Welcome back everybody! To another installment of The Darkling Thrush!

As always, I'd like to thank everyone for their words from last chapter and also to wish you all a late Merry Christmas!

So, Thank You Vostok2142, commandosquirrel, Archilean, Baoh joestar, noone297, Nordlending, jin0uga and MagisterShiryu for all your wonderful words!

Writing for Lance is something I don't enjoy. And I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting, this last chapter had a few things that needed to be worked out. And, I'd just like to thank you all for your support for this story. I can't say it enough, or rather, write it enough because really without you I wouldn't be doing this to the capacity I am now. So, thank you. Thank you all.

Without further ado, here's with the chapter! I promise the next one won't take as long. Other notes down below!

XXXIX

The Vytal Festival: Part 4

It was half past breakfast when Cardin and Velvet arrived at the quaint little diner in Vale. They both would have arrived earlier had it not been for the festival, the booming tourism made the local cabs in high demand to and from the city and fairgrounds. Not to mention there was the awkward sending off of their respective teams to the tournament.

But the pair didn't let that bother them too much. So they couldn't make it to breakfast, big whoop. Brunch sounded much ideal anyways. So then Cardin and Velvet stepped into the diner, catching the place in between shifts with the breakfast crew punching out and the lunch crew checking in.

The wait for a table wasn't too bad. They were seated at a booth near a window, giving them a nice view of the sidewalk and all the civilians walk on by.

"My mother used to take me out into the city all the time." Velvet said, looking out the window to a nearby shopping center. "I always enjoyed the daily routine of it all, walking around and seeing all the city had to offer. All the fresh faces and wonderful colors, it just seemed so lively. Makes you just want to get a snapshot of it all."

"Is that how you got into photography?" Cardin inquired as a waitress finally came around to take their drink order.

"A cup of Earl Grey Tea, please." Velvet said to the waitress before turning her gaze back to Cardin. "Something like that."

"Coffee, please." Cardin said with a thankful smile. The waitress nodded and walked off to fill their order, leaving the pair alone once again. "Well, my mother used to take me and my sister into town too, all the time actually."

"If that's the case, I'm surprised we never ran into each other before Beacon." She said as a small smile formed on her face. "Ships in the night, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess so too." Cardin said quietly as he thoughtfully pondered over the suggestion. By all reason, both he and Velvet should have met before then, Vale wasn't the largest of the four kingdoms, nor did it possess as many academies as Atlas and Mistral. Cardin had to stop himself from thinking things of wish fulfillment, that the past year and all the hole he'd dug himself into through one action, that it all could have been prevented under the right circumstances.

So Cardin quelled his racing thoughts, of days where he hadn't become Beacon's most recognizable bully and had instead been something else, someone else, lest he start to think of the tiny details of this dream. One minute he'd be thinking of how he could have prevented his antagonistic actions, the next he'd be thinking of how he could have prevented his Sister's death. And that was something he didn't want to be hung up on, not while he was in the company of a friend like Velvet. Well meaning, forgiving and kind, the last thing he wanted was to offend her in any way. So he recomposed his thoughts and turned to the window, hoping to change the topic of conversation to something more pleasant.

"It's a nice day out." He said.

"I like it here in Vale, always sunny and pleasant. When there aren't terrorists running wild." Velvet laughed as she mentally recalled all the crazy events the city of Vale had endured over the past year. Between the White Fang and Roman Torchwick's criminal activities, Velvet couldn't help but feel that the city and its people deserved the breather that came with the Vytal Festival. Where they all could just stop for a moment and enjoy themselves, it'd been one hell of a year.

"How do you suppose the doubles rounds are going for our friends?" Velvet asked.

Cardin couldn't help but smile at the question. "I'm sure everything's alright on their end." He said, sounding totally confident in his teammate's abilities.

"Not at all worried about your team?" Velvet eyed the broad young man sitting across from her.

"You kidding?" He laughed. "Nothing they can't handle."

"Holy Fuck!" Russel exclaimed as spinning blades of death came hurdling towards him.

"Get down!" Sky shouted before he tackled his teammate to the floor, saving him from being struck by the oncoming attack. "How in the hell is she doing that?" His eyes darted towards their opponent, an unassuming curly orange haired girl dressed in an old fashioned blouse and overalls.

Up above overlooking the events fight below, seated firmly behind a desk, microphone in hand, Port commentated with vigor. "Penny Polendina of Atlas Academy has wasted no time on putting the CRDL boys on the defensive."

"In all my years, I have never seen anything so striking." Oobleck said awe struck as he and all the world watched Penny's blades fly through the air, strung around by wire and her own will. "I can only imagine the years she must've put into training, perfecting this fighting style of hers."

"This is bullshit." Russel muttered as he observed the blades turning to fly back at them, obeying the girl's hand gesture.

