Renown
Cinder looked down upon the abomination below her.
It had not noticed her presence, nor that of her associates or Adam. Perhaps the dead White Fang members lying strewn across the street around it – they’d been wondering where that patrol had gotten to – had sated its appetite. Perhaps it simply wasn’t very observant.
Perhaps it was as simple as the fact that it hadn’t bothered to look up.
It was an ungainly sight. It was something that revolted her to look upon.
It was something that might prove useful to her.
“Wh-what is that thing?” Emerald murmured, her voice trembling.
“I have no idea,” Cinder admitted candidly. It looked a little like a grimm, and yet at the same time, it was not a grimm. She knew that it was not a grimm because, if it was a grimm, she would know it. She would feel, even if only a little, the song that bound the creatures of destruction together, feel their connection through the blessing that she had received.
She did not feel it. There was no connection here. This creature, however much it might resemble grimm, did not feel the song of death and mayhem. There was no connection there.
She could not command it. But she could make good use of it all the same.
Adam placed one hand upon the hilt of his sword. “How do we kill it?”
Cinder glanced at him. “'Kill it'? Why would we do such a thing?”
“Why?” Adam growled. “It killed my men!” He gestured at their remains with one hand.
And I will kill far more than any monster could, Cinder thought. She wondered how Adam would react when he figured that out. Not well, perhaps, which was why he might be better off dead within the depths of Mountain Glenn. But, on the other hand, a man like him could be manipulated despite his anger; so long as he still desired Blake or revenge or some twisted combination of the two, then Cinder would be able to wrap him around her fingers - not effortlessly perhaps, recent events had proven there were unfortunate depths to him she had not been aware of; nevertheless she would still be able to turn him to her purposes - no matter how drenched she was in the blood of the Vale Chapter.
Gilda would not prove so accommodating.
Of course, the chances were she would be done with the White Fang after today, which was why she was willing to throw Adam into the path of harm, but one never knew.
That was why she had allowed him to accompany her and her team: he was safer here than he was on the train.
“Your men,” she told him, “gave their lives for the cause of the White Fang, but if you wish that cause to flourish and a victory be gained worthy of their sacrifice, then we must see the plan through to the end and not be distracted again by our personal feelings.”
“How is that a part of the plan?” Mercury asked, gesturing at the creature.
“It wasn’t,” Cinder replied. “But now, it’s a wonderful new addition to our ranks and just what we need to break up our enemies.”
Although she would pit her chosen servants against most of Ozpin’s lackeys any day, and although the ranks of Team SAPR and Team RSPT were padded out with deadweight like Jaune and Twilight, nevertheless, the fact remained that they were outnumbered two to one, even with Adam’s presence, and those two included formidable fighters like Pyrrha, whom only Cinder herself could hope to withstand, while her one included Emerald, whose strength lay more in her semblance than in her skill in arms. It would have been… a chaotic battle, to say the least. Possibly a somewhat desperate one.
She had considered bringing in grimm to even out the scales, but now… destiny had smiled once more on Cinder Fall and provided her the means to break up the ranks of her enemies.
“Once our enemies come across this creature, they will be wary of it,” Cinder declared. “They will not simply attack it head on. They’ll split up, sending…” She paused for thought. She could put herself in Sunset’s shoes, she could put herself in Sunset’s mind, and with all that she had learned about her friend, she could practically predict what the other girl would do when confronted with an enemy like this. “They will send Pyrrha around behind it to attack it from two sides, while the Atlesians attempt to gain higher ground from which they can fire their big guns. So take up your positions, be careful not to draw that monster’s attention, and wait.”
There was a grimm blocking their way.
A single grimm, it didn’t even appear to have noticed them yet, and yet, its mere presence standing in the middle of the street was entirely halting the onward progress of Teams SAPR and RSPT.
The fact that it was so unusual in appearance might have had something to do with that.
It wasn’t so much the fact that it was a type of grimm they hadn’t encountered before, or even that it was a kind of grimm that hadn’t been mentioned by Professor Port yet – although either of those instances would have been cause to take a moment and reflect on strategy. No, it was the fact that – and Pyrrha could only speak for herself at this point, but judging by the expressions of the others she wasn’t alone – it was so far outside the bounds of what one expected a grimm to look like that was perturbing her.
It looked like a cross between a beowolf and an ursa, as though those monsters were capable of interbreeding with one another and had produced this hybrid. It had the long, almost ape-like arms, lithe-ish limbs, and nipped-in waist of a beowolf in contrast to the more solid, trunk-like form of an ursa, but on the other hand, for size, it had much more in common with the ursine creature while not possessing the markers of age – particularly the multitude of encrusted armour plates – that would have marked it as an alpha that had temporarily misplaced its pack.
But none of that was truly disconcerting about this creature that had suddenly thrown itself athwart their line of approach. Nor even was it the dead White Fang members at the monster’s feet or the red blood on its teeth and claws that left no doubt as to how these warriors had died.
No, what was most strange about this beowolf – and what was giving the members of SAPR, RSPT, and even Professor Goodwitch the most pause – was, and the fact that it sounded a little absurd when stated so baldly did not make it any less true, the colour.
This grimm was green. Not all over – the bulk of its body was still the same tar black as always – the spikes upon its back that ought to have been as white as bone now glowed a luminescent green in the darkness under Mountain Glenn; in place of red eyes, a pale green light shone out of every orifice of the creature’s skull, even its open mouth, as though it were one of those – rather tasteless, in Pyrrha’s opinion – grimm-themed novelty nightlights that you could buy.
Green lines that had no equivalent on any grimm that Pyrrha had encountered or read about glowed up and down the creature’s body as though it were filled with some unstable power or concoction that its form could not quite contain.
And so, Team SAPR, Team RSPT, Blake, and Professor Goodwitch all lurked out of its sight – and fortunately, they were also out of its sense of smell as well, the air here being still and stale in a manner that was intensely uncomfortable, but also, in this instance, beneficial – around the corner of a street of blocky accommodations, watching the strange creature, and as they watched, it bent its back and lowered its head to the ground to continue feeding upon the corpses of those faunus it had slain.
It was disgusting to watch, and yet, for the moment, they had no choice but to observe it.
