Central of Mistral - Haven Academy

A large cloud of mist surrounded an area of 10 miles in each direction. Half of it was blue, the other half was a mix of black and blue-green. Within the mist, two beings of power fought for their lives. Their blades were colliding every few seconds. The being with the glowing Zewihander was knocked back. He growled as he stabbed the blade into the ground, gaining his foothold once more. He lifted the blade out just in time to block a slash from large spectral scissors.

The wielder of the scissors cried out as she continued her assault on the man with the Zewihander. For a moment, she had the upper hand as she rapidly snipped her scissors. She was then slashed at by a wraith, and distracted. The man with the Zewihander took this time to use his blade to knock the scissors out of the way. Once he did that, he thrusted the blade forwards, but missed, as the woman yelled and skipped back just in time.

The man growled, and summoned wraiths to attack the woman. They ran through the cracks in the broken down walls of the academy, shouting and screaming at the woman. The woman's eyes widened, and she cried out, causing a small arena of blue mist to surround her. The wraiths ran into the blue mist, and screeched as they began to slowly dissipate.

Both of the blade wielders were panting, as the fight had been going on for hours.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else!" The woman cried out, placing her scissors behind her as if to attack. "I will end you here and now!"

The man exhaled with frustration. "I have told you, the only ones that will die are the ones that need to!" He gripped his blade in front of him, pointing it at his opponent.

"And who are those people?! Innocent lives that you will destroy?!"

"I am not going to do th-" He was cut off.

"You're a monster!" The woman shouted. Tears were forming in her eyes, but she didn't know why.

With that, the man screamed in anger, charging forward. He swiped at the woman, who dodged the attack. The woman went for a stab with her own blade, only to miss as the man turned into mist to dodge. She cried out as she felt her back get cut by his blade. In fear and anger, the woman threw multiple large sewing needles behind her.

The man turned into mist once more but was hit by one of the needles. He cried out and fell, rolling backwards as the force of the needle pushed him backwards. His blade still in hand. The woman took this time to run at the man with her blade. She lifted her scissors up, the pointed end facing down, ready to stab.

She then thrusted the scissors down, and heard the sound of injury by blade.

/ = /

Southwest forest of Mistral, 4 days earlier...

Viego looked around the destroyed village, his new general, Raven Branwen standing beside him.

"What do you suppose happened here?" Raven asked. Viego looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Right right...it's obvious."

"No...not quite." Viego half whispered. He knelt down and ran his fingers across the gashed in the stone walkway. "What is obvious, is that combat happened here not too long ago."

Raven snorted, gaining a look from Viego. "My brother did pass through here at one point, along with the other people he was with. And then there was the idea of-"

"Tyrian Callows…" Viego mumbled.

Raven hummed, and Viego heard the motion of shoes quickly turning around as a noise interrupted the sudden silence. He heard her sigh, then looked back at what happened. He saw a house had collapsed from the fight that happened not too long ago. He then squinted his eyes, as he saw a small pool of red liquid.

He stood up, and started walking over to the house ruins. He began lifting pieces of wood and stone that were surrounding the pool of red liquid. His general then joined him in the task. A few seconds later, they unearthed an arm.

"Blood." Raven said. Viego lifted up more of the ruins, and scoffed in disgust. The dismembered face of Tyrian Callows laid in the ruins. A hole went right through the center of his head. He could swear a smile was plastered on the destroyed face.

"How do you think this got here?" Viego asked his general. He saw her look around for a second, then pointed at the roofing.

"Damaged roofing, he probably lost his balance, maybe courtesy of my brother's semblance." She then knelt to the ground to look at the dead man's face. "Judging on how the hole seems curved, a curved object must've impaled him right through his skull."

"What object could it have been?" Viego asked.

Raven shrugged, then sighed. "My best guess is my brother's weapon." Viego looked at her confused. "It can transform into a scythe."

