And so it is decided, Ironwood's semblance-name is Unwavering Command! Thank you all once more for the steady expansion of the story, I still can't fully express how much I love you guys except through continuing to deliver as much as possible. Now, no more grandstanding, let's hop back into the show!

Fighting Rose

Chapter 26

Off to Glenn

"So… you're our supervising Professor?" Ruby asked, intrigued.

"Doctor!" Oobleck corrected, "And yes indeed, that would be me! Now, I assume that the four of you have understood the orders given to you by Ozpin?"

The entirety of RWBY nodded their heads, their faces dead-set and serious.

"I'm carrying a bunch of extra Dust, ammunition and rations," Yang said as she pointed at the rather large backpack she was carrying, "Ruby's got tools and extra repair-stuff for our weapons."

Ruby's face flickered with some kind of unreadable emotion as her own smaller backpack seemed to wiggle on its own.

"Excellent, then let us depart for Mountain Glenn! Be sure to relax as much as possible on the trip there, as we will have to keep our guard up the moment we land. It is very likely that the presence of Grimm will be a tad higher than you are used to, not to mention the potential of… other more sentient threats."

The message was clear, the team a bit more tense now but no less ready.

"This is a search and destroy mission," Oobleck said a bit lowly, "…while I hope that the latter only revolves around the destruction of Grimm, it is… quite likely that none of you will leave this place with your hands clean. Are you… prepared for that consequence?"

"…"

They were all silent for a moment before Ruby was the one to speak up, a confident smirk on her face.

"We've done it before and we'll do it again," She said, "We'll beat the hell out of anyone who gets in our way, defend our lives while not taking anyone else's."

"All of our skills have improved to the point where we can take down lethal threats while using non-lethal means," Weiss said with her matter-of-fact tone.

"Damn straight," Yang nodded as she fist-bumped her sister and Weiss. "If someone super-strong gets in our way then we'll just evolve an' take em' down."

"We're Hunters," Blake agreed, "And it's our duty to uphold the virtues of our humanity while stopping the threats to it, otherwise we're no better than the monsters we fight against."

"…Very well," Oobleck said with a small nod, "Your confidence comes from experience rather than arrogance, and I will place my trust in that. Now then, let us be on our way!"

The bag wiggled again and Ruby did her best to make it appear as if it was just her adjusting it, quickly looking around to make sure that nobody had seen only to lock eyes with Blake, the Faunus staring directly at her. Ruby, now sweating, casually began to whistle as she quickly made her way to the front of the group, the first to board the Bullhead and stow the definitely-not-wriggling bag by her side and out of sight.

…Mountain Glenn, Northside Cliffs…

It was barely five minutes after they landed that a pack of over twenty Beowolves had beset them, steadily surrounding the group with fangs and talons at the ready. They were noticeably larger than the ones in Forever Fall and especially in the Emerald Forest, packing considerably more muscle and thicker bone-plating, no thanks to their survival in a place that constantly radiated lingering negative emotions on a grand scale.

"Weiss, if you'd do the honours," Ruby indicated with a little nod, Beowulf unfurling to cover her arms and legs.

"With pleasure," Weiss smirked as she waved a hand, a massive black glyph forming under the pack of Grimm. They naturally looked down in alarm, too late as they were all launched into the air, helplessly scrabbling for purchase they would never find. Ruby and Blake launched themselves at them, growls and snarls rapidly turning into yelps and dying howls as they tore through the airborne Grimm, the former lashing out with kicks that ripped right through flesh and bone while the latter danced around them with a trail of phantom blades, slicing limbs and heads away.

The two of them were forced to back away from the keen swipes of a particularly nasty Alpha Beowolf, its entire body armoured head-to-toe in bone-plating with tribal red markings while standing easily over eight feet tall. Weiss cut the Glyph's effects off, allowing Blake and Ruby to land with ease while the armoured alpha landed on its face, though it was quickly recovering.

"Yang, on me!" Ruby shouted, "Blake, Weiss, give us ranged support and aim for the eyes!"

"LET'S GO!" Yang roared as she and Ruby tore across the ground going forward, Ruby naturally reaching first to smash her heels into its chest, Yang coming in low directly after to smash an uppercut right into its solar plexus, the combined impact rupturing both lungs before its eyes exploded in a shower of frozen ichor, brain-matter reduced to mush from Weiss and Blake's combined shots as it fell dead on its back.

"Check surroundings," Ruby called out, the entirety of Team RWBY looking around and sending little pulses of aura out just to be sure. "…Don't sense anything else. What about you guys?"

"All clear for me," Yang agreed.

"Nothing for now," Weiss nodded as she sheathed Myrtenaster.

"Same," Blake hummed as she too put Gambol away.

"…" Oobleck silently watched the team's efficiency and was undoubtedly impressed. Nineteen middle C-Class Beowolves taken out in mere seconds, not to mention high-C Alpha taken out just as easily. Had this version of Team RWBY been this good during the entrance exam, there probably would have been an investigation for cheating put in place.

