Contract with a New Moon
As Beacon falls, the broken Moon becomes whole as the balances shifts favors toward's one who guides humanity's future. In a world full of fighters, Hakuno Kishinami doesn't have to fight for them, all the Ruler has to do is offer them a contract. But all gifts come with a price.

Inspired by The Devil You Don't by AMinorGlitch, but with a twist.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

She asked one last question to her soon to be killer. Perhaps Pyrrha was naive to think she could defeat the older woman. In the end she was outmatched and outpowered.

"Yes."

A simple answer.

So this was her fate.

She was disappointed in herself. She felt regret. So much regret. That she couldn't be with her team. That she didn't make more friends. That she wasted her life training, isolating herself from others in the process and as a result. She should have never tried to fight this woman, yet she felt it was her duty to do so...

Cinder Fall raised her arms. A bow of black glass appeared in her hands, the string already drawn back. The arrow meant to kill her appeared a moment later.

Pyrrha was never one to hate, but she hoped with all her heart that the monster before her wouldn't be alive to hurt anyone else.

The fingers holding the string released.

The arrow flew.

But it never came.

The moment stretched.

It still never came.

The arrow hung in the bow nearly frozen. Cinder Fall stood unmoving. Even the flames around them stood silent and like a wallpaper.

The world had stopped and gained a blue and greenish tint to it as parts of the world fizzled like static on an electronic screen.

She tried to move and failed.

Even her eyes couldn't shift. She stared at her killer unable to do anything else. All she could think of was her regrets. She didn't know anything about that Polendina girl, but all she knew was that anyone would have died from what happened. For all she knew, she DID kill someone. She wondered what would have happened if she fled with Jaune. She was a strong warrior, but in the end all she could think of was that she was a foolish girl always trying to win fights for no reason other than to win.

"You're rather lucky you know. Most people die without a chance to save themselves. In fact, people have died without having been saved." A voice called out to her. She still couldn't move.

The voice was stoic. Calm. It spoke like that of a being from a higher position than her. It was...unimpressed. "Fighting to save others is admirable, but dying in the process saves no one. In the end, you've saved no lives tonight, with your death nearly pointless, only serving to help an enemy you don't even understand. Without a single reason to fight, you would have lost even with the full power of a maiden on your side." Shame began to fill her as the voice spoke. Was she really so helpless this night?

"Hmph. And this talk about destiny. Certainly some things are meant to happen, but your life matters so little to the world that it cares not if you lived or died." This time, Pyrrha felt ashamed from how it spoke of her life. True, for all her infamy as the Invincible Girl, she had done nothing more than win a few tournaments and put her face out for money.

'I see. In the end, I've wasted my life...'

"Idiot, I never said that much. Though you definitely wasted your life coming here on a suicide mission."

'Huh?'

"Humans are free to live however they want. They live and they die for themselves. Only a select few can live in such a way that they impact the world and the people within. You are not one of them, but it's not as if you have done nothing either. You inspired young warriors to reach your level. Your leader, Jaune, would be roadkill in a forest. Lie Ren would have needed to take care of Nora alone, unable to cope with some of his own issues on his own time. Nora would not have a girl to whom she could speak of on her feelings for Ren. You helped train team RWBY, who would be at the center of the conflict you thoughtlessly joined. You life had done no good tonight, but the same could not be said for before that."

With that, the weight on her shoulders was slightly lightened. But it still didn't change the fact that...

'This is it for me...'

"That's right. You lost the battle, so it's only natural that the loser loses their life. But what would you give up to live? Humans are naturally [greedy]/[foolish] after all. Your strength? Your beauty? Your heart? Some of your heart's desires can be achieved solely by staying alive, but it'll have its price."

Her mind was a storm as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

'I...I...'

"When it comes down to it, Battle isn't as glamorous as we want it to be. Sometimes it simply comes down to whose desire to live and succeed is greater. Sometimes even that doesn't matter. If you want to die here, it won't particularly matter to me."

'Then...why are you talking to me?'

"I just so happen to know a thing or two about being helped and helping others. What I see and know of you is pitiful, and helping someone like that is natural for me."

Pyrrha could only think of the offer warily, but was in a rush, as the arrow's feather was now off the bow. 'Will you tell me more?'

