Fallen

by Sloth with a Keyboard

When everything crumbles, what happens to those unable to fall?

Wisps of hot breath fill the city streets, following people like lost souls. Rain relentlessly pounds against the ground, like icy daggers that scatter harmlessly on impact. On the surface, it seems like just a gloomy night in Vale. However, if one looks closely, they can see that there is one wisp that is not accompanied by a person. The wisp is moving quickly, seemingly following a slightly irregular set of splashes in the puddles below. The wisp weaves in and out of the crowd, before suddenly turning into a small alley. The wisp stops a thick rusted metal door, waiting for a few seconds as the lock shakes and rattles in protest. As soon as the door opens, the wisp darts indoors, heading straight up a flight of stairs. The wisp comes to a stop at the top of the stairs, blocked by a door rusted shut. Small sparks fly as the lock in the door is cut. The wisp floats back a bit before violently impacting the door. The door flies open, specks of rust filling the air in a thick cloud. The wisp moves outside, where for a brief moment the roof is bathed in moonlight. In that singular moment, a figure appears alongside the wisp.

It's a young man, with jet black hair and piercing orange eyes that glow with hunger. His build is concealed by a thick black raincoat but he is not terribly tall. He has a large case on his back, which has a small visage of a broad headed fox engraved in the center. As the moon is once again is covered by the clouds, the young man disappears from sight once again, leaving the wisp behind. The wisp glides over to a collapsed water tower, taking cover from the rain underneath the somewhat intact tank. A heavy thud emanates from underneath the wisp, and the gentle grind of a combination being spun in can barely be heard over the thrum of the rain. The moon once again emerges from behind the clouds, revealing the young man crouched over the now open case. The inside of the case is filled with black foam that has wrapped itself around a long, sleek sniper rifle. The rifle is jet black, save for the same orange imprint of a fox from before on the stock. The rifle has a small compensator on the end of the barrel and a scope with a variable zoom. The figure gently raises the rifle out of the case, slowly pulling the slide back a few times and making sure the scope is lined up. The figure runs a hand over the multiple magazines in the case before grabbing one with a lightning bolt engraved on it, slotting it into the rifle. The figure closes the case and slings it over one shoulder. He walks to the edge of the roof, appearing and disappearing as he passes through light. Kneeling down at the edge of the roof, he lays the rifle across his legs and drops the case at his side. He becomes completely visible, his jacket gently blowing in the wind.

He stays completely still as he waits, only the flapping coat attracting attention to him. But even those who look up dismiss it as just a rogue piece of fabric. The rainy night eventually turns to day, and that day turns to dusk in turn. He begins to stir as the familiar lights of the strip turn on. He breathes deeply through his nose, taking in the scent of the streets below. His eyes suddenly focus hard and he turns his rifle towards a singular point in the crowd a few buildings over. His crosshairs fall upon a white ponytail bobbing through the crowd. He cannot yet make out the face of the person he now follows with his eyes. However, he is sure that it is his target. The scent is of his target is very distinct, and his nose has never failed him before. He pulls the bolt back on his rifle, chambering the first round. His long, slender fingers slide over to the safety, flipping it off before resting his pointer finger on the outside of the trigger-guard. He continues following the white ponytail with one eye through his scope, while the other searches for an upcoming gap in the crowd. As the ponytail emerges from behind the crowd, the young man quickly confirms his target's identity as he shifts his aim to her chest.

It is without a doubt Weiss Schnee. She is accompanied by several others her age, most noticeably a blonde boy who appears to be desperately trying to speak with her. He is lagging behind a bit, but is more or less beside her. After confirming all this, the young man gingerly moves his finger to the trigger proper. He takes a deep breath and exhales, focusing completely on his target. He slowly begins pulling back on the trigger, the crosshairs not moving from the center of the Schnee girl's chest. The trigger suddenly gives way, accompanied by the loud crack of the rifle firing. The girl crumples to the ground, her friends quickly swarming over her. The magazine of the rifle is ejected into a waiting hand and set down next to the case. The young man quickly pulls the bolt back as he stands, the sparkling shell of the previous round spinning into the air before clattering onto the ground with the rain. The young man opens the case once more, placing the magazine and rifle back in their rightful places before returning the case to his back.

The man moves back to the stairwell he entered from, descending the stairs at a quick pace before heading towards a nearby street. He opens up the front of his raincoat, revealing a white and red EMT uniform. He emerges out of the alley, the crowd parting as he walks across the sidewalk to the awaiting ambulance.

"Have a nice piss?" An EMT leaning against the back of the ambulance asks with a grin.

The man has long hair as golden as the sun and chiseled features professional models would be jealous of framing clear blue eyes. His entire body is perfectly proportioned to his height, and he stands at least a foot taller than the approaching man.

"Stuff it, let's just get going." The young man replies with joking annoyance.

The EMT sticks his tongue out and opens the back door. They both climb in to the sound of radio chatter before sitting down on the jump seats on the sides.

"Anything yet?" The young man asks the dark blue haired driver.

"Expecting it any second now, Lord Loki." The driver replies respectfully.

"Apollo, you ready to go?" Loki asks as he tosses his raincoat into the passenger seat.

"I have prepared the appropriate amount of relaxant prepared based on your target's information. Knockout gas has also been prepared for the teammates. You said we would only need enough to knock one of them out, right?"

"As long as we only let one in the truck. Jay, you have a safe place to drop the extra cargo set up?"

"Yes, Lord Loki. Some of Lady Venus's girls are ready to call it in when we drop it off."

"Perfect."

Loki straps his case to one of the racks usually reserved for portable stretchers as frantic chatter comes over the radio. The ambulance immediately takes off, siren blazing.

"Jay! Next time give some warning before dropping your foot. I admire your enthusiasm but you need to be mindful of your team as well." Loki scolds.

"Of course Lord Loki. I apologize."

The ambulance barrels to its destination. Quickly covering the small amount of distance between them and where Loki left Weiss. As they pull to a stop, the three men spring into action. Apollo opens the back doors and grabs a small medical kit. Loki unstraps a hard back stretcher that Jay circles back to grab the other side of. The three men quickly move to the location where a small crowd has gathered, taking pictures and murmuring among themselves.

"Clear the area." Apollo orders in a crystal clear voice.

The crowd moves back immediately, stunned by the sun god approaching them. The three men enter the perimeter created by four of the students, approaching the snowy white girl laying on the ground surrounded by three others. Jay and Loki stand to the side with the stretcher while Apollo kneels down next to Weiss.

"Tell me what happened." Apollo commands as he begins checking the girl's vitals.

"I-I'm not sure." The girl in red who has Weiss propped up in her lap stammers out. "We were just walking down the street when we heard a gunshot and Weiss collapsed. Yang and Blake checked nearby but they couldn't find anyone. Oh no. What are we going to do? Who would want to do this to Weiss? We're Huntresses after all, we protect people. Why would…"

"Slow down." Apollo says, grasping the girl's shoulder. "I'll take care of your friend. Right now, you need to just calm down and let us professionals take care of this. Gray, Hawk. Bring the stretcher over and get the girl on it."

"Ruby. Listen to him. This is his job after all, he knows what he is doing." A girl with long blonde hair says as she pats the girl in red.

Ruby blushes a bit as she collects herself.

"O-okay. I trust you. But I don't want to leave Weiss alone. Is it alright if I come in the ambulance with her?"

"Of course, but your friends are going to need to find another way. We can only take one of you in the ambulance." Apollo responds.

Loki and Jay begin to move Weiss gingerly onto the stretcher, but she begins spasming as they are about to set her down. They quickly but gently set her down, pinning down her erratic limbs with practiced ease.

"Damn it." Apollo curses as he draws a syringe from his first aid bag.

"What is that? What are you going to do with Weiss?" Ruby asks, a tremor creeping back into her voice.

"It's a muscle relaxant. I'm going to give it to your friend when she stops spasming. It should keep her from hurting herself."

Weiss stops after a few seconds and Loki and Jay quickly strap her into the stretcher while Apollo carefully injects the syringe into Weiss' arm. Loki and Jay then pick the stretcher back up and head back to the ambulance with Ruby in tow.

"The rest of you stay here. Tell the police everything you know when they get here. Your friend will call you when we get the hospital." Apollo orders to the remaining two girls before heading back to the ambulance as well.

Apollo climbs in back, shutting the double doors behind him. He once again stands over Weiss, hooking her up to the various monitors in the car. Ruby is sitting in one of the jump seats, tightly buckled in and holding Weiss's hand.

A few minutes pass in relative quiet, with Apollo tending to Weiss as Ruby sits next to Loki.

"Will she be okay?" Ruby asks after a while, clearly worried by her friend's recent episode.

"She will be fine. It's our job to keep our cargo in perfect condition." Apollo says without any of his earlier charm.

"Cargo? Is that a medical term?" Ruby asks with a confused look.

All three men laugh heartily.

"That's quite funny, little miss. You know what? Just for that I'll leave you a present for when you wake up." Loki says, still chuckling.

"When I wake up?"

Loki suddenly slams Ruby's head against the side of the truck, slipping an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. Her eyes go wide for a moment, her arms swinging against Loki in vain. The knockout gas works quickly, and Ruby slumps forward limply within moments.

"Jay, move to the drop off point so we can continue to our final objective." Loki orders.

"Already there."

The ambulance pulls into a nondescript warehouse in the port district of Vale. As it pulls to a stop, the back doors are opened by an assortment of girls. The warehouse has been cordoned off into several areas, with an area for the women to apply makeup standing out among areas filled with large stacks of wooden boxes. Men and women move around the space with haste, some carrying boxes and others taking inventory while a large group of women are centered around a large backlit mirror. The girls that have come to receive Ruby are dressed in various ways. Some of them are dressed in lavish modern dresses, others in ornate Victorian style dresses, and many in popular street clothes like short shorts and low-cut shirts.

Loki unbuckles the unconscious Ruby, removing the oxygen mask as he does so. He takes her into his arms, jumping out the back of the ambulance before handing her off to one of the girls in street clothes.

"Make sure she gets to Venus alright." He orders in a voice devoid of emotion.

"That won't be an issue." A captivating female voice calls from the gaggle of girls nearby.

The girls part to reveal a stunning woman approaching Loki. She has long, silky waist length black hair that is in stark contrast with her sheer white dress. The mesh on the dress barely conceals the porcelain skin beneath it, however the dress becomes solid in the more dangerous areas. A large fox tail swings back and forth behind her, it's meticulously maintained black fur gleaming in the light. The white end of the tail switches sides behind her as she walks, creating a hypotonic affect that draws all eyes to her.

"Venus. I thought you were staying at the club so that you wouldn't draw attention."

"As far as anyone else knows, I am still there. I just figured I would handle this myself so that I could see you before you left." She purrs as she approaches.

"That's an unnecessary sentiment that could comprise the job. Please refrain from doing such foolish things in the future." Loki replies in a flat tone.

"I'm the current Avatar of Lust. Sentiment is part of my job." She says as she places a hand on Loki's shoulder.

She is taller than Loki, even without heels. He looks up at her for a moment, their shared orange eyes locking.

"I'm leaving now. Wait for the girl to wake up and take it from there." Loki says, turning away and walking to out back where Apollo is loading Weiss into a small Bullhead.

Venus watches him walk away with a sigh. She too turns away and leads a group of the girls to an awaiting car.

---

"This girl really is cute." A distorted female voice coos.

"Yeah, but she's so young! And did you see that weapon she has? It looks so scary, even if it is folded up." Another voice answers.

Ruby slowly begins to stir, but her head feels heavy. She tries to open her eyes but her body isn't responding how she is used to.

"Look! I think she is waking up!"

"I'll go get Lady Viola. You keep watching her."

Ruby barely hears the woman leave as she drifts back into unconsciousness.

When Ruby stirs again, her head feels considerably clearer. She manages to open her eyes, but what she sees confuses her even more. An unfamiliar vaulted ceiling is above her, with paper lamps hanging down in a haphazard fashion.

"Good morning. I'm glad to see that you are finally awake." A soft, delicate voice calls.

Ruby tilts her head towards the voice and sees a beautiful woman with long black hair sitting on a bed next to her. The woman glows with warmth and friendliness, and her soft orange eyes carry genuine concern in them.

"My name is Viola. Do you remember what your name is?" Viola asks with a smile.

Weiss awakes with a jolt, the pecking of a bird bringing her out of her deep slumber. She quickly looks around, but doesn't recognize the room around her. The room has a rustic feel, with the furniture being made completely out of carved wood and the walls even having a faux wood covering on them. Her body feels slightly numb, and her throat is extremely dry. She pulls the covers off of her only to find that rather than her regular attire, she is wearing a pair of baggy pants and a short sleeved tee shirt. As she swings her legs off the bed, she notices a glass of water on the end table. She begins reaching for it, but then pulls back. She restrains her thirst for the moment, being wary of everything in this strange place. She recoils as her feet touch the cold ground, shivering before planting herself firmly on the ground and standing up. She moves to the door, cursing the creaking floor as she moves. She approaches the door, firmly grasping the handle when she arrives. The door opens without a sound and Weiss peers into the room beyond. A common room lies beyond the door. It is fairly standardly furnished, with three couches in front of a large fire place and a dining table lying just beyond the bounds of the kitchen. There are 3 more interior doors that she can see and a large set of glass double doors at the front of the house, filtering a great amount of natural morning light. Weiss opens the door enough for her to slip through and enters the room beyond, gently closing the door behind her. She takes only a few carefully placed steps before she hears a voice with a hint of laughter behind her.

