Hello to everyone!

I'm sure many people are wondering why I chose to start a second story (this one), as opposed to continuing my other series, Remnants Of the Sea? The answer to this lies in one main reason: I've gotten tired of writing RotS. Now, calm down; I'm not going to drop the story, nor will I end it abruptly without sense. It is just that I have been writing it for around a year and a half, and I'm struggling to get through it. This is also another reason for why I made it a series of stories, and not one continuous book. This way, it will give me a chance to delve into a different world, and play around with other concepts that I've written off in RotS. I will eventually start Book Two of RotS, but it won't be for some time. I just don't want to keep working on it, lose passion in the story all together, and end up dropping it. I've seen many stories ending up being abandoned/up for adoption because the writer just got burned out. I'm going to do what I can so that that doesn't happen.

If you have any comments on my decision, or want to discuss it, feel free to either leave a review, or PM me. I will respond to all PMs, in time.

Now, without anymore rambling and excuses, please enjoy my new story, Shadow of Beacon!

"Percy" means speech

'Jackson' means thought

*RWBY* means telepathy/flashback

A whip cracked through the air, followed by a pained scream from a young man. "Keep moving, animals!" A fat man shouted, standing on a small platform overlooking everyone around him. The workers glared at him, with another young man helping up his injured friends. They shuffled away into the crowd, along the frozen ground.

The man holding the whip watched them leave, sending glares at anyone who stared at him longer than a few seconds. His attention was drawn away from the crowds when someone approached him, wearing the same pure, snow-white uniform as himself. The man held two steaming cups in his hands.

As he made his way beside the man on the platform, he extended his arm outwards, offering one of the cups to the larger man. "Here, drink up." The smaller man said, holding his own cup close to himself, loving the warmth it gave off. "I hate this damn place. I hoped that I would be stationed anywhere other than here." He said, taking a sip of his steaming drink. "Too damn cold." He muttered, glancing at the sky.

As if mocking him, small, white tufts of snow began to flutter to the ground, accompanied by a frigid wind that cut through their uniforms. "Eh, you'll get used to it eventually, rookie." The larger man said. As the two stood there, a tanned, middle aged woman walked passed, a small pair of pink mouse ears poking out of her dark hair. The woman stared at them, or rather, the drinks they held in their hands, shivering at a particular strong gust of wind. Her stare caught the ire of the fat man, however. "What are you looking at, you rat? Get back to work!" he yelled, cracking his whip right over her head, causing the woman to flinch and grasp her ears in pain at the loud noise, rushing away.

The younger man sent a harsh look at his older colleague. "You shouldn't do that." He muttered, though making sure he was heard. "They're just cold. It's not like we give them the best uniforms for this weather.". The snow continued to fall, covering the ground of the courtyard in a white blanket.

The bigger man just scowled, wrapping his whip back up. "Don't tell me you actually feel bad for these animals, do you?" He scoffed, cuffing the younger man in the back of the head with his hand.

"I'm saying that the least we could do is give them the same protection as our human workers!" The young man growled, trying to keep his tone in check.

"Do you have any idea how much that would cost the company? They can do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't come out of my paycheque." The man said gruffly, sending a glare at several passing workers.

The younger man just shook his head in slight disgust. "Whatever, man. The boss wanted to talk to you." He responded. The larger man grunted, climbing down from his platform. Before he left, he went to hand his whip to the younger man, only for his offer to be denied. "I have all the self defence I need." The young man simply said, patting his small pistol holster clipped on his belt.

The large man scowled, rolling his eyes. That kid was too soft for this line of work. It was bad enough with that White Fang group rallying for better conditions. The last thing they needed was sympathizers in the company. Glancing back at the younger man, he saw him offering his still warm coffee to a shivering older man, a white tail flicking near his feet. Walking over to the main office building overlooking the mining compound, the large man quickly hobbled inside, shutting the door behind him hastily.

Rubbing his hands in an effort to warm them, he stomped some snow off his boots before making his way up to the main office. He paused outside the door, staring at the frosted glass with a giant, white snowflake crest on it. Knocking lightly, he opened the door, poking his head in. "Sir? I was told you wished to see me?" He asked warily, watching the dark-haired man typing away at the computer on his desk.

The man didn't even flinch, nor did he look his way. "Yes, come in and have a seat, Mr. Edwards." The business man replied, still typing. The now named Mr. Edwards waddled over to the desk, and sat in one of the two seats of in front of the desk. He didn't say anything, choosing to finish what he was writing, leaving Edwards in silence.

