A/N: Hey, guys, and might I say, Happy New Year to all of you! And as a present to all of you, I am proud to present the first of two chapters of the second RoTA story, RoTA Vol 2: Payback. Enjoy!

RoTA VOL. 2: Payback

Chapter 1- Payback

"They say If you want to glimpse the future, just look behind you. I used to think that was bollocks. But now I realise..."The woman said, staring out the window, before she turned to the body in the coffin. "...you can't outrun the past." Stepping up to the coffin, she said, "When we were kids, you'd start fights with the toughest bastards in the yard, but I was the one who'd have to step in and finish them."Lowering herself into a chair, she continued, "You'd steal from the corner shop, but it was me, who'd brave the old man's belt. I hoped you'd outgrown it, that playing the gangster, made you harder, smarter, better. But deep down, I guess I always knew you'd end up like this, despite everything I did teach you. Still, you're my flesh and blood, so you remain my cross to bear." She then stood up, picked a scroll off the bedside table, pocketed it, then took the sword from the body's hands, and sheathed it on her back. She then placed her hands on top of the body's. "Rest in peace now, little brother, while I settle your one last score."she said, before she walked away, pausing at the door. "You take care of my brother's body. Anything happens to it, I'll come by looking for you."she said, before the two attendants behind her fainted, and she walked out of the ruined funeral house, onto the street, where the bodies of numerous police officer were scattered. Seeing an officer behind her getting to his feet, she knelt down and picked up a grenade from a corpse. Pulling the pin out, she passed the grenade to the weakened man. "Here, hold this."she said, pushing him back into the funeral home, before she walked to her car, and got into it, driving away as the grenade went off...

Meanwhile, on the island of Patch...

Ryan Clougherty was out for his morning jog, dressed in a grey vest and tracksuit bottoms, running along the streets of Patch, greeting everybody happily, while enjoying the fresh air that came with the island. He had just passed the island's church when he felt a gust of wind, and the voice of his leader Adam whisper, "On your right.", before a black blur took off, causing Ryan to smirk. "Jackass."he said, continuing his jog. Not too long after, he felt another gust, and the voice said "On your right."once again, before the blur took off again. "On your right, got it."Ryan said, somewhat irritated, as he was starting to tire. Even later on, he felt another gust, and he said, "Don't you say it. Don't you say it.", before the voice said, "On your right."and the blur took off yet again. "C'mon!"Ryan shouted angrily, instantly changing to a sprint, and trying to follow the blur, but he quickly collapsed against a tree in exhaustion, with his chest feeling as of it was on fire.

As he struggled to regain his breath, the voice from before laughed and said, "Need a medic?" Looking up, Ryan saw Adam Robertson walk up, dressed in a black vest top, and black tracksuit bottoms. "Very funny, boss. I mean, you just ran like, what, 13 miles in 30 minutes."Ryan said, causing Adam to laugh. "Well, I got a late start."the boy in black said, causing Ryan to scoff. "Is that so? You should be ashamed of yourself, you should do another lap."he said, before he looked back to Adam. "Did you just take it? I assume you just took it." Laughing, Adam extended a hand, and pulled him to his feet. "C'mon, let's go home."Adam said, leading him back across the island.

"So, how's the domestic life treating you, Adam? We've been back home for a month."Ryan asked, before Adam shrugged. "It takes some getting used to. I mean, I never thought I'd get the chance for living peacefully again."he said, before Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder. "I get where you're coming from. Five years you were chased across Remnant. That takes an effect on someone. But, in the end, we won. The Talons are scattered, and soon enough, we'll take down the rest. It's just a pity what we had to do to achieve this victory."Ryan said, before Adam looked at the ground solemnly. "You wanna know the hardest part? It's not that I had to put Jamie down. It's the moving on. I mean, he might have been a psychopath, but he was still my brother."Adam said, referring to the battle that had come to be known as the Dark Aura Incident, where Adam and the 'family' he had gathered, had gone up against Adam's older brother Jamie and the terrorist organization he had formed, the Slicing Talons. The two groups had been in a back-and-forth war for the entirety of Adam's group's first year at Beacon Academy, and it had culminated in an all-out assault on the city of Vale by the Talons. While Adam's family had lost one of their members, Fox Alastair, they had managed to gather themselves in time for the attack. While it had been a huge struggle, Adam and his friends had eventually triumphed, killing Jamie and his lieutenants, Cameron Goldie, Cinder Fall, James Ironwood, Adam Taurus and Roman Torchwick. Along with gaining this major victory, Adam and his girlfriend Kayleigh had gained the Dark half of their Auras, making them vastly more powerful.

"Yeah, but at least he's back where he belongs."Ryan said, as the two boys reached Adam's house, causing Adam to look at the backyard, where a pair of dirt mounds were situated, with a handmade wooden cross at their heads. "He was a Robertson. This is his home."Adam replied, before he clapped Ryan on the shoulder. "Right, I'd best not leave Kayleigh waiting."he said, before going to enter the house, but turning back at the door. "Ryan."he called, causing his friend to turn back to him. "Grey looks good for you. Maybe you need to change your signature colour."he explain, causing Ryan to look at his outfit. "You know, I might just do that."he said, before Adam smirked. "Tell Rachel I said hi."The leader said, before Ryan nodded and walked off. Chuckling to himself, Adam pulled the door handle down and walked into the house.

