"Please stop…" Tears crawled down my cheek. "Please…"

He glares at me with those eyes of his before glancing over at her.

"Please…" That's all I could say.

He grabbed her by the throat, choking her.

"Please..." My voice was too weak.

He ignored me.

"Stop it..." She was struggling to breathe, trying

He tightened his grip, watching without any amusement.

"Please..."

He twisted his grip, creating a blood-curdling snap.

"YANG!"

"If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me, and live in an unsightly way... Run, and cling to life, and then some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me."

~Itachi Uchiha

Pain Throughout Remnants: Aftermath 1

Vale Hospital, Vale.

"Okay, so your total will be 53 lien." Their cab driver calculated the total amount.

"Here." Taiyang paid the taxi driver, "Thank you."

As the two hunters got out, the cab driver quickly drove away from the hospital.

"What a ripoff." Qrow criticized their driver, "53 lien for two miles?"

"Agreed." Taiyang admitted, "But at least we're here."

"Yeah," Qrow reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out his flask, and took a swig, "I don't know why Jimmy called us here for. But if my two favorite nieces in the whole wide world are hospitalized, I'm gonna break the fucker's knees."

"Qrow!" His brother-in-law scolded him, "This is General Ironwood, leader of the Atlas Military and headmaster of Atlas Academy. Show some respect. It was an honor that he contacted us directly."

"Honor my ass." Qrow retorted, taking another swig. "All he's good for is giving out speeches and being a figurehead. But in truth, he's nothing short than a coward."

"I'm going to ignore that." Taiyang ended that rancorous conversation, "I just hope that Ruby and Yang are all right."

"Let's find out shall we?" Qrow and Taiyang walked through the sliding doors.

Strangely enough, when they walked in, the waiting room was entirely empty save for General Ironwood who was speaking to someone via his scroll.

"...and remember to give the "edited" story to the news media. I want the public to be kept in the dark, but I also want to give them something to keep their minds off 'him'. This is a direct order."

Ending his call, Ironwood let out a deep sigh of weariness; rubbing his temples to soothe him. He turned his head to his left and immediately spotted the two hunters.

"Ah, Qrow. Good to see you're here. And you must be Taiyang, is that correct?" James greeted the two.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." The blonde hunter eagerly shook hands with the general.

"Yeah yeah, we can do introductions later." Qrow rudely interrupted, "Jimmy, what the hell is going on? Where is everyone?"

"I asked the director if he could transport the new incoming sick and injured to the other hospitals besides this one for just this one time." Ironwood explained himself, "And I also had the waiting room cleared out so I can make a private scroll call. There were only a few people in the waiting room anyway. They were more than annoyed when they were asked to leave, but they quickly understood when I entering the waiting room and left."

"I don't want to hear your life story," Qrow said, "what happened to my nieces?"

General Ironwood sighed after rubbing his temple, pausing for a long time before uttering a single name. "Pain."

Both hunter's reactions were different, but shocked nonetheless. Taiyang's expression displayed both anguish and dread; his eyes widen after hearing the god's name uttered from the general's dry voice. Qrow displayed the same facial expression like Taiyang, even pausing his hand that was about to deliver the flask into his mouth. But unlike his brother-in-law/teammate, his emotion didn't last long as alcoholic hunter pulled up the general by his collar.

"You piece of shit…" Qrow's voice drip in venom and alcohol, "Why didn't you rescue them earlier?!"

"Qrow! Restrain yourself!" Taiyang shouted, pulling Qrow back from the general.

"No! Let go of me!" He drunkenly yelled back at his brother-in-law/teammate, pushing him back in the process.

"Please, you have to understand." Ironwood diffused the situation, "This is Pain we're dealing with. Not some White Fang member with stolen tech. We needed more time to plan out strategically if we're to engage that dangerous being."

"Yeah, I bet those shiny medals are starting to feel really special to you." Qrow mocked, but his anger began to dissipate.

"Qrow… Taiyang… I am truly sorry." With guilt and sorrow in his heart, the general apologized.

Taiyang gestured a sad expression while Qrow only glared at James with diluted spite. Before anyone could make a move, a soft voice echoed the room.

"Dad? Uncle Qrow?"

All three men faced the direction from where the voice originated and found Yang, Weiss, and Blake coming out through the medical doors with a doctor accompanying the three huntresses.

"Yang!" The father embraced his eldest daughter with a warm hug when she came running to him. While that was happening, the general spoke with the doctor in secrecy.

"Hey there, kiddo." Yang's uncle reeked of alcohol, "How're you holdin' up?"

"I'm fine," Yang replied, "and so are my teammates."

"I'm glad you and your friends are safe." Taiyang gave a warm smile, "I'm Taiyang by the way, Yang's father, and this is Qrow, Yang's uncle."

"Blake…" The cat-faunus greeted her teammate's father and uncle.

"Weiss Schnee." The middle child of Jacques Schnee introduced herself.

"Wait a minute," Qrow was the first one to noticed this, "where's Ruby?"

"Yang, where's your sister?" Taiyang spoke to Yang in his 'fatherly' voice.

"I don't know," she admitted, "The doctors won't let me see her."

"Excuse me for interrupting." The group turned their attention to the doctor who was speaking. "I know all of you are terribly concerned about your friend Ruby Rose, yes?"

Yang jerked her head, "Yes, now can we see her?!"

"Patience, Yang." Taiyang placed his hand on her shoulder. "We're going to see your sister soon. Can you wait for a bit more?"

"Ok…" Her voice was hoarse, worried deeply about her sister.

"Ok, who here is Rose's legal parent/guardian?" The doctor announced.

"That would be me." Taiyang came forth, "I'm her father."

"Don't forget about me, I'm her uncle!" Qrow irrationally said.

"Ok then, would the two of you join me in private?" The doctor asked the two adult hunters.

Before heading to speak with the doctor in private, Taiyang told Ruby's teammates to wait for them.

"Don't worry kiddo, won't be long now." Qrow assured his niece before heading with Taiyang to speak with the doctor.

Once they were out of range from eavesdropping, Qrow started asking questions.

"Give us the load-down, doc. What happened?"

"It's... it's… I'm terribly sorry for your loss." The doctor was struggling to deliver the news. "Ruby Rose is diagnosed with PTSD."

