This is a What If? Death Battle featuring Count Dooku and Cinder Fall.
| Count Dooku vs Cinder Fall | |
|---|---|
| Season 1, Episode 6 | |
Vital statistics
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| Air date | 3/3/2021 |
| Written by | RohgeKiller |
| Directed by | RohgeKiller |
Episode guide
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| Previous | Next |
| John Cena vs Tina Armstrong | Scarecrow vs Alice Liddell |
Note from Author[]
I'm trying something different for this one. My other battles have followed the standard dialogue between 'wiz' and 'boomstick' which is common among most battles on the fandom. But I decided to mitigate that for this one, not for any real reason other than to test the waters. So instead there are going to be a lot of direct comparisons with bullet-points to give the reader an idea of what these two are capable of.
I will however include dialogue in the explanation/results, but I may end up adding more for the rest if deemed necessary. Nothing crazy, and this has no real impact on the battle itself or the results, but I thought I'd explain the difference in format.
That being said, I know at the moment (as of march 1st) comments are still down until we solve our troll issue, but I will be putting a QnA in the Discuss page after the battle is complete if anyone wants to provide any feedback.
With all that said, hope you enjoy.
Prelude[]
Wiz: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. For as long as man has fought to gain their position, they’ve spent even longer fighting to keep it. For some, this means bending the knee to an even greater power.
Boomstick: Don’t these fools ever learn? Never trust a tyrannical overlord or you’ll end up a severed arm or worse… I mean dead.
Wiz: Like Count Dooku: former Jedi Master and tyrannical Sith Lord.
Twice the pride, double the missing limbs
Boomstick: And Cinder Fall: A promising huntress transformed into a cruel sadist.
As unstable as she is hot...like, burning hot.
Wiz: I’m Wiz and he’s Boomstick. And today our goal is to pit these two masters of hate and dismemberment against one another. Analyzing their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle!
Count Dooku[]
Background[]
- Alias: Darth Tyranus
- Age: 83
- Height: 6'4" | 1.93 meters
- Weight: 190 lbs. | 86 kg
- Count of Serenno
- Second Sith Apprentice to Darth Sidious and Former apprentice to Yoda
- Has been looking forward to this
Weapons and Armor[]
- Armorweave cloak (absorbs minor blaster fire)
- Lightsaber (Red, synthetic crystal)
- Skilled in all seven forms of Lightsaber Combat
- Master specialist of Form II, Makashi
Force Abilities and skills[]
- Force Lightning
- Telekinesis
- Levitation
- Tutaminus
- Force Choke
- Force Precognition
- Living Force knowledge
- Sith Alchemy
- Force Healing
- Silver Tongue
Strength in the force[]
- Used Heart Stun to stop Aubens heart, killing her.
- Force Choke can break through a Jedi's force barrier
- Telekinetically destroyed the beams of a bridge
- Brought down the roof of a cave with Telekinesis
- Yoda admitted that Dooku's lightning was difficult to deflect
- His own force barrier deflected Ventress's force repulse
Comparisons[]
- Rivals Obi-Wan Kenobi in the force
- Mace Windu is considered to be his only rival in lightsaber combat
- But Master Yoda is said to be the only duelist that surpasses him (aside from Anakin)
Strength[]
- Can physically keep up with Anakin Skywalker and Yoda, 2 ninth level duelists
- Augmented by the force to keep his body in prime condition
- Can block/counter the strikes of General Grievous and Savage Oppress
Durability[]
- Once fell from a massive height onto a shuttle
- Survived his own lightning being redirected
- Casually tanks blows from Anakin's form 5 fighting style
Speed[]
- Can theoretically deflect Grievous's 12 strikes per second barrage
- Strikes fast enough to leave 8 afterimages
- Kept up and tagged Master Yoda during their second duel on Vjun
- Obi-Wan stated that Dooku moves faster than he could react
Feats[]
- Known as the best Swordsmen of the Jedi Order
- Orchestrated the death of Sifo-Dyas and the beginning of the Clone Wars
- Held his own and managed to tag Yoda in a duel
- Defeated Quinlan Vos, Tholme, Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Fought and defeated Anakin and Obi-Wan on multiple occasions
- Telekinetically dominated and killed the Tirra'Taka Dragon
- Killed Asajj Ventresss, Master Tiplee, Jak'zin
- Trained and defeated General Grievous in lightsaber combat
- Fought off an invisible Asajj Ventress and two Nightsisters while drugged
- Once collapsed a massive bridge with the force
Faults[]
- Was eventually killed by Anakin Skywalker
- Makashi lacks kinetic energy
- Overconfident in his own abilities as a Sith
- Was nearly killed by Anakin in the past
''I have become more powerful than any Jedi. Even you!''-Dooku to Yoda.
