Book One: Baptism by Fire

-Chapter 1: In the Cold Light of Day-

"In those days, legions uncountable shall march under the banner of a Fallen Star. Hear their boots, my brothers and sisters! Hear them thunder across the Galaxy!" – Farseer Sylvis

A chorus of birds sang their morning cry, awakening Yang from a deep slumber. The soil beneath her was soft and fresh, the scent of rain clinging to its moss and lichens with a rich, earthy aroma. She rubbed her eyes, not remembering how she arrived in such an alien forest.

The trees were unlike any she had seen before, twisted and gnarled beyond imagination. Some were so large they could have served as apartment buildings. She sat up to survey her surroundings. A half-remembered dream clung to the edges of her consciousness, flashes of a pale face and a red cloak. Rubbing her eyes, she gave a big yawn, stretching her arms wide.

No hangover, which was odd. It wasn't often Yang found herself in an unfamiliar location with no memory without the influence of alcohol. She was sure she had been drinking last night as well. She sighed, running her fingers through her waist-length golden hair, clearing it of the dirt and twigs that infested it.

Drink was a constant companion for her, ever since Ruby sacrificed herself those scant few years ago. She'd said her goodbye, watched her go, holding her hand when she passed. It hurt so much. Her sister, the one person she loved most in the world, sworn to protect and cherish, gone. Only in the imbibing of iridescent solutions would solace visit her, pity her.

Yes, Yang Xiao Long knew grief.

She tried not to let it rule her, but that was a hopeless pursuit. In time, maybe it'd be better, but two years wasn't enough. For now, finding out where she was would have to occupy her thoughts.

Ember Celica still graced her arms, the familiar shotgun-gauntlets shining bright in the glow of dawn. Good. If she was out in an unknown forest, grimm might be near. There weren't nearly as many as there used to be, but caution is always prudent.

Not that Yang couldn't just use her fists to brutalize anything that crossed her path. The gauntlets merely helped.

"I suppose I should get a better view," she muttered. With a few blasts from Ember Celica, she was straddling the branch of the tallest tree, surveying her surroundings. Behind her, the forest stretched up soaring mountains, sheer and grey. Clouds hung low to the earth, a white haze that whispered over the viridian woods.

To her left was a city, surrounded by a host of smaller communities. The buildings looked strange to her. They were taller than most of the structures in Vale, and much darker. Reaching to the sky, they glimmered obsidian, spires of incredible magnitude.

Around the city lay miles and miles of farmland. Golden wheat stretched all the way to the horizon, rustling in the chill morning breeze.

If there was any hope of finding a way back to her home – and a drink – the city was where it lay. It didn't take her long to leave the forest. Travel was always a cinch for someone who can conduct aura through their weapons.

The land beyond the forest was hilly, but manageable. Long leaves of wheat caressed her passing. She ran her fingers through it, combing the strands with gloved fingers. With a deep breath of chill morning air, she felt… refreshed. It had been awhile since she felt so relaxed and free. Maybe getting out of Vale helped with that.

Farmland stretched before her, surrounding the villages that sat at the city's feet. She crested a hill, relishing the warm morning sun at her back. A small gathering of farmers sat at the base of the hill, implements resting on their shoulders. Today's work was about to begin.

"Uh… greetings!" She called down to them. They jerked up in response, squinting against the yellow glare. They were a dark-skinned lot, stocky and strong with roan-colored hair. Huge farming machines flanked them, bulky and baroque in appearance.

"Hello!" A little girl replied, waving her arm back and forth. Descending, Yang approached the small crowd. They were dressed simply, in rags of linen and wool. Wide-brimmed hats sat on their heads, carefully woven from straw. The only object of worth they appeared to posses were necklaces in the shape of double-headed eagles, wrought in a dark, polluted gold. They regarded her with suspicion, eyes carefully checking her over for signs of hostility. In a disarming gesture, she raised her hands, fingers spread wide.

"Sorry for bothering you guys, but I'm awfully lost. Can you guys point me to the nearest transit station?" The little girl stepped forward before her mother pulled her back. An older man turned to face her.

"And who might you be?"

"The name's Yang. I'm a Huntress!" A few nods, and relieved smiles.

