Chapter 2: Promises and Regulations

Ruby had just finished packing up her bag, only bringing the essentials, and tossed it onto her bed next to her sleeping bag. She looked at the blank piece of paper on her desk, loathing having to write a goodbye letter to her dad. She spun and sat down on her bed, wishing she could just stay here with Yang; but she knew she needed to leave for Mistral. She hunched over, holding her head in her hands.

Her door squeaked open slightly, startling Ruby and making her jump. She looked at the door, seeing the furry face of the opener. "Hey Zwei," she breathed, sighing in relief. He walked over and jumped up onto her bed, laying his head in her lap trying to comfort her. She placed her hand on his head, scratching his ears. "Alright Zwei," she told him, "I'm gonna have to go, you stay here with Yang, okay?" He looked up at her, a soft whine in his throat. "I know boy," she replied, "I don't wanna go either, but I need to."

Zwei jumped down and was out the door before Ruby called after him, "Zwei! Come back!"


Qrow walked up the drive and to the door, pausing before he knocked. A muffled voice inside said, "one minute," as footsteps grew louder toward the door. A blond-haired man opened it, and was stunned by Qrow's unexpected visit.

"Hey Tai," Qrow said, "We need to talk."

"Uh, Shure? Come on in," Taiyang replied, ushering Qrow into the kitchen. They sat somewhat across from each other, Qrow taking a swig from his flask. "Well?" Taiyang asked, "What's this about?"

"It's about Yang," he answered, "I found someone who could help her." Taiyang looked on, saying, "Why didn't you bring this up earlier?"

"Tai, there's more," Qrow said, avoiding the question, "I talked to Raven." Taiyang was stunned for sure. "You did what!?" he demanded, trying to keep his voice down. Qrow continued, "She found Ozpin's cane," And wants me to find a Guardian for Yang. He left that last part unsaid. Taiyang, stunned from the recent news, drew a deep breath. "so, who's the guy who can help my Sunny Little Dragon?" he asked, voice shaking from shock, trying to change the subject. "do you really wanna know, Tai?" Qrow countered, not wanting to reveal The Ace of Spades real name; that was not his business, only Ace's.

He had made that clear to Qrow twenty years ago…

"and how is he going to help?" Taiyang demanded, bring Qrow back to the present. "well," he replied, "hopefully he'll give her back her arm… if I can convince him to." And that's gonna be tricky, he thought, maybe if someone came along and convinced him… someone close to Yang herself… maybe two 'someones'…

They were interrupted by a bark beneath their table. Both Qrow and Taiyang looked underneath, to see the furry face of Zwei staring at Qrow. The corgi trotted off, leaving Taiyang and Qrow in the kitchen. When he found that Qrow wasn't following him, Zwei turned around and barked at him to follow, adding a whine for effect.

"I think he wants you to follow him, Qrow," Taiyang said, restraining a chuckle. Qrow stood up and followed Zwei as he went upstairs, stopping in front of Ruby's room. Zwei sat down in front of the partly-open door. Qrow peered inside, somewhat surprised at what he saw…


Ruby resigned herself to writing her goodbye letter. She stood up and walked over to her desk, plopping into her chair. Picking up the pen, drew her hand toward the paper; but hesitated barely a half a centimeter from contact. "C'mon Ruby," she sighed, "you need to do this, you need to be a big girl now." She girded up her resolve and put pen to paper. She already finished the first paragraph before she heard a gravelly voice behind her, "going somewhere?"

She jumped, whirling around to face the half-open door, and the man standing behind it. "U-uncle Qrow!" she stammered, "W-what are you d-doing here?!" Her face started to turn a shade of lightish-red. Qrow glanced at the pack on her bed, then asked, "May I come in?" she nodded.

He sat down on her bed; she sat back down in her chair, turned to face him. An awkward silence followed. Qrow sighed, and broke the silence. "Ruby," he said, "there are some things I should tell you." She tilted her head and folded her hands, waiting for him to continue. He drew a deep breath and did, "Ruby, there's a man who can who could give Yang her arm back; but he'll need convincing to actually help. Now you don't have to, but I would like you to come with me and try." She gasped, nearly choking, and exclaimed, "Ooh, can I!? Please!?" he chuckled, saying, "only if you don't tell 'you-know-who' what we're going to do for her." She nodded. "um," she said, "where is he exactly?"

