The elevator door open Ozpin was sitting in his desk as Qrow stood next to the elevator. "Ozpin, I brought Ms. Nikos as you asked." Pyrrah stood in front of Ozpin's Desk. "Thank you, Saint." You waited with Qrow.

Ozpin gestures to Pyrrah, his cane resting at his side, "Well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance was exemplary."

Pyrrha humbly replies, "Thank you, Professor Ozpin, but I would have never made it this far without my teammates."

"Personally, I think it's the other way around." You lightly slapped his arm, "Qrow."

Pyrrha turns around and gets up from her chair, trying to be formal, "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced."

"Name's Qrow."
"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine." Pyrrha looks at Qrow for another moment before addressing her teacher again, "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?"

"Please, take a seat." She does so, he puts his fingers up to his lips, leaning back casually, "What is your favorite fairy tale?"

"I'm... sorry?"

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them."

Pyrrha puts off by the question, but answers, "Well, there's The Tale of The Two Brothers, The Saint, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower..."

Ozpin leans back forward, "What about The Story of the Seasons?"

Pyrrha smiles, recalling the story, "Well, of course! A callous old man, who refuses to leave his home, is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister begs him to look at all that he has, and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant 'til the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; the four maidens. My mother loves that story."

"Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin asked. Pyrrha laughs, "You're not that old, Professor."

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" You asked, Pyrrha, silent for a moment, then gives an uneasy chuckle, "I beg your pardon?"

"What if we told you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?" Ozpin asked restating what you asked.

Pyrrha tried to make sense of this development, "You mean... like a Semblance?"

"Like magic."

Pyrrha looks down, "I..."

Qrow began to speak up, "Yeah. First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy." Pyrrha turns her gaze from Qrow and you back to Ozpin again, amazed, "You're serious?" Ozpin straight-faced answered, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Pyrrha struggles for the right words, "No. Why...why are you telling me this?"

Ozpin glances at you, as you nodded your head for approval, before looking into Pyrrha's eyes, "We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."

Pyrrha's eyes grow wider until she realizes, "We?"

At that moment, the elevator doors open, and she sees Glynda Goodwitch and General Ironwood step out.

Ironwood straightens his tie and Glynda fixes her glasses, "Sorry we're late."

Pyrrha looks around the room with a hint of panic, "Wait, what is this? Who are you?"

"We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon." You comforted her putting your hands out for her, Pyrrah did calm down a bit.

"But we've got a little part-time job." Qrow added.

"We are the protectors of the world."
"And we need your help." Ozpin stated.

The elevator opens and everyone steps inside, Pyrrah stood next to you, feeling comfortable next to you. "It's alright Pyrrah." You placed your hand on her shoulder giving her a reinsuring smile. "Where are we going?" Pyrrah asked.
"The Vault. Under the school."

The elevator continues downward until it opens its doors and everyone steps out, with Pyrrha being the last to leave as she absorbs the sight of the large, sparsely-lit hallway she is now being lead through. Glynda waits up for her behind the others. "I'm sure you must have questions."

Pyrrha, still taking it all in, "Maybe one, or two..." They continue on as she asks them, "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?" You turned to Glenda to explain, which she does, "The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever."

"So, how does the power choose?"

Qrow looks over his shoulder, "Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules."

"Qrow." You said annoyed. "Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right."

Goodwitch looked back to Pyrrha, explaining it all carefully, "At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate."

"Intimate?"

"As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power."

"Unless it's a dude or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our job gets a lot harder." Qrow added.

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated? Or Ms. (L/n), she seems qualified to be a maiden."

Ozpin stopped for a moment but continued walking to the end of the vault, "Saint is not able to become a maiden. Like we stated a maiden can not keep the power forever. It is impossible for her to possess it."

"Honestly, we've run out of time. I don't know if you've noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying for so long goes out the window." Qrow glances at you.

"You're not... talking about a war?"

"Not a war between nations." You added.

