Ozpin's Stand (New)
Ozpin’s Stand
"Wh-what is that?" Lyra cried as the monster rose into the night sky, rising so high that it was silhouetted against the broken moon above.
Lyra's voice shook. Amber could understand why. She was shaking a little herself. Such a grimm, such an enormous grimm, even at this vast distance, it looked large and loomed large; how much larger must it look and loom up close? So large, how terrible must it be to be so large?
She was not a foe to Salem; indeed, upon this night, she was Salem's best and dearest friend; nothing could be achieved without her, all of this night's efforts and struggles and attacks were pointless without her. Amber's life was more valuable to Salem than many hordes of grimm. But did the grimm know that? Did this grimm know that? Or did it know only that she had killed grimm earlier this night and that she was of a size to be swallowed whole?
Oh, that the night were passed. Oh, that the dawn would come and shine upon my liberty.
Oh, that the dawn would come and find Pyrrha and Sunset and all others safe and well and free to rest as I am free to go.
Oh, that I did not look upon this monster in the sky and tremble so.
Oh, that I had nothing to fear.
Perhaps she had nothing to fear. But she was afraid nonetheless; though this great grimm was far away, the very sight of it put the fear in her.
Its size, its sudden arrival, and the very fact that she could not answer Lyra's question, that she had no idea where to begin with an answer, they all combined to make her fear. What was this thing? Where had it come from? Had its arrival been anticipated, planned for? Or had it simply been drawn to the battle by the fear and the pain and the confusion and was no part of Salem's plans or her intent? What would it do, now that it was here?
Amber turned her scarred face away from the monster, even as the monstrous grimm became harder to see, descending from before the moon into the black of night surrounding it; the stars did not give off such light, the creature's presence could only be discerned by the way that it blocked out the stars here and there, or by the distant view of red wings, a flash of white moving in ways that no star would.
Amber turned away and turned her gaze on her companions, wondering if they might have some answer that eluded her. Dove did not, obviously; he was as in the dark as Lyra was on this, although he stood before her with one hand upon the hilt of his sword as though he would protect her from so large a grimm. Sweet Dove, brave Dove, her Dove still, in spite of everything that she had done — and even done to him.
But even those that Amber might have thought — or hoped — to have more answers looked dumbstruck by the sight they had beheld. Bon Bon looked shocked, amazed, and so, too, did Lightning Dust, who had joined them in the dark after their flight from Beacon. Amber didn't know her, but Lyra and Dove both seemed to recognise her, and Lyra hadn't liked Lightning Dust's presence, for all that Bon Bon had been able to calm her down.
Lightning Dust looked awed, mouth gaping open, while Tempest's eyes were wide.
Wide yet flickering back and forth, alight with calculation; they narrowed from their previous width as Tempest smiled out of one corner of her mouth.
"What is it?" she repeated. "This is our moment. We must return to Beacon at once."
Dove looked at her. "Now?"
"Yes, now!" Tempest declared. "When else, when better?"
"I don't know," Amber admitted. "But … but that thing—"
"Is no threat to us," Tempest assured her. "Rather, it is our fortune, our opportunity."
"'Opportunity'?" Lyra repeated. "What are you talking about?"
"The line will surely shatter now," Tempest said. Contempt filled her voice as she went on, "The General, the gallant ships, the thin white line, the sorority of sisters shoulder to shoulder, they will not stand against this power, not now. Soon, Beacon will be cut off from Vale by land, and the skies will no longer be under the rule of Atlas. Even if they find out where we are, no one will be able to reach us. On the other hand, if we stay here, then we risk being caught up in the retreat of the Atlesian troops and in the pursuit by the grimm."
"What if you're wrong?" Lyra asked. "Rainbow, Trixie—"
"Your faith in your acquaintances is touching," Tempest said, without any sincerity. "But misplaced. They've done well so far, I grant, but they cannot hold back this storm, not anymore."
"Say you’re right," Lyra said. "Then what? If the grimm break through, then what's going to happen? To Beacon, to Rainbow and the others, to all the people who live outside the Red Line?"
"Councillor Emerald has already ordered an evacuation," Dove reminded her. "Everyone will be safe behind the walls by now, and … if the line is broken, then I suppose that everyone, Jaune and Pyrrha and the others, will retreat behind the wall as well and make their stand there." He frowned. "But you make a good point about Beacon; if it is cut off from Vale by the grimm, what then? What happens to the school itself, what happens to everyone sheltering at Benni Havens'?"
"We'll warn them," Amber said. "We'll go back to Beacon, and we'll…" She stopped for a moment, bowing her head as she thought. What could they say? What could they say that would explain their return and persuade Benni to leave her restaurant?
"We will tell her…" she began, hoping to invite suggestions from Dove or Lyra — or possibly from the others, if need be.
"We'll tell her that the grimm are going to break through the line and sweep across the country to reach Vale," Bon Bon said.
"Except that hasn't happened yet," Dove pointed out. "What if she doesn't believe it, what if she has faith in Pyrrha and the others to hold the line?"
"Then that's her problem," Lightning said bluntly. "You've gone to the trouble of warning them what's about to happen; what happens to them after that is their own business. If you tell someone there's going to be an avalanche but they keep climbing the mountain regardless, then it's not on you if they get buried in the snow."
"That depends on why they don't believe you," Amber murmured. "I, we … this isn't about easing our consciences; this is about persuading Benni and the others to get to safety. We will tell them that we've been told that the line cannot hold. We've been told by … Pyrrha, Rainbow Dash, Professor Goodwitch, somebody, someone has told us that the line is about to break, and so we've volunteered to go back to Beacon, which is safe from the grimm now, safer than where we were is about to be, and then warn everyone still there that they need to get to Vale while there's still time."
There was a moment of pause.
"Will it be believed?" Tempest asked.
"Benni has no reason not to believe us," Bon Bon pointed out.
"She trusts us," said Lyra softly.
Tempest shrugged. "You know best on that front, I suppose, but won't she then expect us all to leave with her and her guests?"
"Not if we need to spread word through the rest of Beacon first," Dove pointed out. "We can then go on and…" He paused. "What will happen to Beacon?"
"I don't know," said Tempest.
"That's a first," muttered Lyra. "You seem to know an awful lot that you don't say until you have to."
