Chapter 3: Little Ms Princess

A/N: (This chapter is going to be the start of Vol 4)

It's been six to eight months since the fall of Beacon. Salem had called a meeting with her followers, Doctor Merlot was no where to be seen which was rather suspicious. But soon after a little girl around the age of ten had walked into the throne room. Cinder, Emerald and Mercury eyed the strange girl who thought she owned the place.

Tyrian snickered as he watched the girl walk over to Salem. "So....who's the kid?"

Merlot walked into the throne room as he took his seat, not saying a word about the child, Salem looked at the girl as she lifted her up off the floor placing her on the table.

"What? Not gonna answer?" Tyrian asked as he noticed Salem glare at him. "Right...whenever you're ready..."

Cinder opens her mouth as Emerald looked at her. "Cinder wants to know why that child looks so much like Ruby?"

Salem took a deep breath as she exhaled. "So much questions, yet none of mine have been answered." She glanced over to Cinder. "I'm going to ask this of you...did you kill Ozpin?"

Cinder looked to Emerald as she was about to open her mouth so Emerald could translate, but Salem snapped her fingers.

"I was asking you Cinder, not Emerald...Emerald wasn't the one who was tasked to kill Ozpin, I want you to tell me." Salem said as she waited.

Cinder didn't really know how to answer her expect for nodding her head lightly, she kept glancing at the child who was now sitting on the table next to Salem. Mercury scoffed as he kicked his legs back and rested them on the table.

"Is there a problem Black?" Watts asked. "You seem to have something you want to say...or are you just annoyed?"

"I don't have to answer you, you're not the boss." Mercury said.

Hazel looked over to him as he was calm and quiet for a moment. "Feet...of the table now..."

"He speaks." Mercury said laughing as he took his feet off the table. "So, what's next? Do we hunt down the huntresses and hunters that got away or?"

Salem stood up as she turned around. "Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen. And Haven will be next." She turned her head to look at the group as she looked at the child who was eyeing Hazel for a moment. "Hazel...after this meeting is done, I have a job for you to do."

"Understood." Hazel said.

Emerald shakes her head. "So are you going to tell us who the child is now?"

Salem looked at Merlot who was glancing at the three. "Doctor Merlot...if you would kindly tell them."

"Of course, it would be a honor to tell them." Merlot said as the mad doctor cleared his throat.

"Who cares who the brat is." Mercury said. "She'd be one less of a pain for us if she was six feet under." He scoffed again as she blew some hair out of his face. "Just hurry up and explain who the punk is so we can get on with our day already.."

Merlot's robotic eye adjusted itself as he walked over to the other side of the table where the child was at. "This, is my latest experiment and greatest project....Project Scarlet....or in this case. Scarlet Rose...a fine name for her."

"Scarlet....Rose?" Mercury asked with a chuckle. "Oh please, I'm sooo scared of a girl named Scarlet Rose, what's she gonna do? tickle me too death?"

Scarlet hissed at Mercury as she ran at him, but Merlot pushed a button from behind his back shocking her to submission.

"That's...that's child cruelty." Emerald said with a shocked look on her face. "How...why would you? She's only a child."

"Oh? Showing a soft side for a Grimm?" Merlot asked.

"Grimm?" Emerald asked looking at Scarlet as steam and smoke was coming off her. "She doesn't look like a Grimm.."

Merlot turned around with his back facing Scarlet. "Oh trust me, she is...her mommy is in this room."

