It should've just been another night in Beacon, right? The full moon was shining down upon the grounds, in it's unbroken state. Teenagers were partying and enjoying themselves, as well as one another's company. There was nary a cloud in the midnight sky, and all seemed peaceful. And yet the scent of rust and death hung heavy over the forest.

The source was likely the huntress who had recently just become a bloody pulp, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Arms hung across the sides and chest, as though protecting her just before her untimely death. Legs spread apart, likely trying to get herself up to escape. And yet it wasn't these, or even the blank look of agony on her face, or the lack of light in her eyes. No. It was her chest area, currently filled with wounds still somehow seeping fresh blood. As though someone had taken a pair of cleats, made the spikes ridiculously large, and stomped all over her torso.

And standing near the body, covered head to toe in the blood of the new dead huntress was Ruby Rose, an ironic and fitting name for her current appearance. She too held the undeniable stench of rust and death, the smell of blood. In her hand was the gun form of Crescent Rose, and before her stood nine people who could previously be counted as friends. Or at the very worst, intolerable acquaintances. To her, they were a nightmare. To them, she was a demon. Both sides viewed the other as being something completely evil, wrong. And yet neither and both sides were right.

"So, shall we start?"

"Wait, no. Ruby, don't!"

"Sorry Blakey, too late. Guys," Ruby said, still facing them. And yet it wasn't them she was interested in, or even remotely addressing. It was her Grimm. "Hunt." With a sharp snap of her fingers, their fate was sealed. All at once, the shadows behind Ruby, save Dinah, came forward as a wave, hellbent on drowning those victims before it in a sea of regret and despair. And, depending on how afraid they were, their own piss.

The first to reach were of course the Beowolves, led by Chesh. The ones they ran into first were Cardin and his gang. While they didn't seem like much, however, they could surprisingly handle themselves well. Cardin himself especially. No wonder they somehow earned their way into Beacon. In the blink of an eye, a few of the wolves were already down and out of them game. A fact that irritated Ruby to no end. There were her wolves, and this would not be forgiven. But while Cardin's minions handled the rest of his pack, Chesh took on Cardin alone. As far as Ruby was concerned, that was a forgone conclusion right there.

The rest devolved in to a full out melee. Taking on her 'Tusks was Weiss and Pyrrha as a team. It seemed that stopping those heavily armored monstrosities was going to take some work. Well, it not even a team of fully trained hunters could do it, Ruby figured that her old friends wouldn't meet with any more success. While the Grimm found their opponents, Ruby carefully watched the battle scene unfold before her. And boy, was she ever enjoying it.

Over with Blake, she was busy dealing with a very angered 'Dee. But it seemed like her talents were perfectly suited for handling the large Ursa, as in no time, Blake was using her speed, and her semblance, to lead the big guy by the nose. Running up on 'Dee, she narrowly avoided one of his massive paws that came swiping at her from the side. Not missing a beat, Blake threw Gambol Shroud around the arm that flew by her, and swung herself high above the Ursa's head. Firing the gun behind her several times to abuse the recoil, Blake began to spin herself violently. The speed of her descent combined with the momentum of her spin spelled disaster for 'Dee, as a second later, large crack was heard. Using all of her force, Blake had driven the sheathed form of her blade into the bony plate covering the Grim's head, plunging the blade straight through the head and out of the lower jaw. After a second where it seemed the Grimm was simply going to shake it off and maul her, 'Dee fell to the ground, already dissolving from it's death. Not giving herself a chance to rest, or congratulate herself on beating an elder Grimm, Blake's next target was 'Dum, and he didn't fare as long. As he was distracted with attacking on one of the other students, some big faunus who seemed the offspring of a human and a hippo, Blake again threw her weapon, wrapping it around his neck. Pulling on the neck and pushing off of the ground, combining her natural speed with the slight boost from her semblance, she raced at high speed towards the massive Ursa. Before reaching him, Blake pulled back her weapon and extended the blade to the normal form. With a sickening squishing sort of noice, Blake drove Gambol Shroud straight through 'Dum's neck. Not taking chances, she swiped to the side, half severing the great Ursa's head.

