Chapter Six: Fall

"Well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move on to the final

round of the tournament," Ozpin congratulated with a chuckle to the young warrior seated across from him. "Your performance was exemplary."

Pyrrha Nikos smiled at her headmaster, accepting the praise humbly. "Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would never have made it this far without my teammates."

"Personally, I think it's the other way around," barked out a gruff voice from behind her. Turning slowly, she noticed a lean man, younger than Ozpin but still middle-aged, who was leaning against a column near the door, a tattered red cape hanging from his neck as he eyed her from beneath his scruffy hair, arms crossed.

Taken aback, but still attempting to be polite, Pyrrha replied, "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Name's Qrow."

Pyrrha looked back to Ozpin for explanation. "Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine," the teacher reassured her.

Still offput by Qrow's short speech, Pyrrha cast him a wary glance before returning her attention to Ozpin. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?"

"Please, take a seat," Ozpin said with a warm smile. Pyrrha obeyed, sliding into the chair prepared for her across the desk. Ozpin bridged his fingers before his face as he leaned back. Pyrrha braced for his next words.

She still wasn't prepared for them. "What is your favorite fairy tale?" A slight smile of amusement played on the headmaster's lips as he took in her surprised expression.

"I'm… sorry?"

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them."

Pyrrha thought back to her youth, to bedtime with her mother or father. "Well, there's The Tale of the Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower…"

Ozpin leaned back in again. "What about The Story of the Seasons?"

"Well, of course!" Pyrrha smiled in remembrance, nearly reciting it as she had been told it. "'A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home, is visited by four travelling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time and solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his gardens. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all he has, and be thankful." Pyrrha smiled as she recounted the climax. "In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept, and the promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant until the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall: the four maidens. My mother loves that story."

Ozpin gave her a wry grin. "Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?"

Pyrrha giggled slightly. "You're not that old, Professor."

The mirth inexplicably dropped from Ozpin's face, and he stared at her with deadly focus. "Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?"

Pyrrha looked at him, certain she had misheard. A small, nervous chuckle escaped her lips as she said, "I beg your pardon?"

Ozpin continued in a teacherly tone, "What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power. Without Dust."

"You mean… like a Semblance?" Pyrrha asked, still trying desperately to make some sort of sense from what Ozpin was telling her.

The teacher smiled. "Like magic."

Pyrrha's face felt hot. She was unsure of how to take this information. She looked down at her hands in confusion. "I…"

"Yeah." Qrow's voice was little consolation as he said, "First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy."

Pyrrha looked away from him and turned back to Ozpin, not even trying to hide her shock. "You're serious?"

Ozpin looked her in the eye, his smile gone. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Pyrrha took in his serious gaze. "No," she conceded. Still flustered, she stuttered a bit as she asked, "Why… why are you telling me this?"

Ozpin glanced over her head. Qrow gave him a reassuring nod, before the headmaster refixed Pyrrha's eyes with his own. "We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."

Pyrrha's eyes widened. The curve balls were coming too suddenly. With a start, she realized that he hadn't said himself alone. "'We?'" she repeated unsurely.

Behind them, the elevator door swished open, and she turned and watched as Glynda Goodwitch and General Ironwood both walked into the office, the General straightening his tie a bit as he said, "Sorry we're late."

Too overcome by the revelations, Pyrrha turned back to her headmaster, narrowing her eyes earnestly. "Wait, what is this? Who are you?"

"You know who we are," Glynda said as she and Ironwood were joined by Qrow. She spread her hands, trying to seem reassuring. Understandably, Pyrrha was not comforted. "We're still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon."

"But we've got a little part-time job," Qrow said in his rough voice.

"We are the protectors of the world," Ironwood said.

"And we need your help," Ozpin finished as he caught Pyrrha's attention again. Pyrrha, for her part, sat in stunned silence, gazing around the room as the adults all intently stared at her in turn.

Pyrrha's eyes shifted left to right nervously at the group around her as the elevator shot downward. Upon entering, Ozpin had pressed a hidden button, one she had never seen before, and the cubicle had begun to go downward, far longer than usual. Pyrrha felt more than a little anxious and uncomfortable during the silent ride, mind still reeling from the secrets she had been told. The story of the maidens was true, magic existed, she was somehow wrapped up in it all—it made no sense! It was unbelievable; it was impossible.

If it was true, it was frightening.

The elevator continued its beeping as Pyrrha tentatively asked, "Where are we going?"

In a firm voice, Ozpin replied, "The Vault. Under the school."

Eventually, the dinging stopped and the doors slid open, revealing a long, dark hallway, barely lit by the presence of a trail of greenish torches lining each side. The ceiling was too far above to be seen through the darkness, and at the end of the long hallway was an apparent machine, seemingly built of highly sophisticated technology.

