Hey, it's time for the sixteenth chapter! Alright, I got really bored with nothing to do, so I decided to write this chapter early and release it early, just for the fans! The next chapter will still be released this weekend, so two chapters in the same week, hell yeah!
So, Epsilon and Ultra defeated the mysterious women from Elysium and have moved onto the finals, which Epsilon will be participating in. Ultra, however, is stuck with Ozpin while they explain the Maidens to Pyrrha. How will he think of it? Will Epsilon make it through the finals? Who knows, except me, let's find out!
Chapter Sixteen - Better luck next time
I sat in Team RWBY's room, checking my weapons for the one-on-one finals tonight. I was interrupted at a knock at the door. I folded my weapon away and opened it, revealing Penny.
"Oh, hi Penny." I said, unexpected to see her.
"Salutations, Epsilon!" She greeted in her always cheery expression, giving me a hug as she always did. "I just wanted to come by to make sure you were ready for tonight."
"Well, that's thoughtful of you, Penny. Umm, I was just finishing my weapons, I'm actually done now." I told her, releasing her from the hug.
"Fantastic! I noticed it was starting to get dark when I arrived so we should probably to to the Amity Colosseum right away." She told me.
"Right, didn't notice how late it was. Let's get going." I told her as I left the room, locking the door after me. "Who's in the finals?"
"It is you, me, Yang Xiao Long, Sun Wukong, Mercury Black, Pyrrha Nikos... and five others who's names I cannot remember. Why?" She asked, cocking her head to the side slightly.
"I just want to warn you about Pyrrha's semblance, which is polarity. She managed to get me with it and completely froze my body, and it's very likely it could happen to you too." I warned Penny.
"Oh, that is warning worthy. Don't worry, Epsilon, I will make sure to keep this information in mind. Thank you for telling me this." Se thanked happily.
"Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to either of us." I said to her as we continued out of Beacon.
Ozpin's Office...
Ozpin sat at his desk, Pyrrha sitting opposite him while Qrow leant against one of the pillars, Ultra forcefully remaining in the room, pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.
"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." Ozpin praised Pyrrha.
"Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would have never made it this far without my teammates." Pyrrha thanked humbly.
"Keeping me trapped in this room, he does." Ultra muttered.
"Personally, I think it's the other way around." Qrow spoke up with his arms crossed. Pyrrha got up from her seat and turned to him.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced." Pyrrha said to the hunter, trying to remain polite.
"Says I'm a danger to other people, he says."
"Name's Qrow." He answered, somewhat hostile.
"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine." Ozpin informed her.
"Puts a tracking device on my arm, he does."
"Professor, if you don't mind me asking, who is he?" She asked, gesturing to Ultra. He stopped.
"Took your time noticing me. I'm Ultra Mega, Epsilon's brother. I think I may have tried to kill you once." Ultra thought, placing his hand on his chin thoughtfully.
"Excuse me?" Pyrrha asked, confused.
"Remember when Beacon was attacked by robots not long ago? Well, I was the one who did it, but I looked quite different. At least a foot taller." Ultra recalled, and Pyrrha backed away a little.
"It's fine, Ultra is on our side now. He won't harm you." Ozpin reassured.
"Don't count on it, Oz. If it wasn't for this damn device on my arm, who knows what I'd do. Nothing to effect the plot, though." Ultra said. Pyrrha sat back down cautiously.
"Professor, why have you called me here?" Pyrrha asked. Ozpin simply smiled a little and leaned back slightly in his seat.
"What is your favourite fairy tale?" He asked casually.
"Favourite, not Favorite. Still British."
"I'm... sorry?" She asked, confused.
"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them." Ozpin told her. She thought to herself for a second before speaking up.
"Well, there's The Tale of The Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower..." Pyrrha listed.
"What about The Story of the Seasons?" Ozpin interrupted, leaning forward.
"Well, of course!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home, is visited by four travelling sisters-"
"We know the story,so stop there. If you haven't heard it because your a jackass, go to rooster teeth's website or YouTube and watch the episode, or go to the wiki and read he transcript. The writer can't be bothered to write it, and I don't want to hear this bullshit anyway."
