The Seventh Circle

Chapter 1

Taiyang Xiao Long considered himself to be one of the strongest men he knew. He had dealt with a lifetime of hardship in pursuit of his dream of becoming a Huntsman, only to be faced with the reality that Remnant was in much worse shape than he thought it was thanks to signing on to be part of Ozpin's inner circle along with the rest of his team. Time and time again, he had come face to face with the very worst that the world had to offer, and he had come out of it as level-headed as ever.

He took pride in the fact that out of the four members of his team, he was the only one who hadn't ever needed to see a counselor of some kind outside of the mandatory sessions Ozpin requested that all of his students sit through. He was only 28, yet he had been through more trauma than most veteran Huntsmen had, and had managed to emerge from it all without ever breaking. Through it all, he couldn't help but be arrogant enough to assume that he would be able to carry on in the same way forever.

The last couple of days had been a cruel reality check, reminding him that he was as vulnerable as the rest of his team in the worst way possible.

He hid his stress and sorrow well, but only because if he didn't, there would be nothing to keep his wife from completely breaking down. Outwardly, Tai's expression was mildly worried, betraying none of his inner turmoil. He had spent years serving as his team's emotional rock, and while those days had long since passed, he could still fall back into the role easily enough when needed.

As terrified as he was, Summer needed someone there to keep her from going crazy.

The silver-eyed Huntress in question was currently sitting in the hall next to him, nervously staring at the bedroom door unflinchingly. The only signs that she was conscious rather than in a trance were the small nervous tics that she exhibited from time to time – a tapping foot, an anxious sigh, a twitch from the pair of wolf ears on top of her head, a small adjustment to her wedding band.

Alarm bells went off in his head when he saw the last one – Tai knew his wife well enough to know that seeing her incessantly playing with her wedding band was a sure sign that she was on the edge of breaking down. Quickly, he leaned over and pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, it'll be okay," he muttered reassuringly. "She'll be fine, Sum. I know she will."

"What if she's not…?"

Summer's voice was tiny, almost inaudible, and wavered enough that he could tell she was on the verge of tears. Tai gave her a quick peck on the cheek before breaking the hug enough to look her in the eyes.

Fighting back his own sadness had been hard, but now, seeing the corners of her eyes glistening with unshed tears, it became almost impossible. Still, for her sake, he beat his emotions back once more.

"She will be," he said firmly. "We were lucky enough to catch it early, before it got even worse. Besides, you know how strong she is. She's a fighter, just like her mom."

Summer gave a small sniffle at that and briefly wiped at the corners of her eyes before turning her gaze back towards the bedroom door.

"I can't hear anything..." she muttered. To emphasize her point, the pair of ears on top of her head twitched slightly. "That's a good thing, right?"

"No news is good news," Tai said. "If she was getting worse, they'd let us know. They wouldn't have spent so long in there if there was no way of saving her."

In truth, Tai had no idea if he was correct or not; like the rest of his team, the extent of his medical knowledge was Beacon's upper-level field medicine courses, plus sitting in the hospital waiting room while some of his friends were being operated on. Still, the concept had applied to injuries sustained in the field – experience told him that surgeons wouldn't spend hours in surgery if there was no hope of saving someone, after all – so it was probably safe to assume that the same thing applied here.

At least, he hoped.

Summer opened her mouth to respond, but immediately stopped and stared with wide eyes at something behind him. Tai turned around, and he couldn't stop himself from relaxing at what he saw.

"Ruby," he said gently. "You should be asleep, honey. It's almost one in the morning."

The five-year-old fidgeted slightly. "...Couldn't sleep," she admitted. "Worried 'bout Yang..."

Summer stood up and walked over to her, then bent over and wrapped her arms around her.

"Yang will be fine, sweetie," she said, any trace of uncertainty in her voice fading. Tai knew that she was still very worried, but neither of them were about to let Ruby know that.

"The doctors are looking at her now. He's going to tell us how to help her get better."

Ruby gave a small giggle at that. "Yay! I wanna play with her, but she's been too sick."

It only lasted for a moment, but Tai could have sworn that he saw Summer's face contort into a look of pure grief before reverting back to normal.

"...You'll get to soon, Ruby," Summer said, her voice strained.

Tai immediately stood up and walked over to Ruby, then picked her up. "Alright, Rosebud. I think it's time for bed."

Ruby looked like she wanted to protest, but a quick yawn cut her off. Tai gave her a small grin before carrying her into her room and tucking her into bed, then leaning down and giving her a kiss between her wolf ears. She gave a small giggle at that before settling into her bed.

"Alright, Rubes. I know you're worried about Yang, but it's important that you get your sleep," Tai said.

Ruby frowned at that. "Don't wanna sleep… Wanna stay up and visit Yang."

"I know, honey. But it's important for a strong Huntress to get a lot of sleep if she wants to stay strong."

The little wolf Faunus perked up excitedly. "I wanna be a strong Huntress!"

Tai ruffled her hair, careful to avoid her sensitive ears. "I know you do, and that's why you need to get some rest." She still looked unconvinced, so he quickly added, "It's really important to me and Mom that you get a good night's sleep, Ruby. Can you do that for me and Mommy?"

She looked disappointed at being told to go to sleep, but nodded all the same. "...For you and Mommy," she said.

"That's my little Huntress," Tai said, giving her a kiss on the forehead before standing up and moving to the door. "Goodnight, Ruby."

"'Night, daddy," Ruby replied.

Tai gave her one final soft look before gently closing the door and turning back to Summer. She gave him an apologetic look.

"...Sorry," she said softly. "I don't know what came over me, being set off by something as small as that." She gave an annoyed sigh. "Look at me – too out of it to even put Ruby to bed..."

Tai walked over and pulled her into another hug. "Don't start with that," he gently told her. "We're all worried – you, me, Ruby, Qrow, even Ozpin and Glynda. Beating yourself up for feeling the same way we all do isn't going to help anything."

She gave another sigh, this one of resignation. "...I'm so lucky to have you," she said.

Tai broke the hug enough to look her in the eyes and give her a reassuring smile. "That's my line, Sum. If you hadn't been there for me and Yang, I don't know-"

The door to Yang's bedroom suddenly opened up, cutting him off. Both parents stared, wide-eyed, as the head doctor, a man named Aidan Gray, came marching out. It didn't take any time for both of them to crowd around him, hopeful looks on their faces as they silently plead for any news he could give. He pulled the surgical mask off of his face before turning to them, his expression optimistic.

"You'll be happy to know that we've managed to isolate the disease and keep it from spreading for now," he reported.

Tai breathed a huge sigh of relief, barely managing to let it out before Summer wrapped her arms around him, happy tears streaming down her face and a big grin on her face.

"I hate to ruin your happiness, but she's not out of the woods just yet," Doctor Gray warned, causing them both to immediately sober up and stare at him in shock. He continued, "We've only managed to keep it from getting any worse. As of now, she's still comatose. She needs additional special treatment – treatment you won't find outside of Atlas, given how rare the disease is."

"What do we need to do?" Tai asked, his voice firm.

"Find a way to get into contact with some of the higher-ups in Atlas about a man named Pietro Polendina – he's an old friend of mine, and the expert in this field. He used to be a robotics expert before his daughter got sick with the same disease, and dedicated himself to studying it in order to find a cure. He was too late to save her, but so far, everyone else he's treated with it has made a full recovery."

"How do we get in contact with him?" Summer asked.

"...If you've got any favors with the Atlesian Military, now would be a good time to call them in," Gray said, his voice hollow. "Last I heard, he's gone back to studying robotics on some government project up there. No idea why. If you can convince the military to let him take a hiatus in order to work on your daughter, I know he'd be happy to."

"You've done more than enough," Tai said. "Thank you so much, Aiden."

"Anything to help. I'll give Pietro a call in the morning and see if I can't get him to pressure the military from the inside, but I can't guarantee anything – whatever they've got him working on, it must be important. I haven't been able to talk to him for months."

"Whatever you can do for us, we'll take," Summer said.

Gray nodded. "If anything comes up, don't hesitate to give me a call." He stepped over to the stairs before looking back. "...And when she does get better-"

"We'll let you know right away," Tai said. "It'd be the least we can do to repay you after everything you've done for us."

He gave them both a small grin. "I wish you both luck, then. I'll keep a nurse and a doctor on standby here in the event that her condition worsens – I don't expect it to so soon, but just in case."

"Thank you," Summer said.

Doctor Gray gave them both a final nod before heading down the stairs. The instant it was clear that the conversation was over, Summer turned to Tai, determination evident in her expression.

"I'll call Oz," she volunteered. "I'll get him to lean on Colonel Ironwood a bit to encourage him to help us."

Tai nodded. "I'll arrange transport. I'll get an airship, and see if I can convince some of the doctors and nurses here to travel with us."

