*Deep breath* OKAY, so this story has grown a lot more than I was expecting XD I'm gonna admit it: Originally, there wasn't gonna be nearly this much crap going on. It was gonna simply be a "wet dream" story about Nightmare being an absolute beast in the RWBY universe. However, around chapter three I became unsatisfied with that direction. I may not be the best writer on this site (HAHA, far from it), but I figured I might as well make this an actual story! And needless to say, I'm pretty darn satisfied with that outcome, even if it means having like four different stories sort of happening at the same time. But it all leads up to something much, MUCH bigger, I swear! And right now, I just wanna thank all of you guys for sticking with me this far, and I really hope you you all continue to enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Seriously, this is my second most successful story ever, so thank you!

(Also due to the Pokemon Sun & Moon hype I am totally writing a RWBY/Pokemon crossover and no one can stop me!)

Anyway, enjoy the chapter, everyone! :D

ALSO! VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT THE END!

...

For the second time since the battle began, Adam Taurus was launched across the cave, his back slamming heavily into the stone wall. He let out a grunt of pain as he fell to his knees, and the cackling above him indicated that Lizardman was preparing to strike again.

Pushing himself forward, he rolled out of the way of the incoming hand axe. Forcing himself back to his knees, he brought up Wilt and prepared to charge at his enemy.

Lizardman was tough, extremely tough. He was undoubtedly the fastest opponent Adam has ever had to face, as well as the strongest. Even though the battle had just started, the faunus realized he was at a severe disadvantage. While a capable fighter on his own, he relied on his semblance to become stronger as the battle progressed. However, due to Lizardman's lack of firearms, Adam was unable to allow Wilt to absorb any power.

Lizardman licked his scaly lips and he once again caught sight of his prey. Adam frowned, and sprinted towards the reptilian in hopes of slicing him in two. Lizardman cackled once more and leaped over Adam's strike, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him into the ground with a flip. Adam rolled with the attack, back on his feet in an instant. Lizardman attempted to strike down Adam with his hand axes, but the faunus swiftly blocked the attack, connecting his foot to his opponent's stomach. Lizardman let out a low groan as he fell back, barely countering a swing from Wilt. Letting out a hiss, he swept Adam off of his feet with his tail, before kicking him into the air and delivering brutal slash after brutal slash.

Finally, Lizardman stopped his assault by kicking Adam away. Adam landed feet first against a wall, eyes narrowing through his grimm mask as he kicked off the wall towards Lizardman. He swung once more, but Lizardman's quick instincts allowed the beast to dodge. Suddenly, a very painful feeling shot through his shoulder, and Adam collapsed onto the ground like a brick. Groaning, he glanced at his shoulder to see one of Lizardman's axes stuck halfway through his shoulder.

Adam's eyes widened. 'This creature,' he thought fearfully. 'It's on a completely new level!'

This wasn't a fight he had much hope of winning, he decided. Scrambling to his feet, he lifted Blush up to Lizardman and opened fire. The moment he did, he turned around and started sprinting towards the entrance of the cave, the blood-curling screeches of Lizardman informing him that his shots hit their mark.

Painfully, he ripped the axe out of his shoulder and tossed it aside, blood already beginning to pour out of his wound. Soon, the entrance of the cave could be seen overhead, the sun's bright light seeping through the hole. Summoning all his aura, Adam leaped as high as he could to safety...

Only for a clawed hand to wrap around his ankle, slamming his injured shoulder right back onto to the ground. Adam let out a loud scream of pain as the last of his aura disappeared, leaving him completely vulnerable to Lizardman. He looked up, and he saw that his gunshot did slightly less damage than he expected.

Half of Lizardman's face was blown off, leaving only chunks of flesh clinging to his skull. It was a gruesome sight, one that would've frightened the most intimidating of grimm.

Lizardman did not seem happy in the slightest, and he angrily stomped his large foot on Adam's chest repeatedly. Adam choked as he felt his own ribs begin to crack and splinter under Lizardman's weight. Then, a glint caught his eye. There, just barely within reach, was the mysterious shard Sienna Khan had wanted him to retrieve. A last ditch idea past through the faunus's mind, and he grabbed it as quick as he could. With a roar, he drove it through Lizardman's ankle, causing the creature to get off of him and hiss in pain. Not wasting a second, Adam forced himself to stand, and he stabbed the shard into Lizardman, again and again, never letting up. His vision went red as he stabbed into Lizardman's torso, args, legs, back, collar, etc.