"Also, stop with the theory that Ozpin was the old man, we have no evidence other than that Ozpin is old and he's dead weird about the subject. As far as I'm concerned, the fucking Shopkeep could be the old man. Long story short, four maidens get some unclear, undefined powers who are named after the seasons Spring, Summer, Winter and Autumn." Ultra told them.
"...My mother loves that story." Pyrrha added awkwardly. "Is he always like that?"
"What, that I'm insane? Or that I can break the fourth wall?" Ultra asked with hostility.
"Ultra, calm down." Ozpin threatened. "And yes, he does that a lot." Pyrrha nodded. "Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?"
"You're not that old, Professor." Pyrrha said with a laugh. Ozpin's expression changed from casual to serious.
"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" Ozpin asked seriously.
""Wow. Nobody say that coming." He said sarcastically."
"I beg your pardon?" Pyrrha asked after an awkward silence and an uneasy chuckle.
"What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in the world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?" Ozpin asked. Pyrrha remained silent for a second, trying to comprehend what he had just old her.
"You mean... like a Semblance?" She asked.
"Like magic." Ozpin said with a small smirk.
"Oh, this is such bullshit! You're literally making this up as you go along."
"I..."
Yeah. First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy." Qrow cut Pyrrha off.
"I took it just fine when you told me." Ultra pointed out. Pyrrha's gaze from Ultra to Qrow turned back to Ozpin.
"You're serious?" She asked, amazed.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" The headmaster asked deadly serious with a straight-face.
"That's terrifying." Ultra added, pointing a Ozpin.
"...No." Pyrrha said slowly. "Why... why are you telling me this?" Ozpin glanced to Qrow, who nodded, and glanced at Ultra, who stuck his tongue out at him.
"We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers." Ozpin dropped the bomb. Pyrrha's eyes widened until she realised something was off.
"'We'?" She asked, confused. At that moment, the elevator opened to reveal Glynda and Ironwood.
"Sorry we're late." Ironwood apologized, straightening his tie.
"Wait, what is this?" The redhead asked, narrowing her eyes at Ozpin. "Who are you?"
"You know who we are." Glynda said, trying to sound reassuring. "We're still the same teachers and Headmasters when you arrived at Beacon."
"Christ, that is not reassuring. That's actually just a mind fuck. Seriously, what the fuck?! By the way, I'm still here." Ultra reminded.
"Us five, we've all got a part-time job." Qrow told the confused huntress.
"We are the protectors of the world." Ironwood stated.
"I'm being held here against my will." Ultra reminded with a grumble.
"And we need your help." Ozpin finished, causing Pyrrha to go silent in shock.
"Cue transition!"
Elevator to The Vault...
Pyrrha stood awkwardly in the elevator as it continued to descend underground, looking between Ozpin, Ironwood, Qrow, Glynda and Ultra.
"Hey, your semblance is polarity, right?" Ultra asked her.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Could you take this tracking device off my wrist?" He requested, showing her the device.
"I took that into account. It's made out of a non-metal alloy. Polarity won't do you any good." Ozpin said with a satisfied smirk.
"Go fuck yourself, Ozpin. And stop laughing if you are!"
"Where are we going?" Pyrrha asked, trying to hide herself slightly.
"The vault. Under the school." The headmaster told her simply. The elevator continued further underground until it finally stopped. The four professionals exited the elevators, Pyrrha and Ultra leaving at the same time.
"Trust me, this is as much as a surprise to me as it is to you." Ultra told Nikos.
"Really? You're not a part of all this?" She asked.
"Oh no, I wasn't even created before... a few months ago? All I know about all this is research, which surprisingly found me pretty much all I needed. Anything to ask about all this?" He asked.
"They said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What did they mean?" Pyrrha asked.
"Maidens have been around for thousands of years. When a maiden dies, the power is passed onto the next person, and continues to do that fr generations to come. The power seeks a new host so the powers never go away." Ultra explained.
"So, how does the power choose?" She asked.
"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules." Qrow said over his shoulder.
"He's right, the rules are way to coincidental for the title characters. Originally, it passed onto a young woman, but, these lot discovered that it is more... intimate. Hot." Ultra told her.
"... Intimate?" She asked, concerned.
