As the first semester at Beacon winded down and our last exam was taken, I found myself finally able to think things over. The changes for me were strange to say the least. I was surrounded by happy-go-lucky friends and family.

I knew I must be causing all of them worry and confusion. I simply was not able to act completely like my younger self. This had led to a series of depressed actions which only continued their fears.

The weekend after the final exam of the semester I found myself sitting in an empty training room. I had stowed Crescent Rose away and was using my fists and Yang's semblance to take out some of my anger. Every swing I took only extrapolated the effects. My rage was building higher and higher.

I suddenly felt something grab the back of my arm. I turned around and swung back. As the fist was about to connect my eyes widened with fear. Standing in front of me was Uncle Qrow, "Whoah now kiddo," I tried to pull my punch but couldn't completely stop the momentum, he caught the punch in his hand but couldn't keep the visible flinch off his face. "Man, you hit hard," he grumbled.

I smiled brightly and gave him a major hug. It'd been years since I'd seen Uncle Qrow and I hadn't truly realized how much I missed him. Qrow patted my head, "Now kiddo I'm not exactly here for fun and games."

"Alright, so what are you here for?" I contemplated for a split second, "Are you here for a mission?"

Qrow rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "You could sorta say that…" He was clearly unsure if he should tell me the truth.

My eyes narrowed, "What are you here for Qrow?" The edge in my voice returned and drowned out my previous childlike behavior.

"I'm here cause of that," He stated gesturing at me, "Oz… said I might want to come help my niece through a hard time. He seemed pretty convinced you were having issues. Thing is… his request was a little usual."

Anger formed in me but I looked down to hide the flash of red as I quelled back the storm. Finally I looked back up, "What was the request?"

Qrow smiled awkwardly and gestured at the seat behind me. I sat down but couldn't quite relax. "Well, kiddo, he wanted me to teach you deception." Well, of all the things I was expecting… definitely not it. Qrow continued, "He said you got a concussion and had been acting out of sorts. Your friends have been… concerned. Yang has been calling your father with increased panic over the past few days." He took a deep breath, "And Oz thinks you won't be fixed. So… he wants me to teach you to pretend you're fixed."

I laughed. I mean a good hearty, smile to your eyes, bellyful of a laugh. Qrow gave me a strange look and a wry smirk, "At this point I think you might just be insane." I laughed harder and then tried to calm down.

Finally I looked at Qrow, "He wants you to teach me to be my old self." I shrugged, "I wish you could." I shook my head, "I also wish Ozpin had asked me before getting you."

Qrow gave me a wry smile, "I don't see why you can't learn to pretend. I mean, I pretend to be a fully functional human being while mostly operating on booze." He covered his mouth, "Shoot…shouldn't say that kind of thing to my 15 year old niece." He looked barely ashamed.

I sucked on my bottom lip while trying to figure out how to phrase my response, "Thank you for your offer and consideration, however, deception has always been my weak point. I've tried for quite a while to improve on it, but it goes against my very nature."

Qrow looked perplexed, "So you're just going to give up? You're 15! You can't possibly know you'll never improve on something at 15!"

I just looked off into the distance, "I don't need to learn how to lie. I need to deal with my problems so I can simply be that girl again. Or… at least as close to it as I can."

Qrow glanced at me like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve, "Did something… happen in the forest that changed you that much? I mean… from what I heard it was like night and day." I started to speak and he threw a hand up stopping me, "I've been a hunter for 20 years now. I've seen a lot of shit. I have never seen a concussion erase almost everything that makes a person themselves."

I just gave him a dark chuckle, "Well, I had one hell of a concussion." I then decided that I needed more time alone. Sitting here talking to my Uncle was just begging me to tell him the truth, "Bye for now Uncle."

"Wahh," before he could even finish his sentence I was speeding out of the room and towards the other end of school.

The emotional baggage that I had been carrying for several months now was getting to weigh too much. I sat down in an abandoned classroom and cried. I grieved the life I once had. I cried for the ones I lost both physically and emotionally. I was missing my old team just as much as their younger counter parts were missing the old Ruby. Very likely more so. It really was not fair to anyone involved.

