Ruby and Weiss sat on the balcony, comfortable in each other's embrace.

Ruby's grip on the heiress tightened. "You know, we're missing classes, right?"

"This is more important."

Ruby looked up at her girlfriend. "Really? Never thought I would hear you say that about... well, anything."

"Normally, I wouldn't. But if something's upsetting you to this degree, then I want to help in whatever way I can. Even if it means missing a few classes."

Ruby waited for the heiress to look down at her, and when she did, she stole a quick kiss from her. "Thanks, Weiss."

"So... are you sure you're okay with talking about your mission?"

"Yeah, I feel like it would help to actually talk to somebody about it."

"Okay, well I'm here whenever you're ready."

Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss even more.

"Well, it started when Uncle Qrow and I went to this house in the middle of nowhere. At the time, I had no clue what we were doing. All I knew, was that this place was a 'safe house'. We stayed there for a while. Uncle Qrow said he needed to make sure we had all of the supplies we would need for the mission. Eventually, we ended up heading away from there and made our way to this town. It just seemed like an old, run-down city, but things started to get... scary."

"Hey, throw some more wood on the fire, would ya? It's getting pretty low."

"Oh, yeah."

Ruby and Qrow were sitting in a makeshift campsite in a small clearing of a long abandoned city, overgrown with grass, trees, vines and several other types of flora. They had been there for almost a whole day.

However, while the plant life in the area was flourishing, somehow the grimm had managed to pollute the atmosphere. It was cold and... dark. Not just as in color or lighting. It was dark. It was almost as if the darkness in the air was tangible. It was thick, black, and suffocating.

It also seemed to slowly eat whatever light dared cross into its domain. Ruby and Qrow had only made a campfire ten minutes ago. It went from a roaring fire to a slow ember in a matter of minutes.

"Jeez, what is it with this place?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. I feel like we're bein' watched."

"Are you sure that's not your paranoia, Uncle Qrow?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

Their attention was drawn to the fire as they heard the fresh wood start to crackle and pop. Within seconds, they noticed the fire gradually getting smaller.

"Are you kidding me? Fire's getting low again."

Ruby started to get up, but Qrow beat her to it. "Sit back down. I've got it this time." As he walked to the small pile of wood they had collected, he realized it was way tinier than he remembered. They had been tearing through it while trying to keep the fire going.

"Ah, shit."

"What is it?"

"The damn wood's nearly gone. I'm gonna go try to get some more." Qrow made his way out of the camp, talking to Ruby over his shoulder. "And Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Watch yourself while I'm gone. I don't trust this place."

"O-Okay."

Ruby didn't understand her uncle's words, but as soon as he was out of sight, she felt a chill run up her spine and her hair stood on end. She couldn't see a threat, but she swore that she could feel one.

She grabbed Crescent Rose and clutched it tightly to her chest. "What am I feeling? This isn't fear or intimidation. Is this... dread? Uncle Qrow needs to come back."

Before she could explore her thoughts, Qrow stepped back into the camp.

"What took you so long?"

Qrow stepped over to the dying fire and threw a bundle of logs onto it. "What's wrong, kiddo? Were ya scared?"

"N-No! I was just cold. I was waiting for you to bring the wood!"

Qrow smirked. "Sure you were. That explains why you've got your weapon so close. I didn't know clinging to cold metal could warm you up."

Ruby knew that Qrow sensed her fear, so she decided to stop trying to hide it. "Uncle Qrow, is it just me or is there something... off in this place?"

Qrow found a thick twig laying next to him and began to poke the fire, trying to keep it going as long as possible without having to get more wood. "Nope, it's not just you. I noticed it as soon as we got here."

"What is it? It's... creepy."

Qrow finished stirring the fire up and threw the stick into the center of it, dusting his hands off afterward and pulling out his flask. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure."

Ruby scooted close to the fire, as the heat was dying down since it was quickly diminishing. "So... can you tell me something else?"

Qrow turned his head up to face his niece. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when you asked me if I wanted to go on a mission with you, I was super excited. I still am, but I have no clue what we're doing here. You said you wanted to wait to tell me."

