Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY.
Dove
By: Imyoshi
Freedom—the ability to control one's Destiny.
Like everything in life, nothing was truly free, everything came with a price.
Be it narrow, steep, shallow, wide, large or small was up to the one holding the novelty of freedom in their hands, versus the person reaching out to claim said object for themselves.
In a world where children fought wars because of other people's decisions, could the idea of freedom truly exist?
Rewinding back three days prior to the appearance of the Treacherous Quadruple, Pyrrha watched as her leader strolled out the Mess Hall, heading to their room for relaxation and Aura training after finishing his dinner. She had half a mind to follow his lead, loving the idea of kicking off her boots for some downtime. Part of her wanted to test out Caliburn's power further and she couldn't think of a better partner to practice with. She couldn't even recall the last time Jaune and her trained together. A spar would be nice.
Her musing was cut short when Weiss promptly got up and followed Jaune at a brisk pace, probably to intercept him before he reached their room. Not to say Pyrrha didn't expect Weiss to confront and demand answers from her leader, Dust and all, she was just surprised she didn't ask when they were eating or her for that matter. Probably had something to do with pride or whatnot, and the champion knew a thing or two about pride. Damn thing made people do crazy things.
Roughly poking her steak with her fork, she nicked a piece off and chewed the flavor meat tenderly; thoughtfully watching Ren feed Nora some chocolate dessert he had swiped. Off to the side, at a different table no less, Team RWBY, minus Weiss, talked about some outing to Vale they had planned. Pyrrha occasionally heard words mentioning fangs and clubs, but the champion couldn't really hear the exchange with the noise of the Mess Hall bouncing off every conceivable direction. She only knew about the outing because Jaune mentioned it offhandedly before he finished his meal.
Finished with her food with a thoughtful gulp, she smiled over to Nora devouring her dessert with Ren's piercing eyes showing hardly any emotion. To anyone else, except Team JNPR, no one would've noticed his pink eyes holding a bit more shine than usual. Not to say he was an emotionless wall, but the guy was like a book only a few selected people could read at any given moment. What Pyrrha Nikos was reading within the subtext was the underline emotion of happiness.
Nora was a different story. One that couldn't be learned, only observed.
Draining her beverage, she hummed for a bit, still feeling fantastic after her fight with Blake, but her amusement was cut short with the vibration of her scroll. The champion pulled out the device in record time, unable to hide her confusion when she discovered the message was from the Headmaster himself, who was asking for her to appear in his office after she was finished with her dinner.
"What's wrong, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha tore her eyes away from her scroll to find them zeroing on Nora. The happy-trigger girl was smiling from across the table, traces of chocolate in both her teeth and cheeks with her elbows perched on the wood. Ren was already wiping her cheeks by the time Pyrrha answered her question.
"I'm not sure. Headmaster Ozpin summoned me to his office. He wants to see me after I finish eating."
Ren's eyes betrayed no emotion, but Nora was a mood ring. "Oh! I wonder what he wants! Maybe you're in trouble? Hn? Did you steal anything? I didn't know you had a bad streak in you, Pyrrha! Who would've thought, our resident champion's a thief!"
"What?!" she cried with an outburst. "Don't be ridiculous! Of course, I haven't stolen anything. And I'm not a thief. I'm as much as a thief as..." Pyrrha glanced around the Mess Hall and found that guy Mercury's eyes on her for a split-second before he glared away. Pushing that moment away, she subtly pointed to his minty-haired teammate. "That person over there."
Emerald Sustrai found herself sneezing all over Mercury Black. What rotten luck. Someone must be talking about her.
Nora wasn't satisfied. "Hmm... we'll chalk this one up as a maybe."
Pyrrha didn't know whether or not she should defend her honor, knowing it was Nora of all people, so she glanced over at Ren instead. "If you will excuse me... the Headmaster has summoned me. Please don't let Nora break anything while I'm gone. We don't need Jaune to be stuck on cleanup duty."
"No problem." Ren did a simple wave as Pyrrha got up and left. He turned to see Nora glaring at him with all the fury she could muster with chocolate on her face. He ever so calmly wiped away the remaining dessert, not fighting back his amused smirk. "You know, Pyrrha's got a point. Our leader's always cleaning up your messes."
"Oh yeah?" she challenged. "Prove it!"
"Well..." he recounted, using his fingers to list the times. "There was the time we followed your idea to follow our leader, which ended up a brawl between Pyrrha and him, or your stunt that caused us to switch weapons and made Jaune the laughing stock for that entire class. When you ate the Lore shard was a nasty one, and after he hid it away so something like that wouldn't happen. I also know Jaune's not particularly fond of Sir Scrabbles. Then Jaune has to feed Sir Scrabbles Aura shards. Plus, you like eating the Aura shards. Then there's you hiding all his stuff. And who could forget all the times you poked him with a fork."
"No one asked you!"
Smiling softly at Nora's blushing cheeks and crossed arms, Ren dabbed his finger on the remaining chocolate and booped her on the nose. He licked the remaining chocolate off his finger, barely missing her reddening cheeks. "Hn? That's good. I think I'll get some for myself and a salad. I feel like treating myself today."
Excusing himself from the table, she flicked the remaining chocolate off her nose and tasted the sugary substance stuck to her finger, pondering over Ren's words. Now that she thought about it, the bombastic girl did cause many problems for her Fearless Leader. Maybe the next time she saw him she'd ask if everything was alright? Only seemed fair since she knew Jaune-Jaune would do the same—he was kind like that—but for now, her mind was focused elsewhere, half on the retreating Ren, and the other half on the idea of playing with Sir Scrabbles. A battle stirred in her soul as she wondered which side to seek out.
By the time Ren returned back from grabbing his second meal, Nora was gone. He made sure to blink a few times, just to make sure he wasn't seeing some illusion, only to learn she was truly not there anymore.
Looking across the Mess Hall and finding no sign of her, he easily shrugged his shoulders with no clear interest in pressing the matter. Whelp, he tried his best to stop Nora. Figuring it was already too late to catch her now and stop whatever mayhem she may be causing—if she was causing mayhem—he settled down onto the table to tackle his salad and rare sugary delight.
In the grand scheme of things, Pyrrha should've known better. Nora Valkyrie couldn't be stopped.
Only pushed.
...
Bouncing into her room, Nora threw the door open with too much force, rattling the walls around her. She slipped in before shutting the door with an equal amount of force, scanning for her precious mass of evil and adorableness, and she found Sir Scrabbles sleeping between Ren's sheets, apparently undeterred from Nora's impressive entrance. Expressed a lot about how Sir Scrabbles was already used to her antics.
Running forward, she slid down onto the carpet, leaning over Ren's bed to come face-to-face with the sloth Grimm. Their noses were practically touching, Eskimo kisses and such, and the sloth tiredly opened its eyes to stare at the human female who'd awoken it from its slumber, again. Not surprisingly enough, Sir Scrabbles tried to fall back into dreamland, but Nora was having none of that.
Hugging the Grimm tight, she bounced onto Ren's bed. "Uh-uh! You've been sleeping all day, Sir Scrabbles! Stop being a lazy butt! It's time to wake up and hug the sunshine!" The Grimm despised sunshine. "Aw! What? You don't want to play with me?"
The sloth Grimm blinked innocently into the hug, feeling something akin to guilt. An ironic emotion for a Grimm to have, but considering the humans that were harboring it, well, in better terms, normal and natural have long been thrown out the window. Not to say the slothful Grimm wanted to play because it preferred sleeping, but denying this powerhouse of a female might prove fatal to his health. The leader of their pack was strong, but the cold, silent one the king had entrusted power to was far more susceptible to emotional outrage. Which meant hurting the female's feelings was not an option.
Bringing its arms up, Sir Scrabbles hugged her neck, producing a cute squeal from the crazy girl. "Ha! I knew you wanted to play! How does airplane sound?" Sir Scrabble knew it didn't have the freedom to deny her request. They could watch paint dry for all it cared. "Yup-yup! Airplane sounds perfect! I mean... look at those arms! They're perfect!"
Lying down on Ren's bed with her feet up, she immediately began tossing Sir Scrabbles into the air, catching the tiny sloth Grimm moments before it crashed into her chest, at least most of the time she did. Occasionally, Nora missed and Sir Scrabbles ended up in various positions, mostly covering her eyes with its body splashed across her forehead. Not to say it bothered the auburn girl, but Sir Scrabbles was not as strong as she was. Where she felt joy and laughter, the Grimm felt pain and misery, again, perplexing for a Grimm and a human to have in the same room, but it was better than the alternative of her kind trying to end its life and vice-versa.
Strange how two opposing forces could find a compromise when violence was subtracted from the equation? A little love and happiness really could go a long way.
Enjoying the game they played for who knew how long, Sir Scrabbles suddenly perked up a little, feeling emotions of heavy doubt and sadness creeping up on it from outside the door. Alongside those emotions were even more conflicting enigmas, including the presence of Aura in pain. Very rarely did a Grimm come in contact with Aura in pain since the anomaly usually happened when a human was dying. By then the Grimm normally finished off the human, but this Aura was completely different. The usual emotions when a human was dying were missing and the Grimm sensed no panic.
Something was completely off here.
Feeling the sensation, the conflicting troubles remained outside the door for quite a while before in walked in Jaune Arc, emotions heavy in directionless guilt. Normally, the leader did a good job at hiding away troubling emotions, but this time he wasn't attempting to guard his thoughts. Sir Scrabbles wasn't the only one to notice and call him out on it.
"Hey, Jaune-Jaune!" Nora laughed, hugging Sir Scrabbles tight in a loving embrace. Jaune still didn't know how she could trust a Grimm so freely. "Whatcha up to?"
The Grimm felt the leader's doubtful emotions all over him, and they were all directed at it. He carefully shielded them away from the female, but his emotions were too heavy to completely hide from a creature of darkness.
"I'm going to practice on my Aura and Lore for a bit." Jaune rubbed his hair and looked around the room. "Where's Ren and Pyrrha?"
Nora pulled on Sir Scrabbles tighter, resting her chin on top of the Grimm's soft head. "I don't know. I think Pyrrha went to go study for Professor Port's test next week or maybe I think she said something about the Headmaster calling her. She was smart like that. Ren went to go eat more of his gross health food."
Nora noticed her leader pausing, thinking of the many what-if scenarios he should follow and ignore. It was a habit she noticed he'd picked up. Something was troubling him that much she knew. Be it Pyrrha, Ren, her, or none of the above didn't really matter. All she cared about was helping her Fearless Leader. They needed him to be in tip-top shape for the tournament. Jaune-Jaune was no good all mopey and closed-off.
What a complicated problem to deal with. Why couldn't hugs and brute strength solve all the problems she was forced to tackle?
Watching him reach for his Aura notebook, she sat straighter on Ren's bed, hugging the Grimm firmly. Didn't take a genius to figure out her leader had made a new discovery with Aura, not with the way his eyes narrowed in concentration, but he was normally more vocal when he learned something new. He was like a kid in a Dust shop. To see him so quiet raised some red alerts in her head. By the way he gripped his pencil alone spoke volumes of the troubles going on in his mind. Why he didn't ask for her help really did put her role into question. Then again, maybe Jaune preferred Ren's input.