'Confident yet calm and cautious,' He noted as Ruby brought out a map and began to talk with her team, 'They certainly have some form of experience under their belts. Rare for first-years, but combined with their growth as warriors and their effectiveness is that much more precious.'

"Alright, our best bet is that nobody is watching our movements just yet," Ruby said, "And if they are then we'll have to play it off as if we're just here for Grimm clean-up."

"We'll still have to find some kind of defendable area where we can rest while keeping it close to one of the possible entrances to the underground area of Glenn," Blake noted. "Even then we have to be really careful about using the manmade entrances, it's likely that they're well-guarded and a direct engagement will result in us getting bogged down and delayed before we can stop them."

"Then we'll definitely stick to the original plan," Weiss hummed, "Scope out the area for potential natural tunnels that'll lead to the underhive, and we'll take it from there."

"Aaaand I still get to blow these shit-head's toys up," Yang said with a savage grin, "As solid a plan as ever."

"Woof!" Zwei agreed.

"Right," Ruby nodded, "Now let's-!"

She and everyone else promptly froze before they all looked down at the black and white corgi happily panting and looking up at them, little tail wagging as he cocked his head to the side at the sudden attention.

"Hi!" Yang said with a little wave, Zwei barking a greeting back.

"WHY?" Blake cried.

"ZWEI!" Weiss squealed joyfully as the small dog ran into her outstretched arms, peppering her with little licks and kisses.

"Aight bye," Ruby said as she sharply turned around and tried to flee, only for a grinning Yang to grab her by the hood to keep her in place.

"…Miss Rose, am I correct in saying that you decided to bring a small animal into an extremely hostile environment?" Oobleck asked.

Ruby sighed before turning around to look at him.

"Okay, um, yeah" She answered honestly, "The thing is, Zwei's not just any run-of-the-mill dog, he's a Hunter's Hound. Enhanced sense of smell, great at tracking, follows orders in the middle of combat, and of course he's got aura, and a really tanky one to boot."

"That's…" Oobleck started as he stared down at the corgi, said corgi staring back up back at him with inquisitive eyes before he was suddenly picked up by the Doctor, "INCREDIBLE! Having a Hunter's Hound will massively speed up our progress in finding a possible entrance to the Underhive! Truly remarkable thinking miss Rose!"

"Y-yup, that's exactly why I did that," She chuckled uneasily.

"You totally just missed him, didn't you?" Yang whispered before Ruby lightly punched her in the gut.

"Shut."

"Now, let us move deeper into the city and clear out as much of the area as possible from Grimm activity," He said as he put Zwei down, "So I say… onward!"

…

Ruby swept another Beowulf off its feet before following with a straight kick that blasted a hole through its chest, its black heart atomized by sheer kinetic force as it crumpled lifelessly to ground. Ruby pivoted and weaved under a swipe from the last Grimm aimed at her throat, practically dancing into range with sharp footwork until her leg lashed out like a blade, Beowulf's talons turning the frontal portion of its skull into a gory mess with her hook-kick.

"Naptime," She hissed as it too slumped over dead, making sure to sense any possible attack from her back in case there were anymore trying to catch her unawares. Sensing none, she relaxed and quickly took her scroll out, sending the message of 'Clear' for her sector, marking the map with a potential opening.

"Woof!" Zwei said as he too relaxed, Ruby grinning softly as she gave him the affection he desired.

"Thanks buddy, it's way faster finding packs of Grimm with you around," She laughed as she kissed him on the bridge of his nose.

"Perhaps," Oobleck said out of nowhere, though Ruby didn't seem at all surprised with his sudden appearance. "But you will not always be able to rely on him, now will you?"

"Yeah, I know," Ruby chuckled as she stood up and dusted her pants off, reverting Beowulf into its dormant state. "Once I'm strong enough, I won't need to rely on anyone."

"…so your goal is absolute strength then?" Oobleck queried.

"…I guess yeah in simple terms," Ruby nodded as she put her hands in her pockets, looking out into the distance of the ruined streets with massive gouges torn out and buildings looking as if they'd been chopped to pieces, gesturing towards it. "Something like this could've been prevented if someone had the power to stop it."

"…As in political or military?" He questioned, curious.

"Physical," Ruby answered earnestly, "Hunters nowadays are just seen by most of the Kingdom-people as workers, part of a system that just keeps things running like the police. Everything's been stagnant and any failure on our part means that we get blamed. I'll become powerful enough to rise above it all, and maybe… maybe become a symbol. Unrivalled under heaven."

"…that's a very noble goal," Oobleck said, "And among the more selfish ones I've heard."

"Selfish?" Ruby parroted. She wasn't mad, only curious.

"Sometimes it is the strongest of us who requires to most help, the most guidance," Oobleck said, "You seek to become something nearly impossible, an almighty being who can wash away the dark with the wave of a hand, yes?"

"I mean hey, if it's possible then why not?" Ruby shrugged.

"Not only would you seek to become a near-unattainable state that everyone is supposed to look up to, but in doing so you would also rob everyone of the ability to grow. The worst casualty, however, is yourself."

