Despairs Remnants

by TwinGamers011701

A hunter, content in killing the beasts of the night. A knight, burning forever to protect the people who wished to kill his kind. Both wish nothing more, than to help their worlds... But when something happens and they both appear in a new world. A World destined to fall like theirs. Well what other choice do they have but to help. Bloodborne/Dark Souls/RWBY. My own OC's.

16. Forest of Separation

I"M ALIVE!

Let's get to the Reviews.

Anagennisi: Why thank you, honestly that was one of the things I was having the most difficulty with. But I am glad to see that it did in fact pan out.

But of course Jaune couldn't win this. He may have been trained by Mors, but that doesn't mean he's a fully changed person just yet.

Randomperson: I tried my best with Jaune, I just noticed how everyone goes the skin deep route. I wanted to keep it simple, but also complex enough to be interesting.

Crown of Reaper: I want to take credit for both of those thing, but my brother was a major help. He just started writing for it and that popped out. Next thing I knew I was editing it to fit better with my perception of mors and Boom. It's amazing.

Oh and just you wait :). This chapter doesn't even go into his true brutality.

The Baz: It took even longer for this chapter man. I hope just by seeing the length it makes sense though.

Locke Belmont: While I did that, I also wanted to get into the psychology of my Blake a little bit. Y'know, have the readers at least understand her and try to symitize.

Ikatsuki: Yes, I apologize. I am still very new to writing and have to better create something. Your criticism is valued, and I will try to fix some of the errors. The reason I did make them go to the school was for 1: Plot, 2: They had nowhere else to go and 3: The hope that they could meet like minded people in their new environment.

Again, I apologize if my earlier writing didn't make that clear. I will try to fix it as much as possible.

Student: I do have problems with Ruby's character, most of which you mentioned. For one despite Grimm Nukes in her eyes, she is barely taught how to use them by Maria. That and the Talk no Jutsu ability for her are the only things she got right now. She's just plain, which is something that I really wish to fix. Sadly, a true Ruby vs Ven fight won't happen just yet. But I wish to make it as epic as possible, and have her learn some things on the fly.

I hope you look forward to it. :)

Lokyloco: Some of the credit has to go to my brother. He helped me make his backstory, after I told him what I wanted for it. Most of what I did was have Jaune and Mors actually react while he spoke it and some of the ending speech.

Fight was all me though. :)

I hope I can get you something good in this chapter, I hope you enjoy it.

Stylo1: I agree with the detecting energy thing. What would have been better is if I said that Ozpin sensed something magical in the area or something similar. Rookie mistakes there.

I understand if the story isn't for you… but, if you are reading this, thank you for reading and criticizing it. All it can do is try to make me better.

Before we begin, I want those who have watched Avatar to realize one thing. This entire chapter has elements that I was inspired by with Zuko's redemption.

This chapter specifically, is akin to the famous Beach Episode… With bloody violence in between.

---

Chapter 16

Forest of Separation

Blake

Traveling… it was one of the many things that I was used to in my life. All of the more important memories had to do with traveling. Father was always beside me as we went to better the relation between Faunus and Man.

Traveling to Mistral to join the New White Fang, the nerves within always making her look back. As if the place known as home was still in view. The want to return to something familiar, filling into her heart. One of the only reasons that kept her in place was the warm hand of someone who would change the world.

The lonely train ride to Vale, still looking back at his masked pain and betrayal. Eyes that, even now, are still trying to find the man she had known so long ago. To a new life as a Huntress, where her new mission laid.

Now… Now she was in a Bullhead. The speed they were currently traveling unknown, yet was as smooth as walking. It was a calming feeling despite the dark night that waited for them outside. The vehicle closing the distance on her latest mission.

To stop the killer Venatores Luna. A man who embodied every cruel thing ever known about the human race.

Even his own moniker of Hunter sounded like something from the old ages, when the Faunus were hunted for sport. Killed like the animals the humans thought we were.

Beasts he called them… monsters in human clothing.

The hypocrisy almost made me vomit.

He was the monster.

The memory of that night never left… the blood that fit on him so comfortably that he didn't even seem to notice. An eye so dark that it was one with the night around him. The very eye that made even the confident Roman Torchwick cower.

But it was the way he stood among the bodies… how natural and unfazed he was around them. It was like a wolf over his prey, standing above it so that the people around him would look impressed.

It was sick…

It was disturbing…

It was so very familiar.

I unconsciously shook my head, trying to stop the image from changing into something that was not supposed to exist.

But like everything else it didn't listen.

The silver blue hair turned to the color of blood. The silver blade that glowed alongside any light, became stained red with the blood of so many.

And the dark eye of his were replaced by a bone white mask. Revealing nothing but a cold malice for the ones he fought against.

But they weren't the same…

My head shook again, both images disappearing like a fine mist. While it was true they held many similarities, they were different…

One tried to fight for the greater good for the people held back by hatred. The other a senseless murder who reveled in the blood of his enemies.

"Hypocrite."

I stood up immediately, my blade out before I could even see the origin of the voice.

But nothing was in the Bullhead. It was empty, barren of anything else besides what was brought. Besides that, there wasn't anything that piqued her interest. Nothing that could have spoken to her, aside from the pilot up front over the intercom.

It felt off though… Why was the bullhead so empty?

Why was she alone?

That didn't matter… none of that mattered. Pushing aside those thoughts, she got back to the only thing that did matter.

Stopping him… getting him to where he belongs.

The plan was simple… with the way he reacted a week ago it was clear who he would go after first…

Me.

So all she had to do was grab his attention and break down the wall that was his persona.

There was no need to plan after that...

Every tool and piece of information that was needed was within her grasp. His teacher was the only thing that had ever gotten him to react in the entire time that he was here at Beacon. Even with every revelation that I presented to him about the White Fang, he remained the same stoic man. His expression was unreadable and that frown permanently remaining on his face. As if he wanted no one to understand him, the reason obvious to, apparently, only me.

But if she just showed Ozpin his true nature… the nature that was revealed within his anger. I wouldn't have to deal with anyone doubting my purpose...

Or that… Thing ever again.

"Typical, even now you are running away from the problem."

Just like before it appeared again, and disappeared again without an echo. The Bullhead slowly grows darker and darker. As if something large was covering the entire interior with their shadow.

But that didn't matter. She could care less about her surroundings… My entire attention remained on that voice. The voice that mocked as if it knew me.

It sounded… familiar.

"I'm not! I'm solving it!" I responded, the answer forming within my head as if it was second nature, like a program. The response echoing a thousand times before falling silent like a whisper.

It was the opposite of the other voice. When it spoke there was no echo, it merely existed and disappeared in an instant. As if the very universe acknowledged it as important.

"By chasing him away? Face it… you know he's right… "

"You've seen what the people of the White Fang can become, what they have become… You just don't want to admit it."

"That your own kind, the very mission your 'allies' have will be a horrible stain on history…"

"An inescapable truth you will forever deny…"

I could barely respond to the voice, my heart beating like a small drum. The silent room filled with the loud pounding of my heart. Without thought she began to turn around within the dark room. Every corner darker than night itself.

"Shut up!" I yelled, the echoes nearly deafening as they came back to me. Filling her mind within her own words of rejection. But even with the righteous rage within my voice, the echoes began to quiet to a whimper.

Yet I didn't stop, throwing away all rationality as I continued. Yelling at an empty void that may or may not have even been real.

"They don't have to be like that!" My scream echoed out, before quickly falling back into a whisper. A whisper so quiet that it barely reached her enhanced hearing. "They have to be able to change! They can and they will come back from their choices! They ca-"

"They can, but at what cost…?'

"How many will die before they see?"

"And how many will walk far beyond the point of no return?"

The voice came like thunder, my own thoughts bombarded by it. Even now after talking with it for so long, it was an enigma. Something that couldn't be understood.

Something that put fear into the very depths of my soul.

But why was I afraid?

Why be afraid of something that had no means of harming her?

My hands reached for my ears. An attempt to shut out the voice that spoke down to me. A voice that sounded so familiar, yet so far away.

A voice that filled me with a warmth of familiarity…

Maybe that's why it hurt so much… to hear something that should have brought happy memories berating her.

Even still, that small piece still existed. That small piece inside that would always fight back against something that tried to belittle her. "Trying to help them isn't w-"

"As if this was ever about them."

"This is a mere self indulgence."

"A way to prove that you, yourself, can change."

"They don't matter… Ruby, Weiss Yang, the White Fang."

"All that matters to you is yourself."

"You just want to prove yourself right."

"Just like he does."

Once again like thunder… no, as quick as light itself the voice interrupted. I could barely process it with how quick it was spoken. But even without knowing the words spoken I felt an unrivaled fear grow. One that made the tip of my tongue feel like lead, forcing me to be quiet.

But the fear wasn't the worst thing… it was the way the voice spoke. The way it insinuated that I was just like the monster who killed all those helpless Faunus. Ones too blind to see the wrongs they were doing…

But it was also that deep down… I understood the voice wasn't talking about Venatores Luna.

And what hurt most was that my reaction was the same…

That being compared to either of them made me feel disgusted. Where so long ago, it would have made me feel a sense of pride.

"I a-am nothing li-." I tried to speak… trying to stop the lies that the voice spoke about her.

But the voice continued, vibrating through her entire body and soul. As if it was a parasite that existed within the depths of her mind. It made my mind hurt with every letter of every word.

The sound wasn't painful… it was just there.

But the words hurt more than any wound ever received, as a huntress or a White Fang member.

"Then why didn't you tell him?"

"You could have stopped him…"

"You could have changed him…"

"And least of all, you could have tried…"

"But you wanted what he wanted…"

"You wanted to hurt the humans who would undoubtedly hurt you, especially after all of the stories, the scars, the hate he told you."

"Shut u-" I tried to speak out against it… what else could I do.

I wasn't a monster… how could I be?

I never did anything to anyo-

Fire… It engulfed my vision. It consumed every corner of the bullhead, leaving nothing in its wake. It engulfed me in it's heat.

But I could still see what appeared before me.

No… Who appeared before me.

The only reason I thought it was a thing was the Grimm like mask covering his face. A mask that was partially stained red with blood. Something that made the demonic mask scarier than it ever would be on anyone else.

A single person lay at his feet… a man cased in shadow, whose identity could never be known. Not by any random passerby.

But I knew who he was…

A man who was tortured, because he helped me.

'It was only until the last moment …'

"The moment you opened your eyes to see all the people…"

"No… all the humans who were suffering because of the man you believed in."

"It was only then that you saw it."

The sword was lifted over his head… the higher it raised the faster my heart beat grew. It was only when the blade was at its zenith did my heart feel like it was running faster than any train.

But it came to a crashing halt just as soon…

Because Adam smiled at me… But it wasn't filled with any warmth or kindness that he always showed me.

It was cold, harsh… a smile that took happiness in the pain of others.

A smile that she only saw when he was fighting humans.

And the voice spoke from his mouth, in his voice.

