Author's Notes
Howdy again! Here's another story. I was given this idea by a friend of mine who mentioned it in passing as kind of a joke, but I took it further than that. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I've enjoyed writing!
Beacon had, so far, been everything that Team RWBY had wanted it to be.
…Well, for the most part, anyway.
Weiss had her trouble accepting Ruby's leadership at first, but she got over it with time, and though she got into a spat with Blake, that too had been solved after some drama at the docks.
But afterward came the second semester, and with the second semester came a new problem that beset Team RWBY.
"...I'm booreed." Yang groaned, planting her head on the desk she was sitting at in the library, surrounded by her teammates. "Gods, we've spent the past several weekends doing nothing!" She raised her hands above her head to display her exasperation, still not picking her head up off the table. "What's a girl gotta do to find some excitement?"
Ruby looked up from the comic book she was reading, smiling slightly at her sister. "C'mon, Yang, it's not that bad. We get to fight stuff all the time!"
"That's not what I mean!" Yang groaned as she gestured outward with her hands. "Fighting is fun, I love it, sure. But I'm talking about something else, something new! Something we haven't done before." She brought her hands back, placing them on the back of her head. "But we just do the same stuff all the time…"
Blake glanced up from the book she was reading, but said nothing. In her mind, this was perfectly acceptable—a day spent doing 'nothing' was a day she could read in relative peace. It was something she needed, for now at least, until she could dig up more about the White Fang.
Meanwhile, Weiss looked up from the textbook she was studying and huffed. "Yang, there's always something to do. Studying! We can't afford to be anywhere but the very top of our class. We need to show everyone what we're made of!"
"Ugh, but they see that all the time!" Yang countered. "We're already 'that team that beat a bunch of terrorists', so why do we need to spend so long studying? No, I need something new." She sat up and was about to speak, but then something caught her ear, the sound of students talking at another table.
"Did you hear that there's going to be this big faculty party tomorrow night?"
"Yeah, supposedly they only have it once a year. All the teacher's are gonna be there. Means for once we won't have to worry about them breathing down our necks in the halls… What time was that again?"
"Around five, I think, and it's supposed to go all night."
Yang's interest was thoroughly peaked, and a grin slowly found its way across her face, a grin that made Weiss' face fall slightly, because she knew what it meant. Yang had an idea. And indeed, she voiced it, "Girls, I know what we're going to do tomorrow!"
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'How did Yang get me to agree to this?' Weiss wondered as she followed the aforementioned girl through Vale.
'Oh, right.' She glanced at Ruby, who was following closer to her sister with a look as excited as her sibling. 'Because I was outvoted.' Of course Ruby would be all for trespassing on their Headmaster's property, all just to satisfy their curiosity. Blake herself didn't think it was wise, but she was won over by her own curiosity.
Of course, Weiss was curious as well. Ozpin was a very mysterious man, so to see where he lived, to look around it and see just what it was like, that was a curiosity that would kill not just four cats, but all the cats who had even a passing interest in the mysterious Headmaster. All things considered, if it wasn't them, it would have probably been someone else.
And no, she wasn't just thinking that to justify their blatantly illegal and irresponsible acts.
…Okay, maybe she was. But that was neither here nor there.
The upper class district of Vale was quite different from Atlas' own upper class areas. Of course, there were still large mansions with well manicured lawns, but the architecture followed an older design, and in general, Weiss felt that it looked a lot more… alive.
Eventually the more 'modest' mansions gave way to grander ones, far more opulent, and far closer to what Weiss was used to. Yet even they held a certain quality to them that made them feel uniquely Valean.
Finally, however, they came to a medium sized mansion between all of the larger ones. It had a large garden, bearing many kinds of trees that were clearly not Valean, as well as a small orchard on one end, with the other having a few gazebos and outdoor furniture. All of it was surrounded by a mid-sized brick fence. All together, it gave the impression of there being a miniature forest in the middle of the city.
The mansion itself invoked the same theme, with a great deal of wood in its construction as well as dark forest green paintwork, with some wood brown accents, making the whole of the plot feel natural. The gate was itself made of metal, and it was currently closed.
Yang whistled. "Wow, Professor Ozpin sure knows how to paint a picture. Or his landscapers do, I guess." She shrugged and, without much thought, jumped over the gate with the help of some Wind Dust.
Weiss sighed and shook her head. Yet, there really wasn't anything to be done about it now. She created a Glyph beneath herself and used it to launch herself over the gate, while Ruby turned herself into petals and flew straight through it, and Blake used her ribbon as a grappling hook to pull her up and over. Weiss had expected there to be some alarm system that went off at the blatant breaking and entering, yet there was nothing.
They progressed through the grounds, and at the end of the path was a raised deck of marble, with stairs leading up to it, as well as off of it, leading to the front door.
The door was locked, but Blake knew how to lockpick, so it didn't exactly delay them. Weiss still felt this was the most irresponsible—and illegal—thing they've done to date. Yet, Yang was all in on it, as was Ruby, while Blake herself seemed to still be curious.
They entered into the large foyer, shutting the door behind them and looking around with a curious case. Ruby gasped as she saw it, with its wooden floors and walls so expertly crafted and so expertly painted. "Wow… this makes our place on Patch look like a kid's toy, Yang!"
Yang couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Yeah… this place is something else… did any of the fancy mansions in Atlas look like this, Weiss?"
Weiss had her arms crossed, and she shook her head. "No. They were large, larger sometimes, but none of them felt… lived in. Natural. They felt like… flag-waving contests." Weiss knew the other term, but she wasn't going to say it. It was unladylike! "But if we're going to look around, we need to be quick. How are we going to handle this?"
Ruby had an idea for this, a smile on her face as she seemed excited to get started. "Let's split up! There's no way we could see everything if we stay together, so we should take pictures and meet up again back here in an hour or two. Does that sound good, guys?"
