Hello Everyone!
Back at it again with another chapter of Gryphon Knight. This chapter is a good bit shorter than the last one. Like half of it's length. However a lot more is happening in this chapter to move the plot forward so I think it all evens out in the end, and they can't all be eighteen thousand plus words long. Not much more to say than that, so let's get into it!
On with the story!
Weiss shifted nervously in her seat, eyes darting between the plate of food in front of her and the door to the cafeteria.
A hand rested on her shoulder. "Weiss, you know I love you," Yang said with a yawn, "but if the bench squeaks one more time because you can't keep still you will finish your food in the hallway."
"S-sorry," she mumbled as she forced herself to settle down. "I'm just..."
"It's okay." Ruby smiled at her from her opposite side. "You're nervous. I'd be weirded out if you weren't."
Yes, Weiss was nervous. Jaune and Pyrrha had spent an entire day together yesterday on a date. Nora had dragged Ren into team RWBY's dorm so the two of them would have JNPR's dorm to themselves when they got back. Weiss didn't have any sexual experience, but she wasn't naïve about what a boy and a girl alone in the same room after a day on the town together might get up to. Had they... done anything? And if they had what if that had changed how he felt? What if he'd decided that he wanted her instead now?
"You worry too much."
"And you don't worry enough," Weiss shot back at Amare as she forced herself to focus on her plate. "Pyrrha's talented, beautiful, and in love with Jaune. I have every right to be worried."
"Even if you were the one to set them up?"
"It was your idea!"
"Because you wanted to do something for Pyrrha. I was perfectly fine with us simply putting our claim on him and having done with it."
"Don't say it like that! Jaune's not a piece of property I can just own. His heart is his own, as is his choice of who he gives it to."
"Yes, and he chose to give it to you. When you love someone you belong to them. Not in a literal physical sense, but a spiritual one. You give yourself to them because you want to be with them. I once told you that Jaune was yours by right of the ownership of his love, that he was your champion. I meant it." A coy edge entered Amare's tone. "Every queen needs her king after all."
Weiss paused, fork halfway to her mouth. "What does that-"
"Pyrrha! Over here!"
The fork hit her plate with a clatter and Weiss's head whipped around, Amare's words forgotten.
Ruby was waving eagerly to the champion fighter as she walked towards them. Weiss couldn't help but notice the way she walked, how relaxed and calm she was. Why was that? Was it because Jaune had chosen her, or because she had gotten the closure Weiss had wanted to give her?
"Where is Jaune?" Weiss asked as Pyrrha sat down across from her. She'd tried to make it sound like a casual question, but even she could detect the tension in her own voice.
Pyrrha stared at her for a few moments, expression unreadable.
Then she smiled. "He had to go talk to the headmaster. He said he didn't know how long he would be so we shouldn't wait up for him. He would come find us when he was done."
"What did he have to talk to the headmaster about?" Blake asked as she looked up from her book.
"I don't know," Pyrrha said with a shrug. "He wouldn't say."
Ozma looked up from his computer screen as the elevator doors opened. "Mr. Arc. It's a pleasure to see you up and about again."
"Headmaster," the blonde squire said with a respectful nod as he stepped out of the elevator. "It's good to be back in Beacon." He gave another nod to Glynda who was standing beside the headmaster, this time with a small smile. "Miss Goodwitch."
"Mr. Arc. It's good to have you back," she replied with a smile and a nod.
The immortal man had known a great many people in his time and had learned to read those around him with an accuracy born of multiple lifetimes of experience. Jaune had changed, and not just physically. Though his new stature and physique were on full display and were impressive in their own right, the greatest changes lay in what was not easily seen.
The way he held himself was different. When he'd first come to Beacon he had been nervous and unsure and it showed in his posture, hunched over like he was trying to avoid notice. Over time he had changed under Nathaniel's tutelage, becoming more self confident and perhaps even arrogant at times, but he had still shown deference in the presence of Ozma, Goodwitch, or his mentor.
Now the way Jaune held himself was with the air of a man who was strong and knew it, but didn't seek to flaunt it or boast. His back was straight, his shoulders square, and he had a hand resting on the pommel of the ancestral blade at his side with a casual ease. His other hand was tucked in the pocket of his new leather jacket as he stood before Ozma not as a student, but as an equal. A lord in his own right.
"He wears his power well," the ancient man thought as he took a thoughtful sip of coffee. "I wonder if he even realizes he's doing it." No, he didn't think that was the case. Not yet at least. "I apologize for not being present when you returned. Your sudden departure from Azure Memorial took us all by surprise and I've had my hands full with the Vytal festival. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually. I wanted to talk to you about something."
"And what might be?"
"Amber."
Ozma froze. It was only for a moment, less than a second, but the way the Knight Lord to be narrowed his eyes at him the headmaster knew he'd caught it. "Oh? What about her?" Internally the Wizard swore. Who had he been talking to? Who had gotten in contact with him to make him pursue that line of questioning?
Hazel. It had to have been him. Somehow he'd managed to get into contact with Jaune without Ozma's knowing. Clever man.
"I want to know what really happened the day she was ambushed, and what roll you played in it."
Another bloody armory.
Deargis leaned against the wall breathing hard, sweat running down her brow. She'd been running full tilt through the mountain for the better part of an hour, and while she was very physically fit she'd already been active all day today, and adrenaline could only carry her so far.
