The tentacles were preparing to strike again, the tips of them covered in blood. They hovered over Y/n's body, trying to find the most painful points. They dug underneath his skin and started cutting up the muscles then cracking his bones, Y/n could feel every millimetre of Grimm slowly slicing him open, every tiny firework of pain flaring to the front of his mind.

"no no no, NO!"

Y/n woke up in a cold sweat, thinking he was still in Salem's castle. He was panting heavily and was drenched in his own bodily fluids. Y/n walked to the dorm's bathroom and splashed water onto his face, he looked into the mirror above the tap, he thought he saw a Grimm behind him and swiftly turned around, it was only his shadow. Y/n shakily sighed. He needed help.

He left his dorm and walked to team RWBY's. He jumped at every shadow he passed, paranoid it could be a Grimm. He finally arrived at the door to team RWBY's dorm and knocked. Ruby answered while wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

"Oh hey Y/n, what do you wan-"

Y/n broke down crying, falling to his knees.

"The nightmares, there not going away, I still feel myself back in that place and relive the pain every night. I can't live like this."

"Shh, it's okay, do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?"

"I... I would like that."

Ruby let Y/n in and gestured to her bed.

"Are you sure?"

"Oh come on, I don't bite."

"Alright."

Y/n hopped into Ruby's bed while she grabbed him a glass of water, she placed the glass on the floor next to Y/n then snuggled up in the bed next to him.

"Y/n, I'm always here for you, anything you need."

"Thanks, Ruby, I'm glad to hear that."

They both wished each other goodnight and went to sleep.

"Wake up you lazy bastard," Tai said as he shook the young Y/n awake.

"You have chores to do, clean my room and train with Yang."

"But I still feel the bruises from training with Raven."

"Does it look like I give a flying fuck?"

Tai kicked Y/n off his mouldy bed and left the room, Y/n stood up while clutching his side.

Y/n walked into Tai's room and started wiping the windows and scrubbing the floors. An hour later he was done and walked outside onto the grassy plain that surrounded the house.

"Took you long enough, fuckface."

"Just get this over with."

"I'll have to beat that rebellion out of you."

Yang walked up to Y/n, who was covered in protective pads and started whacking him, wherever she pleased. Y/n wouldn't break any bones or get permanently injured, but it still hurt like hell.

Yang kept whacking Y/n's padded body until she was panting and sweating and Y/n was covered in bruises.

"Alright, that's enough for today, I went easy on you, I won't be so merciful next time."

Y/n didn't say anything, he just removed the pads and walked back to his bed, utterly spent.

Ruby knocked on the door but when she didn't get a response she invited herself in. She saw Y/n passed out on his bed, probably from exhaustion. She dropped a tray of milk and cookies by his bed. She saw his sweating face and thought he looked cute when he slept. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before blushing and quickly walking out of the room.

"I can offer you money, power, anything you want." Whimpered Oliver Winchester as he awoke to the terrifying sight of Y/n aiming a gun at his face.

"Please, you don't have to do this, I know you work for Torchwick, I can get you a new fresh life somewhere he can't find you."

"I have a job to do."

"Please, you look the same age as my son, do you really want to commit cold-blooded murder?"

"You know what happens if I betray Roman."

"I can get you away from him."

"I highly doubt that."

"Please, I'm unarmed."

Y/n cocked his gun.

"Any last words?"

"If you ever see my son, tell him I love him. And a word of advice, you won't forget what you're about to do, the memory will haunt you for the rest of your days."

"I doubt that too."

Boom

A shot rang out across the night, the guards outside of the crime lord's bedroom rushed in, they saw there boss lying dead on the floor, a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.

They searched for the culprit, but he had already vanished into the night.

"Good doing business with you, Adam."

"Likewise, Roman." The Faunus said as his men loaded the dust crates onto the ship.

"Good seeing you Y/n," Blake said as she hopped onto the ship with Adam.

Y/n didn't move.

"My apologies young woman, my friend here dosen't talk a lot, childhood trauma and whatnot."

"Oh, okay. Well if you can hear me, it was nice meeting you."

Y/n finally looked up at the young Faunus.

"You too." He winked at the Faunus then walked away.

"Come on Blake," Adam said, not seeing the wink and not seeing Blake blushing as a reaction.

Roman had watched the whole scenario play out and chuckled to himself. Y/n was playing with heartstrings and he knew it.

Boom

"Get down," Roman yelled as the automated turrets started firing at the intruders.

"Y/n, you know what to do."

The young boy nodded and teleported under the turrets, stabbing them with his sword and disabling them.

"Good job."

