A/N: Finally! I'd been meaning to get around to this, but things got really hectic in my life, so I couldn't. I hope you enjoy the first chapter for volume 2, and PLEASE leave a review letting me know how I'm doing.

Having said that, enjoy!

19 years after Vol 1.
Patch,
1600 hours.

Amelia walks through the snowy forest, a sword on her back, and her gray cloak flowing out behind her in the strong breeze. She keeps her hood pulled up, and inside her cloak she holds a single white rose.
The view atop the cliff is breathtaking on its own, the snow-covered pines stretching out for miles before they reach the ocean, but Amelia isn't here for the view, instead she keeps her eyes on a small stone grave marker, repeatedly reading the text inscribed below an inscribed rose.

'Summer rose.'
'And thus I kindly scatter.'

She kneels down, pulling her cloak aside before pulling out an engraved 30mm shell casing and inserting the stem of the rose into it, preventing the light flower from flying off in the strong breeze.

"Hello old friend, I was in the neighborhood, so I figured I'd stop by and say hello. I've stayed true to my word, nobody will ever harm her. I've been watching from afar, keeping track on her progress, and I will say that she's doing very well. Also true to my word I've stayed out of sight, she doesn't know who I am, and I doubt she's ever seen me. Yang obviously knows, and we've been keeping in touch."

Her voice projects through the air without her lips moving, seeming to reverberate slightly, as if her voice were from an angel. She kneels at the plaque in silence for several minutes before a single solitary tear runs down her face, dripping onto the frosty stone.

"I miss you. I'm sorry that I was too late. I wish I could have taken your place. I've said it a million times before, but you were the best friend I ever had."

Tears stream down her face, and she starts to sob, but her phone buzzes in her pocket.

"Sorry to cut this short, Yang texted me, Ruby is coming. Farewell, until next time."

She stands up and whirls around before jogging into the forest, taking cover behind a tree as a girl in a red cloak walks along the main path to the cliff.

She walks within yards of Amelia, her hood obstructing her peripheral vision, and stops at the grave, pulling a red rose out of her cloak and placing it in the 30mm casing holding the white rose.

The girl stands there for several minutes, and Amelia uses the time to leave, her gray cloak blending in with the snow and rocks around her.
She walks for a half hour before reaching a small cabin, gray smoke coming out of the smokestack and mingling with the gray clouds, and Amelia enters, welcoming the warmth of the fire crackling in the fireplace as she pulls her hood back

The small parcel of land had been given to her by Taiyang after Summer's death, and it resides in the forest behind his house. Ruby and Yang had found it plenty of times before, but Amelia had always heard them coming, and hid.
She only used the cabin a few times out of the year, a couple weeks during winter being one of them. Her house in Vale was much larger, but lacked the peace due to two rambunctious kids, belonging to her and Jackson.

The memories made in this cabin were a mix of emotions, but she doesn't dwell on that. She grabs her bag, rifle, and quickly puts the fire out before looking around the cabin one last time, making sure she hasn't forgotten anything.
Satisfied she pulls her hood up and shoulders the bag, clipping the rifle onto its single point sling before stepping out into the cold once again. The wind gives a strong gust, which forces Amelia to pull her scarf up to cover the lower half of her face as she trudges through the knee-deep snow.
She takes an alternate path, one that leads past Tai's house, expecting Ruby to take the main path back.

Instead she comes face-to-face with the one person who was not supposed to see her.

Ruby Rose, Summer's daughter.

Ruby stands mere yards away, her silver eyes wide as she stares at Amelia in a mixture of shock and confusion. Amelia stares at her in return, after sixteen years was all her effort in staying out of sight really going to be wasted?
Apparently so.

Ruby's eyes flicker to the sword on Amelia's back, then to her eyes, and the bangs hanging down below the hood. Finally after a solid thirty seconds she opens her mouth.
"M-Mom?"
Amelia sighs through her nose, softening her expression to one of sympathy.
"No child, I am not Summer Rose."
Ruby looks devastated, and she steps back, but Amelia pulls back her hood and pulls down her scarf.
"However, when you were little, she asked me to watch over and protect you. Your family knows me as Angel."
Before she can say anything else Ruby disappears in a puff of rose petals, the trail leading towards Taiyang's residence.
Amelia sighs and walks through the forest, following the trail of petals on the snow straight to the large house. She walks up onto the porch and knocks four times.

A minute later the door opens, revealing Tai, dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt, his face turns from one of happiness to dread.
"I take it the gig is up?"

Amelia nods slowly, and he opens the door more, inviting her in, she enters and dries her boots at the fireplace before sitting down.
"We blundered straight into each other, she asked then ran, and now I'm here."

She runs her fingers through her long red and black hair while she talks, and Yang comes down the stairs.
"Oh, hey Angel! Long time no see!"

Amelia smiles at her and stands up, giving her a hug before slipping her backpack off.
"Indeed, it's been at least a year. I see you're still growing like a weed, keep it up and you might just catch up to me."

Yang pokes her in the ribs and flops down on the couch, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. "Right, I'm doubtful. I'm going to guess judging how Ruby locked herself in her room that you two met?"

Amelia nods. "Met? More like we blundered into each other."