"The power transfers to the last thought in the maidens head. They are the first to inherit their power. Unless they're a guy, like Jaune or Ren, or some old hag, like Glynda." He responded, getting a death glare from said Huntress.
"Then it goes to someone random, and our jobs get a lot harder." Qrow added.
"Why tell me now? Why not wait until I've graduated?" Pyrrha asked us all.
"Plot Convenience."
"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." Qrow said darkly. "Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying goes out of the window."
"You're not... talking about a war?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.
"Not a war between nations." Ironwood added.
"Politics... How tiresome. Name the reference!"
"We can fill you 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 informed the group.
"'Part' of her power?" Pyrrha asked.
"When her power was being stolen, the transfer was stopped before it was completed." Ozpin told her.
"Who stopped it?" She asked. Ozpin thought to himself for a second.
Several Months Ago...
Amber collapsed forward, an arrow sticking out of her back as Cinder lowers her bow with a smirk. Mercury and Emerald pulled Amber up to her knees as Cinder walked in front of her, putting a white glove on her right hand. From the palm of her hand, a small red portal appeared and a small, Grimm-like insect appeared. Amber's pupils immediately contracted in fear.
"Please don't..." She begged in a whisper.
The Grimm-like insect spat out a black substance, attaching to part of Amber's face, including her left eye. She looked up at Cinder, screaming in pain as the powers within her was drained through the black substance and into Cinder, who grinned as her eyes glowed with a flame. A black and red portal appeared beneath the four of them as Amber's eyes started to close.
Out of nowhere, a cloud of yellow smoke appeared right between Cinder and Amber. Out of the cloud, a young man reached for his crossbow and grabbed the dagger at the side, slicing the black tar connecting Amber to the glove. Cinder, Mercury and Emerald immediately shot back as the boy caught Amber before she fell to the ground. Mercury and Emerald went to attack him, but Qrow leapt in, slicing at them to keep them back.
Cinder looked up at the two of them, smirking as her exposed eye glowed with the maiden power, a new black tattoo on her back. She stood up and the ground beneath them, forcing them back. The boy grabbed his crossbow and fired at Cinder, who simply blocked the arrow with her hand. He dissipated in a cloud of smoke and reappeared behind her, thrusting his other dagger into the back of her right leg. She winced in pain, kicking him back, the dagger pulling out of her leg, and fled with Emerald and Mercury.
"Could you see their faces?" Qrow asked.
"You couldn't?"
"No. Make sure to let Ozpin know, take Amber too." Qrow ordered.
"I- I don't know if I can..."
"You have to try. She'll never make it if you don't." Qrow said, and handed Amber to him. He took a deep breath and disappeared in a cloud of smoke with Amber.
Present Day...
"Someone who I could trust." Ozpin said vaguely. They reached the end of the long corridor, finding two rectangular pods; one empty, one with a woman inside.
"Is that..."
"The current Fall Maiden, Amber." Ozpin answered with a heavy sigh.
"She's... still alive." Pyrrha said, trying to hold herself together.
"For now." Ironwood spoke up. "We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is... unprecedented."
"'state of the art'? My technology is way better than yours. Your looking at hundreds of years of technological advancement ahead of you." Ultra boasted, gesturing to himself.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, just getting a sigh from Ironwood. "Won't... her power... just transfer to the next host?"
"Look who's been listening!" Qrow exclaimed, and turned to Ozpin. "She is smart."
"Look, I'm just skipping this part. Her power is split, never happened before, it will probably seek out the other half of her power." Ultra said briefly.
"...Her assailant." Pyrrha stated, putting the pieces together.
"And that would not bode well for any of us." Ozpin added. Pyrrha approached the pod with Amber inside, placing a hand on the glass.
"If all this is true, why keep it secret!?" Pyrrha yelled, suddenly hostile. "f this girl is so important... if we're truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?"
"Two words, Nikos: Mass. Panic." Ultra spoke up. "If the public were to find out that these lot were keeping the Maidens a secret, and that humanity was soon to be at war, it would cause panic. A very large amount of panic. And anger. And fear. And we all know what will come clawing at the walls of the kingdom."
"What?" Pyrrha asked, still confused.
"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 explained.
"As you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the ones you'd want to have unimaginable power." Qrow added, taking a drink from his flask and putting it away.
