Through the ornate clock face window could be seen the hectic hustle and bustle of Beacon's students going about their normal routines, betraying the serious tone within professor Ozpin's office. The previous night another student was brutally attacked. While his injuries were nowhere near as severe as miss Schnee's, his weakened state left him hospitalized.
Ozpin looked away from the window and towards his scroll that displayed information about the young man's condition. "This should not have happened." Glynda Goodwitch's tone was one of frustration and anger. If it were up to her she would have locked down the academy after the first attack, searching it room by room until that foul woman was found. The fact that her instincts matched Ironwood's was enough for her not to not press the issue at the time, normally she would reject any of his plans out of principle. But today was different, something had changed.
"You may be right." After countless years as a huntsman, the unknown was not a thing Ozpin was comfortable with and his calm tone did little to hide that fact. "This shows us how little we really know about these creatures. Our previous research suggested that feedings were an irregular occurrence, yet we now have two victims in under a week. I believe it would be best to call everything we thought we knew into question."
In the past there had been very little to go on when researching these individuals. Currently the headmasters of the top huntsmen academies as well as a few select individuals were the only ones privy to the existence of vampires. The people were happy and content behind their walls with the creatures that hunted them far away from civilization. But the idea that other predators existed, and ones who could hide in plain sight, was not a comfortable fact to be shared. Ozpin learned a long time ago that the people prefered their monsters to be beasts covered in black with glowing red eyes, not someone hiding in the crowd.
Keeping this information confidential proved to be a relatively easy task. Only six such individuals were thought to exist, with two of them believed to live in Vacuo with the rest inhabiting each of the remaining three kingdoms. On top of that, much like creatures of Grimm, vampires who lived for as long they, had since learned to leave a low profile. With few bodies ever appearing, it was hoped that was a sign these individuals were using more sustainable feeding methods.
Ozpin sipped from his mug emblazoned with Beacon's seal, "I believe that it is time we brought in a fresh pair of eyes. Preferably one with an expert knowledge of history."
"That is not entirely necessary, I am more than capable of handling this. Just let me be the one to stop her." The blond haired woman pleaded.
"No." Goodwitch was taken aback by Ozpin's stern reply. "You're too close to this one. But I still need you. Right now there are at least two separate teams who are going to be running their own freelance investigations. These children cannot handle this. If they find the culprit they will die. Do what you have too."
Goodwitch's eyes narrowed, she knew where the professor was going with this. "Surely someone else can handle that. Besides, I don't think calling him in is a good idea."
Ozpin's eyebrow lifted in response.
Pinching the bridge if her nose, Goodwitch sighed. "You already called him didn't you?"
Mere moments later, Beacon's resident green haired history professor stepped out of the elevator and into the office.
"Oobleck, please take a seat." Ozpin gestured towards a chair opposite the one he was currently taking at the desk. Goodwitch, however; remained standing.
"Why certainly!" Oobleck was always one with an excited demeanor. " What is it you wished to discuss?" He asked as he took his seat.
Leaning across the desk and interlocking his fingers, Ozpin stared into Oobleck's eyes. "What do you know, about vampires?"
Warnings had been sent out to all the student advising them to travel in groups. However; in a school populated by warriors in training, few took the threat seriously. Between classes the students went about their day as usual, oblivious to the predator in their midst.
In the middle of Beacon's campus as Blake, Ruby, and Yang were separating for their next classes of the day, Blake was pulled aside by an apprehensive looking Ruby. The brunet was fidgeting with her hands and nervously glancing around, making sure no one was listening in.
"C...Can we talk?" Ruby could not bring herself to look the faunus in the eyes.
Looking down at the girl, Blake could tell something was troubling her leader. Blake placed her hand on Ruby's back and gently guided her into a less traveled area behind one of the white brick buildings.
"What's on your mind Ruby?" Asked Blake.
