Chapter 50: The Invincible Girl

Author's Notes

A quick point of clarification - the strikethrough on the code in the last chapter is not meant to signify any deep meaning. FFN net automatically deletes anything that fails certain spelling and grammar checks, and my fake code (with its double equals signs and parantheses and whatnot) failed to meet the standards. It doesn't spell check for strikethrough ASCII characters, though, so I cheated. Sorry for any confusion, but the strikethrough isn't meant to imply anything.

If you're having trouble reading it legibly, it is available on Archive of our Own.

For a tl;dr - Penny's been hacked to include Salem as her 'team leader.'

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

In which Team Adventure finally gets the answers they seek, but the truth is never satisfying.

"Enter."

Pyrrha stepped through the doors of the elevator into a room full of more people than she'd been expecting. Ozpin was sitting in the chair behind a new desk, with Jaune leaning against the front of the table to face her. With his coffee cup in hand and a cane by his side, Pyrrha thought that her partner could've been mistaken for a young version of the headmaster himself. There was also General Ironwood, Penny Polendina, Professor Branwen, and some Atlesian specialist.

Oh, and Russel Thrush. He was in a water bottle in her side pouch. He probably could've also hidden in her copious sweat brought about by sheer anxiety.

"Hello, Jaune. Greetings, all."

"Please, have a seat," said Ozpin genially.

Pyrrha sat down and looked at the specialist.

"Greetings, Miss Nikos. I am Specialist Winter Schnee."

"Weiss'…?"

"Weiss' sister, yes."

It was good that Winter answered for her without letting Pyrrrha finish, because Pyrrha had been about to say either mother or robot. Ruby had been quite adamant.

"The cold turkey herself," whispered Jaune from next to her, smirking. He'd left the Amity Colosseum early during Team Castle's match, then texted her scroll asking her to come to the headmaster's office when she was ready. Pyrrha dearly wanted to know what Jaune was up to, but she was sooooo not ready to do this. At least, not alone, hence her nearby supply of hydration and companionship.

"Miss Nikos, I'll be frank with you. We would like to discuss the circumstances of your potential maidenhood."

WHAT?!

Pyrrha shot out of her chair, knocking it over behind her.

"Jaune! You told them? That was private! Headmaster, you have to understand, the dance had just ended, and I was feeling really good, and Cardin and Nora were also getting it on, and anal doesn't really count cuz–"

"Ahem, Miss Nikos, that is not what I meant."

Jaune's face turned ashen, Ozpin looked away, and the cold turkey muttered something about Mistrilian and Valean miscegenation.

Jaune coughed. "Perhaps I should explain, Oz. Pyrrha, have you ever heard the fairy tale of the maidens?"

"Of course. It's a creation myth to explain why there are seasonal changes, before humanity understood the concepts of celestial bodies' revolution and Remnant's uneven polar axis. Four women are given unimaginable power by some shriveled up, gross hobo who's living alone in the woods in solitude by himself."

Ozpin straightened out his shirt. "Well, the recluse is never specifically described as–"

"What a creepy hermit – an old man who never leaves his house unless there are a bunch of young women outside, and then he goes out and bothers them because they're being nice to him." Pyrrha had always hated that character, and now that she had a chance to bring this up, she wasn't going to miss out. "He even eats all the food that the Spring maiden worked hard to grow, the selfish jerk. Sounds like a real piece of work to me."

Ozpin bit his lip. "He rewards them with powers that–"

Jaune laughed. "Yeah, Oz. Wouldn't you agree that the sad old asshat in that myth is a total loser?"

"A real jerkhole," added Professor Branwen.

"Probably a pedophile or something," General Ironwood said.

"Valeans sicken me," said Winter Schnee.

"Let's get back on track," said Ozpin. "What if I told you that the very same wizard and the four maidens from the fable are actually real? That their power is not just the stuff of legends, but an actual, existing energy possessed by four women?"

"Like a semblance?"

"Like magic."

Pyrrha snorted and looked around the room, but no one else was laughing. "Y-You're joking, right? Magic isn't real."

Ozpin nodded. "Qrow, show her."

