A/N: Just to point this out since it is mentioned in this chapter, and for future chapters; 1 Lien is equal to 1 US Dollar. Things that cost less than 1 Lien are .75 Lien (Gold Coin), .50 Lien (Silver Coin), .25 Lien (Bronze Coin).

Also because I will start using alternative languages in certain techniques because of 'origins' I will leave it at the bottom of the page what they're called on each chapter, but I will not repeat them - for example on this chapter I will post several of them and I will possibly do the same for other chapters, but if they show up in a future chapter I won't provide the translation. This is because it saves time for me and I'm confident if you need to check the translation then you can just go through the chapters to find them.

NEXT UPDATE: Wednesday (23/03/16)

I DO NOT OWN RWBY

Chapter 6: Power

After returning from the office and making sure my team was distracted, I left a note on my bed and snuck out of the room, returning to Ozpin's office in record time. The man knew something about it, or at least 'Seele Ernten', and I wanted to know what. While I did not what to admit it in front of the others, lest it creates a divide between us, I wanted that power. Not for the sake of having it or because I was a megalomaniac, but because it was only once my eyes turned purple of all things was I not only able to stay on par with Cinder, but also remaining capable of fighting four of her subordinates at once, taking relatively minor wounds.

I walked into the elevator, getting to the top of the tower that was Ozpin's office in under a minute. Ozpin himself was in his usual spot, at his desk with his coffee in hand, a look on his face that told him he had expected him at that very moment, probably used the cameras around the school. Silently I walked over to his desk, taking the seat opposite him and noting the freshly poured cup of tea. He knew I was coming.

''So...'' I drawled after taking a long sip ''Seele Ernten...''.

Ozpin sighed, a brief flicker of weariness passing through his features before it was replaced by his usual expression ''That ability you displayed - when your eyes turned purple - is a hereditary one... something passed on from your mothers side of the family''.

I paused, the tea cup in my hand nearly slipping from my grasp as I slowly set it down ''You know my mother''.

It wasn't a question ''Yes''.

I fell silent, and he continued ''There are reasons why she was never able to see you during your life. I am afraid to say this was reinforced when your father was killed because of your mothers affiliation, meaning if she visited you even once it risked the chance of your demise''.

''I see'' I said calmly, accepting the reasoning and not commenting on my father ''So, what is this hereditary ability?''.

''Dunkelheit'' He said, the name sounding foreign on his tone ''It means Darkness in an old, ancient language known as German, a language all but lost to history after our current language overtook it''.

''Dunkelheit was an ability born from a single man, one of the founding fathers who initially used Dust to fight back against the Grimm. The tale goes that 'something' happened and the Dust got into his system permanently, then when he had a child with his wife it carried the Dust-based gene inside of him. As the generations passed Dunkelheit became more prominent, allowing the young to utilize it to fight against Human, Faunus and Grimm alike'' He explained ''Your mother, when she attended my school nearly sixteen years ago, explained the extent of her powers to me''.

He reached under his desk and pulled out an old leather journal, the cover a faded blue ''She was pregnant with you a year after she finished her final year, and asked if you were ever to attend my school I give you this, so that you could understand your abilities because of the lack of knowledgeable parental figures''.

I flipped it open, reading the introduction page;

A Guide to Learning Dunkelheit, by Marisol Haizen

I paused, looking up at Ozpin who looked content to watch ''I take it my surname is Haizen?''.

''Yes'' He answered and I nodded, closing the book to read it later ''I advise you keep it secret however''.

''Where is my mother as of right now?'' I asked and he shook his head slowly.

''I'm afraid she never told me, the only person who knew was your father - and I've told you how that turned out'' He said and I nodded in response ''The information in her journal holds information on every last piece of knowledge she knew about Dunkelheit, but apart from that all I knew was what a headmaster would know about his students''.

I nodded, taking this information in stride ''If I may ask, what was my mothers choice of weapon and Semblance?''.

''She possessed only one weapon like many others, a large scythe by the name of Waspier. She modified it so that the blade actually move at a rapid rate, effectively turning it into a chainsaw, thus granting it the name Waspier for the buzzing noise it made like Rapier Wasps'' Ozpin explained coolly ''Her Semblance, much like yours, was very unique amongst Semblances; Instinctive Reflexives''.

I raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue ''Instinctive Reflexives, as she called it, allowed her to sense incoming attacks and react accordingly. She was quite skilled, one of the best in her year and even one of the best in academy history because of it - that wasn't even counting her natural combat abilities''.

''I see'' I nodded ''Did she ever tell you why she used a scythe?''.

Ozpin looked mildly amused ''Why do you use a scythe?''.

''Because a Scythe is commonly referred to as a weapon wielded by the embodiment of death, and that the scythe in general means death when wielded by an opponent. I named mine Judgement, for the reason that it will judge your fate and actions, and come down swiftly upon its decision and enact my will'' I recited coolly, the reason why I named and wielded the scythe open for him to comment on ''When you enter a battlefield and are forced to kill, it makes the thought easier by naming it Judgement, implying their demise but not openly stating it''.

Ozpin nodded, taking a sip of his coffee ''Well said. Your mother was in the same mind, using a similar if not identical reasoning''.

Ozpin then glanced at his wristwatch ''I believe it is time we bring this discussion to a close, Eien Haizen''.

I nodded, getting up and taking the journal with me ''Thank you, Ozpin''.

As I left, I caught the murmur of ''No Problem, Eien''.

I entered my dorm room and was also immediately beset by Ruby, who clung to him like a lifeline while anime tears ran down her cheeks.

''Eien~! I'm out of cookies~!'' She whined while Weiss gave the reaper a dry 'really?' look while Yang was snickering and Blake was blushing, hiding behind her book. I sighed and pulled out a pen lid I kept for this very reason and let a piece of my soul float into it, transforming it into an admittedly oversized cookie - almost as big as her whole torso. Her eyes went so wide they nearly matched the size of the cookie as she enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug.

