The hulking form of the Beowolf loomed over the short girl, its long twisting arms tipped with sharp claws reaching towards her, as if in slow motion. Too slow. In a flash of red and silver, the great scythe that the girl wielded cleaved the Grimm vertically in two.

Silver eyes blinked around, looking for any other enemies but Ruby saw no more monsters. Instead she was met with the smiling (if slightly strained) faces of Jaune, Nora and Ren. The small pack of Beowolves had been fairly easy work for the four of them.

Ren looked around at the fading bodies of the Grimm. "The attacks are getting less frequent." He observed. His words echoed uncomfortably in the silence of the forest clearing. It was true. They had come to Haven because Qrow had said that it was the only lead that they had. But it hadn't been easy. Once they had managed to reach Haven, they had no idea where to go. Leads didn't exactly pop up. It was weeks before they came across anything potentially substantial. From there, each lead had led to another lead. That was, until a few months ago. They were in northern Haven and the closest thing that they could get to a piece of information was to go West, deep into the Haven forest.

They had encountered many packs of Grimm at first, but recently they had become more and more sporadic. And it didn't sit well with Ruby. She was worried that they were going in circles, clearing the forest of its Grimm rather than hunting down the enemy.

Looking to Jaune to see what he thought of the situation, she found a pensive thought upon his features, something that wasn't unusual nowadays. Ruby hadn't wanted to impose on what was left of Team JNPR, but Jaune had insisted that a joint leadership between the two of them would be the most beneficial. Ruby could come up with plans (admittedly sometimes they were crazy plans) and Jaune would input any idea he had and often he would create tactics and strategies.

Ruby would always be grateful for Jaune, Nora and Ren taking her in so readily and following her – blindly in some cases – but she couldn't help but miss her own team. Sure she fought well with JN(P)R but she was so used to fighting with Team RWBY that it had taken her a while to stop shouting battle orders like 'ladybug' and 'ice flower'. And she didn't just miss fighting with her team. She missed them. They were her friends. Her family.

Family.

The mere thought of family sent guilt washing through Ruby. She had left her father, her uncle, her sister, in order to follow a hint of a lead that could lead to the enemy. Ruby had made the decision to keep moving forward, but the cost of her actions still haunted her.

It had only been a couple of months since she had left Patch, but Ruby could see the change in those around her. Jaune looked older, whether it was the fact that he smiled a lot less now, or his tired and distant eyes, Ruby couldn't tell. Nora, to her credit, did her best to keep everyone's spirits up, Ren often joining in and humouring her. But they couldn't hide their flinches each time Jaune fought. His movements emanated Pyrrha so strongly that it was almost painful to watch.

"Ren's right." Nora added. "Do you think we're going in the wrong direction?"

At the voicing of the question that they were all thinking, Ruby tried not to groan. She really had no idea where they were going and the woods seemed to be endless. She didn't know if less Grimm attacks meant that they were getting closer to their target, or further away. She was frustrated. She hadn't thought that it was going to take this long to find something. Anything. Instead they had been going round in circles, racing after each lead as if that would be the one to lead them to the enemy. They had been so intent on avenging Pyrrha, Penny and Ozpin that they hadn't thought far enough ahead. At this point, Ruby wasn't even sure what they were going to do if they came across the enemy. Cinder had taken the power of the Fall Maiden – she had defeated Ozpin with that power, and Beacon had fallen. Ruby still held the hope that their little ragtag team could defeat the bad guys, but with each passing day of no results, that hope grew thin and strained.

As she opened her mouth to finally admit that she didn't know what to do, a rustling broke through the silence of the clearing, causing everyone to become on high alert instantly. Ruby, Ren and Nora had their weapons trained on the spot where they had heard the noise come from, ready to fire, whilst Jaune raised his shield and prepared to directly attack. It was a battle formation that had turned out to really work for them.

From the undergrowth, a familiar figure stumbled out, cursing the thorns of the bush he had just walked through. Looking up, he fixed the children before him with a harsh scowl.

