Still alive and kicking folks. Sure I'm plagued with a cough and the doctors can't do much about it, but it should hopefully go away with time. I swear, sometime I wonder if I am never not sick. The only difference being whether I'm at a low point or high point on this crazy ride. There is a chance I'm just riding one sickness into the next and chaining them together in the sickest combo history has ever seen. Also in terms of RWBY news we have RWBY Chibi coming out fairly soon. Best case scenario for me is that it's slice of life with comedy that lets us see the characters from V1-2 while giving them some more personal development. I'm looking for Pyrrha and Ruby interactions and any other characters who developed a deeper relationship we didn't get to see since it happened off camera or between volumes. Worst case scenario nothing is cannon and it is just a good funny time with the cast of RWBY. Neither of these is bad and I will watch it no matter what, but I would love for some more development.

Well we can only hope that everything turns out okay, now let's see how bad everything is down in Vale.

"Sorry for the lack of a greeting I assume the receptionist is on break at the moment." Penny said as they made their way past the front desk.

"Or a beast is eating her." Yang said under her breath evoking a jab to her side.

"Yang." Weiss whispered to her teammate in an attempt to reel her in.

"I was being literal this time." Her response caused Weiss' face to redden before another jab connected.

"You're insufferable sometimes." With that she walked ahead joining Ruby as they reached the end of the hall.

"So how are we getting into this facility you work at?" Ruby asked as they stopped at a t crossing in the hall wondering why the left hall was littered with blood from floor to ceiling.

"The stairs are in the left hall and would require us to travel down 63 flights to reach the facility." Everyone stopped to stare at their guide on concern over the prospect of 63 flights of stairs.

"There wouldn't happen to be another way down?" Ruby asked as Yang and Weiss waited for Penny's reply with full attention.

"If you want there is an elevator most staff take to go down."

"We'll take it." Weiss yelled in her excitement before realizing she had pushed Ruby out of the way and was now standing very close to Penny. "I mean", Weiss tried to regaining her composure, "we would be very grateful if you'd allow us to use the elevator."

"Alright then." Penny turned right and began walking with the group staying close as they noticed the shredded doors and bloodied windows that lined the offices.

"What does this facility exactly do?" Yang asked trying to look through one of the stained windows.

"This facility specializes in the advancement of medical science. From what I've been told though they specialize in pathogens. Luckily Yang and Weiss are both already wearing protective suits so we'll only need to grab Ruby one once we're below."

"I'll be fine. I'm kind of immune to everything." Ruby said causing Penny to approach her and stop inches from her face.

"You're immune to everything?"

"Uh, yes." Ruby responded unsure of what to do in her current situation.

Penny gripped Ruby in her arms and began to swing the young leader around in joy. "This changes everything. You could save so many lives Ruby. Just think of the possibilities of a world without sickness."

Ruby pried herself free from the crushing hug and caught her breath. "It doesn't work like that Penny. I'm one of two people right now who have this condition and the success rate from what I've been told is really low, like below 1% low."

"Well that's what this facility is for. We can figure out the unique factor you have and find a way to isolate it for others."

"No Penny! What's in my blood should never be given to another person. I've experienced things no one should ever have to and I refuse to have such a curse be placed on another." Ruby reached out wrapping her arms around Penny in a hug. "I know you mean well, but sometime the cost is just too high."

"She's right Penny." Yang walked up to them as Ruby let go of her friend. "What's in Ruby creates monsters and even if she's stable now, eventually the virus will begin to go out of control."

"If Ruby is sick why haven't you done anything to help her?" Penny defended realizing her mistake when Yang's eyes turned red and was griped her by the collar of her dress.

"You think we haven't thought about this before and tried to find something. I talked with the only person who has ever seen this before and do you know what he told me? He told me that if Ruby becomes a problem to take my weapons and end her before she hurts others."

"You'd hurt Ruby?" Penny glared back at Yang taking the comment as a threat to her friend.

"No I can't, which is what made all of this so difficult. For the rest of our lives we'll be in a race against time to do everything we can and Ruby's weighed down due to fate giving her a bad hand. I'll be damned if anything manages to kill her before my death."

"That's nice of you to say." Penny's response or lack thereof earning a glance from the others as Yang bared her heart out in the open.