"Run!" Sky exclaimed before he and Russel shot up from the ground and began to run from the spinning blades of death.

With the blades to their backs, the boys were faced with little option in choice of direction to run to. While initially forced back by the blades, they now found themselves being herded forward, meeting the pair of opponents who remained standing the center of the ring. Sudden feelings of dread and anxiety fell upon the pair of Russel and Sky as they drew closer with every step. Both Russel and Sky acknowledged the truth, they weren't in control, the enemy team was.

"Russel Thrush and Sky Lark." Penny addressed the two boys drawing near as her partner Ciel Soleil stood idle by, her attention fixated on her wristwatch. "My friend Ruby has told me much about you."

"Nothing bad I hope." Russel muttered as kept his eyes on the blades. Penny was no fool, she kept her weapons elevated, just out of reach, minimizing the possibility of either CRDL boy's chances of severing the connection to the user.

"You are bullies, who harasses faunus and blackmail upstanding friends of hers." Penny said, a smirk forming on her porcelain face as she drew another set of blades from her backpack. The second set of blades soon found themselves airborne, spinning in parallel to the other set.

With the flick of her hands, Penny circled the pair with her weapons, forcing them back to back. Russel and Sky kept their weapons raised, thought their predicament seemed dire, they were sure they could muster up some sort of counter attack.

"Any ideas?" Sky asked over his shoulder as he kept his halberd extended in an effort to keep the blades at bay.

Russel watched as the blades made another pass around, watching as they each moved dynamically in an independent yet unified fashion. The Thrush couldn't help but admire the skill it took to control the weapons, they were wire based and in the hands of a lesser individual would surely have tangled. But instead, Penny had boxed the pair into a trap of her own design.

If either boy were to break, they'd find one of the sets of blades converging on them. Penny has made it apparent with her skill and the weapon's elevation that she could strike at any angle, and that each blade on its own could independently move and be made to attack in coordinated efforts.

"It appears Penny has them cornered." Port commented, earning an agreeing nod from his co-host.

"Goddammit Cardin." Russel muttered under his breath as he recalled his partner's earlier revelation that he'd volunteered the Thrush to participate in the tournament's double's rounds. "This is complete bull."

"I do not claim to understand why people act horrifically as you do. Do you somehow find it empowering, to be able to deem another inhuman? To subjugate another to your will? Is that what makes the life of a bully so attractive and enticing. Do you not feel any regret for your actions?" Penny probed before unleashing the full might of her weapons onto the pair.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're terrible people." Russel rolled his eyes, visibly irritated at being accosted by someone he didn't know.

"Moving on." Sky chimed in.

Containing Russel and Sky had been a simple enough task, but actually attacking them proved to be a far more difficult. As it turned out, the CRDL boys were much lighter on their feet, performing impossible leaps and somersaults to avoid the oncoming attacks.

"CRDL isn't out of the fight just yet." Oobleck said as he fiddled with his glasses.

"On your left!" Russel shouted to Sky as he continued to dodge the oncoming blades.

Heading Russel's warning, Sky sidestepped Penny's unseen attack and continued to press forward alongside his teammate. Dodging the blades was a strenuous affair, the pair of CRDL boys were forced to be mindful of their surroundings, for their enemy could attack from any direction. Speed was key, the longer they were in the air or their feet were touching the ground, the easier it was for their opponent to strike.

But these actions only delayed the inevitable. While Sky and Russel pushed their bodies and taxed their minds with the myriad of variables to take into consideration, Penny and her teammate had yet to exert themselves. Penny herself showed no visible signs of weakness, in fact, she hadn't even broken a sweat.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Sky shouted as he slid on the ground, just barely dodging a trio of blades that found themselves impaled onto the floor in his wake. "We need to push!"

"Easier said than done!" Russel retorted as he attempted to sever one of the blades from its wire. The Thrush had allowed one of Penny's to strike him all in an effort to get close enough disconnect the orange haired girl from one of her weapons. But before he could even so much as scuff the blade with his dagger, it retracted backwards.

"What the actual fuck." He spared a glance Penny's way. The girl was simply standing there, waving her hands through the air, puppeteering her weapons. The orange haired girl met the Thrush's gaze and winked. Before Russel even knew what had happened, he found himself being thrown through the air.

Penny had capitalized on Russel's worn resolve and proceeded to unleash a flurry of strikes, sending him flying by the sheer force behind her attacks. The Thrush let out a pained wail as he skidded along the arena's floor, eventually coming to a stop once he'd smacked into a large boulder in one of the biomes that represented CRDL's side of the field.

"Russel?!" Sky shouted in concern for his teammate. But Penny seized the opportunity to get the Lark with his back turned and flung him over to the other side of the field. Sky bounced and rolled before coming to a halt.

