Well it's been a relatively unproductive weekend just the way I like it. With exception of this chapter I've done nothing but watch Netflix and play Dragon Age: Inquisition and it's been pretty fucking sweet. If you also read my other fanfiction RWBY: The Darkness Within, I'm doing a Q&A soon so please read it and submit questions. Read and Enjoy!

Chapter 6- Let's Play Examiner

With the first few steps into the darkness that is Blood Gulch Prison, our heroes already face their trials and overcome them with ease. However their peers aren't so lucky, as fresh blood flows now in the prison and corpses of fools who thought they could beat the deadly inmates are now stagnant. Now we focus on our main Heroes, as they make their way through the prison.

Yellow 3- Team Yang

"Oi, Yang!" Caradin called as he chucked an unconscious body to the left, adding to the mounting pile of prisoners who were attacking them. "I'm at 42, what about you two?"

Luxus judo-flipped an opponent onto their head and flip kicked another, "22."

Yang engaged five on one against a group of inmates and tucked into a boxing stance as she lunged forward with an uppercut and a side jab, taking out two as she hammer kicked another into the ground and spun kicked another into the wall before turning to the last guy who barely held on to his shiv out of fear. She gave him a slight smile before delivering a flurry of blows to his gut followed by a finishing uppercut. "That makes 50, keep up boys."

Caradin turned to take in the last of the common rabble, "At least 36 left, no biggie right?"

"I thought this was a prison for the worst criminals known to man, why are these guys so weak?" Yang asked as she lifted one off the ground and smashed him into the floor.

"I'm guessing the ring-leaders are further in." Luxus added, "Hey Caradin, you've done this before right? How long does this usually go?"

"There's an average of five to six phases, and each phase can have a different number of sub-phases. The exam two years ago had two sub-phases in the first and second phases, though the second phase's was unintentional. The third had many sub-phases because it acted like this prison on the labyrinth principle. And the fourth and fifth were pretty straight-forward. I can't say for sure how many sub-phases will be here, but I can safely assume anywhere between 3-5 trials before we reach the exit." Caradin added as he beat down a few more enemies, "54!"

"32!" Luxus called out as he beat another.

"61, 62, 63, 64!" Yang cried out in the middle of her rush before skidding to a halt and kicking the 64th in his butt sending him flying to the floor. "And that's all of them, I win!"

"Just wait till later, missy, we have plenty of rounds to pass before it's over." Caradin replied with a smirk.

"Oh, definitely, and when I when you two can buy me dinner." She grinned as she placed a hand on her hip.

"I was planning on doing that regardless." Luxus replied with a slight grin.

"Oh well aren't you cheeky?" Yang said with a laugh, "Well regardless, the door should be open so let's get a move on." As they approached the door, the three green lights blinked on and it hissed open as they walked into a large tunnel. "Just a little while longer till I'm with Ruby."

Blue 1- Blake

Blake walked through the tunnel after the door in the main room opened and walked for what felt like an hour before arriving at the room with a simple screen before her. She cocked her head confused as she was expecting a fight between herself and some inmates, but instead a strange symbol popped up on screen, it was a green haired man with round glasses that didn't show his eyes. "Welcome to Oobleck's Fantastical Quiz Time! You have earned the privilege to undergo this test. It's a simple five questions, get them right and you move on!" It showed a little animatic of a smiling Blake going through the door, "Get them wrong and well, we don't have wall spikes for nothing!" He exclaimed as spikes suddenly jutted from the wall and a skull and crossbones appeared on screen. "First question! Why do you want to be a Hunter?"

"To help people, and be a champion of the just!" She exclaimed quickly.

"A prepared answer, meaning you don't really know or the reason is just a cover for your true motive. Wrong answer!" The first wall by the door she came in from smashed together, there would be no hope for escape now.

"Next question, what is justice?"

"That's a bit open-ended isn't it?" She inquired.

"I'm asking the questions here, five seconds."

"It's the correction of a wrong, doing the right thing for the sake of seeing action taken against those who are evil." She said with conviction.

"But who's to say who is evil and who is good? Is murder justified if it means that a good man's hands become bloodied? Wrong answer." Another wall smashed behind her. "Do you have people you want to protect?"

"I want to protect the people of the world."

