Raye pushed open the wooden door to the town's inn with aching arms. Life out here was tough, much tougher than he'd ever thought it would be. As much as he didn't like to admit it he'd had it easy in the city. Sure it was expensive and crowded, but he hadn't had to work for twelve hours every day of the week. He almost missed his lethargic existence.

Almost, but not quite. Though life on the very fringes of Vale's borders was difficult, it was all the more rewarding because of it. Every day he set down his tools knowing he'd achieved something. Something meaningful. Whether it was finishing the wall around the small town, or building a barn for the livestock that everyone relied upon.

Not to mention he liked out here. Surrounded by nothing but nature, green fields stretching from horizon to horizon, copses of towering trees, all manner of wildlife he'd previously only seen on a screen. Even the air was different. It was fresh, clean, invigorating. It filled his lungs and made him glad to be alive.

It would have been enough to make him stay out here even without the incentives the government of Vale offered. Virtually no taxes, grants to help with the relocation, even weapons. It had the intention of the kingdom to push the Grimm from its borders, and so far it was working.

There had always been villages and towns outside of the major cities, but there had never been a concerted effort to establish them. They formed when a group of people got tired off the oppressive life within a city's walls or found that the call of profit was worth the risk. As such, they had been scattered randomly, isolated and alone. Easy targets for the Grimm.

No longer. Over the last couple of years the strategy had changed. When a new location for a settlement had been selected hunters, and the Valesh and Atlesian militaries would move in. They purged the Grimm from the area, sending the remainder fleeing. It was then up to the new townsfolk to defend the territory. Chunk by chunk Councillor Ozpin was reclaiming the kingdom.

The gains made in such a short time really showed just how inept Vale's government had been. It took sacrifice yes ̶ ̶ Ozpin had introduced conscription just like Atlas, one of the few ways to avoid it was to sign up to the settlement program ̶ ̶ but it was worth it. The countryside nearer Vale was now almost entirely Grimm free. Under Ozpin's guidance the world was changing. It was no wonder he was so popular in the opinion polls.

He'd certainly have Raye's vote. Growing up Ozpin had been somewhat of a hero to him anyway. He'd always dreamed of being able to attend Beacon. Sadly it was a dream that had never come true, but now Ozpin had given him another chance to realise his desire. Even if he wasn't a hunter, what he was doing on the fringes of the country really mattered.

Raye entered the building that the town had been built around. An old inn. How old he didn't know, but Sill said at least two centuries. He should know seeing as he'd paid for the rights to it. Built of large stone blocks it had survived the test of time largely intact whereas the rest of whatever settlement it had been part of had failed. Only the odd lonely foundation remained.

It had taken a fair bit of work to make the inn habitable again ̶ ̶ it had needed a new roof and a number of the wooden support beams replaced ̶ ̶ they'd all been happy to help though. Not only was the sense of community spirit brimming, but the inn was the heart of their town. It was where they all went to relax and socialise after a hard day's work.

The warmth, the smell of food, and the hubbub of conversation hit Raye as soon as the door opened. Sill was a fantastic cook, preferring a wood burning stove to a Dust-powered one. It made all the difference. The meals he produced just tasted of the countryside.

The chatter died momentarily as everyone turned to the newcomer before continuing. There were perhaps twenty people already there. His friends were sitting around their favourite table and he nodded to them before heading to the bar.

"The usual Sill. And today's soup if it's not too much trouble?"

Sill grunted. He wasn't one for vocalising words which weren't needed. Raye had been here long enough to know it was an affirmative. Sill ducked down behind the counter before coming up with a clay mug and a small dark bottle.

Sill was a traditionalist when it came to barkeeping, but Raye wasn't about to complain. Sill knew his stuff. The small bottle was part of his latest batch of micro-brew and it was pretty much liquid ambrosia. After a long day of graft Raye might have killed to have a cold mug of ale, but the one time he'd suggested it Sill had looked at him like he was a piece of dirt on the bottom of his boots. It was somewhat a rite of passage for anyone at the inn, they all asked once, no one asked twice. As he'd said, Sill was a traditionalist; ale should be served warm.

With mug in hand, he headed towards the empty seat at his friends' table. It was in essentially the perfect position. Close enough to the roaring fireplace to stay toasty, but not too close. His friends weren't like those he'd left behind. They ranged from the silver-haired Flae right down to those nearer his own age. They were good people though, and they erupted into laughter as Rob finished an anecdote.

It was only when he was near did he spot something out of the corner of his eye. Someone was sitting in the far corner of the inn, the shadows almost consuming them. If not for a burst of sparks as one of the logs in the fire shifted he likely wouldn't have seen them at all. They were wearing a dark cloak, still drawn up to hide their face and nursing a mug in their hands.

Raye was sure he didn't know them. He knew everyone in the town and not one of them would have been sitting like that. They were a stranger and that was unusual. There was no through traffic; they were at the very borders of the country. Beyond them was nothing but a Grimm infested wasteland. So who were they?

Raye only realised he was staring when the hood turned to him. A shiver ran down his spine. Even if he couldn't see the person's face there was real power in the gaze. He didn't know how he knew, but the stranger was dangerous. Unsettlingly dangerous.

He dragged his eyes away and hurried to his normal seat, resisting the urge to check that the stranger was still in the corner and not sneaking up behind him.

"Hey Raye. Good day?" Rob asked.

He ignored the question and flicked his eyes towards the corner. "Do you know who that is?"

To his horror half the group turned to look quite blatantly towards the stranger. There was something wrong here that set his nerves tingling.

"No. They just came in, paid for a mug without speaking, and sat in the corner. Why?"

