"So, what happened after you figured out how you were going to do everything?"

"We prepared ourselves and we fought... for a long time. We started to think that the Alpha would never show up and that Uncle Qrow's plan was a bust."

Weiss pulled Ruby closer. "Was it?"

Ruby's head dropped slightly. "... No. It worked alright."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?"

"You would think."

A month had passed since Ruby and Qrow had started trying to bring out the Alpha Mistrae. They killed all of the Grimm that showed themselves. One night, however, they were forced to retreat.

While dealing with a pack of Beowolves, a Mistrae had shown up. It didn't have a mask like other Grimm. It was as black as night, and its appearance was that of a large panther. It looked to be about four feet tall on all four legs. It also seemed to weigh a lot more than it should have, given it's build and frame. Everytime it took a step, the ground beneath it sank almost like a two-thousand pound weight had been put on it.

It didn't fight the hunters at first. It simply stood and watched as they fought the other Grimm, until Qrow saw it. He had to do a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing things. What caught his eye was its teeth. It let out a snarl, and its teeth reflected the faintest of moonlight that managed to punch its way through the dark atmosphere that surrounded the area.

"Ruby, we need to go."

The huntress made quick work of a Beowolf she was fighting and turned to her Uncle. "What? Why?"

Qrow pointed a finger towards the Grimm. "Look."

Ruby was immediately stricken with fear. "I-Is that..."

"Yeah, it's a Mistrae. Let's get out of here. We're not ready to fight the small ones yet."

"Well how-" Ruby was cut off by a Beowolf lunging at her. She dodged its attack and sank Crescent rose deep into its back. She pulled the trigger and tugged on the handle of her weapon, slicing the creature in two. After it started disappearing, she turned back to her Uncle. "How do we know it's not the Alpha?"

"We don't, but I have this feeling that if it was the Alpha, we would know it. It's just sitting there. It's not attacking us."

"I don't know... It's watching us kind of intensely... I mean, just look at it's eyes."

"Ruby, don't!"

The huntress instantly realized her mistake. "Damn it, I forgot!"

It was too late. The pair watched as the Grimm slowly morphed into Ruby. Frist it took the shape of her body and wardrobe. Then, it stuck out its hand as an exact copy of Crescent Rose appeared out of thin air.

Ruby was in disbelief. "Wha... How can it even do that?"

Qrow rushed to his niece and pulled her cape towards him. "I don't think we want to stick around to find out. C'mon."

The pair started running towards the village, until they heard a gunshot. They turned around and saw the Mistrae flying towards them with its version of Crescent Rose trailing behind it, continuously firing rounds to keep its momentum.

"Ruby, look out!"

The Mistrae swung its scythe directly between the two hunters. They separated and it quickly set its sights on Ruby. It fought exactly the same way she did. Every time she would try to attack, it would parry with ease.

Ruby found a place to steady her footing and locked scythes with the Grimm. The Mistrae may have copied her appearance and fighting style, but when it came to strength, it was far superior to her. It slowly began to push her back, a smirk slowly spreading on its face. Then, Ruby was shocked as she heard her own voice without opening her mouth.

"What's wrong, Ruby? Are you having trouble?"

The next thing that escaped it's mouth was a scream as Qrow brought his sword down on the creatures neck.

"Ruby, let's go! Now!"

"Y-Yeah!"

The huntress sprinted away from the Grimm, which was now laying on the ground. As they headed back towards the village, they heard it croak out something that sent chills up Qrow's spine. "U-Uncle Qrow... Why... Why would you do this to me? Come back..."

They quickly jumped over the wall of the village and ran to Ivory's house, not looking back one step of the way.

Qrow busted through the door of Ivory's house, almost breaking it off of it's hinges.

"Ivory, there's one out there!"

The old woman was sitting in a chair reading a book. It slowly fell to the floor as she stood up, a worried expression on her face. "Did either of you two make eye contact with it?"

Qrow looked down to his niece. "Well, Ruby... She..."

Ivory walked over to the young girl. "Ruby, did you?"

The huntress couldn't make eye contact with Ivory. She felt ashamed that she had forgotten the one rule of fighting the Mistrae. "... Y-Yes... I'm sorry..."

"Relax, I'm not angry, but I am sorry about this..."

The dark-haired girl's head lifted to face Ivory. "About what?" Ruby yelped as she felt a sharp blade run across her arm. "Ow!" She looked to Ivory again, whose face was full of relief now as she watched blood start to come from the fresh wound.

"I'm very sorry, Ruby, but I had to be sure. Like I've said before, Mistrae don't bleed." The old woman handed Ruby a small cloth to wrap around her arm.

