Remnant is a land defined by its stories, its legends, the tales told throughout time that pass on some measure of a forgotten history to its people. However in time even legends will vanish, stolen away by time, or maybe by those who would rather see the history buried even further. Two stories that were still told to this day are of heroes, the Four Maidens and their kind souls, and the Silver Eyed Warrior and his bravery. But people are so very quick to forget the third tale, the story of Misery.

Long ago there lived a woman who was afraid of the world around her. From the day she was born she was terrified of others, even her family. Her terror turned to hatred, and her hatred turned the woman bitter. When she came of age, she moved far away from all other people; preferring her own company to the company of others. And so she lived in her isolation, alone and afraid of the world.

But one day four sisters came by her home and felt her isolation. Using magic, and their own personalities, they tried to bring joy to the woman's life. And for a time she found some peace with the four sisters. But then she became afraid, knowing that one day they would leave and she would be alone. In her anger and fear she turned them away, yelling and screaming for them to leave until they did. And once they were gone the woman broke down, and cried until her eyes ran dry.

Time passed for the woman, her isolation weighing even more heavy, now that she had lost the only comfort she had ever found in others. Until one day a young man road, along the path, on a brilliant white horse. Tired and weary from days of fighting against the local bandits, and horribly lost among the forests. When he saw the woman, he was struck by her beauty, and spoke with her through the door. And for a time he stayed with her, resting off his wounds and talking to the woman. His smile brought her joy, and for the first time she was comforted by another.

But again came the fear that he would eventually leave her. Again came the anger as though he already had. She ordered him to leave, and when he begged her to tell him why she picked up her knife and ordered him to leave once more; slicing his hand and forcing the man to leave with anger filling his wounded heart.

More time passed in silence, leaving her alone in darkness with her pain, until one day an old man passed through in the middle of the winter, and asked to stay long enough to warm himself at her fire before continuing on. The woman let him in, to free him from the cold, and he sat by her hearth to warm himself. As he sat, he talked to the woman; speaking in the way only an old man can speak to another, lamenting her loneliness and speaking of his own experience with the bitter pill of fear. The woman listened to the old man, and in him she saw all that she wanted. An escape from her fear and pain.

But despite his words the woman's heart had grown too dark, and she became furious with him, for having what she wanted so desperately. She screamed at him to leave, despite the storm raging outside. The man simply looked at the woman, calm eyes looking into hers, before calmly pushing himself to his feet and walking to the door. Sorrow filling his every step, knowing he could not help her as he had once been helped.

And so the woman sat alone, sinking to her knees, as the fire went out. Her eyes were dry and her skin as pale as the snow that fell outside. The darkness that overcame the house seemed to wrap around her like an embrace, and from the darkness came a voice.

"Oh dear child of man, why do you sit in the dark when you could sit in the light?" the voice from within the dark asked.

"I have lost all there is to be had in life to fear. Friendship, love, and even a simple conversation with an elder. There is no reason for a creature like me to be seen in the light." the woman replied.

The darkness chuckled at her reply. "But dear child of man, you are not to blame. Fear, anger, sorrow, all of these things are natural to your kind. But if they are such a burden, then allow me to free you from them."

The woman looked dully into the dark. "And why would you do this for me, oh shadow?"

"Because dear child of man, your eyes are dead and so wonderfully lit by sorrow," the voice grew deeper, and crimson eyes seemed to open, illuminating the cottage with a hellish hue. "Promise you will be mine and I will remove your fear."

The woman stood and gave a nod of her head. "I will be yours, oh shadow, just release me from this pain."

At her words, the darkness in the room seemed to shift and move. It slide around her, entering her, becoming one until the woman was the same as the darkness. The woman felt the dark, and the dark felt the woman.

Together the two, now as one, stepped outside of the cottage and began to rip their imperfections away. From their anger, was born mighty black dragons, whose roars made the souls of brave men falter. From her fear, came massive worms that burrowed into the ground, ripping massive tunnels through stone to hide themselves. And from their sorrow came mighty leviathans that roamed the oceans in lament.

Purged of their unwanted emotions, the woman looked over the world of man and found them lacking. It was their existence which had crafted the black emotions that wounded them and chased them away from the world, and for that crime the world would pay. The two, now as one, looked to their children, and declared that the world was now theirs; and to destroy all in their way.

