A/N: It's been a long couple of weeks. But I'm still writing and kicking ass.

As a matter of fact, I just got done going through the main campaign of Destiny 2. And for those that haven't gotten it yet, it is well worth the price of admission. And now that the first expansion is out, it'll only get more awesome from there.

For my fellow players who are on PlaystationNetwork and are on Destiny 2, look for 'Demon2421'. Perhaps we can rip the Red Legion a new one together and loot the hell out of them!

But now, let's get back into what you all have been waiting for.

(I own nothing)

The expanse of leaves covering the trees spread out in a seemingly endless sea of red. From the outside, the forest of Forever Fall didn't look no differently compared to that fateful day over a month ago.

Wolf sat in the troop compartment of the bullhead, the doors open sending gusts of wind into the craft as his sharp eyes scanned the ground below them as they passed over. Qrow sat on one of the benches across from him, drinking from his signature flask as they waited to reach their drop off point.

Looking toward the Guardian, the veteran huntsman capped his flask and stashed it in his pocket. "Ozpin gave me the cliffnote version of the Hive you told him and everyone else. Any details you can fill me in about?" he asked over the bullhead's engines.

"They're essentially undead and use dark-energy based weaponry." Wolf said back, not taking his eyes away from the red forest below. "They're main combat strategies mostly rely on overwhelming and overpowering. Thralls always come at you in groups while Acolytes and Knights hang back. Wizards are the biggest threats, so focus on taking them out first."

"Wizards are the freaky wraith-like ones, right?" Qrow asked, getting a nod in return. "What about those big bastards? Ogres?"

"Hit it at a distance, and don't get too close." replied the Guardian bluntly. "If their tactics are the same here like they were back home, they'll keep their strongest warriors deep where they're dug in. So the farther in we go the tougher it's going to get."

The huntsman was silent for a while before voicing a question that had been on his mind ever since all of this came to light. "If we can't root these things out, how bad will things get for Vale?"

Wolf turned to him, his helmet and visor making his expression unreadable but Qrow felt the severity through his body language. "It's not just Vale. We don't stop the Hive from digging in and reproducing, all of Remnant will fall."

Both men lapsed into silence after that. Within a few more minutes, the bullhead hovered over a clearing;

'This is your stop guys!' the pilot over the intercom within the compartment. 'Send me a signal when you need to be picked up, happy hunting!'

Qrow and Wolf stood and leapt out into open air, both coming down and landing in the small field below their transport. Their weapons out and securing the area while the bullhead banked and flew off into the distance.

"No hostiles detected. Grimm or otherwise." Wraith said, appearing over Wolf's shoulder.

The Guardian lowered his auto rifle, "How far is the mine entrance from here?" he asked his partner.

"Approximately 2.1 kilometers due East." replied the Ghost.

"We better get moving then." said Qrow, both he and Wolf starting their trek through the forest toward their objective.

X

Not long after Wolf had left for his mission, teams RWBY and JNPR decided to take advantage of their access to the training room. With the help of Shade, they went through several rounds against simulated Hive enemies to improve their skills.

Yang bellowed a warcry and slammed her fist hard against a Knight's helm, sending the large alien to the side and straight into the sniper-shot fired by her sister.

A Wizard floated nearby, sending out a salvo of dark-energy blasts at Ren who ran in a tight circle around it, firing his twin SMGs at it an weakening its barrier enough for Nora to come flying in and slam her large hammer into its back.

Blake held Gambol Shroud in its cleaver and sword form as a horde of Thralls ran at her. Narrowing her gaze, she ran into the fray, hacking and slashing through the simulated creatures as they attempted to overwhelm her. Switching her sword to pistol form, she shot a Cursed Thrall in the head, the following explosion taking out an entire handful in the process.

Jaune snapped his shield up in time to stop a Knight's massive sword from cutting him down. Gritting his teeth, the blonde used his strength to force the weapon aside before leaping up and slicing the large Hive's head off its shoulders. Off to the side, Pyrrha launched her own shield like a disc and removed the heads of three Acolytes before running up and impaling a fourth with her spear.