"I'll grant you the strength to defeat this woman, but the strength will test your bonds and your willpower. That stolen power of yours will also return to its predecessor."

'That sounds...remarkably simple. I thought you would have asked for something else based on your earlier words.' She couldn't help but bring herself to think.

"Why bother taking your beauty when you care nothing for it? Besides, your friends and your crush care nothing for it. As for your strength, you'll need it to survive tonight and the coming battles. So I'll be taking your heart, just not in the way you'll expect."

Hearing that made Pyrrha conflicted. Most stories of people who 'made a deal with the devil' so to speak, never ended well for the people involved.

As if knowing that, the voice sighed. "Oh calm down. The side effects will only affect you during battle. Any other time and you won't have to worry at all. If it's about the Maiden power, Fall will also lose hers so I can return it. You won't be breaking the trust placed in you, in fact you would be saving a life."

'Then...I...' Pyrrha knew this may be unwise, accepting help from a voice, like the heroes and gods of the stories she grew up on. This might not end well at all, just like those stories. But if she didn't, she would just die anyways.

But no human truly wants to die. They're greedy. Selfish. They wish for their happiness above all else-

"Pyrrha Nikos, do you accept this contract?"

-That's why,

'I accept.' She would do anything to live.

"Good. Then it's time for you to battle once more. But this time you have a reason. That reason is to live. Honor, Justice, such Tangible concepts do not move you, but instinct will. Release your rage and grapple the future you desire without reserve."

/\/\/\/\/\/\-\-\-\-\/\/

Penny opened her dazed eyes, not realizing that they had closed.

"Huh...? Where...am...I...?" A blue sea of numbers and stars stared at her.

"A space that only those with souls can enter." A soothing calm voice spoke to her.

"Somewhere only those with souls can enter?" She quietly repeated, pondering on the words as she felt oddly lighter upon hearing them.

"Unfortunately you will soon perish from here. This isn't the afterlife, merely a place where souls can convene separate from the body."

"Ah! That's right! Miss Nikos..." she thought back to her fight. Feeling sadness at how her opponent would have to deal with the consequences, and saddened that she would not see her dear friends anymore.

"How would you feel if I told you I could return you to your friends and your father? This isn't the end for you yet. It's why I brought you here." The voice propositioned her.

"I would feel elated of course! But I find myself just filled with questions! Who are you? How and why would you bring me back?"

"I'm just a nobody who knows a thing or two about dying. As for how to bring you back, you would be granted a body of course. As for the why, it goes hand and hand with who I am, besides, there are many threats that fill the world, and your 'death' was the final straw necessary for the enemies hidden in the dark to overrun Vale with Grimm."

She instinctively gasped in horror, not realizing it. "That's horrible! Please tell me I can return and save my friends and the people of Vale!"

"Eager to help aren't you." The voice said amused. "Well, this will have its price. I don't intend on just bringing you back to Remnant, but I can give you your dearest wish deep in your heart."

"My deepest wish?" She said confused.

"Of course. I can give you a human body to match that human soul of yours."

Rather than make her happy, that just confused her more. Was that even possible? She assumed that she would be brought back in her robotic body.

"Here's my contract to you. In return being granted the human body you desire so much, the body will enter a period of pain once a month to continuously remind you of your decision, and you will sacrifice what all humans have, their freedom. In serving me in place of your creators, you will be granted the tools to save your friends from the horrors that await them and experience that which a robot body will never grant you."

Logically Penny knew she should give this plenty of thought. She was taught to be a weapon of Atlas after all, so she couldn't just go and give away her loyalty...

But she wanted to live. She trusted the voice's words, knowing there was an afterlife for her was nice to know, but there was just SO many things that she still wanted to experience. She still wanted to make friends with people around her. To live like a normal girl and not- not a weaponized human.

And she trusted the voice. Surely if they were cruel they would have left her alone, letting nature run its course over Vale, but they weren't. Her observations, no, her instincts, were telling to...to...

"I graciously accept!"

"Then live Penny Polendina. With true flesh and blood as your vessel, let loose your immature soul and experience a mortal's life until its end."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sun froze.

Or rather, he was frozen.

He stared down the atlas mechs and Grimm that he was facing with his team and other hunters.

