The last chapter went on for way longer than I thought it would, that's for sure. And also, I wasn't expecting that to be a Drake chapter. I honestly though i'd be doing this chapter before it. I guess my memory of volume 4 isn't as good as I thought it was. Oh well. But now, we get to the chapter I thought I was going to do! And we get to be introduced to what might be the best villain left in RWBY to date. And don't forget, i'm releasing the first chapter to my first ever original series "Predator Squad" very soon. Go check it out if you're interested. But for now, enjoy!

-Point of View: Amber-

The weeks just went by and it just felt like Mistral was getting father and farther away. But the five of us always tried to stay as positive as ever. "Another day, another adventure!" Nora said as we were continuing down a path to the next village. We were a few days out from civilization. Today was a gloomier day than most, looking like it might rain on us. "What's on the agenda, today?" Ruby asked Jaune who was reading the map. "Walking!" Jaune said encouragingly. "With a side of...?" Nora asked. "More walking." Ren said as Ruby let out a sigh. "Haven is a lot farther away than I thought." She said as I grew curious. "How long did you think this journey would take?" I asked her as she flipped out a bit. "I don't know! I grew up in a small area; I've never been this far away form home." She explained. "Right, but... how long?" Jaune asked. "Maybe like, uh... Two weeks?" Ruby said as we all just looked at her. "What!?" Me and Jaune said at the same time. "Okay fine, three or something! Look, whatever." Ruby said as we dropped the conversation. I looked forward but I saw something... interesting in the distance. "Hey, what's that?" I said, pointing to what looked like a village. "That's strange... I didn't think we'd be hitting another village for a few days." Jaune said, looking at the map. "Are those buildings.... damaged?" Nora asked, trying to get a closer look. "We should search for survivors!" Jaune said as the five of us ran for the village. 

When we arrived, it looked like a ghost town. We all spread out to see if we could find anyone but there was nothing. No dead bodies, no burned down buildings, no skeletons... just nothing. "Anything!?" Ruby yelled out to us. "Nothing over here!" I yelled as I looked through a few buildings. Just seeing this village reminded me of my own. All the people were gone. The five of us quickly gathered back together and we all came up short in our searches. "It almost seems like the town was abandoned." Ren said as we continued to walk through the village. We came to what looked like a sign in the middle of the street. It was all dusty, and Nora brushed it off. "Oniyuri? Never heard of it." She said as the name sounded familiar to me. "I have." Ren said. "And so have I." I said as everyone looked at us. "Think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed." I explained as I looked over to Ren. "Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city. With their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own kingdom. Many thought it would be the future. I know my parents did." Ren explained as he walked over to a ledge and brushed the dust off of it. "What happened?" Ruby asked. "What always happens..." I said as I put my head down. "The Grimm..." Jaune said as Ren turned around to face us. I saw him clench his fists in anger. "Not just any one." He said, making me think he knew what Grimm did all this. "One?" Ruby asked him but he gave no answer. "Come on. Let's just get through here. This place gives me the creeps." Jaune said as we all slowly continued our way through the empty village. Ren took the lead, still looking angry over the thought of a single Grimm. 

We made it to around the centre of the village when Ren stopped us all. He held his hand straight out and we all froze. "What's wrong?" I asked him as he began to pull his weapons out. The rest of us did the same, as we knew he could feel the presence of something in the area. And then, jumping off the top of a building, came a man who landed in front of all of us, about 30 feet away. He brought out two weapons, a pair of blades which attached to either sides of his hands. He had a brown hair in the style of a braided ponytail, as well as a dark brown trench coat with a white outfit underneath, and black boots. 