"Ah!" The man said, beaming. "We don't get many of your type this close to Aesbrouth." That was odd. One, she'd never heard of a city called Aesbrouth, and two, Hunters and Huntresses were fairly common sights among the Four Kingdoms. "Any game?" He inquired. Eager to continue exploring, and careful not to throw away their easily earned trust, she nodded.

"There's a few packs of…beasts… in the woods back there that I've been tracking. Probably what led me all the way here!" She said with a small, awkward laugh. They nodded.

"I can't tell you how many acres we've lost to those Jortni! Well, there's an Administratum station in the village. I'm sure you can get your bearings there." He took the little girl by the shoulder. "Little Hilde here will show you the way. She's not old enough for harvest work anyway." Hilde pouted, putting her hands on her hips and huffing loudly. Yang let out a small giggle. This girl reminded her of herself when she was little. Small in stature, but with a generous helping of spunk. Nevertheless, she looked happy to escort Yang around the village.

"You have really pretty hair, Ms. Y...Y…Yang!" She said, turning to reveal a beaming smile.

"Thank you sweetheart." She said, stooping to ruffle her hair. The adults chuckled.

"Be back soon, ok? We'll need your help with the animals later." Hilde nodded vigorously, taking Yang's hand and pulling her along.

The village was stunning to behold up close. It was designed to maximize horizontal space. The simple apartment buildings and houses stacked upon each other, rising several stories into the air. Countless bridges and walkways lay over the street, just tall enough for enormous tractors to pass under. Around them, the village was stirring to life. Doors creaked open, spilling forth yawning farmers. Tools and equipment galore lined the dirt streets, a hub of activity.

"Your family must keep pretty busy," Yang said.

"Oh yes!" Hilde said, nodding. Her nutmeg-brown braids bounced against her shoulders. "Our crops keep the Imperium healthy and strong." Lost in observation, Yang only nodded.

"That's nice." Fluttering posters lined the street, each stamped with a black 'I'. Small skulls bordered the paper, centered around a pair of soldiers, one male, one female. Clad in solid green armor and posed heroically against a cliff, it was obviously a recruitment poster.

'To the faithful servants of the Imperium!' It read. 'Avoid Conscription! Volunteer for the yearly Tithe!' Additional information was attached to the bottom of the poster in tiny, easy-to-tear-tickets. Only a handful were missing. Yang tore one loose from its brethren, giving it a closer look. There was no Empire in Remnant. Something was very, very wrong.

She read it closely, hand still clutched by Hilde. 'In six month's time, the annual Imperial Tithe is due! Join now for a chance to serve the Emperor with faith and zeal! Surrender this stub to your local Departmento Munitorum warehouse to participate in this chance for impossible glory in his name!' Sticking it into a pocket in her vest, she decided to think about it later.

Hilde was too cute to ignore for long anyway.

"There's my house!" She chirped, gesturing emphatically. It was a squat building, with rusted door hinges and chipping paint. It reminded Yang of her childhood home in Patch. Worn, but lived-in and comfortable. "Say Ms. Yang, what's it like being a Huntress?"

"Well…" Images of Ruby flashed before her, before she swallowed them with a fake smile. "It's awesome! I get to make a difference and help out lots of people."

"That's so cool… I wish I wasn't a farmer…"

"Hey, being a farmer's not so bad!" Yang said. "You got… wheat… and… cute little animals!" Hilde giggled.

"You're funny, Ms. Yang. Yang. That's a funny name. I've never heard it before!"

"Thank… you?" Hilde smiled.

"There's the Admina… Admnia… Adminiastratum! I hope you find what you're looking for!" She said, pointing to a tall building utterly unlike its neighbors. It was tall, with gothic flairs to its black metal siding. 'Administratum' was emblazoned on its side in large, blocky letters. Must be some kind of Police station, Yang thought

"Me too. Thanks Hilde. You run along now, tell your family I said thanks!" The girl looked sad to be parted from Yang so soon, but smiled anyway.

"I will!" She dashed away.

Ducking inside the building, Yang looked around. Huge rolls of paper sat in cubbyholes, capped with black metal seals. A Policewoman in greenish gray uniform sat at a towering metallic desk. Hoping she would find some answers, Yang approached her. When she neared the desk, she noticed the policewoman was accompanied by a being that was more machine than man.