Tempest rolled her eyes. "I understand that this sequence of revelations must be quite confusing for you," she said, "and if you're finding it a little too confusing, then please, feel free to leave at any time."
"I'd like Lyra to stay," Amber said firmly. "For as long as she wishes."
Tempest ignored that, instead saying, "But I assure you, I assure you all, I don't know what will become of Beacon—"
"Because you don't actually know anything, do you?" Lightning Dust asked, a smirk on her face. "You're just guessing all this, trying to pretend like you know when you're as in the dark as any of us."
"There's no need to look so smug about that, considering that we're all in the same boat," Tempest replied sharply. She paused for a few seconds. She scowled, but said, "It's true, I don't know for certain that that grimm we've all just seen, the one that made the ground shake, the one that obliterated a mountain will break the lines. Perhaps Lyra is right, and good old Rainbow Dash and beautiful Blake, the Warrior Princess with the untarnished face and soft, pale hands, everyone's new darling, will slay the monster just like that!" She snapped her fingers. "Hooray for Atlas!" She snorted. "But I doubt it."
"Why do you hate them so much?" asked Lyra.
Tempest blinked. Her face twisted, contorted, she even momentarily bared her teeth as her opal eyes blazed and her fists clenched. Then she took a deep breath, and then another, her chest rose and fell. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened her eyes and spoke again, her voice was calmer than it had been.
"Everything that I have said," she declared. "Everything that I've laid out for you has been my honest opinion on what will happen. I believe that the grimm, led by their new friend, will break through the line and sweep towards Vale."
"And what then?" Lyra asked. "If they can break through one line, then what's to stop them breaching the wall and getting into Vale itself?"
"Because…" Bon Bon began, then stopped. "Because of all the defences on the wall, it's much stronger than the Green Line is."
Amber didn't know if Bon Bon was telling the truth, but it didn't sound entirely convincing.
But she hoped it was true, nonetheless.
"Lyra … we cannot save Vale," she said, putting one hand upon her shoulder. "Only our friends can do that."
"But," Lyra murmured. "Your power?"
"I'm not strong enough," Amber said softly. "Even … even if I was brave enough to fight that monster, which I'm not, I'd be too terrified to even try to … but even if I were braver, even if were as brave as Pyrrha, or Sunset, I still wouldn't be to defeat a monster like that and protect Vale all by myself. All that we can do is what we're going to do, which is make sure that Benni and the others get out of Beacon before it's too late. We'll even…" She glanced at Dove. "We'll even make sure that Ruby hasn't been left behind, and isn't." She wasn't entirely sure how they would do that, since if Ruby had been left behind — not that she'd blame Pyrrha and the others if they had decided to leave her — then the only thing to do would be to take her with them.
Amber wasn't keen on that idea to say the least, but Ruby would still be asleep, so they wouldn't actually have to suffer her company before they left her … somewhere. They could stop at a little village on the way and dump Ruby safely in the care of a town doctor or something before continuing on their way. When Ruby woke up, she would be none the wiser as to where Amber had gone.
And Dove looked happy about it. He smiled approvingly. It would be worth it, to have that smile bestowed upon her.
Besides, Ruby had probably not been left behind; they just had to make sure of the fact.
Lyra hesitated a moment, but nodded. "Once people get out … I suppose it doesn't really matter what happens to Beacon afterwards, does it?"
"No," said Amber. "It's just bricks and mortar, after all."
She pulled the other girl into a one-armed embrace. "I'm glad you're here, Lyra," she whispered. "You're … you're my conscience, you and Dove. You … you make me a better person when I'm with you."
Amber felt Lyra's arms wrap around her in turn.
"Don't worry about it," Lyra said. "I know that it might seem like I complain or ask questions, but … I'm here for you."
"I know," Amber said softly, as she let her arm fall away from Lyra. "Now … now we should go, while we still have time."
Ozpin starred as the grimm rose into the sky. Such a creature…
And it was coming from the southeast. From Mountain Glenn, or nearby.
To think that such a thing had been there all along.
He should have known, perhaps. There had always been legends, rumours of a great beast slumbering beneath the mountain; that was why it was called the Dragon's Fang, after all. The Dragon's Fang, 'neath which the dragon slept, and would awaken in some dark, dread hour. He had not been blind to such rumours; he was not a man to dismiss fairytales, not a man to scoff at stories, not a man to disdain all things that could not be explained through rational thought and reason, no. He had put fairy tales onto the Beacon curriculum, though many thought him eccentric for it, because he believed in the power of fairy tales to reveal truth, both spiritual truths about the human heart but also, in some cases, very real truths about the world.
Contrary to what some might believe, he had no desire to keep an iron chest of secrecy around all the mysteries of Remnant. He would not tell all openly, would not bare his soul and all his mysteries, but if people were able to work out the truth by themselves, then he had no objection.
A part of him would be quite pleased by it.
In any case, he had not been deaf to the stories of dragons slumbering beneath the Dragon's Fang. He had not been sure if it had been a grimm or else a more magical dragon — such creatures had been known in ancient times; he wondered if they, too, had come from Equestria, but then, how had they done so without exchanging their forms for a more human appearance? — but he had heard that there was something under the mountain, and though there had been few enough people living there in those days, he had not ignored the reports. He had sent — or rather, he had inveigled upon the king of the time to send — Percy, one of the most promising young knights at court, to investigate and, if necessary, slay the creature that she found there. Olivia had argued that Percy was too young to be sent on such an errand, but he had been certain that Percy would perform adequately.
He had seen great things in her, and though Percy had proven to be flawed, as most people were, he still had a soft spot for her in his thoughts. She had possessed a passionate heart, though at times, that heart had led her astray.
Percy had set off on her errand, and a little while later, she had returned, grim-faced, to tell him that there was, indeed, a grimm beneath the mountain, but that she had been unable to kill it. It had been too big; she had stabbed the beast with her sword, driving the blade deep into the black flesh, but the grimm had not even stirred from slumber. The grimm was simply too large, and if it had any vulnerable spots, then the cave that led into the mountain did not allow Percy to reach them. He had thanked her, assured her that she had nothing to be ashamed of, and then sent Isolde, the new Fall Maiden after Nimue's death, to deal with it.
Isolde had assured him that it was done.
That now appeared to have been a lie on her part, or at least — assuming the best possible interpretation, that she had blocked the cave or done something to make it harder for the grimm to escape — an exaggeration.
