It was a mild day at beacon academy when the two girls stepped into the disused classroom. It would be easy to get the wrong idea as to their intentions, given the way the second black haired girl was being pulled vigorously by the blonde first. While it was cloudy outside, there was enough light for the lights to remain off. The blonde thrust the black haired girl into the teachers chair and wheeled it around. The black haired girl looked tired and pissed off."What is this about Yang, she spat; I have work to do?!" Suddenly, looking at the distant, almost motherly expression on Yang's face, Blake got an interesting impression. "Blake" said Yang, almost in a whisper. Blake's pale face went red, she had always thought Yang was as straight as a brick road, but now she was being advanced on? What would she say? Blake's mind was reeling. She could say no, but what if that wasn't accepted? The last thing that Blake wanted was to get raped in a dusty ol- "I wanna show you something...but I don't want you to go and tell anyone" she said softly. Blake was taken aback by this statement. She composed herself for a moment "w...what"? "I've never told you why I use these "Yang went on, gesturing toward her wrist bracers. "I wanna tell you something...but I don't think you'll understand unless you know a few things about me."

(Blake quietly sighed with relief and cursed aloud in her thoughts)"Ok" she said exasperatedly. Yang gave a small smile and then went back to her dreamy expression as she turned away from Blake's face; which was slowly regaining its original colour, and began to draw on the black board. The things she drew seemed to be just random symbols to Blake, but as she continued to draw, the picture seemed to take the form of a group of people.You know...there's a reason I have these gauntlets. I never really told anyone because it's a big secret, only Ruby and my uncle know. I always told my dad that I just saw something in a comic book once and that's what gave me the idea...I was lying. I wanna tell you why I am the way I am...but I need to know that it won't leave this room" she said without turning around, suddenly stern. Blake stumbled over her words, still coming down from the near hysteria she had just narrowly avoided. "Okay then, talk; she said in a voice of mock coldness, the truth was that she was actually interested, Yang was never this sincere, but make it quick."Yang's sigh of relief was very audible. It was very easy to tell that she trusted Blake's word. "Ok; she said, I'll tell you about that night when Ruby and me became hunters, about the night when we almost died, only to find that we had been truly born.

This is the truth. When I was six I found a lead about my mother's whereabouts, I was searching for any unusual sighting or events on the CCTS and came across this article, talking about how people were disappearing in the location of this old barn on the other side of the forest near my dad's house. I would have asked my dad his opinion, but he was away on a long mission and wouldn't be back for a week. I wish he had been there. It wasn't much to go on...even as a kid I knew that...but I had to see for myself, ya know? Hindsight's a bitch sometimes huh? If I had known what was going to happen, I would have closed that webpage and never looked into it again. But I was desperate for answers so I put Ruby in a wagon while she was asleep just after nightfall and set off. I must have walked for hours, I didn't bring a time keeping device so I don't know exactly how long I dragged that little red wagon. After walking through miles and miles of creepy woods and jumping at the sounds of rabbits and deer, we finally made it. It must have been the very early morning because the sun wasn't up yet, the sky was pure black because the clouds were blocking the view of the stars.

The lead was cold; the place looked ancient and hadn't been in use for decades. One of the creepiest places I'd ever seen. Old, dilapidated, mounting over me like a tidal wave. The doors were lying on the ground, half buried by dirt. The inside was shrouded in shadows and looked, to a little girl at least, fucking terrifying. My heart leapt when I heard a noise coming from beyond the dark threshold of the barn. Sort of crunching, snapping and slurping noises. But then I realised where I was and that, it was probably just a pack of Beywolves that found a poor wounded animal. Defiantly not anything that could be a lead on finding my mom. I cursed mentally and felt tears in my eyes. I didn't have time to be sad for long though, the moment I decided it had been a waste, I looked up and screamed. At least one thousand blood red eyes appeared in the barns open door and the surrounding trees. That's when I noticed the smell- the smell of death. It was coming from the barns general direction. I covered my face in a futile attempt to block the horrible stench. I knew what they were going to do; I also knew that a stupid girl who didn't even know where the hell she was ,that was too tired to even scream for help was no match for them. I couldn't move, I couldn't fight, and I couldn't even protect Ruby. All could do was quiver in fear, as they began to descend from their hiding places. That's when I saw them in the dim light I had, a lantern I'd brought with me.

I sighed in relief, they were not Grimm like I assumed, they were people...but they weren't normal people. They had chalk white faces and...Red eyes! But their eyes weren't just red; they were the wild, animalistic, crazy eyes of a monster. They were all wearing expensive looking, nobleman clothing, but they were stained, almost covered in blood. They were also carrying weapons that I had never seen before, weird looking swords and guns. The swords looked like rapiers with guns built into them and the guns were slender and expensive looking flintlock pistols. But the creepiest thing was the fact that they were all looking at me... and grinning, like I was a helpless fly; caught in spider's web.

