"ENOUGH RUBY!" Ozpin yelled, silencing the girl. "You already admitted to starting that fire. I was willing to believe it was in fact an accident, but the evidence that was found shows otherwise."

"Why would you do something like this, sis?" Yang asked, looking at her younger sister.

"Yang I..." Ruby trailed off.

"You have no idea how disappointed everyone is with you." Yang shook her head in disappointment. "I know all of this seems harsh Rubes, but looking all cute and innocent isn't going to get you out of this. What you did- people could have died! I just... I just don't get it Ruby, I really don't."

Ruby stayed silent as she sat there, listening to the constant berating she was getting from everyone. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Ruby Rose's entire life had been good and she was happy with it, with the only exception being when her mother died. Ruby was always so full of love and positivity that those around her couldn't help but feel it too. But now? Now everyone either hated her, was disappointed in her, or both. She should be enjoying her life right now, enjoying her time at Beacon while training to become a huntress. Instead she was getting expelled from Beacon and hauled off to prison.

It all started with the green haired girl named Emerald befriending her. She was at Beacon with her team from Haven who were here for the Vytal festival. She seemed so nice and sincere when she would talk to Ruby, while always brining her cookies. For Ruby it was a new friendship and a new person to trust and hang out with. Unfortunately for poor Ruby things were not as they seemed. Emerald and her team were not students from Haven, and were definitely not the good guys.

They were criminals who wanted Beacon out of the way so they could take control of the city. Their boss, Cinder, wanted Ruby out of the way after seeing that she was becoming a problem. How was Ruby becoming a problem, you ask? She was constantly interfering with the dust robberies she had orchestrated. So Cinder came up with a plan to rid herself of the infuriating speedster. She couldn't have her killed, because it would be too suspicious, and draw unwanted attention. Instead, she would set Ruby up. It was simple; use the girls naïve and trusting nature against her.

Emerald would befriend the girl, gain her trust, then set up a situation where Ruby would willing take the blame for a crime in order to protect her 'friend'. Ruby wouldn't know it was a crime, only that her 'friend' had an accident and couldn't afford to get into trouble. The best part of the plan was that it worked like a charm.

Emerald and Ruby became as thick as thieves, spending a lot of time together. She pretty much became the girls best friend. Ruby started to develop romantic feelings for Emerald which the older girl noticed, and promptly took advantage of. The compliments, and slight touches she would give would make the young girl shiver and blush. The green haired girl swiftly became Ruby's first kiss after only a few weeks. She became a lot of firsts for Ruby in such that short time. Emerald knew exactly how to pull every string in the girls body like she was a puppet.

After a month Ruby was wrapped around her little finger, which meant she was right where she wanted the younger girl. Emerald lured Ruby into Emerald forest using a picnic as the excuse. She laced Ruby's cookies with a sleeping drug that would put her out for at least a few minutes. While Ruby was unconscious, the older girl set fire to the forest and then made sure to quickly wake the other girl up. She told Ruby it was an accident, that she had been smoking, and it caught the forest on fire. She begged Ruby to take the blame for it using the excuse that because of her past she wouldn't be allowed to be Hunter after this.

She told the younger girl that if she took the blame, everything would be fine since she has never gotten in trouble, and was trusted by everyone. At first, Ruby didn't get in trouble but just like Emerald knew would happen, the fire was investigated. The evidence showed that the fire was set on purpose, and with Ruby having already admitted to starting it, her fate was sealed. To add insult to injury, when Emerald was questioned as a witness, she told Ozpin and the authorities that she saw Ruby start the fire. It was the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. If Ruby's fate hadn't already been sealed, then it definitely was now.

Everyone talked down to her, and wouldn't believe her when she said it was an accident. They called her a liar, and constantly let her know how disappointed they were in her. They avoided, and ignored her while she was being held on campus. No one trusted her anymore, making her feel so isolated and alone. Once the investigation was fully over, she was expelled from Beacon and sentenced to a year in prison. Apparently there were students training in the forest who had gotten hurt, which made things worse. Because of the severity of what happened, Ruby was tried as an adult, which meant prison instead of juvenile detention. Ruby didn't even know what Emerald had told them, at least not until she was already hauled off to prison.

It didn't take long after being taken away for Ruby to realize that Emerald set her up. The betrayal hurt Ruby to the core, especially when no one but Emerald would visit her, however she only visited so she could taunt Ruby. Ruby's naïve, innocent, and trusting nature started to quickly disappear as she got a taste of the real world. Things weren't black and white like how she was lead to believe. All those years being told things just to find out they were nothing more than convenient lies. This experience would change Ruby, it would change her in a way no one expected.

