Ruby was focused on her watch, very very focused, there was absolutely no way she wasn't super focused on her watch.

"Zwei! Don't eat that!"

Okay so maybe she wasn't as focused as she liked to think, but still. With a shake of her head she scolded the dog... well, as much as she could anyway. Letting out a sigh Ruby started back to the pile of rubble she'd chosen for her perch; the small dog happily followed her along the short walk back.

Taking a seat on the concrete she patted the spot next to her, and Zwei hopped up. Taking a seat next to her he let out a small whine as Ruby scratched behind his ear.

"So... nice night huh." She asked as her companion let out a whine.

Well this is just great.

When she had taken first watch she expected it to be at least a little bit exciting. Ruby was fully prepared for whatever dangers lurked in the shadows, be they Grimm or other. What she had not expected was how calm it would be, not to mention how outright boring it was.

The young girl had yet to see any sort of action, let alone keep her focus from wandering. She found herself flinching at each and every crack or sound, readying her scythe only to realize there was nothing.

Is this what it feels like to be a grunt? Mindlessly keeping watch over a hideout.

Ruby used to always roll her eyes when she saw guards being dumb in movies, now though she was wondering if their stupidity was due to extreme boredom. She shook her head as she stood alert, realizing she shouldn't be thinking like that. Her teammates trusted her with first watch, and she had no intention of letting them down.

This was also her first mission, so failure like that wasn't an option.

Ruby was about to double down on her focus when she heard Zwei start barking.

"What is it Zwei?" She asked as the small dog took off, and with a flood of panic she did as well. "Wait!"

Chasing after the family pet Ruby noticed that he was leading her down one of the paths they'd yet to clear. Worry filled her as she glanced around; Grimm could be around any corner.

"Bad Zwei, get back here!" She called, watching as he slipped through and around the various broken fixtures that littered the streets.

Ruby decided enough was enough, activating her semblance to rush along and end the chase. It took less than a second before she reformed, grappling the dog as she skidded along the road. He wiggled about in her arms as she chastised him.

"No, we don't run away like that!"

Zwei let out another whine as she sighed. He was safe now in her arms, and that was all well and good, but what was it that set him off in the first place? Ruby had yet to come face to face with any Grimm throughout the whole chase, so that was off the table. For a moment she wondered if his nose caught onto something, but she hadn't picked it up herself, even as she caught him.

Ruby decided to chalk it up to him being excited, after all he was in a new place.

She gave him a few rubs along his head, turning as she started back to camp. The gothic reaper froze however as her ears picked up the distinct sound of gunfire. All was silent a moment later, but she realized then and there that her team wasn't alone in the city.

Putting a hand over Zwei's mouth she slowly strode along the streets, directly towards the source of the sound. The gunfire had been different from any that her team used; her sister preferred shotgun fire for her gauntlets, Weiss was always using her dust to power her glyphs, and Blake was always using single shots.

These were different in the fact that they not only sounded quieter than shotgun, but also not as rapid or distinct as Blake's. Ruby knew either of those things could be due to dust type, but that was it: she knew exactly what dust her team had.

Carefully she creeped along the walls of the desolate alley, her ears more keen than ever as she listened harder. She stopped at the edge, taking a quick peek out and spotted the source of the sounds.

In the distance down the road she was able to see two people, both sporting a uniform she was all too familiar with.

The White Fang!

Ruby knew she shouldn't have been surprised at this point, but she was still left with a few questions upon the sight of them; one of which being the fact that they were in the city at all. Mountain Glenn had been abandoned for years now and was nowhere near the main city of Vale, so just what were the Fang doing?

Maybe they had a base nearby, but that posed it's own issues. There were plenty of other places to set up a base, both much closer to Vale and much safer. Not only that but the White Fang already had a base in the city itself; granted her team had already helped root it out, but that proved the White Fang had no shortages of places to set up shop.

I have to be missing something!

Ruby knew the group did everything with a purpose, so that meant there was something she wasn't seeing.

She saw them look to each other, talking as smoke rose above them; unfortunately she couldn't make out what they were saying.

So they were killing Grimm.

Good to know, that meant they had something nearby to protect, otherwise they wouldn't have even bothered. That was of course unless they were just passing through; in that case killing Grimm was a no brainer. Ruby watched as they turned and walked into one of the nearby buildings.

So there is something there.

She waited a few moments before stepping out. Quickly she jogged along the road, letting Zwei down as they neared the building. The dog wandered on the spot a bit, sniffing at the pavement and letting out small barks. Ruby herself set her focus on the broken building, drawing out her weapon and readying herself for when the two returned.

However the young girl was having second thoughts, wondering if she was really strong enough to take them out. Don't get her wrong, she knew she could easily curb stomp the two grunts, but she was worried about all the different scenarios that could occur.