Weiss stood squaring off with another Wizard, her rapier at the ready before launching forward at it. The Hive spellcaster waved its hand, sending out a poisonous black fog infront of it forcing the heiress to summon a glyph to launch her into the air, the dust chamber of her weapon spinning and landing on the correct vial as she launched a blast of fire down at the alien.

This continued for a couple of hours with increasingly difficult groups of enemies before the simulation finally came to an end. Ruby having cut down the last enemy with Crescent Rose before the simulator ended the session. "Whew! Now that was a workout." the young girl said while wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Yeah, I think we'll be ready if those freaks show their faces around here." added Yang as she slammed her fists together.

The group left the training room before going their separate ways, team RWBY went back to their dorm to shower and change before heading to the skydock and taking a ship to Vale. With the Vytal festival coming at the end of the year Weiss had decided that it would be a good idea to go out and see what was happening during all the preparations.

Blake had been rather silent the whole trip. Training had helped to curb her focus, and testing out her new scout rifle had been beneficial as well. The weapon feeling very natural in her hands while she shot down the simulated enemies.

But now her thoughts were drifting back to Wolf. Even though the Faunus knew full well that the Guardian could more than take care of himself, something deep within the pit of her soul kept giving her a foreboding feeling.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" Shade asked from within her mind. Thankfully she had gotten used to the extra voice in her head, and she was also thankful that her Ghost wasn't able to read her thoughts.

"I am, I can't explain it. Something about the whole situation just doesn't feel right after all the things we've learned about the Hive." Blake thought back.

"Things are rather tense, given the circumstance. But from what I have learned from Wraith about his Guardian, he is very driven and quite persistant. The Hive will be hard pressed to extinguish their light." replied the Ghost helpfully.

Blake smiled to herself, thankful that Shade was doing what she could to help her. "Everything alright there, Blake?" asked Yang from her spot next to her.

"Yeah, I'm alright." replied the Faunus.

"Thinking about Wolf?" asked Ruby. "Don't worry, Blake. Wolf's pretty awesome on his own, add in the fact that Uncle Qrow is out there too they can handle anything that comes at them."

Yang nodded, "Yeah, he and dad were on the same team with our mom. And he trained Rubes here personally. If there's anyone to keep the teach going, it'll be him."

Nodding to her friends, Blake settled back in her seat as they finished their trip into the city. Weiss leading them while taking in all the planning and new cultures being brought into the kingdom for the celebration that was on its way.

X

Wolf wasn't liking the feeling that creeped into his gut.

They'd been walking for a couple hours now toward their destination and had yet to encounter any hostility. Not Hive, not Grimm, there didn't seem to be any kind of life at all in the red-tinted forest.

Qrow looked to be thinking along the same lines. He hadn't touched his flask at all since they touched down, dull-red eyes scanning every tree and bush they walked past as if expecting something to leap out at them.

"I don't like this," the veteran huntsman said lowly, "This place was crawling the last time I was here. Where the hell did they go?"

"The Hive are mainly nocturnal. Even though they come out in the light, they prefer the dark where they are at their strongest and have the best advantage." said Wraith from beside Wolf.

"How much farther are we from the mine?" asked the Guardian after vaulting over a downed tree.

The Ghost was silent a moment, "It should be over the next ridge ahead. Strange, still no sign of Grimm. Given recent reports, we should have encountered at least a Beowolf. Either the local population has moved, or..."

"The Hive cleared them all out themselves." Wolf finished for his partner as they trudged on. Moving up the ridge ahead until they reached the top that overlooked a small valley below.

And set amongst the various boulders and surrounding trees was a small complex with a handful of shack-like structures that were surrounded on all sides by a chainlink fence. In the very center of the site was several mining cars on a track that led toward a large hole in the side of a hill that disappeared deep into the ground.

"That's the mine." said Qrow as they both observed the small complex. "The info Oz gave me says that the SDC cleaned it out years ago and abandoned it when it was no longer in use."

"Well, looks like someone else has set up shop." Wolf said grimly as he motioned down below where several humanoid shapes were seen milling about.