''Iloveyousomuchthankyouthankyouthankyou!'' She squealed.

I chuckled as she took off to her bed, taking the enormous cookie with her.

''Is that not a bit... excessive?'' Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow.

''Maybe'' I shrugged and made my way to my bed, sitting down and opening the journal while Weiss and Ruby began arguing about something in the background.

-Chapter 1: Unlocking your Dunkelheit-

Dunkelheit, as the name of Darkness implies, is born from the Darkness within the human heart. Fear, Rage, Hate, Despair, all of the extremely negative emotions can give birth to Dunkelheit as long as they are of the Haizen family. There is no artificial way of unlocking your Dunkelheit, the natural way being through suffering the aforementioned emotions in a life-threatening environment. It has been deemed impossible to intentionally unlock it, and it has been impossible (so far) for scientists to replicate its abilities.

Upon the awakening of ones Dunkelheit the wielder will gain a large amount of power, becoming several times stronger than they already were. However the unavoidable drawback is that the user will lose control of their body for a time because of Aura overload, leaving the body to follow the users last thought before eventually passing out for a weeks time.

''Guess that explains why I was out for a week'' I murmured to myself.

If you wish to activate your Dunkelheit after that, you will have to control your emotions. The Haizen family is notorious for having been cursed with mental disabilities, and it is almost guaranteed that you will have some form as well. Find the source of what caused the emotion that birthed your Dunkelheit, and then hone it, control it, master it, turn it into the coldest of steels and learn to wield it with the utmost control. Those who wield Dunkelheit are powerful, on par with the best huntsmen in the world - though most Dunkelheit wielders are already Huntsmen in the first place.

A word of warning; triggering the emotion that originally caused your Dunkelheit will unconsciously activate your Dunkelheit, regardless if you want it to or not. The only way to prevent this is to, as I have said, control your emotions to the point where you can willingly activate it.

''Can't be that difficult'' I hummed quietly to myself, turning the page again and displaying the large CH-2.

I finished writing the note, placing it on Blake's bedside before turning to Ruby, who was waiting patiently, both of us dressed in our combat uniforms with a duffel bag over my shoulder. I nodded to her and gestured to the window and she nodded, running and jumping out. I took a more languid pace, jumping out of the window and dropping to the grass below just as I saw Blake begin to stir. I hit the grass with a muted thud, my Aura shielding me from any potential damage from jumping from so high.

I looked at Ruby, who was bouncing on the edge of her heels in excitement. The reason behind why I was only taking Ruby was because she was arguably the best smith of the team, plus she had been present when we found the Adamantite, so it was only fair to do so.

''You ready?'' I asked.

''Yes, lets go'' Ruby smiled as we began walking towards our little cave.

''Now... how to get down - without leaving an obvious trail'' I hummed, looking a Ruby for ideas, but she looked just as thoughtful as I.

''Rope?''.

''Eh, sure'' I shrugged, grabbing a stick and transforming it into a rope with practiced ease, having a little over three quarters of my Semblance left. I tied it around a spiked rock and after giving it a few hard tugs I began to descend, keeping Judgement easy to access encase I fall. I slid down and jumped the remaining distance down onto the rocks, awaiting Ruby as she also descended in an identical fashion to me, also prepared to draw Crescent Rose encase she fell. With a dull thud she jumped the rest of the way (half the rope) and used her Aura to shield her from the damage.

I led her into the cave, the roughly pyramid-shaped room dark until I ignited the Light Crystals, tugging on the soul shards inside them but not removing them. It wasn't as bright as regular lights, but they were still close enough considering I didn't have to go through the process of wiring and stuff. With a small mental tug I disintegrated the wall that hid the Adamantite, revealing the cube of crimson metal.

''So~'' Ruby sang ''What do we do first?''.

''Well I'll have to recreate the Adamantite so we don't have to go back and try and find more, if there is any more'' I said, humming in thought ''Then we can starting using it to build stuff''.

She sighed ''Ugh! Boring~''.

I chuckled ''Yep''.

''Do you think we overdid it?'' I asked curiously.

''Hm... nah, I think its fair amount'' Ruby responded, looking at the cubes of legendary metal, a total of thirty of them, five of them together weighing a little more than a Bullhead. Despite that Adamantite was known for its legendary toughness yet lightweight manoeuvrability and decent flexibility when it came to weapons. While it was not known, Ozpin's own weapon was made from Adamantite but painted to disguise this. I had learnt this from the library.

''Lets Begin'' I said slowly as I placed my hand on one of the cubes, feeling it accept my soul shard as I willed it to change, Judgement in my hand. Both of the glowed faintly before a flash blinded both of us, but I dimly felt Judgement change in my hands. The light faded and about a quarter of the Adamantite block was gone, and Judgement had also changed. The dark grey of the blade was now a bright crimson and the shaft of the blade has vine-like crimson designs on it but it mostly remained black.

I nodded approvingly and pushed the trigger in, transforming it into sniper form flawlessly. The barrel of the sniper also had vine-like designs on it, as did the main body of the gun while the stock, scope and magazine remained black. I nodded again, aiming at the far wall and firing off a regular .338 round, penetrating the wall with a little bit more kick than normal.

''How is it?'' Ruby asked eagerly, staring at Judgement like it was a cookie.

''More lightweight'' I said as I inspected the weapon ''The lighter weight means that we could increase our speed from using the recoil, though firing rounds while not moving means there is increased recoil. I'm also willing to bet that its cutting power is increased''.

Ruby smiled and, with only a slight amount of hesitance, handed me Crescent Rose. I smiled at her and nodded, closing my eyes and placing my hand back on the Adamantite. I sent a pulse of Aura through both, analysing the layout of both of them even though I had already seen the blueprints for Crescent Rose to ensure it would work. In a flash of blinding light Crescent Rose changed, not visibly by much but the metal did, the already red metal becoming a bright crimson and the grey metal becoming red.

