Hey everyone, this is my first ever MonCon entry!

I thought that writing about Neo looking for revenge on Ruby was a great concept, but I didn't want to make it a gory, gritty dark-fic. It took a while, but I like to think I'm proud with what I came up with.

Anyway, regardless of whether you vote for it, or whether you like it or not, I welcome any and all feedback!

Three Scoops of Vengeance

The freezing-cold wind blew mercilessly through the great forest, bringing with it a storm of snow rushing down towards the surface. The screeches of the howling blizzard were enough to drive away even the most fearless Huntsmen and send the fiercest Grimm running towards their caves. In the middle of the storm, a solitary figure walked calmly up a nearby hill, braving the freezing cold with ease.

The cold hurt like hell. But pain was something she'd learned to live with.

Neo crouched over the edge of the hillside, squinting down towards the snow-covered path below. She could barely make out four individuals walking down the lonely road. She saw that one of them was a young girl, no older than fifteen, wearing a bright red cape and hood that made her stand out among her companions. Heehee...Found you!

Neo had found Ruby Rose-the one who had killed Roman.

The familiar hatred surged through Neo's body. Silently, she let her mind slip into all those ways she'd imagined Ruby dying. She'd spent hours thinking of the perfect way to kill her. Maybe she'd gut her like a fish and rip her heart out. But then, she'd come to a realization.

If she killed Ruby, that was it. Ruby's pain would end forever. To make sure she really suffered, Neo had decided to murder her precious friends, one-by-one, and let her live with the pain of not being able to save them. Just like what Neo had felt.

It was the perfect plan. The only question was…where would she begin?

Taking on all four of them was suicide. She'd have to draw them out one-by-one.

Watching the four Huntsmen as they continued on their journey, Neo focused her gaze on the young man with blonde hair and armor. Jaune Arc… The boy had been mentioned once or twice in her mission briefings. He'd been one of the weakest fighters in all of Beacon, meaning he'd be the easiest to pick off. He did have one noteworthy quality-his relationship with a certain Pyrrha Nikos-Beacon's finest prodigy and a girl very important to him.

Smiling, Neo activated her Semblance. She became a girl with green eyes and long red hair tied up in a ponytail…

Team RNJR walked through the blizzard, crowding together for warmth. It was almost impossible to see where they were going through the snow, but they pressed forward. It was still several kilometres before they could set up camp. Suddenly, a voice rang out from within the trees.

"Jaune!" The voice was achingly familiar.

Jaune's head shot upward. No way, he thought. Pyrhha?! Glancing in the direction of the voice, he caught a glimpse of someone with red hair running into the depths of the forest.

In that moment, Jaune forgot everything else. Without even thinking, he ran as fast as he could in the direction of the figure.

"Jaune! Where are you going?" Ruby yelled at him. "Get back here, or you'll get lost in the storm!"

Jaune ignored her. He kept charging forward, towards the person he'd lost, the one he wanted back more than anything.

Haha! That was soooo easy. Neo's disguises weren't perfect-she was unable to alter her physical figure, so mimicking Pyrrha's appearance was a difficult task. Thankfully, with the blizzard being as thick as it was, no one would be able to see through it from a distance. Especially not an incompetent fool like Jaune Arc.

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha! Where are you?" Jaune was screaming as he ran through the trees. He stopped to catch his breath before looking around feverishly for any sign of her.

Now was Neo's time to strike. Pulling a small knife out of her pocket, she crept out of her hiding place and sneaked up behind him, making as little noise as she could. She raised the knife and prepared to strike at the young man's neck. If she could directly impact his vitals, his Aura would be unable to protect him from his violent, bloody death.

Suddenly, a low growl came from directly behind her. Neo froze in horror. A Grimm! Before she could react, the beast had pounced on her, sending her crashing into the snow. The knife tumbled out of her hand. A sharp pain rung through her body. She looked up, terrified, into the Beowolf's eyes as it opened its disgusting maw, preparing to bite her face off. N-no! Not like this! She thought, too panicked to move. Roman, help-

"Hraahh!" The sound of a sword rang out as the Grimm's head was swiftly removed from its body. Sheathing his blade, Neo's would-be victim, Jaune, knelt down beside her. "H-hey, are you alright? You're not hurt, right?"

"Ugh-ugh…" she muttered weakly. Jaune continued to stare at her, before taking a deep sigh. "Ah, I get it. It was you, huh? Must have been the hair…"

Wha? Neo realized she was still in her disguise.

