Qrow was, like many his age, rather disgruntled most of the time, yet this time he had a reason to be.

It had been several hours since the kids set out to infiltrate Haven, and so far he hadn't gotten word back from even one of them. Worst of all the academy and streets had been completely quiet; not a good sign when attempting to topple a gang. He expected at least some form of commotion to stumble out of the school, even a few rumors would have been better than the ominous air which settled over the streets.

Qrow was, as so seemed to be the trend lately, toppled off the pillar of worries he'd erected when an all too familiar sound purred against his ears. He grit his teeth slightly, and held back as grumble as he turned just in time to see the not-so-welcome guest walk out of her shadowy little vortex.

"Qrow."

"Now is not the time Raven." His sister merely stood there, not at all acknowledging his statement. Her bone mask sat sternly in place shrouding her appearance, and in turn her emotions; it's Grimm appearance being a sore on the eyes for the already agitated man. Raven was not at all bothered by him, and instead spoke in a more sterile tone.

"It never is, but I believe this might be something you'd want to hear."

Qrow didn't particularly enjoy the sound of that. "What is it? You never come to me unless there's something even you admit is dangerous." A small smirk drew over his lips. "Finally dig yourself in too deep?"

"Salem's pawn is on the move."

That...was something Qrow hadn't been expecting. His little wisp of fun flickered out instantly, and his focus zeroed in on Raven as he adopted a more guarded stance.

"How do you know that?" His sister wasn't one who lied often, heck, she rarely ever played jokes since the day they first went to Beacon back when they were kids. Either Raven was doing some seriously deadly reconnaissance under the worries of an attack...

Or she'd traded friends altogether.

"Call it a gamble." Raven took a step closer, and Qrow gripped the hilt of his weapon. She stopped just as he drew the blade from his back. The massive single edged sword was the only wall between them, and Raven stilled. "Easy, I'm not here to fight."

"No, but you haven't exactly denied anything either." He zeroed his focus in on her. "You should know what I'm thinking just by the question."

"I do." Raven held a loose stance. "And what you're thinking is true... to an extent."

"An extent huh?" Qrow chose his words carefully. "You haven't committed, meaning you're not sure if you're willing to take her side yet. Raven, what are you up to?"

"The strongest survive Qrow; you and I know that better than anyone." Her voice faltered. "But I also know that if Salem wins then everyone will lose. I'm not such a fool as to believe aiding her will bring about any long-term benefit, nor do I believe she will leave the tribe alone."

"Then why?"

"Because I didn't have a choice." Her voice rose slightly, and yet mellowed out again. "Cinder approached me, told me she knew of the maiden, and offered me a deal. I knew she wouldn't keep her end of the bargain, and I had intended to deal with her later on when she was most vulnerable... but things have changed."

Qrow had been tempted to ask what had changed, but something else struck him first. "Didn't have a choice... are you saying this 'change' has altered that stance."

"Still sharp I see, good, we'll need that." Raven leaned against the door, and her arms crossed as Qrow returned his weapon to it's place of rest. "She already has the maiden powers, which while bad I could still have handled, but she's also gotten the aid of a lunatic as well, and that's the part which has blocked me off."

"What do you mean?" Qrow asked as Raven bit back a small growl, one that he caught the tail end of anyway.

"Do you remember Doctor Merlot?" She asked, and Qrow narrowed his eyes.

"I do. Mad scientist with a Grimm complex Right? Believed they were the epitome of evolution, and single-handedly brought about the destruction of Mount Glenn with his experiments." Qrow felt his mind race as Raven simply lay against the door. "Oz reported he died during the fall though, along with his experiments. Are you saying he's still kicking?"

"Not only that, but he's the creep hold up in Haven."

"Fuck." Qrow normally would have asked for some sort of proof upon receiving information like that, but considering the strange Grimm the kids fought before they left, plus the stalking and sudden success of the Fang in Mistral, it all ticked at his mind as too coincidental. Qrow couldn't help but buy into what his sister was saying.

"Cinder want's me to bring her there in a few hours." Raven pushed off the door and stepped closer. "She's planning to take the relic.

"She doesn't have the right maiden though." Qrow watched as Raven shook her head, and like that his hopes dropped even further.

"She knows that I have her, and she want's me to bring her."

