A/N: Hi y'all!

I'm a little late on the RoseGarden train, but I've been itching to write something for them since, like... V5. Unfortunately, my ideas have been kinda stuck in the back of my mind, but I think I've finally worked out something coherent, so I really hope you'll enjoy this story! I'm thinking it'll be around... five to ten chapters long? But I'm not enitrely sure yet. Cover illustration was drawn by me, and you can check out more of my artwork at mandidandi on Tumblr.

Thank you so much for your interest! Reviews are always appreciated.

Chapter One: Where to Begin

A gust of velvet petals scattered in a vortex amongst the rain and lightning; the airship was swarmed with black, monstrous husks—digging their apical claws into the metal exterior. Call it an odd sense of optimism, but the fact that she, yet again, found herself in this sort of situation...? Given the circumstances, she couldn't help but feel a strange sort of relief.

You see? It's not all on you.

But that positive outlook was short-lived. What would've otherwise felt like guilt for (again) wrecking public property was brushed aside in her mind. She hooked into the ship's plating with Crescent Rose to gain a moment's overlook for a point of attack. A cry of momentum escaped her lungs as she launched off, slicing through the Grimm's head in a cloud of red and black. She was natural to activate her semblance, circling around to the upper surface.

As she landed, the fabric of her attire was caught on the wind, exposing a wrist wrapped in a brace, and her torso addressed with bandaging. Combined with the look of discomfort on her face, it wouldn't be hard for one to discern that her status was less than fit for the moment. Not that there was anyone around to make such an assumption... or, so she thought.

From the deck below, a boy grit his teeth and stepped back and forth in place as he ran his hands through his hair. Hazel eyes slammed shut, as he wanted so desperately to show any sort of aid, but—for what wasn't the first time in his life—he felt completely helpless. His internal monologue ran wild. Please, please, can't you do something? Of course, however, there was no response. His gaze panned off to the distance, land was within sight, but just far enough for demise to overtake them in the bay. Knowing her, even like this, she could outlast the moment, right?

His confidence, too, shook was lost as something large crashed into the ship, sending tremors through the structure. From above, he heard the girl let out a loud expletive as she fired off a few rounds from her sniper; her weapon was silenced as the Grimm's cry echoed in sync with another clash of the ship. A high pitched wail sounded as something slid across the roof. From the deck's view, the sight of a torn red cape flapped wild in the wind; she was hanging off the ship (with what he could only hope was her good hand.)

"Ruby!" the boy cried. All his fears were shoved to the farthest reaches of his mind as he found himself hiking up the ship's step-ladder to the roof. Qrow wasn't here to save Ruby, and Ozpin wasn't here to save him.

Instantly, the gales whipped his form as he opened the hatch to the top. He was beat in the face by hurricane force winds—without exaggeration. Growing closer at an alarming rate was what looked like a tornado over water; he'd seen the phenomenon once back when he was six and, again, on land, when it'd torn through his aunt's farm.

But, even that had to wait. He fought the harsh gale as he tried desperately to keep his footing atop the airship. From behind, he approached the Grimm terrorizing Ruby. He drew his cane, ultimately swinging it like a baseball bat against it's cranium. The creature screeched and got caught in the wind, and he took the opening, running to the aid of the young woman. She wailed yet, undoubtedly in pain and fear, as the sight of her mangled wrist was all that held her yet. "Ruby!" he called again. This time, she heard.

"Oscar...?!" she shouted back. "What are you—?!"

"I'll explain later!" he cut her off (not that he had a great explanation in truth.) "Take my hand!"

She was, of course, caught incredibly off guard, but arguing was the farthest thing from her mind. As she began reaching up, her eyes went wide with alarm. "Behind you!" she shouted. He gasped, as the same Grimm from before swooped in over his shoulder. He just barely ducked, and while his skull remained in tact, his form took the brunt of the attack, knocking him across the deck.

"Oscar!" Ruby shouted, though her voice was quickly lost in the wind. The structure was pulled full force into the twister. The plating ripped off the ship's side and shook the structure full force. Her voice echoed in full, as she edge of her cape was caught on a piece of shrapnel. Her grasp came loose from the rail she'd been holding, and she was pulled in the other direction.

"Ruby!" called Oscar, as, despite the pain from his tumble and his unsteady footing, he forced himself to take a few heavy steps in her direction.

Oscar, don't! called the voice in his head, and what a time it was for him to show up. For her sake, for what wasn't the first time in his life, he directly disobeyed what had otherwise been his greatest guide.

With reckless abandon, Oscar leapt from the dilapidated ship. His reach extended towards the girl drifting in mid-air. Her gaze went wide as she realized the moment; a braced wrist stretched to meet his. The second their palms made contact, the duo burst into an array of rose petals, scattered throughout the cyclone. Their voices, shouting in terror, were lost in the wind as they cascaded down towards the sea.

A chorus of waterlogged coughs escaped the lungs of the children; they'd struggled to pull themselves from the bay to the shoreline. The duo wavered to sit up in the sand, and Ruby relied on her right arm to do most the work... but as she looked over to her all but choking companion, she put her sprained wrist to his back. Smacking him just hard enough to usher his motion, the young man hacked up an uncomfortable amount of sea water.

Almost ironically, through his gasps, he asked, "Y-You... you okay?"

