It was late at night in Vale, around the end of summer and the beginning of fall. But by now, I bet you're probably wondering: why night? Why Vale? Why couldn't things have gone differently for you, Ruby Rose? I know, sometimes I ask myself these questions, too, but I assure you that there's a reason I'm going into detail about that one night. At first, you probably wouldn't think of me as any different from the other normal girls with normal knees out there. After all, I'm sure there are hundreds of me's who all started out the same way in whatever parallel universes they lived in.

But that night, something happened to me that would change my life forever.

I had to bail Yang out of a bar fight she started the night before. I never liked it when my big sis ran off and got herself into trouble, but I figured that her bloodlust would run its course with enough effort. But by then, I had no idea what bloodlust really meant. Of course, not in those moments before I… changed. No, wait, I'm getting distracted…

Right, back to my point! Sometimes, though, the stress of playing nanny to the girl who practically raised me after Mom died got a little exhausting. I'm not exactly much of a people person, so I decided to go shopping downtown and check out the latest in weaponry and gear in case my sweetheart needed a tune-up. I'm still younger and a little more childish than my sister, but I managed to convince her to let me go by bringing up my intense training at Signal. With the tricks I learned from Uncle Qrow, I thought I was practically invincible!

Well, that's what I thought. Boy, was I wrong…

As I headed in, the old shopkeeper greeted me with a smile and a wave, so I waved back before browsing each aisle. Every so often I heard on the news that Dust shops and blood banks were being robbed for some reason. I was confused as anyone else would be if they heard the broadcast. Dust I understood, but why would someone rob a blood bank?

Eventually, I tuned out the news and decided that I'd listen to some music on my headphones while I looked. I skimmed through the weapons magazines for a good one to take home. Apparently, I was so engrossed in my search that I didn't notice a shady-looking man with his sword drawn until he had to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention. When he pointed to his ears, I knew to remove my headphones so I could hear him talk.

"I said put your hands in the air," he demanded, "Now!"

"Are you… robbing me?" I asked, trying to hold back a laugh. Was he really that stupid?

When he answered 'yes', it occurred to me that, yes, he was that stupid. I just flung him across the room without breaking a sweat before his colleague readied his gun and told me to freeze. I wasn't intimidated. I kicked him out the window so my fight wouldn't hurt the old man. I'm not as much of an adrenaline junkie as my sis, but some part of me still deeply relished the opportunity to put my training to the test.

Then I heard the ringleader send more of his cronies my way. I recognized him as the infamous small-time crook Roman Torchwick, but something about him was off. There was blood on his lips, but since he looked immaculate and unharmed, his slight paleness aside, I figured that it was someone else's. What kind of sick freak would smear his victim's blood on his face for sport? I put my disgust aside and beat down the rest of the crooks.

"You were worth every drop of blood in your bodies," Torchwick mused. "Every single drop."

As he continued talking, I heard police sirens and thought that since this guy had such a big mouth, maybe he'd stay still long enough to be arrested.

"Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to chat, I'm famished!"

"Is that why you tried to have your men kill me?" I asked to keep him busy. "To ask me out to dinner?"

"Oh, no! I'm not taking you out to dinner. You are dinner!"

Confused and shocked, I tried to shoot him, but he dodged my bullets and moved at an inhuman speed. Every single one of them! He didn't have a Semblance like mine, but none of my shots even slowed him down! I tried to fight back as he got in close, but he was too fast and broke my Aura before I felt a warm breath on my skin and a stinging pain in my neck. I was losing blood quickly, but I mustered the strength to knock him off me before he could finish.

"Bit me…" I huffed under my breath before I raised my voice. "You bit me?!"

"Don't act so surprised, Red!" my attacker replied. "Isn't that what predators do? Since I got what I came for as well as a delectable bonus, I'm afraid this is where we part ways. I'll see you in your new life, little girl!"

"New life…?"

I didn't have time to think before he fired onto me. I was lucky to have avoided the shot. I was lucky to have even stayed alive with about a fifth of my blood gone. When the smoke cleared, Torchwick was gone and a small, red-furred vampire bat flew towards the rooftops, transforming into the man who regarded me with such bloodlust. I knew he was serious from the reports, but now this was getting crazy! He could turn into a bat, dodge even the most precise sniper weapons in the world, and cause people to lose blood by biting them?! And what did he mean by "next life"? Now he seemed almost demonic…

"Miss! Are you alright?" the old man was concerned for me. "You need to get to a hospital!"

