Authors Note: Don't forget to leave a review at the end!
Magic was real. That sounded like such a crazy thing to understand, such an impossible thing that only existed in fairy tales, and yet she was being told it was real. Not only that but that the Grimm were guided by something, someone. That there was a secret war being waged against a foe as old as humanity itself.
She thought she should have felt scared, or frightened, or maybe in disbelief in what she was being told. Instead, she felt numb. She didn't feel anything at that moment. There was a girl that lay dying under Beacon with a power somebody was apparently ready to kill for.
"I… I don't know what to say." Yang stammered. "I… it's hard to believe."
"I am aware of how absurd it sounds, Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "But everything I have told you is the truth."
Despite a lack of immediate proof, Yang was inclined to believe him. She liked to think she wasn't an idiot and that she was a reasonable person.
The point of a lie was to mislead somebody or to trick them, in order to do that the lie had to be believable. Nobody would believe in magic and an evil group waging a war against humanity and that somehow made it more believable.
She had respect for the Headmaster, from what she knew he was a good man and her uncle spoke well of him, but she had never met the man personally. Miss Goodwitch stood a little off to the side of him and had made no effort to speak since she entered. Yang had immense respect for her, maybe it was due to the constant presence or the way she carried herself but she felt that she could trust her.
And she seemed to believe what Ozpin was saying, at least enough to not speak up. It was difficult for her to imagine Miss Goodwitch trying to pull a prank on anyone, let alone a student. She was too professional for that.
Yang swallowed hard. That only made her feel worse. By all accounts what they were saying should have been a joke or some kind of stupid thing they did to every student but it wasn't.
"I… why tell me this?" Her voice was weak, a whisper only audible due to the silence. Despite the fact she asked the question she felt she already knew the answer. It was obvious what they wanted. A power that only young females could receive.
"We need to transfer the Fall Maiden powers to somebody to keep them from whoever attacked Amber." Ozpin explained. "You are the best candidate."
Despite that she saw it coming it still knocked the air from her lungs.
"We will not force your hand of course, there are others but none with the same chance of success. You may deny us if you so wish."
And knowingly force the problem onto somebody else? Who would the next person be? Pyrrha was the obvious choice.
"Why me?" Yang asked.
"You are a talented huntress with a powerful semblance," Ozpin said. "But that alone isn't enough. You are skilled, but there are better." Pyrrha he meant. "Beyond you is your team. Team RWBY is the best of its year and one of the best Beacon has to offer, and then there is your ties to team JNPR." Ozpin sighed. "We believed that anonymity would aid Amber in staying hidden but… it merely made her all the easier to be stricken down. With two teams of talented hunters at your back I believe you would be protected beyond what we ourselves could guarantee."
"When you say ties to-"
"Your relationship with Mr. Arc, yes."
Yang felt like she should have been embarrassed, the teachers, and even the headmaster, had apparently been talking about her relationship. In the end she wasn't however. Mostly she felt cold.
"Why… why not his partner?" Yang asked. "Why not Pyrrha?"
"Miss Nikos is an incredibly gifted individual, one with immense skill and a powerful semblance." Ozpin stated. "A semblance that is now known to our enemies."
He was referring to their mission to Mountain Glenn. Pyrrha had used her semblance against some of the Paladins there, or so Jaune had told her. It had apparently allowed them to defeat multiple Paladins at once but that also meant that whoever was working for Salem knew about it.
"I… I need some time to think about this."
"Of course, take all the time you need."
Ozpin sighed as Glynda led her out of his office and back to her friends below. For not the first time he was forced to contemplate whether he had made the right choice or not. It pained him to have to think in such morbid action, when this person dies how will it benefit us? How can we make this loss our gain?
He had many regrets in his existence, the nature of the Maiden's was certainly one of them. Had he taken more care the first time, or planned batter maybe he wouldn't have doomed so many.
Amber was only his most recent failure, and one he regretted immensely. She was a bright young girl, intelligent and curious in ways most were not. Her drive to learn, understand, and master the Maiden abilities had created a woman who might have been able to help turn the tide against Salem.
Then she had been struck down and part of her powers stripped from her.