"well, I think this time of year he's…" Qrow replied, "In northern Anima, running his lodge."

"Okay," she asked, "How did you meet him?"

He sighed, and told her, "well, long before you were born, your mom and I were partnered for a mission. It led us into the wilds of northern Anima. We were following reports of strange Grimm up there. We were ready to give up looking, when they found us."

Ruby sat on the edge of her seat, eyes wide as her uncle went on.

"Two monsters, the size of Ursai, Charged out from the woods. If it weren't for their snarling like rabid Beowolves, they'd have taken us with our backs turned. We had a hard time trying to hold our own against them, when suddenly he appeared with such a yell, he could have been a devil. He charged the two beasts, throwing his axe at mine. He leapfrogged over it and headed over to help your mom, leaving me to finish mine. Next thing I know, he's sailing overhead, as that vicious monster turned back to her. It suddenly collapsed as his Knife sailed into its skull. I still remember what he said after that: 'I'm so awesome!'

The thing was, his arm had been bitten off; and after he took us to his lodge to get healed up, he took a device, and regenerated his arm."

Ruby sat there in absolute wonder. "so," she said, "you want me to help convince him to help Yang?" He chuckled, ruffling her hair, "you catch on quick, kiddo."

"Uh," she asked, "can I bring a few friends?" Qrow sat there, trying to come up with an argument against that; he couldn't find any. "only if they want to," he said.


Winter saw what was happening: the Mistrali forces were increasing, producing more and more weapons each day. In fact, she could almost feel the rising tension in the air. They were preparing for war. She already reported this back to General Ironwood, but the security of Atlas could still be at risk.

Now, many weeks later, she was on the hunt for a man, according to the General, Ozpin referred to as "The Ace of Spades", he was rumored to be somewhere in Anima. Then her scroll buzzed. It was a message from the General.

"A cargo airship departed from Atlas with an important stowaway on board. Rendezvous at 04:00 at its destination, landing pad 12-A. Retrieve and watch over subject. Continue with current mission with subject. –Ironwood"

She furrowed her brow. The General wants me to –babysit– a stowaway? This is definitely against regulations. I don't like this one bit, she thought, checking the time: 17:42. Huffing, she turned and headed back to the safe-house.

She needed to get up early tomorrow.


Jaune sat in his room, looking at a picture on his scroll. It was a selfie of team JNPR, taken right before their fight in the Vital championship. He never realized how close Pyrrha wanted to be with him, she smiling right behind him in the photo, her hand on his shoulder. In fact, if it wasn't for Pyrrha's kiss, he would've been blind to her affections.

He sighed as he recalled that kiss: the warmth of her embrace, the taste of her lips, and the smell of her hair. One of her hands on his armored chest, the other on his cheek as they separated. She suddenly shoving him into the locker, imputing landing coordinates as he pleaded her to let him out. The roaring sound of a rocket under his feet…

He was too caught up in his recollection that Jaune didn't hear the soft knock on his door. "Jaune?" asked his sister, poking her head in. He looked up, startled by her sudden, but welcome, intrusion. He smiled, motioning her to come in. he tried to speak, but choked on the words he tried to say. As soon as she entered, Jaune crumpled into a heap, sobbing. She put her hand on his back, trying to comfort him. All she could understand from his blubbering was, "She's gone, and she's not coming back."

They were interrupted by his scroll ringing. It was Ruby. Jaune stopped sobbing enough to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hey Jaune, change of plans…"


A/N: Here it is! Chapter two! At last!

Sorry it took so long, I was powering through my other Fanfic...

...SO! thanks for your reviews everyone, I really like reading your input!

Zenith Tempest: I feel the same way about this, but I do not intend my OC to be a God-like character. however, I'll let you know that he'll be different.

Guest: I'm glad you enjoy!

EmeraldGuardian7: To clear things up, I didn't have Salem's realm in mind... This is purple, her's is red. think of it more like the "Space Between Spaces" or something. but I'm glad you enjoy.

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