Ren always did have a way with words.
"What's wrong, Fearless Leader?" Jaune's pencil broke upon the paper of the notebook and he was about to ask how she knew something was wrong, but Nora only hugged Sir Scrabbles firmer. "You're usually so happy whenever you write in that boring diary of yours."
Jaune looked surprised that she managed to call him out on his funk. Kind of made her wonder what he came to expect from her, but that didn't matter anymore. Today was the day she was going to change that, and she did just that, listening to Jaune spew on about some weird girl with an even weirder Aura. Honestly, Nora wasn't too sure on what to say. Pressing him with questions rather than suggestions didn't really help. It did force her leader to think, but she wasn't too sure she wanted him to get a headache.
Eventually, through some small miracle, she managed to make it through the conversation. He made her a quick sum of Aura shards for Sir Scrabbles to eat before heading off to Emerald Forest. The entire conversation had helped her realize one thing about herself. Helping people was so hard!
No wonder she honored Ren with all the work.
...
The elevator ride up to Headmaster Ozpin's office was, for a lack of a better word, heavy. Pyrrha's heart felt constricted and the air in her lungs left sooner that she liked. Logically, there was nothing to be worried about. Instinctively, there was a deep, troubling pressure weighing down on her soul. Call it warrior's intuition, but something felt strangely off the higher the elevator moved up and Pyrrha Nikos definitely realized this the moment she stepped out the elevator and into Ozpin's office with Professor Goodwitch and a man wearing military garbs standing at attention. For some reason, she knew she'd seen the military man from somewhere before.
"Please, Miss Nikos." Ozpin drummed, sitting easily in his chair. Professor Goodwitch and the other man simply stood. "Take a seat. We've much to discuss. And you might want to sit down for some of it." The second she obliged, it felt like a noose was tied around her neck. She was forced to settle down the urge to gulp. Yet, none of it made sense. Maybe she would be more relaxed without the others around, and Ozpin must've realized this as he openly gestured to the military man beside her. "But first, pleasantries are in order."
"Hello, Miss Nikos, my name's James Ironwood. It's a pleasure to meet you." Now Pyrrha recognized this man! He was the head of the Atlas's military.
"And you know Professor Goodwitch." Ozpin added, lacing his fingers together.
Pyrrha ignored her, finding everything not to her liking. She wanted answers. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?"
Leaning back in his chair, Ozpin took out a scroll and played a video on it. "I've watched footage of your talents displayed today when you fought Miss Belladonna. And I must admit, Miss Nikos, you've improved remarkably well these past few months. Far more than I've anticipated." He clicked off the footage and grew an amused smile. "Tell me, what's your favorite fairy tale?"
Confused from the sudden questioned, she lightly frowned. "I'm sorry?"
"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must have a favorite. Everyone does."
Pyrrha wasn't sure what he was asking. "Well, I like a few of them. Like the one with The Girl Trapped in the Tower, The Prisoner's Selfless Act, The Wicked Witch of the West, Luck's Misfortune, and The Fool's Struggle."
Ozpin smiled at one of the fairy tales, knowing some better than others. "What about The Story of the Seasons?"
Pyrrha knew that story like the back of her hand, it even made her smile a bit, but she found that feeling of doom encircling her. Perhaps this was how her leader must've felt when Nora's Aura was all but gone. Being able to sense the demise of another must take a toll on a person's psyche. And she knew she wasn't always this apprehensive, but after everything that happened to her, she learned to look past the black and white of the world and step into the grey area—the silver.
Not everything was as it appeared.
Playing along, Pyrrha recounted bits and pieces of what she knew, determined to only give half-truths. Something she picked up from both Jaune and Ren. "I know of it. It's a story of a callous old man, who refused to leave his home and is visited by four traveling sisters. Each one of them bears a gift of knowledge and wisdom onto the old man, slowly opening up his heart to the beauty of nature. They give the old man purpose." Pyrrha smiled a little. "In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant 'til the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the Four Maidens."
It seemed like Ozpin was mildly disappointed in her answer, but he remained faithful to his smile. "You seem rather fond of that little tale."
"My mother used to tell me that story every night when I was just a little girl."
Ozpin allowed the witty retort to die on his tongue as he settled more into his chair. Whatever smile he had was gone, only to be replaced with a questioning scowl. "How would you react if I told you that fairy tale was true?"
Honestly, she wouldn't be too surprised. She'd seen a lot of things in the past few months. Saying the idea of impossibility existed in Remnant was a fool's dream. Just ask Sir Scrabbles sleeping in their room. Such things didn't freak her out or make the champion question the possibilities anymore. Maybe if her leader had stayed a bumbling fool for a little while longer, her perception on what was real or fake wouldn't be so crossed, which, again had to do with walking the silver line of life.
Still, she was a bit surprised. "I beg your pardon?"
"What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world that could wield such tremendous power, without the aid of Dust or Semblances?"
Pyrrha was wondering what Ozpin would think if she told him about Lore. Such things didn't throw her off balance. "If it's neither Dust nor a Semblance... then what other power are you talking about, Headmaster?"
Ozpin smiled again, not missing the subtle movements of his friends behind Pyrrha. "Magic, Miss Nikos. Magic."
She was slightly stunned, trying to piece everything together with puzzles pieces that just didn't belong together. She was lucky James intervened. "I wouldn't worry too much if I was you; learning about the existence of magic takes some time to get used to."
Tearing her glare away from James, Pyrrha locked eyes again with Professor Ozpin, getting slightly defensive. That gut feeling from earlier resurfaced, and she wanted nothing more than to get back to her team. Whatever Ozpin wanted churned parts of her soul.
"You're serious?" Ozpin's face betrayed no mockery. "If you're not joking... then why are you telling me this? What is your reason, Professor Oz?"
Coughing into his hand, Ozpin got up from his chair and moved over to Glynda. "To be honest, we weren't going to ask you of this until during the Vytal Festival, but your recent improvements have pushed our plans ahead of schedule. Not to worry, this is a good thing." He hummed. "To make it brief, we believe you're the next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."
Pyrrha didn't bother asking about the we part, eyes instantly centered on the ding of the nearby elevator door. A moment later in walked a girl she had never seen before. Her hair resembled the same shade of her friend Nora, but her style of clothing fell more into Ren's color palette—minus the cloak. Adding in her bright and sunny smile, she felt that something was wrong about her. Her Semblance came to life the moment she took a closer step into Ozpin's office—a habit she'd picked up after learning to control the iron in her blood. Becoming more in tune with her Semblance allowed her to sense nearby metals. There was metal all around this girl.
Literally!
Pyrrha felt nothing else but metal coming from her.
Was this how Jaune felt when he discovered her Semblance the first time? Lost and confused? Perhaps this was how her leader felt when he was actively using Space or Outer Space? All the energetic Auras around him must push him over the edge from time-to-time. What a strange occurrence to live by.
The new girl did a big wave and moved closer to her. "Salutations, Miss Nikos! My name is Penny Polendina! It's an honor to finally meet you!" Pyrrha fought the urge to squint her eyes, noting the heavy iron all over her body. "You must be so excited to be the next chosen Fall Maiden?!"
Before Pyrrha could ask who this girl was, James was beating her to the punch. "Penny..." he sighed, hiding the barest of smiles for all to see. "I'm glad you got my message. For a minute there, I was worried. You didn't respond as fast as you normally do."
Penny blushed, poking her fingers together. "Sorry, General Ironwood, I was talking to my old friends. I hadn't seen them in a while... and..."
James held out his hand, fully understanding Penny's plight. Personally, he wasn't too thrilled with her mingling with other people, but he wasn't mad. "It's alright... just next time tell me in advance."
Penny's face brightened up and she did a tiny salute for the General. It was all so playful that the champion almost fell into a false sense of security.
"There must be some mistake?" Pyrrha questioned a moment later. She'd ignore Penny for now. "I can't possibly be in line to receive these powers. I just learned about their truth right now."
Ozpin grabbed her by the shoulder. "And you're right, there is another reason you might be the next in line. Not only are you talented and kind-hearted, but you're also humble. If not you... then who else? Who can we trust to bestow these powers to?"
She flicked her attention to Penny and everyone was just staring at the champion. It was enough to make that humbleness resurface. "I mean... Penny does know about the Maiden powers already. Why can't she be the next one in line?" Focusing on the integrity of the question, she glared. "Well?"
Not to say she wasn't appreciative of being offered power, but the last time someone got a whole new spec of power, it almost ended up with her dead. Lore was great and all, and her leader had shown its capabilities more times than naught, but that very same power almost killed Nora. Call her crazy if she thought being a little cautious was foolish.
Waiting for an answer, Glynda delivered with a fold of her arms, glaring an icy hue at the General. "We've already gone this far... might as well, James. What's one more secret?"
James glared right back but lost his bravo very quickly. He gestured his hand over to a nervous Penny. "To answer your question, Penny's a robot. She wasn't born but made in a lab. She's the first synthetic entity to be capable of generating an Aura. We aren't sure if her synthetic body can accept the Maiden powers. And it's too big of a chance to take if something were to go wrong."
Pyrrha allowed her eyes to widened. A robot? Her? That explained the iron oddity. Even stranger was Penny's ability to generate her own Aura. Now that was something her leader would undeniably take acute interest in, although, the idea of a robot wielding Aura left a bitter taste on her soul. She found it wrong for all the right reasons. Stuffing life into a machine? No. No! It wasn't right. Not at all!
Wait a minute?
"What do you mean accept?" Pyrrha looked over to Ozpin. "How does someone actually gain the Maiden powers? What makes you so sure that I'm to receive them?"
Glynda smiled at Pyrrha's clever line of questions. Whatever nervousness she came with have appeared to have all but vanished. At first, the combat professor didn't know how the champion would fare, but she was doing oddly well, almost like she was used to being around the unknown, more than they gave her credit for at least.
Allowing the soft lull of the gears to tick systematically, Ozpin eventually moved away from Pyrrha and marched toward the elevator. James, Penny, and Glynda followed, leaving just enough space for Pyrrha to squeeze in. In there he held out his hand and invited her in.
"Because we are the protectors of the world... and we need your help. Please, Pyrrha Nikos, come with us. We'll show you what we mean."
...
The elevator was an uncomfortable one for Pyrrha. The silence from the adults was unnerving, and Penny's creepy, robotic smile—now that she knew Penny was a robot, all her awkward gestures were impossible not to compare—wasn't any help at all. In fact, her smile unnerved her more than the adult's silence. All they needed was a sarcastic person to finish this secret group of theirs.
Curiosity eventually won her over. "Where are we going?"
"The Vault. Under the school." Ozpin answered. Secretly, he was glad Pyrrha chose to hear them out. He was also secretly glad Professor Port finally decided to get rid of that ridiculous room of his.
Pyrrha needed not to ask again as the doors dinged open. Outside the steel walls was a greenlit passageway. The space within the hallway was massive; Pyrrha would even compare the architectural marvel to be wide and large enough to house the entire academy. Then again, the atmosphere around her was chilly to the bone. It was funny enough that none of the adults found it chilly, and they promptly move forward with Penny remaining behind. It appeared like Glynda Goodwitch wanted to stay, but she didn't.
