Yang exited the bar, no one even giving her a second look. The sun was fully down now, though the moon still had a little higher to go into the night sky. Her scroll rang once before Ozpin picked it up.

"Yang? Did you find something?"

"Yes, I think I have a lead. He didn't say it was a vampire specifically, but it does sound like it could be our man."

"Good. I'm right around the corner."

"You are?" She asked confused more so that he knew where she was.

"Yes, that contact I mentioned? It was junior too." His voice now coming from two directions if yang was hearing right, "But when we parted I saw you were going the way I actually needed to, and thought it would be awkward to then turn around and join you after splitting up."

Yang's expression broke into a smile for a few seconds as she rounded the corner to see the professor there waiting like he said. They shared a quick smile with the other, before she remembered the gravity of the situation.

"We're going to check it out now, right? So what happens if we find the vampire? Do we just take him on then and there?"

Ozpin dropped his smile and shook his head. "No, finding him is only the start. After that, we will follow him to a secluded place, where we can confront him." He gestured for her to take the lead, while he followed. "We can't risk anyone stumbling upon this fight, as they could be either witnesses or used by Dracul to bolster his own strength. You will have a difficult fight ahead of you, but remember; we may not see him tonight. Don't get your hopes too high, hunting vampires requires patience."

Yang's eyes rolled, but she kept from speaking. He knew, of course, that patience was not her strong suit. She didn't need to say anything.

The two started to walk quickly, Ozpin's cane clicking against the pavement rhythmically as he went. Yang tried her best to contain herself, but she couldn't keep her pace from rising, and before she knew it, she was about to leave Ozpin behind. It took a great deal of effort to keep from rushing away as they got closer to the river. Gradually, the buildings changed from lit up store windows and restaurants to dark apartment windows and much emptier streets.

She could hear the river far before she could see it, and she could smell it, too. The sound of rushing water and the light scent of garbage met her senses, and she felt herself perk up, becoming more attentive of her surroundings. She could even hear Ozpin's breathing and his heartbeat.

Her mouth felt dry, and cramps started to rack her body again. A few muscles in her fingers and stomach twitched painfully, and her eyes drifted to Ozpin's neck. She knew what she needed, but…

A sharp intake of breath punctuated the jerk of her head forward as she realized what it was she was thinking about. No matter how much her body turned against her, she couldn't let herself turn to that. No amount of pain could turn her into a monster. She couldn't let it.

If Ozpin noticed her sudden tensing, he didn't say anything about it.

When they reached the riverbank, Yang peered down at the surprisingly fast water below. She had never given the rivers much mind, they were easy to ignore when the bridges through the city passed so far above them. Now that she looked closely, she could see that the water was a little less than pure. The industrial district was further out, towards the coast, so it couldn't be from that. She knew some people probably threw their garbage into the river, but its source also came from somewhere out in the wilds, so there was no telling what exactly could be flowing through the city. Other than that, though, there didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong with the water.

Yang leaned over the edge to check if she could see through the water, but was hit by a wave of dizziness. It was like she had just run a marathon with five hundred pounds on her back. Her vision was blurred slightly, but she could still see through the water, to the bottom of the river.

The flowing water distorted what she was seeing at the bed, but she could see all the way down without too much trouble. It took her a second but she also realized that she couldn't see her reflection. Sure the sun was down, but there were still streetlights. She should have been able to see her reflection.

She knelt down and placed her hand just a few inches above the water, and smiled when a faint image appeared in the choppy current. A moment later, water splashed up on her face, and her body suddenly felt like a limp noodle.

"You should probably take a step back, Yang. I don't feel like having to fish you out of the river tonight."

Yang did what he asked and fell back onto her rear. Her strength returned to her as quickly as it had left, and she flexed her fingers a couple times before looking to Ozpin for answers.

"Vampires aren't just creatures of the night. They are also of the earth, and as such are weakened by water, especially flowing water. It won't kill you, like the sun, and drowning certainly isn't a concern. The most you'd have to worry about is being trapped at the bottom of the river until it either dried up or someone pulled you out."

