Relic of the Future: Chapter 95

Amber's boots crunched on the steps as she came up onto the dais behind him.

Directly behind him.

Jaune twisted left.

The knife pierced through his white coat but struck his flank rather than his kidney. It sparked off aura pushed to his back and slid right. His hand snapped down, catching her wrist even as he drove his other elbow back. Amber ducked that, but it had only been a distraction, he twisted her wrist up and used his thumb to flick the hilt of her knife up, breaking her grip.

Catching the dagger before it could fall, he spun and slashed at her without pause, catching her wide eyes and the hand she brought up to block the hit. The knife grated across her palm, spitting green aura and making her leap back with a cry.

Jaune hurled the dagger aside and drew Crocea Mors, standing atop the dais with a wary but not entirely shocked scowl.

Amber couldn't mistake it for anything else.

"You knew."

[...]

"You are but one man," she howled, voice lost in the gale. "They are legion and supported by an army of Grimm. I'll take my chances, Ashari. They've told me all your tricks."

"Not all of them."

The flashbang went off with a crack, bathing the chamber in white. Dashing left, Jaune ducked behind a plinth as a veritable hurricane swept through the room. Spots danced in his vision as he cracked one eye open and looked around the corner, seeing Amber floating up near the ceiling, an arm over her face.

The chamber was large, but not that large. Maybe seven feet off the floor, she couldn't get completely out of his reach, and while she could summon and create storms from just about nothing, the fact they were inside made it unpredictable. The hurricane-force winds struck the back wall and flowed left and right in visible streams of white.

Drawing out his handgun, he aimed and shot three times, a simple crack, crack, crack that shattered against her aura, driving her back. As expected, she swept a hand in his direction, blasting the plinth and snuffing out the brazier he'd lit atop it. With his own torch clicked off, half the chamber was bathed in darkness. The temple was so deeply buried underground that no natural light filtered from above.

"Fighting in the dark?" she howled. "You're no faunus. This harms you just as much as – argh!" She lurched in the air as a dust round exploded on her back, spitting fire dust over her body. A sudden gale shot in the direction it had come from but hit nothing.

"I don't need special eyes to see you, Amber."

His voice came from behind and she whirled again, hurling a bolt of lightning that lit the room in a flash. The thunderclap lasted but a second, jarringly shining white over the various plinths and pillars.

It impacted the back wall and dissipated without hitting anything.

"Yours do a good enough job of shining through the dark," he said. Another bolt struck a plinth and cascaded the pedestal in the centre with sparks of electricity. His laughter echoed in the claustrophobic chamber, making him impossible to pinpoint. "Or did you forget that they're literally on fire?"

A silhouette of a hand came up over one of her eyes and she cursed loudly. The golden burning flames that continued to lick were brighter than any torch could be, enough so that her nose and cheeks could be seen clearly, even in the blackness. While he was invisible, she stood out like a beacon.

"You could let go of the power," he suggested. "Fight me like a human."

Die like one. Amber had been a huntress once-upon-a-time, but like so many with powerful Semblances, had no doubt come to rely on her maiden powers. Even if she hadn't, he was a huntsman on or beyond Qrow's level, who himself was one of the strongest in Vale. If Amber hadn't been confident beating Tyrian and Hazel while using her power, she sure as hell wouldn't be able to take him on without it.

With a snarl, Amber hurled another bolt of lightning at the ceiling, bathing the room in white. As that happened, she aimed and sent fire roaring down toward the brazier, lighting it again and illuminating a good half of the chamber. Her burning eyes scanned ahead of her but saw nothing.

Crocea Mors stabbed into her back.

Aura grated and sparked, chunks shaved off as she screamed and lurched in the air. He caught her ankle with his free hand, twisted and slammed her down into the flagstones. Experience with Cinder had him jumping away and letting go – not a moment too soon as a cyclone kicked up around her with force that would have sent him flying. Getting close to Cinder had always been the problem. It was what stopped Neo taking her vengeance for Roman.

Instead of chance it, he dashed back to the brazier while she struggled up, using his blade to tip the copper tub contained the charcoal off its pedestal. It fell to the ground with an almighty clang, spreading sparks over the stones. The light fluttered and died until only the glowing embers remained. Even then, he ran on, sure she'd burn the spot they'd been to the ground.