Stepping out the elevator, she walked forward with powerful, slow steps. Beside her was Penny. She was tagging along, smiling that same smile of hers. Painstakingly enough for her, it was the robot that let her feelings out first.
"You must be so astounded from all this!"
"More like confused." Pyrrha admitted. "I still have many questions. But mostly I want to know why me? Why am I next in line to receive the Maiden powers?"
Penny had no problem revealing the secret to her. "General Ironwood told me the Maiden powers has been around for a really, really long time. The powers are like nature! They change constantly! No two seasons are alike! Which means no person can have the same powers twice. So the powers move onto some new person when the old person dies. Neat, huh?"
Their definitions of neat were comparably different. "And what? Do the powers choose their next host? Is there some ritual I must do?"
This time Glynda stepped in, matching her pace with Pyrrha's. "Not exactly. At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate."
Pyrrha frowned. "Intimate? How so?"
"To put it simply, when a Maiden dies, the last person they were thinking of is given the powers."
"But not if it's some boy or bag of bones!" Penny added. "Nope! If that happens, then the Maiden powers find a new host at random. Poor General Ironwood is still looking for the Winter Maiden. He loses sleep on it sometimes."
"Penny..." James growled. Penny simply giggled and moved forward to catch up with the General.
Putting the pieces together, Pyrrha rubbed her chin, thinking clearly. "And you're telling me all this because I improved?"
Ozpin picked up on her skepticism. "Not just improved, but exceeded our expectations. To be frank, we had originally planned to reveal this all to you after your graduation. However, times are changing. War is coming. And we're running out of time. We were going to wait a little longer before mentioning it, but this is even better. At least now we have some time to plan our next move."
Pyrrha heard the general gist of all that, but one word kept replaying itself over and over again in her mind. "War? But we're in a time of peace?"
Ironwood sighed. "And that peace won't last long. Tensions are getting high and the Grimm's numbers are increasing. But we'll explain more about it later. For now, just know this, for the first time in history, part of the Maiden's powers have been stolen. Someone attacked the Fall Maiden."
Pyrrha's questions continued to grow, but they were all halted when they reach some pod-like machine that was housing a sleeping individual inside. Electricity bounced off the walls, humming a maddening tune for all to hear. None of that compared to the girl trapped inside, sleeping with a burn scar all over her left eye and most of her face. She was tannish in both color and hair, lacking any formal clothing except for the bare casual.
Touching the glass, Pyrrha sighed. "This is her, isn't it? The Fall Maiden?"
General Ironwood stepped forward, peering through the glass. "Her name's Amber. For now, her condition's stable, but even Atlas's most state of the art technology can only do so much."
The meaning was clear. "And you're not sure if the powers will transfer to the next host or bounce back to her assailant."
"Whoa!" Penny grinned, leaning within General Ironwood's person bubble. "She's super smart!"
James fought back a smirk. Pyrrha really was a perfect candidate for the powers. "It is the first time we've seen the power split up before, so yes, that is a factor we've been dreading over. We're not sure what will happen."
"And that would be terrible." Professor Goodwitch finished, pushing her glasses up.
Drawing her hand down on the glass, Pyrrha had a sudden bout of anger before it washed away just as fast. It was no secret why this was all kept from the public eye. Pyrrha knew a thing or two about keeping secrets. This was no different, just a larger scale if anything, but still a secret nonetheless. Comparing this one to her team's secret brought everything into perspective. When someone had a great amount of power that anyone could learn, well, best not to let any one person get their hands on it. Trust was so hard to come by in this world full of monsters and beasts.
Pyrrha Nikos couldn't even imagine the few that had actually garnered the power they sought after. She didn't even want to imagine someone getting their hands on Jaune's Aura notebook. To her leader, it was just a notebook he collected over his studies on Aura. To the rest of Team JNPR, they all know it was so much more than that. It was a guide to unimaginable power. Just look how far Lie Ren managed to come from dwelling on the pages, and he was only able to scratch the surface of Aura control.
Who knew what'd happen if someone with a more in-depth affinity to Aura control came along. Grasping the power of Aura and Lore, even by the skin of their teeth, could prove disastrous. Pyrrha had personally witnessed and challenged Jaune's Aura weapons. Not exactly a power to be taken lightly.
Everyone was just lucky Jaune came from a family of heroes.
Removing her hand away from the glass, she quickly wondered if Jaune's Aura shards could help Amber, but tossed away the thought. Now was not the time for such oddities and what-ifs, now was the time to be questioning her next move, knowing full well what Ozpin wanted from her. Besides, if Amber couldn't be saved from state of the art technology from Atlas, then how far could Jaune's Aura shards possibly reach?
Taking a deep breath, she backed away from the glass coffin, glaring at Ozpin evenly. "Can I have some time to think about it?"
Ozpin frowned but nodded anyway. "Fair enough. We still have a fair amount of time before you have to make your decision. But we need it after your first mission is over. No later than that."
Pyrrha counted the days in her head, eyes gasping as she finished. "But, sir, that's only a little over a week away!" And the tournament was three weeks away. She didn't have time to worry about other problems! Not with her leader's future on the line! "A little more time would be nice."
"I know... I'm sorry to put this burden on you." Ozpin really was. "But even if we're ahead of schedule, we're still running out of time. Her attacker could be coming to claim the Maiden powers any day now."
"She can already be here." Glynda added distastefully.
Pausing, Pyrrha glanced over to the comatose Amber, tilting her head questionably at the girl. "I forgot to ask, how were you going to transfer the powers over to me? If what you were saying was true, then I don't see how you were possibly going to accomplish such a feat."
Ironwood stepped forward and pointed at the unoccupied machine next to Amber's. "For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it."
"And cram it into a machine." Glynda glared, subtly glancing over at Penny.
Pyrrha shared in the sentiment but must chose her words carefully with Penny around. "That's... odd."
Ironwood shrugged. "Desperate times calls for desperate measures. We know we can't transfer Amber's powers over to you, but we can give you her Aura. The only downside is we don't know what the outcome would be if we merged her Aura with yours."
Taking all the Aura knowledge into account, Pyrrha based her next response on the General's answer. "How long has Atlas been studying the effects of Aura?"
"Roughly six years." Frowning, she glared back to the glass coffin, not verbally speaking her mind.
Six years and this was how far they've gotten? Not to brag, but Pyrrha knew her leader could've done a better job than some damn Aura scientist. Jaune already figured out a way to transfer Aura to a useless Dust shard, all of which drained little of his time compared to the span of six years. In essence, knowledge of Aura between Atlas's scientists and her Fearless Leader was a gap wider than the ocean. The champion would even go as far as to say pathetic.
And they wanted her to trust her life with them?
When it came down to it, she didn't like those odds. Selfish or not, she'd rather it be her than somebody else. It was human nature to want to survive. Different outcomes and different aftereffects meant nothing. In the end, this was no different. In order to maintain peace and balance, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, but she was Pyrrha Nikos! She didn't give up.
"I still need time."
Ironwood didn't say anything else on the matter, choosing to redirect his attention elsewhere. "I believe I don't need to tell you that everything we've discussed that goes down around here is confidential." Pyrrha nodded. "And if you would, do keep Penny's origins a secret, Miss Nikos. Now if you would excuse us, we have matters to attend to. Come along, Penny."
Penny flashed over to Pyrrha, shaking her hand. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Nikos!"
"Please." Pyrrha coughed. "Just call me Pyrrha."
Penny found Pyrrha's awkwardness funny. It reminded her of someone else she ran into. "You know! I met your leader and partner not too long ago, Pyrrha. And you talk just like him! He's very nice! I can't wait to see how all your training pays off with him!"
Blinking, she stopped the handshake momentarily, allowing her eyes to sharpen on the robot before her. Penny already met Jaune? Then maybe he knew something about all this? A likely chance he didn't, but the odds were looking up. A robot with Aura? How could her leader not pick on that? If, of course, there was something to pick up at all, but something in her guts said luck was on her side.
She couldn't even ask her how she already ran into Jaune because Penny was already running off to catch up with General Ironwood.
Catching her nerves, she felt the eyes of both Professor Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin on the back of her neck. Her boots clicked loudly on the metal floor as she turned to confront the professors. Their faces betrayed no emotion, but she still saw the anxiety from Professor Goodwitch's posture. Their talk was clearly far from over.
"Training?" Ozpin mussed, sorely missing his coffee mug.
Pyrrha pouted, knowing the deal her leader was under with the Headmaster. "For the upcoming Vytal Tournament. We're going to win."
Ozpin was personally amused. "You do know—?"
"He forged his transcripts? I know." Pyrrha waved off with Glynda Goodwitch widening her eyes.
Ozpin found her confidence and loyalty in Jaune impressive. "And you still follow him, interesting?" she glared at her Headmaster, not liking what he was thinking. "Tell me; how certain are you sure that Jaune Arc will win the free-for-all?"
Like she told Jaune herself. "I believe in him completely."
Ozpin smirked, finding Glynda's earlier analysis all the much sweeter. It seemed like Glynda wasn't exaggerating about Team JNPR's dynamic. An odd predicament, but it did set up the next part of their teacher's wager. Such loyalty was hard to find these days. A problem the Headmaster saw in even the most experienced of teams.
"Good, that's perfectly good, Miss Nikos. This just brings us to our last little predicament, your upcoming team mission. Originally, Team JNPR was going to be assigned Professor Peach for your mission..." Ozpin glanced over to Glynda. "However, it seems someone else has decided to govern your mission... personally."
...
Walking back to her team's dorm room, Pyrrha wanted nothing more than to confront Jaune, silently hoping her leader picked up on anything strange with Penny. She may have sworn to not reveal any of the secrets she learned, but if she could nudge her leader in the right direction, then that technically wouldn't be breaking her promise.
Curiously enough, when she learned that Professor Goodwitch was going to be accompanying them on their first mission, she had profoundly wondered why. She didn't get to ask. The Headmaster and Headmistress of the school's time had been cut short. All she did know was that Professor Goodwitch believed in her team—whatever that meant—and their mission would be pushed early by the span of a week. This meant they left the first coming Monday before returning back just as the dance was scheduled to occur.
Ozpin had cleverly prepared a lie for any possible teams asking why Team JNPR left a little earlier. Being chosen by Vale to compete in the Vytal Tournament meant their team needed more time to train and not worry about missions, whereas the other chosen teams had less promise to live up to. Not a perfect lie by any means, but it'd probably get the job done regardless.
Who was going to question Ozpin?
As she passed by open windows, Pyrrha couldn't help but notice how late the day had gotten. The sun was practically set already. Darkness should take over within the hour. How long she spent with the Headmasters was anyone's guess. All she knew was that her bed sounded like the best place in the world.
"I hope we aren't pressuring you, Pyrrha?" Pyrrha sighed, unable to fault Penny's presence.
Once she had stepped out of the elevator earlier, Penny was there to greet her without General Ironwood in sight. The synthetic android wanted to hang out as she so put it. Pyrrha had a sneaking suspicion Penny was really here to prevent her from spilling secrets and to keep tabs on her. Not to say she was surprised, but the lack of trust was impossible to ignore.
"No..." Pyrrha answered. "No, it was just a lot to think about. There's so much to consider."