It whirred and clicked, furiously scribbling on a thick sheet of parchment. No face was visible behind its black mask and red hood. Extraneous limbs hissed and scratched at the paper, aiding this… thing… in its unknowable task.

Yang recoiled in horror. She had never seen something so... mutilated before. The woman flanking the metal monstrosity sighed. Taking a large sip of bitter black coffee from a steaming plastic mug, she waved Yang over. Dark bags hung from her sunken eyes. Taut, unpainted lips pulled tight in an unsightly frown. A few strands of salt and pepper hair fell out from her cap.

"What's the matter, never see a servitor before?" Her voice was hoarse and gruff, as if someone had taken sandpaper to her larynx.

"I… uh… no, ma'am." The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Gonna be one of those days." She muttered. "What can I help you with, citizen?"

"Look, Ms…. Vadiik," Yang started, trying to decipher the small print on her name tag, "I'm extremely lost."

"No kiddin'."

"No, I'm not. I woke up in the woods over there," She jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the forest, "and I have no idea how I got here." The woman blinked at her. The servitor continued to scribble away, making Yang shudder. She avoided looking at it. "Can I just have a map or something?"

"Yeah. Gimmie a sec. First, let's just get this on record." She snapped her fingers at the servitor, causing its writings to cease for a moment. "Ay-o, Ralphie, start a new incident form." Without looking, the flesh-metal construct removed a piece of a paper from a stack, one of its many appendages poised with a pen, ready to write. "Can I get your full name, Miss?"

Yang just wanted a map.

"Yeah, name's Yang Xiao Long." The servitor whirred and spluttered, meaningless robotic syllables pouring out of its unseen mouth.

"Easy there Ralphie, belay that."

"BELAYING," it said in an artificial voice.

"Can you spell that, Ms… Long?"

"Why-Ay-En-Gee," She waited for the woman to nod before she continued. "Ex-Ai-Ay-Oh, El-Oh-En-Gee."

"Transcribe as phonetically described." She muttered. The servitor obeyed. "That's an unusual name, Ms. Long. One I ain't seen likes of on Woadia."

"Woadia?" The woman stared at Yang, completely bewildered.

"Now I deal with a lot of backbirths out here in this shit-hole post, but I don't I've ever encountered someone so incredibly stupid they don't know what planet they live on." Whoa, whoa, what did she say? Planet? Uh-oh. Danger. Either she was having one hell of a dream, or something was terribly, terribly wrong.

"Uh… Ms. Long? Do you have any I.D on you?" Oh right. She pulled out her wallet, which had her I.D., a piece of plastic with a picture of her grinning broadly, flashing 'peace' to the camera. A few lien notes stuck out of the leather slats, edges worn and fuzzy. Pictures of team RWBY were there too, battered and worn but warm and familiar. And heart-rending.

"Here you go ma'am." She slid the I.D. card out and gave it to her. Officer Vadiik looked it over for a few seconds before sighing and lighting up a cigarette.

"I see now. This is a joke. You came to this station to waste my time with some bullshit story and a made-up I.D. And I thought you were dumb enough to not know what planet you were on!" She shook her head. Flicking the I.D. back to Yang, she shooed her away. "Now leave, before I arrest you for wasting my time."

"Now hold on-" Yang said, before she was stopped by a red burst of blossoming pain in her head. "Ah. Ouch." She opened her mouth, realizing her teeth had begun to grind together. "What was that?" A police officer of some kind burst through the door, panting.

"Raiders! Spilling out of the Warp," he wheezed, his face ashen from fear and exertion. "They got a dozen ships coming down. No idea how many more might be coming."

The cigarette Vadiik had been holding fell into her coffee, extinguishing its faint light and sizzling gently. Her mouth fell open

"Uh…what?" Yang asked.

"Golden Throne of Terra." The older woman whispered, ignoring Yang. The woman looked at her, face grim and twisted in fear. "Raiders? So far from the Eye?" At once, the place was a hive of activity. Civilians were rushed out of the building, and officers scrambled for weapons. Shouts of panic and confusion reigned.

