RWBY: Team DUSK

by HolyKnightX

Hailing from the four kingdoms, four aspiring huntsmen with different pasts, ideals, and goals enrolls into Beacon Academy. These four huntsmen-in-training finds themselves on the same team and living under the same roof as one another. Does this new team have what it takes to unite with one another as friends, allies, or even the family that one another needs?

17. Sandra's Issues, Pt 4

Welcome to the next chapter of RWBY: Team DUSK, before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:

Altajir95: Thanks. And I'll be sure that it's a good chapter.

Darth Simp: That's good to hear. Sandra has been showing some interesting sides to her inside this arc, and more will be revealed in the next chapter.

---

Sandra's Issues Pt. 4

Having been struck by the unknown Grimm's previous attack, Sandra found herself in a confusing situation. She looked around to find that she was in the desert, where there was nothing but sand as far as she could see.

"Am I back in Vacuo," Sandra asked as she looked around. "No, this is Vacuo without a doubt."

Sandra could feel the heat from the sun touching her skin. To prove her suspensions, she leaned down to collect the sand in her hands and felt it leave her fingers. Shaking the remaining sediment from her hands, she wasn't able to doubt it anymore. It was all too real for it not to be Vacuo, but there's no way that she could be inside this all too familiar desert now.

"I was in the middle of the Emerald Forest, fighting against…that Grimm," Sandra, at that moment, recalled that moment where the unknown Grimm hit her using the light from its eyes. "That Grimm has some weird ability that sent me back here. But, it couldn't have transported me to Vacuo. I've never heard of a Grimm able to transport a person to a different location in an instant."

[Well, who knows, there's a lot of things in this world you wouldn't understand.]

"The hell?"

Sandra turned around, bringing out her Gae Bulg on instinct, and pointed it at the source of that distorted voice.

But, as soon as she turned around, Sandra found herself more confused than she was before after looking at the thing standing behind her. It looked almost like a complete duplicate of herself down to the clothing that she wore right then. The main difference behind that its eyes resembled a Grimm rather than a human.

[Now, is that the correct language to use in this situation, Sandra?]

The duplicate asked, in an almost condescending manner.

"Since this appears to be all in my head, I'll talk however I want," Sandra replied as she still pointed her weapon at the duplicate. "So, I'll ask again. What the hell are you?"

[I might give you an answer if you put down Gae Bulg. But, I might as well tell you that it's more or less a stick to me in this situation.] The duplicate stated as it started approaching Sandra, then continued walking even after her spear started passing through it as if it wasn't there. [Since this is in your head, I don't have a physical form to kill, let alone hurt. So, you're wasting your time trying to do that.]

"Tch, so what the hell are you?"

[Hmm, that is an interesting question. Am I the Grimm taking on a physical form within your head? Could I be the manifestation of your psyche? Isn't there something else that you should be curious about?]

"And what would that be?"

Sandra asked, becoming irritated about this thing talking to her like this.

[Well, that miniature version of you.]

"Miniature version of…?"

Sandra turned around to find that there was a child version of herself at a distance from her kneeling in front of the sand. She was dragging her finger against the surface of the sand as if she was drawing or writing in it and was wearing an almost innocent smile.

"I remember this."

Sandra recalled this scene, then started approaching the child version of her.

[Sandra, what do you think about the mean people around you?]

The child Sandra was mimicking a different voice, almost as if she was playing as someone else.

[I think they shouldn't be so mean to me. I'm trying my best.]

She replied without getting a single response.

[Well, have you tried telling your mom?]

[My mom wouldn't understand. No one ever yells are her. And she never tries to defend me from it.]

[But, isn't she, your mom? Shouldn't a mom protect her daughter from everyone?]

[I don't know.]

The child Sandra had a lonely conversation, mixing up different voices as if to make it appear as if she was talking to someone else. Seeing this almost caused the teenage Sandra to look down with sadness in her eyes, all with her back turned toward the duplicate, which gave a sinister smile.

[Does she even…?]

[Sandra! Come over here!]

The child and teenage Sandra flinched at that voice, displaying strength and seriousness, but not compassion.

[I'm coming, mother!]

The child Sandra started running to head over toward her mother without hesitating at all.

Seeing that the child version of herself was gone, Sandra walked over to find that another person, that appeared a bit like another girl was drawn in the sand. The drawn girl wore a smile on her face as if she was smiling at the younger version of herself.

"I never had another person that I could talk to. Not another kid my age among that tribe," Sandra uttered under her breath, not knowing that the duplicate could hear her. "I would often draw in the sand, and pretend that I had someone that I could talk to. Even when I couldn't talk to my…."

[Not even your mother wanted to deal with the issues of her child. How painful was that?]

"Shut up. I didn't ask you anything."

Sandra demanded as she felt various emotions welling up within her, not noticing that the duplicate of herself had a dark aura around itself. As if in response to her negative emotions beginning to rise.

[Now now, no need to get all hostile. You can't even hit me. So, I might as well hang out with you. Now, shall we go on to the next dramatic and painful childhood of Sandra Skye.]

"…."

Sandra ignored the duplicate as she started walking in another direction in an attempt to escape from it all, but a part of herself felt as if she wouldn't be able to run from it anymore.

---

In the real world, after being struck by the Grimm's last attack, Sandra's actual body was left motionless as if she had been paralyzed. The people who'd witnessed this happen found themselves stunned and worried about Sandra, having seen what the unidentified Grimm had done.

Before she could fall to the ground, Alyssa caught Sandra in her arms, while Blake looked worried and ashamed as she'd taken that attack for them. As the two of them were preparing to call out to their downed partner and/or friend, the Grimm started charging at them.

Alyssa and Blake tried making a move before that happened, but before either of them could even move an inch, two people moved first.

""Get away from them!""

It was revealed to be Daniel and Yang, the former swung Retribution, slamming it against the Grimm's face, while the latter slammed her fist against the Grimm's body as her eyes turned red. Because of their conjoined attack, it was knocked back to the ground. Not giving it time to cover, Ruby, Hunter, and Ren all started firing at it by using their ranged weapons.

"Let's get her out of here!"

Blake suggested as she picked up Sandra's discarded spear, having seen Alyssa holding her downed partner in her arms. As both carried Sandra off to a safer location, the students such as Daniel and Yang continued pouring the pressure on the unknown Grimm.

"Quick, bring Miss Skye here!"

Professor Port suggested, pointing to the inside of the ruin, where their battle had taken place.

Following their teacher's instruction, Alyssa and Blake followed them inside the ruins, then placed Sandra on the ground. Looking at his downed student, Port kneeled and started checking on her condition, not knowing a thing about what the unknown Grimm had done.

"How is she, Professor Port?"

Alyssa worriedly asked, breaking from her usual character.

"There doesn't appear to be much of anything physically wrong with Miss Skye," Professor Port replied, checking her vitals without finding a single thing wrong with her. The one thing that he found wrong was the fact that she's not waking up. "But, no matter what I attempt to do, she doesn't wake up. I haven't heard about a Grimm of this particular nature doing something like this. I'll need to contact the Headmaster and…."

"Uh, Professor Port!"

The fourth team leader called out, causing him to leave their side for a moment.

"What is…?"

Port didn't need to finish that question to realize what was wrong and realized what the fourth team leader began warning him about. From almost all sides of the forest, there were multiple Grimm who started charging at them without provocation. Their types ranged from comment ones such as Beowolves and Ursa, which started letting a roar escape from their collective mouths.

"What on earth is going on? These kinds of Grimm doesn't attack without…," it was then that Professor Port was reminded of what the unknown Grimm had previously done. Seconds before attacking Sandra with that unknown red beam, it screeched. "Did that Grimm call out the smaller ones?"

Port couldn't come up with another reason for all these Grimm to be gathered there aside from in response to the unnamed Grimm's call. Seeing as the situation was starting to turn out for the worse, he pulled out his Scroll, and contact the right person to assist in solving it.

[Hello, Professor Port? Is there something wrong?]

It was the Headmaster, Professor Ozpin.

"Professor Ozpin. It appears as if we have a serious situation here. An unidentified Grimm before us, and struck Miss Skye using an unknown attack. It appears as if it summoned multiple smaller Grimm."

[I see.] Ozpin sounded concerned, having heard that, there was a faint pause as he seemed to be working at the moment. [I can see the location where you're all located, having traced your Scroll and I can see that unidentified Grimm that you were talking about as well. I'll send back up to that location, but it appears as if I'm aware of the kind of Grimm you're all facing at the moment too.]

"Is that so? That's excellent, then what is it?"

[It's called a Cockatrice, and based on the fact that it managed to avoid detection, it appears as if it is an old one too. As I'm sure you realized that it could release a scream that attracted the smaller Grimm to its location, but we are lucky that's all the Grimm it can attract. As for the attack that it struck Miss Skye with…, it isn't good.]

Alyssa and Blake managed to catch that last part and started feeling more worried as time passed considering it was their fault Sandra ended up getting hit.

"What do you mean?"

[Based on records, this was discovered on accident as a person's semblance made it possible to scan a person's mind. But, it appears as if the Cockatrice traps their target within their minds, making them experience the worst memories in their life. However….]

"However?"

[…there hasn't been a case where a person has woken up from their nightmare caused by a Cockatrice. There were previous cases where a person died after being under its influence for an extended period. Now, we aren't aware of the cause of death, but we'll have Miss Skye brought and give her the best possible care.]

