Authors Note: Bit longer than my standard chapter, hope y'all enjoy.
Beta: GeneralMayhem, kpmh2001
Beacon had always been symbolic to Pyrrha. It had been her chance to escape the weight of her fame, a symbol of freedom. She had hoped to make friends, real friends who didn't just want her for her name, but she hadn't held any expectations. Her wildest dreams hadn't even come close to what Beacon had ended up giving her.
Pyrrha had made more friends in her short months at Beacon than she had in years back home in Mistral. Friends that she trusted and was able to be herself around. Family. Beacon was a symbol of the life she had come to love and everything that she was willing to train so hard to protect.
It was also remarkably boring alone.
She had spent much of her life alone, not by choice, but she had adapted. She had slowly grown used to the fact. After meeting her friends and team however, it became painfully obvious just how much she despised being alone. She wanted to see her friends, to joke with her team and laugh at Nora's shenanigans, but none of that was currently an option.
Beacon represented everything that she wanted to protect and save, but the days had begun to blend together. Her body was in a permanent state of exhaustion and soreness, her mind set on the one task at hand.
Despite her best efforts, the work was slow. She had made far more progress with the Maiden powers. She was able to manifest some basic attacks now, with complete control of the small amount she used. It wasn't anything like what she had seen Cinder do, but Ozpin had assured her that given time Pyrrha would far surpass anything her enemy could manage. She only hoped they had the time.
That small amount of improvement didn't make her feel any less ashamed of herself for having failed his test, nor the daunting possibility that she wouldn't be ready for when Cinder arrived. It only served as a reminder for why she had to work so hard.
Today was different however. Ozpin had invited her to a meeting with Qrow and Miss Goodwitch about 'moving forward'. The Headmaster had kept his words vague but it didn't take knowledge of the future to know what that meant. They were going to start acting on that knowledge.
Unfortunately Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch were both busy at the moment, since it was a school after all. They were set to meet after classes had concluded for the day. She just had to make it through the rest of the day and she would finally know what the plan was. The anticipation had been building all morning and, in a desperate attempt to distract herself and make the day go by just a little bit faster, she had spent the majority of it in the gym.
While she hadn't been the only one in the gym when she started, as the school day began the other students had cleared out leaving her alone for the most part.
That was, until now.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile so much." Coco looked down at her with a slight smirk, hands resting on the bench press Pyrrha was currently using. Technically she was spotting her but she didn't appear to be paying it much attention. When exactly Coco and her partner Fox had arrived, Pyrrha couldn't say, but she had been holding a rather one way conversation for the better part of an hour. "What's got you in such a great mood?"
The comment made Pyrrha scowl slightly. She had always been good at putting on a mask in front of people she didn't know, she'd gotten so good at it in fact that it had almost become subconscious. Had her time with her friends really changed her that much? Or was Coco just unusually perceptive?
She ignored Coco's question and returned one of her own. "Why are you here?"
"Study periods for the rest of the day." Fox offered from beside her.
"Then shouldn't you... be off studying?" Pyrrha spoke between clenched teeth as she attempted to push past the burning in her arms. She was close to done with her current set but she was quickly realizing she may have underestimated the weight.
"It's practically the end of the year," Coco explained. "All the important stuff is already over with. There isn't really all that much left to study for."
"You could get a jump start on next year."
"You would be one of those kinds of students." Pyrrha looked on with a deadpan expression. "Oh come on, it can't all be about studying and training. What's the point in having a body like yours if you aren't gonna go have some fun with it?"
Pyrrha's scowl quickly turned into a blush as she went back to focusing on her workout, attempting to ignore the fact that she couldn't tell where Coco was looking with her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses. She racked the bar and sat up a moment later.
Coco looked back towards Fox and, after a moment of silence, he spoke. "You're done already?"
Pyrrha raised one eyebrow. "Already? I've been here since this morning."
"He was being sarcastic." Coco filled her in.
Pyrrha turned away attempting to hide her embarrassment. "I knew that."
"Uh-huh, sure you did." Coco stepped around the bench to stand in front of her. "Now that you're done, you should come hang out with us for a bit."
