The Wild Geese: A RWBY Story

Chapter Five - Into The Fold

As the Vytal Festival continued, Pyrrha Nikos makes her way to Ozpin's office. She had been called up with no reason given. When Pyrrha enters Ozpin's office, she finds Ozpin next to his deck. Qrow soon appears in the room along with Pip.

Ozpin: What is your favorite fairy tale?

Pyrrha: I'm... sorry?

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

Pyrrha: Well, there's The Tale of The Two Brothers, The Shallow Sea, The Girl in the Tower...

Ozpin: What about The Story of the Seasons?

Pyrrha: 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.

As Pyrrha finished telling the story of the Maidens, Ozpin pauses as he takes a sip from his mug.

Ozpin: Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?

Pyrrha: You're not that old, Professor.

Ozpin: Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?

Pyrrha became confused as Pip smirked.

Qrow: Yeah. First time hearing it's pretty crazy.

Pip: Speak for yourself, Qrow. My men and I never dabbled in fairy tales until now.

Pyrrha: You're....you're serious?

Ozpin: Do we look like we're joking?

At this point, Glynda and Ironwood enter the room. They take Pyrrha and lead her to the Vault. As they boarded the elevator, Pyrrha grew nervous.

Pyrrha: Where are we going?

Ozpin: The vault. Under the school.

Glynda: I'm sure you must have questions.

Pyrrha: Maybe one, or two...I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?

Glynda: 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.

Upon hearing this, Pyrrha was in shock. Pip himself was just as surprised as he now learned that most of Remnant's fairy tales appeared to be true.

Pyrrha: So, how does the power choose?

Qrow: Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules.

Glynda: Qrow.

Qrow: Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right.

Pip: I'll have to agree with Qrow on this. Seems like there's better ways to go about transferring this power. But what do I know? I'm just a mercenary.

Glynda: 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.

Pyrrha: Intimate?

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

Pyrrha: Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?

Qrow: 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 much longer before the peace we've been enjoying so much goes out the window.

Ozpin: There are evils out there that does not sleep. Evils that have waited patiently to unleash their evil. The situation has grown to such a state that we hired Captain Bernadotte and his men to aid us in this fight.

Soon enough, they reached the Vault that lay beneath Beacon. Ozpin's inner circle soon led Pyrrha to the stasis chamber where Amber was being held. Pip was caught off guard by what he was seeing.

Pip: What the hell?

Pyrrha: Is that...

Ozpin: The current Fall Maiden, Amber.

Pyrrha: She's...she's still alive.

Ironwood: 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.

Pyrrha: What do you mean?

Ozpin: Well, we don't know what will happen if....when she passes.

Pyrrha: Won't her powers transfer to the next host?

Ironwood: 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. And to make matters worse, no one's ever seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half.

Pip: So there's someone out there with half of these magic powers? She'll probably be a bitch to take down.

As Pyrrha assessed the situation, it became clear that something bad was happening and it was happening behind the scenes. Pyrrha then spoke.

Pyrrha: 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?

Glynda: From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge.

Pyrrha: Excuse me?

Qrow: How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere.

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

Pyrrha: I'll do it. If you believe that this will help humanity... then I will become your Fall Maiden. That's what you wanted, isn't it?

Pip: This just got interesting, Ozpin. I thought I was dealing with some Grimm and some terrorists. Now you're asking my men to fight magical beings. Not exactly a standard job.

Ozpin: You will be payed your promised fee and more, Captain Bernadotte.

Pip: This job gets more and more interesting.

Ozpin: Miss Nikos, I know I'm asking much of you, but will you help us fight this evil by becoming the Fall Maiden?

Pyrrha: If it's for the good of Remnant, then I...I accept.

In that moment, Pyrrha Nikos accepted the heavy responsibility of becoming the Fall Maiden. What they didn't know is that their plans would soon come to a sudden stop.