The darkness soon faded and Pyrrha was awakened to the world once more by the sounds of chaos. Her eyes cracked open, and as her vision steadied she saw the muck that covered her. She stood, her head in a daze and trying to make sense of her surroundings. Unfortunately she was given no such luxury as the roar that penetrated the air reminded her of their current situation.

Outside, right in the center of the plaza the Nuckelavee fought desperately with the others, taking hit after hit and still somehow standing. Each strike seemed to heal, and with each quickly closed wound Pyrrha felt an ever growing sense of hatred swell inside her chest. It seemed so surreal just how vile the creature looked to her, and in some ways it made her question just what had happened to her to cause such an emotional state.

I've never been so hateful before... what changed?

Whatever caused her rapidly fluctuating emotions would have to wait however, as with every second wasted they were all one step closer to death. Pyrrha walked out, finding she didn't have the energy to run, and step by step made her way over to the rampaging monster.

The Nuckelavee seemed to sense her hostility as it turned to her. The creature let out an enraged howl and charged rabidly towards her. Pyrrha noticed instantly, and despite knowing how to handle the situation something else came to mind. It was a thought, one that made no logical sense, and yet one she felt compelled to act on it. Without really thinking her body and mind put that wayward idea into motion, almost as if in a trance to her instincts.

"Stop." It came out almost as a whisper, and before she could realize what she was doing the Grimm slammed it's hooves into the dirt and skid to a halt before her, tearing up the ground the whole time.

It's expression was the same as ever; those soulless empty eyes burned a vengeful scarlet as it growled ever so gently at her. Pyrrha could almost feel the killing intent it radiated as it shuddered before her, as if only a moment's notice from it's kill. Pyrrha didn't know why she had the sudden need to command it, and yet she wanted to continue.

"Kneel." Like before it obeyed, dropping to it's knees as a sickening crunch echoed in the air from the speed at which it moved. A whine flowed through the air, and Pyrrha felt a sense of sweetened excitement etch at her. It was as if lording over her once great enemy brought some sort of personal justice to her, and with that came a swell of desire, to not just rule over it, but to destroy it as well.

"Pyrrha?"

Jaune? Her focus left the creature for but a moment to glance at the boy, and instantly the killing intent returned. She forced her gaze back over the Grimm, and once again it froze. A fraction of a second; only a fraction of a second her vision had left the beast; in that short span it's claw shot out, and now stood frozen just before her heart as if to tear the vital organ from it's home.

Howls echoed throughout the air and she could feel the ground shake slightly.

"More Grimm?!" Yang called from the distance as the sounds of movement reached them.

"Sounds like it." Pyrrha heard Qrow call. "Hey kid, how long can you hold that thing there?"

"I don't know." Pyrrha called back as she kept her eyes on the Nuckelavee. She didn't know how, but it listened to her so long as she stared at it. However each command seemed to tire her just the slightest, and she didn't know how long it would remain under her control.

"Think you can hold it still for a little while? It doesn't sound like all that many are coming. The others and I should be able to handle them as long as you can keep the big guy under control."

"Can't we just kill it now while it's stuck?" Yang called as she rushed for the beast. Before any could stop her she leapt at it, and it flung it's spindly limb to knock her out of the air, all the while remaining still as it stared into Pyrrha's eyes. The champion heard Qrow sigh.

"This is why we don't rush into things. From the looks of it the Grimm seems to only listen to her, and even that's a bit of a stretch. You take your eyes off it for one second and it won't hesitate to kill you. Just hold it there and we'll figure out a plan once we deal with the rest." Qrow finished as the sounds of howling and sloshing mud drummed against the rain.

She heard the others move as the fighting returned. Pyrrha kept her gaze on the beast as it breathed heavily, as if waiting for her to drop her guard. Her own irritation flared, and with it a sense of weakness. For some reason it listened to her, and despite that power it had her under it's command. Pyrrha could order it and it would listen, but the moment she looked away she was dead. It was both infuriating and humiliating. She didn't know how she gained such a power, but what use was it when all it took was too long a blink to render it useless.

Of course she did have a suspicion. That dream from before, the one with a young V had came about after she saw her chest seemingly torn apart by the black tendrils, Pyrrha felt that had something to do with it. She'd seen it of course, the black pillar, it had been there when she was lifted and penetrated. It was such a strange thing really; it had writing she couldn't understand, and yet it felt as though some part of it flowed into her when she first awoke after the dream.