"I see…"

"What probably happened next is that his aura could have shattered, and Qrow landed the final blow to end the problem. Then threw the body in here. Keep it concealed." Viego then saw Raven's eyes darken. "There is also the possibility of my niece having killed him, as she wields a scythe as well."

"The Rose girl...correct?"

"Yeah." Viego saw Raven's fists tighten. She then snarled, and stomped on the head of Tyrian, cruising it completely.

"That...is different…" Viego looked at his general, confused at her actions.

Raven let out a grim laugh. "It's nothing new, I've done this to others like him."

"I mean to say that the idea of you...caring for someone is...unfamiliar."

Raven stood still. Her eyes darkened, and her fists tightened even further. "I don't know what you mean."

"You're lying." Viego said coldly. Raven looked at him, and sighed.

"I'm not." Raven laughed. "It would be best if we get moving."

Viego growled slightly. "You are changing the subject."

Raven snarled. "So what if I am?"

Viego narrowed his eyes. "Best you keep your temper, Ms. Branwen."

The two locked

"I just...don't know anymore. I...need more time to think this all through."

"What is there to think of?" Viego asked.

Raven looked at him with solemn eyes. "You never had a child with...Isolde...did you?"

Viego blinked hard, before looking down at the ground. "No…"

"It has something involving the...unconditional...caring factor for your child. Ruby may not be "my child", but she is still the daughter of my old husband." Raven laughed bitterly. "We technically didn't even divorce, and I don't even know why these ideas are popping into my head." She spit to the side.

Viego sighed. "You're right, it's not in my place to ask those questions." He turned back around to begin walking out the village, before remembering he did not know where to go from here. Raven then appeared at his side, her face still evidently upset.

"Which way now?" Viego asked.

"Judging from what I can sense, Qrow went this way." She pointed forward from their current location. "He was moving rather quickly, so something must've happened."

"Then let us get going." Viego said, beginning to walk once more, with Raven following closely behind.

/ = /

While the newly discovered "off-worlder" had taken a seat opposite of him, Ironwood paced back and forth in his office, telling her the events of what transpired.

"And now...his…wraiths are helping rebuild the city! I don't know if this is a tact, or him actually changing!" Ironwood sighed, and finally slumped in his chair, laying his head in his hands. "I don't know what's going on anymore."

He saw Gwen cup her hands. "It's a trick. It has to be."

"That's what I've been thinking! But more and more, with their help, the city of vale is almost half rebuilt! The wraiths have even been killing surrounding Grimm."

Gwen sprung up from her chair, knocking it backwards. "HE'S A MONSTER!" she shouted. "ALL HE DOES IS EVIL!"

Ironwood looked stunned at Gwen's outburst. She seemed to have noticed this, and looked down. "Forgive me, I went out of line there."

"No...you're fine. It's all just very hard to actually believe anything anymore." Ironwood sighed. "I should have taken care of him sooner."

"If you mean kill him...you would fail."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"From what I learned about the mist in my short time, it seems to be centralized around him. He commands black mist, so he is the black mist." She coughed. "At least...that's what I think."

"Your guess is as good as mine, Ms. Gwen." Ironwood stood from his chair, turning to look at the city below it. "If he comes here...I don't know what I'll be able to do. Maybe it would become another Beacon. Maybe...it won't." He turned to look at Gwen. "You have your own mist, correct."

Gwen nodded. "I do."

"Describe it to me."

"Well…I guess you could describe it as warm."

Ironwood cocked his head to the side. "Warm?"

"Yes...Warm. Like…'safe under a warm blanket' warm"

"Anything else?"

"It's uh…" Gwen coughed again. "Blue…like my hair."

Ironwood smiled. "Not exactly what I'm looking for."

Gwen returned the smile. "Unfortunately, the first description is all I can really give, as I do not know much about my mist yet."

Ironwood hummed, and looked back at the city. "We need to deal with him, Ms. Gwen. Or at least find out his motives. You seem like someone who can defeat him." He turned back around once more. "Could you find him, and bring him to justice?"