The huntress took the make-shift bandage and began tying it around the cut. "You could have at least warned me, you know."

Ivory made her way back to her chair and sat down. "I could have, but I didn't want to take any chances. Years of being around these things has made me... on edge."

"Eh, that makes sense. Better safe than sorry, I guess." Ruby finished tying the cloth around her arm and thought to herself, "A heads up still would have been nice."

Qrow walked to another chair and sat down. "So, not only have we not found the Alpha yet, but now there's a Grimm out there that looks and sounds just like Ruby. This is bad."

"Well, your plan is all we have to go off of, Qrow. It's better that we keep this up instead of doing nothing."

"I guess you're right." Qrow pulled out his flask and started to take a drink, only to remember what happened last time he tried to drink in Ivory's home. "Sorry, I forgot where I was."

The old woman sighed. "It's okay. Looks like you had a long night. I say you've earned a drink."

Qrow was surprised. "Thanks, Ivory."

"Yeah, Yeah, don't worry about it."

Ruby was still trying to wrap her head around what had happened earlier. Ivory noticed her acting distracted.

"Ruby, you okay?"

The young girl shook her head to try to get some clarity in her mind. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... that thing was just like me... It's eerie to fight yourself and to hear your own voice without you actually being the one talking."

Ivory leaned back in her chair. "Believe me, I know the feeling."

"Really? Did one of those things turn into you?"

"Yup, a long time ago. I reckon it's still out there somewhere."

"Well, there's a comforting thought..."

Ivory chuckled. "Hehe, I'm not too worried about it. I doubt something would want to turn into an old woman like me."

Qrow lost track of how much he had been drinking adn before long his flask was empty. "Well, it looks like I'm out of the good stuff. I think I'm gonna head off to bed. Ruby, are you coming?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Ruby turned and waved to Ivory. "See you tomorrow. Goodnight."

The woman nodded. "Goodnight, Ruby. You too, Qrow."

The hunter simply threw his hand up while his back was turned as his way of saying goodnight.

The pair made their way through the village, intent on going to sleep as soon as they hit their beds. However, Qrow was stopped by a man.

"Hey, Qrow, you got a minute?"

"Uh, sure. Ruby go on ahead to the house, I'll be there in a few."

"Okay."

Qrow watched Ruby until she was in the house with the door shut. He then turned back to the man. "What can I do for you, Wolfe?"

"Sorry, I know it's late, but I was just wondering if you two had made any progress on the whole evacuation thing."

"Well, honestly, not really. We're trying something, but if it keeps giving the same problem we'll have to think of something else. Don't worry though, we won't leave until everyone here is able to come with us."

"Okay, I was just wondering. Thanks for everything you're doing. It means a lot to the whole village."

"Don't mention it. I couldn't just ignore this place. No one deserves to live their life in constant fear. Is that all you needed?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry again for stopping you."

Qrow walked past the man, patting him on the shoulder as he walked by. "Don't worry about it. Goodnight, Wolfe."

"Goodnight, Qrow."

The two parted ways and the hunter stumbled into the house he and Ruby were borrowing. As he walked in, he noticed that Ruby was already fast asleep on her bed. She was completely passed out in her hunter gear, combat boots and all.

"Wow, she might have been more tired than me..."

Qrow walked to his bed. He laid down andwaited for sleep to take him. It wasn't coming easy for him. "Why can't I get to sleep? I'm exhausted. This sucks." He sat up and looked around the room. "I guess I should find something to do..."

Ruby was the first of the hunting pair to wake up. She groggily sat up in her bed and looked around the room to see of her uncle was awake. As her eyes scanned the room, her gaze drifted to Qrow's bed. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust, due to just waking up, but she quickly noticed that Qrow was still sleeping.

"Wow, he must have been really tired. He's always up before I am. I suppose I should show him the same courtesy he shows me."

The huntress got of her bed and made her way across the house to her uncle.

"Uncle Qrow, wake up."

Ruby didn't get a response, so she raised her voice and nudged him slightly with her foot. "It's time to get out of bed."

Qrow simply mumbled and rolled over.

The huntress was starting to get annoyed. "Uncle Qrow! Get up right now!"

Qrow shot up straight. He seemed kind of dazed, but alert. He quickly looked around the room until his eyes met his niece's. "Oh, Ruby." The hunter gave out a humongous, drawn out yawn. "What time is it?"

The young girl shrugged. "No clue. I haven't really been awake that long."

"Great. Let's hope it's not too late in the day."

"I don't think it's that late. It still feels like morning to me."

