Pyrrha sat across from Ozpin at his clockwork themed desk, the sun setting at his back while Qrow leaned against a pillar at the back of the room "Well, it comes to no surprise that they've chosen you to move on to the final round of the Tournament. Your performance was exemplary" Ozpin said to Pyrrha.
Pyrrha nods and humbly replies " Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I wouldn't have made it this far without my teammates."
"Personally, I think it's the other way around." Qrow spoke up from the back of the room
Pyrrha turned towards him "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced" Pyrrha said as she rose from her seat
"Name's Qrow" He replied.
"Qrow is a trusted Colleague of mine." Ozpin adds reassuring Pyrrha
Pyrrha looks at Qrow for another moment before turning to address the headmaster " Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?"
"Please take a seat. " Ozpin asked Pyrrha quickly returned back to her chair as Ozpin leaned back casually putting his fingers to his lips " What is your favorite fairytale?" he asked
"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha said in confusion
"Fairy tales, Stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them?" Ozpin asked
Pyrrha grew quiet for a moment still confused by the headmaster's question "Well, there's the tale of two brothers; the shallow sea; the girl in the tower-"
"What about the story of the four seasons" Ozpin inquires.
"Well of course" Pyrrha replied with some nostalgia as she begins her narration " 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 he has, and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers so that they may 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." Pyrrha said bringing the story to a close.
"Would you believe me if I told you that stories been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin said in a joking manner
"You're not that old, professor" Pyrrha replied with the same enthusiasm.
"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true." Ozpin said taking on a serious tone
There was a moment of silence before Pyrrha let out an uneasy chuckle "I... beg your pardon."
"What If I were to tell you that there were four Maidens existing in this world that could wield such tremendous power without dust" Ozpin explained
"You mean...like a Semblance?" Pyrrha asked tentatively
Ozpin leaned forward on his desk "...Like magic"
"I-"
"Yeah, first time hearing it's pretty crazy" Qrow spoke up
"You're serious?" Pyrrha asked
"Do I look like I'm joking" Ozpin replied
"No" Pyrrha replied he eye's falling to the floor after a moment she looked up at Ozpin "Why-Why are you telling me this?"
Ozpin turned his gaze over to Qrow who simply nodded in response "We're telling you, Pyrrha Niko's Because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maidens powers"
"We..." Pyrrha asked, suddenly the elevator door's slid open reviling Glynda and Ironwood.
"Sorry we're late" Ironwood said.
As they both came in Pyrrha asked: "Wait, what is this, who are you?"
"Were still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon" Glynda said trying to calm the girl
"Cept, we got a little part-time job." Qrow said
"We are the protectors of this world" Ironwood said.
"And we need your help" Ozpin said.
/
Pyrrha stood in the center of the elevator as they descended into the depth of Beacon Academy, looking up at those around her she asked, "Where are we going?"
"The Vault, under the school" Ozpin replied.
As the elevator doors opened Pyrrha followed close behind the four Glynda stopped just outside the elevator turning back to the obviously nervous girl as she caught up to them "I'm sure you have questions" Glynda said
"Maybe one or two" Pyrrha replied
As they continued on through the almost never-ending corridor Pyrrha asked "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the Maidens power. But what do you mean by that?"
"The maidens have existed for thousands of years, but much like nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike." Glynda answered" When a maiden dies her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host. Ensuring the seasons are never lost and that no individual can hold onto the powers forever." she explained
"So how does the power choose" Pyrrha asked.
"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules." Qrow answered
"Qrow!" Glynda yelled sending a glare the man's way.
"Hey, don't get mad because I'm right" Qrow replied
"At first," Glynda began to explain " The only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young woman, but as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was more intimate"
"Intimate?" Pyrrha asked.
"As we understand it now when a maiden dies the one who was in her final thoughts is the first candidate to receive her powers." Glynda answered
"Unless it's a dude or some old hag, then the power foes to someone random and our job gets a lot harder." Qrow added
"Why are you telling me all of this now?" Pyrrha asked "Why not wait until I've graduated"
Honestly. We've run out of time." Qrow answered "I'm sure I don't have to tell you things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are growing high, Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent, and don't even get me started on those Psychopaths from the breach."