"Um… what's going on.?" Yang asked.

"Look Ms. Long, I've served in the Imperial Guard for forty-five years. I've seen my share of the arch-foe. And they're going to do their best to kill, rape, and torture every single person on this planet. I pray to the Emperor they didn't come in numbers." A green-uniformed officer approached Vadiik carrying a giant box on his back. An antenna stretched out from it. He handed her a receiver of some kind.

"We got Colonel Brandt on vox for you, Ma'am!" She snatched the receiver from his hands.

"This is Vadiik. Yeah. Ok. Understood." There was a pause. "We'll do our best. The Emperor Protects." She nodded at the man, who looked at her questioningly.

"Get your wargear and soldier up. No PDF back up here. Not for awhile at least." Vadiik turned to Yang, who was still very confused as to what was going on.

"Ms. Long, my suggestion is you either pick up a lasgun, or find a deep fucking hole to hide in. Because we've got a few raiding parties heading our way."

If what the woman was saying was true (and the panicked, frantic preparations for a defense were any indication), the people here were in grave danger. She beamed at the officer, unleashing Ember Celica. The gauntlets clicked and clacked, hunter-grade shells primed and ready to go.

"Put me on the front lines, Lady. I've been dying to kick some ass." Vadiik stared dumbly at her.

"You're the strangest person I've ever encountered, Miss Long. Not many civilians would so willingly lay down their lives to fight heretics. And I don't know how some fancy expanding bracelets are gonna help."

"Ma'am, I've been training to fight for a long time. I just hope these 'heretic' people make it fun. So where do you need me?" Yang asked. Officer Vadiik didn't answer at first. She was busy ramming some kind of ammunition into a blocky rifle. Motioning Yang to follow her, she left the building.

"Shoot whatever we shoot at and don't get in our way. For now, you're with us." She tossed a pistol to Yang. "This is the best I can do." Thirty or so officers had gathered in the street, waiting for Vadiik.

"Ok, listen up people, we have heretics inbound. Since I am the ranking officer here, I will be taking command. Affirmative?"

"Aye!" They cried.

"This is a dark day for Woadia, that the arch-foe should reach us here. But their attack is one born of Warp-driven lunacy!" She cried. "For when they meet us in battle, they will only find the steel hearts of the men and women of Woadia! With our fists raised in righteous anger, and the Emperor watching over us, we shall break them! Kill them all, and leave none alive! For The Emperor Protects, and today, WE ARE HIS INSTRUMENT!"

"The Emperor Protects!" They echoed.

"Good! Now you six, go set up barricades. You four, go round up the civilians, get them inside! The rest, lock and load! Our orders are to defend the village, and wait for the PDF!"

"Aye!" They cried. Vadiik sighed as they went about their tasks. The miasma of fear that had permeated the station had dissipated, a steely courage replacing it.

"Talk about a change in attitude," Yang said, grinning. The cold look Vadiik gave her chilled her to the bone.

"I don't have the luxury of being afraid. If I falter, every single person in this village will be killed. And even if I don't, they might die anyway. So for your first instruction, I need a pair of eyes out there. Go scout, and come back if you see anything. Dismissed, Ms. Long."

The police here are awfully militaristic, Yang thought to herself. Wherever 'here' is. She nodded, and dashed out of the village.

When she looked to the sky, she saw spiky black fliers jet underneath the morning clouds, painted a deep, bloody red and covered in strange symbols. Rage and bloodlust surged from them like waves crashing upon the shore. They were enormous, bigger than any airship Yang had ever seen before.

Obeying Vadiik's orders to scout, she pushed fleeing civilians towards the village center, fighting her way through the tumult to get a better view of the ships. Landing crafts by the hundreds jettisoned from them, scattering over the planet's surface. Most of them headed towards the city.

She scrambled to the top of a nearby hill. In the fields before her, a few dozen vessels settled to the earth, prop-wash pushing stalks of wheat aside with an unrelenting wind. From them, at least a hundred warriors clambered out.

