Fifteen-year-old Ruby threaded her way between the leafless trees of Patch's forests, Crescent Rose in her hands. Her older sister kept her distance off to the side, outside the Zone's radius. The two of them had been traveling for a little over an hour, going deeper and deeper into the woods. Their footsteps crunched loudly on fallen leaves, but that didn't matter, for they wanted to be found. By Grimm. But so far, their prey had been scarce.

"Where are they?" Ruby asked, frustrated.

Off to her right, Yang looked back at her, craning her head to peek around a tree. "Maybe they're scared." She grinned.

Ruby rolled her eyes. It was, of course, important that the Grimm out here fear humans, otherwise they would venture close to human settlements and harm people. But their skittishness was making for a very boring trip.

Yang sighed. She pulled out her scroll, looking at it for a moment before speaking. "All right, we'll go another hour or so, then turn back."

Ruby nodded. She looked around her again, eyes scanning the trees and bushes for any trace of Grimm. It was entirely possible that they were just out of sight, gathering their forces until they felt confident enough to attack. If so, Ruby wanted to be ready for them. She kept scanning her surroundings, ever-vigilant. She'd fallen prey to sneak attacks in her nightmares. She wasn't going to let it happen in reality.

Finally, they emerged into a small clearing with a large boulder in the center, jutting up toward the sky like a Beowolf's fang. Next to it was a smaller, flatter rock, just low enough so that Ruby could grab the top if she stretched her arms up high.

Around the edges of the clearing, the Grimm were starting to gather. There were a dozen Beowolves, and more were approaching.

"Finally!" Yang grinned, raising her metal-clad fists. "I was starting to think we were stood up!"

One of the Beowolves snarled, charging Yang. The fistfighter met the charge, swinging her right gauntlet into the Grimm's face. "That's for keeping us waiting!"

Ruby couldn't help but smile a little. Her sister always seemed to have such joy when fighting Grimm. It wasn't something Ruby shared. She was too used to fighting for her life in her nightmares, too used to being afraid.

But this was reality. This time, she had her Zone. It was their turn to be afraid.

Ruby charged forward, towards a cluster of Beowolves to the left. Their approach faltered as they entered the range of her Zone. Ruby, on the other hand, kept moving. One of the Beowolves took a step back, just before Ruby sliced its head off its shoulders. Activating her speed Semblance, Ruby darted towards the next one in line, accompanied by a storm of rose petals. She slashed downwards before it could react, impaling it on the point of her scythe, before the pull of a trigger caused Crescent Rose to tear through the rest of its body. Ruby spun with the motion, whirling her weapon around to stab into another Beowolf's side as it approached her.

The remaining Beowolves kept their distance, held at bay by her Zone, their courage falling away like their numbers. Across the clearing, atop the flat boulder, Yang continued to punch away at her hapless targets with gunfire-enhanced blows, raining strike after strike from different angles on each foe before sending them flying with one final, powerful hit.

Ruby, meanwhile, activated her Semblance again, speeding towards the Beowolf to her left. She switched Crescent Rose into glaive form, stabbing it straight into her target, before putting all her weight into wrenching the blade to the side, ripping it free and sending it into the next Beowolf in line. With a whine, another foe charged at her, but its attack was driven by fear and not fury, and Ruby easily blocked the clumsy swing with the haft of her weapon, before switching the blade into scythe form and slashing downwards. The last Beowolf simply turned and tried to run, but Ruby speed towards it. She was surprised to feel a certain feral rush as she chased her prey, and as she hooked her scythe under its neck and pulled. As the now-separated parts of the Beowolf's body fell to the ground, a thought entered Ruby's mind: I think I see what Yang likes about this. She glanced towards the edge of the clearing, towards another Beowolf that had been rushing to join the battle, only to halt in its tracks.

"Ruby!" Yang called out. The sound was drowned out by a roar from behind Ruby.

Ruby spun around, and saw a mass of black and white charging towards her, bigger than the Beowolves. An Ursa – and from the extensive bone plates covering its body and arms, it was an elder, a specimen that had survived for a long time in Patch's wilderness. Ruby looked up in time to see its massive paw coming towards her. Nightmare-honed instinct kicked in, and she reflexively jumped back, dodging the Ursa's attack.

