A/N: Okay I have the rest of this fic storyboarded, it's all a matter of finding time to type it up.

Review Answers

7Artemis7: It's the latter one. Richter is almost always enduring some kind of pain, having his face regenerate only for him to rip it off for a power increase fits in with that :D

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Nineteen Months ago

"The winner is Richter Bremen by ring out!" The teacher announced. Richter half-heartedly raised his hand in triumph, then walked gingerly out of the ring. Damn did his opponent hit hard. Trista Cornucopia was a beast. The teacher went on to say that was the last sparring session for the day and the students began to clear out.

Ruby and Pearce immediately ran up to Richter, judging from the concerned looks on their faces, he didn't look like a victor. "You okay man?" Pearce asked him.

Richter rubbed his sore ribs with his right hand, "Yeah…I'll live…" He replied

"That girl's tough." Ruby said, "I think you're the only one to have actually beat her in a sparring match." A smirk appeared on the petite girl's lips, "Well, at least until she fights me."

He pictured that in his mind, Ruby Rose versus Trista Cornucopia. He had to admit, it would be a hell of a match.

"Uh…" Pearce suddenly spoke, "Don't look now guys, but she's coming this way."

Richter looked behind him and sure enough, Trista Corncucopia was walking towards them with a purpose. The girl's long dark hair was swaying in her ponytail and crimson-colored eyes were staring right at him. What on Remnant did she want with him now? Before Trista could get within melee range of Richter, Ruby stepped up in front of him protectively. His petite friend's eyes were firm as the taller girl walked up.

"The match is over." Ruby stated with a little steel in her voice. "What do you want now?"

"Easy." Trista replied, putting her hands up in a placating gesture, she looked at Richter. "I just wanted to say good match man. That was some trick you pulled to knock me out of the ring, very impressive. It's been a while since I've lost."

"Wait." Richter said, eyeing Trista cautiously, "You're happy you…lost?"

Trista placed her left hand on her left hip, "I like a good challenge. To be honest I thought I wasn't going to get one here at Signal." She smiled at Richter. "But you've given me hope Richter Bremen, let's spar again sometime." Winking at him, Trista walked past the group towards the exit, leaving the trio alone.

"Wow, didn't expect that." Pearce said, the first one to break the silence.

Richter rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, me neither."

Ruby looked perturbed, "I can't wait to get her in a sparring match. I'll wipe that stupid smirk right off her face!" She stated, punching her right palm for emphasis. Richter was reminded of her older sister.

"Whoa, easy there killer." Richter said, confused. "What brought this on?"

She turned to him, a look of surprise on her face. "What? You didn't see her smirking that entire time? It was infuriating!"

Richter thought about it for a moment. "Well I mean she did smile…."

"….Yeah that too!" Ruby interrupted, "Smiling like she owns Signal!" Richter could only watch in bewilderment as Ruby began to do a mock-impersonation of Trista. "I'm Trista Cornucopia! I can't find any challenge at Signal! Richter's the only one who can challenge me!" She returned to her normal voice, right hand clenched into a tiny fist of fury. "Well I'll show her a challenge! Looks like Trista has a new rival!"

There was a few moments of silence before Pearce broke it, "Right…so I think we found Ruby's trigger."

Richter was trying very hard to keep the smile off his face. "You know, I think you're supposed to say that to the person you're going to have a rivalry with."

Ruby turned to look at him. "Really?"

He shrugged in response, "I could be wrong."

"I can't afford to take that chance!" Ruby responded, raising a tiny fist of fury in the air, "Not when it comes to my new rivalry!" In a shower of rose petals, Ruby was gone.

Pearce looked at Richter, noticing the grin he was trying very hard to conceal. "You did that on purpose didn't you?"

This time, Richter couldn't hide his grin, "Maybe."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Present day

Ruby felt like her skull had been cracked open like an egg as consciousness began to return to her. Opening her silver eyes, she found herself in the familiar settings of her dorm room. But the last thing she remembered was fighting Richter….

The petite red-cloaked girl sprang up into a sitting position immediately only to have a familiar set of hands grab her shoulders. Yang looked at her with eyes full of worry.

"Easy, the fight's over, Richter's gone." Her older sister informed her.

Ruby locked eyes with Yang, "Is everyone okay?"

