Dear Potential Reader:

First, please know that the characters appearing and referenced in this tale are not mine. This story is not intended to generate profit; I wrote it for the enjoyment of writing and, hopefully, for your enjoyment in reading.

This is a follow up to my earlier tale, "Sisters Grow Up". This tale will stay close to RWBY canon up to and including the 4th Volume, 8th Episode. This is not associated with my crossover story, "To Find Your Way Home".

These things said, please enjoy:

"Hey mom," Ruby Rose spoke to the white stone marker overlooking the valley. "I can't stay for very long and it might be awhile before I can visit again. I've already told you about everything that happened at Beacon and Vale. It looks like whomever did it might be heading to Haven next, so we're going to go there and see if we can help."

"Yang's still...not well," she continued. "I don't think I can help. Her arm has healed up as much as it will, but she doesn't want to do anything to make herself better. She won't study or work out, she just watches the news and does the chores that dad gives her."

"Oh, by we, I mean team JNPR, or what's left of it," her voice reflected the sadness of her loss. "They were...Pyrrha's teammates. When I let Jaune know what I was going to do, all three of them jumped at the chance to come with me, so I'm not going alone. Jaune's a good guy and he's really improved. Ren and Nora are really good fighters and I think they came from Anima, so that should be a big help."

"Dad is...well...dad's doing about as well as he can. He's trying to help Yang but I really think she's going to have to come back a little bit herself before he can pull her the rest of the way. He doesn't spend any time with the other teachers after work, he just comes straight home so that he's close to his girls. I know that I'm going to hurt him even more by leaving but I have to. Nobody seems to care that another kingdom is about to come under attack! All the news talks about are the evacuation, the grimm on Beacon Tower and the tensions between Atlas and Vale. There's almost nothing about Vacuo except the cost and supply of dust! There's even less about Mistral! If it's the same in Atlas, Vacuo and Mistral, if everyone is only worried about themselves and won't help each other, what chance do we have?"

"That's why I'm going," she admitted. Her voice was quiet but firm. "If I just stay here and wait for trouble to come to me, it will be too much for me when it gets here. If we all just look to ourselves, Cinder will pick us off, one by one. Maybe that's why you left on your last mission. Maybe you knew you were protecting me by going out and finding trouble where it was at, rather than waiting for it to find you."

"The team's ready to go and we have a ship to catch," she sighed. "I guess that's another lesson I'm going to have to learn. The road doesn't wait for anyone. I'm still upset that you left us, but maybe some time living the life will teach me why you did. When I get back, maybe I'll understand a little more. Wish me luck mom. Goodbye."

With that, the teenager turned and walked away, joining the three teens who were waiting, just out of earshot.

Conversation 2

A young, blonde man, a young woman with a hood covering her head and a dog stopped at the edge of the woods. After sharing a nod, the young man leaned against a tree and pulled out a journal while the dog settled down for nap. The man started to write while the young woman left the woods and approached the stone marker near the edge of a cliff.

"Hey mom," the woman pulled her hood from her head, revealing brunette hair that faded to red at the ends. The hair on the right side of her head was much shorter than that on her left. "It took me longer than I thought it would to visit again, but better late than never, don't you think?"

Ruby paused a moment before continuing, "I never realized how fast time could go by or how big the world is." She shook her head. "Foolish little girl, I thought we would spend a few weeks on the road, reach Mistral and Haven, clobber the bad guys and be home in time to help attend Beacon in the fall. Instead, it took over a year. Stupid, stupid little girl."

She stood in silence for several minutes, just listening to the wind blow through the new, spring leaves.

"I didn't realize that the bad guys don't always tell you that they're the bad guys," she finally admitted. "You think I would have learned after meeting Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. The good guys aren't always what you expect, either. I should have learned that by growing up around Uncle Qrow. I guess I need to learn some lessons over and over again."

She paused again.

"You could say we won this round," she continued, after gathering her thoughts. "Haven didn't fall, but it and Mistral took an awful lot of damage. There were a lot of people killed and even more hurt. We lost some friends, as well."

