Hello everybody, I am TimoremCordeNostro and welcome back to RWBY: Fallen from the Rise.

Billmastergamin115 - While yes this is true, the reason is, is that Cinder is being Cinder and Cann has had zero contact with any other Human or Faunas for a very long time so psychologically he should be more attached to her because subconsciously he really doesn't want to be alone, trust me, I spent nearly two years in a similar situation to Cann and I can honestly say that I suffered very much mentally, the first time I found out one of my old friends had specifically come to me despite my parents objections, I was surprised and I formed a very fast emotional attachment...wasn't the best of times for me.

As always constructive criticism is always welcome, this was written with my brilliant Beta-reader and co-writer Billmastergamin115, so a big special thanks to meine Freund!

WARNING: - This Fic contains scenes that young people may find disturbing, please bare in mind the rating of this fic is an approximation and I am not responsible for anything that happens or anything caused by this fic, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I hope you enjoy aaaaaaaaaaaaand let's do this!

End Authors Note.

The Greybox, unknown date and time

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Ironwood asked. He leaned forward and said. "Well, there was a whole bunch of things that lead up to today, you've gooooot, the day I met Roman Torchwick, the day I met up with Ozpin again, the day I unceremoniously almost killed a very special girl...she really liked lightning and twisters." He was said with a distant tone, as if he were talking to himself.

"What about when you met Team RWBY?" Ironwood asked in a perfectly neutral tone. Leading to have a chuckle in response. "That was a little while ago, around...five or so months ago." He said as if in boredom. "Then tell me what happened." Ironwood asked, though it was more of a demand.

4 Years after previous chapter.

Blake opened her eyes and looked around the dorm room, bunk beds and all, everyone else was sound asleep, she looked over to her clock to find it was half past six in the morning, as per usual, the routine drilled into her head ever since she was a child. She got up and decided to have a nice hot shower.

After said shower she now felt more relaxed until she stepped out the bathroom with nothing but a robe and her bow on her head and found her friends reading something from a piece of paper, as the door closed behind her, they all noticed her existence and were as usual, unfazed by what she had on, Yang was the first to speak. "Hey Blake! Professor Ozpin wants us to go on a 'Team Building Exercise' or something like that." she didn't sound too bothered by it but at the same time she was excited by the implications.

"You really ought to pay more attention Yang." Weiss spoke in her usual scolding tone. "Let me read." Blake eventually said, taking the letter and reading it out loud: " 'Team RWBY, your team has been selected to spend a minimum of two days in a Team Building Exercise, this low level mission is completely safe, there is an almost zero percent risk of any of you getting hurt. You will each have to work together in order to accomplish your task because as much as it is low-risk that doesn't mean it's not difficult. And also, as soon as you receive this, Blake Belladonna please report to my office as soon as possible. Signed, Professor Ozpin.' "

Blake raised her eyebrow at this. What could he possibly want with me? It took her a few seconds to realise she had spaced out; this became obvious as her arm became numb from Ruby poking her over and over again. "Blaaaaaaaaaake." Yang waved her hand in front of her face which Blake promptly swatted away lightly. "I'm fine." she said. "You look like you're contenplat...comtenplat…" Ruby struggled with the word.

"Contemplating?" Weiss offered eliciting a nod from Ruby. "That word." as she was about to continue talking, all three of them heard the door close and then saw now empty space where Blake was standing, Blake had managed to get dressed and leave before any of them had noticed. "Well that was rude." Yang pouted.

Blake was both agitated and confused at why Ozpin could possibly want to talk to her. I've told him something that should've kept him happy...did he find out about? Her thoughts paused at that, if he did find out anything from her past she would surely be put in jail, or have to run away...again.

For the first time in a very long time, she gulped and took a deep breath as she entered the elevator. The doors closed and for the first time in years once again, she was scared, she hadn't been scared since that one fateful night. Don't think about that. She mentally cursed herself knowing that if she did think about that memory then she would break down into tears at any point.

The doors opened and the first thing she noticed was someone in a white short skirted trench coat with what she barely managed to process as dust in the shape of Kanji imprinted onto it, leaping off the edge of the tower, she ran to the rail as fast as she could only to see no one falling. "What…" she whispered to herself before she heard footsteps on the other side of the room causing her whip around so fast it would've looked like she teleported.