"We can fill you on the details once we know that you're with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked. And for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen."

A humming of electricity is heard as the group comes to their destination at the end of the hallway. A large machine with lit screens hooked up to two rectangular pods, one of which is upright to show through the glass window a young girl dressed in minimal clothing with a burn scar over her left eye and across her face.

Pyrrha steps forward hesitantly, "Is that..."

Ozpin sighs heavily, "The current Fall Maiden, Amber."

"She's... still alive." Pyrrah whispered.

"For now. We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is... unprecedented."

"What do you mean?"

Ironwood sighs.

"Won't... her power... just transfer to the next host?"

"Look who's been listening!" Qrow whispers to Ozpin, "She is smart."

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delicate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker." Ironwood takes a glance at Amber

You stepped forward touching the machine that held Amber, "And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

Pyrrha connecting the pieces together, "Her assailant."

Ozpin turned to Pyrrha, "And that would not bode well for any of us."

Pyrrha now suddenly sounding angry, turning to the teachers and gesturing wildly, "If all of this is true, why keep it secret!? If this girl is so important... if we're truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?"

"That will cause panic." You replied.

Goodwitch came forward to explain, "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge."

Pyrrha was not expecting that answer, "Excuse me?"

Qrow, now his turn to elaborate as he pulls out the familiar flask, "How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere." He gets the lid off and a few gulps.

"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the Maidens. Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength." Goodwitch crossed her arms.

Qrow finished his drink, "And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the ones you'd want to have unimaginable power."

"And so our brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend."

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history and religion." Goodwitch came forward.

"No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar."

"It would cause panic. And we all know what that would bring to clawing at our Kingdom's walls. Which is why we would like to-"

"I'll do it."
Ozpin looks up, surprised, as she stares at the ground, continuing, "If you believe that this will help humanity then I will become your Fall Maiden." All of you silently turn to each other with wary faces, "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Ozpin steps towards her, "It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution."

"For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it." Ironwood says as he gestures to the machine.

"Capture it and cram it into something else." Qrow gestures to Pyrrha as she takes a second to realize what that means, "Or in your case"

Pyrrha to Ironwood, "That's..."

"Classified."

"Wrong!"

Goodwitch glared at Ironwood. "The feeling is mutual." Switching her gaze back to Pyrrha, "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And these are indeed desperate times. We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to." You stated.

"Her Aura."

"Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is..."

"What's that going to do to you?" Both you and Qrow asked.

"You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. There's no guarantee this transfer will work. And there's no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I advise you to take time on this matter. But understand that before the Vytal Festivalis over, we will need your answer."

Pyrrha doesn't respond, instead placing her hand on the glass separating the maiden from her potential replacement, seeing her scared expression reflected on the scarred face of the dying girl, before turning away from this expected destiny as Ozpin gives one final warning.

"The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. And there's no telling when their next move will be."

"We can only do so much, Pyrrah." You added.

Time Skip after Yang's and Mercury's battle.

You sat with team JNPR watching the fight, of course, you cheered for Yang.
While the stage is enclosed by the stadium floor again, Oobleck yells, "Yang Xiao Long wins!" You clapped your hands.

Ruby waved her arms in excitement, "Yeah! You did it, sis!"
Blake give a standing ovation as Weiss pumps her fists, "Way to go, Yang!"
Yang wiped her brow with an arm as she addresses the hunched-over Mercury, "Better luck next time."

You felt strange a small version of Ajin appeared in front of you, "Ajin, don't." Everything became mute to you a loud ringing was all you heard then, "There's not going to be a next time, Blondie!" There is a sound of something breaking, after a shot was heard from Yang,
the audience gasps in shock, and Mercury reels back from the pain. Sound filled your ears as some screamed and cried of what they witnessed. "Mercury!" A girl with mint hair ran to him, "Why did she do that?! Why did she hit me?!"

"My word!"
"Cut the cameras!"

Your eyes widen, "Yang?"

End of Chapter

Michaelis