Shattered Destiny (ch4)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL PATRONS! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT!

This chapter will take some things directly from the show, as you'll see, but some will be totally original twists. Brace yourselves.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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											Chapter 4. When Nightmares Become Reality

Yang didn't intend to fall asleep.

She merely leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, wanting to rest herself just for a few minutes. She needed to get out of here as quickly as possible, and she didn't have time to spare sleeping.

But she knew she'd have to rest herself just a bit. After all, she had an impossibly daunting task and an incredibly uncertain future ahead of herself.

So for now, she simply tried to collect her thoughts, letting everything she'd just learned sink in.

/I've gotta get out of here... and get to Pyrrha somehow. I don't know what I can do, but... But I'll have to prevent her from getting killed, be it by my mom or anyone else... According to my mom, whoever had originally planned to kill her wanted to do it tomorrow.../

She blinked one eye open and glanced down at her scroll. She must've been chatting with her mother for hours already, because it was early morning now. The tournament's matches for the day would be starting soon.

/Shit... Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen soon. But theoretically, if I can just... get Pyrrha away somehow, she can't be killed, right? If the people who want to kill her are here, then if I bring her somewhere else, they can't do it./

She decided that would have to be her plan for now, that after she somehow got herself out of here, she'd find Pyrrha and take her away. Where to, she didn't know, especially since the stadium was on a giant levitating air ship.

/I'll figure something out. I have to.../

She tried planning things out in her mind, envisioning every single thing she might be able to do, while also trying to anticipate things that could go wrong or try to thwart her.

As soon as she broke out of here, the authorities would be after her. So she'd need to outrun them and avoid being detained, and at the same time she'd possibly have to interrupt one of the most highly-anticipated tournament matches.

If she wasn't already in enough trouble now, she'd soon be in a lot more.

But... if she could save Pyrrha's life, and thus the lives of her teammates and many others, Yang thought she'd be able to forgive herself.

But just envisioning it all caused her line of thinking to get jumbled and exhausting. Without her knowing, she actually did fall unconscious into sleep.

When she next woke, she panicked and checked her scroll to discover it was almost noon.

/Shit... God damn it, I'm such an idiot!/

She jumped up from the creaking bed, shoved her scroll into her pocket, and didn't waste another second.

Her plan was to cause a ruckus in here, anything to get the guards' attention on her just long enough for them to open the doors.

At the very least, her gauntlets had yet to be confiscated.

She didn't plan to use them if she didn't have to, especially since she didn't want to hurt people who were just trying to do their jobs. But if it became necessary, she'd do whatever she needed to in order to save Pyrrha and the others.

She faced the locked door and squared her shoulders, taking in a deep, steadying breath. Then, she let loose at the top of her lungs.

"Hey! Can't a girl get a glass of water around here? Or some toast or something? How long do you guys plan on keeping me here without even hearing me out first?"

She knew that if someone had been stationed just outside the door that they'd be able to hear her if she shouted like this. She crossed her arms impatiently, forced to wait a few more minutes for a response.

As she'd been hoping, the door was soon unlocked and opened. A guard stepped in with a tray of food on one arm.

"Calm down. It's not like we weren't going to give you something to eat. You're a student, after all."

"Well, you sure took your sweet time," she scoffed.

He placed the tray down onto a small table and glanced around the room.

"Y'know, you could turn the lights on at least."

"I'll do whatever I want," she said curtly.

"Suit yourself. General Ironwood and your headmaster plan to oversee the matches today, and then they'll be around to speak to you."

Yang's stomach did a flip.

/That'll be too late. I need to get out of here now./

"Fine," she replied. "Guess I'll just sit here like some criminal in a cage."

The man grimaced behind his helmet, but said nothing more as he turned to leave. He seemed to be alone, and Yang knew she easily could have subdued him by herself.

But she needed to be smarter than that.

Just as the door was closing, she grabbed her scroll from her pocket and slid it across the floor. It lodged perfectly beneath the door, making it look as though it had closed all the way, when in reality it was slightly ajar.

Her first plan had been a success.

This way, she wouldn't have to knock out a guard and start running. Now, she could spare a moment to actually eat the food she'd been brought, which was probably a good idea, considering what she had ahead of herself. She ate everything and downed the entire bottle of water before returning to the door.