Turning into her hall, she allowed her eyes to grow a fraction upon noticing the cracks found on her team's wall. She found it sad she'd come to expect something like this whenever she ventured back to her dorm. The culprit was clear as day the moment she stepped into their room, looking all positively guilty and immensely confused, as if her plan had fallen apart at the seams.
"Nora?"
"Yes, Pyrrha?"
"What happened?"
Poor Nora looked completely lost. "I... I don't know. One minute they were eating the pancakes I made and the next second they're devouring everything like starved people. Then out of nowhere, Sun has this great idea of going on a guy's only road trip... and they just left without me."
Checking the damage done to their dorm room, the champion leveled down to expect the plates of syrup stained evidence. They were empty, not a morsel left to consume or share. Her train eyes then zero in on the broken door hinges, like something or someone simply couldn't wait to get out of their room and just had to leave in a hurry.
Studying Nora's story, Pyrrha tilted her head at the missing items she noticed gone. The guys didn't take anything, except for the pile of forgotten sunglasses Nora had stashed away, and one of Blake's questionable ninja outfits she kept hidden in their closet, thinking they didn't know of its existence. But what was even stranger was another precious but forgotten object that had been taken as well.
"I wonder why Jaune would take Crocea Mors with him or why they would leave their scrolls behind." Pyrrha's eyes land on the spotless plates. "Nora... what were in those pancakes you made?"
The person in question timidly pushed her fingers together. "... Flour, sugar, baking powdered, salt and love?" Pyrrha's eyes narrowed, waiting for the obvious more. "Maybe even some of Jaune-Jaune's rock candies. Oh! And some chocolate chips!"
Pyrrha opened her mouth and then closed it, wondering what the implications of cooked Aura shards could have on a person. They were packed loaded with Aura goodness from her leader, and his Aura alone was on a different level compared to the vast majority of everyone. Even a shard filled with one Supernova could give a person a much-needed boost of strength and power. Least not forget Jaune's high reserves of Aura. If he had wasted all his Aura making those, then she couldn't imagine the aftereffect! Nora already proved there was such a thing as Aura overload—practically a hangover!
To think Nora just gave those four foods that granted immeasurable strength but at unknown consequences. Never mind poking at Nora's cooking skills. Pyrrha knew what she could do to a kitchen with just a mixer and some flour. "This can't end well."
Nora looked over to Pyrrha, wondering for a second where she had been all day, then her eyes zero in on the person standing just outside their broken door. Her smile was bright and she waved almost robotically at her, never breaking the façade even when Nora tugged on Pyrrha's shoulder.
"Pyrrha? Who's that?"
Looking over to her new friend, she breathed in deeply before addressing the question with trained hospitality, already forgetting about the problem at hand. This one was far more important that the guy's sudden road trip, which she was not suspiciously jealous of as well.
"This... this is Penny, Penny Polendina... my new friend. I met her sometime during my meeting with the Headmaster. And Penny, this is my teammate and friend, Nora Valkyrie."
"Salutations!"
There was a quick flash of surprise passing by Nora's eyes before it was gone. The sugary girl was then all smiles and sunshine, running up to Penny to meet her. "Hello! I'm Nora! And I love your bow! What're your favorite colors?"
Penny grinned, grabbing her bow. "Pink and green!"
Nora grabbed her by the shoulder, eyes deviously sparked. "Oh! I like you! We're going to be the bestest of friends!"
Penny opened her mouth and then closed, tilting her head in confusion. "Friend Nora, bestest is not a word."
"That's just how amazing friends we are!" Nora paused, pouting her lip. "Do you like board games?"
Penny and Nora immediately hit it off—not like Pyrrha didn't expect anything different. They were equally loud and adventurous, although for different reasons. Nora was just naturally like that. Penny was a machine learning to act like a human as far as the champion could tell. The novelty behind Penny had yet to settle in for Pyrrha. With the Maiden powers and her leader's sudden absence overclouding her current judgment, she had very little time to worry about Nora teaching Penny all the weird things about boys.
Glaring at the half-empty room, Pyrrha threw her head back in annoyance. Perfect. Just perfect! Who knew how long the effects of Nora's pancakes would have on the guys. The invincible girl couldn't just go and find them either. Without their scrolls, they could be anywhere. She wouldn't know where to even begin looking for super-charged Huntsmen. They could be halfway to Atlas for all she knew!
Sitting on Jaune's bed, she threw a worried glance at Sir Scrabbles hiding beneath Ren's bed. Unlike Jaune, she didn't mind the Grimm too much, knowing the little guy was relatively harmless. Nora's constant cuddling and hugs make sure of that. Didn't mean she didn't get where her leader was coming from. She understood completely. And it seemed Nora was content to keeping Sir Scrabbles a secret from Penny, making no move to grab her adorable Grimm.
Sliding her hand back, her fingers bumped into a paper notebook and she instantly knew what her fingers had touched—Jaune's Aura notebook—the very same notebook hidden beneath his pillow, which prompted a small smile from the blood bender.
Such a terrible hiding place. It was a miracle no one else found it.
Grabbing the notebook, she was tempted to open it up and look for any new notes her leader might've written on Penny, considering the robotic girl did mention she bumped into her leader. She wasn't Ren. She hadn't read this thing front to back, hardly having any interaction with it, but any possible notes on Penny were too alluring to simply pass up. Yet, once again, Destiny was torturing her by making the action an impossible one with the target of her focus sitting five feet away, on Ren's bed no less, playing the Dust Cane board game with a peeving Nora.
"This isn't fair!" Nora whined, watching as Penny thrashed her at every turn. "You're getting all the lucky dice rolls! Who gets an eleven four times in a row? That just doesn't happen!"
Penny giggled. "I'm sorry, friend Nora, I guess I'm just lucky?" Hiccup! "Or maybe I just know how to throw the dice well. Probability is all math based, and knowing how to toss the dice in the right angle can improve—!"
"Gah!" Nora poked. She plucked the dice out of Penny's hand. "I hate math. Give me those darn dice, I'll show you probability! Watch as I roll a twelve!"
Having the difficult job of deciding whether to smile or frown at Nora interacting with Penny, especially after Nora rolled snake eyes, Pyrrha tucked the notebook back under Jaune's pillow, finding it ironic that there was no better hiding place in sight. Sadly expressed how bare their room was.
By the time Penny finally left, Pyrrha was too tired to keep her eyes open anymore. Not to mention she was worried sick about Jaune and Ren's disappearance. They still haven't returned back from their surprise road trip. Sure, that might've been the Aura shards mixed with Nora's cooking talking, but part of Pyrrha believed Jaune and Ren actually wanted to spend some time with the opposite sex. She couldn't recall the last time Ren and Jaune bonded with any other males. Team RWBY certainly didn't help with that problem. And guys did have a tendency to jump into the frying pan without thinking of the consequences when they were bunched up together.
Too tired to think anymore, very less read her leader's handwriting; she yawned and peered over to Nora's sleeping form. She was resting on Ren's bed, holding onto his pillow. There was drool falling down her mouth and onto Ren's pillow with Sir Scrabbles. During some point after Penny left, the Grimm perched itself on Nora's head to snooze alongside her. It was cute in an ironic sort of way.
Grimm and human resting together? Who would've thought?
Dropping herself down onto her bed, Pyrrha fell into a blissful, dreamless sleep, forgetting all about Jaune's Aura notebook tucked underneath his pillow.
...
The next morning came longer than the girls expected. Without the guys to wake them up, the sun was already high in the sky, pointing out their laziness. Lucky for them, it was Saturday, but the guy's empty beds proved they never returned from the day before. Without their scrolls, Pyrrha had no idea where they were at. They could be trapped in a condemned building for all she knew. And at the worst possible time with their mission being pushed up.
Pulling herself up, she found Nora feeding Sir Scrabbles some Aura shards. She was still sitting on Ren's bed, cooing adorably at her little pet while at the same time badmouthing Ren. "There you go, Sir Scrabbles! Here's some yummy food! Oh! You're so cute and precious! And nice! Not like meanie Ren who went on fun adventures without his partner. He was a jerk. Promise me you'll never grow up to be a jerky Ren."
So it looked like she wasn't over the whole surprise, only-male road trip. Poor Sir Scrabbles appeared indifferent to Nora's angry smile.
Throwing off her blankets, Pyrrha went to check on Jaune's bed, hoping for the off-chance they did return last night and had simply beat them up again, but his sheets were exactly the way she left them last night, right down to the pillow? Wait a minute? Pillow?
Remembering Penny's presence last night, she tossed the pillow away and spotted Jaune's Aura notebook. She quickly reached for it, feeling fully awake as her heart began to beat faster. Her fingers traced over the old notebook, reminding her of the first time she caught him writing notes within it. Seemed just like only yesterday he was constantly taking notes in Professor Port's class—except now Pyrrha knew it wasn't his notes and ideas he was writing down.
Flipping open the worn out notebook, her eyes scanned a few of the pages, noting the little things her leader wrote and scratched out here and there. She'd never really gone over the stuff he'd written, but a lot of it was groundbreaking in the terms of Aura knowledge. Definitely better than whatever those Atlas Aura scientist could've possibly come up with.
"What are you looking for?" Nora asked as Pyrrha glared at the page she was currently on, finding nothing on Penny yet. She was getting near the end.
"Just looking to see if Jaune's added anything strange about Aura." Pyrrha answered, never looking up from the notebook, but Nora put her on the right page.
"Is it about Penny?" Looking up from the notebook, Pyrrha's eyes reveal her surprise. Nora smiled sadly and put Sir Scrabbles down. "Before the guys left on their stupid road trip... Jaune-Jaune said Penny's Aura was all wrong. Something about her Aura made our leader very sad and angry. He said he wanted to help her."
She closed the notebook. "What was wrong with her Aura? Did he say?"
"It had something to do with it screaming. Penny's Aura is always screaming. And our Fearless Leader wanted to know why... so he went to go train. Then he came back and all the guys went on their dumb road trip!"
Pyrrha hid the rest of her surprise, coming to the conclusion Jaune figured out Penny wasn't normal from quite possibly their first meeting. She reopened the notebook and turned to the last page, finding exactly what she was looking for. A sketch of Penny covered the page with notes all about her Aura. Little things that would be simply impossible for her to ever notice, but not him. He already figured out Penny was an enigma without anyone ever having to reveal it to him.
"So Jaune noticed it, didn't he?"
Nora looked confused. "How did you know something's wrong Penny? I don't think Jaune ever told you. Not with you at your boring meeting."
Pyrrha smiled, hiding the notebook back under Jaune's pillow. It really was a convenient hiding spot the more she used it. "Well, for starters, she was at that boring meeting. And something had seemed off when I met her." Pyrrha lied half-truthfully. "She told me she met Jaune... and knowing our leader, I thought he might've written something down about her." The champion grinned. "And I was right. But I didn't think it would be something serious."
"Yeah..." Nora sighed, learning she was pretty bad at solving problems.
Pausing, Pyrrha recounted the night before. "You and Penny seemed to have gotten along quite well last night. Even after she beat you three times at Dust Cane."
Nora crossed her arms, pouting in anger. "She's just like Jaune, a cheater! I don't know how, but she cheated! No one just rolls four twelves in a row! No one! I will get my revenge!"