What if they came back with more, or what if they had weapons she hadn't seen before, or maybe they had crazy semblances that could easily destroy her. Ruby was worried about fighting on her own, much to the contrast of just a few months ago. She had grown used to being able to rely on her team, and she didn't want to give that up.

I can play this stubborn, or I can play this smart.

Ruby folded up her weapon, placing it back in it's holder along the back of her hip. She knew trying to face a threat alone was stupid. She had a team now, so there was no reason to fight all on her lonesome.

Weiss's glyphs could control the field, sis can beat down anyone, and Blake is crazy with all her flips and stuff.

With a slight smile she turned, breaking out into a small sprint as she ran along the road. Her team could back her up, and with Dr. Oobleck there as well she was sure they'd have no trouble dealing with the White Fang.

So it was with a skip and a step Ruby ran along with the intent of getting her team in on her little plan. Unfortunately fate had a different idea, as just when she'd gotten a few meters ahead the ground began to cave in, sending the young girl deep into the abyss; all the while Zwei barked for her from above.

.

.

"Why can't anyone ever do anything right!"

To say Roman was in a particularly good mood would just be a flat out lie. That wasn't to say he was always in a sour mood; it was just that he felt like shit at the moment. Four days, they had been working at everything for four days and it was only now that they were making progress.

Feeling a tug at his leg he cast his attention to the girl by his side. Looking closely one could say that she was giving him a sort of look, one holding expectation.

"No Neo, we have to wait."

She gave him a different look, tilting her head as he sighed.

"Yes yes I know how boring it is, but fire bitch will have our asses if we screw this up. This is part of her big plan after all." That last part came out a sarcastic quip, one that Neo had a silent giggle at.

Roman sent his gaze across the area, watching with disappointment as the grunts of the White Fang slowly moved crates around.

"You know, just once I'd like things to not slow to a crawl, is that too much to ask? I mean seriously, can't these idiots do anything right? Feels like I really am working with a bunch of woodland creatures. But not you though." Roman said as he looked over to the goon at his side, who was adjusting his glasses with a clip board in his hands. "You're the only one who hasn't been consistently letting me down."

"Sir!"

"And there goes any expectation I might have had." Roman complained as he let out a breath and turned to the idiot standing before him. "Alright spit it out, what have you broke this time?"

"It's not that sir. We've found something you might be interested in." The grunt spoke as Roman felt his brow raise.

"Really? You're not pulling my leg with something stupid are you?"

"No sir, we've got her under watch right now. She's still out of it at the moment."

She?

Now that was something interesting, and for a moment Roman started to think they might not all be lost causes in the end.

No, no bad thoughts! Check out this mystery girl first, then decide if they've graduated from stupid to dumb.

"Keep doing your stuff Perry, I'll be back shortly. And stay out of trouble Neo." Roman told as he took off, completely missing the eye roll his partner in crime sent.

He followed the grunt all the way across the yard, noting how several of the others were taking peeks at them.

And they wonder why they're always losing.

Roman let his berating of them go for the moment, realizing that they had slowed in their pace. The goon had led him over to one of the storage units, waving him in and leading him along to the back where two guards stood next to a door.

"She's inside, still knocked out for now." The guard on the left told as Roman let out a huff.

"So you've restrained her anyway right?" He asked as both nodded. "Right... so mind telling me what happened?"

"From what we could gather the ceiling must have collapsed. We found her on top of a pile of broken rubble, so we brought her here."

"Uhuh... right. You lot stay out here, I'll go pay our little intruder a visit." Roman said as he made for the door, opening it up and stepping inside.

As he let the door shut he couldn't help but smirk a little at the sight of the girl tied to the chair.

I just can't get away from you can I little red?

At least they hadn't lied about tying her down. It must have been a brutal fall to knock her out like that. Roman let out a sigh of relief, for once he was glad something had gone right. With the twerp off in dream land he had no reason to worry about her getting in his way.

Then again he was left with one question regardless: just how the dust did she find herself all the way from the city? Mountain Glenn was abandoned by everyone; even the kingdoms wanted nothing to do with it, so why and how did little red end up in such a place?

"We meet once again eh, only this time you've got no chance of making my already bad day even worse."

No response; Roman let out a laugh.

"Well I'd love to stay and rub our success in your face, but I have bigger things to get back too, toodles."

With that he left the room. Roman absolutely beamed with positivity, and he was sure everyone could see it. He didn't care, all he knew was he had a chance, a real chance at success this time. He carried on back to where he'd left Perry, intent on speeding up their progress with some good news. If there was anything that got the suckers blood pumping it was the news that they'd taken down a hunter.

"You're in a good mood."

The comment got a look from Roman; his smirk still present as he waved his arms.

"Well well, look who finally showed up!" He called as the woman let out a low growl. "Oh don't be like that, we've finally gotten some good luck for once. So what do you say we speed along with this little dance shall we?"

"That's what we're here for anyway. Adam told us you had some big operation going on down here." The woman replied as the thief laughed.

