Chapter 10/ 30

Enslaved to A Flame

Chapter 11

Pack Movement

William threw the door open hard enough it slammed against the wall. A student jumped out of the way as he rushed out it, his fists clenched and jaw set.

This was childish. Even more than childish, it was pointless and detrimental.

The source of his anger appeared out of the corner, flirting with one or two girls as he made his way to class. William gritted his teeth, his weighted gaze burning into Leonardo's back.

The blue haired heavy must have felt it, since he looked up at William. The two stared for a fraction of a second. William took a step towards him the same time Leo took one towards the door.

William's semblance rippled out, tight cords of wires whirling around his fingers and fists as blood roared in his ears. Leo ducked into the building, leaving William nothing to unleash his anger on.

"Damn it!" William snarled. His semblance calmed a moment later, but he couldn't dispel it completely. It was rampant for the time, little strings and wires buzzing around his fingers. Anxious to be used. Anxious to string up anything wanting to put up a fight.

It was near noon, and that meant lunch hour. Which meant William would be stuck rinsing out bowls and cleaning off plates for the next hour and a half, unable to relax. He swore again, stamping his foot hard enough it left his heel tingling.

The cafeteria was only just starting to fill when William kicked the door open. Victoria would join him later, she had a noon class, but she would make it for the last half-hour of lunch hour.

William took a deep breath, letting the tension roll out of his shoulders. Suppress the outer expression. Collect it inside. Then disconnect the emotion entirely. Roman had taught him how to do it.

The anger siphoned off, funneled into a bottle in William's mind. Sorted neatly on a shelf with the rest of his emotions. Sectioned off. Sorted and neatly bottled for later use. When he needed empathy, or anger, or rage to pull an act.

"'Cuse me." He muttered as he eased through the bodies pressed around the kitchen door.

He squeezed past them and into the backroom. The sink was already filled with soapy water, a small collection of dishes already piled up. William pursed his lips, annoyed for a fraction of a second.

Another deep breath let him ignore that emotion as well. He grabbed a pair of heavy latex gloves off the counter, pulling them on before plunging his hands into the water.

It was scalding. Water splashed into the gloves and elicited a hiss from William. Then that pain was shoved away as well. He had a job. Menial as it was, he had to do it.

The dishes piled up and William worked through them. Washed them off and dunked them in soap. Scrubbed off the sticky stains and excess ketchup or ranch. Sponged them clean and stacked them by the counter to dry.

William lost himself in the routine and instead let the minutes slip away. At least, he tried to.

An airhorn split the air as he moved a dish from the sink to the stack. William jerked, plate slipping from his fingers as he turned to the sound.

The ceramic shattered on the ground, but William had other things on his mind. He stepped over the mess and eased the cafeteria door open, peering out into the mess hall.

A crowd had gathered around the event, hiding the cause. Another blast of the air horn punctuated the cafeteria. Rowdy laughter followed, reminding William of someone. A fuzzy memory at best, of someone that didn't truly matter or rate worth remembering.

William strode across the hall and pushed through the crowd. People parted readily, either sensing his urgency or feeling his attitude. He didn't know who was messing around, but this wasn't the place for it either way. Even if it was funny.

William slipped through the last ring of observers, finding the scene play out in front of him.

Fox stumbled, one hand on his ear, the other barely wedged between him and the floor, keeping him off his knees. He was visibly in pain, expression tight.

Four men circled him, but only one had the air horn. William remembered them all in passing. The group he'd demolished the first day. Cardin, Dove, Russel and Sky Lark. Freshman punks as he recalled.

William's aura flared as his semblance uncoiled off his frame. The latex gloves never stood a chance against William's wires. It sliced through them like paper as wires coiled and spun around William's hands, climbing up to his elbow.

His fingers clenched into fists.

He'd been mad at Leo. He'd been pissed that he was childish. That Leo couldn't reason through William's logic. That Leo couldn't come to terms with the situation and accept it. That he was running from it instead of facing it.

This was something else.

"Cardin Winchester." William stepped forward into the ring, his shoulders back as tension returned.

He couldn't bottle this anger. And he certainly didn't plan to.

The bully paused, the airhorn posed next to Fox's ear. A twisted grin sliced across Cardin's lips. He pulled his finger up, taunting William.

Wrong move.

William's semblance lashed out, wires coiling around Cardin's hand, securing themselves with loops and coils. William crushed his hand, and the finger snapped backwards, touching the back of his hand.

Cardin howled, the airhorn tumbling to the ground. Another group of wires snatched it out of the air, putting it in William's capable hands.

