"I don't like him." Yang stated as they got back to their room.

"Neither do I, but the headmaster said he's here to stay so there's nothing we can do about it." Blake responded as she sat down.

"I know but still..." Yang climbed up on her bed, still sour from earlier. "What is he thinking? Why go so far? Why not just try and catch them directly instead of all the cloak and dagger?"

"I don't know, and besides; isn't he done with that now? I mean he said that he took his agent out of the mission right? So wouldn't that mean he's not looking for them anymore?" Blake asked as she took one of her books in hand.

"Maybe? What do you think Weiss? You've been quiet the whole way back." Yang asked as she peeked over.

Weiss was just sitting at her desk, books out looking like she was studying. But the pages weren't turning, and the pen at her side wasn't moving. She let out a sigh as he dropped her head into her hands.

"I don't know what to think. The headmaster said we're not in danger right? So what more is there?"

"Weiss, he almost murdered you."

"I know Yang, it's just... what am I supposed to think? The headmaster said he's an agent of his, and none of us were supposed to be there in the first place. I'm not sure it's entirely fair to blame him." Weiss explained as she glanced back, a tired look gracing her features.

Yang rolled over, staring at the ceiling. "Maybe... but still, it feels... I don't know, wrong that someone can do something like that so easily. How do you get to the point where you can kill on command?"

"That's just how things are. Everybody can get to that point, I've seen it before back in the White Fang." Blake answered as Yang grumbled.

"I know that, it's just scary that people are like that. I get that the world is filled with killers and all, but come on. Just try and tell me that guy doesn't give you the creeps."

Blake opened her book. "Some Faunus traits are like that, direct and creepy looking."

"It's not that; I'm fine with how he looks, even if a bit edgy. It's how he feels that creeps me out. Every time I looked into his eyes on the way out I just felt... dread, you know?"

Blake closed her book, knowing she wasn't getting any reading done today.

"I know, it's... strange."

"Right? I mean yeah, I can push it away no problem, but it lingers. It's always there in the back of my mind."

"Maybe we're just not used to him?"

The three looked at their young leader, who squirmed at being the center of attention. "I mean... we've only just met him right? And the headmaster said he's not going to hurt us, so he can't be all bad."

Yang gave a flat look. "Let me reiterate: he tried to kill Weiss and Blake."

Ruby squirmed as her sister gave a soft look. "I know you want to see the best in people Rubes, but sometimes you can't. It's sad, but it's how people are."

"She may be onto something." Weiss stated as the others focused on her.

"Weiss, please tell me you're not serious." Yang let out as Weiss shook her head.

"I know it sounds bad, but hear me out at least. When we were at the docks, just as he was about to strike I saw something. As I looked at him I didn't see any hate or anger, just pity."

"He was wearing a mask Weiss." Blake jumped in.

"I know that, I couldn't see his face. But I saw it in his eyes, as terrified as I was I saw the look he gave me. He hesitated for a moment."

"You sure you didn't just imagine things?" Yang asked as Weiss shook her head again.

"No, I know what I saw. I... I don't like him, in fact I hate what he tried to do, but I just can't find it in me to disregard the look in his eyes. That look, it reminded me of... things." Weiss finished quietly as Blake looked thoughtful.

"You might be right."

"Not you too!" Yang cried as the cat Faunus rolled her eyes. "Back at the docks when we were fighting, it was like he wasn't even trying. He spent most of it just dodging and blocking. He didn't pick up the pace until Torchwick yelled at him."

"Torchwick? I thought it was the White Fang?" Yang spoke as Blake nodded.

"It was both, they're working together." Blake said as Yang let out a huff.

"Great, even more bad news. Things are only going to get worse aren't they?" She asked as Blake looked thoughtful.

"Yes they are, unless..." Blake sat up as the others gave looks of curiosity.

"What 'cha thinking?" Yang questioned as Blake looked to them.

"What if we tried to find out what's going on?"

