She Who Fights Monsters

Chapter 1

"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Nietzsche

The SDC convoy was not a particularly large one; five large trucks escorted by one security jeep up front, with another trailing in the back. Less than a dozen people in total to take hundreds of thousands of lien worth of dust from the processing facility to the nearest railroad station for the trip to Mistral. Rather than spending hard cash on security it seemed that the Schnees preferred the protection of immense arrogance to go along with the threat of reprisals.

Arrogant idiots.

None of the men in the first jeep paid attention to the small ribbon tied around a tree's branch... and none of them saw the slim finger push down on a detonator. The explosion wasn't all that loud, a loud crack that was more startling than anything else, but it seemed like Trifa had known what she was doing when she'd set the charge.

The ancient oak began to fall even before the explosion had stopped echoing. Wood splintered and cracked when it slammed into the road, easily covering the entire width of the dirt path. Groaning metal joined the sound of breaking wood when the first truck, brakes screeching as the driver desperately tried to stop, slammed directly into it.

Ilia Amitola watched as the front wheels bounced up, trapping it half-atop the fallen tree as the vehicle shuddered and its engine began to vent steam. Horns and more screaming brakes came as the trucks behind all began to frantically slow. The drivers began swerving one way and another to avoid ramming the back of the dust-laden vehicle ahead with mixed results. Two managed it without crashing, the others ran off the road and slammed into yet more trees, making the twilight even more chaotic.

Perfect.

"Take them!" The woman's ringing shout was louder than it had any right to be. It easily cut through the noise and confusion, and Ilia found herself charging on pure reflex when she heard Sienna's commanding voice.

Bursting out of the copse of trees she'd been hidden within, she drew Lightning Lash as she moved away from the stopped trucks. They were for the others to handle, she and Trifa had a different assignment. The first security jeep had slammed on its own brakes when the driver had realized what had happened behind them, and four humans in the garb of SDC security were tumbling out when she charged right at them.

"White Fang!" One of them, a man, bellowed as he scrambled to draw a rifle out of the backseat, his eyes seemingly locked on the white mask covering the majority of her face.

Ilia felt her lips pull into a fighting grin as she flicked her right arm forwards, her thumb gently pushing the button to extend her weapon. The whip snapped across the short distance, cracking against the man's face and making him scream when a red line split across his pale skin. Electricity from the dust she'd loaded made his entire body arc in pain, and he jerked backwards, cracking his head against his own car.

Her grin faltered and she almost stumbled as he fell, clutching at his head. They didn't have aura? They were security guards driving through Grimm infested woods! How did they not have fucking aura!?

The hesitation let the other guard on her side of the car get his own weapon out, a rifle that fired a three round burst right into her chest.

She coughed in pained surprise, white light crackling at the impacts and making the guard's eyes widen in panic. "They have a huntress!? How the fuck do-"

Lightning Lash cracked once more as she recovered, this time aiming for the weapon rather than the man. Her weapon wasn't really full-huntsman caliber, she'd made it out of what spare parts the people of Menagerie had been able to donate to the White Fang, so it didn't dramatically slice through the rifle like she'd have preferred.

It did, however, conduct electricity right into the man's body. His finger yanked on the trigger as his muscles clenched, firing a full burst into the dirt near her feet as he fell to his knees with a pained cry.

"I s-surrender!" He gasped when she pulled her weapon back for a second strike, the words making her freeze once again. "I quit! I quit!"

"Throw it away!" She shouted as she slid to a stop, careful not to get within arm's reach, and keeping her weapon up and ready to strike once more. He didn't even hesitate before throwing the rifle into the trees, and she nodded firmly before speaking again. "On the ground, hands out and down!"

The guard was obediently flattening himself when Trifa's voice abruptly cut through the air, "Ilia! Left!"

She whipped her head around just as the first guardsman, his face a mess of blood, came rushing at her with a knife. He was nearly twice her size, and even though his attack was a clumsy thrust at her throat, his sheer mass made her flinch back on reflex. The little retreat gave her enough time to fall back to the instincts she'd learned in the training rings, her left arm coming up as she spun, putting all of her upper body strength into batting his second slash aside.

"Animal!" His shout came as she continued the spin, falling into a crouch as she built up momentum, "You anim-gah!"

Lightning Lash's sword form rammed into his stomach as she completed the motion. She'd put her entire weight into the blow, the hilt of her weapon slamming against his belly. He coughed violently and blood splattered against her mask as his arms slowly fell limp.

"Fucking... ani...mal..."