Sure enough, lightning rained down on it, causing the charcoal to explode and a good foot of rock and stone to be churned up. Wind followed, kicking up the remains into a shotgun blast of rock that would have ripped a man to shreds.

She has more mastery over her power than Cinder ever did.

More experience and time to learn it. On the other hand, while her control was impressive, her combat sense wasn't. Cinder was the better fighter – the smarter fighter who would have never allowed herself to be drawn into a trap like this, and who would have fled to find a better battleground once she realised he had the advantage.

More than that, Cinder fought better without the power, and often only used it when she felt she had to. If it was her, he knew she'd cut the maiden act altogether, summon her weapons and hunt him in the dark. Take her chances on an even battlefield and take advantage of her bow to keep him pinned. In absolute silence, she could have tracked his footsteps and shot at him.

Amber was making too much noise. Growling, swearing and brushing pebbles off her hood that pitter-pattered on the floor. Through it all, her eyes burned bright and inviting, acting as a convenient target centred on her face.

Her head snapped back when the bullet struck. She staggered and fell.

Jaune moved, ditching the clip and loading another, Crocea Mors clutched under his arm, pinned against his side by his elbow. The noise of the clip clicking into place and the chamber being drawn echoed and could have been taken advantage of if Amber wasn't swearing loudly. He hunkered down behind the next plinth, holding one hand on the cool stone.

Getting the odd hit in is easy, but how am I going to finish this? It's too dangerous to get close.

In the dark, it would be too dangerous to try and retreat. The second she figured out what he was doing, she would have a narrow tunnel to throw her lightning down, cutting off any hope he had of dodging. To say nothing of tripping or becoming ensnared in the dark. They were both trapped, though Amber could, if she realised, fly back through the tunnels and seal him inside.

Let's hope she doesn't think of that. Or that Salem wants me confirmed captured or dead. There was always a chance this temple had other exits, and then there was Raven. Patching a signal out of here wouldn't be easy, but she might choose to open a portal and investigate on her own if she started wondering why he was sat in one place for so long.

Salem knew about Raven's portals, which meant Amber knew. She couldn't take that risk.

I wouldn't say no to Raven popping up now to be honest. It'd be nice to have a maiden of my own to help out.

No such luck. Amber rose up again and began throwing fire around the room, trying to either hit or illuminate him, or just to create enough residual fire to offer some light in the chamber. It was only a matter of time until she found some patch of fungus, webs or another brazier that would be flammable enough to keep burning.

Or if she had the brains to realise stripping down and using her clothing as kindling would work out. It wasn't something the average person would think of, especially in the heat of battle, but it would have proved a problem.

With all the fire she was tossing around, it was easy to see the general area around her, which both made his approach impossible and gave him a chance to take stock. Amber was floating above the pedestal in the centre of the room, the singular slab of rock behind her like a coffin but not. The second tome lay upon it, sparingly saved from her fire for now, but likely not forever.

Jaune swore under his breath. That book was too important to lose.

Jumping out from cover, he squeezed off six shots in her general direction, trading accuracy for speed. Four hit. Two didn't. The two pinged off the ceiling and drew her attention. Wind mixed with lightning hurtled his way, forcing him to roll to the right and into the dark again. Casting off his gun, he sent it skidding loudly across the stone floor behind him.

Amber followed the sound with her attack, slamming her howling gale into his weapon and cracking it against the wall. Had her attacks been quieter or had she waited, she might have heard his footsteps, but wind and lightning were by their very nature loud attacks. His footsteps went unnoticed, coming in closer in the dark.

It was the reflection of light on his sword that clued her in. The brief glimmer he couldn't avoid. Her hand shifted to face him, energy swirling around it. He cut down toward it, aiming if not to sever her fingers, then at least deflect the attack away. At the same time, he shifted right, ready to abandon the assault and get out the way of whatever came.

Lightning. Shit. Aura or not, however many volts entering your system could still be an impediment, if not fatal. Twisting on his heel, he pivoted just enough to get out the way. His skin burned from the stream of lightning pulsing only a few inches by. Electricity jumped, his tired mind warned, but whether it was that this was controlled or just a facet of her power, it didn't cross the tiny gap to strike him.

