Yang truly did not know how to feel. She had followed her uncle expecting a fight against Grimm, her first ever – except for that one Beowolf she had faced back home. She had been a little nervous, but also oddly excited. But now…

Now things were just weird.

"They're kidnapping Grimm?" she whispered, turning to look at her uncle. "Is this a common thing?"

"Nope. Also, I wouldn't use the term kidnapping. Those are Grimm, not people," Qrow said, his voice full of disdain. Whether that was towards the Grimm or the snatchers, Yang couldn't tell. "I can't fathom why anyone would herd Grimm like that. Those are crazy people, Yang."

Yang looked back at the clearing. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

She cracked her knuckles. Qrow tilted his head a little, as if considering if that was a good way of approaching the situation. It didn't take long for him to give his answer, in the form of a shrug and a nod.

Yang stepped out of the woods and into the clearing, pointing a finger towards the trucks. "Hey! Animal Cruelty Police!" she yelled. "You're in big trouble, fellas!"

The snatchers standing near the trucks gasped, their hands flying to their hips. Others appeared, appearing from the woods or the other side of the trucks. Suddenly, Yang had a dozen high-caliber firearms pointed at her. She didn't give that much mind. What did worry her was how all the Grimm not yet in their cages turned their heads to glare at her in perfect unity, as if some hidden force was conducting them like puppets. Their forms shifted as they braced themselves to leap, darkness flowing off of them, and their red eyes glowed maliciously.

"What the hell is this?" one of the snatchers stepped forward. "How did this girl get here?"

"You really ought to see about your security," Yang said. "So, what are you guys up to? You building a Grimm circus or something? If so, I am totally in."

"Shut up!" he shouted, then looked over his shoulder at his friends. "Who's the idiot that let her get close enough to see?"

"I don't know, boss," one of them said. "…Not me. Definitely."

"I think we got your guy," Yang said. "I'm guessing you're not gonna answer my questions. Also, I'm guessing you're not gonna let me walk away after seeing what's going on here," she grinned. "Let's cut the crap and get to it, then."

"Idiot girl," the boss growled. "Kill her!"

Ruby had described vividly how tanking a bullet felt. The first time, she was hit right in the head almost at point blank. It had hurt so much she had almost fainted, and it took a long time for the dizziness to pass.

Yang couldn't identify with that. She barely felt the impact of the bullets on her body. It was more bothersome than painful, like someone was poking her very furiously over and over again. Even so, she had the presence of mind to raise her arms in front of her face to protect her eyes and mouth. As durable as she was, she imagined a hit to those would still hurt like hell.

Inside, she felt an exhilarating feeling growing, a huge power waiting to be let loose.

Eventually, the rain of bullets stopped. She lowered her arms and saw the ground was littered with spent rounds. The bad guys were looking at her in shock. Even their boss couldn't hide his emotions well. His rifle was shaking in his hands, and he started to slowly back away.

"Now, now. Where are you going?" Yang raised her hands, feigning indignation. "I haven't had my turn yet."

"Forget the girl!" the boss yelled. "Retreat! Leave the rest of the Black Ones behind!"

"Hey! Rude!" Yang exclaimed. "Also, Black Ones?"

One of the snatchers began to run back, but a bullet got between him and the front of the truck, just missing his head. Qrow stepped into the clearing from the right, pointing a pistol.

"She's right, you know," he said. "You're all very rude."

The boss turned to aim at him and pulled the trigger. Qrow ran to the side, avoiding the bullets, and disappeared behind cover again. The snatchers ran to the front of the trucks and started to get in.

Hearing the motors kick in, Yang started to run towards the trucks. Before she could get close, the Grimm, which had been lying in wait until then, finally sprung to action, quite literally. Seven wolf-shaped shadows came leaping at Yang, who could do nothing but turn back and run out of range of their claws.

Spinning around, she was immediately met with another claw swing by one of the beasts. Holding her breath, Yang got her head out of the way just in time, then punched the Grimm right in the chest. It reeled back, howling in pain.