“So, uh,” Jaune murmured, “does anyone know what that is?”
“Nope,” Ruby said.
“Never seen anything like it,” Rainbow muttered.
“I don’t recognise it as any grimm documented,” Penny declared.
“Nor has it featured in any bestiary I have ever come across,” added Ciel.
“Professor?” Sunset said. “Any wisdom to share with us?”
“Unfortunately not,” Professor Goodwitch said softly. “Beyond the fact that it is clearly a grimm… I’ve never seen one quite like this before.”
“We could probably go around it,” Blake said. “We didn’t come here to fight grimm, after all.”
“Maybe we could, but what if it comes after us?” Sunset asked. “Do you want that thing coming up behind us while we’re distracted?”
Blake was silent for a moment. “Good point.”
“The enemy already knows we’re here,” Sunset said. “A little more shooting won’t tell them anything that they don’t know already. I say we kill this thing now, and we won’t have to worry about it later.”
She glanced around, as if she were searching for objections. Pyrrha didn’t offer any; she found nothing to object to in Sunset’s reasoning: just because this grimm – it was a grimm, whatever else it might be – hadn’t noticed them at the moment, there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t do so later, especially if the conflict of battle drew it in. If they could deal with it now, then they might as well do so, while they had nothing else to distract them.
“Rainbow Dash,” Sunset said. “Take Ciel and Penny-”
“Up to the top floor of one of those houses where they can nail it from above,” Rainbow finished. “I’m not perfect, Sunset, but I understand a crossfire.”
As signals go, it’s quite unmistakable, I suppose.
“I’ll stay here,” Blake added. “I’m not much of a long-range fighter. I might as well stick where I’m best suited.”
Rainbow nodded. “Fine. Good luck.”
“You, too,” Blake replied. “All three of you.”
“Indeed,” Pyrrha added.
“I hope I do better than I did against that other grimm up top,” Penny murmured.
“That wasn’t your fault, Penny,” Ruby said. “If you hadn’t been protecting me from that falling debris, you’d have been fine.”
“And besides,” Pyrrha added, “we were caught by surprise then. Surprise is on our side now.” She smiled. “It won’t know what hit it when you open fire.”
Penny’s face lit up a little at the prospect of that, and she seemed cheered as she, Ciel, and Rainbow Dash crept their way across the street to the other side of the road. The green grimm didn’t appear to spot them as they slunk out of sight, into the dark and shadowy building that lay beyond.
“Pyrrha, Jaune,” Sunset said. “Go into this building and see if you can get around behind it. Once the Atlesians start shooting, we’ll attack it from two sides.”
Pyrrha nodded. “I understand.” She tapped the button on the butt of Miló once, transforming it from its rifle configuration into the stealthier spear; with good fortune, she wouldn’t have to fire – and thus alert this particularly strange grimm to her presence – until she was in position for the ambush. “Good luck.”
“And you,” Sunset said, with a terse nod of her own before she looked away from Pyrrha and returned her attention to the feeding grimm up the street.
Pyrrha moved, trusting Jaune to follow as she crept along the side of the tower behind which they had taken cover and searched for a way in. This wasn’t a suburban home of the kind that they had slept in last night; it wasn’t even a row of terraces; rather, here in the underground city, it seemed as though every building climbed upwards and climbed high; this place was a hive of dark monoliths reaching towards the surface, a place where people must have lived like ants or termites or rats, all jammed together as tightly packed as could be managed.
Pyrrha was not naïve. She knew that not everybody lived in the spacious luxury in which she had grown up and which the other wealthy families of Mistral enjoyed; she knew that not everywhere was as pleasant to live as Mistral, even for the less well-off of its citizens – Arslan had some veritable horror stories in that regard, though she seemed to find them rather amusing.
But Pyrrha couldn’t understand why anyone would voluntarily live like this, packed into airless boxes, deep underground where there was no natural light, surrounded by walls of rock on either side; this city had been a prison even before the grimm had laid it to waste. There might have been life here, but Pyrrha could see no evidence that there had ever been any freedom.
It was hard not to think of the slaughter that those monsters had wrought as being but the last and most fatal of the indignities suffered by those unfortunate enough to live beneath Mountain Glenn.
She turned a corner, putting her on the opposite side of the building as the grimm, and found a door, cheap and plastic looking, but reasonably intact in the circumstances. It hadn’t been blocked; at Pyrrha’s slightest touch, it swung open to reveal a dusty corridor, lined with apartment doors on the left side, heading north; an elevator that didn’t appear to be working any more; and a narrow staircase leading to the next floor up.
Pyrrha stood in the doorway for a moment, considering.
“Pyrrha?” Jaune said softly from behind her. “Is everything okay?”
Pyrrha hesitated for a moment. “I… I would never have broken my promise to you, no matter how much I might have wished to. You do know that, don’t you?”
“I know,” Jaune replied. “I know that you’re not your mom, to lie to me about something like that.”
“No,” Pyrrha murmured. “No, I am definitely not my mother.” She glanced over shoulder. “And I… I will never lie to you about anything.” Perhaps that was rashly said, binding her word in a manner too extravagant, but as she said it, she could not think of any reason why she should not say it, why she should have any cause at all, at any time, to lie to Jaune.
And so, she promised with a light heart and relished the fact that this was one thing that she could do with a light heart, when all else in Mountain Glenn seemed to weigh down upon her so heavily.
Her brow furrowed a little as the unwanted memory returned, the memory of the vision that Salem had shown her: her home aflame, the very fountain choked with blood.
Her home burning because she had not been strong enough to save it.
How could she be strong enough, being as she was a mere girl blessed with some combat talent? How could she be strong enough to contend with the powers with which they were in opposition? She didn’t have Sunset’s magic, she didn’t even have Ruby’s silver eyes; all that she had was her renown, half of it hard-won in the arena, true, but the other half inherited nearly without effort from the line of her ancestors.
She had always told herself that her fame as the heir to the throne would have been as nothing had she not also shown herself prodigiously talented in the arena, but even if that hopeful analysis were true… the Invincible Girl was just a name; it did not convey upon her any power.
There was only one individual in Remnant who could truly be called invincible, and she was their enemy.
