RWBY 3: Fall

Part 10 - The Shattered Mirror

Fred turned and grabbed her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay, I just know it! And one day we can tell our kid all about this, our own exciting adventure-"

Someone pushed past Carla.

"Hey! Watch it asshole!" Fred screamed and held his girlfriend close. "Carla... babe... when this is over, I swear, we'll get married and I'll find a decent paying job and-"

"Shhh" Carla smiled and pressed her finger against his lips. "As long as we're safe and happy, I don't care. I don't want to force you to work in a job you hate. I know fishing doesn't pay well, but you love it... and I love you. So-" she stopped. Her face contorted in pain and she screamed.

"CARLA!"

"N-No! Not now..." she said, with pain an despair in her voice "the baby isn't supposed to come for weeks!"

But their child had other ideas.

Carla had gone into labour.

The nevermore screamed, its primal voice boomed through the stadium and instilled fear in everyone inside.

"WARNING:" the female robotic voice announced "Safety barriers failing. Please evacuate immediately"

Ruby was still on her knees. Still staring out at what remained of her friend. Tears flooded her eyes and blurred her vision-

People begun to run past her-

One knocked her to the ground "GET OUT OF THE WAY KID!"

Ruby laid helplessly, frozen, as waves of people ran past-

A boot hit her chest.

She winced in pain.

A high heel dug into her abdomen.

She screamed.

But the crowd didn't stop.

Ruby closed her eyes and shielded herself as best she could, screaming in pain and fear-

But then it was over. The last of the crowd ran past her and all the screaming seemed to be coming from behind, from deeper in the stadium.

"PYRRHA!!" Jaune's voice echoed through the now mostly empty arena. "Pyrrha! That thing's gonna break in! You've gotta move!!"

Pyrrha didn't move. She stood and stared at the mess of robotic limbs and circuits, the artificial skin and hair, the huntress she had just killed. Whether or not Penny could be considered a life form was irrelevant. Pyrrha had ended her existence, and the guilt was unbearable. "I... I'm no hero..." she thought. "I'm no maiden...".

As if in response to the blonde hunter's screams, the nevermore sped up and pecked at the barrier with renewed determination. It could sense the fear inside the stadium, the panic, the negativity. It was drawn to these feelings, feelings which made humans and faunus taste delicious.

The barrier begun to crack and flicker, turning from a cyan colour to a dull red.

The grimm flew up into the air and prepared to dive. It eyed its first prey, the red haired fighter in the centre of the arena. Her negativity lit her up in the nevermore's eyes-

"Fuck this!" Jaune vaulted over the the edge of the seats in front of him and dropped down to the arena, using his aura to dampen the fall.

His legs ached for a moment, but they weren't broken. Nora and Ren called after him, panic in their voices.