"You're going through with it, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't be here telling you this otherwise." Raven said as Qrow sighed.

"And you want me to put a stop to it right?"

"No, I just need you to stall and keep anyone else from interrupting us. I can deal with Cinder, but I need to be alone with her to be successful. I can't have Merlot getting in the way."

"That's all nice and dandy, but the man has an army surrounding him." Qrow bit back the anger in his voice. "Even with the kids we can't exactly handle that many of them." He sighed and crossed his arms. "Besides, we're already split up anyways. If we had everyone we could at least hold out a bit."

"Really?" Raven asked as Qrow allowed his smirk to grow once again, followed by a chuckle. "Yeah. We had a Schnee with us, and you know how their semblance is."

"True... summons would be a great way to draw attention." Raven quieted for a bit before walking closer. "You wouldn't happen to have anything that belonged to her."

Bingo!

Qrow wasn't stupid, but he was desperate. He knew that hearing about the Schnee girl would draw his sisters attention. Raven's semblance was the ability to create portals to people close to her based off Aura recognition; In other words she could teleport to specific people she knew. The power was quite flexible however, and Raven was usually able to discern Aura even from just the scraps left behind.

When a person with Aura unlocked comes into contact with something it leaves a trace of it behind, however this is usually passing and only lasts a few moments. However should someone directly keep contact with anything for long periods of time that Aura essence remains for longer, and can even come to be integrated into the object to an extent.

"Here." Qrow reached under one of the beds and pulled out a cloth. "Pyrrha was holding onto this sword for some time." He undid the wrapping, and the black blade looked to draw in all surrounding light with how dark it was. "You remember Vermillion right? This was his sword."

"I... see." Raven stilled for a second, and Qrow's look grew dark.

"He's gone, but this itself may be able to connect you to the Schnee."

"How?"

"When the two first met he nearly killed the girl." Qrow looked to the edge of the blade. "I was almost too late, but arrived just in time to stop it, however he did manage to draw blood. That blood may still have remnants on his sword."

"That's a high risk brother, an essence so fleeting is easily masked with more. How do we know the blood of others hasn't overshadowed the Schnee's?"

"Guess we'll just have to hope it hasn't." Qrow sighed. "And besides, water doesn't wash away the soul."

With a scoff Raven drew closer, and she carefully lay her hand on the white rose guard.

"Well?" Qrow asked as Raven looked to him.

"I feel three souls connected to this sword.

"Three?" That threw him for a loop.

Usually there was only one, that being the current user as they were often in close contact with it. However Aura as many know is special, and unknown to most is the little fact that when someone dies all traces of their Aura - even essence - would disappear from the world. Once upon a time Raven and the rest of their team used that aspect of her semblance to solve the disappearance of a hunter.

Originally they were tasked with finding the man under the belief that he had simply gone missing out on a mission, only that wasn't the case. They learned he had died rather violently in a skirmish, and the wounds made it clear it wasn't a Grimm that did it. The blood left on the blade allowed Raven to essentially warp them to the one who did the deed, and with the owner dead it meant that only one essence was tied to the weapon. This had them arresting the murderer then and there after a small battle; made easy by the wounds still fresh from the former murder. Ozpin handled the legal aspects of the case, and they got bumped up in rank for how efficiently they handled the hunt.

Both Tai and Summer - their partners at the time - had been confused at first, and Raven played it off as a new discovery. In truth she had learned of the ability years ago, long before joining event had been their first manhunt, at the ripe age of eleven. Being siblings the two had been sent by the then leader of the Branwen tribe to track down and deal with a deserter, one who threatened to give away their location. The man had left a trail of blood that they were supposed to use to follow and predict his path, only when Raven touched the substance she had nearly jumped, and her view shifted drastically. He had asked her what was wrong, only for her to cut the air and warp them to the heavily injured man.

Oddly enough that discovery came only a few months after her initial learning of her semblance, which happened on accident during combat practice. At the time she had been on the back end, only to seemingly cut a hole into reality and tumble in. Raven had landed next to him while he was off with his own combat regiment, and the tribe quickly took note of the ability and had her hone it over the passing years. Eventually she admitted that she'd thought of him when she was in danger, and how they promised to look out for each other as they grew; something she would never admit willingly again.

