Author's Note: this story is a part of the RWBY Superhero Universe, and a sequel to both The Red Huntress and The Hunt. Things will make a lot more sense if you've read those.

On the outskirts of the country of Vale, close to the east coast, existed a town called Essiria. It was quiet little place, with no more than some five hundred people living in it, though the population tended to fluctuate with the coming and going of the fishing seasons. The people there were warm and hospitable, accustomed to uneventful lives. Essiria was a good place to call home.

Or so it used to be, before a hole opened in the skies of the capital and demons came flying from it to eradicate mankind. Everything had changed then, all around the world, and Essiria was like a perfect microcosm of the phenomenon.

People stopped opening their doors to strangers, and they didn't linger outside at night. The sky went from an object of wonder, to something to be feared and suspected at all times. Quiet didn't mean peace, it was a promise of horrors to come.

Thus, it was inevitable that the Grimm would appear to prey on the town, and when they did, the people of Essiria cowered in their homes and awaited their fates. Terror feeds on itself, a vicious cycle, and there is no terror more crippling than the knowledge that death itself was outside the door, searching for a scent…

But vicious cycles are rarely unbreakable. Sometimes, all it takes is for an outside element to be introduced at the right time.

Terror…

"…meet your maker!"

Springing into being amidst a shower of rose petals, Ruby swung her scythe in a deadly arc, cutting clean through a Beowolf's neck. Her feet hit the ground at the same time as the severed head, the motions of her cape dispersing the ensuing smoke. Sheer power irradiated from her in the form of her Aura, while around her petals still soared, a red storm waiting to be unleashed.

All around town, the Grimm forgot their previous prey and converged on her position, drawn to her like moths to a flame. Ruby simply stood in the middle of the road and watched them approach with a confident smile on her lips, Crescent Rose rested across her shoulders. Her blood was pumping, her heart was racing, her feet rising and falling all on their own…

This was far from her first rodeo, but that didn't make it any less exciting.

Just as the first Grimm charged, Ruby stepped into action herself, shooting backwards to propel herself towards the Ursa and kick it in the face, sending it crashing back into the monsters behind it. A bang and a flash of Red Dust, and a hole appeared in the Grimm's ranks.

The transition was seamless, the young girl becoming nothing less than a red blur, reappearing only shortly enough to eliminate a target before hopping to the next one. There wasn't a move wasted, each swing of her scythe delivering death without fail. The Grimm could do nothing against her as every attempted claw or bite only rendered through harmless petals.

Yet for all her grace and power, Ruby barely broke a sweat. She was a force of nature, unstoppable and utterly devastating. In that moment, her existence had only one purpose, and she would see it through to the end.

For her, the battle felt like an eternity, but not in a tortuous way. No, that couldn't be farther from the truth. This was the stuff she lived for, and if she had her wish, it would go on forever. In reality, the last Grimm fell after two minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Ruby coalesced back into form in the middle of the street, breathing hard, silver eyes stretched wide as she searched for any foes she might have missed.

She only snapped back to normal when a light flashed on her face, causing her to blink and look towards its origin. From the other side of a house's window, a boy watched, cellphone held up at the ready. Awkwardly, Ruby raised a hand in greeting, then hoisted Crescent Rose over her shoulder and turned away, sighing.

The battle had ended astoundingly fast, and it wasn't like there were few Grimm. In fact, the number of beasts attracted to this town was rather disproportionate to its population. The people really must have been freaking out for something like that to happen.

Guilt struck her like a rock. Her job wasn't about killing Grimm, but rather protecting people and giving them hope. She could never forget that. Ashamed, Ruby bowed her head and put Crescent Rose away in its folded form, then took out her Scroll. She needed to make up for her terrible behavior…

But first, her attention was taken by the notification of an hours-old audio message from none other than her father. Ruby looked around. The townspeople were starting to come out of their homes now, and a few had gathered up the courage to approach her.