That was the best interpretation. The worst … the worst was enough to make him wonder if Amber really was the first Maiden to fall to Salem's influence. Isolde had not been the Fall Maiden for very long; she had drowned herself in a barrel of water, then been revived by Owain, but before she had been revived, she had lost the magic, which had passed to Princess Ceinwyn, the Star of Vale. Curious behaviour, perhaps, to take such a risk, but he had accepted that she had not wanted the burden of possessing such power and was, honestly, a little impressed that she had found a way of giving them away to one more worthy of them.
Now, he wondered if she had perhaps found betrayal as unpalatable as continued service.
In any case, not knowing or suspecting any of this at the time, he had accepted Isolde's lie — or her exaggeration — and from then on, he had turned a deaf ear to tales of monsters beneath the Dragon's Fang, believing them to be the echoes of a danger long dealt with.
When all the while, it had remained waiting. It had not emerged to lay waste to Mountain Glenn, it had not opened its eyes afterwards to join the horde that swept up from the southeast towards Vale, it had not shattered the mountain and risen into the sky at any point, though there had been many points when Vale had seemed in desperate straits. Why, if this grimm had shown itself during the Great War … it scarcely bore thinking about.
But it showed itself now, now of all times. If that did not say something about the importance that Salem placed upon this battle, then…
It was not an encouraging thought.
Ozpin found, seeing the creature for himself even at this great distance between them, he could well understand how and why Percy had found herself unable to strike it down with sword or lance. It was too great, by far too great.
Now, he could only hope that James' northern lances of fire and light would prove more suited to the great task which now confronted them.
Ozpin tightened his grip upon his cane. Amber would surely come now, very soon. If this was not what she had been waiting for, she and Salem's henchman ranged about her, then he did not know why she delayed. Whatever came next, doubtless all the strength of Atlas and all the huntsmen of Beacon, Haven, and Atlas combined would be bent towards the defeat of that dragon and resisting a grimm attack that would doubtless have fresh heart put into it. He believed that they would triumph over it; as their headmaster, he could hardly not believe in them in the face of such a battle, but the fact remained that they would be kept busy by that, for a while at least.
Too busy to return to Beacon and defend the Relic, should Amber come to take it now.
It would be the perfect time for her to return and take the prize that Salem no doubt demanded of her.
At least, it would have been, had Ozpin himself not been there.
Though he was all alone, though he had sent all aid to fight in fields before the walls of Vale, nevertheless, he was — himself, alone — adequate to the task of keeping the Relic of Choice safe.
If Amber came, hoping to find all eyes turned away, all hands occupied, then she would find him waiting for her.
And he would…
And he would…
The cane trembled in Ozpin's hand.
Amber, her friends, and her associates crept back up the road towards Beacon. It was the same road that they had departed down only a little earlier that night, when the battle at Beacon had been in full swing.
Now, with the battle at Beacon over and the battle in front of Vale raging fiercely, Amber and the others returned the way that they had come, moving along the Vale road in the dead of night, while far off to the south and east…
Tempest had said that this new grimm, that looked so large and terrible, would break the line. Lyra thought that it might not, though that seemed mainly to be hope speaking rather than anything, while Tempest spoke with cold, cruel logic.
Nevertheless, Amber would prefer Lyra to be right, but if Tempest was correct…
Whichever of them was right, everyone would be in grave danger. They had always been in grave danger, but the danger seemed graver now, thanks to that new grimm that had joined the fray.
But she had spoke true to Lyra; she couldn't save Vale, she couldn't protect her friends. Even if she had been a braver or a stronger person, the Fall Maiden wasn't supposed to be a hero, not anymore. The Fall Maiden was supposed to hide, to keep her magic and her secrets safe.
The Fall Maiden was supposed to be a coward; that was what Ozpin wanted of her.
An obedient coward who would stay in her cage and never have the courage to leave it.
Well, I have, Ozpin! I have left, and you will never see me again.
And nobody will stop me.
She was so close now. So close to freedom that she could taste it. Once they had the Relic of Choice, then she would give it to Tempest, to take wherever she would, however she would; Amber wasn't interested in helping her deliver it to Salem, Tempest could work out how to do that by herself, and if someone as smug as Tempest Shadow hadn't thought that far, then, as Lightning Dust had said, it wasn't Amber's fault if she got buried in an avalanche. Amber would give her the Relic, and that would be her job done; it would be for Tempest — and Bon Bon and Lightning Dust — to get it to Salem or fight each other over who got the credit or whatever else they wished to do with the crown once they possessed it. Amber would give them the crown, and then she and Dove and Lyra would be free to get out of here, and go whither they would afterwards.
Amber had already given thought to the first stage of their journey: they would escape via the cliffs, into the Emerald Forest; yes, there were grimm there, or there might still be, but she thought that there were less grimm now than there had been since the attack on Beacon, and the three of them should be able to make it out okay. After all, it seemed from the stories she had heard of their time at school that Ozpin sent students into the Emerald Forest on their very first day, and while he was a wicked man, that maybe also meant it wasn't actually that dangerous.
That was why Amber was trusting more in the forest than in the grimm within it to cover their tracks and prevent pursuit.
Afterwards, once they were out of the forest, they would go due east, towards the mountains. Ozpin would probably expect them to go north, where Dove and Amber had lived when they were children, so heading east towards the mountains would throw his hunters off the scent; at least, Amber hoped it would. They could find some quiet place to live for a little while, in the foothills of the mountains, until … until it was safe to come down.
Or maybe they would like it there, in the foothills, in some quiet village, like the place they had grown up except with different trees. Somewhere with romantic ruins, where they could have a cottage by a stream, with space for a garden.
Pyrrha's Mistralian war poems were, in Amber's opinion, simply awful, bloodthirsty killers massacring one another over their hurt feelings; but the Mistralian pastoral poetry that Amber had found in one of her other books was so much better that it verged on the sublime. They knew what the good life was, those Mistralian poets.
That was all that Amber wanted for herself: the good life, the simple life, the pastoral life with Dove — and with Lyra too, if she wished to stay with them that far along the road. They would live like shepherd lads and lasses, with the joy of one another's company to succour them.
But that was all for the future. Everything after they escaped from the Emerald Forest, everything beyond was a few steps distant; for now, for the immediate term, getting the Relic, giving it away, and then getting themselves away, those were the immediate concerns.
