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Act II

Scene 22:

A New Tutor

A/n: Hey

I know

I'm a fucking liar

Said twice a week

did not do twice a week

am I sorry?

ehhh

I had things to do

In any case, I'm probably going to be doing once a week after all.

Just got a job so my schedule's going to be decisively more filled, so I can't just binge write like I used to.

Also, Madness Dreamstate is going to be coming out...in this month.

Oh, right, shoutout to Red, AKA TheAngelWolf101.

I convinced her to do a terrible thing in her story, Destruction, the least I can do is give it a shoutout.

Plus she helped me with this thing.

If you can't tell, we wrote a certain...dream...at basically the same time.

Which reminds me, warnings

Gore warnings and drowning warnings.

Also, on another note, I recommend listening to the song Drunken Whaler From the Dishonored Soundtrack while reading the parts of Yang's dream.

Well, actually I recommend listening to it whenever I have Ruby being creepy in general. I always listen to it when I write Yang's nightmares, and creepy Ruby.


Yang pov

Here I am again I thought as I looked around me.

I was standing in the middle of the Crimson Lake, standing upon as if it was solid ground, not some churning scarlet sea. I could see the shoreline, and the beginning of the forest behind it in the distance.

It wasn't too far away, but it was far enough to feel just out of reach.

I continued to look around, searching for…something. What it was, I don't know, but it was why I was out here, looking for it.

Then I spotted a flash of white in all this red.

There I thought, moving toward it.

As I did, the Crimson Lake grew still and unmoving, allowing me to walk unhindered. It was as if it was holding its breath in anticipation of something.

Finally, I reached it.

I reached her.

She lay there, 6 again, her alabaster white skin exposed to the world as she lay there, silent and unmoving. She looked dead like that, her eyes closed and a tranquil expression on her face.

"Ruby." I said, crouching down to shake her shoulder.

All it took was the barest of touches, my fingers just needed to brush up against her cool pale skin, for it to do it's work.

Her eyes shot wide up, staring up at me with those bright silver stars of hers.

"Yang." She said joyfully

"You're here." She said with a wide smile.

I couldn't help but reciprocate the smile, a warm feeling filling me at seeing her again.

"Yeah, I found you Rubes" I said down to her, offering her a hand up.

"But…" She began to say, taking my hand and allowing me to hoist her up.

As she got up on her own two feet, she looked up into my eyes, gazing at me with those deep silver eyes, and said with the slightest sad frown, "You left me."

At that, it felt like she had dumped a bucket of ice water on me. My heart dropped, my eyes widened, and my jaw went slack.

She was right

I had.

I had left her.

I had abandoned her.

How can she ever forgive me for what I did? I thought, looking down at the Crimson tide beneath me.

"It's okay Yang." She said, shaking me from my thoughts.

I looked up at her, startled and puzzled by her statement.

She looked at me with a wide, bright smile.

"I have a way you can make it up to me." She continued, stepping up to me.

With each step she took, I could feel the lake beneath me begin to writhe and churn, waking from it's slumber.

"And when it's over…" She began, whispering to me.

Then I felt something grab onto my leg. Looking down, I saw it.

A pale arm, reaching up from the scarlet abyss, it's hand grasped onto my ankle. Then another joined it, grabbing onto my other leg.

"Ah!" I cried out in surprise.

I looked up at Ruby to see her response to this, to seek her aid, only to be startled by the pleasant smile she continued to wear.

"…you won't ever leave me again." She finished.

Then, they pulled, trying to drag me down to the depths.

By now the seas were churning violently. I no longer had such solid ground to stand on.

Slowly, they pulled me under, my feet crawling beneath the surface of the red waves. No amount of struggling I tried did anything.

"No no no!" I cried, panicking. But no amount of kicking and screaming would do me any good.

As the waters rose up to my thighs, I desperately tried to push against the surface with my hands.

No sooner did I do that then did another set of pale arms reach up to grab my arms. More joined them, each pale hand extending to grasp onto me from below, dragging me under with even more strength then before.

Then, another set of pale hands grasped the side of my face, cupping my cheeks. They brought my attention up from the hands swarming me, dragging me down, and brought me face to face with my dear sister.

"Don't worry Yang. It's going to be okay." She said with a pleased smile that stood juxtaposed with what was happening to me.

"Ruby!" I said in a panic, silently trying to tell her to help me, to do something

"It's okay Yang…" She began, her smile widening

And ever so slowly, that smile curled into a wide, toothy, grin of joy. One that unveiled the razor sharp fangs that filled her mouth.

"Soon you'll understand."

And with that, she sunk into the water, pulling my head with her, along with all my hope.

