Chapter 5 time! This story has been really interesting to write. Anybody can come up with a beginning, middle, and end, but all the things that happen in between those cool scenarios you conjure up in your head is the best part. Trying to tie things together in a way that makes sense is fun! Buckle up, this is a long one!

Nora could not sleep that night. The image of the man in the window sent her into a state of fear that suspended her ability to speak or do much of anything. Ren had noticed this halfway through their journey home and told the children to make sure Nora was taken care of and put to bed early. The kids happily obliged. They obviously loved the ginger haired woman, so anything they could do to help her was not going to be questioned. Ren joined her in bed later that night. Giving the woman a chaste kiss before drifting off into sleep. Sleep never came for Nora.

Her mind could not help but think of every bad thing that could be happening to Ruby right now, while she was here in her bed, unable to stop it. It was unfair. She had just got Ruby back and now the world was going to take her away again. She just wanted Ruby to be okay, but it seemed like the universe had other plans. Plans to keep the young woman in a constant loop of torture both physically and emotionally.

In her helplessness, Nora covered her mouth and tried her very best to not let the sound of her sobs awake the man she loved in bed next to her. She heard shuffling, which means she had failed miserably. Just great.

"Hey," Ren shook her shoulder, gently prompting Nora to turn and look at him. "You're worried about Ruby, huh?"

"There was a man in a window in that mansion," she said between soft sobs. "And when I saw him, I…I've never been so scared of anyone like that in my life."

Ren quickly pulled the woman close to him. Nora rested her head against his chest as choked sobs continue to rack her body. Ren was still in a groggy state, but the information Nora confided in him left him with a creeping sense of dread. He knew he should've pushed to stay with Ruby.

"Fuck."

Ruby's eyes fluttered open. The familiar color that painted the ceiling told her that she was home. She looked around slowly, finding herself tucked in under a cozy big blanket. She felt incredibly comfortable and decided to stay put, drifting back into sleep.

She woke up about 2 hours later. She reached for her phone and turned the device on. An hour before noon? Not bad. She wasn't waking up at six in the evening anymore so that was a plus. She lazily removed the blanket from her body and swung her feet over the edge of the bed as she sat. Immediately Ruby knew something was up. Her feet usually hovered about an inch off the ground whenever she sat on her bed. Now, her feet were firmly on the floor. A late growth spurt? Didn't make sense. She had grown steadily throughout her teenage years. Going from around five feet even at the age of twelve to a whooping five feet and four inches by the time she was nineteen. There was no way she was still growing right before her twenty first birthday. She was practically already an adult. She thought it was strange, but then again, the brain doesn't fully develop until halfway through your twenties, so maybe it wasn't entirely impossible that she would experience some more growth. She got up to measure herself against the wall where she had kept records of her height growth throughout her childhood. She went up to the drawer housing a mirror and measuring tape. She decided to take a look at herself to see if anything else was wrong, and she noticed that her skin was no longer its milky white complexion. Her once ivory skin was now beige. She was clearly still white, but when the hell did she get a bit of a tan? She should've been as pale as a ghost from the amount of time she spent inside for the past year. The difference was not a massive one, in her opinion. She didn't mind it, so she shrugged and moved to measure herself.

She stood straight up against the wall bringing a pencil to mark what she hoped was a line at the top of her head against the wall. She turned around, and broke out the tape, taking the bulky end and bringing the tape down. She placed a foot on the piece of plastic meant to act as a hook for the tape and stood up. She made sure that the measurements lined up with previous marks on the wall and they did which brought her to the top. Ruby Rose grew two inches. From five foot four to five foot six. She was now officially taller than the average woman. She basically towered over Nora. Ruby couldn't help but smile at the new development. New height, her skin looked clean, and she couldn't quite place a finger on it, but she was sure that physically she felt better than she ever did.

"What the hell is going on?" Ruby said as she continued to look herself in the mirror. She was honestly loving the way she looked but decided that she needed one more thing to complete this. She eyed the envelope on her drawer, a note of thanks from Cinder, and a very modest amount of money that made the envelope look bulky. Ruby smiled, but an odd feeling took hold of her as she looked at then envelope. She shook her head, chalking it up to not being paid so much for a house job and feeling a little guilty about not denying Cinder paying her more. She took out some money and set it aside as she went to take a shower and find some nice clothes to wear. After her shower, she settled for another black turtleneck long-sleeve shirt with a red rose with thorns on its front as a design, a red and black plaid skirt rocking a thick leather belt with two layers of silver grommets. There was a split in her skirt over her right hip, so she wore shorts under the skirt. She completed the look with a pair of calf high flat heel boots with side zippers on one side, and buckles strapped in on the other side. Ruby found herself in yang's room, using her sister's full-length mirror to check herself out. She decided that she needed a scarf and threw on her favorite red one before collecting everything she needed before exiting her home.

