Chapter Four: Silver King

As the new first years lined up on plates positioned along Beacon Cliff, Rapture in particular was paying nearly no attention. She took notice of Ruby occasionally shooting a concerned glance her way, a prim and proper girl wielding a rapier acting haughty and a particularly nervous blonde wannabe knight.

When the first students began to be flung off the cliff by their plates and into the forest below, she couldn't help but smile. This was going to be fun, but it was a shame Ozpin had disallowed the use of her Titan. It took roughly half a minute for Rapture to be launched.

She immediately felt the thrill of soaring through the air unprotected by a Titan, a feeling she relished and scarcely experienced. It was like she fell for an eternity, but once she broke the treeline she sprung into action. Activating her stims, Rapture leapt from tree trunk to tree trunk in a series of incredibly short wall runs. It was like second nature to her, though she didn't want to remember why.

It was mere minutes until she reached the ruins she heard Ozpin mention in passing. She hit the dirt slightly hard, tucking into a roll to spread the force of impact across her body. When the Pilot stood again, she was met with the sight of chess pieces. Black, white, pawns, knights- they were all here. But one in particular caught her eye.

She felt like the silver king piece was calling to her. At the same time, there was a slight burning sensation in her eyes that just couldn't be described otherwise. She approached it, mainly because it was a different colour from the rest. However, as she picked it up, a cold female voice echoed through her mind.

"The nightmare child returns..."

Rapture immediately dropped the piece and took a few steps backward, hyperventilating. That voice... she had heard it before. But where? The voice sent a chill down her spine, along with making her heart race.

She wanted to run, but something made her pick up the piece again. Perhaps curiosity? Or, maybe, something about the silver object really did call out to the Pilot. Almost immediately, the voice returned.

"Don't you remember? That night in Firebase Theta?" The voice in her head seemed to chuckle. "Maybe you don't want to..."

"Shut up." Rapture said to herself as images began to trickle through her head. Images of something she wished she could just bury under the sands of time.

"It's no use, darling. I'm part of you, and you can't forget it. Although, that massacre was all-"

"SHUT UP!" She nearly screamed as she attempted to throw the chess piece away. She couldn't even open her hand.

"Like I said, it's pointless. You can't accept who- no, WHAT you are. Allow me to help you, my dear Luna."

Luna was left wondering how this thing knew her name for only a brief moment before horrid memories began flooding her head, overloading her. She would have screamed, but she couldn't. Eventually, the flood stopped and she fell to her knees, drained.

"You see? You are too weak to carry the weight of your sins, child. Let go..."

She really did scream this time, but for a different reason. A searing pain came from the hand that held the chess piece, and from her eyes. The pain spread to her arm, to her chest and eventually her head. The pain was immense, too much for her to bear. After less than a minute of the piece's assault on her mind, she collapsed into the cool embrace of unconsciousness. Without the pain, Luna could note the other sensation. It was like something was trying to force its way into her head.

It was unclear how long she was out, but when she came to she was in a hospital bed. Her helmet had been removed, though the splitting headache she was experiencing prevented her from caring. The silver king piece was still clutched tightly in her left hand. She would have thrown it away, but she could barely even move her fingers. After what she presumed to be a minute or so, an unexpected wave of fatigue hit her and she fell unconscious again.

When she came to again, the world felt... different. The headache was gone, she could move her left hand and she felt exceedingly light. Her senses didn't work just yet, but that was something she had grown to accept as part of the consequences for her rash actions. As she managed to open her eyes, the world had a violet tinge to it for a few seconds before it gradually faded to its normal colours. However, as it did, a headache became apparent. It wasn't as bad as before, but it was certainly annoying.

As her other senses began to return, she noticed slight breathing from her right side. Luna weakly turned her head and was met with her new Headmaster sitting on a seat at the edge of the room.

"Ozpin?" Her voice was hoarse.

"Ah, you're awake. We were worried we may have lost you." The silver-haired man replied.

"Wait, we?" She was puzzled, wanting to sit up but being unable to.

"Miss Rose and Miss Schnee were the ones who brought you back after you collapsed in the ruins. They are currently getting settled into their dormitory." He stated.

"Got it." She managed to force herself into a sitting position with a gasp of pain.

"We still don't exactly know why you collapsed, so take it easy." He warned.

"It was something to do with that silver chess piece. After I picked it up, I heard a voice in my head." She admitted.

"A... voice?" Ozpin was admittedly a tad concerned.

"Yeah. It was a woman's voice. Cold. She... it had access to my memories. It kept trying to break me with memories, then... She knew my name." Luna finished.

"Your name? I can't imagine many know that." His concern was growing.

"Yeah. I thought there was nobody alive that knew, but it seems I was wrong."

"Interesting. Well, I am afraid I must leave to attend to other matters." Ozpin stood. "Oh, and on the matter of teams. None of the faculty placed that silver king piece, so you are now a free agent. You may lend support to other teams as you please, but be warned: if you remain solo, there will be nobody to save you. I wish you all the best in your recovery, Miss Rapture. Farewell."

And with that, Ozpin left Luna to think on the fact that the piece had not been placed by the faculty. What could it mean?