All I could do was take one last desperate breath, before I fell beneath the crimson waves.


Jaune pov

Intro to Psychology I thought as I sat in the classroom with my class.

It was the second day of classes. Yesterday had gone by pretty quickly after Dr. Oobleck's class, all the other teachers really just gave us the syllabus for the class and a quick introduction before sending us on our way.

But now it was Tuesday, and time for another round of introductions.

And thank god for that I thought to myself.

It was a nice change of pace from the chaos that was Initiation.

Don't get me wrong, I like schoolwork about as much as the next guy, but I'd take school over being placed in a near death scenario any day.

I was shaken from my thoughts when the teacher finally arrived. As they entered the room, the dull roar that had been present from the various conversations that had started in their absence, was cut silent. And it was easy to see why.

She was beautiful.

Whoever she was, she was absolutely beautiful.

Not in a sultry, seductive, lustful, way. No, it was more of a…golden…beauty, an honest, more…artistic beauty.

Her long, golden, hair seemed to shine brightly under the lights of the room. She wore a soft, kind smile, and her eyes seemed to be closed shut.

She wore a soft white dress, which stopped just above her brown sandals. To accompany it, she wore a brown light jacket over her arms and shoulders, but was left unbuttoned.

"I'm sorry for being late, I got lost trying to find the classroom." She said with a self-deprecating chuckled. "I have a terrible sense of direction."

Her voice was like an entrancing choir of angels, light and graceful.

I watched as she made her way up to the board.

"Now, this is Intro to Psychology, correct?" She asked, turning around for a moment to address us.

A part of me wanted to respond, but I just couldn't get my mouth to work. Try as I might, the process between thinking of something to say, and saying, just simply was working right now.

Judging by the silence around me, I wasn't the only one. It seemed like everyone else was mesmerized, just as I was.

But someone wasn't.

"Correct. You are in the right place." A voice said to my right.

I turned, noting that only Lilith seemed to be free of the entrancing effects of the woman before us.

Then again, considering Lilith was…Lilith, I honestly shouldn't be too surprised.

"Good, good." She said, relieved, as she reached her desk.

She put down her bags with a dull Thud, before turning to glance at the board behind her.

"Hmm." She hummed for a moment.

Then she took a glance at her golden watch with black highlights and symbols.

"Well, you'll be glad to know I don't plan on class taking too long today." She began, looking back up at us.

"Now, we should get on with introductions." She announced with a vibrant smile and a loud clap

"My name is Dr. Eris Enyo, though you can just refer to me as Dr. Enyo." She stated cheerfully

Then, she turned and made her way back over to her bags.

As she riffled through them, she continued, saying, "The school recently hired me as a result of what happened during your initiation."

"Aha!" She exclaimed quietly, having found whatever she was looking for.

Without another word, she pulled out a golden ball from her bag. It was a bit larger than her hand, probably a foot in diameter.

What is that? I thought questioningly.

It looked like a perfect sphere, no indents or deviations of any kind. Just a golden ball.

She rolled it onto the ground toward all of us. Just before it reached the first row of desks on the bottom level, it came to an abrupt stop.

Then, four small lines, dividing the sphere up into four parts, appeared. The four parts of the sphere shifted, then disconnected, before extending outwards. The pressed down into the floor, raising the central "body" up off the ground. It continued to shift and change for a couple moments, the pieces clicking, sliding, and shifting into place audibly.

Finally, when all was said and done, there was something I can only best describe as a little golden spider bot on the ground.

The exterior shell of it was golden, but underneath the more mechanical parts were a glistening obsidian. It had four legs, each one making up about a quarter of the robot's ball form. The central body was longer than it was tall or wide, somewhat resembling a long golden diamond, with a black underside.

At the tip of the underside was something I can only assume to be the robot's "eye", which took the form of a single blue lighted camera.

It stared up at us blankly, while we in turn started at in in wonder.

I've never seen such a cool little robot before. I thought

We all knew Atlas had their robot legions or whatever they felt like calling them, but outside of Atlas, robotic technology wasn't too terribly prevalent. Especially to the civilian market.

Sure, there were simple things that could clean stuff or record things, but this little guy looked a bit more complicated than that.

"Adjutor." Dr. Enyo called out to her robot.

In response, Adjutor turned to her, looking at her with it's glowing blue eye.

"Could you please give the students their syllabi?" She asked

Adjutor simply nodded in affirmation, before turning back to us. Then, without waiting for anything else, it leaped up onto the desks.

As the robot made its way to the student closest to it, Dr. Enyo called out again, saying, "If you could, please let Adjutor see your scrolls. He's going to download the syllabus to them so you don't have to deal with any annoying paperwork."

Really? I blinked That's cool

The other professors had just given us papers instead.