In the span of just two or so minutes, most Chesh's pack, 'Dee, and 'Dum have all been slaughtered. Ruby was starting to feel she'd underestimated them just a bit. While not terribly bad opponents, Ursa Major's were still extremely tough. For Blake to kill two of them swiftly, and for Cardin's group to manage to handle the coordination that Chesh's group had. It seemed like Ruby would need to get serious. Putting her forefinger and thumb to her lips, Ruby blew real hard, sending out a shrill whistle of sorts. The whistle was answered swiftly with a rain of feathers, curtesy of Poe and his fledglings. The sudden storm of Nevermore feathers, each with the power to tear trees from the ground and split boulders, caused a panic among the students. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, the shots were missing the students, and ended up causing a little friendly fire, as Ruby could see her Boarbatusks became pincushions due to their lack of speed. They wouldn't likely die from only that level of injury, but they would be slowed down even more, and likely wounded and weakened.

Watching this, Ruby made a mental note to teach her Grimm some better coordination. That, or possibly give firing lessons to Poe. Giving a small sigh, and a mental facepalm, Ruby was getting real tired of this. She was on the verge of coming out and doing something herself. But as long as her Grimm held up, she would hold back. After all, this is what they came for. Might as well let them enjoy themselves a bit, neh? Keeping watch, it seems some progress was finally made at least. One of the no names, a rather large guy who seemed part bear, or maybe something else. Either way, due to the indiscriminate fire from earlier, he seemed to have heavy injuries, as a large gash was across his back, and he was having trouble just holding off one of Ruby's 'Tusks. After a bit, the inevitable happened. He was gored by one of the Boarbatusks' tusks. Somehow, he was still going, despite the fact that a massive tusks was currently going through his chest. Ruby was honestly wondering what the hell he was doing, before a quick little flash caught her attention. Looking in his hand, Ruby saw an item about as big as her hand spread. It only took her a moment to figure it out, but it was too late. While the Boarbatusk, which one it was Ruby still couldn't tell, opened it's mouth to give some sort of cry, possibly of victory or something more primal, the faunus boy stuffed the item into the Grimm's mouth. Rearing back his hand, he struck the item with the knuckles he wore, creating a spark. Seconds later, this spark ignited the dust bomb that was in the Grimm's mouth, blowing it's head clean off. While this pissed Ruby off, it also served the purpose of speeding up his death. The explosion of the head ended up destroying part of the tusk too, which ended up blasting into the guy like buckshot. Still and unmoving, Ruby knew he was dead. She couldn't even hear his heartbeat, and the blood flowing from his wounds was slowing. Regardless, Ruby would make sure. Extending Crescent Rose, Ruby made her way over to the fallen boy, Dinah close at her heel. Placing the blade of her scythe under the boy's neck, and he foot between his shoulder blades, Ruby fired off, severing his head rather neatly and cleanly. That was two confirmed deaths now. Only eight more were left. Shifting her attention from the now confirmed to be a corpse beneath her. Ruby stared at the remainders, all fighting so pitifully for their lives. It would end the same for all of them. She swore it.

Running through the forest on such a beautiful moonlit night. If Jaune was a romantic, he'd appreciate the current situation. Or rather, he perhaps still might not, as he and Yang were swiftly dashing through the thick cover of trees desperately trying to seek out the location mentioned in the message that Ozpin had shown them. Apparently Yang knew where the location was. Jaune wasn't going to ask questions, nor was he in any sort of mood to find out why. He quelled his imagination, and focused on the task at hand, which was potentially stopping Ruby from massacring their classmates.

