Chapter 3 for the upload spree. Hope it's enjoyable. As I said on the last one, I made this ahead of time, so anything underneath this is gonna be stuff of me responding to current stuff. Besides that, I hope yall enjoy it!

Blaiseingfire and A_Hyporcrite. Still my two lovely darlings reviewers. :3

Bold = WHY DID YOU PISS HER OFF?! DOTH THOU NOT VALUE THY LIFE?!

Italics = Thoughts

Normal = Normal conversation

* = Look at the end of the chapter for an explanation

Bold and Italics = Grimm to Salem or Cass communication

Qrow held his hand over his face, covering his nose as he walked through the forest. Fuck, this smells rancid… better take a drink. He took a swig from his flask which calmed him down. "That's the good stuff."

As he went deeper into the forest, he saw it changing before his eyes. The ground changed from a luscious green to a dull brown, before the grass went dead. The trees were just like the grass. As he neared the center of the blast, he saw that the trees were becoming more and more bare and dead.

When he did reach the center, he saw a large crater. Looking down in, he saw a figure at the bottom. Pulling out his scythe, he folded it into its sword form and slid down the side of the crater. Walking up slowly, he pointed his sword at the mass in the center. "Who are you?" he growled out as he approached the bundle.

Poking it with his sword, it didn't stir. Lowering his sword he came closer to inspect the bundle. A human? He gingerly rolled the figure out, so that they were on their back.

He didn't know how to react. The girl, couldn't have been anything besides a teenager, was way too similar to his enemy. She looks exactly like Salem… he thought as his hand tightened around his sword. His eyes roamed over her body, noticing the scratches, and how her clothes were torn up. Maybe she has an ID on her.

He reached into her pockets, finding her scroll. Qrow tugged it out and looked it over, noticing the cracked screen. There was a battle here… maybe? Activating the scroll, he looked at the main screen. It had Beacon's emblem on it!

Qrow grit his teeth in irritation. Damnit Ozpin… here I was about to kill one of your students…communication is a two way street you ass! Sliding the scroll back into the girl's pocket, he leaned down and checked her pulse. Good…she's alive, if only barely. Cass's pulse was a very slow, tiny beat. Her skin was even cold to the touch.

Sliding his arms under her, Qrow grunted as he lifted her up. "Sure not light huh?" he grumbled as he carried her, bridal style through the forest. "Don't worry kid, I'll get you to the hospital."

Velvet was nibbling on her salad when she heard her scroll buzz wildly in her pocket. Pulling it out, her eyes widened in surprise. It was a message from Ozpin! How'd he get her number?

The message read as follows: Please come to my office at your earliest convenience. We have something to discuss in private."

Velvet told them about it. For the most part, didn't see it as a big deal. So what? Ozpin texted her, big deal. The rest of CFVY turned to look at her, thinking I might be something more.

"Do you know what that's about?" Coco asked as she watched Velvet quickly finish her meal. "It's unusual for him to text, instead of just call over the intercom. And how'd he get your number…?"

"I'm sure it's nothing," Velvet said with a dismissive wave. "I'll be back once it's done, okay?"

"I'll keep your seat saved," Coco said, placing her bag over velvet seat. Her rabbit friend gave her a grateful smile before bounding off, ears bouncing happily, unknowing of the news waiting for her in Oz's office.

Oz sighed softly, shaking his head. Why is it that the children with the most promise cause the most problems? Perhaps it's because of their promise… he was snapped out of his thoughts as Velvet opened the door.

"Excuse me~" she called out as she entered. "You called for me Mr. Ozpin?"

"Yes…please sit," he said, gesturing to a chair. "I have news regarding Miss Char."

Velvet never did return to the dining hall. Her teammates didn't see her after she left. Some people, however, saw a rabbit Faunus running to the bullhead launching station. Nobody could be sure it was Velvet, but…well…who else could it have been?

Velvet hopped into the first bullhead that came and took a trip straight to Vale. Sprinting out of it once it landed, she made a beeline through the city to the hospital. Anyone she couldn't run around, she vaulted over, not having the time or patience to wait for them. She was in a rush. Storming through the door, she stood at the main desk, bouncing in spot. She nibbled on her nails nervously before someone came to talk to her.

