章 791: 134
Chapter 134:
Pyrrha burst into the infirmary at a run. "Dove!" she shouted.
The receptionist looked up from the desk, fixing Pyrrha with a fierce stare. "Ms. Nikos! Please keep your voice down, or you will be asked to leave."
Pyrrha froze in place, her eyes going wide, her throat working furiously. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds, then she forced herself to close it, taking a deep breath. "R-right...I'm sorry," she said, her voice heavy with contrition.
The receptionist's expression softened. "I understand your concern, Ms. Nikos. Mr. Bronzewing has already been treated, so you should be able to visit him. Please go on in." She quickly told Pyrrha which room Dove was in.
Pyrrha had to force herself to keep her pace down to a walk as she made her way through the hallway, stopping at the entrance to the room. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for whatever sight lay beyond the threshold, then pulled the door open.
She found her boyfriend sitting on the infirmary bed, already fully dressed, in the process of pulling on his shoes. If he'd taken any injury, there was no sign of it now. When Pyrrha stepped into the room, Dove looked up in surprise.
"Oh, hey there," he said awkwardly.
"Dove, what's going on?" asked Pyrrha, confused. "I got a message from Cardin saying you were..."
"Yeah, I was pretty beat up," said Dove, groaning. "I'm glad you didn't see me when I came in. I was a right mess."
"But you...?"
"Ruby's sister stopped by, Jaune with her," said Dove by way of explanation. "I got to serve as a pop quiz for the guy."
Pyrrha's arms dropped to hang limp at her sides. "Seriously?"
"Yep," said Dove. "So I'm fine now. I'm sleepy, thanks to the healing. But I've got enough left in the tank to make it back into my own bed at least."
"But what happened?" asked Pyrrha. "Were you attacked?"
"Yep," said Dove, speaking with such casual ease that Pyrrha could scarcely believe him. "I got caught off-guard, dragged into an alley, then thrashed to within an inch of my life. Honestly, a little bit more and I probably would've been dead."
"How can you be so calm about this?" demanded Pyrrha, on the verge of panicking. "Whoever did this to you hasn't been caught, have they?"
"Nope," said Dove.
"Then they could still be out there, and they could come after you again." Pyrrha gasped as a thought occurred to her. "No...This isn't a coincidence is it? Holly did this. She must have put someone up to do this. There's no other explanation for how you'd wind up beaten in an alley, just a few days after confronting her like that."
"You're not wrong," said Dove, the calm and confident ease with which he spoke throwing Pyrrha off.
"What?" gasped Pyrrha, her confusion mounting.
"Holly is definitely the one to put her up to it," said Dove, before shaking his head, grumbling.
"H-how do you know that?" asked Pyrrha.
"Well...remember that I said I was already working on a plan for her...?" said Dove, giving Pyrrha a smile brimming with mischief.
"Yes...?" said Pyrrha.
Dove's smile became a full grin. "Well, let's just say she took the bait."
"By beating you up?" asked Pyrrha. "How does that help us? I mean, that just means that someone is working for her."
"Yeah, but the one working for her was working for us first," Dove replied.
"Huh?"
Holly's lips curled up in a slight, cruel smile as she took in the image on the screen of her scroll. It clearly showed Dove Bronzewing, laid out flat on the concrete, his face a mass of bruises. Blood was trickling down from the corner of his lips, one eye completely swollen shut. His hands and arms looked likewise battered, and what flesh was visible through the tears in his shirt and pants was similarly discolored by multiple impacts.
It must have taken a lot of force to bring the boy's Aura down to the point where she could do this to him, thought Holly, a satisfied feeling welling up within her. Hopefully he felt every minute of this. That should serve as a sufficient warning to keep his nose out of my business, and a cue to Pyrrha to leave him, if she doesn't want him suffering a worse fate in the future.
She supposed she should have been impressed that the boy had managed to dig up enough information about her to learn about her Semblance. At the very least, it meant that he knew the right people to ask. Of course, there were consequences for digging too deep into a woman's history, consequences that Dove was suffering from right now.
Now, all that's left is the other one, and Pyrrha's participation in the finals will be guaranteed, thought Holly triumphantly. Raising her eyes, she smiled approvingly at the one who'd provided her with this picture, her wine-red eyes meeting a pair of mismatched chocolate-brown and light-pink.
Neo Politan tapped on her scroll, before holding up the screen for Holly to see. "You like...?" she asked.
"I like it very much," said Holly, before sighing in disappointment. "Honestly, that boy was such an irritant that I'd like to make this picture my personal wallpaper. But that would obviously be incriminating."
Neo smirked, clearly agreeing with Holly's sentiments.
Holly was definitely grateful to Junior for pointing her in the direction of this little, pint-sized menace. Anyone with a working familiarity with the underworld knew where to go in a given location to get the connections one needed. In Vale, one went to Junior. Holly had gone to Junior, looking for him to recommend someone who could do a job for her, and Junior had delivered.
"Now then, as promised, I will wire the payment to the account number you provided," said Holly, taking care of that matter now. Her source had said that this young lady did not mess around, when it came to her pay, and Holly had no intention of making an enemy of her. "Now then...if you are ready, I have your second job already lined up."
Neo nodded.
Holly's smile widened. "Your next target will be one Ruby Rose. In this case, I would like for you to inflict the most severe injuries you are capable of...short of killing her. Whatever it takes, so long as she is ineligible to participate in the next round of the tournament."
Neo tapped out a response. "And if she dies...?"