As I took out my scroll, Dr. Enyo began to speak again.

"Now, another thing I have to announce is that I am also counselor and psychiatrist for the school now. I know what happened during Initiation was…intense for a lot of you, and as such they are requiring mandatory psych evaluations for all freshmen who went through initiation."

"However, if you just want to talk about it, my door is always open." She added with a pleasant, inviting smile.

That…actually doesn't sound like I bad idea I thought. Initiation had indeed been stressful for me, and if I had someone like her, someone I could trust to talk to, then that would be a huge weight off my shoulders.

A thought that never even crossed my mind, was why I thought I could trust her at all.

I was shaken from my thoughts when she exclaimed, "Oh!"

"I almost forgot!"

And with that, she went digging back into her bags.

As she did, her robot, Adjutor, finally made its way to me.

Now that I could see it up close, I could see a lot more of the intricate parts that made it up. It was made up of hundreds of pieces of machinery whose purpose I couldn't even begin to guess at. With every step it took, dozens of pieces moved in concert.

Its smooth golden legs hit the desk with a soft, yet audible Clack.

When it got to my scroll, it bent down slightly, it's blue gaze directed down to the device. Then, another set of pieces moved again, and a set of smaller, more delicate arms extended from it's "body", before reaching out to touch my scroll.

After connecting with it for a few seconds, there was an audible beeb from the scroll. Adjutor seemed to nod in acknowledgement, before turning and moving onto Pyrrha's scroll.

"Alright." Dr. Enyo began, once more drawing my undivided attention

"Now, I thought that I would do something a little different, and start things off by having the class read a book." She said, holding up a book with a dark green, nearly black, cover on it. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a fascinating book that caught my eye recently."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blake jolt slightly, her eyes widening a fraction, and the corners of her mouth curving upwards ever so slightly.

"As you can see in your syllabus, it's on the list of things you'll need for class, along with a few other choice selections. We're all going to read the book as a class, and go over in detail many of the psychological and sociological concepts, ideas, and issues the book brings up." She explained.

"One of the biggest ones in the book is the concept of duality, of the two sides that reside within mankind."

At this, I saw Lilith raise a brow at her as she twirled her pen in her fingers.

"What do you mean?" One student asked

"I mean that all humans, Faunus included, have two sides to them. There's the side we show everyone, the nice one that society likes to accept." She began.

"And then, there's the other one. The one we have deep down inside. Some of us embrace it, others try to hide it, to deny its very existence. But it's there, it's always there, and it's an inextricable part of yourself."

"It's an interesting aspect of mankind. It's something we all have. For some of us, it's just a side of us that's a little stranger than society accepts, something that's just a little weird. But for others…"

"…it's a monster lurking deep inside them, just waiting to get out."


Ruby pov

Well, this should be…interesting I thought, standing in training room 5.

Right now training room 5 was set up for year 1 combat class, being taught by one Lt. Niflheim, a decorated watchmen in Vale's forces.

Lt. Niflheim was a mountain of a man, around 7ft tall, with huge, broad shoulders, thick columns of muscle for arms and legs. He was wearing baggy black cargo pants, and simple grey undershirt. He had pale, icy blue eyes, and long black hair tied up in thick dreadlocks, as well as a reasonably sized beard. His skin was a pale, ashen grey.

He stood there, in the center of the ring, and we stood in front of him in a spread out crowd, clustered together with our teams.

"Now, a couple things before we get started. First, normally, you would be having Ms. Goodwitch for this class, but do to various circumstances, she has given that ask to me, while she teaches classes on dust and aura control." He explained

His voice was deep and rumbling, like an avalanche crashing down the side of mountain, and it was thick with an odd, yet familiar accent. The best way I can describe it, is as being a mixture of German and Swedish, though favoring the Swedish side.

There was a tension in the air, undoubtable due to his status as a watchmen, a group at odds with hunters ever since their inception.

"Second, yes, I am a watchmen. If you have problem with that…get over it." He said casually, with a dull glare, as if the issue was something that he wished he could care less about.

"Thirdly, most of your teachers have simply been giving you little more than a free day. They just give you a syllabus, ad few words of wisdom, before they send you on your way."

"Not me. I was sent here to teach you all, and that's what I'm going to do." He sternly, his expression hardening just enough to instill the seriousness of his words.

"Now, I saw the earlier syllabus that Ms. Goodwitch provided. It was…good…I suppose, but it felt too…soft…for my tastes. You all are becoming huntsmen and huntresses, a dangerous occupation with dangerous implications. You don't need to be coddled like children, you need to be hardened and tempered, like steel."

"And this is the crucible in which you shall be forged into warriors." He said, gesturing to the ring we stood on.