And she thought the Ralphie the Servitor had been horrific. Whoever these 'heretic' people were, they were bad news. Scars and tattoos were more common than plain skin. Some of them had eight-pointed brands burned into their chests, while thorny black metal dug into their skin, cutting into their pale flesh. What little armor they wore was painted a dark red, in what looked like blood. Some of them even had leather tunics, crafted from what Yang feared to be human skin. Their weapons were worse. Rusty and choked with rotting flesh, they were brutal, nasty things. Now she understood why Vadiik's initial reaction was one of object terror.

She choked back the bile that rose in her throat. I'm going to help these people. She thought. And I'm going to kick some ass doing it. Every single one of these monsters looked particularly punch-able. Then, their leader stepped out. Clad in hulking, oversized armor, he stood far above his underlings. Skulls sat on top of long pikes that jutted out from his pack, a weapon the size of Yang carried casually in his right hand.

Time to go.

She sprinted back to the village, desperate to inform Vadiik of the invaders' location. Barricades had been hastily erected, manned by trembling police officers clutching desperately to their weapons. Gesturing and pointing wildly, Vadiik stood behind them.

"They're right over the hill!" Yang cried, dashing to them.

"You're alive."

"Well yeah." Yang stopped. "Wait…you didn't think I'd make it back?" She asked indignantly. No response. "Well a dozen of those fliers landed, and there's about a hundred of those Chaos guys, looking like they stepped out of a seriously hardcore metal band." Vadiik frowned. "And there was one guy, built like a tank. Had these over-sized shoulder pauldrons, and this big blocky gun…"

"Oh no." One of the officers whimpered. "Oh, Emperor save us. A traitor marine. Golden Throne, I thought they were just legends."

"They're real, alright." Vadiik growled. "But they die like anything else. Have courage!" She turned to Yang. "Ms. Long, get behind cover. Try and help where you can, but stay out of our way."

"Don't worry, Ma'am. I'll send them packing!" She cocked Ember Celica, ready to fight. It didn't matter that she was lost in a strange land. There were people in danger, and her duty as a Huntress demanded that she protect them. The fact that she got to knock some skulls to do so just made it better. "Bring 'em on!"

They obliged her, pouring over the hill. Frothing at the mouth and swinging horrid weapons, they charged the village.

"Open fire!" Vadiik cried. Her men obeyed, sending red lances of light soaring downrange. The air was rank with a noxious cloud of vapor that spewed from their strange guns. The invaders toppled and fell, gaping black holes opening in their chests. They died screaming, clawing at the wounds with sharpened nails. They cut through their aura like it wasn't even there... Yang mused. She drew the pistol she'd been given.

Aiming it, she took potshots at the incoming troops. Hammering the trigger, small laser bursts erupted from the gun. Even when she missed the center of mass, the lasers were enough to dismember the attackers. These things are awesome.

The invaders charged on, returning fire with crude, twisted weapons. Bullets rattled off the hastily-erected cover, burying themselves deep. Some found their target, ripping the lightly-armored policemen to shreds. Blood splashed over Yang, the screams of the wounded and dying battering her ears.

"There's too many!" Someone shouted.

"Keep firing!" Vadiik shouted back. Yang snatched up a fallen rifle, desperate to stem the tide. Each time she pressed the trigger, another attacker fell victim to the crimson lance of light, howling in agony. It wasn't enough.

"Fix bayonets!" Vadiik cried over the roar of combat. In her hand was a lethal-looking weapon, some sort of sword that had been converted into a chainsaw. It gurgled and spat, humming with murderous intent.

The crowd of invaders was only a few yards away now, demented war cries on their lips. They brandished wicked swords and firearms, all of them covered in grim trophies.

Time to shine. Yang thought, grinning. She tossed the rifle over her shoulder.

Bursting forward, her fist met the first attacker, shattering his face and sending him flying backwards. There was no resistance, no push of unseen force that indicated the presence of aura. Then, Yang realized: They're not using aura! That's why the rifles were so effective! Her grin widened. This will be too easy.

Another man approached her, sword raised. Ember Celica met him in his stomach, tearing him apart. The recoil sent her elbow into the chest of another, tumbling him back. She punched another one, firing a shell as her fist met his chin. His head vaporized in a flash of gore, brains decorating his comrades.