Their entire worlds froze after hearing those four dreadful words.

"No…" Taiyang was petrified after hearing his youngest daughter developed depression.

Qrow didn't say anything; he felt like absolute shit and wanted to throw up.

"Again, I'm terribly sorry." The doctor apologized, "When General Ironwood brought her here, Miss Rose was crying the entire night. We tried to calm her, but nothing was getting through to her. So we were left with no other opinion but to give her anesthesia to get her to sleep."

"How long until she gets better?" Taiyang inquired.

"Well patients, who are diagnosed with PTSD, typically get better after the first few weeks." The doctor answered, "The worse case scenario, she'll have to stay in for two-three months."

"I'm gonna gut that heartless bastard." Qrow scowled, "I'm gonna hunt him down and make him pay for everything that has happened to her."

"Qrow!"

"Uh, who are you addressing to?" The doctor raised his eyebrow.

"Well uh," Taiyang tried to cover up Qrow's slip up, "you know, the man who injured my daughter."

"I see," And the doctor ate it up, "well I guess I would be more than angry if White Fang attacked and injured my daughter too."

"White Fang?" Taiyang asked before realizing General Ironwood had a cover up story for Ruby and Yang's team, "Uh yeah, White Fang. How evil they are to attack my daughter."

"I know, right." The doctor said, "General Ironwood told us that your daughter's team were battling Atlesian Paladins that were stolen by White Fang. And by the looks of things, it might have been a narrow victory for them."

"Excuse me, may I have everyone's attention please." All eyes looked upon another doctor entering the waiting room. "Ruby Rose is now available for visitors."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Yang got anxious to learn about what had happened to her sister.

"Everyone, please follow me to Miss Rose's room." The doctor started, heading back in.

Team RWBY minus their team-leader, Qrow, Taiyang, and General Ironwood all started to follow the doctor through the medical doors. Following the doctor through the infirmary, the middle child of Jacques Schnee came up to the general.

"General Ironwood?" James looked over his shoulder to see Weiss behind him.

"Weiss Schnee, to what do I owe the pleasure to?" The general gave a warm greeting to his specialist's sister.

"Are you going to report this incident to my father?" The heiress was worried that she might have to drop out of Beacon Academy and return home.

"Well," Ironwood paused for a bit, "let's leave your father out of this mess."

The ice princess displayed a small smile on her face, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Passing through the silent infirmary was a bit creepy for the young huntresses, hearing only the echoes of their footsteps. Yang was extremely anxious to find out what had happened to her baby sister after being unconscious for more than ten hours. After what seemed to be hours for the older sister only a few minutes, the group arrived outside Ruby's hospital room.

"Now remember," the doctor explained to the group, "she had just woken up and might be very tired and frail. I would highly suggest no physical touching of any kind. Ruby needs her rest if she is to fully recover."

"Don't worry." Qrow reassured the doctor, "We're just here to check up on my niece. It won't take long."

"Wait here." The doctor entered the room, "I'm just going to tell Miss Rose that she has visitors."

Once the door had closed, the group then waited for the doctor to give them the signal. That didn't take long.

"Okay," The doctor opened the door for them, "Ruby would like to see her family and friends."

"Ruby!" Yang had total disregard for the doctor's warnings as she barged into the room and tackled her sister with a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Yang?

My big sister ran up to hug me. She's hugging too tight!

I noticed the look in her eye. She seemed so happy to see me.

I looked past her and saw Weiss and Blake. And dad and uncle Qrow.

For a moment, I was so happy to see th-

The reason you and your team are still alive is because I allow it.

Otherwise, I would have killed them from the start.

No…

"Hey Rubes," Yang completely unaware of her sister's physical state, "are you happy to see me too?"

Sniffing was heard from the young team-leader followed by low whimpers.

"Ruby?" Her father came up to her, trying to peek at his daughter's covered face.

You are a foolish child for challenging God.

I'm not foolish...

You picked fantasy over reality.

Shut up!

You refuse to learn.

Stop it!

You refuse pain into your world.

Lalalalalalalalala can't hear you!

You chose to be ignorant.

You're not in my head!

How long can you stay ignorant?

Very long!

When I kill your friends?

What...

Your Family?

No...

Pursue me and I will kill your sibling.

Yang…

He strangled her...

Intervene with God's work and your comrades die.

Weiss…

Blake…

He struck them down...

Betray your oath and I will personally destroy everyone and everything you hold dear.

Dad…

Uncle Qrow…

He stabbed my dad and slit uncle Qrow's throat...

He even crushed Zwei with his shoe...

Make no mistake, this is the work of God.

Mom…

I saw her fighting against him; she was fighting very hard like me...

But he struck her down, piercing her heart by his hand...

Mortals like Summer are an example of that.

Bodies of hunters and huntress were littered before me...

I recognized all of them…

They were my friends, my family, my teachers, people I knew…

This will become reality.

No…

If you continue to defy me.

"Ruby?" Yang lifted her sister's chin, revealing her bright rosy face was covered with tears falling down her cheeks.

The worst had happened to Ruby Rose; her soul was completely broken. Seeing her loved ones only pushed her deeper into the abyss of despair and sorrow. This inhumane pain made her cry more than ever. Ruby knew that her friends and family were watching her wail, so she tried to plug her eyes with the palm of her hands. This only caused the tears to drip from her palms and wet the bed sheet. The more she cried, the intense pain inside her grew.

"Ruby? What's wrong?" Taiyang gently tugged on her fingers, trying to see what the problem was, "Ruby, please talk to us. To me and your sister."

"Ruby?!" Seeing her sister in this manner made Yang extremely concerned. "Ruby, it's me! Your best sister in the whole wide world! Please say something!"

Her friends were completely speechless. Both Weiss and Blake wanted to comfort their leader, but feel like they're glued to the floor. And they hated themselves for being heartless teammates for not caring for Ruby.

Qrow's eyes darken, tucking away his flask as the world grew dark around him. James displayed remorse in his eyes, his mind flashback to when he brought her to the hospital.

Taiyang knew that Ruby wasn't hearing his or Yang's words, but he remembered an old lullaby that Summer used to sing to the kids when they were just infants. He digs into his memories, trying to remember the lyrics. In his soft voice, he recited the lullaby.