"So, in light of that, the first lesson will be something you all desperately need to know." He announced, looking all of in the eye as he spoke, his icy blue gaze meeting ours.

"Your aura." He began.

"Many of you already think you know quite a large deal about it, some of you might even be right. You probably know it's an extension of your soul. That it can protect, enhance, and heal you. You also probably know that it's from where your semblance stems, and what fuels it."

"But what you don't know, is that it doesn't protect you as well as you think it does. The fact is…" He began

"You can be killed through your aura." He announced.

And with those heavy words, it felt like the atmosphere in the room dropped, plummeted. All the hush whispers that had started earlier were cut into a dead silence. I could feel them as their auras churned uncomfortably at his words, how they wiggled and writhed in worry and uncertainty.

But me?

I was very intrigued.

Can they now? I thought.

I knew I could, my aura barely did much of anything to protect me from harm. It's specialty lay in keeping me from actually dying, and staying hurt. There wasn't a lot it couldn't pull me back from, but that took time. In the middle of a fight, I was still incredibly vulnerable compared to others with more…preventative…auras.

But this sounds interesting I thought.

I there is a way to kill someone through their aura through more…conventional…means, it could help level the playing field for me, or allow me to ease up on the use of my powers to solve everything for me.

"You're aura doesn't make you invincible, you can get hurt through it, and rather severely too. Aura tends to work more like both a cushion, and armor, most of the time. It usually soften the force of impacts, and deflects objects that would otherwise cut or penetrate your skin. Despite that, you still feel a degree of pain from them, which you can use to your advantage."

"In addition, despite acting as a cushion, it still doesn't do too well against blunt force trauma, and it doesn't stop things from being able to be moved."

"What this means, in practical terms, is that if you're hit hard enough with say, a hammer, it can still break your bones through your aura. But, that's if the hit is applied correctly, or with enough force. Your Aura will still reinforce the strength of your bones to the point that that won't normally happen, unless you fight someone who knows what they're doing."

Then he paused, taking another look about the crowd, before beginning again.

"What is the most vulnerable spot on the human body, the sweet spot when fighting someone with aura….?" He trailed off, as he thought of who to ask.

"…Ms. Nikos." He finished, looking straight at my partner.

In response we all turned to her, waiting for her response. Pyrrha seemed mildly surprised, but quickly regained her composure and confidence.

"You're supposed to be the champion of Mistral or something, are you not? The, "invincible girl". You should have some insight into your opponent's weak points given your successes." He added, explaining his choice.

Pyrrha nodded in acknowledgement, before beginning her answer. "The neck."

"Unlike other parts of the body, such as the head and chest, the neck lacks significant and defensive bone structure that your aura can reinforce, leaving it "soft". As a result, it's easy to inflict painful, and crippling attacks on it. While the head and heart are vital, the neck is more vulnerable, and equally important." She explained calmly and articulately.

Really? I thought. It made sense, it's just the neck isn't usually considered the go to spot for attacks. A vulnerable point, yes, but not the spot to aim for, not in combat maneuvers.

Interesting

Lt. Niflheim nodded in acceptance with a small pleased smile. "Good. I'm glad to see that the praise isn't entirely unfounded."

Then, he sobered up, before looking back towards the rest of us. "Ms. Nikos is correct. The neck is incredibly vulnerable. You're aura will still deflect penetrating attacks, but it won't be as effective at cushioning, nor will it be able to reinforce as effectively."

"The result?"

"If you're strong enough, and you know what you're doing, you can snap someone's neck through their Aura. You can also choke them by applying proper force to it. Due to how vital the mobility of the neck is, it's difficult, even with armor, to truly protect the neck."

"Instead, the best thing you can do is keep your guard up, know your weak spots, and defend them accordingly. If a hammer's coming to your chest, it'll hurt, but you'll recover. If it hits you in the neck, it might kill you." He added grimly.

"However, this class isn't about learning how to kill people, not yet. So, instead of giving you detailed descriptions of how to take advantage of all these weaknesses to kill your foes, we'll be focusing on non-lethal measures."

"Due to your aura, this is both easier, and harder. First of all, it's harder to make someone hurt until they give up. It's also harder to incapacitate someone by breaking their bones, and dealing debilitating injuries. Despite that, it's also harder to accidentally kill them by hitting them in just the right way to make them bleed out or something. A stray bullet to the head won't end their life."

"That said, that isn't a warrant for you all to go off half-cocked with no semblance of trigger discipline, or gun safety." He warned with a stern glare.

"Now then, what will work, despite the nature of your aura, is moving things out of place. Putting someone in locks and holds will retain its effectiveness, and you can still dislocate joints, all it requires is knowing what you're doing, technique, leverage, and some force."

