Ruby raised a hand to knock on the door, and hesitated. In an attempt to push down the anxiety that threatened to force her down the hall and back home, she took a deep breath. It didn't help. Her fingers tapped against the door, too quiet for anyone to hear. Embarrassed now, she gritted her teeth and knocked harder. She winced as the sound echoed down the empty corridor; she hadn't meant to knock that hard.

She fidgeted, hopping from one foot to the other, and wiped her hands on her shirt. Footsteps approached the door, and Ruby felt her heart in her mouth. A bolt clicked, the door opened, and Pyrrha looked down at her, blinking in surprise. She was dressed casually, in trousers and a shirt; her and Jaune's armour was visible behind her, hanging on a hook on the wall.

"Ruby…" She glanced over Ruby's head, checking down the corridor for anyone else. "What are you doing here?" As she looked back down at Ruby, a clearly forced smile appeared on her face. Ruby winced slightly as she saw it.

"I… uh…" Ruby scratched her cheek awkwardly. "I wanted to talk to you. And Jaune. I wanted to… apologise."

Pyrrha's expression turned into one of surprise. She raised an eyebrow for a moment, then stepped aside, gesturing with a wave of her hand for Ruby to enter.

As she crossed the threshold, Ruby was struck with a sense of nostalgia. She remembered the day Jaune and Pyrrha had moved in here; her and Weiss had come along to help them out. The four of them had spent the day lugging boxes around, unpacking, talking, and laughing. Weiss left a week later, and Ruby hadn't set foot in the apartment since.

It was simple, but welcoming. Two sets of armour hung on the wall directly across from the door, along with weapons and shields. There was a door in the same wall that led into a guest bedroom—Nora often used it when Ren was away—and a hallway down to the main living area, as well as Pyrrha and Jaune's master bedroom. The walls were a plain white, and the floor was a dark carpet. All in all, simple.

Pyrrha stepped around Ruby after shutting the door and led the way down the hallway. "Put some clothes on, hun!" she called out, shooting a glance at Ruby. "We've got a guest!"

There was a clatter, hurried footsteps, and the sound of a plate spinning around, almost tipping over. Ruby couldn't help but smile. Jaune never changed; whether they were out on a mission, at home, at a meeting, he always had the same cheerful, clumsy demeanour.

The plate was still spinning when they entered the living area. A kitchen and raised counter on the left, a door to the master bedroom on the right, and a lounge area at the back. Pyrrha stepped around the counter and stopped it with a hand before clearing up the remains of Jaune's breakfast. Ruby heard a rustling to her right, but kept her gaze averted.

After a minute or so of awkward silence between the Huntresses, Jaune emerged from the bedroom, patting down a stubborn lock of hair. He froze when he saw Ruby, glanced at Pyrrha, then back at Ruby, shook his head as if to clear it, looked at Ruby again, and then sat down on a stool next to the counter.

A moment later, he looked up at Pyrrha and whispered something. The Huntress smiled, nodded, and turned to the refrigerator. She pulled out a jug of chilled water, grabbed a glass from a drawer, and poured Jaune a glass of water. He took the glass, thanking her, and drained it in one go. The glass rang as he set it back on the counter and turned to Ruby.

"Hey, Ruby!" he said, with his composure restored. "What're you doing here?"

Ruby gave him a wry smile as he shot another nervous glance at Pyrrha. "I just came to talk to you two. I wanted to clear the air—to apologise."

Jaune furrowed his brow. "Apologise?"

"Yeah, I…" Ruby reached out for the words, but couldn't grasp them. She knew what she wanted to say, in general terms, but there didn't seem to be any words to convey it.

"How about we do this in the lounge?" Pyrrha suggested. Ruby gave her a grateful smile, one which quickly faded when she saw the bland, expressionless face that Pyrrha wore. The tall, red-haired Huntress turned away. "I'll put on some tea."

Jaune got his feet in a hurry. "I can do it!" he insisted. Pyrrha leaned in close and whispered a few words—Ruby could guess what they were—and he backed down. He waved for Ruby to follow him and led the way into the lounge area, where he flopped down on one of the two long lounge chairs.

Ruby waited a moment, then gently lowered herself into the other one. Jaune looked over at Pyrrha, watching his wife's progress, while pointedly avoiding looking at Ruby. It hurt in its own way, but Ruby was a little grateful for it. It gave her the chance to collect her thoughts and confirm that she had no clever, articulate way of saying what she wanted to say.