"The people of the world do not want your protection, and even if they were able to gain it, what's to say that you could protect them? At the end of the day you must do what you can for those near you. While I appreciate your answer, your idea is very, very wrong." Another wall slammed behind her, "What do you truly wish to hunt? All Hunters must hunt something as told by the Hunter Commandments, so what will you hunt?"

"I shall hunt down criminals who disrupt the law and order of this world, putting an end to a certain band of outlaws is my goal. But there is much more I must do." She replied.

"So you wish to be a Crime Hunter, Blacklist Hunter, Terrorist Hunter? Or do you even know what it is you want? Perhaps you know what you want but you don't think you can make it? That being said, would you give up everything to kill these criminals?"

"Without hesitation."

"Wrong answer." He replied as the fourth wall slammed shut, there was nowhere to go but forward or to death. "To easily cast aside friends, family, and your own life is foolish and pathetic. Especially considering you don't know what you want; final question Ms. Belladonna." He said calling her by a name she had never told him. "Are you afraid of dying?"

She hesitated, it was a question she expected but was still unprepared for. "You have a limited amount of time, but I will give you ten seconds to respond. 10."

How could he ask her this, weren't Hunters supposed to be ready to give their lives for what they hunt? "9."

But he had called her foolish for discounting everything for her revenge, but why? "8."

Hunters were selfish beings and she knew it, they doggedly pursued that which interested them and blocked out all else but the hunt. "7."

Wasn't being a Hunter about helping others while helping yourself? "6."

Was she wrong this whole time? "5."

She didn't want to cast aside Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Pyron, or Newt, but gaining the strength to stop her adversaries came first. "4."

Didn't it? Or was she wrong about that too? "3."

She didn't want to lose her friends, she didn't want to die, and she didn't want to fail in her mission, but in order to succeed something must need to be sacrificed right? "2."

She didn't know what to do, why were things like this, she wasn't ready yet, she had so much else she wanted to do! "1."

"Yes!" She screamed shaking as tears slowly found their way down her face as every ounce of energy was devoted to not collapsing and crying into her hands, "I'm afraid to die, I'm afraid to lose the friends I've just made, and I'm afraid if I don't get stronger I will never be able to stop the White Fang! But," She paused composing herself, "but that doesn't mean I don't know what I want! I want a lot of things, because that's what being human is, but the things closest to my heart I want to shield to protect them from pain and from my enemies! I can't afford to die here! So to answer your question, yes I am afraid, but I refuse to let that fear rule me. Now open the door or kill me."

It was silent for a while before the door unlocked, "Congratulations Ms. Belladonna, not only were you truthful with me, but you were truthful with yourself. Remember though that the people you try to protect will also try to protect you, so reach out to your friends and ask for help, because your pride isn't worth dying for." She walked through the door down another tunnel wondering what she would do now.

Red 3- Team Ruby

"Hurry up, dolts! I don't want to be the last team to arrive!" Weiss fussed as she stomped ahead of Ruby and Knives. Ruby moved quickly with her short legs to keep up with Weiss while Knives strolled calmly behind them with his hands on his head.

"Hey, are you guys hungry too? Let's stop for food." He said casually looking around.

"We're in a prison, in the middle of an exam, and you're thinking about food!?" Weiss cried.

"I'm fucking hungry." Knives said, "Good thing I kept my back pack with me." He replied as he unzipped it and pulled out two cheeseburgers and began eating.

"Seriously!?" She roared.

"They were three for five Jenny back in Beacon so I bought a bunch and kept them in my backpack with two thermoses of drinks." Knives explained. "Sorry if I come prepared." He said as he washed down his meal with some soda from a thermos.

"You are unbelievable!" She roared.

"No I'm really rather believable if you're not crazy." Knives said as he played with his wild hair.

Weiss groaned in anxiety and they heard small laughter from the end of the hall where a man with crimson shaggy hair and a rugged red beard looked up at them with his golden serpentine eyes. He had pale white skin and wore a prison uniform with the sleeves torn off and a brown rugged cloak. "You're all so cute." He said as he licked his lips menacingly.

Weiss shuddered as she drew her rapier and pointed it at the man, "I, Weiss Schnee of the Schnee House will not be intimidated by a common criminal."

Ruby drew her scythe and Knives simply set his backpack and blade down as he started stretching, "Knives what are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"Put the scythe away and limber up, keep an eye on his movements and learn what you can from Weiss. If things go south we intervene." He said confidently and calmly. Whatever this guy was, Knives had fought many people like him.

