Hey guys it's been a while hasn't it? Man this chapter took forever to write. So I hope you guys enjoy it be warned though this is probably one of the darker chapters.
I don't own RWBY if I did then the final twist would be Ozpin *spoiler spoiler spoiler* Cinder *spoiler spoiler spoiler* How cool would that be?
"Alright Ruby are you ready?" asked Port.
Red just nodded before she activated her Earth aura and turned to face the cages as they opened to reveal the three white Beowolves that had her insignia glowing on their bone plating. Once again, Red felt their strange animalistic minds reaching out to hers as the Grimm slowly left their cage and stood in front of her. Smiling Red gave a thumbs up to Port and the rest of her spectators before walking over to the awaiting Beowolves and giving them a pat on the head as she fed them.
"Ok Ruby we're going to start the experiment, move the Grimm to the designated points when you're ready," ordered Ozpin.
Red nodded as she ordered the Beowolves to move to the different locations, causing them to hesitate, their minds filled with confusion. However after she gave them a low warning growl to remind them who the Alpha was, they quickly complied and followed her orders.
"Ok we're about to release the first Grimm, prepare yourself Ruby," warned Ozpin.
Instantly another cage opened to reveal an Ursa that roared as it charged out of its cage only to skid to a stop as it caught sight of Red's armoured form. The reaper just grinned as she pointed her finger at the Grimm and gave her Beowolves an order that made them look at her in confusion. That is the prey. Kill it.
The Beowolves glanced between her and the Ursa in confusion before Red snarled at them, causing the Beowolves to growl back at her. One of them leapt towards her with a snarl only to be sent flying into the wall as she kicked it in the stomach. She was the Alpha and she would not be challenged by a weakling like that.
Red approached the downed Beowolf and began a staring competition between the two of them until the Grimm finally broke eye contact and bowed its head in submission. The other two Beowolves looked between her and their downed comrade, as they seemed to weigh their chances before bowing down as well.
Seeing this Red turned back to the Ursa and repeated her order to the Beowolves and this time, she felt acknowledgement come from their minds as the three surrounded the Grimm. The Ursa seemed just looked between her and the Beowolves, as if it couldn't comprehend what was happening before it was attacked.
"Incredible they're actually obeying her commands," muttered Ironwood in shock. "Ruby can you give them more complex orders?
The reaper nodded as she began to direct the Beowolves into numerous attack patterns and strategies that allowed the three Grimm to easily outwit and outmanoeuvre their larger brethren. The battle ended quickly as the three Beowolves stood over their defeated opponent before dragging the corpse over to her.
"Interesting...the Beowolves seemed to be displaying the classic pack mentality, offering the Alpha the first bite," observed Port.
"Alright Ruby we're done for the day round them back up and get them back into their cages," ordered Ozpin.
Giving another thumbs up she herded them back into their cages and locked them in before deactivating her Earth aura and approaching her observers. "That was incredible Ruby in all our years of fighting Grimm not once have we managed to control them. Let alone seen them fighting amongst themselves, if we could just figure out how you did this it would provide a massive boon in our fight against the Grimm," exclaimed the general.
"I don't control them General. It's a relationship; it's based on mutual respect. They follow my orders because I'm their Alpha, if they try to challenge me then they will lose and they know it. That's why I had to remind them of that just then. If they consider me too weak to be their Alpha they'll turn on me in a heartbeat," corrected Red.
"I see…still this is too good an opportunity to pass up," he muttered before turning to Ozpin. "I'm heading back to the airship, please inform me when you begin the experiment again."
"Of course General," replied Ozpin before turning to face Ruby and Port with an amused smile. "Well shall we head off after all you have a TV show to appear on don't you Ruby."
"Ugh don't remind me. Actually if it's alright with you Ozpin I would like to stay here a bit longer," replied Red.
"That's fine just be mindful of the time and under no circumstances are you to open their cages," ordered the headmaster, getting a nod from Red.
Seeing this both Ozpin and Port left the room leaving Red alone to feed her Beowolves, however just as she finished feeding them the reaper heard the door open and turned to see one of the Haven students walking in.
"Oh hello, I wasn't aware there was anyone in here," she greeted Red as she approached the reaper.
Red just frowned, "what are you doing here? This place is supposed to be off limits to students."
"I was looking for my Headmaster, unfortunately it would seem I missed him. Still it's good to see you again, I never did get to thank you for helping me and my team when we got lost," replied the woman.
'She's obviously lying she would have seen the General leaving earlier, besides something about her makes alarm bells ring in my head. She's dangerous,' thought the reaper as she plastered a fake smile across her face.
"That's right, I was wondering why you looked so familiar. What was your name again? Ashes? Embers?" asked Red in a cheerful tone.
"Cinder," corrected the woman with a knowing smile as she turned to examine the caged Beowolves. "So the rumors were true you can tame Grimm after all, that's a powerful ability you've got there."
"Indeed it is, but don't worry the only ones that need to concerned are those who are my enemies. I will destroy anyone who gets in my way, of that you can be sure," replied Red, fixing her with a glare.
"True you are powerful but in my experience it's often not about overpowering an enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. After all even the mightiest of warriors can't stop you if they can't even lift up a sword," lectured Cinder, returning the stare with seemingly glowing eyes.
In response to this Red's body was surrounded in a blood red glow as her senses sharpened and her eyes became catlike. The atmosphere between them grew tense as neither of them backed down, even the Beowolves were becoming restless at the increase negativity. Finally, after what seemed like hours Red broke into an innocent grin that completely contrasted the hostile aura she was giving off.
"Thanks for the advice sempai but I think you should go before Ozpin comes back, I don't think he'll appreciate you being here," she smirked as Cinder quickly glanced to the door before nodding in agreement.
"Very true, I shall take my leave then," replied Cinder as she headed for the door before turning back to give Red another chilling smile.
"Good luck with your interview, I hear it's going to be quite eventful," she said, as the door slid shut behind her.
Once again alone in the room, Red dropped her cheerful smile and frowned as she tried to piece together what had happened and most of all; why was that woman's scent so familiar. The familiar scent of ashes clung to this woman and for some reason sent her body into panic mode. Shaking the thoughts out of her head and making note to be careful around Cinder, she double checked the locks on the cages and made sure the security system was activated before heading off to her dorm. Weiss had told her to arrive early so she could get ready for her interview.
"Barathrum, what are you doing?" questioned Pardus with a frown.