Professor Branwen jumped into the air towards Ozpin's desk, but a black crow landed on the headmaster's shoulder.

Pyrrha waved a hand dismissively. "Big deal. Ruby's is way better, and her beak doesn't have as many scratches."

The bird disappeared and Professor Branwen returned. His face betrayed no emotion, nor did his voice when he spoke.

"Oz."

"Qrow, you must understand–"

"Oz. How young was she?"

"It was at the request of her mother."

"How young?"

"When she was born."

"So you've had your eye on her since…Oz, I was only joking when I said you were a jerkhole. It's just like you to take me seriously and make it real."

"You…Ruby?" babbled Jaune, pointing at Ozpin. The headmaster solemnly nodded.

"Silver eyes are not the kind of power to be taken lightly, not after the loss of Summer's. It was easier to give her additional means to defend herself when she was young. An escape route, Summer called it."

"So, you decided my niece was going to be a part of your war whether she liked it or not."

"Perhaps we should focus on more pressing matters."

"We're not done talking about this."

Pyrrha felt very self-conscious as the teachers argued amongst themselves. Ozpin gestured towards her again, and all eyes fell back to her. She grabbed Jaune's hand and rested her other on the water bottle in her side pouch to remind herself that she wasn't alone. Yeah, this did feel like a cult, and yes, they all sounded insane talking about magical beings, and yes, it did read like Ozpin was up to something sinister involving Ruby, but Jaune was a part of this. He wouldn't mix her up in anything bad. He loved her.

"The power of the maidens is not just an allegory for the seasons; it is a phenomenon that inhibits the body of a host and imbues them with control of elemental energy. Think lightning semblance, fire semblance, ice semblance, and so on, all rolled into one."

"Multiple semblances…the attack on Ruby. Cinder!"

The headmaster nodded. "Magic is real, but it is not stationary. When one of the four maidens dies, her power will pass on to a new host. We believe Cinder Fall is the current Fall maiden, having killed the former. That is why our fist mission was the investigation of Team–"

"We need to stop her!"

"That's where you come in. As I mentioned, we would like for you to become a maiden. We hope that the power of the Spring maiden will be enough to counter Fall and bring her to justice."

Pyrrha added two and two together and got cold blooded murder. "The current Spring maiden…she'd have to die."

"Let's we take a walk through the school's basement, shall we?"

When he'd gone in, Russel had known everything. Maidens, robots, Lionheart – case closed. There were a few lingering questions, but none of them really mattered to Team Adventure.

Now, Russel actually knew everything, and he wished to the Brothers that he didn't. Of course, those two were jackasses and had caused this whole thing. It was tough to swallow, but too many real, actual people were pushing this narrative for it to have been false. If Professor Port or that old shopkeep had told him, he'd have assumed they were crazy, but two headmasters? If two headmasters were crazy, the world would've fallen to the Grimm by now.

Ozpin was an immortal deity, a contemporary of genuine gods. Salem was the Queen of the Grimm and his old flame. The two had been fighting an unending battle over magical relics, and Ozpin was losing badly. Salem was unkillable according to some genie woman, and she already a relic. Three, actually, since Salem had the Fall maiden and the headmaster of Haven in her control. The Sword of Destruction had fallen into Salem's hands generations ago, the Lamp of Knowledge was in Mistral with Lionheart, and Cinder could waltz into the vault under Beacon as soon as she knew where it was. At least the spear was safe in Atlas, the strongest kingdom.

Even now, all Russel wanted was to protect his friends. The thing was, they'd die if the world ended, so he wouldn't be able to sit this out if Pyrrha decided not to get involved. He still didn't think she should do it – Ozpin said that the aura transfer machine could mess up her soul if things went wrong – but it was her choice. The cult of Ozpin had asked her to make a decision before the end of the tournament, but Russ knew Pyrrha; she already had made her choice. She was just trying to come to terms with it.

They'd left the adults to quarrel amongst themselves over Ruby's rook form while Jaune and Pyrrha headed to their team fight against the Auburns. The whole thing had taken less than thirty minutes. In the span of half an hour, Russel had been taught the history of Remnant back to the literal beginning of time.