His sword hit her wrist clumsily, all power gone now that his footing was shot. It didn't even knock her hand aside, let alone cut flesh. Amber slashed her arm across, wielding the lightning like a sword to cut him in two.

With his sword out of position, he did the only thing he could and blocked her wrist with the palm of his other hand, stopping her from slicing through. Pushing it up, he ducked in a way Yang had taught him, slipping under the attack and surging up inside her guard. Too close to swing his sword. Too close to even wield a knife. Instead, he brought his fist up under her jaw and felt the satisfying crack of her teeth striking together.

Her attack cut off with a wink of light. Her eyes closed, but the wisps of fire were still visible from between her lashes and he chased those down, landing with a knee on her stomach, blowing the air out of her. Gripping Crocea Mors by the blade with both hands, he brought it up and down on her chest.

"No!"

Amber set off a blast of wind between them. The force of it lifted him up and slammed him into the ceiling. At the same time, launched so close, it blasted her down into the floor, driving her into uncompromising stone.

Jaune landed beside her, sword sent skittering away. Winded, he still had the presence of mind to drag out a knife and roll on top of her, but the attack had harmed her less and she was able to lock her hand under his, holding it at bay. Her other came around, fire burning around it, but he slapped it aside with his left arm, burning himself but forcing it back.

He pushed that hand down over her face, trying to block her vision or snap her head back or just distract her so he could slip his knife around and under.

What he didn't expect was for his hand to glow blue, or for the sigil on the back to flare.

Amber gasped. Her eyes snapped open, body lurching as what looked like a ghostly spectre of herself slipped free of her body, drawn and connected to his hand as it drew back. It was as though there were two version of her face, one her natural one, eyes wide and struggling to breathe, and the other a pale blue outline that was being sucked out her body and into his hand.

The very air around them was freezing. Icicles crystallised on his face.

Her other hand came back around, planting against his chest and hurling him away with an explosion of wind. This time, he was less prepared and landed awkwardly, cursing as he rolled back up and onto his feet. The frost was crackling over his face and arm, originating from his still glowing, but slowly fading, hand.

Curiously, he curled and worked his fingers, marvelling at how different they felt. Not bad, no painful, but different.

"Impossible," Amber rasped, standing. "Only a woman can inherit this power. It's not possible!"

Jaune glanced down at the dagger still in his hand. The light reflected off the flat of the blade as he brought it up and tilted it to mirror his face. Though hazy, the flames that burned in and around his eyes, flickering blue, were unmistakeable. A Maiden's fire.

"Well," he said. "That changes things."

—Relic of the Future: Chapter 87



setting his nerve ends tingling. Something bubbled beneath the surface, a well of power he'd never experienced before, and given what just happened, it wasn't hard to figure out where that came from.

Does this make me a maiden?

That was going to be awkward to explain to Raven and Winter.

Jaune and Amber stared at one another over the scant distance between them, a moment of shock tearing through their combat. The pause gave him a moment to ponder, though not to find any answers. He couldn't be the Fall Maiden. For one, he wasn't a woman, but even beyond that Amber was still alive, which meant he hadn't inherited the power at all. You couldn't inherit from someone still in possession, and her eyes glowed with maiden fire.

This was no inheritance. It was theft.

Or was it…?

Ozpin had made the maidens. No one knew how and he hadn't told, only to say it was a decision he sometimes regretted and leave it at that. Another of his mistakes that came back to bite him. The act of making them had left him diminished, which implied he'd split his power among them. Granted it to them. Raw power of a, for lack of a batter term, magical type.

"That which was given can be taken away…"

"What…?" Amber tensed. He hadn't meant it as a threat to her, more an epiphany of sorts, but it did its job regardless. She stooped to pick up her staff and took a far more guarded stance. "You can't have it. The Maiden's power can only pass down to another woman. That rule is absolute."

That was true, but it wasn't passing down, was it? In any normal situation, it would go to whomever she last thought of as she died, which might well have been Cinder or another of Salem's lieutenants, making killing her a risky proposition. But if there was a way to circumnavigate the rule of it being passed down, then why not the rule of being female as well?