Yang blinked, surprised that her attack hadn't killed the Grimm outright. Back in Vale, all it had taken to kill the Beowolf was one punch. What was different now?

The wolf ran at her again, and this time she was too slow to dodge. Its strike caught her neatly in the cheek, knocking her back. Real impact. Real pain, even if still small.

The power inside her doubled.

Letting out a wordless shout, Yang dashed forward and punched the Grimm in the chest again. The weight of the blow rang through her body. She felt flesh turn to smoke under her fist. Then the Grimm was gone.

Six left.

The Beowolves attacked together again, clawing and biting, leaving little room to dodge. Forgoing her kickboxing training, Yang decided to tank the claws, rolling with the blows as they came, and dished out two punches to end the Grimm using their teeth.

Four.

She grabbed one of the Grimm by the hair of its chest and lifted it above her, then slammed it down on another's head. With both of them on the ground, Yang raised her leg, then stomped with all her force.

Two.

A blow to her back knocked her forward and nearly off her feet. Yang stumbled for a while, then adjusted her balance and spun on one leg while delivering a powerful skin with the other.

One.

The last Beowolf stopped where it stood, hunched menacingly, and roared. Yang flinched in reflex, then straightened one arm out, punching it right in the face.

And then there were none.

Yang breathed out in relief, then looked around. Through the dissipating Grimm-smoke, she saw the two trucks start moving, leaving the clearing through the beaten trail she had seen before.

On top of one of them, she saw something astounding… but predictable.

Qrow buried the blade of his knife on the roof of the truck and held on tight. The measure paid off immediately as they exited the woods and took a steep turn to get into the main road. He didn't fall, and once the truck stabilized, he took back his knife and stood up halfway, then started moving towards the front.

He needed to act fast, as the other truck was following right behind and there was a chance he would be spotted. That would put him a very precarious position, mildly speaking. The fact that it was night and his attire was mostly black helped, but he knew better than to count on that.

Just as he reached the front, yelling broke out from the other truck. Qrow looked over his shoulder, sure that he had been spotted, but soon realized that wasn't the case at all. Yang was climbing onto the truck, bending the metal under her fingers. Just from looking, he could tell she was overflowing with power. Good. She would make a nice distraction.

He inched towards the edge of the roof, then stuck out the upper half of his body, hanging upside-down right at the right window of the truck. Before the man closest to him could react, he yanked the gun from his hands and tossed it away, then swung inside.

His movement knocked the man out of his seat and slammed him into the windshield. Qrow grabbed the next criminal by the head and tossed her to the back row, stopping the others there from attacking him.

The driver looked at him in bewilderment, but didn't let go of the wheel.

"Is there any chance you could just step on the brake and save all of us a lot of trouble?" Qrow asked.

"Get off!" The driver spun the wheel, turning the truck abruptly. Everyone inside slammed into the right wall, save for him. Qrow saw the other truck still following, with Yang tearing a hole above the driver's seat with her bare hands.

"Alright, you've forced my hand," Qrow said, taking out his pistol and pointing it at the driver's head. "Stop this vehicle, or you get a nice piece of lead in your skull."

The driver looked at him, then at the road ahead, then turned the wheel again and let go. The truck went spinning and spinning. The driver lunged at him. Qrow took his shot.

For a split second, the world became black and white, and he instantly regretted his decision.

The bullet missed the driver entirely, instead going out the window and onto the sideview mirror, from where it bounced off. It hit one of the other truck's tires and pierced right through. The vehicle veered to the side, then toppled onto the ground… and disappeared in a colossal ball of gas and fire.

"Yang!" Qrow screamed, but his voice was overtaken by the explosion as it reached his truck.

Pain. Brightness. Confusion, helplessness. Out of breath. Power.