"It doesn't matter how much aura you have, you still have to bow to the limits of your body, mind, and the laws of physics" He finished

He took another moment to look over us all, to see if we had soaked it all in.

"Now then, let's see what I have to work with here, and if any of this actually soaked in. "he began

"I want you all to split up into pairs, and go into some unarmed, hand to hand, spars. No semblances. You can make up your own rules regarding how to go about it, but if I see anyone going too far, I will step in." He explained.

After a pause, he added, "Understood?"

"Yes…" responded the class in a choir of apathy, tinged with a few beads of excitement.

"Yes…?" He added, trialing off.

"Yes, Lt. Niflheim…" The reluctantly reiterated

"Good, begin." He said.

Despite the fact I knew I couldn't possibly win against Pyrrha, I knew she was nice enough to not go too far. Hopefully, at least. The unease I let out may be enough to edge her into making a normally fatal mistake.

Getting my neck snapped, while painful, strange, and uncomfortable, wasn't as…permanent…as it was for most people.

Still, I'd like to avoid it if I could.

But, as I turned to her, I saw that, unfortunately, it seemed that someone had already taken her. They likely found the idea of taking on the "invincible girl" a chance for glory too tantalizing to miss.

Fools I thought with a sigh.

So, my other choices were Blake, and Jau-

Never mind I thought with a slight frown, growing irritated.

Jaune was being pulled away by a rather tall teen with brown hair, and a sadistic smile on his face.

Well, looks like Jaune's going to have some fun. I thought sardonically

Before Blake was taken by somebody else too, I made my move.

"Blake." I said, walking up

"hmm?" Blake responded with a confused hum, turning to me.

"Fight me." I said bluntly.

She appeared a bit stunned by that, recoiling slightly as she quirked a surprised brow.

"What? Why?"

"Because, I don't trust anyone else not to go too far. Besides, it's not like you can trust anyone else to not try to knock off that hat of yours." I said, gesturing to the black flat cap still upon her head.

She frowned slightly, seeming to mull over her options for a second, before answering with a somewhat resigned, yet accepting, "Fine"

"Good." I said with a nod.

As we got in position, about 10 ft from each other, and away from anyone else, I couldn't help but think about all the reasons this wasn't going to be fun.

While I did have rather…extensive hand to hand combat experience, it didn't really translate to terribly well to this situation. I suppose I could make do, but the fact was I was never really one for hand to hand combat in the first place.

And I hadn't used it in quite a while, having no need for it, so I was rather rusty.

I also felt like Blake had a bit more experience with things of this nature than I, not an unreasonable assumption given her background.

Still, though I thought

I can still at least put up a fight.


Well, that was…insightful. I thought

Honestly, it hadn't gone as badly as I thought it would. Blake beat me, that was for sure. She was several levels above me in hand to hand combat, and had more practical use with it. I had old lessons and memories from another lifetime, so, really, it's not hard to see why I lost.

Still, I hadn't lost as badly as I thought I would. I thought Blake would simply wipe the floor with me. Instead, there was actually something of a fight there. Still, my body wasn't the strongest, nor the fastest right now, and Blake simply outclassed me in nearly every area.

The most frustrating thing, honestly, wasn't that I couldn't keep track of what she did. I thought.

I could see and follow everything she was doing. I could even come up possible ways to defend, dodge, and counterattack. The problem was, my body couldn't keep up with my mind.

Ah, the limits of the flesh. I thought with a sigh.

Speaking of limits of the flesh, food.

We were in the cafeteria to get lunch. Combat was my last class of the day, and after some of the hits I took, especially to my head, I felt in the need for some food, some peace and quiet, and some sleep.

I was shaken from my thoughts by Jaune's voice.

"Uh…Lilith?" He asked.

I turned to him with a quirked brow, wondering what could he possibly want.

"Is…all that for…you?" He asked, pointing at my plate.

Well…

Plates.

I had three plates of food. One with a large cut of steak, a hot dog, and a sizable bowl of clam chowder. Another with a dry salad, a banana, and an apple. And the third one was covered in cookies.

I looked up at him, still wearing that quirked brow.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

"That's…quite a lot for someone of your size." Pyrrha added, aiding Jaune

I looked at it again, considering her words.

I suppose she had a point. Still, constantly having to regenerate my brain at all times wasn't exactly without cost, nor was the rate at which I could heal from other injuries.

That said, I could actually survive without food for quite a while.

I would just have to undergo excruciating pain of agonizing hunger, as my stomach tried to eat itself, only to regenerate just as quickly. That, and the feeling of my body trying to shut down due to lack of energy and nutrients, only to be forced to continue existing by my ever persistent Aura.

