Chapter 3

XXXX

It has been approximately a week after Jaune, or more appropriately dubbed, Lucifer had gained superiority over Salem's inner circle. During this week, Watts too had arrived but due to his loyal nature, and lack of fighting capabilities, he quickly swore loyalty to Lucifer.

Along with that, the past week has been dedicated to preparing Lucifer to depart and head to the White Fang operation in Vale to take control of operations. Cinder had been tasked with briefing him and bringing him up to speed with the mission as of recently, and to be blunt, he was unimpressed.

He had expected so much more from Cinder as Salem painted her as a mastermind but he felt as though she wasn't doing all that she could, he would be sure to rectify that when he arrived.

Currently, several large Grimm were loading the airship Cinder had stolen to make the trip to Salem's citadel with any goods that Lucifer or Cinder would need during their extended period away from the Grimmlands, Lucifer himself was overseeing the movement of equipment personally to ensure its proper completion.

While he was observing the Grimm, he noticed Cinder approaching him from behind but ignored her as he was more concerned with the Grimm than the partial Fall Maiden.

"Master, the Grimm are nearly complete the loading of the ship, we will be ready for departure in the hour," Cinder said as she bowed her head to Lucifer, watching his feet turn toward her, feeling his gaze on the back of her head.

"Very good, be sure you are prepared, we leave the moment we are ready, dismissed," Lucifer said as he turned back around to survey the Grimm, not sparing Cinder another moment of her time.

Cinder buckled slightly at how cold he was to her, she absolutely loved it. Before she could say a thing, however, Salem walked up behind her, making her straighten up her form, showing her respect.

"I must say, I am impressed at how well you've got Cinder around your finger, she never showed such a side to me after I took her in," Salem said with an impressed look on her face, making Lucifer turn around and look at his Grimm wife.

"Thank you, my love, it is thanks to the power you granted me," Lucifer said with a bow of his head, making Salem grin slightly. "Despite all that I've given you, you seem rather… eager to depart. You don't want to leave me that, desperately do you?" Salem said with a sly smirk on her face.

Lucifer only kneeled before her and took her hand, kissing the back of it. "Never, my love, my loyalties are to you, and you alone. I only wish to depart quickly in order to begin our conquest of this world," Lucifer said as he looked up at Salem with a fire in his eyes, making her smile.

"Know this, my love, if you wish for my return you only have to ask and I will be back in moments. I swear to you," Lucifer said as he bowed his head, still on his knee. "A rather fitting way of putting things," Salem said as she opened her hand and revealed a parasitic Grimm.

"This is a neurological Grimm, I have one just like this on my brain and when this one attaches itself to yours, we will be able to communicate no matter where either of us are," Salem said as she placed the small Grimm in the hand Lucifer extended.

The moment the Grimm made contact with Lucifer's hand, it ran up the side of his head and slid into his ear, making him wince slightly but he withstood it and felt when it attached itself to his brain.

"Thank you, my love," Jaune said as he stood up and looked back at Cinder, "Cinder, are we ready to depart?" Lucifer asks Cinder in a sharp tone, making her blush slightly. "Yes, master, we depart the moment you order it," Cinder said as she bowed her head, not seeing the smile on Lucifer's face.

"Excellent, then let us depart," Lucifer said before turning back to Salem. Salem quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and gave Lucifer a deep kiss, her tongue invading his mouth. The two only separating for air as the kiss lasted so long they almost ran out.

Salem wore a wicked smile as she stared at Lucifer, "I await your triumphant return, my King," Salem said as took Lucifer's hand. He took a step back from the Queen of the Grimm and bowed, "Yes, my Queen," Lucifer said as he walked towards the ship.

Cinder was about to follow Lucifer; however, she was beckoned by Salem as she saw a Beowolf walked away from her. "Yes, my Lady?" Cinder asked as she watched Salem extend a hand to Cinder, inside it was an earpiece of sorts. "This is a gift for my Lucifer, I had Watts procure it and I do believe it will help him greatly, give it to him for me," Salem said as she handed the object to Cinder.

"Of course," Cinder said as she bowed and walked towards Lucifer who had taken his seat in the airship.

Cinder quickly took her seat beside him and took off, leaving Salem to watch Lucifer depart, knowing that he would succeed where she had failed in the past.

XXXX

As Cinder and Lucifer flew through the sky, they both marveled at the view as it was a rather breathtaking one.

"A splendid view indeed, a shame that we must burn it to the ground," Lucifer said with a small smile and his eyes glowing slightly.

Before Cinder could say anything, a beeping came from the controls, "Auto-pilot has been engaged, we can now roam the ship freely, Master," Cinder said as she released the controls, watching Lucifer get up and walk to the back of the ship.

Cinder quickly followed her new master to the back of the ship, "Master," Cinder said as she ran up behind him, making him turn around and look at her with a stern glare. "What is it?" Lucifer asks as he stared down at the black-haired woman.

"Master, I have a gift for you, from Mistress Salem, she gave it to me to give to you before we departed," Cinder said as she cupped her hands and raised the item as she bowed her head. Lucifer eyed the object oddly before taking it into his hand.

"What is this? An earpiece of sorts?" Lucifer said as he placed the earpiece in his ear and the moment he did a robotic voice came on.

'To activate helmet, nod head,' the robotic voice said. Lucifer followed its instructions and nodded his head and within seconds, the earpiece began to spread around his head, forming a large helmet. A mask appeared, a large metal plate covering from the top of his nose, down to the bottom of his chin where it meets the bottom of the helmet.

