First off, apologies for this being almost two days late. I had everything prepped and ready to go...and then completely lost track of time last night when I meant to look this over and post it. I blame my sudden renewed hook on Monster Hunter World drilling me into those last fights to get drops now that I've put ~70 hours into the game (and I don't even know how it's already that high, it feels like it should only be 25-30, maybe 40 hours at most at this rate).

Either way, this chapter is unfortunately a little shorter - both due to one last stage set for the sake of building the battlefield for the next chapter, and also because inventory at work tomorrow has had the rest of this week busy making sure everything isn't a complete mess in terms of organization. Sorry for that. But I CAN promise that now that things are set, the next chapters will be back to their normal length. I'll see everyone here again in a couple weeks when things kick into high gear.

Qrow and Ozpin calmly strode forward into the building that the mayor had pointed out. Instead of finding a woman pouring over instruments and medical charts however, they found only an empty office with only a few small supplies sitting on a desk.

"How much you wanna bet she already ran?" Qrow commented dryly as he took a quick swig from his flask. "Place looks deserted."

"To the untrained eye, yes," Ozpin replied without missing a beat as he walked over to the desk on one end of the room. "But you and I both know our fair share of keeping secrets and making contingencies in case anything was to happen. We simply need to look in the right place."

"Yeah, yeah. Secret switches and all that. But she still had to have some idea we were coming. Why would she stick around if she knows what we'll be asking?"

"Because she is still caught on both sides. She follows a man who believes that the next step for all of us is to evolve, rather than fight against the oncoming storm that awaits us all. There are always two paths for a person to take. But what happens when you are forever trapped at the crossroads with no clear idea of which path to take?" Both men suddenly turned as the sharp grating sound of metal came from another end of the office as a bookshelf slid on its own, a metal hatch becoming exposed as it slowly opened up from the wall. A moment later, a woman in a lab coat walked slowly out of the opening before it slide shut once again, her body turning to face the two visitors.

"Whoever said I was still at the crossroads?"

"Is it just me, or have things cleaned up a little too easily since we were here last?" Emerald commented to Neo as they passed by a few kids playing within the town borders. "It just feels…I don't know…too calm."

"Emerald, you spent a good amount of time following Cinder's orders and I had to deal with a demon version of myself trying to take over me when Beacon was attacked. I think "calm" is just something we're not used to after everything we've had to deal with."

"I know. But it still doesn't feel right."

"Look, I…" Her voice trailed off as the two rounded a corner to see a man hunched over in pain by a set of benches. They quickly looked at each other with alarm before rushing over to see what the problem was. Neo reached out to gently place a hand on the man's shaking shoulder, only for his body to jerk away out of surprise as he turned to face the newcomers.

"Wh…argh…who are you two?" The man asked with a confused look mixed with pain as he held a hand tightly to his chest. Sweat could be seen beading on his forehead while his other hand clenched and unclenched sporadically. "Wait…I've seen your faces before…you're the ones that fought off those Grimm a while back…what are you doing here?"

"A friend of ours went missing, and we're here trying to find some answers. There's nothing wrong." Neo tried to calm the man down, though his grunts and frustrated looks showed his evident disbelief in her claims.

"Like hell nothing's wrong…look at me…I'm a mess…" A pained groan echoed from his throat as he took struggling breaths. "I'm supposed to go and see the doctor…to get my medicine for whatever the hell's wrong with me…but she said she's too busy to help anyone today…" The man turned to the side to spit harshly, a thin trail of blood flying from his mouth as it came to fall on the snow nearby. "And I'm not the only one that needs medicine…over a dozen of us are sick with the same damn symptoms…and it all started not long after you lot left…your friend wasn't showing symptoms like these…was he?"

Both girls shook their heads as they continued to look worriedly at the state the man was in. Neither knew exactly what was going on, but given the timing of things and the mention of the doctor they had come to investigate…it didn't look good.

"Sir, I know it might be tough, but where are the others that are sick like you?" Neo asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder once more.

"Probably at home right now since none of us are…in any sort of condition to hunt or protect the town. The ones that are healthy actually get to leave town and do work…the lucky bastards…"

"How many are still here to watch over the town in case anything happens?" Emerald asked after the man finished to take a few ragged breaths.