And warning Benni Havens about the possibly imminent collapse of the defences beyond Vale.
Amber was glad, genuinely glad, that Lyra had reminded her of that. Benni had seemed like a nice woman when Amber had met her, but more than that, she had been a good friend to Dove, and to Lyra too, but especially to Dove. If making sure that Benni wasn't caught by surprise and killed by a sudden surge of grimm flooding up the road from Vale — the same road that they were now on — to storm her restaurant was the price to repay that debt then Amber would pay it gladly.
They were almost there now. Whilst Amber had been thinking, contemplating, dreaming of the future, they had walked along the road and almost reached Benni Havens'. The lights were still on within the cabin; even the sign was still lit up. Everything looked so calm. Probably the fact that the battle was over here had helped with that.
Amber didn't know how the battle had ended; she and the others had been far away from Beacon already when they had seen from afar a bright light, a brilliant light blossoming outwards to consume Beacon, and then … then after that, they had seen the airships leaving, flying away from Beacon and from Vale to where the grimm lurked. Amber didn't know what had happened; Tempest couldn't even begin to guess what had happened. But it seemed that the battle at Beacon was over, and now that they were back at Beacon, it was quiet, with none of the sounds of fighting at a distance that had beat upon their backs as they departed.
It was all quiet, and only the lights of Benni Havens' nearby gave any sign — beyond the evidence of their own eyes seeing the airships flying off — that the battle of Beacon had not ended with the grimm killing everyone and destroying everything. It was quiet enough for a dead place, but the lights of Benni Havens' told the truth, that the battle had been won, but all those who had won the battle had been called away to fight more battles, battles without end, battles that could never end because they fought a foe that did not rest.
"You should hide somewhere off the road," Bon Bon told Lightning Dust. "Benni might recognise you."
She didn't clarify who or what Benni might recognise Lightning Dust as, but from this and from the way that Lyra had reacted to her appearance, Amber could surmise that Lightning Dust was known as some sort of criminal or enemy, as someone that they should not be seen associating with.
Lightning Dust took the suggestion with equanimity, nodding her head as she slunk off; her black bodysuit, although marred with pipes and with a bulky backpack of some kind that bubbled and fizzed as liquid dust moved along the pipes, nevertheless blended in with the darkness and made her quickly disappear into the night.
That done, Amber led the way in the other direction, towards Benni Havens' itself, towards the light that emerged out of the diner. The others, all those who had been there with her when they had passed this way in the other direction, followed after her.
"Benni?" Lyra called out. "Benni, are you still in there?"
There was a moment's pause as the five of them stood outside the diner, before the door opened and Benni stepped out of the restaurant and took a step down the path towards them.
"Lyra?" She said. "Dove, Bon Bon … I know I told you to come back, but I didn't expect you to come back tonight."
"We … volunteered," Amber said. "To come back with a message, from…" She hesitated; they had never actually decided who, precisely, the message that they had been sent to deliver was from. "From Pyrrha. Pyrrha asked us to deliver a message."
"It might have come from someone higher up," Bon Bon added. "From General Ironwood or someone, just that Pyrrha was the one who was asked to pass it on to us."
"The grimm…" Dove began. "Ms Havens—"
"The defences aren't going to hold," Bon Bon said bluntly. "Any moment now, the grimm are going to batter through the lines, and there'll be no sealing the breach, no stopping them until they get to the walls of Vale. I'm sorry, but there isn't time to sugarcoat it, because Beacon isn't protected by the walls of Vale; it's outside of them, which means that when the grimm break through, and when everyone falls back, Beacon is going to be cut off, and there will be grimm heading this way up that road. You need to leave, Benni, while you still can."
Benni stared at them all. The shotgun in her hands fell to her side, clutched in only her artificial hand now. "The grimm are gonna break through?" she asked.
"That's the fear, yes," Dove murmured.
"And they're gonna come up here, and this time, there'll be no one to stop them because everyone is down there, is that what you're saying?" said Benni.
"I'm afraid so," replied Amber.
"About the long and short of it," Tempest added.
Benni hesitated. "I haven't been ordered to evacuate," she said. "I guess they forgot I exist."
"Are there still people in your restaurant?" asked Amber.
Benni shook her head. "Once the grimm were taken care of here, they were evacuated up to the Amity Arena. It's starting to look like maybe we should have joined them when we had the chance. But we didn't, so it's just me and Drake here now." She paused, turning around and looking back at the restaurant that bore her name. "Seventeen years of my life in this place," she muttered.
"It might be here when you get back," Dove said. "And even if it isn't, so long as you're alive, you can rebuild, right?"
Benni looked at him, a fond smile upon her face. "Maybe, yeah," she said. "You say this is happening now?"
"A … a new grimm has joined the battle," Dove said. "It's big, and it looks very dangerous. It might be too much for them."
Benni winced. "Are they … do you know if … is anyone … come on, are you gonna make me say it?"
"Everyone's fine, for now," Amber said, although she didn't know that for sure. She hoped that it was so, just as she hoped that it would give Benni some comfort to hear that it was so.
"'For now,'" Benni repeated. She cursed under her breath, and then cursed again more loudly so that everyone could hear it. "Okay," she said. "We'll go. I don't want to, but you're right; so long as we're alive, we can rebuild, reopen, and I can't ask Drake to stay here when…" She turned around and screamed at the restaurant. "Drake! Get in the van; we're leaving!"
A man's voice, a little husky, emerged from out of the diner. "What?"
"I said GET IN THE VAN, WE'RE LEAVING!"
"'Leaving'?"
"Yes, leaving, go!" Benni yelled. She turned to Amber and the others. "You kids want a ride down to Vale?"
"That's very kind of you, but we can't," Amber said. "We said that we'd look around the school and make sure there was no one else left behind."
"That's a brave thing to volunteer for, considering how afraid you were earlier," Benni pointed out.
"Not really," Amber replied. "We're not going to be here when the grimm arrive."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Benni. "How are you getting out?"
"If we're too late to take the road, then I'll call in an Atlesian airship," Tempest said quickly.
Benni nodded slowly. "I hope you don't rely on them only to get left hanging. Finish up quick and follow us down the road while you can; it's safer that way than trusting Atlas. No offence."
Tempest snorted. "None taken."
"We'll be as fast as we can," Dove promised.
