Nora looked at Valerian seriously questioning what series of peculiar events had led to her sitting in the older Huntress's armchair trying to conjure weapons out of thin air.
Those damn headaches . Nora sighed to herself, shaking her head at no one in particular. Those damn headaches that had, for some reason, vanished when she'd met Valerian. Nora had her suspicions as to why, it also would explain how Valerian knew so much about the Maidens. But, if this woman had not revealed herself to be the Summer Maiden when Nora's own powers had escaped her, the woman must have had her reasons as to why she kept it secret. Although their initial meeting had not been particularly friendly, Valerian was not unkind and her weariness of Nora had almost completely vanished when she'd found out she was the Winter Maiden.
Nora herself also felt an unusual comfort around the woman, which would explain why she had so easily told her of the journey that had led her and her companions to Shade Academy. When she looked at the woman, a sense of familiarity seemed to tug at her, the same familiarity she had felt when she'd walked through the passages of the Academy. Like memories out of her reach, brushing at her mind in colours and strokes she couldn't recognise. Her frustration must have shown but Valerian seemed to blame it on the youth's inability to Manifest a weapon.
In Nora's defence, Valerian wasn't expecting her to succeed there and then. It had taken her almost a year to find enough balance between herself and the Maiden's power to even Manifest a toothpick, let alone a whole weapon. However, when she looked at Nora Valkyrie she did not see the worst Maiden in history, as the Huntress claimed she was, but something else. She could feel it, like a whisper from the supernatural being that resided within her.
Nora would be a Maiden whose potential would surpass all those that came before her. She just needed a teacher. Valerian wasn't particularly sure what Ozpin had been doing during this Reincarnation. From what Nora had told her, making one mistake after another. Maybe that's why he'd chosen to leave Nora to her own devices, allowing her to discover her new powers on her own like the Maidens usually did. A little guidance, that's all she needed. Under different circumstances, Valerian would have taken her under her wing. She would have taught her how to use it, and how to survive as a Maiden in a world that hunted them down.
But first they'd have to survive the day.
Valerian's suggestion for Nora to try Manifestation had not arisen with the aim of succeeding, but with the aim of misleading whoever was listening in from the floor above. Valerian looked out the window a second longer, looking at the empty windows of Shade Academy. She could see movement behind some, but nothing but vague shadows. She hoped Bellamy and Theodore were okay. They probably thought she was safe somewhere far from the Academy by now. She couldn't blame Nora for that, she had been reluctant to leave them behind to defend the Vault without her, the Beacon Huntress had just provided her with an excuse not to.
A faint, almost incomprehensible creak reached her ears. It was so low most people wouldn't even have heard it and, the few who did would have assumed it was simply part of the normal sounds produced by such an old cottage. However Valerian had lived in that house for years. She knows each and every breath, the characteristic sounds birds made as they nested in the limestone walls, the groans of furniture as they struggled to support their contents. She knew its every breath and that had not been one.
"It's not going to work." Nora sighed, shaking her head. Valerian slowly forced her eyes away from the academy and began to walk towards Nora, her walking stick making a sharp tapping sound as she moved.
"I wouldn't be surprised if half the trouble you're having is all in your head." She sternly told her. "You didn't make it this far simply because you were strong and hit stuff, as you so eloquently put it. You are a Huntress, not of Beacon or Atlas or anywhere, but of Remnant. You earned that title. You are also the Winter Maiden. It doesn't matter if you wanted the power. Instead of focusing on how this power isn't yours, focus on how you can use it to make your friend proud."
Valerian meant what she said. When she'd inherited the power from Bellamy's sister she'd almost drowned in the guilt and grief that had swallowed her. Even though she'd known she'd initially been accepted into the Dell family to be the next Summer Maiden, it did little to reduce her own self-loathing. So instead she had chosen to live the life Amelia would have wanted for her, the life that girl would have lived had she not been sick or been cursed with this power. She'd continued to live as Amelia wanted, even when her sickness had almost confined her to bed or when the loss of her daughter had almost crippled her. That was why, even now, she continued to fight. And Nora Valkyrie had to continue fighting as well- for her friend and for herself.
Nora looked up at Valerian, allowing her words to sink in. Why did she grasp at every word this unknown woman said? Why did her words fill her with an indescribable feeling of warmth? She didn't know this woman and yet her words had brushed off her self doubt far better then any of the others, even Ren, ever could?
Nora opened her mouth, finally to ask the question she'd been itching to ask.
Was Valerian Carrie the Summer Maiden?
However she stopped herself when she heard the soft straining of wood from the floor above.