"Uhm, sorry, I can't stay!" she called out, conjuring up a weak smile. "The Grimm are gone, so… stay safe, everyone!"

One aspect of her job which she was awful at was talking to people. Ruby never knew what to say after rescuing someone – yeah, I just saved your life, you're very welcome – and gaining worldwide fame hadn't made it any easier. Therefore, she was more than relieved to have an excuse to run away from the prospect, and run away she did, feeling only a little shame at activating her Semblance to move to the edge of town.

Once she was certain she was alone, Ruby brought her Scroll up to her ear.

"Hey, sweetheart. How are you doing? Actually, don't answer that question. You're not picking up, so you must be busy fighting some nasties, right? So obviously you're doing just fine."

Ruby was so touched she couldn't even feel too smug. Not every father would accept their daughter going off on her own to hunt Grimm, and only the most special would be so unreservedly supportive of it. Ruby was one lucky girl.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you were coming home today. Hoping, actually, because you were supposed to be here yesterday already and, you know, school…

"Also, I was wanting to make some casserole for dinner, but it'd be a waste to eat it alone. So if you could call back soon, I'd be eternally grateful."

"Love you. Bye!"

The message ended with a kissing noise so loud and wet, Ruby couldn't help but shudder. She knew he did it on purpose too. No wonder he and Yang were related.

Once her revulsion was lifted, Ruby fell deep in thought. She did love it when her father made casserole, and it felt like centuries since they'd shared a dinner that wasn't ordered or microwaved…

Nodding to herself, Ruby quickly typed out a message and sent it. I'll be there by dinner. Make it Ruby-sized!

She closed her messages, returning to the previous application, which she had neglected to close last time. She rarely didn't have it up, anyway. As a former top-level agent of Beacon and now Huntress, Ruby had direct access to the Beacon satellites that tracked current and predicted Breaches. This was her sole guide nowadays. She didn't need to rely on Miss Goodwitch anymore, which she had been ecstatic about at first, but she'd begun to miss her former boss lately. There was nothing quite like having a disgruntled adult at your ear harshly judging your every move.

Ruby sighed. Good old times…

According to the latest readings, there was another Breach about to happen in an hour or so, near a town not far North of her current position. Beacon agents were already set to be dispatched there, but…

Not giving it much thought, Ruby marked that she would be taking care of the Breach. It was only just turning night. She could make it to the site of the Breach quickly and kill the Grimm even quicker, and from there she could head to the nearest Beacon outpost and get a ride to Patch.

She would be back home in no time. What was one more little hunt to finish the day?

Slow as she went, Ruby couldn't stop the front door from dragging against the floor, and the scratching noise brought a grimace to her face. She pushed the door a little faster and slipped inside, then swiftly closed it behind her and pressed her back against it.

She remained there for a moment, holding her breath as she stared at the darkness of the house, just waiting for a light to come on and expose her. But save for the clicking of one of her father's many clocks on a nearby wall, the house was immersed in silence.

With a sigh of relief, Ruby bent down and took off her boots and socks. She wiggled her tired toes before walking towards the kitchen, stopping for a moment to look at the clock.

One past midnight. She'd really done it this time.

Hanging her head in shame, Ruby dragged her feet to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Her stomach rumbled at the vast selection of foods inside. She was so hungry, she couldn't even decide on what to eat. But it couldn't be anything complicated or that she would have to heat up. The last thing she wanted was to wake up her father…

"Ah. The prodigal daughter returns."

The kitchen lights came on, and Ruby looked towards her father, leaning on the doorway with a knowing expression on his face. Ruby averted her eyes, her body freezing up entirely. She wanted to apologize, but her tongue seemed to be glued to the bottom of her mouth.

"It's on the top shelf," Taiyang said. Receiving no response, he moved behind her and stretched an arm over her, taking a pot from the fridge. "Here, I'll heat it up for you."

He went to the microwave and put the pot in, then set it to three minutes. A fresh wave of guilt washed over Ruby as she noticed it was the casserole he was heating up.

