Open Flame: Reckoning Day


Initially, Pyrrha had planned to convince her uncle to leave Vale. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to realize she was related to this man. Strangely, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she was worried what they would think about her, that wasn't what bothered her. What really bothered her was the idea that they would apprehend him. He deserved to be in jail, she knew that. But she still couldn't bear for it to be her fault that he was there.

So she had gone to meet him alone that night. But instead of talking him down like she'd planned, that night had changed her entire direction in life. She didn't want to believe that it had, but nonetheless she now found herself doing exactly what she had sworn not to do. She was helping her uncle. And then there was… that woman. Summer. Who was she? Why did she look like Ruby's mirror image?

She knew she couldn't ask Summer, and asking Ruby might be a problem too. She knew enough to approach this all cautiously. So she had to talk to someone else, someone close to Ruby who knew when and how to keep quiet. Her plan was to talk to Yang, so that's what she was going to do.

Actually, she wasn't going to do anything. Not yet, anyway. Her investigation could wait just a bit longer. First, she wanted that assurance that they were telling her the truth. She had to see for herself proof that Summer knew what was going to happen. She would wait until Ozpin took her to see the person Summer wanted to save.

It had happened so fast, caught her off guard so suddenly, that when she was there it startled her. The Autumn Maiden. From the fairy tale. The story of the seasons. Ozpin's words to her about that fairy tale mirrored Summer's words far too close for it to be a coincidence. By the time her mind had filled in all the blanks and determined that, yes, indeed, Summer had to be telling the truth, she was already standing in front of the Autumn Maiden.

The whole ordeal still had her on edge. It would probably have her on edge for the rest of her life, considering what they wanted her to do. Whether or not it was even possible, the whole thing just went against everything she understood. She wasn't sure she could go through with it. They'd been upfront about how little they knew regarding her fate should she decide to help them.

But then… if the Autumn Maiden didn't die, Pyrrha didn't have to do anything. If she was healed, everything would go back the way it was, and Pyrrha would be free to live her own life. That was the deciding factor. She wouldn't help them. She wouldn't take the Maiden's powers upon herself. She would bring someone to save the young woman, and they would both live happily ever after. That had to be the right answer.

In the meantime, Pyrrha had to find Yang. Not exactly the hardest person in the world to find, Yang was standing around waiting for the last two battles to finish. She was taking in the fights, hoping to get a good idea of who she would be up against in the finals. Pyrrha was already decided, as were Penny, Sun, and Mercury.

Pyrrha walked up behind Yang and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Can I talk to you about something?"

Yang stared at her for several seconds, her face blank. "Uhh… okay?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath. "Does the name Summer mean anything to you?" She just spat it out, really. She hoped Yang remained composed about it.

Yang just blinked in surprise at first, but eventually she shook her head. "I thought Blake could keep secrets, but okay. Yes, uh, Summer was Ruby's mom. Summer Rose. Is that all?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Pyrrha frowned. She was afraid of that answer. "I think… I met her."

"Like, when do you mean?"

"A couple days ago, I went to see my uncle. There was a woman, I think they were working together, but she looked almost exactly like Ruby. She was older, like maybe twenty years or something, but she had the same hair and her eyes were silver too."

Yang covered Pyrrha's mouth with her hand. "Hold up, stop, stop, you're running on. What are you talking about? You can't have met Ruby's mom. She's been dead for more than ten years."

Pyrrha calmly removed Yang's hand from her face. "I know. Blake told me that. Is it possible there's someone else who looks exactly like her? Someone who would introduce themselves with the same name?"

"No, I don't think so." Yang shook her head, but then stopped. "Unless…" Her thoughts seemed to go somewhere else. "Come meet me here tomorrow, just before the finals. I need to check something out."

Pyrrha watched Yang rush off. She called after her. "Wait, where are you going?"

Yang shouted back over her shoulder. "I think I know where Torchwick is!"


Summer was wearing a long brown cloak when Pyrrha found her on Beacon's pier. Pyrrha ran over to her, keeping her eyes open for anyone who knew her personally. She didn't want them getting involved in this. Even if all the evidence pointed to this person being in fact very trustworthy, she didn't want to risk that small percent chance that this was some nefarious plan.

Summer waited until Pyrrha was right next to her. "You found her?"

"Yes." Pyrrha nodded. "If we can get to the elevator unnoticed, I can get us there."

"Lead the way."

It was difficult, but far from impossible to reach the elevator that led to Ozpin's office. So far as Pyrrha knew, it was also the only way down to the vault. The only hole in her plan to get there was that she wasn't sure she would be able to gain access to the vault on her own.

As it turned out, Summer had prepared for that eventuality. She stepped in and pressed the button for Ozpin's office, then hopped out just as the doors closed. She winked to Pyrrha. "Now it'll go up. Mind opening the doors?"

