A/N: Hello. :) I suppose you're wondering why I made a new version of my Grimm Huntsman trilogy. Well, as it turns out, the first one I made... was really cringe-worthy. And understandably so. Back then I was still new to RWBY and its lore. But I came a long way since then. And I decided to give it a better edit with more meaning into my OC's and others' who I previously asked to be a part of my trilogy, along with the additions of a few new ones of my own. Basically, it's how Volume 3 should've ended and how it should've gone on onwards to Volume 7 (A.K.A. The Great War). From here on out, I intend to put as much effort into this as I can that will make it more enjoyable for you. Wish me luck. :)
Prologue: The End of the Beginning
It began where her story should've ended. Pyrrha had just went off in Beacon Tower to confront Cinder, not long after she sent Jaune away. But before then, she managed to give him the love she had for him before it was too late. Odds are, she would not survive alone, but if he remains alive, then it would all be worth it.
I'm sorry, Jaune... but it has to be done.
Pyrrha took notice of the elevator inside and forced the doors open with her semblance, only to find it was beyond repair. Debris were scattered inside and electricity shorted out from its ceiling. For her, it was a good thing. Even now, doubt was circulating in her mind about whether or not it was worth it. She could've chosen to run with Jaune, and they could've finally had their time with each other. But with people like her out there, what would've been the point?
Peace can't last forever. And Beacon's destruction would still have lingered in their minds to remind them of that. Despite her inadvertent actions toward Penny in the Amity Coliseum, Pyrrha knew from the beginning that it was her destiny to be a Huntress. However this battle would end, she will act like one. She owed everyone that much. Pyrrha willed her semblance to clutch on the elevator as she tensed her fists. Her head went down from the strain of it on that level, but she pushed through it and launched herself up, determined to face her fate...
Meanwhile, it didn't take long for Cinder Fall to occupy the Beacon Tower, looking out the window to see the glorious chaos in front of her. They all knew her power, now. At this point, it'd be foolish, even suicidal of them to defy her. It won't be long before they all fear her name... Of course, it's not to discredit her benefactors. But sooner or later, she won't have a use for them. Ultimately, power was her only goal. And she is one step closer to fully wielding it.
In a moment, Cinder heard the rumbling below her. The source revealed itself to be a Grimm Dragon, climbing into the tower itself like it was its own playpen. It continued its ascent to the top before it stopped, its red eyes looking to Cinder. The beast roared at her, shaking the very tower, but she never flinched. Cinder shushed it softly, feeling the satisfaction of power coursing through her being, practically invigorating her.
"This is your home now."
The dragon cooed at her words, but soon enough, Cinder realized why it was so anxious. She could practically feel her half of the Fall Maiden's power calling out to its other. She held her hand out in front of her, a majestic flame rising from her palm. It must've felt someone else. Someone who must be stupid enough to challenge her. Cinder could easily guess who that was. She was in that infernal machine before she disconnected the Fall Maiden permanently.
"You again?"
Screeching came from the elevator door in the room before suddenly, a sword was flung at her. Yet, she effortlessly dodged it with a smirk. However, Cinder didn't anticipate a shield to be thrown at her. All she could do was block with her hands, the metal pressing against her palms as Pyrrha leaped backward, having been launched with the shield. After recovering, she called her sword and shield back into her hands while Cinder floated under two streaks of flame that hovered below her feet. Their fight over destiny has begun...
During the fight, Pyrrha had a brief advantage, but against the new Fall Maiden, however incomplete, Cinder overwhelmed her and melted her sword until they were in pieces while the Dragon shattered the tower. In the now-broken battlefield, Pyrrha made good use of the remains and her shield. She'd used her defensive weapon as a decoy to throw her off, and it worked. One by one, Pyrrha whacked Cinder with the cogs left over from the wreckage, pushing her aura to its breaking point before swarming her with them. This only infuriated Cinder, forcing her to burst out in flames and break Pyrrha's aura in the process as she shielded herself. However, the impact on her her body caused red cracks to appear before they aura was broken, but not her spirit.
In an effort to knock her down, Pyrrha hurtled her shield at Cinder's aura which turned to ash around it when it connected before reconstructing itself and piercing her leg, earning her pained shout as she tried to stand up. Sadly, the pain coursing through her ankle wouldn't let her. She collapsed back onto the ground, being forced to her knees while breaking the arrow's base in the process until she was bowing down. Cinder grew satisfied with her victory, knowing the rest of her power will soon be hers as she walked around her before holding Pyrrha's face closer.