Edwards looked around the office. It was nice, for what was available in the middle of nowhere. The computer and desk were modern, if a little worn, and the carpet was still fairly clean. His head snapped back to look at his boss at the mention of his name. "Hm? Yes?" Edwards asked, trying to act like he had been paying attention.

Sighing, he placed his hand on his head, massaging his forehead. "Do try to pay attention, Murphy?" He asked. Upon receiving a head nod, he continued. "Good. Now, as you might know, our quarry hasn't been producing enough Dust, and we can't afford to hire anymore workers." He started, hoping Edwards was following along.

"Yes, sir. I am aware. I've tried to… motivate them to work harder as best I could, but some of those animals just won't listen." Edwards said, trying to paint himself in the best possible light to his boss.

"Cut the Boy Scout stuff, Murphy. I know that you whip them for no real reason." He responded, sitting back in his chair.

Edwards was beginning to sweat, his hands becoming clammy. "Now sir, I…" Edwards began before he was cut off.

"Which is why I have a little "special job" for you." His boss said, ignoring his pleas as if he hadn't spoken at all. "I said that we couldn't afford to hire any new workers, so I had some of our more… aggressive security members go out to the local faunus village and round up some of the fitter ones." He said, standing from his desk. Edwards followed the man with his head as his boss walked over to the window, staring out and down at the workers below. "They will be arriving in about an hour at the South Gate. I want you there when they get here, to help keep things peaceful."

Edwards looked slightly hesitant. "But sir, won't they just head back to their village? And what if word gets out that we enslaved a local populous?" Edwards questioned.

"You leave the cover up to me, Edwards." His boss said, moving back to his desk and sitting in his chair. "All I want you to do is to make sure that they won't have anywhere else to go, should they escape. The security guards that rounded them up will keep you safe as you mark them."

Edwards still looked hesitant. Not because he would be branding the faunus. They were animals, why should he care about them? No, he was more worried about what would happen to his career should word get out about what he's about to do. He slowly got to his feet. "Yes, sir." He simply said before walking out of his office, closing the door to the sound of his boss continuing to type away at his computer.

-Time Skip-

Edwards stood at the South Gate, listening to the howling of the wind outside. He had watched as the trucks had come rolling back to the compound, and he could now hear them just outside. 'I wonder how many they brought?' Edwards thought to himself, shivering as the door to the warehouse he stood in opened, letting in the harsh, cold air. Loud beeping filled the air as one of the trucks backed into the warehouse, escorted by about two dozen security officers, each holding a rifle and a pistol in their holsters. Once the truck was parked in place, the security climbed onto a ledge, overlooking the loading bay area.

One officer walked up to the back of the truck, unlocking the door, and sliding it up. Inside was about thirty faunus, aged anywhere from thirteen to forty. They were huddled together in small groups, trying to stay as warm as possible in the uninsulated cargo truck. "right, animals. Your new life is about to begin!" The security officer shouted, grabbing his rifle from its sling on his back. "Now get out!". None of them moved, instead choosing to glare at him. Growling in frustration, the security officer levelled his rifle at the frightened faunus, causing them to jump back. "I said, get out! Now!"

They complied this time, slowly shuffling out of the truck, trying to stay in their groups, only to be shoved away from one another. "Men on one side, women on the other!" Another officer called out standing near the end of the loading area, where the bay sloped upwards to become level with the warehouse floor. The faunus did eventually separate, though only due to the threat of violence from the security. "Alright, women first. Men, stay right where you are, unless you want to be riddled with holes." The same officer shouted.

The line of female faunus slowly walked forwards, shuffling up towards where Edwards stood, right near a burning metal brazier. A security officer grabbed the first lady in line by the arm, pulling her along up to Edwards. "Roll up your sleeve." Edwards commanded, hefting the 'S.D.C.' Brand in a gloved hand.

The lady did so, walking up to him and presenting her arm. Edwards grabbed her arm, holding it firmly in place, staring at her, before he looked down. Pressing the searing hot brand against her arm, Edwards heard her skin begin to cook and burn, smelling awful. The woman had a pained grimace, but continued to stare him in the eye.

Placing the brand back into the brazier, he nodded to one of the security officers, who grabbed her and escorted her away. The next woman in line was not so brave, struggling and shouting to be let go. Two security officers had to grab her by the arms and hold her down, pulling up her shirt to expose her back to Edwards.