"What are you doing standing there with the fridge open? You wanna freeze or something?" Taiyang rolled his eyes. He pulled her away from the fridge and closed it, then dragged a chair back from the kitchen table and sat her down on it. "There. Want me to get you your bib too?"

Ruby swallowed dry, her father's peppiness only making her feel worse. She'd have preferred him to be angry or disappointed at her, but instead it was like he didn't even care about what she'd done.

"So, how was the hunting?" Taiyang asked, leaning on the counter beside the microwave. "Any big scary Grimm give you trouble?"

"Hmm?" Ruby mumbled, eyes fixed on the empty plate before her. "No… Just normal stuff…"

"But a lot of that, I'll bet," he replied. "Director Ozpin must regret recruiting you. You're taking half the work away from Beacon at this rate. Jobs are being jeopardized," he chuckled. "They gotta step up their game, or else…"

Ruby bit her lip, unable to bring herself to respond. A long silence fell between them. Then, the microwave started beeping, and Taiyang took out the casserole and put it down on her plate, then handed her a fork and knife.

"Dig in."

Ruby obeyed, hesitant at first, but soon her mechanical movements gained speed as she consumed the food voraciously. The fuller she got, the less she could ignore how tired she was. It hadn't hit her while she'd been out in the field, but days of running around and fighting Grimm had taken a toll on her body, and that was something that, for once, she couldn't power through with determination alone.

When she was done, Ruby nearly slipped off her chair. Her father grabbed her by the shoulders and set her straight, squeezing softly. Ruby groaned, her eyelids weighing like lead all of a sudden.

"Dad…" her voice was so small, she could barely get the words out. "I'm sorry…"

"Oh, sweetheart," Taiyang sighed. "You know I don't hold it against you."

"But you should," Ruby glared at the crumb remains of her meal. "I'm the worst daughter ever."

"Don't say that," he turned her around, and when she tried to turn her face away, he pulled her back by the chin so he could stare her in the eyes. "You were out there because you had a job to do, and no one does it better than you. How could I ever be anything other than proud, Ruby?" he smiled sadly. "I only wish you would take better care of yourself."

"The world's in a really bad place," Ruby mumbled. "I can't slow down. People need me."

"Yeah, things are bad, but it's not the end times. And that's because of you," he said. "You've done a lot already. There's no harm in letting other people take the burden for a while."

Ruby couldn't quite agree with that sentiment, but she was so tired, she really had no ability to argue her position any further.

"God, you really are about to collapse," Taiyang said. "What did you do to get to this point? Have you not slept since you left?"

"No, it's just… There were a lot of Breaches, and then I realized I was late for dinner… really late…" Ruby looked away shamefully. "I kinda ran all the way back here."

"You ran?" Taiyang's eyes widened. "Ruby, we live on an island."

"I wasn't really on my best mind, okay?" Ruby blinked heavily. "I wanna go to bed…"

She started to get up, only to be hoisted off her feet and placed in her father's arms. Not about to complain, Ruby closed her eyes and nestled in as he walked out of the kitchen and carried her up the stairs and to her room.

"You're too much like your mother sometimes, you know?" she heard him say. "Always with the weight of the world on her shoulders. It took you, plus a whole lot of arguing, for her to finally slow down. And even then, I knew that, deep down, it was a little like torture for her…"

He put her down on her bed and tossed a sheet over her, then bent down to kiss her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Little Rose."

Ruby mumbled something not even she could comprehend, and before he had even closed the door, fell in a deep slumber, a content smile on her lips.

RUBY ROSE

SCATTERED PETALS

"-and now that we have the radius and height of object b, we can go back to a and apply the formula. But we mustn't forget, and if you do you can count on losing some otherwise easy points on the test, that first we need to convert the two objects to the same unit of measurement. As always, the less numbers the better, so we'll convert a's centimeters to b's-"

Without warning, the classroom door slammed open, and a cluster of rose petals funneled in, littering the floor and the whiteboard. Ruby landed haphazardly in her assigned seat, nearly knocking it and the desk over with her momentum. In the blink of an eye, she had all her school material out of her backpack and arranged messily in front of her.

