Entering the castle grounds, they were met with a large group of Grimm, all of which looked extremely strong. Among them were mostly S-Class, with the occasional SS-Class here and there.

'You kids go on ahead,' the familiar suave voice of Roman called to them. 'Me, Neo and some others will keep this bunch busy.'

Taking a handful of the soldiers who had survived the initial assault on the city, he stayed in the grounds to make sure the Grimm couldn't enter the castle through the front at least. That way if things went horribly wrong they at least had an escape route. Upon entering the castle, Fox stopped walking.

'I'm going to stay behind with them,' he told Ruby. 'They'll need as much help as they can get against this many strong Grimm.'

'Alright,' she replied softly, the worry in her voice making no attempt to hide, 'just make sure you come back alive.'

Moving onwards, Ruby, Yang and Raven ventured deeper into the castle. The corridors seemed to go on forever, and they quickly found they were lost. Entering room after room, they found nothing. Not even any Grimm had graced their presence. It was almost like... this attack had been foreseen before even they knew about it. Combined with the fact that there wasn't a repeat attack... Ruby realised immediately with a sick feeling in her stomach.

'This is a trap.'

'What do you mean?' Raven asked, confused at Ruby's sudden declaration. 'How do you know this is a trap?'

'Think about it. We were attacked, and then left completely alone. Almost like we were provoked to retaliate. Then, when we do strike back, all the most powerful Grimm are in the castle grounds, and the castle itself is completely empty? Doesn't that strike you as being a bit strange?'

Thinking on her words, Yang and Raven also realised just why she had come to that conclusion.

Rushing back to the door they had entered the corridor through, they found that it was locked. Raven attempted to break it down with her weapon, as well as Ruby and Yang, but it was no use. Their opponents had waited for them to venture deep into the castle, knowing they wouldn't realise what was going on until it was too late.

'Fortifying all the doors with Aura was a brilliant idea,' Taiyang said to Cinder as they strolled through the castle. 'They'll be stuck inside that corridor for hours at this rate.'

And to those intruders who dare defile my grounds, you'll all soon learn what happens when you anger an X-Class.

Roman and the others were struggling somewhat with the volume of Grimm that they were faced with. They knew they had promised the others that they would be fine, but saying it and actually accomplishing it were two different matters entirely.

Roman fired several blasts of his cane, a few of them hitting Grimm that were inches away from claiming another life.

God damn it... why did I have to put on a show of bravado? Getting out of this one alive is going to be a task and a half...

Looking to Neo, she seemed to be having a blast, slicing up Grimm after Grimm as she gracefully dashed around the grounds. Fox, on the other hand, was having trouble with his Grimm. Fighting an SS-Class Ursa by himself, he found himself outmatched by its power. The fact it was channelling aura into its punches as well as defending with it made it a very tough opponent to take down. Launching another fist into the ground, rupturing the earth with the force of the impact, Fox just barely managed to dodge in time. A second later and he would have been ground into dust.

Why now, of all times? Why does my wound have to hold me back now?

He dodged as many as he could, some of the other soldiers coming to his aid as he retreated. Their attacks did nothing to harm the Ursa, however, serving only to annoy it further instead. Swinging one of its paws about, it caught two of them, shattering their skulls immediately. The third ran for dear life, firing shots at other Grimm as he ran before being pounced on by a Beowolf.

Neo saw the Ursa effortlessly defeating the soldiers, and took it upon herself as a challenge. Dashing towards it, she used her semblance to confuse the beast before launching a series of lunges and retreats at the creature, her aura-infused attacks being strong enough to break through the creature's hefty defence.

'You aren't bad,' the Ursa complimented in a distorted, raspy voice. Neo simply smiled at it, before lunging in once more, blocking attacks with her umbrella. Roman saw his chance, and quickly ran up to it, placing his cane point blank at the back of the creatures head and firing. As the creatures head exploded, shards of its Grimm mask were launched every which way. Fox silently thanked her for her help, before taking a time out at the castle entrance.

'If you aren't finished within half an hour, I'll have to come deal with them myself,' Taiyang playfully teased, before turning around and heading towards his chambers again. 'That should give you enough time to play.'

Cinder smiled and bowed at his generosity. She knew how much he wanted to kill every last person in the courtyard, yet he allowed her the pleasure of doing it, and even gave her time to toy with her victims while she did. Walking slowly towards the front entrance, her hips swaying ever so slightly as she did, she made patterns of fire with her hands, a small string of embers weaving in and out of her fingers. Taiyang had taught her such precise aura control that she could virtually do anything with it, as long as she had enough aura to create it.

