Beep. Beep.

Any moment now.

Beep. Beep.

Yep. Miss Goodwitch was bound to answer sometime. No doubt about it.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Maybe she was busy. It wouldn't surprise Ruby. Miss Goodwitch's job had been hard enough before Vale, Ruby could only imagine how she functioned today.

Beep.

Probably a lot like herself. Spread thin. Always paranoid that the sky was going to fall down on Remnant. A nightmare here or there.

Beep. Beep.

She wasn't going to answer, was she?

"Miss Rose. What a pleasant surprise."

Ruby almost fell off her chair, so surprised she was. She held onto her held and pulled herself back up, causing some stray Crescent Rose pieces to roll off the edge and fall on the floor with a clatter. Cursing under her breath, she put her Scroll between her shoulder and her ear and bent over to gather up the pieces.

"I am hoping that wasn't as disastrous as it sounded."

"Disastrous? I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Goodwitch!" Ruby said, slowing down her movements and trying to even her voice. "Nothing disastrous over here, no ma'am. Oh, and hi! It's Ruby!"

"I'm aware," Miss Goodwitch sounded as done with Ruby's antics as ever. Which was to say, way past done. Ah. How Ruby had missed their conversations. "My apologies for not answering sooner. Things have been – how should I put it – rather hectic as of late. I'm sure you can relate."

"Tell me about it!" Ruby smirked, putting the last piece back on the desk. "So many Grimm, so little time…"

"And school, to boot…"

Ruby slammed her hand down on the desk, and everything she'd recovered and more went flying all over her room. She kicked herself, then shook her head in wonder. She had to admit it, Miss Goodwitch had gotten her good with that one. Ruby hadn't been expecting it at all.

"Yep. School. What can I say, it's pretty cool!" Ruby laughed nervously. "A very… formative experience and all that…"

"Yes, that is the intent," Miss Goodwitch said. "But surely you haven't been calling me nonstop to talk about your life now that you're back home. What's on your mind, then?"

It was a little disappointing that Miss Goodwitch only expected Ruby to call if she had a problem to deal with or something like that. Not that she had any reason to believe otherwise – Ruby hadn't talked to her at all since Vale. Maybe that was the worst part, that she actually was right…

"Well… You see, last week I got a call from Miss Lavender. I mean, Lisa Lavender. The reporter, I'm sure you know about her," Ruby said. "She asked me if we could do an interview. She said it would be all about me, but I'm sure that's not completely true. I don't know if I should do it or not, and I was wondering if you could help with that…"

Miss Goodwitch was silent for a while, and Ruby worried that she'd bothered her with something trivial when she had way more important things to be seeing to. But eventually, the Commander spoke again, and she sounded like she'd truly given the matter some thought.

"I don't only know about Lisa Lavender, I've met her. I can't say I've been interviewed by her, not officially, but our jobs have caused us to cross paths many times over the years," she said. "To be frank, I don't like reporters. But Lavender is cut from a different cloth than most. She's shrewd and she'll go to any lengths to get the material she desires, but she's honest and thoughtful too, or at least she knows how to appear so."

"So… are you saying she's a good person? Or not?" Ruby asked. "Sorry, you're not being too clear here."

"She's as decent as they come. I wouldn't worry about her intentions," Miss Goodwitch paused. "However… I do agree that, if you were to agree, the conversation would no doubt stray from the topic of you to, well… things Beacon would rather the general populace not know much about."

A small Weiss-like voice rang in Ruby's mind. Such as Beacon itself! Ruby shook her head, a little disturbed by her own imagination.

"But wouldn't talking about the Grimm be a good thing in the long run?" she pondered. "It's scary business, sure, but now that people know they exist, what's the point of keeping everyone in the dark? Isn't not knowing scarier?"

"Perhaps. That's not a question I'm confident I can answer," Miss Goodwitch said. "What I can say is that the world is in an unstable enough state already. Shaking things up is much more likely to harm than to help."

Ruby nodded. She couldn't agree more. As an already less than stealer speaker with a tendency to be reduced to a nervous mess when a single camera was pointed her way, Ruby could see a thousand possibilities where she screwed up royally on live television and caused the world to crack into literal pieces.