That was useless now, much like she was as her friends fought for their lives. Her hate flared again, all the while she stared the creature down with the same vile intent it showed her. The Nuckelavee stood guard over her, and she wondered how they would kill it. It still defended itself even while prone, all the while the only one who could get close to it was her.

Hold on...

An idea formed in her head, a stupid idea that seemed almost too good to be true, and still she felt it would be worth trying; if nothing else to determine the lengths of her command over the creature. Pyrrha stared deep into it's eyes as she gave the order.

"Die." This time something odd happened. At first she simply though nothing at all would occur and she'd be able to file the idea away for good, or if it did work she expected it to do something like tear itself apart. What she did not expect however was for it to begin jittering.

The Nuckelavee's whole form began to shake and spaz out on the spot, all the while it kept it's eyes locked on her. Pyrrha felt her curiosity swell as it suddenly stopped. The burning crimson of it's eyes faded a bit, only to disappear entirely shortly after, and soon enough the body began to dissipate like any other dead Grimm.

It... worked? In all honesty Pyrrha never expected it to be that simple, but she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and decided to roll with it. She stepped forward; a devious smirk set across her face as her confidence burned. Pyrrha didn't even try to hide the improper look she wore, instead set to help the others deal with the Grimm.

The world cut to black.

.

.

"PYRRHA!" Ruby couldn't hold back the shout as she saw her friend collapse to the ground.

She'd been taking glances back to check up often on the girl, and when she saw the Grimm just suddenly die followed by the look on Pyrrha's face Ruby felt like they had everything in the bag. So when Pyrrha dropped to the ground so suddenly she was naturally horrified.

One of the Ursa tried to swipe at her, but Ruby wasn't having it. In one swift motion she separated the body and legs from one another as she rushed over to Pyrrha's side. Ducking down Ruby grasped at the girl as a burning fear flooded throughout her body. She was still breathing, which Ruby supposed was a good thing, but with the howling of the battlefield it was hardly a comfort.

The little reaper knew she needed to get her friend somewhere safe so they could clean everything up, and looking around she swiftly found the perfect spot. The building that Tyrian had been standing on was still intact and looked to be free of Grimm, and quickly Ruby made her move.

Getting around the Grimm was easy considering most were busy fighting the others, and in only a few seconds she was at her destination. Carefully she lay the girl down an looked back to the others.

"Just hold on a little longer." Ruby whispered before she leapt back into battle.

Unlike before her attacks were a lot less coordinated, and her speed had all but doubled. Each swing was vicious with only the barest hint of finesse; she was done playing games. It was odd but soon enough the battle would end much quicker than she expected, with most of it a seeming blur of anger. Her breathing was ragged, and as she came to a stop Ruby began to wonder what came over her.

Everything had gone by almost instantly, and each of her limbs were on fire so to speak; worst of all though she had trouble seeing. Her vision was slightly blurry, but even so she could still make out the colors of the others among the blobs. Realizing she pushed herself too far Ruby took a few breaths to calm down, and as her vision returned set her sights on the rooftop.

Ruby left just as fast as she arrived to go check on her friend, all the while Qrow watched wearily.

Of all the things...

Qrow wasn't exactly happy with what he'd just witnessed, but with his semblance he expected nothing less.

"You think she's okay?" Nora asked aloud. Yang gave a shrug, seemingly confused just as much as the others. Qrow saw the way her lips twitched though, just barely managing to push back a scowl and hide her worry.

"Don't know. I've never seen her like that since Beacon, and even then she didn't get all that wild."

"Did you see her eyes? They were glowing." Ren pointed out as Qrow bit back a scowl of his own.

"Have they always been able to do that?" Jaune asked as Yang shook her head.

"Not as far as I remember." Yang leaned to one side as her face fell into a puzzled expression. "Actually... come to think of it I do believe I saw something like that back at Beacon."

"Wait really?"

"Yeah. I think it was when we found her, Pyrrha I mean." Jaune's face fell a little along with everyone else's. "Ruby was the first to get to her, and I could have sworn I saw her eyes glow a little. I thought it was just the light from the fires around us though, but now that I look back on it that doesn't make much sense. Her iris's were the only part glowing, and if it really was the fire causing it then the whole eye would be illuminated instead."

"She's never had anything like that happen before?" Ren questioned as Yang shook her head; irritation playing across her features.