The helmet continued to wrap around his head, covering the back and top of his skull, encasing his head entirely. Out of the top of the helmet came two robotic eyes that the moment they hooked onto the face place, they shone a bright red.

From inside the helmet, a large Heads-Up-Display appeared, analyzing everything around him. He looked down at Cinder who stepped back due to the intimidating look of the helmet. The main colour of the helmet was jet black, only the face plate and upper parts of the helmet were grey, to allow for a distinction between helmet and mask.

"Mistress Salem said that she had Watts begin preparations for this after his return from his previous mission. She said that it will aid you in your efforts," Cinder said as she looked up at the bright red eyes of Lucifer.

"Watts, I have known him for only a week and he continues to impress me. I must inform him of his excellent work on this… fine piece of equipment," Lucifer said, noticing a change in his voice. "And when I thought he couldn't deliver anything else," Lucifer said with a smile underneath his mask.

"Master, your voice it sounds so… so… sexy," Cinder said as she buckled and fell towards into Lucifer's chest looking up at his piercing gaze. "I wouldn't mind doing many amazing things to you with that helmet on, not that I wouldn't do anything without it on," Cinder said with a lust-filled tone as she rubbed his chest in small circles with her right index finger.

She was soon stopped when Jaune grabbed her hand and removed it from his person, "Enough, return to the controls and prepare for our landing, at once," Lucifer said with a demanding tone, his eyes shining brighter when he put emphasis on the last two words.

Cinder almost had an orgasm when he said that as her chest began to heave as a mad blush ran across her face before she took a step back, "Of course, Master," Cinder said as she turned around and walked away with shaky legs as they wobbled and she left a small trail of her fluids on the way back to the cockpit.

After Cinder had made her way back into the cockpit, Lucifer went over to a small window and looked out at the city of Vale, looking down at it with a look of disgust.

"I can't believe I ever wanted to fight for such a pitiful city. Before I saw potential, now all I see is garbage, waiting to be tossed aside," Lucifer thought to himself as he walked back into the cockpit as they began their descent.

A few moments later, they had landed and several White Fang grunts ran onto the ship and took the crates of supplies, rushing them into the warehouse. Lucifer watched them with his helmet remaining on, slightly frightening the grunts, making them want to get off of the ship even faster.

Lucifer and Cinder walked down the ramp off of the airship and walked towards the warehouse where the White Fang were working away, Lucifer made a mental note that despite their human side, these faunus worked quite tirelessly, showing their loyalty to their cause.

As the two of them made their way through the warehouse, they finally arrived at Roman's office. Not caring to knock, Lucifer opened the door and saw Roman sitting in his chair, smoking a cigar with his scroll in his other hand.

"Sweet mother of Oum, haven't you animals ever heard of knocking?!" Roman said as he turned around with a scowl on his face, only for it to disappear as he saw Cinder and Lucifer at the door. The scowl disappeared and was replaced with a much calmer look, "So, who is this? Boytoy? Boyfriend? Fiancé, even? Man, you leave for a week and tie the knot, you work fast," Roman said in a humourous manner, making Cinder blush at all those possible scenarios while Lucifer's eyes on shone bright red as he stomped over to Roman.

Lucifer stopped directly before Roman, his face inches away from the orange-haired thieves, "Listen here you bottom feeder, I am no boy toy of hers, nor am I in any form of relationship with her for I am her master, and I expect nothing but your absolute loyalty. Do you understand? Do you?!" Lucifer roared as he leaned into Roman's face, their faces nearly touching.

"Well when you put it like that it makes it almost certain to me that you're her boyfriend, sheesh, no need to hide it, man," Roman said as he patted Lucifer's shoulder slightly.

That was a mistake.

Lucifer grabbed Roman's arm before the orange-haired man realized he had moved and began to crush the appendage as he held it in a grip tighter than anything Roman had felt before. He hissed slightly through his teeth as he felt the very veins in his arm begin to be crushed under the vice grip.

"Allow me to make myself perfectly clear, Roman, I understand your role in our operations here and I do believe you to be an intellectual of sorts otherwise we would have never allowed you our time. With that in mind, you should be smart enough to know that you are very replaceable and if I ever learn that you intend to thwart my efforts, I will kill you, slowly, painfully and for long enough to make you reconsider every life choice you ever made," Lucifer said as he continued to crush the criminal's arm.

Cinder was in the back, staring at the scene of her master, Lucifer, making Roman squirm as he forced the orange-haired criminal onto his knees. "This is so hot," Cinder thought to herself as she ran a finger across her tongue and her other hand cupped her breast.

"You could have gone to anyone else for this, yet you chose me, you need me whether you like it or not!" Roman yelled as he felt the bone in his arm nearly break like a twig.

"You're right, we could have gone to anyone else, we merely needed someone to do the basic work we cannot be bothered with but you were fortunate enough to be chosen," Lucifer said as he threw Roman's arm onto the ground and before Roman could recover, Lucifer mercilessly stepped on the arm on the same spot he held it a moment ago.

As Roman thrashed under Lucifer's foot, the Grimm King leaned over top of Roman's head, looking him in the eyes, "Perhaps you will learn to be more obedient, if I remove that tongue of yours," Lucifer said as he transformed his right arm into a Beowolves claw.

"What the fuck?!" Roman yelled, shocked at the inhuman feat that occurred before him, "What are you?!" Roman yelled as he desperately tried to escape.

"He is the King of the Grimm, Roman, and I would advise you to do what he says, he has a tendency to be quite, merciless," Cinder said, moaning a bit on the last word.

Roman stared up at Lucifer's descending claw, "You must swear your absolute loyalty to me, otherwise you will never make a sound again," Lucifer said as he glared down at Roman, the helmet's eyes shining red, burning into Roman's eyes as if they were laser pointers.

