Here we are at Chapter 45. Now things are about to get serious. I had to make a quick fix to this chapter because I accidentally wrote something that wasn't needed while my mind was off somewhere else. Thank you, fallendemon248, for pointing out that error. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 45. Enjoy.


Chapter 45: A Choice

Pyrrha Nikos sits in a chair in front of Ozpin's desk, with Ozpin in his usual seat, the both of them having a conversation while Qrow Branwen leans against a column in the back of the room by the elevator with his arms crossed.

"Hm well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen YOU to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance has been exemplary," Ozpin praise Pyrrha.

"Thank you Professor Ozpin, but I would never have made it this far without my teammates," Pyrrha modestly replies.

"Personally, I think it's the other way around," Qrow says, getting Pyrrha's attention.

Pyrrha stands up and turns to him, "I'm sorry, but, I don't believe we've been introduced," Pyrrha says.

"Name's Qrow," Qrow replies.

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine," Ozpin says.

"Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?" Pyrrha asks as she turns back to him.

"Please, take a seat," Ozpin politely suggests, to which Pyrrha sits back in her seat. "Before we can begin, there's one more person that I called to join us," he says.

"Who?" Pyrrha asks. Just then, the elevator doors ding and open up to reveal Velvet Crowe. "Velvet?" Pyrrha asks, confused.

"Pyrrha? What are you doing here?" Velvet asks, just as confused.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Crowe. I heard that your team voted you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Team JNPR has done the same with Miss Nikos here," Ozpin says as Velvet enters his office.

"I see," she says and glances at Qrow, who nods towards her. "So, what is this about?" Velvet asks as she sits next to Pyrrha.

"What is are your favorite fairy tales?" Ozpin asks them.

"Don't have one," Velvet answers offhandedly.

"I'm…sorry?" Pyrrha says, confused.

"Fairy tales. Stories from your childhood. Surely, you must remember some of them," Ozpin replies.

Pyrrha thinks for a moment, "…Well, there's the tale of the two brothers, the shallow sea, the girl in the tower-," Pyrrha begins.

"What about the story of the seasons?" Ozpin asks..

"Oh, of course. 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 and 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 he has and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens with 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 until the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The four maidens. My mother loves that story," Pyrrha recounts the story.

"Would you believe me if I told you THAT one's been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin asks.

"Heh, you're not THAT old, Professor," Pyrrha replies.

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was TRUE?" Ozpin asks, suddenly becoming serious.

This gets the attention of both young women.

"I beg your pardon?" Pyrrha replies, now even more confused.

"What are you talking about?" Velvet asks, getting a little on edge.

"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 adds.

"You mean like a semblance?" Pyrrha inquires.

"Like magic," Ozpin answers.

"What-," Velvet begins.

"Yeah, first time hearing it's pretty crazy," Qrow interrupts her as they look back to him.

"You're serious?" Pyrrha asks as she turns back to Ozpin.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ozpin calmly retorts.

"…No…Why…Why are you telling me this?" Pyrrha asks.

Ozpin glances at Qrow, who nods to him, before looking back at Pyrrha.

"We're telling you, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe that YOU are next in line to receive the FALL maiden's powers," Ozpin replies, shocking Pyrrha. "And as for you, Velvet Crowe, we want you to join our group," he says, confusing Velvet.

"What do you mean by 'we'?" Velvet asks.

Just then, the elevator doors open up and she looks back to see Glynda Goodwitch and General Ironwood on the other side.

"Sorry we're late," Ironwood says, fixing his tie before they step into the room.

"Wait…What is this?" Pyrrha asks as she looks at Ozpin. "Who are you?"

"You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon," Goodwitch tries to calm her down.

"Except we've got a little part time job," Qrow says as he joins them.

"We are the protectors of this world," Ironwood adds.

"And we need your help. Both of you," Ozpin finishes.

Later, the group exit the elevator after it goes deeper than Pyrrha and Velvet thought possible, entering an underground vault beneath the school.

"A vault beneath the school, huh. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Velvet mutters.

"Please, Miss Crowe, we're not your enemies," Glynda tries to ease her worries.

"Hard for me to believe you after all that's been going on in the past few minutes," Velvet says as she narrows her eyes at the teacher.

Pyrrha walks in front of her as they follow the rest of the group.

"I'm sure you must have questions," Glynda says.

"Maybe one or two," Pyrrha nervously replies as they keep walking. "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the maiden's power. What do you mean by that?" she asks.

"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 onto the power forever," Goodwitch explains.

"So what, the power is alive in a way?" Velvet asks.

"Not entirely, but I guess that's one way of looking at it," Glynda says.

"And let me guess, there's some stupid process on how the power chooses its next host," Velvet adds.