"Why didn't I notice before, then?" She realized she didn't feel like this going to, or coming back from Patch, nor from the rain earlier during the day.

"The sun probably made you feel weaker than the water did. It's a strange thing that we haven't been able to figure out, but from what we can guess, if there is something between you and the water, it loses it's effect on you, as well as it being far away. As for rain, it's considered a force of the sky.."

Yang raised an eyebrow at that last fact, waiting for a reason behind that logic. Ozpin shrugged himself and said, "It may not make much sense, but that is how it works."

She glanced down at the water again before asking, "So how are we going to find his dumping place? I mean, I won't be much use if I have to stay so far away, and you probably aren't looking forward to getting in there and looking around."

He shook his head, saying, "No, no one's going to have to get in the water. With a careful eye, walking along the bank should suffice. By the sounds of it, this vampire doesn't take much care in disposing of its victims. It's possible we could even catch him in the act."

Yang started to walk, putting Ozpin between herself and the river while trying to watch the far side. She didn't know exactly what she was watching for. What did a body dump look like? It was probably pretty corpse-y and suspicious, but lots of people threw things into the river, and plenty of those things were probably pretty shady too.

Most of the water seemed normal enough, but those were mostly the places where the water was clearest. She tried to focus on where the current made foam, or flowed around obstructions that made it difficult to see.

It felt like a long while before either of them said anything, but she was thankful for the silence. It made her feel a little bit better, having time to herself to think.

If she did manage to get her hands on that vampire, she would make sure he didn't hurt anyone else. She couldn't imagine what the fight would be like, though. Her battle with Ruby had been… terrible. And Ruby only had about a two week lead on her in terms of development. She hoped that the benefits of being a vampire capped out somewhere around there. Otherwise, the battle wasn't going to be fun.

She also found herself wondering about Ozpin's fighting abilities. She'd never seen him so much as lift a finger against an opponent, but he said he was still a vampire hunter. Someone like that would have to be an excellent fighter, but she just couldn't imagine the Headmaster behaving like that. He was far too reserved.

The longer they walked the more tense Yang felt. She couldn't place why, but it felt like she was being watched. Despite her best efforts to find the source of the feeling, she could find no one.

Ozpin continued to walk at a leisurely pace, calmly continuing to look over the river, his mouth bent into a slight smile. She knew he could feel it too. There was no way he couldn't. Gradually, the feeling faded, but that left Yang more uneasy than anything else.

After searching for what was about half an hour, Ozpin turned and said, "Perhaps it would be wise to ask some of the locals whether or not they've seen anything. You'll probably have better luck with that than I would. Start with the buildings along the bank. And don't come off as being too threatening, I don't imagine you would be too well received in an area where a vampire has decided to throw his bodies if you are too… enthusiastic."

His tone suggested what he didn't directly say, and Yang knew his concern wasn't misplaced. She needed to keep a tight handle on herself. Any slip-ups would be disastrous.

The houses weren't far from the banks, but Yang was thankful that Ozpin was still in view. If something happened to him, or to her, the other would be ready to react almost instantly.

It felt strange, going from door to door in the dead of the night. There weren't many traveling salesmen on Patch, but from what some of her friends had said, they were irritating at best, and infuriating at their worst. Neither of those would help, but she was beyond caring too much about that.

Unsurprisingly, she was met with either hostility or confusion. The first guy didn't even bother opening the door till she explained she wasn't selling anything. The third and fourth were convinced she was police or child services. All of them though hadn't seen anything, and the first guy didn't even know bodies were being dumped in the river so close by.

"Oh Vlad, you're such a gentleman."

Yang left the last door she knocked at to see a man walking down the street with two women under his arms. Yang ran from the door to intercept them. They stopped in their tracks willingly and the man looked down at Yang. He had long black hair that flowed down his shoulders and well-kept facial hair. Yang eyed him up and down, sizing him up on natural instinct before anything else. He didn't look too strong, but she had the inkling that he was hiding something. Her skin prickled as the man did the same, and the women at his sides started to give the man more attention, twirling their fingers through his hair and giving Yang sultry waves and a few lude gestures.

