Special thanks to Dishwasher1910 for the set of "Grimmed RWBY" drawings that inspired this story.

When I was a little, I always loved hearing stories about heroes. These amazing people who strived to be more than they thought they could be for the sake of everyone around them, regardless of what happened to them. I wanted more than anything to be like them; fight giant monsters, save people in need, to have my name go down in history as one of the greatest.

Now I'm not naïve enough to know that happy endings rarely happened to these heroes. Death and early retirements from loss of limbs were more common than what fairy tales would say. Then there are the ones who fell from grace, either through madness or something far worse.

I wonder what happened to those ones? After all, the greatest heroes fallen could become the deadliest of foes. Hopefully I'll never meet someone like that.

Sometimes Ruby likes to remember the old days, when her life was so much simpler; Killing the Creatures of Grimm, protecting her kingdom and people, remembering her teammate's birthdays. Things were so much simpler back then, before all of this.

'Well, I guess it's not much different today,' she thought as she heard people screaming to her right. The village was being attacked by Grimm, so here she was. Without much thought she ran ahead, her scythe dragging behind her. One last corner and she saw a group of people running from a trio of Beowolves, the group stopping when they saw her. She hefted her scythe on her shoulders and advanced to her enemies.

'I wonder how Mom would feel seeing me like this?' She wondered as she swung her scythe through one of her enemies, the top half falling neatly from the bottom. 'Proud, horrified, disgusted?' A few spins and another's arms were sliced clean off before being vertically bisected, barely enough time to feel the pain. 'I guess it doesn't matter what she would think. I hardly knew her when she was around and this is who I am now.'

The last of them fell backwards, raising a hand feebly to try and stop her. "P-please, don't-!" He tried to say just a Ruby beheaded him swiftly. The Beowolves growled and advanced on the corpse at Ruby's feet.

"No," Ruby said glancing at the Grimm, the creatures stopping in their tracks, "We're not here to feed, but to kill." She raised her scythe to point down a path, "The town's hall is that way. Break the doors, kill everyone inside. You'll have your fill when the village is dead." The Grimm growled and ran down the path Ruby had pointed, fully intent on following the new orders.

Ruby sighed and ran a hand down her head, the cold metal of the gauntlet feeling somewhat nice against her skin. At first, she had wondered if her skin, now forever tainted porcelain white, would ever be able to feel anything again. She soon learned that the only thing she could feel was cold and the small bits of pressure when something pressed on it. Even then, the cold was starting to dull into nothingness. Pleasure and Pain were something she'd never feel again.

She glanced down at the villager she had just killed and picked up his head to look at his eyes. "Green. Maybe the rumor was wrong." Ruby shook her head and threw the head away. With a sigh she swung her scythe, the blood flying off the blade onto a nearby wall, and continued on her path.

"Like mother would ever have an opinion on me. She died long ago." More screams in the distance, the fear radiating from the villagers drawing Ruby like a moth to flame. A General's work is never done.

Weiss Schnee was cursed. She had been aware of something like that for the longest time, but it was only a few days ago she realized just how utterly cursed she was. As she walked through the halls of her family's home, she felt the familiar chill that only she had been able to feel. Neither her father, mother, nor Winter or Whitley knew this cold, only Weiss.

She passed by one of the many statues that adorned the hallways, depicting the goddess that her mother had worshipped once. That was before she had decided that wine was a better idol, though the few occasions where Weiss had seen her mother she still stopped at every one. Weiss stopped in front of one, the regal stance of the goddess perfect for the Schnee halls. The high ponytail, armored arms, fine combat dress, and rapier planted blade first in the base of the statue was both powerful yet graceful.

Weiss shivered and thought, for just a moment, that the statue's eyes were following her. She quickened her pace in the hopes of getting to her room and away from the statues before one of them actually did look at her.

After a few nerve-wracking moments Weiss was close to her room, feeling a small wave of relief when she saw Klein standing in front of it. The butler jumped just a little when Weiss approached him, though he quickly regained his composure and turned to her.

"Good afternoon Lady Weiss," Klein said giving Weiss a small bow. Weiss hardly had to glance at his eyes anymore to know 'Doc' was talking. "I hope the day finds you well."

"About the same as always," Weiss replied sadly. All her life Weiss had never been allowed to leave the Schnee manor grounds unless it was for recitals or social functions. It was the one thing that her mother and father agreed on, 'Because it was too dangerous for you to leave,' they said. They never did clarify who it was dangerous for. Weiss glanced down at Klein's hands and saw a manila folder and asked, "Is that from father?"

"Oh, yes, it is," Klein held out the folder, which Weiss took and carefully leafed through. "The song you'll be singing for tomorrow's concert. Sir Jacques wanted to be sure you were ready."

"Of course he does." At the very least Weiss recognized the song, one that she had sung by herself since she started singing. "I was just going to get some practice in, so this works out. I'll be ready for tomorrow." Weiss shut the folder and looked up at Klein, his yellow eyes meeting her blue.

"Are you alright little snowflake?" He asked voice heavy with concern. "You seem more distraught today."

"I'm just tired Klein. I'll get some rest after practice." She hated lying to Klein of all people, but the butler had enough on his plate without having to worry about Weiss' delusions. The butler looked at Weiss for a few more seconds before smiling gently.