And so the shadows went out into the world and destroyed all in their way, crafting armies from their bodies until the land was consumed by darkness. When the land they had called home was consumed the two as one sent their children across the world to destroy all life. Man was pushed to the brink of existence, a light that had barely time to shine was slowly reduced to ash.

But then they all came. The four sisters who had once sought to bring her comfort, the brave warrior who had once sought to bring her love, and the old man who had sought to bring her understanding. These five stood before the two as one and battled them.

Their war shook the land itself, and by the end the two as one sunk to its knees, tied in unbreakable chains crafted by the four sisters. But the fight came with a cost, the four sisters lay wounded, the brave warrior was blinded, and the old man was left exhausted.

The four sisters knew their time on the world was short, and so with their final breaths they used their magic to cast three final spells.

The first was at the behest of the warrior, whose body was matched only by his spirit. He wished to give strength to the world, knowing that even with the two as one, having defeated their spawn, would haunt the world far into the future. The sisters crafted him a pair of eyes, that glowed silver with glorious power, and in doing so unlocked his soul. Their first gift to the world was Aura, and the warrior would go out into the world and guide it to its future.

Their second gift was to the old man, who wanted nothing more then to see his precious friends live long lives. They promised that so long as he remained on the world, that they wouldn't leave. He told them that it was impossible, in his youth he had gifted himself the ability of resurrection, and even when his body died, he would inevitably return. And so the Maidens, with their powers, ensured that their souls and power would travel between others; so that their aspects would be with him throughout time. And so the four created a pathway for their power to travel along.

Finally, as the four stood on the door of death, they cast a final spell on themselves. And as their power left their bodies, their bodies sunk into the ground. As they sunk down, their final spell spread their souls throughout the land, and from their very souls humanity was given liberation. Dust, the very souls of the four, sacrificed to bring the world freedom from terror.

Unknown, Unknown

"It's a good story, isn't it?" a woman with pale white skin rose from a chair made of black obsidian. She looked toward a figure, who seemed to be embedded into the stone, that made up the wall of the room. "The woman rejected the world and became a monster, and so the heroes rose to defeat her. Isn't that how good stories go?"

The figure raised its head to look at her, silent eyes peaking out from silver hair. "I am sorry Salem, from the bottom of my heart."

The woman turned her black and red eyes to look at the former Headmaster, cupping his cheek in her hand, and raising his face to look at hers. "What ever for you, foolish man?"

"For not being able to save you from yourself."

The woman delivered a stinging backhand slap to the man's cheek and turned away from him. "Don't dare cast your pity upon me! I have known the greatest joy in this world. And once I reclaim my other half, I will know what it is to be whole once more."

A tear in the fabric of the world appeared within the room, screaming, black, and piercing reality itself. From the tear stepped a tall woman with flowing black hair, and a face covered by a large Grimm mask. "Your plan is progressing as expected, the other kingdoms have begun to isolate themselves from Atlas, and Atlas itself cannot move without being seen as an aggressor. If things continue on this road the other Primal will awaken."

Ozpin turned his eyes to the woman when she spoke. "Raven." his voice was filled with sadness, touched with betrayal.

The woman turned to face the former Headmaster. "You kept him alive?"

"To watch the world they created burn before his eyes," Salem allowed herself a dry chuckle. "Two of the four are mine, Ozpin, your school and forces are shattered, and the world is set to devour itself. What do you have to say?"

Ozpin was silent for a moment. "Two of the four, and yet ever since I have arrived she has not come to gloat, nor have you brought her here to torment me."

Salem's eyes flashed with annoyance before turning away from him, and walking toward the room's exit. "Get the location of the other two Maidens from him, use any methods at your disposal."

The dark haired woman turned to face the headmaster, removing her mask so he would be able to see her face. "I don't suppose you will give the information willingly?"

"You could have been so much better then this." was Ozpin's only reply.

"The weak die, and the strong survive," Raven put a hand on Ozpin's forehead, as small sparks began to dance along her arm. "I simply choose the side that would be the strongest."

"There is no victory in strength." Ozpin answered in a low tone.

And from that point on there were no more words.

Only screams.

West Mistral, Town of Briar End

The town of Briar End had a history as one of the longest standing villages, to ever exist outside of direct contact with a city. Owed mostly to a great number of Huntsmen, using it as a midpoint between the sea and the nearest city. It also helped that spine forests, that grew at the edge of the town, would scare away all but the most dedicated of animals; and the local Grimm had learned to keep away due to the influx of stronger people.