Yang stumbled out of the flames, gasping for air. She fell to her knees and coughed uncontrollably. She couldn't have been in there for more than a minute, but she felt as if her lungs were filled with smoke.

She looked up. The other truck lay on its side, having somehow avoided the first's fate. The back of it was blown open, however, and several cages were scattered on the road. Most of the Grimm had died because of the explosion, but the ones that hadn't… Those were very angry. Angry enough to burst out of their confinement and rush towards the first sign of life they detected.

Yang stood up and raised her arm, blocking a blow from a huge Ursa. Her knees buckled and she was driven back down. The Ursa stepped back and swung a claw, connecting with her face. Two gashes opened on her left cheek.

Out of Aura. One clean blow, regardless of her superpowers, and she was done. But the damage that she had sustained to reach that point…

Yang yelled, and the world heated up around her, but different from when she was immersed in the flames, it didn't hurt. It felt right. She dashed forward, leaving a flaming trail behind her, and swung a fist. The punch connected with the Ursa's chest, staggering it, and then a maelstrom of fire released from the point of impact, engulfing the beast and turning it to ash.

Yang yelled again, then looked around. Two Beowolves had escaped their cages, but after witnessing what she had just done, they were terrified of approaching her. A moment passed as they stared at her and she stared at them. Suddenly, they bolted in different directions. Acting on instinct, Yang swung a punch, shooting a burst of fire from her hand. It reached one of the Beowolves and killed it instantly. Yang turned to the remaining one and repeated the attack, vanquishing it too.

Not letting her guard down, Yang looked around. There were no Grimm left. If any more had escaped their cages, they were too far already for her to catch them. Aside from that, she couldn't see any survivors from the crash, or…

Suddenly, a man stumbled out of the truck and started running away in desperation. Yang started towards him, but stopped when she saw someone else appear. Her heart almost burst when she saw Qrow catch up to the criminal and touch his gun to the back of his skull.

"Listen here. I am all out of patience," Qrow said. The tone of his voice was so dark, for a moment Yang thought she had mistaken him for someone else. But no, that was her uncle speaking. "You are going to tell me everything about what you were doing here. I want to know every excruciating detail about your operation and your people. Lie to me, and you're going to wish you died together with your folks on that truck."

"O-or what?" the man stuttered. "You're going to kill me?"

"Oh. Oh," Qrow leaned forward, speaking at his ear. "Wouldn't that be a relief."

The man froze. Then suddenly, he turned and ran, not away from Qrow, but towards Yang. She braced herself, careful since her Aura was still depleted, but the snatcher ran past her… and leapt into the fire.

"BLACK ONES AVENGE ME!"

Yang jumped away from the fire, unable to tear her eyes away from the silhouette of the man. He stood for a full minute, throwing his body around, before fading in the red and orange.

"…Damn."

Qrow limped to her side, holding his right arm like it was injured. He stared at the fire for a while, then bowed his head.

"Come on, Yang. There's nothing left for us to do here," he said somberly. "Let's go."

The walk back to the Quinjet was silent. After almost dying because of an exploding truck and discovering she could shoot fire out of her hands, Yang was too shaken to say anything. And if that wasn't enough, her body was actually hurting, and she couldn't remember the last time that had happened. It wasn't bad enough that she couldn't function well, but suddenly feeling those sensations again was disorientating.

Qrow didn't speak a word either. He looked even worse than before, when the Quinjet had 'malfunctioned', and Yang knew it wasn't because he was in pain. Something was haunting him, weighting him down, and she feared at any moment he would stop and break.

They reached the Crow and went inside. Qrow sat down on the pilot's seat and was still for a moment, his eyes glazed, before leaning forward to use the Quinjet's systems. Yang leaned her body against a wall, forcing herself to relax. Slowly, her breathing evened, and she began to feel the immense reservoir of power she had gathered ebbing out of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Contacting Beacon," Qrow answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "We don't want people coming across the mess we left on the road. They'll take care of it."

"Did all those men really… die?"

