I'm not dead! Thank you for the concern with the hurricane, and I'm glad I uploaded that last chapter when I did because I lost power literally minutes later, and didn't get it back till a week later. Here's the next chapter, hope you like it, and holy cow less then 2 weeks till Vol5!

The room was a sterile shade of white. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, all the same white color. He hated this room, at the sterile smell in the room, at the beeping of the machine that his precious little girl was hooked up to.

She was sleeping, she spent so much time doing that in this place. She was lithe, too sick to eat solid foods. Her freckled skin had grown pale, her ginger hair long lost to the treatment.

He turned to the man behind him, flexing his gloved hand.

"This procedure, you swear she'll be okay?" he asked. The man nodded. He exhaled, and closed his eyes. "Then I'll see to it you get the resources you need, Doctor Polendina."

His eyes snapped open, and he sat up, resting his head in his hands.

That dream. Those memories.

He tossed his bedsheet off and went to his dresser, pulling out his uniform.

She saw him standing at the edge of the tarmac, staring over the lake, his back to her. One arm hung at his side, the other held in front of him.

"Trouble sleeping?" she asked. He looked back at her, shoving something into his coat pocket. His eyes were red and puffy.

"I didn't hear you come up." He rolled his shoulder, and held up his gloved hand. "Arm was acting up."

"Ah, yes. So logically you got dressed, and left your room to come stare out over the lake." She took the spot next to him, and looked at him. He continued to stare ahead, his face expressionless. "What's wrong, James?"

"I've known Ozpin for years. I've trusted the man for so long, and I wish that he would trust me about the transfer and about Winter like I've trusted him in the past."

"We both know why we are opposed to that idea." He sighed.

"Winter isn't like Jacq-"

"That wasn't what I was talking about." His mouth closed, and he looked away from her. "We don't know if the machine will work like it's supposed too. We don't want to lose whoever we put in there. And if we do lose them, what are we going to do? Try to teach an amnesiac who they are, and how to handle that power, and just send them off into the world to spend the rest of their days alone?" She saw him clench his gloved hand into a fist.

"It will work this time," he said.

"You don't know that."

"It has to." He clenched his hand tighter. "It has to work." She put her hand on his shoulder.

"James, you must understand why we are so hesitant to use it?" She couldn't see it but she felt him start to tremble. "I know you haven't told Ozpin the entire truth about Penny and the transfer machine. But Qrow and I do know, and we're terrified of what could happen." She paused, and looked over at the city across the lake, its lights flickering on the water. "You're asking me to sacrifice one of my daughters. I don't want them to die like Penny did." He brushed her hand off as he turned to her.

"My daughter isn't dead." She sighed, and closed her eyes.

"That machine isn't your daughter, James. Doctor Polendina was working on an android for Amber long before Penny got sick; its body is nothing more than a weapon you and Polendina made to fight Salem." She took a breath. "It isn't your daughter; it wasn't born, it doesn't have any of Penny's memories, it can't age. It isn't a real person, James. Putting your daughter's soul into it isn't going to bring her back." She opened her eyes and saw he had his back to her.

"Are you finished?" he asked, his voice calm.

"Yes," she said. His back was rigid as he spoke.

"Then goodnight, Glynda." He walked away, his movements stiff. Glynda sighed and turned back towards the lake.

The camp was quiet, aside from the cracklings of the fire. Yang rolled to her side, and slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the light from the fire. Ruby had her back to her, wrapped up in her cloak. Weiss was on her back, an arm on her stomach, and her mouth hanging open. Blake was turned towards the fire, an arm propped under her head. Her bow was missing, and her ears twitched occasionally.

"Blake? Are you awake?" Yang whispered. Blake's body didn't move, her eyes remaining closed as she answered.

"Yes."

"Why was he asking us about why we wanted to be Hunters? What was he getting from it?"

"Maybe he was curious?"

"You really think that's why?" Blake's eyes opened, the light from the fire making her eyes look like gold.

"No." She looked over at Weiss. Her mouth had closed.

"Weiss, you up?"

"How could I sleep with you two talking?" Weiss turned to her side, facing both of them. Yang rolled her eyes and looked over at her sister. She was still tucked up in her cape.

"Ruby?" There was a pause before Ruby rolled over, the light from the fire reflecting in her silver eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Have you been awake this entire time?" Ruby nodded.

"Yang," Weiss said. Yang looked over at her to see her staring up at the ceiling, hands resting on her stomach. "I think he was…" she sighed. "I honestly don't know what he was trying to do." She continued to stare up at the ceiling. "I told him I wanted to uphold my family's honor, but it's probably not what you all think." She closed her eyes. "I'm not blind to what my father has done. To the Faunus, to our employees, our miners. My grandfather made my family into what it is today, and he did it with respect, and passion. Yes, he got rich from the Dust he was manufacturing but he was down there in the mines helping bring it up. He wasn't better than his employees, he was one of them. Ever since my father took over, the Company has worked in a more morally….gray area."

