Here we are at Chapter 5. First, I've been hearing that some people have been having trouble reading new chapters for this story. I'm trying to figure out what's wrong as everything seems okay on my end, and it only seems to be with this story. I hope this issue gets fixed soon, so please be patient and keep trying. Anyway, time for a little filler chapter, but one that is still important. I do not own RWBY Ice Queendom. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 5. Enjoy.

Chapter 5: Broken Wings

A couple days pass after Jaune's incident with the Nightmare and Jaune is back to full strength. What's more, his skills as a fighter have been improving thanks to Pyrrha's tutelage. While things have improved with Team JNPR, and Team RWBY has been getting better at actually being a team, there is still one slight problem. And that problem finally revealed itself during Professor Goodwitch's combat training class. The members of Team RWBY cheer on, but they are concerned as Weiss finds herself forced onto the defensive against her opponent, Porphyrius from Team KEPL. The rest of his team share their concern.

"Is it just me, or is Porphyrius really off today?" Lloyd notes.

"No, it's not you. I was afraid this would happen. Why did Goodwitch have to pair them against one another?" Edom worries.

"Porphyrius," Khazhak mutters.

On the stage, Porphyrius and Weiss trade strikes with their blades. At one point, Porphyrius forces Weiss' rapier up against her body, pinning it as he glares at her.

"It's because of you... Because of your family..." He growls as he pushes her back.

"What are you... talking about?" Weiss grunts.

Porphyrius roars as he kicks Weiss away. He fires his rifles, but Weiss conjures a glyph to block the bullets. She then creates a few more and hops around them to attack Porphyrius' back. However, she made a fatal mistake. She forgot that Porphyrius' weapon is a backpack. The tip of her rapier stops on the metal backpack protecting his back. Porphyrius swings his right blade around, knocking her rapier aside and then slices down her chest with his left blade. Her aura protects her, but it's depleting. He throws a spinning back kick to push her back. He then fires a few more shots that nail her and take her aura down low. She falls onto her knees, her strength spent.

"I... I lost? But how?" Weiss is having a hard time taking it.

"And that's the match. Now, then students, you must-," Glynda begins, but stops when she notices Porphyrius hasn't eased up. "Mr. Darkwing, the match is over. What's wrong?"

Khazhak sees Porphyrius glaring bloody murder at Weiss, who still remains on her knees. Porphyrius then jumps into the air, his blades reeled back. Everyone gasps at Porphyrius attacking Weiss. Weiss looks up in fear as Porphyrius gets close. She closes her eyes, but the blades never meet her. Slowly, she opens them to see Reaper as her savior, having blocked Porphyrius' blades with the staff of his twin-scythe. Reaper pushes Porphyrius away, the latter landing away from him.

"Reaper..." Weiss mutters.

Khazhak then jumps in between them, his blades drawn.

"Porphyrius, you have to calm down. The match is over. Stand. Down," Khazhak orders him.

"But she... but they... You know... You know what her family took from me!" Porphyrius screams.

"I know, but this is not the place or the time for it. Don't give in to your anger and make a mistake like last time. Don't give in to revenge... Don't make the same mistake I made, Porphyrius," Khazhak says.

Porphyrius looks like he wants to back down, but he holds his head as purple flames spark from his eyepatch.

Khazhak's eyes widen, "No... Lloyd!"

Suddenly, Lloyd comes down with a steel boot on Porphyrius' head, smashing him into the floor. Slowly, Porphyrius tries to get up. Lloyd sighs and steps down on his head again, putting more force in it this time. The impact not only takes out Porphyrius' aura and knocks him out, but it even leaves large cracks in the stage floor. The audience watch in stunned silence at the spectacle. The rest of Team RWBY run to Weiss' side.

"Weiss, are you okay?!" Ruby kneels beside her partner.

"I'm fine... I'm fine, Ruby," Weiss replies, though still a bit shaken up.

Lloyd picks up the unconscious Porphyrius onto his shoulder while Khazhak approaches Goodwitch.

"I will take responsibility for my teammate's actions. It won't happen again. Let us handle this ourselves," Khazhak says.

"...Fine, but should something happen like this again, there will be consequences for all of you, Mr. Rairyu," Goodwitch replies.

As Team KEPL begins to leave, Reaper looks back at Weiss for a moment before leaving with them. Team RWBY watch them exit the classroom.