Maybe she was being overly dramatic. But, oh, she was panicking just thinking about the interview!

"All that aside, Ruby," Miss Goodwitch said, and just the use of her name caused Ruby to feel safer. "As someone who was in your life for a good year and a half, I have no doubt you would perform excellently."

"W-what?" Ruby gasped. "You don't think I would screw up…?"

"Why would I think that? As long as you put in the proper effort, I know you can do anything."

Ruby brought her hand to her mouth and bit on a finger, fighting back a sudden urge to sob. It wasn't like Miss Goodwitch was unfeeling or anything close to that, but for her to sound so warm towards her…

Now Ruby really was feeling guilty about not calling her before.

"So, will you do it?"

"I-I don't know," Ruby breathed out slowly. "I'll think about it some more."

"Take your time. You've certainly got enough in your plate before taking VNN interviews into account," Miss Goodwitch said. "Speaking of plates. I'm afraid I must be going. It appears the Supreme Director of Beacon has yet to learn how to properly operate a tablet device without on-hands help."

"That is a bold exaggeration and a lie, Commander Goodwitch, and you should know better than to slander your own-"

"Have a good day, Miss Rose."

"Uhm, yeah, g-good day to you too…"

The call ended with a beep, but it took a while for Ruby to put her phone down. There was a bubbly feeling inside her now, a newfound confidence that told her to get back on her Scroll and call Miss Lavender right away to confirm the interview – but just as that thought came, it was quickly brushed aside. She needed to take her time, definitely not because she was nervous.

With a sigh, she pushed her Scroll further away on her desk, then looked around her room. The mechanical pieces of Crescent Rose were still scattered everywhere – on the carpet beside the bed, the bed itself, under the desk…

"Ugh."

Well, at least she had something to do with her time until she came to a decision.

Maybe she could add some crosses to each shoulder, pining her cape to the rest of the uniform. That way, she could take it off whenever she wanted – it could make a nice blanket in a crisis! But were crosses still cool? Ruby thought so, but they did seem a little over the top. And they didn't mesh that well with her thematic as a whole.

She'd have to consult with Yang about that. She already meant to ask about leggings, after all. Ruby had joked about a shorter skirt with her Dad, but she did actually want one… while keeping her decency, as she had become a bit of a role model for girls worldwide.

That was still a weird thought.

"…and that's how we get to alternative B!" Penny exclaimed, tracing a circle on her notebook and then spinning her pen between her fingers, a little self-satisfied smile on her lips. "Did you get all that, Ruby?"

Startled, Ruby blinked and looked at Penny. She gave a cursory glance to the notebook, then wriggled her fingers guiltily on her lap. "Uhm… sorry. Could you repeat that?"

"Sure!" Penny replied without hesitation. "Which part?"

Ruby raised her hands sheepishly. "…All of it?"

Penny stared at her for a moment before putting her pen down and crossing her arms. She assumed an expression Ruby assumed was supposed to be stern, but to her it just looked adorable. Penny couldn't pretend to be mean for the life of her.

"You know, Ruby, if you don't pay attention, your grades are only going to drop more," Penny said. "I'm always willing to help, but you have to put some effort or else we're both wasting our time."

"I know… I'm sorry, Penny," Ruby sighed. "I wish I was better, but… It's been kinda difficult to care lately, you know?"

"I believe I don't," Penny tilted her head quizzically. "Could you elaborate, friend?"

Ruby looked around at the empty stands and the track field, suddenly wishing the bell would ring and give her a window to avoid the question. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about it with Penny specifically, but…

She was having trouble enough dealing with the issue herself. Talking about it with anyone at all made it even more real.

"I don't know. It's complicated," Ruby said. "I mean, it's not that complicated, but still. Grimm are a thing now. Well, they've been for a while, but now… Everything's changed. Except we're still here learning about equations and dead people from five hundred years ago and all that dumb stuff," she paused. "I know it's not dumb. But considering I kill monsters for a living…"

Penny hummed under her breath, staring fixedly at her. Ruby squirmed a bit where she sat, hoping Penny wasn't judging her for what she'd said. She couldn't help how she felt, as much as she wished otherwise.