However lately, things had become quite different for the village. The loss of worldwide communication had struck a morale blow, as many of the most entertaining programs came from Vacuo. And now, the only things that seemed to flicker across the screens of home entertainment, were news of the outside world and the occasional talk show. On top of that, fewer Hunters and travelers seemed to be passing through. As from what the news was saying, the various Kingdoms were buying up Hunter contracts, to safeguard themselves against what was quickly becoming known as the Atlas threat.

However, such complexities could still be ignored in at least one building in the village, a nicely sized tavern run by a young woman by the name of Maldra Opaque. She was a fox Faunus, who was always ready with a joke. Including a round of what she liked to call 'Mistral's Welcome', a drink strong enough to knock even an experienced Hunter on their rears.

Throughout her two years of running the tavern, after her father had given it to her, Maldra had seen quite a few strange things in her day. So when four cloaked figures pushed open her door, and took one of the side tables she didn't question too much about it. She simply poured out four glasses of water to start them out with, walking over.

"Well bless my heart, you are the first new out of towners we have gotten all week," her eyes were bright and warm, and she had a conversational kind of voice. "What can I start you all out with today?"

"I will take a milk," the shortest of the four answered, drawing a look from the other three. "Oh uh...on the rocks?" she added, it was quite a feminine voice that came from the figure, who gave a nervous giggle.

"Something warm for me, tea if you have any," one of the other figures ordered, with their calm and almost soothing voice.

"Just a water for me." the tallest of the group answered, suppressing a yawn.

"Whatever is on tap." the final member of the group answered, earning her the attention of the rest of the group. "Come on! Mistral is supposed to have the best drinks in Remnant, I have to at least try it out while we are here!"

"She is your problem if you are going to let her drink." the tallest of the group told the calm voiced man.

"Understood." he replied in an almost defeated sounding tone.

"Okay one milk, a tea, water, and a bit of the Mistral Welcome. Anything else I can get for you?" she asked, keeping the kindness to her voice, despite the odd situation.

"Food, soup and sandwiches, and just keep the drinks coming," the tallest put down a few high value Lien onto the table, more than enough to cover their expenses. "And rooms for the night, we heard you had rooms upstairs for the night from some passing traders."

"Well they weren't telling you a tale, but we only have two rooms available at the moment, some water damage from the last downpour." she replied, her eyes eagerly looking at the Lien on the table. That much would easily buy new supplies and cover the cost of repairs.

"That's fine, we can bunk up," the tallest one slid the money over to the owner and waited until she left before turning to the others. "Okay we should still have enough to buy supplies before we head out, we just need enough to reach the city, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal."

"It was fortunate that our ship encountered such manageable Grimm, and it was even better that the captain gave us back most of what we paid for our crossing as well. Though we did burn through quite a few Dust rounds." the soft spoken man said.

"It was luckier that we were there to help, man who knew that ocean Grimm could be so freaky," the shorter cloak gave a shudder at the memory. "All those teeth."

Eventually their food was brought over, and the four fell into silence as they ate, enjoying the meal in front of them. Before too long through the door to the tavern opened, and a group of five people walked in, although looking a good deal less friendly than the group of four.

Four of the five were dressed in similar uniform, dark suits covered by almost offensively bright, multicolored trench coats. At their sides were long rifles with bayonets thrusting out from underneath the barrel. At their lead was a silver haired man wearing the same uniform, but instead of the rifle he wore a large naked blade at his side, a row of chainsaw like teeth running along the cutting edge.

"Well you look lovely as ever," he told Maldra, leaning over the counter with an arrogant smile on his face. "In fact you actually got better looking since I was last here."

"And you are the same brat who left Shade," Maldra replied, focusing more on fixing up the food that had been ordered. "What are you doing with those lot?"

Shade gave a chuckle at her, and sat down on one of the stools, leaning over the bar to look at her. "Well these boys are under my command, you are looking at a newly minted higher up in the Colorguard, you should probably some a little respect for me. I'm not just some bumpkin like you anymore."

The woman frowned at that, as she simply shook her head. "You used to be a sweet kid, guess stupid doesn't know an age through," she pulled a few high value Lien from the register and placed them on the table. "This is all I can pay for this month, things have been going slow."

Shade picked up the money from the counter and looked it over before looking to her with a sneer. "Are you kidding with this?" he tossed the money back on the table. "This isn't even half of your normal payment."