"Just looking at our target's history, it really is a sad story," replied the boy with an amused grin. "Her older sister apparently lost both her mothers and was forced to look after Rose, apparently they are very close. Our target only knew of one of their mothers and visits her grave regularly, the poor thing must really miss her."
Pardus curled her lips in distaste, "most people wouldn't have a smile on their face as they said that."
Barathrum's grin just widened, "yeah but we're not like not like most people are we Pardus?"
"Don't you dare lump me in with a psychopath like you," she snarled.
"Deny it all you want but you're just as sick and twisted as me, otherwise why would you be here? In fact out of the two of us I think I'm the better one, after all at least I'm honest about it unlike a certain Faunus I know."
Instantly Pardus' clawed gauntlets formed up around her hands as she gave a low growl while Barathrum's hands just morphed into clawed talons like a Nevermore's. The two glared at each other, each waiting to see who would make the first move and only stopped as they heard a familiar voice.
"If you two would stop being at each other's throats for five minutes then we might actually have a proper team. We're on the same side so stand down, both of you…or do I have to come and discipline you myself?" ordered an amused voice that carried an undertone of violence waiting to be unleashed.
"My apologies, Aurum. It's just that I can't stand his dishonorable methods for getting the job done or the sick games he plays with the victims," replied Pardus as her gauntlets shifted back to their standby mode.
"They're are necessary evils Pardus I thought you would have accepted that by now and Barathrum I've told you before, stop provoking Pardus," commented Aurum.
"Y-yeah right sorry boss," replied the boy, fearfully as he eyed the numerous gold glowing circles hovering behind Aurum.
"Good do not make me repeat myself once more," growled the blonde as the golden circles around him disappeared and his two companions released breaths they didn't know they were holding. "Now Barathrum have you made the proper preparations?"
"Yeah thanks to our contact in the Council I have everything I need; old photos, voice recordings, medical records. You name it I've got it," replied Barathrum in an oddly female voice.
Aurum nodded, "good now if I'm not mistaken you have an interview to attend."
The boy headed to the door and was about to open it when he heard his boss speak up again, "don't mess this up Barathrum. You can play with your target if you wish just make sure it doesn't jeopardize the mission, otherwise jail will be the last thing you'll need to worry about."
Barathrum swallowed fearfully before nodding frantically as he rushed from the room, slamming the door behind him. The rooms remaining two occupants were silent for a couple of minutes as Pardus quietly cleaned up her companion's workspace, noting the numerous pictures scattered across the desk.
"I really hate him," she spat.
"He has his uses although you should be rid of him soon," replied Aurum.
"You think he's going to fail?" questioned Pardus with a confused expression, say what you will about him, Barathrum was damn good at his job.
"If our target really is a Rose then I doubt someone like him could do much to her. Even if he does succeed her friends and family will definitely hunt him down," stated Aurum, coldly.
"Ah Aurum aren't you overestimating their chances here?" she replied, cautiously.
"Never underestimate a Rose, Pardus. I learnt that the hard way," he answered before heading back to his room, leaving a slightly confused Faunus to watch him go.
Leah nodded as she observed all of Alpha team before handing them their files, carefully watching each of their reactions as they read it, looking for any form of disobedience in the making. Sure enough, there was none as each soldier read the report without a hint of disgust or aversion, they were black ops, and they were used to this kind of dirty work.
Once they had finished reading she spoke up, "you will be deployed through the Atlas portal. We have booked you an emergency last minute flight to Vale under the cover of wealthy businessmen under the Schnee Company's employment."
"From there you will head to our last outpost left in Vale to receive your equipment and disguises. Remember if your caught pretend to be members of the White Fang. Also, be aware radio contact will likely be erratic without satellites to aid them, the whole building was designed to jam outside and inside signals to stop interferences with the broadcasts. Once the job is done head back to the outpost and await further assignments. Alright you all know your mission are there any questions," she asked.
One of them Alpha one, the most recent to be recruited she noted, raised his hand. "Captain, what do we do if our identity is compromised?" he asked, cautiously.
"If you're even half has competent as they say you are then that shouldn't happen but in that case the mission is to be called off. If Remnant found out about this we could be looking at some serious backlash, understood?" replied Leah.
"Understood ma'am," replied their leader.
"Good your flight leaves in a couple of hours so pack you things and head to the Atlas branch, troopers dismissed!" order the captain.
(Fairy Tail Sad theme piano slow)
"Ohhh you look adorable!" cooed Yang as the older sister once again played dress up with Red.
"Yang why can't I just wear what I usually do?" whined the reaper as she looked at the heels with disdain.
"I'm not letting my little sister appear on national television dressed in anything but the finest clothes. Besides what are you whining about you wear dresses all the time fighting," replied Yang sternly.
"It's not a dress, it's a combat skirt!" cried Red.
"Yeah, yeah, now hurry up and get changed I'll be watching in the crowds with Blake. Good luck sis, oh and Weiss," said the blonde turning to their white haired teammate. "Make sure she doesn't change back into her regular clothes."
Weiss nodded and Red sighed as her last backup plan was torn to pieces, there was no way the heiress would let up wear her anything but the most formal attire and everyone knew it. Groaning Red was about to take a quick nap before they both heard knocking coming from the dressing room door.
"Who is it?" asked Weiss as she approached the door.
"Miss Schnee? There has been a change of schedule and the organizers would like to see you immediately," informed a male voice.
"I'll be right there," replied the heiress before turning to face Red with a frown. "Don't even think about changing back into your normal clothes, I'll be back in a couple of minutes remember that!"
With her threat done Weiss gave the reaper another warning glare before closing the door and heading off. Red waited a couple of minutes to make sure Weiss was really gone before she ran over to her locker and was in the process of getting changed when the sound of knocking echoed from the door again. 'Damn she was quicker than even I expected,' groaned Red as she prepared for a violent tongue-lashing.
"Alright Weiss you caught me, I'm-" the reaper was immediately cut off as she turned around and saw a familiar white cloaked woman enter the room.
"M-mom!" choked out Red with tear-filled eyes.
"Hello honey how is my favourite little girl doing," greeted Summer Rose with a welcoming smile.
Red froze, unable to believe her eyes before a bright childish smile spread across her face as she ran over to Summer and crashed tackled her to the ground, embracing her mother as she cried into the cloak.
"I-I missed you so much. I thought you were dead, we all did," she sobbed while Summer just stroked her hair comfortingly.