Slowly, she opened it, peering outside to discover there was no one else there. She bent down to pick up her scroll, then cautiously began slipping out. She pulled the door closed behind herself.

If no one planned to see her until after the matches today, then no one was going to check on her until then. All she needed to do was stay out of sight, at least until she'd achieved her main objective of finding Pyrrha.

She moved quickly but quietly down the hallways, always checking to see if anyone else was there first before rounding a corner.

Another challenge she faced was transportation.

After the incident, she'd been flown back down to Beacon Academy. But the stadium now hovered high above her. She'd need to board and air ship to get there. It was going to take time and it was going to be risky. This entire operation would be.

But she'd come this far. She couldn't give up now.

It seemed that everyone at Beacon – students, guards, and administration alike – were all either at the tournament to observe, or were watching its live broadcast, because Yang didn't run into a single person on her way out of the building. And there was already an air ship at the docks, just about to depart.

She hurried on-board, doing her best not to draw any attention. There were only a few other people inside, people who were merely citizens of Vale or other kingdoms. They'd been crowded around the television on-board the ship, where the tournament was being broadcast live. They all recoiled a bit upon seeing her, and she didn't miss the panicked whispers.

"Hey, isn't that the girl who-"

"It she even allowed to be here?"

"I thought they locked her away?"

"They released her? Maybe she's innocent then...?"

"I haven't heard any official news yet. But maybe..."

She kept her distance from them, and was glad none of them seemed eager to call the authorities on her. For now, she just tried to appear as normal as possible.

She stood with her hands behind her back and hummed innocently to herself, gazing out the window like any excited teenager would.

Her ride to the stadium was uneventful, but she knew that would probably be the last thing that was.

As the ship was landing, Yang was ready to be the first one off. But the television caught her attention, as did the voices of the other people on-board.

"It's Pyrrha Nikos! She's been selected to fight in the next match!"

"Against... huh, I've never seen that girl before. But she's cute."

"This should be a good match. Let's hurry up and go so we can see it in-person!"

As everyone else hurried off the ship to get a seat in the actual stadium, Yang lingered.

/Shit... Pyrrha's fighting already? And who-/

She turned to look at the television, seeing Pyrrha's picture displayed on one half of the screen. And on the other half was another familiar face.

Yang's stomach started churning all over again.

"Penny...?"

How was she going to do this? How was she going to stop an official match that was already underway? She'd wasted too much time already. What if she was just... too late...?

/No! This isn't over yet! I can still save her!/

She whipped around and raced off the ship, taking off as quickly as she possibly could.

She reached the fairgrounds in a matter of seconds. Most of the shops and stands had televisions and were also showing the live footage of the current match. Yang could hear the choppy voices of her professors as they announced every single thing that was happening, as well as the reactions of the crowds.

She could faintly gather that things were still going normally for the moment; it seemed both girls were getting an equal portion of the fight narrated in their favor. Neither had been knocked out yet.

Yang still had time...

She kept running, thankful for the fact that the few people who were sitting here instead of at the match itself were too preoccupied with the program to notice her.

She was honestly a little surprised Pyrrha had gone through with the match. After their private conversation last night, Yang had thought her friend was hesitant, and perhaps that her own words of comfort had made the champion consider a forfeit. After all, Pyrrha had confessed she'd felt trapped by her destiny, and she hadn't seemed all too confident about fighting today.

But clearly, she had too many people counting on her, too many expectations to uphold. She couldn't let them down.

Even if it meant making sacrifices on her own part.

/She's too damn selfless!/

Yang could hear the roar of the crowds now as she neared the stadium. She knew the guards here would actually be doing their jobs, so she was fully prepared to fight her way in if necessary.

But she paused at the nearest food stand just for a minute, in order to catch her breath and get her bearings of what she was about to do. The television there was showing the match, and she couldn't stop herself from looking up.

"My, this is simply incredible!" Dr. Oobleck was saying. "I daresay they both appear to be equally matched!"

"For now," said Professor Port. "But someone's got to give eventually! Who will it be?"