One of the girls beckoned, and Yang narrowed her eyes. They were probably getting paid. Still, the guy might know something, so she couldn't just let him go.

She started walking towards him, trying to pick up whatever she could about him. He was relaxed, and as she got closer she could smell alcohol on his breath.

"Who's this? You new in town? I haven't seen you around before."

His voice was smooth, and gave the impression that he had no clue what was going on, but Yang figured she would ask anyways.

"Have you seen anything suspicious around here lately? Someone's been dumping bodies into the river around here, and I'm trying to find them."

"Really? Well damn, I must apologize to you two ladies. It was irresponsible for me to bring two fine flowers such as yourselves to such a place." His words made Yang want to vomit, but his companions were eating it up.

Yang raised an eyebrow before shaking her head.

"Well young miss, I appreciate the warning. I'll make sure to keep my guard up till I have escorted these two lovelies home for the evening."

One of them commented about how he was "So brave," but Yang let them go on with their night.

She shook her head, impressed at how each syllable he spoke made her like him less and less. Something about him made her very uncomfortable. She wanted to question them more, but they were rounding the corner already, laughing amongst themselves. "When you live out of the kingdom for as long as I have, you grow an appreciation for the finer things the civilized world can provide-"

Yang's focus turned from their chat to scouring the area around her. The feeling of being watched had returned, this time much stronger than before. She knew the source had to be close.

She ran down the street toward where she felt it was coming from. She could feel it growing closer and closer, but it started to move away from her, and she picked up her pace. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but she was sure she saw something move from the underside of the bridge in front of her to the support beam on the ground. Yang went into a full sprint. Her vision tunneled as everything outside what she was focusing on turned into a blur. The pillar grew closer, and she had her gauntlets extend into their combat form. In a swift motion she rounded the corner and gave a yell of rage as she made a wide left hook at the figure that was there.

A stick of some kind intercepted her arm, and forced it away from her center. Her target then ducked low, and she felt her body get lifted up as she collided with their shoulders. In one second flat, Yang was flipped over and on her back with a rough landing. She tried to pick herself up, until the same stick from before came down, right on her head and nose. The impact made her face burn, and her hands rushed to her face as she rolled on the ground in pain.

"Yang, if you can't control yourself then maybe it's time to pack it in for the night. It doesn't seem like the vampire will be showing himself today."

Yang pried her eyes open to see Professor Ozpin standing above her. Something about him made her very uncomfortable. She wanted to question them more, but they were rounding the corner already, laughing amongst themselves. "When you live out of the kingdom for as long as I have, you grow an appreciation for the finer things the civilized world can provide-"

Yang's focus turned from their chat to scouring the area around her. The feeling of being watched had returned, this time much stronger than before. She knew the source had to be close.

She ran down the street toward where she felt it was coming from. She could feel it growing closer and closer, but it started to move away from her and she picked up the pace. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but she was sure she saw something move from the underside of the bridge in front of her to the support beam on the ground. Yang went into a full sprint. Her vision tunneled as everything outside what she was focusing on turned into a blur. The pillar grew closer, and she had her gauntlets extend into their combat form. In a swift motion she rounded the corner and gave a yell of rage as she made a wide left hook at the figure that was there.

A stick of some kind intercepted her arm, and forced it away from her center. Her target then ducked low, and she felt her body get lifted up as she collided with their shoulders. In one second flat, Yang was flipped over and on her back with a rough landing. She tried to pick herself up, until the same stick from before came down, right on her head and nose. The impact made her face burn, and her hands rushed to the pain as she rolled on the ground in a futile attempt to make it stop burning.

"Yang, if you can't control yourself then maybe it's time to pack it in for the night. It doesn't seem like the vampire will be showing himself today."

Yang pried her eyes open to see Professor Ozpin standing above her.

"When did you get here?"

Ozpin offered a hand to her, and she reached out and grabbed it, rubbing her head.

"You can't simply attack anything that seems suspicious, especially in such a populated area. Doing that could lead to the deaths of innocents, or worse, in your case. Please, you must be more cautious."

