A/N: At least this battle is fun to watch! I think that's why it was so easy to pump out. Managed to write the whole thing in one sitting, which was cathartic. (yikes hopefully it's fun to read too)

Let me know what you think!

What We Call Home

And so, more days passed. After that first storm, the skies remained grey, and more than once, the group had to take shelter underneath the canopy of leaves rather than walking through the main path in order to avoid being drenched. Between Higanbana and the next few towns, there was an ample distance, meaning that their days were punctuated at best with the discovery of small rest stops.

Each stop eventually boiled down to a chance to restock their supplies and maybe sleep on a mattress, rather than a bedroll. Over time, the chatter began to cease between the four. Ruby gave up on the map, having accepted her fate of never being able to properly pronounce the more traditional names of Mistralian settlements. Jaune took over that job, his nose stuck in the creased parchment, constantly fixated on where to go, where to turn, where to sleep.

Because although they didn't see many Grimm on their journey, they did find evidence of bandits. The space in Jaune's bag which had once been reserved for Pyrrha's armour was eventually filled with identification cards and unique belongings for deceased Huntsmen they found along the roadside. It was a gory job, but Nora and Ren insisted on it, and Jaune and Ruby did the best they could to support. So, at each stop, they'd open up Jaune's bag and watch the same weariness fill the proprietor's eyes as they tore down page after page from the Huntsmen boards.

It was haunting, seeing the blanks spaces left on the board grow from when they came in to when they left.

Still, Nora did her best to keep everyone's spirits up. She made them play games, teasing everyone and playing pranks on them. She leapt through the trees and made bad jokes and jabbed at everyone's mistakes, bringing light into everyone's eyes whenever they grew too silent and sullen.

By the time they passed the one-month mark since reaching Anima, though, Ruby was growing restless, and Jaune, weary. Ruby just wanted to know what awaited them in Haven, whereas Jaune continued his late-night training sessions in (what he thought was) secret.

One early morning on the road, after Jaune's seventh yawn in barely twenty minutes, Nora finally murmured, "Hey, Jaune, you sleepy butt. Do you wanna spar? It might perk you up!"

Ren and Ruby traded surprised glances, but their expressions settled knowingly, continuing on ahead so that she could speak to the blond privately.

Jaune barely lifted his head out of the map, however. "I'm alright, Nora," he replied, tone appreciative. "I… I think I'm good. Thanks though."

"I could help you out-"

"I'm fine, Nora." The words were suddenly brusque, and the blond had to pause, cursing quietly under his breath before catching up to her. "Sorry. No. I'm… I'm really okay."

"…you only want one teacher, huh?" she murmured meaningfully.

A wry smirk pulled his lips, but it didn't erase the weariness in his eyes. "Yeah. Thanks, though. Seriously."

She beamed. "No worries!" And she meant it, for Jaune still had the ring around his neck, the sash around his waist, Crocea Mors' golden tracings at his hip, and the glittering jade stud in his lobe, swelling finally receded. He was healing a little slower than the rest of them. He needed more time. That was okay.

So, she burst ahead of the group, stretching her arms up wide as she walked decidedly down the mossy path. They were likely getting close to another village- the further along they went, the road had shifted from dirt paths to old stone tiles, cracked, but clearly once beautiful. There wasn't exactly a town marked on the map, but not all of the places they had visited had been present on their charts, anyways, so it was alright.

"Another day, another adventure!" she announced brightly.

Ruby played along. "What's on the agenda today?" she replied, just as eager.

Jaune stifled another yawn. "Walking!"

Nora held out her hand, pretending she had a microphone. "With a side of...?"

"Walking," Ren deadpanned, eyes focused on the road ahead blankly.

Ruby sighed, dropping her false bravado. "Haven is a lot farther away than I thought."

Nora raised a brow, glancing at Jaune and Ren, who were similarly perplexed. The three of them had planned for the journey to take at least a few months- that was why their preparations had been so meticulous. They knew how big Anima was, after having been raised there. It was part of the reason they had decided to keep her company through the journey, after all.

