Author's Note: Important note about the next upload at the bottom.
Beta: GeneralMayhem, kpmh2001
"Ugh, fine, we can take a break." Coco said.
Velvet and Pyrrha both collapsed on a nearby bench, their begging finally having chipped away at the monster's resolve. Setting the dozen or so shopping bags they had down with a groan, they finally allowed themselves to relax, as Coco watched on with an unimpressed look. "I meant that we could go to the food court and get some food."
Pyrrha looked up to her, noticing that right behind her was a rather nice looking coffee shop that seemed to serve some kind of pastry with its drinks. It was a good idea, except for one small detail, it would require Pyrrha to stand back up once more. Looking down at her legs, they began to shake at the mere thought of it.
"I-I'm not hungry." She quickly said, looking at Velvet with pleading eyes. "Are you hungry?"
Velvet shook her head quickly, hair whipping around to smack Pyrrha in the face. "Nope."
"You two are so overly dramatic." Coco sighed. "If you needed to rest you could have just said so." Pyrrha and Velvet glared at the girl, who had completely ignored their suggestions of taking a break three hours ago. The subtle hints had slowly given way to requests, before devolving into near on begging. Coco managed to ignore them both. "Anyways, I'm gonna go get something; I'll get you two something while I'm there as well."
"I hate her." Velvet mumbled softly to herself. "I hate her so much."
Pyrrha chuckled softly at pout on her friend's face, despite the pain in her legs and numb feeling in the back of her mind, she couldn't conjure up the same feeling. Coco could be a lot to take in sometimes, but she was passionate and Pyrrha couldn't find fault in that. She only wished that her friend could be passionate in moderation, but as she had learned with Ruby, that wasn't always possible.
Sometimes you had to let them get it out of their system. There was a lot to learn from their typically incoherent ramblings, and tagging along for the ride could be quite fun at times,but stopping it was a futile effort. Coco knew more about the fashion trends of Vale than Pyrrha did about the types of Grimm in the world. What combinations of colors worked best together, what was in style this season, how many pockets you were allowed to have depending on the face of the moon… ok, she made that last one up, but that is what it felt like.
Ruby was the same way with weapons, though Pyrrha had learned enough to follow along most days. While most people might have been put off by such things, or intimidated in Coco's case, Pyrrha felt drawn to it. That kind of passion couldn't be faked, and in a world where people were either hiding away from her or trying to use her for her fame, that kind of thing was an easy tell.
That being said, she massively preferred Ruby's hyperfixation than Coco's, at least with Ruby Pyrrha could help or at least talk to her about it. When it came to the world of fashion, Pyrrha had no idea what to say or do. Did this look good? Does that compliment this? Do the colors clash with her skin? It was all so confusing sometimes, but thankfully, she had Velvet to suffer with her.
Judging by the glare from her friend, she must have inadvertently said that last part out loud. She felt an elbow dig into her side a second later. "Heh, sorry."
Coco returned, thrusting a cold drink into her hand and sitting down next to Velvet. "Not exactly top of the line quality, but it should give you two the kick you need to stay awake." She sent a glare at Velvet, who had passed out in one of the changing booths at the last store, she blushed and sipped away at her drink in silence.
Pyrrha chuckled softly, drinking hers slowly. She had never been much of a coffee person, never needing the extra energy boost and not truly caring for the taste. While the latter hadn't changed much, she wouldn't refuse the former today. Coco had dragged them out to go shopping first thing after breakfast, for the third day in a row.
While Ruby and Yang had joined them for the first two days, they had seen the writing on the wall and made other plans for the next day. They had even tried to invite Pyrrha and Velvet, but Coco had shot the idea down before it could be accepted. It hadn't been intentional, in fact from what Pyrrha could tell, Coco hadn't even realized she'd done it, but the plans had already been made to go shopping again today.
Neither Velvet nor Pyrrha had been able to tell her no, despite their imminent doom. One small saving grace was that today's goal was working on their combat uniform, or more accurately, Amber's combat uniform. That fact had been driving Pyrrha all day and the knowledge of that being their next stop was the only thing giving her the strength to stand.
As she did, Coco nearly jumped up off the bench too, ready to continue with their shopping. Velvet looked at her and glared, the look of betrayal clear on her face. Despite that, she stood and threw away her cup, gesturing for them to lead the way.
