~ Welcome back, CaptainRyano here. This chapter is a tad bit shorter than usual, but the chapter following should be longer. And if all goes well, the chapter after that should be nice and girthy. Hopefully.

Anyways, onto the story. Enjoy!

(=Chapter 18=)

"...You what?" Pyrrha looked on in shock, staring at the large figure that stood before them. Her eyes darted to Jaune, who didn't shy away from the hooded man. In fact, he seemed familiar with his presence, judging from any lack of uncertainty. Neo was much the same, remaining at Jaune's side. Ren however, looked neither worried or uncertain.

He seemed intrigued.

"What is this? Who are you?" Pyrrha demanded, a firm grip held on Miló from underneath her jacket. Who was this figure, and how did he know of Nora? His stance resembled that of a Huntsman, but in a sinister kind of way. He seemed unfazed with her on the verge of drawing her weapon. Jaune noticed her distress.

"Pyrrha, calm down please," He said, reaching out his hands in an effort to placate her. "He is willing to help us. Put your weapon away."

She found herself conflicted, eyes roaming from him to Ren. Jaune seemed genuine, and Ren…

Ren just stared, a curious look on his face.

Her gaze settled on the figure, hood obscuring his face, and the shadows of the alleyway doing well to hide his details. Whoever he was, he didn't want to be seen.

Which was exactly what she wanted to know.

"Tell me his name." She demanded. Jaune's winced.

"I… I can't tell you that."

Pyrrha's frown deepened. She didn't like this, not at all. "And why's that?"

Jaune chose to remain silent. She saw Neo's hand twitch a fraction, almost in anticipation to reach for her own weapon. The air felt tense, as nobody dared to make a move.

"Why are you doing this?"

To her surprise, it was Ren who broke the silence. His face was neutral, stoic even. "Why would you choose to help us? Why help us avenge Nora?"

The figure shifted closer, yet his hood did well to mask his identity. "Those responsible for your friend's death have big plans for Vale. Big plans for the whole world, in fact. It's my intent to stop them."

Pyrrha's brow creased. "The White Fang plan to cause chaos?" She asked, as they had been the ones blamed for the attack on Beacon. The figure scoffed, shaking his head.

"No, this is something much bigger than them. Something much worse."

"And let me guess, you're not going to tell me who it is unless…what, I join your cause?"

"Yes."

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed on the hooded figure. Her mind reached out for something, anything that might give a clue as to who this was…

4 Weeks Prior, 9 Days After Dock Attacks

A gentle knock on the door made itself heard, as Ruby shifted herself upwards in her bed. She wasn't expecting any visitors.

"Ruby? You awake?" Asked Pyrrha, peeking her head through the door. "Pyrrha!" Ruby chirped, arms outstretched as if she could hug her from across the room. The champion girl chuckled, and gave in to the embrace.

"Hello, Ruby. How have you been? Keeping well, I hope?"

"As much as I can manage," Ruby replied, nodding to her bandaged legs. "Doctor Tsune says that I should be able to walk around properly by the end of next week, so that's cool. How about you?"

"Things have been pretty quiet, actually. Everyone's gone back home during the holidays. Even Nora and Ren have gone off camping somewhere in Forever Fall. It's just me and Jaune. Well, when I see him, that is."

Ruby smirked. "Trouble in paradise?"

Pyrrha's attempt to remain nonchalant at the comment failed miserably. She crossed her arms, looking away. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uhuh." Ruby said, wiggling her eyebrows. "You're not a very good liar, Pyrrha."

Said girl sighed in defeat. "That obvious, is it? Makes me wonder how he hasn't noticed, yet you have."

"Boys are silly like that. I'm sure he'll get the memo soon, so don't lose hope yet." Pyrrha smiled. "Thank you, Ruby. That means a lot."

"Speaking of... why'd you come to see me? Not that I'm complaining." Ruby rushed to add. Pyrrha chuckled.