"My aura has already helped me recover, Blake is resting, she took some bad hits. We were more concerned about you. You've been out for about eighteen hours."

The red-cloaked girl waved off her concern. "I'm fine, just feel like someone dropped an ursa on my head, my aura should take care of that in a bit." Ruby paused for a moment, realization dawning on her. "Wait, where's Weiss?"

Yang wouldn't meet Ruby's eyes as she spoke, "Richter took her."

She immediately deflated upon hearing that. "Oh…"

"Ruby I hate to say this, but I don't think there is any saving Richter. You saw what he turned into back in the city. He's not the Richter we know anymore."

Ruby wanted to agree with her sister, she saw Richter rip his own face off too. Revealing a monster underneath. She wanted to write him off as a lost cause, somehow changed into a freak of nature without hope.

However, she could never forget those eyes, and even though they were burning with the fury of the sun, those eyes were unmistakably human. Richter was still in there, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Even so, her attempts to get through to him had failed so far, now the bad guys were one step closer to getting the Sirensong. If Darion Shiver succeeded, a lot of innocent people were going to be in danger. Whether Ruby liked it or not, Richter had roped himself in with Darion's group and if he stood in her way….

The small red-cloaked girl didn't respond to Yang, instead leaping from her bed to the floor. She began to make her way to the bathroom when her older sister placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ruby…!" She started.

"It's okay." Ruby replied, turning to face her sister, her expression somber. "I know what I have to do."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Darion Shiver's Vale hideout was a far cry from the main one. It was a cluster of concrete square or rectangular rooms in the northeastern part of the city's sewer system. Rusty pipes lined the walls and the rooms were dimly lit by lamps powered by dust.

It was in one such room that Richter and Gena were currently occupying. Richter himself was leaning against the wall right next to the exit. Standing in the center of the room was Gena, who had a bucket of cold water in her hands. The bucket was intended for the room's unconscious third occupant, Weiss Schnee, who was currently strapped to a high-tech chair of Gena's design by her wrists, waist, neck, and ankles. The chair also had some kind of horizontal metal plate instead of a headrest, placed firmly on the back of the heiress' skull. Various cables were attached to the back side of the metal bar, feeding into a cylinder-shaped machine that stood slightly above Richter's waist and was as wide as Novus Procter's thick frame.

Gena dumped the contents of the bucket onto Weiss Schnee's face. "Time to wake up princess!" she exclaimed. They watched as the Schnee's eyes suddenly opened wide, sputtering for breath as the cold water dripped down her hair and clothing.

Weiss Schnee took a look around her surroundings before fixing a cold glare on Gena, "If you know what's good for you, you'll release me now."

"Oooh scary." Gena said in mock-fright. "But you're in no position to make threats here little girl."

Richter scowled at the heiress, "Tell us what the password is to activate the Sirensong." He said, his tone calm.

Weiss Schnee turned her glare towards him, "You won't get anything from me you freakish monster!" She spat, "I find it hard to believe you were ever Ruby's friend!"

Gena studied the heiress' face for a moment before turning around to look at Richter with raised eyebrows. "You used your altered form didn't you?"

Richter shrugged, "I had to, Ruby's team was strong."

A whistle flowed from Gena's lips, she returned her attention to the captive Schnee, "Guess you and your friends are a couple of badasses huh? That won't matter to my machine here though. It'll pick your brain, piece by piece, until we have the password. You could just do as Richter asks and tell us…." Her lips twisted upwards into a sinister smirk, "….But you're much too stubborn for that aren't you?"

Weiss Schnee's answer was silence. Richter felt his respect grow for the heiress. When he was first briefed about her, the ex-huntsman thought she was just a spoiled brat trying to pretend to be a huntress. She had proved him wrong in their earlier battle and now, staying strong in the face of incoming torture. She was definitely a tough cookie, but it was about to make her life hell.

Gena took the goggles she had placed on her forehead onto her eyes. The mad scientist flashed a grin that showed teeth to the heiress.

"Good." Gena said, walking over to a console placed on top of the cylinder-shaped device. The mad scientist began typing furiously. "Let's get this show on the road."