"If you don't want to end up broken. Start running." William's voice came out in a hiss.
Dove pulled a sword free from it's scabbard, while Russel pulled two daggers out, setting up in a standard dual-wielding stance. Sky hesitated, his hand going to his back where his weapon was.

William had seen their movements before. He'd beat them before bare fisted. Now they had weapons. Nothing he couldn't handle a second time.

Cardin pulled his mace free, tucking his broken finger under his armpit. A wrench of his hand and a small pop came to William's ears. He'd set his finger. So, he wasn't all brawn, he had some knowledge as well.

"What's your problem!" Cardin snarled, taking a step towards William.

William's free hand clenched into a fist. He found him clenching his teeth to keep from snarling. Cardin had to be the dumbest candidate at Beacon to ask that.

"My problem?" William asked, starting forward. He'd reach Cardin in another two steps. "It's that you're supposed to be training to be heroes. And all I see you doing is being criminals and brats."

Cardin swung.

William ducked and slipped through his guard, shoving his left hand between Cardin's arm and his chest. William grabbed his chest piece. A sweep of his legs and Cardin was falling forward, into a circular throw that put him on his back.

The air horn was at his ear by the time Cardin figured out why he was looking at the ceiling.

William held it down. Cardin thrashed, swatting William's hand away.

"What?" William asked, smiling as Cardin stumbled back to his feet. "Don't like it?"

William's instincts made him duck. Bending backwards to avoid an unknown threat. Sky had attacked, going for his waist with the lance. Dove was coming down on him with a slash. One that would drive him towards Russel and Cardin.

Child's play.

William rolled to the side, catching Dove before he could recover with a straight kick to his solar plexus. Dove doubled over, giving William time to check his balance. When Dove recovered he found William attacking again.

William's palm smashed into his nose. A twist of his arm and his elbow followed. A hop-skip and William had swung his left leg up high enough to bring it around in a sharp roundhouse and sent Dove skidding across the floor, his weapon tumbling through the air.

William cartwheeled away, giving himself space as Cardin and Lark closed in. Where did Russel go?

There.

William took another step back as Russel came barrel through the air at him in a tight ball. William had seen the move before. And he could see the shift in Russel's path as he started to uncurl.

William planted his left foot, grounding himself as he swung his right leg up and around. He twisted, putting his hips into the blow as Russel connected with his foot.

Whatever momentum Russel had generated with his maneuver was turned into damage as William's foot caught him in the chest. Whatever thoughts he had before vanished as an audible snap reached William's ears.

Russel tumbled back, hitting the ground and skidding a few feet. He forsook his daggers to cradle his sternum, wheezing painfully.

William smiled and licked his lips. He'd gotten a rib or two out of that. Their aura must be pretty low right now. Combat practice before lunch maybe?

All the better for him.

Cardin and Lark sized him up once again. Then they shuffled to opposite sides. Divide and conquer. A good tactic. But a predictable one.

William glanced across the ring to Fox. The blind brawler had recovered, though William could see a spot of blood on the side of his head. Busted eardrum most likely. Cardin would pay for that.

William flexed, letting his muscles bunch before he let out a tight breath. He let the tension out of his shoulders, bending at the knees. Cardin sucked at blocking kicks.

He felt both of them shift from flanking to closing. A subtle change in atmosphere, but one he could practically taste after all the fights he'd gotten in.

Cardin swung his mace back, preparing for a heavy blow. Lark kept his lance forward, shifting his hand backwards on the pole. So, he was going for thrusts? Good strategy.

William address Lark first, ducking towards him and letting his semblance uncoil around him. The lance lashed out, two sharp thrusts towards William's gut.

William twisted around the first one, but caught the second, securing his grip on the spearhead before Lark could pull it back. William advanced a step, bringing his foot down hard on Lark's foot.

Lark's grip on the lance loosened, enough for William to twist it out of his hands. William spun it behind him, addressing Cardin.

A backhanded swipe deflecting Cardin's leading blow, but it put the length of the lance was too awkward for William's taste. So, he dropped it.

He caught it on the top of his foot, balancing it and throwing it at Cardin. Cardin fumbled, catching the lance in one hand and swinging his mace with the other.

William caught the mace before the swing could gain any force. He forced Cardin back with a headbutt. Cardin swore, dropping the lance and taking a two-handed grip on his mace.

William head butted him again, keeping him off balance.

"So, you think it's fun to pick on blind kids? That it?" William snarled, smashing his forehead into Cardin's nose.

His aura broke, and the cartilage crumpled under bone. William felt the blood spurt but didn't care as he pressed Cardin back.