He did as he was supposed to, pressing the brand against her smooth back. She screamed in pain, her struggling growing ever weaker as the brand seemed to sap the strength from her. She could barely stand afterwards, having to be dragged away by the two security.

This continued for several minutes; branding, screaming, shouting, dragging. Edwards vaguely acknowledged the sound of multiple people running passed the warehouse, running in the direction of the main mine entrance. Edwards dismissed it. 'Probably just a Grimm got in the courtyard and is running around, terrorizing the workers.' He thought, pushing it out of his mind. When he was approaching the end of the female line, he saw something out of place, compared to the other faunus. It was a smaller girl, barely older than eight or nine, holding a small cat plushie. Her hair was pitch black, and her yellow eyes seemed to pierce right through him. She almost reminded him of his daughter back in Atlas, except this girl was a bit more tanned, and had black cat ears. As the line in front of her dwindled, her eye began to cloud with tears, scared of what they would do to her.

"Sorry kid." Edwards mumbled, as she was escorted up. Grabbing hold of her small arm, he lifted her sleeve, showing her smooth, tanned skin. She was crying by this point, not having the mind to beg for mercy, she was so scared. Grabbing his brand, he went to press it against her skin, when she vanished in a shadow. Startled, he looked around, watching as two other equally surprised security officers picked the girl up off the ground where she had appeared several feet away, dragging her back.

By this point she was wailing, tears streaming down her cheeks, and snot running down her nose, fairly long hair falling in front of her face. Before he could prepare to brand her arm, the sounds of fighting broke out by the other group of faunus; the males. Edwards watched as a red-haired teen, approximately twelve or thirteen, tried to fight towards him, being stopped by several security. The teen fought like the beast he was, thrash, kicking, punching; anything he could do to get to Edwards, his sky-blue eyes burning with hate.

"You can't do this! We're free people, and she's just a little girl!" He shouted, gnashing at the security trying to pin him down, shouting curses at them. Clubbing the security guard in the head, the faunus unclipped the holster at the man's waist, cocking the pistol. Firing several shots into the guard's chest, he pushed the man off of him, trying to shoot the other guards. His rampage was quickly halted when another guard rushed forwards, slamming the stock of his rifle against the teen's head, knocking him back to the ground.

Kicking the pistol away, the guards placed a pair of handcuffs on the teen before dragging him up to Edwards, having completely forgot the little girl, who was now cowering in the arms of the last woman in the line. The man who had been shot was lifted up, being dragged away to the infirmary, his armour managing to block most of the shots. Edwards breathed a sigh of relief, before looking down at the teen, who was blearily look at Edwards' feet, still dazed from the hit to his head. The guard who had knocked him in the head jerked the teen's head back to look up at Edwards, holding the teen by one of two black horns that sprouted from his blood-red hair. "Alright, Murphy." The guard said angrily. "I want you to teach this punk a lesson he'll remember for the rest of his life! Brand him right across the face!".

Edwards did as was said, grabbing the brand, he levelled it with his face, seeing the red glow of the hot metal reflect in the boy's eyes. The boy kept glaring up at him, but repeatedly glanced at the brand as it neared the side of his face. Moments before Edwards pressed the brand to the boy's face, the entire warehouse shook, the windows shattering, and the lights flickering before going out completely. Moments later the emergency lights bathed the room in a red glow. "What's going on?" One of the guards asked, to no reply.

The sounds of shouting and running was heard outside, causing the security officer standing by the door to open it, looking out at what was happening. "You there!" What's going on?" He shouted gruffly to one of the guards running by.

"Something's in the mine! They found something, and it started attacking everyone! The boss ordered all available units to assist." The guard shouted back, hefting his rifle, making sure it was primed.

"Grimm?" The officer at the door asked, only to receive a panicked shrug before the guard ran off to the main entrance of the mine. "Dammit." He muttered, turning to the other security officers still in the warehouse. "Alright, put them back in the truck for now! Half a dozen of you will stay here, and the rest will go and help out in the mine.".

Edwards put his brand back into the brazier, seeing the teen he was about to scar breath a sigh of relief before he was heft onto his feet and dragged back to the cargo truck, where all the other unbranded faunus were being herded into. Securing the lock, six of the guards stood around the truck, keeping watch for anything. Edwards followed the rest of the other security, grabbing his pistol and whip, before running to the mine entrance.