"In case you haven't noticed I haven't had half of my normal clients, if you tell your boss that he won't make a case about it, just like a year back when those Grimm tore up the crop." the glare she leveled against the five men, showed it plain that she wasn't going to back down.

"Heh," Shade reached out and grabbed Maldra's arm, yanking her forward. "You know I never could stand how arrogant you were, maybe I can make you pay in a different way."

Before he could continue his thought, the shortest of the cloaks walked forward to the counter and took a seat. "Hey there, is this guy bothering you?" the figure raised a hand and pointed toward Shade.

"This isn't any of your business half pint." Shade growled out.

The cloaked person cocked their head to the side and hopped off their stool, stretching themselves out for a moment, much to the confusion of Shade and Maldra. Then in the blink of an eye she grabbed the wooden stool and swung it around like a bat, smashing it into Shade and sending him flying backwards. "Calling people names, insulting nice women and taking their money. I mean if you are going to play the bad guy, you should at least be able to put up a better fight than that."

"You…" the man grabbed the blade from his side and pressed down on its grip, starting up the whirling edges on the blade, causing it to release a loud grinding sound. "I am going to cut you in half!" he brought his blade down in a mad fury.

But instead of hitting the cloaked figure, it struck only at empty air, which was filled with rose petals. "Nope," a flash of red seemed to strike from nowhere by his side, knocking the man boldly out of the doors of the tavern. Ruby Rose lifted her eyes to the other four that had entered in with him, spinning her scythe about her before resting it over her shoulders. "So run or fight?"

The four men raised their weapons straight at her and prepared to fire.

"Okay so fight, guys a little help here!" Ruby shouted out, causing the other three to leap forward from their chairs, cloaks flying off of them as they moved.

Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie moved toward the four, their weapons drawn and ready for a fight.

"Wait!" Maldra looked out from behind the counter, where she had ducked the moment weapons had come out. "Can't you take this outside?"

The two groups paused and shrugged toward each other, filing out of the building and taking opposite sides, the Colorguard moving over to their fallen leader, and the four young Hunters taking position.

"Okay before we start fighting each other let's all agree on the rules," Jaune raised his hand into the air and put up one finger. "First rule…"

Nora drew her hammer out and jumped into the air, slamming it down and sending the four jumping out of the way to dodge the force of the blow.

"Heh, I guess no rules?" Jaune gave a shrug and a grin before charging toward one of the scattered soldiers. Ren, Nora, and Ruby broke off to face their own enemies, weapons drawn but still only fighting with the melee aspect of their weapons without utilizing any Dust rounds. The four Colorguard gave a quick spin of their weapons, changing them from rifles into long spears, sparks of energy rolling along the base.

The two groups clashed, meeting each other with great skill. Ren dodged almost artfully away from his opponent's attempts to land a blow, delivering a number of punishing strikes against the man's Aura. Nora struck out with overwhelming strength, keeping her foe away and making him play on the defensive. Jaune, for the most part, fought defensively. Hiding behind his shield, and only throwing out attacks that forced his enemy back into a position, where their attacks would be more exhausting for them. Ruby used her speed and unique weapon to control her enemy completely, despite the obvious high quality training; the Colorguard never had faced a scythe user before.

"Damn you!" the man named Shade pulled himself up and launched himself toward Ruby, blade arcing down at her in a powerful swing. Before it could land, Ruby swung back her scythe and sent the blade up, before slamming the back of her weapon into the man's stomach and sending him rolling back.

"Oops, sorry about that!" Ruby called out with a devilish grin before dodging a thrust from the man she had been facing.

"Don't get cocky Ruby!" Jaune fell back until he and Ruby were back to back. "We haven't beat them yet."

Ren and Nora saw the two leaders falling back into formation, and quickly disengaged their own opponents in order to join them.

"They are quite skilled for common bandits," Ren said while drawing in a few much needed breaths. "That being said, if we give them enough of a fight, they will most likely leave to find more easy prey."

"I say we just break their legs!" everyone turned to look at Nora, questioning the girl's sanity. "Okay fine, maybe just another body part…"

Shade let out a dark and dangerous laugh. "You think we are just going to let you go?!" he waved his hand to the various other small houses. "I am going to make everyone here watch me kill you, do you understand that you stupid little pun-"

Before his rant could be finished, another noise seemed to wash over the area, the sound of movement. Whatever was coming seemed to shake the briar trees, and from the forest of thorn trees came a sound. "Kish, Kish, Kish, Kish."

One of the doors opened, and a panicking villager ran out toward the tavern. "Grimm, we got Grimm coming toward the village!"

