Hey everyone! GrimJoker Here, and I'm so happy you all read this! Anyway, this will probably be the last entry until Volume 4 of RWBY is out, but I have big plans for this series, so please enjoy! If you have any suggestions for the story or any criticisms, please let me know in the reviews! Enjoy!

Row climbed the building, throwing himself at handholds, pulling himself up at speeds that were simply dangerous. He could feel his muscles tearing and straining, sweat was pouring off of him and still he powered on. As he got closer to the roof, he could hear the sounds of battle. He cursed, hoping that the maiden was as powerful as she looked and could survive until Row had a chance to kick her ass and, of course, ask her a few questions.

He pulled himself up until he could peek over the edge of the building. The tattered scene in front of him paid tribute to the awesome battle that, quite clearly, had almost finished. The redhead was kneeling in front of the maiden. The maiden fired an arrow from her bow, and the redhead tried to block it with her shield, but almost in slow motion, the arrow shifted itself around the shield. Row focused, using the scraps of his strength to use his semblance. The air warped around him, and he stepped out of the shadows… and into the path of the arrow. It flew into his leg, burning him with powerful magic. His eyes burned as he held back tears of pain, and he bit his tongue to stop the screams.

Cinder smiled. "Well" she said, looking into Row's eyes, "What have we here?"

Row laughed, and Cinder looked at him, slightly startled. "What's the joke?" she said warily. Row looked at her and grinned. "Look at you, you are just… glorious!" he laughed again. "Three years! I've been looking for one of you for three whole years now. Don't you think you should give me some answers?"

"I don't even know who you are. And you have quite rudely interrupted me, so I'm not sure I should answer anything for you"

Row pulled his dagger from his coat. Cinder readied hers, but Row simply held it out by the handle. "You see this?" he said "This is my best friend"

"Then you must be a very lonely man"

"Actually, yes, I am. I have been for the three years since one of your sisters turned my best friend into this dagger."

Cinder laughed. "You can't be serious. Alright you've caught my interest, I'll answer your questions. But first…" Cinder smiled cruelly, "Tell me how she did it."

Row looked her in the eyes, knowing she would use that knowledge against others. But.. he planned to kill her anyway."

"Fine" Row said. "Here's the story"

(Switch)

Leanne launched herself at Adam, meeting his charge with a swing of her axe. Adam deflected it, but was forced to duck Grins knife as it flew at his face. He was pushed back further by Emmet's shield, his footing not stable enough to hold Emmet back. He pushed the round shield down, headbutting forward into Emmet's nose. Emmet stumbled back, but Leanne was already taking over, keeping the pressure on Adam, keeping him on the defensive. They'd all heard the stories of the legendary leader of the White Fang, his ruthless approach to offensive combat, and his pure strength. Leanne kept throwing attacks, wild but powerful, forcing him to keep blocking, as he had no room to dodge. But he didn't stop, or falter, and looking at the steely determination in his face distracted Leanne. She gave one attack too wide, and Adam whipped her axe to the side, then came in with a strong thrust… straight through her centre.

"No!" Grin screamed, lightning crackling around her fists. Emmet tried to stop her, but Grin pushed him off, running towards Adam. He withdrew his sword from Leannes stomach, and met Grin's clashed in mid-air, and Grin sent thousands of volts through Adam's sword. He stood there, taking the energy into him, without so much as a twitch. He gave a small smile to Grin. "Thank you" he said.

Adam disengaged, stepping back. Grin stapped in front of Leannes damaged, barely conscious body and bared her teeth. Adam smiled, and held his sword behind him. "Good bye." said Adam, then released his Moonslice, slashing downwards through Grin's body, and through Leannes head. The both were cut in half, utterly devastated by the ferocity of the attack. Emmet, at the back holding his nose, teared up. His shield, on the ground, had been useless. One minor hit and he'd hid at the back like a coward. He'd never been a strong fighter, but, as he watched the lifeless form of Grin's body hit the ground, he knew he should have tried harder. He should have fought and died with his team. Maybe he still could.

Emmet picked up his shield and walked towards Adam, sword raised, but visibly shaking. Adam stared at his approach, not even bothering to raise his weapon. "Attack me coward." He said. "Prove to me you wouldn't just let your friends die without a fight." Emmet stood directly in front of Adma and licked his lips. He opened his mouth and uttered a single word.

"Back"

Emmet's word resonated around, his semblance changing reality itself to the word spoken by Emmet. Emmet knew he wanted to send Adam flying back, but the emotion in his voice and the thoughts in his head revealed his true intentions. He just wanted to flee. So when Emmet's vision cleared,he found himself in the place he knew he would. Back… at the arena. Dark and silent, with smash glass in the centre. It was appropriate, Emmet thought, as he placed his back against a wall, slid down, and wept silently for his dead friends, and his cowardly heart.

(Switch)

"Three years ago" Row started, "I was given a mission. As a Hunter in training at Atlas, I was told to take my team to investigate suspicious activity in a nearby area, where people had kept going missing, to test our investigative skills. I led my team there, where we were attacked by an individual of incredible power. Two of my team were utterly destroyed, grabbed by vines and plants and brutally torn apart. I myself narrowly survived, after i was thrown from a cliff and barely managed to catch the edge. After the battle, I buried what remained of my friends. Umbrah Green and Slate Greythorn, two of the strongest warriors I have ever known. Team RUST..."

Row looked to the side solemnly, thinking about his lost friends. After a moment, he turned back to Pyrrha, checking if she was alright. She had remained on her knees, looking down. He didn't know if she was listening to his story, or simply trying to stay conscious.

