Chapter 18
After the rather luxurious dinner in Vale with team NDGO, Percy headed back to the dorm with his team. Team NDGO was quite the vibrant and chatty team, and it had lifted his mood somewhat. However, despite the rather happy mood that enveloped the rest of his team, Percy's shoulders once again weighed down with the information he was about to reveal to them.
Instead of entering their dorm, Percy gestured them into Team JNPR's dorm. The four girls simultaneously tilted their heads at him in question, but he gestured them in anyway. This would take a while.
Inside, Jaune, Ren, and Nora were already seated, Pyrrha nervously pacing from one side of the room to the other, her hands clasped behind her back.
Percy gestured for them to sit, and they did so wordlessly, understanding there was something delicate they had to discuss. He closed the door, then went over to Pyrrha.
"Would you like me to start?" he whispered to her, seeing the visible distress on her face.
"That… would be best. Thank you, Percy."
With a nod, he turned back to his audience of seven, scanning over their expressions. Many had scared or nervous looks on their faces, and he didn't blame them.
"What Pyrrha and I are about to tell you can not, under any circumstances, make it out of this room. Do you understand?"
There were no jokes; the mood was serious. He received seven firm nods in response.
"Good. Now, Headmaster Ozpin has given me express permission to divulge this information to all of you. Do all of you know the tale of the four seasons?"
They all nodded, visibly confused, much like he and Pyrrha had been.
"There are four maidens, each granted incredible power by an old wizard… What if I told you that story was true?"
"That's impossible," Blake shook her head emphatically in denial, black locks shaking from side to side. More than a few of them agreed with her.
"Most fairytales come from somewhere. The story of the four maidens was once common knowledge," Percy continued, "But over time, it faded into legend."
"Why?" Ruby was so confused, her silver eyes running all over the room as if it were all just a dream.
"The power is transferred to a young female host upon death of its owner, but the last eligible person in the current host's thoughts becomes the Maiden; it is not uncommon for the last thoughts of a Maiden to be their assailant. So imagine if the knowledge of the Maidens were common knowledge; power-hungry psychos would try to kill the Maidens, and the world, which thought it was a fairytale, would be in an uproar, and a panic. It would draw the Grimm. This is why this has been kept secret for so long," Percy finally finished, spitting out as many details as he could, both to make it believable and also to mitigate the onslaught of questions that were surely about to happen.
"Why tell us this now?" Jaune asked, still visibly confused.
Percy sighed, "Our Fall Maiden was attacked, and, for the first time in history, her power was stolen. Only a quarter of her power remains. The power is directly connected to the soul, and so the Fall Maiden lies in a coma, a quarter of her power left. We have reason to believe that the assailant is here, at Beacon, and she will soon come for the power."
There were faces full of shock around the room, now that they realized he wasn't lying or joking.
Pyrrha finally stepped in, saving him from explaining even further.
"Headmaster Ozpin has chosen me to be the inheritor of the power through an aura transfer machine created by Atlas. Percy has already explained to me that it would paint a massive target on my back due to those who hunt for Maidens, and our assailant, but I am willing to accept that if it means the betterment of Vale. However, infusing the quarter of the Fall Maiden's power with me would mean that…"
"Her soul would be with yours…" Ruby gasped, horrified, "And you, as a person, would change…"
"Or, it could be like that other fairytale," Yang commented, "that Blake was reading the first night at Beacon."
"The man with two souls?" Blake asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah. Since the Fall Maiden's soul only has one quarter left, it wouldn't influence you much even if your souls bonded, and if your souls didn't bond, well, you would just have an unwelcome roommate, amirite?" Yang winked, making it sound extremely simplistic somehow.
"That does make some sense…" Percy mused.
"Yang, you cannot be serious," Weiss admonished, "This is our friend here. We can't afford to speculate."
"Alright, sheesh," Yang grumbled lowly, "I was just tryna lighten up the mood a bit."
"So, correct me if I'm wrong, but the dilemma is whether to inherit the Maiden power with the risk that Pyrrha changes or becomes a different person," Ren stated.
"That is exactly it. And if Pyrrha does not become the Fall Maiden, the remaining quarter of the Maiden power goes to the Maiden's assailant, who put her in a coma."
"Is that a bad thing?" Nora asked, "I mean, it's only a quarter, right?"
"A quarter of 'unimaginable power'… and the person who attacked the Fall Maiden is more than likely one who is hungry for power," Ren argued, "The benefits outweigh the risks here. I don't like it either, but if it's for the good of Vale, I think Pyrrha should take the Maiden power."
A chorus of 'What!?'s rang throughout the room, as many of them turned to glare at Ren.
"Pyrrha's our friend! And we won't let her change because of some power," Ruby declared, Jaune and Nora agreeing wholeheartedly with firm nods.
