The cover art is "The Red Flower" by NonashuBeltaine on deviantart.

Chapter One

Sliding back her hood, Ruby turned her face toward the light autumn breeze. It caught the red ends of hair at her shoulder and made them sway into the lamppost light. With a sigh, Ruby continued her walk down the city street. She was learning to like the darkness of night again. Being back in Vale and returning to familiar territory helped with that. Not that Vale was exactly the same as it had been. No place was.

Still, the old connection to the city was there. The streets were familiar to her, though her purpose in them was somewhat different now. She was never again going to be that bright-eyed 15-year-old whose biggest concern was tracking down master thief Roman Torchwick. She'd seen too much, done too much. People she cared about had died right in front of her, and the monsters she'd fought had gotten bigger and scarier. Ruby even had to deliver the ultimate punishment, which had shaken her more than anyone knew.

So the night and the darkness of it, for a while, unsettled her. Not in Vale, though. Vale was as stable a place as could be found, especially with Ozpin around. It was where Ruby wanted to be to find herself again. Nearing 20, stronger, and more dangerous than ever… Ruby Rose was lost.

Reaching her destination, Ruby walked into the supply store and stopped. There was no one behind the counter and the place was suspiciously quiet. Immediately, Ruby laid her hand on Crescent Rose, the collapsible sniper-scythe she'd built and kept with her since she was a young teen.

Cautiously, Ruby moved down the outside aisle, eyeing the whole store until she noticed that the storage room at the back was open. She approached slowly, and then relaxed when she saw hands shifting a box. The clerk was probably doing some stocking duty.

She was just lifting her hand off her weapon and turning away when a figure in a white coat swayed into view. Ruby walked right up to the open doorway to get a better look and almost couldn't believe her eyes. It wasn't just someone wearing similar clothes to the man she'd witnessed get swallowed during the attack that had changed all of Remnant. That swagger, that self-possession, and that tell-tale wavy orange hair were all undeniably his.

She was too taken by surprise to prevent the small gasp from leaving her. Even though it was quiet, Torchwick looked over.

It was too late for her to get out of sight.

Torchwick pulled the cigar out of his mouth, turning fully toward her. "Nothing to see here," he called out in a carefree tone. "Run along and—"

He stopped short and Ruby realized that it had taken him a moment to recognize her. His eyes narrowed and Ruby managed to jump out of the way just in time as he quickly lifted his deceptively mundane cane and fired at her.

While the projectile whistled passed her and caused a large hole in the wall, Ruby's own weapon immediately came out, expanding to its full scythe mode. She raised it blade high, ready for Torchwick's next move. Her gaze held fast onto him, far steadier than her heart rate or the thoughts in her head that were scrambling to make sense of what she was seeing.

"Keep working," Torchwick ordered the person behind him over his shoulder before strutting toward her. "I see you've grown up, Red. Congratulations. There was a time I would have placed money you wouldn't."

Torchwick looked almost exactly the same as he had the last time she'd seen him, if slightly older. Under the bowler hat his hair still hid his right eye. The mischievous green eye visible still locked its gaze on her as if there were nothing more important in the moment than assessing her presence. Most worrying, he looked none the worse for wear and completely comfortable in his surroundings.

Ruby wanted to ask him how he was alive, but considering that she'd been present for his "death," she didn't want to provoke him into a more dangerous mood. She had not been winning the fight the last time they'd seen each other. Then again, she wasn't the same as she'd been then. She tightened her grip on Crescent Rose and swung it down, using the blade to ground the rifle, which was now pointed at Torchwick.

Torchwick lowered his brow and glared at her, extinguishing his cigar on the floor. "Let me guess. You consider yourself a full-fledged Huntress now and still feel honor-bound to bring me in?"

Ruby didn't really want to kill him. The argument could be made that he was closer to deserving it than most, but given the fact she had thought he was dead some additional leeway could be given. What had he gone through to still be alive? What had he been doing the last few years?

"You didn't care that people were dying as long as you could get ahead. That's unforgivable." Back then, Ruby and her team at Beacon Academy had spent months chasing after him, trying to bring him to justice, yet it wasn't until he'd revealed his cold-hearted selfishness that she'd truly begun to find him despicable.

Torchwick started twirling his cane carelessly. "People die all the time, Red. Honestly, I'd think you know that by now. Did you even return to that school of yours and finish your education? Or did Ozpin just give you an honorary pass simply because you'd somehow managed to survive?"

His cane was getting flipped now, alternating which end would land in his hand: handle, barrel, handle, barrel.

Ruby frowned at it, wondering if he was going to aim it at her again or if this light-fingered handling was going to reveal a new capacity that had been developed in the weapon. From what she could see, Torchwick's Melodic Cudgel looked just the same.

