Caffeine! I've been downing energy drinks to write all this, my Final paper, study for exams, and listening to RWBY OST! It's awesam! Now, last we left off the assassins were mostly assembled and on their mission, so I guess I should explain as I drop us into the fun that is the second season of Darkness Within. Sandman's semblance is Erosion, he can drain the moisture or energy from anything he touches. So yes he can soak up batteries and become all sparky and shit. It just hurts because the energy isn't immediately dispelled. Anyway, reading, go now, CAFFEINE!

RWBY: The Darkness Within

Season 2- Chapter 1

The Start of Something Wicked

Blood Red is the color that I give to you,

Pouring from my heart which is torn in two.

Broken like my mind, from insanity,

Red Like Roses is the only color that I see.

My bleeding heart is pouring out for you,

Please just tell me that you love me too.

Split between two souls, all that's left is me,

Rejected and cast out by society.

Sitting there alone, hating everything,

Blood Red is what I see in anything.

Accept me, give me peace.

Let the screaming finally cease.

Blood Red I give to you.

Just say you love me too.

"Are you sure you want this, if I approve this request it is final." Ozpin said as he eyed his young charge. The boy had his once shaggy hair cut when in the hospital and now it was a short, spiky mess of black hair. His red eyes stood out, as their slit gave him a serpentine appearance.

"I am sure Headmaster," Knives said, straightening his red hoodie, "I messed up as a leader and was brash and foolish. I need time to cool off and just work on myself before I can lead, so I'm giving control to Caradin Cross in the meantime so that he can use his experience to better our team as we all work towards becoming better Huntsmen."

He nodded, with a slight smile at how the young boy had grown from a rebellious and angsty youth to a mature young adult. "Very well, just know that the position is always open if you want to take back over as leader. And if you see Master Tenebrous please tell him to return to class, if he skips anymore he may not graduate."

Knives smiled, "Don't worry, we've made sure he keeps up with his make-up work. He's just been feeling under the weather."

Ozpin gave him a skeptical look before dismissing him from his office. Knives stepped outside and wasn't even surprised by his friendly little psychotic apparition waiting for him. "So you've gone and resigned." He patted Knives on the head, "Good boy doing just as I said, now all we have to do is let that fool Cross run things and with the attention taken off of us we can go about and do exactly what I want. I think first we should have a nice little talk with your buddy Edan about Cain."

Knives ignored him until they were out of earshot from anyone, "Very well, I'll talk to him about this Cain incident and try to find out if he'll be in on my plan to kill him."

Johann made a ticking noise with his mouth, "Now Alex you know the rules, I run the show now, and as I told you you're here to spread my madness. We are going to find Cain and The Fragments, so that we can kill Cain and assume the role as leader of his little troupe of misfits. The fact he was there at the same time as that Torchwick guy can't be a coincidence, so we need to sever whatever tie there is there and make them ours; not just the Numbers, but the Sins as well."

Knives tried very hard to block out the horrid memories of his past, and focused more on what Deverou was up to. He was worried about his friend's absence.

Something Wicked this way Comes.

Deverou moved easily through the forest now, ignoring the dying images of Weiss and kept his eye trained on Xich and Xich alone. Not the fake Xich's who stabbed him to no avail or tried to wound him as he just walked through them, finally he met his cousin in the clearing of the forest where he waited with those dark eyes. "I thought you'd never make it!"

"Consider me full of surprises." He switched his weapon into sword mode and began to swing the chain with the weighted end, "Let's finish this." He looked around and was surrounded by four Xichmaels as they ran in a circle, shuffling the order of which one was the real one. Deverou had a plan for this though. He made a wide swing with the chain, which wrapped itself around the real Xich as he slammed his cousin into the ground. Xich rolled and threw one of his chain scythes which Deverou simply dodged, grabbing the chain and yanking his cousin towards him, where he head-butted his cousin and brought him to the ground. He pointed his sword at Xich. "Do you yield?"

Xich spun, kicking his feet up at Deverou who just jumped back and leapt forward switching his weapon into it's chain scythe form and swung, wrapping it around his cousin's neck and began to strangle him, "I'm sorry, I phrased it as a question. I meant to say, yield of I will kill you."

Xich threw his blades into Deverou's body and his cousin did not flinch in the slightest as he tightened the chain around Xich's neck until his cousin dropped his weapon and clawed at the one around his neck. "Yield." Deverou said without any hint of emotion or remorse. Xich slammed his hands on the ground and Deverou let his cousin free as he gasped for air and coughed.

"I-I can't believe it, you almost killed me!" Xich yelled. Deverou simply stood there emotionless as he looked at his cousin before Xich cracked a smile, "You did good cousin, and it's been a while since I saw the famous Shadow of the Schnee in action. Reminds me of your work back in the Black Rose and I gotta say I love it! You still give me goose bumps."

Deverou gave a slight smile before helping his cousin up, as he raised Xich from the dirt he gave him one strong punch into his nose, and Xich stumbled back. "To be fair you've had that coming you son of a bitch." Deverou smiled, "But thank you for training me Xich."

"Hey, that rhymed!" Xich said through blood and tears.

"Let's get to the nurse's office; lord knows we need to see a doctor." Deverou said as he helped his cousin walk back to school. Xich unaware of what he'd unleashed in Deverou.

