Author's Note: This chapter was a pain and had to go through a fair bit more editing than usual, hopefully the final product is good. Let me know what you think in the reviews.

Mistral was a very old kingdom, unlike Atlas and Vale which had been mostly built up within the last century or two; the city of Mistral had been around for hundreds of years. For that reason, it hadn't been planned out to accommodate modern amenities. While things like electricity and running water weren't too hard to accommodate, things like wide roads for cars and public transportation were pretty much non-existent within the city, meaning that the only real way to move around was by walking; a fact Pyrrha was quickly growing to hate.

Most of the city had been torn down and rebuilt in the centuries that the Kingdom had stood, but the Eastern Districts were a notable exception. With how crowded Vale was, and how the city was constantly trying to build new places to house people, Pyrrha was surprised to see that Mistral could afford to leave the entire area as it was. While Vale did have buildings left abandoned, they were few and far between, contrasting harshly with the squalors condition of the Eastern Districts. Between the lower level and now this, Pyrrha was forced to wonder if Mistral's Council even knew how bad things were.

She and Tai had run there as quickly as they could, the paths mostly being abandoned due to the weather and the time of day, but upon arriving they had been faced with the same issue they had been dealing with their entire time in Mistral. Where to begin?

The people that lived on the Eastern Side were clearly poor, and although they didn't seem as hopeless or as desperate as those on the lowest levels, and while the buildings did appear to be in disrepair they were still livable and most of them were inhabited.

Thankfully that limited the number of places they had to search. They had avoided the smaller buildings or anyplace that looked like it was only one level, though they noted them as they ran past, in the event they were unable to find anything else.

The rain had long since soaked through her cloak, causing it to weigh her down slightly. Her clothes hadn't fared much better, and her hair was stuck to her forehead. She was grateful that the rain was warm however, as it at least minimized the risk of getting sick, and it didn't distract her as much as it could. The normally bright moon was hidden from them, and the only reason they were even able to see at all was the sparse lamp posts, casting dim light across the rocky paths below.

Their search had led them to only one option, an old stone church that looked as if it had been standing even before the Great War. While some people still practiced the old religions, their followings were far less popular than they once had been, and as a result, there were a lot of abandoned churches scattered across Remnant.

Ducking in-between two nearby structures, Tai found a spot to shield them from view as well as the rain. Pyrrha joined him a moment later, for not the first time she was glad she had pulled her hair back, thus keeping her wet hair from getting in her eyes.

"That's our best bet." Tai kept himself close to the wall, only looking around the corner enough to search for any sign of activity.

"Would it still be safe after being abandoned for so long?" Pyrrha looked around the corner. The building's walls appeared to have been built out of an ornate stone, but the years of neglect had worn away its potential splendor. The roof had not collapsed yet, but it was clearly only a matter of time, and the large wooden doors at the front were open and being blown around by the storm.

"They built them to last." Tai assured her. "People used to hide in the churches during Grimm invasions and storms, so they usually had pretty sturdy construction. Most people don't pay them much attention anymore though."

"So it would be easy to sneak in and out?" Pyrrha asked.

"That's the idea." Tai stepped out of their alcove back into the rain, taking a moment to make sure they were alone on the street before stepping towards the church.

Pyrrha drew Allos from its sheath, switching to its rifle form, she checked to make sure it was loaded before following Tai back into the storm. A few moments later, they stood outside the wooden doors for the church. He spared her a momentary glance and she nodded. He held the door open slightly, allowing them both to look in. What little light made it from the nearest lamp post was poorly angled and rapidly failed to illuminate the darkness.

Tai withdrew his Scroll and turned on it's light, pushing the door open and angling it in. Pyrrha stepped through, Allos leveled and ready to fire at anyone in the building. The inside of the church was just as depressing as the outside, the rows of pews had been knocked about over the years; their carefully organized rows giving way to a chaotic mess of rotting, damp wood and rats that quickly ran from the light when it was aimed at them.

The storm continued to wail outside and the roof groaned ominously. Pyrrha, still stood in the doorway, and although it seemed as if it's collapse was inevitable, it somehow held firm. All the while, she warily swept her gaze across the dark nooks and crannies of the Church, certain that at any moment somebody would leap out and attack them, and yet, the only thing that came forward was the rain and thunder.

Tai stepped in behind her, forcing her to move forward. Keeping Allos up, she stepped farther into the church, watching every shadow cast by his Scroll and waiting for any sign of trouble. Their footsteps were near deafening to her, but she hoped that the sounds of the storm would drown them out.

"Think you could light things up a bit?" Tai whispered softly, the thunder outside nearly drowning his words out, but Pyrrha knew what he meant.