"I-I'm sorry." Jaune averted his eyes from her. "I…mistook you for someone else. I…" There was a deep sorrow in his voice. "Er!" His head swung back around. "Uh, but! You're still pretty hurt, right? L-look, I'll bring you back to the others, and we'll patch you up! Here we go…" Grunting, he picked the girl up in his arms. He was deceptively strong.

Why does he sound so…sad? Neo wondered. Wait! This is my chance! I can still kill him! I can twist his neck or bite out his throat or-

"JAUNE! Are you there?!" Ruby's voice rang out from nearby. "Jaune?" "Hello?" Two more voices came from the same direction. Oh no! I have to get away! Panicking, Neo leapt out of Jaune's grasp and ran back through the trees. "Hey! W-wait!" the young man called out.

Once she was a safe distance away, Neo hid herself behind a tree and glanced back at the group, listening in on their conversation.

"Jaune!" Nora snapped at her teammate. Her voice was clearly audible even through the blizzard. "What were you thinking, running off like that?!"

"S-sorry…" Jaune muttered. "I thought I…I thought I saw Pyrrha."

"What? Oh, Jaune…" Nora sighed. "You could have gotten yourself hurt, you know!"

"…" The blonde Huntsman simply stood there, silently. Ren put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"We know how you feel, Jaune," he said soothingly. "She meant a lot to you. And all of us are sad that she's gone. But you can't let your grief get the better of you. Pyrrha wouldn't want you to get killed, after all."

Jaune let out a chuckle. "Yeah…you know, I think that's the most you've spoken in days, Ren." He looked around. "Anyways! It wasn't Pyrrha, but I did run into a girl who got attacked by Grimm! She ran off when you guys came, and we should-"

Ruby shook her head. "We don't need to. Look." She pointed at Neo's knife, lying there in the snow. "That girl was an assassin. Remember, one of our enemies is an illusion-user. You were probably walking right into a trap."

"…Oh." Jaune hung his head. "Sorry, guys. Guess I'm pretty stupid, huh?"

"Don't say that," Ruby smiled. "You're still a leader, Jaune. You can't let mistakes get you down. Come on, now. We need to get to that town before sunset."

"…Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Ruby." Jaune looked happier after that. He got up, and the four of them continued on their journey.

Left alone, Neo reflected, confused, on what they'd said.

That Pyrrha girl…died? She hadn't known that the redhead Huntress had perished in the Battle of Beacon. Come to think of it, it did explain why she wasn't with the group.

So he lost someone he loved too, huh? Neo thought. That idea should have made her happy, knowing that her enemies were suffering like her. Instead, she just felt sad-sympathetic, even.

No! No! she thought angrily. I'm going to kill them! They're my enemies! I'll butcher them all! I don't CARE what they've been through!
It didn't matter if she'd failed once. She'd just have to make another attempt, and this time, she'd get her target.

A few hours later, another opportunity arose.

The blizzard had gotten even worse than before. RNJR had gotten separated in the middle of the nearly opaque snowstorm, and were now wandering around aimlessly trying to find one another. Ren and Nora had stuck together, and Neo was shadowing them. Her time living alone on the streets had accustomed her to dealing with unbearably-cold environments.

Hee-hee…if I can murder both of them, will that make her suffer twice as much? Time to find out!

Using her Semblance, Neo disguised herself as a young, brunette girl earing pitifully shabby, torn clothes. She took a deep breath and began bawling as loud as she could.

"UWWWWAAAAAAAAUGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Huh? What was that scream?" Nora turned around and saw the girl crying while lying helplessly in the snow. "Ren! Someone's hurt!"

"What?" Ren also turned around. He glanced suspiciously at the disguised Neo. "Wait. Nora, remember. This could be a trap."

"But it might not be! If she's really hurt, we need to help her out! That's why we're Huntsmen, remember!" his partner insisted.

Ren thought for a moment, then nodded hesitantly. "Okay. But stay on guard."

Nora approached the girl. "Hey, are you alright? What're you doing out here in the cold?" she asked, concerned.

"Uh-uh…" Neo muttered. C'mon, c'mon, think of something…. "M-my village was attacked by bandits," she sobbed. "My mommy and daddy tried to run, but…*sniff*"

It wasn't a total lie. Neo remembered the day her hometown had been raided. How her parents and everyone she knew had been cut, stabbed, and burned without mercy. Roman had found her and taken her in shortly afterward. He'd been as kind to her as a man like him could possibly be. Thanks to him, the girl had learned to smile again, but she still had nightmares of that horrible experience, and it was the reason why she almost never spoke outside her disguises.

"Oh…" Nora's eyes were filled with sympathy. "Poor thing…don't worry. Once we find our friends, we'll bring you to a safe place. Promise!" She picked Neo up in her arms and walked over to Ren.

