Author's Note:

I am very sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I have been very busy and haven't had the free time to keep a steady writing schedule. I won't bore you with the details, but trust me when I say I have a lot on my plate currently. Luckily, summer is only one week away for me, so at that time, a schedule should be set. I can only hope, though.

Also, after trying the one perspective at a time setup for the story in the last chapter, I should state that from this point on, perspective's won't be limited to only one character at a time, as they have in the past. I am pushing myself to be a bit more descriptive in these chapters, and I feel a way to improve this is to have perspectives be dependant on the situation, and the grouping of characters in said situation. In other words, I will describe from any character's point-of-view at any time, as long as they are within the setting of the situation.

The introduction was vague, to say the least. The cloaked figures merely stood, patiently waiting for a reaction of any kind. The Wolf-Faunus found the group's confused expressions particularly humorous, letting out a chuckle as he looked from person to person, analyzing each of them with a raised eyebrow.

The students kept their weapons raised, but held no initiative to go on the offensive. Yang stood in the middle of the group, with Blake and Weiss to her left and right, respectively. Keeping her fists clenched, and her gauntlets loaded, Yang stood her ground as the wolf focused his sight on her. His glasses had an unusual glare to them, the shine blocking the sight of his beastly eyes. As if on cue, however, the disciple took the glasses off, sporting a slight grin while doing so.

"You must be Yang, I presume?" The Wolf asked.

"Yang, blondie, goldie, pick whatever suits your fancy. I've grown accustomed to them all." Yang answered, undeterred by his apparent familiarity with her. The question seemed harmless, but the amusement in his tone sparked her interest. "It's a little creepy for a man to know things about a girl he's never met. Care to explain?" The Wolf raised a hand.

"In due time. But first, may I ask a question?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot." She answered. The disciple took a step forward, still a fair distance from Yang. Despite her better judgement, Yang followed suit and strode forward, shrugging off the concerned hands of her comrades. Not lowering her guard, Yang watched as the wolf took this moment to get a good look at her. Yang returned his gaze, examining the mysterious Faunus from head to toe.

The wolf eventually leaned in, his face uncomfortably close to Yang's.

"Tell me, miss Xaio Long. What do you see in these eyes?" He questioned. Yang was caught off guard, what kind of question was that?

"Excuse me?" The wolf pulled back, giving some welcome space between the two.

"They say that you can tell what someone's motives and emotions are through their stare, through the look in their eyes. I can see quite a bit about you currently, but what of me? What do I have planned, miss Xaio Long?" He spoke in a teasing tone.

"I don't judge others by appearances." Yang responded. The disciple laughed at the answer.

"It's not about appearances. It's about motivations." He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Now let me ask again. What do you see?"

Yang finally took the wolf up on the offer, figuring she wouldn't get any answers until he got his. She took another look, deep into the abysses that were the disciple's beastly eyes. The black pupils seemed like shadows attempting to creep into the gold irises, polluting the unnervingly bright shine of them. It seemed as if behind that distracting gold shine, there were secrets and evil desires held, at home with the darkness.

"I see a monster. A shadow that hides itself behind a bright exterior, but could snap at any moment." Yang answered finally, satisfied with her own judgement. She took up a more defensive stance, knowing the time for talking was almost over. Blake, Weiss, and team JNPR stepped forward to her aid, weapons drawn.

The other disciples did not copy them, instead opting to leave the wolf to his own devices. He stood alone, at the mercy of the hunters and huntresses in training, should it lead to such an outcome.

"Well, well. I didn't expect such an articulate and poetic answer. Especially not from you." He spoke casually, covering his eyes once again with the unusually reflective glasses. "If only your sister had such a skill. Unfortunately, a naïve nature contradicts judgement on the unknown."

Their was a brief period of silence. A time quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Then, in an instantaneous blur of golden fire, Yang charged the wolf, tackling the disciple to the ground. The pavement caved in as she slammed him into the ground, leaving the wolf laying in a small crater, held by his assailant's gauntleted fists. Despite the damage, the wolf still held strong his smug grin.

Yang tightened her grip on the wolf, her eyes a crimson blaze. "What do my eyes tell you now?" She growled.

The wolf gasped a weak laugh. "I'm sorry, is that a sore subject?" Yang promptly pulled the disciple's smug mug close to her's, staring him down.

"You're gonna start explaining. Now." She threatened slowly, enunciating every syllable. It was to her surprise then that the wolf suddenly vanished into a black wisp, reappearing once again a few feet in front of Yang. He stood calmly, casually examining his cracked glasses.