'The monster you helped create.'

---

"Blake?"

My eyes opened without a second thought, hand reaching behind to where my Glambal Shroud was. A reflex that had been ingrained into me for the past few years I was in the White Fang.

But the hand stopped just as it began, my eyes focused on the one thing in front of me.

Eyes that shined like pure silver.

Even now, despite knowing Ruby Rose for almost a month, I was still shocked by their shared brilliance. Like staring into two glowing full moons made of innocence themselves.

They were eyes that made you feel safe, and even welcome.

And yet, to me, they had always left a bitter sweet aftertaste.

It wasn't that I didn't like Ruby Rose, in fact quite the opposite. One couldn't look at her and think of anything other than happiness and cheer.

But, someday soon… those lights will fade leaving nothing but a cold, hard, steel gray.

Since I was the only one on the team who really knew the world. I knew, without a doubt, the moment she took that step into the real world the innocence would fade.

Just like every child that humans would punish for being different.

"Are you okay?" She asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. The worry was still plain to see in her eyes as she looked at me.

I just shook my head looking around at the team that surrounded me.

Yang Xiao Long, my new huntress partner was on the other side of the bullhead, sitting next to a tired looking Weiss Schnee. Even as I continued to look, the heiress was beginning to nod off, before quickly catching herself.

From experience I would have suggested she close her eyes… but knowing only a little of the heiress, she would have battered it to the side.

What else could you expect when your midterm test was decided to be taken in the middle of the night.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…" I said, still looking at my partner and the heiress sitting beside her. Trying to avoid looking into the eyes of pure silver that was sitting beside me. "Just a nightmare."

I pushed the voice and its purpose out of my mind… alongside Adam.

This is no time to be focusing on dreams… Right now is the only time to get him to where he belongs.

With everything pushed to the side, I saw it all. The Blood, the broken corpses of the faunus underneath him… and the eyes of a monster.

That alone got rid of any drowsiness, better than any coffee or tea possibly could. Like a hot iron bar heating up the blood within me to the highest degree possible.

Now if only my concentration wasn't broken by the loud groaning of my partner. A groan that was twice as loud because of my heritage.

"Why night…" She spoke, her tone mostly filled with her usual joking tone. Though, if her eyes were anything to go about, part of it came from her tiredness. Even halfway through her own joke she had to stifle a small yawn. "Why did it have to be night? Couldn't he have chosen midday… like anyone else would have."

The heiress by her side groggily nodded, her eyes already half way closed. As if she didn't understand the joke that filled the small bullhead.

Not that it was very funny to begin with

"He probably just wants us to suffer as long as possible." I spoke up, a realistic amount of venom in my voice.

The entire atmosphere of the room changed. Everyone, even the drowsy heiress began to make the same face. A face that made each of them look as if they were walking across broken glass.

Cautious.

Even the two sisters exchanged a small glance, acting as if I couldn't see it… their thoughts were very clear to me.

After all, they've all been doing it since last week… ever since the test was announced.

Ever since Mors told his opinion about what happened at the docks.

It was like their attitudes changed. They grew more apprehensive about speaking the obvious truth…

All because he told them to think on it a little longer.

'What would he be if he wasn't a Huntsmen.'

As if that changed what he was now.

But… Mors was a good man. Strong and honorable, like the knights that were told about in stories that existed long before the Four Kingdoms.

It didn't shock me that the innocent Ruby would listen to him with all her heart. A hero that acted like one of many that she admired in stories.

It didn't shock me that Yang wanted to stay neutral throughout the entire thing. Mostly as a means to try to appease everyone, even those that had no business in the matter.

It didn't shock me that Weiss still remained quiet… staring at me. Her eyes still drowsy but awake at the same time. As if wondering when I might attack her or anyone else on the team.

It was only natural. An old White Fang member on the same team as the Schnee Heiress. Why wouldn't she think it was a trap? That fact that I'm still on the team with her here is miracle enough.

So of course, when the defenses came… I still wasn't shocked.

"H-he probably just wants us to have a harder time seeing him." Our leader spoke up, a small and fake smile on her lips. "He's very good at stealth, so he's probably just giving himself the advantage."

I just nodded, the smallest glare still on my face, contesting against the innocent leader's smile.

"Yeah…" I spoke up, turning my head away from the both of them. No doubt the smile of the two growing brighter in the dark with my agreement with her side of the story. "Guess that works."

"So," Yang spoke up quickly, my attention quickly turning to her. My instincts at their highest despite being in the air, safe from nearly anything. "What's the plan Rubes?"

I turned to our trusty leader at that moment, followed by everyone else. A terrible idea in hindsight considering her shy nature. Even as attention all focused on her, one could see the blush on her cheeks.

It was barely a second, however, before she began to look serious. The face of someone who could lead us into battle.

"Well, I was thinking we take shifts and wait for him to come to us." Ruby spoke up, looking around at us with her silver eyes dazzling at her own plan. "We already know he's pretty good at tracking, so staying in one place would mean he'd have to search the entire woods before he could find us."

It was a good idea… I couldn't refute that.

The place that Venatores decided we should go to was a thick forest biome. One that was so large that the test area had to be extended to accommodate it. It took a half day to cross it while walking.

And in the middle of the night, it was nearly impossible to see. Even for someone who could see in the dark.

Of course, it had a small need for luck. If we were unlucky, he'd find us right away. But, If you stayed in one place there with a good amount of luck, it was almost impossible for anyone to find you. Especially given the time frame that we all had.

It was a nearly perfect plan…

One that wouldn't happen.

"I think we should go searching for him." I spoke up, everyone turning to me with wide eyes.

I had to find Venatores… that was the only thing that needed to happen today. Even if we lost this so-called 'test', as long as he was gone that would be enough of a win.

"The faster we find him and beat him, the higher grade we receive. Not only that, we can leave and get to bed faster." I lied, knowing without a doubt that he would find us faster than anyone else would.

"T-t-that isn't what we're supposed to do." Ruby spoke up shyly, her voice quiet but prominent in the room that was nothing but quiet. "We're supposed to guard the relic for eight hours and stop anyone from taking it. B-besides we will just tire ourselves out, leaving us in the open for an attack!"

I looked to our fellow teammates, the ones who were staring at us like deer in headlights. As if any move could bring the ire of one of us.

"High risk, high reward." I spoke up, looking at each of them closely with the intensity of a hawk. Judging the expression on each of them at the plan I had proposed

I was thankful to see that our leader's plan wouldn't be happening.

"The goal is to get a good grade…" Weiss spoke up, her hand already reaching for her mouth to help stifle a yawn. Too tired to think about anything else than getting back to her nice comfortable bed and the promise of excellence. Why else would she do this?

"Plus, it's better than just sitting around doing nothing." The ever adventurous Yang, someone who wanted to do nothing more than explore and fight. A childish notion, but also endearing in a way. Just like her sister really. "We're somewhere we've never been before, might as well explore!"

"It's three against one." I spoke harshly, trying to get the point across. Looking over to our leader to see her ever brilliant eyes dimming slightly.

My throat tightened at their dimming. But I just shook my head, remembering the only thing important about what was supposed to happen.

"It's still her decision." The heiress spoke up, bringing my immediate attention to her. Arms crossed as she continued to look at us, a strange seriousness over her eyes. One that irked me.

"A good leader listens to what her teammates are saying." I spoke up, my voice slightly louder than it was before. A silent challenge to everything she said.

One that the two people who wanted no argument quickly picked up on.

"I-it's fine." Our young leader spoke, her hands lifted in front of her in a way to placate us. Like two wild animals who were about to fight. "If it's what you guys want."

I leaned backwards, the smallest of grins still on my face. One that the heiress glared at ever so slightly.

But it didn't matter.

He would find us… His cruelty would be shown to Ozpin.

After all, it's what he wanted right. For me to find and show the world what he really was? How else could Team RWBY and Venatores be chosen to fight against each other in a 'random' set of matches?

"But," Ruby spoke up, my attention on her in a matter of seconds. "You should take these."

Her hand was already reaching into the bag by her side. Her face hiding from view for a second as she began digging around in it. The small anticipation fueling my own curiosity even more.

She pulled out three identical looking objects. White cloths each of them tied up with a little bow. WIthin them was something that could barely fit in the palm of our hands.

Before I even realized it, one of them was in the palm of my hand. A thing that I flinched at nearly throwing it out of surprise.

I looked up, and saw rose petals in front of my face. Something that helped me realize what happened, as a small huff came out of my mouth. Especially when everyone else suddenly got the bags in their hands.

Why do we even need these? It was probably something childish that she only thought was important.

Weiss spoke up, saying what was possibly on saying the one thing the very thing that was on my mind.

"Please don't say they're cookies."

I expected one thing at that moment. The face of Ruby holding a blush as deep as her name from, Weiss being right.

Instead, she merely shook her head. Her voice was already echoing throughout the Bullhead.

"They're decoys."

Those two words brought the atmosphere to a serious note. As I once again looked down at the nearly insignificant bag with a new found respect.

A new object that will bring Venatores straight to me.

"The whole point of the test is for Venatores to get the relic." She continued, my attention still focused on the object in my hand. "So I thought it would be smart to make decoys to distract him from who actually has it."

I looked up to the heiress's face, a mild look of content on her face as she put it into her back pouch. The small scowl that formed at the possibility of Ruby's childishness fading quickly. "So, I'm guessing you have the real one?"

It was rather obvious honestly. Give the real relic to the fastest person on the team, that way if he does end up finding out there would be no way to catch her. It was a logical plan.

Which is why it scared me the moment Ruby put a hand behind her head and shook her head. Quickly speaking, once again, an answer that we didn't expect.

"I have no idea."

All I could do was blink at her, the decoy in my hands suddenly growing a little heavier.

"Excuse me?" My attention turned to Weiss, her grip also growing tighter around the 'decoy'. Her skin a shade whiter from the scare of holding the one thing that could fail her in an instant. Either that or the almost careless way Ruby responded to her question.

But, at least one of our teammates appeared to be having fun with it. A small glare forcing its way onto my face, while a smile stayed on my partners. The possible chance of risk to great for her adventurous personality.

"Is that why there's a cloth over it?" My bombastic partner spoke, already trying to remove the cloth. Trying to gaze to see if she had the important item on her person.

Even I was curious as I leaned forward to get a better view at what was held within.

Only for something red to appear in my vision. The wrapping tightened again, as if Yang never tried to pull it apart.

"It's there cause we have no idea if he was told what the relic looks like." Our leader spoke up, already in her seat as if nothing happened. Her hands on the center of her lap. "Wouldn't be much of a decoy if he knew it was fake with just a glance. Same reason why I gave it out randomly. Venatores' is really good at telling if you're lying."

I continued looking at her, the silver eyes of hers looking into her hands. Each of them gripping the other softly, almost in a form of comfort.

But it made sense. This was to be her first real outing as a leader. Anyone, even those with experience would feel a little stressed.

