Ruby Rose

Fidgeting with her hands, Ruby Rose was currently riding up an elevator with her team. The entire way up, she couldn't help but feel nervous. They had been called up to Ozpins office and weren't told why. Ruby couldn't shake the feeling that they had done something wrong. Reaching the top floor, all four members of Team RWBY stepped out. Sitting at his desk drinking from his mug was Headmaster Ozpin.

"Team RWBY. It's good to sell all of you. How are you four getting along?" Walking up to Ozpin's desk, Yang decided to take the lead.

"So uh, what did we do?" She asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"There's no need to worry. None of you are in any trouble." Upon hearing this, the members of Team RWBY relaxed. "In fact, I called the four of you up here for a very important mission." This caused Ruby to perk up.

"Did you say a mission!? An important one too!?" All of the worry that she once held not only vanished, but it was as if it never existed in the first place. "Are we defending a village? Rescuing some people?" Before she could start rapid firing anymore question, Yang managed to wrangler her back in.

"Whoa Ruby. If you don't let Ozpin speak, we'll never find out." Amused at the girls excitement, Ozpin smiled. He felt bad that what he had to say would bring the mood down.

"No, it's nothing quite like that. By chance, have any of you seen the news lately?" The news? Was our mission going to take place in Vale?, Ruby thought. While the other members of Team RWBY were still thinking, Weiss spoke up.

"Are you talking about the deaths of Serafanda Hart and Danial Lattke?" Not surprised that Weiss was the one to know, Ozpin continued. Putting his mug down, he put his hands together and slightly leaned forward.

"As you may have heard, the authorities haven't been able to figure out who their killers are. At least… that's what they're telling the media." Leaning back into his seat, Ozpin could see the confused looks on the girls faces. "Truthfully, they have a suspect in mind. But until they bring him into custody, they won't be able to confirm their suspensions." Weiss let out a huff of annoyance.

"So you want us to hunt down their killer, is that it? I thought this was an important mission. The members of Team Shade are scum. In my opinion, they got what was coming to them." Feeling his smile slip, Ozpin adjusted his glasses.

"Whatever you wish to think about the members of Team Shade, justice must still prevail. Wouldn't you agree, Miss. Schnee?" Feeling embarrassed, Weiss looked away from Ozpin. "It wouldn't look good if we were to allow someone to get away with murder simply because he killed someone you didn't like." Growing impatient, Ruby wanted to know who they would be hunting down. Since Weiss had derailed things, Ruby decided to bring the discussion back to what was important.

"Who's our target? The one who… killed the members of Team Shade?" Ruby suddenly felt her blood run cold. The seriousness of the situation just now dawning on her. Before Ozpin answered Ruby's question, he thought on how best to answer her.

"The one you'll be hunting…" Pausing mid speech, Ozpin took a sip of his hot chocolate. "…Is Umbra Hart. The son of Hector and Serafanda Hart." Shocked at the revelation, Ruby could hardly believe what she had heard.

"What!? That can't be right, who would kill their own mother?" Ozpin saw Ruby's naivety as both a blessing and a curse. While it allowed the girl to more easily follow the path of righteousness, it also had the tendency of blinding her to the harsh realities of the world.

"I'm afraid that it's true. At the very least, Umbra is responsible for his mothers death. He was the last person seen on camera entering and leaving her hospital room before she was found dead." The whole situation was a mess. One that Ozpin felt partially responsible for. Figuring it was about time to wrap up, Ozpin finally decided to give Team RWBY their mission. "Seeing as how Umbra is a person of interest, your mission will be a simple capture and retrieval. I want the four of you to bring Umbra back to Beacon so that I may question him before the authorities. Just because you have the advantage in numbers doesn't mean you should let your guard down. Umbra is to be considered extremely dangerous. It is important that you exercise extreme caution at all times. Am I understood?" The members of Team RWBY all nodded their heads. "Good. Now, you should all get ready. A Bullhead will be ready for take off any minute now. Good luck Team Ruby."

