Ruby launched herself towards Cardin, Crescent Rose behind her and Fenris at her side, growling loudly. She fired a round to gain some momentum and swung her scythe at him in a diagonal slice, only for him to raise his mace and stop the blade. He smirked and shoved her backwards, causing her to stumble. Fenris shot past her, slamming his shoulder into the armored boy. Cardin staggered backwards at the force of the hit, and barely avoided the following swipe by Fenris. He raised his mace in anger to strike down the Beowolf, only to be blindsided when Ruby launched herself into his face, feet-first. He stumbled backwards, momentarily stunned, and caught a swipe from Fenris across his chest, claws scraping against his armor.

Ruby swung her scythe in an overhead swing, trying to end the match quickly. Cardin, however, had other plans. He sidestepped her swing, and slammed his mace into the side of her head. Her Aura blunted some of the impact, stopping any significant damage, but she still went flying. Midair, she swung herself around, landing on the wall and leaping off the wall with a grunt, her hood flying back from the wind. She spun around midair, intent on slamming her scythe's back into his head, only to hear the clang of metal clashing as he raised his mace in a block. Cardin swung his mace at her in a side swipe aimed at her midsection, forcing her to jump away. As she landed, Fenris, who had been circling Cardin, searching for an opening, lunged at his back. The Beowolf ducked the mace swing Cardin sent towards him, and tackled him. As Cardin struggled with the Grimm pinning him to the floor, Ruby planted her scythe into the floor of the arena, steadied the rifle, and fired. Cardin shifted his head to the side, flinching as the bullet shattered the stone next to his head. Ruby chambered a new round, and fired, only to miss once more as Cardin shoved Fenris off of him. Ruby continued firing, and Cardin spun his mace in front of him, deflecting each bullet.

Cardin decided to go on the offensive, as Fenris rose. He slammed his mace into the Beowolf's head, dazing him. He charged towards Ruby, dropping his shoulder and slamming into her. His charge carried her into the wall and he slammed her against it, and she gasped in pain. Dazed, she blinked away spots in her vision as she saw Fenris snarl angrily at Cardin, and recklessly charge forwards. Cardin's cocky smirk returned, and Ruby watched in horror as he placed his mace in a two-handed grip, and slammed it onto Fenris' head, flooring the charging Grimm. As she watched her companion fall to the ground, red marks in his head from where the mace had broken through his skin, something in her shifted. "That's it," came the voice of Red, snarling in anger, "He's mine."

Ruby felt the bloodlust of Red fill her body, and her conscious thought dwindled down to a need to cause pain. She snarled inhumanly and quickly rose, firing a shot for momentum. Cardin turned at the sound of her gun, and his eyes widened as he saw the back of her scythe flying towards him. He raised his arm to defend himself, too slow, and watched with terrified eyes as the steel slammed into his shoulder, shattering it. At the impact, a sickening crack rang throughout the arena, followed by a loud scream. Cardin stared in shock at his arm, dangling uselessly at his side, screaming in pain. He was silenced when Ruby's hand covered his mouth. He stared at her, tears of pain in his eyes, and saw her face had changed. There was an inhuman quality to it, as if her features had become distorted by her rage. What terrified him, however, were her eyes. They were blood red-The eyes of a Grimm. "Don't scream, big boy," she said. Her voice had changed as well. It was deeper, and it sounded as if she was growling out each word. "Little Red's gonna make it all go away." A large, manic smile appeared on her face as she brought her scythe up to his cheek, the tip scraping against his skin, drawing blood. His Aura was too low as it attempted to quicken the healing of his arm to stop the flesh wound from appearing. She licked her lips at the blood on her scythe, and raised it over her head, readying herself to strike him down- and then she was flung backwards by a strange force. She landed on her back with a small grunt and quickly rose to her feet. Standing between her and her prey was Professor Goodwitch, a scowl on her face. "That is quite enough Ms. Rose. You have already won the match." Ruby snarled at the woman, placing Crescent Rose behind her and readying herself to launch towards the woman- and then she heard a noise behind her. A small whine, filled with pain and pleading.

Ruby looked over her shoulder and saw Fenris slowly raising himself from the ground back to all fours. There came a relieved sigh from within her, and Red's influence faded. Ruby blinked in confusion, and then the knowledge of her actions returned and her eyes widened, horrified. She slowly turned her head to the terrified Cardin, looking into his frightened eyes and leapt back, horrified. She looked around the arena and saw dozens of eyes staring at her, in horror and awe. She slowly stepped backwards looking at her hand and trembling.

Glynda's voice broke her out of her stupor. "Ms. Rose," she coldly stated, "please wait outside. I will escort you to Ozpin's office. We shall take care of your Beowolf while he sorts you out." Ruby nodded nervously, still shaking. She walked towards the end of the arena, and stepped outside the door, her eyes wide and scared. When she stepped out into the hall and the weight of all the eyes in the room lifted from her shoulders, she sat down against the wall. 'What happened to me?' she asked.

