The group marched on in muted silence as they approached the location of the secret lab that they were set to invade. Eyes scanned the tree line around them as they pressed further into the dense underbrush, their weapons already drawn and prepared for combat at the shortest notice. But all was quiet.

Too quiet.

"You're absolutely sure we're in the right place?" Yang commented with a bored tone despite her alert focus.

Qrow's head angled slightly back towards the blonde, one of his eyes barely visible as he continued to keep one eye facing ahead of them. "This is the area that the coordinates said it would be. What did you think, that the place would be out in the open?"

"…It would've made things easier at the very least."

"Nice try, firecracker. But we're not dealing with street thugs and punks. This is something much more dangerous and much less wanting to be found."

"So…what?" Emerald piped up from another part of the group. "We just wander around until we find a secret door or something? That could take anywhere from hours to weeks depending on where they happened to hide it."

"Then we keep looking and eventually break up into groups to cover more ground if we don't find anything in a set amount of time. That's the only way we can find them without them giving us the slip again."

"That won't be necessary my avian friend."

Everyone's bodies went taut at the sound of a voice that came from further into the treeline, their forms moving to form a perimeter so that they could watch every angle to prepare for the person that was likely about to attack them. However, despite their actions they still hadn't covered one angle of approach.

The sky.

A lean form fell from the sky and landed with a solid impact in the centre of their group, a bodies turning as one to face the lone figure now standing in their midst. Even so, this person seemed oddly calm at the fact that two well trained Huntsman and over half-a-dozen trainees all had their weapons pointed towards him. His sharp eyes scanned over the group as though appraising them even as he kept his hands clasped neatly behind his back.

"So THIS is the task force you chose to employ in weeding us out, Ozpin?" The man chided with a smug look as he turned to face the former Headmaster. "A drunken veteran and a group of children? And here we thought you would actually pose a threat since you were able to discover Amala's whereabouts."

"Are we supposed to know who you are, buddy?" Qrow commented even as his hand sat calmly on the hilt of his sword, ready to swing at a moment's notice.

"Oh, not at all. I am a man of no consequence." The man replied with a bow towards the grizzled Huntsman. "I am simply one of our facilities first lines of defense to prevent you from interfering with our plans. I only joined this operation after the designs to save as many humans and Faunus was foiled the first time. I was merely brought on as a…enforcer…should the skills of someone like me be necessary."

"One guy?" Qrow scoffed posture lightened somewhat. "Didn't know that they were desperate as well as stupid."

"Qrow." Ozpin warned from beside the man.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Listen to your master, Qrow. Like a good little birdie. I at least know how to obey mine." The lanky man tutted with a waggle of his finger.

"Look pal, I don't know what you're getting at, but you're completely surrounded. One move towards any of us and the rest WILL open fire. They may be kids, but they've been through a fair bit getting here."

"Oh I welcome the opportunity to experience the next generation's techniques firsthand. But you know as well as I do that I wouldn't face without a few loyal to myself."

"Then bring your men out!" Yang snapped at the man, growing impatient at the chatter continuing to go on. "If they're so loyal then where are they at?"

"Foolish girl." The man retorted without even turning to face her. "I never said they were people. Only that they were loyal to me." With that, he raised one hand to the air before snapping his fingers loudly. The sound seemed to echo for a short time before fading into the wind. Moments later, that very same wind began to increase in intensity as though awakened by the man that was now in their midst.

"Is this his Semblance or something? Because if so, this'll be a breeze!" Yang shouted over the roaring gusts.

"Now is NOT the time for your puns, Yang!" Weiss reprimanded from nearby.

"Aw, come on. That one was perfect!"

"I would listen to your friend, young lady." The man's voice seemed shriller even as the wind's picked up further. "You never know when you're life might be at stake!"

His form suddenly hunched over as crunching sounds began to fill the air. Eeyes widened as black plumage and white cartilage began bursting forth all over his body. In the span of only a few seconds where once an ordinary looking man had stood, now a creature with vibrant red and black eyes as well as large Grimm-like wings sprouting from his back stood. His hands had transformed into claw like appendages while his skin was now covered with black feathers and scattered spikes of white bone. It was clear the moment the transformation had started that this man was much like Amala.

He was part-Grimm.

"I was hoping to wait a little and toy with all of you before revealing my new form." The man shook his head sadly as he raised both arms in mock defeat. "But then the young blonde just HAD to go and open her mouth while the adults were talking. Nothing annoys me more than children that don't know when to obey their elders and keep quiet. You should really be disciplining them more if this is how they behave, Headmaster."