A little later in the hall, Team RWBY talk about what happened.

"I wonder if something was going on with Porphyrius," Yang wonders.

"What was his problem? I never gave him a reason to freak out like that. It looked like he was actually trying to kill me," Weiss complains.

"Perhaps you really don't know after all, or just don't care," they look to see Khazhak and Edom approach them.

"Khazhak, is Porphyrius alright?" Ruby asks out of concern.

"He'll be out for a while, but fine. Hopefully, he'll cool down too," Reaper replies.

"What was that all about, Khazhak? Why did Porphyrius go crazy like that?" Weiss wants an answer.

Khazhak narrows his eyes, "You really don't know, do you. I guess 'Daddy' was never big on airing his dirty laundry, huh,"

"What does my father have to do with this?" Weiss asks.

Khazhak walks right up to her and grabs her by her jacket collar, "Because you're father killed his family and left him for dead!" he replies, his own anger showing.

This revelation freezes Weiss, "W-W-What... What are you-,"

Khazhak roughly releases her, "It happened years ago. The truth is... Porphyrius is a half-Faunus,"

"A half-Faunus?" Blake asks for the shocked team. "That's impossible. Even if a human and a Faunus got together and had a child, they would either be entirely human or entirely Faunus,"

"Not impossible, just so exceedingly rare as to be virtually nonexistent. Porphyrius is the exception to that rule. Porphyrius's father was a Faunus and his mother was human. Porphyrius is technically a falcon Faunus,"

"But, I didn't see any Faunus traits for Porphyrius," Ruby says.

Throughout the exchange, Weiss remains silent.

"That's because of what happened years ago. Porphyrius' father was a worker in the mines of the Schnee Dust Company. Let me be clear, Weiss. Some of those rumors you heard about your family's company... they weren't rumors. The working conditions for a lot of the SDC's workers were piss-poor at best and downright disgusting at worst. They worked down in those mines for crappy pay, in dangerous working conditions. Those that didn't end up sick from the Dust exposure would die from overworking, or from the grimm attracted to their negativity. Porphyrius' father got sick of those conditions. He wanted things to be better for his fellow workers, both human and Faunus. He spoke out against your father, and was starting to gain a following. However, your father, Jacques Schnee, didn't like that one bit. A few days after he begins going against your father... Porphyrius' father ends up murdered on the street," Khazhak's new reveal makes the girls gasp in horror.

"He's... dead?" Weiss barely mutters.

"Your father never liked it when people went up against him. The authorities never bothered to really investigate it either. Either because the victim was a Faunus... or because someone paid them off. Either way, the timing was really suspicious. Later that same night, thugs break into Porphyrius' home. They held him down and forced him to watch as they killed his mother... right in front of him. Then they turned their attention to him. When he was young, Porphyrius had wings, like those of a falcon... Until he didn't anymore. Until they sadistically ripped his wings off, and then took his right eye for good measure. The only merciful thing they did was leave him to die on the street. A half-breed with no home, no family, no one to look out for him in Mantle. It was only through luck and sheer force of will that he survived. Years later, I would find him. He told me his story, and I did some digging on my end. I don't have any concrete evidence, but I know your father orchestrated that whole incident. Your father killed Porphyrius' parents and left him to rot. He took EVERYTHING from him," now Khazhak is starting to get angry.

"No, that's not... that can't be..." Weiss stutters as she's gripped with fear and terror.

"I made a promise to Porphyrius. That one day I would make your father pay for his crimes. Not just for what he did to Porphyrius' family, but for all of the lives he's ruined. All in the name of his greed and arrogance. The only question is... where will you stand in that endeavor? With your father, or with those who he victimizes for money?" Khazhak says

This is a lot to take in for Team RWBY, Weiss most of all. Here they are, listening as Khazhak recounts Porphyrius' tragic past. How can Weiss handle that? Knowing that her father, her family, may really have blood on their hands.

"But, I... I never had anything to do with that. I would've been a child at the time," Weiss retorts.

"Doesn't matter to Porphyrius. From his viewpoint, all Schnees are guilty of ripping his life apart. Even if you had no part in it. You disregarded all the so-called 'baseless' rumors about your family's company. You never showed any care for the lives your father ruined. Hell, you showed that same incompetence when we all arrived here. Aside from Pyrrha Nikos, you saw everyone else as beneath you. Like they were insects to you," Khazhak argues.

