Professor Port's booming voice filled the large, cavernous classroom, a theatrical rumble that seemed to shake the very foundations of the building. "Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names," he announced, gesturing grandly with his bladed axe. "But I, merely refer to them as prey!"
Ruby, however, was a world away. She leaned on her palm, her mind replaying the image of the photo on Yang's desk, the single word "Mom?" still a haunting echo in her ears. She was so lost in thought she didn't even notice the small, content smile that crept across her lips as she thought about Yang's excited voice. Beside her, Weiss was a model of pristine focus, her pen scratching across the pages of her notebook with quiet, efficient concentration. Yang and Blake were also dutifully taking notes, listening intently to the old teacher's lecture.
Professor Port's sudden, loud cackle ripped Ruby from her daze. "Ha ha ha! And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world." He peered over his glasses at the students, his eyes glinting. "Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in! Huntsmen! Huntresses! Individuals who cannot protect themselves. From what, you may ask? Why, the very world!"
A student in the back of the class suddenly shouted, "Eyyy-yeah!" before quickly shrinking into his chair as a hundred pairs of eyes turned to him.
"That is what you are training to become," Professor Port continued, as if nothing happened. "But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man. Me. When I was a boy!"
As Professor Port began his lengthy, self-aggrandizing exposition, Ruby listened, but her mind was still swirling with images of that woman in the photo. She needed to ask Yang about it, soon. She had to know. The question felt like a physical weight in her chest.
"In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity," Professor Port concluded with a flourish, "and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity, and my head held high. Celebrated as a hero! Now, the moral of the story: a true Huntsman must be honorable. A true Huntsman must be dependable. A true Huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise. So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
Weiss's eyes darted over to Ruby, her brow furrowing with irritation as she saw her partner staring blankly into space, entirely lost in her own thoughts. It was a betrayal of everything a team was supposed to be. Annoyance sparking in her eyes, Weiss's hand shot up into the air.
"I do, sir!" she announced, her voice filled with a confident, and pointed, declaration.
Professor Port's eyes twinkled as he looked at the young heiress. "Well then, let's find out!"
A loud, metallic screech echoed across the classroom. Ruby flinched, her attention finally turning to the massive wooden crate at the front of the room. As she looked at the source of the sound, a sharp, stabbing pain erupted in her head.
A voice, not her own, suddenly spoke in the back of her mind.
Feed...
The sound of the crate's lock being undone with a heavy click made Ruby's headache intensify. The voice, cold and alien, kept calling out.
Need to Feed...
It was a strange, unsettling sensation. She had been close to Grimm before, so why now? What was calling to her? Her head was throbbing even more.
"Step forward," Professor Port announced, his voice a dramatic roar. "And face your opponent!"
With a sharp scrape of her chair against the classroom floor, Weiss rose from her seat. Her movements were swift and precise, a stark contrast to the languid boredom of her classmates. She took Myrtenaster from its sheath, the blade of her rapier gleaming under the classroom lights. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she spun the weapon, its barrel humming as she adopted a perfect, ready stance.
From the corner of her eye, she could feel a stare. She glanced over and saw Ruby looking at her, a strange mix of concern and lingering confusion in her expression. Their eyes locked for a tense moment. Weiss's own gaze was cold and challenging, as if to silently declare, This is how a true huntress acts. This is how you behave in this class. She held the stare for a beat too long before looking away, focusing her attention back on the massive cage.
"Fight well!" Blake cheered from her seat, a quiet but firm show of support.
Yang, never one to be outdone, pumped a fist in the air. "Yeah! Show them what Team RWBY is made of!"
The sudden cheers broke Weiss's concentration. She shot a look of pure exasperation over her shoulder, a small snarl forming on her lips. "Shut it!" she snapped, her voice cutting through the classroom noise with a sharp, icy edge. "I'm trying to concentrate!"
"Alright then!" Professor Port boomed, his voice echoing through the classroom as he gestured dramatically toward the large wooden cage. "Let the match... begin!"
With a theatrical flourish, he swung his shotgun axe, the gleaming blade smashing against the heavy lock on the cage door. The lock snapped with a deafening crack, and the massive, hinged door fell forward with a deep thud, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
From the darkness within, two menacing red eyes flared to life. A guttural roar rumbled from the shadows, and a large, monstrous form lumbered out. It was a Boarbatusk, its thick, bony hide glistening under the classroom lights, and its powerful body ending in a massive pair of curled tusks.
