Nora fidgeted for what felt like the thousandth time as she stalked in the waiting room of the hospital. The fact that Weiss was staring daggers at the energetic warrior only added to Nora's discontent. She felt helpless; Yang was lying broken in a hospital bed, and Nora could do nothing to help.

If she were honest, Nora was terrified by Yang's condition. She wasn't scared for her friend's life; she knew Yang was going to be fine eventually. What scared Nora was that it had been Yang. Yang was one of a select few that Nora considered her equal in strength and skill; to see her in such a state was jarring.

This mission she found herself on had been the only thing that had ever gotten Nora to focus on a single goal. Pyrrha's death had sobered her. At first she had blamed herself for letting Pyrrha go off without her. If she had been with her friend, they could have fought and won together. Eventually, she realized the futility in self blame and what ifs. Instead, she had promised that the time that Pyrrha's death had bought would not be wasted. With this determination came a renewed sense of strength. Nora had never failed at something she had put her mind too, and she wouldn't start now. At least that was what she had though. For the first time since she had began this journey, Nora realized that some of them may not come back.

"I - I've gotta go outside!" Nora practically shouted as she darted for the front entrance. As Nora attempted to lodge the door in a brick wall, a flash of green told her that Ren was following. Nora stalked out into the heat of the city, not entirely sure where she was going. Eventually Ren appeared at her side, barely seeming to breathe as he waited for Nora to speak. Nora was in no rush, silence was what had drawn her to Ren when they first met. Something about his presence calmed her down and ordered her thoughts. When she finally spoke, it wasn't in her normal hyperactive tone.

"Ren, what are we doing?" Nora stared expectantly at Ren for an answer, seemingly to no avail, " I mean, did you see Yang?! It was just dumb luck that she didn't… didn't," Ren's hand fell gently on her shoulder.

"Like Pyrrha?"

Nora's eyes welled with tears at the name, her words dying in her throat. Her fists balled and relaxed as she struggled to reform her thoughts.

"I thought this time would be different," She choked.

"Well that's foolish," Ren replied bluntly. It was harsh, but years of experience had proven it the most effective way to talk to Nora. As Nora stared up in shock at him, Ren continued, " Nora, we've only ever fought Grimm. Even the strongest ones we've seen take little more than coordinated effort to take down," Ren began to walk quickly, the energy that his voice lacked transferring to his steps, " The fact is Nora, we've never been outmatched. At least not until recently. There are real risks now."

"That's what I'm saying! What if -" Ren quickly cut Nora off.

"But that doesn't change anything."

"What do you mean?!" Nora asked, frustrated.

"We're still hunters. Look around," Ren gestured around them. People strolled about the city calmly calmly going about their day, " These people depend on us. They can't fight Grimm, much less the people we're dealing with now. We're still their only line of defense. There are only a handful of people in the world capable of affecting what's coming, including us. We don't get the luxury of waiting to see if Qrow or Ozpin or someone else with more experience can solve this. The fact is Nora, some of us could very well end up dead. But if we lose our nerve, if we wait on the sidelines because we're afraid, then everyone else dies too," Ren paused and looked down at Nora's tear stained face, " But I won't let it happen to you, and I know you won't let it happen to me. And neither will the rest of our team. It's when we're scared and unsure that we're weakest, and that's when we can fail."

"Wow," Nora said thoughtfully before bursting into a fit of giggles, " I don't think I've ever heard you talk that much."

"Hmm."

The pair eventually made their way down to the site of Yang's battle. Police tape lined the area, only a few of the usual atlesian droids sprinkled amongst the milling officers.

"What are we doing here, Ren?" Nora asked, slight trepidation in her voice. She did not relish the chance of encountering this Raven character.

"We need information, this is our best option."

Without another word, the silent ninja seemed to vanish in the shadows. Nora considered following, but she knew she wasn't build for stealth. If the entire building needed to come down then sure, but she was not one for subtlety. Trying her best to remain nonchalant as policemen shot her side eyed glances. Sweat began to bead on her forehead as two of the men took notice and began to walk to her. Just as the two officers began to close the distance, Ren materialized in front of her.

"Let's go," he said hurriedly.

The officers began to jog, but they were already too late. With a powerful explosion, the two disappeared in a puff of pink smoke. By the time any police inquiry could be made to their identities, the team would be long gone.

Qrow took a swig from his flask, to the palpable distaste from the hospital staff. The veteran hunter couldn't care less, the entirety of his focus was on his lost twin. He had lost the one lead he had, and all he had to show for it was a half dead niece. Taiyang was going to be livid. Once again, Qrow had failed. The hunter's self pitying thoughts were interrupted as a young man dressed in green seemed to materialize in front of him.

"What is it, Ren?"

The boy didn't speak, instead simply offering up a slim manilla folder. Qrow eyed it briefly before snatching it from the young hunter, who nodded politely before walking off. Qrow opened the folder slowly and began to scan its contents. His eyes began to widen as he continued, their movement escalating to a fevered pitch. In one abrupt motion, Qrow stood and began to stride purposefully towards Yang's room. He had a plan.

Author's note: Hi everyone, sorry for the long wait. A lot of stuff has happened. A couple good things first. I had a 3d printed Penny arm made that you can see here, /SMQuIC6. Love this thing. I also had a scene from last chapter commissioned here: /a/WGEsO .

Speaking of last chapter, a slight correction needs to be made. The sword Raven used was meant to shatter after killing Summer, but for some reason I wrote it wrong. That has now been corrected.

Lastly, my absence. It has been months since I've written for this story, and this chapter is really just me trying to get back into form. I don't know how often I will be writing for this. I hope that Volume 4 will be able to reinspire me. As it sits, It is just really difficult for me to keep writing this. I have known the end of this story basically since it's conception, and it is tough to keep intrest up in that. I still hope to finish it, but I do not know how often I will write for this story.