Hello again... after like. 5 months... lol. Sorry. Welcome back to mediocre writing and adverb hell! I just binge wrote this and it's unbeta'd so sorry for any mistakes. Im sleep deprived and i did my best. I hope you enjoy the chapter regardless of my mistakes and bad writing! I'm mainly setting stuff up for the midgame. I really wanna dive into my headcannons about "why" and i'm SUPER excited to get to Qrow and Taiyang's strained relationship with one another.

Thank you!

Asch.

His dreams were filled with happy memories with the last frame sitting in his mind, as bright and vivid as the day it came from. Himself, only five or six years old, riding on his father's shoulders while his mother herded the girls ahead of them. The blue-eyed pack of evil charged ahead, shrieking in excitement as he begun to drool on his dad's fluffy winter jacket. The blond recognized it as one of their family trips to Shion. They'd just finished breakfast and were beginning the walk back to the inn before the rest of the days activities began. Though, he didn't recall his father's back being so bony nor so small…

The next thing Jaune knew he was tumbling towards the ground, landing face-first into the chilly soil of Anima.

Blinking blearily, the blond boy took a moment to identify his surroundings. The sky was orange, fading into a soft purple. Almost night-time then. The towering trees that never seemed to end, cracked pavement that appeared like it had been carefully laid stone by stone. Everything was lush and green, sans the small girl dressed in red sitting in the grass. Of which, he recognized instantly.

"Ruby!", He called out, jumping up. She was panting, clearly exhausted. Crescent Rose and Qrow's weapon strapped on either side of her legs rather than on her back where they would normally go.

Oh no. An embarrassing thought raced through his mind.

"Did you… Did you carry me here?", He really had no shame. Getting knocked out without even throwing a single blow or even noticing the enemy, then getting carried to safety by someone both smaller and younger. Ruby had done all the fighting, broken her Aura, and then somehow managed to escape from their mysterious assailant.

Said girl just nodded and looked a bit bashful as she smiled. "Sorry, Jaune. I didn't know any other way to move you and I couldn't get you to wake up. My semblance managed to get us pretty far though. I don't think they could keep up with my speed."

Any and all manliness points he'd gained over the last year have been set back to zero. Welcome back to Square One.

"But! I'm glad you're awake! We need to go save Uncle Qrow from those people.", She jumped up, looking suddenly re-invigorated. Jaune wasn't quite ready to risk it. She could seem fine but her Aura wouldn't be totally healed and couldn't deflect another fatal hit that day. No offense, Qrow. The JNPR leader wanted answers and to help as much as he could but letting Ruby get killed was a no-go.

He recalled watching Ruby fight, Rose petals fluttering wildly off of her and sparks flying from her weapons. She'd been twice as deadly with Crescent Rose but the way she took to her Uncle's weapon was astounding (And he was still learning to use the simple sword he had, totally shameless). Despite the clear display of skill in their attackers movements, no one had the same creativity in battle as Ruby did. Had the battle with Tyrian not spent her energy, Jaune had no doubt she would have managed to escape with the lot of you and moved on to Mistral.

Ruby had a knack for being surprising. But all human bodies had weaknesses.

Dark circles had set under Ruby's eyes, and her mouth set in a straight line. Worry sat in her furrowed brow-line and she kept looking from left to right as if someone was going to waltz out from the shadows and attack.

"We should rest for the night. You can't fight like that and haven't really slept since the fight with that crazy guy.", He paused for a moment, thinking of the best thing to say next. "If they didn't do anything to your Uncle when we were in Kuroyuri, we shouldn't worry too much about what they will do. It's just one night."

