Then...

I had known the day felt off since the moment I'd woken up that morning. Qrow had called a meeting of sorts to tell us all we'd be paying the headmaster of Haven Academy a visit. Apparently, he and Qrow had something of utmost importance to discuss. Why Qrow needed the five of us, fully armed, was beyond me.

So, we all walked to the city's Huntsman academy. When we got there, the headmaster - Leo Lionheart - met us at the door, a bit too eager to show us inside. After a brief tour, Qrow and Leo spoke privately. While I don't know what was said behind the locked oak doors, I know that it left Qrow with a sour taste in his mouth. Something was off, and we could all feel it.

When we had gone to leave, the front doors slammed open. A woman dressed in a red battle kimono walked in with a sense of entitlement. Her shoulder-length black hair was combed to cover the left half of her face. The kimono she wore lacked a right sleeve, and the left sleeve seemed too long, as it covered even her hand. I remember my first impression being somewhere along the line of "She's definitely trouble."

Behind her were a tall, skinny man dressed entirely in a palate of black and grey and a shorter woman with darker skin and a color scheme of white and green. They're either the Woman In Red's friends, I had thought to myself, or they're her lackeys. They followed her in with almost exactly the same air of entitlement. Together, they walked to the center of the room and stood wordlessly for several moments. Then, the Woman In Red turned around, about to speak, when she noticed Ruby.

"She's here?!" the Woman In Red shouted, her face twisted in fury.

"Cinder..." Ruby said to herself, just loud enough for us to hear.

Everyone, Qrow included, drew their weapons when the two locked eyes. Obviously, there was some sort of bitter history there. Qrow urged everyone to remain calm, and reminded them that this didn't have to end in an all-out brawl. He offered them the chance to walk away without harm, but Cinder and her crew refused. Cinder then opened her palm and formed a ball of fire, all as her eyes emitted what appeared to be orange flames.

Now...

This is going to be all types of fun, my internal voice tells me, and I am inclined to agree. I was the only one present without a weapon; I left my chainsaw sword at Qrow's since I prefer to fight with my fists. I put my helmet on, gearing up to fight, and crack my knuckles in anticipation. Ruby is the first to lunge into battle, followed by Qrow, the rest of Team RWBY, and then me. While Weiss and Blake handle the woman with green hair, I look to Yang to find her holding off the man with the grey and black color scheme.

I am about to go help her when Ruby jumps to her rescue. Before fully engaging him, she turns back to tell me "I've got this! You go after Cinder!" I turn away, confident of the sisters' ability to fend off one person, and my eyes meet with Cinder's. An evil, egotistical smirk paints her lips, and she seems to believe one person can't hope to best her. I'm eager to prove her wrong.

"So, who are you?" Cinder scoffs.

"I'm the one who's gonna kick your ass," I tell her boldly.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," she taunts.

"You should be. I may not have some fancy scythe or sword, but these are all I need to take you down," I say, brandishing my fists.

"Too bad you won't get to use them," she tells me before lobbing a fireball directly into my chest.

The force is enough to push me back, but that's about it. Cinder is obviously surprised when I emerge from the smoke. I'm not hurt, but there is a large burn mark on my breastplate now. I feel myself tingle slightly as I activate my semblance. A faint, red glow appears around my being. She's in for a world of hurt.

"That does it!!" I shout at her as loud as I can.

"I agree. I think you need a timeout," she scoffs back, somehow keeping her cool.

She opens her hand at her side, conjuring a blade of pure flame. The reflection of the flames in her eyes seems to lick her pupils. I reach into a pouch along my waistline and pull out a blue Dust crystal. I crush it in my hand and see the glow around me change to that of a blue hue. Glad I bought some extra Dust while Yang wasn't looking, I tell myself, cause I think I'm gonna need it.