"Hello!" She called out for the hundredth time, listening to her own voice echo back to her. "Where are ya, ya bloody arseholes?!"
No response. As massive as this place was maybe she should have expected that, but she had a strong set of lungs and knew her voice was carrying far. If they were ignoring her she'd shove her foot somewhere unpleasant and leave it there for the foreseeable future.
With a groan she pushed herself off of the wall and stumbled over to a stone table, leaning on it and breathing hard. She couldn't keep running blindly through this place. She was already lost as it was since she hadn't been keeping track of the route she'd been taking, just running blindly and hoping she stumbled across the people she was looking for. Deargis draped herself over the table, pressing her cheek against the stone and relishing the cold touch as she tried to catch her breath.
The faunus's eyes settled on a suit of armor against the wall, a plain but well made suit of steel plate staring back at her impassively from its visor. "Well I dinnae guess you'll grab a sword from that rack over there and go out tae protect mah family, will ye?" The suit of armor didn't answer of course, but the silence still made her mad. Internally some part of her knew she was just lashing out because she was stressed to the breaking point, but the rest of her didn't give a damn. She was too angry and hurt to care about what was and wasn't reasonable right now.
She stormed over to the suit of armor, exhaustion momentarily forgotten, and grabbed it by the pauldrons. "Mah family are going tae die without help, and all ye can do is stand there and waste space?!" She shook it angrily, the armor rattling and clanking on its stand. The sound made her angrier and she shook it harder, pieces falling off and crashing to the ground. "What use are ye? What use is any o' this?! Mah people are going to die because those outsider bastards brought the Grimm to us, and for what? A fucking mountain full o' useless tin can shite!" She flung the armor to the ground and it scattered across the ground with the ringing of steel on stone filling the air and echoing through the stone halls. The ginger haired girl sunk to her haunches and clutched her head in two white knuckled grips as she trembled. She screamed a wordless expulsion of boiling over grief and impotent rage that tapered off into sobs, her body shaking.
"Please," she whispered to whoever might be listening. "Please just let me find them. I dinnae want tae lose tae people I love."
A gentle hand touched her shoulder.
Deargis jerked away from the contact and fell on her rear as she backed away from whoever was behind her. She wiped a hand over her blurry eyes and looked up.
A woman stood before her, bent over with a hand outstretched to her. Her hair was long and raven black, her kind eyes were silver, her skin a pale white, and her dress was bright yellow. "It's okay," the woman said with a soft smile. "I can take you to them."
"Who...?"
"That doesn't matter right now. Just take my hand."
Despite herself Deargis found she couldn't help but trust this woman. There was something comforting about her. She took the offered hand and the woman pulled her to her feet with surprising ease. She realized that the woman was surprisingly tall, Deargis only coming up to her collarbone despite not being a small woman herself.
Then the woman pulled her into a hug, one arm around her shoulders and a hand on the back of her head. "It's okay," she repeated softly. "Let it out. There's no one here but us, and you never have to hide how you feel around me."
Deargis burst into tears and clutched the tall woman tightly, pressing her face into her neck as she wailed. The woman held her like a mother and stroked her fingers through her short red hair as she whispered to the sobbing girl. "I know it hurts. I know nothing anyone says can lessen that hurt, but there was nothing you could have done to save them. You would have only died with them and deprived Sanctas of one more daughter."
The scout leaned back to look at the woman's face. "H-how did ye know?"
The woman gave her a soft motherly smile, her silver eyes sparkling. "I have always watched over my children Deargis."
Cardin flicked a piece of meat at Sky. "Hey nerd. Put the book down and feed your baby."
"I can do both," Sky said as he tried to do exactly that and failed. Sapphire wasn't in the mood to have only part of Sky's attention. She wanted all of it. She chirped at him and nipped at his fingers, trying to pull him away from the spell book.
"No you can't, and if you keep ignoring her Saph will probably pee in your lap. Again."
Sky sighed and shut the book. "Okay, okay." He set it aside and looked at the blue feathered bundle in his lap. "I'm done now, see? Spoiled little monster..." There was no heat behind his words, and Cardin could see the smile on his face as he said them. His brother tore off a piece of meat and held it in front of Sapphire's beak. She snatched it out of his hand eagerly and gobbled it up, then squeaked pleadingly for more.
Cardin chuckled and turned his attention back to his own spoiled little monster. Amaranth was staring up at him expectantly, tail swishing back and forth. He tore off a piece of meat from his own rabbit carcass and gave it to her, his fingers narrowly avoiding getting nipped as she ate like she was starving to death. "With the way you're all acting people would think we're depriving you," he said dryly as he fed her another piece. She didn't respond of course. She was only a baby after all, but Cardin wondered when she would start talking. Nathaniel had said that Gryphons and their knights could communicate telepathically with both words and emotions. That bond was one of the reasons why a Gryphon Knight was so deadly on the battlefield. Where a knight on horseback needed spurs or a bridle to direct his horse a Gryphon and a knight knew what the other was thinking immediately and could react accordingly. That and a full grown Gryphon was larger than a war horse and had claws that could tear steel and a beak that could crush granite. Nathaniel had told them stories of wings of Gryphon Knights flying into battle and devastating the enemy with a charge from the sky that ripped a line through any opposing force. Though right now Cardin couldn't imagine Amaranth or her siblings ripping apart anything that wasn't food.