It wasn't a pleasant experience, and I don't look forward to ever experiencing it again.

But, instead of telling them that, I simply said, "I guess." With a shrug.

Blake gave a curious glance toward me, before giving an apathetic shrug of her own, showing her stance on the issue.

Pyrrha and Jaune, while still unsatisfied, both relented.

After a few moments of eating, taking vague, almost bored note of Jaune and Pyrrha's conversation, I felt something brushing against the edge of my senses, a wave of negativity. It was then followed by a much closer, much more intense one.

I turned to Blake, feeling her aura absolutely roil in contained fury at…something. She was glare fiercely at the source of her ire, barely holding herself back from growling at it.

Curious, I turned to the source of her intense rage.

And I couldn't help but think, interesting, as I saw it.

Four students, including the one who had spared with Jaune, had surrounded a girl with long, chestnut brown hair. She was fairly pretty to look at, I suppose, more on the cute end of the spectrum, but otherwise seemed relatively unremarkable given her rather pedestrian hair, eyes, and looks, especially compared to someone like Pyrrha, with her Scarlet hair and Emerald eyes.

Well, that was before I noticed the rather long, brown, rabbit ears on her head.

"Owe, stop it. That hurts." She complained with a pained look, as the large brown haired one tugged on her rabbit ears.

At the sound of her voice, and the situation she was in, I couldn't help but quirk a brow.

Was that…Australian? I wondered. It sounded like an Australian accent.

odd.

"See, I told you they were real." The boy said to who I can only assume to be his team.

I searched through my memories for a bit to try and recall him.

Ah, Cardin Winchester. Mildly interesting with a fair combat rating, solid armor, and a large, destructive, mace. Overall, not the best, not the worst.

Also known as boring. I added.

Middle of the pack, with nothing to really make him stand out, I threw him into a pile of "maybes" early on. While it wouldn't really hurt to have him on my team, if I played my cards right, he would be somewhat of a pain to deal with, and it honestly wouldn't be worth it.

But, it seemed he had found his calling as a leader.

Interesting. I thought as they bullied the rabbit girl.

It was still a little surreal seeing these Faunus. I had no previous experience with them, and Blake almost always wore something that covered hers, so to see two rabbit ears sticking out of the girls head, obviously attached if Cardin's actions where anything to go by, was a bit…strange.

I wonder how Faunus came about. I thought, now thinking about the subject.

As far as I could tell, they were, in the all the most important ways, human. They just also had a few little…additions. I didn't have a complete record of all Faunus and what they could all do, something I needed to ask Blake about when the time was right, so I could only make guesses about them.

But I'm willing to bet that, at the very least, they had enhanced sense as compared to the average human. Likely a watered down version of whatever animal of Faunus they are.

Actually, that thought brought me to something else.

I wonder if Blake has a tail?

That wasn't something that was covered in the dream I gave her. While no proof of it has been given to me, no proof that it doesn't exist has been given either.

"They're disgusting." Blake seethed through grit teeth, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Oh, right. I blinked

This is probably infuriating for Blake.

"People like them make me sick." She said.

I could tell, it was taking all she had not to go over to them right now, and take care of this herself, to teach them a lesson.

I wonder if she'd kill them? I thought with idle curiosity.

I doubted she would, but that made me wonder what it would take for her to take their lives.

Still, I suppose I could understand why seeing this sight made her so furious. I could see where she was coming from.

That probably came from still caring about others.

As it was, I didn't.

They had nothing to do with me. On top of that, I actually found it mildly amusing. Certainly more interesting than anything else going on in the cafeteria. On some level, I even hoped he tore one her ears off, or she snapped and attacked him.

Then I'd have dinner and a show I thought, resisting the urge to smile at my own joke.

I was violently torn from my thoughts again when two things happened in conjunction.

First, I heard something decisively odd. A giggle.

A giggle matched by the feeling of a…ripple…in Pyrrha's Aura.

I spun around to face her, curious as to what I'd find.

She had her head tilted down, her arms propped up on the table, her head in her hands, and her bangs shadowing her eyes.

A small grin curled its way onto her face, and as she let out another giggle, I could feel…something…happen to her Aura. It…twisted…is how I'd describe. Tilted I could say. In way, it stayed the same, it just…shifted. And suddenly, it was so much harder to read her.

"He's doing it wrong~." She said, her tone light and playful.

And with those four words, Blake's Aura quietly flared, the barest wisps of her dark purple aura leaking out from her as she momentarily lost control.

"What" She ground out.

At her call, Pyrrha pulled her arms down, looking toward Blake out of the corner of her eye with a wide smile.