Seeing her sister about to erupt in anger over Penny's response Ruby got between them. "Yang, Penny is a little emotionally stunted due to her upbringing. Please don't be angry at her she just doesn't understand things like that."

"I'm sorry if I didn't respond correctly. I'll try to be more responsive in the future." The polite bow she gave killed any anger Yang had built up by seeing the awkward girl trying to understand what was wrong.

"It's okay Penny." Yang took a few breaths to calm down as her fists relaxed. "Just take us to the elevator and we can get out of here."

"Can do." Penny came to the door and placed her hand on the scanner.

Once the black screen turned green the doors opened to reveal the pristine interior that lacked a single speck of blood. Stepping in the metal container shifted momentarily before a red light turned on and began blinking. The group looked between each other in an attempt to understand what had happened when a voice came from the intercom.

"Weight limit exceeded. Please remove excess weight then try again."

"I'll take the stairs." Penny offered as she stepped out of the lift.

"You don't have to do that Penny we can just go down in pairs." Weiss offered not wanting to leave Penny alone.

"It's okay Weiss I'll be just fine. I'll meet you all at the entrance." The doors slid shut and the elevator began to descend into the facilities depths.

With her friends on their way Penny made her way back to the staircase, opening the door to reveal the bodies of both man and beast. The staircase spiraled downwards with a large landing each time it reached a corner. Looking over the railing she could see the bottom floor thanks to the generators keeping the lights online. Placing one hand on the railing she threw herself over the edge and began free falling. A pair of blades shot out from her pack and embedded themselves into the ceiling.

About halfway down the sound she noticed the masses of black fur moving along the stairs devouring the bodies of workers. The strings began to slow her fall as whatever reel they were attached to began applying tension. Bringing her legs back she kicked them forward throwing herself onto the stairwell while drawing her swords. With precision the blade in her hands went through the wolf's skull before it even realized the new presence. Using the beast as a springboard she leaped over the railing towards another beast one floor beneath her. She landed atop it pinning it with one blade as another scourge beast got ready to pounce her.

In an instant three blades had speared the airborne beast to the wall as she used her free hand to bring the sword down into the neck of the beast beneath her. Throwing the swords in her hands up she let them levitate around her as the others joined in. With her instruments ready she took two steps back and fell over the railing. Each floor she passed was cleared with incredible precision as the blades would fly towards any beast then return to her to repeat the process. Within seconds the 5 blades became 8 then 12 as the amount of beasts only increased the closer she got to the bottom.

As she approached the bottom the wires connected to the swords in the ceiling were yanked free forcing Penny to land with enough impact to shatter the ground beneath her. Dusting off her clothing she looked up to see blood beginning to spill over the edges and drip downwards. Deciding that ruining her clothes even further were not in her interests she walked through the door and found Ruby standing in front of the main entrance.

"That was fast." Yang remarked seeing the redhead had arrived in shortly after they had.

"I was told it is very impolite to keep guests waiting." Penny recalled one of the many lessons her father had taught her.

"Well let's find storage or wherever they put this thing Junior wants. I can't wait to get out of here."

"Our equipment storage room is one floor down in past the holding cells" Penny happily replied having a chance to be of us to her friends.

"Holding cells for what exactly?" Weiss asked hoping that it wasn't what she thought.

"The cells were built to hold all subjects who were part of research. I was told it was to protect them and the researchers in case they got violent."

"Just great! Now all we have between us and our goal is hundreds of god knows what." Weiss said exasperated by the thought of what was to come.

"There should be less than 20 subjects still alive in this facility."

"And how would you know that?"

"I took the number of personal and monsters who left this facility and checked it with the number that should have been present during the breach. 20 subjects are unaccounted for with their status unknown."

"Well that's manageable I think." Weiss' mood improved at the thought of a semi easy job being within their reach.

"Any idea why they wouldn't have bothered trying to leave Penny?" Ruby asked as they walked through another set of torn open doors and entered a hallway large enough to fit a small parade float.

"There could be any number of reasons as to why they wouldn't leave the facility. A form of attachment with them viewing this place as their home is possible." A roar erupted from the darkness along with what sounded like steel being scraped across the ground. "Some subjects may also have been too large to exit the facility after they grew."