A couple of minutes later, the clinking of ceramic reached her ears, and she sighed. Time was up and she still had nothing. Pyrrha sat next to Jaune, carrying a small tray with three steaming mugs.

Jaune took one, mumbling his thanks, and took a small sip. As Pyrrha set the tray atop a small table in the middle of the room, Ruby took one for herself. In an attempt to buy herself a few more seconds, she took a sip of tea and winced as it burned her tongue.

"Careful," Pyrrha said, a moment too late. "It's hot."

Ruby gave her a pained smile and set the mug back on the tray. As she sat back, both Jaune and Pyrrha focussed on her, clearly waiting for her to speak.

To hell with it, then, Ruby thought with another sigh. I'll muddle my way through.

"I uh…" Good start, Ruby "I wanted to apologise to the both of you—particularly you, Pyrrha—for my… behaviour over the last year." Jaune looked at her in surprise; Pyrrha didn't react at all. "I've been a brat," Ruby continued. "A total brat. When…" She swallowed down a lump that threatened to form in her throat. "When Weiss left, I just broke down. And I know it caused a lot of problems between you two. And I… I wanted to say I'm sorry for that, and that I appreciate everything that you did for me then—it really helped. But mostly that I'm sorry."

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, who let out a long sigh, and turned back. "Look, Ruby…" he began.

"I know about you two fighting," Ruby cut in. "I know I've been screwing things up between you two. I kept taking Jaune away with me while I was… being stupid, and I know that upset you, Pyrrha. Ren told me all about it.

"I've made life harder for everyone over the last year, and now I want to make up for that. I just hope that you two can forgive me, and that you can stop fighting over this. I promise that I'll be okay from now on; you don't have to worry about the same thing happening again."

Pyrrha took a long sip from her cup, sighing again once she lowered it. Ruby swallowed nervously as Pyrrha set her cup on the tray and got to her feet. The Huntress stepped across the room and stood over Ruby, who did her best to sink back into the cushion. Pyrrha put both hands on Ruby's quivering shoulders and locked eyes with her.

"You idiot," she whispered. Then she pulled Ruby close. Her slender, yet muscled, arms wrapped around Ruby, leaving her stunned. She'd run through as many different outcomes as she could think of on the way here, but this one had never entered her mind.

"Wh-what?" Ruby stammered, lost for words. Pyrrha squeezed her, and Ruby took it as a cue to hug the Huntress back. She shot a glance at Jaune, who was sitting back, cradling his tea in both hands, and smiling.

"What?" she asked again.

Pyrrha pulled away, hands still on Ruby's shoulders, and gave her a small smile. "Of course we forgive you."

Ruby gaped. "B-But… I thought you were mad at me. I thought you two were fighting…"

Pyrrha shrugged. "Yeah. I was, for a while, and we were, for a while. But we got through it. Jaune spoke very convincingly on your behalf…" They both looked at Jaune, who waved. "Honestly," Pyrrha added, patting Ruby on the shoulder, "it made me a little jealous."

Ruby was at a loss for words. She tried; she strained to find something to say. But she couldn't think of anything.

"Relax," Pyrrha said in a comforting voice. "Yes, I will admit that I got upset with you—and Jaune—for a while about it. I never got any time with him, and whenever he went with you, he was going into danger. But we talked about it—well, we've been talking about it for a while—and we sorted it out a week or so ago. We just didn't get a chance to talk to you about it until now."

Ruby looked back and forth between the two of them, trembling. She wasn't sure if she was the one trembling so much, or if her scroll was vibrating at her belt. A smile broke out on her face and she threw herself at Pyrrha, squeezing the Huntress as tightly as she could.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Pyrrha chuckled. "We're your friends, Ruby. After all we've been through, you can't have thought we'd be that mad at you forever."

Ruby fought back a sob and felt Pyrrha squeeze her. Another hand rested on her shoulder; Jaune had decided to join them. Ruby felt her scroll vibrate—definitely her scroll this time—but she ignored it. Nothing was going to interrupt this moment.

After a few minutes, they pulled apart. They all retook their seats and picked up their mugs of tea. The atmosphere—that had felt so tense to Ruby before—was friendly, and comforting. Ruby and Pyrrha had never really been close—Weiss had always been closer to her, while Ruby spent her time with Jaune—but being able to enjoy a cup of tea with the two of them again—like old times—brought her a sense of peace that she hadn't felt in… almost a year. As Jaune began to prattle on about something unrelated—he'd always been quick to steer people away from awkward situations—Ruby looked to her left. The seat was empty, but Ruby could almost feel Weiss sitting there, in her usual spot, rolling her eyes at Jaune and sharing knowing smiles with Pyrrha. A sad smile worked its way across Ruby's face, and she took a sip of her tea—now cooled to a drinkable temperature—to buy herself a few seconds to compose herself.