"Miss Rose!"

Ruby looked up at the professor, fully expecting to be reprimanded and booted out of the classroom until the start of the next period. Instead, the professor offered her a warm smile, which coupled with the stray petals that had found their way into his hair, made it difficult to feel any remorse for her lateness.

"It's good to have you back," he tapped the whiteboard with his pen, not noticing he was marking all over his calculations. "We're halfway through revising the last test, but we could go back a little bit if you wish."

"Uh… no, thank you," Ruby said hesitantly. "I'll just follow along from where we are."

"Alright," the professor seemed a little disheartened. "But if you need a refresher, I'm always available."

He turned around and got back to the earlier problem. Ruby sighed. Her performance on the last test hadn't been good, to put it mildly, so she certainly could have used the help, but accepting just didn't feel right. If she'd shown up late just a couple months ago, her reception would have been completely different.

Pretending like she wasn't hearing the enthusiastic greetings from her classmates all around her, Ruby looked to the clock above the whiteboard. It hadn't been a minute since she'd sat down, and already she was wishing she was anywhere else. She should have stayed home for the day – she had a right to it, after all she'd put herself through lately.

But as much as she wished otherwise, things weren't so simple. Saving the world wasn't enough credit to get her through the end of high school. So Ruby hunkered down in her seat, and with her eyes glued to the clock, waited.

The bell was like angels singing to Ruby's ears, but she could only be relieved for so long. Not bothering to gather up her things, she made it straight for the door, but even that hadn't been fast enough to avoid the mob that formed around her. It only got worse when she stepped out of the room and people that weren't even from her class joined in.

"Hey Ruby! I saw you on the news the other night! Nice work!"

"Do you think you could bring your scythe to school someday? It must look even cooler from up close!"

"Hey, do you have a partner for the dance yet?"

Ruby tried her best to keep up with the cacophony of voices, blubbering half-responses as she scanned the crowd for any openings. She had expected to receive some attention when she came back home after the Battle of Vale, but not to this level and for so long. Weeks had passed, and things still hadn't returned to normal.

Most people would have been ecstatic. After all, Ruby's normal meant being nearly invisible, only ever noticed for how strange she was. But she'd never had a problem with that, because as long as she had her family and her dreams, Ruby was never truly alone.

Life was the complete opposite now, and the novelty of it had run its course fast. She wished she could go back to being Red Bolt. The most people could do then was suspect she was a superhero. A flimsy disguise, but it had done the job.

"You're eating with us today, right, Ruby? We've got a free spot on our table."

"Uh, actually," Ruby held back a frustrated groan. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"Ooh. Are you going to hunt some Grimm nearby? That sounds awesome!"

"No! That's the opposite of awesome," Ruby shuddered. Grimm near the school? Nope, she could do without that, thank you very much. "I just have to – err – it's classified!"

Holding onto the last vestiges of her patience, Ruby stepped up her pace, forcing her way through the crowd ahead. While everyone headed for the cafeteria, Ruby broke away and exited the building through a side-door to the outdoor sports court.

Not waiting for someone to come along, Ruby sat down on the stands beside the track field. She had been putting up with everyone's attention during lunch, but she just didn't have the energy for it today. This place was completely empty – there was no one to ruin her newfound peace. Maybe she'd come hang out here every day from now on. Sure, it was boring, but it was still a better option than having people nonstop fighting for her attention.

She took her Scroll out, instinctively going to check for Grimm activity, but stopped herself short and opened her messages instead. The Hunt had a bunch of stuff she hadn't viewed yet, including a vast gallery of photos that together told a harrowing story of how Jaune had set the kitchen on fire trying to bake cookies. Luckily, Weiss had been visiting and had helped Pyrrha put out the fire before it got dangerous. Yang had apparently been too busy making fun of Jaune to extend the same courtesy, though.