"Blake?" Yang turned to her partner questioningly.
"I… I have to agree with Ren on this one."
Blake held up a hand before anyone could argue, "I care about Pyrrha too. She's a friend. But Vale matters more than a friend. Vale is so much bigger than her, than us! The people of Vale need us. And if that means a friend has to merge with a quarter of another soul… then she should do it."
Ruby looked downcast, as Nora folded her arms angrily.
"Weiss?"
"I… I understand duty better than most… but even so, I won't lose a friend. The assailant can have the power for all she wants. I'm with Ruby on this one."
"I don't want to lose a friend either, but the big picture is far more important here… I think she should do it," Yang stated firmly.
"You wouldn't say the same thing if it was Percy," Ruby said quietly.
"Excuse me?"
"You wouldn't say the same thing if it was Percy, or me, or anyone on our team! You're just saying that because you don't care about her!" Ruby accused, causing Yang to narrow her eyes.
"Of course I care about her! She's a friend!" Yang shouted, eyes blazing red.
"Let's all calm down," Percy placed his hands on both of his friends' shoulders placatingly, but they wouldn't stop.
"What do you mean by that? We spar together all the time! We eat together! We hang out! I care for her!" Yang glared daggers at her sister, who glared right back.
"Ruby… you know that's not true," Percy said softly.
Ruby seemed to slump, and Percy drew her into his chest, "You didn't mean that…" he whispered in her ear.
"I know…"
"Let's let emotions cool for a bit," he suggested, "General Ironwood has offered us all inventory upgrades down in the Vault."
"Ooh! New weapons?" Ruby immediately perked up, already out of her mood.
Percy smiled to himself. No matter what, Ruby was still Ruby.
Percy led the two teams to the elevator, scanning his scroll to reveal the button that went below the school.
The vault was lit by flaming torches on both sides of the hall. They stepped out of the elevator, their footsteps echoing in the silence of the hall.
"Ooh, do you think they have special lightning dust for us?" Nora grinned, "That would be so good…"
"All of us need armor," Percy stated firmly, "Atlesian Armor that will save us from having to expend aura. We also need a secondary weapon, preferably a simple knife," Percy looked at Ruby pointedly.
"I would never cheat on Crescent Rose!" the red and black haired girl protested.
"And where did that land you? In trouble with Roman Torchwick and the White Fang," Percy deadpanned, "Nope. Knife or some small, concealable blade. That goes for all of you."
"And what about you, Percy?" Pyrrha pointed out as they took a left.
"Riptide returns to me when I lose it, and I have my wards," Percy manifested a small, glowing ward dagger in his hand as demonstration, allowing it to light the way.
"That's just bullshit," Yang rolled her eyes, "So unfair. And what about me? People can't disarm me."
"But your gauntlets could jam inconveniently with a bit of bad luck," Percy pointed out.
"You should add dust rounds too," Weiss added, "Like Myrtenaster. You can be so much more versatile if you use dust rounds."
Percy continued, "Everyone who has a gun should get dust rounds… Also, Pyrrha can just pull her weapons back to her," he said, turning to Pyrrha, "Even if it's a tad bit slow sometimes, which is why you should get a knife. And also some spaulders for armor. They could help move faster if you used your semblance on them."
Pyrrha nodded in understanding as they reached the armory, swiftly swiping her scroll on the scanner.
Ruby seemed to tremble in her boots in joy at the sheer magnitude of the armory. It was massive, with torches along its walls and weapons upon weapons adorning them. Every weapon was one of a kind, and unique. Swords, polearms, shields, daggers, knives, and most important of all, at least to Ruby: Guns and rifles! Armor and suits were in the back, along with dust cartridges and
Percy smiled at her enthusiasm. This armory was too good to be true.
"Take what you need, but only what you need. We don't want to be greedy," Percy called out, receiving nods of assent in turn.
"Y'know," Jaune commented as he moved to the armor section with Percy, "We're basically a nine man team at this point. Might as well combine our teams."
"That would be a good idea! We can all have bunk beds!" Ruby cheered as she inspected a dust cartridge.
"Yeah," Yang grinned, "We could share our attacks and everything!"
"And we could break other people's legs together!" Nora chimed in happily, skipping to the lighting dust section.
"It could be a wise decision," Ren commented, flipping a small knife in his hand,"We already know a lot about each other."
"Yeah!" Percy chimed in, "And I could take a back seat for once."
They all turned to look at him weirdly for several seconds.
"What?"
Jaune shrugged, "I mean… you're a far better leader than me. You would be the one to lead obviously."
Percy panicked, "Wait wait guys I think this is a bad idea. I mean, Weiss could lead," he shrugged, acting nonchalant, "She's been doing pretty well with her team in the Vytal Tournament."
