Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any references in this story. I would like to thank the RWBY Wiki for their informative website, which was beneficial in developing this story. Basically I decided to write my first fan fiction from a first-person perspective. This is merely for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy.

Also, before we begin Chapter 10, I'd like to announce that I've decided to do a Questions and Answers part at the end of the Carbon series. Since you (the reader) have been so supportive of my work, and helped the story hit the 3000 view mark, I'm offering you the opportunity to ask me anything about the story, me, future stories, etc. Other than that, leave your questions (no limit per person) in the reviews section or you can send them to me in a private message. I'll make sure to answer all of them once the series is complete.

With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

It's only been about four days since the attack on Beacon Academy, and the school has already been repaired for the most part, despite the fact that many of the students are still shaken up from the incident. Two days ago, I had my stitches removed for the gunshot wound that I sustained in the attack, so my arm doesn't require a sling any longer. Of course, things have been somewhat awkward since that day after Ruby, Weiss, and Yang walked in Blake and I...in bed with each other. Other than that, everything seems to be getting back to normal.

Just after we're dismissed from class for the day, the team is called to Professor Ozpin's office for a mission briefing. We meet each other just outside the office, and I open the door to allow my team to enter before me. Blake and I smile to each other as she goes through the door. As I enter, Ozpin gestures the five of us to take a seat.

"I'm glad you made it. I have mission for you."

"Let's hear it, sir." I say with excitement. I'm eager to get back out in the field.

"Team RWBYS will be sent to the western end of the Emerald Forest to clear out a cave network that is infested with various types of Grimm." Ozpin instructs us.

"What about Jaune's team, Professor?" Ruby asks.

"I've already briefed them on their mission. They are being deployed to the eastern end to clear out a cave network similar to yours. It's possible that both networks may be connected."

"So basically, our mission is search and destroy; Find anything that's a Grimm and eradicate it?" I ask.

"Yes"

"Consider it done, Professor." Ruby replies with confidence. A moment later, Ozpin dismisses us.

We head back to the dorm to prepare ourselves for the mission. I take a seat and begin to load my pistol with subsonic ammo, and load Bangalore with a special kind of ammunition – A hybrid of flechette and dragon's breath ammo. Shortly after, I sharpen Bangalore's blades, and wipe down my baton. Ruby begins loading magazines for her scythe, while Weiss polishes her sword, Blake sharpens her katana, and Yang loads her gauntlets. When everybody is done, we head out towards the Emerald Forest.

It takes us about an hour, but we finally enter the forest. The cloudy skies and fog within the forest hinder our visibility. The soggy ground also contributes to the...not so favorable weather conditions for this mission, but like being in the army, you have to follow orders, regardless of the weather. We begin to cautiously maneuver the forest in a single file line – Me being the point man, followed by Blake, Yang, Ruby, and Weiss. We walk in silence so we can hear any Grimm that dare to approach. Eventually, we come to the edge of a clearing, and my military instincts begin to kick in. 'This is the perfect place for an ambush.' I think to myself as I raise my hand, and everybody stops dead in their tracks, then I gesture them to gather around me,

"I'm willing to bet you 10 Lien that we're about to walk into an ambush..."

"Oh, you're so on" Yang says with a smirk. The rest nod to acknowledge.

From there, we emerge from the treeline into the clearing while maintaining a diamond formation, with me in front, Ruby in the center, Yang and Blake covering the left and right flank respectively, and Weiss covering our six.

Within a moment of being in the clearing, I hear the sounds of leafs rustling and twigs snapping directly in front of me. Just as I take aim with Bangalore, an Ursa Major comes charging out from the treeline and rips through the fog. As it begins to lunge towards me, I quickly flip the selector switch to 'All.'

"CONTACT!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I pull the trigger.

*BANG* The shot blows a large flaming hole clean through the Ursa Major's chest, killing it instantly. I roll to the side to dodge the corpse as it comes crashing to the ground with a loud thud and causes the ground to shake. I turn to face my team and find them already engaged with other Grimm. Blake and Yang attacking a Death Stalker, while Ruby and Weiss are attacking a King Taijitu.

I decide to assist Weiss and Ruby since they're closest to me. I quickly load more ammo for Bangalore, and I charge forward. At the last minute, I notice that the girls are fighting the black half of the King Taijitu. Not a moment sooner, the white half lunges at me from my left side, just outside of my peripheral vision and manages to swallow me whole. I hear the girls cry out to me, but by now, I'm completely inside the large snake. The darkness overwhelms me for a moment, before I can recover my senses.