"I'm fine!" I brushed him off, but I was already feeling a little woozy. "Someone's gotta… stop that guy! Are you okay if I go after him?"

He hesitated before giving me a nod, with his face telling me that he was serious about my need for medical assistance. Despite my exhaustion and lack of blood, I managed to reach the Bullhead Torchwick was about to board and stopped him in his tracks.

"You're a persistent little pest…" he said. "Don't you see I've already won?!"

"Won?" I was confused. "Think… degrading me… is winning?"

"No, but you lost the moment my fangs entered your throat. In a few hours, you'll be just like me! And all mine to command…"

"I'm… no one's slave… You're just… crazy…"

"I'm a vampire. Now, I know that skeptical look on your face. Be warned that my tale is true, and I'd love to tell you all about your new life…"

"It was a couple of months ago in the heat of spring when I received word of treasure and riches in a secret cave system deep in the mountains of Solitas. I had to investigate. I went in alone and had my men survey the area to keep my findings safe from would-be intruders. I expected something like gold or Lien, but I found some old tablets instead, telling me to beware the Thirst. They said that not all of the world's magic had died out, but there was a virulent strain that had to be contained. One day in my expedition, I tripped and fell into a dark pool filled with that black magic. When I came out, I felt like a new man! Then the Thirst kicked in, and I fed off most of my crewmates when I realized: Vale was mine for the taking! Why stop at robbing Dust shops when I now had the power to steal life itself? And with each person I bit, I gained another loyal and obedient servant to make my work easier. It'd be a shame if they knew the cure…"

I was shocked by his words and was frozen with surprise and dread. I almost didn't notice him pull out a crystal of Fire Dust and toss it at my feet before shooting it. Why was he trying to kill me if he was trying to enslave me? Or maybe he knew he was being followed by someone else trying to stop him and needed a distraction. I was saved when a Huntress used her Semblance to protect me from the blast, and Torchwick relayed her arrival to another woman. I got a good look at her, and she was dressed in warm colors with dark hair and fiery eyes.

Dark hair, fiery eyes… That's how I knew to find my enemy. She prepared to try and fight us from aboard the Bullhead, but the vampire stopped her.

"Stay at the controls! I'll clean up this mess!"

He then looked the Huntress in the eyes, his gaze seeming to pierce her soul, and made his demand.

"On. Your. Knees. Now!"

Then, I watched as my savior fell to her knees with a dull, emotionless look on her face, telling Torchwick that she would do as he told her and calling him her master. It was like she was stuck in a trance. I was still aware, but I too felt the compulsion to obey him. I hated it, and I tried to resist, but I couldn't get back up. Was his claim about vampires controlling the ones they turned true, even though only a few minutes had passed?

However, I noticed something. He only told us to kneel, and even then all of his attention was on the older woman.

"Now, kill yourse-"

While he was distracted, I readied Crescent Rose and shot him in the eye to try to break his hold on the enthralled Huntress, or at least stop him from commanding her further. He hissed in pain and recoiled back, but he wasn't dead. Why. Wasn't. He. Dead?! He frustratedly gave up and made his escape. Then I tended to my savior, jostling her out of her trance until the glimmer in her eyes returned and she returned to her senses.

"Can I…" I weakly asked. "Can I have… your… autograph?"

I couldn't get an answer since the blood I lost was taking its toll, and my vision grew hazier before everything faded into black.

When I came to, I found myself lying on a hospital bed and being hooked up to a blood bag for a transfusion, with a monitor displaying my heartbeat and an orderly overseeing my progress. But I just felt so hungry… no, this was the very first time I experienced the Thirst. Acting on instinct, I pounced on the man and bit into his neck before draining the blood from his body. As I drank, the reality of the situation hit me. What was I doing? Why was I attacking this guy? What was happening to me?