Emerald cocks an eyebrow up as she looked around the room confused, Scarlet slowly got up as she turned to look at Merlot, she grinned a little as she ran at him. Jumping onto his back, and clawing at his neck with her nails, Salem watched pleased as she smirked a little seeing Merlot suffer from one of his creations he had made.

~~~

Everyone in the room was speechless and pale in the face expect for Salem who clapped her hands proudly. "A job well done child...Hazel, I expect you to train her and do it well...she's going to become a great killer....she might even out do you Tyrian."

Hazel got his act together as he nods. "Of course my queen."

"Okay yeah...I just crapped my pants." Mercury said. "Still, what harm will she do to me? We're on the same team."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Watts said. "She just killed Merlot before our eyes, you think a child with that much audacity would hesitate to kill you?"

Scarlet turned her head to look at Mercury as she slurps up Merlot's arm. "You....you're next..." She snarled at him but scurried to hide behind Salem.

Emerald was still trying to piece together what Merlot said about the mommy situation until it hit her. "Wait...is Salem her mother?"

Salem lightly nods. "Indeed, and Cinder your DNA flows through Scarlet as well...even Ruby's." She turned her attention to Scarlet. "Scarlet is a living breathing clone created from our DNA, a clone of Ruby Rose." She moved her arm behind Scarlet's back taking off the zapper Merlot planted on her. "There there my child, no one will harm you in that way again."

Cinder was quiet as she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, Emerald blinks a little as she looked over to Salem. "Wait...hold on, is that why Merlot was here? To clone a goodie goodie who ruined our plans?"

"Indeed, though Scarlet doesn't have any experience in combat or how to use her semblance yet. She is the perfect being to combat against the heroes, which is why I've asked Hazel to train her." Salem said as looked down at Scarlet. "You've all witnessed first hand at the brutality she had done on poor Merlot, but he had it coming to him...Cinder, if you fail at anytime I won't have her hesitate to take your Maiden powers, do you understand?"

Cinder's eye widen as she lightly nods her head understanding what Salem had said.

"Good, all that said...our meeting is over." Salem said as she walked with Scarlet. "Come child, let us prepare you for training...Hazel will be teaching you. And Arthur, did you finish her weapon?"

Scarlet followed Salem over to where Hazel was at, as she glanced over to Watts with her Grimm eyes staring at him. Watts nodded as he snapped his fingers, a cart rolled into the room as it was covered with a sheet.

"Ladies..may I present you." Watts said as he grabbed the sheet throwing it off. "Black Rose, a carbon copy of Crescent Rose, from what knowledge and research I've done. It's gun form is rather different from Crescent Rose however."

"Show us." Salem said as she felt Scarlet warp her arms around her leg. "This is your new toy Scarlet. Mother is giving you a dangerous toy use against Hazel, if you manage to keep up your training with him. You can keep it all to yourself."

Watts cleared his throat as he picked up Black Rose switching it to it's gun form. "This is Black Rose in it's Mini Gun form, it can tear through armor with enough fire power from the dust bullets I can supply."

Emerald raised her hand. "Question, who's going to teach Scarlet how to use her semblance...I thought Grimm were soulless creatures you created."

"Tch, questions. Why does it matter? The pipsqueak is soulless as the Grimm come, I don't think the princess can even use her semblance." Mercury said. "All in all, she's just Grimm who doesn't know anything but hunger and murder."

"Silence." Salem said. "Or do you want to be the next one who dies? I suggest you keep your mouth shut Mercury. As for your question Emerald...you will be teaching her that, once she has full knowledge of how to do combat with and without her weapon." She looked back down to Scarlet as she rubbed her head. "Do you have any final words for them before you leave?"

Scarlet was silent as she glanced at Mercury. "....Mouth breather...."

~~~

Scarlet went with Hazel after she had picked up Black Rose the best she could, she dragged it on the ground as it was a bit heavy for her. It eventually started to feel lighter as Hazel picked Black Rose up for her.

"You may be a kid, but I can see some potential in you.." Hazel said. "Seeing that you can't talk much either, maybe you can learn a few pointers from me, aside from combat."

Scarlet only looked at him with curiosity as she tilts her head to the side. Hazel brought Scarlet outside of the castle, Cinder stood at the window inside looking out. She was curious of the child. Emerald noticed as she was going to say something but didn't as she left the room.

Hazel dropped Black Rose and Scarlet onto the ground as he walked away to get some space between them, he didn't use the dust crystals to boost his strength right away. He didn't want to hurt Scarlet too badly. "Okay....are you ready?"

Scarlet lightly nods her head as she wasn't sure which to start with first, regular combat, or use Black Rose first. She glanced to Hazel for an answer, she still wasn't sure how to speak properly either.

"Oh right, we'll start with basic combat. So you can get strong to lift Black Rose up, then we can proceed from there." Hazel said. "Understand?"

Scarlet nodded again as she dropped Black Rose, she went to make the first strike on Hazel as she lunges at him, only to be punched in the face. Hazel shakes his head letting her know that wasn't the right move to do, Scarlet tried again as Hazel punched her once more.

"Copy what I'm doing, never lunge at the enemy." Hazel said. "Strike me with your inner Grimm anger." He was taunting her in a way that would get her mad.

Scarlet growled, she rushed at Hazel and punched him. Hazel wasn't fazed by the punches since he was a brute, but he knew this would take more then a day to get pat down. It looked like He'd be training Scarlet more and more until she got the basic combat right.