Ruby enters the salon owned by Velvet and Coco. The chime of the door alerted multiple people to her arrival. The sudden attention made Ruby feel a little shy as she noticed some of the women looking at her with a bit more than simple curiosity. She heard someone whistle. It was Coco who signaled her over to a free armchair. Ruby walked over to Coco whose eyebrows almost lifted off her face. Coco herself was already a tall girl and she could tell that Ruby got taller since they last spoke. Velvet noticed this as well but continued to focus on her client.

"Since when did you hit a second growth spurt, Rubes?"

"Uh…I guess yesterday? Didn't really notice until I woke up."

"Hmm…" Coco continued to eye the not so small anymore woman in front of her.

"Did you get a tan?"

"I'm also not sure when that happened. I only noticed when I woke up."

Coco was now giving Ruby a look of concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Never felt better, actually." Ruby answered bouncing on the balls of her feet before resting her heels back down to the floor.

Coco ushered Ruby into the seat, but her look of concern never left her face. Ruby couldn't blame her. Whatever the heck happened to her body was strange.

"So, what do you want?"

"Same bob haircut, but gimmie bangs, and cut it so it's about halfway down my neck. Also, if you don't mind, I wanna dye my hair completely red."

"It seems like you have a flair for fashion yourself." Coco laughed.

"Well, I learned from the best." She shot a quick wink at Coco whose expression remained as amused as ever.

Ruby couldn't explain why, but she was feeling good today. She tried to remember what led up to this. As Coco began to work her magic on Ruby began to dive into her memories from the day before. She remembers Emerald and Mercury taking a liking to her, she remembers Cinder's praise of her abilities. She remembers Adam, and her nose crinkles just a little bit. The way he spoke about the issues between Faunus and humankind. The death grip of his hand enclosed around her jaw. His plan to eliminate racism by any means necessary sent chills down Ruby's spine. Ruby wasn't afraid to fight someone if they expressed prejudice against others, but she wasn't sure if Adam's way was going to bare any good results.

"Hey Coco?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you feel about racism?"

"It should be eliminated." She answered without missing a beat in her work on Ruby's hair.

"How would you go about doing so?"

"Well for one I'd push for children to be taught about the horrors of what that mindset has done to people throughout history. Make them completely reject the ideology by treating it like a disease. If more people are turned off by it at a young age, when they are older, they have no chance of falling into that dangerous mindset."

Ruby agreed with that idea. The next generation of people would eventually become leaders of society. The less of them that held dangerous beliefs, the chance of it sticking around would start to fade. There was another question on Ruby's mind. She gulped nervously before asking it.

"W-would you ever kill someone who holds that idea as truth?"

Coco paused for a second. She briefly looked around before leaning in next to Ruby's ear.

"If such a person was in a high position of power, I probably would if given the chance." She whispered.

Ruby's heartbeat picked up at the revelation. Even Coco would take a life just like that?

"You wouldn't try to get that person to see why they are wrong?"

Coco shrugged. "Not everybody can be redeemed, Rubes. What's the saying? Can't teach an old dog new tricks? Well, you can't make one unlearn old habits so easily either. I don't play with that racist shit."

Ruby frowned at Coco's words. She didn't want to admit it, but she was right. Blake took on a task of figuring out how to bring about equality through less extreme means. Her own family were somewhere out in the world, more than likely engaging with people who held dangerous beliefs with violence if deemed necessary. Maybe she needed to prepare herself. Who knows when she might have to confront a dangerous person herself?

"Yeah, I guess you're right," She breathed. "It seems like there is no one right way to solve an issue like this."

"It ain't easy, but doing the right thing never is."

A few short hours later, Ruby was checking out Coco's handiwork in the mirror. The older woman clearly very proud of herself also looked on.

Ruby's hair was now a few inches shorter, and colored rose red, just like her last name. The color matching perfectly with her silver eyes. The unusual confidence she felt from earlier in the day returned in full force. She turned to look at Coco and the two shared a smile.

"Thanks, Coco! You're really the best at this. Don't tell Velvet I said that."

"I can hear you." Velvet called from across the room. Ruby laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"Love you, Velvet!"

A loud "hmph!" came from the rabbit Faunus while Coco laughed. Ruby handed Coco the money for her job and rushed over to hug Velvet before leaving.

"I'm happy to see her around again. She looks happy." Velvet said.