"If she dies...that would be unfortunate," said Holly. "I don't want to make this issue any bigger than it needs to be. A dead body attracts a great deal more attention than a battered one. The murder of a tournament participant might even go so far as to derail the matches themselves."
And the death of her friend could have an adverse effect on Pyrrha's own performance, Holly added silently. It's a pity. With enough time, I could work her around to getting over it. But the time frame just won't allow it. So killing Ruby Rose would have problematic consequences.
Neo nodded in understanding. Holding up her scroll, she tapped it.
"Your advance...of course," said Holly, nodding in understanding. "As per your set prices, I will send the appropriate advance to your account immediately."
Neo beamed, watching as Holly tapped the screen of her own scroll. Then used her scroll to confirm that the lien had been transferred into her account. Neo's smile became a grin, a cruel one at that, the kind of expression that sent shivers down even the spine of someone like Holly.
"Are you looking forward to it already?" asked Holly.
Neo schooled her grin back into a more benign-looking smile, and she tapped her scroll some more, before holding it up for Holly to see.
"Thank you for your prompt payment," she said. Another round of tapping, she added a new line. "And...You're under arrest."
"What?" grunted Holly, her eyes going wide. "Is this a joke? I swear, if you're simply going to use me, then turn me over to the authorities, I'll see to it that-!"
Holly's voice cut off as a gruff voice spoke from behind her. "You're not going to be seeing to anything for a long while, lady."
Holly's eyes widened in surprise and fear, she spun on the spot, shocked to see a tall, lanky man with a red cape standing behind her. The man observed her with pale-red eyes, underneath a disheveled mop of black hair.
"A Huntsman!" gasped Holly. "What...But I thought..."
"Looks like your info's a little outdated," said Qrow, checking his own scroll. "The Ice Cream Pipsqueak has been workin' for us fer a while now." He grinned at what he saw on the screen. "Nice job. We've got confirmation of payment and everything."
"What do you mean?" asked Holly.
"Just proof that you solicited violence against a Beacon student," said Qrow, before narrowing his eyes in a glare that made Holly backpedal, "and proof that you were soliciting additional violence against my niece. This is enough to get your sorry ass hauled off to prison for a good, long time."
Holly stumbled backwards, mouth flapping uselessly as she tried to come up with a way out of this situation. "N-now...there's no need to do anything rash," she said. "Why don't we s-see if we can come to an arrangement?"
"We already have," said Qrow firmly, stepping forward, his hand going to the handle of the sword holstered at the small of his back, looking dangerously large and menacing, even in its collapsed form.
"There's no need for violence," asserted Holly, doing her best to regain some form of control over the situation. Her Semblance was potent, under the right conditions. However, it worked best when her targets were either calm, or flustered and off-balance. Qrow Branwen was neither of those things at the moment. He was angry, and all that anger was being directed wholly at her.
Which didn't leave her without recourse though. All Holly needed to do was to keep talking to shift the target of his anger. First, she had to get it off of her. Perhaps Neo...? No, that won't work. It's clear Neo was colluding with him from the start. In that case...Pyrrha's parents...They're about as close as ideal as it could get. I'll pin the blame on them, then talk him around to going after them instead.
"If we are going to talk, it should be without any props on your part," said a girlish voice from behind her, along with the feeling of a small hand coming to rest against the small of her back.
At first, Holly thought it was Neo saying that, even though Neo had a reputation for being mute. However, when she looked over at the diminutive girl, she saw that Neo hadn't moved an inch. Looking down, Holly's eyes widened at the auburn-haired girl standing practically in her shadow.
Sasame looked up at Holly, giving her a sunny smile, with narrowed eyes that filled the woman with a sense of danger. "It seems to me that you've caused enough harm with your words already. It's time to relieve them of their power."
"What are you-?" Holly began to ask, only to lurch as she felt Sasame's hand press harder into her back...then into it. It wasn't painful, but Holly couldn't help but feel disturbed by the sensation, as Sasame's fingers reached through the bones of her vertebrae, and then to mesh with the fibers of her spinal cord.
"Now...it would be child's play for me to paralyze you for life," said Sasame, her tone cheerful, yet with an undertone that turned Holly's bones to ice. Just a light tug caused the woman's legs to give out, Holly collapsing onto her knees, bringing her face to within reach of Sasame's lips, which she placed next to Holly's ear. "However," she said, "I shall simply seal your Aura completely, ensuring that you won't be able to use that Persuasion of yours on anyone ever again."
Holly gasped, her stomach sinking. The one trump card that had seen her through countless negotiations, that had allowed her to come on top, again and again, was being taken away from her. "You can't!"
"I will," said Sasame cooly. "And be glad that this is all I will be doing to you." She leaned her lips in closer to Holly's ear, speaking in a whisper that only Holly could hear. "For what you did to your daughter, I would gladly flay the skin from your body, while keeping you conscious and alert for every second of it. You can count the fact that she is alive; and has managed to grow up into a beautiful, strong, if misguided, young woman; as the only reason that sealing your Aura will be the most I do to you." Well…that and doing such a thing with her Healing Arts would be a grievous violation of creed as a healer…but Holly didn't need to know that part.
Holly gasped. "How could you know?"
"For a healer, dealing with Auras in the most intimate of manners, it is easy to sense the relation in your Auras," Sasame replied, keeping her tone low. "That is all you need to know of the matter. Your daughter will be much better off not having anything to do with the woman who abandoned her without a care."