As Lucifer got closer to his face and his boot grounded up Roman's arm even more, on the verge of breaking, Roman finally snapped, "Alright, alright! I'll do it! I swear my loyalty to you, King of Grimm!" Roman screamed with tears in his eyes.

After hearing that, Jaune shifted his arm back into that of a human appearance and removed his foot from Roman's arm, looking at the damage he had done, "You see, was that so difficult?" Lucifer asked as he looked down at Roman holding his arm on the ground.

Disgusted by the display, Lucifer spoke up, "Get off the ground you whimpering insect," Lucifer ordered with a harsh tone.

Hearing this, Roman brought himself up off the ground with shaky legs, looking into the piercing eyes of Lucifer.

"Pathetic," Lucifer says before backhanding Roman so hard he flies back to the ground, knocking him unconscious.

"So strong," Cinder moaned in her head as she watched Lucifer turn and walk away from the scene and head back into the warehouse as he watched several of the members of the White Fang look at what he did.

At that moment, they all learned that this new character was not one to be toyed with.

XXXX

Lucifer and Cinder walked through the warehouse until they reached Cinder's designated quarters. Lucifer promptly opened the door and walked in to see the somewhat messy room for apparently three as one corner of the room had silver dust casings on the dresser and on the other corner were emerald bullet casings along with a blade sharpening kit.

"I was not made aware that you had company, Cinder," Lucifer said as he turned around and looked down at the black-haired woman. "My apologies, Master, I am forced to share these quarters with my subordinates, Mercury and Emerald. I can have them vacate these quarters for you if that is your wish," Cinder said with a bow of the head.

Lucifer looked around the room, observing the spacious area while nodding his head slightly, "That will be unnecessary, Cinder, you will not need to vacate these quarters but instead, I shall be joining you in here along with your subordinates. If I am going to be working closely with these two, I need to know more about them," Lucifer said as he walked towards a somewhat vacant area in the room and kneeling down.

"This will do," Lucifer said before he morphed his hand into a Beowolves claw and dug a rectangle into the ground, marking the area that would be his.

"As you wish, Master," Cinder said as she walked over to her section of the room.

As Cinder sat down, Lucifer felt a tingling in his head, it was not painful but more stirring. It was as if something was trying to communicate with him. 'Can you hear me, my love?' a voice said from within Lucifer's head.

He recognized the voice instantly, "My Queen, yes I hear you," Lucifer said as he turned away from the wall and kneeled.

Cinder looked at Lucifer with a confused stare, "Master? Is everything alright?" Cinder asked as she got up and walked over to Lucifer. "Silence!" Lucifer boomed as he shot his head up, the eyes on his mask burning red, making Cinder step back, "Please, continue, my Queen," Lucifer said as he bowed his head once again.

"Summon a Seer, I wish to see you, my love," Salem said from within Lucifer's head.

"At once," Lucifer said as he got up and cut himself on the arm, blood oozing from the wound and creating a puddle on the ground. The puddle bubbled for a moment before from the puddle grew a Seer Grimm.

"Ah, it is good to see you in good health, my love, and wearing the helmet I had made for you. You look simply incredible, my Lucifer," Salem said with a proud smile on her face.

"Thank you, my Queen, how may I be of assistance?" Lucifer said as he kept his head bowed.

"Worry not, Lucifer, I am not calling on you for a purpose, I simply wish to check on your well-being. Your absence has left me… concerned, it is an unfamiliar feeling, however, not unwelcome. Please, my King, look up at me," Salem said as she gestured with her hands for him to rise.

Lucifer complied and look into the Grimm and saw the face of Salem, "That is much better… Now, tell me, how goes the transition in Vale?" Salem asked as she interlocked her fingers.

"All goes well, my Queen, there has been some resistance to the change of power I have brought but it only lasted briefly," Lucifer said briefly.

"What of the White Fang and of this Torchwick figure?" Salem asked with a raised brow.

"Torchwick was hesitant to follow my example and obey my commands but I feel as though I made a… proper example of him to show him what will happen if he dares to defy me. A certain percentage of the White Fang operatives here saw the aftermath of my session with Torchwick, and I believe that will serve as ample incentive to make them reconsider any unfavourable behaviours," Lucifer said as he put his hands behind his back.

"Very good, you have done well, my King," Salem said with a small smile on her face. It was at that moment her eyes fell onto Cinder, "And what of your company with Cinder? I trust that she has presented no issues during your travels," Salem said as she eyed the False Fall Maiden slightly.

"Cinder is no problem, my Queen. Should she ever fall out of line, I have displayed that I am quite capable of putting her back in line," Lucifer said as he turned his head to look at Cinder, "By any means necessary," Lucifer said as he clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles sickeningly.

Cinder could only shudder after hearing that and she felt a wet sensation slowly begin to drip down her leg.

"Excellent, my Lucifer, truly excellent. I congratulate you on your significant progress over such a short period of time. I expect you to continue to perform admirably throughout the rest of the operation," Salem said with a smile.

"I vow to you, my Queen, I will not fail you," Lucifer said as he bowed his head. "I know you will not, my love, farewell for now," Salem said as the image of Salem disappeared and the Seer disintegrated into thin air.

As Lucifer raised his head and turned around he was met with Cinder's form slamming into his.

He looked down with a piercing glare down at the woman who has just jumped him and saw a look of pure lust and a bright red on her face.

"Master… Master… Please… Douse this fire in me, your promise to put me in my place made me so hot," Cinder moaned as she pushed her chest against his while moving up and down slightly, her breasts making small lines on his shirt.

