"I… I have what?" Summer asked, the last word coming out as more of a squeak.
"Two auras, Miss Rose," Professor Gumo repeated. "I took some biometric data while you were asleep, and one of the things I picked up on was that your aura is actually a compound aura. There are several possible explanations, each more unlikely than the last… but I'm curious to hear your take on things before I posit my own."
Summer's head began to swim with thoughts as she listened intently to the man's words. An overwhelming feeling that she was on the edge of a breakthrough occupied a significant chunk of her mind. It was a feeling akin to knowing she had forgotten something, but she wasn't sure quite what it was and its name was lingering just outside of her mind's grasp.
The entire rest of her brain was screaming at her to stop trying to reach the conclusion, lest it be one she couldn't accept.
"Before… before we go there," Summer tried, sitting up slightly in her bed, "how did you even… measure that? What sort of tests have you been running on me?"
Professor Gumo leaned forward slightly in his chair and lifted his hands to either side of his head. Ever so slowly, he lifted his visored helmet, revealing the eight arachnid eyes hiding beneath the glossy surface.
"I believe that 'measure' and 'test' don't quite capture the spirit of what I do," the faunus considered as he gently set the visor down on the surface of the nearby desk. "You see, the monitors and gauges you're currently hooked to give precise numbers and data readouts that anyone with the ability to interpret them can understand. I spent some time scanning you with my semblance, which may be less precise… but it often gives me insights that I cannot quite put into words that another would understand."
"I can kinda relate to that," Summer said hesitantly. "My semblance is… well, what is yours, before I say anything? What exactly have you been doing to 'scan' me?"
Professor Gumo smirked at the question. One of the eyes near to the center of his forehead lit up with a deep crimson glow, and the pupil swiveled to focus directly upon Summer.
"I can see the rhythm of your blood," the man explained. As the eye dimmed back to its dusty brown coloration, another alit with a light blue. "Or the flow of your breaths as you inhale and exhale, painted as wisps within the air." Two other eyes began to luminesce with a muted green as the blue light faded. "Or perhaps, by combining different eyes, the aura… auras around you, and their relative strength. One of yours is a pure white. The other, a barely present dusty orange. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were two people. Perhaps a Maiden… though Ozma would have said something, if you were."
Summer stiffened and pulled the sheets up around herself a bit more tightly.
"Why would Professor Oz-… Ozma know whether or not I'm a… a maiden? I mean, if it's… if it's relevant, I… um… I am. I just haven't really found the right person, I guess…"
"…if it's relevant?" Professor Gumo asked, his brows threatening to disappear into his hairline. "What could be more relevant?"
Summer cleared her throat, smiling nervously at the older man as she tried to figure out his meaning.
"Are we… using the same definition of 'maiden', here?"
Professor Gumo blinked with all eight of his eyes and brought a palm up to his forehead as he was hit with sudden understanding.
"…clearly, we are not. Maidens, Miss Rose. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter."
"…oh," was all that Summer could think to say initially, her cheeks flushing. "Oh. Not… wait, you mean like the fairy tale? The fairy tale of the four maidens? That's real?"
"And so, this comedy of errors your team was lured into turns its sense of humor upon me," Professor Gumo said with a grim smile. "Ozma has told you nothing of the Maidens? Of who he really is?"
"Well, I… wouldn't say nothing," Summer reassured. "We know that he can't die. Or that he can die? But it doesn't stick. He dies a lot."
"He does indeed," Professor Gumo agreed. "Well… I suppose we should cut to the chase. Ozma is the old sorcerer in that story. It's less a fairy tale and more an embellished recounting of events, really."
"So let me get this straight," Summer replied before taking a deep breath and beginning to ramble. "Ozma lived in a secluded hut hundreds… thousands? Of years ago? And divided up some of his magical power between four maidens who reminded him of the joys of each season? And now you think that I'm one of those maidens? How does having two auras come into this? What?"
"Slow down, Miss Rose," the headmaster advised as he wheeled his chair closer to the bedside. "Exhausting yourself, mentally or otherwise, will do you no good. The tale is missing pieces, and details have been twisted throughout time. The truth is far simpler… and stranger, as well."
"Isn't it always?" Summer deadpanned. "So, what's the deal? This is giving me a headache."
"'The deal' is that these women did indeed inherit some of Ozma's magical power. It was divided amongst them so that Ozma could have four champions in his service that would be capable of monitoring and combating Salem," Professor Gumo explained. "A name you're not yet supposed to know, it seems."
"Salem," Summer repeated in a hushed tone. "Every time I hear that name, it feels like I jumped into a freezing lake. I don't know why I know it… but I also feel like hearing it isn't a surprise. Who is she?"
"Now that," Professor Gumo said with a dramatic flair, "is an answer for Ozma, as he sees fit to provide it. I wouldn't dare answer in full and steal his thunder… but I can give you a few insights, given the situation. What you likely should know is that she is the queen of grimm- the source of their spawning pools, the commander of their legion… and the root of all evil in Remnant. If we're speaking of fairy tales, she's the closest thing you'll find to a living wicked witch. 'Demon' would likely be a more apt descriptor."
"And these four Maidens," Summer muttered as she furrowed her brows. "They were… or are… guardians against the grimm? And against Salem herself?"
"Getting warmer," Professor Gumo reassured. "You see… Ozma isn't the only being on Remnant capable of reincarnation. As the four Maidens die, their spirits seek new hosts to carry their magical powers forward through generations. Not semblances- actual magic from a time before humans and faunus required dust to wield such a thing. Usually, these powers pass to the woman in a dying Maiden's last thoughts… but if said Maiden isn't thinking of another in those moments, they seem to pass on to someone random. Potentially, someone they've never even met."