Knowing her revenge would likely never happen, Pyrrha stood up from the bed and went over to pick up Sir Scrabbles. Between all the members of the team, she spent the least amount of time with the little guy, practically having no relationship with the Grimm. It was hard, really hard for her to open her mind to Sir Scrabbles. She didn't have a problem with the Grimm per se, but their entire species altogether. Pyrrha was still a champion.
She was an aspiring Huntress. Harboring a tiny Grimm in their room went against each one of those beliefs and probably broke a whole bunch of rules compared to Team RWBY's dog, but it was hard to say no to the face the Grimm's making as she held it up. Once she got past the whole humanity's greatest threat phase, Sir Scrabbles really was just a cuddly sloth Grimm, one that demanded to be spoiled!
Placing the little Grimm back onto Ren's bed, Pyrrha looked out the window, noting without Jaune and Ren around the day was relatively sane, boring even. Other than solving the problem with Penny—which she did—she was stuck on what to do to pass the time. She could take a page out of her leader's notebook.
That sounded like a productive idea.
Changing into her training attire, she headed toward the door, ready to practice with her blood weapons. If she had nothing to occupy her time—and calling Jaune was out of the question—then she might as well hone her skills. The Vytal Tournament was just around the corner. They need to be ready. Jaune's future was on the line. Their team's future was on the line.
"I'm going to practice in the training room."
Nora simply laughed, poking Pyrrha on the shoulder while the taller girl blushed obtusely. "Like leader, like partner! You're both always training! You two need a vacation! No! We all need a vacation!"
Normally not one to relax, Pyrrha couldn't fault her logic. After everything that happened these past two semesters, a vacation sounded heavenly. Maybe after the Vytal Tournament was over she'd convince her leader for a mandatory week off. If anything, she felt like they all deserve one. Especially after they win the tournament. The Penny problem had only acted nothing more than an inconvenience. A distraction at its finer roots, but nothing more.
"Sure, I would like that." Grabbing the doorknob, Pyrrha lingered about for a minute, tensing herself up. Might as well tell Nora now than later. This way Nora couldn't say she didn't tell her. "By the way, our mission has been pushed up. We're leaving this Monday, not the next."
Nora groaned and fell back onto Ren's bed, grabbing Sir Scrabbles before it could jump off the bed. "Aww! Now we really need a vacation! It's not fair! How come the guys got to go on a road trip? They're probably having so much fun right now?"
...
Elsewhere! In an Atlas Male Strip bar called Rainbow-Dustcious! Four teenage boys wanted by the Atlas military were wearing various provocative outfits. They were hiding in plain sight, dancing to the outdated music playing through an even older stereo system.
"I can't believe we're hiding from bounty hunters in here of all places." Neptune grumbled, envious of Sun's inability to feel self-conscious. They just had to eat Nora's pancakes! "I think I would rather be caught then let the chance of anyone I know walk through those doors."
Jaune blinked, face innocent. "I just can't believe how popular Ren is."
Ren glared at the withered group of old bats waving around one-hundred liens, which only made him seem more appealing. His shoulder ached from his recent addition and he was stuck dancing for perverted old women to hide from the Schnee bounty hunters. "I hate my luck."
...
Pyrrha smiled sadly for Nora.
"I'm sure Ren misses you already." She smirked. "But fun or not, be ready to leave Monday morning. We cannot afford to mess up our first mission."
Nora groaned and hugged the nearest pillow with a sour pout. "You're just like Jaune-Jaune! Always giving orders!"
The champion wisely ignored her flustered teammate and exited the room with her medical book underneath her arm. A quick walk later and she was in the training rooms, at a far-off section where wandering eyes couldn't see much. Now that she was separated from Nora, the champion glared and sighed, wondering when everything went wrong with a rub of her neck. Of all the times for Jaune to be missing, and he chose now? Any other day wasn't possible? Had to be this weekend?
Just her luck.
Partially, she blamed Ren and his affinity for misfortune.
Scowling, she shook her head and floated her hand over the blood of her shield. A fraction of life-giving liquid fractured and then pulled away to condense into a small sphere above her palm, going from a cold solid to a liquid.
Opening her medical book, Pyrrha found the page on blood and narrowed her eyes at the chemical formula of blood. Well, it wasn't much of a chemical formula, but a mixture of water, amino acids, proteins, and etc. She found most of it useless and focused entirely on the bond that made blood truly special.
Hemoglobin.
It was an iron-rich protein, directly influencing the passage of oxygen throughout the body. Without Hemoglobin, the body wouldn't have oxygen. Around seventy percent of the iron in the human body was found in blood, mostly in the red blood cells and Hemoglobin. The iron itself was responsible for binding the oxygen to the protein, amongst aiding in the body's immunity functions. Iron played a major role in the body and her bloodstained weapons.
As far as she figured, the iron in the Hemoglobin reacted to her reach, moving directly under her command. How or why she hadn't a clue. Pyrrha knew Fe at that level shouldn't be capable of being influenced by her Polarity. Her Polarity allowed her the power of magnetism, that was all she knew.
Clearly, something was off.
Maybe her Semblance was different? Maybe she hadn't mastered her Semblance yet? Maybe, just maybe, she hadn't discovered everything her Semblance had to offer? It wasn't an idea she enjoyed pondering over, but how else did she account for the control over the Fe atom? Polarity shouldn't allow that!
Another form of attraction was there and it was mocking her!
Giving up, she released a tired breath and glared at the tiny splotch of blood floating over her palm. There was little point in fussing over this. Fe atoms, magnetism, missing data, possible Semblance imbalance, chemical formulas, none of it mattered right now. Pyrrha only needed to train and sharpen her skills for the upcoming Vytal Tournament. Everything else could be pushed back for later.
She willed the blood to rejoin her frozen weapon, becoming a solid once more. A quick swing of her blade revealed its sturdiness. She whipped her hand once more, covering her weapon in a layer of her mismatched Semblance. Instantly, all the Fe atoms vibrated once her Semblance blanketed over them, excited for her presence. Another swing this time had the solid brake away and turn into a liquid, becoming a splatter of blood on the floor with sharp edges.
Pyrrha quickly noticed that the less blood splattered on the floor, the sharper the cuts compared to the large splotches. So, by that logic, sharper was better. Made sense, no one wanted a dull sword. The crispier and thinner the cutting edge, the better the blade. Of course, the only way to test this idea was to thin out her weapon.
She willed the free blood to return, condensing back to her sword. This time she swung her arm in an arc and concentrated on the escaping blood, forcing it to sharpen into an almost string-like whip. Pyrrha actually smirked when the blade extended, turning into that whip with an impossibly sharp edge.
Interested, she used her Semblance to spread across her metal clothing, hoping to produce a stronger swing but stopped when she glared down at her arms, mind reeling.
Iron came from Hemoglobin. Hemoglobin came from the blood. Blood came from the body. The body contained a few liters of blood. Said blood traveled throughout the body and pumped oxygen and nutrients. Her mysterious Semblance allowed her control over the Fe atoms in Hemoglobin.
Knowing all that made her think.
If she could control the Hemoglobin from her weapons, what about the Hemoglobin in her own body?
...
Other than Nora fuming over Ren for not inviting her to his sudden road trip and Pyrrha practicing new techniques, not much happened over the course of the three days Jaune, Ren, Sun, and Neptune had been missing. Team RWBY had returned from some team bonding outing with Blake seeming even tenser and reserved than usual. Penny stopped by every now and again, secretly checking up on Pyrrha due to the General's orders while maintaining a friendship with Nora. Not like the champion paid much attention due to the Maiden powers dilemma clouding her mind. More often than naught, Nora found Pyrrha leaving to go train on her iron control with Caliburn and Moirázo̱, hardly seeing the metal girl except for a quick passing in the halls.
Then came the news alert from Atlas about four seemingly powerful Huntsmen attacking their fair kingdom, a day after the boys disappeared. The news had been delayed a day to keep panic at a low percentage.
Impossible to ignore, the Treacherous Quadruple quickly gained infamous recognition all over Beacon. Their wanted posters got posted all over Vale with a hefty reward being offered for any information leading to their capture. Any tense atmosphere in Beacon skyrocketed with the ideas of terrorists and criminal revolting in Atlas, the capital military force in all of Remnant.
Certainly didn't help Blake out either. The girl was only more paranoid than before, but things did get better when the guys return back on Sunday night, looking worse for wear. Just in time, too, Team JNPR's mission started tomorrow. Pyrrha had been getting worried Jaune and Ren wouldn't make it back on time. She still needed to inform them about their mission status
...
Reaching their room after everyone—but the guys—cursed out the Treacherous Quadruple, Jaune and Ren prepare for the inevitable, not believing for a moment their lackluster disguise truly worked. Surely sunglasses were not enough of a disguise to fool their partners. Maybe Nora, but not Pyrrha, they know this, and based on the way she slowly closed the door with a small frown, they got ready for their impending doom. It wasn't like they were at fault here. Nora was the one who made the pancakes that trapped them in a maniacal rampage that ended with them attacking Atlas from a hijacked Bullhead. It was her concoction that left them in a state of unforgiving frenzy and made their blackout all the more gruesome. She did that to them.
They were the victims here!
"So?" she began, turning her frown into a smile. Looked like the Aura overload didn't happen. "How was your sudden road trip? Poor Nora here was mad you didn't invite her."
"It not fair! How come Ren and Jaune get to do all the fun stuff?"
Jaune and Ren spared a second glance toward each other, blinking once in utter amazement before refocusing their sharp glares back at their counterparts. Clearly, shades really were all the disguise a person needed to blend into plain sight. Forget masks and capes! Glasses were where it was at. But this did put them in a compromising predicament.
Should they come clean? Reveal to their friends the mayhem that happened in Mistral? Expose the perilous journey from Atlas to Vale? Like the fight with the bounty hunters or perhaps the military? Maybe Jaune should talk about how he fought Winter Schnee on top of a burning Bullhead as they tried to escape Atlas with said stolen Bullhead. Heck! There were still streaks of purple in Neptune's hair! Even Ren didn't come out of this unscathed. The only positive thing that came out of the entire, heart wrenching, soul-crushing, nightmare-inducing experience was Jaune and Ren being able to keep their secrets, well, secret! And it was all thanks to a simple pair of shades that didn't even hide their facial structures, hairstyles, or anything much for that mattered.
So? Should they spill?
Nope!
That was another story for another time.
Besides, Pyrrha and Nora really wanted to bring down the D-Arc Knight and the Sloth King. The look of determination in their eyes really frightened them. They had still been looking over their shoulders from the small pathway to Team RWBY's room to their own during the quick walk in between. Paranoia was not strong enough of a word to describe the three days they've had. Hell was awfully close, though.
"Fine!" Jaune said a little too quickly. Panicking, he pointed to Ren's shoulder. "Uh? Ren got a tattoo!"
Ren flicked his angry glare over to Jaune. "What?!"
"What!" Nora screamed in anger. She moved in and grabbed Ren's cloak from behind, already pulling the article off. "Oh! I see! I can't get a tattoo! But you can!"
