Chapter 1: Tragedy

"Gather round children, gather round," The middle aged woman exclaimed as she ushered the children over to her.

"What story will you tell us this time?!" A young energetic blonde bounced lightly at her place on the floor as she looked up eagerly.

"Yeah Aunt Ruby! Tell us an action story!" A slightly older boy exclaimed before being shoved lightly by an older girl. "No! NO! One of romance!" to which all of the younger children made gagging noises before erupting in a fit of giggles.

"I shall tell you a story with both!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly as she perched herself upon a chair and looked down upon the children. "The year was 1878, it was a year of great sorrow, loss, and ultimately change."

1878 London

Despite its time, Vale was still as prosperous as it was in the age of its founding and was ultimately producing prosperous people, despite the corruption. One of these people found her way weaving in and out through the crowds as she rushed from her lab to her home after a long day of work. Yang Xiao Long was her name and though she be a mere 18, was already beloved by the town and practically worshiped for her kindness and looks. This worship would soon turn to fear… a fear fed by blood lust, a blood lust unlike Vale had ever seen, and it all began in 1878 with one death.

The day itself had been uneventful, as had the last. This constant stream of uneventful had led Yang into a numb like state, where every day would be the same and nothing would ever change. For she surely would always have the warm arms of her family to turn to every night for reassurance and comfort.

"Oh…excuse me…" The blonde muttered as she offered a hand to the girl in which she had accidentally knocked to the ground. "I'm sorry…I was so lost in thought that I wasn't quite aware of my surroundings," She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly as her lilac eyes finally met those of the amber eyed individual.

"Don't worry about it," A cool voice replied in turn before pulling away from the blonde and seemingly disappearing into the crowd. With a shrug the blonde continued on her way before finally finding her way up the familiar steps to her family's home in the heart of the city.

"I'm home!" Yang announced with a wide grin as she threw the door open, expecting to see her younger sister waiting for her, but instead was greeted with the sound of her own voice. "Um... Ruby…?" She laid her overcoat on the back of the couch before unlacing her boots and placing them by the door. Deciding that they most likely stepped out for some goods, Yang made her way up the stairs and to her room. The closer she got to her destination, the eerier she began to feel. Until she stood outside the door, hand on the knob. Visibly shaking the uneasiness from her shoulders, she turned the knob and slowly pushed open the door, revealing a sobbing Ruby on her bed.

"Ruby…" Yang called gently letting her presence known before slowly making her way over to the lump on her bed. Picking the younger girl up in her arms, she rocked her gently as she hummed a tune in which was used to ward off evil monsters when they were young. "Ruby," She pressed softly, "What's wrong?" The answer she received was a shake of her head, not exactly helpful to the unknowing blonde. Content to hold the younger girl in her arms as she cried it out, the blonde's mind wandered. Ruby hadn't cried this hard in years, not since the death of her beloved dog, Zwei. The thought of death caused her hold to tighten as fears overfilled her mind. What if something happened to mother or father? What would they do then? Sure she was old enough to be Ruby's legal guardian, but her job didn't exactly bring in a steady supply of income an-

"-Yang…" Pulled from her thoughts, she hugged her sister against her chest. "Yang…she's…she's dead…" The girl was pulled from her explanation due to overwhelming sobs. Rubbing soothing circles into her back, Yang silently seethed. Summer couldn't just be dead, she was the picture of perfect health for her age. With this thought, Yang made up her mind that foul play was involved and everyone in the community was a suspect. No one would be safe from interrogation, but that would wait. It could wait one day more, for the official police report hadn't even come in yet and there were other things to deal with first. Namely the sobbing girl in her arms.

Hours passed until the shaking body of her sister finally stilled and her breaths grew even instead of the ragged short ones she had been taking for hours. Yang ran one last hand through her sister's hair before carefully removing her and lying her down. Happy that Ruby was snugly tucked in, Yang exited the room and made her way back down the stairs and to the Fourier where the telephone hung. Most people didn't have the new invention for it was invented only two years prior but Weiss Schnee the daughter to a wealthy businessman and family friend had bought them one insisting that it was a "necessity". This was one of the only times that Yang saw any good for the machine. Picking up the ear piece she began to speak into the phone, hoping that someone would be near enough to answer. It seemed that she would catch a break on this horrific day for Weiss Schnee herself answered.

"Yang? What's wrong?" The usual chilly exterior was broken the moment she heard the blonde's voice.

"I need you to come over here, like as soon as you can," The blonde winced at the lack of emotion in her own voice and new the ice princess would react similarly. "Yang whatever you need to say can be said over the phone, despite what you think this connection is secure and only connects us. So what is going on?"

Yang paused for a moment, after all she despised just how quickly technology was advancing and often found herself not trusting new inventions despite their claim at making life easier. "L-look Weiss.." There it was, the voice crack she was dreading, she usually was able to hide emotions, at least her sadness, pretty well despite someone who was known for their quick temper. "I can't handle this alone…" And with that the blonde hung up and slid down against the wall her hand over her eyes and her shoulders shaking as the tears she withheld came rushing out.