The hunter sighed and pulled his flask to his mouth again, grimacing slightly as the burning liquor went down his throat. "Okay, I suppose you need to know at this point."

He turned and faced the fire, the low-burning flames dancing in his eyes. "We're here to investigate this place."

"Huh? What do you mean investigate?"

"Well, we're not the first team that has come this way. There have been a few more."

Ruby started fidgeting nervously. "R-Really? What happened to them?"

"No one knows. That's what we came to find out."

"Well that's... unsettling."

"Relax, the people who came this way before us weren't hunters. They were scouting parties or treasure hunters, led by small groups of soldiers and mercenaries. They had no business leaving the safety of their kingdoms. All they wanted was recognition and money for discovering something. They thought that a run down city would be a good place to start."

"Well, do you think there's anything out here worth finding?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't see anything except broken down buildings and overgrown roads. If I had to guess, I'd say probably not."

Ruby streched her arms out towards the fire. Even with her thick red cloak and a set of insulated clothing, she was getting chills somehow. "Well, we've been out here for a while. It doesn't look like there's anything going on here."

"Yeah, maybe... but something doesn't sit right with me. I don't like how it seems so, well, dead here."

Ruby looked around at the decrepit city. "Yeah, I guess I see what you me-"

As Ruby spoke, the duo heard a terrifying sound come from far behind them. They didn't know what it belonged to, but they knew it wasn't human. It slowly turned from a roar into a high-pitched scream and echoed through the entire area before fading away.

The huntress was petrified. She looked to her uncle with a face full of fear. "U-Uncle Qrow... what was that?"

Qrow turned his head towards the direction of the sound, his fingers slowly wrapping around the handle of his sword. "I don't know. This is a first for me."

"Grimm?"

"I've never heard a grimm sound like that before."

There it was again. It seemed to be the same distance away, but it came from their left this time instead of behind them.

Ruby's head jerked to follow the sound. "Whatever it is, it's fast."

Qrow stood up. "Nothing's that fast. There's more than one of them."

"M-More than one?"

"Has to be. No way in hell that something moved that quick across all of this rough terrain."

Then, they heard it again from their right.

Ruby picked up Crescent Rose and extended it into its scythe form. "What the hell is that?"

It sounded again, this time from behind them and from their left.

"I don't know, but we're not gonna stick around here to find out. C'mon, we're going back to the safe house." Qrow stood up, grabbed his sword and began to walk away.

Ruby wanted to follow him. Every fiber of her being wanted to get out of this awful place, but she couldn't. She couldn't run. She was too scared to.

"Uncle Qrow..."

He turned around and looked, surprised to see her standing there. "Ruby, what are you doing? Let's go."

"I... I can't move."

"What?"

"I can't move."

Qrow ran over to his niece, grabbed her shoulders and locked eyes with her. "Ruby! Snap out of it!"

"I can't move."

"We're getting out of here! C'mon!"

"I can't move."

She repeated the same three words over and over again. She knew what she was saying, she knew that she wanted to run, but it didn't matter.

Qrow let one of his hands fall away from her shoulder. "Ruby, I'm sorry about this." He brought his open hand across Ruby's face hard and fast. The force of the slap shook ruby out of her fear-induced trance.

"Ruby?"

The huntress shook her head back and forth for a few seconds. "I'm okay. Let's go."

They ran out of the city and made their way to the safe house, which was a couple of miles from the town.

Once the house was in view, they slowed their pace dramatically, tired from near constant running.

They stumbled up a set of steps onto a wooden porch and stepped through the front door. Ruby slammed the door behind her and collapsed on the nearest sofa. "What was that place? And what was making those noises?"

Qrow shut the door, but stepped over to one of the houses windows and peered out of it, towards the direction of the city. "I'm not sure, but I'm gonna call Oz. Sit tight."

Ruby spread herself out over the couch and let out a huge breath. "Can do."

Qrow pulled out his scroll and stepped into another room.