"Um. I wanted to ask you something. If you've done something bad and you regret it, like really really regret it, but you were sure people would never look at you the same if they knew, what would you do?" The young girl's rambling confirmed Ruby's inexperience. In those years Blake spent in the White Fang, she did many things she regretted. She knew no matter what Ruby did, she could never come close to what Blake had done. Grasping Ruby's shoulders in both hands, Blake knelt down to look the shorter girl in the eyes.
"Ruby," Blake did her best to put on a caring tone, something she was ill practiced at. "Whatever you could have possibly done, we would never look at you any differently. You don't have to tell me what's going on if you don't want to. Just know that Weiss, Yang, and I are here if you need to talk.
As much as Blake tried to comfort Ruby, seeing her teammate look at her with a warm smile and concern in her eyes and then hearing Weiss's name caused her guilt to rise. Despite what Blake said, Ruby knew if her teammates saw what she had become they would only see her as the monster she had become.
"How do you live with what you did in the White Fang?" Blake was taken aback by Ruby's sudden question. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Franticly apologized. "I didn't mean to say that you did bad things in the past. Well you kinda did but that's not what I'm trying to say."
"Ruby its okay." Blake hushed the nervus girl's stammering. "I decided to focus on making a difference. But I learned that sometimes you need more than just a goal. Sometimes you need to look to those who care for you. You, Yang, even Weiss, have given me a place to call home. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be able to look beyond the past. With you, I have a future." Blake smiled as she finished.
Ruby took in what Blake said. Blake may not be the best at comforting speeches, but for now it was what Ruby needed.
"Thanks Blake." Ruby returned her grin. "Hey could you not tell Yang about this?"
"Sure Ruby. Whatever you say."
Over the next several days Ruby spent her free time using the library computers to secretly research various psychoses. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anything to explain her newfound violent compulsions. She hoped somehow she would discover a way to stop herself from hurting anyone else in the future.
Twice she took herself to the school counselor, and twice she failed to work up the nerve to walk in. The fear of confronting what she did and facing those she cared about overpowered her desire to seek help.
Since her second attack the desire to hurt someone else still filled her mind. Ruby felt that if she just drained the life from that poor boy her urges would be filled. In sparing him she felt a void inside her. She had to hunt, she had to kill and the longer she waited the tighter the urge's grip on her became. Every person who came close she could feel them. Their breathing, the blood pumping through them, their aura flowing and surrounding them. All of it, Ruby wanted to feel it, to open them up and absorb their very essence. It was intoxicating and wonderful; and it terrified her.
As she tried to clear her mind she found herself watching a green haired girl in grey and gold combat gear sitting a few tables over. Her smooth skin, Ruby could almost feel the blood flowing just under the surface. Her aura, Ruby could feel it's energy swirling from where she sat.
Realizing what she was doing, Ruby hastily rose from her seat and left the library. Out through the cool night air she rushed to her dorm, anything to clear her mind. It was there, eyes up toward the lights of her dorm she bumped into him. Silver armor, black hair with matching silver streaks, Josh was his name. He was an exchange student who came in with with general. He and Ruby had exchanged pleasantries once not long after his arrival. The energy, the sweet scent of his blood, She needed to have him.
Without a word Josh continued his stroll towards his assigned dorm. Ruby stood still upon the brick path, watching her prey. Once he disappeared into his building she moved, stalking the source of her pleasure. A quick bite and the euphoria would be her's again.
Ruby followed him from a distance down the tile floored hallway, waiting for her opportunity to strike. Too many people were awake at this time of the evening, making her options limited.
Then she saw it, a janitor's closet that had been neglected to be closed, an isolated spot for her deed. Like a shadow Ruby closed the distance on her prey. Her heart pounded furiously in anticipation. Her mouth practically watering at the thought of the wonderfulness to come.
In a swift powerful motion Ruby clamped her left hand across Josh's mouth and her right arm across his chest, pinning his arms. His confusion and panic gave Ruby the opening to bite his exposed neck and tear into his flesh. The ecstasy flowed through her.