"Never." Yang clawed at her skull. "Augh! What the heck? Why does everything have to get so wild now?!"

"Calm it down fire-flower" Qrow quipped as Yang growled.

"How can I? Ever since we got to Beacon it's been disaster after disaster; nothing but absolute mayhem." Yang threw her arms up. "I mean come on! Beacon was supposed to be a dream come true! Learning to be huntresses, going to parties, getting dates; the best years of our lives!" Her arms fell as fatigue caught up with her. "But all we got was misery. We almost lost Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, followed by terrorists and Grimm." Yang sighed as she crossed her arms; head fallen as her words sloshed out in a depressed spill. "Why can't anything make sense anymore?"

"Life's just like that. Sometimes you just have extended periods of shit." Qrow could vouch for that more than others, although that didn't seem to cheer up Yang. He sighed and walked over before plopping his hand down on her shoulder. "Despite all that shit though it eventually goes away. You've just got to push through it until the fun bits come back."

"And what if they don't." Yang gave quietly as the man let out a slight chuckle.

"Then you make the fun instead." Qrow saw his niece look up with a raised brow as he stepped away. "Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows, that much is obvious, but it doesn't mean it's all gloom and doom either." He stretched his arms out. "I mean look at me; I've had some bad luck before and I'm still kicking with a grin."

"You're an alcoholic womanizer banned from three different bars in patch." That was a punch in the gut, and from his niece no less. Qrow could see the respect leaving the others. He let out a sigh.

"I'm not that bad, and besides it was actually just two; I only got a warning from the third."

"Dad said they changed their mind."

"He wasn't there so he wouldn't know." Qrow sighed. "Look, the point isn't about me or my string of luck, it's about how not everything will be bad all the time."

"But what if it is?" The genuine look of pain on his niece's face put a stop to all the jokes. "What if things only continue to get worse from here on out? We've already lost the school, so what comes next? Do we lose our homes too?"

"Do you want that?" Yang's face filled with silent shock; Qrow however only let on look of indifference show. "Well?"

"How can you even say that?! Of course I don't want that!" Yang nearly screamed as fury coated her face.

"Now that's taking it too far!" Nora shouted as Qrow leveled a look over them all.

"Really? Because with they way you're all talking I'm starting to think you want everything to fall apart. Once you slip into that mindset you've already lost."

"We're just supposed to pretend everything's fine?" Ren quipped almost sounding just as indifferent as before, but Qrow could hear the underlying anger. "Ignore every loss and failure to pretend it's all going to work out. I'll say this: I can respect you as an experienced hunter, but I cannot agree to the idea that we should just accept loss and ignore our emotions; We can't just file away every bit of pain forever."

"I never said to." Each of them gave a different look of mild confusion along with their anger, and Qrow could only sigh as he crossed his arms. "You kids really are hopeless. I'm not telling you to ignore everything or forget your anger and feelings or whatever. Do what you want with those feelings, I don't really care how you use them so long as you use them. Nothing stays the same, trust me on that. The world is chaotic, and at points you'll find things sprawl out of control, but so long as you can keep from falling apart completely you'll always have a chance."

"Just a chance?" Yang spoke as Qrow nodded.

"Everything that's ever happened has just been chance. Most are usually mild, while some are extreme. Whether good or bad we can't really change what comes from those bouts of chance, but we can change how we use and move around them. Hide away your feelings; let them out; ignore them entirely; it doesn't matter what you do so long as that choice pushes you forward. Chance by it's very nature is spawned from change, and change can't happen if you don't do anything. All the while you're sitting here whining someone else is out there taking chances and making change, and who's to say it's a change that'll benefit everyone else."

"Tyrian..." Ren mumbled aloud, just enough for everyone else to hear. Qrow nodded as his face fell grim.

"He made change, and look at what happened."

"Okay." Yang sighed. "Alright, I get it already. We can't go moping about." She raised her head and looked to him. "Fine then. Now that the Grimm are dealt with what should we do next?"

"We should find somewhere to rest." Qrow never got to speak before the voice interrupted him from behind. He turned and saw Ruby standing there holding Pyrrha; the girl was out cold, but didn't sport any visible wounds which he took as a good sign at least.

"Pyrrha! The others called as they rushed past. Qrow smirked as Ruby passed the sleeping girl to Jaune; the rest crowded around. Ruby walked over and stood next to Qrow, and the two watched the relief flow over the others.