"I… I don't know. Something… doesn't feel right," he said finally. The words were enough to cause the others to burst into raucous laughter.

"Something's certainly got you worked up." Flae's tone carried a mix of kindness and jest. "They're probably just a courier. Rufus wouldn't have let them in the town if he didn't trust them. You know how he is." Raye did; Rufus was the sheriff and leader of the town's militia. "They're not doing anyone any harm; they just want to be left alone. So ignore them."

It was sound advice, though even with it in mind Raye couldn't help but glance over again. The stranger still watched them. Watched him.

The arrival of his meal allowed some measure of distraction, but even with the heady blend of vegetables and spices his unease remained. The conversation at the table largely passed him by. He'd never had much interest in politics; the dealings in Atlas or the increasing tensions in Vacuo just flew straight past him. It had been to his undoing.

Politics affected every single facet of everyone's life. Ultimately, the awful situations the world had found itself suffering through in the past few years boiled down to the decisions made and ratified in Council chambers around the world. Raye had tried to ignore politics, but politics hadn't been so kind to him.

His mind was made up now though. Whenever Councillor Ozpin decided it was safe enough to lift the state of emergency and hold an election, Raye would be putting a tick in his box. The video footage of the liberation of Vale had been horrific, but in retrospect most agreed it had been necessary. After everything that they'd done the White Fang would never have given up. Never have surrendered. The only option had been to make sure that they were unable to hurt anyone else.

It must have been the hardest decision Ozpin had ever had to make, but he'd had the strength to make the one that no one else would have. It was strength that the world really needed in its leader. For too long they'd been saddled with useless politicians. Ozpin wasn't one. First and foremost he was a hunter; he understood what the situation was like outside of the city walls. He was a man of the people.

The departure of Raye's second mug was likely the main reason behind why his head felt lighter than usual; Sill's micro-brews were as heavenly as they were strong. Raye risked another glance towards the stranger. They were still there, though were now just staring into their own ale. In his slight inebriation he was just glad that they turned their attention away from him.

The alcohol gave him the courage to revisit the topic of conversation that the rest had put to bed. "Do you think they're a criminal?"

It took the others a few second to catch onto his meaning. Once again they laughed at him, only spurred on by drinking, the volume and duration was increased.

"No," Rob said when he'd got his breath back. "Do you really think they'd be hanging around in the open like this? You know how effective the authorities are these days. They don't have the chance to stop running until they're over the border." The others muttered their own resentment ̶ ̶ Vacuo was becoming somewhat of a safe haven for those who'd broken the law.

"Well what if they're a hunter?" No matter what the others said Raye knew the stranger was dangerous.

Again Rob shook his head. "Why would they have been given a contract all the way out here? We certainly haven't submitted a request to the system. We've no need. We can handle whatever comes our way. Right everyone?" Rob raised his voice and almost the entire inn cheered. Out here towns were proud of their self-sufficiency.

Raye half-heartedly raised his own mug. He'd been in Vale on the day it had initially fallen to the White Fang. He knew that there were some things that even the most prepared were unable to stop.

The stranger barely reacted to the sudden increase in volume; they were utterly consumed by whatever they were seeing at the bottom of their mug. The lack of reaction caused a new half-chilling, half-thrilling thought into his mind.

He leaned in close and whispered; not even sure if it would stop the stranger hearing. "What if they're a Tinman?" Even saying the name caused him to shiver.

This time there was no outburst of mirth, instead all of his friends considered it and just what it would mean. Tinmen had somehow achieved the status of myths even though there was video evidence corroborating their existence.

They were elusive enough that few ever saw them, and many who did didn't live to pass on the tale. Their targets were far more dangerous than Grimm. They brought justice to those who had decided to turn against society itself, but were unable to be caught by conventional means. They hunted the rogue hunters who had forsaken their vows to fight for good and now stood upon the side of evil. The Tinmen were the ultimate enforcers of the law.

It took a while before Flae spoke up. "Nope. Can't be. Tinmen can't drink. Don't have stomachs."

The certainty of the statement relieved much of the sudden tension that had gathered around the table. None of them really wanted to see a Tinman in the flesh. A fight between them and a hunter could level a town, but in the end there was only ever one winner.

"Why are you so worked up about them anyway?" Rob asked nodding his head towards the stranger. Raye couldn't answer, just like he hadn't been able to earlier. "Perhaps you're hoping there's a pretty girl under that hood?" Rob grinned as Raye's cheeks grew red. That hadn't been on his mind. "Why don't I go and ask for you. It's a fifty-fifty chance."

Rob even stood up before Raye began protesting. "Don't you fu ̶ ̶ "

An alarm ripped through the general conversation of the inn. One which sent all their hearts racing. Harsh and electronic, it clashed horribly with the rustic nature of the town. The noise was entirely out of place and impossible to ignore, not that anyone would have tried; they all knew what the alarm signified. The Grimm sensors had been tripped.

It only took a few brief seconds of shock before the entire inn erupted into movement. They'd suffered through too many drills at all times of the day and night for them not to know what their exact roles were. Everyone in the town had one; even the children were tasked with running messages and supplies. They all had their part to play.

Raye jumped up, knocking his stall over in his haste, and joined the throng crowding at the door. No matter how many times he heard it the alarm always chilled his blood. It was identical in timbre to Vale's. One which had echoed out a warning every time the Grimm had breached the city's walls. One which almost invariably heralded mourning.

It was his hope that it wouldn't here. Unlike the majority of the citizens of Vale they were trained, they were prepared to face the Grimm head on. Even if some part of him was cowering in panic, he wouldn't, not when others were relying on him.