The headmaster of beacon academy was standing there calmly with his cane and cup of coffee as usual; a warm smile across his face, there wasn't one thing about him that suggested hostility, just his usual happy and calm demeanour, if anything he looked happier than he normally would. Well, he might not know. She reassured herself while simultaneously deciding that it was best to keep what she saw when she entered the room, to herself.

"Blake, I'm glad you came to see me on such short notice and so early in the morning." He gave her that signature smile he would give to everyone, only that he definitely seemed to be happier today, I wonder why. She thought to herself idly. He offered her a seat which she politely accepted and sat down before the Professor sat at his own desk.

"Do you know why I've called you here, Ms. Belladonna?" he asked. Blake immediately and slightly anxiously nodded to say no. He noticed but shrugged it off already knowing why anyway, but of course Blake didn't know that he knows almost everything about her already from a previous student. "I called you here because you will be the only person on your team to know a certain piece of information that I trust you alone with." at this Blake nodded cautiously.

"You and your teammates will be dropped in the middle of the Emerald Forest where you will survive until the observing Hunter decides that you each can no longer sustain yourselves."

Blake was a little surprised at this but was sensing an 'and' coming along. "And?" Ozpin chuckled lightly. "Very perceptive, the Hunter that is watching over you will also be Hunting You, stealing supplies, luring Grimm to your direction and much more."

Blake was to say the least, ready for the challenge. But she was wondering something. "Professor, if you don't mind my asking, why trust me with this information?" The Professor only smiled and said: "I'll tell you after the exercise is complete." at this, she nodded and was dismissed, she went back to the dorm with the information at the forefront of her mind, even during class, she would space out or doze off due to the information and a very rugged sleeping pattern.

Approximately 5 hours later.

They were all about to board the Bullhead when Blake paused, recognising a familiar white short skirted trench coat, she watched as the ramp closed behind the man or woman, and their Bullhead take off, she never managed to catch a glimpse of his or her face and that was beginning to bother her.

"Hey Blake, let's go!" Ruby said in her usual cheerful voice. Blake now brought back to reality, stepped inside the confines of the Bullhead, now thinking about what Ozpin told her. "Something on your mind Blake?" Yang asked. "No, nothing." she trailed off still thinking at that vital information. She then heard Yang gasp, causing Blake to look up at her. "You're thinking about a boy aren't you!?" Yang nearly screamed out of excitement with the grin of a devil.

"No Yang I-" before Blake could say anymore, she was now being bombarded with questions. "What's his name? Do we know him? Is it Jaune? Is it even a Boy?" she let in a very long gasp. "Is it a girl?" Blake just raised her eyebrow at Yang who still had her devilish grin. "Is it? Ha, is it?" Yang kept nudging Blake's arm with an elbow winking every so often. "Yang...I'm not thinking about anyone." she said seriously. At this Yang pouted.

"So, what are you thinking about?" Ruby genuinely asked, curious. "Is it about the mission? Or what Ozpin wanted to see you for?" Weiss asked getting a little suspicious in her own special way. Blake was about to say something, but she hesitated. Ozpin told me not to tell them. I shouldn't, but it could mean they may get hurt if they don't know. After thinking it through to herself she was about to tell them everything, only for the Osprey like jet to shake violently, putting most of them on their chest or back, then everything went black as a loud crash was barely registered in Blake's mind.

"Owwwwwww…" Were the first words to leave Blake's mouth as she gradually became conscious again, slowly opening her eyes, having to flutter her eyelids due to the overwhelming amount of light, she found herself in a small clearing of the forest with the others who looked uninjured. Yang was punching a tree out of frustration, nothing different there; Weiss and Ruby were conversing with each other, that's different but not noteworthy. Blake then thought back to the last thing she remembered, crashing. Crashing...Crashing, CRASH! It took her a few seconds to process that piece of information.

She sat up instantaneously looking around; there was no crash site, just them, Team RWBY, in a small clearing, in the middle of the Emerald Forest, alone. Everyone then noticed that she was awake and instantly crowded around her. "Are you okay Blake?" Ruby asked in her innocent tone of worry. "I'm fine, what about the Bullhead?" They looked at each other. "You don't remember being moved either." Weiss said in a tone of what was very likely to be a Weiss frustration, which would lead to a Weiss pout and then a Weiss complaining mood, then everyone else's frustration.