Opening the door, she looked down at her feet to see the tanned young man sat on the first step. Fox stared back at her, her eyes and his meeting for a moment.

'Oh shit.'

That was all Fox could say before he was enveloped by flames, both inside and out. Within seconds, the once-strong fighter had been reduced to a charred mess.

'This is going to be a fun thirty minutes,' she said to herself as she stepped outside onto the grass, a disapproving look on her face as she saw the scarlet ground upon which she stood. Stepping out without hesitation, she scorched several of the soldiers that were with Roman and Neo, many of them firing back in a mixture of panic and anger. Cinder blocked the bullets with ease, a few more soldiers falling prey to Grimm after having turned their backs on the enemies right in front of them.

'Fall back,' she commanded to the Grimm that remained in the area. 'These fools are mine.'

Obediently backing off, they all disappeared into the castle, leaving Cinder to face Roman, Neo and the few soldiers that were left. She turned towards the soldiers first, firing several fireballs at them which were extremely hard to avoid. It took her all of fifteen seconds to incinerate the men who had once stood there, before turning her gaze to Roman and Neo, both of whom were already upon her. She gracefully dodged all of Neo's slashes and stabs as well as Roman's cane, the two of them in utter shock at how skilled she was. Firing another stream of fire at them, Neo blocked it with her umbrella whilst Roman fired a shot from his cane at her.

'This is going to be a long day, Neo,' Roman commented as the three of them squared off. As they stood there, they all knew that at least one of them would perish in their fight.

'God DAMN IT!'

Yang's cries of frustration and attempts to break down the door were met with failure.

'The doors are locked and won't break, we can't get through the window or walls either...' Raven added, unsure of what to do next.

'There must be a way out of here. There has to be something,' Ruby proposed, trying to remain optimistic, but even she knew that the odds of there being another way out that the owner of the castle had overlooked were extremely slim.

That was until a familiar thumping sound echoed through the halls, the sounds of destruction filling the castle. When that same sound came crashing through the door into the corridor they were stood, they were met with an almost unrecognizable sight. The once cheery girl they knew now had long, flowing ginger hair, but what worried them the most was the expression of fury etched onto her face.

'Nora...?'

It was the only thing Ruby could squeeze from her lips at the distressing sight in front of her. It was obvious that the girl in front of her had been through a lot. She didn't even say anything to them before making her way to a different room and smashing her way through. Exiting the corridor after her, Raven turned to Ruby and Yang.

'I'm going to go back to the entrance to make sure they're alright over there. You guys go stop her doing anything stupid. I'm counting on you. Oh, and don't die.'

After thanking her, Ruby and Yang turned their attention towards Nora.

'Nora, wait!'

Ignoring Yang's shouts, she pounded through room after room, the clatter of footsteps behind her always getting closer and closer. But that wasn't what Nora had come here for.

'WHERE ARE YOU!? COME OUT HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH!'

Her rage-infested screams were nothing like the girl they had once known. Pushed past her breaking point and forced to carry on, she was a shell of the person she once was, with only the goal of slaughtering Grimm pushing her forward.

'Now, now, there's no need to make such a racket,' Taiyang said, entering the room through the opposite door.

Nora didn't waste a second in launching an attack at him, swinging her hammer desperately at his head, but Taiyang easily dodged all of her attacks.

'Far too slow,' he said as he punched her in her stomach, catapulting her across the room with power that rivalled the punches Granberia had given to Qrow and Summer. Nora didn't let her injury stop her, however, and changed Magnhild to its grenade launcher form, firing shot after shot, which Taiyang dodged with ease as he advanced on her. Reaching her location, she kept pulling the trigger, only to be met with an endless series of clicks.

Empty.

Nora had finally calmed down slightly upon realising the severity of her situation, even reverting to her old self for a short moment. As Taiyang raised his fist whilst covering it with fire, he was about to finish her off.

And he would have, if it weren't for the red blur that rocketed through the doorway, catching him off guard and slamming him backwards with the tip of her scythe.

'Looks like we made it here in time,' Yang panted as she walked through the door to where her sister and Nora were. She took a look around the room, and noticed it appeared to be some kind of banquet hall.

'So, my daughter brought her friend to the buffet, did she?' Taiyang mockingly stated, glaring at the two of them.

'Daughter...?' Ruby said, turning to Yang for an explanation.

Looking downwards, she replied.

'He's my father,' she said, a tinge of disappointment in her voice.