"I did, kid," came Red's voice, "That fucker hurt a member of our pack, so I hurt him. That's the way it works."

"You took it too far," she whispered back, "you broke his arm, and you were gonna kill him! You almost attacked the professor!"

"Hey, she got in my way, and that kid fucked with Fenris. You saw how hard he hit him; no unmasked Grimm should have survived that. I think my reaction was within reason." She could almost feel Red crossing her arms within her.

But what she said gave Ruby pause. 'How DID he survive that? That hit should have been strong enough to kill him...' She was brought out of her thoughts by the door opening beside her. Goodwitch strode out, her face cold and remote.

"Come with me." She commanded. Ruby stood and obediently walked behind her as they made their way through the halls. They passed by a few students walking by them, all turning with curious looks to the girl behind the professor. It took a few moments for Ruby to realize they were staring at her ears. Embarrassed, she raised her hood to cover them and lowered her head.

As they continued, Ruby lifted her head to speak. "Professor Goodwitch, I-" she was silenced by a piercing glare from the professor. She quickly lowered her head again and walked silently the rest of the way.

Eventually they reached a large pair of doors, and Glynda through them open, stepping in quickly as Ruby followed behind her quietly. Sitting in a large chair made out of gears, looking down at some papers on his desk, was Ozpin. He took a sip from his mug and looked up at them as they entered and smiled. "Ms. Rose, Glynda,"as he took Ruby's downcast expression and Glynda's silently furious one, his smile faded. "What is it?" he asked.

"Ms. Rose here, broke her opponent's arm during combat practice, drew blood and attempted to strike after the fight was over." The professor said, a scowl on her face.

Ozpin blinked in mild surprise. "Did she now?" he turned to Ruby, his expression serious. "Is this true, Ruby?" She nodded, subdued, her head held low. His face grew more serious, and he gestured to Glynda. "You can go, Glynda. I'll handle it from here." She gave a curt nod, turned on her heel and strode out of the room. As the door shut behind her, she heard Ozpin sigh. "Care to explain?"

"I was in a sparring match with Cardin, and then he hit Fenris really hard, and I- I thought he had killed him…" she stuttered, pulling into herself a little. "And then, I just…Lost control. I- I broke his arm, like Glynda said, and just kept going. I wanted to hurt him," her voice dropped into a snarl as Red surged through her again, "like he hurt Fenris." When the snarl left her throat, she shuddered and wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself.

Ozpin stared at her worriedly. "Is there anything else that caused this? Something beyond your control that has been making you do this? You don't seem like the type of person to purposely injure another student, even during a sparring match."

She looked up at him, hood hanging over her head, and thought, 'Can I tell him?'

Sensing her hesitation, he leaned forward. "Ruby, I want to help you however I can, but I can't do that if you don't tell me all that there is."

His words broke her hesitation and she steeled herself, slowly raising her hands up to her hood. Ozpin looked at her with an unreadable expression, his gaze focused on the top of her head. She lowered the hood, her ears flicking as the fabric brushed against them. As her hood settled behind her head, she met Ozpin's gaze, seeing the intensity and curiosity in them. "You're a Faunus," he said, his tone level, "but those ears were not there when we met. Why did you hide them from me, Ruby?"

She opened her mouth to clarify, that no, she wasn't a Faunus-or rather, she hadn't always been one, but she hesitated. The voice within her used that opportunity, and Red spoke in her mind. "Don't tell him kid," she crooned, "he'll never believe you." Ruby's hesitation grew, and Red seized the moment. "I'm sorry for breaking that kid's shoulder-I won't do it again, but if you rat me out, they'll take me outta here. They'll know you aren't normal-I can help you convince them you are!" she bargained. "But you can't tell them about me."

Ruby considered the girl's words for a moment. 'You promise?' she asked.

"Cross my heart, kiddo."

She tried to swallow down the lump in her throat and nervously said, "I didn't want people to know-if you had put that I was a Faunus on my files, somebody might have found out, and then word would have spread." Inwardly, she could feel Red smiling as she lied to her Headmaster's face.

Ozpin's eyes narrowed, and he looked her in the eyes. She maintained eye contact, sweating slightly. After a few tense moments, he smiled and shook his head. "Ruby, the records are viewed only by Beacon staff-there was no risk of your secret being exposed. But I believe that quite a few people saw your secret during your match-and most likely on the way here." He steepled his fingers beneath his chin and his smile faded. "You said you simply wanted revenge for your companion on Cardin? There were no, say, personal vendettas against Cardin?"

