Mythical (RWBY Pyrrha Quest)

Πρωταθλητής 4

You were wrong. If it was this girl, she would find a way to make an even worse first impression, no matter how long the odds were.

You want to take up your spear and wipe that stupid happy go lucky expression of her face complete. You want to slam your shield into her face and watch her fall to her knees in apology for her misdeeds. You want to crush her so utterly that she knows of the futility of her efforts to resist and the great sin she has committed in offending you, Pyrrha Nikos, goddess of victory and champion of all under the moonlight sky.

It's what you want to do. Unfortunately it's not what you'll be able to do. RIght now, you're in the middle of the Emerald Forest, an admitted tame but still Grimm infested forest, slightly weathered and out of dust rounds and you absolutely cannot afford to get into a all out fight with fellow hunters and huntresses.

You are proud, fearsome and wrathful. Not stupid.

But you don't feel right letting this Nora Valkyrie go without some sort of punishment. Perhaps not in totality, but you will see her broken before you in some way or fashion. You speak.

"Shut up you blithering fool."

That shuts her up quick.

"You can no more do me a favor than can a cat perform one for a lion," you inform her of the difference between you and her. "Your blunder might have looked necessary to you, but I had no need of it. It is you who owes the favor. You stole my prey."

Nora Valkyrie, thrown aback by your initial venom, rallies. "I offered you goodwill and you return it by spitting in my face," she bites out. "Do you know who you're speaking to?"

"Do you?"

The two of you glare at each other. Her eyes glow with thunder- quite literally, you think her semblance has something to do with it. You stare back with nothing but a furrowed brow.

You don't need any fancy semblance to be great.

"Nora, Nora." You hear Lie Ren say at the edges of your peripheral. He shakes Nora Valkyrie's shoulders gently, as if to calm her down. But you continue glaring into her eyes, and she into yours.

The boy can say his pieces while you're doing so or hold his tongue.

"Nora, you need to back off for a bit. We can't get into a fight here."

"I'm not going to back off until she backs off." Nora says without breaking your glaring contest. "I will have an apology-"

"That will never happen."

"-either willingly or by force."

Your right hand twitches for your weapon. Her hands tighten on hers.

"Nora, do you know who she is?" Ren shakes Nora's shoulder again. He at least has the good sense to recognize you. "She's Pyrrha Nikos. Her uncle is Telamon. Telamon Kolouris!"

You draw Miló at the mention of your uncle's name. The sound of ringing steel echoes through the forest.

Nobody moves.

You dislike that man and would prefer it if nobody ever mentioned his name in your presence. But even you have to begrudgingly admit that it has weight. Nora breaks off your glaring contest, and lowers her weapon hesitantly, caught between her pride and your uncle's name.

A cowardly move. You would never let a mere name intimidate you.

"And what would you have me do, Ren?" Her face twists in restrained anger. "Should I just let her go? After how she spit in our faces?"

"You shot lightning into her Nora. Your pride is the least of our concerns right now." Ren turns to you, his face an inscrutable mask. "For what would you consider this matter settled."

You could ask for anything. Dust rounds, to refill you spent magazine. Lien, though you doubt that two will have anything substantial. Promises of future favors.

But you want your repayment in violence and fury.

"First of all I want you to never to mention my uncle's name in my presence again." You start off with the simplest item on the docket. You don't want your name being connected with an old has-been businessmen, who traded his pride for wealth years ago. You've worked hard to carve out your own reputation on your own merits. "As for what I would consider this matter settled…"

"A duel." You declare. You point Miló at Nora, red tip still thirsty after someone cruelly stole its prey from its grasp. "Single combat. Just her and me."

"And my hammer through your-"

Ren cuts off his friend's outburst. "Your terms?"

"First blood," you start with the most basic one. You'd not going to get into a drag down knock out brawl in the Emerald Forest when you still have the rest of an initiation to finish. "We have no match wards, so no aiming for the head or vitals."

"And when she loses, she doesn't come crying about how it wasn't fair." You've had enough of that, too. "Anything else is on the table."

Ren pauses at your confidence, well deserved confidence, but holds his tongue. Nora on the other hand fumes, her right hand clenching and unclenching over her warhammer. "Nora?"

"Don't worry," Nora smiles in a way that doesn't reach her eyes. "When you lose, I'll forgive you as long as you kiss my feet and apologize from the bottom of your heart."

"Moron."

"Bitch."

Ren clicks his tongue. "Well, I suppose that means yes. Finish your fight quickly."

Lie Ren steps back. The two of you stare across each other from across the field. Akoúo̱ unhooks itself from your back and Nora swings her hammer onto her shoulder. You take in a relaxed, easy breath.

You move first.

You explode forward, Akoúo̱ held far in front of your head like a warhead to your ballistic missile. Lightning crackles and thunder booms as the warhammer previously resting easily upon Nora's shoulder crashes through the air like a falling meteor.

Fast. But not fast enough. Your eyes track the arc of the falling warhammer and construct the rest of the trajectory instantly. One step to the left puts you out of its range, and her side completely opn. You lunge, spear leaping forward to end this fight before it even begins-

Your skin prickles. Something isn't right.

Your instincts scream a warning. You throw yourself sideways, hard, and bring your spear carrying arm up in a triangle guard, aborting your finisher to defend yourself from something- unknown, unseen, and dangerous enough to take you out of the fight. Nora's lips twitch upwards an infinitesimally small amount before the hammer head you so neatly avoided explodes in a waves of concussive force.

