I keep seeing people following this story, and I feel awful because it has not been updated in so long here on FF. Now, hang on! I know this must be disappointing. "Another fic abandoned, ugh"
It isn't abandoned!
I can announce that it is being rewritten on Ao3, and is currently on a brief hiatus while I buffer more chapters and smooth out the next arc. The story is being changed details are being elaborated, there are new scenes, and the story will finish much sooner than this one ever would.

My Ao3 is DreamingParadise14, go follow the new story there! Can't wait to see you!
If anyone wants to see how far this one got into the next chapter, here is a deleted scene:


"Did you really think you could get away that easily, Reaper?"

The man's voice is hoarse, thick, and heavy with venom, Ruby remains quiet, deciding not to respond to him in fear of making matters worse. "We've known exactly where you have been hiding, ever since you decided to cause that little scene saving the Schnee bitch."

Ruby's lip curls back, rage burning within her. "Call 'er that again and I'll put your ass six foot under 'fore your friends can even get here."

He lets out a rough laugh of amusement. "Cute. Did you have fun? Thinking you could hide away and live life happily?"

Ruby spits at him. "If you're gonna kill me, then get it over with already. I ain't goin' back somewhere that takes the lives of innocents."

He cackles and Ruby sneers at him, barely able to make out his face in the darkness of her room. "Innocent people? Oh dear, you have been brainwashed by that Schnee, haven't you?" The blade is removed from her throat and she takes in a deep breath, her nerves settling upon the realization that he was not here to kill her.

If he wanted her dead, he'd have sliced her throat by now.

"That girlfriend of yours is responsible for the death of an entire community, didn't you know?"

"Holy shit, you're fuckin' delusional…" Ruby replies, beginning to work her wrists through the bindings behind her chair, "Weiss never hurt anyone."

"Oh?" The man looks over his shoulder and Ruby stops moving, "Do tell, what happened to your father?"

Now he was just coming up with the most bullshit excuse he could think of. "I ain't ever met the man," Ruby answers with a blank expression, "I highly doubt Weiss has anything to do with me not ever meeting him."

He turns back to her, Ruby's blood runs cold when she notices the glare on his face. "Foolish girl," he mutters underneath his breath, "you have been lied to your entire life, haven't you?" He kneels down in front of her, and if Ruby could move her legs, she would've kneed him in the chin with as much force as she could muster. "Your mother was one of our most talented assassins, did you know that?"

"She didn't wanna be an assassin!" Ruby snaps, "You bastards gave 'er no choice!"

"Is that what Phoenix tells you?" He asks with a bored voice, he snorts a laugh again and shakes his head. "Well, do I have a story for you."

She remains silent, confused.

"Your mother was abandoned by her own family when she was a child, so we took her in and raised her. The only innocent life she cared about was yours," he explains with a very convincing tone, "same goes with your father. He and his sister were a few ranks below your mother, they could end a life and it would not bear any weight on their conscience, it's why your parents fell in love."

Ruby is taken aback. She'd always been told that she was the result of a one night stand. At least, that's what Yang told her. Qrow had told her the same story, so shouldn't she believe him?

However, the man has her attention now.

"If you wanted to get a job done, you would always call these two; Summer Rose and Qrow Branwen."

Ruby's heart stops. Qrow Branwen? As in, her Uncle Qrow?

"Then, your mother revealed that she was expecting you and she had to be let out of work until you were born… Promised us she would raise you to be just as much of an assassin as she was. She went soft…" His words grow heavy with irritation as he turns away from her again, Ruby resumes attempting to wiggle out of her bindings.

"We came to fetch you to begin training, but when we attempted to bring you back to the base…" The man sneers, his lip pulling back in disgust and grief. "That fucking incident resulted in my brother and your mother's deaths."

Ruby scowls at him. "That ain't my damn fault. My mother was protectin' me!"

Ignoring her comment, he continues. "Your damned father showed up soon after and took you away, we couldn't locate him for the next six or seven years, but when we found him, he'd been killed here in Atlas. What a fucking shame…"

Ruby stares at the ground for a long moment, processing the man's explanation. The story does add up, and it fills in the holes of the one she'd always been told growing up. Qrow had told her that a man named Taiyang was her father, but she'd never even met him.

Part of her doesn't want to believe the criminal standing before her, but her gut knew that he was telling the truth. Qrow was her father? Why hadn't Yang told her? Did Yang even know? Why didn't he tell her?

She shakes her head, pulling herself back to her senses. "How does this involve Weiss?"

If there was one thing this man was lying about, it was Weiss being responsible for the deaths of many innocent people.

The man laughs, "The Schnee family wiped out an entire community, mostly done by the hands of the eldest Schnee working under Ironwood's control," he looks towards Ruby, "Reaper, we only kill people if they have a kill record, we try to protect the community. Why do you think there has been very little crime here in Atlas?" He raises a bushy brow, "It is because we hunt down the killers and take them out before they do more harm, because the government's punishments aren't worth shit."

Ruby growls at him, "If her sister did this, why is Weiss your target?"

"Her sister murdered several of our own." He leans forward, his eyes hard and dangerous. "If we kill her sister, our target will come searching for us in an attempt to avenge her death. Two birds with one stone."

Weiss was still innocent.

"Fuck you!" Ruby shouts again, "You'd rather kill an innocent woman, who had absolutely nothin' to do with any of this shit, just to get your damn target to come after you!" Rage courses through her being, "If you want to kill her, you're gonna have to kill me first, damn it!"

The man laughs, there's a clicking noise and Ruby winces as the barrel of the gun is pressed against the back of her head. "Glady-"

"Get away from her!"

Ruby's eyes snap open upon hearing a familiar voice ring through the room, followed by a loud yelp and a crash from behind her. The man screams, his voice laced with fear that would shock one to the bone.

"Wait-!" His voice was cut off.

Ruby looks over her shoulder to see the form of the man laying slumped against the wall, the gun slipping from his limp hand and his eyes wide open with shock, glazing over. Blood gushes out from a fresh penetration wound located directly in the center of his chest.

"Ruby!"

She turns her eyes towards a familiar white-haired woman, standing behind her with a bloodied knife. "Weiss?"

Her girlfriend quickly approaches her, cutting the bindings around Ruby's hands and walking around in front of her. "Are you okay?" She asks, kneeling and removing the rope from the brunette's legs, "How did he get here?"

Ruby clears her throat to pull herself back to her senses, "What're you doing here…?"

Weiss looks up at her, she smiles a little in amusement. "Answer my questions first."

"I-I'm fine." Ruby answers as Weiss stands up, her eyes follow her in a mixture of confusion and awe. "He broke… He broke in when you left."

Weiss' expression becomes one of horror and rage. It was a scary combination. She glances at the body laying in the corner. "We have to leave." Weiss gently takes Ruby's hands and pulls her to her feet, examining the rope burns on her wrists.

"They're probably already on their way…" Ruby says, her eyes darting over to the man's body, blood soaking his dark shirt and dripping onto the carpet. There's a voice in the back of her head reminding her that they rarely traveled alone. Once the mafia received word of his death, they would be on their tails.

"Then let's go!" Weiss responds sharply, pulling Ruby's arm and dragging her to the door.