"I suppose that makes sense," Penny said finally. "You are very dedicated to being a Huntress, aren't you, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded mutely. It was a little weird to hear that from Penny. For the one week they'd known each other, Penny hadn't said a word about Ruby's other life, and she hadn't given any indication of having thought about it. It had been nice… but also weird, Ruby had to admit.

"Well, as my father always says, no matter what happens, the world keeps on spinning! And since we are still students, regardless of the monsters and near apocalypses…" Penny said, suddenly cheerful again. "…you should get to work on finishing your History project!"

"…History project?" Ruby swallowed dry. "Which one is that, again?"

"The one due for next week, about the founding of Vale and the evolution of its political system since then," Penny said. "You have been working on that, haven't you, Ruby?"

"Oh, yeah! I remember now! Of course I have!" Ruby laughed nervously. "I just, you know, I forgot! 'Cause I did so much work on it on the day the professor gave us the assignment! Which was… very long ago! Yes!"

Penny frowned. "It was last Thursday."

"...Time is relative! And that's also a very important concept in Physics!"

Penny didn't seem very convinced. Luckily, Ruby was saved from further scrutiny by the school bell. She didn't waste a second in getting up and hopping down the stands.

"Let's go, Penny!" she yelled back at her friend. "We wouldn't want to miss any of Chemistry class, would we now?"

"We have Math now, actually," Penny said, joining her.

Ruby grimaced. She should probably stop digging that hole before it was too deep to get herself out of.

Ruby got up from her chair and stretched her arms above her head, sighing in relief. Another day of class survived. Another five hours of boredom forgotten. Now, she was free.

She picked up her backpack, put it down on her desk and started to fill it with her school supplies, only to stop when she heard giggling behind her. She looked over her shoulder at Penny, sitting a couple rows back, but the ginger was stoic as she retrieved her own things from her desk.

Shrugging, Ruby turned back to her backpack, but as soon as she did, she heard the giggling again. Ruby waited a moment, hesitant to look for the source again. The giggling probably had nothing to do with her, and she if she started looking around, she would look like crazy, and probably a little self-obsessed to boot. Not everything had to be about her.

She put her notebook in her backpack and frowned as her fingers brushed against something foreign. The giggling got louder. Okay, maybe this was about her.

Deciding to get this over with, Ruby grabbed the object and pulled it out – a strip of paper, seemingly torn from a school notebook much like her own, folded several times so its contents were hidden. Oh, great. Secret messages. If she was lucky, this wouldn't be from that one weird fanclub that had been trying to get her to join as president.

Did it even make sense to have her as the president of her own fanclub? Just the fact that she had to ponder that question had her wanting to crawl out of her skin and vanish from the face of Remnant.

"Hey, Ruby," Penny spoke, stopping beside her desk. "You look funny. What have you got there?"

"I'm not sure," Ruby looked around her, and just like before, the giggling immediately ceased. Gosh, the perpetrator really had impeccable timing and self-control. "It may be a fanclub thing."

"You mean the fanclub from Room 8B? Daily reunions from 3 pm to 5?" Penny smiled innocently. "I only know because they invited me. They sounded so eager, I almost joined too!"

Ruby shuddered. As if she wasn't weirded out enough already.

"If it is a fanclub thing, as you say, there is no harm in just reading it," Penny said, looking over Ruby's shoulder. "Furthermore, if it is something else, we want to know about it."

"We do?" Ruby looked at the strip of paper. "I'm not so sure. You know, there's this thing called fanfiction and I've made no small effort to avoid it. No. Small. Effort."

"Fanfiction, you say?" Penny tilted her head a little. "I shall research that later."

"No, Penny, please don't-"

"I see you're nervous, friend. Here, allow me to help."

Ruby had no room to object, Penny just took the paper from her hands and opened it. She read it over twice, her eyes dashing left and right astoundingly twice, then looked up at Ruby.

"Mr. slash Ms. Secret Admirer cordially asks you to be their partner for the end-of-year dance," Penny said. "Might I ask, Ruby, who is Secret Admirer?"

Ruby couldn't be more mortified. "I don't know. I think that's the point."

