Time For Battle

The Docks grew quiet as the two combatants stared each other down. Baron pulls out his sword from its sheath and Dolan notices how the blade is lighting up like in those 1000-degree knife videos on YouTube. Then without wasting any time Baron swings his blade to the ground only for nothing to happen. Everyone was skeptical as to why he wasn't getting closer considering how Baron would need to get close if he wanted to use his sword on Dolan. That was when Sun began to think back to when he attacked Baron earlier and how just after the swing of his blade was when an explosion from out of nowhere knocked him into a cargo container. "Oh shit..." he thought, knowing what was coming next. "Dolan you need to move out of the way! That dude summons explosions when he swings his sword at you!" Sun shouts at the top of his lungs to warn Dolan but it is too late as the indication of Baron's true attack began to activate as shown when a glowing line at the same angle as how Baron swung his sword appeared below Dolan's feet and then *BOOM!* The force of the explosion sent a current of air toward Ruby and the others who were nearly knocked to the ground from the sheer force of it.

Ruby: DOLAN!!!

Sun: Shit that one was way stronger than the one he hit me with! How can the Dust in his weapon be so potent to be able to do that!?

Baron smirks and turns to where the others were standing and looks over at them. "Dust? Ha! That wasn't due to Dust that caused the explosion but from my semblance. It's called "Line of Fire" which as you can already guess creates an explosion where I swing my sword. Also, I can control the distance of the attack as well as the explosion's overall power. My semblance is more efficient than your Dust and is how I got my nickname as the Bombardier." He says as he begins to walk toward Ruby and the others.

Just as Baron takes a step towards them a random box comes flying toward his head at incredible speed forcing Baron to duck out of the way. "Oi don't go thinking I'm down for the count just now, you still haven't got me to get serious yet." came the voice hidden behind the smoking debris where Baron caused the explosion followed by the sounds of footsteps. Sure enough, the one who threw the box at Baron was Dolan who was looking perfectly fine despite Baron's earlier attack mostly due in part to the large barrier of energy that was surrounding him as he continued to walk out of the smoke.

Dolan: You know if you weren't a wanted criminal, you'd probably make a great special effects guy for action movies~!

Baron: Hmph if you're still able to crack jokes in a situation like this then clearly... I'll need to step up my game!

Without much warning, he leaps off the ground and goes in to attack Dolan. As he's coming down, he notices Dolan pull out a pipe from behind him. ("Tch does he really believe a mere pipe will do him any good? Pathetic.") or at least that's what Baron thought given how he knew that his sword's specialty allowed it to cut through metal with ease so something like a pipe should have been nothing for it. Then when their weapons clashed that thought soon vanished as he looked to see that the flimsy piece of metal was actually holding its own against his sword and it wasn't even showing any signs of heating up either. "What the hell?! You've gotta be kidding me... How can a piece of metal be able to hold itself against my sword like this!?" Baron thought just as he then noticed the faint purple glow around the pipe.

Baron: Tch now I see... You wrapped your aura around the pipe to give it the strength it needs to keep up with my sword.

Dolan: Not exactly. Strengthening alone wouldn't have done much for it. Do you know how we can use our auras to protect ourselves against harsh climates like extreme cold or intense heat? Well, I pretty much adopted that same concept into this pipe by focusing my aura to protect it from your sword's heated blade.

Baron: Wait... Is the reason that you had your aura wrapped around it because you knew I would try to slice it in half with my sword?

Dolan: Of course. I mean, your sword already looks like it's trying hard to be a lightsaber, so I figured I'd have to do something to level the playing field since I didn't bring my swords with me today.

As soon as Dolan said that he parries away Baron's sword, then proceeded to jab him in his gut with the pipe sending an intense shockwave into Baron's body before being sent flying like a rocket and slamming into the same shipping container that Sun crashed into earlier judging by how the hole in it outlined Sun's figure. "YEAH!! HOW'D THAT FEEL BASTARD?! NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS I GOT SLAMMED INTO THAT HUGE BOX!" shouted an ecstatic Sun Wukong who was still reeling from Baron's earlier attack. Seeing Dolan get some payback for him was like music to his ears especially since the blow to his gut was pretty damn painful, but he quickly shut his mouth when Baron started to pull himself out of the container.