Running off her abandonment anger as fuel, Nora reached for Ren's clothing and he had little time to warn her before the cloak was pulled off, alongside his black shirt, and her eyes widened once she spotted the tattoo. She gasped a few times, not saying any words, and Pyrrha walked up from behind her while Jaune slipped away to put away Crocea Mors. Meanwhile, Sir Scrabbles took in the sight with piercing, emotionless eyes, feeling Nora's emotions all over the place until they eventually settle on unrestrained happiness.
Whatever sadness Nora felt from Ren ditching her and almost not eating her Dust Enhanced Goofy Good Delicious Pancakes, her words, not theirs, seemed to vanish without a trace as her eyes take in every juicy, heartwarming detail of the tattoo on Ren's back.
There was a Sloth King on his back, right centered between his shoulder blades and lean muscles with an added cape and a crown. The king owned a pancake castle with a moat drenched in high-grade syrup. It was all delicious and made the butterflies in her stomach soar. But what really got Nora's attention was the little personal touch of Ren putting her name in the syrup. It was clear as day and he even had the pancake castle made out of her favorite pancakes, making the tattoo all the sweeter.
"Do you like it?" Ren nervously asked for the first time. Even Jaune and Pyrrha were stumped. "I got it..." he sighed, casting a quick, merciless, death glare at Jaune before giving Nora his absolute attention. "I got it for you."
Taking a step back, Nora finally took a second look at Ren, noticing the small change in his wardrobe. Beside the newest addition to his skin, he also picked up a pair of white pants with a new style of shoes—sandals really—where the toes were left to breathe and they reach partially up his leg. Matching his form-fitting coal shirt and cloak, the outfit really did go together quite nicely. The Lore cloak still covered a huge portion of his body, including most of the newest additions to his attire, but the little changes could be seen, and the opened toed shoes did allow him more freedom and he loved them. That was all that really mattered in the end.
Nora Valkyrie could just eat Lie Ren all up.
"Ah!" She ran up to him and tried to crush him in a death hug. His Lore cloak and natural strength prevented that, leading up to a normal level hug in the terms of his choosing. Nora was still trying to squeeze the life out of him, but the effort was all in vain. She was still rewarded with a small smile. "I love it! I love it! Love it! Love! It!"
Watching from the sidelines, Sir Scrabbles peaked closely at the human female's sudden skyrocket level of attraction for the male human she already wanted. Apparently, the male human wasn't so hopeless, after all.
Pyrrha moved up to Jaune, smiling wistfully at her overcharged friend.
"So... Do I want to ask how Ren ended up getting a tattoo, or why you didn't stop him?"
She could ask them all she wanted. Jaune, Neptune, Ren, and Sun all agreed to take their dirty secrets with them to their graves.
"I wouldn't if I was you."
There was no reasoning behind it.
Letting Jaune's secret slide this time, knowing guys were perfectly fine keeping secrets amongst themselves, like Nora and her with their girl talk, Pyrrha's smile weakened a bit. Without her Fearless Leader around, those three days had really given her the time to think over the Maiden problem. Now that Jaune was back, she was forced to confront the problem head-on. When it came down to it, she didn't want to keep secrets from her team, but this was the weight of the world on her shoulders. There was too much at stake for anything less.
As Nora gushed over Ren's new tattoo, Jaune cracked his neck in a few places and stared longingly at his bed. Pyrrha followed his eyes, noting the weary appearance within them, and not just his, but Ren's as well. Both Jaune and Ren were downright exhausted. Whatever they did during those three days have robbed them of any sleep. That much she could tell. But before they could rest their weary heads, she grabbed Jaune by the shoulder, enticing a slow huh from her drowsy leader.
"There's something I have to tell you, Jaune." He was all ears. "While you and Ren were gone, Ozpin informed me our first mission has been pushed up by a week. In other words, it's tomorrow. It's so we have more time to focus on the Vytal Tournament coming up since we're the team chosen by Vale. We'll be gone about a week, maybe less depending on the mission."
Gasping a bit, Jaune grumbled underneath his breath, cursing everything. Pyrrha's announcement forced the Arc to rub his head, already feeling the impending headache coming along. His eyes lacked focus, alongside Ren's as the ninja settled down into his bed. Judging by the sudden announcement aftereffect, he was none too thrilled either. Pyrrha could tell the guys were about to crash for the night. Their sluggish movements and lackluster responses only proved that theory.
Kicking off his shoes, Jaune sat on his bed, running a hand through his messy, sun-kissed hair. For a long moment, he said nothing, catching his breath before lying down with his dirty clothes still on. For a second, Pyrrha wasn't sure what to do, but he came through with his oh-so colorful vocabulary.
"Just great..." Jaune sighed, lying flat down on his bed with his eyes already closed. "Well, whatever! It doesn't matter now. It's not like we can say no to the mission anyway. We might as well get it out of the way now. You're right, the Vytal Tournament is just around the corner."
Biting her lip, she desperately wished she could inform Jaune about the secrets she learned, but she swore not to reveal them. She silently hoped he would talk to her about Penny at the very least, knowing he knew something was up about the mechanical girl, but he didn't seem too keen on talking anymore. Just following the way his chest continued to heave up and down at a slow rate proved he'd fallen asleep already.
Turning around, Pyrrha wasn't shocked to find Ren already down for the count with Sir Scrabbles crawling out from underneath his bed to join his slumbering companion, leaving a still awake Nora behind to gaze over the sleeping duo. A rare event as Ren normally waited for Nora to get tired before falling asleep. Their trip must've really taken a lot out of them. More than the champion previously thought.
"I guess we should hit the hay!" Nora grinned; snuggling up to Ren's sleeping form. His tattoo was still fresh in her mind. "Nighty-night!"
Smiling wistfully at the hyper girl, Pyrrha shut off the lights and trudged over to her own bed. She wasn't as tired, but without the guys awake and Nora tagging along, the room was growing too quiet for her tastes. By tomorrow morning she should be able to question her leader on what he knew. For now, she'd supply him the comfort he so desperately craved.
"Sweet dreams, Nora."
...
Team JNPR awake to the sound of their scrolls ringing at an ungodly hour in the morning. Nora tried to hide underneath Ren's covers to block out the ringing, burying deeper into his chest. Ren's face merely tensed up; groaning as he knew the ringing wouldn't stop, no matter how much mental power he put into solving the problem. Jaune quietly slipped his head underneath his pillow, hating his life every second. Only Pyrrha managed to get herself out of bed, having anticipated the morning wake-up call, knowing about the mission's specs ahead of time. Which made no sense to why Nora was pretending she knew nothing about mission's start time, Pyrrha knew she told the Valkyrie the day before.
Pulling herself up, she grabbed their scrolls and checked the messages within them. They were all the same. They leave for the mission in roughly thirty minutes. Professor Goodwitch even messaged not to be late or else a triple detention was in their foreseeable future.
Slightly panicking, she nudged her stubborn leader. "C'mon, get up! The mission's in half an hour. We have to meet Professor Goodwitch in the auditorium or else she's going to give up detention."
"Alright! Alright!" Jaune yawned, sitting up. Ren and Nora have made no move to follow him. "I'm up! I'm up!"
Satisfied, Pyrrha went to push Ren and Nora awake, leaving Jaune to rub the sand out of his eyes. The one time she was a morning person had to be the day where he was dead inside. Did Monty really have it out to get him? Couldn't he just get a relatively normal day without problems smacking him dead across the face?
Peering through his fingers, he didn't even show emotions at the audacity before him. "I guess I can't."
It wasn't every day someone woke up to their own wanted poster, less be it two people waking up to see their own wanted poster, hanging and covering the hole in the wall in their room. Nora must've hung it there when they weren't looking. The damn thing really captured the guy's likeness quite well. He wasn't the only one thinking that, sharing a hard glance with Ren across their room, silently exchanging a signal of words without moving a muscle. The girls were none the wiser to the entire ordeal.
"It's too early!" Nora whined, breaking the males out of their silence. "Why can't we have the mission around noon?"
"At least we don't have to go to classes." Ren offered. It did nothing to make Nora feel better. For Monty's sake, the sun was barely rising over the horizon. Sigh. "But I agree. It's too early."
Forcing themselves up, the team dressed accordingly; ready to take on whatever the mission may be. No school clothes for these teens! Then they left without making too much noise for the other students still sleeping, much to Nora's annoyance and Ren's reluctance to keep her from making too much noise. Jaune was still too tired to even care, more than happy to allow Nora to wake up the entire dormitory for all he cared. Pyrrha was the only one honestly caring for the nearby students' well-being, that was until Nora suddenly stopped at the doors to the auditorium, took a quick step back, and ran back to their doom. When she returned, she was holding an odd bag, and before they could ask, she was pushing them through the doors.
As soon as they make it to the auditorium, they were tackled from a surprise visit from Penny, who was waving to them from the stands where Ozpin had first delivered his Welcome to Beacon speech. She was sitting on the podium, dangling her feet aimlessly on the side, acting very Ruby-like. Her bright smile gained a garner of different reactions with Ren the only one didn't recognize her, being the only member to not have met the strange girl yet.
"Hello, friends!" She jumped off the stand and ran up to them, smiling playfully at the confused team. Her eyes then land on Ren, whose cloak hid most of his emotions. "You must be Ren! Nora's told me so much about you! She's right! You really are handsome!" Penny paused for a moment, looking like she crashed before rebooting herself and held her hand out to meet him. "My name's Penny Polendina! Nice to meet you!"
Mildly surprised at both Penny being able to discern who he was and who she was by recounts from Jaune, Ren calmly gripped her hand and endured the endless shaking that came with it. Compared to a life with Nora, he was used to this, going as far as to actually smile at the girl who sort of resembled Nora, right down to her voice level and overall energetic appearance. Penny even had a positive attitude. A plus in his book.
"And I'm Lie Ren; it's a pleasure to meet you, Penny."
Surprised he didn't try to break free from her grip, like others normally did, or attempt to back away the moment she entered his personal bubble, Penny felt her processors overheat at the small smile he gave her and patience he showed. Now that she could see the way his hair curled around his face and how his pink eyes pierced whatever darkness surrounded him—and he was wearing a lot of black colors—it was hard to look away.
"You really are handsome."
Ren didn't appear to have heard her. "Hn? What was that?"
Backing away from Ren, Penny stumbled on her feet, smiling embarrassingly with her arms out. "Nothing! I didn't say anything!" Hiccup! "So! What brings you guys here?"
Nora jumped forward. "We're going on a mission! What are you doing here?"
Penny smiled, throwing her hands up. "I had an early rest so I feel all recharged. And after everyone's done with classes, Ruby and I are going to the mall to hang out! We're going to have so much fun! I can't wait to go shopping for hats!"
Pyrrha subtly glared. It was no coincidence Penny bumped into them, not with General Ironwood lurking just across the hall with Professor Goodwitch, especially not this early in the morning. Everyone in on the secret was watching Pyrrha Nikos like a hawk and she knew that. Didn't mean the attention was any less creepy.
Luckily for her, Jaune was staring at Penny with a sudden new resolve. Whatever drowsiness that previously clung to her leader was all gone. His eyes became sharp and hardened in a split-second. Without asking, she could tell he was concentrating on his Aura to inspect Penny's. He always looked serious when it came to anything Aura related. Pyrrha doubted her leader knew this. For such a fool sometimes, Jaune was anything but.