"None of us wants to stay here any longer than we have to," added Amber.
"Smart of you," Benni said. She sighed. "If this place does get ripped apart by grimm, I expect you all to be my guests for the big reopening. And that's as much as I'll say about that, because it sounds like there isn't time for a long goodbye. Do what you need to do, do it fast, and I'll see you all on the other side."
Amber didn't reply. They would never see her again, after all, and though that was a pity, it was inevitable.
So long as it was the result of distance, not death.
"Be well," she whispered. "Take care."
Benni turned away and swiftly disappeared back into the restaurant.
"Who's Drake?" Amber asked.
"That's Benni's husband," Lyra explained. "You never see him because he does all the cooking."
"Ah, I see," Amber murmured, although she was a little surprised to discover that Benni didn't cook; mind you, it would explain how she spent so much time out in the restaurant.
It did not take very long at all before they heard the growling of an engine and a white van tore around the side of the diner from the back, tires cutting into the grass and churning up the earth, rear-end shooting behind it as it turned violently. It drove past Amber and the others, and Amber had the briefest impression of Benni waving at them out of the window before the van was racing down the road towards Vale as though a horde of grimm were behind it.
Or about to be in front of it, as the case maybe.
"Now that that little bit of civic responsibility has been taken care of," Tempest said, "perhaps now you'll show us the way to the Vault?"
Lightning Dust emerged out of the darkness. "It's all clear now, right?"
"Yes, she's gone," Tempest said. "We—"
"Are going, yes!" Amber cried. "I will show you, as I said I would; I will get it for you as I said I would!" And then I'll never have to have anything to do with you ever again. "Follow me."
"What about Ruby?" reminded Dove.
Tempest's hands twitched, forming the shapes of claws. "Oh, for the—"
"Yes, of course, Ruby," Amber said, although she felt a little of Tempest's irritation herself. But she had promised Dove that they would make sure she was alright, and it would make him happy, and it shouldn't even take too long.
They crept their way to the dormitory building; there were neither grimm nor fellow students to avoid, but Amber still wanted to keep the green lights of the Emerald Tower at a distance, far away. She wasn't sure if Ozpin had gone down to fight or was still here, but it would be just like him to sit in his tower, watching from afar while everyone else risked their lives in his war. That was how he had used her, after all, why should he use Pyrrha, or Sunset or Jaune or any of them any better?
No, she was sure that he would still be in his tower, and that was why she wanted to avoid it, lest his eyes fall upon her — upon them. If it did … her semblance would probably be their only chance; if she could put him to sleep before he could attack them, then all would be well, but if not, if they were drawn into a fight, then … then he would surely kill them all. Even her, especially her, he would not hesitate to kill her so that the Fall Maiden powers would pass to another, and his Relic, his Crown of Choice, would be safe from danger.
If they could get in and out while staying out of Ozpin's way, so much the better.
And so, Amber led them to the dormitory building via a route that took them nowhere near the tower, but they came to the courtyard nonetheless. The statue that had dominated the courtyard had been smashed, there were only stumps of the huntsmen and huntress remaining, only the beowolf statue remained intact. The building itself, behind the courtyard and the shattered statue, was more damaged than it had been when Amber and the others had departed. There were holes in the walls, the courtyard stone was scored by claw marks, the ruin of Beacon bore testimony to the ferocity of the battle for it.
But it was as they had said on the way: it was all just brick and stone, easily rebuilt, meaning nothing, signifying nothing. Nothing that had been done, nothing that the grimm had destroyed could not be undone.
In a year's time, it would be as if all this had never happened.
They entered the dorm itself, where Amber tried to ignore the bloodstains on the carpet as they climbed the stairs towards Team SAPR's dorm room. They found the room — the room that she had called home this past while — a mess since they had left it, the door smashed, the picture of the team at Benni Havens' smashed and trampled underfoot. Books had been torn to shreds, the pages scattered all over the floor, including, by the looks of it, Dove's book, The Song of Olivia, that he had given to Ruby.
The dorm room was a ruin, but there was no sign of Ruby herself. The closet, where they had left her, had been destroyed, a large hole burned in the wall, Pyrrha's dresses — those that survived — singed and burned, but no sign of Ruby.
Dove stepped towards the hole. "That … does that look like Penny's laser to you?"
"It could be," Amber said. "If it is, that means that they would have come here and found Ruby."
And they might have guessed that I'm the one who put her to sleep.
Never mind. I suppose it was all always going to come out eventually.
"Either way," Tempest said, "she isn't here."
Dove didn't reply to that. He ran one hand around the charred edges of the hole in the wall. "If they did find Ruby, then … they must have found her in some trouble for Penny to fire like this."
"I suppose so," Amber agreed. "But it means they saved her, regardless."
"Yes," Dove murmured. "At least I hope it does, and they would have gotten her away to somewhere safe."
"I hope that too," Amber said quietly.
Dove sighed. "I suppose there's no way to know for sure. We just have to hope, but I'm glad that we didn't find her still here." He paused before he turned back towards Amber. "Alright, let's get what we came here for."
"Finally!" said Tempest.
They descended the stairs quickly, feet pounding on the steps as they emerged out into the courtyard — and found Professor Ozpin waiting for them.
Amber's whole body went cold. She felt her grip upon her staff loosen, and the weapon almost dropped to the floor.
Ozpin.
He did not look ready to strike. The tip of his cane was on the ground, held in one hand; the other hand was clasped behind his back. His head was a little bowed — until he raised it and met her eyes, fixing them with his own dark eyes as they stared at her above his miniature spectacles.
He made no other movements, but Amber felt as though he were coiled like a spring, or like a snake, ready to strike at any moment.
Dove, brave Dove, sweet Dove, foolish Dove, half-stepped in front of her, one hand upon the hilt of his sword for all the good that it would do. Ozpin seemed to ignore him, looking right through him, just as he ignored everyone else with her as well.
"Amber," he said, in a voice that was hard to read, having no approval or disapproval in it.
Amber's heart was beating rapidly in her chest, she could feel it. Her hand shook as she held it out by her side and sent forth little golden motes of light to drift out from her hand towards Ozpin.
Ozpin tapped his cane upon the ground, and a shield of green light appeared around him for a moment, a bubble completely encasing him, separating him from the world. It disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"I'm afraid that your semblance doesn't work as quickly as it would need to, given that I'm expecting it," Ozpin said calmly. "I did warn you that, against an opponent who was alert and ready to fight, it was unlikely to serve you well."