Not that it mattered in the long run. If what I had to do is successful, she wouldn't have to even encounter him.

"So," Weiss began, the ever pompous attitude still apparent. The possible decoy silently being placed within her pouch. "What you're saying is that we have a chance of being unlucky, and immediately losing."

Typical, still focused on a grade when there is something even more important.

"I just thought." Ruby spoke up, her voice still quiet yet holding a slightly serious tone. One that happened to fill the entire bullhead."If it was just me out there, and I was ambushed by Venatores…"

"I'd want to take my chances with luck, instead of a fight."

Everything was silent at that moment. Even the bullhead, the only thing keeping us in the air at the moment was muffled.

The reasons were simple. One was how the ever positive Ruby seemed so down and well… scared. But the other hit home for everyone.

If it was down between luck or fighting, what would I pick?

I looked around, everyone having a similar mindset to my own. Yang's grip tightening around the decoy, her eyes conveying a silent determination. Even Weiss' arms unfolded, her hands gripping the hem of her skirt.

Even I found myself griping my arm, something that brought me a small comfort.

Something that Ruby could have used right now.

But what could I say to her? What could possibly make her feel better, feel safer.

In that split second of thought, my attention turned to Yang. Out of all the people in this bullhead, she knew our leader the best.

But she was distracted, eyes hollow as she looked at her closed fist. A small sigh escaped my lips at that, knowing that the burden fell on me.

What would comfort her?

A hand on her shoulder… a sign that someone was always right beside you. Someone who cared and protected you. One that was always warm and peaceful, despite everything that tried to hurt him.

…

My hand was already halfway there already. The warm gesture already trying to be replicated, something that will hopefully do what he did for her.

A loud voice suddenly spoke, garbled and filled with static as it came through the intercom. The voice of the pilot, telling everyone on the team about what awaited them.

"Prepare for drop."

And suddenly, the comfort of Ruby Rose no longer mattered. The hand that reached out for comfort now helping me to get out of my seat.

In that split second, I knew what I'd do.

I'd fight him… I'll prove him wrong.

I wasn't afraid of him… not anymore.

Within a matter of seconds the door stared into my face. It stared back, slowly moving downwards as a harsh wind blew into my face. The small footsteps of those who I call a team following behind me.

The outside world was grey. Everything to the ground all the way up to the sky. The moon lights everything up in the forest, the only good source of light for the next six hours.

Despite the light, you could barely see the trees below. Making the forest look like a vast sea of darkness, one that we were all prepared to jump into.

Nothing else mattered… all that mattered was that he was in there.

All that mattered was that he had to be stopped.

I'm not running away from this… not from you. I will make you pay for the blood on your hands.

For a second, despite better judgment, I heard it again. The same voice that plagued my dream only minutes ago. The voice that should have remained within my mind alone…

The voice that said something, that made me loathe it all the more.

"And who will make you pay for yours?"

---

The forest was a place I had always found comfort in.

You've heard everything that there is to be heard in one. Bugs that are never silent. The crinkling sound of leaves as they blow in the wind. The creaking of trees, each one making you fear their coming fall. Maybe even the pretty birds that cry out, searching for another.

It's calm and yet dangerous at the same time. A weird paradox that gives me comfort.

It was always different at night. The vibrant greens, or the explosion of colors faded to a dull grey. A dull grey that went on for only a couple of feet before it became a deep black. The only time it ever changed was when the smallest of lights reflected back in the distance. Something that only happened when the eyes of animals looked in my direction. The stars and moon's light reflecting off of them.

The noises that existed were the scurrying of small animals, and their sudden cries. Cries that usually meant their death in the cruel night of the forest. Something that was followed by a loud call of an owl in the distance.

Even the trees sounded different, hollow. As if even they were scared of what might come.

Something that my teammates didn't catch onto.

"This is really boring." My partner spoke, the bright yellow of her hair looking even brighter in the night. The spare traces of moonlight bouncing off her hair like a mirror, spreading out in the forest.

The past three hours have been the same thing. The mild complaining coming from her as we continued moving. The sound of her voice caused the forest to go silent, before the chorus restarted.

But, like the last few times she spoke, I ignored her. Focusing only on the outer rim of my vision, trying to find Venatores in the thickets of the woods. Something that would have been easier with a flashlight.

But such a thing was idiotic to do, since it would catch the attention of anyone in the woods. Something that our leader had already taken into account, as she had immediately prohibited any form of light.

The only source of sight coming from getting used to the dark, and my own enhanced vision. A safer alternative to possibly being found.

"I quite like it, actually." Weiss spoke, her tone filled with a wistfulness of a small child. Though I did not turn her way.

Weiss' hair practically glowed in the dark. The moonlight made her hair look like a small sun, something that practically blinded me within the darkness.

"Of course you'd say that." My partner spoke, the pointless conversation continuing. Quickly turning around and beginning to walk backwards, a small smile on her face as she took part of the small distraction. "You're into boring stuff."

"I am not!" The heiress defended herself, her voice quiet but loud. By now her arms were probably folded, looking away from Yang in an attempt to keep her pride. "I just appreciate the area around us. You may have grown up near a forest, but this is only the second time I've enjoyed something like this."

"You also appreciate doilies and history books," The brawler spoke, the smile growing larger as it continued on. Taking a small amount of fun in Weiss's apparent discomfort. "So point proven."

The sounds of the forest began again, quickly growing used to them talking. Taking it as only background noise as they remained wary of the predators surrounding them. Something that I wish I could do, if they weren't so close.

They barely realized how loud they were getting. Something that I was fine with in the long run. It would only attract the person that I needed to get here.

That didn't make the banter any less pointless.

"If you say so." The heiress spoke, a small amount of defeat in her voice. Possibly noticing the futility of the argument, or just how loud the both of them were getting.

"Aw," My partner spoke, the smile instantly being erased from her face. The amusement over as Weiss sounded her surrender. "Come on, at least try to fight back."

I swallowed a chuckle at the final bit. Despite the needlessness behind it, it was hard to doubt the small amount of levity it brought.

Something that almost made you forget you were in the thick of the woods.

Something that didn't affect one person on the team.

"Guys." Our leader spoke up from the far back, her scythe trained on our blind spot in the back of the group. Something that she had been doing since we landed. "We're supposed to avoid being detected."

It was still a weird sight to see. The optimistic Ruby Rose that would smile during everything, having a serious look and tone about her. The fear from the Bullhead still exuding off of her in spades.

Something that was pointless in the long run.

There was nothing to fear, at least, not from Venatores. Ozpin was watching everything that happened in the woods, like he did in the initiation. He wouldn't allow anything extreme to happen, not as long as we were his students.

Someone was always there, right by my side. For anyone else it would have been a small thing, but to me it was everything.

As long as I was by his side, nothing could harm me.

Not without consequence.

I shook the memories out of my head, a small form of disgust drilling a hole in my stomach.

"You're being paranoid Rubes," My partner spoke up, her voice a big enough distraction to push aside the disgust. Her voice was the exact opposite of what her sister was. "We've been searching for a while, and we still haven't found him."

How long had it been… at this point even the brightness of my Scroll was too much on my eyes to make out anything on it. It would have been like a small sun that blinded me in the middle of the forest.

As well as being another call of our leader, as a means to not attract attention.

"Besides," The brawler continued, marching forward in a carefree manner, like a stroll through a park. "It's Four vs One, and the only thing Ven fought has been some foot soldiers from the White Fang."

My eyes turned into a small glare at that statement. Memories of all the people that fought by my side, both as they were alive and dead. But I just shook it aside, continuing my search for anything unusual in the woods. Noticing it's increase in darkness.

I could see twenty feet in front of me, what used to be a good forty. Even the lights from all of the animals' eyes grew dimmer and dimmer. Almost as if a lightbulb was running out of power, fading over time.

I looked up, seeing the reason.

Or rather, the lack of light source above.

Of course it had to be stormy tonight. Another thing planned by Venatores? No, he couldn't have planned for the weather. I shook my head, biting my lip at the infectious paranoia.

All while Yang kept talking.

"Meanwhile, the rest of us have been fighting future huntsmen." The girl spoke, giving a small playful punch forward. As if imagining all the fights she had been in since coming to Beacon. Most of them against the weaker set of students in our class, but quite a few against equals. "Dude might be tough, but with the four of us here, he'll be beat before he even throws the first punch!"

"We shouldn't be underestimating him." Ruby spoke, the strange sense of paranoia still around her. I turned to try and look her in the eye, trying to avoid the sharp glow of Weiss's hair. But even now, her back was still turned to us. "He has been personally trained by a professional Huntsman."

The things she said were ultimately true. Yet, I was filled with nothing but annoyance.

Why should she dictate how strong we were?

"So have the rest of us." I spoke up, that small amount of annoyance clear in my voice. "There's nothing to worry about."

Yang her head towards me. The same smile on her face, her hand raising to point to me. Much like how one would say 'See, I told you.'

"Yes," Weiss spoke up, the sarcasm already clear in her voice. Something that made my partner deflate slightly. Experience telling her what was going to come out of her mouth. "Nothing at all to worry about from the man chosen by our Headmaster."

How ironic. The prideful heiress telling us how careful we should be. After all, it wasn't like her first day involved looking down on everyone. Including the person she had just mentioned.

I turned around to look at her, the new found darkness allowing me to see the heiress without blinding me. Her look of superiority as she looked down on all of us, her arms crossed. Almost like a tyrant queens.

"We've been taught never to underestimate our opponents." She spoke, her gaze shifting to the ground. "This goes even more so with Venatores. If his teacher's title is anything to go by, he specializes in fighting other Huntsmen."

Then her eyes lifted to mine. And I could see it, feel it. A challenge. One that I would respond in kind to.

"Something that, as a team, only one of us is exceptional at." Her eyes practically drilled themselves into my own, an invisible battle of will's.

Of course she'd still hold a grudge against me.

No matter what I did, I will always be just a criminal in her eyes.

This was the first moment we had locked eyes with each other since that day a week ago. The only time we have even looked in the same direction as the other.

But it was still just as tense as the day I left our dorm.

She still hasn't even apologized for it. Putting the blame of everything on the White Fang.

But she was right.

No she wasn't! She was never right.

What I said was still true.

They were misguided. Lead down a path by someone who tricked him.

Just like I was...

"So what," Yang spoke, forcing me to turn around. The same carefree smile on her face, as if she didn't notice the very tense atmosphere.

Yet Weiss kept her gaze on me. A gaze that didn't blink or move. It remained on me, the tension still just as strong.

I didn't back down either, staring at her in the same manner.

"Look," Yang spoke slowly walking in between us, forcing our attention onto her. The smile still on her face, but her eyes holding a serious edge. "Just because he was trained by some special Huntsman, doesn't mean he is that strong."

Her voice was loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear. As if it was an emotional and daring speech. In any other place I might have told her to quiet down a little.

