AN: Again, it's been a while! I'm writing whenever I get a spare chance and I've had a few chapters sitting ready to put up. I got this adorable ass kitten at the beginning of the month and she was so cuddly… Unfortunately, I had to put her down. She had a problem with the litter box that was very concerning so we took her in for a check up… Turns out she had a horrible birth defect where she didn't have an anus and she had to poo from her urethra… Poor thing. They were amazed she made it as long as she did. They told me that if I had surrendered her, they were just going to put her down anyway. So August has been a bit of a sad month for me. Anyways, enough about the latest installment of my sad ass life, I hope you guys can now enjoy the Sad Life of RWBY – Lightforge Edition!

ooOOoo

"For a human," the green-haired woman placed a hand on her hip with a smirk, shifting the twin chained-sickles resting on her rear harness with a clink. "You're a hard person to track down, Miss Rose."

"H-how did you find me?"

"Eh?" The girl cocked her head at Ruby and nodded to Amitola. "You do know that she works for us, right?" From the corner of her eyes, Ruby caught the slight motion of Amitola clenching her teeth, but she played it calmly.

"Your orders, Emerald?" The girl in question tapped away briefly at her phone and grinned as it dinged with a response.

"Your task is complete," Emerald stated casually as she pocketed her phone. "Adam will be here shortly. You may go."

"You aren't going to hurt her, are you?"

"What's it to you, Amitola?" A frown splayed across Emerald's lips as her hands returns to their rightful place at her hips. "You sound like one of those human sympathizers." She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"N-not at all!" Amitola stammered. "She's of great use to us and could bring about our freedom, if we play our cards right! It's best not to let her be harmed."

"Feh!" Emerald threw her hands up dismissively. "I could really care less! The Council treats us well, in the very least, so I'm at an advantage. This is for Adam to decide. Peons like you have no need for answers to questions you'll never have to deal with," Emerald regained her seriousness. "Besides, asking for more information than you should could be fatal…" Amitola picked up the warning in the jade-haired girl's tone of voice. Knowing the girl had an almost flawless record, Emerald really wasn't someone she wanted to pick a fight with – especially not under the current state of affairs.

"U-understood." Several loud roars bellowed out from below them and suddenly Emerald's face filled with delight as another presence joined them.

"Glad to see you made it in one piece, Adam!" The excitement she had shown soon wore out at the familiar sight of the vampire Ruby recognized from earlier. "… oh, I see you have the Ice Bitch… Tell me, how does it feel to have to kill the sibling you virtually raised?"

"I dunno'," Winter said with an eerily calm spite. "How does it feel to be the reason your boyfriend has prosthetic legs?" Raged filled Emerald's eyes and she started to step forward.

"Listen, y-"

"Speaking of him, where is Mercury?" Adam glanced around. "He's normally not far off from you."

"Ah," the darkly tanned girl became sheepish. "He got a bit winded and needed a break. He said he would catch up." Winter laughed half-heartedly at the remorse in Emerald's voice but she decided to ignore it.

"Is he up to these tasks?" Adam asked sternly.

"Clearly not!" Winter chimed in.

"Yes!" Emerald cried out. "Mercury is most definitely able to handle himself. We've been at this for days and he's exhausted. It was only a matter of time before he needed to sit down for a moment. If we seriously needed him, he would be here! He just needs to build his stamina up and get more familiar with the new upgrades!"

"Well, at least we know he's the easy one to take down," Winter muttered under her breath. "Wonderful!"

"Don't you have something you should be doing?" The bull-faunus was probably glaring at her, but Winter couldn't tell through that damn mask that covered his eyes. "Something other than harassing my associates."

"Yeah, you're right," Winter waltzed toward Ruby. "It's only a matter of time before Weiss works her way through those Grimm we left her. Better get this done before she kills Ruby too."

"Weiss would never hurt me! Ah!" Ruby shouted, but Emerald pulled her in close, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and nuzzling close between Ruby's cheek and ear. "Wh-"

"You know absolutely nothing about the Schnee and the lies they spread," Emerald hissed into her ear as she glared at the icy woman across from them. "They will go to any length to protect their deceitful ways and you can only imagine how much worse they must be as vampires." Emerald took a deep whiff of Ruby's hair and grinned. "Mmmm, strawberries. She must taste sweet!" The woman drew close to Ruby cheek, sticking her tongue out and Winter became very apprehensive.

"Emerald," Adam barked. "Keep your tongue to yourself!"

"Whaaaaat?" The roguish girl grinned at Winter, pleased with her checkmate. "There's no harm in being friendly!"

"I am well-aware of what sort of Faunus you are," he growled dangerously. "And there is nothing friendly about what you were going to do."