She shook her head. "No, but he seems like a bit of a jerk. I can see why you'd ask that."

He leaned back in his clockwork chair, nodding. "Yes, but Cardin's temperament does not excuse your actions-how hard did he hit your companion?" he inquired.

"It was a two-handed, overhead strike," she said, and pointed to the top of her head, "Right here. He hit the floor like a brick, and I thought he had killed him."

"Very well, you're anger appears to be justified-but I must warn you, Ruby." He leaned forwards, gazing intensely into her eyes. "If an incident like this occurs again, you will be expelled. I will not have my students trying to kill each other."

She gulped and nodded. "I understand, Headmaster. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Make sure that you do." He turned around, swiveling his chair away from her. "You will, of course, still be punished." Her face fell as he continued, "You will spend every day of the next week after school in four hours detention." She hung her head and nodded. "I'll make sure Cardin is punished for his excessive force against your companion as well. You are free to go, Ruby." She nodded again and walked out of the office. As soon as she had left, Ozpin's expression turned somber again. 'Now…' he thought to himself, 'What reason could she have to lie to me?'

Ruby stepped out of the office, head held low. She looked out into the empty halls and sighed, heading back down the way she came. "Where are you going?" Red asked.

'Back to class. I need to be there to watch my team fight.' She replied.

"Fuck that! What you need to do is check on Fenris." Red called out. "His wounds were pretty serious! Your team can wait, their lives aren't in danger."

Ruby hesitated. She should really be there for her teammates- but she wanted to be by Fenris if he was really hurt…Red sensed her hesitation and continued, "Come on! We can check on Fenris, make sure his wounds won't kill him, and then be back in class in a flash! In, out, and then we can watch your team whoop their opponents!"

Her words finalized Ruby's decision, and she turned away from the main hall, heading down a side hall instead. As they reached an intersection, she stopped yet again. "What is it now?!" Red cried out.

'I…Have no idea where the infirmary is.' Ruby replied, holding back a sheepish grin, and Red sighed.

A few minutes later, with the aid of a student wandering the halls, Ruby reached the infirmary. She walked to the front desk and greeted the woman sitting there. "Hi, can you direct me to where Fenris is held? He should be a recent addition-" The woman cut her off with a raised finger, lowering it to tap on the keys of the computer in front of her.

"Fenris, the Beowolf, correct?" She asked not turning away from the screen. At Ruby's nod she pointed down the hallway to her right. "Third door on your left. Good luck getting in there though-the docs say he's being very difficult." Ruby nodded, and rushed down the hall in a flurry of petals, turning into the third door and barreling through.

The scene she walked in on was a chaotic one. The doctor and her nurse were standing against the wall, brandishing needles like weapons. On the bed stood Fenris, on all fours, head still bleeding. He stood growling at the doctor. She attempted to advance, to most likely tranquilize the defensive Grimm, only for him to swipe his claw at her hand as she approached.

Ruby gaped at the chaos before her, the door slamming shut behind her. Fenris turned at the noise, teeth bared, and his ears perked up when he saw her. He gave a happy yip and hopped down from the bed, mouth open in a doggy grin. He nuzzled into her side, doctors and needles forgotten. "Ah, you must be his owner." The doctor panted, clearly exhausted. "Do you think you could do us a favor and hold him down? I need to get a closer look at his head wound, and he won't let me near it."

"Of course!" Ruby looked down at Fenris, still with his bleeding head nuzzled into her side. "Fenris, let the nice lady check your head." The Beowolf obediently turned and sat on his hind legs, arms planted to the ground in front of him, and lowered his head. The doctor nodded and stepped forward, grabbing his head and examining it.

"Well, from what I can see, he seems to only have a few cuts, but they are pretty deep. They might bleed for a while, but nothing to serious. Couldn't have been anything bad."

"Nothing bad?" Ruby asked, more to herself than anyone else.

If the doctor heard her, she gave no evidence to show it. "If you let us wrap his wounds, he should be healed in a few days."

Ruby nodded, her confusion still evident. The doctor and her nurse quickly went to work, taking a large roll of bandages and carefully wrapping it around Fenris' head, leaving a large patchwork of white on the crown of his head. The Beowolf glanced upward, trying to look at the cloth wrapped around his head, reaching up and clawing at the material. Ruby quietly scolded him, pushing his paw away from the bandages, and he huffed in frustration.

"Thank you for your help Dr…?" Ruby trailed off.

"Amber. Dr. Amber. It's my job to treat wounds here kid," Amber chuckled, "but I was never expecting to have to treat a Beowolf in my lifetime." Waving away any further thanks, she continued, "Just bring him in here tomorrow for us to change his bandages. Have to make sure they stay clean, even if they aren't all that bad."