If anything, Jaune was very familiar with how Ruby fought. Early in the semester, Jaune and Ruby started to hang out more and more. Both enjoyed one another's company, they had very similar interests, and both could act natural and dorky around each other comfortably. During these moments, the two would occasionally also spar. Well, the phrase "one sided" comes to mind when mentioning the sparring sessions, but that was not due to a lack of effort on Jaune's part. Ruby was simply a monster. He speed allowed her to enter and exit the realm of godspeed willingly, making it only a trivial matter for her to slip through any defenses and completely overwhelm anyone in a bad spot. If she used that ability of hers aggressively, Jaune knew there was likely no stopping her. Her aim was deadly, and her skill was ferocious. Despite Jaune's thoughts that Ruby was possibly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen when she held Crescent Rose, he also felt that she wasn't even human. He wasn't even going to claim something cheesy and cliche like saying she was an angel. No. She was more an existence born and bred for combat. That was Jaune's honest opinion of her when she picked up her weapon. That she was not some simple human huntress, but rather a potential force of nature. Something that Jaune was sure there would be several people finding out very soon. Or if they already had...?

That was a thought Jaune didn't want to imagine. After all, he'd done his homework on the Red Queen of Grimm. Her victims died usually in one of three ways. Death from wounds caused by beastial weapons, most likely some Grimm's claws. Death from excessive bleeding. And death by beheading. If anything, Jaune was well versed in the Red Queen's killing techniques. And all of those kills no doubt likely took their toll on her psyche. No matter what, Jaune wasn't expecting the same old Ruby to greet them. He felt that this night, which likely had begun by blood would be by blood, done. He just prayed that Ruby would be okay. He prayed with all of his heart to whomever would listen. And next to him, there was no doubt that Yang was doing the same.

To Yang, it didn't matter what Ruby had done. She wanted her sister back. The little sister that she had always cared for. The little sister that she'd nearly gotten killed when she was too young to really understand what a Grimm was. The little sister that she owed everything too, the light of her life. As far as Yang was concerned, she herself wanted to kill all of those who harmed Ruby. If she'd had the opportunity, she would pound their faces in royally with Ember Celica until their skulls caved. Ruby was worth more than all of their lives combined, regardless of who the hell they were. It didn't matter either. When Yang found Ruby- not if, when - she would stop her sister, only so that she can take out her anger on whoever the fuck touched Ruby. She might not actually kill them, but she would make them wish they were dead.

Both Yang and Jaune, each with their thoughts focused one hundred percent on Ruby, each held very different ideas. But it mattered not, as they currently shared the same overall goal, one that could be summed up as 'find Ruby.' All either cared for right now was to make sure that she was safe. Though only Jaune had the forgiving enough heart to actually hope that the others Ruby called out were as well. Though in a way, it sort of felt hopeless. The letter mentioned around 11 pm. It was currently just a half an hour prior to midnight. Whoever was there was already ether dead, or nearly so. Regardless, some may have gotten lucky. Who knows. Either way, a knot began forming in Jaune's stomach, and this time it was sadly not due to Taco Tuesday.

However, what Jaune had feared had truly come to pass. While it's true that Ruby's Grimm had taken severe casualties, mostly due to poor coordination and bad (or good, depending on your view) opponents. Chesh and his pack, 'Dee, 'Dum, and two of her three Boarbatusks are gone. Along with them were two of Poe's hatchlings, leaving on Poe and a couple of others, all of whom were nearly dead themselves. Her Deathstalker, something that was not easy to recruit, was literally on it's last legs as well. The only ones seemingly fine still were the Goliaths, whose massive size caused the students to avoid them like the monstrosities they were. Sadly, those Goliaths were also responsible for one or two friendly fire deaths on the Beowolves, mostly due to squashing them like bugs. Not a pretty sight, really. But still, things were going rather well for Ruby. In fact, the only ones left were the guy who's head resembled a chicken, the very bastard who actually stuck his blade through her chest. His death would be by her hand, she swore it. Along with him, Blake, Weiss, Cardin, and Pyrrha had managed to keep alive too. Through a combination of incredible teamwork, likely brought about by the severe situation at hand, the four of them had managed to handle most of her Grimm with sheer valor and luck. If anything, Ruby was almost close to pitying them and leaving her vengeance at that. Too bad for them that it was only 'almost'. While the remaining Grimm handled that small Group, Ruby had Dinah back up a bit while she went and handled the now seriously injured chicken man. As far as she was concerned, 'overkill' did not exist for him.