Penny's warning along with the sound rushing towards them made everyone scatter with Weiss leaping into the air and using one of her glyphs as a platform to stand as far away from the ground as possible. Ruby fired off a bullet and quickly brought Crescent Rose up using it as a hook to attach herself to the ceiling as sparks began to appear in the distance. Yang began using the Stake drivers to scale the wall by using the weapon as an anchor point before using the other to pull herself up. The entire team was up above by some means while Penny was still stood in the center of the hall.

"Penny, get up here!" Ruby yelled as the sound of cloven feet could be heard slamming into the ground as it got louder with each second.

Penny launched two swords from her pack into the ceiling as the wires pulled her up next to Ruby. As they looked forward they could see a buss sized creature approaching. It was stood on four legs with patches of brown fur rotting off of its flesh. The exposed skin was a sickly red from infection and had blisters beginning to form around them. Jagged bones jutted out from the legs and warned of danger to any who stood next or behind the beast. Even the head reeked of mutation with the head still retaining the visage of a man with an elongated mouth turning it into a muzzle. The most horrifying thing of all were the horns that sprouted from its head. They looked like the unkempt branches from a dying tree, reaching out in every direction possible with cracked ends to tear flesh apart. 6 bodies were impaled on the mess of horns giving them a crimson coating.

"I hope Blake is doing alright." Ruby sighed at the task before her and her friends while wondering how Blake and Dunstan were holding up back at Junior's.

Dunstan was sat at the bar with the other patrons with a bottle in his hand and an empty glass on the table. Each time he drank the liquid a small grin would appear on his face before he would return to his normal expression. The people around him gave plenty of space to the armed Hunter likely from fear or repercussions in what was now a lawless kingdom. Finishing his drink Blake left her position against the wall and walked up beside him.

"Is there something you wanted?" Dunstan asked as he turned his head to look at her.

"Just wondering why you're drinking at a time like this."

"I mostly do this out of habit. I sat down and a drink just magically appeared in front of me." As he finished speaking another drink was placed before him. "See, it just keeps happening."

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you how dangerous it is to drink on the job."

"It's not like this stuff even affects me. I'd need to get some blood cocktails from my personal stash back at Beacon if I wanted to get drunk."

"Well at least that's one thing Yang won't have to worry about for Ruby. So, any other fun benefits to being a Hunter?" Blake grabbed the stool next to him and placed her arms on the bar.

"A resistance to poisons along with a quick detox rate is nice to have when wading through rivers of toxin. Stuff would eat through my skin and after making it to shore the poison was out of my system in under a minute." Dunstan pulled out a silver knife that dripped with green ooze and let off an aroma of death.

Blake was about to step away when she saw him hold it over his drink letting it drip into the glass before putting the weapon away. "You're actually going to poison yourself?"

"It won't be able to do any harm before my condition takes care of it. Gives me that nice warm burning feeling under my skin."

"How are you even still alive?" The question struck Dunstan harder than Blake had expected as he set the drink down.

"Blood, perseverance, and a lot of luck. Hell, it might even be a miracle or some cosmic interference that pressed me forward with everything that was happening."

"Do you really believe in miracles and fate?" Blake's voice was almost mocking, as if she were speaking about a child's belief in myths.

"You can't go through Yharnam without something to believe in. Otherwise you'll start falling apart at the seams as the night progresses. Whether it's religion, family, or your curiosity to see the end of the Hunt, something is needed to keep a Hunter together." Dunstan looked back at his drink before pushing the glass off the table letting it shatter across the floor.

"Hey watch it." The bartender said hearing the sound of glass breaking.

"Guess I've had enough for now." With a motion of his hand the bartender signaled another worker to clean up the mess as Dunstan stood up and walked over to the steel entrance.

"Tired of drinking your poisons."

"Just tired of what it reminds me of. Reminiscing on the old times tends to bring only pain or hollowed joy." Dunstan leaned against the door noticing that most the crowd avoided the entrance to the outside.

"Are you always so depressing?" Blake had followed him noticing the measures he took to keep others away.

"Only when I think about Yharnam. Dark times tend to bring out dark memories of people and monsters."

"What kept you together all this time then? I understand Ruby's reasons since she's an open book to us, but we still hardly know you."