The girl nodded. "I will, for the safety of everyone in this world."

"Good. Specialist Clover Ebi will take you to his last known location in Mistral after a quick chat. Godspeed, Ms. Gwen."

The girl nodded once more, and headed out of the room with scissors in tow. When she seemed no longer in earshot Ironwood spoke.

"I need you to neutralize her once she is done with her task."

The specialist looked confused. "Sir?"

"This is now two times that people from "another world" have entered ours. Whether it is a trick from the gods or something else, we need to be able to combat them if more come along."

"You're...going to turn her into a weapon?"

"I'm going to protect this world." Ironwood responded with fierce words.

The specialist swallowed, hesitated, and nodded. "Yes sir." He then left, leaving Ironwood alone in his office. He looked back down to the city, dark clouds appearing over it.

"There is a storm coming…and Salem can afford to wait."

/ = /

Qrow was running as fast as he could. His feet pounding on the muddy pathway as he held the slightly unconscious body of his niece in his arms. The storm was getting stronger. He looked down at her. Her face was pale like an onion.

"Shit!" He cursed, beginning to run faster.

"S-swear...j-ar…" His niece croaked.

Qrow laughed bitterly. "Not the time...kiddo…" He looked back up. "Hey, It's Juane right?"

"Yes sir."

"Where is the closest town?" Qrow panted as he ran. He then heard the shuffling of paper.

"U-uh...about three minutes north."

"We will need a doctor immediately, but knowing Tyrian Callow's poison, We may not make it in time." Winter said as she stabbed a beowulf in the neck and continued to run. She sounded angry.

"We have to try."

"Qrow we don't even know if the village is still-"

"WE HAVE TO TRY!" Qrow shouted. Silence coursed through the air, as rain started to fall from the sky.

"Of course." Winter responded, as the 5 of them continued to run.

The only thing being heard anymore was the pounding of multiple footsteps on the ground. After two more minutes of running, the group had entered the village. Unfortunately, it was broken.

"Shit…" Qrow looked at his niece. "Shit shit shit-no no no." He looked around, no signs of life were anywhere in sight.

The place had been abandoned.

"U-unc-cle Q-q-qrow?"

Qrow looked down. "Hold on Ruby, we'll make it."

"Qrow...we don't know if there will still be anyone in any other villages." Winter said as she panted.

"Shut up."

"Qro-"

"SHUT UP WINTER!" He shouted. "Arc, where is the next village?!"

The boy mumbled.

"LOUDER!"

"The rain ripped some of the map...as far as I can tell, this is the last one."

Qrow's eyes widened, and looked at his niece once more.

She was going to die.

Qrow fell to his knees and began to weep. With every passing second, his weeping began louder, until he was practically howling. Somehow, no Grimm had jumped upon them.

All of the sudden, he heard two sets of footsteps and a few slight gasps. He looked back.

"R-Raven?"

His sister quickly moved up to him, and quickly knelt down to look at his niece. Qrow took note of her arm.

"Wha-"

"Shut up. What happened?"

Qrow swallowed. "She was hit by one of Tyrian's poison attacks. I managed to cut off his tail, but she took a big hit of the poison…We tried giving her something that we had on hand, but it only seemed to worsen her condition." He looked into her eyes. "Why do you care?"

"That's...I'll explain it later...maybe." She looked at the body. "Where was she struck?"

Qrow pointed to a large gash at the side of her stomach. Raven cursed.

"I don't know what to do…" She looked up at Qrow, then looked over to the other figure. Qrow's eyes widened.

"What's he gonna do?!" How is he going to save her?"

"I don't know, but...I have an idea."

Qrow shook his head furiously. "No! I'm not letting him touch her!"

Raven grabbed his shoulders. "Do you want to save our niece or not!?"

Qrow's eyes were widened. What Raven had said broke his mentality. Raven seemed to have taken this as a sign of saying yes.