"The Psycho Rangers" Pyrrha said
Qrow nodded "Yeah, those things just keep crawling out of the woodwork, and it's not going to be much longer before this peace we've all been enjoying so much goes out the window."
"You're not talking about war?" Pyrrha said
"Not a war between nations" Ironwood replied
"We can fill you in on the details once we know you're with us." Qrow said looking back at Pyrrha "For now, all you need to know is that one of the maidens were attacked and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen."
Pyrrha followed behind them in silence reaching the end of the hall, two pods sat alongside a large computer terminal connected with various wires and piping inside one of the pods sat a young woman with dark brown shoulder length hair and tanned skin with scaring spreading across her face like a spider web.
"Is that..." Pyrrha said mournfully
Ozpin sighed "The current fall Maiden, Amber"
"She's... still alive" Pyrrha said in shock
Ironwood sighed and replied "For now. 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 asked.
Ironwood sighed turning towards the champion "Well, we don't know what will happen if-when she passes."
"Won't her power just transfer to the next host?" Pyrrha asked
"Look who's been listening," Qrow remarked turning to speak to Ozpin "She is smart."
"Under normal circumstances, yes" Ironwood continued. "This is a delicate situation It's not uncommon for the last thought of the slain to be that of their attackers, and to make matters worse, no one has ever seen the power split like this before. For all we know it will seek out its other half."
"Her assailant" Pyrrha realized.
"And that would not bode well for any of us." Ozpin said.
Silence soon followed after a moment Pyrrha approached Ambers pod staring up at the woman who clung to life, turning back to them "If all of this is true why keep it a secret? If this girl is so important, if-if we're truly on the brink of war, why not tell anyone"
"From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge." Glynda answered
"Excuse me?" Pyrrha began
"How do you think legends and fairytales get started? Even the craziest ones came from somewhere." Qrow said before taking a drink from his flask.
"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the maidens" Glynda began "Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength."
"And as you can imagine, the kind of people who succeeded weren't exactly the kind of people you'd want with unimaginable power" Qrow added
Then Ironwood began " And so this brotherhood chose to remove the maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legends."
"The things we're telling you goes against hundreds of years of human history and religion" Glynda explained.
"No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar." Ironwood said
Ozpin then spoke up "It would cause panic and we all know what that would bring clawing to our kingdoms walls, which is why we would like to-"
"I'll do it" Pyrrha interrupted " If you believe this would help humanity, then I will become your Fall Maiden." Silence followed as all eyes turned to Pyrrha after a few moments she spoke up again "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
"It is" Ozpin began as he stepped towards Pyrrha "But I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given ambers condition, you won't be able to inherit her powers " He then gestured to Ironwood "General ironwood believes he has a solution."
ironwood nodded and began "For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint. How it works; what it's 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... or in your case..." Qrow cut in
A look of horror came to Pyrrha's face as she tried to find the words "That's...-
"Classified" Ironwood said narrowing his eyes at Qrow
"-Wrong" Pyrrha said.
"The feelings mutual," Glynda said, "But desperate times called for desperate measures."
"And these are desperate times" Ironwood continued " We can't transfer Ambers powers to you, Miss Nikos, but we can give you what those powers are bound too"
"Her Aura," Pyrrha said
"Her life would become intertwined with yours, the question is" Ozpin said
"What's that going to do to you?" Qrow followed up.
The room fell into silence as Pyrrha mulled over such implications what it would mean for her... would she even be the same person, Ozpin spoke up breaking Pyrrha's train of thought " You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. There's no guarantee this will work and there will be no telling if you'll be the same person if it does. I advise you take time to think on this matter. But understand before the Vytal festival is over, we will need your answer."
/
"Is everything in place," 'Yazmin' asked she and 'Carol' stood bellow the
Carol nodded "perfect" She muttered as a smile crept onto her face pocketing the substance she pulled out her scroll Cinder didn't really think she was the only one who could change things around, the contestant's Cinder had already chosen prior popped: Yang Xiao long and Mercury Black.