Ruby was quiet, sitting down on a stone and listening intently.

"Are you aware of the dominant religion of Atlas?" He asked.

"The religion of the God-Emperor, yeah," She confirmed. "Though I don't know much about it other than that he was a real figure waaay back in Remnant's past, ascended to Godhood or something like that to guide people. Do know about a lot of the cooler stories from it though. Sly Marbo, the one-man army. The Black Knight Sigismund. Ooh, can't forget about the Legendary Guardian… huh, I don't actually remember his name. I think he was called Kitten a lot… for some reason."

"…There are few beings on the planet who could have ever hoped to be as powerful as him, as far as his fragmentary History is concerned. A warrior unmatched, a scientist unlimited, a leader unchained, he created twenty sons and a million warriors with his own blood and united humanity."

"…you're saying this actually happened?" Ruby said, stars in her eyes at the idea of someone real having accomplished such a feat.

"Supposedly yes though the whole story is not clear to me," Oobleck admitted, "… but in the end, he trusted nobody, cared for nobody, loved nobody. And when he died at the hands of his own son, a son who had felt betrayed, lied to, unloved, there was nothing left of the world he built but ash, bodies and ruined kingdoms."

"…" Ruby was silent, picking up on what he was trying to tell her. "You think I'm at risk for doing the same kinda thing?" At his nod, she simply grinned. "I may be an idealist at heart, but I'm not that dumb. I've got my team, my family to rely on if I get too wild."

"Perhaps," Oobleck agreed, "Or perhaps you'll be too far gone by the time they try to reach you, and they watch as you burn yourself out in one way or another, all for the sake of become something impossible."

That rendered her silent again.

"Your team all have their own dreams and aspirations beyond simple strength, as do you," Oobleck said softly. "But by the time they realize where your path is headed, it may be too late. Think on that Miss Rose."

…

"I've been thinking," Weiss started as she gave a vigorous belly-rub to the Zwei in her lap.

"Oh no, she's been thinking," Blake chuckled, quickly snatching the piece of the ration-bar that the pouting Weiss pelted at her.

"…the destruction here seems a bit… much… for Grimm," Weiss finished, unease slipping into her tone. "It almost looks like some places have been absolutely pulverized."

"Okay, so I'm not the only one who noticed," Yang sighed, "Yeah, it's kinda… crazy. Did you notice that some of the streets looked like they've been gouged out by something really big?"

"Not to mention those chopped up buildings," Blake muttered, "Some of it's been hidden by the way the structure's collapsed and broken apart, but there are just some portions that are just too… clean-cut."

"…Hey Pr-!" Yang started, only to get a sharp look at where her sentence was going, "Doc, everyone knows that Grimm attacked Glenn, but what exactly went down here? All of this destruction seems a bit too clean for just Grimm."

"It's probably what Ozpin's hiding from us," Ruby called out nonchalantly, keeping a close eye on their surroundings, "Since he was so panicked about the possible explosives that the targets have, I think he's scared about them trying to unleash it. Judging from the weird destruction we've been finding, it's almost definitely an A-Class or maybe even S-Class Grimm. Am I right?"

Oobleck's silence and tension on the matter was disturbing and damning.

"Yeah, I'm right," Ruby sighed.

"…Shit," Yang cursed as the enormity of the task fully weighed down on her and the rest of the team. "Oh Shit."

"Let's not panic too much," Blake said, "It's likely that whatever's going on here doesn't have unleashing a Kingdom-ending Grimm as part of the agenda just yet. Sure, unleashing a really powerful Grimm can do damage, but when you've got to go through the Professors of Beacon Academy, multiple hunters in training, three warships full of Atlas soldiers and tech, and Ozpin, it should be enough to deal with it."

"So then whatever's about to happen will be big enough to grab everyone's attention by doing extreme but repairable damage…" Weiss muttered.

"Then it's gotta be something that'll scare the hell out of everyone," Yang said as she smacked her fist into her palm, "That's probably why this 'Super-Grimm' is gonna be unleashed at some point during the tournament. This is something else entirely…"

"Whatever the case, it doesn't change our goal here," Ruby said firmly as she got up, "Destroy everything the targets have and incapacitate all enemy forces. Simple and done. Your turn Doc."

"Mm," He hummed as he switched places with her to stand watch, Ruby plopping down onto her sleeping-bag with a sigh before looking at her team with a lopsided grin.

"…Wanna gossip about random stuff?"

"…you worry me, Ruby Rose," Weiss sighed as the tension started to fade, a little grin of her own sprouting on her face.

"And I live with her," Yang said wryly as she rapped her knuckles on Ruby's dome, the girl yelping and punching Yang in the shoulder.

"…I suppose I'll start then," Weiss said as she idly checked Myrtenaster, "So you all know my father, both as the current head of the SDC and the Warmaster of the Atlesian – Atlan Army," She corrected herself, a twitch of annoyance on her face, "But do any of you know what he looks like?"