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin," Port felt his fist tighten, having heard that new information from the Headmaster, a person whose leadership and information he'd never doubt. He soon hung up the Scroll in his hand and kept the worries and emotions welling within him for his student's safety. Port soon breathed in before starting to give out the commands he thought of for his students. "Now, students, Professor Ozpin will be bringing in reinforcements to assist in handling the situation! Until then, continue fighting and holding the position here until help arrives!"

[Right!]

Almost all the students replied, having heard his commands.

Despite not responding to them, those who were preoccupied with fighting against the unidentified Grimm, which has now been identified as a Cockatrice understood those words.

"Now, this is what we'll do. First, the two teams fighting against the Cockatrice will continue holding it down until it is defeated or our backup arrives. Meanwhile, the two other teams will focus on exterminating the Grimm coming to this location," Professor Port answered, referring to Team RWBY and DUSK, who were fighting against it. And Team JNPR and the fourth team will be focused on fighting against the approaching Grimm. "Also, the Cockatrice can put people caught within its sights into a nightmare induced state, and render them motionless. And…."

Professor Port was debating whether or not he should tell them about Sandra's potential predicament. He knew it would distract them, but, on the other hand, it would be in their best interests to be aware of the situation.

"…it would be close to impossible for a person to wake up afterward."

Hearing those words caused those fighting against the Cockatrice to have the slightest moment of pause at that thought. There was a chance that Sandra wouldn't be able to wake up from this nightmare, and the thought about it was enough to cause Daniel and Hunter to pause for an instant. But, for Team DUSK's leader, it lasted for that second as he tightened his grip on Retribution's hilt.

"Got it," Daniel replied in a strong tone as he launched another hit against the Cockatrice, hitting its body, but it's been handling all their attacks without much damage. "Team RWBY and DUSK will continue fighting against this Grimm, while the others fight against the approaching Grimm! Whether we will be able to hold it back or kill, it'll depend on the battle itself! Besides…."

Daniel stopped as he pointed Retribution straight at the Cockatrice as if issuing a challenge to the creature right in front of him.

"Killing this thing, might end freeing Sandra too!"

Daniel declared.

It didn't have much merit or proof, but killing the source of what was causing Sandra to be put into such a state, might be remedied with the cause's death. Besides, it was all that the group had to work with considering that the second option was accepting Sandra wouldn't wake up.

"Right, we'll handle fighting against this Grimm for Sandra! So, Team RWBY will be supporting Team DUSK!"

Ruby declared, while transforming Crescent Rose into its scythe them, and spinning it around in her hands.

It wasn't long until, Daniel and Hunter stood beside one another; with Ruby, Yang, and Weiss standing beside them. All five getting into their respective stances with their weapons repaired in their hands. Seeing their friends and teammates prepared to fight, Alyssa and Blake stood up to their feet too. Before heading out, Alyssa picked up her partner's inactive weapon and placed it in her hands.

"I don't know what you're experiencing in there, Sandra," Alyssa said in a softer tone as she placed her hands on Sandra's before looking down at her. "But, no matter what happens. Don't forget that you're too strong to suffer a defeat at the hands of a Grimm like this."

Having said those words, Alyssa pulled out her weapons, with Blake doing the same as the two went out into battle. Both the blonde and black-haired young women stood beside their teammates as the Cockatrice was staring them all down. Professor Port remained there watching as his students walked onto the battlefield with determination, showing nothing short of pride in them.

"I do not doubt that this group will make amazing Huntsmen upon graduation."

Professor Port uttered to himself as he stood there, acting as a guard for the unconscious Sandra.

"Graaa…graaa…graaa."

The Cockatrice had started moving and twisting its head around almost like an actual chicken at it let out multiple sounds from its mouth. It started moving its feet around in place as if in preparation to charge at them all, with a black breath vacating its mouth as it rushed forward.

"Team DUSK…."

"Team RWBY…."

Both the two team leaders stood beside one another as the two breathed in, and relayed their orders to their team.

""Let's go!""

[Right!]

The remaining two team members of Team DUSK and three members of Team RWBY replied, following the lead of their silver-eyed team leaders. And from there the battle against the Cockatrice started as the seven Huntsmen-in-Training fought to their downed teammate, partner, and/or friend.

---

Inside Sandra's mental world, she was walking through the desert, becoming a mixture of annoyance and anxiety as things continued. Irritated at the fact that the duplicate of herself kept following her around as if she viewed the memories she wanted to forget about. And anxious about the fact that she was experiencing all the memories from her not-so-happy childhood.

No matter the effort in finding an escape or avoiding these memories, Sandra found herself returning over to the exact scene.

"It is obvious enough that this is just a mental world, where I'm reliving memories meaning that I can't really do or go anywhere that I haven't been then. It means that I have to continue experiencing all the things that I had done before, and…."

[At least, you realized that thinking to yourself is pointless since this is inside your head. I mean, that is the same as….]

"Shut the hell is?! I hate the fact that I can't kill you! And I hate the fact that you won't stop talking!"

Sandra shouted at the duplicate as it raised its hand in defense, something that irritated her more.

[Sheesh, what happened to that cuter and more docile Sandra that you once were? Oh, wait, I think that scene is happening as we speak.]

Having heard those words, Sandra was well aware of what was coming up next and it was the main memory she wanted to avoid remembering.

But, she had no other choice as she couldn't escape from witnessing the most pivotal moment in her entire life. It was then that Sandra turned around as it was starting right in front of her once again.

[….]

As Sandra's back was turned, her duplicate once again made a wide ominous smile.

In front of Sandra, she witnessed her mother standing in front of the younger Sandra without turning her attention from her this time. Her mother, Aoife Skye. In terms of appearance alone, Sandra's mother looked almost as if she could pass as her older sister if she and the teenage Sandra stood beside one another. She stood there in an outfit similar to the other adults perfect for enduring the heat there.

All of the other adults were positioned in the far distance, something that the child version of Sandra thought was a bit weird.

[What do you mean?]

The child Sandra asked confused as she was clenching her chest.

[I asked if you wanted to prove that you're my daughter?]

[B-But, I-I am your daughter. I-I mean, I look the same as you. So, of course, I'm your daughter.]

[…I didn't mean it like that.]

Aoife sighed a bit, wondering if she should've worded it much better so that the younger girl could've understood it in the manner she meant.

[If you keep acting in the manner that you've been, then no one here is going to believe that you're my daughter.] her mother's words were almost like knives to the older Sandra's heart as she became old enough to realize the meaning behind those words. [So, I thought about something that would allow you to prove it to them and me.]

[Huh, what is that?]

Sandra asked, tilting her head a bit to the side.

Her mother maintained a serious look without her experience faltering at all, despite the next couple of words that were about to leave her mouth.

[If you survive in the desert alone, then no one will doubt you any longer.]

Aoife suggested without showing much concern about it at all.

But, hearing those words felt as if a genuine knife was stabbed into the younger Sandra's heart as it sounded as if her mother was leaving her alone.

[B-B-But, I can't do that…. I can't survive on my own, and I don't want to be alone here. I'm not you mom, I can't do that.]

Child Sandra was pushed to the brink of tears, which gathered at the corners of her eyes.

Seeing her younger self reacting to this caused Sandra to look saddened as the recollection of it was right in front of her. From time to time, the memories already resurfaced and recalled the moments where her mother left her alone in the desert. But, seeing it from this perspective was something different for the older teen, having a front seat in seeing the pained look on her younger self's face.

[Stop that crying, Sandra.] Her mother didn't appear to be compassionate at all, almost as if she were acting like a harsh teacher, instructing their student rather than a mother. [I'm not being cruel or mean. If you want to live in this world. More so in Vacuo, then you're going to need to prepare yourself for the challenges that'll come along with that right. You haven't shown much progress in remaining with us. Not in using aura, training, or even gaining your semblance. So, if you want to survive, then you're going to have to profess in all that.]

[…mom, but I can't….]

Child Sandra was now crying as she stared at her mother, who showed no reaction at all.

[Sandra, crying is going to beget nothing. If you want something in life, then you're going to need to either take it or fight for it. So, if you want to remain beside the tribe hereon, then are you willing to fight me?]

Those harsh words from her mother and the cold stare that she was giving her at that moment caused Child Sandra to flinch and shiver. She couldn't fight against her mother for multiple reasons, even as a child, she did not have the slightest chance against her mother. Aoife, the leader of the Skye Tribe that the other tribesmen had followed with no question. There wasn't any other option aside from buckling down and accepting her mother's nigh-impossible task.

[N-No.] Sandra weakly replied without showing actual strength in those words. [I-I-I….] She didn't want to utter it, the next words her mother wanted to hear, the older version of herself was, of course, aware about them. […I'll…do it. I'll…survive alone.]

[Good.] Her mother replied, then in a surprising act handed her daughter the canteen filled with water she carried around, and took the near-empty one off her hands. [Here, this is going to last longer than you expect if you keep using the lessons I taught you. I went a long time teaching you to survive, and it's time that you put all that to the test as I did. Before I go, give me your hand.]

[Huh?]

Child Sandra looked confused, but she did as instructed and gave her mother her hand.

She watched on as Aoife draw a symbol on the back of her hand, which shined a matching red for a moment and faded into a pale mark. Having done that, she stood up and stood in front of your daughter.