"Good morning, Princess."

---

Ruby tries to sit up suddenly, but Viola stops her by placing a firm hand on Ruby's chest.

"Slow down. I'll help you sit up, but you need to take it slow." Viola says in a gentle but firm tone.

"What happened?" Ruby asks, still groggy.

"All in time. First off, you still need to answer my question. What's your name, sweetie?"

"R-Ruby." Ruby answers, struggling to connect her thoughts.

"Good. Very good. How are you feeling, Ruby?"

Viola's voice was gentle and motherly, warming Ruby's heart.

"Heavy. It's hard to think."

Viola lets out a light chuckle as she props Ruby up on a pillow.

"That's understandable. Now, what's the last thing you remember?"

Ruby struggles to concentrate, trying her best to recall her last memory.

"Don't strain yourself." Viola says, stroking Ruby's hair. "Just let it come to you. We are in no rush."

"I-I was out shopping. My friends were there. Jaune was complaining about how the rain was making his shoes squish in a weird way." Ruby chuckles. "We had just left one store and were on our way to get something to eat. Jaune was following Weiss like a puppy, trying all his best pick-up lines on her. And then Weiss…"

Ruby's eyes suddenly gain clarity and she once again tries to sit up straight.

"Weiss! Something happened! There was a gunshot and she collapsed but there was no blood and then the ambulance came and I got in and…"

"Ruby! You need to calm down." Viola says as she presses Ruby back into the pillow. "I want you to take a deep breath and then try to explain what happened. Slowly."

"Who are you?" Weiss demands, jumping away from the door she had just come out of.

Leaning against the door a man only a little bit taller than her had appeared. He has jet black hair that hangs down just over the top of his ears and piercing orange eyes. He is wearing a baggy black tee shirt and torn work jeans. A small smirk is on his face and laughter dances in his eyes.

"Hmm. Let's see. For now, you can call me Loki." He answers, pushing himself off the door and taking a step forward.

"What do you want with me? Where are we?" Weiss asks, taking a step back for every step Loki takes.

"Now that's a bit more difficult to answer. Would you prefer the long or the short version first?" Loki responds, continuing forward.

"Start with the short version."

"Alright then. Princess, I do regret to inform you but…"

Weiss backs into the dining table, momentarily losing her balance. In that moment, Loki rushes forward, stopping mere inches from Weiss's face. One hand reaches back onto the table while the other moves to the curve of Weiss's back to help her regain her balance.

"I have kidnapped you, and you have no chance of escaping. Apple?" Loki says as he retrieves his arm from the table with a ripe red apple perched in his hand.

---

Ruby takes a deep breath before looking Viola squarely in the eyes. Ruby's eyes are filled with determination, but a certain fogginess still swirls behind them.

"I have to save Weiss." Ruby says with fiery determination.

"Right now you aren't well enough to even walk properly. You are in no shape to save anyone right now."

"But she's my friend and…"

"And I'm sure she would realize that you are in no shape to help her right now. I'm not saying that you can't try to help, but now is not the time. Right now, you need to worry about yourself. Is there anyone we can call?"

"My sister, Yang."

Ruby reaches to her skirt and clumsily pulls out her Scroll, dropping it onto the mattress beneath her.

"Would you like me to call her for you?"

Ruby bows her head and nods. Viola scoops up the scroll and deftly navigates to "Recent Contacts" and taps the header titled Yang. The scroll buzzes for only a moment before the electronic click of the call connecting can be heard.

"Ruby! Is that you?" An excited voice with more than a hint of fatigue asks.

"Yeah. It's me sis! I just woke up and the nice lady who has been taking care of me helped me call you."

"Wait, woke up? Ruby, what happened to you? Where's Weiss?"

"I'm not sure. My memory is still hazy. I'm trying my best to remember."

"I realize you were worried about Ruby, but do try not to agitate her too much. She has only just woken up."

The room goes silent for a moment.

"Who are you?" Yang asks, her voice filled with trepidation.

"Hello, Miss Xiao Long. I am known as Lady Viola. I have heard of you, so I am certain that you know of me."

"If you have done anything to Ruby…"

"Do not fret. You should know the reputation of Weeping Lotus. Had your sister been a man the story may have been different, but seeing as she is an innocent young girl there is no way my girls and I would mistreat her in any way. And if you are worried about me recruiting her, she is too young for my clients. It was a stretch to even extend an invitation to you given your age. That offer still stands of course."

"I'll pass. I'm assuming you haven't called the police?"

"Given that she was dumped right outside our building, I thought it best not to call. This is not the part of Vale where you can trust the police to treat someone right. I also ask that you refrain from contacted the police until after you have parted from us. I hope you understand that I would rather not give the police an excuse to snoop around."

"… Fine. Just let me talk to Ruby for a minute. Privately."

"Of course. I understand that you two have some catching up to do." Viola's voice suddenly drops to a whisper, "But I am serious about agitating her. Whatever she has in her system did a serious number on her."

Viola hands the phone to Ruby.

"Call for me when you are done talking. I'll be back with something to drink and our in house physician." Viola says as she leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

"Yang, who exactly is Miss Viola?"

Ruby hears a sigh from the other end of the scroll.

"Ruby, you got very lucky in the worst possible way. Lady Viola is the Proprietress of the Weeping Lotus, an escort service… Among other things. Lady Viola will without a doubt take care of you until Blake and I get there, but you still need to be wary around her. She is dangerous, but not in the way you are used to. Just don't leave the room you are in."

"Yang, what about Weiss? Have you heard anything about her?"

"We can talk about that later. Right now you just need to wait and rest. I'll be there as soon as possible."

"All right. I'll see you soon."

"Be safe, little sister."

Ruby looks to the door.

"Lady Viola, you can come back in now." Ruby calls.

Viola reenters the room, and Ruby could not help but want to trust the warm smile on her lips. A young woman with dark purple hair up in bun with very simple hair sticks follows Viola in. She is wearing a slim blue oriental dress with a long slit up to her mid-thigh on one side. The woman sits on the bed Ruby is laying in, opening a medical kit she brought with her. The woman does not even speak as she begins checking Ruby's vitals.

"Ruby, this is our in-house Doctor, Laurel. She checked your vitals when we first found you and made sure that you weren't in a condition that required us to bring you to the hospital." Viola clarifies, setting a glass of water on the end table next to Ruby.

"How are you feeling?" Laurel asks in a gruff voice.

"Uh, okay overall. I mean, not great but not horrible. My head still feels fuzzy but my body is starting to feel like I can properly move it." Ruby responds, startled by the sudden question.

Laurel nods, her eyes closed as she checks Ruby's pulse.

"You should be fine to move around now, but don't push yourself. The haziness should go away soon enough as well. You should be completely back to normal within a few hours."

Laurel packs her kit back up and stands up, bowing slightly towards Viola before leaving.

"Don't mind her too much. She just misses her teacher. She is the type that doesn't make friends easily but is also quick to become lonely." Viola explains, smoothing out the bed where Laurel had sat.

Ruby takes a sip from the glass that Viola had brought. After setting the glass back down, Ruby's face turns to that of conflict.

"Do you want to tell me something?"

Ruby nods, slightly avoiding eye contact with Viola.

"Let me guess, your sister warned you about me."

Ruby nods again.

"Well don't worry. While your sister may not like me because of my occupation, I'm sure she also assured you that I would never do anything to a cute young girl such as yourself. So tell me whatever you want, and I promise that I won't tell anyone what you say." Viola says, grasping Ruby's hands in her own.

Ruby looks up at Viola and can't bring herself to be distrustful of her.

"I remember what the people who took Weiss look like, and I wanted to know if they sounded familiar."

Ruby describes to the best of her ability what the three men looked like. As she does so, Viola's look of happiness turns to one of despair.

"Tell me, was there anything that you saw that had a fox on it?"

"Uh… Yes! Yes, there was! There was a case on one of the walls of the ambulance with one on it. Why, does that mean something?"

"Yes. It does." Viola says somberly. "It means that you should just wait for your friend to return. The men who took your friend are a part of an organization that specializes in certain… Specialized services. Given that they took your friend and left you at our doorstep, I have no doubt that your friend is absolutely safe. She will not be harmed in the least bit. As soon as those men get what they want, your friend will be released."

"But what if they don't get what they want? What will happen to Weiss then?" Ruby asks, panic rising in her voice.

"I'm not sure, but they definitely will not harm your friend as retribution. Chances are high that they will be given what they want immediately anyways."

"I can't just leave Weiss like that! I've gone up against Roman Torchwick before. I'm not afraid. Just tell me their name so I can save Weiss!" Ruby states, her voice filled with confidence.

Viola looks at Ruby for a moment, astonished, before laughing. Her laugh is clear and beautiful, like clinking crystal.

"I admire your spirit, but your words make me even more hesitant to tell you who took your friend."

"Why? I'm pretty strong myself, and my teammates are probably even stronger than me!"

"I am not doubting your skill, young Huntress-in-training. I'm sure that when you become a full-fledged Huntress, you would be powerful enough to beat one of the members of that organization. However, one of the men you described is one that even Roman Torchwick utilizing all of his assets would be hesitant to offend, let alone fight head on. He is known as the 'Shadow,' a man who is the very embodiment of death. Roman's rise to power would have been much more difficult had this man not killed the people he has. The fact that you encountered him and lived is enough to make many respect you in the seedier parts of Vale."

"Is he really that scary?" Ruby asks, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

Viola smiles and shakes her head.

"No, of course not. Those are mostly legends and rumors about him. If one were to believe rumors alone about him, it would mean that on top of all that he has lived for hundreds of years and can kill with a single look."

Viola's face becomes serious once again.

"However, every rumor and legend is based on a fragment of the truth. He is a Huntsman's worst nightmare. You all focus on training to kill Grimm. He however has trained specifically to kill humans. Taking only the most plausible rumors into account, he is an expert marksman and reputable master of knife play and close quarters combat. Others Huntsmen have heard of him but not even the most fame hungry have gone against him. I did not save your life only to have you throw it away chasing the boogeyman of this part of Vale."

"But what about Weiss? I can't just leave her."

"The best thing you can do for your friend is contact her family and tell them everything you know, including what I just told you. Given that he kidnapped your friend, rather than… Something else, I'm sure that they will be willing to get your friend back."

---

"You kidnapped me?" Weiss asks in disbelief.

"Yup. Don't be concerned though. I will take excellent care of you while you are my charge." Loki says, walking past Weiss and leaning behind the island in the kitchen.

"Many people have attempted to kidnap me, but none have actually had the audacity to go through with it!"

"I think you mean 'skill.' And you should be happy about that, I'm sure none of them would treat you as well as I am. By the way, do you want something to eat? If you don't want an apple, I can make you something for brunch real quick. Maybe some toast, eggs, ohh! What about waffles? I love waffles. Especially when they are nice and thick."

"Are you insane? Is this some kind of joke to you?"

"I assure you that I am perfectly sane and this is most certainly not a joke. Now, how many waffles do you want?"

"That's it, I'm leaving."

"Princess, while you are welcome to walk around outside; I can't recommend it, especially given how you are dressed. Give me a second while I grab your clothes."

Loki moves to a nearby closet and retrieves Weiss's clothes from within.

"I hope you don't mind that I changed your clothes so I could wash these. The dirt and mud from when I knocked you out would ruin the bedsheets." Loki says, tossing the clothes onto the dinning table.

Weiss grabs the clothes and returns to the room she came from. She changes quickly and walks back into the common area. Loki is now standing by the front door, Myrtenaster in hand.

"You'll want this if you decide to go out. There are Grimm everywhere. And I must say, I like your choice in weapon. I'm more of a knife guy myself, but I also deal with fighting humans more than Grimm. That being said, when fighting Grimm, I would definitely prefer a light thin blade like this. I could go without this weird Dust chamber though. Alas, this is a custom piece after all so I am sure you have some use for it."

Weiss doesn't even respond, plucking Myrtenaster out of Loki's hand as she gets to the door. She grasps the doorknob to leave, but Loki thrusts an arm out in front of her.

"Now, if you are thinking of escaping, I am going to have to reiterate that it is impossible. We are a long way out from any sort of civilization. The closest kingdom is Vale, which is at least a day away by Bullhead. The nearest town is 5 days away on foot and you will be fighting both Grimm and wild animals the entire way. You could call for help, but I have both your scroll and my own. You are welcome to challenge me for them, but I wouldn't have given you your weapon back if I wasn't confident that I could take it back."

Loki drops his arm and Weiss walks out onto the porch. The outside is that of a stereotypical log cabin. The porch has two pairs of rocking chairs, each pair flanking a small table. A picnic table is in the front yard and there is a wood chopping block towards the side of the house. As Weiss walks down the few steps separating the porch and the yard, Loki calls out to her again.