I presented it to Ruby and she gently took it, a surprised look coming over her face ''Its light''.

I chuckled, amused ''Well that is one of the main benefits of Adamantite, isn't it?''.

She giggled, an embarrassed flush coming to her face ''Hehe... yeah''.

She was Crescent Rose around, slashing into the ground by accident and cleanly carving through it, making her grin in excitement. I chuckled at her reaction as she got a feel for her weapon, pleased with how it still worked identical to the original, the only real difference being the colour and metal. I looked at the cube, which was one-third remaining, and the other twenty-nine remaining blocks. Since I didn't know the entire composition of the Adamantite I intend to sent a pulse of Aura through the cubes as to gradually memorise it until I could copy it from memory. However...

''I think...'' I drawled ''...we made too many blocks''.

My scroll beeped and I pulled it out, looking at it as the message tab popped up. Ruby and I were on an airship towards Vale at my suggestion, both of us intent on buying some Dust as it was one of the few things I could not recreate no matter how hard I tried. That, and we could stop at the weapons store on the way back for ideas, and for Ruby to entertain herself.

It was from Yang; Where are you guys!? I cant find you two ANYWHERE!

Me: In Vale, be back at some point today

I closed my scroll down and pocketed it again as the airship lurched to a stop, the woman on the intercom alerting us to our stop. Ruby led me out as we walked, with me holding our list of things to buy.

''Here'' I nudged Ruby, handing her a total of 200 Lien ''Lets go to Lyrics' store first, if you want''.

''Mm!'' She beamed, skipping beside me as we went. We found the store quickly, since it was only a dozen or so streets away. It was much like other buildings, cubical and made from granite. The windows were relatively small, but upon entering it made it moot as the walls were lined with weapons of various kinds, the shelves in the middle of the rooms having smaller weapons or parts on displays, along with books and magazines. Despite being a relatively new shop it was well designed, with a light wooded floor and dark oak walls, sunlight streaming in from a large overhead window. It was quite beautiful for a new store.

Meanwhile, Ruby was in visible ecstasy as she all but dashed around the room, checking all the weapons out with unrivalled glee as she did so. I chuckled in amusement and caught the shopkeepers eye, a fairly well-built man with a goatee and aged face. He smiled mirthfully at Ruby's actions before attending to other things, apparently either having this happen often or so amused by it he let it slide.

Five minutes later Ruby had calmed down enough to not move about the store like a mouse running for its life, inspecting weapon parts with a critical eye as she held a semi-serious, semi-gleeful expression. I followed behind her as she showed me all the interesting weapon parts and weapons that caught her eye, and I wouldn't deny that many of them were indeed unique, most giving me plenty of inspiration to work with. In the end Ruby bought a half a dozen different weapon parts that she would either throw together to make a weapon she wouldn't use or just save them for later.

We exited the store, the bell making a chime as we did so, and walked towards the nearest Dust Store, which would be 'Dust and Rain'. It was nigh identical to 'Dust till Dawn' only that the layout was different and the person behind the counter was a middle aged woman. She smiled politely and silently let us browse, to which I did as I looked at our list; 30 Uncut Fire Dust Crystals, 30 Uncut Wind Crystals. The store had surprisingly cheap prices, totalling only to 150 Lien - which while a bit expensive to regular citizens, to me it wasn't too expensive. Not counting in the fact I could create infinite money, that is.

With a promise to return at a later date I walked out of the store, Ruby behind me as she held onto the bags of weapon parts while I carried the Dust. We almost missed the airship back, getting on just in time before it left. We manoeuvred around the crowd and discreetly avoided being spotted by Yang and Blake, so that our hideout would remain secret. As we reached the forest we allowed ourselves to relax, walking towards where we left the rope.

''So, what are we gonna do with the Dust?'' Ruby asked innocently, breaking me from my musings.

''You'll see'' I smiled teasingly, brushing a stray strange of hair out of my eyes.

''Please~'' She whined, pouting cutely in a way that made me chuckle.

''A type of sword'' I eluded slyly.

''And?'' She persisted.

I sighed but smiled ''A collection of swords, controlled through Telekinesis''.

She blinked ''You could do that?''.

I shrugged ''Never hurts to try''.

''Certain things do''.

''Never took you for a pervert'' I teased. She gave me a confused look before her face lit up like a lantern, steam nearly bursting out of her ears. I chuckled as we made our way to the rope, sliding down it with ease even though we carried our bags. When we entered the cave I approached small slab of rock that naturally appeared here before I 'renovated' the place. I put my bag down and took out the two cases of Dust, holding thirty in each. I left Ruby to her own devices as I approached a full block of Adamantite, letting my soul shard flow into it.

I had it thought out in my head; it took the form of a turtle shell, only that the flat side would attach to my back via magnetics and straps. Inside the turtle shell it would produce the swords to a nigh unlimited degree, feeding on a shard each to produce it, and upon returning to my pack the shard would return to me unless the sword was destroyed, but considering it was made from Adamantite it would be difficult to do so.

The swords would be crimson, of course that was a given though. The swords would be just under four feet long, with three downward spikes on each side of the blade, giving it the appearance of teeth, the first one at the top of the blade, the second near the middle and the last at the end of the blade and acting partly as a guard. The trick of it would be having a Fire Dust Crystal inside the handle, and at my command the pommel would open up and the Fire Dust would eject as a last-resort move. The wind crystals would also be in the 'fuller' of the blade, which at my command would spin and hopefully create a whirlwind of some kind.

So I resorted to figure out a way to do so, focusing intently.

''Ugh...'' Ruby groaned as she and Eien entered the room, arms around the others neck as they lugged themselves into the evening-lit room, immediately catching our attention.

''Where were you guys?!'' Yang exclaimed as she stomped over to them, relenting a bit when she saw their tired states ''And what the hell did you two do? Fight a Nevermore with your bare hands?''.