Cinder Fall[]
Background[]
- Age: Mid 20s
- Alias: Fall Maiden
- Height: 5'11''
- Weight: Unknown
- Part of Salam's Inner Circle
- Hates silver things
Dust Weapons[]
- Midnight Blade/Bow
- Scimitar
- Spear
- Claymore
Powers and Abilities[]
- Aura
- Grimm Arm/Shadow Hand
- Semblance: Scorching Caress
Fall Maiden Powers[]
- Elemental Manipulation/Weather (Fire, Wind, Ice)
- Flight
- Maiden Magic
- Weapon conjuration (Can set all her weapons ablaze)
Fall Maiden Feats[]
- Once frozen Raven entirely
- Disintegrates Pyrrha after defeating her
- Creates an explosion that knocks away multiple metal slabs
- Can presumably manipulate the weather
- Firebolts can create walls of flame
Comparisons[]
- Speed is comparable with Ozpin
- So far, only Raven Branwen can physically match her
- Is on par with Winter Schnee as far as dueling goes
Strength[]
- Grapples with Pyrrha Nikos, who once punched through a solid tree
- Overpowers Raven during their fight
- Clashes with Ravens Ice Odachi which create shockwaves
Durability (Aura)[]
- Aura withstood being crushed by a stalagmite
- Casually withstood Ruby's sniper shots
- Withstood being crushed by multiple metal gears
- Survived Ruby's silver eye attack, though only just
Speed[]
- Can keep with Ruby Rose, who potentially can achieve supersonic speeds
- Keeps with Ozpin, despite using his time stop abilities
- Quick enough to parry attacks from both Penny and Winter
Feats[]
- Killed the previous Fall Maiden, Amber
- Held her own against Raven Branwen, the Spring Maiden
- Disintegrated a Beringel in one strike
- Her actions directly led to the fall of Vale and Beacon
- Defeated Professor Ozpin, Weiss, Winter, Vernal...
- Killed Pyrrha Nikos by disintegrating her entire body
- Survived a fall from the Haven vault
- Infiltrated the Kingdom of Atlas alongside Neopolitian
- Fought off Penny and Winter at the same time
- Survived Ruby's Silver Eye attack
Faults[]
- Defeated by Ruby (somewhat accidentally) and Raven
- Maidens powers are limited by the users skill
- Shadow Hand has no Aura to protect it
- Dangerously overconfident and prone to violent outbursts
''It's not about overpowering an enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. And we will, in time.''-Cinder to Emerald.
Pre-Fight[]
Disclaimer: Contains spoilers for the results of Adam Taurus vs. General Grievous.
The carnage that had taken place only moments ago was nothing short of glorious.
After getting a weak signal from Adam Taurus, the de facto leader of the White Fang, it had been clear to Cinder that something was awry. Adam was not one to show any form of weakness, let alone feel the need to call for backup, and even rarer was a situation where he felt helpless.
As such, she didn’t need Salem's permission to assess the situation and find out what threatened their plans. And it didn’t make the list of things she’d planned for.
An unforeseen third party in the form of multiple, strange looking robots. Some no more deadly than the average beowulf, and others much more so. Yet it became all too clear in the end that the powers bestowed upon the Maiden were far too great for any simple minded droid. Together with Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, the trio summoned as many Grim as possible to the area and simply watched before picking up the pieces.
Cinder flew above the carnage left by the first wave of Grimm, smiling in a cruel fashion. Though she would have preferred if their targets were more human than droid. Watching the Grimm tear about some lowly robot wouldn’t be enough to satiate her growing hunger for violence. Though she had a feeling that her companions would be bringing her some proper entertainment very soon.
‘’We caught him.’’ Emeralds voice came from below, beckoning her. Landing next to her and looking at the entrance of what appeared to be a control room.
Being led out by Mercury was a humiliated and clearly beaten General Grievous. Cuffs around each of his 4 arms and pieces of his armor missing. Indicating that he’d been in a rather tough fight that he ultimately lost.
‘’This is the creature that killed Adam?’’ She said with obvious disdain. Adam wasn’t completely necessary, but it would drive a considerable wedge into Salem's plans to know that he had fallen. At the least, they now had his killer in cuffs. ‘’I expected so much more.’’ A cruel smile on her face as Mercury kicked the cyborg to his knees.