All of this, Pyrrha took in with a first glance before she began to walk after the teachers, who had exited the moment the elevator stopped. Still very shocked, Pyrrha had stood in the elevator for a moment to look the room over. Glynda, seeing this, allowed the men to go on ahead and waited for Pyrrha to catch up to her.

As Pyrrha joined in step with the teacher, Glynda said in the same tone she'd used in the office, "I'm sure you must have questions."

Pyrrha looked around the vast expanse of the hallway. "Maybe one or two." The two caught up with the men as Pyrrha began to ask. "I still don't understand," she said, her voice echoing off of the high ceiling. "You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?

Glynda took the initiative. "The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever."

"So, how does the power choose?" asked the young Huntress
Qrow scoffed towards the women over his shoulder. "Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules."

"Qrow." Glynda's voice matched her grimace as she chastised him.

"Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right," Qrow shot back with a scowl.

Once again, Glynda began her explanation. "At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more… intimate."

"In… timate?" Pyrrha repeated haltingly.

"As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power.""

"Unless it's a dude," Qrow elaborated, "or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our job gets a lot harder."

Pyrrha finally asked a question that had nagged at her since they had stepped onto the elevator. "Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?"

"Honestly?" Qrow sighed. "We've run out of time. I don't know if you've noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high, Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying for so long goes out the window."

Pyrrha froze at that. "You're not… talking about a war?" Pyrrha had paid enough attention in Dr. Oobleck's class to know that the Great War over eighty years ago had been devastating to all of the kingdoms, with high casualties from both human and Grimm attacks. If that was the implication here…

Ironwood shook his head and replied cryptically, "Not a war between nations."

Qrow looked back at her as they neared the large piece of technology. "We can fill you in on the details once we know that you're with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked. And for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen."

The group finally came to a stop before the large machine, and Pyrrha was even further surprised at the sight of it. The large machine appeared to be two capsules with a control panel in the middle. The capsules appeared to join together by a set of cables running up the wall several feet. The capsule to their right was empty, lying dormant and dark. In the left, however, rested the limp, inert body of a young girl. The girl was clothed in simple, white medical clothing across her chest and waist. There were no signs of life from her other than the slight rise and fall of her chest, and a long, spiderweb scar stretched across her face, prominent below her left eye and stretching over her nose and forehead.

Pyrrha looked forward, inspecting the comatose girl. "Is that…?"

Ozpin sighed in confirmation. "The current Fall Maiden. Amber."

Pyrrha hugged her arms around herself, feeling inexplicably intrusive, as if she was interrupting the other girl's rest. "She's… still alive."

"For now." Ironwood's voice was clear and precise as he said, "We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is… unprecedented."

Pyrrha looked at him for explanation. "What do you mean?" The General sighed as she asked, confused, "Won't… her power… just transfer to the next host?"

"Look who's been listening!" Qrow said brassly. To Ozpin, quieter, he said, "She is smart."

"Under normal circumstances, yes," the General affirmed. "But this is a delicate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker." He looked at Amber's comatose body. "And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

"Her assailant," Pyrrha understood quietly.

"And that," Ozpin replied, turning to her, "would not bode well for any of us."

Pyrrha looked to the unconscious girl in the pod, putting a gentle hand to the glass as she gazed in at Amber. Finally breaking, Pyrrha turned to the group of teachers, her polite tone gone. "If all of this is true, why keep it a secret?!" Her voice echoed off of the walls as she asked, "If this girl is so important, if we're truly on the brink of war… why not tell everyone?"

Glynda waited a moment, then stepped forward. "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge."

Pyrrha felt herself pale again, thrown off by the answer. "Excuse me?"

Qrow reached into his pocket and retrieved his flask. "How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere." Qrow popped the lid and lifted it to his lips.

"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the Maidens," Glynda said. "Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength."

Qrow resumed as he finished his drink. "And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the ones you'd want to have unimaginable power."

Now it was Ironwood's turn. "And so our brotherhood chose to remove the maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend."

To answer Pyrrha's original question, Glynda explained, "the things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history and religion."

"No one would believe us," Ironwood concurred. "It would cause an uproar."

"It would cause panic." Ozpin's voice was deadly serious as he said, "And we all know what that would bring clawing at our Kingdoms' walls." He paused and looked away. "Which is why we would like to–"

"I'll do it."

Ozpin stopped short, surprised at the answer. Pyrrha looked at the ground. "If you believe that this will help humanity…" she met their gaze as she finished, "then I will become your Fall Maiden."

The teachers looked amongst themselves, seemingly troubled by her answer. Now unsure again, Pyrrha asked, "That's what you wanted isn't it?"

"It is," Ozpin reassured her as he stepped forward, "but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution."