''In... the forge'' Eien said tiredly as Ruby helped him to his bed, but both ended up falling on his bed sluggishly, a few scant seconds later they were asleep in the others arms. Yang looked at me and grinned mischievously before pulling out her scroll, taking a photo of the sleeping pair as teasing material.

''I think we should go to dinner without them'' I suggested and Yang sighed, nodding while Weiss agreed wholeheartedly, having waiting for their return for half an hour. We filed out of the room, casting one last glance at the pair, before leaving the room for dinner.

Eien opened his eyes and blinked at his surroundings. He felt reinvigorated, meaning that it more than likely he had been sleeping for several hours. However his surroundings were not that of the unisex bedroom that I shared with the four other girls, rather he was in a place oddly familiar, in a strange mix of uncertainty and confusion.

The world was white. Literally, everything was white as if I was inside a piece of paper, nothing existing anywhere. However if you were to turn around you would see the direct opposite, black. It was not dark but it was dark as well, but it was mainly just black. If one were to stand sideways they would see both white and black, meeting beneath their feet and blurring together into a grey area that stretched a few metres wide. He had been here before, on those admittedly rare occasions when he met death in the face, bleeding out or having his lung punctured, only to walk into the white and become miraculously healed.

Logically, that meant the darkness would lead to death, if one was using a Yin-Yang or Life-Death concept. And to my perception that is what it was; White was life, Black was death and the grey in between was a form of purgatory. Three times he had been here, the first two times he didn't hesitate to go into the light, the third he had gotten curious and was tempted to step into the darkness, but his instincts screamed at him not to, so he obeyed and went into the light.

''Interesting to see you here again, Eien Haizen''.

I jumped at the sound of the voice, gravely and aged but most importantly not supposed to be here. I spun on my heel to be greeted by a man - I presumed so at least - wearing a tattered black robes that concealed his whole form including his face, his hands were concealed behind black leather gloves. In his hand was a large, classic 'Reaper' scythe, standing tall and having a decayed look. The man peered at me from under his hood, but no eyes were seen.

''And who might you be?'' I asked coolly from behind my own hood and bandana.

He chuckled, a hollow, echoing tone ''Does the appearance not give it away, child?''.

Throwing a guess into the wind, I asked ''Death? Grim Reaper?''.

''The former, the latter is a fairy tale you humans birthed for your beliefs'' 'Death' said, grumbling a little.

''I see'' I conceded with a nod ''So, why would Death himself be here?''.

''Ah, now isn't that the million Lien question?'' He chuckled again, walking up to me and stopping a scant few feet from me ''Tell me why you think I am here, child''.

I raised an eyebrow at the continued demoralising title, but answered swiftly ''I am clearly not unwell, tired yes, but not sick with any affliction that I am aware of. Perhaps you were paying a visit to someone who has been here more than a couple times?''.

''An astute observation'' He nodded ''If only the rest of your kind could be as open-minded''.

''Mm, it certainly would solve many problems'' I agreed ''So, what is the point of your visit, I sincerely doubt you'd come to pay me a visit for such an... unimportant reason as idle conversing''.

He nodded ''Indeed, I come with a purpose... and to assist you in your future endeavours to an extent''.

I raised an eyebrow ''Is it worthwhile to use such time on me? Would it not be better to spend it on someone more worthy?''.

He barked out a laugh ''Humble, you are. As you have no doubt known from the recent information you have acquired, you are indeed special amongst your fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses; not only are you a skilled warrior with a power Semblance, but you also are a member of the Haizen family, and with time you could become one of Remnants greatest warriors no doubt, alongside your companion Ruby Rose''.

I blinked then ''I understand Ruby is a prodigy, but does she possess the potential to become one of the best? I am by no means undermining her, but the best of the best is a pretty high podium if you ask me''.

He nodded ''The Rose family is quite similar to the Haizen family, in that Grimm naturally fear them. They are warriors at heart, and Grimm fear that, Deathstalkers and Nevermore have been known to flee before the might of these titans, and you and Miss Rose may very well become those titans''.

''Interesting, I will have to look that up''.

''The key is the eyes, child, remember that'' Death said wisely, pointing inside his own hood to the unseen eyes ''But onto the other reason why am here, about your heritage''.

I perked up and he continued ''Dunkelheit goes beyond mere manipulation of the soul, it also possesses a degree of manifestation. Have you ever ventured through the door, child?''.

''What door?'' I asked and he pointed behind me and I followed his finger, surprised to see a black door with gold accents present a few feet behind me ''Huh. Never saw it before''.

''Because you did not actively seek it out, child'' He chuckled, slowly grating my nerves with the title he has given me. He walked up to the door and swung it open, revealing greyness that he did not hesitate to walk into, and I followed without requiring an order. Once the grey left my vision I was left in a grassy hills area, bumpy hills of green for miles with the occasional tree or patch of flowers. I looked to my right to see Death standing there, also admiring the scenery.

''What is this place?'' I asked the obvious question.

''It has many names, most of which were created by you humans. However I like to call this your soul, as this is the manifestation of your Soul and Aura, creating a world within yourself'' He explained and I blinked ''This is, for all intents and purposes, your own world. You command what can happen here, and if you so wish you can bring people from here into the physical world''.

I frowned, a multitude of thoughts rushing me ''Does that mean that there are others here?''.

''Ah yes, quite a few if you think about it'' He said, grin audible ''After all, once they died to you their souls came here''.

It clicked, rather audibly, in my head ''Ohhhh...''.

''Yes, 'oh' is quite appropriate in this situation'' He chuckled hollowly ''They are, by default, in a comatose state most of the time. It is simple enough to awaken them so they can, for a time, be within your world. Some of them can even wake up on their own, such as Miss Neopolitan''.

He pointed to our left, and sure enough Neo was walking towards them, hesitant but determined. She was at the bottom of a hill and making her way to us, but would take a minute or two.