Before long they stood outside one of the Central Mall shops dedicated to catering towards Huntsmen. While it lacked the same kind of workshop as the place that she had gone to build her weapon, it specialized in more standard issue things such as the gear they would use in the wild: Tents, cooking supplies, easy fire starter kits, etc.
There were dozens of such shops spread throughout the kingdom, some better and some worse, but the reason they were at this particular shop was because it specialized in Huntsmen clothing as well as their equipment. It wasn't the same as the shops they had already gone to of course, the other places being dedicated solely to one type of fashion per store. This place was meant for Huntsmen and Huntresses, and as such had possibly the widest selection of clothing and accessories Pyrrha had ever seen cramped into one store.
Oddly enough, it was colour coded.
Coco led them into the back before reaching out to grab one of their arms, Velvet turned to look at Pyrrha but she had already stepped back. Her friend had just enough time to register what was happening,looking up to her in betrayal, before being dragged off into one of the isles. Pyrrha smiled and waved, turning away as Velvet cursed her name.
For the most part Pyrrha wasn't looking to change much. Despite her initial reluctance to wear Amber's clothing, she had gotten used to the idea and no longer cared. While some aspects were less helpful, such as the cloak, she had easily removed them. That being said, there were a few things she wanted to work on. First was finding a good way to hold her new ammunition types.
With Allos' diversity of ammo, she would need to have a way to hold the different rounds she might use. With a little bit of searching she managed to find a belt with a small satchel attached to the side, inside the satchel were slots that could hold a multitude of smaller objects but had clearly been designed for Dust Cartridges. She wrapped it around her waist momentarily to check the size, knowing that it would have to be tight in order to support the weight of her weapon, before determining it would work.
The next thing on her list was armour. While most Huntsmen and Huntress' tended to rely on their Aura, only wearing armour for an aesthetic, Pyrrha couldn't ignore the practical use it could provide. Bringing a hand up to her chest, and feeling the bare flesh roughly where Cinder had shot her arrow last time, it was difficult to see her Aura as the end all in terms of protection.
The issue then was finding good armour. Most of it had been designed thin to have as little weight as possible, and while it may buy you a few seconds against a Grimm, it would be useless against an opponent like Cinder. In fact, from what she could tell, none of the actual armour would be of any use.
She pulled a small chest plate off of the wall that reminded her vaguely of Jaune's armour, but upon further examination, she was disappointed to find that it wouldn't offer much more protection than the rest.
"Not exactly what I had in mind." Coco appeared at her side, looking at the armour in disappointment. "No offense, but it really doesn't suit you."
"You said we were shopping for our combat outfits." Pyrrha reminded her friend, setting the chest piece down and looking at another one.
"I was referring to actual clothes though." Coco explained. "What's the point of kicking ass if you can't look good while doing it?"
Pyrrha smiled halfheartedly. "Do you think this could stop an arrow?"
Coco looked surprised by the question, clearly uncertain of how to respond. She looked at the armour before shrugging softly. "I don't think so, but I mean, that's what you have an Aura for right?"
Pyrrha sighed, setting the armour back down and giving up, she would have to get some custom made if that were even possible. She didn't even know where to start, but made a mental note to stop off at the store she had gotten Allos from, it was as good a place as any to start.
An easier thing to find was armour for her forearm. Evidently, many huntsmen opted to use bracers for protection. Blocking strikes with your forearm was fine so long as you had aura, but it still hurt, usually leaving a nasty bruise, and depending on the type of strike it could still do some real damage to your aura. The armor added just a little bit extra something to nullify the impact.
She very much doubted most Huntsmen cared if it was sturdy or not however, at least, none of the younger ones. Most fights were over quickly and so such a small detail could be ignored so long as it looked cool. If her Aura broke while fighting Cinder, she would need the added protection. For all the good that it would do.
"At least get one matching what you have now." Coco rolled her eyes as Pyrrha picked up a metal bracer. It took her a moment to figure out what Coco was referring to until she realized the metal was a dull grey whereas the one she left back at Beacon was a bronze colour. Pyrrha shrugged and grabbed a second one, they would cover more of her arm than the one she had anyways and they were fairly light. Coco didn't look pleased at the boring color, but she refrained from saying anything.
Pyrrha was already planning on working on them, adjustments would have to be made to make sure they fit her perfectly. Thankfully, Beacon had a forge to allow for people to work on their weapon and while modifying armor was not quite the same, she would be able to use the tools there to make the required changes.