"So how long will they take to mature?" Russel asked as he stroked his fingers down Celadon's back, the Gryphon purring in his lap. "When will they be ready for fighting?"
"Gryphons have an average life span that's roughly the same as a human or faunus's," Nathaniel explained as Ferrum nibbled on a chunk of meat. "But they mature much more quickly. Within a year our Gryphons will be both physically strong enough and mentally mature enough to train for battle. Even before then they'll quickly develop hunting instincts and be able to go out looking for their own food within three or four months. Talon can help train them and keep an eye on them while they hunt." The knight smiled softly. "I imagine he'll be overjoyed to be with some of his people."
Cardin couldn't imagine what it would be like to be the last of your kind. To wake up and know you were without family. It had to be a lonely existence. He scratched Amaranth's head as she ate, watching her. Now he wouldn't be so alone. And someday there would be even more Gryphons than just these five and the ancient war beast. Some day there would be thousands, who would go on to make more Gryphons. If they were all anything like Amaranth and her siblings then Cardin couldn't wait for that day.
He glanced up as a feminine silhouette darkened the doorway into the temple. "Hello Mo-"
Cardin froze in surprise as Deargis walked in.
"Deargis!" Russel took Celadon out of his lap and placed the sleepy Gryphon on the floor as he stood up. "What are you doing here?" He strode over to her, grinning ear to ear. "I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you. I'm just surp-"
The fox faunus slapped him across the face.
Amaranth scrambled out of Cardin's lap as the large squire surged to his feet and stormed towards her. Celadon had gone from sleepy to alert in a second and darted over to a stunned but unharmed Russel and instinctively placed himself between his rider and the girl, snarling at her.
Cardin grabbed her by the arm and wrenched her around to face him. "What the hell is your problem?!" He snarled. "You don't see us in weeks and the first thing you do is..."
Then he realized she was crying.
"This is what you've been doing?" She spat venomously. "We've been scrambling for days with Grimm bearing down on us, and ye lot have been lounging about in robes feeding... whatever tae hell those are?!"
Pyrite squawked indignantly at her. Even if she didn't understand Deargis's words she could pick up on her tone.
Cardin let her go. "What are you talking about? What's happened?"
"There was an attack. We lost people. A lot of people." She swallowed hard, eyes brimming with tears. "I dinnae know what you're all doing here, and I dinnae care. We need you in Sanctas."
"Alright."
Her head snapped up to look at him. "What?"
"If Sanctas is in danger," he stepped away from her towards the stand his armor was on, "then it's our duty to protect it."
"Right!" Dove leapt up and moved to his armor as the others did the same. "After everything you've all done for us it's only right we return the favor."
The ginger faunus blinked. "You're just... going to help us?"
"Of course," Sky said as he removed his robe, leaving him in his deep blue gambeson.
"What else would we do?" Russel asked as he pulled on his boots.
"I don't know. I just... I didn't expect you to agree so easily."
"We are the servants of the Lady," Nathaniel said as he buckled his breastplate shut. He was already half way armored While the others were just beginning to take their sabatons off of the armor stand. "Our duty is to protect the people of Remnant." He glanced at her momentarily. "Gryphons."
"What?"
"Gryphons," he repeated as he pointed at Ferrum. "They're Gryphons. You didn't know what they were."
"I... oh." She looked down at Celadon, who was still eyeing her mistrustfully. "That's... wow."
"Voracious little monsters is what they are," Sky chuckled. "Don't start feeding them, or you'll never get them to leave you alone."
Deargis knelt down and held a hand out to Celadon. "Uh, hallo..."
"Celadon," Russel prompted with a smile. "His name is Celadon."
"Hi Celadon... Nice Gryphon?" She inched her hand a bit closer to the Gryphon club.
He responded by nipping her finger and darting away behind Russel, glaring at her between his legs as his tail swished back and forth. "Give him time, he'll get used to you," the boy said with grin.
"What are we going to do with them?" Dove asked as he fastened his own breastplate shut. "No way I'm letting Pyrite come with me onto a battle field."
"I will care for them," Mother Vaya said as she swept into the temple. Her presence seemed to light the room up. "You need not worry for their safety. Go and save my children my sons."
The five of them finished armoring up, tugging on their gauntlets and making sure their weapons were where they could reach them, along with their gifts from Vaya.
The Life Mother went to each of them and kissed them on the brow. As her lips pressed against his forehead Cardin felt heat spread through his body. "I give you my blessing to carry into battle. You four are not yet able to wield my Light, but this will grant each of you a fragment of my own power and shall enable you to summon and use the Light until it wears off. And for you Nathaniel, you shall find that your existing control over the Light shall be greatly increased. Now go. Go forth and bring my Light to the darkest places. You are my sons, and in you I place my hope."
"We won't fail you," Nathaniel swore, head bowed reverently. "I swear it."
She smiled sadly. "You never have."
Ozpin took a sip from his mug and set it down. "I'm not sure I understand your meaning Mr. Arc."
This was it. No going back now. Jaune had played his hand and he had to see this through to the end. He needed the truth, whatever that might be.
"Amber was alone when she was attacked, but Qrow just happened to be close enough to come to her aid and stop her assassins from stealing all of the Maidens powers."
