Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a RWBY fanfiction, so I hope this goes well. It's set in an AU where the events at the end of Volume 3 never occurred and life at Beacon continued on undisturbed. Set in team RWBY's third year, Ruby was sent on a solo mission and is now missing. Let's get to it then.

"But perhaps, victory is in a simpler things you've long forgotten. Things that require smaller, more honest soul."

"Even the most honest can fall to the corruption of darkness."

Chapter 1

Weiss opened the door to her shared dorm room, having just finished her classes for the day. Not bothering to change from her uniform, Weiss walks to her bed and lays down. Pulling out her scroll, Weiss pulls up the picture she has stared at every day since Ruby's disappearance. The picture shows both Ruby and Weiss in their uniforms, hugging gleefully for the start of their first summer break at Beacon.

'Oh Ruby, where are you? it's been almost a month since you were so post to be back.' Weiss' thoughts were interrupted as the door to the dorm opened again to show Yang. The blonde brawler looked over to her teammate to see a now familiar sight.

Yang sighs, "Weiss I know you're worried, but doing this isn't good for you."

Weiss lowered her head and looked away from her teammate, "I... I know Yang, but I can't help it." Yang walked over and sat down next to the heiress.

"I know how you feel Weiss. She is my little sis after all, but we have to keep our faith." Weiss sighed heavily, lifting her head towards the blonde.

"I just... I'm filled with so much regret." Tears started to fall down the heiress' face. Yang was about to speak, but Weiss interrupted. "I was finally going to tell Ruby how I feel about her when she got back and now I'm afraid that I'll never see her again."

Yang was taken back by her confession. "Oh Weiss, I'm sorry. I know we've talked about this before, but I never thought that was why you were so worried."

"I just... I can't imagine my life without her anymore and now I may never see her again." Weiss wiped the tears away.

"I'm sure we'll see her again. Ozpin has Qrow looking for her. I'm sure he'll find her. We just have to keep our hopes up."

Weiss stood up with Yang following. Weiss turned and hugged the blonde. "Thank you Yang. I needed that."

"It's no problem Weiss." The two pulled away, smiling. "I'm going to take a shower Yang. When Blake gets back we should go get dinner in Vale. Help get all of this off of my mind." Weiss said as she grabbed some fresh clothes and heads towards the dorm's bathroom.

Once Weiss had closed the door, Yang's smile fell with her shoulders. Sighing, Yang walked over and sat down on Blake's bed.

"Practice what you preach honey." Yang looked up to see Blake carefully close the door to the dorm. The cat faunus walked over and sat next to her girlfriend. She wraps one arm around the blonde and Yang leans into the side hug.

"I do kitty, but I'm still worried." Yang looked up into the amber eyes of her girlfriend. The two leaned in for a short kiss. As they separated, Yang laid her head on Blake's shoulder and the cat faunus started stroking the blonde's hair to comfort her.

"I know we'll see her again. Ruby's a strong huntress."

"I know Blake. Thank you." Yang pulled away as she heard the water shut off. "Weiss wants to go get dinner in Vale tonight. I'm going to skip taking a shower since I wasn't picked in combat class today."

Weiss walked out dressed in one of her casual white dresses in time to hear Blake's response. "Well I'm going to take a quick shower now that Weiss is out." Blake grabbed some clothes and entered the bathroom.

"I'll be outside so you can change in here Yang." Weiss opened the door to the hallway to see Glynda Goodwitch about to knock.

"Oh Miss Schnee. Headmaster Ozpin requests the presence of your team in his office as soon as possible."

"Is it about Ruby?" Weiss asked, her voice a mixture of hope and fear."

"I am not sure, but it's possible. Qrow is also waiting for you."

"We'll be there soon. Blake is in the shower." Yang said as she came up behind Weiss.

"Very well." Glynda Goodwitch turned and walked away from the door. As she moved, Weiss noticed Pyrrha standing by the door to JNPR's dorm.

"Let us know when you can. We're all worried about her." Weiss nodded in response. Pyrrah opened the door and moved into her dorm.

Weiss and Yang backed into the dorm when they heard the door to the bathroom open. "Who were you guys talking to?"