''Does this mean I can bring people back to life?'' I asked.

He gave me a hard look ''While I will not interfere if you do so, I would advise not messing with the lives of others if you can help it, Eien Haizen, playing god is harder than it seems''.

''I'll keep that in mind'' I nodded, accepting the burden such a power would undoubtedly hold ''Is there anything I should know? About everything?''.

He nodded, giving off a sombre aura ''You have a heavy burden, child, but you must uphold it, for the fate of Remnant relies on you. Gain strength and gain allies, for you cannot do this alone. Even then the time you have to learn is extremely limited, to learn to master your Dunkelheit, Huntsman skills, weaponry that you are so insistent on making - and rightfully so, might I add. To top it all off, you need to learn to utilize my own powers''.

I blinked in surprise ''Use your power?''.

''Yes, like I have said the fate of Remnant rests upon your shoulders, and I will not send you in with mortal powers. It will be difficult, undoubtedly so, but there is no one else who possesses the potential that you do'' He spoke sombrely ''So I give you the powers of death, and it will take much training to be able to use them, let alone access them''.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes behind my hood ''I can see what you mean, its going to be a pain to get all this training done with school going on. Not to mention the White Fang is lurking about, and with Cinder it'll be an even bigger problem''.

''Indeed'' He nodded and peered at Neo, who was now getting closer ''We will meet in the future, likely often, but for now I believe you have a woman to deal with''.

''What should I do?'' I asked.

''She cannot leave here until you have a decent amount of understanding of manifestation, so she will have to become acclimated to living here, until you become skilled enough to manifest her in the physical world for a short period of time'' He stated and I hissed as my hand suddenly burned, a black skull tattoo forming on the back of my right hand ''I will be avalible when you need guidance, but do not rely on me, for I will not always be here to assist you''.

''Of course'' I nodded and he returned the gesture before he disintegrated to ash, blowing into the wind without another word. I turned back to the hill just as Neo came to the top, panting lightly and staring/glaring at me. We stared at each other in a tense silence for what I guessed was nearly ten minutes before I spoke.

''I know you can speak'' I stated to her calmly. She glared again, before speaking herself.

''Where. The Hell. Am I?'' She ground out, her voice really high-pitched.

''Inside my soul, apparently'' I responded dryly, making her blink owlishly at me ''I'm afraid I'm serious, this place is where you'll be stuck for... well a while''.

She glared, something between a pout and a snarl on her face ''Let me out of here''.

''I cant'' I answered simply, catching her attacking fist with surprising ease ''Tell me one thing though, why did you work for Cinder?''.

She seemed taken aback by my sudden and uncalled for questioned, which is what I hoped for. She blinked in confusion before finally answering ''I didn't, I worked for Roman. I followed orders, I got paid''.

I frowned ''So it was for the money?''.

She shrugged, moving from one foot to the other ''Yeah''.

''How much did he pay you?'' I queried innocently, letting her fist go.

She eyed me with curious suspicion ''400 Lien per Dust Shop and 1000 Lien per Dust Shipment, why?''.

''To put it simply, my 'Seele Ernten' - the technique that killed you - absorbed your 'soul' into mine. However unlike when I have used my alternative soul-absorption technique when I was younger, Seele Ernten took your consciousness too'' I explained patiently, a plan already forming ''Your soul and consciousness are more-or-less permanently within mine, and I'm guessing if you were to die here you would just come back again''.

''However I may be able to temporarily manifest you back in the real world for a short period of time, but to do this it will take time and training'' I finished.

She eyed me flatly ''And how does that relate to anything?''.

''Because once I am capable of manifesting you in the real world, I can pay you to do 'things''' I informed ''I can assure you I will pay double of what Torchwick pays for your services, if you agree''.

She shrugged, a sly smile on her face ''Sure... what do you want done?''

''Information'' I smiled at her ''White Fang, Cinder Fall, anything useful and I'll pay you to do so''.

She hummed, cupping my cheek ''And how do you know I won't sell you out?''.

''Because otherwise you'll be stuck in here forever'' I said, ignoring the sensual touching ''So how about it?''.

She laughed lightly ''I get information, you pay me, I do whatever I want for a while and then I come back here? Deal''.

I allowed a smirk to grow behind my bandana ''Alright, I'll get to work on manifesting you as quickly as possible''.

''But for now, I want to know everything you know about Cinder Fall and her allies''.

''Payment?''.

''7000 Lien once I manifest you''.

She grinned ''Make it 10 and we've got a deal''.

I rolled my eyes ''Ten K it is''.

My eyes fluttered open, the ceiling on my dorm room greeting my awakening. The morning sun was pouring through the window and the digital clock I had said 6:00AM, so it was still early. I looked down at the weight on my chest and smiled at the sight of Ruby, snuggled up against my chest and snoring softly. Carefully I snuck out from under her, replacing my spot with a pillow so she didn't notice the difference, and heading to the bathroom while picking up another combat uniform - identical to my current one, just as a back-up when my first was in need of repairs or a wash.

One quick shower and a change of clothes later, I left the bathroom and headed to the training hall, once again leaving a note for my team telling them where I was - though I did stop in for an early breakfast. The training hall was, as to be expected, completely empty at this time of the day. I moved over to the corner of the room and sat down, falling into a meditating position with my mothers journal in front of me. Control my emotions...

An image of Cinder flashed through my mind and I tensed, gripping my kneecaps as I fought down the hate that came with even looking at her face. While I rarely had felt it, I was never good at controlling my anger, since I didn't even realise it was anger until the third time I felt it. I rarely got angry, and therefore lacked the experience to suppress it most of the time. So to suppress this hate... would be harder than originally assumed.