Now, she sobbed for a little while, remembering the losses.

"You never met Neptune. He flirted with every girl he met...up until they flirted back and then he would get scared off. At the end, he decided to take the hit instead of Weiss. Adam Taurus was too much for him, but Weiss is still around because he tried. Team RWBY came together and took out Adam, but Blake and Yang were hurt pretty bad. Still, they'll both heal, eventually. Adam came pretty close to finishing me, as well." Ruby unconsciously ran her hand through the very short hair on the right side of her head.

"Team SSSN also lost Sage," she took a deep breath. "I didn't know him very well but when Beacon was attacked, he was in there fighting for us. A lot of people in Vale and in Mistral are still around because he didn't walk away from a fight. Sun and Scarlet left for Vacuo. Sun wanted to make sure that his home wouldn't be next and Scarlet wasn't about to let his last teammate go somewhere by himself. I think the memories of Haven were too fresh for the two and they needed a change of scenery."

"Team RWBY didn't stay together," Ruby continued. "Weiss and her sister were going to try to get back to Atlas, something about not letting the Schnee Dust Company fall into the hands of someone called Whitley. I don't know who he is, the Schnee sisters wouldn't talk much, but they used the term 'toady' an awful lot."

"Yang and Blake are still in Mistral," she sighed. "They're helping Blake's father try to convince the White Fang that killing people isn't the way to get what they want. Now there's some sort of civil war going on in the White Fang. I guess that's better than having the whole bunch on our enemy's side but I wish the hating and fighting would just stop. There's enough of that in the world."

"Speaking of fighting, there's a lot of it still going on in Mistral. General Ironwood brought his army when the fighting started. They were a big help when the grim and the White Fang attacked, but Ironwood didn't pull his army out when the fighting was done. He's brought order, but the folks in Mistral don't much like it. When we left, they were asking what the point was of winning a war if you still wind up having to do what someone else tells you. Uncle Qrow said that Jimmy was a good man who didn't realize he had overstayed his welcome. We took the hint and all of us came back to Vale. I hope General Ironwood figures it out before too much longer."

"We left Ren and Nora back at Beacon," she continued. "They're helping to rebuild. I'm going back there in a couple of days. I just...wanted to talk and to see home again. Jaune came with me." Ruby chuckled a little. "You would think that after all the time on the road, after all the fighting and the terrible things we've seen, I would be fine coming to Patch by myself. Somehow, the time on the road made me realize how precious friends are. I didn't want to come alone and Jaune didn't want me to be by myself, so he's waiting back in the forest with Zwei, giving us some time to ourselves."

"Dad's off on the road somewhere," she told the stone. "You see, Uncle Qrow...well...he got hurt really bad and he isn't up to doing what he used to, so dad stepped in. I hope he's okay. Now I can understand how he must have felt when I left, only leaving a letter behind. The house seems so empty with dad and Yang gone. If Jaune wasn't in the guest room, I think it would creep me out. It really makes me sad, realizing that it's going to be empty when we leave."

"Don't worry about Zwei, though," now Ruby was able to smile with no sadness in her expression. "We're going to visit Jaune's parents before we go back to Beacon. They're down to two daughters left at home, so they're feeling the empty nest. They were happy to take in Zwei while we're off doing...other work."

"Well, there's not much time," Ruby concluded. "We have another ship to catch. At least this time, I'm not heading off to a fight. We just want Jaune's parents to see that he's fine and that he's really come a long way. I promise to visit again soon. It was good to talk."

Ruby pulled her hood up as she approached the woods. She exchanged no words with Jaune; none were needed. Both adjusted their stride slightly, matching each others pace as they strode off, leaving the stone on the lonely cliff behind them.

Conversation 3

"Hey mom," Ruby pulled the hood from her head as she addressed the marker. Red and golden leaves drifted past her on the gentle breeze, blown from the woods where three young adults waited for her.

"It's time for me to go again," she explained. "Sorry I haven't visited since we got back from Mistral, but we were so busy helping to rebuild Beacon, fighting the grimm that were still showing up and taking some classes that, well, it was hard to find time to leave."