"Amber and Qrow were deployed together, but had to temporarily split due to-"
"And why did you have a machine built to transfer someone's aura, their soul, to another person? You didn't just throw that together while Amber was on life support. I can't even imagine how much time, lien, and work it would have taken to build something like that."
"Mr. Arc. Have I ever lied to you?"
"Not that I know of, but that's the problem. I don't know if you have or not. I don't know if I can trust you or not. There are holes in your story about what happened to Amber and I want them filled. Did you have something to do with the attack on her?"
"No."
"Pardon my Vacuan, but bullshit."
"Mr. Arc!" Glynda stepped forward, eyes flashing. "You may no longer attend most classes here at Beacon, but you are a still a student of this academy and you will show the Headmaster the respect he's due."
"I'm also the team leader of Juniper," he responded evenly, his eyes never leaving Ozpin. His focus was entirely on the headmaster, reading every move he made no matter how subtle. "My first duty is to look out for my teammates, and I know Pyrrha is still your top pick to inherit the Maiden's powers. She'll have enough trouble with whoever it was that attacked Amber in the first place, not to mention other agents of Salem who will come after her. So I need to be sure that she doesn't need to be worried about getting a knife in the back from someone she should be able to trust implicitly."
The blonde knight leaned forward and rested his hands on the table, scant inches between him and Ozpin. "Because if anything happens to her, and you and yours could have done something to stop it but didn't? I'll tear this whole damn tower to pieces as an act of spite, and damn the consequences."
The fire in the Champion's eyes flared, a blue glow that went from faint to raging. "So I'm going to ask you again Headmaster, and your answer had better be a hell of a lot more convincing than 'no'. Did you have anything to do with what happened to Amber that day?"
Ozpin stared back at him quietly for long enough that Jaune thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he pushed himself to his feet and picked up his cane.
For a split second Jaune thought he was going to attack him and his body tensed, muscles ready to spring into action. But the headmaster simply strode over to the large window behind his desk and looked out on the courtyard below, leaning on his cane.
"Amber Automne was the best student in her graduating year."
Ozma closed his eyes tightly as he began to speak, knowing that what he was about to say could very well destroy all trust Jaune might still have in him. He'd considered sending Glydna out of the room as he told his tale, but Jaune would inevitably tell Nathaniel everything when the knight returned, and just as inevitably Nathaniel would talk to Glynda about it as well. Better she hear it directly from him. He opened his brown eyes and glanced at the young man in the reflection of the glass.
"It was my second year as headmaster of Beacon. The Fall Maiden of that time was an elderly woman who did not have long to live. I knew I needed to choose a successor and introduce them to one another before her life came to and end, else I'd be left hunting down wherever the power had gone and risk having to bring a total stranger into the fold. Amber was the obvious choice. Much like your partner Miss Nikos Amber was smart and talented, but kind and humble as well. She truly desired to use her skills to protect people and make Remnant a better place for everyone. Recently graduated from Beacon she had the freedom necessary as a huntress to go anywhere and do anything. No one would question it if she went of the grid for weeks at a time. And teams often broke up one way or another when they graduated. It was only natural."
"I brought Amber to this very room and told her everything. Salem, the maidens, all of it. I explained what I was asking of her, how it would put a target on her, but she agreed without hesitation. I introduced her to the then current maiden and they spent several days together as Amber was judged and assessed by the her. Though I had chosen Amber as a suitable candidate it was ultimately up to the Maiden herself who inherited the power. Fortunately there were no issues. She approved of my choice wholeheartedly, and Amber was beside her when she died. Armed with her new gifts she was eager to go on her first mission, but I held her back. The maiden powers were considerable, but that did not make them invincible. They could die as easily as anyone when their aura shattered, magic powers or no. She focused on training and honing her abilities until a mission that required her skills came up, and there were many. She chafed at having to hide herself and her powers. She wanted to go out into the world and use her magic to roam the wild lands beyond the cities, protecting villages and destroying Grimm, but she understood the necessity. The longer we could keep Salem from discovering who the new Fall Maiden was the better."
"It all began to fall apart five years ago. Are you familiar with the Faunus riots around that time?"
"Vaguely," Jaune replied. "But I was only twelve at the time and my home wasn't close enough to Vale for it to affect us."
"I'll give you a brief history of the events that transpired. A pro-faunus organization within Vale was holding a charity to raise money to improve the living conditions of faunus citizens of Vale, but White Fang radicals detonated two fire bombs within the building the charity was being held, killing dozens of people including the leader of the charity. This organization was the Winchester Foundation." Jaune drew in a sharp breath, eyes widening. "Yes Mr. Arc, that Winchester family. The bombing effectively killed the organization. With Ulysses Winchester gone and his wife Priscilla having to raise her four sons alone she had no time to run the charity, and most of its benefactors had died in the bombing. Protests cropped up all over the city, human and faunus alike, demanding the White Fang be punished for what many viewed as an organized terrorist attack by the faunus group. Then leader Ghira Belladonna protested the involvement of his organization in the attack, stating that the White Fang was peaceful and would never go after a charity supporting faunus in Vale. However the ones responsible were captured, and it was revealed that they were in fact members of the White Fang. This began to drive a wedge between humans and faunus in Vale. Ghira decried the attackers as radicals that had acted independently of the White Fang, regardless of their relationship to it. However the damage was done. Violence broke out in the streets, humans blaming faunus for the death of Ulysses and many other influential men and women, and Faunus blaming humans for giving them no choice but to fight back. The situation was not helped by the death of Priscilla Winchester, which drove her father in law Marvin into a frenzy of anti-faunus sentiments. He openly called for violence against faunus communities and rallied support to block any action of the council that might support the faunus, as well as removing many laws that had been set in place to protect faunus from discrimination and violence." Ozma shook his head sadly, recalling the kind man Marvin had once been. "Many of those laws were ones he himself had gotten passed by the council."
