"Come on, pipsqueak," Qrow said. "It's just up ahead."

Yang sighed, dragging Bumblebee along while trying to keep up with her uncle. He seemed more than happy with not telling her where they were going.

"You know I'm not a kid anymore, right?" She asked. "That nickname wore off a long time ago."

He looked back at her blankly. "What did you say, pipsqueak?"

Yang just groaned. She should know better than to complain. It only encouraged him to tease her even more.

"Okay, here we are." Qrow said, stopping suddenly.

Yang pulled Bumblebee a little more forward, then looked around confusedly. All she could see were trees and bushes, no different than the ones they had been passing by for the last ten minutes.

"Great. So," she said, glaring at him. "We're gonna climb to the top of the trees and Tarzan our way to Ruby?"

"As fun as that sounds, no. I have a much better plan," Qrow took a remote from his pocket and made a little flourish. "Behold."

He pressed a button, and a few meters in front of them, the air seemed to shimmer. Little points of little flickered in and out of existence, making the outline of something big. Yang took her eyes off the phenomena for a couple seconds, and when she looked back, she found a small aircraft parked in the middle of the clearing.

She blinked a few times, making sure she wasn't seeing things. Beside her, Qrow snorted and walked forward.

"My personal Quinjet," he said. "I call it… The Crow!"

"You have your own airplane," Yang shook her head. "And you named it after yourself. Why am I not surprised?"

"Excuse me, you named your motorcycle after a cartoon about robots in disguise!" Qrow exclaimed, sounding very offended.

"What?" Yang did a double take. "Robots in disguise?"

"You mean it's not a reference to…" Qrow paused. "Nevermind. Just get in."

He pressed another button, lowering a hangar at the back of the aircraft. He went inside, keeping up an air of indignance. Yang rolled her eyes and followed him.

Inside, she found herself in a room holding other vehicles, namely a car and two motorcycles. Her uncle was full of surprises today, it seemed. She parked Bumblebee next to the wall.

Qrow closed the hangar and signaled for her to follow him into the cockpit. There, they sat down, him taking the pilot's seat, obviously.

Yang looked around. She was having a really tough time believing where she was. "You have a… what did you call it again?"

"A Quinjet. It's a military-grade aircraft designed for quick transportation of small personnel and maximum security, including the cloaking device you just saw," Qrow frowned. "Or didn't see. Hmm."

"But how come you have this? And how come you know about Ruby?" Yang asked.

"We'll get to that after we're off the ground," Qrow decided, flipping a few switches. "If we want to find your sister, we need to do it fast. Time is of the essence. Like I already told you, her last known whereabouts is a small northern town. We'll start our investigation from there."

Yang nodded. She had a lot of questions, but none quite as important as where Ruby was, and if she was safe. Silent, she watched the ground grow further away as the aircraft took off. In the next minute, they were soaring through the sky, reaching above the clouds.

She could only hope they were going fast enough.

"So, are you going to speak to me now?"

Qrow sighed. He had enjoyed the quiet while it had lasted, but eventually even Yang's worry for her sister wasn't enough to keep her questions at bay. He supposed it was only fair – he had roped her along with almost no explanation, after all.

"Fine," he said, putting the Quinjet on auto-pilot. "Ask away, Yang."

"Okay!" Yang shifted in her seat, leaning towards him like a snake eyeing an unguarded bird's nest. "What's up with you and this plane? And Ruby? Do you work for Beacon?"

"Kinda."

Qrow reached under the control panel and retrieved a flask of whiskey. He shook it next to his ear, then smiled and took a swig. Once he was done, he offered it to Yang. She twisted her nose and waved it off.

"What do you mean kinda?" She asked.

"I don't work for Beacon. They might tell you I do, but I never have, and I never will," Qrow explained. "We work together. I'm an independent agent. They provide me with valuable information they can't share with anyone else, and I do with that whatever I see fit," he shrugged. "Our interests align ninety-five percent of the time, so they have nothing to worry about from me."

"Dad never told us what your job was. Ruby and I just lumped you into the superspy theory we had going on," Yang said. "You know, that's becoming truer every day. There is only one more person we need to confirm…"

She gave him a significant stare. Qrow took another swig of whiskey, looking at her impassively. Eventually, Yang looked away bitterly.