Raye skidded to a halt near the racks at the town centre that held the majority of the supplies the Valesh government had gifted them. Raye donned a composite cuirass and helmet before turning to the weapons. The Atlesian-made assault rifles were suitable for at least deterring the majority of the Grimm; pulling one off its hook Raye instinctively checked the safety and the chamber before sliding a fresh magazine home.

With its reassuring weight in his hands Raye ran off towards his position on the wall. Short of his dreams of becoming a hunter, he'd never really wanted to fight. He just wasn't cut out for it. That much had proven true when Vale fell; he'd spent most of the day cowering and the weeks after reliving the nightmare. That was what had ultimately pushed him to sign up to the settlement program and after working so hard he'd be damned if he was going to let anything take it away from him.

The wall around the town wasn't as impressive as it could have been. It didn't seem to stretch into the heavens as Vale's had, but then this was one they'd built with their bare hands. They'd cut down every tree within a hundred yards and used the trunks to build a palisade. Once they'd managed to save up enough they were planning on hiring someone to coat the entire thing in rock Dust. That would likely be far in the future though, at the moment it was just wood.

Wood that, if the Grimm were allowed to get close enough, could be easily broken through. That was why their entire defensive strategy was designed around ensuring that the Grimm never managed to reach the wall. At range Raye had the advantage, without it he knew he didn't.

The top of the battlements were already rife with people, most armed similarly, some bearing heavier or more unconventional weapons. Ultimately their objective wasn't to kill the Grimm, only to make sure they could do no damage. If it was possible to drive them off without sustaining a casualty most would take that option.

Raye squeezed his way to the designated position and peered out. Twilight had fallen and long shadows stretched out from the distant treeline. Lamenting that he didn't have night-vision goggles he tried to pick out the red glow of an eye in the undergrowth. His efforts were unsuccessful. He traded nervous glances with his neighbours, but none of them had seen anything either.

One of them had even set their rifle down. Resigned to waiting Raye did likewise. The outermost sensors were a significant distance from the town. Far enough that the defences would be able to be organised even if the Grimm were approaching at a sprint. Tonight it didn't seem as if they were. It was even possible that the Grimm hadn't actually been heading for the town and would miss it entirely.

No one's nerves managed to return to normal; everyone jumped when a bird flew from the nearest tree. But as more minutes passed without any further alert and even the alarm was turned off, Raye's heartbeat began to slow.

The stairs rocked as someone ran up them and came to a halt, her cheeks blowing in and out. "Everyone listen up. Rufus wants every fourth person to stay here, while everyone else heads to western side of the wall. Pass the message along and run." Dibellia called over her shoulder as she tore off to her next destination.

Her message had not been encouraging. Raye could see his expression mirrored on everyone else's. Just what was approaching the south side of the town if the rest of the wall was to be left virtually undefended?

"You heard her," Flae shouted. "Count yourself off and get over there quickly."

As soon as Raye got number three he joined the others descending the stairs. Despite all the other running people, the streets were almost eerily deserted as he sprinted through them. Normally a few kids would be playing in them, those with early starts would be making their way home, and those just finishing would be enjoying themselves. Now none of that was happening. With most of the lights extinguished to prevent fires, the streets were unwelcoming and cold.

Raye heard Rufus long before he saw him. Rufus bellowed out instructions in his best imitation of a parade sergeant, marshalling everyone so they were able to follow the revised plan. The top of the southern wall was almost full to bursting. Its defenders two deep around the battlements, half were crouching down as the other half prepared to fire over their heads.

Raye pushed himself up onto his tiptoes to try and get a better view of what they were aiming at only for his stomach to drop away. Earlier he had struggled to find a pair of red eyes in the undergrowth, now there was a sea of them. No wonder Rufus had wanted reinforcements over here; even with them they would likely be outnumbered.

Ultimately he must know the truth as surely as Raye did. With a miracle they might well be able to fight off a horde that large, but they would take casualties. Significant casualties. Raye suddenly felt the cold grip of his own mortality. He couldn't help but wish for a hunter to save him just like one had in Vale.

Ruby swirled the last dregs of ale around the bottom of her mug. The dark liquid left bubbles of froth in its wake before swallowing them back up as the wave came around again. It was a fitting metaphor for life. Everything accomplished was eventually swept away.

The clay mug cracked as it slammed into the table top. Ruby released her hold on the handle. She hadn't meant that. She wasn't drunk. Some things just made her so angry.

She started to take deep breaths. In for four seconds, hold it for six, and then out for eight. As it had done in what almost seemed another lifetime the technique helped. Not by a lot, but it was something. It stemmed the tears that so often followed on anger's heels.

She pushed her chair back and stood with a resolution on her mind. She was meant to be celebrating. Normally she avoided any trace of civilization, especially in Vale, it was simply too dangerous for her. It had been her intention to skirt this town, but the date had stopped her in the act. Unless she was wrong, which she very well could be, it was her birthday.

Her eighteenth birthday to be exact. Surely that was worth a little risk? A quiet drink. Some hot food. A silent toast. A tribute to what she'd once had. She deserved that after everything.

Ruby strode to the bar. In their hasty response to the alarm the patrons and the barman had completely overlooked her. She preferred it this way. After so long spent alone their concerned concentration had grated on her nerves. They were really sheep. Like so many they had no idea just what was happening to the world.

She leant behind the counter and picked a bottle of ale from the shelf. Twisting off the lid Ruby took a long swallow. In all honesty she still wasn't sure about alcohol. No matter what form she'd tried it in she always had to force herself through the first few glasses. Right up until the magical point where her problems began to melt. After that it was much easier to keep on drinking. Even the hangovers were worth it.

Ruby sat on the stall by the bar and tipped the bottle back once more. With her head tilted she examined the beams near the ceiling. They'd been intricately carved with tiny figures and patterns. Like the rest of the inn, and the town, it was clear that its population had put a lot of work into establishing it.