"To put it lightly," Blake said. Weiss sat up, glowering at Blake.

"Which is why I am going to set thing right! If I had just stayed home I probably wouldn't have even cared about what was happening to the Faunus, Blake. If I had just stayed in Atlas and taken a job in the Company as some executive or as a secretary, what would I be able to change? Nothing. My father has raked my family's name through the mud and made my sister's and I's lives hell." She scowled, her words dripping with venom. "He was not the start of the Schnee family. And I refuse to let him be the end of it." Blake sighed as Weiss stared at her.

"I said I wanted to help stop the pain in this world. To help end the inequality my people face." Blake said. She rolled onto her back, the fire casting her in shadows. "I spent most of my life trying to attain that dream. And I wasn't alone. I had a… partner, I guess you could call him." She took a deep breath, her hand resting on her cheek. "His name was Adam." Yang sat up, and Weiss' mouth fell open.

"Is this the Adam I heard you call out in your sleep?" Weiss asked.

"The one that you drew in your notebook?" Yang asked.

Blake closed her eyes and nodded.

"I've done some things I'm not proud of. Stuff I don't want to talk about. But when I was with him, everything felt right. Like we were making a difference, that we could change the world for the better, at least for my people." She rubbed her cheek as her eyes opened. "And as I got older, he started to change. He started getting more aggressive, not just towards humans, and I decided to leave him after he…" Yang saw a tear run down Blake's cheek.

"What did he do?" Weiss asked quietly. There was a long pause, and Yang could barely hear Blake when she finally answered.

"He hit me." She heard Ruby inhale sharply.

"Sweet Dust," Weiss said. Yang scowled, anger coursing through her veins.

"Let me meet him." Yang said, a growl in her voice. Blake shook her head, putting her hands over her eyes.

"He's out of my life now. And I don't plan on ever seeing him again." She lowered her hands. "I want to forget about that part of my life; I wanted a fresh start. That's why I joined Beacon. I had always heard that Hunters were the noblest warriors on Remnant. What better way to help my people then to become one of them." She looked over at them, tears welling in her eyes. "But once I leave… once this team disbands… what am I supposed to do? How can I undo thousands of years of hate?"

"You'll figure something out, Blake. You don't back down from things." Blake snorted.

"You're so wrong, Yang. I'm a coward. I ran away from my family to be with Adam. I ran away from him after he turned out to be a monster. I ran away from all of you after you found out I was a Faunus. I ran away from Weiss when I insulted her that night. I'm not brave, whenever I'm faced with a problem I run away." She grabbed her arms, closing her eyes. "I'm such a coward even my semblance helps me run away. A shadow of myself left to take my hits. I can't do anything."

"That's not true, Blake." Weiss said. Blake opened her eyes and looked over at Weiss. "I can't comment about your family, but you had a good reason to run in all those other situations. And if you can change my mind about the Faunus, I know for a fact you can make a difference." Blake smiled, and wiped at her eyes.

"Thank you, Weiss." Ruby sat up, resting her head on her knees, staring into the fire.

"I told him I wanted to be a hero. Like the ones in the stories I loved as a kid." She said.

"That's really noble," Blake said. Ruby shook her head.

"But it's not true." She buried her face further into her knees, her voice muffled. "I mean, I do want to be a hero; I want to help people and protect them from the Grimm, and try to make this world a better place. But the stories that really made me want to become a Hunter wasn't from the ones I read. It was the ones my dad and uncle told me about my mom." Yang's face softened as she watched Ruby. "I don't remember my mom very well. She died when I was about seven. I have more memories talking to her grave then I do of talking to her. My dad and uncle talked about her so much, telling me stories of her saving villages, of the crazy adventures her and my uncle got into at Beacon. I want to be like my mom, someone kind and caring, and that made this world a better place before she left it." She shook her head. "But I guess deep down… I just want to be someone she would be proud of."

Yang watched her sister, a tugging at her heart at the look in Ruby's eyes as she stared into the fire. She had known Ruby missed their mom, she had followed her to the grave a few times to watch out for her and make sure she made it there okay and overheard what Ruby talked about. But she didn't know how much Ruby missed her, how much Ruby needed Summer in her life.

She sighed; guess it was her turn.

"At least you all have something that drives you," she said. She rolled onto her stomach, looking at the floor as she spoke. "I've never really had a lot of goals in life, I've always kinda just… gone with the flow." She shrugged. "And I guess that's fine; that's who I am." She looked up from the concrete. They were all looking at her. "I wanted to become a Hunter because I don't know what else to do with my life. Ever since I was nine, I've been fighting. Fighting to pay my father's bills, fighting to let Ruby be who she is, it only felt natural to go into a job like this."