Many years ago.

Patch, Vale.

Summer Rose picked up a crying baby Ruby from her crib. Despite it being two in the morning, the mother smiled and sang to her child.

Come stop your cryin' it'll be alright

Just take my hand, hold it tight.

I will protect you from all around you,

I will be here don't you cry.

A younger Yang pretended to seem like she was sleeping, but she was, in fact, listening to her stepmother singing to her stepsister.

For one so small, you seem so strong.

My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm,

This bond between us can't be broken,

I will be here don't you cry.

Summer swayed her daughter rhythmically as her cries transformed into coos. She cooed Ruby back, nuzzling her tiny nose with her own nose.

'Cause you'll be in my heart,

yes you'll be in my heart,

From this day on now and forevermore.

Taiyang walked in the girl's room, his footsteps creaked on the wooden floor. He watched her gently lower their child back into her crib, sleeping very soundly.

You'll be in my heart,

No matter what they say,

You'll be here in my heart,

Always.

Present time.

Vale Hospital, Vale.

"Uh, the bond between us can-can't be broken, I'll be here, so don't cry..."

Taiyang had a hard time trying to recite the lullaby that his wife sang to Ruby when she was just a baby. His version had fewer words and his vocals aren't an exact replica of Summer. Because of this gap between quality, it didn't soothe Ruby to sleep. In fact, all he did was make her cry more.

"Come stop your crying," Yang joined in with her dad, starting from the beginning of the lullaby, "it'll be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight…"

"I will protect you from all around you," The two blondes sang in sync with each other, "I will be here don't you cry."

The lullaby was starting to take effect on Ruby as her sobbing began to simmer down. After what was five minutes of non-stop crying, the young huntress tired from her wailing and fell back to sleep. Once asleep, her father smiled as he wiped away the remaining tears. He looked up to Yang and mouthed the words 'Thank you.' She smiled slightly before the two headed back to the group and outside Ruby's hospital room.

"What happened to Ruby?!" Weiss demanded, "How did she become like this?!"

Team RWBY minus Ruby, Qrow, Taiyang, and Ironwood were sitting in the waiting room, discussing the events that had transpired in the hospital room. Ruby's teammates were sad, confused, and angry at the same time.

"Pain." Ironwood answered. "He did this to her."

"What?! Weiss exclaimed.

"No…" Blake was quiet the entire time before uttering a single word.

"THAT BASTARD!" Yang literally punched a hole in the hospital wall to release her pent up anger.

"Yang!" Taiyang scolded her for causing destruction in the hospital.

"Everyone calm down." General Ironwood announced, "I know you must be more than livid, but-"

"But what?!" The brawler huntress shouted, "He hurt my sister, he has to pay!"

"And what?" Qrow stood up from his seat, "You'll just fight him again?"

Yang glared at him before softening her gaze, fully realizing that her uncle was right.

"I can't believe all of you went to challenge Pain." Qrow reprimanded his niece's team, "Are you insane?! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Qrow." His name didn't come up from his brother-in-law, but rather, the Atlas general. "Calm down. You had too much to drink."

The drunk hunter glared at the Atlas General with pure killing intent as it also looked like he was going to pull out his scythe and attack him. Fortunately, this never came to pass as Qrow merely sighed and sat back down.

"You're...you're right." He admitted, "I'm just too angry and drunk over this whole situation.

"Now with that settled, there is something I need to show you." James reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll, "Everyone, come in."

The five hunters and huntresses came close to the general, "I need all of you to keep this a secret. If the public were to learn about what I'm about to show you, it will send them into a mass hysteria."

"What is it then?" Taiyang asked.

"This is the surveillance footage from last night." The general admitted, "I had Atlas personnel scrub all existing footage save this one."

"You don't mean." Blake quickly realizing what it means.

"Yes," James answered, "What I have here is the entire battle between Team RWBY and Pain."

Silence fell over the group; everyone except the general was anxious to watch the video. Even Team RWBY was jittery, wanting to know what exactly happened to their leader and terrified of what he did to Ruby's mental state.

General Ironwood announced to the group, "Any concerning questions before the video starts?"

No one had concerning questions for the general; they were busy anticipating for the worse to come. And with that, James started the video on his scroll as the six of them huddled closely to video.

The video started with Team RWBY preparing to face against an Atlesian Paladin that Roman Torchwick was piloting. But before the two sides could make the first move, Team RWBY noticed something in the sky. After it crashed landed between the huntresses and the Paladin, the object revealed to be Pain standing in the miniature crater.

"Is that him?" Taiyang asked, "It doesn't look like him."

"It is him," Yang answered her father. "Even though he was bald, it was him."

"Wait," Taiyang took a retake, "he was bald?"

"Shh." Weiss shushed the two blondes, "I'm trying to watch."

The video cuts to Pain taking down the mech with a single tackle to the stomach, effectively disabling it.

Qrow laughed when Pain ripped the metal from the Paladin, "Either Pain is that strong or those Paladins are made from a cardboard box. Either way, you need to up your game, Jimmy."

General Ironwood made no comment as Qrow was obviously drunk as hell, but he did throw a glare at the hunter. Back to the video, Pain had lifted the destroyed mech and threw it to the Bullhead. Taiyang and Qrow were aghast after witnessing the debris of the two machines crashed into a building followed by a massive explosion.

"Such strength…" The blonde hunter was nearly speechless.

"What on Remnant is he?" Blake asked after rewatching that exact scene from yesterday.

"A monster." General Ironwood answered the faunus huntress.

The video cuts to Team RWBY declaring that they will fight the 'god'. This actually surprised Taiyang the most.

"Why didn't you retreat?" Taiyang asked his daughter.

"I don't know..." Yang solemnly admitted, "I guess we were in the heat of the moment."

"That is the most-" Taiyang couldn't really put himself to say it, "Never mind…"

Back to the video, Pain had just come back from the dead and revealed his robotic form.

"No way…" Qrow squinted his eyes, "Is he a-"

"An android yes." General Ironwood answered.

"How is that possible?" he asked the general.

"That's what I want to know too," James admitted.

