Novus waited outside the elevator of Ozpin's tower; Ironwood had told him to while got the others. After a while, the elevator doors opened, revealing Ironwood, Qrow, Ozpin, Glynda, and, surprisingly, Pyrrha.
"You wanted to see me, General?" Novus asked.
"Yes," Ironwood said, "There is something Dr. Hayden needs to discuss with you. I would do it myself, but I am still tied up in another matter, so Hayden will fill you in."
Novus nodded as Hayden walked out of the elevator, carrying a case of some kind.
"Well, doc?" Novus said.
"Do you recall the story of the Maidens?" Hayden asked.
"Yeah. I don't think there's a Sentinel alive that hasn't heard of them."
"Well, as it turns out, the Fall Maiden is here in Beacon's underground vault. Unfortunately, she is in critical condition, and it is vital we find someone to take her place."
"That's impossible, the Maiden power chooses on its own."
"True, but the power is attached to the bearer's aura, something Atlas has learned to harness."
"What are you implying?"
"Ozpin has chosen Ms. Nikos as the most likely candidate to inherit the power. If she accepts, we will be able to transfer the current Maiden's aura to her, effectively transferring the Maiden power as well."
Novus stepped back in shock: "But…that would kill the Maiden, and there's no telling what combining the aura will do to Pyrrha."
"I agree," Hayden said, "But it is a sacrifice Ozpin, Ironwood, and I are willing to make."
"So, how do I play into this?"
"You are to be the Maiden's guardian when we begin the transfer. Once we do, you need to keep watch and take out anyone suspicious that gets too close."
"Seems easy enough, but I disagree with your plan."
"Novus, please, you must understand…"
"No, YOU understand! That is a human life you are taking, and a human life you are changing forever, and probably not in a good way. This goes against everything I was taught, so no, I don't want to be a part of this. I have tolerated a few of your previous plans, and so have my parents, but this one is going too far in my opinion."
Hayden sighed; it was becoming clear that there was no changing his mind.
"At least take this, then" he finally said, offering Novus the case.
"What is it?" Novus asked.
"A prototype weapon; we call it the Scattersword. We figured you would like to use it considering your fighting style."
Novus set the case on the ground and opened it to reveal a sort of sword, but there were chainsaw teeth lining the entire blade. The handle was a bit thicker than usual, showing the housing for a gun. Novus picked it up and swung it around a few times, then pressed a button on the hilt with his thumb that cause the blade to retract and the handle to bend, forming a small scattergun.
"I like it." he said.
"Good. It's compatible with Dust crystals too, for use as augments."
"Thank you, but I'm still not going to be involved in this plan."
"There's no changing your mind on that. That is for certain. Much like your parents, come to think of it."
"I'm taking that as a complement."
"Well, I'll inform the genera of your decision. You are free to go now, but be ready if we need you again."
Novus nodded and left the room, carrying the new weapon.
…
"And here it is, the moment we have all been waiting for," Port announced in the arena as the finalists all stood in the arena, "It's time for the final rounds!"
"Indeed," Oobleck said, "But unlike the previous rounds where teams are matched, this time, combatants will be randomly selected."
Once he said that, a lottery screen popped up, the pictures of the combatants spinning around as everyone across the kingdoms watched in anticipation. Finally, the two combatants were revealed; Mercury Black vs Yang Xiao Long.
"Will all other finalists clear the stage." Port announced.
As they did, Yang prepared to fight Mercury in the first battle of the finals. Her team and friends watched with eager eyes. Suddenly the outer arena floor drops away, leaving Yang and Mercury on a much smaller arena floor.
"Begin!" Oobleck shouted.
The fight begins when both Yang and Mercury land their first blow on each other, with Yang throwing the first punch and Mercury launching his first kick. Mercury then rushes in, and attempts to aim for Yang's foot, but the latter leaps in the air behind him and attempts to land a shot with her Ember Celica.
Yang's subsequent punches are then continuously blocked by Mercury's forearms, until the two continue to exchange another major hit that sends them backwards.
Mercury later dodges a barrage of rounds from Ember Celica while closing the distance, landing a downward axe kick blocked by Yang. He then leaps into the air to evade a low kick and the following blast, before delivering a backwards somersault kick to his opponent.
After she lands on her feet, Yang immediately launches herself towards Mercury and attempts to launch several charged punches at Mercury, who continues to block with his arms, before the two exchange another set of kicks. Mercury then forces Yang back by striking the back of her knee, before forcing her away with another downward kick.
As Yang punches the ground, Mercury uses the momentum to spin in the air, balance himself on one hand, and land two more kicks to Yang, who continues to block the attacks. A tornado kick with his right leg, followed by pivoting his leg for a second kick, cracking the pavement as Yang is forced to backflip away.