Ruby could hear him talking, but couldn't make out any words. She didn't know if it was because he was too far away, or if her mind was too exhausted to actually register what words were being said.

"I guess he's talking to him about that weird town and the noises we heard. Man, I don't know what any of that was, but I don't want to go back any time soon."

She suddenly heard footsteps coming from the room her uncle was in. Qrow peeked his head out of the doorway. "Oz is gonna try to get a hold of Ironwood. 'Til then, we can just sit here. Get comfortable, if I know the general, it could be a few days before he answers Ozpin."

Ruby sat up and stretched. "Well then, why don't you just try to call him."

"Me and James don't exactly have the best history together. He wouldn't even acknowledge my calls if I did try."

"So... we just wait here?"

"Pretty much. I'm not comfortable going back out there until we have a better understanding of what's going on in that place. We might even get some backup from the Atlesian military. Who knows, we might need it."

Ruby sighed and laid back down on the couch. "Well, if we're not heading out anytime soon, I'm taking a nap."

"Alright, I'll let you know if anything happens with Ozpin and Ironwood."

As Ruby slowly drifted off to sleep, she shot out a thumbs up, letting Qrow know that she had heard him.

Several days had passed. Ozpin had gotten back in touch with Qrow and said Ironwood would be at the safe house in a few days. When Qrow asked for a definitive date, Ozpin said that the general did not provide one. This just strengthened the disdain the hunter felt for the military leader.

Qrow walked through the house, simply waiting for Ironwood to arrive and getting more annoyed for every minute he wasn't there. He glanced at the clock, then to his sleeping niece.

Ruby was jolted awake by Qrow kicking the side of the couch she had managed to fall asleep on.

"Get up, kiddo."

Ruby sat up and attempted to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's nine. Get movin' around."

The huntress stood and stretched as many of her muscles as she could. The sofa had not been kind to her while she slept. "Why so early?"

"Get used to it. We don't need you sleepin' the day away while we're out here."

Ruby rolled her eyes at the answer. "Ugh. I hate mornings." She managed to force herself off of the couch and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower I guess."

"Alright." The hunter took the moment to go outside and call Ozpin.

The call rang for a few seconds before Ozpin picked up.

"Hello, Qrow."

"Oz, where is Ironwood?"

"He said his forces would be there i-"

"In a few days? It's been almost a week. What's taking him so long?"

"James is a busy man. I'm sure he will be there as soon as he is able."

"Well, he needs to be here faster. We don't have the luxury of time."

"If he is not there by the afternoon, I will be sure to call him again and express your concerns."

"Whatever. What is he sending anyway? I never asked."

"I'm not sure. I believe he mentioned some Atlesian Knights and a Paladin."

"Awesome. Robots. Those will be a big help."

"Qrow, you should have known that he wouldn't send actual soldiers into a place where the threat has not been accurately assessed."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Still... I wish we had some more... reliable backup. I don't know what's out there."

"I'm well aware. Be careful, if this is what we think it is the-"

"Then I'll be sure to tell you. But, seriously, Oz? That's just an old legend, a fairytale that kids grew up hearing."

"You said the same thing about the Maidens."

"... I'll keep an eye out."

"Alright then. Let me know of any developments during your investigation."

"You got it."

Qrow hung up the call and shut his scroll. As he turned to go back into the house, the door opened and Ruby stepped outside.

Her eyes scanned the property that she had become familiar with over the last week.

The safe house was in the middle of a vast field, full of flowers and tall grass. However, it didn't seem overgrown, despite not having anyone keep up with the place. Everything seemed to move perfectly with each gust of wind. The place had its own natural beauty to it. It was the complete opposite of the dark city that was just a couple of miles away. The house itself was a different story. It was a very small one bedroom cabin. It had a small, wooden porch which looked like it was going to crumble the next time someone stepped on it. The front door seemed as if its hinges were barely connected, ready to fall off at any time.