The CRDL boys, worn down and with nothing to show for their efforts, were barely hanging on. All they had to do was glance upward to the giant monitor that showed that displayed their aura levels. Sky was at thirty two, but Russel was dangerously close to elimination with a measly nineteen.

This was a sharp contrast to their opponents, who both possessed full bars. The odds were against them entirely, neither of them possessed any ranged weaponry, nor did they have the luxury of pulling off an stunning upset like their last match. Penny and Ciel stood unmoved, because they didn't have to. Penny could just get them from across the field, a fact she continued to exploit.

Penny raised her hands into the air, reeled them back and then threw them forward. Her blades came flying at the tired duo. Russel and Sky both ran for cover behind a pair of large boulders, successfully avoiding the attack. They both took a moment's breather, banking on their cover to deter any other attacks. If she couldn't see them, she couldn't hit them.

"Think we'll get penalized for hiding out in the back?" Russel asked aloud as he crouched behind his boulder. Sky let out a tired breath, he looked over to Russel and shrugged. "Yeah, I wish they sent us a rule book or something."

"They're going to have to come to us." Sky said as he cautiously looked over the boulder to catch sight of their opponents. "Any chance you can rig up another one of those dust explosions?"

"You see, that would imply I would have dust." Russel raised one of his daggers. He reached up with a free hand and unlocked the cylinder casing, revealing it to be empty. "I do not."

Before Sky or Russel could come up with some other half-baked plan to best the pair of Ciel and Penny, a low thudding sound caught their attention. Both CRDL boys peeked over their rocks, and much to their surprise, the found Penny's blades stabbed into them. They exchanged confused looks and wondered just what the Altesian duo were planning.

Then, without warning, the boulders which they used for cover began to rise out of the floor. On the other side of the arena, Penny was holding her arms in the air, using her blades to weaponize the CRDL boys cover.

"This is un-fucking-believable." Russel muttered as he shot a spiteful glare up at the boulder that was now hovering over him and Sky.

And then, without warning, Penny slammed her hands down, with them the boulders. A pair of buzzers rang loudly, signaling both Russel and Sky's elimination from the tournament. Placing a fist in her palm and mockingly bowing, Penny's smile widened. "Thank you for a wonderful time."

As the crowd went wild as the two victors turned to leave the stadium. Russel feebly reached out from under the shattered remains of what was once the boulder, only to get hit in the head by an errant stone. He fell flat on his face and grumbled a curse while medical crews ran to check on the pair.

"That was the most satisfying thing I've ever seen." Emerald laughed.

Seated on a bench in the locker room, killing time while they waited for their own respective match, Emerald and Mercury found themselves watching the aftermath of CRDL's defeat. The medical crews hurriedly attempted to dig the two young men out of the rubble in order to move along with following matches.

"I see you're enjoying yourself." Mercury commented dryly, having spent the past ten minutes watching his partner in crime having the time of her life as she watched Penny pick apart her opponents.

"I was never going to fight him, there's just too much riding on Cinder's plan to screw up on my own vendetta." Emerald said, not once taking her eyes off the monitor in the locker room. "So, I chose simply to claim my vengeance through proxy."

"Easy to say now that the deed is done, I guess." Mercury said, earning a cold stare in response.

"What's your deal, Merc?" She questioned. "This entire time you've been working to undermine me, questioning my place by Cinder's side. Have I offended you in some way?"

"Not more than usual, no." He shrugged.

"Then what is it?" She demanded, eyes narrowing as she awaited a response.

Mercury met Emerald's stare, he thought over the words in his head and moved to speak in defense of his actions. But he didn't, he paused and decided against it, opting to leave his partner in the dark. "Don't we have a match in a little bit?" He asked, turning away.

Emerald continued to stare angrily at her partner. "When me and Cinder found you, you were on the verge of death. You owe us."

"Is that not why I'm here?" Mercury fixed his attention toward the monitor. While the crews worked to remove Russel and Sky, the feed cut to highlights of the battle, which included a close up of Russel shouting in pain as the boulder came crashing down on top of him.

"That's you paying off your life debt to Cinder." Emerald poked the silver haired young man. "The very least you could do for me is quit being an ass." Mercury didn't respond, he simply continued to stare at the monitor. Interpreting Mercury's silence as an admission of defeat, Emerald carried on about with her business, mostly spending her time prepping her weapons.

And Mercury would go on to remain silent, until he and Emerald graced the arena with their presence. There he met his opponents Coco and Yatsuhashi and shared with them some choice words his father taught him, the kind that he used to kill the bastard.

"Ugh." Sky groaned as he pulled himself out of the cot the fairground's infirmary had provided him. "I feel like crap." He said aloud to no one specific.

The Lark looked around to his surroundings and found the infirmary to be vacant, aside for his and Russel's presence. Being one of the first matches of the day had its up sides, he supposed. At least they got first dibs on treatment instead of having to wait with their aches and pains before seeing someone.