Yang was already continuing to pummel another poor tree until it was nothing but sawdust. Blake took this moment to tell them what Ozpin had told her. "Hey, everyone." They all turned to her as she got to her feet dusting herself off. "What is it Blake?" Ruby asked with a tilted head showing genuine curiosity as usual. "Ozpin told me to keep this a secret from you, but now I'm not sure I want to." Yang was the first to say something. "Oooooo I love secrets, what kind of secret?"

Blake stared at Yang blankly for a few seconds before continuing. "He told me what was going to happen, he didn't tell me about the crash, but he did tell me that we would be here until we couldn't survive any longer and that a Hunter would be overseeing our survival skills and teamwork. And that the Hunter would also be making it harder for us to survive."

"By doing what?" Weiss asked anger clear behind her voice. "By stealing supplies when we aren't looking, sending small packs of Grimm in our general direction and more that he didn't mention." Blake listed off the possibilities leading to an even grumpier Weiss, angry Yang and a confused Ruby. "Why would he do that?" Ruby asked. "To test us you dult weren't you listening?" Weiss shot at Ruby, causing Ruby to wince a little, before Weiss sighed and apologised. "Ruby, I'm sorry, I'm just so damn angry right now!" Ruby simply smiled and said. "It's okay, we're all in this together after all." chuckling awkwardly.

Ruby then decided to show why Ozpin made her leader of this team. "Okay, Yang, you're on firewood duty, Blake, hunt for food, keep an eye out for cookie trees, me and Weiss will look for a wreckage, we all meet back here in an hour, understand?" Ruby said seriously. "Ruby, there's no such thing as a cookie-" Blake was about to say before she was interrupted "DON'T BURST MY BUBBLE!" she screamed, clearly upset in an angry way. "She hasn't had a cookie in five days." Yang whispered to Blake making her look at Yang oddly.

Everyone was surprised at the sudden shift in attitude to say the least but nevertheless, they all went off to perform their assigned roles, Weiss staying an extra couple of feet away from Ruby, everyone immediately started hearing the smashing of wood as Yang started pounding more of those poor trees into submission.

Blake was stalking a doe that was grazing by a set of trees, but she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched to, and whatever it was, her mind told her to run at full sprint in the opposite direction of it. Ignoring that feeling for the moment, she slowly and stealthily stalked her way to her pray. Then she pounced, pinning the doe to the floor by the neck, starving it of oxygen so that it would fall unconscious, just like she had been taught, she then proceeded to snap the unconscious does neck to make sure it didn't feel any pain whatsoever.

After this short encounter, she noticed that the feeling of being watched had lifted. Whoever or whatever was watching her had moved on. The Hunter… she thought to herself, she then proceeded to carry the corpse of the doe back to where they would set up camp for the night.

"Woah, Blake, you need help there?" Yang asked as she proceeded to toss more wood into the fire, it was sunset and not getting any warmer. "I'm fine, thanks." Blake dropped the corpse of the doe in front of her seat. "You seen Ruby or Weiss? I haven't seen them in a while." Yang sounded a bit nervous, likely for her little sister, even though earliers display proved that she really didn't need to. "No, I haven't, I'm sure they're fine, sit down and relax while I skin this doe."

"Wait what?" Was all that Yang said before having to cover her mouth to stop herself from losing her lunch. "What?" Blake asked legitimately confused as she was skinning the doe, and disposing of anything from the doe that couldn't be cooked and eaten. "How're you doing that?" Yang asked, still queasy. "What? This?" Blake nonchalantly lifted up the small intestines of the dead doe causing Yang's eyes to widen again and for her to run off to the bushes to deposit her lunch.

Blake just shrugged and continued her craft, after about 15 minutes Yang returned, pale and tired looking. "How are you so calm about that?" Yang barely managed to speak without hurling again just from thinking about it. "I was taught since I was a kid, I still remember everything I was taught." Blake said simply. "Oh...that explains a lot...uuugghhhh." Blake smiled a little at Yang's uneasiness around gore, which was slightly surprising considering her hot headed nature.