And now they were fighting for its continued existence. Ruby recognised those alarms; they had played parts of her nightmares for far too long. The Grimm were attacking and it was a hunter's place to stand against them.

It was just a good thing she wasn't a hunter anymore. They'd told her she couldn't be. They'd ripped up her licence in front of her while almost everyone else scorned her. She'd finally thought she'd found the meaning in her life again when Ozpin put out the call for all hunters to return to Vale. Even those like her, who hadn't graduated Beacon, were to be granted full licences. She might have hated what he'd done, but as a hunter she could do good. That dream was worth the colossal risk.

She'd had made it back to the city, back to the square in front of the Eburnean House. That had almost been a step too far. At the end of the war it had been a mistake tuning into the first broadcast from Vale in months. Where she'd expected celebration and relief, she'd instead witnessed a mass execution on a scale that made anything in her life pale by comparison. Thousands had died and yet there was no sign. The streets had been clean; the square completely purged of blood. It was almost as if the White Fang hadn't existed. She was sure that was the way that Ozpin had wanted it.

She'd stood in that too clean square while the words that had should have been so familiar to her were displayed on a screen. Only they weren't. The changes were minor, but significant. Instead of swearing loyalty to the people, it was to the government. In a conflict hunters were required to join the side of Vale, not good as they had originally been intended.

It was wrong. She'd recited the vow when starting at Signal and when graduating, and then again at the start of Beacon. At those times she'd been close to bursting with pride. The simple words had meant everything to her. They were the guidelines of how she was meant to live her life. To protect the weak, to fight for the side of good, essentially… to be a hero. Now they wouldn't.

Most either hadn't noticed or didn't care. She did. The vow meant that she was condoning what had been done to reclaim the city, even promising to carry out something similar if ordered. That just wasn't something she would ever be prepared to do. Along with several others ̶ ̶ mostly older hunters who were being forced to recommit themselves to the vow ̶ ̶ she'd left the square. Left behind the cheers of those who'd just signed away their souls.

She hadn't made it far. The exits had been blocked by troops and hunters bearing Vale's flag on their clothes. A bureaucrat had asked her what the problem was, and when she hadn't answered, asked to see her provisional licence. After that all it took was a few sure movements of his fingers for her dream of becoming a huntress to fall in pieces to the street. He'd even had the gall to inform her that if she carried a weapon in public she'd be arrested.

She'd left Vale the very same day donning her slender pack and boarding a boat for Patch with cash that was steadily running out. It had been her hope to find someone at Signal. Her uncle or dad, Yang. Just one of her friends or someone who knew something of them, but no one did. If they'd survived the occupation they hadn't surfaced yet. She'd spent one night in her old bedroom and left a note before moving on.

It had been her intention to carry out the duties of a huntress even if she wasn't officially one. No one got to take that away from her. On the fringes of Vale they hadn't cared that she didn't have a licence. She hadn't been happy, not even close, she'd been hurting too much, but just like before she'd been on the path to recovery. And then even that solace had been stolen from her.

So it was with an almost clean conscience that Ruby could say that if all these people who had been in the inn needed help, they should call for a hunter. An official one. Not a fraud like her. Every time she tried to help it just put her in more danger. Defending the town might have been the honourable thing to do, but these days it didn't matter. Honour was dead. So why should she bother?

Unfortunately, she knew the answer and it wasn't one she found at the bottom of her bottle. She should bother because it was right. People out there were in danger. Innocent people. They hadn't done anything wrong. Ultimately she should bother, simply because she was there.

It was an answer that came from the very centre of her heart, the place where her parents had attempted to instil their own values. She didn't have many memories of them together ̶ ̶ in truth she didn't know if she had any at all, they might have just been conjured by her imagination from photos ̶ ̶ but she saw her parents now. She knew what they expected her to do. What she needed to do.

Ruby placed her almost empty bottle on the bar, drew her hood back over her head and strode towards the howls.

To put it lightly Raye was shitting himself. Thankfully his underwear was currently unsoiled, but he could feel his bowels attempting to change that. He would have been ok if the Grimm had just rushed them. Instead they must have spent ten minutes or more howling and all the while more were turning up.

The courage had visually drained from everyone around him. If it had just been the howls of Beowolves it would have been ok. That would have meant a pack had found their town; dangerous, but they could have fought them off. When various types of Grimm put aside their differences they only had one thing on their mind. Hatred.

Raye hadn't even been able to count them all in the lengthening shadows. There were more Beowolves, but then there usually were, a few Ursai had joined the group, and someone had even claimed they'd spotted a Nevermore. Their town was well defended, but not for an assault of this scale.

The Grimm had been driven out of their territory and almost driven mad by hunger. There wasn't another settlement for a hundred miles in any direction; this was their last chance to sate themselves, and Raye knew they would.

A gun went off as someone's finger shook. "Watch what you're doing!" Rufus roared over the howls. "Not until I say so." Their militia commander had not lost his nerve, and Raye was relieved that he'd resisted the reflexive urge to pull his own trigger. No matter what his body was telling him the Grimm were still beyond the effective range of his rifle.

The Grimm prowled back and forth, working themselves up into a frenzy, but it had at least allowed for some of the heavier weapons to be moved from their fixed positions. The MGs and grenade launchers had an almost comforting profile against the wall. Though the Valesh government had not allowed them access to the highest grade of military weaponry, the ones they had supplied were certainly potent. Even so Raye still knew they wouldn't be enough to stop the Grimm crossing the killing fields.