Everyone agreed, and so they split up.
Weiss started down what appeared to be the main hallway, looking around as she did. Paintings and pictures lined the wall, pictures of him and his staff, him and his students, him and (presumably) his teammates and coworkers when he was younger… it went on, a whole lifetime laid bare, and he wasn't even that old.
There were many rooms, most of them didn't hold much of interest. A sitting room, what looked to be a storage room, and a few other nondescript rooms.
However, she eventually came across a room that piqued her interest.
The bedroom. She saw the queen sized bed with white covers, and several more portraits on the wall. At first, she grimaced and muttered to herself, "Come on, Weiss, this is your Headmaster's bedroom. Are you really stooping so low as to breach his privacy, and his trust, like this?"
She was ready to slip away and return to the foyer, but then something caught her eye. Something that stood out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the room.
A wide-brimmed black conical hat with a crooked point at the top and a golden chain that circled the base. It was large, and the way the material looked faded implied that it was very old. Yet, there it stood, placed on a display shelf that he could look at from his bed. It interested Weiss, because it looked absolutely magnificent! It was grand and just a bit whimsical, but it also invoked traditional garb associated with witches. Why, it was something that Weiss could imagine wearing herself!
In fact…
Weiss stepped into the room and walked up to the hat. She wasn't sure why, but more than her opinion on it looking good, she felt… drawn to it. Drawn to it in such a strange way. It felt like it was more than a hat. It was… important, somehow. She knew not how, but that didn't stop her from reaching out and taking hold of it gently. Then, she lifted it up and put it on her head.
There was a vanity in the room, with a mirror placed on it. Weiss had to wonder who it was meant for, because Ozpin didn't seem the kind to have a vanity. Were the rumors about him and Professor Goodwitch true? Who was to say. It ultimately wasn't important.
She looked at herself in the mirror with a smirk. She felt that she looked rather striking with it! A bit silly, perhaps, but it made a statement, and the statement was that she was a woman who's very countenance was magical!
…Maybe she was looking too far into it, but she liked the hat, who could blame her?
However, as she looked at herself, suddenly she felt a chill down her spine. It felt like there was a gust of wind, despite there being no open windows. She shuddered, looking around curiously as she furrowed her brow. Yet, there was nothing out of the ordinary with anything surrounding her.
Her eyes rested on her reflection, and she drew closer to the mirror to look at it closer. Something felt… off. What, she didn't know, but she was intent on finding out. She looked normal enough, fixing the hat atop her head. Yet, there was something strange about her eyes…
They seemed to be growing cloudier, subtly, even though it didn't affect her vision. For a brief moment, it looked as if her eyes were muddied with speckles of an earthy brown, but she blinked and it was gone. Weiss shook her head, reasoning that she must just be seeing things. Maybe the food she last ate was bad…?
Then, just as she began to relax, she heard something.
"Hello! I'm Vesta Kadmon!"
Weiss yelped as she jumped backwards and fell on the ground with a thud. The voice that spoke to her was tinged with a strange accent, something similar to those movies that tried to portray what ancient accents were like…
Weiss groaned as she stood up again, looking at the hat that now lay on the ground like it was cursed. She shook her head and turned around, looking in the mirror again. However, she caught sight of something—particles of what Weiss could only describe as magic floating in the air. At first, they were disunited, but eventually, they began to converge.
They joined together into a rainbow of colors, streaming around the room and leaving their trail in their wake. Weiss watched them with wide-eyed wonder, and yet that was not the end of the spectacle.
They converged at the foot of the bed, forming together into a mass of energy that eventually dissipated. When they did, Weiss' eyes widened further when she saw someone sitting on the bed.
She was fair-skinned, with long platinum blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back. Her eyes were the same earthy brown she had seen within her eyes. She wore a sky blue dress that stopped above her knees, which were themselves covered with black tights. Her hands and arms were wrapped up in bandage-style wrappings, and she had a midnight blue shoulder cape with leather paddings on the shoulders. She wore black thigh-high boots and a golden chain belt that went around her waist, with a part of it dangling on the right. The belt also had an azure colored satchel attached to it.
Then, in a blink, she was gone. Weiss tried to not panic as she looked around, saying out loud, "I-If this is some kind of joke, then it's not funny! Who are you?!"
"I told you. My name is Vesta Kadmon. As for what is going on… I believe you are owed an explanation."
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Yang had to admit, Ozpin knew how to live.
In spite of her larger than life attitude, she was never one for large flaunting displays. Sure, she flaunted herself sometimes, but that was a far cry from someone waving their 'flag' as Weiss had put it to show off how many millions of Lien they were probably born into.
'I wonder if Professor Ozpin was born into this? I don't think so…' There wasn't exactly any history relating to the 'Ozpin' family, and that apparently was his last name, which Yang was kind of surprised to learn, because it left the question of what his first name was.
She shrugged, deeming it ultimately unimportant, and continued on down the hallway she had picked. There were various rooms that held interesting things, trophy rooms, rooms dedicated entirely to pictures and paintings of people, among other things.
But what struck her the most was one room in particular.
When she opened the door, the first thing that hit her was the sound.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Tick. Tick. Tick Tick.
Not just one clock, but dozens. Their sound a chorus of ticking, of turning gears and cogs. It was a song that, as Yang stepped into the room and looked around, made her feel, for reasons she could not comprehend, very, very, small.
The room itself was lined with clocks of different kinds. Some modern digital clocks, but most of them older mechanical ones, all ticking in tune with one another. There were bookshelves which held more clocks, and a desk in the middle of the room filled with papers and folders, which made Yang feel that this was his office.
'He works in this…?'
It made Yang feel self-conscious about the flow of time, and each second that ticked by was another that she had lost.
'How can he stand this?!'
Yet, she swallowed the lump in her throat and headed deeper into the study, intent on exploring everything this room had to offer.