"Thank you, Percy. But I believe you would be more suitable to lead a team of nine than I am."
"Uh… but Jaune is a good leader, isn't he?"
Pyrrha frowned, "Of course he is. You trained him and helped him. But if anyone is suited to lead a team of nine, it is you."
"Yeah!" Jaune looked all too excited for Percy's liking, "Weiss and I could be your subcommanders or whatever!"
"I like the sound of that," Nora said enthusiastically as she grabbed a small pistol and attached it to her holster on her leg, "We could be Fireteam JNPR, and you guys could be Fireteam RWBY! We would be like, your bodyguards…"
"Ooh, we should make a name," Ruby grinned, bouncing up and down, "Team… uh…"
"What about like… the Secret Service?" Yang chimed in, even as Nora nodded enthusiastically.
"Or… the Blades of Vale!"
"Let's just… hold off on that for now," Percy put up two hands placatingly, "I'm not sure if I'm ready to lead a full team of nine in the field without everything going awry."
"Fair enough," they echoed each other, grumbling.
"We should all get armor; if it holds up to some bullets and punching, then it goes. I know most armor is too weak to hold up to huntsmen, but this should. Also, I hate to break it to you guys, but we can't use any of this stuff in the tournament."
"Why not?" Nora asked, "We could break their legs even more!"
He sighed, "What would people think if we just showed up with new, Atlas tech? Obviously it's too suspicious, and we can't risk that."
They grumbled and mumbled, but accepted it. It was sound reasoning, after all.
Percy picked out some fairly light, midnight black armor. No chest plate, as that would only weigh him down. Spaulders and vambraces were all that he needed. The vambraces had a hidden button that let a blade protrude. He held one of the spaulders in one hand, before smashing it into the ground with his full demigod strength. Surprisingly, the spaulder held up without a scratch. As for the ground… well, Percy could say it had seen better days."
"I would appreciate it if you didn't damage the Vault any further."
He heard an amused voice behind him. Percy whirled around to see Ozpin and General Ironwood behind him, Ozpin giving an indulgent smile. He had sensed bodies of water, but assumed they were his teammates.
"Hehe…" he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, "Just testing out the durability."
"I understand if these are not adequate, but you may put in requests for special, custom designed suits if you would like," Ironwood offered, "True state-of-the-art Atlas tech is only available in Atlas, designed by our greatest scientists, after all. We will design them to cater towards your semblance."
"We have suits?" Jaune looked like he had stars in his eyes as he gazed at Ironwood.
"They would take some time to make, however. At least several months," Ironwood unfortunately amended.
"Still, that could be useful," Percy mused, "General, we will have the suits sent to you via encryption by tomorrow night."
A chorus of protests erupted from his friends at the short time limit, but Ironwood ignored them.
He smiled warmly, "Thank you. Miss Nikos, remember that we will need your decision by the end of tomorrow. And Percy, please, call me James."
With that, Ironwood and Ozpin left, the door closing with a thud. Uncomfortable silence reigned for a moment, as the topic of the Maidens were brought back to the front of their minds. Luckily, Weiss distracted them.
"Since when were you on a first name basis with the General?" Weiss asked.
"Since now," Percy answered, "Alright everyone, stock up on dust ammo, regular ammo, and I want everyone to have at least two knives on them okay? Maybe a firearm if you need range."
"Hey Percy, what about this?"
Percy moved over to Jaune, who'd just put on gold and white armor. He was holding some kind of rifle in his hands, also gold and white.
"Pathfinder…" Percy read out the small engraving on the barrel of the gun.
Percy was no gun expert at all, so he decided to call in some professional help.
"Ruby? Do you know what this is?"
The energetic girl scampered over to take a look. After twisting and examining it for several seconds, she jolted upwards.
"It's a kind of pulse rifle!"
"Pulse… rifle?" Jaune scratched his head, confused.
"Yeah! It shoots slightly slower than a normal rifle, but does a whole lot of damage with each shot! Oh, and there's gravity dust in the rifle itself to attach to the holster! It's even got an advanced optical laser scope… and oh my gods! And it even has a compact carrying form! Jaune you should totally get this, I mean you need a ranged option after all!"
Percy turned away from the conversation, letting Jaune suffer the torment of Ruby's gun-loving hobbies. Not that it was bad, not at all. It was kind of cute, actually. He heard her start geeking out about a perfect twenty times scope for her 'baby' Crescent Rose in the background, and he shook his head in amusement.
He grabbed a small pistol, twirling it in his hand, before putting it back down. It wasn't worth the effort of learning how to shoot the gun, and he had his semblance anyways. Then what did he need?
He moved from section to section, scanning the weapons like he was shopping. Knives? Nah. Spear? Nah, too cumbersome, not worth the effort of learning. Any weapon there was, he could make himself, strong and lighter. Shield? He could already do that.