"Ah, fine! No fun!" Emerald threw her hands up and shoved Ruby toward the vampire. "There are no survivors among our ranks, by the way. And at the rate things are going, we'll be joining them soon if we don't head out." Adam tilted his head in Winter's direction.

"Hurry the fuck up and take care of this mess your family has caused."

"With pleasure!" Winter grinned as she hovered over the terrified red-head.

ooOOoo

Everything around her was screaming and she shrieked loudly as the pain swallowed her whole. She felt like she was being stabbed – no… torn apart… no, she was on fire… no, starving! NO! She was everything and she was out of control! Shadows flared from her skin, lapping at the beasts that attacked her and she knew she needed to dispose of them… Why were they attacking her?... And why was she so fucking hungry? She tore into the flesh of one of the beast she had felt, but it was so bitter… so sour… and the meat disintegrated into a powdery ash in her mouth.

A burst of golden light flared out in front of her and like a moth she was drawn to the flame. As she drew closer, all her rage was being pulled into that calming light, pooling with a burning rage that brewed within its core. It was dangerous… but it felt so safe. Stumbling over to it, she recognized the woman within – The Yellow One. Why wasn't she able to recall her name?... She was blonde… and angry… like a dragon… Xiao Long… Ah, that's right… This was Yang, but why was she so angry?

In a daze, Weiss traced Yang's line of sight to the top of a building and saw The Red One… Ruby - you know this… Ruby reached out and tried to kick away from whoever was holding her, but she was pulled back… It happened so slowly. There was a flashed of white and Ruby screamed as teeth sank into her neck and suddenly a wave of clarity came over her. She didn't know whether it was the Holy emanating from Yang or her own rage at her failure to protect Ruby, but almost in unison, they charged toward Ruby. Having the advantage of no longer being human, Weiss hastily leapt through the air, but Yang had her ways.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Yang yelled in Weiss' direction. "Nora! Kinetic energy! Stat!" Suddenly, Nora appeared behind her, swinging a giant mallet at the huntress. Familiar with the Nora's impractical tactics, Yang leapt up, absorbing the force of the hammer and using it to cart herself through the air. "Eat shit, vampire scum!" The fiery blonde tore past the Elder that was headed toward the rooftop and arrived in a blaze. "Rubes!"

"Oh!" A male voice cackled to her left. "You're just in time for the feast!"

"Yan-," Ruby's cry was cut off in a silent scream as time slowed for her older sister and the woman she once idolized sank her teeth into Ruby's neck. Frozen in horror, Yang was unable to comprehend the event unfolding before her.

Time had become so boundless, but the impact of two feet crashing beside her brought her everything back to speed. Almost instantaneously, a furiously dark energy swarmed over the former-idol and ripped her fangs away from Ruby's slender neck. The force of reckoning looked back at the blonde, making eye contact before it sent Ruby's limp body crashing into her, sending them both flying over the edge of the building.

As the ground grew closer, Yang's mind raced with thoughts of failure and how to handle the situation. Glancing at her blood-stained and shivering sister, she recalled the day Summer came home with the red-headed bundle of joy. Tai, and even her own mother, were filled with so much happiness. There was the time that Ruby learned how to remove the training wheels from her bike and skinned both of her knees. She tried so hard to hide it, but she couldn't hide it from her overprotective sister. Rubes had screeched so much as Yang dabbed an alcohol-soaked cotton ball against them – she'd think twice before not being supervised from now on. When Yang had gotten Bumblebee, she had promised to teach her how to ride it this summer. It was going to be their bonding project while school was out… But that no longer seemed possible.

Pulling Ruby in close, Yang braced herself for the impact of the concrete, but she thudded against something cool and airy. A hollow, golden silhouette swung in front of her and pushed her in another direction across the field. As it dissipated, she found herself in the arms of the same figure, which tossed her further in the same direction. At the end of it all, she found herself landing in the arms of Neptune.

"Nice work, Sun!" Neptune smiled as her looked down, but his eyes widened in shock as they lingered on Ruby's neck. "Oooooh, shit! Shitshitshitshitshit! Sun!"

"What's up?" Sun skidded to a stop next to them as Neptune placed them down. Instantly, he was drawn to Yang's focus – Ruby's neck. "Oh…"

"Hey, what's going…on…" Jaune's voice slowed to a stop as he arrived with the rest of his team and Nora buried herself into Ren. "Ruby?" The girl in question buried herself in her sister and shivered, as Yang sat there limply in shock."Wh… How did this happen!"

ooOOoo

"Hahahahah," Winter cackled as the ground beneath her illuminated with the Schnee family crest. Perfect – everything was as it should be. She could feel the Lightforge flowing through her veins, illuminating the darkness. Was this how Weiss always felt? This good?! How selfish of her! With the two sisters out of sight, Weiss turned back to her sister with vengeance in her eyes. "I see you've come back to your senses. We'll see how long that lasts this time."