Aside from the clocks, there were plenty of books and other assorted pieces of memorabilia throughout. She took a peak at the papers on his desk and found them to not be grades, but letters. They weren't addressed to anyone in particular, and Yang got the feeling they were only meant for his eyes. She turned away from them—as big of a breach of privacy as this already was, she didn't want to start going through his personal letters.
Although there was one thing within the letter on his desk that made her hesitate. She looked at it and muttered, "He has a son? And he's going to Atlas academy? Sheesh…" She wondered who the mother was. Though she also supposed that didn't matter.
Throughout all the things he kept, however, as she looked towards the back, one thing in particular caught her eye, an oddity among oddities.
A hand mirror, finished with gold and encrusted with different kinds of gems. She had to wonder how expensive it was, but more than that, she had to wonder why Ozpin had a hand mirror like that. Was it his wife's? Then why was it in the back of his office? No… there was something unique about this. Something interesting.
She reached out and took hold of the mirror, feeling its heft and concluding that it had to be made of real gold. She whistled and held it up to her face, inspecting herself. "Damn Oz, cool mirror… and damn Yang, cool face." She grinned at herself.
The grin didn't stay, however, as she felt a shiver run down her spine. She furrowed her brow and looked around. It felt as if there was wind, but she didn't see any fans. Did the place have central cooling? And if it did, why was it on?
She looked back at the mirror, and was shocked to see that her reflection was not her own. Instead, it belonged to a fair skinned girl with wavy platinum blonde hair that went further than the mirror could let her see and was decorated with flowers. She had light blue eyes that seemed almost turquoise in color, and from what Yang could see, she was wearing some kind of pink dress. She bore a smile on her face and spoke, "Heyyyy!"
Yang yelped and dropped the mirror, but she was able to grab it just barely before it hit the ground. "Wh-What the fuck?" She looked around. "A-Am I just going crazy or something?" Meanwhile, a plant on the window cill somehow began to grow, becoming larger while still remaining within the pot, and wind caressed Yang's skin for real this time, instead of just being a feeling.
Suddenly the girl she had seen in the mirror appeared within the wind, the pink dress she wore now on full display. She smiled at Yang and spoke with an upward lilt that was just a bit grating, like one of those girls Yang used to see at the mall, said, "No, you're totally sane! I'm Venus Kadmon, and you are gorgeous! What's with the biker chick look though? You can totally do better than that! And you will, because I'll help you!"
"I like my outfit!" Yang retorted, rubbing her head after a second. "I'm talking to hallucinations now, that's great…"
"You're talking to me, not yourself! Although we're not that different now, I guess."
"Wait, what?" Yang swallowed a lump in her throat. "Okay okay, slow down." She held up a hand to try and stop this specter from saying anything further yet. "Just… explain what's going on to me, okay?"
"Okay! So, once upon a time…"
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Blake had initially only agreed to this venture because she was sure that Ruby and Yang would see that Ozpin just lived in a normal house and leave it at that. However, when she saw just the kind of house he lived, large and filled to the brim with a feeling of mystery, she had to admit that she was excited to see what he had on display.
That was what led her to head through the hall she had chosen, checking out rooms as she went. Most were fairly mundane, some had lots of books that Blake really wished she had time to read, and some more still were just.. Intriguing. Rooms filled with old artifacts that should have really been in a museum,
Yet, there was one room that drew her attention above all the others.
It looked deceptively simple in that it had almost nothing in it, save for boxes of presumably things Ozpin wanted to keep tucked away for later. However, there stood out one thing above all of the others.
Hung on the wall was a wooden sword. It looked old and well worn, and it was clearly amateurishly made, but still, there it sat. Hung up as the only decoration in this otherwise spartan room. So what was it doing there? Why not keep something like that in one of the boxes, instead of on the wall?
Blake stepped into the room, noting the layer of dust that seemed to cover everything except the sword. Once she reached it, she looked at it closer. Was it some kind of keepsake from his childhood? Deciding there was no harm in checking it out, she shrugged.
She reached out and grabbed it, gently pulling it up and off the nails below its cross-guard that kept it in place. She looked it over, her ears twitching from under her bow. She tilted her head and gave it a couple experimental swings in the air.
Then, suddenly, a sharp feeling of pain in her spine. She gasped in shock and dropped the sword as she fell to one knee. Yet it was not over, the feeling changed, from a simple shooting pain to burning.
Oh so much burning. Like she was wrapped in the flames of the underworld itself. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as it overtook her. It felt as if her very soul was being burned, set ablaze with a fire so great that it could be seen from the heavens above. It took all of her effort to not scream as she sat against the wall, pressing her head against it with constant gasps of pain.
Then, suddenly, as if the flames had finally overtaken her entire being, she fell into darkness.
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She ran through a forest, her heart pounding and her mind filled with shame even as she jumped over fallen trees and slayed Grimm effortlessly with a simple steel sword.
The shame repeated the same phrase in her mind. She ran. She ran. She ran. When her sisters and her father needed her most, she ran.
They told her to go. That didn't make the reality of the situation any better to her. There was no way they could win, he had said, they all needed to run. Yet she found them first, and it was all they could do to allow Meghara to escape as they attempted to hold back that demon. She ran, while the others stayed.
A large part of the castle exploded into a ball of fire, and all Meghara could do was cry as she felt the fires singe her back.
She was supposed to be the tough one. The warrior. Their protector. In the end, however, she couldn't even do that. She would die a pathetic coward.
She had found her after only a brief search. Of course she did. She was ruthless and knew her better than she herself did.
Though she dug her heels in and glared as she attempted to get her to join her, it was ultimately for naught. The refusal had barely left her lips before an explosion of fire and flame engulfed her.
The last thing she felt was burning.
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"Hey…"
"...Are you-"
"Come on!"