"What the hell do you want now Rose? I already handled your little Grimm. Give up this fucking farce and turn yourself in you little psycho!" He really didn't know when to shut up, now did he? There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, but this guy was firmly on the side that wore their underwear with little name tags in case they got lost.

Removing Crescent Rose from her back, and allowing it to extend into rifle form, not scythe form but merely the gun mode, Ruby approached him slowly, and surely. When she stood about eight or nine feet from him, Ruby raised her gun level to his chest. Looking him square in the eye, Ruby didn't show any trace of mercy or sympathy in her eyes. If one looked closely, they wouldn't even see the light in them. All they would find is hellfire and brimstone burning where two beautiful silver pearls once laid.

"Didn't I say it before? My revenge would only end if I failed. My Grimm, the ones you so mercilessly slaughtered, were not me. They were mine, indeed. But they are not me. I am me, and Crescent Rose is me. And now it's time that I took my revenge. If you have any energy left to summon your aura, do so. It will delay what is about to happen, so maybe you'll have an extra moment to pray to whatever you believe in for mercy when you reach the other side." Tilting her head slightly to the side and sporting a sort of eureka face, Ruby also decided to add one last quip. "When you see the others, tell them I send my regards."

"You bit-!"

Before he could even finish his profanity, he was assaulted by a large caliber round to the stomach. It seemed like he did indeed summon what Aura he could, as Ruby only found a small wound. Well, by small it was meant that there was a bruise the size of a basket ball on his abdomen along with a golf ball sized hole oozing blood at an alarming rate. Figuring that his aura shouldn't hold much longer, Ruby fired again. And again. And again. To the shoulders, then the thighs. Further into the stomach area. Ruby fired until he had more open wounds on his body than she cared to count. Amazingly, he was somehow still alive though. His recovery speed actually impressed Ruby. Too bad she wanted him dead regardless. Walking slowly over to his now fallen and bleeding body, Ruby extended Crescent Rose completely and placed the blade of her scythe below his neck. With one last giggle, Ruby pulled the trigger, sending yet another head flying. Four left. And yet somehow, those four still lived. It pissed Ruby off to no end.

No, what finally got her was that through some miracle, they had managed to stop all but the largest Goliath. Judging by the insane amounts of ice currently sticking out of the others, Ruby had no doubt that Weiss exhausted the hell out of herself just to do that. Without her, however, the final, and the biggest of them all, would be their undoing. OR rather, he would be, had Ruby not decided on a thought.

"Hey, Jabberwock, hold!" Ruby shouted, stopping her massive Grimm. Stepping forward while her Grimm retreated, Ruby put on a sinister looking smile and faced down the survivors. "Funny, huh? Just a few months ago, it was the opposite, wasn't it? You know? I was scared, shivering in fear. The thought of dying gnawing away at me completely. But unlike then, now there won't be survivors." With Crescent Rose ready to go, Ruby took up her stance and dashed in.

Before any of them could react, Ruby was in Cardin's face. But before she struck, Cardin had an attempt to grab her, hoping that his strength would serve to allow him to stop her. Too bad for him, as she more or less saw this coming. Taking a swift step back, Ruby fired her scythe behind her, using the momentum to swing it forward with a speed rivaling or even exceeding that of her infamous sniper rifle. In a second, before anyone could tell what had happened, a small thud was heard, followed by a loud agonizing wail. The culprit? Cardin. The reason? His arms, the symbols of the strength he so highly. And yet one of them was now lying on the grow, severed right below the elbow. The high speed assault could not appropriately be defended against, and Ruby had ended up taking one of his arms. Laughing madly, Ruby was covered by a bit of the crimson spray, further tainting her with yet another one's blood. Perhaps attempting to be some sort of hero, Blake tried using her semblance's speed to it's fullest and rush in to help Cardin, but Ruby didn't care. Spinning on the ball of her foot, Ruby avoid Blake's attack, and with a carefully aimed shot from behind, blew the ribbon clean off of her head, along with a spray of blood and a few chunks of flesh covered with black hair. Yup. What Ruby had just blown off was one of Blake's two cat ears.

"Ouch, that musta hurt. But hey, you should thank me. You hated those things, right?"