Finally, he backed away, only to gasp when he saw that his opponent was still standing. Lizardman was obviously on his last legs, his entire body covered in blood. Well, so was Adam... He guessed that now made them even again. Breathing heavily, Adam held out the shard in front of him, preparing for the final blow. Lizardman did the same, brandishing his remaining hand axe dangerously.

Letting out their final battle cries, the two warriors charged. Lizardman swung his axe to take off Adam's head, only to feel the shard go straight into his throat. Eyes widening in surprise, Lizardman stumbled back, choking on his own blood as he clawed the shard out of his throat. Then, he collapsed onto the ground, dead from his blood loss.

Sighing, Adam collapsed right next to his opponent's corpse, regaining his breath. He reached out and picked up the shard, staring at it with a frown. "I hope you're worth it," he growled. "I lost my men and nearly my own life, all for you."

He kept staring at the shard as if he were expecting it to somehow be able to answer. Grunting in displeasure, he let his arm drop to his side, and he simply stared at the cave's entrance.

Then, a strange tingling sensation came from his hand. Curiously, he lifted it back up to his face, only to freeze in shock. The shard... It was glowing, and it was sheathing itself inside his hand!

Desperately, Adam tried to pull it out, but to avail. The shard kept entering him, and finally it vanished completely into his hand. It was right then that Adam noticed that his shoulder wound was sealing itself up, and when he looked it at there was no trace of it, not even a scar. In fact, all the pain Adam had felt during his battle with Lizardman was disappearing! 'What...What's going on?' he thought. 'Why am I feeling so...powerful?'

He stood up, feeling stronger than he ever had before. "I'm...powerful," he murmured, picking up Wilt and Blush. "I...I have power...Power to..." He paused, before grinning like a mad man. "I have the power to eradicate humanity! I have the power to save all faunus! I WILL SAVE OUR PEOPLE! HUMANITY SHALL DIE!"

With this in mind, Adam leaped out of the cave in a single bound, landing in the Vacuo desert, causing sand to fly everywhere. With part of the power of Soul Edge now inside him, he began sprinting through the desert, one particular target in his mind...

...

Ruby glanced up after hearing the door open, and she gave a small smile as Blake and Sun entered. However, her head tilted when she saw the older woman accompanying them.

"Uh, Blake," she said. "Who is that woman?"

Everyone else glanced up as well, observing the newcomer. The woman was unfazed, and she stepped into the center of the room while giving off a sense of authority that could rival Glynda Goodwitch. "My name is Professor Umber," she introduced herself calmly. "I am the headmistress of Haven Academy." She then turned to Raven, a sense of familiarity passing through the two. "Raven."

"Umber," Raven said, her voice devoid of the emotion she showed earlier.

"It's been awhile."

"Yes, it has."

"Um..." Nora began awkwardly, "You two...are friends or something?"

"I wouldn't say that," Raven growled, standing up. "What are you doing here, Umber?"

"These children," Umber started, gesturing to Blake and Sun. "Have told me a rather...interesting story. I've come here to verify whether or not it's true."

Raven scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Wow," she sarcastically exclaimed. "Umber Matte actually listened to someone else for a change. Do boarbatusks fly, too?"

Umber narrowed her eyes. "Enough of your quips, Raven," she warned. "I would like to hear this story from the children, not you." Turning to Ren, she said, "You seem like a sensible young man. How would you like to start us off?"

Ren seemed surprised, but he cleared his throat and nodded. "Of course." Taking a deep breath, he began the tale. "You see, when Beacon was attacked, my friends and I were there. We discovered that the woman who led the attack was the current host of the fall maiden's powers..."

"Fall maiden?" Umber repeated.

Ren blinked. "Yes," he clarified. "You know of the fairy ta-"

"I am well aware of the legends," Umber cut him off. "But they are just that: legends."

"Well, every legend has a spark of truth," Raven told the professor. "The maidens are real, you simply chose to remain in the dark."

"How-"

"Just let the kid tell his story," Raven interrupted.

Umber scowled at the other woman, before turning back to Ren. "You were saying?"

"Well, the fall maiden, Cinder, killed a friend of ours," he continued, he and the rest of his friends sharing a moment of silence for the deceased girl. "And... Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and I received a tip saying that Cinder was somewhere in Haven. So we began the journey here. However, along the way we learned of another legend in a rather...unfortunate way."

"The tale of Soul Edge," Professor Umber guessed. "Miss Belladonna has told me of the story."