"WAKE UP!"
Blake's eyes flew open as she gasped for air. The burning was gone, but her soul felt… different. As if it had itself been infused with that inferno she had seen herself be consumed in.
But it wasn't her, was it?
As if to drive that point home, a specter appeared before her, its very essence seemed at least to partially burn. Her hair was short and choppy platinum blonde hair, and her eyes were a light blue, almost turquoise. Her body was muscular, the cut of the muscles on her arms visible thanks to her lack of sleeves on her black tunic. She also wore burnt orange trousers, and a pair of black boots.
She knelt in front of Blake, her eyes filled with a burning intensity. "Are you finally awake?" She sounded impatient, and as Blake tried to respond, she simply grunted. "Good. We have a lot of work to do, Blake Belladonna."
The specter disappeared in ethereal flame, and Blake could only mutter out, "Who… what… are you?"
The specter spoke, now in her head. "I am Meghara Kadmon. Now get up, we've got a witch to burn."
"W-Wait, sl-slow down…" Blake managed out. "You still haven't told me what you are, and what was that… that vision? I could feel the heat in my bones! It was… it was…" Blake struggled to describe it, hugging herself as she looked down.
Meghara's voice softened somewhat as she relented to Blake's request. "Okay, fine. I guess we can't really get to work on that anytime soon anyway. So, I'll start from the beginning…"
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Ruby was like a kid in a candy store!
There was so much interesting stuff all around the mansion, like display cases that showed off different kinds of weapons! Besides that, the paintings and the general feel of the place was amazing and filled her with wonder and curiosity in equal measures.
She had always been on Yang's side for going on this excursion, not because she thought it was the greatest idea ever made, but because her own curiosity was simply too much to cope with. Besides, it's not like they were stealing anything! They were just looking around and then leaving once they'd seen all they wanted to. There wasn't any harm in that!
Or, at least, what Professor Ozpin didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Most rooms only got a passing look before she moved on, knowing that she shouldn't take too long with her exploration. Besides, speed was kinda her thing, so it didn't take much for her to be satisfied with what she had seen from one room and then move on to the next.
Eventually, however, she came across a room that demanded more of her attention.
Namely, an absolutely massive bookroom. It had rows of books in shelves placed against the walls, with all of it seeming to frame the center of the room, which featured an emerald green armchair and a fireplace.
Contrary to popular belief, Ruby actually did like books. She just usually didn't like how long it took to read them. That didn't mean she couldn't appreciate them! Even if most of the time it came in the form of her listening to audiobooks instead of reading actual print and paper. Still, if nothing else, she could look at some of the titles and tell Blake about them so she could check it out before they left.
She stepped into the large room, closing the door behind her as she looked around and began to look at different titles, sometimes pulling them out and reading the back or a few pages before putting them back where she had found them.
After some searching around, however, her vision caught sight of something peculiar.
First, an amulet that seemed to be fashioned after a wolf, its metal entirely in the shape of a wolf's head, and the eyes were two small rubies. Second, for some reason, an… air fryer? It was shaped like a convection oven and left unplugged in a corner, the amulet placed on a shelf next to it, but it was there.
Ruby shook her head and decided that the air fryer was far less interesting than the amulet with two of her namesake embedded in it. She walked up to it and picked it up, marveling at how beautiful it looked, and how it shined in the light, almost as if the eyes of the wolf were glowing!
It took her a moment to realize they were actually glowing. And not a moment after she noticed that she heard howling. She turned around with a furrowed brow and gasped as she saw three spectral wolves bounding around the room. They howled excitedly, as if something had made them happy.
Then, they began to move faster, all in a circle. A trail of blue magical particles was left behind each of them as they did, and after just a moment more the magic began to form something of a tornado of blue fire and dark purple energy. Ruby was ready to run, but that was when the fire abated with a sudden burst of light, making Ruby shield her eyes.
When she opened them, she gasped at what she saw.
Standing in the circle as the wolves all laid at her feet and looked at Ruby, was a girl that was slightly transparent, with a purple aura surrounding her. She was fair skinned and had pale blue eyes, long platinum blonde hair that stopped above her waist and symmetrically framed her face. She was petite, much like Ruby was, and she wore an ankle length black dress with dark blue accents with long sleeves, an overbust corset, tight cuffs, and a high collar. She wore black stockings as well, and finished it with black dress shoes.
Her hands were on some sort of walking cane that was placed in front of her as she looked at Ruby, an overjoyed smile across her face. "Finally! Five thousand years without being able to see Wolfie, Spot, and Growl… and without being able to do anything!" She shook her head. "That is no life." She seemed to realize she had forgotten something, and so the cane in her hands vanished and she curtsied. "A pleasure to meet you, Ruby Rose. I have a question for you." She looked at the air fryer. "What is that? It… fascinates me."
Ruby had trouble forming a sentence, but she eventually said, "It's… an air fryer. It cooks things with… science stuff or something."
The girl tilted her head, clearly fascinated by it. "We simply must take it with us! I need to see it in action."
Ruby waved her hands in front of her. "W-Wait! First of all, no stealing from Professor Ozpin! Second, who are you? What are you? A ghost? Some sort of spirit? Some magical wolf ancestor made human?"
The girl blinked, finally realizing she hadn't introduced herself. "I am Persephone Kadmon, daughter of the great King Ozma. And, it seems that you are very confused. It is only polite that I explain everything to you." She cleared her throat and began…
"A long time ago, there was a great kingdom…"
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After some time and many questions, the four girls all felt as if they'd gotten some kind of grasp on the situation at hand.
Weiss, now sitting in much the same spot Vesta had been sitting, and with the hat still atop her head, rubbed her chin. "Okay, so… you and three sisters were princesses of a kingdom called Everday and daughters to a king who was called 'Ozma', five thousand years ago…"
In the office, Yang tried to block out the sound of the clocks ticking as she looked at the plant on the window cill. "And you guys had a mother named 'Salem', and she was pretty chill until one day when she flew off her rocker."
