A/N: Hey all welcome back to a new chapter! I hope to be doing these around once a week until the end of this volume and then ill let you all know in the last chapter when to expect volume 2. Thank you all so much for sticking with it and I promise you that it is going to get good coming up. I hope you all continue to read this fanfic and please leave a comment, question, or review. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!

Yang was tired of walking. She had been walking through the forest for nearly the entire day and wasn't any closer to finding her way out than she was at the start. This was all was really starting to piss her off. Ruby got injured, sure. You both got captured, sure. You knew they wouldn't be happy to see either of you, sure. But, forcing her to take on the world and win? There was nothing her or Ruby could've ever thought of that would have been as far fetched as this. Yang knew that they both weren't going to last forever out there on their own. She for sure wasn't going to stand for it much longer. Contrary to what Ruby believed, Yang did have friends and trusted people in the city. Actually, Yang was going to move in with one of her friends with or without Ruby's agreement within the next few months. Yang just didn't like hiding in the shadows and being so isolated. It just wasn't who she was. And now, aside from all the chaos she already had in her life, now this. This stupid twisted forest hunt. Knowing her luck she was probably further from the exit now than ever. She needed to rest. This was all just stressing her out too much. But first she had to find a safe place for the night to sleep at. She knew that anything could come at her at any moment and that the Grimm are known to be more active at night. Plus-

Suddenly she froze.

She had heard a low growl.

Something was coming after her and she was in no mood to deal with it. Something lunged after her through the bushes behind her. It was an Ursi that was leaping after her with all its strength. Then, for a moment it was almost as if time slowed for Yang as she ducked and turned simultaneously slowly facing upward to strike the ursi in the belly as it leapt over her. The instant her fist made contact with the creature she fired her gauntlet and shot through it entirely, spraying black goo everywhere as it rained down around her. The sound of her shot caught the attention of another Ursi a couple hundred feet away that turned to her and began charging. Yang turned and prepared her footing to nail it in the head when it got close enough to her.

It got closer,

and closer,

and closer.

Yang raised her arm back and went in for a swing when a gunshot rang out causing her to flinch slightly. It was a good thing to, as Yang practically saw the bullet as it flew past her head, missing her hand by an inch as the bullet struck the ursi right between the eyes. As its body still flew forward Yang instinctively leapt out of its path to the left and watched the body slide up to an eventual collision with a tree.

Yang hastily looked all around her to see who had fired the shot but saw nothing but the forest, and silence.

Until a calm female voice broke that silence.

"I'm surprised you didn't see me before. I've been following you ever since you landed." The voice said.

Yang stand still. Frozen in fear. She couldn't pinpoint the location of the voice. Not even the direction. Whoever the voice belonged to had been trained well.

"You can relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to step out into the open, just don't panic or shoot at me." The voice stated.

Yang heard leaves rustle just beyond the fading ursi body and saw a young woman dressed in black and white with a black bow on her head and a katana on her back step out from hiding.

"Relax, if I was going to hurt you I would've done it by now. I'm Blake Belladonna." Blake said with an outstretched hand.

"Hi, Blake! Nice to meet you, I'm Yang Xiao Long." Yang said with a happy and excited face as she shook Blake's hand. Even if Blake was a threat it would only help Yang because she needed someone to give her energy so she can keep moving.

"You're… not afraid of me?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No…. why? Should I be?" Yang asked now confused.

"Its just, I really surprised you haven't heard anything about me." Blake said as she tried not to make eye contact.

Yang just stood there quietly thinking, not fully accepting the answer.

"I'm just surprised Yang, most people don't just walk up to a stranger and shake their hand." Blake pointed out.

"Well, I'm full of surprises." Yang said as she studied Blake now looking for clues to why she was surprised she had never heard about her.

Blake was well dressed for mobility so Yang figured she had trained as a spy or something in that area. She was probably some famous spy or warrior. Either way she didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it so Yang decided to wait for a better opportunity to ask. No sense in pissing off the first none hostile human you've seen in a long time.

Blake then surprisingly went serious. "We should keep moving. There will be others following us."

"Other's? Wait there's more people here?" Yang asked as she followed Blake deeper into the forest.