Shifting Allos back into its sword form, Pyrrha raised her free hand and opened her palm. Taking a deep breath she felt the flames flicker to life around her eyes, just as a small fire sparked to life in her hand. Careful to keep it under control she slowly allowed it to grow, until the fire was large enough to cast light over the church. The flickering of the flame caused the shadows to dance on the walls, their movement easily mimicking that of someone moving between cover.

Pyrrha saw something move from the corner of her eyes and turned, raising Allos in anticipation for an attack that never came. Rats ran atop the pews, gnawing on the wood and the shadows continued to flicker back and forth.

"We're not alone." Tai didn't bother whispering any longer and yet his words were still nearly drowned out. It wasn't due to rain this time however, as there was a sudden sound echoing throughout the old church.

A cackling laughter that seemed to come directly from behind her no matter which way she looked.

"It seems she was wrong." A voice called out, dripping with amusement as it struggled to speak between bouts of laughter. "Fall is still very much alive!" The man again fell into laughter, yet still never revealed himself. "The Goddess will be most interested to learn of this failure."

Pyrrha set her back against Tai's, both watching the darkness and waiting for some idea of where the man hid.

"Where are Qrow and Winter?" Tai asked back, interrupting the man's laughter.

"Oh, they aren't far." He had moved again, the sound again coming from behind her. Judging by the fact Tai hadn't moved however, she was guessing he hadn't seen anything. "All though whether or not they are alive… that could change any moment."

As Pyrrha looked around the darkness, she remembered something Nora had once said about people trapped in horror movies. She had thought it an obvious thing then, dismissing the idea of such an easy mistake. Looking up, Pyrrha wished she had listened more.

"You found me!" Tyrian Callows leapt from the rafter he was standing on just before it burst into flames, her attack having been only a moment too slow to catch him, but still succeeding in driving him from his hiding place.

He landed on another, using the roof to maneuver his way back towards the entrance they had come through before dropping down. Pyrrha stepped forward, preparing to pursue him only to halt when he didn't leave; rather, he turned and looked back at them.

"There's no need for violence." Another voice boomed from behind her, Pyrrha having to fight the natural reflex to look over her shoulder; focusing on the Faunus standing before her. "I assure you your friends are still alive, answer our questions and we'll let you take them."

"What?! No we won't!" Callows yelled back, his voice still bubbling with hidden amusement. "Our Goddess wishes them dead, and thus they will die! It is divine providence!" He held his arms out, spinning in place for a moment as he laughed.

The other voice, who Pyrrha assumed was Hazel Rainart, sighed.

"You take the big one, I'll take Callows." Tai whispered, though judging by how the murderer's smile grew, he had heard it. "Try not to catch the building on fire with us still in it."

Pyrrha winced softly, looking up slightly to where she had aimed her fire she saw that the rafter had fallen to the ground; the flames having spread to several of the pews. Thankfully the church was stone, and the pews that had caught fire were separate from most of the others. She didn't doubt that it would spread, but they would at least have some time, and the smoke could easily escape from the various holes in the roofs and walls.

The four stood silently, waiting for the others to make the first move. The rain outside picked up, and the thunder was louder than ever. Callows' foot slid forward slightly and he leaned forward, that was all the sign Pyrrha needed. Swiping her hand in front of her and tapping into the maiden power she summoned a powerful jet of wind, buying her the time needed to switch with Tai.

As she did, she finally caught a glimpse of Hazel, and she couldn't help but agree with Tai's rather apt description; he was indeed quite large, but size and out right strength weren't always the defining factors of a battle, and so she wasn't deterred.

As she approached, she used the precious second or two that she had to analyze her target. He didn't have a weapon in hand, nor did he have one on his body anywhere. As she finally closed the distance he moved, his arm flashing forward towards her head. She managed to bring her sword up to block it, but her momentum was stopped dead in its tracks as he managed to force her back.

She saw his aura flicker slightly around his hand, her blocking with the blade managing to do some kind of damage, but he didn't seem bothered by the pain. His other arm shot around quickly, catching Pyrrha off guard with its speed and hitting her in the shoulder.

The force of the attack launched her to the side, smashing her through a pew and into the wall. By the time her feet had made contact with the floor he was standing in front of her again, already pulling back for another attack. She narrowly managed to roll under the strike, his fist smashing into the stone wall hard enough to crack it.

Springing to her feet, Pyrrha spun and slashed with her sword, landing a solid hit and causing his aura to flare. He growled in pain but turned quickly, swinging his arm around in an arc that she was able to dodge under.

His knee caught the underside of her chin before she could pull back, the force of the strike carrying her up off her feet and leaving her open for his other hand to strike. She managed to maneuver her sword to take some of the strike but it wasn't enough, and she was again thrown back.