Ruby quickly looked over her foe, noting the gaps in its armor, and she raised Crescent Rose, aiming for one such gap in its upper arm. Quickly, she swapped out the gravity Dust rounds in her weapon for actual bullets. But before she could pull the trigger, she felt something slam hard into her back. She staggered forward, glancing behind her to see the Beowolf she'd spotted earlier. She pointed behind her with Crescent Rose and pulled the trigger, shooting it through its core. But before she could bring her weapon to bear against the Ursa, her foe swung at her again. Off-balance as she was, she couldn't dodge in time, and the impact sent her flying back.

Ruby hit the ground with a tumble, and she rolled onto her back. She looked up to see the Ursa rearing up, ready to slam its entire weight down on her. She rolled to the side, just in time to dodge as the Ursa's front legs impacted the dirt beside her. But then the Ursa swiped to the side, its claws grazing her. Aura protected her from the claws, but it couldn't help her get to her feet in time before the Ursa charged her again, bowling her over again with another swipe and knocking Crescent Rose from her grip.

The Ursa lunged for her, jaws open wide. Ruby reached out her hands, pouring her Aura into them, and managed to wedge them between its jaws, enough to stop them from closing around her head. But it was taking all of her Aura to stop the Grimm from finishing her off.

Fear started to creep in, for the first time since the fight began. Her hands shook as she tried to keep the beast's jaws from closing. Its hot breath splashed against her face as it roared in anger. And, somewhere inside Ruby, something stirred. More than just the primal need to survive, a need to kill welled up within her.

And then, red lightning flowed from her hands into the Ursa.

The Grimm roared again and backed off from her. Ruby gasped, staring at her hands, watching as little arcs of electricity jumped between her fingers. Nearby, Yang halted her rush towards her sister, mouth open.

The Ursa snarled, and raised a paw to swipe at her. Ruby stood up, stood her ground, and extended her hands towards the Ursa. A stream of crimson electricity burst outwards, heading straight for the Ursa. Its bone plating offered no protection from the chain of energy. Light flashed, and its coat began to ignite. It let out a plaintive cry before collapsing to the ground.

Ruby stared at the fallen Ursa for a long moment, then looked back at her hands. The electricity was gone from them now, but she could still feel something inside her, some well of power of which she had been unaware. And for some reason, she could also feel a vague sense of… displeasure.

"What did you do?" Yang asked, walking up to her sister, eyes wide.

It was a long moment before Ruby answered. "I don't know."

"You're certain?" Ozpin asked, leaning forward just a little over his desk. On the desk was a projected screen, showing Qrow Branwen seated at a somewhat less spacious desk, a bottle of liquor in his hand. Normally Qrow would slouch back in his chair, but this time, he sat up straight, alert despite the late hour and the alcohol in his system - in a sign of the importance of the news he had for Ozpin. The only other person in the room with Ozpin was Glinda Goodwich, who was leaning against a wall at the side of the room.

Qrow finished his latest swig from his bottle before answering. "Positive." The word was slurred slightly, which despite his love of drink, wasn't common to hear from him. His drinking habits were well-known, but generally ignored, because he was remarkably good at functioning while sloshed, even to the point of fighting normally with no apparent loss of dexterity. More than one would-be robber had ambushed him in an alley after he left a bar, thinking him too drunk to fight back, only to be rudely surprised. Suffice to say, it took a lot to really get him hammered. And tonight, he was drinking a lot, for good reason.

"We even tested it out later. She really can just shoot out lightning like a bad Dust ad. Somehow." Qrow sighed. "Dual Semblances are rare, but possible, as are Semblances with a lot of versatility," he continued. "But this? No way. This is outside the realm of any Semblance on record. Plus, when she used that red lightning, it didn't drain her Aura at all. If that ain't magic, I don't know what is." He raised his flask again, but paused to fix Ozpin with a focused glare. "But then again, I'm not the expert on that."

Ozipin sighed, leaning back in his chair. He reached for his mug of coffee and took a drink, mostly to give time for Qrow to finish his own swig, in case he had more to say. Nearby, Glinda remained silent as she listened to the exchange.