"Finally, someone who thinks the same way that I do about all of this," Qrow says.

"At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed onto young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more…intimate," Glynda says.

"Intimate?" Pyrrha asks, getting more nervous and worried.

"As we understand it now, when a maiden dies, the one who is in their final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power," Glynda explains.

"Unless it's a dude, or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our jobs get a lot harder," Qrow adds.

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?" Pyrrha asks as they keep walking.

"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 gonna be much longer before this peace we've all been enjoying so much goes out the window," Qrow replies.

"…You're preparing for a war," Velvet realizes.

"Not a war between nations if that's what you're thinking," Ironwood says.

Velvet grunts, "You have no idea what I'm thinking," Velvet retorts.

Qrow looks back to her, "We can fill you in on the details once we know that the two of you are with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the maidens was attacked, and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen," Qrow says before looking forward again.

Eventually, they come to a chamber with some electronic equipment in front of them. The equipment has two life pods set on opposite sides, with one of them currently housing an occupant. Velvet and Pyrrha see a young woman inside the second life pod.

"Is that-," Pyrrha begins.

Ozpin sighs, "The current Fall maiden…Amber," he says.

Inside the life chamber, Amber is sleeping with a noticeable scar seen across most of the left side of her face.

"She's…still alive," Pyrrha says, fear being heard in her voice.

"But for how long is the question," Velvet notes.

"Indeed. 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 informs her.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asks.

Ironwood sighs, "Well, we don't know what will happen if…when she passes," he says.

"Won't her power just transfer to the next host?" Pyrrha inquires.

"Look who's been listening," Qrow exclaims. "She is smart," he whispers to Ozpin.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delegate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker," Ironwood begins before looking 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," he says.

"Her assailant," Pyrrha says.

"And that would not bode well for any of us," Ozpin notes.

Pyrrha hangs her head, eyes closed, before she opens them and walks up to Amber's chamber, placing her left hand on the glass of the chamber.

"If all of this is true, why keep it secret? If this girl is so important. If, if we're truly on the brink of war, why NOT tell everyone?!" Pyrrha exclaims.

Glynda steps forward, "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge," she says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Velvet asks, her irritation slowly growing.

"How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere," Qrow says, taking out his flask and taking a drink from it.

"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 says.

Qrow finishes drinking his flask, "And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the kind of people you'd want to have UNIMAGINABLE power," Qrow adds.

"And so this brotherhood chose to remove maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend," Ironwood says.

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history. Religion-," Glynda begins.

"No one would want to believe us. It'd cause an uproar-," Ironwood interrupts her, before Ozpin does the same.

"It would cause PANIC. And we all know what THAT would bring clawing to our kingdoms' walls. Which is why we would like to-," Ozpin starts.

"I'll do it," Pyrrha interrupts him. "…If you believe this will help humanity…Then I will become your Fall maiden," Pyrrha says, losing some of her anxiety. However, the four adults look at each other, all with worried looks before looking back at her. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?" she asks.

"Pyrrha…" Velvet mutters, worried about her friend.

"It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple," Ozpin says as he walks closer to her. "Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution," he says, gesturing to Ironwood.

"For the past few years, Atlas has been studying aura from a more scientific standpoint. How it works, what it's made of, how it can be used. We've made…significant strides, and we believe we found a way to capture it," Ironwood explains.

"Capture it, and cram it into something else," Qrow says, showing disdain for the idea. "Or in your case," Qrow gestures to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha jumps a little bit as she realizes what they're all getting at.

"That's-," she begins.

"Classified," Ironwood says.

"WRONG," she corrects him, not liking the idea one bit.

"The feeling is mutual," Glynda says, glaring at the general. "But, desperate times call for desperate measures," she adds.

"And these are indeed desperate times. We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give to you what those powers are bound to," Ironwood says.

"…Her aura," Pyrrha says.

"Her soul," Velvet adds.

"Her life, would become intertwined with yours. The question is…" Ozpin begins.

"What's that gonna do to you?" Qrow finishes.

Pyrrha looks down, unsure of what to do.

"…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'd advise you to take time to think on this matter. But understand, that before the Vytal Festival is over…We will need your answer," Ozpin says as his group looks at her.

"…And, what about Velvet? What does she have to do with all of this?" Pyrrha asks.

Velvet and Ozpin stare right at each other, "Velvet is a…special case, you see. Not to become a Maiden, but perhaps one that can help to protect them," he says.

Velvet just narrows her eyes at him.

Flashback to Volume 2 Finale, Chapter 34…

"Who are you, Velvet Crowe? Or rather, WHERE are you from?" Ozpin asks Velvet as she sits in front of his desk.