Jaune made no move and simply stared down at her coldly.

This only made Cinder more and more aroused.

"Imagine it, Master, you and I unleashing our passionate love all at once, I know you want to, that mask may hide your expression but I know something that won't lie," Cinder said as she raised her knee and pressed it into Lucifer's crotch.

The second her knee made contact, she froze.

She noticed that his member, while it was there, it was not erect at all.

That was not what made her freeze, however.

What made her freeze was that when she felt it and rubbed her knee against it, she felt the sheer girth of his member, realizing the destructive size of his member.

It was at that moment; Cinder's folds began to rapidly drip out her juices.

"Master… I can feel it… It's so big," Cinder said between heavy pants.

Lucifer simply stared down, his mask hiding his deadly glare.

"Please, Master… I need it in my-" Cinder said before she was interrupted as she was brutally introduced to the floor. It was in a flash but Lucifer had raised his right arm and backhanded Cinder so hard she shot to the ground and from the impact, she would be staying there.

Lucifer rubbed the back of his right hand slightly, the skin slightly red from the strength of the smack, "If you have a problem, take care of it yourself, it does not concern me. I do not have the time or the patience to deal with your seductive actions, Cinder," Lucifer said with a cold tone.

Cinder simply moaned on the ground as her hands made their way down to her breasts and soaked folds, "Y-yes, Master," Cinder said as she began her efforts, leaving Lucifer to exit the room, never looking behind.

XXXX

In the main city portion of Vale, a familiar feline faunus was out walking. She would not be out in Vale under normal circumstances due to her confinement to Beacon, however, she had to remove herself from that environment due to the revelation of her being of faunus descent.

Her situation had been bad prior to this but this was the final nail in the coffin as she became a target of even more harassment. People had begun to refer to her as an animal and had bullied her as bad or even worse than Team CRDL ever had Velvet.

Today's combat class proved to be the worst as her sparring partner took it upon themselves to not just shoot at her but shoot specifically at her ears, sending viciously large amounts of pain shooting through Blake's body as they were extremely sensitive and taking the full force of a bullet was not good.

That was the last straw and a few minutes later, Blake just ran, ignoring the cries of her teammates.

For the time being, she has remained hidden. Using the alleyways and going behind commercial plazas in order to stay out of sight as she was fully aware someone would recognize her and harass her even more.

As she walked through the city, it did not take her long to reach the shipyard. The area was blocked off of course but that did not prove a problem as she was a huntress-in-training and before that a White Fang operative, a mere fence was no problem.

She walked through the assortment of warehouses and crates filled with goods from other nations until she found a small closed off and quiet area. She then took a seat and pulled her knees up to her chest.

She then let her tears fall from her face.

Blake had many regrets throughout her life, people she had corrupted or failed to save and those plagued her every day of her life but at this moment what she had done to Jaune topped all of that.

"Why didn't I think before I acted, I should have known Jaune would never do that to Ruby…" Blake said softly in-between deep ragged breaths.

What she had done to the blond Arc male was easily the worst she had done, and due to how it happened at a prestigious institution like Beacon, news of the event traveled quickly. Unlike all of her other mistakes, this one she couldn't simply run from as too many people know what she did, know who she is, what she is.

She didn't know what to think, say or do, all she could do was cry.

She did just that.

Suddenly, she heard several sets of footsteps, not just a small group but a massive one, dozens of people.

This made Blake get up and look around the area.

As she made her way between the warehouses and containers, she never noticed the motion sensors or camera positioned high on the warehouse rooves.

Back in the White Fang warehouse security wing, a blue-haired grunt was viewing the security cameras and saw Blake. He then reached for his walkie-talkie and spoke into it, "Security here, we have an intruder in Section 3, alert Lord Lucifer," the grunt said as he froze a frame of the footage and showed Blake unknowingly looking into the camera.

It took a moment for Lucifer to arrive in the security wing, "What is it?" Lucifer said as he looked at the grunt who quickly turned towards Lucifer, "My Lord, we have an intruder on the premises," the grunt said as he pointed towards the image on the screen that showed the black-haired faunus known as Blake Belladonna.

Lucifer simply stared at the screen with a look of disbelief.

"Incredible, simply incredible," Lucifer said as he smiled underneath his mask.

"My Lord?" the grunt asked as he turned to him with a confused look.

"It's nothing, I will handle this, resume your duties," Lucifer said as he walked out of the room.

"Yes, my Lord," the grunt said with a bow of the head as Lucifer walked out of the room.

As Lucifer walked out he couldn't help but make note of how well the White Fang had adjusted to his control of the operation. While they may be a radical bunch of terrorists, they were quite loyal, almost to a fault.

Just how Lucifer liked his soldiers.

As Lucifer, he could not stop himself from thinking of the multiple excruciating ways he would end the black-haired Belladonna's life. He could inject her with Rapier Wasp Venom and simply lower the toxicity and let it slowly kill her, or he could simply peel the flesh from her bones.

Oh, how he loved the idea.

However, before he got lost in those thoughts, he remembered that ending her life like that would be too merciful. She was undeserving of such a quick demise.

He wouldn't allow it.

She had to suffer.

She and the rest of her teammates had to beg for their deaths.

He would see to that.

He had made his way back to his room while he was lost in his thoughts and as he looked in he saw the sweaty face of Cinder as she breathed heavily on her bed.

Lucifer rolled his eyes as he walked over to her and looked down at her with a level of disgust, "Get up, I have need of you," Lucifer said as he shook her form, stirring her from her dazed state.