Now, they were on the bullhead to Amity. Dove was waiting for them in the arena; he'd headed over early. Jaune was reassuring Pyrrha that she could choose whatever she wanted.

"Powers or not, you're still Pyrrha. My Pyrrha. I'll support your choice either way, and Ozpin will have to accept it. This has to be what you decide, not what you feel you owe to the teachers."

"I thought you wanted me to be the maiden."

"I wanted you to learn what it is I do with the headmaster."

"Do you think I should say yes?"

"They said that the aura transfer machine could bring bits of Raven's soul into yours if the aura transfer happens. Oz…didn't exactly mention that to me before now. If I'd known, I'm not sure I would've pushed for you to be the maiden. Honestly, I'm not sure what I think."

"Would you do it?"

"Me, personally? In a heartbeat. But I'm just Jaune. I've never done anything in my life. I'll admit, I'm eager to be a part of this because I felt like I was a nobody before . For a long time, I had nothing to lose."

"Jaune, there's something else you should know."

The pouch unzipped, and Pyrrha picked up Russel in his bottle.

"Oh, thanks! I've been dying for something to drink." The world around Russel shook as Jaune plucked the bottle from Pyrrha's hands.

"JAUNE, NO!"

Russel splashed onto the floor in the ensuing scuffle over his vessel.

"What…? You brought Russ?! Pyrrha!"

"Jaune, you promised to tell me, but what about the others? They were in the dark. That's not fair!"

Russel raised a finger. "Actually, I knew more than you did. I kinda independently investigated the whole 'cult conspiracy' thing for a while."

"Okay…just…gimme a sec, you two." Jaune ran his finger through his hair and leaned his forehead against the window of the airship. Pyrrha started to say something, but Jaune held a hand out to shush her. The two teammates waited as their leader took a moment to collect himself.

"Russel was never there. The only ones who know are me and Pyrrha. You were never there, and you don't know anything. Capishe?"

Pyrrha and Russel nodded.

"Dove doesn't know," said Jaune. "Should we–?"

"We'll tell him after the match," said Pyrrha.

"I'm not sure about that," said Russel. "If I had the choice, I'd rather never have learned the truth. It is a lot. Ignorance is…was bliss."

"If I become the maiden, Team Adventure is guaranteed to be a part of this. He has the right to know."

Russel didn't want to keep secrets, but there was no need to push all this on Dove if they didn't have to. "Okay. We tell him if Pyrrha decides to become the maiden, and we don't if not. If Team Adventure isn't going to be a part of this, we've no reason to burden him with the truth."

"It's not that simple," said Jaune.

"Why not?"

"Pyrrha's not the only one who's been presented with an offer."

He paused for effect.

Pyrrha shook her head. "I don't get it."

Jaune held up his cane.

Russel frowned. "Still drawing a blank."

Jaune took a sip of coffee.

"You're…a caffeine addict?"

"Ugh. You guuuuuuuuys! I'm going to be the next incarnation of Ozpin."

Russel's brain did backflips. "He controls that?"

"No, but it's someone who's likeminded, and we're practically peas in a pod right now. And before you ask, yes, this is my choice. It won't happen until Ozpin dies, and it might not be permanent. I know Jinn said Salem was unkillable, but we have a plan to use my semblance to change that, and after that Oz and I can work on separating our minds."

"You have a plan? An actual, real plan to save the world? Oh, thank fuckity fuck. I could kiss you right now. That's the best thing I've heard all week, except for maybe that bit about anal."

Pyrrha reddened. "You…overheard that?"

Russel held up the water bottle.

Jaune burst out laughing, and Russel and Pyrrha soon followed. Suddenly they were three teenagers again. Not three hunters embarking on the quest of a lifetime that would forever alter their very souls, but just Russ and Pyr and Jauney-boy. When they arrived at the colosseum and were lambasted by Dove for their poor punctuality, Russel felt like his greatest worry could be losing the team round to Team Auburn.

"Very well, students. You may begin."