The four young Hunters looked at each other for a moment before turning back toward the Colorguard members. "Get the people into the tavern, we will hold them back!" Ruby spun her scythe turned to face the woods as the sound of the approaching Grimm grew louder.

"And why should we listen to-" Shade began, before being cut off by one of his men.

"On it, we will join you as soon as we make sure everyone is safe."

It was impossible to tell who was more surprised, Shade or Ruby. "What!?" Shade asked incredulously. "Did you forget who is leading this mission?"

"No I haven't, Prism gave us orders to watch over you and supervise your first mission, you have failed utterly in every aspect and might have doomed a profitable town. If you survive today and fight well he might allow you to start from the bottom again." with that stated the four men rushed off to help those who were fleeing into the tavern.

Ruby blinked at the scene, but decided there would be time to ask more questions later. "Jaune, you did a report on region specific Grimm, any idea what we might be facing?"

"Yeah, Mistral is known for its insect Grimm, but the Briar Woods are known specifically for being a hot spot of Chaos Spiders," Jaune closed his eyes for a moment to bring up memories of a paper that, in his own mind, might as well have been written a lifetime ago. "They can create black webs that harden on contact with human skin, and their main method of attack it grabbing someone in all eight legs and using a spike built on their stomachs to punch through a person's Aura. Weak alone, but a high ranked threat if they reach hoard size."

"It certainly doesn't sound like they are alone," Ren stated, sliding out the clips from his weapons and checking them. "I only have my two clips and one reload per weapon."

"Four regular explosive rounds and one of my burners, after that I am dry too." Nora stated.

"One regular clip and then I have a boost clip." Ruby looked at her weapon for a moment, cursing the days where she had been able to use ammo without having to worry about the next day.

Jaune nodded and looked over the area. "Ruby, Ren, when they break through the woods try and get them to group up. Nora, get ready to fire as soon as they give you a big enough group," with that said, the young man fell back to cover the people that were still being moved into the tavern.

With the planning done, there was a moment of stillness, with only the feet and voices of the panicking people matching the sounds of the approaching Grimm. And then all at once the creatures of Grimm seemed to explode out of the woods, charging toward the tavern. The creatures Jaune had dubbed Chaos Spiders ranged from the size of large dogs to small cars, with bone-like armor over each blade-like limb, and eight glowing eyes seemingly aimed directly ahead. It was impossible to count just how many there were, for every moment brought out even more eight legged monsters from the woods, to flood into the town.

Ruby and Ren gave a nod to each other and went to work, aiming precise shots and making sure to only make fast attacks to force the Grimm to fall back to the main swarm. Before backing off and attacking other stragglers, every now and again managing to destroy some of the creatures. As soon as the creatures bunched up enough, Nora fired off one of her few remaining grenades, either sent the creatures flying or destroying them on the spot. The display was masterful, but the numbers were stacked against them. Every moment seemed to bring more Grimm pouring out of the woods, and the size of the creatures coming out of the forest seemed only to increase.

As the last civilian entered into the tavern, Jaune turned to look at the four Colorguard members. "You guys helping us, or do you want to join the people inside?"

In response the four aimed their weapons toward the Grimm and fired, killing four Grimm that had been attempting to sneak around Ren for a surprise attack. "These people pay for the protection of Carnival, and we need to show that they are getting their money's worth."

"Right, attack!" Jaune moved forward to attack any Grimm that had been thrown too far from Nora's explosives, slashing and fading back from the groups, while slowly advancing toward Ruby and her current position.

As he approaches through, he noticed Shade creeping behind her, while her focus was on a number of larger Chaos Spiders. The man raised his blade, and his position gave away that he had no intention of attacking the creatures of Grimm.

"Watch out!" Jaune threw himself forward and raised his shield, blocking the incoming sword swing from the red hooded girl, and forcing the man back with a hard kick to the stomach.

Ruby quickly turned to face he man, firing off a shot at a Chaos Spider behind her. "What are you doing?"

"This is all your fault!" Shade aimed his weapon at her. "If you weren't around none of this would have happened, we would have collected our Lien and left, this is your fault!" his voice was half crazed as he stepped forward.

He never saw the Chaos Spider leap up behind him.

The Grimm quickly wrapped its eight powerful limbs and pinned him to the ground. The spike on the bottom of its body spinning in place, like a drill, and pressing down into Shade's back, striking against his Aura and quickly draining it away with the sheer force of the Grimm's natural armorment.