"Don't worry Coco, I'll paint them before I wear them." Pyrrha smiled. "If you have an ide-" Pyrrha cut herself off as she felt a strange yet oddly familiar feeling, the hair on the back of her neck standing up and her instinct warning her against something, it didn't take her long to identify the feeling.
When Coco responded Pyrrha didn't hear her, already looking around the store to try and find the person who had been watching her. She was used to having eyes on her, no matter how uncomfortable it made her feel, it was simply a factor of life when you were a celebrity. This was different however, not only because there was no reason someone should be watching her in her current body, but because she normally didn't feel so threatened by it. Slowly, her eyes settled on a rather unremarkable looking girl with brown hair. The girl tilted her head to the side slightly, not bothering to try and look like she hadn't been watching her. Something about her smile unsettled Pyrrha greatly.
"Hey, Remnant to Amber." Coco snapped her fingers in front of her face, drawing her attention back down to her friend for a moment. "Are you paying attention?"
"S-Sorry I was just-" Pyrrha looked up just in time to see the girl leaving the shop. "Hold these please." Without waiting for confirmation, she thrust her bags into Coco's hands and rushed out of the store.
"A-Amber!" Coco cried in surprise. "Hey, where are you going?!"
Pyrrha didn't answer, having already left the store. As she stepped outside she saw the girl look back over her shoulder for a brief moment before she began to pick up her pace, her leisurely stroll turning into a more determined walk.
Despite that Pyrrha, and mostly thanks to Pyrrha's height advantage, she managed to gain on her. The woman turned around fully, watching her as she backed around a corner and Pyrrha got a good look at her face.
She followed around the corner mere seconds after, only to find no sight of the woman.
"Amber, what gives?" Coco and Velvet stopped beside her, both looking worried in their own ways.
"N-nothing, I just… thought I saw someone." Pyrrha responded hesitantly.
"Someone you know?" Coco asked.
"Not exactly." Pyrrha had never seen the girl before, in this or any other life, but she had heard of her. Yang had told them all about the girl who had bested her on the White Fang's train.
"Well…" Velvet shared a look with Coco, some unspoken words going between them. "Let us know next time, maybe we can help find them."
"Yeah… maybe." Pyrrha whispered back but didn't really hear her friends speak, instead thinking about how she was supposed to explain this to the Headmaster.
She was being watched.
Luckily enough, Pyrrha didn't have to come up with an excuse to see the Headmaster. While she wouldn't go so far as to say she was being told everything, he had begun to show some of that trust by at least allowing her to go to any meetings they had in regards to Cinder and her activities. There was something else going on of course, she realized that the moment she arrived to see that General Ironwood was called in, but she had stifled her own curiosity for the time being.
She told them of the incident, of who she suspected it to be and everything she knew about that person. While it wasn't a lot, Pyrrha only having ever heard of the girl second hand, it was enough to paint a worrying picture.
"And you're sure this woman is affiliated with Torchwick?" The Headmaster pondered.
Pyrrha nodded her head. "Team RWBY faced her twice, once she rescued Torchwick just before they could capture him, and the second time was at Mountain Glenn during The Breach."
"This is…" The Headmaster leaned on his elbows, resting his face in his hands, even so, his voice was as clear as day. "Concerning."
"It is possible that they know the Fall Maiden is not as wounded as they believed." The General offered as his face creased with concern. "If that is the case, they may begin to change their plans."
"More likely they are investigating the team that has foiled their plans not once, but twice now." The Headmaster offered. "But I fear that may be too hopeful of us. At any rate, we should assume the worst."
"That appears to be a theme as of late." Miss Goodwitch mumbled, causing Pyrrha to grow concerned.
"Did something happen?" Pyrrha finally asked. From the moment she had arrived they had all been on edge and, despite the worrying news she had brought, it didn't seem like that was the issue.
In the end, they knew she couldn't stay a secret forever, eventually Cinder would find out. Nothing short of locking her up underneath the school would have prevented that, and even the Headmaster had been unwilling to commit to something so drastic.
"Qrow has gone missing." Ironwood replied.
"We don't know that!" The Headmaster responded quickly, trying to minimize her growing panic."Not yet anyways."
"Ozpin…" The General didn't seem to share his optimism, not if the dejected tone of his voice was anything to go by. "He hasn't checked in for nearly forty-eight hours now."
