Chapter 36: Taken

Four days had passed since Adam had left and Serena felt lonelier by the second. She really missed him and only now noticed how much he had helped her. Not only did he teach her some martial arts, but he also made her forget about her family while he had been there. But since he's left, she thought about them more often, about the times they used to spend together. She had never been lonely with them, but now she was.

Enough self-pity. Time to go hunt some dinner, she thought, intent on thinking about something else. Grabbing her bow and quiver, she went outside and, hopping onto a tree branch, began going deeper into the forest. She heard footsteps following her and looked down, spotting Ajax. The Grimm must have seen her leave although she had not detected him.

Stopping, she leaned slightly down so that she could look at him. "I'm sorry Ajax, but you'll have to stay here. I'm just going to get something to eat and I'm afraid I can't do so if you're with me. You'll scare away the animals." The Grimm gave a snort and she took it that he objected. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon, okay? You just wait here, I'll call if something should happen."

With that said, she leapt off again, leaving Ajax behind who looked after her until he could no longer see her. Serena finally arrived at her favorite spot to hunt, a small clearing with enough food to lure animals and enough space to take good aim. She waited patiently, sitting down on the branch that she was sitting on and waited, thoughts once again drifting to her family. She shook her head, trying to clear it and stopped the action when she heard the rustling of leaves getting closer.

Carefully standing up, she peered in the direction that the sound was coming from and spotted a rabbit. The animal was carelessly sniffing the ground and munching away on leaves. Paying attention to not making a sound, Serena quietly pulled out an arrow, the action have been executed so many times that she did not even have to think about it anymore. Positioning it, she pulled back the string, exhaling slowly and just when she was about to let go, another sound of rustling leaves made her head whip around.

The sound was coming towards her and it sounded like human footsteps, at least three of them judging by the noise. Looking back down, she saw that her prey had left already and something told her that she should do the same. Sheathing the arrow and slinging the bow over her shoulder, she grabbed hold of another tree branch and started moving away from the sound. She could detect voices by now, distinctly male, and they were talking to each other, one barking orders and the others grumbling.

She stopped when she suddenly saw them only a few feet away. I thought they were in the other direction?! she thought, wary of them. The aura that omitted from them was not a good one and there were no more birds anywhere, telling her that something was off about them. She crouched down and decided that the best course of action for now was to wait until they had passed her and then get back to her home. She was lucky that she was wearing her red sweater which made it easier for her to blend in with the leaves and her black shorts did not stick out too much.

When they were just a few feet in front of the tree she was perched on, she mustered them up and down, calculating what she would be able to do in case a fight should occur.

The leader, as he seemed to be the leader by the way he was commanding the others, was a tall, tanned man with short cut black hair. He was wearing a Grimm mask that covered the entirety of his face and his uniform was the typical White Fang one except that his shirt did not have sleeves, revealing muscular arms.

The second man, standing beside the leader on the right side, had on a black hood, hiding his face from her view but she could still see the deer horns that poked out from underneath it. He, too, had on a Grimm mask, though his only covered his eyes and part of his nose. He was wearing a normal uniform, like the third man who was to the leader's left. This one was apparently, a fox Faunus, a thick red tail coming out of his pants. He had on the same clothes as henchman number one, mask and all.

Analyzing them and noting that the leader had a chainsaw with him, she deduced that he was the biggest threat and would have to be taken out first. The two henchmen she could handle, but the leader was something else. He was strong and tall, an advantage that he had over her that could help him to victory. Adam had taught her some moves to defeat someone who was taller and stronger than her, but she knew that that would not suffice here.

The three men were talking and she could faintly hear the complaints of the two henchmen. "How long are we going to search this damn forest? We've been going through this for three days already and yet we've not even found a trace. You sure that girl really lives here?"

At this her ears perked up. They were talking about a girl, living in this forest. That could only mean they were talking about her. As far as she knew, there was no one else living here, so there was no doubt about it. But what could they want with me? Why would the White Fang be interested in me of all people?

"Keep on looking," the leader replied in a gruff voice. "According to his informations, it has to be somewhere around here. It can't be that far anymore."

"You sure?" the third man suddenly piped up, glancing at the tall man.

"Pretty sure. Adam said that she lived near a pond and the only ponds around here are the ones by the Dead Caves. Plus, he said she lived deep in the forest, so that limits our search area. She has to live somewhere around here."

Adam? she thought, disappointed that he had apparently ratted her out. But why should he? I have given him no reason to.

"Damn," the second man, the one with the deer horns, hissed. "If he knows where it is he could have accompanied us. Would have saved us a lot of trouble if he did," he grumbled, kicking at a stone on the ground and sending it flying against the tree bark she was on. She was slightly jostled by the action and moved a little, brushing some leaves in the process. This, however, proved to be the wrong move as they all jerked their heads up and looked around, the leader's hand having wandered to his chainsaw that was strapped to his back.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, looking around, trying to find out where the noise had come from. Serena stiffened, holding her breath in hope that they wouldn't see her. She didn't know why they were looking for her, neither did she want to find out. Trying to get away somehow, she slipped slightly and a branch snapped.