Ruby seemed to deflate as her current state of weakness was brought to attention. Tension was set deep in her muscles. Thought, Jaune did have a point. They probably wanted Uncle Qrow for something or another or it was some horrible misunderstanding? Ruby hoped that the lady that attacked wouldn't interfere again when they went to retrieve him. Maybe he was still on their stretcher, sick with no help... Ugh, hard thought really didn't suit her at all. The dull ache that was set in the back of her mind showed its head with brutal force. But she still was too wired to even consider sleeping then and there. Scary thoughts of what could be happening to her Uncle filling her head. Her red cloak blew forward a bit as a chilly wind gust blew over them.

"I get it if you can't fall asleep just yet.", Ruby smiled as Jaune seemed to read right through her. "Maybe telling me how you got us out of that village would help you relax a little?"

The curiosity was killing him. The last think he knew was Ruby'd been out like a light and himself trying to check if she was okay. And at the positively evil smirk on her face, Jaune knew it was going to be a good story.

Patience, a trait she could find herself containing at certain times. Other instances, Raven found it simpler to simply charge through and reach her goals. It was one of her strongest talents, the ability to storm through any barrier and come out unscathed with prize in hand. Yet, this was a trial she could not use brute force to get what she wanted.

As soon as the question left her mouth he feigned (she knew he had to be faking, Qrow was a terrible actor) a coughing fit. Then followed up with "passing out" using a show of very sarcastic theatrics before actually falling back asleep. A possible side effect, her medics claimed.

Staring at her yet-again comatose brother, tapping her foot as she waited for him to wake up. Had they not raided Shion with such success, the antidote for the fairly complex poison would have been impossible. If they'd been in Vale, an anti-venom would be sitting on a shelf ready to administer. He'd managed to get injured in the one place that was not equipped to help him. The villages of Anima suffered constantly from being ill-prepared. Unable to defend, protect, or live the same cushion-covered walls the kingdoms had around them.

Qrow was extremely fortunate The Tribe had chosen to rest and relish in the aftermath of their raid and not move on towards Mistral and turn the profit immediately, only a small part of her troops left with more valuable trinkets. He would have been good as dead. Not that she'd allow said actions to take place. He was too valuable of an asset to her.

The older Branwen twin held a fair good bit of words to share with her little brother. Night-time had long settled, Remnant's shattered moon gleaming in the sky as Raven quietly fumed.

The irresponsibility of him! The betrayal of The Tribe had been bad enough, yet forgivable. Her brother had been far too gentle from the beginning. Raven had been unable to carry out the proper sentence for deserters and traitors when Qrow had been young and weaker. Now she had no chance of upholding it, not even looking down at his prone form. Guilt clouded her natural merciless nature.

Not informing her of such a development was beyond reason. Though, she'd been suspicious from the beginning, clear evidence would always show itself.

As soon as Raven laid her eyes on Ruby Rose, she began to wonder.

Though, the girl looked like Summer in every way, a miniature clone of sorts, small signs began to show. Something as small as passed down mannerism or even how either says certain words can be deflected by saying that "I am her teacher" wouldn't be enough to face her brother with. He'd avoid the topic, the question, and Raven over all. Just as he did earlier with his acting "skills".

Raven almost wishes she could say the child's brains were due to the blood within her veins, but her own brother's sheer stupidity cut that option out. Any and all intelligence Ruby Rose obtained are certainly from Summer, no doubt in mind. A small blessing, for both Raven and the red-haired girl. Perhaps all of Remnant. The world had a great many deal of troubles without not one, but two unfortunate pigeons flapping about.

Plus, Summer Rose had been a capable fighter and proved herself useful. Their... Situation surrounding the death of her former friend was delicate. Raven could even admit she was fond of the woman, as such pure talent rarely exists these days. Though, Summer's tastes left a lot to be desired. Clearly.

The gaping hole in the side of the makeshift holding cell was a testament to the young Rose's abilities. Looking out the window now, she could see the slightest bit of black smoke rolling from the charred edges of the building. Vernal and herself did not take either of them very seriously at first. Stripping them of their weapons was assumed to been enough.