"That's…" Blake started, searching her memories only to realize that there was no real face she could assign to the controversial figure that was Jacques Schnee. "…huh. No I…"

"Yeah, that's weird," Ruby hummed, "Sure, I don't take much of an interest in Atlas as a whole, but I would've remembered a face like his."

"What, does he have the world under a magic spell?" Yang joked.

"Thankfully no," Weiss chuckled as she fished a thin and pristine white wallet out of her pocket, "Rather, he's ensured that his appearance remains unseen by people, until he chooses to appear when the time is right... and for good reason."

The little polaroid photo she held up for them was old one depicting the graceful and beautiful figure of someone who could've been mistaken for Weiss at first glance, clad in a wedding dress of fine silks and embedded diamonds. It was her husband that was of note: where Willow Schnee was known to be quite tall, as most in Atlas tended to be around six feet in height, Jacques towered over her by an extra three feet. The picture was barely enough to encompass his frame, not overly broad but certainly corded with muscle with the way they strained against his fine white suit. His jaw was angular, face tight and set in stone with stark blue eyes and pure white hair in a neat military style, a perfectly kept moustache unable to hide the apparent grimace on his face. Oddly enough, Weiss' mother was smiling brightly.

"…Weiss, is your dad nine fucking feet tall?" Yang muttered.

"Nine and a half I believe," She nodded.

"Wait, your mom is also really tall, so then why are you-?" Yang started, only to freeze as Weiss shot a frigid stare her way, icy eyes locked deeply into lilac. "…uh… what I'm trying to ask is uh… is that why he doesn't have any pictures of him out and about? I mean, sure he's really big, but it's not unheard of."

"I thought so too," Weiss acting as if she didn't just stare right into Yang's soul in an attempt to freeze it over, "But what I find even stranger is that no matter how hard I've looked, I could find no record of his past whatsoever. The only thing I and everyone knows about him is that he came into the spotlight by courting my mom. He was already super rich by that time, probably because he'd been Warmaster for some time and had amassed a great deal of wealth."

"Looks like all of our dads are kinda famous in one way or another," Ruby chuckled. "Ours is a… bit of a hard-ass."

"Putting it lightly," Yang muttered, though there was a little smirk on her face.

Ruby was still quick to notice and put a hand on Yang's arm.

"Sorry, we can steer clear if you want…"

"Nah, it's cool," Yang reassured her sister with a gentle pat to her hand and a wry smile, "Besides, it ain't fair for Weiss to tell us stuff about her dad while I force you to stay silent." She cleared her throat and sat more upright. "So uh… our dad, Taiyang Xiao Long, is… really big into martial arts. He was raised in it, practically born for it, and he was practically raised on taking everything seriously because of his upbringing in Mistral."

"Oooh, you're half-Mistralese!" Blake clicked her fingers. "I was wondering why your features looked familiar. Kinda surprised this hasn't come up yet…"

"Right on the money Blakey," Yang nodded, "I… I have my gripes with him, but he does take good care of the both of us. And beyond that… he's strong."

"Definitely as strong as mom with her… eyes," Ruby agreed.

That statement caught Blake and Weiss for a loop. Nobody had forgotten Ruby's ability to seemingly one-shot a Giant Nevermore, well before she'd grown into the warrior that she was today. If she was saying that her father was as strong as her mother with the same ability but on an even stronger and more experienced scale…

"Your family is full of monsters," Weiss shuddered, Ruby and Yang bursting into laughter, Blake herself stifling some laughter of her own. "Really though, why exactly is he so strong?"

"What else but training and the right Semblance?" Yang shrugged. "It's pretty likely that I received a variation of his Semblance, Wrath. It's pretty simple, the angrier he gets the stronger he becomes, and the skin of his fists and feet can get coated with this weird brassy metal, probably a side-effect of his Semblance like my fire or Ruby's petals. Thing is, he could probably do all the stuff I do at my max without breaking a sweat."

"Damn, that's…" Blake muttered, "I mean, my own dad is pretty strong. He headed a few defensive campaigns against some human supremist groups and was known as a pretty good warrior back in his youth, but beyond that I don't think he's got those kind of feats."

"That's still very impressive," Weiss said with an appreciative tone, "Balancing political stresses, war-faring duties and familial responsibilities while maintaining his strength of character is the sign of a good leader at bare minimum. You have his heart if nothing else."

"Thanks Weiss," Blake said with a warm smile.

"Tis' but the truth," The heiress huffed, though she too was smiling.

"I bet Weiss' dad is quaking in his size-20 boots," Yang whispered loudly, Ruby snickering with her sister.

"Alright now, let's not stay awake for much longer," Ruby said, "We'll need as much rest as possible once we face these guys, and since we've marked some places that look like potential entrances already. Thankfully there aren't a lot of Grimm about… for some reason…" She pondered on that for a bit, "… but it'll make our job easier."

"Yeah, as fun as this is it'd be to gossip all night long, better we catch a nap," Blake agreed.