Ren stepped up beside Ruby, gently asking, "Ruby? How long did you think this journey was going to take?"

The girl threw her arms up in the air exasperatedly. "I don't know! I grew up in a small area; I've never been this far away from home!"

Impatiently, Jaune insisted, "Right, but... how long?"

Innocently, she said, "Maybe like, uh... two weeks?"

The blond finally lifted his head out of the map, glaring at her incredulously. "What?!"

"Okay, fine! Three or something!" She looked away guiltily. "Look, whatever." Before she could finish her thought, though, they turned the corner in the path past some trees obscuring their vision, only to find themselves in front of a strange sight. "Hey, what's that?"

Nora took the initiative to jump on a nearby post of a fallen, tattered fence, holding her hands above her eyes to peer ahead. In the distance was the telltale wall of a town, the silhouette of multi-story buildings standing out starkly against the grey sky behind it. She frowned- unlike the previous places they had visited, the border wall was not made of wood, but of flat stone with a rounded entryway, indicating a more conservative, wealthier town.

There was no movement in the windows of the buildings she could see. Oh no. Not again.

Behind her, she heard Jaune stop walking, the rustling of the map catching her attention. "That's... strange," he murmured. "I didn't think we'd be hitting another village for a few days."

Still no movement- but the more she looked, the more the darkness of the silhouettes looked less like a trick of the light, and more like scorch marks. "Are those buildings... damaged?"

Immediately, Jaune exclaimed, "We should search for survivors!"

Nora nodded, jumping off the fence and running towards the town wall. She hopped up to the top of the wall easily, looking around from her perch for any movement. At the bottom of her vision, she could see Jaune, Ren and Ruby rush into town as well, searching for any signs of life. Nora climbed to the top of the nearest watchtower just inside the wall, but the moment her hand touched the wood, she shuddered. Her glove came away covered in crumbling black ash. Just as she had suspected, everything was dusty and burned and scorched and crumbling.

And yet, there was something off about the town. Not all of the damage came from wear and tear, or from battle- much of the town actually looked… unfinished- as if the construction of the sprawling area had been abandoned, left behind to fade away in the woods of Anima.

"Anything?" Ruby called.

Nora reported, "Nothing over here!"

Jaune cried, "No one over here, either!"

Kneeling down near a small entry shrine monument was Ren, the boy's shoulders tense as Nora jumped down from the tower to jog past the others. "It almost seems like... the town was abandoned," he said as she ran past him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nora saw a small plaque in the center of the main road. "Hey, I think I found something!" she yelled back to the others, crouching down. The signpost was covered by a growth of ivy. As the others' footsteps slowed right behind her, she pushed it aside tentatively, reading the sign aloud. "Oniyuri?" She straightened up, planting her hands on her hips, searching her memory. It didn't ring a bell whatsoever, though. "Never heard of it."

"Me neither," Jaune confessed.

After a moment, Ren murmured, "I have."

Nora pivoted to look up at the boy, surprised. She knew for certain- they'd never visited this place before during all of their misadventures across Anima. How did Ren know about it?

His expression was bleak as he searched for the words to explain the city's emptiness. "You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the Kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own city, with their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe even become its own Kingdom. Many thought it would be the future." He began walking further into town, away from the other three. "I know my parents did."

Ruby tentatively murmured, "What happened?"

The boy walked to a nearby stoop of an unfinished building on their right. In a voice so soft, they could barely hear it, he said, "What always happens."

"The Grimm," Jaune breathed.

Nora's breath caught in her throat, brows drawing together sadly as she watched Ren's fists clench, the boy looking down at the ground. She could imagine what he was seeing in his mind clearly.

"Not just any- one."

"One?" Ruby asked, eyes fraught with disbelief and a creeping dread.

It was true, then. The Nuckelavee had struck Oniyuri as well. While its face and distinct shape were naught but blurry memories in her mind, she could still see its horrendous silhouetted imprinted in the back of her mind so clearly that even the thought of it sent chills down her spine. The Grimm which had demolished Kuroyuri all those years before, which had killed Ren's parents and destroyed everything he held dear, had struck this place, too.