‘’You would not be saying as much if my hands weren’t bound, witch!’’ The good General growled savagely. Even on his knees, he still managed to be almost eye level with the Fall Maiden. Shaking against his restraints and barking ‘’Your companion died like the dog he was, and you’ll soon follow!’’
Eyes ablaze, Cinder grabbed the general by the edge of his mask and forced him to look at her. ‘’Enough... Tell me, monster. Where is your master?’’ Her shadow hand gliding across the white mask, which Grievous took exception to and looked away. Refusing to answer.
In response, Cinder summoned a bright red scimitar and slashed it across the mask of Grievous. The blade cutting through the metal like butter and piercing one of his yellow eyes. He let out a distorted wheeze that indicated he indeed could feel pain. Much to Cinders delight.
‘’Don’t make me ask again!’’ She cooed, pushing the edge of the blade eerily close to the Generals remaining eye. He let out a broken, yet recognizable laugh. Almost like he knew the answer would disappoint her.
But the General knew he wouldn’t have to respond. Her answer was right behind her as, by some unknown way, Emerald suddenly felt the urge to grab her throat. Before the thief knew it, she couldn’t breath at all and was being suspended above the confused Cinder and Mercury. Clenching at her neck and clawing at the invisible vice.
‘’Emerald?’’ Her male partner shouted as she continued to squirm, looking at Cinder for help who also wasn’t sure what to do. Until she turned to see an aging man in a dark robe. His hand raised, clenched into a fist as Emerald continued to gasp.
‘’You, let her go or I’ll kill you where you stand!’’ Cinder shrieked, flames sprouting from her eye.
‘’You are in no position to be making demands.’’ The Count replied, lifting the brown skinned girl even higher. Frustration enveloping his face like a sheet.
Having been summoned by Grievous shortly after he’d killed the Faunus leader, the Sith Lord, Count Dooku, was understandably furious upon finding their base under siege. Creatures as black as night destroying every battle-droid they came across them. All of course was not enough to deter the Count.
And yet, Grievous was nowhere to be found. He’d feared the worst until he saw him in chains, at the feet of 3 unknown figures. He didn’t know who would dare interfere in his masters' plans, but he had no intentions of letting them get away with their insolence and proceeded to choke the life from one of the intruders.
Tears falling from Emeralds eyes while her captor used his off hand to unlock the cuffs around his Generals wrists. With their attention drawn, Grievous used his strength to break his bonds before lunging at the distracted Mercury. Knocking him to the ground before getting on all limbs and crawling away as fast as he could.
As Grievous fled with Mercury in tow, Dooku threw the unconscious Emerald aside and unsheathed his red lightsaber. Cinder summoned another fiery blade to her hand and levitated off the ground. Smoke burning from the edge of her heels.
FIGHT![]
‘’You are foolish, old man. My power is boundless!’’ The Maiden declared before raising her hand and creating an explosion on the ground beneath the Sith. Yet somehow, the elder knew something was coming and dashed away. Dodging multiple detonations while Cinder flew in circles around him. Spewing flames from her palms at her opponent from above.
The Count used Tutaminis to block and absorb the incoming flames, reaching out to pull the Maiden in. Unfortunately, she was already speeding towards him, blades drawn.
Their blades collide in a flurry of sparks as the obsidian blades burn against the lightsaber. Flying past him on multiple occasions like an angry hornet, Cinder lashed out against the elderly man with both blades before taking an aggressive stance and pressing forward. Her younger, more mobile form gave her a physical leg up as she attacked in multiple directions at once.
Yet it became clear within just a couple of strikes that the Count was easily the more refined duelist. Cinder wasn’t inexperienced and kept the elderly man on his toes with her multiple blades, but she became increasingly frustrated by her inability to swiftly kill her adversary.
And Dooku took notice.
In a swift feint, he countered one slice for another and cut through one of the dust weapons and across the blackened arm. Not severing it but cutting it pretty close. As such, Cinder yelped and leaped backwards to avoid a near fatal blow to the neck. Landing atop a piece of broken concrete.
Clenching her teeth as the hole in her Shadow Hand slowly and painfully regenerated from its wound. ‘’Your form is amateurish. Sloppy.’’ Dooku said, swinging his blade with open arms as if to taunt his foe into attacking him. ‘’You lack any sense of precision. Unworthy of even the lowest of Jedi.’’ He continued, hoping the use of Dun Moch would reveal an opening.