"… y-you mean a…" Yang started, everyone now staring at her.

"…Don't." Blake said lowly.

"…c… catna-MMPH!"

Blake sharply threw her pillow into Yang's face, bowling the blonde over even as she howled with muffled laughter.

"You're going to be the death of meeee," Blake groaned as she buried her face in her sleeping bag, hiding her massive grin and stifling her own laughter.

…Twilight…

A Hunter's Hound with aura, even one as happy as Zwei, was not dissuaded from his duty and instincts. Ever since landing in Glenn, Zwei had felt something off about the place. It felt wrong, smelled wrong. Any other dog may have cowered in fear but for one as experienced as Zwei, this was just another day in the office. His ear flicked up as he felt the rumble of something under his feet, imperceptible to regular people but more than noticed by the aura-enhanced hound. Blake, currently on watch and wide awake easily noticed Zwei's sudden tension. Quickly looking back to ensure that the rest of the team was asleep, she gently scratched him behind his ears.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Zwei dutifully stared straight ahead, a paw coming up as he leaned forward slightly. Blake recognized the signal: he was pointing at something at ground-level. Quickly checking around with both a pulse of her aura and the team's binoculars, she didn't see anyone potentially watching them.

"…let's check real quick," she said as she stood. "Lead the way."

They quickly made their way down, Blake constantly on guard while Zwei dutifully trot forward across the broken asphalt. It wasn't far at all from their hideout, barely one hundred meters away from the bottom of the building, a large crack in the ground that looked as if Zwei could squeeze through. However small, that wasn't what caught Blake's attention. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, a cold sweat break out across her goose-bumped skin, a drop in her stomach at the feeling of something… familiar. Almost entranced, she walked right up to it, not noticing the warning whines of Zwei as he stayed back before she knelt and listened. That familiar feeling grew stronger, something about it leaving a ringing ache in her chest as she leaned closer, putting her ears right up to it before she felt something shift under her feet. She barely had time to yelp as the ground gave way, Blake flailing for a moment before she righted herself and landed smoothly on her feet. Zwei's whimpers and small yips from above told her that she wasn't that far down and that he was still up there safe.

"I'm alright, I'll just-!"

That feeling suffocated her new, literally forcing her to a knee as tears welled up in her eyes. She felt like her lungs were being squeezed, throat locking up as anguish flared through her. She was quick to stand, sharply turning around to look down the natural tunnel that was revealed. She could feel him crying out in pain, agony of which had never been felt before. She could practically hear his soul being torn and re-stitched, torn and re-stitched. Muscles snapping and reforming, bones breaking and healing in a matter of moments, over and over again. And underneath it all, defiance. Rebellion.

"…Adam…?" She whispered, tears streaming down her face.

The anguish she felt morphed into utter rage, her face twisting monstrously as she drew her weapon and charged right into the tunnel, ignorant of Zwei's warning barks and whines. Her run through the tunnel was longer than she had expected and while it didn't make her change her mind, her anger did simmer and allowed her to sharpen her focus. She silenced her steps and steadied her breathing as the tunnel led into an opening, instinctively crouching down as she came to a ledge overlooking the main Underhive of Glenn, an old connecting railroad that presumably led to Vale surrounded by old, towering buildings. What she saw almost made her vomit on the spot.

A swarm of White Fang members were frantically moving around, carrying boxes of raw materials, assembled tech and what looked like oversized bullets to a train that was clearly functional, loading it up as much as possible. What made her stomach twist was the state of them: all of them were little more than slaves, their once well-kept uniforms now tattered and hanging off overworked and underfed figures. Collars were locked around their necks, crude chains binding a few groups of them together. Worse yet were the scores of dead Faunus that littered the ground, some appearing to have simply collapsed dead, others…

"God…" Blake croaked, her hand on her mouth.

Some of the bodies were missing parts, not looking as if they were torn off, but blown apart: arms, legs, heads and entire torsos looked as if they had literally exploded. Other bodies looked… wrong. Bone jut out of overly furry skin in a way that didn't look broken but in fact grown. Dislocated jaws were lined with wicked teeth that didn't fit in their mouths. Extra limbs seemed to have burst from places they were not meant to. Flesh was ripped in its inability to contain grotesque fibres of muscle. Blake had seen the horrors that Faunus were treated with, she'd felt the scars and tended to the missing limbs of many victims herself, but this?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGH!"

That was a familiar voice. It made her want to cry again. Bottling her emotions, she stuck to the shadows and ensured that she stayed well out of sight as she made her way to the source of the screaming, though it never stopped her from thinking. Who was forcing all these Faunus to work? Weapons were literally right in front of them, literally five operational Atlan Paladins lined up on an open train car yet didn't see anyone who could possibly stop them. Had they instilled that much fear into them?

