UPDATE AU: Sorry guys but there isn't a new chapter yet. It was brought to my attention that I had spelled a few names wrong so I quickly went through and corrected those. I'll hopefully have a new chapter up soon though.

Chapter 2

Inbound to Patch were two dropships. One contained team JNPR with Doctor Oobleck, while the other contained team RWBY and Qrow. Qrow reaches up and activates his earpiece.

"Remember the plan. Once we land, we'll secure the area and prepare our position for the incoming Grimm. Team JNPR with Doctor Oobleck will be on crowd control while team RWBY and I will focus on the primary target. We'll start with a peaceful solution, but be ready with the tranq darts. Blake with the first rifle will be the distraction while Pyrrha has the second to catch her unaware. Once she's down we'll worry about securing her and then move to assist in clearing out the remaining Grimm."

The pilot's voice comes over their headsets, "We're approaching Patch airspace and should be able to tune to their channels momentarily." After a few moments of silence, the channel exploded with the evacuation teams calling all clear in their areas. One group caught Qrow's attention though.

"Main street is all clear except one girl. All of our attempts to talk to her were either ignored or she couldn't hear us. We left her there for the time but now that the other civilians are clear we're moving back in."

"This is Huntsman Qrow. Was this girl wearing a black cloak?"

The was hesitation from the commander, "Uh... Yeah she was."

"Are there any sightings of Grimm yet?" Oobleck asked, joining the conversation.

"None yet sir."

"Leave her and do not go back to her!" Qrow yelled over the coms. Why was she already here? Where are the Grimm she was leading? "Change of plans teams. We're jumping strait in. Pilots, get us over Main Street and we'll jump. The primary target is early."

"Qrow what's going on here? What aren't you telling me?" Taiyang's voice came over the coms, confusion evident in his tone. The channel was suddenly overcome with interference until a new voice spoke out.

"Yeah Uncle Qrow, what are you not telling dear old daddy?" Ruby's question sounded so innocent. Qrow noticed the looks shared by the group, no one was fooled. They all knew the statement was to incite tension in the group. Qrow could only hope Tai wouldn't... "Ruby!? I'm so glad to know that my little girl is alright. Stay put and I'll come to you!" ... fall for it.

"Tai, we need you to stay out of this. Don't worry about Ruby, we'll handle this."

"Qrow, you can't be serious! Ruby's been missing and now I know she's within walking distance! Nothing will keep me from running to my daughter!"

"Daddy's going to be here too!? Now it'll be a family reunion!"

Yang could see this was going no where. "Dad we need you to listen. Ruby's not herself right now and she might be dangerous. We have a plan to help her but we need you to stay out of this."

After a minute of no response, Qrow pulls his scroll out and tried to call Taiyang. After a few rings the call is directed to the voicemail. Frustrated at his friend's stubbornness, Qrow closes his scroll and shoves it back into his pocket.

Placing his headset back in his ear he activates his radio, "Taiyang has removed his headset and is ignoring any attempt to contact him via scroll. Be ready to intercept him and to keep him away from the target. How long until we reach Patch?"

"E.T.A less than 2 minutes."

"Alright. You all know what to do. Let's bring her home."


Once both dropships were in place over main street, the two teams jumped. Landing with precision, they collectively moved towards the lone figure facing away from them. Before any could react a voice rang out between two building near the hooded girl, calling her name. Taiyang appeared from between two buildings, sprinting towards his daughter. In response, the group rushed towards the duo.

Qrow nods towards Oobleck, and in an instant the speedy professor intercepted Taiyang's approach. While the man is distracted the rest of the group moved into position between him and Ruby; JNPR assisting Oobleck while Qrow and WBY turned their attention towards their target.

A light giggle is heard from the hooded girl, "Daddy's funny when he's overprotective."

Yang cautiously approached her sister, watching for any negative reaction. Seeing none, Yang pulled her sister into a hug. Ruby leans into the hug, resting her head on Yang's shoulder. "I've missed you Ruby."

"I've missed you too Yang. I've missed all of you." Yang pulled away from their embrace and carefully pulled Ruby's hood down. Lilac met silver; Yang instantly watching the red lines dance across her sister's iris.

"Then why didn't you just come home?"

"We haven't been able to play yet, and because Mistress has given me a task."

Qrow enters the conversation, having moved up behind Yang and now stood next to her. "What is this task? Who is your Mistress?"

"Mistress Salem of course." Ruby replied, confusing Yang. She said it like they were suppose to know who that was. Glancing towards her uncle, Yang notices a look of dread on his face before he regained his composure.

"Ruby, I know you're not going to like this, but we need you to stop. Salem is not a good person."

Ruby jumped back a few feet before screaming, "You lie! She told me you would try to trick me! You're just like him! You both lie to get what you want! You don't want to let us play! Mistress will burn all that was built on your lies! I'll kill him, and I'll kill you!"