After a few minutes, Blake disposed of the things she didn't need so Yang wouldn't throw up anywhere near their food, while Blake was doing this, Weiss and Ruby had apparently returned along with a large amounts of equipment, Weiss was exhausted due to the method of transportation they used; a very large amount of glyphs.

Blake set up the edible parts of the doe to be strung up over the fire to be cooked, by that time, Weiss and Yang fell asleep. But that feeling of being watched is back again and Blake was getting fidgety. "Blake...what's wrong?" Ruby asked with a tilted head of curiosity. Blake looked at one of the larger trees with an odd shadow in it, too far to be able to tell who or what it was even with her night vision. There. She thought to herself, until the shadow seemingly disappeared which caused her to go on the defence and keep a hand near her weapon.

"Blake?" Ruby asked more worried than before. The feeling suddenly disappeared again, only causing more unease, she quickly scanned every tree, every shadow, every corner, every alcove, nothing. "Blake!" Ruby nearly had to shout, this grabbed her attention. "Yes?" Blake asked in a perfectly neutral tone. "You okay?" Ruby asked, still worried for her friend.

Blake scanned the area a bit more before calming down and finally replying. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." Blake said genuinely, Ruby smiled and nodded calming down at least a little and smiling at Blake with that innocent smile of hers. "Ruby?" Blake said. "Mm?" was Ruby's reply. "You should eat before you go to bed." Blake suggested eliciting Ruby to nod then look at the cooking doe, seemingly not knowing what to do.

Blake just rolled her eyes and cut a few pieces off for Ruby, who in turn started munching on the venison. "Mmmmm." was mostly all Blake could hear coming from Ruby. I wonder if there's a lake nearby. Blake absentmindedly thought to herself before grabbing something to eat and going to sleep.

P.O.V. Switch

Now that Blake was asleep, he could sneak in and out without anyone noticing, noting that Ruby was still awake, but that didn't matter, he had to cause some mischief, so that's exactly what would happen. What to take though… he thought to himself as he quietly walked over to the mini-camp they had set up and took a thing or two before silently walking away, only for him to hear weapons being pointed in his direction.

They were awake all along. It's a trap, impressive. He thought to himself with a smirk. "Who are you and where do you think you're going with our stuff?" Yang asked in a deadly serious tone. Turning on the voice changer fitted into his helmet by making a click sound, he slowly turned, knowing that he would be almost invisible to everyone besides Blake in the quickly darkening clearing of the Forest. Blake was much more cautious about him than the others; hopefully she didn't recognise him quite yet.

"I'm not going to ask again." Yang and the others now getting into a combat stance. He gave off a small growl which sounded much deeper and threatening than he meant it to be. "Fine then, let's play!" Yang said ecstatically as she charged him, punch after punch thrown lead to him blocking almost in a Neo-esc style, he noticed the strength of Yang increasing gradually, he had to delay that.

Starting to now swat away the punches and throw in his own, gradually building speed and strength, this also strengthened Yang, which he noted. Ruby couldn't get a clear shot in. Weiss then decided to join and start raining ice crystals from above. He back flipped taking his katanas and firing a well-placed bullet at each of them and reloading before hitting the ground causing Weiss's eyes to widen as each ice crystal shattered.

Yang used this to her advantage and attempted to slam him to the ground, only for the man to grab a hold of Yang's torso via his legs and proceed to back flip via a handstand, flinging Yang a few meters behind him, now walking towards the remaining three who were firing everything they had at him, he dodged what he could and blocked the rest, what now really surprised them was when he Caught, yes, he Caught, a fireball and threw it back at them. They all managed to stay clear of the resulting explosion, but he was still advancing.

Weiss then threw up an ice wall at his position attempting to trap him, which he seemed to expect, she knew why after a few seconds, before Ruby could slam into him with her Crescent Rose, he jumped, not allowing enough time for Ruby to correct her course and she ran straight through the ice wall, loosing her balance along the way and tripping up, landing next to Weiss, roughed up but not out of the fight.

He continued to advance, blocking an attack from behind from Yang's now not so happy fists, she was starting to overpower him. I need to end her now. He thought to himself as he began attacking with nerve strikes that would only temporarily paralyse parts of Yang, while this made her angrier, that doesn't change the laws biology.