"Yeah," Coco sighed "But it feels like she's still got a lot on her mind. Hope she figures things out."

Velvet nodded in agreement.

"I heard some of what you two were talking about. Ruby seems to be searching for her purpose like she told me yesterday."

Coco nodded finally understanding why Ruby had asked her those questions.

"Well, there's no better calling than fighting against some fucking racists."

"I agree. We can even help her!"

Coco wrapped Velvet in a hug and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"You want to visit Juane, and Pyrrha? Are you sure?" Ren voice asked through the speaker on Ruby's phone.

"Yeah, I need to see them. It's been too long, and I need to get out of Patch for a little while. I think it'll do me some good.

"Okay well, we won't stop you. We'll support you no matter what, Ruby."

The redhead simply smiled. The support was nice. She only wished she would've been this supportive to her friends, but she was going to change that. A trip to Juane and Pyrrha's gym was not only for herself, but for them.

"Thanks, Ren. Don't call them. I want it to be a surprise."

Light laughter filled the ear Ruby held her phone to.

"You got it, Ruby."

"Thanks, man. Tell Nora I said hello."

"She'll be glad to hear that. She's been on edge all day since you didn't call us after we left you at the mansion with those people."

Ruby's smile faded. A heartbeat filled with guilt hit her chest.

"Ah, I'm sorry about that. I don't remember how I got back home." She answered honestly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Ruby started. There was no way she could explain it without making Ren, and Nora worry about her safety. "I don't remember much, but… I remember eating with them, and then my head felt weird as if I got hit by something, and then I woke up in my home feeling great!" She ended on a positive note, but the silence on the other end told her that Ren was worried.

"Look, I know it sounds weird, but I've been experiencing some pretty bad migraines, and headaches for months. Sometimes the pain comes from outta nowhere. It was more than likely just bad luck on my part."

"Hmm," Ren finally said. "Okay. There's nothing wrong with you physically?"

Ruby shook her head as if her friend could see her. "Nope."

"As long as you're feeling good that's all that matters then."

Ruby yawned. It was now nighttime, and she spent a few hours packing a backpack with some clothes, snacks, and a few books to read on her way to and from Vale. She was going to stay for at least two weeks near wherever Pyrrha and Juane lived.

"I gotta get going. Gotta catch the earliest bus into Vale I can get."

"Okay, Ruby, I'll let you go. Hope you have a good time."

"I think I will."

Ruby thought she would be knee deep into one of the books she decided to bring with her. She instead found herself watching the environment changed as the bus took her from Patch to the bustling metropolis of Vale. She'd only been in the big city a few times. She has fond memories of family vacations at some tourist spots. She doesn't remember too much about the city, so the density is a little intimidating to her. The bright lights, sidewalks full of people walking to and from destinations. An abundance of cars filled the roads which caused some slight traffic to add more time to get to her destination. She was glad for it, though. Multiple scenarios ran through her brain about how Juane and Pyrrha would react to her sudden appearance. Her mind played too many in which the couple would react in some exaggerated negative way. She tried to tell herself they would love to see her, but lingering feelings of the distance placed between Ruby and her friends made it hard for her to believe that.

She got off at the last stop as did others. The bus terminal all the way on the eastern side of Vale. Pyrrha and Juane's gym was not too far from here. East vale hosted the residential area of the city. It was also the host of Pyrrha and Juane's gym. Ruby, being the bundle of anxiety she's been recently, decided to walk to her destination. That walked slowly turned into a brisk pace. The brisk pace turned into a jog. Why the hell was she jogging now? Maybe she needed to tire herself out. Yeah, that's it. She totally wasn't nervous. She passed by a few stores, rounded a few corners, clumsily bumping shoulders with other people passing by. Some expressed their anger with her, but she didn't stop. She arrives in front of a strip mall. The area looked familiar to her, she realized she was nearing her destination, and her jogging slowed to a halt. She spots the giant gym on the other side of the mall. Ruby did not know what to feel. She was glad that she had barely eaten anything for the entire day up to this point. She was sure that she would violently throw up if she had.

Her head began to ache. In recent times, that ache would signal that Ruby was about to cry from whatever strong emotion she was feeling. This ache was different. It was the kind that came from thinking too hard. Question after question racked her brain. Well, maybe she was going to cry if her damn thoughts wouldn't stop being such a hinderance. Before she could act, a man with blonde, shaggy hair approached her.

"Hello, miss. Are you alright?"