Ironwood took his cue. "For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint: how it works, what it's made of, how it can be used. "We've made… significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it."

"Capture it, and cram it into something else," Qrow said, the contempt clear in his voice as he gestured to Pyrrha. "Or, in your case…"

Pyrrha suddenly stiffened at the implication. "That's—"

"Classified," Ironwood cut her off.

"—wrong!" Pyrrha finished.

Glynda shot a subtle glare at Ironwood. "The feeling is mutual." Her eyes returned to the student's. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And these are indeed desperate times," Ironwood once again agreed. "We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to."

"... Her Aura." Pyrrha stared at the General.

"Her life would become intertwined with yours." Ozpin sighed again. "The question is…"

Qrow finished for him. "What's that gonna do to you?" Apparent fear bloomed on the young Huntress' face as she fully appreciated the danger she would be put in.

"You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos." Ozpin's gaze was intense as he continued, "There's no guarantee this transfer will work. And there's no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time on this matter. But understand that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."

Pyrrha was silent, once again turning to the unconscious girl in the capsule. Pyrrha looked at her reflection, seeing her own trepidation in the glass, then looked past it to Amber's scarred and dying face.

"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move," Ozpin said. "And there's no telling when their next move will be."

Cinder Fall smiled sinisterly as she sat in the stands with the rest of the fans for the main event: the beginning of the finals. Port announced the event from the booth.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!"

Across the stage, eight combatants from the original thirty-two teams stood at the ready, among them Yang Xiao Long and Penny Polendina, who both wore confident smiles; Sun Wukong, who appeared laid back and relaxed; an unusually nervous-looking Pyrrha Nikos; and Cinder's own Mercury Black. "Barty!" Port cried from the booth. "Why don't you explain the rules?"

Oobleck obliged in his usual quick tone. "Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"

"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!" Port said as he took up the rules.

"Ah, yes yes!" Oobleck agreed. "Now, let's see who our first match will be!"

Now, rather than spinning for biomes, the randomizers rotated to select which two competitors would be competing. The arena would noticeably shrink this round, with only the middle segment available, making ring-out elimination that much harder to avoid with the confined space. Around the world, observers watched as the sliders stopped individually on Mercury and Yang.

"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!"

From the stands, Ruby shouted her encouragement. "Break a leg, sis!"

Cinder, eyes glittering as she smirked, stood from the stands and went away to prepare. She was needed elsewhere for the plan, and she was certain that Mercury and Emerald would be able to carry it out to perfection.

"Would all other combatants please leave the stage!" Port commanded. As the other members of the finals strolled off the arena floor, Yang walked forward and stopped several yards away from Mercury. The arena center lifted high into the air, and spotlights instantly fixed on the soon to be combatants.

Yang grinned. "You better not go easy on me."

Mercury chuckled. "You wish."

The two each adopted a fighting stance, slowly easing towards each other as Port counted down. Their hands were nearly touching as he said, "Three! Two! One! Fight!"

Yang and Mercury's shout of power merged into one as they both attacked at the same time, Mercury's boot swinging around him for a flying kick that met Yang's gauntlet in the air. Mercury pulled back to his original starting position and rushed forward. Yang dodged over his second kick with a flip, then came at him with both fists, blasting as they traded blows. Eventually, she caught him in the stomach, right as he clipped her head, and they both went back, creating some distance between the two.

Mercury flipped backwards, then began dodging left and right as Yang fired off Ember Celica. The barrage of Dust rounds sent Mercury scurrying until he leaped forward with a powerful overhead kick. Yang caught the leg with both gauntlets, pushing out to thrust him back into a flip, which he then took into a duck to avoid another shot from her weapons that had been aimed at his head. From his crouch, he kicked up, firing at the same time, with an attack that flipped him away while simultaneously knocking Yang up in the air.

The brawler twisted before she hit the ground, landing on two feet as she came back in for the silver boy, landing punches left and right. Merc was forced back a step, but he quickly went in with his feet, forcing Yang to block. With the onslaught halted, Mercury went low and kicked for her knee, sending her off balance. Yang stumbled but avoided as he kicked down again, firing at his feet.

In an acrobatic display of athletic agility, Mercury kept himself up on his hands as he dodged the shot and twisted nimbly in the air. Still on his hands, Mercury went for her leg, then managed a heavy blow across her face that made her stagger.

Back on his feet, Merc came in with a sideways round kick, then twisted his leg in midair to go for her feet. Yang dodged, before they went back and forth in a brief exchange, Mercury's legs swinging and eventually finding their target as he kicked her in the face. The silver boy dropped to his back and twisted himself back up, but Yang quickly responded in turn with an uppercut and a blow to his stomach that shot Mercury back across the arena. She left him little time to recover from the twin blow as she opened fire, forcing him into a desperate backflip to escape. However, one shot managed to catch him in the chest, and he cried out with a pained gasp as something hard struck his back. It took Merc a moment to realized that he was falling, and that the pain had been his back hitting the edge as he had fallen from the platform.