After he hit where he needed, he disorientated her by striking her ears with relaxed hands, Yang's ears were now ringing, she couldn't register the palm strike to the gut quick enough and now had the wind knocked out of her. Before he could knock her out cold though, he felt a small pressure at the base of his spinal column; he turned his head a little, being sure to keep an eye on Yang at the same time.

"Don't move a muscle." Weiss said coldly eliciting a chuckle from the man. "Don't you remember little girl? The Heart is a muscle." In one fell swoop he swatted away the blade and round-house kicked Yang straight in the head effectively knocking her out cold from the impact, if not for her Aura, her skull may have shattered and she may have suffered brain damage or death.

Ruby was already lining up a shot, while the man was trying to deal with Weiss quickly. Ruby then shrugged her shoulders and let out the whole magazine in an accurate flurry of seemingly random shots, not having the patience to aim due to cookie deprivation, each bullet was surprisingly blocked or dodged from the now katana duel-wielding man. "THOSE BULLETS ARE EXPENSIVE, SO STOP BLOCKING THEM OR AT LEAST PRETEND TO BE HURT!" she screamed out of pure annoyance.

At this point it was getting tedious for him, so he decided to make short work of those that were around. Until Blake decided to join the fray. "Ruby give Weiss cover while she gets Yang back to the fire, I'll handle this." Ruby and Weiss were about to protest but went along with it anyway, the shots Ruby fired at him had no effect due to an Aura barrier that sprung up every time, but they did their job and gave Blake enough time to get closer. He smiled behind his helmet. She's learned. He thought to himself.

"Think you've learnt to read me have you, Blake...Belladonna wasn't it?" his deep and cyberized voice making him sound all the more creepier. They were now circling each other. "I don't know who you are or how you know my name, but you're not hurting my friends." She was serious, he could only smile wider behind his helmet, after long last, she'd made friends, and he thought he'd never live to see the day.

They both stopped and stared each other down as Yang was now safely by the fire Yang ironically created. Then they each charged, exchanging blows from swords and pistols alike, neither could get the upper hand, so both decided to switch to ranged attacks, both chain and projectile alike.

Taking both of his Shot-saws, he started laying down suppressing fire as he now used both of them as whips, very sharp whips, only for Blake to be able to match every move he made, each strike was almost identical in style, even then it wasn't enough, the speed and strength of every strike was enough for him to eventually break through her defences and send her reeling backwards, impressively enough though, she was still partially on her feet.

He felt a slight brush of wind a little too late, allowing Ruby to get a slash in, even if he wasn't trying, he was still disappointed with himself for being so focused on a singular opponent. He growled at the two in front of him from the annoying feeling Ruby brought. "Ruby...He's too strong." Blake said in between breaths. "We only need to stay up a couple more minutes, Yang is nearly conscious again and Weiss is setting up a trap…" He could only partially hear what they were saying, but during their conversation, he decided to be a little mean and ambush them. I'm mean. He thought.

"Wait...Where…" was all he heard Ruby say before the shockwave that he created as he landed between the two sent them flying in either direction of him. He held his ground wanting to see more of what they could do, taking out his katanas' at the same time, one covering his chest and the other, his back, he faced Ruby.

They both charged at the same time, as they were micro-seconds away from successfully attacking him, he front flipped, effectively upper cutting Blake a few centimetres into the air with his foot and landing on top of Ruby's scythe, as she fired, he front flipped over Ruby and swept her from under her feet and knocked her past Blake, then proceeding to kick a recovering Blake next to Ruby. He'd pout if he wasn't in combat. "Tick tock ladies, I don't have all night." He said both truthfully and mockingly, he was used to advanced combat amongst the best, so to say he was slightly underwhelmed was an understatement.

"It's official; he's much faster than me." Ruby said now exhausted as well. "You think?" Blake said in a deadpan and annoyed tone now even more exhausted. But both were thankful when Weiss and Yang showed up, effectively surrounding him. At this he smiled to himself and put away his weapons, hands behind his back in a neutral stance.