"Why did you come to me?" She asked. "I mean, I appreciate you telling me about Ruby, but you could have kept it a secret. Dad tried to," she threw her arms up. "You know what, I think he was right. I have no experience doing… whatever we're gonna be doing. I could screw up the whole investigation."

"Oh, I know that. What, you think I picked you up not knowing what to expect?" Qrow said. "I don't need an agent of Beacon, Yang. I need you. Maybe you should focus on that, instead of all the reasons you shouldn't be here."

"But why would you…" Yang stopped, an idea suddenly popping inside her head. "Wait, are you talking about my powers?"

"Bingo." Qrow winked at her and took another swig.

Yang sunk in her seat, not knowing how to feel. "But you're the one who told me I shouldn't use my powers."

Qrow sighed, putting his flask aside. He turned in his seat to look at her, the levity in his face giving way to seriousness. If before he was answering her questions just to get her off his back, now he was really invested in the conversation.

"Yang. You were barely ten when you found out you were different. Summer was gone, and your dad was left alone to care for you and your sister," he said. "Superpowers were the last thing the family needed. So you can understand why I told you to keep it a secret," Qrow hung back a little, gesturing to her. "But you're a grown-up now. You can't ignore that part of yourself anymore. That would be like refusing to acknowledge the color of your skin, or not using your legs to walk. When you're different like you and your sister are, you don't get to pretend you're normal. That's just gonna get you hurt in the end."

Yang nodded quietly. When Ruby had come to her telling her she had superpowers and that she wanted – no, that she needed to use them to help people, Yang had definitely been able to see where she came from. Ruby had always wanted to be a hero, and when the opportunity came up, that was it. From the moment her Semblance unlocked, there was no turning back. That was Ruby.

But it wasn't quite so easy for Yang. She wished she could be just as driven as Ruby, but that simply wasn't true. Yang didn't want to be a superhero. She didn't want to run around the world saving people's lives and beating up bad guys. Not that she wouldn't enjoy it, but that just wasn't her.

But, like Qrow said, she couldn't ignore what she was. But then what was she supposed to do with herself?

"Sorry to drop all that on you, kid."

Yang looked at her uncle again. He had picked his flask back up, but had yet to drink from it again.

"I wish I could make the future look all sunshine and rainbows for you, but I can't. I've known too many people like you to say that," he corked the flask and threw away unceremoniously. "Anyway! We should be getting there soon. Want anything to eat before we land?"

"No, thanks. I'm good." Yang replied quietly. Something about Qrow's demeanor seemed off. He had always been taciturn around her, but there was something else to him now, and she doubted it was just the drinking.

Yang turned her gaze away. This seemed like it would be a long mission. Whatever was up with her uncle, she was sure she would find out eventually. Whether she wanted to… well, that was another question altogether.

They landed on the outskirts of the town. There was little to be seen. The whole region seemed to be plains upon plains for kilometers in all directions, the only landmark being a mountain far, far away in the North. It would take days to get there on foot, Yang imagined.

"Are we going into town?" Yang asked as Qrow exited the Quinjet, closing the hangar behind him.

"Maybe later," he answered. "We're going to the construction site first, get our bearings from our Beacon contact there, and then we'll see where we go from there."

"Sounds fun!" She exclaimed. "Do I get a badge? You know, so I can get there and be like, Yang Xiao Long, agent of Beacon! I have some questions to ask you!"

Qrow snorted. "Beacon doesn't have badges. And if they did, you wouldn't get one."

"Wow, so I don't even get a chance?" Yang crossed her arms. "Fine. I didn't wanna work with Beacon anyway."

Qrow gave her a light shove, getting her going away from the city. They walked north for a few minutes until they arrived at the construction site, which was by the side of the road. It was cut off by yellow tape, which Qrow promptly disrespected by ducking under. Yang shrugged and followed his example. If they got in trouble, she could just point at him.

The place looked deserted. Whatever the builders were working on seemed to have been postponed close to its inception. There were a couple piles of gravel outside the edge of site, next to the construction vehicles, currently inactive.

There was a woman standing in the middle of the site, checking off a list of items on a clipboard. When she noticed them coming, she clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes. Yang tilted her head. The woman looked familiar, but from where…?

"Glynda Goodwitch!" Qrow shouted, spreading his arms widely. "My favorite agent!"