"You think you're oh so strong when you ambush people and play on their weakness?" William threw a punch, a straight right that sent Cardin back another pace.

Cardin gave a roar as a reply, coming back at him with the mace. William took the blow, feeling the explosion erupt against his chest, the hot scent of charred plastic and the unfiltered heat of Dust. His ribs protested, aching on impact, but they didn't break.

His semblance lashed out.

Wires exploded off his arms, tangling around Cardin. A clenched of his fist and Cardin's arm snapped tight against his chest. The mace clattered to the ground as William wrapped loops of wire around Cardin.

Where was Lark?

Fire slice against William's side, hot blood spoiling his shirt. William swore, turning to find that the punk had grown a backbone. The lance tight in his grip this time, and a look of determination in his eyes.

William crushed it all the same. He punched Lark full in the teeth, coiling wires around his fist to protect them from the enamel. Lark's head rolled back, but William caught it with a loop of wire.

He looped it around his knee, jumping up the same time he retracted the wire. Lark's face smashed into William's knee, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He took a staggered step back as William caught his footing again.

A flick of his wrist and William had spun a line between his own ankles. He jumped up against, snapping a sharp kick with his left foot. He expanded the wire, letting it drop on Lark's shoulders and he swung with his right. Lark's head jerked to the side, starting the fall.

William twisted his hips, snapping his left leg back around into a third kick, sending Lark reeling and turning his line into a loop.

William nearly landed with it. He nearly snapped the line tight, letting his razor-sharp wire slice clean through Lark's neck.

He saw Fox at the last second, just as his wire started gaining tension. Blind eyes bore into William's for a split-second in the fight. Not even enough time to rate it as a passing glance.

William canceled his semblance. Lark hit the ground hard. He had a red line around his neck, blood slowly oozing out of the cut on one side of his neck. William caught his breath, giving Lark a long look.

He'd almost killed him. Without a second thought.

William swallowed with some difficulty, turning on his heels. Only he forgot something.

Cardin had been restrained with his semblance.

The mace hit William square in the chest. A two-handed blow that sent William skidding across the tile floor and through the crowd into a mess table.

Wood cracked, and the table collapsed, drinks and food spilling on William as he came to a rest.

Cardin cackled from across the room, pointing a finger at William. "Should have stayed in the back, bus boy!"

William slowly sat up, licking his lips. The crowd parted between them, giving William a clear course.

A hand dropped down on his right shoulder. William glanced at it, following the tanned and scarred hand arm back up to Fox's milky eyes.

"You don't need to finish this." He urged.

William clicked his tongue, getting back to his feet and wiping the splatter off his chest and pants.

"You're right." William muttered softly. "But I damn sure want to start something."

A slap on his ass made him jump, but he smiled when he saw violet eyes. Victoria had joined him.

"Go get him. He looks like he needs to get put in his place." Victoria winked at him, taking a seat behind him on the ruined lunch table.

William grunted his agreement, stalking forward. He clenched his right hand, cracking the knuckles with his left before slowly switching.

"What? Don't like getting put in your place little man?" Cardin jeering, spreading his arms wide before leveling the mace at him. "Or just don't like knowing there's someone better than you?"

William slowed to a stop in front of Cardin, letting the mace touch his chest. Cardin's grin held, but slowly trickled away under William's cold glare.

"Shut the fuck up, you worthless sack of shit." William replied, his voice just as cold and dead as his eyes. "You had a team of four and you couldn't touch me with your fists. Even with your weapons you managed to hit me three times. And all I have." William reached up, grasping the shaft of the mace with his left hand. "Is a latex apron."

Cardin jerked the mace back, but found William had locked his grip in, keeping the mace steady.

Cardin's arm flexed, and he took a two-handed grip, ripping the weapon out of William's clenched hand.

He barely had time to realize that it had come out far too easily before William's fist crushed his already broken nose. William surged forward, slapping his hands on top of Cardin's ears.

Cardin dropped to the ground, screaming. William looped another wire, the same knee-wire jerk he had used on Lark. Except this time, he bore Cardin to the ground with it. He stepped off him, walking around the downed fighter to place a foot on his chest.

Cardin had stopped screaming, but his hands were clapped over his ears, his teeth gritted in pain.

"Not fun having your ear drums burst is it?" William called, voice still cold as ice. "I can't imagine how it is for a blind man." He hummed softly, raising his foot slightly.

Cardin started to roll away, towards his mace. William smashed his foot down, denting the metal breastplate. Cardin sucked in a breath, letting out a soft wheeze.

William leaned down, keeping pressure on Cardin's ribs as he weighted his words.