"Everyone hold until I say. We've trained for this. We'll drive them off as long as we stick to the plan." Rufus tried to inject some steel into those under his command. The words didn't help Raye much; he'd never felt more like a simple builder than he did at this precise moment. "Who the hell are you?"

Raye glanced round at Rufus' words. The town's sheriff stared towards a newcomer to the battlement. It was the stranger, still shrouded entirely by their cowl. If they were intimidated by Rufus' tone or the revealed sight of the Grimm they didn't show it. Instead they stood stock still. Unnaturally still. The breeze didn't even ruffle the dark material of their cloak.

Entirely ignoring Rufus, the stranger took a step forward and slipped through the crowd until they stood next to the edge of the wall. Raye might not have been able to see anything of their body, but he could still almost sense the anger rolling from the stranger as they observed the Grimm. There was still no doubt in his mind that the person was still dangerous, but at the moment all of their ire seemed to be directed at the monsters outside of the city.

Smoothly the stranger jumped from the battlements. It took Raye a heartbeat to recover from his shock before he joined everyone else in leaning over. The wall wasn't tall, not by any real standards, but it was still tall enough that most would have to be seriously intoxicated to consider leaping from it for a bet. Raye knew he would have sprained something at best, but the stranger hadn't even rolled as they landed; they'd barely bent their knees.

With deliberate slowness they walked towards the Grimm. One step at a time their cloak trailing on the tips of the grass. There was no hesitation, no fear, nothing to show that they were walking upon a field of nightmares.

The howling ceased. Red eyes turned on the solitary figure approaching them. Hackles raised, teeth bared. The stranger stopped two dozen feet away from the nearest. A pregnant silence fell.

An Ursa Major pushed its way through the pack of Beowolves and reared up on its hind legs. It was a challenge the stranger didn't respond to. They just continued to stand there as if entirely unconcerned, or entirely mad. Raye wasn't quite sure which one applied anymore.

Raye sensed that they were dangerous though. They were facing down monsters without a weapon. He'd guessed what they were now. Silhouetted against the setting sun, in their dark cloak, the hunter appeared a manifestation of death itself.

The silence that had descended over the entire scene shattered in an instant. The Ursa gave a bellowing roar and dropped to all four closing on the stranger with horrific speed. The hunter vanished.

That was how it appeared to Raye. One moment they'd been standing there with a Grimm charging towards them, the next they were gone. The Ursa's bulk slammed into the ground instants later, gore rushing from the cut along its side.

The figure stood beyond. Entirely immobile and surrounded by Grimm. A weapon rested on their shoulder. Orange sunlight glinted off the blade of a great scythe. It was almost as long as the hunter was tall. Crimson dripped from it.

No one on the wall spoke. Could speak. The clash had happened faster than any of them were able to see. One moment the hunter had been standing there, the next the Ursa was lying mutilated. A Grimm that would have tested all of their carefully prepared defences was cast aside like a child's toy.

A Beowolf leapt forwards and, emboldened, some of its packmates joined it. This time Raye managed to catch the conflict, but only just; the hunter was still little more than a blur.

The instant before the first Grimm was in range the hunter leapt to the attack. The scythe flashed straight through the Beowolf's torso. Carrying their momentum the figure spun taking a head before bringing the point of their weapon straight down on third's spine. He couldn't believe that anyone was able to move that fast. It was just inhuman.

The hunter didn't allow for a cessation of hostilities. They darted at the next group of Grimm, passing through it in a heartbeat, leaving blood and agony erupting in their wake. The combat was just so different from anything Raye had witnessed before.

When the town was being established there had been a few hunters based in it. He'd even watched them fight from afar. They'd been effective sure, but their display had also instilled a belief in the townsfolk that with a little preparation they would be able to defend their homes just as well. Those hunters didn't hold a candle to the one in front of him. As more body parts leapt into the air it appeared as if the solitary hunter intended to kill the entire horde single-handedly.

Rufus wasn't content to let them. After recovering from his own shock he began to bellow orders. Concentrating on the dark blur that was devastating their ranks some of the Grimm had ventured into range. "Fire on those nearest! Heavies start targeting the flanks! Make sure you don't shoot anywhere near that hunter. Just let them do their job."

The nerves Raye had been feeling had almost entirely melted away. His fingers were steady as he disengaged the safety. His training took over, sighting along the length of rifle he waited until it settled on the centre-mass of a smaller Beowolf before pulling the trigger. The rifle bucked and the Grimm jumped.

He'd missed, but he hadn't really expected to hit, not from this distance against a moving target. He steadied his aim before firing again. Others had joined him. More puffs of dust erupted from around the Beowolf and a few of the bullets hit home. They didn't do much damage, but the distraction relieved some pressure on the hunter.

Not that they needed it. They still hadn't stopped, hadn't even slowed down, and Grimm continued to fall. Close to a third of the Grimm were down and the first few began to lose their will. They may have been monsters, but when they weren't in the grips of a true blood-frenzy, they could think. It was what always allowed them to pick out the weakest possible target and at this moment the hunter just wasn't even close.

Some of the runts, those that would have only had a meal when the rest were done, fled. The hunter let them go, she—judging by the dark ponytail flapping behind they were likely a she—turned her attention towards the Grimm who appeared to have the strongest will to hold. She broke it, completely and utterly. There was only so many times that even the most ravenous monster could watch as its packmates were cut down. The hunter seemed just as content to maim as she was to kill. The agony of the dying roared out over the field.

A shape swooped down from above. The illusive Nevermore had returned. Out of all the Grimm Raye had seen, Nevermores were the ones he feared most. Just the knowledge that even behind walls you weren't safe was bad enough, but they were nightmarish in their very appearance. The feathers blacker than night, the angular beak and claws that could splinter bone. And the eyes. The red eyes. One of his worst memories was of being on a school trip and the forest practically glowing red around them.

