To answer a concerned sounding question from one "nlsnifoanifia", while I have read "Face to Face" and, in hindsight, my story does seem similar (an honest coincidence), the differences will become much clearer at the end of this chapter and the next one. Thanks for the review!

Team JNPR's dorm was almost silent. No one spoke. No one wanted to. They were still reeling from their match with Felix Crimson.

Ren seemed the least affected. He sat very still, a thousand-yard stare burning into the middle distance. Jaune was shaking slightly, eyes still wide and darting around the room. Pyrrha just looked upset. Out of all of them, Nora was the worst affected, and she was still sobbing, rocking back and forth slightly on her bed. A plate of pancakes had gone uneaten at her side, a shocking symbol when considering her normal cheery disposition.

Pyrrha stood up and walked out of the dorm, opting to speak to the root of the problem instead of just sitting and doing nothing. The halls of Beacon were dark, since it was past hours. Classes had ended hours ago, but JNPR hadn't been to any of them. Pyrrha could still hear the voices, the screams, of the things she had seen. She shook the thoughts away, not wanting to think about it. She was soon outside the arena's main door. Directly across from it was the office of Felix Crimson. Pyrrha smiled slightly. The school worked fast, and Crimson's emblem already adorned the door, a single red wing with a frightening pair of eyes in the middle. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door. Crimson's response was almost instant.

"Come in."

Pyrrha entered, pushing the door open and closing it behind her. Crimson's office was simple. A few meters away from the door sat a large desk behind which Crimson sat. Four chairs were arranged on the other side of the desk, presumably for entire teams to visit at a time. High above Crimson's head there was a platform, and Pyrrha could just see the corner of a pillow. Behind Crimson there was another door, currently closed, so Pyrrha could not see where it led. The room was sparsely decorated, with a map on one wall and a bookcase on another. Crimson's weapon sat atop the desk, and Pyrrha could now see that Crimson was cleaning the gauntlets and katara.

"Are you going to stand there all night? Please, take a seat."

Pyrrha obliged, carefully sitting down. She sighed before speaking.

"Mr. Crims-"

"Just Felix, please."

"Felix, I think I know the purpose of that lesson."

"Do tell."

Pyrrha took a deep breath before continuing.

"You were attacking our minds, as you said. But, I can't accept it as coincidence, that you force us to fight our fears when Port announced the discovery of the Mimic. You're preparing us for that.."

"Very good."

"I also think I know what your Semblance is, or does. It's fear. You use fear to alter someone's perception."

"You are a perceptive one, Ms. Nikos. Completely correct. My reason to undertake this lesson is that I feel that not many consider the mind as a vulnerable object. Why would they? We have not discovered any psychic or empathic Grimm, nor can Dust affect the mind. Let me put it this way. In a situation where I'm telling you to kill your best friend, and they're telling you to kill me, who do you trust?"

"I don't know you very well, so my friend."

"Exactly. However, what if your friend was not your friend? What if it was a Mimic with a Siren? I use my Fear Semblance to show people exactly what they do NOT want to see. I can edit it to try and get someone to run, give in or seize up. It sounds morbid, but it's very useful. May I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"What did you see?"

"I saw Jaune. He looked so scared... I knew that it wasn't him, but I couldn't bring myself to strike." Pyrrha shuddered. "How did you discover it? Your Semblance?"

Felix smiled underneath his hood.

"I was bullied. It would usually happen where the same five people would pin me against a wall every day, kick, punch and steal from me. At one point, one of them pulled a knife on me, and I couldn't take it at that point. A pushed him away, and as I did so, a red flash occurred. The other four ran away in fear. I understood that my Semblance was fear, and I could instil that fear in others. I barely used it, since I knew what fear felt like." He laid a hand on his weapons. "I soon crafted these katara, and gradually built up the gauntlets as I found the material. They are the Noli Turris, channels for my Semblance."

"Felix..."

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking, why were you bullied?"

Sighing gently, Felix spoke.

"I thought this may have been asked. Now, I ask for complete confidentiality. Nothing you have said will leave this room unless you choose to, and therefore I ask that you do the same for me."