Velvet narrows her eyes, "…I told you, I was raised outside of the kingdoms. Not really into living with other people," Velvet answers dismissively.

"Velvet, I have seen many things in my time, and I have never seen someone with your abilities before. Your abilities with your claw; most of them were already active before your aura was unlocked. Now, you're fighting skills, I can believe you learned them from fighting out in the real world, however those powers of yours are unlike any semblance I've seen before. There's also the issue with how you told me about how Summer Rose asked you to watch over her daughter. Summer was a student of mine, and I know that she died around a decade ago. I find it hard to believe that she would've asked you to do this when you would've only been nine years-old around the time. Your history is vague, and your story about coming here is very hard to believe…Velvet, I am not your enemy, but I am having a hard time trusting you when you are keeping secrets from me," Ozpin explains.

Velvet makes no response, but instead stands up from her chair, placing her hands on his desk, and leans in real close to stare him right in the eye.

"That's funny coming from you. I don't have to be a genius to know that something is going on around here…You expect me to trust you, especially when you yourself are keeping secrets from me. How about you answer me this, what is really going on here? It's obvious you're hiding something, so why don't you tell me what it is?" Velvet questions him.

"…If it were that easy, I would tell you. However, it is for your own protection that I can't tell you," Ozpin replies.

"Does it involve Ruby?!" Velvet interrogates him.

"…No, it does not," Ozpin replies.

"…I find that hard to believe. Accepting her two years early, allowing her team to go on a mission that wasn't meant for first-year students, giving her advice time and time again, more often than any other student. I told you before Ozpin, if anything happens to her, that I would make you pay for it. I don't know about you, but I try to keep my promises," Velvet warns him.

"Velvet…I can assure you that I bear no ill will towards Miss Rose. I just want her to be the best huntress that she can be," Ozpin tries to calm her down.

Velvet steps away from his desk, "Then what is it that you want?" she asks.

"You're help. I believe that you are a powerful warrior, one whose strength the people may need in the future. I just want you to know that we are on the same side," Ozpin says.

Velvet just grunts and turns to leave, "I'm here for my teammates, my friends, and for Ruby. That's all that matters to me," Velvet says and then leaves.

Ozpin sighs, "I think I'll have no choice but to one day tell her the truth…But if she doesn't kill me after I do, I'm sure that Professor Goodwitch just might," he mutters.

...Flashback ends…

"So…this was all the secrecy you were keeping from me," Velvet says.

"Yes. Velvet Crowe, we want you to join us and help us in our cause. To help us protect the Maidens, and to find the one's responsible for attacking Amber," Ozpin says.

"Velvet, you may very well be the strongest student in the school. We need that strength," Glynda adds.

"And what about the rest of my team?" Velvet asks, crossing her arms.

"The less people that know about this, the better. I'm afraid your team can't know about this," Ironwood says.

"I don't keep secrets from them. Unlike you lot, I trust my teammates," Velvet says before she glances at Pyrrha and takes a deep breath to calm herself down. "If Pyrrha wants to help you, then I will support her decision. She's my friend, but I don't feel like joining some underground brotherhood that would keep secrets from my teammates. They trust you, and here you are, abusing that trust with your secrecy. Sorry, but I'm out," she says and then starts to leave.

"It's not that simple, kid. We're keeping secrets from them to protect them. I mean, come on, I'm Ruby and Yang's uncle. I'd rather not send them into a battle that they don't need to fight," Qrow says.

Velvet glances back at him, "My main concern is Ruby. That's all. And I will kill anyone who threatens to harm her. You're little war has nothing to do with me," she says and continues to walk away.

"One young huntress does not compare to the entire world. You should be more concerned with them, not your leader. She's not important," Ironwood says.

Everything stops as the rest of the group feel Ironwood just made a huge mistake. Suddenly, Velvet jumps at him, her demon claw active, and clamps it down on his skull as she starts to absorb his strength. The others look on in shock and are about to intervene, until Velvet let's go of him, as he coughs for air.

"She's important to ME. Insult her again, and I won't be so merciful next time," she says as she deactivates her demon claw. "You be sure to leave Ruby alone, and I'll keep your little secret. I don't care who stands in my way, I won't allow ANYONE to harm her," she says and finally makes her leave.

"Velvet…" Pyrrha mutters.

"Professor, what should we do?" Glynda asks.

"Let her go. I won't force her to do something she doesn't want to. We need to focus on more important matters. We need to be ready, before it's too late," Ozpin notes as he looks back to Amber.


And that's the chapter. Secrets are revealed, in more ways than one. I wonder if any of you guys remember that one scene I wrote at the end of the Volume 2 finale in my story. Who knows what will happen next. Will Velvet join Ozpin's group? Will Pyrrha become the next Fall Maiden? Until then, please Read and Review.