Campfire

Blake was sitting as far away as she could from the fire but not so far that she wouldn't receive any light or heat from it. Yang was currently sitting almost directly in front of the fire. She explained to her friends that her semblance which often produced fire had also made her near immune to it. But so far she had never been able to control the fire, it just sort of appeared from her when she was angry. Blake had only mentioned that her semblance was basically she can clone herself and left it at that. She didn't look to be in a talkative mood. Lie Ren had just returned from gathering a few more branches for the fire as it had been slowly dying down. He had been a new addition to Yang and Blake's team. They found him hiding in the trees as he ambushed them and caught Yang in a trap he made from sharpened wooden spikes in a small hole. To which only frustrated Yang as she had to untangle her hair from it later. He quickly apologized and helped Yang out of the hole after he explained that he wasn't trying to catch them that he was after another group of people that had ambushed his old team and offered them a choice, to join them or die. He's been waiting for them ever since he and his girlfriend got separated after the fight with the gang. Now for the last hour they have been working together to try to find the way out of the forest.

"How many people did they have when the arrived at your old camp?" Yang asked Ren.

"8 from what I could tell. I know we weren't the first, they were too coordinated and spread out surrounding us. My girlfriend and I only managed to get out because we were faster than them."

"Do you have any clue on where to look for her?" Yang asked.

"We have symbols and call signs that we leave for each other in situations like these. I haven't seen any yet but I'll let you know once I do." Ren explained.

"You're not like, worried or anything?" Yang asked.

"Not really. Our childhood town was destroyed by an army of Grimm when where young and, we just kinda are good at surviving by our selves. Trust me, she can take care of herself." Ren replied with what may have been a grin but it was lost in the shadowing from the fire.

"Our first step should be to figure out the way out of here. Or even what we need to do here. I mean, did anyone even give you guys instructions about this test?" Yang asked with a confused look.

"They told me to find something hidden and recover it." Ren explained.

There was a moment of confusion as Blake quickly looked up to Ren.

"They told me to find the an artifact and it would be the key." Blake finally spoke.

The two then turned to Yang.

"I was told to find my way out. By any means necessary." Yang admitted in a whisper.

Silence fell upon them for a moment.

"Why would we be given different objectives?" Ren asked as he turned from Yang to Blake.

"Did they not plan on us finding one another?" Blake asked thinking out loud.

"Maybe its to test our group skills and we are supposed to find out who has the true objective?" Ren asked to everyone.

"Maybe we-" Blake was interrupted by Yang.

"What if, they all are part of a whole objective?" She asked. "We all are supposed to meet up and connect the dots and find the exit which could be at this artifact or hidden objective."

"I think it could easily be any one of these objectives." Ren started.

"Or none of them." Blake finished as she stood up and took a step back from the fire.

"What's wrong Blake?" Yang asked.

"It's nothing…. I just, I don't like not knowing the objective is all." She confessed.

"Its okay, Blake. We will find a way out and figure out our objective." Yang said in a calming voice.

"I think it'd be wise to sleep first." Ren said as he looked to the sky which was now completely dark except for the moon.

"Yeah. I'm going to call it a night for now. " Yang said as she stretched and turned back to her old place by the fire and sat back down.

Blake just turned around and said, "I'm going to see what I can find. Don't stay up for me. I'll be nearby and keep watch." she then leapt like a cat into the trees and not seen by Yang or Ren.

"She's not the talkative one I take it?" Ren asked.

"No, but that's going to change. If we are ever going to get out of here, we need to start trusting each other and sharing all of our information." Yang said sternly.

"Do you think she is hiding something?" Ren asked.

"No, I know she is." Yang clarified.

"How can you be so sure?" Ren asked as he sat down next to Yang.

"When I first met her, she was surprised I didn't recognize her. Plus, the way she moves and hides is uncanny. She was well trained to not be seen. Or at least she is well known for it." Yang recalled.

There was some silence before Yang spoke up again.

"Look, I need someone to watch my back and I don't entirely trust Blake."

"You mean me?" Ren asked, a little surprised.

"I'm not saying I need you to spy on her or anything, I just…..." Yang trailed off.

"I need to know that if the time comes to pick sides, I want to know that I can trust you."

"I think you might be going too far with this-" Ren started before Yang interpreted him.

"Woah, woah no, I meant that if she is for some reason against us then-"

"I am here with you both to find Nora. You both were together when you found me. As far as I could know you could both, be against me. I'm not saying I don't trust either of you, but I will not choose between you two." Ren stated.

"If that's your choice then." Yang sighed. "I don't blame you."

An awkward quiet set in.

"I can't promise to be on your side… but can I promise to watch both of your backs." Ren clarified.

"Thank you." Yang said relieved to have someone to rely on.

"I will be turning in for the night." Ren said as he stood up and walked to the tree he had been hiding in earlier.

"Yeah….. Me too….." Yang said to herself as she turned away from the fire, layed down, and began to fall asleep. Wondering what tomorrow could possible bring.

Blake was crouching in a tree staring down at Yang and Ren questioning what her next move should be.

A/N: Please leave a review! You can say or ask anything you want! I read them all and they really do help me!