The Nuckelavee was basically a folktale by that point, notorious, a demonic village-destroyer. Even Kalian had refused to touch the creature, and he was one of the most hotheaded Huntsmen Nora had ever met. Of course that Grimm had taken away the hope for this village, too.

A small flock of birds screeched and flapped their wings above the quartet. Nora flinched at the sudden break in the stillness of the forgotten village. Jaune clearly felt the same way, muttering, "Come on. Let's just get through here. This place gives me the creeps."

The blond began walking ahead, and after giving a worried Ruby a wan smile, Nora followed.

The walk through town was eerily silent. Nothing but the sound of their footsteps padding over broken cobblestones filled the air, but under the cloudy sky, even those sounds felt dampened, muted. Ren took the lead, while Nora hung back alongside Ruby and Jaune.

Suddenly, Ren leaned forward, holding a hand out behind him to halt them all in the middle of town. He paused, lowering his head for a moment- then, he reached down to his weapon holsters on his thighs, picking up StormFlower carefully. Without missing a beat, Nora extended Magnhild, while Ruby and Jaune readied their own weapons. They all threw their packs to the ground. Nora couldn't sense what Ren had- his Aura recognition was far greater than hers, any day- but she knew that he wasn't playing around.

And then, they all heard it- a light set of footsteps and a gleeful intake of breath were the only true warnings they had, though, of the dark figure who leapt over their heads. Nora had barely a second to take in the appearance of the newcomer. It was a man, tall and lanky, with long hair braided into a single thick pleat behind him. His dark brown jacket showed off an array of scars across his chest, and the white pants were splotchy with dirt… and hints of red.

Is that… blood?

It was too dark to tell as he spun in the air. He landed lithely on his feet in front of them, held his arms backwards to extend bladed grappling gauntlets around his hands, and cackled evilly.

Nora shuddered. On his face was a twisted, sickeningly-wide grin, and large, glinting golden eyes.

Dangit. Why are they always gold?

She didn't have time to think of anything else as he paused, locked his gaze onto Ruby, and sprinted forward.

Ren intercepted right away, dancing around the man's blades expertly while he kicked and shot at the man within close range. The stranger dodged effortlessly, and within seconds, he had knocked Ren far off to the side. Nora immediately ran towards Ren, pulling him up from the stack of barrels into which he had crashed. "Ren, are you okay?"

"He's after Ruby, but why?" Ren coughed, clambering up to his knees. Seeing that he was alright, the girl nodded, rushing back towards the battle.

It was a jarring scene which greeted her- in the few seconds she had been distracted by Ren, Ruby had been knocked to the ground, and instead, their assailant was practically holding onto and standing upon Jaune's shield, leaning his twisted grin a few scant inches from Jaune's face to examine him. A high-pitched, excited squeal slipped through his thin lips, and he raised a curious brow, ignoring the look of confusion and terror on Jaune's face.

Nora rushed towards the man, ready to strike him down with Magnhild. Before she could swing properly at him, though, he leapt deftly off of Jaune's shield and onto the hammerhead, kicking it down to throw her off balance. She wobbled, glaring at the man as he jumped off Magnhild and tumbled straight through the wall of a nearby tower. A puff of plaster dust and debris filled the air, and the group could only gather together tight and watch anxiously as it cleared. However, his silhouette was soon visible through the hole he had torn through, standing upon the broken, jagged frame menacingly.

Jaune cried, "We're not looking for a fight!"

"Who are you?" Ren demanded.

The man leaned forward, dropping to the ground and landing on his feet with a heavy thud. He chuckled darkly, standing upright and drawing his hand to his breast with enough pomp and circumstance to put the most theatrical actor to shame. Dramatically, he explained in a smooth, confident voice, "Who I am matters not to you." He pointed at Ren. "Or you." He pointed at Nora next, and she bristled. Turning to Jaune, the man continued, "Or-" Then, he cut himself off, pausing as he looked over the blond, "Well… you do interest me," he snickered, pointing daintily at the boy.

