward. He created a shockwave of energy around his body as a glowing, golden energy flew up around him. The grass beneath him was scorched by the light he emitted. Emerald was equally as scorched, her arm burned and in no condition to do that again.

Emerald winced seeing the damage on her arm. It just looked too painful, her skin seemingly burned without smoldering.

Yang was just trying to figure out if she could do something like that as well and freaking out about the possibilities.

Jaune looked back to Emerald. "Please… Listen to me. I don't want this. I just want peace… We can still…"

"SHUT UP!" Emerald was at her whit's end hearing him talk. "Shut up…" She shakily stood again, her arm causing her immense pain.

"Emerald! We can stop this and get your arm healed! We can…"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Emerald grabbed her sword with her off hand and held it toward Jaune. "I don't need your pity! All I need is your death!"

Blake saw too much of Adam in this version of Emerald. Spiteful and unable to truly consider another option. Stubborn to the last.

Jaune's face fell. He knew what she planned to do. As she charged forward, she leapt into the air, body spinning to increase her momentum and force. Jaune's fist tightened and swung upward.

The camera snapped away as the force of the attack was felt by the two armies. Port and Nora's clash was brought to a close. Yang and Blake felt their very cores shiver at the feeling. Those not on the same caliber as the others, the common soldiers, just shook in fear or fell from the shockwave. The camera followed as the soldiers looked toward ground zero.

The camera zoomed in to show Jaune standing with his fist directly over Emerald's heart, her blade just missing his neck by an inch. Emerald's eyes were blank, lifeless. Her blade fell aside as her strength finally gave out. Jaune's punch had enough force to destroy her heart from within.

Emerald felt a chill run up her spine. She really hoped that blonde bimbo didn't learn how to do that.

As she fell forward, the very hand that had killed her caught her before she fell. Jaune looked toward Emerald's body. This was the woman that wanted him dead. The woman willing to bring war to their homeland for the sole purpose of revenge. And yet, all he saw was his old friend. His old comrade. Someone he cared about, corrupted by her anger. He helped her to lie on her back, her blade at her side. He took a breath and closed her eyes, allowing her to rest. As the battle around them began to disperse, Jaune fell to sit next to her. Even after everything she said, everything she'd done, he couldn't bring himself to hate her. Rather, he pulled up his hood and wept. Tears shed for the woman he once knew those years past under the leadership of Cinder. This was a bitter victory, no matter how necessary for the peace he envisioned.