Holly swallowed. To think that child survived. She wasn't sure what she felt about that. Long ago, in the streets of one of Vacuo's few cities, she had been even more desperate to do what it took to survive, and come away with some form of profit, even selling her body. The unfortunate consequence of that way of life had been left abandoned, in a dumpster in a dusty alley. Holly could have brought her to an orphanage. However, she had been more interested in lining up her next client, and had dealt with the problem as expediently as she did all her issues. Someone had found out, and the resulting abandonment had been placed on her, but Holly had been able to Persuade her way out of the consequences. At the first possible opportunity, she'd left Vacuo, and that infant, behind, not sparing a thought for the girl in the years since.
Even now, the thought did nothing to her. All Holly could think was that she had just been spared a worse fate than the one she was already set for. That alone was bad enough, considering that she suddenly felt as though a part of herself had been closed off forever.
Sasame withdrew her hand from Holly's back, allowing the woman to go limp. "It's done," she said, her tone dangerously neutral. "She's all yours, Qrow-san."
"Thanks," said Qrow, looking a little disconcerted. While Sasame had only spoken loud enough for Holly to hear her, Qrow and Neo both had been able to sense the raw fury that had boiled just beneath her skin, making them both feel as though they'd been standing next to a pile of high-explosives, resting up against a lit match.
Sasame turned on her heel, then flickered out of sight, her speed carrying her away, leaving Qrow and Neo with their prisoner.
"Well...there's someone I don't want to tick off," said Qrow, while Neo nodded emphatically in front of him.
By the time the next day came around, Pyrrha had received word of Holly's arrest, along with the circumstances. As a party to the situation, she was informed of all the circumstances pertaining to her arrest, which included enough evidence to ensure what promised to be a speedy conviction, made all the more assuring by Sasame's informing her that Holly's Aura and Semblance had been sealed, ensuring that she couldn't Persuade her way out of trouble.
"There's one thing I don't understand," said Pyrrha, as she and Dove headed for the airship that would take them up to the coliseum.
"What's that?" asked Dove.
"Couldn't Neo have just used her Semblance to make it look like you were beaten up? Why did she have to beat you up for real?"
"Simple, she didn't have to beat me for real," said Dove.
"Then why?"
Dove snorted. "'Cause she's a sadist. She knew I could be healed later, so the beating was for kicks and giggles."
Pyrrha paled. "It's hard to believe she's on our side, sometimes."
"I don't think she is," Dove answered. "The only side she's on is her own...and probably Torchwick's. She'll cooperate with us for his sake, but she isn't gonna be one of the heroes anytime soon. Hopefully, that's enough to keep her from causing too much trouble."
Pyrrha nodded in agreement.
Today promised to be another day of excitement. Team CPPR, represented by Penny and Ciel, were in the first match. However, despite looking forward to seeing them fight, Pyrrha and Dove's destination was not the red seats at ringside. Instead, upon arriving at the coliseum, they headed to the elevator that would take them up to the highest levels. They were heading to one of the skyboxes.
And they weren't alone. Stepping off the airship, they approached the coliseum's lobby, finding Sasame waiting for them there. After meeting up with her there, the three of them headed to the elevators to find none other than Winter Schnee waiting for them.
"Ms. Nikos, Mr. Bronzewing..." said Winter, inclining her head in greeting.
"Hello, Winter," said Pyrrha politely.
"Are you prepared to do this?" asked Winter, looking a trifle uneasy.
"Not really," conceded Pyrrha. "But I do need to speak to them."
"Do you believe that they were aware of Holly Ji's plans?" asked Winter.
"I don't think so," said Pyrrha. "Though, if they were, Holly would be able to easily talk them around to seeing things her way."
"No doubt," agreed Winter.
"But, at the very least, I want Sasame to do for them what she did for me," said Pyrrha, glancing down at Sasame, who gave her an encouraging smile. "I can attest that, even with Holly's Aura removed, it's hard to shake the the habits she engrained in me. My parents are probably even worse off. But, if we don't start, we won't get anywhere at all."
"Understood," said Winter.
They entered the elevator, taking it up to the highest level, then making their way through the hallway that inscribed the circumference of the coliseum's upper rim. The air in this section seemed thinner and lighter, and unquestionably cooler, as though somewhat reflecting the coliseum's actual altitude, rather than the pressurized air maintained by the force-fields, which allowed the audience and participants to act as though they were at ground-level.
In a sense, that was due to all the things that this level of the coliseum lacked. Up here, they were out of the sun, which, through much of the day, beat down mercilessly upon the inside of flying structure. Even with the main seating sections having their own climate-control systems, said systems, naturally, weren't able to keep up with the demands of operating throughout such a massive volume of air, even accounting for the arena itself, sectioned off by the defensive fields.
That problem was only exacerbated by the sun, which shined down from above, the fields doing only a little to mitigate the light and heat streaming down from above, unless the day was sufficiently cloudy. Even then, the climate-control systems would still struggle to keep up with the most significant source of heat and humidity...the spectators themselves. It was only natural that packing thousands of people together, however vast the space might seem to the eyes, would lead to their collective body-heat warming the air in a substantial fashion, which was enhanced by the rising humidity created by countless sweating bodies sitting in close proximity to one another...which also produced a certain underlying odor as well.
