Chapter 22
With the Vytal festival continuing, the fights become more and more challenging. Multiple teams have been taken out of the tournament, including the biggest shock, team CFVY.
Ruby cheered as her friend, Penny won her second round in a row, confirming her team going to the finals. She made it look easy as she beat both Russel and Sky from team CRDL. Her partner just shook her head and tapped her watch. Penny blushed.
"I guess I should finish this then." Penny said.
"Yes Penny, you should." She said, slightly annoyed.
That was the last thing said before Penny raised her hands like a puppet master and uses the near-invisible strings attached to each hilt of her blades to lift the giant rocks in the air, with the screaming Russel and Sky still hanging on. She brought her arms down to her sides. The stones came crashing to the ground, leaving Penny's opponents in the grass. Her swords came back to her pack as the buzzer rang.
Ruby loved seeing Penny fight. She wished she could talk to her friend. She sees them walking toward the exit. She got up and turned to Weiss and Yang, Blake was with team SSSN.
"Save my seat." Ruby said. She was gone before Weiss could say anything.
"We're going too." Weiss said.
"She'll remember later." Yang said.
Ruby caught up with Penny, almost missing her because of the crowd.
"Penny!" Ruby called, extending her arms.
"RUBY!" Penny jumped into Ruby's arms, knocking her to the ground. She forgot for a single second that she was a robot.
"Why…?" Ruby croaked out on the ground. Penny helped her up, and she dusted herself off. Penny saw her teammate coming back to grab her.
"Ruby, this is my teammate." Penny showed off her teammate.
"Ciel Soleil." Ciel said. Ruby made a quick mental note about her. Ciel has a dark complexion, short dark Teal hair, and blue eyes. She also has a gold marking consisting of an oval shape surrounded by four smaller circles in the center of her forehead.
She wore a blue beret, a plain off-white golden button-down shirt with an asymmetrical collar, a blue combat skirt with black waistband and fingerless, elbow-length black gloves with a wristwatch on her left hand and black shoes alongside white, golden buttoned boot chaps.
"Hi' I'm Ru…"
"Ruby Rose. 16. Hails from Patch. Leader of Team RWBY. Status: Questionable. Jedi Padawan. Fought at Hellio…" Ciel stopped after that last one. Ruby couldn't tell if she approved, or greatly disapproved.
"Sooo... Penny! You two were incredible out there. How do you keep control of all those swords? It's so cool!" Ruby asked. "Wait, is it the force?"
"No, it's…"
"Penny? I believe it is best if we move on to our next location." Ciel gestured to her watch.
"Could we have just a minute to talk?" Penny asked. Ruby held her breath. Ciel sighed and thought for a second, then shook her head. She took a few steps away but kept Penny in line of sight.
"So is she... your friend or..." Ruby started.
"Well, in a way. She's like Blake, but if Blake was ordered to spend time with you." Penny said, with a smirk.
"Oh. So, Weiss." Ruby responded.
"Precisely.
"Does she know about... y'know... beep boop bop, does not compute?" Ruby said, making the moves.
"Oh no. General Ironwood doesn't really want anyone to know. There was an incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off."
Penny told Ruby about the story when the magnet getting stuck to her head, and how Penny used a large hat to hide it. The wind took her hat, but she quickly grabbed it. Penny and Ruby started laughing.
"Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. I want to stay at Beacon." Penny said, hiding it from Ciel.
"Penny, they'll never let you do that." Ruby said. Of course, they never would allow it. And she'd be put in too much danger.
"I know, but I have a plan." Penny said.
"It's been precisely one minute, ma'am." Ciel said.
"I'll talk to you more soon, Ruby." Penny said.
"Our next match will begin in 15 minutes!" Port announced.
"Oh my gosh, that's right! It's time for…"
Yang and Weiss were finished getting ready. They decided to go with the same weapons as the last round. Weiss fought with her sock bunching up in her boot and sighed.
"Everything okay?" Yang asked.
"No, this stupid sock keeps getting caught!" Weiss said.
"There's something else bothering you." Yang said.
"It's just…" She let out a sigh. "I'm behind with my force abilities. And my summoning ability."
"Summoning?" Yang asked.
"It's a part of my family's semblance. Along with the glyphs you see, we can also summon defeated enemies. But… I can't." Weiss said.
"Weiss, you're letting that annoy you a lot. Calm down, everything will be fine." Yang said. Weiss took a few calming breaths. Her sock stopped bunching, and she was able to finish getting her boot on.
"Better." Yang asked.
"For now." Weiss said.
"No, not for now." Yang said. "Let go of your emotions when they become a distraction."
"You took that from Master Fisto." Weiss said.
"Is he wrong?" Yang asked.
"No… he's not." Weiss took a breath. She let go of her problem. She could become a Huntress and a Jedi.
"Let's go." Yang said with a smile.
"Alright." Weiss said.
They got to the platform, and it started to rise. They were fighting against two members of team FNKI. They were Atlas students.
"You're from Atlas. What could we expect?" Yang asked. Her tone completely shifted.
"Well, seeing as their Kingdom, academy, and armed forces are all merged as one, I think we can expect strict, militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies." Weiss said. "Just think of the people from Hellio."
"Right." Yang said. They had another experience with soldiers, but that was a day everyone wanted to forget, the day Rosa turned to the dark side. But they got her back, and she had no memories of that day, a little miracle.
