Glynda's lungs felt like they were going to burst. She didn't know how long she had been running, only that her pursuer was still very close by. Attempting to dishevel the snow on the mountains, she hoped that it would slow her assailant down even if just by a little. However, nothing she did seemed to work. She knew that whoever or whatever was behind her was slowly gaining on her, yet she couldn't do a single thing about it.

What do I do? I could try turning to fight, but if they managed to keep up with me all this time and even get closer to me then I surely wouldn't stand a chance…

She realised that if she ran any longer her legs would surely give out beneath her, so with no choice she came to a halt, turning to face her attacker, only… they weren't there.

'What?'

She couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Someone had been hot on her heels just seconds before, so how had they mysteriously disappeared all of a sudden? She knew it was impossible. Staying alert, she made sure to keep a close eye on every orifice, every small crack in the rocks. If her attacker was still nearby, they were hidden extremely well. She cautiously began to back away, never taking her eyes off the rocks. And that was when it hit her. How could she have forgotten? The Grimm have six senses, not five. The sixth sense that a Grimm possessed was the ability to hear heartbeats. She knew from that one piece of information that she was dealing with a very intelligent breed. She deduced that the creature listened to her heartbeat, and knowing that her pulse was racing through her body it realised she was going to turn and fight at some point, so it hid itself. The creature knew Glynda's every move before she even did, and that meant that it also knew every place she would watch when she backed away, meaning that the one place the Grimm could be was… right behind her. Gulping, she slowly turned around, greeted with the snarling fangs of the Grimm that she had walked right into. Using aura, she bombarded it with a volley of attacks, using everything from ice to stones as weapons as she launched them at the Grimm. Her attacks had no effect on the beast however, the creature simply standing there taking the brunt of her attacks, not even flinching as it did so.

'So, this is it, huh?'

The Grimm laughed mockingly at her submission. From its appearance she could see that it was most definitely an SSS-Class, one which she had no hope of defeating alone.

'I really thought Yuki would be the one to kill me. In truth, I guess I actually hoped that she would be the one to do it.'

Glynda's solemn tone prompted the Grimm to listen to her final words before it enjoyed its meal.

'I wanted to go the same way as him.'

She couldn't stop the tears falling from her cheeks as she spoke.

Ozpin… I let you down. I promised you that I would survive, and yet… here I am, giving my life to a Grimm. I'm sorry. I hope that we can at least meet again in the next life, if there even is one.

She closed her eyes, awaiting her end, but it never came. After a few seconds, she opened them to see a familiar pink and brown haired girl skewering the Grimm before her with her blade.

'Neo…!'

Glynda's voice swelled with a mixture of gratitude, relief and happiness. She had been given a second chance, a chance to carry out the promise she made.

I guess I'll be able to live on after all. I wonder, did you send her? Are you still looking after me even from beyond the grave?

'Hello Glynda,' she returned with a smile. 'Sorry.'

'Don't be. You saved my life.'

'I wasn't talking about the Grimm. I was talking about her.'

Gesturing behind Glynda, she turned around, her happiness replaced by horror as the graceful appearance of Yuki gently approached her.

'Neo… what…?'

'Just a little arrangement of ours. Who says Grimm and humans can't work together for a common cause?'

'What are you…?'

'Join us, Glynda.'

Glynda was still reeling from the shock of learning that Neo had joined forces with an X-Class Grimm. Just what was Neo's goal in all of this? That was the thought running through her head.

'Join… with a Grimm…? You think I'd join the one who killed the man I love?!'

'It's very simple. You join or you die.'

The deadpan manner in which she said this made Glynda want to be sick. How could she talk about killing another person so easily?

'What are you trying to do?' Glynda asked, a small part of her not wanting to know the answer.

'We are on an extermination mission. We're going to eradicate the humans that still wander this land,' Yuki answered, her voice devoid of any remorse. Yuki may once have been the human known as Weiss, but those days were evidently long behind her.