"Look at them." She said, gesturing to them.

Then, she leaned into Blake ever so slightly. Twisting her head to the side in an almost teasing fashion as her grin only seemed to grow wider.

"They barely know how to play the game. They could be doing a much better job." She said.

I could practically hear Blake's teeth grinding against each other right now. Her hat and bangs shadowed her, no doubt furious, eyes, as more and more wisps of purple escaped her control. Her hands were clenched so tightly, they flared purple under the pressure, protecting her from injuring herself.

"I didn't realize you felt that way about Faunus, Pyrrha." She grit out.

"Oh, this isn't about being a Faunus." Pyrrha responded with another teasing grin.

At that, Blake turned around, glaring at Pyrrha fiercely, and ground out, "Then what is it about?"

Pyrrha looked about to respond, opening her mouth with that light smile on her face. But then she stopped, paused.

She recoiled, her face twisting in a rictus of pain, as she took her head into her hands. As she did, I could feel her Aura shift again. It felt like it was slowly shuttering back into its original position.

With her eyes closed firmly shut in pain, she let out a groan of pain as she cradled her head.

"Excuse me." She managed to say quietly in pain as she abruptly got up from the table, and left, not even bothering to take her tray in her rush.

Blake just looked at her retreating form, stunned by what she had just done. Then, that rage, that fury came back, replacing the shock that momentarily filled her. She grit her teeth, looking down at the ground, her hat once again shadowing her face.

"Uh…Blake?" Jaune began in a concerned and confused tone, his face twisted in worry.

"Are you…are you okay?"

Blake waited a moment, attempting to take a breath to calm herself down, not that it did any good.

"Jaune I just…I'm sorry, I need to go." She said, before getting up and walking out as well.

"Blake…" He trailed off, watching his partner walk away, fury rolling off her form so obviously, even Jaune could feel it.

I could tell that he considered going after her, but then he looked at me, and decided against it. Likely not wanting to leave me alone out of some sense of…friendship or something.

I honestly didn't care if he left. Jaune was nice, but I liked being alone.

Still, I suppose it's the thought that counts. I thought, resigned to let him stay here.

That's about the time I saw something enter the cafeteria that filled my heart with apprehension.

A girl with a head of bright, golden blond hair, and violet eyes.

Yang.


Yang pov

I walked into the cafeteria with my team, taking a lunch break after Professor Port's class with Grimm Studies.

Next we would have History with Dr. Oobleck. Hopefully he was more…energizing…than Professor Port.

I was still exhausted, and having a class with someone so…boring…hadn't done me any favors. It felt like I hadn't gotten any sleep last night after that dream of mine.

That nightmare.

Especially after it's dark turn.

Just thinking about it made me replay it in my mind, every terrifying second.


Last night

I opened my eyes again, and I was surrounded by red.

I almost took in a breath, when I realized where I was.

I was deep beneath the Crimson Lake.

Panicking, I held in my breath, moving around to try and see what was around me. But it was too thick and murky. I could barely even see my arms and legs. Arms and legs, I noted, were bare.

I was naked far beneath the waves, and I couldn't tell up from down.

I flailed, desperately trying to find a way out, as my lungs hungered for breath.

Then the pale, almost ghostly form of my sister swim out of the murky depths. She swam through the crimson waters like she belonged, like she had been here all her life.

When she spotted me, a joyful smile blossomed on her lips once more, gracing her face with its vibrant beauty.

Ruby. She can get me out of this. I thought as she swam toward me.

Upon reaching me, she embraced me in a warm, tight, hug, pressing her small body against mine.

A comforting warmth spread through me as she did. I wasn't alone anymore, I had Ruby again. She could get me out of this.

Right?

I could hear her whisper in my ear, "I found you."

Yes…yes you did. I thought, a comforted smile finding its way onto my face.

As she nestled her head in the crook of my neck, I almost let out a content sigh.

Now, all we need to do is find a way ho- I began to think

But I was torn from my thoughts as massive gout of pain erupted from my neck. The pain was so fierce, so surprising, so intense, that I couldn't help but let out a scream of agony.

Too late, I realized my mistake, as I let the red liquid surrounding us flood my mouth. My body involuntarily tried to cough it out, but it only made it worse as more and more of the liquid took its place.

In my panic, I desperately looked to try and see the source of my pain, my agony.

And found ruby

With her head against my neck

And blood pouring from where it lay.

The blood leaked out and mixed with the red waters surrounding us, tinging it with its metallic scent.

Ruby brought her head up, looking up at me with those bright, joyful eyes.

And a bloody mouthful of flesh in her razor sharp teeth.

In my surprise, another wrack of coughs hit me, and I struggled to right myself, to get my bearings again. But too much was happening at once.