"I'm home!"Adam called, shutting the door behind him. Immediately, the head of his girlfriend popped round the corner of the wall. "That was quick. Ryan not have that far to go when you joined, or something?"Kayleigh asked, before Adam smirked. "Nah, just struggled to keep up with me. I kinda overdone it."he said, scratching the back of his head. "How far did you get?"she asked, stepping out from behind the wall. "According to Ryan, 13 miles. Not my best, but a good workout."he said, before she kissed him. "Well, at least you're alright. I'll never understand how you can go for a jog first thing in the morning."she said, before heading back into the room she had appeared from. "Helps take my mind off things."Adam said, before heading upstairs and into his room. Flinging open his wardrobe, he quickly blurred, and when he stopped, he was in a clean set of clothes. He then grabbed his scroll, stuffed it into his pocket, then threw on a black jacket and hoodie, clipped his trusty Deathcaliber to his waist, before exiting the room. Descending the stairs, he saw Kayleigh standing at the kitchen counter, eating a plate of sandwiches, and his little sister Libby sitting at the table. Stepping up behind Kayleigh, he reached his arms round her waist, and hugged her. "Hello, sweetie!"Kayleigh said, before Adam kissed her cheek, then pulled away, smiling. Looking back down at the plate she was eating from, she found that one of her sandwiches was gone. Spinning round, she saw her boyfriend had swiped it. "You motherfucker..."she said, before Adam winked, and started to devour the sandwich.

"Get a room, you two!"Libby shouted, after placing her plate in the sink, and turning to watch the two lover's playful flirting. "A bit jealous there, sis? Missing your own boyfriend, are you?"Adam asked, before making the mistake of stepping a bit too close to Libby, who simply kneed him where the sun don't shine, sending him to the floor. "As a matter of fact, I do, jackass."she said, before stepping over him and leaving the room. "I deserved that."Adam said, picking himself up off the floor. "Of course you did."Kayleigh said, before Adam smiled and looked to his watch. "Right, I'm going hunting. You coming?"he asked, his girlfriend shaking her head. "Shannon wants me and Libby to join her, Rachel and Penny on a shopping trip down the town."she said, before Adam smiled. "You could take Ryan and Craig with you."she suggested, causing Adam to smile. "I just might do that."he said, before he kissed her. "See you, babe. Love you."he said, getting a "Love you" in response, before he took off out the house.

A few minutes later, he was standing in front of the Clougherty house, and he was watching Ryan talking with a Cat Faunus he recognized. Stepping closer, he saw Ryan kiss the girl goodbye, before she turned to walk away. Seeing Adam, she stepped up and embraced him. "Hi, Rachel. That you away for your shopping trip?"Adam asked, before the girl nodded. "Yeah, and I'd better get going."she said, before taking off. Smiling, Adam turned to Ryan. "What's up?"Ryan asked, before Adam nodded towards the Grimm infested forests. "Going hunting. You game?"he asked, Ryan nodding. "You read my mind."he said, moving his jacket out the way to reveal he was wearing his sword. "Alright, but let's make this a lad's night. Let's let Craig in on this as well."Adam said, before Ryan nodded. "Alright." Ryan said, before he opened his front door. "Craig! Get down here!"He shouted, before the boy in question ran down the stairs, stopping in front of the two.

"What's up?"Craig asked, Adam smiling in response. "Straight to the point, as always. We're hunting Grimm. Seeing as the girls are all going shopping, why don't us lads have some fun together?"he asked, before Craig nodded, and held up a hammer. "Was going to hunt anyway."he said, before Adam nodded. "Alright, let's go."he said, leading the two to the forest...

That night, Beacon Academy...

Ozpin was sitting at his desk, looking at a file, when the elevator bell dinged, and a pair of heels clicking could be heard. "You're disappointed."The voice of Glynda Goodwitch said, before Ozpin looked up. "Excuse me?"he said, before Goodwitch nodded towards the file. "Schnee's been missing for a month, and we're no closer to finding him than when we started. Couple that, with your suspicions of the Talons still being around."she said, causing Ozpin to groan. "I'm just waiting for backup."he said, causing Glynda to chuckle. "You're a terrible liar."she said, before she looked at her watch. "I need to get home."she said, before Ozpin nodded. "I'll walk you down."he said, leaving the file on his desk, and standing up. "Alright, let's go."she said, leading him back to the elevator, then through the halls of Beacon, until they reached the airstrip. "Take care of yourself going home."Ozpin said, before Glynda kissed him lightly. "I always do."she said, before going to walk away. "Don't stay too long."she said, causing Ozpin to chuckle. "I'll stay as long as I want, woman!"He said, before Glynda shot back, "Knew you were going to say that!"before Ozpin walked away, smiling.

