I do not own RWBY or AdventureQuest Worlds.

The girl dreamed.

A blood war of two tribes. Prophecies and warning laying unheeded, and the cruel betrayal between siblings. The hands of chaos show their full malice here. Even the alliance lay defeated before mere whispers.

Throughout his adventures, the young hero had never felt this much hopelessness and DOOM, ever since Drakath's assault on Swordhaven. But even then, Khaasanda's defiance of the champion of chaos was a small glimmer of hope.

One of the only few that he will have, for a long, long time.

]|[

"Cinder." A voice said through the Seer Grimm, the jellyfish-like creature floating idly on a room somewhere. "How goes your search for the Maiden?" Salem asked her minion.

"I am working on it, master." Cinder bowed low. "I have lost two of my followers. I am now trying to disappear again from the public so I can move more freely."

Salem hummed in thought. "Your followers. Mercury and Emerald, that's their names, am I correct?"

"Yes master."

"Tell me, have they fought a man in a black cap recently?" Cinder's shoulders hitched at that. Salem smiled. "So they have." She said to herself, considering the newest thorn in their side.

"Master, it is inconsequential. I have plans in place when something else interferes with the first." Cinder said, raising her head to look at the figure of the Witch in the Seer. "Unless, you want me to deal with him first?" She asked.

"Take heed of him, child." Salem said. "I've known his kind. Time and time again. They will be the stone on the road, a fly on the wall, the dark blot on a white canvas. In this game I am playing against Ozpin, where you might be my stronger chess piece, this man is from another game entirely." She smiled at Cinder. "I suspect his arrival was the reason for that wave of magic we both felt during that day. Do you remember that?"

Cinder nodded. It was power, raw and pure. Everything she had wanted in the first place. Cinder continued. "Taking into account of every failure you had since that day, do you think it a coincidence?" She asked her underling. Cinder could not answer.

"Learn of who he is, everything, then take him into account in this new plans of yours. And if possible," Salem's eyes narrowed. "Find a way to neutralize him, or his magic." She said, revealing the man in the black cap's true nature. Cinder's eyes widened. "If you can try and take his magic, do so. Try and not fail again, child." Salem cut off the connection, and Cinder was left alone again in the room, the Grimm floating away.

She looked up, staring at the projected picture of the Vale's underground system. She had plans to perfect.

]|[

"You know, your sewers are boring." Johnny complained, watching his and Team RWBY's movements on the scroll. "We haven't even come across a giant rat or a skeleton, or even a slime block!"

Weiss cringed. "You have giant rats in your sewers? That's horrifying."

Johnny nodded sagely. "I know. Wait till you hear what they eat to grow that large in the first place."

Despite her mounting disgust, Blake was too curious to not ask. "What do they eat?" She asked with a bit of hesitation.

"Well, why do you think there are skeletons in the sewers in the first place?"

The girls paled, and turned a little bit green. The smell of the sewers they were walking in did not help.

"Oh gods. I'm gonna be sick." Ruby said, holding a hand to her mouth. Blake actively had to hold down her lunch from that. Weiss shook her head trying to get the image out of her head. Yang chuckled despite her also being grossed out.

"Guess curiosity killed the cat eh, Blake?" Yang joked. The rest of the team groaned at that.

"Gods, enough of that!" Weiss screamed.

"What exactly do you want to do if we catch the White Fang here right now? Do you want to fight them?" Johnny changed the subject to the relief of the girls. "I was just planning on watching them, but I don't think you guys can do stealthy."

Blake looked incensed at that. She was stealthy! She wanted to answer back, but Johnny pointed to her more colorful teammates. She had to concede at that.

"Blake here might be able to blend in with the shadows, but you guys literally are too colorful to hide. You'll stick out like a sore thumb." He told Ruby, Weiss, and Yang.

"What's the point of hiding anyway?" Yang said. "We're already here, if we can stop them early on, then isn't that much better?"

"You already answered yourself: If." Johnny pointed out. "If you don't you are forfeiting your lives. You do know that, right?"