Pyrrha bit her lip. She touched the doors and pulled them open with her semblance. They looked down into the elevator shaft. It was pitch black below them, going down into nothingness. Far below them waited the vault and the Autumn Maiden. They looked up to see the elevator receding in the distance.

"Okay, let's go."

Pyrrha looked at the woman. "Can you climb down this?"

"Nope." She nodded. "You can. Mind if I ride on your back?"

With a sigh, Pyrrha climbed into the elevator shaft, bracing her hands against the walls. Summer climbed in, wrapping her legs around Pyrrha's waist and her arms around Pyrrha's shoulders. Pyrrha closed the doors behind them. She hoped she hadn't ruined them.

The climb down was long. Incredibly long. Pyrrha still had no idea how much farther they had to go before they reached the bottom, and she felt like her arms were about to fall off. Summer's weight had begun to feel like part of her own. She'd just somehow gained a hundred and fifty pounds.

Just when she thought she couldn't take any more, her foot touched the bottom. She hopped down, and Summer dropped off her back. "We're here. Finally."

Summer held up a light. She pointed at the door. "There. Open them."

Through the doors, Pyrrha led Summer through the vault. She remembered the way to the Autumn Maiden well enough. Practically the entire event had been burned into her memory. There was no way she would ever forget. "It's just a little further."

Summer nodded in approval, looking around at the vast space below the school. "So she's this way. You wonder what's in all those other directions?"

"Nope." She absolutely did. She didn't want to get sidetracked down here, though. In, heal, out. That was it. She pointed ahead at the contraption where the Autumn Maiden was being held in stasis. "There she is."

Summer scurried over to the stasis pod and pressed her face against the glass. She really did resemble Ruby in every way. She stood there, staring at the woman in the glass case for nearly a minute. Pyrrha was starting to wonder if they were just going to stay here until Ozpin came in. Finally, Summer stepped back from the case, turning to face Pyrrha.

"Well?" Pyrrha asked, expectantly. "Can you save her?"

Summer didn't respond for a moment. When she did, it wasn't the answer Pyrrha was looking for. She shook her head solemnly. "No, I can't." Her gaze slid off to the side like she was struggling to figure something out. "I have to get to her sooner… maybe I could intervene when they first get to her. I could help her fight them off. But I don't know where that happens." Summer's eyes turned back to Pyrrha. "Let's go. We need to be out of here before anyone else decides to show up."


Pyrrha slid down to the ground, one of Beacon's ornamental pillars to her back. She was exhausted. It was very late, and her muscles ached so badly she wasn't sure she would be able to fight tomorrow. She was ready to sleep for the next two days. She was spurred back upright by Summer, who knelt down beside her.

"Well, a promise is a promise anyway. I have that information for you."

Right. The information that was supposed to knock her socks off. "I didn't do it for any information. Besides," She looked down at her bare feet, wriggling her toes. Her feet hurt badly from climbing down and then back up the elevator. She casually waved to where she'd put her boots and socks. "They're already off."

"Alright. Still, I think you'll want to know. It's about this time loop I'm stuck in."

Pyrrha was interested. It wasn't a vested interest, but more a passing interest at this point. Mostly on account of how tired she was. "Go ahead."

"I may have been less forthcoming than I previously indicated. The thing is, I'm not the only one who remembers everything from previous loops. Would you happen to be interested in knowing who else is remembering all of this?"

Pyrrha sat up alert. Now she was very interested. "Who?" Summer looked away. Pyrrha couldn't let that go. "Hey, who is it? Summer, who else remembers the other loops."

"I figured I'd find you here."

Pyrrha looked up to where Summer's attention had been drawn. She barely held in a gasp. "Nora?"

Nora crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey, Pyrrha. Tough day?" She looked down at Summer. "So now she knows. What's your plan after that?"

Summer leaned back, letting out a light laugh. "Ah, no, there's nothing else. My plan failed this time. Best to spend the rest of this loop finding out where I need to be next time."

"Nora, you… you know about this?" Pyrrha stood up. She wasn't sure how to take this, that Nora was aware of the time loop. "You've known the whole time?"

"Actually, I've known longer than she has." Nora nodded at Summer. "It seems that, as the loop continues on, more people come to realize it on their own."

"Really? Well, now I know, so does that mean I'll know next time?"

Nora shook her head. "I doubt it. But I think Blake has started to pick up on it. She's not all there yet, but she's started half-remembering things from previous loops. Things that don't happen again. Things that haven't happened in a long time."

"Great." Pyrrha waved to Summer to get her attention. "Hey, do either of you know how big this loop really is?"

"Hmm?" Summer shrugged. "My whole life. That's what I know."

"Yeah, by the time I'm old enough to remember everything, anything that's different is probably her fault." Nora grimaced. "Unless there are others we don't know about."


In spite of all our efforts, we couldn't save them. All our training, our power, our understanding, we still couldn't do it. But he could. He could be the greatest hero of us all.

Next: Absolution