They were ALL frozen, stopped as if someone had hit the pause button on reality.

No, that wasn't quite right. It looked like they were moving in millimeters.

"Sun Wukong. You have a gift that many do not. You follow your instincts and your heart perfectly, and endear yourself to those you meet easily, yet you do not have strength to protect others. In battle, you falter and listen to your impulses when you should be following your instincts." A wise voice lectured him.

'What the-?'

"You are good-meaning and well-intentioned, but one who fights carefree will not live for long. Look around you Sun Wukong, and see your situation with your own eyes."

Unable to question the voice, he did so.

This situation...it looked even worse frozen. Everyone was dirtied and injured, exhaustion laid clear in their eyes and stances. They were outnumbered already, but how many more would come while they exhausted themselves further?

The thought sent a shock through him and if felt as if he tasting ash.

"You see. You understand. Observation and understanding are greater allies than one would expect. Accept my contract, and you will find yourself capable of helping anyone simply if you put your mind to it."

'I don't really get what you're about...but basically you're offering to help me out right?! Then let's do it!'

"Then be granted the patience needed to temper your impulses Sun Wukong, and release your inner nature toward others."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cardin groaned in pain. His gut was aching. Hard.

He gripped it with one hand as the other used his mace to steady himself as he hid in an alleyway.

The world froze in his minute of rest.

"Cardin Winchester. Your team will die without your leadership."

"Who the hell are you!?"

"I'm someone willing to give you a second chance despite your horrible personality and beliefs. You see now the horrors of Grimm. In comparison, your problems with Faunus are childish."

He didn't say anything and scowled at the harsh words.

"Why did you say my team would die?'

The voice reprimanded him. "Fool. What do you expect them to do against a horde of Grimm and little back up? You were wise enough to know your limits, yet not enough to know that a castle will fall without all it's pillars."

A dark feeling gripped his chest. He hadn't wanted to leave them for even a second. But his strength was failing him against the unending horde, and he left thinking it would allow his team to focus on each other.

"You are indeed a fool Cardin Winchester. But even a fool can grow to be better. Take my contract, and your team will live. And you will find yourself paying the debt you hold over your neck."

'I'll do it! Just let me move so I can get to them!'

"Then let loose what little virtue you hold within you and protect what you hold close to your chest. And do your best not to die."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

She opened her eyes in pain. Her head bleeding from a hard hit defending a civilian.

'Huh, the throbbing is gone?'

Then she noticed that nothing was moving. 'W-wha-?'

She wanted to freak out, yet she didn't have the energy for it either.

"Nebula Violette. You are vulnerable to the ultimate end. You and your team may very well perish here in your defense of others." A voice said to her soothingly.

'I-! What's-?' She was confused and scared. The frozen Grimm that had just batted her aside stared at her.

"The situation should be obvious to you. Soon, you and your comrades will fall in the defense of others. But I can change that. For a price."

She looked at the Grimm, seconds away from her, and her team, all tired but still fierce.

She didn't need to hear any more.

There were still civilians to save.

'I accept!'

"Then fight for your life Nebula Violette, let your blood boil and release your anger."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

'H-huh? Where the hell am I?'

"Brawnz Ni, you and your teammates are in quite a horrible position. Along with dozens of other citizens, you are being carried away by grimm. Soon, you will all perish."

That made Brawnz remember everything that was happening the last few minutes. Damnit, they were trying to fight back to give the people a chance to board the ships away from Vale but...'Shit!' It couldn't end like this, could it?

"Are you prepared to give something in return for power? Power that will win battles? Power that will earn you respect? This power will save you, for a price."

Brawnz didn't give it much thought. He had a duty to his team and the people. He wasn't a strict type of guy, and could often be gullible or too trusting of others, but he always gave a hundred percent of effort. He didn't even register that he would gain respect, as he wanted to be the type of person others can respect, no, right now, all that was on his mind was defeating the disaster in front of him.

'Yes! Please, just let me save them!' He begged. He didn't want his team or those people to die. He didn't want to die, and he didn't want to fail.

"Then be granted the strength you seek Brawnz Ni. Release your determination and obtain what is necessary for your goals."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That night, in Vale, multiple eyes re-opened fiercely as the moon was repaired, unnoticed by those same people