He was all for them having an adventure of their own, but he had to make sure they know what it is they are going into.

"We know that. And we won't let them." Their little leader said confidently.

"Okay. How though?" Johnny challenged. "There are five of us, and their numbers are unknown. I don't think we have the strength to bring them all in even if we worked at it the whole day."

To finally nail the issue on the coffin, "And…how about their leader?" He asked. The girl's moods shifted at the reminder of Beatrice. Johnny noticed it. Whoever this woman that led the White Fang during the incident must've really made a mark on the team to still have her shadow casting down on them. "Heard she brought down one of Ironwood's Specialists. You think you can match that? Are you even prepared to fight her right now?"

Blake unconsciously rubbed at her chest, feeling her own heartbeat. She knew she had to take it easy, but she couldn't bear to think that Beatrice would still be out there. It would kill her.

"I know her weaknesses. I was White Fang in the past. We have a plan if we face her." She answered for her team.

Johnny conceded, raising his hands up. "Alright fine. Long as you guys know what you're doing. It would help, because beyond finding them, I also don't have any idea what to do. I imagine I'm just gonna call Oz or Ironwood about it." He admitted.

"What'll you do if you face her then?" Yang crossed her arms. She was slightly irked that this guy was underestimating them, even though he had no idea of what he was in for with Beatrice. "Got a plan of your own?"

"Nope." Johnny answered unabashedly. "I'm winging it, as usual." He'll be fine, he reasoned.

"What if she gets you, though?" The blonde pushed.

"She won't."

"Well aren't we confident, then?" She said sarcastically. Yang thought a bit back to when she first met the man in the black cap. "You plan to just do her in with how you did Torchwick's assistant?" She asked with a bit of suspicion.

"Only if I have to. Neo's a bit of a slippery bugger, so I used it on her. You really can't escape fog if you know how to make it hurt." Johnny said. He had no qualms using the Legion Revenant's power, if needed. It's just that, not all of the time you need that kind of firepower. "Speaking of which, this Beatrice. Her files listed her as having 'flow control' semblance. What exactly does that mean?"

"So after all that talk, you don't even have a plan for her?" Weiss spat at the adventurer.

"Until Beatrice can learn how to hit shadows, she won't even have a chance." Johnny said. "My kung fu is superior." He joked.

Blake shook her head. "She can control something that flows, or something like that. She uses it to control blood inside her opponent, the moisture in the air and surroundings to speed up the rusting of a weapon, and drain her opponents of fluids." She summarized. "And for some reason, she can also use it to control her opponent's minds. I don't have any idea how she does that."

"Is her powers concentration based?" Johnny guessed. "Can she target multiples at a time? What range does she have for these abilities?"

"I'm only sure about her draining abilities. She can use it if she's touching you, and at range but only if she's totally concentrating." Blake recounted her fight with the monstrous terrorist. "She can rust your weapons if it enters a meter within her space I think? And she can control multiple bodies at once, but that's all I know about that."

"The plan we got hinges on her powers being based on concentration. At least, most of her abilities are. Her defenses on anything she can rust is automatic." The ex-White Fang finished.

"Rust as in it just gets rusty?" Johnny had to ask. "How do you mean by that?"

Blake shook her head. "Rust as in, 'it gets turned into iron dust' kind of rust." Johnny whistled in appreciation. That was a nasty power. Not to mention the controlling blood and minds thing.

"Alright. So long range it is. I have some options for that. And a non-steel weapon." He held out a hand and took out the Sword of Eternal Light from his inventory. Ruby vibrated in place in excitement when she saw the weapon.

"Omigosh omigosh omigosh! Can I take a look pleeeeeeeaaaseeee?!" Ruby screamed, circling around Johnny, her gaze locked on the weapon.

"Uh oh. You've done it now, man." Yang said, looking at her sister trying to pry the obviously dangerous weapon out of Johnny's hands, with the man trying to bat at the hyperactive midget away.