"Of course."

"Do I have your word, Ms. Nikos?"

"You have my word."

Felix raised a hand to his hood and pulled back. As it fell off his head, Pyrrha could see two ears lying flat against his head. As the hood fell clear, they twitched and straightened up. Next, Felix went to remove his mirrored glasses. As he set them down, he opened his eyes, and Pyrrha could immediately see that they were not normal. They were red, similar to his name, and had cat-like slits for pupils.

"You're a Faunus."

"Yes. Remember that this was a time of difficulty for the Faunus. I was cursed with having two Faunus traits at a time where Faunus were despised for just being different. Even now, I still hear it. It infuriates me to hear such ignorance, such discrimination. I have heard snide comments being made about Ms. Scarlatina, and also Ms. Belladonna, many of which coming from Team CRDL and other brash individuals. Because of this, and my habit of wandering between kingdoms from time to time, I hide my Faunus traits. I consider them a curse, though they have served me well. They have saved my life from time to time."

"Hmm."

There was a brief silence.

"Ms. Nikos, I want you to know that I am not an evil man. My purpose is to teach people to consider themselves on a level they may not have thought about."

"It's fine. It's just so... Jarring, to see your fears come to life."

"I appreciate that my Semblance can be distressing."

"Hmm."

Pyrrha stood up, sliding the chair back under the desk.

"Thanks, Felix."

"It's not a problem. Remember, my office is open most of the time."

Pyrrha went to leave, reaching the door before Felix spoke again.

"Oh, and Ms. Nikos? Please give this Disc to Ms. Valkyrie. I believe she performed exceptionally, persevering even though she was severely distressed."

He threw the Disc at Pyrrha, who caught it in midair. It was cold, and had a faint blue tinge to it. She nodded before leaving wordlessly. Felix smiled, before walking over to the door and locking it. Walking back across his office, he climbed the ladder that was in front of his desk. He had to fight again tomorrow. Everyone needed rest at some point in their lives.

"Team RWBY, please make your way into the arena."

The girls shared a nervous glance at each other. They had been discussing how to tackle Crimson's trial all night. Inside the arena, there were no features of any kind. It was simply a large, flat space. Felix stood at the centre. He was wearing a large suit of armour, and Ruby reasoned that it must have been hidden beneath his cloak. He still wore a hood, however, as well as his mirrored glasses, obscuring most of his face. He smiled as Team RWBY assembled.

"Are we ready to begin?"

The girls nodded. As had happened with Team JNPR, Crimson released red beams that connected him to each team member before fading.

"Oh, and before I forget, today's best performer will receive this Bio Disc."

He slotted the Disc in question into the Nori Turris, faint flashes of green flickering on the blades. Glynda gave the signal to start the match.

Instead of waiting for the team to make the first move, Felix did, charging forward and pointing his blades at Yang. She wasn't expecting such a rapid start, and just managed to block the blades, but was sent hurtling backwards by the force of the hit. She was soon up again, watching Ruby charge, boosting her Semblance with a backwards shot from Crescent Rose. She swung, and Felix brought up the Turris in an attempt to block. What he was not expecting was for the blade to fall behind him, too far away to do damage. As he raised an arm to punch the seemingly defenceless girl, Ruby pulled the trigger, the recoil sending her scythe slamming into Felix's Aura. He staggered before recovering and flipping backwards, nodding slightly as if to say "Not bad".

"Iceflowers!"

The outburst confused Felix, but he recovered quickly as he came under fire from several high-calibre shots from Ruby, that froze as they hit the ground. He attempted to block one, only to have his shoulder joint iced up for his trouble, disabling his left arm.

"Freezerburn!"

Another shout, and he saw Weiss create a large sheet of ice on the ground, before Yang descended from above, slamming her fist into it and throwing up dense clouds of steam.

Clever. Felix thought. They're covering for each other, using the mist to hide from me.