Roman, Neo and Y/n moved up to the next carriage where a dozen robot guards where waiting.

"Shit!"

The trio hid behind a crate while the guards slowly advanced on their position.

"Neo!" Roman yelled above the thunder of gunfire.

The mute stepped out from behind the cover and blocked the incoming projectiles with her umbrella, one of the guards stepped in front of the others and hoisted a rocket off his back, firing it at Neo who had to duck back behind the cover while the guards refocused their fire.

"Dammit, Y/n, do the wrap around."

"Easy."

The boy teleported behind the guards and started shooting into their ranks, causing them to turn around and begin firing at him. Y/n teleported in front of the squad and fired again, confusing the robots target identification, causing them to still shoot while looking around for their opposition, they tore each other to shreds within seconds.

"Well done Y/n, Neo... Please be helpful next time."

Roman gave Y/n a pat on the shoulder but gave Neo an icy stare.

He clearly had a favourite.

That day, Neo swore that she would prove herself the better fighter. The better warrior.

Whatever it took.

Knock Knock

Y/n awoke from his less than peaceful slumber, his dreams had been like a slideshow of his greatest hits. Some of those memories weren't so pleasant.

Knock knock

No one in team RWBY appeared to have woken up so Y/n dragged himself out of bed and opened the door.

Standing there was Special agent Winter in full officer attire, compared to Y/n's pyjamas.

"Can I help you?"

"I have come to retrieve my sister."

Y/n went back inside and woke Weiss up, she lifted her groggy head.

"What... Y/n? What are you doing here? Why did you wake me?"

"Your sister wishes to speak with you."

That phrase looked like it had set off a trigger in Weiss's mind. She jumped off her bed, fixed her posture, and walked to the door.

"You requested my presence."

"Indeed, I have decided that you must be ready for battle at any time, grab your weaponry and meet me in the arena classroom."

"Of course."

Winter walked away with the grace of a princess while Weiss hurried to grab her things and catch up.

Y/n didn't understand half of their schnee speak as it required an upbringing among Atlas's elite to talk so proper.

Weiss quickly exited the dorm, leaving Y/n confused and even more tired. He went back to bed.

"En Garde!" Winter yelled

Weiss had just entered the arena when Winter yelled the warning and immediately summoned a Beowulf and sent it tearing towards her, Weiss aimed her rapier and thrust forward into the Grimm, evaporating it.

"Well done, again."

Winter summoned 3 Beowulfs and sent all of them at Weiss, she repeated her previous attack on the first one then dodged back to avoid the strikes of the other two. She leapt high into the air and stabbed through the head of the second Grimm, she then landed and aimed a series of precise stabs at the last Grimm. She bowed to Winter, the three Grimm evaporating behind her.

"Perhaps it's time for a more challenging opponent."

Winter summoned a giant Schnee knight, one that Weiss had fought before.

Easy enough.

Winter smirked at Weiss and summoned two more knights.

Weiss was scared.

"Isn't that a tad excessive Winter?"

"Is that weakness Weiss?"

"No... it's just... I don't believe my training had rendered me able to defeat the three opponents you have layed before me."

"You try to honey your words, Schnee's don't show weakness."

The three giant knights ran at Weiss who barely dodged them all swinging their swords at her simultaneously.

Weiss wouldn't back down. Schnee's didn't show weakness

She launched herself at the nearest knight and started stabbing its legs out.

She thought she had a chance.

She did not.

One of the other knights picked her up with its hand while she was distracted, slamming her head into the ground, breaking her Aura.

"Winter... please." Begged the younger sibling.

The elder sister simply smirked and ordered her knight to smash Weiss's head into the ground again, knocking her out.

She stopped the knight before the third slam killed her sister. She unsummoned her knights and walked over to Weiss who had fallen onto the cold floor of the arena.

"Soon you shall be freed from your constraints." She whispered into her sister's ear as she pulled a black Grimm egg out of her pocket.

She layed the egg on the ground and watched it hatch and crawl up Weiss to enter her mouth.

Weiss involuntarily sputtered before swallowing the worm.

She started tossing and turning, the spasms became more violent and any reasonable would assume she was trying to break her bones through sheer determination.

She eventually stopped convulsing and sat up, looking at her sister with blank, bleached eyes.

"Thank you for freeing me, I will try my best to serve."

"Good, your skills will be needed soon enough, for now, try and infect your team."

Winter dropped three eggs into Weiss's hands.

"Thank you, master."

"I'm not your master, Cinder is."

Weiss didn't know who that was.

She would soon find out.

And she, like everyone else, would learn to serve Her.