The metal plate on the back of Weiss Schnee's skull began glowing a turquoise color. Richter watched as the heiress suddenly tensed up as she started to feel the effects of the machine ripping information from her brain. Gena had told him that the machine copies the brainwaves of the target into a digital form, housed in the cylinder-shaped machine. The mad scientist then had to sift through the information, filtering it. To Richter, it sounded like trying to find a needle in a haystack and Gena herself said it would not be an easy task. However, Gena had informed "Team DRGN." That she had a one hundred percent success rate with this machine.

She also said that half her victims suffered from irreparable brain damage. Apparently, ripping information from a person's mind was a very risky and dangerous endeavor for the victim. Judging from the pained look on Weiss Schnee's face, it looked like what Gena said was true.

Richter watched as the heiress' lips peeled back from her clenched teeth more and more. Finally, after three minutes, the white-clad girl finally let out a cry of pain.

Gena let out a small laugh devoid of any compassion, "It's okay to scream, this will only get worse from here."

And five minutes later, scream Weiss Schnee did.

Richter silently stood up from his place on the wall and left the room, leaving Gena to her work. He was not particularly fond of torture, being the victim of the practice himself. He had the distinct feeling though that the heiress wouldn't say a word through conventional interrogation. Maybe if he could have kidnapped one of her friends as well and threatened their life they would have got her to talk much easier.

Richter didn't realize he was frowning until he was halfway down the hallway leading away from the torture room. This wasn't sitting well with him, the torturing, the thoughts of kidnapping. They were leaving a bad taste in his mouth and a sick feeling in his gut. And yet, it was his only choice.

As if to further drive the point home, a sharp pain in the short ex-huntsman's stomach nearly caused him to trip over his feet. Richter braced himself against a nearby wall with his right hand. The hunger, it was back, sooner than he expected. Most likely from using his altered form. Richter's stomach felt like a thousand razorblades were tumbling around in it. He took two more small steps before leaning over and vomiting a pool of blood onto the concrete floor.

Wiping his mouth with his left bandaged hand. Richter growled weakly in frustration. He was tired, tired of the pain, tired of the hunger and tired of the suffering. Regaining his posture, the short ex-huntsman began making his way deeper into the Vale sewers. There was bound to be a few stray grimm down there.

Soon his final goal would be at hand, it was the only thing that kept him going.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Are you sure this is the right spot?" Yang asked, dubious. They were currently in the northeastern section of Vale, near the outskirts.

"That's what my scroll is telling me." Ruby replied, staring intently at the device's tiny screen. A bandage was wrapped tightly around her forehead.

In case they failed and Weiss was indeed kidnapped, Ruby and the heiress had devised a contingency plan, placing a tracker in the heel of Weiss' boot. The ice queen had assured them that it would not be detected by conventional scans and searches, boasting that it was the latest model in a collaboration between Atlas and the SDC. Ruby's scroll was keeping tabs on the tracker's location, but it had led them to a place with nothing, but half-destroyed buildings and empty streets. Nothing that looked like a hideout.

"There's nothing here though." Yang said, stated. Ruby silently agreed, was the tracker broken? She really hoped it wasn't. Weiss was probably in real trouble right now.

Blake's eyes suddenly widened, "They're below us."

Ruby looked at her faunus friend for a moment before realization hit her as well. "The sewers!"

Blake nodded in agreement. "The White Fang used to have hideouts in Vale's sewers. It was ideal for concealment, but not for recruiting."

Yang grabbed her nose as her face contorted in disgust. "Yeah, who would want to stroll around in a sewer."

The team quickly found a manhole and pried it open, Ruby looked at her teammates, her facial expression severe, "Okay, when we get down there our priority is to get Weiss. We can't let them get that password."

"What about your friend?" Blake asked, "If he transforms on us again it could be a problem."

"As much as Richter thinks he's no longer human, a transformation like that has to take a toll on him." Ruby surmised, "If anything, I can distract him while you both grab Weiss."

"Ruby." Yang said, Ruby made eye contact with her older sister. "Don't let your feelings get in the way. If you get a chance to take Richter out…."

"….I know" Ruby interrupted, breaking eye contact with Yang and grabbing Crescent Rose from it's holster. "I'll do what I have to." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then reopened them. "Let's go." She ordered, leaping into the sewers.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Black smoke flowed from Richter's mouth as attempted to get air back in his lungs. He was on his hands and knees, body spasming as the hunger was satiated. The dissolving bodies of several grimm were scattered around him. The concrete room's one Dust lamp, hanging loosely in the center of the ceiling, provided the only light.