Her step-no her mother was dead…killed by some unnatural force. Some evil force that possessed someone to kill such a beloved woman. She was beloved by all. Not a single person Yang had ever known would ever wish her ill will. Well there was one person who came to Yang's mind but it wasn't as if she knew her, after all she was left as a baby. That woman was the only person in Yang's eyes who was capable of such a vile deed. If she were to ever see her she wou-

Once more her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the front door. Slowly looking up, Yang quietly observers Weiss peeking a head in before spotting the blonde and fully entering the house to crouch in front of her.

"Is it true?" The heiress voice seemed to rock the house despite it being only a whisper. No longer able to answer, Yang shock her head and let out a shaky breath before being wrapped up in a hug. Normally she would make a joke about the other girl not being completely cold hearted but she simply couldn't.

"R-Ruby's upstairs in my room…" Yang whispered, her voice raspy from all of the crying she had just done. "Go keep her company, I've got to find Dad." Pulling herself out of the embrace she quickly slipped on her over coat before stepping out onto the darkening street.

Yang knew where her father would be despite not truly wishing to go there, especially at this hour. It wasn't that Yang hadn't gone to a bar before, it's just that this one was in the red light district of town and quite frankly the men who hang around at these hours were the scumbags of the town. Sighing and taking a deep breath, the blonde cracked her knuckles before turning the corner of a shady alley way and into the district. While almost all of the town knew of Yang's capability as a fighter, one could not be too cautious in this area.

The alley was filled with scantily clad women calling out to men and her alike looking for a "good time", the brawler physically shivered at the sight of some of those women. None of them were very good looking and most of their skin was a sickly yellow in color. Keeping her eyes away from those on the prowl, she pushed her way passed the scene and to the angry red sign at the end of the way.

The Red Tiger was in no way any better than the rest of the establishments that staked a claim on this alley, but it was one of the more unique places for it employed Faunus. The Faunus were discriminated against by most of society for their animalistic traits and tendencies, so work was often hard to come by. While Yang and Ruby had been raised that a person is judged based on their character, the rest of the society disagreed thus banishing those who didn't fit in to street corners and sewers for work. The Red Tiger was just one of the few sick businesses that used the cheap labor provided by the Faunus for one than more reason.

Pushing the heavy wooden door open, Yang is immediately met with an overwhelming stench from the liquor. It is as if someone had dumped bottle after bottle all over the ground and left it to evaporate. Otherwise a few customers are seated at the bar while a few others have a table next to a stage. The very first thing that Yang noticed was that all of the patrons of the bar were men and several of them at the table were getting very personal with some of the staff. Fighting down the urge to cringe, Yang took a few more steps into the bar to see if her father was one of the ones at the bar.

Soon spotting her father's slumped over form, she sighed. Getting him home was going to be fun. After all despite being strong her father was much larger than she was. Though she didn't blame him for getting a drink…or ten. The devastation was going to shatter her once happy family. Taking the seat next to him, she called the bar tender over figuring that she might as well get a drink before lugging her unconscious father back home.

"What will you have, sweet heart?" The bartender asked as he leaned over the bar and got a little too close for her personal comfort. He was a large a burly man, no wonder this was his establishment. "A strawberry sunrise, no ice." The blonde replied in an annoyed tone as she sent a small glare at his wondering eyes. Taking the hint, the man turned around and began mixing her drink.

Leaning back against the bar, her eyes scanned the room once again memorizing the faces of the men who were currently enjoying themselves a little too much. "Disgusting pigs…" A new, low voice caught her attention as she turned her attention to amber eyes that belonged to the girl who had just taken a seat next to her.

"Yeah… and most of them are just here to satisfy a weird fetish," The blonde clicked her tongue before turning her full attention to the Raven haired beu-faunus, she was a cat Faunus. It was the first thing the blonde noticed as the adorable cat ears flicked towards the direction of any sound, but there was something familiar about those eyes. Those piercing amber eyes that seemed to search her soul.

"I swear I have seen you somewhere before…"yang suddenly spit out while studying the girl in front of her as if she were a test subject. "I'm new to town, so I doubt it…" the Faunus replied coolly.

"No…it was earlier…today! I ran into you when I was in a rush to get home!" The blonde remarked slightly proud with her memory. "Oh- and sorry once again I didn't mean to practically tackle you earlier…" The sudden pride was replaced with an awkwardness as she rubbed the back of her neck.

The girl couldn't stop the small smile that was forming due to the blonde's antics, "It's nothing to worry about. Anyway what brings a half decent person to a place like this?" The question was innocent enough but brought Yang back to reality, a reality in which she had the pleasure of escaping for a few blissful moments. "I came to fetch my father," Yang replied with a slightly somber tone as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Oh and I'm Yang," the blonde replied before sticking her hand out as she realized that she had yet to properly introduce herself to the stranger. Taking her hand the Raven haired girl gave it a slight shake before hearing a yelled, "Places!"

Removing herself from her spot the other girl began to walk away before turning around and giving the blonde a small smile, "Blake" and with that the girl rushed off in the direction of the stage. "Blake", Yang repeated her name with a slight smile before lugging her father up onto her shoulder and slowly dragging him out of the door.

End of Chapter 1! So how do you think I did? Hate it? Love it? Want to see someone else? Let me know! This fanfic was largely inspired by Jekyll and Hyde the Musical and thus will play out sort of similarly but of course will have wonderful twists.

Until next time, stay classy!