Quickly coming to her senses, Ruby pulled the struggling boy into the open closet, closing the door behind her. Muffling his terrified struggle.
A day later Weiss was finally released from her hospital stay. The heiress was not as back to normal as she let on. Her aura only recently returning to full strength left many of her internal still injuries intact.
Her friends and teammates joyously celebrated her return. Ren and Yang prepared a feast of the best the local Foodmart had to offer. Not exactly fine dining but Weiss enjoyed it all the same.
After their rowdy meal, RWBY retreated to their room. When they arrived each spread out in the room, Weiss and Blake sitting on their beds with Yang leaning against her's. The girls looked toward their leader expectantly.
"So what's the plan?" Yang said, breaking the silence. "How we gonna get this guy?"
"Well what if we let the police handle this one? I mean we've been so busy lately with school and Torchwick and whatnot." Ruby nervously scratched the back of her head as she spoke.
"Really?" Blake's tone was one of confusion. Usually the fifteen year-old would be eager to jump into danger, this overly cautious Ruby was certainly a new occurrence.
"Oh come on Ruby, where's that adventurous spirit?" Said Yang playfully.
"How about we start by talking to the other victims and their teammates? Maybe we can get some clue or find a witness?" Blake offered.
"Ya, that sounds like a good idea. Let's go with that one." Said Ruby nervously.
The next hour was spent divvying up assignments and going over what they already knew. During this exchange Ruby remained uncharacteristically quiet, feeding Blake's growing concern. After their chat, Blake was starting to watch Ruby more closely. Something was off with the girl and Blake was going to find out what.
"He was my student Ozpin!" Oobleck froze as he exited the elevator into the headmaster's office. Before him sitting behind his desk was Ozpin with an annoyed looking Goodwitch sitting across from him. Standing next to Ozpin was a particularly angry general.
Oobleck quietly approached the table while listening to Ironwood berate Ozpin. The seated headmaster remained silent, allowing the general to vent. Ozpin understood his friend's anger; to have his own student harmed while unable to do anything about it, would push anyone over the edge.
"Please Ozpin, let me use my forces. We can secure this school and track this woman down." Ironwood pleaded, his frustration subsiding. "We can't let this happen again."
"I understand how you feel. But we need to go about his with more control and as I said before deploying an army will not help us catch her." Said Ozpin.
"So if I may, who is this woman you're all talking about?" Oobleck asked, fed up with the lack of information sent his way.
After a moment Goodwitch broke the silence. "Her name is Karnstein. She's a serial killer."
"Well she is a vampire I assume." Said Oobleck.
"Its more than that." Ozpin cut in. "The killings she is referring to are not predatory. Miss Karnstein reappears every few decades. She picks a young woman and befriends her, getting close to her. She seduces this woman and kills her. Miss Karnstein became acquainted with professor Goodwitch a number of years ago. Since then she has shown up once before to antagonize Goodwitch."
"I see." Said Oobleck. Turning to Goodwich he said. "If you don't mind me asking, how well did you and this Karnstein become acquainted?"
Her eyes narrowed on the green haired professor. "I was her intended victim."
"Oh, how did you survive?"
"I don't play for her team." She said bluntly.
"Ah. Right." Oobleck said uncomfortably, realizing he may have overstepped with his questions.
"Anyway," Goodwich continued, "she's a hunter and I'm the prey that got away. Since then I have become a prize of a sort. The last time she showed up she was trying to get my attention and now she's back and she won't stop."
After a moment to absorb what he learned, Oobleck turned back to Ozpin. "Anyway, you called me sir?"
"Yes. Now that you're all here I'd like to discuss the recent events. What have each of you learned? Glynda?"
"So far both Beacon teams have been quiet. If they are conducting their own investigations they are being covert about it. Ironwood's people on the other hand," She shot the general a look of annoyance. "I would recommend keeping a closer eye on them."
"Noted." Ozpin replied. "Ironwood, what is your assessment of the situation?"