They get to the arena and see their opponents. A female Faunus, and a male human. The woman started skating around in circles, waiting for the round to start. Her cat tail moved behind her. The man watched her with a smile. He lowered his sunglasses and looked at Weiss, recognizing her.
"Hey, You're Weiss Schnee, right?" The man asked.
"I am." Weiss said.
"I'm Flynt Coal. I take it you're pretty good with Dust, then?" he said.
"I do my best." Weiss said.
"Yeah, my dad was good too. Owned a little Dust shop of his own." Flynt nodded his head, his eyes hidden behind his shades, until his smile turns into a scowl. "Till your father's company ran him out of business." Weiss didn't say anything for a second.
"The company doesn't exist anymore." Weiss said. She felt the personal failure of losing her grandfather's company. But the white fang destroyed all the mines the SDC owned. She sold the rights to the Atlast govenment.
"Good. Now small business can actually exist in Atlas." Flynt said.
"I am sorry what happened to your father's dust shop." Weiss said.
"Sure, you are Heiress." Flynt said.
"Hey! Why don't you-" Yang started. The woman cut her off.
"Hey! Why don't you?" She mocked. "That's what you sound like! I'm Neon by the way."
"Uh…" Yang said. She realized the fight hadn't started yet. They were milking this!
"Hey! Where'd you get your hair extensions?" Neon asked.
"This is just my normal hair." Yang said defensively.
"Ooh, really?" Neon asked.
"Is that a prob-" Neon cut Yang off again.
"You should try rollerblading sometime! It's super fun!" Rosa took a sip of her soda, wanting this to get going. Neon started spinning in place as she continued rapidly. "It'd probably take you a while, though, since you're so... you know, top-heavy."
Rosa choked on her drink. Blake sat there with her mouth open. Ruby looked over at Rosa, it taking her a second longer to realize what it meant.
"Hey! DOn't talk about my sister like that!" Ruby yelled out.
"Excuse me!?" Yang asked. A blush covered her face. Neon looked at Weiss.
"At least you don't have that problem." Neon said. Weiss' face became bright red.
"She's going down." Weiss said.
"That's what I was going to say."
Ruby saw the Jedi Symbol on her gloves. She knew the tactic she was using but had to think what the name was.
"She's a padawan." Ruby said. The others turned to her. "What was it? Dune Mock?"
"Oh, Dun Möch" Rosa said.
"That!" Ruby said.
"You recognized it pretty quickly." Rouge said, taking a seat behind them.
Port started the match.
Flynt raised his instrument to his lips and blew, issuing a sound wave that blew both Weiss and Yang back from the force of it. Weiss created a glyph under her to stop sliding back but didn't see Neon spinning into the attack and using it to push herself forward so she can charge at Yang in a rainbow burst of speed and push her into the city portion.
Flynt stopped blowing as Weiss readies her lightsaber, a second passing until the musician started playing again. Weiss uses darker glyphs to move her forward through the cone of waves, making another one to get closer to land a blow. Flynt stopped playing, and Weiss was forced to move forward, earning a kick to her back as she slid past. She crashed through a red Dust crystal. Flynt grinned when he saw her lying in the area now spouting pillars of fire.
In the ruined city Neon managed to roll ahead of every blast from Ember Celica, skating on the railings and making faces at an irritated Yang. She continued to flip and slide over any terrain in her way, all the while repeating a mantra.
"Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat!" Eventually, she dropped down, moving toward Yang. Yang let out a force push, disguising it as another blast. Her smirk faded when she was slammed back a few feet.
"Guess I did miss that one." Neon said. She quickly got up. She took out her nunchaku and snapped them. "Should have guessed with the heiress over there."
Neon continued her charge toward Yang. She started firing her weapon at Neon, but she avoided them, even blocking one strike with her weapon. She smacked Yang with the activated weapon, encasing her leg in ice. She used a force push to knock Yang down.
"Look, now your bottom-heavy too!" Yang got up, breaking her leg out of the ice. Neon was a Jedi. Neon rushed and froze her arm. Her anger started rising. That fire in her started burning.
"You should cool off! Get it? Because you're angry." Neon said.
"Shut up! Please!" Yang yelled as she slammed her hand against a wall, shattering the ice.
"You know, it's not very Jedi like to get so mad." Neon said.
"Don't listen to her Yang! She's trying to get in your head!" Ruby shouted. Yang looked at her sister. She shook her head. That's right, Neon was just trying to get in her head.
"Hey, are they real?" Neon asked.
"That's it!" Yang yelled, a massive wave of fire coming off her.
Weiss and Flynt stopped for a second seeing the fire.
"Yang…" Weiss said, worried. Flynt fired a blast at her, causing her to refocus on him. His weapon was difficult for her to fight against. It was a sound-based weapon, a type of weapon the lightsaber couldn't block. She created four glyphs. Flynt looked down and smiled, leaped forward onto his knees, and blew his horn just as a column of flame erupted right in front of him, diverting the fire to melt each of Weiss' frozen projectiles.
"Too bad all that money can't buy you skill." Flynt said.
"Don't let his words get to you." Weiss said. She brought her lightsaber down, cutting a small shard of fire dust from the ground. She crushed it, then activated it, and sent out a force push. The fire slammed against the wave Flynt was making. The fire started to overtake him, and he jumped out of the way.
"So, daddy didn't just buy you one of those." Flynt said.
"Of course not." Weiss said.