Ozpin raised his mug to his lips and took a drink, wishing that it contained something stronger than simple coffee.
A sound like wings flapping caused the immortal wizard to wince. He had allowed himself to become distracted in thought and had failed to notice he was not alone, and judging by the silence, they hadn't been alone for their conversation either.
"Qrow," Ozpin sighed and rose from his chair. "I hadn't expected to see you for a few da-"
"Is this a joke, Ozpin?" Cold, that was the only word Ozpin could think to describe the sound of Qrow's voice. "It's some kind of trick or test, right?"
"It is not a trick," Ozpin refused to look behind him, unable to look Qrow in the eyes. "Your niece is to be the Fall Maiden, if she will accept of course."
A sound like shifting gears rang out through the silence and Ozpin looked over his shoulder, seeing that he had drawn his weapon.
"No, not her." Qrow stated with a finality that there would be no argument. "The Nikos girl, or Schnee, or that second year girl. Not her!" Any sense of calm was gone as the man raised his voice. "Anybody but her!"
Ozpin sighed. "I'm afraid the decision has already been made, Old friend." There was a shuffling sound behind him and Ozpin turned, pulling his cain up to block the strike before it could land.
"Old friend," Qrow spat the word like an insult. "Everything I've done for you, everything I've given up for you and your cause, I've never asked for anything!"
It was true. Of all the assets at his disposal, Qrow had been the most steadfast, the most reliable, and above all the most trusted. It pained him greatly to see that trust broken in the man's eyes.
"Choose. Somebody. Else."
"No."
"I won't let her die alone like Amber!" Qrow pushed his blade into Ozpin's cane, forcing him back slightly.
"She won't." Ozpin would make sure of it. He refused to let another promising young woman die because of the power so cruelly thrown upon them, even if he was the one responsible for it. "The reason I chose her is because she won't be alone." Ozpin pushed back slightly, enough that he was able to step away and out of the sword's arc as it cut down, lodging into his desk.
"I dont care!" Qrow withdrew it from the decades old desk with ease. "I won't let you take her!"
"And what will you do? Kill me and steal her away before we can force it on her?" Ozpin ducked under a strike, again stepping back. "The choice is her's to make, not ours and certainly not yours."
"There's no choice to make!" Qrow lunged forward but the strike was sloppy and he was able to bat it away with ease, again stepping back. "She'll do the selfless thing because it protects the people she cares about, but you knew that already!"
Ozpin didn't reply and Qrow howled with rage.
"You're manipulating her!" Ozpin ducked his head at the words, shame welling up inside.
"We chose her because she will never be alone." Ozpin attempted to explain. "Her friends, her family, they will always be there to aid her and her loyalty is unquestioned."
"Loyalty to you?" Qrow stepped forward slashing downward at his shoulder. He attempted to step back but found himself slipping slightly and only barely missing the blade. It left him open and Qrow attempted to follow up his strike.
Ozpin grit his teeth as he brought his cane up under his friend's jaw, cracking his head back and buying him the time he needed to step away.
"No, not loyalty to me." Ozpin ducked under the man's strike. "Loyalty to her sister, loyalty to her team, loyalty to her family. She would not forsake any one of those, even if her life were in danger. She would rather die than join Salem."
"Don't say that like it's a good thing!" Qrow growled but made to move to strike.
"She will be safe here, I promise." Ozpin tapped his cane on the ground.
"Amber wasn't safe!" Qrow's hands shook. "She had years to train with the maiden powers, years to perfect her fighting and she was killed the same as anyone else! What makes Yang safer!?"
"You are here, for one." Ozpin spoke softly, attempting to calm the man before him. "And then there is her team, as well as their sister team. Working with them you would be more th-"
"You didn't even talk to me first! You coward! You bet-" Qrow turned and started stepping towards the window. "Raven was right."
His mind raced as he tried to think of what to say, of what might help the man in pain before him, but there was nothing. Nothing he could do would make things right and they both knew it.
Despite that fact, Qrow paused before leaving, giving him the opportunity to speak. Maybe it was trust, or hope that Ozpin would back down, but he couldn't. No matter how much he wished it otherwise a choice had to be made and he had to think of the future.