When the opportunity presents itself, I flip the selector switch on Bangalore to 'Semi,' and take a shot. *BANG* I blast a hole into the side of the King Taijitu, and I crawl out. Just as I get to my feet, I find myself on the Taijitu's back, so I run up towards the white half's head, slashing away with Bangalore's blades as I go. When I get to the head, I jam my gun into the top of it and pull the trigger twice. *BANG*...*BANG*

The white half hisses in defeat and comes crashing to the ground. Just as I lean over to catch my breath, the head is yanked out from under my feet and I do a front flip, followed by a face plant into the mud. As I look up and wipe the mud from my face, I see the black half of the King Taijitu fleeing, with it's dead white counterpart in tow. I notice the Death Stalker beginning to flee as well as I stumble to my feet, but Yang continues a relentless assault against it until it disappears into the tree line. 'That's weird, Grimm don't usually retreat...' After a brief moment of silence, I quickly reload, then call out to the girls,

"Everybody okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good!" Yang calls out as she reloads her gauntlets.

"Weiss and I are alright" Ruby yells out.

"Blake, you good?" I ask. Nothing but silence for a few seconds. "Blake?" I yell out, looking around the clearing. "Blake? Where you at, baby girl?!" I fire a shot into the air. "BLAKE?!" I look over to see her weapon, Gambol Shroud laying on the ground near the tree line. 'Oh no...'

I scream out her name again as I charge into the treeline.

"Shane, wait! Come back!" I hear Ruby yell out.

As I enter the the treeline, I stop and look at the ground to find drag marks in the dirt. 'No...no...no. This can't be happening!' I begin to sprint through the forest, following the tracks, calling out to Blake, only to be met with more silence. I soon find myself approaching another clearing, and I quickly break through the treeline. I spot a man, dressed in a red and black hooded vest w/ a medal shoulder plate, as well as a compound bow and quiver slung over his back. He climbs onto a Nevermore, with Blake in his arms, unconscious. 'A bloody Nevermore, of all things!'

"BLAKE!" I yell out to her. The guy looks back at me, and we meet eye-to-eye; the scumbag is a wolf Faunus. Not only that, but my heart stops when I see him wearing Adam's mask. 'Is this some kind of sick joke or a bad dream?' I throw Bangalore to the ground, draw my pistol, and open fire on the Nevermore. I unload the entire magazine, but to no avail as the Nevermore flies away. As the bird disappears over the horizon, I fall to my knees with my pistol still in hand. I release the slide, which is locked back due to the lack of ammunition, and I just sit there with tears flowing down my cheeks.

A few moments later, I hear the girls run up to me from behind.

"Shane! What happened? Where's Blake?" Ruby frantically asks while carrying Blake's weapon.

Yang comes up to me and kneels to the right of me with her hand on my shoulder. "Shane, what happened?"

"She's...g-gone..."

"Who? Blake?" I slowly nod. The girls look to each other in shock. Just then, I raise my pistol to my head and scream at the top of my lungs,

"AAAHHHHHH!" *CLICK* I pull the trigger, but there's no round in the chamber. The girls gasp at what they just witnessed.

I lower my pistol and holster it as I slowly stand up. I turn around to face Ruby, and I gesture her to give me Blake's weapon, and she hands it over without hesitation. I sling it over my back, pick up Bangalore, and begin to walk away.

"Shane? Where you going?" Weiss calls out to me. I simply ignore the girls and walk back to Beacon. They eventually decide to follow me. 'Screw the mission, I have to report the situation to Professor Ozpin immediately.'

After over two hours of walking, we arrive back at Beacon. The sun has already started to set. I storm into Ozpin's office.

"Ah, Mr. Carbon. Has the mission already been completed?" he asks before taking a sip of his coffee.

"With all due respect, sir, but screw the mission."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Blake's been kidnapped."

"Ms. Belladonna? Kidnapped?" as his eyes widen

"Yes, sir. We were ambushed in a clearing by an Ursa Major, a King Taijitu, and a Death Stalker. When none of us were looking, somebody snatched her, and dragged her away. I chased after them, but when I got to another clearing, the kidnapper took off on a Nevermore with her in his arms. That's the last time I saw her."

"Hmm...alright, I'll report this to the Police Department immediately." he says as he pulls out his tablet. He looks over to me, "In the mean time, I want you to go and get some rest."

"But, sir...I–" He raises his hand to cut me off,

"That's not a suggestion, Mr. Carbon."

I bow my head and sigh, "Yes, sir," as I turn and walk out.

I quietly walk over to the shooting range, and go to a firing line. I pull out a target, hang it up on the rack, then press the button to send it down range. I pull out Bangalore, flip the selector switch to 'All', and pull the trigger. *BANG* Upon lighting the target on fire, I realize that it was still loaded with my hybrid ammo. I press the button to recall it as I grab a fire extinguisher and put out the fire.