Jaune and Ruby both attempted to move closer but were quickly cut off by another wave of the creatures, forced to focus on their own fights.

"Help me, please someone help me!" Shade struggled in vain against the powerful limbs of the beast, feeling his Aura draining away by the second. "P-please-somone…" his final words escaped his lips right before his Aura broke, the spike driving itself into his chest and through his heart.

"Damn it!" Jaune broke through a small group of Chaos Spiders and drove his blade into the creature's back, reducing it to nothingness. It couldn't change the fact that the man had passed however, empty eyes still looking forward in terror.

Behind them Nora launched her last explosive round into the forest, catching a number of trees with the after effects of the powerful incendiary round. Yet the creatures simply continued to pour through the flames, only the smallest of them being hindered by the intense Dust-based flame.

Ren was down to his last clip, firing into the hoard of creatures, despite knowing that his low caliber rounds would do little more than annoy the ever growing Grimm.

The four remaining Colorguard weren't faring very well, two of their number having been taken down. One had their legs wrapped in the Grimm's webs and pulled deep into the approaching mass of Grimm. The second was taken by surprise, and cut down by the blade like limbs of the beasts.

Soon the remaining six fighters fell back in front of the tavern, firing and slashing back the creatures as they grew ever closer to them. One made a leap toward Jaune, only to be shot out of the air by Maldra, who had come out of the tavern holding a rather large shotgun. "Ain't no way these varmints are wrecking this place while I am still around."

Despite their efforts the creatures seemed to be pushing ever forward, destroying homes and buildings in their wake. By now the creatures coming forth from the forest were the size of some of the buildings, letting loose primal roars. The arrival of the beasts distracted one of the last two Colorguard just long enough for a Chaos Spider's web to drag him back into the hoard.

Ruby cursed inside of her own mind, feeling the hopelessness of the situation, realizing that if she didn't act all of them might die. "Guys, cover me."

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked, looking at her with a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Just trust me." the girl answered in reply, laying down her weapon and closing her eyes to allow her to focus more on the situation at hand.

Jaune gave a nod and stepped in front of her. "Cover Ruby, we need to buy her enough time to do her thing!" the other two members of his group nodded. And despite their confusion, the final Colorguard member and Maldra focused their efforts on protecting the young woman from the approaching enemies.

After a few minutes of furious combat, the massive beasts were drawing within range, preparing themselves to attack. And then Ruby opened her eyes, a white glow pouring forth from them in the shape of twin wings, washing over the area and the Grimm.

And all at once the hoard seemed to freeze, as if someone had hit pause on a movie.

"Leave," Ruby stated in a voice that sounded both like her own but also not. It carried an edge to it, a power that seemed both old and strong. "Go away!" she shouted out, the blinding white wings seeming to grow in intensity.

For a moment the Grimm attempted to pull themselves together, some of the younger ones even made a move as if they were going to charge. But the blinding white and the intense power in the air seemed to resonate with the creatures in such a way that left them devoid of their previous carnage. And seemingly all at once, the Grimm turned and fled back into the forest, trampling over each other and the land behind them. When the last Grimm had turned tail and exited into the forest Ruby closed her eyes and collapsed. Her falling only being stopped by Jaune's intervention, catching the young girl in his arms. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just light headed, it is still really draining to use." Ruby said weakly, trying to show a confident smile.

"What the heck was that?" Maldra asked, still holding her weapon in disbelief.

"Couldn't tell you ourselves honestly." Ren answered, holstering his weapons and collapsing down into a sitting position.

"Just a thing she can do." Nora collapsed next to him and let out a loud yawn.

The people slowly came out of hiding and began to cheer and amass around the Hunters, but their adoration seemed for not. All four had already fallen asleep from their efforts, leaning on each other and resting.

The rest of the day passed rather tamely, the people of the village went about and checked the damages. Collecting all those who had either fallen in battle, or had been foolish enough to try and stay in their homes when the hoard had arrived. There would be mourning for them later, for now the people were simply focused on the fact they had survived, and how that would have to be enough for now.

The remaining Colorguard member aided with what he could, but was almost as exhausted as the four young people and quietly retired once the sun had set. Leaving a note for the four in the morning, in case he overslept and missed them, or more likely he left early to report the utter catastrophe that Shade had made of things. Soon the villagers found their way to their beds, or lacking their own, found refuge with their neighbors for the night.