Weiss flicked her hand up, creating multiple glyphs. She jumped on the first one and started to get faster Flynt stepped back as Weiss started rushing toward him. She got ready to strike Flynt, but she wasn't ready for Flynt to split into four. She stumbled when she stepped on the last Glyph and was flung passed Flynt. She rolled along the ground for a few seconds.
"What the hell was that?" Weiss asked.
"That, my dear heiress, is my semblance." Flynt said. "And it will be what takes the Schnee's down a peg."
"It appears young Flynt has just activated his Semblance! And quite a remarkable one at that. Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on Flynt Coal's Killer Quartet!" Oobleck explained. Weiss got up.
"The Schnees have already been humbled." Weiss said, getting up. She noticed two buttons were taken off when she rolled. The top and bottom. She unclipped the chain holding her capelet together and tossed it behind her.
"Then I'll just have to give you the crash course." Flynt said. Weiss held her lightsaber out.
"If you can." Weiss said.
The four launched a sound attack. Weiss dropped to one knee, raising a force shield. The attacks forced her back a few inches, but she was still ready.
Flynt finally realized he was wrong about her. She wasn't a delicate flower. She was a warrior in training. He decided he couldn't hold anything back. He smirked.
A glyph formed behind Flynt. The black glyph launched one of the Flynt clones forward. Weiss rose her hand, creating another Glyph for the clone to slam into.
"You haven't beaten me yet." Weiss said.
"Let's see about changing that!" Flynt rushed forward, using the trumpet the entire time, quickly changing from the different types of dust. He mixed some of them while he was still playing. Weiss used her glyphs to slide passed the soundwaves until the second Flynt hit her in the side. She stumbled but created another glyph underneath her and rebalanced herself. He was impressed. She closed her eyes. She was going right for the real him. He started liking this fight. His heart started pumping faster, and his reaction times were getting faster. He was excited. He ducked under the oncoming attack, switching the note quickly.
"We're making a show!" Weiss said.
"Isn't that the point?" He said, smirking. He started playing a new song. The Jazz notes came out with waves of sound. She… recognized the song? She avoided each attack, dancing, spinning, and sliding passed each strike. She knew when the high notes were coming, and when the low notes were coming. He could swear he heard a piano start playing. He heard a saxophone, the guitar, drums, the bass… He heard it all. It was a jazz concert! This battle was a Jazz concert!
"Where'd you hear that song?" Flynt asked Weiss. She finished her dance with a spin and stopped in front of him.
"I love Jazz." Weiss said. Flynt let out a laugh. Weiss smiled.
"Wow! Did they just become friends?" Rosa asked.
"…I think so." Blake said.
"Too bad it's not working like that for Yang." Ruby said.
Neon was continuing to pick at Yang.
"Ooh! Flashy eyes! Y'know, you're actually kinda pretty when you're angry." Neon continued to taunt.
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Yang yelled. She started chasing Neon by propelling herself with her shotguns. "Get back here!"
"I wasn't trying to say that you should go on a diet, I was saying you really need to go on a diet!" Neon said.
"THAT'S IT!" Yang yelled.
"You're fat." Neon tried to explain. Her eyes opened wide when a massive wave of fire came rushing toward her. She slammed the ground with her weapon, making a massive ice shield rise up. She started moving back, continuing to hit the shield to rebuild it.
Yang's anger left her. She was shocked to see the fire coming from her. She looked at her hands and stumbled back.
"What was that?" Yang asked.
"A force power. Pyrokinesis." Neon said. "I guess I did go a little overboard with that last one…"
She was cut off when Weiss knocked Yang off her feet. The magma under Yang was about to burst. Weiss held the original Flynt in her arms as the magma went off, knocking both Flynt and Weiss out.
"It appears we have a double knockout on our hands!" Port said.
"Weiss!" Yang yelled. Flynt tried to get up, but he couldn't. He dropped to the ground.
"Sorry Neon." He said, before collapsing.
"Thank you for taking out the challenging one." Neon said.
A fire surrounded Yang, and her eyes turned red.
"Ooh, looks like Yang's angry! And you wouldn't like her when she's... upset." Port said.
"Oh… Shit." Neon mumbled. Yang focused on her. The geysers started erupting around her. Neon started skating away from Yang, barely avoiding the blasts. Yang was right behind her, almost landing the finishing blow a few times. Only her Jedi reflexes saved her from the fists of Yang. Neon was worried about her health if she got hit.
"Never miss a beat! Never miss a beat! Never miss a..."
Yang jumped through an erupting geyser to appear in front of her. The red in her eyes gone, but she still knew this was going to hurt.
"…Beat?"
Neon didn't know what it felt like to be one of those Faunus who had wings and could fly… but this facsimile of it would be a painful one.
Neon slammed into the arena edge and fell to the ground. Yang looked at the screen as Neon's aura meter dropped to zero. She rushed over to Weiss once she confirmed her victory.
"Weiss, are you okay?" Yang asked. Weiss was covered in soot. She coughed and soot came from her mouth. She looked at Weiss. She was exhausted.
"I may not be singing for a while." Weiss said weakly.
"That's it for that exciting round!" Oobleck said.
"Hey, heiress." Flynt said as he walked over to the two. "I like your style."
"WHAT!? We lost? We lost? Team FNKI lost? That was... that was..." Neon's color came back. "... amazing! Oh my gosh, you guys were super crazy awesome! We should definitely party together sometime, right Flynt?"