Pyrrha reflected that it would be interesting at some point to just simply come up early and watch as the audience filled in the seats. The festival being what it was, there were no reservations for general seating. Everything was on a first-come-first-served basis, which meant that people would arrive early, if they had a preference. Depending on the time of day, there was a definite surge for people to pick out their preferred seats. Closer to the ring, and the action, were favorites, of course. But in time with the movement of the sun across the sky, people would often seek to pick out seats on the shade-side, with the seats on the hotter sun-side being the last ones taken, people often willing to take seats in the highest rows, rather than pick out the closer rows that were still open on the illuminated side of the stadium.
The upper level of the coliseum was, of course, a different situation entirely. Being a smaller space, and completely enclosed, not to mention open only to a select few people, meant that it was much easier to maintain a consistent and comfortable temperature for the people who used these levels. The skyboxes themselves were even better, the users able to fine-tune the temperature to their exact preference. And, even though they were at the highest levels, and farthest away from the arena, there was no worry about missing out on the action, as the fantastic technologies realized in their construction allowed the view from the windows to be zoomed into the level of the ringside seats, or even closer, depending on the user's preferences.
And all of that was on top of the various luxuries that were available within the boxes themselves. Depending on how much one was willing to spend, there were various types, with different features and amenities. Even the least among them sported luxury seating, plushly-cushioned chairs, with no more than two or so rows, ensuring that the boxes couldn't be too crowded. Others sported bars, catering, or even full gourmet-restaurant-class dining. At least one of the skyboxes had been configured into the format of a lounge, rather than a seating section, with chairs arranged around tables, the customers able to experience the highest class of service, without needing to take their eyes off the action. Finally, the boxes were appropriately staffed to allow the desires of their occupants to be scrupulously seen to.
In other words, this was the kind of place that Pyrrha's parents would seek out. In fact, it was better to say that this was the only kind of seating that they would allow themselves to partake of, lest someone think they were settling for being seated amongst the commoners...for free (Gasp!). If they were allowed free rein, Pyrrha knew her parents would immediately seek out the most expensive tier of skybox available, their tendencies only being tempered by someone getting in a reservation ahead of them. Competition for this exclusive seating could get surprisingly cutthroat, after all, especially since the matchups were announced shortly before the match themselves, with popular competitors drawing increased competition for preferred seating.
It seemed that, on this occasion, the current matchup had people fairly excited. Penny had demonstrated herself to be a powerhouse in the first-round, and Ciel's elegant and refined Dust-based style of combat had won her quite a few fans. There wasn't much to say about the opposing pair, which was unfortunate for them. But Ciel and Penny were drawing plenty of excitement on their own.
Because of that, it seemed that Pyrrha's parents had lost out on the higher-tier skyboxes. Perhaps, without Holly to manage things for them, they'd been too slow to act. As a result, they had reserved one of the more basic such skyboxes for their use.
The quartet came to a stop at one of the doors that ringed the circumference of the carpeted hallway, Winter holding up her scroll to the lock, her status as the primary coordinator for security at the Vytal Festival granting her unrestricted access, even to these exclusive spaces. As such, the lock clicked open immediately, and the door slid aside, allowing them to enter.
Anatolius and Phoinix had been in their seats, waiting for the beginning of the match. Pyrrha personally suspected that they likely wouldn't watch the match itself with much attention. Just the fact that they were here, in this particular place, was all they really cared about. After all, it showed off their clout and wealth, even if they'd lost out to others, this time around.
Upon hearing the door open, Anatolius surged to his feet, turning in place. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, noting the presence of four uninvited people intruding into this private retreat. "We have exclusive..." His harsh tone trailed off at the sight of just who was intruding.
He'd recognized his daughter, of course, along with the boy she'd been consorting with. The diminutive girl accompanying them was someone whose height was appropriate to being "beneath" their notice. However, their attention was quickly monopolized by the presence of Winter, who stood at the forefront of the quartet, arms folded behind her back, posture straight, staring down at them with cold eyes, exuding a professional and authoritative demeanor that quickly cowed the irate man into silence.
"Mr. and Mrs. Nikos," said Winter cooly, her tone level and neutral, "I am Winter Schnee, primary security coordinator for the Vytal Festival. I am here to inform you that your manager, Holly Ji, has been arrested for soliciting violence against other individuals. As such, I am afraid that she will no longer be managing your affairs for you."
"Wha-what?" gasped Phoinix, now jumping to her feet around, gaping at Winter in shock.
"Do you have proof?" demanded Anatolius fiercely.
"Damning proof, as it is," said Winter.
"W-well...I'm s-sorry to hear that," sad Phoinix, her body beginning to quake, her skin paling as well. Pyrrha's eyes could easily pick up the sheen of a cold sweat rapidly accumulating on her mother's brow.
That was to be expected. Bluster all they might, Pyrrha knew that her parents lacked the will to be defiant to authority, especially an authority like Winter. Pyrrha was also willing to speculate that their capacity for defiance had been eroded by continuous exposure to Holly's Semblance. Furthermore, she knew that Phoinix was even more terrified of the notion that she and Anatolius would be fingered as accomplices to Holly's illegal deeds. The scandal of being arrested for something their manager had done would be devastating to their image. The mere fact that someone in their employ had been taken in for such heinous deeds would itself be a serious blow to their reputation.
"That having been said," continued Winter, acting largely indifferent to their reactions, "there is no evidence suggesting any complicity on your part to Ms. Ji's deeds."
"O-of course not," stammered Anatolius. His stutter might have sounded damning, had the four now confronting Pyrrha's parents not already been aware that they had no knowledge of Holly's clandestine efforts. "We would never condone such actions. It's appalling!"