"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that wasn't truly yours. But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you can never imagine."
Pyrrha glared at Cinder. She knew it'd come to it eventually. All the same, she was satisfied with how she'd go out. Although, Pyrrha had a feeling that Cinder would feel otherwise. It's not uncommon for people to seek power, and there were many reasons for it. Whatever it was for her, Pyrrha knew that she'd never truly be satisfied in the end. In that, she had won before their fight ever started.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
Cinder glared back at her, answering sternly.
"Yes."
Cinder used her hands to create a bow and arrow, aiming directly for her heart. There was no possible way for her to miss at that distance. She could practically feel her other half's power, begging her to set it free. And she intended to do just that. It was only a matter of time now. Pyrrha waited for the end to come. However, a familiar voice wouldn't let her.
"Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha opened her eyes and turned to where the voice came from, as did her victor. Pyrrha was surprised to see her now of all times when she should be evacuating Vale. What was she doing here? Then, she remembered what she asked Jaune to do moments before the battle. She'd asked him to call for help. Jaune must've gotten through to them, but not the way she thought. All the same, she was relieved to have some help.
Cinder, on the other hand, was indifferent about it. She'd just defeated the famous Huntress of Beacon. How much trouble could that little girl possibly be? But before that... she needed to finish the job.
"If you're here for her, little girl, you're too late."
Cinder pointed her arrow and was about to release. Before she could, however, a shot rang out and hit her in the chest, causing her orange aura to appear in a crackle as she flew across the room until she landed in the floor with her back, the impact completely shattering her aura. With a scowl, she looked back to the girl, noticing that she was the one who pulled the trigger, her scythe pointing to her and with a face full of anger. Ruby hadn't come this far just to let her take away her friend. She just won't let her...
"Get. Away. From her...!"
Pyrrha was utterly shocked. She'd never seen this side of Ruby before. And even worse, it seemed to get on Cinder's bad side very quickly. While it's true that she can't do much in her current condition, Pyrrha feared that Ruby wouldn't do any better than she did. She feared it would cost Ruby her life.
"Ruby, don't! Just get out of here!"
"Not on your life! The whole reason I wanted to be a Huntress so bad was to protect people! I won't just abandon you, Pyrrha! I'd be a failure if I did!"
Ruby's eyes began to show tears streaming down her face. Did Ruby honestly think that way? Was she that afraid to fail? Pyrrha had no words this moment to answer her resolve. But Cinder did. And they weren't very pleasant.
"Please. You've already failed. You had your chance to stop me at the dance."
Ruby's eyes widened. Had she really fought her before? Then it hit her. She did, when she was looking in the control room. That day, she had a feeling something wasn't right. Her brief fight proved it, but it wasn't until now that she's realized who she'd fought.
"Wait. The intruder... that was you?!"
Cinder laughed at Ruby's apparently ignorant bliss.
"You really are dense, aren't you?"
"Then that means... you're responsible for everything! Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it!"
"Bingo. But you're a bit too late to figure that out. Look around. Beacon is already destroyed. There's nothing left for you to protect. Nothing."
Ruby's spirit began to be at an all-time low. How could she have been so stupid?! She was right under her nose the whole time! And she did nothing...
Nothing...
Ruby was heartbroken to hear this, especially since it was all true. But very quickly, her sadness morphed into anger. She hated being helpless. And she knew just who to take it out on: the very person who made her feel this way.
"I don't care... how powerful you think you are... I will kill you...!"
Pyrrha couldn't help but feel frightened. Yet, she wouldn't blame her for the chaos happening around her. Even Cinder was caught slightly off-guard from her words, more so with her tone. But it wasn't something she's not used to hearing.
"Will you? Then go ahead and try, little girl."
Ruby made no hesitation to oblige, using her Crescent Rose to launch herself at Cinder with an angry shriek. In response, her eyes flared orange with a burning flame before she summoned a sword made from black glass and an orange fire outlining its edge. In no time, their weapons clashed steel against glass, neither one willing to break. As a result, they triggered a massive shockwave, one that blew Pyrrha farther on the floor while the Grimm Dragon was slightly shifting from the oncoming wind that resulted. However, the battle didn't go unnoticed. It watched and looked to the one who has begun to harbor much negativity in its eyes: Ruby Rose.
Before it could do more than that, Cinder used her right hand to hold it at bay as a red symbol in the shape of an eye appeared in the back of it.