The Invincible Girl, the Princess Without a Crown, the Pride of Mistral, the Evenstar… these names were baubles, every bit as much as her tournament trophies and the spoils that she had dedicated in the Temple of Victory.
She had accepted the great honour that was done to her by Professor Ozpin, she had embraced the destiny that she had always believed was hers.
Yet now, she feared that she was unequal to it.
She had thought it her destiny to save the world. Which, by her own conception of destiny, meant nothing more nor less than that she would choose to save the world, as though its salvation was entirely in her gift, and she would only need to decide to do so and apply herself to that great task and all would be as she desired.
How proud, how vain, how arrogant. What hubris on par with the ambition that had built this silent tomb.
She could only pray that her arrogance would not cost as many lives as this monument to excess pride.
“Pyrrha?” Jaune said. “You looked like you were kind of spacing out a little bit.”
“Sorry,” Pyrrha said, a little more loudly than she needed to. She laughed nervously and looked at him. Looking at Jaune, looking into his blue eyes, definitely helped. His very presence was like a wind, blowing away her misgivings. The memory of his arms around her, of his kiss, of the tenderness of his touch, banished the memory of Salem’s vision and her words.
Even if it did make her feel a little flustered as a trade-off.
More to the point, Jaune reminded her of something that – in yet more arrogance – she might have been inclined to forget otherwise: she was not alone. She did not have to worry about being strong enough to defy Salem and all her power by herself because she was not fighting by herself. She had her friends to fight beside her.
And Jaune, whom she had promised to never send from her side, though it cost him his life to remain.
That… that would grieve her. Even in death, she thought; if it was her fate to die, her destiny unfulfilled, if it was her lot in life to depart in anger down to the shades, then she would not have Jaune so swiftly follow her down. If they could not live and love amongst the living in the living world, then she would not accept an unlife spent together in the afterlife as recompense. Rather, if the gods decreed that she would die, she would have Jaune live on and dry his tears and find what happiness he could in the arms of another. Ruby, perhaps; she was warm and caring and believed in Jaune wholeheartedly; she had been his friend from the start. Certainly, she was a better choice for him than Sunset, without any offence to Sunset.
No, Ruby… Ruby would be good for him, if need be. Perhaps Pyrrha ought to write her a note, as Sunset had- no, no that was not a very good idea, Pyrrha thought to herself as she remembered how embarrassed she and Sunset had been after she, Pyrrha, had found Sunset’s note. How much worse would it be if Ruby found such a note from Pyrrha?
And besides, there were limits to Pyrrha’s generosity, and writing to encourage Ruby to… she scarcely knew how to describe it, but she thought that it might well breach those limits.
And besides, she intended to try quite hard not to die.
For her sake, for Jaune’s, and for the sake of everything that she hoped to share with him in the future that she hoped so very much lay ahead for them.
There were some superstitious folk who believed that writing a will tempted fate. The same, it seemed to Pyrrha, might be said of writing a letter to be opened in the event of your death.
Salem might be immortal, but there were only men and grimm here under Mountain Glenn, and she could handle men and grimm alike.
“I’m sorry,” she apologised again. “We should move.”
They entered the house, moving past the elevator and down the dusty corridor; they ignored the stairs; since they were not going to engage the grimm from higher ground, there would be no point in going up unless the way forward were blocked. It was not so.
At least, that was what Pyrrha thought before one of the apartment doors that lined the corridor swung open to partially bar their path.
Cinder Fall stepped daintily around the door, her ankle bracelet swaying slightly back and forth as she walked with the silence of a thief and the grace of a lioness.
Her glass blades were in her hand, and her smile seemed almost like another blade, one fused to her face, a grin that was almost manic in its intensity.
“I’m glad it’s you,” she purred. “I hoped it would be you, Pyrrha. Long have I desired to match my skill against you.”
Pyrrha breathed in, and out. “You could have sought me out in combat class,” she pointed out.
Cinder chuckled. “Without- no, that is not true, I do mean to offend you, I am afraid – please forgive me – but I have always found that sparring in class or fighting in the arena is rather… boring. Sanitised. It lacks the frisson of excitement that comes from lives on the line, from knowing that nobody is going to stop the match when your aura gets into the red. From knowing that your aura is all that stands between you and oblivion.”
Pyrrha’s feet shuffled on the floor as she readied herself. “I do not agree with that, but I must confess that I, too, am glad. I, too, have wished to face you. And the current circumstances are ideal.”
“'Ideal'?” Cinder asked.
“Sunset isn’t here to get in our way,” Pyrrha explained.
Once more Cinder laughed. “No,” she agreed. “No, she is not.” She paused, and as she paused, the booming sound of Unfailing Loyalty echoed through the city of the dead. “And by the sounds of it,” Cinder went on, “nobody else will either. Your friends have battles of their own to fight, it seems.”
“Then I had best finish this quickly,” Pyrrha growled.
“Don’t let your vanity blind you, Pride of Mistral,” Cinder warned. “For I am Cinder Fall, chosen of the dark, and I will make you my factor and pluck all the renown and honours off your brow and take them for my own!” She raised her blades. “Now, show me how bright you burn, Evenstar!”
Pyrrha sprang at her, her red hair streaming out behind her like a standard as she leapt.
She had not lied. She had wanted this, and in this way, without Sunset to protest that she should hold back, or worse, to protect Cinder from Pyrrha’s swift and shining spear.
That was one reason why she wanted this: she feared Cinder for her influence on Sunset more than her strength in arms. There were other reasons, of course, to seek her out: she was an enemy, she had tried to kill Twilight, she had tried to bring down Beacon, she was in league with Salem – she was, in fact, Salem’s chief servant here in Vale. All good reasons why she, a huntress and a protector of the world, Professor Ozpin’s spear, should seek her out in battle. But as well as all those things, Cinder had corrupted Sunset, had turned her from the light and sought to drag her back into the dark where she had been when Pyrrha met her. She had encouraged Sunset to do cruel and spiteful things, and she had left such a mark on Sunset that even the revelation of her true allegiance could not divest Sunset of all affection for Cinder.
For Sunset’s sake, for the sake of the team, Pyrrha wished her dead.