Looking at the photos only made Ruby's mood worse. What she wouldn't give to be living in Vale with the others! Instead she was stuck in Patch, doing nothing, her only reprieve the hunting expeditions she took every weekend – which she often let extend into school days, but that wasn't an official decision, not at all.

Ruby didn't consider herself a grumpy sort of person, but with each day that passed...

"Oh."

Ruby lowered her Scroll at the sound of the unknown voice. At the base of the stands was a girl she didn't recognize. Her hair was a pale shade of orange, curly and ending just above her shoulders. Freckles dotted her cheeks. She was wearing the official Signal uniform, which was weird considering the high school students weren't obliged to.

"Hi. Can I… help you with something?" Ruby asked, wondering if she was a middle schooler that had gotten lost somehow.

"No, thank you. I am absolutely and completely al-right!" the girl answered loudly, clasping her hands and bowing slightly. "Excuse me. I didn't realize there was anyone else here. I'll leave you alone!"

"Oh, no, please stay! I won't mind!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'm only here because everyone's, eh… My classmates can be a bit too much sometimes."

"Indeed! I saw you before, and you did look mighty uncomfortable," the girl said. "I also found myself uneasy at their presence, although the issue might not be them specifically. I think I don't like crowds!"

"You think?"

Before Ruby knew it, the girl had climbed up the stands and sat down beside her, leaning so close that her nose was almost touching Ruby's cheek. "I'm Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Laughing nervously, Ruby slid a little to the side, then offered Penny a little smile. "Yeah, it's a pleasure. I'm Ruby, but you must have known that already."

If Penny did know about her, she didn't let it show - or maybe she just didn't care all that much. Either way, Ruby was happy.

"So… Penny," she said. "I've never seen you before. Are you new or something?"

"Yes! I am new. Quite perceptive of you, Ruby!" Penny nodded. "I am originally from Atlas, but my father was offered a tremendous business opportunity in the pharmaceutic industry, and so we moved to Patch. I miss my friends and my old school, but I really like it here already!" she blinked. "Do you have any other questions, Ruby?"

Ruby didn't remember asking Penny for such a thorough explanation, but she wasn't about to complain. "Uh, no. I'm glad you're feeling okay. I've never moved, not even once, but I hear it can be hard on people."

"It's been great!" Penny said, and Ruby realized she was in for another extensive answer. "I'm on my last year of school, and while you may think moving might cause some problems with that, I've faced no hardships at all. My grades in Atlas were near flawless, such that I could go the rest of the school year with barely any effort and still graduate," she smiled at Ruby. "I am actually in the same class as you, but I believe you weren't here yesterday when I introduced myself to everyone."

"Oh, I'm sorry I missed that," Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Man, did the teacher really make you introduce yourself in front of the class? I mean, isn't it a little late in the year for that stuff?"

"Apologies, but I think you misunderstood me, Ruby. I did not introduce myself in front of the class. I personally said hello to everyone!"

Ruby was so astonished she couldn't think of anything to say in response. Just imagining introducing herself to that many strangers made her feel queasy. To actually do it? She would probably give up after the third or fourth person and go hide in the bathroom until class was over for the day.

Perhaps it was an Atlas thing. Although, Weiss was also Atlesian, and while she could be very polite, she wasn't anywhere near as immediately friendly as Penny.

"Well… I, uh…" Ruby scratched her head, befuddled. "It's good that you don't have school problems, I guess. I wish I was the same way, but my grades are barely passable, and at the rate I'm going, they're going to get even worse."

"That's not good!" Penny frowned. "Do you not have time to study, or do you have difficulty learning?"

"A bit of both, I guess," Ruby shrugged. "Can't study when the world's falling apart…"

"Fret not! I can help you with your problems, Ruby!" Penny said, getting up and offering her a hand. "Not only am I an exceptional student, I also have superb teaching capabilities. If you wish, I could tutor you."