In the spare room Blake, who was still sitting against the wall but now had relaxed somewhat, said, "And so you guys ended up getting into a fight with your mom. And since all of you are actually magic it was pretty… explosive. Your sisters and Ozma died first, and you tried to get away, but Salem caught you and… burned you alive."
Ruby, pacing in the bookroom, rubbed her chin. "And then your souls somehow bonded with items that were super important to each of you, and your father, who is now Professor Ozpin, has kept them for thousands of years without ever realizing that they held your souls in them?"
Persephone, who was no longer in sight, spoke in Ruby's head, "That is correct. We were unable to communicate with him, or with each other, but I deduced that they were in them, as I was in the amulet. Now, however, my soul is no longer bonded to the amulet. It's bonded to you. Our very souls are in the process of joining."
Ruby didn't like the sound of that, but then her heart dropped as her eyes widened and she said, "Oh Gods, there are other souls! The others, I have to find them!" She kept the wolf necklace on her, around her neck, and used her semblance to dash to the front of the mansion.
Upon arriving in the foyer, she found she was the first one to arrive, which meant she immediately turned to one of the other halls.
Just as she was about to start flying down though, she heard three pairs of footsteps. She looked at the hallways and saw each of them approaching at a fast pace. Ruby would have been relieved, if she didn't see what each of them was carrying with them. Instead, her heart sank as she noticed Weiss wearing a large witch hat, Blake carrying a wooden sword with her, and Yang with a hand mirror firmly in her grip.
As they converged, Weiss seemed to reach the same conclusion Ruby herself did. She frowned slightly as she came to a stop and crossed her arms over her chest. "Let me guess. Each of you found a strange object that ended up having the soul of a five thousand year old girl in it." They all nodded, so Weiss sighed. "And now each of our souls are, as far as we know, merging with them, and becoming one and the same." Again, they all nodded. So, Weiss rubbed her forehead, hiding her own fright at this situation in favor of trying to learn more. "So… how about we introduce our new… friends? Or, rather, let them introduce themselves."
After a beat, Weiss tilted her head. "You all do know you can let the other take control while you watch what's going on, right?"
The other three shook their heads, and Yang asked, "...How did you figure that out so quickly?"
Weiss scratched her cheek, suddenly feeling ever so slightly self-conscious. "I… don't know. Vesta and I… we just kind of… mesh well. So it's coming naturally to me."
"Vesta…" Blake muttered, half in recognition and half as if it was entirely new information that she was just trying to say for the first time. "Okay. Then, let's… do that. One at a time. Weiss, since you seem so… in tune, you can go first."
Weiss nodded and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and looking down as she concentrated. Then, a sky blue energy radiated throughout her body as her head and hair lifted slightly. When it settled and the energy dissipated, she opened her eyes again, but the others could tell they were not strictly her eyes. Now they had blotches of brown speckled throughout, like the earth under the sky. Her voice was a strange mixture between Weiss' and a voice the others had never heard before at first. "Hello!" The girl, Vesta, smiled through Weiss. It was a smile that looked somehow familiar and not on the Schnee heiress at the same time, gentle and self-assured. "I am Vesta Kadmon, the eldest princess of Everday and Queen of the Clouds."
The other three looked at her, wide-eyed, and yet Vesta didn't seem put off by their shock. Instead, she nodded her head. "I understand that this is all very strange, for everyone involved. I'm sure that we can figure things out, though." Her smile turned downward as she adopted a chastising look that very much belonged on Weiss' face. "As soon as all of you apologize to my father for breaking into his home. I'm not familiar with the laws of this land, but I'm sure that breaking and entering is still illegal five thousand years later."
Ruby and Yang both looked away awkwardly, before Ruby looked back and smiled uneasily. "It's… nice to meet you, Besta—I mean, Vesta. I'm Ruby Rose, this is Yang, and that's Blake." She gestured to the other two. "So… how do you feel about all of this?"
Vesta hummed, looking down. "It's strange. Not at all what I expected to happen. Yet, maybe this was inevitable. Eventually someone that our souls deemed compatible enough would take hold of the artifacts we'd been stowed in, and when that happened… well, you know." She shrugged. "But we'll have more time to talk and get to know each other later. I'll give Weiss back control, and whoever comes next may introduce themself."
Weiss' eyes glowed and she relaxed, although her stance remained basically the same as it had been before. "Okay… that's going to take some getting used to." She looked at the others. "Who's next?"
Yang groaned as she rubbed her forehead, muttering to herself, "Alright, alright! I'll let you take control. Just don't do anything too weird!"
The other three turned their attention to Yang as she clenched her fists and closed her eyes, looking down. Then, much like Weiss, an energy formed around her as she looked up at the ceiling, though this energy was pink instead of blue, and her eyes began speckled with green. And unlike Vesta and Weiss, who seemed almost seamless in their posture and way of behaving, Yang's body language changed greatly. She grinned a smile that looked way too cheerful and blissful to belong to Yang, it looked more like it belonged to the kind of person people assumed Yang was just at a glance.
As if to drive it home, she raised a hand and waved excitedly as her voice and Yang's voice intermingled and she said, "Heeyyy! Great to meet you guys! You all look so amazing! I knew that fashion had changed a lot over the years, but this is something else!" She placed a hand on her hip and cocked it slightly. "I'm Venus Kadmon, second eldest princess of Everday." She rubbed her chin and gained a faux contemplative luck. "Uhm… what was it that Vesta did? Oh right! Gave herself a cool title!" She grinned and placed a hand on her chest as she closed her eyes pridefully. "I am Queen of the Blooming Harvest, and of Love Eternal!"