The Grimm's eyes immediately locked onto Weiss, the scent of fear and a challenging opponent driving it into a frenzy. With a snort of steam and a loud grunt, it lowered its head and launched at her, its hooves kicking up woodchips as it charged.
Weiss's body moved on instinct. The charging Boarbatusk was a blur of black and bone, its tusks aimed directly at her chest, but she was faster. With a practiced pivot, she shifted to the side, her rapier, Myrtenaster, held high as the Grimm thundered past her, its momentum carrying it a few feet before it could turn.
For most of the class, the fight was a thrilling spectacle, but for Ruby, it was a waking nightmare. The voice in her head was no longer a whisper; it was a frantic, screaming demand.
FEED.
NEED TO FEED!
The sound was a raw, primal roar, a pure craving that was so intense it made her head throb with an agonizing pain. She squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her temples with both hands, trying to make the voice stop, trying to block out the unsettling pull she felt toward the creature. It was a magnetic force, a sick, twisted hunger for its presence, its power, its very essence.
Back on the battlefield, the Boarbatusk, enraged by the missed attack, slammed its front hooves into the ground and prepared to charge again. Weiss, however, was already in motion. With a graceful motion, she summoned a glyph beneath her feet, its white-and-blue light flaring to life. She propelled herself forward, using the glyph to launch into a spinning attack.
She came down on the Grimm, her blade striking its tough, armored hide with a sharp, metallic clang. But the attack had no effect. The blade slid off its hide with a shower of sparks, failing to find a weakness in its armor.
The Boarbatusk didn't even flinch. It let out a guttural snort, its massive body coiling with renewed fury, and it prepared for another charge. Weiss landed awkwardly, her graceful momentum lost, her back to the wall of the classroom.
The voice in Ruby's head reached a fever pitch.
FEED! NOW!
The throbbing in her temples became an unbearable pounding, and the image of the Grimm in front of her seemed to pulse with a dark, tantalizing energy. She had to get to it. She didn't know why, or what would happen, but she knew she had to. She had to bey
The voice in Ruby's head reached a fever pitch, a raw, screaming command that threatened to drown out all rational thought. The thrumming pain behind her eyes was unbearable, and the sight of Weiss, cornered and vulnerable, seemed to ignite a fire in her mind. The voice wanted her to feed, to consume, but all Ruby could think about was the very person the voice wanted to see defeated.
A wave of fierce, protective rage rose in her, not against the Grimm, but against the maddening voice in her head. With a guttural cry of her own, she pushed back against the command, fighting with everything she had.
Her eyes snapped open, a strange, black energy pulsing from her irises. From her hands, a torrent of dark, swirling particles erupted, an unnatural force that was completely silent. The energy surged forward, slamming into the charging Boarbatusk. The Grimm's roar was cut short as it was hit by the silent, powerful wave. It didn't damage the creature, but it slammed into its momentum, pushing its massive body back with an unseen force. The Boarbatusk skidded across the floor, its hooves digging deep gouges into the wood, before it finally came to a grinding halt inches from the far wall.
The entire class gasped. Professor Port, who had been watching with a confident smirk, now wore a look of utter fascination.
Weiss, momentarily stunned, used the brief reprieve to regain her footing. She looked from the recoiling Grimm to Ruby, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and confusion. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came out.
The black energy receded back into Ruby's hands, and the throbbing in her head subsided, but the silence that now filled the room was heavy. Yang and Blake rushed to her side, their expressions mirroring the shock on Weiss's face. They knew what it was, but they had never seen it manifest like this before.
Professor Port finally spoke, his voice no longer boisterous, but low and filled with a profound curiosity. "Remarkable," he said, his eyes fixed on Ruby. "I've never seen anything like it."
Yang immediately wrapped a protective arm around Ruby, pulling her close. "Are you okay? What was that?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Ruby looked from her team to the stunned professor and then back to the Boarbatusk, which was now shaking its head, looking dazed. She didn't know how to answer. She was okay. But she was more terrified than she had ever been. She had just used the very power she was so afraid of, and she had used it to save her friend. And now, everyone knew her secret.
The deafening silence that followed Ruby's display of power hung heavy in the air, broken only by the low rumble of the stunned Boarbatusk trying to regain its footing. Professor Port was the first to move. With a flick of his wrist, he retracted the blade of his axe and approached the cage. He calmly gave the disoriented Grimm a good whack with the hilt of his weapon, stunning it long enough for him to secure the lock with a new, much stronger chain.
He then turned to the stunned class, his booming voice a stark contrast to the quiet tension in the room. "The creature has been subdued! You may go, but remember the lessons learned today! You never know when your opponent may possess an unexpected advantage!" He gestured to the door. "Class dismissed!"
