Hello everyone, and welcome to the sequel. I hope that this story is enjoyed as much as the first was, for I have learned a lot since my last writing venture. Well, enough talking, let's get this bitch started!

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Chapter one- Seeds Are Sown

Ruby stood stiff as a statue as she looked over the field before her, the wind howling loudly as it blew past her, causing her cloak to snap behind her wildly. She watched as the orange leaf of an oak tree flew past, an ever present reminder that Autumn had set in and was here to stay. From here on out, it would only get colder, making treks such as this one near impossible to make. She then turned her attention to the two plaques at her feet, one of which was surrounded by disturbed soil. The older of the two bore an engraving of a burning rose, whilst the newer of the two was engraved with a crooked cross.

"Mum...Qrow..." Ruby began, her voice breaking slightly as her nerves began to set in. This was her first time meeting the two of them alone. Usually her father or her sister would accompany her, but not today. "I'm not sure if you can hear me...or if you're listening at all...but if you are, I want you to know that...I miss you."

Ruby let out a content sigh as her nerves began to calm down, causing her to cough gently into her hand as she idly fiddled with the two roses in her hand.

"A lot has changed since I last saw you both...not all of it good...but there have been some moments that were noticeable." Ruby continued, turning to look further past the surrounding forest, where the lights of Vale were just visible, along with the Arena that always followed the Vytal Festival. "Qrow...I'm sure you're already aware of this, but I did it. I killed Reaper. He won't be able to hurt anyone else now. I know you said you didn't like to kill unless necessary, but that thing got what he deserved."

She suddenly looked up at the sound of fireworks going off, the City of Vale suddenly being bathed in a shower of colours. Even the semi-shattered moon was lit up by the lights, causing shimmering patterns to bounce off of its surface.

"I'm sorry, but it's starting to get late and I need to get going." Ruby apologised, unintentionally tightening her grip on the stems of the roses. "I love you."

She then gently lowered herself to the ground, placing one of the roses at the foot of her mothers plaque, all that remained to remember her by. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face the newer of the graves, the one that would undoubtedly be harder. She took a step towards the grave, leaning down slowly to place the rose on the disturbed soil.

A clawed hand suddenly shot out of the earth, latching onto Ruby's arm as her eyes went wide with fear. Still latched onto her with a vice like grip, something began to rise up from the earth, causing it to spill out like a mole-hill. A gruff laugh echoed around her as a hooded head rose up from the earth, their face covered by a skull like mask. His mask. Not a word left Ruby's mouth as Reaper pulled himself further out until he was nearly face to face with the young Huntress.

"What is dead may never die..." Reaper growled in his near ethereal voice as he began to descend back into the soil, his laughter returning with renewed energy as he slowly began to drag Ruby back with him.

And then at last, a scream escaped Ruby's lips as she felt the earth swallow her whole, surrounding her in darkness, save for the two red eyes of Reaper.

Ruby awoke with a loud gasp, sitting up straight as she looked at her surroundings. She let out a soft sigh of relief as she recognised her surroundings, she was still in her dorm at Beacon, still with her friends. Still safe.

"Ruby?" a voice called out, causing her to quickly turn in its direction. She was quick to spot her sister in her bed, sat up as she looked inquisitively at her younger sister. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine...just a bad dream, that's all." Ruby replied, before laughing nervously at her sister. "Did I...wake you up at all?"

"Yeah, a little." Yang replied with a chuckle of her own, before she noticed the small frown on her sisters features. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, because where I'm sitting from, it looks like you're frowning." Yang replied, before narrowing her eyes slightly as she leaned forward. "In fact, you're definitely frowning."

When Yang received no reply from her sister, she let out a sigh as she hoped out of her bed, gently walking towards Ruby's bunk so as to not wake up either Weiss or Blake, who were both sleeping contently in their own beds. When she made it over to Ruby, she saw the immediate tell tale signs that her sister had had a nightmare, and a rather vivid one at that if the constant rubbing of her wrist was anything to go by.

"You had that dream again, didn't you?" Yang asked.

Ruby nodded as she released her grip from her wrist, turning to face Yang who had a sympathetic frown on her face.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see him. Every time I see movement in the shadows, I think it's him. Hell, I saw a guy in a black trench coat the other day and almost attacked him." Ruby muttered in response. "I thought that after all these weeks, it would be easier to deal with. Guess I was wrong."

"Hey, Rube's." Yang whispered gently, placing a hand on her sisters shoulder as she gave it a reassuring squeeze. "All of this is natural. After everything you've been put through, it's only natural you think you see him everywhere you go. But make no mistake; he's dead. You stopped him, all by yourself."