"I'm serious about the Grimm. You need to be on your guard. These Grimm aren't like what you'll find in the Emerald forest, they have been shaped by fights with Huntsmen and each other. They don't have access to easy prey and are meant to instill fear in trained Huntsmen. If you don't take them seriously, they will kill you. Oh, and in this forest, the trees have ears, so try to stay quiet."

Weiss keeps walking towards the tree line.

"Right, and while you are out there, think about what you want for lunch! I'll have you know I am a master of grilling, but I can always make something else if that isn't to your taste."

Loki keeps smiling and waving until Weiss disappears into the brush. At this point, he drops his hand and lets out a low whistle before walking back inside.

---

Weiss pushes through the low hanging greenery, slicing it away where she can. The cabin had about a 30-foot buffer zone between it and the trees, and the ground was clear for about another 50 feet after that within the trees. But after that, the ground was covered with ivy and shrubs. The trees themselves were a very dark brown, and some were so large in diameter that it would take several men to wrap their arms around it.

"Who exactly does that man think he is? Sure, he may have been able to take me but that must have been luck. He doesn't seem dangerous, just… Dumb." Weiss huffs, tired of cutting through the brush.

Weiss had met the type Loki claimed to be before. All of those men had Auras of death about them and scarred, twisted faces. But while Loki's words were frightening and serious, his voice and demeanor were friendly and fun.

Weiss's expression turns sour.

But the way he had been able to sneak up on her was worrisome. She had thoroughly looked at the common room before stepping out of her room. But he was still seemingly effortlessly able to get behind her.

The house and yard were also meticulously maintained. There had not been a single inch of upturned earth or scratches that were typical of Grimm infested areas outside civilization. Towns were one thing, but a single cabin in the middle of think woods?

"What was it that he said about the Grimm in these woods?"

Weiss thought back to what he said, and one phrase stuck out.

"'The trees have ears?' What is that supposed to mean? Is this forest really that dangerous? It's been at least half an hour and I haven't seen a single Grimm."

Weiss then remembers what he said after that.

"Think about what I want for lunch? No, he is definitely just crazy. I need to get out of here."

Weiss begins walking forward with a new found determination, but she almost immediately turns back towards a rustling behind her.

A small squirrel-like Grimm is on the tree she turned to, looking at her with its blood red eyes. It quickly scurries away and Weiss releases the breath she had been holding.

"Geez, that guy's words must have actually gotten to me. To think I got worked up over such a small Grimm like…"

As Weiss turns, a huge force slams into her side, sending her flying into a nearby tree. Her world goes black for a few moments and when her vision comes back, she almost wished it hadn't.

The Grimm in front of her is similar to a Beowolf in shape, but much smaller. It's full standing height was only a bit taller than Weiss's, but that small stature did not make it seem any less deadly. Short, bone-like spikes jutted from its elbows and knees, long enough to easily pierce a person but short enough as to not impede movement. That same structure covers its head and paws, and the paws had long curved claws jutting out of them.

Weiss tries to get back up, but the Grimm immediately pounces on her. Weiss instinctively raises her weapon and closes her eyes.

"It looks like I really have been gone too long this time. They should have stayed away from you just based on my scent being on you."

Weiss opens her eyes again and sees Loki standing in front of her. However, he seems completely different from the jubilant man who told her that he had kidnapped her. He is surrounded by a misty black Aura, and his presence gives off a suffocating feeling of fear and death. He has his left hand hovering in front of the Grimm's snout and his right reaching back to Weiss. The Grimm is growling at him but despite their close proximity, it makes no move towards Loki. Weiss takes Loki's outstretched hand and he hefts her to her feet, taking care to keep her behind him. As he does so, the Grimm begins to growl much louder.

Loki responds by grabbing the Grimm by its snout and bringing its face mere inches from his own. He releases a low, guttural growl, one that Weiss would not expect from a human. It's enough to send shivers down Weiss's spine, and it appears to have a similar effect on the Grimm. All of the fur on the Grimm is now standing up completely straight, and instead of growling it is now releasing a soft whimpering.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you." Loki says, stroking the top of the Grimm's head. "However, I will punish you for forgetting your place."

With a flash of his hand, a knife slashes over the Grimm's right eye. The Grimm tries to howl with pain as it lifts a paw to cover the red gouge, but Loki snaps its jaw shut.

"You will be silent! You brought this pain upon yourself, and you shall deal with it alone!" Loki barks, releasing the Grimm's jaw.

The Grimm obediently stays silent, bowing its head as it continues to cover its wound. Loki looks at it with contempt for a few moments before kneeling down beside the Grimm.

"Show me your wound."

The Grimm uncovers its injured eye, turning it head to give Loki a better view as dark red blood drips to the floor. Loki takes the Grimm's head into his hands gingerly this time, slipping his left hand over its injured eye. The black mist swirls around Loki's hand, seeping into the Grimm.

As Weiss looks on in pure shock she hears a small snippet of what Loki whispers to the Grimm.

"… my fault, not yours."

When Loki stands back up, Weiss can see that the Grimm has not only stopped bleeding but it's entire eye is in great condition save for a superficial red scar on the skin surrounding it.

"You shall wear that scar as a sign of your being in my service. You shall answer to no beast or man other than myself, and you shall carry out my orders without question. Do you understand?"

The Grimm prostrates itself in response, not rising until Loki strokes its head. Loki then turns to Weiss, his expression the happy one she had seen before. But there was a sadness buried beneath his eyes.

"So… Princess. I ended up showing you more than I had planned. Still, you may want to go pray for forgiveness from someone because your luck is really bad! Seriously, did you piss off a witch or something?"

"What the hell did you just do? Why didn't that Grimm attack you? Why isn't it attacking now?"

"Princess, I suggest you forget everything you just saw." Loki's tone and expressions were pleasant, but there was a shocking amount of ill intent behind his words.

"Now then, you should return to the cabin. Fenrir!"

In response to Loki's words, a large black wolf that was easily 6 feet tall emerged from the trees. But Weiss quickly noticed that while it had the stature and gait of a wolf…

It had the unmistakable mask of a Grimm on its face.

When Fenrir reaches Weiss it lays down, drastically reducing its size.

Weiss turns to Loki again, only being able to utter, "Who…" before he lifted her onto Fenrir's back.

"Now, when you get back you need to stay inside until I get back. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the refrigerator or any of the books in the study. I should be back soon." Loki says as he draws a sheathed rapier from Fenrir's mouth. Weiss only catches a glimpse of it before Fenrir takes off into the forest, but what she does manage to see is a crest of a fox on the pommel and a highly ornate hilt.

The arrival of this weapon confuses her a bit. While Loki had said he preferred a rapier in conflict with Grimm, she had expected him to use something simple but effective like a cup hilt. The ornateness of the hilt on the sword he had received was far too great for a career criminal. It was a regal design only seen on the weapons of ancient royalty.

---

When Weiss arrived back at the cabin, she was still deep in thought about what she had just seen. Fenrir dropped her off at the porch's steps and promptly laid in front of them, blocking Weiss from leaving. However, after what Weiss had seen she was none too keen to venture back into that forest. The Grimm she had encountered was strange unto itself, but Loki… Loki was the center of all of it. He was clearly human, but the fact that the Grimm hadn't attacked him was unheard of. It had been completely submissive towards him. Even the strongest Huntsmen are at best able to cause Grimm to retreat after engaging in combat with them. But for a Grimm to not attack in such close proximity to a person was insane! And then even more shocking was that the Grimm allowed Loki to abuse it so much without so much as even trying to run away. However, it was Loki's actions that had shaken Weiss to her core.

He had healed the Grimm.

Let alone the fact that he had chosen to show compassion to the Grimm, the ability to act on that compassion was far more concerning. Loki had used his Aura, the manifestation of his soul, to heal a creature of Grimm, who were by definition soulless creatures. It was a feat that, by the definitions of both Grimm and Aura, should be impossible. This was something that no matter how hard Weiss thought, she couldn't get her head around.

Seeing no value in continuing this dead-end train of thought, Weiss decides to explore the cabin to see if she can find anything about her captor. Looking around the main area, she discovers that the couches she had seen previously were also pull out beds and a light coffee table stood between them.

The coffee table only had a stack of coasters on its polished wood surface, and the mantle above the fire place only contained some photo albums of various wildlife. There were four doors leading out of the room, not counting the front door. One led to the room Weiss had woken up in, but the others were unknown. Weiss moves to the door closest to the room she had woken in. Upon opening the door, she finds that a bathroom lies beyond. There was nothing special about the bathroom. It had a built in shower on one wall, a toilet across from it, and a sink in the middle. The cabinet under the sink held only mundane things such as toilet paper and unwrapped toothbrushes.

Leaving the bathroom and walking to the door across the hall she finds a laundry room that also seems to double as storage. A few sleeping bags are stacked in one corner and there are various towels and the such laid on shelves above the washer and dryer.

Leaving that room behind as well, Weiss continues to the last door. The last room is a study comparable in size to the bedroom she woke up in. A desk facing away from a large window is the prominent item in the room. There are two chairs seated in front of the desk and a simple rolling desk chair behind it. Entering the room, Weiss realizes that the walls are large bookshelves, filled to the brim with books of all kinds. Turning back to the door as she enters, she sees several folding chairs and a folding step ladder flanking the door. Weiss quickly moves to one of the bookshelves, inspecting the books within. Pulling a volume out at random, she glances at the cover before opening it. It was a classic fiction novel recounting the dramatic story of two estranged lovers. The page that she opens to is the copyright page and she is about to flip the page when something catches her eye. In bold black print at the bottom of the page read the words "First Edition."

This book was worth more money than most people make in a lifetime! She quickly replaces the book and draws out another that she recognizes the title of. Once again, the words listed on the copyright page are "First Edition." Weiss continues this with several more titles that are considered masterpieces of literacy, and the same words pop up every time without fail. Without even looking through a fraction of the titles in this room, the collection was already worth a fortune. Yet, this almost priceless collection was contained in a small, unassuming cabin deep within Grimm infested woods. Weiss begins looking through the shelves with a greater fervor, but soon realizes that she can't read the vast majority of books she looks at.

These books are in various different languages, most of which Weiss has never seen the likes of before. The books themselves are in various states of binding, with some bound in animal skin and others clearly rebound and lifted from their original bindings. Quite a few have wax stamps on the covers of various seals from long fallen kingdoms. Her head spinning, she sits down in one of the chairs before the desk.

This was insane. A few first editions she could understand; many career thieves would begin a collection of some of the more valuable things they had stolen. But the sheer amount of books and what they contained was far too much for any thief to collect in a single lifetime.

As she massages her temples, she notices the sun glint off a book on the desk. She picks it up, inspecting the cover. It was an anthology that had garnered a great amount of attention about 60 years ago. "The Study of Fairy Tales and their Historical Routes." It was one of the first books published by a joint group of researchers from the 4 kingdoms. While the title was a bit lackluster, it had garnered international attention due to its approachable language and its compilation of information from all 4 kingdoms. Weiss even had fond memories of reading this when she was younger.

Opening the book, she is not surprised to find that this is once again a first edition copy. However, turning the page she finds a handwritten note on the other side.

"On behalf of the Four Kingdoms and the team that compiled this anthology, I would like to thank you. Your input proved invaluable in the study and analysis of the various stories in this book. All of us involved are still amazed that we were able to find such a valuable resource while in pursuit of the truth behind a singular fairy tale that has so many renditions. We thank you once again for your hospitality and help and, per your request, have not shared your identity with the Four Kingdoms. We 12 wish you the best on your quest and will do our best to share the tales you have told us."

Another note was at the bottom, written in the same handwriting.

"Loki, I just want to say, separate from the rest of the team, that I and many like me have never blamed you for your actions. I know that you do not like us calling you a hero, but to us you are a source of hope and a brighter future. I just hope you can find it in your own heart to forgive yourself.

Forever yours,

Chocla Furoe."

Weiss's head was now spinning. This book was at least 60 years old, but Loki couldn't be over thirty! But with that being said, how did Loki's name pop up in a book that he owned being thanked by the people who wrote it? All of it was too bizarre. Who exactly, or rather what exactly was Loki?

"Do you like that book? It's personally one of my favorites."

Weiss nearly jumped out of her chair. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and when she turned to Loki, she saw that he was looking at her with that same dumb smile as before.

"So what story are you reading…" Loki asks as he looks over Weiss's shoulder.

A sudden look of clarity comes over Loki's face.

"Ah. I you are probably feeling confused." Loki says in a sympathetic tone.

"You think? Who are you exactly? What is this place?" Weiss demands.

"First off, I should tell you that 'Loki' is less my name and more of a heredity title."

"So then the Loki in this book is…"

"My Grandfather. And all the books in this study have been collected by generations of my ancestors. If you look through them, you will be able to see that my family is a very, very old one."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I'm guessing it makes a good bit more sense than whatever half-baked theory you could have come up with while looking through this room."

"Then… What about what you did in the forest. Why didn't that Grimm attack you?" Weiss asks somewhat hesitantly.

"That is something that you are better off forgetting. Don't misunderstand me. I did not tell you about my family out of obligation to you, I just don't want you going around telling people you were kidnapped by some kind of immortal witch. What happened in the forest is something you should keep to yourself, or better yet forget entirely. You seem smart enough to figure what will happen if you ever tell anyone about what you saw." Loki's voice slowly becomes more devoid of emotion as he speaks, but quickly rebounds to his happier tone.