"We need to get this girl to the town," she said urgently. "She'll freeze to death out here….and she's an orphan, too."

"Ah." Ren nodded. "I…understand. Come on, let's keep looking for Ruby and Jaune."

Heehee! Now's a perfect time to strike! Grinning, Neo pulled out her spare knife and lashed out at Nora's neck. Unfortunately, she was a second too slow. Ren, seeing the girl's movement, grabbed her arm before she could stab his partner. "Nora! Watch out!" he yelled.

Nora, realizing she'd been tricked, quickly grabbed her hammer and swung at her assailant. Panicking, Neo wrenched herself free from Ren's grasp and launched her counterattack, throwing swift punches and kicks at the young Huntress. However, Neo was outnumbered, and realized she wouldn't be able to take on both of them at once. No, no, no! Not again! Seething, she retreated yet again.

"Ren? Nora? Is that you?' Jaune's voice rang out from within the blizzard. He and Ruby walked into view and saw their friends with their weapons drawn. "W-whoa, what happened?"

"We were attacked," Ren said flatly. "Another assassin pretending to be a helpless girl."

"What?!" Ruby's eyes widened. "Didn't I just say we need to be careful for traps like that?"

Nora kicked the snow, eyes looking down. "I know, but…she said she'd just lost her family. And, well…we couldn't just LEAVE her like that! Ren and I…we both know how it feels to lose your parents, and-"

"It was a lapse in judgement," Ren concluded. "It won't happen again. Come on," he patted Nora on the back comfortingly. "Let's get back on the trail, it won't be long until evening."

As the four of them set off once again, Neo was left alone hiding behind the trees again.

Those two don't have a mama or papa either? She thought to herself. So they know how it feels, huh…

Neo felt strange. She'd come here to make her enemies suffer, but she was finding it harder and harder to hate them. Knowing more about what they'd been through, she'd realized that maybe they weren't so different from her after all…

Stop it! STOP IT! Furious, Neo hit herself on the head as hard as she could. None of that matters! NONE OF IT! I'm still gonna kill them! I'll kill HER! I'm gonna get my revenge! I'll avenge Roman, no matter what!

She was starting to get impatient. The "kill all her friends to make her suffer" plan wasn't going to work. It was time to move to more direct measures.

It was sundown, and the skies had cleared. Ruby and company made their way out of the snow-covered forest and stumbled into the town. It was a small place in the region between Vale and Mistral, and was a popular place for passerby to stop and rest. "Fiiiiinaaaallllly!" Nora groaned, stretching out her arms.

"We should rest at the inn tonight," Ren declared. "I'm sure we're all tired."

"Tired is one word for it," Jaune muttered, looking half-dead already. "I can barely stand. Ugh…"

"You guys go on ahead," Ruby advised her friends. "We're a little short on supplies, so I'll go stock up quickly. I'll join you in a few minutes."

Ren, Jaune and Nora nodded in agreement, and made their way to the inn.

Alone, Ruby wandered around the town shopping for medicine, rations, ammunition, and other paraphernalia. After about half an hour, she found her way back to the inn, groaning under the weight of her purchases. Suddenly, a small cookie stand to her right caught her eye. Ehhh, why not? She thought.

"Hello!" Ruby walked up to the stand. "I'd like a bag of chocolate chip cookies, please!"

"Coming right up." The owner, a young woman of short stature with short dark hair smiled. "Say, your attire…you're a Huntress aren't you? What are you doing in a small town like this?"

"Oh, y'know, just passing through." Ruby laughed nervously. "Me and my team, we're Vale Hunstmen, um…on our way to Mistral right now, actually. For a mission."

'Vale?" The woman's eyes widened. "You wouldn't happen to be a student at Beacon, would you?"

"Oh. Yeah, we WERE, anyway," Ruby murmured, looking downward.

"Er, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up…"

"No, it's fine!" Ruby shook her head while forcing a smile. "I don't mind talking about it, really. It's nice to talk about something like that with another person. Helps me get some stuff off my chest."

"I see," the stand owner muttered. "The fall of Beacon…that event must have been traumatizing for you."

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded sadly. "It was…it was the first time I'd ever seen a real crisis-on that scale, anyway. Grimm crawling all over the city, people running away in fear, the Atlesian soldiers turning against civilians-it was awful. We lost some of our friends in the attack."

"I see. Losing someone you care about is a terrible thing indeed. Hmm, just a question, but…if you had the chance, would you take revenge for those you lost?"