After changing into their Huntress attire and gearing up, Team RWBY set off. The Bullhead took them to a nearby village that Ozpin believed Umbra was heading in the direction of. When they arrived, they decided to split up and question the people in the village. Each member of Team RWBY had a picture of Umbra on their scrolls that they would be able to pull up anytime they needed to ask questions.

Spotting a tall building, Ruby decided to begin her search there. Upon entering the building Ruby quickly realized that it was a bar. The people inside seemed to be celebrating. Walking up to the bartender, Ruby showed the older man the picture of Umbra.

"Excuse me, have you seen someone that looks like this?" After looking at the picture, the mans face almost seemed to light up.

"Ha! You're lookin' for that kid? Are you his friends or somethin'?" Ruby wasn't so sure how she felt about being called Umbra's friend. Whatever that feeling was, it wasn't good. Someone who could do such terrible things was no friend of hers.

"Uh… No. You see, me and my team are kinda looking for him. We're trying to bring him back to Beacon. So if you know where he is, it would mean a lot if you told me." Laughing, the bartender crossed his arms.

"What would you know? That little punk was half telling the truth. He said he wasn't a Huntsman, so I guess in a way, he was right. He's still in training!" Shaking his head, the bartender kept a smile on his face. "He should have a scroll of his own, right? Why don't you give him a ring on yours? You'd probably have an easier time findin' him that way." Ruby felt as though her and the bartender were talking about two completely different people. From the way he spoke of Umbra, it was like he was talking about a hero. Someone that had saved the village from some kind of danger. But that couldn't possibly be right. A cold-hearted killer wouldn't go out of his way to save someone. Especially for someone he didn't know. Something told Ruby that if she tried to tell the bartender what Umbra was really like, he wouldn't believe. He'd get upset, and then he wouldn't tell her what she needed to know.

"Well, you see, uh…" Panicking, Ruby struggled to come up with something. Then, just as she was about to throw in the towel, Ruby managed to cook up something good. "Something happened to his scroll. They haven't been able to contact him for awhile now, and he tends to get lost a lot. So they sent me and my team to go and look for him." Laughing awkwardly, Ruby rubbed the back of her head. Part of her felt bad for lying, but she needed to know where Umbra had went. Hitting the counter, the bartender laughed even louder.

"Is that so! The kids got more pride than sense I take it!?" Relieved that her lie had worked, Ruby relaxed. "If that's the case, he left not that long ago. He never said where he was going, but it was somewhere north. If you're quick, you'll probably bump into him in no time." Thanking the man for his help, Ruby went to gather her team. Before she made it far, the bartender called out to her. "When you see that half truther, let him know that he's welcome back anytime!"

Leaving the bar, Ruby used her Semblance to quickly let the others know to regroup at the north gate. Once everyone was present, she had told them what she learned.

"That scoundrel!" Weiss, who had been looking less then pleased, finally voiced her annoyance. "He was this whole village fooled! I was also told that he saved their village! Whenever I tried to tell someone that he was a dangerous, no good murderer, they stopped talking to me!" Nodding her head, Blake interjected.

"It would seem we were all told the same thing. Are we sure we have the right guy?" Shrugging, Yang shook her head.

"Who knows? Maybe Umbra has a secret good twin. That, or he's had a change of Hart. Eh? Get it?" Ruby groaned at her sisters terrible joke. Weiss also did not like her teammates joke.

"Now isn't the time to be joking around Yang. Umbra is dangerous, remember? If we're going to succeed, we need to remain focused." Ruby could tell that her partner was starting to get snippy. She knew it was most likely due to their investigation around the village.

"Alright, alright. We're wasting time like this. The bartender guy said Umbra had left the village not that long ago and that he was heading north. If we're fast enough, maybe we can catch him before the day's over." Doing her best to rally the team, Ruby tried to guide them back to what was important. With everyone back on the same page, Team RWBY set off after Umbra. As they were leaving, Ruby felt a cold chill run up her spine.