‘’Keep talking you old fool!’’ Cinder replied, malice on her tongue as she quickly summoned her maiden bow and fired three straight shots at the unmoving sith. Rather than block them, he calmly held out his hand and grabbed them with the force and snapped them in two. Mere inches from his face.
‘’Surely you can do better?’’ He said, using the same hand, Dooku telekinetically threw a broken pillar at his foe. However, the Maiden saw it coming and summoned a powerful firebolt and destroyed it easily. The pieces harmlessly landed against her as she morphed even more dust around her like a tornado, forming a great many bolts and throwing in a scattering pattern. Thinking the Sith would have no way to dodge them all.
She was right as the Count attempted to dodge one, only to attempt to block another, which broke apart and reformed behind the blade, piercing his shoulder. He grunted, more annoyed than hurt, and unleashed a powerful force push that dispersed the flames.
Cinder took what was left of the dust and reformed it once more into an armies worth of ice projectiles. Sensing what was to come, the Count took a deep breath and held his blade close.
‘’Let the dark side fuel by hand.’’ He muttered as the projectiles came hurling towards him. The female human smirked as she prepared to watch her enemy fall.
However, the battle was only just beginning. Dooku leaped into the air and used some of the ice spears like miniature platforms, leaping from one to the other and, with blinding speeds, cut through any that would have posed a threat. The force flowing through him.
Cinders eyes widened, taken aback by the speed of her elderly opponent, who was soon to be upon her. Summoning her own blades as Dooku rushed forward, taking the lead and attacking the Fall Maiden head on.
The two now engaged in a proper duel, lightsaber vs obsidian blades. Cinders greater speed meant she could retaliate, but no matter how fast she was, none of her blows managed to do any serious damage. Her fiery blades were either cut short before they could land a killing bow, or she didn’t get the chance as the master of Makashi responded with a strike of his own.
Though Dooku, as refined as he was, wasn’t fairing much better. For every blade he seemed to destroy, his foe simply summoned another within the blink of an eye. And even when he did manage to strike her, the blow barely scratched her. Almost as if she had her own personal shield.
Even their acrobatic maneuvers, which toppled their previous opponents in General Grievous and Raven Branwen, were all perfectly executed and countered. Cinder dashing behind the Count, poised for a killing blow, only to marvel at the athleticism of the older fighter who backflipped and kicked the Maiden from behind.
Dashing away, Cinder twirled her hands before locking them together, sending a powerful air current equivalent of a mighty storm at the Count, who held his hands in front to block the blast. Still, the wind whipped at his skin and he was desperate to close the distance and severe her head from the shoulders.
With the wind still raging around them, Cinder summoned multiple flaming blades to her sides and launched them at blinding speeds. The ferocious wind only fueling the velocity that even Dooku knew he’d be hard pressed to dodge, and proceeded to deactivate his lightsaber and devote all his attention to the force.
With one hand he reached out and held the barrier strong against the blades, which exploded against it, before pushing back with everything he had. Resulting in a massive wall of flame that spread from one end of the room to the other.
The Maiden reacted by pulling back the dust and superheating it, causing miniature explosions all around Dooku. His eyes went wide with worry, nowhere to go it seemed. And when the dust finally detonated, it seemed as if he was engulfed in flames and left to burn with one final explosion to seal the deal.
But Cinders smirk didn’t last long as she sensed something wasn’t right, and, lo and behold, her opponent lived. He too was now levitating and seemed completely unharmed before landing without a hitch. The Maiden still in the air, looking down upon her foe with a mirrored look of respect. Despite their respective power, neither one had truly surpassed the other.
Dooku’s eyes narrowed, locked with Cinders blazing orbs and in that moment, he found what he was looking for. Searching for even one mental weak point, the Sith was hard pressed to hide his elation as he discovered multiple cracks in his opponents mentality. Something only the Dark Side could provide as Cinder merely stared daggers into his soul.
‘’Ah. Now it becomes clear. You are a servant, and have been your entire life.’’ The Sith said with no real malice, but with the added intention of striking a severe nerve. ‘’You bow to those with strength because you fear being deemed obsolete.’’ He continued, probing for a reaction from Cinder, whose remaining eye twitched, as did her grimm hand.
‘’You don’t know a thing about me!’’ She responded with more of a whisper than a growl, only confirming what Dooku had speculated. She even began to descend a little. Growling ‘’I’m not afraid of you!’’ and summoning a spear to her hand before leaping backwards into the air and using her maiden powers to shoot herself at the Count like a bullet.