Pyrrha was hesitant, she still had work to do and she had to start getting ready for the meeting later. A quick glance at the clock on the wall indicated it was nowhere near soon enough, the meeting still being hours away. "I... don't know."
"You don't have to make it sound like I'm taking you to a firing squad." Coco smirked softly. "We're just gonna hang out at one of the restaurants in the CCT mall." She waited a moment. "Come on, it'll be fun."
Pyrrha sighed. "Let me just… change first."
Coco smiled, looking very pleased with herself before turning to face her partner. "See, I told you she'd cave." Fox didn't say anything in response, simply staring at his partner for a few long seconds before Coco looked away with a huff.
"I won't be long." Pyrrha made her way to the locker rooms attached to the gym. It didn't take her long to shower and change, she elected to wear the school uniform, not quite feeling comfortable wearing the clothing Amber had left behind. She was forced to take a moment to compose herself in the mirror, her eyes falling to her most distinctive feature. The scar on her face.
Social interaction wasn't her strong suit and it was surprisingly difficult to bring up the fake smile she had used for so much of her life. Despite her best effort, all she could manage in the end was a halfhearted expression that she hoped nobody took the wrong way.
"Took you long enough." Coco remarked as she finally stepped out of the locker room. Lowering her sunglasses as she took note of what Pyrrha was wearing. "Really? That's what you wear when you're not working out?" Coco again looked back towards her partner, sighing after another long silence. "Come on, Velvet and Yats are already waiting for us." She turned and started off, Fox following shortly after. With one final deep breath, Pyrrha joined them.
The CCT was one of, if not the single, most important buildings in the entire Kingdom. The fact that most long distance calls had to be made from inside the tower meant that it was also constantly bustling with people coming and going. Logically, then, it should have been some place accessible and in the city, some place most people could get to with little difficulty. Instead, it was located just outside Beacons main school grounds, but still within the school's overall campus.
None of the students complained of course, and she hadn't ever heard about complaints from the civilians that came to use it either, but it was always something she found odd. A side effect of the large amount of traffic was the numerous businesses that popped up to support them. The CCT "Mall" was small, especially compared to the Vale Central Mall in the city, but it offered a number of services for not only the people coming to use the CCT, but the students of Beacon as well.
One of those services just so happened to be a small dinner Nora had dragged them to a few times in her past life. Her friend had always loved the food there, most notably the pancakes, but Ren had said she actually did it because she liked doing things with the team. They'd made it a sort of tradition to go out every Friday, though not always to the dinner.
Team bonding like that was what Pyrrha missed most, she still smiled at the memories of those nights. Said smiles didn't last however, as she was always reminded that she would have to wait months before she could do them again.
Coco and Fox both had their backs to her as they walked, though Coco did occasionally look over her shoulder to check that she was still following them. The dinner was fairly empty since it was still mid day, the lunch rush having just ended if she had to guess correctly. She noticed Velvet wave for them from a booth tucked away in the back corner.
"I was wondering what was taking you so long." Pyrrha hadn't gotten to know Yatsuhashi much in her past life, much like the rest of his team, but she had at least been familiar with them. One of the things she had been able to gather was that he wasn't trying to be as intimidating as his height and size would suggest. He tried for a polite smile that no doubt didn't look as friendly as he meant it to. "It's good to see you again Amber."
"It took awhile to convince this one to come along." Coco gestured towards her and slid into the booth next to Velvet, Fox moving to sit next to Yatsuhashi. Pyrrha awkwardly pulled a chair from a nearby table, taking a seat and folding her hands on top of the table. "Apparently half the day in the gym isn't enough."
"She was still there?" Velvet asked the question to Coco, face glowing red a moment later as she turned to look at Pyrrha, whose face was equally as embarrassed. "I-I meant, um-we saw you there this morning before class, I just thought it was odd is all."
Pyrrha laughed awkwardly. "I just… didn't have much else to do today."
"Sounds pretty boring to me." Fox said.
"Y-yeah, well, like I said, I didn't have much else to do."
Silence fell over the group and for a moment Pyrrha thought about excusing herself before a waitress came over to give them all menus. They remained silent as they all decided what to order and Pyrrha kicked herself mentally for ruining the mood. When the waitress returned she only ordered a small salad.