Umbra Hart

Walking through the forest, Umbra looked up towards the night sky. Up above the stars were starting to get covered by gray clouds. More rain… Umbra wasn't sure how much more rain he could handle. After his encounter at Mt. Glenn he was left soaked to the bone, so he didn't really feel like getting his clothes soaked again. Not only that, but it destroyed the only shred of evidence he had of Team SHDE's wrong doing. Shortly after leaving Mt. Glenn, he had tossed the water damaged paper aside. It was beyond repair, meaning it did nothing but take up space. In the end, his detour to Mt. Glenn proved to be useless. What he had went through, it was all for nothing.

Taking out one of his hands from his pocket, Umbra looked it over. Even after his Aura had returned, the scars from when the White Fang had tortured him had remained. No… Not for nothing, Umbra thought. At the very least, he had finally gained his Semblance, and the pain he had endured for that month had only made him stronger. The fact that he was still alive and breathing was proof enough. Surviving those sick and twisted games had raised Umbra's pain tolerance. Maybe when he was done with Eliza, Umbra would return to Mt. Glenn and give the White Fang there his thanks.

Feeling a droplet of water hit the center of his palm, Umbra closed his hand. Looking back up towards the sky, he felt a few more droplets strike his face. It was starting. Luckily for Umbra, the next village was in sight. Picking up the pace, he entered the village as the rain began to pour.

After some looking around Umbra had managed to find the inn. It served as both an inn and a bar. The bar was on the ground floor while bedrooms were on the 2nd floor. Walking up to the bartender, Umbra pulled some lien that he had stole from the White Fang. He didn't have as much as when he left his home, but it would make due.

"I'd like to rent a room for the night. Will this cover it?" Putting the lien on the counter, Umbra pushed it towards the bartender. He was an older looking guy whose hair looked like it was beginning to gray. Without even counting the lien, he shoved it back towards Umbra.

"I'm sorry son, I'm afraid that you won't be able to afford a night here." Annoyed that the man didn't even bother to count his lien, Umbra pulled out some more.

"As fun as it sounds, I really don't feel like spending the night in the rain. Is this enough?" Shoving the new amount towards the bartender, Umbra's patience was beginning to wane. Lowering his head, the bartender sighed.

"Kid, I'm tellin' ya. You can't afford even a single night here. Not while we're… under new management. A single night goes for 20k." 20 thousand for a single night!? Umbra was left speechless. Putting two and two together though, he knew that this fee wasn't one the bartender had set.

"Is that how it is…" Pocketing his lien, Umbra knew what he had to do. "It sounds like you have a problem. One that I could deal with." As if jolted by electricity, the bartender perked up.

"Really? You would do that?" Keeping his voice low, the bartender struggled to keep his composure. "Are you a Huntsman?" Hearing the word Huntsman made Umbra debate taking back what he said. But, seeing as how he needed an actual nights sleep, he couldn't back down now.

"I'm not a Huntsman. I'm just someone passing through is all. Someone who just wants a nights rest." Straitening up, the bartender smiled. He went from looking like a worn down old man to someone bursting full of confidence.

"Not a Huntsman eh? Well, I suppose what really matters is the fact that you want to help. Right now, we could use all the help we can get." Crossing his arms, the man leaned against the counter. With his hand held against his arm, he pointed to somewhere behind Umbra. "Make sure not to look while we're talkin'. Behind you are a couple of bandits causing a ruckus. You'll easily be able to pick 'em out as they're the only one's havin' any fun. They came to our village a few weeks ago. Ever since, they've been tryin' to bleed us dry. What for, I don't know. If you can get rid of them, we'll be in your debt." Rolling his shoulders, Umbra loosened up.

"Sounds like a deal. Though I have to ask, what exactly are your terms when it comes to getting rid of them? Does it have to end peacefully? Or…" Umbra wasn't some naïve child. He knew that merely throwing the bandits out of the village after humiliating them in front of everyone would have disastrous consequences. If Umbra were ever to return, the village might be nothing but ash. Shaking his head, the bartender gave Umbra the go ahead.

"You do things however you see fit. If it means some… cleanup… is required, I'm sure no one will complain so long as those leeches are gone." Nodding his head, Umbra pushed off the counter.

Instead of heading straight towards the bandits, Umbra chose to circle them. Watching from a distance, he wanted to see what type of weapons they were packing before jumping straight into a battle. There were about 12 of them in total and they all wielded some form of bladed weapon. Their swords looked basic, nothing that could transform. At the same time, you couldn't even tell Ignition or Lunar Eclipse could use Dust.