Valerian put a finger to her lips, when she saw the hard look Nora had given her, the younger woman also realizing that something was amiss.
Nora slowly stood from where she sat, reaching out and carefully pulling her hammer towards her, looking up at the ceiling overhead.
"I know it's sometimes easier said than done." Continued Valerian, lifting her walking stick off the ground and carefully, using both hands, pointed its tip towards the ceiling. Wide eyed, Nora realised that the walking stick had not been simply what it appeared, the hard metal created the barrel of a very large gun. "But we do what we must."
And, with a steady hand, she pushed a button that had been concealed in the handle of the walking stick. A storm of bullets left the weapon, causing stone and wood to shower over the pair. Valerian's relentless firing was deafening. The cloud of smoke and dust she created caused Nora to cough but her Aquamarine eyes never left where the Huntress was aiming. Eventually, Valerian stopped her attack however, her steely eyes never left the watermelon sized hole she'd created. Her gun remained steadily aimed at the same spot.
A bizarre moment of silence filled the room as a crack overhead widened, a portion of plaster falling to the ground with a loud thumping sound. Miraculously, none of the pictures on the wall had become askew as a result.
Although a minute could not have even passed, it felt excessively long as Nora looked up at the hole, her hand tightly grasped on the hilt of her hammer. She almost jumped when she saw a dark shadow appear through it, a look of indignant surprise on a horribly familiar face. Dark hair, slicked back, small maniacal eyes and an equally as crazy gleam within them- Tyrian Callows.
The instant the intruder appeared, Valerian did not hesitate to send another series of bullets. However the face vanished just as quickly as it had appeared and all Valerian succeeded in doing was making the hole larger. Nora looked at the woman, to warn her that she'd recognized the man and that he was not one to be trifled with. However she needeth warn Valerian. Anger that had not been there before darkened her pale face. Valerian Carrie knew Tyrian Callows very well.
"Come down, Tyrian!" Valerian called, extending her hand across Nora and forcing the younger woman to take a step back away from the hole. "A bastard like you deserves to be shot in the face."
"Now is that how you talk to an old friend?" Tyrian sand, his head peeking over the edge again, his braid falling over one shoulder as he did so.
Valerian sent a single shot at the man but he quickly dodged by disappearing swiftly out of sight.
"We haven't been friends in a very long time." She growled.
Nora looked back up at the hole, watching as Tyrian slowly reappeared. He slithered through the hole to land before the two women like a snake being emptied from a basket. His scorpion pincer twitched behind him, moving gently between Nora and Valerian as if deciding which one it wanted to skewer first.
"You know this weirdo?" Hissed Nora in disbelief, her eyes unable to look away from Tyrian.
This man had been the cause of so much trouble, so much pain. Thanks to him countless innocents had been killed, including Clover Ebi and, if it were up to him, Qrow would have joined him not long before. She could not imagine Valerian to even be acquainted with this mad man, let alone be friends with.
"Oh we used to be on the same team during our academy days." Tyrian smiled as he said this, his eyes wide and intense, most likely analysing where would be the best location to strike them down. He had been the same in his younger days but now his presence felt so much more feral…
"That was before he set Grimm loose on the Academy killing innocents." Valerian explained, her voice still calm and yet her anger could be heard within it. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought, after all these years, she'd have to face Tyrian Callows ever again. Sometimes dreams really do come true.
"Ah, but is anyone really innocent in this world?" He mocked, placing a hand to his chin, but he staggered sideways as Valerian sent another bullet towards him, narrowly grazing his cheek before it embedded itself in the wall behind him.
"Amelia was innocent." She declared.
"She was the Summer Maiden." Tyrian answered matter-of-factly, unphased by the bullets that kept being sent his way.
"She was a child." Countered Valerian, almost growling.
"She had something my Queen wanted." Tyrian's tail paused on Valerian as he said this. "As do you."
Nora shifted her weight beside Valerian, adjusting her grip on the handle of her hammer in preparation to attack but Valerian extended her hand again, stopping her before she could even move.
"He's baiting me." She explained, her eyes narrowed at Tyrian. She couldn't read his plan, not yet anyway. Maybe he was trying to lure her outside? To use her Maiden's powers? To distract her? Whatever the case, Valerian refused to fall for it and she wouldn't let Nora either.
"Honestly, can't I come visit an old friend?" But Tyrian quickly raised his hand, his smile never faltering as Valerian aimed the mouth of her gun in his direction. She wouldn't miss next time. "You've become even more beautiful since our Academy days."
Valerian blew at a whisper of silvery ginger hair that had fallen into her face.