"The best or worst reason of all depends on who you ask. The fear of death was a good along with fear for my sanity was pushing me to find the end along with. Nothing motivates me more to finish a job then slowly losing what makes you, you. It's like a race where the loser goes insane and the winner is forever scarred. Guess who won," Dunstan pointed to himself with a smile, "this guy."

"I expected something deeper. Not to mention if that was all it took I doubt you'd have had so many stories to tell Ruby."

"She really needs to stop telling all of you about my Hunt."

"If it's any consolation Yang and Weiss hardly believe half of what she tells us. Ghosts and horrors from beyond, things most would scoff at without a second thought. Tonight is opening our eyes though and some of your tales seem much more possible with some of the oddities we've come across. So what's the real reason Dunstan Arkwright, Hunter of Hunters, fought?" Blake would have been lying if she said she wasn't interested in what made the Hunter tick, but she also saw the willingness he had when it came to taking lives in the name of his greater good.

"Initially I only went to Yharnam to save myself. I was dying and found a glimmer of hope far in the distance. Unfortunately within a week of travel I began coming across the reason why no one ever went so far west. At first it was just larger group of guards, but then I started seeing the villages. The first ones I saw were sick so I did what I could with my training. Basic treatments anyone could perform and describing the plants that could be used to counter some of the symptoms that were showing." Dunstan let out a sigh thinking over whether to tell Blake and realized that out of everyone she was the most likely to keep the stories to herself or edit them before going to others. "As I kept going west things got progressively worse. Like a weed it was slowly choking the life out of everything it touched to feed itself and spread even further. Outlying villages followed by the cities they supported with the severity being judged by how high they piled the burning bodies. People taking up arms to defend themselves only to become the problem, turning on friends and family in a rage."

"You mean the beasts weren't contained in Yharnam. I thought you said there was no way out once you got inside." Blake remembered all the tales Ruby told taking place in the cursed city and never mentioned the trip he took being a foreigner to the land.

"Like a cracked vase the blood slowly seeped outwards with the surrounding cities doing all they could to contain and hide the plague. My town had never even heard of the war going on past our borders and the knights kept to the capitol or frontlines so the leaders never saw the horrors beyond their own walls. Thinking back they wouldn't have been able to maintain their hold on the situation for more than a year with the amount of dead I saw. No one would know of the beasts until they were clawing at the city's gates." He chuckled at the thought of the kings and officials being awoken by the guards spinning tales of black furred beasts with moonlit eyes. "I even stopped my usual treatment once I was told what was happening. Had to change my methods to fit the situation so I became preemptive in preventing the plague. Telling others to pack up and leave the only home they've known to travel east in hopes of outrunning the plague was how I started. Of course many refused to listen to the foreign doctor, but a few would heed my warnings and leave the next day."

Blake had seen similar things happen when faunas were forced to leave a village. None would be heard from again and staying would only result in an escalation until a lynching took place to remove them permanently. With the option being death or leaving your only home she saw people taking either option with similar results as hatred for the faunas flowed through most villages that weren't mostly composed of them. If they reached a city they would be denied entrance and forced to turn around back into the Grimm infested wilderness to face another trial as they searched for somewhere to settle.

"You were asking them to leave behind their entire lives including friends or family depending on who was willing to follow. It's expected that so few would take your advice when the alternative hadn't yet presented itself to them." Blake could see the reasoning behind the choice. If it was herself from two months ago she would have waved off such warnings as the ravings of a madman.

"Eventually I reached a city that was only 3 weeks from Yharnam by horse and that's when I first met the Hunters. People who dedicated their lives to destroying the plague and all it touched. Even with my limited training the months of fieldwork gave me enough experience to be of use to them as a medic for the people who stood beside them and those caught in the crossfire. Checking for infection after every battle and casting all my tools into a fire upon completion to purge them of blood."

"What of the people who returned infected from the beasts?"

"Infection from the beasts themselves hardly ever resulted in a Hunter being born so I would euthanize them before they hurt themselves or others. If someone failed to perform their duties it would result in an execution since they'd be endangering the lives of everyone in the city and its defenders." Dunstan saw Blake looking at him almost sympathetically after hearing the reason, but Dunstan couldn't leave her with a misunderstanding. "I was one of the few outside of the Hunters who needed no incentive to properly perform my tasks."

"You would freely kill those who fought to save the city just because someone told you too? What gave you the right to decide who lived and who died?" Dunstan could see the anger that filtered over her face and how she did little to conceal it from him.

