Characters:

Cristal

Ozpin

Summary:

After Cristal left Destiny in the care of Pyrrha, she goes back to see Amber, but she ends up running into the Headmaster.

(Opening Theme: Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Rei Opening-Super Scription of Data; Performed By Shimamiya Eiko)

-Beacon; Beginning of the Fall (Cristal's P.O.V)-

"I'll see you around… Pyra."

I was only half lying to Pyrrha when I told her that I had to look into something. I mean okay I wanted to know what Destiny found in the computers but… I don't know what it was but I just needed to see Amber again. I don't know if it was just me, or if it was for Destiny's sake but I just had to see her as soon as possible.

Sneaking back however wasn't as easy as pie, like how many have said, since Destiny's eyes are gonna stay closed for awhile, and I would be seen by others. It's not that I couldn't afford to get caught, but… Let's just say like the Princesses old man, I have a hard time trusting others. The reason for this you ask?

Will, if it's alright with you, I'd like to keep that to myself.

It was the dead of night when I returned to the Tower, and I was currently hiding in the bushes, making sure that the coast was clear. I watched as two people stood in front of the tower's entrance; Glynda and Ironwood I think their names were. They talked for awhile though I couldn't make out exactly what they were talking about. Eventually I saw the two of them leave; I watched as they both went their separate ways and saw this as an opportunity.

Quickly and quietly while staying close to the ground I made way to the entrance as I made sure I wouldn't get spotted by any of them before I entered the tower shutting the door behind me. I than made my to the elevator only to find that the doors were closed shut. I couldn't help but groan at this as I pressed the down button just next to the elevator doors. I really hate using elevators; not only is it claustrophobic but it takes so damn long! Why didn't someone build stairs to this place!? Stairs are way easier to use than elevators! Than again I guess it would've been obvious to enemies to where Amber was being kept for safekeeping.

But that still didn't stop me from liking the idea of using an elevator.

I soon heard a ding noise, letting me know that the elevator arrived on the floor. The doors opened and I went to step in, but I let out a grunt as I had run into someone.

"Sorry." I said to whoever I ran into, "I wasn't looking where I was-!"

I stopped myself in mid sentence when I saw who it was exactly I ran into. It was the Headmaster of Beacon; Professor Ozpin.

"Oh." Ozpin said surprised to see me, "Why hello there."

I couldn't help but shrink slightly at his presence as I looked to him with slight fear. I didn't know what to say at that point honestly. I just stuttered at my words as I prepared to make a run for it, but what he said next made me stop.

"I must say, I'd never though I would live to see the day where I would get to meet a Shadow in person."

My eyes widened when he said this. He knows what I am? He knows I'm a Grimm hybrid?! How is that even possible!? Sad as it is, my kind has been forgotten ever since the Great War. How could he even know something like that? It was impossible! How!?

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I noticed Ozpin made room so that I could go into the elevator, which took me by surprise again. "I know you came to see Amber." He said to me, "I'll take you down there."

I tensed up slightly at what he was suggesting and thought about running again, but Ozpin took notice of this and said to me, "Believe me miss, I have no intention of harming you I promise. Please, lady's first."

I looked to Ozpin and my expression softened as I stepped inside, with the Headmaster following behind me. Before I knew it we were already downstairs in the Vault where Amber was being kept. I stood in front of where she slept, while Ozpin stood not to far away from me. For the whole time he and he and I stayed silent; for the most part I stayed silent since I wasn't sure what to say to him. I'm not sure what his excuse was as he sipped his cup of coffee.

I finally decided to break the silence between us.

"I've gotta hand it to you Professor… You really surprised me." I said to him.

I saw in the reflection of the glass that Ozpin had given me a quizzical look.

"Whatever do you mean?" He asked me.

I turned to him before replying, "You know what I mean. You know I'm a Shadow, and that I wanted to see Amber. How did you figure that out?"

"It's quite simple really." He said to me, "You have the same face as Destiny, and I had a feeling you wanted to see Amber because of her."

I looked to him with a surprised look. "You know Destiny?" I asked him.

"Yes, but not personally." He replied, "It is very interesting to see that you have her face. Incredible even."

"Funny." I couldn't help but say, "She said the same thing to me when she saw me."

"Did she now?" Ozpin said.

I nodded my head as silence came over us again. I turned back over to Amber, putting my hand on the glass before Ozpin asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what name did Destiny give you?"

I merely scoffed at this, "No offense to you, but I don't know if I should tell someone like you."

Ozpin's face softened at my next set of words, "Just because I've gone against her, doesn't mean that I'm willing to forgive what happened so easily. I know they're humans and Fanus that deserve my forgiveness, but… They're others that I'm not willing to forgive so easily."

Ozpin knew exactly what I was talking about, as I saw him give a look of solemn in my direction. He soon said to me, "It was tragic as to what happened. I know it must've been hard for your brothers and sisters."