"Qrow has been known to go off the grid before." Miss Goodwitch didn't sound like she believed it, even as she said it. "Though I will admit this is rather strange, even for him."
"There is... something else." General Ironwood hesitated.
"I was wondering when you were going to mention Specialist Schnee, James." The Headmaster's face was neutral and his voice perfectly calm, despite that Pyrrha felt nervous.
The General glared into the screen. "You knew?"
"I suspected." The Headmaster replied. "Though I had hoped you would come to me with such information soon. I'm sad to see that wasn't the case."
General Ironwood flinched slightly. "It wasn't my intention to betray your trust, Ozpin."
"Hmm, and yet…" The Headmaster paused for a second, allowing the words to settle. All the while Pyrrha watched on anxiously, waiting for them to explain what had happened to Qrow. "What is this information you have been holding from us?"
The General didn't seem to miss the veiled insult. "I was receiving regular updates from Specialist Schnee up until the same time, and while Qrow may have decided to go dark without telling us, that goes against Atlesian protocol."
"Which she would never do." The Headmaster sighed. "I see your concern, if she truly has agents in Haven, then this is most worrying. For both Qrow and Winter to go missing? This does not bode well."
"Winter and Qrow weren't investigating the presence of Cinder, at least not solely." The General sighed, looking both exhausted and mildly ashamed. "They were investigating Lionheart."
The room went silent for a moment, The Headmaster simply staring at the screen, his expression never once changing. After a moment the tension seemed to lessen and he spoke. "We will discuss this later, James. For now, we will need to send someone to ascertain the location of Qrow and Winter."
"I've already begun preparing my best, they will be ready to leave within the next twenty-four hours." The General replied.
"Mistral wont allow official Atlesian Military personnel to act without some kind of previous warning." Miss Goodwitch warned. "If they find out…"
"It will be a diplomatic incident, but one Atlas can survive." The General replied. "There isn't another option."
"I will send someone." The Headmaster sat back in his chair, pulling a cup of coffee to his lips and sighing contently after a moment to taste it. "Huntsmen can operate without such a risk."
The General adamantly disagreed. "They will also take days to prepare, that's time we don't have."
"One of the Professors then." Ozpin stated.
"They've mostly all gone until the new school year." Miss Goodwitch shot the idea down before it could go any further.
"I will find someone to-"
"I'll go." Pyrrha spoke barely above a whisper, her voice still cutting the Headmaster off.
"Pyrrha… you aren't trained for this sort of situation." General Ironwood spoke softly but Pyrrha refused to listen.
"Qrow wanted me to go with him, if I had gone then maybe-" Pyrrha cut herself off before she could continue. It wasn't healthy to blame oneself, she knew that, and she also knew that Qrow was far more skilled than her, but… she was the Fall Maiden after all, she could have helped. He had asked her to go and she had denied him because of what? She was afraid of being discovered, afraid of facing Cinder?
It left a nauseating feeling in her stomach. Qrow had helped her in more ways than she could count. It was only because of him that she had made it back to Beacon in the first place. It was only because of him that she was able to take action against the White Fang. He was her friend, and she had failed him.
Pyrrha took a deep breath to calm herself. "I have to go."
The General looked hesitant but he didn't speak against her. The Headmaster watched her quietly for a moment, eventually sighing when it became clear she wouldn't back down.
"Glynda, I do believe you have been intending to take a trip to Haven to discuss curriculum for the next year, have you not?" The Headmaster waited for her to nod before sighing. "Very well. Miss Nikos, I must ask, are you sure you wish to do this?"
"I have to." Pyrrha replied.
"Then pack your things. You leave tonight."
Author's Note: This chapter gave me a lot of issues but here it is. I am aware that some readers are going to say sending Pyrrha is an unnecessary risk, and while those arguments do have merit, it's just more interesting if she goes. Besides, as seen with Neo, her cover isn't exactly the best anyways.
Now, regarding the next couple chapters. I am going to be going on leave for a couple weeks here soon and I probably won't write the chapters while on leave unless I feel really inspired to. Don't hold your breath on that. So this or MAYBE next chapter will be the last for a couple weeks and then I'll resume when I'm back. Again, just a couple weeks.
That being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always I encourage you to review and let me know what you think. Positive or negative I love to see them. Had a few "This story is dumb" comments, I appriciate even those.
Sincerely, SE