Ilia stumbled back, her blood coated blade coming free from his body as he staggered to one side, then fell amid a pool of spreading blood.

I just... I...

"Oh gods." The whine made her jump and jerk back around to the other guard, finding him sprawled on the ground and staring in horror at the twitching form of his coworker. His eyes jerked to her, in particular the blood dripping from her weapon, and his voice cracked. "Oh gods... I q-quit! I s-surrender! Please don't kill me!"

"Face in the dirt human!" Trifa snarled as she darted over, a hand falling on Ilia's shoulder while the other pointed a dagger at him. "Now!"

The whimpering and begging didn't stop so much as it became muffled by the soil as he planted his face into it, arms well away from his body.

"I..." She felt her arms tremble, and her nose wrinkled as a horrible smell hit it. Her lungs abruptly burned and her stomach rolled while every instinct in her screamed that something was dead near her, that a person was dead near her, and that she should be away from that dead thing as quickly as possible. Her skin rippled rapidly between colors; blue, green, black, never settling down as she lost control.

Trifa's grip pushed her down to her knees, aiming her away from the prisoner as Ilia heaved.

"Happens to everyone the first time." The older woman murmured, her hand shifting from holding her to gently rubbing at her back. The comfort small but very real. "It's the smell. Go on, get it all out."

She didn't really have a choice. What little she'd managed to eat before the mission came up, as well as whatever was left of her breakfast. After that it was just painful dry heaves that left her shaking.

"There." Trifa gently helped her back up to her feet as she finished, offering her a gentle hug with one arm even as her eyes remained on the prone guard. "Come on, we've got to get this one tied up with mine. Watch my back all right?"

Watch her back... right. Right. "Y-yes..." She coughed, turned her head, and spit a bit of taste out of her mouth as she leaned a little into the older woman's body. "Yes. Yes. I can do that. Thank you Sister Trifa."

Blue eyes looked at her through the slits of Trifa's mask, then the spider-faunus nodded and stepped away.

Ilia took a few seconds to try and compose herself. She'd somehow kept a hold a hold of Lightning Lash, and the feel of the worn grip in her hands was suddenly far more comforting that it had any right to be. It took another few second for her to realize that her skin was a bright blue, and that she probably made for an excellent target in the dusk light.

By the time Trifa had used her own faunus trait to tie up the last guard with silken ropes and drag him over to where she'd left the two she had subdued, Ilia had gotten herself back under control, her skin returned to its natural tan. She didn't really have anything to clean her weapon with, so she fell to a knee and did her best to wipe it off in the dirt and grass.

"How did they not have aura?" She asked quietly when Trifa returned. "I mean, that's just... idiotic."

"The Schnees? Spend money on actual huntsman to guard their dust?" Trifa snorted. "You really thought we'd be holding off four hunters?"

"Well, no, of course not." She shook her head, the motion letting her see the vomit she'd left on the roadside. Wincing under her mask she rose and took a few cautious steps away from it, "But I thought there'd be at least one of them, or that they'd have it unlocked even if they weren't actual hunters."

A new voice cut in before Trifa could reply, "Auric users can become beacons for the Grimm if they aren't careful... or I'm sure that's the excuse that old Jacques Schnee gives his investors to explain why he can't be bothered to hire proper guards."

"High Leader." Ilia spun and quickly started to bring her hands together before realizing she still had her weapon clenched in one hand.

Sienna Khan smiled and waved her awkward half-salute away, "No need for that today, Sister Amitola. You have prisoners?"

"Three." Trifa waved at the trio of guards bound in silk ropes. "The last one tried to knife Ilia while she subdued his partner. She gutted him with a Rising Leaf strike."

Sienna's ears visibly perked up, and she took a step forwards to better see the body, blood, and to Ilia's shame, the pool of vomit nearby. She considered it all for a second and then nodded slowly, "Sister Trifa, get some help and load those idiots up with the other captives into the last truck. Make sure they don't have a scroll or radio on them, we've taken the radio from the truck and we'll leave one driver free to get them to Mistral. They'll be able to spread the word of what we've done here."

"Yes, High Leader."

"Ilia." Sienna lifted a hand, beckoning in a follow-me gesture. Ilia bit her lip but obeyed without question, following the taller woman back towards the rest of the convoy, hitching her weapon onto her belt as they walked.

Men and women were off-loading one of the trucks as quickly as they could, hauling crates of dust up on top of the other trucks and lashing them down as best they could. It would make driving the things even more awkward than it already would be, but they weren't about to leave any of the valuable cargo behind either. Cases of dust moved from one set of arms to another as a small group of humans sat huddled with their hands bound, guards surrounding them while the other faunus worked. One of the guards was Adam, her friend's attention drifting towards them as they returned.