"The violence on both sides grew so intense that huntsmen had to be called in to support law enforcement as they tried to restore order in the city. There were concerns that we might have to turn to Atlas to help us suppress the riots, an act that would only incense the faunus community further."
"However while this all happened I had my agents looking into the events that had led up to this chaos. I suspected that this attack was not a purely random or opportunistic thing. Everything had lined up too well for this to be orchestrated by just a few fanatical White Fang members. Unfortunately I was right. An agent of Salem, a man named Tyrian Callows, had infiltrated the White Fang and pushed elements of it into violent action against the kingdoms, supplying them with the very explosives they had used to destroy the charity. He had continued to operate within Vale to ensure tensions remained high by attacking people on both sides of the situation and planting evidence that would make it seem as though either humans or faunus had committed the murders. When he realized we had caught onto him he fled the city and took a ship to Mistral to evade us."
"I sent Qrow and Amber to pursue him. Tyrian was and is one of Salem's top agents and incredibly dangerous. I didn't want to take any chances by sending just one of them. I wanted to make sure that he was either captured or killed. Their pursuit led them to a small village on the outskirts of the kingdom. Confident they would catch him the two closed in on his hideout, ready to finish him once and for all."
"But Salem has resources of her own, and she has no qualms about using them. Before Qrow and Amber could start their assault a massive horde of Grimm took the village unawares. Before anyone realized what was happening the walls were besieged and Tyrian used the chaos of the moment to make his escape."
Ozma screwed his eyes shut as he recalled the following moments, and the decision he would be forced to make.
No. Not forced. To pretend that the decision and the order he'd given to his agents had been anything but his and his alone was cowardice.
"Qrow contacted me to ask for orders on how to proceed. He wanted to pursue Tyrian, but Amber refused to leave the village until the Grimm were dealt with." The immortal man swallowed hard. These decisions had always been the hardest to make. Centuries of them hadn't made it any easier. "I had to choose between ending Tyrian's threat once and for all, or saving the people of Murasakino village."
Tired brown eyes opened and looked at Jaune's reflection in the glass. The young man's eyes were wide with horror and shock as he understood what Ozpin had chosen. He looked past him to Glynda and saw the same horror in her expression, one hand over her mouth as she stepped back from him. She hadn't known any of this. He had kept it from her so she wouldn't have seen Qrow or Amber in a lesser light. Or himself. She was his closest advisor and confidant in this day and age, and he freely admitted to himself that he hadn't wanted to reduce himself in her eyes. A futile task now, and one that would only get worse as his story continued.
"I chose Tyrian. I believed that if he were dealt with more tragedies like the faunus riots could be avoided and a powerful agent would be removed from Salem's side of the board. I know none of that means anything to you when weighed against the hundreds of people in that village, but I thought we could bring Salem's eventual defeat closer with Tyrian's death."
A wry, bitter smile twisted the headmaster's face. "And he still managed to escape them. Perhaps the time it had taken the two of them to get in contact with me and for me to come to a decision bought him all the time he needed. Perhaps he would have escaped no matter what. In the end it does not matter which. By the time Qrow and Amber gave up the pursuit and returned to Murasakino to aid the survivors it was too late. With no huntsmen or huntresses to aid them the defenders of the little village were overwhelmed in minutes. There were no survivors."
"The ordeal weighed heavily on both of them, but on Amber most of all. Not only had their mission failed, but an entire village had been wiped out in the process. Amber's convictions began to crumble. She began to lose faith in our cause, and in me especially. She became increasingly combative and rebellious and refused to go on any more missions with Qrow or be anywhere near him. I tried to give her time to rest and recuperate, but she refused to slow down. She took mission after mission, even if her presence wasn't necessary for them. She refused to talk to me for more than a few minutes at a time, and even then she was aggressive and aloof. She spent more and more time outside of the city and I began to worry that I would soon lose her entirely. With the Spring Maiden already missing in Mistral we could not afford to lose another maiden, especially if she went completely rogue. The power she wielded was too great to take that risk. So I spoke with Ironwood about my concerns and he developed a solution. A way to ensure that the Maiden's powers would always go to a host of our choice."
"The aura transfer machine," Jaune said hoarsely, his entire frame shaking with building fury. "You created a device that would rip the soul out of someone because you traumatized a young woman and she stopped trusting you."
Ozma spun around, his calm façade shattering. "What was I supposed to do Jaune?! I tried to get her to open up to me, I tried, but she refused to say a word! I couldn't force her to speak to me if she didn't want to! If she abandoned us, or worse was murdered, then we would lose the Fall Maiden's powers for years! Perhaps even decades! That was a loss we could not afford to suffer. The machine was a last resort. If everything else failed it was my plan Z. No, not even my plan Z. I understood just how monstrous using such a thing on someone would be and I would not use it unless I had been left with absolutely no other choice."
