//------------------------------// // C3 - Duel of Awesome // Story: Rainbow Dash meets Ruby Rose // by Maxes Altho //------------------------------// It’s been one week since I was unceremoniously dropped into the world called Remnant. I’ve got my own room right next to Team RWBY’s, I can go pretty much anywhere I want, do anything I want. Ruby introduced me to a lot of her friends, including Team JNPR (pronounced Juniper, like the tree), or as I like to call them, the Spike, Pinkie Pie, Luna, and Fluttershy of this world, and Sun Wukong. I got a little freaked out when I saw he had a tail, but then Ruby was able to explain the whole ‘Faunus’ thing to me. See, there’s this small group of the population that have some amount of animal in their DNA. This allows for advantages such as more dexterity, in the case of Sun, to better hearing, like another Faunus, Velvet. I’ve been able to see RWBY practice, and is it awesome! In addition to Ruby’s scythe, Crescent Rose (it’s also a fully customizable, high-impact sniper rifle), and Weiss’ sword Myrtenaster (a rapier, she calls it), Blake has Gambol Shroud, a pistol and short sword that is connected to Blake by a ribbon, which allows her to spin it around her like a ballet dancer (Hey, just because I’m so awesome doesn’t mean I don’t have a softer side.). Yang… Yang seemed almost afraid of letting me see her fight. However, I did get a little peek. Those wristbands I had noticed? They turn into full-blown gauntlets able to fire off rockets and shots with ease, depending on the ammo. I also got to try out my weapons, much to Ruby’s delight. I found that the ammo is from something called Dust, which is used in everything, from ammo for weapons to power for the city lights. In Weiss’ case, it allows her to power her sword in different ways, from making it as strong as titanium to freezing whatever strikes it. Oh, yeah, those arm braces I wear? Turns out they are used in ammo storage. I’ve got at least a half-dozen different kinds of ammo in them, from regular shots to fire and explosive. When it changes to the halberd, I can fire off the head like I did against the Beowulf. It uses some of the ammo that was already in the guns, and the Dust creates a new head after I fire it. Super awesome. I couldn’t be more miserable. Don’t get me wrong, Ruby, Blake, and Jaune are great friends, Nora is just as crazy as Pinkie, and I even got Weiss to open up to me a little. But Yang just remains so distant, like she’s afraid I’m gonna leap out of my chair and eat her if she takes her focus away for one second. I miss my real friends. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, I even miss Rarity. I’m getting THAT desperate. I just can’t seem to always get a straight answer out of my friends here. They’ll answer some questions just fine, like what Dust is and what Faunus are, but when I ask a question like “How many students are currently at Beacon?” and “What are the teachers like?”, Yang uneasily slides the conversation to a different topic. It’s also frustrating that I can’t get the hang of the whole ‘Internet’ thing. See, they have a worldwide means of communication and information-gathering. If Twi knew about that, she’d lock herself in her room for the rest of her life, trying to get all the info into her eggheaded brain. I can access anything on the history of the world just fine, but when I try and find specifics, like what Vale did during the brief war with the Faunus, it comes up blank. I know the information is there, I’ve seen some other students with it, but for me, nothing. Just blanks, or maybe… is it blocked? Is there stuff they don’t want me seeing? Well, if I was in their place, with something unknown somehow transported to Equestria, I’d rather they didn’t find out about how Hearth’s Warming Eve is really about the wars between the three pony races, or that Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon. The more I tried to find, the shiftier Yang got. One of us was going to break soon, and the aftermath wasn’t going to be pretty. ---------- It happened a week later. The nine of us (me, RWBY, and JNPR) were at lunch. Nora had somehow roped me into a competition to see how many pancakes we could stuff into our mouths at one time. Thankfully, there was also a wide selection of no-meat foods (Hey, I may be able to process meat now, but there is no way I’m eating something that used to breathe) I could choose from, but pancakes were high in demand. Everyone was chowing down. Everyone except Yang. She kept leering at me, hard enough I’m sure I would burst into flames, if I was paying attention. I was currently busy trying to beat Nora’s two-pancake lead. Ruby looks between the