"Come on sweetie, do you really think your super mom could be done in like that? I mean they never did find a body to put in the coffin after all," replied her mother with a warm smile.
"We all searched for you we really did but… Uncle Qrow told us to finally give up and move on. That it would have been what you wanted," cried Red.
"And he was right, you deserve to be happy Ruby. You shouldn't suffer for my sake," agreed Summer.
"Where were you all these years?" questioned the reaper as she finally climbed off her mother and the two headed over to changing area.
"It's a long story but that doesn't matter now, I'm here to stay this time and that's a promise Ruby," answered her mother as an amused grin appeared on her face. "You're not going on TV looking like that come on I'll fix your hair and makeup."
"Mom," whined the reaper as Summer dragged her over to the mirror and began running a brush through her hair.
"Hush, hush sweetie. To think my little girl is now all grown up and a celebrity as well, I'm so proud of you," cooed Summer happily.
Red flushed in embarrassment as she turned to look at the ground, causing her mother to giggle softly as she noticed this. "No matter how much you grow you still act just like a child sometimes."
"Anyone would be embarrassed when you say something like that," pouted the reaper.
"Why be embarrassed when it's the truth?" asked Summer with a happy expression.
The reaper just smiled happily, as she swung her legs childishly and looked back to her mother, "I can't wait to tell everyone you're back, they'll be so happy!"
"I'm sure they will," laughed her mother.
"Hey mom?" asked Red.
"What is it sweetie?" she replied.
"Thanks for coming back," answered Red as wiped away the tears from her eyes.
"What do you mean Ruby? It's a mother's job to look after their daughter, after all we're family and you know what that means," smiled Summer.
"We look out for each other," finished the reaper with a smile.
Summer nodded before embracing her in a hug and Red felt something at the back of her mind begin to grow wary, almost as if there was a predator nearby. However, the reaper was too caught up in the moment and just ignored it in favour of spending time with her mother.
"I truly do love you my baby girl, you know that right? But do you love me?" questioned Summer.
"Of course!" replied Red with no hesitation.
"Then can you do me a favour?" begged her mother as she spun the chair so that they were face to face.
Looking at her mother again the little feeling at the back of Red's mind began to grow louder and larger as she was forced to stare into her mother's eyes. "Um…sure mom what is it?" she replied, slightly concerned.
"Could you please die for me?" she replied with a cold smile.
Instantly Red felt a cold feeling coming from her gut, looking down showed her mother's hand piercing her stomach as blood began to pool around her. Summer just removed her blood-covered hand before pushing Red off the chair and onto the ground.
"M-mom…why?" choked out Red as she looked up at her mother and began coughing up blood.
"Oh sweetie the truth is I actually hate you. After all what happened that night was your fault, you are the reason I died. Now I'm just returning the favour," answered Summer as she stared down at her bleeding daughter.
Red just looked up at her with a pained expression as her vision began to grow blurry. "I…I'm sorry for disappointing you mum," she coughed out as the last of her energy left her body.
"Ruby? Are you ready we are about to go on in a couple of minutes. If you don't hurry up then I'm coming in there!" came Weiss' voice from outside.
'Summer' just looked up at the door with an annoyed expression, "yeah I'll be out in a second Ice Queen just hold on," she replied in Red's voice.
Turning back to Red she sighed, "guess I lost track of time and I was having so much fun too. Now I don't even have time to feast."
'Summer' then picked up the semi-conscious reaper and shoved her into one of the clothes lockers, "be a dear and stay in there until I can dispose of you, okay?"
As the locker door shut darkness filled Red's vision and she was only vaguely aware of two familiar voices talking outside before she heard the door shut and silence filled the room. Just as she was about to black out from blood loss Red felt the locker door open and a pair of arms gently cradle her limp body.
"Don't worry little one, I'll take care of you," said a female voice before a red circle appeared in her blurry vision as the reaper finally succumbed to the void of unconsciousness.
Yang Xiao Long had my things unfortunately; a tendency to get lost was one of them, as both she and Blake were finding out the hard way. It wasn't her fault it was whoever designed this idiotic building's layout.
"Yang just admit it you have no idea where we are," sighed her Faunus partner.
"Blakey, Blakey, it's the point. We're good and lost now," replied Yang with a grin.
Blake's eyes twitched as she stared at her teammate, "and how, pray tell, does this help us in any way?"
"Err…oh I know! You have to be lost to find things that cannot be found," answered the brawler.
"That's it I'm asking for directions," groaned Blake, clearly unimpressed by her teammate's response.
This proved to be easier said than done as continued for another ten minutes without seeing a single person, "umm…maybe it's just me but does something seem off to you?" questioned Yang.
"No you're right for an event as big as this there should be more than enough staff on hand and yet we haven't seen a soul since we got here," replied her partner.
Finally, after another couple of minutes they spotted someone that seemed to be working on something in the roof. They two of them breathed a sigh of relief as they approached the person and tapped him on the leg to get his attention.
"Yes what is it? Can't you see I'm ver-" the worker stopped his rant as he saw Yang as a look of both confusion and recognition appeared on his face. "Captain?"
The two huntresses froze, only members of one organization would call Yang that and they were supposed to be forced off Remnant. Without warning the brawler crashed tackle the man to the ground while Blake searched his bag and found a White Fang mask and uniform.
"Well, well, well, looks like we hit pay dirt didn't we Blakey? See this is why you need to get lost on occasion, you never know what you'll find," grinned Yang as she straddled the man.
"What were you doing with a White Fang uniform?" interrogated Blake, ignoring her teammate.
The man seemed to realize things had gone horribly wrong by this point and head-butted the brawler restraining him, causing her to let go from the shock of the blow rather than the pain itself. Freed the man bolted down the hallway while taking out a device from his jacket as ran with the two huntresses following close behind him.
"This is Alpha one I have been compromised, repeat I have been compromised! Abort mission, I repeat, abort mission, over!" he screamed into the device.
If he was expecting a reply the man was sorely disappointed as nothing but static came in response. "Our identity is confirmed do not detonate the package, Alpha group do you copy? Over!" he cried a note desperation now in his voice.
By this time the man and his two pursuers were nearing the fire escape when a voice came from the device in his hands, "Alpha one…peat…sig…jamming…detona…ackage? Over."