The students scrambled to pack their bags, casting hushed, nervous glances at Ruby and her team. They whispered to each other, a mix of fear and awe on their faces.
Yang immediately wrapped a protective arm around Ruby, pulling her close and shielding her from the stares. "Are you okay? What... what was that?" she whispered, her voice a mix of awe and concern.
Weiss, still visibly shaken, walked toward them, her usual cold demeanor gone. She didn't have her usual snarky comments or arrogant attitude. She just looked at Ruby, her eyes wide with a combination of fear and fascination. "That's not Aura," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "That was... a void. A complete absence of light."
Ruby looked from Yang's concerned face to Weiss's terrified one, her body trembling with a mixture of fear and exhaustion. Blake, ever the quiet observer, just stood beside them, a somber and understanding look on her face.
"I... I don't know what it was," Ruby confessed, her voice cracking. "It... it hurt. It felt like it was ripping me apart." She looked down at her hands, which were still shaking. "And it wanted me to... to feed." She couldn't bring herself to say the word again.
The weight of her secret hung between them for a moment before Yang pulled her into a tight, grounding hug. "We're not leaving," she said, her voice fierce with determination. "And we're not running. We're going to figure this out, all of us. No matter what it takes."
After a minute, a quiet, hollow feeling settled over the room after Professor Port left, leaving Team RWBY alone with the dazed and now-caged Boarbatusk. The others watched the Grimm warily, but for Ruby, the silence was worse than the noise. The voice in her head was no longer a frantic command; it was a deep, resonant rumble, a low-frequency hum that vibrated through her very bones. The throbbing behind her eyes returned, a relentless, pounding ache that promised to shatter her skull if she did not obey.
"Are you okay, Ruby?" Yang asked, stepping closer.
Ruby didn't answer. She could no longer feel her friend's hand on her shoulder. All she could feel was the overwhelming, primal craving from the depths of her mind. She took a single, unsteady step toward the cage, and the Grimm, sensing her approach, thrashed against the bars with a panicked grunt. The voice inside her screamed in pure, ravenous triumph.
Feed!
Her body moved on its own. With a choked cry, she reached out a shaking hand. A wisp of black smoke, a dark, viscous energy, began to seep from the Boarbatusk's hide, flowing toward her like a magnet drawn to a powerful current. The Grimm let out a terrified, high-pitched squeal as its very essence was ripped from it. The black energy condensed into a thick, swirling current that poured into Ruby's outstretched palm, flowing up her arm, and spreading through her veins.
A wave of pure, animalistic fury and raw, untamed hunger flooded her mind. It was the Grimm's consciousness, its primal desires, its terrifying simplicity-and it was now a part of her. The feeling was a nauseating, exhilarating horror. She felt the Grimm's pain as it was absorbed, but also a dark sense of satisfaction as it was consumed.
The Boarbatusk's body shriveled, its armor cracking and turning to dust, until all that was left was a black, oily stain on the floor. It was gone. The voice in Ruby's head was now a contented, silent hum, and the pain in her skull had vanished, replaced by a cold, unsettling rush of power.
The last tendrils of black smoke from the vanished Grimm dissipated into the air, and the overwhelming, primal pain that had been consuming Ruby's mind abruptly vanished. A quiet, unsettling calm took its place, a cold, foreign energy that now coursed through her veins. It didn't hurt, but it felt wrong-a dead, silent power that was so unlike the warm, vibrant feel of her Aura. Her hand was still outstretched, trembling slightly, and she stared at it in profound confusion. The memory of the Grimm's terrified essence, of its desperate struggle and its final, sickening silence, was branded in her mind.
She slowly turned toward her team, the question on her lips as fragile and unsteady as her stance. Her breathing was ragged, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, tried to make sense of a world that had just been turned upside down.
"The pain..." she said, her voice a cracked, disbelieving whisper. "It's... gone?" She looked from her trembling hand to the empty space where the creature had been, her brow furrowed in a deep, desperate frown. A wave of profound confusion washed over her, making her feel sick.
She lifted her bewildered gaze to her teammates. Yang, Weiss, and Blake were frozen in place, their faces pale masks of pure, bewildered shock. They said nothing. They just stared at her, their eyes wide with a mix of horror, awe, and an unsettling distance.
Ruby's voice cracked. "What... the hell happened?" she asked, the question filled with a raw, desperate plea for understanding. She was looking at them for answers, because for the first time in her life, she had no idea who she was or what she was capable of.