[I told you this before, but part of my semblance allows me to expand my senses across a set diameter, allowing me to sense anything inside of that area. As a part of it, I can mark people and feel their location even without that diameter being set up.] Aoife reminded as she looked at her daughter's reaction. [The opposite can be possible to some extent. So, if you manage to find me again, then you'll be viewed as a member of the Skye Tribe. Or, if you want, you could become a Huntress and live however you want. So, we will depart from here.]

Without uttering another word after that, Sandra watched as her mother turned around, showing her back as she started walking away. There wasn't a single 'goodbye' or 'I'll see you again', it was just a silent farewell between a mother and her daughter.

[…mom.]

Aoife stopped moving for a moment, then waited to hear what her daughter was going to say next.

[If I do this, and succeed. I'll be recognized and treated better, right?] There wasn't a single response from Aoife at her daughter's question, which seemed to be almost begging at this point. But, she wasn't done at all with the question she needed to ask next. [If we do meet again, then can I ask you something?]

[If you succeed, then you can ask me whatever you want, Sandra. And whatever you do with that answer will be your choice.]

Aoife gave that one response, then started heading out to meet with the others from the Skye Tribe. She walked past the teenage version of her daughter and wasn't aware of her presence since this was simply Sandra remembering this moment. There was a part of her that wondered if her mother was crying or showed any kind of emotion in abandoning her here. But, of course, since this was a memory, Sandra couldn't see her mother's face, because all the child version of her could see was her back.

Multiple minutes passed, and the child Sandra didn't move an inch as if she was coming to terms with and finally realizing what happened. She, a child, who wasn't close to being a teenager had been abandoned and left behind in the dangerous terrain of Vacuo. Her mother abandoned her. The woman who gave birth to her. And the woman who was supposed to protect her.

[…ah…ha…ah….]

Tears started trailing down the face of the child Sandra as she stared at where her mother and tribe departed. It wasn't long until the dam of emotions and tears broke.

[…uwaaaaaaaah.]

The Child Sandra fall to her knees and started crying, not caring who or what might end up hearing her.

Tears stained her cheeks and kept her from seeing things correctly, but she didn't care. She simply allowed all of the emotions that built up at this moment to overflow.

[So, what was that thing you wanted to ask your mother?]

Her duplicate asked.

"…?"

Sandra ignored it and walked toward the younger version of herself.

She knelt, her knees feeling the presence of the sand as if she were there in real life.

"Come on, nothing is going to come out from crying here."

Sandra looked down, not knowing what else to do.

[…uwaaah…mom…!]

"She's not going to hear you."

Sandra kept speaking to her younger self as if wanted to relay this message to her past self.

[…aaaaah…uwaaaah….]

"…come on…stop it…."

Sandra reached out her hand to brush the tears from her younger self's cheek, but as expected it passed through her as if she wasn't there. Noticing that, she found herself starting to shake her hand from the emotions that were building up within her heart.

"…if you continue doing that…. …I might end up…crying too…."

Sandra uttered as she felt began to tear up, having witnessed the painful moment her younger self had to experience. Something that she experienced firsthand, but there she was witnessing it for herself again. It could've been because of this mental world, as Sandra found herself doing something that she hadn't even done in such a long time.

As Sandra was preoccupied with doing that, the duplicate of herself was standing there behind the original while making an inhuman smile. Amid Sandra was re-experiencing these painful memories, the black mist-like aura around it started getting stronger in response to those negative emotions.

---

"Come on, there is more this way."

Jaune called out as he defeated another one of the Beowolves in front of him.

He used all the training that he had undergone with Pyrrha here and now, using his shield for defense than going in with a slash with his sword. Jaune was also working well with his teammates and the members of the fourth team. An Ursa came in swinging its clawed paw downwards, but Jaune blocked and held it down, taking note that someone was coming to assist him.

"Hah!"

The fourth team leader swung his three-section staff at the Ursa striking it, then Jaune capitalized and unleashed a bunch of slashes. From their teamwork, Ursa was defeated in the short confrontation with both the leaders standing back-to-back.

"I don't think that I've had to fight against this many Grimm at once."

The fourth team leader stated, breathing a bit.

"Yea, but look at the thing they're fighting against," Jaune stated, but the fourth team leader didn't need to turn his head to tell that it was an intense fight different from theirs. Common Grimm like these was easier for them all to fight, but ones like these weren't in the same class as more unique ones. "We're fighting as hard as we can in an attempt to keep down the pressure on them as much as possible."

The fourth team leader was surprised about the conviction that Jaune was showing at this moment, as he'd seen how he'd acted before against Cardin. He looked around to find that both their teammates and/or partners were all working together in exterminating the Grimm coming in.

Pyrrha, of course, was fighting without an issue against the horde of Grimm she was focused on using a mixture of all her weapons' transformations to her advantage. Nora, the Tonfa user, and Battleaxe wielder fought against the far bigger Grimm using their strength and weapons to blow them backward. Ren and the fourth team leader's partner used much simpler and precise methods in defeating the Grimm.

It was surprising to the fourth team leader as he and his team would work this well with Team JNPR despite not knowing them for all that long. And that was because of the person standing beside him as a comrade-in-arms, it might be possible that he could defeat Jaune in a fight. But, the team leader couldn't replicate the manner that he drew in and led people.

"You're a better leader than I am Jaune."

The fourth team leader said without showing shame in admitting that.

"Well, thank you for that compliment. I have been hearing that I was a good leader from my friends and teammates. It is still weird for me to hear sometimes, even though all of them are above me in different ways. But, here I am with all this responsibility on my shoulders," Jaune found himself smiling at the thought that the fourth leader had that opinion about him. "But, if you ask me. I think that there's still somethings that I don't have compared to them over there."

"Who?"

"The two first friends that I made here. Those two have something that makes them great leaders and taught me the kind of leader my teammates deserve. And I'm training to make sure that I don't disappoint the expectations that have been placed on me. So, let's keep fighting through these Grimm!"

"Right!"

Both Jaune and the fourth leader kept fighting together against the Grimm while giving out instructions to all their teammates whenever needed.

During the battle between Team DUSK and RWBY against the Cockatrice, all members were making performing well against it despite not being used to this kind of foe. Weiss stood in a stance as she switched to Fire Dust in Myrtenaster, then summoned Glyphs that released multiple fireballs at it. It avoided most of them, but some fireballs made contact with it, causing a fiery explosion.

---

"…graaa…."

It felt that impact, but it didn't stop there as Alyssa leaped in the air holding Gwyn Ddraig in her hands, as a golden light could be seen around her arms. From there she brought them downwards, striking the Grimm at the side of its face. But, it didn't end there as she emitted a burst from let out from the Gravity Dust embedded in them, thus adding more force onto it. Because of that, the Cockatrice's head was knocked backward.

"That was hurting my partner!"

Alyssa declared as she knocked it back.

"And this is for going after my partner and friend!"

Yang could be seen heading in the same direction where the Cockatrice was heading and landed a heavy blow at its body that caused great pain based on the grown it let out. Reacting to this, the Grimm recovered enough to whip its tail towards Yang, who blocked it using her arms. But, she didn't mind it as it simply added more fuel onto a burning fire.

Coming in at the Grimm next was Blake, who was aiming at its legs, in an attempt to deter its movements. But, in reaction to it, it moved its tail and whipped it back toward her direction. As it seemed to hit Blake, it looked as if it struck a clone, while she was sent upward avoiding the hit as the clone faded. Having landed on the ground, she proceeded forward, unleashing a barrage of slashes aimed at the Cockatrice's left leg, enough to cause genuine damage.

"Caaaah."

It let out a pain sound as it lost its footed, almost faltering to the ground as Blake escaped from the landing area.

Before the Cockatrice could recover this time, Hunter shot five explosive arrows right into the Grimm's back, all of which exploded once they penetrated its back. It resulted in multiple explosive impacts that caused it to falter and lose its balance. All the arrows were aimed at precise places on the Grimm's back, which once again showcased Hunter's skills as an archer.

Noting that it would be down for some time, Ruby didn't waste time and rushed forward towards it using her Petal Burst. Daniel shared a similar idea, as he began rushing in the direction of the down Cockatrice, seconds after he loaded Lightning Dust into Retribution.

"Blake did a good job at damaging its left leg, which would keep it from charging at us like that again," Daniel had runes appear underneath his feet, having taken one last step. "Despite the stupid moves that this thing makes from time to time, it's fast at moving and reacting to our attacks. So, best take out disables one of its legs, and cut off the other."

In reacting to the Lightning Dust, the runic array underneath his feet gained a newer design, while glowing with a yellow brilliant. Soon enough, electrical sparks could be seen wrapping around himself and Retribution.

"Haste."

At that utterance, Daniel propelled himself forward at high-speed in a headlong charge towards the Cockatrice as Ruby was ahead of him. She prepared Crescent Rose to unleash a flurry of attacks, with Daniel looking heading to remove one of its methods of avoidance of escaping. But, because he used "Haste" a runic array meant to use Lightning Dust to increase his speed and reflexes, it made him notice the Cockatrice's next movement.

It started moving around its wings, something that it haven't used since the battle first started, and each motion of its wings felt as if something back was being prepared.

"Ruby, be careful! It's doing something with its…!"

Daniel tried warning, but the answer soon came for itself as it started flapping its wings using great force.

[…!]