"Well, that's not true actually, 76 was there, remember." Ruby muttered quietly, recalling the aged vigilante known as Soldier 76. He had disappeared after the death of Reaper, but he'd been spotted in the local tabloids every now and then, usually in a bad spotlight.

"Sure, but you still beat him." Yang countered. "And no one can take that from you. He won't be able to hurt anyone ever again, and it's all because of you."

"I...I guess." Ruby finally conceded, taking a deep breath before she smiled again, turning to face her sister once more. "Thanks Yang, I think I'm good now."

It was Yang's turn to smile as she gently shoved her sister's shoulder before going back to her own bed. "Now remember, we've already won our first set of matches in the tournament, and me and Weiss are gonna kick the crap out of whoever we get put up against in the doubles."

"Right, better get some sleep then." Ruby chuckled quietly, watching as Yang climbed back into her bed before laying down flat on her back.

Ruby watched for a while longer before she turned onto her side, letting her eyes close as she attempted to get back to sleep. Always, she constantly reminded herself that Yang was right. Reaper was dead, and he wouldn't hurt anyone ever again.

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White Fang Outpost, Unknown Location

Adam watched as his Soldiers carried supply crates back and forth around the small fortification. The new beginning would soon be upon them, and his employer wanted to ensure that everything was in place. Whilst Adam showed no qualms with working with these humans, Sienna Khan, leader of the White Fang, only just tolerated his dealings with the 'human filth', a sentiment shared by some of the others within his own command it seemed.

Whilst he did question her bringing in Talon to work alongside them, all of her promises so far had been fulfilled. He had no doubt within his mind that she would also fulfil her other promises. He looked down as he slowly drew Wilt from its scabbard, watching as the blade glinted in the moonlight. It would taste human blood soon, but there was another treat he was planning to save for it. Blake was going to pay dearly for betraying him, and he didn't care how many of his own men he would have to send to their deaths in order to find her.

"Sir," a Deer Faunus suddenly spoke up, causing Adam to quickly sheath his weapon as he turned to face the Grunt. "Unidentified Bullhead approaching from the South, it's requesting to land."

"Let 'em in." Adam ordered, waving the Grunt away as he began to walk forward. "If it's a friendly, then good. If it's Atlas, even better."

The Grunt nodded as he turned to walk away, Adam close behind him. Many others had stopped as they too noticed the Bullhead, which was now making a beeline towards the grounds. Some Grunts had already armed themselves, aiming their rifles at the Bullhead. Even in the dark of the night, certain aspects of the hull of the vehicle were visible. It was pitch black, with red lights and accents spread out here and there. The vehicle itself was fairly big, large enough to hold at least twenty heavily armed troops. But the most noticeable feature was on the side of the Bullhead, a red 'T' on a grey shield.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Adam seethed under his breath, silently cursing as he gave the signal to stand down.

"Is it her, sir?" one of the Grunts whispered, his voice nearly drowned out by the sounds of the Bullhead's engines powering down.

"No." Adam muttered in response, watching as the side door of the Bullhead slowly began to open. "It's Talon."

The doors finally open, revealing the inside of the Bullhead, which was nearly as dark as the plating save for the red lights that lit up the inside of the transport. Adam could faintly make out the uniform of the men and women inside, the standard uniform of Talon operatives. But there was one amongst them that stood out, one that was now exiting the safety of the Bullhead and stepping out into the open.

Adam couldn't help but growl at the newcomer as he made a beeline for him. They wore a navy blue trench coat over black body armour and trousers, a belt of shotgun shells strapped around his waist with another belt holding a strip of navy blue cloth between his legs. Dark grey metal greaves and gauntlets covered his legs and arms respectively, with tassels dropping down from his coat down to his knees, two diamond shaped buckles dangling precariously from the ends. A hood covered the back of his head, with a black scarf around his neck, but the most notable features of his clothing were the mask and shoulder guards. His shoulders were grafted to look like bird skulls, with feathers dropping down from the beak to form a shroud of sorts, whilst the mask was also shaped like a bird skull that seemed to be giving a menacing leer at all he looked at, made more threatening by his blood red eyes glowing out of the sockets.

"Reaper..." Adam growled, stepping forward to greet the former Huntsman turned terrorist. "What are you doing here?"

"Our Bullhead needs fuel." Reaper quickly replied, his deep baritone voice echoing thanks to its ethereal quality.

Adam took one look at the Bullhead, huffing in obvious distaste at the vehicle. "Where are you going?"

"Our mutual friend is sending me on a mission up North, an important one." Reaper replied, pointing in the aforementioned direction. "I take it you didn't know."

"First I've ever heard of it." Adam quietly replied, a frown spreading across his face when he saw the pleased glint in Reaper's eyes.

