27

Not So Alone in the Woods

Ozpin's borrowed body was slammed into the wall of the train car, the windows nearby rattling slightly from the impact. Red eyes glared into hazel ones as Raven Branwen curled her fingers into his collar, his feet not quite touching the ground he was eye to eye with the livid woman. It was the first deep emotion elicited from Yang's mother. The blonde could only stand there and watch numbly, still processing the information she had just been given. Her hands almost shook as she reclaimed the lantern. Everyone else looked just as stunned though Raven was the first to find her voice.

"You bastard! I knew it!" the bandit choked out, "Salem's unkillable. You knew, you fucking knew it and yet you led us on this suicide mission!"

"Raven, there were reas-"

"No! You don't get to fucking reason or justify this! Not after what you did to me! To Qrow, Summer, or Tai! How dare you lie to us after we trusted you." her voice lowered to a hiss, "I was right about you, Ozpin. The only plan you had was to throw someone else's life at her."

She pressed through his protest, voice whispering in the near silence of the train car, "You took us in, we trusted you. Qrow still trusts you and you'll only have yourself to blame when he stops too."

"Enough!" Everyone would have frozen at the word had they not been stock still already. The new person was diminutive, with grey hair and a cane adorned with a decorative skull. Yang recognized her as the old lady Jaune had been talking to before he…. went missing. The blonde bit back the worry that threatened to overwhelm her as she was reminded of the precarious position her sister and boyfriend were in.

"You!" The old lady pointed her cane at Raven, "Put that boy down this instant! I won't let you harm a child."

Raven dropped Ozpin, who caught himself on the ground with entirely too much composure, and she levelled her glare at the newcomer, "Who are you, Elder?"

The old lady simply stopped and snorted, two hands atop her cane, Yang could feel her rolling her eyes even though the cybernetics she had prevented her actually doing it, "I'm Maria Calavera."

Raven nodded, "It's best you don't get involved in this, Miss Calavera. You don't know who this boy is."

Maria's cybernetic eyes narrowed in on Oscar, "Ozma, right?"

Oscar nodded, "Kind of. Ozpin is gone." They spared only a moment to look shocked at the elder woman's knowledge.

"Then get him back here now!" A loud thunk resounded as Maria rapped her cane on Raven's knee.

"You be quiet! You're lucky I got everyone back a car or else you'd have panicking civilians seeing visions!"

That got a reaction from everyone, Yang rushed forward to Maria, the old lady looking up at her inquisitively, "Did anyone…"

"No. I was the only one in the next car. Still I can't say I expected gods to actually exist." Yang almost slumped in relief. Her mother made her way to the opposite end of the car, sliding open the door there. It slammed shut as she left, the rattling in it's track causing Yang to flinch. For a few more moments she stared after the black haired woman, almost expecting her to rage back through the door, her blood red blade drawn, but it never happened and with the volatile woman gone the tension in the car slowly drained and Yang took stock of everyone.

Ren was the closest to showing emotion she had ever seen him, his hands clenched into fists as Nora whispered into his ear, being the voice of reason for once. Blake's ears betrayed her, flattened against her skull as her expression was unreadable. Weiss chewed on her lip, obviously wanting to say something but probably not sure what exactly she really wanted to say.

Yang felt a pang for the girl, she'd just come from Atlas and now they were going back and for what? There wasn't a real reason to go. Oscar picked himself up off the ground and sat down on a seat, his hands were trembling slightly and that alone told her that Ozpin wasn't the one in control at the moment.

"The civilians could hear you all shouting in the next car. I moved them back further before they started attracting more Grimm. Now tell me, why exactly are a bunch of huntsmen and huntresses yelling their heads off like a bunch of idiots."

Oscar was the one who spoke up first, motioning towards the lamp still in Yang's hands, "The lamp itself attracts Grimm. I… Ozpin didn't exactly tell anyone and so… well… things got heated."

"Not to mention," Yang spoke up, trying not to glare at Oscar, it wasn't his fault, "Two of our own disappeared, we think they fell off the train. Uncle Qrow, another huntsman that was accompanying us, went to find them."

"The blond one? His name was Jaune right?"

Yang was about to ask how she knew his name when she suddenly remembered where she'd seen the old woman before. Maria was the person Jaune had been talking to before the attack.

"Yeah, him and my sister."

Maria put both hands on her cane, staring at her with her cybernetic eyes, "So. What's your plan?"

The next day was hard for Ruby and Jaune, her eyes were heavy as Jaune had shaken her awake. She'd long since gotten used to being in his lap and had succumbed to her need for sleep once her watch was over. The howling wind laced with snow obstructed their vision as a blizzard descended upon them not an hour after they had set out once again.