The man was about to respond when he was finally crashed tackled to the ground again and the device flew from his hand and skidded across the floor before ending up in darkness. The man began panicking as he struggled to break his blonde captor's grasp only to struggle needlessly as Blake helped restraining him. Between the two huntresses he was overpowered and quickly gave up realizing how futile the struggling was.
"You idiots, you have to give me that radio!" he snarled at them.
"Oh and why would we do that?" scoffed Yang as she tightened her grip on him.
"Because if you don't than people will die!" he shouted, causing them to frown.
"What do you mean?" growled Blake.
"We were told that our target would be here today for an interview, so our job was to take her out. If you don't let me get back on that radio then the bomb we prepared will go off," he explained in a hurry.
"Blake!" cried Yang as she turned to her teammate.
"On it!" replied the Faunus as she ran over to wear the radio had ended up. "Found it!"
"Give it to me now!" shouted the man.
Just as she was about to hand over the radio the sound of a male voice was heard, "…ackage is ready…lphas…advised…onation imminent."
"No!" cried the man as he grabbed the radio from Blake. "Abort the mission! DO NOT DETONATE THE PACKAGE!"
There was a pause as all three of them waited, hoping, praying for a response from the radio only to be met with harsh static. Then they heard the deafening sound of an explosion as the entire building shook from the force of the blow.
Yang felt her heart sink while Blake just frowned as she walked over to the man and snatched his radio from him, "you're under arrest of terrorism, murder, damage to public property and what else the courts can think up!" snarled the Faunus.
Before he could react Blake kicked the man in the head and knocked him unconscious before turning to her teammate, "come on Yang we need to get him to the proper authorities."
"She's not dead," whispered Yang.
"Yang…I don't know what to say," replied the Faunus.
"Don't worry this is just a dream, she's not really dead. Any minute now I'll wake up in my dorm with Ruby sleeping across from me," smiled a delusional Yang.
Blake just sighed in pity as she picked up their captive, "come on Yang, the sooner we hand this guy in the sooner we can find Weiss and Ruby."
They both headed outside as the first drops of rain began to fall and the emergency services arrived on the scene. Handing their captive over to the police officers they both began weaving through the evacuating crowds, search for their two missing teammates.
"Ruby are you sure you're feeling okay?" questioned Weiss as she looked over to her oddly acting teammate.
"Relax Ice Queen, I'm fine," replied Ruby with another odd smile, causing the heiress to frown.
Her teammate had been acting odd ever since she returned from that bogus organizer's meeting, Weiss had expected her to change into less formal gear while she was gone. Imagine her surprise when Ruby was not only still in her formal wear but had put makeup on as well, it was so out of character for her that she was partially stunned.
Not only that be when she had wanted to get some supplies from the locker her teammate protested harshly before all but pushing her out of the room and locking it behind them. This caught the heiress' attention as she knew immediately that Ruby was hiding something from her. 'I'll check it during the show, Ruby isn't the only one with a key after all,' she decided as they walked over to interview area.
"Remember Ruby millions of people are watching so be on your best behavior, understand?" reminded the white haired member of RWBY.
"Relax Weiss you worry too much, I'll be fine," replied Ruby with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Oh how I wish I could believe that," she scoffed in response as their interviewer approached them.
"Nice to finally meet you Miss Rose, my name is Cyril Lion I'll be working with you today. Let's put on a good show shall we? Remember nothing's too farfetched," he grinned as he held out a hand to the reaper.
'He is seriously asking Ruby to lie to the audience? Oh this is not going to go over well,' sighed Weiss as she prepared to run damage control for Ruby's expected outburst.
"Sure. If there's one thing I can guarantee it's that this interview will be quite the story," replied Ruby, much to Weiss' shock.
"Glad we agree Miss Rose, I'll certainly put you on for later interviews in that case," replied Cyril as he turned and walked on set.
"Ruby I don't think that's a good decision you just made. It will come back to haunt you in the long run," she warned her oddly acting teammate.
"Come on Weiss this 'Earth Conspiracy' is merely a phase it'll pass quickly, might as well get the most out of it while I can," argued her teammate.
"While that is true, I thought you didn't care about making money, only informing the public about the truth of Earth. It was one of your more admirable qualities that made me want to be your agent actually," frowned Weiss in disapproval.
"Oh that's rich coming from the heir to one of the largest Dust companies in world," laughed Ruby.
Weiss just froze before she glared at her teammate, "if that's how you feel then I think it would be best if I quit being your agent."
"Sure, it's not like I need you anyway," scoffed Ruby.
"Fine! Good luck with your new career Ruby!" snarled the heiress before walking off, not noticing the amused smirk that spread across her teammate's face.
"That insufferable little red…who does she think she is," growled Weiss and in her angered state completely forgot about checking the dressing room locker.
As she headed for the exit, the heiress felt the whole building shake as well as the smell of smoke beginning to fill the air. Running outside along with the mass of people, she looked up and saw the fires spreading from the studio floor and her blood drained from her already pale face. There was no way Ruby wasn't caught in that blast which could only mean one thing.
"Weiss is that you? Thank God you and Ruby got out of there," cried a relieved Blake as she and Yang walked over to her.
"I wasn't on the floor when the explosion happened but Ruby…" started the heiress only to see a knowing look appear on the Faunus' face while Yang's was still puzzled in confusion.
"Weiss where's Ruby? Why isn't she with you?" asked Yang with a slightly disturbing smile.
"Yang…I…I…" stumbled the heiress, trying to figure out the best thing to say.
Yang just cocked her head and shrugged, "never mind I'll go look for her myself. She's probably off somewhere sneaking cookies or scamming students."
"Yang! She's not there…" stated Weiss as tears began forming.
"So you do know where she is. Why didn't you just say so I the first place? So where is she?" asked Yang in a happy tone.
"Yang…I'm sorry…" choked out the heiress, as Blake just looked away, the pity clear in her eyes.
"For what? Come on Ice Queen tell me where Ruby is already…" replied a delusional Yang with a confused frown.
"She's…she's not coming back Yang. She's gone," cried Weiss unable to meet the brawler's gaze.
"I know she's gone that's why I'm trying to find her Weiss. So hurry up and tell me where she is," said the blonde, clearly in denial.
"Yang…Ruby is…she's…dead," informed the heiress, causing Yang's delusional smile to devolve into a desperate frown.
"Weiss there's a time and a place for jokes!" snarled the brawler.
"And now is neither Yang…I wish I was joking but…she was at the centre of the blast…nothing could have survived that…" finished Weiss as Blake placed a reassuring hand on Yang's shoulder.