"The people I put down were already infected and had no chance of surviving. If I left them as they were it would have resulted in them being put in a bed for weeks taking up precious resources as their bodies mutate into something primal."

"You had no way of knowing that. If a child was in your care and you found them infected would you kill them too?" The venom in her words was apparent at the mention of youths.

"If you could take the life of one child to save a hundred would you kill them, what about if it saved a thousand, what if it could save kingdoms? All you'd have to do is bare the blood on your hands and soul. All you had to do was choose the many over the few!" Dunstan slammed his fist against the door with the impact leaving a dent in the metal. "We all bear scars on us whether it be our body, soul, or mind. Would killing a child save the city from being overrun, of course not. At best it would have bought them a few hours by preventing another vector of infection, but in the end our choices are what define us and I made mine all those months ago."

"You no better than Adam, you're just killing everything in your path in the name of some greater good. Making excuse after excuse to justify the sick things you do while playing the hero. Do you even care about the lives you've cut short and families that were broken apart by your actions?" Tears began to form around the edge of her eyes. "The people who thought you'd heal them placed their lives in your hands and you led them to the damn slaughter."

"Do not mistake me doing a job for me liking the job. I did what I thought was right for that city and then threw it all away."

"What did you do?" Blake gripped him by the collar of his jacket.

"I couldn't kill one damn kid so I ran. I ran until my legs couldn't support me. Once I stopped do you know what I saw behind me?" Blake had released her grip and took a step back. "I saw the dark horizon light up with the glow of fire. All those lives I took, did it even matter. The city was overrun and sparing that child had no effect besides her likely dying to a beast. So tell me Blake, what was it all for? Why did I kill several dozen people just to watch a light in the distance burn then flicker out?"

"You made the better choice, which is more than what most people would do after setting down that path."

"No I didn't. I still kill those who would suffer with the plague. I just do it under a different title now. One act of kindness in a sea of blood doesn't redeem a killer."

"No it doesn't, but it's a step in the right direction and you made sure Ruby didn't take the upper levels of the airship. You knew there would be less people in the sub blocks. You bared their lives so Ruby wouldn't have to. We know that we won't be able to protect her from the world forever, but thanks for giving her more time."

"So, is this Adam person as bad as I am?" The question shocked Blake at first having spoken the name out of anger and forgetting what she said as the fury calmed.

"He's the one who taught me how to survive and how to wield a blade. He wasn't always bad, but as time went on I noticed he had changed. Lives no longer mattered as long as the job was finished. People who were innocent and had nothing to do with our suffering suddenly became viable targets because they happened to be in the way." Blake thought back to all the lives lost and people who were just working a gate or security. People who had families and were working just to provide for them were killed while she did nothing. "He lost himself in what he set out to accomplish. Devoured by ambition and promises of a future he wanted to make."

"And that made him a monster?"

"That's what turned him into a man I couldn't follow. He chose his path and I chose mine. Eventually our paths will cross and it will be my duty to stop him."

"You decided to take a path that would put you at odds with him and force a confrontation. What is your plan after apprehending this man?"

"I won't be able to apprehend him." Blake felt a momentary pain in her chest that faded just as quickly as it came.

"Is he so far beyond redemption that even a Huntress would forgo capturing him?" Dunstan was actually curious to what could tip Blake's morals and lead her to willingly taking a life of another.

"I'm not strong enough to force him to surrender in a battle. It will take everything I have just to wound him and survive. In the end all I can do is try and kill him before he kills me."

"Are you sure he wants you dead. This man was once your teacher and you're sure he wouldn't hesitate to kill you?"

"Adam has dedicated his entire life to this organization and they don't take well to deserters. I probably have a hit out on me with a reward for whoever brings him my head. He won't hesitate and I can't afford to either in a fight."

"One of the most basic concepts every civilization holds is that life is sacred and taking another's is something to only be done in the direst of circumstance. As time passed though amendments were placed on this golden rule to make it okay in society if the situation called for it. Eventually wars occurred letting people kill anyone as long as they weren't on your side. The difference between a soldier and murderer is that one is sanctioned by a higher power."

"Are you saying that the further we progress the more accepting society becomes of killing?" The point seemed morbid with progress having a negative correlation with morals on murder.