Clicking her heels on the floor, Professor Goodwitch intruded into their little talk, frowning with the resolve of a soldier. "Ah, you've all made it on time. That's good, very good. Be prepared to head out in a few minutes. Our mission starts the moment we enter the Bullhead."
Turning away, none of Team JNPR saw Glynda's impressed smile as she left them alone, acutely surprised Team JNPR managed to wake up and be ready at such an awful hour for teenagers. Not to say it was that early, but Glynda Goodwitch had been a teenager once. She knew the feeling all too well. Team RWBY definitely would've complained more, but Team JNPR seemed more alert. Although, Glynda didn't miss the unusual strict face on Jaune Arc aimed at Miss Polendina. That little spark of surveillance irked the professor, but she trusted in Pyrrha Nikos to not have delved any information of Ironwood's more than questionable experiments.
Allowing Ren and Nora to occupy Penny, seeing as she was just another Nora for Ren to handle, Jaune backed slightly away from the girl, studying the screaming going on with her Aura. The cries of agony rob him of his tiredness, forcing the leader to remember why he was trying to solve the mysteries of Aura. Unbeknownst to him, his partner had one of the puzzle pieces he so desperately needed, keeping it hidden from his sight, but that didn't mean she wasn't trying to show him the image he was glaring at.
Then Penny was running up to Pyrrha, looking a little less enthusiastic than before. At least to her, she was. "Greeting, friend Pyrrha! Excited to be leaving on your first mission?"
Could Pyrrha answer yes and no? "As much as I'll ever be." Penny grinned and ran off to join Nora once more. Yet, by her eyes, she was hanging dangerously closer to Ren than Nora. Sigh. "I think Penny's perhaps taken a liking to Ren?"
When they were out of reach from everyone else's hearing range, Jaune turned to look at Pyrrha with a hint of confusion. It brought hope to her resolve. "You're friends with Penny? Wait! You've met Penny? How did this happen?"
Speaking half-truthfully, Pyrrha answered. "I met her on my way with my meeting with Professor Ozpin. She kind of tagged along, excited about the upcoming Vytal Tournament. She's been sticking to us like glue ever since. Why else do you think Nora and her are friends?"
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Pyrrha just glared at Jaune. "Oh! Right! My bad!"
"Why the sudden interest?"
He looked around the room filled with other people that weren't Team JNPR. He frowned before replacing it with a tired glare. "She's not normal. Not by a long-shot. I'll tell you later when it's just the four of us." Coming to a sudden conclusion, Jaune did a double take. "Did Nora tell you about Penny's... problem?" Pyrrha's eyes spoke for themselves. "Okay, that makes it a bit easier."
Made sense he would ask such a direct question considering he told Nora first about Penny's Aura problem. He was just making sure they were on the same page.
She poked him in the chest. "Nora kind of clued me in already on all the screaming. I know as much as she knows." That was a lie. "I also know you're trying to help. How's that going?"
Jaune kicked the floor and hid his palms away in his pockets. "Awful. I don't know if I can. I don't even know what to do or if I'm even supposed to do anything?! Her Aura's like something I've never seen before. I can't imagine what's possibly making it scream like that."
Pyrrha had a few ideas, but she was forced to swallow them down. For now, she was bound by honor and her word to not reveal Penny's origins, but that didn't mean she couldn't nudge her leader toward the right direction. Any help or breakthrough at this point was better than nothing. And Jaune had always been one to rely on the barest of supplies.
Moving forward, she pulled his hands from out his pockets. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You always do."
Grinning modestly, he scratched the side of his cheek with an added awkward laugh to hide his embarrassment. "Thanks, Pyrrha. I kind of needed that. It's been such a headache these past few days. I'll take anything I can get at this point."
They both know Jaune wanted to talk more about Penny's Aura, but Professor Goodwitch interrupted them with her stern voice cutting through the air. "We are leaving in two minutes. I repeat, two minutes! I expect Team JNPR on the Bullhead in no less than one!"
Throwing his head back, he sighed. "I guess we better go. Man! And I was so looking forward to sleeping in Professor Port's class today!" Although, he wasn't sure how much sleeping he could've gotten done with Weiss's deal hanging over his head. "Why does the world hate me, Pyrrha? Is it my hoodie? It's my hoodie, isn't it?"
Pyrrha giggled, slapping her leader's arm. "Don't look at me. I'm not the one who left on a road trip at the dead of night. It serves you right for worrying Nora. I don't think she gotten more than ten hours of sleep each day you were gone."
"You know, I'm not seeing much of the sympathy card. I'm starting to think my team's out to get me. And you're in on it."
Pyrrha hid a smile behind her palm. "We're not out to get you. We love you, Jaune."
He scoffed, glaring at a memory. "My sisters love me, too, but they're still out to get me."
The champion remained silent, letting her devious smile do all the talking. Speaking with Jaune again, after three days of absence, felt good. She already felt better about the whole Maiden magic problem. Sure, he still didn't have a clue, but just knowing he was on her side no matter what was more than enough for. Now she just needed to make a decision by the end of the week.
That wasn't too much pressure for a renowned fighter.
Dragging Nora and Ren away from a waving Penny, the four make their way toward the Bullhead. Once they were on the Bullhead, the ship closed the moment Professor Goodwitch got on. Her eyes roam over Team JNPR for a moment before walking toward the pilot. A few words were exchanged between the professor and the pilot before the airship slowly began to ascend into the air. Then Glynda took a seat at the rear, throwing her head back in a rare moment of meditation.
Standing at the far end of the Bullhead, Team JNPR glanced amongst each other, noting the various quirks between themselves—generally Nora's new bag. Now that Penny wasn't here to distract them, she couldn't hide. All eyes were on her, waiting reluctantly for her to reveal the contents hidden inside. The guilty smile of hers sold her out. Like Nora's new bag wasn't going to pass inspection, especially with Lie Ren around, Nora Valkyrie expert. Cut Team JNPR some credit.
Unluckily for her, their troubles were solved—and then reborn—the moment a soft tuff of black fur peeked out of her bag with emotionless eyes. Jaune didn't say anything. Pyrrha kept her mouth shut. The duo just stared at Ren to solve the problem. He didn't disappoint.
Not entirely at least.
"Nora? Why did you bring Sir Scrabbles along?"
His piercing pink eyes break her down and she hugged the bag with the Grimm in it protectively. "I was worried! Okay! I didn't want to leave him all by his lonesome! Do you have any idea what could've happened if I left him behind?"
"Sleep?" Ren answered quickly, sorely wishing for such a Fate. "It would've slept all day like all sloths do. I doubt it would've even noticed if we were gone."
Nora looked at him with pleading, big, innocent eyes, clutching the bag with Sir Scrabbles protectively. Both Jaune and Pyrrha already know the outcome before it even happened. One sighed in despair and the other hid a smile behind her hand, both knowing the ninja was wrapped around the Valkyrie's finger.
Figuring it was too late to turn back now while knowing that revealing their problem to their professor could lead to some serious issues, issues no one wanted to be revealed, Ren leveled with the Grimm and glared nonchalantly at the creature. A silent message was passed between them and the little guy hid back into Nora's bag, silent as a sloth. The ninja then stood straight up once more, towering over Nora's frame. He plucked the bag out of her hands, throwing it over his shoulder without a second thought, and took a quick seat with a window view. Sir Scrabbles moved a second later, crawling out the bag and onto his Ren's shoulder where its long arms were hidden by the Lore cloak's collar.
Nora tried to grab Sir Scrabbles. "But... but!"
"Sir Scrabbles is staying with me. This way I can make sure it doesn't get into any kind of trouble." Nora was about to protest, but Ren booped her on the nose. "If Professor Goodwitch found it, then you'll know what'll end up happening. I'm the best suited to hide the Grimm. You know that."
Plus, Ren didn't know how to tell Nora that the Grimm enjoyed his company a little bit more. Probably had something to do with the Lore cloak and his quiet appearance, emotional detachment, and love for all things healthy, and—damn it! He really was the Sloth King! How could he have let this happen?
Pouting in defeat, Nora slipped into the seat beside Ren, itching to pluck her Grimm back. No such luck as the Lie grabbed her wrist before she even made it close. "This isn't fair. He's my Grimm. I feed him! And hug him! And play with him! And love him!"
Ren scooted farther back, making space for Nora to slide in while not pointing out he groomed the Grimm. "Fine then, sit closer to me if you want to play with Sir Scrabbles, but as soon as we begin to land, I have to take it back."
Pyrrha wisely held her tongue, not commenting on how family-like Nora and Ren looked. Meanwhile, Jaune calmly tilted his head at his partner as they took their own seats across the partners, yawning for good measure.
He was frustrated and annoyed all at the same time. "So... wanna tell me what the mission is? You know Ren and I don't have a clue. Unless..." Ren shook his head. "Nope! Even the almighty Ren doesn't know. Clue a guy in, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha peered out the window. "Hmm, I don't know much. All I know is that we're heading to some village that's half-abandoned. Professor Glynda described the area as half a ghost town. The local buildings are in need of reconstruction and require Huntsmen to clear away any straggling Grimm and to aid in building."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"Don't push your luck, Ren." Jaune punned, hating how fun punning was. He blamed Yang. "Knowing our odds... something bad is gonna happen. I mean look! Nora's already made our mission two times harder and it's barely starting."
Ren glowered. "Why must you poke the sleeping Grimm, Jaune?"
"Hey! I'm just being realistic here. We are the team with our own bad luck charm... and a Grimm. Excuse me if I'm a little paranoid."
Pyrrha diffused the tension. "Don't listen to Jaune, Ren. He's just upset about Penny. And to be fair, Nora..." she added. "You did bring a Grimm along with our combat Professor sitting just down the lane. We're all a little stressed right now."
Ren's façade broke and he glanced back to his leader, more awake now. "Speaking of Penny, does her Aura still have the same problem as before?"
"Yup!" Jaune sighed miserably. "Her Aura's still the same."
Now Pyrrha's confused. "Ren already knows?"
Ren sat back in the chair, amusing Sir Scrabbles who popped its head out of his collar. "Of course I know. Jaune wouldn't stop talking about it when I confronted him while he was busy training." Blinking once, the ninja tilted his head. "By the way, Jaune's made a new discovery with Lore. I don't think he's had a chance to tell you two yet."
Interested, Nora and Pyrrha turned eagerly at Jaune, eyes almost sparkling with wonder. The Arc laughed and leaned in his chair.
"I call it Dark Matter!"
...
Arriving at their destination faster than they expected, Team JNPR exited out the Bullhead as Glynda stayed behind to talk to the pilot. On their way out, Nora was questioning Jaune's new discovery, conveying her emotions in the impeccable knowledge that pushed Jaune's patience. The trip only seemed short, when in fact the Bullhead was an airship designed to travel fast. Also didn't hurt that Nora was still trying to wrap her mind around Dark Matter, a controversial topic for the powerhouse bomber with Jaune breaking down the fundamentals as precise as he could with his own limited knowledge. Analogy speaking, it was a game of tag with only two people.
There was no clear winner in sight.
Part of him thought Nora was doing this on purpose, but he had no proof.