"No you're lying! You…you have to be…" cried the blonde as she fell to her knees, soaking her clothes in the wet puddles forming from the rain.
"Yang I'm so so sorry," said Blake as she looked down on the collapsed brawler with pity and sadness.
"No…Ruby's not dead…she can't be…I promised to look after her…DAMN IT! WHY? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!" screamed Yang as she looked up at the stormy sky, as if the very world itself was weeping with her.
Barathrum coughed as his broken and burnt body began regenerating itself and gave a low whistle of appreciation as he slowly sat up and examined the room. Nearly everything was on fire or smashed to pieces and smoke was rapidly filling the room, as he stood up he noted the numerous charred bodies surrounding him and sighed.
"Some much food and it's all going to waste, still at least it gives me a chance to eat the target. After an explosion like that even my regeneration was hard pressed to save me, I'll need more food to recharge," he muttered as he left the room.
"Still who would have guessed Rose had made so many enemies, if I was anyone else that would have been the end of me for sure," groaned Barathrum as he approached the dressing room door.
Smiling as he found it still locked he opened it up and head over to the locker where he had left the Rose's body and his eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. Nothing, the body was gone! Did he open the wrong locker? No, there are still bloodstains in the locker itself so it had to be this one. Don't mess this up Barathrum.
"This is bad if Aurum finds out about this I'm in big trouble," he said, fearfully. "Okay think she couldn't have gotten out under her own power, not with a wound that devastating so that means that someone had to of found her."
However, he had locked the door and the only ones with a key to it was he…and the heiress! He did send her off fuming after his little joke, she might have come in to collect her stuff before leaving. Damn it how could he have been such an idiot! He needed to find her quickly!
Rushing out of the room, he headed for the emergency fire exit and quickly jumped down to the ground before heading over to mingle with the crowd, searching for the distinctive white hair of the Schnee heiress.
"Damn it where are you?" he growled, annoyed as his search was rapidly proving to be fruitless.
"DAMN IT! WHY? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!" screamed a female voice drawing his attention.
"Found you," he said a sadistic grin as he spotted the heiress along with her two teammates.
Changing himself to look like a police officer, he approached the trio and plaster a concerned smile on his face, "excuse me you wouldn't by any chance happen to be Huntresses would you?"
The heiress looked up at him while the black one continued to comfort the yellow one, "yes how can we help you officer?"
"We believe we might have found the terrorists responsible for the bombings, one of my men saw them fleeing the scene and gave chase. He asked for backup but we haven't heard from him since, most of my men are busy here keeping things under control. Would you be able to catch them for us?" he lied.
The heiress and her black haired teammate shared a glance only for the blonde to stand up from the ground and round on Barathrum with red eyes and glowing hair, "give us the address I'm going to make them pay dearly for this," she snarled.
"Of course ma'am and thank you," replied Barathrum as he directed them to a nearby abandoned building.
As the three huntresses rushed off a cold smile spread across his face, 'the reports were right they really do care for each other. This is going to be fun.' With that he walked into a nearby alley before transforming out of his current disguise and headed towards the same building in question, it was interrogation time.
Reaching the building ahead of the huntresses he sat and waited for the trio to arrive, planning how he would break each one. Suddenly he heard the sound of voices and footsteps rapidly approaching him and grinned in expectation, only to drop the smirk quickly as the team came into view visibly armed to the teeth.
'Where the hell did they get those weapons? They certainly weren't on them before,' he frowned as he stepped into view. Things may have just gotten a little bit more complicated.
"Yang I don't think this is a good idea, we don't know how many are in there," said Blake as she reached into her rocket locker and pulled out Gambol Shroud.
"I agree we should wait for backup," seconded Weiss as she strapped on Myrtenaster.
"They could be gone by then and I'm not going to let them escape after this, I'll go in alone if I have to," snapped the brawler as Ember Celica activated.
"Alright Yang fine but just remember to be careful alright?" sighed Weiss, getting a nod from her blonde teammate.
The trio then entered the building only to find no one there to greet them, "do you think they've left already?" asked Weiss.
"Possible, we might as well look around, if they had to leave in a hurry they might have left clues lying around the place," replied Blake.
Yang clearly didn't care as she just kicked down the door to the next room and strolled on through with her teammates rushing to catch up. The remnants of team RWBY found themselves in some sort of auditorium with exposed steel beams running across the ceiling and in the centre of the room was a teenaged boy slowly clapping.
"Oh no you've found me whatever shall I do?" he teased, getting a low growl from Yang in response.
"You're under arrest, now are you going to come along quietly or do we have to use force," threatened Weiss.
"Hmm…how about neither?" he said with a smirk, that rapidly changed into a dangerous grin. "Instead why don't you tell me where you hid Rose hmm? Schnee heiress?"
Weiss frowned, "what are you talking about Ruby is dead!"
"Oh I'm well aware of that, no one could survive the way I gutted her like a fish before shoving her into a locker. However you see my boss is a very scary guy and he would want confirmation of her death and for that I need to see the body. So would you kindly tell me where her body is and I'll promise you a quick death," he answered.
"What do you mean? Ruby was killed from a bomb, I haven't even seen her body yet," replied the heiress with a frown.
For the first time a look of surprise crossed his face before he sighed, "well it looks like I made another mistake. Unfortunately I still have to kill you now that you've seen me, my apologies for that."
"You said you gutted my sister. You better start explaining now or I'm going to take matters into my own hands," threatened Yang as she took a step forward.
The boy merely shrugged, "there's not much to explain. I killed her and now I can't find the body."
"Ruby was killed by an explosion," retorted Blake, causing the boy to laugh.
"Was she now?" he smirked before being covered in tendrils that obscured his whole body from view.
As the tendrils receded back into his body the trio were stunned at what had happened, standing the place of the boy was an exact replica of Ruby minus the scythe, "I'll admit that explosion was a good plan I just wish I hadn't been caught up in the crossfire," 'he' said in Ruby's voice.
"You were the one in the dressing room after I came back," realized Weiss with narrowed eyes.
"Wow Ice Queen you got it, I must say it was hard to catch her alone. I had to make some bogus report for you to follow just to get you out of the damn room," 'he' replied, happily.
Yang took a couple of steps forward, the floorboards cracking under her feet with every step, "before I beat you to death, mind telling me you name?"