"I'm saying that society changes constantly to fit their needs. Laws come and go depending on who is in charge along with who it affects. My reasons may not be normal to most, but they are a set in stone and far less whimsical than society's at the end of the day. You know why and who I kill which is more than you can say for a soldier or murderer." Blake thought over everything she had learned about the Hunter and began wondering how much was personal and how much was from some code he followed.

"Would you do the same to any of us should we become infected?"

"Ruby would be very adamant about killing her own friends. If we weren't in such a panicked state I could afford the time to watch over you and perform a proper blood ministration. The results are skewed towards speeding up the process and turning into a beast, but there is an off chance of a Hunter being born from the procedure after an infection has occurred."

"I assume Ruby didn't have to go through any of that to become a Hunter."

"No she didn't. Having a Hunter in the family does show improved odds of accepting the plague, but a female hunter will always birth another Hunter."

"Why would it follow the female line?"

"Males don't exchange blood with their children while it's a fetus. The material they provide is useful, but females have always had a stronger connection with the blood. Having the blood exchange as the child is developing has always resulted in a successful birth of another Hunter and another female would result in it being passed down to the next generation."

"Would they be any different from a normal child?" Blake asked concerned over what Ruby might have gone through as a kid.

"For the most part they wouldn't be any different from another. As they grow however they'd become stronger and faster than others their age. Evolution at its finest with the dormant Hunters being the most likely to survive and procreate. Unless they are drawn into the dream they would never even know about their origins and simply continue about their lives."

"If that's the case why aren't their more people like Ruby running around? She can't be the only person to have these abilities."

"Over a long enough period of time they would be slowly weeded out. Being the strongest would put them in combat leading to deaths and there would only be a 50% chance of a female hunter being born with each conception. There could be hundreds or only dozens out in the world, but they would still require the Dream to awaken them."

"Would that be good, having dozens of you walking around the world?"

"They'd have no one to guide them in the right direction or have an explanation for what they are. They won't even have the doll on their first few trips to help them grow. Gehrman may not have helped as much as he could, but he gave me a direction that I lacked while pushing me onwards."

"Was that the name of your mentor?"

"So the Knight told you about that then?"

"I persuaded him to tell me more about you since I was asleep when you fought them." Blake gave a grin at remembering Jaune's expression when she started the conversation. Thinking back she never did talk much to JNPR's leader and though they were often around one another she tended to keep to herself. He jumped at the sound of her voice when she found him in the library studying.

Never talked to each other away from their teams it was more a shock than anything else for the Arc. What she hadn't expected was his enthusiasm over finally getting to talk to her. He wasn't as cheery as Ruby, but that was a level no one could match when it came to unbridled joy. Her initial exchange of information with Dunstan failing to sate her thirst she took the next best thing at the time. After getting over the initial shock she led the conversation to Dunstan and what Jaune had experienced during the initial exchange.

"I didn't know him when he was an active Hunter. He was the first and best of all of us from what I was told, but he stopped at some point and decided to train the future generations. He created the dream as a haven for Hunters and he lost himself in the process." Dunstan's hand clenched into a fist at the thought of the Moon Presence turning the great man into little more than a servant.

"Can you explain why you killed him? I feel Jaune's explanation may have been lacking."

"Did he tell you it involved a flaming cane being thrust through Gehrman's back?"

"He was rather explicit in recounting your meeting." Jaune did mention everything including emptying his stomach's contents on the ground before the Hunter offered him a helping hand. "Was it easy for you to do?"

"If he wasn't the best it wouldn't have been a good fight. Wish I could have fought him before he lost that leg of his, though if he was at his best I probably wouldn't have ever been a match for him."

"I mean was it difficult for you to come to terms that your mentor had to die?"

"When I refused his deal he made it clear that countless deaths would be all that awaited me until I gave in. It was either accept my fate or fight back to end the cycle once and for all." Dunstan finished as the sound of claws could be heard grating against the steel door. "Looks like it's time to get to work. Open the door so we can take care of some pests!"

The men standing around seemed to be frozen in fear of even touching the controls and looked to Junior for the okay. Giving them a nod they pressed the switch and the metal began to slowly open. As soon as there was enough room a black claw reached through in search of something to grab. As the claw reached in a gun barrel peaked out through the opening and was aimed at the beast's head. With a flash the gun fired ripping into the beast's face knocking it back into the others. As the gates completely opened up as a silver serrated whip ran across the crowd of beasts and men cutting into them.