"How about I make you your favorite lunch little snowflake. Will that lift your spirits?"

"…Yes, that actually would help."

"Then it'll be ready in an hour." Klein blinked his eyes and he was back to business as usual 'Doc' as he straightened up and cleared his throat before walking down the hall. Weiss let a smile break onto her face as she watched Klein walk down the way Weiss had come to the kitchen, passing by a statue before turning the corner.

'Wait, was that statue always there?' The smile dropped and Weiss rushed into her room, her panic gripped mind telling her that locking the door would keep her safe. Once the door was locked Weiss pressed her back to it, folder clutched to her chest, and started taking deep breaths to calm down. 'It's just a statue Weiss. They can't hurt you, even if they look like they will. Just calm down.'

One more breath and her heart was calm enough for her to get off the door and walk to the middle of her room. Weiss looked around for the sheet stand she used for practice and found it right next to the full mirror on the wall… which she was certain she threw out the day before last. Her fingers gripped the folder tighter as she walked over to it, deliberately looking away from the mirror as she took the stand and moved it to the middle of the room facing away from the mirror.

Weiss took the lyrics sheet from the folder and arranged them on the stand, though she didn't really need them to sing the song. 'Mirror mirror… Mother used to sing this to me when I was young. I used to love looking at myself in the mirror, imagining myself as all kinds of different people. Now…' Weiss reached a hand up to her face, stopping just short of touching the scar on her left eye. She hadn't done anything to earn the scar, it had just appeared one morning with blood running down it. That was the first sign to Weiss that something was very wrong.

'No, just sing Weiss. Forget the world and your troubles, and just sing.' Weiss shut her eyes, imagining herself on stage with the orchestra playing, and started singing.

"Mirror, tell me something… tell me who's the loneliest of all."

This song more than any other spoke to Weiss, because deep down she knew that she was the loneliest person on the planet. Who else could be going through what Weiss was?

"Mirror, what's inside me? Tell me, can a heart be turn to stone?"

She had first noticed it when she was a little girl, maybe around seven or eight. It was just a small voice offering encouragement or advice every other day. She had thought that it was just an imaginary friend that was more than a little persistent. When she was feeling more than a little superstitious she thought it was a ghost visiting her, like her grandfather or an old hero of some sort.

The truth, as it turns out, was far worse than she could imagine.

"Mirror Mirror, what's behind you? Save me from the things I see."

The older Weiss got, the worse things got. First the chills, worse than the cold weather of Atlas, and then the constant feeling of being watched by something. No matter how many times she brought this up to Winter or her father, she always got the same lame half-answers and sad looks.

Then Weiss started to see her.

"Hiding pieces of the world, why won't you let me hide from me?"

She was always there, out of the corner of her eye, on a balcony overlooking a room, in a mirror with her reflection. Once Weiss could have sworn that she was in the crowd of a recital once, though no one else saw her then.

No matter what, she was always there. Always watching with either a cold look or a small smile that filled Weiss' veins with ice. And this was all before she actually started approaching her.

"Mirror Mirror, tell me something. Who's the loneliest of all?"

"Not you."

Weiss gasped and turned around, knocking the stand down and scattering papers over the floor. That voice, the same one that haunted her dreams, she was sure it was right behind her. But no, Weiss was alone like always. Her eyes were drawn to the mirror on the wall and, slowly and stiffly, Weiss walked over to it. Weiss stood in front of it, taking in her own reflection as it stood silently in her room.

"Just nerves," Weiss said closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Staying up all night last night did me no favors. I should just go to bed, and hopefully Father will keep me from the concert."

Then Weiss felt an arm wrap around her waist and a hand brush her cheek lightly, both colder than any ice on Remnant, and Weiss gasped and shut her eyes tighter.

"There's no need to be afraid of me Weiss. I would never hurt you, who bears my name and my likeness." It was her, Weiss knew instantly. That… thing that looked like the statues, that her mother had worshipped like a god, that wouldn't leave her alone! "After all, you're my most precious doll."

"You're not real," Weiss said weakly, her body shaking with fear as the arms around her tightened. "Y-you're just a nightmare I keep having. It'll stop soon."

"How long have we known each other that you should know better? No matter how much you wish, you are never alone. I am you Weiss, and you are me." The arms shifted a little and Weiss could feel a cold breath on her cheek. "Just open your eyes Weiss, and see how real I am."

"N-no, you're not-" the hands on her moved as fast as lightning, the one brushing her cheek grabbed her jaw and the one around her waist grabbed the hair on her scalp.

"OPEN THEM!" She shouted, voice full of fury and rage, and Weiss opened her eyes on a fear reflex. In the mirror her worst fears were once again there for her to see. Just behind her reflection was a monster that looked just like her, save for being a few years older, a horn extending from the middle of her forehead, and with skin far whiter than her own. Her arms were covered in black steel gauntlets, the fingertips filed into razors, and her face that rested right next to her was lined with deep red veins leading to her black eyes. The bright red of her pupils bore into Weiss' blue, and she smiled at Weiss' fear.

"See, I'm not so terrifying," she said returning one arm around Weiss' waist and gently stroked her cheek again, very much ignoring the tears that Weiss was shedding. "As long as you do. What. I. Say."

