Prologue

A faint flash flickered in the dark night of the Forever Fall forest. A figure stepped out into clearing looking about as though he had just spawned into the world. His features, already hard to have seen in the under the ambiance of a moonless midnight, were further hidden by the shadow cast from the wide brim hat he wore.

Despite the pitch black night and general menace that filled the air the figure moved forward confidently. As the figure walked shadows moved through the trees and forest around him, following him. If he noticed these sinister shapes he gave no indication. He simply continued moving toward some unknown destination.

After shadowing the figure for almost ninety minutes the alpha beowolf moved into the figure's path, signaling the rest of the pack to move in around him. The figure merely gazed at the creatures, unafraid. The figure's unmoved reaction momentarily confused the beowolf alpha, which could smell no fear on the wind.

Hidden by the darkness that covered his face the figure's lips pulled into a smile, before they began a silent, unintelligible chant. Those the words could not be heard, and even if they could be they were part of no known language, they carried a terrible meaning. The shadows shifted along the forest floor, invisible in the dark of night, and began to spread out into the clearing driven by insatiable hunger…

Chapter 1

The Mine

"When you first begin an investigation everything is a possibility," Police Lieutenant Joe Kenda

Ruby Rose knelt in the loose soil and pulverized rock near the mine's entrance. She ran some of the soil through her fingers as though she could discern answers from it. With a sigh she stood up looking at the area around her. Ruby was standing near the entrance to the Qurok Dust Mine, one of the many mines owned by the Schnee Dust Company. More specifically the seventeen year old girl was standing in the middle of a sizable crater.

The crater was almost fifty feet wide though at its center it was less than a foot deep. And this crater was one of over two dozen that dotted that landscape in front of the mine. The ground, exposed equipment and everything in sight covered in black scorch marks.

The entrance to the mine itself was collapsed, rescue personnel working feverishly to clear the debris and free the miners trapped inside. The air was filled with the sounds of digging and the smell of burned flesh.

At least the police already removed the bodies, Ruby thought as she surveyed the carnage.

The attack on the Qurok mine was the fifth attack on a Dust mine near Vale in the past month. All of the attacks had the same M.O. multiple detonations in the area immediately exterior to that mine killing the miners who were out in the open, the mine explosively sealed, and several hundred pounds of raw Dust stolen.

The police believed that the White Fang was responsible. But when team RWBY first learned of the attacks Blake had dismissed that theory. She had said that the White Fang would never kill so many faunus workers, she hadn't said much else at the time and none of the girls disputed her conclusions. Blake's history with the White Fang was a subject no one really talked about.

Initially they had let the attacks go, they were students after all not actual huntresses. Even if they had been the attacks still fell under police jurisdiction, and Beacon didn't teach its students how to solve crimes. But after the fourth attack Weiss had insisted that they had to do something, and nobody had disagreed with her.

The four girls decided that when the next attack happened they would go there and start their own investigation. They were just a few days into their summer break between their second and third years and they would have plenty of time. So when the fifth attack happened they went to the mine in question and Weiss used her family name to browbeat the officers into letting the four of them into the scene.

Now Ruby stood in the middle of a crater, while Blake looked over the various machines and equipment, Yang wondered around staring at the craters, and Weiss stood about a hundred feet from Ruby.

Ruby refocused her gaze on her pale friend. Isn't that where she was standing twenty minutes ago, Ruby wondered.

She was about to go over and check on Weiss, when Yang's voice interrupted her. "Looks like this place got hit by an artillery barrage."

Yang's comment brought Ruby up short causing her to stop and take a closer look at the scene in front of her. "You're right Yang, it does," Ruby pondered.

"Yhea, that's why I said it," Yang replied confused.

"Hey Blake!" Ruby called in a quiet yell, she knew she didn't have to speak loudly for Blake to hear.

"Yes," Blake said a few seconds later as she jogged over.

"Any sign that any of the explosions occurred on any of the machines?"

"No," Blake replied evenly, "all of the damage to the machines was done by the shock waves. There were no bombs placed on any of them."

"Huh, and on any of the machines did you find anything that looked like metallic shrapnel?"

"I don't know," Blake shrugged, "a few of the machines were hit by shrapnel. But I have no way of telling if it was metal, rock, or even bone. But there were some dust hoppers that were pretty close to a couple of detonations. If the detination source was throwing shrapnel they should have been peppered."

"Where they?"
"No."

"What are you thinking Ruby?" Yang asked.

"These craters ate huge," Ruby said as she gesture towards the crater she had just been standing in, "yet they seem shallow. Now I'm no explosives expert, but that says to me whatever caused the explosion was above ground."

"Makes sense, I guess," Yang said.

"Now I cannot imagine how you would get enough bombs to do all of this in here unnoticed, let alone set and leave them without someone getting suspicious. Especially with news of the other attacks, also look at the placement of the craters. If you were going to bomb this place would you put bombs in such random locations, I wouldn't."