"Our culprit is toying with us." He stated bluntly.
This elicited an eyebrow raise from Ozpin. "Oh, how so?"
"They're making no attempt to dispose of their victims. So far each victim has been found in a public or well traveled location, somewhere that would make it likely they would be found. Apart from that each victim had their own scroll used to alert their teammates and medical staff of the attack. My assessment is that we are looking at someone who likes to play games. If theses were purely predatory in nature our attacker would have simply killed them and disposed of the bodies. Instead they're leaving us with traumatized students and showing us that whoever this is they could have killed them if they wanted too. Our culprit is asserting their power by allowing them to live. But that won't last long. Psychopaths like this, they will escalate when they don't get the reaction they are hoping for. When asserting their power of life and death like this fails, they will move on to killing."
Ozpin silently nodded and turned his gaze to the green haired professor who remained. "Oobleck, how has your research been progressing?"
Clearing his throat,Oobleck rose from his seat to speak. "While I haven't had much time to research this topic, as an expert in history I have made some progress so far. As you may be aware its rather difficult to separate the fact from the and legends of vampiric individuals go back centuries. But so far none of my research explains any of this behavior. All the stories treat a feeding as a special event. Nowhere do you see vampires taking this many victims in such a short time. Usually the tales paint a picture of a vampire taking a single victim before moving on. This, this makes no sense."
"Like miss Karnstein. Single victim, moves on." Said Ozpin.
Afterwards Oobleck went on to discuss his own findings, much of it confirmed what the other three already knew. Soon they moved on to finalize their plan of action. Each of them hoped they would soon stop whoever was attacking their students.
The dark hallways of Beacon had become foreboding as of late. It used to be that walking around the campus at night was a peaceful activity, but now with rumors of monsters and psychopaths wandering the halls, few felt safe. One of these was a young faunus girl with brown hair and a matching pair of antlers. Her study session with a friend in a dorm for older students ran late and she was now walking back to her own in the night.
Her heart raced as she moved through the halls. Instincts told her she was being followed, but her rational mind said she was being paranoid. When she heard the cracking of floorboards behind her, she picked up her pace, slowly giving in to her rising worry.
A dark force rapidly closed in on it's target, a cloud of ethereal rose petals in it's wake. Closer and closer the figure came. Her prey tried to flee, changing to a full sprint, whimpers of fear escaped her lips. Weaponless and alone she sped towards the stairs, stairs that would take her to the level where many of her friends lay sleeping.
The figure slammed into the faunus at full force, sending the girl crashing into the floor. Her face scraped across the red rug that covered the wood around it. The hand clasped across her face silencing her cries. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she was pulled into a small dark room where none could hear her.
That night Glynda Goodwitch entered her accommodations. Her apartment was a modest one with a living room and kitchen together and a bedroom off to the far side. In her bedroom was a four poster bed with purple sheets, a desk covered in many books and papers next to the large open window, a short empty table and two wood chairs sat adjacent to the closet.
Yet immediately Goodwitch noticed something amiss. There, drinking a coffee and sitting at her table was a woman with short jet black hair and deep blue eyes. She wore matching skin tight black leather pants and heeled boots, her tank top was green with a red and black jacket over top. An amused grin adorned her face as she watched the apartment's owner arrive.
The moment Goodwitch spotted the intruder she drew her riding crop and shot a purple pulse of energy towards the woman. The table and the pair of chairs that surrounded it exploded in a shower of wooden shards. Yet the pulse passed harmlessly through the woman as she disappeared into a black cloud which quickly floated over to the bed. the cloud condensed into an even more amused looking woman. She sprawled seductively across the purple satin sheets and smirked at Goodwitch.
"Now is that anyway to say hello?" The intruder said. "Come over here and why don't we get reaquainted?" She said with a laugh.
With a primal growl Goodwitch threw her arm forward casting another pulse of energy, destroying the bed. As before the woman became a black cloud. This time the cloud floated over to Goodwitch. When it reached her a face coalesced from it, giving Goodwitch a playful peck on the cheek before laughing as it moved over to the desk.