She pressed her cheek against Weiss' own, the cold spreading through her head and forcing small sobs from Weiss' throat. "The day we've been waiting for will soon be upon us. When it comes, you will finally know peace my precious doll. Until then, dance and sing and be merry. After all, so few people will ever know the privileged life you have." The monster giggled and released Weiss, the hand on her cheek trailing along as she walked away. Weiss shut her eyes, not wanting to see that she was indeed real, though the sound of her door opening proved that more than she wanted. When the door shut Weiss rushed to it and locked it again, collapsing to her knees and bursting into tears afterwards.

"I am the loneliest of all."

Growing up on Menagerie, Blake knew most of the legends of the island. One of which was Menagerie's guardian deity Kuroshara. She had plenty of feats to her name, the most famous of them being how she cleared out the forest that Kuo Kuana was at now with a single swipe of her arms. The statue of her in the middle of the city would, in any other part of Remnant, be considered that of a monster. To the Faunus though, her monstrous appearance showed a protector keeping them safe from the horrors of the world.

Once Blake had thought the same thing, but she was just a kid then. She knows now that she really is a monster. A demon that had latched itself onto the weak with a vice grip and lead them to ruin for its benefit. Blake knew that truth more than most people.

"Blake, it's time." Blake blinked and looked at Adam, his eyes hidden beneath his mask. Still his body language was anxious and very much ready to go.

"Ok," Blake replied and hopped off the rock she had sat on. Still lost in thought she walked over to Adam, who placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we're more than enough for this job. After this, we won't be hurting for Dust for a long time."

"That's… not what I had on my mind, but thanks." Blake knew that Adam had looked up at the bow she used to hide her ears, though he didn't say anything about that and instead started to run through the forest with her right behind him.

As she hopped through the red leaves of the trees with Adam's black coat the only thing keeping her on the right path, Blake's thoughts went back to the demon. Although Kuroshara watched over all Faunus, she had a close affinity for Cat Faunus. Even more so if they were a black cat Faunus like herself. She didn't know why it latched onto her specifically, but its presence had made her life a hell from the day she was born.

Blake snapped out of her thoughts long enough to stop at the cliff edge, the railroad tracks at the bottom cutting a clean swath through the forest down below. To the left was the Schnee Company train that was their target running along. Blake waited three heartbeats before jumping off with Adam and for a brief second, she enjoyed herself before she landed hard on the train and broke into a dash.

She didn't even have to use her Aura to soften the fall, which was another of the demon's 'gifts'. Her Semblance, combat skills, durability, all because of her. Blake scowled as she hopped from car to car until Adam stopped at a hatch and broke the lock. Blake's arms twitched when Adam opened the hatch and jumped into the train car. Blake rubbed her arms and shivered at the sight of something snaking under her skin.

'Please don't, not now.' The twitching stopped and Blake took a deep breath before jumping in after Adam. Once she landed her hand moved to Gambol Shroud's handle and she scanned for threats.

"Are you alright?" Adam asked quietly.

"I'm fine, let's just get this done." Whirring filled the train car and Blake briefly felt a headache come on as the AKs that lined the room came to life and moved to combat positions.

"Intruders, identify yourselves," the closest one said aiming its weapons at Blake. She glanced at Adam, who smirked and pulled the trigger on his sheath which launched the sword at the AK which stunned it long enough for Adam to grab the sword out of the air and slice it in half.

Blake saw the rest of the robots switch to active combat, so she drew her sword and dashed to join the fray. Despite her very general aversion to violence, some small part of her deep down relished in it. The tearing of metal, the sound of gunshots, all of it sent a shiver down her spine that very few other things could do.

'Would I still be like this if the demon wasn't there?'

"Behind you!" Adam shouted suddenly, just in time for Blake to block a blow from an AK and removed her sword from the sheath, pressed the gun barrel against its chin and squeezed the trigger three times. Blake ignored the oil splatter on her face and threw the robot at Adam, who grabbed it and threw it at a group in front of him which smashed through a door at the end of the car.

"I'll clear the next car," Adam shouted and rushed ahead, which was fine with Blake as she could handle a few sentry bots. The last few bots fell easily enough and Blake took a second to catch her breath and fight down both the trembling in her arms and the smile on her face. She shook her head and looked away from the oil shining in the red light and started to follow Adam.

'You enjoy this, we both know that.' Sometimes the demon talked to her, whispering words to sway her one way or another.

"Shut up," Blake said to herself and rushed outside to find Adam fighting some more sentries. She wrapped Gambol Shroud's ribbon around her hand and threw it ahead of her, a gunshot ringing out as it flew ahead and lodged into a robot's head. She yanked it out as she jumped over it, barely glancing at it spraying oil before focusing on the others in front of her.

'Just admit it Blake. The adrenaline, the tearing of steel and clashing of bone, it's what you live for.'

"Shut up!" Blake didn't care if she was shouting if it meant some peace of mind. She was sure that Adam had glanced at her, but if he wanted to say something he didn't. The mission came first after all, they both knew that.

'You'll understand the appeal soon enough.' Thankfully a shotgun blast shook those thoughts away and Blake looked up just in time to see an AK flying toward her and cut it apart in two quick slices. After a quick glance showed all enemies were felled Blake took a breath and sheathed her weapon before rushing to Adam.