He dropped his cane and let it clatter to the floor as he leant on his desk, hands pressing into the glass surface. His body shook with each heavy breath he took. It had been decades since he had lost his composure like that. "But I was left with no other choice. Amber went rogue and deserted us to roam the wilds and watch over villages on the outskirts of civilized land. It had been what she always wanted to do. Not skulk in the dark and fight wars in the shadows. But her actions on the frontier left a trail and Salem's agents caught wind of her. They must have realized she was on her own, because they would have sent far more than just three assailants if they thought she had back up. I sent Qrow to pursue her and watch her from a distance, but not to interfere unless she was attacked."
"Let me guess," Jaune snapped, "he was supposed to drive off the attackers and then convince her to come home, but the plan got fouled up and he almost didn't make it in time."
"Yes... and no. You're half right. Qrow was supposed to drive off any attackers and he was supposed to bring her home. But not in the way you think."
"Qrow was to let the assassins attack Amber, drive them off if they proved too strong for her, then incapacitate her and bring her back to Beacon to be interred in the aura transfer machine, where she would be preserved until a new maiden could be chosen."
"Ozpin!" Glynda backed away from him, horrified. Tears brimmed in her shining green eyes. "How could you?!"
He forced himself to ignore her and continue his story. "We didn't expect Salem to have developed a way to steal the Fall Maiden's power from its host. In hindsight I should have known she would think of a way to do that eventually. By the time Qrow understood what was happening it was almost too late. Amber's attackers had almost completed their mission when he drove them off. Amber was wounded and near death, so he returned her to us as fast as he could. And the rest you already know. Amber was interred in the aura transfer machine which put her in a state of suspended animation until a suitable replacement for her could be found."
Silence filled the room. He waited for someone to say something, to scream at him and hurl deserved accusations. To draw a weapon and attack him. Anything.
"Amber... was one of the first students I ever taught," Glynda whispered as tears fell down her face. "Her first year at Beacon was the year I started teaching here. She was my favorite student. Bright, cheerful, hardworking, and good to her soul. She was one of the best people I ever had the honor of knowing. I was so proud of her when you chose her as the Fall Maiden. I knew she would do great things with that power."
The deputy headmistress's eyes hardened, anger shaking her body. "And you murdered her."
"I did everything-"
"NO! Don't you dare say that again Ozpin! Don't you dare! You should have told me what happened in Mistral and let me talk to her. I could tell something was wrong with her but you told me you were handling it and I trusted you! I could have gotten through to her, I could have helped her come to terms with what happened!" Glynda sobbed, tears flowing freely as her body shook with grief and rage in equal measure. "I understand that in our line of duty we must do things that we regret, but you let an entire village of innocents die to capture one man! We put ourselves on the line to protect those who cannot protect themselves and we may very well fall doing our duty, but that is the choice we make when we becomes huntsmen and huntresses. We do not sacrifice helpless people to complete a mission." She clenched her eyes shut and drew in a heavy breath, forcing herself to regain her composure. When she opened her eyes there was nothing but cold fury and broken trust in them. "I thought you understood that. After all, it was you who taught it to me."
Glynda Goodwitch turned on her heel and marched to the elevator before he could respond. She stepped in and slammed her palm into the control panel. She didn't even look at him as the doors slid shut.
Silence filled the space between Jaune and Ozma. Eventually it was the younger man who broke it. "Pyrrha will never be your Fall Maiden," he said softly. "Do you understand me?"
Ozpin looked up, already knowing it was futile but having to try anyway. Story of his life. "Jaune. She is the best candidate-"
Light blinded him as it filled the office. He shut his eyes and threw a protective arm over his face as heat washed over him. A hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and hauled him over the table effortlessly. He forced himself to open his eyes, already knowing what he would see.
Jaune was like a sun. Light, pure and white, radiated out from his body in every direction. Every shadow in the room was banished, and all the way in Vale the light could be seen by anyone looking at Beacon from afar. Sapphire eyes blazed with an inferno of blue fire that threatened to consume Ozma.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" He roared in the immortal man's face, his own face twisted in a furious rictus that would have sent a Goliath fleeing. "Pyrrha is not your pawn in this game. None of them are. Not her, not Nora. Not Weiss, Ruby, Blake, or Yang. None of them."
He shoved Ozma back and the man fell into his seat as the Light began to slowly ebb away with each deep breath Jaune took. Soon the only sign it had ever been there was the stinging and after images in Ozma's eyes and the burning fire in Jaune's eyes. "I understand that we need a Fall Maiden. I understand that we need to make sure that whoever holds the remainder of that power is killed. I'll do everything I can to help you with that, because at the end of the day, no matter how much I hate you right now, we are on the same side. The one that wants to stop Salem once and for all. But you will find another candidate for the Maiden's powers. In fact, you won't even mention this to Pyrrha. She will never know she was so much as considered to be the new Fall Maiden."
Ozma straightened the collar of his shirt and dusted himself off, trying to regain some of his composure and hoping that Jaune didn't notice the way he was trembling. "Isn't that her decision?" he asked, sounding far more calm than he was.
"No," Jaune growled. "It isn't. I can't trust you with her safety, be it mentally or physically."
"She is in training to be a huntress Mr. Arc. Danger will be a part of her daily life regardless."