It was their size as well. Though this one perhaps wasn't as large as it could have been, its wings still would have stretched from one side of his house to the other and with length to spare. It cawed as it plummeted, a sharp note that drilled into his very ears. In the midst of another group of Grimm the hunter may well have missed the danger if not for the sound. The Nevermore pulled up at the last second, scattering the ranks of Grimm with its claws.

There was such a disparity of power. Beowolves and even some Ursai were flung aside by the swooping attack. The flaps of the Nevermores wings ripped tufts of grass from the ground as it gained altitude.

Raye strained his eyes in an attempt to see whether the hunter had managed to evade the claws. His heart sank along with everyone else's when he failed to spot a figure dressed in grey amongst the recovering silhouettes. Raye didn't want to abandon the fortifications— it was perhaps even stupid to consider it —but the hunter had put herself at risk for all of them. If she was down there injured he wanted to try and help.

It was an intention shared by everyone around him. They'd built this town on the steadfast principle of community. When the situation required it they all came together as one. The hunter might not have been part of their community, she might only have been passing through, but in the end it didn't matter. She'd bled for the town; she'd managed to cull enough Grimm for the horde to be a more than manageable one.

A scream came from the sky. The Nevermore screeched and it was not one of triumph. Broken feathers tumbled from its left wing, one after another as if its limb was being sawed away. It flapped madly, diving and pirouetting, but it couldn't dislodge the figure on its back.

The hunter hung on, using the birds own agony-induced spasms against it. Every pained flap caused the scythe to dig just a little deeper into the muscle and each time it did the hunter gained extra purchase.

There might still have been Grimm on the ground, but no one could tear their eyes away from the fight in the sky. With grim determination the hunter continued to cut. It was crazy; she was relying on the bird's ability to fly just as much as the Grimm, but she had a death wish.

It all happened suddenly. There was snap that was audible on the ground, the Nevermore gave its loudest cry of pain, and the wing tore itself free. It might have been made of feathers, but it plummeted to the ground. The bird didn't fare much better. It corkscrewed downwards, showering the area below with gouts of blood, and through it all the hunter hung on.

They landed hard. Raye could have sworn that he felt the impact. The Nevermore still managed to stir; breathing raggedly in and out it was clearly hurt but alive. The few remaining Grimm edged closer.

The hunter staggered upright. She'd been sheltered from the worst of the impact by the bird's bulk. With a limp she climbed onto the Nevermore's still struggling torso and stood tall for all to see. The scythe flashed down and the bird's head tumbled clear.

It was a decisive moment. As the remaining Grimm watched the oldest and most powerful of them die, as so many had died today, they paused. The hunter stared them down, victorious and unafraid. Rufus sensed they were on the point of breaking.

"Shoot them!" he shouted raising his own rifle.

The gunfire scattered them. They fled for their lives, and the weight of the world lifted from Raye's shoulders. He wasn't dead. He breathed in and the normally crisp air seemed a thousand times sharper. All of his senses tingled with vibrancy. Gently he placed his rifle on the floor with shaking hands.

The sunset was utterly beautiful. The laughter from the wall was infectious and he added his mirth to it. He just couldn't get over the fact that they were alive, all without sustaining a casualty. All thanks to her.

The hunter slowly made her way back towards them. They might have been celebrating, but she was better trained than that. With deliberate cautiousness she prowled the battlefield finishing off any Grimm that might still have been able to trouble them.

Her duties as an executioner couldn't last forever however, and her circuit eventually brought her towards the town. The noise of her ovation rolled out across the killing fields and chased the fleeing Grimm.

The hunter froze mid-step, looking up at all of those who were cheering for her. She should have been used to it, but didn't seem to be. She tugged her cloak tighter around herself and almost appeared as if contemplating raising the hood. Her reaction robbed the townsfolk of much of their enthusiasm.

This was their hero, their saviour. She'd killed an entire horde of Grimm by herself; ridden a Nevermore down from the sky. She should have been someone they could admire. She should have basked in their adulation and returned it in kind. She didn't do any of that. Instead she just appeared tired and wishing she was anywhere else.

The hunter jumped. After everything it shouldn't have been surprising to see her leap over a dozen feet into the air. It still was though. The wind rose as she landed and a space opened up around her.

Raye was one of those who stumbled back. She was young; even younger than he was. And she was pretty, really pretty. Even covered in grime, blood, and who knew what else, her appearance struck a chord in his heart. Her eyes drew him in. They were huge and the most striking colour he'd ever seen. It was in that moment that he fell in love.

The girl didn't though; she avoided meeting his gaze, all of their gazes. If those crowding around her expected her to make a speech they were sorely disappointed. Without another word she pushed her way through them and descended from the wall.

Ruby woke an instant before the grenades went off. It was the gentle clinks of the pins being withdrawn that had done it. In the past couple of years she'd learned the art of sleeping lightly the hard way.

It was just unfortunate she hadn't been able to resist the lure of a bed. A real bed. One with actual springs and padding. She'd forgotten what it was like to sleep on anything other than hard dirt. It was so nice. Nice enough that after her bath the strains of the fight had seemed to melt away as she fell into unconsciousness.

She wished she hadn't now. With the heartbeat she had left she buried her head in her quilt. The concussive thump blew through the room, pounding her eardrums at the same time a flash illuminated the inside of her eyelids.

She didn't have time to recover. Fully dressed she leapt from the bed, relieved she hadn't been stupid enough to try and go to sleep in her underwear. There were two figures by the door, bent over and coughing out smoke.