The woman reappeared atop the desk, her left leg folded under her while the right swung over the edge. She leaned forward, gripping the wood surface with both hands and spoke.
"Come one Little Witch, are you gonna destroy your entire apartment? You know you can't hurt me. Don't you just wanna talk?"
Goodwitch stood with her weapon at the ready watching the intruder. "Stop what you are doing. Your dispute is with me woman, not my students."
The woman in black laughed at Goodwitch's statement. "A couple of things love. First, are you telling me you're afraid to even use my name? Come on, there's no excuse to not be civil. Say my name Glynda, you can do it."
"Carmilla. Carmilla stop this."
Carmilla Karnstein laughed again. "See, that wasn't so hard Little Witch. Secondly, I'm not doing anything. Well," She said grinning like a child hiding something from their parents, "maybe a little thing."
"Explain!" Goodwitch was tired of this woman's game.
"I may have visited one of your little students and passed on a little gift."
"What?" Was Goodwitch's confused reply.
"Where did you think new vampires came from love? Dropped from the sky by nevermores?" She laughed again. "You see in order to make a new vampire one justs has to give it to another. In this case one of your highly trained combatants."
"Tell me who your accomplice is Carmilla, now!" She yelled.
"I wouldn't call it an accomplice per say. You know that thought experiment Little Witch, the one where you take a newborn and drop them in the woods to grow up without any human or faunus influence." She paused for a moment to observe Goodwitch's reaction. "Well anyway I decided why not try the same, but this time instead of a newborn baby, why not a newborn vampire? Granted this time its not so much dropping a baby into the woods as it is dropping a hungry ursa into a sheep pen. Young vampires are so voracious for the first few months after turning." She matter of factly. "So many changes need to happen in such a short time. Now normally there would be another vampire to keep an eye on them and stop the young one from attracting too much attention. But this is not an easy thing to accomplish Little Witch, hence there are so few of us. No one wants to go through the effort. If only humans and faunus had the same attitude am I right?" Carmilla's attempt at humor fell on deaf ears.
"Anyway," Carmilla continued, "my father for example, the vampire one, not the other one, slaughtered most of a small village for me. The locals thought there was a hungry pack of grimm just outside the city, the corpses he tore apart to cover up how they really died helped with that. This little one doesn't have that luxury, but frankly I think its doing rather well. Has a certain style going on if I must say so."
"Why are you telling me this Carmilla, are you here to gloat?" Glynda finally lost her cool and was letting her anger out at the vampire.
"Why Glynda, I'm just here to help." Carmilla said, feigning insult.
"Too help, what could you possibly mean by that?"
"Well there's no way you and your little gang can stop this newborn before things get worse and I know who it is and how to stop them. Face it, you need me." Her eyes looked up and down Goodwitch. "You want me."
"No." Goodwich said defiantly. "If I knew how to kill you I would. I will not have you at my school and I will not indulge you in your twisted games.
"Are you sure? I told you things will get worse. You know children, always looking to spread it around. Boy, when they're young they really have no control of their instincts am I right?" Carmilla said playfully. "Pretty soon instincts will take over and this newborn will be overcome with the urge to, spread their seed so to speak."
Goodwitch's face willed with worrying realization.
Carmilla continued. "A newborn vampire with the uncontrollable urge to turn others in the middle of a school for warriors filled with hundreds of exchange students from all over the world." She gasped with fake shock. "You don't think this could be bad do ya?"
"Get out woman!" Goodwitch yelled. "Leave now and don't you dare come back!"
Carmilla smiled again. "I'll go for now, but I'll stick around for when you change your mind Little Witch." She blew Glynda a kiss before her body collapsed into the form of a bat. The small black creature took flight and disappeared out the open window into the night.
Author's Notes:
Well here is the next chapter. If you enjoyed it let me know in a review.
Thank you for reading.