"The Scars Upon Your Soul Shall Soon Come to Light"

Prologue

The omnipresent red glow of the badlands dyed the meeting room the color of dusk, the soft light that emanated from the purple Dust crystals that sprouted at the edges of room doing little beyond providing the illusion of grandeur. Dr. Arthur Watts slouched in his chair, fingers tapping on the polished surface of the long table. He did not flinch when the door slammed open, instead taking his time to straighten up and dust a few flecks off his jacket.

Salem swept into the room, the train of her gown trailing in her wake as she made her way to her seat at the head of the table. "Where are the others?"

He fiddled with his cuff links. "Others?"

"I believe you were a part of a team, were you not?"

As a man of science, Watts had never been one to believe in myths or magic, but he'd been forced to reconcile his beliefs after meeting Salem, and he certainly could not deny the similarities of her likeness and presence to that of a ghost. "I prefer the term 'tentative alliance.' I simply provided transportation and a means of entrance for the bunch meant to retrieve the Relic from Haven. Surely you wouldn't expect the driver of the getaway car to stick around when the Mistrali police arrives to foil a terror plot, would you?"

Salem gave him a dull look as she settled in her seat, propping her chin in her hand. The dark spidery veins that crawled down her arm mingled with those that crept across her face. "No. But I would expect him to at least be able to provide something resembling an update on the status of his compatriots."

"Left for dead, deserted, or arrested, I'd presume."

"Not too far from the truth," Hazel rumbled from the doorway. Dried blood stained his shirt, and fresh scars marred his bare arms.

"You've returned alone?" Salem asked. Her red eyes flicked to Hazel's empty hands. "What happened to Cinder?"

He crossed his arms. "Cinder, Raven Branwen, and the Spring Maiden all failed to return from the Haven Vault, and the Relic is in Ozpin's possession."

Silence fell over the room, allowing for the sounds of the badlands to reach them, the shrieks of newly-emerged Grimm, blood-thirsty and wrought with hunger and fury. Salem tapped a finger against her cheek, and Watts got the impression that not a single bit of this information was a surprise to her.

"Pity," Watts muttered. "And what of Cinder's dogs? Drop them at the pound on the way back?"

"Gone."

Watts scoffed. Bleeding heart must have told them to run. "That girl travelling with Cinder was awfully fond of her, for whatever reason," he said to Salem. "Perhaps she's our next candidate for the Fall Maiden. Tyrian's near recovery at this point. He can always track them down as a way to, ah, ease back into the hunt."

"Let them be," Salem said. "I have little doubt that the girl's admiration far outweighed whatever Cinder felt toward her. We have no further use for them, and with their leader gone, I can only imagine that they feel likewise."

"Back to square one with the Maidens, it seems." Watts snorted. "Well then, Hazel, pray tell—how did we lose two Maidens and the Relic all in one fell swoop?"

Hazel eyed him. "Hard to tell. One of Ozpin's students disappeared into the Vault during the fight and came back alone, Relic in hand."

"A child? You and yours were bested by Ozpin and his army of children?"

"They are not to be underestimated," Salem cut in. "The absence of our own could very well mean that Ozpin now has a Maiden among his ranks." She looked between them, eyes narrowed. "Ozpin has gotten this far because he has surrounded himself with allies. Brute force, while useful for a battle, is far from the best tactic to win a war. It takes unity, coordination, strategy. However, once those have all been attained, along with several victories, a commander may consider his army invulnerable, without weakness and without risk of failure. But that is short-sighted arrogance, faith in an impossible achievement. The surest and quickest way to defeat an army is to divide them, cut them down, and watch as they crumble to their knees one by one, never to rise again.

"Ozpin is not the only one who has grown arrogant. Let your failure at Haven Academy be a lesson to you. All of you." Her gaze shifted to the open door behind Hazel, a black maw ready to swallow him whole. "Quit lurking in the shadows and join us."

Hazel glanced over his shoulder before moving aside to lean against the wall. Just beyond the doorway, something flashed like light reflecting off a lens, and Adam Taurus stepped out of the darkness. The gloom of the badlands scattered shadows across his face, pooling in the hollows of his cheeks and in the space below the slitted mask he wore.

"So you lost the dogs but brought a stray back in their place!" Watts said. Taurus bared his teeth at Watts, who offered a wide grin in return.

Salem held up her hand. "Enough." She returned her attention to Taurus. "Why are you here?"

He angled his chin. "So it's been you all along. I believe I've heard enough to know that our goals have aligned now more than ever. I would like to propose a partnership."

"Elaborate."

A grin spread across his face, and he sauntered forward, arms outspread. "Ozpin may be your target, but my focus is on one of his allies. A student of his by the name of Blake Belladonna. You see, I made a promise to her, one I plan to uphold. She has hurt me very dearly, and for that, I am going to destroy everything she loves, so she can understand what she's put me through. One by one, I will slaughter her friends, the very same people that your precious Ozpin has surrounded himself with. The destruction of my target ensures the destruction of yours."