So began the long and tedious task of trying to reign in my emotions, my hate, but it was like pushing against a body of water. Ever time I would picture Cinder, suppress the hatred her very presence invoked, but the only thing that really got me to stop was when the pain from my kneecaps struck me, bruising under my death grip. From my wristwatch it showed only an hour had passed, and I had made pretty much ZERO progress. It annoyed me, but at the same time I guess it was to be expected if the power that mastering Dunkelheit was to be believed.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Everything rested on me becoming strong enough apparently, and that was daunting. I was only capable of matching Cinder when I initially activated my Dunkelheit, which was on par with what my Dunkelheit would be if I had an advanced control over it. The way Death worded it, it sounded like someone was above Cinder, and that the Queen was not the actual queen. If this was true, then it was possible I would need more strength that even Dunkelheit could provide, probably from Death's power and my own skillset I've had and continue to develop.

'But how do I manifest Neo then?' I pondered solemnly 'Death said it had something to do with my Dunkelheit, but how can I manifest her if I can't even activate my Dunkelheit...'.

So caught up in my thoughts I didn't realise someone had entered the training hall and approached me until they politely tapped my shoulder, making me blink before looking up at a Rabbit Faunus with long brown hair and eyes.

''Are you okay?'' She asked, voice naturally soft.

I blinked in confusion ''Hm? Yes, I'm... fine. Why do you ask?''.

''You just seemed um... a little sad'' She said hesitantly, shyly.

''Just stressed out, its nothing'' I smiled at the shy Faunus ''I'm Eien, you?''.

''Velvet Scarlatina'' She smiled shyly, before apparently wanting to get back on topic ''Do you um... want to talk about it...?''.

I smiled and waved a hand dismissively ''No its fine, I don't want to be a burden''.

''No, its fine'' She insisted and I sighed, deciding it would probably wouldn't hurt. I had heard that helps.

''O-Oh... I see'' Velvet said as I finished telling my tale, albeit by replacing some things with others, making it seem like a family thing ''That's... harsh''.

''Mm'' I nodded sombrely, only ten minutes having passed ''And that's why I have to somehow figure out how to use all of my abilities, its the only way... but I don't know how''.

''Well you said that you have to control your emotions right?'' She asked and I nodded, curious ''Well, why not focus on something that makes you happy while thinking of Cinder?''.

I give her a confused look ''How will that help?''.

''Well if you think of something nice, and think of something you dislike, then maybe it would make you feel neutral about it?'' She offered hesitantly. I blinked in mild surprise at the suggestion before smiling at the Faunus teen in front of me.

''Thanks, I'll try that'' I smiled at her. She gained a light blush on her cheeks and smiling back hesitantly, giving her goodbye as she made her way over to another section of the training hall, sparring against another person who had entered, apparently a friend from how casually they talked.

Something that made me happy...?

His team made him happy, their mere presence often brought him to smile, regardless of his thoughts behind said smile. Sometimes he would do it because he knew staring blank-faced at someone wasn't the most appropriate expression, other times because he found something funny or even because you just had to smile, whether it was amusing or heart-warming.

Now mixing that with the pure hatred he held for Cinder, for gravely wounding Ruby and her general evilness, was... odd. It was like drinking something that was hot but was gone quickly, like the lick of a flame burning your skin before leaving: powerful, but quick. The two feelings mixed oddly, like opposing colours... like... purple and blue. I paused. My eyes were blue, light blue but still blue, and my eyes changed to purple when Dunkelheit was activated. From the video I acted more... brutal, feral, vicious... the direct opposite of my normal fighting style.

Dunkelheit, as the name 'Darkness' suggests, is born from the darkness of the human heart

Was that literal? Did it quite literally mean that it was the opposite of what the person would consider the norm? I would admit that I wasn't entirely comfortable about my brutal display, but I could understand the need for it, as it was required. Brutality was needed, otherwise it wouldn't exist in the first place, but that didn't mean brutality would be a primary, it would be a secondary, for when it was required.

Abruptly everything around me shifted, becoming sharper, narrower, cleaner. I could smell Velvet and the other person from across the hall, I could dimly hear their conversation, everything was so clear. I blinked slowly, accustoming myself to the abrupt changes as my mind whirled as it tried to figure out what the hell just happened. He grabbed a bullet from inside his trench coat and transformed it into a mirror, the process becoming so practiced it was like breathing. To my surprise my sclera were the royal purple from before.

Then, just like that, the colour drained from them as if someone pulled the plug, the colour falling down but not leaving the sclera section of my eye, replaced by my natural cool blue. I blinked several times at the mirror, locked in a daze of what the fuck just happened. Eventually, after several minutes of a miniature existential crisis, I reigned in my unusually clustered emotions and thoughts and focused them again, bringing the two conflicting emotions back and pushing them to merge, but not forcing them lest he do some unforeseen damage.

Once again his senses heightened, and he briefly wondered if this was what it was like to be a Faunus. Deciding to experiment, he forcibly removed the two feelings from his mind, suppressing all forms of emotions as he retained his blank face. He grabbed the mirror off the floor just in time to see his eyes, sure enough the purple eyes faded like before, draining like water.

I clicked my tongue, so I had to keep it in mind? It shouldn't be too hard, especially since he was an expert at multitasking - if he did say so himself. I brought the two emotions back together again, which was harder considering I cleared my mind, and I watched as the royal purple ran like water down my sclera, painting it purple and hiding my cool blue. I got up and approached a metallic training dummy, cocking my fist back before punching it with the intention of testing my enhanced strength. I was not disappointed to see that, with Dunkelheit active, I was capable of smashing its face in, caving it in.

I nodded, my strength was certainly increased. Just then my ears picked up on the door opening, and I blink in mild confusion at the appearance of Weiss, dressed in her combat gear and looking equally surprised to see me here. She must've missed my note.

''Morning'' I smiled, an expression becoming more-or-less permanent for me.

''Good Morning, Eien'' She greeted in her usual polite, if not friendly manner. She inspected the dummy, then my hand, then raised an eyebrow ''You punched it?''.