Yang was taken aback. "Uh, Blake, we almost lost you and Weiss to the Fang already. I don't think we need a repeat. Besides, the headmaster's looking into them already remember."

"But he's not, he pulled his agent out because he was found out. He only spoke about the one agent remember? So I doubt there are others. And if that's the case then it means he has nobody keeping track of them now." Blake told as the realization started to set in.

"So they're unchecked now?" Weiss muttered as Blake nodded, Yang shook her head as she held up her hands.

"Woah now, let's not get carried away. Does it really need to be us who looks into it? Shouldn't we leave this to the authorities instead, cause I'm not keen on going through last night again any time soon." Yang stated as Blake looked to her.

"Have the authorities done anything before?" She asked as Yang made to open her mouth, only shutting it afterwards unable to find a rebuttal.

Blake held a serious look. "Headmaster Ozpin was the only one doing anything, and now he can't with his agent discovered. I don't like what they were willing to do and I'm not comfortable with 'Vermillion' for trying to kill us, even if the headmaster says he's on our side. But at least they were doing something."

Blake looked uncomfortable as she continued. "I was part of the Fang once before, I know what they're capable of. They won't stop, they'll just keep making bigger and bigger moves. And if I'm being honest, they might be planning something worse than ever before."

"You're kidding!" Yang called as Blake shook her head.

"They won't stop, their hate is too strong for that. Most of them have spent their whole lives suffering at the hands of Humans, and they're more than willing to throw their lives away if it means any sort of victory."

The others held cautious looks. If Blake was right then without anyone to stop them they just might try something massive. Weiss turned to Ruby.

"What do we do? You're the leader, so it's only fair you make the final call."

All eyes were on her again, and she didn't know what to do. Last night she had almost lost two of her teammates to the White Fang. All she did was direct one of them to their near death, and it horrified her.

Ruby was stuck, should they go after them, or should they leave it to the adults? It was dangerous, these were criminals after all and they wouldn't hesitate to try and kill them. But they were huntresses in training right? When they became full on huntresses these would be the things they would do. They wouldn't be able to depend on others when it became their own job to deal with things.

"Alright, we'll try going after them. But we'll take our time okay? We can't let what happened last night happen ever again. So we need to do this carefully."

The others nodded, Yang let out a sigh. "Alright fine, but first we need to figure out what's going on."

Weiss nodded and jumped in. "Right, they're gathering dust that much is for sure. But we don't know why."

Ruby looked over to her. "Weiss, do you know when another dust shipment is set to arrive?"

"No, but I can call and check. I can also check to see which ones have and haven't arrived over the course of the year. The SDC keeps track of all deliveries, and their status of arrival to their recipients." Weiss answered as Ruby turned to Blake.

"Do you have any friends who might know about the White Fang?"

"I may have some that I keep in contact with. I'll check with them." She stated as Ruby looked to Yang.

"I get it I get it, I'll look around some places and see if I can find anything." Yang answered before Ruby could even speak.

Just before they could continue they heard a knock at the door.

"Hey uh... is this team RWBY's room? Hello?"

Weiss got up, opening the door as she gawked. "Sun?"

The boy in question waved slightly. "Hey, I thought I'd come to check on you guys. You know, see if everything's cool."

"We're fine for the most part, but we're kind of busy dealing with team business." She answered as she took on a look of understanding.

"Oh, yeah, alright cool. Do you need any extra help with things, or is this private team business?" Sun asked as Weiss stopped her near automatic response, turning back to the others.

"He was there with us last night, and he was the one to help at the docks. Should we get him in on this?" Weiss called to the others, who looked to Ruby again.

The young leader in question still wasn't comfortable with all the eyes on her, but she answered anyway. "He might be able to..."

Ruby looked to Blake. "What do you think? You and Weiss were with him so you two would know best."

Blake thought about it before nodding. "We need all the help we can get if we're going against the White Fang."

Weiss turned back to Sun. "Looks like we'll be taking you up on that offer."

Sun did a mini fist pump as Weiss stepped aside and let him in.

The group got to work making their plan.