"Oh yes, and trust me, ain't nobody going to forget it anytime soon."

"So what is it then?" She asked as he put a finger to his lips.

"Let's keep that a secret for now, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." He looked at the man to her side, and noticed the lack of one on the other. "So where's sticky boy? He sick or something?"

"Lapis is headed back to Menagerie. Adam said Gold and I are more than enough. Our partner has a different mission to deal with now." Magenta spoke as Roman shrugged and turned on his heel.

"You two are more than enough for this job, so long as you can whip the others into action anyway; they're a little slow you hear?" Roman explained as he started back along the side of the train, ignoring the several cars filled with dust crates.

I think this might finally be a good day.

.

.

Blake felt her eyes groggily open as the sound of barking got louder and louder. She pushed herself from her pillow and up into a sitting position.

"Uh... Zwei... it's too late for this." Came the voice of Yang as she turned to the side, pulling the pillow over her ears as she tried - and failed - to block out the noise.

"Is it time to switch?" Weiss asked as she yawned and looked over to Blake.

The cat girl pulled out her scroll, squinting at the time.

"No, we've still got around forty minutes."

"Then what gives, why are you bringing Zwei back Rubes?" Yang called as she sat up and sent an annoyed look to the empty space at the entrance. "Rubes?"

Blake felt something was off. Their leader was always looking after the Grimm spawn known as Zwei, and there wasn't a moment she'd left the creature alone without having somebody to look after it. The mere fact that she wasn't with Zwei at the very moment was cause for concern.

She stood, looking over to Weiss and Yang as she made for the door. The two girls gave off looks, standing and following after her as she peeked out into the streets.

"She's not out here." Blake said as Yang squinted and looked around.

"That can't be right, she's always close by."

"Ruby!" Called Weiss as Blake strained her ears. Nothing, there was nothing but silence.

"Yo Rubes, can you here me?" Yelled Yang as she stepped out. Once again the trio were granted nothing but the sounds of night.

"Something's wrong here." Blake admitted as Yang held a concerned look.

"No shit, Ruby would never ignore my calls!"

"Calm down Yang, we can go look for her." Weiss said as Yang turned, burying her fist into the wall.

"Damnit! It wasn't supposed to be like this!"

"I said calm down Xiao Long! Maybe it isn't as bad as we think, she might just be off dealing with a stray Grimm." Weiss tried to reason as the Blond pulled away from the cracked concrete.

"What's with all the ruckus?" Asked Dr. Oobleck as he walked out.

"It's Ruby, she's gone." Blake told as the man rubbed at his chin.

"Well she can't be that far off." He was about to suggest they look around for a bit when he heard the dog barking.

Everyone turned and saw Zwei barking and yipping at them.

"What is it boy? Have you found Ruby?" Yang yelled as the dog turned heel and ran.

"He wants us to follow him!" Yang cried as she took off after the family pet.

"H-hold on!" Cried Weiss as she rushed after.

"You coming too?" Blake asked as she started after her team.

"As your assigned huntsmen it's my job to keep you all safe, so yes." Dr Oobleck explained as he kept pace next to Blake.

The rush continued on for a few minutes, which consisted of Yang barreling through any and all obstructions in her path; be they concrete or steel. The little dog leapt and slid around bits of rubble which left Yang to clear the way for the rest, and yet despite this the brawler had not slowed down in the slightest. She was determined to blow through everything to get to her sister, and the rest of her team simply ran along.

Eventually the group came to a massive hole in the road. Weiss approached and looked down into it.

"I can't even see the bottom." She told as the group noticed Zwei skip up to the hole and start barking.

"I think we've found out what happened to Ruby." Blake said as she looked inside.

"The city itself has a massive network of tunnels underneath it, as well as an entire section of buildings." Dr. Oobleck told as Blake looked to him.

"That was back before it fell right?"

"Correct. As the Grimm persisted the people were forced to head underground, where they constructed a tunnel back to Vale as a way to transport supplies needed. However the Grimm became too much, and the tunnels were forced to close; trapping the people left behind, leading to their untimely demise." The man explained as an air of dread washed over them.

"So what you're saying is that my sister fell into an underground city full of Grimm?"

"Yes."

"Is there any way down?" Blake asked as the man nodded.

"Most were blocked off during the attacks, but the subway systems and a few set buildings were said to house entrances to the caverns below."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get down there already!" Yang yelled as she sent a panicked look to the darkness below.

Hold on Ruby, we're coming!

Author's note

...

So this has mostly been a RWBY focused chapter, featuring a nice segment with Roman.

We also got to see Magenta and Gold once again, as well as learn what Lapis is up to. Sure they never got much use this time around, but at least they're still around and kicking.

Perry has also made his grand entrance, standing still... with a clip board. Oh well, at least he's Roman's favorite.

That's all for now. Let me know what you think and see you later.