"So, what do you want for lunch?"

Weiss sighs, realizing that she will get nowhere in conversation.

"A peanut-butter sandwich is fine."

"Alrighty, I'll have to ask that you don't eat around the books though. By the way, is pasta alright for dinner? I can make a mean meat sauce."

"Go for it."

---

The rest of the day goes fairly amicably, much to Weiss's surprise. Loki reveals himself to be a skilled speaker, able to match and even exceed Weiss's pace when discussing various topics. Loki's charisma is hard to resist, and Weiss finds herself even forgetting her situation at moments. However, the large resting Grimm outside always rips her back to reality. She does not dare bring up what happened in the forest again, nor anything else about Loki. Even if she does not know anything about who exactly Loki is, she at least recognizes how dangerous he is.

After dinner, Weiss takes the anthology on Fairy Tales from before and retires to her room. The familiar tales put her mind at ease, although she does not bother with the actual analysis of said stories. She eventually nods off, her dreams filled with the childish delusions of princesses being saved by gallant knights.

---

Weiss is awakened several hours later, the sound of the book hitting the floor abruptly interrupting her dreams. She lifts the book off the floor, placing it on the end table. She quickly decides that while she is up she may as well get a glass of water, and quietly leaves her room. A warm breeze blows by her when she exits, and she ruins to find the front doors wide open. This would be an unthinkable act for most, but she was not surprised in the slightest since it was Loki who had done it. She was however surprised when she saw the scene that laid outside the cabin. Loki was sleeping against Fenrir's massive back in the center of the clearing and there were over a hundred of the Grimm that Weiss had met earlier strewn about the ground around them. The Grimm were of varying sizes and formed a sea of black around Loki and Fenrir. Weiss at first thought that she had missed a large battle, but she soon saw that each and every Grimm was breathing. Weiss could not help but feel fear begin to creep into her heart, and she soon saw the Grimm begin to respond. Several red eyes locked with her own, and a light growl began to resonate within the crowd of Grimm.

"All of you need to calm down. That includes you Weiss." Loki's steady voice pierced through the night.

"They won't hurt you, so I suggest that you cast the fear you are feeling from your heart. Do what you need to do and then go back to your room. Think of this as just a bad dream you had."

Weiss nods. Taking a deep breath, Weiss forces her heart rate to slow and steels her heart in a similar fashion to what she does before battle. Looking back to the Grimm outside, she sees many have already laid their heads back down and the rest are beginning to do so as well. Weiss walks the rest of the way to the kitchen, taking a glass from one of the cabinets before filling it with the sink tap. She takes a sip, turning to return to her room. She glances out once again as she walks, and the scene has returned to its earlier sinister tranquility. She closes the door as she enters her room, not daring to leave herself any more open than she already is. She places the glass on the end table, sitting down on her bed before taking another sip. She takes Myrtenaster into her hands, the familiar cold of the weapon calming her. Returning Myrtenaster to her bedside, Weiss lays down and closes her eyes, begging for sleep to take her.

---

Weiss awakens peacefully enough. The scent of raw batter drifts through the room, gently dragging her out of the chains of sleep. When she finally does get up, she grabs the glass she had gotten last night and brings it with her as she walks into the main living space. Loki is in the kitchen, cooking waffles on an automatic iron. He is wearing different clothes, but the outfit is still comprised of the same dull colors as before.

"Good morning Princess. I hope you like waffles."

"Waffles are fine. Do you have any toppings?"

"I know we have syrup, and I am pretty sure there are some jams in the refrigerator. Help yourself to anything you like."

After the incident last night, Weiss had decided to just go along with Loki's behavior. While he appeared to be just a friendly person on the surface, he had revealed himself to be immeasurably dangerous. One of those Grimm had been enough to put her in a tough spot. While she was sure she would fare much better if she wasn't caught off guard, the sheer number of Grimm she had seen last night was more than enough to make her pause.

She sat down at the table just as Loki brought a a stack of waffles over. Loki allowed Weiss to take her pick of the waffles first, before taking a few for himself. As Weiss spreads butter on her waffles, she notices that Loki has already started eating.

"You eat your waffles plain?" Weiss asks as she begins to pour a bit of syrup on to hers.

"I am not much for the consistency of butter and I don't have much of a sweet tooth. Believe me when I say that my tastes got me a lot of strange looks as a kid."

"You do seem the type that didn't like candy as a child."

"What can I say, it's the way I have always been."

A buzz begins to sound from Loki's pocket. He pulls a Scroll out and grins as he sees the caller ID.

"Well Princess, it would appear the king is ready to pay your ransom."

Loki stands up and heads outside as he answers the call.

"Go for Loki."

"Is Weiss doing alright?" A gruff voice asks.

"Wow, Princess's manners must not come from you. Didn't anyone ever teach you to always tell the person you are calling who you are?"

"I don't have time for your games, Loki. Verify that Weiss is safe."

"Yeah, yeah. Princess! Daddy dearest would like to talk to you!"

Weiss quickly walks over and retrieves the Scroll from Loki. Loki in turn returns to the table to continue eating.

"Father?"

"Weiss. Are you unharmed?"

"I'm perfectly fine. I am being cared for so well, it's scary."

"Good. I'll keep this short then. I am going to pay for your release. However, you will return to Atlas."

"What? No! I refuse."

"This isn't a request. You will return to Atlas. You have shown that you are unable to take care of yourself on your own."

"With all due respect, I doubt even you would be able to escape the grasp of this man."

"I do not want to hear excuses…"

"This isn't an excuse! This is a fact! This man is powerful, very powerful. And based on what I have seen, he has a lineage that could quite possible date back thousands of years. I can't tell you all of what he is capable of, but it's terrifying. Unnatural. He can do things that shouldn't even be possible. This man is not an appropriate measure of my skill! And besides, I will get much stronger by remaining in Vale than I would ever get by returning to Atlas."

The line goes silent for a few moments, and Weiss can almost hear her father's rage building.

"Put the man back on the Scroll."

Weiss holds the Scroll up, gesturing for Loki to take it. Loki quickly swallows the bite of waffle he was eating before taking the Scroll and walking towards the woods.

"So, where should I drop her off?"

"This wasn't the deal. You were supposed to frighten Weiss so much that she would agree to return! Your job is not over."

Loki's eyes narrow.

"No, I'm afraid you have misunderstood something. You see, there is a reason that we have a contract drawn up. My organization realized very quickly that people like you would try to extort us by claiming that we did not hold up our end of the deal. In the past, we remedied the situation by either a mutual understanding or us killing the person who was causing the issue. But unhappy and dead clients tend to be bad for business. So, we began drawing up contracts to make sure that neither party would find fault with the other at the end of the transaction.

The contract we gave you said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that 'I would kidnap Weiss Schnee and expose her to the most frightening thing I could and then return her to the Schnee Dust Company or an otherwise designated party.' I did exactly that. You heard what she said. I am capable of feats that most would consider impossible because of the logic that lets them sleep at night. I nearly let her die, and then I showed her something that I only agreed to do out of respect for your company. What I showed her has driven other Huntsman far more experienced than to insanity. Hell, at this point she may even think that I am some sort of witch that could destroy a city on a whim. The point is, I scared her. I scared her so bad that she won't forget this for the rest of her life.

Now, if you just want to break the contract, that's fine. Believing that I going against my word is one thing, but getting cold feet is something else entirely. Breaking the contract means no hard feelings between us. We will simply keep the down payment, as well as any assets acquired during the course of the duration of the contract."

"You wouldn't."

"I can and I will. You know, Princess is pretty cute. She is a bit rough around the edges, but there is a sizable crowd that finds that very attractive. I'm sure that given a few years she would become a prodigy regarding the tenet of Lust.

Actually, I myself have taken a liking to her. I think I'll take her under my wing and teach her the tenet of Cunning. There of course is no guarantee that she will survive the training, but I think she has the talent. That would be quite a story someday, wouldn't it? I can see the headlines now… 'Former SDC heiress turns to Career Criminal…'"

"Enough. You have more than made your point. Just take her back to the school. I'll wire you the rest of your payment when I have confirmed that she has arrived unharmed."

"Nice doing business with you."

---

Weiss is cleaning up the dishes when Loki walks back in the house.

"So? What did my father say?"

"Looks like you get to go back to school! A Bullhead will come by tonight to pick us up. And don't worry about the plates, I'll clean them up. I would appreciate if you would take the leftovers out to Fenrir though."

Weiss pauses, holding the plates above the counter.

"You want me to feed Fenrir?"

"If you could. It's not a big deal if you can't but it would help."

Loki takes the plates from Weiss's hands and puts them in the dishwasher before starting to wash out the waffle iron and such in the sink.

"Are you certain you want me to do it?"

"Listen, if you are afraid of Fenrir that's fine. I understand. Just tell me so I can bring them out before they get cold."

Weiss's eyes suddenly flash with a mix of anger and determination. She picks up the plate and struts outside. She can hear Loki whistling happily as she leaves. She looks around when she reaches the porch and sees Fenrir lying in a particularly sunny spot in the yard. She approaches Fenrir with a prideful gait that is somewhat diminished by the plate of waffles she is carrying. As she draws close, Fenrir raises his head to look at her.

Weiss falters for a moment, but quickly regains her composure.

Weiss stops a few feet in front of Fenrir, holding the plate out in front of her.

"Loki told me to bring these out to you."

Fenrir bows his head for a moment, dropping the rapier Weiss had seen before onto the ground before seemingly gesturing for Weiss to come closer.

Weiss closes the distance between them, placing the plate on the ground before taking a step back. Fenrir lowers his head once again, gingerly taking a single pancake from the plate. When he looks at Weiss again, she notices something she hadn't before.

Fenrir's eyes were a deep blue, and clear as glass.

The eyes of Grimm were always a sickening red-orange.

Fenrir had the white mask that marked the Grimm, but lacked the other bony protrusions that others of similar shape had. He was an anomaly, just like Loki…

Weiss is startled out her thoughts by Fenrir pushing the now empty plate to Weiss. He leaves his head lowered, his eyes looking up at Weiss.

Weiss begins to reach a hand out, moving it slowly towards Fenrir. Fenrir does not move while Weiss does this, simply looking up at her without a hint of hostility. Weiss's hand soon comes to a rest near the top of Fenrir's head. Weiss is surprised at how warm that Fenrir's mask is, although she isn't quite sure what she was expecting. Having now made contact, Weiss moves around Fenrir's huge body so that she can pet him where he has fur. As she sinks her hand into Fenrir's coat, she can't help but realize how soft it is. She hadn't noticed it while she had been riding him, but his fur felt cotton on her fingers. She began to stroke him, the warmth of his body and swell of his chest dashing any hesitation she had felt before.

Grimm were supposed to be cold, soulless creatures. But Fenrir was anything but. He was a gentle, kind creature. More so than most wild animals even. Yet, this brought even more questions to Weiss's mind. She realized that humanity still knew very little about Grimm, but this was far too much. Fenrir was an existence that turned everything Weiss she thought about Grimm on its head. But even more cryptic was…

"I see you have taken a liking to Fenrir."

Loki had appeared next to Weiss, leaning against Fenrir's body.

In that moment, Weiss realized she had made a mistake.

She had completely dropped her guard around Loki.

The issue now was no longer of how long she had dropped her guard, but of how Loki had managed to get her to do so. He had kidnapped her, and was clearly very dangerous. That fact could not be illustrated better than by the fact that she was petting his pet Grimm.

Weiss subtly changed her stance to a more defensive one.

"Oh, don't do that now Princess. We only have a little while left with each other. Besides, your father's payment won't clear until you are safe and sound back at Beacon."

Loki pushed himself off Fenrir and moved closer to Weiss, placing his hand next to hers in Fenrir's thick fur.

"You know, while it may have been a bit forced, you are the very first person to pet Fenrir on their first meeting with him."

Loki climbs onto Fenrir and hugs his neck from above.

"He is a good boy you know; he wouldn't even hurt a fly without provocation. But, since he looks like a massive wolf of a Grimm people tend to get the wrong idea. And… That usually ends up worsening his reputation."

"What do you mean, 'looks like a Grimm?'" Weiss asks, still petting Fenrir while looking up at Loki.

Loki sits up soundlessly. He looks at Weiss with a peculiar look. It isn't the friendly one she was used to, nor was it the one of malice she had seen a few times. If she had to describe it… Lonely. It was the look of hollowness she had scene in pictures of refugees of the Great War. But, there was a faint glow of hope within Loki's eyes, albeit extremely dim.

"You know Weiss; you are just captivating! Not only are you able to overcome your fear in order to get closer to Fenrir, you continue to ask the questions that could turn your world upside down. You remind me of a woman I met a while ago. She was incredible. Most envied her beauty, but I admired her pure heart over all else. To this day I do not know how she was able to shoulder the weight she was forced to carry with so much grace."

Loki looks up wistfully, watching the clouds crawl by.

"I don't fall in love much, but she was truly something special."

Loki slides off Fenrir, landing next to Weiss.

"Sadly, we were conflicting existences. We could never be together, so we went our separate ways…

But enough about the past. Your determination and inquisitive nature are very reminiscent of her."