She detonated a dust grenade inside her own weapon while it was mechashifting. Crazy, smart, and not enough.

You're thrown into the air and skip across packed earth, bouncing along the ground like a ball, shoulders rolling across the ground. Halfway through your love and hate relationship with the ground, you try to right yourself, bleeding momentum with a mid-air pirouette. You manage to catch the earth with the tip of your right foot - and in one smooth motion punch upwards with Akoúo̱, catching Nora's follow up blow before it caves in your chest. Electricity shrieks across Akoúo̱'s surface, your teeth rattle in your mouth, and your limbs near shake off. You force your way free from the overwhelming pressure of her hammer, your feet leaving deep furrows in the ground as her strike rebounds.

Your chest pounding with exertion, you break into a slow loping jog, circling counterclockwise around the Valkyrie girl, watching her. Lightning races across her skin and bleeds out of her eyes. She's got an easy, casual smile. She thinks she's already won. You note the direction of her gaze.

She smirks. "First round goes to me, bitch."

Hasty words. You'll prove them wrong.

You pace around her, stalking and hungry to show her the folly of her words. You loosen up your left arm, rotating your shoulder slowly to shake out the lingering traces of numbness lingering in your muscles.

You explode into motion. Your ankles strain and protest, threatening to snap clean off as you violently jerk from side to side, throwing yourself from one foot to the other. Nora's gaze, you notice, is set square on your feet. On your footwork. Her hammer wavers from side to side as she tries to follow your approach. Trying to follow the direction of the oncoming spear thrust. The mark of a trained warrior. Trained, but not experienced.

Or at least not experienced enough. You throw your shield at her.

Akoúo̱'s gleaming edge cuts stray hairs off her head as she throws herself back, reacting admirably quick to your unexpected attack. A heartbeat later, you're in her face, Miló thrusting outwards, red spear glinting. She blocks it and you slide under a hasty and sloppy swing meant to fend you off, legs twisting to sweep Nora's feet out from under her. In one smooth action, you spin to your feet and stab downwards. Nora rolls away and your spear slices into nothing but dirt. She pulls herself onto her knees and swings from there, an explosive strike backed by literal explosives.

You roll under her swing, cartwheeling forward, and plant both feet square into her stomach.

Precious breath escapes her lips. She flies up into the air, her cry of pain cut off by lack of air. Akoúo̱ makes its return, right into the small of her back. Just as swiftly as she was kicked up, she reverses direction, knocked back into your reach. You lash out with your spear, your faithful companion coming down from above, but somehow the ginger haired girl manages to get her hammer into position again, blocking your strike with the hammer's shaft.

You adapt. Using the shaft as a pivot, you swing yourself up into the air and come down with an axe kick. Right into the gap between her neck and shoulder. Her body jerks under your blow, stunned.

Nora impacts the ground with a crash, back first, knocking what little breath she had recovered right back out. You, on the other hand, land gently on your feet. You raise your left arm, as if greeting a crowd and Akoúo̱ snags neatly onto your wrist.

Paid back in full. And you didn't even need any fancy weapon gimmicks to do it.

Your opponent shoots back up with a roar and throws herself at you. Hammer comes up. Hammer comes down. An explosion of dust and dirt spouts from the ground as the ground cracks beneath her swing. You feel the impact in your bones as you half leap, half skip out of the way, circling around to come at her back.

With another roar, she takes another hasty, angry swing at you. But it's fired off much too soon, her hammer loose in her grip. You spot your chance and take it. Instead of letting the hammer swing over your head, in one smooth motion you step in, hook Akoúo̱ under the head and physically rip it out of her grip.

It falls some distance behind you, cratering the ground where it lands. An explosion punctuates your victory.

She's defiant to the end, though. Nora takes two steps back, and then leaps into the air, right fist cocked back, left hand outstretched, lightning sparking across her frame in a ridiculously high powered superman punch. You take the blast on your shield and grunt as ringing vibrations force their way up your arm. Without her hammer she's far less strong, but also far faster, digging at your defense like a particular annoying dog. She fires blast after blast into your shield without effect. You take a swing at her with your xiphos and she weaves away, hands held up in a textbox boxing stance.

Useless. From the moment she was disarmed - the fight was already decided.

You step forward, an executioner, taking slow meaningful steps forward towards the damned. Nora Valkyrie squares her shoulder, braces her feet, and refuses to give up. A worm of begrudging respect wriggles into your heart. Defiance to the end, that earns her a small-

A shot rings out behind you.

You whip your head around to see Lie Ren lowering his weapon, the long spear having produced a pair of torsion limbs and a trigger box. The slowly cooling corpse of a Beowolf is some distance away from you, a crossbow bolt planted square straight in its forehead. Red eyes gleam menacingly in the darkness. One by one they light up until the forest is filled with them, surrounding you.

The three of you look at each other. Ren speaks first. "We need to go."

[ ] Run, flee

[ ] Stand, fight

[ ] Write in

QN: Merged both fight variant votes together, and then used the duel subvote to inform the scene. Not sure on how to handle variant votes, so in the future all votes and variant votes get merged, with the variant vote used for detail purposes, unless you specify otherwise.

Fight was harder than it should have been for Pyrrha due to no dust. Nora has a strong semblance but she doesn't know how to use it to its most effectiveness since brute force can carry her through most situations. In a fight to first blood, Pyrrha has the definite advantage.

Thanks to @logiccosmic for editing again.