Although the hunger had been dealt with for the time being, Richter had a new problem. Ruby Rose would not get out of his blasted head, her silver eyes were there to greet him every time he closed his own. Those damned eyes, full of compassion and concern for him, when they didn't need to be. When he was in his altered form, Ruby had shown some hope that she had realized what he really was, but at the last moment, she faltered. It was the perfect opportunity for him to end the red-cloaked girl's life.

But instead he only knocked her out.

He didn't know why he didn't take the killing blow, his body just moved on it's own accord. It was frustrating, ever since he had seen Ruby again, the images of his past life had been coming back at a steady pace. It was almost as if his mind was taunting him, showing him the life he wanted, but could no longer have and it was starting to affect him. He had to stop it.

"Enjoying your meal?" A familiar voice said from behind him. Richter bristled at the voice, he stood up to face Darion, who looked slightly out of place in the sewers with his green military dress uniform.

"What are you doing here Darion?" Richter questioned, "Weren't you getting prepped for phase three?"

Darion grinned, "Oh phase three is all set and ready to go my vertically-challenged friend!" He boasted, "So I thought I'd get a front row seat to when little Weiss Schnee finally cracks."

"It might be a while." Richter informed him. "She's surprisingly resilient."

The former leader of the Jade Dragons pursed his lips, nodding. "Yes she is. Normally that wouldn't be a problem…." The mirth in his eyes vanished, replaced by hostility. "…Except you failed to kill Ruby Rose and her team."

"The mission wasn't to kill them, it was to kidnap Weiss Schnee." Richter stated.

Darion's eyes widened in mock-surprise. "Oh, so NOW you're following mission objectives!" His eyebrows furrowed in anger. "I never knew you could be such a FUCKING team player Richter!" The former leader of the Jade Dragons held up two fingers, "Two missions, two chances you had to kill her and you didn't! Now we have some loose ends!" He roared, closing the distance between himself and Richter in two quick steps. He glared down at the short ex-huntsman, the volume of his voice dropping, but no less menacing. "I'm beginning to think you have a soft spot for little Ms. Rose."

Richter's hand gripped the bottom of Dyrnwyn's handle, "If you think you can do better, be my guest." He answered.

Darion continued to glare intensely at Richter for a long moment before smiling, "As tempting of an offer as that is, there is other business I have to attend to. Like achieving absolute power." The taller man began to walk past Richter, when he stopped about a meter past the short ex-huntsman. "Just remember Richter, I'm the reason you are so close to your final goal. Keep that in mind the next time you get fucking sentimental."

And with that he walked away, leaving Richter to reflect on his words.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Weiss did her best not to scream, but it was difficult. It felt like someone was carving out pieces of her brain, over and over again. She felt another scream building and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood in an attempt to prevent it.

And failed.

The scream of agony erupted from the heiress' lips quickly followed by Gena Celvic's cruel laughter. Weiss never imagined the creator of the Sirensong would be so callous. She could only hope the tracker in her boot was still working, if not, well, she didn't want to think about that right now.

"That's it, scream for me." Gena demanded, "It's so nice seeing a Schnee get what they deserve. Just a bunch of rich snobs that's all you are!"

Weiss felt the pressure on her head decrease slightly, enough to make it just bearable. She greedily inhaled lungfuls of air, trying to stow away her strength for the next round of torture. Footsteps reached her ears as Gena maneuvered her way in front of the heiress. The goggles covering the mad scientist's eyes couldn't hide the hatred Weiss saw in them.

"When I built the Sirensong, it was my greatest achievement." Gena began. "I was expecting to be promoted, a raise, new office, parking spot of my own, all that jazz. Do you know what your father gave me?" Her eyes narrowed, "Impossible deadlines to meet in order to improve the Sirensong. Instead of the praise I deserved, all I got from your father is more demands." She spat to the side, "The bastard could never be satisfied."

Weiss hated to admit it, but that did sound like her father. He always had a knack for demanding the impossible from people.