"Hi," the woman said with a small smile. "What can I do for you today?"

"I heard that someone named Cassandra Char was taken here," Velvet said, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "Is she here?"

The women scrolled around on her desktop before nodding slowly. "Yes she is…she currently has one visitor. Would you like to visit her?"

"Yes please!" Velvet all but begged.

"What's your affiliation to Ms. Char?" the women asked as she printed out a visitor's pass. "If you don't mind me asking."

"We um…" Velvet didn't know how to answer. The women could be okay with it but… "We're really good friends and go to Beacon together."

"Oh Beacon! That explains why she was taken to the ER first…" she muttered, only adding to Velvet's worry. Once the pass was printed, she handed it to Velvet, along with the room number. "Here you go. It'll last you a day and-"

Velvet didn't wait. She sprinted off. Glancing at the room number, she went to the stairs. Bouncing up them, three at a time, she arrived at the third floor rather quickly. She ran down the hall, then back again, having gone the wrong direction. She swerved out of the way of medical equipment, narrowly missing a person in a wheelchair before she reached Velvet's door. Panting for air, she stared at it in silence.

What if Cass is missing an arm? Or a leg? Or an eye? Or has brain damage? Or what if she's in a coma she can't come out of… Her arm trembled as she went to knock, only to have the door open. She squeaked in shock and hopped backwards. When she did, she hit an IV stand, knocking it over. That stand knocked into a tray of medical supplies on a cart, sending the medical supplies flying and the cart rolling. Velvet and the disheveled man could only watch as the cart went down the hall before crashing into a wheelchair rack, knocking them all over.

"You did it," the man said as he went to close the door, but Velvet stuck her foot in it.

"Who are you?" she said abruptly. "And why are you in Cass's room?"

The man stuck his head out and looked around. "Look, I can explain everything kid, but first, why don't you come inside…you did make a mess after all."

"Only because you scared me!" Velvet said with a small pout. Still the man was right. Looking around behind her, Velvet could only stare at the mess she had made. "Well…maybe you're right." The man moved his foot so that she could enter.

Qrow quickly closed the door, sighing softly. "You really caused one hell of a mess," he grumbled. Looking up he saw the girl was already gone, instead standing by Cass's bed. Cass was hooked up to a few machines, some watching her heartrate, others feeding her through an IV, others making random boops and beeps that Velvet didn't know what the hell they were doing.

A silence fell over them as Velvet squeezed Cass's hand softly, frowning. Her skin was still chilly! She sighed and shook her head, resting her head on the edge of the bed.

"So…" Qrow finally said. "You and her are…like, half-sisters? Cousins? Best friends?"

"Um…" Velvet raised her head, blushing softly. "Kinda…we're dating."

"Oh okay." Qrow pulled out a silver flask and began to loosen the top before he took a small sip. "And yes, I am breaking the rules."

"I wasn't worried about that," Velvet said with a nervous smile. "You…aren't going to freak out or anything? You don't care if two Faunus date?"

"Hey, let's get something straight here kid. I'm an alcoholic responsible for raising and training a sugar crazy scythe and sniper wielding girl." He took another swig from his silver bottle. "I'm not in a position to really judge anyone and who they like. Not to mention it doesn't affect me, just like how my booze doesn't affect you."

"Oh…okay…so what's your name?" Velvet asked, feeling much more relaxed around the drunkard.

"I'm Qrow Branwen…what's your name little missy?"

"I'm Velvet Scarlatina," she said with a small smile as she offered a hand to him. "Please to meet you Mr. Branwen."

"Just call me Qrow," he said with a small chuckle as he shook her hand. "No need for the whole, Mr. thing."

"Alright then Qrow…so um…why are you here?" she asked, looking over at Cass. "Do you know Cass?"

"No. I found her in the woods in the middle of nowhere, passed out." Qrow leaned against the wall, eyes narrowing as he looked at Velvet. "Do you know what she was doing there?"