He turned back to Cinder. "I stalked this women, followed her trail, until I found a cave where she had been hiding. It took me three weeks. Three weeks to find this stinking hole in the side of a cliff." Row tried to calm himself "I should have been faster…"

"So what happened?" Cinder interrupted, impatiently. "I'm guessing this person was a Maiden?"

Row glared at her. "Your ruining the pace of the story. Stop it."

Cinder glared back, but motioned for him to carry on.

"Thank you. Anyway, the only defense to the cave was a weave of vines and grass, that I easily cut through, even though it kept growing back at an alarming rate. But it was so strange. As soon as I entered, the rock changed to metal, and it seemed like I was in some sort of bunker. I walked down a long corridor, with a single metal door at the end. It looked like a prison door, with bars across the window, and light streaming from inside. I looked through, and there was the women, the Maiden, standing over a table, with something on it. I opened the door and snuck up on her, but she heard me coming. Before i knew it, vines had burst through the metal floor and had a grip on my legs. I looked that evil bitch in the eyes, and she just laughed."

"She showed me, on the table, this dagger." He pulled it out of his jacket. The tendrils of light blue smoke coiled through the transparent blade, creating alluring patterns in the centre. Cinder stared at it and licked her lips. "What was she doing with it?" she asked.

"That's what I asked. She gave me this grin, this chilling grin. She told me she had the power of spring, power over life itself, and she was testing the limits of her power. Her eyes were intense, i couldn't look away. Deeply green, and her hair was white. I remember she looked like a scientist, with a white coat. And her eyes. Thinking back, they had the glint of madness in them."

Cinder looked at Row intensely. "Tell me. What did she do?"

Row stroked the blade of the dagger softly, as if caressing a face. "The last member of my group was Turq Royce. He was my best friend, and the best warrior I ever knew. Honestly, he was the greatest warrior in Atlas, rarely beaten. His strength was unparalleled. So this witch set a trap for him.

She laughed as she showed me the remains of his body. His face was torn open, slit down the middle, and his skull had been opened so she could reach his brain. She'd mixed it with dust and her power, before letting it flow into a shard of crystal. The shard had warped and changed until it was this dagger."

Row fell silent. He raised his head and Cinder saw tears in his eyes. "Now, this dagger has his power, and his aura flowing through it. I grabbed it from the table and used it to pierce the evil witch's heart. The stupid idiot never bound my hands. She simply laughed as she died, the madness never left her. I hear the power did though. I learnt a lot about the maidens, and their power. And you know what they say." He looked Cinder dead in the eye, his gaze burning with hatred and determination. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Row phased, his form turning shadowy and wispy before disappearing completely, in half a second. Cinder panicked, guessing where he'd appear and throwing herself forward. Row appeared behind her, stabbing at her spine, missing by a fraction of an inch. Cinder rolled, coming up fast, but Row was already in front of her, and punched her in the face. Cinder recoiled, but Row didn't let up, elbowing and punching her in the face. Cinder kicked him away, and saw Pyrrha, struggling to stand up. Cinder grinned, and quickly shot her bow.

Row saw the arrow flying and phased in front of Pyrrha. But Cinder had read his movements like a book. She grabbed the arrow out of the air, kicked Row in the face, making him stumble, and stabbed the arrow into Pyrrha's heart.

"NO!" shouted Row, running towards Pyrrha. Cinder released a blast of energy, and row raised the dagger to block it. The energy crackled through the blade, before shooting through his arm and into his chest. He was sent flying, his body horrifically burned… off the side of the building.

(Switch)

Erik was wondering around. "Emmet!" he shouted. "Leahanne? Grin?" he called, trying to find them. He went in the direction that Yang had gone. He climbed over the rubble of a nearby building, checking inside. He saw nothing, so he carried on. But as he continued, he heard a strained cough. He turned, peering closer into the darkness, until his eyes adjusted and he saw a pile in the middle of the floor. He walked towards it carefully, unsheathing his daggers just in case. He edged closer… and gasped.

His daggers fell with a clatter to the ground as he rushed up to the bodies of his fallen friends. He retched as he saw the decapitated head of Leahanne face up, her face still in a mask of terror. He looked towards the face of Grin, and his eyes widened as her eyelids fluttered. He looked over her, and almost threw up again, he could see her heart, beating slowly, while her ribs and lungs had been completely obliterated. She was soaked in blood, and as he knelt next to her, he felt it seep into his clothes.

"Grin…" he whispered, and she saw her eyes flick around, blindly searching for his voice. "It's ok, I'm here." She smiled, a sweet smile, one he'd never seen before. Her lips were soft, her teeth were unbarred. "You look lovely" he said, instantly cursing at himself. She didn't look lovely. She looked like she was going to die. Grin knew it too. She reached up slowly, weakly, and Erik held her hand. She looked up towards his face… and grinned.

(Switch)

Row coughed. He was face up, looking at the sky. He watched as a trail of ash flew from the building. He knew instinctively that the red headed girl was dead. He focused on his rasping breaths, trying to keep them going. Trying to live. He watched up above as something streaked past, something red. He hoped it was someone who could do what he couldn't, and kill that cursed witch. Suddenly, the sky lit up, a silver light emanating from the building. Row gasped. It was… beautiful. He stared as the light grew brighter and more intense. He watched as the light seeped into the darkest corners of his mind. He watched as the light covered his vision, and seared itself onto his mind. He watched as the world turned dark, and strained his eyes to catch the night sky. But he couldn't see it.

He screamed into the new darkness that embraced him.