At first this confused them, staring directly at Blake the entire time he brought up his hands again, put a fist to his palm and bowed to each of them, Blake and Weiss knew this as a sign of respect and returned the gesture causing Yang and Ruby to stare at the three confused, well until everyone realised that Yang was charging at him, as she was about to punch him, he leaned out the way a little with an elbow out causing Yang to effectively run straight into the elbow.

The second blow was an upper-cut temporarily suspending Yang into mid-air, just after this, he jumped up to Yang and out of the way of a charging Weiss using fire dust, he then proceeded to drop kick Yang straight into the ground so hard it made a small crater, also nearly knocking out Weiss but she remained standing, albeit barely.

Weiss then attempted to catch him off guard only for him to catch the blade, remove it from her hands and kick her to the floor, leaving her lying there groaning from the pain and exhaustion.

He stood at his full height and looked directly at Blake who had her weapon drawn, the dark had only just come to a full bloom and unlike the others, she could see in the dark, as much as she was beat up. He looked at the weapon in her hand, Gambol Shroud, he smiled behind his helmet.

"You made another one...I should've expected that." He whispered to himself still smiling, almost sad from the memories brought back, but proud that she'd come so far. They charged in an almost identical pattern, Ruby was about to charge with Blake but hesitated as the two clashed, the face she made, Blake wore an expression of pure concentration and emotional rage, but underneath it spoke years of training and discipline suddenly coming to the front.

To those spectating that couldn't see very well in the dark, like Ruby, it was nothing short of one of the most beautiful fireworks displays she'd ever seen, there were many flames (No, not swearing.), ice crystals shattering, shotguns and pistols discharging, the battle cries of two immense warriors giving it nothing short of their fullest. This was a stalemate.

Which only ended after a few minutes of intense fighting, Blake was now standing next to an amazed Ruby, literally, you could see it on her face, or was that the cookie deprivation symptoms? I have no clue. What she saw next however, surprised her to no end.

Gambol Shroud, had been sliced in half, barely functional but Blake didn't even seem fazed, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh knowing that she was defeated. "Cease and desist...I have seen enough." His voice boomed. He slowly walked away and seemingly disappeared into the tree line.

Blake just stared at where the eerily familiar warrior had walked off to, then looking at her weapon knowing that she'd have to make another, the only problem with that was that she almost completely forgot how to make most of it, it had been nearly a decade since she had to remake her weapon let alone repair it, normally it was a scratch in the paint.

He was wearing a black short skirted trench coat along with a black Kevlar suit underneath, his helmet or war mask, was interesting, it was more of a black version of a Grimm's bone skull, she noticed the Kanji on his trench coat and helmet but was too busy fighting to read them, she knew he was a Faunus to, no one, not even the most experienced Hunters could fight that well in the dark, unless their semblance included seeing in the dark, which she highly doubted.

Weiss and Yang were over by the fire, Ruby and Blake eventually re-joined them, Yang obviously very, very angry that she'd been beaten and knocked out...TWICE and Weiss was too tired to care anymore. Ruby was the first to break the silence. "Well...at least we got our stuff back." she said cheerfully attempting to lighten the mood. "Good plan by the way." Blake said in a half sad tone. "Thanks...Blake what's wrong? Is it your weapon?" Ruby asked also sounding sad that something so beautiful in Ruby's eyes was destroyed.

"No, I'm fine…" words from when she was a child reverberated through her head 'Don't make anyone a promise, if you know you can't keep it.' the male voice spoke the sentence as if to soothe her mind, but it only brought a sad smile and a tear before continuing to stare at the remains of her weapon. "Es tut mir leid, das Versprechen zu brechen…" she whispered to herself. ("I'm sorry for breaking the promise…") Weiss was the only one to hear her properly making Weiss wonder what she meant by that.

"Okay, let's all go to sleep, we have a long day tomorrow." Ruby said which elicited everyone to agree in their own way. They each laid down and the fire went out, they each went to sleep peacefully.

Until just before each of them would wake up, they'd each have a dream, a nightmare, someone in pain, his mind slowly cracking from the inside out as something inside him fights his soul, he's losing.

As they see his face they watch him silently scream, clutching his head as they go through his eye, the eye of a Grimm.