Ren nodded. "Our friend Jaune stumbled upon the sword one night, and it corrupted him...and turned him into this...creature." Another pause. "If it wasn't for Blake's timely rescue, we would've died." He took another breath. "We eventually arrived at a village by the shore that would take us to Mistral, but Jaune...now calling himself Nightmare, attacked us. Most of the villagers were killed, and Nightmare escaped on a ship. Raven found us on the verge of defeat, and Ruby and Nora were in critical condition. Using her semblance, she was able to get us to this hospital, and the rest is history."

Umber was studying Ren closely, searching for anything that would give his lies away. However, she found nothing but pure honesty in the young man. As unreal as his story sounded, he was telling the truth.

"That's a very compelling story," she said slowly. "And your eyes reveal no hints of lying in them." She paused. "However, I am finding it very hard to believe you. You're talking about something that goes against years upon years of history!"

"I...don't know how we can prove it to you, ma'am," Ren confessed. "All we can do is give you our word."

"One's word can only carry them so far."

Raven narrowed her eyes at Umber. "You're one to talk," she hissed.

Umber ignored the other woman. "If one of you can give me definitive proof of your tale, I will believe you." she told everyone.

Everyone remained silent. Ruby had a look of defeat on her face, Nora kept glancing at Ren, as if expecting him to have the answer. Blake felt her ears twitch underneath her bow, while Sun looked lost in thought.

Suddenly, the monkey faunus snapped his fingers, earning everyone's attention. "I got it!" he exclaimed, before turning to his headmistress. "Professor Umber, could we use Nadir?"

"Nadir Shiko?" Umber asked. "From Team ABRN?"

Sun nodded excitedly. "Yeah!" he confirmed. "We could use him, right? I know his semblance never really acts on command but if we could at least try!"

Umber seemed to ponder the idea, before nodding slowly. "Well, yes..." she murmured. "In theory, Mr. Shiko would be a good bet."

"Um...Who are we talking about?" Ruby asked.

"Nadir Shiko of Team ABRN," Umber explained. "While not the best combatant, his semblance could still be extremely useful depending on the case. You see, Mr. Shiko has a rather unique semblance: It allows him to have accurate visions of future events. However, it's rare that he activates it himself, it mostly acts on its own."

"That's...extremely convenient," Raven deadpanned.

Umber nodded in half-agreement, before turning to Sun. "Mr. Wukong, if you would be so kind as to contact Mr. Shiko on your scroll. Tell him to meet us here as soon as he can."

Sun nodded before stepping out of the room, pulling his scroll out of his back pocket with his tail. As the door shut behind him, Umber turned to the other children. "This...Jaune," she said. "He was very important to you all, wasn't he?"

They nodded. "He was Ren and I's leader," Nora explained. "He was the first to give us a sense of family outside of each other..."

"He was my first friend coming into Beacon," Ruby muttered, drawing her knees up. "I really miss him, and I'd do anything to have him back..."

Umber frowned, finding herself believing these children even more. Damn emotions...getting in the way of clear reasoning...

"He and I were never close," Blake admitted. "But still, he always tried harder than anyone to be the best he could be. He was...inspirational, one could say."

Umber nodded slowly. This Jaune fellow seemed almost exactly like the kind of hunters Ozpin loved to accept into his school, someone who pushed himself to do what was right while caring for everyone else around him.

The room's atmosphere seemed much sadder, all of a sudden.

No one spoke for a couple of minutes, not until Sun finally walked back in. "I just got off the scroll with Nadir," he told them all. "He's on his way right now."

"Good," Raven said, glancing at Umber. "I'm looking forward to proving this bitch wrong."

"Are you really still clinging to that?!" Umber hissed in annoyance. Raven shrugged.

"Maybe."

Umber narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Listen, Raven," she warned. "I'm going to give you one chance to-"

"Can you guys please stop arguing?" Ruby meekly asked. The two adults glanced in her direction for a second, before reluctantly backing off. Ruby let out a sigh of relief. Honestly, she had no idea what kind of beef these two had with each other, but she figured she really didn't want to know.

Ten minutes later, a knock was heard on their door. Blake walked over and opened it, revealing a young man with dark skin and bright pink hair shifting his stance awkwardly.

"Uh...This is where I'm supposed to be, right?" he wondered, earning a nod from everyone. Hesitantly, the boy stepped in, before taking a seat in the corner.

"Welcome, Mr. Shiko," Umber said. "Thank you for coming here on such a short notice."

Nadir scratched the back of his neck, a blush forming on his cheeks. "I-It's nothing," he insisted. "Um...What am I here for? He glanced at everyone he didn't recognize, confused by their presence. "I'm not in trouble, right?"