"Ruby, why are you doing this?"

"Blakey, Blakey, Blakey, you already know why. Revenge." Walking up slowly to Blake, Ruby was about to end her as she had the others, when something caused her to pause. Despite holding onto where her ear once was, and crying from what Ruby would assume was quite a bit of pain, Blake seemed to be making no effort to avoid what was coming. Unlike the others, she should still be able to fight a bit despite being tired. So then why? "Hey," Ruby started, unable to get the question out of her head. "Why the hell are you just sitting there?"

"Be-because we deserve this. You have ev-every right o be angry." Through a few sobs, Blake still managed to explain her why's to Ruby, who was now paused.

But Ruby's companion was not. Tiring of seeing it's master play around, Dinah began walking forward with the intent of killing the remaining few itself. Despite the looming threat, none of them could move, and Ruby looked like a war was raging in her head, so she was not even paying attention. It looked like hope was lost for them. Approaching Weiss, Dinah opened it's jaw wide, perhaps preparing to tear her throat out when the unexpected happened.

At first it was only a whistling. But not even a second after it began, a small red projectile flew by Weiss' head at breakneck speeds, nailing Dinah right in the maw, sending the massive Grimm back reeling from the surprise. Busting through the thickets were Yang and Jaune, two guesses as to who fired the shot with the first not counting.

"I won't let you kill these bastards. They're mine!" Yang shouted at Dinah, her voice positively dripping with venom. Charging at the massive Beowolf, Yang knew no fear. She only knew pure unbridled fury. Meanwhile, Ruby who was previously preoccupied in her own thoughts, snapped back to reality at once upon seeing who had just entered the scene.

"Y-Yang? Jaune? N-no. Why are you two here?"

"Ruby," Jaune breathed out, half like a sigh with his voice showing nothing more than wonder.

"Why are you here? And why are you getting in my way? Why is Yang attacking Dinah?!"

Over with Yang, a fierce brawl was currently ongoing with Dinah, both the young blonde brawler and the massive bipedal wolf like Grimm exchanging blows left and right. It was at this time that one could appreciate the high amount of aura that Yang possessed, utilizing every ounce of it to outright tank the attacks given to her by Dinah. Claws heavy enough to split boulders and cleave through solid plate armor was being taken by Yang's sheer muscle and aura alone, and being returned with equal gusto. It was one of the few times where Yang's semblance was truly showing it's true nature and colors, allowing her to fight toe to toe with a Grimm that would make most hunters reconsider their career choice. Make no doubt, Yang definitely could feel the pain from the exchange of blows, but it seemed that rage was one hell of an anesthetic, as she continued striking back at the monstrous Beowolf like a mad woman.

Ducking yet another paw from Dinah, Yang countered with a strike to the belly, only this time she didn't give Dinah the chance to swing back. Rearing her other fist back, Yang began striking and firing without hesitation or reserve into Dinah's soft midsection, one of the few places on her body not adorned by the armor of her kind. It was a furious assault, one that would have likely broken a regular human and faunus. The force that Yang had absorbed from the multitude of bows she had taken from the impossibly strong Dinah only further fueled her strength, allowing her to strike at the Beowolf with the force of a run away Bullhead. With one mighty heave, Yang forced her fist again into Dinah's chest, and firing away multiple times in the span of a second, sent the massive Beowolf flying several yards away, giving the Grimm hang time. Rearing back and gathering her fury at once, Yang was preparing to finish this with the next strike. Her hair set ablaze like the pits of hell, Yang charged forward, ready to end that Grimm's life. What happened next, she had not expected.

Before she could strike the wounded Beowolf, Ruby dashed between the two forces and, with Crescent Rose reverted to it's gun form, took Yang's fist head one. The resulting impact not only sent Ruby reeling, but also shattered her precious weapon. Barely avoiding being sent flying like Dinah had, Ruby was having trouble keeping herself up, the force of the impact jarring her body much worse than anything she'd felt before.

"Ruby! Why'd you stop me?!"