Loki suddenly grabs Weiss by the chin and lifts her gaze to match his own. Weiss doesn't resist as Loki eye's still have that sad look from before. He stares for a few moments before gently releasing her.

"Your eyes are more clouded… Well, they may yet clear."

Loki pulls a small concealed handgun from the back of his pants and presses it into Weiss's hands.

"Show me your resolve." Loki whispers in a deadly serious voice.

Loki calmly and deliberately gets on his knees, maintaining eye contact with Weiss the entire time.

"There is a letter in my desk. Center drawer. If you give it to the pilot of the Bullhead he will take you anywhere you want, no questions asked."

Weiss just looks at Loki in disbelief. They continue to stare each other down for a few moments until Weiss finally breaks.

"What are you expecting me to do? Shoot you?"

"I just want to see your resolve. Shooting me is just one of the many outcomes to this situation."

"I can't just kill someone in cold blood!"

"You were able to catch your kidnapper off guard and killed him while you had the chance. I'm pretty sure that would qualify as self-defense. Anyways, it's not like anyone would ever find this place, let alone my body."

"The issue isn't of the legality of shooting you! I can't just kill someone who is not threatening me in any way."

"Well, while I am not going to do anything threaten you at this moment; I did shoot you before kidnapping you and brought you out to a cabin in the middle of the woods. And if you need some moral high ground, I have killed a lot of people. Some were good, some were bad. They were from all walks of life. Huntsmen, Huntresses, criminals, terrorists, rulers, servants, men, women, and children. If you can think of a way of living, I have killed someone for living it."

Weiss raises the gun, anger blazing in her eyes.

"Ah… So that's what makes you tick. A protector of the innocent. That sort of mentality is all well and good, but how far are you willing to go for your ideals? Huntsmen don't just fight Grimm. There are all sorts of monsters in this world, and a good chunk of them are the very people you fight to protect. But I'm sure you know that already. After all, you are a part of the illustrious Schnee family. Some people label you as the very evil I am describing. In fact, the White Fang go as far as becoming monsters themselves in hopes of fighting the monster they believe you to be. Faunus blindly throwing away their humanity all for a shot at the company that they consider the root of all evil. I have to say, while I don't condone their methods, I understand their way of thinking. Sacrificing the individual for the good of the pack. It's a very Faunus way of thinking. I should know, being a Faunus myself."

Weiss looks at him in shock.

"Did I forget to mention that? Well, I keep my hair shaggy up top for a reason. It's amazing how well you can get an ear to blend in with some surgical tape and a creative hairstyle. But don't worry, I am not nor have I ever been affiliated with the White Fang in any way. Although, the same cannot be said of one of your teammates. Blake, right? I hear that she was pretty close with the leader of that entire nut show."

"Leave my teammates out of this." Weiss growls.

"You're getting angry. That's good. Channel that rage. Use it to steel your resolve. You should embrace that feeling of anger, it is just as much a part of you as any other emotion. Anger is only bad if you let it consume you. If you quietly rage and carefully direct it, it can become a powerful weapon."

"Be quiet! I don't even understand what you hope to get out of this! All you are doing is egging me on! Do you have a death wish?"

"Ah, death. The end all of all living things. But what is death really? Some people see it as simply the ceasing of a body's functions. But others see it as an ascension to some higher plane. Many still are somewhere on the spectrum, unsure of what death is exactly. I myself am completely sure of what death is to me, and I made peace with dying a long, long time ago. As for what I hope to gain, I already told you. I want to see your resolve. You want to be a Huntress after all, you aren't allowed to be indecisive. You have to be able to make decisions, act on them, and then be ready to face the consequences.

So show me, little porcelain Huntress. What will you do with me? I have slaughtered more innocents than any Grimm you will ever meet. I am such a horrible person that even Grimm, the soulless incarnations of evil bow their heads before me. And it doesn't stop there. I can and have led Grimm into villages. Think of it, a wandering stranger shows up and you offer him your hospitality. He stays there for a few days when suddenly, a wave of Grimm unlike anything you have ever seen shows up. That man, instead of repaying that kindness by trying to help defend the people, fights alongside the Grimm. I have betrayed the trust of many. Hell, I might as well have betrayed the entire human race at this point. A man who can side with the Grimm, that is a title even the most devout Grimm cultists can never claim.

But the question is, what will you do? I am quite clearly deserving of death. As a Huntress it is your job… No. As a Huntress it is your solemn duty to exterminate evil and protect the human race. That very evil is before you right now, and has a long list of sins that more than puts him within your jurisdiction and judgement. Yet, you hesitate. Every moment that you stall is one I can use to get away and resume my slaughter. Are you unsure of my guilt? Perhaps you have come to like me in our time together and can't bring yourself to put me down?

Or maybe…

Maybe you are just scared.

Not scared for me or the others I may harm, but for yourself.

You are afraid of what you will become if you pull that trigger.

Allow me to tell you this in no uncertain terms. Killing me will change you. Taking a life is a huge decision that becomes a part of who you are. You may not even realize it at this point, but killing Grimm is the same concept.

But I digress.

As a Huntress, you must be ready to make the decision to kill and in turn, change who you are. After all, Huntsmen take evil unto themselves in order to protect the weak. So make a decision.

Will you kill me and become a true Huntress?

Or will you spare me because of your own fear?

Make a decision soon, my little porcelain Huntress, or I will make it for you."

Weiss continues looking at the smiling fool knelt before her, the gun gently shaking in her hand. She searches his face for a few moments, still unsure of his true motivations. But when she looks into his eyes again, she understands his true intentions.

His eyes still carry that same, deep-rooted sadness within them.

That one realization gives a whole new meaning to Loki's expression and actions. He doesn't have some sort of perverse desire to die by Weiss's hand. Nor does he want to convince Weiss that she doesn't have what he takes to be a Huntress.

He is looking for penance.

That sad look on his face is one that has accepted that death is the only way to repay his wrongdoings. The list of wrongs he told Weiss was not meant to make her angry, but rather was him confessing his sins.

Weiss knew what she had to do.

Seeing the new look of determination on Weiss's face, Loki closes his eyes and gently lowers his head.

"Do you regret the things you have done?" Weiss's clear voice asks.

"No. I can't say I regret anything I have done." Loki's voice was different from before, it was steady and serene. "However, I do regret that there was no other way. Believe me, if I didn't have to kill any of the people who died by my hand, I wouldn't have. But in this world is different from fairy tales. I know that better than anyone. There are times were there is no clear right answer. And at times like those, people have to make a decision. That what people like you and me exist for. We make the hard decisions so that others don't have to. We few carry the sins of the many for the sake of peace and prosperity. If I regretted killing any of the people I have, I would be disgracing their memory and the world they died to preserve. That's something that too few Huntsmen realize. And the disillusionment that comes with having to make decisions that they aren't ready to make is why many Huntsmen have fallen by my hand.

This world is not black and white, it's countless shades of gray. Every good has some evil, and every evil has some good. It's up to the individual to decide which is which."

Loki sees the gun drop to the ground in front of him. He looks up at Weiss with a blank face.

"Then my decision for now is to let you live. Not because I am afraid and not because I think you are a good person. You will live because, if what you have said is true, you are a necessary evil in this world. However, if what you have said is a lie or you stray from your path I will judge you then for the good of humanity."

Loki continues to look at Weiss for a moment before bursting out laughing. Weiss blushes a bit but maintains her composure.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Weiss asks defiantly.

"No… No you did perfectly Princess. But don't be too hasty to become judge, jury, and executioner. What I said is true, but I put it in a way to rile you up. This is the outcome I was hoping for, but it could have gone much differently."

"Oh, so I am guessing you were never in any real danger if you were trying to get me to react like this." Weiss scoffs.

Loki picks up the gun and fires into a nearby tree. The bark visibly fractures where the bullets impact.

"The bullets were real and so was the danger. I took a gamble, and luckily it paid off."

Weiss looks at Loki in disbelief.

"Are you crazy? I could have killed you!"

"Not as crazy as you may think… But that's a something you will have to find out on your own. I'll be keeping an eye on you from now on. But don't worry, you won't see me unless something happens that requires our meeting once again."

"I suppose I don't have a choice in the matter?"

"You do not. However, I will give you some incentive for keeping me around. You see, I am a powerful ally and I am willing to offer you my services if you have need of them. However, rather than giving me a flat payment as an introductory tribute, I would like you to do some research. This is completely optional by the way, if you do not figure it out I simply will continue to observe from afar."

"So? What is it do you want me to research?"

"Me. If you can figure out who I am and what my true name is, I will enter a contract with you and even offer a discount on any of my services that you may require."

"Seems simple enough."

"Yes… Well, we will see. No one else has had the full might of a corporation like the SDC behind them so you may be able to do it without too much strain."

"You have offered others this same deal?"

"You will just have to figure that out on your own."

"You are really difficult sometimes."

"Princess, you have known me all of a day. You have no idea how difficult I can be."

---

The rest of the day goes by quite quickly. Loki spends most of the day sleeping in the sun with Fenrir while Weiss goes through cabin trying to find anything that could hint to Loki's identity. She almost immediately finds herself in the study as the rest of the cabin contains nothing of importance. She pours over the books the entire day, only stopping for lunch and dinner. However, she gleans nothing regarding who Loki is other than that he is a history buff with a lot of books that she can't read. Loki walks into the study soon after night falls.

"The bullhead will be here in about 10 minutes. Meet me in back when you are ready."

"Wait! Loki, is it alright if I take one of these books with me?"

Loki looks puzzled.

"Sure, just don't be worried if it disappears with just a note in its place one day. Which one are you taking?"

"This unmarked book on the history of Remnant, it's unlike anything I have seen before. There is information in this that I have never seen before."

"Ah, just be careful with it. Don't go showing it off. There are only a few copies of it in existence."

Weiss looks at the book with a brand new sense of reverence. This was one of the reasons she had decided to pursue Loki's identity. He clearly held secrets that she couldn't even imagine. Even though Loki quite obviously did bad things, but he does not seem like a terrible person. Thus, Weiss had made the decision to trust him for now.

Weiss tucked the book under one arm and walked out the front door, closing it behind her. She circles behind the cabin, something she had not done yet during her stay. There was an actual landing pad there, with a small free-standing building nearby that Weiss could only assume was for storage. Multiple lights lit up suddenly, accompanied soon after by Loki exiting the small building.

Loki is dressed much differently than before. He is wearing an off-black outfit that is very tight fitting. Small protrusions that Weiss figures to be some sort of armor are spaced out across the outfit, covering most of his chest and back as well as parts of his legs. Weiss notices that the individual pieces appear to slide past each other to a degree, leading to limited mobility loss.

This is admittedly not something Weiss has seen before. Thanks to Aura, most combatants don't wear proper armor, and when they do it is usually something heavy like Cardin's. There of course is the armor that Atlas soldiers wear or what Jaune wears, but those are strong, thick armor plating. There was no way that what Loki was wearing could even come close to anything like that.

Loki notices her gaze and gives her an answer that only creates more questions.

"It's only effective if you have a great deal of Aura control."

As Loki gets closer, Weiss notices the assortment of weapons he has on him. A long knife is strapped to his chest and he has two holsters hanging at his sides. He is carrying a revolver and semi-automatic pistol, and has multiple magazines for the pistol on his belt. A telescopic baton rounds out the weapons that Weiss can see on him.

"Are you expecting resistance from the school when we return?"

"No. But I like to be prepared regardless."

The hum of an approaching Bullhead stops Weiss from further probing. As the Bullhead comes into view, Weiss feels something large gently press into her back. She turns to see that the hulking Fenrir had somehow snuck up on her.

"I suppose you have come to say goodbye." Weiss says, petting the top of his bowed head.

"He doesn't get to meet many people. And most of the people he does meet try to kill him. He is fond of those that treat him right."

Weiss continues to pet him until the Bullhead lands. As the bay door open, Fenrir steps back and licks Weiss's hand before returning to the front of the cabin.

"He really isn't a Grimm, is he?" Weiss asks in a somber tone.

"You will know when you figure out who I am." Loki responds, boarding the ship.

Weiss looks back at the cabin for a moment before following after Loki.

The interior of the Bullhead is filled with boxes, and has just enough room to move around. She pull down one of the jump seats, listening in to the conversation going on in the cockpit.

"So, Jay, you finally got cleared for flying?" Loki asks in his regular, cheerful tone.

"I have, Lord Loki. Master Graywulf has also tentatively placed me in the position of your personal transport." An unfamiliar voice that must be Jay responds.

"That's fine, but I have one condition."

"What would that be?"

"Drop the 'Lord,' Loki is plenty formal."

"I couldn't do that!"

"It's either that or I'll find someone else. It's only you young kids that address me as 'Lord' anyways. All of the older guys just call me Loki."

"… Fine. It's an honor to server you, Loki."

"That's better. Now how long will it take us to get to Beacon?"

"With you onboard, only about 15 hours."

"Good, did my father send anything that he needs me to go over?"

"He did, but you know that Master Graywulf does not like you to refer to him as that."

"Yeah, well like it or not he is my father and I will refer to him as such if I wish. It is not his place to question that."

"Of course, Loki. The documents are in a briefcase in the back."

Weiss quickly flipped the book she was carrying open and began reading from a random page.