"My king, if you could." She said. The other person approached them, and knelt.

"What is this?" He sounded slightly surprised.

"A poison wound. It seemed to have gone deep into her system." She looked at the King. "Could you send your mist into that same wound and have it kill off the poison?"

The man looked perplexed, and he didn't know what to say. Qrow broke his silence.

"Please...if you can do anything to help her, I will repay you."

Qrow saw something resonate in the man, as a tear of mist began to fall from the side of the King's face.

The King nodded at Qrow, and a small amount of mist began to pour from his broken heart. It flowed from his arm, then into the wound. Almost immediately, Qrow noticed the black and bluish-green substance in the body of where skin was visible by the wound.

"U-Uncle Q-Qro-ow? W-why do I-I feel...f-fun-ny?" Ruby asked.

Qrow's eyes widened as her silver eyes became the same color as the mist, and then a glowing mist crown appeared on top of her head. The same broken heart shape appeared on her chest as well.

Qrow felt his niece's forehead, she wasn't burning up. He then felt her pulse, it was slightly weak, but still there.

"It seems that I have stabilized her symptoms, by making her seem dead." The King said.

"But...she isn't dead...right?"

The King shook his head. "She should not be dead, only her system should act like it." He stroked his chin. "She may still require medical attention once she is at a suitable place, but for now, she will be fine."

Qrow exhaled, and started crying tears of joy. He held his niece close in his arms.

"Everything will be okay...everything will be okay." He looked at Winter. "Please take her to a soft surface and lay her down. I…" He looked at the King. "Need to have a talk with him."

At that moment, Ruby was taken from his arms, and moved towards an area of grass.

"What can I do to repay you?" Qrow asked.

The King looked perplexed once more, and then shook his head. "Nothing at the current moment. If anything…I will need your alliance in the future...against some things."

Qrow nodded, then looked to his sister. "You and I-"

"Have a lot to talk about, yes. I have thought about a lot of things since I had become My King's General."

Qrow tilted his head. "General?"

Raven smirked. "Like I said, we have a lot to talk about."

/ = /

As Viego listened to the conversation his General and her brother were having, he could help but noticed the slight glares he had been receiving from the trio of students sitting on the other side of the campfire. He gave them a bitter smile, and the blond boy glared at him.

"So, you're telling me that since you've lost the tribe, almost died two times, lost the maiden powers then regained them, then became his general, you have decided to try and come back to be a part of the family?" Qrow asked.

Raven sighed. "Yes, Qrow...that's what I'm saying. I know it won't be easy, hell...I'd be surprised if I even got another chance, but...I have nothing to "hide" behind anymore."

Qrow laughed bitterly. "Yang is going to punch you so fucking hard for this."

"I'd truthfully deserve it at this point."

As the two siblings laughed, Viego stood from his seating area, moving into a forest clearing to look at the sky. A minute later, he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly turned around, and saw Winter Schnee standing at the entrance to the clearing.

"I know your type." She said.

Viego gained a confused look. "Pardon?"

"Your type." She said, walking up towards him. "You're a broken man, clearly trying to fix himself by doing everything he can to fix other people before him." She stood in front of him. "Am I right?"

Viego chuckled. "I guess you are indeed correct." He looked around. "But...why are you conversing with me at the current hour?"

Winter sighed. "As I currently have nothing to do, and talking with children...isn't really my strong suit. So I decided to have a small conversation with you. I hope that is okay, my King."

"I do not understand why it wouldn't be okay. I was only looking at the stars."

Winter hummed, and looked to the sky. "They do seem to be shining brighter than usual."

"I would not know, as they seem to be the same brightness as they have been the past few days."

Winter looked to him. "What about your home? Any stars visible?"

Viego shook his head. "The shadow Isles do not show any stars. Probably due to my mist everywhere around the area."

"Seems...depressing."

Viego could only stare into the sky. The woman next to him sighed.