The hunter got out of his bed and stretched all of hs muscles, letting out a small grunt afterwards. "Well, I guess we should go find out."

Ruby nodded. "Okay. I'm going to Ivory's. I'll meet you there."

"Okay, sounds like a plan."

The huntress walked out of the house, shutting the door behind her. As she walked, her mind began to fill with thoughts of the previous night. "So... that thing looks like me, acts like me, sounds like me, and fights like me. It even has a copy of Crescent Rose! And we can't kill it because we haven't killed the Alpha yet. What am I supposed to do?"

As she was losing herself in her thoughts, she stopped paying attention to where she was going and bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm really sorry. I should have been paying attention." Ruby slowly helped the person back up onto their feet. "Oh, Lavender, I didn't realize it was you. Sorry for knocking you over."

The woman brushed herself off and smiled. "It's okay. Are you heading to Ivory's?"

Ruby nodded. "Mhm. How could you tell?"

"I was just guessing. You are headed in that direction, after all."

"Yeah, I was going to go talk to her before tonight."

The happy expression slowly dropped from Lavender's face and was replaced by a nervous one. "Ruby, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"How is everything going... with your mission? Y'know, getting us all out of here."

Ruby's eyes drifted downward until she was staring at the ground. "Well, it's going way slower than we thought. We're having trouble figuring out how to fix the problems we're having, but don't worry. We aren't leaving until everyone is safe."

The cheerful smile was quickly on Lavender's face again. "Thanks, Ruby. That's good to hear. I guess I'll let you get to Ivory's. It was nice talking to you." Lavender turned and started walking away from Ruby.

"Nice talking to you too, Lavender."

After saying goodbye, Ruby began making her way towards Ivory's again. Before long, she was at the door. She reached her hand out and knocked lightly.

She heard a muffled voice come from in the house. "Come in!"

Ruby opened the door and peeked around the side of it. Ivory was sitting in her rickety chair, but got up when noticed who it was. "Oh, Ruby. Just who I wanted to see."

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, sit down."

".. Okay. Am I in trouble?"

The old woman laughed. "Of course not. I just wanted to talk to you about the mission."

"Oh, what do you want to know?"

Ivory let out a deep sigh and leaned forward in her chair. "Have you and Qrow made any headway whatsoever?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not really. It looks like the Alpha just isn't taking the bait. I'm starting to think that Uncle Qrow's plan won't work."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, late last night I had a little chat with Qrow. We talked about some interesting things."

"Like what?"

"Well, last night, Qrow couldn't get to sleep, so he decided to leave the village and kill some Grimm."

Ruby's mouth dropped. "Without me?! He could have gotten hurt! What if the Alpha had shown up?!"

Ruby leaned back in her chair. "Relax, I'm sure he could handle himself and gotten out of there if things went south. Besides," Ivory's gaze narrowed. "He mentioned that there was a large group of Mistrae outside. He said that it looked like they were just watching him. They never attacked."

"What happened?"

"He figured he would head back to the village, since he couldn't really kill them. When he started to head back, he heard your voice."

"What? How did he hear my voi-" Ruby had a sudden realization. "The Grimm that changed into me..."

"That's right. He turned around and saw you standing there. He knew that it wasn't you so he headed back to the village, but that leaves us with one problem."

"Which is what, exactly?"

"Ruby, I trust you, and I know I might sound like a paranoid old woman, but I need you to-"

"You need me to bleed, don't you?"

Ivory nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry. Especially since you've already done it once."

"It's okay. It's my own fault for being reckless and messing up."

Ivory handed ruby a small knife. "I don't know if you have any weapons other than that huge scythe, so here."

Ruby took the knife and positioned it over her arm. She sliced her skin very lightly, careful not to go very deep. After a few seconds had passed, blood began to come out of the cut. The young girl handed the knife back to Ivory. "See, I'm still me."

Ivory breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I know it's not easy to do that, because of the whole aura thing."

Ruby was surprised. "You know about aura?"

"Of course. I did tell you I was once a huntress, right?"

Ruby scratched the back of her head and smiled. "Oh yeah, I guess I just forgot, hehe. But yeah, I basically have to turn my aura off to do it. It makes me really tired if I do it too much. The other night I was almost completely drained, that's why you cut me so easily."

Ivory let out a small chuckle. "I'm glad it played out that way. I took a chance and it paid off. Sorry if I freaked you out."

"You just surprised me is all." Ruby repositioned herself in her chair. "So what about that group of Mistrae that Uncle Qrow saw? Did he mention anything else about them?"

"As a matter of fact, he did. He thinks it means the Alpha is actually taking notice; that the plan is working."