It was terrible. Throughout the day her stomach rumbled as they tried to wander through the snowstorm. The trees, luckily, lessened the wind as they walked closely together. Occasionally they chatted but words took energy and it was one thing they were in short supply of. The misery stretched the time on forever and they only really noticed the passage of time when they light started to fade and it started becoming more difficult to see.

The two exchanged worried glances, neither had noticed how long they had been traveling and they needed to find shelter fast.

It was lucky, then, that they stumbled across a road. Though the term road might have been a bit much, it was definitely a will traveled path, wide enough for vehicles. Jaune looked up but the grey sky wasn't helping. Without being able to tell where the sun was exactly, determining where they wanted to go was an educated guess at best. He made a promise, and not for the first time that day, to always keep a compass on him at all time in the future. As long as they survived of course.

The gnawing hunger he'd been feeling all day wasn't the only thing clawing in his gut, the worry for his friend's safety was opening a pit in his stomach. Jaune didn't want to be the one responsible for Ruby's death. He loved his friends not to mention that she was Yang's sister. The blond couldn't stop thinking about Yang and how she would feel if something happened to her.

Jaune wanted to see Yang too.

They'd only just started dating and even he didn't really know what his feelings for her really were. Love? Maybe. He certainly like her, certainly wanted to get to know her better and explore the relationship. It was the thought of her and his friends that kept him standing as they marched along the path. They chose to follow the road in a random direction, hoping there was something close along the way they went.

Jaune looked over towards his friend who had her red cloak wrapped tightly about her. In they dimming light they spotted a huge shadow looming out of the snow. As they got closer they made out a large gate in a massive wooden wall, it was the entrance to a village. The large banner over the wooden gate displayed the words Kanshou.

The wooden doors stood slightly ajar, just enough for them to slip in. Despite yelling out, no guardsman responded to them. The lamps that were placed inside the village were dark and not a single window that they could see was lit. Both of them had a sinking feeling in their gut, this was something they'd seen several times before on their way to Mistral.

Kanshou was abandoned.

Doors to shops hung open and swayed in the wind that was muted by the wall. Looking closely they saw some evidence of struggle. There were broken windows, stains from blood, even claw marks. However there wasn't a single instance of human remains as they moved through the village. There were no bones, not a corpse to the town.

"Maybe someone came back and buried the dead?" They both knew how unlikely Ruby's suggestion was but chose to try and believe it anyways.

"Yeah, maybe." They both fell into silence as they explored the ghost town. Jaune gripped Crocea Mors in his hand and Ruby kept Crescent Rose out and in rifle form. Both were worried about the possibility of Grimm hanging around. It was unlikely they'd remain in a place devoid of prey, though if negativity someone lingered then the monsters could very well still lurk around here.

"So this is the result of Lionhearts betrayal, huh?" Ruby looked at him in question, "Qrow said Lionheart led all the huntsmen and huntresses into traps to weaken their defenses right? With the rise in negativity caused by Cinder at Beacon, Grimm attacks increased. With less hunters, more villages end up being attacked and ending up like… this." He gestured limply with his sword.

Ruby grimaced and gripped her weapon tighter, "How can someone do something like this? Beacon, Haven, all of Mistral. How can someone take so many lives like this?"

Jaune felt like he was going to be sick, "I don't know Ruby." He looked over and nudged her with an elbow, "But that's why we're here right? To stop them."

The girl looked back at him with a small, fragile smile, and nodded, "Yup."

"We should see if there are any supplies, there should be a general goods store around here. Hopefully we can find food and water, maybe even camping stuff."

They hesitated outside of said shop when they found it, both of their gazes locked onto the entrance of the stoor. The door was broken off the frame and lay inside and on the floor, a dark streak covered it. The stain ran from behind the counter and out the door, painting a gruesome picture of what happened to the person who had left it. There was evidence of more struggle further inside.

Several aisles were tipped over, with more dark stains in several other spots, it looked like several people had taken refuge in the store. Most of the food goods were spoiled and frozen though luckily they happened upon some canned food. Though it was mainly just beans, food was food at the moment and they stuffed a as much as they could in the packs they had salvaged from the camping area of the store.

Being a frontier town survival equipment was commonplace and a necessity. Jaune pocketed a compass, dust lighter, and some sleeping backs. Ruby shouldered a tent that they could use. Carefully they scoured the store in search of other useful items but found nothing. Eventually they both agreed to find somewhere else to stay.