''Yep'' I drawled in amusement, idly realising she couldn't see my eyes behind my hood. Noting this, I pulled my hood back and allowed her to see the difference in colour, her breath hitched momentarily, but she relaxed slightly a moment later, but remained tense.

''Dunkelheit'' I drawled ''That's apparently what this is. Its a family heritage thing, started centuries if not a millennia ago by a founding father of who first utilized Dust. Apparently this form of Dunkelheit compared to the one I used against Cinder is vastly weaker, as the initial usage of Dunkelheit is far stronger than the follow-up uses''.

Weiss sucked this information up like a sponge ''I see... so 'Dunkelheit' increases your strength and speed?''.

I smirked behind the bandana, handing her my mothers journal with care. Weiss seemed to notice how gently I held the old book and took it with equal care, nimble fingers turning the pages as she scanned through them. At first she looked a mix of interested and confused, then surprised, then immensely awed. I waited patiently until she handed it back to me, awed and interested.

''That's... incredible'' She said quietly and I chuckled, nodding.

''Mm... and I have to learn it as quickly as possible'' I sighed, thoughts abruptly taking a bit of a sombre turn before Weiss's reply drew me back.

''Why? We've got four years here at Beacon, you've got plenty of time...'' She trailed off, eyes widened a fraction as she came to a conclusion ''Oh... its about Cinder... isn't it?''.

I nodding, scowling faintly ''Mm. I was barely able to match her without it, and she wasn't going all out. Only after my Dunkelheit was unlocked did I manage to overpower her, and even then I didn't get a chance to finish her''.

Weiss frowned, shifting from one foot to the other ''Why are you so intent on... killing her?''.

''She hurt Ruby, nearly killed her'' I answered smoothly ''Anybody who intentionally hurts you guys becomes my enemy, and any who try to kill you and the rest of our friends will fall to Judgement''.

Her cheeks gained the lightest of blushes on her cheeks as she stumbled over her words ''Isn't t-that a little overkill?''.

''Ain't no kill like overkill'' I shrugged, an amused smile on my face ''By the way, I wanted your opinion on something''.

She blinked ''Hm?''.

I turned the pages in my mothers journal, far beyond the parts where she read and showed her a series of pages. Unlike most of the other abilities and techniques in the books, these ones seemed similar to Weiss in that they were Sigil's, similar to Weiss's Glyphs but slightly different in that they looked more complex judging from appearance. I showed the page to her and she perked up, interested as we both looked at them.

''You think you can help me with this, since you use something similar?'' I asked.

She smiled ''Of course''.

''Make the lines thinner''.

''...okay''.

''Widen your stance slightly''.

''...uh-huh''.

''...And that should be it'' Weiss finished with a nod, observing the yellow-ish in front of me, floating a foot away from my outstretched palms. The Sigil was composed of a circle with a multi-layered symbol inside of it, the symbol combination apparently leading to different effects. Outside of this circle was a ring, and between the ring and the circle itself were dozens of ancient characters. It had taken a good hour for both of them to understand the characters, as they were in an ancient language known as Japanese, which meant he was now dealing with two ancient languages. Perfect...

Regardless he wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near as he was now without her help, and it only took three hours! It showed that the heiress, even when tackling an ancient language, was adept at teaching and assisting in a similar manner, which he was greatly appreciative of.

''Insho: Raitoningu'' I said evenly. The Sigil floating in front of me, lazily spinning, glowed before a large bolt of yellow lightning shot out. It tore through the trees of the emerald forest, charring them and it went for almost a hundred metres before it gave out. I cut off the energy supply, stopping the drain on my Aura, and the Sigil collapsed into ash.

''Damn...'' I whistled lowly, looking at the destruction. He was down to around three quarters of his full Aura, and considering it seemed to be growing recently (Which he guessed was because of his new-found powers, but one could never be sure) it was a fair bit.

''From what it says here, there are an immensely large amount of combinations with these Sigils'' Weiss said, her lips contorting into a small pout that rivalled Ruby's.

''Jealous?'' I chuckled and she pouted more, and I couldn't stop the grin coming to my face. Looks like Ruby isn't the only one who could be cute when she wanted to.

''I am not'' She huffed. I smiled and pulled the heiress into a hug, pleased by our progress and feeling a little teasing wouldn't go misplaced.

She immediately turned as red as Ruby's cloak ''W-What are you doing you dunce?!''.

''Giving you a hug'' I chuckled and after a moment she relaxed slightly, an annoyed look on her face.

''Dunce'' She mumbled again under her breath, blush very much prominent and a shy smile on her face.

''But a loveable dunce'' I joked with a chuckle and she laughed, nodding absentmindedly. I noted the fact that she didn't break out of the embrace immediately, if anything she lent into it and closed her eyes, relaxing. As such I just let it stay like that, relaxing in the others presence. She was cold, not enough to warrant concern about her health but more of a natural thing, like how Ice Dust are naturally cold, while I was slightly warmer but chilly, like an Autumn wind. We must've stayed like that for at least a few minutes before I let her go, and she subtly seemed reluctant, but didn't make a show of it.

''You wanna continue?'' I offered with a smile.

''Mm, lets''.

''Eien, what are you doing?''.

''Meditating''.

''That is not how one meditates''.

''I find it interesting''.

''You find everything interesting''.

''Well this is extra interesting''.

''You say that about everything as well''.

''No I don't''.

''Yes, yes you do''.

''Traitor''.

That was the conversation that predated his current situation. The rest of his team had come back after heading to Vale with JNPR, to find me on the ceiling in a simple cross-legged position. I had found out in my mothers journal that one of the best ways of training both my Aura and Dunkelheit in tandem was to use my Dunkelheit to force myself to remain on the ceiling by channelling my Aura into my legs, then to remain there for as long as possible.

Just passed the four hour mark.

''Get down you dunce'' Weiss scoffed, but amusement shined in her eyes. You spend a day with Weiss, and you find her more friendly than appearance suggests.