Johnny deactivated the lightsaber and returned it to the inventory. Ruby pouted. That usually works on Yang!

"No. And that's not a weapon you should play around with. I almost poked my eye out with it when I first got it." Johnny said, recounting the time he had looked straight into the hilt of the weapon before activating it.

"How about your other weapons?!" Ruby said, not giving up. "The ones you used to chain that dragon down?! Can you show some of them?"

Johnny thinks for a bit. Which weapon of Nulgath's wouldn't harm Ruby? He snapped his fingers; he had an idea. Opening a portal to the void, he took out one of the least malicious of the weapons in Nulgath's arsenal. An oddly shaped weapon appeared. The weapon looked almost like a pickaxe, with two spikes at the end. It was bluish-black and red all over, the signature colors of the Archfiend who made it.

"Here." Johnny handed Ruby the weapon. "The Darkblood Blade of Nulgath. Created when Nulgath conquered a portion of the Darkbloods."

Ruby looked at the weapon in her hands in awe. "It looks like a keyblade!" She exclaimed. Just like the weapons in that one video game she and Yang played back in Patch.

"It does, doesn't it?" Johnny agreed with the observation. He remembered another keyblade from a certain Hollowborn Gatekeeper.

"What are the Darkbloods? And who's Nulgath?" Weiss asked. Johnny thought for a bit.

"The Darkbloods are…kind of like the Faunus? If the Faunus only had one kind of animal feature." He said, perking Blake's attention a bit. Another of her people conquered, she thought darkly. "But they are just more half goats and half human. They live around the Thuderforge Mountains back home. They learned how to use the lightning around the mountain for their own powers." Johnny answered.

"Nulgath…Well…" Johnny thought for a while. "He's a demon. He was a human that got in contact with something dark, and he got turned into a full demon. He has a knack for making contracts and admittedly very cool weapons and equipment."

"Demons? C'mon." Yang rolled her eyes. "Now you're just yanking our legs."

Johnny shook his head. "I won't try to change your mind, since it might be too outlandish for you. Remember this: those fairy tales of demons, and dragons, and magic, and other monsters you thought weren't real? They had to come from somewhere. And those monsters aren't like the Grimm that just attacked. Some monsters actually can walk and talk. And some rope you into contracts that have you selling your soul to them."

With that, a silence descended on the group as they walked deeper into the sewers. Ruby stared at the weapon in her hands, hearing distant thunder in her ears after Johnny's words.

]|[

"This is the place where the sewers meet the access tunnels to the subway system." Johnny stopped at a steel door. He tried the knob. Locked. "Well, guess it won't be that easy huh?" He said.

"Stand back." Yang said, cracking her knuckles. With a yell, Yang punched the knob in, smashing the lock mechanism apart, leaving the door to pry open.

"What the-?!" "Who's there?!" Voices from the other side yelled. Ruby dragged her sister back to cover as bullets rained from the doorway.

"Well, we found them!" Johnny said. He held out his hands and a white and gold flintlock pistol appeared. "We need to call for backup now!" The adventurer said, peaking out of cover and shooting green and white beams of light.

They ignored him. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang dashed in, with Blake hanging back shooting at the thugs with her pistol. "Oh darn it." Johnny groaned. He took out his scroll and dialed for Glynda. She picked up immediately. "Glynda! Can you track where we are right now?! We found some of the White Fang!" He yelled into the call while shooting. The energy blasts from the pistol scattered the White Fang, only to be caught by the combined assault of the three girls.

"This is kind of bullying now." Blake commented. "They're probably just some patrol squad around the tunnels. The real headquarters must be further in."

"Whatever they are, we are pulling back. We're not going to try and get them all today." Johnny said. "Clean this up before more come and get us!" He yelled at the other three. They weren't listening. "Ah, screw it."

Johnny leapt into the other side of the access tunnel and swept his hand out. He let out the Choking Black Smoke. Normally, the smoke would just stun enemies for a few seconds, but in an enclosed space like the tunnel? It was especially effective. Johnny dragged the three coughing teens from out the smoke, and left the other White Fang members to choke on the smoke.

