Prologue: Lost And Found
"Dispatch are you sure you gave me the right location?"
"Yes, Lieutenant. That's the address we were tipped off to."
The police officer sighed, her short brown-red hair nearly reaching her shoulders. She stepped out of her cruiser, flashlight in hand as she approached the seemingly abandoned warehouse. Clicking on the small light, she began scanning the area for any signs of activity.
Two minutes into her search, and she had found nothing. Turning back to the main door to exit, she was stopped in her tracks by a sound she hadn't noticed before.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
She looked round, attempting to find where the dripping was, when a small reflection caught her eye.
Blood. A small puddle of blood was collecting on the floor.
The woman looked up at the scaffolding, trying to find the source.
She gagged when she found the body, or what was left of it.
"Dispatch I need a forensics and cleanup crew here stat," the woman spoke shakily into her shoulder-mounted radio, eyes wide and stomach churning.
"You found something?" the dispatch operator asked.
A heavy silence followed as the officer contemplated how to respond.
"Lieutenant Rose?" the operator spoke.
Ruby Rose shook her head, gathering her scattered thoughts.
"I found my partner." Ruby answered, audibly upset.
About 15 minutes passed until the forensics team arrived, taking pictures of the scene.
Ruby was sitting on the curb at the entrance to the warehouse, holding her head in her hands.
"Lieutenant Rose is everything alright?" Ruby heard, lifting her head to see who asked.
She recognized the man as the Chief of Police, a man simply known as Ozpin.
"I don't even know anymore, Chief." She replied quietly.
Ozpin nodded. He offered a hand to the shaken officer, who took the help.
"Take the next few days off, Lieutenant. And the rest of tonight as well. What you have seen has no doubt shaken you, emotionally and mentally." He spoke, years of wisdom adding to the respect Ruby held for the Chief.
She simply nodded in reply, walking toward her cruiser. Starting the engine, she made her way back to the station.
"No more, kiddo. You've had enough for one night." A man with a deep, gravelly voice said as he handed Ruby another glass of vodka.
"Thanks, Uncle Qrow." Ruby nodded, grabbing the drink with relatively steady hands, an impressive feat for one who had already consumed 5 other glasses of alcohol.
Ruby had changed back into her civilian clothes, and had gone to her uncle's bar, The Black Talon, to unwind.
"So, what's got you so down today, kid?" Qrow asked his niece.
"I really don't want to talk about it." Ruby replied, looking down and away. She could feel herself getting nauseous from the memory, or maybe that was just the alcohol. She didn't care.
"That bad, huh?" Qrow looked at Ruby in sympathy.
"I just want to forget that today even happened." Ruby said, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Nearly 10 minutes passed. Qrow was done seeing his own niece being like this, so he turned to one of his employees. "Hey, Kyle. Think you can hold the bar for a few minutes?"
Yeah, sure boss." Kyle replied.
With that, Qrow grabbed his niece and pulled her into the lounge in the back of the bar.
"You want to talk about it, kiddo?" Qrow asked the small woman.
It took a moment, but Ruby let loose. Tears were spilling down her cheeks now.
"Hey, what's going on in here?" asked a familiar voice. Qrow looked up to see none other than Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's half-sister.
Yang's lavender eyes widened when she saw her sister. Immediately, she walked up and hugged the smaller girl from behind.
Ruby turned in her seat, grabbing onto Yang as if she were a life-ring in the ocean.
A few minutes passed. Ruby's tears had dried, and she pulled herself away from Yang.
"Mind explaining who I need to kill?" Yang asked.
Ruby shook her head.
"So what happened that has you this shaken up, Rubes?" Yang asked gently, and almost motherly tone in her voice.
Ruby looked down at the floor for a moment before speaking. "W-we found her."
"Found who?" Qrow asked.
Ruby looked him dead in the eyes, tears once again threatening to spill.
"We found Penny."