"And so our brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade into legend." Ironwood told her.
"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history and religion." Glynda said.
"Wait, there's religion now?!"
"No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar." Ironwood stated.
"As Ultra said, it would cause panic. Which is why we would like to..."
"I'll do it." Pyrrha cut Ozpin off, surprising him. "If you believe that this will help humanity... than I will become your Fall Maiden."
"I admire your enthusiasm, but it's not that simple." Ultra told her. "She's almost dead, and waking her up could finish the job. Ironwood here has a new, state of the art technology, that can give you her powers by giving you what the powers are connected to."
"You don't mean..." Pyrrha said surprised.
"Her aura. We take her aura and give it to you." Ultra finished.
"That's..."
"Classified." Ironwood said coldly.
"... wrong!" Pyrrha exclaimed.
"The feeling is mutual." Glynda said, glaring at Ironwood. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."
"And these are indeed desperate times." Ironwood agreed. "We can't transfer her powers to you, but we can transfer her aura to you."
"Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is..."
"What's that going to do to you?" Qrow finished Ozpin's sentence.
"We've seen aura transfer before, guys. You know, Penny and Epsilon's aura's must come form somewhere, right..?"
"You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. There's no guarantee this transfer will work. And there's no telling if 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 told the young huntress-in-training, who looked down at Amber's unconscious body.
"Sorry about all the 'copy dialogue from the series', but his is legitimately important. Even though you know what they say, you've probably watched the episode."
"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. And there's no telling when their next move will be." Ozpin finished warily.
Amity Colosseum...
"Now the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!" Port announced as Cinder watched from the stand, smirking down into the arena.
In the center of the stage stood the finalists: me, Yang, Sun, Penny, Mercury, Pyrrha, a man with a feathered cap, a hooded figure, a man with a futuristic looking outfit from Atlas. Another man in a brown leather jacket with a black thermal shirt with multiple stitches and patches, black denim trousers, black fingerless gloves, black boots, black hair and brown eye.
The last person had a full set of black thermal shirt, black trousers, black boots, black gloves and a black mask, completely covering his face and hair, and a silver rod attached to the left side of his waist with a hole at the bottom and multiple black designs over the rod.
"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?" Port requested.
"Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the final will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!" Oobleck told the audience.
"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare!" Port added.
"Ah, yes, yes! Now, ;et's see who our first match will be!" Oobleck finished and the 'random selection' started spinning as people around the world waited in anticipation for the final round to start. After several seconds, the spinners landed on the two who would fight first.
"Epsilon Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Port exclaimed. Team RWBY, JNPR and SSSN all cheered for me as Cinder walked out of the stands, not taking her eyes off the stadium. "Would all other combatants please leave the stage!"
The remaining combatants all walked off the central part of the arena, Yang flashing a large grin at me and Penny waved as she walked past with an even bigger smile. Me and Mercury continued until we were on opposite sides of the central piece of the arena as it raised up into the air, multiple spotlights looking down at us.
"You better not go easy on me. I won't." I said, somewhat grimly.
"Y-you wish." Mercury said, unexpected at what I had said. We both got into a fighting stance, slowly approaching each other.
"Three!"
Me and Mercury raised out arms defensively as we continued to approach.
"Two!"
I narrowed my eyes at him as we continued towards each other.
"One!"
Mercury put on a cocky smirk as our arms almost touched.
"Begin!"
I closed my hand, making a fist and swung at Mercury, who raised his leg and kicked, creating a shock wave that sent us both back. I back flipped to regain balance, took out both of my pistols and fired at him, who dodged by moving at incredible speeds with his legs. He got close to me and started swinging both of him legs at me, which I managed to easily evade by moving with my robotic reflexes, causing Mercury to get a little frustrated. He swung upwards, twisted his leg back and hit me in the back of the head, catching me off guard and slamming me into the ground.
He smirked and slammed his leg down again and I rolled out of the way, causing him to crack the floor. I took out both of my pistols and fired at him, forcing him to back flip multiple times to avoid the electric bolts, causing him to fall of the edge. He fired the air torpedoes in his boots, shooting him back up onto the stadium floor. He fired a couple of shots at me, making me evade by rolling to the side. He smirked again and fired dozens of torpedoes, sending them up into the air in random directions.