Both the members from Team RWBY and DUSK found themselves coming to the same conclusion of what would end up happening. From simply those couple of flaps from its wings, it was noted that the wind started picking up and soon became a powerful blast of wind that pushed them all backward. Because of this, Ruby's and Daniel's attempted assault was knocked backward.

"Tch didn't see that one coming," Daniel commented almost from annoyance, having stabbed Retribution into the ground to keep himself balanced. He looked to find that his teammates has managed to move into a position, where the strong wind didn't push them backward. He looked forward, noticing that the person who had been in front of him was sent in his direction. "Oomph."

"Sorry, Daniel!"

Ruby had found herself crashing right into Daniel as she and the others were blown backward, thus forcing her to latch onto him. In an attempt to keep her from falling backward from the wind pressure, he held onto her waist without minding.

"Don't worry about it!"

Daniel called out as Ruby managed to recover quickly and stabbed Crescent Rose into the ground beside her.

"It looks as if we're going to have some trouble dealing with it now!"

Ruby called out, noticing what the Cockatrice was doing right in front of him.

It went into the air at a height that the group wouldn't have been able to reach using the simplest methods, and it would be harder to hit it if it started flying around.

"We have to find out how to bring it down. And likely before it starts…."

"Graaaaaaaaaah!"

Yang's announcement was stopped as the Cockatrice started screeching again, causing its high-pitched scream to expand outwards, because of the current height. None of them could tell how far it spread out considering that the Cockatrice was now airborne. But, hearing that screeching sound once again caused the people to pause, as a result of the high-pitch sound.

Since Team DUSK and RWBY led it further from the group, the Cockatrice's high-pitched screech wasn't as bad for Team JNPR, the fourth team, and Port.

"Ugh!"

Blake found herself falling to the ground again as she covered her ears and head as much as possible, resulting in her dropping Gambol Shroud. Noticing her partner in pain because of the Grimm, Yang kneeled beside her showing nothing short of concern.

"Blake!"

Yang couldn't come up with anything else aside from that, as her friends and teammates all looked on worried as a result of the intense pain she was in. No one could figure out the reason that Blake was experiencing this much comfort from the Cockatrice's screech aside from Daniel. Ruby looked on worried, but couldn't move closer since even she was having a hard from moving without moving her hands from her ears.

"I don't know what kind of Faunus that Blake is, but if she has a second pair of ears…then this is about the same as plugging a dog whistle into a speaker."

Daniel knew that if it consumes more Grimm will arrive, and Blake won't be able to stand listening to it for much longer had an idea. He reached where Vanir was holstered, then pointed it toward the Cockatrice as much as possible. He pointed it at the Cockatrice as two runic arrays appeared in front of the barrier, and without even hesitating, pulled the trigger five times.

From there the bullet was propelled forward at high-speed toward the Cockatrice, all five of the bullets penetrated its throat. Daniel didn't know if this would keep it from doing that again, but it would stop it from calling

"Kaaaah!"

The Cockatrice screeched from pain, having been hit five times, all the bullets having aura cloaked around them.

Since it stopped screeching, the people were freed from the ear-piercing sound and let out a relieved breath as it allowed them to move again.

"Ugh, that was rough…."

Blake said standing to her feet as she managed to recover from the high-pitched screech.

"Are you alright, Blake?"

Yang worriedly asked, while removing her hand from her head, having ensured that her bow was on right.

"Yea, I'm fine. But, we should focus on taking out that Grimm."

"You're right. But, I don't think that we need be worried about it doing that again since Dani shot it in the throat several times. Of course, I don't know about the anatomy of a Grimm compared to a normal creature."

"Well, it's kinda hard for people to research them when they vanish tend to be dusted as you pointed out once."

"I see you're fine enough to use your usual sarcasm."

Yang and Blake were having their typical back-and-forth.

"As much as I love interactions between partners," Alyssa intervened between them, as she started hearing a lot of noises from the forest. "But, we might have been had some unwanted guests arriving soon."

As Alyssa mentioned, smaller Grimm started arriving one scene, reacting to the Cockatrice's call. Like before, it ranged from Beowolves, Ursa, King Taijitu, Creeps, and even a Death Stalker, all of them had the entire group as their intended target.

"This is a little much for us to handle."

Jaune noted, realizing that the number of Grimm wasn't something that all of them could handle with their current numbers alone. Most brought about as much ammo as normal since this was a Grimm-infested forest, but similar to their aura, it wasn't unlimited. But, the question of whether their aura would degrade first, or their ammo would run out first.

"This is going from bad to worse. But, it's not like we can leave."

Ruby noted, despite the number of Grimm, she could tell that running wasn't an option for her.

"You're right. We don't have a means of escaping from this amount of Grimm, one of them is going to follow all of us back to Beacon. And killing it might be the one chance that we have to save Sandra."

Daniel stated right after Ruby, neither they nor their teammates showed the desire to run from them all.

---

"Well, I see that my students are as determined as before."

A familiar voice came on the scene as the students and their sole teacher turned around to find a total of five people standing there.

Standing there was their Combat Instructor, Glynda Goodwitch holding her The Disciplinarian in her hands, being prepared to defend her students. She wasn't alone as there were four other students, no normal students, but the second-year students.

"Whoa, I can see that my juniors might be good at attracting attention like this."

Heading out first, dressed in full combat attire was Coco, the leader of Team CFVY was standing there holding a black normal-looking handbag that had ammo on it. Standing there beside her were Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi who looked prepared for a fight against the invading Grimm.

"This situation appears to be dire."

Fox added looking at the situation around him.

"Well, then tighten up," Coco noted as she smacked Fox's butt as if in an attempt to encourage him more. "Can't let down our juniors, can we? So, let's get starting clearing up these guys!"

Coco pulled out her handbag, which appeared to be her weapon as she looked at all the Grimm that appeared to converge on the battlefield.

"What is she going to do with a…?"

As Jaune was asking that question, Velvet caught both Team JNPR's and the fourth team's attention before Coco could give them a warning.

"You all might want to duck!"

Velvet called out as Coco's handbag started transforming into a weapon.

But, it wasn't a normal small weapon, it was a rotatory gold and brown Gatling gun, much to the surprise of all the people who gathered there.

"Did her purse just turn into a Gatling gun?!"

Ruby announced as stars practically could be seen in her eyes at the simplicity and ingenuity behind the idea that Coco had for her weapon.

"This girl here is named Gianduja!"

Coco smirked and pointed her weapon, Gianduja, then pointed it at the Grimm as the teams facing them ducked as instructed. Pulling the trigger, she fired off a hail of bullets at the surrounding them, with the bullets shredding all the Grimm in her wake.

All of the first-year students looked on surprised, having witnessed the capabilities of their upperclassmen, as the Grimm's numbers were dwindling to a more manageable level. Once finished, Coco pushed up her sunglasses a little, then turned her attention over to her teammates.

"That should do with some of them. So, let's go assist our juniors with dealing with the rest."

""Right!""

Both Fox and Yatsuhashi replied, nodding their heads and heading out to assist Team JNPR and the fourth team.

Seeing their members heading out, Velvet looked over towards Coco, as if to ask for permission from her leader.

"Not yet, Velvet," Coco replied, noticing that Velvet looked saddened that she couldn't participate in this battle. A hand was soon placed on her shoulder as she smiled at her timid teammate. "This isn't the right moment to use it since it's just a simple rescue mission. But, we should go and check up on our downed junior."

"Right!"

Velvet agreed as she and Coco started heading in the direction, where Sandra was resting with Port acting as a bodyguard. Seeing the manner that Coco was leading her teammates caused a faint smile to appear on Glynda's face, then headed in the same direction as them.

Once there, the three women looked to find that Port defeated an Ursa Alpha that had attempted to attack them from behind using Blowhard as a battleax.

"Hohohoho, it's a pleasure to see that backup has arrived," Port said without showing fear or disappointment that their backup was five people. "Both Team CFVY and Professor Goodwitch found as several people alone."

"How's Sandra's condition?"

Glynda asked, being more concerned about her student's condition.

"I hate to think about what nightmare she's experiencing at this moment. She was acting as if she was sleeping for a time, but…it's starting to show that she's experiencing something terrible whatever that Grimm is showing her."

Port replied as Glynda's expression softened as she could see what he meant about Sandra's condition.

"…huff, ahhh…."

On the ground, Sandra was starting to move around as if she were experiencing the worst nightmare that a person couldn't wake up from. Based on the groans leaving from her mouth, and the sweat that had started to come out from her pores.

"She looks like she's going through something rough," Velvet said as she kneeled beside Sandra, looking more concerned for the girl. "The first time, we all saw Sandra, she came off as confident and sure about herself all the time. So, it's weird seeing her acting like this."

"Yea, but we're going to figure out how to get her out of this. I haven't even gotten to know what her favorite kind of coffee is."

Coco said, lightening up the mood around them with that comment.

Glynda herself kneeled, she placed a comforting hand on Sandra's head as if an attempt to give the young woman some kind of comfort. If under normal circumstances, then it would have worked, but the influence of this kind of Grimm wouldn't allow that kind of comfort.

"If she had to be experiencing anything, then it likely would be what she experienced traveling alone in Vacuo," a calm thought entered her mind, as Glynda didn't want to talk about the young girl's personal life in front of others. She could feel that Sandra's temperature was starting to rise a bit too. "I heard about the situation from Professor Ozpin about this Grimm, and he noted that defeating it might be the key in freeing Sandra."