The fox Faunus sharply looked up and stared right at her before calling out to the other two. "Up there! There she is!" he exclaimed, finger pointing at her. Now, the girl had no other option but to run and did so, quickly trying to get as far away as possible.

"Catch her no matter what! And don't kill her; we need her alive!" the leader barked.

Serena hurried through the trees until the vegetation became too dense and she had to take to the ground for fear of being slowed down by the many branches that blocked her way. She could hear the heavy footsteps behind her and the sound of a weapon being drawn. She hurried on without looking back until she got out of the forest and was, to her immense horror, faced with a stone wall.

Oh no! she panicked, swiftly turning around to see her pursuers emerge from the forest as well, breathing as heavily as she was. The leader had his chainsaw in hand and the other two had their weapons out as well, the fox Faunus armed with a baton while the deer Faunus had a weird sword in his hand that quickly transformed into a crossbow.

Great, now what?!

"Give it up little girl," the leader spoke, resting his chainsaw on his shoulder like it weighed nothing and stepping forward. "There's no way for you to run anymore, so why don't you come with us quietly."

Giving a defiant glare in his direction, Serena took the fighting stance that she had perfected with Adam's help and adjusted the bow on her back so that it wouldn't hinder her during the fight. The three men snorted, underestimating her, thinking that she would not pose a big problem.

"I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way," the leader said before swinging his chainsaw and aiming for her. Serena quickly jumped to the side, regaining her balance just in time to block a punch that was aimed for her face. Looking up, she grabbed the fox Faunus' arm and threw him over her shoulder, the body hitting the ground with a loud 'thud' and the male groaning in protest. Turning around, she made a backflip, narrowly avoiding an arrow that had been shot at her.

She started to doubt that they wanted her alive, lest they stop shooting arrows and attacking her with a chainsaw.

Jumping up, she aimed a round house kick at the leader, but he caught her leg and, with a lot of strength, threw her to the right. Serena let out a surprised yelp and looked over her shoulder to see that she was aiming straight for a tree. Eyes widening, her body acted without her thinking and she bended backwards. Feet connecting with the tree trunk, she pushed off and jumped upwards, into the tree opposite her. She tried getting away before she felt someone grab her ankle in mid-jump and yank her downwards. She landed on the ground, hard, and let out a groan, feeling her body protest at the sudden contact. Looking up, she rolled to the right, the fox Faunus' foot landing a second later where her stomach had been. She glared at him and punched him in the gut, effectively knocking the breath out of him. Doubling over, the male clenched his stomach until Serena hit him on the neck and he was out.

One out, two to go, she thought as she looked around for the other two. She spotted the one with the crossbow, the deer Faunus, and decided that it would be best to take him out next. Running up to him, she dodged the arrows aimed for her and, when she was right in front of him, yanked the weapon upwards so that she would not get shot. Taking her bow from her back, she rammed it into the Faunus' stomach who let out a surprised gasp, but surprisingly he did not give up. Instead, he jumped backwards and aimed his weapon at her. She immediately jumped to the side, an arrow grazing her cheek and leaving a trail of blood to run down it.

Too close! she exclaimed in her head before jumping to the side once again. I have to get rid of that damn weapon or else I'm toast!

Instead of running at him full on again, she disappeared into the forest and silently climbed up a tree. Moving from one tree to the next, she positioned herself so that the man's back was to her. But even if he couldn't see her, she knew that Faunus had excellent senses and would be able to hear her the moment she made even the slightest of noises. Taking an arrow from the quiver, she put it in position and aimed to the left of the man. Letting go, the projectile barely grazed the man's leg before imbedding in the ground. Startled by the sudden attack, the man was caught off-guard which gave her enough time to jump down from the tree. Just as he was turning around, Serena's foot connected with his head and he was blown to the side, unconscious. Landing in a crouch, she got up and looked around for the leader only to find the place empty, no sign of him.

Where did he go? He couldn't have left, I would have noticed.

She strained her eyes and tried to see into the forest and through bushes, ears tuned for the slightest sound. It was quiet and nothing gave her an indication to his position. That is, until she suddenly felt someone behind her and, just when she turned around, a fist met with on the side of her head. Crumbling to the ground, her vision blurred and she saw sparks dancing in front of her.

"Finally," she could hear the gruff voice of the leader. "That was too much trouble for such a weak girl."

She could faintly draw two letters into the ground with her forefinger before she felt someone lift her body up and got thrown over a shoulder. That was also when her conscience decided to shut down and she passed out.

A/N: I do not own RWBY or its characters. I do, however, own my OC Serena and any other OCs that appear in this story.

Yep, she gets kidnapped by the White Fang. But that won't be all and the final battle is just about to happen, so look forward to the next chapters.

And have you seen the new episode? We're in for some deep shit people!