All the lights in front of the mine, and inside, were all either out, or destroyed. The thirty or so security stood outside the entrance, priming their weapons, and turning on flashlights. "Alright, I want short, controlled bursts. If you spot the hostile, call others to your position." The head officer shouted, stepping in front of the group. "This is the only entrance to this shaft, so I want ten of you to stay out here, with weapons trained on the cave, until we return. Don't let anyone out. If more security arrives, let them through." He commanded, a small detachment nodding before they set up a perimeter around the entrance.

Edwards swallowed nervously. He was only supposed to keep workers in line, not charge into mines to fight an unknown hostile. His hand shook as he held his pistol and his whip. Slowly, their group of security entered the cave, flashlights lighting their way.

Nothing looked particularly out of the ordinary. There were the mine carts filled with rock and various types of Dust, various pickaxes that had been dropped by the miners, and some broken glass from the lights that had burst. The cave itself was almost pitch black, the only light being what filtered in from the entrance, which quickly ran out.

As they entered into what looked like a hub area, where several smaller mine shafts snaked off, they came across something disturbing. The room was rather large, with an elevator shaft that ran up to the surface, and several mine carts on tracks throughout the room. The mine elevator itself was in rather rough condition, with the main platform being shredded and the rails broken. What truly disturbed the men the most was that what had once seemed to be another security guard was now crushed inside the winch of the elevator, his rifle mangled and broken, and his white uniform stained with blood.

Edwards took one look at the elevator and knew that it wouldn't operate until he had been removed, and even then, it still might not. "Everyone, split up into groups of four, with each group searching a different. I also want another four of you to stay here. We can't have whatever's in here sneaking behind us." The commander said, heading down one of the shaft followed by three of his men.

Edwards stayed where he was. He wasn't about to go down another mineshaft, in search of something that could kill him, thank you very much. We watched as their large group split apart, slowly spreading down the rocky corridors. It wasn't long before the beams from their flashlights faded out of sight, or went around a corner. Silence overtook their squad as they stood in the dark, flashlights barely enough to dimly light the room.

"So, what do you guys think it was?" One of the other security asked, taking a seat on a small pile of rocks that had yet to be loaded on a cart.

"Probably just some underground Grimm." Another replied, following his colleague's lead, taking a seat. "Heard that's a pretty common thing down in Vale. We probably just came across a large cavern of Creeps, or something.".

"What do you think, Simmons?" The first guard asked. For a moment there was no reply, Edwards thinking that the man just didn't want to comment. "Simmons?" The guard called, shining his light to where his colleague stood, staring down one of the rocky hallways.

"I think I saw something." The man replied, voice wavering slightly. His comment immediately caught the attention of the others, with Edwards shifting away from that specific hall. "Down there." He said, shining his light where he pointed. "About a minute ago; I thought I saw something move in the dark, and when I shined my light, it was gone.".

His colleague looked around the spot with his light, searching carefully. "Nothing. You're probably just letting things get to you." He said, moving to sit back down.

"Wait, stop moving!" Everyone froze, looking at Simmons. The man stood still, looking as if he was listening to something down the hall. "Do you hear that?" He asked. The three of them listened carefully. Now that someone mentioned it, he could almost hear the sounds of…

"Gunfire." The second guard said, eyes widening. The two of them scrambled to their feet, with Edwards inching further away.

They all backed away from the hall, guns aimed at it as they heard what sounded like someone running to them. Rushing around the corner, Edwards almost pulled his trigger when one of the security officers ran into their room from the hallway, his arm limp and bleeding, followed by another guard who was firing wildly behind him. "We got to get out of here!" The injured one shouted. "It's going to kill us if we don't!"

"Calm down! Calm down!" Simmons shouted, trying to shake some sense into the man. "What happened? What is going to kill you?". The man just continued to Babel nonsense, struggling to be let free, and try and get to the exit.

"Simmons, throw a flare down the shaft." The first guard suggested. Simmons nodded his head, making sure there was no exposed Dust that could be ignited, before lighting the red stick and hurling it down the corridor. The hallway was bathed in a flickering red light as they all stared at the shaft.

-Hours Earlier-

All that he knew was darkness. From his earliest memories, to whatever he suffered through now, the darkness was always there. Nothing he could helped him to escape this hell, only causing him more pain. If it wasn't for his one consistent goal to somehow escape, he's sure he would have gone mad long ago.

So, imagine his surprise when he awoke, not to the all consuming darkness, but to a small beam of light. His eyes, having not seen such a thing for so long were still pained by the small ray. He heard something, something he hadn't experienced in so long. The sounds of people shuffling around, talking, and the clink of metal hitting stone.