And there was another reason also, one last reason why Pyrrha threw herself into this battle so eagerly: because she could win, and in the winning prove that she deserved a place in all of this, that she could be of some use to Professor Ozpin, that she was worthy to stand in this arena that was so broad and where the stakes were so high.
If she could win this battle, then she could conquer her doubts and lay them to rest alongside Cinder.
That, all of that, was why she hurled herself upon her foe with such ferocity. The corridor was cramped, but Pyrrha nevertheless found space to spin upon her toe with a ballerina’s grace, her scarlet sash flowing around her like a dancer’s ribbon, and fling Akoúo̱ down the corridor at Cinder.
Cinder was still smiling as she ducked aside, allowing Akoúo̱ to fly, spinning, down the corridor away from her.
Pyrrha closed the distance, wielding Miló in spear form in both hands, her spear a whirling circle of gold and red as she spun it in her grasp, thrusting it for Cinder’s midriff.
Cinder turned the stroke aside with one of her glass scimitars, but she retreated a step as well. Pyrrha drove her back, unrelenting in the ferocity of her onslaught, striking at Cinder again and again like the waves that beat upon the shore. Cinder gave ground before her, but always, she was able to keep up with Pyrrha’s swift strokes, for every time that Pyrrha thrust or slashed with Miló, Cinder was able to fend her off with the glass blades of Midnight.
Pyrrha’s face was set like stone, her eyes as hard as emeralds as she drove Cinder back, thrusting, lunging, slashing. Cinder, by contrast, was still grinning.
Pyrrha thrust Miló forward for Cinder’s face.
Cinder caught the stroke between her blades, stopping the movement of Pyrrha’s spear.
She was still smiling.
The smile faltered a little as Pyrrha transformed Miló into rifle mode, with the barrel poking out from between Cinder’s swords.
Pyrrha fired, hitting Cinder squarely between the eyes, hurling her backwards. Cinder converted her fall into a backflip, then another, putting a little distance between the two of them.
She was not smiling now.
As Miló formed back into spear mode in her right hand, Pyrrha raised her left and summoned Akuou back out of the murky depths of the corridor, flying straight and true and aimed for the back of Cinder’s head.
Cinder caught the shield with one hand, reaching out to arrest its progress, but she could not resist looking at it, and as she looked, Pyrrha was on her once again. She slammed the shaft of Miló into Cinder’s gut and then, when she doubled over, her face. She brought down the tip of the spear upon her back and raised and drew back Miló for a thrust.
Cinder threw Pyrrha’s own shield back at her. Pyrrha caught it on her arm, Akoúo̱ fitting itself to her vambrace with a practiced ease. Miló switched from spear to sword as she advanced, turning aside the stroke of Midnight and thrusting for Cinder’s eyes.
Cinder turned that stroke aside. Pyrrha pirouetted in place, slashing first with the edge of her shield and then with the edge of her sword. Cinder gave ground, one of her blades falling away, crumbling to shards of glass which glistened as they fell to the floor beneath her.
Cinder slammed her hand onto the outer wall of the apartment block.
The wall beneath and all around her hand began to glow bright yellow, getting brighter all the while.
“Pyrrha!” Jaune cried. “Look out!”
Too late. The wall exploded, debris blasting inwards, shards of stone and fragments of wood ripping into the corridor, tearing at Pyrrha’s aura like biting fleas upon an unclean dog. Worse than the debris, however, was the steam from the pipes that had obviously been built into the wall, and which – heated again after long last – burst out into the corridor, not only burning Pyrrha’s aura, not only making her cry out in pain, but blinding her as well, as all that she could see was consumed by milky whiteness.
She began to retreat, her shield held up before her chest and face.
Something erupted up from the floor, making her cry out again as it sliced into her aura.
“Something else you won’t learn in the coliseum,” Cinder snarled gleefully. “How to mind your surroundings!”
Pyrrha couldn’t see, and couldn’t hear over the hissing of the dispersing steam, and before it dissipated, Cinder had closed with her, her slashes wild but wildly ferocious, like she was carving slices off a butcher’s ham.
Except it was Pyrrha’s aura she was carving into as Cinder’s glass sword slammed into Pyrrha’s side. Pyrrha recoiled, trying to shield herself, but the next blow came in straight at her belly, powerful enough that she almost doubled over. Pyrrha slashed blindly with her sword in turn, but her stroke cut only through the empty air as Cinder’s blow – how could she see while Pyrrha was blind? – struck home for Pyrrha’s face and would have extinguished her eyes if her aura had not protected her.
“Behold, the Champion of Mistral!” Cinder cried, her voice somewhere between a triumphant crow and a furious snarl. “You’re not the one to bring me down. You’re just an old name and a pretty face!”
And a semblance, Pyrrha thought, as she reached out with Polarity to grasp the metal pipes embedded in the wall, all the pipes that Cinder had ruptured and those that she had not, all that metal lurking unseen.
I’m not the only one who needs to mind my surroundings, Cinder. Pyrrha couldn’t see the metal; she could barely see her own hand, with its black outline surrounding it, but she could feel the pipes, and she could start to hear them groaning as she wrenched at them with her semblance, pulling them, commanding them. They groaned, they creaked, they screamed in protest as she wrenched at their fittings and the concrete in which they were embedded, but finally, they came, tearing through the wall, spraying cold and stagnant water, showering the corridor with fragments of debris and slamming the pipes into Cinder hard enough to push her through the other wall into the apartments beyond.
The steam was dissipating now, and Pyrrha could see again. She switched Miló into spear form-
“Pyrrha!” Jaune cried, running towards her, one hand held out. “Your aura, do you-?”
“Not yet,” Pyrrha told him. She wasn’t exactly sure where her aura was, but now wasn’t the time to let Jaune stimulate it back into the green, not when Cinder wasn’t beaten yet. All that would do was give her a sitting target.
She would win the battle first, then let Jaune work his magic.
“Stay here,” she told him, before darting through the doorway into the apartment into which she had just thrown Cinder. Pipes littered the floor, crushing the coffee table which had sat in the middle of the room and wrecking the chairs besides.