Roughly a dozen Hive Acolytes patrolled amongst the shacks while two Knights stood at the entrance of the mine itself with Boomers armed and ready.

"We need to get inside. It's the only way to figure out what they've got waiting below." said the Guardian.

"Either of you got a plan for this?" asked Wraith as he scanned the opposition. "If history about them still stands, more will come pouring out the minute you start shooting."

Qrow took out his flask and took a long drink from it. "The way I see it, we got two options since sneaking past them ain't gonna work. One of them involves us both going down there and ruining their day. The other is one of us sticking up here and picking them off while the other gets up close and personal."

Wolf thought about before giving an answer. "Both would work, but like Wraith said, the second the guards start dropping reinforcements will come running. Better to go down together to cover each other's backs."

The huntsman nodded before taking another pull from the flask and putting it away. "Let's get to it then." he said standing, taking out his weapon in its sword-form as he and the Guardian began creeping down the ridge. Being sure to stay out of sight and making as little noise as possible.

The Acolytes continued to skulk through the mining site, their weapons held tightly as they waited for something to cross their path. Unaware of the two warriors that slipped past the rusted chainlink fence and into their midst.

Qrow pressed his back to the wall of the closest shack, his sword raised as he listened to the Hive footsoldiers growl and hiss at one another in their alien language. When the sounds grew closer, the hunstman spun around the corner and swung.

Both Acolytes that had been approaching found their heads removed instantly. The others turning when their bodies had fallen to the ground and raised their weapons only to be cut down in a hail of bullets fired from the rooftop of one of the shacks.

Wolf leapt down from his vantage point, tossing a throwing knife on the way down that imbedded into another Acolyte's helm and dropping them. Back on solid ground, the Guardian ducked under a weapon being swung at him and grabbed the attacking Hive by the shoulder plate, slamming them headfirst into the side of the shack he had been on before emptying the rest of his auto rifle's clip into its back.

The remaining guards converge on the two warriors. Qrow sprinting around the nearby buildings, dodging energy rounds being fired at him before doubling back and hitting them from behind. His large blade cleaving through their exoskeleton-like armor easily.

The two Knights that had been guarding the mine bellowed a warcry before charging headlong at the ones killing their bretheren. Wolf saw this coming and quickly tossed a grenade at them. The explosive splitting apart and swarming at the two heavies and detonating against them, burning their flesh and damaging their armor.

Converting his weapon into gun-form, Qrow fired a blast straight into one of the Knights' chest. Blowing a hole through its armor and putting it down while Wolf took the head off the other before it had a chance to recover from the grenade's affects.

"Well...that was a little too easy." said the huntsman as he kicked one of the dead Acolytes.

Wolf leered at the opening to the mine, "It's never that easy." As if to prove his point, a chorus of shrieks could be heard deep within the tunnel that steadily got louder. The shadows seeming to come to life as a large mass of moving bodies came pouring out of the opening, revealng dozens of Thralls that sprinted at them with savage hunger.

The Guardian didn't waste a moment as he emptied his weapons clip into the coming horde. Nailing several headshots and dropping a large group of them in a matter of seconds. He could hear Qrow's weapon firing with loud booms, a couple Thrall were completely blown apart when the powerful dust rounds hit home.

When the horde had reached them, both men immediatly switched to close quarters. Wolf charging him his Arc-light while drawing his sword as he blinked around the Hive cannon fodder, blasts of lightning burning the zombie-like aliens to ashes while slicing them apart.

Qrow mechashifted his weapon into a large scythe and began hacking and slashing through the Thrall with deadly precision. Being sure to keep his distance to avoid being overrun and eatten alive by the tide of enemies.

Minutes ticked by, the swarms of Hive started to thin as the two warriors cut down everything that came at them. Wolf dropped the last few Thrall that were still standing, dumping the empty clip from his auto rifle and slamming a fresh one home while surveying all of the bodies that were litered all over the place.

"Gotta give'em props for persistance." said Qrow as he shook the black, rotten blood from his scythe's blade before converting it back into its sword-form.