She landed on the stone floor hard, pain lancing through her back and driving the air from her lungs. Despite her dazed state, she began to roll to the side as quickly as possible, her instincts warning her of the danger. Barely a moment later and the stone she had been laying on was broken as he smashed his hands into it, cracks spreading out several feet in all directions. The force of the blow added momentum to Pyrrha's roll, and allowed her to create some distance.

Pyrrha ended up on her front, managing to get her legs under her enough that she was more crouched than laying down. She didn't have time to stand however, as her opponent had already moved on from his strike, and was rapidly closing the distance between them. For someone so large, he was unbelievably fast; and he had a remarkable degree of control over his actions for somebody moving with so much momentum. He was outright stronger than anyone she had ever fought before, managing to beat out both Yang and Nora in that department, and yet it didn't seem to slow him down in the slightest, and she was struggling to keep up.

Raising her arm, Pyrrha called on the Maiden powers, summoning a shard of ice and launching it at him. He stopped suddenly, leaning to the side and bringing an arm up to protect his face. Despite how quickly her attack moved, he had already managed to shift mostly out of the way by the time it struck. The ice glanced off of his forearm instead of hitting his chest, but it had bought her the time she needed to stand.

For a brief moment she considered using her shield, but quickly decided against it. Even if she managed to get it between his strikes and her, it wouldn't matter, the sheer force behind them would still do more damage than she could do to him. She needed to come up with a plan though, that much was obvious. It was moment's like this where she missed being a part of a team, Jaune and Ren could come up with plans to fight just about anyone if they were given some time to think.

Focusing on the present, Pyrrha thought carefully. He was faster and stronger than her, as well as more experienced, her own advantages were limited, but no less powerful. Despite how she hated to rely on it, she would need to use her magic. If she could effectively keep him at a distance she would be able to capitalize on that and wear him down slowly, or at least hold off long enough for Tai to beat Callows.

In fact, keeping her opponent out of arm's reach would be crucial ,seeing as he lacked any kind of weapon, limiting his range severely. She moved her fingers ever so slightly, preparing to trigger the mechanisms required to switch her weapon to its spear form. The added reach would theoretically allow her to stay farther away, and thus give her more opportunities to use her powers. The time required to perform the transformation would leave her vulnerable, but it was a risk that she had to take.

The moment she began the transformation, he surged forward as she moved backwards, bringing her free hand into position as he advanced and calling upon the Maiden Powers once again. As he closed in, she waited until he was only a few feet out of reach to make sure that he couldn't dodge, then shot her hand forward.

Lighting shot from her hand, flew over the short distance, and then made direct contact with her target, who was immediately ground to a halt. He grunted in pain but he didn't retreat, simply bringing his arms up to absorb the impact. Pyrrha poured more power into her attack, attempting to force him to pull back. He took a step forward, then another, before he once again started closing the distance.

Panicking, Pyrrha cut off her attack and stepped towards the side. The moment her attack stopped, Hazel surged forward, there seemingly being no lasting damage to him. His arms were still in front of him however, and she managed to slip by his attack, rolling under his hand when he reached out to try and grab her.

She didn't stop moving as she turned, continuing to pull back knowing that she would need the extra space to have time to properly react. He had already closed half the distance by the time she turned and he was within range of her spear by the time she was ready to attack.

Spinning the shaft in between her hands, she managed to land the first strike in between his guard before he could block it, but her follow up attacks had no such luck. Circling around him constantly allowed her to pick the moment to strike, a tactic she had used to great success on more than one opponent, but was showing its flaws now. His guard wasn't perfect, that was the major issue with not using a weapon, when someone attacked you could only defend with your body, so your aura would always have to take that hit, but he had clearly trained for that. Her attacks didn't seem to do anything.

Feigning an attack high, she forced him to bring his arm up to block. The moment his vision was blocked she brought her spear back and lunged forward. It was an effective attack when set up properly, as it allowed her to use a spear for what it was best at and pierce defenses, and feints were something she rarely did specifically so that people wouldn't see them coming. She had forgotten something though, Hazel wasn't a Huntsmen-in-training.

His hand came down and grabbed her spear just below the blade and pulled forward, forcing her off balance and dragging her close enough to attack directly. She tried to reach out with her hand to use her magic, but it was too late.

His fist came down hard on her exposed back, causing her to smash face first into the stone floor. Pyrrha couldn't roll away however due to her opponent still holding her weapon, she tried to flip over and launch an attack upwards, but his kick sent her flying before she could even turn; ripping her weapon from her grasp and once again driving the air from her lungs. As she smashed into the wall she felt her aura flicker, on the brink of breaking entirely.