That horrible stench was coming from behind them, from inside the barn; I guess I interrupted their dinner. I was glad it was too dark too see what was inside the barn, I might have passed out if I put an image to that smell. The question was what were these freaks going to do to me and my sister? A guy wearing a black garb stepped forward. He had an odd black, flat hat on, a faded white scarf around his neck and muddy black boots. He was absolutely caked in blood, parts of his clothing almost seeming to shimmer from the horrible red slime.

But the worst part of him was his face, his eyes were hard to see because of the dark and his wide brimmed hat being low, I could only make out two red dots from his shadowy face. But I could clearly make out his smile; it stretched from ear to ear, bearing a set of disgusting, sharp, yellow teeth, all of which were stained red at the end. Both his arms were at his sides, a small sheath on his belt was holding a large axe with bandages around the blade and handle. All the alarms were going on inside my head as loud as cannon fire.

"Good evening" said the man, in a somewhat kind voice but with a menacing deepness. I swear I could smell his breath from a couple of yards away...although that might have just been the barn. "H...heh...hi..." I stammered out, scared out of my wits at this point. His voice was almost unnaturally deep now. "Beautiful night tonight, wouldn't you say?" he said jerking his head upwards toward the sky, but never taking his eyes of me. I was confused, why was he trying to make small talk? I'd expected him to try and mug me or something. "Umm...I guess, I...it's not clear though, you can't see the stars".

The man's smile widened even more" I know...especially tonight". The man took a step towards me "on a night like this, I wouldn't have expected to come across two delicate young ladies such as yourselves in a place like this"; my blood ran cold as he said that, he had noticed Ruby who was still in the wagon, fast asleep. I was confused by his tone; he clearly wasn't human, so why was he being so polite? The crowd of other people were standing patiently, still training all of their eyes on me. "I'm sorry, I blurted out, i-i didn't mean to disturb you, don't worry I'll just g-what's your hurry?" the man interrupted, chocking is head to one side like a dog who was curious about something," are you looking for someone? You're not lost...are you?"

I decided to lie, it seemed like the most likely story that I was out for a stroll with my sister and had become momentarily disorientated."I'm not lost, I know this place really well, I just came to try and find my Mom-I clapped my hands over my mouth, Stupid! Why did I tell him that? Now he would know that Ruby and I were alone in the woods without an adult! His grin stretch so wide that I could practically see nothing but the hat and those horrible teeth" really?" he moved even closer and now the others were starting to move slowly to either side, forming a circle around me and the wagon. "why don't you come with us, he said now inches away from me, we would be happy to help you find your mother", I could see his eyes now, they were like the rest, blood crimson and ravenous, he had the look of a rabid wolf that had just found a wounded gazelle. I guess that seemed more apt than ever now.

I began to try and back away, but I tripped over my own feet in panic and fell to the ground. This made me drop the lantern which shattered and went out on the wet muddy, ground. The man and the entire crowd laughed cruelly as he moved forward sharply and grabbed my leg, I struggled to get away from him but I was so tired and he was unnaturally strong. He dragged me back and lifted me up by my ankle, I was so relieved that I had worn shorts under my skirt or that would have been even more humiliating...funny that, the things we think about when we are about to die. That animal raised the axe high over his head; his eyes directed at my knee, there was nothing I could do. He was going to cut my leg off and then his buddies would come in to finish the job, I tried to scream but my voice was cut off by another, quieter, more confused voice coming from my right. "Y...Yang?"

My head shot around to look at the wagon, Ruby was awake, sat up and looking at me with large, frightened eyes showing from inside her little red hood, like little twin silver moons in a starless sky." Ruby"! I yelled half out of panic, half out of guilt for bringing her "run! Go! Get out of here"! She jumped at the volume of my demand and fell out of the wagon by accident. "But wha-why...where are w...who is he?" Cried Ruby pointing at the man holding me, tears in her eyes "let go of her now"! The man paused to glare at her with that cold gaze, like a Baywolf. His wild eyes and that terrible smile made Ruby let out a small squeak and shrink away. Then she started to do what I could not. Cry for help. A loud desperate plea to whoever would listen exploded from inside my sister's hood. The guy holding me looked at her again angrily, as if about to tell her to shut up. Then his face momentarily relaxed...before contorting into the widest smile id seen so far. He dropped me and began to walk towards my sister. "Wait! I called, what are you gonna do"?!The man turned back to me still grinning.

"On second thought... I think the short one will go first" he said softly while still holding me in that almost hypnotic line of sight, "I'll get back to you after I silence this one". My mind went blank and all I could do was stare at Ruby, huddled by the wagon, covered by her hood and cloak...I was fine with dying myself if that meant Ruby could get away...I know right, pretty defeatist, especially for me...but it was because of me that she was in danger...if something was gonna hurt her... he raised the axe again, her eyes flashed with fear and anger, she seemed to be welling up, preparing for the pain. That made me snap, I grabbed for Ruby, shut my eyes and screamed "Don't you dare touch her! If you hurt her I swear I'll-BANG!