The heavily accented woman who'd helped them was off to the left, watching the latest tournament match between the pair of Coco and Yatsuhashi against Emerald and Mercury. And by the looks of things, the battle appeared to be going to the later.

"I feel like some chick in a skirt threw a boulder at me." Sky turned to see Russel lying in his cot staring up at the roof of the tent.

"Yeah, definitely not one of our higher moments." The Lark nodded in agreement.

"We have higher moments?" Russel shot his teammate a questioning look.

"Funny." Sky couldn't help but laugh. He then turned his attention to the woman in scrubs who'd bandaged up their wounds and waved, quickly gaining her attention. "Is it cool if I leave?"

The woman in scrubs gave just shrugged indifferently before returning her attention to the small portable television set. "Guess that's a yes." Sky shrugged at the response before hopping off the cot.

"Any other man who's just been crushed by a giant fuckin' rock would lay up in bed, but not you, Sky." Russel said as he observed his teammate collect his things and prepare to leave. "Got a hot date or something?"

"Or something." Sky said jokingly. He wasn't lying to the Thrush, he was telling the truth. He had something else to attend to. "You're selling yourself a little short. I bet you can walk about now."

"Yeah, give me a minute or two." The Thrush muttered. "Well, don't let me keep you. Go do what you gotta do."

"I'll see you and the others at the thing tonight, right?" Sky asked on the way out the tent.

"Just might." Russel answered as Sky departed.

The day prior, Sky had been assigned the task of bringing Pyrrha to meet with Headmaster Ozpin. After being inducted into their little 'secret society', The Lark wasn't about to let the old man down.

So for the next hour Sky spent his time searching for The Invincible Girl. Conscious of the fact her match was the first of the day, Sky spent most of his time searching between the fairgrounds and Amity Collesseum, thinking she'd either be in the company of friends enjoying what vendors had to offer or supporting her friends in tournament.

But Sky found the four-time Mistral champion at neither location, instead, he found her in the halls of Beacon having just returned from dropping her weapons off at the local locker room.

"Hey, Pyrrha!" Sky shouted, quickly catching the girl's attention.

Pyrrha turned to greet Sky with a pearly white grin. Of all the people who held some sort of animosity against Team CRDL, Pyrrha had proved to be by far the most forgiving of the boy's actions. This was a fact that Sky couldn't help but appreciate yet question. Though it made talking to her a lot easier, it certainly made him wonder about the girl, seeing as she was without a doubt the most affected by their, rather, Cardin's actions.

"Good afternoon, Sky." She waved politely. "What can I help you with?"

"Just acting on orders, Pyrrha." Sky spoke sincerely, earning a curious look from the girl standing in front of him. "Headmaster Ozpin asked me to go and, well, 'fetch' you."

"Ozpin want's to speak to me?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Not over anything bad, I assure you." Sky waved his hands defensively. "He just wants to talk with you about something."

Pyrrha eyed the Lark skeptically, though she was one of the more forgiving, she couldn't help but find it a little odd that of all the people sent to send for her, Ozpin would have chosen him. But she pushed those thoughts aside, giving the boy the benefit of the doubt.

"What do you think he wants to speak with me about?" She questioned before the pair began to walk off towards Beacon Tower.

"Not a clue." Sky lied.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence as they made they crossed main avenue, passing by one of Team WILL's not at all sanctioned tours of the campus. They entered the building and caught the elevator and ascended upwards.

Stepping out of the elevator, the pair walked to Headmaster Ozpin's office and knocked before entering.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Pyrrha asked as Sky walked off to the side of the office.

Ozpin chuckled as he gestured to the Invincible Girl, his cane resting at his side. "Well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance was exemplary."

Humbly, Pyrrha accepted the Headmaster's acknowledgements with a kind smile. "Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would have never made it this far without my teammates."

"Personally, I think it's the other way around." Qrow remarkedfrom where he stood leaning against a column at the back of the room.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced." She said, attempting to be formal.

"Name's Qrow." He said, sounding rather hostile.

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine." Ozpin said, hoping to quell whatever argument was bound to erupt.

Pyrrha looked to Qrow for another moment, eyeing him cautiously before addressing The Headmaster again, "If you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?"

"Please, take a seat." Ozpin said, casually as he leaned back in his seat. "What is your favorite fairy tale?"

"I'm... sorry?" Pyrrha said visibly confused.

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them." He elaborated.

Pyrrha thought over the question,"Well, there's The Tale of The Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower..."

"What about The Story of the Seasons?" Ozpin interrupted, leaning forward.

"Well, of course!" Pyrrha exclaimed brightly before reciting the tale. "A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home, is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all that he has, and be thankful."

"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. My mother loves that story."

"Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?" Said the old Headmaster.