As my grief consumed me I fell into darkness.

The White Fang really hadn't learned much in the past 4 years since the war began. I looked at the group of them moving dust that would likely end up on the back of a suicide train and shook my head. I turned and faced the teams behind me, "Attention!" Everyone snapped to attention, "Team RWBY, Team JNPR. Our two teams were chosen as some of the best. We've been praised for getting the mission done. Today will be no different. Team JNPR anything to report?"

The remaining members of Team JNPR stood up straight. Ren and Nora looked determined. Nora was still more manically happy than sad. It went without saying though that Pyrrha's death had left a mark on them all. Most of all was Jaune. His normally clumsy and awkward attitude had been replaced by a narrow minded, unyielding need to win and prove himself. He had once confided in me that he wanted to prove to Pyrrha, wherever she was, that he could have helped if she had just let him stay.

It broke my heart, but I knew he was wrong. The current him could have helped, but the young boy he once was, couldn't. He would have just gotten in the way.

"No ma'am," It was strange hearing them say that still.

"At ease Team JNPR." I was their commanding officer. After about 2 years of war with the White Fang and the Grimm, the military had finally requested hunter squads. The goal was 2 squads per group. They would be lead by a huntsman of the military's choice. In order to participate in the program, each huntsman had to attend boot camp and take several specialized tests to determine strengths and weaknesses.

My strength was determined to be both up close battle, group tactics, and leadership. They put me in charge of RWBY and JNPR along with the title of Commander. Each of the remaining members of the teams were considered Lt Commanders. The reasoning was so when major battles happened and the regular army joined us, they would be led by trained huntsman.

"Team RWBY, anything to report."

Now, its one thing to be legally in charge of your old dorm mates from across the hall. Yes, they were friends but… it's a completely different ball game to be legally in charge of your girlfriend, best friend, and your sister. In fact, I'm pretty sure that screams fraternization and breaks at least 3 codes of military justice. That being said, the hunters and huntresses of the military were treated differently. The military accepted and understood that we worked in a different way and our effectiveness was enhanced by our familiarity instead of destroyed.

That all being said… that didn't stop Yang from being completely inappropriate even during a serious moment, "Yes ma'am." Yang shouted proudly while Blake and Weiss had been repeating 'No ma'am'. Both of them looked at Yang like she'd grown a 3rd head.

"Lt. Commander Long, what do you have to report?" I asked dryly. For pete sakes, I was their team leader, if any team shouldn't have something to report to me, it was my own damn team.

"Commander Sister, I would like to report that your snoring is starting to wear on me. Please work on that. I want to get a good nights rest after this mission." Yang, for her credit kept her face entirely stoic. Her military barring was, for once, spot on.

My silver glare turned on Yang, and then on the rest of team RWBY, who were laughing. Weiss at least had the decency to try and not laugh. She was failing.

"Yang." I growled.

"Yes, sis, er ma'am, er Commander Sister Ma'am?" Yang was impossibly still keeping a straight face.

"After the mission, instead of sleeping you will be doing laps while reciting the Soldier's Creed. You will be singing it loudly, proudly, and for all to hear." I then took a deep breath, "At ease Team RWBY."

They all finally dropped their military barring for the most part and just burst into laughter. Yang started grumbling that she hoped she went out with a 'Yang' tonight so she wouldn't have her punishment.

Team JNPR was used to these abnormalities within the unit and easily shrugged it off. They could see the stress frequently got to me and that Yang's insane outbursts kind of helped.

"We are now going to move onto why we are here." I then began to explain everyone's jobs. We were infiltrating one of the White Fang headquarters. The White Fang had, unknown to the public, teamed up with a group of radicalisms known as the Black Tide. The Black Tide appeared to be the name of Salem's group. They always brought Grimm that seemed to be under control, mechs, and a lot of people.

Between the two groups our scouts estimated about 200 hostiles. With only 7 of us going in, we had approximately 28 people to take down each. That was of course, if our plan was that straight forward.

I put the ear piece in which would allow me to communicate with each member during the field operation,"Team RWBY, Agent Scarlet, radio check. Over."