"The most important thing in a battle Umbra is information. You can't fight your opponent if you don't know your opponent…" Hearing an old lecture from his father, Umbra felt his heart rate spike. Clenching his hands into fists, he walked up to the bandits. One of them noticed Umbra approaching.

"Whaddya want kid? If yer smart, you'll beat it." That got the attention of the others. Now all eyes were on Umbra. If he was being honest, it made him just a little bit queasy.

"Which one of you is the leader? I'd like to have a word with you." A skinny looking guy wearing a trench coat tipped his chair back. He wore a smirk to go with his snake like face.

"That'd be me kid. I've gotta say… You got balls comein' walkin' up on us like this. Since I like a man with guts, I'll listen to what you have to say." The man made Umbra sick. If Umbra didn't know any better, he might've mistaken the man for a Huntsman.

"You see, I'm trying to rent a room for the night. Rest up for the journey ahead. But wouldn't you know it, I can't afford the 20k price tag. A bit high, don't you think?" The bandits erupted in laughter. When it started to die down, the leader spoke up.

"Is that so? Well how about this? Since I like ya, I'll give you a discount. Let's say… two lien off! What a steal! Eh!?" Once more, they all erupted into laughter. Knowing that they were mocking him, Umbra had had enough. Grabbing one of their drinks, he splashed it onto the leader. That shut them up. Slowly standing up, the bandit leader glared at Umbra.

"I have a better proposition. We fight. To the death. If you aren't confident in fighting me yourself, I'll fight all 12 of you at the same time. What do you say to that?" Holding his hand out, one of his underlings handed him his weapons. They were dual, single sided Ax's. "Let's take this outside, I don't want anything getting in our way." Turning his back to the group, Umbra led the way outside.

The rain was still coming down when they exited the inn and bar. As much as Umbra wanted to avoid the rain, he knew it would be good for their fight. It would wash away any blood, making it easier to clean up after their fight.

Getting into position, Umbra unsheathed Ignition. Staring down the 12 bandits, he realized that none of them knew what was about to happen. He almost felt bad for them. Letting them make the first move, Umbra stood with Ignition drawn and ready. Running towards him alone, the bandit leader was trying to take Umbra on by himself.

Using his Semblance, Umbra vanished. Appearing behind the bandit leader, Umbra stabbed him through the back. With no Aura to defend him, he was dead before he hit the ground. Turning to face the 11 remaining bandits, Umbra could see the panic in their eyes. Their leader was killed right in front of them, just like that. Before they could decide on whether to run or avenge their boss, Umbra started to pick them off one by one. They scattered and tried to run, but Umbra's Semblance allowed him to catch up to them with ease. When the last one fell, Umbra sheathed Ignition.

Heading back towards the inn, Umbra hadn't even noticed that the fight, if you could even call it that, had caught the attention of quite a few villagers. Suddenly, as if they finally realized what had just happened, the crowd began to cheer. Annoyed at all the attention, Umbra hurried back to the inn. Standing outside was the bartender.

"Not a Huntsman!? What a load of shit that was! You wiped the floor with 'em!" Reaching into his pocket, Umbra pulled his lien back out. "Keep it. You more than earned your stay." Putting the lien away, Umbra kept his hands in his pockets.

"Anybody can do what I did. You don't need a Hunter to save you." Feeling his patience nearing it's end, Umbra just wanted to get some sleep. "If you don't mind, I just want to sleep in an actual bed tonight. Can I have my room please?" Pulling a key out of his pocket, the man handed it over to Umbra.

"Room one, the first one you see." Walking past the bartender, Umbra made his way towards his room. "Hey kid!" Though he stopped walking, Umbra didn't turn to face the bartender. "Thank you. You really saved our hides. If you hadn't come along, who knows where we'd be…" With his hand on the doorknob, Umbra was about to go in. But something was bothering him.

"Why didn't anyone fight back? Or run? Vale is close by." Why just sit and accept what was happening to them? To Umbra, it just didn't make sense.