"Stay. She's all mine."
Cinder prepared to attack with her open hand, summoning a flame with a smirk. Before she could fire, however, Ruby used her scythe to launch herself away while turning into rose petals. By the time she did, the flames only licked at the petals, burning them away before she landed, showing fury in her teary, silver eyes. Cinder started to float above the ground with flames underneath her feet before Ruby lunged at Cinder again, making Pyrrha scared not just for the battle, but for how fearsome Ruby was becoming.
"Ruby, no!"
Ruby did not listen to her pleas. She dragged her scythe on the floor, igniting sparks as it scarred the floor. With such a base maneuver in her blind rage, Cinder wasn't impressed.
"Don't you know what happens when you get too close to fire?"
She cast out fireballs at her, but Ruby to dodged, bobbed, and weaved around them, her scythe still dragging on the ground. When she got close enough, Ruby made a quick slash up at her, flinging the sparks at her and forcing Cinder to block them from getting to her eyes with her arms. Ruby then used the opportunity to get a good hit on her with her Crescent Rose. However, Cinder took notice in the nick of time and dodged her scythe while shielding herself with her sword, using the resulting momentum to quickly hold it at bay when Ruby swung her scythe again. Nevertheless, Ruby hadn't lost her spirit as she moved her hand to a button on her scythe. And unfortunately for Cinder, the bullet was pointing right at her eye, and there's no aura to shield her this time. Before Cinder could react, the trigger was pulled, launching Ruby away as she landed beside Pyrrha, her foe's pained screams filling the night sky.
Ruby looked over to Cinder, seeing her clutch at her left eye, the blood spilling out in between her hand as she groaned before she sought to rid herself of that pain. She began to burn her face where she lost her eye to cauterize the wound before it got worse, but in return, her scream grew louder. When she was finished, a fresh burn was shielded by her hair over her lost eye, her scar tissue forming where she'd attempted to cease her pain, panting with tears dripping from her only remaining eye. Wet as her now halved vision was, Cinder looked at a surprised Ruby, and then... Then, she saw red.
"YOU BITCH!"
It was Cinder's turn to be angry now. She summoned another sword in her hand out of black glass and fire, she ran towards Ruby with a vicious roar. Ruby held out her Crescent Rose in preparation for the onslaught to come. And she was wise to. At best, it stopped her from getting anything fatal immediately. However, Ruby couldn't withstand the assault long. Cinder forced Crescent Rose away from her and began to hack at her like a madwoman, bent on breaking her aura, and soon her flesh, to pieces along with her uniform that now became shredded, her sleeves cut off and her cute little frills at the bottom of her dress torn apart.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha was mortified. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid. She didn't want anyone else to suffer for her. She looked around desperately for anything to use to help her, but her shield wasn't anywhere to be seen since she tossed it at her in vain. Then, she noticed one more option in front of her just inches away: Crescent Rose. If she could lift her shield and sword easily, what would make a scythe any different? However, her aura ran out some time ago, and with it, her semblance. It would appear she'll have to reach it the old-fashioned way. But can she do it in time?
Just then, Ruby's body fell to the floor with a grunt before Cinder's high heel slipper planted itself on her chest, her only eye glaring orange in flames, her lingering tears evaporating in its heat.
"Did you really think you'd defeat me?! I didn't come this far to be stopped by a stupid, little brat!"
Ruby only held a look of malice towards her, hating her for everything she's done.
"You deserve... to be stopped. Do you even care about who you've taken away? About what you've done?!"
Cinder held her left arm out in front of Ruby as she glared at her menacingly.
"It's pathetic of you, talking as if I had a heart. Unfortunately for you, I lost it a long time ago..."
Ruby didn't lose her look of hate towards her as she prepared for the end. Just then, Ruby noticed her Crescent Rose flying seemingly out of nowhere before the blade sliced off her arm, earning another terrible scream from her as it impales itself on the floor beside them. Ruby looked to the direction it flew from, seeing Pyrrha on the floor, though she wasn't bowing like before. She must've used what was left of her strength to stop Cinder from killing Ruby. It was a close one. However, Cinder wasn't done yet.
Despite having lost her arm, Cinder was still as determined as ever to get her power. Arm or no arm, eye or no eye, nothing will stop her from taking what's hers. She cauterized her arm as she did her eye to stop the bleeding this time around. The fact that two children were the ones to force her to it was beyond infuriating. It was the ultimate insult, one she refused to let stand any longer.
"You two are dead! DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?!"