3 Years Later

Vale was covered in darkness that was brightened by the many city lights. Vale and Beacon had taken a big hit when Cinder's gathered forces, attacked the city, and school campus. Grimm were attracted to the fear of the civilians, which made things even worse. They got lucky though, with Ironwood being the paranoid man he was, he brought more forces than were requested. Between the huntsman, huntresses, Vales' own forces, and Ironwood's forces they pushed the Grimm back, while also dealing heavy loses to the white fang. Cinder had also lost many of her personal forces, and was severely injured by Pyrrha, who took Cinder's eye. Roman Torchwick was captured who quickly turned on Cinder since he had decided to save his own skin.

Cinder and her criminal forces were in hiding, and plotting on top of that. She was infuriated that her plans were thwarted after all the years of planning and preparation. Things were made even harder, as for the past 2 years the owner of that new night club had gained a lot of power and influence. The woman's club was considered neutral ground where all were welcome, but there was no fighting allowed. Those who broke the few rules that were in place paid dearly for it, such as a few days prior, when Emerald broke the no fighting rule which left her bloody, bruised and with broken bones. Emerald was dumped on the side of the road by some thugs which caused the green haired woman to end up in the custody of Vale PD after they found her.

It just so happens that on this very night WBY was going to this very same club. Yang had heard about the place a few weeks ago and wanted to check it out. From every thing she heard it sounded like 'Thee' place to be. Blake herself was rather intrigued by what Yang had told her about the place. Weiss wasn't much of a partying person but was talked into going or rather dragged against her will. Yang being who she was and loving to party was very excited. The club was originally owned by Junior but was bought out just like all the buildings that were connected to it. It was a big place when Junior owned it but now it was massive.

Walking up to the place you could hear the rhythmic beats of the music inside. Bright red lights illuminated the outside with plenty of people waiting to get inside. Looking up Yang saw the name and logo of the place which made her frown. The clubs name was 'The Cresent Rose' with the logo being a elegantly designed black and red Rose. The letters of the name were dark red that faded into black. The black and red rose logo had the rose connected to the thorny stem with a few petals falling. The name, color scheme and logo reminded Yang of her sister.

After what happened with her sister, Yang couldn't bring herself to face Ruby. She loved her sister, but what Ruby did was unforgivable. Emerald forest was not only the school's training, and initiation grounds, but also a Vale land mark. Setting it on fire was devastating to the wild life, the school, the city, and especially to the people who were hurt. A few people actually lived in the forest, and had lost their homes. Ruby admitted to setting the fire, but did nothing but lie about how it happened. The evidence proved it was intentional, but her sister just kept lying. Ruby became a disappointment to her family, and her friends. The last time any of them had seen her was when she punched their dad in the face and sped off. Taiyang had tried to take her home after she got out of prison.

Yang shook her head at the memories, and regained her smile before dragging her friends with her to the entrance. Despite the line, Yang went straight to the front. At first she and the others were waved off by the bouncer. Another bouncer answered a call on his cell before turning to the first and whispering in his ear. To their surprise they were let in, and told that they were on the list. Going inside, they instantly saw how beautiful and elegant the place was, though it was also dark and gothic.

The dark lights flashed, and glittered off the sweaty skin of the dancers. Cages with partially or fully nude dancers were suspended in the air. There were professional dancers of both human, and faunus of multiple genders. The decor was primarily black and red, in a gothic style and quite ornate. The music was dark and rhythmic, playing heavy metal, industrial, industrial metal, and other dark toned music. All the dancing bodies were moving to the song "My life My Rules," by a group called Combichrist.

Yang thought the place was amazing, and could definitely see herself having fun. Blake's interest was definitely piqued even more while Weiss was complaining about what she called obnoxious music. They stepped up to the bar, and ordered drinks, but when they went to pay a familiar face told them not to worry about it.

"Drinks are on house tonight blondie." Junior told her.

"Junior? What are you doing her here? Thought you sold the place?" Yang asked in surprise.

"I did sell it, but I chose to keep working here. The Mistress pays really damn well."

"Mistress?" Blake questioned.

"The owner. She usually goes by the Mistress." He answered her as he washed a glass up. "She gave you VIP status for the night as well."

"Why?" Weiss asked.

"It's none of my business." He shook his head. "Everyone here knows better than to talk about her private matters."

"The way you say that makes it sound kinda- I don't know, shady..." Yang said.

"Call it what you want, but it doesn't change the fact that it's not a good idea. If the Mistress wants someone to know something, they'll know." Junior responded.

After their conversation with Junior, they went to the VIP section of the Club that was up on top most floor. They drank, talked and even danced a bit, or rather Yang and Blake danced while Weiss sat there. A few hours had passed when they noticed a familiar face sitting a few booths over. Bright red hair, bowler hat, trench coat, and a cane. It was definitely Torchwick. The girls didn't waste any time marching over to confront the man who was supposed to be in jail. When he looked up, instead of a look of horror or disbelief, he was smiling.