Weiss wraps her arms around herself, "I... I just... You have no idea what I've been through. What I've had to endure,"

"Maybe not, but it's nothing compared to what Porphyrius has endured. I wonder, would Nicholas Schnee be proud of what his family, of seeing what everything he's built has become... or would he feel ashamed?" Khazhak leaves it at that and takes his leave.

They all watch him leave, but Reaper remains behind.

He walks up to Weiss and bows his head, "I'm sorry. I know that was a lot. I know you were not involved in their murder, Weiss. But, Porphyrius is my comrade, and his pain runs deeper than you know. Again, I'm sorry," he apologizes before following his leader.

The girls are left to wonder how they feel about all this. So much was dropped onto them, Weiss most of all. Their minds are plagued with so many thoughts.

…

Khazhak and Reaper return to their dorm room, but the second they come inside, Lloyd nearly tackles them to the floor.

"Brother, we've got a problem! It's Porphyrius!" Lloyd yells.

The two check on Porphyrius in his bed and stop when they notice the marks across his body. The same marks that Jaune once had.

"Porphyrius has been possessed by a Nightmare. No," Khazhak mutters.

…

They inform Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch about Porphyrius and bring him to the room they once had Jaune in. Shion prepares her equipment for the dive.

"So, now Porphyrius has been possessed. These Nightmares are everywhere," Goodwitch notes.

"His anger towards Weiss made him vulnerable to the grimm. He couldn't control himself like earlier today. No wonder he was easy prey," Reaper says.

"I guess it's our turn then," Lloyd notes.

"Yes, you must venture into his dream and fight the grimm. Only then will he be free," Shion prepares her wand.

Just then, Team RWBY enters the room, "We heard about what happened with Porphyrius, so we came to see you guys," Ruby explains.

Weiss trails behind them, looking more hesitant before she gazes upon Porphyrius, seeing the marks on his body.

"Did I... is he like this because of me?" Weiss asks tentatively.

Khazhak glances at her and then sighs, "I told Porphyrius to keep his cool while we're here at Beacon. He couldn't do so. But, as leader, the responsibility falls onto my shoulders. I failed to keep him under control and truly help him. I've told him before not to let revenge consume his mind, and look how that ended up. The fault is not yours, Weiss,"

Weiss looks up at him, "Khazhak..."

"Will he be okay?" Yang asks, concerned.

"Don't worry. We'll save him," Reaper replies.

"Shion, we're ready. Team KEPL, let's wake our friend up," Khazhak declares.

Just like with Team JNPR, Shion sends Khazhak, Reaper, and Lloyd into Porphyrius' dream. Once inside, they find themselves in familiar, yet different territory. They see buildings around them, some in better shape than others. Though a few are burning on fire. The streets are in disrepair, and the atmosphere is quite dull.

"Hey, doesn't this look similar to..." Lloyd trails off.

Khazhak nods, "Yes, Lloyd. This looks like Mantle. Guess this is what Porphyrius' dream looks like, only after the Nightmare corrupts it. Let's go find our comrade. I have an idea on where we might find him and the Nightmare," Khazhak races ahead with Reaper and Lloyd right behind him.

They move through the burning streets, seeing shadows of people either milling about or running in different directions. Khazhak has an idea of where to find Porphyrius, but before they can reach their destination, grimm appear before them.

"Take them down!" Khazhak shouts and charges up his semblance.

Reaper fires off one of his knives, the blade stabbing into the side of a building. He swings around, flying over Khazhak and swinging his twin-scythe to cut through one Beowolf. Khazhak swings his blades, sending out a few arches of lightning at the grimm, destroying them. Lloyd comes in from behind, smashing his fist into a nearby car to knock it up, and then kicks it into two more Beowolves, crushing them. The threat dealt with, the group continue on their way towards their destination. Soon enough, they reach their destination. A house, much like the rest of Mantle, except this one has vines wrapped around portions of it.

"This is... Porphyrius' old home, or at least the dream version of it," Reaper realizes.

"Porphyrius must be inside. Let's go!" Lloyd jumps ahead, turning his right arm into steel.