"You know, you kids aren't the easiest to track down."

Ruby's eyes widened and her heart soared at the sight of her uncle. Her hero.

"Uncle Qrow!" she cried, flinging herself at the grouchy man, earning herself a small smile from him. "It's so good to see you!"

Qrow regarded her with an intense gaze. Ruby had grown up in the past few months. Qrow knew that her idealistic ways meant that she took the blame for the fall of Beacon upon herself. He knew that she thought that she could have saved her friends and her school. She was just like her mother in that way. And it was clear that to Ruby and her friends, each day that she had spent searching for revenge, she had learnt a lot more than what schools and lessons and books could teach her.

However, Qrow's quietness didn't go unnoticed by Ruby. Pulling away from the embrace, she looked at him with a calculating gaze that was both much like Summer's and Taiyang's.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but, uh, why are you here?" she questioned, tilting her head slightly and looking at her uncle with wide eyes.

Qrow sighed and took out his flask. Normally he tried to not drink in front of Ruby and Yang, but these circumstances weren't exactly normal.

"It's your sister."

Those three words hit Ruby harder than any attack ever had. A tremor started in her hands and continued to grow until her whole body shook with fear. Qrow wouldn't be here if he wasn't worried. Something bad must have happened to Yang. That was what she could see in his eyes. It was worry.

"Qrow, what's happened? Where's Yang?"

"She's with her mother. Raven's convinced her to go with her." Qrow rubbed his forehead tiredly, suddenly looking a lot older. "I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you, kid. I don't like this. Raven really wants Yang. She knocked your father out in the process – he's fine, just frantic with worry – and that doesn't sit well with me. Raven," he paused, thinking of the right words to use. "She's pragmatic, she gets the job done. But in doing so, she uses people. I don't know what she's going to do with your sister. But it won't be good. She's gone, Ruby."

The spun dizzily around Ruby. Yang was gone? This was all her fault. She had left Yang, her own sister, when she needed her most. If she hadn't left, then she could have prevented Raven from taking Yang. Bile rose hotly in her throat and Ruby fought the urge to throw up. Instead, she sat heavily on the ground, her own legs not supporting her own weight any more.

"Hey, this isn't your fault." Qrow crouched before Ruby, trying to get through her haze. "Yang hasn't been in a good place since Beacon. Raven targets people when they're at their weakest. When they're least likely to oppose her."

But Ruby was barely listening.

Beacon.

A plan was beginning to form in her mind. It was a damn near impossible plan, but it was still a plan. If Ruby could reunite her team, then they would be able to get through to Yang. That by reuniting Team RWBY, Yang would be safe. She would be with her friends, with her family, with people who loved her.

But then Ruby remembered why she had left in the first place. She had joined what was left of Team JNPR to take down the true enemy.

Looking to Jaune, Ruby found a kind smile on his face and a warmth in his eyes that had been missing since Pyrrha died.

"Go after your sister, Ruby. We won't lose anyone else to this. Nora, Ren and I, we'll keep going and when we find them, we'll wait for you. You bring all of Team RWBY and we'll take these guys down together, ok?" Jaune smiled and Nora gave Ruby a big thumbs up whilst Ren inclined his head in a bow. "Just," he faltered for a moment, before smiling again, "leave some of them for us."

Ruby nodded before smiling, tears threatening to fall. She looked to Qrow who was watching her in anticipation. He knew that she would go after Yang – the sisters were incredibly close after all. But he had never known where to find his sister. She had always found him when she deemed it fit. He didn't know where to start.

"I hope you have a plan, kid." He drawled, raising an eyebrow at the determination burning in Ruby's eyes.

With a small smirk, Ruby answered, confidence colouring her voice.

"I'm going to get my team back."

Thanks for reading. Is anyone else super pumped for Volume 4 after RTX? Cause I'm kinda freaking out I'm so excited.
I hope you liked this chapter and let me know what you thought.
Feel free to find me on tumblr: warrioroftheice