"Yeah, but," wasting no time to get back on subject, Ruby whined weakly, "what are you doing here, Oscar?"

When he said he'd explain later, he truly didn't mean so soon. "I..." he hesitated, cutting himself off with another coughing fit. Worried yet, Ruby put her hand to his back once more, but he reached up to put his palm over hers, reassuring her hold off him. Looking up to meet her gaze with his own concern, he countered, "I-I was... kinda wanting to ask you the same thing."

Her already weakened expression drifted off to the side. Did he really have to ask, she wondered? "Take a guess," she exhaled. Despite her every aching bone, she tried to stand with no avail. Again, she stumbled and fell over. Alerted, Oscar was instant to forget his own pain and rise to her side.

"H-Hey!" he stuttered, trying to help her sit back up. He put his gloved palms on her shoulders. Showing a look of affliction, the girl groaned and raised her blouse just enough to catch a glimpse of reddened, bloodied bandages; Oscar winced. That... wasn't looking good.

With a head that felt heavy, the young woman fought her every urge to fall face first and the sand and pass out. Her palm drifted to her fringe, over her forehead. His expression of concern lasted on her for a moment longer before the echo of Grimm yet circling over the water rang in their ears among the rain.

"We can talk more later," she said, struggling upright again. "Right now, we need to find shelter." All but forcing herself to stand this time, Oscar gave her no choice but to sling her arm around his shoulder as they set off in the other direction towards the woodland backdrop.

What would've otherwise been the familiar sight of unseasonal autumn was lost in her feverish daze and the night. The two set up "camp" in the forest's nearby clearing. Beneath the ironically full foliage, Ruby and Oscar somehow managed to stay dry from the lingering drizzle (forget a fire, though.) Oscar offered to help her replace her bandaging, but whatever excess medical supplies she'd brought along were lost with the ship. In any event, she assured him she'd power through. While he always appreciated her confidence, he couldn't help but question the fact, in the moment.

He looked over his shoulder; he sat with his back to the large trunk of an oak tree. On the opposite side sat Ruby, who looked like she might've been shivering a bit. Even if she wasn't, "Do you... do you want my coat?" he offered timidly, already sliding it off his shoulders.

She shook her head, no. "I'm fine," she reassured him again, with yet unwarranted conviction for the situation.

A weak look overtook his visage. "Are—are you sure?" he asked, taking the garment off in full regardless, holding it out to her. "It's... it's fine, really. You need it more than I do," he tried to convince her.

Silver optics drew to a close. While she was usually patient with these kinds of things, and even grateful, she was feeling... perhaps more than a little out of her typical character today. "Oscar," she cut him off, "why did you follow me?" Guiltily, he looked away, hand dropping to his side as he took the hint.

Finally, he confessed, "I... 'overheard' your conversation with Ms. Calavera."

While she wasn't necessarily mad about the fact itself, she went on to ask, "Then, you know what I'm doing, right?"

To which the young man paused. Even if one hadn't eavesdropped on her agenda, it wouldn't have been hard to discern: "You're going to find Qrow," he replied timidly, following with an abnormally bold and almost accusatory statement, "but, what I don't understand, is... is why you went off on your own, without telling anyone." Especially in her current state. It was so unlike the girl he knew, he couldn't help but follow (if only out of concern for the fact.)

After a moment, Ruby's pallid lips pressed together in a thin line. "This is, just... something I have to do by myself." She really hoped he'd just accept her answer at face value, but even then, Ruby knew better. Oscars eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"Why?"

"It's..." she seemed almost at a loss of explanation, and the answer that came out felt like a thinly veiled excuse for her behavior, "it's a family matter."

Of course, the boy was quick to find a inconsistency in her reasoning. Certainly, it wasn't something he wanted to argue with her about, but he had to wonder, "Then, why didn't you at least tell Yang?" To his surprise, Ruby's breath hitched slightly, as if she'd suddenly realized the fact as well. She bit her lip, and forced out yet another weak answer.

"It's... more complicated than that."

Oscar tilted his head. But... Qrow was as much Yang's uncle as he was Ruby's, right? What could she possibly have to do that she couldn't share with Yang? "She's your sister," he said, more-so trying to console her about the fact, "you can always—"

"No," Ruby cut him off abruptly. Oscar was taken aback by her sudden change in tone; it was a mix between something darker... and, for some reason, a wavering sadness. Huh? He gazed towards her face, though Ruby didn't look back. His eyes went wide as he thought he'd seen what looked like fresh droplets on her damp visage.

"Yang..." Ruby finally said, and her words shook and broke as she spoke, "Yang's not my sister."

Unsure if he'd heard her right, Oscar stared for a moment, like a deer in headlights. "Wh... what?"

"She's not my sister," the young woman reiterated. "A-And, Qrow," lifting her hand from her bandaged stomach, droplets of red liquid congealed on her fingers; she stared as though it, too, were a curse, "Qrow isn't my uncle."

The young man was in shock. His heart hurt in a strange way, as he was helpless to do no more than watch Ruby's weeping pick up with her exasperated words. In that instant, it was a near instinctive reaction—the want to reach out, brush her tears away, hold her head close to his chest and whisper, "it's alright". But, be it from his stunned surprise, or his cowardice, the boy resisted his desires. Oscar's suspicions were confirmed as she went on to clarify after a long, long pause; Ruby's concluding sentiment came out as a sob.

"He's my father."