Sienna waved for him to approach, and then led the pair of them to the edge of the trees. "Adam, I believe you had words for Sister Ilia?"

He grinned, a hand clapping her on the shoulder hard enough to make her stagger. "You did great Ilia. This was the perfect spot for the ambush, and your timing couldn't have been better. This dust will keep us stocked for months. I wish we could record how much old Schnee is going to howl about this."

"I.." She cleared her throat. "Thank you."

Adam seemed to notice her hesitation, his frown obvious even with his own mask hiding his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Sienna spoke, "One of the guards was more foolish than the others and attacked her after they surrendered. She killed him."

The tall man processed that, looking up and down her. Clearly taking in the spots of blood still on Lightning Lash, and whatever had gotten onto her uniform. He let out a slow breath before reaching out and gently wrapping his strong fingers around her shoulder. "How?"

Ilia swallowed, her words coming out slowly. "He thrust at my throat. I countered, then used a Rising Leaf spin. I... I took him in the stomach. I must... must have got an artery or something. He died once I pulled the weapon out."

He nodded and spoke again, "You throw up?"

"...everything I had in me."

"It happens to a lot of people." He smiled a little. "You remember me throwing up as soon as we got back to camp after that bandit attack? I still have a hard time eating pork belly."

She couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Blake thought you were dying."

Sienna chuckled, reaching out to place a hand on Ilia's free shoulder, and her other onto one of Adam's. "Remember to laugh like this, the both of you. What we're doing is hard, it can break us if don't remember to laugh. If we don't remember people like Blake. The people we're fighting for. It's hard, but it's also necessary. It's not glorious, but our children will remember us as the heroes who gave them a better world."

Both of them nodded, and Ilia felt the ache in her chest ease and the turmoil in her stomach retreat. "Thank you, High Leader."

That earned her a quick grin, "Don't thank me just yet, I've got another job for the both of you. Brother Vajo swears by the ancient gods that the convoy didn't get a distress call out, and we've got two shiny jeeps with a snowflake on their doors. We also have eight security badges that are still active."

Ilia blinked, not quite understanding, but Adam grinned once more. "You want to hit the mine itself? Tonight?"

Sienna showed her teeth, "Two birds with one stone. According to the driver I questioned, with the convoy out the security there is just two platoons of robots plus a security squad. Civilians are a half-dozen admin types and about fifty workers. Mixed human and faunus, all paid in company script."

Meaning they were all virtual slaves regardless of their species. Ilia nodded once, "What is the plan?"

"Trifa will take command of the convoy and get it back to camp. You two, myself, and five others will pack into the jeeps and use them to get past the automated guns and the outer gate." Sienna turned her gaze solely to her, "Once we're inside, you're lead scout again. Find us the best way to their central control while we shut down the outer defenses."

"What about the trucks?" Adam asked, waving a hand at them, "If we overload a second one we could get more dust out."

There a sharp shake of her head. "No. This is strictly demolition, sending a message that even the SDC can't miss. We get the workers out, we collapse the mine, and we're gone before sunrise. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." They both chorused.

"Good. Adam, you know how to drive, take the back car with Ilia. I'll send you two more and have them grab enough badges. I'll drive the other jeep."

Another round of nods came before Sienna turned and strode purposefully away, shouting names as she picked out more people for the new mission. Ilia watched her go, more than a little envious of how effortlessly her charisma surrounded her. Maybe one day I'll be half the leader she is...

Adam gave her a light jostle with his elbow, his voice teasing, "You can stare worshipfully at our high leader's ass later, we've got work to do."

She felt her cheeks burn as her spots turned pink, her hair whipping around when she spun to glare at him. "I was not checking her out!"

"That's what you always say," He grinned as she stomped along beside him, the pair walking towards their new ride. "But you always turn pink when I taunt you about it."

"At least I'm not pining for a fourteen year old." She hissed in reply.

It was Adam's turn to flush and his own voice lowered. "I don't pine for Blake, and you think she's cute too."

"But I don't encourage her." Ilia retaliated as they reached the jeep, falling silent until they'd gotten inside. It had a nicer interior than she'd have thought, the seat some kind of fake-leather that still proved to be comfortable, though the area in front of Adam was covered in actual dials and gauges rather than holographic displays. "You know that Ghira will threaten you the next time we're on Menagerie. Assuming he doesn't just strangle you on sight for looking at his daughter."