With that, both adults whipped out their scrolls and frantically began placing calls as fast as they could. It would be an expensive trip, and it would likely cost both them and Oz most of the favors they had accumulated over the years, but all of them were willing to pay any price if it meant that Yang would recover.

The two of them had spent years trying to raise a family together, and they weren't about to let it fall apart due to sickness.

It hadn't taken long for the Xiao Long-Rose family to find themselves en route to Atlas. Ozpin had managed to come through for them, and had convinced Ironwood to speak to the Atlesian council about letting Doctor Polendina take a hiatus. Thankfully, they had seen fit to grant this request, meaning Yang would be receiving the treatment she needed. It was a small miracle that it had all happened so fast – Doctor Gray's final visit had only been two days ago, yet already they were in an airship, and only an hour or so out from the hospital where Yang was due to be operated on.

Taiyang cast another look around the interior of the airship, tapping his foot slightly as he did so. Like Summer, he was thankful for what Ironwood had done for them, yet there was still no small amount of uncertainty and anxiety at play. What if Yang's condition worsened before they arrived at the hospital? They had managed to arrange for a doctor and a nurse to travel with them, and had dragged all of the machines she was hooked up to along for the ride as well, yet the idea that their luck would run out so close to the end was terrifying.

Even with Qrow purposely staying as far away as possible, there was always the fear that something could still go wrong.

Besides that, there was the ever-present concern that Doctor Polendina wouldn't be able to help – after all, his own daughter had lost her fight with the very same disease despite his intervention, and Tai couldn't help but worry that, even after putting his best put forward, Pietro wouldn't be able to save Yang from the same fate.

A small, angry huff forced its way from his throat – born of worry, no doubt, but angry all the same. The blonde Huntsman crossed his arms over his chest, trying to force himself to calm down.

Tai turned to his left and found himself staring at his wife. He frowned, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before opening his eyes to look at her once more. Like him, she was exhausted; the dark rings beneath her eyes were proof enough of that. Despite the recent positive turn of events, both of them were still barely hanging on – sleep naturally wasn't easy to come by when they had both been spending almost all their time trying to set things up, and even after getting onto the airship, neither of them were in a good enough head space to easily fall asleep. Summer had finally managed to pass out about halfway through the trip, much to Tai's relief.

Unfortunately, that left him alone with his concerns, and in the absence of anyone to witness him, he was finding it very difficult to keep them under control.

Tai almost envied Ruby. She was resting in Summer's lap, her head buried in the crook of her mother's neck while Summer gently held her in place with one arm. Of course, Ruby didn't understand the gravity of the situation; if she had, she would have been of the same mindset as her parents. As it was, the excitement of the previous few days had finally caught up with her, and she had drifted off not long after they had all reached cruising altitude.

"Tai."

He quickly turned to his wife, his foot ceasing its tapping in the same motion. Summer was awake – still clearly exhausted, but slightly rejuvenated. The few hours she had gotten were a start, but not nearly enough. Tai couldn't help but frown at the idea that he had woken her up.

"Sorry to wake you," he said.

"Don't apologize to me for that," she said softly. "Not when you've been keeping everything bottled up."

A pang of guilt flashed through his mind. Clearly, he hadn't been as discrete as he thought he was. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she cut him off.

"And don't apologize for that, either. I know why you did it. I'm not happy about it, but I can at least see why."

Tai shut his mouth. He knew better than to say anything to the contrary.

Summer leaned back in her seat, being careful not to disturb Ruby. "Times like these, I wish I had Qrow's strength."

Tai knew what she meant. It had taken a long time and a lot of counseling, but by the end of their time at Beacon, Qrow had emerged incredibly stable. His strength was a far cry from Taiyang's, but he had a certain aloofness that Tai lacked. Even when Yang had gotten sick and he had been told to stay away, he had taken it in stride, simply requesting that they give him updates whenever they could before disappearing to Vacuo for a bit.

He had come a long way from the moody and hostile young man that had entered Beacon alongside them. It was easy to see why Summer would envy him to a certain degree, but that wasn't going to stop Tai from disagreeing with her.

"You're stronger than you think you are," Tai said. "When Raven left, I was a wreck – and don't try to say that I wasn't," he added, stopping her when she tried to interrupt. "I was barely hanging on, even worse than I am now. If you hadn't been there for me, I don't know what I would've done. Maybe drink myself into a coma or something, I'm not sure. Point is, you helped me through all of that. Kept me sane. You were there for me at my worst."

"Wish I could do the same thing here…" she muttered. "What changed?"

"If I had to guess? Hearing Yang call you 'Mama' for the first time," Tai pointed out. "She's just as much your daughter now as she is mine."

"All the more reason why I should stay level-headed."

"Hey," Tai said, gently cutting her off. He took her hand in his and looked her in the eyes. "Let's both just take a deep breath, okay? We're almost at Atlas. Yang will get treatment there, and it'll all be okay. Logically, there shouldn't be anything for us to worry about. We're both stressed, and tired. Once we're at the hospital, Pietro will get to work on her, and she'll be fine. Worrying won't accomplish anything aside from making things worse." He gave her hand a small squeeze. "…Let's both agree that we'll stay calm until he's had a chance to look at her. Much as I hate to admit it, there's nothing else we can do at this point aside from that."

Summer's mouth tightened into a thin line at that, but she nodded nonetheless. "...Okay."

At her confirmation, Tai relaxed. "Good..." He let go of her hand and reached into his pocket, searching for his scroll in order to take a look at the time. "Not much longer until we land." He gestured towards the sleeping Ruby. "Do you want to wake her up now?"

Summer cast a glance down at Ruby, who mumbled something in her sleep. The silver-eyed Huntress couldn't hold back a smile as she stared at her daughter. She gave Tai a quick nod, then gently shook Ruby awake.

"Ruby, sweetie, it's time to get up."

Sleepily, Ruby cracked open both eyes and rubbed them before giving a small yawn. She looked around questioningly before turning back to her mother.

"Are we there yet…?"

Summer shook her head. "Not yet, Rosebud. A little bit longer. But we wanted to go over some of the things we all talked about before we left."

She gently placed Ruby down on the seat next to her, then pointed to the wool cap that she was wearing on her head.

"What did we say about your cap?"

Ruby thought for a moment. "...I have to wear it all the time, 'cuz it's really cold in Atlas, and my ears are really sen-a-tive to the cold."

Summer smiled at her. "Good. And what about if we have to leave the hospital and walk around the city?"

"I have to hold hands with you or Daddy, and tell you right away if something happens to my hat."

"And what if you catch someone looking at you funny? What do you do then?"

"Tell you or Daddy, and you'll take care of it."

Summer gently rubbed Ruby's head. "Good."

Thankfully, in this instance, 'take care of it' did not boast the same meaning as it had when they were all still at Beacon, given that fatherhood had mellowed Tai out substantially and Qrow was entirely absent. Colonel Ironwood had specifically told them that if anyone were to say or do anything to harass Ruby, they were to report to him immediately, and he would handle it personally. In his own brief words, racial tension was incredibly high in Atlas at the moment, and the last thing he wanted was one of them making it worse by escalating things. Both parents had agreed to this, for Ruby's sake; she had never been away from Patch before, and while Patch's admittedly minuscule population was overwhelmingly open-minded when it came to Faunus – and, for that matter, a Faunus and a human getting married and having a child together – the rest of the world was not.

Inevitably, Ruby would have to receive the racism talk at some point, and while it would no doubt happen sooner rather than later given the nature of the world, this was neither the time nor the place for it. Perhaps when they got home, and Yang was better. Until then, it would have to wait.

Ruby fidgeted uncomfortably, catching her mother's attention. "Don't like the snow gear."

"I know, Rosebud," Summer said. "You'll only have to wear it until we get inside. Then you can take your jacket, gloves, and boots off."

"But not my hat," Ruby pointed out.

Summer gave her a small grin. "Very good."

Ruby beamed at the praise for a second before her grin faded, replaced with a look of realization. She turned to Tai, an excited look on her face.

"Daddy, Daddy! Tell me a story until we land!"

Tai chuckled and pulled her into his lap. "Sure thing, sweetie. Which one do you want?"

"Tell me about the time Uncle Qrow fought the elephant Grimm!"

Summer couldn't help but chuckle at the request. She knew exactly what that story consisted of, and while it had been deemed appropriate for Ruby to hear, it wasn't told very often because it was a very embarrassing story for Qrow – it was their first time out in the field after he had modified his weapon to be capable of turning into a sword in addition to a scythe, and despite the hours he had spent practicing with it, his inexperience had been obvious.

Even now, years after graduating, Qrow would still get mad and leave the room whenever it was brought up.

Tai grinned. "You sure? You know your uncle doesn't like that story."