two of us, sighs, and sets down her fork. “Yang, what’s wrong?” That seems to snap her out of the death glare. “Oh, nothing sis.” Ruby looks worried. “No, it’s not nothing. You haven’t touched your food, and you keep giving Rainbow these weird looks. Any time she’s asked us a question in the last few days, you look like you’re going to jump out of your skin. So, oh sister of mine, let me ask again: what’s wrong?” The dam bursts. “What’s wrong? WHAT’S WRONG? SHE’S what’s wrong!” I glance up, having finally fit a sixth pancake into my mouth. She’s pointing at me. “Whuh?” I swallow some of the pancake. Nora may have won this round, but this is far more important. “What did I do?” I notice out of the corner of my eye, one of the teachers, Professor Goodwitch if I remember, looking in our direction. Crap. “EVERYTHING! Haven’t any of you noticed, she’s been here for two weeks and we don’t know anything about her? Ruby, what are her parents like?” “Uh…” “Blake! What did she do before we found her in the woods?” “I… I don’t think she said…” “Exactly! We don’t know anything. For all we know, she could be a spy!” Okay, that’s it. No more Ms. Nice girl. “Hey! Stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here!” “Why? We barely know you! We don’t know where you’re from, you don’t have a team, you just stuck yourself onto ours! And, you have the combat prowess of a third-year, at least. Well, I want answers!” “I want answers too! I want to know about this world, but you keep stopping me! Every time I try to ask a question, you send it someplace else! Why?” “Ladies, calm yourselves!” I look up to see Professor Goodwitch looming over the table. Man, for a kinda short lady, she has a heck of a presence. “Now, I believe there is a more civil way to settle this instead of shouting over meals. You could duel it out, and the loser answers any question the winner chooses.” Yang gets a sinister gleam in her eyes. “Alright. Sound good to you, Rainbow?” No, this is not alright. I’ve never seen a duel, I don’t know how it goes, but I’ll be damned if I back out of a challenge. “I accept. I Pinkie Promise to answer any question you have if I lose. However, you also have to Pinkie Promise to do the same.” “Pinkie Promise? What’s that?” Ruby pipes up. Oh, right, no Pinkie Pie in this world. “Oh, it’s basically an unbreakable promise. Here, I’ll take you through it,” and so I coach Yang, and the rest of RWBY, on the complexities of the Pinkie Promise. After the motions are complete, Blake speaks. “So, this promise. What happens if someone does manage to break it?” “Well, the last time someone broke a Pinkie Promise, I’m just glad the town was left standing afterwards.” They all give each other uneasy glances as I grin. Let that image simmer in their minds. ---------- “Oh Goddesses, what am I doing, Ruby?” I’m in one of the locker rooms just before my duel with Yang, and I’m freaking the buck out. “You’re about to duel my sister, that’s what you’re doing.” “But why? I don’t even know what a duel is!” Weiss speaks up. “In an official duel, both sides use their weapons and Auras to wear down their opponent as best they can. No blood shall be shed; it is supposed to be a clean competition. The duel is over when one competitor cannot remain standing or gives up.” “Okay, that makes sense, but what about this?” I change my guns to the halberd and motion at the head. "If I attack her with that, I’ll take her bucking head off!” “I’ve been thinking about that,” Ruby says. “The head is powered by the Dust ammo in your weapon. Here, try these.” She tosses a few clips of dull grey ammo into my lap. I open the compartment in the shaft (allows me to reload no matter what form), and replace the normal rounds for the grey ones. Immediately, the head becomes dulled. The spike and blade are still sharp, but nowhere near sharp enough to pierce skin. Could bruise a bone, but not draw blood. “Wow. What are these?” “Concussive rounds. Gives your opponent a nasty shock, but 100% nonlethal. A Schnee Company exclusive.” There goes Weiss, becoming all self-important again. I had heard about the Schnee Company a little bit. They make Dust for just about everything, from vehicles to lights to weapons. Especially weapons. “Don’t worry, the rounds are standard. Both competitors must use them, or they are disqualified from the match.” “Okay. Any hints on how to take your sister?” “Sorry, rules. You go in with only the knowledge you had. I will give you one thing though: you’ve made a terrible mistake, going up against Yang.” “Why?” The feeling of dread gets stronger. “Yang and Pyrrha are tied for undefeated duelists. They. Never. Lose. They even have an understanding to not face each