.


.

The trip was a few hours or so, taking us past the edge of Vale where I'd first arrived. I sat next to the window, just watching the land flow past. Qrow was currently piloting the ship, quiet the whole way.

When we touched down I was able to grasp the scope of the area. It was massive, broken stone all around. There were bits of moss and other smaller shrubbery covering the place, even seeming to grow from the cracks and breaks in the very stone itself. Whatever was built here must have been grand, but now it was nothing but a old collection of stone.

"Come on kid, this way." Qrow called as he started through the ruins.

I kept a solid pace, simply observing the scenery. The man didn't seem all that talkative, I'd expected questioning of a sort. But no, nothing but the rush of the winds to fill the silence. Whether there was a specific reason or not I didn't know, so I decided to just relax in our walk.

"Hey kid, I gotta talk to you for a bit." Qrow called, making me a liar to myself.

"Something important?" I asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Ehhhh, kind of; it's more of a misunderstanding if I had to say." He admitted, catching my attention.

"Of what sort?"

He took a flask from his pocket. "I'm just lacking some reasoning for what old Oz is thinking. First we find out about you, and the next thing you know he wants me to find you. Then we get news of some discovery a few explorers made coming in here. It's all over the net 'Ancient stone structure discovered: secrets hidden by Grimm revealed', the usual lot you know?"

I gave a nod as he took a drink. "Grimm usually flood this place, so a group of excitable researchers finally got permission to risk coming here. And then bam, Oz gets word of it and wants to talk to you. Now here we are, out in the middle of this place looking for some old rock."

He gave me a sideways glance. "He thinks you can do something about it right? Because he told me you had the answer to this little puzzle."

Qrow was silent at that point, to which I brought forth my own question. "I can, but that's not what you're asking right. What are you really thinking about."

He seemed to have a silent chuckle at that, setting his focus back as we moved around some crushed rubble.

"You catch on quick; see, it's the way he worded it that got me thinking. 'Puzzle', he specifically called it a 'puzzle', like it was nothing but a little game. And instead of dealing with it himself or having me do it, he chose you, someone we just met. You see where I'm going here right?"

"You're suspicious of me." I stated as he had a short laugh.

"Hah, yeah I am, but it's more along the lines of what you are. Of course I'm suspicious, we just stopped you from murdering one of the kids in cold blood. But that's not the real thing that's got me thinking. Let me ask you this: if that rock is the puzzle, what does that make you?" He asked as we brushed through some bushes.

"The solution."

He snapped his fingers. "Bingo, you're the solution to the puzzle, at least according to Oz. I can ask why and how you know each other later, but for now we need to find the thing. Then we can see just what type of solution you are."

At least he didn't ask anything too direct.

Granted he clearly had a lot on his mind, analyzing everything that was happening. I'd need to be carful, one wrong word and he might start piecing things together. Of course it would need to be a major mess up for him to come to the real conclusion, either that or he'd need to be exceptionally crazy.

He was clever though, no doubt he'd know the right questions to get the answers he wanted. I'd need to keep my guard up, at least until the headmaster decided it was time to tell him the truth.

We spent almost half an hour wandering around through the old place before we found what we were looking for.

Sitting there poking just out of the rubble in the distance was our target, and the same pulling overcame me. It felt just like the others, the same yearning that drew me close. It was covered in dirt, but still seemed to glow.

"And there it is." Qrow said as we drew closer, carful not to trip over any of the loose stone.

"Okay kid, do your stuff." He spoke as I stepped forward.

The whole scene was off. The others had Grimm around it before, at least the one back on Menagerie did, I doubt any local Grimm had access to the sealed underground cavern. So why weren't any Grimm around this one? The headmaster said that the Grimm who used to gather around it had recently disappeared, but why did they? Where did they go?

I shook myself, questions were useless right now. I was about to repeat the process from the other two, fully knowing what to expect when I stopped. There was something I had to do first, someone I needed to talk with. I turned around as I addressed Qrow.

"I need you to do something before I start."