"But it's so funny! Please?"

Tai pretended to consider it for a moment. "Alright, I'll tell it."

Ruby squealed excitedly and settled into her father's lap as he began to speak, recounting everything as if it had happened yesterday. Summer watched as Tai went into the story, with Ruby staring at him with rapt attention.

For the rest of the flight, all she could think of was how badly she wanted her family to be whole again.

It was barely an hour later that the airship touched down on the hospital's landing pad. It was just after midnight by the time they arrived, just as had been arranged – the hospital would be mostly empty save for them and the medical team, meaning they could get Yang in to see Pietro as quickly as possible. Once the cargo bay doors opened, they were met by a small group of nurses and doctors, who wasted no time in gathering both Yang and the equipment she needed and hurrying her inside. Summer and Tai quickly gathered up their belongings and began to follow after them.

They made it halfway to the building when Colonel Ironwood came out to greet them, along with a squad of Specialists. The family stopped, giving Ironwood a confused look.

"Summer, Tai," he greeted.

"James," Tai replied, an edge creeping into his voice. "What are you doing?"

"Carrying out the worst set of orders I've ever been given," he said bluntly. He cast a glance down at Ruby. "Perhaps it would be best if your daughter went on ahead? These men can escort her to a waiting area just outside the operating room, and you can meet her there in a bit. There is no need for anyone but us to be present for this."

One of the men behind him stiffened. "Sir-"

"Consider that an order, Sergeant," Ironwood replied. "You may be here because General Onyx commanded it, but I can still punish you for insubordination all the same if you refuse to do what I tell you. Now, unless you plan on earning yourself a court martial, you should carry out your order without complaint. Am I clear?"

"...Crystal, sir," the man replied.

"Excellent." Ironwood turned back to the family of three in front of them. "Would you like them to escort her inside?"

"Not until you tell us what's going on," Summer said. "What are you trying to do?"

"Follow my orders, ridiculous as they are."

Tai stepped forward, his eyes flashing and his hands balled into fists. "James, if you keep us from Yang any longer, I will throw you and all of your men off the roof. You've got ten seconds to either start talking or stand aside."

"Stand down," Ironwood commanded as the Specialists behind him began to shift into combat stances. Hesitantly, they all relaxed, though each of them fixed Tai with a harsh glare. Once his men were reined in, Ironwood sighed heavily. "I was hoping to avoid talking about this with the little one being present…" He turned to Summer. "I'll give it to you straight: the council thinks you're a security risk, Missus Rose."

Tai stiffened. "Why would they possibly think-"

"You know why," Ironwood said, his tone dripping with regret. He motioned to the top of his head for emphasis.

Tai grit his teeth before looking over to his wife. She frowned, then leaned down to look Ruby in the eyes.

"Ruby, sweetie, why don't you go in with those men and wait for us? We'll be there in a minute."

Ruby looked over at the Specialists and shifted uncomfortably. "...They're really scary," she muttered.

"We'll be right behind you, okay? Nothing is going to happen. I promise." She gave Ruby a small hug. "Please?"

"...'Kay," Ruby said after a few seconds. Summer released her, and she hesitantly walked over to where Ironwood was standing. The soldiers gave her a wary glance, but did as they were told, leading her into the building without complaint or comment. Soon enough, only James, Summer, and Tai were left standing out in the cold.

As soon as the door closed on the last soldier, Tai rounded on James.

"Tell us exactly what the council wants and why I shouldn't march over there right now and break all of them in half," he spat.

"Tai," Summer said, taking him by the arm to hold him back. She glared at Ironwood. James had to resist taking a step back.

Even now, with Tai a step away from kicking in the door to the council's chambers and wringing all their necks, she somehow still managed to be the more intimidating out of the two of them.

James sighed. "Let me begin by saying that I'm sorry that I have to do this-"

"That isn't stopping you from doing it," Tai pointed out angrily.

"Orders are orders. If I had another option, I'd take it. But I don't." He sighed heavily. "I'm sure both of you are aware about the White Fang protests happening across Atlas?"

"Of course. They're not new. Tell us something we don't know."

"Well, recently, something has changed. They've started attracting a lot more Faunus, and are happening more often. Not only that, but there's been an upturn in violence on both sides – nothing deadly yet, but at this point, the whole city's a powder keg. The moment someone dies, on either side, we're going to have citywide riots on our hands."

"What does this have to do with us?" Summer asked.

"The council has started taking steps to prevent bloodshed. They've already instituted no-assembly edicts and curfews, though that hasn't done a damn thing to stop the protesters. Their most recent move was a temporary ban on Faunus carrying weapons. No exceptions. Not even for Huntresses or Specialists." He sighed again. "The council thinks you're a security risk, Summer. I am here to collect your weapon to put them at ease. And until I do, those soldiers inside have been ordered to prevent Doctor Polendina from treating your daughter."

Tai took a step forward, a series of swears ready to erupt from his mouth, only for him to be interrupted by the sound of metal clattering onto the roof of the building. Turning around, he found that Summer had unclasped her sword from her belt and unceremoniously thrown it onto the ground. She fixed Ironwood with a harsh glare, her silver eyes glimmering in the night.

"Take it, then gather your men and leave," she said, her voice seething with rage. "And the next time you report to the council, tell them that if they ever try to leverage my kids against me again, there won't be enough of them left for their families to bury."

She didn't bother to wait for Ironwood's response, instead taking Tai by the arm and storming into the hospital, searching for the waiting room. They found it soon enough, and the instant they stepped inside, Ruby came bounding over to them. Summer bent down to pick her up, then gave her a kiss on the forehead before turning to the soldiers and giving them a harsh glare.

"Get out."

They didn't need to be told twice. After a quick glance at her hip to see that her sword was missing, they all hastily left the room, not even bothering to look back. Once they were all gone, Summer took a deep breath before turning to her daughter.

"Are you okay, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded. "Y-yes… Are they coming back?"

"If they do, it'll be the last thing they do," Tai grumbled under his breath. With her free arm, Summer softly elbowed him in the side. "I mean, no, they won't. Nothing to worry about, Ruby."

"Can we go see Yang yet?"

"Of course, sweetie," Summer said. She put Ruby down, and the three of them pushed their way through the double doors into the operating room.

The medical team from the airship had worked fast, and had managed to set up all of the necessary medical equipment they had brought with them in record time. Now, the room looked much like Yang's room back in their house on Patch, though it also boasted a large array of other advanced-looking medical equipment with unknown purposes. The small team of doctors and nurses from the airship were huddled around Yang's hospital bed, looking for any signs of her condition changing; when they saw the family coming, they cleared some space for the three of them to move closer. Together, the Xiao Long-Rose family approached Yang's bed, and looked down at her.

It had only been a few weeks since the sickness had taken hold, but it had worked fast. Yang's condition had quickly deteriorated, and within just a few days, she had slipped into a coma. At this point, the only things keeping her alive were the machines she was hooked up to – various IVs giving her fluids, medicines, and antibiotics, as well as equipment designed to monitor her condition. A breathing mask covered her mouth and nose, the same way it had ever since she first fell into her coma.

Even upon a cursory glance, it was clear as day that she was dying. She had lost a great deal of weight, leaving her unhealthily thin. Her skin was extremely pale, the farmer's tan she had acquired from many days playing in the sun having long since faded as her health deteriorated. Most tellingly of all, her mane of blond hair, which she had always been very protective and fussy over, had faded from a bright gold to a sickly yellow, and despite Summer still doing her best to care for and brush it every day, it refused to return to even a shadow of its former self, instead remaining stringy and oily.

"Mommy, Yang is gonna get better soon, right?" Ruby asked.

"She is if I have anything to say about it," came a deep voice from behind them.

All of them turned around and were met by a bearded, dark-skinned, middle-aged man dressed in surgical scrubs approaching them. He gave them all a wide smile as he came closer.

"Summer and Tai, right?" he asked, earning a nod from both of them. "Good. I am Pietro Polendina, and I will be working on your daughter today." He cast a glance down at Ruby, who shied away. "Your other daughter, of course; this one here seems quite healthy, thankfully. What's your name, little one?"

"R-Ruby…" she said softly.

He grinned at her. "Nice to meet you, Ruby. I promise that I will do everything in my power to help your sister get better."

Ruby stared at him, wide-eyed, before breaking into a wide smile. "Thank you!"

"Please, thank me after I've managed to help her," he said. "Now, let's take a look at what we're working with."

Everyone else stepped back to give him some room to work, leaving him the only one within several feet of Yang's hospital bed. For the next several minutes, he did a quick, surface-level examination, humming in thought the whole time. Finally, once he was satisfied with what he found, he turned back to his audience.