Baron: Sorry but I'm not going to let you get away with the damage that you just dealt to me. Perhaps this will be more effective in dealing with you!

Dolan watched as Baron pointed his sword in the air and felt a considerable amount of energy starting to swirl around the already molten blade. Suddenly the energy then starts to condense and form a massive blade of aura transforming Baron's short sword into a massive flaming greatsword. This definitely took Dolan by surprise not just because Baron was capable of "Aura Manipulation" but also because of the level of control he was displaying.

Dolan: Well, well, well so you're an aura manipulator as well and a very adept one at that too. That's pretty impressive.

Baron: Indeed. With proper training, one can manipulate their aura to take on the characteristics as well as the properties of the element or elements they have natural affinities with. Knowing this do you still wish to continue?

With a simple smirk, Dolan raised his pipe and pointed it straight at Baron before pulling it back and adopting a batting stance like he was getting ready to play ball. Baron seeing closing his eyes and smiles before returning back to a serious expression.

Baron: Have it your way...

-Few minutes before the battle ensues-

After escaping from the docks, Roman takes a brief minute to relax after escaping from Blake and Sun's failed attempt to capture him. He thinks about how if not for the girl in the red hood and the crazy ginger shooting lasers everywhere then he in addition to the group of White Fang members he had with him would have gotten rid of Blake and her monkey partner in crime from interfering any further with his plans. Sadly, with the heist a bust and most of his shipment lost, Torchwick had no other choice but to rely on "Her" for assistance. He had contacted her just after fleeing the scene to report on the Dust robbery like always only this time around the only thing he'd have to report was that he and his group were attacked.

Roman: *Sigh* What a shitshow that was! First those two Faunus, then little red brings over that girl with lasers! Neo is off doing whatever it is when she's not working! And to top off this fucking horrible night, I get stuck working as her errand boy while she goes out doing whatever she needs... ugh... what a drag...

Little did Roman know someone was already there waiting for him. "How very disappointing Roman..." they said followed by the sound of the door opening behind. Roman caught by surprise, turns toward the door and is both shocked as well as surprised to see his benefactor and her two goons with her. Roman immediately starts to make himself more presentable in front of his boss and tries to plead his case.

Roman: Woah! Ah... heh hey there! I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon. (Seriously though, how did they get here so quickly?)

The woman in the red dress raises an eyebrow and gives him a look someone would give when they weren't satisfied. "We were expecting... more from you." She states as slowly walks into the building while a woman with green hair and dark skin closes the door behind them. The other, a male with dark grey hair maneuvers around to Roman's left side and waits patiently for something to happen next by the way he puts his hands behind his back.

Roman: Hey in my defense, you were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang in the first place remember? You know I hate working with animals... and they are all animals.

"Regardless of your issues with them Torchwick, you'll continue to work alongside them until further notice," The female states. To make sure he understood she summons a small fire in the palm of her hand to show him exactly what will be in store should he refuse.

Roman: Don't even think about using that on me. I've seen what happens when you burn stuff and trust me... it isn't pretty.

Torchwick's boss smiles to herself as she begins to walk down the hall while looking at the male with her. "Ah yes there was one other matter I was wanting to discuss with you Roman," she says as she turns back to Torchwick who was equally curious as to what it was, she was referring to. "Where in Vale would I be the best place to meet Dolan?" she says with a mischievous smile.