Venus seemed way more talkative and excitable than Vesta, as she hummed. "To introduce myself, hmmm… I like singing, plants, talking to people, diplomacy, and boys! Oh…" She trailed off with a dreamy smile. "I wonder what kinds of cute boys we'll meet…"
Ruby looked horrified, because she knew that Yang hated this kind of girl. Partly because she thought they were all vapid and shallow, and partially because people always assumed she was one of them. She definitely wasn't going to have a fun time with this… Not that there was much of a reason for this to be fun to begin with. Ruby cleared her throat. "Uhh, nice to meet you Venus." She smiled awkwardly. "I'm sure you already heard our names, soo…"
Blake smiled awkwardly as she waved at Venus. "Nice to, uhm… meet you?" She struggled to say that, mostly because she wasn't entirely sure it was true.
Meanwhile, Weiss cleared her throat. "A pleasure, Venus, I'm happy to make your acquaintance. Now… I think it's time to move forward."
Venus huffed and pouted, another move that was incredibly jarring to see on Yang. "Okay okay, I guess we will have more time to gossip later."
Her eyes flashed and immediately Yang changed her posture, straightening and dusting her clothes off while shuddering. "That was… ugh." She shuddered. "Hate that." She looked at the others. "So, uh… let's move on! Who's next?"
The others really didn't want to unpack whatever was happening there anymore than Yang did, so instead they closed the box and kicked it under the bed. Blake shrugged slightly. "Guess I'll go next. My, uhh… roommate has been wanting to introduce herself." She closed her eyes and looked down, and the energy that surrounded her glowed red. She opened her eyes, and they were speckled with turquoise.
Her posture shifted, from Blake's usually understated position to a more… tough-girl one. Her stance widened and she crossed her arms. "Hey." The voices mingled again, with the one that wasn't Blake's sounding more… tomboyish. "I'm Meghara Kadmon, the third princess of Everday and, uhh…" She sighed at the idea of coming up with some sort of title for herself, so she just shrugged. "Queen of Asskicking and Hellfire." She chuckled. "I like the sound of that… Anyway, Vesta didn't talk about what she liked, but Venus did, so I guess I'll meet halfway. I like fighting." She gave a simple and fairly one-dimensional thing, but the other girls couldn't help but feel like there was something up with Meghara, like she was putting up this tough girl front to hide something else.
What was it, though? There was simply no telling. Meghara nodded to the three of them. "Anyway, I don't like just sitting around shooting the shit too much when there's other stuff to do, so I'm going to give Blake the controls back. Good to uh.. Meet you all, I guess. Ruby, Weiss, Yang."
She then closed her eyes and relinquished control. Blake opened her eyes and sighed, rolling her shoulders. "That really was weird… but I guess it fits all the stories I've read with body-sharing plots."
Now all eyes were on Ruby, and so she rubbed the back of her neck before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Magical energy enveloped her like it had the others, this time an astral purple. She adopted a far more refined posture as she opened her eyes, now muddied blue, and clasped her hands in front of her, kept low. "A pleasure to meet all of you." The voice that mingled with Ruby's sounded refined and almost regal. More so than the others. "I am Persephone Kadmon, the fourth princess of Everday and Queen of the Astral Realm!" She smiled brightly at the title, the smile still just a bit too polite to be Ruby's. "It is a great joy to meet all of you, you seem like lovely people. As for what I like… I like animals and studying the most." She tilted her head slightly. "It has been too long for me to say exactly what else I like, because I am not really sure anymore."
Yang now understood how the others must have felt looking at her behaving so out of character. It was one thing with Weiss acting… almost the same, and Blake becoming a bit more… however you'd describe Meghara, but Ruby? That was her sister, and knowing she was currently just in the passenger seat of her own body was a feeling that she wasn't sure she'd ever get used to. "So, uh…" She cleared her throat. "Persephone. You're the youngest… how old were you when you… died, exactly?"
She rubbed her chin in contemplation. "I am not younger by that many years, just a couple. I was about fifteen when I died. Vesta was eighteen, Venus was seventeen, and Meghara was sixteen. Our parents did not take any breaks until they had all four of us, it seems." She smiled softly, gaining a forlorn look in her eyes. "Life was not bad, back then. It all just… ended one day. In smoke and ashes." She closed her eyes and lowered her head. "But that is neither here nor there." She opened her eyes again and looked at the other three. "We are here now, and that is what truly matters."
She cleared her throat. "Now, I bid you adieu. I simply cannot wait until our next meeting!" She smiled and curtsied, which looked so incredibly strange when Ruby did it. Then her eyes glowed and Ruby relaxed. "Man… that's gonna take some getting used to."
Weiss sighed. "Okay, now that we've all met our new… 'friends', we should really get back to Beacon." She dusted off her dress. "It would be catastrophic if Professor Ozpin-"
And that was the precise moment the door opened.
All four girls froze up as they slowly turned their heads towards the door. Sure enough, Professor Ozpin was standing there, wide-eyed, with Professor Goodwitch only a few feet back. "Girls." Ozpin blinked a few times, getting over his shock and smiling slightly. "If you wanted a tour, then you should have just asked."
The fact that he wasn't angry was a good sign, although Professor Goodwitch looked a lot more upset than he did. The four girls shared a look before Ruby sighed and cleared her throat. "Professor Ozpin, uhm… there's some people who really want to talk to you." Ozpin's confusion was clear, but Ruby knew that this was going to do far more than just confuse him.
One by one, the girls closed their eyes. Then, one by one, they opened them and they shined with magical energy in much the same order they had gone before. Sky blue, pink, red, and midnight blue. Ozpin's eyes widened, but before he could ask what was happening, all four girls lunged at him and wrapped him in a hug, almost knocking him over as they all shouted, "Father!" with voices intermingled between Team RWBY and the Princesses of Oz.