"Maybe, but that will be her choice. She won't be dogged by assassins looking to steal a mystical power from her corpse. She won't have to wonder if she can truly trust the man who gave her those powers."
There was silence for a few moments. "I understand," Ozma said softly. "I will not choose any of your friends to be the maiden. I give you my word."
Jaune turned and began to walk towards the elevator, then paused. "Tell me something," he said without turning around.
"Haven't I told you enough?" snapped a mentally drained Ozma.
"Why did you tell me this? You could have spun a story that put you in a much better light. I probably would have believed it too."
He contemplated that questions for several moments. "Because... because you already suspected me of wrong doing. If I lied and you caught onto that then it would only confirm that you could not trust me. And I would rather have you on my side than acting as a wild card. At least this way you would know I was being truthful." He chuckled bitterly. "After all, who would make up a story like that just to make themselves seem like the villain?"
He looked down at his trembling hands, resting on the glass face of his desk. "And because sometimes... sometimes even I must admit my sins to someone who will judge me for them."
For a moment he thought the Champion would say something to that, but he only nodded before moving to the elevator. The doors slid open for him and he stepped inside, turning to face the headmaster of Beacon.
The fire in his eyes dimmed somewhat, the inferno of his rage receding in the wake of mercy. But there was a hard edge in his gaze. One that Ozma knew would always be there. "She was right. We don't win by sacrificing the people we're supposed to protect, no matter how important the victory we could achieve. Because as soon as we allow innocent people to die in the name of victory Salem has already won, regardless of who stands triumphant at the end of this war."
The elevator doors slid shut and Ozma was left alone with his demons.
When Jaune stepped out of the elevator the first thing he saw was a trembling Goodwitch leaning against a wall and clutching her arms around herself tightly, trying and failing to fight back tears.
Jaune leaned next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, unsure of what else to do.
"I admired him for so long," she whispered. "I think I even loved him at one point. When he chose me to be his deputy and included me in this shadow world of wars behind the scenes I was honored. It told me that he trusted me implicitly, trusted me to help keep Remnant safe." She wiped a sleeve over her eyes. "But he always has secrets. He always keeps something back for whatever reason. I know how unpleasant our line of work can be and I had faith that anything he kept to himself was for good reasons."
Her breath hitched in her throat. "How could he do this? How could he keep this from me? How could he have stooped so low as to permit a trusted ally to be attacked just because she was grieving? and how could Qrow go through with it?" She spat. "He's a drunken bastard, but I thought he was better than that."
"I... don't have anything I can say other than I'm sorry Miss Goodwitch," he admitted.
She looked at him and it broke his heart to see someone as taciturn and stoic as Glynda Goodwitch be reduced to tears like this. "When is Nathaniel coming back?" She whispered. "I miss him."
"Soon," Jaune promised, though he himself didn't know for sure. In truth they should have been back by now, but they weren't. He worried for them, but he felt certain that Nathaniel and team CRDL were still alive. He couldn't explain how he knew, just that he did. "They'll be back soon and they'll be bringing a few surprises that I think you'll like."
"What, no hints given?"
"That would spoil the surprise." He grinned cheekily and she laughed, shaking her head.
"Nathaniel is so proud of you," she said suddenly. "He talks about you and the progress you're making all the time. He was beside himself with terror when you were hospitalized." She reached up and cupped his face in a shockingly gentle hand for a woman who could be so stern. "He loves you like a son. I hope you know that."
The Champion was almost overwhelmed by a sudden burst of emotion. His bottom lip quivered and his eyes filled with tears as he thought of his old mentor who he hadn't seen in far too long. He wiped a sleeve over his eyes and nodded. "Yeah," he croaked. "I know."
Jaune loved his mother and father to death. He would never trade them for anything, but Nathaniel really had become like a second father to him. Despite how gruff he acted and how he'd mercilessly thrash Jaune in training the Champion knew his old mentor had nothing but love for him, and Jaune had nothing but love for Nathaniel. "I miss him too."
She smiled and patted his cheek gently. "You're a good boy Jaune. You make him proud. You make us all proud."
Nathaniel stared off into distance and thought of Glynda as the others spoke.
"Sir Nathaniel? Is everything okay?"
"Hm?" He turned back to the group. "Apologies, my mind was elsewhere. Where were we?"
"Do you have any insight on how best to prepare for the Grimm?" Elder Malach asked.
Nathaniel, the Elder, team CRDL, Deargis, and a few other notable people in the village were gathered around a table in the Hall of Records. Upon the table was a highly detailed map of Sanctas and the surrounding land for twenty miles out.
The knight leaned on the table and examined the map with a critical eye. "How large is this force of Grimm we're facing? Do we have any idea as to numbers?"
"Hundreds at the least," Deargis said. "I've killed more Grimm in tae last three days than tae rest o' mah life combined, and they dinnae stop comin'."
"There were dozens when we were ambushed," a girl standing next to the chief scout said softly. She shook and the fox faunus put an arm about her shoulder.
"If ye dinnae want to talk about it, then don't. Okay?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to insist that she does," Nathaniel said. "We need all the information we can get. Every bit helps. I understand it's a hard thing for you to speak of and I apologize for having to ask, but the more we know the better."
The scout bit her lip and nodded. "Okay..."
"Thank you, Miss...?"