Now more aware of his opponents form, the Sith Lord angled his blade like a curling snake and parried the blow. Once again, it mattered not as Cinder simply reformed her weapon and continued to press the attack. Extending her Aura to the blade so it could, at the least, contend with the Counts crimson one.
‘’No. You’re afraid of failure and for all your power, you remain a fragile young woman hiding under a facade of fury.’’ Dooku said before using the force to drive the blades off their intended course and kicking Cinder away. But even when staggered, Cinder was ready and shot flames from her hands to push the Count back.
‘’Shut up!’’ She screamed, now completely dead set on silencing the elder for good. Said elder pulled multiple slabs of metal to him and used them like a shield against the flames as he pushed towards Cinder. Her own red blades cutting right through metal and locking with Dooku’s blade.
‘’Is this all you have to offer? You fail to impress me.’’ Stabbing at her insecurities once more before quite literally stabbing at her unprotected left arm. Nearly severing it, which only caused the Maiden even more pain before she was thrown against the wall of the control room. Her Grimm arm being caught in between two metal plates.
Dooku then used the force to crush the metal like tin, further pinning Cinder to the wall and causing her to gasp as it enclosed her unprotected arm. Gritting her teeth in anger and anguish, she used her other hand to summon another blade for protection as the Count made his way towards her. Her Shadow hand attempting to free itself by digging into the metal.
With his opponent subdued for the moment, the older warrior then reached out and began to focus on the young woman's mind. He couldn’t see her past, per say, but the force allowed him to cloud the minds of even the most battle hardened Jedi by focusing on their mental weaknesses.
And Cinder had plenty of those. As he probed her mind, Cinder blindly lashed out like a rabid dog. Clawing at her own head as she suddenly began to remember very specific, and haunting details she’d buried behind a mental vault for years. It was unbearable, it was unfair, it was…
It was all the old mans doing.
‘’RHODES!’’ The Fall Maiden screamed before doing the unthinkable and pulling against the restraints, tearing her arm at the wrist. Despite the pain, it would all be worth it when she took the Counts life. Seeing his look of shock was nearly enough.
Wailing in pain, she summoned another blade and violently rushed forward. Her Shadow arm violently whipping around like a frantic snake. The ever calm Sith had expected her to lose control, but nothing to the extent of what was to come.
Cinder raised her hand and blasted at Dooku’s barrier, knocking him back before lashing out. Surprising Dooku with her speed and landing a deep cut into his shoulder. The Sith was now on the defensive as his attempts to break her mind only made her even more volatile. And now he was paying the price for it as Cinder put his precognition to the test.
As the blade pierced his shoulder, Cinder faintly caught the sight of blood and realized that her opponent had little to no aura. This overjoyed the Maiden who focused solely on destroying her opponents stamina.
As Dooku felt his strength fade, he pushed back against the Maiden, who laid her hand upon the ground and set the trap. Bluffing an injury of her own, she goaded the Count into delivering the ‘final’ blow and moved out of the way just as he did.
She could only smirk as Dooku took the bait. The Siths precognition failed to register the real threat and soon enough, he found himself being rocked by an explosion at his heels. Knocking him into the air and blasted away by a firebolt that scorched his skin like many hot knives.
The sith found himself being ragdolled and collided back first against the hard, metal flooring. His lightsaber fell from his grip during the explosion, useless and deactivated. Coughing up blood and slumping against the wall, he breathed like, well, an old man who’d just felt his organs turn inside out.
Seeing her opponent for what he truly was, Cinder landed upon seeing Dooku slumped against the foundation and laughed. Kicking the deactivated weapon away as she approached the tired Count, her Grimm arm twitching to end the old man's life. He refused to look her in the eye, out of shame or because he was too tired she wasn’t sure. But what did she care?
‘’You poor, sad old fool. It was never about overpowering you, it was taking away the power you had.’’ She spat, venom in her words. She had no remorse or respect for the man who’d made her relive all those horrible years in a matter of seconds. A such, she summoned her bow and angled it, aiming. Straight for the elders' hearts.
Stealing one more glance at her defeated opponent, and smiled. ‘’You never stood a chan-’’
With an outstretched hand, Dooku snarled and shot lightning from his fingertips. The unforeseen attack took Cinder off guard as she was suddenly enveloped in electricity. Screaming as the attack burned through her skin like a hot knife, knocking her away. Unlike the electricity of the former Fall Maiden, Amber, this one felt different. Like it was attacking her soul directly.
