AN: Welp... a promise is a promise is a promise. RWBY Volume 4 Episode 11 had a Tyrian related scene.

So here you go, I guess.

You know, this was supposed to be a joke story?

In an unknown temple at an unknown location…

A slash of flames cut through several Beowolves like a hot… metal utensil… through something with a low melting point.

As the carcasses of the dead Grimm dissolved into nothing, the flame caster took labored gasps of breath. Cinder had been slaying Grimm for minutes using her new powers, and she was nearly at her limit. It was strange. Back when she first commanded the powers of the Fall Maiden, she was not only able to kill the powerful Ozpin himself, but also immolate the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos.

The only logical explanation was that all her talent and skill with the power… were stored in her left eye.

That girl—Ruby Rose—had capitalized on that weakness, using her Silver Eye Beams to destroy her left eye. Worse, she damaged her vocal chords so badly that she could only speak in faint utterances or through her apprentice, Emerald. And more than once, that green-haired thief had misinterpreted 'get me some water' or 'tell Mercury not to touch that weird jellyfish Grimm-thing' to 'go take the rest of the day off.' What an awful interpreter.

She really could have used Roman. Working with Neo probably made him an expert at interpreting mutes.

A shame he was dead. Devoured by his own ambition.

…And that Griffon.

The sudden vibrations of a charging Grimm startled Cinder to her senses. A gorilla-like Beringel leapt towards her, its fist reared back to deliver a bone-shattering blow.

Cinder channeled her powers to her raised hand, forming a searing fireball. She thrust it towards the Beringel's chest, burning a hole straight through. The rest of the dead Grimm evaporated like mist.

The last of her power failing her, Cinder fell to her knees, exhausted. She hoped her master wouldn't call for more Grimm. This training session was killing her.

"Enough." Came the cold voice of Salem, signaling the end of the day's training. "I thought you were the girl that wanted power. Did you lie to me?"

Her accusing tone cut into Cinder like a… a heated metal thing through… through a dairy product commonly smeared on toast. Cinder let out an aggravated sigh before turning to her master and denying her accusation with a shake of the head.

"Then stop holding back." Salem commanded. "And stop winking at me while you're at it. If you wish to master your new powers, you must—"

The witch was interrupted by the sound of the temple doors slamming open. Footsteps sounded against the stone floor… accompanied by perhaps the most pitiable sound Cinder had ever heard.

"…Euhhhh… uh-uh-uh…" Tyrian sobbed as he hobbled into view, his arms trembling and held in front as if to protect himself. Gone was the manic grin from his face, replaced by wounded eyes and an uneasy grimace. He had never looked more vulnerable. "…I'm sorry… the hoodie… she'll forgive me… " The scorpion Faunus fell to his knees, his forehead bowed so low that it scraped the ground. "Pleeeease, forgive me…"

"Tyrian." Salem's mood shifted from disappointed to excited upon witnessing her most loyal minion's arrival. "Your task. Were you successf—?"

Salem's question came to an abrupt end upon observing the scorpion Faunus more closely. Not only did he have a deficit of kidnapped, red-themed girls, but there was something else off about him. Something that failed to slip the witch's notice.

"Tyrian…" Salem began as she pointed towards his Faunus appendage. "What is that?"

Tyrian recoiled at the question, but he lifted his tail regardless. "W-what do you mean, my goddess? This is… my tail. Like it's always been."

Cinder couldn't believe how blatantly Tyrian was lying to Salem. She also couldn't believe how he believed he could convince anyone that his tail was the same as it's always been.

The 'tail' Tyrian referred to was an oddly angled stinger that looked to be a roughly carved hunk of wood, spray-painted black and duct-taped to the end of the Faunus's tail. If that wasn't enough of a dead give-away, the roll of tape hung suspended from his 'tail' by a thickly-twisted piece, as if he had struggled to cut it, batted it around in mounting frustration, and eventually just given up on removing it altogether.

"Your… tail?" Salem patiently questioned. She was probably hoping it was just another one of Tyrian's phases. First it had been killing people. Then drowning puppies. The Pumpkin Pete cartoons. Back to killing people. And now this.

"Yes… my tail." Tyrian nodded stiffly. "It… uh… I had some work done on it recently. I'm so happy you've noticed."

Salem glared flatly upon the repentant Faunus before extending her hand. "May I see it more closely?"

It wasn't a request, even it was posed as one, and Tyrian could barely argue before he carefully shifted the tail to rest upon his goddess' hand.