"Huh?" It seemed like a strange question for a stranger to ask, but Ruby thought it over for a second. It was something she'd asked herself a few times already. "I want to stop the people who brought about the tragedy," she concluded. "That's the whole reason we're here. But I don't want it to be JUST for the sake of the people I lost. That would just be vengeance-not justice."

The stand owner looked baffled. "Not justice? Surely getting revenge for those you cared for is justice in itself?"

"I don't see it that way," Ruby mused. "Revenge is something fueled by emotion. And acting on emotion's fine and all, but I don't want to be controlled by them or anything. Especially if they're negative emotions like anger and hate…"

"Anger and hate…but in this world, these emotions influence much of how people act, sadly. Tragic, but there's little we can do about it."

"Yeah…because the real world is cold," Ruby closed her eyes. "But I don't think it has to be that way. Even it sounds like childish "spirit", I want to make the world a better place. I want to prove it to him…that it IS possible."

"Him?" The owner inquired.

"I fought one of the bad guys during the invasion. During our fight, he told me that the "real world" was cruel and that only those who lie, cheat and steal can survive." She sighed. "I still don't know much about the world, so what he said rings true. I think there's some truth to it. But I don't think the world HAS to be so cruel. Even if it's wishful thinking, I believe we can do something about it. And…"

Ruby looked back up. "I get the feeling that, maybe at one point, he believed in those things, too. I don't know much about him or his life, but…now I realize we weren't that different. I could have become like him under the right circumstances. Even if he was my enemy, I don't think he deserved to die-to be eaten by Grimm like that."

The store owner raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He was…eaten? By Grimm?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "It sounds weird, but I actually feel sorry for him. Plus, he was actually a really great fighter." She laughed a bit. "He had a cute sidekick with him, too. She was pretty awesome…I feel kinda bad for getting her blown off the ship…I hope she's okay."

"…I…see." Looking down, the owner murmured those words in a barely audible whisper.

"…Hey." Ruby smiled. "I, uh, don't want to sound insensitive, but…you've lost someone you cared about recently too. Right?"

'What?!" The woman looked up, shock in her eyes.

"I've, um…these past few months, I've gotten more used to seeing that kind of sadness in people's eyes. Um, if you don't want to talk about it…"

"…It's fine." The owner closed her eyes. "I lost a close friend of mine a while back. He helped me out when I was in a rough time in life. Most people would say he wasn't a nice person…some would even say he was the type of man who deserved to die…but no matter what they said, he was someone special to me. And now that he's gone…I'm not sure where to go from here."

"I see…Sorry about your loss. I'm sorry I can't help you out much…but I think you can help yourself by not letting yourself be chained to whatever happened before. To just…move forward with your life." Ruby smiled and broke out into a small laugh. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm pouring my heart out to someone I've never even met. This sure is awkward, huh?"

"N-no, not at all," The woman smiled back. "Oh, um, here are your cookies, by the way." She handed Ruby a small brown bag.

"Thanks!" Paying for her snack, Ruby turned away and said: "I need to get back to my friends now. Thanks for the talk, though!" Humming to herself, she walked in the direction of the inn.

Neo was left standing there, her mind spinning. She felt dazed, bewildered.

It was so simple. Give Ruby the bag of poisoned cookies. She'd eat them, maybe share them with her friends, and they'd all die horrible, disgusting, painful deaths, choking their lives out like pigs.

But she couldn't bring herself to do that. She'd given her a perfectly innocent bag instead. Why?

Neo knew the reason why.

Because Ruby Rose had not killed Roman Torchwick. If anything, it seemed she had liked him, as much as one could like an enemy.

I'm…confused. But at the same time, I feel…glad? I don't understand…why would I feel happy? Happy that she didn't do it?

If Neo had time to think clearly, she'd have come to the conclusion: That because despite everything, deep down, she liked Ruby. That she admired her determination, how she cared for her friends, and how she chose to believe in something even when it seemed all but impossible. That she wished that they had met in a different way, and could have even become friends…

But right now, Neo couldn't think clearly. My head…is fuzzy. Why do I feel…this way? But…I don't dislike this feeling…maybe. I think…I need to go home…and rest a bit…

Checking to make sure no one was around, Neo shed her disguise, and promptly made her way out of the village. She ran as fast as her legs could take her.

It had been a long day…and she had plenty to think about.

THE END

I wanted to make a Neo revenge fic with a happy-ish ending. It's so heartwarming, isn't it? :D

I have a headcanon that Neo can talk, but chooses not to outside of her disguises, and that she can put up a mature, civilized persona while her true personality is childlike and unstable. I'm glad that I got to incorporate that into my fic.

Hope you all enjoyed!