It took some time but she eventually managed to reach the building where his screams were coming from, and the moment she stepped in she understood why they had been frightened. Easily seven feet tall and at the end of a corridor stood a warrior clad in dark red power-armour, decorated with strange glyphs written on paper, flaming iron torches on his back and the golden faces of what looked to be demonic figures. She could feel the sheer presence of him, the wrongness that exuded from him and his strange armour all-too-similar to the Grimm but worse. The symbols scrawled across his script and plate hurt to look at. Just being around him made her skin crawl. He suddenly tensed up and Blake felt his intent began to drift towards her, quickly fleeing up some stairs while ensuring that she made as little noise as possible, hiding around another corner and staying as still as possible. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest as she heard heavy steps steadily coming her way, her legs trembling as her throat locked up, realizing that any attempt to move would reveal her.

"…faint traces of someone having been here," The warrior spoke, his helmet making his deep voice scrape against her ears. "Yes, I am almost sure of it… almost is not something to play around with," He scoffed.

'HIDEHIDEHIDEHIDEHIDEHIDEHIDE,' Blake's mind screamed as the steps became closer and closer. In that moment when her skin was covered in goosebumps and every cell of her body was screaming at her to hide, she felt a tug in her aura and trusted in it. She had no other option anyway.

'HIDE.'

For a moment, Blake felt as if she was enveloped by something, a blanket of some kind wrapping around her entire body while constantly flowing off her like smoke.

"…it's gone," The warrior noted, "…hmph. Probably an animal or something. Either way, pack your things and return to her realm, I will stay and board the train to..."

Blake felt the sweat pouring from her face as she listened to him walk away, heavy footsteps slowly retreating into another part of the building until she almost collapsed to her knees, gasping for air as her limbs shook. Tempted to try and understand what just happened, she shook her head and continued to move further in. It didn't take long, a minute or two at most, and she never ran into that terrifying warrior throughout it. Once she reached the final door, she didn't hesitate to open it, blade drawn as she felt the torrent of emotions behind it and expecting to see a familiar face being tortured on a table.

"…Blake!?"

What she saw instead made her drop Gambol outright, arms hanging limply at her sides. Adam Taurus, the once proud man was bound to the walls and floor with numerous chains embedded in his very flesh, his bloodied arms eagle-spread. Wounds on his haggard body randomly burst open before closing, the muscles and blackened blood vessels under his pure-white flesh seeming to squirm and writhe at random. Bones audibly cracked and clicked as they randomly grew in size, his entire body seeming as if it was about to change into something else. His eyes, pitch black sclera surrounding glowing red irises, were sunken into his face; he had not slept nor ate in some time. His face twisted in pain, fear, shame, and he desperately tried to look away from her.

"Please don't look at me!" He cried, struggling against his chains. "DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

Blake slowly strode forward, her body limp and her legs still trembling slightly, seemingly deaf to Adam's pleas.

"Stay back! Stay back or I'll hurt you!" He warned, bloody tears running down his face as she got faster and closer. "BLA-!" He froze as Blake threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly and weeping into his shoulder.

"Who did this to you?" She wept. "What… what happened to you…?"

"…Blake…" He murmured, his body truly relaxing for the first time in months as she held him. "…you didn't… do anything… wrong."

"Who. Did this. To you?" Her voice ground out through her tears. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"…After you left," He said, "Went back to… change things. But then she attacked."

"She?" Blake asked.

"Dark hair. Orange eyes. Tried to cut a deal… before the Train mission. Strong… too strong. Beat me. Used something that wasn't… aura. Chained me up, used me as a hostage…" He growled at that, but he found that he was too exhausted to be angry, "…forced the Vale Fang to… do whatever they wanted… those armoured freaks."

"Cinder," Blake hissed, teeth grinding against each other before she calmed down, quickly picking her weapon up and stabbing it into the chains, trying to pry them open while leaving Adam as unharmed as possible. "We'll worry about that later. Let's get you out of here."

"Blake…" Adam said softly.

"NO," She snapped back, tears again welling in her eyes as she struggled harder. "All this time I thought that you'd manipulated and lied to me, but you've been suffering for so long! I'll atone by getting you out of these goddamned chains!"

"You have to kill me Blake," Adam said calmly.

"Keep that talk up and I will kill you," Blake hissed, only to stop as he gently rested his head on her shoulder.

"Blake… you know what happens if the power of my bloodline is unleashed without control," He murmured. "My power… grandfather SPARDA'S power… is being forced out and twisted… before I was ready to inherit it. You have to… end my life before that can happen."

"Shut up!" Blake cried as she redoubled her efforts.

"I've been injected with Grimm blood," Adam stressed, his body starting to shift and writhe again while she froze in place. "The changes happening to my body and soul… are permanent. Even now, I feel myself slipping… this power…" He began to drool, his eyes vibrating in his sockets before he began to writhe in pain. "I… hate it… this perversion… this humiliation… so please Blake, before I devolve into little more than a berserker… end this miserable existence before I destroy everything I hold dear!"

She broke down into sobs as she held him tightly, softly beating her fists into his chest.

"Damn you… damn you and your pride!" She cried.

"…I'm so sorry…" He rasped, indulging himself in her comfort for as long as he could. It wasn't very long. "Blake, DODGE!"