As the elevator doors opened, he immediately saw that there was a shadowy woman sitting at the desk, and who was typing rapidly on the computer built into the desk. Immediately, Ozpin's eyes went to his cane, which was leaning against the desk. Stepping into the room, he cleared his throat, only for the woman to hold up a finger. "Just one second."she said, causing Ozpin to raise an eyebrow. Stepping closer to her, he said, "Well, you sure ain't the IT gal, so you'd better start talking, before I break that finger six different ways and stick it right where the sun don't shine."he said, as the woman kept typing. "Professor Ozpin, right?"she asked, before Ozpin nodded. "That's right. I'm also the last man on Remnant who's computer you want to be hacking into. You've just earned yourself a dance with the devil, girl. You're under arrest."he said, before the woman scoffed. "I don't care about your computer. I'm here for the team who murdered my brother."she said, before Ozpin glared at her. "There ain't no goddamn team, it was just one man, and he's standing right in front of you." Finally, the woman stopped typing, and lifted a scroll off the desk. "You know, Goodwitch was right..."she said, pocketing the scroll, and facing Ozpin. "...You are a terrible liar." Without warning, she kicked the desk over, then leapt over it, kicking Ozpin into a pillar. Recovering, he rolled over to his cane, picked it up, and rose to his feet, turning to face the woman, who ran towards him, leapt into the air, and punched him in the side of the head, sending him to the floor again, causing him to drop the cane. Grunting, Ozpin threw a punch at the woman, who caught it, punched him in the arm, shattering his bones, before spinning, punching him in the chest, then kicking him in the back of the leg, before going to punch him in the side of the head, but Ozpin caught it, headbutted her, then grabbed her by the neck, lifted her into the air, then slammed her into the desk, winding her, as well as shattering the desk. "Goddamn IT gals!"He coughed, before the woman grabbed a shard of glass, and sliced his legs, causing him to cry out in pain, before she grabbed a leg of the table, and batted him in the head. She then put her feet on his chest, and pushed him away, causing him to land next to his cane, before she flipped back to her feet. Seizing his opportunity, Ozpin grabbed his cane, as the elevator doors opened, and Glynda ran in. "Ozpin!"she yelled, levitating shards of glass and sending them towards the woman, who ducked behind a pillar, while sliding a small beeping device across the floor, which landed close to Goodwitch. "Glynda!" Ozpin shouted, running over and covering her, as the device exploded, sending them both flying out the window, stories down to the rooftops below, Glynda landing on top of Ozpin. As soon as they impacted with the tiles, Ozpin's Aura broke in a flash of red, and he struggled to breathe. "Ozpin? Ozpin?"Glynda asked frantically, crawling up to help him.

Back in the remains of the office, the woman stepped out from behind the pillar, and she saw, on the wrecked screen of the desk:

DR BARTHOLOMEW OOBLECK

History of Remnant teacher at Beacon

Residence: Vale

Currently on a mission to Mistral

A smirk appeared on her face, as she left the office, saying "Payback time, Robertson..."

2 days later...

Adam had just finished his jog, and had returned to his home, only to see a pair of delivery men heaving a large box out a van. "Adam Robertson?"one of the men asked, as Adam ran up. "Yeah, that's me. Who's this from?"he asked, before the other man said, "Dr Bartholomew Oobleck.", causing Adam to chuckle. "Alright, I'll get it from here."he said, signing for the package, before hefting it onto his shoulder. "You're strong!"one of the men said, causing Adam to smirk. "I eat a lot of protein."he said, before he carried the box to a shed behind his house. After he placed the box in the shed, he heard footsteps approaching. Leaving the shed, he saw his team walk up. "What's that, Adam?"Shannon asked, nodding towards the box. "A delivery from Oobleck. What, is he trying to make me into a history nerd or something?"he said, causing his team to laugh. "It still feels weird, doesn't it, Adam? Being here, living peacefully, after all that's happened."Shannon asked, Adam shrugging. "I'm where I belong."he said, wrapping an arm round Kayleigh's shoulders. At that moment, his scroll vibrated, causing him to pull it out, looking at the number. "Oh, look who it is!"He said, showing the rest of ARKS the screen, which said, "Dr Oobleck." Answering the call, he put the scroll to his ear. "Yo."he said, before a female voice he didn't recognize spoke. "Adam Robertson."it said. "You don't know me. But you're about to." It then hung up. His eyes widening, Adam turned back towards the shed, before he yelled, "GET DOWN!", pulling Kayleigh behind a small wall, Ryan doing the same with Shannon, as the shed exploded, sending bits of wood flying everywhere. As the four got to their feet, Adam saw Libby run up. "What was that?"she asked, Adam looking toward the shed. "A bomb, hidden as a parcel. The sender is no friend of ours. And she's just signed her death warrant."he said, before Ryan sighed.

"Here we go again..."

A/N: And I hope you liked this first chapter. The second will be uploaded immediately after this. I'll see you then. Madman out, for the first time of 2017!