"Well, our students are working on that one."

Port noted as Glynda turned to find that both the three members of Team DUSK and Team RWBY were avoiding the swooping attacks from the Cockatrice. She didn't want to mention it out loud yet, but she was surprised about the amount of teamwork that the students managed.

"Well, to ensure that things go out without losing one of our promising students. I'll go and assist," a determined voice could be seen from their Combat Instructor. "But, Professor Ozpin did come up with another solution, even if it's a theory."

"What would that be Glynda?"

"He said that all the people inflicted with that Cockatrice's attacks were experiencing nightmares about the painful experiences in their life. It was a slow process, but all the people started getting weaker without showing signs of physical damages. Based on the reports, it was extensive damage done to the mind that soon resulted in death once the body started weakening. Using that logic alone, if she can overcome whatever she's experiencing, then it might be possible for her to wake up."

Having given her explanation about the situation at hand, before heading out to assist her students against the Cockatrice.

"Professor Goodwitch, are there any signs that we need to know?"

Velvet asked worriedly.

"Velvet, it is always good to ensure you have the best information about the situation at hand," Glynda replied, as a compliment and instructing her student. "If Sandra reaches the same point as those close to death, then she'll start acting erratically. It'll mean something serious has occurred within her mind. If that happens, then we'll…."

"I have an idea of what to do in regards to that Professor Goodwitch. I thought about it during the trip and talked to Fox about it. So, we'll have that plan as a backup."

"That's good, Coco."

Glynda wasn't the type to smile often, but seeing moments, where her students did things such as this, that what the thing she felt like doing. It didn't last long until she moved over to assist her first-year students, who were part of the group that garnered the most attention thus far.

"Alright, here it comes again!"

Daniel called out as he pointed Retribution at the Cockatrice, while the others all preparing for the assault coming from the Grimm. Weiss was preparing to create a defensive Glyph, and Daniel was going to assist her in making it more durable.

"Everyone prepare yourself!"

Ruby announced as the Cockatrice was inches from running into them.

But, before it could, something knocked the Grimm in another direction far from the students, resulting in it hitting the ground.

"So, students is there something that I could assist you in."

Both teams turned around to find that Glynda stood behind them holding her weapon in hand, causing a little bit of relief.

"Yea, both me and Ruby were thinking about some ideas about dealing with it."

"And if Professor Goodwitch is helping us, then it's going to work out!"

Daniel and Ruby replied with enthusiasm in their voices.

From there, their respective teams felt as if this situation was going to be resolved far quicker with the assistance of their blonde-haired instructor. And defeating this Grimm might be the moment that their friend and/or teammate would be freed.

---

Inside Sandra's mental world, she was walking almost without aim or direction as she witnessed her younger self doing the same thing.

"…."

She hadn't said a single word, following the incident where her mother and tribe abandoned her. She didn't speak even in response to her duplicate's various comments about the situation.

[Come on, don't start giving me the silent, silent treatment. It gets real boring watching someone walking about in a desert without some form of entertainment. Speaking of which, how did you end up sating boredom, while you were walking in the desert along for how many years again?]

"…."

Sandra didn't respond and simply continued walking forward.

There was nothing that she could do at all, aside from witnessing all these memories, while watching the younger version of herself struggle.

"I wonder what Daniel, Alyssa, and Hunter would all think after witnessing their cold-hearted teammate acting like a little girl without a place to go?"

Sandra asked herself out loud, seeing no point in talking in her mind while being there already.

[Come on, talking to yourself now?]

[*Sniff* *Sniff* …I'm all alone now….]

Her younger self uttered as she continued walking forward without anything else for her to do aside from walking through the desert, drinking, eating, and sleeping; then continuing that pattern. Sandra was all alone when she was with the Skye Tribe, but this supplemented that belief even more. Before at least, she had the company of others, even if it was listening to them talk or their comments aimed at her.

[…uh…mom….]

The Younger Sandra almost found herself wanting to tear up again.

It has been almost two days since leaving her abandonment there, and it all didn't appear real to her.

[…this must be a trick, right…? Mom…mom, wouldn't just leave me out here alone? Mothers wouldn't abandon their children like this, right? She must be somewhere watching me..to watch me.]

Sandra tried convincing herself that she wasn't alone and that her mother was watching what she did from a safe distance. She didn't ever want to believe that Aoife would abandon her in the harsh Vacuan desert, her flesh and blood daughter there alone. Holding onto that belief is what allowed Sandra to continue walking forward not wanting to disappoint Aoife's expectations of her.

[That's right. I'll prove that I can do this. I'll prove that I'm the sole daughter of Aoife Skye, the leader of the Skye Tribe. And then, I'll be able to ask her the question that I wanted to know.]

Sandra watched on as her younger self kept holding onto that childish and naive belief, something that everyone her age would want to believe. It was almost sad to watch as the child kept pressing forward holding something as shallow as that.

Amid the younger Sandra's aimless and idealistic adventure, there was shuffling in the sand behind her as she'd kept walking forward.

[…huh…? What's that…?]

Sandra heard the shuffling right behind her, because of her training from Aoife and experience in Vacuo, realized the sound wasn't caused by the wind pushing sand. She turned around with caution, noting that the shuffling is now becoming more constant and caused by something. Her attention was directed at the sands around her in an attempt to notice the change herself rather than hearing it.

[There's something in the sand.] Sandra did notice that something was moving underneath the sand at a quick pace. [Is that a…?]

The younger Sandra wondered out loud as she noticed something shooting right at her, it was several black tendrils. All the tendrils looked to have been focused on Sandra as she reacted to this, then started running from the situation.

[…it's a Grimm!]

Sandra started running away from the Grimm's tendrils as much as possible, but it was far too late as it intended on catching and devouring her from the start. Before, she could take a second step, the tendrils wrapped around Sandra's legs.

[…ahhh!]

Sandra screamed as she fell to the ground, her chin ended up hitting the hot sand beneath her. Even the weapon she kept on her person at all times fell out of her pockets.

Before Sandra could even register what was even happening around her, the unidentified Grimm began dragging the young girl towards itself. She had been pulled back far enough to where she couldn't even grab a hold of the knife. The underground Grimm was too strong for the young girl to escape from, but she still tried pulling herself free from it by digging her fingers into the ground.

However, Sandra had no proper traction because of the sand, she couldn't kick herself forward and couldn't keep herself from being pulled back. Despite having nothing but sand to keep herself from being pulled back, Sandra kept on fighting against the fate that would befall her if she didn't. Even a naive child would be aware that it was impossible for someone, who wasn't an adult to escape from a Grimm like this.

[Ugh! I can't escape from this Grimm. I don't even know what it looks like.] Sandra complained as she was being pulled back more as time passed. It wouldn't have taken anything left aside from one strong pull for her smaller body to be hoisted into the air and devoured. Not knowing anything else to do, there was one thing that Sandra was able to do. [Mom! Please help me!]

Sandra watched as her younger self called out to her mother for help, as loud as possible. The young girl's voice was loud enough to reach across the area, something that strained it.

"…."

The older Sandra couldn't utter a single word in response.

[Mom, please I'm going to get eating if you don't come out and help me! I can't do this alone! I can't survive out in Vacuo alone! I…I'm not like you! I'm strong enough! I'm not brave enough to do it! But…but…please! Please! I'm still your daughter, aren't I?!]

Sandra's younger self began balling out crying again as she was still being pulled by the Grimm while yelling all the words she wanted to utter.

"It's pointless, and I realized that a long time ago. If mom tells someone to do something, she wants them to do it no questions asked. And she means all the words she says," Sandra uttered as she looked down as her younger self faced the sand underneath her as her tears landed on it. She realized that those words from her mother were nothing but the truth with no falsehood. "She did abandon us here and wanted us to survive alone. I'm sorry, but that is the truth."

[…mom….]

Sandra witnessed as her younger self looked as if her heart had been stabbed as her grip faltered. Realizing that the young girl gave up hope as a creature attracted to such negative feelings, the Grimm pulled her as strong as it could.

[Ahh!]

On reflex, the younger Sandra screamed as she was being backward with great force, causing her to be pulled off the ground. Reacting to this, the older Sandra moved forward as her younger counterpart looked as if she was reaching out for someone.

[Uh, I wonder if she remembers she can't….]

As the duplicate noted, it was a simple memory, so it meant that even if the older one could see the younger ones, the younger one couldn't see her too. And the same could be said about interactions between the two counterparts. Sandra tried grabbing onto her younger counterpart's hand, but as expected her hand slipped right through hers.

[Aahhhhh!]

Sandra screamed as she was suspended into the air, where the Grimm's mouth could be seen from the sand as it surfaced. She couldn't escape from this, even if she did, she would land inside of the Grimm's mouth and be its snack. There was no hope in escaping from this situation. There was no hope at all. She was right, there wasn't a single thing she did to impress her mother. There wasn't a single thing that her mother could be proud of.

[What's the point? Mom didn't even see a point in letting me remain in the tribe and abandoned me here. Nothing I could do will prove that I was good enough to call myself her daughter.]

Sandra found herself accepting the fate that was going to befall her as the tendrils released her, causing her to fall into its awaiting mouth. Moments before descending right into the Grimm's mouth, she recalled the last couple of words that she heard from her mother's mouth.