"Indeed it is," agreed Winter. "However, it has been brought to my attention that Ms. Ji is in possession of, not only an unlocked Aura, but a Semblance of the most insidious variety."
"A-and wh-what does that mean?" asked Phoinix, her eyes going wide.
"Her Semblance is rather subtle," said Winter. "To explain in brief, it enables her to mentally manipulate the people she speaks to, with her control growing stronger the more she speaks to or with them."
Both of Pyrrha's parents swallowed, the lumps of their throats bobbing, their eyes blinking. Pyrrha could see that their minds were fogging as they tried to reconcile what they'd just learned with all their previous experience with Holly, all the time she'd spent talking to them. She was fairly certain that they weren't in any fit state to fully comprehend just how much they had fallen under the woman's sway. But just this revelation was causing their minds to begin the process of rebelling against the effects of Holly's Semblance.
"Th-that's...absurd..." growled Anatolius, his brow furrowing.
"H-Holly would n-n-never do something like that to...us," added Phoinix.
"Yes she would," said Pyrrha, stepping forward to stand next to Winter. "I know, because I've dealt with it myself. It's hard to think now, and your head is feeling clouded, right?"
"Pyrrha!" growled her father, his eyes snapping back into focus. "This is your doing, isn't it? You're not content with ruining your own future, you're actively undermining our wellbeing as well, is that it?"
"From the looks of things, you were doing plenty of that yourselves," said Dove, clicking his tongue in disappointment. "I mean, considering how much you two were spending, you'd bleed yourselves dry in a couple more months, at this rate."
"Shut up, you scum!" snapped Anatolius. "You put Pyrrha up to this, didn't you?"
"I won't deny it," said Dove, adopting a gloating grin. "I also took the hit that proved your manager was a walking piece of crap, so you can't say I didn't put my body on the line for it."
"You bastard!" snapped Anatolius, his body tensing, as though he was preparing to throw himself over the back of his seat at Dove.
"Mr. Nikos!" Winter's voice cracked like a whip, the pure authority she projected completely crushing the fire of Anatolius' anger, the force of her glare actually driving him back up against the skybox's window. "Do not do something so foolish as to attempt violence in front of me."
"B-b-but it's obvious that this is an attempt to discredit us!" protested Phoinix. "Holly would never do such a thing!"
"She did, and we have proof," said Winter.
"And we know that she was using her Semblance on you, just like she was me," said Pyrrha.
"And we are going to do something about that now," said Sasame, speaking for the first time, since entering the room.
"Who are you?" demanded Anatolius, transferring his glare to Sasame, who didn't even flinch under it.
"A friend," said Sasame. "Well, you could say that I've adopted Pyrrha-chan as another of my little sisters."
Pyrrha nodded.
"I am also a healer," added Sasame. "In a few minutes, I will have removed that woman's Aura from your brains, which should enable you to tell just how far you've fallen under her influence."
"You'll do no such thing!" snarled Anatolius. "Don't even think about touching us!"
"Dear dear," said Sasame, resting her hands on her hips. "This won't do at all. Working with the brain is no laughing matter. Resisting would make it likely that I might cause damage. That being the case, if you are insisting on being so stubborn, I will have no choice but to have you sleep for a tad."
"Don't come any closer," said Phoinix, eyeing Sasame with terror. Her gaze transferred to Winter. "Stop her at once. This is illegal!"
"Ms. Mitarai is a medical professional," said Winter simply. "At present, she is acting in accord to her responsibilities as such. It is unfortunate, but, if you will not submit to her treatment, I will have no choice but to allow her to do as she knows best."
"You-!" roared Anatolius.
"That's quite enough," said Sasame, flickering from where she stood to reappear behind both of Pyrrha's parents. Her tail split two ways, the tip of each one touching the back of the neck at the base of the skull. The next second, the eyes of both Pyrrha's parents rolled up, then slid closed, their bodies collapsing forward. Sasame's tails divided again, multiplying to four, catching them before they could hit the floor. Turning them around, she deposited Pyrrha's parents in their seats, then moved to work on Anatolius first.
"This is...unsettling to watch," was all Winter could say as Sasame's fingers sank in through the skin and bone of Anatolius' head.
"There's no need for you to trouble yourself," said Sasame politely.
"And...will this really help them?" Winter pressed.
"Yes and no," said Sasame. "It will remove Ji-san's direct influence. But the actions she has guided them into taking will have become ingrained as habit now. Even if she is no longer influencing them to do so, they are now accustomed to leaning on Pyrrha-chan, whenever they realize that they are beginning to exceed their means. Conquering those habits will be...difficult. I would recommend counseling and some degree of supervision of their actions after the treatment. I would say it is best to send them straight back to Mistral, but I doubt that you could find someone trustworthy to supervise them there, on such short notice.
"And so, on that note, I prescribe that Pyrrha-chan's parents remain in Vale for the foreseeable future. Of course, I also suggest that they are relocated to more affordable accommodations, and that they are attended by licensed professionals, and their expenditures monitored until they have shown that they can be entrusted with their own funds once again."
"I...will see what I can arrange," said Winter. "This kind of matter is outside my area of expertise, but we do have mental health professionals on staff. I will consult with them, and make arrangements."
"Thank you so much for your help," said Pyrrha, dipping her head before Winter, Dove following her example.
"I am glad to offer what assistance I can," said Winter, smiling and nodding to them, before taking her leave.
