(The following first three Chapters of my side project are intended to be read after Chapter three of the main project.)

Ruby had just turned sixteen the previous month and her team was currently out on an assignment to scout an area connected to the Dual Mirror Syndicate, a criminal society made up of two parts, the humans and the faunus each controlling a side, or mirror as they call themselves. Any racist disputes are solved with disciplinary measures conducted by the offended side, ensuring perfect unity.

The four were standing on top of a building overlooking a warehouse ran by the human mirror faction. Weiss was explaining how to save on dust consumption, and Ruby was polishing her beautiful scythe. Yang was throwing a few practice punches with Ember Cecilia to get pumped and Blake was studying the guard rotations and entrances to the building.

However a laugh brought them to turn behind and stare at a Boy in an ash grey suite, twirling a cane. Yang moved toward him, angry someone had snuck up, while Weiss and Ruby were battle ready and Blake was as well, but shocked her faunus senses didn't pick up on the boy.

He was short, maybe 4'9 or 5'0?

Yang entered a twenty meter distance to him, demanding to know why he came, when he swung the cane, too much distance to reach the girl, then the can shot out, expanding into a blunt metal whip and sharp tip, exactly twenty feet in length.

Yang wasn't worried, and hadn't activated her aura or semblance, thus when the spear like sharp tip made contact with the brawler's unprotected neck, there was no resistance as it sliced her throat wide open, spewing forth a torrent of blood from her jugular.

"YANG!" The girls called near instantly, Weiss firing ice spikes and fireballs at the newcomer, while Ruby and Blake switched their weapons into their gun forms and fired away.

However the boy just chuckled and swung his whip like a helicopter blade and angled it down, so it slices into the ground less than a millimeter and forms a shield against their attacks. He also channeled some aura into it to help against Weiss's dust attacks.

Blake made the mistake of trying to surprise him, leaving a clone to continue her fire, however he noticed the new bullets were just air, after noticing the only clang of gunfire was coming from the scythe wielder.

Blake took Gambol Shroud and dashed behind him, hoping for a quick slice of his neck, when he collapsed the whip near instantly and ducked, a chunk of ice hitting her in the face and knocking her onto the ground. Blake rolled backwards to get up, but once she was starting to get on her feet the boy delivered an uppercut with the cane, then smashed it down on her right leg while she was airborne, her aura shattering and her leg feeling near broken.

As Blake limped away, Weiss and Ruby had dashed forwards, but the whip lashed out, and knocked them down and they rolled to the edge of the building, only able to watch in horror as he retracted the cane, then launched it out like a compressed spear, stabbing the retreating Blake in her heart.

Weiss exploded into fury, and used several haste glyphs to speed her to the boy, aiming Myrtenaster at his chest, hoping to plunge the Rapier into him, but he sidestepped her and swung the cane into her face after a speedy retraction. Her speed combined with the force of his swing made the cane break her aura, and her skull into pieces. Weiss was bleeding internally, her brain destroyed by skull fragmentation to the front. Weiss' body kept going, smashing into the ground and bouncing all the way to the end of the building and off the edge, a sickening thump heard as her body smacked into the concrete ground around them.

Ruby then rushed out, and was met with the spear attack used on Blake, but she survived due to her aura, and sliced down at the boy, full of explosive rage, then found herself hit twice, once in the side of her head, light, not an actual hit but still with slight force, then a heavy, near skull crushing one from above into the back of her head, and her consciousness ended shortly after.

When she came to she was laid on top of her dead comrades, blood smeared on her red cloak, and her aura barely existing, flickering around her a few times as she stands up slowly and painfully, trying so hard to suppress her horrified screams at a dead and lifeless Yang and a heartless, literally, Blake, and a mangled corpse of twisted limbs that was Weiss.

Ruby's horror continued when she looked around to notice she was at the back of a sealed warehouse, and the demented boy she fought was at the other, holding a lighter, and standing next to her Crescent Rose. Next to him was a trail of finely crushed dust powder, fire crystal powder to be more precise, that lead to boxes and boxes of more red crystals.

She felt dead, and started running, which was impossible in this weakened state, so she just walked quickly, to the main door.

When the boy dropped the lighter he left, and the building turned into a heated maelstrom of explosions and flames, torrenting the building. Ruby barely escaped, her semblance not as fast as she hoped, and she had been blown past Crescent Rise, managing to catch it in mid flight, before being knocked unconscious by the wall she hit, again her forced sleep overtaking her.

Once she awoke she was in a hospital in Beacon, her weapon and cloak had sustained a good bit of scorches, and her cloak was now charred black. She visited the graves of her team mates the next day, and something snapped in her. The cheery girl JNPR and the rest of Beacon loved was gone, not completely though. She refused to lend anyone help, would never tell a joke again, and only smiled, never laughed. Every afternoon was combat training, and she started taking solo missions deemed to much even for two teams of hunters. She had a death wish that life would not grant, and she became a much stronger fighter. After six months of this she left, never to be seen again, however every now and then she would be sighted, wearing her cloak and her seared scythe.