"My students can fend for themselves despite their young age." Ozpin commented with a frown as his cane pointed towards the now birdlike monster in front of them. "I believe it should be you that is worried for your safety."

"Hardly." The man squawked out an obnoxious laugh as he suddenly leapt into the air, his new wings keeping him afloat as he drew a pair of whips from his belt, each sparking with electricity. "I am the superior being here, regardless of the skill any of you possess. Did you know that my Semblance allows me to speak with animals? Nothing truly impressive for a Huntsman or Huntress, surely, but for a mercenary like myself you would be surprised how helpful the bulk of a bear or the tracking abilities of a canine could be when you were out on your own. I always found myself most easily able to speak with birds however. We seemed to have a like-minded though process in scouting out our prey and moving in as quickly and as deadly as possible to accomplish our tasks. Imagine my surprise when a rather confidant scientist seeks ME out for his research, claiming that he has a way for me to be even more in tune with my animals."

"The man you work for is nothing but a snake. You should have known that he was only using you to further his research and that you were simply a pawn." Ozpin warned even as the man continued to speak, undeterred by Ozpin's comments.

"Oh I knew that I was walking into something dangerous. The animals warned me of the noises they heard and the monsters they witnessed within the walls of his research bases. But I was intrigued. Especially when he mentioned that it would allow me to speak with Grimm. Imagine, being able to take a pack of Grimm and turning them on unsuspecting prey in a heartbeat. Normally the creatures are wild and random in their killings, but with a clearly defined leader they would prove to be the ultimate task force. So I agreed. I submitted myself to their tests and allowed them to inject Grimm substances directly into my body. The pain was unbelievable, but as it settled in I could feel my awareness grow. I could suddenly sense the faint echoes of emotions around people and animals. My own senses had been heightened to the point that I barely needed to rely on animals anymore to track a target. But the same animals I had trusted now began to shun me. They could sense the apex predator inside of me and crawled away out of fear of what I had become. It didn't end up mattering as I had new allies to call upon. Imagine my surprise when my predisposition towards birds continued through that process. Their dull minds needed only a light nudge to do my bidding, and their claws were the sharpest at tearing their prey to shreds. But why describe them when I can simply introduce then." The man raised his arms into the sky as his voice screeched out. "COME ON OUT, BOYS!"

The sound of flapping wings filled the air as the origins of the increased wind became apparent. Surrounding them were half-a-dozen Nevermore's, their flapping winds causing the leaves on the trees to rustle loudly under the rough winds. Their beady red eyes gazed down hungrily at the group even as they stayed back under their master's silent command.

"Ever since I was able to speak with these creatures, I have dreamed of the day that I could test them against the best our crumbling society has to offer!" The man roared victoriously, a wicked gleam filling his eyes as he gazed down at the group with a hungry look of his own. "The world's greatest defenders! The slayer of Grimm! The protectors of the innocent! A dying breed in a dying world as we slowly become caged in by the very monsters they claim to fight! I refuse to die feebly at the hands of a mindless beast!" The man's gaze turned calculating as he lowered his arms and regarded those on the ground more calmly. "And since I imagine many would agree with not wanting to die I will present you with a single choice. Leave now and forget about this business of stopping our plans. My creatures will escort you out of the forests and back to civilization where you will build your walls and hope for a brighter day. Or you choose to press on and fight me only to die at the hands of me and my creatures. I think you'll make the right call."

"There isn't one." Ruby called out calmly, her rifle raised and pointed threateningly at the man floating above them. "We're stopping you and saving our friend. End of story." With a loud cracking sound, her rifle shook as a lone shot burst out of the chamber aimed directly at the man's chest. His wings curled in slightly and his body quickly descended a few feet to avoid the shot, but its intent had been recognized. The Grimm floating around their master descended with screeches of fury as they sought vengeance for the threat posed to their lead. With that, the battle was met.

Guns blazed and weapons slashed as claws and beaks descended into their midst. The creature's size made them easy targets for anyone there, however it also posed a problem as a vast majority ricocheted off of bones or thick hide and prevented any noteworthy damage. The man flying around and swiping at them with his electrified whips made it difficult to land anything that required a brief moment of focus as his shocks would cause the briefest hesitation or the slightest alteration in aim whenever someone was close to landing a vital shot.

"We need a way to hit them hard with one shot! This isn't working!" Ruby yelled even as she unloaded a series of bullets towards one Nevermore, the shots only annoying it further as it crowed with frustration.

"One of my summons would be able to do it, but there's no time to make one with the Nevermore swiping at us!" Weiss called back over the sounds of combat.

"Then we need to make time! Ren, use your Semblance to hide Weiss!" Jaune turned to his teammate after quickly deflecting a claw with his shield. "We'll cover the two of you the best we can!"