[If you succeed, then you can ask me whatever you want, Sandra. And whatever you do with that answer will be your choice.]

Hearing those words caused Sandra to look up with a calm look.

[I still wouldn't get to hear her answer. I still wouldn't get the chance to ask mom that question. I…I can't die until I ask that question. I want to at least ask her once!]

Sandra made that declaration out loud as she felt a sudden change in herself as her aura could be seen around her. Despite making that declaration, she was still descending inside the Grimm's mouth and was close to turning into its next meal. But, Sandra still didn't lose faith and wracked her brain about what her next move would be as her heart started beating faster.

Soon enough, it happened, Sandra fell into the Grimm's mouth, but she didn't end up inside of its stomach. She slipped right through the Grimm, or it appeared as if she phased through it.

[Huh? I awakened my semblance, right? But, I'm not stopping.]

Sandra was confused as she passed right through the Grimm, but it didn't stop there was she kept going through the ground without being able to stop herself. She started attempting to control something that she didn't have a lot of understanding of. And she didn't know whether it was because of that, or it didn't last long, but Sandra soon found herself in a tight space underground.

[Huh, where am I? Ugh, I can barely move in here.]

Sandra couldn't move as she couldn't see a single shred of light in front of her, there was nothing else aside from darkness. She struggled to even move around to fish the thing she carried around inside of her pockets, the thing she pulled out was a small Fire Dust crystal. She made it glow a bit, giving herself a little bit of light inside of what looked to be a tunnel.

Seeing no other choice, Sandra found herself traveling forward through the tunnel that she was just small enough for. She spent so much time traveling down that small tunnel with no other path in front of her that it was almost becoming uncomfortable. At some point, she had no other choice but to stop using the Fire Dust to light her path, seeing as it was the same as holding fire in-between her fingers.

But, all her efforts paid off as she arrived inside of an underground cavern, where there seemed to be water and something she didn't think she'd see.

[Is all that Dust?]

Sandra looked around to see that there was some Dust embedded in the cavern walls and the cool air inside of it was enough to cause relief. Her older self and the duplicate were there too witnessing it happen right there, as a hum escaped from its mouth.

[Well, this was a lucky find. In discovering your semblance, you discovered this treasure that most would kill for. I don't think that anyone else could be this fortunate. By the way, did being in that small tunnel leave some kind of emotional scar? I mean traveling through something like that from such an age would be traumatizing.]

"…."

Again, Sandra didn't respond, but she could deny it either.

This incident left Sandra unable to find herself entering a tight and enclosed space without starting to panic, even though her semblance made it pointless. During the first time, where Jaune was trapped inside of the locker, she found herself moving to let him out before thinking about it.

She looked up to find that her younger self found an old spear inside of the cavern without the old remains of its owner around it. As Sandra was looking for her spoils, she found herself hearing something else on the ground. It sounded as if several things were scurrying around on the ground at the same time. Soon enough, she looked to see that it was a bunch of infant Death Stalkers.

Unlike their adult counterparts, their sizes looked as big as insects, if not about the same size as a big crab. But, their superior numbers were the real issue there, which could overcome her if she wasn't careful.

[…I'm…no….] Sandra found herself starting to cry, but stopped herself as she tightened her grip on the old spear. She soon started uttering the same words she heard from her mother almost as if it was some mantra. [Sandra, crying is going to beget nothing. If you want something in life, then you're going to need to either take it or fight for it. Crying is going to beget nothing. Crying is going to beget nothing. Crying is going to beget nothing!]

Holding down her tears and emotions, Sandra witnessed her younger self rushing at the infant Death Stalkers as the mini-Grimm approached her. She recalled the words that her mother told her from time to time as things progressed in a battle for her life. Sandra fought through the numerous amount of Death Stalkers around her with her mother's words and lessons being on her mind.

[Don't be this! Don't be that! Be the daughter that she wants! Be the daughter that she could be proud of! Be the daughter those people won't talk bad about behind her back! Forget! Forget! Forget about that weak girl! Bury all those emotions and even her! Don't be that girl! Be just like mom!]

Sandra witnessed her younger self fighting against herself and the Death Stalkers around her at the same time. That wasn't all, she was burying the girl she was to become the child her mother wanted. No, Sandra was slowly becoming her mom. She didn't even know how much time passed as her tears seemed to have dried up and the Death Stalker infants died. She let out constant breaths from her mouth as she looked to see that it was her win.

Not wasting time, Sandra started collecting all the things that she would need. She filled up the canteen using the water there and gathered Dust in the manner her mother taught her.

[I'll do it. I'll show her that I can be the person she wants. And then, and then…I'll get an answer.]

Sandra looked on as her younger self prepared herself for the challenges and battle for survival that would be in front of her now. The older Sandra was well aware that all this did was nothing productive or good for herself, all it did was lead to a tragic and pointless ending.

---

Sandra and the duplicate soon found themselves elsewhere entirely, inside what looked to be a more public area. She was confused for a moment as she witnessed a sudden scene change but realized that this all looked too familiar.

"This is Coquina, isn't it?"

Sandra asked, looking around, recalling the familiar buildings and people.

[Yes, this is the place you trained at to become a Huntress and find your mother. Wait, I think that this moment is a bit more significant to you.]

Her duplicate replied looking around the place, almost like an irritating tourist.

But, Sandra knew what this moment was as she witnessed her younger self, older compared to before now being an official teenager. And started looking more and more like the spitting image of her mother. Compared to her mother, though, Sandra did look wear a softer expression. She was dressed in casual attire while seeming to haul around a bag in her hands.

[Hmm, I think that this is all the things I need.]

Sandra commented to herself while looking inside a bit.

She admitted that getting to this point was rough, but she made it to Coquina and began attending combat school to train and become a Huntress. Sandra still lived a little bit rough lifestyle, needing to work to support herself, but managed to find herself a job in a music shop. So, she was able to survive with this much until graduating, then head out to Shade Academy.

[I managed to meet friendly people here. So, I guess that….]

At that moment, Sandra found herself staring at the mark her mother placed on the back of her hand a long time ago. It'd been a pale red mark most confused for as being a tattoo and didn't bother divulging into explaining it in any greater detail. She guessed some time ago that pouring aura in it made it glow and tried seeing if her mother had been around her location. Of course, that didn't work out in the end.

But, she wasn't even doing anything, and the mark was reacting as if something was going on now. Rather than it beginning to shine brighter, it instead started fading as if it was being erased.

[…huh?]

Sandra was looking on confused as the mark continued vanishing without her intending to do so. Nothing that she can do such a thing since it wasn't her semblance. She stared on with confusion in her expression, which soon turned into hopelessness. A sudden realization came to her mind almost as if a lightning bolt had hit the top of her head.

[Come on, you must be joking around with me, right?! This isn't even fair at all! Not everything that I went through, not after everything that I did! Don't leave me like this! Not after I, not after I…didn't I finally become the daughter that you wanted me to be.]

Sandra looked on as her now teenage self stumbled about until falling to her knees as if her life purpose had been snatched from her. Multiple people saw what Sandra was doing at this moment, and wondered what was happening. No one did anything, even as the teenager had started having tears strolling down her cheeks and felt as if she was genuinely alone now.

"A mark can't be removed unless the wielder removes it. But, there was one more method for removing it, which was something that I realized," Sandra noted as she lowered her eyes to the ground depressed. "My mother died and abandoned me a second time, but for good this time. And I was all alone."

Similar to her younger teenage self, Sandra found herself falling to her knees as she directed her head towards the ground. All the memories that have been replayed in her mind, caused all of the feelings that she kept buried in the deepest parts of her mind came flow back.

"I'm all alone. No, I was always alone since the beginning. But, my mother was the closest thing that I ever had to a bond."

Sandra found herself tearing up and crying as she re-experienced it all once again without shame or fear about the people who'd be watching her doing so. It was as if all the feelings from there returned. Seeing that she broke down, at last, her duplicate was wrapped up in a black aura that looked almost like a mist. A wide almost inhuman smile formed on its face having witnessed the breaking down of Sandra.

[I must admit that it took much longer than I thought. I thought witnessing your mother abandoning you again was what would break you down, but I guess I was wrong.] It raised its hand in a knife-hand manner, directing it at Sandra's back, while she wasn't focusing on anything at all. [I apologize that you went through something sad for a second time Sandra. But, I hope that you find peace in reuniting with your mother again and become able to ask that question you wanted to know.]

Her duplicate smiled almost like a monster as it sent its knife hand right at Sandra aiming at her back.

---

In the real world, as Coco and Velvet were watching over Sandra, the former was the first to notice that she began to react. She started to spasm as if having a violent reaction to whatever happened inside of her mental world, as Sandra's breaths started becoming much more erratic. Seeing this occurring caused Coco hold Sandra within her arms to keep the young girl from hurting herself.

"Sandra!"

Velvet worriedly called out.

"Come on, Sandra! You're not dying here," Coco stated without lack of strength in that belief, then turned over to where her teammates were fighting. She looked to see Fox, who had been taking down all the Grimm that was in his path. "Fox! Time to put that plan we talked about into motion!"

"Right!"

Fox said after blasting an Alpha Ursa backward, causing its body to turn to dust.

He then retreated backward and rushed over toward his team leader, who placed Sandra back onto the ground, while holding her in place. Witnessing that, Fox placed both hands on Sandra's head beside the temple, then he started concentrating.