"I won't know for certain until I've conducted a more thorough examination, but just from what I can see here, she looks to be in better shape than some of the other children I've managed to bring back from the brink," he reported.

Summer let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. A quick glance over at Tai showed that he had just finished doing the same.

"So, you can help her?" Tai asked.

Pietro nodded. "Indeed, I can. Luckily, it seems as though you managed to catch it early – if you hadn't, she'd be in much worse shape. Again, I'll have to take a closer look to be sure, but from what I've seen, I'm optimistic about her chances."

It took a second for his words to truly sink in, but when they did, the family wasted no time in embracing each other, relieved. Pietro stood back, letting them have their moment before clearing his throat to get their attention.

"Now, that being said, there is something I need you to do, Taiyang. Do you remember what Doctor Gray mentioned a few days ago?"

Tai nodded. "He said Yang would need a bone marrow transplant, and that it would have to come from me."

"Correct. Normally, I would allow both parents to determine which of them would be the donor, but after reviewing some of the information you sent me, it will have to be you."
Summer and Tai exchanged a quick glance. When they had received word that Pietro would do the operation, they had sent their own family and medical histories to him in case he needed them. He had quickly determined that, if Yang's situation was anything like the others he had treated, she would almost certainly require a marrow transplant, and since the donor had to be a close genetic match to her, but they didn't have time to search through a donor registry for an appropriate match, that left either Taiyang or Ruby.

Naturally, Ruby's name had quickly been crossed off the very short list of potential candidates.

"When do you need me?" Tai asked.

"That will be one of the first things we do," Pietro replied. "First, I will take your bone marrow, and freeze it until Yang is ready to receive it. In the meantime, I will put her through chemotherapy, which is done to weaken her immune system so her body won't reject the cells. It will take about a week for her to be ready for the transplant, but when she is, we'll do it right away. If all goes right, the new marrow will help fight the disease in addition to helping repair the damage it's already done. With that done, everything else will become much easier."

"Will the surgery take long?" Summer asked.

Pietro shook his head. "The donation itself will only take two hours at most. However, Taiyang will be under general anesthesia for it, so it will take him some time to wake up."

"I can't be awake for it?" Tai asked.

Pietro gave him a funny look. "While I admire your courage, I don't think this is something you want to be awake to experience, given that the procedure involves sticking a very large needle directly into your pelvic bone."

At that, the Huntsman paled. "...Anesthesia sounds nice."

The doctor barked out a laugh at that. "You made the right choice, trust me. Anyway, I'll get set up to draw your marrow. I'll need you to get changed into a gown and lie down in a hospital bed for me."

"Sure, anything you need," Tai said. He turned back to Summer and Ruby. "Do you two want to head over to the hotel and wait for me?"

Summer looked down at Ruby. "What do you think?" Ruby blinked, then vehemently shook her head. Summer chuckled and gently rubbed her head. "We'll wait until you wake up, Tai."

"You sure? It's already pretty late. I'll be out for a few hours at the very least."

"I'm sure. I think we'd both rather wait for you."

"If you'd like a place to sleep, there are some quarters on the first floor," Pietro pointed out. "They're supposed to be reserved for doctors and nurses working in shifts in the aftermath of a large-scale Grimm attack, but Atlas' perimeter defenses are so heavy that we haven't had an attack like that in several decades. I don't think anyone here would mind if you commandeered them for a few hours."

Summer nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Doctor. You have no idea how much all this means to us."

"Respectfully, Missus Rose, I was in your position once," he said somberly. "If I can prevent anyone from going through what I had to, I will. Now, why don't you and Ruby go downstairs and get some rest? I will send a nurse to come get you when Taiyang's anesthesia wears off."

"Of course." She turned to face Tai. "I'll see you in a few hours, honey. I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied.

With that, Summer took Ruby's hand, and together the two of them walked out of the room and over to the nearby elevators. A quick ride down to the first floor and a minute of searching later, and the two of them had found an unoccupied room they could borrow. Both of them climbed into bed, with Ruby snuggling up next to her mother and Summer wrapping an arm around her, and within just a few seconds, both of them were asleep, the day's excitement having finally caught up to them.

Both of them were completely ignorant of the crowd gathering just outside the hospital.

It was just a few hours later that Ruby and Summer were harshly awoken by loud noises from outside – crashes, shouting, and what sounded like someone speaking into a megaphone.

Summer frowned. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on, given what Ironwood had told them earlier.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Ruby asked, her voice wavering with fear.

"Nothing, sweetie," Summer replied. "Don't worry about it."

A loud crash coming from the front of the hospital made both of them jump. It sounded like a large piece of glass had shattered. Ruby tightly gripped onto her mother's cloak, causing Summer to frown. She let out a heavy sigh.

"Stay here, Rosebud. Lock the door when I leave and don't open it again until I come back."

Ruby's eyes widened. "W-what's going on?"

"I'm just going to take a look around and tell Colonel Ironwood if anything looks out of place. Promise me that you'll lock the door and won't move until I return."

Ruby froze before giving a slow nod. Summer flashed her a reassuring smile before standing up and walking over to the door, stepping outside before closing it behind her. She waited for the click of the lock being turned, and after hearing it, turned on her heel and marched towards where the crash had come from. Internally, she sighed; she shouldn't be getting involved in something like this, but if the hospital was being looted, then she owed it to the staff to at least call it in after everything they had done for her family.

As she walked, she couldn't help but feel vulnerable without her weapon. It shouldn't have weighed on her as heavily as it was – thanks to Tai, she was confident enough in her hand-to-hand combat abilities that she could easily handle any looters if it came to that – but after spending so much time carrying her sword around everywhere she went, being without it left her feeling almost naked.

As Summer got closer to the front of the building, the noises from outside began to grow louder, and were joined by several loud voices that were much closer. If there was any doubt as to what was happening, it could probably be put to rest. The veteran Huntress let out a sigh of annoyance as she rounded the final corner and came fact-to-face with several people dressed in cloth masks rifling through any containers they could find. Summer briefly noted that they all appeared to be Faunus.

What they were searching for, Summer had no idea. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good – the only things that came to mind were drugs or chemicals. In any case, there were only a few of them, so it wouldn't be a problem for her to put a stop to this before it got out of hand.

"Hey!" she called out, causing all of them to turn to her in surprise. "What are you doing?! You're raiding a hospital! Do you have any shame at all?!"

A couple of them exchanged a glance of uncertainty. One of them finally turned back to her and spoke.

"What's it to you? Fuck off, human."

Racism was a two-way street, apparently. Summer had to resist the urge to facepalm. Annoyed, she reached up and took off her cap, letting it fall to the floor in order to expose her ears.

"I'm a Faunus too, moron. Now, mind explaining why you're looting a hospital, of all places?"

They all exchanged another look with each other before the same man from before spoke up again. "Why do you care? This place is government-funded. You should be happy we're sticking it to the Atlesian government."

"I care because my daughter is currently upstairs being treated for a life-threatening illness, you idiot, and I'm not a fan of spitting in the faces of the people who are working to keep her alive," Summer fired back. She was very quickly losing her patience with these fools. "Now, I suggest you all drop whatever you're holding and leave before I start taking it personally."

Everyone in the group was suddenly looking a lot less sure of themselves. One of them actually did what he was told, putting down the box he was carrying and quickly turning on his heel to leave through the pile of broken glass and twisted metal that was once the hospital's sliding front doors. The rest of them seemed to consider her words for a moment, but still looked uncertain. Another one stepped forward to address her.

"Why do we care about what you have to say? Just because your kid is upstairs doesn't mean-"

Summer quickly disregarded anything he had to say past that point, instead bending over to pick up a piece of metal from the destroyed door. It was a fairly big piece – easily the length of her arm, and at least a few inches thick. It seemed like it had come from the frame, so it was likely very sturdy. She was certainly no expert in metallurgy, but from what she could see, it appeared to be stainless steel. Going off what Doctor Polendina had said about the Grimm attacks, it was likely put into place to support a much sturdier door that had since been replaced for something more aesthetically pleasing.

Focusing her aura into her arms, she promptly bent it into a pretzel before holding it up and showing it to them.

All of them immediately paused, staring at her with wide eyes. Summer let the piece of metal fall to the ground before glaring at them.

"You know, it'd be pretty embarrassing if you all had to end up being treated by the same doctors you were just trying to rob," Summer said. "I'm going to count to five. If you haven't all dropped whatever you're holding and started to walk away by then, we're going to have a problem. One."