"Cardin." Cardin's eyes snapped open, focusing on William. "I'm only going to warn you once." William dropped his voice low. Low enough that only Cardin could hear him, even with ruptured eardrums.

"If you touch Fox. If you look at Victoria wrong. And if you ever think of going after Leo, or anyone from team CFVY again. I will dismantle you." William's sea green eyes bore into Cardin's, making sure he got the message. "Do you understand?"

Cardin swallowed, nodding slowly. Looks like he had kept his hearing. Or at least most of it.

William hummed softly, glancing around him.

The crowd had tightened, circling around him. Most people's expression was shock. Other's were a bit scared. William smiled softly at that. He could understand fear. Then he saw her. Victoria wore a smirk. Like she was proud.

William frowned, unsettled by the expression. Why?

He took his foot off Cardin's chest, bringing it back as he balanced his weight. He could hear Cardin shift, but it didn't matter as he swung his leg forward, connecting solidly with Cardin's head.

Cardin hit the ground again, a quick glance at him told William that he'd struck true. Cardin was out like a light. Busted eardrums. Light concussion. Possible rib injuries. Broken finger. He wouldn't be seeing combat for some time.

William didn't mind that. He wouldn't mind if Cardin had to go the rest of his life in a wheelchair drinking through a straw. But then again. He also didn't care of the rest of Cardin's life lasted a month.

"Seems you let off a bit of steam." Victoria said as he walked over.

William glanced back at team CRDL. Russel was moving, and Dove was awake, though he seemed very inclined to lay on the ground for another minute. Cardin and Lark weren't getting up anytime soon though. William felt the wolfish grin slid onto his lips before he could suppress it.

"I guess you could say so." He agreed. "But I doubt this will help with my punishment."

Fox had a displeased look on his lips, but he just let out a long sigh instead of saying anything. Victoria smiled at him, then got up.

"Well. I'll let someone else sort this out. Dishes need to be washed." She waved at William, "I think they deserved it anyway. Don't worry about it William." She slipped away at that, leaving William in the center of hungry eyes and curious stares.

"Let's get you to the infirmary." William told Fox, grasping the brawler by his arm and pulling him towards the doors.

"I'm fine." Fox said, even though he seemed to be staggering along, his footing no longer sure and steady. "Just…" he trailed off. "I can't hear out of one ear."

They almost made it to the door before Glynda Goodwitch burst in, riding crop ready, scowl in place and ready to lay down some serious punishment. She stopped short at the sight of team CRDL. She turned sharply at William, snapping the riding crop out at him.

William met her gaze, staring her down. "I did what was necessary witch. They aren't dead. But they won't be out of the infirmary for a while." He flicked the riding crop away with the back of his hand, easing Fox forward again.

He could hear her shift, the flex and snap of the riding crop as she snapped it. But he didn't feel her power wrap around him. And neither did he hear her call out to him.

"That wasn't wise." Fox commented when they were out of earshot.

William shrugged helplessly. "Nobody touches my teammates." He replied firmly.

Fox chuckled a bit. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were about to use friend."

William stiffened at the word, every muscle in his body flexing, tensing up at the word. Then he relaxed again. Friends were dangerous. Teammates were dangerous enough. A friend in name was one thing, but William was starting to think maybe Fox was turning into the actual thing.

'You don't get friends' Roman's voice echoed in his head. 'Friends are faulty. They cloud judgement. They put the mission at risk. Why do you think you work alone? You don't need the help. They'd just get into your way!'

Roman's words echoed in his head. Friends were dangerous. They put emotion into the workplace. It left area for faults and rash judgements, trying to place someone's life over the mission. Roman had beaten into William that philosophy. Teammates were bad enough.

William chuckled solemnly. "Those are kind of dangerous." He replied softly.

Fox hummed. "Bad memories?" He guessed. William didn't answer, so Fox continued. "Not all things end horribly." He replied. "There is a matter of luck, fate and skill with all acts of life. It's not your fault."

But it was his fault.

They had died because he wasn't fast enough. Strong enough. Good enough.

"Into the vent!" William yelled. "Come on! Make it!" He urged the three, sprinting up the boxes. He jumped, catching the duct and pulling himself up, then leaning down to pull the next up. They were slow, still climbing it as the defense system whined to life.

Roman hadn't trained them like he had him.

William cursed, wishing the shutdown had lasted longer. The reboot had happened faster than he'd thought. He stretched out his hand just as the turrets clicked on, the laser sights sending beams of cruel red lights out. Barrels spun, and he cried out just as the first rounds fired, filling the area with lead.

"No!" He screamed.