"Nice timing." Said Qrow with a smile.

"Thanks."

"So how much did you hear?"

"All of it." Ruby gave as she smirked, keeping her eyes on the others. "I've been standing there for a while, but I didn't want to break the mood."

"That's good. Didn't want to give the speech again later just because you missed out."

"That's nice then." Ruby let out a light giggle. "Keep moving huh, you sounded cool back there uncle Qrow." The man wore a playful smirk.

"Thanks. So long as my nieces think I'm cool that's all that matters."

"Oh, and before I forget." Ruby faced him with a soft smile. "The third bar changed their mind and said not to come back. The good news is that the waitress who's skirt you flipped said she wouldn't press charges because you had 'such a cute niece'." Qrow's face scrunched.

"Oh... great... yay."

Like that his dignity shattered completely.

.

.

Sienna wasn't one to worry over much, and even when she did she always kept a level head. Despite her steady approach to tense situations she couldn't help but swear slightly under her breath at the sight of it.

"They're like a damn cult." She whispered, hearing a small huff from Blake at her side.

"Yeah..." The girl clearly had some thoughts on the matter, but Sienna let her be. There was no time to worry over simple things like appearance or whatever, not when the clock was ticking.

"So how are we going about this?" Asked Ilia as she shuffled over slightly to get a better view. "I'm pretty sure we can handle them if things get rough." Her head swivelled. "But it definitely looks like they have a tighter grip on security than before."

"They know we'll come; we're the only ones on the island who know the truth and could possibly pose a threat." Sienna told as she scowled. "Meaning they've most likely got a plan in place for when we do show."

"True." Blake's gaze narrowed. "But I don't see as many armed guards as I thought. With three of us they should have at least had a few more ready to fight."

"Think they might be a bit cocky?" Ilia tried as Sienna shook her head.

"No, with Fennec in charge he would have made sure to have everything ready." Sienna felt something click in her mind as a thought reared it's head. "Unless this is it."

"Huh?" Ilia tried as she looked down to the gathering once more. "I thought we just established they don't have enough for the three of us?"

"They don't." Sienna gave as a small smile slithered across her lips. "But they're not dealing with three." She looked to the questioning face of Ilia. "Fennec believes you're still working with him right?"

"Last I checked. He never gave me any odd looks or strange orders when I saw him during my scouting." Ilia said as Sienna turned to Blake.

"And he might believe you're still out of commission."

"It's entirely possible." Blake shivered slightly. "I wasn't exactly in good shape, and I still don't have all of my memories from my imprisonment; it's still all a blur. It's thanks to mom I'm even awake; she was always good with medicine."

"He believes I'm the only one going after him." Sienna finished as her smile twisted into a vile smirk. "This is all for me. On the one hand I should feel insulted at how little defence he's got set up, but on the other he might have something else in store."

"Like?" Ilia asked as Sienna's smirk fell.

"I don't have the slightest clue."

"Meaning we're still at a disadvantage."

"Maybe not entirely." Both women looked to Blake. "They're expecting you, and only you. We might be able to catch them by surprise."

"Anything come to mind?" Sienna asked, feeling slightly curious as to what plan Blake had in store.

"I just might." Blake turned to them and inched closer.

"Then let's hear it." Ilia spoke as Blake sent a look to Sienna. The ex-leader nodded with approval and Blake let out a breath she was holding.

"Alright, so this is what we do."

Author's note

...

We're cutting it there this time. Yeah it's a cliff-hanger I know, but I wanted to save at least some suspense for next time.

This chapter is also a bit shorter than usual too; this is mostly because of a busy week, combined with some fatigue from so many chapters. Almost at 100 and I still haven't gotten to the halfway point yet; feels like this might just go on forever.

No worries though, we're getting there, and soon enough other plot points will show their heads again. Yep, again, we're bringing back a few things later on that will spice up some of the events yet to come.

Main plot's moving at a good pace though, even if it's taken so much time. At this point I'm starting to treat it more like a series than a single story, because... well, we've already had several arc's so far and still have more to go. Despite this the main story will always be the focus, even if it shows up more in small doses throughout.

Oddly enough it still hasn't really been made clear yet what the plot is. You'll catch on to what I mean later, of course that's only if you know how to look.

That's all this time, so feel free to give me your thoughts.

See you soon.