After the matches that day ended, Cyan was helping Rosa train. Teaching her subtle Sith techniques. Emerald and Mercury were with them, joining in on the training.
"You're enemy has weak points all over them. Exploit them." Cyan said. "Any weakness needs to be exploited."
Emerald felt her scroll rumble. She looked at it and had to make sure Rosa didn't see it. She elbowed Mercury, and he looked at it.
"Things just got easier." Cinder sent the message. As it turns out, Penny was a robot.
"Hm." Mercury mumbled. Mercury stepped forward.
"If you don't take advantage of weak points, your enemy will." Mercury said.
Rosa turned to him.
"How can I tell if it's not a faint?" Rosa asked.
"…Well, you can't always tell." Mercury said. Mercury started discussing with Rosa more about combat. While they were talking, Rosa was doing more exercises. She was hanging upside down, doing crunches in the dojo.
"Rosa, you once told me you trained in endurance." Emerald said. "That's amazing. The longer you can last in a fight the more chances you get to exploit weaknesses."
"But if I can't take advantage of that because I lose to quickly, what good does that training do?" Rosa asked.
Ruby and Weiss entered the Dojo, looking at Rosa doing her exercises confused.
"This is some serious training." Ruby said.
"I'm determined to not end up back in that damn bacta tank for a while." Rosa said.
Ozpin looked out of the window. The twilight coated the horizon in its beautiful orange. He took a sip of his cocoa. He didn't turn back when Qrow came to his office.
"You know, he's making you look like a fool." Qrow said. Ozpin sighed. Not even a hello.
"His heart is in the right place. He's just... misguided." Ozpin said.
"Sometimes, I'm not even sure he has a heart. So, have you chosen your guardian yet?" Qrow asked after taking a swig of his drink.
"Maidens choose themselves. I simply believe I've found the right candidate. Ever since the day I met her, I had the feeling she would be the one. She's strong, intelligent, caring... but most importantly, she's ready." Ozpin said, turning to look at Qrow.
"Who?" Qrow asked. The elevator opened behind them, revealing Pyrrha Nikos. Qrow looked back at Ozpin. He grimaced, then hid it behind his headmaster's smile.
"You asked for me professor?" She asked.
"Yes, I did. Come, take a seat." Ozpin said. She sat down, and he moved his own desk.
"First off, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance was exemplary." Ozpin said. Round two battle for team JNPR was a powerful, but quick adventure.
"Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would never have made it this far without my teammates." Pyrrha said.
"Personally, I think it's the other way around." Qrow said. Pyrrha didn't like people judging her team based on her performance. She dug all the emotions deep.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced." With her best PR voice. Qrow laughed at that, and her smile cracked a little.
"I'm not the paparazzi. No need for that PR shit." Qrow said.
"Fine. Who are you?" Pyrrha asked, annoyed. Ozpin rose his eyebrow. "My team works hard to be where we are."
"Touched a nerve, did I. I tend to do that. I'm Qrow. I'm sure you know my nieces."
"Ruby and Yang?" Pyrrha said. She remembered them talking about him. She also remembered feeling his presence when they went to Patch before the festival.
"Guess you are smart." Qrow said.
"Thank you." Pyrrha said.
"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine. He may be a bit prickly, but he's really not that bad." Ozpin asked. Qrow glared at Ozpin, who gave him a sickly-sweet smile.
"Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?" Pyrrha asked.
"Please, take a seat." Ozpin said. She did as he asked, and he smiled. "What is your favorite fairy tale?"
"I'm… sorry?" Pyrrha asked.
"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them." Ozpin explained.
"Well, there's The Tale of The Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower..." Pyrrha started naming some of them.
"What about The Story of the Seasons?" Ozpin asked.
"Well, of course!" She looked away in remembrance. Ozpin closed his eyes, feeling a wave of nostalgia roll over him as she started. "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." Ozpin opened his eyes, remembering the four. Some things were different, but he made sure that story stayed in circulation. "Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the four maidens. My mother loves that story." Pyrrha finished. Ozpin had a genuine smile on his face. He covered it with his hands.
"Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin said.
"You're not that old, Professor." Ozpin let out a playful chuckle. Then the mood in the room became serious. Pyrrha felt the change immediately. It was almost as if a shadow blanketed the room.
"Well, would you believe me if I told you, it was true?" Ozpin said. Pyrrha moved in her chair, feeling very uncomfortable.
"I beg your pardon?" Pyrrha asked.
"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 said.
"Like semblances?" Pyrrha asked.
"Like Magic."
Pyrrha didn't know what to say. What was Ozpin telling her? That this world has magic?
"I…" She muttered.
"Yeah. First time hearing it's pretty crazy." Qrow said.
"You're serious?" Pyrrha asked.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ozpin asked.
"Why... why are you telling me this?" She asked.
"We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe that you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers." Ozpin said.
"We?" Pyrrha asked. Glynda and Ironwood showed themselves in the room. Ironwood fixed his tie while Glynda fixed her glasses. Qrow shook his head.
"Sorry we're late." Ironwood said.
"Wait, what is this? Who are you?" Pyrrha asked, not knowing who to trust.
"You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon." Glynda said.
"'Cept we've 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 didn't know what to do.
Pyrrha went in the elevator with everyone.
"Where are we going?" Pyrrha asked.
"The vault. Under the school." Ozpin said as if that answered every question.
"Why's there a vault under the school?" Pyrrha asked.