other, because it would end in tarnishing one’s record.” I nod, then another thing she said hits me. “What the buck is an Aura?” They look at me like I’ve got both ears on one side of my head, and my nose where one ear used to be. Eventually, Weiss recovers. “Let me correct that: you’ve made a grave mistake challenging Yang.” “Can we postpone the match while one of us tries to find someone to teach her?” Weiss glances outside. “Afraid not. The crowd is in a frenzy out there. Okay, quick version: an Aura is the manifestation of one’s soul.” “A whoozi-whatzit?” “Argh! Okay, imagine this: you have your body, and then you have your soul. Following me so far?” “Yeah.” “An Aura is what happens when when you will your soul to become an outwards force. For instance, during our initiation, Ren used his Aura to defend himself from a King Taijitu by willing his Aura to become a shield. Do you understand that?” It takes me a moment, but I get it. “It’s like a force field!” Weiss smirks. “Yeah, if you want to put it like that.” ---------- Meanwhile, in the gathering crowd, Pyrrha gets an uneasy feeling. Jaune notices the look of concern on her face. “Hey, Pyrrha, something wrong?” “No, it’s just, I just got the strangest sense of déjà vu…” ---------- Meanwhile, back in the locker room, I seem to have gotten my runaway mind under control. “So, how do I use my Aura?” “That’s just it!” Weiss cries. “It takes months to learn how to use it! Some people have the ability to unlock another’s Aura, but it’s a very rare skill.” “Can one of you do it?” “No!” “So, on a scale of one to ten, how screwed am I?” Weiss makes a face. “About six feet under.” Luna buck me in the gloryhole with her ever-loving moon… I hear fanfare sound outside. Well, time to go meet my Creator. Ruby and Weiss walk with me to the door. As they turn to go to the stands, they give me some final words of encouragement. Ruby: “Good luck.” Weiss: “It was nice knowing you.” Words to die by. As I enter the arena, I can almost hear music playing. It’s dark, brooding, and perfectly matches the mood of someone about to die. The arena itself is perfectly circular, about thirty feet across. Large enough to give room, but not too much to give ranged opponents complete control. My opponent already waits on her designated spot. I approach, and stand on mine. Professor Goodwitch stands on a referee dais near the stands. “Rainbow Dash. I assume Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee have briefed you on the rules?” I nod. “Yes ma’am. The goal is to incapacitate your opponent, or wear her down until she can no longer stand. No bloodshed is allowed. Nonlethal rounds only.” She seems pleased. “Good. It seems we are ready to begin.” Suddenly, her voice booms across the arena. “This is the duel of Yang Xiao Long versus Rainbow Dash. Ms. Xiao Long, are you ready?” Yang loads her gauntlets and stands at the ready, bouncing. “Ready!” “Ms. Dash, are you ready?” I change to the halberd, spin it to the resting position (straight up behind my foot), and nod. “Let’s do this.” “BEGIN!” In a flash, Yang is right above me. I yelp, and catapult backwards, just in time. As her fist hits where I was, she creates a small shockwave on the ground. I back up a bit more, and as she stands, I start firing blades. Head after head whizzes towards her, and she dodges every bucking one of them. As she moves closer, still dodging blades, time slows a bit. I see how she is moving. She moves like one of those old-fashioned boxers you see at carnivals, fists up, feet never in one place, shuffling ever closer to her target. Click. Oh, horsefeathers. I’m out. As I try and reload, a fist connects with my shoulder. I hear a bang, and I fly backwards into a wall. I somehow stay on my feet. Even more amazing, my shoulder isn’t dead. Hurts like one of AJ’s bucks, but still usable. I use the distance she put between us to switch back to guns and reload. Then I fire every bullet I loaded at Yang. I hear multiple bangs, and I realize she is knocking every shot I make out of the air with her own. A large cloud of smoke appears between us. I know she’s going to try something. I go halberd, and move to the side. Sure enough, she flies through the smoke, and at where I was a moment ago. She realizes too late, and I use the moment to trip her up with the shaft, sending her directly into the spot she sent me into. She gets up as I back off towards the center, and do I see a hint of red in her eyes? I don’t even have time to file that thought away before she’s on top of me. I’m using my halberd to block her fists from impacting, and I lose myself to the moment. The crowd falls away, Goodwitch falls away, even the ground fades as my