"Alright, here comes the big one!"

Daniel declared, causing a black runic array to appear around Retribution as a Gravity Dust bullet was loaded in it. He then brought it down on top of the Cockatrice's head, sending it downwards and causing damage to the top of its head. Alyssa and Yang came in, aiming a combined strong blow aimed at its side, knocking it downwards to the ground causing a notable loud and cracking noise as it fell.

Once it landed on the ground, Weiss and Glynda, started firing off blasts from their respective semblances mixed with their weapons. All these blasts did more damage to the Cockatrice as the accumulated damage began doing a number on it.

"Alright, we're starting to get some noticeable damage on it!"

"Man, this thing was tougher than the Nevermore we fought."

Both Ruby and Yang commented as the two started getting into the final phase of their attack.

"Grimm tend to get stronger the longer it lives and details intellect more than common ones. It must have been in the Emerald Forest for a long time because there hasn't been a single report about it appearing. It's no wonder it took on all the attacks from both teams, but still has the strength to fight back. And it's because of that, that I don't want you all to lose focus and ensure this last attack is what defeats it."

"Alright, Professor Goodwitch, let's do…."

[Daniel.]

"Eh?"

Daniel was confused as he heard Fox speaking to him, causing him to look as if he was being looked at.

[No time to explain, but my semblances, Telepathy lets me talk to others like this. I'm going to be including Hunter and Alyssa too in this conversation. Coco thought about this as an idea of helping Sandra wake up.]

"Alright."

Daniel agreed without letting the others hear it since their group was in the middle of a fight, and a distraction will end up bringing down their pace.

[Hunter. Alyssa.]

""…?""

Hunter and Alyssa seemed to have received the same message as the three started heading Fox's voice too.

[So, can we all hear one another?]

Coco asked as she seemed added onto the people able to hear.

[Yea, but this is a first-time experience.]

Daniel replied, not thinking of a time talking using another person's semblance like this.

[Well, I'm sure you're going to have another first-time experience with something else.] Coco joked as Daniel had reddened cheeks, knowing what she meant about that. [But, in all seriousness, we heard that the Cockatrice can send people inside a nightmare, which is the same as sending them into their mind. And Fox's Telepathy lets him send messages to people's minds. He can do the same with multiple people if you catch my drift, Daniel?]

[We can use this as a means of getting our message to Sandra. And see if that wakes her up.]

[Exactly. And I know this is going to be a bit personal, so Fox will focus on keeping the channel open.]

Daniel and the others realized their intentions and thought this was the best secondary solution for helping their teammate. Just as that idea entered their equation, Daniel looked up to find that the Cockatrice was starting to stand back up.

[Alright, so Alyssa you're up first!]

Daniel commented as he placed his hand on the ground and started making runic arrays in preparation for their plan.

[Right, Sandra. I know that you've been going through something over the past week, but I know that you aren't the one to talk about your feelings. I know that you might think that it's a weakness and that you might not want to appear weak in front of others. But, isn't that the point of being a teenager. You're supposed to be emotional. A person who makes mistakes and learns from them. And you're supposed to have people that you can depend on matter what. Sandra, you're not alone and we're never going to let you feel like that.]

Alyssa stated as she started moving to do her part in the plan, and moved into position.

[Sandra.] Daniel and Alyssa were almost surprised, after hearing Hunter's voice for the first time, even if it was just because of a mental link. It sounded pleasant, making it a shame that he couldn't speak. [We didn't have much conversation with one another. And to be honest, I was a bit scared of trying to communicate with you. But, I was glad that I got to know the people on Team DUSK. You never talked bad about me not being able to speak, and there's so much that I still want to know about you. Most of all, there's still a lot that I want to experience with everyone here.]

Hunter replied as he placed three arrows into Actaeon.

[So, we didn't have the best introduction. I mean, you gave me harsh comments the first time, then tried stabbing me the second time. But, both times were accidents and it doesn't bother me at all. I even laugh about it when it comes to mind. You're not the kind of person who believes in someone without the right kind of proof that person is worth it. I respect that you're honest in regards to that, and it makes me believe that something happened that made it hard for you to trust people. Aside from becoming a decent leader, I want to become a friend that you can rely on too. It's because of that if you find yourself in a situation like this. I'm going to try my absolute hardest to help, no matter how much you reject it. I'm the leader of Team DUSK, and whether you like it or not, I'm also your friend. And besides….]

There was a pause as the Cockatrice stood up, with Daniel, Hunter, and Alyssa smiling to themselves.

[[[You still owe us a concert! So, wake up, Sandra!]]]

And from that, their message was delivered to Sandra's mind, while she remained inside of her mental world.

---

Inside of said world, Sandra remained on the ground as her duplicate was still preparing to attack her. At the same moment, she received the messages from Alyssa, Hunter, and Daniel as they seemed to echo inside this mind space. Because of this, there was a slight pause in the duplicate's attack as it clicked its tongue.

[Tsk, dammit, I didn't think that there was someone who could do such a thing in someone's mind. It doesn't have much meaning, though…it's too late for her to…urgh.]

Sandra stood up, and punched the duplicate in the face, knocking it backward to the ground. A pained look was shown on its expression as it felt that one.

"Of course, those three would find some method of entering my head too. Didn't think I would receive a pep talk, but I needed it," Sandra said, standing back up to her feet and feeling the impact in her hand. "So, this means that I can hit you. I guess that this has something to do with the Grimm being attracted to negative feelings, and you've been feeding off those feelings to kill me."

[You're smart for a sad…urgh.]

Sandra's duplicate was prepared to move again but stopped after noticing that something penetrated her chest. It looked down to see that it was Gae Bulg, that penetrated its chest. Sandra then came up to grab onto the spear as it remained stabbed within it.

"I don't have time to talk with someone who's about to fade into nothingness. My teammates, my friends need a hand dealing that Grimm outside. So, I can't waste my time looking at old memories," Sandra said as she leaned right in front of the duplicate of herself. "So, get out of my head!"

Sandra took Gae Bulg out of it, then split the duplicate in half, causing it to vanish as if it was a Grimm.

[A…ahhh…. You…You…aaaahaaaaha!]

Sandra's duplicate let out an inhuman scream as the entire mental world was breaking apart.

---

"Ugh!"

Sandra woke up from that nightmare, groaning as if she felt more exhausted for some reason.

"Well, looks who's up."

Coco said, Sandra, noticing that the upperclassman was still holding onto her arms.

"Uh, you can stop holding me down."

"And if I don't feel like it~"

Coco replied flirtatiously, as Velvet and Fox looked oddly at their team leader.

"Please, let me go."

Sandra requested with some more emotion in her voice, while being a bit flustered too, surprising the three.

"Well, don't sound all bashful, you're going to make this girl's heart melt."

Coco said letting Sandra go, but she planned on it even if she hadn't said it like that.

Sandra had started standing onto her feet, having caught her inactive Gae Bulg into her hands, but found herself having difficulties in doing so. Noticing this, Coco kept Sandra from falling to the ground and acting as her support.

"Careful, you shouldn't be in the most stable condition at the moment."

"Yea, I guessed that," Sandra said, not doubting Coco's words as she soon found her balance. "But, I still need to do something before tapping out. So, can you please help me get there?"

"Not the situation that I'd thought I hear that phrase," Coco stated, hearing about that last unintentional innuendo from Sandra. "But, what kind of upperclassmen would I be if I didn't help my junior?"

"You're just a year ahead of me."

"That's true, but I'm the perfect mix of fashionable and badass."

Coco stated as she started assisting Sandra over to the rest of her teammates and friends, while she focused on becoming as mobile as she could before getting here.

"Alright, let's give this one more attempt!"

Daniel commented as he loaded a Lightning Dust Shell in Retribution a second time, then started using Haste as the Cockatrice was moving in for another charge. He was standing right in the same position as before, while it kept on charging at him. Just as the Cockatrice was going to crash into him, Daniel moved back at high-speed as Weiss activated her Glyph using Ice Dust.

There a Glyphs that had Runes around it, caused a bunch of ice to manifest, which encased the Cockatrice in it, thus entrapping it. It tried breaking free from the ice, but it was made difficult to the mixture of semblances of the Schnee and Norden. Before it made another move, though, Hunter fired three arrows at the Cockatrice, all sailing towards its direction.

Noticing this, the Cockatrice knocked two aside using its tail, but the last one was manipulated by using his semblance and ended up piercing its right eye. He intended on taking out the other one so that it wouldn't end up doing the same move it did on Sandra before.

"…."

A silent screech came from the Grimm's mouth, likely due to the constant damage directed at its throat.

From a sudden burst of aggression and strength, it managed to break free from the ice prison and started flapping its wings around to blow them away. However, that was within the realm of thought too, as both Blake and Ruby were heading out to handle that.

"You're not doing that again!"

Ruby rushed at high speed using her Petal Burst, then swung around Crescent Rose cutting off its right wind. In doing a similar thing, Blake used semblance to propel herself forward using a clone as she sliced off its left wing. Because of their combined assault, it felt Cockatrice's options of flight and using strong wind pressure to send all of them back avoid.

"What's wrong? I guess you didn't expect this!"

Daniel stated as he still kept Haste active as he propelled himself forward in a high-speed headlong as lightning was still wrapped around Retribution. And from this, he launched a devastating blow against the Cockatrice as it felt that last blow to the chest while being pushed back. It went to launch a counterattack against Daniel, but this was stopped as it felt a sharp pain in its back.