Of the generation to come.
"I'm sorry."
"No, you aren't."
Ozpin's head dipped as Qrow transformed and disappeared out into the sky. He only hoped he made the right choice.
Yang had made a point of not heading back to the room for as long as possible. Taking the long route back and then deciding to head to the cafeteria instead, only to change her mind and go to the sparing rooms. Anything to keep her from having to see her team.
They would have been able to tell something was wrong the second they saw her and she just wasn't ready to answer those kinds of questions. She needed time to think about what the headmaster had said.
She had spent hours thinking on it but the more she tried the more the decision became clouded in her head. She'd spent so long wondering in fact that the sun had already set and it was rapidly getting dark.
She had decided to make an attempt to head back to her room, she had even made it to the building before chickening out and heading to the roof instead. She hated herself for it but couldn't put off finding an answer.
That was where Jaune had found her, sitting all alone on top of the dorms roof. He didn't say anything as he approached and she didn't make any attempt to stand, instead, he sat next to her and pulled her in slightly.
"I came up here to be alone you know." She kept her voice low.
"I figured," Jaune squeezed her closer to his side. "I also figured that whatever it was, you shouldn't be alone."
Yang glared at him but found her body relaxing into his before she could stop it.
"So I suppose you want to know what happe-"
"Not really, no." Jaune shrugged his shoulders.
"Huh?"
Jaune gave a light laugh at her confusion. "Not expecting that?"
"You… dont wanna even ask?"
"Of course I do," Jaune rolled his eyes. "But first I wanna try and make you feel better." He pointed one finger up and tapped her nose. "I trust you to tell me when you're ready, but for now I just wanna help."
Yang found herself speechless but quickly looked away, attempting to hide her blush. Judging from the shaking she could feel from his body she had failed in that regard.
"Your team was worried, you know." He said. "Ruby came to integrate me after the first couple hours."
"Oh?"
"She accused me of corrupting you." Jaune's face was a mix between frustration and a pout Yang couldn't help but laugh at. "Nora said that wasn't fair. If anything, you corrupted me."
"Hey!"
It was his turn to laugh and she hit his arm in protest, hard enough to cause Aura to flare. He fell backwards from the force, though he didn't stop laughing the whole time. Eventually she joined him in his laughter, falling back to lay down beside him. They stayed there for a few minutes, simply watching the stars slowly become more visible in the night sky.
It felt like one of the stories she used to read to Ruby when she was getting ready to go to bed. It was strangely magical and she never wanted it to end. Eventually however, the real world caught up with them.
"We should probably get going." He made to get up but she pulled him down slightly.
"No just…" She bit her lip." A few more minutes… please?"
Jaune looked concerned but layed back down, nudging her with his shoulder slightly.
"We can stay up here as long as you need."
She knew that but at that moment she didn't care. Having him so close to her while they looked up at the stars. The turmoil that had been brewing since Ozpin had pulled her to his office had subsided because of Jaune.
The night was perfect and it felt like something she would never forget. The way she felt, the way her body felt like it molded to his. The warmth of him beneath her fingers, even as the air began to cool. She closed her eyes and focused on every small detail she could. She was determined to make it a memory unlike any other.
She felt like she couldn't possibly forget it.
Author's note: All right, we get that clash with Qrow that was definitely coming. Though, perhaps a bit sooner than even Ozpin expected. I'm actually a bit concerned that section might land poorly or be seen negatively but… we'll see.
Reading the reviews I ran into something that cracked me up. "Why yes, I would like a fall of beacon, this time banana flavored instead of strawberry."
I don't know why but that still makes me laugh, but I will neither confirm nor deny whether it has any merit. You'll simply have to keep reading.
On an unrelated note I've started drafting ideas for a new story and its going… it's certainly going. It should be an interesting idea but I just hope it can follow this story up well. This one has been way more popular than I ever thought. Over 100K views and hundreds of followers and favorites! I know, not much but I'm still proud and I'm glad so many of you seem to be enjoying it.
As always, I hope you enjoyed and I encourage you to review and let me know your thoughts. Whether you enjoyed it or not, any and all criticisms help me to improve and make all future works better.
Sincerely SE