Cinder quickly got up and stood near the edge of her bed, "What is it you require, Master?" Cinder asked as she bowed her head slightly.

"I need your help in taking care of something for me, come," Lucifer said as he walked out of the room and made way to Blake's last known coordinates with a wicked smile underneath his mask.

XXXX

Blake was making her way to the very same warehouse that Lucifer and Cinder had just left and in doing so, they knew exactly how to trap her.

As Blake made her way through a tight passage between several large containers, keeping her head down to the best of her ability, she failed to notice that someone was on top of the containers she was using as cover.

From a short distance away, Lucifer was kneeled and pointing his hand towards Blake's head. When he felt he had a good shot, a hole appeared in his palm and out of it fired a spider's webbing-like substance and it landed right on her eyes, blinding the faunus.

Blake yelled as she fell back and hit her head against the container on her left, providing Cinder ample time to jump down and begin her assault.

Unprepared and unaware, Blake was shocked when she felt a fist collide with her cheek, sending her into the ground again, the back of her head slamming into the concrete. Before she could even slightly recover, Cinder grabbed the front of her shirt and threw her out of the small alleyway of containers, Blake's form skidding across the ground, making her aura need to heal the wounds Cinder had created.

While on the ground, Blake clawed at the substance covering her eyes but it wouldn't budge, her nails dug at them, even scratching her face slightly and still nothing. "Who are you?! What is this stuff?!" Blake yelled as she rubbed her eyes trying to get the substance off but received no answer other than a brutal fist to the stomach.

Knocking the wind out of her, Cinder grabbed Blake by the shirt and spun her around before throwing the feline faunus into the air before she landed, Cinder launched a devastating kick to her stomach, sending her flying for a short time before Blake crashed into the wall of a nearby warehouse.

Watching from a distance, Lucifer smiled at Cinder's performance, realizing he did well to enlist her into his inner circle.

As Cinder walked over to the fallen Blake, she had a seething look on her face, Cinder had an expression of pure rage. She was currently beating on one of the women who had so utterly destroyed her master's life and she intends to pay the whore back for it ten-fold.

Cinder wanted to scream.

She wanted to call Blake so many different names.

But she couldn't without compromising her identity.

As she made her way before the black-haired girl lodged in the wall, the faunus' back stuck in the wall, Cinder took that opportunity to punch her in the stomach repeatedly.

Each brutal punch sent a blissful shiver down Cinder's spine, while Blake was met with nothing but excruciating pain as she felt her very organs be bruised.

Cinder made note of the pain the girl was in but continued her assault, she just kept punching, the False Fall Maiden's eyes widened with insanity.

She punched the girl again.

And again.

And again.

Blake's aura shattered, leaving her completely defenseless.

Cinder smiled as she realized that the faunus' barriers were down and the real damage could be done now.

Cinder formed a blade from her personal dust collection and just as she was about to thrust it into Blake's throat with every intent to kill her, she heard a booming voice yell to her, "Stop!" the voice of Lucifer, albeit modified, called out to her.

"That's enough," Lucifer yelled as he made his way over to Cinder.

Cinder gave him a confused look, she wanted to speak but had to keep her silence.

"Save me your looks, I too want to kill her but that would be too easy. She doesn't deserve it," Lucifer said as he grabbed Blake by her face and pulled her out of the wall and threw her like a piece of garbage to the side, her form crashing into the ground face-first.

Blake tried to push herself up off the ground but before she could get very far Lucifer was already on top of her and slammed his foot onto her back, sending her back to the ground with a cry of pain. "You're not going anywhere," Lucifer said as he looked down at her.

He gave her a curious look as he saw that her legs were still moving, "I see that you don't take orders well. Well, just to be sure you don't run off again," Lucifer said as he transformed his hands into Beowolves claws. He turned on Blake's back, his foot still crushing her spine, he placed the claws on the back of her legs and with a quick swipe he created two large gashes in her legs, ensuring her inability to flee.

Blake screamed in pain as she felt the muscles in her legs be torn in two as if they were nothing, tears fell from her golden eyes, "W-W-Who a-are you-ou?!" Blake yelled as loud as she could while in such great pain.

Lucifer smiled at this and kneeled on her back, taking her hair into his hand and lifting it up and placing his claw on her throat, the girl feeling it making her wince slightly. "Let's just say that I am someone who is highly enraged at what you had done to Jaune Arc. You robbed him of everything he held dear, and I believe that he deserves to be avenged," Lucifer said as he pressed his claw directly over her jugular vein.

Blake only choked out a small cry, "We didn't know that he was innocent, we thought he was trying to rape my teammate," Blake said as she cried.

Lucifer slammed her face into the ground, making her nose bleed, "Don't you dare lie to me! You acted as judge, jury, and executioner in a situation you knew nothing about. You had no evidence and you gave a death sentence to an unworthy man. Filth like you needs to be wiped from Remnant," Lucifer said as he pulled her head back more putting even more strain on her spine making her yell out in pain.

Seeing her like that made Lucifer smile before he let go, "You are quite fortunate that I do not feel like killing you today, killing you now would be far too merciful, Blake Belladonna. You can not die until you have felt the same despair, the same desperation, the betrayal that you instilled into Jaune Arc. Until that day, you will not be allowed to die," Lucifer said as he got off of her back and morphed his arms into tentacles and lifted the faunus into the air.

"Arsonist," Lucifer boomed as he looked back at Cinder who was standing there with a mad smile on her face. She nodded and watched as Lucifer morphed his other hand into a Beowolves claw, "Heat this up, I have something special for this cat," Lucifer said with a small smile.