"Just a handful. No one in particular is exactly skilled…but they have enough practice to fight off a few Grimm if the going gets tough. This town was never hugely populated after all…Too many people and the risk of drawing Grimm goes up."

"But that doesn't make sense," Neo commented quietly to Emerald as she turned to whisper a few words to her before turning back to face the man. "Who said that the Grimm would be less likely drawn if there were fewer of you?"

"The doctor, obviously. She knows a thing or two about Grimm…aside from her medical work. It was one of the main reasons…she asked to work out here a number of years back…"

"We'll go and get her, I promise. Just hold on a little longer." Emerald stated confidently as she gripped the man's shoulder briefly before turning to stand up and march back in the direction of the building that the doctor was supposedly working in.

"Emerald, what are you doing?!" Neo whispered harshly as she struggled to catch up with the taller girl. "You heard what Qrow and Ozpin said. They had things covered with the questioning; we're supposed to watch over the town!"

"Yeah, well, something tells me it's all gone to shit already." Emerald snapped back without hesitating, her eyes focused forward as she swiftly drew one her weapons from her belt as they neared the house. As the two neared the entrance, her other hand reached up as it neared the handle for the door.

"Emerald, you can't-" Her voice was rapidly cut off as a large blast originated from inside the building, blowing a massive hole in one of the walls with a smashing of debris. Both of them moved their arms to shield their eyes from the sudden outpouring of dust and smoke before quickly moving to retrieve their remaining weapons with looks of surprise.

A moment later, a thin figure with a billowing white coat leapt from the opening before sprinting off into the distance, a pair of small bracelets humming at her wrists as they glowed a bright orange. Not long after, Qrow bounded from the building before following in pursuit with his own weapon drawn, one arm swinging back before throwing the weapon towards the fleeing woman as it shifted into its scythe form. Her head turned to look behind her only for her footing to slip on the snow and ice as she barely managed to avoid the path of the weapon before it came to a halt buried within the terrain a few feet away. Doctor Amala turned with a look of faux-hurt as she placed a hand on her chest.

"I can't believe you would attack a poor, defenseless woman like that! How would the people feel if their own defenders went about attacking innocent people without any sense?"

Qrow was unfazed as he strode towards the woman and his weapon. "You know damn well you aren't defenseless. As for the people here, you likely never gave two shits about their well-being after everything you and the people you worked with did. You turned those same innocent people into slaves and monsters just to satisfy some twisted curiosity!"

"Oh, and you're so perfect, working for someone like Ozpin after every mistake he's made!" Amala raised an arm in the air as one of the bracelets on her wrist shifted into a sort of gauntlet on her hand. Seconds later, a bright set of red runes lit up along the palm of the contraption before a blast of fire few from her hand and in Qrow's direction. Qrow dodged to the side as the fireball sailed for a while before landing in the snow and ice with a crash, leaving a round circle of smoking grass and dirt where there was once frozen ice and snow.

"Did I ever say I was perfect? A lot of people have to make bad choices to get things done, and I'm no exception. Neither is Oz. Just knock it off with your stall tactics already so we can get this over with."

"I mean…I could." Amala replied with a sinister grin as she reached with her other hand into one of the pockets of her lab coat. From within, she pulled out some sort of remote, with only one button on its surface. "Or we could make things more…exciting."

"Don't you dare! These people didn't do anything to you!"

"But you said it yourself, Qrow. Why would I give a damn about them?"

With that, her thumb pressed down on the button, a light beeping sound echoing from the device for a few seconds before it went silent. That silence didn't last for long however. Not as the screams of a dozen human beings echoed from within multiple buildings at once. That and the loud screaming of the man that Neo and Emerald had just spoken to as they both turned to witness his body collapse to the side of the bench as it writhed on the ground for a short while. But just as quickly as it had begun…the screaming and writhing stopped. Suddenly the man's body shambled to its feet as a sickly black sludge started to fall from its mouth. As a pair of gleaming white claws and fangs protruded from his fingers and mouth.

What was the most alarming however…were the bright ruby red eyes now staring back at them.