"But if someone were to attend the event with you, wouldn't you have to know who they are?" Penny noted. "This note seems very ineffective as a courting mechanism."

Ruby turned as a pale as ghost. "Courting mechanism…?"

"I don't recognize Mr. slash Ms. Secret Admirer's handwriting. Perhaps I could ask for a sample from our classmates and match them. If that doesn't suffice, a suitable next step would be to expand the search into the other third years classes," Penny said. "What do you think, Ruby? Does my plan sound… sound?" she blinked. "Hmm, that phrase needs a little troubleshooting."

"Honestly, Penny? You can keep the note. Do whatever you want with it – hang it on a wall; burn it and toss the ashes off a cliff - have a field day!" Ruby shook her head fervently. "I don't want anything to do with it."

"But why? Sure, Mr. slash Ms. Secret Admirer doesn't seem particularly bright, but their intent is genuine at least," Penny raised a finger. "The end-of-year dance is an important event in every Valesian's life. It's a moment to be cherished forever – and having a partner who so wants to go with you that they would ask months prior could make for an even better memory," she crossed her arms. "Your reaction confuses me, Ruby. Why would you refuse Mr. slash Ms. Secret Admirer?"

"For the same reason I'm not the president of Fanclub Rose," Ruby said with finality. "Nope. Not gonna happen."

Penny pursed her lips and looked at Ruby thoughtfully, no doubt making some analysis in her head about that response. Ruby was just glad the conversation was over, for now at least.

Even before the Grimm and Beacon and superpowers, Ruby hadn't been much for dances and any such events. She just wasn't into it – she rarely liked the music, standing around was a bore, dancing was a no-no, and there was way too much human interaction all at once. That, and she was always left out during school dances. She had no doubt that flipping that around and having her be the center of attention for a whole night wouldn't be any better. In fact, that sounded much worse.

"Well, I am looking forward to being invited to the dance," Penny said dreamingly. "So exciting! I wonder if I'll have a Mr. slash Ms. Secret Admirer of my own…"

"Let's hope that happens, yeah…" Ruby sighed. "I'm gonna be getting a lot more of these, aren't I?"

"It doesn't strike me as an isolated incident, no," Penny said. "All the more time for you to change your mind!"

"Ugh. I'm just gonna go. And pretend there wasn't a bunch of people giggling behind my back all that time," Ruby took a quick look over her shoulder, but her classmates weren't even looking at her. "Drat. I will catch you eventually," she looked back at Penny. "I'm going to the mall to buy some stuff for my cos- uniform. Wanna come?"

"Hmm?" Penny looked startled at the invitation. "Oh, I do. Unfortunately, I cannot."

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

"It's my father. We have plans for today," Penny replied, joining her hands behind her back. "Also, I have to finish the History project. Remember?"

"Sure, I remember. I'll… also be working on that today!" Ruby nodded. "See you tomorrow, then!"

"Yes! Have a good day, friend Ruby!"

Penny smiled widely at her, then left the classroom, full bag hanging over her shoulder. Ruby scratched the back of her neck, thinking Penny seemed to spend an awful lot of time with her father. That wasn't a bad thing, but it was a little odd. Maybe she still felt a little out of sorts after moving from her childhood home into a whole new country.

Oh, well. Ruby liked Penny just the way she was. With time, they would grow closer, and Penny wouldn't be so hesitant to spend more time with her. Ruby didn't have much experience when it came to friendships, but of that, she was sure.

"Thanks again! Nope, I don't need another bag. Thanks. Nope, I can carry this myself. Yep. Nope. Thanks! Bye!"

Ruby slipped out of the fabric store and closed the door behind her, leaning back against it for a moment. She could still hear the shopkeeper lady squealing in excitement inside, and soon came sounds of typing and camera flashes and all sorts of things Ruby would rather not have happening around her.

At least she'd been able to refuse the really, really unfair discounts. The lady had looked devastated, but Ruby didn't let that get to her. She was better than that. Besides, her father would kill her if he found out she was taking advantage of her fame – even if she was being pressured into it…

Unfortunately, her respite wouldn't last long. Patch Central Mall was, as always, filled to the brim with people doing business or eating out for lunch. Naturally, Ruby soon was the target of many passersby's attentions, not a small number taking photos or approaching her outright.