Crushed bullet shells were discovered in the charred remains. It appeared the the little girl had broken them open for the powder, making a small pile of highly explosive Dust. Then proceeded to dump a cartridge of fire-based rounds on top of it. The child seemed spacey but creative at best. This level of ingenuity was unprecedented, and even a bit frightening.

Qrow began to stir, no doubt he would be awake shortly.

And so, Raven waited. She waited until pale sunlight shined through the window, illuminating everything in an orange halo.

Then there was noise. A hyper-pitched voice screeching into the quiet dawn, followed by a soft knock on the door.

"I-IS ANYONE THERE?"

"...So then everything when BOOM!", Ruby finished, jumping up and making a wide motion with her arms.

Jaune looked up at Ruby with wide, astounded eyes. How was it that someone so tiny and innocent could be such an evil genius? He wasn't sure whither to think of her as a little sister from size and age or his superior as she seemed to pass him in every way. At the beginning of their Haven journey, both Ren and himself tried to establish the "big bro" role with the younger girl. Ever since, she'd surpassed, surprised, or defeated them at any angle where being a brother would matter. On more than one occasion, she'd even saved his hide (carrying him away after she blew up a building to escape hostile attackers).

Ruby fell back to the floor, snickering madly as she begun poking their small fire with a stick. She'd been going a bit hysterical from exhaustion at this point. A loud yawn that escaped was sign of progress as her mind begun shutting down and prepping for some hard sleep. Tomorrow they'd get Uncle Qrow back, and then make sure he gets the care he needs. Everything would be okay...

"So whats the plan to get Qrow back?", Jaune asked, wondering if Ruby had already thought of anything. He doubted it, she was more of an on-the-spot kinda person.

But the only response he received was a soft snore as Ruby lays half on her sleeping bag, half on the dirt. The blonde boy smiled to himself and proceeded to tuck himself into his sleeping bag. They'd think of something in the morning...

"This can't seriously be your plan, right?", Jaune asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he stare at Ruby.

Said girl had her hand raised, fist balled up in the knocking position.

"Is it... not a good plan?", She asked, looking at him with an innocent expression.

"I mean... It's a little impractical. Considering these people attacked us I feel like knocking on the door isn't the way we should go."

Ruby looked at her fist, face scrunching up in extreme thought. As if it the most important decision of the last year. To knock or not to knock.

"No. You're right, Jaune.", She proclaimed, lowering her arm and turning towards the door.

The older boy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Alright, so how about we-", He was interrupted.

"They might not hear me if I knock! I don't even know if this is the right building!", Suddenly, she drew in a deep breath and- "I-IS ANYONE THERE?"

Birds flew from their trees in the distance, and it felt as if the sound barrier itself was shattered by the sound of Ruby Rose screaming at the top of her lungs to see if anyone was home. Somehow managing during her war cry-esque version of knocking, her hand had raised, and she gently rapped on the door with a slight nervous chuckle.

Sword and shield now drawn, Jaune waited for someone to greet them. Expecting friendlies was wishful thinking, and he wanted to be ready this time. Though, he wished other methods had been taken into account before this one, it would be hard no matter what to find/sneak off with a full grown man without drawing attention.

"Anyone home?", She continued, thankfully not shouting this time.

Jaune tensed, spine straight and muscle taught. Was it safer to defeat the all the foes then look for Qrow? Or would it be better to covertly find the man and engage only when necessary? He didn't know.

"Hello...? Uncle Qrow?"

Right now, perhaps it was best to just roll with the lucky / silly / secret genius (?) combo that was his teammate. Looking over at her, he could see that she'd pressed her ear against the door.

"Do you... hear that?", Ruby whispered, straining to catch the noises within.

Now stand next to his younger teammate, he leaned in to hear.

It was barely audible, the soft sound of movement could be heard from within the building. The slightest hints of a voice, partnered with the hushed foot steps.

Not fully pressed into the door like Ruby was, Jaune could make out the flutter of footsteps gradually getting closer to the door.