Smirking she switched the image from Mercury to a more... suitable candidate before making her way out to the center of the arena to stand beside the others.
Returning to her seats beside her team Peter and Oliver glanced to Carol nodding to them they returned the gesture before turning their heads back towards the stadium glancing to the side she spotted Cinder sitting alone Emerald and Neo nowhere in sight.
" Now for the moment you've all been waiting for, The one-on-one finals!" Port announced to the whole arena.
Yazmin stood in the center surrounded by a few others. Yang stood at the far right of the line while Penny Mercury Sun and Pyrrha stood to her left. The champion still looking conflicted by the conversation she had with the professors she had a few hours prior.
"Bartee, why don't you explain the rules." Port Said
"Uhh, it's quite simple Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place." Oobleck replied.
Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare." Port added
Ah, yes, yes! Now let's see who our first match will be!" Oobleck bellows as the roulette starts spinning selecting the first two competitors
All eyes turned towards the randomizer above as the image stopped on Yang as the final image began to slow Mercury smirked as he glanced at Yang this would just be too easy.
"Yang Xiao Long of Beacon vs Yazmin Maze of Shade!"
'What' Mercury thought as his head snapped towards the screen showing the two blonds
/
"What" Cinder growled as the armrests on her chair quickly started to be scorched black, a gentle buzz came from her side Cinder pulled out her scroll her eyes narrowing as she read over the message she had received.
'It's not polite to steal another hunter's kill'
The scroll shattered in her grasp Cinders head snapped towards the side focusing on her supposed allies they stared at her for a moment before turning back towards the fight. 'What are they doing' She seethed
/
"Would all other combatants please leave the stage" Port called out.
As the other's exited the field Yang turned walking towards her opponent the area around them opened large steel columns and spotlights were raised into the air "Whoa" Yang said as she looked up at her "Think they're going a little over the top."
Yazmin glanced up from her weapons at the blond then her surroundings "Nah" she said 'It won't matter when I'm done with you'
Yang placed a hand on her hip" You better not go easy on me"
"You wish" Yazmin responded, she was going to enjoy this.
Yang moved into her boxing stance as Yazmin settled into a slightly crouched stance her left hand out while the other hover over her waits.
Port counted down" Three" They edged closer to one another "Two" The blonds locked eyes "One" Time seemed to slow down "Fight!"
Yang reeled her fist back unleashing a battle cry as she goes for a punch, Yazmin goes for a roundhouse their attacks meeting head-on resulting in a shockwave that pushed both combatants back. Yazmin rushed forward upholstering her weapon she slid between yang's legs switching her pistol into its machete form going for a slash across her back. Yang backflipped over the blade that barely missed her back... and her hair.
As she landed yang unleashed a blast from Ember Celica Yazmin leaned back the shot flying over her head, using her free hand she launched her self-forward feet first, Yang brought up her arms in an X block Yazmin altered herself in the air facing upright using Yang as a springboard leaping up into the air drawing her second pistol she began firing on Yang from above.
Yang jumped back avoiding the incoming barrage responding with her own, Yazmin angled herself straight down speeding towards the stage she twirled in the air avoiding the incoming explosives flipping around as she landed rolling towards Yang switching her weapons back to their bladed variant clashing against yang's gauntlets sparks flying into the air.
/
"Whoa," Ruby said in slight awe of the display "She's good."
"She quick on her feet and her weapons are lighter, she has the advantage in speed" Weiss noted
"No argument there," Koan said
Alex stared at the scene, his eyes narrowed in some recollection
"Alex?" Blake asked he shook his head coming out of his thoughts turning towards Blake.
"Yeah?" He said
"You zoned out for a moment, are you ok?" She asked
"Yeah, yeah "He responded turning his attention back to the fights "It's just, I feel like I've seen her before."
/
Yang jumped back getting some distance between her opponent, she threw two punches, each one firing out a blast from her gauntlets Yazmin knocking one to the side the other impacting her shoulder making her skid back. Taking her chance Yang rushed forward, throwing three quick jabs Yazmin was quick to dodge the first two on the third she received a hit to the face the attack barely fazing her, barely even tilting her head back. Yang threw a right hook Yazmin raised her machetes blocking the strike Yang smirked discharging her weapon knocking Yazmin across the arena.