"Must've been hard? Tragic?" I spouted harshly, "News flash Professor, you weren't there like I was! You weren't there to see what happened to my brothers and sisters! You weren't there to see the horrors that I've seen! How could you possibly know what happened to us!?"

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee before saying, "You're right, I wasn't there to witness what took place. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm willing to share the same pain as you."

I looked back at him with a questioning look on my face as I turned back to him. Ozpin soon said to me, "We may never know exactly what you went through, but make no mistake that many of us, myself included know what it's like to deal with loss. It's the kind of pain that doesn't go away as easy as we would like.

"You can say that again." I said, "I've been holding onto the pain for the last 40 years. And if there are others, I'm sure they would've agreed with me too."

"It is unbearable." He said, "Some aren't able to handle the pain like you are. Some are able to move on while others have manifested into something ugly, and chose to take it out on others."

"I thought you were a Professor, not a doctor." I said to him, "That may have be me before when I had a different face, but… It's different now. I don't have the same thoughts as I did than. It's not who I am anymore."

The Professor soon said, "Believe when I say it's hard to trust others again when one goes through such an ordeal like you and possibly others have. In fact no one should have to. But whether or not people should earn your forgiveness can be up to you, but you have to understand that many are capable of change. Isn't that why you decided to leave Salem's cause?"

I let out a pained sigh as I walked to the side of Amber's capsule and leaned back on the machine. I had a certain someone on my mind at that point. It's not Destiny if that's what you're thinking. No it was someone else, someone before I took on Destiny's face. Someone I knew when I had a different face, before my body was destroyed. I'd rather not talk about it, but let me put it this way for you. It's the whole reason why I decided to turn against Salem, and it's the reason why I hate her with all my heart.

Like I said, I'd rather not talk about it since it's one of those personal things.

"Let me ask you something Professor…" I said, "... How do I know when if I'm ready to forget about it all like it's a bad dream? How do I know when I'm ready to forgive what happened?"

He replied to me, "You'll know when to forgive when the time is right… Forgetting however isn't something one can do so easily. Usually I find that forgetting isn't the solution, however to move on is entirely different than erasing it from your memory. You may not be able to move on today or tomorrow, but just know you'll move on from it soon."

I took what Ozpin said to heart, and it was… Touching to hear. Huh, who knew I would actually feel better after talking to a man like him? Ozpin is not a bad guy after all; those things that Salem said about-

No! Damn it all! I can't think about her! After everything she did, after everything she's done, she has to pay! I'll make sure of it, one day I will.

Though… Maybe, he deserves my forgiveness after all… Wow… I'd honestly never thought I would admit to that.

"... Cristal…" I said.

Ozpin looked at me shocked but soon smiled to me. I noticed this but averted my gaze from him as I said, "... You wanted to know my name right? Destiny gave me the name Cristal. She told me that it was her mother's middle name."

"It's fitting for someone like you." Ozpin said to me with a smile.

My face turned red at this. I don't think I ever got a comment like that before; it was embarrassing to say the least. "Tha-thanks I guess." I stammered as I pushed myself off of the machine, "I-I better go."

I walked passed him making my way to the exit of the Vault when I stopped in my tracks when he said something that sparked my interest. "Cristal, I think it's my turn to ask you something now, if you don't mind." He said to me, "... What exactly are you planning on doing?"

"... Why, do you wanna know something like that?" I asked him.

"Call it curiosity." He replied with a smile.

I rolled my eyes as I had soon replied, "... You wanna know what my goal is? Fine, I suppose I can share. I want to be free. Despite me going against her, I can still feel her grasp on me. The only reason why I took the damn contract was that so I could attain a body. I'm to follow the rules to it against my will to protect the people around me… But I want to be free to speak my mind. To say what I want to say, to tell them where she came from, and as to why she wants to do what she does. But I can't knowing that not only myself but others will die if I so much as even mention her name. Without the Contract in effect, I could be able to say what I want to say, to do what I want to do. The best part is with her gone, I'll be able to live knowing, I would never have to look over my shoulder for her and her pawns ever again."

"Are you prepared to kill her when that time comes?" He soon asked me which took me back a little.

I soon had responded, "... I've killed others, before I-"

"That may have been true once, but things are different for you now." Ozpin said to me cutting me off, "And I don't mean just your face."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"... People tend to change overtime, in a good or a bad way. You Cristal have changed too in a way. You decided not to follow in the footsteps of Salem but instead you chose to protect the life of a little girl, even now you're still holding it up."

Damn, I should've known. This man was just full of surprises wasn't he?

"You know that she's here in Beacon." I said with a smirk.

"Nothing gets by when your the Headmaster." He said.

"If you knew, how come you didn't say anything to Ruby and her friends?" I asked.