'And… you want me to join you and help kill the race that I'm a part of?'

'Correct.'

Thinking on it for a while, Glynda realised she didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

'…Very well. I don't really have much choice, so I'll go with you.'

A pleasant smile crossing Yuki's face, without saying another word she began to leave through the mountain pass.

'Where are we going?' Glynda asked her, Yuki not even turning as she answered.

'We're following someone. Being such a powerful Grimm gives me an extremely enhanced sense of smell, so thanks to the fact that I already know her scent I can follow her anywhere she goes.'

Reluctant to follow, she slowly began trudging behind the dangerously powerful figure in front of her.

Ruby, Adam… I hope you're both safe.

This is it. This is the place where I lost three of my friends.

Looking on towards the ruins of the White Fang facility that used to stand there, she took a deep breath, clearly apprehensive about dredging up those bad memories.

Well, guess I'd better start searching. If anywhere will have information on those experiments, it's here.

Digging around through the rubble, she saw a lot of things that she recognized, namely large, misshapen sets of iron bars and the fancy interior brickwork of the main entrance.

I'm gonna be here for a while.

After searching for around two hours, she found nothing helpful. No notes, no nothing. It all just looked the same to her, barring the occasional room that wasn't built out generic material. She suddenly became alert however when she heard a faint rustling behind her, immediately drawing Crescent Rose in response.

Staying perfectly silent, she waited to see if whoever was there would make another move, only to be met with an eerie silence. Standing slowly, she quickly flitted her eyes around the area, seeing nothing but horizon in every direction.

'Who's there?'

Her calm, collected voice betrayed her slight nervousness at not knowing who was following her. Turning back round, she caught a view of something moving quickly towards her out of the corner of her eye.

I knew it!

Through her training she had gotten extremely proficient at using her semblance to its full potential, and it showed as the Grimm moved in what was essentially slow motion. Taking a closer look, she could see that it was an SSS-Class Beowolf, the claws and fangs being a dead giveaway along with the pair of wolf ears atop his head.

Throwing the Grimm to the ground and pinning it down with her scythe, she released her semblance. The Grimm was evidently confused as to what had just happened. From its perspective it had been mid-jump one second and the next moment it was lying on the ground, its prey asserting control over it.

'What…?'

'You're going to tell me something,' Ruby said, her eyes filled with anger that a Grimm such as this would dare to try and ambush her.

'I'm not telling you shit.'

Pressing the blade down hard against its throat, the Grimm soon complied.

'Alright, alright! What… what do you want to know?'

With a smile, Ruby surprised the Beowolf with her request.

'Tell me how to become a Grimm.'

'Umm… excuse me?'

'You're a powerful Grimm, and I respect that. But that also means that you must know how to turn a human into a Grimm.'

Suddenly, the Beowolve's expression contorted into one of frustration.

'You think its nice being like this? We Grimm didn't ask for this. It's like a torture that never ends!'

'I understand that. But that doesn't change a thing. Tell me how to become a Grimm.'

'You're playing with fire, girl. This isn't something you want to experiment with.

Threatening him with her blade, the look in her eyes pierced fear into the Grimm.

'Tell me. Now.'

'It's your funeral. Fine, I'll tell you. In exchange, don't kill me.'

'I thought it was endless torture?'

'That doesn't mean we don't fear death. We may be monsters, but we still fear. We are still capable of emotion.'

'Alright, I get it. Just tell me how to become a Grimm.'

With a sigh, the Grimm reluctantly complied.

'You have to eat a part of a Grimm. Your body absorbs the Grimm DNA and then when you use those cells they start to hijack the body from the inside out, eventually converting them all into Grimm cells.'

Not even waiting for him to finish, she dug her teeth into a small portion of his arm, ripping the flesh directly from him, swallowing it with a dissatisfied expression.

'Ouch, that hurt, damn it!'

'Hmm… tastes like shit.'