Yang was desperate to calm her sister down, "Ruby wait! Please don't do this! I don't know what this Salem has told you, but you know this isn't right! You're a good person, a Huntress! We stop the bad people, and this Salem is using you!"

"Mistress cares about me! Mistress doesn't lie to me! Mistress doesn't hoard power for herself! I can't believe you Uncle Qrow! You were my role model, my mentor! How can you help him hide the truth?!"

With a dejected sigh, Qrow's shoulders slouched. "Ruby, the world isn't ready to know these things. It would only bring chaos and fear. That's all that Salem really wants. She wants to bring about the downfall of humanity, just like any other Grimm."

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asks the question that was running through all of team WBY's minds.

"Salem is a powerful foe, often thought of as the mother of Grimm. She's a humanoid Grimm with a high level of intelligence." Qrow's answer sent chills through the team. A humanoid Grimm? Possibly the oldest and the origin of all Grimm?

Qrow collected himself and turned towards his niece, "What is your task?"

"I've told you that already. I'm to kill the King of Lies. Then we can play without interruption."

"Who is that?" Yang asked, frustration seeping into her voice. At the same time Blake asks, "What do you mean 'play'?"

"All we want to do is play." Ruby glanced towards the forest off the road. A single howl rings into the air, silencing all of the commotion. The first howl is soon followed by dozens more as a large pack of Beowolves rushes towards the hunters. JNPR quickly moves to intercept the incoming Grimm, leaving Oobleck alone to keep Tiayang away from Ruby.

Qrow answered the first question for Ruby, drawing their attention back to their corrupted leader. "She's been sent to kill Ozpin."

"Not just him, but all of the liars that hide the truth. The world will now know of your selfish ways; how you've kept them in the dark for so long. I'll kill Ozpin. I'll kill Goodwitch. I'll kill Ironwood. And I'll kill you Uncle Qrow!"

"Ruby, it doesn't have to be this way. I know, with the voices, it's hard to think strait. They overwhelm you until you just submit to be able to think. We can help, but you have to let us." Ruby bowed her head, slowly approaching her uncle. Once within arm's reach Ruby looked up, teary eyes locking with Qrow.

"Please h-help me... I-I d-d-don't want to hurt anyone." Qrow quickly pulls the crying girl into his arms. Her head rests up against his chest; his steady heartbeat seeming to calm her down. Yang quickly joins the embrace, resting her head on Qrow's opposite shoulder and gently strokes her sister's hair. The younger sister flinches at the contact before leaning into the caring ministrations.

A growl warns the group of an approaching Beowolf. Blake intercepts it's approach, quickly killing it with a slice through it's neck. Qrow's gaze turns towards the second half of the group. Team JNPR had lost a lot of ground to the pack, having been pushed several blocks into the village. The ground wasn't gained easily though, leaving dozens of smoldering corpses in the street. The team wasn't unscaved either. Jaune's shield had been collapsed and hung on his belt, his left arm hanging limp to his side. Ren had resorted to just adding cover fire while gripping his side in pain. Nora and Pyrrha seemed mostly unharmed except for a few cuts and bruises.

Doctor Oobleck seemed to notice the struggling team and moved to assist. Now uncontested, Taiyang rushed to his daughter. As he reached his hugging family he glared at his old teammate. "We'll be talking about this later."

"Tai just calm down. We need to finish off the rest of the Grimm before we can evac to Beacon."

Ruby lifted her head and looked up towards Qrow, tears still streaming down her eyes. "You're t-taking me t-to Ozpin?"

"I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable Ruby, but he'll be able to help you. Don't worry, I won't leave you."

"You promise?"

"Yeah kiddo, I promise." Ruby's tears stopped running and a smile grew. Yang wiped away her sister's tears, "I'll be here too Ruby. I won't ever let you face this alone."

Ruby seemed to stare into Yang's eyes for a moment before turning back to Qrow, "Will Ozpin be able to help Yang too?" Yang didn't understand what she meant, but before she could ask Qrow answered first. "Of course he will." Ruby's smile grew even larger, her arms holding Qrow tighter.

Her smile fell as she noticed the confused expression from Yang. "Yang, you hear the voices too right?" Qrow's face adopted a shocked expression and Taiyang noticed immediately. "Qrow what are you hiding?! I want answers, Now!"

Ruby gently cupped her sister's cheek, her hand glowing a dark aura. Yang's eyes slowly closed. They opened to reveal red iris' burning brightly, but Yang's expression remained confused.

"Can't you hear their call?" kill...kill...kill...

"Ruby... what's happening?"

"Yang, we know who you are. We want you to join us. We can play together." Kill...kill...Kill...

"Ruby... I don't understand... What do you mean?" Kill...Kill...KILL!...