*Rrrrrip*

In one fluid motion, Salem tore the roll of tape and the… prosthetic… off, to reveal Tyrian's stump of a tail.

"Agh! Okay, I admit it!" Tyrian winced as he pulled his tail back and began stroking it soothingly. "I lost my tail! I accidentally got it caught between a scythe and a crow—"

"Tyrian."

"…It was lopped off by a giant scythe…" He admitted lamely under his goddess' stern glare. "And you!" Tyrian shouted, pointing to Cinder. "I don't want to hear your smug comments. Don't you dare say anything!"

"…"

Tyrian recoiled at the silence. "How dare you throw insults at me! And stop winking condescendingly! You don't think I don't see that!? I do!"

"…"

"Stop it!"

"And the target you were tasked to collect?" Salem continued, ignoring Tyrian's rant. "Were you successful?"

Tyrian's gaze tilted to the ground, a look of shame marring his face. "N-no." Salem narrowed her eyes in disappointment before brushing past the Faunus. "But… B-but hope is not lost!" He called out desperately. "Th-there will be another chance! The hoodie will not escape my grasp twice! No. Not with that accursed competitive Qrow poisoned. No. I've done that!"

Salem abruptly stopped at the word hoodie. "Are you… You were supposed to bring me the girl!" She snapped, finally losing her patience.

"The… girl?" Tyrian's eyes darted as he tried to remember. Just what had his mission been exactly? "O-oh! Yes, the girl! Yes, yes… no, I didn't get that either." Salem gnashed her teeth in frustration. "I got groceries, though. I remembered we were running low on paper cups. Those are… close enough to a little girl… right?"

"Cinder!" Salem shouted, commanding the Fall Maiden's attention. "In light of recent events, you have been promoted to my second favorite minion! Wear the title proudly."

"…!" Cinder silently cheered.

"But… but I thought I was the second favorite minion!?" Tyrian whined.

Salem glared coldly at the Faunus. "Well, now you're the third favorite."

"No…" Tyrian's voice shook in horror. "But… but that means…"

"Yes." Salem nodded at his understanding. "You will be placed one seat further away from me at the evil table of evil."

His hands fell to the floor as he hunched over, looking like he was on the verge of having a mental breakdown. "Haaaaaaaaaaaugh!"

"Now, try doing something useful." Salem's words cut into him like a… a hot thing through a less hot thing. "Since you've seen the girl, make sure to describe her appearance to Emerald. And don't miss a single detail. It needs to be an exact likeness for Cinder's image training."

With those final words, the witch left the training chamber, leaving an anguished and ashamed Tyrian behind.

The Faunus bawled into his hands, letting out a cry overflowing with regret and sorrow. He had disappointed his goddess. He had made her think him useless.

And he definitely wasn't getting her to repair his tail with a golden Deathstalker stinger. What was he supposed to do? Now he was just a… just a… just a scorpion Faunus, minus the scorpion part.

He'd have to cut his ponytail to match too, otherwise people would look at him thinking, 'mommy, why does that scorpion Faunus have a hairstyle that contradicts his decapitated stinger?' And then he'd be a laughingstock!

Cinder watched the Faunus weep into his hands, tears streaming down his pained face. He needed someone to comfort him.

Not her of course. Tyrian really creeped her out with that tongue thing he did every now and again. No, what he needed… was a friend.

And who better to comfort him than his beloved pet Beowolf, Petey.

As if on cue, the tamed Beowolf stalked into the training room, no doubt brought there by the sound of its crying master. Petey's adorable red eyes caught sight of Tyrian and it crouched on all fours, ready to leap towards him with a comforting hug of affection and—

"AUGHHHH!" Tyrian roared, swatting Petey aside with his tail. The poor Grimm skidded across the floor, stunned at the latest strike from its master.

Tyrian continued to weep, though it gained an undertone of rage as he extended his arm blades and pounced upon the downed Grimm. The Faunus' sobs were interspersed with vicious stabs into Petey's throat. The Grimm let out angry howls that reduced themselves into painful yelps that reduced into faint whimpers until even those died out.

And yet Tyrian kept digging his blades into Petey's disintegrating corpse. His sorrowful cries gave way to insane laughs that echoed off the chamber walls. His tear-stained face was alight with glee and he did that weird tongue thing again too.

Cinder watched on in fear, listening to the pleasure Tyrian found in his actions. Eventually, his weird tongue thing got to her and she had to silently excuse herself from the training chamber.

He seems only very unstable.

AN: I'm done. And so is RWBY Volume 4.