"Glynda Goodwitch. She came and told us that Ozpin wants to see us and that uncle Qrow is here." Yang grabbed the clothes she was going to change into and quickly entered the bathroom. Blake glanced over to Weiss to see her worried expression.

'I hope it's good news, for both of their sakes.'

Earlier that Day

Ozpin sat at his desk looking over the reports he's collected. A few weeks ago a small village in Vale was decimated by Grimm, and over those weeks two more villages fell. While tragic, it's not that uncommon for the smaller villages to suffer due to their lacking of strong defences.

Several things about these attacks stuck out to Ozpin. Survivors have stated that the Grimm seemed to be more organized in their attacks, which is highly unusual. Secondly, the positions of the villages are almost in a straight line towards the city of Vale and Beacon Academy. The only village left in this line towards Vale is Patch, but being isolated on an island should keep the Grimm at bay.

The final thing that Ozpin is most interested in is that the only survivor of the latest attack said that the Grimm was lead by a huntress. This survivor described the huntress as a lean girl with skin as white as snow. The huntress was said to be wearing a black corset and skirt combo with red trim. The huntress also apparently wore a cloak which was black on the outside and red on the inside and wielded a red scythe.

Ozpin had immediately contacted Qrow on the possible sighting of his missing niece and gave Qrow the location of the fallen village. Now it's just a waiting game to see if Qrow finds anything.

Ozpin's train of thought was interrupted as the elevator to his office opened. Qrow stormed over to the headmaster's desk, his eyes filled with rage, with Glynda Goodwitch following with a scowl across her face. As Qrow approached the desk, he pulled a bloody scroll with a cracked screen out of his jacket and slammed it onto the desk.

"I take it you have found something you do not enjoy." Ozpin said in an even tone as the scroll connected to his computer. A video file was transfered and displayed by the holographic projector in the room.

Qrow's only response was to grab his flask and down all that was left in it. The video began to play, the camera shaking slightly. The video turns towards a main street in the village, buildings burning in the background. Standing surrounded by Grimm are a group of villagers with various weapons ranging from hunting rifles to pitch forks. The Grimm suddenly back off as a figure in a black cloak holding a scythe behind her back, blade bouncing off of her heels as she walks towards the group.

The villagers lowered their guard, thinking the huntress was there to save them. The huntress leans down, her scythe blade at the ready next to her. In a burst of red and black rose petals the huntress dashes through the group several times, slashing through the defenceless people. In a matter of seconds, the villagers all fall into a pile of gore in the wake of the huntress.

The huntress turns towards the camera and fires a shot from her scythe towards the film makes. The camera is dropped and lands to see the villager who was filming fall over with a whole through the middle of his forehead.

After a few moments the camera is suddenly picked up and turned to face the murder. The girl lowers her blood stained hood to reveal Ruby. Her skin is as pale as snow, her hair now longer and reaching down her back under her cloak. Ruby's eyes were her normal silver, but lines of a deep red color seemed to dance across the silver platters like worms in the mud.

"Hello Ozpin." Ruby began, a wicked grin growing on her face. The grin quickly falls away and Ruby appears to take on a serious tone. "I'll keep this simple. I want Qrow in Patch this weekend for when we arrive. Failure to comply will forfeit lives of the citizens of Patch, including Signal Academy." The last thing the video sees is Ruby, filled with rage, throwing the scroll across the street and into the pile of body pieces. Ozpin quickly rewound the video and paused it on a picture of Ruby's face.

"What happened to that girl?" Glynda asked, horror written across her face. Ozpin turned to her.

"I need to speak to Qrow alone. Wait ten minutes, then please go get team RWBY and tell them to come see us." Glynda quickly recovered her composure. "Of course sir."

Qrow waited until Glynda was in the elevator before turning towards Ozpin. "What was that Oz?!"

"All evidence would suggest that it is Miss Rose."

"It can't be though. I helped raise and train Ruby and she would NEVER attack an innocent. And what was that with the Grimm? I've never heard of someone being able to bend the will of Grimm." Qrow took a moment to compose himself.

"I would agree with you Qrow. Ruby has the ideals of a true huntress." Qrow interrupted, "Could this be Salem?"

Ozpin sighed, "That was my exact thought. You must go to Patch and try to reason with Ruby."