At this point in the timeline, Pain had just defeated Team RWBY and fired a missile at Ruby who ran all over town in order to launch it right back at the 'god'. Everyone except the general was amazed how Ruby was able to outrun a homing missile and redirect it back to the 'god'.

"That's my sister!" Yang proudly said.

"Just like Summer." Taiyang commented on his daughter's semblance.

However, that was short-lived. They suddenly heard his voice from the audio files, but couldn't see him on screen. It was when the flames evaporated that a gigantic demonic head appeared on screen along with a different Pain standing right next to it.

"Another Pain?!" Qrow spat out the alcohol from his mouth. "How?!"

"What on Oum's Remnant is that thing?!" Seeing the creature for the first time disgusted the heiress, "Such an abominable, revolting head! And why is it chewing with its mouth open?! Does he teach it any manners?!"

Watching the demonic head openly chew for a couple of minutes, everyone's eyes widen in horror except General Ironwood as the bald Pain who was completely obliterated by his own missile stepped out of the gigantic demonic head, looking like he had never fought Team RWBY before.

"Impossible..." The faunus huntress was completely appalled, "How is he alive?!"

"All of our efforts," Yang was in disbelief, "and he was toying with us…"

"Yang," Taiyang comforted his eldest daughter, "it's not your fault. You did the best you could."

The video cuts to Pain beating down at a critically injured Ruby after witnessing her scythe 'Crescent Rose' being snapped in two. He didn't stop here. After restricting her movement, he tore off her cape and burned it.

"Summer…" Taiyang's heart sank after witnessing Ruby's cherished cape that was the only reminder of her late mother burnt before her very eyes.

"Ruby, I'm so sorry." Qrow's eyes darken after watching the cruel and aloof torture that Pain had done on his niece's spirit.

"That bastard!" Weiss's anger swelled within her. "I'm going to end him!"

"Monster." The word slipped out of Blake's mouth but didn't care. "He isn't a god, he is a monster. A cruel, sadistic monster."

Surprisingly, Yang didn't say a thing to this horrible scene and instead stared at the ground. If her friends or family could scrutinize closely, they would have noticed the tiny puddle on the floor that her head was hovering over.

"Know this." The video cuts to Pain threatening Ruby, "The reason why you and your team are still alive is because I allow it. If you betray your oath to me, I will personally hunt and kill everyone you know and love. And when you beg for me to stop, when I drag you to the point of death, I will show no mercy. Is that underst-"

Yang yanked the scroll from General Ironwood and smashed it against the wall, shattering the device.

"Yang!" Taiyang scolded her but soon realized that tears fell down her cheek.

Not tears of sadness, but tears of rage. Yang bared her teeth, her lilac eyes replaced with crimson red. The fury within her had transformed into a hurricane, everyone could feel her aura flaring up. Thankfully, the blonde huntress stormed out of the hospital. She was out for blood. Blood from a physical god, of course.

"Wait, Yang!" Taiyang tried to call out to her, "General Ironwood, I am so sorry that my daughter acted this way! Yang, come back!"

Yang's father ran out the hospital, trying to catch up to her. Weiss and Blake followed too, wanting to calm Yang down before she starts destroying everything in sight. That left Qrow and James behind at the hospital who watched with horror and disbelief.

"I've never thought she loved her sister that much…" General Ironwood admitted.

"Are you happy?" The general looked at the drunken hunter, "Are you happy now? Now you've torn my family apart?"

"What are you-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Qrow staggeringly walked towards the entrance. But before he left James alone, he turned around for the finally time. "You're paying for all of this."

And with that, Qrow walked straight out of the hospital, leaving the Atlas general all alone. Surveying the damage he had done to Team RWBY, James closed his eyes and sighed.

"Pain," He said to himself, "a suffering or discomfort caused by sickness or injury, both physical and mental."

The general stared at the dented wall where Yang threw his scroll, shattering it.

"Pain truly is an anomaly." James pondered to himself. "I wonder what he is currently up to."

Beacon Academy, Vale.

"Don't even think about it, buster!" Professor Port warned Nagato as he dragged him to the amphitheater which served as detention.

Because it was during lunchtime, students who were in the hallway observed Nagato and Port. A few murmurs were heard amongst Nagato's peers after what happened yesterday.

"Nothing to see here, move along!" The professor ordered the students in the same way a police officer would tell the public to scatter after arresting a well-known criminal.

One by one, students began taking their eyes off and resumed back to whatever it was they were doing. But most of them ignored the professor's warnings. It wasn't because they had nothing better else to do, but that Peter Port was genuinely apprehensive. Not only was Nagato handcuffed, but the professor dragged him in one hand and carried his massive rifle/ax in the other. A bit of an overkill if you ask the students.

"Professor Port, I think it's a bit unnecessary to carry around your weapon." His blind student bluntly said.

"Nonsense, Mr. Uzumaki." He argued, "Even in chains, you're quite dangerous."

"You're not far from the truth." Nagato noted.

"For example, you might escape your cuffs by some miracle." Port explained, "Then you take me off guard and try to murder me. But with my weapon in hand, I have nothing to fear."

"Boo."

Immediately the professor panicked. He jerked forward, spun around, and aimed his rifle/ax at the blind student while fumbling to get a grip on his weapon. A few students passing by simply chuckled at the professor's incompetent. Taking a few seconds to realize that he hadn't escaped his cuffs and merely tested his reaction, Peter lowered his rifle.

"You have a cruel and mischievous sense of humor, Mr. Uzumaki." He scolded his student.

"It wasn't supposed to be funny," Nagato explained, "it was supposed to determine if you were afraid of me."

"That's absurd!" Professor Port argued, "I'm not afraid! Not even to a Grimm Dragon, breathing down on me!"

"Then why did you aim your weapon at me?" The blind student cornered his professor.

"That's enough, Mr. Uzumaki." Before he could answer his student's question, Professor Goodwitch appeared before the two.

"Ah Glynda," Professor Port warmly greeted her, "good to see you."

"You too, Peter." She replied. "I'll take Mr. Uzumaki off your hands now."

"Here," The professor handed the blind delinquent over to his female colleague, "I know for certain you can keep him under control."

After handing over Nagato to Professor Goodwitch, Professor Port walked away and returned back to his classroom.