"No…I was just told she was going on a mission," she mumbled, squeezing Cass's hand. Getting up, she grabbed the nearest chair so she could sit next to her. "Is there any news on how she's doing?"

"Dunno." Qrow shrugged. "Do I look like a doctor?"

"Unless that doctor was an alcoholic…" Velvet muttered, earning a scoff from Qrow. "Do you know who the doctor is for Cass?"

"No. I know he's some old looking guy though." He stood up with a groan, stretching. "Anyway I'll be on my way. You have fun with your lover kiddo."

"Why were you here?" she asked before her cheeks lit up. "You weren't-"

"No. I wasn't," Qrow clarified, snapping at the rabbit Faunus. "For the record I have two nieces around her age…so I would never do anything like that. Besides…that's fucked up." He shook his head as he neared the door. "I was just doing another favor for Ozpin. Thank the geezer, not me."

"T-thanks anyway!" Velvet called out as Qrow opened the door. He opened it in time as a bespectacled, white haired man tumbled in. Qrow and Velvet both stared at him as he fell to the ground before shooting back up. Qrow used this time to silently sneak out.

"Who're you?" the man asked as he walked over, not even looking at Velvet as he spoke. Velvet withdrew her hand from Cass's and just stared back in silence. As the man pulled out a penlight and opened Cass's eyes to look at them, he finally looked at Velvet. "Well?"

"Good friend with Cass," she said, nodding to her. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know." The man continued to look her over. "She's alive if that's what you mean."

"No. I mean is she going to wake up anytime soon?"

"Dunno."

"Is her head alright?" Velvet asked, getting impatient. Her love's life was on the line here, and this man was acting like nothing was wrong!

"Dunno."

"Well what do you know?!"

The old man raised an eyebrow at her tone. This rabbit and Cass was her name? They're not just friends hmm? He shook his head. "Little to nothing. Her pulse is steady but slow, her brain is active, yet her body doesn't move. Any dust treatments or shock therapy to wake her up isn't working. We can't do surgery on her back because of that fur, and we can't do a full body scan because something inside her messes with the system." He crossed his arms as he stood up to full height and sighed. "So your friend here is a conundrum."

"Well do you know if it's a coma or anything?" she asked softly. "Or is she a vegetable now?"

"A vegetable wouldn't be having that much brain activity as she does." He sighed as he pulled out his scroll and tapped something onto it. "But for now? Right now we can only keep her alive. I can't do anything else, nor can anyone in this hospital."

"Oh…okay," Velvet mumbled, sounding quite dejected, her hope waning.

"If it makes you feel any better, we've done all we can." He stood up and walked back to the door he so recently stumbled though. "Do you want to know my own personal theory?"

"Sure. Anything will be better than nothing," Velvet muttered.

"I think she's just taking a mental backseat. I have no idea what or who she is, or what her life was like, but I think she's fine for now." He opened the door. "Of course, that's just an old man's ramblings."

Velvet's ears perked up slightly. "T-thanks anyway!" she called out. As to whether or not he heard her, she didn't know as the door slammed shut. Velvet gave Cass's hand a small squeeze and scooted closer, resting her head on her lover's chest. Get well soon Cass, she thought to herself before drifting off to a stress induced sleep.

(In Cass's head)

Cass sat on a rocky outcropping, leaning against a propped up hand. The sky above her was crimson, the color of blood, while the ground was black and filled with rocky outcroppings. The one Cass was on was on the top of a large hill, allowing her a nice 360 view of the world.

She remained silent for a few moments before groaning. She tilted her head back and howled, "WHERE THE FUCK AM I?!"

The last thing she remembered was passing out during her fight with Salem. Now she was in some world that looked like a cross between the pits of Vacuo's desert and some hellish landscape. Not having an idea as to where to go, Cass chose to sit and wait for a bit. The downside of her decision was that it was boring as fuck!

Getting tired of doing nothing, she launched herself from the rocky outcropping. Taking a deep breath of the dusty air, she began to trek through the landscape. Cass slid her hands into her pockets, humming softly to some tune she made up. The landscape never changed as she continued to walk and walk before she heard a new sound.