"Warn me," Amber repeated. "Warn me? That was the warning that you gave me, that was what you warned me of, my semblance?! All the things you could have warned me of, you included, and you warned me about that? How was that warning supposed to keep me safe? How was that warning supposed to protect me?"
Ozpin didn't reply, he couldn't, he had no answer. All justice was on her side; he could not bring himself to deny a word of what she had said. Instead, he said, "When Miss Fall told me … when she told me that she had surmised what you had done, that you would give the Relic up to Salem in exchange for your freedom … I did not want to believe it. I did not believe it; I insisted that it could not be so. Even when Miss Nikos, Miss Polendina, and Mister Arc brought the unconscious Miss Rose to me and told me that, in their opinion, you had used your semblance to put her to sleep and thus evade her watch, I did not wish to think it could be true. I did not want to think that … do you hate me, Amber?"
"Should I not?" demanded Amber. "Have I not cause? Have you not done things to me deserving to be hated? Have you not caused me to suffer, to fear, to endure wounds and agonies? Did you not cause me to be scarred, to be separated from Dove, to be hunted? Why should you be surprised that I hate you? What have you done but give me cause to hate you?"
"And Miss Nikos?" asked Ozpin. "Miss Shimmer? Mister Arc? Miss Rose? Have they all given you cause to hate them also?"
"This has nothing to do with them," Amber replied.
"You have betrayed their trust," Ozpin said.
"And you'll use them up until they're dead; don't get all high and mighty with me!" Amber shrieked. She took a deep but ragged breath. "They're flowers to you, to be replaced with new ones when they start to wilt. I … I've lied to them, I admit it, but only because … I haven't hurt them, attacked them, killed them; I haven't done anything to them; I've only lied to them. And only because I had to, because otherwise … because they're loyal to you, even after everything you've done, everything you'll do, everything you are. I've only done what my own safety demanded."
"Your own safety," Ozpin repeated. "And for your safety, you are willing to risk … I confess I am disappointed in you."
"I don't care," Amber declared. "I don't care what you think of me."
Ozpin glanced away from Amber, towards Tempest and Bon Bon. "I've sometimes found myself curious," he said calmly. "How does one find oneself in Salem's service?"
"Who is Salem?" Lyra asked. "Bon Bon, who are they talking about?"
"I…" Bon Bon began, but fell silent.
"You don't know either, Miss Bonaventure?" Ozpin asked. "That is part of an answer at least. Miss Heartstrings, Mister Bronzewing, I take it that Amber and her friends have not been entirely honest with you?"
"Don't listen to him, Lyra; he's trying to trick you," Bon Bon said.
"On the contrary, Miss Bonaventure, I am trying to enlighten Miss Heartstrings with facts you seem to have kept to yourself — or had kept from you. You see, Miss Heartstrings, Miss Bonaventure, Miss Shadow, and Miss Dust serve a malevolent creature called Salem, who seeks to—"
"That's enough!" Bon Bon shouted, her armour creaking and clanking as she charged forward, swinging her morningstar towards Ozpin.
Ozpin shimmered in place, three Ozpins appearing before their eyes as the spiked ball of Bon Bon's morningstar flew harmlessly past his face. Ozpin brought his hand out from behind his back to grab the chain, clasping tight hold of it. He hauled back on it, spinning rapidly in place. Bon Bon was yanked off her feet with a wordless cry as Ozpin spun her around and slammed her into the cliff-like plinth that remained of the courtyard statue.
Now it was the plinth's turn to shatter in part as Bon Bon slammed into it, stone fragments flung left and right, a cloud of dust rising as half the plinth disappeared in a moment, transformed into a heap of rubble that half-buried Bon Bon underneath it.
"Bon Bon!" Lyra cried. Her fingers shook as she tried to pluck at the strings of her harp, the first few notes rising haltingly, awkwardly into the air.
Ozpin was on her in a flash; one moment, he was standing in front of them all, the next moment, he was right in front of Lyra, hitting her with his stick over and over and over again, his hand and cane moving so rapidly that Amber's eyes couldn't follow his movements, it was all a blur, he was a blur, and his blows almost flashed as he struck Lyra again and again and again and all too fast for any aid to reach her. Lyra cried out, her harp dropped from her hands, her arms spread out on either side of her as she was lifted up into the air by the sheer force of the repetitive blows that deluged her like a sudden rain descending from the heavens.
Dove fired two shots from his gun sword, but Ozpin deflected both of them with his cane without appearing to even for a second break the stride of his attack on Lyra, such was his speed. Dove charged at him, but he was too slow, so slow by comparison to Ozpin, it was like a snail trying to outrace a horse.
Lyra's aura broke, a pale green light rippling up and down her body, and instantly, Ozpin ceased his assault, stepping back from her, letting her fall to the ground with a thump and a cry of pain before he turned his attention on Dove.
Dove slashed at Ozpin with his sword, Ozpin parried with his cane, then reversed it to hit Dove in the face with the metal handle. Dove recoiled, and Ozpin hit him twice more, a second time in the face and then in the belly, making him double over. Ozpin's cane lashed out to strike Dove in the leg next, in the back of the knee, forcing him to the ground before Ozpin hit—
The blow didn't land, because Amber had stepped between Dove and Ozpin, parrying his stroke with Sapphire, her simple wooden staff barring the path of his ornate cane.
"No more!" Amber cried. "I won't let you hurt anyone else."
Ozpin's face was impassive. He took half a step backwards, raising his cane for another strike.
Amber attacked, hurling herself upon him like the storm upon the mountain. Sapphire was a blur in her hand as she whirled the wood before her, tracing elaborate patterns through the air as she struck at Ozpin from the left, the right, above, below. She called upon her magic, she let the corona of the Fall Maiden burn in her eye as fire burned at the tip of her staff.
Ozpin fell back before her, parrying her strokes, cane and staff striking with thwack after resounding thwack. Ozpin fell back, and Amber pursued him, her movements a blur, just as his had been a moment before when he’d attacked poor Lyra. But she wasn’t Lyra, she was faster, stronger, she was the Fall Maiden, and she would break through any moment now. She could do this. She would do this. She’d already fought the grimm, she’d killed the grimm, she’d been the Fall Maiden — not the coward that Ozpin wanted, the real Fall Maidens as they were of old — once tonight already; she could fight, she could kill, she could bring him down; after all, he’d taught her—
Everything she knew.