"You know...My original intent was to either kill you, or bring you in, now...I want nothing more than to help you." She laughed. "I still don't really know why."

Vieg looked at her. "What changed your mind?"

"That day in the forest, after you destroyed the landscape. The look you had on your face was one I had seen before. I had seen the look in my sister."

Viego hummed, and looked to her. She was looking at him with solemn eyes. "Do not make me regret my choice in trusting you, Viego."

"I will not, I promise."

"You better keep it." Viego heard the familiar voice of Qrow behind him. He turned around, his General was there as well.

Viego nodded. "I fully intend to keep it. If I am to prove myself at all, I need to keep the promise."

Qrow chuckled a bit. "Well, you saved my niece today, so that's one large step forward. Still don't know what Jimmy is going to say about it."

"It's General Ironwood."

Qrow waved her off.

"I think the General is already having a field day due to some of Viego's actions." Raven said. "After all, his wraiths are now helping rebuild Vale."

"Wait really? How come I haven't heard about this?"

"When was the last time you checked your scroll, brother?"

At that mention, Qrow pulled out his scroll, only to find it broken.

"Gods dammit."

Viego chuckled at the man's reaction, and looked back into the sky.

This feeling was not something he had remembered feeling before. It was as if happiness had been able to come back into his life, even without his Isolde.

He wondered if this was a good thing or not.

/ = /

The morning did not look like morning, as Viego saw the three students and three other adults wake up. Viego had not slept that night, as he volunteered to "keep watch".

"It's the duty of a king to help protect his people."

He shook his head, and looked back into the sky. It was still covered by clouds, possibly confirming more rain in the near future. He looked down to see his General approaching him.

"Good morning, my King."

Viego nodded. "As to you, General Branwen." He heard Qrow grunt as he picked up his unconscious niece.

"No good mornings to us? I feel hurt." Qrow joked. Viego could only roll his eyes.

Winter Schnee had walked up next to him, the students stood behind her. "What is our next plan of motion?" Winter asked.

"Well, for starters, we need to get Ruby here to a medical facility. Other than that, I don't know." Raven said.

Viego stayed silent and watched as the other three adults conversed Ideas on how to get to Mistral the quickest possible way. As Qrow pointed at something and began to move towards it, Viego turned his head to see the students eyeing him wearily.

"There is still mistrust in them. Haven't I proved enough?"

"Is something wrong, my king?" He heard Raven ask. Viego turned his head.

"No no...everything is fine. I am just...thinking of some things."

His General hummed. "I see. I don't believe you heard our current plan."

"Ah yes, I would like to hear it...please."

Raven smirked. "Well, we have found another pathway slightly concealed in the back of the village. We are planning on following that pathway and seeing where it will lead. If it leads to another abandoned village, we will start a large fire to signal some aerial forces."

"The only problem is." Winter continued. "Is that according to official law, you and Ms. Branwen are identified as fugitives, meaning our entry into Mistral with you two in tow...will be problematic."

"After all...you're a monster." Viego heard from one of the students.

Viego sighed. "I can see why that would be problematic. What do you-" He was cut off by a loud distant stomping sound, followed by a screech. At that moment, every fighter looked at the direction

"Oooookay….what was that?" Qrow asked.

"Clearly a problem." Raven answered.

Another loud footstep, it was starting to get closer, and there were now more steps. Viego started to hear one of the students mumbling. He turned to see the boy with the long black hair with frustration and fear on his face.

"Send forth." Viego mumbled, as the mist traveled from his broken heart. A small wraith formed and looked at him, awaiting an order. "Scout that way." Viego pointed towards the location where the sound came from. The wraith scurried away in that direction almost immediately.

Viego then turned to the students. "What is your name, boy?"

The three of them looked confused. "Are...you talking to me?" The blond one asked.

Viego shook his head, and the black haired one looked at him.

"Lie Ren."

"You seem angry at whatever monster is lurking." Viego paused. "What is it?"