"Sure it'll be the last name you three ever hear anyway, my name is Barathrum one of the Council's private assassins and the killer of Ruby Rose," he answered with a bow as he transformed back to normal.
The three members of RWBY surrounded the boy who merely gave them a smug smirk, seemingly unaffected by the level of hostility coming from them at his declaration.
"Oh please, you're saying that you killed Ruby? I doubt an idiot like yourself could pull that off," scoffed Weiss.
"Idiot?" chuckled the boy before exploding into insane laughter as they all saw his body get wrapped in tentacles, causing Yang to freeze as the boy's body began changing to a familiar figure.
"Tell me who the real idiot is here? Because I don't think it's me. I prefer to use that term for someone who falls for a cheap trick like this," he announced as the tentacles disappeared to reveal the form of a white cloaked woman.
Weiss and Blake were confused as they saw Yang's eyes widen and the brawler began trembling, bringing a smile to their opponents' face, "you should see your face! That's the same face Rose had when I killed her! The utter shock, the dumb confusion as I stabbed her in the gut, you could see every emotion she felt as her own mother killed her! It was great!"
Yang felt something within her snap at that last remark as an unfamiliar feeling began stirring and spreading throughout her body. It was not rage, to call what she was feeling rage would be like calling lava warm. The brawler's eyes narrowed as she glared her opponent, feeling her power reaching its max output as she was surrounded by a yellow glow.
It wasn't enough. She needed more power. More. More! Enough to make this bastard suffer for what he did! Make him pay for what he did to Ruby! You want power do you? That can be arranged…but are you sure you want it?
Yang flinched as she felt an almost dark presence entered her mind and caused a shiver to run down her spine. She reached out towards this presence, ignoring her instincts that were screaming at her to do otherwise and her vision became clouded by oily black shadows.
'Stop,' whispered something deep inside her, something she could barely hear over the pain and anger that threatened to consume her. 'Please stop, before it is too late,' it begged pleadingly only to be drowned out by whispers echoing in her mind.
He killed her. You broke your promise again.
It wasn't her fault, she tried!
You swore to protect her. You swore to Qrow, to Taiyang, to Ruby, you swore to Summer. You failed…just like you always do…
Why? Why does it always end like this?
Because you are weak. You're not even strong enough to avenge Ruby…you are a failure of an older sister!
Please stop…
That's right. You're a failure…that's why…
Don't say it! Don't say it…please don't…
That's why your mother left. That's why she abandoned you…but we can change that…
Stop this! She was about walk down a path from which there is no return. She had to ignore them, she had to focus.
Even the most brilliant of lights will become corrupted before they flicker and die…
No she…she couldn't give in…couldn't let them win…
We already have…
The white cloaked 'woman' burst into laughter, breaking Yang from her inner conflict, "and you know what the best part was? She really thought her dearly departed mother had come to see her. The joy she must have felt was truly heartwarming, hugging me, crying into my shoulder, begging for my forgiveness, all because Summer had returned from the dead just to see her."
Weiss and Blake were suddenly knocked off their feet and thrown against the wall as a massive shockwave blasted into them, the temperature in the room skyrocketing as a pillar of yellow and black flames erupted where Yang once stood.
"That's enough! You manipulated Ruby's hopes and dreams, her fears and shame, you dared to taint our mother's memory!" Yang's voice echoed across the room as the huge pillar began growing and following Yang, shrouding her body in the fire while leaving a trail of flames in her wake.
Yang's shouts turned into a low snarl as the temperature rose again and caused the roof's steel support beams to begin to melt under the brawler's flames, "you were stupid to confess and even more stupid to boast and you had the audacity to do so in our mother's form! Everything you said only fuels the fire of your funeral pyre!"
Everyone watched as the brawler's bright yellow aura became mixed with a pure black causing Weiss and Blake's eyes to widen in recognition. They watched as Yang's bestial snarl turned into a cold smile that promised nothing but pain and death, sending shivers down everyone's spines as she spoke in a cheerful tone, "you just angered a sleeping dragon and now…you die."
The white cloak 'woman' laughed at Yang's display before speaking in a familiar feminine voice, "you wouldn't hurt own mother would you Yang? Now march yourself back up to your room this insta-"
Only to be interrupted by a flaming hand grabbing 'her' throat while another reached into 'her' mouth and ripped out 'her' tongue. The 'woman' could only croak in pain as Yang's flames began burning the flesh off 'her' bones before the blonde repeatedly punched 'her' in the face as she threw her opponent into the wall, the body leaving an imprint in the wall as it fell to the ground.
"Y-Yang…what did you just do? You just killed someone!" stammered Weiss fearfully as the two teammates wiped sweat away from their brows and cautiously approached Yang.
Yang didn't respond and neither did she dispel her pillar of flames as she continued approaching the body of her fallen opponent, only taking note of her teammates after Weiss threw a stasis glyph under her feet. "Don't interfere, this one is mine and mine alone!" snarled the brawler, glaring at her friends with glowing red eyes.
"Yang you need to calm down! You've already won, we need to call medical assistance or he'll die!" shouted Blake, trying to reason with her enraged teammate only to pause as they all heard an odd sucking noise.
Turning back to the body both Weiss and Blake looked on in shock as they saw tendrils cover the white woman's body before reforming into the boy from before. Yang in contrast just grinned as she felt Weiss' glyph fade and walked towards him, the pillar now growing even larger and forcing her two teammates back off or be consumed by the raging flames.
"That's some powerful regeneration you've got there, no it's not just merely aura's healing, that's something else. Your semblance maybe? It doesn't matter; this is good it means I can go all out. Now stand up you worthless piece of shit, you'll suffer the pain of a thousand deaths by the time I'm done with you monster!" she snarled.
The boy just snarled as he jumped into the air, transformed his arm into a serrated whip, and sent it flying at the brawler, only to have Yang grab the whip as it approached. The boy screamed in pain as the fire surrounding Yang licked his whip-like appendage before rapidly spreading down the limb and setting his body on fire.
Yang smiled as the smell of charred flesh filled the room, "it's surprising how easily the body catches alight isn't it? Don't worry I only burnt half your body, even with your regeneration I doubt you could survive complete immolation and I don't want you to die just yet. There is still so much pain that I have yet to put you through."
The boy began panting as his flesh regenerated and his smug grin was replaced by a concerned frown as he eyed the brawler's flame coated body, his flesh literally crawling from the heat she was giving off. Growling in anger his fists enlarged and became extremely muscled before he slammed them into the floor, ripping a huge chunk off the metal floor up he used it as a shield and charged through the brawler's flame pillar.