Cinder became the Fall Maiden when she killed Pyrrha, but if Pyrrha knew it went to the last person she thought of, I bet she'd have thought of Nora or Ruby before she died. Even at the end, he knew she'd have had the strength to do that and deny Cinder.

And yet it hadn't denied her. Cinder took the power. Stole it.

Just like he had now. Or a fraction of it.

The question was, could he use it? His eyes were on fire and he felt… energised for lack of a better term. Tingly. Throwing a hand out yielded no explosion of wind or lightning, however. Then again, it hadn't for Pyrrha. Did he need to learn how to use it? Could he use it? Even if he stole the Maiden's Power, it might still require a woman to utilise it.

Amber lunged forward, unprepared to give him the time to figure it out.

"You can't have it!"

Her staff crashed into his sword and knocked him back a step. Spinning, she released with one hand and swept toward him, lightning crackling through the air. On a curious whim, he blocked it with his hand, the same one that had stolen her power.

His scream tore through the chamber, hand smoking as he staggered back with gritted teeth.

That hadn't worked. Shit. Stealing attacks out the air was a no-go. Damn it. I should have practiced that with Emerald, not in combat. Idiot. No ability to counter her powers or turn them against her. That could only mean one thing…

"You can't use it!" Amber roared victoriously, lashing out with another attack that he dodged away from, having learned his lesson. "You can steal it, but you can't use it! That power is useless to you!"

It was too early to tell if it was completely useless, but right now it certainly was. Cutting left, he slammed one foot down, pivoted and sliced in toward her wrist, bending at the waist to let more lightning crackle by above, so close his hair stood on end. Crocea Mors caught her hand as she drew back, knocking her off balance.

Darting in, he lunged not with his sword, but his free hand – catching her exposed stomach with his fingertips.

"Ahhh!"

Another pulling sensation. Another tug. Thin trails of pale golden light linked his fingers to her skin like sticky strands of syrup. His hand felt like it was on fire, like he'd had raw sugar pumped into his veins.

It only lasted a second before she pulled back and clutched her side, and there was no visible wound, but the proof was in the light glowing around his hand, the way the sigil – Salem's sigil – flared on the back.

He could absorb power.

Maiden power.

He'd shaken hands with huntsmen before, including Ozpin, without problems, so he couldn't steal Semblances or aura. It was keyed directly into the maidens – and maybe into Ozpin now that he thought about it. The sigil shone when he shook hands with him. No power stealing. I'd be in trouble if that were the case.

Unless Ozpin's power was so diminished there was none left to take. It would make sense, especially since the power Amber threw around now technically was Ozpin's. It also explained why Ozpin didn't just make more maidens or give Ruby the same power since he knew she could be trusted. There was none left to give.

"It may be useless to me," he admitted, "But it's not to you, is it? For someone whose relied on that power to solve all her problems, your skills as a huntress have waned." To be fair, the very nature of the power meant she had to inherit it early. Ren had once told him it should be seen as a boon that he'd not unlocked his own Semblance early, because the lack of it forced him to train and become well-rounded, whereas some people relied too heavily on their natural advantages. "Even if I'm not getting any stronger, you're getting weaker."

"What are you? Are you even human?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure anymore. I used to be." He stepped forward, sword in one hand, other outstretched. "But after she remade me, I'm not sure if I still count as that."

"Get back!"

Lightning exploded out, followed by howling gales that spread in every direction. Her panic made her reckless, but the maiden's power was still just that and he was hurled from his feet regardless. Slamming down, he slid back to the closest wall, holding an arm over his eyes to shield them from the hurricane force winds.

"It's mine!" Amber roared over it, lashing out in every direction. "My power. My responsibility. My burden!" Her voice cracked. "I didn't ask for this; I never asked for this. You won't kill me. I won't let you, Tyrian or Salem kill me!"

And so, she joined with them. Damn it. It was just like Leonardo and even Raven the first time.

Pushing up, he steadied himself with one foot pushed back, straining to peer through the sharp wind so he could see any further attacks coming. Amber wasn't aiming now; she was throwing her power out everywhere just to keep him and his hands away. With the space confined, the wind bounced off the walls, streaming left and right and mingling, mixing and twisting into a confusing storm of varying currents.