As she lowered the mug, Pyrrha's scroll the rang on the kitchen counter. She got up, patted Ruby on the shoulder as she passed, and picked it up. "Hey, Blake! Funny hearing from you this morning…"

Ruby tuned Pyrrha out as Jaune leaned in. "Look, sorry about all that," he said. "We really did sort it out a little while ago."

Ruby waved away his apologies. "All's well that ends well. Don't worry about it."

He gave a look—with both eyebrows raised—that seemed to ask if she was certain.

"It's fine, Jaune. Really. Still, I'm sorry for what I did to you guys…"

This time it was Jaune's turn to wave her away. "Hey, I was never upset with you about it. I was happy to help. Pyrrha just got a little jealous, I guess. Fancy that, huh? Anyway, we talked it out. We're good. Right?"

Ruby nodded. "Right. Back to friends."

Jaune shot her a grin. "Hey, when did we ever stop?"

They shared a laugh, but it was cut short when Pyrrha strode back into the lounge area, scroll pressed to her ear, and a serious expression on her face. Jaune half got out of his chair, calling out to her quietly, but she waved him away.

"Are you sure, Blake?"

There was a moment of silence.

"No, no. Of course. I get it. Better to be safe than sorry… Yeah… Yeah, I'll let them know… Alright. I'll text you with the details once we're ready to leave."

They both watched Pyrrha as she ended the call and slumped down next to Jaune.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune's voice trembled as he said her name. "What's wrong?"

The Huntress wiped a hand down her face and took a deep breath. "There's going to be an attack on Vale today."

Ruby and Jaune were on their feet in an instant.

"What!?" they yelled in unison.

Pyrrha looked up at them. "Blake and Ren found a member of the Black Talon in the city. He was apparently planning on defecting from the group and gave them some intel on an attack planned for later this afternoon." Ruby and Jaune gaped at her. All Pyrrha did was nod at the unspoken question. "They seemed fairly sure. So it's worth looking into."

Jaune shook his head in disbelief, then dropped back into his seat. "So… what's the plan, then?"

Pyrrha gave him a small smile. "We had a bit of luck there. Apparently the Talon has stored a large cache of Dust in the sewers not far from here. They want us to go down and check it out. And see if we can't do something about it."

Ruby pursed her lips. "'Us' as in…?"

"Jaune and I," Pyrrha replied, looking up at her. "But Blake said that you can come with us, or head to Beacon and ready the defences there."

It was a tough choice. Beacon was where troops could be coordinated and sent to where they needed to be… but finding the Dust was just as—if not more—important. She reached out to touch Crescent Rose as she thought, and then swore under her breath.

"I'll head to Beacon," she said.

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah… I left Crescent Rose at the apartment; I'll need to go back home before I head to Beacon. I don't want to slow you guys down."

They both nodded. Pyrrha's scroll beeped, and she opened the device, as well as the message she'd just received. A holographic map of Vale appeared in the air above the scroll, with a pulsing orange mark in the residential area of the city.

"So that's where the manhole is that'll lead us to the cache," Pyrrha said.

Jaune leaned in, his face serious. "No mark for the actual cache?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Their informant didn't know the exact location."

"Damn… I guess we'll have to go hunting then. At least it's just around the corner."

"Yeah," Pyrrha said with another smile. "Nice to have one bit of good luck."

Jaune nodded without a smile, then got to his feet and headed to the door. Pyrrha followed him and, a moment later, Ruby heard the clanking of armour as the two suited up for their mission. She let out a sigh. Of all the days to leave her scythe behind. She got to her feet and met them at the door just as they finished.

"I'm gonna head out," she said. "Better get to work, huh?" They both nodded. "Well… good luck, you guys."

"Thanks," they both said. Pyrrha stepped close and gave Ruby a quick hug. Jaune patted her on the shoulder. Both gestures were more than she'd expected to get from the two again, and brought a smile to her face. With a final nod of farewell, Ruby left.

The corridor outside, and the rest of the building on her walk out, seemed eerily quiet. Ruby had to remind herself that not everyone knew about the possible attack. The ordinary citizens of Vale were still enjoying their uninterrupted, normal lives.