Felix saw shapes moving in the mist, and he doubled his efforts to free his arm. The ice soon cracked and he immediately came under pressure from Blake, who almost gave him a run for his money as she used her Semblance to confuse him. He soon took hold of her actual arm at one point and quickly threw her over to the rest of her team, where she landed hard.

"I must say, you ladies have put quite some effort into preparing for this, haven't you? However, it's not over yet." He pointed to the screen, where several meters showed the Aura of Team RWBY, all of which had very little missing, as well as Felix's who had roughly a third missing.

Weiss threw a new clip to Blake, and Felix saw the multi-coloured Dust cartridges in there. Weiss went to create another ice sheet, and Yang was already in mid-air. At that point, Felix activated his semblance, Yang faltering in mid-air, dropping onto the ice instead of punching it. Ruby and Blake shared a nervous glance as Weiss used a glyph to accelerate forwards, Myrtenaster poised to deliver a powerful strike. She stabbed forwards, Felix parrying the blade with one of his own. He could see Weiss beginning to falter, dark reflections of herself flashing through her mind, growing more savage over time. She soon stopped, staring at him with wide eyes and tears streaming down her face. She prepared another glyph, shakily going through the movements to place a temporal glyph at her feet. He watched her accelerate, delivering blindingly fast blows before she broke off, screaming and backing away. Blake was next, and he kicked forwards, which proved to be a mistake, as he kicked a shadow of her which then froze, sealing his foot. Now he was stuck in an awkward position, completely open to attack. Blake saw no reason to advance further, instead opting to shoot the remaining Dust rounds from a distance. Several fiery bullets bounced off his Aura before he managed to deflect one into the ice, freeing himself. He immediately charged, feinting high before delivering a sweeping kick behind him, catching Blake off guard as he correctly predicted her moves. As she went down, he went to deliver a hit, but she twisted on the ground, his blade missing its intended target and instead piercing through the bow atop her head. Felix immediately realised his terrible mistake when he felt more resistance than a piece of fabric should have, and Blake screeched in pain, the Turris having bypassed her Aura and pierced straight through one of her feline ears.

Felix stood, immediately calling the match while picking up Blake, who had passed out from a combination of shock, pain and the poison now coursing through her veins. He ran to the infirmary, kicking open the door to an empty theatre and laying her down on the table. He removed her bow and winced when he saw the wound.

"What are you-"

"Get out!"

The door quickly slammed again. It was opened again seconds after.

"Don't you understand? I'm trying to stop her from-"

"I'm her team Leader."

"Ruby Rose, was it? Now, if you truly want to help, you'll stay out of my way. Bio Discs often use Deathstalker venom. Do you know what happens when Deathstalker venom gets into the body?"

"No..."

"Good! You're too young to hear or see this. Now get out!"

Ruby was shocked. It was the first time she had seen Felix, who seemed so calm and collected, be anything other than calm and collected. She did not know how to react. Ozpin and Glynda appeared at the end of the corridor, running to the door Ruby stood by.

"They're in here."

Ozpin tried the door, but it only shook in its frame. Locked.

"Directive Four- Headmaster Override."

The door clicked open, and the pair entered, leaving Ruby alone again.

"Felix."

"What?! I'm a little busy trying to save a life."

"Did you know she was a Faunus?"

"No! And if I had known, I'd have stopped myself. Its common knowledge that Aura only protects extremities with about 60% efficiency. I was not told, and now she's paid the price."

"What was in the Bio Disc?"

"I don't know. Usually, they use Deathstalker venom. It won't kill her, but it'll prevent her from ever using her Aura or Semblance. Either leave, or help me."

Felix pressed a needle into Blake's arm, drawing out blood and squirting into a vial. He placed it into an analyser, twitching restlessly as the machine processed the contents of the blood. He wilted when he saw the results.

"Deathstalker venom, diluted, but still dangerous. If we do not act, she will lose her Aura. We have no time to lose."

Alright, and there you have it. For the record, "Noli Turris" roughly translates to "Terror Spires". Google Translate will say differently, but then it's not very good is it? Please keep reviewing. Like I said, things will change next chapter.

Aura, out.