'Well gee, I wonder why! It's almost like its raw flesh that was just ripped straight from a Grimm!'

Ruby seemed amused by his tone.

'I like you. You can come with me for a while.'

The Beowolf wasn't sure how to respond to her proposition, but guessed that refusal was probably a one-way road to death row.

'Fine,' he said with a heaving sigh.

'By the way, I never asked your name,' Ruby put forward, finally stepping back to allow the Grimm back to his feet.

'Name's Fenrir. How about you?'

'I'm Ruby.'

They said nothing more as Ruby gestured him to follow her, Fenrir begrudgingly following her knowing that escaping would be a futile attempt from her earlier display of power.

After they had been walking for a few hours, Ruby asked a question that had been bugging her since she ate a part of Fenrir's flesh.

'So when will the Grimm transformation actually begin?'

'You have to use the Grimm cells inside you. Usually I'd think that's by being put in a life or death situation, but in your case I don't know how we can force it. Maybe you can just will yourself to use them, or something.'

'No… there is one thing.'

Yuki…

A deep black mist began to form around her, enveloping her and seeping into her skin. After a few minutes the mist finally cleared, but what came out of it was not the Ruby that Fenrir had seen just moments before. He stared onwards in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.

'No way…'

Ruby's skin was covered in strange black markings, and her cape and hair had been dyed black. Even the shaft of Crescent Rose was covered in a strange bone-like structure, and her fingernails were much more pointed and pronounced than before. When she opened her eyes, however, that was what surprised him the most. The pure blood-red eyes that she possessed on her mask-less face told him everything. This young girl at such a tender age was on par with the X-Class even before her transformation.

'What?' Ruby's innocent voice called out to him, snapping him out of his trance.

'Wait… why isn't your personality different?'

'What are you talking about?'

There was genuine confusion in her voice.

She really isn't affected by the Grimm…? What's going on? Could she seriously be powerful enough to dominate the Grimm inside her…? That's insane! That's an X-Class Grimm! What the hell kind of monster is she…

'Umm… when a human undergoes a transformation to becoming a Grimm they're fused with the Grimm genes, and those are usually more dominant and take control. How are you able to control the Grimm so easily?'

'I guess it's because I underwent the transformation immediately and willingly rather than fighting against it? I dunno.'

'Still... you managed to beat out the power of an X-Class for possession of that body… that's insane.'

'Oh no…'

Fenrir grew worried at her sudden exclamation.

'W-what? What's wrong?'

'I spent years dying black parts into my red hair, and now it's all black.'

Ruby pouted adorably despite her appearance, annoyed that she had lost her red locks.

This girl has some serious priority issues that she needs sorting out.

'Although,' she began again, a mischievous blush filling her cheeks, 'I do quite like these new feelings I'm getting.'

'Uhh… what?'

Pushing him down to the ground, Ruby seemed attracted to his scent on an almost animalistic level, mounting him much to his surprise. Even Fenrir seemed embarrassed by her actions, looking away to avoid making awkward eye contact.

A few hours later, and Ruby had finished her 'activities,' Fenrir panting exhaustedly after being subjected to her desire-sating.

'I thought I was going to die.'

'Relax, it was pretty good,' she chirped happily. 'Although you were pretty fast,' she complained.

'NINETEEN TIMES! THAT'S HOW MANY YOU FORCED OUT OF ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SORE I AM NOW? I'M NOT GONNA PEE COMFORTABLY FOR WEEKS!'

'You'll get over it. Besides, I think I should be able to hold back for a while,' she shot back, before having a teasing thought as she looked over at him again. 'Actually…'

'Oh no, no way. I'm not letting you within ten feet of me after that.'

'Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll leave you alone… for a while.'

At least until I find her.

Yuki… no, Weiss… I'm gonna find you. I don't care what you are on the surface; I know you're still Weiss deep down. And I'm going to bring that side of you back. That's a promise.