"Being a Hunter, I don't have to worry about what to do next in life, as long as I keep traveling and fighting I'll find things to do to fill my life. I've been protecting and helping people most of my life, and I like how it makes me feel when I see the smile I put on people's face after I help them." She looked at the fire, at the red glowing embers. "After I find out why Raven left, I really won't have any goals in my life. And… that scares me honestly."

"Who's Raven?" Her eyes widened at her sisters question. Oh shit. She saw Blake and Weiss glance to each other before looking at her, Weiss biting her lip and Blake's ears flattened against her head.

"She…. She's no one, don't worry about it." Yang said. Ruby frowned.

"Then why are you trying to find out why she left? Who did she leave?" Yang's mouth felt dry as she tried to avoid her sister's gaze.

"She's just someone… someone from my past."

"Is she an ex? Fight club partner? Who?"

"Can you just drop it!" Yang said angrily. Ruby looked taken back before scowling.

"No, I want to know who this lady is. Why finding her is your only goal in life. You're my sister, Yang, I want to know." Yang's lip quivered as she struggled to think of an excuse. Ah fuck it, Ruby had to know some day. She took a breath to calm herself, exhaled, and closed her eyes.

"My only goal in life is finding out why my mom left me." She opened her eyes, and saw Ruby looking at her in confusion, her eyebrows knitted.

"Our mom is dead, Yang," Ruby said.

"Summer…. Wasn't my mom." Ruby blinked, her mouth opening.

"What?"

"Raven is my mom. She's Uncle Qrow's sister, so she'd be your aunt." Ruby shook her head.

"How? How do we have different moms? Did dad…" She shook her head again. "Did he cheat on mom?" Yang shook her head, throwing up her hands as she did.

"It's not like that. Dad was with Raven before he got with mom. She left after I was born."

"So what, my mom was just his rebound?" She spat.

"Ruby, it's not like that." Ruby was staring at her in disbelief.

"Is she the lady that you were looking for in that club you took me to?"

"You took Ruby to a club?" Weiss asked.

"Well, I mean, yeah. But I didn't take her inside."

"No, because you tore that place apart." Ruby said as she stood up.

"Ruby, why are you acting this way?" Yang asked. Ruby pointed at herself.

"Because how could you keep this from me, Yang? I've trusted you with everything my entire life; I have never kept a secret from you. When I was so scared that dad would stop loving me and throw me out of the house, I knew that I would at least have you. Do you know how much trust I put into you when I first came out? And yet you don't care about me enough to let me know we have different moms?" Ruby jabbed her finger towards Blake and Weiss, who shrunk back a bit. "Did you tell them, Yang? Huh?" Yang sighed and hung her head.

"I… I did tell them," she finally said. She looked back at Ruby and saw she was crying. Her voice cracked when she spoke.

"Why? Why would you tell them first?" Yang struggled to find an answer. Ruby stomped her foot, jabbing her finger at them again. "Answer me!" she yelled.

A wolf's howl cut through the air, and she saw Oobleck storm into the camp.

"Ladies, what is with all this chit chat? You are all supposed to be sleeping!" He focused on Ruby, who was still standing. "Ms. Rose, I know this is going to sound insensitive, but please calm down and lower your voice. We do not want to be calling Grimm to our camp during the middle of the night."

Ruby scowled at him, shaking her head in disbelief before she looked at all of them, her gaze lingering on Yang the longest. Yang's heart broke as she stared into her sister's eyes; at the betrayal, and confusion in them. Ruby snatched her weapon up from the ground and bolted.

She could hear them calling out her name as she ran. It was pitch black, the moon hidden behind clouds, and she could barely see anything as she sprinted, her semblance helping put her away from all of them.

How could Yang hide that from her? How could she not tell her? How could she tell Blake and Weiss before her, her own… half…sister. She heard a howl off in the distance as she rounded a corner. She gasped and ducked back around the corner, peeking her head around it.

There were two men standing in the street, both carrying rifles. Their faces were obscured by Grimm masks and they wore white jackets, she saw a snarling wolf head with three slash marks on the back of the one near her. One had long twisted horns, the other a thin tail. She pulled her scythe from its holster, the scope and stock popping into place.

"Damn beo's have been getting more active." The one facing away from her said. The one with horns shrugged and started to walk away.

"Once we're finished with patrol we don't gotta deal with em for the next few weeks." She watched them start to leave before slipping around the corner, sticking to the wall as she followed after them.

They walked slowly, cautiously, as they made their way to a collapsed building. She ducked behind a pile of rubble, holding her breath and clutching the scythe to her chest as she heard a grinding noise, like metal over concrete, before the sound of them walking off. A moment passed before she heard the grinding sound again. She peeked up from the rubble to see that the two men had disappeared. She exhaled; at least she found out what was causing the Grimm surge here.