"Well that's good to hear at least. As for why I'm here, I had a question that's been plaguing my mind. Something only you can answer."

"Oh," Ruby said, surprised. "Well, uh, fire away then! Or… question away? Whatever."

"It's about when you were at the docks, looking for Blake… is that alright?" Ruby's smile faltered a bit, but she nodded regardless.

"Alright… Weiss told me about what happened. Your fight with… that Huntsman, or criminal, but she neglected on some details." She drew herself a little closer to Ruby. "I want to help with catching him, and bringing him to justice."

Ruby was surprised at her eagerness to join their hunt, but bit her lip in thought. Pyrrha was trustful, right? She could be trusted.

She nodded to herself, and looked to the invincible girl.

"Well, Ozpin called him 'The Dreaded', and... and said he was responsible for slaughtering hundreds of innocent lives…"

Pyrrha's eyes widened in realization.

This man was the figure who had attacked Ruby. Who had hurt Weiss. Who had crippled Yang…

This man- No, this monster... was The Dreaded.

She brought out Miló and Akoúo̱ in a flash, transforming the former into its rifle form, her sights trained for the head of him.

Neo drew her own weapon as well, legs bent and ready to move if provoked. The Dreaded held a hand on his longsword, ready for a fight.

"Guys! Please!" Jaune cried out, rushing between the three with his arms outstretched. "We're all fighting for the same thing here. Let's not hurt each other over a disagreement!"

"Jaune, do you realise just who this is?" Pyrrha said through gritted teeth, weapon held firm. "He's the one who attacked Ruby! And Weiss, and Yang!"

She expected a shocked reply, but was instead met with silence. Her eyes drifted to him, and his guilty expression betrayed him.

"You... you knew?" She asked, rage building inside of her. With shaking hands she withdrew her aim on The Dreaded…

…and set her sights on Jaune.

"This bastard hurt our friends, and you knew?" Her heart pounded in her head, but it went ignored. "He crippled Yang, and you fucking knew?!"

His silence was answer enough, as his gaze shied away from the furious look on her face.

With a sigh, she lowered Miló, but didn't stow it. Her eyes met with The Dreaded. "Do you speak the truth when you say you will find who attacked Beacon? Who killed our friend?"

The figure before her lowered his weapon, his stance relenting, but holding firm. "Absolutely," He answered.

She held her gaze with him for a moment, before looking back to Jaune. "You're not the person I thought you were, Jaune," She said, sounding disappointed more than anything else. "Whatever you are doing, I want no involvement with. We could have found who killed Nora with the Headmaster's help, yet you chose… a criminal? A terrorist?" She shook her head. "Regardless of what I think… I do hope you find them. But if I hear of anymore horrible things related to you," Pyrrha said, pointing to The Dreaded, "Then I tell Ozpin. Then, I tell everyone."

A moment of tense silence ensued. This was not a matter for discussion or debate. Their silence told her that they understood.

She began to walk away. "C'mon, Ren. Let's not stay any longer than we have to."

"...No."

A chill went up her spine when she heard his reply. She turned back, her eyes widened.

"I'm staying with them," He said in an even voice, standing by Jaune's side. "I will find out who attacked Beacon. I will avenge all who were slain." His eyes hardened as he looked to The Dreaded. "And I will kill whoever murdered Nora."

The Dreaded chuckled. It grew louder, into a full scale laugh. He approached Ren, and gripped him by the shoulders.

"Perfect."

"Well hey there, good lookin'. You come here often?"

The waitress giggled, sporting but a thin black singlet and a skirt way too small for her. She placed a hand to her chest. "I work here. Maybe you should get your eyes checked… old man."

Said man merely cackled at the statement. "Old? Heh, I guess I am a little old. But with age comes… experience, if you know what I mean."

The waitress' eyes lowered yet her smirk grew, as she inched closer. "Well then… I suppose I'll have to find out whether that's true." The man took a large swig from his drink, before rising to his feet.