Jaune gasped, starting backwards nervously.

Posing in a mock-bow, he murmured lowly, "No, I only matter… to you." Nora followed his gaze back to Ruby, where the girl simply paused, tilting her head in confusion.

"Me?" she repeated, utterly baffled.

Seeing her complete bewilderment, the man doubled over, collapsing into a fit of frenzied laughter. "You, you haven't the slightest clue, do you? Oh, how exciting this must be!"

Ruby's expression hardened. Firmly, she asked, "What do you want?"

Upon hearing her brewing anger, the man straightened up, slipping back into his over-the-top acting once again. "Oh, the rose has thorns! My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!"

Over my dead body. Ruby was her friend, dammit. Nora stalked over to stand between Ruby and the stranger, glowering at him threateningly. She tightened her grip on Magnhild, dropping her center of gravity low, ready to take the man on. "Well, what if she doesn't want to go with you?"

The man pursed his lips, unimpressed. Then, he rolled his eyes, voice oily and confident as he stated, "Well, I'll take her."

Jaune slid between Nora and the man next, holding his shield in front of him. "We're not going to let you do that."

Over Jaune's shoulder, Nora could only watch as the man closed his eyes, sucking in air sharply through his teeth. She was ready for another biting mark, a scoff, anything. But instead, the man then opened his eyes languidly, then cocked his head down, a feral grin on his face as he growled happily, a single, chilling word echoing through the air.

"…Good."

Suddenly, everything was happening all at once. The man somehow shot behind Jaune, ready to strike. Ren called out a warning, firing at Jaune's shield so that the bullets could ricochet towards their attacker- but the man simply cartwheeled straight onto Jaune's shield, spinning around freely while balanced on one single claw. Ruby tried to sneak up on him, but upon landing the man easily kicked her to the side with a sickening crunch. Jaune tried to swing at him with Crocea Mors, but he just dodged the blow and knocked Jaune aside as well after two painful kicks to the boy's head.

This entire time, all Nora could do was jump away from this quick exchange and watch helplessly, eyes frantically searching the surrounding areas. She needed to get high up, to a vantage point. She needed to distract him, or find a way to take him down with a big blow- but she needed to move fast, and she needed the others to stay away.

She wasn't great at hitting these small targets. She was good with fighting Grimm, big lumbering creatures that needed force and sheer willpower. But someone like this? Someone with quick reflexes and even quicker blades? Someone even faster than Ren, likely even faster than Ruby, even with her Semblance of speed?

Pyrrha, I wish you were here.

In the back of her mind, she instinctively summoned up the image of Pyrrha dancing her way through one-on-one combat, a deadly ballerina of glinting gold and fiery red and biting metal on the battlefield. Pyrrha had excelled in combat against other fighters. She would have been able to destroy this guy, no problem.

But Pyrrha wasn't there anymore, and it was up to them to protect Ruby.

The man turned his sights to her next, running towards her with a cackle. Over his shoulder, though, Nora saw Ruby straighten up, a fierce smile on her face. Nora knew what she was doing, nodding in anticipation. Stay back, she mouthed.

There was a reason they had ensured to stock up on lightning-Dust cartridges for Ruby's rifle, as well as for Magnhild's upgraded feature, before leaving Vale.

Before she could blink, the sharpshooter had fired a round of lightning-Dust straight into Nora's chest. The impact knocked her backwards, sending her flying back straight into a short wall behind her. Magnhild was torn from her grasp, and she collapsed, feeling the electricity course through her veins, summoning her Aura to do its work. It took a moment, but quickly, her body surged with energy, and she crawled to her feet to the sounds of their assailant's wild laughter. "Well, if that isn't ironic," he commented gleefully, clearly having no idea of what was about to happen.

The moment the giggles stopped, Nora was on her feet, Magnhild in hand, energy rushing through her veins. With a quick step forward, she rushed behind the man's right shoulder, raising her hammer as she leapt through the air, dodging his gaze.

Take this, you creep.