Yang didn't even try to back up as he got in close and merely grinned eagerly as he slammed his makeshift shield into her before sending a flurry of blows into the brawler, resulting in Yang being sent flying through a nearby wall as the ceiling gave another groan and more of the steel support beams melted from Yang's flames.
He watched as the flaming brawler stepped out from the hole in the wall, causing Barathrum to back up as he heard her begin to laugh, her flames growing even hotter, "it would seem that you don't know how my Semblance works. Well how unfortunate for you. I suppose I should thank you for the power up if nothing else."
Suddenly she charged the boy and sent another flaming fist into his gut before grabbing him and slamming him on the ground repeatedly, the fire spreading throughout his body once again and causing him to scream in pain.
"Aww does that hurt? I only burnt a quarter of your body that time. It seems your regeneration is slowing down Mr. Assassin. That's not good I still have games of my own to play," taunted Yang.
Kicking her off him, Barathrum quickly jumped back before ripping up pieces of the metal floor and hurling them at her. Yang just let them hit as she smirked at her opponent before readying her gauntlets.
"I'm curious…do you think that you can escape my flames by keeping your distance? Too bad for you but you can't!" snarled Yang as she fired her red glowing rounds into him once again causing him to scream in pain once more as flames sprouted around his body.
Yang merely watched him burn as she prepared her next volley, "it seems you weren't informed that I have incendiary ammunition, how unfortunate."
Barathrum looked at her in fear before he turned and ran through one of the holes in the walls, desperate to escape the hell that he had brought down upon himself. Yang growled as she ran after him leaving both Weiss and Blake behind as the two of them struggled to get up from the ground.
Yang soon found herself in a dark hallway as she lost track of her prey, "come out you coward you can't hide forever!"
"Yang is that you? What are you doing here?" asked a familiar female voice.
Spinning around saw Ruby standing before her with an innocent smile on her face as she skipped over to her older sister. It's a trick. He is insulting her memory, he deserve death! Yang's face became twisted with rage as she ran at the image of her younger sister before slamming her into the wall, instantly Ruby's form returned to that of the boy's.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? You didn't even hesitate to kill your own family members!" he screamed in both fear and disbelief as she approached.
"Ruby and Summer Rose are dead. That's a fact and you would use their image for your sick twisted games…you must be a glutton for PUNISHMENT!" replied the brawler as she grabbed his head and set it alight.
"Ahh…my eyes oh God my eyes please stop, I beg you!" begged Barathrum as his entire head was engulfed in flames.
"And they call me hot headed. Tell me what it is like having the fluid in your eyes boil; I'd imagine it might sting a little," she taunted her helpless victim.
"You damn bitch! Don't underestimate me!" he cried as he sent one final taloned hand at her gut only to see it get blocked by her free hand and sent alight also.
"Now that wasn't very nice I think it's time to end this don't you," growled Yang as his body began slowly regenerating from the burns.
"Please don't! Don't do it! No, I surrender! Please I don't want to die!" he choked out fearfully as her flaming hand reached out to him.
"I'm not giving you a choice, now burn in hell!" she snarled only to see her entire hand become encased in ice.
Turning she saw Weiss and Blake cautiously approaching her, both with weapons drawn and ready in case the brawler tried anything. They are interfering. They're siding with him. They're traitors! Kill them!
"What are you doing Weiss?" asked the brawler in a deceptively calm tone.
"That's enough Yang he's surrendered, stand down now!" demanded the heiress.
"Don't interfere you two!" snarled Yang.
"Not happening we're meant to save lives Yang not take them, we cannot let you do this!" replied Blake as the both moved to surround her.
"Get out of my way, NOW! That…thing deserves the worst death possible!" raged the blonde as the whispers in her head grew louder.
"We're not moving Yang!" cried Weiss.
"I won't ask again," she warned them in a dangerously calm voice.
"And I told you to stand down!" shot back Weiss.
"Fine then I'll burn you two along with him!" threatened the blonde only to see her flames blocked by Weiss' ice shield.
"Why don't you two just wake up! Huntresses kill all the time! If you heard even half the stories about my Uncle than you would despise Hunters!" growled Yang, as she kept trying to get around her former teammates.
"There is a difference between killing for justice and killing to sate your own rage, while we may be forced to take a life as Huntresses…we should never do so out of anger," argued the heiress.
"Yang please this isn't you. I can tell you don't really want to do this so please stop…for all our sakes. You're about to cross a line that you'll regret until the day you die," begged Blake.
"SHUT UP! I DO NOT CARE! I WANT TO KILL HIM WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS!" screamed Yang in fury.
"Then why are you crying?" asked Weiss in a soft tone and causing Yang to freeze as she brought a hand up to her face and felt the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"If you truly don't care and want to kill him then why is your heart…your very soul screaming in protest? Killing him won't bring Ruby back, in fact if she could see you now then Ruby would be so ashamed… and deep down you know it, don't you Yang?" said the heiress as she lowered her rapier and fixed a pitying stare on the brawler.
"What kind of big sister would make her own younger sibling feel like that? If you truly care about Ruby then please Yang…let go this rage, if you don't I fear it will make a monster out of you and we both know Ruby wouldn't want that," begged Weiss as she stared pleadingly at Yang.
They are trying to mess with your mind. Remember your objective and avenge your sister!
And what if they're right? What would mom say if she saw me right now? What would Ruby?
Suddenly the image of Ruby's bright smile appeared in her mind as memories of the two playing together echoed throughout her head. In the wake of those happy memories all the rage flooded out of her body and the brawler collapsed to the ground as sadness filled the void.
"You're right…you both are…I…I just miss her so much…I want her back! Why...Why did she have to die?!...Why does everyone I care about always die?!" sobbed the blonde as her fist pounded the ground and the temperature returned to normal.
"Ruby…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I broke my promise…I couldn't protect you…I'm a failure as a big sister…I'M SORRY! So please I beg you…please come back," whispered Yang feebly as Blake once again embraced her in a comforting hug.
"It's okay Yang just let it all out," comforted the Faunus as memories of fallen comrades from her White Fang days appeared in her mind.
"Now what to do about you-he's gone!" cried the heiress as she turned behind to see the boy had gone missing.
"Let him go Weiss, well catch him later," replied Yang as she finally got up from the ground.