"Your eyes are red. You're strengthened by your rage. You instill fear and enjoy it. You're like me, you have Grimm in you."

Yang clutches her head with both her hands. KILL! KILL! KILL! "NO!" A long scream pierces through the air as Yang falls to her knees. "Make it stop! Make the voices stop!"

Blake had to resist the urge to rush to her screaming partner. Instead she flanked behind Ruby with the tranq gun, waiting for the perfect shot.

As Qrow releases Ruby to assist Yang a weight is lifted from his back. Realizing he has been disarmed, he turns to see the flat of his blade flying towards his head. Unable to dodge, Qrow is knocked to the ground from the impact. Ruby tries to slash down at her uncle, but a glyph stops her attack.

Ruby looks up to see the heiress standing behind the fallen huntsman. Her outstretched arm shaking and tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to fight you Ruby."

"Then don't get in my way."

"Please. Ruby you're my partner. We promised that we would always look out for each other. All we want to do is help you."

"Then help me..." Ruby's sentence is cut short by a dart piercing through her aura and into her neck. She tears the dart out of her neck and looks at it. Turning around, Ruby finds her assailant to be Blake holding the tranq gun.

Not waiting any longer, Ruby charges Blake. Bringing Qrow's sword down in an overhead strike, Blake is forced to use the rifle to block the attack. The sword easily cuts the rifle in half, rendering it useless. The blade shifts, slicing through Blake's thigh. A pained scream escapes the girl's mouth as she falls to the ground, blood pouring from the wound. Seeming satisfied, Ruby turns back to deal with her partner.


Qrow forced himself onto his hands and knees, his head throbbing in pain. Finally bringing his vision into focus, he sees Yang visibly shaking as she cradles her head in her hands. Taiyang's trying to comfort his daughter, but she seems lost in her mind. Qrow stumbles over to the blonde and nearly collapses when he stops next to her.

Reaching into his coat, Qrow pulls out a flask. Instead of being his normal steel one, this flask is solid black. Firmly grasping the girl's chin, Qrow forces Yang to look at him. When red meets red, Yang seems to finally come back to reality.

"Uncle Qrow?"

"Yang, I need you to drink this. It will help." Yang desperately reaches for the dark flask. As soon as she has a hold of it, she opens the lid and chugs half of the mysterious liquid. Qrow quickly grabs the flask and seals the lid. A moment later Yang blacks out. Qrow catches her and gently lays the blonde down.

"Qrow what did you give her?!"

"It was a powerful sedative that will leave her in a dreamless sleep. It was the best way to calm her down."

"When we're done here you have a lot of explaining to do."

"I know Tai, and I will. There's a lot more going on here that even I know. For now.." Qrow was interrupted by a whirring sound and mechanical shifting. Turning, Qrow spots Ruby standing by above the other two members of her team with his scythe fully deployed. Both girls are unconscious and Blake's leg was bleeding profusely.

Qrow struggles to stand, but quickly loses his balance and falls back down. Ruby stalks towards him with his scythe ready to strike. Once she's in range, Ruby slices towards the her uncle.

Qrow braced for the incoming strike, but instead of pain he is suddenly covered in blood. Glancing up reveals that Taiyang tried to block the attack and failed, Qrow's scythe slicing through Taiyang's side.

The blade only cut a few inches before suddenly stopping completely. The loss of momentum stunned the crimson girl. Turning, Ruby notices that Pyrrha has her arm outstretched towards the weapon. It suddenly clicked that the spartan had used her semblance to prevent Tiayang's death.

Before she could react, another dart found it's way into her upper arm. Releasing her grip on the stolen scythe, Ruby stumbles back. Seeing that the girl still wouldn't go down, Ren quickly shot her again. The third dart finally forces Ruby to submit to the tranquilizer and fall into unconsciousness. Nora and Jaune moved to help Taiyang and Pyrrha released her control over the scythe.

Doctor Oobleck, seeing how many had been injured, quickly called for an evac. "Those who can, help stabilize the most severe injuries and gather everyone together."

Once both Blake's and Taiyang's wounds were properly dressed, Oobleck moved towards the defeated Qrow. "Are you injured?"

"Took a hard hit to my head when I wasn't ready. I feel like it's a concussion."

"We have an airship inbound to retrieve us and take us back to Beacon where we can get everyone proper medical attention."

Qrow lets out a deep sigh, "This went horribly."

"Yes, simply tragic. Were you able to reason with her at all?"

"Yes and no. Hopefully we will be able to get through to her in a more controlled environment, and with Ozpin's help."

Oobleck takes a swig of his coffee, "We can only hope."

Author's Note: Here we are, at the end of Chapter Two. Qrow's got a lot of skeletons in his closet that are being drug into the light. Hopefully the future attempts to help Ruby go better than her capture. I'll try to update asap, but with classes it's hard to know when I'll really finish the next chapter.