She was pulled back to her feet, then fixed Ozpin with a suspicious gaze. "Did you see anyone run past here? I could have sworn I felt something… I don't know, weird."

He shook his head, raising an eyebrow before glancing around.

"No, why? Should I have? Did you see them?"

Yang hesitated.

"No, I guess not. I thought I could catch them."

The feeling was gone, and what had been causing it was no closer than it had been before. She sighed and shook her head, looking around at places anything could be hiding. Behind street lights, on the roofs of buildings, even the river couldn't be discounted.

"Alright. I still want to keep looking, but if you think it's best to turn in for the night I guess we can keep doing that."

"I'm glad you're giving this the seriousness it requires." He commented, a small smile on his face as he lead her back to the roof where they landed. A bullhead arrived before they reached the top and they were back at Beacon within the hour.

Ozpin stepped off the craft, rubbing one of his eyes. Yang felt she was being watched again, but she couldn't place where the sensation came from. Ozpin explained that he would rest for the night, and would see her first thing after breakfast. Once he retreated inside the building the feeling finally faded, and Yang walked to her dorm. She felt thirsty, but refused to even acknowledge the fact. She thought about what said about it. It wasn't actually the blood that would drive her mad, it was the venom in her fangs. Maybe if she drank from a blood bag or something she could… No. She shook her head, it was risky to begin with, plus she didn't know if that would actually work. She wouldn't be like this for long anyways; she just needed to hold out for a little longer.

She pushed open to door to her room, so glad she programmed her backup scroll with the keycode for the door. The room was still empty, and the blood stained carpet hadn't been replaced yet. She looked around for something to do during the night. This would normally be when she was up as a vampire, but couldn't figure out how to pass the time.

She looked around for a bit before noticing Ruby hadn't taken her "Pocket Gamer" with her when she left. As always, it had her favorite game plugged in, one that Yang found decent enough, even if it wasn't normally her style. The action combat was very slow to her, much slower then she remembered it being. Enemy swings that would normally take only a fraction of a second seemed to pass at a snail's pace. With no challenge to the enemies, Yang quickly grew bored and set it down.

Looking around more, she found one of the books Blake was always reading. Blake did always have good taste in books, even if Yang didn't enjoy reading most of the time. She opened the front cover and was immediately greeted with a graphic content warning. It took a few seconds for her to realize what that meant, but when the connection happened, Yang's memories of her being red faced during meals, or being wide eyed with her face literally between the pages all made sense now.

She remembered what she had told Ozpin last night, and discarded Blake's in favor of scanning through Ruby's collection. "Atlas" stood out with its gold trim and lettering. Yang quickly pulled it out and started flipping through the pages. she'd made her way through at least seven eighths of the book before she found it again.

Most of the information was useless fluff, telling how the vampire scared the people and how dangerous the journey was for the hero. She was more interested in what the facts were, hidden behind the myth; the vampire's habits, what it could do, and how it could be killed.

Superhuman strength was one that Yang was already familiar enough with. She'd had some experience in dissolving into mist, although she didn't know how much use that would be in a fight. Good for getting around maybe, but not for hitting people. The ability to morph her arms into weapons was far more useful, and it was in the book too, but she didn't have any kind of handle on it yet. Another ability the book mentioned was disguises. The vampire in the story used its powers to change its appearance, taking the form of someone else to trick people. That one made her feel a little nervous. The vampire could be anyone, but making them harder to find. Apparently that ability wasn't just limited to human forms, either. To try to escape, the vampire in the story tried turning into a fox.

Yang had to stop, and look down at herself in disbelief. She knew some aspects of the story had to be exaggerated, but a fox? It seemed a little out there. Still, she needed to become more familiar with using her powers if she wanted any prayer of winning the fight.

She spent a few minutes throwing punches at empty air, making sure that she could still hit as hard as she could possibly need. Every punch was accompanied by a satisfying whooshing sound, and her fists moved almost too fast for even her to follow.

The next task she set her sights on was turning her arms into weapons. She moved to the bathroom, taking off Ember Celica and laying them carefully on the counter before turning her attention to her reflection.

