Chapter 6: Investigation

In the dark throne room of his temple, Oblivion sat upon his throne of bones. A sinister smile curled its way onto his lips as he rested his chin on his palm. He let out a low chuckle that eerily echoed around his throne room. Paul stood near the doors as looked up to Oblivion. Oblivion stood and slowly strolled down the stairs from his throne. His hands clasped behind his back as he placed his first foot on the floor. He slowly strolled over to one side of the room. He stopped in front of the wall and looked over the trophies he collected for centuries. From those foolish enough to try and challenge him. He plucked a rather simple looking sword off its place on the wall. Paul continued to watch as Oblivion whispered to himself, "It has begun."

Qrow paced around the scene to pick up on anything he missed. He moved closer to the corpse as he looked closer at it and crouched beside it. He then noticed a boot print that faced the corpse. He found other that appeared to turn from the corpse and then another that looked like it walked away. He stood and followed the trail with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He followed alongside them until they completely disappeared. He sighed in frustration before he noticed several black rose petals. He crouched down and look at them. He noted how decayed looked before he picked it up and did a quick examination. He closed his fist around it and stood up. He looked to Beacon and muttered, "Where's Yang when you need her?"

Ruby sat on the corner of a roof and looked out over the student body. That's when she noticed a certain salt and pepper haired man that beelined for her old dorm building. Her face scrunched up as she watched Qrow weave through the crowds before he disappeared into the building. She was curious as she stood up from her spot. She stretched as she walked to the other side of the roof. She looked down to a tree that stood close to the building. She dropped down onto a tree limb and sat down. She let out a small yawn as one of her legs dangled off the limb. Her slowly slid shut as a small smile graced her features.

Yang sat on the edge of her bunk as she looked to the floor. She took a big breath and let it out in one motion. A knock at the door ousted her from her thoughts. She quickly stood up and walked to the door. She took hold of the door handle and took another breath and let it out. She opened the door to find her Uncle Qrow behind it. Qrow gave a small smile. "Can I come in?"

"Of course."

As Qrow walked in Yang wrapped him in a tight hug. He patted her head and before long she released him. Qrow walked further into the dorm and looked around. He turned back to Yang and leaned against the bunks beside him. He drew a deep breath and sighed; his expression turned serious as he stared at Yang. "I need you to ask a few questions."

"Shoot. What do you want to know?"

"There was a murder on campus not that long ago. It was near the tree line not far from here. I was wondering if you knew anyone that held a grudge long enough to murder someone here. A teen male from a team here. So far all we have to go on is some footprints from the assailant. Just judging from the size, the person is a female." Qrow listed off as he pulled his fist from his pocket. Qrow opened his fist to reveal the black decayed rose petal. "There was also this."

Yang instantly appeared in front of him and investigated the petal. Her nose instantly turned up and she stepped away. "Who was murdered?"

"Russel Thrush of Team CRDL."

Yang huffed and walked past Qrow to the window. She pushed open the glass portal and placed her arms against the window sill. She looked out over the academy grounds. "Good."

"What do you mean good?"

"It doesn't matter," Yang replied absently as she continued to stare out the window. Ruby's plan was coming to fruition. Yang didn't know how to feel about it. Sure it dealing with the people that wronged Ruby. But they were still living beings. Yang steeled herself and scowled as she despised the people who murdered her little her sister.

Qrow sighed as he looked over Yang's slightly shaking form. "You can be so stubborn sometimes. Let me know if you have anything that could help in this. Also, give the best to your team from me. They must be going through a hard time after what happened. Thanks anyway, Yang." He turned and walked out of the room. He dropped the petal outside the door as he walked down the hall. He couldn't help but wonder what Yang meant when Russel's murder being 'good'. Once he reached the ground floor and left the building, he resumed his hunched-over walk with his hands crammed in his pockets.

Blake walked in to find Yang nowhere inside. She sighed and stepped to the side. Weiss walked in strode to her bunk. She quivered a little as she sat down. Blake watched the heiress slowly wrap her arms around herself. Blake sighed again as she walked over and sat down beside Weiss. She gently placed a hand on the heiress' shoulder which caused her to jump a little. Blake gave her a small smile. "Get some rest. You might just be stressed after we lost Ruby."

Weiss nodded slowly before Blake got up. Weiss crawled further onto her bunk and lay down. As Weiss got comfortable, Blake left the room and quietly closed the door behind her. She had to find Yang.

Ruby woke up in dead of night. She quickly got to her feet. She stretched which resulted in several pops in her back. She sighed happily as she jumped to the roof of the building she was on earlier in the day. She stalked to the other side close to the boulevard. Upon seeing ver little activity, she made her to the end of the roof. She jumped onto another tree below and jumped to the next roof. She swiftly manoeuvred to her old dorm building. She ran to the back of the building and found another tree close her old room. She dropped silently as she could onto the tree. Upon seeing the open window to her room, she jumped into the room. She landed in a roll silently and looked around the room. Not much had changed since her absence. She quietly padded over to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. She scribbled down a note and then looked over the room again. Her trailed over Myrtenaster in the corner of the room. A twisted smile quickly found its way onto her lips.

She quietly bounded over to the weapon and flourished it gracefully. She wasn't anywhere near Weiss' level of expertise with the weapon. But she still made it known how proficient she was with any weapon. She stalked back to the desk and brought the rapier back. She drove the point through the note and into the desk. There, now that was there, Weiss should notice the note intended for her. Ruby leapt out the window once she was done with a smile on her face.

Ruby sat on a moonlit roof of a building, overlooking the Beacons grounds. Her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms tightly wrapped around them. She tried to silence her mind and keep calm. Ruby's mind raced and roared with thoughts and emotions. She shook her head again, trying to clear it. She continued to watch the few students mill about and the newly introduced Vale Police Force. Then suddenly a small voice sounded in her ear, "Hey Ruby." She turned to look but no one was there. "Psst." She turned again and once again no one. She slowly looked around, trying to find the voice. She looked to the left then to the right then to left again. What she saw scared her.

A taller version of herself stood before her. She looked older but it was hard to tell from the white and red mask that covered her face. The glowing red eyes unnerved her and the small smile with thin, needle-like teeth. Long white fingernails reached a couple of inches past the tips of her fingers. She still wore the same attire as the younger Ruby. Although it looked liked like it didn't really fit her well. Her hair reached to just below her shoulders and had a slightly more prominent bust as well. Her smile grew bigger and even more twisted. She slowly started walking towards Ruby who didn't move from her spot, "Who are you?"

Author: Finally. Nobody knows how long this plagued my mind. Anyway, fun twists everywhere to look. See you in the next chapter.