Barathrum ran as fast as his legs could carry him, no way in hell was he staying anywhere near that monster in human form. He had made it out of the building and into the nearby alley before he stopped to catch his breath, already thinking up what he would tell Aurum.
"Oh man he is gonna be so pissed…" grimaced the boy as he lent back on the wall. "Maybe I could just ditch 'em. Go Freelancer for a while or just lay low until everyone forgets about me."
"Or maybe you could just die right here?" replied a female voice.
Barathrum immediately spun around in shot as he saw masked female wearing a red and black dress and even more worrying, holding an unsheathed red sword in front of her. 'Damn it how did she catch me? I made sure the alley was empty when I stopped,' he thought as he stood up.
"And who might you be lady?" he asked, cautiously.
"Just someone who is a bit protective of those she cares for," replied the masked woman as she began walking towards him.
Instantly Barathrum backed up as he felt the same pressure emanating from this woman as he did from that monster that nearly killed him moments ago. He turned to run only to feel his leg be sliced clean off his body and fell to the ground as the woman placed her sword against his throat, tilting her head as she watched his leg slowly begin to regenerate.
"Yang really must quite the number on you didn't she Barathrum? For your regeneration to be that slow anyway. What's the matter did you forget your daily meals?" she teased before leaning towards him and staring at him with her red eyes. "You may have survived the Dragon but how well will you do against the Raven?"
"W-wait you're a Huntress right? I surrender I give up. Huntresses can't kill people, especially if they surrender right?" he said, fearfully as he held up his hands.
The masked woman seemed to consider his points before she removed the sword from his throat and backed up slightly. Barathrum grinned as he got to his feet only to cry out in pay as both his arms were cut off by the accursed red blade.
"You see there's two problems with your theory," stated the masked woman as he fell back to the ground. "One; a Huntsman's job is to kill monsters it never says specifically to kill Grimm and by my standards you are quite the monster."
The woman began to slowly walk towards him as Barathrum tried to get back to his feet only to fail due to his lack of arms, "and two; I'm not a Huntress!" she snarled.
Reaching down she picked him up by his throat and brought him up to her face, "you dare to hurt Ruby and Yang! You dare to insult Summer's memory! Enjoy being crushed at the bottom of the ocean you bastard."
With that, she slashed her sword onto the pavement below him and a red portal formed on the ground before the woman dropped Barathrum through the portal. He instantly felt a bone crushing pressure as water filled his lungs, it was over in a matter of seconds for the assassin and everything turned to black.
Raven sighed as she closed the portal before opening another one, "this really has been a tiring day."
"Over 40 people dead and on live television. They have gone too far this time Oz! Something must be done!" growled Ironwood as the two headmasters looked over the casualty list.
Ozpin didn't respond and just looked at one name in particular with sadness, the most innocent yet stubborn soul he had ever met. The one who had sacrificed some much in order to protect others and yet was failed to be protected in turn.
"Oz? Ozpin!" shouted the general, snapping the headmaster out of his thoughts.
Ironwood just gave him a sad look, "you still thinking about that? Oz you know it's not your fault, none of us could have expected they'd try something like this."
"We failed her James. We promised to keep her safe and we failed," replied Ozpin.
"Aye we did," nodded Ironwood before he fixed an unrelenting gaze on his friend. "However that was our mistake to begin with. We forgot the most basic of lessons for Huntsman, there is no such thing as safety."
The general got up from his chair and looked out the window, "every day we put our lives at risk whether we know it or not. You and I could be hit by an out of control truck tomorrow and we would be none the wiser."
"We've been locked up in our schools for so long that we've forgotten that simple fact, right now the only thing we can do is see that Ruby's death was not in vain," he concluded, turning back to Ozpin.
The headmaster of Beacon gave his friend a grateful smile, "you're right, thank you James. It's just hard to believe it's only been two days since the event, feels like a lifetime has passed."
"It always does Oz. It always does," replied the general in a sad tone.
"So what do you plan to do in response to this act of terrorism?" asked Ozpin, anxiously.
"Retaliate, we need to show them that there will be consequences to their actions," replied the general fiercely.
"Just be careful General, Remnant can't afford to be fighting both Earth and the Grimm," warned the headmaster.
"Don't worry Oz. All I'm going to do is send a message that we aren't pushovers. The best way to do so would be by capturing the portal sites scattered across Remnant, after all they are in our territory so we have every right to," reassured Ironwood.
"How will you find them? Last I checked we didn't know the location of the other sites," frowned Ozpin.
The general just grinned, "we don't but I have a feeling that the prisoner team RWBY caught might."
"Understood just be careful James we still have the White Fang to worry about," reminded Ozpin, causing Ironwood to nod before he packed up and left the room.
Red groaned as she felt sunlight hit her eyes and rolled over, only to have her gut spike with pain, waking her up instantly. Ignoring the pain the reaper sat up and looked around to find herself in a house she'd never seen before, it looked like a classic log hut in the middle of a forest. The room itself was fairly Spartan with a bed, a desk and thankfully an old TV in far corner.
"Where am I?" she wondered, aloud.
"Ah you're up…good," came a female voice from the open doorway.
Red turned as fast as her wounded gut would let her and nearly stopped in fright at the site that greeted her. It was a woman dressed in red and black but what drew the reaper's attention was the white mask that covered her entire face.
"You've been out for two whole days, you had me worried there for a while," she explained in a cheerful tone, which only caused Red's eyes to narrow in suspicion.
Noticing this the woman sighed, "relax I'm not going to hurt you."
"Yeah right, last time I checked the White Fang and I aren't the biggest fans of each other," scoffed the reaper.
"White Fang? Oh right the mask…forgive me I've had it for so long that I sometimes forget about it," apologized the woman as she reached up to her face.
Pulling off the mask Red gasped at the face that greeted her with a warm smile, "it's nice to finally meet you Ruby, or should I call you Red? My name is Raven Branwen…"
Well how did you guys like that? I decided to go out with a bang with this chapter. Unfortunately my creative spark for RWBY has been drained away but I still wanted to give you guys one last chapter before I went on hiatus. In the meantime I'll probably work on my other fic until I can recover my spark. Sorry guys but I didn't want to make anymore chapters without my spark, simply because the quality is terrible. One quick question what are your theories on Ozpin's semblance I might make him actually fight later on and I need suggestions due to the problem mentioned above. Anyway thanks to everyone who supported this story you guys have been great.