Sona, the only one he remembered, died screaming. Her snow-white rabbit ears soaked with blood. Her black night-ops outfit stained and torn. Five shots and the turret had read her as dead. Two shots and William could see her heart had already stopped.

The other two lasted ten more seconds, then silence, their bodies now on the floor, bleeding slowly into the concrete. He stared down, his hand still outstretched, hiding from fire by the metal of the vent. It took him another minute to withdraw it, pulling it to his chest. He took a deep breath, whispering their names to himself. Then he turned, quickly crawling through the vent.

That warehouse didn't last the night, and William watched the flames from a skyscraper down the block, watching fire trucks combat the blaze, to no avail. He had the team for three months. He had just told Sona about his mom and dad. She'd comforted him. He'd cried. She'd kissed his cheek and told him it was okay. She was nine years older than he had been. An older sister.

Ripped away because he wasn't good enough to save them.

"William!" Fox's voice shocked him back to reality, finding stars in front of him.

William sat up quickly, his hand snapped up to knock Fox's away. He panted, his eyes wide, looking around. "Wh-who" He jerked, looking at Fox. "What happened?" He asked.

"You collapsed." Fox said gently, holding out his hand. "Come on, the nurse can check you out. You hit your head pretty hard when you fell. You already?"

"Fine." William replied softly. "I'm fine." He said, more to himself than to Fox. Fox pressed a hand to his back, then let William stand up on his own.

Together, the two made their way to the infirmary, Fox quickly getting pulled aside, his ears getting examined. William got a once over, the nurse checking him over dutifully. Both were released less than thirty minutes later. Fox's ear had almost healed, his Aura speeding the minor injury up. The nurse had said at the end of the week, it would be gone completely. Until then, just keep water out of it. William had a cut on the back of his head, but once the nurse had smeared some weird paste over it she'd let him go.

"Thanks." Fox said as they walked out.

"Anytime." William said. "Nobody touches my teammates and gets away with it."

Fox hummed, glancing at him with unseeing eyes. "Glad to know I fall into that category." He said, just as his scroll went off. He paused, pulling it out and putting it to his ear.

William could hear Coco on the other end, screaming about something. Fox simply nodded, then with a heavy sigh, hung up, shaking his head. "No rest." He replied, then set off at a light jog across the campus, towards the Bullheads. William watched him go, mildly amused by the blind boy's words. Then he sighed and headed back to the dorms, wondering if Leo or Victoria had returned.

His scroll buzzed in his pocket. He frowned, pulling it out, a little surprised to see the unknown caller. He answered it, pressing it to his ear as he changed direction slightly to a wider area of open space.

"Yes." He said.

"William. Do you remember what I said when I sent you?" The other end said. Roman.

William kept his expression blank, then chuckled and smiled. "Of course, uncle. How could I forget? Why do you ask?"

"It might be time to call that in. Red and her crew interrupted the train schedule, I had to launch it early. Cinder will likely use this as a chance to do away with me, saying she's getting me inside so I can leak info out. I can tell you right now it won't work. They'll have me locked up tighter than even I want to wriggle out of." Meaning Roman simply didn't want to dirty his suit on his escape.

"So, you want me posted for the job? I'll check my schedule and see what I can do." William replied, leaning back against the corridor wall and shoving his other hand in his pocket.

Just a casual conversation with his uncle. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"Good. Don't fail me. Keep me posted with info."

"Honestly I can say there isn't much to talk about here." William muttered, like a schoolboy who was uncertain. "No one of note."

A lie. Why had he lied? CFVY was notable. RWBY was getting there, but they were still rough. Unpolished. Nothing threating.

"Good." The line went dead.

William smiled into the phone. "Alright, good chat. Thanks uncle." He said, putting the phone back in his pocket, only for it to ring again. He huffed, picking it back up, finding another unknown caller.

"Hello?" He asked, pressing it to his ear.

"William." The voice on the other end was sharp, stern. Ozpin. "I have a mission for you. Assemble your team. We have an emergency. Report to my office immediately. This takes charge over your other classes and punishments."

"Yes sir." William replied, just as the line clicked off. He paused, listening to the beep of the dial tone, and then slowly pocketed his scroll again. He never knew Ozpin had a tone like that.

He hummed softly, then tapped his foot in contemplation. He grimaced as he pulled his scroll out yet again, dialing up both Victoria and Leo. They both answered, Leo with a less than pleased look.

"Yes Will?" Victoria asked, her purple eyes ablaze with curiosity. She'd seen the other students rushing about.

"What?" Leo snapped.

"Get out of whatever you're doing right now. Meet me at the dorms. Ozpin wants us." He replied, already setting off at a brisk jog to the dorms to collect Moonlight Sonata and change out of school uniform and into his combat uniform.