She ran forward and looked for it, head darting back and forth. Sprinting up a rocky outcropping she finally found it. There was a large pool of blood red water with a river running to it. That's what I heard! Sliding down the rocky outcropping, she looked down into the water to see if anything had changed.

Her eyes widened in shock. "That's not me," she growled out. Whenever her lips though, the thing in front of her moved its lips too. She batted the water to clear it, but when it reformed, the same image was in front of her. "That can't be me…right?"

She reached up to gently stroke her face. Her face felt normal, like skin, but the image of her was touching midnight black fur. When she reached up to touch her ears, they felt normal and small. The image however had massive ears that looked more like they belong on an animal. The image also had much larger and sharper teeth than Cass, who examined her own teeth. More black fur crept up her face on the image, but she still has some white skin poking out around her eyes. If anything, having that little bit of skin showing made her more ghastly.

Raising her arm, she looked at her own. In reality, if this was even that, it was smooth, pale white skin easily seen. The water's image of herself wasn't the same as that though. Her arm was covered in black fur. Her elbow had some black, thing, shooting out of it. Smaller ones went down her arm to her hand.

Opening her hand, she watched as the mirror image did the same. The image's hand had long, black claws that jutted out a few inches. Not that different from Salem's, Cass thought to herself as she leaned closer to the water. For some reason, curiosity was getting the better of her. She dipped her hand into the water, the image melding with her own. Pulling her hand back out, she smiled in relief, letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. It was normal.

"Why are you so surprised?" a smooth, silky, and familiar voice said. Startling, Cass whirled around to see Salem standing there. "It's just water. It's not going to bite you."

"You!" Cass snarled. She reached for her bat but found it missing. "What do you want?"

"To talk." Salem walked to one of the few flat rocks and sat down, smiling. "Not that you could do anything to me anyway."

"Fuck you I can't!" Cass rushed her and swung to punch her, but it just went through her. She ended up flying past Salem and crashing into another stone with a loud umph before crashing to the ground. She stared up at the crimson sky as Salem walked over, smirking.

"See?"

"Fuck you."

Salem merely smirked as she sauntered back to her seat. Cass groaned as she brought herself up, following after her. Salem probably had some answers for her after all. If not, she could try to make the women talk.

"So what's this," Cass gestured to the wasteland around them. "Where are we?"

"We're in your head. I guess this could be called your subconscious then hm?" Salem said as she looked around. "Whatever. Just know we're in your head."

Cass's eyes narrowed. "Why are you in my head then?"

"Because I changed your body slightly." Cass's eyes began to turn darker as she growled. "What? You're part Grimm. I can change what's Grimm as I made them all. Therefore, I can change you."

"What the fuck did you do to me then?"

"A little bit of this, and a little bit of that." Salem shrugged. "You'll find out over time. I don't see the point in wasting the surprise too early." Salem clapped her hands and shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now though. Right now what matters is this," Salem offered her hand. "Join me Cass. You can rule by my side, all you have to do is leave the humans and join me."

"No," Cass said, her voice devoid of all emotion. Her eyes were filled with hate as she glared at Salem. "First off, why would I? Second off, you ruined my life. Third off, I have someone waiting for me so I have no reason to abandon them."

Salem raised a finger. "You would join me to become more powerful than any mortal. Nobody would be able to stand before you, not even Ozpin." Cass's eyes widened at that. She thought the great and powerful Oz was…well…great and powerful. How could Salem guarantee her more power than that? And why was she listening to Salem?

"Two, yes, perhaps I harmed what social life you could have had, but you saw how you were treated for being different. Not only you were a Faunus, which would have earned you some hate, but you were a Grimm Faunus. Don't you want revenge on this that harmed you?"

"That would literally be half of the people in, or around Vale," Cass grumbled.

"Exactly." Salem's grin became more wicked as she stared at Cass. "And what about your lover?"

"Well I'm not going to just simply leave her," Cass growled out. "I'm not a back stabbing lying bitch like someone else."