By the time they exited the store the snowstorm had calmed, though the sky remain drab and grey. The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon and the pair hurried off to the housing area to hopefully find a house they could stay the night in, preferably one with a fireplace.

They settled on one with a door that hung ajar, like so many other, but had a dust stove in the living room for heat. With the front door closed they finally noticed the stains in the carpet. It ran up the stairs to the second floor and they decided to close the door to the stairs as well. They knew what they would probably find up there.

The stove still had plenty of dust left in it and they sat there, enjoying the warmth as it started warming up the room. Ruby laid back on her sleeping bag as Jaune opened the cans and placed them on top of the flat surface of the stove. He could finally feel life coming back into his limbs by the time they started eating out of the cans, careful not to burn themselves. It may have been canned food but both were so hungry they wolfed down the contents and sighed contentedly once they were done, Ruby even patting her stomach in relief.

She caught him looking and they both stared at each other until they burst out laughing. It wasn't really funny but the release felt great, even with the seriousness of their situation, or maybe because of it. The young woman drew her knees in, resting her chin on one of them as she stared off into nothing. Jaune simply laid back and enjoyed the warmth, the silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward and he was thankful for that. It could be easy, sometimes, to make a situation awkward with Ruby. They both had a tendency to put a foot in their mouth and it amplified when they were in close proximity.

"You really like Yang, don't you?" It took Jaune a few moments to realize what she'd asked and he looked over at her, she was still in the same position, her eye still focused on the stove.

"Where's this coming from?"

"Eh, she's my sister. And I'm bored." She shot him an apologetic smile.

"Eh. Yeah I do."

"I'd give you the obligatory 'don't hurt my sister' speech but I'm pretty sure Uncle Qrow already did that." She giggled when he pulled a face at the mention of it, "Honestly it's pretty cool. My sister's with one of my best friends."

She didn't sound like it was cool, Jaune noticed. Her smile was fake and he wondered how he even knew that, "Are you sure you're okay with it? I meran I know I'm not really reliable but-"

"You're fine." She said sharply, sending a small glare his way, "Don't make me repeat myself Jaune. You're great. It's just…"

She teased her lip with her teeth, and uncertain look replacing her glare. Jaune couldn't help but have his interest piqued. Her silver eyes slid to his, an almost pleading look in hers.

"The thing is Jaune…. I…" She fidgeted and he remained silent, not wanting to push or rush her, "Jaune, I -"

Bang!

Both of their heads shot towards the stairs, the sound having come from upstarts and then looked to each other, silent communication passing between them. In a moment both had their weapons up and ready and they waited, listening. It wasn't their imaginations playing tricks on them as they both heard the sound of soft thumping coming from above. It was slow and steady, carrying itself from one end of the house to the other, where the stairs were.

The sound of steps, for that was the only thing that Jaune could think of them being, stop at the door to the stairs they had closed earlier. A loud thunk came and the door rattled as something pounded on it.

Jaune's heart was in his throat as he inched towards the door, Ruby close behind him. Raising his shield he nodded to Ruby who slide around him and laid a hand on the doorknob, she met his eyes before his blue orbs moved back to the door. The young sniper carefully turned the knob before flinging it open.

Nothing happened for a split second before a black shape came screeching out of the doorway and slamming into his shield. Black hands with white, claw-like protrusions started scrambling on his shield and found purchase on the rim. It pulled itself up and it's Grimm visage filled his vision.

It was humanoid with flecks of white bone plating here and there on it's skin. It had a singular, large plate on it's brow. The thing screeched and clawed at him and inm his panic he slammed it into the wall with his shield, taking several steps back. It scrambled back up and stared at them with red orbs before they heard an audible pop. The thing's jaw opened even further than a human's could and it seemed to take in air before letting forth a scream.

The sound was an inhuman wail that had the pair wincing but not daring to cover their ears. The sound was cut off as Ruby bisected the creature from shoulder to hip and it fell to the ground, silent and unmoving. Both of their hearts were hammering from the encounter and in the distance they could hear a new sound.

All around them similar wails took up in chorus and as more and more sounded in the night Ruby and Jaune looked at eachother, a feeling of ice cold dread settling in his stomach.

A/N: Sorry for taking a long break, I had to attend to my mental health for a bit. Was just far too stressed to write. I'm back now with renewed purpose. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Also, these Grimm are not the Apathy. I actually wrote this encounter about a werk before the Apathy reveal. I didn't realize exactly hoe similar their phtsical description was until someone commented on. The differences will be made abundantly clear next chapter.