"My, oh my, you children are so cold these days. Tell you what, I'll play examiner and we'll see who passes and who fails." He said as he extended his hand with untrimmed but manicured fingernails like claws. "Who will be first?"

Weiss rushed him with a flurry of jabs all of which he ducked and weaved between, his eyes bouncing around like marbles as he tracked her every motion. He swung out with his left hand in a wide sweep using his hand like a blade. Weiss flipped away and spun towards him slashing and jabbing, keeping the tempo of the dance at an accelerated pace as he easily matched her blow for blow and even began to drive her back with his counter-attack. A card slipped from his sleeve and he swung towards her throat, she leapt back as Knives and Ruby flinched, not being able to see the rapid movement of the man. The cut was shallow, but she was bleeding from her throat as the man licked the blood from the card. "Mmm, bitter sweet." He said with a cruel grin, "And you're not half bad there girl, it's a shame I'll have to kill you now."

He rushed forward, doubling back just as quickly when the scythe blade collided with the ground and the young girl's boots collided with his chest. "Oof, that wasn't very nice. But oh so clever." He said as he slowly walked towards her with a card in each hand. "Will we play next?" He finished as he rushed her and drew back his hands, she quickly pulled the scythe from the ground and collapsed the blade turning it into a pole and spun it rapidly to keep him from attacking from the front. He jumped to the side as she had anticipated and lashed out quickly with her scythe blade which he danced beneath and closed in on her as she tried to back away, kicking forward with her right foot and briefly catching him in the chest. "Ooh, not bad, however." He said as he wrapped his arm around his leg and lifted the other in a chop, "When kicking, you want to deliver enough force to do more damage." He swung down towards her kneecap and she feared the pain that would soon flood through her body as it never came. She looked and saw only red, the back of Knives' hoodie as he held the man's arm in place.

"Ruby, get back." He said sternly, acting like a completely different person now. "Treat Weiss' wound and then get ready to return to the fight. I doubt I will hold him for long."

"Eh? Not even going to try?" The man asked as he waved his finger around before pointing accusingly at Knives, to which Knives dodged like he was flinging a spear at him, "Oh, you can see it?"

"No I can't, but my cousin has a similar malevolent presence and when he points at people they are forced to obey. However regardless of my ability to see aura, it doesn't mean I can't sense it. And yours is telling me that you're barely able to contain your excitement or your will to kill." Knives said as he analyzed the man, "And I should know better than anybody what a killer looks like. Plus you have a pretty shitty disguise, Magician Hisoka."

"Oh, so you did figure it out." The man said removing his beard and as it left his hand it became nothing more than a handkerchief. He slicked his hair back and threw off his cloak as he took a more laid back stance. "What was it that revealed my identity?"

"I saw you in action a year ago at Heaven's Arena, and then a few months later in Yorknew during that incident with the Phantom Troupe. A guy like me knows when something is a lost cause, so when the don's hired professional assassins to deal with the Troupe I turned them down. No point in me dying this young and beautiful, am I right?" He said with his usual arrogance, Ruby watched them and could see what Knives meant about sensing aura. Their bloodlust for one another was barely contained at best, and Ruby was surprised she didn't notice Knives' killer intent sooner.

"I see, you recognized me by my fighting style and appearance, how clever, but tell me, why do you insist you can't win?" Hisoka said with a smirk.

"Because I don't have access to the power you have yet. But once I find it's secret I will return to fight you, because it's always fun to keep a group of people around you can test yourself against." Knives finished with a smile.

"Well then, shall we begin?" Hisoka said with a smile.

"No cheap tricks?" He asked.

"No promises." Hisoka replied.

This time it was Knives who smirked, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

With the second phase in full swing and a sudden development underway, will Ruby and her friends make it out of this alive? With Juane in the company of killers, Pyron and Newt advancing towards their next challenge, Yang slowly approaching the end, and Blake left questioning her motives and logic, it is slowly turning into a test against themselves than their opponents. Will their darkness overtake them, or will they rise above it all and claim the title of Hunter? The remaining number of candidates are 320.

And that's that, the familiar face all along was Hisoka! :3 I love that psychotic bastard. Anyway, read, review, favorite or follow please!