Even though it was a competition, Pyrrha couldn't help but feel that she was back in combat training class with the familiar way the Professor Goodwitch had started off the match. Team Auburn consisted of four members, none of whom Pyrrha knew personally. Arslan, the leader, stepped forward and bowed before entering a fighting stance that looked like it was out of a Spruce Willis action movie. The two boys, Bolin and Nadir, twirled their weapons and stopped right at the moment to point them at Team Adventure. Reese winked, flicked a quick thumbs up, and zoomed away towards the back of the field on her hoverboard.

Half of the arena was a desert with a small, lush oasis in the far outskirts. The other side was a deep ocean. Unlike other matches with ocean settings, there didn't seem to be a sandbar or pirate ship for footing – here, you either swam or drowned. Neither stage contained naturally occurring metal, but it would still be fine. Pyrrha still had all their weapons.

The boys charged forward. Pyrrha raised her shield to defend herself, but both of them ran right past her. She swiveled around to see both of them slam their weapons into…Jaune?

"Arghh!" he cried out in pain as Bolin's bladed staff cut his aura. He'd tried to block the blow, but Nadir had parried his sword against Jaune's cane. With two against one, Jaune had little hope of defending himself. Team Adventure drew their weapons and rushed over to help their w̶e̶a̶k̶ ̶l̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶comrade in trouble.

Pyrrha saw Reese coming in fast before Russel did. She just barely managed to tip the hoverboard before Russel was blown away by a blast of air. The boy went flying towards the desert. Pyrrha lightly tugged on his daggers to save him from an early ringout and instead push him towards the oasis where he could recover. With Russel far out of the way, Reese focused her efforts on distracting Dove.

Damn, these guys had been paying attention. Russel's semblance would have been incredibly useful in the open seas, so they'd tried to landlock him right away. As long as Jaune was standing, Team Auburn couldn't use their own semblances without risk, so they'd gone straight for him. Even if Pyrrha had never heard of Team Auburn, Team Auburn had definitely heard of them. Of course they have – every team in the Vytal Festival Tournament must have formulated a plan against the Invincible Girl and her team.

Russel should be okay in the oasis. Dove could handle himself. Jaune first.

Something wrapped around Pyrrha's throat and pulled her away from her efforts to protect her boyfriend. Pyrrha flared her aura around her neck as she furiously yanked at the string. Unconsciousness due to oxygen loss was not considered a loss – only aura and ring out – but it would be pretty difficult to defend herself if she blacked out due to choking.

Pyrrha looked to see the string leading to Arslan Atlan. At the end of it was a dagger. A metal dagger. Brothers, it was too easy sometimes.

Pyrrha didn't just steal the dagger; that would give away her semblance that she'd kept secret for so long. Instead, she flicked it slightly to cut Arslan's hand. The Mistrilian huntress squawked in surprise and dropped her weapon. The rope went slack around Pyrrha's neck, so she took the moment to hurl her shield like a discus. Arslan fell backwards, but Pyrrha didn't stick around to finish the fight. Jaune was still–

"And that's a wrap for young Mister Arc of Team Adventure! Defeated by ring out, and at 90% aura – what a way to go! Let's just hope his teammates can carry on without their leader!"

No.

Pyrrha felt her knees sink into the coarse sand. She hated sand. She hated this damned desert. The desert made her sick.

NONONONO.

The Invincible Girl beat her fists into the sand and screeched at the top of her lungs. She'd failed Jaune. All he'd ever wanted was a chance to show the world that he could be a hero, and now he'd never get that. And it was all her fault. The only reason people spent so much time strategizing against Team Adventure was because she, the Invincible Girl, was on it.

Oh, poor sweet Jaune; ganged up on by a bunch of cheating fuckers while Pyrrha stood around and did nothing. He'd trusted her with his heart, and she failed him spectacularly. Pyrrha sank deeper into the sand and tried to disappear. Curious gasps emerged as fans in the stands watched her break down. Screw the audience – she'd put on a show for her entire life. She could cry just this once.

"Sorry about that, love. We couldn't exactly let someone who had some secret super-semblance stick around for long."

One of the two boys pointed a weapon at Pyrrha's head. She didn't see it, but she felt it. It was a sword made of metal.