"I suppose she only wanted to tell people she trusts," Reaper mocked, crossing his arms as he leaned back slightly, almost as if to show Adam how unimpressed he was. "Which is why she no doubt is sending us, someone she can rely on, to do the job."

"Right, because she must REALLY trust the man who led not only a failed attack on Beacon, but also got beaten by a little girl nonetheless." Adam taunted. It was his turn to smile now as Reaper's arms quickly dropped to his side as he clenched his fists tightly.

"You watch your tone with me boy!" Reaper hissed, pointing a clawed finger at Adam. "I've been killing people since before your whore of a mother bore you, so it would be wise to show some respect every now and then."

"Are you threatening me?" Adam quietly asked, his hand on Wilt, ready to draw it if need be.

"Perhaps I am." Reaper replied, his own hands already wrapping around the grips of his new twin shotguns, which also bore a raven motif.

The two quietly bore into one another with their eyes, daring the other to attack first. The White Fang around Adam slowly began to back away, whilst the Talon operatives in the Bullhead were just now beginning to take notice of the confrontation.

"Enough!" a voice quickly ordered, cutting through the tension like a knife through butter.

Both Adam and Reaper slowly turned towards the source of the noise, where a woman was stood. They wore a red dress with black heels, their near pitch black hair tied back in a ponytail, save for a crop of hair that covered the left eye. The clothing itself seemed to glow a faint orange colour, almost as if it were on fire. Her eyes were also the same colour, shimmering brightly even in the moonlight.

"Cinder..." Adam replied, letting Wilt slide back into its sheath as he stood to attention. "I didn't realise that you were accompanying them."

"I will not be staying with them for long, Taurus. I merely wished to speak with you and was aware that Talon would be sending a Bullhead near your camp." Cinder replied, brushing a stray strand of her hair back into place. "Now, be a doll and do as Reaper asked of you. It would be most appreciated by my employer if his task is accomplished, and if he is unable to because you refused to supply him fuel..."

Adam nodded at the thinly veiled threat, turning to face a group of Grunts that had sheathed their weapons. He snapped his fingers loudly and gestured to the Bullhead, the Grunts nodding quickly as they headed to the fuel lines.

"See? Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Cinder said, smiling seductively as she watched both Reaper and Adam glance at one another in obvious disgust.

"How much longer do we have to work with these dogs?!" Adam demanded, pointing in disgust at the Talon Bullhead.

"You think we're dogs?" Reaper laughed, shaking his head in obvious disdain at Adam. "Rich coming from the man who leads a pack of wild animals."

"You know, it's people like you who make me sick." Adam spat back, turning to face Reaper with a glare. "You're lucky that I don't just cut your throat!"

"You're welcome to try." Reaper retorted, sliding the tip of his claw like thumb across his neck. "Tougher men then you have tried. They're dead now, I'd be happy to introduce you to them."

"Silence!" Cinder shouted again, causing both to turn and face her. "I understand that you both hate one another, but you must stop bickering like a pair of children, or so help me I will smash your heads together so hard you'll hear the impact all the way from Vacuo and back! Am I understood?"

There was no immediate response from either terrorist, the only noise heard being the sound of the Grunts disconnecting the fuel line from the Bullhead.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear a response." Cinder chuckled in a menacing tone, before her eyes began to glow bright as an orb of flame hovered over her now raised palm. "Am I understood?"

Both Reaper and Adam glanced one another before turning to face Cinder and nodded once.

"I still can't quite hear you." Cinder repeated, her hand clenching slightly in preparation to throw the orb.

"Yes." both Reaper and Adam chorused loudly, loud enough for Cinder to hear.

"Good." Cinder replied softly, her hand dropping as both the flame in her eyes and the one hovering over her hand died down.

"I'd best get back and make sure we're on schedule." Adam spoke up, pointing behind him at the throng of troops who were still milling about.

"That would be wise." Cinder nodded, gesturing for Adam to take his leave.

The White Fang leader bowed once to Cinder before making his way to join his troops, disappearing out of sight shortly afterwards, leaving only Cinder and Reaper in the clearing.

"You had best get back to your mission Reaper." Cinder ordered, turning to face the terrorist slightly. "I trust you have everything you need?"

"Of course, but we need to talk." Reaper muttered, and judging by his voice, he was clearly unhappy.

"About what?" Cinder asked, arcing an eyebrow at the terrorist.

"About our deal." Reaper hissed venomously, stepping forward as he pointed at his chest with his thumb. "You said I would get to kill Ozpin if I agreed to help you, but now I've heard he's off limits!"