Percy came to a stop before the miscellaneous section. He grinned.
Brass knuckles… an advanced version. He tried to bend it, giving it a pass in durability when it didn't even budge half an inch. What kind of metal did Atlas even have? It clearly wasn't brass if he couldn't bend it. He slid it on both his hands, and they automatically tightened to fit snugly on them, like rings. Come to think of it, the ring Ironwood had given him was basically a knuckle too, since it was so damn durable. A nice, simplistic weapon that would hurt.
He moved on. Sitting in front of him was a wall of styluses. Who even used a stylus besides him? He only used them because it was easier to channel his power through, but he couldn't think why any other hunter would use styluses. Shrugging it off, he tried different ones, finally settling on a metallic black stylus. It was weighty, relatively large for a stylus, around a foot long or more. Percy turned it around in his hands, examining it, before accidentally clicking a button. The thing mechashifted into a beautiful black gladius, a Roman short sword he had used at New Rome. It gleamed in the artificial light of the room, humming in his hand. He gave it a few experimental swings; the gladius felt perfectly balanced in his hands, just like Riptide.
He clicked a different button, and it turned into a pistol.
He groaned. Of course. Remnant, where everything was a gun. Not that the extra weapons was unwelcome, but it introduced unnecessary components that could jam with bad luck, and bad luck seemed to follow Percy everywhere. He swapped it back to its short sword form, examining it.
It was reminiscent of the gladii from New Rome, and it was nostalgic. It needed a name.
"Requiem," he finally decided. For the times gone past, and a token of the memories and life he had left behind.
Smoke bombs, flash bangs, gas grenades, regular grenades, all types of utility items adorned the next section of walls. Percy grabbed more than a few flash bangs and smoke bombs, stocking them in a bag, knowing that he would be able to sense people even through the smoke or the blinding white.
He grabbed the durable earpieces, nodding in approval at the multiple channels that could be switched to. Communication was always key, and now that there were several channels, it would be best for all of both teams to have one.
He turned back to his friends after he finished, scanning over their loadouts while he distributed the new earpieces. He nodded in approval. Everyone had a ranged option, and backups. Even Pyrrha had found dual red and gold daggers; she bent down to conceal them in her bronze greaves.
"Okay, can we get the elephant out of the room? Because its really killing me right now," Jaune whined like the unintentional asshole he was. Percy groaned… it was all a clusterfuck of a headache.
"Fine… so Ren, Blake, and Yang are pro-Maiden here, and Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Jaune are anti-Maiden… That leaves Pyrrha and I."
"And what do you say, Ultra Fearless Leader?" Nora looked at him questioningly.
"I understand duty better than anyone… I would do it myself. But my opinion on a friend doing it… I don't want her to do it, but it's necessary. It's for the good of Vale," Percy finally finished.
"Pyrrha?" Ruby asked glumly, realizing that her team leader hadn't sided with her.
The Mistralian paced back and forth inside the massive armory, her heels clacking and echoing in the room.
"Could you leave us?" Pyrrha asked them, gesturing to Percy and herself.
The two teams nodded reluctantly, shooting Percy and Pyrrha worried glances before closing the door with a heavy thud.
"Percy... Do you believe in destiny?"
He scoffed. Destiny, fate. What a load of bullshit. What happened to the Fates? Fuck the Fates, him the hero of two great prophecies, and for what? Pain, loss, suffering. He was their toy, their plaything, their amusement.
His hands trembled as he struggled to control himself, clenching his fists.
"No. I do not believe in destiny. I have been fate's plaything, its toy, for the last five years. And I refuse to be so any longer," he said frigidly, the very room seeming to grow colder with his words.
"Oh…" Pyrrha was taken aback for a second, "When I think of destiny, I don't think of it as some predetermined fate that you cannot change, that you are powerless to change. I think of it as a goal that you've been working towards your entire life, the destiny that you wish to attain."
That was… surprising. "That's a… different way of thinking of it," Percy said slowly, surprised.
"I've always felt that my destiny was to be a huntress, to protect the people as best I could from the evil forces of Grimm…" Pyrrha trailed off, clearly unsure of what to say as she looked down at her feet, "I guess what I'm trying to say is… if the Maiden powers could grant me my goal, my destiny, but at the cost of myself… What do you think is the right choice to make?"
Percy's fingers touched her chin softly, tilting it up, and looking into her beautiful green orbs. "You are Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha Nikos doesn't back down from a challenge. You are a symbol, a protector of the people. You make them feel safe. This is your decision, and you can take up the mantle of being the Fall Maiden,
"… Thank you, Percy."
She leaned up to plant a chaste, soft kiss on his cheek, before she began walking away.
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