And with that, she slammed her hammer into the man and pressed down on the electric trigger on Magnhild, feeling all of the stored electricity in her hammer augment from within and conduct straight into her opponent. She forced her hammer down upon him, landing on her feet as clouds of dust and dirt flew up around them.

But, for some reason… she couldn't complete her hammer swing. She couldn't finish the strike. Something was blocking her.

All she could do, though, was continue bearing down on the man until the dust settled, using every last drop of strength in her supercharged body to force him into the ground.

However, he wasn't standing in front of her- not anymore. Instead, when she could finally see again, the man was crouched in front of her. Wait- then what the hecky is blocking- but she couldn't even complete the thought, eyes travelling up from the man's back, where a long tail similar to his braid had emerged from under his cloak, arching upwards to curl above and in front of him against her hammerhead. At the end of the tail was a large, dripping, black stinger, so reminiscent of a Death Stalker's tail that she immediately shifted away.

Her eyes widened. He's a scorpion Faunus?

The man's golden eyes glinted as he caught the very moment she realized the truth, smiling with pure joy. Wiggling his fingers towards her, he mockingly squealed, "Surprise!"

And suddenly, the stinger moved away, pushing Magnhild to the side, and two consecutive kicks landed painfully upon her cheek, sending her flying backwards towards the others. With a deafening crash, she crumpled against the same wall as before, shuddering and twitching in pain.

Her jaw popped and her calves buckled, and she nearly screamed. Pink flooded her vision, and she shuddered, feeling the residual electricity crackle through her bones, mingling with her Aura and mending her broken body.

As she struggled to regain her strength, she heard Ruby scream, "What is this about?! The White Fang? Roman Torchwick?"

Their assailant responded blithely, "Plastic soldiers and pawns. My heart and body belong only to our goddess."

They exchanged a few more words, but Nora couldn't hear them as her ears popped and she staggered back to her feet. Suddenly, the sounds of battle resumed, and she reached down and grabbed Magnhild as quickly as possible. C'mon, guys, I'm coming, you can do it…

When she was finally able to run back into the fray, however, Ruby was lying in a heap to the side, Ren quickly joining her. Nora sprinted forwards, grimacing as her bones creaked and protested as the sudden movement, but she didn't have a choice- the man moved to attack Jaune next, and the boy was barely able to fend off the assault with his shield. Nora leapt into the air and swung Magnhild down, firing a projectile to add momentum, but the man's stinger quickly came up and knocked her aside with a strength she still couldn't quite fathom. She had never met a person able to fend against a blow from her hammer.

What is going on?! she thought desperately, jumping back to her feet after skidding to a halt. She teetered back to her feet, but soon, Ren's body came flying back towards her. Dropping her hammer instinctively, she leapt up and caught the boy, pulling him into her lap. "Ren? Ren?!" she cried, shaking his shoulders. The boy groaned and opened her eyes, and she let her head drop against his shoulder for a moment, quelling the panic which had surged through her heart upon seeing him tossed so carelessly aside.

She raised her head, looking up at the desperate scene before them while Ren slowly blinked back into awareness. Jaune was staggering to the side, barely able to stand, while Ruby was lying on the ground, Crescent Rose out of reach, hand clutching her stomach in pain. The stranger was hovering over her, stinger raised, predatory and excited, practically salivating as he approached the younger girl.

With a tremendous cackle, the man swung his tail down to strike Ruby, and then, all that filled the air was another puff of dust and dry mortar and plaster and brick as a nearby wall burst open. Suddenly, standing between the stranger and Ruby was her uncle Qrow, his back turned to the stranger, sword held behind him to block the Faunus' stinger.

Nora couldn't see the man's face, but her heart melted when she saw the relief and adoration which filled Ruby's at the sight of her uncle.

Their assailant pulled his tail away, stepping back from Qrow and Ruby. In turn, Qrow swung his blade around, holding it at the ready as he spun to face the man.

The Faunus laughed in disbelief, his dramatic flair back once more. Holding his hands up in the air like a herald, he announced, "As I live and breathe, Qrow Branwen." He chuckled, then gave the other man a deep bow of respect, the glee in his voice evident as he cheered, "A true Huntsman has entered the fray!"