It was Juane. He looked just about the same since when she last saw him, but his frame was bigger. He was no longer the frail young boy she had come to known. Pyrrha must've put this man through the wringer these past few months. Just seeing Juane again felt good, and the negative thoughts that plagued her mind washed away in an instant as she took a step forward.

"Juane?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow as Ruby spoke. He then squinted his eyes almost comically as he observed her.

"Ruby? Holy shit!" Juane exclaimed as he wrapped the redhead in a big hug.

Ruby's breath was shaky as she returned the hug. Positive tears of joy began to fall from her eyes as she clutched onto the tall man. Her strength surprised him.

"Whoa, its nice to see you too!" He laughed.

"I-I'm sorry," Ruby apologized but refused to let the man go. "I just haven't seen you in so long, and I didn't know what to think!"

"What's there to think about? We're friends, aren't we?"

Ruby was almost crushing Juane's spine by this point.

"L-look," He gasped. "I know we haven't been able to keep up with you guys since we left, but we're always gonna be friends, Ruby. When you absolutely need us the most, we'll make time."

Juane was always such a sweetheart. Ruby did not even have to tell the man that she was suffering in order for him to reassure her that they were friends, and he would be there for her. He was as earnest as always. Negative thoughts of selfishness tried to rear their ugly heads into the back of Ruby's mind. For now, Juane was like a shield protecting her from the horrors of her own mind.

"Thank you." Juane could barely make out her voice as Ruby was still pressed into the comfy jacket he was wearing.

"No problem." He wasn't sure what Ruby was thanking him for, but sure, he'll take the credit. Juane looked up to the sky, who's color began to turn orange.

"It's starting to get late, but would you like to come into the gym? Pyrrha will lose her mind when she sees you! Also, did you get taller?"

Ruby giggled as she removed herself from her friend. "Yes, and yes."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" The mirth evident in Juane's voice continued to give Ruby the rush of joy she needed and the two made their way across the lot to the big gym facing them at the end.

As Ruby, and Juane entered, they were greeted to the sight of a tall, muscular red-headed woman dead lifting three hundred on the left side of the gym. Pyrrha Nikos, the strongest person in their friend group. Ruby recounted the many times Yang and Nora challenged the woman to arm wrestling matches in the lunchroom during school hours. A couple of students made some serious cash betting on those matches. Juane watched on with interest as his partner held the weight for about ten seconds before setting the weight back down with control.

"Hey, Pyr! Guess who showed up today?"

The redhead looked up, seeing Juane next to another redhead, but she looked like…

"R-Ruby?"

The young woman in question waved meekly at her.

"RUBY!" In seconds, Ruby was tackled to the floor, trapped in another big hug. She could get used to this, but…

"Wow, you've really been putting this gym to good use, huh? Ruby said through a pained voice from the literal bone crushing hug Pyrrha had her trapped in.

"Oh," Pyrrha squeaks out, dropping Ruby who struggles to stand up right. "I'm sorry!"

Classic Pyrrha. Ruby shook her head at the tall woman as she straightened herself out.

"No big deal. We haven't seen each other in a while, so I get it."

"So, why did you come to Vale? You rarely ever leave Patch!"

"I, uh… I needed to get out of town for a bit."

Pyrrha and Juane shared worried expressions.

"Don't worry," Ruby said raising a hand. "I'll tell you about it later. It was nice to see you, but I…" Ruby slowly stopped talking as she remembered that she forgot to get a room at an inn that would hopefully be not too far from here. She facepalms at her own forgetfulness.

"I'm so stupid."

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked.

"I forgot to book a room for myself."

Juane and Pyrrha once again shared a look. Both nodded in agreement after a brief moment.

"Why not just stay at our place?" Juane offered.

Ruby was about to decline, but Pyrrha stopped her.

"We're friends, Ruby. We'd gladly take any of our friends in for a while if they needed it."

Ruby shook her head and chuckled lightly. Her friends had a knack for shutting those negative thoughts in her own mind down.

"Sure. I planned on staying for two weeks?"

"Not a problem! You can train with us!" Pyrrha exclaimed with starry eyes as Juane rubbed the back of his head while laughing at his girlfriend's energy.

"Really? I don't wanna be a bother."

"Oh hush," The muscular woman waved off the thought. "You won't be getting in the way of anything. Besides, you look a little too skinny, and a little…" Pyrrha squinted her eyes at the smaller woman before going back to her usual cheerful demeanor. "It's probably nothing. I've been here for while so I'm a little tired," She yawned as Juane moved over to a long mat with a bunch of weights already set up on a sleigh. "Give us like, twenty minutes and we'll be done. You're free to try anything you see fit in here." Pyrrha gestured to the rest of the gym before going back to her strength training.