"Come now." Glynda instructed the blind student, "The amphitheater is up ahead."

Steadily, he followed Professor Goodwitch into the amphitheater where he sensed a handful of students sitting on the benches, waiting for detention to end. Amongst the delinquents he sensed, the blind student only recognized Team CRDL sitting together on a bench. Immediately, after seeing Nagato, the members of Team CRDL lost all color in their faces as they relocated to another bench just to get away from him. Nagato paid no attention as he followed Professor Goodwitch around.

"You'll be sitting right here," she ordered him to sit down on this particular side of the bench. "where I can keep an eye on you."

As he sat down, the professor made an announcement to the students in detention hall.

"If any one of you makes a sound, I'll extend your detention to one week. Is that understood?"

"Yeah…whatever." The weak voices mustered up.

"Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear." Her strict and threatening tone demanded a better, formulated answer.

"Yes, Ms. Goodwitch." Everyone answered formulated.

"Detention has now started."

"So this is Pain's alternate form." An awe-struck Ozpin commented on the holographic projection of Pain's android body displayed on his desk. "Such destructive power. He's like a one-man army."

"I didn't want to believe it at first," General Ironwood swiped the video's timeline with his index finger, "but take a good look at this."

What James showed to his close friend was another holographic footage of the 'god', but this time, he extended his robotic arm forward and fired a wide array of missiles at Team RWBY. Ozpin paused the mug that was about to reach his lips.

"Hidden missiles?" The headmaster questioned as he placed down the coffee on his desk.

"Yes," The general answered, "though there is no explanation to how the missiles could easily fit in his arm."

"He grows them." Ozpin bluntly hypothesize. "He grows his own missiles."

"What are you…" Ironwood questioned his associate but decided to hear out his hypothesis.

"Rewind the clip by a few seconds," Ozpin instructed Ironwood as he did so; the holographic clip of Pain firing the missiles was played in backward. "Now stop. Zoom in on the missiles."

James zoomed in on the hologram, showing only the miniature missiles attached to the metal rod that came out of the arm.

"Play it in one-eighth of the speed." The general played the video, but this time, in one-eighth of the speed.

As shown, the missiles suddenly expanded five times their original size a millisecond before being launched from the arm. General Ironwood's eyes widen in wonderment and terror.

"Impossible." He said, replaying the footage again to make sure he wasn't crazy. "Missiles aren't organic! They can't be simply grown!"

"And yet, here we are watching the impossible." A calm Ozpin sipped his coffee.

"But- but how?" An anxious James questioned the logic of Pain's missiles.

"Maybe it's a form of an advanced technology that produces missiles in a hydrated form?" The headmaster suggested.

"It is a possibility." Ironwood agreed, "But that begs the question. How does he store Dust inside the missiles?"

"Maybe he doesn't need it." What Ozpin just said caused the general to burst out laughing hysterically, "What so funny?"

"It's what you said." His laughter subsided, "He doesn't need Dust. That's a laugh."

"Why?" His friend questioned.

"Because every piece of technology depends on Dust for it to function." James responded, "Missiles are completely ineffective without Dust."

"And I completely agree with you." Ozpin admitted, "However, that statement only applies to Remnant. Pain is from an entirely different world and thus, he gains immunity from it."

"Whenever or not he use Dust is entirely up for debate." Ozpin took a sip, "I want to see the rest of his arcane arsenal."

General Ironwood pressed a button on the screen pulling up another holographic projection of Pain. This time, the 'god' was firing off a powerful energy beam at the icy heiress before her teammate snatched her away.

"Is that an arm cannon?" The headmaster questioned.

"Yes, it is." General Ironwood promptly answered.

Ozpin gestured his chin, "Do you still believe Dust could achieve such a feat like this?"

"Yes," James was stone set in his statement, "he must have used a large quantity of Dust in order to discharge an energy beam of that caliber."

"I see what you mean." Ozpin agreed, "However, other than a few capable hunters and huntresses, I don't believe that our technology is highly advanced enough to develop weapons of such magnitude shown here."

"True." General Ironwood acknowledged, "Atlesian technology hasn't reached that milestone yet, but I do believe Pain had stolen some of our military blueprints and improved them somehow."

The general pulled up another holographic screen. It was a full-body diagram of the android used by Pain.

"Despite looking nearly life-like, it's still a dangerous android." He explained. "What caught my attention was these two faces on the side of his head. What are there for besides granting him increased vision?"

"Hmmm." The professor studied the facial expressions meticulously, "The faces..."

Professor Ozpin pointed out the pattern on the hologram, "Notice each face's expressions. Happy, anger, and neutral. Though neutral could counted as sadness."

"So," Ironwood questioned, "what about them?"

"Nothing." Ozpin took a sip, "I just found it quite unusual for Pain to smile or scowl."

He set aside his coffee mug. "Now that we've analyzed the automaton's physique, I want to see the other one from last night."

With a few taps on the screen, the holographic projection of the android shrank back into the desk's interface and reemerged as a holographic model of the giant demonic head and the other version of Pain next to it. James pressed a button on the screen causing the holographic head to resume chewing with its mouth open. Later, the demonic head abruptly opened and from inside revealed the fixed android Pain.

"What is that?" Seeing this for the first time marveled the headmaster, "I've never seen anything like this in all my years of teaching."

"Same here." The general agreed. "From what I've gathered, Pain somehow controls this abomination and uses it to repair any injuries done on him."

"Like a personal medical bay." Ozpin compared the two.

"Except it's extremely faster and more efficient." James noted the difference gap between the two.

"With such mysterious and devastating technology, Pain is truly a dangerous threat to all of Remnant." General Ironwood was a bit shaken up after saying that, "At times, I wonder if all four Maidens could stand up against him. Or even Salem."

"The maidens can defeat him, James." Ozpin stood firmly in his belief of the seasonal maidens, "Pain is powerful, there's no doubt about it. But if all fours maidens were to come together, they can overpower him and Salem."

"But they are scattered across the four kingdoms," The general pointed out the flaw, "Aside from the Fall Maiden, how can we unite the three maidens?

"We don't," Ozpin faced the other way and stared from his window, "We let fate decide how they should meet."