"You're not that old, Professor." Pyrrha laughed at the suggestion.

But there was no break in the headmaster's demeanor. "Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?"

The invincible girl watched the old man for a moment, letting the silence settle in the room as she finally felt the pairs of eyes watching her, unsettling her. "I beg your pardon?"

The old Headmaster leaned forward in his seat, pressing his elbows onto the table and placing his hands together. "What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?"

"You mean... like a Semblance?" Pyrrha said, attempting to make sense of this development.

"Like magic." Ozpin delivered with a smile.

Pyrrha paused for a moment, letting the Headmaster's words sink in. "I..."

"Yeah." Qrow spoke, quickly catching Pyrrha's attention. "First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy."

"You're serious?" Pyrrha questioned, sounding amazed by the implication.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" The Headmaster replied with a straight-face.

"... No." She said quietly, struggling to find the right words. "Why... why are you telling me this?"

Ozpin glanced over to Qrow,who nodded in approval, before looking into Pyrrha's eyes. "We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers." He said, causing Pyrrha's eyes grow wide.

"We"? At that moment, the elevator doors open, and she sees Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood step out.

Straightening his tie, General Ironwood addressed all those present. "Sorry we're late."

The sight of the Atlesian General startled Pyrrha, causing her to look back and forth between all those present. "Wait, what is this?" She questioned, feeling overwhelmed. "Who are you?"

Stepping forward with Ironwood and Qrow, Goodwitch spread her hands and trying to sound reassuring. "You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon."

"But we've got a little part-time job." Qrow chimed in.

"We are the protectors of the world." Ironwood said, folding his arms behind his back.

"And we need your help." Ozpin said, almost pleadingly.

A shocked look found its way onto Pyrrha's face. The room fell silent as everyone in looked to her. She gulped, unsure what to say. "What do you need me to do?" She asked.

Ozpin stood from his seat and gestured to the door. "That you follow us."

One by one the assembled group of 'protectors' exited the room with Pyrrha in tow. They called the elevator and descended downward.

"Where are we going?" Pyrrha asked as she nervously rubbed her left arm.

"The vault. Under the school." Sky answered her question, earning a snort from Qrow who held a contentious glare for the boy.

The elevator continued downward through the vertical tunnel of dark green lights. Eventually the elevator came to a stop with its doors opening, allowing the passengers step out. Pyrrha was the last to leave, taking cautious steps into this secret world she'd been inducted into.

Before her was the sight of a large sparsely-lit hallway with the group walking down it. Goodwitch halted for a moment, waits up for her behind the others. Seeing this, Pyrrha quickened her pace, not wanting to keep them waiting.

"I'm sure you must have questions." Goodwitch said as Pyrrha caught up.

"Maybe one, or two..." She said, still taking it in. "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?"

"The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike." Goodwitch said, doing her best to answer Pyrrha's query. "When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever."

"So, how does the power choose?" The Mistral Champion questioned.

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules." Qrow spoke over his shoulder.

"Qrow." Goodwitch shot the veteran Huntsman a scolding look.

"Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right." He said defensively.

Turning her attention back to Pyrrha, Goodwitch began to explain further. "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."

A look of concern appeared on Pyrrha's face "... Intimate?" She repeated the word, imploring an explantaion.

"As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power."

"Unless it's a dude or some old hag." Qrow spoke up, crass as ever. "Then the power goes to someone random, and our job gets a lot harder."

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?"

"Because we've run out of time." Ozpin spoke in a dark serious manner, the kind that sent a shiver down Pyrrha's spine. "I don't know if you've not noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying for so long goes out the window."

"You're not... talking about a war?"

"Not a war between nations." General Ironwood said in order to ease Pyrrha. "The last thing anyone wants is another war."

"We can fill you on the details once we know that you're with us." Qrow aid, once more shooting a hostile look Pyrrha's way. "For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked. And for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen."

A humming of electricity is caught Pyrrha's ear as the group closed in on their destination at the end of the hallway: a large machine with lit screens hooked up to two rectangular pods, one of which is upright to show through the glass window a young girl dressed in minimal clothing with a burn scar over her left eye and across her face.

Pyrrha stepped forward hesitantly and stared at the girl in the machine. "Is that..."

The old Headmaster heavily sighed. "The current Fall Maiden, Amber."

"She's... still alive." Pyrrha said aloud as she continued to stare wide-eyed at the girl, Amber.

"For now." Ironwood said sounding regretful. "We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is... unprecedented."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha questioned. Having done her best to follow along with the information these 'protectors' had dumped on her, some of the General's wording just didn't match up. "Won't... her power... just transfer to the next host?"

"Look who's been listening!" Qrow exclaimed before turning to Ozpin and whispering, "She is smart."