Weiss gritted her teeth and her cloak became skin-tight, smoothing out as the tatters died down. She wouldn't allow herself to continue to be distracted by her own hunger. Who knew what those idiots down below would do with Ruby if she didn't end this soon. They didn't know how special she was!

"What?" Winter taunted with her arms held wide open. "No words of warning? No boasts of power? You're not going to tell me that it's not too late to save me?"

"Winter," Adam's stern voice cut in. "End this now. We don't have time for games."

"It's too late for that now, Winter." Weiss said coldly, digging her nails deeply into her palms. The older sister raised her eyes in disbelief. Certainly, Weiss could tell she was outmatched.

"Very well," Winter stood up straight and adjusted her collar. "Adam, you and Emerald, retrieve the kids. It was a pleasure working with you, but after tonight, I will kill Ruby Rose should we meet again."

"Right…" He narrowed his eyes at Winter and looked to his lackey, as Winter gave Weiss her full attention.

"I was going to test out these new powers, but in this state, I think Gladiolus will be more than enough for you." Winter wiped her mouth of Ruby's blood and glanced at the blade. Smiling to herself, she smeared the remains of the blood across the blade, agitating Weiss further. "Think of it this way – now you can die with a little piece of her inside you."

In the blink of an eye, Gladiolus' blade slammed against the blade Weiss managed to bring up at just the last second. When the hell did she get this sort of speed? Had her body already finished rewiring itself as a Circadian? That was impossible! The changes were supposed to take place over the course of a month, let alone becoming accustomed to them… Then again, Winter was a former Elite. She was already familiar with the training and had currently been a vampire for several years. It wouldn't surprise her if separating the two was something she could pick up quickly. Maybe not master, but for something as simple as enhanced physical capabilities, it might not out of her ability… but Weiss had already been like this for years.

With another heavy slash, Weiss deflected the blade, though it completely dismantled the temporary Darkforge weapon she had summoned forth. As she came back, Weiss rolled out of the way and leapt from the ledge, landing on her feet. Looking back, Weiss had to dive out of the way as Winter came crashing down in hot pursuit, shattering the ground beneath her feet. With a menacing aura, Winter stood up and let a bright aura surge around her. Winter almost felt as if her heart was beating again and it got her blood pumping… Christ, when was the last time she had this breathless feeling?!

Around her, several Grimm poured from the rooftop above her and Adam made his way toward the sisters, with Emerald close behind. In an attempt to stall them, Weiss made an attempt at charging Adam, but Winter had other plans. With a kick forward, she wove in and out between the large pack, blinking through them and closing the gap between her and Weiss. Maybe, just maybe, if Weiss had managed to keep herself under control, she would have been able to keep up. As it stood now, Weiss was damn near out of stamina and had probably depleted herself of the Darkforge stored within her body. It seemed a higher power was on Winter's side tonight and she would do its bidding, no matter what kinship she felt toward the body inhabited by whatever Abomination was living inside her.

Winter drew her sword back as if to strike and Weiss prepared to counter with her bare hands, but it was a fakeout. Instead, Winter swept her out from under her feet. In a brief moment of surprise, Weiss barely had enough time to dodge a fatal blow that instead swept across the left side of her face. Spinning out of the way, Weiss' immediate reaction was to bring her hand to her eye and hiss in pain. Why did this hurt so much?!

She opened her eyes to evaluate how badly she was bleeding, but half her vision was black. With her right eye, she could make out a blood drench hand and feel it pouring across her cheek… This wasn't good. This had never happened before. Normally, her body healed as it went, and even serious injuries appeared mild… As the blood poured, her stomach growled and she wondered if maybe it had something to do with the slowed rate, but it shouldn't have been this bad. Alleviating pain from her eye, she left it shut and relocated Winter. Readying herself, she stood.

"Your forge is deteriorating." What?! Without a chance to gather her thoughts, two Beowolves took turns swiping at her, leaving her distracted. It only took the one moment that her single eye left Winter, but that was all that was needed. In that moment, Winter charged from between the two wolves, impaling Weiss through her chest. They'd been through this once before tonight, but no. Winter glared at her murderously. This would be the last time.

ooOOoo

AN: Oh nooooo, did you just kill Weiss? Omg, you're such a terrible persooooon! Y u do dis! Yeah, it's just gonna' get better and worse from here on out and it's gonna' be GLORIOUS lol. (If I can actually stick to an update schedule from time to time.) Anyway, leave comments, tell me I suck at writing, woooooooo! Do I seem a little off to you guys? No? Cool! =)