Lie Ren looked at the ground for a moment, before looking at Viego. "It's called a Nuckelavee. It…" He paused. "Destroyed my home village, and killed my family."

"And you want it dead?" Viego watched the boy nod, and he hummed. "Then I will kill this thing."

At that singular moment, Viego felt the presence of the wraith he sent out die. "It seems as if It killed my wraith, and is coming this way."

Raven growled. "Salem probably sent it after you."

Viego noticed Qrow's eyes widened. "Hold on, Salem is actively after you?"

Viego nodded, and felt his Zewihander form in his hand. He began marching towards the beast.

"You're not actually going to kill it yourself...are you?" He heard Winter ask.

Viego looked back at them. "I will try." He said, but before entering the woods he thought of something. "Ignite the fire now, if we fail to kill this monster, we...you all will have to escape." He looked at Raven. "Would you fight with me, oh general mine?"

Raven smirked as flames appeared from the corners of her eyes. "I will." And without another word, the two entered the dense forest.

After two minutes of travel, Viego exhaled, and let mist pour from his heart like a waterfall. The black mist clouded up the area, leaving no sign of any life. He stabbed his blade into the ground, dragging it as he walked.

Wraiths climbed from the ground, and began following their King.

"You said 'you all' when mentioning an escape. What do you mean by that?" Raven asked.

"I have mentioned that I have beaten death once before, yes?" Raven nodded. "I do not believe I will die. If my form does die, I can create another one from the mist."

"So...you're immortal."

Viego nodded. "To an extent." He quickly held his blade to attack, as he heard a screeching noise close by. His general did the same.

At that moment, Viego could see glowing red eyes appear from the mist. As the eyes moved closer, he could make out another pair of glowing red eyes. Viego then saw the monster the boy was talking about.

It had a Grimm horse for a body, consisting of the same skeletal figure. It's rider was also of Grimm, as it looked like an Imp creature with long arms. The rider and the stead were connected.

At that moment, Viego's wraiths screeched and charged at the beast. The horse growled and began running forwards. The Imp creature on top screeched as well, blowing a few wraiths back. Some made it to the beast and began clawing at it. They were quickly destroyed by the imps' long arms.

Viego turned into mist and charged forward. He came out of his mist form with a swing to the imps' neck. The creature moved faster than the blade, and knocked Viego from the air. With a cry, Viego fell and rolled on the ground, quickly standing up once more.

"Doesn't seem like a head on attack will do much." Raven shouted as him as she dogged a wraith being thrown at her. Viego shook his head, and charged forward once more. He ducked an attack from the Imps arms and swung once more at the monster. It made a slight screeching noise, before the horse kicked it away with its hind legs. At that moment, Raven flew up with her maiden powers and formed an elemental sword. She flew down with a swing, but the creature created an over-shield and blasted her away. She flew backwards, before gaining her footing across from Viego.

Raven snarled. "Damn! This things stronger than the other one I fought."

"You have fought this be-Arg!" Viego cried out mid sentence as he was hit mid dodge by an arm. He swiped with his blade successfully cutting one of the Imp's arms off. It screeched and blew Viego back again. He rolled and stabbed his blade into the ground, ripping it open and letting wraiths come from the mist to attack.

"To answer your question, yes I have fought a Nuckelavee before. Only that one seemed weaker than this one." Raven said as she joined Viego at his side. She spat on the ground. "Salem must be using magic to boost it's abilities."

Viego growled as he saw the Imps' arm begin to grow back at a considerable speed. He stabbed his blade into the ground once more. A pillar of mist rose quickly round him. He could hear the trees begin to waver and some of them fell due to the immense wind and pressure. "

"Buy me some time, I have an Idea." He said to Raven. She nodded, and flew towards the beast. Viego watched as his General dodged the monster's attacks. The wraiths had made some progress clawing at the beast, as they had broken off some of its bone plaiting.