The loudest of these clinks were closest to him, and with each one, the crack in the wall grew, causing the ray of light to become even larger and stronger. With one massive hit, the entire wall crumbled inwards, spilling onto the ground where he lay. As the rocks hit the ground around him, a shockwave reverberated through the cavern, with popping sounds going down the cave, the light that had pained his eyes going dark.

He slowly rose from the ground, flexing his arms and stretching his back, hearing it crack several times. Looking out of his confines, he saw multiple figures running back and forth, with a small beam of light dancing around the hallway, moving closer to himself. Poking his head out of the hole, he watched as several human-like figures scrambled away, shouting in terror.

The light that was approaching quickened its pace, searching around him. When the light landed on the large hole in the wall, he pulled back, the harsh light burning his eyes. "What was that!" He heard someone shout, with the light creeping towards the hole.

Poking through, it searched the cavern. A ring of runes and sigils were on the ground, looking extremely faded and worn. It was the first time in quite some time that he acknowledged these runes, despising the symbols that seemed to have kept him restrained. The light shined on his legs, showing the dark, ancient clothes that had faded long ago. The light continued to travel up his body, eventually shining in his face.

His reaction was one purely done out of instinct, throwing up his hands, he flinched back, ignoring the pained gasp that came from the light. The light dropped to the floor, as more screaming filled the hallways, with everyone struggling to be the first to leave. As he slowly looked back, he crept out of his cave, looking down at the light.

Crouching down, he picked it up. In his hands was a small metal shaft that had a cone at one end. Out of the cone end shot a strong beam of light wherever he pointed it. Shining it at the wall, he saw what he had done in his panic. The man who had previously been holding the light-stick had been thrown against the rocky wall, a large black spike sticking out of his eye, and pinning him to the wall.

He paid it no mind, instead stumbling down the hallway, crushing the light-stick in his hand. He didn't need it to navigate the cave. Wherever a shadow was, he could sense his path. He continued to stumble along until he came to what looked like a sort of junction in the cave. A wooden platform was in the middle of the room. Two men in white armour stood beside it, holding some sort of metal contraption in their hands, certain parts glowing slightly.

They noticed him immediately, pointing their contraptions at him. "Who are you? What are you doing in here?" One of them shouted, sounding like he was trying to intimidate him. He didn't answer, instead choosing to look around the room. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" He shouted again, pulling a small tab on his contraption that sprung back into place.

He didn't pay it any mind, instead seeing another corridor behind the two men. He ignored the man's shouting, going to walk by them. With a series of loud bangs, and bright flashes of light, he flinched back, watching as his black Aura flared, deflecting whatever hit his chest. He looked up at the two men, who were now seemingly cowing before him. They aimed their contraptions at him again.

He had just enough time to summon a wall before him, made of pure, swirling darkness. He heard their machines ping off the wall, with him safely behind it. When the bangs stopped, he parted the wall slightly, seeing them take out a small box from their contraptions before replacing it with glowing ones. Strange.

As they brought their contraptions up to point at him once more, he shoved his wall forward completely engulfing the one who had been shouting at him. The darkness swirled around him, the man screaming in pain. Slowly, the screams stopped. Letting the darkness disperse, he watched as charred bones dropped to the floor, his armour, clothes, and skin having been melted by his shadows. As his skeleton hit the ground, they seemed to dissolve into ash, floating across the ground before settling.

His companion watched in horror, scrambling to the wooden platform and pulled lever. A whirring noise filled the room as the platform began to ascend, taking the man with it. That wouldn't do. With a wave of his hands, a wave of pure darkness solidified before him, surging at the platform with its terrified occupant. The wave crashed into it, smashing the railings, and sending the man flying off.

He watched as he hit what looked like a form of pulley system. As he hit it, the platform stopped, his contraption dropping to falling from his grasp, but staying suspended by a sling, holding it around his chest. The man shook the daze from his head, before scrambling to get up, only to be kept in place by a pressure on his chest. A glance down showed that his sling had become caught in the pulley system, with his contraption holding him down, and only continuing to get tighter. The man glanced up at the monster before him, frantically searching for anything to save himself. His last thoughts were filled with pain as he was pulled back into the winch of the elevator.