Cinder quickly walked over to Lucifer and took his clawed hand into her own and began heating up each individual claw until the turned slightly red and were steaming, "Perfect," Lucifer said as he made one of his tentacles rip the top of Blake's shirt off, making her scream slightly.

"Worry not, this pain will be insignificant in comparison to what truly awaits you and your wretched team," Lucifer said as he pulled Blake in closer before he pressed his claws against her skin, burning the flesh and making an ear-piercing shriek escape Blake's lips.

As Lucifer carved Blake's flesh, tears poured from her eyes and her dry throat finally made her cease her screams for the moment.

It did not take long before Lucifer's work was complete.

Directly above the crevice of her breasts, Lucifer had drawn the Arc Crest into her very flesh. The fresh wound bleeding insane amounts of blood, "Excellent," Lucifer said with a smile. A moment later he felt Blake's body fall limp, making him raise an eyebrow.

"It appears she has fallen unconscious, Master," Cinder said as she approached Lucifer. "Indeed, Cinder, however, she will find no rest in her slumber," Lucifer said before he transformed one of the ends of one of his tentacles, filling it with a black liquid. The now sharp needled tip of the tentacle then thrust into Blake's neck, the liquid flowing into her veins.

After doing that, Lucifer simply dropped Blake's unconscious form. "What did you just inject into her, Master?" Cinder asked as he walked over to Blake, looking between her and Lucifer with a confused stare.

"Nothing deadly, just a simple potion, something akin to Nightmare Fuel, if you will. With my own personal touch," Lucifer said with a smile as he looked down at Blake who was now crying in her sleep.

"No…," she said under her breath, making the two of the smile.

"Guards!" Lucifer called as he heard two sets of feet run towards him from behind, "Yes, my Lord," the two said in unison. "Dispose of this pest, drop her off at the Beacon shuttle outpost and leave her there," Lucifer said as he walked between the two, Cinder following close behind.

The two grunts gave him responses ranging from 'Yes, sir,' and 'Of course,' as he walked away.

"Master, pardon my ignorance but why would you allow her to live? She has done nothing other than things that deserve a brutal death," Cinder said with a fire in her eyes. Lucifer looked down at her with a disappointed stare, "For someone working so closely with Salem, I am disappointed you failed to learn from her," Lucifer said as he kept walking earning a confused look from Cinder.

"While I would simply love to shove a sword through her stomach, I feel that she is not worthy of such a quick disposal. After all, she has done, she and her team will feel the full extent of the revenge I have planned for them. They can not and will not die until I am through with them, I intend to make that clear to all of our operatives here and I want to make that clear to you first. If you engage any of them, you will only aim for non-lethal injuries and if possible, bring them to me, do you understand, Cinder?" Lucifer said with a deadly glare making Cinder's legs buckles slightly.

"Yes, my Master," Cinder said with a smile.

XXXX

Several hours later at Beacon's infirmary, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had been summoned by Ozpin and Goodwitch, the message they all received was regarding Blake.

Ruby wanted to simply ignore the message and go on with her day but Goodwitch promised detention and extra readings if she ignored her, so reluctantly Ruby went.

It did not take long for the three girls to arrive at the infirmary and as they walked into the room, Weiss and Yang almost froze at the battered sight of Blake.

"Blake!" the two girls yelled as they ran over to their partner, not seeing Ozpin and Glynda standing at her bedside. "I'm afraid Miss Belladonna cannot hear you at this time as she is currently unconscious," Ozpin said as he walked to the edge of her bed, putting a hand on the frame of the bed.

"What happened to her?!" Yang yelled as she looked between their Headmaster and Headmistress, looking for answers. Ruby smirked slightly as she leaned against the wall behind her, thinking about how interesting this should be.

"We don't know, apparently she was left at a shelter for the Beacon to Vale shuttle with her belongings. She wasn't accompanied by anyone but she had been left in this state," Glynda said as she looked down at the doctor's report on her scroll.

"Was she raped?" Weiss asked as she looked up at Ozpin, hearing a slight chuckle from Ruby making her want to lash out at her for the sound but she chose to ignore it.

"No, from what the doctor has told us there were no signs of rape, rather she was just badly beaten. It is fortunate that she was brought here when she was, her life was not in danger but there is no way of telling who could have gotten their hands on her," Ozpin said as he looked at the black-haired faunus' sleeping form.

"What is the extent of her injuries?" Weiss asked as she looked at Glynda.

"Bruising all over, stress on her spine, two large cuts on the back of her legs and marks of pressure around her throat," Glynda said bluntly.

"Will she be alright?" Yang asked with worry. "I have been informed by the staff here that Miss Belladonna will make a full recovery, and it will not take long as I have learned that she is quite resilient but there is one thing that stands out from all of her injuries," Ozpin said as he walked over to Blake's nightstand and grabbed a picture the doctor had left there.

"This symbol was left on Miss Belladonna's chest; do you have any theories as to why that might be?" Ozpin asked as the two girls looked with disbelief at the Arc crest.

"Isn't that… Jaune's crest?" Yang asked as she stared at the familiar insignia as she often saw it on Jaune's shield frequently.

"That it is, Miss Xiao Long, do you have any clue as to why it would be on Miss Belladonna?" Ozpin asked as he handed the photo to Yang, the blonde still staring at the photo with disbelief. It did not take long for Weiss to speak up.

"Perhaps its some radicals or loyalists to the Arc family, they were quite an influential part of history as they brought out such great warriors," Weiss said as she put her hand to her chin, stroking it with her fingers slightly.