But her voice worked as a pretty good beacon for Venatores to find. So instead of truly paying attention I looked all around us, at the forest. The animals grew silent as Yang continued her little spiel.

The animals were still around, the smallest of them hanging above us. Watching us like this was a movie or show. Only the tiniest of sounds making their way to my ears.

Even behind me I could feel the owls staring. Most likely annoyed that the loud voice was making their dinners runaway.

I let out a small sigh, knowing that he still hadn't found us.

"He doesn't even know what we're capable of," She continued, the smile still on her face. "All he's done since he got here was to look down on everyone."

"So we just surprise him, and it's our win." She said, ending with a small shrug. "Simple, right?"

The words were meant to reassure us of the coming danger.

It sounded like arrogance.

But, for whatever reason, Weiss nodded. Her eyes turned to every part of the woods, as if trying to take over my job.

I just rolled my eyes, already making my way forward. Trying to make my way forward though the thick woods. Complete the mission that was set out for us.

But was stopped by a quiet voice that was just as loud as Yang's own.

"But what about what happened last week?"

Everything that moved in the forest went silent. As if the conversation was finally interesting to the creatures in the dead of night.

Every person on our team stopped moving. Turning their heads to look at our esteemed leader, her back still turned to us. Trying her hardest to see in the dark.

She didn't say anything else, but that sentence brought back memories.

It was hard to forget that day. The large amount of fear that I felt, the helplessness from it all. The tears and the grip from his hand when he was strangling me. A thing that made me want to curl up into a ball and never leave from safety ever again.

His single visible eye staring into me, similar to that of a monster. Void of anything but the want to consume everything in front of him.

Like him.

I shook my head, clearing the mere thought that night.

What happened in the past doesn't matter.

All I needed to focus on was the blood on his hands. That will keep me moving forward.

"Ruby, you're overthinking it." The leader's sister spoke up, her voice holding a strained positivity. As if trying to keep up a happy atmosphere for her sister. "H-he just caught me off guard."

Ruby still didn't turn around. She just kept searching through the woods, going at the edge of every bush. Quickly pushing it to the side, as if Venatores would be behind it.

"He stopped you from interfering with a glance." She spoke up, turning around at that moment to look at her sister. A small worried look on her face. Even looking at her I was unsure whether it was because of what happened last week or that our enemy could jump out at any minute.

But just as quickly as she looked at her sister, she turned back around. Surveying the area once again.

I couldn't help but compare her to some of the soldiers from the White Fang. The ones overly cautious about all of their surroundings. As if Huntsmen could pop out of anywhere from the woods.

They didn't last long. Feeding off their own stress to the point that, when it came time to fight, they were worn out and sluggish.

Yang, however, was the opposite.

"But now I'm ready for it." She spoke, a large smile on her face. Shifting her hands to the sides of her hips to form a confident pose. "So, once again, we're Golden!"

She was the type to try to keep everyone nice and happy. Confident that no one was in their surroundings until the Huntsmen were right on top of them. They would even try to help out the ones who are stressed out.

Usually their mere presence would be huge to those stressed out. Calming them within a couple of seconds.

If they wanted to listen.

Ruby turned around quickly, the silver eyes shining with doubt at her sister. Something that I hadn't seen in the long time that we were here. "But-"

She never got to finish.

"It's fine," Yang spoke, the tone quiet yet firm. Her lilac eyes changed to a deep crimson for only the tiniest of seconds before changing right back.

The tension that me and Weiss had was quickly replaced. This time between sister and sister.

I understood now why Yang intercepted the both of us so quickly.

It was nothing but uncomfortable. Maybe even more so than what we were going through. As if the tension was a thick smog.

But it quickly dissipated, the blond sisters smile returning. But this one looks more apologetic than the other ones. As if she realized that she was the one at fault, or maybe something else.

"Y-you just have to relax." Yang with a sisterly voice, her hands up in a placitating manner. Turning her head to look at both me and Weiss, a small smile on her face.

"I'll protect you guys."

"I'll protect you, Blake."

I looked ahead, biting the inside of my cheek. The memories that once brought me happiness thrusting themselves against my head. Memories of those I promised to stay beside trying to break my mind.

It only gave me a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Okay." Ruby spoke, her voice wavering and uncertain. Just as she has been all night.

So, all and all, a worthless effort by everyone involved.

I let out a long sigh, and continued moving forward. Our short break unspokenly ended as we continued onward.

The animals that remained in the trees going in the opposite direction, as if realizing their entertainment was over. The silent and haunting sounds of the forest filling in the silence of our team. The small snap of twigs breaking as Yang and Weiss walked beside me.

Finally… peaceful and blissful quie-.

So…" My partner began, the bright smile bringing light to the woods. "Does anyone have any good stories?"

I let out a long sigh, grabbing the bridge of my nose to alleviate the headache that was growing.

It wasn't that I didn't appreciate what Yang was trying to do. Trying to bring us together again like we were last week. All happy and able to tolerate the other people on the team.

But, at this moment, it was nothing short of annoying.

"No." I spoke up, a note of finality to it. Trying to dissuade any and all storytelling at the moment, trying to focus on my surroundings.

"Party pooper." The blond spoke, a small pout on her face. But nevertheless kept moving forward. Arms behind her head.

"Actually…" The heiress spoke up from behind me, once again not listening to me. "I am rather curious, Blake."

"About what?" I managed to growl out, already growing tired from the needless questions. All we had to do was keep moving forward.

"What is your family like?"

My Faunus ears shot up like a surprised animal. It was like everything stopped at that moment as I processed the almost innocent question.

One that brought back memories of a hurtful goodbye. Tears and a back turned away from her, as I left the only place that I ever knew.

To a tortured life that I regretted.

Even the air grew still, all of my teammates eyes on me at the question.

"Why is th-" I tried to question, before Weiss spoke up again.

"These two never shut up about their father," She said, possibly pointing to the two sisters. "And all of you know what lineage I came from. Yet, we've never heard anything about your family."

It wasn't important, not to them anyway. Something that I had begun to tell them.

"Yeah," Yang spoke up, a large smile on her face. Her voice filled with a faux innocence. The needed excuse for bonding landing right in front of her. "What is your family like?"

I could feel my eye twitching slightly as everyone's eyes remained on me. But I let out a small sigh. It wasn't like they were going to give up on it, no matter what I did.

So it was best to just get it over with.

"It's an average family…" I said, as I kept moving forward. Leaving out the part where they lead the current terrorist group they all wanted to stop. All it would do was justify Venatores hatred to me for them, no matter how hard I tried to explain myself. "Nothing much to talk about."

If it were possible, the stares grew even more intense. Yang's mostly out of curiosity and Weiss' out of suspicion.

"Siblings?" My partner spoke, still trying to keep up the pointless line of questioning.

"Only child."

"Crazy cool Uncle?" Our Leader spoke up from behind, apparently interested in our conversation.

"None. No aunts either."

"Well," Yang trailied on, her mind in deep thought. Trying to think of anything that would continue this talk. "What about…I don't know, hometown crushes?"

Red hair like autumn leaves was the first thing I noticed about him. It was in the middle of Spring, so it was very strange to see anything red, and it immediately caught my attention.

The boy, around five years older than me, had bandages over his left eye. He wasn't even looking at anyone, staring out into space as if he was reading from the cosmos.

Father said he was really hurt… hurt to the point that he would be staying with us for a while.

I moved up to him, slowly.

But even that little movement caught his attention, quickly backing up even further on the bed. Like a wild animal in a cage.

Only when he truly saw me, did he stop. The open blue eye staring at me curiously. Waiting for me to say or do anything.

Yet all I could manage was a small, meek. "Hi."

For some reason… that hello made him smile.

It was a nice smile.

"Of course you'd think to suggest something like that." Weiss spoke up, drawing me away from that brief memory. Something that I was mildly grateful for, despite our current feelings to each other.

"It's fine…" The memory filled my tone with annoyance, something that probably everyone of them could hear. "It's not important."

"Blake," My partner said, her tone serious despite her causing me to give a short pause. Turning my head at her to see the playful smile gone from her face.

"At least give us something." She spoke, only giving a small shrug. As if even she knew that it wasn't worth it at this point.

A part of me felt bad… being so secretive. The part that wanted to tell my teammates about my life.

But I couldn't…

Why not?

Because...

"We have to keep moving." I spoke up, turning my attention forward. "If we stop now, Venatores wi-"

I stopped myself midway through my own sentence, noticing the tree's in front of me. Each of their branches colored now tinted orange, like a small dancing flame.

A supposed light in a lightless forest.

As if by some instinct I began to look down at my feet, time seamlessly slowing down. Everything becomes sharper for the tiniest second.

The worst possible second that it could have happened. My eyes widening in realization at what was about to crash to the ground.

It was a bottle of alcohol, filled to the brim falling to the ground. A white rag was where the cork should have been, lit like a small match.

My brain, helpfully, remembered its name as it crashed to the ground. A small and bright inferno consuming my sight.

A Molatav.

My aura was up, the moment I realized what it was. Trying to block the heated glass and fire that would consume my lower body.

However, my hands and eyes were too slow to block my sight. Eyes that had grown used to the darkness of midnight, met the original light source.

I let out a small scream, the small blast of fire and light consuming my sight. Dot's and other shapes filling it's place, dancing across the darkness that I could see.

"Blake!" Yang screamed out, the sound of metal clinking together. Followed quickly by the sound of gunfire. Probably as she flailed around in the dark.

Something that I planned on doing as well.

I quickly grabbed Gambol Shroud, reflexilingly transforming it into an Uzi. Quickly aiming in some random direction. A fire boiling in my veins that I acted upon without thinking.

"Watch where you're pointing that!" Weiss spoke up, my gun quickly being batted to the side with the sound of metal striking metal. A twinge of quick fear in her voice.

All I could do was scoff at her, quickly remembering by sound alone how inexperienced everyone on my team was.

Which made it my job to find out where Venatores was. Something that will be difficult with the constant gunfire echoing throughout the entire forest. Each shot brought a familiar pain that all gunfire brought to my ears.

I tried listening for anything, trying to drown out the gunfire… the rustling of leaves, the snapping of branches. Anything that would tell me where he was.

I barely even heard it…

The soft crunch of grass behind me.

Without even a moment of thought, I turned my gun towards him. The dust ready to blow him away from me.

A gunshot did go off, this one loud, crisp and oh so close. One that hit me right in the knee forcing me to kneel.

It was barely a second, but I was once more helpless.

Panic swelled into my chest, at that realization. As I continued to try and shoot him, loud footsteps and a loud battle cry behind me. A small chime from Weiss' semblance, as she prepared to attack. Even the loud cutting sound of the wind Ruby left behind.

All four of us tried to hit him with at least one attack.

Yet all he did was take a large breath…

We had him right where we-

I felt my heart stop.

Monstrous, blood curdling…

If it were only that easy.

Those words couldn't even begin to describe what happened next.