Qrow sighed heavily, but before he could respond the elevator door opened to show team RWBY. As they entered the room, the group almost simultaneously noticed the still picture of their leader.

"Ruby..." Weiss whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she looked at the image. 'What has happened to you?'

"Uncle Qrow, what is this? Have you found Ruby?" Yang's voice showed her confusion. Qrow turned from Yang to Ozpin. The headmaster nodded, so Qrow moved towards his niece. Placing his hands on her shoulders, the two made eye contact.

"Ruby... is being manipulated by a dark force. She is currently sweeping across Vale with a large pack of Grimm, and she's heading to Patch."

Blake spoke up, fear showing in her eyes, "By sweeping do you mean..." Ozpin was quick to answer, "Yes. Ruby and these Grimm and destroyed three villages. In the latest attack a villager was able to film her... slaughtering a group of villagers and the one filming. She then left a note for Qrow to be in Patch this weekend for her arrival."

Weiss was openly crying. She couldn't believe that someone would force her little rose to do something so evil. Weiss was ripped from her thoughts suddenly by Yang pulling her into a hug. "We'll get her back, and we'll help her through this."

Qrow was about to reject until Ozpin spoke first. "Ruby has a strong will, and a kind heart. Seeing those who love her might just help her overcome what is controlling her. Even though, I need you three to promise me that if Qrow tells you to leave you must listen."

"Why would we leave?" Yang was confused at this seemingly contradicting statement.

"Our first priority is to the safety of the people. Ruby is not in her right mind, and she's bringing a lot of Grimm with her. If we fail to save her, we have to do everything to stop the threat."

"You can't be serious Qrow! That's Ruby! You can't really be suggesting we kill her!" Yang was furious, her eyes flashing to red.

"If Ruby is beyond the point of no return then she will essentially be a Grimm. For the safety of all the Kingdoms, we cannot have a scythe wielding Grimm with her semblance. I don't like it either Yang, and we will do everything to apprehend her first."

Qrow turned to Ozpin, "Do you still have access to those tranq guns?" Ozpin quickly typed on his computer before replying, "We have two here with several 500mg rounds."

Qrow's eyes widened, "500mg?! Oz, that's a lot for a girl Ruby's size."

"Normally yes, but you may only get one shot to take her down." Ozpin's computer suddenly rang with a call from Taiyang.

"How may I help you Taiyang?"

"We have this call every day Ozpin. Anything on Ruby?" Ozpin side glanced at Qrow who was shaking his his head no.

"I'm afraid not Tai, but there is something I need to tell you. We have received intel that there is a large group of Grimm moving towards Patch and they'll be there by the weekend. I need you to coordinate with Signal to evacuate the civilians. I'll be sending who I can to deal with the Grimm."

Tai sighed, "Alright, I'll get on it." The call ended.

"Why did you not tell him?" Yang asked, her rage still evident.

"We need him working on the evacuation and hopefully far away from Ruby. You know how he is Yang. If he knew about Ruby's condition he might have shut down completely." Qrow explained as he grabbed his flask. A quick shake reminded him that he emptied it earlier.

"I suggest you all go rest up. We'll be heading out tomorrow morning. Oz, if you need me call." Qrow then got in the elevator and left.

Ozpin let out a deep sigh, "I know this will be tough for you three, but I need you to understand what you're going up against. Ruby is obviously not in her right mind. While I hope that you will be able to talk her down, do not hesitate to use the tranq darts on her. If we're capable of capturing her then we'll have more time to help her through this."

"We're ready Professor. We'll get Ruby back no matter what."

"Even so Yang, this will not be the end of her troubles."

Blake hopped into the conversation, "Yang, Ruby will be traumatized by this. If she has full memory of her actions..."

Weiss realized where she was going and her barely contained tears started to flow again and whispered, "Oh Ruby. No matter what I'll be here for you."

Yang quickly moved to hug her teammate. "Shh... It'll be alright. We'll all be there for her."

"Come on guys. We still need to get our dinner and get some rest." Blake helped the two towards the elevator. Once they had left Ozpin turned to organizing a group of hunters to send out to Patch.

Author's Note: Well here's where I'll end Chapter 1. Next time we'll see how the team's encounter with the corrupted Ruby goes. I hope you all enjoyed this and I'll try to update soon.