Team CFVY was not impressed, though Coco was the only one to vocalize that fact. "Really, that's it?"
"I don't have much Lien, so it's all I can really afford." Pyrrha sighed. "I usually just eat at the cafeteria." Beacon's cafeteria was surprisingly well stocked, though not the most diverse in terms of food. It was mostly all healthy food that would help students restrain themselves from eating too unhealthily.
"Don't worry about it." Coco waved off her concerns. "Get whatever you want, I'm buying."
Pyrrha shook her head. "I appreciate the offer but I can't-"
"Bah, I'm paying. That's the end of it." Coco looked up to the waitress. "She'll take a burger with a side of fries and a shake."
She was about to object before Velvet interrupted her. "Coco can be stubborn when she sets her mind to something, it's best to just let her pay and try to make it up to her later." After a moment of thought, Pyrrha sighed and allowed it.
Once the waitress had left the awkward silence returned, though this time team CFVY kept looking between each other. She'd heard about teams of Huntsmen and Huntresses being able to understand each other without words but that was usually older teams, and never to such an extent. She was sure there was something else going on but decided not to say anything on the matter. That would be rude, especially after Coco had offered to pay for her meal
As the staring continued, Fox shook his head and turned in her direction. "How long have you been at Beacon?"
"I, um…" Pyrrha was caught off guard by the sudden question but recovered quickly. "This is my first year here."
"It's just that," Yatsuhashi interjected. "We haven't seen you around at all."
"I… try to avoid attention." Pyrrha explained. "I'm not really a fan of people watching me anymore." It was the truth, she hadn't ever gotten the hype of being the center of attention, but it had only gotten worse as her career in fighting went on. People started treating her differently and watching on with awed gazes, it was nice at first, but it quickly became clear they couldn't see her as a normal person.
"Is it…" Velvet seemed hesitant to ask her question. "Because of your scar?"
There was also that. One of the things she'd struggled with was her new appearance. She had never been the most confident person outside the ring but now that she wasn't even in her own body it was even worse. Combine that with the fact that anybody who looked at her for more than a few seconds would inevitably focus on her face, Pyrrha's hatred of crowds had only grown. She nodded in response, looking down at the table so as to avoid their eyes.
"She has scars?" Fox asked.
Pyrrha looked up in confusion, for the first time noticing his completely white eyes. "Y-you're blind?" She didn't realize how rude that was until the words had already left her lips.
"Oh no, I'm blind?!" Fox looked shocked, clasping his hands over his eyes. "Why didn't anybody tell me!?" His team collectively rolled their eyes at his actions.
"I-I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologized as quickly as she could. "I shouldn't have said that, I-"
Coco cut her off. "He does that to everyone, he likes to set people up for it." Fox grinned slightly. "He thinks he's funny but he isn't." His grin fell as Coco smirked. "You'll get used to it."
Pyrrha chuckled halfheartedly. "I don't know about that."
The waitress returned with their food, offering Pyrrha the chance to politely avoid talking. Despite her initial protests, she found herself enjoying the less than nutritious meal. She knew that she'd have to make up for it later, but a large part of her was glad to eat something for the enjoyment of it.
Team CFVY joked and talked among themselves as they ate. More than once they drew her in with a question or to get her opinion on something, but they never forced her beyond what she was comfortable with. Eventually Coco and Velvet turned the conversation to clothes, causing the two male members of their team to talk about something else.
Before long, Coco was attempting to set up a day to go shopping so Pyrrha could get some 'actual' clothes. Velvet's frantic head shakes whenever Coco's head was turned didn't inspire much confidence.
Pyrrha straightened out her skirt as she waited for the elevator doors to open. The time for the meeting has come surprisingly quickly after she had met up with team CFVY and now she was struggling to hold back her anticipation.
The door opened and three sets of eyes looked over to her, the Headmaster smiled and welcomed her in.
"Miss Nikos, right on time." Miss Goodwitch simply nodded at her while Qrow offered a flick of his arm that might have been called a wave were she being generous. "Come, take a seat. There is much to discuss."
Pyrrha nodded and made her way over to the open chair a few feet away from Qrow. The Headmaster sat back down behind his desk while Miss Goodwitch hoovered a few feet off to the side, arms crossed and as vigilant as ever.