"You might want to clean that off," Adam said glancing at Blake.

"I'll do that later," Blake replied opening the door.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I SAID I'M FINE!" Anger briefly filled Blake and her hands started twitching again. She grabbed her hands and gripped them tightly until the trembling stopped and took a deep breath. "Let's… let's just get this over with."

"…Fine." Adam lead the way into the car, Blake right behind him, and he opened one of several Schnee Dust Company crates and smirked at the Dust crystals inside. "Perfect. Clear the next car while I set the charges for our escape."

"What about the crew?" Blake asked, very much ignoring the low laughter echoing in her mind. Adam, and the White Fang in general, have been getting more and more violent as time went on. They all said Kuroshara and the Faunus as a whole demanded faster progress and unfortunately violence of all kinds worked better, no matter how Blake argued.

"What about them?" Adam asked both coldly and with some confusion. "You didn't seem to care about them earlier."

"What?" Blake asked much more confused. Then she remembered the oil on her face and slowly came to a horrifying realization as she wiped some of it onto her hand to look at it. In the clearer light of this car she saw the distinctive red of blood on it. 'Atlas mechs don't use oil. How did I forget?'

Somewhere there was a loud clanking and Adam called her name.

'That is your power Blake. So many dead, so much destruction, so much good done by your hands. And there will be more if you just go with the flow."

"You bitch…"

"Blake!" Adam shouted and shoved Blake, just in time to keep her from being hit by a much bigger mech. It must have been dormant in the car somewhere, lying in wait. Blake didn't move from her slumped position on the wall while Adam engaged the mech.

"Why? Why would make me do that? How many did I kill?"

'What does it matter? Be it one, ten, or a hundred it changes nothing. Only the ends matter in a revolution. You're meant for so much greatness Blake, but you'll never get there without killing a few people."

"I don't understand."

'As I said, you'll understand soon enough. If you don't then you'll die, just like your partner will right now.' Blake's eyes widened and she looked up just as Adam got knocked back by the mech and it started to charge a laser. Blake shot to her feet and rushed to Adam's side, just as the mech fired and Adam drew his sword to block it, though he wasn't fast enough to fully absorb it and they were both blown back outside.

Blake groaned once she had settled from the blow and rose to her knees before looking at Adam. She saw the small trickle of blood come from under his mask and felt that sick anger creep into her again. Then she heard the mech tear through the wall in front of them and walk closer.

They forced themselves back onto their feet and Adam settled into a ready stance. "Blake, cover me!" he shouted and took a breath. Blake, for her part, looked at him for a moment before drawing Gambol Shroud, sword and sheath in either hand and charged.

The mech took a swing at her, which she dodged easily with her Semblance, and she landed on the arm. She swung at the arm, the cut going deeper into the metal than she thought it would have, and launched off to do the same to the other arm.

'You certainly are quick to violence when it suits you.'

"Shut up!" Despite the force Blake was ashamed to actually agree with that one. While attacking she saw a chance to disable the mech and jumped at the body to force open a hatch with her sword. Once it was opened a little, she braced her foot against the door and snapped it off with a quick kick.

And found the pilot. Blake froze at her horrified face, wondering just what she looked like splattered with blood. This deadlock lasted only a few seconds before the pilot drew a pistol and fired at Blake's head. Blake backflipped away from the mech, leaving a clone to take the bullet for her, and she landed next to Adam just as the mech started to charge the laser again.

"Get back!" Adam shouted and grabbed his sword. Blake jumped back to the next flatbed car and put her weapon away when Adam blocked the laser blast.

'Now he's a warrior,' the demon said as Adam sheathed his sword again, his body radiating with stored energy. 'He's quick, efficient, and doesn't hesitate like you.' The mech jumped at Adam, intent on crushing him, just as he hit it with one slice. The world was stained red as the mech, pilot included, was sliced in half and disintegrated into rose petals.

'But don't worry, someone like Adam won't be able to compare to you when you reach your full potential.' Blake's arms started trembling and she took a deep breath as she stared at Adam.

'No, I won't. I won't let you.'

'Defiance? Very well, do your worst. It'll fail just like the others who came before you.' Blake took a deep breath and moved to the coupler of the car, just as Adam ran up to her.

"Blake, what are you doing?" he asked as Blake drew Gambol Shroud.

"You were always different Adam. I thought you could save me, but you can't." She looked down at the coupler and sliced it in half, her car advancing away from the one Adam was on. Then she took her sword out of the sheath, which she threw behind her, and checked that her gun was loaded when the blade folded up. "There's only one thing that can."

"What are you talking about?" Adam asked only to stop short when Blake pressed her weapon to her head.

"Goodbye."

"NO!" Adam reached futilely at Blake as she pulled the trigger. The gunshot was deafening and Adam could only watch as Blake fell to the floor, blood pooling around her head. The car Adam was on continued to slow while he sank to his knees and watched Blake disappear, her cold eyes boring into him the whole way.

And yet, that wasn't the end for Blake.