Victoria was the first to arrive, her guitar slung over her shoulder. They kept their weapons in the lockers. William couldn't stand that, he had to have Moonlight Sonata on him, or near him. It wasn't a matter of protection. It was a matter of paranoia. Nobody but him should touch that bloodied blade, it held painful memories and moments of salvation all in one for him.

"You have battle gear?" William asked, pulling his long-sleeved shirt on, tugging the sleeves down before pulling it down to cover his scars.

"Sort of." She replied slowly.

"Change into it. Bathroom." He gestured. "I'll make sure no one peeks." He added as an afterthought.

Victoria nodded, dropping her guitar on the bed, grabbing her clothes from her footlocker and running to the bathroom. A moment later the heels twirled out, nearly catching William in the head. He glanced at the door as it slammed shut, wondering if she knew how deadly a well-placed heel could be.

In the end he didn't get to think about it as he rushed to pull his coat on, pulling the hem of it up, tying it up. He was grateful that Roman had the foresight to realize there were times he'd want it billowing out, and times he'd want it pulled up. He was in the process of pulling on his boots when Leo walked in.

"Change." William said hurriedly. "I don't know what time he wants us. But better early than late." He snapped his fingers to dramatize before going back to pulling on his boot, stomping it on before going to his other foot.

Leo glared at him, then wordlessly moved to his foot locker, pulling out what he arrived in. Ripped jeans and a short-sleeved shirt. William glanced at it, realizing he'd likely need something different. Both of them would.

"We can work on combat uniforms when we get back." William stated, "Coco would love to help with that." he added. "If you haven't met her, just look for the fashionista."

Leo grunted in response as Victoria strolled out, wearing a purple tank top, a black sports bra underneath. She wore jeans, ripped and worn, but seemingly comfortable, along with a pair of black combat boots, laced up and tucked inside. William nodded as Leo stripped, jumping into the jeans without a care for Victoria's presence, pulling off his uniform and throwing it haphazardly on the bed. He pulled on the shirt, then picked up his greatsword. William hadn't noticed it earlier, but he actually had a holder for it, a magnetized plate, hung like a harness on his back, which held the sword in place on his back.

William checked them over, sliding Moonlight Sonata into its leather holder, then dropped both Aura Blades into his pocket.

"Let's go." He said, getting up. "Make sure you have everything." He added, walking out the door, waiting outside. They followed wordlessly, and he locked the door, then took the lead, setting a brisk walk as the pace across campus. They took the elevator, stepping out into the hall, then to Ozpin's room.

William knocked, waiting a moment before he heard a "Come in." Then he stepped in, throwing the doors open wide as he walked up to stand in front of him.

"Punctual." Ozpin said simply, already standing at the window, his hands clasping his cane, his knuckles white.

"Of course." William replied. "You called?"

With that, the headmaster wheeled around, stepping off the platform and standing in front of the desk. "Yes. I have a mission for your team." He stated, his voice brisk, firm. Carrying authority. "Due to Mr. Torchwick, we're a breach in the city. They deployed a train carrying explosive charges, which enraged the Grim living in the tunnels, caused in to follow the train as it plowed into the sealed-up station in Vale. Currently we're working containment. That said, I'm not deploying you there."

William hummed. "That train stirred up something far more dangerous than you'd like to admit." He muttered.

"Not exactly. It stirred up something. And it's not something that we can handle with the public eye. It's not a mission we can hand out on the boards for any team. A dark mission, so to speak." Ozpin said. "Something that shouldn't exist to begin with now needs to stop existing again."

William nodded. "I see. What is it?"

Ozpin glanced back at him. "You're familiar with human experiments?" He asked. "Genetic mixtures? Roman dabbles in them. That train, blew a hole in one of his labs along the way. Patrols of Ironwood's drones have gone missing when they were sent in. The last transmission was this." He tapped a button, and a holoscreen appeared.

William wasn't surprised by what he saw. Roman had taken him to a couple facilities like that. Abominations that shouldn't exist, Grimm and Faunus. Humans spliced with animals. Some of them came out alive. Others… you didn't want to see. So, when he was greeted with the picture of a man with the arm of a Beowolf, his face deathly pale, his eyes all red and wide tusks coming out, his teeth misaligned, sticking out at odd angles, like a dog that tried to chew through a bumper, he barely blinked.

Victoria gagged, and Leo looked uncomfortable.

When he saw it's, jaw unhinge and swallow a drone's head whole, he simply raised an eyebrow, and when he saw it charge, plunging its tusks through two of them. He simply shook his head.