"Trust me, it'll get old fast." replied the Guardian as he brought out his DIDO-A shotgun and approached the entrance to the mine with Wraith appearing over his shoulder.

"Well, there might be a chance they don't know we're here yet." said the Ghost. The AI being answered when a bellowing roar echoed from somewhere deep within the tunnels below. "...never mind."

Qrow walked up with his weapon over his shoulder, "Better not keep 'em waiting." he said as the trio stepped into the darkness.

X

Ecthar felt the disturbance through the Darkness. The horde he had positioned at the opening of the tunnel network had been silenced, meaning someone had invaded their temporary sanctum.

"We've been breached." he rumbled while turning a nearby Wizard. "Send word to the other horde, if they are in place begin the ritual."

The Wizard bowed before gliding over to where three others were hovering around the stone dias. All of them chanting in the ancient language of their kind. A series of glowing runes spead throughout the room as the ritual began.

Turning to the four Ascended Knights standing at attention behind him, Ecthar spoke again. "Delay the intruders. Do not let them reach this chamber."

The Knights saluted their General before skulking down the nearest tunnel.

X

Back at Beacon, team RWBY had found themselves in a rather tight spot.

When the four huntresses in training had gone in to Vale to see the setup being done for the Vytal Festival they ended up encountering a crime scene of one of the most recent dust robberies in the city. The girls had overheard one of the officers talking about the culprits possibly being the White Fang which ended up sparking a huge debate/argument between Blake and Weiss.

Despite the encounters with a monkey-Faunus being chased by police, and a very strange girl that had befriended Ruby in an incredibly odd way, the fight between the monochrome members of the team only seemed to build momentum all the way to the late afternoon when they returned to Beacon.

Now in their dorm, Ruby and Yang stood awkwardly on the sidelines while their partners continued to argue back and forth.

"So you agree? The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss exclaimed, thinking that she had the argument won.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Blake fired back.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" said the heiress.

"That IS the problem." snapped her team mate.

"You realize that you are defending an organization that HATES humanity, don't you?" asked Weiss pointedly, "The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

Blake stood up from be bed and got in her face, "This is precisely why they hate humanity so much! It's because of people like Cardin, people like YOU, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like ME?!" Weiss exclaimed in shock.

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'M A VICTIM!" the heiress' last shout silenced the room. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I particularly don't trust the faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years."

Weiss turned and put her hands on a desk while gazing out the window at the shattered moon in the sky. "War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And every since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear. Board members, executed. An entire train car full of dust, stolen. And every day my father would come home furious. And that made for a very DIFFICULT childhood."

Ruby approached her partner and out a hand on her shoulder, "Weiss...I-"

"NO!" the heiress shouted, spinning around and glaring at Blake. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang?! It's because they're a bunch of liers, thieves, and MURDERERS!"

Blake went to shout back at Weiss when Shade suddenly spoke up in her mind, "Blake stop! This argument has reached a boiling point and won't end well for anyone if it keeps going like this."

The Faunus paused, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths, "She just doesn't understand! What my people have been through, what they keep going through." she thought back.

"Then help her understand."her Ghost soothed, "She's just as much a victim of what the White Fang has become like you have. The two of you can help one another heal if given the chance."

Blake knew what Shade was referring to, and as much as she didn't want to she also realized that she had been putting this off for far too long...it was time.

"You're not the only one the White Fang has hurt, Weiss." she said solumnly, making the heiress, Ruby and Yang all blink in surprise at her sudden change in demeanor.

"What do you mean, Blake?" asked the blonde, wondering what was going on with her partner.

The raven-haired girl didn't answer, instead she raised her hands to the bow on her head and gently undid it. The black ribbon coming away and revealing her cat ears to the world.

Her team was struck silent, eyes going from the newly unveiled appendages to her face. "A long time ago, the White Fang was a much different organization. The man who started it only wanted the world to see that Humans and Faunus could be seen as equals, and not enemies. His beliefs inspired many, but no matter how he tried too many people continued to discriminate our people."

