Blake, Yang and Ruby were busy studying. They might be fighting to bring down a criminal organization, but they were still students and their studies could not be ignored. Weiss was supposed to join them, but she was late. They thought she was probably looking for some necessary books in the library. The painfully boring study session was brought to a halt when Blake's scroll beeped. She pulled it out of her pocket and took a look. "It's a message from Weiss." Blake said. "She wants me to meet her somewhere."

"What about studying with us?" Ruby asked, more than a little disappointed.

"She must have forgotten." Blake lied. The message said Weiss needed to talk to her in private. Apparently it was important. "I'll bring her back and we'll pick up where we left off." Blake slipped her scroll back into her pocket and headed out the door.

Blake did not recognize the address, but it was easy enough to find. It was an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Vale. Why would Weiss want to meet here of all places? Maybe she found something related to their investigation. Given Blake's history with the White Fang and the organization's involvement with Torchwick, some touchy details were bound to come up. Weiss probably would not want to bring the others into it if she did not have to. Still, it was a very bad neighborhood, and Blake was glad she had chosen to bring her weapon along. "Well, this is the place." Blake said to herself as she stepped up to the building's front door. She opened it and stepped into the darkness beyond.

"Oh, hey Weiss." Yang said as Weiss walked in. "Where's Blake?"

"Blake?" Weiss asked. "I have no idea. Sorry I'm late but I've been looking everywhere for my scroll."

"You lost your scroll?" Ruby asked. Weiss nodded, somewhat embarrassed. "When did you lose it?"

"I had it with me when I left for class this morning." Weiss said. "After we finished up I went to use it but it was gone."

"So you didn't send Blake a message about an hour ago?" Yang asked with concern.

"No, I just told you I haven't used it since this morning." Weiss said, annoyed.

Yang sprang to her feet. "I think Blake's in trouble."

Blake stepped through the door and it swung shut behind her. The room was dark, very dark. There was a smell she could not identify. Whatever Weiss came across sure smelled bad. "Blake Belladonna, you made it." A man's voice said over the building's PA system. Blake was shocked for a moment but quickly realized it was a trap. She raced back to the door but it was locked. There were not even windows to escape through. "I think you'll find you're trapped in here."

"Who are you?" Blake asked. "Where's Weiss?"

"The Schnee?" The voice said. "I have no idea."

"How did you get her scroll?" Blake asked.

"I didn't." The voice answered. "It was much easier to hire a pickpocket. The pickpocket on the other hand met a rather unfortunate end. I suspect you can smell him. Then again, the filthy Faunus already smelled like death before I killed him." Sure enough Blake almost tripped over his bloody corpse. It was hard to see in the darkness, but he had clearly been mutilated.

"What do you want?!" Blake shouted. She was stalling for time, trying to find an exit while simultaneously gathering as much information as possible. She looked at her scroll. No signal.

"Isn't it obvious?" The voice asked. "I want to kill you."

"Why?" Blake inquired. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You helped to kill my son." The voice replied. "I bet you don't even remember. A few years ago, there was an attack on a Schnee Dust Company office in Vale. The White Fang intended to take hostages and make a big scene to gather attention for their demands, but things didn't go as planned. You see, one of the employees was armed and tried to defend himself. You animals riddled him with bullets. One of your bullets also struck my son in the head. He was just a child, at work with his father because the babysitter couldn't make it. You monsters killed him."

"I know about that attack." Blake protested. "I wasn't even there."

"Not that day." The voice conceded. "The night before however, you and another member of the White Fang scoped the place out. You may not have participated directly, but you certainly facilitated the attack."

"How do you know all this?" Blake asked.

"Even the most ardent member of the White Fang will tell you everything you want to know if you put a knife to his throat." The voice answered. "He gave up the names of everyone involved. So far, I've killed every single one, except you and the one who was with you. Adam Taurus if I remember correctly. I'll get him in time."

"I'm not with the White Fang anymore." Blake defended herself. "I renounced everything they stand for. I'm actively fighting against them."