Getting back to her feet she shook her head sending a smirk yang's way with a 'come at me' gesture. Accepting the challenge yang charged forward boosting herself into the air with her gauntlets reeling her fist back the momentum behind her attack adding extra power as she plowed into her opponent. As the dust cleared some of the audience gasped in surprise Yazmin stood strong Yang's fist held tightly in her grasp, the brawler's violet eyes wide in shock.
Tilting her head to the side with a satisfying crunch she said: "My turn" Before delivering an uppercut Knocking yang onto her back getting back to her feet Yang shook her head spitting out a small glob of blood. The strike caused her to bite her tongue as her head snapped back regaining her footing Yang eyed Yazmin 'she's stronger then she looks' Yang noted the hit had caused her Semblance to kick in as she felt her strength building.
She rushed in again fist raised. Yazmin fell into a defensive stance switching her Machete into a backhanded grip her left hand free after losing her pistol in favor of blocking yang's attack, the two went at it each strike either countered or blocked by their opponent. Yazmin slid back after taking a punch to the gut from Yang. "Not bad." She said looking up at the other blond. She gripped her machete tightly yellow arc energy covering the blade. "Now it's my turn."
Charging forward, she slid under the explosive rounds from Yang's gauntlets, slashing the blond across the abdomen the charge dispelled from her weapon directly into yang launching her across the arena skidding across the floor on her back, electricity coursing through her body. "Ow," Yang groaned the attack had taken a decent chunk of her aura.
As she sat up she noticed something, a blond strand of hair float down past her face. Silence filled the arena as Yang's eyes turned blood red "You... you BITCH!" Yang cried out in rage, as she began unloading her gauntlets at Yazmin who leaped and spun through the air dodging each attack and retaliating with her own, rushing forward the two engaged in close quarts, Yazmin ducked under yang's punches each accompanied by a shot from Ember Celica until finally, Yang ran empty, her gauntlets emanating a loud click. It was time to end this little display.
Smirking Yazmin dashed forward charging into Yang like a bull she floored the blond." Oof" Yang hissed, quickly finding herself pinned, Yazmin's knee resting on her chest, she was about to lash out when Yazmin smirked, her hand lashed out grabbing a fist full of blond hair. Yang could do little but let out a cry of pain as her scalp erupted in agony. But the pain soon spread to the back of her skull as Yazmin repeatedly slammed Yang's head into the arena floor the concrete cracking with each hit.
Her world spun as dark spots began to fill the edge of Yang's vision, she heard the buzzer indicating the end of the match but... she didn't stop by now her aura depleted but she just kept going. The ground below Yang's head was beginning to turn red as her head was viciously slammed into the concrete the pain finally came to an end as Yazmin released the blond standing back to her feet returning her weapon to her hip.
/
The arena was in silence as the crowd stared down at the horrific display of brutality the face of one Red-clad girl twisted into horror alongside her friends as tears formed at the edge of her eyes.
"Y-Yang" Ruby muttered
Alex bolted up from his seat sprinting towards the arena the others not far behind rushing to help. Ruby darted ahead of the other leaving behind a trail of rose petals sprinting down the access tunnel to the arena, she could see them, more importantly, her sister. Gritting her teeth, she reached back for crescent Rose before disappearing in a flurry of rose petals.
/
Yang let out a groan of pain as her vision began to clear up, this was apparently the wrong thing to do as Yazmin soon reappeared over her that twisted smile never leaving her face kicking the blond onto her back she placed her boot over Yang's throat and began pressing down cutting off her airway. Yang grunted as she attempted to struggle her vision beginning to blur the combination of her head injury and lack of oxygen taking its toll, her salvation came when one of the Atlesian Knights tackled Yazmin off her.