Qrow in a way felt bad about leeching off his sister's ability, but her constant willingness to abandon everything they once fought for dulled that pain a bit. However Qrow was caught off guard somewhat by her statement. The man expected her to sense two Aura's; one for the Schnee, and one for Pyrrha.

So why were there three?

Wait?! Qrow didn't like where his thoughts were headed, because they gave him hope, and it was a hope he didn't trust.

"It's coming from the far south, two of them are, both the weakest and strongest. The second strongest however leads to Haven as far as I can tell." Raven told as she faced Qrow directly. "I'm assuming the Schnee is the weakest?"

"Most likely."

"I'll go to her then. From what I can feel both Aura's are in the same spot."

"Right." Qrow told as he leaned against the window sill "Get on that. The sooner we get our little group together the sooner we can end this."

Raven nodded, and with a quick swipe of her own blade cut a hole in reality and passed through to her destination. Qrow watched her go, and as the portal faded held back his hopes as best he could. He knew the kid was dead, meaning that the other Aura had to be someone dangerous. The only person still alive from Vermillion's time was either Salem or Oz, and Oz had yet to reincarnate. A part of Qrow's mind wanted to argue Vermillion might be still kicking, but they saw the remnants of his attire, and Pyrrha's tale made it quite clear his death was certain.

And yet, once again as he'd so often felt before, Qrow wished to be proven wrong.

.

.

Ruby pulled back, one arm cradling Pebble as the other ripped out with the worn Crescent Rose. Over the many years it had served her well, both with Humans and Grimm. While it had aged over time, constant care had allowed it to live long past it's expected end; something that the matured woman was personally proud of.

And so she scoffed in mild indignation as it passed harmlessly through their phantom assaulters.

"Now that's just cheating!" Prim yelled out as she backed up from their constant pouncing. "The Dust did we even do ya harlots?!"

Three made for Duster, and he dashed to the side as they flew by. Around five or six ran for Gasket, and he leapt over the lot as they came to a halt. Several even rushed towards Ruby herself, and upon realizing the uselessness of fighting back the woman had taken to dodging like the rest, as well as observing the faded specters.

Ruby very quickly noticed something was strange.

They were fast, but not fast enough. The ghosts flung themselves recklessly, with no regard for planning or strategy. Ruby keyed in on how they moved directly towards the nearest of them. They made no attempts to try and predict where either her or the others could possibly escape, or even what direction they might take. She noticed how they moved seemingly based on mere instinct, relying on something other than sight as their eyes would hollowly stare unmoving as they pursued.

Ruby came to a sudden halt as her back hit a wall, only... there wasn't one. Her view shot back, and she noted how nothing but empty space stood in her way, and yet it pressed firmly against her and obstructed her movement. Her vision quickly moved to find what had caused her sudden inability to press back, and almost instantly settled lower. Her eyes saw it, and some part of her felt a jagged sense of enclosure at the realization.

No walls stood behind her, only the edge of the road.

How? Was the only question she could muster. The road was wide enough so they hadn't needed nor tried to leave it, simply following along like many of the other spirits. It was only now that Ruby understood why the figures apparently followed the road.

Something was binding them there, and it was as if a concrete wall blocked the ends of the path. Invisibility was nothing new, and was present in most government bases and many institutes to an extent. The use of invisibility however was severely expensive as the cloaking tech itself was built from rare materials, and with dust already on the decline that made it even more difficult to obtain and maintain. Had it been easy to produce Atlas would have already integrated it in their military. However their were two problems Ruby saw in the wall: on the one hand with invisibility being so expensive nobody in their right mind would use it on a simple wall, and on the other...

That tech is born centuries of years from now.

A shiver shot throughout her body, and Ruby cursed herself for letting her guard down. Her vision shot forward and she noticed how one of the creatures was in the process of pushing it's way into her body. The rush of cold and fatigue was downright nauseating, and made her want to pass out right there. However her eyes moved to Pebble, and she noticed how the boy struggled to breath. She felt it, she felt how the ghosts were tearing apart her aura; she felt them devouring her soul.

Pebble choked, and the world burned white.

It was painful, more so than any other she had ever experienced, but it was nothing to the thought of losing the small boy in her arms. Ruby had lost plenty of friends and family, and she would be damned if she let go of the innocent child in her arms.