"Anyway, we've heard from dad and he thinks that Salem is going to move on Shade next, so it's off to Vacuo. It's funny, when I was a little girl I dreamed of running off at a moment's notice to fight the bad guys anywhere in the world. Now that I'm actually doing it, it isn't as much fun. I guess I'm growing up a little bit."

"Since we have a few minutes, I guess I ought to let you know what's been happening in Beacon. There's some good and some bad, but it's mostly good. I'll get the bad part out of the way first. It turns out that Cardin Winchester was an informant for Salem. He acted like he was trying to help rebuild Beacon but he was really snooping around and trying to find the relic. The joke was on him, because Uncle Qrow had moved it off of the campus. The good news is that Qrow set a trap and Cardin got caught. We brought him down! Well, Ren didn't let the rest of us get involved. It was Cardin and Jaune, one-on-one, and Jaune put him on the ground. All of team CRDL is in prison right now. I don't know how much Cardin dragged them along with him or how much they were all spies, but at least they're not causing any more harm. I thought that they were just a bunch of jerks."

"The big news is that we got the giant grimm off the side of the tower!" Ruby's voice showed her excitement. "It took a lot of work but in the end it was Nora's hammer, Yatsuhashi's sword and a whole lot of cooking spray from the kitchens that really did it. It didn't dissolve before it hit the ground, so Glynda had a lot of work to do afterwards. The grimm are no longer swarming Beacon but the CCT system isn't up yet. General Ironwood won't allow Atlas Technicians to come to Vale to get the tower on line unless he can send soldiers to guarantee their safety and the Vale council doesn't trust Atlas enough to let in the soldiers come to Vale. Considering how long it took General Ironwood to pull the Atlesian Military out of Mistral, I can't really blame anyone for not trusting him."

"A boy named Oscar showed up and took over as headmaster. I know it sounds silly but Glynda, Professor Port, Doctor Oobleck and Uncle Qrow all said he should be there. It's weird, the boy knows things that he just shouldn't, that only Headmaster Ozpin should know. I guess that's something I may learn later, whether I want to learn it or not."

"I got a letter from Yang. She says that she and Blake are going to try to get back to Beacon for the Spring Semester. I don't know if I'll be back by then. The last mission taught me that a mission will take as long as it takes, not as long as you want it to. I don't know how the teams will work out if we're all back at the same time. I've been part of Team RNJR for so long now that I want to stay with them. But that's a worry for another time."

"Uncle Qrow is back teaching at Signal. He's better, but he isn't up to doing the scouting work that he used to. He's staying at our house and taking care of Zwei, so at least the place isn't empty, even if our dog would rather have more people around. I've been thinking of mailing him to Weiss; I mean Zwei, not Qrow. Speaking of Weiss, I heard that there was some big shakeup at the Schnee Dust Company. Her father was caught doing a few illegal things and has been arrested. I guess Weiss is in charge until her little brother is old enough for the job. It seems that he's the Whitley guy we had heard about back in Mistral. I sure hope that Weiss can straighten out the company, there's a lot of hate between humans and faunas right now and the Schnee Dust Company seems to be in the middle of it."

"Anyway, that's what's happening with me. "I'll talk to you when we get back. Right now, Team RNJR is on the move again. Wish me luck...wish us all luck. I miss you."

Ruby turned and walked back to the path through the woods, stepping without thought into the gap between Jaune and Nora that the other three made, also without thinking about it. Soon, they were gone from view, screened by the trees and the clouds of leaves that fell, signaling the end of another summer.

Conversation 4

Snow crunched underfoot, a wordless testimony to how cold the winter day was. Ruby and Jaune left the woods and struggled through the deep snow until they reached the point that Ruby was sure she was used to standing when she spoke to her mother. Jaune expanded his shield and used it as a shovel, clearing snow until the device clicked on stone hidden under the white blanket. He stepped back and allowed his companion to clear the snow away from the stone marker. They shared a short nod and Ruby reached up to touch his face in thanks before he walked back to the woods, giving her some privacy.