As the full moon rose to its full height, in the sky, there was only one figure wandering the streets. Jaune Arc, weapon as his side, and a troubled expression on his face.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" a flash of red broke through the night and landed next to Jaune, revealing Ruby, who gave the young blonde a weary smile.

"No, not really." Jaune answered, hardly surprised to see the young woman up as late as himself. Ever since the Battle of Beacon neither had managed a full night's rest. "Do you think the lead will pan out?"

Ruby gave a soft shrug to the question ."It's all we have. At the very least we will be in one of the largest cities in Mistral, if the worst comes to worst we can track down information there."

"Right, good point." Jaune looked up toward the moon for a moment, lost in his own thoughts.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Ruby asked, noticing her friend's expression.

"Nothing really, just...thinking about Pyrrha, what happened to her, what...we did before she went off to fight Cinder." his hands moved to his lips for a moment before shaking his head. "I hate her...Cinder, I don't care what I have to do, when I meet her again, I will bring her down."

"No Jaune," Ruby took his hand into hers and smiled. "We will bring her down, for Pyrrha."

"For Pyrrha." Jaune smiled and let out a soft sigh. "Its pretty late, and it looks like your eye thing sent all of the Grimm running, let's go get some sleep."

Ruby gave a nod and the two crept back into the tavern, climbing the stairs to their rooms only for Ruby to find hers locked. "Is Ren in your room?" she whispered.

Jaune looked in, and blinked in surprise when he found his own room vacant. "You think?"

Ruby blushed a bit and gave a nod, and both laughed quietly as they made their way into the small tavern room, Jaune collapsing on the bed without a second thought.

Ruby looked at the bed for a moment and bit her lip, climbing into it with him and resting her head on the pillow. "Night Jaune." she muttered sleepily.

"Night Ruby," Jaune said, already half gone into dreams.

The last thing Ruby thought of before she went to sleep was the first topic that always came to her mind.

She wondered where the rest of her team was, and if they were safe.

Mistral, Ville-Lumiere

"Do you know what I love about this city, my dear Domino?"

"The fact you have a series of connections that allows you to control most local politicians, granting you a firm hand with the council over the Kingdom?"

"No...wait, I mean yes, but just look at it!" the man waved his hand around the near empty city streets and drew in a deep breath. "The lights are always shining, the joy always buzzing, this place is buzzing with energy, even at this time of night!"

The city of Ville-Lumiere was unique, almost amongst any other in the world. With no natural defenses, save the massive Dust vein the city had been built under, that powered the hundreds of lights that shined from the various casinos and large buildings. Its main export was entertainment, and that drew hundreds of people in and out everyday. It was defended by high, man-built walls, and high powered defense turrets that could knock a Nevermore out of the sky while it was still a light on the horizon. Even in the middle of the night the streets were still lit by ambient light.

And walking those streets were two figures, one a rather tall man with a black coat hanging from his shoulders. It only barely covered a shirt, that was almost offensively bright, a mix of a number of different colors; which seemed to contrast horribly with his dark pants and raven hair, bangs covering one eye. Next to him was a more smartly dressed young woman, a panda faunus with ears of her animal aspect on top of her head. Her hair was tied in a neat bun, and she was tapping away on a Scroll.

"Is the energy something you require me to note, Mr. Prism?" the woman asked in an almost bored tone.

"No it's just...conversation Domino. Surely you have heard of it at some point?" the man's voice carried a note of playful exhaustion, but the smile on his face didn't disappear.

"It is a subject which I have read up on, but do not find it holds any actual value to my work."

The man shook his head for a moment. "Of course not, wouldn't want to get in the way of your work," he snickered, pulling a flask from his coat, and belting back a drink of it. "Regardless I believe that our negotiations with the White Fang ended about as well as could be hoped."

A building exploded behind them, almost instantly consumed by a massive fireball.

"In fact I would call the results explosive." he turned his head to look at Domino, frowning when he saw that her face remained a neutral mask. "Nothing?"

"It was very funny sir." she replied, her inflection never changing.

"Everybody's a critic." he muttered under his breath, stepping forward only to be suddenly pushed back by Domino.

In the blink of an eye the panda Faunus drew a gun that was holstered at her side and fired upward, knocking another bullet that had been flying straight toward them. Domino dropped her Scroll quickly, and in its place a grenade appeared from seemingly nowhere, only to be quickly thrown to the rooftop the bullet had been fired from. From this, a rather large fireball was created, sending a lone figure tumbling down from the roof; only to land with a heavy slam into the ground near them.