He ran for us all, laughing like a maniac. Ren intercepted him first, locking blades with the man. But the mysterious man swept one of his legs and made Ren lose balance. He then kicked Ren away and over to an empty fountain. The man then leaped onto the end of Ruby's scythe and kicked her in the face. She landed back on her feet and attempted to slice away at the man. But he easily dodged her attack and kicked her away from him. The man then turned to Jaune and he jumped right up onto his shield. He put his face right up to Jaune's as Nora came in from behind. She tried to hit the man with her hammer but he jumped away in time to avoid her. The man then landed near me and he attempted to kick me in the chest. I quickly activated my semblance as he struck me. I stood my ground, barely feeling the effect of his attack. The man looked confused as I grabbed his leg. "That's not gonna work on me! Now leave us alone!" I said as I threw the man away from me. He crashed through the wall of a building, creating a small cloud of dust. But when it cleared, the man looked fine, suspended in the air, doing the splits between two support beams. "We're not looking for a fight!" Jaune said as the man continued to laugh. "Who are you?" Ren asked him. The man then jumped out of the building and landed in front of us. "Who I am matters not to you... or you..." The man said, pointing to Ren and Nora. "...Or... Well, you two do interest me." The man said, pointing to me and Jaune. "No, I only matter... to you." The creepy man said, now pointing at Ruby. "Me?" She asked as the man began to laugh again. "You... You haven't the slightest clue, do you? Oh, how exciting this must be!" The man said. "What do you want?" Ruby said, rather angrily. "Oh, the rose has thorns! My little flower, i'm here to whisk you away with me!" The man explained as we all gathered close to Ruby. "Well, what if she doesn't want to go with you?" I asked the man with a serious tone. "Well... I'll just take her, then." The man explained. "We're not gonna let you do that." Jaune said as he held up his weapons. "...Good..." The man said as he disappeared in the blink of an eye. 

He quickly reappeared behind Jaune and he was holding up the blades on his hands. "Jaune! Duck!" Ren yelled as Jaune dropped to his knees. Ren opened fire on the man but the man ran away again. He stopped next to Jaune again but Jaune was ready. He swept his blade around but the man jumped over it and landed on Jaune's shield again. The man was doing a hand stand on it and waving his legs around. Ruby tried to get in close but she was kicked away. The man then flipped off of Jaune's shield and used the bottom of his boot to hit Jaune in the head. "Let's see how he likes this!" I thought as I loaded electric type Dust into my weapons. I then extended my blades using their chains and I watched as the chains and blades glowed a bright yellow colouring. "Hey, creepy! Over here!" I yelled as the man faced me. "Oh, the fox wishes to play! Goody!" The man said as he made a dash for me. I began flailing around my blades, doing everything I can to hit the man. If I hit him, he would get stunned from the electricity. But he was dodging every attempt I made to hit him. He was getting closer and closer to me. I figured it was no use at this point so I dropped my weapons and activated my semblance. "Whoopsy! Don't want that to happen again!" The man said as he jumped over me as I went to strike him. He landed behind me and he slashed me with the blades on his hands. I was fine thanks to my semblance but it drained my aura. The man then landed a hard kick to my back which sent me flying into a wall. The man then turned to Nora who was standing in place, ready to use her hammer. The man began to Run for her but behind him stood Ruby. I could see she had a magazine of electric Dust loaded into her weapon. She fired off a shot but it went right past the man and it struck Nora. The man stopped and started to laugh again. "Well! If that isn't ironic!" The man said as he turned around to face Ruby. But as he turned away, we all saw Nora stand up, her hammer in her hands, and the electricity being absorbed into her body. She was now using her semblance to amp up her power and speed, and she was ready to take out this guy with one hit. 

