A/N: RWBY and Alien are property of Mounty Oum, RT, and Ridley Scott. Lend your energy to the official release!

The Oath of Pain

"Wake up, Belladonna."

The voice sounded far away as if it was spoken from a mountain top.

"Open. Your. Eyes."

This time, it sounded as it was in the same room.

"Haven't you done enough to get under my skin today? Wake up!"

Blake cracked her eyes open. Little by little, her vision became less watery until everything was as clear as crystal. She wiggled her tongue inside her mouth and puckered her lips as she tasted something strange. It had the flavor of soured honey but…there was nothing in her mouth but her own spit.

"Finally, you bless me with your consciousness."

Blake turned her head to the see the source of the low growl; Dr. Ripley's scarred face was threatening to sneer at her. Hands behind her back, the woman sauntered over to the stainless-steel counter and hopped up to take a seat.

The Faunus just looked at her in confusion. "What-" Only when Blake tried to move did feel the leather straps grip her wrist, legs, and midsection. Her golden eyes flared in panic immediately as she set them on her stony-faced science teacher. "What's happening?!" She demanded sharply. "What's this about?"

"Lower your voice," the brunette spat at her as she were a little girl.

The cat-girl's lips squeezed shut even though it was the last thing she wanted. Golden orbs once again looked frightfully at their owner's captor.

Ellen gave the slightest of smirks before her grim expression resettled. Her voice seemed permanently laced with a snarl. "Listen to me young lady, you've stuck your nose where it doesn't belong. Or do you not remember harassing my child before this?"

Cat ears flicked as Blake recalled the awful enigma she'd been speaking with before going unconsciousness. The memory of the eerie voice and the menacing truth it spoke would stay with her until death released her from all thought. She regained her voice though she spoke quietly. "Where's Endo? What are you planning to do with her? How many people are going to get hurt?"

Ripley's gaze wondered her student's body up and down, as if trying to find an answer on her person. "What did my daughter tell you?" She asked calmly as if the girl's question was of no concern compared to her own curiosity.

"She told me she's from another world," Blake answered so quickly that it was as if her mouth had done the thinking for her. What was going on with her? "She said she was made to be weapon against whole planets, her and her people. Her kind was made by a species of war-mongers."

The older woman's eye-brow raised slightly as if fascinated by her daughter's words but not shocked. It was as if she knew all this already. A thought suddenly occurred to Blake. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and contempt.

"Are you one of them?"

Ripley bellowed with laughter at once. "I'm a scientist and a soldier, born and raised in Atlas," she chuckled at the absurdity. "I just so happen to stumble upon an interesting rock one day, very unaware that it would change my life. A life that I'd do anything to keep. You know what that feels like, don't you Belladonna?" She fished Blake's bow from her lab coat pocket.

With golden eyes that were disdainful yet submissive, the cat asked quietly, "What do you want from me?"

"I want your silence and your obedience."

Out of instinct, Blake was ready to give a sharp retort at the idea she could be blatantly oppressed. A sudden stab in the brainstem tightly locked her jaw into a grimace. It was as though a silent scream had ripped through her ear and rattled her skull.

Ripley almost wanted to outright delight in the blackhead's torment but the implications of it were too damning. She stalked around the cold slab that held her captive, a certain predatory urge guiding her scrutiny. Blake's eyes tracked her every step with clear malice and spite.

"I won't pretend you don't know about systemic oppression. I dare say you made a career out of fighting it." It felt even better to see Belladonna's indifferent buckle a second time, if only for a second. Ellen answered the question that the Faunus needn' t voice. "I know your ex-White Fang. When you're a soldier you learn to recognize "that look" in people's eyes." She took a seat on the edge of steel table. Dark brown eyes looked through their target. "You're not shell shocked, but you are disappointed."

Ask me…

"Disappointed…about…what?" Blake coughed up the words as they forced their way out.

"Disappointed at how easy it is to hate someone as much as they hate you. How easy it is to pass judgement and kill within the exact same thought." It mattered little how long it had been, playing interrogator was something Ripley could do with a laughable amount of effort. Her tongue traced her lips as she spoke again. " I could sit here tell you all the ways I know how to kill you, torment you." She couldn't help her bittersweet cackle. "You wouldn't even believe half of them were real!"

The Atlesian swallowed her megalomania in a single breath, feeling somberness pull her back to the main focus. "I won't insult you by ignoring how alike we are."

"I am nothing-"

"Don't. Lie!"

With the ringing of her skull, Blake didn't know if she imagined her teacher's dual-layered voice or not. Either way the whimper that escaped her was genuine.

The good doctor carried on like her outburst hadn't happened, legs awkwardly swinging over the edge of the table. "Neither of us is interested in our backlog of mistakes. But like it or not, we have to make do with what we're given." The growl came back into her voice, the transgression feeling fresh again. "You have nearly ruined a decade of work and nurturing." She hopped off the table to brokenly grin at said transgressor. "And now the key to both our futures in civilized lands is sleeping right in the other room!"

Golden eyes looked away, their master sick with vague loathing and dread. "What do you want?" She asked again in a near whisper. "What have you done to me?" She was feeling something she didn't know if she could live with: the urge to submit.

"It's best if you put that last question out of your mind. In fact, I know you will." Blake's head forcibly jerked in a nod. "As for what I want-" Ellen's clicked her tongue as if to try to bandage her guilt. "-I want you to look after Endo and let no one suspect what you've learned. And do not draw attention to yourself while you do it." She walked over by Blake's head and refastened her bow like it never came off to begin with. "You fail, and everyone suffers the consequences." Her motherly nature reasserted what was at stake with a vengeance. "And nothing anyone on this planet can do will be able to fix what I do to you..." She finished with a serpentine hiss. "You understand?"

It couldn't have been less of question.

Still, the pseudo cat's head jerked in puppet-like nod one last time. She hadn't felt the need to cry this badly in a long time.

Unable to help herself, Ripley made one of the most half-ass attempts at reconciliation in her life. "If it helps, think of yourself as part of our little family."

Blake made a final effort to save her pride. "I already have a mother!"

Alas, it was not to be.

"And I bet she'd just be so proud of all that you've done."

A/N: I know it's been a long time since I last updated. I know the length of it must seem disappointing after so long. But what is important is getting the ball going again. I am extremely grateful for your patience and the unbelievable amount of support I've been getting. It never stops amazing me! You guys have been unreasonably good to me and I can't thank you enough! I will do what I can to keep breathing life into this for as long as I live even if it takes years to complete.

If you want to help, I would ask that you Fav, Follow, or review! Though I will never ever demand it of you!

Until next time, stay toasty;)