Ruby watched as Juane began to pull the sleigh of weights, using a strap wrapped around his waist as he walked backwards. Pyrrha prepared herself for another deadlift.

"Might as well since I'm here." Ruby shrugged. Her eyes landed upon a barbell with what looked to be a large amount of weight on either side. She doesn't know why, but she's drawn to the squat rack. She eyes the weights, counting to see how much the last person lifted. Three hundred pounds? Pyrrha must've been on this one not too long ago. A glint in Ruby's silver eye appears as she feels energy run through her body. She was surprised by the sudden feeling, looking at her own hands as she steadily opened and closed them. She looked back at the squat rack. A feeling of determination overtook her, and before she knew it, she was checking her position under the three-hundred-pound barbell.

Pyrrha had just finished another deadlift, setting the weight on the ground as she looked over to Ruby. Panic quickly set in as she saw what the other woman as about to do. She quickly made her way over to Ruby.

"Whoa, Ruby. M-maybe you shouldn't try squatting three hundred pounds outright? Your frame is quite small."

Ruby did not hear her. The world around Ruby had gone silent as she felt her being enter another zone. She inhaled sharply, gripping the barbell, and lifting it off of its place on the rack, now squarely on her shoulders. She took two steps back, not once buckling under the weight. Pyrrha's eyes went wide as Ruby dipped with control, exhaling as she came back up, completing her first three-hundred-pound squat with ease. Ruby repeated this process six more times just as easily. As she came back up to complete her eighth squat, she strained just a little. Her ninth was the same, and soon her tenth was completed. Ruby stepped back near the rack and rested the barbell back on its rack before removing herself from under the weight. She turned around to see Juane and Pyrrha, mouths agape, and wide eyes staring at her.

She coughed into her arm nervously.

"H-ho-"

"RUBY? HOLY SHIT!" Juane exclaimed for the second time that day.

A large black SUV was currently stuck in traffic exiting the metropolis of Vale. The noise of honking horns and bright lights were blocked out by the car's impressive interior design.

"How much longer do we have until we get back to patch? I wanna see my baby sister!"

"Yang, don't worry. Ruby will be there when we get there. You know how much she loves that little town."

"But Weiss…"

"She's right, Yang," The blonde turned to Blake, who was sitting diagonal from Yang, next to Weiss. "Ruby is fine. At least, I hope she is." She looked away from the blonde to the window. The car had barely moved.

"Yeah, she wasn't as…Ruby as she was when you guys left. Then I also left town. I can only imagine how she's doing." Blake's mood only worsened when she heard that. When the trio met up, Yang and Weiss had mentioned that Ruby wasn't in the best shape since Blake herself left. The cat Faunus still remembers the tears, the faraway look in Ruby's silver eyes that seemed to lose their luster as Blake gave her the news that she was leaving. The memory had played over and over again in Blake's mind many times during her time in Menagerie. She had hoped that Ruby would've picked herself up and continue on, but to hear that she probably wasn't in the best shape made the woman feel awful.

Weiss shook Blake's shoulder comfortingly. Blake silently thanking her with a look.

"You guys know Ruby. I bet you she's out and about already. There's nothing that can keep that woman down for too long. She'll get through it. Ren, and Nora as well as your uncle are still there for her."

"You speak so surely." Blake said with a shake of her head.

"Of course," Weiss huffed with an incredulous look. "I am her best friend after all. Why wouldn't I have the upmost confidence in a person like Ruby?"

"Yeah, Blake, maybe you were right the first time about what Weiss said. Ruby's gonna be home, and we're gonna wrap her in the biggest group hug ever," The blonde sighed as she leaned back into her seat. "No worries, just like how it used to be."

Just like things used to be, huh? Blake couldn't help but wonder if things really could go back to the way they used to be. It'd been almost a year. A lot could happen in one year and a lot did happen. It had been ten months, and she hadn't seen or spoken to Ruby. Regardless, Blake silently promised to herself that she was going to make it up to Ruby in a big way. She owed her friend that much.

And that concludes this arc of the story. I wrote these chapters in bulk, and I'm doing it by arc, so don't expect updates for a while… or do. I could crank out chapters one after another because I know where this story is going even if it might be difficult to fill in some of the blanks. That's the fun part.

Anyways I hope yall enjoyed that. Like I said, this arc has finished. Now the story moves into its second phase. A new Ruby Rose will reveal herself to her friends, Cinder and her gang move to start their plan to get Ozpin out of office as Adam continues to lurk from the shadows. The romance will pick up, as well as the action, so stay tuned! Lemme know what you guys think about the story so far.