Dies Irae Ost: 『dumme Marionette』-(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCUNF7WHRSA&list=PL7EK3RoWOAy2Pm0ANuza8FfzKrBQMdLWn&index=20)

-Back at the Docks-

The sounds of explosions fill the air as Dolan and Baron's battle starts to escalate since neither one of them was willing to stand down. Both men throw attacks at each other as they try to gain an advantage, and both were just as equal when it came to their agility and skill. Both men knew that anyone could die at any moment during the fight, especially when they were throwing attack after attack at each other. Although Dolan was being much more on the defensive considering how whenever Baron seemed to swing his sword regardless of how far he was from him would cause an explosion. On top of that the intervals between when he swung his sword and when the explosion occurred were somewhat more random. This was possible to throw off Dolan's reaction time by forcing him to guess whether or not the blast will occur immediately or be delayed so as to catch Dolan off guard. If that wasn't enough, his flaming greatsword while huge was extremely light since the transformation only affected the appearance and not the overall weight of Baron's sword. This meant that his sword had the range of a greatsword but the speed and fluidity of movement of a shortsword. Put simply it was a very annoying situation to be in if you were on the receiving end of it.

"(Well, this certainly is a shitty spot to be in... Bastard's not leaving me any room to breathe now that he's gotten serious.)" Dolan thinks to himself as he dodges another round of fire coming from Baron. "(This guy's really good, maybe even better than I thought he'd be.)" Even though Dolan had been practicing his fighting skills ever since he was a kid, he had to admit that in terms of swordsmanship, Baron's skills were definitely higher on the podium. However, it was only swordsmanship that Baron held over him meaning that Dolan still had something up his sleeve to utilize and now seemed like no better opportunity to bring it out.

Dolan: (Alright then... Now's the perfect time to bring it out... Time to activate my semblance...)

Putting up a force field in front of himself, Dolan backs away to gain some distance from Baron to plan his next attack. Unfortunately for Dolan, Baron was not about to just allow him to escape. As he made his first slash within the span of a few moments, Baron poured a considerable amount of his aura to extend the length of his flaming sword and commenced his second attack by delivering a powerful thrust directly hitting Dolan's force field as well as managing to just barely pierce through it causing several cracks to form upon impacting. This took Ruby and Blake by surprise since this was undoubtedly the very same force field Dolan used in his fight with Pyrrha who couldn't so much as put a dent into it and yet here it was being almost completely shattered with ease. "Hmph... game over!" Baron shouted in victory.

Ruby and the others watch as the inside of Dolan's force field begins to fill with a brilliant red glow. At this moment they all went pale knowing what was about to come next. Just as they had feared, Dolan's force field is engulfed in light before it explodes outward. With a loud boom, the force field disintegrates sending debris all across the area. Considering the incredible force of the blast as well as the fact that Dolan was literally dead center of where the blast originated meant he had no way of escaping in time before the explosion accrued. For Baron, as far as he was concerned had dealt the finishing blow. He didn't want to kill Dolan but was left with no other choice since he wasn't just about to let him leave. With a heavy sigh, Baron deactivates his flaming sword returning it to its original state, turns around, and was about to walk when he noticed something through the smoke from the corner of his eye. "What the...?!" Baron was taken by surprise by the gigantic black mass around where he attacked Dolan.

"Just what the hell is that?" Baron looked on in curiosity as the writhing black mass was beginning to dissipate. As it slowly disappeared, in its place stood Dolan with a smirk on his face and not even a single gash or burn on his body. "... How did you survive that explosion!? What is that ominous black smoke!?" Baron asked in complete shock. Dolan couldn't hide his enjoyment seeing the look on Baron's face, no doubt seeing him able to avoid being blown to smithereens was quite a shock to comprehend considering how Baron had managed to pierce through his barrier which Dolan had to admit was indeed very impressive. So as to honor Baron's achievement Dolan was feeling more than generous enough to tell him how he avoided being blown up.

Dolan: This is the power to manipulate darkness in whatever shape or form I desire. My semblance...

"PITCH BLACK"

Author's Note: Sorry for the long hiatus. Wanted to try and write a decent fight scene but writer's block was hitting me like a motherfucker. I'll try to post new chapters when I'm able so please be patient. Regardless, like if you're enjoying the story so far and have a good day!