As Ozpin's eyes widened further in shock and he opened his mouth to speak, he seemed to be at a loss for words.
And then, abruptly, he passed out.
/-/
Ozma. Ozcar. Ozymandias. Ozel.
Lucian Ozpin.
Just a few of the names he had taken in his long, long life. Just a few of the faces he had worn, and the roles he had taken up. Just a few of the people who had their worlds upended in one way or another, and who devoted themselves to the goal he had been brought back to complete.
Unite humanity. Defeat Salem. Show the gods that humanity was worth saving.
On this path, as the lives he had lived, for the people whose prayers he had tried his hardest to answer, he fought. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes humanity came out better for his efforts.
But just as often, if not more often, he had failed. He had made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on the planet, and that would continue to be the case forevermore.
Yet, of his countless mistakes, there was one mistake that had haunted him the greatest, and no matter the life, he thought of it.
The fires that burned, their faces as they fought the inevitable, the way he tried to save them. The way he failed. The way Everday fell into eternal night.
He saw him. Who he was. Standing with his head lowered. Light brown skin, platinum blonde hair, an ornate outfit that was now tattered. A fallen god.
But the last thing he had expected was for his greatest mistake to come back to haunt him yet again.
The Pretend God raised his head, tears streaming down his face. "Go, Ozpin." He managed through the cacophony of souls that made all of him. "...Set things right."
/-/
Ozpin wondered if he had dreamed that whole day as he slowly regained consciousness. For the thousands of years he had lived, he hadn't passed out like that in at least three lifetimes.
Not out of shock, at least.
His thoughts of having dreamt it all, however, were thrown out as he heard Team RWBY talking to Glynda.
Exact words were hard to make out at first, but it was clear Glynda was stuck somewhere between scolding them for sneaking into the mansion and trying to figure out what had actually happened.
He realized that he was on his bed, and rubbed his forehead before sitting up. The girls and Glynda all looked at him, with Glynda sighing in relief. "Oh, thank the gods. I was worried you were going to be out for much longer."
Ozpin shook his head as he got out of bed and stood again. He looked at them all and took a deep breath. "I wasn't dreaming that, was I?" As all of Team RWBY shook their heads, Ozpin took yet another deep breath and tried to control his emotions. "Okay… now. Explain how this happened."
And so they spent the next few minutes explaining what had happened. They wanted to see what his house looked like, so they snuck in, then they each found a peculiar item that they grabbed and got… fused? With the souls of his first daughters.
Were he any other man, he would have screamed.
…Hell, he really wished he could. Once they were finished explaining, he tried to wrestle with the torrent of emotions in his heart. "Okay… Vesta, Venus, Meghara, and Persephone are all… alive, and have merged with all four of you. Let's go back to Beacon Tower and try to learn more about this so we can make a plan on how best to move forward." He was torn, because on one hand, he was overjoyed that his daughters still lived in some capacity, and their magic would be a boon greater than any other in the future. On the other hand, they had merged with RWBY, and there was no telling if they were going to become one person over time like he did with his incarnations.
He had ample time to consider the possibility as they all left his home and returned to Beacon. No words were exchanged, although it was clear that the girls were having some kind of internal conversation with their respective merged soul. He knew the kind of look, spacing out while still holding some awareness of their surroundings as their eyes flitted around.
'At least they learned that they can speak internally to them.' Ozpin thought. 'It wouldn't do for them to appear to be talking to themselves out loud all the time.'
When they finally made it back to Beacon, specifically to his office, he took a seat at his desk and sighed. Glynda took his cup and went to put some hot chocolate in it, which he thanked her for, because he knew he was going to need it.
"Now, girls…" Ozpin began, looking at them all, each holding or otherwise in possession of the artifact that had merged their souls. "What exactly do you know now? Give me all of the details."
Weiss was the one to speak, her arms crossed and the hat on her head fixed to be tilted slightly, in line with her ponytail. "We know that you're apparently immortal. Some… reincarnating wizard?" She rubbed her forehead. "I wouldn't believe it if I didn't have Vesta in my head. We know magic is real. Another thing that has just gleefully shattered my world and left me to pick up the pieces."
Ruby picked up, idly toying with the necklace that now adorned her neck. "We know that there's an evil witch named Salem who apparently you had your daughters with, and that she… killed them. And you." She looked away, clearly having her own existential crisis. "And here I thought that kind of stuff was just in the fairytales…"
"I know that Meghara wants blood." Blake nodded slightly. "Specifically her mother's, or as she calls her, 'The Wicked Bitch of the West', but she also just really wants to beat some Grimm up. I've been trying to tell her to relax, but she hasn't."
Yang, who had been in a perpetual state of annoyance this whole time, groaned. "Gods, Blake, why did you get the cool fighting girl and I got the airheaded blonde? Someone is laughing at me, I can tell." Yang frowned deeply. "If I ever meet whatever being of fate made this happen, I'm kicking their ass."
Ozpin nodded along to their explanations, before asking his next question, "And… I feel this is a bygone conclusion, but are each of you now in possession of magic?"
Rather than simply respond, each girl decided to just demonstrate. Weiss held up her hand, and several balls of magical energy of each element (including that of raw magic), orbited above her palm. Ruby tried to do the same thing, and even though she could, she clearly got bored of it and instead whistled, creating a spectral direwolf that appeared in front of her and howled.
Yang huffed and held up her hand, demonstrating as it got covered in leafy vines. Meanwhile, Blake drew her weapon and demonstrated it coated in fire magic, while her body seemed to be somewhat enveloped in the fire as well, though it proved harmless to her.
Ozpin took in their demonstrations, trying not to pass out again at seeing each of his daughters' signature love for specific (or in Vesta's case, nonspecific) forms of magic for the first time in five thousand years. Yet, he didn't. Instead, as Glynda was coming back, he said, "Glynda, can you please fetch the good wine as well?" Glynda looked at each girl's demonstration of magic, and seemed to be really wanting a drink now as well. So she nodded and left again.