"What is it?" He asked as he stood on guard.

"Whatever happens, whatever you see, don't try to stop it. I'll be fine, just let what happens happen." I stated as he gave a confused look, only to let out a sigh as he looked me in the eye.

"Fine, you better know what you're doing." He answered as I faced the obelisk again, walking forwards to read the scripture.

"Walkers within the years of their mirror shall have their souls embrace, else the body is free to wander."

Much like before my body went numb as the darkness lulled me away.

.


.

Ruby let herself relax as she sat in the chair.

The other women had taken to... what had Mrs. Blossom called it? 'Sprucing her up', yes that was it. They were going at it with a surprising amount of finesse, one she'd not expected from their line of work.

She had remained still as they applied the various touches across her face, doing up her hair, and even going so far as to paint her nails. All in a desperate attempt to get her up to their standards, which were quite high as she had come to learn. Despite being what they were, the place had a sort of pride that it held. Many of the women admitted they felt a sense of power in having such a high reputation with the castle and nobles.

Whatever floats their boat. Ruby thought to herself as they backed away.

"There, finally finished. Why don't you have a look darling?" The woman handed her a small mirror, to which Ruby let out a small gasp.

Ruby didn't consider herself a narcissist by any sort of means, but looking at herself now she couldn't help but feel a small bit of... admiration at what she saw. It was a weird feeling for her, one that said 'step aside, the queen's coming through'. It was cocky, arrogant, self centered, and she loved it!

She had to halt herself for a moment, she was getting carried away. It wasn't her work that did it, but the efforts of the girls. Still though, they managed to make her look years younger. Looking at it she'd be mistaken for a young adult, but holding a sort of maturity with it.

"It's... lovely." Ruby spoke as the women let out small smirks and cheers between themselves.

"It certainly is." Came the voice of Mrs. Blossom, catching the attention of the others. "The rest of you may leave, I wish to have words with the 'young woman'."

The others scurried out, leaving only the two of them behind. Mrs. Blossom stepped close, observing the finer details of their work.

"Yes, they certainly keep up to standard. If not for your eyes I'd not recognize you."

"My eyes... speaking of, what shall we do about that? I'm not exactly on what you'd call 'good terms' with the kingdom. If they even suspect I may be who I am, let's just say 'death' would be the least of my worries; especially in this state." Ruby asked as she spread her arms, showing off the elegant dress she wore. She knew she looked ravishing, and she was damn sure the guards would be more than willing to dig in if given the chance.

"Worry not, I have just the thing. Here, wear this." Mrs. Blossom said, handing her what looked to be a... strip of cloth?

"What is it?" She asked, confused on how to wear it. Mrs. Blossom let out a giggle.

"Oh dolly, it's a blindfold. Just cover your eyes with it."

"You're kidding right?" Ruby stated flatly, stretching out the thing. It had a ting of elasticity to it.

"Trust me, lord Vice likes to be sure his women are powerless. He's not one to take chances, so he always request's their eyes covered when he and the queen have their fun." The woman explained as Ruby let out a silent breath.

She wrapped it around her eyes, careful not to mess up her hair as she brought it around back and tied it. It felt soft, holding tight yet not quite pressing into her eyes. Ruby out of curiosity opened her eyes, noticing the trick present in the cloth's design.

"I can see?"

Mrs. Blossom smirked. "Correct, usually we just give the girls regular blindfolds. But for this I had a special one brought out, the same ones we use when the guards or peasants buy a night. We can trust the king to keep them safe as he loves them so, but for the standard people? I prefer to keep an extra level of security. Should the customer try anything that looks suspicious, the girls know to run."

Ruby felt a darker joy overcome her. The castle would think she was blind, meaning they'd let their guard down significantly.

This is gonna be fun.

It was a cruel joy, taking pleasure in the suffering of others. But she knew they were anything but innocent, and so the moral drop would be low. It was what came after that would make her a monster, if things went to plan anyway. Ruby decided she'd let loose, vengeance was sweet after all.