"Stupid girl." Blake's body was slowly covered by a thick shadow and stood up. When the shadows disappeared, her clothes had changed to a ragged short kimono with wooden sandals, her skin was an unhealthy white and her arms were replaced with Grimm tentacles. One of the tentacles wormed to the hole in her head and dug into it, pulling the bullet out and dropping it to the floor after a moment. She shivered a little as the wound closed in a few seconds.

"As long as you have use, death will evade you. That's how it's always been and will be," she said both to herself and the girl who was now trapped in her own mind. The demon ran a tentacle along the mouth piece that she now wore, the decorative teeth none too different from her real ones, and heard footprints behind her.

"There might be more on the train!" The demon turned to see a small squad of soldiers coming out. "We'll need them ali- what the hell is that?!"

Her answer to that was to shoot a tentacle out at the lead soldier, which pierced through his chest like it was paper. The soldier could only let out a small gasp before being thrown him off the train.

'Time for another lesson girl. Watch and learn your fate,' she thought and charged the soldiers, who screamed and opened fire with their rifles.

The train would be found a day later by an Atlas patrol ship. Every soul on board was dead, butchered so badly you couldn't even tell they had been human once. Any Dust that was being carried was untouched and the only clue they could find on the perpetrator was a stylized flower drawn with the victim's blood.

The Alpha Beowolf's growls were starting to get Yang's nerves, though she understood why. Just like her, it simply wanted to charge the camp they were observing and wreak havoc. Destruction was an innate instinct for all Grimm, but Yang was able to suppress it enough to find the most fun way to do it. And after dark was always the best time to attack anyway, when the residents were settling down for the night.

"You'll get your chance," she told the Grimm, which caused it to turn and growl lowly at her. Yang glared at it and sliced the ground between them with her right arm, long ago replaced with a large Grimm arm, which caused the Beowolf to back up a little. "But only after I've had my fill. Half of the horde encircle the camp, and kill anyone who tries to escape into the woods. The other will enter the camp when the fires start. Get on it."

The Alpha growled, but slunk away anyway. Yang couldn't help but smirk since, like any pack animal, Grimm favored strength over anything. As long as you're stronger, you'll always call the shots. Speaking of, Yang returned her attention to the camp.

'A couple of armed guards inside, one at the main gate, and most others are already asleep. Easy pickings.' The Grimm were probably in place by now, so Yang decided to get started. She cracked the knuckles on her left hand and started walking toward the camp, a small ripple of glamour hiding her as a cloaked traveler instead of her true Grimm form. That was just one of many gifts that Queen gave to her and her sisters. When she was in sight of the front guard she started limping and grasping at her side.

"Please… I need help…" she moaned out, nearly collapsing in sight of the guard.

"Always on my shift," the guard said aiming his pistol at Yang, who raised an eyebrow at the weapon. Seriously, a revolver with a knife handle is just dumb. "Hold it right there! That's far enough!"

"Please, the Grimm are out there! They're going to kill me." Just a little closer…

"I'll kill you now if you don't stop!" By now the barrel was pressed against Yang's forehead and she was looking terrified. "Do you have any idea where you are?"

"…Who cares?" Yang replied smiling widely as her eyes turned red. The man backed up with a gasp and fired, though Yang knocked the gun up so he hit nothing but air. She followed up with a punch to his gut, which forced him to bend over enough for Yang to wrap an arm around and break it with one quick jerk. "And that's your neck," she whispered and dropped her glamour and released the body. Instant death or slow suffocation he won't be getting back up. She walked up to the gate and shook her head, "Wooden walls, that's cute."

"Shad, what the hell was that?" A female voice said on the other side of the gate, "I swear you better not be shooting rats again." Yang balled her Grimm arm into a fist and reared back for a heavy punch, smiling widely at how easily the wood splintered under her strength.

With the gate down and the whole camp undoubtedly alerted, Yang stepped over what remained of the gate and stopped next to a woman sprawled on the ground with a piece of wood impaled in her stomach. The look on her face and the fear radiating off her when she saw Yang normally would have kept her alive for a little longer, but Yang was in a hurry. So, she barely spared her the glance needed to point her sawn-off shotgun at her head and pull the trigger.

'And like hornets they come out," Yang thought as people, bandits she guessed from their state of dress, started filtering out of the tents armed with whatever weapons they could carry. Yang cracked her neck as one of the bigger men charged at her with a battle axe and swung at her, which she blocked easily with her Grimm arm. She let him try and fail to wrench it out of her arm for a few seconds until she decided to level her shotgun at his chest and fired.

She shivered a little at the fear he felt in his last moments and placed the shotgun on the axe's handle, using it to both wrench the axe out and open the breech. She shrank her right arm down to normal size and casually loaded her special shells. She snapped it shut as the humans formed a half circle in front of her and aimed carefully. 'And also, like hornets, the best way to deal with them is to burn them.'

The crack of her shotgun caused her enemies to flinch as a stream of fire flew at them, but the shot flew over them and instead hit a tent that exploded in flame. "Dragon's breath!" one of them called out just as he got hit by the other round. He barely had time to scream before he was completely consumed by flame.

"You guys might actually put up a fight," Yang said happily as she reloaded the shotgun.

"Did that thing just talk?!" Even if they could fight back, they were still afraid of her. Oh well, what could you do? She looked back as a couple of Creeps and Beowolves slowly entered.