"But that's just crazy talk!" General Ironwood slammed his hand on the desk, "We have a physical god walking amongst Remnant and the only thing we can do is just wait around for the Maidens to band together?!"

"Do you have any other suggestions then?" The headmaster spun around to face the general who fell silent, "James, the Maidens are our only hope left. After all-"

One week later.

Beacon Academy, Vale.

"-there aren't many hunters who possess the courage to challenge Pain."

"Reset the test!" Yang barked at the computer, cracking her knuckles.

"RESETTING TRAINING GROUNDS FOR NEXT ROUND."

The dummies jolted back into positions, resetting the test. Yang readied herself and began to expertly punch the targets, knocking them down one at a time. Each punch she threw felt deeply satisfying, picturing the targets as Pain. It's been a week since their run-in with him. After Yang had her emotional episode, the three huntresses returned to Beacon Academy where they tried to move on with their lives while lying to their friends about what really happened to Ruby. Out of the three girls affected, Yang was hit the hardest.

The blonde bruiser had locked herself up in the training room all afternoon, honing in her skills. Her hatred towards Pain hadn't dissipated. It merely grew in size. Yang continued to train, isolating herself from her social life. Her teammates wanted to help her, but they were too busy coping with their own problems. Even if they did reach out to her, the blonde huntress would push them away. Yang knew that paltry training wasn't going to be enough for her to stand toe to toe against Pain, but she didn't want to feel useless either. What she wanted was to hunt down and kill that monster for hurting her sister.

"ROUND COMPLETE." The robotic voice announced from the loudspeaker.

"Reset again!"

"THE LAST ROUND SHOWED A-"

"I don't care, reset!" Yang ordered while waiting for the computer to reset itself.

The dummies jolted back into positions, starting the test all over. Wasting no time, Yang lunged at her targets, knocking down the first dummy she sees. With a four-point-eight second increase, the huntress had knocked down all the dummies.

"Reset again!" Yang ordered.

The dummies were unresponsive, remaining flat on their backs as the robotic voice was not heard from the loudspeaker.

"Rest the test!" Nothing happened.

"RESET!" Yang screamed at the computer, "RESET OUM DAMN IT!"

"Yang."

"WHAT?!" The blonde huntress turned around to scream at whomever was at the door, "Oh N-Nagato. What are you doing here?"

Nagato stood under the doorway, expressionless as always.

"If my friends sent you here, then forget it!" Yang clenched her fists.

"You're mistaken." The blind hunter walked down the steps, "I came here on my accord."

Oh," Yang grew flustered, "uh n-never mind."

The dummies shifted back into position as the blonde huntress resumed the test. While Yang was punching away at the dummies, Nagato started a conversation with her.

"You've been doing an awful lot of training all afternoon for the past week."

"So?"

"Why?" He asked, "Why are you so intent on training?"

"That's none of your business." Yang finished off the remaining dummies.

"Is it for revenge?" Nagato inquired, causing Yang to freeze in her place. "Who is it that you hold a grudge against?"

"P-Roman Torchwick." Yang almost slipped up, "He tortured my sister, breaking her until I couldn't recognize her anymore. He even burned her cape!"

Just by remembering the incident caused a few droplets to leak from her eye.

"That's why," The blonde brawler rubbed her eyes, "I can't stop now! I need to get stronger so I can exact my revenge for what he has done to my sister! "

"Oh I see," Nagato seemed to be uncaring, "if you're seeking revenge, dig a grave. But his name won't be engraved."

"What are you talking about?!" Yang demanded, "If this is your attempt at a joke, it's not funny!"

"This is no joke," Nagato callously explained, "continue this unhealthy obsession and you will find yourself six feet under."

Yang was extremely sick and tired of hearing her friends saying the same thing over and over again.

'Yang, it's not your fault. Please join us.'

'Yang, you're starting to scare us.'

'Yang, take a break and come eat with us.'

What Nagato said finally takes the cake for her. After a week of anger, stress, and isolation, Yang finally snapped and exploded on the blind student. But instead of words, she used her fists. The blonde huntress sprung forward, clenched her fist, and attempted to punch the red haired hunter to kingdom come. It would have worked on him if he wasn't Nagato.

The blind hunter merely stepped to the side and dodged her incoming fist. Luckily, Yang caught herself and retaliated by swinging her arm at Nagato. Again, he dodged it by tilting his head a few inches backwards from her fist. The blonde huntress was about to throw another punch when the blind hunter brutally kneed her in the stomach, causing her to cough out saliva.

Yang fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Too busy tending to her stomach, Nagato grabbed the huntress by her blonde hair and pulled her up from the floor. Normally, her rage would have been broken by now if she wasn't in too much pain from her stomach or her hair being pulled.

"You're still too weak," Yang was pretty sure she was delirious when she heard Nagato's voice inside her head, "you don't have enough hatred. And you know something? You never will."

The blind hunter then flung her into the wall, shattering the brickwork. After regaining her conscience, Yang noticed that a single strand of her lush, golden hair floated down in front of her. She looked up and widen in horror; more than a few strands of her goldilocks hair were dangling from Nagato's fist. Yang watched in terror as he tossed away the strands of hair like if they felt dirty to hold them. The fear inside her transformed into pure rage as shown in her eyes; the lilac shifted into a darker shade of crimson red.

Yup, she has definitely broke her rage.

"Blake, wait up!" Sun called out as he jogged up to her.

"Just leave me alone," Blake pushed the blonde monkey faunus away, "I'm not in the mood to talk."

"What's wrong?" He was concerned for his friend's well-being, "Is there something bothering you?"

"It's nothing." She lied, "Now leave me alone."

"If it's about White Fang, I'm sorry we didn't come and help your team out." Sun was horrified when he heard about Blake's team being badly injured during their fight against 'Roman Torchwick'.

"It's not that." The cat faunus dismissed his apologies.

"But it has something to do with White Fang." He was close to the truth, but at the same time, far from it. "Blake, I really want to help you. I really do. But why are you pushing away your friends when they're just trying to help you?"

Blake didn't respond to his question. In fact, her voice was on autopilot. Her mind had blocked out all background chatter and instead focused on what Pain said to her a week ago.