"Girls it's a pleasure to see you again." He said as smiled at them.

"You're supposed to be in jail!" Yang yelled. "How the fuck did you get out? Actually, you know what? It doesn't matter, we're putting you right back in you're hole!"

"I must politely decline; for you see, I was pardoned by the counsel of Vale. Therefore, I am not only a free man but i also have a clean record." Roman said with an amused smirk.

"BULLSHIT!" Blake hissed. "There's no way anyone would give you a pardon after the things you've done!"

"I agree. You're story is highly unlikely, and you are known to lie." Weiss said.

"First of all, the things I did consisted of theft, robbery, breaking and entering, assault, and assault with a deadly weapon. I have never done anything worse than that. Second of all, I may lie from time to time, but as you remember I never lied about the information I had on Cinder. So, what would I have to gain by lying about this?" Torchwick replied.

"I don't care! I know you're lying and you're going back to jail!" Yang shouted.

"I'm afraid I can't have you threatening one of my customers, especially harassing an innocent man." A familiar voice said from behind the group.

"Ah, Mistress Rose it's a pleasure as always." Roman told her.

"I hope your enjoying yourself Roman." The woman said.

Turning around, WBY came face to face with their former team leader. Right there, in front of them, stood Ruby. She was a few years older now, more toned, and definitely more physically mature. She was wearing a black short skirted dress that had dark red accents, and left her stomach and the sides of her midsection exposed. Her bare stomach was adorned with multiple scars. The dress had long sleeves, and was worn with black combat looking boots that came up to just below the knees. Ruby also had a black choker with a silver rose emblem hanging from it. Her hair was still black with red tips, but was much shorter than it used to be, and was spiked. Her hair was short enough that it couldn't be grabbed in a fight. Her make up was simple, with black lip stick that faded into a dark red, and she had black eye liner on.

Ruby was completely calm and when WBY looked into her silver eyes they didn't see the naivety, happiness, nor innocence that use to fill them. Her eyes now showed confidence, experience, and most notably a distant coldness. The team, especially the blonde, had a mix of emotions running through them. They had come to miss Ruby, but after what happened they couldn't trust her anymore. They avoided, and ignored her, not once visiting her while she was locked up. They were happy to see her, and know she was okay, but something was off about her. Something was different. This couldn't be the Ruby they used to know. This couldn't be the Ruby that was always positive and full of life.

"R-Ruby!" Yang stuttered out in shock.

"Miss Xiao Long, miss Schnee, miss Belladona. Are you done throwing baseless accusations at Mr. Torchwick?" Ruby said, as if everything was completely normal. "What he says is true. He was, in fact, given a full pardon, and is a free man with a spotless record."

"Ruby, what are you doing here?" Yang asked which got a laugh from Ruby.

After everything that happened, after how everyone treated her, and after she disappeared like she did, all she gets is a "What am I doing here?" She doesn't get a, "How are you?" There was no, "Are you okay?" No, "It's great to see you!" All Ruby could think about right at that moment was how pathetic they were. They looked as weak as ever, and obviously didn't seem to care that she was even gone. If they cared, they would have defended her, believed her, visited her, and looked for her when she disappeared. Right now, they still didn't even seem to care. She was right here in front of them, and that was the first thing out of someone's mouth. Pathetic.

"It's my club. The name, and décor should have made that obvious." Ruby chuckled. "Then again, you never were the smart one of the team."

"No one's seen you since your father tried picking you up two years ago, and your making jokes!" Weiss vented.

"Actually, I wasn't joking, I was stating a fact. Yang isn't very bright. In fact, she's pretty stupid. It just happened to also be funny." Ruby told them.

"HEY!" Yang protested.

"As for no one seeing me, well..." Ruby tilted her head slightly. "Plenty of people saw me, the people who I wanted to see me, that is." Ruby coldly said.

"Ruby, you said this is your club. How did you even afford it? If none of us knew about him having a pardon then how did you?" Blake asked.

"My financials are of none of your business." Ruby's eye's narrowed. "As for Roman's pardon, I was the one who got it for him."

"You got it for him? How? Why?" Blake suspiciously asked.

"Simple. I know people." Ruby shrugged. "My reasoning behind it, however, is once again my business."

"I don't know what you've been doing, or why you're acting like this, but what I do know is that your coming home right NOW!" Yang told her as she went to grab Ruby.

Before Yang even got close enough, she was kicked backwards. A short woman wearing older styled clothing with multicolored hair and eyes stood there. The woman had an umbrella with a blade coming out of the top pointed at Weiss and Blake. She stood between Ruby and the girls with a glare of protectiveness on her face. The three girls recognized the woman as Roman's partner Neo. Neo was firm and unmoving as she was determined to protect Ruby from anyone.