"I'm sure you'll have no trouble dealing with them, they do get quite comfortable in their false sense of security." Mrs. Blossom commented as Ruby linked her hands together.

"True, the moment they think they're safest... that's when I'll strike."

"Such tension, perhaps a trip to the garden to calm your nerves. No use getting too excited, only to end up disappointed." Mrs. Blossom laughed, starting out of the room and down the halls.

Ruby followed along, deciding that the woman was right. Besides, a small bit to just sit and enjoy her time would help relieve the stress she built up. She was starting to slip up in places, a sign she was slowly making the necessary progress, but not something she particularly enjoyed.

She stepped outside, taking in the scented breeze. The multitude of different flowers was a sight for the eyes, awash with color and giving off an aura of peace. Mrs. Blossom must have worked quite hard and long to keep such a place alive and thriving. Yet something stood out amongst the bed of beauty.

Tucked in the back and guarded by a wall of white roses was a stone monument of sorts. Upon squinting her eyes Ruby was able to deduce that no, it wasn't an ordinary decorative monument. Instead it had some sort of writing on the face, a name.

The monument was a gravestone.

She found herself trailing closer, followed by the footsteps of Mrs. Blossom beside her. There, standing just before the garden she was able to make out the carved name.

"Lillian Blossom."

Mrs. Blossom held a somber smile. "Indeed, my late daughter. She was one of the few innocent joys I had."

Ruby looked to her, taking notice of her pain. She could practically feel the negativity seeping from her, a taste of sadness radiating forth as the woman looked upon her lost child.

"Would you be willing to speak of her, or does the pain hurt too much?" Ruby asked as the woman shook her head.

"She was the light of my life, a joy I used to hold close in my arms. I suppose it wouldn't harm to recount her for the time being. She was always such an excitable girl, bouncing about to and fro like a newborn pup." Mrs. Blossom paused for a moment, gripping her hands tighter at her sides as a noticeable growl filled her voice.

"And then one day, the captain of the guard paid a visit holding the arm of my beloved Lillian. She was practically jumping, rushing her words as she told me how they met at the market. They seemed so happy, I couldn't voice my disapproval at the looks they had. So I let them be, and it was good for a time." The woman kneeled down, picking a single flower from the bunch sitting just before the roses.

"It was like a fairytale, all smiles and joy. Then one day she made herself pretty, and I asked what for. 'We'll be watching the stars tonight' she told me with her sunny smile. I was such a fool, and in my foolishness I gave her my blessing." Ruby watched as she raised a hand, wiping a single tear that had begun to drop.

"She came home that night, her makeup a mess and clothes ragged and torn. She was silent as she went to her room, she never told me what happened. But I knew, I knew exactly what happen and I hated it. I never saw Shade from that point on, and Lillian lost the look of glee her eyes once held." She gazed longingly at the flower.

"Then one day she'd been tending the garden. It was time for lunch so I went to fetch her, only to stumble as I stepped out. She was just... laying there on the grass, and I rushed to hold her. In her hand was a flower like this, do you know what this is?" Mrs. Blossom asked as Ruby gently shook her head.

"It's calls a Blood Blossom. Lillian used to love them because of their shining red hue; well, that and the name of course." She told with a giggle. "She always was a child at heart."

Her tone regained it's weight as she continued. "Despite their soothing fragrance and soft petals, they are heavily poisonous. On the touch they're safe, but ingested they're said to put you into a gentle sleep. Of course that's just a fancy way of saying 'painless death'." She placed the flower just below the headstone.

"On that day I lost my little flower before she could bloom, drained so violently by the weed that resides in the castle." Mrs. Blossom turned to her. "I don't care what you have to do, just promise me you'll pluck that vile weed from the soil he stands in."

Ruby gave a soft nod, taking the woman's hands into hers. "I swear to you, he'll pluck no more flowers from any garden ever again. Just promise me you'll flee to safety with Pebble."

Mrs. Blossom brought up a hand and cupped Ruby's face.