"...White Fang has become a serious threat I have yet to resolve…"

"Hey, are you alright?"

"...I will exterminate them, current and former…"

"Hey."

"...with the fall of White Fang, another will take its place..."

"Hey, Blake."

"...Faunus will always repeat the same mistake…"

"Blake?"

"...they can never change..."

"Blake!"

"Hmm- sorry." The feline-faunus apologized, "I was just deep in thought."

"Well can you, at least, take a break on this whole White Fang business." The monkey-faunus suggested, "Please? For your sake?"

Before she could give her answer, there was a loud yet familiar voice behind them.

"Blake, there you are!"

"Hey Weiss." Blake looked restless and dejected when she faced her teammate.

"Hi Ice Queen!" Sun smiled warmly at Blake's teammate.

"Seriously?!" Weiss pouted, "Why do people keep calling me that?"

"Wait, there was another nickname." The blonde hunter remembered, "Oh yeah, Arctic Princess!"

"Really?" Weiss deadpanned at Sun.

A couple of students ran past the three of them in the hallway. They really didn't noticed it at first.

"So what is it Weiss?" Blake asked her snow-haired friend.

"Well for starters-" Before she could finish, a student accidentally bumped into her. "Hey!"

"Sorry!" The student apologized, "Hey! Let go!"

Blake managed to grab his sleeve before he could run away.

"What's going on?" She questioned the student, "Why is everyone in such a hurry?

The student pointed down the hall, "The transfer student, Nagato, is squaring off against another student in the training room. I heard the latter is in berserker mode. We're going to watch before Goodwitch arrives! Hey guys, wait up!"

Blake released the student as he left a puff of smoke behind.

"Nagato? Berserker mode?" Blake pondered out loudly, "What does he mean by- oh Oum no. Weiss, we have to go now!"

Blake and Weiss quickly followed behind the student who was heading to the training room, leaving a bewildered monkey faunus behind.

"Wait! What do you mean berserker mode?!" Sun asked as he started to catch up, "Blake?"

"HOLD STILL!"

Yang lunged at Nagato who again jumped out of harm's way. The blonde huntress growled in anger as she released a volley of punches at the blind student, but failed to land any blows as he sidestepped each attack made from her. Irking her to no ends, she increases the number of punches used in her volley but all that did was infuriate her even further. No matter how hard she tries, Nagato just keeps dodging her attacks.

Even though he was avoiding every single one of her punches, Nagato was still getting pushed back. Once Nagato had his back against the wall, Yang ceased her barrage and launched a powerful blow at him. Unfortunately, he leaped out of the way so the blonde brawler instead utterly devastated the wall behind him. Leaving behind a massive hole in the wall, Yang reposition herself and charged recklessly at Nagato.

The blind hunter quickly countered every one of the huntress's punches either by dodging or believing his own blows. However, the latter proved to be ineffective at stopping Yang as it only generated her kinetic energy. Yang launched a powerful punch at Nagato only for him to redirect the punch's course, effectively swinging her over his head and kicking the huntress across the room. The spectators were in awe at the hunter's dexterity despite his disability.

Once Yang got back up, she heedlessly charged at the hunter again. Yang retracted and propelled her aura-packed fist, but Nagato promptly ducked and launched his fist into her gut. The blonde huntress coughed out saliva as she staggered backwards. Wasting no time, Nagato delivered his own barrage of devastating punches at the blonde huntress. Despite generating more kinetic energy for the brawler, she could still feel pain. Ending his relentless barrage, Nagato finished it off with a cripplingly uppercut hurling Yang into the air before crashing down on the floor. There she laid motionless and near unconscious. Her crimson glare has reverted back to their lilac color.

"You overestimate your own abilities with no idea of the depth of my own." For some strange reason, Yang swore she heard Pain's voice talking lowly of her. "And look at you now, groveling in the dirt."

Yang tilted her head and saw the image of Nagato transformed into the six armed Pain as he walked towards her body.

"It's quite pathetic really," 'Pain' genuinely told her, "but not as pathetic as your sister."

Yang's lilac eyes flashed red again.

"Crying over the loss of her precious cape and weapon is truly pathetic." 'Pain' egged the blonde huntress even further, "Like a child wailing over spilt milk."

Her fingers had curled up, forming a fist again.

"But that's not the sad part." This was the the final straw for the sister, "The true sad part is that she will be all alone in the darkness, crying for her 'big-sister' who never came. Boy! What a shame! Nobody else… is gonna get to see her DIE!"

Yang's aura surged at an unprecedented rate. Anxiety and panic fell upon the spectators as students began leaving in fear for their lives. At this time, Weiss, Blake, and Sun entered the training room. Immediately, Sun spotted Yang who was getting back on her feet. Once informed, Blake and Weiss ran towards their teammate, despite the insane amount of killing intent in the air.

"Yang! It's us!" Blake cried.

"Yang! Calm down!" Weiss yelled, "You don't know what you're doing!"

Instead of getting a response, their blonde teammate looked at them with pure hatred burning in her eyes. Instantaneously, they were frozen by the killing intent emitting from the brawler huntress. Yang then turned around to face Nagato and rushed him. The blind hunter sidestepped out of her way and swung his leg into her face. However she did not budge, surprising the hunter. The blonde huntress grabbed hold his ankle and spun him in an arc. He crashed into the wall, creating a hole in the process.

"Yang…" Blake was terrified of her teammate.

"Blake…" The faunus heard Weiss talk to her, "Blake, we need to… stop Yang before she… destroys herself and… everyone around her..."

Too late for that. The enraged huntress charged at the blind hunter who managed to recover from crashing into a wall. Nagato quickly dodged her powered punches, looking for a way to shut her down for good. Leaping over her head and shoulder, he kicked her in the face. Again, she did not budge. But this time, Nagato hopped backwards to avoid getting thrown into a wall. Instead of playing it safe, the blind hunter charged forward at the enraged huntress. With quick reflexes, Nagato was able to get at close proximity and launched his counterattack.

He unleashed his barrage of blows and jabs at her. Because of how relentless his attack was and unable to recover quickly enough, Yang became a punching bag for Nagato. With a jaw-breaking uppercut, the blonde huntress was sent flying into the air. The hunter leapt into the air and delivered at cripplingly kick which sent her crashing down. Once he landed, he quickly sprung away from her as Yang slowly got back up. His counterattack didn't do a considerable amount as he thought.