"Weiss."

"Yes, Loki?"

"I'm a Faunus. Don't test my hearing. Go ahead and go to whatever page you really are on."

---

The ride is fairly uneventful with Weiss spending her time either reading, looking out the window in the cockpit, or sleeping. When she looks at Loki, she sees an entirely different side of him. He has documents spread out across crate tops, only stopping his reading to speak with someone over his scroll in a language that Weiss can't understand. Weiss couldn't help but be reminded of her father. She quickly realizes the irony in the fact that this man who kidnapped her has been treating her with far more affection than her father ever has. But that in turn brings another question to her mind.

"Hey… Loki?"

"Hmm?"

"How old are you?"

"Younger than you think, older than you can imagine."

"You can never give me a straight answer, can you?"

"There's no fun in that, is there. It's far more entertaining to see you work for it. However, if you can complete the task I have given you I will be more than happy to answer whatever questions you may have."

Loki seamlessly carries out this conversation without looking up from the leather bound book he is reading. Weiss resigns from the conversation and moves to the cockpit, taking a seat next to Jay.

Jay's appearance is very tame, contrasting starkly with Loki. Jay has relatively short dark blue hair, which is slicked back in a business-like manner. He has hazel eyes, but an otherwise unremarkable and quite forgettable face. He is wearing the gray uniform of a local delivery company that, if Weiss remembers correctly, delivers various food-stuffs to Beacon.

Weiss has tried to start conversation with him a few times, but he quickly shut her down each time, citing it as "against his training to make unnecessary connections with the target." When Weiss brought up Loki's clear disregard for that, Jay sighed and simply said "Loki does what he wants."

So now, Weiss simply looks out the window of the cockpit, admiring the ever changing scenery. She does not even notice when she nods off.

---

Weiss wakes up in Loki's arms. She immediately tries to struggle, but she can do nothing against Loki's grip.

"Calm down. I was trying to keep you from waking up, but that clearly did not work."

Loki lowers Weiss into one of the crates, setting her down in the padded interior.

"I can trust you to keep quiet until someone opens this, right? While I wouldn't do anything to you, the dock workers may not fare so well if you compromise us."

Weiss nods dumbly, prompting Loki to lift the heavy top of the crate until it balances on its hinge.

"I will be waiting for you to find me."

Loki lowers the crate top and locks it in place. Weiss hears the Bullhead switch into its hover mode and the gentle bump of it landing soon after. The box she is in begins to move, only traveling a short distance before coming to a stop again. She stays like that for a while, listening to the muffled voices outside. Suddenly, the lock on the crate clicks open and light begins to filter in.

"Yeah, it says it should just be produce but the weight is off…"

A man's face silhouetted by the afternoon light suddenly comes into view of the now open box.

"Hey Boss! We've got a kid in here!"

---

Weiss soon finds herself in Ozpin's office, sitting and drinking a warm cup of coffee.

"Ms. Schnee, you seem remarkably unshaken by this incident. Are you sure you are alright?" Ozpin asks, clearly concerned.

"I'm perfectly fine, but I appreciate your concern. My kidnappers treated me very well."

"That's a relief. Do you believe you would be able to describe them to law enforcement?"

Loki's face briefly flashes through Weiss's mind.

"No. I don't think I could."

"Miss Schnee, I hate to pry but did they do something to you that makes you hesitant to give them up?"

"Not at all. I just never got a good look at their faces."

"Is that so… So am I to believe that you just happened to stumble across that book you have with you as well?"

Weiss looks down at the book in her lap. Loki had told her to be careful with who she showed it to.

"I had it with me when I was taken."

"I'm afraid that is simply not true. Your friends described what you had with you in painstaking detail to help with the investigation. A book, let alone one of that size, was not one of the items."

"I'm sure that they just forgot. They were probably worried out of their minds."

"Then you wouldn't mind me taking a look at the book, would you?"

Weiss pauses. Ozpin had backed her into a corner. If she didn't show him the book now, she would be basically confirming his suspicions. But Loki had told her…

"Be my guest." Weiss responds, handing him the book.

Weiss had decided to go with the option she thought had a better chance of succeeding. Loki said that it was a rare book, he was probably just afraid that the book would be stolen.

Weiss watches Ozpin with bated breath. He simply flips through the pages, his expression unchanging. He sets the book down after a few moments with a sigh.

"Miss Schnee, I must now insist that you tell me who you got this book from."

Weiss was shocked.

"I told you. I had it with me when- "

"Miss Schnee. You and I both know that is a lie. There only a few copies of this book in existence. I know because I own one of them. I realize that the man who gave you this is unbelievably powerful, more than you probably know. But I have been searching for him for a long time, and I would be grateful if you would tell me what name he is going by for now."

"Can you tell me why you are so interested in him?"

Ozpin pauses, carefully weighing what he will say next.

"Miss Schnee, have you ever heard the legend of the Phoenix?"

"That is quite enough." A familiar voice commands.

Weiss turns to see Loki's figure emerging from the shadows in the corner of the room. He is surrounded by his slowly receding aura, which is dancing around him in wispy streaks.

"I was right to decide to follow you. Weiss, you can leave now. I need to speak with your headmaster."

Loki's tone contains barely suppressed anger, and Weiss can feel the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

"But- "

"Miss Schnee, you may leave. You have answered all the questions I had for you. Go back to your dorm, I am certain your friends are waiting for you." Ozpin says, handing her back the book.

Weiss nods, taking the book into her hands and standing up. She turns to leave, glancing at Loki. His face is cold, but his eyes burn with an icy rage. Weiss boards the elevator, leaving the two men alone.

Loki stands across from Ozpin's desk, visibly refusing to sit.

"How should I address you?"

Loki's entire body twitches.

"You can call me Loki. Now, why is it that you wanted to find me." Loki is seething.

"It wasn't more of a want to find you, I needed to."

"Oh? And you just needed to try to tell Weiss who am I too?"

"Is it not your intention to have her figure out your identity? I figured that was why you let her take that book."

"SHE needs to figure out who I am on her own. Just telling her will ruin everything!"

Wispy bits of Aura begin to surround Loki once again.

"And why is that?"

Loki slams his hands on the desk and leans in towards Ozpin.

"I'm not telling you anything until you tell me who you are, Headmaster Ozpin."

"I am a member of an organization very similar to your own. We operate in the shadows in order to keep the peace. However, instead of being focused around you, we protect the four Maidens."

"If you are one of them, then you should know why I am so angry about this!"

"Before we continue, I must ask that you confirm that you are who you appear to be."

Loki stares down Ozpin for a few moments before relenting.

"Fine."

Loki pulls his shirt off, revealing tendrils of black tissue snaking across his chest. The tendrils emerge from the skin over his heart, and pulsate with every heartbeat. The tendrils dig into his flesh, actually burrowing down into his body where his heart is.

"My name is Reynard Vulpinus. Crown Prince of the Vulpinus Kingdom. I trust the brand on my chest is more than enough proof? Or would you rather I start having Grimm blindly attack Vale?"

"The brand is more than enough, your majesty."

"Don't patronize me. The Vulpinus Kingdom has been gone for thousands of years. Loki is what I go by now."

"Believe me, Loki, I had only the purest intentions when referring to you like that."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you. I don't have too much fondness for your organization. I haven't tried to interfere in the past because you all do a halfway decent job protecting the Maidens most of the time." Loki has cooled down a bit and sits down after putting his shirt back on.

"This is about the Spring Maiden you fell for, isn't it?"

"HER NAME IS PERSEPHONE!" Loki explodes out of his chair, his aura swirling about him like a maelstrom.

"Your organization tried to convince her that I was the enemy and took her away from me! They did it for her 'safety' yet she was killed a week after they took her!" Loki screams in anger and anguish.

"They thought they were doing the right thing…"

"I was the only one who could protect her!"

Loki whips back one arm, hitting the chair and sending it flying across the room. This snaps Loki back, and his aura recedes after taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. This happened over a thousand years ago, but I still get so worked up about it. I just… Persephone was my everything. And her dying… it sent me back to a place I hadn't been since I woke up for the first time."

"It's perfectly fine. I know this may not mean much, but I am truly sorry for what happened."

"Thank you. Now, what does the organization that once tried hunting me down want with me?"

"We have a problem that we could use all the help we can get on."

"I need specifics."

Ozpin gets up and walks to the elevator behind Loki. Loki soundlessly follows. Ozpin begins speaking again as the elevator begins its descent.

"Someone has appeared, and from what we can tell she is a similar existence to your own."

"What do you mean, similar to me? There isn't really much in between. You are either a monster like me, or you aren't."

"Hence why we have been looking for. You are the foremost expert on what you are. We don't know what we might be up against, but you do."

"Yeah, well if they are a monster like me, then they are dangerous."

"Yes… We have realized that…"

"Wait, did something already happen?"

Ozpin pauses.

"The Maiden of Fall was attacked and part of her powers were stolen."

"Alice…" Loki whispers.

The elevator doors open and Loki takes off down the long hall. Ozpin sighs and walks after him. Loki has both hands pressed against the pod at the end of the hall and is leaning over it. As Ozpin gets closer, he can see tears falling from Loki's face.

"Did you know her?" Ozpin asks.

"No. No I didn't." Loki's turns, wiping the tears from his face. "What happened to her?"

"Like I said, she was attacking and some of her powers were stolen. One of the reasons we have been seeking you out is because the method to take her power involved a substance similar to Grimm tissue."

"Like what I have on my chest."

"Precisely. We were hoping you could help shed some light on the situation. However, I was not expecting you to have this kind of reaction."

Loki chuckles.

"Then you know less than I thought. You must only know the fairy tale and some snippets of what I have done since then."

"My position allows me the information I know, but your fairy tale is quite popular here in Vale. Especially with a certain Faunus organization."

"I'd prefer we talk about actual history and not stylized tales."

"Of course, speak away."

"It's probably best we return to your office. For you to truly understand what is going on and my place in it, I'll have to start from the beginning."

---

Weiss opens the door to her dorm and is immediately greeted by a flutter of red tackling her.

"Weiss! I'm so glad you are okay! We were all so worried about you!"

Weiss starts to retort, but stops when she sees Ruby's face. The telltale stains of tears are still fresh on her face.

"Yes. I'm alright. Thank all of you for worrying about me." Weiss says, patting Ruby's head.

"You are really alright? When we last saw you, you weren't in the best shape." Yang asks.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. I was treated better than I could have hoped."

"That's good. I was concerned after what happened to Ruby."

"Wait, what happened to Ruby?"

The three teammates proceed to fill Weiss in on what happened after she was shot.

---

"Why is it that you have chosen to place your trust in me?" Ozpin asks Loki as they ride back up to his office.

"There are a few reasons, chief among them being that you have an injured Maiden in your care."

"Would you mind telling me the others?"

Loki sighs.

"Not many people know about the maidens being real. Less know about the organization that protects them. And even less know about me, not counting those that work for me."

"And you don't think I am lying?"

"I have lived a long time. I know how to read people. You don't strike me as the type to lie about this sort of thing. Besides, even if you do trick and kill me I can just come back and kill you and everyone you hold dear."

"That is quite a threat."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't make it if I wasn't sure I had the ability."

"Yes, reincarnation is quite an advantage."

"A curse is more like it."

"You are quite spiteful for someone who has a gift many would kill for."

"What people want is immortality and eternal youth. They want to be able to live peaceful lives in their prime forever. Do not mistake my curse for something so idealistic. I am not eternal; I am unable to die properly. Going back to your comparison to the Phoenix, did you ever think that it may not want to come back? Like the fairy tale went, my entire kingdom was destroyed and my people were either killed or enslaved. I was blinded by rage so- "

Loki stops abruptly just before the elevator doors open. By the time that the elevator settles he has completely disappeared. The doors open, revealing Goodwitch standing in the center of the room, drumming her fingers on the chair that Loki had hit.

"Ozpin, what happened? I hardly think that Miss Schnee is prone to throwing furniture like this."

"She isn't. Loki, Goodwitch is a friend and a member of the same organization as I. She is not your enemy." Ozpin says, casually walking in.

Goodwitch just looks confused.

"Ozpin, what are you talking…"

She trails off when the glint of a knife suddenly flashes away from her throat.

"You need to be more careful about telling me who is a friend. If she had heard anything I said, she may have died before you had a chance to clarify." Loki says, sheathing his knife before carrying the chair back to the front of Ozpin's desk.

"I'll be more mindful of that in the future." Ozpin says, circling around to his chair.

"Ozpin, who is this?" Goodwitch asks, her expression a mixture of anger and astonishment.

"Gylnda, I would like you to meet Reynard Vulpinus, Crown Prince of the former Vulpinus kingdom."

"Call me Loki."

"Vulpinus… Ozpin, what are you saying? Who is this Reynard?"

"I said to call me Loki."

"You stay out of this for now, young man. This is-"

"That is no way to speak to your elder." Loki interrupts.

"My eld- Ozpin, what is this boy speaking about?"

"Perhaps you may know him better as the Faunus Prince."

"I have been called the Grimm Prince as well, if that helps."

Sudden realization crosses Goodwitch's face.

"So you are telling me…"

"That he is the several thousand-year-old inspiration for a classic fairy tale, yes."