She rested her head on the rubble, setting her scythe aside. She couldn't go back to them so soon, not after running off like that. She grimaced; she could already hear Yang and Weiss and Oobleck scolding her for running off into the dark the way she did. She shrugged and closed her eyes; maybe a phone call would be enough. They would be so wrapped up in her finding out the White Fang was here that they would just drop it and not bring it up when they arrived.

With a sigh she stood up, pulling out her scroll and hitting the team icon. She rolled her eyes at the no bars sign on her scroll, of course she wouldn't have service. She walked forward and started to pace, trying to get a signal.

"Ruby!" She froze, and looked over at the voice to see Yang running towards her, tears in her eyes, Weiss, Blake, and Oobleck struggling to keep up with her. She saw her sisters eyes widen in fear, and Ruby screamed as something tackle her to the ground, slamming her into the concrete.

The ground beneath Ruby rumbled and cracks spider webbed through the concrete. Ruby was screaming, flailing and trying to get the wolf off of her back, as the wolf pinned her to the ground, clamping its jaws around her neck.

She screamed, her body feeling like it was on fire, her gauntlets springing into place.

"Yang, don't!" Oobleck shouted. She gasped as the ground beneath Ruby began to sink, the wolf lifted its head up with a confused whimper. Ruby broke free of the wolf's grasp, scrambling forward. The ground gave way beneath them, the wolf howling as it was plunged into the darkness and Ruby grunted as she grabbed onto the ledge.

Yang threw herself forward, locking eyes with Ruby, reaching out to her. Ruby reached out with her other hand; her eyes growing wide as the ledge gave way. Ruby screamed, her voice growing faint as she fell into the darkness.

Her arm hung in the open void of the hole, her hand open.

Ruby's dead.

No she isn't.

I wasn't fast enough.

She's okay, she always comes out okay.

I did this. This is my fault.

Shut up!

Her eyes began to water, her body going numb, barely registering that someone was pulling her away from the ledge.

"Doctor Oobleck, what just happened! Why did the ground give way like that?" Weiss asked. She stared at the whole, at the darkness, Ruby's scream ringing in her ears.

"How could I have been so stupid!"

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Oobleck's words were spat out rapid fire.

"Mountain Glenn! It was an expansion of Vale, a decent sized community that wasn't able to supply many jobs aside from those employed by Merlot Industries. A subway was formed between Vale City and Mountain Glenn for people to commute to work. As Grimm attacks on Mountain Glenn began to increase the citizens began to utilize what Vale is known for to escape; it's large underground cave networks. The subway systems were expanded and a second city was built underground. Aside from Creeps, people did not have to worry about Grimm attacks on their way into the main part of the Kingdom."

"They made an underground community?"

"Indeed, and when Grimm began to overrun Mountain Glenn, the citizens who escaped that carnage locked themselves up in the caves and subway networks, some managing to escape to Vale. But an accident, an explosion of some kind, blew a hole in one of the caves and Grimm were able to attack the city, and Vale blocked off all entrances, dooming the citizens still trapped and creating the world's largest tomb."

Her mouth felt dry, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth as she spoke.

"Could…. Could Ruby still be alive?" she asked.

"It is most definitely possible. And it's also the most likely place we'll find whoever is causing the Grimm surge in this area."

She stood up, clenching her hands. Whatever was down there, Grimm, White Fang, Raiders, or something else, they weren't gonna be able to stop her; she was going to find her sister. She turned to them, her hair smoldering. She flashed them a smirk.

"Let's go get her."

She coughed as she opened her eyes; fiery orange stared back at her. She yelled and scrambled back from the wolf. Its orange eyes had glazed over and blood was pooling around its head. She sighed in relief and looked up; moonlight filtered down from the hole she must have fallen from.

She struggled to her feet, grabbing her side, hissing. Every part of her body ached and when she looked down at her torso she could see her aura crackling around her, crimson in color. Great, no aura. She looked away from her torso and blinked in surprise; a vast city full of crumbling skyscrapers stretched out in front of her, lights strung through the lower parts of city and dark figures moving through the streets.

There was a clang and the sound of heavy boots.

"Freeze!" She spun around; two White Fang members were standing across from her, rifles aimed at her. She stepped back, and flailed her arms as she felt her foot go into empty space. She re-found her footing, swallowing as the two of them came towards her. She reached for her scythe, her blood growing cold as she realized she had left it on the pile of ruble

One of the White Fang members lunged at her, grabbing onto her arm. She sneered and threw a punch at his chest, pain shooting up her arm. He laughed, and she saw stars explode in her vision when he slammed his fist into her nose. He dropped her, and she collapsed to the floor, her head swimming and something warm running down her lip. A pair of boots filled her version, growing larger.

"Torchwick's gonna wanna see her." The boot slammed into her face, and the world went black.

And that's it.