I do not own RWBY

There wasn't much better than the thrill of battle.

Maybe it was due to her helplessness in her previous life but in the center of battle, it was fun to just lose control. Plots and Schemes were the farthest things from her mind as she cut through the grimm around her. They'd found the Nucklevee by simply wandering into its territory; nice for the grimm to volunteer for its own death. She didn't get to let loose often, the last time had been during the fall of Beacon. Fighting Adam might be fun but she refused to let herself get too caught up in the thrill and hurt him. Maybe it was foolish but she didn't want to hurt the faunus.

Bouncing off one of Dakota's platforms to cut a Nevermore in half, she laughed. It was a loud almost insane sound that most likely would've terrified her old teammates. Right now, right here, she was more alive than ever. It probably wasn't a good thing that she thrived in violence but what other choice did she have. Living a happy, safe, life was nothing but a dream she didn't dare to hope for. The only way to know she was truly alive was to be in the thick of battle dancing with death. Although the idea of asking Anubis if he knew how to dance was hilarious. Landing on another platform as her prey vanished into smoke she glanced around to ensure the sky was clear of grimm before sitting down to watch Adam and Vernal deal with the Nucklevee.

She wasn't being lazy, she was keeping watch, there was a difference. Dakota was doing the same thing. Kicking her feet aimlessly it was easy to grin when Vernal left a long cut along its flank. They didn't need help to kill something so weak; in truth, she was a bit disappointed that it was so lacklustar. With the main threat of its allies extinguished there was no way it could defeat them especially since Raven was watching over them. Leaning forward as Adam charged forward she brightened even more.

He was strong. She'd known that the second Blake mentioned him in such a fearful tone but seeing him go to work was somehow even better. Just like her, the man was able to cut loose. His speed was amazing too for someone who didn't have a semblance like her own; the way his hair blew back as he moved was something she couldn't look away from. The sword in his hand was a streak of crimson lightning as he cut off the arm coming for his neck without hesitation. If he fought against her like that there wasn't even a small chance she might win.

Running a hand along the metal of her scythe it was hard to push back the urge to cross blades with him again. Until this moment fighting him had been an amusing pass time but now… she wanted to play. Her rising bloodlust didn't vanish as the grimm faded into smoke, if anything the smirk that darted across his face made staying in control harder. Standing she turned on her heel letting the curved blade of her scythe rip the Nevermore that had been trying to sneak up on her in half. Turning her attention back to Adam she stepped off the platform.

Landing gently thanks to her gravity jacket she stilled completely. Outside of herself, there shouldn't be any bloodlust in this area. After all, Adam was decompressing while Dakota and Vernal cheered for their victory. The issue was she could feel it past her own. Licking her lips, she tried to push down her own urges to find the source. Glancing past Adam into the tree line she smirked; the wicked expression wasn't something she would ever show to children. It was a decision she'd never change. Shifting her grip on her scythe she kicked off the ground at the same time their stalker got tired of sitting back.

Shattering into petals she noted Adam stiffen as she moved but decided to think about it later. Blocking the blade that would've torn through his back, she grinned brightly at the shocked expression the dark-haired faunus wore. The delicious expression only lasted a moment before he was matching her insanity with his own. Ducking, blocking, dodging, weren't how she would describe their fight. This was a fight after all not a spar. There was no aiming to disable, both of them wanted to draw blood and tear the other to pieces.

Dancing as if this was their final night alive neither of them cared about the four bystanders. Deep cuts were gouged into the ground as she swung her scythe with reckless abandon but she couldn't care less; this was the most fun she'd had in years. Cackling when he shot at her with a laugh of his own; the logical part of her mind wondered why he was here. Logic didn't matter in this fight. Appearing above him she swung down impaling the ground when he dodged. Kneeling beside her scythe she took a moment to breathe as he bounced on his feet.

The challenging, almost mocking, smirk on his face was all she needed to rip her weapon from the ground. Maybe her actions were too reckless or predictable since he dodged before kicking her away. Choking as her scythe slipped from her fingers she couldn't hold back a cry when she crashed into a tree. Well, crashed through the tree but the details didn't matter. Laying on the ground she coughed idly wondering if he'd broken her ribs. On another note, the night sky was very pretty tonight although it was blocked out when the man leaned down to see if she was still alive.

"You're Cinder's silver-eyed prey," he said. The fact he seemed surprised to see her meant he wasn't hunting her down as an ally of her pyro. Offering him a grin, her hand snapped out to grab his ankle before she launched herself off the ground to kick him in the face.

"Did Cinder mention me," she asked brightly. Eyeing the way he rubbed his jaw, she couldn't keep the proud grin off her face.

"Not really," he admitted. The sadistic amusement in his eyes was incredible to see.

"Ow that hurts."