Once inside, you could see the full extent of its lack of maintenance. Paint was peeling off of the walls, there were cobwebs in every corner of every room, and there wasn't an inch of space not covered in dust. There was only one bedroom, which means only one bed. Despite his offer to sleep on the couch, Ruby had given Qrow the bedroom, content with sleeping on the couch which seemed like it would be far more comfortable than the bed at the time.

It wasn't anywhere close to an ideal place to stay while on a mission, but it was the best that they could manage. There were no other safe houses nearby, and they didn't want to stay at a hotel. The nearest city was 10 miles away and they couldn't afford to pay for a hotel room every night. Especially since they had no idea how long they would actually be there.

But right now, at least they had a roof over their heads. That was good enough for them.

The porch creaked with each step Ruby took. "It looks so pretty outside today!"

"Yeah, too bad it can't be like this in that city."

Ruby had tried to block the town out of her memory. "Right. That would make going back there a whole lot easier."

Qrow walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, kid. Ironwood is sending in some help."

This put the huntress at ease slightly. "Really?"

"Yep, should be here any time now."

"Well, that's a huge relief. I was worried we would have to go back by ourselves."

There was a lingering silence between the two until Ruby broke it. "Soooo... Did you tell Professor Ozpin about the city?"

"Um, duh? Why do you think that the general is sending us help?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, I mean... did you tell him about the noises? And how dark it was?"

"I told him everything."

"What did he say?"

"Well, he actually thinks he has an idea of what could be out there."

Ruby's eyes shot up to her uncle's. "What does he think it is?"

"Uh... nothing. Don't worry about it. We can talk about this later. I'm gonna go try to find some food. I'm starving."

"... Okay. I'll be inside in a little bit."

"Alright."

Qrow walked back into the house, Ruby's gaze narrowing and following him until he was out of sight. "What isn't he telling me?"

Ruby walked over to the porch and sat down on the steps, twirling a blade of grass between her fingers. "Well, I'm officially bored. I wish there was something to do out here. Oh, wait! I can call Yang!"

She pulled out her scroll and started to call her sister. It seemed like the dial tone was going on for years. She started to think her sister wasn't going to answer. "C'mon. Pick up, pick up, pick up."

Suddenly, the dial tone stopped and she heard a familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Yang!"

"Oh, hey, sis! What's the occassion?"

"Nothing special. Just got bored and thought I would see what you were up to."

"Well, nothing is really going on here. You called on a slow day."

"Aw, man, that sucks. You miss me yet?"

"Are you kidding? It feels nice to actually be able to sleep in and not have a whistle blown in my face the next morning. You can stay gone for as long as you want."

"Yang! How could you say that?"

"I was only joking. Of course I miss you. You're my little sister! But I have to admit, it has been quieter since you've been gone."

"Don't get used to it!"

"Hehe, I'll try not to."

"So how is everyone else?"

"Oh, they're all fine. Weiss is being a bit... extreme, but that's just Weiss."

"Oh... is she okay?"

"She's fine, just a bit more uptight than usual."

"Does she ever... y'know... mention me?"

"Uh, yeah, every now and then I guess. Why?"

"U-Uh no reason. I was just curious if she missed me."

"She might not show it, but I know she does."

"You think so?"

"Yup! How could she not? You're her best friend!"

"I guess you're right..."

"So, how's the mission going?"

"Oh it's okay. It's different than I thought it would be. Lots of just sitting around."

"Really? Well, it still sounds better than having to go to classes all day."

"I'd say it's a tie between the two."

Their conversation was interrupted by a series of fast beeps. Ruby pulled her scroll away from her and saw what the problem was.

"Hey, Yang? I'm sorry but I have to go. My scroll is about to die."

"Oh, no problem. I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, and tell Weiss that I miss her."

"Uh... sure. Bye, Ruby."

"Bye, Yang."

As soon as the call ended, Ruby's scroll shut off. "Well, that figures."

Ruby slipped her scroll into her pocket and went back into the house.

As she stepped inside, the smell of food hit her nostrils, and she quickly realized how hungry she was. She followed the scent to a small kitchen in the corner of the house.

"Uncle Qrow? What are you doing?"