"When they first arrived, they killed anyone that was capable of fighting. They only left people like me… As for why nobody ran, well, this is our home. For most, it's all they know." And they say the Grimm are our biggest threat, Umbra thought.

"What are you going to do if the Grimm attack now? If there's no one left to defend the village, then even one Grimm could be bad." For awhile, the bartender remained silent. As if even he didn't know the answer to Umbra's question. Then, he seemed to find his voice.

"First thing tomorrow I'll send out a request to Vale for some protection. Until then, we'll all try to focus on the good. Be happy. The Grimm are attracted to negative emotions after all." That was all Umbra needed to hear. Nodding his head, Umbra made his way to his room. By the time most people would be waking up tomorrow, Umbra would already be gone.

As Umbra walked, he let out a yawn. Up above, the sun was still rising. Long shadows covered most of the trail. Rubbing his eyes, Umbra tried to wake himself up. Now that he thought about it, maybe sleeping in wouldn't have hurt. He was much more tired then he originally thought. That, and he didn't get as much sleep as he was hoping to. Sleeping in a real bed didn't seem to make much of a difference to the quality of rest he got.

Deciding to slow down, Umbra leaned against a tree. While he was taking a break, Umbra took a look at his surroundings. He wanted to be sure that he wasn't being stalked by some Grimm. Just as he was about to leave, Umbra felt something cold press up against his neck. Bingo.

"Don't move a muscle." For awhile now, Umbra had felt like he was being stalked. He knew unless the Grimm was ancient, it wouldn't have had the patience to track him for as long as he was being followed. That meant he was most likely being followed by another person, or in this case, multiple people.

"You know…" Feeling his captor reach for his weapons, Umbra used his Semblance to get out of their grasp. Facing his stalkers, he counted four of them. "You can't sneak up on someone who's lived most of their life in the wilderness." Unsheathing Ignition, he faced the four of them down. Red, white, black, yellow. Rapier, sword, gauntlets. The one in red was wielding a type of weapon he had never seen before. It's curved blade could prove to be problematic in a fight. "I take it you're here to arrest me?" The last thing Umbra wanted to do was take on four Huntresses. Even if they looked young, they could still be strong. It was in Umbra's best interest to find an opening and run. Stepping forward, the one in white only confirmed what he already knew.

"That's right. But before that, the Headmaster of Beacon wants to question you himself." She muttered something under her breath, Umbra wasn't able to pick it up from where he was. The one in black, the one Umbra assumed was holding him hostage, spoke up next.

"There's four of us, and one of you. Save everyone the time and come quietly." Eyeing up the four Huntresses, Umbra debated his odds. With a scoff, he sheathed Ignition. The one in yellow smiled.

"Smart move tough guy. You aren't as dumb as Weiss thought you were." Holding his hands up, he waited for one of them to get close. When the one in black was right where he wanted her, Umbra swept his leg and tripped her. As he was leaving he heard shouting. "Ruby wait!"

Fleeing from the Huntresses with the use of his Semblance, Umbra booked it. He could hear one of them following behind him. That had to be the one they called Ruby. Her Semblance must have been similar to Umbra's in that it gave her some sort of speed boost.

Doing his best to give the red Huntress the slip, Umbra weaved in and out of trees. Once he realized that losing her wouldn't be that easy, Umbra decided it would be best to stand his ground and fight. Quickly turning around Umbra drew Ignition from it's sheathe and slashed downwards. Doing so caused him to clash blades with his pursuer. Baring his teeth, Umbra put all his strength into overpowering his enemy. Winning the clash, he managed to throw Ruby off balance. This forced Ruby to use her Semblance so that she could retreat to a safe distance.

Keeping up the pressure Umbra gave chase. She wanted a fight, so she was going to get one! Like a dying animal with it's back to the wall, Umbra unleashed a vicious assault. Thanks to her speed however, Ruby was able to keep up with what Umbra was dishing out.

While Umbra had forced her onto the defensive, he wasn't happy with just that. Soon enough, Ruby's teammates would arrive. He was confident in his own abilities, but he was also smart enough to know that he'd lose a four on one fight. Not wanting to get outnumbered, Umbra wanted to end this fight as fast as he could.