"Are you certain that he is who he says? What proof does he have?"

"Do you not trust Ozpin or do you just like making young men strip?"

"Neither! This is just- "

Loki lifts his shirt, revealing the black tissue covering his chest.

"Does that do anything for you?" Loki asks in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

"… I apologize for my earlier rudeness, Your Highness."

"What is it with people these days? I tell you to call me Loki but all you insist on calling me 'Lord,' 'My Liege,' or 'Your Highness.' Honestly, my kingdom fell thousands of years ago! I am just as much royalty as any of you!" Loki retorts as he peels medical tape out from his scraggly hair, allowing a single black fox ear to pop up.

"I'm sorry, Loki. I'll leave you and Ozpin to it then."

"Stay. If you are part of the same organization as Ozpin, you should hear this as well." Loki instructs, gesturing for her to take a seat in the chair that had been brought to replace the one Loki had damaged.

"I'll just leave- "

"I insist. While I do not wish for you to respect my former royal title, I do expect you to respect the fact that I am taking the time to speak with the two of you."

Goodwitch obediently takes a seat.

"Good. Let's start from the beginning, shall we? The fairy tale is more or less correct in describing my birth and early years. I was born Reynard Vulpinus, the first son of King Nathaniel Vulpinus and Queen Lucia Vulpinus. I am stressing our surname because I was in fact the first child of the Vulpinus line. You see, my Father was originally Nathaniel Vulpine and my mother was Lucia Gaianus. They were the rulers of the Faunus kingdom of Vulpine and the human kingdom of Gaianus. Each were large kingdoms that had been peaceful neighbors for generations. As our people began to intermingle and our borders began to blur, the two kingdoms determined it best to merge into a larger joint kingdom. My father and mother were betrothed and following their wedding the Vulpinus kingdom was founded. They both of course took the new kingdom's name as their surname.

About a year after the marriage, I was born for the first time. I was told it was a joyous event, a solidification of the new nation and its peoples."

"You were born a Faunus, correct? Was that not an issue?" Ozpin asks.

"Not in our kingdom. Almost all of the citizens had some degree of mixed blood in them. Anyways, while my parents did allot me more time with them than was usual for a prince of that time, I still required a wet nurse and of course a manservant. Their names were Sill and Paul. They both served me loyally until the very end. Sill was a human who went on to teach me etiquette and the such, and Paul was a Faunus with retractable claws who served as my bodyguard and combat instructor. I still fondly remember when they got married. I was 14 at the time and it was held in a garden on the castle grounds. My father even took the time to ordain their marriage himself.

I'm sorry. I got caught up there for a moment. I have made a lot of memories over the millennia and have become prone to going off on little tangents. Please forgive me.

Anyways, I was the first of only two children. My sister was a Faunus as well and had beautiful tail that combined with our mother's good looks served to attract the attention of many nobles within and outside our kingdom. Our parents always stressed to us the importance of the regular citizens in a kingdom, and I like to think we did a good job of balancing contact with nobles as well as spending time with the masses.

Our kingdom was prosperous for a time. However, those days of peace ended when I was about seventeen. On the first day of spring that year, the pope of the Church of Purity declared war on us. Now don't get me wrong, our kingdom was very tolerant when it came to religion. However the Church of Purity preached nothing but hate so we forbade its practice. It didn't affect our population too much, after all we were one of the most diverse kingdoms at the time."

"Forgive me for interrupting, but what was this 'Church of Purity?' I haven't heard of it before." Goodwitch interjects.

"The Church of Purity was a cult of humans that was extremely prejudiced against Faunus and those who associated with them. They advertised themselves as a 'pro-human' religion, but in reality they just wanted to get rid of the Faunus. The creation of the Vulpinus kingdom angered them, the banning of their religion enraged them, but it was my sister's engagement to the first Prince of a kingdom that the church had a strong presence in that sent them to war against us.

We were a peaceful nation, but all of our citizens had mandatory military training. When the declaration of war was announced we had no shortage of able-bodied men and women enlist. However, despite our sizable and well trained forces, we fell after 2 short years. The church had the advantage of a massive number of followers who were willing to die for their beliefs without question.

The war was brutal. Tens of thousands of unarmed enemies would show up outside our castles and forts. They would just sort of run at the gates, pounding on them day in and day out. Grimm would of course show up, and they would decimate the enemies outside. Needless to say, our troops would begin become demoralized. Quite a few places fell due to our troops own unwillingness to watch these unarmed people die to Grimm. They would open the gates to allow the people outside to escape their deaths while they go out to fight the Grimm in their place. But the ungrateful bastards would immediately turn on them, flooding in and going straight for the gate controls. They would trample each other just to be the first to toss themselves into the gears to keep the gates open. They would start destroying the city with things they found inside the city, being destroyed by Grimm from behind the entire time.

Sometimes the Church officials would just give some of their followers some explosive dust, mix them up with a bunch of other men and send them all running at the gates. They even called upon foreign empires to send their own armies in to destroy us, promising salvation and rights to conquered land to those who attacked us. Dozens of kingdoms, large and small came after us. When they made it to the capital, I was the only member of the royal family to escape. My father and mother were killed on the spot and my sister was kidnapped. I don't even know how I made it out. I remember fighting in the castle courtyard, and then there being an explosion. After that, my memories get fuzzy.

All I know for certain is that I met a woman, and she offered me the power to enact my revenge against everyone that had turned against my kingdom. I accepted and then I woke up in a forest that was just outside the capital's walls.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was surrounded by Grimm. But they weren't attacking me, and did not show any sort of hostility towards me. As I got to my feet, they all bowed before me, save one. One Grimm was unlike the others. He was smaller than the other Grimm, and upon closer inspection I found that he was actually a wolf that I had found as a pup and trained with Paul's help. He was actively turning into a Grimm, the mask was already covering his face but his body was growing and slowly turning the pitch black that is the staple of Grimm. I remember not being afraid or surprised at the entire situation, however everything felt just a little bit off. It was like I was looking at the world through a slightly warped lens.

One of the Grimm emerged from the crowd around me, placing the rapier that had been passed down in my father's family in front of me. However, next to the rapier was a Grimm mask. I could immediately tell that it was not some sort of replication. It was a true Grimm mask, formed from the same bone as all others.

It was clearly created to fit my face specifically. And whoever or whatever created it clearly had a sick sense of humor. It was a full face mask modeled after the visage of a fox. The mask of course was expressionless, but it had an angry and violent aura about it. Despite that, I picked it up without hesitation and fitted it to my face. After putting it on, it felt as if it was a part of me that I had forgotten about. Like it was created specifically for me to put it on that day. I also realized at that time that I would never be able to take it off again."

"Yet you are not wearing it now?" Ozpin asks.

The exact mask that Loki described suddenly appears on his face. As soon as it appeared, the temperature of the room appeared to have dropped several degrees. The mask gave off a truly ominous feeling, and despite its neutral expression one could not help but think that there was malice and evil within it. The mask covered Loki's face completely, save two holes that allowed for just his eyes to be seen. If one were just able to see the mask, eyes and all, they would be unable to tell that the wearer was actually human. The feeling that Loki gave off was indistinguishable from the Grimm.

"I do not completely know how the mask works, but I can call upon it at will. I can usually dispel it as well, but if negative emotions are running rampant it will not go away." Loki's voice is clear and unhindered, not muffled in the least bit by the mask.

The mask disappears as quickly as it appeared, replaced by Loki's smiling face.

"We have become sidetracked once again, so let me continue. After putting on the mask, I felt something tugging at me. There was something telling me where to go. I mounted one of the nearby Grimm and we all advanced towards where the feeling was tugging from. We arrived at one of the villages that was on the outskirts of the castle town. It was ablaze, and scattered screams could still be heard. We moved in and killed anything that moved. We proceeded to the castle town afterwards, easily slaughtering our way through the occupying forces. It was shockingly easy. Although, I can understand a bit of why we faced so little resistance.

At that point, I was literally the devil to them.

They had come and slaughtered the worshippers of the devil, and now the devil had brought his Grimm army to avenge his people.

So we ripped through my former home. I looked for survivors from my kingdom, but there were only a few left. About 15 women and children were locked in the castle dungeon. They were broken, covered in bruises and cuts as well as other… Unmentionable things. I still get angry when I think about it. One of the women who was left told me that they had taken my sister and killed the rest. They were the last remainders of my people.

And then she asked me to kill them.

None of them could walk and they had been starved for days. They were only inches from death already.

I asked if there was another way but she just shook her head. She looked at me with tears streaming from her eyes and told me that what had been done to them could not be forgotten and that they would all rather just embrace the eternal sleep of death.

Then she smiled, tears still running down her face, and told me that it would be the greatest honor to die by their prince's hand."

Loki stops, his voice shaking. He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"I'm sure you can gather what I did next."

Loki stands up, pacing for a moment with his fist clenched. He then grabs the chair he had been sitting in and throws it against the wall with all his strength, shattering it. He takes a deep breath and looks to Ozpin and Goodwitch again, his eyes are red and puffy.

"I'm sorry. This happened so long ago, yet I still get so upset about it. It just feels like it was yesterday to me. That's a part of my curse. I can't forget. All the evils I have committed in the name of peace. Even if I manage to grow old, which does not often happen, I still retain my memories perfectly. I don't regret a single thing I have done, as it has always turned out better than if I hadn't interfered but… God if there was another way I would have taken it every time. I've had to learn to block out the 'ifs.' But every time I think about my kingdom's downfall… I just can't help but think what would have happened if I had trained harder, or even if I had vetoed my sister's marriage."

Loki drags his hand down his face, breathing deeply.

"But that's enough of that. After I took back my kingdom, I devoted the rest of my life to decimating the Church of Purity and any Kingdom that followed.

And I succeeded.

But after I killed the Pope of that sick faith, who I had saved for last, the sickening grief of all I had done set in. Everyone I had every known was dead, some by my own hand.

So I committed suicide right then and there.

The burden of the lives I had taken was too much. The burden of the death of my kingdom. So I ended it right there… Or so I thought.

How could I have known that I would open my eyes after taking my last breath in a new body, identical to my last. I awoke fighting a Grimm with a short sword, having my Aura unlock after taking a particularly bad hit. My memories of my past and new life merged. My new body was 7 years old, and I was out exploring with a few of my friends when a Grimm attacked. The me that had only lived up until that point was unable to take it on. But when that me remembered my past life, the Grimm bowed before me and I killed it with ease. I sent my friends back to the village before killing myself once more.

Variations of that same event happened a few times before I decided to stop.

After that, I devoted myself to training my new bodies every time I awoke in one and then would do whatever came natural. I have had one wife and one daughter over the course of all my lives. My daughter was a Maiden of Fall and my wife was a Maiden of Spring. I have helped topple governments, killed kings, and occasionally secluded myself to simply train others.

Do you have any questions?"

Loki is completely composed once again. However, his constant smile is just a bit disconcerting to Ozpin and Goodwitch after his tale.

"Just one for now. What does all of that have to do with the threat we are facing?" Ozpin asks.

"If my assumption is correct, the witch that granted me my powers is at the center of all of this. If she gave me the power to control the Grimm, there is no doubt in my mind that she can and would do it again. Although, I am guessing that the person you are facing is different from me.

They are also likely much more dangerous.

I have realized by now that I was a trial run, a proof of concept. That witch wanted me to show if the lone ability to control the Grimm was enough to destroy humanity.

The fact that we are having this conversation is enough to show that I alone was not enough to exterminate all of humanity. However, as a proof of concept, I was a rousing success."

"Exterminating humanity? I thought you were just avenging your people?" Goodwitch interjects.

"I was granted my power because of the revenge I sought. While avenging my people is the reason I got my power, my purpose changed when I put on the mask. You see, the mask is more than just a way to conceal my identity. It is a living organism, and when I put it on it fused with me. After that, it began to change me. And as time passed on my conquest, it transformed me into a true monster.

You mustn't let my appearance deceive you, for I am unmistakably a creature of Grimm."

"You are a Grimm? While I realize that the Heart of Grimm on your chest is Grimm tissue, a person cannot just turn into a Grimm." Goodwitch once again voices her concern over the story.

"The truth is often stranger than fiction. If you need a medical opinion on the matter, Apollo should be arriving at any moment…"

Loki's ear twitches as the quiet hum of the elevator begins.

"Speak of devil… I mean that a bit literally."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You'll understand soon."

The three wait in silence for a few moments, waiting for the elevator to arrive. When it does finally arrive, an extremely handsome man emerges. He is a sharp contrast to Loki, having long blond hair as opposed to Loki's shorter black hair. The man who emerged from the elevator also had a much taller and more dignified body, rounding out the immediate facts that distinguished him from the man who summoned him. However, both shared the slightly feminine features that nobility sought after.

"I apologize for my being late, I got lost on my way here."

The man's voice flows like silk. He was far more of the princely type than the actual Prince in the room.

"Let me guess, lost in one of the student's eyes?"

The man flashes Loki a dashing smile.

"You know me all too well."

"Laurel will be furious."

"I didn't do anything! Geez, even I am enough of a gentleman to abstain from others while seeing someone. All I did was complement her in passing."

"Whatever. Apollo, this is Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch."