Viego pulled his blade from the ground, and mist surrounded it. He put the blade behind him and the mist began to swirl. "MOVE!" He shouted.

The Maiden had flown back with a dodge, and Viego shouted as he swung the blade. An arc of black mist flew from the blade, and at the monster. The creature noticed this and began to move out of the way, but the arc of mist was too long and wide. It hit the body of the horse, and the beast began twitching as the mist surrounded its body. It screeched as the mist moved around it quicker.

Viego smirked, but the smile fell and he gained a confused face, as the Imp used its arms to rip itself off of the horse, which disappeared as the horse body turned into black dust.

"It seems this creature is immune to my possessive powers."

He would have to figure out how this was the case later, as the imp flung itself away from the mist, and immediately began to regrow its horse body. Viego growled and moved forward and jumped. He began to fall with an overhead strike, but the Imp had extended its arm and caught Viego, he growled as he was thrown into a tree which broke on impact. He looked up quickly to see the monster screech as his General had sliced the arm off with her elemental blade.

The Imp began to twitch as the spikes on its back grew in length. It began to rise into the air as the horse body appeared from below. It was at full strength once more. It screeched louder, causing Viego to drop his blade and cover his ears. He growled and looked at Raven, she had done the same.

"How did you kill this thing?!" Viego shouted as he turned into mist and dodged a strike from the monster. His blade disappeared from the ground as it appeared in his grip once again.

"Brute strength seemed to have worked last time!" She shouted at him. Both sword wielders jumped back as the Imp shot its arms towards the fighters, Ice spikes had impaled the hands from the side. The creature roared and flug its arms wildly, making both fighters dodge once again.

Viego looked and saw Winter Schnee standing there with snow white symbols behind her.

"I believe you two need assistance?" She asked. Viego saw Raven smirk, and he did so as well.

"It definitely could be useful." He said, going into a fighting stance. "Do you have any ideas?"

Winter nodded. "From what I know, its arms are its main use of attack." Raven scoffed, but Winter ignored it. "If we can pin them down, and kill the horse, we can take that time to-" She was cut off as the Imp shot an arm at the three warriors. The both moved out of the way just in time. "I think you know the idea!" Winter shouted as dodged another attack.

Viego nodded and looked to his General. "Buy me some more time!" He shouted, stabbing his blade into the ground once more. Another pillar of mist rose up from the ground. He watched as the Schnee sidestepped an attack. She then yelled as she impaled an arm into the ground with her blade, causing the monster to screech. Viego noticed it had split into two separate blades and smirked.

His eyes widened as an arm shot at him. He couldn't move while charging the arc of mist. His eyes became wider as his General jumped in the way and pushed the arm out of the way by stabbing it. Raven angled the blade into the ground and it stabbed into the ground. The creature screeched again, and the horse seemed to snarl, before getting stabbed in the head by the Schnee's other blade." The Imp began to tear itself from the horse, and Viego snarled.

He pulled the blade from the ground allowing mist to surround it once more. He put it behind him, and swung the blade, letting the mist arc travel to its target. The arc of mist hit the Imp, and it screeched as the mist began killing it. The mist flowed all around the monster, before it made the creature dissipate with one final screech.

The fight was over.

Viego sighed, and fell to his knees, then face planted into the ground. He rolled over, and the mist began to travel back into his broken heart. He let out a laugh of relief. And looked to his General, she began doing the same. He looked to Winter Schnee, and she smiled back.

He looked into the now sunny sky, and smiled.

For the first time in a while, he knew this happiness was not a curse. He knew this happiness was a gift.

He needed to cherish it for as long as he could, for he did not know if he would ever feel this way again without Isolde.

He was happy to be alive.

/ = /

Salem snarled as she smashed the table in her throne room. The seer had moved back, and so had Arthur Watts.

"Do you want me to-"

"Stay…" Salem commanded with anger in her voice. Watts had stood silent as she sat back into her chair. Her efforts to target and kill The Ruined King had failed. Even with her magic powered Nuckelavee, he seemed to have used a new ability to kill the Grimm.