"See our problem? We can't let the public know these things exist. It would cause panic. And we have enough of that already." Ozpin said solemnly. "Eliminate all of these creatures in the facility." He stated. "And dispose of them." He added.

William nodded. "Where will we be dropped off?" He asked.

"One of the holes out between Mt. Glen and Vale. It's near there. Just follow the oil trails once you spot them." Ozpin replied. "Trust me. You won't miss it."

William nodded, leaning forward and looking at Ozpin. "Disgust." He finally said, a small smirk appearing on his face. "The first emotion I've gotten out of you." He chuckled, then sighed, returning to his flat expression. "Don't worry about it. We'll clear them all out."

"Please do. These… things… they're wrong. Sickening to anyone who can feel them. Their Aura… it's twisted. It's…" He shook his head. "I can't describe it." He finally concluded.

William wanted to snort and reply with. "I can." But he held his tongue. He knew how they felt like. Cold. Dark. Poisonous. Like just sensing their Aura could poison yours. Instead he nodded, heading out.

Nearly an hour later, he stood over the entrance to a tunnel, blasted out of a hill side. The daylight lit up the inside, a mangled, half-eaten body of a White Fang member stood as a beacon to what had passed through. Not Grimm. One of the mutations. He stepped down, dropping down to the ground and looking around.

He waved to Leo and Victoria, who dropped down beside him. He drew Moonlight Sonata, keeping the sword at the ready, his eyes locked on the blood trail. "Be ready." He stated. "You don't want to be caught off guard by these things."

"Why would you know that?" Leo muttered, his greatsword resting on his shoulder.

William chuckled and smiled sadly. "Leo. There's a lot about me you don't want to know. That's one of them." He stated. "Trust me. I've seen them. I've seen them made. I've seen what happens when they aren't made right. Cleaning that mess up is far worse than anything you can imagine." He whispered the last part, the silence of the tunnel still carrying it to his teammates.

Leo was silent. Then he nodded. "I'll respect that." He said finally. "But I think we'll end up seeing what they look like done wrong anyway if we're headed to the lab. My best guess is something similar to a human in a blender. But" He cut in, "I think we need a couple answers after this is all over."

William grunted at bit displeased but understanding "Add a bit more black and white, and a lot of fur." He put in. "And you might not be far off. I'll answer…" He paused. "Somethings." He finished slowly. "I'm in an odd predicament."

Victoria turned a bit green at the discussion, nearly missing the tell-tale hiss of something serpent in nature. William turned, reacting before either of them could, his eyes wide with fear, Moonlight Sonata whipping around, extending out and then slipping from his grip.

This time it was a woman, her lower body that of a King Tai, her arms the heads, and her face flattened, nose missing, replaced by two slits. Again, her eyes were red, face white, though the rest of her skin seemed tanned. Antlers adored her black hair. William blade sliced through the air like an arrow, passing over Victoria's shoulder, impaling itself in her left eye.

"Leo!" William yelled, being several paces in front of the two. He rushed, drawing his Aura Blades, extending them to knives as the two turned to face it. "Diagonal back towards her tail! Victoria duck!"

They both obeyed, Victoria ducking just as Leo's massive blade whipped around. The snake lady tried to slip back, but because of the length of Leo's sword, it caught her anyway, cleaving through the base of her tail, where it met the ground, separating it from the rest of her body.

William had reached them by then, leaping over Victoria, his knives held to plunge them down into its back. It hissed, then lashed out, surprising him. He rotated in the air as it jumped, one of its head-arms chomping down into his arm. He cried out, then slashed, cutting it off as they landed on the ground in a tangle. He kicked it away, thrusting with both knives, cutting into its torso. He stabbed it a dozen times, a mixture of red and black pouring from its wounds, far more than should be in a body.

A moment later it stopped moving, it's other snake head open to bite, the woman's face frozen in another hiss. William panted, staring it in the face before rolling away. He laid on the ground for a moment longer before sitting up, breathing heavily. He shook his head, looking up to see Leo's hand extended. He took it, and the larger boy hoisted him up.

"Nice." William said.

Leo nodded, then pointed to the ground, where Moonlight Sonata had fallen out of its eye. William nodded, reaching and picking it up. A screech of pain lanced up the arm that was bitten, his left arm. He staggered, swearing, clutching it and gritting his teeth.

It subsided a moment later, and he looked at it, the wound smoking, a caustic smell reaching his nose. "Don't get bitten!" He yelled as another lance of pain hit him.