Meanwhile, the elderly sith coughed and focused on healing his wounds. Feeling more drained than he had in his long life. As he rose to one knee, the Fall Maiden tested something she’d rarely if ever used, and fired her own bolt of electricity, courtesy of her maiden powers. Dooku sensed it and unlike the previous attack, hers was caught by the Sith, who redirected and absorbed the energy for his own.
Bemused, frustrated and for the first time in a while, Cinder felt the tide of the battle shift against her. The power of her older rival was indeed undeniable, but nothing she couldn’t handle. She was sure of it. The old fool would die and Salam would reward her greatly.
As for said old man, he was done playing games. He’d seen through the force how powerful the younger lady was, and knew that if he didn’t end her life today that she, and whoever she serves, would pose a great threat to his masters plans.
Dooku took in a breath and washed away his fatigue for the moment. He could feel his body tiring from constant augmentations, but much like his rival, he could sense that her energy was waning as well. As such, he needed to end this.
Quickly.
Breathing fire, the vengeful woman marched forward and used the remainder of her dust, and with a little maiden magic. Summoned a massive longblade that was guaranteed to kill anything it made contact with. Now no longer underestimating her opponent, who still hadn’t gotten to his feet.
With Dooku still on his knees, a cheap ruse or otherwise, Cinder leaped into the air with blazing boots and raised the blade like a mighty claymore.
The longblade dwarfed both combatants in length, and would have either crushed or skewered the Sith had he not gotten to his feet. Rather than move out of the way like Cinder had thought he would, Dooku stood his ground and raised both hands in defiance. Telekinetically holding the blade just a few feet away from him.
It was nothing short but a deadly tug of war, with neither one willing to give up. Cinder, having the literal high ground, pushed down upon the force barrier with all her might and was determined to break through and cleave the old fool in two. As for Dooku, he was less than amused and tired of playing this silly game.
Using the rest of his reserves, Dooku called upon the rubble behind his opponent and hurled it at her. But the Maiden saw the Counts eyes move ever slightly and used her off hand to summon a barrage of explosive tipped spikes and launched them at the debris.
With her concentration broken ever so slightly, Tyranus called upon the force once more and, while still holding off the massive blade, focused on one of Cinders legs. In an instant he found and crushed the maidens left ankle, causing the flames from her foot to dissipate and a loud screech to emanate from its owner.
Cinder was so caught off guard by the pain that she hadn’t realized she was falling until her back collided with the ground. Her leg in immense pain. But Dooku wasn’t finished and broke the support beams holding the ceiling above them. By the time Cinder realized what was about to happen and summoned a ball of fire to destroy the incoming rubble, it was too late and Dooku dashed away just as the ceiling caved in.
Still, the force of the explosion ragdolled the sith lord as he was launched back, far enough away from the collapsing ceiling. Tons of rock collapsed upon where Cinder once was before the very ground below it seemed to crack under the pressure, and finally, breaking and sending what was left of the roof into the levels below.
Believing he had finally won, Dooku groaned as he got onto one knee, applying a hand on his shoulder and healing it as best as he could. Numbing the stress his body had gone through for just a moment when suddenly...
‘’NO!’’
...a black claw shot itself straight from the mist and before Dooku could hope to react, it dug into his abdomen. Like many little blades piercing his skin and tearing against his flesh. It was the first time in a long time he’d really felt pain akin to Mother Talzins curse.
From the dust came Cinder, who sported a bloodshot eye and a nasty limp in her still healing leg. Her aura had protected her from the most part, but it was working overtime with her supernatural injury. But miraculously her Shadow Hand had made it out untouched.
From far out of the Counts reach, she dug her hand into his flesh. She knew he couldn’t be a Maiden, but perhaps as a bonus for her victory she could gain something from the older man. An old man that had no aura, and was now at her mercy.
And Dooku was on his last leg, as was Cinder, though neither would be willing to admit it.
Slumping to his knees and gripping the claw at its base, Dooku sent a shock through the arm, causing it to retract from his stomach. The electricity snaked up the Grimm appendage and with no aura to protect it, Cinder felt every jolt and screamed.
Using his own pain to fuel his dark side pool, Dooku focused on his fallen lightsaber and pulled it swiftly from behind Cinder. Activating it just as it passed the joint connecting her Grimm arm to the shoulder, severing it from its socket. Cinder truly had never felt such agony as the combination of sith lightning and her arm regenerating put her through physical hell.