I tried to get the water out of me, but body kept trying to take a breath, only letting more in. Soon, I could feel my lungs burn for breath, hunger for it desperately.

Ruby wasn't idle either. I could feel her move again, squirming against me. Then, another flash of agonizing pain as she once more bit into my neck. I could feel her teeth digging through my skin, her tongue licking across my exposed muscle and tendons.

I tried to raise an arm up to push her away, to get her off me, but I couldn't. It felt like something was holding me back.

I turned to my right arm, and to my ever increasing horror, found another ruby.

She had her arms wrapped around my arm, bringing it to her chest, and resting her head near my bare shoulder.

Then, she gave me a flash of that wide, toothy, joyful grin, and in it, I saw something I hadn't seen before.

Hunger.

Without another moment to waste, she bit into my bicep, digging deep into the muscles I had developed from fighting for so long. She tore into them with abandon, gorging herself on my flesh, as if it was some delicious, perfectly prepared steak.

Feeling something on my left arm, I turned to it, only to see another one wrapped around it. This one was eyeing my fingers hungrily. Then, she pulled two of my fingers, and stuck them into my mouth.

For a moment, there was the warm, soft, wet feeling of my fingers in her mouth, the feeling of her rolling them around with her tongue, tasting, and savoring them.

Then, I felt the white hot daggers of pain as she dug her knife-like teeth into them.

Once again, I tried to scream in agony as she bit off my index and middle finger, but it only served to send more of the thick red liquid into me, filling my lungs and sending burning agony throughout my body as in screamed out for air.

I was helpless as my body was wracked with pain from all sides, from within, and without.

As I felt two more presences on my legs, I trembled in fearful anticipation of the sharp stab of agony I knew was sure to follow.

I quivered in apprehension as I felt another rake its hands across my belly, caressing it, before jolting in agony as they dug into my flesh, tearing chunks of meat and skin off, and into another no doubt hungry, smiling, mouth.

As I floated there, helpless as I was drowned and devoured, I could feel the first ruby move against my skin once more.

Then, I felt her breath tickle my ear as she whispered, "Yang…"

"You taste delicious."

As another spike of agony erupted throughout my body, my head shot up, looking upwards, desperate for any sign of relief, safety, or salvation.

Instead, I saw her.

Ruby, the same way I last saw her. Swathed in her mother's scarlet cloak, and wearing dark clothes underneath. Empty, and hollow

It looked like she was standing on the surface of the water, looking down at me with those cold silver eyes.

I looked up at her, silently begging for her to save me, for her to end this.

Instead, she looked down on me, and ever so slightly, a small, pleased smile of the darkest variety carved its way onto her porcelain white face.

That's when I heard her cold voice echo in my mind

"This is only the first step in your penance, Yang."

"This is only the beginning."


I was shaken from my thoughts when I collided with something.

I was still alert enough to keep from falling, but the other person was a little less fortunate. He had been carrying a tray of used dishes and trash to the depositing area to dispose of them. Now they all lay on the ground around him.

"Awe man." He whined, now having to try and pick them all up.

Feeling a flare of guilt and shame at my actions, I decided to lend a hand.

"Here, let me help." I said, crouching down to pick up a few pieces myself, "It's the least I can do."

In response, he looked up at me with those bright, sapphire blue eyes, his golden mop of hair swaying with the motion, as he said, "Thanks."

Then, he glanced down toward the ground for a moment, an unsure and pensive look crossing his face. Then, he looked back up at me, still unsure, but a little more confident in his decision.

"My name's Jaune." He greeted with an unsteady smile.

I greeted his smile with a more confident one of my own, trying to belay the underlying fear, guilt, and shame inside me.

"I'm Yang." I answered, hoping a new conversation could pull my thoughts from the nightmare, from my sister.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Jaune."


A/n:

Cliffhangers!

It wasn't originally going to be such a cliffhanger, but I decided this was a surprisingly good stopping point.

Anyway, Yang's nightmares are getting worse.

Pyrrha's getting more crazy

Velvet didn't get saved

Ruby thought it was amusing

And Blake might want to strangle Pyrrha in her sleep.

Also, We finally got to look at the new teachers.

And they taught us all a lesson

And the next scene should come out next week

hopefully

Oh, and finally passed 100 reviews

Yay

And Minesniper won the thing thang.

The prompt the chose is a secret, for now, at least.

I also won't be taking any more requests until I publish Dreamstate.

I think there are a few minor errors in this that I still need to fix, but I'm a touch busy right now, so I can't.

If you could drop a review noting them, I'll go back and fix them.

But that's about it. Thanks for your support as always, it's a joy.

See you later.