She barely reacted in time as the head of a spiked mace whistled right over her head, instead smashing into Adam's ribcage with a sickening *CRUNCH*.

"ADAM!" Blake screamed as he vomited black blood, eyes threatening to roll up into his head before he mashed his sharpened teeth together and looked directly at Blake.

"Destroy the train before it gets to Vale and watch out for-!"

"That's enough out of you," The warrior chuckled almost gleefully as he proceeded to punch Adam directly in the mouth, his metal-clad fist literally turning Adam's head into a blur with a sickening *SNAP*, his body going limp as blood and broken teeth dribbled from his ruined lips. "I knew that there wasn't a glitch in this damned old thing," The warrior huffed as he tapped his twisted, horned helmet, the red visor glaring at her. "Now… time to deal with you, little Beastkin."

Blake gnashed her teeth before roaring as she threw herself at the warrior, blade and body alight with aura.

…

Ruby snapped awake, flooding her muscles with excess aura as she sprung to her feet and immediately noticing the absence of two very important people.

"Everyone up, Blake and Zwei are gone!" She shouted.

Oobleck was already up the moment the first sound left Ruby's lips, the rest of RWBY up a moment later, weapons in hand.

"Where-!?" Yang started, worry wavering across her voice before the scrabble of small paws made their way around the corner, Zwei running up to them a moment later. "Zwei, thank god you're okay! What happened to Blake?"

He whined and again signalled down, towards the new opening in the ground that wasn't there before. Immediately, Ruby could feel the trace amounts of negative emotions wafting up from the opening even from the distance they were at and she acted swiftly.

"Weapons hot, we're going in!" Ruby said sharply, Beowulf deployed as she sprinted and leapt from the building, shooting towards the ground floor as the others followed behind her with Weiss gracefully jumped across her Glyphs while Yang pogo-hopped down, blank shots ringing out from Ember Celica. Oobleck for all intents and purposes had hoofed it straight down the side of the building, reaching the ground the same time as Ruby. Even at a solid run they reached the hole inn under a minute, not hesitating to leap down into it with their weapons at the ready, a nervous sweat breaking out on their faces as they heard what sounded like faint gunfire.

"Yang, can you-!?" Ruby started.

"Already on it! Blake! Blake, can you hear us!?" Yang yelled into her scroll strapped to her belt as they sprinted down the tunnel. There were a few moments of dreadful silence before the speaker burst to life, steel grating against steel, screams of exertion and the shuffling of feet on the floor roaring through.

"So you have more friends, it seems," An unknown voice chuckled, its presence making their blood run cold, "No matter, we will kill you and offer your wailing souls to her. Meagre though your spirits may be, it will always be a pleasure to please her Majesty."

"Th-the train!" Blake gasped, her voice tight with concentration and more alarmingly pain, "They've loaded everything onto it and they're going to attack Vale! We have to destroy th-AH!"

Everyone flinched at the sound of something slamming into Blake, the rush of wind echoing through the speaker before there was the meaty thud of her slamming into metal.

"DOUBLE-TIME, NOW!" Ruby shouted, blasting forward with her semblance, Weiss doing the same after using a Time-Dilation Glyph on Yang while Oobleck scooped up Zwei and sped off after them. With Ruby the first to reach the cliff overlooking the underhive, she was easily able to see the warrior in red armour stalking towards a downed Blake, though the others were barely a breath behind.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" The trio roared as they blasted straight for him, Ruby the first to reach with a diving kick straight at his armoured head, the man having turned to see where the voices were coming from. Yang's flying haymaker smashed into the right side of his breastplate, Weiss' dust-infused blade crashing into the left side. The combined force of each strike rocked the air and the very buildings with a *BOOM*, though Ruby's eyes went wide as the man was only send skidding back a dozen meters, the imprints of their attacks on his cursed armour the only sign of any real damage done.

"Blake, are you alright?!" Yang cried as she quickly checked up on her, though the Faunus was already back on her feet, slightly shaky with a bruised face and minor wounds on her body slowly fading away.

"Been better," She said, a level of coldness to her voice that surprised Yang as the former glared right at the warrior. "He's one of the people responsible for the Vale-Fang being as violent as they are and look around: he's filling those who are non-compliant with Grimm-blood."

It wasn't hard to notice the twisted and deformed bodies lying around the place, the very sight of them making all present sick.

"Oooh…" The warrior chuckled as she stood upright, "The three of you are not bad at all… maybe at Lucius' level before the Heresy? Perhaps that bastard Kharn…? No, Lucius sounds about right, though you have more room to grow-!"

Ruby crossed the distance in the blink of an eye, a snarl on her face as she came in low with a chopping roundhouse to the knee, following up with a piercing side-kick to the chest as soon as it missed. Ruby grimaced as her armoured heel smashed into the shaft of his blocking mace, the warrior genuinely surprised at her speed and being sent stumbling a step back, though it felt to her like she just tried to kick down a building. Still she pressed the attack, though she wasn't blind to the sound of the train steadily pulling away.