...

An ear splitting gunshot ripped through the night air, it made me block my ears but my eyes were still shut. I wondered if it was over, if that horrible man had killed me...only...I could still move, I could still feel the wagon next to me and I could definitely still hear the crowd gasping and murmuring in shock. Slowly and carefully, I opened my eyes. The man was hunched over a few feet away from Ruby and me, howling in pain. I could see that he was bleeding, when I looked closer I gasped. He was clutching the short bloody stump where his right forearm used to be. I couldn't believe it, had one of his friends shot him? N...no that was impossible; those guns were big but not enough to take someone's arm off. I looked around to see if Ruby was alright; she was staring behind us. I looked the same direction she was looking and saw what had caused the man's injury.

In the spot where the crowd had previously cut off our escape stood another man, roughly the same height as the rest, but his clothes were different. He was wearing a grey garb with a dark grey cloak thrown over his shoulders; his boots and one glove were grey as well. On his head he wore a grey tri-corn hat that I had never seen before, with a grey cloth drooping down from it covering his left eye. His entire body seemed to be grey except for his left arm, in place of what would normally be a forearm; there was a gleaming silver weapon. It was nothing like anything I had ever seen. It appeared to be a large silver steak jutting out of some sort of silver contraption, and there was a great deal of steam emanating from around where the steak and the weird box thing met on his arm. I had no idea where the gunshot had come from. His face was sharp and restless with well defined features. The look on his face was not animalistic like the others; his eye was deep brown, not red and wore a slightly bored expression. Despite this, he did not look happy. He had a kind of bitter look of satisfaction on his face.

Ruby and I were now in the middle, between the mob and this new comer. I was so shocked to see him standing there when I was so sure a few seconds ago that I was dead, that it took me a second to notice that Ruby was pulling on my sleeve, trying to get my attention. "What?" I said quickly then I saw her face, she wasn't looking at the new guy anymore, and instead she was staring at the creep who just got his hand blown off. I whirled around. He was standing up now, gripping the axe in his other hand, staring at the man in grey with a look of utter fury. I also noticed that every other person in the crowd was looking at him with the exact same expression. "What the hell to you think you're playing at, you bastard"?! Yelled the formerly grinning man, now completely overtaken by rage, the smile was gone but his teeth were still beared like a snarling beast "It'll grow back, and when it does, I'm going to rip you in half"?! The grey man did not answer; he began to slowly move forward, never taking his eye off of the man with the axes' eyes. It was almost like he hadn't even noticed Ruby and me. The man with the axe suddenly guarded his missing hand, a look of terror on his face. "Stop"! Commanded the axe man, "Don't come any closer"! The grey man's advance slowed to a stop but he was close enough for me to see him clearly; his body didn't appear to be tense at all, he seemed completely calm despite being in the ironsides of a borderline army of furious cannibalistic murderers. I couldn't help but fell a little relieved, what if he's on our side? Was he brave and strong enough to help us, or was he just stupid and over confident? And that led me to worry, what if he got killed? What would I do then?

"What are you"? Spat the axe man, as the blood from his severed arteries began to subside. The man in grey smiled confidently and replied; he had a soft young voice but spoke with the demeanour of an older man. "Well... I would say Just in time it seems" he said softly, "I never thought I would be the one to find all of you in one place ". His manner was calm and confident, but not friendly. I stared at him, bewildered, did he know these freaks? The axe man seemed to be as confused as I was by this response. "Your rank I mean; he spat, clearly out of patience, and what do you mean by 'us'"? The man in greys' eye began to flash threateningly as he drew a large nobly, one handed blunderbuss out from a holster on his lower back, concealed up to this point by his cloak. He held it in his one hand. "Bad luck, he said mockingly; all you lot had to do was leave a few minutes ago, but I suppose you couldn't resist the toddlers...you always did like'em young didn't you...you pieces of shit."

Despite the jokes, loathing was burning in that mans one eye. I gawped at him as he jeered "I mean just look at you wearing those Cainhurst robes, don't you have any shame, I mean I thought scum could at least feel shame". He began to raise the gun. My eyes turned back to the axe man, who had been silent for a while. The look of hatred had been replaced a look of malicious, murderous amusement. As the Grey mans gun continued to rise, it suddenly stopped when the axe man raised his arm. His palm was open and it looked like he was trying to hail a cab...but then I saw all those other guys switching the safety off their guns, I knew what it was. They were all going to shoot at once! "Heh...don't even think about it; said the guy with the axe, the grin had returned to his face with great prejudice despite the obvious pain from his wound, as my personal respect for the dead, I will allow you to answer my question before you die: WHAT IS YOUR RANK?!" The crowd all started raising their guns and began pointing them straight at the man in grey's heart. The grey man smirked at the question that he had just been asked. Finally, he answered. "Can't you tell; he said gleefully, I'm a 'Powder keg'."