Holding a hand over her heart with a fake expression of pain she danced away when he tried to stab her with his tail. From what she could tell the man was a scorpion faunus; his weapons made that obvious too. Bouncing on her heels, she didn't hesitate to unsheathe her dagger and dive into his space. The way he blocked her attack was beautiful; part of her wanted him to teach her how to move so easily but she was guessing it had something to do with his tail. Ducking under his kick she lashed out at his thigh only for her weapon to bounce off his aura.

Using his leg as a balance beam she swung her dagger at his neck only for him to lean back. Yelping slightly she felt his hand wrap around her throat before he slammed her into the ground. It was concussions that caused the world to spin right. Groaning mainly because she had no idea if it was her head spinning or the world, she kicked upward hoping to nail him below the belt. The only thing that saved him was him moving a little to the left.

"I like you," he announced as if she hadn't just tried to ensure he never had kids. Scattering into petals, mainly so she could breathe, she appeared behind him before kicking his back. Rolling forward he chuckled.

"Same," she said. Tilting her head as he stood she wondered how it would feel to paint the forest with his blood. Gripping her dagger tightly she asked, "We going to keep trying to murder each other?"

"Definitely," he said as if any other option was insane.

"No!"

Raven's voice didn't manage to stop her from leaping forward in an effort to cut him but the fact she grabbed her out of the air did. Going limp she pouted as her aunt gripped her by the back of her jacket. The woman wasn't going to just let her go, was she? Hanging like a scolded kitten she winced a bit at the suddenly amused glint in the man's eyes. Sending a pleading look toward the others she rolled her eyes at the relief that she saw painted on Dakota and Vernal's faces. The urge to huff and pout like a four-year-old was almost overwhelming. It wasn't fair, she'd been having fun.

Glancing at Adam she stilled at the way his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Unlike Dakota and Vernal, he seemed ready to jump into battle. Did he know the scorpion faunus, that had to be the reason he looked so upset? Taking a calming breath she tried to shut down her murderous urges enough to be let down. It was a bit embarrassing to be treated like a disobedient kitten. From the way her aunt's hand tightened on her jacket, she knew that a lecture was in her future. There was no way that the woman would simply let this go. Worse her aunt might tell Tai; she'd be grounded for life. Biting her lip to avoid whining she sent a pleading look at Adam who she knew rolled his eyes. While she might not be able to see his eyes, his whole body radiated unimpressed annoyance.

Slumping in defeat, she knew that her fun was over. Huffing as the woman dropped her, there was a small part of her that longed to continue the fight. Standing slowly, she noted the amusement still rolling across the man's face. Watching him turn his attention to Raven she decided to stop acting like a child. He'd felt the same as Cinder and even mentioned her pyro meaning they both worked for the same person, Salem. There was no doubt this man wasn't a good person although to her good was relative.

"Raven Branwen, my Queen is interested in you," the man stated with a hyper tone. Blinking slowly, she tilted her head. Glancing at her aunt she watched the woman's gaze harden if only for a moment.

"Of that, I have no doubt," she said barely holding back her animosity. There was no way she'd ever work for Salem. Catching the interest in Ruby's eyes, she sighed. Why did she have a feeling that this wasn't going to end well?

"I'm under orders not to kill you," he said although it sounded mostly like a complaint. Bouncing on his feet he seemed to consider his options before nodding to himself. Meeting Ruby's eyes he offered her a smirk saying, "I guess we'll finish playing later."

"Sounds like fun," she agreed. Grinning back at the faunus, she eyed him closely as he left.

Not only was the man insanely fast, but he was ruthless. In a one-on-one fight, she had almost no chance of beating him, but that didn't matter. Even when they were both trying to kill one another, he'd held back on a few of his attacks. With a habit of drawing out fights he only gave her more chances to win against him. After all, while he was ruthless, she was too. There was nothing she wouldn't do to win and survive. Turning her attention to her aunt she waited for the woman to scold her, that was the logical thing to do, wasn't it.

The sigh Raven gave as she patted her shoulder showed that the woman didn't think scolding her was worth it. Or the woman knew that scolding her wasn't going to accomplish anything. She hadn't changed from the girl who ran headfirst into danger although she'd tried to keep that side of her under control during her time at Beacon. The issue was she wasn't at Beacon anymore, there was no reason to try and hide away her more bloodthirsty nature. With her team gone she didn't have anyone else left to judge her; she resolutely ignored the part of her that wished her team was here.

He'd almost thought she was coming to attack him when she stepped off Dakota's platform. As a veteran of battle sensing her bloodlust had been easy, however, watching her fight Tyrian Callow's hadn't been. The scorpion faunus was nothing short of insane yet Ruby matched him blow for blow with that bright grin on her face. For a moment he'd seen Viper in her place; they acted eerily similar when they both lost control during a fight. What drew his attention the most however was how readily she shoved her bloodlust aside. Not many people could turn on a dime like that; it was actually a bit of a red flag now that he thought about it.