'Come now, you'll hurt my feelings if you speak with that tone of voice,' Taiyang informed Yang, pretending to look upset.

'This isn't gonna be easy, Ruby. Stay alert, and be very careful.'

'Yeah,' the redhead replied, 'I know.'

Meanwhile outside, Cinder was putting on a rather dominating display, Neo and Roman both being powerless before her.

'What's wrong? What happened to that sassy attitude of yours, Roman?'

He had received several burns to his hands and feet, rendered completely immobile by the pain. It was only thanks to Neo's presence that he wasn't a pile of ashes already, but she was showing signs of wear. Cinder fired several blasts of fire at the girl, Neo still managing to block or avoid them.

All but one, that is.

One single blast of flame hit her, and that was all Cinder needed. Igniting the skin on her back as she fell, the screams that came from the short lady actually drew sadness and anger out of Roman.

'Stop! I'm the one you want, aren't I? So leave her alone!'

Cinder grew hostile at being told what to do by someone other than Taiyang, and she set her sights on Roman.

As she prepared a fireball the size of which shocked him even now, she saw out of the corner of her eye a familiar purple aura pulse, one which she couldn't avoid. As it collided with her, it launched her off her feet, sending her sprawled out onto the grass. Looking back towards the entrance, she was met with a person who was starting to become a major thorn in her side.

'Hello, Cinder,' Raven's seething voice called from the steps.

Cinder lost all composure in that instant.

'YOU BITCH! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST STAY OUT OF MY WAY?!'

Changing her sword to green, Raven healed both Roman and Neo, the burns disappearing and all injuries they had previously accumulated vanishing with them.

'Because I'm the one who's going to kill you. I can't stay out of your way for that, now can I?'

Changing her sword to gold, she anticipated the attacks that Cinder would try and strike her with, effortlessly absorbing them all into the blade. As Neo and Roman got up to help, a chilling voice made them rethink their choice.

'She's mine. Touch her, and you die.'

Raven's piercing eyes were fuelled by a rage strong enough to strike fear into the both of them, and Roman and Neo wisely backed off. This was Raven's fight, and she was not going to allow interferences. She had sent Yang and Ruby to go deal with Taiyang, so they would keep him occupied while she dealt with the woman who stood before her.

The tension in the atmosphere was almost palpable. Swing after swing, fireball after fireball. Their battle raged on, neither having the clear advantage but neither seeming to grow tired either. With no end in sight, they furiously went at each other with the desire to kill driving them.

'What the hell is he?' Ruby asked, her body growing weary from using her semblance so much. The man in front of her was able to keep up with and even surpass her inhuman speed, to the point that Ruby didn't know what to do. Her one unbeatable ability had been surpassed by an enemy that they couldn't beat. Nora attempted to slam her hammer into him once more, being swatted away as though it was nothing.

'This really is getting tiresome.'

Taiyang took a look at the clock. Twenty eight minutes had passed since he had spoken with Cinder.

I suppose I should deal with these and then go see what's keeping her, he thought to himself. However, in that one instant that he looked away from the battle, Yang saw her opportunity, throwing herself towards him. Without time to react, Taiyang was forced to take the hit, Ember Celica firing shells directly into his skull.

As his body dropped to one side, Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at her sister across the room, she shouted across to her;

'I really thought we were done for!'

The pleasant smile that crossed both Ruby and Yang's faces was soon wiped off, as Taiyang stood up, good as new.

'What...?'

'Did you really think a simple hit like that would be enough to kill me? You really arenaïve, child.'

As he slammed her into the wall behind him, Yang recoiling in pain before looking up to see a bolt of fire piercing Nora's skull, her body slipping lifelessly to the floor. Ruby reacted faster, but was still scorched by the fire, unable to move due to the pain.

'I'll deal with you when I get back. For now, you two can sit there in pain. When I return, we're going to have a nice long talk about why you don't attack an X-Class.'

With those threatening words, he began to walk away.

Damn it! I can't just let him leave! But how… how can I beat him?

A sudden, sickening thought ran through her head.

Looks like I don't have a choice.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to do that.

Sitting there, she resigned her body.

You can take over for a while. You had better be worth what I'm giving up for this, Yang thought to herself.

Still conscious for the changes, she felt them happening. The strange, bone-like feeling that covered the right side of her face. The claws that split through her nails. But she also felt the power resonating through her core. The blinding speed that surprised herself and even Taiyang, as her fist slammed into his face, sending him rocketing into the wall to the side.

Yes.

That's right.

I am a Grimm human, and I should use that power to destroy him.