Soon there weren't any movements heard from the other side of the tunnel. "Go back the way we came. Blake," He turned to the black haired girl. "Tell Glynda what and where you suspect the White Fang are hiding."

Weiss rubbed at her eyes stinging from the smoke. "What in the Dust was that?!" She coughed out. "That was nasty!"

"Black smoke. Bad for your lungs. Only semi-lethal." Johnny elaborated. He cast the Hymn of Light at the girls, easing their pain a bit. "Also the smoke doesn't make much noise, making it useful for a more stealth approach, somewhat."

"Why are we pulling back?! We had that!" Yang yelled.

"It was only for scouting, and you are waaay too noisy. No action today." Johnny rolled his eyes. "Pull back for now. There's always tomorrow or the next day for exploring this place.

"Aww maaan." Ruby's head drooped. "Can I keep the sword though?" She asked, waving the Darkblood Blade.

"No. I'll let you borrow it next time, though." He smiled at the way the little reaper cheered at that. He understood. He was kind of a loot fanatic, too. He opened a void rift, and Ruby dropped the sword in. "I'm surprised. I thought you were more of a scythe kind of gal. You handled the sword pretty well." Johnny complimented. Ruby blushed.

"W-well. I used to mess around with my uncle Qrow's Harbinger. It's a scythe and broadsword combo. He taught me how to fight with it until I built my own Crescent Rose!" She said.

"Qrow's your uncle?" He didn't see the family resemblance. But then again, that must be all the alcohol the man was imbibing making him look older. "Better tell him what you know, too. He's also looking for the White Fang. Make his job easier."

"Now, shoo kiddies." He waved the girls away. "I have some White Fang to talk to."

"But-!" "Nope." He grabbed Blake by the shoulders and ushered her and the others back the way they came. "Come back when you develop stealth as a team, eh?" He sniggered. "Maybe I'll include that in my report to Glynda, eh? She'll WHIP you up into shape." The girls groaned at the terrible pun, even Yang. "Aw c'mon that wasn't too bad right?" Artix taught him loads of puns. Johnny thought that he was kinda decent at it, too!

"Bad joke, man." Yang said, shuddering in thought of the blond witch actually actively participating in their combat training using her riding crop. "Miss Goodwitch really will whip us if you say that."

"Well, at least I'm trying!" He yelled at the girls who were leaving into the tunnels.

He turned back to the access tunnel. Back to work.

]|[

"Good morning sunshine."

It was the first few words Stevie the Rat heard when he woke up. He remembered inky black smoke and choking on them, before being slapped on the face with a strange looking sword wielded by that black haired girl.

Things wasn't going so well for the White Fang right now, especially for Stevie the Rat. After the explosion that saw most of the Dust they stole burn away, they had been forced to hang around underground when Atlas and Vale stepped up their defenses. Normally the police weren't too big of a problem, as most of them were already paid off by a local crime family, but with Atlas coming near and that incident, most of his brothers and sisters saw a greater number of suffering under the hands of those scum.

Adam wasn't even in Vale, and that was the worst part, because it meant working for Beatrice. Bitch led them to a deathtrap of a situation, and Stevie the Rat spent most of the time trying to not die to the Grimm swooping at them from above.

And now, he's relegated to walking around the fucking sewers again. Like an actual fucking rat!

"Dude, you're scowling at air. The heck are you thinking about?"

Shit! Must've monologue'd in my own head again! Stevie the Rat thought. He didn't talk much so he supposed it was just something he did out of boredom during duties.

"You're still doing it! Hello?!"

[Stevie, the Rat]

"Ah shut up!" Stevie the Rat yelled at the voice. "The fuck you want?!" He looked up to see who was disturbing his thoughts…

And saw the same guy that the heads back in HQ were warning them about. The man in the black cap. Supposedly a Dragon Faunus. Stevie the Rat's blood boiled at that.