"I don't really care." The voice said. "My revenge is personal. It has no room for causes or repentance. You will die for your part in my son's death." He laughed. "Come now, through the door." A light turned on above a door at the far end of the room. "Inside you'll find proof of my intent. Beyond you will find me."

"Her scroll isn't getting service." Yang said. "Without that we can't locate her. She didn't even tell us where she was going."

"If we get close enough, we can detect it through proximity." Weiss said.

"But we don't know where to begin." Ruby added. "We have to get pretty close for that to work."

"We'll have to split up." Yang said. "If someone's luring her into a trap, it must be in a bad part of town. There aren't that many. Ruby can check the docks. Weiss, you try the warehouse district. I'll go to Junior's club and see if he knows anything." They split up and went in search of Blake.

Blake knew it was a bad idea to proceed, but she had no other options. She carefully opened the door and was hit by a blast of cold air. It was a freezer. Past various bags hanging from the ceiling, she could see another door, presumably the exit. Cautiously, she made her way to the second door. It was locked.

"Before I let you out, have a look around." The voice said. The door she had come in through slammed shut and locked on its own. "Go ahead, open a few bags." Blake was afraid of what she might find, but it seemed she had no choice. She unzipped a bag. The body of a Faunus woman tumbled out. It had multiple stab and gunshot wounds. "Another, please." The voice pressed her. She took a deep breath and unzipped another bag. Somehow this one was worse. It was not even a whole body. A jumble of body parts fell out of the bag. They looked like that had once belonged to the same body, but it was impossible to tell for sure. "Oh, that one was quite fun. Try another." Whoever the psycho was, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Reluctantly, Blake unzipped another bag. She was confronted by the disemboweled corpse of a Faunus man. Worse, she recognized him. Now she was angry. "I think that's enough for now. Why don't you come on in so we can finish this?" There was an audible click as the next door unlocked.

Blake cautiously proceeded into the next room. This one was dark like the first. She could see the vague outlines of crates all around. Straight ahead, she could barely make out the silhouette of a man seated at a desk. He was holding something. A bright light suddenly blinded her. She shielded her eyes and struggled to find the source. She aimed Gambol Shroud at where she thought the light was and fired. Miss.

"Please calm down Ms. Belladonna." The man said. "If you accept your death with dignity I will see to it that you don't suffer. Much." Now Blake could just barely make out what the man was holding. It was a machinegun. She dove behind a crate as the man opened fire, unleashing a burst into her shadow. "That's an interesting semblance you have there." Blake tried to see where her assailant was. She could hear him moving, but the light had followed her and made it impossible to see. She took a few blind shots but hit nothing.

"Junior doesn't know anything specific." Yang reported to the others with her scroll. "Apparently a bunch of Faunus have gone missing lately though. That's a really bad sign."

"The docks are clear." Ruby said. "I've looked all over."

"I'm still searching." Weiss said. "Give me some more time, I'll get back to you." They were about to end the call when gunshots rang out. They were muffled, clearly from inside one of the warehouses. "I think it's safe to say she's here. I'll find an exact location while you're on your way."

Blake put round after round into the area of the light source. She could not seem to knock it out. She was sure she should have hit it by now. She ducked down to reload and caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye. She dove from cover to cover as bullets tore through her previous position. That had been too close. Luckily, she had managed to change the angles. Now the man was not hidden by the light source. It still had a negative effect on her vision, but she could see him now. In one hand he held a very large machinegun. The other was empty but held out toward the light. Of course, it was his semblance. There was no point shooting at that, she should concentrate on him.

The assailant realized his mistake and the light shot across the room until it was in the general area of his head. Blake could no longer see him. She took a few more shots but they seemed to have no effect. "Enough of this little game, just come out so I can kill you." He said angrily. The light moved off to her right. She took a few shots in that general direction. Suddenly there was a flash of light to her left. It was muzzle flash. He had used the light to trick her. He fired a burst from his gun and it found its target. Blake's aura protected her, but it would not be strong enough to do so again. She hastily repositioned herself to put more cover between her and the killer. Her current strategy was getting her nowhere. She would have to try a trick of her own.

"Is it this one?" Yang asked, pointing to a warehouse.