"Try not to die too fast ok?" she said looking back forward and snapped her shotgun shut, "I want to gorge myself until I vomit." The shock value started to wear off and the bandits opened fire, though they only managed to hit a few Grimm since Yang jumped to avoid it. Her Grimm arm grew to its normal large size and she fired her shotgun behind her to use the recoil to get herself spinning as she fell and punched the ground. Yang scowled at how easily the group was knocked down.

"Boring. Slaughter them!" The Grimm roared and charged past her at the bandits. The ones still on the ground stood no chance, but to be fair to them, the ones who were still standing fared much better against stock Grimm. "Oh well, fire makes everything better," Yang reasoned with a shrug and fired a dragon's breath at another tent, the people inside rushing out at the flames.

'It's the same everywhere. They talk big, but once I show up they scatter like ants.' She scratched her head with her shotgun and backhanded a bandit who tried to charge her side. She watched as the woman was overwhelmed by Creeps, her screams of horror only bringing a sigh as Yang started reloading again. 'Just once I'd like to meet someone that can match me.'

A deeper gunshot briefly caught her attention, though the scythe suddenly stabbing did a much better job of that. Yang barely had time to blink when a sword stabbed into her neck and she was face to face with a very angry girl. Even then, Yang barely felt any pain, so she snapped her gun shut and pressed the barrel to the girl's chin and fired. To Yang's surprise, the girl managed to pull her sword out and backflip out of the way in time and the scythe was yanked out of her stomach, and both attackers landed a few feet away from her. Yang looked down to see her wounds already closing up before looking back up.

For the first time in a long time, Yang was surprised to see that the two were barely teenagers, 15 at the very oldest. The girl readied a katana and the boy laid a scythe over his shoulder, both with black hair and their red eyes boring into her. Yang raised an eyebrow at the emotions radiating off both of them, more hate and anger than fear even at Yang's appearance.

"Well, that's different," Yang whispered and holstered her shotgun before lowering her stance. She couldn't help but smile at the surprised looks the kids gave her and then each other. "No one's ever managed a sneak attack on me before. Don't disappoint me after that first impression." Yang then charged the two with a roar and swung her claws at them, which they both dodged. The girl who jumped bounded off her arm and landed a slash on her face while the boy slid under to go for her legs.

Yang flipped over the scythe and kicked at the girl, barely missing her head, and once she landed charged at the boy. He managed to do an admittedly impressive roll into a handstand when Yang punched the ground he was at and pushed off the ground to kick her in the face. Yang recoiled from the blow and dodged backwards in time for the scythe blade to just barely miss her horns.

Yang skidded to a stop and dashed forward again, watching the girl jump backward while the boy readied his scythe and pulled a trigger, the recoil causing him to spin and forcing Yang to block the attack with her Grimm arm, her hand clasping around the blade.

"Gun scythe huh? Good idea," Yang said with a smile and could feel the anger coming off him as he gritted his teeth. "You got good form kid, but you overextend your swings too much. Just some friendly advice."

"Shut up!" he shouted and pressed harder, which was just what Yang wanted. His anger turned to surprise when Yang kicked his legs out from under him, using the momentum to rip the scythe from his hands and send him flying with a kick to the stomach. She let the scythe go and, after hearing a shout to her right, jumped and flipped over a swipe from the girl. Yang couldn't help but shoot her a wink as the girl shot under her.

By the time Yang bounded off a handstand and turned back to the kids, she found the boy back on his feet and the girl just finished beheading two Beowolves and ready to fight again. "Oh, I like you two!" She shouted with a cackle, "Fast, strong, and spunky? They just don't make them like that anymore!" The girl's sword hand was shaking in anger and god that was such a rich hate coming off her.

"You should work on your teamwork though. A bit tighter attack pattern and you could have actually hit-" Yang faltered when she saw a few strands of pale blonde hair floated in front of her eyes. Time seemed to slow for her as she watched them fall to the ground in the firelight.

Her smile fell and she looked up at the smirking girl.

"You were saying?" she asked giving her sword a quick twirl and pointed it at Yang.

"Fun's over now," Yang growled and clenched a fist before crouching slightly and shooting forward like a bullet. She was next to the girl in an instant and had her hand around her throat before she could even be surprised. The boy backed up in shock and let his guard down, which Yang took advantage of by kneeing him in the stomach. He fell down out of breath and Yang planted a boot on his head before lifting the girl into the air. She would have enjoyed watching the girl struggle, a hand gripping the gauntlet on her arm, if she was in the mood to give a damn anymore.

"Qrow! Raven!" Yang barely spared a glance to her right at the woman who had shouted and was now charging with an electric tipped javelin and barely had time to block before Yang slashed at her with her claws. The woman's Aura flickered before breaking and getting a slashed across her neck and chest for her trouble. She spun in the air once before landing face down, dead before she even hit the ground, and Yang smashed the body with her massive arm. Yang looked back at the girl, now staring at where the body used to be in shock before looking back at Yang with a deeper anger, her hand trembling from how hard it was gripping.

"Let me guess, your mother?" Yang asked and tightened her grip, the girl gasping as she was being choked out. "That's on you. You touch my hair, you pay the price." The girl managed to open her eyes and swing her sword again, the red blade flashing in front of Yang's eyes. Yang nearly raised an eyebrow before she saw a few more strands of hair floating away, which she responded to as well as she could by choking her even more.