Before Cinder could make her move, however, she felt a powerful presence come over her. Her chest tightened itself as if a snake had wrapped around it, making Cinder fall to the ground in a pained groan, catching Ruby and Pyrrha by surprise. They watched curiously as Cinder began to breathe raggedly, trying to get a deep breath. Did they work her up so much somehow that she needed to do that?
Neither one knew for sure, but one thing they can be certain of is that Cinder was weakened. Ruby needed to use the opportunity to truly get back at Cinder. She caused too much pain to be left alive. There's no way she'd ever let it go. Then, she noticed her scythe, planted into the floor.
Ruby knew that if she took the opportunity now, everyone from this point onward would be safe. She'll never hurt another soul ever again. Ruby just couldn't let that happen. Swiftly, she turned into a stream of rose petals and snatched her Crescent Rose before landing on top of Cinder, her foot planted on her chest as she stood with her scythe over Cinder's head. The opportunity was hers. She can finally end it all...
"Game's over, Cinder."
Pyrrha then looked at her own hands. She could see her aura being replenished. But the color she expected of her aura didn't come; instead, it was orange. It must be the Fall Maiden's. Part of her soul must be lingering in her since the transfer before it was interrupted. But that wasn't what intrigued her: it was what she was hearing.
All at once, she began to hear voices. Hers... and Cinder's.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
"I want to be strong."
"What would you do if something came along that you never expected?
"I want to be feared..."
"Or what if you could fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?! None of it makes sense!"
"I want to be powerful."
Pyrrha heard the hurt not just in her voice, but Cinder's, too. She must've fulfilled her own twisted destiny, but at the cost of the person she once was. Maybe that's why she sought after power so much... to keep from being what she must consider to be weak... Meanwhile, despite her situation, Cinder was convinced she had the upper hand as far as morals.
"Not yet. Not until you get rid of me. And we both know you don't have the guts."
Ruby appeared unfazed by her words. But the truth was, she simply can't stand looking at her anymore.
"Wanna bet?"
Ruby raised her scythe into the air, aiming to strike her down. However, Pyrrha's voice stopped her before she could do anything else.
"Ruby!"
Ruby turned to see Pyrrha, trying her hardest to stand despite the pain she had to deal with so far. She knew it's minuscule compared to the pain of seeing her friend turn into a killer.
"You can't do this."
Ruby only glared at Pyrrha with her bloodshot eyes, tearing up from the pain that Cinder's words caused her.
"And why not? This is the only way this can end! The only way I can ever move on!"
"Ruby..."
"I LET THIS HAPPEN, PYRRHA! Penny's dead, the Grimm are destroying Vale, and my friends are hurt because of me! Because of her! The only way I'll ever forgive myself for any of it is if she dies!"
"Ruby, that's not true, and you know it!"
"YES, IT IS! I WON'T LET MYSELF BE A FAILURE! I CAN'T!"
Cinder was put in a terrible position. Any moment now, that little brat will cut her life short. If she thought being beaten by her was the ultimate insult, then this would be her worst nightmare. Pyrrha, however, still persisted in trying to reason with Ruby.
"Listen to me. Sparing her won't make you a failure, Ruby. But killing her will."
"But she deserves it! She's a monster!"
"Yes, she is. Are you?"
"WHAT DOES THAT MATTER?! Even if I spare her, then what?! She'll still kill people if I let her go! I can't just let her!"
"You're not. Cinder will be held accountable, by the Vale Police Force. And it's unlikely that she'd hurt anyone after what you did to her just now."
"So what?"
"Her fate isn't yours to decide."
"Then whose is it?!"
Waiting for Pyrrha's answer, Ruby's hands trembled on her scythe. But she saw her point. On one hand, the world will be free of that murderer. But on the other, she'll end up becoming one herself. And any hopes she had about being a Huntress would be gone. She didn't want to give up on that dream. But Cinder needed to die... she can't be forgiven.
"Tell me!"
Pyrrha only looked away, unable to answer that for Ruby. That was all the permission she needed. Her arms raised up in the air, her silver eyes staring into her soul. Her teeth gritted as tears fell from her face. Then, she'd finally worked up the nerve and swung her scythe down with her shout of anger echoing all over Vale. All Pyrrha could see was the scythe thrown down as the sound of clanging metal echoed. She expected the worst to have happened. However, the scythe didn't land where she feared it would.