"Now then, as you all know, in light of recent revelations," Ozpin's eyes met Pyrrha's for the briefest of moments. "We've been forced to reassess our plans moving forward."
Qrow scoffed. "Because we had so many of those."
"I've already begun laying the groundwork for more security during the Vytal Festival. The council has agreed to increase our budget for this next year so that we can be prepared and I've begun to ensure some key elements are within the kingdom by then." The Headmaster nodded towards Qrow. "You've been investigating the White Fang these past weeks, what have you found?"
Pyrrha doubted that this was the first time Qrow had reported to the Headmaster on his findings, but she appreciated him asking for it to be shared while she was present.
"True to what Miss time traveler said, their actions have been ramping up across the city." Qrow explained. "They've just started those dust heists she mentioned as well, I placed a few calls and got some old friends to start looking into it. I doubt it'll do anything big but it might slow them down a bit. The current theory with the police is that Torchwick is acting up again, but a little independent investigating has proven otherwise."
"Torchwick is involved." Pyrrha said, she looked towards the Headmaster. "He had to have been working for Cinder from the start."
"That's certainly a possibility," The Headmaster leaned back in his chair. "Or he may have been acquired later, after he had proven capable of these heists."
"I doubt he was able to ally with the White Fang himself." Miss Goodwitch added.
"Of course not, Torchwick is far too… colorful, to have accomplished that, but do we have any proof the two are working together yet?" Ozpin turned his attention towards Qrow.
"No, not yet at least." Qrow scratched his chin. "So far the two groups seem to not be working together, Torchwick is using his typical crew of low lifes, but the target's the same either way."
Ozpin hummed. "We can't look past the possibility that he was a later acquisition. Please, continue."
"I managed to track down a few warehouses they might be using as storage for all the dust they plan to steal, but I haven't found any safe houses yet." Qrow looked her way. "Don't suppose you know of any?"
Pyrrha thought for a moment. "I know of one for sure, Team RWBY… decided to do a little bit of their own investigating." She winced at the betrayal of her friend's confidence.
"That's my nieces team, right?" Qrow asked.
Pyrrha nodded. "I might also know of a few more, but they had been abandoned when Blake went to look into them last time. There's also the base at Mountain Glenn to think about."
The Headmaster linked his hands in front of his face, thinking for a moment. "We need to act carefully, if we start to unravel every plan Salem has she will adapt and change them. We would lose our advantage."
Pyrrha was taken back. "So we do nothing?"
"We will take action, but we must choose when and how to do so." He explained. "Qrow, look into the location Miss Nikos knows of within the city and see if the White Fang have moved in yet."
Qrow nodded.
Pyrrha nodded as well, finally seeing a chance to make a difference. "I can help."
"No," Ozpin quickly shot her down. "It is best if you stay at Beacon and continue your training."
The words were like a hammer to her chest, for a moment she couldn't breath. "T-that's not fair!" She stood from her chair. "I have just as much right to go after them as Qrow does!"
"Miss Nikos, please understand, this is for your own safety."
"I…" Pyrrha tried to rein in her anger, knowing that the Headmaster likely had his reasoning. "Is this because I'm not strong enough?"
"My decision has nothing to do with anything on your part," Ozpin explained. "I have the utmost faith in your ability, but I also believe it would be an unnecessary risk. Qrow will more than be able to handle this."
Pyrrha looked back at the huntsmen who couldn't quite meet her eyes, instead he seemed to be watching Ozpin closely.
"Of course sir, I'm sorry for my outburst." Pyrrha sat back down.
"It's quite alright. I understand your desire to take action, truly I do, but you must understand how important it is you don't draw unwanted attention." The Headmaster's voice was somber.
Pyrrha nodded her head in understanding, but that didn't make the disappointment sting any less as she silently listened to the rest of the meeting.
Author's Note: Got a number of good reviews over the last few chapters but for some reason the reply link is benign kind of buggy for me and I wasn't able to respond. Probably due to my horrible internet connection but if that's the case, not much I can do. At any rate, I still read your reviews. I just wasn't able to respond.
Hope y'all enjoyed and as always remember to review and let me know what you think, hopefully I'll be able to respond moving forward.
Sincerely SE