Apollo takes Goodwitch's hand and plants a kiss on it.

"My name is Apollo. It's truly a pleasure to meet you."

Apollo's gaze is intoxicating, but Goodwitch is put off by his forward behavior.

"Before we go any further…" Loki says as Apollo breaks away from Goodwitch, "Apollo, what am I?"

"Oh, that is a fascinating question! In all my years I have never seen a specimen as strange as you. You see, our dear Loki here is the living rejection of all medical-"

"You're already late. Give them the short version."

"Loki is a Grimm that fused with the original Reynard Vulpinus. While Loki still maintains sentience in this body, he is unmistakably a creature of Grimm."

"So wait, Loki is not Reynard Vulpinus?" Goodwitch asks.

"Yes and no. As I am sure Loki has said, he has been reborn countless times. However, he recovers his memories from his past lives after fulfilling one of a few conditions. Loki started as Reynard Vulpinus, but has since taken on many lives and many names. Reynard may be his first given name, but he has been given countless names as he has walked our world. Loki is the name we call the collection of people who share the memories that started with the man known as Reynard Vulpinus."

"So, all of these lives are different people?"

"Again, yes and no."

Apollo pauses, looking to Loki for confirmation. Loki nods, prompting Apollo to take a deep breath and steel his features.

"Let me open with this. I am also an immortal. However, unlike Loki is trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth, I simply do not age.

I'll go more in depth about it in a moment, but first a story.

About two thousand years ago, I was working as a traveling doctor in order to conceal the fact in was not growing older. However, in my travels, I fell in love with a Faunus woman that lived in one of the villages I visited. I decided to settle down for the time being, married her, and we had a child. Now this child, when he was born, had large black beating tissue on his chest. I of course was surprised at first, but the woman said that her uncle had had it as well and was fine. I trusted what she said and dismissed the black growth, just making sure to keep it covered. We named the boy Caesar and raised him lovingly. But, as the Caesar grew older, I noticed that he did some strange things. The boy had unnatural movements, learning to walk at a young age and being able to move around unseen and without sound. Caesar also knew things he couldn't possibly know. He picked up language quickly, knew arithmetic without being taught, and could read almost immediately. When I first questioned him about how he knew these things, Caesar just thought for a minute before answering 'I just know.'

Our peaceful life went on for a few years. That is until one day, we could not find Caesar. Frantically looking for him, we heard that he had walked into the nearby forest. We immediately went into the forest, but when we found Caesar… He was no longer the same little boy we knew."

"Loki had taken his body…" Goodwitch whispers.

"No, you still misunderstand. Loki did not take Caesar's body; Caesar was Loki the entire entire time. The Caesar I raised was Loki, just with his memories restricted. The reason that he learned things so quickly and knew things that no one had ever taught him was because certain memories of his that were not connected to his past lives were returning.

Loki's memories return fully upon the occurrence on one of three events.

The first is when his Aura is unlocked. This seems to be a more of a self-preservation than anything, however it has led to some… Let's say ironic situations.

The second is upon him reaching 10 years of age. While we still aren't sure what makes 10 so special, it has saved us having to look for him on many occasions.

The third and final event that returns his memory is laying his hands upon his sword, which he has ever so lovingly named 'Eternal Damnation.' This event is the most common and also the most diverse. The ways he has gotten his hands on that sword range from heroic to downright stupid. However, that sword is usually in the possession of Fenrir."

"I was joking when I said that. The sword doesn't have a proper name. The blacksmith died before he could tell me its name." Loki retorts.

"Exactly, that's why I call it the one name you did actually give it. Even if it was a joke."

"Enough about the sword. Who is Fenrir?" Ozpin urges the two immortals back on track.

"Fenrir is the wolf I told you about. The one Paul helped me raise. He was turned into a Grimm as well, albeit a strange one. He is a gentle giant, never attacking anyone. He barely even practices self-defense. In all the years we have been together, Fenrir has never taken a single human life."

Ozpin nods, mulling all this information over in his head.

"So, Apollo, explain to us your brand of immortality. If you are indeed un-aging, why have I not heard stories of your exploits like Loki?"

"I personally do not fight. Like I said before, I am a doctor. My age has allowed me to amass a great amount of medical knowledge over the centuries."

"And what led you to pursue that over fighting? I'm sure that a warrior who is forever in the prime of his life would be unmatched in our world."

"It's because he is a coward with shit reflexes." Loki cuts in.

"While I wouldn't put it exactly like that, Loki's general concept is more or less true." Apollo quickly corrects.

"Unlike Loki here who can come back after dying, if I die I am gone for good. And also unlike Loki, I have no wish to die any time soon."

"How do you know you won't come back?"

"I just do. It's the same way that I knew I stopped aging. It's just something we instinctively know. It's for that reason that I abstain from taking part in the heat of battle. And also, like Loki said, I am not quite physically cut out for battle. I'm good at taking slow, methodical movements. I can't do anything like parry a sword thrust or a swipe from a Grimm no matter how hard I try. So, I work as a doctor. Between Loki and the rest of our family, I keep busy."

"I see. Would you being willing to take a look at a patient of ours and see what you can do?"

"The Maiden? Certainly."

"Apollo, we will have a full debriefing when you get back." Loki says, heading to the elevator ahead of everyone else.

"Of course. There is transport waiting for you. I'll catch a public shuttle back."

"Are you leaving, Loki?" Ozpin asks.

"Yes. I have other things to take care of."

"If you could wait a moment, I have one last thing I would like to discuss before you leave. Professor Goodwitch? Would you show Apollo to the vault for me?"

Goodwitch nods, leading Apollo to the elevator as Loki sits back down.

"The last thing I would like to discuss is regarding the plan we have in place if Apollo is unable to save the Maiden we have in our care."

"I'm listening."

"We are going to try to transfer her Aura to a person of our choosing."

The room goes silent. Loki is looking forward with unfocused eyes, thinking this statement over.

"That could go… Extremely badly."

"We are aware of the theoretical risks- "

"I'm speaking from experience."

Ozpin is shocked into silence. He visibly swallows before continuing.

"Could you elaborate?"

"You are aware of the Auraless, correct?"

"You are referring to those who are unable to manifest their Aura?"

"No. I am speaking of the extremely rare occurrence in which a person is born with no Aura whatsoever."

"I have, but I had thought those were mere legends."

"You should know better than to dismiss things as 'mere legend.' However, I can't say that I am displeased that you thought so. It tells me that I am doing my job extremely well."

"What are you getting at?"

"The Auraless exist, but as of current there are only 500 or so that I know of. They are under my care, hidden in a village deep within Grimm infested territory."

"Why hide them? And why specifically in Grimm territory?"

"That's where my experience with Aura transfer comes into play. The Auraless under my care have an Aura. Specifically, my Aura. I have been able to transfer a part of my Aura into the Auraless and their bodies then began to naturally produce that Aura. And with all of them holding my Aura, the Grimm do not attack them. In fact, each one of them is able to control a single Grimm like one would control a well-trained pet."

"It truly worked? You were able to transfer your aura to these people and your ability transferred with it?"

Ozpin had become visibly excited, but that excitement faded when he saw Loki's pained face.

"Ozpin, I'm sorry. I should have opened differently. I'm not trying to get your hopes up; I'm trying to tell you how dangerous this is. Most of the Auraless that I personally give my Aura are full grown adults, and just giving them a fragment has come very close to killing some of them. And even those who make it through physically fine still have trouble with mental activities for months after it happens. While it has been better the few times I have done it to children, that isn't to say there haven't been close calls.

And remember, this has all been just giving a fragment of Aura to someone who had no Aura to start with. You are trying to take one person's Aura and give it to someone who already has an Aura. Even if they survive there is no telling what it will do to their head. There is also the chance that it just won't work. The Maiden's Aura could dissipate or even be consumed by the existing Aura."

"I realize the risks. However, we can't let the Maiden's powers fall into hands of the one who tried to steal them."

"You are prepared to face the consequences of your decision?"

"I am."

Loki studies Ozpin's face, nodding after a few moments.

"Then I'll help you. I don't have any Auraless that can accept a maiden's powers in my care, but I can still ask my people for volunteers. However, I am guessing you already have someone in mind?"

"We do."

"I'd like to meet her, is that alright?"

"Certainly. But may I ask why?"

"I trust your judge of character, but I would still like to evaluate her physical and mental state. If I can, I would like to give her a better chance of making it through this."

"What are you thinking?" Ozpin asks, his curiosity piqued.

"If possible, I would like to train her a bit. I can't guarantee anything, but I should be able to increase the odds of her survival."

---

Weiss along with the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR are walking to the Cafeteria. While none of them particularly want to go out after Weiss's sudden return, they all need to eat. The group has sub-consciously formed a sort of protective group around Weiss, not wanting to lose her again. Their current plan is to grab so food and then quickly bring it back to the dorms.

They walk in near silence, not wanting to speak of the events that transpired in public. Weiss is thankful for this, as it allows her time to think about what she is going to do next.

Ruby had woken up in club in downtown Vale that specialized in 'escort services.' Other than being knocked out, the only thing that had happened to her was a small white card with an orange fox head being left in one of her pockets. Weiss wasn't sure what these two things meant, but she was sure that both were connected to Loki.

Regarding that, she had not yet told her friends what all had happened to her while she was gone. Nor had she told them that she was going to pursue Loki's identity. She had managed to get out of it for the moment by saying that she wanted something to eat first, but it was only delaying the inevitable. Weiss is determined to find out who Loki is, but she can't very well say that she wants to do so because she thinks he is a good person and is intrigued by him. And if she says that it's so she can get revenge or something similar, it will only lead to future confrontation.

Weiss is woken from her silent thoughts by the appearance of the source of her problems in her periphery. Loki is walking next to Ozpin, using Ozpin's figure to hide his appearance from the rest of the group. However, what Weiss can see of Loki's clothing make her sure that it is indeed him. The two are walking perpendicular to Weiss's group, and should pass by each other in mere moments.

She noticed that Loki was adjusting his pace to stay just out of sight behind Ozpin as they walked, and she began silently praying that no one from her group would recognize him. Weiss holds her breath as the two groups near each other, each step she takes reverberating through her head like a cannon.

Weiss's group greets Ozpin, who responds with a simple nod without slowing his pace.

As the two groups pass, Weiss lets out a silent sigh of relief. That breath is then immediately sucked back in as Loki soundlessly emerges from behind Ozpin, striking out at Pyrrha's neck with his knife. The knife stops a mere hair's breadth from Pyrrha's neck, locked in place.

As this happens, Weiss gets a good look at Loki's face. What she sees chills her to the bone.

Loki is wearing a full face Grimm mask, but it is unlike anything she has ever seen before. The masks that members of the White Fang wear look frightening, but that's all. It looks scary, but there is no true substance. The mask Loki was wearing reeked of Grimm, inspiring terror in all who saw it. However, it was Loki's eyes that frightened Weiss the most. His eyes were feral, and bore an unsettling resemblance to a predatory beast. His eyes held no remorse, no pain, and no pleasure. They were the eyes of someone who had one goal, and that was to kill their prey.

"She has good reflexes."

Loki's words were monotone. There wasn't even a shred of emotion behind them. Despite that, his voice made Weiss's body scream to flee. The other's inaction caused Weiss to believe that they were having similar thoughts. The only one to move was Pyrrha. She kicked Loki in the stomach, sending him back a few steps but ultimately not harming him.

Loki twirls the knife in his fingers before suddenly tossing it into the air, drawing everyone's eyes away. He reaches down to his belt and grabs three throwing knives, throwing them at Pyrrha's head in one fluid motion. Pyrrha is the only one to look back in time, and manages to narrowly dodge the knives.

"Very good."

Loki removes the straps that had been holding his weapons, letting them fall to the ground in a clatter. He picks up the baton, extending it to its full length before rushing Pyrrha. His strikes are extremely fast, and each strike flows smoothly into the next, preserving the momentum that Loki is building up. Pyrrha matches his every move, able to dodge every attack but unquestionably holding the disadvantage. Loki doesn't yield a single inch, forcing Pyrrha back with every strike. This battle of attrition shows no sign of stopping until Loki drops the baton mid-strike. His fist connects with the side of Pyrrha's face, and the force sends her reeling. Loki takes brutal advantage of this. He mercilessly sweeps her feet out from underneath her, sending her tumbling to the ground. By the time Pyrrha regains her senses, Loki has pinned her body to the ground with his hands around her throat.

At this point, everyone but Weiss begins moving to assist Pyrrha. In response, Loki just turns to them, releasing an inhuman amount of killing intent from behind the mask. That one action stops all of them in their tracks, the fear they feel locking their bodies in place. Loki then releases Pyrrha. He turns to Ozpin as he stands.

"She is good, but not good enough. I will train her. I'll be in contact soon."

With that Loki picks up his things and walks away. No one dares follow after him. They do however turn to Ozpin, who continues sipping his coffee as usual.

"Well Ms. Nikos, as you heard that man will be training you. Your schedule will be given to you soon. We expect great things from you."

Ozpin then walks away as if nothing has happened.

The group stays silent for a few moments, shocked by this sudden progression of events.

"W-What just happened?" Pyrrha finally asks, still bewildered.

The only response she gets is Jaune fainting.