Cinder was waiting for her, standing amidst the shattered pipes, a glass bow in her hands. As Pyrrha appeared, she loosed a shaft. Pyrrha swatted it aside, shattering the glass arrow in the edge of her shield. She rushed forward, spear drawn back-
Something struck her from behind. The arrow – but she had broken it? Whatever it was, the force of the impact knocked her temporarily off balance, and in that moment, Cinder counted, her glass weapon changing from bow to blades once again with a fluidity that would have done any mechashift proud, her twin obsidian scimitars slicing up to strike at Pyrrha’s exposed belly.
Pyrrha grunted with pain, and with her semblance, she shuffled the broken pipes across the floor, disturbing Cinder’s footing, making her stumble as Cinder had made Pyrrha stumble, and as she stumbled, Pyrrha flung her shield, striking Cinder on the forehead.
Cinder’s head snapped backwards. Miló whirled in Pyrrha’s hands as she brought it down.
Cinder took the blow upon her wrist, the other hand grabbing hold of Miló by the golden shaft. She was leaning backwards, knees bent, the smile gone from her expression, which was now a scowl of effort to hold Pyrrha at bay. Her arms shook as Miló pressed down upon her.
For her own part, Pyrrha was scowling too as she pushed down upon her spear, exerting all her strength to break down Cinder’s guard.
She was not just an ancient name. She was not just a laundry list of airy titles. She was not just a pretty face. She was strong and well-trained in equal measure, and Cinder would feel both!
She would have pulled away and reversed her stroke, but Cinder’s grip on Miló was too tight. Very well then, she would have to force her way through.
Embers began to float around her like motes of dust.
Pyrrha looked down at the floor, which was glowing a fiery yellow beneath her feet.
The smile returned to Cinder’s face.
The floor exploded beneath Pyrrha before she could react. A scream tore from Pyrrha’s throat as the flames washed over her, the heat engulfed her, the light blinded her, and heat and fire alike consumed her aura as she was hurled up and backwards through the air, hurled through the wall and into the next room, hurled to the floor in a heap with a thud and a crunch, her red hair pooling around her head.
The Champion of Mistral. The voice in her head sounded like mockery. Her aura hadn’t broken, not yet, but-
A wordless shout from Jaune echoed in her ears.
Jaune wasn’t sure who he was more mad at right now.
Okay, he was more mad at Cinder, obviously, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t kind of upset at Pyrrha too.
She had promised. She had promised! She had just reassured him like five seconds ago that she wasn’t going to break that promise, and what had she done?
Well, okay, she hadn’t technically broken the promise – she hadn’t left him behind or sent him away – but fighting a battle without him, didn’t that count, sort of? A little?
He hadn’t objected. He hadn’t told her to stop. He had… he had stood there and watched and even kind of looked forward to watching Cinder get her ass kicked – God knew she had it coming – without Sunset there to get in the way. He hadn’t objected until things had stopped going the way that he had thought they would go.
And now, Pyrrha was screaming. He hadn’t thought that he would ever hear a sound like that. He never wanted to hear a sound like that again, and it was…
Jaune found that he wasn’t nearly so angry at Pyrrha as he was at himself. She hadn’t even told him to stay back until after the fight was halfway through; she hadn’t told him to help, but she hadn’t told him not to either. He had stayed back of his own volition because he knew that he wasn’t in the same league as her or Cinder, he knew that he’d only end up getting in her way, he knew that he ought to stand aside and let her handle it.
Except that she couldn’t handle it. Not on her own.
Maybe if she had a better partner…
Well, she didn’t. She had him. And if he wasn’t on the same level as her, if he wasn’t able to stand up to Cinder Fall, then he at least could give her something else to think about.
And so, he charged, shield held before him, Crocea Mors raised above his head, howling wordlessly, crying out his anger, crying for courage, his tread heavy and thudding like a drumbeat as he rushed through the broken wall straight at Cinder.
The shield is a weapon, not something to hide behind. That was one of Pyrrha’s first and most persistent lessons to him, and so, as he closed with her, Jaune sought to hit her with his shield, lashing out with it in a sideways swiping motion.
Cinder dodged it, her body moving with willowy flexibility.
Jaune slashed at her with his sword.
Cinder caught Crocea Mors in one hand, her fingers closing around the metal of the blade.
Jaune tried to pull the sword free – and hopefully take off a slice of her aura into the bargain – but it would not budge. Cinder’s grip upon his weapon was too tight.
He tried again to hit her with the shield, but she grabbed that with her free hand and held that as tight and immobile as his sword.
His sword which was starting to glow. No, not glow; it was starting to heat up, the metal getting hotter and hotter, the glow of said heat spreading out from Cinder’s palm up and down the venerable blade.
Jaune tried again to tug it free. It would not move.
Cinder squeezed.
And Crocea Mors, the sword of heroes, the venerable blade that his great-grandfather had carried through a hundred battles or more, the heirloom of the Arc family, shattered into fragments, shards of broken metal which fell to clatter to the floor at his feet.
Jaune was left holding a hilt with a broken stump of a blade attached.
Jaune’s eyes were wide with shock. It broke? It broke? He’d broken the ancestral weapon of his family?
Now of all times?
Can I not catch a break just once?
“Oh, come on!” he yelled.
Cinder, meanwhile, was looking at him, and with undisguised irritation too. Her amber eyes smouldered angrily. “Stand still,” she snapped, “and wait for orders from your betters.” She hit him in the face with the palm of her hand, hard enough to knock Jaune off his feet and land him on his back. “You who are worthless, counting for nothing in battle or debate.” She planted one foot upon his chest, pressing down upon him hard enough to pin him to the floor. Cinder cocked her head to one side as she regarded him.
“What does she see in you?” she asked.
There was no answer but Pyrrha’s furious war cry as she rejoined the battle, her red sash flying.
Pyrrha had underestimated Cinder. Or she had overestimated herself. Or both. Either way, she might not be able to best her in arms, she might not be able to finish this battle as she had wished, but she would not, by all the gods of Mistral she would not, permit Cinder to do any harm to Jaune.
Not while she lived. She would sooner die and give Jaune up into Ruby’s small, pale hands than let any harm come to him while she drew breath.