"And that's what you think happened to me?" Summer questioned, pointing to her chest. "That's… what are the odds? There's no way…"
"Isn't there?" Professor Gumo said softly. "You had something to say about your semblance, earlier. What was it?"
"Now, I'm almost afraid to say" Summer admitted. "But… I have two, and I'm worried about what that means."
"Two auras, two semblances," Professor Gumo muttered as he brought a hand up to stroke at his chin. "Incredibly unlikely… and impossible, by common wisdom. Unless, of course, you're mistaken about having two semblances, and one is actually just budding magical power. There are ways we could determine such a thing, but they would require Ozma."
"He doesn't know," Summer warned. "No one does, outside of OKRA, STRQ, and one of our friends. I've been honing both semblances in secret over the past year, trying to figure out how they work and why. One of them, I unlocked when I was extremely young. The other was recent- very recent."
"And those semblances are?" Professor Gumo asked as he outstretched an arm to the side.
"I've had limited clairvoyance since I was small, and recently developed the ability to swap positions with people," Summer replied.
"…clairvoyance," Professor Gumo repeated, his tone somewhat forceful. "You are certain? Do your predictions pan out more often than not?"
Summer wrinkled her nose and rocked her hand back and forth in a noncommittal gesture.
"Maybe… two thirds of the time? I can invoke it willingly to see a little while into the future, but sometimes, I get flashes of what I think are things that won't happen for years. Obviously, I can't say how true those events are, but I get details wrong every so often even in the short-term predictions."
"Likely because the old magics needed extensive training to be used at even a basic level," Professor Gumo mused as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his chin. "It's beginning to seem more and more like pieces are falling into place. Abilities such as those you describe were a known hallmark of the Fall Maiden, as were several other types of magic."
"The… Fall Maiden," Summer said hesitantly. "Not the Summer Maiden? The one I was named after? Come on, fate, work with me here…"
Professor Gumo gave the girl a lopsided smirk.
"I had a feeling you would ask that, but no. Unfortunately, neither Summer nor Fall would be capable of utilizing the Lamp of Knowledge to its fullest extent. If you are indeed the Fall Maiden, your associated Relic is the Crown of Choice."
Summer's heart skipped a beat as she listened, though she wasn't sure just why. A sudden sense of impending danger loomed over her mind, and she shifted to sit up against the headboard of the hospital bed.
"The Relics have something to do with this?" Summer asked. "Which means… the spirits within the Relics are also related to the situation…?"
"Tangentially, but yes," Professor Gumo confirmed. "Why do you ask?"
Visions played out in Summer's mind as clear as day, but for once, she wasn't looking forward.
"It's you? So soon…?"
Summer stared up at the naked, blue-skinned giantess floating in the air before her. Raven's heart monitor had stopped beeping, and the air within the hospital room seemed unnaturally still. The spirit of the lamp's dark blue hair seemed to writhe and sway slowly as if it was being buffeted by a gentle wind.
"P-professor?" Summer stammered as she looked over toward Professor Ozpin. "What is she talking about? Who is she?"
Professor Ozpin glanced sideways at Summer for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the spirit.
"I… do not know what she means, but her name is Jinn."
The rest of the conversation passed through Summer's mind in a flash. She couldn't remember the specifics of what had been said or who had asked questions, but one last thing from before Jinn's disappearance stuck out in perfect clarity.
Professor Ozpin gave Jinn a solemn nod. The pale blue woman rotated in the air, gradually shifting to face Summer. A quiet moment passed in which the spirit and the young woman locked eyes, and Jinn tilted her head to one side. She offered Summer a smile full of warmth, her eyes alight with a sparkle of mischief as she spoke with a knowing tone.
"…good luck, little one. I hope you find your way to her."
It was as though a lock had clicked open and fallen from its place before a door within Summer's mind. The conclusion awaiting her behind the portal was spelled out as clear as day, and deep down, she knew the truth in a way she would never be able to properly explain. For the first time, her aura seemed clearly divided, tingling around her body at dissonant frequencies as if to announce the presence of another entity within her innate energy.
Despite the frighteningly sudden nature of her revelation and her collapse within the headmaster's office, Summer felt completely energized. She wanted to disconnect the tube from her arm and stand from the hospital bed to begin training immediately. There was so much more she could do with her magic, if only she knew how to properly train it.
"I think…" Summer said carefully, before taking a brief pause. "I think you might be right, Professor. Jinn spoke to me like she knew me. She wants me to find someone… and I think that someone is the spirit of the Crown of Choice. Ever since you mentioned it, I can feel this… this sort of pull within my chest. Like I'm destined to find it. I think… I might be the Fall Maiden."
Professor Gumo nodded softly and stood up from his chair.
"And I think we've got some work to do to verify that claim before we propose the notion to Ozma. We'll begin some preliminary tests after you've gotten more rest."
"I don't think I need to rest anymore," Summer said with a shake of her head.
"Then what is it that you require?" Professor Gumo asked. "You still look a bit pale. Beginning your training right now would be ill advised."
Summer reached over to the bedside table and plucked her scroll from atop the surface.
"…I need to see my friends."
Author's Note:
Needless to say, this will have far-reaching implications. Just how much of canon will be kept, in regards to the Fall Maiden? Only time will tell…
-RD