"Really? So this hasn't been all for nothing?"

"He doesn't think so, no. He said he thought of something he learned from your headmaster."

"Professor Ozpin?"

"Yup. Something like 'If you're about to start a battle, who do you send first – the flag bearers, or the scouts?' and I thought he made a pretty good point. If the Mistrae were just observing him, maybe they were checking him out for their boss."

"Boss?"

"The Alpha."

"Oh, yeah, duh. Wait, if they're able to cooperate like that... Just how smart are these things?"

Ivory shrugged. "No idea, but they are able to mimic a person perfectly, right down to their speech. I don't know if that is something that comes with the transformation, or something that they have all of the time, but we should assume that they are pretty intelligent."

The idea made Ruby more than a little anxious. "There's a comforting thought."

"I know. It's pretty scary, but as long as you're careful, you two shouldn't have any problems."

Ruby's gaze shifted downward. "Thanks for the support, I guess."

Then there was another knock on the door. Ivory looked toward the direction of the noise. "Come in!"

The door slowly opened and Qrow stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey, Qrow. I was just having a little chat with your niece here."

Qrow suddenly looked nervous. "Um... about what?"

Ruby stood up out of her chair and walked over to her uncle. "You went out there by yourself?! Uncle Qrow, I know you're strong, definitely stronger than me, but you could've gotten hurt, or worse!"

"Calm down, Ruby. I would have gotten out if things had got out of hand."

"Just, be more careful."

"Okay, okay. Did Ivory tell you about what else happened out there?"

"Yeah, she told me about the group of Grimm that showed up."

Qrow stopped Ruby short. "Speaking of that," The hunter looked to Ivory. "The usual, I assume?"

"You got it."

Ivory tossed the knife to Qrow, who caught it and made a small cut on his arm. Just like Ruby's, blood began to flow from the fresh wound. "That enough?"

Ivory nodded. "That'll do."

Qrow tossed the weapon back to Ivory, who effortlessly caught and placed it on a small table next to her.

Qrow looked to his niece. "So, did she fill you in on everything?"

"I think so. She told me that you left after the Mistrae showed up."

Qrow's eyes narrowed. "Did she tell you anything else?"

"Yeah... She said that you saw one of them turn into me."

"I did. Which means we need to be extra careful now. Especially since I think the Alpha could show up soon."

"Right. I promise, no more eye contact from me."

Qrow patted Ruby on the head. "Okay, good girl."

"Hey, I'm not a dog!"

The hunter smiled. "Hehe, I know, but it's so much fun to tease you."

Ruby threw his hand off her head and marched back to her chair. She sat down, crossed her arms and pouted. She threw out one arm and pointed to the floor. "You sit on the floor this time!"

The hunter shrugged and laughed. "Fine with me." He walked over and sat on the floor between Ruby and Ivory, his niece glaring at him the whole time. "So, I think the Alpha will show up soon. With that in mind, I think we should head out early to fight Grimm, starting tonight."

"You mean, during the day?"

"Yes. We should try to get as much attention from them as possible. The more we get, the better."

Ruby inched closer to her uncle while still remaining in her seat. "So, when should we leave?"

"Honestly, probably in the next hour or so."

"Wow, that's way earlier than I was thinking..."

"I know, but like I said, I think it would be for the best."

Ruby stood up. "Okay. In that case, I'm going to go back to the house and make sure I've got all of my things ready."

Qrow nodded. "Okay, I'll head that way in a minute."

Ruby walked out of the house and shut the door behind her.

As soon as she left, Qrow turned to Ivory. "I need to ask you a question."

"Okay, shoot."

"Look, I know this will be asking a lot, but I need to know something."

Concern was beginning to spread across Ivory's face. "What's this about, Qrow?"

"I've never fought anything like this before. I'm not sure anyone has in a very long time. If for some reason I don't make it here, I need to know that Ruby will be taken care of."

"Qrow, I... We would have no way to get her out of here. She would be stuck here for the rest of her life."

The hunter shook his head. "No, she won't. Ruby is... special."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm not trying to be rude, but it's not my place to talk about that right now. Given enough time, Ruby will be strong enough to leave. I don't know how long that would be, but it will happen. I just need someone to look over her until that time comes."

"Okay... I understand."

"Thank you, Ivory." The hunter stood up and began to walk towards the door. Just before leaving he looked over his shoulder. "Just so you know, that is the worst case scenario. Don't be too nervous about it." He then walked out of the house and shut the door.

Qrow picked up his sword and slid it into its holster on his back. "Ruby, you got everything?"