Ren silently nodded as he quickly weaved his way through the group and to Weiss' side, his hand reaching out to clasp her shoulder tightly. Moments later, the two of them seemed to dim as he activated his power and cloaked their presence from the monsters floating around them. All of the monsters, save for one that was only half-Grimm.

"That won't work, you fools!" With a wicked grin, he lashed out with both whips at once towards both Weiss and Ren's bodies. His attack was thwarted as Nora threw herself in the path of the electrified weapons, their energy surging into her as her body landed roughly on the ground. The mercenary's eyes gleamed with a sense of bloodlust as Nora's body twitched on the ground with both implements wrapped tightly around her. "A foolish gesture! You've only prolonged your friend's fate!" His hands activated the return mechanisms on his weapons as he prepared to strike at the two stationary fighters once more, only to frown in confusion as his whips failed to retract to their shortened form. "Freaking pieces of crap, I thought I finished servicing them this morning!"

"Oh, they're not malfunctioning." Yang grinned as she punched aside a Nevermore's face, a squawk of pain leaving it's maw as part of the bone structure cracked from the hit. Her eyes were aglow with red as her Semblance continued to feed her power from the occasional swipes that she purposefully had graze her without doing enough to do serious damage. "They just latched onto the wrong person is all."

Nora slowly got to her feet with both whips held firmly in one hand while her weapon sat poised in the other. Just before jumping in the way of the attack, she had converted her hammer into its launcher form and now it sat pointed directly towards the man that had his weapons firmly in her grip. One pull of the trigger later had a salvo of super charged grenades sailing towards the mercenary, his grip on the whips going slack as he let go of his weapons to fly out of the way of the attack as it blasted into the side of one of the Nevermore. It's body crumpled under the immense damage, a dying screech leaving it's maw as one of his beasts was felled from the attack Nora unleashed.

But the initial job of her block had been satisfied as a large round series of glyphs formed on the ground in front of Weiss and Ren, surrounded by the other combatants. From its centre rose a massive white knight, it's sword raised and ready for combat as it cleanly carved its way through the Nevermore as they flew close to the new enemy, both curious and enraged at something else threatening their territory.

The fight ended quickly as clean swipes ended the life of each and every one of them with ease. The only survivor after a few short moments was the man, now weaponless as he hovered in midair with a furious look on his face.

"I haven't lost! I can still command Ursa and Beowolves to fight for me! You haven't won yet!"

"Just give up already!" Ruby shouted as she fired another round of bullets at the man. body dodged his easily as he descended once again.

"I can fly you morons! You'll have to do better than tha-" His voice was silenced as his own weapons were suddenly wrapped firmly around each of his wings causing him to fall roughly to the ground with a sickening crunch. His wings sat broken at odd angles as he struggled to his feet with a pained look on his face.

"I can still communicate with ordinary animal you fools! I never said they wouldn't listen at all! They simply fear my superior form! The pack will always answer to its alpha member!" From the treeline behind the man came a pack of snarling wolves and pair of bears, their forms ready for a fight.

Only, they weren't there to fight the trained Huntsman and Huntresses.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" The man shouted fearfully as a wolf dove towards one of is broken wings, his body barely moving in time to dodge it. "I am your master! I am the alpha! You obey me!"

"No, I don't believe they do." Ozpin calmly stated as he stood with his cane simply resting in the ground at his feet with his hands rested on its tip. "You said yourself that they were your fellow combatants once upon a time. But then you abandoned them and became a creature set on destruction. Now you are injured and within their territory. YOU have become their prey."

"No! No not like this!" The man shouted as he scrambled away and into another part of the forest. "I will not die like this!"

His retreating form was rapidly followed by the other animals as they sought an easy kill rather than face off against those grouped up in the centre of the clearing. The sounds of screaming echoed for a short time before being abruptly silenced as the air grew still.

"I hope we don't have to fight more people like that." Ruby stated sadly as they began to continue through the trees. "I hate fighting people."

"Sometimes people choose the wrong side and nothing we do can bring them back, Miss Rose." Ozpin stated with a sad look towards the short brunette. "But there are those that still deserve redemption as long as we are willing to offer it to them. As long as you never forget that, then making the tough choices becomes much easier."

With a silent nod, Ruby turned back to return to the rest of the group as they proceeded to move in the direction the man had come from. If they were going to find anything, the direction he was facing AWAY from would likely be their best bet.


Bit of a bizarre week this time around, but no worries since I was still able to punch out another chapter for this story. Not much else to say, so I'll see you all again in a couple of weeks for the next update.