"Well...now what?" asked Dove, looking on as Sasame moved on to treat Pyrrha's mother.
"Now..." Pyrrha took a deep breath, then let it out. "Now the hard part. I have to tell them what we're doing. Even without Holly's influence, I can't imagine that they'll be happy about this."
"If they actually love you, then they'll bear with it," said Dove. "I guess this will be where we find out how much of their attitudes before were the result of Holly's conditioning, or if the only thing they cared about was how you could provide for them."
Pyrrha nodded. She would have loved to say that, beneath the action of constantly badgering her into sponsorships, her parents truly loved her. She even believed it. After all, her mother and father had indulged her desire to train as a child, enlisting her in classes at Sanctum, even paying for the parts for her weapon. Pyrrha still remembered the day she returned home, showing off Milo and Akouo to her parents, and watching them smile proudly in response. This proud smiles had been even wider when Pyrrha claimed victory in the Mistral Regional Tournament.
After her second win, something had changed. Her parents realized that their daughter was becoming famous. They quickly came to the decision that they should capitalize on it. Shortly afterward, Pyrrha had been introduced to Holly for the first time. Things had progressed somewhat predictably from there. Pyrrha's fame allowed her to secure sponsorships and endorsements. The money began to flow in, and things began to escalate. First, her parents had decided that they needed to move to a more affluent neighborhood, somewhere better fitting their new 'status'. Next came the car, followed by an assortment of other luxury goods, her parents quickly indulging in the desire to show off their freshly-acquired wealth by showing how many expensive things they could own.
Pyrrha had been made to appear at parties and gatherings of Mistral's elites, alongside her parents of course. Half the time, her presence had been paid for, as others began to latch onto her status as a way of advancing their own lot, and gladly paying her parents for the privilege. Between that, her work with sponsorships, and her time at Sanctum, Pyrrha had had practically no time to herself, no time to make friends, not that she'd had much luck in that department. Everyone at Sanctum, from the teachers to the students, had put her up on a pedestal, acting as though anything approaching a normal relationship was beneath her.
And Pyrrha had gone along with it all. Looking back, she could see Holly's influence, her Semblance at work, continually convincing Pyrrha to go along with her parents' wishes and Holly's recommendations, tailoring her appearance and behavior to look and act in a way that was appropriate for the Goddess of Victory. It was only after she had come to Beacon; made real friends, and gained a real life for herself; that Pyrrha had come to fully realize just how miserable she'd been before.
That was why, no matter what, Pyrrha refused to go back to the way things had been before. She wasn't some money-printing machine, existing for the benefit of her parents. Even arguing about what she owed them for raising her, Pyrrha had already paid them back in spades. And, even with their previous financial trajectory, if they righted their course soon enough, they could still live in exceptional comfort for the rest of their lives, if they could just get over their impulse for more. Pyrrha had determined that she was going to move forward. If her parents couldn't accept that then, as painful as it would be, she would leave them behind.
"Ugh...What...what happened?" Anatolius groaned, massaging his temples as he came to.
"What's going on?" asked Phoinix, her consciousness returning to her.
Sasame looked up at Pyrrha with a small smile, giving her a nod.
Pyrrha nodded back, and the two switched places, coming to stand between her parents and the window that overlooked the arena. "Mom, Dad...we need to talk..."
Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune, along with Team RYNB, and Ashley, made their way through the coliseum's lobby, following the match, which had ended with Ciel and Penny victorious (which hadn't been a surprise, but had still been exciting to watch). Ahead of them, they saw Pyrrha, Sasame, and Dove standing there. They were staring at the backs of a man and woman, who Pyrrha's friends recognized as her parents. Even if they'd never actually met or exchanged words with the couple, Pyrrha had still shown most of them pictures.
Pyrrha's parents were heading down one of the coliseum's docking arms. Waiting for them, rather than one of the air-buses used for the festival or some kind of luxurious private airship, was an Atlesian manta, the military vessel parked neatly on the small docking arm. To their surprise, Winter was waiting for them. The two adults paused partway there, before turning to look back at Pyrrha.
Pyrrha met their eyes, smiled, then waved gently at them. Phoinix reached up with handkerchief to wipe away some tears, while Anatolius adopted a sober look, nodding to his daughter. The two of them proceeded the rest of the way down, boarding the airship, Winter filing aboard behind them.
Pyrrha's friends quickly went to her. When they reached her, Pyrrha turned to face them. From the red underneath her eyes, they could tell that Pyrrha had been crying. However, when she saw them, Pyrrha smiled. It wasn't her fake smile, the one she'd been conditioned to use to mask her true feelings, but a genuine smile.
Immediately, Weiss, Ruby, and Jaune surged forward, the three of them joining together around Pyrrha to hug her tightly, while the rest of their friends looked on.
"Is everything okay?" asked Ruby.
"Not quite," Pyrrha answered, hugging them all back as best she could, "but they're getting better."
Things had been touch and go at first. Anatolius and Phoinix hadn't been happy that their brains had been tampered with (their words) against their will, though that went both ways. They had definitely noticed the change, once Holly's Aura had been expunged from them. Once they'd realized that Holly actually had been using her Semblance to affect the way they thought and acted, their previous stubbornness had begun to crumble. It had taken some reasoning and arguing from Pyrrha. But, by the time the match had wound down, she had managed to talk them into accepting Sasame's prescription for their rehabilitation.