"To protect something." Ozpin said.
"I'm sure you must have questions." Glynda said.
"A few…" Pyrrha said. She had no idea what in the world was going on. "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. 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." Glynda said.
"Are the Jedi aware of this?" Pyrrha asked.
"Some are. Some are not." Glynda said.
"So, how does the power choose?" Pyrrha asked.
"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules." Qrow said.
"Qrow." Glynda said.
"Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right." Qrow said.
"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." Glynda explained, ignoring Qrow.
"Intimate?" Pyrrha asked concern in her voice.
"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." Glynda said.
"Unless it's a dude or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our job gets a lot harder." Qrow said. He smirked. "Which is why Goodwitch here can't be the candidate."
Glynda glared at him, and 'accidentally' stepped on his foot.
"A joke, that's all it was."
"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?" Pyrrha said.
"Honestly, we've run out of time. I don't know if you've 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 much longer before the peace we've been enjoying so much goes out the window. The Sith are trying to make sure of that." Qrow said.
"You're not... talking about a war?" Pyrrha asked.
"Not a war between nations. A war between light and darkness itself." Ironwood said.
"We can fill you in on the details once we know that you're with us. 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." Qrow said.
"Our stop is coming up." Ozpin said. A few seconds later, the elevator stopped, opening to a vault. It was a massive hallway that lead further in. She looked at the walls. They were covered in records.
"This is the Vault of the Autumn maiden. Her histories are detailed on the walls." Ozpin explained. There were hundreds of names on the walls. Thousands of them. How long have the maidens been around.
"What is all this?" Pyrrha asked.
"This is where the fall maidens are recorded. Including those who were servants of the dark side." The names of those evil maidens were marked in black.
"There are so many." Pyrrha said. They continued to move forward. The humming of machine grew louder.
"Is that…?" Pyrrha started to ask.
"The current Fall Maiden, Amber." Ozpin said. Pyrrha stepped forward, putting her hand on the case. She looked at the woman not much older than her. It shook her to see the woman on death's door. She had a weak presence in the force.
"She's... still alive?" Pyrrha asked.
"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." Ironwood said.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.
"Well, we don't know what will happen if- when she passes." Ironwood said with a sigh.
"Won't... her power... just transfer to the next host?" Pyrrha asked.
"Look who's been listening!" Qrow said.
"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 ever seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."
"…Her assailant." Pyrrha said.
"And that would not bode well for any of us." Ozpin said.
Pyrrha put her hand on the glass case, looking into Amber's face. Her emotions were conflicted.
"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?" Pyrrha demanded.
"From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge." Glynda said
"Excuse me?" Pyrrha didn't expect that.
"How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere." He took out his flask and started drinking.
"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." Glynda said.
"And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the kind of people you'd want to have unimaginable power." Qrow said after finishing his drink.
"And so this brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend." Ironwood said.
"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history, religion." Glynda said.
"No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar." Ironwood explained
"It would cause panic. And we all know what that would bring to clawing to our Kingdom's walls. Which is why we would like to..." Ozpin started. He turned from the others to focus on Pyrrha.
"I'll do it." Ozpin looks surprised, as she stares at the ground. "If you believe that this will help humanity…" She resolved herself. "…then I will become your Fall Maiden. That's what you wanted, isn't it?" Pyrrha said
"It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution." Ozpin said.
"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." Ironwood said. A flash of Dr. Watts came to his mind.
"Capture it and cram it into something else. in your case…" Qrow said. It took her a second to realize.
"That's…" Pyrrha started.
"Classified." Ironwood said.
"Wrong." Pyrrha said.
"I agree, but these are desperate times Pyrrha." Glynda couldn't look Pyrrha in the eyes after saying that. She… she couldn't stand herself.
"And these are indeed desperate times. We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to." Ironwood said.
"…Her Aura." Pyrrha said, almost a whisper.
"Her life... would become intertwined with yours. The question is…" Ozpin said.
"What's that going to do to you?" Qrow said. Pyrrha fully understood the danger she would face.
"You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. 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." Ozpin said.
The force wasn't telling her if this was the right option or not. It was her choice. She took another look at Amber. She was scared. And so was Amber… She didn't know what to say. This wasn't fair.
"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. And there's no telling when their next move will be."
"I need time to decide. Give me to the end of the festival." Pyrrha said. The adults seemed to accept that answer.
"Alright."
Pyrrha was distracted for the rest of the day. Even into the next when the finals started.
"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!" Port said. "The top four winners of the loser's bracket have been mixed in with the finalists, as they already proved they have the fighting spirit!" Fox, Nebula, Arslan, and Nolan returned.
Yang, Sun, Mercury, Penny, Rouge, and a few other finalists were there with Pyrrha. She barely noticed them.
"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?" Port asked.
"Ah, 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 explained.
Kit Fisto sat down next to the members of team RRWBY.
"The festival has been going great, wouldn't you say?" He asked them. They weren't expecting him to be here.
"What are you doing here master?" Rosa asked.
"Right now, watching." He said with his trademark smile.
"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!" Port said.
"Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!" Oobleck said.
Pyrrha didn't look as the images of all the finalists flashed quickly, then slowed until they landed on the first pare.
"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Port declared. Pyrrha shot her head up and saw the fighters. She glanced over at Yang. She was wearing her new Jedi robes and held her lightsaber. She smiled and gave Pyrrha a wink. Pyrrha nodded and have her thumbs up.