"▂▂▃▃▅▅-▂▂▃▃▅▅■■■■▂▃▅-▃▃▅▅▃▃! !"

The scream was unlike anything I had ever heard. It made every part of my body feel like it was in ice water, while the blood within my veins were red hot. These two contradictions quickly forced me onto my side.

Every action I wanted to think about doing was drowned out by that ungodly sound. I couldn't even think of covering my ears. It rattled my entire skeleton and the very ground beneath me. Even the air around me quivered at the sound of that... thing.

This couldn't have been Venatores… no human or Faunus could make this sound. Did… did he lure something to us?

Suddenly there was an impact on my stomach. I doubled over, so focused on the sound that I couldn't even manage my Aura. Then there was the brush of cold metal against my arm as it reached for something.

It was only when I felt my gun thrown away did I know why it was there.

All the while I could do nothing. Blind from the earlier light and deaf from this ungodly screech.

Then everything stopped moving… the sound fading into a dull ringing noise.

It was there that I finally felt the beast over me. The creature that would soon kill me.

As soon as I felt that, I was gone. Quickly fading into a shadow and getting away from the strike. Kneeling on the ground, my blade out in front of me.

I felt what should have cut my arm go right through the shadow. Very glad that I got to keep my arm.

But I still couldn't do anything… The constant ringing still present in my ears, my body feeling like it had gone through a blender.

I took Gamboul Shrouds sheath off my back, the effort alone nearly causing me to fall on my side again. I focused my aura to try and fix whatever that roar did to me, leaving me open to any and all attacks.

For the shortest while, nothing happened.

I was just left in an open space, unsure of where I was. The constant ringing still in my ears and the shapes forming in front of my eyes. Each of these shapes took the form I thought of the thing that attacked me. Each of them more monstrous than the last.

I had only thought about putting my guard down…

When I saw the faintest of lights to my left.

Despite my current sluggishness, I rolled forward barely making it back onto my feet. Not wanting to waste my aura for anything else. Instead trying to focus on getting my sight back

I felt the ground split right next to me, the smallest pieces of dirt flying into my side. But none of that mattered as I saw another light, this one right in front of me. Clearer than the last one, looking like a small crescent moon.

It was at that moment, I realized it was Ven… He was the one that somehow made that roar.

But how?

Wasn't he currently using his Semblance?

How did he make that god awful sound?

These thoughts filled my thoughts, almost to the point where I barely dodged his next blow. The crescent moon-like shape quickly vanished as I ducked, something that should have been easy. But I instead landed on my back, my usual grace blocked by my sluggishness. A sharp wind blew over me, making a small chime like sound.

Then something sounded out through the woods.

"Retreat!" I know it was supposed to be loud, but it was almost like a whisper. Like it was being whispered into my ear.

Before I could even lift myself from the ground, I was already moving. Arms grabbed me roughly and started running.

I tried to find anything I could see. Anything that could get rid of the darkness in my eyes.

In the farthest distance I saw a small star of light… just as quickly as I saw it, it disappeared. Fading once again into the dark woods like a shadow…

Like a hunter.

I didn't know how long we were running, all I know is that we were. Me staring into the darkness, as it slowly started to grow brighter. The details of the woods growing clear and clearer as we continued on. Finally able to see the person carrying me.

Of course, it was the only one strong enough to carry me. Her blonde hair like a small sun, even with my technical blindness.

Even the ringing began to quiet down, letting me hear the soft footsteps of her run or the slightly labored breathing.

All the while I didn't even speak.

Maybe it was because of the embarrassment of being held like a small child. Maybe it was because of how I had to be saved like a damsel. Maybe because of the half of the weapon that I lost to Venatores.

Or that it was all so familiar.

I couldn't respond to my own mind, before I was dropped down. Doing a small roll on the ground.

I was going to yell at Yang the moment I got, the sluggishness fading. Or maybe I had grown a tiny bit used to it.

But I stopped the moment I actually saw her.

Her hands were on her knees, the breathing that I had thought was average was in fact deep and heavy. Even in the dark there was a thin layer of sweat coming off of her. The smallest scratches barely visible on her arms. Dirt in the smallest parts of her hair.

It shocked me, to see her so… unlike herself. Confident, upbeat and cheerful at any point in time.

"I knew we shouldn't have been moving!" A voice spoke up one that I quickly turned to. The loud voice was painful to my ears. The ringing returned for the quickest second, pounding into my head. I had to resist the urge to grab my Faunus ears.

I didn't want to look weak… not to them.

Our leader moved around in a small circle. Barely looking winded, probably due to how used to she was running. She looked frustrated, reasonably considered our ambush.

"Look, he got lucky that's all it was." My partner said, gasping between breaths, putting her hands on her knees. The confident tone she always had missing from her voice .Then she noticed me, and winced. "Sorry."

I just waved a hand, keeping my attention on Ruby. Deciding that sitting was probably the better option. Despite my lack of running, I wanted to get a moment's rest after that scream.

"Lucky that he got in the middle of us," She started, already making her way, towards her sister. A face full of disbelief at what her sister was saying. The sound continues to make the ringing louder and louder. "Made a perfect ambush and took large chunks out of our auras! "

Then her face suddenly turned to stone, her hands quickly reaching into the pockets of her skirt. Quickly pulling out the white cloth that she had given us in the beginning of our adventure. "Do all of you still have yours?"

"First thing I checked." The heiress spoke out, her relic already inside her hand. The pure white dress she had on battered with dirt and grime. Something that was slightly satisfying despite the situation, seeing the 'perfect heiress' have some dirt on her.

Yang gets up, her breathing still labored. Quickly reaching into her back pocket and taking out the Relic. The smallest smile returning to her face.

Then everyone turned their eyes to me. Their several different colored eyes staring into my souls, waiting for me.

I reached into my side pocket…

And found nothing.

I checked again, trying to make sure I hadn't missed it

Once again nothing. A small feeling of shame bubbling up from my stomach. The first person to fail on this mission.

Also making me practically useless in the eyes of Venatores.

"Okay…" Weiss spoke up, taking a breath. Probably taking everything in her power not to yell at me. Probably realizing I had no control of it, or just trying to make the others happy. "The fact that we're still in this suggests that hers was one of the fake's."

"So all we have to do is last…" She spoke up, quickly taking out her scroll, flinching at it's bright face. "Four more hours."

She quickly switched the relic into her hand with her scroll, placing it into a different pocket. Probably in some form of reassurance of it's safety. I noticed how everyone did the same thing, probably in a case of their own need of it's safety.

"We should keep moving." Ruby spoke up, her scythe unfolding from her back. Taking the lead in front of them. Probably because of her both being the fastest person and the leader all wrapped in one.

"Right…" I spoke up, already beginning to lift myself back up.

Right before falling down like a small child. Just as I misjudged where the ground would be for my hand to lift me.

This moment, sadly didn't go unnoticed

"Are you okay?" Yang spoke up, her hand on my arm quickly stabilizing me in a safe position. Like how a mother would suddenly dote on you the second she felt something was wrong. "You still don't look so hot."

"I'm fine." I spoke up, softly pushing the hand off of my shoulder. A little annoyance creeping into my tone, unsteady lifting myself up once more.

Just in time to be met with a bright light in my eyes. The light blinded me once again, as I put a hand in front of my face.

Once again forcing me to fall.

My anger and embarrassment spiked at my falling down again. "What are yo-" I began to speak up, my voice almost like a growl.

Then I felt her hand on top of my head.

For a second, the merest second, I thought I was being petted.

Then it began to hurt, as I instinctively pushed the hand off me. My vision already accustomed this change of light and dark.

I looked ahead and saw three things. One of them, my leader. Her silver eyes still bright in the dark woods.

The second thing was my ribbon. One that I always have on my head, to protect my identity from others. Something which, alone, would have made me completely furious.

If it wasn't for the third thing…

I instinctively put my hand on my own head, something warm and wet touching my fingertips. I pulled away and looked down.

Seeing my hand stained red with blood.

Ah… that explains a lot.

The sluggishness…

The ringing…

Why didn't I guess it before?

The world began to spin at that point. At which point I grasped the ground with my hand. The cold dirt clinging to my hand as I did so.

My eardrums were ruptured… That explained everything…

He did this...

"How can she still hear us?" The heiress spoke up, her voice holding a small piece of concern as well as curiosity.

"Well…" My partner spoke, her tone filled with a small joking tone to it. "She technically has two sets."

I fully turned to her, my gaze full of anger at that comment. Something that made the blonde flinch a little bit, before putting her hand behind her head.

"Sorry," She spoke up, her tone filled with sincerity despite the earlier comment. Before her face quickly changed back into being serious. "Do you think it was on purpose?"

"Maybe…" The Heiress spoke up again, her hand reaching toward my head. I turned my glare to her, where she smartly decided to just fold her arms. "He could be wary of Blake, she has superior hearing. Clear advantage."

"Or he just thought it'd be funny." I managed to growl out, my anger growing with every passing second. The mere thought of Venatores just doing this to me alone…

No one else had bloody ears… only me.

No one else lost their relic… only me.

No one else had their people slaughtered… only me.

This was all about me. Everything he has done was just about me.

It made me angry…

No.

It makes you feel weak.

"Ven's a lot of things." Yang spoke up, looking around the woods. As if she could possibly see into the darkness. "Funny isn't one of them."

I would have groaned if I wasn't so furious.

"L-look," Our leader spoke her tone filled with uncertainty. Each stutter increased my anger, for a reason even I couldn't understand. "Let's start moving."The faster we move, the less likely he can find us."

I didn't want that…

Call it anger, call it arrogance, call it pride.

I was done with this…

I wanted this charade to be over, show the world what he truly was.

Running away wasn't going to solve that.

What I needed was for him to be here.

Something that I knew how to do. After all…

He only reacted to one thing.

I stood up, the sluggishness disappearing from the amount of rage in my system. Like a small dose of adrenaline that awakened my senses to their limit.

"Blake?" My leader spoke up, her form and voice a whisper compared to my rage.

It was only when I turned around that she probably began to notice that something was wrong.

"We know you're out there!" I screamed out, my voice hoarse at the loud scream that echoed across the forest. "Might as well just save time and come out!"

"What are you doing!?" Our leader spoke up, her voice right next to me. Her Semblance probably helped her to try and stop me.

Not that it would amount to anything. Even if I stopped, he'd still know where we are.

But I continued, hoping to vent out my rage.

"What, are you afraid?!" I turned to my left, hoping that my voice would project more. My own ears ringing slightly at my voice. "Weren't you supposed to be better than us?!"

A hand was suddenly around my mouth, trying to stop me from speaking. I was practically being pulled down from the hand, by what felt like a small weight. But it wasn't strong like Yang's, it was practically dainty.

As if I was going to be stopped by the Heiress.

I whipped my arm out behind me, a small cry sounding out. Followed by the yell of a name, one that sounded muffled.

"What would your Demon of a Teacher say about that, HUH!?"