Using his Semblance to back off, Umbra cooled off. Seeing as how brute force wasn't working, he'd have to try something else.

Not giving him time to think though, Ruby rushed him down. Using both her Semblance and Scythe to speed towards him, it was the Huntresses turn to go on the attack. In order to even keep up with her, Umbra had to use his own Semblance.

Each time their weapons clashed sparks would fly. To those unaware, it probably looked like a mini fireworks display. Due to their speed, most people would find it difficult to keep track of their fight.

Eventually, the fight ended with one of their weapons being knocked out of their hands. Crouched down, Umbra could feel the cold metal of Ruby's weapon pressed up against the back of his neck.

"It's over…" Looking up, Umbra locked eyes with Ruby. For the briefest of moments, her silver eyes flashed green. He saw her. Carmine. Feeling his heart skip a beat, Umbra almost collapsed. Composing himself, Umbra hardened his gaze.

"Yeah… It is…" Grabbing onto the handle of her weapon, Umbra leaned back and kicked the Huntress away. Flipping backwards, he stole Ruby's weapon in the process. Never having used such a weapon before, let alone see one, Umbra had no idea how to properly wield it. Right now though, that hardly mattered. His opponent was unarmed and defenseless. So long as he swung around the weapon and managed to hit her, Umbra was all but guaranteed victory.

Now that his opponent couldn't do anything to properly defend herself against his attacks, Umbra went all out. Unleashing an onslaught of attacks, Umbra took his opponent out in no time. Soon enough Ruby's Aura shattered as she crashed to the ground. Flourishing the weapon, Umbra spun it around. With one last swing, he brought the weapon down. Instead of striking Ruby, like she was expecting, Umbra had stabbed her cape. Effectively pinning her to the ground. Before he left, Umbra decided to give her a warning.

"Turn around and go home. If you're smart, you'll leave me alone. I won't give you a second chance." It was all a bluff of course. Killing anyone else would just draw even more attention to himself. Right now, that was the last thing he needed. After retrieving his sword, Umbra took off. Knowing that he had a team of Huntresses on his tail, he ran with the knowledge that his life was on the line. If he were to be brought back to Vale and arrested, he'd be executed for sure. No matter what, Umbra couldn't afford to let that happen. Not yet.

Ruby Rose

At first, Ruby was too stunned to do anything. Currently trapped to the ground with her own weapon, Crescent Rose, she watched as Umbra got away. When her senses finally returned to her, Ruby tried to pry the Sniper Scythe out of the dirt. It was wedged in good, and from the angle she was at, removing the Scythe alone wouldn't be easy. Luckily for her, she could hear her team getting closer. Shouting out to them, Ruby let them know where she was. The first one to come running up to her was her sister Yang.

"Ruby! Are you okay!?" When Ruby had run off on her own, Yang had feared the worst. Seeing that her sister was still alive and kicking was a huge relief. Helping her get free, Yang pulled Crescent Rose out from the ground and Ruby's cape. When Ruby was back on her feet, Yang handed her her weapon.

"Thanks Yang…" Still a little dazed, Ruby folded up and put Crescent Rose away. "I'm fine, I just lost my Aura is all." Upset that she let Umbra get away, Ruby nudged the ground with her boot. "I thought I had him for sure. But… I let my guard down at the end." Yang was about to say something, but Weiss interrupted her.

"What you did was totally irresponsible! You know that you could have died, right? Umbra is a dangerous villain that we have to be cautious around. Ozpin told us as much." Ruby knew that Weiss was right. She could have died going off on her own like that. So if that was the case, why was she still alive?

"…I won't give you a second chance." Umbra's warning puzzled Ruby. If he was going to kill her, why not do it while she was vulnerable? Pinned to the ground, she wouldn't have been able to stop Umbra from taking her life. Instead, the cold-hearted killer chose to run.

"Yeah… I know… I won't do it again." Realizing that they were wasting time, Ruby wanted to get a move on before they lost Umbra's trail. "We should hurry after him. Who knows how far he's gotten already." Yang gave Ruby a worried look.