Ruby made a half-attempt of a wave, then blew a strand of hair from her eyes and walked away from the store, each step faster than the last. She should have just ordered online! This was why she hated going out these days!

Nearest exist, nearest exit – don't use your Semblance! – nearest exist, nearest exit…

At last! A set of automatics doors, and beyond them, blessed sidewalk and honking cars! Ruby sped up even further, turning a corner and making it straight for the exit…

And crashed against a shopping cart, knocking it over and falling on the floor herself. Her Aura protected her from any real injury… but it couldn't protect her from the awful sting of shame. Moving to her knees, Ruby straightened out her shirt and hair, then looked around at the many products spread out on the floor.

"Oh, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Ruby blinked and looked up, meeting eyes with an older woman. "Uhm, no, I'm okay. Is… is this your stuff? I'm so sorry! Here, I'll get it for you-"

"Nevermind that! Sweetheart, would you be so kind as to pick up our things?" the woman looked down, and a little boy appeared from behind her and started gathering the fallen products. "You're sure you're not hurt? There's no shame in it, I wasn't looking either."

"No, I'm really fine," Ruby got up. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay!"

Ruby shook her head and joined the little boy in recovering the woman's items. Luckily, nothing seemed damaged. Ruby still felt bad, but that at least was a small comfort.

A couple minutes later, the cart was up again with all its contents in it. The little boy gave Ruby a wide-eyed stare, then went back to his mother and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you for the help," the woman said. "Let's both remember to be more careful in the future, yeah?"

Ruby gave her a small smile. "Yep!" She looked at the little boy and winked. "Although, that was kinda fun, wasn't it?"

The boy's eyes widened even more, but then he smiled at her and giggled. The mother looked startled, and for a moment Ruby feared she'd done something wrong. Mothers were very protective of their children, weren't they? Oh no…

"That's…" the woman gave a little gasp, as if she couldn't believe the situation. "He hasn't looked that bright in months."

"Huh?" Ruby frowned. "I'm sorry…?"

"Oh, it's nothing to do with you. He's just been very quiet since… that." The mother gestured up, then mouthed Vale.

Realization dawned on her, and Ruby didn't quite know what to say. She hadn't had anyone approach her with this before. It was always about how awesome she was, or her teammates… This was new.

"Yeah, uhm… that was definitely scary," Ruby said slowly. "I'm sorry about that."

"Why are you sorry? You didn't cause it," the woman ruffled her boy's hair. "The crash I understand, but there's nothing you can do about that."

"Well, I just… feel bad?" Ruby swallowed dry. "But everything's gonna be okay, you know? There are people who are taking care of that stuff. Good, powerful people! They're not gonna let anything happen to your son."

"I heard something about that. Some heroes…" the mother smiled sadly. "But with everything we saw, it is difficult to believe, don't you think?"

Rendered silent, Ruby could only watch as the boy stuck even closer to his mother. A lump formed in her throat, her eyes beginning to sting as a helpless fury rose inside her.

"I'm sorry to bother you about this. What a terrible thing to say to a stranger, especially a lovely young woman such as you," the mother said. "Thank you, and have a nice day."

Ruby nodded. The mother pushed the cart past her, the boy giving her one last look before they turned the corner. She could swear he saw something in his eyes then. Recognition?

Or maybe she was just imagining things.

The front door opened with a bang, and closed within the second with just as much noise. Taiyang was so startled, he almost tossed his mixing spoon away, soup included.

"Ruby Rose!" he yelled out. "What did we discuss about doors and manners?!"

Ruby popped into the kitchen, a few petals littering the floor around her feet. "Sorry, Dad! I didn't mean it."

"Did you not mean to use your powers either?" He pointed at the petals with his spoon, then noticed it had soup in it and licked it clean. "You're gonna sweep that floor yourself, young lady."

"Okay! Later!" Ruby exclaimed.

"What do you mean later? Food's almost ready! Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"My room! I have a call to make!"