"No, I won't be." He spoke calmly. "In fact, I believe it's about time we take our leave." Giving a short bow, the wolf strode back to the other cloaked figures, whistling an improvisational tune as he did so. Yang attempted to give chase, but was yanked back by Weiss and Blake, who struggled to hold the hot-headed blonde in place.

"Now is not the time, nor the place for this, Yang!" Weiss gasped, holding tight onto her teammate's arm.

"Like Hell it isn't! I'm about to put a muzzle on that dog!" Yang spoke angrily. Between Yang's choice words and her comrade's assuring words, the faint sound of high heels meeting pavement could be heard from behind. The team turned to the determined face of their superior, Glynda Goodwitch.

"I want your team and the others to retreat into Beacon." She ordered. The students eyed her, confused. "This bunch is beyond all you. I'd rather keep you safe than risk all your lives in a fight."

Team CRDL didn't take time for her to repeat the order, immediately running to take refuge in the collapsed junkyard they had once called a school. The others were not as easily persuaded, reluctantly standing their ground in protest. Glynda made no further attempts to convince them, instead keeping an eye on the cloaked disciples, whom looked with what could only be assumed as mild curiosity under their hoods.

Glynda jumped in surprise at the feeling of a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The hand belonged to Pyrrah.

"If what you say is true, then it would be best if you had help." She spoke calmly.

"We are trained for this sort of thing, after all." Jaune added. Pyrrah shot him a look of both appreciation and surprise that he of all people would stay and fight. Nora budged between the two, hammer held high like it weighed nothing.

"Yeah! They don't look so tough!" She exclaimed in voilent excitement. Ren rolled his eyes as he too stepped forward to back up his team, a small grin escaping his collected exterior. Team RWBY didn't say anything, but held pleading looks at the huntress in the hope she would change her mind.

Glynda turned away. "My decision is final." She spoke under her breath. Before any of the students could interject, she spoke again. "If you really wish to help, you could start by evacuating the school, or what's left of it, at least." Her voice was serious, but also had a grim tone to it.

Silence fell over the students as they reluctantly turned toward the school. There were words of encouragement and assurance called from behind, but Glynda didn't quite catch them in the spur of the moment. Eventually with the silence came loneliness, as if in the blink of an eye Glynda stood by herself. The disciples still watched, observing the huntress. A strong wind began blowing, whipping their cloaks with a whistle that broke the ongoing quiet between the group and herself.

Glynda finally returned the disciples' gaze. "I'd rather not waste any more time with trivial questions or taunts, and instead get straight to the point, if you would be so courteous." The wolf laughed in response to this.

"Getting straight to the point, eh?" He chuckled, tucking in the white hood that was repeatedly blowing around and into his face. "So be it. I respect that kind of attitude."

The wolf made an attempt to stride forward and confront Glynda, but was stopped by the outstretched arm of another disciple. He eyed the hooded figure curiously in surprise, but took his place back among the group while the figure took its time in short steps to Glynda. The disciple had a feminine figure, and the sound of high heels was clearly audible over the whistling wind.

While she walked, the disciple raised a pale, delicate hand and waved the other cloaked figures away. The gesture was simple, but the compliance of her group showed it held power, that she held power. One by one, the disciples vanished into thin air, a trail of black wisps following them closely behind. The wolf was the last one to leave, taking his sweet time to analyze the huntress and the disciple. Satisfied he had found whatever conclusion he was looking for, the wolf disappeared, an echoing howl manifesting itself as he did so.

Glynda didn't bother to watch where they were going, being too focused on the disciple that stood before her, on the crimson wings intersecting at her torso, cascading red feathers around the rest of the cloak. The relentless wind blowing into the cloak seemingly gave the illusion of the feathers swinging, and the wings flapping, like they could suddenly take flight at any moment and escape the cloak.

The disciple stopped in her tracks, just a few yards in front of her. Glynda gripped her duster anxiously at her side, ready to retaliate at any sign of an attack. The disciple seemingly had no weapon to speak of, but could have easily been hiding something under the bulky white robe.

"Why did you order a retreat?" The question caught Glynda off guard. The only voice she had associated with these villains was that of the wolf's, so it was to her surprise that the woman asked it in such a casual tone. Her voice was of a low pitch, for that of a woman. Whether she spoke out of genuine curiosity or disinterest, Glynda couldn't tell.