Tai sighs and stands up before walking up the stairs and pounding on Ruby's door. "Ruby? Come out, we've got some stuff to talk about!"
Amelia can hear Ruby yell for him to go away, and he stalks back down the stairs. "She's not going to come out, that was too much of a shock for her."

Amelia snorts and crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow at Tai.
"And that's ever stopped me in the past?"

Tai shrugs and sits down in a recliner, crossing his arms across his chest. "And what do you suppose we do to get her out so we can talk to her?"
Amelia grins and pulls out her wallet, rooting around in it before pulling out a piece of folded paper.
"Well, I've got Summer's cookie recipe. Bait for the trap. Then I restrain her and we have a nice long chat."

Tai stares at her in surprise for a moment before shrugging. "It could work I guess, but what if it doesn't?"
Amelia thinks for several minutes before answering, only the crackle of the fire keeps the silence at bay.
"Psychological warfare? I can change how I sound, and if she wants to believe I'm her mom, then I can be her mom."

Yang stares at her, her mouth slightly agape as she tries to find the words to say. "That...that's evil...but at the same time that is really nice."

Amelia nods and smiles, putting her wallet in her pocket before unfolding the paper.

Tai stares at the fire for a minute before speaking. "If you want to do that, I'd say go for it. Option two has the least chance of initial failure."

Amelia unslings her rifle and puts it with her pack, also pulling her scarf off and wrapping it around the foregrip of the rifle before walking up the stairs to Ruby's door.

She recalls what Summer's voice used to sound like, and changes her projections to match, while taking out the ethereal reverberation.
"Ruby? Please...open the door, it's important we have a talk."

She hears slight stirring behind the door, but it stops as quickly as it started.
"Ruby please don't make me beg...open the door, we'll have a talk and if you want I'll make you a batch of cookies, just the way you like them."

The trick works, and Amelia hears padded footsteps before the door is unlocked and thrown open. Ruby realizes her mistake, and tries to shut the door, but Amelia gets her foot in and forces her way in.
Ruby runs to her bed and puts her head under the pillow, refusing to even speak with Amelia.

Having finally gotten in Amelia changes her projection back to normal, including the reverberation.
"Listen Ruby, I know I'm not who you want, you want Summer, and so do I, but as much as we both want it, it's not going to happen. I want to help fill the hole, you just got a first hand demonstration of what I can do, and as you showed earlier, I look like your mom."

She sits down on the edge of the bed and pulls a picture out of her wallet, the picture of her and Summer in their flight suits after their first flight together.
"I was very close to her, we went to Beacon together, and she took a liking to being able to fly. This is a picture of her and I together after our first flight. I was so worried I was going to scare her off and she wouldn't talk to me again. But when she got off the plane she was excited to do it again. That was only about a week after I left home, I got lost and ended up in Vacuo during the Vytal festival. Summer saw my plane and was really interested, she gave me her number after mere minutes of talking."

She looks over to find Ruby staring at her, her silver eyes filled with tears. Amelia offers the picture to her, and she looks at it before smiling slightly.
"Little Rose, my name is Amelia Ellis. Your mom and I helped each other as if we were sisters. She stayed by my side whenever I got injured, and when it came time for you to be born I was waiting right outside the delivery room. I've protected you for most of your life and I know you got the batches of cookies I baked for you. I have been your guardian angel, hence why your family calls me that. Now, would you have me as an aunt?"

Ruby bolts forward and hugs Amelia, her tears soaking into Amelia's cloak as she rubs circles in the girls back.
"Please...I would love you to." Ruby sobs, holding Amelia tightly.

"Very well, come along, we have much to talk about, and I believe I owe you a batch of cookies."

Once Ruby had calmed down enough Amelia leads her downstairs by the hand, and they sit on the couch, where Ruby keeps herself plastered against Amelia's side while she explains her life story. Yang had heard parts of it, but was left in the dark that her sister's guardian angel was a mercenary from another planet.
"Wait, you really were a mercenary?" She asks, her voice filled with skepticism as Amelia sighs, knowing she wouldn't believe it.
"Yes Yang, I killed people for money, do I need to share images with you?"
Yang nods, but quickly regrets her decision when Amelia bombards her with a mental replay of her stabbing a Taliban leader in the throat repeatedly.
"Oh my god...that's disgusting.." she jumps up and runs to the bathroom, where the sounds of her emptying her breakfast can be heard shortly after.
Tai scowls at Amelia, but quickly shrugs and throws another log in the fireplace, causing the crackling to double before calming down.
She continues her story, and Yang comes back in several minutes later.
After two hours of visiting Amelia's phone buzzes, and she checks it before quickly standing up.
"Well, I regret to inform you all that I must be taking my leave. Always a pleasure Tai, Yang. Ruby It's nice to formally meet you, I'll keep in touch."
With that she picks up her scarf, wraps it around her neck, and grabs her bag and rifle before quickly leaving.

She's off the porch before Ruby opens the door and calls after her.
"Thank you Angel!"
Amelia pauses and turns around, giving Ruby a warm smile.
"You are very welcome little rose, I'll get you those cookies next time I visit."
With that she pulls her hood up and walks off into the forest, quickly disappearing from sight as she weaves among the snow-covered maple trees.