Umber shook her head. "Of course not," she assured the boy. "We have a very important task for you." She let her words sink in before finishing. "We need you to tap into your semblance, Mr. Shiko."

Nadir blinked, before his eyes widened significantly. "W-What?" he stammered. "B-But Professor Umber, you know it's hard for me to activate my semblance manually!"

"It doesn't matter," Raven spoke up. "Listen kid, you have to try your hardest. This could very well determine the fate of Haven Academy."

Nadir gulped. "Y-You're saying Haven's fate is in my hands or something...?" he gasped.

"Raven!" Umber barked, before addressing Nadir. "Calm down, Mr. Shiko. Just try your best, and tell us if you can see anything that seems important."

Nadir slowly nodded, and took a deep breath before closing his eyes. He seemed to relax a bit, his breathing growing slow and steady. Then, he twitched, and spoke.

"There's...a man," he explained. "In blue armor...he has a sword with a giant eye..."

Team RNBR shared a glance. "Nightmare," Ren said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"He's on a boat," Nadir continued. "Wait...he's getting off the boat. He's staring at...Haven Academy!"

All eyes were fixed on the young hunter. "Go on," Umber urged.

"He's..." Nadir let out a choked gasp, and he began to shake. "Oh God...He's killing them!"

"What?!" Umber hissed.

"The students..." Nadir whimpered. "He's killing the- Oh no, Reese!" Suddenly, Nadir's entire body began to shake, his breaths becoming uneven as tears leaked from his closed eyes. His hands clenched the armrests tightly, his aura causing them to splinter.

"Mr. Shiko!" Umber called out worriedly.

"Th-There's a woman...Cinder, I think?" Nadir continued, his voice full of panic. "She's using these crazy powers! The guy... He's fighting her now... Oh my God, HE'S TEARING HER APART!"

"MR. SHIKO!" Umber yelled, finally causing the boy to open his eyes. Immediately, Nadir stumbled over to the trash can, emptying all of his stomach's contents into it.

Ruby, Ren, and the others all felt horrible for the poor guy. Obviously whatever he saw must've been traumatizing. Nora made a move to comfort the boy, but Ren grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Leave him be," he advised.

Umber stared at her student with pity and guilt, taking a deep breath. "I'm very sorry you had to see all of that, Mr. Shiko," she apologized. "But you did the right thing. Now we can prepare to defend ourselves." She turned to Blake, a dark look on her face. "It seems you were telling the truth after all, Miss Belladonna. I apologize for doubting you."

Blake didn't react, instead turning to the others. "We have to return to the academy," she told them all. "We need to stop Nightmare from getting to Cinder."

"Wait, why should we protect her, though?" Sun questioned. "Couldn't we just defeat her before Nightmare comes back?"

"Unlikely," Raven said. "Remember, she's a fall maiden, one of the most powerful beings in existence. It would be easier to keep her in one location while everyone else fights against Nightmare." She smirks. "Besides, even if I can't defeat her, if she attacks I'll be able to put up a better fight than anyone else."

"As much as I hate saying this," Umber stepped in. "I believe Raven and I should handle guarding Cinder. The two of us should be strong enough to battle her if push comes to shove."

"Well then we better get going," Ruby said, standing up.

Raven pulled out her sword and sliced open a portal. "Alright," she agreed. "Let's go."

...

MAaaAster... He is herEEE!

FFFinaLLy... SOOOOulllll EDge!

The creature could sense that he was nearly at his destination, where he would finally be reunited with Soul Edge. His sightless eyes gleamed as he stood up, raising his arms to reveal a duel set of katars. He extended his tongue and licked each blade sensually. He couldn't wait for them to be covered in blood.

Cackling to himself, Voldo continued towards Haven Academy, where the next battle awaited...

...

Originally this was gonna include a lot more content, but I decided to save half of what I had originally written for the next chapter. Anyway! If things go as planned, next chapter should be the start of Nightmare's wrath over Haven Academy, which has been having a lot of build up! Will Team RNBR and the students of Haven be able to stop Nightmare? Will Nightmare break through them and confront Cinder? Will Raven and Umber be able to keep Cinder, a friggin' MAIDEN, at bay? WHAT WILL ADAM DO NOW THAT HE HAS SOME OF SOUL EDGE'S POWER?!

Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE! Guys, if any of you are into Fire Emblem, I would very much like you to check out a new poll I set up on my profile! Even if you aren't into the FE games, I really wouldn't mind you voting anyway and just picking an option at random XD Votes end December 1st!