He throws a right cross and smashes through the front door. The inside of the home appears larger than it does outside. They find more vines and cut them down, reaching a room in the back of the house. They stop when they see what's inside. On the far wall are two caskets with the names of Porphyrius' parents emboldened on them, wrapped in vines. Sitting in the center of the room is a crying young man, his clothes blackened by shadows.

"Is that..." Lloyd mutters.

Khazhak takes a step, "Porphyrius!"

The boy stops, "...You can't be here... I won't let them take them away again. My parents... I won't let anyone hurt them again..." he slowly rises and these see his arm blades deployed, though they look more menacing than before. His backpack is black with a grimm mask upon it. "You won't take them from me!" Porphyrius roars as purple flames erupt from his right eye.

Team KEPL jump back to avoid the gravity pulse aimed at their spot. Lloyd makes the first move, encasing his body in steel and throwing a right punch. Porphyrius blocks the punch with his left blade and forces Lloyd back. Reaper sends out his skull phantoms, but Porphyrius fires his rifles, destroying them and shredding through more of the house. Khazhak jumps, spinning in the air to swing his blades down on Porphyrius. Porphyrius blocks the blades with his own, but Khazhak kicks him back to get some distance. Porphyrius charges at Khazhak, swinging his blades wildly at him. Khazhak blocks and parries the strikes, but is forced further out of the house. Porphyrius fires his rifles, but Khazhak rolls under the bullets that leave holes in the building. Lloyd comes back from the rear, firing off his gauntlets. Porphyrius releases another gravity pulse, making all the bullets fall to the ground like stones.

"Was Porphyrius always this strong?" Lloyd asks.

"It must be the Nightmare tapping into his semblance. We need to kill it in order to free Porphyrius!" Khazhak replies, blocking another strike from Porphyrius.

Reaper is about to join in, but then an Ursa crashes through a wall and attacks. Reaper jumps back from the ambush. He plants his feet on a wall and propels himself forth, slicing the grimm's head off with his twin-scythe. More grimm break into the house. That, coupled with Porphyrius in his current state, forces the team out into the street. Lloyd punches through an Ursa's stomach, while Reaper separates his weapon into its dual form, throwing the scythes that slice through two more grimm before they return. Khazhak throws a backflip kick into Porphyrius' chin making him stumble. He looks between his teammates fighting the grimm, and Porphyrius.

"Lloyd, Reaper, keep those grimm off of me. I'll take care of Porphyrius. After you've killed the grimm, search for the Nightmare. It's gotta be in that house somewhere," Khazhak walks past them towards Porphyrius.

"You got it, Brother!" Lloyd says, slashing his claws through one Beowolf.

"You know, Porphyrius. You and I have sparred against each other several times... and you've never beaten me. Not even once. And that's not changing. So come on, I'm waking you up from this nightmare, even if that means I have to knock you out first," Khazhak readies his blades.

Porphyrius screams before running at him. Khazhak parries a strike from his right blade, spinning around to deflect another with his right. He spins under a swing from Porphyrius, fusing his weapons into their dual spear form. Twirling his weapon around, Khazhak deflects two strikes from Porphyrius and then counters with an upward swing across his chest, followed by a backwards stab to his right shoulder. He throws a back kick to knock Porphyrius back. Porphyrius fires his rifles, but Khazhak spins his weapon in front of him to block the bullets as he approaches. Porphyrius unleashes a gravity pulse, but Khazhak jumps to the side of a building, separating his blades and firing some bullets at his opponent. Porphyrius jumps to evade the shots. However, Khazhak combines his blades into their greatsword form and charges up his semblance. Aiming the large sword like a javelin, he throws it and it hits the ground right in front of Porphyrius, unleashing a large explosion of lightning. Porphyrius flies back, rolling on the ground to get back onto his feet. He looks up to see Khazhak already on him with his greatsword in hand. Khazhak lifts up his blade and swings downward, but Porphyrius crosses his blades in front of him to block the strike. He rolls back, kicking Khazhak over him. Khazhak lands on his feet as Porphyrius attacks his rear, but Khazhak fires his greatsword, making the blade fly around to deflect his attack with his left blade. Khazhak makes another wide swing before raising it up and swinging it down again. Porphyrius moves and dodges the strike, getting behind Khazhak.