If she wasn't so angry, she would be impressed with the Kings tactics and planning.

Salem sighed. "This is just a setback. Once that I WILL fix in time. The king may be smart, but all men are swayed with the idea of love. I just need to use that."

"But ma'am, you already tried showing yourself as this Isolde character. What other plans could you have?"

Salem looked to Watts in anger. "Are you questioning me, Arthur?"

"No ma'am." He quickly said.

Salem smirked. "In due time, I will show him my power, and one way or another." She looked into the seer to see The Ruined King smiling.

"He will fall to me."


OH MAN! THIS TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE!

Either way! It's good to be back, and sorry this took so long! I honestly thought I'd be done with the spin-off story before this one, but nope!

So...quick summary, Viego and "friends" got together, he saved a life, he helped kill and avenge more lives, and is starting to feel happy! Salem on the other hand...not so happy. But, the hearts of men are easily swayed!

In terms of notes, I really wanted to expand the idea of how Viego's mist works. One time as I was getting ready to sleep, I thought of the idea of Viego channeling mist around his Zewihander, and slicing at the air, causing an arc of black mist to fly through the air and hitting a target. Kind of like how a Dawnblade works in Destiny 2 (Which was my direct inspiration of the attack). This would be mainly used for longer range possessions of people. Not to mention it's just one example on how I will be making Viego stronger. He is always getting more powerful after all.

Next, the Idea of a magic powered Nuckelavee. This made it immune to the idea of Maidens, as Viego has half of one as his General. Speaking quickly of Maidens. No, I did not forget he has some Maiden powers in his blade. He might have, but I haven't. Back on topic, this magic powered Grimm would definitely be more threatening to normal huntsman, as its regen abilities are a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention, it's a fucking Nuckelavee. So many huntsman already died to that think in canon. Let me know what you think about the idea of magic powered Grimm in the reviews. I like the concept, but I feel like it needs work.

In terms of trusting Viego, yeah, they are still weary of him. And it makes sense. Although, Viego is still wondering why the students are not trusting him. I guess the mind of a younger adult is still dead set on the idea of "hey, you did something bad! I'm not trusting you!" But then again, it is Viego. On the topic of Ruby's...ruined state. I wanted to make that seem like it possesses her, making her unable to die at the current moment. But when the mist flows out of her, her situation with the poison would return to its state before the black mist "infected" her.

Also, cheeky spoiler on top, eh?"

Now, onto review responses!

The True Skull - Indeed I am. I want to show people how much of a human is truly residing within Viego. After all, he still feels love, he still feels pain. And is now feeling more joy than ever before in the last One-thousand years. And it works because his goal is still practically the same. He wants to get his wife back, but now he is taking the different steps to do so in changing who he is for the better. Making a relatable character from a purely terrible person is hard, and I hope I am doing good with that.

WarWithoutEnd - Similar response as the last one! I am glad you are enjoying my take on Viego, and I hope you continue to do so.

YeTianshi - I will continue to do as best as I can with Raven's character arc change.

Vaalhazak - Those words truly mean a lot to me! I hope you continue to enjoy this story!

Lolsucker -Thank you for the kind words!

4FOUR - Yeah, I am having trouble keeping up with everything going on in Viego's canon lore. With the new canon sentinel and ruined skins coming out, as well as the new champ, its making my brain hurt a lot.

Which leads me to this last part. The offer for being a beta reader for this story is still open! I could really use all the help I can get with this story as more content surrounding Viego comes out. DM me in private messaging if you are willing to help out, with meeting the current criteria.

Criteria for being the Beta-Reader

- Having good writing skills, with grammar included.

- Having knowledge with mostly everything involving Viego's lore.

- Having knowledge with mostly everything that happens in RWBY

I hope to hear from someone soon! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

May the mist guide you well.

-TheKazooBirb