"I'm not so much of a fool as to send my students out on a suicide mission." Glynda answered, gripping her duster even tighter.

"You give us too much credit." The woman replied, almost apologetically. She pulled down her blowing hood to reveal the face of a young raven Faunus. Her skin was pale, and her eyes had the same colors as the wolf, with the pupils much thinner. Her hair was a deep black. In fact, when Glynda took a closer look, she could tell it wasn't even hair at all, but elongated feathers that fell elegantly down to her shoulders. "We are far from invincible."

With those last words filling the air, the raven flared a dark aura, comprising of shadows that flickered like fire, and licked at the ground around her, pulsating like a living being. The aura did not glow off of her physical being like normal aura, but instead surrounded her like a guardian mass. There were no more words to interfere with the conflict any longer.

Drawing from her pool of dark aura, the raven grimaced as she merged her being with it, creating large, elegant black aura wings that gradually cascaded shadowy wisps, not dissimilar to that of Ruby's rose petals. The raven seemed to struggle to pull herself away from the aura, showing signs of pain throughout the process. Glynda decided this was the time to take initiative.

Glynda darted towards the disciple at an incredible pace. The raven pulled herself away from the intoxicating aura and flapped her wings, which casted sharp, feathery spears like bullets. Glynda weaved through the onslaught of projectiles with ease, leaping over the disciple to flank her from behind. The raven must have expected this, as she leaped high into the air, meeting Glynda half-way.

Knowing she was at a disadvantage in ariel combat, Glynda quickly made a small Glyph platform to land on at her elevated position, and used her aura to create a small barrier to prevent being instantaneously knocked back down. Her attempt proved fruitless, however, as the disciple crashed through the barrier, wings curled to prevent any collision damage. Before she even knew what was going on, Glynda became well acquainted with the ground.

She tumbled back a fair distance after impact. Recovering as quickly as possible, Glynda braced herself as the disciple let an onslaught of feather spears rain down, all pinpointed at the huntress's location. Glynda cast a stream of fire from her duster, incinerating most of the feathers, while others glanced her shoulders and legs. She grimaced at the piling stinging pains, but was grateful that nothing worse came of it.

The disciple didn't have time to evade the incoming flames. Curling her wings to shield herself, the raven was set ablaze by the attack, the wings taking almost all the damage. Without them to remain elevated, she fell to the ground in a raging fireball, an explosion being the indication of her impact.

Not wasting any more time, Glynda called upon a storm of icicle spikes to rain down on the raven, using her duster to accurately pinpoint the strike. She was unable to see if any of her projectiles made contact through the smoke of the explosion, so Glynda waved her duster, casting a strong wind with the intent of blowing the smoke and debris aside. It took her a moment to focus her eyes beyond the spikes that had already embedded themselves within the crater, but when her perspective was clear it became quite apparent what the problem was.

She's gone!? Glynda thought. But where is she now!? A feeling of panic swept through the huntress as she became far more aware of her surroundings. Time seemed to slow down as she examined everything and anything around her, looking for even the most miniscule movements. It felt like an eternity of anxiety and preparation before she finally caught the sight of small black wisps moving like a motion blur. Glynda felt lucky for seeing them at all, as they were moving quickly throughout the area, before taking a sharp turn straight for her.

Without any time to react, Glynda took the full force of a wide kick to her stomach. The attack launched her back, reuniting the huntress with an old acquaintance. Glynda struggled to take breathes that clearly would not be so generous. She had the wind knocked out of her, and as she tried standing up a sharp pain shot throughout her abdomen. Multiple broken ribs were evident through the agony of taking her stance.

She got one good look at the disciple before the raven became a blur of motion once again. This time would be different, however, as Glynda focused on the accelerating wisps that trailed closely behind the invisible disciple. Just before the disciple could strike her once again, Glynda raised the strongest aura barrier she could muster. The tactic proved sufficient as the disciple became visible at collision, a dark feather sword in her leading hand, undoubtedly created from her aura.

The barrier held strong as the sword shattered into pieces, and the raven crashed into the shield, still carried by her momentum. Cracking sounds were disturbingly audible over the hum of Glynda's aura. The disciple's left arm snapped into an awkward position, and blood started to flow from her nose as her legs gave out. Slumping to the ground, the raven only twitched what limbs she could still move, holding the same disinterested features and predatory stare.