Cinder's eyes were closed, waiting for her end to come. Yet, no other sound was made after the metal clanging. Cautiously, she opened her eyes to see the blade of Crescent Rose planted by her face. She then looked up in shock to see Ruby glaring at her with a scowl. She wanted to move away, or rather move in and attack her, but she did neither. Why did she feel so powerless against this... girl?
"Listen, Cinder. The Vale Police Force will take you in and hold you accountable for every life you've destroyed tonight. If you attack my friends or anyone else who's innocent... I won't miss again."
Ruby removed her scythe from the ground and began to walk away from Cinder and toward Pyrrha, who is relieved that she didn't make the killing blow. Cinder growled bitterly towards Ruby. The lump in her throat that came from such an unexpected move Ruby appeared to do earlier was quickly getting removed, and it was released with a shout.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"
Ruby stopped moving from where she walked. In response, she spoke as soft as she could, but allowed it to be loud enough for her to hear.
"I'm Ruby Rose. And I'm a Huntress. So, guess what? I will always protect the people who need me. Or at least I'll try."
Ruby continued to walk to Pyrrha. However, Cinder wouldn't give up without a fight, not that she didn't have one already. But she came all this way for the complete power of the Fall Maiden. And she's not leaving without it. Cinder growled as she summoned a sword in her only hand before running at Pyrrha with an angry shout. Ruby overheard this and turned around quickly, using the top of her scythe to hit her right in the neck, making Cinder gag before she fell right on the floor. She wanted to curse the girl who stopped her, but when she tried... no voice came.
Cinder gasped at what'd happened to her. Not only did she lose her eye and her arm, but now her voice? How much more did she have to lose...? And when would it ever end? Cinder looked up to Ruby, terrified over what she did to her. She was supposed to be a defenseless little girl, wasn't she?!
"I warned you."
The girl then walked away from Cinder, leaving her utterly helpless. Then, she looked back to Pyrrha, her other half of the Fall Maiden. She held a sad look of sympathy for her. Somehow, that stung her more than anything. Instead of being strong, instead of being feared, instead of being powerful as she aspired to be... she was helpless. Afraid. Powerless...
Cinder's face contorted to a look of rage as she held out her only palm before a red symbol in the shape of an eye appeared on the back of her only hand. In that moment, as if on cue, the Grimm Dragon stirred from its vantage point and turned its massive head towards Ruby and Pyrrha. The beast then towered above the three of them, aiming to destroy them. All Pyrrha and Ruby could do was look on as it prepared to feast. However, before it could, an Atlesian helicopter shot at it, forcing it back, much to Cinder's shock before it took off from the tower, stupefying Cinder entirely as she looked on. Ruby then looked to Cinder with a glare as her stupefied look came over her. That glare would haunt her for the rest of her days, whether she wanted it to or not...
Rather than suffer that any longer, Cinder returned a glare back at Ruby before launching herself away with her legs and right hand, taking to the sky in a great speed as Ruby and Pyrrha looked on, much to the former's irritation as her uncle shouted to them.
"Hey! Don't worry about her for now! Just get in!"
Ruby didn't like this, but she'll let Cinder have her freedom. Like Pyrrha said, she can't hurt anyone else after the way she'd been mutilated. Then again, she'll always find a way like she suspected. However long it takes, Ruby had a feeling that she will. For that, she gave a glare to Pyrrha, who only showed a sorrowful look to her as she went back in the helicopter before joining her.
Meanwhile, after having escaped from the ruins of Beacon Tower, Cinder could do nothing but watch as Ruby and Pyrrha took off away from Vale. But it wasn't because she lost her arm or her eye. It was because she lost her will. She was powerless all over again. How humiliating for it to be taken by a girl... no. It was infuriating.
Cinder was not the powerful foe they feared anymore. She may have won over Beacon, but she lost her battle. Though, it only ever gave her one consolation prize: the Fall Maiden's power. It wasn't enough this time, but she will master it. And one day, she will be feared again. Cinder will have her revenge, and the girl— no. Ruby Rose will burn...
Meanwhile, in the hallways of a secret laboratory, an old man with a robotic, glowing red eye, a robotic right arm with red inner circuits, disheveled gray hair, a matching mustache and beard, and prominent eyebrows was walking by himself. His outfit was a gray jacket with a high collar and a red shirt underneath it. Truly, the telltale appearance of a scientist. However, others had called him a madman. It was a name he did not take to, but he grew used to it all the same. What he wasn't used to, however, was what he'd heard. Beacon has fallen.