Ruby stumbled back to her feet, propping herself up on her scythe. In response to Qrow's unimpressed glance, Ruby shrugged. "I don't know, this guy's weird."

Throughout this exchange, Ren's own magenta Aura finally began to dissipate, closing up the wounds he had sustained. Nora helped the boy stand, then gathered with Jaune, the three of them holding their weapons ready for the next phase of the fight. But Nora's mind was racing with the new information their assailant had just offered her, and the knowledge was chilling.

Qrow… Branwen. Does he mean those Branwens?

She didn't have time to think about it further. She didn't know if she wanted to, either.

Qrow warned menacingly, "Look, pal, I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone."

Tyrian chortled, unaffected by the unspoken threat. "Why, friend, my name is Tyrian. And I'm afraid that is not possible. My assignment from Her Grace was to retrieve this young girl." The man- Tyrian, apparently- sounded almost remorseful. "So, that is what I must do. One does not upset the Queen."

Ruby asked the words on everyone's mind. "Queen?"

Qrow narrowed his eyes and growled, "Salem."

"…Who?"

Tyrian began to twitch, fidgeting, until he finally assumed a crouch. "Hmm, I think we've had enough talk now, don't you?"

Qrow's burning red eyes flashed. "You took the words right out of-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Tyrian screeched and rushed towards him.

The two men immediately began trading blows furiously. Nora, Ren and Jaune used the opportunity to catch up to Ruby, helping her up properly and checking on one another. "We have to help Uncle Qrow," Ruby murmured as Nora brushed the dirt off her shoulder.

They all glanced down. Ruby's Aura was still working on healing her stomach, which had been severely damaged by an earlier blow from Tyrian. "We've got this," Nora agreed. "You heal here."

"I've got her," Jaune nodded.

With that, Ren and Nora shared a firm glance, gripped their weapons tight, and ran towards the battle. Simultaneously, they leapt into the air on either side of him, ready to strike- but before they could even blink, Tyrian leaned back, saw them approaching, grinned manically, and spun on the ground, landing kicks on them both which sent them flying backwards across the cobblestones. The Faunus immediately continued his pursuit as they clambered shakily to their feet, but before he could reach them, Qrow intervened.

Nora's face fell as the man commanded angrily, "Don't come closer!"

It wasn't to Tyrian. It was to them. We're in the way, aren't we? Nora winced, staggering upright.

Ruby suddenly cried, "Fine!"

"Ruby, wait-" Ren attempted, but the girl had already taken off, jumping on top of a nearby building. Setting her scythe down, she peered through the rifle's scope.

She's trying to shoot him without interfering with the fight. Nora looked wearily at Magnhild. Never before had she regretted having a grenade launcher, normally so useful for striking down hordes- but in this entire fight, precision seemed to be what mattered more than anything.

In front of them, Tyrian managed to disarm Qrow. Ruby took the lull in the battle for a perfect opportunity to begin hailing bullets down upon the Faunus, but the man somehow managed to block every shot without even looking at it using just his tail.

"Guys, the moment we can help, we have to go in," Jaune muttered.

Ren shook his head. "They're both two fast."

"He lost his sword!" Nora cried, gesturing to Qrow, whose weapon was currently sticking out a wall.

"Just wait," Ren insisted, focused on the duo in front of him.

Suddenly, Qrow flexed his fist, drew his arm back, and began to punch Tyrian with the grim determination, forcing the man blindly back as if it were a bar brawl. The Faunus moaned and whined at each impact, until Qrow was able to kick him back, leisurely walk over to his weapon, and retrieve it.

Just like that, the battle was back in full swing, the two men flying around the abandoned city with such intensity all Nora could do was watch blankly. Her own bones still ached, the mere thought of rushing back it at with full strength wearing her out. The two men fell into a row of long buildings, disappearing from view momentarily. "Any ideas?" she murmured to Jaune as the blond watched the battle by her side.

"I'm thinking," he mumbled, biting his lip, eyes darting back and forth across the empty town.