She was afraid for Jaune, she was angry at herself for letting things come to this, and she was incandescently furious at Cinder for daring, for presuming, for dreaming to threaten sweet brave Jaune while Pyrrha lived.
You will deal with me first, or while I live, I’ll give you cause to regret that you did otherwise!
Her fury lent her strength beyond her diminished aura as she physically collided with Cinder, wrapping her arms around Cinder’s waist, hurling her off Jaune and slamming her head-first into the ground. She threw her enemy aside, hard enough to cast her out of the room, out through the broken outer wall and into the streets of Mountain Glenn beyond.
With Polarity, she summed Miló into her grip, the weapon changing fluidly to rifle form in her hands as she fired again and again, emptying the magazine at Cinder, who held out her hands to block the shots, suffering no visible hurt from them.
But damage to aura wasn’t visible, was it?
Pyrrha charged out after her into the street, lashing out with tip and shaft of Miló, first one and then the other. Cinder parried with her blades of glass, but she had to be close to the end now, surely?
She had to be close to the end if Pyrrha was?
Just a little longer.
Pyrrha was distracted by the roar of the largest beowolf that she had ever seen, larger than the green creature on the other side of the street, larger than any ursa major that she had ever come across. A beowolf large enough that its head was level with the top of the apartment complex, and its fangs were each the size of a motorcycle.
And those fangs were bared as it advanced upon her, the street shaking with its tread.
Pyrrha leapt back, summoning Akoúo̱ into her off-hand, drawing back her spear.
But the beowolf was gone.
And so was Cinder.
“You are stronger than I gave you credit for, Pyrrha,” Cinder’s voice, insufferably smug, floated down from on high. “I hadn’t expected you to give me such a challenge. We should do this again sometime.”
Pyrrha looked up, her eyes darting across the dark skyline, searching above her for some – there! A flash of red, disappearing out of sight.
Pyrrha’s legs bent as she prepared to leap after her. If she could gain the roof-
“Pyrrha, wait!” Jaune cried, running to join her with his shield and scabbard and his sword – his broken sword, for which she felt a punch of guilt as strong as any blow Cinder had dealt her – sheathed there. He didn’t hesitate or ask her permission to raise his hand to her, a golden light spreading from his palm to spread across Pyrrha’s body. “You can’t just go off on your own.”
Pyrrha looked at him through the spreading golden light. Ordinarily, Jaune’s semblance felt so warm and gentle, an embrace of sunlight, comforting and renewing in equal measure. Now, it felt prickly, and a little cold, even by the standards of this place.
Was that because he was upset with her? Or because she was upset with herself?
“She’s getting away,” she said.
“We’ll see her again,” Jaune replied. “All of us. But right now, we shouldn’t get separated, and I think… I think our friends might use your help.”
All of us, because I couldn’t beat her on my own, Pyrrha thought bitterly. But he was right. They had heard shooting before, and although that had stopped now… she couldn’t just run off and leave everyone. “Of course,” she murmured. “Jaune, I-”
“We can talk about it later,” Jaune said.
“But your sword-”
“That’s not your fault,” he said. “And… I don’t know, maybe it can be repaired or something. Either way, we should get back.”
“Right,” Pyrrha said, and tried to put her guilt aside as she headed back inside, to find another way out into the street and whatever awaited them there.
But the cold, hard, uncomfortable fact lingered in her mind.
She had failed.
I guess they have nothing to fear, super cocky enemies everywhere. Cinder’s allies are all underestimating the heroes and pay for it, like Mercury, or have to retreat, like Emerald and Lightning Dust. Though who knows what happens next.
Should have gone for the double tap Pyrrha... If they aren't dead, they will come back to get you again!
Oh well... I am sure this decision won't bite you in the ass sometime in the future...
Despite the (d)weeb subject matter here... it's impressive how much you've do with this in just under a year
X-Rayyyy and Vaaaav!
9538986
Something tells me they’ll be much more of a threat next time.
There no way Mercury can beat Pyrrha. Literally no way. His legs are made of metal! If Pyrrha finds out all she has to do is rip them off his body with her semblance. Mercury is fucked!
Also: Hey Juane! Use your semblance to boost yourself!
*Sigh* Why didn't she just shoot him in the head?
9538986
The thing is, they aren't. Not a single one of Cinder's followers has underestimated who they are fighting, they just didn't take into account that they have friends and not fighting alone.
It's their egos vs friendship, and barring overwhelming power, friendship is going to win.
9539241
Strong alone, stronger together.
Mercury, you also got lazy and left actual footprints, which alerted the target. Another strike.
From the physical description of Mercury's father here, I suddenly got the image of Jeremy irons and then I started hearing his voice for Marcus Black. It's actually rather fitting!
A green Grimm? Did anyone else think of Danny Phantom?
9539530
Well they are hunters not freelancers, but yeah, same idea.
9539627
Maybe never watched it (or cowboy bebop for that matter just a iconic scene).
9539837
And it is no less true.
9539204
She hasn't really been training to kill people. Besides he should've died anyway.
9539241
Considering that Mercury survived only because Cinder stopped by to save him, I wonder if either realize the influence Sunset has had.
9539026
Well, she didn't double tap because Jaune didn't want her to have to deal with killing anyone. So technically, mission accomplished?
I've always found battles like those in the last few chapters interesting. They show that... yeah, the antagonist are actually correct to an extent. The antagonists are often times more powerful than the good guys. The problem that the antagonists have is that they don't play nice with one another so any force multiplier is applied to only one person instead of a whole team...
Cinder's bedside manner… leaves a bit to be desired.
9540041
Oh no argument here about it being in character. This is more me throwing popcorn at the screen in a horror movie when they announce they are going to split up.
The story is a lot of fun to read. So I also don't mean that as a shot at the writer.
9539796
It's one of the mutants from Grimm Eclipse.
9541197
Flash was an idiot, but then again so are almost all teens
9541031
which makes me wonder if it escaped merlot or if he sent it there.
9539127
Jaune's Semblance doesn't work like that. He's infusing his Aura into an ally's Aura to amplify them similar to a battery or capacitor bank. Plugging his own power into his own power would be just like plugging a battery into itself. It would be a drain on his reserves with no effect.
Was that Grimm like those mutated ones from Grimm Eclipse?
