The city hummed with a strange, dissonant energy.
News reports flickered, showing Atlesian Knights bumping into each other like confused tin cans, their internal systems seemingly having a mind of their own.
Watts, holed up in his makeshift control room, was a storm of frustrated curses and frantic typing.
Cinder, growing more enraged by the minute, paced the floor, her eyes burning with a dangerous light.
"Watts! This is unacceptable!" she snarled, her voice a low growl. "The Grimm are not responding as they should! The chaos is… fragmented!"
Watts, his usually impeccable hair disheveled, slammed a fist on his console.
"I don't know, Cinder! It's like… like my code is being rewritten mid-transmission! Every command I send is turning into nonsense!"
He gestured wildly at a screen displaying garbled text and erratic network activity.
"It's a ghost in the machine, I tell you! Something beyond my understanding!"
Cinder scoffed.
"Beyond your understanding? You, the great Watts, architect of digital destruction? Don't tell me you've gone soft."
"This isn't softness, Cinder!"
Watts shot back, his voice rising in exasperation.
"This is… magic! But not the kind we know. It's a completely alien interference! My technological principles are useless against it!"
Meanwhile, far from the chaos, Arthur watched the city's digital disarray with a quiet smile.
He had effectively neutered Cinder's grand plan, turning her weapon of terror into a source of public amusement and confusion.
The Atlesian Knights, instead of marching menacingly, were performing an accidental, robotic ballet.
The CCT Network, rather than collapsing into silence, was singing a discordant tune of glitches and garbled messages.
"Whimsy,"
Arthur murmured, adjusting a glowing crystal on his workbench.
"Sometimes, it's the most powerful defense."
He traced the delicate lines of mana flowing through the network, a complex web of interwoven energies.
He had anticipated Watts's attack, and instead of blocking it outright, he had subtly twisted its intent.
It was like a skilled chef taking a recipe for a poisonous dish and subtly altering the ingredients until it became a harmless, albeit confusing, meal.
His attention then shifted to another set of glowing runes, their energy pulsating with a different rhythm. This was for Penny.
Her schematics were laid out on a holographic display, evolving with each passing moment.
Arthur was not just preventing a fall; he was building a new future.
Cinder, realizing her widespread chaos plan was a bust, narrowed her focus.
If she couldn't control the populace with fear, she would claim the Maiden power directly.
Her eyes burned with a singular purpose.
"Never mind the network, Watts. Our priority shifts. We need the Maiden."
Watts, still fuming, reluctantly nodded.
"As you wish, Cinder. Though I still believe this… anomaly… needs to be addressed."
Cinder ignored him, her mind already racing.
She knew the general location of the Fall Maiden, Amber.
She had received intelligence that the girl was being kept in a secluded, heavily guarded chamber beneath Beacon Academy.
The plan had been to use the widespread panic as a diversion, but now, she would simply have to rely on brute force and speed.
What Cinder didn't know, however, was that Arthur had already moved.
Days ago, sensing Cinder's inevitable move on Amber, he had subtly, meticulously, relocated the maiden.
He couldn't risk Cinder getting her hands on such power, not with his plans for Penny and the future of Remnant.
And just to throw Cinder off even further, he had subtly manipulated Ozpin's schedule, ensuring the headmaster would be conveniently absent from the chamber when Cinder finally arrived.
Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury (who was still smarting from his earlier public humiliation) descended into the hidden chambers beneath Beacon.
The air was thick with anticipation. Cinder's senses pulsed, searching for the raw power of the Fall Maiden.
They burst into the designated chamber, only to find it… empty.
Cinder's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What?! Where is she?!" she roared, her voice echoing through the silent chamber.
Mercury and Emerald exchanged nervous glances.
This was not part of the plan.
Suddenly, a voice, calm and resolute, cut through the silence.
"Looking for someone?"
Cinder whirled around, her eyes locking onto a figure standing in the shadows.
It wasn't Amber. It wasn't Ozpin.
It was Pyrrha Nikos.
But this Pyrrha was different. Her stance was more assured, her eyes held a deeper, more profound intensity.
Her aura shimmered with a power that felt both familiar and strangely amplified.
Cinder scoffed.
"Pyrrha Nikos. How… quaint. Did Ozpin send his little champion to play?"
Pyrrha stepped forward, her shield held steady, her spear gleaming.
"Ozpin isn't here, Cinder. And neither is Amber. But I am."
Cinder's smirk widened.
"A foolish move. You're no match for me, girl."
She began to gather her Grimm abilities, black energy swirling around her hands.
Pyrrha merely smiled, a genuine, almost serene smile.
"Perhaps not the old me. But I've had a… rigorous training regimen lately."
Arthur watched the unfolding scene through a series of scrying crystals in his lab.
He saw Cinder's confusion, Pyrrha's calm resolve.
He had been preparing Pyrrha for this moment, not just physically, but mentally.
His training regimen for her had been unconventional, to say the least.
He had created a series of illusions, each tailored to specific challenges.
And in one of those illusions, Pyrrha had faced a formidable opponent.
An opponent who could manipulate fire with devastating precision, who was a master strategist, and whose sheer willpower could break lesser individuals
"This is good. Everything went according to my plan."
Arthur murmured, watching Pyrrha's controlled breathing as Cinder unleashed a torrent of black fire.
He had brought Azula into Pyrrha's training, not as an enemy to be defeated, but as a crucible.
Pyrrha had faced Azula's lightning, her blue flames, her cunning mind, again and again.
She had learned to anticipate, to react, to find strength in moments of overwhelming pressure.
She had learned to push her own limits, to embrace the fluidity of her abilities, and to fight with a focus that transcended mere combat.
Pyrrha, instead of panicking, deftly parried Cinder's fiery assault, her shield deflecting the flame blade with surprising ease.
Her movements were fluid, graceful, yet incredibly powerful.
She wasn't just reacting; she was flowing with the attack, using its momentum against Cinder.
Cinder, surprised by Pyrrha's prowess, pressed her attack, her frustration growing.
This was not the inexperienced girl who only fought on the stage she had expected.
This was a warrior, honed and tempered.
Pyrrha moved with a speed Cinder hadn't anticipated, her spear a blur as it spun and jabbed.
She wasn't going for a kill, not yet. She was testing Cinder, pushing her, making her reveal her weaknesses.
Back in the lab, Arthur allowed himself a small, private chuckle.
He could see things without having to go anywhere. His dragon eyes were a really convenient tool.
"Azula taught her well. Sometimes, the best way to prepare for one fire is to face a far hotter one."
The battle below raged on, the clanging of metal and the crackle of fire echoing through the hidden chambers.
Cinder, for the first time, was being pushed.
Her attacks, designed to overwhelm, were met with an unexpected counter.
Her confidence, usually unshakable, began to waver.
This was not how her plan was supposed to unfold.
The Atlesian Knights were a joke, the network was a mess, and now, the Maiden power was elusive, guarded by a fighter who seemed to have transcended her previous limits.
...
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