"Wicker."
"Miss Wicker. Can you describe the ambush to us? Any detail, no matter how small, can make a difference."
"We were following the trail of a pack of Grimm we'd caught wind of. We'd done the same thing a dozen times that day alone. Maybe we were getting complacent or tired, but we didn't notice anything off as we followed the tracks into a clearing. The ground had been churned up as though a lot of animals had moved through there recently. We spread out to investigate the area and figure out where the Grimm had gone."
"That was when the Deathstalker burst out of the ground under us."
"We didn't know what was happening at first. One second everything is fine, and the next everyone is screaming and running and shooting and... And the Grimm just came out of nowhere. They must have been waiting to ambush us, but... I didn't think Grimm were capable of that."
"Normally they aren't," Nathaniel mused as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Unless they have an elder Grimm leading them. One that's lived long enough and survived enough fights to begin to develop a higher level of thinking. Not true sentience, but a hunting instinct."
"Wait, that's possible?" One of the villagers asked in shock. "I thought they were just mindless monsters."
"Most are. Occasionally though a Grimm might live long enough to start thinking tactically rather than just running in. It's rare, but not unheard of. These Grimm become pack leaders and in time could muster multiple packs under their control if they're allowed to live."
"How do we stop an intelligent Grimm?" Someone asked fearfully.
"The same you do any Grimm," Cardin said as he slammed a fist into his palm. "You kill it. It's still just a Grimm. An intelligent monster is still just a monster, and it has to come to us now. It won't be able to ambush anyone again."
"Which brings us to the matter of defenses," Malach said as he leaned tiredly on his staff. "What do we need to do in order to prepare? Will our walls hold?"
"Against hundreds of Grimm?" Nathaniel shook his head. "No. Not if they're allowed to reach the walls."
Cries of alarm filled the Hall of Records. Nathaniel held a hand up. "Peace!" he called out. "Please, I'm not finished. I said if they're allowed to reach the walls. We must stop them from doing so in numbers."
"How?" Deargis asked.
"By giving them something else to focus on." The knight tapped his finger on a spot on the map just outside of Sanctas's wall.
The chief scout caught on immediately. "Are ye insane?! If we try tae fight them outside of tae walls we'll be slaughtered! How is that supposed tae be better?!"
"You're right, you can't fight them beyond the walls. But the five of us can."
"Uuuuh..." Russel leaned in close to Nathaniel. "Hey, Sir Nathaniel? While I really appreciate the vote of confidence in us don't you think you're getting a bit too ambitious? Four of us are just squires, and I'm not keen to die a virgin."
The knight gave him a flat look. "I didn't mean we'd fight all on our own. The people of Sanctas can give us fire support from the wall top as we draw a majority of the Grimm to us. With your help and the gifts and blessings the Lady has given us we can hold our own."
"I think it would be wise to gather everyone not fighting inside the mountain fortress," a man in the robes of a scribe pointed out. "They would be safer in there than the village itself, and they would be out of the way of those who are fighting."
"Agreed," Elder Malach said with a nod. "I'll see to getting them inside."
"How long do we have until the attack?" Dove asked. "Do we have any idea?"
Malach shook his head. "Not for certain, but we have eyes on the forest. As soon as they come we'll know it and be ready. My illusions are diverting and slowing them down, but there's something to be said for blind aggression and tenacity. They will find us sooner or later."
The knight nodded solemnly as he examined the map. "I'm sorry about the people you lost. Had we known we would have returned on our own to help you."
"What matters is that you're here now," the elder said as he patted the much taller man on the arm. "You came when we had need of you, as your kind always has." He smiled sadly.
"No one else will die," Nathaniel swore. "I give you my oath, not one more of your people will fall so long as I stand. For too long as the Order hidden away and waited for the time to rise once more. Now that time is upon us, and Salem will know fear once more." He looked to team CRDL. The four squires met his gaze firmly.
Cardin nodded in agreement. "No one else," he agreed. "Not as long as we can stand and fight."
And the stage is set for the Battle of Sanctas. Will this be a shining moment of victory for the warriors of light, or will the Order draw its first and last breath in the same moment? Only one way to find out.
And we finally get the full story of what happened to Amber in this chapter. Ozpin (Ozma, whatever) isn't a heartless bastard, but he's shown that he'll do what he thinks is necessary for ultimate victory in the canon show itself. Ultimately he's just doing the best he can, and as he himself once said, he's made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on the planet. At the end of the day he's a still a fallible human being.
If you're enjoying the story so far then please follow and favorite it so you can be notified when more chapters are uploaded! If you have a friend that likes RWBY, RWBY content, fan fiction in general, or you just think would enjoy this story then please share it with them! If you want to further support my works and myself as I strive to establish myself as an author then please consider following the link below to monetarily support me in my quest to be the very best, like no one ever was. Just copy and paste it into your browser bar, close the spaces, replace the (slash) with the / symbol and you'll be good to go. A big, BIG thank you to my two Knight-Lord level patrons Lufftewaffle and Scout!
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions feel free to leave a review or PM me! Though do be aware that if you ask a question as a guest account I can't actually respond to it, so if there's something you're wanting to ask me you need to make an actual account. It's easy, cheap (AKA free) and the authorities probably can't stop you! I love you all. Goodbye!
P a treon . com (slash) Nerdlydelicious