"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" One cried, charging her. She gave him a low whistle. His lips were pulled back with a mechanical vice, blood pouring over his rotten green teeth. Piercings covered every inch of his face.

"You're a real piece of work, aren't you?" Yang said. She ducked under his infuriated strike, blasting him in the back with her gauntlets. He spun into his friend, missing most of his torso. Yang killed him too, bringing Ember Celica around into his heart, shattering his ribcage.

They surrounded her now, slavering with bloodlust. One fell to her blows, then another. Grabbing an invader by his arm, she threw him into his comrades, bowling them over. She smashed their heads in.

"Golden Throne, they've got us flanked!" An officer cried. Yang saw the second approaching wave, hurtling over the hills and spilling into the village. A sword twisted around, aimed to slash her stomach open. Her aura shrugged it off, turning her around but keeping the blade from cutting her exposed flesh. The attacker paused, eyes wide.

"Sucks to be you," Yang said, Ember Celica claiming another life. She needed to reload. Throwing her arms forward, the empty shells sprang out of her gauntlets, falling to the blood-soaked earth where they pattered against corpses and hard-packed dirt. A few rounds hit her in the chest, pushing her back.

She reloaded, slamming a brace of shells into her gauntlets. Launching herself at the flanking heretics, she landed amongst them, the golden flames of her aura licking at her hair.

"C'mon who's next?" She cried. A dozen men answered her challenge, growling and snarling. Her arms spun into a whirlwind of death, Ember Celica roaring with glee as it tore into Yang's enemies. Too fast to follow, her punches sent corpses flying, tumbling over the ground in meaty, bloody heaps. Sending her foot into a man's chest, she pushed his sternum into his heart, crushing it from without.

Shells tore into her opponents, pellets rending skin and sinew into a pulp. Vaulting over an attacker, she slammed his head into the ground, before picking him up and laying him out with a wheelhouse kick. The rest of the men backed off, fear glowing in their seething eyes.

Using Ember Celica to propel her, she flew backwards, skidding to a halt besides her new-found comrades. They were hard-pressed; heretic forces were swarming them and starting to push them back. Unimpeded, some started to sprint past the clash, howling as they dove into the village.

Vadiik was panting hard, covered in blood. Her pistol hummed, shooting brilliant red beams into the faces of her foes, which melted and ran down their chests. Giving a wordless cry, she surged forward, the sword in her right hand roaring to life. Its teeth screamed as they bit into the flesh of an attacker. Gore spilled out from his shoulder before he split in half from the blow.

Brutal. Uncompromisingly brutal. This is how they waged war in this land, Yang thought. No auras, no semblances, no concussive rounds, no blunt weapons. It was steel and fire against bare skin. But as she breathed, and the cool morning air rushed to fill her depleted lungs, she felt alive. She'd been in life-or-death fights before, but this… she'd never fought like this… ever.

A man hefted his ax, ready to bring it down on the face of an officer. Yang was quicker. Launching herself forward with Ember Celica, she crushed the man's chest, sending him spiraling backwards before his blow could land.

"To me!" Vadiik cried. An officer turned to heed her cry, but a blast caught the back of his neck, blowing a chunk of muscle and tissue onto the earth. He choked and gurgled as he died, hands desperately trying to stem the flow of blood from his neck.

Yang flattened as two men with assault rifles lit into her, pouring lead from their ratty guns. She dove forward, under their firing arcs. She punched one in the knee, a resounding CRACK her answer. She took the rifle and bludgeoned the other one with it.

"Long!" Vadiik cried, desperately fending off an assault from a towering man who had draped himself in human leather.

"KILL, KILL, KILL!" He bellowed, reaching out to crush her beneath his enormous fists. Yang dashed over to her. Running up the man's back, she drove a fist into his skull, slamming his body down with a burst from Ember Celica.

She offered a hand to the officer, hauling the bruised and battered veteran to her feet. Vadiik took it readily, narrowly avoiding a blow from another enemy. She put two lasers into his kneecaps. He toppled over, screaming in pain.

"Thanks," she said, priming her weapon.

"Any time," Yang replied, stomping her boot into the screaming man's face.

"You're a blessed fighter, Ms. Long. I've never seen such speed."