His sword arm wavered, buffeted left and right. Even if he had his gun, there was no aiming through this. He couldn't even see her – he just knew where she was by judging where the wind came from. The eye of the tornado.

Amber isn't thinking straight. She's scared; lashing out in every direction. Having her so-called power taken away must have left her feeling vulnerable in a way she hadn't for years. Without Cinder to show her just how much that was possible, she'd grown complacent.

Or maybe this was how she'd always been. He had to keep in mind he'd never truly known her and likely didn't now. Losing to Cinder the first time when Cinder didn't have the maiden's power must have also been due to complacency on Amber's part. Bow or not, she should have been able to buffet any arrows away with her power.

Crocea Mors clattered away, discarded and rattling across the floor, clanging into the back wall and sticking there as the wind took it. Holding his right hand over his face to shield his eyes, and with his left held forward to block the wind, Jaune trudged into the storm. His white coat billowed and whipped behind him, until he discarded that as well, tearing it off and letting it flutter away.

Once-upon-a-time she might have been an ally.

Not this time. People changed. They were shaped by their experiences, their past and the conflict they went through. Some might come out relatively similar; Yang, Nora and Ren. Others changed; Blake, Ruby and Emerald.

Maybe he'd been wrong entirely. Amber had only ever been a victim to him and Pyrrha. Some poor girl trapped in a tube, damaged and later killed by Cinder. He'd never known her, only pieced together a theory based on assumptions. There was a reason Amber walked around outside the Kingdoms and got ambushed in the first place. For all he knew, she might always have been like this.

He had to stop making foolish assumptions. Roman, Emerald and Raven were his greatest allies now, each of them a former enemy. Times changed. Life changed.

Fighting through the storm, Jaune pushed past the final barrier and into Amber's guard. Her eyes were wild, wide and afraid. Seeing him, she brought both hands down and summoned a crackling ball of lightning.

I came back to change the future.

The lightning shot forth.

But I guess her fate is going to be the same either way.

Roaring her name, he took the attack head-on, surging through as electricity crackled and sparked all over his body. Aura tanked, pouring off him in steam as it fought the lightning. Memorising her last position, he clenched his eyes shut and fought past the locking of his muscles. He charged up the steps, knowing she had no room to float up or away. Pushing off the last step, he vaulted onto the pedestal with the book, then jumped higher still.

They collided in the air, Amber unable to escape in the confined space. He bore her down, the two of them landing hard on the top step, her back cracking against it and then sliding down with him on top. Her mouth opened in a frantic gasp, only to be covered by his hand, gripping the left side of her face, sigil glowing on the back.

Jaune's eyes burned with blue fire.

"No!" Amber cried, struggling. "NO!"

He batted her hand away with his other, planted a knee between her legs and bore his weight down on her, making them slide down the steps to the floor. Up close and fully holding her face, the flow of power felt faster. More fluid. It poured out of her like a bath with the plug pulled, ripping into him in a way that left him… full? Satiated? It was impossible to explain. He had been empty but now he wasn't, like a car having its dust reserve filled.

At the expense of hers. Amber's struggles became fitful, more than just maiden power drawn out. Her blows became weak, the wind she summoned a mere gale. It made his hair flap about but lacked the strength for anything more.

"Please," she begged, tears pouring from her eyes. "I don't want to die."

For joining Salem, she deserved death.

"I won't kill you," he grunted, pushing down harder. "I'll take this from you – you can't be trusted with it – but once that's gone, I'll let you slink away." He needed someone to deliver his message to Salem. It might as well be her.

"No," she wept, kicking frantically. "You're killing me! Stop, please!"

He pushed down onto her. "Stay still."

"No. No, no, no!" Amber's back arched, eyes opening wide.

Her face glowed golden – not just her eyes, but her skin and even her hair. It all glowed, becoming nothing more than an indistinct golden shape of a human being. A ragged howl escaped her, a scream that tapered off.

Amber, the Fall Maiden, turned to dust under him.

What…?

Jaune fell through, onto the floor, eyes wide. He sat on all fours, no longer atop his opponent and with motes of golden light flittering helplessly past his face. Like embers.

—Relic of the Future: Chapter 88