From there, arrangements had already been made by Winter, who had even gone so far as to arrange for the relocation of their luggage, following the recommendations of her experts, and enabling Pyrrha's parents to check into a clinic in Vale, where their needs would be seen to. They'd balked at something like that at first. However, when Pyrrha put her foot down, and informed them that; unless they accepted, and began to work towards breaking their previous bad habits; she would leave them to their own fates, they had quickly acquiesced.
"I hope they'll be all right," said Pyrrha, watching the Manta as its form dwindled in the direction of Vale.
"I believe they will do well," said Sasame. "They've shown that, beneath their selfishness, they still truly love you, Pyrrha-chan. Once they have regained the mindset of proper adults, I do not think that there will be anymore issues with them."
"That's good," said Pyrrha.
"There now," said Sasame, patting her arm comfortingly. "You've done what you came to do, and things worked out as well as we could hope. There's no more need to spend time worrying now. Go...enjoy the festival with your friends."
"I will," said Pyrrha, smiling down at Sasame. "And...thank you for everything, Sasame-nee."
A brilliant smile and giddy squeal were her response.
"Wow..." said Natsuki, her eyes sweeping through the expanse of columns, reaching up to the distant ceiling above. It was a long ride down. How deep down are we? The architecture aside, it sorta feels like Chinmei-sama's gate.
Of course, despite how it looked, there was no way Chinmei's gate was this far underground. On top of that, his had a more natural cavern/cave feel to it, as opposed to the clearly-manmade shape of this massive chamber.
Ozpin had sent a message to Oscar's scroll, asking him to send Natsuki to Beacon Tower...alone. Oscar had been confused and wary, but Natsuki had an idea of what Ozpin wanted to talk about. Just to be sure, she'd checked with Sasame first. After receiving her chaperone's approval, Natsuki had made her way across the campus, entering the tower. Upon entering the elevator, Natsuki had expected it to take her up to Ozpin's office. However, it began to descend instead...and descend...and descend some more.
The ride down was much longer than the ride up to Ozpin's office had taken, the last couple of times Natsuki had been there. It made her wonder just how far down she was expected to go, and she could imagine herself riding this elevator down into the center of the earth.
Finally, the elevator came to a stop, the doors parting open, revealing an enormous room. The elevator opened into a broad lane, extending down a forest of squared-off columns. Emerald flames danced in braziers that were mounted on the columns high above, casting black shadows between the pillars, and lending even the illuminated area an eerie air.
Hesitantly, Natsuki moved forward, her sandals making whispering sounds against the polished stone floor. Just the nature of this room put her on guard. All those columns served as a forest of hiding spots, with any number of people hiding among them. If this was a trap, there was not shortage of people who could be hidden from her.
Still, her Extension didn't pick up any signs of life from the pillars around her. The only presences she sensed were located directly ahead, and they were familiar. Still, the sheer scope of this place was intimidating enough that Natsuki's normally-energetic pace slowed to a careful walk as she cast her gaze around.
A little farther down, Natsuki saw two people waiting for her. She quickly recognized them both. Ozpin and Amber had apparently come down here before.
Amber had changed her clothes, now wearing an off-white, short-sleeve blouse, over which she wore a brown vest and corset, with her legs covered by matching pants. Around her right forearm, she wore a gold-colored bracer, with a similarly colored pauldron protecting her left shoulder. Her boots were armored with gold-colored plates as well. Natsuki quickly realized that this must have been the outfit Amber used to wear, before she'd been attacked and put in a coma.
"Um...Hi, Amber-san...Ozpin-dono..." said Natsuki, feeling a bit nervous. This place was beginning to get to her.
"Ms. Shinomori, thank you for your prompt arrival," said Ozpin, smiling at her.
"Uh...Sure," said Natsuki.
Amber smiled as well, her expression much more gentle and reassuring. "It's all right," she said. "There's no need to be so nervous."
"Um...Well...you say that, but..." Natsuki cast wary eyes about their surroundings once more. "This place feels really intimidating." It's almost like the throne room in the Royal Palace.
Natsuki had rarely ever been to the palace's throne room, having only seen it during her and Ruby's explorations of the palace, and usually by accident. It was, ostensibly, the most important room in the palace, so a great many hallways led there, practically converging on it. It was surprisingly easy to get lost, then wind up stumbling out into the midst of that massive chamber.
And it was vast, though far more empty than this place, consisting of of an empty hall, with a massive dais leading up to the Crimson King's throne. Truly, it was a room made to make people feel small and insignificant.
Which was why it was hardly used at all. Whether the King or the Elders, they were all friendly and personable to a fault (with the exception of Haruka, who was extremely shy and retiring). As such, they largely dismissed such a massive room, preferring meeting in smaller conference rooms, as well as their own audience chambers, where they could be closer to those they were addressing, and in a manner that didn't make them come off as intimidating. Because of that, the throne room's main purpose was that of a massive dust-trap.
"I apologize about that," said Ozpin. "Admittedly, when I was designing it, I may have gone a bit...overboard."
"A bit...?" Natsuki cast her eyes around. Wait! Ozpin-dono designed this...? Why am I surprised? He's the Wizard, after all. Even if it had been long ago, Ozpin might well have designed, maybe even built this chamber in one of his previous lives. It was enough to make Natsuki wonder which came first, Beacon...or this place?
"I made this well before I created Beacon," said Ozpin, almost seeming to read Natsuki's mind. "It was back before I had imparted my powers to the first Maidens as well, so I had the full scope of my magic to work with. When I acquired the Relics, my first priority was to secure them away from Salem. And so, I made places like this..."