"Branwen. It is good to see you too," the agent replied, her tone contradicting her words. She looked at Yang curiously. "Miss Xiao Long. What a surprise to see you here."

"Uh, hi," Yang waved awkwardly. "Do we know each other…?"

"We met briefly, at your house, in fact," Glynda explained. "I was investigating some strange energy phenomenon in your hometown, which turned out to be your sister's doing."

"Oh, right! Melinda the hot librarian!" Yang blinked. "Uh, I mean… Forget that last part."

Glynda stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. "That was a cover. One your father was delighted to poke fun at. But that is of no importance," she looked at Qrow. "I assume you've decided to recruit her in spite of her having zero training and experience?"

"Oh, no, that would be terrible!" Qrow gasped, turning to pat Yang in the head. "We're out for ice cream!"

Yang slapped his hand away. "Yeah, I'm with him for the mission," she stood up straighter, assuming a more serious expression. "So, what do you know about my sister's disappearance?"

Glynda turned her eyes back to her clipboard and checked off another item distractedly. After a while, she looked at the pair again, seemingly deciding she was okay with Yang being involved – or maybe she knew it wasn't worth to argue with either of them.

"Agent Rose has been on a Grimm-routing assignment for the last month. That means she was covering a lot of ground, going from surge to surge before the Grimm could wander off and cause havoc. It's routine Beacon work," Glynda sighed. "That was the problem. Agent Rose got lax. She started to dismiss my supervising her as, and I quote, 'really distracting and, sorry, kinda annoying even?'."

"Yeah, Ruby doesn't like being coddled." Yang said.

"I was not coddling her, Miss Xiao Long," Glynda glared at her. Yang edged closer to her uncle, prepared to throw him at her and run for safety. "There is a reason every field agent gets a supervisor when it comes to combating Grimm. Anyone, from the most experienced of agents to the so-called superheroes, can be caught off-guard. That is the whole reason we are here, is it not?"

Yang didn't reply. She had been worried before, but now she was beginning to realize the true scope of the situation. Ruby could run faster than a sports car and survive a bullet to the head. She had practically saved Patch from being overrun by extradimensional monsters all by herself. And somehow, she had gone missing.

"Alright, I think we all get the importance of listening to our supervisors and all that crap now," Qrow said. "Can you get to the point?"

Glynda breathed in exasperatedly. "Yes. I will get to the point," she turned and took a few steps, then pointed at the sky. "Seven days and four hours ago, a Grimm surge occurred in this exact spot. Agent Rose was on her way to terminating it when she cut off communications," Glynda turned again. "I did not hear from her again after that, but the energy signatures of the Grimm did vanish during the period it should have taken her to kill them. That points to her having finished the job. But…"

She took out something from her pocket, a metallic object in the format of a cube. It was only once she pressed a button and it unfolded into a scythe that Yang recognized it. She handed it to Qrow, who spun it around once with a perplexed expression on his face.

"The workers arrived in the morning and found her weapon lying on the ground, as well as her phone," Glynda said. "Unfortunately, they touched both, so they have little merit as evidence of what might have happened then. Unless you think one of the workers snuck up on her."

"Seems as likely as her being taken out by a rat," Qrow folded the weapon and scratched his chin. "Where was she staying?"

"Like I said, Rose was moving constantly. It's been a hectic summer in northern Vale, and she's not the only agent working Grimm lately," Glynda said. "She stayed one night at a local inn, and she was supposed to stay another to rest. According to the owner, she never showed up there again."

"We're gonna question the owner too, if you don't mind, just to get our own approach, ya know?" Qrow leaned in to whisper in Yang's ear. "She totally minds."

"I don't mind," Glynda said steely. "Why would I mind? Nevermind my being sub-director of Beacon. I'm not infallible. Especially when it comes to interviewing roadside inn owners," her left eye twitched. "Go ahead."

"Just common courtesy," Qrow lifted his hands amicably. "So, to round it all up: Ruby cuts off communications, the Grimm are seemingly dealt with anyway, but her weapon and phone are left behind and she doesn't show up where she was supposed to later," he looked at Yang. "Seems like we've got our work cut out for us, eh?"

"Oh, yes. Surely you will solve it in no time, agent Branwen," Glynda rolled her eyes. "Nevermind that Beacon has been working the case for a week already. With you taking over, agent Rose will be found in no time."