"I have my reasons as do you I imagine Cristal."

"That reminds me… Before you said, you knew Destiny, but you didn't know her personally. Care to explain that to me, or are you just gonna be secretive?"

"I met both of her mother and father years ago, when, they came to me for help."

I raised my eyebrow slightly at this, "Help? Help with what?"

"I'm afraid for both the father's and your sake I can't tell you that." Ozpin said.

"My sake?" I asked him.

Ozpin stepped forward to me as he said, "I know you're trying to find answers as to why… She made Destiny involved in this, and why as to take the sudden interest in her. But you have to be careful how you approach this, because pretty soon it may not be just your life that'll be on the line."

"I already know the risks Ozpin. But if I'm going to protect Destiny, I need to know exactly what she is." I said to him, "If I find out that, than maybe I'll have a clue to why she wants her."

I flinched slightly when I felt his hand on my shoulder; since when did he get so close to me? For that matter how did I not notice it?

"I know you want to find your answers, but whatever the case may be you can't just rush with these things, given time those answers will come to you." Ozpin told me, "They may not be right away, but they will come, all you have to do is be patient."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but she's sure as not going to be patient." I said as I pried his hand away from me, "You know that she's going to send her pawns to come and find her. Do you think they're going to care who gets in their way?"

"Which is why Cristal I have a proposal, whether or not you could listen is your choice." Ozpin told me.

Before I could reply, I noticed a strange feeling in my body. I looked at my hands and noticed a light go over the palm of my hands. The color of gold, the same aura that was of Destiny. Ozpin noticed this too, but from his perspective he saw me start to disappear.

"Looks like I'm out of time." I said, "She's starting to wake up."

"It would seem so." Ozpin said to me.

I walked away from Ozpin and made my way to the only exit within the Vault. Before I did however, just as the gold aura started to spread to my legs, I turned back to him, "Tell you what, I'll tell Destiny to go find you after the Vytal Festival. You can tell us you're proposition than."

Ozpin smiled to me before saying, "Of course. I look forward to it."

With a wink and a smile I turned to continue walking down the hall, as the gold aura had gone all around my body.

"Until than… Ozpin."

-After the Fall of Beacon-

Two days had already passed since everything had gone to hell.

She had succeeded not only into taking a school down, but bring in an entire Kingdom down on it's knees.

Damn that witch.

I held Destiny close to me as I walked through the wreckage of what was left of Beacon. All the students that had been defending this place had all left to the safe zone that was in the city. The only thing that was left now was the Grimm that had gathered around the tower, thanks to the dragon. My new Griffon partner one I named Senka walked close to me, in case he needed to protect me, since I was holding a child.

I heard Destiny let out a groan and she shifted slightly in my arms.

"I know it hurts Princess." I said, "Don't worry I'll get you help… But first we need to find Oz."

Senka growled at me slightly, speaking to me "... You know he might play you for a fool. He might be lying to you."

"... I know…" I said, "But I'm willing to trust him."

I've been trying to find Ozpin for the past two days, in the hopes of hiding Destiny from Salem. I wouldn't let them take her, no matter what. Even if it meant I have to die, than so be it.

I will keep her safe from her.

I looked in places where he might be on the campus, but no matter where I looked, he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was in hiding somewhere, or barricade someplace where the Grimm couldn't get him?

Yeah, maybe that was it.

Just as we proceeded to the dorm building, I notice Senka started to become alerted to something in the distance as he turned around.

"Senka?" I asked, "What is it?"

"There's someone here." He said to me via a growl.

I tensed up as my grip on Destiny tightened,"Is it her pawns?"

"No, this is a new scent I smell." Senka had replied, "Stay on your toes, just in case."

"You're not going to find him."

Both Senka and I jumped when a voice that sounded like a whisper came over us. Out from the darkness came out a woman standing at 7 foot 2 having her clawed hands up in the air subtly telling me that she didn't mean any harm. My eyes widened slightly, when I realized who it was.

"You're… Red Death?" I said, surprised. What was she doing here?

"... You've heard of me before?" Red Death had asked me curiously.

"Who hasn't?" I replied, "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Why are you still here, and not in the safe zone with the child?"

"I'm looking for somebody. Someone that might've not gone to the safe zone with the others."

Red Death let out a sigh to me, it sounded… Sad? I couldn't tell what her expression was due to that mask she wore. What in the world was she thinking?

"... I'm sorry, but you won't find the headmaster." Red Death said to me. I was taken by surprise by this when I realized what she had said. "How did you know I was-" I said before cutting myself off, "-Wait, what do you mean by I won't find him?"

What she said next to me, had put me into shock, "... I'm afraid Headmaster Ozpin… Is missing."

(Ending Theme Hell Girl Ending 3-Ichinuke TV Sized; Performed By Mamiko Nako)