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delicate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker." Ironwood glanced at Amber. "And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

"…Her assailant." Pyrrha murmured, having connected the pieces.

"And that would not bode well for any of us."

Pyrrha lowered her head in thought, before suddenly walking forward and placeing a hand on the glass of Amber's pod, staring at the girl inside. "If all of this is true, why keep it secret!? If this girl is so important... if we're truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?"

"From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge." Goodwitch said causing Pyrrha look at the woman with a questionable star.

"Excuse me?"

"How do you think legends and fairy tales get started?" Qrow said before reaching into his pants pocket and producing a flask. The Huntsman unscrewed the cap and took a swig of the contents. "Even the craziest ones come from somewhere."

"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the Maidens. Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength." Goodwitch said.

"And as you can imagine," Qrow finished his drink. "the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the ones you'd want to have unimaginable power."

"And so our brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye. "Ironwood paced around the machine, eyeing the comatose Amber. "Allowing their existence to fade away into legend."

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history and religion." Sky said earning another disapproving look from Qrow. "No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar."

"It would cause panic." Ozpin muttered. "And we all know what that would bring to clawing at our Kingdom's walls. Which is why we would like to..."

"I'll do it." Pyrrha said as she stares at the ground. "If you believe that this will help humanity...then I will become your Fall Maiden." Silently the 'protectors' turned to each other with wary faces. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple." Ozpin stepped forward. "Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution."

"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."

"Capture it and cram it into something else." Qrow gestured to Pyrrha, who took a moment to realize the meaning of his words. "Or in your case…"

Pyrrha turned to face Ironwood, a mortified look on her face. "That's..."

"Classified."

"Wrong!" She exclaimed.

Ms. Goodwitch shot a glare Ironwood's way. "The feeling is mutual. But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And these are indeed desperate times." Ironwood folded his arms over his chest as he defended his actions. "We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to."

"...Her Aura." Pyrrha muttered.

Ozpin turned to the Invincible Girl, who now appeared to be anything but invincible given the shaken look on her face. "Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is...

"What's that going to do to you?" Sky said, finishing the Headmaster's sentence and earning another scornful look from Qrow.

"You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos." Ozpin spoke as he and the others observed Pyrrha approach the machine. "There's no guarantee this transfer will work. And there's no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time on this matter. But understand that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."

Pyrrha didn't respond, instead she simply placed her hand on the glass separating the maiden from her, the potential replacement. Seeing Pyrrha's scared expression reflected on the scarred face of the dying girl, Ozpin gave one final warning.

"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. And there's no telling when their next move will be."

Before the doubles rounds had begun, it was made aware to numerous of the tournament's participants that there was to be a gathering of sorts. Held as a private ceremony at Beacon Academy's ballroom later into the day, after the final doubles match had concluded, the future defenders of humanity hailing from opposite ends of the world met, finding themselves welcomed to a feast in honor of them.

So there stood Russel in the doorway, getting patted down by one of those Atlesian war robots. Security was to be expected, seeing as all the tournaments competitors were expected to attend the gathering. Word on the street was that the Vytal Festival inspired a billion lien gambling empire. Not to mention there were all those old grudges held between kingdoms. If anyone wanted kick a hornets nest worth of international incidents, this was the place.

After being cleared by the mechanized soldier, Russel entered the room. It was The Dance all over again in terms of the spread, food was stacked on top of each other on tables in one side of the room and drinks set up in a far off corner.

By all accounts, Russel was one of the late arrivals. His aura wasn't as strong as the next guy's, which meant triple the time it would take for recovery. That also meant he'd spent quite the amount of time laying in that cot in the infirmary. To say the least, he had worked up quite the appetite.

Making his way to the buffet table, Russel was careful not to run in, conscious not to start some sort of argument and grabbed himself a plate. He passed by groups congregating around the more tantalizing of the present delicacies, settling for some chicken legs left alone of to the side.

Filling his plate, Russel took a moment to savor the smell, bringing to mind days back on the farm in Oakwood. Taking his plate, Russel walked off to the side in search of either his team or somewhere to sit. But in his search for a nice quite place where he could enjoy his meal uninterrupted, a voice called out to the Thrush, quickly gaining his attention.

"Russel." He turned, finding Mercury of all people approaching him with a wave.

"Mercury." Russel waved back before reaching onto his plate. Seeing as he wouldn't be finding place to sit anytime soon, eating while standing seemed to be the best way to go.

"I saw you had one hell of a match today, you good?" Mercury asked, a surprising hint of concern in his tone.

"A little banged up, but I'll live." Russel said before taking a bite out of the chicken leg. "Yatsuhashi's an upperclassman, couldn't help but notice he gave you a run for your money."

"Eh, he wasn't tough." Mercury smirked.

"I don't suppose you're here for small talk." Russel said, attempting to skip past the formalities and get to whatever it was that brought Mercury to meet him.