She never got to two. The entire group promptly threw down whatever medical supplies they were carrying and booked it, sprinting out of the hospital as fast as their legs could take them. Summer allowed herself a small grin as she watched them disappear into the night. Once she was sure they were gone, she turned to go back to her room, but quickly thought better of it; from the sound of things, the protest-turned-riot was still ongoing, even if it seemed to be moving away from her, and it was possible that more people could try breaking into the hospital. Sighing, Summer grabbed a nearby chair from the waiting area and propped it in the doorway before taking a seat, one leg crossed over the other, and typing out a quick message to Ironwood explaining what had just happened. Hopefully, he would send some men to relieve her, but for now, she would hold down the fort on her own. Briefly, she considered going back for her hat, but decided against it, figuring that letting the protesters see that she was a Faunus might help them reconsider.

And so, Summer sat back and waited for the chaos to be over.

"This is a waste of time."

At the sound of his ally's voice, Hazel exhaled sharply. "What do you suggest, then?"

"I suggest we look elsewhere for something more promising. We've been here monitoring this group and trying to subtly steer them in the right direction for months, and we still have nothing to show for it beyond petty chaos."

"If you want to be the one to tell that to Salem, then be my guest. Just remember that this was your suggestion in the first place."

The other man, Watts, went silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "I only vocalized this idea because Merlot managed to stumble on some of their members when he was looking for people to test his Grimm against and told me it was worth looking into."

Hazel huffed. "I'm sure she'll take that well, given what happened to him."

"His intel was solid up until this point."

"Up until it got him killed, you mean."

"I said his intel was solid, not his OpSec. What he managed to provide us before he was found out and killed was incredibly valuable… which just makes him pointing us in this direction all the more confusing, given how much of a disappointment it's been." Watts brushed some snow off his shoulders before turning back to Hazel. "Initially, I thought that maybe he saw something in them that we haven't yet, but all I can see is an irrelevant splinter group that is utterly incapable of doing anything meaningful even with the scraps of military intelligence we leak to them."

Hazel didn't bother to look at Watts during his rant, instead focusing on looking over the riot through his binoculars. "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way," he ventured. "The drive is there – the riots are proof enough of that. Perhaps it would just take the right push to send them over the edge."

"It would have to be a pretty big push. Ineffective as he is these days, Ghira is still lionized by all of them for his charisma and prior victories." Watts thought for a bit. "Perhaps we could recommend sending Tyrian to deal with the Belladonna family. He would blend in much better than the two of us, and the shock of losing Ghira and his family would be more than enough to spur the rest of the White Fang into violence." He shrugged. "Just something to consider in case we decide to give up on this. Salem will probably be less angry at us if we can provide a suitable suggestion to her."

Hazel grunted in agreement before going back to surveying the chaos below. The two of them were currently on the roof of a tall building in downtown Atlas, the same place they had spent their nights for the past week or so. This building in particular provided an excellent vantage point from which to gaze out over most of the area; the only place that seemed better was the nearby hospital, but it always had at least a small team of staff on call whereas their current position was quick to empty at the end of a workday.

"See anything?" Watts asked.

Hazel shook his head. "Nothing beyond the usual – lots of debris being thrown, nonlethal weapons being deployed, and people being arrested. Certainly nothing like what we were hoping."

"Not surprised. Shall we call it a night? The forecast was calling for a blizzard in a few hours, and I'd rather not get caught in it."

"Let's give it a bit longer, it's possible that we might find something-"

At that exact moment, Hazel happened to focus on the hospital. What he saw made him pause.

"Watts, look at the hospital and tell me I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing."

Watts gave him a strange look, but pulled out his own set of binoculars and set up beside him regardless. It took a few seconds, but soon enough, he was staring at the same spot Hazel was, and was similarly stunned.

"Is that-"

"The woman who killed Merlot? I don't know; describe the woman we saw on his cameras."

"Black hair with red tips, about five-and-a-half feet tall, always wears a white cloak, wolf Faunus, silver eyes."

Slowly, Hazel lowered his binoculars, a grim look on his face. "I think that's her. How do we want to go about this?"

"Salem wanted her alive for questioning and experimentation, but there's no way we'd get her out of Atlas without alerting the entire military to our presence. Then again, we'll probably never get another chance like this. She appears to be alone, possibly recovering from an injury given that she's in a hospital, I don't see a weapon on her, and it's unlikely that anyone will investigate what's going on given the nearby riot. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect opportunity."

"Then it's settled," Hazel said, standing up. "Forget the plan with the White Fang. This is more important. We're going in immediately."

Summer rolled her eyes when she heard the person on the megaphone demand that the rioters surrender for what must have been the thirtieth time in ten minutes. Whatever the riot police were doing, it wasn't working. Frankly, she was surprised they hadn't just flooded the area with tear gas – with their enhanced senses, that would easily cause a crowd of Faunus to disperse.

Then again, with how frequent the protests seemed to be, perhaps they had already run out of it.

Thankfully, all the negativity hadn't seemed to attract any Grimm. If it had, Atlas' perimeter defenses and constantly patrolling air force had taken care of them before she could see even a single one off in the distance.

Honestly, she found that idea as reassuring as she did concerning. With the way things were going, it was probably only a matter of time before some overzealous military commander or council leader ordered the airships to turn their guns on the protests below. Even if almost everybody refused that order, it would only take one pilot to go along with it in order to cause things to spiral out of control fast, and in her experience working alongside Atlas' military personnel, there were certainly plenty of people who would happily pull the trigger in that situation if they were ordered to.

Maybe it was a good thing that she had yet to hear back from Ironwood. He might have been trustworthy, but from the looks of things, not everybody under his command was. The only thing worse than having just her stuck guarding the hospital was letting a bunch of racists with itchy trigger fingers do it instead.

A cold breeze blew through the street, causing the veteran Huntress to shiver before gathering her cloak in her hands and wrapping it tightly around herself. Even her thick winter clothing wasn't able to do much against a freezing Atlas night. The whole experience made her just want to go back inside and lie in bed with her daughter, but there was no way she was going to leave the hospital unguarded until the police managed to get things under control.

Unfortunately, that seemed like it was going to take a while, meaning she was stuck here, feeling like she was about to freeze to her chair.

Movement from the other end of the street in front of her suddenly caught her attention, causing her to narrow her eyes. From the looks of things, it was a single man moving towards her position, his hands wrapped around himself in a futile attempt to stave off the cold.

He'd get no sympathy from her, given that he had made the idiotic decision to go out in little more than a suit and overcoat. He wasn't even wearing gloves.

He eventually got close enough for her to get a better look at him, and what she saw made her relax. He didn't appear to be a Faunus, but then again, it was possible he was just hiding his Faunus trait. Similarly, he also didn't appear to be affiliated with the rioters, unless they suddenly stopped wearing their black cloth masks and started wearing suits and ties. He didn't seem to be a fighter, but then again looks could be deceiving – Summer herself wasn't much to look at, after all. Still, he wasn't visibly armed, and his physique didn't mark him as a physical powerhouse. Summer doubted that he would pose much of a threat to her even without her weapon.

As he came closer, she called out to him.

"Stop," she said, causing him to freeze mid-step as he attempted to cross the street.

A small, friendly smile crossed his face. "Hello, there. I don't suppose you could help me with something?"

"That depends on what you need," Summer replied, rising from her seat. "A couple of looters tried breaking in, so I'm not too keen on letting anyone get close. State your business."

"Ah, I see. Well, I was looking for someone who could help me out. My wife has a bit of a cold, and requested that I go get her some medicine. Unfortunately, the pharmacies are all closed, for obvious reasons. I don't want to go home empty-handed if I can avoid it, so I was hoping the hospital had some basic cold medicine they'd be willing to part with."

Summer frowned. "Sorry, but I don't think I can help you. I don't work here, so I have no idea what they stock. I also don't want to leave this spot while the riots are still going on."

"Can't you check? It'll only take a second, I'm sure."

"Sorry, but no."

He sighed and brought his hands up to massage his temples. "Oh, she's going to be mad..."

"I think she'll give you a pass if you tell her you had to cut through an ongoing riot to get here," Summer said, focusing on his left ring finger.

No wedding ring, she noted.

The man sighed. "Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. Thank you anyway."

With that, he turned on his heel and began to walk away, clearly disappointed. Summer watched him go, suspicious, only relaxing when she saw him disappear around a nearby corner. Only when he was gone did she allow herself to relax.

It lasted for all of two seconds before she heard a loud crash come from around that corner, followed by a man's shout.

Immediately, she jumped up. "Sir?!" she shouted. A few seconds passed with no response. Her heart plummeted as images of the worst possible scenario filled her head. It was possible that he'd simply slipped and fallen, but then again he was a human walking around in the middle of a riot filled with violent Faunus… Summer bit her lip as she wrestled between going to investigate or staying behind and hoping someone else came along to help. Ultimately, empathy won out over pragmatism, and she wasted no time sprinting from her spot in the doorway over to where she last saw him.