He looked at the girls as they ended their display and sighed. "Okay. Each of you not only seems to have gained the full magical capabilities of my daughters, but their preference for specific types of magic as well." And his daughters had such powerful magic that Maidens looked like school girls in comparison. They had simply never mastered them to the point that they needed to, and now Team RWBY would finish what had been started. "They were not masters of magic, only apprentices, but their skill will still come to you naturally as time goes on." He thought so at least, he really didn't know how similar this situation was to his own reincarnations.
That was another matter…
He leaned forward. "We also aren't sure the extent of this… merge. We will need each of you to keep an eye on each other for more visible changes to your personalities or tastes. I will see you on each weekday as well, as I will fit in some… extracurricular lessons into your schedule." As they groaned, he couldn't help but smirk. "Worry not. This will be for learning magic. I believe each of you has an interest in that." Indeed, all of them perked up at that. "Now, for the last matter… I am forbidding Team RWBY from taking on any missions, participating in combat class, or participating in the chaperoned mission that will take place in two weeks."
Each of them protested this in their own way, looking very much distraught, but they quieted down as he raised a hand. "We must keep the existence of magic secret from everyone. The knowledge of its existence would make each of you targets to a large number of people, and reveal your existence to Salem, who is very much still alive. Until I know that you have enough control over it to not accidentally use it, or are at least capable of masking its use, it is far too risky to allow you to go onto the field."
Each of them deflated, because they knew he was right. Weiss looked at him with a sad and curious expression. "Then… What are we supposed to do? We need something to keep us busy that isn't just learning!" She crossed her arms and huffed. "As much as I love studying, I'm all too aware that only studying and not taking breaks can dull the mind."
Ozpin thought for a moment, before smiling. "I'll send a message to each of your Scrolls with a new… special assignment that you will be partaking in. Hopefully it will keep you occupied in a way that doesn't involve school, while still being productive. For now… you are free to return to your dorm. I'm sure each of you would like to get some rest."
The girls all left after that, each one still looking confused and uncertain on what to make of today's events. Ozpin himself was right there with them. When Glynda returned, carrying a bottle of wine and two mugs filled only halfway with beverages, Ozpin smiled at her and took the bottle, before promptly uncorking it and pouring some into his mug full of hot chocolate and drinking it.
Glynda looked at him curiously. "Does that… taste good?" She intended on doing it as well, but she had coffee, which was far more acceptable to mix with alcohol than… hot chocolate.
Ozpin finished drinking some of it and looked at it with a smile. Then he spoke in an all too positive tone as he said, "No."
He then promptly poured more into his mug.
/-/
As Team RWBY got back to their dorm, each had their own idea of what to do.
Ruby sat on her bed and pulled out her Scroll, beginning to play games on it. As she did, she heard Persephone in her mind say, "Technology is really marvelous… but why are you simply playing games? We could be reading and studying." To which, Ruby made a face and shook her head. 'No! I'm not studying! I just want to relax and play games.'
Weiss grabbed a book she had been reading and settled down on her bed, starting to read. Vesta seemed intrigued by it. "Oh, that story looks fascinating. Do you mind starting from the beginning so I can read along?" Weiss smiled slightly and did just that, thinking, 'Not at all. I'm glad to learn that you're a woman of culture.'
Blake also grabbed a book, Ninja's of Love, and started reading while sitting on her bed. To which, Meghara said, "Reading? We could be training. From what I've been able to gather, there are things called 'gyms' where you can lift weights and get stronger. Why aren't we there?" Blake rolled her eyes and tried her best to ignore the voice in her head.
Yang flopped onto her bed with a groan, lazily checking her messages to see if she'd gotten any. The group chat RWBY and JNPR shared had a few messages. One of which was Jaune commenting on an earlier discussion. As she looked at Jaune's profile picture, which was just a picture of himself, she heard Venus gasp (somehow), "Oh my gods, he looks so cute! We've gotta make him our boyfriend!" To which Yang groaned again and thought, 'Shut uuppp, I'm not going to just ask Jaune out out of nowhere! Besides, he likes Weiss!' Yang already had to deal with her overwhelming guilt on getting them into this mess in the first place, she wasn't going to start randomly hitting on her friend!
…Even if he was cute.
As the evening wore on, each of them found themselves settling into their new lives with… varying levels of comfort. Really, the only person who seemed content in all of this was Weiss. Their whole worlds had been upended, their assumptions shattered like glass and reforged into some new, broader understanding. What would come next? Who was to say? It seemed that the sky was the limit. Hell, with magic, maybe the sky couldn't even hold them anymore.
They didn't know. They wouldn't know, not for a long time. All they could do was keep the questions in their mind. What did this mean for their understanding of the world? Who was Salem? How did they learn to use magic better? If four was a crowd, then what did that make eight? These questions remained stuck to them like bugs to literally anything.
All they could do was try to busy themselves with distractions, and Weiss continued to wonder what it was that Ozpin had planned for them.
It was only later in the afternoon when each of them got a message from Ozpin himself.
"Dear Team RWBY,
I have made a few arrangements to make sure you would have something to occupy your time for the next few weeks. I had initially intended to get another team to take care of it, but I believe that it's the perfect distraction for all of you. It will take coordination and thought, but I know that you all can handle it perfectly well.
You will be organizing Beacon's Vytal Dance, which will be held the day before teams are set to leave for their missions. You will have two weeks to decide and prepare everything you need to, and Beacon will pay for everything that you need for this.
Good luck,
Professor Ozpin."
Weiss grinned joyously. Ruby looked confused. Yang grinned, looking forward to a good party, while Blake just shrugged and closed her scroll.
Their problems could be forgotten just for a while longer. Now?
They had a lot of planning to do.