...

A weird silence rang out for about five seconds after this strange sentence was spoken. The men pointing their guns seemed to be caught in a momentary trance of incomprehension. The man had called himself a 'powder keg'; I had never heard that before. Whatever it meant, it must have been impressive because that entire crowd of monsters seemed cautious at the mention of the phrase. It was the man with the axe who broke the silence."Don't talk shit; he said loudly, although there was a note of panic in his voice, there are none of them left. They all died and so will you, you arrogant, bullshitting little git!"

I felt an urge to tell him to run but before I could make a sound, the man with the axe began shouting orders. "Ready...Aim!" the man stared at the grey stranger with a joyful smirk, he dramatically delayed the final command on purpose, presumably to try and shake the strange man's composure, the grey guy did not move or react. He had lowered his gun and seemed to be staring directly at the man with the axe, almost defiantly. I glanced at Ruby; she was looking from me to the grey man to the mob with a look of utter desperation, I wanted to comfort her but..."FIRE"!

I threw myself on Ruby to protect her, the moment after, we lost all ability to talk, scream, beg or even think. The gunfire was horrific; it was so loud that it seemed to somehow drown itself out. Those couldn't have been normal bullets; they were way too loud and bright. In the confusion, I moved my head up and opened my eyes, I wished I hadn't. The man in grey was almost impossible to make out from the flashing lights of the thundering gun barrels and the sound of ricocheting bullets meeting their target, the visuals wrapped with the terrible racket was almost maddening. What I could make out, was that the guy was flailing back and forth like a rag doll, the bullets jerking his body back and forth. The effort of keeping my eyes open was making me feel sick on top of being pointless so I decided to close them again. Ruby wasn't making a sound. The gun fire ceased after what seemed like minutes, although it was probably only a few seconds.

I still had my eyes closed so I did not know the outcome, but the triumphant cries of the mob gave a grim impression. Slowly, I raised my head to see what had happened, Ruby; who had been struggling to get free from underneath me, wriggled her head upright. We both gasped in horror. The man in grey was still standing, but only barely. The gunfire had practically ripped him to pieces, his clothes were as red as the others now and gaping wounds littered his body. His face was slightly obscured by a shadow cast by his hat, but it was clear by the blood dripping from the shadow that his face had been hit as well, his body was hunched over forward; leaking a pool of blood at his feet. The mob roared with insane laughter, the man with the axe had a grin back on his face but this time he was laughing so the blood that had been on his teeth was now spraying the air.

"All talk"! He cackled "I knew it". I felt that old dread begin to return to my stomach, our last hope. Our only hope, I mean look at him now, he's about to keel over and die. The laughter continued for a few seconds but as it began to die down, the axe guy barked an order. "Somebody finish this lying piece of shit o"...he trailed off into silence. As silence returned to the scene, I noticed something weird, the laughter was still going. It was faint and dishevelled, as if coming from someone who is enduring great pain...but it was defiantly there. I looked around for the source, instinctively I looked at the man with the axe but neither he nor anyone in the crowd was laughing anymore, yet I could still hear the sound of a person laughing, and... It was getting louder. The confused murmuring began as the mob tried to locate the sound of the mysterious laughter, eventually their eyes fell back on the grey man, that's when I noticed that the man was still standing...and the laughter...was coming from him. After a moment's confusion, all noise from the crowd had ceased, only the grey man was making a sound. I glanced at the axe man again, he looked absolutely horrified. I looked back to the grey man and saw why.

The blood pool surrounding the man's feet was beginning to recede, his blood stained clothes were beginning to become grey again and his wounds were seemingly closing themselves. His laughter was quite audible now; it was becoming louder and less rough as his injuries healed themselves. Slowly, his face came back into view...I gasped in horror. The man in grey's eye...had turned blood red...and a huge grin had appeared beneath it. "One of us" murmured the axe man with a lot more than a hint of panic in his voice this time "of course". I had been dreading this; I had been worried he was another monster. The grey man began to straighten up, his gun still clutched tightly in his right hand, now cackling to himself. The crowd was beginning to back away, clearly shocked that this man was still standing. I didn't know what to do, was this guy a lunatic? I thought I could grab Ruby and run, but they were packed so close together behind us, they would just shoot us if we tried to run, and there was no way in hell I was gonna take Ruby anywhere near that grey...thing. I didn't have much time to worry about devising a plan. Before anyone could react, the grey man had fully recovered, raised his gun and pulled the trigger several times, an honest to God smile on his face as he did it.