"Aren't you a Faunus like us?! Why are you helping the humans, traitor?!" Stevie the Rat roared. The man in the black cap raised an eyebrow. "You know how they treat us! Like trash! Like fucking garbage!"

"And that justifies you lads doing domestic terrorism?"

"Fuck you." Stevie the Rat spat. "Don't give me that turn the other cheek bullshit. They aren't going to ever stop if you just roll over and ignore it. They'll just move on to other of our brethren and hurt them. I'm fucking tired of being kicked to the curb just because!"

The man in the black cap sighed. "You're right." He admitted. "People won't ever change their hearts with just ignoring their own issues. But the problem here is that you people are working for the same humans that wants to treat you like an animal in the first place. You're right that you should fight back, but it doesn't always mean that the fight should end in a grave."

"You mean Torchwick? The fucker's gone. Took his little bitch with him too. Typical backstabbing human." Stevie the Rat said, and the man in the black cap's eyes narrowed.

"Sure Torchwick is gone, but do you know the woman he's working for? The one Beatrice is probably getting her orders from? They're a hundred times worse than him."

"Who fucking cares. Some humans will die, and they would feel how we feel every single day!" Stevie the Rat laughed. "Then, we kill whoever that bitch is on the top, then us Faunus will take back this world we've been denied of."

]|[

"And you." He turned to the man in the black cap. "We know who you are now, race traitor. And we're coming for you."

"What're you guys going to do? Bleed on me?" The man, Johnny, rolled his eyes. "Now that you got that angst out of your system, let's talk. What are you guys planning now?"

Stevie the Rat laughed harder in his face. "Like I'm gonna tell you that, dumbass!"

Johnny had rifled through some bags with the group. They had tools on them. Adhesives, wires, cutters and shock proof gloves and pliers. And worst of all...

"What are these bombs for?" Johnny asked. Stevie responded by spitting at him, hitting his cheek.

"Come and find out dumbfuck. I ain't gonna talk." Stevie the Rat struggled, and reached behind him, taking out a dagger and desperately launching himself at Johnny. Johnny held the faunus' arms, holding the man back.

"It doesn't have to end this way!" Johnny shouted, but Stevie the Rat laughed him off. In a desperate move, Stevie the Rat bit at Johnny's hand, his two front teeth lacerating deep into Johnny's flesh. The adventurer yelped in pain, and quickly pushed the faunus off him.

"Enough!" He yelled, and struck at the man with his katana appearing in his hands, a Paralyzing Wind appearing on the edge of the blade.

The wind slowed Stevie the Rat, and the flat of the blade smashed across his face. Stevie the Rat wasn't one to give up though. He charged the man with his dagger, and Johnny parried him easily. He followed up with a punch, and Johnny caught it with the flat of the katana. "Stop it man. Just give up. The police would be here soon, and you could at least spend some time in a clean prison than this place." Johnny tried to reason with Stevie the Rat.

Stevie the Rat snarled. In a move that stunned Johnny, he grabbed at the blade of the katana, cutting his hand deeply, and using the blade, stabbed himself in the chest. Johnny looked on in horror, and Stevie the Rat had to laugh at his expression.

"Why?!" Johnny cried. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Like hell a-am I going to get caught by y-you." Stevie the Rat said. "WE won't be caught by you. We've too much at stake. And out glorious revolution is at hand." The rat faunus laughed. "With a bang even." Stevie the Rat opened his palms, and revealed unpinned Dust grenades.

Johnny's eyes widened, and he grabbed his sword to move away. Stevie didn't move. "What are you doing?! You'll kill your friends!" He said in shock. The faunus had to know his compatriots were just beside him, right?

"And if they get caught by you, they might talk. Better this way. We knew what we were getting into." Stevie the Rat laughed in triumph. Johnny fled back through the door, and a great explosion of fire engulfed the tunnel, burning the White Fang with Stevie the Rat.

"See you in hell, dragon." Stevie the Rat brought up a middle finger as he burned to ashes, and Johnny looked on in horror.