Yang watched as Pyrrha and Penny faced off.

Even in the face of Penny's massive army of swords, Pyrrha never faltered.

And even when faced with Pyrrha's most infamous of skills, Penny never stumbled.

They would exchange a few blows, but for the most part, the majority of each girls' attacks was skillfully dodged.

It reassured Yang just a little. Both of them were still okay. She could still make it-

"Oh my word! What's this?"

Dr. Oobleck's shocked voice prevented Yang from tearing off just yet. Immediately, she turned her attention back to the screen.

Pyrrha had gone still now, opting to use something other than her weapons and her agility. Yang had seen her activate her semblance many times before, but for some reason, seeing her do it now was awfully chilling.

She had a terrible, terrible feeling.

She needed to move, to get into that stadium and prevent whatever was just about to happen.

But she was too late.

Pyrrha's semblance traveled along and highlighted Penny's otherwise-invisible threads that connected her to her blades. Through impressive concentration, Pyrrha managed to manipulate the wires until they were tangled around their owner.

Penny was rendered immobilized, as shock jolted into her eyes. Pyrrha would definitely win now.

But before anyone could declare the match, something... happened.

Penny's expression began to contort, but it didn't look natural at all. Rather, it looked as though someone were rapidly flicking a switch. Different emotions flashed across her face, and her limbs began to twist and turn at every joint, in ways that should've been impossible.

The crowds on-screen and the people watching around Yang all started to gasp and murmur in horror. Her own heart started to sink to the pit of her stomach.

"What the hell... is going on...?"

She could see it in Pyrrha's face that she was equally as baffled. Clearly, she hadn't been doing anything that would warrant such a reaction from Penny. She'd merely been trying to immobilize her, not hurt her like this.

Pyrrha shrieked, a sound that struck a chord of trepidation through Yang's chest.

She watched as Pyrrha stepped away and called off her semblance. The invisible strings around Penny flashed red, then vanished.

And the girl crumpled to the ground in a steaming, twisted pile of limbs. Not at all like a human girl should.

It was much more like...

Like a malfunctioning machine.

Yang felt her stomach heave as she and the rest of Remnant were temporarily silenced into a state of total disbelief and fear.

/What... the hell...? Penny is a...?/

She couldn't fathom it. Couldn't comprehend it.

Ever since she'd met the girl, Penny had always been a bit peculiar.

But a... a robot...?

It was beyond her comprehension.

And clearly, it was beyond everyone else's, too.

Pyrrha staggered back, hands raised to her mouth in shock before she collapsed to her knees.

And despite how distraught Yang herself was about Penny, she needed to focus on her main objective. If she didn't get Pyrrha out of there quickly, more people were going to die. Pyrrha herself included.

So in a world where everyone else had temporarily been frozen, Yang tore off like a bolt of lightning. Fury, shock, and fear all coursed off of her, and the atmosphere all around was growing heavier by the second.

Everyone was in dismay, despair, horror. It was almost suffocating...

And then it got worse.

Much, much worse.

Yang was vaguely aware of the stunned voices of her professors over the intercom, frantically trying to cut the broadcast and audio. But their distressed voices were soon cut off by a contrastingly calm, almost suave female voice that spoke for all of Remnant to hear:

"This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians. But are, in reality, nothing more than men."

The speech carried around the entire stadium, calm and controlled. Yang recognized the speaker by her voice, but there was little good that would do her now.

However, the gnarled knot in her stomach told her one thing for sure.

That this was the beginning of the end.

That these were the people who were going to kill Pyrrha.

"No..."

"Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace. And yet... what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this?"

Yang flinched at the reference to her own match.

But now she understood.

She had been framed. She'd been used by these people in order to set an example, and degrade Beacon, Ozpin. At the very least, she now knew for certain that she'd been right, and that she was innocent. That fueled her fire just a little bit more in all of this.

The voice continued:

"Huntsmen and huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy. Yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps... this was his message to they tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces.

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know that the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you, the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are at the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark.

"So I ask you: when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?"

As the speech came to a finite end, there was a single beat of silence.

And then, chaos.

The alarms started blaring, and the protective barrier that had been shielding the stadium began to falter.