Not, as it turned out, everything he knew.
Ozpin parried and parried, he took her blows upon his cane, always blocking, always halting her attacks. The flames from the tip of her staff troubled him not, they never came near him, he shimmered away, he became a blur, and the flames passed by him without harming him. Amber gritted her teeth, growling in anger like the grimm she had laid low as she twirled in place and unleashed a torrent of flame upon him out of her hand, but he conjured up a shield to surround him.
Amber spun her staff and drove it, tip first, like a spear towards the shield, concentrating some of her aura at the staff’s end to penetrate Ozpin’s shield like a lance.
The shield disappeared, but Ozpin moved so swiftly to parry her staff and counter, forcing Amber back before she was struck.
Amber unleashed fire again, a wave of flame to cover her retreat and give her time to recover. Maybe if Salem’s agents were to help her in any way—
Ozpin conjured up another shield, but this time, the shield moved; it surrounded him as shield and man alike flew forward, passing through the flames to slam into Amber like a cannonball.
Amber was knocked backwards, off her feet. Ozpin’s shield dissolved, and then he attacked her, striking her with his cane again and again, so swiftly that she couldn’t respond, could barely think to respond.
She dropped to the ground, her aura flaring in pain. Ozpin stood over her, looming, menacing, staff raised above his head.
Amber let out a wordless whimper, a cry of fear and pain as she covered her face, her scarred face, with both hands, curling up into a ball.
Ozpin hesitated. He stood over her, his cane raised up, but he did not strike.
“Amber,” he whispered.
A sob passed from Amber’s lips. She waited for the blow to fall.
It did not.
Instead, the cane descended in Ozpin’s hands, falling to his side.
“Amber,” he repeated. A sigh escaped him. “All your failings as a Maiden,” he said, “and as a daughter, are my failings as a teacher … and as a father. Amber, I am so sorry. Would there was any way that I could ask your forgiveness.”
Amber’s fingers twitched. She shifted her hand a little as she lay upon the cold, hard, battle-scarred ground, and once more, she used her semblance.
Once more, the golden motes of light began to rise from the palm of her hand, and this time, Ozpin did not shield himself. He did nothing as the golden lights rose in the air, surrounding him. He did nothing except let his eyes flicker and droop until his old bones collapsed to the ground beside Amber like a great old tree fallen by the storm.
Amber closed her eyes. “I forgive you,” she whispered.
She rose onto her hands and knees. “Lyra?” she asked. “Dove?”
“I’m fine,” Dove said. “My aura didn’t break. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be more help.”
“It’s fine,” Amber said. “It’s fine, I … I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you better.”
“You did enough,” Dove assured her. “You did more than enough. You won.”
Amber got up. “Lyra?”
“I’m okay,” Lyra groaned. “My aura’s broken, but I’m not hurt. He didn’t … he stopped. It was like he didn’t want to hurt me, just break my aura.”
“You were lucky,” Tempest declared, stepping lightly across the courtyard to stand over the slumbering Ozpin.
“And you were absent,” Amber pointed out.
“Everything moved so fast,” Tempest murmured, without even looking in Amber’s direction. She cocked her head to one side as she looked down at Ozpin.
“Behold the great Professor Ozpin,” she said, “considered a hero by many.” She knelt down astride him, and with one hand, she reached into a pouch at her belt and pulled out a blood red handkerchief.
With her other hand, she prised open Ozpin’s mouth.
“What are you doing?” Amber demanded.
“What our safety demands,” Tempest said as she stuffed the handkerchief down Ozpin’s throat.
“No!” Lyra cried. “No, stop that, you’ll kill him.”
“Very astute of you,” Tempest said.
“Stop it!” Lyra shouted, starting forwards toward Tempest and Ozpin, only to be stopped by Bon Bon, who extricated herself from the rubble of the statue in time to grab Lyra by the shoulders and hold her back.
“Let go of me!” Lyra demanded, trying and failing to wrestle free of Bon Bon’s grip. “Bon Bon, what are you doing? Amber! Amber, you have to stop this!”
Amber didn’t reply. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t do anything, she watched as Tempest rammed that handkerchief down Ozpin’s throat, cutting off his air supply.
His aura was still intact, but that wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t breathe. It would kill him as surely as no aura and a knife through the heart.
He’ll die.
He’s going to die.
“Uncle Ozpin, Uncle Ozpin, did you bring me a present?”
“Tempest,” Amber murmured. “There’s no need for this.”
“I disagree,” Tempest said. “If he wakes up—”
“He isn’t going to wake up.”
“If he wakes up,” Tempest repeated, “then we could be in for a lot of trouble. Best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Tell me about Vale, Uncle Ozpin. Tell me everything!”
“Everything? We’ll be here a long time if you expect me to tell you everything.”
He filled my days with endless wonder.
“You will finally get to see Vale, Amber, if perhaps not in the circumstances that you or I wished … or expected.”
“I’ll have to leave here … forever?”
“I’m afraid so, my dear.”
He took my childhood in his stride.
“What is this? What’s happened to me? Why can I do these things, why do I dream these things? What am I?”
“You are the Fall Maiden, inheritor of a magic passed down from your mother and generations upon generations of exceptional women who have come before.”
Then he was gone when autumn came.
Amber bit her lip. “Please,” she whispered. “Please don’t.”
Tempest ignored her. She held the handkerchief down, blocking Ozpin’s airway.
Amber could stop this. She could attack Tempest, she could burn the handkerchief, she could fling her enemies with her magic.
She could save Ozpin.
If she wished.
He made my life a hell.
He made me a weapon in his war.
He took my dreams from me, my life, my summer, my joy and laughter and happiness.
I loved him once.
He loved his Fall Maiden that was to come, but he never loved me.
Or did he?
If he loved me, then why did he treat me this way?
But I loved him once.
Once. But now…
“Amber?” Lyra repeated insistently. “Amber, are you just … are you just going to stand there?”
“I’m sorry,” Amber whispered, to Ozpin more than to Lyra. “I’m sorry.”
Lyra continued to protest, continued to struggle, while Amber watched, watched in silence and remembered, until Tempest put two fingers to Ozpin’s neck and said, “It’s done.”
