Pyrrha quickly threw her shield straight at Cinder, and the woman smacked it away easily. Lyra swung her axe toward Cinder, a murderous look on her face. Cinder quickly reacted despite Pyrrha's distraction, and she blasted a heavy stream of fire with both hands toward Lyra. The golden eyed warrior gasped, narrowly twisting to try and avoid the blow. Cinder swung a fiery blade downward toward the girl, sending Lyra smashing into the ground. Cinder smirked before turning to the redhead, knowing Pyrrha was defenseless...

Or so she thought.

Cinder's eyes widened as she observed the metal remnants of the equipment floating in the air. Pyrrha was standing with her hands held out in concentration, and she quickly used her hand to fling Lyra's axe out of harm's way, bringing the golden eyed warrior with it.

Then she flung a piece right toward Cinder, striking her square in the stomach. A piece of metal from above flew downward, trapping Cinder in the shards. Pyrrha unloaded all of the equipment onto Cinder with all of her semblance's strength as Lyra tried to regain her bearings.

The metal was glowing with orange embers.

Cinder shot out of them with another spherical blast of fire, hitting both Pyrrha and Lyra. Pyrrha flew backward, hitting a piece of rubble. Red hot pain seared through her, and she panted, tired. Lyra managed to remain standing due to her semblance helping her stand strong.

As the fog cleared, Cinder stood with a bow, an arrow nocked straight toward Pyrrha. What she hadn't expected was for a golden eyed warrior to lunge straight for her. Cinder easily dodged before she blocked Lyra's first blow with her bow, but under the weight of Lyra's massive strength, her dusted bow broke.

Lyra's axe tore through the weapon, slicing Cinder straight in the chest. Much to Lyra's dismay...Cinder still had plenty of aura left. Her golden axe didn't even scratch Cinder's flesh. Lyra's eyes glinted red once more as she swung again, the force from her weapon sending Cinder across the roof.

Pyrrha quickly grabbed her shield, throwing it right at Cinder. The woman quickly propelled herself away with the use of her maiden powers. Cinder levitated far into the air, creating a ball of fire bigger than she was. She was getting irritated; this was taking up way more time than she wanted, and she was going to get revenge on the one who had managed to draw blood from her.

Cinder launched it straight at Lyra, beams of hot fire shooting straight at the girl. Lyra's golden eyes widened as she flipped out of danger, but Cinder conjured another, much bigger one before sending it toward Lyra once more. As Lyra did a handspring to get away, Cinder swooped downward, catching Lyra out of position. Cinder flew straight into the air before creating a dust sword in her other hand. She slammed it downward into Lyra's stomach, sending them crashing down to the ground. Lyra could feel her aura fading...just before she crashed, she felt Pyrrha's semblance on her axe jerk upwards, and Lyra was yanked above the ground by her axe.

She was saved from the fall, but Cinder was below her. Cinder simply swung her sword, catching Lyra off guard. She got in two slices before Pyrrha used her semblance to block Cinder with Midas.

Lyra fell to the ground, her aura utterly destroyed. Cinder still looked perfectly fine except for the slight blood on her, but even her ear was perfectly healed up now. Cinder leered over her, a smirk on her face before turning back towards Pyrrha.

The red haired warrior had nothing but her shield. Pyrrha charged toward Cinder, rolling and ducking under Cinder's shots of fire. She used the fragmented pieces of her shattered weapon, twirling them around herself to block Cinder. The pointed end of her javelin twirled around, slicing into Cinder once. Cinder's eyes glowed with her maiden powers.

She had had enough.

As Pyrrha went to kick the javelin into Cinder's stomach, Cinder caught it with her hand. She then slammed it into the airborne Pyrrha, the weapon imbued with Cinder's red hot fire.

Pyrrha tumbled to the ground, her aura visibly breaking. She grimaced in pain, her eyes widening as Cinder incinerated the rest of her javelin. Cinder then began to strut over toward Lyra, who was still struggling to stand. Immediately, Pyrrha was back up. She summoned her shield, throwing it at Cinder before running toward Lyra protectively. Cinder simply created a dusted bow and arrow in her hands. She let the arrow fly towards Pyrrha, and the shield broke the arrow cleanly into two...but the arrow simply reformed after.

