Real quick, I just want everyone to know that after this chapter, it might take me a longer than a week to actually post a chapter. I've stated this a few times now, but I've already had these chapters made for a while. I just never posted them here. Thank you to all those who've shown interest in this story, either by leaving a review or otherwise.

Enjoy.

I don't own RWBY. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum. I only own my OCs.

"Y'know, out of everywhere I expected to see you again, robbing a Dust shop wasn't one of them." Maroon stated as he shouldered Ember Rose

"Oh believe me, I know how disappointed you must be." Roman flipped his cane and started walking closer

Maroon's eyes scattered to the other White Fang members in the area. They had their guns pointed at him and were poised to shoot at any second. There were a good twenty of them. If Maroon wanted to have a good chance at capturing Roman here, he'd need to play smart

"Disappointed? Okay, maybe just a little bit." Maroon gestured with his fingers. "But mostly confused. Last time we talked, you were enjoying the huntsman life. What happened?"

"Life happened, Red. I changed back to who I always will be. I'm sorry you feel that way, but I will always be a thief and nothing can change that." Roman stated as he spread his arms out and looked around. "Even if I am going big this time around."

Maroon sighed as he took a single step forward. "Then forgive me Roman, but a Huntsman is who I'll always be. And as a huntsman, it's my job to take you in."

"I completely understand, Red. But don't expect me to just stand by and watch you tear down everything I have been doing."

Maroon swung Ember Rose down off his shoulder into a position behind him and crouched down, getting into a battle stance. All of the grunts tensed up at Maroon's actions. He could understand. A huntsman was pretty strong. Even if he was the weakest huntsman out there, he still posed a massive threat to these people. As for Roman, he simply pointed his cane at Maroon, causing the tip to flip upward. Maroon's eyes narrowed as the explosive round flew towards him. At the last second, Maroon leaned backward and ducked underneath the round, allowing it to fly way past him. The explosive round sent a few grunts behind him flying. Maroon regained his balance and parried a strike coming his way. He kicked the grunt throwing the attack away before whirling around and slashing another. Maroon felt a few bullets ping off his Aura. All of them hit his back, so Maroon was able to tell that the gunman was behind him.

Maroon reflected a grunts energy so that he'd be in line with the gunman, forcing them to stop shooting and move or risk hitting his teammate. Maroon smacked another grunt before blocking another strike from the one he had put in line with the gunman. He spun with the grunts weapon locked to Ember Rose, causing the cutlass he had to fly out of his hands, before kicking the grunt towards the gunman. The gunman jumped out of the way before the grunt flying his way so that he would be hit and knocked out of the fight. Maroon flipped forwards, slamming Ember Rose down on the gun the gunman had. It snapped in half from the sheer pressure that was put onto it, causing the grunt to stumble backwards and allowing for Maroon to knock him out of the fight.

Maroon saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eyes. He spun around quickly to see one of Roman's shots barreling towards him. Not having enough time to dodge, Maroon settled for blocking the attack as he put Ember Rose out in front of him in a protective manner. The round exploded on impact, sending Maroon flying backward. Maroon flipped so he could stay on balance when he landed, even if he slid quite a distance from the energy dispelled, Maroon threw Ember Rose downward so he could see. Another blast was coming towards him. This time, though, Maroon was able to dodge it as he knew it was coming. The same was true for the next four blasts that flew towards.

Roman, seeing this, scowled before he ordered each and every single grunt to rush him. Maroon cracked his neck before he flew forward at a speed that the grunts couldn't see. Maroon knocked them out one by one, dancing all around them and perfectly evading, parrying, and blocking all of their attacks. Maroon swept the last grunt off his feet before swinging Ember Rose in an upwards cut, causing the grunt to go higher in the air. Maroon kicked him towards Roman, who simply batted the grunt out of the way.

"I tell you, I don't know why I ever expect them to do something competent for once." Roman stated as he finally put out the cigar he'd been smoking.

"Maybe treat them with a even the slightest modicum of respect and they'll give you something to be proud of." Maroon shot back as he shouldered his blade.

"I say they got to do something earning of that respect first. You'd know that. I didn't respect you until beat me into the ground. And even then, I still had my reservations about you." Roman stated as he pointed at Maroon.

"And how about now, Roman? You respect me now?"

"Of course."