"Well, your phone's not going anywhere, so-"

Midway through his sentence, Ruby sped off, the noise of her running up the stairs and into her room echoing throughout the house. Taiyang sighed. He appreciated her energy, but Ruby could do with some slowing down sometimes, especially recently.

By the time Ruby came back, he was done preparing lunch and about to set the table. To her credit, she helped him with that without his asking – which should be a given, but kids will be kids, and with how excited she was, Taiyang wouldn't have been surprised if she had forgotten.

"So, a call?" he asked, setting down their plates. "What about?"

"I was calling Lisa Lavender back," Ruby said. "I confirmed the interview and we talked about how that's gonna go and stuff. She said she could come over here for it, but I told her that wasn't necessary. I mean, she can't be that comfortable moving around these days – not that I said that to her. Plus, I'm sure she's got a bunch more stuff to do other than talk to me. So I'm flying over to Vale this weekend!"

As she paused to catch her breath, their eyes met, and Ruby was quick to look away, now twiddling her thumbs nervously under the table.

"I mean, if that's okay with you…"

"You should have asked before making plans, little lady," Taiyang rolled his eyes. "But alright. It's not like skipping around the globe is a novelty with you these days. At least this time you won't be fighting monsters," he pointed a finger at her. "You're coming back home as soon as that business of yours is over."

"Yes I am, sir!" Ruby nodded solemnly.

"Good. Because, while I am sure Lavender is a very busy woman, you also have your own obligations," Taiyang said. "You should get your school work in check before leaving. I know I can't stand the headmaster glaring a hole into the back of my skull anymore."

"Yep!" Ruby smiled at him. "Also, I bought the stuff I need for my new uniform. Except I don't know a single thing about sewing or… whatever it is that people do to make clothes…"

"You want me to help you?" Taiyang rubbed his forehead, feeling tired already. "Scratch that. You want me to do it for you?"

Ruby's smile only grew. "Pleeease?"

Taiyang knew well he should refuse. Ruby had become fairly independent these past years, but there were some things which she remained absolutely clueless about. It was his responsibility as a father to make sure she grew past that. Plus, she had to learn that, in the real world, a puppy-eyed look was not going to get her everything she wanted.

"Daad?" She scooted closer. "Do it for your sweetest daughter?"

Taiyang sighed. "You can show me after lunch."

"Yay! Best dad ever!" Ruby sat down and took her fork and knife, then looked at him expectantly. "Serve me?"

He looked up at the ceiling guiltily. This girl was doomed. "…Yeah, what do you want?"

It was admirable how quickly Vale had rebuilt. Cinder and the Grimm's attack had been contained to a small area – all thanks to the Hunt's quick and effective interference, of course! – but it had been devastating nonetheless. Ruby remembered the streets looking like they were ripped straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie, and a very bleak one at that.

Yet two months later, it was like it had never happened. There was a building under construction here and there, and some billboards being reinstalled, but that was just par for the course in the big city. And the VNN? Suffice it to say, Ruby nearly walked past the building without recognizing it. In her defense, it had been swarming with monsters the last time she'd been there. Also, there had been an evil maniac who had tried to stab her multiple times.

That last part really stuck in her mind, for some reason.

Going inside, Ruby found the entrance lobby as busy as she had expected, and just as unsurprising, as soon as she had a foot there, dozens of curious eyes fixed on her, and more than a few camera flashes followed.

"Lovely," she muttered under her breath, making a beeline straight for the reception desk at the other side of the lobby, trying to ignore the unwanted attention coming from all around her. "Hi!"

The receptionist mumbled something unintelligible, clearly bored out of her mind as she typed on her keyboard. She took her eyes off the screen for just long enough to look Ruby up and down once, then dully asked, "How may I help you?"

"I have an, uh… appointment, I guess, with Lisa Lavender?" Ruby said hesitantly.

"Hmm. The Lisa Lavender?" the receptionist looked at her again, this time focusing on the red tips of Ruby's hair. "The famous, award-winning, inhumanly busy, Lisa Lavender?"

"Yeah, that one. Isn't saying inhumanly racially insensitive? 'Cause, you know, faunus are just like anyone else, but you're implying that…" Ruby trailed off. "My name's Ruby. Ruby Rose." She mimed a karate chop, then smiled at the woman. "I kill monsters!"