Blake awoke with a cold sweat dripping down her forehead, it'd been awhile since she'd seen that boys face, it made Blake a little distraught for his safety, but reasoned with herself saying that he was dead, that she watched him die a very long time ago.

For the moment she shoved it to the back of her mind and looked towards the others who each were curled up into a foetal position each also having a nightmare. Strange. She thought to herself.

A few seconds after she noticed this, the sun started to come up, illuminating what most could not see, the local wildlife began to wake up and a man's trench coat changed colour from black to white as if the sun's rays were ink colouring it in, at first she was too tired to register him until he hopped off his perch and back into non-existence, she did register however that it was five in the morning, hence the sunrise.

Then the others woke up, gasping for air each looking around, Blake was mostly fine, if anything a little down, Yang and Ruby were holding onto each other for dear life, shaking silently from the Fear they both experienced and Weiss, was staring at the ashes of the log fire from last night, she was holding back tears.

Each of them had a nightmare, whether it was the same, or similar in principle, they each looked at each other after a while, Yang was the first to speak. "I think I might have to be addicted to coffee for the rest of my life." She said half jokingly to cover up her own pain, no one responded.

But Yang and Ruby were mostly shocked when the one they had been fighting last night simply stood beside Blake, no one daring to move. "I think it's best if you all go home." He said, the voice modulator still active, but there was still a hint of sincerity behind it. No one reacted, until Weiss spoke up. "I won't go home, but I'll gladly stay here for a few more nights, no matter the challenge." She said, still hugging her knees at which almost everyone nodded.

"Start up the fire then." He set down a large basket full of Fish making Blake stare at it for a few seconds. "Before Blake gets her hands on your food." He said half jokingly, the other three staring at Blake who looked thoughtful at the idea considering she hadn't had any Tuna for a long while.

Yang slowly dragged the basket in her direction, away from Blake, who's eyes were glued to it the entire time. Ruby who was still a little upset looked up at their old adversary. "Why are you helping us?" At this everyone looked at him, taking the time to study him carefully. "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to evaluate you." He said in a calm monotone.

Everyone stared at him and then at Blake for a few seconds. "So you were right huh?" Yang said in a slightly more chipper voice, keeping Ruby warm between her knees.

The masked Hunter looked at Blake. "You told them?" He asked, causing Blake to nod. "No matter the consequences, it could've meant that my team would've been hurt, and I can't condone that even if Ozpin himself tells me to keep it to myself." Blake said firmly. They didn't know it yet, but he was smiling behind his mask.

"I'm proud of each of you for coming so far in such a short time." He looked at Blake directly in the eyes. "You did the right thing Blume." That sparked something in the back of Blake's mind, staring at him as he walked off towards the tree line in what would seem as a mixture of sadness and awe.

He knew exactly who she was, everything about her, and there were very few people alive that knew alot about her, let alone everything, which didn't make sense at all, only those closest to her would ever call her that. She racked her brain trying to figure it all out but couldn't think of anything at all, she was rudely interrupted by an arrow with a note on it landing next to Yang's leg saying: "Get cooking." Which Blake promptly rolled her eyes at, and Yang just shouted at the tree line some random profanity and something about nearly taking her leg off.

Blake started up the fire again, still plenty of wood left to burn from them poor, poor trees, she strung up the fish to be cooked, as much as she preferred to eat tuna now worry about friends later, she had to do it the other way around, surprisingly enough Weiss and the others sat with Blake, each of them staring at the cooking Fish idly.

Weiss spoke up first. "Blake, last night, you used a dead a language to say "I'm sorry for breaking the promise..." Why is that?" Weiss was in a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "It's a long story." She said calmly, but her voice cracking slightly betrayed her calmness about it.

They each looked at her for a second, Ruby had already fallen back to sleep, Weiss surprisingly wasn't pressing any further. "Did anyone read what was on his coat?" Weiss asked, which Yang responded with. "Those could be read? I thought they were just odd paint thingies." She was cradling the now sound and peacefully sleeping Ruby in her arms. "It's a story." Blake said, Weiss looked at Blake with an eyebrow raised obviously not expecting her to have any knowledge on the subject.