Those were the only words exchanged as a blast from Roman's cane flew towards Maroon. Maroon deflected it and pulled out a pistol that he had holstered underneath his coat. A bullet flew down Roman's cane, preventing it from firing anymore of those devastating explosive rounds. Maroon quickly closed the distance, bringing Ember Rose up to slash at Roman, who was quick to block. After all, if there were two who knew each other well, it would be Roman and Maroon. Several quick slashes came in succession, with each being, even if only slightly, faster than the last. But, Roman seemed to be keeping up with the speed they came out.

Maroon let out a growl of infuriation. "Is playing defensive the only thing you remember how to do, Roman?" He asked whilst not letting up on his assault.

"You know that it isn't. However-" Roman quickly bashed his cane against Maroon's side, causing Maroon to flinch and let up his relentless barrage for a split second. That was all Roman needed to kick him away and gain a little breathing room. "Fighting you directly is asking for me to be arrested."

Maroon stayed silent as he kept Ember Rose pointed at Roman. His eyes scanned the environment, searching for something to gain the upper hand on Roman and put him off balance. The only things around however were street poles and alleyways. They were too far from the Dust shop to make use of any of the Dust that was in the shop. There was really no way to overwhelm Roman here. Should Maroon try and angle the fight towards the Dust shop at all, Roman would simply run off, forcing Maroon to fight on his terms. And should he choose to continue fighting Roman, it was likely he would stall for enough time to his getaway to arrive. With all of that being said, Maroon sheathed his sword. His only ace would have to work. The plan to tail Roman and have him lead them back to his Base of Operations.

"Giving up so easily? I thought you were better than that."

"I am." Maroon responded. "But I am also smart. I know that no matter what I do here, your goons are probably gonna show up first. With them will probably be a huntsman class fighter. They, along with you and the rest of what shows up, will probably overwhelm me. You would just get away."

"So you're gonna let me go free, eh?"

"Do I really have a choice?"

Silence rained down on the two of them for a good while. Both assessing each other, even if both knew that Roman had won. The sound of a bullhead, in the meanwhile, began to grow louder and louder, as if it were some grim reminder that Maroon had lost this bout.

"Well, that's disappointing." Roman broke the silence. "If that's the case, then have fun Red. I hope we meet again."

The bullhead Maroon had heard earlier landed next to Roman as he hopped on the flying vehicle. It took shortly after, leaving Maroon to simply stare at it leaving. He heard the groaning of the grunts behind him. They might not give a lot, but at least, even if the tailing failed, they could get something from this night. On that note, Maroon flipped his scroll out and dialed up a number before putting up it to his ear.

"... It's me. Yeah, they left in bullhead headed about southeast... Great, don't lose them." Maroon put the scroll away before taking a deep breath and looking down at the ground.

His thoughts ran wild whilst his red cape billowed in the wind. Some part of him had hoped that Roman would just come quietly. There wasn't a need for all of this. There isn't a need to destroy of the only bastions of hope on Remnant. So why was Roman still doing this? Maroon wanted to know. And to do that, he would have to have a long chat with Roman.

"That could've went better." Ozpin said as he stared at the recent message from the V.P.D. They had lost Roman. Not that Maroon was surprised. Vale's police weren't good, but they did their job. Any was better than none, after all, but to someone like Roman who was familiar with how they operated, they never stood a chance at stopping him.

"Maybe, but I'll take what I can get. We know they're in Vale. The bullhead didn't have any records of leaving. So, unless they were corrupt, we know they didn't leave Vale."

"Hmm, a boon to be sure. But how useful of one?"

That was a rather fair question, Maroon supposed. It wasn't like that would immediately solve all of their problems. Just because they didn't leave Vale doesn't mean they knew where Roman was hiding, after all. Another thing that would most likely help them is the fact that a few White Fang troops were taken in, or in a term that Maroon felt was more appropriate, captured.

Better than nothing, but still not likely find out where Roman was. This job was gonna be a long term one, for sure. Though, Maroon was already certain it would be from the fact Roman was involved.

"Yeah, it's not great. But we can confidently say that they are in Vale."

"I'm just saying, it's information we practically knew already."

"And that's why I'm done with this conversation. It's been a long night, and I want some rest."

"I understand. Go on, then."

Maroon turned and walked away to go to the hotel he was staying at. Ozpin had offered a place amongst Beacon, but Maroon wasn't ready. To face them nor reopen old wounds. Maybe he should face them. It had been twelve years since he ran away and technically faked his death. However, Maroon thought it better to leave well enough alone. Maybe they'd find out one day, but Maroon was already absent for long enough that it didn't matter. They wouldn't want him back. Maroon shoved his hands into the coat pockets and sighed as he continued walking down the moonlit street. What changed with Roman? Maroon had always known he wasn't all good, but he was on a bright path last he'd seen him. Had he lied to Maroon? That was the only answer said person had.