Ruby nodded and left the room, still thanking the doctor profusely. She walked past the bored looking lady, who hardly glanced up at Fenris before returning to her computer. As she stepped out into the hall, Fenris nuzzled deeper into her side, his now bandaged head rubbing against her clothes. "C'mon boy, let's head back to class." She started walking down the halls, heading back towards the arena.

"Whoa whoa whoa, why are we heading back so soon? We only just got back with Fenris!" Red cried out.

"But, we have to get back to the team! They need me there-"

"What for?" Red interjected.

"To- uh…" Ruby trailed off.

"Well?" Red asked. "Face it Rubes, they are all well-trained fighters, with far more experience then you, and you can't help with the battle itself. The only thing you could do would be cheer them on, and that would just distract them.

With a dejected sigh, Ruby nodded. "I guess you're right. I just…I want to be the best leader I can be, and the best team member I can. I feel like I need to prove myself to my team, to make them understand that I'm not gonna be useless or something."

"You're worried about proving yourself?" Ruby could feel the surprise in the statement as she nodded. "Ruby, if you didn't prove yourself worthy of fighting alongside them in the initiation, you never will. You don't have to worry about that."

Ruby shook her head. "I know I don't have to prove my fighting skills-but I have no idea how to be a leader. I never took the lead at Signal, and I've never been responsible for other people. I just…don't know how to go about learning how to lead."

"Well you won't learn to lead by sitting on the sidelines and cheering your team. You need to wait for the right opportunity, a time when your team needs direction, and I'm sure that you'll be ready then, and if you're not, I can always help you out."

"I guess you're right…You do seem to have good advice."

Within her, Red shook her head. "I don't mean just words Rubes: I can take control of your body, handle the situation in my way." As Ruby's face gave way to concern, she hastily added, "With your consent, of course."

"Yeah, please make sure to ask me before you do something like that again. I don't want to be sent to Ozpin's office again."

"Aye aye, captain. I'll only take control whenever you let me, I promise. Now come on, Fenris hasn't seen our dorm yet! We have to show him around."

With a smile on her face, Ruby dashed down the hallway, Fenris following behind her.

As Ruby flew through the halls, petals streaming from her hood, she avoided the gazes of students, ignoring the glares and stares she got, both for her ears and her companion. She continued speeding along, heading towards her dorm. 'Hey Red, what am I gonna tell my team?'

"Whaddaya mean kid?" She asked

'I mean, what'll be my excuse for not coming back to them after Ozpin let me go? I can't just tell them that a voice in my head told me not to go.'

"Yeah, you have a point. You can just tell them the truth, but uh…please leave me out of the discussion," the feral girl requested, "I really doubt they would trust me, and you might get sent to a mental hospital."

'Don't worry Red, I'll keep you a secret, I promise!' Ruby smiled as she rounded the corner, her dorm door in sight.

As she slowed down to reach the door, Red continued, "Heh, thanks kid. Don't worry about what to tell your team, I'll think of something before we see them," Red paused as Ruby opened the door froze. "Or not."

Standing in the room, where she seemed to have been waiting for a while, was Yang. She heard the door open, and turned towards it, staring at Ruby. Ruby and Red had very similar reactions to this.

They panicked.

"Fuck I thought we would have more time to think of something oh god she's gonna find out about me, they'll kill me for sure-"

'Please don't be mad or disappointed, please don't be sad or mad or disappointed, please please please…'

"Kid, your best option at this point is to jump out the window, just dash out and take Fenris with you and run-"

'She's gonna say she was disappointed and then she'll give me that look and then-'

The reaction of Yang was not what they expected. She rushed forward with a cry of "Ruby!" and swept her up into a hug, squeezing her close to her. "Where were you? Is everything alright? Did something happen? Are you ok?" she asked, barely pausing to breathe.

"Yang- Please, I need air…" Ruby said. Immediately, Yang let her go, and she dropped to the ground, gulping in air.

"Sorry Rubes, but I was just so worried!

"Well this is an interesting turn of events-Quick Ruby, say something to reassure her. It'll work to our advantage," Red whispered.

Ruby quietly reassured her sister, "I'm fine, Yang, Ozpin just wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. He let me off with just detention…for a week."

Yang winced. "Oof, that's rough sis. At least you're still in Beacon," she continued with a smile, "but I've got one question." She glanced up worriedly at the ears resting on Ruby's head. "How long have you had those?"

A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a bit disappointing, I just wanted to post this so y'all know I'm not dead.

So over the course of time, I've discovered I am a very slow writer, as is apparent to all of you. I'm gonna stop making promises I can't keep, and instead own up to the fact that I'm just slow in general. Work, school and sports don't help, but that's no excuse. For any of you worrying that this won't be updated, I guarantee you, no matter how much time it takes me, I will finish this story, and I will continue working on it.