As soon as she rounded the corner, she was met with a fist the size of her head, which hit her directly in the face and sent her flying back into a building. Hastily, she picked herself up and assumed a fighting stance, then shook the stars from her head just in time to duck under another haymaker from the biggest man she had ever seen before. She lashed out with a right hook to his face; it connected, but his head didn't even move, and she was forced to leap back to avoid a retaliatory strike.

"Stop holding back," the suited man from earlier said as he stepped up next to the giant, pulling a gauntlet of some kind over his arm. "We need to finish this quickly."

"Right," the giant said, reaching for a raw Lightning Dust crystal he kept on a bandoleer across his chest. Summer's eyes widened as he stabbed himself in the chest with it. If it hurt, he showed no indication of it; instead, he stood up straighter, his muscles somehow growing even larger than they were before, with electricity dancing across his body.

Without her weapon, this fight was hopeless. She immediately turned and ran, reaching for her scroll in the same motion, only to be stopped by a blast of Ice Dust that froze one of her feet to the ground. Another shot froze her scroll solid.

"You won't get away that easily," the smaller man said as he loaded a fresh Dust cartridge into his gauntlet.

"What do you want?" Summer asked, struggling to free her foot as the giant man approached.

She received no reply aside from a punch to the face that sent her flying back towards the front of the hospital.

Ruby tossed and turned in the bed, desperately trying to block out both the sounds that were coming from outside and the fear that her mother hadn't returned yet. Ruby knew that there was likely nothing to worry about – her mom was really strong, after all – but she couldn't help but worry. Between her mother's extended absence and the loud, scary noises outside, she was terrified.

The thought of opening the door and going out just to take a peek crossed her mind once more, but she pushed it away. She had been told to stay put and keep the door locked, and until she was told otherwise, that was what she would do.

There was a loud bang outside, followed by a woman's shout. Ruby's breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened. She clutched at the covers tightly and sniffled, wanting nothing more than to receive some sign that everything was okay.

...Surely just a peek couldn't hurt, could it?

Tentatively, the little wolf Faunus crept out of bed and approached the door, and with shaking hands, she unlocked and opened it, then stepped out into the hall. There was another bang, which made her jump; her heart was pounding in her chest, but she wasn't about to go back until she saw her mom. Hesitantly, she rounded the corner.

And then she screamed.

In the middle of the room was her mother, her white cloak torn and bloody. Her right eye was tightly shut, with blood dripping down into it from a gash in her forehead. Her left arm hung limp at her side, crooked at an unnatural angle, with the bone poking through her skin. She was covered in deep gashes, her breath was coming out in harsh rasps, and she was lightly swaying from side to side.

In front of her were two men, one giant and the other more normal-looking, who both turned to look at her in surprise at the same time Summer did. Ruby met her mother's gaze, and without missing a beat, Summer gave her one final command.

"Run!"

She didn't need to be told twice. Ruby turned and began to sprint away as fast as her legs could take her, running through the hospital halls in desperate search of an exit or a place to hide. Behind her, she heard her mother scream a challenge to the two men, demanding that they finish her off instead. Tears filled the little girl's eyes when she realized that her mom was allowing herself to be hurt in order to give her a chance to escape.

Ruby burst through a pair of double doors and found herself in what looked like a parking lot filled with ambulances. A quick look around revealed a way out into the streets in the form of a narrow alleyway towards the back of the parking lot. Ruby wasted no time in running over to it, but just as she reached it, the doors she had come through earlier came flying off their hinges. She chanced a look behind her, and to her horror, she locked eyes with the giant, who wasted no time in charging after her.

A terrified sob escaped her as she turned and continued running. She had no idea where to go in order to escape, but anywhere was better than letting him catch her.

She emerged from the alley onto a city street littered with debris. Frantically looking around, she saw flashing lights around a corner, and her heart skipped a beat when she realized that there might be a police officer nearby. She rounded the corner just as the big man came out of the alley, and to her terror, while the flashing lights did belong to a police car, it had been overturned and abandoned, and there were no officers in sight. However, she could hear lots of people shouting in the distance, so maybe one of them could help. Quickly, she took off towards the noise.

She made it just a few steps before she became aware of the fact that the big man had almost caught up to her by now.

She could hear his breath behind her. At best, he was only a few feet away. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that he was going to catch her, and everything her mother did was going to be for nothing. Added on top of all the other emotional turmoil she had gone through recently, plus the fatigue and exhaustion she was feeling, it was too much. Something was going to give.

As it turned out, it was the limits of her own body.

Warmth erupted in her chest and began to spread all throughout her. Her fatigue suddenly disappeared, replaced with a wave of rejuvenation that left her feeling refreshed and energized. A faint red glow surrounded her, and for just a moment, she felt stronger than she ever had before in her life.

And then she was running, faster than she had ever run before – faster than she had ever seen anyone in her family run before. Buildings passed by in a blur, forcing her to navigate based solely off of what she could see in the peripheral of her vision. Her winter cap blew off, but she paid it no mind; she certainly wasn't about to go back for it. Unable to hear anything through the wind in her ears, she found herself attempting to search for people by sight rather than sound; as hard as it was to see anything, it was all she had, as it was downright impossible to hear anything.

Whatever had caused her sudden burst of speed, it only lasted a short time – she came to a stop a few seconds later, the red glow disappearing and her body suddenly feeling even more tired than it had before. But for now, it was enough – her hearing had come back, and even though the sound of her own heartbeat pulsing in her ears was overpowering, through it all she was able to tell that she had lost the man chasing after her. But there was no time to rejoice; he was still looking for her, and she still needed to help her mother.

She took a step and bit back a shout when the back of her leg erupted with pain. Tentatively, she tried her other leg, and was met with the same result. Tears filled her eyes, as much of pain as they were of fear. She could barely move, yet she had to, lest she end up captured by her pursuer. Frantically, she looked around for someone she could call to for help.

By sheer luck, she found them.

There were four of them, all standing in a nearby alley, leaned against the wall. Through the darkness, Ruby could see that they all had ears similar to hers, but not quite the same. Each of them was wearing a scary-looking mask, and they all looked very mean.

But they were the only chance she had.

"H-help!" she screamed, her throat flaring up in pain from a combination of the freezing cold and her own exertion. "Please, help me!"

The four of them all whipped around to look at her in surprise, and for a moment she was afraid that they might be working with the big man. That fear only lasted for a moment, as they all quickly stopped whatever they were doing in favor of running over to her.

"Kid, what do you need?" one of them asked. "Did the cops hurt you? Are you alright?"

"M-my mom!" she said, her voice coming out hoarse. "Hospital! She needs help! A big man hurt her really bad and then started trying to get me! Please help her!"

Her vision suddenly began to darken, but through it, she was able to see one of the men nod in understanding, then point to the others. "You three head over there and see what's up. You see that guy, you cap him. Go!"

The three of them took off running towards the hospital, leaving just the two of them. He quickly picked her up, then took off running in the opposite direction from where his friends went. He was talking to her as he ran, but Ruby wasn't paying any attention; she was beginning to feel really woozy and lightheaded, and it was getting hard to stay awake.

Just before she passed out, she thought she heard him mention something called a 'safe house'…

When Ruby awoke, it was to a pounding headache, and a searing pain in her legs. She blinked, trying desperately to ignore the pain in her head as she looked around the room she was in. It was small, consisting of little more than a bed and a desk lamp, and absolutely none of it looked familiar to her. For just a second, she wondered what she was doing away from the hospital.

And then it all came rushing back.

In the blink of an eye, Ruby was at the door, trying desperately to open it. It was locked from the opposite side, however, leaving her trapped. Images of the man who chased after her filled her head, and she began to pound on the door as hard as she could.

"Let me out! I need to find my mom!"

There were loud footsteps from outside, as well as what sounded like the jangling of keys, and then the door swung open. To Ruby's surprise, it wasn't the big man, nor was it her mother, or even any of the four men who had helped her. Instead, it was a completely new person – a pretty, dark-skinned lady with stripes all over her body that made her look like a tiger.

Normally, Ruby would have been delighted to meet someone new. Now, the woman was in her way, and she was on a mission. Ruby tried to run past her, but the woman reached down to stop her.

"Whoa, there!"

"Let me go!" Ruby cried, thrashing around to try and escape her grip.

"Calm down," the woman said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then let go!"

"I will if you promise to sit down and talk with me."

"No! I need my mom!"

"She's who we need to talk about," the woman said. "Please, just speak with me for a little while. I promise that afterwards, I'll do whatever you want me to. But for now, we need to talk."

Ruby stopped struggling, instead looking at the woman in surprise. To her confusion, the woman was looking at her sadly. The wolf Faunus swallowed nervously, then nodded in understanding. She received a sigh of relief, and then the woman motioned towards the bed she had woken up in. The two of them sat down next to each other, and then the strange lady gave her a small smile.