Blake looked to each of them, "But his drive wouldn't be broken, he kept striving for peace. Over the years he started to make progress, but he had been chosen as chief of a village in Menagerie. As much as it pained him, he stepped down and allowed one of his most trusted to take over the White Fang...only to realize too late that his friend had nefarious plans in how the organization was to be run."

"That's when they changed from a respected movement for the Faunus...to a terrorist group that is feared and hated by most of the world."

The cat-Faunus approached the window of the dorm and looked out over the campus below. "The man who started the White Fang? His name was Ghira Belladonna...my father. I was raised on the belief that there could be peace between us and Humans. And I had to watch as everything my family strived for get twisted into something horrible for our people. Watching as the world became more hateful of us as a result. Which was why I left it all behind me."

Turning from the window and looking directly at Weiss, "I'm sorry for what has happened to your family. But even you can't deny the horrible things your father has done to the Faunus working for the SDC. Even I had issues with the Schnee name...until I met and got to know you, Weiss. You proved that not everyone in your family are racist monsters. That's why I was so hard pressed to prove you wrong today, because you started showing everything I hoped never to see in you."

Weiss, for the first time in a long time, was at a loss for words. Discovering that her team mate was secretly a Faunus this entire time, and on top of that a former member of the White Fang had knocked the wind out of her. But to hear everything else, and how open and honest Blake was being about how she felt, was really something she hadn't expected in the least.

Several emotions ran through the heiress' mind, leading her to think things over leaving their other team mates to respond first.

"You know, you didn't need to hide the fact that you're a Faunus." said Yang, smiling at her partner. "You're still Blake to me no matter what."

Ruby nodded while beaming, "Yeah! Your just ears only make you look cute!"

Blake blushed slightly, "Thanks. The main reason I kept my heritage to myself was so that I could show people who I am, instead of what I am. I'm only sorry that I didn't tell you guys sooner. You all deserved that much."

"We did." Weiss said finally, getting everyone to look her way. The usual stoic expression she had been wearing fading away and showing one of understanding, "But none of us can fault you for wanting to prove yourself as a person."

"Guess we really got more in common than we thought?" offered Blake and getting a small smile from the heiress.

"I guess so...Blake, I'm sorry. Even though I know for a fact that not all Faunus are bad, it's hard to overcome almost a lifetime of hate speech being grilled into you from a young age." Weiss admitted.

The Faunus nodded, "I get it. I'm sorry too. Even though I know what's become of the White Fang, I tend to forget the number of victims that have suffered long after my father stepped down. Even though your family's company has become a beacon of strife for the Faunus, you're nothing like your father and didn't deserve what's happened to you."

"Awwwww." Yang and Ruby said together, causing their partners to give them a small glare.

"I say we celebrate our team staying together!" Ruby exclaimed, "As leader, I decree that we get pizza!"

"I'm all for that!" Yang agreed.

Weiss rolled her eyes, but smiled at the antics of the two sisters while Blake took her ribbon and tied it gently around her ears again.

"I think your parents would be proud, Blake."Shade spoke softly from her mind, making the young Guardian smile to herself.

X

Wolf's shotgun blew through the chitin armor of the Acoltye that ran at him, racking the pump and firing again to take out another that had come out from behind a boulder farther ahead.

Qrow rammed his sword through a Knight's chest, twisting to the side, opening the barrel of the gun inside and blasting a Thrall off its feet.

The two warriors pushed through the opposition that was doing its best to pinned them down. Wraith hovering close to his Guardian and casting a bright beam of light to help guide them through the mines tunnels.

"They're really determined to keep us out, huh?" Qrow called out as he cleaved several Thrall in half.

"Whatever they've got going on down here's gotta be big. Keep pushing!" Wolf shouted back as he drew both of his handcannons and fired into the horde that kept spilling out of the shadows at them.

The whole scenario reminded him of his first mission on Earth's moon, only this time he wasn't a greenhorn Guardian.

Solar-light lit up along the barrel of the handcannon in his right hand. Three powerful shots lit up the tunnel as several Hive exploded in golden light before fading away to ashes and giving them an opening to keep moving.

