Haven Academy is in chaos in the aftermath of Salem's attack on the school. Ruby is exhausted from fighting; she wants nothing more than to head back to the house they've been staying in and sleep for at least a solid twenty-four hours—but there's no time for that. The Mistral police are here, and they have a lot of questions.
And they're not the only ones. Ruby does her best to focus on the officers interrogating her, but her thoughts swirling with confusion. As much as she wants to believe that she just imagined it, that it was just a trick of the light, there's no denying that it was real. That the others saw it too.
Silver flames around her eyes, the jet of fire. Just like—just like Cinder. But how? And when? And why would-?
Her train of thought is interrupted by Qrow waving her over. Apparently, the police are done with them for now. They're free to go. Her head still spinning with questions, Ruby turns to follow her friends back to the house they've been staying in. Finally, they can get some sleep.
And Blake is coming with them. Team RWBY is back together.
By the time they make it back to the house, the sun is high above the horizon. Ruby doesn't think she's ever been so tired in her life. She happily turns to follow Yang back to the room they've been sharing with Weiss, only to be stopped by Weiss' hand on her arm.
"Wait, Ruby," her partner says, voice quiet but firm. "Shouldn't we talk about—about what happened earlier?"
"Um," Ruby says eloquently, biting her lip and turning to her uncle. While she agrees with Weiss that they need to discuss what happened, she was hoping they could wait a little bit. Right now, she's so tired she can barely think straight.
Qrow shakes his head. "We're all exhausted right now. Let's go ahead and get some sleep. We can talk about it in the morning." He gestures to Oscar, slumped motionlessly in his arms. "I think Oz should be present for this conversation, and right now that can't really happen." Ruby's shoulders slump in relief.
With that, they stumble off to their respective bedrooms, mumbling "goodnights" and "see you in the mornings." Ruby tugs off her combat gear, fingers fumbling as she pulls on her pajamas. Yang and Weiss are quiet as they get ready for bed. When Weiss hurries off to brush her teeth, Ruby turns to her sister.
"Yang, I'm scared," she says, voice barely above a whisper.
Her sister glances up from her prosthetic arm, momentarily abandoning her nightly maintenance. "I know," Yang murmurs. "I am too."
"I don't know what's happening to me," Ruby admits, blinking back the tears that threaten to spill over.
Yang pulls her in for a hug, kissing the top of her head. "I'm not sure what's going on either," her sister says. "But we'll figure it out together, okay? Try to get some sleep for now. Maybe it'll look better in the morning."
"Right." Ruby isn't exactly convinced, but she holds onto her sister's reassurance anyway. "Good night, Yang."
"Goodnight, Ruby."
They all sleep in the next morning, even Weiss, who has always been an early riser. But eventually, one by one, they all reluctantly drag themselves out of bed and make their way into the kitchen, slumping in their chairs around the table and sipping their coffees in an attempt to feel more awake.
Despite looking pale and worn out, Ozpin still manages to have a commanding presence. Once they've all gathered in a loose circle around the table, he clears his throat. "Miss Rose," he begins. "Qrow told me about what happened last night."
"Um, right," she replies hastily. "The uh, silver flames thing."
"They were maiden flames, Oz, I'm sure of it," Qrow interjects. "I saw it with my own eyes."
"Like Cinder," Jaune murmurs.
"Yes, quite," Ozpin agrees. "That is—unexpected, to say the least." Her turns to face Yang. "Miss Xiao Long, are you quite certain that the Vault of the Spring Maiden was completely deserted when you went down to retrieve the relic? Are you sure that there were no clues as to what might have occurred before your arrival?"
Yang shifts uncomfortably, refusing to meet anyone's eyes as she stares down at the table. "Not exactly,' she says finally. "When I came down to the Vault, Cinder was gone, and Vernal was dead, like I said earlier. But—" She pauses, ducking her head so that her expression is hidden behind a curtain of hair. "My m—Raven was there. And she's the one who opened the Vault. She's the Spring Maiden."
Qrow growls under his breath, clenching his fists. There's a long moment of silence as everyone tries to digest her words. "I see," Ozpin says finally. "Thank you, Miss Xiao Long. I suspected as much."
"Um, Professor Ozpin, sir?" Nora asks, sounding unusually timid. "What does all that mean, then? What's happening to Ruby?"
"It means," Professor Ozpin replies. "That we had even more luck than I previously thought during our fight for Haven Academy. Not only did we succeed in retrieving the Lamp of Knowledge and keep it from falling into the hands of Salem's accomplices, but we have also acquired the powers of the Fall Maiden."
"Wait—Ruby?" Weiss asks, looking incredulous.
"Me?" Ruby squeaks.
"Indeed." Ozpin nods. "I thought I recognized the description of those powers when Qrow told me, but it is valuable to be able to confirm it. Miss Rose here has inherited the powers of the Fall Maiden, the Maiden of Choice. For one reason or another, she must have been in Cinder Fall's final thoughts, which allowed the powers to fall to her."
"Oh." Ruby isn't sure how to feel about this. She never asked for this kind of power. She's always just wanted to be an ordinary girl, a huntress who protects the people. Ozpin speaks of the maidens with something like reverence, but if Ruby's being honest, she doesn't feel very powerful right now. If anything, she feels a little queasy. "So, what do we do now?"
"Good to see that you're looking to the future, Miss Rose." Ozpin rests his chin on top of his clasped hands. "Despite the betrayal and subsequent loss of Professor Leonardo Lionheart, we have made significant strides forward. Our top priority will have to be getting the lamp to a secure location, but obviously, we will all need to rest quite up a bit before traveling anywhere. In the meantime," he turns to Ruby with a smile. "I suggest that we allow our new Fall Maiden to get acquainted with her new powers."
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