Seconds later, the whirring of an army of air ship engines cut through the skies.

Gasping, Yang looked up, expecting to see enemy soldiers dropping from them.

But what fell from the ships were a hundred times worse than soldiers.

Grimm.

Someone had herded them into the ships, and now they were releasing them.

Into a stadium filled with people.

Beowulves, Ursai, Borbatusk...

And then the winged beasts joined in. Nevermores and Griffons swirled in menacing circles high above them all, then began to dive.

Snarling and screeching, the monsters all dropped through the air, into masses of unsuspecting, and in most cases, defenseless people.

Yang heard the screams only seconds later.

"Oh god... no, no, no!"

She hurried forward, feeling as though she were going to vomit. Her legs were shaking so badly they barely kept her up. Only the fierce adrenaline pumping through her allowed her to keep moving.

/Shit! I'm too late! I'm too late!/

Just as she neared the entrance, the doors burst open the other way. Crowds of screaming, shouting people poured out and stampeded her way, forcing her back. She had no other option than to turn and run with them.

She did her best to arc around in an effort to escape the masses and get back to the stadium.

But it was no use.

The Grimm were already swarming all around them. Most of the people who had attended the tournament today had been nothing more than ordinary citizens. Only a fraction of people here actually knew how to fight and defend themselves, and Yang was one of them.

She had no choice but to face the beasts and try to fend them off now, to keep them away from the innocents.

/Goddamn it!/

She hurled punch after punch, firing bullets and flames alike as she took down the first of many beasts to come.

/I don't have time for this! If I don't find Pyrrha now, then-!/

A blood-curdling roar sounded from behind her, and massive paws shook the ground. She whipped around to find an Ursa Major trampling its way towards her.

Yang jumped, allowing it to crash into a wolf. She aimed herself at the Ursa's back, slamming her gauntlets down into the spikes to splinter them to pieces. These she used to slash and stab the beast to death, then hurled one directly through the wolf's skull. Spitting and cursing, she landed on solid ground again, only to find more beasts coming.

/Shit! She's gonna kill Pyrrha-! I have to find her!/

But she couldn't just let these people die either.

She had not choice but to continue fighting, screaming in fury, allowing her fear and adrenaline to give her power. She used that rage to fight, channeling every helpless, hopeless thought into bullets and punches.

/I can't let this happen! I can't let it end this way! I can't let them kill her-!/

"Ah-!"

She let her guard down and took a blow from a wolf's claws, only barely managing to put her arm up to block her face. Stumbling, she was temporarily blinded and disoriented.

/Shit, shit-!/

But instead of more claws and teeth tearing into her flesh, she felt nothing.

When she next looked up, she saw that some of the guards and authorities had finally made it to help fight off the beasts. While some directed the citizens to a safer path, others fired their guns at the monsters.

Yang opted to stagger back for a moment and let them handle this as she caught her breath.

Images of her nightmare flashed through her mind once more. Her mother had warned her about what would happen if Yang failed to save Pyrrha on time.

Now that she recalled the visions, Yang remembered something important, but sickeningly worrisome.

Pyrrha's disappearance... had been the /last/ thing she'd witnessed.

Before she'd seen Pyrrha vanish before her eyes...

She'd seen Blake bleed out, Weiss torn apart, Ruby stabbed...

If she'd truly failed to save Pyrrha, then that meant...

"Oh no..."

Yang instantly turned away and started to run.

"No... oh god, no..."

/That means-/

"No, no, no-"

/-my teammates-/

"No... NO!"

/-are gonna be the first ones to die./

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A/N: If this seems haphazard, that's because it is. In case it wasn't clear, Yang went to try and find Pyrrha in hopes that she could save her before shit hit the fan. But once Penny was defeated and Cinder started talking, that meant Yang could no longer prevent Cinder's plan from initiating.

If she could've saved Pyrrha before Cinder's plan was enacted, she could've saved everyone's lives then and there. But now that Cinder's plan is already underway, Yang's visions will become reality. So she can't focus on Pyrrha anymore. Her teammates are going to die first. I hope that makes things clear, since I can't explicitly state it in the story itself.

It's only going to get worse from here. I hope you're ready.