The woods were silent… Everything was silent. There was no yell of anger, no sound at all. Even the things that had made a sound previously were completely silent. All that reigned through the entire woods was true and absolutely silence.

Where was it?

The scream? The anger?

There was nothing. Nothing but silence.

I turned around, trying to look for at least a rustle of leaves or bushes. Anything to suggest that he would be coming.

But then there was something…

"Why!?" A voice screamed out, causing me to turn around. My blade already pointed at the possible danger of Venatores. I was happy and ready…

Until I saw who I was pointing at…

Silver eyes, filled with anger.

I took a step back, quickly lowering my weapon to my side. Looking at her entire body, pieces of her clothes flecked with dirt that wasn't there before.

The others were behind her. Yang looked at her sister in schock like I was, while Weiss looked at me in a rage equal to Ruby. No…

Ruby looked almost scary from her anger.

"Wh-what was the point of that!?" She continued, her voice filled with anger and rage that I didn't expect from her. The innocent child, filled with an emotion other than happiness was standing before me.

"I-it was to..." I tried to say, my mouth all of a sudden dry. The unexpected rage caught me off guard from even responding.

What was the point of that? Why did I think it was smart?

No… it was t-

"To what!" Ruby spoke up, causing me to flinch. The pain in my ears grew with her yell's. The aura is still taking a while to heal them. "To make the man who had just ambushed us know where we are!? To make him angrier at you then he already is!?"

"Ruby," My partner began to speak, a hand on Ruby's shoulder. She quickly turned her head the same rage she had for me staring into her sister. "Calm down."

Ruby only looked shocked, which turned back into anger. She merely turned her shoulder and kept looking at Yang. Someone who shockingly kept herself cool despite the anger on her sister's face.

Thankfully it gave me some of my composure back.

"It's so we can finish this." I spoke up, looking to the ground. Trying to keep the gaze of Ruby out of my mind. "Use me as bait and draw him out, set up an ambush."

I looked up, Ruby staring back at me. The anger still in her eyes as I gained a small amount of courage.

"I'm trying to win!"

"Even if we beat him," She spoke up, probably not even acknowledging what I was trying to say. Instead focusing on herself and what she thought was right. "The test wouldn't end! It keeps going till the time limits up."

"This isn't about winning," She began to walk up to me, her strut filled with confidence. "But surviving!"

"We're doing both!" I said, not backing down from her confidence. Not again. "If we beat him, we'll survive until the limit!"

"But you don't care about that!"

I backed up only a single step at that statement, my confidence wavering. It was like she had looked into my mind, just for the tiniest second.

"This is about you!" She continued, the words she spoke sharp. Each of them stabbing into my mind like small spikes. But she just kept going, so close to me that I could feel her breath. "This entire week has just been about beating Venatores at whatever game you're playing! All while risking what could be the very future of you and your team!"

"It's all about you causing problems!"

"Ruby!" Yang managed to scream out, the lilac eyes of her flashing red for the briefest second. Glowing even brighter than her sisters in the dark.

But this could no longer be stopped.

I was the problem? I was the so-called problem in our team?

How was I the problem!?

What have I done other than rid them of problems in their future!?

What have I done other than save lives!?

What have they done, other than remain safe and happy?

"I'm causing problems!?" I spoke, the anger clear in my voice. Fueling whatever courage that I had left. "We have a murderer next door and you're worried about what I'm going to do!"

"Of course we're worried about you!" She spoke the anger removed from her voice. Her tone filled with sadness and worry that I could no longer care about. "You aren't yourself! You've been acting like an entirely different person."

"I'm fine," I could feel my hand gripping the only weapon that I had tightly from frustration. She had nothing to do with my life, or to even know about it.

"What I'm going through is none of your business!" I spoke, looking between all of my teammates.

"Of course it is!" Ruby continued, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Something that made a part of me want to calm down and talk. As if knowing where this situation would lead me… But to what? Why did this feel familiar?

"We're your friends." She said it so sincerely… so innocently. I wanted to believe it.

I didn't think anymore…

My friends?

Friends wouldn't be accusing me of being a terrorist. They wouldn't be telling me that I was wrong.

They would have accepted me.

As if you gave them the chance.

"You think we're friends, just because we live together!?" I spoke up, angrier than I already was. Speaking out the first words that I wanted my 'friends' to hear.

"If it was my choice I'd-"

I didn't know why I stopped myself… maybe because of the lead ball now in my stomach. But I did…

That didn't stop what happened.

Their eyes were on me. All of them…

All of them were too shocked to even have the smallest emotion. Each of their eyes, purple, blue and even sliver looking at me with wide eyes.

It was only then that they changed to a mixture of sadness and anger.

Ruby only looked at me in silence. Even when she was angry, her silver eyes shined. Whether it was hope or the glimmer of innocence, the shine stayed with her.

But these weren't the eyes she always saw… not truly.

They reminded me more of steel.

It was hard, unbreakable and could be relied on…

So why did she hate looking at them? They were better weren't they?

He was always big to her… but it was never intimidating. He was like a big teddy bear to her, alway hugging her. The big golden eyes like small sun's.

I hated to see him like this… Tears already building in his eyes.

Before he even said anything, I turned around.

Leaving my home… and for him to tell Mother where I'd gone.

Agh…

He was just like her father.

Big, strong and too soft to use any of it…

But for some reason I admired him for it. It was one of his greatest strengths… Even greater than his own.

Even as I left… His eyes never did. Green and bright, like all the lives he tried to save.

The sadness, as well as the hope.

The hope that, even as I left, he wasn't too late to save me.

That's why it was so familiar.

All of their eyes looked the same. Losing the brilliance they always had in them. All so I could protect them.

All so you could protect yourself.

"I…" I spoke up, my tongue feeling like the ball in the pit of my stomach. Each of them weighed me down even further, bringing the sluggish feeling from before back. "I didn-"

"Fine…" Ruby spoke, her voice was monotone, giving nothing away. Ignoring me as if I didn't even exist.

"He already knows where we are…" She continued, making her way past me. I tried to reach out for her, but she moved away from my hand. The same way someone would move away from an obstacle. "The least we can do is make it harder for him."

"Weiss…" She continued, never turning around.

"Go with Blake."

The way she spoke… it sounded like it was a punishment. Like she was sentencing Weiss to spend the rest of her time with me. It hurt…

But probably not as much as I hurt them at that moment.

"Rub-" I tried to speak up again, but was quickly cut off.

"Yang and I are going to go in the opposite direction." She spoke, making her way to the closest tree bank. Leaning on it's side. "The longer it takes for him to find either group the better."

Then she was gone… all that remained were small rose petals that drifted slowly to the ground. No wind to carry them forward.

Yang looked at me and Weiss. For a second I thought she wanted to say something, anything to me and her. Maybe even an apology that she didn't need to give.

But just like her sister, she turned around. Sprinting off to find her sister, probably by following the rose petals on the ground.

The forest is silent once again, but this time I couldn't appreciate it. After all the forest felt completely tense, like nothing could no longer be said. Not without the woods hearing it.

"Let's go." The heiress spoke, her tone quiet and serious. As if she could also feel the tension in the very woods.

"Y-yeah." Was all I could muster out. Something that was utterly pathetic and lifeless… something that I could feel in my very soul.

And thus began another silent walk through the woods… this time the silence heavy like a bag of weights over my body.

Or perhaps that was the guilt of my earlier conversation weighing on her.

I couldn't possibly have meant that…

Sure I had some small problems with them, but it was only the simple things. Things like how Yang took way to long in the shower, or how the room was far too loud for reading. Or how Weiss would forget to do laundry or take out trash, probably because she was used to butler doing it for her. Or how cookie crumbs could literally be everywhere in the room. She couldn't get much sleep, mostly from fear of death by bed, and the small snores. Most of which I had gotten over by now.

M-maybe it was just leftover anger from the whole White Fang argument with Weiss. Or with Venatores…

I hated how desperate I sounded… hoping it was one of those two things than any actual ill-will towards Ruby.

But that didn't matter right now.

Her eyebrow twitched… remembering that she still had a purpose within the woods.

You have to prove that he's guilty.

Then you can take all the time you need to apologize and make up for it.

Because Venatores was far more important than your 'friends'.

No he isn't… Only getting rid of him was. So they could be safe from him as well.

I was trying to help them.

By ridding yourself of the problem. Like you've done so many times.

People flashed across my mind, each of them with various amounts of wounds. Ranging from burns to stabs, their smell of burnt blesh wafting and their screams echoing across my mind.

Each of them was a guard or just a random passerby that saw too much. Some were those who deserved it, many of them were mistakes that I wanted to be rid of.

"Are you okay?"

I flinched out of my memory. The voice of the heiress breaking me out of my memories, bringing me back to the woods. It's silence is still heavy on my mind and body.

I looked to her, the heiress looking at me with something close to sympathy. Or perhaps it was just invested curiosity, like how one would be in a t.v show.

"Fine." I lied, quietly. So quiet that for only a second, I thought she didn't hear me.

"You just said you didn't want to be with any of us." She continued, catching me in my lie. But I ignored it, my brain feeling small and frayed.

"I didn't mean it li-" I tried to defend, but quickly cut off before I could finish. As if she predicted what I was going to say.

"You wouldn't have said it if you weren't already thinking about it." She spoke, her voice quiet yet commanding. It was no wonder she argued that she was meant to be the leader.

"She yelled at me."

I cringed at myself, a blush moving up my neck. Here I was thinking Ruby was the youngest in our group.

With that response alone I was practically a five year old.

"If she didn't, I would have." Weiss continued, never even looking behind her. Something that shocked me as how I thought she would look at me with a small mocking smile.

Strangely, it was the fact she didn't that lit the dampened fire in me.

I hated that it came back… It was like a campfire that just wouldn't go out, even when an enemy was close by.

If anything, that thought alone made it burn brighter.

"You've been acting strange since the moment you came back." She continued, stepping daintily over a large root of a tree. "Confrontational to everyone, especially when it involves Venatores."

She placed her foot down. Her shoes forced the fallen branches to loudly snap on a couple of branches and sharp heels digging into the causing her to fall back, a light curse that would have escaped anyone's hearing escaping her lips.

At least I knew my ears were getting better.

But she still didn't get angry, instead taking a deep breath. Before exhaling louder than the branches she broke.

This time, she finally turned around.

Every time I truly looked at her face, it always brought flashes of what the White Fang fought for. The freedom of Faunus kind and the end of torment by all humans, and to be treated equally by them.

But there was one mission that was more important to the Faunus than any other. Crueler and more sinister than the old one.

End the reign of the Schnees, by any means.

As much as she wanted to change… all she could remember was the hatred on everyone's faces. The moment a Schnee was mentioned, everyone stopped what they were doing, a secret hope that Sienna finally gave the mission.

So her face always brought the memories of hatred and anger…

But I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

She looked tired, as if more than four hours had passed this night. Her eyes shift around the forest, as if waiting for Venatores to come at any moment.