"Yeah, except that one guy, but he didn't last long either." Qrow shook his head.

"Wow," it didn't do justice to what she was feeling, but that was all Yang could think to say. Sure, those men certainly weren't good people, evident by how they had tried to kill both her and Qrow, but even so, she didn't think they deserved to die. "I guess you were lucky to make it out alive too."

"Yeah, I'm real lucky," Qrow spat out, tapping a few last commands on the control panel before hanging back on his seat.

Yang went to her chair and sat down on its arm, facing Qrow. She couldn't bear to think of what had happened anymore, but she couldn't take her mind off it. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her heartbeat rising to her throat.

She had come so close… If she had died, how would her dad have taken the news? He had already lost Summer, and whatever had happened between him and her mother had also hurt him a lot. He didn't even know that she had superpowers. And Ruby…

Ruby. Right. There was no use in worrying about what could have been. If her mind was stuck on the crash, then she could at least use that productively. Qrow and her had come here to investigate, after all, and that was how they came across the men with the Grimm.

"Uncle, how likely is it that those guys would show up to take some Grimm, right where Ruby would have been?" she said, looking up. An idea was starting to form inside her head, a vague one, but an idea nonetheless. "Right after she disappeared… when dealing with another Grimm surge."

Qrow's countenance didn't lighten, but he did look at her with renewed attention. "It could be a coincidence," he said. "…But it's not. It can't be. That wasn't those guys' first time doing whatever they were doing."

"Ruby could have come across them too," Yang theorized, getting louder. It was terrible, but she couldn't help but get excited. They were finally getting somewhere! "Maybe she tried to stop them, and they took her."

"That could be it. They must have more people, that's certain. And wherever they take the Grimm must be close, if they're transporting them by truck," Qrow said. "They had a lot of firepower, and that doesn't come out of nowhere. Someone supplied them. And somehow, they can control Grimm, or make them docile…"

Yang got up and paced around, racking her brain for answers. A lot of firepower. Somewhere close…

"Mountain Glenn! People are disappearing all around it," she said. "Junior! He didn't want anyone talking about it. He has to know more… maybe he's one of them!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Qrow said, raising an open hand. "I'll investigate in the morning. Right after I get you home, or wherever you wanna be dropped off."

Yang stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him, sure that she had heard him wrong. But she hadn't. He was avoiding her eyes. He didn't regret saying that, but he didn't want to deal with the consequences.

"What?" Yang spoke. "You don't mean…?"

"Yeah, I do," Qrow sighed. "Listen, Yang. I'm sorry. I just… I can't have you helping with the investigation, not anymore," he paused. "It was a mistake from the very beginning."

"Excuse me?" now Yang was getting angry. "You were the one who got me into this mess in the first place. I could be on vacation right now, blissfully ignorant that my sister is missing because of some stupid cult or something, but I'm here with you!"

"I said it was a mistake, and that I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It's too dangerous for you."

"I'm practically invulnerable!" Yang retorted.

"And you almost died today!" Qrow shouted and stood up, pointing a finger at her nose. "I don't care what you have to say, I'm your uncle and what I say goes! Now sit down and be quiet!"

Yang's jaw dropped in shock. Qrow had never, never spoken to her like that. He wasn't supposed to. Even when her father was mad at her, Qrow always took her side. That was how things worked between them. And now he was going against that? It was just… infuriating.

"No!" she slapped his hand away. "You don't get to act like you're my father! You don't get to act like you're… like you're responsible for me! Okay? You don't get to," her voice took a nosedive. "You weren't there before. You can't start when it suits you."

Qrow didn't reply. He turned and sat back down, gaze fixed ahead of him. Not a word left his mouth.

Yang clucked her tongue. "That's what I thought," she walked past him to open the hangar using the Quinjet's system, then turned away. "I'll be back later. If you abandon me, at least leave Bumblebee behind."

Again, Qrow didn't even look at her. Yang walked out of the Quinjet, fists clenched.