Suddenly, Qrow flew through a wall and re-emerged in the central courtyard. His blade embedded itself into the ground, tearing up cobblestones as it skidded along, and Qrow perched atop in gracefully as it came to a stop.

Ruby leapt off the rooftop where she had been hiding, clearly waiting to jump into the fray.

"Guys," Ren muttered, "he's after Ruby. We need to get her back."

Nora frowned. "Ruby, get over here!" she cried, but the younger wouldn't listen, eyes fixated on her uncle. And, when Tyrian jumped out of the ruins of the building from which Qrow had reappeared, swinging at the man, Ruby jumped in between them.

Voice cracking, Jaune yelled, "Ruby!"

Ren shook his head, immediately blocking Jaune from moving forward with his arm. "We can't help right now," Ren ground out through clenched jaws.

Amused, Tyrian squealed, "Do you wish to be taken?"

The girl cried determinedly, "No! But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!"

Nora's heart broke at those words as the conflict resumed, a flurry of red capes and cloaks and black tails. She scared of losing him like Penny. Like Pyrrha.

Soon, Qrow had intercepted a deadly strike from the Faunus yet again for his niece. Angrily, he scolded, "Ruby! What did I say?! Get back!"

The girl glowered back. "This is my fight, too!"

But as Ruby recommenced her attack against Tyrian, there was a flash of nothing but pure fear on Qrow's face that Nora just couldn't understand. "No, it's not that," the man protested, "it's-"

And suddenly, Ruby went flying back into the wall behind her. The impact shook the beams above her, and the trio on the side could only cover their mouths and gasp as a large wooden beam fell down, aiming to land right on the younger girl.

Qrow intercepted it smoothly, slicing the beam to pieces so nothing touched Ruby. Everyone seemed to let out a sigh of relief, and Nora could see the flash of gratitude and love on Ruby's face again.

The moment was instantly destroyed as Qrow let out a strangled cry of pain. Tyrian's stinger sliced through Qrow's abdomen, and the entire group fell silent in shock.

He used up all his Aura already, didn't he? The attack landed. Nora's mind flashed back to the open wound on the poor Huntsman in Shion Village. He had died from a similar cut to the stomach. Oh gods, no, please don't do this.

Tyrian chuckled darkly, leaving his tail outstretched. However, after a moment of pure shock, Ruby took the opportunity to hook her scythe around the prehensile limb and slice the stinger clean off. The stump immediately began to spew purple fluid into the air, and the Faunus screamed in pain, reeling back and scuttling away from them all. Gone was his composure, his dramatics- now, when he stood, all they could see in his eyes was pure hatred.

"You bitch!" he screeched, staggering back towards Ruby.

Nora grinned. Now you're slow enough. She immediately strode between Tyrian and Qrow and Ruby, Ren and Jaune joining her in a heartbeat. Holding Magnhild dangerously, she glared at him. Try it.

The Faunus immediately cowered, backing up clumsily. Almost as if reassuring himself, he whispered histrionically, "She'll forgive you…" Then, he crouched low and sprinted away, clear out of town.

Suddenly, a cry of pain and the clank of metal hitting stone drew their attention back to Qrow. The man was clutching his side, collapsed onto one knee, his blade fallen away to the ground behind him. Ruby rushed to his side as he panted heavily, the girl dropping her scythe and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Uncle Qrow! Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. He just grazed me." He raised his hand, and immediately, everyone pulled back. The wound was bleeding. His Aura really is drained, if it can't heal that wound.

Nora, Ren and Jaune ran up to the duo, everyone's confusion and questions racing back to the forefront of their minds now that Tyrian had left the scene. "Who was that guy?" she cried.

Ren added, "How did you get here?"

Jaune asked, "Why are people after Ruby?!"

"Uncle Qrow? You're injured, and we'll treat you, but after, you have to tell us," Ruby pleaded. "What's going on?"

Still breathing heavily and pressing a hand against his wound, Qrow raised his head, a broken, regretful smile on his face. "What's your favorite fairy tale, kiddo?"

Nora had never heard of words more ominous in her life.