Gena continued, "And so, when Darion came to me and offered me a fat paycheck and free reign to build whatever I want, whenever I want. There was no way I could refuse. I let him have the Sirensong and in return I was able to make all sorts of wonderful toys!" She put her hands on her knees and leaned close, so her face was only a foot apart from Weiss'. "Like the one you are strapped in now!"

Weiss silently glared at Gena. If only she were free. She would knock that stupid grin off Gena's face.

"Oh don't get mad at me." Gena said, "Blame your father for being such a stingy prick."

The sound of the sliding door opening caused Gena to turn to look at who was disturbing her. Weiss also switched her gaze to the room's new occupant and she felt her anger spike at the sight of him. Darion Shiver in the flesh, no doubt coming to make her life even more miserable.

The former leader of the Jade Dragons took one look at Weiss and whistled at her current condition. "Looks like someone has been put through the ringer."

Gena removed her goggles from her eyes, placing them on her forehead, "Darion? What are you doing here?" She asked, confused.

Darion shrugged, "I wanted to see our esteemed guest. After all, it's rare that a Schnee graces the riffraff with their presence." He walked up to Weiss' chair and Gena moved back to her console, letting him take her previous spot. He smirked arrogantly at Weiss. "How are you holding up Ms. Schnee? Ready to give us the password yet?"

Weiss responded by spitting in Darion's face, she was actually surprised at how well she had aimed it, almost getting the saliva in the bastard's left eye. Darion calmly wiped off her spit with his left hand, pursed his lip in thought for a moment and then delivered a vicious backhand to Weiss' face, nailing her in the right cheek. The heiress saw stars dance around her vision from the blow.

Darion's eyebrows were furrowed into a scowl now. "Still some fight in you, I can respect that." He glanced at Gena, "Make yourself scarce, I need to have a little one-on-one with our guest."

Gena had a frown on her face, typing furiously on her console. "I don't think that's a good…."

Darion quickly interrupted, his voice roaring, "...I could give two shits what you think Gena!" His sudden change of volume catching Weiss off-guard, "Leave! Now!" The mad scientist seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally leaving the room, the sliding door hissing shut behind her.

The former leader of the Jade Dragons began pacing back and forth in front of Weiss, "You know Ms. Schnee, we got a lot in common."

Weiss managed to find her voice through the pain. "…I don't threaten innocent people into compliance…." She weakly replied.

Darion shrugged, "Maybe not you, but can the same be said of your family? Ask the faunus working in your father's precious Dust mines if they feel the same way. The fact is, we both command the obedience of those underneath us." He smirked, "With the Sirensong, everyone will be forced to bend to my will."

"Or else you'll sick a horde of grimm on them?" Weiss inquired with a snarl.

Darion chuckled, "Yeah, that's what I used to do before your wonderful sister threw me in prison. But I'm a changed man now, a new man with new fucking plans!" He walked to the wall next to the door and leaned against it casually. "The problem with the old system I had was that the grimm were too unreliable. You can't order them around and you can't reason with them. They follow their own instincts. There were a few times in my heyday where a village would give in to our demands, but the grimm would still attack. The morons were probably so scared of what we might do that the fear drew them anyway"

The tall green-clad man actually laughed and Weiss felt herself cringing. Forget Richter, this guy was the real monster.

Darion walked over to Weiss and kneeled in front of her, eyeing her curiously. "Have you ever seen the grimm overrun a village Ms. Schnee?" He asked softly, "It's a bloodbath. I think the thing I remember the most were the screams. If you listened hard enough, it was almost like they were singing a tune." He lightly bumped her right knee with his left fist in pseudo-camaraderie, "A song of pain and fear! Cracked me right the hell up!"

"You're sick!" Weiss hissed, struggling against her bonds.

The psychopath merely smiled and stood up, "Maybe." He said, beginning to walk slowly away from her, his back turned in her direction, "As entertaining as it was watching the grimm gobbling up an entire settlement. It was bad for business. The body count eventually got high enough to where your sister intervened and that was it for me." He turned around to face her again. "Or so I thought. I've been given another chance and I don't intend to waste it."

"Doesn't sound like you're a new man at all." Weiss observed.

Darion smiled in response, "Oh, but I am little Schnee." She noticed with alarm the sclera of his eyes turn black and his iris' turned the color of jade, his voice also became distorted, just like Richter's. "I am."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

A/N: Setting the stage for next chapter ;)

Thanks for reading.