It struck Pyrrha right in the achilles as she made it to Lyra.

Pyrrha collapsed to the ground in pain, the arrow embedded in her skin. She grunted in pain, and Lyra reached out futilely toward her beloved sister. Cinder smirked, her glass heels clinking as she walked toward them.

"Such a shame that you two had to get caught up in all of this," Cinder cooed. "But take comfort in knowing that I will use this power in ways you could have never imagined. After we're done here, Atlas will be next...your little hometown without it's two protectors. What a shame."

"...Do you believe in destiny?" Pyrrha asked sharply as Cinder aimed the bow at Lyra. Cinder narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," Cinder responded, a sadistic look on her face as she prepared to let her arrow fly. Cinder smirked wider. "Destiny won't let those who hurt me live!"

"NO!!"

The arrow flew toward Lyra's face, and Lyra shut her golden eyes tight. She didn't want to die, no, but she knew the consequences for losing the fight...she hoped that Pyrrha would be able to get away...she hoped that Beacon could still be saved...and she prepared to die.

Lyra never felt the arrow hit her.

She slowly opened her eyes, confused. Much to her dismay and shock, Pyrrha stood in front of her, an arrow embedded in her chest. Cinder just smirked as Pyrrha fell to her knees, gasping in pain. Lyra scrambled to her sister, screaming in fury as Pyrrha slumped forward.

"No! No! Pyrrha!!" Lyra could barely breathe as she choked on her words, her face crumpling in rage and desperation. "WHY!? Pyrrha!!!"

"A beautiful sacrifice...and it means nothing," Cinder laughed, aiming another arrow at Lyra. Lyra's eyes flickered between blue and red as she desperately shook her sister, trying to bring Pyrrha back to life. "Don't worry. You'll see her right now!"

Before Cinder could shoot, someone screamed. They screamed Pyrrha's name...At first, Lyra thought it was herself, but the voice was too high pitched to be hers. It wasn't Cinder, she looked just as surprised as Lyra...then all of a sudden, the world flashed white.

Pure, bright, white. Lyra couldn't see anything else. All she did was hold onto Pyrrha's body desperately. She could hear Cinder's screams of agony, and Lyra shut her eyes tight to block out the agonizing light around her.

Tears slipped past her blue ridden eyes, dripping down her face as she sobbed hard. She could feel someone pulling her, but Lyra wouldn't let go of Pyrrha's body. Finally, a hard tug jerked Lyra away. Lyra tried desperately to hold on to Pyrrha, but she couldn't fight against the person, only managing to snag Pyrrha's headpiece off of her head.

"Pyrrha! No, stop! Please!" Lyra howled, trying to thrash away. It was no use. The person had a steady grip on her, and they jumped away, away from the tower. "Don't take me! Pyrrha!!"

The white light began to fade, and with it, so did Lyra's consciousness as the battle began to take its toll on her. As she slipped into darkness, tears streamed down her face.

She had failed.

Pyrrha was dead....

And it was Lyra's fault.

<><><>

Grimm ran rampant along the ruins of Beacon Academy. Huntresses and Hunters alike were injured, fighting despite their wounds. Bodies lay in the streets, bloodied and rampaged by the bloody monsters.

On the top of a Nevermore sat Tyrian, a maniacal grin on his face. Cinder's unconscious and badly battered body sat behind him, and the Grimm flew the two away from the absolute carnage Cinder and the White Fang had left behind.

"Oh, Her Majesty will be so pleased," Tyrian chuckled loudly, his hands gesturing wildly, "yes, yes she will be!"

Wings flapped, eventually taking the pair to a deserted land. As Tyrian dismounted the Nevermore, a shadowy cloud began to approach him.

"Tyrian...you have done well," a serene voice appeared from the shadows, "bring Cinder to her room and see to it that Watts takes proper care of her."

"Yes, yes, yes Your Majesty!"

He howled with laughter before he disappeared
once more. The shadows began to take the form of someone, revealing a woman with skin as pale as snow, her ivory hair tied into a complex bun composed of braids, Grimm veins running down her entire body. Black eyes with red pupils opened as the woman smiled.

"Yes...this is just the beginning of the end. And I will make sure it ends."