The Sins of the Father

Luxus sat pleasantly with Newt, his mother, and sister all in his mother's home as they drank tea and had some scones his sister had made. His mother laughed, "Oh Newt, you are such a sweet girl and I'm glad you're keeping Luxus in line. Why when he was a young boy you should have seen the trouble he got into. I remember when he came out of the bath and ran around the house naked."

"Mom!" He yelled, his face becoming beet red as he looked at Newt who simply laughed.

"Oh I'm sure he was adorable," She said with a smile, "He just needs strong women to keep him in line."

"You can say that again." His little sister said as she drank her milk.

"Lilith!" He shrieked, "You all are killing me!"

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." His mother said with a coy smile. His phone began to ring.

"God I hope it's Knives with good news," He started until he saw who was calling, "It's dad." He said with obvious melancholy.

His mother frowned and sighed with anger, "Go outside and answer it."

He walked outside and answered the phone, "Hey dad."

"No casuals Luxus, this is a formal call." His father said sternly.

"Yes father," He forced out, "What is the manner of business behind this call?"

"I'm coming for a visit soon, and I want to see your progress as a Huntsman in this academy. If you have made no progress I shall talk to Ozpin about reassigning your team to make you have the chances you need." He finished.

"Yes father, if you think it best." Luxus said with disdain.

"Do I detect resentment in your voice? Need I remind you who made you who you are, who gave you everything you have!?" His father yelled, "You will listen well, you will do as I say and you will cast off those weaker to become a Huntsman who will forever represent the Rayfor clan!"

"Yes father." He said before hanging up the phone and screaming into the sky, damning his fate as the son of such a horrible man. He collapsed and Newt came out to check on him, embracing him and holding him close.

"Do I need to kick your father in the shin?" She said sincerely to which he chuckled between tears.

"Thank you hun, it's always nice to have you around to keep me grounded." Luxus said as he rose from the ground. "Mom's right, I do need some strong women in my life."

Newt smiled, "Let's thank them for the tea and head back to Beacon." They walked off towards their school, fingers intertwined as they held hands, Newt nestling her head on Luxus' shoulder with a smile. It was true affection.

In the midst of Thorns, the Rose Blooms.

Ruby walked down the hall, heading towards Mary's room to return a book Blake had borrowed. She didn't read it, but it made Blake blush a lot so it must have been one of 'those' books. She personally liked those adventure books that Caradin and Alex had stocked up on, speaking of Alex and Caradin, they walked down the hallway in a heated debate. She tried not to eavesdrop but they were loud. "…and furthermore, you were picked as leader; why would you pawn that responsibility off on me if you couldn't hack it!?"

"Because I didn't think you'd be this much of a bitch about it! You were already telling your parents that you were leader and now you are, I'm not seeing a problem!" The smaller boy with the red slit eyes yelled.

"After I told them I lied!? How is this going to look on me?" Caradin pleaded with his friend. "Oh hey, mom and dad, you know I was just joking with you before, please don't use your connections in the Atlas army to come and kill me in my sleep now!"

"Whatever man, I'll explain it to them just chill the hell out and call them to explain the situation." He said gruffly rubbing his temples.

Ruby shrunk away as the larger blonde boy stormed down the hallway no doubt to head to the roof to vent his frustrations into his phone. She peered down the hall to Alex to check on him, and he was talking to himself, no doubt to that Johann he'd told her about.

"I've done what you asked, now go away!" He paused as his fists clenched, "What do you mean we're not done! I'm in control here you sociopathic son of a bitch, so just get out!" He screamed as she shrunk away. She wanted to just sneak by him, but he was her friend so she did what she needed to.

"Hey Alex!" She called as she bounced up, "Everything okay?"

He snapped out of his hallucination and looked at her, then down to the book she had, "I didn't know you read stuff like that."

She looked down at the book and grew bright red, "It's Blake's, I mean Mary's, I hmmm." She grumbled in a flustered manner as she pulled her hood over her head to hide her embarrassment. He removed her hood and smiled at her, one of the few she'd seen from him, as he tussled her hair.

"Come on, let's deliver that book, if you can call it that, and then we'll get you another one of ours. Have you finished 'The Grim Emperor' yet?" He asked as they walked along to Mary's room.

"No, I just got to the part where Camen Nighthawk faced down the villain Balthazar and his Grimm hordes." She said as they walked and talked.

"Oh, you're like five chapters from the end, we'll get you another. I think you'll like 'Faunus of Neverwind' it's about some Faunus who live in a mythical forest and they team up with some humans to go on a mystical adventure." He said with a smile. She loved his enthusiasm for history and mythology as he always found some way to make old things sound super cool. She'd always loved the stories of old heroes, but Alex really brought them to life. They arrived at Mary's room and she dropped of the book as Mary eyed them with a mischievous smirk before closing the door. She looked at the ground and Knives looked away with a red face before growling at Mary who giggled and closed the door as he sighed.

"Are we going to get that book now?" She asked excitedly, quickly changing the awkward environment.

He smiled as they locked eyes, "Yeah, let's go." And they walked off to get the book, walking closely to one another.

KnivesXRuby...crashing...niiiiiight...revie*snoring*