Taking their positions again, Nagato and Yang rushed at each other. But right before one of them could land the first punch, they suddenly stopped dead in their tracks. The two tried to physically move, but simply can't.

"Miss Xiao Long, Mr. Uzumaki." Professor Goodwitch was more than livid than Yang when she saw the two of them pummel each other after class, "Professor Ozpin's office. NOW!"

The sound of gears clicking only made the tension more awkward than it already is. At this point, Yang had finally calmed down and twiddled her thumbs. Nagato and Professor Goodwitch had their arms crossed while Ozpin took a sip from his mug.

"Care to explain your actions that have brought the both of you here in my office?" The headmaster questioned the two students, breaking the awkward tension.

"Professor Ozpin," Nagato spoke first, "I take full responsibility."

"Wait," The dean put down his coffee, "what do you mean?"

"If you're going to punish the both of us, punish me instead." The blind hunter explained, "The fight started because I provoked her into attacking me."

Yang had a confused look as to why Nagato was defending her despite everything.

"So why did you provoked her?" Ozpin asked.

"To make her realize that getting revenge is a meaningless obsession." Nagato responded coldly and uncaring.

"How would you know about revenge?!" Yang's temperament started slipped up, "You don't even care about anyone!"

"Miss Xiao Long calm down." Ozpin said, "Getting upset won't get us anywhere. Now Mr. Uzumaki, why would you believe revenge is a meaningless obsession?"

"Because," The hunter explained, "you should know why. She would die if she were to pursue him."

"You don't know that!" Yang disagreed.

"Really? Then pursue him." He suggested to her, "Go exact your revenge on him so you can feel better about yourself. Leave your friends and family behind and your dear sister who needs you more than ever. Abandon them and cause them more misery when they find your remains."

At this point, Yang was about to pounce on Nagato and beat the ever-loving crap out of him. But with Professor Goodwitch nearby, she just got up and walked away. The blonde huntress punched the control panel, causing it to break and fall off the wall after entering the elevator. Once the doors closed completely, Glynda used her semblance to fix the control panel.

"Try to go easier on her next time." Ozpin told Nagato, "As for punishment, you and Miss Xiao Long are excused this time."

Nagato nodded as a 'thank you' before getting up and heading to the elevator.

"But before you go," The blind hunter stopped midway, "I want to ask. Did you actually say those hurtful remarks about Miss Rose?"

Nagato didn't respond or even sigh. He just entered the elevator and left the dean's office. Once it was just the two of them, Professor Goodwitch slammed her hands on his desk.

"Why did you let them off easy?!" She demanded, "You read the handbook, you know the rules of punishment, so why?!"

"To be fair, I haven't read the handbook." Ozpin admitted, "But that's not the point. Right now, Miss Xiao Long is very fragile after the incident with Pain. Punishment will only make her worse than she is now."

"Nagato," He continued, "well..."

"Well what?" His colleague asked.

"Well... here's the most strangest thing I've found about Mr. Uzumaki." Ozpin revealed, "The thing is, he's not a transfer student from Haven Academy. He's not even a student at all."

"WHAT?!" She exclaimed, "What do you mean he's not a student?! Did he forged his document like Mr. Arc?"

"Yes, but it almost worked." Ozpin explained, "Last night, I called Professor Lionheart from Haven Academy to ask about a specific transfer student named 'Nagato Uzumaki'. Strangely enough, Mr. Uzumaki's file was already in the databanks."

"There was nothing strange about the file until we saw the date." He continued, "The date was a week off. All the other files were published a week after."

"So do you want me to bring Mr. Uzumaki back into your office," Glynda cracked her crop, "so we can 'discuss' about his file?"

"No," Ozpin stood up and faced towards the window, "we'll wait it out."

"Why?"

"He hasn't done any serious harm yet." The headmaster explained, "Arresting him now will only bring the school's reputation down and make us look like we're the villains. Instead, we'll monitor his every movement to make sure he doesn't step out of bounds. Once we've crossed that bridge, we will confront him."

Yang was unusually quiet considering what happened in the training room. After the brawler had returned from the headmaster's office, she went straight to her dorm where she laid on her bed and binged through a couple of movies. When Blake and Weiss came in, the blonde huntress pretended to not hear them.

"Yang, we need to talk." The ice heiress tried to get her attention, "I know you can hear me."

"Weiss." Her faunus teammate placed her hand on her shoulder, "Just leave her be."

The Schnee seemed adamant at first but sighed in weariness. "Okay."

A few hours later, when the huntresses were getting ready for bed, there was a knock at the door. At first, the girls pretended not to hear it. But then, the knocking got louder. Weiss, being the one closest to the door, got out from her bed and walked towards the door.

"Who is it?" She demanded, "Do you know what time it is? It's twelve in the morning."

"I don't have much time." Nagato's voice came from outside, "Let me in now."

Surprised that it was Nagato outside, the ice heiress opened the door.

"What's going on?" Blake looked up to see Nagato standing outside.

"I'll explain on the way." His voice seemed to be a mixture of aloof and panic, "Right now, get changed and meet me at the Docking Bay Number Five."

"Whoa, slow down." The conversation seemed to have woken up Yang from her sleep, "What's going on?"

"I don't have much time." He repeated.

"And we aren't going anywhere until you tell us what's going on!" Weiss putting her foot down.

Since they weren't going anywhere, Nagato decided to tell them what's on his mind. But what he revealed to the girls shocked them beyond belief.

"Ruby's been kidnapped."

Hey guys, not dead yet.

1. Chapter 3 and parts from Chapter 4 are considered non-cannon. I will be reworking Chapter 3.

2. This might have been a rushed chapter, Idk.

3. In the original plot, there was a scene Team RWBY would be arguing who put Ruby in the hospital. I will save it for Chapter 7.

With that out of the way, here's a massive cliffhanger to leave you guys on. Bye.

Unknown Area, Vale.

Where am I?

I can't see anything. All I see is darkness. It's so dark.

Yang?

Dad?

Uncle Qrow?

Where are you guys? I'm scared…

Help me… anyone?