Mercury's next series of kicks forces her on the defensive, until he flies upwards, and strikes her in the chest. He then recovers from his perfect split landing and rushes in, only to suffer three consecutive blows from Yang's fists; the first to repel his right leg, the second an uppercut to his chin, and the third aimed at his torso.
After he falls flat on the ground, he is forced to backflip away from the following salvo until one round nearly sends him off the arena, but he was able to shoot himself back up at the last minute.
The silver-haired fighter then immediately launches a lightning-fast flurry of kicks, first aimed at the legs, only moving upwards to the blonde's sides and arms, blocking a round from Ember Celica before forcing Yang to duck with a kick aimed at her head.
Yang is forced back with another kick, before she dodges his Dust round. Mercury then begins firing in the air, with his adversary closing in. Mercury is still able to block a punch, before responding first with a second axe kick, sending her flying with a rear horse kick, and finally knocking her down by finishing his combo with a tornado kick using his left shin. This leaves her vulnerable to all of his rounds crashing down from above.
Confident he won, Mercury confidently walks away, brushing off his clothes.
"Welp, his funeral." Julius said as he recorded the fight on his scroll, knowing full well what was coming.
Sure enough, Yang, fueled by rage, literally explodes back up, her semblance activated, and begins a massive assault.
Her first punch sends Mercury back, later dodging his subsequent kicks while landing rapid-fire fisticuffs all over him. Her next two punches knock him down on the ground, securing Yang's victory as she celebrates by raising her fist in the air.
Ruby splaying her arms in excitement "Yeah! You did it, sis!".
Blake was giving a standing ovation as Weiss pumps her fists "Way to go, Yang!".
But their cheering stopped when Yang suddenly shot Mercury in the leg, breaking it. The audience gasps in shock, and Mercury reels back from the pain. The looks of surprise, horror, and hatred at Yang come from all across the arena. At Mountain Glenn, two Goliaths and a pack of Beowolves up in the construction beams of an unfinished building all perk up and look towards the Colosseum floating near Beacon.
Back in the arena, Mercury was grasping his injured body part, rocking back and forth "My leg, MY LEG!".
"That's what you get, you little- Huh?" Yang stops just as she notices the Atlesian Knight-200's and two human Atlas Soldiers circling the Huntress-in-training and raising their guns to her.
"Yang Xiao Long, stand down!" A soldier ordered.
Yang seemed to be having a clue what's going on "What!? Why!?".
"Mercury!" Emerald rushes over to her partner's side, comforting him.
Mercury was crying hysterically "Why'd she do that!? WHY'D SHE ATTACK ME!?".
Yang receives a disgusted scowl from Emerald, only now looking up at the screens above her to see the footage of what just transpired: Yang circling the crouched-down Mercury until the footage cuts to him just standing there and her suddenly shooting him in the leg. The sound of something breaking rings out, and Mercury screams and falls over in pain.
It takes a moment of staring at the images until Yang finally understands what she did, and her gaze turns up to the wide-eyed, terrified faces of Blake, Weiss, and Ruby.
Yang looks around at the guns aimed at her and the people cursing her name, still not knowing what just happened or what will come next.
Emerald called out in distress "Please, somebody help him!" Paramedics come over with a stretcher, lowering it to Mercury "Can you do something!?".
There is a rip in the leg of Mercury's pants, and skin and blood are visible through the rip.
The Paramedic exchanges a glance with his coworker "We need to get this boy to a hospital. Grab a blanket".
They get Mercury on the stretcher and rush him off, Emerald following right behind. Yang looks on with a horrified expression, her lilac eyes now almost colorless.
"You don't understand! He attacked me; I swear!" She said in a pleading tone.
The Security Guard lifts his gun higher in response "Stow it! You've already caused enough of a scene!".
It was safe to say that something that was meant to be a high point in their lives became very dark after this, or would it?
As the others watched with horror, Julius simply watched on as he looked at a recording at the end of the fight on his scroll, and tracking the use of a semblance through a special Atlesian app, special courtesy of Dr. Hayden and General Ironwood. As he watched the recording, he tracked the origin of the semblance, cracking a smile when he found it.
Hector watched over his shoulder, then asked: "Is that what I think it is?"
Julius nodded.
"We gotta go tell someone." Hector said.
"Go find General Ironwood," Julius said, "If anyone here will understand, it's him."
As the super faunus stood up and ran out, Julius returned his gaze to his scroll, chuckling to himself.
"Just when you thought you had the upper hand," he said, "I end up being just one step ahead."
He stood up out of his seat and headed off to find Coco Adel; time to expose some criminals.