"Really? I don't know about that…" Ruby said. "I wouldn't want to take time away from your studies. And I have lots of responsibilities… very important responsibilities. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Even so. We must strive for perfection," Penny nodded at her hand. "I am eager to help."

Ruby couldn't make up her mind. She had no issue believing Penny was as capable as she claimed, and Ruby wouldn't mind spending some time with her. Sure, Penny was a little odd, but throughout all their conversation, she hadn't once mentioned Ruby's powers, fame, or anything related, though Ruby had certainly given her several windows for it. It was a welcome change from how everyone else was treating her.

But studying, even if it was with a friend… Ruby just couldn't imagine herself doing that. What did Math, English and History matter when, out in the world, people were being hunted by Grimm?

"I don't think tutoring would work out, Penny," Ruby said. "But I'd be happy to just hang out with you sometimes. You seem like a good friend to have."

"A… friend?" Penny repeated slowly. A big smile dawned on her face. "I'd be delighted to be friends with you, Ruby!"

The bell rang again, signaling their break's end. Ruby got up, only to almost go rolling down the stands as Penny tackled her into a hug. Startled as she was, she returned the gesture a moment later, patting Penny in the back of the head awkwardly.

She couldn't help but notice that Penny was unusually strong for her size.

Once class was over, Ruby hung around just long enough to say bye to Penny, then left before she could be swarmed again. She ran home with her Semblance, rousing the curiosity of many people she passed by, but the journey was otherwise uneventful.

As she opened the front door, a camera flashed behind her. Ruby looked over her shoulder and glared at the van on the other side of the street, then huffed and went inside, dropping her backpack on the entrance hall.

"I'm back!" she announced, stretching her arms. "Dad, are you home?"

She went into the living room and found Taiyang sitting on the sofa, watching TV. Ruby plopped down beside him, took her shoes off, then poked her naked feet against his face. He didn't bat an eye.

"I am happy to see you too, sweetheart," he said. "Was school exciting?"

"The usual," Ruby replied. "I did make a new friend, though. And I mean a friend-friend, not a The-Hunt-fanclub-friend."

"Oh my! A friend, you say?" he pretended to swipe a proud tear from his eye. "And it only took three years…"

"Wow. Thanks, Dad. For your information, I had no friends because I chose so!" Ruby crossed her arms. "I am perfectly capable of making friends. Hence, Penny."

"I never said you weren't," Taiyang chuckled. He took her feet off his shoulder and dropped them on the sofa. "Was there still a van outside?"

"Yep. I think it's from one of those stupid magazines," Ruby said. "Or maybe it's from a fansite. Hopefully one of the nice ones, not the creepy ones."

"All fansites are creepy if they're about my daughters," Taiyang stated, getting up decidedly. "Let me get my middle-age-temperament on and scare those idiots away."

He marched off, leaving Ruby no room to argue with him. A few moments later, she heard the front door open, and then him shouting at the top of his lungs, going into a tirade that involved the words police, waste of time, and some choice terms Ruby wasn't allowed to repeat until she was of age.

The van sped off not long after. Taiyang returned, a satisfied smile on his lips, and sat back down to watch the TV as if nothing had happened. Ruby just shook her head, not knowing whether to be touched or annoyed by his protectiveness.

"I washed your costume, by the way," Taiyang said. "It's on your bed if you need it."

"It's not a costume, it's my uniform," Ruby corrected.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "How come Yang and the others don't have uniforms too, then?"

"Because! If they wanted, they could have their own, but they don't, so," Ruby threw her hands up. "It's about style, okay? What's the point of fighting evil if you don't look awesome doing it?"

"An irrefutable point," Taiyang conceded. "…Doesn't explain the skirt, but okay."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You know, I'm actually thinking of changing costu- uniforms. I've been using the same one for almost two years now, I think it's time for some rebranding," she nodded sagely. "I mean, I am much mature today than I was when I got my powers. Right?"

"Of course."

"I was thinking of getting rid of the hoodie. It's not like I used it much, and it got in the way at the worst times," Ruby said. "I was also thinking of adding a little gray to contrast with the black. Oh, and make the skirt shorter, of course."