"Hmmm. Don't we all now?"

While Ruby tried to decipher the meaning of that response, the receptionist looked at her screen and clicked a few times, then made the most lifeless nod Ruby had ever seen and gestured to an elevator to their right.

"Sixth floor. You'll find your way from there."

"I don't know, I think you might be expecting too much of me!" Ruby laughed nervously. The receptionist raised an eyebrow at her, then returned her attention to the computer. "Oookay. Good talk."

Ruby walked to the elevator and called it down, then waited patiently, all the while casting furtive looks back at the reception desk. If that was how unhappy most adults turned out with their lives, Ruby was glad she had chosen a more exotic line of work. Though she did wonder if she would eventually get bored of killing Grimm. Eh, she would probably die before that happened.

Optimism!

She got in the elevator, then exited at the sixth floor into a smaller lobby. This time, she didn't have to look around long, as another receptionist called her attention and gave her directions to a room nearby.

Inside, Ruby was caught off-guard by how inviting the set was. She had been expecting something like she saw in the news, with Lisa sitting behind her desk and herself on the other side. Instead, there were two armchairs set against a glass background, allowing a view of the city skyline. The cameras were stationed far away from them, and the crew was fairly small for such an anticipated interview.

"Ah! Miss Rose. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Ruby looked away from the cameras and saw Lisa Lavender approaching in her wheelchair. She looked genuinely pleased to see her, which reassured Ruby that she had made the right choice after all.

"Miss Lavender!" Ruby offered her hand. "I-it's also a pleasure!"

"Please, call me Lisa," the older woman smiled. "You're taller than I was led to believe."

"I am?" Ruby shuffled her feet, trying not to look as awkward as she felt. "Or is that a joke…?"

"Perhaps. You'd have to wonder who the butt of it is, though," Lisa winked at her, then turned around in her wheelchair. "I'm glad you came, Miss Rose. I must admit I didn't expect much when I called with the offer, as none of your teammates agreed."

So she had contacted the others too? That was news to Ruby. One more reason why living away from the team sucked. "None of them? Not even Jaune? And Yang?"

"Mr. Arc was too nervous, I'm afraid. As for your sister… I think she's been getting calls from some rather unsavory agencies as of late, and that's gotten her a little… irritable."

"Huh. She didn't tell me any- oh no," Ruby gasped. "Oooh no! Okay, I'm glad she didn't share that with me."

"I'm sorry for breaking the news," Lisa smirked. "We're already set up for the interview, but first we should see to your makeup."

"Makeup?" Ruby winced. "Right, that's a thing…"

Lisa shook her head. "It's not necessary. If you're uncomfortable with it, we can get started right away."

"No, it's okay. If I'm gonna appear on TV, I should try to look good," Ruby bit her lip. "We're not doing it live, right?"

"As we agreed, we're going to record the conversation now, and air an edited version tonight. If you want to, we can show you the final product beforehand, to see if you'd like anything changed…"

Ruby was fairly sure this wasn't how guests were usually treated by the VNN, or any news network, for that matter. They really were going out of their way to make her comfortable. Or maybe that was just the work of Lisa Lavender.

Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad, after all.

"Let's start small, shall we? I'd like to know more about you, before you became who are you today."

The question was tricky, though Ruby doubted it had been intended that way. The memories felt like they had been borrowed from a stranger, such a wild and sudden turn her life had taken.

She used to spend all her days tinkering with stuff, and watching movies and playing games, which were the fuel of constant daydreaming. She still did those things today, but they weren't as… important, anymore. It was almost like she had been waiting for that turn – the daydreams might not have been just dreams, after all.

"And that turn – when did it happen? There are reports of the Red Bolt dating back almost two years, but was that an immediate change or did it take a while for you to jump into that?"

Almost immediate. It was quite embarrassing, actually. It had taken, what, a week for her to go out and get herself in trouble beating up bad guys? She'd only told her sister about her powers after the crimefighting started!

Managing priorities wasn't one of Ruby's strengths.