"Yup, I'm good to go, whenever you're ready."

"Okay, let's get this show on the road."

The pair headed towards the wall of the village and Qrow stopped at the Atlesian fleet that had accompanied them. "You're coming with us now. Prepare yourselves for combat."

The small army of machines saluted him. "Yes sir."

The group made their way over the wall and headed towards the battleground they had decided on.

Upon reaching it, Ruby looked around. "Soooo, what now?"

Qrow sat down and leaned against a fallen tree. "Now, we wait."

"Wait for what?"

Suddenly, there was a noise behind them. They turned around and a pack of Beowolves lunged at them.

"That."

Ruby and Qrow got into their fighting stances. However, before they could move, the robots began firing at the Grimm. Within a minute, they were dead.

Ruby just stared at the disintegrating corpses in disbelief. "Why haven't we brought them before?"

Qrow shrugged. "You know me, I like a challenge."

Then, another sound. This one seemed like it was coming from two sides. On their left was a huge pack of Beowolves. On the other, a pack of Creeps.

Qrow pointed to the robots. "You guys get the Beowolves. Leave the others to us."

"Yes sir."

The robots fired many bullets into the pack, bringing them down with ease just before the creatures could get within striking distance. Ruby and Qrow dispatched the other Grimm as quickly as they could with them each taking on half of the horde.

Afterwards, the air was filled with the dust of the disappearing Grimm.

"Well, they're out in force today. What's got them so riled up?"

As Ruby finished talking, they heard a loud noise coming from a good distance behind them. As Qrow saw what approached them, he quickly transformed his sword into it's scythe form.

"Shit."

Ruby followed his gaze and saw the creature. "Is that..."

"Yeah, it's a Goliath. And it's a big one."

"That's just great." Ruby quickly loaded a fresh clip into Crescent Rose. "Let's do this."

"Right." Qrow turned around to face the machines. "Lay down cover fire. Your bullets wont hurt it that much, but it will slow it down."

"Yes sir."

The hunting duo charged the Goliath, their scythes trailing behind them, firing round after round to build up their speed. They both arrived at opposite sides of the Grimm, right under it's knees.

"Ruby!"

"I know!"

They both swung the weapons into the sides of the beast's front legs. They then fired several shots into its back legs before pulling away and jumping to the side.

The Goliath let out an incredibly loud roar and fell to the ground, unable to walk on its front legs and its back ones slowly failing. The Atlesian army was also firing a torrent of bullets into the front of the creature. It was helping more than Qrow thought it would, as it was hindering the Grimm's vision.

"Ruby, get onto it's back!"

"Got it!"

Ruby fired Crescent Rose and used its momentum to land on the creatures back, just behind its head.

"You ready?!"

"Go for it!"

Ruby jumped high into the air, using her gun's propulsion to give her more height, then spun downward, sinking her scythe deep into the Goliath's neck. At the same time, Qrow ran under it until he reached the nape of its neck. He swung his weapon upward pushing it into the creature until his blade almost wasn't visible.

"Now!"

They both fired a shot out of their weapons, using the extra force to slice deep gashes into the creatures neck.

The Goliath let out another roar, then collapsed. Ruby quickly jumped off the creature and landed on the ground. After a few seconds had passed, the Grimm's corpse began to evaporate.

Ruby stabbed her scythe into the ground and leaned against it. "Phew, that was tough. It feels good to have a breather." She took a deep breath and looked up towards the sky, expecting to see some form of light. "Hey, Uncle Qrow, was it always this dark?"

"What are you talking about?" The hunter looked up. As he did so, they heard another loud noise.

"Whoa, what was that?"

Qrow turned to see the source of the new sound. In the distance, he could see it. A lumbering creature that looked like a massive panther, covered in bones. It was almost as if the creature's skeleton was on the outside of its body. It was at least twelve feet tall. With every step it took towards them, Qrow's fear intensified.

"Oh... shit."

Ruby looked towards the creature in the distance, then to her uncle. "What the hell is that thing?!"

Qrow swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "It's the Alpha."

Hey everyone! I told you I would have chapters out faster now, hehe. I hope everyone likes it! I know flashbacks don't exactly have the best reputation in some places, but I felt that this one was needed and I wanted to do it right. I appreciate everyone sticking around even though it's been such a long time of almost non-stop flashbacks without much present-day story. Rest assured, the flashbacks will soon cease and, I promise, no more after this one. :)

Also, I should be able to get back to my one chapter a week schedule starting today, so no more waiting a month! (Yay!)

Thanks for reading, and please follow, favorite, and review.

I'll see y'all in the next chapter!

:D