Thinking quickly, Mercury shifted his body in midair, feet pointed downward, and fired, launching himself back up onto the platform and into the fight. He quickly closed in on his adversary, kicking with blinding speed. Yang tried to keep up, but eventually, the speed was too much and a lucky shot caught her in the face, forcing her back. She quickly dodged again as another charge whizzed by her head.

Mercury smirked. He twisted in a circle, utilizing the same tornado strategy he had in his previous fight with Team CFVY, creating a vortex of Dust and energy around the two fighters. Yang dodged a few stray shots as she rushed in, scoring a few hits before Mercury kicked her into the air and slammed her back down with his legs. Around them, the cyclone of charges collapsed, raining down onto Yang as Mercury turned his back, leaving the white mist to settle as he walked away with a cocky brush of his shoulders.

However, the buzzer had yet to sound. Behind Merc, a large roar was heard, and when he turned back, he came face to face with a red-eyed, fiery-haired Yang Xiao Long, who clenched her teeth and pounded her fists before sprinting forward. Mercury's victorious grin vanished as he quickly put up his guard, but Yang came in even quicker, strength and speed enhanced by the bombardment she had just endured. She easily feinted beneath two of his kicks and went to town, throwing punches left and right, a shot accompanying each blow until she caught him in the torso. Mercury's form shimmered silver as his aura was broken, and then Yang's final right cross put him down for good with a pained shout as he collapsed back against the floor and the buzzer sounded.

"What a way to kick off the finals!" Port cried, and the fans apparently agreed, as their wild cheering at the spectacular match filled the Colosseum. Yang took a deep breath, letting herself calm, before she raised a victorious fist and smiled to the crowd.

The platform lowered as Oobleck announced, "Yang Xiao Long wins!" On screen, Yang's Aura hovered just at sixteen, the minimum, while Mercury's had dropped to zero from the beating he'd just received.

"Yeah, you did it, sis!" Ruby cried from the stands as the arena platform lowered back down to the Colosseum ground

"Way to go Yang!" Blake agreed, clapping. Weiss wore a similarly ecstatic face.

Yang smiled down at her defeated opponent as she wiped her brow. "Better luck next time." With that, Yang began to walk away, while Mercury slowly rose to his feet.

"There's not going to be a next time, Blondie!"

Yang turned at his voice and watched as he flew through the air, leg outstretched. With a glare, she lashed out, striking his leg before he could reach her. A loud crack echoed, and she felt something falter beneath his leg as he fell to the ground with a pained scream while the crowd looked on, booing and disapproval filling the Colosseum.

"My word!" Oobleck exclaimed from the booth.

To one of the TV coordinators, Port demanded, "Cut the cameras!"

Far away, on the outskirts of Vale and within the ruined settlement of Mountain Glenn, the Grimm in the area suddenly tensed, perking up as they sensed a massive spike in emotion. They snarled in the direction of the emotion, sensing it emanating from the distant floating stadium in the sky.

Mercury clutched to his leg where Yang had struck. "Ah! My leg! My leg!"

"That's what you get, you little–" Yang began as she glared down at him, before metal footsteps around her alerted her to others' presence. She looked up in shock as around her, a circle of AK-200s formed, weapons aimed at her, as well as a human pair of Atlesian soldiers. "Huh?" she said in confusion.

"Yang Xiao Long, stand down!" one of the men ordered.

"What? Why?" Yang asked to the circle of soldiers pointed at her.

"Mercury!" came a girl's cry as Emerald rushed out to the arena floor, kneeling beside her fallen teammate.

"Why'd she do that?! Why'd she attack me?!" Mercury cried in pain as Emerald glared over at Yang.

Yang, confused beyond herself, looked up to the video board, and her face drained of color as an instant replay of the events was shown. On screen, she saw herself standing over a triumphant Mercury. The boy got silently to his feet, and then, without warning, Yang watched in shock as she saw herself lash out, aiming right for his legs as it snapped with a loud crack. His pained cry was repeated on the video, joining in with the echoing boos around the stadium. Yang realized with horror what had happened. Somehow, she had just attacked an innocent boy.

Yang looked to the stands, where Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all looked on, faces twisted in horror as they looked on. Weiss' hand went to her mouth in disbelief, and Blake and Ruby's faces were equally shocked as they met her gaze. Yang looked around, the full impact of what had happened hitting her harder than any kick as she gazed, confused and scared, out into the hostile audience. Her mouth open and eyes wide, Yang looked for answers that weren't there, solutions to a problem that had apparently never existed, and silently wondered what had happened to turn her victory into such a nightmare in the blink of an eye.