God, she was mad. She was so mad, she had forgotten all about how she had almost died just an hour earlier. All she could think about was how stupid Qrow was, and…

"Junior!"

She kicked open the door of the bar, nearly knocking it off its hinges, and strut in. The noise was just loud enough to rise above the music and the voices inside. People stopped partying to look at her, and some – the ones who had been there earlier to witness her first visit – scurried away, disappearing in the crowd in search of an alternative exit.

"Are you a crazy?!" A bouncer came at her, holding a baton still attached to his belt. "Leave now, before-"

She grabbed him by the arm and threw him against a wall, knocking him out cold. "Junior!" she called again. The music stopped. "Come out now, or I'm gonna start smashing stuff – and that includes your little thugs!"

The party lights went off, and the crowd started to run – most towards her, others in any other direction. Yang jumped aside, letting people leave through the front door. As the space inside the bar cleared more and more, she was able to see the other bouncers spring into action, taking out guns and pointing them at her.

Junior came into the main area from a door behind the counter, his face flushed and eyes bulging out of their sockets. His march grinded to a halt when he saw her, and he slammed his hands on the counter. "You – are you crazy?!"

"One of your guys already asked that," Yang pointed at the unconscious bouncer with her thumb. "That was my answer."

"You… you are absolutely insane!" he yelled. "Do you have a death wish?"

"No, but I have some questions to ask," Yang said. "And seeing as how you didn't answer any last time, I already know how this is gonna go," she looked at the bouncers and raised her arms, then opened and closed her hands tauntingly. "Bring it on."

Junior didn't have to give them the go ahead, they shot of their volition. Yang ran to the right. Four bullets pelted her on her arm and back, the rest hit the wall. She had recovered some of her Aura, but not all. Truthfully, she didn't know if even a tenth of it was back. With that in mind, she had to take a different approach to the fight and try her hardest not to get hit.

The bouncers kept shooting and she kept running, but after a while, they seemed to notice she had been hit and stopped, stunned that she hadn't fallen yet. Yang took advantage of the moment and picked up a table, then tossed it at the nearest bouncer, then sprinted to him and punched him in the nose while he was still recovering. She turned to face the others, eyes blazing.

"I'm out," one of the bouncers dropped his gun and ran out the front door. Three more followed, then six more, until just one remained. A few seconds passed, and that one went too. "Was nice working for you, boss!"

Junior poked his head from under the counter. "Cowards! All of you!" He disappeared back down. "Take care of her already, you two!"

Yang tilted her head in confusion. Had she scared him so much Junior had gone mad? Or maybe he was trying to trick her? Either way, she wouldn't have any of it.

She took a step towards the counter, but a hand wrapped around her arm. Suddenly she was pulled back, then met with a vicious kick to the stomach. Yang dropped to her knees in pain. Yep, there wasn't much Aura left anymore.

She looked up and for a moment thought the pain was having a weird effect on her, because she was seeing the same girl twice, except one version was dressed in red, and the other was in white. Both had the same exasperated expression on their faces.

"Oh my gosh, why did he have to call us?" The white one spoke, dragging out the end of the sentence. Her voice was so shrill, Yang's ears hurt. "I don't understand, Miltia, what's the big deal with her?"

"Yaas, what's the big deal?" The red one echoed with the same annoying pattern and voice. "She took a few bullets then went down with one kick. Honestly, Melanie, it doesn't even make sense."

"Let's just kick her some more!"

Yang jumped up and shouted, swinging a fist at Miltia, but she slid to the side neatly. Melanie closed in and kicked Yang in the side, taking the breath out of her. Not giving her a second, Miltia kicked her too, shoving her away.

"She's too easy! What a bore!"

"Yaas! We better get a raise for this."

Simmering with rage, Yang corrected her balance and raised her fists. If these two harpies were going to play hard to catch, then she was going to make use of her recent discovery and get them from afar. Yes, it was a little brutal, but they were really getting on her nerves.