“'Done'?” Lyra said, pulling herself away from Bon Bon. “Done, you mean dead? Dead because you murdered him?”
“Calm down, Lyra,” Bon Bon said.
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Lyra snapped. “You said that … first you said that we were going to rescue Amber from Ozpin, and then it turns out that we need to get this thing that we can give to someone else, and just who is Salem, huh? What is this thing, and what was Ozpin going to tell me that you had to attack him just to shut him up? And then … he was defenceless! He was asleep on the floor, and you murdered him. This … this isn’t…” Lyra’s breathing was shallow, and very rapid. “And this grimm attack too, it—”
“Lyra—”
“Don’t 'Lyra' me; I don’t know who you are!” Lyra shouted into Bon Bon’s face. She took a step back. “I don’t know you. Did I ever know you?”
“Lyra,” Amber said softly. “Please, I know that this is difficult, and I would love to explain everything to you, but right now, we don’t have time.”
“But you have time for this?” Lyra asked. “Time to watch as … how could you? How could you just stand there and watch as … as that!”
“If you knew what he had done to me,” Amber replied, “you wouldn’t ask that.”
Lyra stared at her, eyes wide. “I … I can’t do this,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, I wanted to help you, but this … it’s too much. Dove, Dove, you have to see that this has gone too far, you have to.”
“Ordinarily, I would,” Dove allowed. “But Ozpin? Amber’s right, if you knew what he had done—”
“It doesn’t matter what he’d done; he was helpless on the floor!” Lyra shouted.
“He was our enemy,” Tempest said, getting to her feet. “Is that a category that you’d like to put yourself in also?”
Amber said, “There’s no need—”
“I won’t let the success of this operation be put in jeopardy by someone finding their conscience,” Tempest snapped. “If you’re not with us, you’re against us, and if you’re against us—”
“You’ll kill me too?” Lyra asked.
“No!” Bon Bon said. “No, that’s not—”
“Yes,” Tempest said calmly. “That’s it exactly.”
Lyra swallowed. She said nothing. She didn’t do anything, and for a moment, Amber hoped that all would be well, that Lyra would calm down and that there would be time to properly explain things to her.
Then she turned and ran, heading off into the night, her gaudy cloak of many colours flapping behind her.
“Lyra!” Bon Bon shouted. She glanced at the others. “I’ll—”
“You stay where you are!” Tempest snarled. “We have played nice for long enough. Lightning! Handle her!”
Lightning smirked. “With pleasure,” she growled before she set off in pursuit.
“And you,” Tempest added, rounding on Amber. “No more delays; take us to the Vault of the Fall Maiden, or your deal is done, and you can spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder; do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Amber said, reminding herself that, very soon, this would all be over, and she would never have to deal with Tempest ever again. “Yes, I understand. Don’t worry; I’ll take you there now.”
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Jeez, Bon-Bon really gonna let Lightning kill Lyra? That's cold. A shame she already had her chance to do the right thing.
Ouch, this one hurts; Ozpin is killed in his sleep, and Amber watches and does nothing to stop it; it just segments her pathetic excuses and self pity even more as she did nothing to save him, even as he offered nothing more than his apologies for his mistakes; I also like how Lyra ran away when she realized what she was evolving herself with; I suppose she may be saved from Lightning by Cinder or Sunset and that will be the cataclysm for the battle for the Relic.
I also like how Bennis was saved and how important she seems for the Beacon atmosphere, and I hope we may see her later after everything isn’t done. I am curious to see how things will align timeline wise considering we still have to see the battle against the Dragon and we have no idea where Sunset, Pyrrha and the rest of SAPR and Weiss are in all this mess with the Grimm.
I suppose that Cinder may be the key to stalling the Amber Crew enough for the Beacon student to kill the Wyvern and be alerted to Amber’s plans.
11922888
Honestly, Lyra is the real victim in all this. Her 'friends' have fucked her over in a manner that mere words cannot describe.
Also, the fact that Lightning and Tempest made no attempt to get involved with the fight against Ozpin suggests that what I suspected all along is going to happen; Tempest is planning to betray and murder Amber, Bon Bon and Dove (and Lyra too, but that wasn't originally part of the plan) once she gets the crown. Letting them waste their auras against Ozpin just makes that battle easier if both her and Lightning are fresh.
It's not like Salem would care that they broke her deal if they hand her the crown.
I forgave you before, Amber. There was a moment where you almost turned away but felt coerced into it because of Ruby's zealotry. But that absolution is now gone. You had yet another moment where you could've stopped. This time, the power was in your hands alone. Just as when Lady Nikkos admonished her daughter for allowing Sunset to be banished, "In your silent witness, you gave your approval."
I am sorry that Ruby put you on this path, Amber. But, as of this moment, you chose to continue down it.
It looks like this time around Sonata didn’t get her fingers into Tempest’s head since she doesn’t seem compromised by her death like the Vale military forces were.
At least Lyra has a freaking conscience, Tempest, you evil psycho!
Seriously, Lyra is the only one who redeems herself here for having a conscience and doesn't want be guilty of association. I really hope she lives. She doesn't deserve to die.
Tempest is coldhearted and evil.
Lightning Dust is Lightning Dust.
Bon Bon is too much of a flipflopper it's cowardly.
Dove is blinded by his love for Amber. Seriously, dude, I don't care what Ozpin did to Amber and, by extension, you, that does not justify murder! I can't tell if this is worse than original or not, since at least then, Dove was under the sway of Amber's old semblence, whereas here, he is totally fine with Oz being being murdered because Amber got hurt.
And Amber... as tragic as she is here than in the original, as much as she wants to cry victim, being associated with murder is not a good look on her.
I do like the Ozpin fight, as he's like Pyrrha and Sunset combined, mixing skill at arms with magic. I half expected him to say "did you think Miss Shimmer was the only one capable of such tricks?" Seriously, shields, teleportation, illusions, it's like, despite being vastly older and more experienced, he took a page out of Sunset's book.
11922906
Given Cinder is headed Amber and co.'s way on her path of revenge, I'm betting she'll come across Lyra and Lightning along the way, saving Lyra by happenstance by killing Lightning. I mean, by associating with Tenpest, Lightning betrayed Cinder too so, she likely gonna die by Cinder's hand.