A gunshot rang out through the stadium Yazmin kicking the Atlesian knight off he a large hole through its head, the other seven raised their rifles in response. Yazmin's gaze never left the blond on the ground as two of the bots looked over her "Fine" She said her eye's flashing a vibrant yellow as she turned back towards the seven robots "Let's play."
Disappearing into a yellow blur the first two androids were decapitated their bodies flung off to the side, the androids quickly opened fire, but their bullets appeared useless, Yazmin landed behind the androids her hand lashed out a bolt of green lightning shot fourth impacting the first android burning a hole through it's chest before arcing towards the nearest knight each android suffering a similar fate. Members of the audience screamed in shock, Yazmin's eyes glowed a vibrant yellow as she took her true form strolling over to the wounded huntress.
Psycho Yellow stared down at the semi-conscious girl below her, kneeling she grasped Yang by the hair pulling her up to eye level as if she were examining a trophy turning to her left she saw the oncoming storm of rose petals heading her way. Chuckling she waved mockingly "Bye, bye." Yellow said the floor beneath them rippled like a pool of water as she and Yang began descending into it. Ruby leaped forward Crescent Rose raised over her head tears streaming down her face the young girl unleashing a ravenous war cry. Only for her blade to meet thin air.
Ruby fell to her knees Crescent Rose falling form her hands, her team and others who had rushed in to help such as CFVY CRDL JNPR NDGO FNKY AND and others alongside Alex and Koan skidded to a halt staring at the scene in disbelief "No" Ruby muttered "Nooooooooooooo!" She cried as she slammed her fist against the stone floor.
/
Above Cinder stared down at the weeping girl and her team in amusement a smirk spread across her face.
"Damn." Was all Mercury could say after witnessing the scene.
Emerald was silent as she stared down at the arena even she had to admit to being slightly disturbed by the brutal display below, glancing to Cinder the older woman looked ecstatic and in truth she was this... this was better then what she could have dreamed, the attack alone would drum up suspicion towards the huntsman academy let alone Atla's security methods how could they protect a kingdom if they couldn't even protect one of their own, along with the fear among the people towards this unknown threat was in a way magnificent.
"What now?" Emerald asked coming out of her shock
Cinder glanced at the green haired girl a small smile appeared on her face "We continue as planned."
/
(Three miles outside of Vale)
Violet eyes blinked open staring up at the stone ceiling above Yang groaned in pain her hand trailing up to her head she stopped when she felt something around her neck her hand glided over the metal collar clamped around her flesh she let out a sigh allowing her hand to fall back to the earth the action alone left her exhausted, her Aura was working overtime to heal the damage that had been done taking any energy her body provided and focusing it on her head injury, from her position on the ground violet eyes scanned their surroundings in slight confusion
then the memories came flooding back to her. Summoning what little strength she had Yang pushed herself up against the stone wall allowing her to examine her surroundings more thoroughly.
From what she could tell it appeared to be some kind of cell, the room was around the size of her bedroom back on Patch, the stone walls were rough and jagged at certain points as if they had been carved hastily to make room piping and a ventilation duct sat on either side above her head, the door looked like simple steel but with what looked like reinforcements and an electronic lock similar to what she saw the plumbers use, once she got her strength back she could maybe try busting out.
But that raised another question where had she been taken what was this place and were the others ok. A voice came from the vents to her left and Right "Is she awake?" an aged voice said from the right.
"It appears so" Another one more gravely said from her left.
"Wha- who... who are you?" Yang said as she tried to stand only to collapse back against the wall.
"Easy child save your strength, you'll need it for what's to come." He said
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Yang asked.
The man grew quiet before responding "I... I am Loyax the one to your left is Whiger. Like you, we are prisoners here." Loyax said
"I'm Yang, are you huntsmen?" She asked
"Far, far from it" Whiger responded.
"What do you mean?" Yang said
"It does not matter, for now, I suggest you get some sleep young one. You will need it." Loyax said
Yang wanted some answers opening her mouth to speak she stopped realizing it was pointless, growling in frustration she leaned back against the wall staring up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting back to the other Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Alex, Koan were they alright if the Psycho rangers came for her had they attacked the others as well.
At that point she knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep
(To be continued)