Mercury attacked at me again, using his fast legs to try and get a shot in, but failed. I ducked under his leg and uppercut him, spun around and punched him back several feet and onto the ground. I looked up to the sky and saw the torpedoes fly down and towards me. Knowing that would easily drain my aura, I jumped off the platform.
"What is Epsilon doing?" Port exclaimed, confused. I activated my jet boots and flew underneath the stadium, grabbing onto the bottom as the torpedoes missed their shot and detonated in the air.
"Incredible! Epsilon used his air superiority to fly underneath the platform so the torpedoes would have to miss him." Oobleck told the crowd. I smiled at my victory and dropped, activated my boots and flew behind Mercury, catching him off guard. He swung his leg at me, which I ducked under and took out my right pistol, pressing it against his chest and fired a dozen electric bolts, cracking his aura. I pushed off him and kicked him across the arena, as he lay on the ground, utterly defeated.
"Epsilon Xiao Long Wins!" Oobleck exclaimed. I took a deep sigh and sheathed my pistol, raising my arm in victory as the crowd cheered. I looked up at the crowd as Team RWBY, JNPR, SSSN and CFVY cheered, and I looked down over the platform to see Yang, Penny, Sun, Pyrrha cheered, and even the person fully i black nodded, although Pyrrha was a little less enthusiastic. I turned to Mercury and offered him a hand, which he angrily pushed away. I shook my head.
"Better luck next time." I said ad turned around. I failed to notice Mercury getting up.
"There's not going to be a next time, android!" He yelled murderously, leaping into the air and lunging at me. I gritted my teeth, took out my right dagger and slammed it right into his right leg, stopping him in his tracks. He fell to the ground, clutching his leg as the crowd gasped in shock.
"My word!" Oobleck exclaimed, getting up from his seat.
"Cut the cameras!" Port ordered to someone off-screen.
Mountain Glenn...
Willow, Peter and Sonny walked through Mountain Glenn, keeping an eye on a group of Grimm. To their surprise, they all turned towards the Amity Colosseum in the distance and started charging towards it.
"What's going on?" Peter asked. Willow quickly pulled out her scroll and watched the feed from the stadium.
"Oh my word..." She muttered, eyes glued to the screen.
Amity Colosseum...
"My leg, MY LEG!" Mercury yelled in pain, still clutching his leg.
"Yeah, that's what you get you litter fu-" I yelled, but was cut off as a dozen AK-200's and a pair of Atlesian soldiers surrounded me, aiming their guns at me.
"Epsilon Xiao Long, stand down!" One of the soldiers yelled, confusing me greatly.
"What!? WHY!?" I yelled, completely confused.
"Mercury!" Emerald yelled as she ran up to Mercury.
"Why'd he do that!? WHY'D HE ATTACK ME!?" He cried hysterically. Emerald turned to me and gave me a deathly and disgusted stare. I looked down at my dagger, hands visibly shaking.
Ultra ran down the steps of the stadium, reaching the edge as he looked at me, anger plastered on his face. "Those mother fuckers."
I looked up at the footage, showing me stabbing Mercury, who lay helplessly on the ground. I gasped in confusion, looking up at the crowds, more specifically at Ruby, Weiss and Blake, who looked terrified. I looked down, seeing Yang look equally as terrified.
In an arena full of thousands people, all but three looked at me in disgust, horror and anger. The three who were unaffected were Ultra, Penny and the person completely in black. I looked at the Atlesians, scared at what will happen next.
End of Chapter Sixteen
Oh, shit just got real! Yes, this is definitely a change from the canon event, since this whole ending was supposed to happen to Yang. I figured it would be better for the story if Epsilon had more to do than watch what Team RWBY does. So, this happens. Now, onto the story recommendation:
Name: Yang's diary- January
Author: OdinCrusades
General Synopsis: Picking up right after the events of the 'Yellow' trailer, Yang looks towards her first semester at Beacon. This 'month' will encompass what's seen in Volume 1 of the show, the manga and whatever else I can think up. Expect lots of filler. Daily Updates.
And, as always, remember to follow, favourite and leave a review, and I'll see you all in chapter 17 this weekend!