"Ah yes, I'm sorry about that Reaper, I'm afraid there is little I can do." Cinder lied. In truth her Mistress, Salem, did want Ozpin dead by any means necessary, but Cinder was going to make sure of it personally, not trust it to some deranged psychopath. "I can offer you a consolation reward if you so wish, and I swear that you will get it."

"Killing Ozpin has been all I've ever wanted, for as long as I can remember." Reaper seethed, cracking his knuckles loudly. "But as of recently, there is something else that will suffice."

"What is it?" Cinder asked, a smile gracing her features once more. "Money? Power? Perhaps even mortal delights?"

"None of those." Reaper replied with the shake of his head.

"Then what?" Cinder asked again, arcing in eyebrow in confusion. Reaper looked from side to side before stepping closer to Cinder, the beak of his mask nearly brushing past her ear.

"Ruby Rose." Reaper whispered to her, his voice filled with contempt. "I want to kill Ruby Rose."

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Vale, the next day…

The streets of Vale were nearly barren as the Vytal tournament continued. Many shops had closed shop, either to watch the tournament themselves, or knowing full well that no business was to be gained during this time of year. No only businesses that were open were the Bars and Cafés, which would show the tournament matches on a daily basis.

One of the most popular of these was the noodle bar known as 'Rikimaru', the fish like mascot eating a bowl of Ramen whilst flying a UFO famous across both Vale and beyond. As usual, the Bar was packed with customers, some already eating bowls of Ramen whilst others waited on their orders, with a single ageing man at the counter whilst younger waiters dashed around him, taking or serving orders.

A ringing noise echoed across the establishment as the door opened, revealing a Faunus with silver hair and wolf like ears, adorned in black and grey clothing and armour, a large Bastard Sword that seemed to double as a Bayonet strapped to his back, whilst in his hand was a large briefcase. He confidently stepped towards the ageing man behind the counter, sitting down on the stool behind the counter, gently placing the briefcase on the ground.

"Hey Silver." the man responded without a glance before turning to face the Faunus. "Haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been?"

"Oh you know, just earning me some top Lien." the Faunus, Silver, chuckled, as he leaned down to gently tap the top of the briefcase.

"I'll bet." the man chuckled in return, shaking his head slowly. "Usual then?"

"Yeah, that'd be swell." Silver replied with a nod, the ageing man turning to one of the waiters and snapping his fingers twice. The waiter nodded before turning towards the kitchen, with Silver nodding towards the TV in the corner of the room. "What have I missed?"

"You just missed both JNPR vs BRNZ and SSSN vs NDGO," the man replied, before turning to face the screen himself. "JNPR and SSSN won respectively and now I think they're checking if they've enough time for another match."

"I sure as hell hope so..." Silver muttered quietly as he scanned the occupants of the room. Most were citizens, along with a few Huntsmen and off duty Soldiers, nothing interesting. But then his eyes caught someone he didn't recognise, sat directly next to him no less.

They looked somewhat cybernetic in appearance, in fact, were it not for the fact they smelled human, he would have thought they were a new Atlas Knight model. Two swords were strapped to their back, a long Ōdachi blade strapped to their back whilst a smaller Wakizashi was strapped to his waist. He also took notice of the bowl of untouched Ramen in front of him, even despite the chopsticks in his hands.

"Hey," Silver whispered quietly to the bar man, nodding towards the stranger as he spoke. "Who's that?"

"Him?" the man replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly in response. "Don't know, started coming about a week ago. Orders a bowl of Ramen but never eats it, says it doesn't taste the same."

"Really?" Silver muttered back. "But you haven't changed the recipe in twenty years."

"I know, that's what I said." the man replied.

"All right, we've checked with the officials and we have enough time for one more round!" the voice of Professor Port, teacher at Beacon Academy and one of the commentators of the tournament, announced, resulting in numerous cheers from the audience, whilst those within Rikimaru watched with abated breath. "Shade Academy hasn't had a good day so far, but perhaps their luck will change in this final round of the day!"

"That's right Port!" the rapid voice of Dr Oobleck added, joint commentator for the festival. "Led by the deadly and efficient Emeriss Lockheart, Team EMBR have knocked all other competition out of the water!"

"But perhaps Haven will once again have the last laugh with this team." Port retorted, the cheering from supporters of Haven echoing loudly in the background. "Led by the plucky and courageous Lena Oxton, it's Team LLHM!"

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Well, that's that chapter done. It feels good to write again. So yes, I decided to give Reaper the Nevermore outfit this time because it is one of my favourite skins in the game. Can anyone guess who the other members of Tracer's team are? Would love to see your speculation. As always, if you liked it then feel free to leave a review and any questions, then just PM me or leave in the review.

Raging Archon out.