focus becomes only Yang. However, our defenses aren’t perfect. I take a couple shots to the chest, while I end up giving her legs some nasty welts. Then, she tries to go for my face. I lift to block, and then I realize she was waiting for that. She reaches with an open hand, takes the shaft in hand, and uses it to flip herself over me. Then, just as suddenly, my halberd’s shaft is against my neck, forcing me to my knees. She’s choking me out with my own weapon! As spots appear before my eyes, I hear her speak. “Do you yield?” “No.” I gasp back. “What was that?” the shaft presses tighter. “I said… Rainbow…Dash…NEVER…QUITS!” A pulse rips through the air, throwing Yang off of me. I use the moment to whip my halberd around and strike at her. I stand and turn around, trying to catch my breath. Yang is about ten feet away, kneeling. She’s not looking at me. I look between us, and see a strand of golden hair on the ground. I look up, and Yang’s eyes go blood red. I’m bucked. ---------- I come to in the infirmary. My first thought was heaven, but heaven probably doesn’t smell like antiseptics and make me feel like I was AJ’s practice dummy for a day. I sit up, or at least try to. My body seems to have turned against me. I groan softly. Suddenly, Ruby and Weiss are hanging over me. “Hey, take it easy. You survived, but don’t expect to fight Yang and come away without a few nasty bumps.” “Or in your case, one giant nasty bump all over your body.” This earns Weiss an elbow from Ruby. I try to talk again. “Did… did I lose?” Ruby and Weiss exchange a glance. What? I’s obvious I didn’t win. I sure don’t feel like I won. “You might want to see this,” Ruby places her datapad in front of me. Of course, she recorded the whole thing. I gingerly take it, and start the playback. I fast forward through the beginning, but resume it when Yang gets me in the choke. It looks like we’re saying something, but from this distance, it’s impossible to make out. Then, a cyan blue wave comes from my body, pushing Yang back and even affecting the spectators. “You used your Aura,” Ruby squeaks. Holy buck, that’s what it looks like? Man, I must be stronger than I thought to have made a shockwave that big! I resume the video, and see me and Yang face off. “What happened? A moment later, everything went crazy.” I try to remember. “I… I think I got some of her hair on the way down.” “Oh, that explains it. She’s super protective of her hair. Later, ask her why she literally blew up an Ursa during initiation.” Sure enough, everything goes to Tartarus. Suddenly, me and Yang are nothing but blurs. I try to slow the video down, but its playing at normal speed. What I do see is shocking. Yang obviously isn’t holding back; she’s attacking me with everything she’s got. Amazingly, I am taking all of it. I’m blocking, parrying, dodging, pulling off moves I never thought possible. About five percent of our shots connect. I see one of us stumble, but turn it into the next move. This continues for a solid minute before we finally break apart. I’m leaning on my halberd, breathing heavily. I’m covered I bruises, and my wrist looks bad. I glance down; sure enough, it’s in a cast. Yang has her hands on her knees, and is favoring one foot. We take another step towards each other, when the unthinkable happens. We both fall. Not a bit of hesitation, not a ‘one of us fell, and then the other’ situation, but at the same exact bucking time, we fell to the dirt. The crowd erupts. Goodwitch is calling for medics, and Ruby, Blake, and Weiss are trying to get down to the field. With that, the video ends. I’m speechless. “Wow… I… uh…” “You fought me to a standstill.” The curtain to the side pulls back to reveal Yang, her foot in a cast similar to my wrist. She has just as many bruises and welts as I do, at least, what I can see. “We tied. That’s never happened before, not in the history of Beacon.” She tries to laugh, but clutches her chest in pain. “That stick of yours packs a wallop.” “So do your fists. Man, a tie? Makes me remember when my friend and I raced each other in the Running of the Leaves a year back.” “What, you tied for first?” “No. We tried so hard to trip the other up, we ended up tying for last.” I chuckle at that, and fare a bit better than Yang. As my laughing gives way to a fit of coughing, the room goes quiet once more. Then, Blake speaks up. “So, since you tied, who honors their Promise?” I look to Yang. “I think we should both do it. I’ll tell you about my past, and you stop laying into me for every little thing. Deal?” “Deal.” “Okay. Can it wait until we’re out of the infirmary? I’ve already spent enough time here as it is.” “Double deal.” Yang giggles, and I fall back to sleep.