"You're not eating Daniel!"

It was revealed to be Sandra who jumped right onto the Cockatrice's back and stabbed Gae Bulg while releasing flames at the same time. From that, the Cockatrice started reacting violently as Sandra slashed her spear upward leaving a deep cut into its flesh.

"Hey, look who's up. You alright?"

Daniel replied as he propelled off the Cockatrice, while Sandra did the same thing.

"For lack of a better word. Don't think I can remain up for long."

Sandra commented, thinking that it took a lot of effort to do all this right after freeing herself from Cockatrice's mental influence. She ended up needing Coco to help her in getting this far and ended using the Gravity Dust in Gae Bulg to propel herself forward.

"Well, you can pass out as soon as this is over. And that isn't going to be that long."

Daniel commented as Sandra looked around and couldn't find two blonde women, but realized that this must've been a part of the plan.

"Alright, so what do we do?"

"Well, let's keep it from moving from this spot."

Daniel suggested as he and Sandra started moving from the Cockatrice, while their friends did multiple attacks to keep it from moving from its current position. All of which consisted of hit-and-run tactics, from the group that had consisted of Daniel, Ruby, Blake, and Sandra who attacked it using their respective weapons. Hunter, Weiss, and Glynda all attacked it using long-ranged attacks while assisting them.

"Ugh, I think that I'm starting to reach…that limit."

Sandra said as she felt her mental exhaustion start to hit her almost like a train.

Her vision started blurring, likely because she had spent too much time inside of that mental space because of its powers. Just as their aura and semblance was a countermeasure against the Grimm, the same thing could be said about their existence alone. From that moment of pause, the Cockatrice targeted Sandra using its tail in a manner resembling a whip.

Before it could, she felt herself being pushed to the ground by Daniel as the tail missed its intended target. But, it ended up striking him, who took the hit for Sandra.

[Daniel!]

Weiss, Ruby, and Sandra called out worriedly noticing the attack that he took.

"…!"

Glynda looked on worried about her student as his right arm ended up taking on an assault that built up a decent amount of momentum. But, it didn't stop there as the Cockatrice used the same move that it had done on Sandra using its last remaining eye moments after it attacked. A beam of red light covered Daniel, as his eyes turned the same color too. And similar to Sandra, he ended up motionless.

[…!]

The people who witnessed this became worried, at what happened right in front of them again. Glynda noticing it was going for the last attack, used her Telekinesis to lift Daniel into the air and tried moving him aside. However, a surprise came moments later as a gun was fired.

"…graa…!"

The Cockatrice managed to let out that pained groan as its last remaining eye was shot by a gun.

"Geez, don't go messing with a person's memories without permission."

Daniel, who looked to have woken up on his own looked to have shot its last eye using Vanir a second after he woke up. Despite seeming as if he had been under that attack for a second, it looked to have shaken him up a bit based on his irritable expression. The people there were surprised about what had happened but thought that it could wait for later.

"Tch, stop messing with people already!"

Sandra using, the last strength that she had left propelled forward and ended up slicing off the Cockatrice's tail at the base.

"…!"

It groaned again as it was left without its eyes, wings, and tail. But, they could still feel the negative emotions around them and tried escaping.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Sandra is another moment to make things right, placed her hand on the ground around the Cockatrice, then put more focus into her semblance. Moments later, the Cockatrice started stinking into the ground, to the point where half of its body sunk into the ground. Doing that, seemed to have had taken out more from Sandra, who was now on the ground breathing heavier.

"Time to end this one! Yang! Alyssa!"

Daniel commented, looking straight into the air.

Right above where the Cockatrice was trapped, both Yang and Alyssa were standing on top of a runic array that Daniel uses as a platform.

"Alright, let's rock!"

Yang called out punching her fists together as her hair started glowing bright yellow with flames seeming to come from it, while her eyes turned red. All of the damage that she had taken from the Cockatrice was going to be paid in full, no double that.

"Right!"

Alyssa used her semblance at full blast, as a golden light could be seen wrapped around her.

From there, the blonde-haired women leaped from the platform and began descending toward the trapped Cockatrice building up more momentum for the last hit. And as soon as the two were right on top of the Grimm, both released a devastating blow at the same moment. There was a noticeable cracking noise coming from the Cockatrice as it was attacked. Together with their combined blow, caused a powerful blow, which broke the ground around the Cockatrice as it let out one final gasp.

The blonde-haired duo known as the Power Duo, created a crater in their wake as the Cockatrice started to fade into black smoke. What was left behind was Yang and Alyssa who had sat down in the crater, breathing out after that last assault before starting to laugh.

"Hahaha, that was awesome!"

"Right!"

Both the old friends gave an appropriate high-five.

"Daniel, I guess this is what you'd call a jackpot, right?!"

Yang called out as she and Alyssa started getting out from the crater.

"That's right!"

Daniel declared as he and Yang high-fived too.

"Sandra!"

Alyssa called out after seeing her partner was walking around fine, and almost wanted to call out to her, while on the platform, but held back. Since things finished as peacefully as possible, Alyssa wrapped both her arms around Sandra, while smiling.

"…." Sandra almost wanted to request that she let her go out of habit, but she held that back and wanted to have a heartfelt hug. "Thanks, and I'm sorry about the trouble."

"Are you kidding right now? I'm would be the one apologizing to you," Alyssa started thinking back to the time she and Blake had been protected by Sandra's actions. "You ended up taking that hit for me and Blake."

"She's right. I'm ashamed, but grateful that you protected us like that."

Sandra gave an uncharacteristic blush at the compliments she was receiving, then started scratching the side of her cheek almost unable to comprehend it all.

"I-I mean didn't do much. My body ended up moving on its own, you know?"

Sandra replied, acting a bit bashful.

Witnessing Sandra acting like this, the people around her started looking on surprised about it all. The person in front of them was almost a different person compared to the one all of them had gotten to know thus far.

"Come on, don't look at me…like…I'm…being…."

Sandra started feeling intense exhaustion overcoming her as she fell forward, but was caught by Alyssa, who looked worried.

"Sandra?! Are you…?"

"…zzzzz…."

Sandra could be heard sleeping, letting out a peaceful sound escape from her mouth.

"It's not surprising that she was exhausted from all that happened," Coco stated as she noticed the peaceful look Sandra was making at that moment. "Kinda disappointed, I wanted to hold her like that."

"Oh, Coco."

Velvet uttered as she stood beside her team leader and friend.

Noticing the peaceful look on Sandra's face caused Alyssa to almost smile at that, and allowed the purple-haired to rest within her arms. All the Grimm has been dealt with, letting all the people rest and breath, thankful that things ended without serious wounds. Daniel stood in the same position, still feeling a bit affected by Cockatrice's last two attacks hitting him like that.

It wasn't like the tailwhip attack hurt him that much, more so as the pain was almost gone, but that mental attack wasn't something that he could recover as quickly from. Daniel was soon approached by two people who noticed the effects the last attack had on him.

"Daniel, are you fine after that?"

Ruby asked worriedly, not knowing what to expect after seeing Daniel hit with that attack.

"I'd be lying if I was fine. I kinda saw some things, which kinda explains what Sandra went through."

Daniel replied as he looked exhausted from Cockatrice's last attack.

"Daniel, did you see…?"

Weiss asked, but noticed that he was wobbling around a bit.

"Uh, Weiss. Ruby. I need to apologize."

"Uh, for what?"

Ruby asked confused, not knowing what he needed to apologize for.

"…I really…don't know where I'm going to…fall…so…."

Daniel replied, and similar to Sandra found himself falling forward exhausted from the experience.

""Daniel!""

In the end, Ruby and Weiss ended up catching him before Daniel fell to the ground. Seeing that Daniel and Sandra were knocked unconscious from the experience, Glynda immediately called in the airship their group rode on to land in this area. It was a fun and exciting camping trip, more so than what the group would've expected, but all of them hoped that it'd ended in a more lighthearted matter.

The entire group fought against a Cockatrice and a horde of different Grimm, their aura was nearing the red and their bodies were almost worn out. But, not more so than the unconscious Daniel and Sandra; the former gained a lap pillow from Weiss, while the latter was still being hugged by Alyssa.

---

A/N: Well, this is the end of the next chapter of RWBY – Team DUSK, well this was the conclusion of their camping trip and their fight against the unidentified Grimm, now identified as a Cockatrice. Now, most of this chapter was peering inside of Sandra's childhood and caused her to become the person she is. It was a harsh life, but it was a good thing that Sandra ended up finding people she can depend on.

Their group also received assistance from Team CFVY and Glynda, with Sandra being saved as a result of Fox's semblance. And in the end, their group ended up defeating the Cockatrice, once Sandra has woken up Well, the next chapter is going to be more or less the conclusion of this situation since I couldn't fit it in this chapter too.

So, about the allusion between Sandra and her mother.

I mentioned this before, but Sandra alludes to Scáthach, a warrior woman from Irish legend. Her mother, on the other hand, alludes to Aoife, who in the same legend is mentioned as being Scáthach's sister and a rival. Both their last name and their tribe's name are a reference to the Isle of Skye, where her resistance was said to have been located.

And a Cockatrice is a creature mentioned in European legends described as a monster with the ability to kill people by either looking at them, touching them or sometimes breathing on them.