Heart rate rising, Jaune reached over to tap on Ruby's shoulder, gaining her attention. "Get out of sight, and have your sniper trained on the door.", He ordered.

Ruby nodded, quickly using her semblance to hide within a damaged bell tower. Crescent Rose now opened she smashed the point down into the stone floor and waited. She adjusted the cracked scope onto the window just in time to watch the curtains rustle close. Frowning at the missed chance to see inside, she moved back to the door.

After a few minutes, no one came to open it despite the noise they both heard inside. Ruby kept checking back at the window for movement only to find it deadly still. When shifting back to Jaune, she watched as he suddenly seemed real interested on the noise going on inside.

Looking to the tower, Jaune quickly waved his arms to grab Ruby's attention. When he felt the sensation of being watched pressing on him he began signing to her. He'd been listening one voice yelling for a few seconds before a second voice joined in. This one masculine and not yelling back. He couldn't make out if it was Qrow or not but the fact that they clearly heard Ruby's shout and chose not to open the door was suspicious.

He held up two fingers for his partner to see the tapped his lips to signal what he's heard. Then made the motions for his plan. If the two inside where to occupied for the door, then he'd enter and scope it out. The large window with a curtain provided Ruby with a large over fire area to support him. If he managed to even rip the curtains open soon enough...

Ruby bobbed her scythe up and down signaling she was ready for him to take action. Making the secondary plan to blast out the window and use her semblance to speed in there at the first hint of trouble.

Turning the knob slowly, quietly, Jaune tiptoed into the damaged building. He instantly heard both voices better. A stern feminine voice along with unmistakable rasp that he now associated with Ruby's uncle. Curious, he ducked behind a wall and made his breathing shallow and listen to the voices that rang out above him.

"-Taking her right this second! Whatever plan you have in mind is undoubtedly doomed to fail. Your foolish ideals will be both her's and your downfall! We can make use of her!"

"Pft. Not happening. Just because of the half-assed idea you got doesn't entitle you to her. Did some screws finally fall loose, Raven? With the bull comin' out of your mouth.", Qrow snickered, his tone was teasing.

Raven, huh? They seem to know each other in one way or another. In some kinda way that was antagonist but not violent. The blond boy continued to ease drop. He had no way to signal Ruby from within the building so he just hoped she wouldn't get trigger happy until there was actually a commotion inside.

"You're lucky we aren't taking her right this second! Whatever plan you have in mind is undoubtedly doomed to fail. Your foolish ideals will be both her's and your downfall! We can make use of her!", Raven shouted. Gods, did she want to throttle him! It was so hard to remain composed with any matter that concerned Qrow. Every second of the day she regretted that he was alive.

"Pft. Not happening. Just because of some half-assed idea you got doesn't entitle you to her. Did some screws finally fall loose, Raven? With the bull comin' out of your mouth.", He responded, cool as he can manage. He rooted around for his flask, pulling it from his breast pocket. It was extremely low but anything to help him get through this encounter.

Seeing Raven again so soon was not part of his plan. She was someone he could only deal with in small doses with looong spans of time between. And forget seeing her after she'd discovered a chink in his hard-worked... ruse? He didn't have a proper term for it but Raven knowing wasn't the worst thing but he'd rather she didn't. He'd like to keep it no one knowing. The only person he trusted with it was Tai.

It had been enough that she injured her to get the information that she had.

"Ya know-", Qrow started, "You're awfully focused on my affairs and yet you continue to neglect yours. It's getting increasingly obnoxious."

"You're getting agitated. Because I'm right.", Raven smirked, yet again blowing of the hinting of Yang from her brother to his annoyance.

Watching him tilt his flask all the way back, looking into it after he pulls it away with an upset expression. It was empty already. Worse, he didn't feel the slightest bit drunk. He lowered it, and then began moving off the bed.