Glynda didn't hesitate however as she expelled a shock wave from her shield, destroying it in the process. The wave carried the disciple's limp body a fair distance before crashing into the pavement, the ground caving in slightly at landing.

Storm clouds began to quickly gather around the area as Glynda prepared her last strike. Summoning up all the power she had left, Glynda guided the clouds to merge together in the sky with her duster. The result was a tremendous black mass that blocked out the sun. The temperature fell significantly around the huntress, and light drops of rain in an instant turned to a relentless downpour. The already strong wind gained even more strength, the light whistle becoming an echoing howl.

The mass of clouds started to slowly descend, guided by Glynda's duster. While the distance they stopped at was still far, they lurked over top with a presence unlike any other. Using the last of her strength, Glynda lowered her duster to point at the disciple's body, which still laid limp and still. The only thing alive being the aura slowly circling around its host, as if quietly trying to wake the raven up from a deep slumber.

Glynda struggled to hold her weapon as it seemingly started to gain encumbering weight to it. She took one last look at the disciple, and the black aura, hesitation finally starting to creep its way into her subconscious. Any remorse she had for the raven quickly left as she remembered Beacon, the earthquake, and the remains that only stood as a vile mockery of its previous wonder and pride.

And finally, without taking any more time to think about it, Glynda called upon a lightning strike that recreated the purpose of the blocked sun for a short period. The light was blinding, and the thunder was ear-piercing, yet Glynda watched as the bolt touched down on the disciple. The black aura, with an amazing swiftness, acted as a shield for the hopeless disciple, shadowing the cloaked raven for a short period before being pierced by the lightning. The shadow twitched as the lightning passed through and struck the disciple, before disintegrating like a dead flame.

The disciple's cloak was set ablaze, but was quickly put out by the downpour. Glynda only stared, awestruck that the cloak still remained, and not a pile of ash in its place. She stared for quite some time, long enough for the rain to stop, and the storm clouds to vanish, their purpose fulfilled. The sun revealed itself once again, lighting up the area with a welcome warmth that Glynda accepted gratefully. She pulled her head back, letting the beauty of the situation settle in. Eventually, her gaze tracked back down to the corpse of the raven-faunus.

Glynda strode to the body as fast as she could, a new pain revealing itself with every step she took. It was clear to her that she had sustained more damage than what had been assumed, and it took all her strength to not collapse onto the cold ground.

With one last, painful step, Glynda finally found herself next to the disciple. The cloak was still smoking, and the smell of various burnt substances filled the air around the corpse. The white robe was in tatters, burn marks staining the pure white a disgusting brown. The ground around the cloak was of the same color. Glynda let out a deep sigh, relieved that she had come out victorious. Raising her hand to wipe sweat off her face, she couldn't help but notice out of the corner of her eye something suspicious about the cloak. She scanned the corpse one last time, this time reaching out and touching the cloak. To her own horror, Glynda only stared as the area inside the cloak that was supposed to contain a body slowly collapsed in on itself. The robe was hollow.

Silence befell the veteran huntress, both out of the horror of the revelation, and the stinging pain that burst out the front of her abdomen. A crimson spray fell from the wound, and Glynda looked down to find a sword had made its way through her back. A sword in the peculiar shape of a raven feather.

The huntress made an attempt to speak, but a delicate hand wrapped around her head and cupped over her mouth. Her vision began to slowly blur, both from the blackness and tears that filled her eyesight. All sounds started to become faint, and Glynda struggled with her entire being to hear the last whisper of her assailant.

"Checkmate."

And with one last twist of a blade, there was nothing but silence in a dark void...

To be continued...

Author's Note:

So it has finally been published! I will admit to being lazy on this one, but I am just terrible at writing fight scenes, which was the majority of this chapter.

Couple more things, though. Would you guys be satisfied with chapters under 2000 words if it meant more regular uploads? There will be the same amount of detail, but just a bit shorter. I'll still upload a long one every now and then, should this become the new rule, but I just wanted your guys' opinion on it before actually trying it.

Lastly, I have had another RWBY story in the works for quite some time now, and am happy to announce that a new story will be coming soon, called Old Friends. It takes place after team RWBY's graduation, and is much more lighthearted than this story. It still has a villain and action in it, so don't worry about that. That's about as much as I will reveal about that story for now.

And before you jump at me with pitchforks crying sacrilege, let me state now that it WILL NOT, I repeat, WILL NOT, take priority from this story. I intend to upload this more frequently than I have been, and put that as a side project. It's good to be back, guys!