"Are you sure? You don't look too good Ruby. If you need to take a break, you can." Shaking her head, Ruby didn't want to be responsible for losing Umbra. What kind of Huntress would she be if a lone criminal escaped her and her team?

"I'm fine, really." Smiling, Ruby led the way. "Come on team, there's a criminal we have to bring to justice!" While she was feeling shaken after her encounter with Umbra, she didn't want to let it show. If she was worried, her team would be worried. Mustering up her courage, Ruby led Team RWBY towards their goal.

Umbra Hart

"Come on… Light you piece of shit…" Crouched over a makeshift campfire, Umbra was currently trying to start a fire the old fashioned way. After running for the entire day, Umbra chose to rest up and try to cook some fish he had caught. While he always carried a lighter with him for starting fires in dire situations, he had forgotten to get more Dust for it at the last village. This meant that not only was his lighter empty, but so was Ignition. Finally seeing an ember form, Umbra dropped it from his fire board onto a piece of bark. Carefully setting the bark onto the campfire, he gently blew on the ember to start his fire. When it went out, Umbra wanted to scream. "Son of a… Fuck!" Kicking the failed campfire, he watched as sticks, leaves and grass went flying.

"Now remember Umbra. While you can start a fire without a lighter or any matches, it's extremely difficult to do. I still have troubles doing it myself. Always keep this lighter with you. You never know when it could save your life." Reaching into his pocket, Umbra pulled out the lighter in question. Reeling back, he went to throw it. Standing in the dark, poised to throw the lighter away, Umbra couldn't find the strength to toss the lighter away. Slowly lowering his arm, Umbra flicked the lighter open. After giving it a few tries, he was surprised when it actually sparked to life. It wasn't much of a flame, but that hardly mattered. He could have sworn it was empty when he made his way to Vale.

Starting to laugh, Umbra sat down. His laugh was devoid of joy. It was fake, anyone listening would be able to tell that it was forced. Since the only one he had to fool was himself, he didn't care how it sounded. The reason he was laughing was to avoid the alternative. Falling onto his back, Umbra looked up at the night sky.

"Will I ever get to see you again?" Reaching up towards the stars, Umbra grabbed at them. "Or… do people like me and dad go somewhere else? You never told me…" Letting his hand fall back to his side, Umbra closed his eyes. "Either way, I…" In the distance, Umbra thought he heard screaming. Putting his lighter away, he got up and gathered his weapons. His curiosity getting the better of him, Umbra moved in the direction he heard the screams come from.

Moving through the shadows, Umbra felt as though he was finally starting to get a handle on his Semblance. Using it for too long would still leave him feeling sore, but at least he didn't get that itchy feeling that came with it anymore.

Another scream let Umbra know that he was close. Someone was yelling angrily, as if giving orders. Once he was able to see what was going on, Umbra saw that some White Fang members were holding a family hostage. What surprised him was that they were driving a truck out in the wild. One of the White Fang must have pretended to be injured to get the family to pull over.

Silently unsheathing Ignition, Umbra prepared for a sneak attack. There were only three of them, but they all had guns. Sneaking up behind the one holding the family at gunpoint with his Semblance, Umbra surprised everyone when he emerged from the shadows. After stabbing the bastard in the back, Umbra quickly moved onto the next. Before any of them could squeeze off a round, Umbra had felled them all. Once he sure no one was faking, he cleaned Ignition and sheathed it.

"That was quite the show!" The father of the family approached Umbra. He held his hand out for Umbra to shake. "You must be a Huntsman, with moves like those." Scoffing, Umbra waved the man off.

"I'm no Huntsman." Starting to regret interfering, Umbra looked around to make sure there weren't anymore White Fang hiding around.

"Well, even if you aren't a Huntsman, my family and I appreciate you stepping in like that. You see, we-" Holding one of his hands up, Umbra interrupted the man.

"I don't care. As for your thanks, I don't need it. Words don't mean much to me anymore…" With the White Fang taken care of, Umbra set off. "It's not like I saved you out of the goodness of my heart anyway. All I wanted was a little payback." Before anyone could say anything else, Umbra vanished into the night.