"While you are correct Miss Schnee, you are failing to see the bigger picture here," Glynda said as she walked up to Weiss. "News of what you and your team did to Mister Arc has reached the people of Vale and possibly beyond, and if this is proves anything, it is that they are not happy," Glynda said as she gestured towards the unconscious body of Blake.

Hearing that, both Yang and Weiss' blood ran stone cold and their eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"With that in mind, I do believe it is even more essential for you three to take your confinement to campus even more seriously. The last thing we need is the three of you going into the city and coming back in a similar state as Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said as he walked up to the two girls.

"Which reminds me, what led to Miss Belladonna abandoning campus despite my clear instructions for you to stay?" Ozpin said with a slight glare.

Yang shivered slightly as she didn't want to answer but she did, "She ran off after combat class, some racists attacked her specifically as they found out she was a faunus," Yang said as she rubbed her arm with her left hand.

"I see, I will meet with those students and have a conversation with them regarding their behaviour, and I will alert the Vale Police Department of what happened to Miss Belladonna and tell them to be on the lookout for any suspicious persons. Good day, ladies," Ozpin said as he walked towards the door but was stopped as Yang ran up and grabbed Ozpin's arm, stopping the white-haired headmaster.

"That's it?! You're just going to give them a talking to?! They openly and viciously attacked Blake for her heritage, for what made Blake who she is!" Yang yelled, her eyes burning red with anger.

Ozpin looked down at Yang's hand grasping his arm and looked back at the angered girl, "Miss Xiao Long, I would recommend you remove your hand from me," Ozpin said with a stern tone, making Yang immediately remove herself from him as she felt an odd pressure come from the man.

"Now, to answer your question. Yes, that is all I intend to do, while it disappoints me that students of this institution feel the need to act in this manner, I do feel as though some of the blame for this transgression lies in your own lap, Miss Xiao Long, along with Miss Schnee and Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said with a disappointed look.

Yang was about to ask what he meant but before she could fully open her mouth, she realized what he meant.

Jaune.

"Your silence speaks volumes to your understanding of my meaning," Ozpin said as he looked down at Yang and then over at Weiss who could not look at him directly.

"The world we live in is a highly unforgiving one, ladies, and while I want nothing more than to keep you all from it you all must understand that there are consequences for your actions, and some of those can be rather tragic. It is a harsh lesson, I admit but one worth learning from in order to ensure you nor anyone around you makes the same mistake," Ozpin said as he looked at Blake's sleeping form.

"With that, I'll leave you, good day to you, ladies," Ozpin said as he and Glynda exited the room.

The moment the door closed Yang turned around and began to walk towards Weiss who could only stare at the ground, "Weiss?" Yang said as she walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

She wasn't met with Weiss' voice but small chuckles from behind her. Yang turned around and saw Ruby's shoulders and stomach rising and falling at a high pace, her laughter going from small chuckles.

Yang only stared at her younger sister with a look of disbelief.

"Oh, man, I love irony," Ruby said as she grasped her stomach tightly from her intense laughter.

"Ruby?! How is any of this funny?! Blake could have been killed tonight! How can you be so cold towards her?!" Weiss yelled back at Ruby with tears in her eyes as Yang's voice was stuck in her throat, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"How can I be so cold?! How can I be so cold?! That's rich!" Ruby yelled as clenched her fists almost tight enough to draw blood. "If anyone is cold here, it certainly isn't me! If Blake had been killed tonight she would have known what it was like for Jaune in his last moments!" Ruby yelled, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"Ruby! We did what we did on that day because we thought that you were in danger! We didn't mean any ill will towards Jaune!" Weiss yelled back making Ruby laugh again, "No ill will, yeah right! If you meant no ill will towards him you would have talked to him before you jumped in and killed him!" Ruby yelled.

That shut Weiss up.

"Forget this, I'm out of here," Ruby said as she walked towards the door but was stopped when she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. "Ruby…" Yang said from behind the red-cloaked reaper.

A second after Yang placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, the girl slapped her hand off of her, glaring at the blonde girl she once referred to as her older sister. "No! No, Yang! You can't pull any shit this time! Jaune was one of those one in a million guys, he only came once a lifetime and you killed him because you took on a situation you knew nothing about!" Ruby yelled as the tears fell again from her eyes.

"He was one of those guys who didn't care who you were or what you had done! He saw the best in people, he saw the best in me, he saw it in Weiss, Blake and even you! I wasn't sure of it before but I am now, I loved him! I loved Jaune! But knowing it now is kind of useless since you all killed him at the drop of a hat, so thank you, Yang! You killed the one person I ever loved as much as you or Dad. Now I have no one left to love because you felt that it was your duty to kill an innocent man!" Ruby said as her eyes burned red and tears fell like a waterfall.

Unable to take anymore Ruby stormed out of the infirmary, leaving Yang to fall to her knees and let the tears begin to fall from her eyes like a steady river.

Her sister, her adorable little sister who she loved more than anyone has truly left her.

XXXX

Back in the warehouse, Blake had almost infiltrated, Roman was hard at work in his office, trying to find ways to increase the amount of dust they had in their stores without drawing too much attention to themselves.

He was surprised when he heard his door open and it revealed Lucifer, standing there looking at him, "Roman, how go your efforts in locating more dust for our troops," Lucifer said as he walked over to Roman who he could see was shaking.

"It is going well, my Liege, I have located several new dust stores that will be ripe for the taking over the next few days," Roman said as he pointed to several locations marked on the map of Vale.

"Very good," Lucifer said as he nodded his head. "However, this is now unnecessary," Lucifer said earning a curious look from Roman. "I'm sorry, my Lord but I don't understand," Roman said as he looked at Lucifer, keeping his previous confused look.