"Agent Scarlet, Agent Ivory, reporting. Over ." Weiss' voice was crisp, clear, and decisive.

"Agent Scarlet, Agent Ghost, reporting. Over." Blake intoned quietly.

Finally came Yang, "Agent Fire here ready to kick some ass."

I groaned into the radio, "Agent Fire, Agent Scarlet, that is not how you respond on a military radio you damn idiot." I took a deep breath and then hastily added, "Over."

Weiss sounded like she was smiling as she added in, "Agent Scarlet, Agent Ivory, respectfully I think its time you give up on Agent Fire learning protocol. I also would like to add, respectfully mind you, that the last time we followed protocol to the tee in the field, someone almost died due to forgetting the message ordering. Over."

I groaned and shook my head. Damn Weiss for making such a good point. "Team JNPR, Agent Scarlet, radio check. Over."

JNPR quickly checked in with Agent Bronze, Agent Wombat, and Agent Lotus.

I then proceeded to give out orders, "For the remainder of the mission, due to its importance and the possibility of time constraints, I will halt all use of formal radio speak." I immediately heard Yang's excited yelling on the radio. "We will, however, continue the use of code speak. I have no desire to allow anyone in that building to know whats going on until they're dead. Get into position and then report once there."

I myself started to move towards my goal. My plan was to break in from the top of the building and be the quiet muscle they didn't see coming while getting a few errands done on my way to the rendezvous point. Yang and Nora were the loud muscle. Everyone in the building would know they were there soon. Weiss was going to be back up for all the teams. She would wait on the sidelines, cast glyphs if they would help, and interfere if something appeared to be going south. It's always good to have a member waiting to help. Plus, Weiss was our combat medic. She had learned a while ago how to use her semblance and dust to fix almost any wound.

Ren and Blake were my stealth specialists. They had their orders to sneak in and assassinate or kill any high ranking officers found within the base.

Finally was Jaune. Jaune was a special case. He wasn't particularly good at fighting, although he was getting better. His tactical thinking was amazing but it mostly only helped with preparations. Yet, Jaune had discovered his semblance and that was what made him an asset. Jaune had many similarities to Yang. His semblance activated often based on emotions. While Yang was anger in general and could start a fire… Jaune's wasn't. His was righteous anger and fear.

It meant that normally he would fight with Yang and Nora but as more of a distraction than anything else. Our opponents would assume he was useless and once his semblance came out, they would generally run in fear. His semblance changed him physically. He would get a little taller, his muscles would grow, and he would become fixated on destroying the enemy. Sometimes the fixation led to a fight ending and him still searching for someone to kill. He always lost the blood lust after about ten to thirty minutes.

After all of them reported they were in position and I was standing above the air duct on the top of the building, my orders started, "Agent Wombat, Fire, and Bronze, proceed forward. Damage as much as possible. Agent Wombat, I want explosions that rock the building… just don't bring the building down on us. Understood?"

"Aye aye, Agent Scarlet! Let the hammer time, begin!" I shook my head. Nora enjoyed this way too much.

Moments later, the building underneath me shook once. I heard loud bangs and got back on the radio, "Agents Ghost and Lotus, proceed. Try to not get compromised for a while. If you are, radio in immediately." I received affirmatives in response and then began on my own path. I dropped through the ceiling and proceeded through the air ducts. My first plan was to quickly move through the ducts until I found the building intelligence room. Stealing some information was always valuable and the rest of the building would be distracted by the assault.

After moving through 3 floors of ducts I found a room with filing cabinets. There was no sign of people so I figured it would be safe. I dropped down into the room and started searching. There was paper work for every thing. There was proof that the White Fang was laundering money, fake companies that sold them supplies, casualty reports, and much more. What I really wanted though was an idea for a new target.

We were a hit and run type team for the past few months. We would find a target while attacking this one. Decimate most of the combatants and then phone the higher ups to send someone to clear the rest and secure the intel. Then we would leave to our next target. It was quite fun.