She looked a lot like Ruby in that moment.

But, it was the way she looked at me that added kindling to the fire. Like I was a danger to her safety. Whether it was a part of the mission or just her everyday life, I couldn't know.

"And while I have only a small inkling of your pain and anger…" The Heiress spoke, trying to sympathize with me. "Don't put all of it on Ruby."

A part of me wanted to say thank you for trying… a small and deeply buried part of me. But I also had to agree, that I had placed way too much on Ruby.

"I just didn't agree with her plans…" I continued to defend myself in vain, knowing that whatever I said she wouldn't listen. The images of everyone in the Fang fresh in my mind. "Thought they would have gotten in the way."

"In the way of what?" She questioned, her hands quickly making their way to her hips.

I flinched slightly at my mistake, hoping silently that she didn't notice. I didn't respond… simply choosing to make my way forward. Past the heiress and deeper into the forest. Hoping that this would be the end of our conversation.

"It doesn't matter…" She continued, not taking my sign for the end for the conversation. Continuing to try and scold me for my past action, ignorant of my remorse. "She's our leader. The least you can do is respect what she says and try to be civil."

A memory rose within me… our first true day as a team. Something that forced the response out of me. As if it was pulled from my vocal chords without my permission.

"You mean like you did, right?"

Once again… I was repeating history. Destroying everything I had gained in this past month, simply because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

Why was I saying these things…

I… I didn't hate Weiss…

I was twelve when I saw it… the scar.

No… it was a brand. One placed fully across his left eye, deep and unforgiving. Deep gorges ran alongside the marks, made from just the heat that was placed on his head.

He looked ashamed of it, as he tried to hide it from me. His mask quickly put on his face, so that I couldn't see it.

But just as they did it to him, they were burned into my eyes… those three cursed letters.

SDC. The Schnee Dust Company.

She wasn't responsible for that… She had nothing to do with that.

I… I was just tired… worn out and hurt. That's the only thing it could've been.

"Look…" I tried to speak up, my back still turned to her. My voice filled with as much sympathy as I could muster. My mind and body, tired and reeling from the long night. "I'm-"

"I can't do this anymore." Weiss' voice called out, interrupting my attempt to apologize to her. The voice alone hitting me like a well placed strike to the abdomen.

I wanted to continue my apology, her mind even trying to force her to speak them... But the words she said, and the way she spoke them haunted me.

All I could manage was a silent phrase. "W-what are yo-"

"Ghira Belladonna."

Everything froze… Everything grew colder and colder. Anything that I thought was warm about the night became an unforgiving snowstorm. Millions upon millions of questions entering my head.

"I decided that," Weiss continued, her footsteps growing closer and closer to my back. Stopping herself just a few feet behind me. Her voice was empty of anger, like she was only stating facts. "After everything that happened last week, my views of the White Fang were… one sided. With only a little research I managed to find your father's name... and found that he had a daughter."

"Yet another secret that I had to find out myself." She taunted, her tone still empty despite it.

Her hands tightened around the cleaver of Gambol Shroud, like it was a safety net. The cold was still in everything that I could feel. Like I was being covered in ice and snow.

The name of her Father was supposed to be warm and happy… Why did it make her feel this way? Why did it make her feel so cold and alone…

Why did she need that information?

It was not for her to know anything about.

I could hear Weiss mind in my head… the things and lies she would say. Knowing her the moment she found my father's name, she already misunderstood everything. I knew what she would say to the rest…

Daughter of the White Fang…

How would that title sound to everyone?

All it sounded like, was that I was the daughter of murderers. Something so completely untrue, that it made my insides burn.

How would that sound to Ruby and Yang?

How would that sound to Venatores?

I could feel my Faunus ears fold behind my head. Making my anger clear to all the world, turning slowly to look at Weiss. She flinched slightly at my glare, but kept her icy cold gaze focused on me. The grip on her rapier grew tighter as the seconds passed.

"So…" I spoke, my tone practically a growl at the heiress in front of me. "What is this? Talk or my secrets out?"

She had the gall to look outraged, as if she didn't just try to threaten me with my history.

"Is that what you think I'm trying to do?" She spoke up, taking a single step closer to me. Her anger plain on her face. "Blackmail you!"

"What else could this be?" I exclaimed, the fire within me flickering with heat. "What else could this possibly be?!"

"After everything you've done this week?" The heiress spoke, the words stabbing into my sides. Reminding me of the countless things that happened this week alone.

"A chance at redemption."

Those words made the fire brighter.

"Redemption…" The word pouring out of my mind, the outrage clear on my voice. "Redemption!"

"Why do you think I'm here?!" I spoke out my thoughts continuing to become words, getting closer to the damned heiress. Something that she immediately backed away from. "I am doing everything in my power to make up for everything I did in the White Fang. I threw my entire life away, again, to make up for all the pain I've caused."

"But why are you here?" I continued, causing her eyes to drift to the side for the tiniest second. "You don't even have to say anything about that, because it's obvious to all of us."

"All of this is to make your business seem better…" I kept speaking, the girl in white stopping her movements. Her face now truly covered by the darkness of the night. "To make you seem better than you will ever be!"

"That's all this is…" I spoke, lifting my arms to my sides, to emphasize the world around us. "Just another reason to be smiled on by everyone. Paint yourself to be the hero, while hundreds of lives are wasted for your greed."

"But you're no hero…" I continued, the faunus hatred of all of the Schness flowing through me.

"The only thing you are, is just like your Father!"

A loud smack rang out through the entire woods.

I heard the sound before I felt the pain… Or the fact that my head had turned away from Weiss.

I was slapped… I could already feel the red hot mark forming on my face.

Perhaps I was too angry for my aura to protect me… or too confident to even care.

All I could feel was shock… the hatred and anger from before no longer there. But I couldn't wasn't able to even get a word in.

"The moment I read your father's name… for a second, I thought I understood you."

I turned back towards the Heiress, my eyes wide as I looked at her.

Alongside the true look of anger on her face, held back only by her full facade.

"Because I understand what it was like to sit around in a locked room…" She continued, taking the smallest step forward. Something that forced me into thinking of moving back, before I stopped myself. "Safe from enemies… safe from strangers…safe from everything that you wanted to know. Only hearing the things that your family thinks they understand and hanging on their every word."

"Because who'd want to disappoint the only people you've ever known." She said… a deep deep sadness in her voice. Like it was on the verge of a sob, but not quite there yet. "The only people that existed in your world."

I was speechless… I couldn't say anything. The tone of voice forced me to look away from her and towards the ground.

"I was content with that." She spoke clearly, a certain self loathing deep within her voice. "Content with just the few people I had in my life.

"Until" She continued, taking more steps forward. Forcing me to take a step back, so that we didn't collide. "It was decided that I would inherit the Schnee Dust Company, instead of my sister. The day I finally got to leave my home. To see what people called the safest place in the world. To look over the edge of the City of Atlas…"

"Down to the dirty and filthy mines below. To the city called Mantle."

The name alone made me want to flinch… the stories entering my mind. Many of them from the elder members of the White Fang, those who had the displeasure of working in the mines.

Those who only spit poison at their birth place. What they described was an average city… filled with the scum of the earth, or those too poor for better.

There was barely any real business in that area. Most of them being dust shops, which were in huge supply. The average restaurants and grocery marts, and the barest necessities for medical supplies.

All while they could see Atlas from below… Like being able to see heaven from the depths of hell.

"For the first time…" Weiss spoke, her voice stuck deep in a well of memories. Reliving her revelation in pure detail. The words were so deep and hypnotizing, that I had to look at her face. "I saw what I had… and the reason the Faunus hated us. The reason they thought we were always looking down on them… because we were. We've always been."

"But," She said, the anger in her voice growing once again. Talking more to herself than anyone else. Like I didn't exist at that moment, or anything for that matter. Not to her. "I kept believing my father was right…"

"Because I wanted the people down there to be the monster..."

She looked right into my eyes… and it was the first time I truly saw even the smallest bit of her pain.

Even that tiny piece was bigger than I could imagine…

For a second, I thought I was looking into someone else's eyes. The same blue eyes filled with pain.

"Not the person who kept me in my room."

I couldn't speak… Whether it was because of familiarity, or that sentence alone I couldn't decide. The hot feeling of anger being washed away, leaving me once again in the cold.

"Then I kept reading…" She continued, the pain fading from her eyes. Like a small blue fire, anger started to burn within them. "It all faded away."

"Because when I read about Ghira Belladonna," She spoke, taking another large step forward. The eyes caused me to flinch backwards in fear. The branches merely a whisper in my ears to the presence of Weiss. "I thought he was the reason you were with them. That, like me, you wanted to make him proud. So you kept doing what he said, trying to be a great daughter and earn his love, even when you knew what you were doing was wrong. Until you really saw the world for what it was, and wanted to run."

"But it was the exact opposite." She spoke out, as if she was stating a pure fact. One that stabbed the words into me. "Your father led all of those peaceful riots you talked about. The ones you said was what the White Fang was supposed to be. You didn't join the original White Fang, that honor was given to you by your father. And, after everything he did for you and the Faunus, you betrayed him!"

"I didn't betray h-" I tried to defend myself, but was interrupted before I could even finish.

"Stop lying!" The scream echoed across the forest… birds took flight within them. Aside from that everything was still. Even my own mind was reeling from the scream.

It wasn't like her usual ones… the ones where she tried to do so while remaining as elegant or keeping her voice in check.. This was a full blown scream, the kind that would make your throat hoarse.

Something that still made my damaged ears ring, something that she barely recognized from the shock of Weiss' scream.

"You told us," She continued, a finger now pointed into my face. A thing that made me flinch out of pure instinct alone. "That like some of the other faunus in the White Fang, that you were practically forced into it. That you had no understanding of what was truly happening, before it was too late."

"But your father willingly stepped down," She continued, her hand not dropping in the slightest. Forcing me to take a step back, more branches being stomped under my boot. "Willingly gave his position away. He returned to Menagerie of his own freewill."

"That was five years ago…" She pointed out, bringing my mind back to the boat that took me away from home. "When you were at least twelve."

"A time where, any good father, would have taken you back home." She spoke, a certain tinge in her voice that I recognized all too well. The tinge of jealousy so clear in her voice, as any other faunus who desired what humans had. A jealousy she couldn't explain or understand. "A time where, given how respected and well known he was, no faunus would have attacked him."

"Least of all, force his daughter into something she didn't want!"

"That's no-" I spoke, still trying to defend myself. The words she spoke quickly making way to the thing I dreaded to hear.

But Weiss couldn't be stopped… not anymore.

"What else could it be!" She spoke, the anger boiling over the ice cold facade that she always had. The anger of my defense starting to get to her. "If they had forced you away from your father, you wouldn't be defending them! Which leaves only one thing..."

"You willingly joined them." She finished, the one thing that I truly wanted to keep hidden revealed. "You wanted the same thing they all wanted."