"With our current dust supply, we now have enough to move onto the next phase of our plans. I need you to begin our relocation efforts. I trust that will be no problem for one as capable as yourself?" Lucifer said as he looked at the orange-haired thief from the corner of his eye.

"No problem whatsoever, my Liege," Roman said as he bowed his head slightly to the larger man before him. "Excellent, you will turn your attention to the preparations for our move immediately, am I understood?" Lucifer said as he glared harshly at Roman. "Yes, my Lord," Roman said, making Lucifer smile slightly.

"Very good, get to it then, I expect the move to be completed over the next 96 hours and I will meet you at the site when the move is expected to be complete, farewell for now Roman," Lucifer said as he walked out of Roman's room, letting him fall into his chair with a deep sigh. "See you later too, Lucifer," Roman said as he rolled his eyes.

He swore that one way or another he would get out of this situation and he would secure his freedom from this tyrant.

Outside of Roman's room, Lucifer walked out and Cinder was standing there waiting for him, "Is that your last meeting for today, Master?" Cinder asked with a bow of the head.

"Yes, Cinder but there is something I must do and thusly, I am placing temporary command back in your hands, however, should any trouble arise contact me and I shall take care of it. Do not abuse the power I grant you Cinder, remember, what I can give I can take among other things," Lucifer said as he glared down at Cinder, making her blush slightly.

"Yes, of course, Master," Cinder said as she bowed deeply.

"Very good, you are in command until my return," Lucifer said as he walked out of the warehouse.

As he stepped into the cool nighttime air, he looked around, "Well, this should be as good a time to practice this as any," Lucifer said as he turned towards the water.

He stared at the water before breaking into a sprint, running towards the water. He jumped off the edge of the pier and before his feet could touch the water beneath him, two large dragon-like wings ripped from his back, tearing through his shirt leaving two gaping holes.

Lucifer smiled wickedly as he used his wings to propel himself into the air at an insanely high speed, his helmet protecting his eyes from any debris or unwanted things in the air, allowing him to travel at whatever speed he desired.

As he flew over Vale he looked towards the moon and said to himself, "Let's get down to business," before using his wings to make himself go even faster.

XXXX

Back at Beacon, more specifically in Blake's hospital room, Blake was gaining her movement back, thank Oum for her aura patching her up. There was only one problem, despite all the covers over her, she felt so cold.

Blake tossed and turned in her bed, chasing whatever warmth she could get her hands on, failing to find any. More curiously she was sweating as well, unaware of this however as she is currently lost in her slumber.

In her mind, she was lying down in an empty room. There were no walls, nothing around her whatsoever. It was completely silent.

"Blake…" Blake heard from around her somewhere in her head. She looked around inside her dream, trying to find a source of the sound she heard but seeing nothing.

"Blake… Why?" the voice said again, slightly louder this time. It was almost teasing Blake as she was growing frustrated.

"Hello?!" Blake yelled as she looked around her dreamscape, trying to locate the source of the voice.

"I thought we were friends, Blake… I guess I was wrong," the voice said as the area around Blake turned bright red, almost akin to… blood.

"No… It can't be…" Blake said as she turned around and saw Weiss and Yang on their knees behind them stood a hooded figure holding a familiar sword. "And if we aren't friends Blake," the hooded figure said as he raised his sword.

"No!" Blake yelled as she ran towards the hooded man, only to find that no matter how fast she ran she remained in the same place. "Neither are they," the hooded figure said as he swung his sword and in one fateful swoop, the heads of Weiss and Yang fell to the ground.

Blake fell to her knees in disbelief, "No… no, no, no, not again, please!" Blake said as she began to cry.

"Why?! Why would you do this, Jaune?!" Blake yelled as she opened her eyes and looked up at Jaune just in time to see him drive his sword through her stomach. Her eyes following him as he kneeled in front of her.

"Because you should know more than anyone else that you deserve this," Jaune whispered into her ear.

At that moment Blake shot up from her bed, ignoring the pain that shot through her from her injuries. She looked around the room and realized that she was safe before she allowed herself to fall back into the sheets of her bed.

"It was just a dream…" Blake said to herself as she put her hands over her eyes.

"Maybe but it may become a reality because of all that you've done," a familiar voice said from beside Blake. The faunus' eyes shot open as they slowly turned towards the person talking to her.

"After all, I'm the newest addition to people whose lives you destroyed," the voice said from beside Blake as she finally made eye contact with it.

Blake felt like she was going to have a heart attack right then and there.

This was impossible.

"What's the matter, Blake?" the voice said, his blue eyes staring into Blakes.

It was Jaune Arc, sitting down in the chair beside her bed.

"You look like you've seen a dead man," Jaune said with a wicked smile.

XXXX

Oh, cliffhangers, how I love you so!

Hey, guys! Sorry for the long wait, a month and a half is brutal but your patience has been rewarded with yet another chapter of Shattered Bonds, I hope you guys liked it!

I know I said that Jaune would not meet any of the RWBY members for a while and I am staying true to that as at this point, Blake has only run into an unknown assailant, she has absolutely no clue that it is a recently restored Jaune Arc, that is going to be fun to write when I get to it!

Now, I am trying to find a proper loop of updates for my stories for the three I currently have in progress. As of this point, the order of update will be Shattered Bonds - Nightly Visits - What a Dragon Wants. Just so you guys know what to expect in terms of update orders.

I have so many ideas for new fics, I think I have a total of maybe 10 at this point and I want to work on those, however, they are on hold as these three stories take priority but I may work on them if I can't stop myself anymore.

That's about it for me this time around, stay tuned for the next chapter of Shattered Bonds and stay frosty!