"Target down, now moving to eliminate." Domino aimed her weapon at the fallen figure, only for the man to step in front of the gun.

"Wait a minute, I think I recognize this one," his eyes flashed with realization. "Blake Belladonna, now aren't you a blast from the past?" a grin split the man's face. "Now what are you doing all the way out here. When the last time we met, you had me forge you papers in order to transfer to Vale?"

Blake slowly picked herself off of the ground, holding her side with a look of pain. "Tell me...where...Adam is," she tried to raise her weapon, but found that she was in too much pain to even do that.

"Now isn't that the million lien question?" the man looked at the young woman with a hint of sympathy in his eyes. "Mr. Taurus, and the vast majority of the White Fang, have gone silent ever since that nasty business in Vale."

"I don't believe that the great Dante Prism, the Count of Ville-Lumiere knows nothing!" she stepped forward, only to meet with Domino's weapon aimed at her temple.

"I know many things, like how from how you look and are speaking at the moment, you haven't had a proper meal or bath in a number of weeks. Hell it's amazing you are standing right now," the man tilted his head to the side. "Domino?"

With a nod, the panda Faunus delivered a single blow to the other womans neck, relinquishing Blake from the waking world. "What will we do with her?"

"Take her back to Carnival, and find her a room in the highrise area. Despite our rocky meeting, I do consider this girl a valuable asset for my future endeavors." with that stated, the man began to walk once more into the well lit night, as the sound of sirens drew ever closer to the fires.

Domino lifted the girl over her shoulder and began to follow after.

Neither noticed a crow sitting atop one of the buildings, silently watching the affair, before taking off with a single caw.

Atlas, Schnee Mansion

Weiss looked out from her window, to see the snow falling down upon the steel city that had once been her home, but now seemed as strange and alien as Vale once had. Within a few months she had gone from Weiss Schnee, prospective first year Huntress at Beacon, to once again being just her father's daughter.

A knock on her door roused her from her thoughts. "Ms. Schnee, your father requests your presence in the dining hall tonight. Shall I prepare a set of formal clothing?"

"There is no need, thank you for the offer. Please tell father that I have no appetite today." that much was true, she hadn't really felt like eating since she had returned, to the place she had tried so hard to escape from.

"Very well miss, I shall convey your message."

Weiss returned her focus to her window, placing her hand on the cold glass and looking at her reflection. A single tear running down her eye, as she wasn't able to see the woman she had been growing into, but rather just a doll in her father's possession.

Vale, Patch

Prior to the battle of Beacon there were quite a number of words that wouldn't have ever been used in the same sentence as Yang Xiao Long's name. Morose, depressed, lacking life. And yet those words perfectly described the young woman laying in her bed, an untouched dinner cooling by her bedside.

During the first few days of waking up, Yang had screamed and cried at what she had lost. But now all of her anger had been replaced by an emptiness in the pit of her stomach.

She looked down at the stump that was now her arm and let out a deep sigh, wishing that she could just wake up one day and have all she had lost returned to her. Her friends, her life, her arm, her everything. But that was childish, and Yang had learned long ago to give up on childish things.

Before the girl could drift further into her thoughts a sound like a scream suddenly rang out in her room. When she turned to face the noise, she saw a black portal opened in her room, and the person who stepped through was familiar.

"M..mom?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

The masked woman examined the girl in front of her for a moment and stepped to the side. "Come with me."

"Why?" she asked, slowly pulling herself up, wondering if this was just another dream. Why would her mother appear here, after all her searching why did she suddenly just appear in her room?

"Simple, I have made new allies recently and they are interested in you. If you do what they ask they will help you." the woman's voice was cold and unfeeling, just explaining simple facts.

"Help me?" Yang questioned.

"They will give you a new arm."

That statement hit Yang harder then any blow she had ever faced in her life. Her mother had come back to her, come back to help her. Despite all the rage she had inside of her, not a few months ago now, she found herself filled with an odd mixture of emotions, as only a parent could bring out in a child.

So without a further thought, Yang pulled herself out of bed, dressed in her night clothes and stepped toward the portal. Standing in front of it with a body filled with nerves, she looked toward Raven for a moment, who simply offered her a nod.

And then she stepped through.

Hello everyone and welcome to What Has Fallen.

Shout out to my amazing editor and friend whimsicalbuns on tumblr for helping me edit this.