Salem ran her thumb over her fingertips as she regarded Taurus. Outside, a Grimm roared, building in volume before fading away, as if it were only passing by. "What have you to offer me? Truly?" she asked after a moment. "You no longer have the White Fang's backing. No followers, no allies. No victories to offer as proof of your competency."

Taurus' hands twitched into fists at his sides, before he relaxed and rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. "They all held me back. Without them, I can work alone, unrestrained and free of the incompetence of others. I will complete my goal without fail."

"You've presented your goal, but what is your plan?"

"What?"

"Your plan. What steps do you plan on taking to achieve this goal? Where will you intercept Ozpin and his allies? What is your method of attack? How will you hold your own against Ozpin's elite?"

Taurus' teeth flashed. "I would prefer to keep the details on a need to know basis until I'm ready to carry out my plan."

"Then why come to me when you obviously have everything under control? Is there some lingering fear that your ability will not be enough?"

A vein pulsed in Taurus' jaw, but he said nothing.

"Perhaps it's power you crave." There was a long silence as Salem considered him. "And what makes you think I'll humor your petty vendetta?" she asked. "All this because some girl scorned you? I believe we're done here." She flicked a hand in his direction. "Hazel, escort him out."

"No." Taurus' head whipped around as Hazel shoved off the wall, and he began backing away. "No. No! Wait!" He spun to face Salem, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. "You can't just dismiss me after I came all this way! After all I've done for you!"

Salem tilted her head, never taking her red eyes off him.

Outside, the Grimm roared again, close enough to rattle the glass windows. Hazel paused, his gaze sweeping around the room.

Taurus stabbed a finger in the air. "I'm only at this point because of you!"

"Keep your voice down," Hazel hissed at him.

"No!" Spittle flew from Taurus' mouth, and he took another step forward. "Every failure, every loss, was a result of a mission that you and your lieutenants forced the White Fang to undertake!" He unsheathed his sword, the blade glinting in the candlelight like fresh blood. "You can die by my hand just like they all died by yours!"

The glass windows behind Salem exploded inwards, and a dark figure clawed its way inside and lunged at Taurus. His sword clattered to the ground, forgotten as he grappled with the Griffon pinning him down. It snapped at his face and throat, thrashing and screeching all the while.

Watts shoved back his chair and stumbled across the room, trying to put some distance between himself and the attack. Hazel was backed up against the wall, eyes wide, shards of glass embedded in his forearms.

And still Salem sat with her chin in her hand, tapping her index finger against her cheek. Finally, she stood and made her way around the table, the scattered shards crunching underfoot. Stopping a few feet away, she stooped to pick up the fallen sword. She held it up to inspect it in the light, running a finger down the blade, before returning her attention to Taurus. "A shameless spectacle. Consider this the beginning of our partnership. However, cross me again, and I will not hesitate to strike you down where you stand." She planted the sword in the floor and clasped her hands on the hilt. "Do you understand me, Adam Taurus?"

"My lady, this Faunus is volatile…" Watts began.

Salem tilted her head, and immediately, the thrashing Griffon settled. "I said, do you understand me?"

Silence, and then what might have been a garbled confirmation.

"I'm glad we've reached an understanding. Power is not a thing solely to be usurped; sometimes it may be distributed freely to one who is deemed worthy. If you know your place, it will be that much easier on you. We shall begin immediately." To Watts and Hazel: "Leave us."

Watts nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets to hide the slight tremble. As he passed Taurus' prone form, he muttered, "You should've just stayed quiet, Faunus." The door fell shut behind them, and Watts and Hazel walked through the grand hallway in silence.

What did Salem see in that Faunus?

In a way, he struck Watts as being similar to Tyrian, all manic instability and blood lust, and while Tyrian was by far more skilled, Taurus may well be just as dangerous, simply because he could conceal it under the guise of passion and charm. A man driven by the festering wounds upon his soul that would've scabbed over and healed long ago had he not kept scraping and clawing at them to fuel his burning desire to do far worse to those who wronged him.

Maybe that was it.

Adam Taurus would destroy himself bit by bit if it meant everyone around him would burn up with him. A monster they called him, so a monster he was willing to become.

"That Faunus may very well attempt to kill us all," Watts said.

A scream, raw and primal, reverberated through the hallway, distant at first but quickly building until it became a roar.

"Better him than us," Hazel said.

They did not look back.

Author's Note: This one was more of a dialogue exercise than anything, but crackpot theories and headcanons and what-ifs run rampant. Not to be vague, but I've got some future thoughts and plans for this one.

Edit: Apparently, all that trouble in Volume 5 went down at Haven Academy, not Beacon. Whoops.