Victoria rushed over, reaching back to her belt, pulling out a roll of bandages and a bottle of green and white Dust. She ripped the hole open wider, examining the wound. It had turned green, the skin peeling back black and flaking off, like a Grimm dying. She glanced at it, then the Dust. Pursing her lips, she unstopped both, pouring a small amount of each into her palm, swirling it crudely with her finger before smearing it over it.

"Holy!" William swore, then bit his tongue as she pressed it into the wound. It smoked more, than stopped. She removed her hand, revealing that newly cleaned wound. Green Dust for the caustic poison, White for healing. Even so, the skin was gone, revealing the muscle of William's arm.

"Wrap it." William breathed, "Tightly." Victoria nodded, wrapping it up tightly with the bandages in a double layer. Once she was done, William reached down, picking up Moonlight Sonata again. He took a deep breath. "Alright then." he muttered.

"You alright?" Leo asked.

"Nothing new." William muttered. "Nothing that I can't handle." He assured him, holding up the bandaged arm. "Just don't get bitten. I don't know how if the venom does more than what it's done to me. Could have side effects."

Leo nodded, and after Victoria packed everything away again, they set off down the tracks again, eerily empty. The Grimm had gone, passed and disappeared. Bodies of dead White Fang appeared every hundred feet or so, the light fading as they walked, until William reached into his pocket, producing three small, miniature lanterns, no bigger than a watch.

"They run on Aura." He said, clipping it to his belt. It flared to life, a small orange flame illuminating the encroaching darkness. "Try to keep it small. Save your Aura as much as you can. We keep two on, three in combat." He said, handing them out. Leo lit his, and Victoria clipped hers on, taking a moment to regulate her Aura so it stayed off.

Nothing happened for a while, just the echo of footsteps as they rebounded around them. William said nothing, his eyes probing the darkness as he took point, a pace ahead of the others. Leo and Victoria walked side by side, both at the ready, with Victoria's weapon in chains word mode.

An hour passed, until William stopped, staring at the charred and twisted iron door in the middle of the tracks. Leo walked up on his right, Victoria the opposite. They exchanged looks, then looked around. William shook his head, pointing halfway up the wall, to a large jagged hole.

"There." He muttered. "Roman wouldn't be stupid enough to have it on ground level. He wants his little experiments kept up. The drop discourages them." He muttered, then pointed to a body several feet away.

It was a mutant, nearly fully Beowolf, it's head elongated, though it's legs looked human. "And if not, then most of the time it kills them." William finished.

"How do we get up there?" Leo asked.

William held up his hand, wires dancing between his fingertips. "Semblance." He said, walking up to below the hole, casting his wires up, tangling them up in the jagged edges of the hole, anchoring them into it. Then he strung it up like a ladder, coiling the threads into thick strands, not as thick as a real rope, but sufficient to grab. He nodded. "Go." He said. "One at a time please." He added.

Leo went first, William grimacing as the wires cut into his fingers, but didn't protest as the muscle head climbed up, slowly, his weapon at the ready. He climbed over the edge of the hole, a thumbs up appearing. Then Victoria went up, swiftly, her weapon coiled around her waist, the flat of the blade pressing against her stomach. Once she got up, William pulled himself up, then canceled his semblance.

He took a deep breath, staring at the white tile of the labs, the chamber doors spaced exactly six feet apart. Above them, a catwalk ran, more cells running up there. William looked around, remembering the facility. He closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the building layout.

"There are three floors, and then a separate bay for current experiments. This is the housed ones. They have a lab in the separate bay, along with a group observation room. We'll need to check all of them." William said.

"How many cells?" Victoria asked, her grip tight on her sword.

"Twenty-five a level." William answered without hesitation. "Group observation doesn't get bigger than fifty before they start dissecting and replacing them." Both of them turned at him at the words. He shrugged and stepped past them.

"You assume that Grim are the monsters in this world. You're wrong. It's humans." William said simply, just as a growl echoed through the lab.

So I made a lot of changes in this rewrite. I focused mostly on the CRDL fight, since that took up the majority of the chapter and I deemed it most important. I'll be tweaking some specifics of the next chapter pretty heavily though.

For all of you new readers, just know that I had things differently, and that I changed things up so that William would have motivation for later plot devices instead of feeling obligated.

For all you old readers. Enjoy the tweaking I've done. Again, if you feel a sudden urge to enlighten me with different Grimm mutants, tell me. I'll keep an eye on the review list of a while. I have to have quite a few of them for this next chapter rewrite. Especially since I don't want to do the spider-grim and maybe not even the hydra. Hahaha

Read and Review. Tell me what your thoughts are. Character development and all that jazz. Have fun with it. Hope you enjoyed it.

Also, Happy Valentine's Day!