He winced while getting up, but pushed on anyway. The wound on his side stung and his body still felt like it was filled with bricks but he couldn't stand to be laying down any longer.

"And if you were right?", Qrow asked, looking into the curtains an moving to open them. Refusing to look in Raven's direction. Her knowing was honestly the least of his worries. She only communicated among the tribe, and was more interested in harnessing the ability of Silver Eyes.

"My views remain the same.", a deadpan answer but smugness was still clear in her tone.

"What? Happy Tai didn't cheat on you?", And her momentary elation killed just like that. Qrow really knew how to ruin any moment.

Now wearing a smug grin of his own, Qrow undid the curtains and shifted them open... Only to be greeted by an oncoming bullet flying into the window. Glass exploded around him as chilly wind rushed into the already cold room.

Raven didn't look surprised so she'd obviously been expecting a move to be made one way or the other. He arched out-of-the-way from the shattering glass, his recovered Aura harmlessly bouncing any stray shards away. "Ruby?", He questioned. Raven just nodded, looking nonplussed. She'd forced him awake shortly after the little girl's shout.

"This conversation isn't over, brother.", It was time for them to part ways, she couldn't make any moves without ruining her own plans. Landing any further on his bad side would only bring misfortune. Ironically. A stalemate would have to do. She had to handle things with her brother gently. If any information in regards to that night got to Qrow he would come for blood.

"Yea yea. The answers still gonna be no.", Qrow countered, turning towards Raven. His usually mild garnet eyes burning into her in such a way that screamed "over my dead body".

Waving out the window, Qrow signaled Ruby. With one more glance back to his twin sister, he carefully jumped out of the window. Everything still hurt but he could manage something as simple as jumping from the second story.

"UNCLE QROW!", was the only thing he heard before being tackled to the floor by a ruby-red blur. "I'm so happy you're okay! How do you feel? What did those people do? I was so worried!", Ruby went on, sitting beside him now on the stone floors. Chuckling, Qrow did his best to divert her worries.

Raven looked down on the seen with a scoff, before drawing her dust katana and opening a portal. "Until next time.", She muttered.

Standing at the top of the stairs, watching their attacker walk into some crazy black/red portal and the proceed to vanish within it, was Jaune. Momentarily stunned by the odd display, he stood with a completely confused expression on his face.

"Uh... What?"

In Patch, two people begin to pack their things.

One, an older man with blond hair and blue eyes. His face set with a determined expression and he carefully placed a picture frame into his travel pack. Completed with clothes, a few cans of food for Zwei until they made a proper stop, along with other necessities. He gripped the two boat tickets in one hand while throwing the backpack onto his shoulder. Taiyang was all set to go.

With a quickly written letter to Port and Oobleck, he opened the door.

Outside, Yang sat beside her motorcycle. She was a little miffed her dad would get to drive, but understood his ego just couldn't handle riding bitch. Plus she got to hold Zwei, which was always a bonus. Her bags had been packed long ago and she'd been waiting impatiently for him to finish his own packing. She'd resorted to pulling grass out of the ground with her robotic arm while idly petting the family dog with her flesh hand.

Hearing the door latch shut, she looked up to see the serious look on her dad's face and matched it with her own.

"Alright. Let's go.", Taiyang announced, swinging his legs over the motorcycle while Yang grabbed Zwei.

Dear whoever gets this first, (Probably either Peter or Bart),

Yang and I are going to search for Ruby. I apologize for vanishing on such short notice and with no other way to let you know that we are not here. I wish you luck in the restoration of Beacon and Vale.

I've left a letter at Signal explaining my departure.

I hope we will be back soon enough to aid, or soon enough before anyone gets this letter would be even better! Thank you for understanding.

Sign- Taiyang Xiao Long.

Again, so sorry for the wait for this garbage lmao. Thank you for reading. We'll get to see the whole Raven and Qrow convo in a FLASHBACK later because i'm a TERRIBLE WRITER.

-Asch.