Adam sighed and let his head fall back, "I'm more worried about Kali... and no, I haven't done anything with Blake. I'm a terrorist, not a monster. I'm less worried about her trying to sneak into my bed than I am about her wanting to start coming on combat missions."

Ilia winced, "...I thought you were going to talk to her about that."

"I did. Didn't work." He reached up and pulled his mask off, revealing the vicious brand that had half-blinded him. An idle toss left it to clatter onto the dash, letting him rub tiredly at his face as he spoke. "Maybe you can try, but the girl's as stubborn as her parents. She's fifteen in a month, she's making the finishing touches on her weapon, and she's already unlocked her semblance."

Her hands tightened in her lap, her memory helpfully showing her the man she'd... killed not ten minutes ago. "...gods. I don't... we kill people Adam."

His voice sharpened slightly. "Racists working for a company that enslaves our people. That did this to me."

Her expression twisted in pain as he waved at his face. "I know, and the man I just... The man I just gutted called me an animal with his last breath, but can you picture Blake killing someone?"

Adam tried to keep his anger going, but after a few seconds his shoulders slumped. "...no. She's already worried about me, about how I've killed on missions. What happens when she sees me cut down someone? What happens when she has to be the one throwing up on a road?"

Ilia closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the seat. Her stomach rolled unpleasantly again, despite the fact that there couldn't be anything in it, Sienna's bolstering words unable to stop the memories of the man's legs and arms twitching as he bled out. "...can we... not talk about this right now?"

"...sorry." His voice was quiet. "When we get back to camp? The three of us can have dinner, like the old days. Maybe the two of us can talk sense into her."

"...yeah, that sounds... that sounds good."

They sat in silence, not saying anything until motion in one of the mirrors made Adam glance behind them. He exhaled heavily and picked his mask back up, fixing it into place just as Van and Aryl clambered into the back-seat. The latter passed a pair of plastic cards up front while his brother grimaced and muttered about the seat pinching his tail.

"You sure these will let us past the auto-guns?"

Adam nodded as he glanced at his before tucking it into his coat, "Those are intended for the Grimm. They shouldn't shoot at us anyway, but these will make sure of it. We'll be through the gate before they even think to override them."

The man nodded, looking reassured, then glanced at Ilia and seemed to freeze. What tanned skin was visible beneath his mask paled, and he coughed quietly into a fist. "Uhm... Sister, your mask..."

Ilia blinked, reaching up to take it off. Turning it over in her hands nearly made her lose control of her stomach again as she saw the splatters of red already drying across the white. "...do you have a cloth?"

He didn't, but Van found a towel in the back and tossed it forwards. The blood came away as she furiously scrubbed it down, neither of the wolf faunus in the back-seat saying anything as she worked.

A loud honk came as she was wiping at it for the third time, it still didn't seem clean for some reason, and all of them looked up to see that Sienna had gotten the first jeep around the fallen tree and was slowly heading down the road.

"Let's get this done." Adam said as he started the engine. "For the faunus."

"For the faunus." Ilia murmured as they started rolling forwards, her eyes returning to the splattered cloth in her hands.

Adam pressed a button, lowering her window without speaking, or so much as glancing at her.

The bloody towel fluttered along behind the car when she threw it out.

So despite my best efforts, I'm back to writing fan-fiction. This is intended mostly as a kind of... stress relief, a way to avoid burning myself out while I work on an original work. Ten chapters of that in one month made me feel both accomplished and exhausted, so I hit on the idea of alternating between that and a new story as a way of avoiding burn-out.

Right now the plan is for a weekly release cycle, posting Monday mornings. This particular story is firmly outlined and I intend to actually stay on my outline for once, and will last nineteen chapters. It will be very open ended with plenty of room for a sequel if people enjoy it, otherwise it will be able to stand alone. I know a lot of you will probably be dissapointed that this isn't Student of Vacuo 2... but that's just too long of a concept for what I'd like to do right now.

This is going to be an AU story starting several years before RWBY itself, and is going to be entirely from Ilia's point of view, focusing on her time in the White Fang and how it slides from Sienna's vision into Adam's. There will be a lot of self-examination, a lot of discrimination, and the expected acts of terrorism given that the White Fang will be central to the story.

For clarity in regards to ages in this story, since it's never really been made clear in canon beyond Adam being older than Blake: Ilia and Adam are seventeen (or there about), and Blake is fourteen (a month from fifteen), placing this chapter roughly two and a half years before RWBY Season 1. I'm not going to say anything in regards to pairing or romance save to say that they will not be central to the story at all.

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat