A/N; Alright, let me first start off by apologizing for how long this took. I really should've been able to write this faster, but I suppose I shouldn't give excuses. Any ways, this is just the first part of the final chapter. I had to split this up into two parts as I thought a 7k chapter would've been too much of a read. So, please forgive me for the delay, and I hope you enjoy your read :)

Part 5 - Family & Hope 1

"Come on then!" The grizzled huntsman roared, attracting as much attention from the horde as possible with an outburst of anger. The Grimm are particularly more attracted to anger than other negative emotions, Qrow knew, and made himself into bait.

A fair majority of the Beowolves made B-lines at him, in what seemed like overwhelming numbers. It was exactly what Qrow had hoped for.

"Okay kid," Qrow called over his shoulder as he readies his scythe. "Pick off the ones that don't come towards me! Keep your distance!"

"Yes sir!" Ruby instantly responded.

Qrow charged forward, channel as much anger as he could muster into a fearsome battle cry. The Grimm were drawn greatly by it, their jaws opening wide as several went in for the kill.

Qrow relieved those eager several of their heads. The Grimm began to pile up as he slew more and more of them with calculated brutality. He's faced numbers greater than these before, singlehandedly as well, but for this time though, he wasn't alone.

As he drew more blood from the beast, he could hear the audible blast of Crescent Rose as Ruby skillfully placed shots in several Grimm. Unfortunately, her aim wasn't perfect yet, and only landing glancing blows had kept a few Grimm off of her at the moment. Her speed came in handy for making distancing between her targets.

"How you holding up kid!" Qrow leapt over a rather large Beowulf, catching its head from underneath with his scythe's blade and wrenching it clean off.

"Just fine!" She replied hastily, and noticed a Grimm approach her uncle from behind. She swiftly pulled Crescent Rose to her front and put a dust round into the creature's right leg. Qrow took its head off a split second afterwards.

"Don't worry about me!" Qrow warned. "Keep your eyes on the other Grimm!" He had said as he swatted away another row of Grimm.

Ruby nodded, before suddenly feeling a breath crawl down her neck. Silver eyes widened to their fullest, Ruby spun to find a lone Beowulf preparing to strike with its claws. She ducked, pushing her semblance to its fullest, and bolted between its legs.

The Grimm spun around and charged after her. Her hasty retreat left her tumbling on the ground, resulting in a loss of footing. She managed to slide into a crouched position and let loose a barrage of dust rounds. The shots were low due to her unusual firing position, only finding their marks in the Grimm's legs. The creature only stumbled and tripped, still moving forward though.

Ruby grimaced and tried to fire at the Beowulf's head, but when she pulled Crescent Rose's trigger, nothing but a sharp click came from the firing chamber.

"Empty?" She gasped. Only a dummy like her would forget to count her rounds. She quickly rose to her feet and looked for a better position to retreat to. She found none though, as there were now even more Grimm than before, all spilling forth from the dead trees that surrounded them. Most of the reinforcements went after Qrow, who was having an increasingly difficult time in slaying them all, while some started to lurk towards Ruby, who already had the injured Beowulf approaching her to deal with.

She was corned, and Qrow was locked in his own battle.

Maybe she was afraid now, but she couldn't tell. She was too focused on the present to pay any mind to her own self. If she were to fall in battle now, Qrow would either lose himself completely or lose the will to keep fighting. Either way, she wasn't going to let any of that happen!

"You can count on me," She whispered. The injured Grimm from before was finally close enough to lunge at her with what little use of its legs it still had. Ruby too lunged forward, silver eyes ablaze with courage and determination.

"No, Ruby stop!" Qrow yelled desperately as he held up the weight of two Beowolves who pressed their claws down on her scythe, locking him in that position. Another one came from behind and sunk its teeth into his right shoulder. His aura buzzed and he could feel the painful pressure tighten around his bones.

"Get." He snarled. "Off." His knuckles cracked loudly. "Of." His left eye turned a burning crimson, and went ablaze. "ME!"

Through sheer power alone, Qrow boosted his aura around him and repulsed the Grimm on top of him and the one on his shoulder. They flew back, and then where cut down in a mere instant.

Qrow swiftly turned around. "Ruby!"

He wasn't going to get to her in time, he knew, as he raced towards her. She had already made her move.

Ruby blocked one sweep of the injured Grimm's claws with her weapon and narrowly ducked underneath a second attack. The Grimm then went for a biting blow, only to have its jaw bite into the shaft of Crescent Rose.

She stood there for a brief eternity, looking directly into the creatures red eyes of darkness and hate as she struggled to keep it at bay.

"What big eyes you have," She murmured through gritted teeth.

The Beowulf, as if to give insult, snarled back. She caught the warning and quickly loaded a dust round with the creature's mouth still over her weapon.

The Grimm was reading to grab her with its claws when Ruby popped a round into the chamber pulled the trigger on her weapon, rocketing Crescent Rose to the side and cutting off the Beowulf's jaw.

It stumbled back, reeling, in pain, and without a mouth. Ruby jumped forward for the kill, offering as much mercy to it as it had to her. Absolutely none.

She went for a downwards chop through its left shoulder, but her swing was too weak to make it through the creature, having stopped just a few inches into its body.

I'm doing a hundred pushes every day after this. Ruby thought as she entered another round into her weapon's chamber. The Beowulf, despite being almost in mere pieces, managed to give off a final snarl of defiance.

"Goodbye," Ruby said, not even with a touch of malice or discontent. She pulled the trigger, and Crescent Rose's blade exploded through the Grimm, leaving a trail of rose petals in its wake. The Beowulf was finally down for the count as it began to dissolve before Ruby's eyes.

"Kid!"

Ruby snapped to and found her uncle sailing past her and slicing a Grimm behind her into two pieces.

"That was a sloppy first kill," Qrow said with a gruff between short breathes. "But at least ya pulled through." He cracked a small grin.

"Well, you are my teacher though," Ruby quipped back, also with a grin.

Qrow gave a weak chuckle but couldn't find the time for a witty rebuttal.

The Beowolves had begun to surround them again in a perfect circle of black death, keeping their distance and likely preparing to charge in all at once. There numbers had swelled to beyond a few hundred, Qrow estimated. It was number that even he, by himself, wouldn't trifle with.

This was bad.

Qrow looked over his shoulder at Ruby, who stood at his back as she reloaded her scythe. The way she stood, and the she held her weapon, told Qrow she was beyond brave. She must know by now that the odds are well against them, that fighting all of these Grimm by themselves was a futile effort. She must've known, and yet…

Qrow released one bruised hand from his weapon, felt the soreness jet through his arm as he moved it, and reached for his flask in his pocket. He stopped, though, when his finger tip touched the cap of it in his pocket.

No, he thought. This time it's different.

He turned to Ruby, amid the howls, snarls, and blood curdling roars, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen kid," He started, feeling the words weighing him down. "I'm going to make an opening in the pack. It'll give you enough room to speed out of here and-"

"Uncle Qrow, no." Ruby began, for the first time he could see worry and fear form in her eyes.

He put up his hand to hush her. "Hey, don't go all teary eyed on me." He said with a forced harshness.

"I'm not some push over, I can hold these dogs off easy." That was a lie. "Long enough for you to find your dad and the other huntsmen on Patch and bring them back here." Also a lie. He showed a forced grin. "I'm fine on my own." The biggest lie of all.

"No," Ruby shook her head. "I can't just…"

"I'm not going die Ruby!" Qrow shot at her as he found her concern for him to be actually frustrating. "I'm going to get you out of here and home safely." He pointed sharply at the wall. "I strike, you run. If you don't run, I'm going to hurl you as far as I can, clear across this blasted forest."

"Liar!"

The word went through his heart like a dull knife. It hurt more than his wounds.

He sighed deeply, and let some of the pain roll out of him. "Yeah, what about it? You think I can't take these jokers?"

"You promised… we'd go on missions together." She said, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "When I was older… you promised…"

"I told you maybe… after you grew up first…"

The Grimm weren't going to wait forever, he knew, and if he didn't make his move first, then…

"And you can't do that by dying here. Remember what I said about my reason for becoming a huntsman, so I can protect those who can't live without." He paused, took in a big breath of air to build up his strength. "And that includes you kid."

He grabbed Ruby by the belt and raised her off the ground with ease.

"Wait, what are you doing!?" Ruby squirmed against the suddenness of being lifted off the ground and over Qrow's head.

"Getting you out of here kid. Trying keep your arms up when you hit the ground."

"NO! Stop it! Don't-" Ruby screamed and kicked, as it was now evident to her that Qrow was serious about sending her flying out of the forest.

Qrow did his best to drown out her protest, her kicking and punching, as she tried feebly to break free from his iron grasp. He needed to put a lot of his remaining strength into this one throw, which most certainty would've left him pretty helpless when the Grimm all charge. But at least Ruby will live and that's all that-

Qrow suddenly heard a gunshot and mere instance afterwards his grip broke on Ruby's belt. She had used Crescent Rose's recoil to break free! She tumbled a few meters back, with Qrow jumping after her to stop her from falling any closer to the encircling Grimm.

"Damn it, Ruby!" Qrow roared, cradling her in one arm and raising his sword with the other in case the gunshot had set off any Grimm to charge. They seemed to inch closer but none advanced on their own.

"I'm getting you out of here even if-"

Qrow was interrupted when Ruby slapped him across the cheek with all of her strength. It actually left a mark.

"If I can't even protect my own family then what's the point!" Ruby yelled back, Qrow wide eyed and mouth hung open. "Why bother being a huntress if I can't save my own uncle from his stupid self!"

She jumped out of his arm and stood on her own two feet, weapon in hand, as she starred down the Grimm. "When I become a huntress, I'm going to protect Remnant with my heart and soul. But before I can get there, I'm going to save you first." She looked over her shoulder, and sent a sharp eyed look to him that went right through him. "Whether you like it or not, we're getting out of this together!"

Qrow couldn't help but be astonished by her sudden display. Was this really the little girl he saved from the Grimm all those years ago? Or was she already all grown up?

"You know kid," Qrow said after a long pause. "You are a whole like your dad." He stood next to her and raised his weapon in the same direction Ruby had pointed hers. "You both been preaching the same thing to me ever since I got back." He put on a small grin as he pulled back the bangs of his hair to get them out of his eyes. "And you both seem to like hitting me in the head."

"Must run in the family then," Ruby smirked back. "What do we do now?"

Qrow nodded towards the Grimm they faced. "We go straight through, as fast and hard as possible, and hope we both make it to the other side. I can't guarantee that'll work out though."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure we'll be fine." She smiled brightly, despite all that has happened up until that point. "I'm the apprentice of Remnant's greatest huntsman, so that's gotta count for something."

"Greatest huntsman?" Qrow smiled back. "I liked the sound of that." He chuckled, as it really was ironic, calling him great, despite him being so lost for years.

It looked like the Grimm weren't going to wait any longer, as even a beast can't wait forever for a kill. They all approached at once, making the circle around the huntsman and apprentice smaller and smaller as they advanced.

"Get ready Ruby," Qrow whispered as he felt a new flame light within his very soul.

And as the two got ready to fight with all they've got, a sudden explosion near the rear of the pack caught their attention. Another explosion sent several Grimm flying off, covered in orange and red fire.

"What the hell?" Qrow commented with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby's eyes widened to their fullest as she gave a small gasp. "That can only be one person…" She then sighed and slouched in her stance. "And I'm in so much trouble too…"

Before Qrow could give a question, a familiar voice came across the forest.

"Dad! This way, I found them!" The voice of Yang Xia Long rang out.

"You and me both kid, you and me both." Qrow sighed with relief and dread. "Your dad's going to kill me."

"And my sister is going to kill me." Ruby remarked. "No cookies for a month probably." She said with a deep dread, in all seriousness.

Qrow would've added to the back and forth quipping they had going on, but the frenzied Grimm took precedence.

"Look alive kid, we're pushing through!" Qrow yelled as he pushed his aura into his scythe's blade. He swung it through the air and made a wave of sonic energy that impacted the Grimm immediately in front of them. Ruby followed suite with a volley of sniper rounds.

The two moved forward, towards the sounds of Yang and were she was fighting. Qrow took up a vanguard position and swept away the Beowolves in droves as they leapt and dodged closer and closer to their sudden arrival.

"Yang!" Ruby called out as she decapitated the last Beowulf that separated the sisters.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed as she punched a Beowulf's snout through its skull. She ran over to her little sister and put her in a bear hug, as if to suffocate her almost.

"Why the heck are you out here!? No way are you ready to take on Grimm!"

"Guhhh, sis… stop it…" Ruby tried to speak but found her face buried deeply into Yang's chest.

Qrow slashed a Grimm in half and hurried over to eviscerate another that had charged at the two sisters.

"You two can talk later. Yang, where's your father?"

Yang released Ruby and placed herself as best as she could between her sister and the Grimm.

"Not that far behind. He should be here soon."

As if on cue, a large tree exploded behind them and fell swiftly upon a group of unsuspecting Grimm. They all howled in anguish as the rather large tree crushed their bodies with an audible crunch. Standing on top of the fallen tree was a man with more rage in his eyes than any one currently alive. Many of the Grimm felt his presence and were drawn to it.

"Oh wow," Qrow remarked. "That's one angry dragon."

Tiayang starred the Grimm that were now moving towards him. "All of you bastards," He growled between gritted teeth. "Get away from my daughter!" Long slits formed in his blue eyes and a golden sheen lit from his hair as an explosive force emitted from his body. Any Grimm within a few meters of him was immediately set on fire. They wailed as they could nothing to quell the flames on their bodies.

He dived right into the Grimm as he exhibited his exceptional strength and speed. Every time he punched a Grimm, an explosion busted through them and came out on the other side of their bodies. Tiayang Xia Long was known for not fighting with a weapon at Beacon, as he'd usually prefer his own strength and aura over any weapon.