The sword crumpled around the same time that Pyrrha wrapped her fist around the boy's throat. Arslan threw a punch at Pyrrha from behind, but Pyrrha levitated her own discarded shield to block the blow. Her eyes widened upon seeing the floating shield, but Pyrrha was too distracted choking out one of the motherfuckers that had cheated and hurt her Jaune and cheated.

A Dust bullet shot by her. Out of the corner of her eye, Pyrrha saw Reese circling around her over the ocean with Bolin standing behind her on the hoverboard, his staff aimed at her. Pyrrha tightened her grip on Nadir, whose eyes were rolling to the back of his head. The hoverboard abruptly stopped midair, but its pair of riders didn't and were throwing into the waters. Then, as they splashed around like the useless, weak fools they were, their weapons turned against them. The hoverboard pressed itself against Reese's chest and pushed her into the depths. Bolin's bladed staff hooked itself on his pants and dragged him down to join her where they belonged.

Pyrrha released an unconscious Nadir, then circled Arslan's dagger through the air around her in coils.

"Hey–"

The dagger finished its flight by shoving itself into her mouth. Pyrrha could see the aura flaring through her cheeks. Lifting the dagger and wire up with her semblance, she threw the enemy far out of the ring.

Pyrrha paused to catch her breath and survey the arena. Arslan was out, Nadir was unconscious, and the other two were currently on their way to becoming unconscious.

Jaune was out. Russel was halfway across the stage, running towards her from the oasis. Qrow had probably scuttled off somewhere in search of a drink, as he always did. Dove was…where was Dove?

There. Pyrrha glimpsed him wading in the ocean and fished him out by his bronze armor. Reese must have pushed him into the water when J̶a̶u̶n̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶l̶i̶m̶i̶n̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ Pyrrha had gotten distracted.

Pyrrha nodded at him. "All good?"

Dove just stared at her as he floated in the air. Finally, a curt nod in response, even though he was clearly baffled.

Pyrrha walked over to the edge of the water and peered down into it. Bubbles were still coming up, so that meant Bolin and Reese were still conscious. No matter. She'd just wait it out.

Russel finally caught up. "You, uhhhhh…you okay, Pyr?"

"Yeah. I'm…okay."

"You do know that Jaune's still alive, right? He's just outside the arena, waving at us right now."

True enough, there stood Jaune in the outskirts of the ring. Pyrrha dusted some sand off of her armor and waved back. She hated sand. Damned Vacuo…

"You sure you're good?" Russel asked insistently.

The bubbles stopped, so Pyrrha fished out the leftovers of Team Auburn and dragged them onto dry land in a heap next to Nadir. All were unconscious, but at green aura levels.

"I'm sure."

Pyrrha kicked Reese in the stomach. The unconscious girl coughed up some water without defending herself or responding in any way, and her aura dropped a tick. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Just…it's been a long day, Russ."

"And that's another elimination by, ahem, aura depletion for the final member of Team Auburn. I'd also like to take this time to mention that, just tonight, I'll be hosting an extra therapy group meeting for students who wish to talk about stressful or traumatic situations. All are welcome to attend. Please feel free to drop by if you feel the need to discuss anything. Anything at all."

Nikos rubbed at her leg. It was little surprise that her foot would be sore – she'd literally kicked the aura out of the remnants of Team Auburn while clad in greaves and sabatons. It had been brutal – over and over, Nikos just stamping her foot onto their heads or into their stomachs as they lay facedown in the sand.

The fight hadn't gone all that well for Bronzewing. He'd managed to briefly engage one of the huntsmen, Bolin, and distract him before the hoverboarding woman attacked and pushed him into the seas. In the end, all he'd accomplished was to extend Jaune's time in the ring by a few seconds.

Nikos was all smiles after the fight, and even shook hands with the ringed-out leader of Team Auburn as though she hadn't just attempted to drown two of her comrades.

The audience was unsure what to make of it. Nikos had been the golden child, but onlookers had just watched her savage three unconscious opponents, apparently for no purpose beyond securing a victory. To them, it would look like a showing of her true colors. Furthermore, the revelation of her metal semblance took away much of the mystery behind her victory streak. No longer was the narrative about Pyrrha Nikos, teenage champion who won by hard work and determination. Now it spoke of Pyrrha Nikos, the girl randomly blessed with an overpowered semblance by sheer luck.