"My sister's even faster," Yang said, heart swelling with pride. Grabbing a man's tunic, she hurled him into the air and drove him into the ground with her elbow, breaking his spine and pulverizing him. And that's for taking her away. She added absentmindedly.

A crack, and Vadiik fell. An attacker had brought a polearm of sorts into her back, knocking her out cold. Yang snarled, punching the offender in the chest and sending him sprawling a few dozen yards away.

"ENOUGH." A voice rang out, deep and raspy. The attackers backed away from the officers, hissing and spitting. Yang whirled around, weapons raised.

The huge man stepped forward, armor slick with blood and grime. He was massive. Taller than even Yatsuhashi, and twice as thick around. His armor was a deep red, trimmed in a dull bronze, his face hidden behind a horned helm.

"SHE IS MINE." Each step he took shook the earth beneath his boots, kicking up mud and gore as he strode forward. "KHORNE, BEAR WITNESS TO MY BATTLE." Blood ran down his armor, soaking the joints and running down the thick plates. Too late, Yang saw the source.

On top of his hideous pikes was Hilde's head, her mouth jammed onto the spike with brutal force.

Yang's mind went blank from shock. Reeling, it boiled red, frothing with rage.

"You… MONSTER!" Her semblance activated as she smashed her fists together. Burning a glowing crimson, her eyes ignited. Flames spilled off her hair, golden and white-hot. She slammed into the towering man, fists hammering him in lightening succession. He stumbled back from the force of the attack, the front of his helm torn away by her blows. His face was horrific, a sneering mess of ritualistic scars and unnatural, blood-red eyes. He spat.

"ROTTEN, STINKING PSYKERS." He growled. Yang had no idea what he called her, and she didn't care. A fist came down on his jaw, breaking it. He bellowed in pain and battered her with a brutal punch. She flew back, skidding and rolling before sliding to a halt. She tasted blood.

Good.

Enraged and empowered by his attack, she closed the distance again, rushing to meet him with a furious battle cry. The last shell in Ember Celica fired into his exposed face, ripping the flesh away in a blast of pellets. The giant warrior stumbled and fell, caught unawares by the ferocity of the attack. Still, he struggled, obscene war cries spilling from his ruined lips. Arms the size of tree trunks squeezed her, threatening to snap her spine in two. Channeling the entirety of her aura into her fists, Yang brought them down on his skull, one after another, again and again. The aura-enhanced strikes smashed his head in, and his struggling slackened. But her attacks did not. Blood caked the front of her clothes, and the monster's armor whirred and hissed as his body's final attempts to push her off withered away. She stopped her assault, panting.

A deathly silence greeted her, fear dominating the faces of the Chaos warriors.

Yang screamed, flush with an animalistic sense of victory. A thunderous explosion disrupted her moment of triumph, pushing her off her feet. Giant rectangular tanks stormed past, guns blazing death at the invaders. Broken by the sudden assault, they scattered and fled, to no avail. As the adrenaline faded, her hair returned to normal, settling about her shoulders in a silken yellow coat. She screamed again. Tears ran down her cheeks, salt rivers streaming down her bloodied, anguished face.

Yes, Yang Xiao Long knew grief.

For she was lost, trapped in a world of atrocities the likes of which she'd never known.

A/N: As you may have already noticed, this version of Yang comes from an AU, one that I envisioned and wrote down immedietly after V2's conclusion, meaning that though most of V3 is canon, there's been significant divergences. Many of these will become apparent over the course of the story, but you should know that this takes place 'after canon', or when (my version) of RWBY's story concludes.

Yang can speak Low Gothic because, again, language barriers just drag the story down. And an interesting thing happened while I was writing this story... Yang grew to become my favorite character. She's just... so cool.

By the way, this story serves as a decent introduction to Warhammer 40k for RWBY fans (but isnotits primary purpose). So if you're exclusively a RWBY fan, don't worry, you'll be able to enjoy the story too!

There might be a few lore discrepancies regarding 40k fluff, and if you see them, let me know ASAP. I'll do my best to rectify them.

Disclaimer: I will do this exactly once. I don't own either universe. I just think that they'd be awesome together - which is why we're sitting here today.

Please, PLEASE let me know what you think. Reviews make my day.