Arriving at the hotel, Maroon checked in before using the elevator to get up to the fortieth floor, where his penthouse suite was. Even though Maroon had denied Ozpin's on staying in Beacon, he wouldn't back down on the penthouse and Maroon was forced to accept it. It was a nice little space. Well, little in a metaphorical sense. It was actually huge, even by penthouse standards apparently. When Maroon opened the door, the lights came on automatically. The first room you walk into was an actual living room with a nice white leather couch in the middle, a coffee table in front of it, and an ottoman off to the side. It was facing toward a tv that covered almost the whole wall. It was nice, but Maroon had no need for it. To the left of the entrance was the bathroom and then the kitchen beyond that. Going into and beyond the kitchen led to a guest bedroom, surprisingly. The door to the master bedroom was beyond the kitchen but perpendicular to it. Having already slept in there once, he could say that it was nice. Directly to his right was the final room. He never really went into those. He had no need to. The floor was a nice dark oak wood with the kitchen and bathroom having checkered flooring in black and white. The walls were a nice deep shade of red with some hints of a lighter red. A balcony was available to him and the living room had a sky light that would darken to block sunlight. Apparently, once the hotel was finished, Ozpin himself had commissioned for this penthouse to be built. Maroon could only imagine how expensive it was to build, not to mention rent and upkeep. Ozpin paid for it, so Maroon wouldn't have to.

He walked past into the master bedroom. The queen sized bed sat in the middle of the room, inviting Maroon to sleep on it. He unstrapped Ember Rose from his back and took off his coat, showing the plain red t-shirt underneath. As he took a seat on the bed, he unstrapped his boots and set them aside. He sighed as he looked outside at the stars through the balcony doors. He was silent as memories ran through his head. Memories of his mom raising him as best she could being a single mother, the union with Tai, his siblings. Maroon exhaled as he let those memories go. Those days were gone. No need to dwell on them further.

He picked Ember Rose up and lightly ran his hand across the scabbard. "I'll take a look at you tomorrow. That was an intense fight."

He set it down on the foot table at the edge of the bed and laid down. As his eyes closed, his mind drifted back to those memories, drawing him into yet another dream about them.

"We have a new problem."

Let it be said. Roman usually wasn't one to be scared. However, when it came to his lady boss in red, Roman was quick to kneel. She was strong enough to snuff him out for good and Roman didn't have to be a genius to know that wasn't good for business. So when he said those words to Cinder and saw her face scrunch up, Roman was scared.

"Oh? Truly? You're not just making up excuses for the fact you came back empty handed?"

"Yes, truly. A huntsman got involved tonight. He was able to single-handedly stop me. One I'm sure you'd be very interested in. His name is Maroon Rose and when I say he's one of the best, I mean he's one of the best." Roman explained.

Cinder's eyes went from hateful to amused. She quite obviously perked up upon hearing that name. As for why, Roman didn't know. Cinder was just weird like that. Sorry, did he say weird? He meant sadistic. Whenever she got that look in her eyes, it meant that a plan was forming. One that would usually involve a lot of pain for the one being planned against, as Roman came to find out.

"Is that so? Believe it or not, we were already after him. He has been a thorn in our sides for ages and it would seem that he has finally made himself a known quantity."

"... So, what do we plan to do about him?"

"Leave that to me, Torchwick. I promise you, he will be taken care of by the time that our plan comes to fruition."

And thus, for what was arguably the sixtieth time that month, Roman was yet again questioning his life decisions.

Ruby read excitedly as she held the scroll up to her face. The news on it detailed the fight between Roman Torchwick and an unknown huntsman as best it could. They had opted to stay anonymous, for whatever reason. Ruby thought he would've wanted attention on him considering he fought Roman to what was basically a tie in Ruby's eyes. She never got to face him directly, but she knew that he had to be strong if he resisted arrest this long. This article only proved it.

"Whatcha doing?" Her sister popped up behind her, scaring Ruby and causing her to fumble her scroll out of fear she'd drop it. Once she had it nice and secure in her hands, she turned to Yang

"Don't scare me like that! Besides, why is it so important for you to know what I'm doing?!"

"Whoa, calm down sis, I didn't mean to scare you that badly. And is it really so wrong to know what my amazing little sister is up to?"