"...And then later built the Academies on top of them," said Amber, her own eyes widening, making it apparent that this was the first she'd heard of this too.
"Is that the real reason you made the Maidens?" asked Natsuki. "Did you create them to be the keys to your doors?"
"I wouldn't have needed to part with so much of my power to do that," said Ozpin. "However, when I chose to entrust them with my magic, I also chose to entrust them with the only means of reaching the Relics. Someday...there might be a way to make use of them. But, for now, it is best to keep them sealed. Me having the key to access them would be too easy, and Salem could secure that in one fell swoop. Instead, I divided my power, and distributed the keys to the Maidens as well."
"In other words, if Salem wanted the Relics, she'd have to work for it," said Amber.
Ozpin nodded, his expression becoming grave. "Of course...the unfortunate fact is that, as implacable as she is, Salem has indeed 'worked' for it. Cinder Fall's attack on you was likely her setting into motion what she thought to be her ultimate plan to secure all four Maidens, and their associated Relics."
"Does that mean she has other potential Maidens working for her?" wondered Amber.
It was a bit frightening to consider. She could imagine Salem cultivating a virtual stable of young women to serve as Maiden candidates, all of them primed to seek out the current Maidens, and strip them of their magic.
"I find it unlikely," said Ozpin, drawing sighs of relief from both Amber and Natsuki. "Salem encouraged and controlled Cinder Fall by engendering a lust for power within her. Doing that with multiple candidates would practically guarantee setting them at odds with one another in some fashion. Instead, I believe she planned to utilize artificial means to forcefully strip the Maidens of their power, and implant the magic of all four Maidens into Cinder."
Amber went rigid, her eyes going wide, pupils contracting. In a flash, she was transported back to that day, the day Cinder and her lackeys had come for her. For a few brief seconds, she wasn't in the vault beneath Beacon, but on that lonely road, Cinder's two assistants holding her arms wrenched back, Cinder herself standing over her, that white glove on her hand, the sigil, the tiny Grimm emerging, its mandibles clattering...
"You can do that?" asked Natsuki. Her interjection snapped Amber back into the present. The conversation continued on, all while Amber attempted to get her emotions back under control.
"It was a power that was One to begin with, so it only stands to reason that it could be made so again," said Ozpin. "It also matches Cinder Fall's behavior, when she mistook Ruby for one of the Maidens, and sought to capture her to secure her power as well."
"That's creepy," said Natsuki, hugging herself.
Amber nodded her agreement.
Ozpin nodded as well. "Most likely, it will be sometime before Salem has another candidate prepared to inherit the Maidens' powers. She might not even be able to make another attempt within your lifetimes...well...if you were to limit yourselves to normal human lifespans."
Natsuki and Amber nodded. Kyo had already told Amber about the Mibu Clan's restorative arts, which they used to prolong their lifespans. He'd even promised to teach them to her, once her Aura-training had sufficiently advanced.
"In any case, continuing this conversation is a matter for a strategy meeting, which this is not," said Ozpin, his demeanor relaxing slightly. "Ms. Shinomori, you are here to learn about how to use your magic. Ms. Akiyama, I will be relying upon you as an assistant in that, in part. However, you could also stand to better refine your usage of it."
Amber said nothing, her posture slumping. What Ozpin had said wasn't wrong. Perhaps, if she'd been better with her magic, more skilled, more experienced, she wouldn't have fallen at the hands of Cinder.
"Now then, before we begin, Ms. Shinomori, do you have any questions?"
"Uh...Kinda," said Natsuki. "I was wondering, if you're gonna be teaching me magic, could we start with what I'd use it for, besides battle?"
Amber's jaw dropped, and she gaped at Natsuki in surprise. "B-but..."
Natsuki held out her right hand, palm up. There was a flickering spark, and then an orb of flame burst into life over the palm of her hand. "I can already fight with my Aura," said Natsuki. "I mean, I guess magic would give me more power, or something like that. But I want to start with the things I could never do with my Aura, even if they aren't really used for battle."
"Are you certain?" asked Ozpin. "From what I understand, the style you use is based upon the usage of fire. Your magic would enable you to utilize any and all different elements. That kind of versatility would suit your purposes well."
"Maybe...but not yet," said Natsuki, extinguishing the flame. "I'm still learning the Mumyo Homusubi Ryu. When it comes to fighting, I want to focus on mastering that first. I feel that, if I start to think I can just fall back on my magic, I'll start to rely on it too much. I want to lean on the skills I mastered and polished for myself first...as much as possible."
"I see..." said Ozpin. That is the Mibu philosophy at work. I'd known that they held a certain amount of disdain for magic. But to see it bleed through in such a way... "Very well, I will instruct you in other uses for your magic. However, let me say one thing."
Natsuki nodded, listening intently. It was strange to see the normally energetic girl so sober and focused.
"In a sense, the magic you have received is a 'talent'." Explained Ozpin. "People who have talents should polish them, in order to make the best use of them that they can. It is admirable that you do not want to lean on a power that came upon you out of nowhere. But, at the same time, it is in your best interests to learn and develop an understanding of every facet of it."
"I understand," said Natsuki.
"However, as you wish, I will teach you some of the more varied uses for your magic," said Ozpin, a fond smile on his face. "The Maidens I've taught in the past were always so fixated on its use for combat that this is somewhat refreshing."
Natsuki grinned.
"Let us begin..." said Ozpin.
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