9540041
No. Mission not accomplished. Should have double tapped him anyway.
Much nicer chapter here. Mercury's fight was fun too. I guess no enemies dying yet, but perhaps that's a good thing. Dead enemies can't be turned into allies.
Well there's a hard lesson in professionalism if ever I heard one.
I love the synergy between Sunset and Blake
They are a great ship and the fact that Blake doesn't see that but Sunset is starting to is a punch on the gut much like it is on Sunset (even if she doesn't call it that yet)
I love the introduction of the gun that is the green Grimm, but I ended up going back a few chapters just to see where we had left off with Team SAPR, and I get this sense that the transition of getting from point A to point B, even just a passing sentence, is missing. Granted, maybe such a transition, using the meat of the last three chapters as transition wouldn't be so bad, but we have a scenario where they were literally speaking with the queen of the Grimm, and an indeterminate time later, come across what we know in the future is to be a Grimm not in her control. I don't even really think we'd need much, just a 'X minutes later' or equivalent that creates a space in the story that parallels the time spent with Torchwick and the fighting time from the last two chapters.
It took me a bit to grasp everything in this chapter. I'd always recognized Mercury as referencing the Grimm and White Fang with his 'dog' and 'amateurs' remark, but it took me twice going back to catch that. Personally, I'm chalking that up to being tired (part of why I'm splitting writing this over a couple of days), but that detail is buried in the middle of a series of descriptive paragraphs, whereas it is something that might warrant a bit more focus (start/end of the paragraph name dropping white fang).
In addition to the above, this is the first time I questioned if Mercury was waiting to ambush them from that room, rather than in that room, because unless it's a sole route to an obvious destination, it reads as a bit of happenstance they come across him.
That bit about him getting cocky and reading books though? That's great, it says so much about him, and gives a bit of prelude to the fight that his attitude is still not all there. To quote Sniper of TF2, 'Professionals have standards,' and through his wandering attention it shows he doesn't yet have them. So does his father's voice, but we'll get to that.
Oh that's good. I'm not sure how often, or how clear, the concept of a feint often is in written combat, but it's something I'll have to keep an eye out for. This is clear and plain stated, which again comes around to her thought process being injected into the narrative in a way we would not see so concretely in a third person perspective (though it still can be, to be clear).
If I were to nominate a weak point in the fight, it'd probably be this paragraph. It's one long wall, conveying no less than... at least sixteen different actions in this one paragraph. I'm going to break a bit of my 'no suggestions' rule, but I did happen across one unique peculiarity that could be considered a weakness, but I think could also be turned into a strength. To that end, I'm only going to suggest formatting.
Looking back at the above, it feels much more like a traditional fight scene, but each actor is emphasized by being the start of a paragraph, and in particular, we see how much Pyrrha is controlling the fight when it's laid out like this. Granted, there might need to be some text changes ('Pyrrah pursued him' appearing twice, you could either cut out one instance or turn it into a rule of three sort of thing). It's still very much a 'he does this, she does that' list of events, which is what tends to take me out of fights, but it's not as imposing or easily skipped as a single wall, and even upon a skim, you pick up who's controlling the fight at a given point.
The surrounding fighting is well handled, I should add, it's just this one long paragraph that stands out. In fact, most of the rest of the fighting actually follows a similar formatting already. I can see why this was left as a singular wall, as it emphasizes the later fight after it a bit more, but it could also be said that it does a bit of disservice to Pyrrha's control of the fight in these moments (and I suppose that is the difference, a paragraph of moments compared to paragraphs of a moment).
Hopefully that didn't get too wordy.
Jaune's fight, or moment of interruption, is done really well. It conveys a much more nonchalant weight rather than that of an experienced tournament fighter, and as someone who's seemingly perpetually down on his luck, to an extent (if Jaune Arc is Charlie Brown, I can definitely see Sunset as Lucy). Everything is done wonderfully, and we really get to feel Pyrrha put Mercury in his place.
For all that this might be cliche, I love it.
Mercury's voice of his father is both informative, relatively shocking, and a mix of disassociated from the reality of what happened, and understanding that how can a voice in his head understand what happened if Mercury himself probably doesn't understand what happened. He practically can't think about it, and we get a preview of what can really happen when Pyrrha really lets go. She's no Magneto... yet anyway, but that potential is there, almost an inversion of him and Wolverine in who is good and bad guy. There's more details I could go into that (in short, how cruel her treatment of Mercury is but offset against his cruelty to Jaune, so it feels deserved, if not gratifying, to see him fall so far), but... uh, I'm not sure what the 'but' actually was now, so I'm going to leave it at that rather than wait yet another night to post this.
Heartily enjoyed this one (is this phrase redundant?), the Mercury fight (in particular, its escalating intensity) and aftermath are really well done.
Emerald bails Cinder out of a losing fight. As much as Pyrrha feels bad about missing this opportunity, Cinder must be absolutely livid that she needed Emerald to bail her out of a losing fight with Pyrrha.
This is also the point where Ozpin's habit of keeping secrets is going to bite the heroes, because they don't know that Cinder has access to magic, therefore they're not going to know how to contextualize the flame related things that just happened in this fight.
10966839
I don't think that Cinder used her Maiden powers for this one, the things she did are one that could be replicated with her Semblance. I also don't think she will be too angry about Emerald, considering that she was winning the fight against Pyrrha until she got distracted by Jaune and her plan was to slow them down anyway, not kill them.
10966873
I'm not saying Cinder's upset with Emerald. She's livid that she didn't get to kill Pyrrha.
Yeah, honestly, while i still support the fact than Sunset had taken a revenge, Cinder didn't do it in a genuine way as "The less naive friend" wanting to help her friend enact vengeance, it was clearly do to make Sunset turn away from her friends, and on the long run, the cause of Humanity, and it was done the most chaotic way too.
Pyrrha, darling, do not place your worth for the world on your ability of battles, your boyfriend is the best example of that.
Does she talk of Pyrrha for her love of him or Sunset for the friendship she gave him ? I would think the later, because she remind me of Adam when he said the same thing to Yang in volume 6 .