Her partner, Weiss Schnee, harrumphed above them on her death trap of a bed, as she would call it. "Knowing her, she's probably watching some video to skip out on her homework."

"I am not!" Ruby screeched out in response. "I'll have you know I already finished my homework, Ice Queen."

"That's a first."

Ruby grunted in exasperation as she witnessed Weiss turn on her. Her own partner! Ruby crossed her arms and turned away from them as she pouted. Yang laughed at Ruby's antics while Weiss cracked with a small smile. Ruby looked back for a second before turning away yet again. This time, she had a smile on her face.

That was until her fourth and final member of her team spoke up.

"Have you guys seen the news recently?" Blake Belladonna asked.

"You mean the one article about that huntsman that almost stopped Torchwick? I heard about it, but I don't believe it was a true huntsman. Just some wannabe with fake credentials."

"That's a bit harsh, Weiss."

"So what? He failed. Ruby almost captured him, so this so called huntsman has no reason to fail when someone no doubt years younger than him nearly succeeded."

"I don't know. Roman must have been holding back when he fought me." Ruby finally chimed in with her thoughts

"You think so? It's possible I guess. Maybe he had help as well that wasn't mentioned in the article." Blake suggested as she also pondered on why this huntsman lost.

Ruby sighed as she laid down in her bed and stared up at Weiss' bunk. Her team discussed all the possibilities that they could as she gathered her thoughts. She thought that Roman was more skilled than she. Besides, his main goal wasn't to fight her that night. Just to escape. Ot makes sense that he wouldn't give his all to fighting her when he was just buying time to escape. Still, as she laid there and thought about it, the nickname they'd given that huntsman was The Reaper. She'd heard that name almost everywhere the past eight or so years. A young huntsman that quickly grew to be one of the best hunters out there. She'd asked her Uncle Qrow if he'd ever fought alongside him once and his answer was 'yeah, a few times actually. We're not friends by any means, but he's a good kid. Pretty solid in combat too. Not as good as me though'. Still, she couldn't help but wonder, who was he? And if her brother had still been alive:

Would he be just as great as the Reaper?

"Any idea where an attack might happen this time?" Ozpin asked Maroon as he stepped through the elevator doors.

"Straight to the point? That's not like you. But no, no idea. With me on the board, he's likely to stop operating and lay low for a second."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Well, not only do I pose a significant threat should I go to interrupt him, but he's hit most of the dust shops in the city. It only makes sense to let them restock to rob them again."

Ozpin hummed as he mulled over Maroon's assessment. He found himself agreeing with it. They struck almost every night, sometimes twice, and it had been a few weeks. It wouldn't be hard to get most of the dust shops in the city in that time. Still, that didn't mean they wouldn't strike smaller shops while they waited. "You've made quite a racket in the news last night. 'The Reaper strikes in Vale! Going after nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick!'"

"Ugh. I wish they would stop calling me that. It makes me sound like some edgy kid who thinks that he's always in the right because his parents abused him."

"Well, maybe you should've taken care of it when it started to sprout."

Maroon scoffed as he sat down in the chair across from Ozpin's chair. "You know they would have still called me that."

"Maybe. But I think it's for the best. The people now have a symbol to place their hope in. I have no doubt you will deliver." Ozpin took a sip out of the mug that sat in front of him. "I should hope you will take a break?"

"No can do. Just because Roman won't be active doesn't mean the White Fang won't be. That also makes this next robbery unpredictable. They could aim for money, weapons, even continue until all dust shops are empty. There's really no predicting this one this time. I just have to hope I'll be in the area when it happens."

"I see. Well I do hope you have luck when it comes to that."

"Me too. If I'm being honest, I think a certain birdie rubbed little bit of his bad luck onto me."

"I cand only hope it hasn't. One last thing, have you told them you were still alive?"

The room became tense immediately and so too did Maroon. He knew exactly what Ozpin was referring to and he didn't like it one bit. Maroon's face transitioned onto that of a glare that was focused on Ozpin. "I told you, they don't need me anymore."

"Maybe not need, but they'd want to have you in their lives. I can only hide you from them for so long. What if they found you on the streets of Vale?"

"They think I'm dead. If they came across me and found out I was still alive-"

"They'd be confused," Ozpin cut him off. "but they would welcome you."

"They'd think I abandoned them! Which, for all intent and purposes, I practically did abandon them!" Maroon snapped.

"They might feel that way at first yes, but they would forgive in time."