The man stood in place, watching with a neutral expression as his attacker was crushed, the pulley halting completely once he had become entangled in the gears. He simply shrugged, moving down the corridor he intended to go through before he was rudely stopped. They attacked him first, and they paid the price. Walking down the hallway for several minutes, he eventually came to a dead end. His purple eyes flashed dangerously. Slamming his fist into the rock face in a fit of rage, the entire cavern shook, the shadows rippling around him.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he spread his senses out. For several minutes he stood there, feeling his shadows map out the entire cave system. So, he had to head back to the junction, and follow the largest tunnel out to the outside. He also sensed something else. More men with the same contraptions in their hands had made their way inside, spreading out into each tunnel, most likely searching for him.

He knew a group was headed his way, but he paid it no mind, walking back to the junction. His eyes narrowed when he saw several beams of light up ahead, searching the hallway. He pressed himself into the wall, feeling as the shadows moulded around him, hiding him from sight. As the group moved passed, one of them stopped right in front of him. Shining their light on his shadows, he watched as all the others stopped and did the same.

Their lights quickly burned away his shadows, leaving behind himself leaning against the wall. The first one who had stopped was shaking, pointing the contraption at him. The apparent leader of the group slowly approached him, weapon trained at his head. "Get down on the ground, now!" The leader shouted.

He saw no reason to do this. All he wanted to do was to leave this forsaken cave. Being that these men would most likely try to stop him, he decided to strike first. Bringing His hand up in a fist, he watched as his shadowy mist enveloped the man, causing him to scream. The others began to fire off their machines, projectiles bouncing off his Aura. Lunging forward, he rammed his fist through the chest of one of the other men, causing him to gasp once before dying.

The others continued to pour fire at him, to no avail. They scrambled back as he ripped his arm out of their friend, letting the body drop to the ground. Turning to them, he watched as they quickly moved back in the way they came. He chased after, more so because they were going the same way he needed to go.

In their fear driven haste, one had fallen over, struggling to get back up, too scared to think rationally. His friend was certainly brave, as upon noticing his partner having fallen, and seeing him quickly approach, ran at him, contraption raised like a sword. Deciding to humour the terrified soul, he didn't react as he was struck across the head with the contraption, barely reaction in the slightest. The man, if it was even possible, looked even more horrified.

Lashing out, he grabbed the contraption from the man's hands, feeling the metal crumple in his hands. He swiped his hand, sending a solid shadow at the man, slicing a large gash in his flesh. His friend, who had by now gotten back to his feet, grabbed his partner by the shoulder, pulling him back as he continued to fire his machine at his chest, still to no reaction.

The two rushed off, with the second man continuing to fire randomly in his direction. He knew he was being a bit too brutal, but shrugged it off. That was for later contemplation. Continuing to follow the path, he stopped near the entrance to the junction, staring at the small red stick on the ground. Unlike the metal one from before, this one looked to be made out of a form of paper, and spewed a red flame.

He reached out with his shadows, plucking it from the ground. The flame gave off quite the amount of heat, and a decent amount of light. He heard shouts of fear from up ahead. Glancing to the noises, he saw several other men, all dressed like the previous ones. Each one looked to be shaking in fear, and held whatever weapon they all had, one even wielding a whip.

Extinguishing the red fire stick, he strode forwards, smiling as all the men flinched back in fear. "Now," his deep voice spoke, causing even more fear to permeate the air. "I do apologize for the fates of your colleagues, but I did what I must. Now, if one of you gentlemen would be so kind, I will be on my way, and leave you be?" He asked. It sounded like a fair deal to him.

The one who he had injured before nodded rapidly. "T-that way! Just follow the tunnel out and go!" He shouted, pointing to the tunnel to his left.

He nodded his head once in thanks. "Your honesty is much appreciated, now, if you'll excuse me." He said, turning down the hall.

He heard them shuffling behind him, quietly arguing amongst themselves. One of them seemed to lose his nerve, the others shouting at him. "Murphy, don't!".

Edwards didn't know why he had attacked it. Perhaps it was his pride, his fear, or a combination of multiple other things. All he knew was that he knew that it would never have let them go; not with what it had done to the others. He did the only thing he knew how to do, using his whip.

They were too late to stop the overweight man, as he brought his arm back, then shot it forwards, his whip aimed for the neck of the monster before them. Edwards' eyes widened when the thing spun around in less than a blink, grabbing the whip end out of the air. Its eyes narrowed, purple flames seeming to dance in its iris's. "Trying to attack me when I showed you mercy, and when my back was turned?" It asked slowly. With a quick jerk of its hand, it yanked the whip forwards, with Edwards flying along with it. Catching the large man by the neck, it lifted him into the air with one arm, staring intently into the frightened man's eyes. "You are truly without honour." It growled.