"Took the words right outta my-"

A ringtone from his pocket cut the conversation short, and he growled to himself when he saw who was calling. "Sorry," He muttered to the waiting waitress. "I need to take this." She hid her disappointment well, simply nodding before attending to another task across the room. With an annoyed sigh, he accepted the call.

"Damn it, Oz, I was in the middle of something here. Why'd you have to call now?"

Ozpin chuckled. "So sorry to have disturbed your activities at… what is it? Nearly 2 AM in Vacuo? It must have been important, I'm sure."

His voice practically dripped with sarcasm. Qrow grumbled to himself, reclaiming his seat at the bar. "It was going to be…" He muttered under his breath, reaching for his drink.

"You're not currently in a bar, are you?" Ozpin asked, causing his hand to pause mid air. "Why did I even ask, of course you are. How rude of me to consider otherwise." Qrow chuckled to himself, hardly able to find it in him to be offended. "Heh. Guilty."

"I'm calling to inform you on your next assignment. You will be watching over a team of first graders who plan to visit Mountain Glenn," He said, causing him to groan.

"Perfect, you want me to babysit a bunch of kids. Mountain Glenn, though… You sure they're up for the challenge?"

"Regional champion Pyrrha Nikos is on the team, and the others are certainly no pushover. With you watching their backs, they should be fine."

"Ah, so I'm not looking after the team with my nieces on it. I don't know whether that's a blessing or a curse." Ozpin chuckled. "I'm sure you'll manage, Qrow."

"Any particular reason why I'm doing this though, Oz? I can certainly handle it, but this is more of a job for Bart, or Port. Hell, even Glynda."

"I need someone with more… versatility, who can react quickly if things were to go bad. I need someone I trust. The leader of the team, Jaune Arc, has become somewhat of an associate to one of our enemies."

"...Her?" Qrow asked in a lowered voice.

"No, not her. Someone who hits a bit closer to home with you, Qrow."

His eyes narrowed as he eyed his drink. "Raven?"

"Not quite," Ozpin replied, a wave of relief washing over him. Raven with a kid, after abandoning Yang? Sounded like his worst nightmare.

"Well if it's not Raven, then it's not close to home, Oz." Qrow said with a small smile, shaking his head. "Hit me," He said, as he took a large swig from his drink.

"Jaune Arc is in contact with The Dreaded."

Qrow almost spat out his drink, punching his chest so he could breathe. He was on his feet not a second later, throwing triple the cost of his drink to the bartender. He didn't care. Nearby onlookers went ignored as he booked it for the exit.

"The Dreaded," Qrow spat once he had made it outside. "The cunt who hurt Ruby. The bastard who broke Yang's bloody back. Please tell me you're sending me to kill this little dipshit."

"...No," Ozpin answered dryly. "That would only cause more problems. And, it's a tad bit extreme."

Qrow scoffed to himself as he looked around the area, two buildings mere metres apart, both overlooking a massive sandstone canyon. "Whatever, I get why you need me for this one. Not just Grimm I'll be on the lookout for."

"Quite so. How soon can you get to Vale?"

"The Bullhead ports are closed," Qrow replied, kicking off of the back wall, and climbing onto the roof, breaking into a full sprint.

"Ah, I see. I'll send my personal Bullhead to-"

"No time," Qrow growled, crushing the soft tiled roof underneath his feet as he sped up. "I'll fly there myself. See you soon, Oz."

With that he pocketed his scroll, just in time to leap off of the roof, and into the massive, barron canyon. His body morphed as he fell, converging into a much smaller, feathered mass.

The night sky echoed the caw of a crow as he flew far away from the town.

~ Budda bing, budda boom, another chapter is done. Despite it being a bit shorter than usual, I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. Also, seeing as it is worth mentioning, Tsune is an original character created by the one, the only, Coeur Al'Aran. Credit of her goes to him.

Also, the next chapter of my other story, A Comforting Embrace, will be released in a couple minutes. So stay tuned for that.