"…Always good seeing you, Glynda!" Qrow turned and marched away. "Niece! Chop chop!"

Yang looked at Glynda apologetically, then made to follow him. But before she could get very far, Glynda caught up to her and grabbed her by the wrist.

"Miss Xiao Long. Despite the hostility I might have shown your uncle right now, I do hope you and him find Ruby soon. Your sister is an extraordinary young woman," she smiled. "But do be careful. It's a dangerous world out there."

"Thank you, ma'am," Yang bowed her head. "I'll do everything in my power to get Ruby back. That's a promise."

"I'll hold you to that. Good luck."

"And how long did she stay here, ma'am?"

"Well, she arrived late last Wednesday, and she slept through the whole night. As far as I know, of course, I don't snoop on my clients…"

"Hmm. Did you talk about anything not related to her stay?"

"Well, she was very, how do I put it… Very talkative. She kept going on about…"

Yang tuned the woman's voice and walked away from her and Qrow, going into the room properly. Supposedly, it had been vacant since Ruby had been there. Yang supposed that was to be expected. The town seemed very out of the way, so it probably didn't get many visitors needing a place to stay.

The bed was made. Yang sat down and ran a hand through it, her thoughts straying from the interrogation and the mission at hand. Ruby had slept right where she was, and now she was gone. No trace left behind.

Back home, Ruby's room was always a mess. Clothes thrown about haphazardly, old school material as well, and of course, the myriad of things she was always tinkering with. She had slowed down with that somewhat since her discovery of her powers, her last invention being Crescent Rose, now in Qrow's possession.

This room was dull. It spoke nothing of Ruby.

"…I did warn her not to go out at night. Our town's quiet and safe, but you never know," the inn owner said exasperatedly. "But I do hope you find her anyway. The girl just wanted to take a walk, and that's not a sin…"

"Yes, ma'am. You can be sure I'll give her a harsh talking to when we find her," Qrow said. "Thank you for your time. We'll be here just a little while more, then we'll leave you alone, okay?"

"Sure. I'll be at the entrance if you need me."

The lady walked off, disappearing down the hallway. Qrow leaned on the doorway, his arms crossed as he looked at Yang.

"Hey, kid. Don't give up yet," he said. "We're far from being finished."

"I know, but…" Yang looked away. "We knew she wasn't going to have anything useful to say. Beacon's already done all the asking. There's nothing for us to go on."

"Well, obviously there isn't, or else we wouldn't be here," Qrow pointed out. "If this was only a matter of following the clues, Beacon would have found Ruby already. But she's not going to fall out of the sky and onto our laps. This is gonna be tricky, and that's why I'm on the job."

"Alright. Sorry. I'm just worried, that's all," Yang got up from the bed, breathing out calmly. "So, if we have no clues, what's the next step?"

"We look at the less obvious places."

He turned and walked away. Yang hung around for a moment, astounded that he would leave her just like that. She shook her head and went after him.

She caught up to him outside the inn. "Can you please not be so dramatic, like, ever again?" She asked. "Where are we going?"

"We're backtracking her steps," Qrow said. "Prepare yourself, kid. This might take a while."

"A while?" Yang repeated. "How long is a while?"

Qrow stopped to look back at her, his lips parting in a bitter smile. "Long enough that you should get used to leaving disappointed."

He resumed walking, headed in the direction the Quinjet was parked. Yang watched him leave in silence. Why did he have to be so harsh? Why couldn't he just lie to her, like her father did?

She clenched her fists. It didn't matter what he had to say. Yang had made a promise to Ruby, long ago. No matter what she had to do, no matter how long it took, she was going to keep it.

Ruby was out there, and Yang was going to find her.

Dead... or alive! Ruby totally died offscreen. Whoops. What a spoiler!

Question: Quinjets being a thing in this universe, do you guys find it weird? I was thinking of giving them a different name, seeing as they're straight-up Marvel property, but I couldn't really come up with anything decent.

Thanks for the support right out of the gate, guys! One of the things that worried me about doing this whole RSU thing was the possibility that people would just scamper off after Red Huntress. The numbers haven't been as high with Blake or Yang (yet), but I've recognized that there's a steady number of people sticking through the whole ride. Thank you so, so much for that! You make writing this overly-ambitious story worth it!

-Zeroan