The others did nothing as he choked the scoundrel, eyes locked on one another. Slowly, black mist drifted off his hand, floating around his head. The men who he had encountered in the tunnel shouted, scrambling away. He ignored them, watching as the man choked and gasped for air. A twisted glint filled his eye, smirking slightly. The mist slowly drifted together, slowly floating into the man's mouth, the man's eyes growing even wider.

Dropping him on the floor, he watched for several moments as his mist did its job. His skin quickly darkened, with blood pouring out of his eyes, ears, and nose. The man continued to thrash on the ground, making pained noises. Glancing up at the terrified men, he simply turned around. "Don't touch your friend there, or else you will share in his fate." He warned, walking down the hall.

He continued to walk, the darkness of the cave slowly becoming brighter and brighter. Stepping out of the entrance to the cave, he watched as ten men scrambled to their feet, pointing their weapons at him. "Father, they do like those annoying things, don't they?" He muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms. "Look, I will give you the same offer I gave your colleagues in there." He said, pointing his thumb back at the cave. "If you let me go without making a fuss, I will spare you. If you choose to fight? Well… I can't be blamed for your fates."

They seemed to still at his words. They had heard the noises from inside the caves, but didn't put much thought into it. They assumed he had been dealt with, and hadn't expected him to walk out perfectly fine. They looked around at one another, each one seeming to come to the same conclusion. "You're lying." One of them stated. He frowned. He most certainly was not lying. "Fire!". Their weapons all began to shoot, their projectiles doing nothing but making his Aura flare.

With a swipe of his arm, all the firing stopped, a tendril of shadow hovering in the air. The men dropped to the ground, each one trying to stop the blood flowing from the gashes in their necks. "I did warn you." He said, stepping over the writhing bodies. He walked around the area. All the buildings were made from metal, and there were small windows in the side of them. He approached the largest of the buildings, hearing something within.

Adam smacked the stock of the rifle against the last guards head, knocking the man unconscious. He took a deep breath sitting back. One of the faunus that he had been trapped in the truck with had been a locksmith at their village, and used a hairpin from the little girl to help unlock his handcuffs.

Once he had been freed, he had gotten some of them men to hit him. It had been a pain to convince them, but they eventually caved in once he explained his Semblance. It still hurt, but he had used that pain and energy to blow a large hole in the truck door where he knew the lock was. Then, him and the other male faunus had rushed the guards, disarming and subduing the men.

He picked up the man's rifle, and stood back up, leaving the guard on the ground. Their attention was drawn to the door of the building when the door was blown off its hinges, landing somewhere on the other side of the room. He aimed his gun at the figure that stepped in. It was clearly a male, standing well over six feet tall. His clothes looked rather odd, appearing extremely old in design, and the black and purple colours rather faded. His skin was quite pale, and his eyes were a dark purple. He looked rather muscular, but not over excessive. Adam could tell that he was much stronger than he appeared.

"W-who are y-you?" Adam asked the intimidating man, shakily. He didn't reply, instead striding forwards. "Don't come any closer!" Adam shouted, the barrel of his gun wavering heavily. Everyone else in the room who was armed was doing the same thing. Adam backed up as the man got closer. "I don't want to hurt you!".

The man seemingly stopped, cocking his head to the side, and looking down at Adam. "Calm yourself, child. I mean you no harm." He said, smiling softly.

Adam was no fool, but he could see the honesty in the man's eyes. He didn't drop his weapon completely, but he did lower the gun, with everyone else following suit, not wanting to antagonize the powerful man. "S-Sir?" A tiny voice asked. Adam looked over his shoulder. It was the young girl that he had fought to keep from being branded. Her hair still fell over her face, as if she was trying to hide from everyone's view. "Are y-you here to save us?" She asked hesitantly, as if her asking would cause him to lash out.

The man merely smiled even softer, kneeling down on one knee. "Yes, little one. I will save you.". His statement made the little girl smile, pushing her hair out of her face, some of it falling back. "Tell me, little one. What is your name?" He asked, smiling.

Blake shifted her weight back and forth, looking at the ground shyly, glancing up at him every so often. "Blake." She replied quietly, holding her cat plushie closely to her chest.

The man hummed happily. "Blake? That's a lovely name." He said, causing the young girl to thank him quietly, her hair falling in front of her face. "Blake, I have a gift for you."

The girl looked up at him in both excitement and trepidation. "You do?" She asked, perking up.