"Because," Ruby shouted, half wanting to cry at Crescent Rose's destruction, and half angry at Yang trying to kill Dinah. "Dinah is part of my family. After they tried killing me, Dinah saved me, helped me recover back to normal. Without her, I'd be dead. I don't wanna see her die, I don't."

"Ruby..."

"Dinah, run away. Please. Get as far away from here as you can."

This time, without staying for it's master, Dinah heeded her words completely. Despite it's immense pride as an elder Grimm, Dinah instinctively knew that the blond hunter, Yang, would prove to be a bad foe right now. Taking off, Dinah left Ruby behind, merging into the shadows. Looking, the only Grimm left was the one remaining Goliath.

"Damn. Four short. Or maybe, I can still get them...?"

"Absolutely not, Miss Rose."

That voice. Turning to the origin, Ruby saw Professor Ozpin calmly strolling right into the clearing. Alone. Before she could even ask what he meant, a large solid white projectile came flying from behind him at an insane speed, putting itself completely through the Goliath's skull in a single, destructive move. From behind Ozpin, Ruby could see, wielding her "wand" came Professor Goodwitch. The white thing, Ruby surmised, was likely the tusk from one of her slain Boarbatusks. And with that, it was over.

"Hahahah! Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I was so close too. So close to having justice done on all of them. Guess I have to settle for what I've got, huh? Well shit." Ruby closed her eyes, chuckling slightly at the situation. So close to her revenge, and yet they still manage to get away. Was it perhaps divine intervention? She didn't know, nor did she care.

"So, what happens now? You kill me for being an S~ class criminal? You capture me and turn me in to the proper authorities?"

"Neither of the above, actually." Ozpin's words, almost falling on deaf ears, Ruby did for a moment believe she was going deaf. "Tonight, we lost quite a great deal of talent. And over the past several months, we've lost countless hunters, tipping the balance of the scales slightly for the Grimm. As far as I'm concerned, none of this happened.

"But Ozpin!"

"Now now Glynda, you know as well as I do. If we weigh the options before us, it would be much better to have her return to Beacon once more. We need a huntress of her caliber, especially with how many we've lost." Turning back to Ruby, Ozpin now addressed her. "So, Miss Rose- no, Ruby. Will you accept?"

What Ozpin had said had completely thrown Ruby for a loop. How could h so calmly state that she could come back? He would hide what she'd done? But why? She was a murderer, she had so much hunter blood on her hands that no amount of water could clean them. And yet, he was willing to forgive her. But...

"I can't accept that, Professor."

"...?"

"I've stained my hands with far too much blood. To be a huntress, I have to be willing to pick up the sword and fight the darkness, while holding onto my life and those that I love with my other. And yet, these tainted hands could no longer hold onto anything so pure. I would simply stain them with my touch." Holding up her hands as though to emphasize her point, Ruby looked down to her bloodstained digits with a somber look. "So I can't Professor. I just, I can't go back with this kind of blood on my hands."

"Are you sure Ruby?"

"Ruby, please accept. I miss you. I need my little sister back. I don't want to say goodbye like this."

"Then don't say good bye. I'm not gone, Yang. I just won't be here." Looking around the teachers, her sister, best friend, and those traitors, Ruby could barely hold back some tears. Whispering to herself, Ruby uttered the words she didn't want Yang to hear, but soft enough that even Ruby herself could barely hear. "Bye."

Before any of them could react, Ruby disappeared into a cloud of rose petals, using her semblance to it's fullest.

"Ruby..."

Jaune looked around at the scene before him. Ruby was gone, so many dead were just littered around. But among the living, Jaune saw faces that filed him with a mix of emotions, mostly disgust, anger, and sorrow. Walking over to a particular one, Jaune stood, looking down on the girl in front of him.

"Pyrrha."

Looking up, Pyrrha could barely look Jaune in the eye.

"Jaune, I..."

"Pyrrha, just shut up." Once she'd stopped talking, Jaune continued. "I'm not going to ask why you did it. The bottom line is that you ended up hurting Ruby, and more than that you wished for her death. You- I once considered you a great friend, a sort of mentor, inspiration of sorts. Now, I simply don't want to see your face again." Turning from Pyrrha, not giving her a chance to speak, Jaune walked away, not even flinching when he heard the sobs begin. At that moment, Jaune made a solemn vow in his heart. He would find Ruby and bring her back, no matter how long it took.