Despite all of that, I still wanted to defend myself… still wanting to deny what she had reached. "That isn-"

But she didn't stop… it wasn't over…

Not until she got the answer she wanted.

"Look me in the eyes… "

I wanted to defy her… not listen to a word she had to say.

But something in me did so anyway… a part of me that couldn't defy the earnest Heiress. So I looked towards her, blue meeting yellow in the deep forest of green.

It would have been beautiful, if I wasn't part of it.

"I know you hate me for my name," She spoke, causing me to flinch. The word hate stronger than it was supposed to be… I didn't hate her… "Apparently every Faunus does."

"I could ignore that even if we were on the same team." She spoke, taking a step back. Something beginning to creep into her voice like a virus. "I would even be fine with your past, despite how the rest of us were introduced to it. I could handle that, hell, maybe you would change your mind when you finally knew me."

"If," She spoke, the word sharp and penetrating like her rapier. "That was the only problem."

"What's the problem then." I spoke quickly, my voice small and quiet like a mouse. Something that in the silent woods carried on farther than it should. My mind is reaching to the more obvious answers…

I'm a murder…

A terrorist….

A faunus, in the same room as a Schnee…

That's all that really mattered… despite her story, despite everything else, it came down to just that one thing.

Weiss just continued to look at me… her eyes flickering despite their being no true light source. There was nothing that could surprise me...

"When we met at Beacon, …" She started… quickly growing silent once again. Her eyes shifted away from my own every millisecond, before returning.

"Did you…" She began, taking a large breath as she began to finish what she said.

"Did you want to kill me?"

I would have preferred a slap… Verbal abuse… being told she hated me just because I was a Faunus.

I didn't even realize that I took a couple steps back. My mind was in a small whirlwind of thoughts, confusion and emotions. The ice returned and drowned me, as if I was tossed overboard from my storm of emotions.

"W-what are y-"

"Answer the question." She said, her eyes once again covered by the darkness. The rarest spot of light forcing them to twinkle like two blue stars.

I began to speak, my gaze fixated solely on her. As if I knew breaking it would destroy everything in that moment. "It's not that simp-"

"Answer me!""

I flinched back, my gaze still on her… The barest remnant of that echo reaching into my ears.

It wasn't that I wanted to kill her… But…

The first time I saw Weiss, it was the moment that explosion happened. It was there, I saw what every Faunus told me. A spoiled rich kid, with no morality or care for those below her.

Even though I knew her anger was justified, I couldn't help but see it.

All those stories they all told. Sienna, Adam, every low ranked soldier of the White Fang, they all came back like whispers in my ear..

I saw them in front of me, personified.

I was angry… And, despite my new life, my want to change, I doubted.

A doubt which led me to dark thoughts.

If I ended her, could I return?

Could I play it off as a mission to end the Heiress's life?

Could I come back as a hero?

But I didn't.

Because I… I wanted to change.

I didn't want to be…

Blood and fire… everytime I see him in my head that is all I see… . Because those thoughts were closer to anything related to peace and equality.

An innocent man, kneeling in front of him. Bloodied and covered in scars..

Yet all Adam did was smile. Smile as he brought his sword down on a good man who had done nothing wrong.

I looked away from her… I looked down at the ground like the coward I was.

The moment that happened I felt it. Within every fiber of my being stirred all of the emotions that she felt.

The rage…

The sadness…

The horror that Weiss felt towards me…

I should have lied… it would have been better. I wouldn't feel like I was being studied under a microscope. Or viewed like a rodent that everyone despised.

Another mistake… one as big as the day I willingly followed Adam and Seina Khan. The day the White Fang lost it's peaceful purpose.

"For the first time, since you have joined Beacon…" She spoke… the remnants of horror in her voice remaining. There was nothing else, just that small piece of what I knew. Something that made me want to vomit as well. "Since you've joined our team… Since the moment you put that bow on…"

"I want you to be honest."

That sentence hit me like one of Yang's punches. One so powerful that for a second I forgot how to breathe.

"Why did you stay with the White Fang?" It wasn't screamed out… it wasn't projected into the wide, wide forest… It was just a quiet uterrence.

It might as well have been an announcement to the whole world.

I wanted to say something… anything but the truth. What would she say… what would she say if I told the truth?

Could it be any worse than what she is thinking now? Even now that doubt still filled her. Could it?

No. Of course it could get worse.

What else could a Schnee possibly think?

It doesn't matter how much I want to be understood, how much I regret everything I did, it won't matter.

She is still who she is.

She is still a human.

All thoughts stopped at that moment… grinding to a halt at that one word. As if, for the first time in all of my life, I was hearing myself.

Because she's human… that's all it came down to.

It was because they were human, that I felt this way.

It was because they were humans, that everyone in the White Fang fought so passionately.

Not just because they were people who wronged them… It was because they were humans.

A feeling of disgust and self hatred quickly grew in me. Weighing me down and burning everything that I knew… That I thought I knew to the ground. Every story told, every good thing that I did, all of it crumbled.

Revealing it all for what they were.

I attacked those humans, because I hated them.

I saved those Faunus, because I thought they were always just.

There was no other reason… That was all it was.

"The world is not black and white, Belladonna."

I could barely think of anything else… all I could think about were the ways I reacted in the past.

All I could do was question...

If Weiss was a Faunus, would she have even been a thought in my mind until I met her? Would I have adored her?

If Ruby was a Faunus, would I have respected her, thought more of the plans she created? Would I have even gotten mad at her, pushed her down to her lowest point?

If Venatores was a Faunus…

It kept going… it just kept going.

How long did this list go?

How many times have I done this?

How many times did I follow my teachings to the letter?

Then the voice came back… but I finally recognized it…

It was me.

How many times was I just like Adam?

"I've seen enough."

I wanted to tell Weiss no… that wasn't the end.

I wanted to tell her…

But it wasn't Weiss.

Before I even knew it, I was on the ground. A dull throbbing consuming my skull, as I tried to look up and see what happened.

I looked up… and saw him.

He was standing over me, silently like a reaper. As if he was just waiting for my pulse to stop before he took me away. His one eye, black as the night around him.

Then there were multiple of them… Each of them spawning from there lookalike brothers. Stars popping out of nowhere like dazzling lights. Each of them growing brighter and dimming with every throb of my head.

"Blake!" I heard Weiss scream out, before it devolved into multiple echoes. Barely processing everything as it happened.

"It appears your own teammate has found what I had." He spoke, each of his words melding into each other, making it almost indecipherable.

"I thought like her too…" He spoke his voice empty of anything that would be of help. "But we both reached the same conclusion."

I looked closer at him, the images starting to meld. A faint purple glow emanating in the woods.

It was only after a while that I realized it was my aura, trying to protect me. It was miniscule compared to this beginning of the mission. Barely able to block a blow from anyone.

It was there that I could clearly see Venatores Luna...

He was different.

There was no facade… Nothing in front of him that would hide his emotion.

But it was somehow horrifying…

His face truly looked empty. No emotion across his features whatsoever.

There was no joy of him being right. No righteous fury, no bloodlust.

Nothing. Like staring into a blank white canvas.

It was like he barely existed in that moment.

It made her quiver on the ground, as she quickly tried to swing her cleaver.

Only to be stopped by a silver boot made of metal on her . And a faint light in the darkened forest, as he held his blade at his side. Like a small silver moon in his hand, that basked the forest in a light glow.

"You…" He spoke the empty tone of his voice now carrying the barest hint of something. Something that made the monster before her seem just a tiny bit more human.

But she couldn't process it…

Not after what he said next.

"You are unfit to remain in this world."

Those words stopped everything, and the blade fell. The efforts quickly tripled to swing my blade at Venatores, fearing what might happen if my Aura didn't hold.

But the foot on my arm was too strong, having the perfect amount of strength on it just to keep me at bay.

I tried to activate my Semblance. Hoping that the shadow could take the blow for me…

But before I even could, a sound of metal striking metal sounded in the woods.

As two pure white blades met above me, as they knocked each other to the side.

The earth to the side of my head caved in, the power of the blade destroying the earth.

I still used my Semblance, quickly retreating from what might have been a battle about to happen. I could feel my aura drained at this point…

Meaning that I had no true way to defend myself.

"Get out of my way, Weiss."

I turned to the voices, the dark and tattered jacket of Venatores clashing with Weiss' clean white dress. Her small and thin blade looked like a toothpick to his scimitar-like blade.

Seeing Weiss and Venatores in blade lock, each of them trying to overpower the other.

A part of her felt grateful to Weiss… happy that she was still trying to defend her.

But my instincts wouldn't even let me speak. All I could do was stare at the small exchange in detail, in case the Hunter came to finish his job.

"I'm not done yet…" She spoke, a small amount of strain in her voice as she kept Venatores' blade still. "She still hasn't answered the question."

"She will lie…"He spoke, a cynical tone reaching out to stab me. "That's all she can do. That's all she has ever done in her putrid life."

"Then this is her only chance at redemption." Weiss retorted, her silver hair dancing in the slight breeze of the forest. The blade at the ready.

Venatores powered through Weiss's guard, quickly trying to get a blow onto her half baked defense.

But before he could do that, a symbol appeared behind him. Turning in air like a gear to a clock, black as the night around them.

Like a puppet he was quickly pulled back, like he was falling vertically across the ground.

Yet, he didn't even look fazed. He merely turned in the air, landing back on the ground just as the symbol disappeared.

"You risk your life for a Beast?" He spoke, his eyes turning to me as he said that word. Something that I would have responded in anger to, if I wasn't so afraid. "One who secretly yearns for humanity's destruction?"

Weiss merely took a stance, her rapier in a defensive position.

It was only then I realized that she was between me and the Hunter… Guarding me from whatever he could do.

The forest stayed still…

Which was then broken by a small chuckle.

One that belonged to Venatores.

It was a sweet like honey, a laugh that made anyone who heard it want to join. Which was so strange when it was coming from someone who was talking about killing me.

As if responding to the laugh, a bright silver light entered the woods. A light that made both Weiss and Venatores glow.

"The look in your eye…" He continued, the remnants of a smile on his face. Something that made him look creepy in the moonlight. "It now brings a certain nostalgia… Of a man who desired your want."

Weiss physically tensed up, as if sensing that Venatores would attack. I followed suit, placing Gambol Shroud sheath in front of me like a shield.

"Even now…" He spoke, the smile fading slowly from his face. The very air began to grow heavy as his normal face returned. "His memory brings both a shared hope and annoyance."

"But his dream ended with the truth."

His blade let off the smallest of glows as he put it in front of him. A deadly aura radiating off of him, that could kill anyone who wasn't ready in its way.

I sawn Weiss flinch at it, her stance breaking for a single second.

The only second that he needed.

"The hunt for beasts cannot end."

With that sentence spoken, he raced forward to Weiss…

But I couldn't be worried for Weiss…

Not while that eye was focused solely on me.

An eye that told me only one thing…

That I couldn't run anymore.