"You were always a weird one," she complained, her unnaturally coloured eyes narrowing at the Faunus. Was he mocking her now?
"I'm being honest!" He protested, lowering his hands slowly as if Valerian were a wild animal he was trying to calm. "You now look like a perfect imitation of my Queen! She is beauty personified."
"Again, you were always a weird one." Accused Valerian, she desperately tried to hold back her disgust at Tyrian's words for she had no doubt which 'Queen' he was referring to. She detested the fact that the Scourge had morphed her features to resemble those of that horrid witch.
She played with the trigger a moment more, wondering if she could blast Tyrian's head to mush but, even in this vicinity, he'd be able to dodge and she preferred having him in one spot then swinging around her living room. With her eyes never leaving the man, she slowly directed her gun away from Tyrian to a shadowed, doorless entryway that most likely led to the staircase and the floor above.
"Tell your friend it's useless hiding." She declared, her words startling Nora, she hadn't realised there was a second person in the house. But then Valerian had experience that far exceeded her own. "They better just show themselves."
"But it would ruin the surprise!" Tyrian whined but, even as he said this he shifted his head sideways, gesturing for whoever was hiding to show themselves.
With that, the last of Salem's experiments made its appearance. The Necrogrimm appeared from the shadows as if they were created from them and it was as horrible as all the rest.
That of Pyrrha Nikos had been the first Salem had created after the Hound's fall. Adam Taurus came soon after her. That that resembled Penny Polendina had been the most recent addition and whose core, which Tyrian personally had acquired, had been tainted making the creature faulty by default. However, where the latter had been somewhat of a disappointment in Salem's eyes, number three had been her pride and joy, the epitome of the Necrogrimm and whose abilities far surpassed the rest. After Salem had successfully acquired the Relic and Maiden held here at Shade she would bring the rest to par. These four were already phenomenal creations, if his Queen somehow managed to create an army of them she would become unstoppable. It was a pity the core material was so rare.
Valerian didn't flinch as she took in the new arrival, a humanoid that looked almost as hideous and deformed as she did, although she hoped she wore it better or else she had to question Bellamy's taste in women. However Valerian heard Nora's breath hitch beside her. The younger Huntress certainly recognised him and, from the way her eyes widened, she didn't think it was in a good way.
"T-that's impossible!" Nora gasped, her voice trembling as badly as her hands.
Valerian felt the temperature of the air sharply drop to the point that she could even see her breath. The Winter's Maiden powers were escaping Nora. She was losing control over them, however this was not the time to reprimand her.
"Who is he?" Valerian demanded, her eyes darting between the new arrival and Tyrian. Oh how she wished to wipe that hideous grin from his face!
Nora took a moment to answer. She had never been close to him back in Atlas, however the uniform of the Ace Ops was impossible to mistake, even in its tattered state. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes a glistening Grimm-like red. From his back, like some cruel joke of Salem's, a Death Stalker pincer swung, its tip appearing first on one side of his neck and then on the other. One arm seemed to darken past the elbow to end, rather than in a hand but in a needle-like spear.
Clover Ebi.
The man who had led the Ace Ops to one victory after another, until he was ordered to turn against Ruby and the rest.
The man whose loss had broken Qrow into more pieces than any of them could count.
The man who Tyrian Callows had killed.
Clover Ebi, the man who couldn't be there.
"Mercury calls them Necrogrimm." Tyrian vaguely explained, the name giving the two Huntresses little to work with.
"Them?" Nora gasped, that meant there were more of them? Did they all bare Clover Ebi's face? or had Salem chosen different ghosts to torment them with? Although facing Clover Ebi like this was unnerving, it affected Nora far less then if she'd had to face another of their fallen comrades, like Penny or, heavens forbid, Pyrrha. But, if Qrow were there with her, she couldn't even imagine the reaction the man would have had to face the man whose death he had long blamed himself for. The man whose memento he still carried hidden in his cloak, close at hand.
"Oh Salem created a few others." Nonchalantly admitted Tyrian. " But this one has a special spot in my heart."
"Because you killed him!" Yelled Nora, the force in her voice surprising Valerian, a cold wind washing over them even though they were inside. The Maiden's powers were still barely visible behind Nora's eyes but Valerian could sense the air hum in anticipation, at the power nestled within the younger woman.
She had been right. Nora Valkyrie had barely scraped the surface of her true potential.
When she did, she would be a force to be reckoned with.
Hey! So that the next chapter posted! Hope you guys enjoyed it and thank you so so much for reading :D next one will be up Tuesday ;)