Reinvigorated by his opponent's pain, Dooku continued to unleash a torrent of lightning on what remained of Cinders aura. The Maiden attempted to absorb the energy but without any knowledge of the dark side or tutaminus, it was like using a bandage on a broken bone.
As a last ditch effort, she raised a wall of molten rock to use as a barrier before launching it at Dooku. With the Sith forced to break off his attack, he dodged the flying rocks as Cinder used her wind magic to launch herself into the air.
Screaming with wanton fury and summoning a scimitar with her remaining arm, poised for decapitation.
She then felt her throat tighten up like a vice, gasping for breath and dropping her blade to grasp at her neck, clawing at nothing. Unable to comprehend what was happening, Dooku walked closer, towards the hole created by the collapsed ceiling, revealing that he was one holding her hostage.
‘’W-what?’’ She gasped before feeling herself being involuntarily pulled forward.
In a split second, Dooku drew back his saber while pulling the Maiden in and activated its crimson blade. An audible gasp from Cinder and something akin to the sound of breaking glass only confirming her Aura had finally broken. And with it, came the curved blade of the Counts saber. Piercing her chest and exiting through the back.
‘’A shame it had to end this way.’’ The Sith Lord lamented in an almost disappointing way. Deactivating his saber and giving the Maiden one final look of discontent before pushing just enough to topple her. Watching as the look of pure shock on her face was replaced with unfiltered regret, before she disappeared into the darkness below.
Results[]
Count Dooku
- + Has had decades to hone his skills
- + Easily the more refined duelist
- + Force abilities can attack Cinder directly
- + Telekinesis and Tutaminus can absorb most ranged attacks
- + Lightsaber can cut through obsidian
- - Has no healing factor (outside of basic force healing)
- - Without the force, is not durable enough to survive
Cinder Fall
- + Younger and physically stronger
- + Maiden powers offer more destructive potential
- + Aura could protect her from most telekinetic attacks
- - Relies heavily on her Maiden powers against more skilled opponents
- - Aura can’t protect her from direct force attacks
- - Shadow hand is incredibly vulnerable
- - Emotionally weak to Dun Moch/verbal hazing
Boomstick: Huh? Oh, sorry. I was looking over the twitter comments on how we’re all paid shills. I don’t know about Wiz, but I’m perfectly happy with my paychecks.
Wiz: Boomstick's ludicrous pay raise aside, we have a battle to analyze.
Boomstick: Hold on, I’m still looking at the Superman, Goku comments. Geesh, this dumpster fire never ends.
Wiz: (sigh) This battle was an interesting one. In fact, there were so many different factors to consider that no one would blame you for taking either side from the start. At first glance, each one seems to hold some distinctive advantages over the other.
Boomstick: Cinder had way more destructive potential with her Maiden abilities, at least when it came to who could create more Micheal Bay esc explosions. She was also younger and more athletic than the aging Count, and to top it off, her aura was extremely durable. Dooku would be hard pressed to break it at all.
Wiz: On the other hand, Dooku is a master duelist, could block and absorb most of Cinders attacks with Tutaminis and Telekinesis, and could even rival her in speed. But most importantly, his own force abilities could attack Cinder directly without even having to break her aura.
Boomstick: Man, who’d have thought the most hated RWBY character and the most overlooked Sith could have so much going their way?
Wiz: Both had numerous ways to end the battle in the blink of an eye. Dooku could use Heart Stun to literally stop Cinders heart, cast illusions on her fragile mind, and his Force Choke can break through the force barriers of even Obi-Wan Kenobi. And we all know how defensively strong he was.
Boomstick: Meanwhile, Cinder could use her Semblance to disintegrate the Sith Lord if she got close enough, or could use her Fall Maiden powers to freeze him solid. Combine that with her near unlimited use of the Maiden magic and you have one deadly game of hot potato.
Wiz: Like we said, you could make an argument for either combatant. But lets get down to some specifics…
....Cinder could extend her Aura to her weapons and allow them to contend with Dooku's lightsaber, but in close quarters she was unfortunately outclassed. Nothing against Raven or Winter Schnee, but they pale in comparison as duelists to the likes of Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker. And as one of the greatest fighters of his generation, Tyrannus was fully in his element when their blades collide.
Boomstick: (looking at Wiz’s math notes) You wouldn’t think their reaction speeds would be all that similar, but, lo and behold, they were pretty close. Cinder could react Ambers maiden lightning. She could also contend and even harm Ruby Rose. According to Amino's calculation on Ruby’s speed, at the time, she would be clocking around 195 km/h. She would get much faster as she aged, but has yet to truly contend with Cinder in a one on one scenario since.