"I didn't know you are an expert at ancient languages Blake." Weiss's half attempt at humour, which made Yang and Blake smile a little. "It's a sad story, but I don't know if it's true or not because I've never heard it before, though it's probably something about his past." Blake said solemnly. "It can wait for now, we've got to eat." Weiss said. "mmmmno." Was Blake's slurred reaction. Which elicited the other two girls to stare at her. "What?" Weiss said. "What?" Blake said in response after snapping out of her stupor while staring at the cooking fish.

"Do you have an addiction to fish by any chance?" Yang asked. "No?..." Blake tried not to make it sound like a question as her voice went a little high pitched, causing Blake to hug her knees out of embarrassment. Surprisingly enough, they each started giggling.

"Duwuhuh, Cookies..." Ruby woke up. Yang was now laughing and even Blake couldn't help but let off an amused snicker, Weiss was giggling and now Ruby was blushing out of embarrassment. Despite what they've all been through, they were all having a laugh, that was what he liked to see.

Team RWBY sat and ate breakfast, Blake more eagerly so, considering what was on the menu disappeared quickly again due to Blake's handiwork.

P.O.V. Change

"Despite everything that's happening, you're doing what I want you to, whether you realise it or not." A higher thought was drilled into his head, it felt like he was being tortured every single time. "You will speak only when spoken to." Obviously agitated at her intrusion in the confines of his mind.

"You shall only end up like me if you continue down this path." The voice said in an almost scolding tone which was met with a dark chuckle. "The difference is, I'm going to destroy you and beat this affliction." To the outsider it would seem as if he was talking to himself, but to him the words the current 'master' of the Grimm spoke were heard clear as day, much to his annoyance.

"Then you seal your fate, the professor cannot help you." Were the last words he heard from the ethereal voice before what felt like an ice cold spike leave his mind. A long sigh escaped his lips. "Cinder...I hope you know what you're doing." He said solemnly obviously missing her, as much as it was hidden behind a mask he wore more to emotionally protect himself than to scare others, the latter was just a bonus.

The plan that would ensue is delicate and he wasn't sure if even he knew the whole thing, or if they were mostly making it up as they were going along, but he put enough trust into Cinder to give her what she needed, as much as they were rudely interrupted by obstacles. Cinder was still learning to, she was about halfway to his power level and much to his amusement and her frustration each time they fought, no where near his skill level despite being older than him by a year.

He'd figured out what happened to him at the temple, mostly, a culmination of several thousand years of knowledge were forced into his mind along with physical enhancements and a new semblance, switching off his own semblance and replacing it with something much more uncontrollable, but he was managing, trying to train himself to control something so dangerous was difficult and at times he had to vent the pent up energy on something, preferably Grimm, even then it still 'echoed' to nearby living things though not even close to being as bad as what he put what he focussed on through, mostly pure Terror.

Everything comes at a price however and his mind is taking the brunt of the damage, nothing could scare him because flat out he could feel no Fear, none, it was as if the Amygdala part of his brain stopped functioning.

He sighed, that wasn't everything either, he could easily use his semblance to create a beacon for Grimm to follow, he could lure them into a trap, or to a location with four girls sitting around a camp-fire munching on breakfast.

Like now.

Cliffhanger...plz don't kill me...*hides under my desk peeking slightly*

Ruby's cookie deprivation happens to me when I don't have any either :/

Fun Fact: The Amygdala is a part of the brain that makes you feel Fear in response to certain situations, people that have had Urbach-Wiethe disease cannot feel Fear, it isn't debilitating either, it just means they can look at a gun being pointed at their face and roll their eyes in boredom, both cool and bad, I do and don't envy those people.

If you're wondering, no, I'm not a medical genius or a genius of any kind, though my squad-mates are inclined to disagree with me because of my slight knowledge in military tactics, I'm just a guy who knows alot and needs to find a way to distract himself from a world i severely dislike, besides you guys, you guys are great!

I hope you all enjoyed, don't forget to review to tell me what you thought, if you've got any helpful tips, tricks or ideas feel free to leave those as well, or if you want general banter and to have a conversation via reviews, you can do that to, or point out every single little Easter egg i plant for you to hunt for, also works. Make sure you favorite if you liked it and to Follow if you want to see more from me, I am TimoremCordeNostro and I shall see you my awesome audience (har har) in the next chapter!