Chapter 7
"And for the second match of the doubles round, we have team JNPR of Beacon!" The crowd went wild as Pyrrha and Nora stepped into the arena. "Fighting against them is team ABRN of Haven!" The cheering sounded out once again as Arslan and Reese stepped into the arena.
Ruby sat in the middle of the crowd, away from her friends. As a cover, she had pretended to be unable to find them and just randomly sat down, but her actual reasons were to watch Cinder and her minions in order to be able to act should she do anything malicious. She would have to be extra cautious as Roman claimed that Emerald has an illusory semblance so any plan to manipulate the battle could be hidden from her.
They beat the other team in the first round with the help of Neo. But she isn't here so they're probably going to send in Emerald and Mercury. No point in Cinder taking the risk of revealing herself.
Thankfully the Battle went off without a hitch. They had a gravity dust arena and a beach arena reminiscent of the one team SSSN fought in. The two members of Team JNPR used the former to great effect and knocked their opponents out of the ring. Not that the outcome was ever uncertain, Pyrrha was the Invincible Girl after all.
During the fight, Ruby had noted nothing out of the ordinary. She breathed a sigh of relief. She really didn't want anything to go wrong.
She sat through several other matches, including Sun and Neptune's fight with some really weird fighters from Atlas. Who thought it was a great idea to use a trumpet in a fight? Flynt Cole apparently. His hyperactive teammate was just as strange.
Sun and Neptune managed to pull out a win thanks to Sun's clones countering Flynt's semblance and their teamwork. It was close though.
Soon enough Ruby returned to JNPR's dorm with the others. Everyone congratulated each other and provided feedback. Ruby sat herself to the side and scrolled through the news.
Looks like Junior was captured. Atlas raided some cafe and found a base underneath it. Found through an anonymous source huh? Wonder if that was Cinder or Roman. Probably Cinder. She wants them caught after all.
Whatever the case, Ruby could feel time running out. But what could they do?
There was a knock at the door. The room went quiet. Jaune got up and cautiously opened the door.
"Damn you kids are slooooow." Qrow drawled. "Makes me think you're hiding something." He smiled and leaned in. "Is it booze? I won't tell if you give me some!" He laughed when Ruby threw a pillow at him.
"Uncle Qrow!"
He just laughed louder. "You're too easy kid." He abruptly stopped laughing. "Anyway. Nikos. You're coming with me. Oz wants to speak with you. Oh, and Ruby, Tai wants you too."
"Huh? Alright." Ruby and Pyrrha left the room and their friends behind. They walked together with Qrow for a few minutes before Ruby parted from them. Pyrrha would be fine, she was in good hands.
Her father was waiting patiently for her near the cliff leading to the Emerald Forest. He smiled when she arrived.
"Ruby. You got here quick. That's good, look, there's not much more I can teach you, we've got the basics down and the rest from here is just practice. That said there is one more piece of advice I can give you."
Ruby nodded. "What's that then?"
"You've always been good at keeping mobile. Between your Semblance and your weapon, you keep on the move. But sometimes you've got to be able to plant your feet. Sometimes the easiest way to defeat an opponent is the simplest. Take me right now. You could rush around and hit me from my blindspots, or you could hit me from the front and push me off the cliff."
"The easiest is the simplest?"
"Yup. Of course a lot of the time you should think around problems, but always remember the simplest solution."
"Alright. Thanks, dad."
"No problem. Now, let's test it. See if you can beat me!"
"You're on, old man!"
"Old man! I'm not even forty yet!"
Ruby ignored him and charged.
Pyrrha was panicking. She had just been handed everything they needed to beat Cinder and all it might cost would maybe be her memories, her personality and her pride. The last one shouldn't have been very important but it was.
She had worked for everything she had! How many people could claim they had as much control over her semblance as she did? The only other person she could think of was Professor Goodwitch. She had spent most of her life working for it all and now she had been told that some people were just given far more power than anyone.
She hated it. Her destiny was to become strong enough to protect those she cared about. The power of a Maiden would do that. But it wouldn't be her would it? It would just be someone else's power that was handed down from one woman to the next.
But it could defeat Cinder. It was the trump card they had been looking for. If she refused, who would it go to? Would it be given to Nora or Coco? Would Ozpin give it to Ruby? She would gladly take on that power to defeat Cinder and get revenge.
But that would mean Pyrrha sacrificing a friend's safety for her own. It would mean going against her own destiny, just so she could claim she reached it through her own efforts rather than being handed it on a silver platter.
So instead of deciding she sat there, against the wall of the cafeteria, and cried. She was so very lost. So very confused. Ozpin said she had until the end of the Festival. Except she didn't. This power was definitely what Cinder was after.
If she waited then Cinder would attack and claim the Maiden's power for herself. So what would happen if Pyrrha claimed it? Cinder would target her when she found out but it might mean she could protect her friends.