Taiyang was changing channels, and he nearly threw the remote away when he heard that last idea. "Did you say shorter?"

"Yeah. It's all fluffy now. It's kinda silly, and annoying to boot," Ruby explained. "I want something new. Something that has an oomph to it. You look at it, and you say to yourself - yeah, now that's a battle-skirt."

"…I feel like I'm not the person you should be discussing this with," Taiyang said. "How about you consult with your sister instead?"

"Oh, she's the one who gave me the idea!"

For whatever reason, he didn't look too happy about the response. Ruby shrugged. Fathers be fathers.

Her Scroll started buzzing. Ruby immediately took it and looked at the screen, half-hoping to be alerted of a Breach nearby – but instead, it was just a phone call, but from an unknown caller. Weird. Her Scroll wasn't like any regular phone, only her teammates, her father, and Beacon should be able to contact it.

She decided to take the call anyway. What was the worst it could be? Cinder Fall herself declaring her intention to once again bring ruin to the modern world? Not likely.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon. This is Lisa Lavender from the Vale News Network. Am I speaking to Ruby Rose?"

Okay, that was kinda bad, but Ruby refrained from tossing her phone away. First the paparazzi, now this? What came next, reporters dropping from a helicopter onto her roof?

Still, there were worse reporters to talk to than Lisa Lavender, and Ruby believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt. "That's me, the one and only. Uhm, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get my number…?"

"Your friend, Mister Jaune Arc, was gracious enough to share it with me. I asked him first, of course, and it took some convincing," Lisa explained. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, Miss Rose. I'm aware your life's been under a lot of scrutiny lately."

"Tell me about it," Ruby muttered. "What did you want from me?"

She asked, but Ruby had a pretty good guess already. She'd received a lot of requests for interviews from all kinds of platforms, especially early on. VNN itself had been one to try and snag some of her time. Obviously, Ruby had refused. She'd had enough on her plate already dealing with Grimm, mankind's despair and school.

"Well, I wanted to see if you were available for an interview, by any chance. I know the network has already approached you several times, but this is different. This request is coming from me, Miss Rose," Lisa said. "I'm not interested in conspiracies about Grimm, or which of your teammates are hooking up."

"That's nice," Ruby grinned. "People have pretty wild imaginations, you know."

"Exactly. I'm more interested in the concrete. I want to hear your story, Miss Rose, however you want to tell it, and I think I'm not alone in that. You could do a lot of good. But it's up to you. I'm just offering you my platform."

Ruby had to admit, the proposal didn't sound terrible. She was all about helping people, after all, and what better way to help the world right now than to assure everyone that things were under control and that she really was ready to fight for them? The prospect of speaking to so many people was nerve-wracking, but maybe it would be worth it…

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure. If you want to do it, just give me a call. Thank you for your time, Miss Rose," Lisa paused. "…Thank you."

"R-right. Bye."

Ruby put down her Scroll and looked at her father, who seemed very interested in what had just transpired.

"Telemarketing?" he asked, chuckling at his own joke.

"Nope," Ruby said, deep in thought. "A way forward, maybe."

Taiyang tilted his head curiously, trying to decipher her meaning. "…A college scholarship?" He looked so hopeful, Ruby couldn't even be annoyed at him.

He-hey! It's Ruby again! Hi, Ruby!

Sorry if I disappointed some folks, but I really see no other way to start Phase Two other than with Ruby. In a lot of ways, this story is more of a sequel to The Hunt than to The Red Huntress. It's the perfect gateway to what comes next for the universe. But the focus is still Ruby, of course.

I would have announced this story right when I finished The Hunt, but to be honest, I only didn't because I wasn't sure about the title. There were a lot of candidates, but none of them fit very well... until Scattered Petals popped into my mind, and that was history. I really love that title, but I'll refrain from discussing it for now.

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.

Welcome to Phase Two.

-Zeroan