''But I just passed the four hour mark'' I mock-whined, earning a giggle from Ruby.

''Why are you up there?'' Blake asked quietly.

''Because it's apparently the best way for me to train''.

''Apparently?''.

I shrugged ''The book said so, and the book hasn't lied so far''.

''What book?'' Yang said curiously and I pointed over to the book, straining my arm against gravity.

''Ozpin gave it to me, it was my mothers journal'' I say and the sisters immediately sobered up ''It has all the knowledge I need when it comes to learning Dunkelheit, and possibly other little things''.

''You keep saying that, Dunkelheit'' Blake said, momentarily struggling with the foreign word.

''Remember how my eyes turned purple during my fight against Cinder and her allies?'' I asked, getting nods from them ''That was Dunkelheit. The first time it is unlocked its incredibly powerful, but only the first time. To attain that level of strength once more I must train, and what I will be doing for most of my time now''.

''Okay?'' Yang said uncertainly, having scanned through the book. She looked impressed, but also a 'I cant be bothered to read' look. Blake filled her spot on my bed, taking the journal and reading through it with gentle ease. Several minutes of silence later, I spoke.

''You guys ever heard of Adamantite?'' I asked, and WBY snapped their heads to me, probably getting whiplash ''I'll take that as a yes?''.

They nodded and I smiled at them, mischievous ''Any of you want your weapons re-forged with Adamantite?''.

They all blinked owlishly, then looked at Ruby, who grinned awkwardly and hefted Crescent Rose up, and they finally noticed that it was more red than normal. They came to the conclusion quickly, and nodding viciously.

''And~ here we are'' Ruby grinned, spreading her arms out dramatically as she showed Blake, Weiss and Yang the underground cave. They looked around the room, eyes widening at the sight of 29 large blocks of legendary metal, before turning their gazes on me.

''How?'' They asked in unison, not accusing but merely curious.

''When me and Ruby woke up in the tunnels she pointed out a large cluster of red rock, and it turned out to be Adamantite. A week later we went back there, without your permission, and brought it back in the dead of night here'' I replied simply ''We kept it a secret because, well, its obvious this sort of thing should not and will not be public''.

''Why? This could help so many people-'' Blake started to say, before Weiss cut in.

''Its clear as to why, because if someone like Cardin got their hands on it then it'd be hell. That's not even mentioning it could inspire jealousy amongst fellow students, as I doubt Eien could continuously provide Adamantite to each new year of students, especially if students were to sell the Adamantite to criminal scum like with the White Fang or their associates''.

I saw Blake tense up behind the Heiress, but one pointed look from me made her resist the urge to snap back at the heiress. I didn't want a divide in my team, I would speak to them later, both of them.

''So...'' Yang drawled ''How are you going to re-forge our weapons?''.

''Easy, I hold your weapon in one hand while I hold the other to the Adamantite, then transform the weapon into Adamantite. The key differences are that its generally lighter weight and allows for better momentum when you fire shells, but also makes the recoil stronger - it also shown that its incredibly durable and sharp''.

''If your willing'' Yang shrugged, chucking Ember Celica at me and I caught the duel gauntlets with ease. Due to the fact it was two separate items, I let my elbow touch the rock as I willed the gauntlets to transform, contorting the metal into the legendary Adamantite. In a flash of blinding white it happened, allowing my eyes to adjust to the change of light that not even eyelids could protect from, the yellow metal having turned a bright crimson, the only other colour being the black lines already present.

I handed the dual pair back to Yang, who took them and gained a slightly surprised look on her face as she judged the weight, juggling them about. Seeing that Yang was satisfied for the time being I turned to Blake, since she was closest and Weiss was too busy being entranced by the crimson metal. I gave her a smile and she hesitantly gave over Gambol Shroud, and I took it delicately as I once again pressed my elbow against the cold metal, since I was holding both the sheathe and the weapon itself. The flash of light burned through my eyelids, but when I reopened them I was not disappointed with the now-crimson Gambol Shroud.

I handed it back to Blake, quietly stating with a smile ''You should probably repaint them, if you want them to be other than crimson''.

She nodded, and took up some empty space as she got adjusted to the new loss of weight. I approached Weiss and smiled at the heiress, who gave slightly shy smile back. At my gentle gesture she handed over Myrtenaster to me. I took it in one hand while I held my palm against the half empty block of Adamantite, once again being engulfed in a flash before Myrtenaster was transformed into a crimson version of itself, the entirety of the blade becoming crimson. I handed the blade back to Weiss and she graced me with a smile, nodding appreciatively.

I looked back at the Adamantite, noting there was still twenty-seven.

I hummed quietly to myself... what could I use them for? While I didn't want to waste the Adamantite, I didn't want to have a stockpile of it either; people could come and steal it. He could effectively recreate it from something as small as a pebble, but because of the sheer density and nature of the Adamantite it would cost a good chunk of his Semblance and Aura to create just one block. It was easier when I already had a block at hand, because it was more of copy-and-paste than create-from-nothing.

Perhaps I should try and make my telekinesis swords again. With my additional powers granted by Dunkelheit, I might be able to do it. And by might, I mean I won't stop until my team drags me away.

Several hours later, that was exactly what happened.

A/N: So how'd you like the chapter? A little bit o' innocent fluff with Weiss for all those people who voted for Weiss. Ruby is currently in the lead and Blake is coming up third while Yang has like nobody voting for her.

Current Pairing Poll:

Ruby - 17

Weiss - 9

Blake - 4

Yang - 1

-OOO-

Eien's Dunkelheit Powers Translation:

Seele Ernten = Soul Reap (German)

Seele Ernten, Auseinander = Soul Reap, Asunder (German)

Dunkelheit = Darkness (German)

Insho: Raitoningu = Sigil: Lightning (Japanese)

(Note: Sigil-based attacks will be in Japanese, while most other Dunkelheit abilities will be in German).