Looking down on the destruction she had caused, Ruby could only sigh. It was an awful day. Her Grimm all dead, except Dinah, and Crescent Rose destroyed. What's worse is that she failed to get revenge on four of them.

"Ahh, damnit. This sucks."

She was planning to leave when some nearby rustling caught her attention. Behind her, Ruby found Yang exiting from the thickets. Walking over to Ruby slowly but calmly, Yang began to talk casually.

"You know Ruby, you've always had a habit of finding the highest place you could when you wanted to be alone. With your speed and your agility, it really wasn't easy to catch up to you. I remember back then that when we finally found you, you always sat there with a serene look on your face."

"Hello Yang. What're you doing here?"

"Well," Yang began, seemingly having trouble picking her words. After a few seconds of careful deliberation, she continued. "I wanted to try and convince you to come back once more. Nobody has to know you were the Red Queen, Ruby, nobody. We could go back to normal, from before all of this happened."

In her small chest, Ruby felt a slight pang. It was longing. Longing for those days to return as Yang suggested. And she wanted to, but she couldn't, and she knew it.

"I'm sorry Yang, but I just can't. My hands are too stained with blood to ever be able to hold you, or anyone else, again."

"Ruby," Yang said, trying to grab a hold of Ruby before she left again. But Ruby shook her off.

"Yang, I can't. I just can't." Turning to leave, Ruby almost departed before another thought crossed her mind. "Yang, despite what you did to me and my sweetheart before, I'll forgive you. I love you, and you know that. I always will too. But next time, I won't be as forgiving. I can't be."

And with that, Ruby Rose disappeared from Beacon, in her wake was left a cloud of rose petals. But they weren't the usual rose red petals that Ruby always left with her semblance. No. Mixed among the crimson petals were petals as pitch as night.

And thus, the Queen's reign began.

*Author's Note*

Hey there. Dravyn LeCrux here. Since this is the last chapter of The Red Queen, please allow me some time to ramble.

As I've mentioned several times before, this story started off as nothing more than what was supposed to be the ending chapter to another of my stories. It was supposed to end in a tragedy, and yet somehow it eventually became this thriller story that I've written. For months I have poured my heart and soul into this story, doing my best to give to you guys the drama, excitement, and dark!Ruby that you all wanted. And based on your reactions, I'd say that I succeeded for the most part. But I would never have gotten this far without you guys reading, and providing the feedback. So thank you for the past 10 months. They've been awesome.

Anyhow, back to the story. Yes, The Red Queen is over. As I promised, nobody really had a happy end, did they? But we all know that I have a sequel planned, so who knows how it will continue? Oh wait, I do... Muahahaha.

But back to the seriousness, the sequel should be out in the next couple of weeks, though after that time I will end up deploying. Expect few to no chapters to be released for about 6 months. Well, maybe some with some luck, but yeah. Expect it to get slow. I'll try though.

For now, the sequel will end up being titled as 'The Red Queen: Crusade'. Despite the choice of name, it won't be something so grand, but that will be better explained by the first chapter, rather than me trying to give you some explanation here. You get the idea though.

Anyhow, again I thank all of you for reading this far. Thanks for the reviews, the criticisms, suggestions, and even the hate. It kept me going, and kept the creative juices flowing (well, that and all of the Monster). Have a good one, and I'll see you later. Bye.

Dravyn LeCrux

P.S.

This is me writing after having tried for months to redo this, only to find my hardrive die on me. Twice. I have no idea what it is, but something out there will not let me change how I ended this, so the original chapter has been re-uploaded. I know, ironic uploading this months after the sequel has been released. Oh well. Anyhow, this chapter I could barely re-update due to it being stored on a disc I had someonewhere, then re-uploaded (agaisnt a few rules) to a computer, and then re uploaded. So yeah, a big pain. Anyhow, sorry for the delay, and the mishaps, in the redo. All I can say is enjoy the last chapter of The Red Queen.