"Really? It seems like such a sudden and, quite frankly, frightening change in anyone's life, let alone a fifteen-years-old girl's. Not to be superficial, but when I was that age, I was losing my mind over high school crushes and getting good grades. I can't even imagine what I would have done in your place."

Eh. She'd never cared too much about all that stuff. Yeah, she was a little freaked out when it happened, but then… Superpowers? What could be better?

"But there is quite a jump between being excited about these new superpowers and using them to stop crime. How does a girl make that decision so fast, and never goes back on it?"

There had never really been a choice, honestly. At least not a conscious one. Ruby had known what to do with her powers the moment she figured out she wasn't like everyone else anymore.

"But how did you know that?"

Her mother, she guessed. And her father too, but in a different way.

If she had the power to help people and make the world a better place, there wasn't really a question. She had to do it.

"So it's a moral obligation? But that seems like a terribly heavy burden for anyone to shoulder, alone or otherwise."

She didn't do it because it was an obligation. It didn't feel like that at all. She had put herself on that path, and that had been her choice and hers alone.

"Fair enough. But it can't be always be so easy to live with that. There must be times when you wish your life would go back to how it was before, and you didn't have to fight anymore."

Maybe. But it was never that serious. Ruby was happy with her life. She wouldn't change it for the world.

"But if you were to grow tired, wouldn't you then feel obligated to keep fighting? Would you see stopping the same as giving up and letting people down?"

Hmm.

No.

"Okay. You're very resolute, I see. But, and this is purely hypothetical, if there was a time for you to put down your arms and settle down, for good, when would that be? Or is that completely outside the realms of possibility?"

"I guess… If I have to answer, and I don't think this could ever actually happen… The only time I would feel okay retiring would be when there are no more Grimm left. Because, without Grimm… there's no evil."

"Except that's completely impossible. As long as there's evil, there's Grimm. And that's why I'll never ever retire."

"But at least that's a good thing to shoot for. Like a goal. A dream! So I'll keep killing those monsters over and over and over again, and who knows, one day they might just run out and I'll be like – bummer. Back to the arcade!"

And she laughs.

Rewind.

"-I'll keep killing those monsters over and over and over again, and who knows-"

Rewind.

"-over and over and over-"

Rewind.

"-those monsters-"

The controller broke under his trembling fist, and he was forced to listen to the rest of her little speech again, that abominable laughter included, filling him with rage and making his head ring…

He picked up a wrench from his worktable and tossed it at the screen, shattering it and shutting off its light, leaving him in complete darkness. In the pitch black, the only thing that remained visible was his pet's eyes, red as his own one.

"Get it all out, little girl."

He grinned.

"We'll see how long that laughter lasts."

Ruby walked out of the VNN with a little smile on her lips. She'd just finished watching the interview go live, and it hadn't been half as embarrassing as she had imagined. Sure, there had plenty of awkward moments throughout, but maybe that was just how she was seeing them.

The team seemed to agree, which was what gave her the most confidence. Yang had practically responded live to the interview, beeping Ruby's scroll constantly. Pyrrha and Jaune had also sent their support. Even Weiss had complimented her "sufficiently satisfactory performance" and "remarkable ability to not completely embarrass the rest of us".

It was a shame Blake had yet to say anything. Maybe she was busy with something.

Now, she should probably go home. She could get a jet ride from Beacon to Patch, but… she didn't want to bother anyone. And running was good exercise.

And… that would give her an opportunity to do some Hunting on the way. She might as well. She was brimming with determination after the conversation with Lisa – why wasn't her Crescent Rose buried in a Beowolf's face already?!

She would be home by morning.

Spoilers: she definitely won't lol

Sorry for the long wait. I hate to do that at the very start of a story, but I had a lot of little things I wanted to establish in this chapter without making it a disjointed mess. Things should be more straightforward from now on, so upcoming chapters will hopefully come at a speedier rate.

I might write a bonus feature of the complete interview with Ruby - but I might also expand that a little to include some other ideas of mine...

So now we have an idea of who the villain is. Some of you might not have recognized him immediately, so I'll just go ahead and tell you he very clearly is Zwei.

Learn the lore, people.

-Zeroan