"What's it look like? I'm cooking."

"You can... cook?"

Qrow turned around, a spatula in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other. "Of course I can cook. I've been a hunter longer than you've been alive. I've had to learn how to do a few things."

"So what are you making?"

"Nothin' special. Just some bacon and eggs. Want some?"

"Sure!"

"Alright. Pull up a chair."

Ruby walked to a small table, pulled a rickety chair up to it and sat down.

Qrow set over and set two plates of food down. One in front of him and on in front of Ruby. "Breakfast is served."

Ruby attacked the food. "Wow, this is actually good."

"Did you think it wouldn't be?"

"I wasn't sure what to think. I've never had your cooking before."

"Told ya I could cook."

The pair finished breakfast and remained at the table, letting their food settle before getting up.

Qrow leaned forward onto the table, putting his hands under his chin. "So, are you ready to head back out to the city today?"

Ruby lowered her head slightly. "Honestly... not really."

"Well, don't worry about it. It won't be just us this time."

"I know, but... I still think about that sound. It's like I can still hear it."

"Like I said, we'll have some help from Atlas this time around. Worst case scenario, it's more than we can handle and we leave. That simple."

Ruby still didn't look up. "... Okay."

"C'mon, help me clean all of this up."

"Y-Yeah."

Ruby grabbed the plates and left Qrow to the pans he cooked in. They brought the dishes to the sink and almost started cleaning, but before they could begin, the house started shaking violently.

Ruby ran to the couch and picked up Crescent Rose. "What is that?!"

Qrow noticed her pick up her scythe. "Put that down. I know what it is." As he walked across the room, Qrow was somewhat relieved, but still slightly annoyed. "It's about damn time."

"Okay?! What is it?!"

Qrow waved towards himself as he walked towards the front door. "Come outside."

As the walked onto the porch, Ruby discovered the source of the rumbling. There was a massive Atlas ship slowly lowering itself into the front yard. When it landed a group of ten Atlesian Knights and a Paladin marched out of the ship.

Ruby collapsed her scythe and slid it into the harness on her back. "Okay. Didn't expect that."

"Yeah, James always did like his soldiers to make a big entrance, whether he was there or not."

Suddenly, they heard a voice come from inside the ship. "And what makes you think I'm not here, Qrow?"

Ruby and her uncle watched as Ironwood stepped out of the cockpit of the ship.

"You didn't think I would let someone else handle this journey with all of this valuable Atlas technology, did you?"

Qrow strode towards the general. "I didn't think you could be bothered to come out all this way for an investigation of a run-down city."

"You're right, I didn't come out here for that. I merely came to make sure the soldiers I'm providing arrived undamaged."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Ironwood glanced towards Ruby and his expression softened. "Ruby, it's good to see you again."

"You too, general."

His eyes darted back to Qrow. "Try not to break my machines."

"We'll do our best, Jimmy."

Ironwood glared at the hunter upon hearing the nickname he loathed.

"Very well. I'm heading back to Atlas. Ozpin will keep me posted on the status of your mission."

Ironwood climbed back into his ship and took of, engines roaring and threatening to make the safe house fall apart.

Once the ship was out of sight Qrow turned to face the group of machines in front of him.

"This is gonna be... interesting."

Ruby stared at the paladin, remembering the time her team was forced to fight one. "You can say that again."

Qrow pulled his flask out of his pocket and took a drink, then looked to his niece. "Well, Ruby, grab your stuff. It's time to go."

Okay, I would like to apologize for the late upload. Somehow, time managed to get away from me. It was like my brain just... melted. So, I'm sorry about that.

Oh, yeah, one more thing...

OH. MY. GOD. I hit 100 favorites and 200 followers! You guys are super crazy awesome! (Thanks for the quote, Neon.) I don't even know how to say thank you. I don't deserve it, but I appreciate each and every one of you that has taken an interest in this story. I know this chapter was kind of slow, but I promise, the next one won't be.

Please follow, favorite, and review. I'll see you all in the next chapter!

:D