"Yes!" I shouted excitedly as I found the details of a base where Cinder was rumored to be. I'm ashamed to admit that I started to do a victory dance. My eyes closed as I pumped my fist in the air while twirling. Don't judge me. It was fun.

"Ahem," I heard quietly. My eyes shot open and in front of me was a man with a chain saw and a manic grin, "Hello girly. You'll be a fun play toy I'd say."

I grimaced at the implication and then rolled my eyes. I pulled out my scythe. It was newly dubbed Crimson Rose 2.0. I had extended the handle to compensate for my new height and gave her a darker paint job. She was still a beauty though.

I hit the button instructing my scythe to extend and it slammed into the ceiling. I cursed under my breath at not remembering the height of the room. The man smirked at me and revved his chain saw. He started to charge.

He seemed to think that my scythe was now useless. What an idiot. I swung the blade forward and clashed it with the chain saw. Sparks flew as the weapons collided and pieces of ceiling fell to mix with it. I grinned as he looked confused. I dropped the scythe to the ground while moving to the side of the oncoming attacker. I laughed, "Nice try. See you… or not." As he stumbled I swung my blade and severed his Achilles tendon. I double checked that I had the paper still as I ran out of the room.

I could still hear him screaming but, eh, he'd live… probably. Maybe… okay, probably not. Wouldn't be my first kill. Certainly won't be my last.

I made my way down to the first floor where the assault was going on and perched at the top of the cargo room. I saw Nora was flailing wildly and the attackers were trying to not get too close. Jaune was looking like he'd seen better days.

Yang on the other hand, my insane older sister was punching people, and the ground, and emanating flames, and just kind of lost in her blood lust.

I looked around and saw a guy shouting orders. I immediately dropped in front of him, my cloak covering my face. It was a great look that I'd perfected over the years. Looking like the grimm reaper had both a punny side and a menacing side. It was perfect.

Speaking of perfect. The plan was going perfectly until I started to round on the leader. I heard in my earbud, "Agent Scarlet, I've been compromised. Repeat, I have been compromised. I am heading to the rendezvous point. I removed 5 of their leaders in the process. Found a room with a bunch of mechs and a man. He activated them before I could stop him." I hadn't heard Ren speak so many words ever.

I parried an incoming attack as I pressed a button to speak to all of their ear buds, "Mayday, mechs inbound."

The fight continued for a while and the mechs were, for the most part, being batted down. Suddenly a Paladin Mech arrived and in its seat was a man I'd never seen before. He had wolf ears and a predatory grin on his face. He fired indiscriminately. Most of us got away unscathed but I felt a pierce in my side. I looked down and was bleeding more than I'd thought. As I tried to process what was happening, I felt a second pain shoot through me, this one in the shoulder. The man I had been fighting had taken advantage of my distraction and low aura. He'd embedded his weapon in my shoulder.

I could hear my blood pumping. I could feel only pain as I fell to the floor. I could hear screaming off in the distance. The last thing I saw before I hit the floor was Ren also falling over. The lifeless look on his face spoke for itself.

Author's Note:

First of all for those easily confused, such as myself:

Ruby - Scarlet

Weiss - Ivory

Blake - Ghost

Yang - Fire

Jaune - Bronze

Nora - Wombat

Ren - Lotus

Secondly to A Simple Cup, thank you for your review. I have a question myself. I tried to find any reference to the immortally of the maidens and couldn't. I feel if there was a moral question it would be more the mortality. Pyrrha becoming a maiden would put a target on her back, but it also might save her life. I think that someone from a future like the one illustrated in this chapter, would probably be more concerned at first at least, about stopping the bad. I know it might be callous but it is hard to be concerned about people's feelings on something when your goal is to save everyone.

There is a quote that comes to mind from the TV show the 100. Marcus Kane says he's trying to save humanity. He gets a response along the lines of, "I'm trying to make sure we deserve to survive." So there is always a question of if the ends justify the means.

Any who, read, review, enjoy. This was without a doubt my absolute favorite chapter I've written so far. As I've said before I'm in the military, specifically the Navy. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I want to do the ranks in the RWBY military. These particular ranks are officer ranks in the Navy.