"That's better. Now, why don't we introduce ourselves? My name is Sienna Khan. I'm twenty-four years old. What's your name?"

"R-Ruby Rose. I'm five."

"Ruby Rose? That's a very pretty name." Sienna looked at her ears. "And you're a wolf Faunus?"

Ruby tilted her head, confused. "Faun-us?"

Sienna nodded. "Yes." She pointed to her own ears, and then her stripes. "I'm a tiger Faunus. Do you know what kind of Faunus you are?"

Ruby thought for a bit, then shook her head and gave Sienna a funny look. "'m not a Faunus. I'm Ruby."

A look of understanding crossed the older woman's face. "Ah, I see. Forget I asked; it's not important."

"Is that what we had to talk about?"

Sienna sighed, then shook her head. "No. I wish that was it, but I'm afraid it's not. It's about your mother."

Ruby felt her heart flutter. "Mommy? You know about her? Is she okay?"

"Yes, I do, and..." Another sigh. "No, she's not."

This time, her heart skipped a beat. "W-what…? S-she was hurt, b-but the doctors could fix her..."

Sienna gave her a look that was filled with as much pity as it was sorrow. "I'm sorry, Ruby. There was nothing they could do."

"...T-then she needs other doctors," Ruby said, her voice growing more panicked with every word. "She can g-get better..."

"There was nothing anyone could do, Ruby. There's no easy way for me to say this, but she didn't make it. She's gone."

"G-gone…?" It came out as no more than a whisper.

Sienna nodded solemnly. "I'm so, so sorry, honey. I wish things were different, but they're not. Your mother is dead."

Ruby stared at her, numb. The whole world suddenly felt as if it were a fever dream, or a nightmare she had yet to wake up from. She blinked once, and the world was still there. Sienna's words echoed in her mind, and she looked down at the floor as she tried to process what they meant.

Her mother was gone, and she could never come back.

A sob broke free from Ruby's throat. It was joined not a second later by another. She futilely wiped at her eyes in an attempt to stave off what was coming, but it changed nothing.

Two sobs soon became three, then four, and from there, it was inevitable. Sienna gently wrapped her arms around her as she started to cry, the weight of what she had just been told only heavier with every passing second. All thoughts of running away were gone; all Ruby could do was let her emotions pour out of her.

"It's okay, sweetie," Sienna gently said, never breaking the hug. "Let it out."

She did. For hours, she did nothing more than sit wrapped up in Sienna's arms, crying uncontrollably. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her tears began to taper off, until they were little more than sniffles. Only then did Sienna finally let go of her.

"I'm sorry," Sienna repeated, speaking for the first time in hours. "I never knew your mother, but from all I've heard, she was an excellent Huntress, and an even better mom. The world is worse off for losing her."

Ruby sniffed, then looked down at her feet. "Wanna go home..." She muttered sadly. "Want my daddy and my big sister..."

Sienna frowned. "As much as I want to take you to them, I'm not sure that's such a good idea with the big man running around."

The wolf looked at her, terrified. "I-is he after them…?"

"I don't think so," Sienna quickly added. "Three of my men were able to get a glimpse of him, but he got away. I sent a tip to the police telling them who to look for, but I don't think anyone has seen him since last night. In any case, he hasn't returned to the scene. I think your family is safe."

"T-then why can't I go back…?"

"Because while they might be safe, you're not," Sienna replied with a frown. "Like I said, my men only got a glimpse of him, so we don't know much. You, on the other hand, got a chance to get a good look at him. Are you okay if I ask you a question?" Hesitantly, Ruby nodded. Sienna pointed to her ears. "Did he have ears like you and me, or a tail, or something that people who look similar to you or your mother might have but that other people don't?"

Ruby thought for a bit, forcing herself to hold back tears when images of the man filled her head. Slowly, she shook her head.

Sienna sighed. "That's what I was afraid of… I'm sorry to say that I think I know why you and your mother were attacked."

"Y-you do…?"

"Unfortunately. You see, there are two kinds of people on Remnant – humans and Faunus. Faunus are people like you, me, and your mom." Sienna pointed to her ears for emphasis. "We have extra animal parts that humans don't have, like ears, or claws, or a tail. We also have better senses than humans. The other people, humans, look similar to us, but don't have animal parts at all. Does this make sense?"

Ruby nodded. Sienna continued, "Unfortunately, most humans don't like Faunus very much. Sometimes, they try to hurt us, just because we're different than them."

"Why would they do that?" Ruby asked.

"Humans don't like the fact that we're not completely like them. In fact, they never really have. We've always been second-class compared to them."

Ruby looked down at her feet again. "B-but my daddy, my uncle, and my sister don't have animal parts, and they were never mean to me..."

"They're the exception," Sienna replied. "Can you name another human besides them that you spend a lot of time around?"

"N-no."

"Do you know why that is?" Sienna asked, prompting Ruby to shake her head. "It's because they knew that other humans would treat you badly if they met you. They kept you away from humans outside your family because they didn't want you to get hurt."

Sienna could see the gears turning in the younger girl's head. After a few seconds, Ruby looked up at her. "...So, I can't go back because the big man will try to hurt me, but they're safe…?"

Sienna nodded. "That's right."

Ruby paled, looking as if she might start crying again. "W-when can I go back? I don't want to be away from them for very long..."

"That depends. The way I see it, you've got two options. You can wait for him to get caught by the police, but given how easily he slipped away, that will take a very long time. It might not be safe for you to see your family again until you're all grown up."

Sienna could see tears forming in the young girl's eyes, and quickly added, "But there's another way."

Ruby sniffed. "What is it?"

"If you became strong, you'd be able to fight him yourself. You wouldn't have to worry about being attacked because you could beat him."

"Strong…? But he beat Mommy, and she was the strongest..."

"You could be even stronger than that," Sienna pressed. "If your mother was like most other Huntresses, she didn't start training until she was much older than you. If you started training sooner than that, and with the proper teacher, you could be better than her."

"Don't know how to train..."

"I can help with that," Sienna said, taking her by surprise. "I know someone who would be happy to train you. You could stick with me and my friends, and sooner than you know it, you'll be a strong Huntress, just like your mom. It will be hard, but wouldn't it better to know that if someone tries to hurt you like that again, you could fight them off?"

Ruby looked uncertain. "Mommy and Daddy said not to hurt other people..."

"Even if they try to hurt you first?" Sienna asked. "Ruby, this man killed your mother for no reason other than because she was different than him. You were lucky to get away, but your luck won't hold forever. Eventually, you'll find yourself in the same situation again – maybe not with the same man, but the fact is, someone will be trying to hurt you again in the future. You need to be able to defend yourself, because one day, it'll just be you and them, and if you don't know how to fight, you'll end up dead." She gave Ruby a sympathetic look. "Your father and sister have already lost your mother. They don't want to lose you as well, but they can't help you with this. Do you really want them to feel the pain of losing you, as well as her?"

Ruby felt her eyes begin to water and quickly wiped at them before shaking her head. "H-how long until I can see them again?"

"That depends on you. It will take years of hard work to get you to the point where you can return to them without fear, but it will still be faster than hoping the police catch the man who attacked you."

"Can I talk to them while I train…?"

"If you do, you'll be making them a target. He isn't interested in attacking them, but if he knows that they're a soft spot for you, there's no telling what he'd do. He might go after them just to try and draw you out." Sienna took her hand. "I won't lie to you: if you agree to this, it will mean spending many years away from your family, doing nothing but incredibly difficult training the whole time. However, if you train hard and don't give up, it will pay off faster than you realize. You'll be back home in no time, and not only that, but you'll be a strong Huntress just like your mom was. And the only thing I ask for in return is that if I ever need you to do something to help me or my friends, that you do it. You'll be getting stronger, and helping me at the same time. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Tentatively, Ruby nodded. Sienna smiled at her. "Then, is that what you want?"

Ruby thought for a bit, then nodded once again. Sienna's grin widened, and she pulled the younger girl into a hug.

"I promise that you won't regret this," Sienna said. "I just know you'll end up doing great. Now, I have to go call a friend of mine – he'll be the one training you. For now, why don't you get some sleep? I'll have someone bring some food for you when you wake up."

"Okay..." Ruby said softly, before climbing under the covers. Sienna stood up and walked over to the door, only for Ruby to call out to her. "Hey, Sienna? Thank you."

Sienna paused, then gave her another smile. "Anything for you, Ruby. I'll see you in a few hours."

"'Kay..."

With that, Sienna stepped out into the hallway, softly closing the door behind her. Ruby stared up at the ceiling, uncertain. From what Sienna had told her, she had made the right choice, but something about it felt wrong. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was making her uncomfortable.

Rather than focus on it, Ruby turned on her side to face the wall, trying desperately to fall asleep.