Maroon turned and walked away from Ozpin's office into the elevator, not willing to hear yet another second of this conversation. The chair he was sitting in a moment ago now laid on the ground as he pressed the button to go down to the ground floor. "Have a good day, Ozpin."

The elevator doors closed and Maroon sighed as he felt the systems kick in and start lowering him down. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He was convinced that Ruby and Yang would want nothing to do with him. Rightfully so, too. They hadn't seen him in twelve years and to let that lie be ripped down now after some nasty feelings had festered would tear them even further apart. At least with what he was doing now, he could protect them in his own in way.

The doors opened, leading to the courtyard in front of the tower. Maroon walked out and made his way down past the dorms. He would've continued, but he heard a voice call out to him.

"Hey! Can I get your help for a second?!" Maroon turned to the female voice to see a white figure running at him. She was dressed in a combat skirt and a very fancy jacket with red insides. The most striking features about her that really stood out to him was her snow coloured hair and ice coloured eyes

She finally caught up to him, panting as she did so. She looked up to him and a look of recognition, then confusion, passed across her face. Despite that, she didn't comment on it. "I'm sorry, but I have a new class today with my team. I would've asked a student, but their all at their classes by now. Normally, I would know where all the rooms are, but I have no idea where Room 169 is."

Maroon raised an eyebrow. "Real quick, you wouldn't happen to be related to Winter Schnee, would you?"

"Yes, I am. My name is Weiss Schnee. You know my sister?"

"I've worked with her before. Anyway, I know Beacon like the back of my hand. 169? I do believe that is the Teamwork and Strategy class. That should be just above the Grimmology class."

Weiss looked back to her schedule and took a look at it again before facepalming and muttering something along the lines of 'how could I be so stupid'.

"Thank you so much." And then she was headed off as fast as she could.

Maroon shouted after her. "Have a good day!"

When Weiss arrived a few minutes late, she was berated, but not punished because this was her first time in that class. It was embarrassing, to say the least. The one girl who was praised for not only being on time, but also having some of the best marks on her team being late? She was subject to Yang's teases the rest of the day. And thus, that night, Weiss made sure something like that would not happen again.

"Come on, Yang! Do you really gotta shower first?!" Weiss looked over to see Ruby banging on the bathroom door and shouting at Yang.

"First come, first serve Rubes! Get in here faster than me and I'll gladly let you take first shower!"

"But you take all the hot water! There'll be none left for us!"

The shower could be heard turning on. "Sorry! Can't hear you!"

Ruby pouted as she walked back to her bed to lay down in it. Weiss shook her head. She had to agree. Yang couldn't get first shower no matter what. Did she really think that Weiss could get clean and enjoy the shower with no hot water? Well she couldn't. But still, as much as she might deny it, Weiss enjoyed their antics. She really lucked out when it came to her team.

Which reminded her. That one huntsman today. He looked exactly like Ruby. Everything from the black hair with red tips right down to the silver eyes. It was like she was looking at a genderbent Ruby that had graduated from Beacon. Hell, he even had a rose pendant around his neck that looked exactly like Ruby's! In fact, if Weiss didn't know any better, she would have said he was a genderbent Ruby.

Then, he mentioned that he worked with her sister, Winter, before. That was a surprise because Winter never mentioned working with anyone. Did he lie or did Winter not feel like it was important. Either way, she had to find out right now if Ruby knew about him. She would've though she would be all over potential family visiting Beacon.

Weiss sat down next to Ruby on her bed. Ruby proceeded to look confused. "Weiss? What are you-"

"Listen, do have anything like brother or an uncle?"

"I have an uncle, but no brother. What's this about?"

"Just answer me, I'll tell you in a second. Your uncle. What does he look like?"

Ruby hummed as she leaned back on her bed to settle into a more comfortable position. "He has black hair and red eyes."

"Okay, your dad then. What does he look like?"

"He looks like Jaune to be honest. Almost the exact same shade of blue eyes with a slightly darker blonde hair tone. What's this about?"

Weiss sighed as she put her hand to her chin. "It's just that I met someone today. When I was late for class today, he pointed me in the right direction."

"Okay, and this has what to do with my family?"

"Thing is, he looked exactly like you Ruby. Black hair, red tips, and those shining silver eyes."

"... What?"

That's it for now... What? You can't just walk around in a public place and not be noticed. Unfortunately for Maroon, it happened to Weiss that noticed him this time.

Love y'all and see ya later!