"Looks more like someone was shooting at the area," Blake stated coolly.

"Exactly," Ruby said, "Which gives me two maybe three theories about what happened. Weiss is there anything volatile out here aside from raw dust?"

When Weiss didn't respond the three girls turned to look at her. Weiss was still standing on the same spot she had been since she arrive.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked as her concern for her friend returned. Ruby started towards Weiss then thought the better of it, and looked over at Blake. "Blake think you can get through to her."

Blake didn't say anything, she simply nodded and started walking towards her girlfriend.

As soon as they walked up to the mine images had started to flow across Weiss's mind. Images of the lives of the miners, she tried to stop it to block out the visions her imagination was creating. But she couldn't and a tidal wave of images crashed down on her.

Weiss could hear the screaming as the explosion tore across the open quarry area. She could see walls of fire bathing the area as workers, too exhausted from their work to run, could only watch and wait to die.

Weiss felt sick as she imagined the lives the miners lived even before the explosions. The things Blake had told her came galloping back into the forefront of her mind. She had lived like royalty while these people had suffered and toiled, their blood filling her family's pockets.

She had no idea how long she stood there in her own private Hell, not long enough, her cynical side thought, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. That physical touch brought her back to reality, and when she looked she realized the hand belonged to Blake.

For an instant anger filled her as she met her girlfriend's eyes, anger that Blake had made her understand some of the things her father had done. But the anger evaporated quickly, Weiss knew she was better for knowing this. And it was hard to stay angry with someone who was so visibly concerned for you. Few people would have been able to see it in Blake's neutral mask, but to Weiss it was plain as day.

"I'm fine," Weiss Blake's unspoken question and in a much lower tone added, "thanks." The corner of Blake's mouth curled into a slight smile, and Weiss turned her attention to Ruby. "What were you asking."

"I said is there any other volatile materials here aside from the raw Dust?" Ruby continued as though Weiss hadn't had a partial meltdown.

"You mean something that could have caused these explosions," Ruby nodded, "no nothing that comes to mind."

"Is there anything else here that someone might want to steal?"

Weiss's face contorted in confusion, "What?"

"Is that anything that someone might have detonated the Dust to get at, and then used the supposedly stolen Dust as a smoke screen?" Ruby clarified.

"No," Weiss said slowly still not understanding the younger girl's thought process. "Why would you even think that?"

"Just trying to eliminate possibilities, and that brings us down to two."

Weiss opened her mouth to ask another question when she was interrupted by an all too familiar voice. "Weiss," the deep masculine voice sent chills down Weiss's spine, and filled her veins with ice.

Slowly Weiss turned around and looked at the man from whom the voice originated. He stood just over six feet tall and was wearing an elegant grey business suit. He had the same pale features and white hair she saw in the mirror every day, only his hair had a few grey patches that could be seen on closer examination.

"Father," it took all of Weiss's self control not to spit the word out, but it still contained some venom. Beside her Weiss could almost feel Blake bristling, she knew how Weiss felt about her father combine with her own personal feelings about the man.

"Did you really think that you could use your name to get into this mine without me finding out?" Mr. Schnee commented mockingly.

"Of course not!" Weiss replied unable to keep the venom out of her voice, "I just thought that we could get in and out before you managed to find time from your oh so busy schedule."

"So these", Mr. Schnee gestured towards the other three girls, "must be your teammates," he spoke the last word as though it were below him.

"Yes," Weiss replied as a plain to take her revenge formed and she began nodding to her teammate in turn, "Our team leader Ruby Rose, her adoptive sister Yang Xiao Long, and my girlfriend Blake Belladonna."

Weis took pleasure in the irritated huff her father gave at the girlfriend comment, he had never been excepting of the fact Weiss was a lesbian. But almost immediately his eyes locked on the team's youthful leader.

"Ruby Rose, with those eyes you must be related to Summer Rose," Mr. Schnee said casually.

Weiss heard Ruby's sharp intake of breath at the mention of her biological mother, and Weiss herself was too stunned to react.

"H..how ddo …know mm…my mother," Ruby stammered.

"I met her when one of our mines came under attack by the Grimm, I actually saw her in battle. She was impressively lethal, and devastatingly powerful," he then shifted his gaze to Weiss, "yet even she could not survive as a huntress."

Weiss felt her blood run cold, she couldn't believe her father had done that. Brought up Ruby's dead mother just to make a point to Weiss.

"YOU! YOU! YOU!" Weiss heard Yang's unintelligible screaming behind her and on some level she was aware that Blake had gone to restrain her partner. But Weiss and Ruby were both to shell shocked to register much else and Weiss's father walked away.

"Have a present day dearest," he commented over his shoulder.