Smoke filled her vision at the same time she heard Torchwick's chuckle. It surrounded her quickly, and Ruby had to shield her eyes to protect them from the stinging sensation. Inwardly she berated herself for falling for what now obviously had been his distraction technique. She'd been too busy looking at his weapon and hadn't seen him let off a smoke bomb.

"Next time, Red," Torchwick's mocking words reached her from a distance. Ruby pushed toward them, intent on following him. The smoke thinned and Ruby didn't bother looking behind her as she ran toward the back of the store. The storage room was empty of people. The back door out of the building had already shut. Ruby rushed over and opened it, ready to step through. She was blasted backward instead, an explosion of Fire Dust waiting for her. It was enough to slow her down. When she returned to the utility door again there was only the sound of an engine, and nothing in sight.

Roman Torchwick is alive.

Ruby had sent the text message out to everybody. Her three former teammates, Uncle Qrow, Ozpin, Huntsmen she'd partnered with since going pro.

Oh, and he got away again.

Ruby leaned against the outside wall of the store while the police taped it off and went through the premises. She'd already given her statement, but was asked to stick around anyway in case they had more questions. The responses to her messages came quickly enough. Jaune Arc was first, followed quickly by her old school partner, Weiss Schnee.

Wait, what?

Ruby, have you been drinking again?

The third came from Blake Belladonna:

A little more information would be helpful.

Yang Xiao Long chimed in, then Uncle Qrow.

Weiss, stop picking on my sister. I'm sure she's got an explanation.

Drinking doesn't hide the truth, unfortunately. Are you sure, kid?

Professor Ozpin was the last to join the conversation, and as expected, he was the kindest.

Do come see me at the first available opportunity, Ruby. I'd like to hear about this in person.

Ruby smiled. She'd been hoping he'd ask. Quickly, she typed a response.

I can come after the police are all set with me.

Well, don't leave us out! If you're going to Ozpin's, conference call.

Weiss's suggestion made sense. Others chimed in with their agreement and their requests to be included while Ozpin said he'd be happy to accommodate. With a sigh, Ruby closed her Scroll.

All of Remnant was rebuilding itself since the death of Salem. So many villages had been overrun by the creatures of Grimm and abandoned by the survivors. When refugees had returned after a couple years of darkness, their former homes had required a lot of repair, those that were still there at all. People everywhere were starting over again.

No, Ruby hadn't returned to Beacon Academy. Torchwick, with all his condescension, had been right about that. Ozpin had given her, the rest of Team RWBY, and the rest of Team JNPR Huntsman and Huntress titles. Though Weiss's was a little superfluous since she'd earned her own in Atlas.

Which is where Weiss was today. Blake was in Vacuo and Yang in Mistral. All of Team RWBY was spread across Remnant, each of them helping people stay safe again.

And here she and Roman Torchwick were, right back in Vale.

From the passenger seat, Roman glared at the store clerk, his newest problem. If the clerk had locked the front door like he'd been supposed to, they would have gone uninterrupted. This guy would simply be back behind the counter with no one the wiser instead of riding with the stock in the back of the van. If it hadn't been a Huntress—Ha!—who showed up, he could've passed off what was going on as merely store business. That the person had been Red of all people meant, as it usually did with her, that there was a new problem on his hands.

"Is she a usual customer? How well do you think she saw you?" he asked the clerk through the open panel.

"I don't know, sir. I have no idea who came into the store."

Roman sighed and, facing forward, pulled out a new cigar. They weren't exactly the least expensive item to get these days and he hated having to waste half of one earlier. He flicked open his lighter and then took a puff to light his cigar. "Her name is Ruby Rose. She's wears black, gray, and red, and as far as I know always has a red cloak. She carries a scythe that's also a gun. Ring any bells?"

"Oh, um, I think so. Yeah, I've seen her in the store before."

"Great," Roman said sarcastically. "Looks like we have to give you a new identity."

"What? Why?" The clerk sounded surprised and a little frightened. "I can't just go back? I get leaving tonight, but…" he trailed off at Roman's look.

"You have to remain of value, and you can't do that if I send you back to work just to get arrested. Red saw you working with me. You need to be repurposed, just like all the scraps in the rest of Remnant. After all, waste not, want not."

The clerk continued to look at him with wide eyes and Roman turned away, sliding shut the panel window with a solid thunk. He'd already had enough of dealing with this guy. The driver of the van cast him a glance, but Roman ignored him.

Damn it, that girl was still around. Impressive in a way, actually, but not at all what he would prefer. She was always a bad omen.

He wasn't under the radar anymore, either. That was bound to happen; it was an expected consequence of reclaiming his old territory. Roman took a long puff off his cigar. That didn't make it more palatable that the next stage had come, but at least he was good to go.

Fucking Ruby Rose, he thought. You'd better stay out of my way, Red.