"Hey, mom," she sighed. "I know it's been over a year but we were busy. I might as well come out and say the important thing, we saved Shade but there was almost a war when we were done. Anyway, first things first. I don't think we would have won if Emerald hadn't changed sides. I guess she finally found out what Salem was planning on doing and decided she couldn't be part of it any more. We still almost lost, because nobody believed her at first."

Ruby took a deep breath before continuing. "For the longest time, I thought that all I would have to do to solve any problem was find the bad guy and beat him. When I went to Mistral, I learned that the bad guy didn't always seem to be a bad guy. In Vacuo, I learned that you can't solve all problems just be beating someone. There's a lot of people in this world that hold grudges over some real wrongs, but they hold them to the point that it makes things worse now. I'm one of those people; I was so angry at Emerald for tricking me back in Beacon that I wouldn't believe her when she told me what Salem was doing. I wouldn't believe her even when I could see what was happening! If it wasn't for dad being there, we could have..."

It took Ruby a few minutes to regain her composure, "Well, we didn't lose. Cooler heads than mine realized what was happening and managed to do the right thing. I have to hand it to dad; while he's a great fighter the greatest thing he did was prevent a fight from getting out of hand. I wasn't there, but I guess he managed to make the last of the White Fang that aren't following Ghira realize that they were being used by Salem and would fall to the grimm, eventually."

"Oh! Ghira is Blake's father and has become a spokesman for faunas all over Remnant," Ruby pointed out. "He and dad get along very well. Anyway, Salem sent Cinder and her bunch to create a war between the White Fang and the people of Vacuo, then she was going to send in the grimm to eliminate any survivors and cut the supply of dust to the rest of Remnant. The battle actually started but it came to an end when Ghira and dad refused to kill Sienna Khan. I guess the battle didn't end right then, but it slowed down enough that when the grimm showed up, everyone acted in their own interest and banded up against them."

"I didn't see it because we went after Cinder," Ruby continued. "We took out Mercury and Cinder. To be honest, I think Cinder wanted us to beat her. Somehow, she just didn't seem to have her heart in it when we fought her, but she was still very powerful." Ruby absently rubbed her right forearm, which supported extensive burn scarring.

"So, that means that there's a new Fall Maiden," Ruby smiled. "Guess what? It's not me! It's Nora! Apparently, Nora made quite an impression on Cinder during the fight!"

Ruby's expression dropped and became somber, "Cinder...well, Jaune finished her by stabbing her with the pointed bottom of his shield. She said something about destiny and then you could see the power burst out of her and fly into Nora."

"The headmasters are a little shook up about that situation," Ruby's smile returned. "General Ironwood is the most shook up! He expects the Seasonal Maidens to live lives of dignified solitude. That isn't going to happen with Nora! There's no way she's living in isolation; she's a people person and besides, wherever she goes, Ren goes, no negotiation on that! As for dignity..."

"A lot of people don't think she's very smart, because she's so enthusiastic," Ruby's smile now became gentle. "That's not the case. She just doesn't see any sense in not being excited about what she's doing. Anyway, dad thinks it's great that we now have an enthusiastic Fall Maiden who wants to help people. Ren's with her and he always seems to know when trouble is coming, so catching her by surprise isn't going to be easy."

"As for what's next," she continued. "Jaune and I are going to head back to Beacon and take some more classes. We still have a lot to learn. Oh, we're very good fighters but there's a whole lot more to this world than beating someone who doesn't think the same way that you do. I know that there's times that you have to fight, but there's also times when it doesn't solve things. We're hoping to get better at being able to tell the two times apart."

"One last thing," Ruby's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's not important in the grand scheme of things, but it's important to me. Jaune and I are together now. I mean...together...together. I guess I should have realized how we felt about each other before but we were traveling back to Vale and we stopped in this town for the night and they were having a big dance and the whole village was there and I was dancing with a cute boy and it didn't feel right and I looked over and saw Jaune dancing with a tall, pretty blonde girl and he didn't look comfortable and..."