'No, that's not good enough for her! Sliced to pieces, beat to paste, burnt to ash, there's no punishment in the world fit enough for this wretch!' Really though, she would be fine with killing her in any way if it weren't for one tiny little thing.

"WHY! AREN'T! YOU! SCARED!" she roared and shook the girl, a few Grimm glancing over before resuming their attack. "I break down your pathetic defenses, burn your hovel to the ground, kill everyone you know, and you don't even have the decency to be scared in the slightest!" Indeed, she could feel whatever fear she used to have had changed into hatred, just like the boy under her boot. It was frustrating, maddening, and just so… utterly unique! She couldn't help but laugh at just how odd these two are, and slackened her grip just enough so the girl could breathe again.

"Oh, this whole thing is just rich! You know what, I really do like you. Too many people scare easily, but not you two." Yang threw the girl to the ground hard enough to bounce off the ground, her sword flying out of her hand, and kicked the boy into her. 'And they're pretty good fighters too. Give them a few more years and they might actually be a challenge.' Yang smiled and scratched her cheek as the kids slowly grabbed their weapons and got back to their feet. 'Well, like I tell Ruby every now and then, nothing wrong with a harmless gamble.' "So, Raven and Qrow right? Well, congratulations you two, I've decided that you're not worth killing today." 'Which one is which? Whatever.'

"What?" the boy asked, still holding his scythe at the ready.

"Ah, you can talk. Like I said, you're not worth killing today. Maybe in a few years when you can put up a good fight. Right now, you not worth the effort to kill."

"Are you serious?!" the girl shouted angrily, "After this, do you really think that we'll just-" she jumped back when Yang fired at her feet, her Aura flaring up in reaction.

"Or maybe I could kill you both now. I do still owe you for my hair after all." She shrunk her Grimm arm down and started reloading her shotgun. "I really don't care either way, believe it or not. I'll give you thirty seconds to decide, and then I'll just kill you. Tick tock little birdies."

"You bitch!" Yang pulled out two Dragon's Breath shells just as the boy grabbed the girl's arm.

"Raven, we need to run," the boy said.

"What, are you serious?!" the now named Raven shouted.

"There's too many Grimm and we can't fight her. The second she got serious she had us dead to rights! We will die if we don't run!"

"He's right you know," Yang commented and loaded a dragon's breath round. "Twenty seconds."

"You do what you want Raven, but I'm leaving. This place is dead and survival comes first. Like always." The boy, Qrow Yang guessed, started to run toward the main gate dodging Creeps along the way. Raven stared after him when he disappeared outside the gate, her sword hand shaking in anger.

"Ten seconds," Yang said snapping the gun shut.

"…Dammit!" Raven finally said and swung her sword, which made some kind of portal appear out of thin air. The black-haired girl spared Yang one last hateful look before she ran through it.

"Interesting semblance," Yang commented to herself as the portal disappeared and she rested her gun across her shoulders. "They'll probably be dead by morning, but it'd be more fun if they did survive." The ones driven by revenge never lasted long against any of the Generals, but it was fun when they did show up. Yang looked around at the burning camp and decided she might as well finish her main job.

'Too bad this didn't last longer; I was really on fire tonight. Heh, that was a good one, I'll have to tell Ruby that later.'

It never got easier whenever Ozpin arrived at one of these villages. The death and desolation were always absolute and the chances that someone survived as always nil. Still he had to see it for himself, to remind himself of how dangerous the Generals of Grimm were.

"Are you sure you should be here Professor?" Glynda asked once again. She had only joined the ranks of Beacon Academy's staff recently, but he could see just how much potential she had.

"We both know what we're dealing with here. I'll be fine," Ozpin replied simply and started walking through the village with Glynda and a few local Huntsman following behind him. As they walked by drying blood and fires that had long since burned out, both wood and otherwise, Ozpin felt the same sinking feeling in his gut that this will once again be a total slaughter. This was only strengthened when they reached the town square.

"Grimm did this?" one of the tagalong Huntsman asked looking around anxiously. Ozpin couldn't blame him; the attack was probably sudden enough that most of the villagers couldn't have escaped. Ozpin saw an unfortunately familiar scene when he saw a group of decapitated villagers and walked over to them. The wounds were too clean for it to have been any Grimm claws, and very few of the other dead were crushed or burnt. It was hard to know which General had attacked when they started, but Ozpin hated that it now happened often enough that he was starting to know each of their styles. "Professor?"

"Grimm, and something far worse," Ozpin replied gripping his cane tightly. He heard a roar to his right and spun his cane into a combat position and stabbed. He glanced at the Beowolf going limp with his cane stabbed in its throat and let it fall in front of him when it started disintegrating. "Grimm are still around, and most likely in numbers. Keep your guard up while looking for survivors."

"Could anyone have survived this?" A huntress asked kneading her bow.

"Let's hope so. Keep each other covered and look everywhere." The huntsman nodded and moved off as a group while Ozpin and Glynda went on their own. Every street told the same story as they walked and Ozpin took it all in with the same quiet reserve he always had.