Wiz: Dooku’s speed was directly compared to Mace Windu, who could react at 1/275th of a second. He was also able to briefly contend and even tag Grand Master Yoda during their second duel on Vjun. Yodas speed has never been properly calculated, but it has been implied on the VS wiki that Yoda could react within a millisecond. This puts their speeds at similar intervals.
Boomstick: As for durability, this is where things got really meaty. Cinders Aura is very impressive when compared to other top-tiers like Raven or Winter. And Dooku doesn’t have an aura, only a force barrier. Like an Aura however, both of them can drain after significant use, so we had to compare Cinders Aura to Dooku’s greatest force feats to see if he could even weaken it.
Wiz: Given what we’ve seen from her battle with Pyrrha, while being crushed by large metal gears thanks to the spartans polarity, she had to have withstood at least a 40 tons of pressure. But her most impressive durability feat came during her fight with Raven.
Boomstick: The two collided with enough force to shake the cavern they were in. Causing, at the very least, a 4.0 magnitude earthquake. Though it’s not clear whether or not she took the brunt of the force.
Wiz: Dooku with his Telekinetic abilities once collapsed a portion of a cave, as well as the mouth of it. Dropping tons of rock upon Anakin and Obi-Wan. He also collapsed a beam bridge onto a republic dropship. Since beam bridges distribute their weight evenly, and given the scale of the ship compared to the bridge, it must have been able to withstand around 45 tons of pressure.
Boomstick: So it is clear that Christopher Lee can match what we’ve seen, but with everything else in play it's hard to know how far their powers truly go. Sheesh. With their abilities so neck and neck, it seems like this was only ever going to end with one lucky blow.
Wiz: Indeed. But there was one thing the former Jedi had over Cinder. Despite her Aura being one of the strongest in RWBY lore, she was entirely vulnerable to almost all of Dooku’s force abilities. This is because Aura/manifestation of ones soul is specifically catered to protecting the user from severe physical damage. But as stated in the official RWBY wiki, that doesn’t mean the attacks don’t hurt.
Boomstick: Plus, the Dark Side doesn’t adhere to those types of limitations. Sure, personal and magic shields exist in the Star Wars universe, but rarely if ever can they match anything applied by even Jedi Padawans. Even Mother Talzin couldn’t protect herself from the dark side forever, and that's kind of what her magic was supposed to do.
Wiz: As powerful as Cinder was, none of that would matter if she couldn’t land a fatal blow. Dooku’s mastery of Tutaminis and Telekinesis would allow him to bypass all of her defenses. Not to mention that Cinder is emotionally vulnerable in more ways than one, so there's no doubt the use of Dun Moch would work wonders against her fragile self esteem. It all truly came down to their styles of fighting as well. Dooku was always more collected, focused and didn't let his emotions get the better of him. Even when dueling multiple opponents.
Boomstick: Cinder may have been playing with fire, but Dooku was dealing with absolutes.
The Winner is Count Dooku.
Artwork and Music[]
Next Time[]
Trivia[]
- This is my second ‘RWBY vs Star Wars’ battle. Adam Taurus vs General Grievous being the first.
- This fight would most likely be in 3d, with Cinders model being her most recent one from Volume 7, and Dooku’s being from Battlefront 2
- Both combatants are considered the leaders of their respective factions, to a certain extent as they also serve a greater power (Sidious and Salem)
- Both could be considered ‘fallen’ as Dooku was once a loyal member of the Jedi Order, and Cinder was being trained by Rhodes to become a huntress before becoming an agent of Salem.
- Cinder killed Pyrrha Nikos, taking a friend away from Ruby, while Dooku literally took Anakin's arm.
- Cinder and Dooku are both known for manipulating others into joining their cause, or to catch them off guard.
- Speaking of Pyrrha, her polarity was similar to Dooku’s telekinesis, but not nearly as powerful. Meanwhile, Dooku had trained a similar vengeful woman in Asajj Ventress.
- Cinder and Dooku have a contrast of fighting styles, with Cinder being more of a rushdown, sometimes feral kind of fighter. While Dooku is a refined, collected swordsman.
- Both are considered to be one of the most powerful adversaries the main characters have to face, and are often regarded as their first test.
- Cinder and Dooku have both been defeated by the main character of their respective series and even lost a few limbs in the process.
- In another stark contrast, Dooku is weak to fast, strong striking opponents like Cinder, while Cinder's greatest weakness is considered to be her lack of control, something Dooku can capitalize on.