"Will all other finalists please leave the arena." Oobleck asked. Everyone cleared the field.
"Hey blondie, what's with the new getup?" Mercury asked.
"Oh, this, It's just a warning." She took of the cloak, tossing it off the arena platform as it started to move in the air. She grabbed her lightsaber.
"Why start using that now?" Mercury asked. This wasn't part of the plan. But he had to adapt. They had contingencies in place just in case something like this happened.
The arena stopped moving when they were ten feet off the ground.
"Don't go easy on me." She turned on the lightsaber, the purple blade humming. She still had her other weapons.
"Are you even allowed to use that?" Mercury asked.
"I registered it all the way back at the beginning, and I never used it when I couldn't. I'm perfectly in my right to use my secondary weapon." She said with a smile.
"Well Jedi, let's see how good you are with that thing." Mercury said.
"As Miss Xiao-Long has explained, her lightsaber was registered all the way back at the start of the festival, making it a legal weapon. And as she also stated, it is considered her secondary weapon. That means she's free to use either weapon." Oobleck explained this to those at home.
"And with that explanation, let's start the first round of the finals!" Port said.
The countdown ended. Mercury opened with four kicks. Yang avoided the first bullet and blocked the other three.
"You're keeping me away." Mercury said.
"For now," Yang said. She was getting more data about her opponent. She spotted Plo Koon in the stands and smiled. Her master was here.
"When are you going to come after me for real?" Mercury said.
"Afraid?" She asked. Mercury shook his head.
"I just don't want to bore the audience. We have so many important people here." Mercury said.
"But you're sizing me up as well." Yang said.
"I already know everything I need to about you blondie. No control, average skills, no footwork, and a reliance on your strength." Mercury said. Yang gripped her lightsaber a little tighter.
"Mercury wants to get her off balance." Cyan said.
"With how easy she was to throw off balance last round, of course, he would. Look, she's starting to get pissed now." Emerald said.
Yang put her lightsaber away and activated her gauntlets. Yang threw a punch, which got blocked by Mercury. He smirked but wasn't ready for her to deactivate her gauntlets and take a swing at him. He stumbled backward.
"The disadvantage of using a secondary weapon is that it can't be used alongside the primary weapon. I think that's why we see more people sticking with their single weapon, especially since they often have an internal secondary weapon." Oobleck explained quickly.
"Afraid?" Mercury said.
"No." Yang said.
"Too bad." Mercury rushed Yang. She brought her lightsaber up. He fired once, making her block the bullet, but she lost sight of him for a second. He slid under her, and landed a kick on her back, sending her flying. He rushed after her as she got up, kicking incredibly fast. He kicked her hand, and her lightsaber flew to the edge of the arena. She activated her gauntlets again and focused back on Mercury.
"Stop fighting with that little Jedi." Mercury said. She felt darkness in him. She took a step back and started punching Mercury. She was pushing him back, but he was knocking her fists out of the way with her fists. He was fast.
She ducked quickly and brought her hand up. He over-extended, and she punished him for that, sending him away. She rose her hand out to get her lightsaber. Mercury was back up in a second, and he rushed at her. Her lightsaber was almost back in her hand.
But Mercury increased his speed and grabbed the lightsaber out of the air. He held it in his hands, inspecting it.
"I said fight me without this little Jedi." Mercury tossed it behind him. It fell to the ground. Yang wanted to use the force to grab it, but Mercury was on top of her right after. She was on the back foot.
She sent out a force push, knocking him back again. She didn't give him a second, launching her volley of shots at him before he hit the ground. Two of them hit.
"She hit me." Mercury mumbled to himself. He dodged the attacks as they came flying at him, He decided to slide around the stage on clouds of air until he attempted to come down on her with his leg. She blocked and pushed away the attack, but he goes under her shotgun burst and managed to land a kick on her, though she still landed in a crouch, now grimacing.
"Better!" Mercury said.
She launched forward with a double blast and continued landing blows on him, right up to when he roundhouse kicked her in the back and attempted to hit her with his heel. She got out just in time and punched the ground trying to get him, but he leaped out and twirled to get a hit on her. One of his kicks seemed to pass over her, but then he brought it down hard enough to shatter the steel underneath, which Yang narrowly rolled backward to avoid.
They exchanged kicks until Mercury hit her backward, and he rushed forward only to receive a fist to his chin, and torso, knocking him on his stomach. He got up right as Yang started raining down fire again, causing him to somersault back until one explosion caused him to get knocked off of the stage.
"Not happening!" Mercury said.
He saved himself by firing his boots downward and flying back in front of Yang, unleashing a series of kicks that put Yang on the defensive. She ducked under one attack only to receive another as Mercury jumped into the air to knock her back, and he followed it up with a shot from his boots. Yang avoided it effortlessly, not noticing it still hanging around behind her.
"Something new." Mercury said.
Sun watched with interest as the fight continued. He was looking out for the Sith in the arena. Shaak Ti sat down next to him.
"You feel it too I assume." She said.
"Something isn't right here."
Switching tactics, Mercury started shooting his foot out in every direction, each kick into the air accompanied by a silvery blast that were barely even aimed at Yang. She dodged each one coming her way and got in close through the circling barrage of shots, fighting with their fists again until Mercury kicked her into the air and knocked her right back to the ground, followed by the dozens of swirling shots that now converge right on to Yang. The Jedi were disturbed at the brutality of the attack.