Pyrrha, i think it is fair to say Cinder play in the same league as you, and this was without magic (she likely wouldn't had get Mercury's support if she wasn't stronger), so honestly, don't blame yourself too hard, even if Sunset had been there, i think than in a fight to kill, Cinder would likely still had been a challenge.
This chapter was far more likable than the previous one, i loved it !
10966915
If she wanted to kill Pyrrha now she could have done it. They currently have more than enough firepower to kill the entire team, way too many Grimm in a enclosed space. Hell, Cinder just unleashing her Maiden powers at this distance would be enough to burn Pyrrha and Jaune to ash, but her plan only works if she doesn't kill them, so it makes no sense for her to be angry about that.
In the end Cinder got everything she wanted from this fight. She was able to slow them without making them suspicious that it was "too easy" and she tentatively won her duel against Pyrrha, since Pyrrha was the one who needed outside help first, helping her stroke her ego.
10966979
I disagree. Cinder wants to kill Pyrrha, both for tactical reasons (Pyrrha is a highly skilled combatant who's quite firmly on the side of the status quo) and personal ones (she hates Pyrrha with a burning passion to the point that Sunset, feeling it second hand, was afraid that she would lash out and attack Pyrrha on sight alone. Plus killing her removes one of the 'restraints' on Sunset preventing her from being on her side).
However, she's also a sadistic egoist. Killing Pyrrha isn't enough; Honestly with the gank squad she has, she could have easily murdered Jaune and Pyrrha while they were alone. She needs to beat Pyrrha; To destroy her body and spirit before she gives her the mercy of death. Having Mercury, Emerald, Lightning or Adam assist with bringing her down would ruin it for her.
10966990
Cinder is kind of in an awkward position with regards to Pyrrha because, yes, she absolutely does hate Pyrrha and yes, she would very much like to kill her (and you're spot on about the egotism as well, Cinder doesn't just want to kill Pyrrha, she wants to defeat her first; one of the reasons she didn't use her Maiden powers in this fight is that she wanted to prove - to her own satisfaction if no one elses - that she could beat the great Pyrrha Nikos in a straight fight).
However, even leaving aside that her plan relies on Team SAPR not dying down here in Mountain Glenn, Cinder is also aware that if she actually were to kill Pyrrha it would absolutely shatter... whatever is going on between her and Sunset. All that cutesy, snarky, best frenemies thing? All gone if Cinder were to kill Pyrrha. Shattered.
Killing Pyrrha - killing any of the team, in fairness, but Sunset and Pyrrha have a special bond - is probably the only thing that Cinder could do to Sunset that she couldn't walk back afterwards, and she's not ready to take that step just yet.
10966937
Pyrrha can absolutely accept that Jaune has other sterling qualities that give him worth outside of his combat prowess or the lack thereof; the trouble is that as a result of being pushed so hard to become the best fighter she can be, to live up to her ancestry and all that jazz she doesn't feel as though she, personally, has anything else to offer.
10967008
Honestly, this chapter, and the fact than Cinder actually didn't used any magic, make me want to see Cinder fighting all of Team SAPR, her fighting skills are superior to that of Pyrrha (although i think they are actually even, but due to her willingness to fight to kill, Cinder have the upper hand) and even if it's only half, the Maiden magic is superior to that of Sunset, and also it can clearly reinforce physical strength.
I think it is fair to say than even at two to one, Sunset and Pyrrha would lose to Cinder, but all of team SAPR ? Well, that would be interesting.
It is pretty depressing how big the difference is between Jaune and Cinder, it remind me the fight of RNJR against Tyrian, although i don't know for which one the difference of strength was the biggest, because Tyrian tail was easily sending away Ruby's bullets, but here, Cinder (not at her best) stopped a hit of his sword with all his strength with one of her bare hands.
10967329
Maiden powers don't come with any physical enhancements, they are purely glass cannon blasters. Cinder being stronger that Pyrrha probably has more to do with their lives and training, while Pyrrha is fit and has been fighting almost her entire life her style is more concentrated around skill, while Cinder has always had to use her own physical strength in and out of battle. Poor Jaune is just not up to that level of strength unless he uses his semblance, which probably should allow him to overpower both of the girls.
On that matchup, I wouldn't discount Pyrrha and Sunset. Pyrrha is the better straight fighter, Cinder is just better at using the environment during a real fight and that advantage goes out of the window in a 2 vs 1. And while Maiden powers are stronger that Sunset's, Sunset is the only actual magician there. I can easily see Sunset finding a countermeasure using her understanding of magic, one that Cinder won't be able to do anything against since she doesn't actually knows anything about magic.
10967435
I was talking of physical reinforcement due to Cinder being able to (although she had always her sword broken and needed to recreate it) go toe to toe with Raven, who without magic was Qrow's equal.
And i think than without magic, , a fight between Raven and Cinder would had been far more one sided.
Regarding magic fight, yeah, i forgot how Sunset actual knowledges on magic could affect that.
With how much "Fire" is the theme of Sunset, if she used water and cooling spells to counter Cinder, it would be awesome, not only it would surprise Cinder since for her, Sunset way of fighting was magic beam (which her Witchfire* can easily counter) and cooling spells would be perfect to counter Cinder semblance, with Cinder absolutely confused.
Now, Sunset would still need the help of Pyrrha to win, but if it's about keeping Cinder busy, Sunset could do this.
*I like the term Witchfire, sue me.
10967460
On going against Raven, remember that was after she got "extensive" Grimm modifications from Salem, any additional physical strength probably comes from that, as nowhere is it shown that Maiden powers improve the body of the wielder itself. Everything else I agree.
Witchfire is a cool name for magic blasts.
10967485
Well, witchfire is precisely the name for Cinder's flames, i didn't meant it as a name for Sunset blasts.
But really, i would be disappointed if Sunset doesn't use a combinaison of water and cooling spells, effectively canceling Cinder abilities while showing to everyone what the adoptive daughter of a goddess can do.
Damn it, Pyrrha! Just open up your heart and accept the Harem Route, already!
10971285
Jaune isn't really worth it frankly.
For all I issues, I have with the story overall, I gotta say these last few chapters have been reeally good.
I was honestly wondering what Jaune was doing while they were fighting, if I guess he answered that question. Too bad it cost him his sword.