She stepped out first, holding her hands out like a box. "So you have a name for it, but can't do it? What good is that?"
Jaune crossed his arms. "Well, when you put it like that, kind of makes the whole experience dumb."
Pyrrha was more concerned on the implications behind the power. "Should we be worried about Grimm being able to hide their presence? And so close to the school no less?"
Ren easily settled her troubling mind. "I wouldn't worry. Didn't seem like the weaker Grimm could control or command the power of Dark Matter. Not even the Alpha Beowolves had the strength to make a little more than a handful at times. I'm guessing any Grimm powerful enough to do such a thing must be too smart to attack humans."
Nora frowned, stepping in front of the males, making sure to poke them extra-hard on the shoulders. "How come you two are the ones always having all the fun? I thought we were a team?"
Avoiding the question like the Aura plague, Ren scoped out the area they landed in, noticing the sun up high in the sky. Apparently, that conversation and explanation took a lot longer than he previously thought. When they left it had been early morning. Now a good fourth of the day had gone by.
Scanning the area more clearly, everyone noted the worn out buildings around them. Bustling people were moving about in the time-worn village with some taking the time to stop and gaze at them, while others ignored them. Humans and Faunus alike lived here. The coloring of most of the small homes was descriptive based on how old the stones that held them were. Grass and cut stones littered the floor, acting as some sort of a semblance of a street. They were surrounded by a dense forest as far as the eye could see. And in the middle of the village was a worn tower with roots wrapping around the stone appendages, telling of advanced age and poor up keeping. Inside the tower, any one person could make out a bell, brownish and tarnished, lifelessly settled to not move with vines holding it down. And with all that, a spark set off inside Ren. One he couldn't fully recall but dug a hole in his soul.
"Ah! You must be the Huntsmen we called for!" Turning around, Team JNPR saw an old-timer standing behind them. He was hunched over his wobbly cane with a pair of jeans covered in permanent mud, forest green jacket without the sleeves, and a dirty brown undershirt. He was bald but had an impressive goatee that was enhanced by the coloring of age with a grin just as old. "Welcome. My village has been expecting you. Although, unless the old noggin ain't what it used to be, we weren't expecting you for another week?"
"I can answer that." Glynda suddenly answered, stepping off the Bullhead. "Some unexpected news came up and we needed to push the mission ahead of schedule." She frowned sadly. "I hope that won't be an issue? It was a last minute thing."
The old man just laughed. "Haha! Not at all! The sooner, the better! And please, call me Tsutsuji!" Leading them away, Tsutsuji waved them to follow. "How about I show you around? Then we can get started on the mission. You must need to stretch your legs after such a long flight?"
"Thank you."
Following Tsutsuji around, they all took in the sights, noticing more and more how complicated the village really was. There were buildings meant for different jobs. Like one meant for blacksmithing and another meant for sewing and buying clothes. Little quirks of Dust and technology existed here and there, meaning this place wasn't totally isolated from the kingdoms.
They did call and request for a mission, after all.
Finally, the old man led them to a grand building where moss and sunburned stone held surrounded the structure. There Tsutsuji motioned for Glynda to follow him, slowly opening up a pair of large wooden doors that seemed older than the teenagers.
"You'll need to meet the village elders to discuss arrangements for your stay."
Glynda moved forward. "Of course, Team JNPR, you four wait out here while I sort out the details. And please, don't get into too much trouble." She expressly looked at Nora. "I mean it. Mission or not, we're guest here. Let's not make Beacon look bad."
Shut!
Pyrrha remained silent for all but three seconds. "Well, now what?"
Jaune shrugged. "I guess we can go explore more? If we're staying here for a while, it would help knowing where everything's at."
"I like that idea!" Nora cheered, running in some random direction. "Let's see if they have a pancake house! I want breakfast!"
The other members of the team doubted they did. Yet, moments later, they were proven wrong, enjoying freshly made pancakes from the only building in the area that even had the proper ingredients to make pancakes. Nora happily munched on her favorite food, while making sure to feed Sir Scrabbles little bites when she was sure no one was looking. Pyrrha enjoyed the waffles they cooked while Ren and Jaune proved to not be hungry.
Kicking his feet out, Jaune relaxed an arm on the back of his chair, wondering how classes were going over back at Beacon. Weiss was probably going to be furious with him after he returned. Ditching out on their deal would probably do that to her. Not to say it was his fault their mission got pushed up by a week. Besides, Ruby shouldn't be afraid of ghost.
They weren't real! Silly, Ruby!
Throwing his head toward the direction where Professor Goodwitch was at, Jaune pondered over what the mission really entailed. Other than the people bustling about, not much could be said about this strange village. Heck! They didn't even know what this place was called, forgetting to ask the old guy for a name before he dragged their professor away for who knew what. So much for mission specs.
The guys waited for the girls to finish eating, having secured a table outside, interested in heading toward the blacksmith's shop across the village. Some people stop by to observe them, curious to the new faces around, but almost all of them look away almost immediately when they glance over to Ren's direction. Some were unable to hide the astonishment from their faces, giving away their emotions too easy for Jaune and Ren to simply ignore. But they make no use fussing, chalking it up to Ren's cloak making him look intimidating to the average person. Which, to be perfectly fair, it kind of did.
Helped that the Lore affected anyone not used to a Grimm's presence, placing all the common emotions onto them that a Grimm found appealing, while Team JNPR remained relatively fine from the Lore's weaker influences. Not to mention that there really was a Grimm nearby. It was just hiding in Ren's cloak. If anything, the village people should be worried. Team JNPR brought a living Grimm to their little home.
Looking around the village, Ren spotted a lone Lotus flower in the middle of some murky puddle. Everything about the flower's appearance and texture made no sense whatsoever to the Lie, and his gaze kept referring back to the lone flower blooming randomly in the village. To make things twice as strange, a black butterfly suddenly passed his vision, flying over to the Lotus flower. There it flew in circles, enticing a reaction from the stoic man, which he pointedly ignored for a while, content to watching Nora feed Sir Scrabbles. But the nagging picture burned into his mind, grabbing his attention without fail. Ignoring it didn't help. And just looking at it didn't seem to help either. So he was only given one option left.
Breaking away from the group, Ren got up and walked over to the black butterfly fluttering around the Lotus flower in the tiny puddle of water, leaning down to get a better look, prepared to satisfy his inquisitiveness. What still confused him greatly was the butterfly's presence in mid-fall or even the Lotus flower for that matter. None of these things should be here. None of them!
Fluttering toward his shoulder, Sir Scrabbles popped out of his collar, glancing up at the black and partly pink butterfly landing squarely on it. It fluttered its wings a few times, not scared of the Grimm's mere presence. Then it flew up to Ren's nose before flapping away into the opposite direction, where it flew in endless circles.
Looking over his shoulder for a few seconds too long, he sighed and stood back up, intent to join up with his team, but a second butterfly crossed his path, moving to join the second. When Ren turned around to see it, all he saw was the first one still flapping around in that same endless circle. It was enough to make his blood run cold.
Ignoring it, the third butterfly to cross his path was the breaking limit, more so when Ren whipped his head to glare at the insect, only to find that same faithful one still moving in circles. The other two that passed him were nowhere to be seen. Illusion-like almost. As if he saw nothing but lies.
Reaching down to find his instinct, Ren turned his full attention toward the stationary butterfly, taking one cautious step forward, and it flew slightly back because of it. Taking another step, the butterfly mirrored his image, acting almost like a doppelgänger, even following his movements when he moved his foot back. And before Ren truly realized what he was doing, he was walking toward the little thing, following it as it led him deeper away from the village and to a more environmental path that was more nature than man.
The deeper he went, the more vegetation took over.
Now he got it. Now it all made sense. Why everyone in the village called it half a ghost own. Everyone was too afraid to venture beyond the forest since the years have painstakingly taken their toll over the barely visible stone road. For no one to bother with upkeep? A tragedy must've happened in that forest a long, long time ago.
Soon the walk turned into a fast-paced stride, then a jog, and finally a run as his instincts guide him. He didn't even hear his team calling out to him, too busy trying to catch a black butterfly moving at speeds faster than nature should have given the tiny creature. Not even the Lore cloak's ability to lessen his gravity was helping. The damn butterfly was too fast for Ren to catch.
And then it wasn't.
During the run, a memory of Ren's flashed before his eyes, the very same one of Nora and him chasing black butterflies in the woods during the day their families died. He actually had to dig his feet into the ground to lower his momentum and velocity before crashing into the stonewall blocking his and the butterfly's path. Now that the path was blocked, the tiny creature landed on his shoulder, resting its weary body. There, the human, Grimm, and Lepidoptera glared at the stone wall covered in vegetation, waiting for his friends to catch up.
Something seemed off. Maybe even strangely offset. Nothing was familiar or rung a bell in any sort of way, but everything spoke out to him. Almost like a haunting feeling he couldn't shake off. The Lore from the cloak was oddly discomforting, unable for once to properly control his power. He felt his Semblance breaking free from the restraint, a first for him with this gift. As if a stronger force was overpowering the Lore keeping his Aura trapped, calling out to it with a desperate plea.
Glaring over at the insect, Ren narrowed his eyes. "Why did you lead me here?" To answer his question, the butterfly flew over the wall, tempting him to follow. "Is this a game?"
Deciding whether or not he should follow, he passably glanced over the stone wall, eyes suddenly being drawn to a carved picture half covered by green moss. Even with most of the carving covered, he still recognized that partially visible curve from somewhere. Memories of his life begin to beat on the inside of his skull and he was forced to take a step back when one memory finally stuck.
Far behind him, the rest of Team JNPR traced after the path he ran with Jaune using Lore to sense if any nearby Grimm were lurking around. There was no Outer Space other than Ren's to sense, but he was eternally surprised by the crushing pressure building up from the source. Either Ren was actively using his Aura or his emotions were scattered and his Aura was becoming increasingly unstable.
"What's wrong with Ren?" Nora yelled, moving faster than all of them.
Jaune concentrated more on his Lore, increasing his speed to pass Nora. "I don't know. But something's not right with him. I can feel his Outer Space! His Aura's acting up!"
Eventually, they reach him, coming to a surprising halt as Ren's pink eyes remain glued to the stone wall. Nora ran up next to him in no time, grabbing him by the arm in desperation. His eyes look so serious. They were controlled by an array of emotions too powerful to suppress and she was afraid for her childhood friend.
"Ren... what is it?"
Ren moved his free hand out and traced his fingers slowly on the molded bedrock. A simple swipe of his palm revealed the structure and image hidden beneath the vegetation and reality hit them both hard. Memories flood back to their minds and Sir Scrabbles picked on the anxiety building up in Ren's soul and heart-wrenching sorrow in Nora's. For hidden beneath the aged moss was the Lie clan's symbol—the Raincloud of Misfortune.
"Nora... it's our old home. We're in Kurochō."
Author Notes: Just in case you readers didn't get it, the first half of the chapter takes place during the same time when Weiss asked Jaune to accompany her to the transit tower, just from Pyrrha's point-of-view since she was missing pretty much the whole chapter before. Also, I'm not following Volume 4's Ren and Nora backstory, always had planned to use my idea on Ren and Nora since the beginning.
Cover Art: Exvnir
Edited - 5/16/2018