Giving a powerful shout, Yang thrust out an arm. Nothing happened. No fire came out. She just looked like a fool.

"Oh my gosh, what a weirdo! Is she drunk?"

"Nah, she's just crazy. Or maybe we hit her too hard!"

"Her mother dropped her on her head when she was a baby!"

Forgetting about strategy, Yang jumped at them, screaming at the top of her lungs. It was so sudden and so loud, the twins stayed frozen in place, so shocked they were. Yang hit Miltia on the side of her head with her arm, shoving her aside, then drove her foot down on Melanie's knee as she landed. The red sister tumbled to the floor, holding her leg and whimpering.

Miltia recovered and started walking back to her. "Oh my gosh, you are such a bit-" Yang grabbed her by the arm, spun her around, jumped, and connected her foot with the girl's face. Miltia went down with a broken nose and probably a few other broken somethings.

Yang stood in place for a few seconds, winding down, before marching to the counter. "Okay, Junior. Show's over. You can come out now, or I can grab you. Your choice."

She heard shuffling, then suddenly, Junior stood from behind the counter, except he was not scared at all. In his hands was a baseball bat made of metal, which Yang only recognized when it was already mid-swing.

The bar became a blur as Yang seemingly rocketed to the side. Her head rang unbearably. Something wet dripped over her left ear, her hair becoming sticky around that area. She caught hold of a stool, but it toppled with her to the ground.

She rolled over and saw Junior standing over her, holding his baseball bat at waist-level. "Hah. Thought you had me?" he said, breathing hard. "You don't know me. You don't know what I'm capable of," he started to raise the bat. "But you're gonna find out right-"

He was interrupted by a muffled, cheerful song beat. His face went red and his cheeks puffed up. Yang couldn't believe it.

Her phone was ringing in her pocket.

Yang kicked Junior in the ankle, and he fell. He reached for his bat, but it rolled away, out of reach. Yang slammed her fists on the floor, and fire came out of them, propelling her to her feet. Not thinking, she kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

She stared at him. "Uh, guess those questions are gonna have to wait. Oops."

She grabbed a stool and sat down. Her phone was still ringing. Groaning, she struggled to get it out of her pocket. It was probably her father calling to check in on her, or Qrow trying a half-baked apology.

As it turned out, it was an unknown number. Yang hesitated for a moment, then took the call.

"Yes?"

"Yang? Is that you? Yes, I got your number right! I'm such a ditz, I couldn't remember – oh my gosh, that's not important, not important – focus! – Yang, I don't have much time, I need to tell you – Yang, are you listening? Yang?"

Yang almost dropped the phone. She blinked and pinched her arm. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't hallucinating. This was really happening.

"…Ruby?"

No, this is Patrick. (And the story ends there. It was all a meme)

Man, this chapter was so action-packed. It's interesting, because I was kinda worried with the early chapters not having much, if any, action (chapter 1 and 2 had no fights, 3 had Yang destroy Junior in 2 seconds then leave), and then this chapter happened and it was like "WE ARE HANDING OUT ACTION. PLEASE TAKE THIS ACTION. WE ORDERED DOUBLE BY ACCIDENT". Mind, there's nothing wrong with having action-less chapters, in fact I quite like those, but in a superhero story, I feel like it's important to display the main character's 'specialness' early on (which is why I had that wall-climbing sequence in chapter 1).

Also, Miltia and Melanie are a delight to write. It's a wonder that I can recall so vividly the voices of two characters who appeared for maybe two minutes IN THE ENTIRE SHOW. Yaaas, Melanie. Naah, Miltia.

By the way, I've just started posting RSU content in AO3, so if you prefer that website, you can now read and follow there. There's no extra content, but it's nice that you can organize series there. (Actually, there's a little less content there, since I didn't copy the Author's Notes)

Anyways, until next time. Wear red for chapter five.

-Zeroan