Nora bolted for the man as he went to turn around. When he looked back, Nora wasn't there anymore. She was now in front of the man, swinging her hammer at him. She struck him with so much force, it kicked up the dust in the area. But when the dust cleared, our hopes sank. The man was able to easily block the attack with something that none of us expected. He had a scorpion tail. He kicked Nora away and said "Surprise!" He then threw off his trench coat and flipped up onto a ledge. "He's... a Faunus!?" Ren said as we were all taken back a bit. "What is this about!? The White Fang!? Roman Torchwick!?" Ruby asked the man. "Plastic soldiers and pawns! My heart and body belong only to our goddess!" The man explained as Ruby clenched her fists. "Cinder..." She said as the man once again started to laugh. "Only in her wildest dreams!" The man yelled as he launched himself over to us. He landed in between me, Jaune, Ren and Nora and he spun his leg around, kicking us all and sending us sliding across the ground. The man then attacked Ruby, delivering a flurry of punches and kicks to her. Ruby was too slow to do anything. The man finished it up with a hard kick to her gut which sent Ruby sliding on her side along the ground. The man walked up to her and held his scorpion tail over his shoulder, looking like he was going to use it on Ruby. But as he thrusted it forward, someone broke through a building and intercepted the attack. Appearing before us all was Ruby's uncle, Qrow. He blocked the attack by turning his back and using his sword which he held behind him. "Hey." Qrow said as he turned around to face the mysterious man. He pulled out his sword and readied himself to fight. 

"As I live and breath! Qrow Branwen. A true Huntsman has entered the fray!" The man said as he giggled to himself. Qrow then glanced over at all of us, looking a little confused. "I don't know. This guy's weird." Ruby said as Qrow looked back at the man. "Look pal, i'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone." Qrow said with a serious tone. The man kept giggling and said "Why, friend, my name is Tyrian. And i'm afraid that is not possible. My assignment from her Grace was to retrieve this young girl. So, that is what I must do. One does not upset the queen." Tyrian explained as everyone grew confused. "Queen?" Ruby asked. "Salem." Qrow said. "Who?" Ruby asked. "Look, I think we've had enough talk now, don't you?" Tyrian said as he crouched down. "You took the words right out of my mo-" Qrow began to say as Tyrian lunged t him. They both began to clash with their blades, making small shock waves with every clash. Tyrian would flip away and then go in for another strike while Qrow would keep rushing forward, delivering powerful hits with his huge sword. Qrow flipped straight up into the air and spun as he came back down. Tyrian stayed in place and met his attack which shattered a portion of the ground. They locked their blades together and gave each other creepy smiles. But Tyrian suddenly hit a switch on his weapons, revealing gun barrels on them. Qrow jumped away as Tyrian opened fire on him. Qrow was able to easily block the bullets using his sword. Tyrian was simply running circles around him, shooting at him the whole time. We all looked at each other and held up our weapons, ready to help out Qrow. Ren and Nora went in first but Tyrian saw them coming. He dropped to his knees as both of them swung their weapons over top of him. Tyrian then flipped up and landed on his hands, spinning on them and kicking Nora and Ren away. Tyrian then made a rush for the rest of us but Qrow intercepted him halfway. "Don't come closer!" Qrow said as he started to push back Tyrian. "Fine!" Ruby said as she ran for a building. She used her scythe to launch herself up the side of it. She then took aim with her weapon, waiting for the right opportunity. 