I grab another target, and send it down range, but this time, I take shots with my pistol. I do this for little over a half an hour, and I go through at least nine or ten magazines. I decide to do one more before I leave. I load my pistol, take aim, then imagine the target being the Faunus who took Blake, and I open fire. I empty the magazine in mere seconds – All rounds on target. Out of the fifteen shots, seven are head shots, while the rest are center mass. I recall the target, rip it off the rack, toss it in the trash can, and spit at it as an insult. I quickly disassemble my pistol and clean it, put it back together, then head for the door.

As I exit the shooting range and begin to walk down the hallways back to the dorm room, I find myself blocked off by Team CRDL. Obviously Cardin would grow a pair when he's got his team to back him up. I stop about five feet away from them,

"Can I help you, gents?" I ask with a hint of aggression and fatigue in my voice.

"Hmm...maybe you can let us give you a beat down..." Cardin says with a smug look on his face as he cracks his knuckles.

"Tonight's really not the best time to be doing this..."

"Really?"

"I would have liked to have been left in peace."

Cardin shrugs, "Well...too bad." The team then forms semi-circle around me.

"This is your last chance to walk away..."

"You kidding me? It's four against one."

I pause for a moment to examine the team. "It's two against one..."

Cardin looks at me with a surprised look as he looks at his team. "How do you figure?"

"Well once I take out the leader...which is you, I'll have to contend with one...or maybe even two enthusiastic wing men. The rest? They always run..."

"What, have you done this before?" He asks. I merely give a slight nod as I roll my eyes in response.

"It's getting late," I say as I get into a boxing stance. Cardin follows suit. "Remember, you wanted this." Cardin gives a smile in response, then throws a wild right hook at me. I quickly dodge by squatting and his fist goes over my back, and I elbow him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. I grab him by the back of his shirt collar to pull him up,

"It's okay. You're okay. Get up." Just then I give him a swift kick in the testicles from behind, and he yells out in pain, then hits the floor. I take a step back to check the rest of the team. Russel and Dove take a step towards me in fighting stances, while Sky checks on Cardin.

"Alright...now we know who's who. Let's get this over with."

Just then, Dove tries to do throw a right hook, but I block with my left arm, and counter attack by stepping in and slash back and forth with my elbow across his face. He stumbles back with a cut across his face, and stands back to let Russel attack. Russel steps forward and tries to deliver a round house kick, but I catch his leg and tuck it under my arm. He starts hopping around on the one leg, and I deliver a punch to his abdomen, causing him to struggle in maintaining his balance. Dove and Sky stand side-by-side, look to each other, and nod.

"Really?" as I look at them with an annoyed expression. I then deliver a hard kick to the back of Russel's thigh, causing him to collapse and cry out in sheer agony. Just as he hits the floor, Dove and Sky decide to run. As they flee, I turn my attention to Cardin. I walk over to him and kneel down next to him,

"You forget a thousand things in a day, Mr. Winchester. Do us both a favor, and make sure this isn't one of them." I stand up and walk away, leaving Cardin and Russel on the ground, groaning in pain. Truth be told, they actually did me a favor. The fight gave me an excuse to vent my anger and frustration.

A short time later, I arrive at the dorm room. As I enter, the girls are sitting on their beds, conversing about Blake, but they go silent as I enter. None of us exchange words for a the first moment or two of me entering. I unclip my utility belt and toss it onto my chair. After that, I walk over to Blake's bed, rest Gambol Shroud across it, then turn and walk over to the window. I just stand there gazing at the night sky and begin to think about what to do next. 'I'll go and see Donovan tomorrow. Maybe he can help...'

Yang and Weiss come up to me, and each rest a hand on my shoulders,

"Don't worry Shane, we'll find her" Yang says.

"Yeah. Blake's a tough girl." Weiss says with assurance.

I just stand there, and nod in response. Weiss is right, Blake is tough, but if the White Fang puts her through what I've been through, I doubt she'll be able to last long. I need to find her...before it's too late.

*NOTE: If you could take a moment out of your time to check out my good friend "redjoker27," that would be greatly appreciated! Him and I are now beginning a crossover with his story, "Genesis III Project." We have been working diligently in order to prepare for this, so stay tuned for more to come from the both of us! In the event that he is unable to release other chapters in a timely manor, do not fret as he is currently busy with both school work and personal matters, but he will do his best to write and complete his story as soon as he can.

Also worth noting, "The Assassin's Mentor" is requesting OC ideas for his story, "Ghosts of Remnant: United Offensive," which is a RWBY and Call of Duty: Ghosts crossover. I'd appreciate it if you could check him out and lend a helping hand with ideas of OCs to add to his story. More information will be at the end of Chapter 4 in his story.

Other than that, that's all for this week. I look forward to posting the next chapter next week. Until then, farewell...