Bronzewing seriously worried what effect the reversal would have on her mental health. If possible, he, Arc, and Thrush should endeavor to bring her into Port's therapy session. Nikos was a benign woman, but she did seem to harbor an explosive temper. Particularly, slights against Arc's honor seemed to be good at setting her off.

Bronzewing was checking on the enemy hunters – nothing major, just making sure they all still had pulses – while his three teammates conferred. Every now and again, he felt them turn his way and look at him for a few seconds before turning back. He couldn't understand their conversation, though. Perhaps I should learn lip reading – such a skill would be useful if I ever sought to eavesdrop on them in the future.

Of course, he was only jesting.

B̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶n̶i̶c̶e̶.̶

Arc pointed directly at him, forgetting that Bronzewing would still perceive the motion even though he faced the opposite direction. Bronzewing sighed at Arc's lack of subtlety.

"Have you reached a verdict?"

Their conversation ceased. Nikos approached him.

"Dove, there's something we'd like to talk to you about. It's about…Jaune…and about me…and about Russel. Not here, though. There're too many people. Back at the dorm."

He nodded, and she backed away.

Well, that wasn't ominous at all.

The quartet exited the arena and got on the first airship back to Beacon. The other passengers who were already on board had suddenly remembered leaving their belongings in the colosseum and decided to go back for them, making for a quiet flight home. Bronzewing had no remarks to offer, so he remained silent. The others fidgeted nonstop.

They touched down, and Thrush awkwardly tried to deliver some joke about something or the other. Bronzewing didn't get it.

Arc put his arm around Bronzewing. "It's okay, Dove. We're gonna explain everything to you. By the end of today, all four of us will be on the same page."

"Don't worry, Jaune," said Thrush. "It'll be a lot for him to take in, but if I know my partner, he'll power through it. He's just that kind of super cool guy."

Bronzewing remembered the time when he was a pariah for having betrayed Arc. He silently blessed Professor Port for completely ignoring his tactless request all those months back, and his teammates for their magnanimity. Fortune had smiled upon Bronzewing.

Perchance this grand revelation was not to be the end of Team Adventure as Bronzewing had envisioned. Sure, Arc had kept to himself for nigh a full year, Nikos was agitated to the point of barbarism, and Thrush was unable to remediate the tension as he usually did, but maybe this was to be Bronzewing's finest hour. He was not the leader of Team Adventure, but that did not preclude him from being the greatest teammate he could be. Whatever you need, friends, I shall see done.

"We're here," announced Nikos, stopping. "Let's talk."

"Pyr? This isn't our dorm," said Arc.

"Course it is," said Nikos.

"Uh, no it's not. This is someone else's room," said Thrush.

Nikos shook her head and counted the doors on the hallway slowly, as though she were talking to children.

"First, second, third door on the right side of the second floor. It's been our dorm room since our first year at Beacon."

Bronzewing felt a sense of dread run along his spine. "First year?"

"Yeah. What's gotten into you guys? Did someone change our room, and I didn't get the memo?"

"Nikos, we are first years."

"No, we're not. We're…we're…you're just…look, it's our room. Team Stark has only ever had one room in our entire time at Beacon, and this is it."

Omake

Ozpin: What's your favorite fairy tale?

Pyrrha: Probably the one about the two legendary warriors, locked in glorious combat, until they learn that they have much in common and there is no need for them to fight. Both throw down their arms and embrace joyously. Then, when a common enemy threatens them both, they must band together to destroy this new foe.

Ozpin: I'm unfamiliar, but it sounds like quite the epic. Oftentimes, I find that fairy tales have seeds of truth or hidden morals that turn out to be quite–

Pyrrha: And also both of their moms were named Martha.

Author's Notes

This is as far as we're going to go with the early posting. In other words, if you're reading this, expect radio silence until May 24th. Sorry – you should have budgeted the chapter. Now you'll have to sit on that doozy of a cliffhanger for two weeks! You were waaaaarned!

Happy rats, and don't do crime!