Tyrian was definitely more on the offensive, using a mix of his blades, bullets, and scorpion tail to attack Qrow. Tyrian thrusted his tail at Qrow but seemed to miss as it went right past his head. But as Tyrian brought it back, he wrapped it around Qrow's right arm and forced him to let go of his weapon. Tyrian then threw the sword away using his tail and embedded it into a wall. Tyrian went on to laugh at Qrow but he was cut off when a gun shot went past his his face. Ruby was shooting from the top of the building she was on. But it was proving to be ineffective as Tyrian easily blocked all the shots using his tail without looking. He turned his attention away from Qrow for only a few seconds, but it was enough for Qrow to capitalize. He cracked his fists and then landed a solid punch to Tyrian's face. Tyrian stumbled backwards and he let out a cry of pain. Qrow followed up the attack with more punches, some to his face and some to his chest and gut. Qrow then kicked Tyrian away and sent him sliding across the ground. But Tyrian was able to stay standing on his feet. Qrow began to walk past Tyrian, keeping his eyes on him the whole time. Tyrian was just staying in place, crouching on the ground, looking back at Qrow. Qrow was able to walk up to his weapon in the wall and he placed his hand on the grip. But, that's when Tyrian went in for another attack. He lunged at Qrow again but Qrow dodged by literally jumped onto his sword as it was stuck in the wall. Qrow then hit a trigger on his weapon, morphing the blade into a scythe. He pulled it out of the wall and jumped over Tyrian, landing on the top of a building. Qrow then turned his weapon back into a sword as Tyrian jumped after him. They locked blades again and Tyrian was able t push Qrow near the edge of the roof they were fighting on. But Qrow pushed back and began to run over to another side of the building. Tyrian decided to jump after him but when he landed, he fell right through the roof. But he wasn't done yet. We saw his tail reach up and wrap around Qrow's leg. He pulled him down with him and the two of them left our sight. 

Ruby then jumped down from the building she was on and started running near the building where her uncle and Tyrian were brawling. The two of them broke through a wall, Qrow sliding on his feet on the ground, using his sword to slow him down. Tyrian ran after him and we all could see their aura start to flicker, meaning they were running low. Tyrian leaped at Qrow but Ruby jumped in between them and intercepted Tyrian. "Ruby, no!" I yelled but Ren held me back from running. "Do you wish to be taken!?" Tyrian asked Ruby. "No! But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!" Ruby said as she and Qrow charged Tyrian. They both locked blades with him but Tyrian was able to kick Qrow away. Tyrian then thrusted his scorpion tail at Ruby who was left wide open. Luckily for her, Qrow jumped back in and deflected Tyrian's attack. "Ruby, what did I say!? Get back!" Qrow demanded but Ruby stayed in place. "This is my fight, too!" She yelled as she ran behind Tyrian and swung her scythe. "No, it's not that! It's-" Qrow began to say but he was pushed away by Tyrian as Ruby went for another attack. Tyrian then hit Ruby with a drop kick but she stayed on her feet. But what she didn't know was that a part of the building behind her was beginning to collapse. A support beam began to fall and Ruby didn't notice it. Thankfully, Qrow rushed in and sliced the beam in two, saving Ruby. But... he was left open from saving her. Tyrian capitalized by slashing the right side of Qrow's chest with the end of his scorpion tail. Qrow let out a painful grunt and Tyrian started to laugh at his pain. Ruby then quickly placed her scythe over Tyrian's tail and fired her weapon. The force was enough so that her scythe cut through Tyrian's tail, severing off the end of it. Tyrian began to scream in pain as he stumbled away from all of us. "You bitch!" Tyrian said as the rest of us stood in between him and Ruby and Qrow. Tyrian then started to look afraid, putting his hands and arms close to his body. "She'll forgive you." He said as he ran away from us and out of the village. We were all able to lower our weapons finally. I looked back at Qrow and I watched as he fell to his knees. "Uncle Qrow, are you okay!?" Ruby asked as she put away her weapon. We all did the same and rushed over to him. He was panting heavily and his wound was starting to bleed. "I'll.. be fine. He just grazed me." Qrow said as he tried to stand back up. "Who was that guy?" Nora asked. "How did you get here?" I asked. "Why are people after Ruby?" Jaune asked him as Qrow stopped us. "Uncle Qrow? What's going on?" Ruby asked him as he continued to pant heavily. "What's your favourite fairy tale?" Qrow asked as Ren and Jaune helped him to stand. "We'll save the chit-chat for later. Let's just find somewhere safe to camp first. It's gonna be dark soon, and i'd prefer to know we're safe from people like that guy." I said as everyone agreed with me. The six of us then left the empty village in search of a camp. But i'm sure on all our minds were the same questions. Who was that guy? What did he want with Ruby? And who is this Salem person that Qrow was talking about?