"Let's just say that we felt a lot better dancing with each other," she said, after pausing for breath. "The next thing I knew, the two of us were outside the town hall, sitting on a shop's steps and talking about how we felt about each other. It was lucky that we were on some stairs, because he's quite a bit taller than me and it put our faces at the same level. When it came time to kiss each other, it wasn't awkward."

"I don't need to fill you in on the rest," she told her mother, in a firm voice. "We'll just have to see where this takes us. I will say that it feels right when I'm with him."

"It's time to go," she said, somewhat regretfully. "Talk to you soon."

Ruby returned to the woods, and to the young man waiting for her, by using the same path she and Jaune had broken earlier. Once she reached her partner, he lifted one edge of the large cloak he wore against the cold, allowing the smaller partner to tuck in underneath it with him. The two made their way through the winter woods, as a slightly warmer breeze, bearing a hint of the spring to come, sighed gently through the bare branches.

Conversation 5

"Hey mom," Ruby addressed the stone marker. Behind her, the verdant green woods provided a contrasting background for her red-clad figure. "I know I promised to talk soon, but we got called on a sudden mission to the southeast corner of Anima and I didn't have time to stop by. Jaune and I got back last night, just in time to celebrate dad's birthday. Yang, dad and Uncle Qrow are all sleeping off their hangovers and Jaune's sleeping off...something else." There was a slight blush on Ruby's cheeks as she provided the last bit of information.

"I guess the news is good, or at least as good as it can be," she continued. "We finally tracked down Salem and boy, was she ever creepy! It's a good thing that Team RJNR was all there, because we needed the Fall Maiden's power to win."

"Of course, I don't know if I can call it a win," Ruby admitted, her tone and expression growing wistful. "The spirit that drove her is eternal, just like the Seasonal Maidens' and Ozpin's, even if the body is mortal and frail. We won, for now, but somewhere, Salem's spirit will find another host and the cycle may start all over again; if we aren't careful."

"Mankind is more powerful than the grimm," Ruby continued, in a firm voice. "But we have to be willing to work together, or at least not be at each others' throats. If we're fighting each other, the grimm will overwhelm us. General Ironwood was at the fight and he seems to understand this now. He sent technicians to get Beacon Tower back on line and he made an agreement with Ghira to set up another CCT tower on Menagerie. Weiss seems to have the Schnee Dust Company in order, and treating all of it's employees properly, so at least that grudge is starting to fade. Still, there's a lot of hate that hasn't gone away yet; too many people who would rather remember the bitterness of the past than try to build something better."

"I accepted Emerald's apologies," Ruby told her mother. "I realized that I couldn't really criticize people for not letting go of their hate if I wasn't willing to let go of mine. I don't trust her, but I can at least deal with her. The same goes for Cardin and his team. Maybe it's a start. Maybe, the next time Salem tries to build up her power and turn people against each other, it won't work. Maybe we'll realize what's going on and work together to stop it."

"Maybe."

"Jaune and I are buying a place here on Patch," she continued. "So now we have an actual base of operations. In a year or so, we're going to see about getting another set of feet running around the place. We'll tell dad this afternoon. I don't know if he'll be happy or upset about how fast things seem to be moving but I owe it to him to tell him. Knowing dad, it will probably be both at the same time. I know that we may be young but we've seen so much destruction, so much violence, we've had to kill so many times that we just want to create a life where there wasn't one before. We want to shape and nourish a life, rather than take lives away."

"Uncle Qrow once told us the story of how two gods created humanity and gave us the choice to either destroy or create," she concluded. "The last five years have seen some very rough times but we seem to be through the worst. The world seems to be ready to talk rather than fight. The world seems to be ready to build rather than destroy. I guess Jaune and I have seen enough destruction and would like to see what we've been fighting for."

"So long, mom," Ruby's tone and expression were hopeful. "I'm going to live here soon, so I should be able to visit you much more often. With any luck and before too much longer, I'll bring someone to visit grandma."

Ruby turned and strode off through the green woodland, savoring the vibrant and live sounds and smells around her.

Thanks to Joe Stoppinghem for beta reading.