Ruby broke into a run as she came out onto the street. She felt compelled to do all she could to make sure that the peace the citizens were experiencing went unbroken. She was a Huntress after all.

By the time she made it home, she was breathing in ragged gasps. It was a long run, even for her, and Ruby was glad she could ride an elevator to the top floor of her building. The thought of climbing the stairs made her head spin.

The ride to the top gave her time to catch her breath—partially—and she jogged down the hall to her apartment. Crescent Rose was hanging on a rack just inside the door. Ruby grabbed it, swung it onto its place at her belt, and glanced around the room. Yang had left, apparently; no one was home. Probably headed to Beacon, she reasoned. Blake would definitely have called Yang first.

Ruby locked the door behind her and hurried back out onto the street. As she stepped outside, she froze. She didn't have a car, and Beacon was an even longer run away. She'd never make it on foot and still be in fighting shape. She looked down both ends of the street, searching for a cab, then, just as she let out a resigned sigh, the ground began to shake.

In an instant, Ruby widened her stance and bent her knees. Another earthquake? But she was quick to realise it wasn't; the trembling faded away within a second, and, as Ruby looked around, she spotted a cloud of dust rising over the southern wall of Vale.

She swore under her breath and glanced around again for a cab. Then, with another sigh, she took off at a jog towards the wall. The spot where the dust was rising was closer than Beacon, and someone would need to check it out. If it was a Grimm attack, then it needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. She didn't want to be dealing with Grimm as well as the Black Talon. There would be one less Huntress at Beacon, but it still needed to be done.

The people she ran past seemed concerned now. They didn't know what was happening, but it didn't look good. And all they knew about was the tremor and the dust cloud. Ruby tried to calm a few down as she hurried along, but getting to the wall was her main priority.

Gasping for breath once more, Ruby finally reached the base of the wall. A ladder stretched up above her, reaching all the way to the top. Sucking in a breath, Ruby started the long climb. She thought back to the time Yang had fired her, Blake and Weiss to the top of the wall from a rooftop and smiled. They still hadn't devised a faster method of getting to the top of the wall; Yang had everyone beat.

After what felt like far too long, Ruby clambered onto the walkway at the top of the wall. Guards were scurrying back and forth and, now that she'd reached the top of the wall, she could hear gunshots and shouts of alarm. Things definitely weren't good.

Ruby grabbed the arm of a passing officer. "What's going on?" she asked.

The man didn't question her; no one but a Huntress would climb the wall during an attack. "The Grimm, Ma'am. They seem to be… trying to break through the wall." When Ruby didn't reply, he scurried off.

Break through the wall? she thought as she followed him. There's no way they could; they should know that.

But, sure enough, when she reached the section of the wall where a group of guards were firing over the wall, there was a pack of Ursae clawing at the wall. Ruby almost chuckled. They'd never get anywhere like that. It was a moment later that she saw what had the guards concerned. The Ursae seemed to be hiding from their fire, using the armoured carapaces of Deathstalkers as cover. The Grimm were coordinating. Ruby had never seen that, at least, not amongst Grimm of different species. Packs of Beowolves might work together, but she'd never seen different Grimm working together for anything. What the hell was going on?

There were a couple of corpses, laying around a smoking crater in the ground where the guards had clearly fired a heavy, explosive weapon—probably causing the tremor she'd felt earlier as well—but other than that, there were no other dead Grimm.

"Quite a mess, huh?"

Ruby looked up at the speaker and smiled. "Hey, Coco. Fancy seeing you here."

Coco pushed her sunglasses up. "Blowing up monsters from the top of the wall? You kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world."

The Huntress hadn't changed much over the years. She still wore her black beret and sunglasses, wore the usual black and brown outfit, and carried her 'briefcase' in one hand.

"You here to join us for a bit of fun, Ruby?" The Huntress grinned, and Ruby couldn't help but smile. Coco had always been as eager for a fight as Yang.

"Yeah, I thought I'd help out."

Coco patted Ruby on the back. "Alright then, let's get this party started." She turned towards the guards, who still seemed to be working out what to do. "Get out the big toys, fellas! If they're gonna stand down there and look ugly, then we'll use them for a bit of target practice." The guards saluted, and a few hurried towards the nearest tower. There were towers built along the wall at intervals, each housing bunks for guards on break, or weapons in case of an attack.

Coco turned her attention back to the monsters below. "You ready, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded. "When you are."

"Alright then… Let's have us some fun."