Another thought running through his mind was how she'd looked during that battle. When they fought she always held back, there had been no bloodlust in her gaze nor had she moved quite so quickly. Maybe it was the fact she used her scythe to fight Tyrian or that she didn't have any attachment to the faunus, but she'd looked free. Her eyes had shinned against the moonlight making her the most captivating thing in the area. Not even Blake had ever held his attention so easily.

"You're reckless," he stated when she moved to stand beside him. The blunt statement drew nothing but laughter from the girl who seemed amused for some reason. He couldn't deny that when she let loose, the girl beside him was beautiful.

(Blake)

There was part of her that basked in the pure unconditional affection that Sun showed her despite the fact she didn't deserve it. She wanted to blame Adam for everything that had gone wrong in her life, but it wasn't only his fault. While she longed to cling to her useless pride and blame everyone except herself, she'd been the one to follow him like a puppy. At the time, she'd thought fighting racist humans would be easy. It was a simple situation to a naïve teenager who had no idea what it meant to fight against other people. By the time she left the White Fang, she had enough blood on her hands to drown herself in it. Now the only thing she could do was try and make up for past mistakes. If Sun knew the truth he would leave her without hesitation. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind that she was a horrible person.

Tucking her hair behind her ear as seawater stung her nose, she stared out at the water in front of her wishing that going back in time was possible. There had to be some way to change everything she'd done. If erasing the past were easy then none of her mistakes would matter. No, even if she could changing the past wasn't something she'd do. This ache in her chest was something she deserved for all the blood on her hands. If she was still that little girl who trailed after Adam, then even looking to the future would be impossible.

It was true that Ruby had gotten hurt because of her, but at the same time, Ruby had chosen to follow her order. All the blame didn't lay on her shoulders alone; Sun had spent two weeks drilling that into her head. She'd never stop blaming herself for what happened but if she stayed hiding on this island then nothing would change. Even hurt, she knew Ruby was going to Haven. The reaper was never one to simply back down from a challenge. She had to keep moving forward too; although the chances of getting to see her former leader were next to zero. Cardin would take off her head before allowing her to check in on Ruby.

At the moment, her plan was to head to Haven and protect the school from the White Fang. After that, she had no idea what to do. There was so much she didn't know about the situation. With her father reforming the peaceful side of the White Fang and Adam trying to take over the violent side they were bound to clash eventually. She didn't want to get caught in the middle of their confrontation or have anything to do with the White Fang at all. Chasing them like a homicidal idiot had hurt people she cared about. If it was up to her, she'd walk away and leave them alone; however, that wasn't an option.

Haven was Sun's home. His team was there waiting on him to come back. Leaving them to fend for themselves after all he'd done for her wasn't an option. Still, if she was going to dive headfirst into this fight then she needed information on the inner workings of the White Fang. She needed Ilia. That was why she was standing on this cliff during the early hours of the morning waiting on the woman who'd escaped custody and hid on the island. She'd ignored Ilia's notes for the last week before Sun talked her into meeting the woman.

Of course, the monkey faunus hadn't let her come alone; that would've been a terrible idea. He'd claimed a tree overlooking the cliff close enough to hear everything they said. In truth, she'd rather he be down here with her for moral support. She just hoped that seeing the other faunus wouldn't make her want to kill her. There was part of her that whispered using Ilia to spy on the White Fang was a horrible immoral idea. She didn't care about the morality of the situation, not when Ilia had made it clear she was willing to kill for Adam's cause. When the sound of footsteps reached her ears she turned slowly.

Ilia looked terrible with her tattered outfit and the dark lines under her eyes. Anyone else might've felt sorry for her, Blake felt nothing but apathy. So what if Ilia was suffering for her choices? The woman had chosen to follow Adam and unlike her, she'd only saw the error of her ways once he tossed her aside. Whatever sympathy she had for the chameleon faunus had been torn away when the woman decided to attack her family.

"Blake it's g-"

"No," she said cutting off the greeting. Narrowing her eyes at the woman she didn't feel guilty in the slightest when Ilia flinched. It was only the knowledge that Sun was around that kept her from snapping at the other woman. The hope in Ilia's gaze made her sick. Crossing her arms she said, "I need you to spy on the White Fang for me. In return, I'll get my father to pardon your crimes."

Hey guys, it took me a while to figure out how to de-escalate the situation between Ruby and Tyrian. They're definitely going to meet again before Haven. I have a plan although it might not be a sane plan but it's a plan (how many times have I said this in the last two days? I think it's more than a dozen). Anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter?

So, Ruby and Adam will have a serious conversation next chapter that has nothing to do with fighting or flirting. Well, there might be some flirting. Adam will also learn about her killing the chainsaw using WF. agent on the train.

stay safe and have a good day

- Shyla