After I had my fill, I looked on in horror of what I just did. I just killed a man with my teeth! Then I looked down and saw that my hands now sprouted small claws. My trip to the mirror only made me more concerned. I saw myself, only slightly paler in complexion. My eyes bore vertical slits for pupils, like a cat's eyes. But when I opened my mouth to gawk, I saw a distinctive pair of fangs where my canine teeth should be! I tried slapping myself to see if it was a dream, but not only was this real, but I felt like I was a lot stronger now.

"Oh, dear God, I became a vampire!" I found myself saying out loud.

As the orderly started squirming around in his death throes, I realized that if I didn't act now, he would rise from his grave and spread the Thirst to more people. I read lore about vampires before and learned that in many stories, they could be killed with a wooden stake or by chopping off their heads. With hardly any wood around and a new pair of weapons, I knew what I had to do.

"I'm sorry."

I sliced his head off with a single swipe of my new claws before I hid my first victim in the closet and cleaned up the splattered blood on the floor. I mostly used the disinfectant, but sometimes I ended up scrubbing with my own tears. Then I eyed the bag and decided to feed from it. Now I wouldn't have to worry about infecting someone else in satiating my hunger. That's when I noticed a name on the label: Xiao Long.

Now that I knew my sis had her blood donated to save me, it felt a little scary and weird to tear it from the bag so I could drink it.

After a few hours another worker entered the room to find it spotless and me, who was just before very weak from Torchwick's attack, up and about. Although he was concerned about his colleague and asked where he was, he appeared relieved when I lied that he went home. It's a little bad of me, I know, but how was I supposed to tell him that vampires are real and I was one?

"You lost a lot of blood, Ms. Rose," he told me. "Your sister was willing to offer a transfusion. I told her it might not take with how much you lost, but she insisted, and I see that her hope wasn't misplaced. You're lucky to be alive."

"Take me," I told him.

"What do you-?"

"Take me to my sister."

"In due time, but there is a Huntsman and a Huntress who want to speak to you."

After I was discharged from the hospital, that was when I met Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch of Beacon Academy. Yang was going there that year and I wanted to join her more than anything, partly to tell her I was alright and because I just wanted to be with my big sis. As I spoke with them, I got to know them as skilled and good-natured people. Goodwitch, the Huntress I met while fighting Torchwick and his dark-haired partner, was very stern and crabby, but she seemed to soften somewhat when I told her about how I saved her from the vampire's spell. And Oz? He was more relaxed and friendly, and he decided that I could go to Beacon two years early.

When I finally reunited with Yang, she gave me the biggest hug she could without hurting me. Even after being declared "alive" and healthy, I was still fresh out of the emergency room. With my… condition… thrown in the mix, I didn't feel that much at home during the day. I was both surprised and relieved to find out that vampires burning in sunlight was only a myth, though.

"I'm so happy my baby sister's okay and coming to Beacon with me!" she squealed. "I knew you'd make it!"

"Please stop," I gasped. "I can practically feel your pulse in my fingers…"

"But I was so worried! I couldn't believe it when I heard you might be hurt that badly…"

"Really, Sis, it was nothing."

I was sure of it. Even if I hadn't turned into a monster, I probably would have survived the attack thanks to Yang's blood, and if I died, I'd be at peace knowing I saved at least one person. Maybe I'd even get to see Mom…

"What do you mean? It's a miracle! Everyone at Beacon is going to love you!"

"Love me or pity me? I don't deserve their love and I don't want their pity! I just want to be a normal girl again…"

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I am! It's just… I let the bad guys get away, I barely survived one of the worst robberies Vale has ever seen, and I just feel… different. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything…"

"But you are special."

As Yang hugged me again, more gingerly this time, I noticed that the Thirst was sated for far longer than I thought. In the books and stories, a vampire had to drink a near-constant supply of blood every night, but I went without feeding for over an hour without any urge to take more. Still, I knew it wouldn't last forever. Then the news went on.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to elude authorities," the reporter said. "Although no one was killed in this incident, the blood of a recently hospitalized fifteen-year-old girl was found at the scene of the crime."

"Don't remind me," I growled under my breath at the screen. Luckily, Yang couldn't hear me.

Still, with Torchwick at large, I knew what I needed to do next. Didn't he say something about a cure? I needed answers. I'd have to learn to control my new abilities and prepare for a showdown with the original vampire so that when I defeated him, I'd learn how to lift my curse and become human again.