"What drives such brutality?" Glynda asked closing a shop door. Ozpin didn't miss the unease in her voice, which he couldn't blame her for. The first or second time seeing this will always stay with you. With the distant crack of gunfire ringing in the distance, Ozpin turned a corner and saw a Beowolf crouched near a house clawing at a crawlspace. It pulled away to stare into the space before its ears perked up and looked at Ozpin and Glynda, their eyes meeting for a second before it charged with a snarl.

It only got a few feet to them before Glynda impaled it with a large piece of wood from a nearby building. Glynda pushed her glasses up and watched Ozpin walk past the vanishing Grimm to the crawlspace that had its attention before they showed up.

"This is odd, usually there are more Grimm than this. What's so different here?" Ozpin said kneeling down and peering into the darkness beneath the building. He closed his eyes and focused his hearing, since a Grimm wouldn't be trying to get under a building for no reason. After a moment of fruitless listening, Ozpin was about to move on when a faint sob caught his ear. "Hello, is someone in there?"

There was no answer, so Ozpin took out his scroll and turned on the flashlight to get a better look inside. He moved the light back and forth a little before he saw a child huddled in a corner shaking in fear.

"There you are. I won't hurt you," Ozpin said gently, though that only made the child curl up even more. The poor thing must have seen some awful things to be put in such a state. "If you're scared of the Grimm, we can protect you. We can't do that unless you come out."

The child moved their head enough to see Ozpin's silhouette and started to slowly crawl to him. Ozpin picked himself up, put his scroll away, and checked the street for any Grimm that might suddenly come along. That came to a stop when he heard scrambling and felt arms wrap around his waist. He looked down to see the child, a girl he could tell in the light, pressing her face against him and shaking slightly from crying.

"If there are more spaces like this under all of the buildings, then people will probably hide there," Glynda reasoned pushing her glasses up. "We should let everyone know that."

"There isn't anyone else," the girl said suddenly, backing away from Ozpin rubbing her eyes on the sleeves of her white jacket. "The monsters killed everyone, even papa. I'm the only one left." Ozpin and Glynda looked at each other and had a silent exchange about the child.

"Even so, we still need to look. I'll inform the Huntsman," Glynda said after a moment and started walking away, leaving Ozpin with the girl. By now she had managed to calm herself enough to get her breathing under control. Ozpin knelt down next to her so he was on her level and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through this. No one should have to experience something like this so young." Ozpin held back a sigh because, as much as he wanted to comfort her, she was probably the only one who could tell him what happened here. "Did you happen to see what did all of this? Like something giving commands?"

The girl shook her head and Ozpin kept his disappointment in check. "Well, perhaps that's for the best. All things considered, you being alive is a miracle I'll gladly take." The girl opened her eyes for the first time and Ozpin couldn't help but be surprised, which even she took notice of. "You have silver eyes."

"Hm?" The girl cocked her head to the side.

"…I'm sorry," Ozpin shook his head and stood up, "I meant to ask your name. My name is Professor Ozpin."

"…Summer Rose."

"Well then Miss Rose, let's get you somewhere safe. I can do that for you at the very least." Ozpin then gestured down the street with his cane and started walking slowly. Summer watched him for a moment before lifting the hood of her jacket over her head and following.

'I always wanted to be a hero. I thought it wouldn't happen when my village was attacked and I lost you, but I managed to push myself through it. It's hard to believe it's been ten years since then. Everyday I'm closer to that dream of mine, even though there are ups and downs, but I think they were all worth it. I think you'd be proud of me Dad.'

A whoosh sounded behind Summer, making her jump and look back at a familiar portal. After a second a black-haired girl her age, dressed in black and red clothing with a sword at her side, stepped through and shook her head with a small smile when she saw her.

"There you are. I figured you'd be here." The portal closed behind her and she walked up to Summer, her arms behind her head, and stared out at the ocean waves.

"I didn't mean to worry you Raven," Summer said brushing some hair behind her ears and looking back out to the waves. "I just wanted to be alone for a moment."

"Trust me, we all know," Raven said shaking her head, "But we kind of need you back. The new year is starting soon and we're low on Dust and bullets."

"Ugh, I hate pulling straws for Dust runs," Summer sighed. "Alright, I'll finish up and head back with you." Raven nodded and Summer reached into her pouch to pull out a small bottle. She looked at the letter inside for a moment before kneeling down and placed the bottle in the water. Summer watched the bottle get carried out by the tide until it was fairly far out and stood up and raised her hood over her head.

"Sorry about that, I just…"

"I know," Raven interrupted and opened another portal with a quick swing of her sword. "As long as it gets your mood up, you know?"

"It's pretty up at the moment. I have a good feeling about this year."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, this year can't possibly be as crazy as last year, right?"

"Just don't say that around Qrow. I don't want you to jinx us." Summer punched Raven playfully in the arm and walked into the portal, the latter following right behind her. They came out in their room back at Beacon with Qrow and Taiyang in the middle of some heated discussion. Summer watched for a moment with a smile, thinking back to her earlier thoughts.

'I guess that's the great thing about heroes. Even if some of them fall, more will rise to pick up where they left off.' Then Raven interjected herself into the boy's conversation, yanking on both of their ears and angrily berating their nonsense. 'Even if it's people like us.'