"Really now?" Salem swirled her hand in the air. A portal formed, showing Cass a medical room. Velvet was holding onto her hand, and Cass could see it all. "What if I made you kill her right now?"

Cass's eyes went midnight black. "If you fucking lay a finger on her I'll-"

"Oh no it won't be me," Salem chuckled. "It'll be you."

Cass's eyes reverted to normal. "What?" Cass was forced to watch as her own pale hand reached out and lifted Velvet's sleeping form up by her hair. Her other hand went out and grabbed her by the throat and began to slowly squeeze. She could feel the flesh in her own hand, in the real world, the beat of Velvet's heart.

"What are you doing?!" Cass snarled. "Stop it now!"

"Hm? Why would I do that?" Cass could feel her real hand squeeze harder. "If she's one of the things holding you back from joining me, I'll simply eliminate her now."

Cass's eyes went pitch black as she howled out, "I said stop you fucker!"

Salem just chuckled. "You can't do anything. You're helpless against me. I'll end her life then make you mi-" she froze half sentence, eyes going wide in surprise.

The world around them was beginning to form cracks in it. The sky was literally falling, chunks of it were crashing into the ground, revealing a starry night sky behind it. Cass's eyes were glowing with darkness as she stared Salem down, lips twisted into a snarl.

Salem chuckled softly. "Maybe I underestimated you…or maybe I just let you develop a personality for too long. I'll be back Cassandra, you can trust me on that." With that, her image began to crack. "Mind you. I hope you enjoy the new gifts you were given as well. Goodbye." Her image shattered into dust that floated away on a breeze.

Cass slowly calmed down, feeling the pressure leave her hand. Her eyes reverted to normal as she looked around. The crimson sky was now starry, and the landscape had reverted to a set of rolling green hills. She blinked in confusion. Now what? And what were those gifts she was mentioning?

She didn't have much time to dwell on it as a blinding white light began surrounding her. She growled as she squeezed her eyes shut, lips twisted into another snarl.

When she opened her eyes this time, it was to the steady beeping of machines. Looking around, she groaned, feeling a sudden spike of pain come from her back. She looked down and saw Velvet, head in Cass's lap from where Salem had been forced to let go.

"Velvet!" Cass gasped out, grabbing her lover by the shoulders, ignoring the pain. Lifting her up, she put her ear near her mouth. Hearing her breath come out, slow and steady, she sighed in relief. Her body went rigid as she realized something. What if she knocked her out?

"Velvet!" Cass called out again, shaking her lover back and forth. Velvet's head bobbed as she was shaken wildly. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Velvet groaned softly as she raised her head. "Huh? What the-?"

She didn't have time to respond as Cass pulled her into a bear hug, smiling stupidly wide. Tears were in the corners of her eyes as she buried her face in Velvet's neck, smiling wide. "Oh thank god!"

Velvet had trouble breathing as she was held so tightly. "A-air!" she gasped out, patting Cass's back.

Cass went rigid as the pain increased, releasing Velvet. "S-sorry," she said with a small blush, wiping the bits of tears from the corners of her eyes. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Velvet blinked in confusion, rubbing her throat. For some reason it hurt. "Isn't… that what I'm supposed to say?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Cass smiled softly. "Sure. I guess….guess I'm just glad to be back."

Velvet wrapped Cass in a gentler hug, smiling softly. "Good to have you back," she said before giving Cass a small kiss on the cheek.

At that moment, the door burst open and in marched the doctor. "By Dust what's all the ru-" Seeing the two teens in each other's arms, he opened his mouth again, closed in, and walked back out.

Cass and Velvet looked at each other before they burst out laughing. Velvet got comfortable in Cass's arms, smiling softly as they just relaxed, enjoying each other's company.

It's equal parts fucked up and happy! Yay! Next chapter is much more happy happy...so ya know. It's just gonna be Velvet and Cass, chilling in school, getting back to normal life.

If you honest to god believed a word I said right there, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Yeah no, still gonna be at least a little fucked up. ;)

No but seriously. Follow, fav, review, and stick around cause there's gonna be more!