Never again!

The pain tore at each and every fiber of her innards, and her body seethed with agony, as if her very skin was being peeled away. Her nerves screamed and cried as if being tied into knots, only to whimper as they were stretched and woven in a thread of salted rust. Ruby couldn't control herself, and collapsed to her knees clutching the child to her chest, all the while she grit her teeth in rebellion to the claws of darkness cornering her vision.

A ragged gasp parted her lips, followed by several coughs. She felt the metallic tang along her inner cheeks, and how it dripped down her lips.

Why now?!

Ruby knew exactly what it was, and as much as she hated it the woman understood it was a sign she needed to get moving. Never before had use of her silver eyes been so painful, and yet they still refused to kill her. She could feel the corruption flowing raw in her veins, quaking in rage at the audacity of her light. While her silver eyes would not harm the darkness within, that same mercy would not be reciprocated.

As her being filled more with corruption, that same essence would soon push back against the light, and it was very persuasive. Ruby knew that at some point she would lose her ability altogether, and at that point she would know it was time.

She would be ready, and it would all come down to him.

As her vision returned she felt it; the world shook. The attacking phantoms were gone, as well as many of the other ghosts which walked. She heard nothing, and yet she could feel the roar within her herself, as if she was being talked to from the inside. A screech of raw pain muffled out any other thoughts, and Ruby finally put everything together.

So this is one of your supposed siblings.

The Dream-Spinner was clear when he told of his siblings being unlike him, meaning that Ruby couldn't assume them allies, and as far as she saw this one was just another beast. In a way it was impressive how it could craft a labyrinth that was both human and not. The gem pulling and infecting Prim; the Aura sucking from both the infected pirates and recently banished ghosts; the Aura which filled the landscape; Ruby knew what was going on.

"We need to get out! It's feeding on our souls!" Ruby yelled as she stood.

"For fuck's sake!" Prim screamed back. "We just got here! Without dealing with this thing we'll die!"

"You'll die anyway if we stay!" Ruby bit back her anger. "It lures people in to harvest their Aura and eventually soul! We're not chasing it, we're inside it!"

"Y-you're joking, right?" The desperation was clear as day in Prim's voice, and Ruby restrained the wave of guilt in her gut.

"I wish I was. This place is meant to draw people in so it could feed. Those phantoms that attacked suck out the souls, and I would assume the essence is stored in the landscape itself, like how energy is passed along in animals as they consume each other."

"So none of this is real..."

Gasket was the one to yell above all the shaking. "Dread later! We need to move!"

"Lad's right, we cannot waste time." Duster backed him up as he picked up Prim and lopped her over his shoulder. She made no attempts to escape though as hopelessness scarred her features. Ruby felt terrible about delivering the news, but understood that there was nothing to be done. If the affliction was born of Grimm there was seldom a cure available, especially when dealing with a Grimm this powerful.

Yet the world halted it's quakes and cries, and as if sensing their intent the black sun above grew and stretched across the sky.

"No!" Ruby called as they picked up pace. "We need to get out now!"

In a bid of desperation she crashed into them, and while physically in contact burst apart into her signature petal rush. Seemingly swept away the others burst apart as well, and were carried along at high speed. The void stretched at a rapid pace, and in turn Ruby retained her high speed.

It was a shame the darkness overtook everything only inches before they got to the arch.

The group split apart, and while the others were dazed Ruby bit back a curse. The void continued to stretch below, and soon enough the ground faded, which left them amidst the black.

"Oh no..." Prim was the one to break the silence upon coming to her senses, and Ruby felt how Pebble gripped on for dear life. One thing was certain to Ruby as she realized there was no escape anymore, and she tensed herself for the next move.

There's no other choice. It needs to die.

Author's note

...

Things are heating up now, and I'm sure many of you who are still following along appreciate that.

This time we got to see Raven again, and along with that it seems she brings dark news. Qrow however appears to be reluctant, as he well should with all that happened.

Hope you all had some fun this chapter, and last chapter if you read it (Site's being weird again so I don't even know if you saw the previous one, I'll just assume you did.)

We're reaching the high points soon, so buckle down. It's going to be a wild ride.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.