She struggled to breath and her vision was dazed for a moment, forcing herself into a kneeling position. She looked up to see that he hadn't pursued her, but rather he had turned to attack Tai from behind. Time seemed to slow as she watched him get closer, all sound being lost as she watched Callows smile cruelly.

Tai was going to die if she didn't do something, Ruby and Yang would lose their father because of her. It was unthinkable, and it caused her stomach to twist in guilt, she couldn't allow that to happen. She still hadn't found Qrow, so to lose Tai now was unacceptable.

Reaching out with one hand she planned to summon a fireball as she tried to scream a warning to him. She felt something inside herself snap however and her words gave out, simply being replaced by an incoherent, almost inhuman wail of agony. The small fire that had been building up in her hand flickered away and was replaced by a bright green light that exploded forward with more force than she had ever thought possible.

She had been aiming for Hazel, but in her moment of pain she had flinched and the attack flew past him and it went flying towards the far wall of the church. He still looked back at her just before the attack landed, before the force from the blast threw Pyrrha back to the floor and shook the whole church violently. The old and damaged roof finally gave in, collapsing towards the ground and dragging the upper walls with it.

Pyrrha coughed, her throat feeling unbearably dry as she inhaled dust from the broken building. Looking around she struggled to figure out what was going on. She had tried to protect Tai, intending to attack Hazel but... thinking about it caused everything to hurt once more, a sharp pang lancing through her body and causing her to cry out in pain.

The rain was falling on them directly now, the ruins of the church no longer protecting them. She could still hear fighting over the sound of thunder however, a fact that allowed Pyrrha a moment of relief knowing that she hadn't hit Tai as well with that attack. Judging by the sound it was Hazel, though she struggled to understand how he could still be moving after taking an attack like that, but she couldn't make out any sign of-

"Heathen!" She heard that insane laughter bubble up again, only this time it was from in front of her. Callows was clearly worse for wear, his clothes and hair were a mess and his manic smile was gone, replaced with a look of pure hatred and murderous intent. "You practice with her art, but do not have any idea how powerful she is!"

Pyrrha attempted to move but realized her leg was trapped under a large piece of what had once been the wall. Looking around she tried to find her weapon, only to realize it was nowhere in sight. Reaching out with her arm she tried to summon another attack, only for something within her to twist and snap much as it had before; again causing her to scream in pain.

Her cry seemed to amuse her attacker and he laughed once more, although this laugh was unlike the other. Where it was filled with amusement and sick humour, this one made him sound insane in a way Pyrrha couldn't quantify.

He was nearly on top of her now, and Pyrrha struggled to pull back, yanking and desperately trying to puller her foot out from under the ruble. It started to slip free for a moment, but then her attacker stepped on the stone directly and she felt it twist in a manner that she knew was wrong. The pain served as a moment of clarity, and she reached out her hand, she desperately called on the Maiden powers again. She felt her body erupt into pain once more, but she pushed on through the agony and summoned one more attack.

Much to her relief, it worked, and a large blast of fire shot forth to break the rock as well as send her attacker flying. The pain that immediately followed had her writing on the ground and it took far longer than usual to subside, looking at her hands she could see where the fire had burned her.

"Argh!" Pyrrha heard Callows howl in rage. "You rotten bitch!"

Dragging herself forward she managed to get on her feet. Her right side hurt to put any kind of pressure on, but looking back at her attacker she knew she didn't have a choice. Just over his shoulder she could see Tai fighting Hazel, who now had what looked like Dust Crystals impaled into his biceps. If she fought him, she would lose, there wasn't any doubt about it. The fact that Tai had felt the need to go after him meant that he saw the murderer as the larger threat. She hadn't even been able to properly fight Hazel, and now that she was wounded, she stood no chance against Callows.

Once she inevitably lost, it would be a two on one, assuming he didn't try to hold her hostage or something, and either way Tai would be in trouble. There was only one thing she could think to do. She waited just long enough for Callows to crawl out of the rubble that had fallen on him and see her before turning and limping out of the ruins of the building as fast as she could.

She had made it back down to the street level by the time he came flying out of where the front door had once been. Biting her lip she put all her weight on her foot and tried to ignore the pain as she sprinted farther away, constantly looking back to make sure he was following her.

She couldn't beat him, but maybe she could lead him far enough away to buy Tai the time necessary to win. Then she could circle back or lose him in the city itself, looking back once more, she saw that he was closing the distance, his smile still present and visible in the darkness.

She just had to run.

Author's Note: Ah, a murderous psycho is stalking our protagonist through a stormy city… fun? And what was that thing Pyrrha did? Weird, no?

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. As always leave a review to let me know what you think.

Sincerely, SE