When the last undead-alien fell, the tunnel went silent once again. Giving Wolf and Qrow a moment to reload and prepare for another onslaught.

"What the hell's the history with these things anyway?" the huntsman asked while loading fresh dust rounds into his weapon. "Where do they come from?"

"It's hard to say." replied Wraith. "When Wolf and I infitrated the World's Grave, the data collected said that the Hive have been around for millenia and have seen thousands of worlds taken by the Darkness. In one text, I think they referred to it as the 'Shapeless One', and worship it greatly."

Qrow snorted, "You saying these things are religious?"

"In a matter of speaking. If anything, they see pain and death as...well...heaven." continued the Ghost.

They started moving down the tunnel again, keeping their eyes peeled and focused on every crack and shadow around them in the off chance another ambush was waiting. As they treked farther underground. "There's just one last thing that's been bugging me." Qrow said lowly, as to not make too much noise. "You killed their 'God', right? That Crota guy? How are they still so organized and prepared? You'd think that watching their leader fall would be enough incentive to back off."

"With the Hive, it really doesn't work like that." said Wolf, auto rifle leading as they moved. "From what we could gather after Crota's downfall, he was just the Hive Prince. Strong and powerful with his own horde at his command. But there are others higher up than him. A lot of old tablets and notes pointed to a king in the Hive hierarchy...Oryx."

The name alone caused a chill to go down the huntsman's spine. He'd seen bits and pieces of the footage when Wolf and his team took on Crota. Any huntsman he had ever known wouldn't have stood a chance against that thing. To know that there was something else out there even stronger? It made the usually calm and aloof man fearful of what they would be capable of.

Several minutes passed with no opposition laying in wait. The two warriors came to an intersection in the tunnel that branched off in two different directions. "Well, can't say I'm surprised." Wolf muttered as he looked down both tunnels ahead of them.

Wraith flew toward one of the openings and made a quick scan before doing the same to the other. "I'm picking up a massive fluctuation of dark energy coming from down there." he said motioning to the tunnel on the right.

"We'll take the first tunnel." replied his Guardian, "With any luck we can get what we need before any more decide to come crawling out of their holes."

"You might have spoken too soon, we got movement ahead!" the Ghost warned just as Wolf's motion tracker went off with approaching hostiles.

From both tunnels, the lumbering forms of four Knights stomped out into the open. Each one of them holding a massive sword.

However, unlike the standard cleavers most Knights possessed, these ones were far different. Each massive blade, instead of being made of stone, looked to have been forged from crystals of varying colors.

The Knights rumbled, raising their swords as they all came to life. Red catching fire, pale-blue covering in ice, yellow crackling with electricity, and black having a series of small stones orbiting around it.

"...Shit." Qrow cursed, eyes wide as he took in the aliens wielding weapons made from dust.

"I guess the Hive have learned a thing or two as well..." Wraith added, hovering close to his Guardian while Wolf leered at their enemies.

With bellowing roars that echoed throughout the mines, the Knights charged ahead. Their dust infused weapons raised as their power prepared to be unleashed.

A/N: Looks like Wolf and Qrow are neck deep in it now.

I know the jumping back and forth between the two POVs was a little off, but I thought of making a different spin on the episode 'Black and White'. And given the new knowledge and clarity given to her by her Ghost, I figured Blake could handle the end of her fight with Weiss in a different way...though that doesn't mean that everything from the end of Season one will be different. Just altered in the right way.

Before I end this installment, I thought I would make one final note;

To LifeIsPrettyGood, even though I am more than open to criticism, flaming and even a bit of on the side beta-reading, let me make one thing perfectly clear...

I'm not forcing you to read my content. If you got an issue and wanna give up on what I write? That's fine, I don't fault people for not liking what others come up with. But keep your damn Trolling out of my reviews, because the only thing that will happen is the people that actually like my stuff going after you.

We all came here because we're fans and want to put our own work and fandom out there for all to enjoy. So lets not tear each other down, that's what causes stories to die and writers to quit. As much as I wanna fight about things like this, let's focus on keeping friendly ladies and gents. For all our sakes and the continuation of our growing online community.