When the blasts stop coming down on Yang, Mercury got up from his crouch and grinned to himself, dusting off his outfit and seeming as happy as can be until the smoke from behind him erupted into flames. Yang felt the anger inside of her building. This rage.
"Control it!" She heard uncle Qrow's voice. He helped train her.
"You can't let the fire overtake you." Her dad said.
His momentary shock turned into another smile as he turned around to see the red-eyed Yang slam her knuckles together and come at him. Screaming, she landed a punch that sends him back, and she rushed up avoiding each kick and even taking one with no effect to pound at him with an unrelenting bombardment of left-right blows.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Mercury asked concerned.
He has enough time to let out a pained groan before she hit him in the stomach, his Aura sparkling up to try and defend him from the last hit to the face by the upset blonde. He landed on his back as the buzzer sounds over the roars of the audience.
"Control it!"
Yang let out a sigh. The fire died down. She won. She didn't know what to say.
"What a way to kick off the finals!" Yang shouted out.
"Yang Xiao Long wins!" Port declared.
"Yeah! You did it, sis!" Ruby shouted.
"That's how you do it!" Rosa yelled out.
"Way to go, Yang!" Blake cheered, after first bumping Weiss.
"Better luck next time." Yang said to Mercury.
Emerald closed her eyes. It was time for the next step of the plan. Mercury smirked. He was about to show his acting skills.
"There's not going to be a next time, Blondie!"
Yang saw Mercury launch himself at her.
Every instinct told her to counter the attack. Everything in her wanted her to stop him. He was attacking her after he lost. She lowered her guard, and he was attacking her.
"Don't!"
That one word slammed into her mind harder than every instinct, every thought, every whim. It was Summer Rose's voice. She couldn't move. She turned to see him. His kick landed against her…
Except it didn't.
"Shit. She didn't take the bait." Cyan said. Everyone saw Yang stumble back. They even saw tears form in her eyes. The stadium went quiet.
"Mom…?" Yang said.
"You're mom's not here now!" Mercury had to take the fall. He rushed forward, kicking her in the stomach full force. She didn't try to block it. She didn't do anything, even after she was kicked. It was almost like she wasn't there.
Yang didn't feel the pain until she slammed against the arena wall. She was shocked back to the present, in the worst way possible.
"Cut the cameras!" Port cried. The force field was dropped for a moment and the three masters all jumped in the arena taking out their lightsabers.
"Stand down Mercury Black!" Plo Koon said.
"I should be the winner. She must have cheated!" Mercury yelled. "She had two weapons! Doesn't that mean anything?"
Clone troops rushed in the arena and aimed their blasters at Mercury. The people in the stadium started leaving.
"Looks like he's taking the fall." Cyan said.
"We need to get out of here." Emerald said. "Something's blocking me now."
"Looks like we're going to have to answer some questions." Cyan said.
Ruby tried to get into the arena to get her sister, but Rosa held her back.
"The shields are back up. There's nothing you can do for her here." Rosa said, trying to drag Ruby away from the scene. Ironwood arrived with a division of his troops.
"Keep the citizens calm. All the Jedi still in the Arena, aid us!" Ironwood said.
"What happened?" Jaune asked as he looked for Pyrrha.
"This is a nightmare."
"What are they teaching the hunters nowadays?"
"That was brutal."
Cinder smirked. Even if they had to adapt the plan, it was moving along well.
Emerald took a stun round in the end. The Jedi put their lightsabers away and cuffed him. The clones grabbed Yang' who had a massive gut wound. Mercury shot her when her aura was down. She was bleeding and needed medical attention.
"Get her to the medical wing!" Plo Koon ordered.
"Why…?" Rosa asked once she had a moment to herself.
"Why did your friend try to murder my sister?!" Ruby yelled at Rosa. She widened her eyes, never hearing Ruby yell at her like this.
"Padawan Rose! This isn't her fault." Mace Windu said as he entered the stadium.
Ruby realized what she did, done and had the guiltiest look on her face. She had tears in her eyes as she looked back at Rosa.
"I'm…" Ruby didn't get to finish when Rosa hugged her.
"I understand." Rosa said.
Quinlan Vos looked over the footage in the crowd after it was given to him. They locked the kid up three hours ago. He nearly killed Yang. But there was something wrong. He watched the footage again and again, but it still didn't make sense. He waited before he would get the chance to interrogate the kid.
He was in the police station when an officer came to her.
"The kid isn't able to be interrogated yet." The officer said.
"Why?" Vos asked.
"He needs to get a few tests done, and a lawyer. Without those, it would be illegal. It may take some time before he's able to be seen." The office said.
"Dammit." Vos said.
"Look, we laws to protect people, even those who attack others. We got a mob out there that we're trying to handle. We needed the knights to keep the peace." The officer said.
"I see." Quinlan said. He left the office soon after, but not before memorizing the name and face of the officer. He needed to do some more digging. And fast.
"Even when I'm not a Jedi anymore, I still don't get any time. But at least I got a job." Vos said. Ironwood was sill using him as an investigator.
Mercury sat back on the bench they gave him thinking about his next move. He could jack off until they came. He got a few good looks at Yang. She would be perfect for him if she didn't have that super cheerleader attitude. Still, she was better than Emerald or Neo. He was very thorough in his research for her. Yes, he may have planted an illegal camera in the team RRWBY dorm, but why would he care. He needed to know what they knew. He was just glad they didn't find the one he planted in the bathroom. Too bad Emerald did and destroyed it. But hey, he got enough material on them to last a while.