"Uh huh." He replied. "Just come over here, please." He asked. Blake stood there for a moment, glancing at Adam, who was the closest person there to her age. Adam didn't know what to do, only shrugging. It was her choice.

As she slowly walked up to him, he smiled gently. "Here; watch this." He said. Blake, as well as all the other faunus, watched in amazement as he held out his hand. The shadows from around the room seemed to rush forward, and gathered in his palm. He then dipped his fingers in the shadows, slowly pulling out what looked like a long ribbon from it. Blake was in awe at the magic. She thought that magic was only in the books her mom would read to her. "Here, let me." The man said, reaching up to her head. Pulling the troublesome locks of hair out of her face, he tucked them behind her head. He then proceeded to tie the ribbon around her hair, making a small, black bow on the side of her right temple, right above her ear. "There you go, Blake. Do you like it?" He asked, smiling still.

"I love it!" The little girl cheered, giving him a quick hug, surprising the man. Pulling back, she looked at his clothes and figure, noticing how odd it looked. "You're dressed kinda funny, mister." She said, confused. Looking at him in the eyes, she smiled. "What's your name?"

Chuckling slightly, the man stood up, patting the girl on the head. "Well, my real name is Perseus, but my friends just called me Percy. You can call me that if you like." The now named Perseus offered, earning an enthusiastic head nod.

One of the faunus men warily approached them, showing no hostility. Though his soft actions with the little girl had eased their tensions, they couldn't afford to take any chances. "I'm not sure what your business is here, mister, but we could use you help." The faunus asked, his tone neutral.

Perseus quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? With what do you need me for?" He asked, still sounding like he was talking to children.

"Well," the man responded. "We don't nearly have the ammunition to fight off any Grimm that may attack us on our way back to our village, even if we take the trucks. We were hoping that you could escort us back home." The man asked, hopefully. "If not, you don't have to, its just I-"

"I'll do it, on one condition." Perseus replied, cutting off the other man. "Once we arrive, you will give me refuge until I can leave for my home."

The faunus man looked back at the other faunus. They all seemed to agree that it was fair to do so. They wouldn't last long if the Grimm attacked them on their way back, guns or not. "It's a deal, then." The man said, extending his hand.

"Good." Perseus simply replied, shaking his hand. Turning on his heel, Perseus strode out of the building. "Get in your 'truck'. I will follow you." He said, walking out into the snow.

They went out and gathered in the other transport truck, this time taking several coats to warm themselves. Once they were all ready, they pulled out of the docking bay, with the man Perseus had been talking to driving. "How are you going to follow us? You can't do it on foot?" The man asked, confused at their escort.

"Give me one moment." He replied, walking away from the building. Bringing his hand up to his mouth, he let out an extremely sharp whistle, cutting through the noise of the wind. For several moments, nothing happened, as those in the cabin of the truck watched the mysterious man. They let out a shout of shock and fear when a large Nevermore landed right in front of the man. Perseus didn't even flinch, reaching up to the large Grimm bird's head. "Shhh." He whispered. "Calm yourself."

The Nevermore bowed its head, glowing red eyes staring at him. Perseus stared right back. The bird closed its eyes, submitting to the pressure on its mind, bowing even lower, and tucking in its wings to let him climb on. Hopping up onto the grand bird's neck, he gripped some feathers on the base of its skull, using them as reins. He looked over to the truck, and the equally parts amazed and terrified man. "Well? Shall we?" Perseus asked.

The man numbly nodded, watching as the bird took flight, taking the man with it. Putting the truck in gear, he slowly pulled out of the seemingly deserted mining facility. The truck jerked as it rammed through the South Gate, before slowly gaining speed. As the snow whipped by, there was one thing on the man's mind.

'Just what had they agreed to bring to their village?'

So, what did you think?

It definitely turned out a lot darker than I had originally intended, but I'm quite happy with it. But that's just me, what did you think?

Now, if you haven't already guessed, this takes place quite a few years before the initial events of RWBY. I have also wanted to do a story where Adam plays a bigger role for awhile, and I thought that this would be the perfect fit for him. Now, I know that Percy seems a little bit OP, and rather ruthless right now, but I will remedy that in the next few chapters.

So, how do you think I did? Good? Bad? Excellent? Absolutely abhorrent? Consider telling me through the lovely, and convenient, use of the review button! Just please keep it PG-13, as anything more makes you look like a jerk. If you liked this story, and aren't out for my blood due to postponing RotS, consider following and favouriting the story so that you know when I update!

That's all for now. This is Canadian Admiral signing off.