Memories of her mother kept her up for a while, but eventually, sleep took her, even through her tears.

As soon as she was in her office, Sienna pulled out her scroll, searching for the first number on her contacts list, apprehension at the forefront of her mind. Convincing Ruby hadn't been easy, but compared to what she was about to do, it would look like a walk in the park. The scroll rang once before the person at the other end picked up.

"Sienna," came a gruff voice on the other end. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk with you."

"Then get on with it."

"In person," she implored. "Trust me, it's important."

A pause. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. I trust that you're not wasting my time when there are other matters I need to attend to."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

With that, the line went dead. Sienna breathed a sigh of relief, then placed her scroll down on her desk before taking a seat in her chair, trying to prepare herself for the upcoming meeting.

Knowing him, she would have to spin it correctly. Thankfully, she had spent all the time until Ruby had woken up thinking of exactly how to deliver the news to him. Hopefully, it would be enough to make him see things her way.

Assuming he didn't let his past get in the way, that is.

Exactly twenty minutes later, there was a knock at her door. Sienna rose from her seat and opened it, coming face-to-face with him in the process. He wasted no time in pushing past her and into the room, waiting for her to close the door behind him before leaning his weapon – a sword with a chainsaw blade – against the wall and turning to face her.

Even if she hadn't known exactly what he was capable of, he would still have been intimidating. He stood approximately six-and-a-half feet tall, and even through his winter clothing, it was clear that he was built like a brick wall. Brown eyes gazed at her, as much with impatience as they were looking for a weakness to exploit in the event they came to blows – something that had intimidated her when she first met him, but which she had quickly learned to do her best to ignore, given that he did the same to everybody. Two long fangs poked out from the top of his mouth next to his upper incisors, and even from this distance, Sienna could have sworn that she saw them dripping with venom. What little skin he had exposed was darkened and sun-kissed, owing to the fact that until recently, he had spent most of his time in Menagerie.

It was almost hard for her to believe that he had only joined up with her little group a few months ago. Already, his contributions to the cause stretched far wider than nearly everybody else.

And unlike everybody else, the path he had left was covered with blood.

Scowling, he crossed his arms over his chest. "You called me here, now get on with it. I have things to do before we leave."

"Of course," she said, reminding herself to stick with the script she had thought up as best as she could. In this case, it called for being as blunt as possible. "I found you an apprentice."

"I never told you that I wanted an apprentice."

"I made the decision for you. You're incredibly effective at what you do for us, but even you can't hit two targets at once. Surely you can see the value in having someone follow in your footsteps."

"On a certain level, perhaps. I still consider it a waste of my time. I can accomplish far more on my own in the time it would take to turn them into something other than a waste of oxygen. Not to mention that you have no way of ensuring they stay loyal."

"That's not a concern. She's young – very young. Her mind is still malleable. With the proper education, I think you'll find her far more dedicated to the cause than everybody else here."

"How young?"

"Five."

He scoffed. "What, did you pick a random gutter rat off the street and promise her a family? I fail to see what she has to offer us."

"Her aura and semblance are unlocked."

That earned her a pause. "You've confirmed this?"

She nodded. "Had the medic look at her when we brought her in. He confirmed it himself."

"Did someone unlock it for her?"

"Far as I can tell, no. Everything points to her unlocking it herself. From what I learned talking to her, it sounds like it awoke on its own when she was running away from somebody who was trying to kill her."

He uncrossed his arms. "...Perhaps I was a bit quick to judge, then. Maybe there is some potential there after all. If nothing else, she's resourceful enough to warrant a closer look. Do you know who she is?"

Sienna frowned. This was going to be the hardest part. As much as she wanted to lie, she knew better than that. One way or another, he would find out the truth.

That didn't make it any easier to say, though.

Hesitantly, she spoke.

"She's Summer Rose's daughter."

Immediately, he scowled. "Absolutely not."

"Almost-"

"Get rid of the girl," the man – Almost – spat. "I refuse to have anything to do with her. You're lucky you're so valuable, otherwise I would have broken your neck just for bringing her mother up."

"Are you kidding me? I've already talked with her and convinced her to join up with us and learn from you! She's ready, willing, and given that her mother was murdered by a human right in front of her, she has motivation to spare!"

He glared at her. "When I first joined up, you asked me to tell you everything I knew about fighting Huntsmen. I did, and at your request, I even included parts I would have otherwise left out, all under the condition that none of it ever be brought up or revealed to anyone, myself included. Yet here you are, doing exactly that."

"Think of the potential, Almost," Sienna pleaded.

"It means nothing," he snapped. "Whatever potential she may have had has been ruined by her mother. The girl is a lost cause."

"You don't know that!"

"I know more than you think I do. This conversation is over."

He turned on his heel and began to walk away, only for Sienna to block the door.

"Wait," she pleaded. "I think you're writing her off too soon. Like I said, she's still very young – whatever she's been taught, we can undo. Think about it – she's only had, what, maybe a few years of indoctrination at most? I've secured her loyalty for exponentially longer than that. That's a lot of time to mold her into what we need her to be."

"Get out of my way."

Desperate, Sienna played her final card.

"You can turn her into everything you wanted her mother to be."

He paused before turning to look at her, his lips curled back in a snarl. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. With you training her, and me educating her? There's nothing stopping you from making her into everything Summer should have been. Just imagine it – the perfect warrior, unbound by feelings of compassion for humanity beyond a few family ties, with nothing but zealotry in her heart for our cause and a willingness to do plenty of wet work to further it. You can't tell me that doesn't appeal to you at least a little in terms of sheer pragmatism."

He paused again before turning back to her, his glare still harsh, but tempered slightly. "I will give her a chance to impress me. One year, and no more. If she proves sufficient, then we will move on. If not, then I expect you to get rid of her."

"I can dump her on her father's doorstep," Sienna offered. "You'll never see her again."

"Not good enough," he grunted. "She'll know too much about us, and unlike the others, she will be fully aware of what we're capable of, and will have no fear of revealing our secrets. If she fails to meet my expectations, there is only one fate for her."

Sienna stared at him, her expression grim, before slowly nodding. "If that's your price, then fine."

"Just like that? Whatever you see in her must be promising if you're willing to cross that line so easily."

"I think you'll find her more than just promising," Sienna replied. "Given enough time, she might even come to surpass you."

"Perhaps we'll see. It all comes down to her."

He said nothing more, instead picking up his weapon and leaving almost as quickly as he came. Sienna watched him go, then shut the door behind him before slinking down into her chair, her head held in her hands.

For Ruby's own sake, and for the sake of the White Fang as a whole, she hoped the girl managed to surpass all the expectations that had just been set for her.

Hello everyone, and thank you for taking the time to take a look at this first chapter.

This is something I've been working on since last November. I've spent a lot of time trying to get it as right as possible, and I've finally gotten it to a point where I feel like it's mostly fit for human consumption, rough around the edges as it may be.

This is my first foray into non-crack writing, so I'm sure that it'll end up pretty rough, but I'm writing this as a way of practicing so I can write better material in the future. If you have any tips, critique, or advice you'd like to provide in order to help me with this, I'd very much appreciate it, but please only do this if you really want to – I don't want anyone to feel like they're being forced into giving me feedback if they don't want to.

A word of warning: as you can see, I'm very wordy. I'm trying to improve with this, but it's going to take some time. Please just bear with me and my overly verbose nature until I figure out the proper way to say more with less.

Another word of warning, this one much more important than the last: there are going to be some pretty drastic changes to Ruby's character in this story. I won't spoil anything, but they're big enough that I feel compelled to try and justify them as best as I can. To this end, the next couple of chapters will be primarily dedicated to trying to accomplish this and have it make at least a little sense. Basically, I'm going to look at Ruby's character on a fundamental level, try to determine exactly what I think it would take to change her into the Ruby in this story, and then explore that as fully as I can. This is going to take a couple of chapters, during which I'll also be doing a bit of worldbuilding, as well as providing a look at some of the other characters that will be important to this story besides Ruby (trust me when I say that you know exactly who they are). From there, we'll get into the story you're all actually here for. Please be patient with me on this; I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel that it was absolutely necessary to Ruby's character in this story. I will do my best to at least make it entertaining, but again, I've never written anything except crack, so I'll make no promises.

One final word of wording: this fic has been a work-in-progress since November 2018. As such, it was being worked on before we knew anything about Volume 7. Therefore, some things might not match up exactly with the show's events post-V6. I will do my best to keep things as consistent as possible, but I have no doubts that some things are going to slip through the cracks, either because I simply missed them or because correcting them would compromise the rest of the story.

On another note, something tells me my first review is going to contain a comment about me having poor pacing, and they're probably going to be absolutely right.

With all that said, thank you once again for reading, and I hope to see you next time in chapter 2.