"Wow," Ruby's jaw would've hit the ground if it wasn't attached to her skull. "I didn't know dad could transform too."

Yang smirked and crossed her arms together. "That's where I get it from." All of the fighting she had to do to reach Ruby has given her more than enough energy to release her own transformation. She too took on a golden sheen and her eyes became a crimson red.

Letting loose a roar of her own, Yang leapt into the fray to her father's side. The golden duo carved into the pack of Grimm like lightning in a storm. That didn't stop the Beowolves from fighting on, despite having the tables turned on them.

"Well then," Qrow began. "Looks like it's a family brawl now." He nudged Ruby on the shoulder, letting her know, with the whole family there now, that they can rest assure that they'll make it home together.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "Let's back them up!"

The two caped scythe wielders leapt forward together and engaged the remaining Grimm, who were now scattered and disorganized, having lost their organization and advantage in strength.

Ruby continued to use Crescent Rose's recoil to assist in running through the Grimm as Qrow cleaved through the Grimm using his weapon's sword form and shotgun to great effect.

Yang and Tiayang fought in tandem, showing off their many years as master and apprentice, in the art of punching things really, really hard. The more the two fought, the more their hair and eyes glowed with energy.

The fighting dragged on for many minutes, but the family of fighters never wavered. It's been years since Qrow has felt the way he did now, it was as if he was fighting alongside Team STRQ once again. Well, with the kids there, it might as well be just that.

"Hey kid," Qrow called out to Ruby as he danced around a Beowulf, baiting it to get closer to his sword like a person playing fetch with their dog. "This one's all yours."

Ruby rushed up behind the unsuspecting Beowulf and slid to a stop beneath its enormous snout. Using a semblance-augmented jump, she pushed herself right through the air and hooked Crescent Rose around its neck on the way up. It came off with a slice and Ruby landed at Qrow's side a moment after the creature's head had hit the ground with thud.

"How's that one?" Ruby asked with an eager smile, but between short breaths. She was obviously worn out, and yet it impressed Qrow how much a small girl like her could keep going as she did. Perhaps it was the energy in the air, the feeling of fighting alongside a team of family members, all born huntsman and huntresses.

Qrow smiled back at Ruby and tussled her hair. "Pretty good for a beginner." He switched his weapon into its scythe mode once again. "Watch and learn, kid."

Ruby and Qrow watched each other's backs as they shredded through the rest of the Grimm. What was once a life or death situation just a little while ago was now a learning experience for Ruby, with Qrow showed her a trick or two along the way.

The last Beowulf was now all alone, surrounded by the four family members. It didn't know who to attack, but all it could comprehend was it needed to kill them all. Grimm never did worry about their own safety, at least, not these kind of Grimm.

"Alright," Qrow said as he leaned his scythe on his left shoulder. "Who wants the last one?" He asked, as if to ask who wanted the last cookie in the jar.

"I've got this," Yang said as she smashed her fist together. Her aura still glowed wildly despite the countless of other Grimm she had pulverized her way through earlier.

But before Yang could have her shot, the last Beowulf was instantly bisected by a sudden blur of rose pedals.

"What?" Yang gasped. "Ruby!" She exclaimed, showing more motherly concern than irritation.

"Heh, heh, sorry." She squeaked. "I just wanted to tryout one last move. I guess I got caught up in all the excitement."

"I'll say," Taiyang remarked as he shot a sharp edged look in Qrow's direction. "You, me, talk, now." He said to Ruby with clenched fist on his hips as gave his signature 'dad stair'.

Ruby went from being a brave warrior to a nervous teenager waiting for her imminent doom. Before she could answer, Yang was on top of her, rolling the small teenager into a strong hug.

"C'mon dad, let's go home first and cool off." She said, also upset in her own way with Ruby but also not blind to the obvious intentions of her younger sister. "We all could use a breather, right?"

Tiayang, as upset as the dragon was, took heed to his daughter's suggestion.

"Alright fine," He finally said. "Qrow, take point, there could be more Grimm on the way back." He commanded.

"Uh, sure thing." He said with a hint of nervousness. He knew his end of near too, so later he might as well finish off what was left in his flask right?

"Oh! I'll take point too!" Ruby said, excited with the prospects of finding more Grimm. Her battle rush had hardly subsided yet.

"You and your sister are following me. Closely. Very closely." Taiyang iterated.

With a small pout, Ruby followed her instructions. Yang kept an arm snugged around her as they made the track home. Obviously, she thought, they still think she's a child…

A/N: Yes, the second part is coming out SOON. Like I said, I had to split this up. Now I'm just going to finish off the rest of this and wrap up this story. Thanks for reading by the way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I really hope part 2 is done soon enough.