He found out how Penny Polendina was cut down to size at the Amity Coliseum, how their own soldiers shot down innocent people left and right. And most pleasing to him, how the Grimm swarmed Vale. This left many opportunities for the man.
He always considered Grimm to be the superior species, soulless as they are. Yet, it baffled him how nature could ignore the Grimm and leave it in its primal state. Science was the key to fixing that mistake. And the only benefactor he's gained with his proclamation seemed to agree. In fact, she was speaking to him through a hovering ball which showed her pale face with six offshoots with obsidian hairpieces hanging from each of them with a dark complexion on the skin and tentacles with spikes at the end of the device. It also served as her mobile communication, not that he was against it.
"Ah, yes. That is... rather unfortunate for the Huntsmen and Huntresses."
"But it's a big day for you, I'm sure."
"Yes. Although, I'm surprised that Ironwood didn't initiate the Esmeralda Protocol when the Grimm were on the loose."
"Well, it would be safe to say that he would have if the Global Communications Tower wasn't destroyed."
"I see. Well, however this Fall of Beacon played out, I'm just altogether grateful for the fruits of their labor, especially since it pays great contribution for my own project."
Merlot stopped in front of a door and placed his hand on the keypad, allowing it to scan him before it glowed green and the doors opened to reveal a woman in her undergarments with brown hair and tan white skin strapped to a dissection table with a syringe full of black liquid on a table adjacent to her. Merlot smirked at her with pride as she tried to speak to him.
"What the—?! Merlot, what's going on?! Why am I strapped to a table like this?! And what is that thing with you?!"
"Don't be afraid, my fear. It's all part of the experiment. I assure you it's for the good of humanity."
Merlot then picked up the syringe and held it in front of her, causing the woman to squirm herself free as she grunted. However, the straps were too strong for her to break as Merlot made the injection. The woman felt the strange liquid beginning to sap away at her soul as she screamed, trying to break free and escape, only for her efforts to grow weaker as her screams turned into groans. Her consciousness drifted into sleep, her normal skin turning deathly white, and her veins turning black all around her skin. Then, after a brief moment of silence, she made a loud gasp as her eyes opened, showing a crimson red and black color in place of a purple color they once had before she suddenly grew bone-like blades on her wrists and used them to break free from her table with a thrust before she panted and held them close to defend herself before she heard the woman's voice.
"Rest easy, my dear. You have nothing to be afraid of with me."
The woman looked at her in curiosity as she blinked while putting her arms down and walking closer to it, mystified by the image it projected.
"Who... who are you? Who am I?"
"You can simply call me... mother. As for who you are. You're only the first success. So it's fitting to call you... Paragon."
This made the transformed woman honored to be given such a name as she bowed her head.
"Thank you... mother."
The woman in the ball turned to Merlot and became satisfied as she spoke before he replied.
"Well, your Project: Quasimodo certainly impressed me, Merlot. As I always knew you would."
"Oh, please. It's all thanks to your contribution... Salem."
Just then, they heard a man's voice shouting as it beat on the glass, making the group turn to the source in the room. In that room was a being that is exactly half-man, half-Grimm. His left side had a human complexion with a blue eye, raven hair, and his arm and leg. The other half, however, was pitch black with a Grimm mask covering that half of his face while his arm and leg on that dark side was sharp and more gruesome as it's dark fist banged against the glass. Paragon was astonished by this appearance, although Salem and Merlot weren't that impressed. If anything, they detested it.
"What is that, mother?"
"It's nothing to be worried about, daughter. Just a failure..."
A/N: Hello. :) So, how was that. It should be remarkably better than how my original prologue of it went out. If it did, I'm glad I did you proud. Anyway, I'm sure you can guess who the "failure" was. Raider Serose (portrayed by Josh Keaton) will make a return as he alludes to Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. And "Paragon" will be voiced by Jennie Kwan. As for her true identity, it will be revealed near the ending of the story. Meanwhile, since Pietro Polendina is voiced by Dave Fennoy, I think Merlot should have his voice updated to that of Christopher Lloyd. I really admire the guy's voice. And as for RWBY and JPNR themselves, some routes will be the same while some are different. But ultimately, the story will aim to be more shocking and more intriguing than the original version of the story and the canon series, not that Volume 4 is to be discredited. After all, it did show Ren and Nora's developments. :) Speaking of, this story will be bound to show "grimm" images (get it?) and some sexual content along the way. Beyond that, I think we're covered. Anyway, here's to a new beginning.