Qrow swirled the bottle around for a second, making a light splashing sound. It was nearly empty. He didn't put it back on his desk, instead holding in his hand as he looked at Ozpin again. "Ozpin, if you know anything about this, speak up. You've always had secrets, and I've learned to live with that, but this is my niece we're talking about. If this means something bad, then I need to know about it. So does Tai. Most of all, Ruby's going to have to know what this is so she can deal with it."

"I don't know." The response was not something Qrow had expected or wanted to hear. Ozpin studied Qrow's face for a moment, then sighed. "But if you're worried that Salem is responsible, I believe I can rule that out."

Qrow scowled. "What makes you so certain?"

"Because magical power is not an infinite resource. The knowledge and power required to create it – especially the kind that can be gifted to others – was lost long ago, and new sources are nonexistent. In addition, as you and I both know very well, giving magical powers to someone does not establish any kind of control by the giver over the recipient. Salem knows all this as well, which is why, in all the years I've struggled against her, I've never known her to simply give magical powers to someone. She's willing and able to fashion temporary tools with some specific purpose in mind, but never gives anything of her own power. That requires trust, and she trusts no one. Her power is what commands obedience from her human followers, and if she were to start giving it away after all these years, she would not give it to a young, inexperienced, aspiring Huntress like Miss Rose."

Qrow sighed, glanced at his flask, then finally plopped it down on his desk. "That's a relief, I guess. But that means we have no idea what these powers are."

Ozpin nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately not." He took another sip from his mug, then gently set it back down. "There are several possibilities. One is that, quite simply, this is simply another one of those forces in the world that can't be explained by Semblances or Dust. Ruby would not be the first Rose to have had such poorly-understood powers."

Qrow merely gave a quiet grunt in response.

Glinda pulled out her scroll, bringing up a data file. "She is also not the first person in recent times to have such... destructive abilities. She's the third, in fact, if you'll recall." She read through the words in the file as she spoke, scrolling through a news article and then a police report. "The details differ, but all have had powers that seem tied to destruction or negative emotions." She looked up from her scroll, over at Ozpin. "I believe this is new. And that it's spreading."

"Which leads me to the other possibilities." Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "I said that there were no new sources of magic, that the magic we have is all that we're going to get. Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps someone has rediscovered the lost arts, and is bringing magic into the world once more."

Glinda glanced to the side at him. "And decided to give it to a crime kingpin, a jaded old Huntsman, and young Miss Rose?"

Qrow snorted. "I was about to say. Maybe I'm just too drunk, but I don't see the pattern there."

Ozpin nodded. "Nor I. And I don't think we will, unless more individuals arise with these powers. As it stands, I can't think of any reason why someone would deliberately give powers to these three people specifically. We don't know enough about the histories of the first two to be able to find some kind of common event or place in which they might have stumbled upon these powers. And what we know of Miss Rose's case tells us very little." He put his hand to his chin, thinking for a moment. "...There is one more possibility."

"What's that?" Glinda asked.

For a while, Ozpin didn't answer, and Qrow started to wonder if this was yet another piece of information Ozpin was going to keep to himself. But finally, he said, "...This might just be the product of something from outside Remnant. Something completely foreign to this world. Meaning, then, that these powers have a context and source we are completely ignorant of." He sighed. "But that's just idle speculation, and that will do us no good here."

Qrow sighed. "So what can we do?"

"Unfortunately, very little. We simply do not know enough. Unless more instances of these powers occur, or we can better understand the cases we have, we have nothing to act on. I will contact the other headmasters and see whether or not they've encountered anything similar. In addition..." He drained his coffee mug, pushed his chair back, and stood up, adjusting his glasses. "Perhaps it is time I met Miss Rose for myself." He turned to Glinda. "Inform Signal's headmaster that I'll be traveling to Patch to see how our daughter academy is doing. Of course, I'll be arriving well in advance of the actual tour…"

Author's Notes:

Chapters like these make me think I've actually got the hang of writing different characters. More Qrow, plus Ozpin and Glynda enter the story. Here, we also start to see some differences from canon, as Ozpin meets Ruby a bit sooner. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised he hadn't met her sooner in canon, but that's neither here nor there. Now, enough of me stating the obvious!