Or, at least, where her reflection would be. It took her a few moments to register that the mirror didn't show her anything. When she remembered, she hissed through her teeth.

After thinking for a few moments, she plugged the sink, and filled it with water. the curved basin worked well enough, once the water became still.

She was pale. Horribly, corpse-ishly pale. But still, everything else seemed alright. Her eyes seemed to be darkening, but she didn't pay much attention to that. What she focused on were her fingers, and in her head, she pictured the way that Ruby's had morphed together, forming into blades like it was nothing. She closed her eyes as she felt her flesh start to tingle, and her mind overflowed with possibilities. What did she want? A short blade? A long blade? Some kind of tentacle thing, like Ruby had?

She let her mind settle on one thing, and opened her eyes before she even knew what it was. When she looked, she found that a hard shell had formed where her fist used to be, narrowing to a sharp point that looked like it would go through even steel.

She tried swung another punch to check how much it would restrict her movements. Air blasted past her arm before softly shaking the now useless mirror on the wall as the shell dissipated. Yang growled in frustration, before taking a breath and concentrating. The shell reformed around her arm, and she held it out in front of her.

Once more it started to dissipate like she guessed it had the first time. Concentrating on it, it ceased and started to reform around her fist. It took a lot of focus to keep it there. How could Ruby do it so easily? The only thing her sister could ever focus on were her games, Crescent Rose, food, and her stories.

Yang let the weapon fade away, deciding it would be better used as a backup than anything else. She didn't know if she would be able to summon it quickly enough in battle, and if she could, there was no guarantee it would stay. Ember Celica was much more dependable, and had the bonus of being a flame weapon, which she could use to ward off other vampires.

Her eyes drifted from her gauntlets back to the book on her bed, and she thought about the other powers she had. Disguising could help to find Dracul, and it couldn't hurt to try it out.

She leaned over the sink, trying to think of who she could turn into. It needed to be someone she was very familiar with, someone she saw almost every day.

There was no question in her mind who it would be. She could imagine Ruby's body, face, hair, every detail was as clear as day to her. Her eyes closed, and she tried to imagine herself transforming into Ruby. She tried to tense herself up, making the transformation happen, but felt nothing. After a few seconds of trying, she let out a deep breath and opened her eyes again.

Bright yellow hair still flowed down over her shoulders, she was still tall, and she didn't look like Ruby.

She snorted in irritation before closing her eyes and trying again. She had hours, and she was going to figure this stuff out. Picturing Ruby again, she funneled all the concentration she could into a single mental image of her sister, practically shaking with the effort it took. She could feel her body make strange movements, like things were popping in and out of place, and when she opened her eyes, she nearly screamed.

Ruby gazed back through the water, but she wasn't right. hollow eyes peered back at her from sunken sockets, and a twisted, predatory smile warped what was usually a sweet, innocent face. Long fangs stood proud in her maw, poking into her bottom lip.

Yang jerked back, alarmed, before noticing in the seconds before the basin was out of sight, Ruby moved identically to her.

She stumbled, toppling over and cracking her head hard on the tiled floor. She didn't know whether or not to feel happy about the fact that it didn't hurt. As she stood up, she realized that her body was now in quite different proportions than it had been seconds ago. Even her clothes had been replaced by the short dress Ruby wore, and it didn't escape her attention that a large red stain covered the front.

This was Ruby right after she'd attacked Yang.

Thankfully, her panicked state broke the concentration that held up the illusion, and it disappeared in the same black smoke everything else did. She sprang to her feet and rushed over to the sink again, staring desperately at the surface of the water.

She was herself again. Or, at least as close as she could get. Every trace of Ruby's monstrous appearance was gone. Still, Yang was uncomfortable. That awful smile… had it been hers?

Her hands shook as she walked out of the bathroom, returning to her bed. Ruby's book thudded to the floor softly as Yang pulled her knees up to her chest, and she closed her eyes, trying to shove the memories out of her mind.

She was going to wait for Ozpin to come back before she tried anything else.

Author's Note:

Leivve was, as with the other chapters, a huge help to getting this thing done. If you've got the time, why not leave a review? It makes everyone's day better.