They were lucky. The grenades very well could have been of the lethal variety rather than the stun. She'd planted them on the door frame and set up a simple tripwire to ensure that no one snuck up on her. The two of them hadn't managed it, but they had caught up with her. That was almost worse. The decision to first help the townsfolk and then to accept their hospitality was coming back to bite her.

Disorientated as they were she could have fought them, but she couldn't risk it. Not when she didn't know how many others there were. Despite the white star still covering most of her vision, she managed to locate her pack. It was small, suitable for the road, and contained some of the most treasured possessions she had left. There was no way she could leave it. Her cloak was strapped to it.

Ruby wished it was her cloak though. The one her mum had given her. It would have brought her so much peace to wrap herself in it once more. She couldn't though. A strange person wearing a dark cloak was forgettable. One in bright red much less so.

Crescent Rose wasn't hard to find; it was barely more than an arm's reach away at all times. She even slept with it in her blankets. After her first rude awakening she'd learnt her lesson. With all of her possessions on her body, she left the room at a sprint.

Glass showered the street below the inn as a body crashed through the window. Ruby managed to land on her feet and took a moment to get her bearings. She needed to head west, but then they'd probably have been expecting that. As the two figures appeared in the ruined window she took off south.

It was hard going. The muscles in her legs began to cramp well before they should have and her breath caught in her chest. She'd been stupid. She never should have tried to kill all the Grimm by herself. Her body was suffering for it now. A few hours sleep just wasn't enough to recharge a spent Aura.

In the dead of night the streets were deserted, lonely lamps on the corners provided scant pools of illumination. If not for the nearly full moon it would have been close to pitch black. It was a shame; she could have used that. As it was if she could see where she was going, her pursuers could see her.

She couldn't afford to try and leave through a gate. Gaining the top of the wall she risked a look back. The two of them were hot on her heels. She didn't want to fight them, but they'd chased her this far. If she was unable to lose them it might be necessary. They wouldn't give up, not when she was their target.

The jump from the wall was harder than it should have been. Her Semblance was sluggish to respond to her call. She managed to roll on her shoulder even with the burden of the backpack and continued on. She didn't sprint, it only would have tired her out, instead she ran in a mile-consuming lope.

The plains all around were not her ally. Give her a thick forest and she could have lost them in minutes; surrounded by almost flat grassland it would be far more difficult. It might have been a hindrance to her escape, but in the white light of the moon the landscape was chillingly beautiful. It was easy to see why so many had taken up Councillor Ozpin's offer.

A bark carried across the terrain. Great, Ruby resisted the urge to swear. They had a dog. Her options shrank dramatically. As she had with so many of her other choices today, Ruby lamented her decision to treat herself with a bath. It had been her first in weeks, and she hadn't gone easy with the lotions. The fragrance of her skin would linger in the air for hours.

Short of finding a stream or a river the dog wouldn't lose her scent. Her luck was just about running out. Near the border most of the water was subterranean; the towns out here relied on deep wells for their supply.

Ruby made a decision. It perhaps wasn't a smart one, but it was the only option that felt open with her. Eventually they would catch up with her again. It was better to meet them on her terms. Shrugging off her pack she rooted through its contents. There wasn't much left in the way of supplies.

She'd never realised how hard it was to get munitions ̶ ̶ especially ones of Crescent Rose's calibre ̶ ̶ without a hunter's licence. Before all she'd had to do was fill in a form or visit a shop. Now such an easy route wasn't open to her. She was almost out of ammo for Crescent Rose, it hadn't been worth wasting on the Grimm earlier, but she'd need it now.

The three remaining grenades were still in the same box that the two from earlier had come from. Stun weapons were legal for those without a licence, but she wished the shopkeeper had been willing to bend the rules.

She never would have mined her door with true explosives out of fear that a civilian might have triggered them. The moonstruck boy who'd been staring at her all evening might very well have ignored her intention to be left alone. But against hunters stun weapons were of limited use. They would buy her a few seconds; that was all.

After preparing the area around her she sat down in the lotus position. Meditation had never been her thing before, she fidgeted far too much, but those days were long past. Focussed on her breathing, with her eyes closed, she prepared for what was coming.

The barks caused her eyebrow to twitch as they grew closer. Her trackers really hadn't been far behind. Ruby could almost sense them on the air as they stopped at the periphery of her preparations. Three, plus the dog, it could be worse. She knew why they stopped. She was their quarry. They expected her to be running, to be terrified for their life, not meditating peacefully beneath the moon.

"I suppose you're here to take me in?" Ruby asked without opening her eyes. "Do you know what I just did for that town?"

"It doesn't change anything." Ruby identified where their leader was standing.

"Does it not? What was the first line of your hunter's vow?" After spending so long in Atlesian high society verbal sparring came easily to her. None of them answered. "I swear to stand against evil wherever I may find it. At this moment are you standing against evil or with it?"

"It doesn't matter. I respect you for what you did back there. We would have done the same if we arrived a few hours earlier, even if it meant your trail going cold. But you're breaking the law."

Ruby resisted the urge to grimace. He didn't seem like a bad man. He'd probably held his hunter's vow, his true one, for decades before making the new oath. He was at least speaking the truth. She was breaking the law.

At the start she simply hadn't been allowed to bear weapons inside cities, but that hadn't lasted. As Vale began to recover from its liberation its population wanted assurance that nothing similar would ever happen again.

The way to achieve that was the removal of any rogue elements. Gradually popular opinion turned against the true hunters who hadn't sworn themselves to the state. Legislation came not long after. They were too dangerous to be allowed to roam without oversight. Those of hunter level skill had to swear the oath or face imprisonment until they did.

