I do not own RWBY.

Thanks go out to 4chan and Spacebattles for the ideas herein.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Pyrrha just barely managed to put on a defiant glare as she stared at the dark-haired woman above her.

Cinder Fall frowned and narrowed her eyes, something almost like sorrow glinting across the orbs.

"Yes."

Near-soundlessly, Cinder summoned a bow and arrow, taking aim for Pyrrha's chest. She closed her eyes.

So this is it? I gave it my all, but that wasn't enough.

...But I would still do it again, if I had the chance.

The twang of a loosed arrow resounded through the air. And then there was stabbing pain, falling through her chest as heat glowed in her breast.

The sound of footsteps echoed outwards from her side, but she didn't hear who it could have been before Cinder's hand crested across her brow, and then-

And then she was just ash.

Pyrrha twitched slightly, her head twisting in her sleep. Sleep burdened by dreams of red roses and silvery dragons.

And then she awoke with a gasp.

"Wha…?" She murmured drowsily, her voice thicker and deeper than she expected. Just a dream?

Even as she spoke, she knew it couldn't be a dream. The ruins of Ozpin's office stretched out around her, and the fragments of Miló lay scattered about the steely floor.

She staggered upwards to her feet, nearly tripping out of her feet. Feet which were suddenly clad in high-heeled shoes.

"Gah!"

Indeed, she fell over, raising a hand to take the force of her fall.

A hand which wasn't hers came into her field of vision as she tripped, a hand garbed in red sleeves with gold highlights.

Her gleaming headdress (which had been lying on the floor) came into vision too, showing her a reflection which wasn't hers. Ash-grey hair and amber eyes stared back at her from the shining surface of the tiara.

She screamed. Her voice wasn't her voice, either.

It was Cinder's voice. And that only made Pyrrha scream more, scream in panic and rage and fear and loss.

She ditched her shoes… Cinder's shoes… soon after, trusting her Aura to shield her from the broken glass which littered the floor. On the other hand, she took the headdress with her. It felt like it was all that was left of her.

The elevator which led down and out of the office had been torn away by that Grimm dragon, leaving her with little choice in her egress from the building. Scaling down the elevator shaft wasn't the hardest thing she'd ever done, but it was certainly complicated by her ungainly new gait. It felt like she was learning to walk all over again, with legs and arms longer than she was used to.

She ended up falling from the wall of the elevator shaft, but it happened while she was close to the bottom, close enough not to break every bone in her body. She still let out a grunt, her breath leaving her lungs in a whoosh.

"Ow…"

The unfamiliar voice only made her feel worse, so she quickly learned to keep her mouth shut.

How did this happen!?

All she remembered was stabbing pain… and being confronted by that damnable girl with the red and black clothes, those damnable silver eyes…

NO!

Ruby isn't 'damnable'! Pyrrha thought frantically, clutching her throbbing head. And I never even saw her. How did I know she was there!?

She cast her mind back as she crawled out of the elevator shaft… and she remembered.

She remembered being Cinder Fall, just like she remembered being Pyrrha Nikos.

She remembered shooting Pyrrha Nikos through the heart, and then using her Maiden powers to flash-incinerate the uppity redhead.

She remembered watching Cinder fall shoot her through the heart, and then use her Maiden powers to kill her on the spot. She remembered dying.

No… no… no…

Pyrrha/Cinder/Nikos/Fall collapsed to her knees, and she puked, the last remains of her dinner from last night splattering across the ground.

No…

Pyrrha/Cinder quickly decided that she wanted to be Pyrrha again. It felt like a lifeline in a confused and desperate world.

Cinder had lived a miserable life, clinging to power because she couldn't stand being powerless. Pyrrha had faced her challenges and her bad days, but she had friends, instead of mere cohorts. The difference between Pyrrha and Cinder was like night and day.

So Pyrrha/Cinder would be Pyrrha Nikos again. But she felt violated, looking at her face in the mirrors in the remnants of Beacon.

How could she be Pyrrha, when her hair was so dark and her eyes were so yellow? Aura manifested itself in eye and hair color, like a shining beacon of individuality. That was why humans had such variety of coloration.

If Pyrrha had Cinder's body and Cinder's eyes and hair… then didn't that mean she had Cinder's soul as well?

If Pyrrha had Cinder's memories… then didn't that mean she had Cinder's soul as well?

If Pyrrha had Cinder's Aura, her Semblance and Maiden powers… then didn't that mean she had Cinder's soul as well?

If Pyrrha had Cinder's soul, then how could she claim Pyrrha's name? How could she claim she was Pyrrha Nikos?

She left the destroyed remains of Beacon behind, Pyrrha's headdress in her hair.

She would find someone, anyone. Someone to help her figure out who she was.