No matter how much she thought she couldn't come up with a solution. Both choices would end in pain for someone and she didn't want to be the cause of it. But which was more important, the safety of herself and her friends or the safety of everyone?
The objective answer was to take the power and kill Cinder before she attacked. But she wanted was to remain as Pyrrha Nikos, not potentially become another person entirely.
What did she choose?
"Happy now Qrow? I approached her earlier like you wanted." said Ozpin with a vaguely irritated look on his face.
"No. I'll be happy when the Maiden is safe and there isn't a threat against Beacon."
"Hmm. That might be a while. How was it working with James?"
"It was fine. Still not sure about that tip though. Told Jimmy to beef up security around Xiong."
"You don't feel like that could be an overreaction?"
"I lost one niece because you thought it was safe to send them to Mountain Glenn, I'm not risking the other because you underestimate the threat!" Qrow turned on him, filled with anger. It boiled and boiled but eventually cooled.
"I understand what you are going through Qrow. I really do." Ozpin kept his voice calm and controlled.
"Yeah, I know." Qrow rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm going to keep an eye on the girl. This can't be easy for her." Qrow didn't wait for Ozpin's approval and left through the elevator.
Ozpin sighed. There is something I'm missing. Qrow knows something I don't but he hasn't shared. Qrow didn't often lie to him. They had been working together for far too long against far too great a foe for that.
But what was it?
Ruby returned to the dorm in the early evening, hours after her departure. She felt good after her training session. Refreshed.
She returned to a somber room. It was just JNPR inside, the other two teams having gone back to their own dorms for the night. Pyrrha looked like she had been crying while everyone else looked like they'd had a bomb dropped on them.
"Uhhh. Guys?" Ruby gave her friends a quizzical look.
"Ruby…" Pyrrha started to speak before cutting off with a hiccup.
"Ruby, we… Pyrrha found something out." Jaune said, giving Pyrrha a worried look before he continued. "She found out what Cinder is after."
Ruby's eyes widened. "What is it?!"
"Its… well, it's-" Jaune started before Pyrrha interrupted.
"It's magic. Real, true magic. More powerful than any Semblance." Pyrrha continued. She told Ruby the story of the maidens and that was when everything began to click into place.
Cinder attacked Amber for her magic. Uncle Qrow got involved and saved Amber's life. But now Cinder was here, causing so much trouble because her uncle and Ozpin got in the way.
My team died because of this… Ruby felt angry. Before it had just been focused on Cinder but now? Ozpin was just as responsible. Ruby felt like flying into a rage. She stayed in control, however. She had to.
She just had someone else to get revenge on.
"So then, what do we do about the Maiden?" Ruby asked her friends. They all looked conflicted, especially Pyrrha.
What is the right choice? Take the power so Cinder can't? Wait and use Amber to trap Cinder? Attack Cinder now?
No, the last option would only lead to trouble. It relied on them being able to beat Cinder as well as her team before the teachers could break it up. The second relied on them being able to get there before Cinder did when she started her attack.
The first might be their only real option. It made sure that Cinder couldn't just claim the other half of the power which would force her to come to them, which allowed them to choose the battlefield and potentially sway the battle. But it would mean throwing Pyrrha into a danger. Who knew what would happen to her? Would she even be Pyrrha anymore?
But what if I took the power? The thought struck her. Why did it have to be Pyrrha? Because she was the strongest? She was the Invincible Girl but Ruby was far more agile so maybe she was a better pick. But was she willing to potentially throw away herself to get her revenge?
There were no satisfying answers and in the end, they couldn't decide on what to do. They all tried to sleep but their thoughts kept swirling inside their heads, keeping them from getting any rest.
They had found their trump card, but what would be the cost of its use?
The next day dawned bright. The second day of doubles matches was just as entertaining as the last. At least for the audience.
Team CFVY had lost. Beaten by Mercury and Emerald. Even with forewarning of Emeralds Semblance affecting the senses, it hadn't been enough to claim victory.
They were running out of time. With only the singles left starting the next day, they needed to come to a decision and soon.
Cinder smiled as she sat down in the stands. Everything was ready. It had been difficult to decide on who should face Mercury for the singles, but she felt she had made the best choice.
That blonde member of team RWBY would have been best. Well known for a berserker attitude and a short fuse. Unfortunately, the girl was dead.
Mercury took to the stage with his characteristic smirk. Sun Wukong stood across from him. A well-known trouble maker. He would do.
She was so close now she could almost taste the power of the Maiden. She could almost smell Ozpin's charred corpse. She could almost hear Salem's praise and the promise for more power.
Beacons professors counted down. Cinder couldn't wait. Port yelled out for the competitors to begin. They ran towards each other.
It was time.
A/N: Sorry for the late chapter there. Life being life and all that. But yes, Pyrrha has been approached and now knows of the Maidens and decided to reveal it this time around. Guess that happens when you know about some crazy lady plotting to destroy your school. They have a trump card, but will they use it? I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time.