The people, those whom they'd defended for so long, preferred it that way. They liked the accountability of the state-controlled hunters. To know just what they were getting when the requested assistance. With alarming speed, Ruby had found herself an outlaw in her homeland. All for remaining true to herself.

"Perhaps I am," Ruby agreed. "But I'm not doing anyone any harm. How many would have died back there without my assistance?" She knew she wouldn't win them around. Like far too many these days they had their orders and would follow them to the letter. She was just buying herself time to recover.

"As I said you did a good thing. It doesn't change the fact that you're a criminal."

"If your friend takes another step to the left he won't like the consequences." The threat was delivered in the same calm voice. That she knew he'd been trying to flank her gave them pause for thought. Undoubtedly they had a file which listed her Semblance, and it wasn't being able to see with her eyes closed. "I take it there is nothing I can say which will convince you leave here."

"No." The answer was resolute. The path was set in stone.

"Very well. Then I have just one last question to ask you. Would you, even the three of you, have been able to kill that horde of Grimm by yourselves?" She rose to her feet fluidly and opened her eyes. "Because I did. Think about that."

They were three older hunters as she'd thought, experienced ones, but her question caused them to glance at each other. They'd likely been briefed about her skills, but seeing the results of them was another thing entirely. Her modesty had long since been left in the dirt like so many of her emotions; she knew how good she was. They knew it too.

"I'm going to give you one last chance to leave here. You can say I escaped, or you never found me, and we forget about this meeting. Then you go home to your friends and families."

"You see we could do that, but if we did that, we would take your place. You're coming with us, whether you want to or not. You're right I don't know what would happen if the three of us fought, but we're not here to fight you. We were just assigned to hold you up."

Hold her up? Her many mistakes of the day were compounded by the latest and most significant by far. She hadn't thought that she rated one. It was a compliment in a way.

"Could you be any more melodramatic Bron?" A fourth figure pushed its way through the grass.

"My apologies sir." It was perhaps telling that even the hunters stepped back from their ally.

The newcomer ignored him coming to a stop a dozen feet away from Ruby. "Ruby Rose you are under arrest for breaching the Hunter's Concordat," he spoke in a bored tone, as if he'd done this dozens of times before. In reality he probably had. "You have the right to legal representation, etc, etc. We can do this later. Are you going to come quietly?"

There was no doubt in her mind that he was what she'd thought and that made her decision process awfully simple. She'd watched Penny fight, she'd watched the footage of them retaking Vale. She'd watched some of the other footage that had surfaced since. The videos that had turned Ozpin's enforcers into legends spoke about in hushed whispers. When facing a Tinman you had two choices: you ran or you died. He might not have killed her, especially not if someone wanted her capture enough to assign a Tinman to her case. It wasn't hard to guess who. But she would have preferred death to being brainwashed in a cell.

Ruby had managed to face down three hunters without fear, but she felt it then. The Tinman sensed her intention. He started forward with a speed that startled even her. The grenades going off in their directed hollows didn't seem to affect him in the slightest.

If not for her desperation he would have caught her. His fingers came so close to her arm, and if he had a grip nothing would have persuaded him to let go. As it was, the frantic flaring of her Semblance was just enough.

Sliding on the dirt which just didn't have enough traction, she lined herself up and started to run. There was no point hoarding her Semblance now. Tinmen might have been faster than almost anyone, but no one was faster than her.

She stopped just long enough to grab her pack; even without her precious memorabilia, heading into the wilderness without basic supplies was suicide. She couldn't afford more than a second though. He might not have her speed but he more than made up for it in stamina.

So she ran, flaring her Semblance all the while. The act of running came to dominate Ruby. The fatigue, the strain, the ache of her diminishing Aura all coalesced into a feeling of timeless enervation. As one foot fell in front of the other in an indomitable rhythm, as her rucksack bounced against her shoulders, her world sank until she was alone with her thoughts.

She didn't know how it had come to this. Her being on the run, a criminal hunted by those who proclaimed themselves hunters while she wasn't one. Her being all alone. It would have made it so much easier if she just knew what happened to everyone she cared about.

Yang, Blake, she knew they'd survived Vale's liberation and not much more. They'd gone to ground too. The same was true for her dad and uncle. She hoped they were all together. Even if she had to be alone, she hoped they were all looking out for one another.

The separation was figuratively killing her. She missed Yang so much it physically hurt. She'd thought that once the war was over they'd all be able to resume their old lives. It had been so naïve. It had been over two years since she'd even heard her sister's voice. Just a phone call would have been enough. It wouldn't happen though.

Her scroll had been one of the first things she'd abandoned. She'd left that all the way back in Atlas. No matter how hard she tried to avoid it her thoughts always circled back there. To the snow-covered country on top of the world. The one that was so beautiful and utterly brutal. A fitting description.

And of course her thoughts always centred on one person in Atlas. If thinking of Yang hurt, picturing Weiss was agony. Ruby couldn't help it though. She thought about her every single hour without fail. Saw her smiling, playing with Zwei in their apartment, dressed and ready for a ball. Saw her leaving the bathroom in a towel, her skin flushed and smooth. Saw every little part of her that had caused Ruby to fall in love with her again and again. It made it all the harder. Weiss haunted her waking thoughts and her dreams. As she ran she blinked tears from her eyes.

Ruby still loved Weiss with all her heart, even after Weiss had betrayed her.

A/N: So we're back. I bet you weren't expecting that. We have a big time skip and lots of events that will be explained in subsequent chapters. And before you start complaining this is still a White Rose story ;).

Also I'd like to say a big thanks to Numbnut10 for writing the summary and to Menolith for catching the typos that somehow manage to slip through. Finally let me know your impressions and if you want to get updates to this story please remember to follow/favourite.