"Just checking up on a friend, that's all." He said as if there were nothing to it.

"Friend?" Russel raised a brow at the word. "I wasn't under the impression we were friends."

"Kindred spirit then." Mercury smirked as he placed a hand on Russel's shoulder.

Russel stared at Mercury, a half-eaten chicken leg in hand. "You hitting on me?" He questioned, arching a brow.

"What? No!" Mercury exclaimed, quickly recoiling his hand and catching the attention of several onlookers.

"Cause, it sounds like you're hitting on me."

"Well, I'm not." Mercury assured as more eyes were aimed their direction.

"I mean, it's flattering, but I don't swing that way."

"I'm not hitting on you..."

"Had me fooled."

"Alright, enough, forget it. I was just trying to be nice is all." Mercury threw his hands up into the air before turning and walking away.

"Uh huh, yeah, sure, 'nice'." Russel muttered before taking another bite out of the chicken leg.

"Hey Mercury, what's up?" Ruby called out to Mercury as he walked on by, completely oblivious to her presence. "Talk later then? Cool? Cool."

With that business resolved, the Thrush returned his attention to finding a secluded spot in the ballroom to set down and dig into the contents of his plate. "Can't go a day without messing with someone, can you?" Out of the corner of his eye, Russel spotted a familiar out of the bottle redhead approaching him. He turned and found Marie-Anne of all people standing by the wayside.

"I thought this was a tournament participant only thing." Russel said, calling into question Marie-Anne's presence.

"It is and I was." Marie-Anne shrugged as her gaze lazily fell to the cup of juice in hand. "My team got eliminated in the opening rounds."

"How bad was it?"

"Enemy took me, Nero and Ezekiel out in the first couple of minutes. The only one of us who put up a fight was Danny." Marie-Anne sighed. "All in all it was a complete embarrassment."

"Sure you aren't talking about the hair dye?" "Aren't you a little concerned people might confuse you for Pyrrha, or is that what you were going for?"

"Fuck off, Russel. I'm just trying to have a friendly conversation with you." Marie-Anne rolled her eyes.

Russel simply eyed the fellow Oakwood native with a skeptical look. "Did someone spike the punch?"

"I wish. I could go for a drink." Marie-Anne grumbled before taking a sip out of her cup of juice.

"Last time you had a drink, you sent an angry mob after my ass." Russel muttered, recalling the incident back during the dance.

"How did Lance sneak a keg on campus anyway?"

"What was that? Speak louder, I can't hear that apology."

"Well you sure as shit aren't getting one."

"Hmph, typical." Marie-Anne scoffed. "If you want to know how he did it, why don't you just go and ask him?"

"Because he's not here. Team WILL didn't participate in the tournament."

"He roofied a girl last night."

"Who?"

"Lance. He roofied some girl visiting from out of town."

"I find that really difficult to believe coming from you. You're not exactly the most trustworthy of people Russel."

"You don't have to take my word for it, you could just ask the girl he drugged. She's sitting right over there." Russel pointed off to the side with the chicken bone. Seated at a table on the far side of the ballroom, sat Gwen Darcy amongst the rest of her team and other Vacuo participants. "Speaking of which, if you'll excuse me."

Waving goodbye to Marie-Anne, Russel set off in the direction of Team NDGO. His approach was practically noticed a mile away by several other Vacuo participants, most notably those of Team PSYK, who'd he and his team had bested in combat the previous day.

It felt like Russel had stepped into a wolf's den as he found all eyes on him. A confrontation wouldn't have been unexpected, but with the Atlesian Knights standing watch, Russel doubted they'd even reach him let alone attempt. That's the thing with authority figures, they did a great job of suppressing criminal intent standing in front of them, but it never got to the heart of the issue. If Russel were to walk outside the tent, he had a suspicious feeling that he'd be followed by one of the PSYK kids, who'd share with him their thoughts about him blowing them up.

But Russel pushed that thought aside, he'd deal with it should it occur. For now, however, he busied himself with moving through the assembled Vacuan participants to reach Team NDGO. And he was noticed quickly by the quartet of girls and their friends. It was the familiar indigo haired young woman from yesterday who broke apart from the group to meet Russel.

"Nebula." Russel greeted the leader of Team NDGO.

"Fern." Nebula returned with a grin.

"That's cute." Russel chuckled. "Any chance for a word in private?" He asked, mindful of those others present.

Nebula nodded, obliging his request. The pair stepped aside from the others just fare enough to carry a conversation out of earshot. "Can I help you with anything?" She asked.

"Just checking in to see how your friend is doing." He shot a glance Gwen's way, noticing how the girl sat conspicuously a seat away from any guy at the table.

"She's doing alright, thanks." Nebula said, lacking any double meaning in her words.