He took a perverted glee in finding ways to disturb the Jedi, even if they hadn't known yet. Emerald might not like where he put all his bugs, but he did get the info on Maku because of him. And she also looked at the footage from time to time. He knew who she thought was hot because he bugged the files. He never could be too underprepared. It was minor blackmail.
The door opened, and Cinder stepped in with another dark side clone of him. He smirked.
"You pervert." Cinder said.
"What?" Mercury asked.
"Your thoughts were open." Cinder said.
"I ain't ashamed of my tastes. Mercury said.
"I'll chop your dick off." Cinder said. "If that's the only way to keep your mind on the mission, I'll do it." Mercury knew she was serious.
"Okay, I'll delete the spank bank." Mercury said
"You… named your porn folder?" Cinder asked disgustedly. "Never mind. Get in the portal."
Cinder opened a portal for Mercury to escape through. He opened the door and went through the portal. Cinder shoved the clone in.
"You'll come get me, right?" He asked. He was a weakling Sith. Cinder didn't respond to him. She crushed his heart and entered the portal herself.
Ironwood was gathering all the information he could with Ozpin when a messenger came into the headmaster's office.
"Sir… we have a major incident at the police station the student is being held at." He said. Captain Fordo put scroll he was watching down.
"What is it soldier?" Ironwood asked.
"We found the boy this morning… dead. It looks like he was killed by a force user. His heart was completely crushed when they opened him up." The soldier said.
"I see… Thank you. Dismissed." Ironwood gave him a salute that the messenger returned.
"They're going to suspect Yang Xiao-Long," Fordo said.
"Why would anyone suspect a girl who almost died." Ironwood said.
"If not her, one of the Jedi. They had access to him and had the power to kill him. We're going to have to report it as a heart attack due to complications." Fordo said.
"We just need to muddy the details about the heart and that can work. It would also go a long way to explaining why he attacked Yang after he lost." Ironwood said.
"If the Sith killed him, we have to make sure it's not a clone like Qrow's doppelganger. We also need to watch his team now." Ozpin said.
"I'll have my men keep watch on them." Fordo said.
"No, my men will. We're going to need all the clones we can to keep the peace." Ironwood said.
"Before you leave Fordo, I need your opinion on something. I got an encrypted message, which is what I spent most of my time unencrypting." He handed his Scroll to Fordo.
"Sir, this is a republic signal." Fordo said, shocked.
"I thought so. I need you and your squad to go find out what's going on there. I'll send you with Master Maku." Ozpin said.
"We need to see this immediately." Fordo said.
"James…" Ozpin said.
"Go."
Fordo put his helmet on, and quickly left to gather his men.
"What do you think it is?" Ironwood asked.
"Hopefully, allies." Ozpin said.
Rosa was in the medical wing with Ruby. It was the first time in a while she didn't arrive greatly damaged here. She had to remind herself she wasn't hurt when she started to smell the bacta. Yang was dunked in the tank. Rosa and Ruby tied Yang's hair back so it wouldn't get in the way of any of the machines. Rosa saw Yang naked as she got her in the bacta suit.
"Who got me in the suit every time before?" Rosa asked.
"The first time everyone did because we panicked. Then we kind of just rotated." Ruby said.
"So… how many people have seen me naked?" Rosa asked.
"Here… I don't know, but everyone on the team has, and I'm pretty sure most of JNPR." Ruby said. She blushed.
"Wow…"
"Yeah…"
After Yang was bobbing in the Tank, a knock came at the door.
"Come in." Ruby said. Ironwood walked through the door, looking at the two. They didn't expect to see him.
"General." Rosa said with a bow.
"Hello Miss Rose, Miss Reidan. I just wanted to check in on Miss Xiao-Long." Ironwood said. He looked at the wound on her.
"I think it looks worse than it is." Ruby said.
"Half of Vale is worried about her. She's become the most popular huntress in training in the world." Ironwood said. "But I also came to check up on your team."
"Weiss and Blake are trying to figure out what happened." Rosa said.
"We all know the answer to that. Can you call them? I have something important to tell them." Ironwood said. "Do you have somewhere you'd rather talk?"
"Our dorm."
Ironwood looked at the four girls and sighed.
"Girls, this situation is very delicate. We found a body that looks very much like Mercury." Ironwood said.
"Is Mercury dead?" Blake asked.
"No, I don't believe so. I believe what we found was a dark side clone, a near-perfect replica of someone. A few months ago, we found a body that we believed was your uncle's. Then Qrow appeared here, proving to us once and for all that he was alive. The dark side has the ability to clone, but not like the clones. This is evil. It takes the body and most of the DNA and forms it into the shape of another. We believe that if Mercury is alive, he is in the hands of the Sith. But…" Ironwood sighed. "Rosa, do you trust your team?"
"Of course, I do. They're my family."
"Good, because you're going to need them. You are a target of the Sith, one of the main targets." Ironwood said. No one said anything.
"Why?" Rosa asked.
"All the reasons are known only to the Sith."
Author's Notes: Another chapter! The end of the festival is almost here, and you know what that brings. And that's three chapters done in three days! Don't expect me to keep up this pace. I won't always have a cold. But come February, expect a faster rate of uploads for the first half.
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May the Force be With You
-DragonZlayerx12