"Yang on me!" She shouted as she barely backstepped away from a terrifyingly fast swing for her jaw, "Weiss, Blake, Doc, you get on that train and stop it as soon as you can!"

"On it!" Weiss shouted, making sure that Blake was alright one more time before they ran after it.

Ruby was shocked: sure, large Grimm had the ability to be naturally fast due to their muscularity, however poorly understood, being similar to that of other large and powerful predators. This warrior was different. The power and speed behind every single one of his terrifying swings was well beyond that of the Grimm in addition to being unnaturally dexterous. Something this large should not move this fast, this sharply, this perfectly. Casually spinning his mace like it was a wooden baton, he strode forward and parried Ruby's roundhouse at what looked like a weakness in his armour, its head then smashing into Yang's overhand right and blasting her arm back. Even with both of their Triggers on, it was clear that he was having fun as they struggled against him, Yang forcing herself to step in faster as she barely bobbed and weaved under another swing to try on smash and uppercut into his abdomen, only for him to use the momentum of the swing to cheekily tap her on the knee, her leg giving out from the unexpected impact before he smashed the sole of his metal boot into her face, sending her flying back and rolling across the dirt. Ruby gave Yang as much time as possible to recover, swarming him with a flurry of attacks at literally everywhere she could try to hit, a roundhouse to his thigh, left-hook to the breastplate, Lunar-Phase at his face, straight kick at his shoulder. He merely spun his mace, blocking and parrying all of them. The spinning mace went still for a single moment before it lashed straight out like a piston, Ruby just barely managing to dodge as one of the spikes clipped her right above the eye, snapping her head to the side as a gash opened in a spurt of blood.

"RUBY-AUGH!" Yang cried out before he suddenly sprinted right at her at a frightening speed. She forced to block the full force of his overhead slam, her legs instantly giving out under her as she was smashed onto her back, arms trembling as they shielded her face. Her hair promptly ignited and she roared as she threw the mace off of her springing up with her aura channelled directly into her legs before racing up through her muscles and towards her flying fist, Ruby having appeared directly behind him with her leg drawn back.

"SUN-DRAGON STINGER!"

"Exploding Heart: RED STRIKE!"

The warrior instantly shifted his stance so that they were on either side of him, sharply blocking Yang's punch with the shaft of his mace and Ruby's kick with his pauldron, a *BANG* echoing from the twin impacts as the sisters were thrown back from the recoil, closely examining the warrior before they both grinned savagely: he felt it. He was slightly hunched over, grunting in surprise as he rolled his shoulders feeling damaged muscle-tissue and slightly bruised bone.

"Little brats…" He hissed before he stopped, sharply looking at the two sisters. "…hold on a minute…" The warrior muttered, "…oh. OH. Ohohoho~! Fate is rather kind to me today!"

"You're laughing a lot for a guy who almost got squished by two 'brats' eh?" Ruby said with a smirk, revelling in the stab of annoyance that radiated from him.

"Fate isn't going to save you now, tall, dark and dickhead," Yang spat as she smashed her knuckles together.

"Oh but it is!" He said joyously, "I am the Hand of Fate after all, hear my name as Erebus, greatest of the Dark Apostles! And it seems fate would reward me with the knowledge of you two… daughters of Summer and Raven."

If ever there was a warning bell, that sent it clanging loudly in their minds as they tensed up, muscles tight and fists clenched.

"No matter. You two may prove to be useful later down the line. Equal opposites coarse through your veins and permeate your very souls, so it will be interesting to see you two grow… it may make a much more delectable meal for her Majesty." He raised a hand and the sickly yellow flames from his torches leapt into his palm before engulfing his body, much to the surprise of the sisters. "We shall meet again soon… of that I am very certaaaaiiinnn…"

His body disappeared and they both relaxed for the time being, shunting their aura to quickly heal the minor bruises and cuts inflicted by him.

"That bastard was holding back," Yang growled.

"I know," Ruby huffed before she turned to look at the twisted corpses of the Fang left behind, a twisted sorrow and rage building up within her seeing the frozen expressions of pain, rage, fear written on their faces in their final moments, people she'd failed to save in time. "Grimm blood. Fucking Grimm blood Yang."

"I know," Yang said quietly, though her burning hair and wet crimson eyes only became more intense as they gazed upon the corpses. "… we'll try to get them proper burials after the mission is done. Then we'll make that bastard pay. The train hasn't got too far with all that armour weighing it down. Let's catch up before it gets too fast."

"…Damn right," Ruby said sharply before they took off, ready to end this plot before it could start.

(TWBY Continued...)

One more time: F-U-C-K. E-R-E-B-U-S. You've now got a deeper glimpse into how being filled with Salem's bathwater affects different beings, both Grimm AND people. Also, pay CLOSE attention to what Adam said about his power, specifically his gramps. Yeah. Also, cliffhanger because I love you all XD.

To guest 1 again... just who do you think Jaune's dad is after all? ;D

That said, love y'all and peace out!