"I promise, I'll not allow any to touch the child so long as I draw breath."

.


.

THE DUST!

When the kid told him to trust him, he'd been expecting something rough or wild sure, but not this!

Those tentacle things practically tore him to pieces, ripping through each part of him. Qrow himself would have jumped in if not for the warning he just got. It was so incredibly creepy and sickening. The crunch and ripping of flesh and bone, the way he contorted as they moved through his body, and let's not forget the blood practically pooling to the dirt.

The things wrapped him up, squeezing him like a fruit being juiced. Pulling him into the stone and holding him against it as the ruins themselves seemed to glow. He stayed there, his blood staining the stone. And throughout all of it he didn't make a sound, not a peep as he was mutilated.

Qrow felt himself shiver as he watched the whole scene come to a still. The tentacles that held him seemed to fade into smoke, leaving the boy's body to drop with a disgusting plop as it hit the dirt. He was half tempted to puke, but he held it in. Qrow had seen gore before, but this? It felt almost comical, ridiculous even. He'd probably laugh at the scenario if he weren't busy holding in his breakfast.

And I was planning on eating today too.

He took out his flask again only to stop, maybe he wouldn't have a drink yet. His thoughts betrayed him and wandered back to the detail he just saw. He urged a bit before returning the flask back to it's place.

"Okay fine, we're not drinking then." He said to himself, as if he could win a debate with the nausea that filled him.

Qrow let out a sigh as he approached. He really didn't need to see all the detail up close, but the kid said to trust him so he'd need to keep watch over him. Casting a glance over the scene he grimaced, it was just as bad as it looked.

He took out his scroll, looking around as he dialed up and waited for the rings to go through.

"Hello?" He heard from the other side.

"Hey Oz, Uh... we found the thing."

"Really? Well how is it going?" Ozpin asked as he stared at the bloodstained stone.

"It's uh, it's going alright. Just a quick question: is Vermillion supposed to be filled with holes?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Qrow sent a quick look to the boy, flinching as he turned away. "Look okay, the kid said something to the rock and it filled him with tentacles. You know, the kind you see in those Mistral cartoons. He's lying here bleeding out, what do I do?"

"Oh, that. It's fine, that's supposed to happen so you need not worry." Ozpin told as Qrow sighed bringing a hand to his face.

"Look Oz, I'm this close... this close to losing my lunch and the remains of my sanity. Could you please tell me what the dust is going on?"

The line was silent for a bit before Ozpin spoke up again. "Alright, I'll explain it all. However I ask that you wait for Atlas to arrive for the festival, I'd rather get it out of the way with all of us present. I'll tell both Glynda and James as well so I ask that you wait a little longer. Just bring the boy back."

"Fine." Qrow stated as he looked over Vermillion. "You sure it's safe to move him like that?"

"Positive, just bring him back. He can tell us what he read when he wakes up." The call ended there as Qrow looked at the kid.

Wakes up huh... so you're still alive.

Qrow let out a sigh as he heaved Vermillion over his shoulder, grumbling to himself as the blood spread across his shirt. Yet he stopped, noticing the blood from the corner of his eye slowly flowing back into the wound. Casting a glance back he noticed that the blood further away remained still, seeping into the dirt. So the blood closest to him returns to it's place?

Fuck it, I'll ask about it later.

And so Qrow was off.


Author's note

...

Team RWBY finally got a moment! Well, it was more scheming, but hey it's something! Consequence is a thing here, remember that.

Meanwhile future Ruby is prettied up and ready for her mission, and some development for Mrs. Blossom and surprisingly Shade. Never saw that coming did you?

Damn we keep dipping into the dark end of things, oh well.

And poor Qrow, still with the bad luck. Oh but what's this, Ozpin making moves? We'll just have to wait and see.

Also, thanks to all the reviewers who gave their thoughts so far. Really helps me keep things on track, as well as show what I may need to work on. Even smaller things like what some of you think end up helping.

That's all for now, let me know your thoughts.

See you later.