Khazhak kicks his blade up, moving it behind him to block Porphyrius' right blade from stabbing him. Khazhak fires his weapon again, making it go around to force Porphyrius back, and then fires again to make a fast swing that sends Porphyrius flying into the house, crashing through a wall. At this point, Reaper and Lloyd have dealt with the grimm and head into the house to find the Nightmare. Inside, Porphyrius slowly gets up, only for Khazhak to drop down and swings his swords down, slicing off the appendages of his weapon. The arm blades and rifles fall off, but Porphyrius doesn't stop. He turns with his right fist reeled back to throw a punch. Khazhak catches it in his left hand.

"Wake the Hell up, you idiot!" Khazhak roars and pulls Porphyrius in for a head-butt to the face.

Porphyrius staggers, but Khazhak uses this chance, charging up his right blade. He swings down, sending out an arch of lightning point-blank at Porphyrius. Porphyrius takes the brunt of the attack and gets sent flying through a wall and into the room where they found him. Khazhak joins with Reaper and Lloyd and they see the Nightmare appearing between the coffins.

"Take it out, now!" Khazhak commands.

Khazhak and Lloyd fire off their weapons, while Reaper fires off one of his knives. The Nightmare can't escape the combined assault and is eventually destroyed. Outside the dream, the Nightmare exits Porphyrius' body. Shion wraps it in her strings and forces it into a jar like before. Back in the dream, the darkness around Porphyrius dissipates and he slowly opens his left eye to find his teammates standing over them.

"Guys... What happened?" Porphyrius groans.

"You were possessed by a Nightmare. Don't worry, we already took care of it," Lloyd gives him a cocky smile.

"Come on, it's time to wake up, Porphyrius. Let's go, Team KEPL," Khazhak says.

…

Porphyrius slowly opens his left eye, finding himself back in Beacon. He sits up and looks around to find his team, Team RWBY, and the professors and Shion standing around him.

"Was I..." Porphyrius trails off.

"You were indeed possessed by a Nightmare. But, it's alright now. Good to have you back, Mr. Darkwing," Ozpin explains.

Porphyrius sighs and holds his head, "To think I'd be possessed by a grimm. This is embarrassing,"

Khazhak crosses his arms, "I told you before, Porphyrius, you must not let your hatred and your desire for revenge consume your mind. I don't want you making the same mistake I once made,"

Porphyrius sighs, "Yeah..." he feels exhausted.

"Hey, Porphyrius, feeling any better?" Yang asks as her team joins them.

"Huh? Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." Porphyrius replies, his eye stopping on Weiss. "Weiss..."

"Porphyrius, I... I..." Weiss is unsure of what to say.

Porphyrius turns to Khazhak, "You told them, didn't you,"

"Just Team RWBY. Though, Team JNPR will likely learn soon enough. You didn't exactly give me a choice when you lost your cool back in class," Khazhak notes.

"Porphyrius, your anger towards Jacques Schnee is perfectly understandable, but you have to remember something. You were a kid when it happened, which means Weiss was a little kid then as well. She didn't have anything to do with what happened on that day all those years ago. Jacques may be guilty of that crime, but she isn't," Reaper says, glancing back at Weiss.

Porphyrius groans and rubs his head, "Fine, fine... Weiss," he says.

"Porphyrius..." Weiss tries to keep a level tone.

"I will never forgive your father for what he did to me. To be honest, my anger towards him will never go away. But, I guess... I may have overdone it with you. It's just that seeing you reminds me of him... and of my parents. So, I... I'm sorry... about earlier and for the other stuff," Porphyrius apologizes, surprising the others.

"Porphyrius..." Weiss appears a little moved by his apology. "I accept your apology. I guess... I didn't help much with this whole thing either. I suppose I was being difficult. Maybe... we can start over," she suggests.

"That may be difficult right now, but... I guess I could try," Porphyrius says.

Ruby claps her hands, "Yay! We're all friends again. I'd say from now on, when we have something bothering us, even if it involves someone from out group, we should try and talk about it with each other. Okay,"

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, sis," Yang agrees, while Blake nods.

Khazhak sighs, "This has certainly been a long day,"

And that's the chapter. Porphyrius gets possessed by the Nightmare, but luckily Team KEPL save him in time. I didn't have them in new outfits in this one because I'm saving those for when they enter Weiss' dream. More Nightmares have revealed themselves at Beacon. Who else may be possessed by these dangerous grimm? Until then, please Read and Review.