As the two figures stepped out the gates began to close behind them urging the beasts forward at the chance of reaching those inside. In their charge forward all matters of defense were forgotten in lieu of overwhelming them with numbers. Blake leaped above the charging crowd with Gambol Shroud as the katana blade folded back along the barrel giving it the shape of a kama. Taking it in hand she threw the pistol out into the group only to yank her arm back forcing the ribbon attached to the trigger to tighten firing the weapon and sending it flying through the group cleaving apart everything it touched. Once the ribbon reached its length the trigger would be pulled causing the events to happen time and time again. Blake was stood in the middle of this chaos carefully playing her weapon like a piano with the arm the ribbon was tied to. Each motion would guide it with the end result being a sphere of death surrounding her that would claim any who entered.

Dunstan's attacks were having a similar effect, but instead of a sphere of influence his attacks would wash over everything in front of him before raising the handle into the air and striking down with a crash. The amount of force that was behind each attack seemed unnatural with how strong each blow came. The people among the beasts would easily fall from one or two swipes of the whip, being pushed back with each strike, yet the Beasts could persevere through the torrent. They wouldn't retreat from the wounds and instead seemed to retain focus on the source that was holding the weapon.

The beast swung one of its claws at Dunstan who instead of retreating thrusted his whip forward like one would a rapier resulting in the whip piercing them like a bullet along with anything behind it. When the thread was drawn back in it snapped the segmented blades back into place returning it to a bladed cane. With blade in hand he made quick work of the beast with three strikes each across its chest before it fell over dead.

Blake had Gambol Shroud in its sheath and was using the extra weight to give more power to her strikes against the beasts. The cleaver like weapon would occasionally get caught in the tufts of fur only for her to kick off the beast towards another. Carving through the opponents they made it out onto the streets finding them much more populated now with the occasional White Fang soldier shambling along with some even partially transformed by the plague.

"Hopefully Ruby is having a more productive time ten we are." Dunstan said as another group began moving towards them.

"Just focus on keeping them out of the entrance and we should be fine." Blake lowered her stance in preparation.

"Not sure about you, but I can do this all night."

As the group of beasts got ready to attack something large fell on top of them kicking up a cloud of dust from the impact. Before the dust even began to clear they could see the shadow of something about as tall as a two story house. A twisted spiral of horns could be caught in the moonlight when a gust of wind swept the cloud away revealing the tar like skin that seemed to be in constant flux. It had a very beast like clawed right hand with the fingers ending in claws and a talon for the left hand. Feathers would burst from beneath the tar only to be swallowed and replaced with fur or hardened flesh. The sight was appalling and was only made worse when they looked up to see that the face was made up of multiple heads merged together with all 10 eyes focused on them.

"You up for a challenge?" Blake asked mockingly wondering what they could even do to such a mass of flesh.

"You ready to see how a professional does his job."

"I didn't know there was another Huntsman here." The jab was unexpected and managed to cut some of the tension getting the Hunter to smile.

"Keep this up and you might actually make it through this night."

"Well let's not keep it waiting then."

Yes I know it sucks to end on two bosses showing up before cutting away. No worries though since you will get to see both of them in the next chapter. I'm not going to cheat you all out of something as cool as this since it would be a bit of a cop out to come back to either of them being dead just to speed things along. Looking back on this I really should start giving the names of all the bosses that show up in this series. Makes me wonder how they came up with some of the names in BB since they just fit the world so well. Sure some were just naming what the boss is, but a lot of the time the name builds lore around it. You know what I have some time I'm just going to drop a list down here for anyone who wants to see the names of the bosses and what chapter they're in. Be aware there are one or two bosses from canon down below so they got to keep there original name.

Ch.5-Dunstan Arkwright 'Hunter of Hunters'

Ch.10,12-The Woodsman

Ch.11-Abhorrent Beast

Ch.15-Masked Rose 'The Little Reaper'

Ch.20-Emerald Sustrai & Mercury Black

Ch.22-Amygdala

Ch.25-Darkbeast Flare

Ch.27-Kongeegen & Bestial Amalgamation