Weiss looked at her scroll. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's inside."

"The door's locked." Ruby reported. She fired a few shots from Crescent Rose at it, but they just bounced off.

"We're getting inside." Yang declared. "She needs out help."

Blake ducked down low and made her way quickly and quietly between the crates. She could see the man's movements now. It appeared he had lost track of her. Now it was time for the trick. She detached the two halves of Gambol Shroud and threw the blade across the room while holding onto the gun component. It made a loud metallic clang as it hit the concrete floor. The killer noticed and looked that way, but seemed unconvinced that it was her. She tugged on the ribbon and the blade slid into a crate, making another loud noise.

"You're getting sloppy." The man said. He unleashed a burst at the noise and started walking in that direction. He focused his light on the crate and fired again. "Can't you just be a good girl and die?" Now was her opportunity. She leapt out of cover and charged at the killer. Retracting Gambol Shroud's blade, she caught his foot and pulled him off balance. She rammed into his side as he started to turn around and managed to knock him to the ground. She emptied her magazine into him, but his aura absorbed all the shots. He managed to swing his gun around and fire. The bullets tore through Blake's right arm and shoulder. She screamed in pain and dropped Gambol Shroud.

Blake staggered away, clutching her bloody arm. She stumbled around the crates in a desperate attempt to escape. The killer calmly got to his feet and dusted himself off. His machinegun transformed into a sword with a flaming blade as he inexorably marched toward the wounded Blake. Lit by the fire, his deranged smile was clearly visible.

There was some sort of commotion on the roof. The killer stopped and looked up to see what was going on. His sword changed back into a machinegun and he fired an extended burst through the roof. "Have your little friends come to die to?" He said. He continued to fire, filling the roof with holes as the sound of running could clearly be heard. "That should get them thinking." He converted his gun back into the flaming sword again. "You'll be dead long before they regroup." He raised his sword and brought it down with tremendous force. It scythed through Blake's shadow as she dived out of the way. She bounded over a crate as the killer swung his sword around at her. She could feel the heat as it passed within inches of her face. She ran and slid, grabbing Gambol Shroud as she passed.

In a rage the killer charged at her, swinging his sword in a frenzy. Blake jumped back as the blade sliced across her abdomen. It cut through her clothes and into her skin, but it was only a flesh wound. The killer was big and powerful, but he was slow. Even injured, Blake was faster. She ducked under another slash to get inside the sword's effective range. The man tried to back up but Blake kicked his legs out from under him. He slammed to the ground with a thus. Converting his weapon back into a gun he took aim but Blake was too fast, plunging the blade of Gambol Shroud into his chest. A look of shock on his face, the killer dropped his weapon. He briefly struggled to remove the blade but went limp. Blake gave it a final twist to make sure he was really dead.

There was an explosion above and the roof caved in. The rest of Team RWBY dropped in, ready for a fight. "It's done." Blake said. "Let's get out of here."

"Blake, your arm!" Yang shouted, rushing to her side. Blake's arm was indeed in bad shape. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"I'll be fine." Blake said emotionlessly. Yang used her jacket to fashion a makeshift bandage for Blake's arm and shoulder anyway.

"You killed him." Ruby observed.

"It was him or me." Blake said. "I had no choice."

"Why did he do it?" Weiss asked.

"Revenge." Blake answered.

"Revenge for what?" Weiss pressed.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Blake replied. "He's another ghost from my past." The others understood exactly what she was talking about. It had to do with her affiliation with the White Fang.

"If you ever want to talk about it, we're here for you." Yang said.

"Maybe one day." Blake said. "But right now, I'd prefer to put the past back where it belongs."

"What's in here?" Ruby asked, pointing toward the freezer.

"I'm not his first victim." Blake answered. "You don't need to see that."

Yang did not listen. She looked into the freezer and was greeted by the scene of carnage. "I'm so sorry." She said. She walked over to Blake and gave her a tight hug. It was too tight, and with her wounds, incredibly painful for Blake. Still, it was comforting somehow, even if the events of this night would haunt her for a long time, maybe the rest of her life.