Russel looked back to Gwen, watching as she fidgeted in her seat. He observed as Brawnz Ni of Team BRNZ spoke to the remaining trio of NDGO as a whole, yet Gwen was unable to meet the boy's eye. "She doesn't look alright."

"It's going to take a little bit for her to readjust." Nebula sighed. "That was the first time a boy took an interest in Gwen like that. It was a traumatizing experience."

Russel frowned. "Well, hopefully she can move on from this one day."

"Yeah." She nodded in agreement. "Any luck with finding the guy?"

"Lance is a worm. He'll turn up sooner or later, they all do when it rains."

"Am I supposed to believe you're the rain in that analogy?"

"I was hoping the rain would symbolize the good folks at VPD, given that you provided a statement with them, of course."

"We did, but I doubt they'll get him before the end of the festival."

"That's unfortunate."

"Yeah." Nebula muttered before turning to leave and rejoin her friends. "Well, thanks again for checking in, Fern."

"Russel." He said, causing Nebula to stop in her tracks.

Nebula spun back around to face Russel. "Hm?" She questioned.

"It's Russel. Not 'Fern'."

Nebula glanced up at the top of Russel's head, gesturing to his green colored mohawk. "I think I'm going to stick to calling you Fern."

"Pfft, whatever." He muttered before walking away, once more in search of either a place to sit or the rest of his team.

Nebula returned to her table, taking her seat left vacant beside her Partner Dew. The blonde turned to her leader and asked of why Russel had stopped by to speak with her. Though his actions the previous night were intent of aiding their friend, Dew was opposed to how he handled the situation, thinking him more of a thug than a knight in shining armor.

And Nebula couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. A more capable individual motivated by genuine altruism would not only have saved Gwen from Lance but also ensured he wouldn't have escaped either, that he would face the justice he deserved. But that wasn't what happened then. There's was no knight to come to Gwen's aid, but rather it was Russel.

"He just wanted to know if Gwen was alright." Nebula said, finally, ending the conversation topic as a whole. With that done, the group resumed their previous discussion, with Nebula glancing to Gwen, thankful that at least someone came to her aid.

Russel walked about for minute or two, before being flagged by Sky. As it happened, all of Team RWBY, CFVY, JNPR and the remaining CRDL trio had sectioned of an entire corner from the rest of the tournament participants.

Everything was sunshine and rainbows by the looks of things. Though Coco and Yatsushi appeared to be glum over their elimination from the tournament, not even that could prevent them from being happy for their friends, Yang and Pyrrha who had won their matches against Team FNKY and the unfortunately named Team DONG.

And that was fine with Russel. Like the others, he congratulated the two victors and wished them both luck in tomorrow's one-on-one matches. The Thrush shouldered the odd joke about his 'crushing defeat' from Yang and did little to disrupt the group. He just sat and observed, too busy eating a leg of chicken.

"Yang, Pyrrha, it's all up to you now." Cardin said, raising his cup to the duo. Soon, all the others joined in, save for Russel, who didn't possess a drink of his own, so he simply raised a half-eaten chicken leg. "Make Beacon proud."

Yang accepted the sentiment, as did Pyrrha. But The Invincible Girl couldn't do so, not without thinking back to today's events. She snuck a glance towards Sky while the others weren't looking. They were all too engrossed in discussing tomorrow's struggles, while she herself dwelled on a decision that would change her life forever.

There's a big underlying theme with this arc and will also be prominent in the next, which will become greatly elaborated with next chapter. I'm over thirty chapters in now, and its about time Russel received some validation. That's been a long running issue with him since attending Beacon which harkens back to his decision to even go in the first place. Cause Russel is something of a contradiction, he says racial slurs, blackmails people and has even killed others but at the same time he was Author X. He wrote a number of works about goodwill for others. And so, we're getting close to making sense of it.

Cardin/Velvet.

For the Pyrrha scene I primarily adapted the dialogue from a transcript of the episode and gave some lines to Sky, seeing as he's now apart of the group he'd have some things to say as well. There's also actually a reason for why Sky's involved with Ozpin's secret society, other than to help with his own character arc. You see, I write this conscious of the show and I don't know what the writers have planned further down the line. Sky's sort of like, the easy fix, he'll just know everything that the show reveals. It's perfect.

That's pretty much it. I don't have much else to say, other than I think the Geist doesn't work within RWBY. I've been thinking about this for a while. Like, it possesses fucking rocks, and becomes a rock monster, as opposed to every other Grimm we've seen that's just a ravenous beast, the Geist is a ghost. Like, I can accept a Dragon Grimm, and Not-The Serpant from Avatar, because that's at least they're animals. But The Geist is a fucking ghost.

Well, anyways, hopefully I will have the next chapter finish soon, as well as the interlude and I might just be able to kick off the next arc before school starts up again. 'Til next time, dear reader! Later Days!