"Neo put it away." Ruby told her as she put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I'm fine. They couldn't touch me even they wanted to and you know that. Honestly I don't understand what gets into you sometimes." As Ruby said that Roman couldn't help but roll his eye's and dead pane at how oblivious the girl was.

"Neo doesn't like it when someone touches or otherwise try's to touch 'Her' Mistress. Trying to harm her is even worse and may result in dismemberment." Roman chuckled from his emphasizing of 'Her' resulting in him getting a glare from Neo.

"If the three of you would excuse me I'd like to relax before my business meeting later." Ruby told them as she sat down on one of the booths couches. "Oh and by the way a word of advice, 'DO NOT' cause any trouble in my club and 'DO NOT' bring any with you either."

Yang was going to persist but was blocked by at least a dozen body guards. Blake told Yang it wasn't worth it and to forget about it for now. The girls went back their booth and started discussing their discovery of Ruby and the brief conversation they had with her. It came as a shock to them when they glanced over at Ruby and saw her not only drinking but also cutting lines of white powder. She bent down and inhaled the white lines. She sat back up and pulled a woman down onto her lap. The woman started dancing on Ruby's lap as Ruby was running her hands all over the woman. On occasion she would nip at her neck. Neo however sat there with her arms crossed glaring daggers at the dancer.

A song called 'Away from me' by the group 3teeth was playing as the dancer continued to grind on Ruby. It started to get more heated with Ruby pulling her into a kiss. The dancer didn't pull away even as Ruby's hands moved and grabbed her ass. After awhile Ruby stood up and pulled the dancer with her as she headed to her office which overlooked everything. Neo frowned at Ruby's actions as she got a look of genuine sorrow on her face.

"Neo you should tell her." Roman said as he looked at the short woman.

Neo simply shook her head no.

"If your not going to tell her then why sit here and constantly torture yourself like this?" He asked.

Neo looked at him with tears in her eye's as she once again just simply shook her head.

"Damn it Neo." Roman shook his head. "You need to stop doing this to yourself, it's not healthy. Unless you plan on telling her then you need to move on instead of hurting yourself like this."

Neo just ignored him as she got up and went down to the bar.

It was an hour later when Ruby showed back up looking a little disheveled. She had made her way to the main floor of the club and up to a stage. The stage was slightly lifted up from the rest of the floor and had a microphone and instruments on it. Obviously they had it for live performances since plenty of clubs and bars did that. It would seem that Ruby occasionally performed which was a surprise to WBY. None of Ruby's former friends and family even knew she could sing. Heavy rhythmic music started playing with Ruby grabbing the mic and swinging her hips. Neo sat at the bar captivated by Ruby's movements.

"Is this the price for all the fame
Is this the pain to play the game
But I never want - that's so unreal
Do you think my tears are fakes
Do you think my shouts are mistakes
I've simply tried to live my life
I've tried to stand this hopeless fight
But I never want to be a tragic hero"

As Ruby finished the first verse she turned her eye's up to the top floor. She made eye contact with her former teammates with her eye's shinning with a bright defiance as she spoke the next verse.

"And I don't want you and I don't need you
Don't bother to resist, or I'll beat you
It's not your fault that you're always wrong
The weak ones are there to justify the strong
The beautiful people, the beautiful people
It's all relative to the size of your steeple"

"I'm sick of all the fakes
Bloody painted bastard freaks
You're False scars and false pain
You can't see the forest for the trees
You can't smell your own shit on your knees
There's no time to discriminate
Hate every motherfucker
That's in your way"

Ruby held the eye contact that entire time and even smirked and grinned. The words were clearly intended for the three girls.

"Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it's hard to be clean"

"The worms will live in every host
It's hard to pick which one they eat the most
The horrible people, the horrible people
It's as anatomic as the size of your steeple"

"I'm sick of all the bitches
Overstyled lying witches
False titts false game
Big mouth no brain"

She made eye contact again along with another wide grin for that last verse. Ruby put an emphasizes on the words of the verse. She started swinging her hips more as she twisted and turned her body to the musics beat.

"Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it's hard to be clean"

"There's no time to discriminate
Hate every motherfucker
That's in your way"

"The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people"

"Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it's hard to be clean"

"Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it's hard to be clean"

"The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people"

When the song ended many people applauded and whistled with Neo being the loudest. When Ruby walked off the stage she made her way up to a man in a sharp suit. There was a shaking of hands and a brief conversation before Ruby and Neo escorted the man up to her office.

Yang and the others didn't know how to feel or what to think about any of this. Ruby was different and not just by a little but by a lot. The way she dressed, the way she talked, the way she acted, it was all so different. She was into girls, she was drinking and doing drugs, and was the owner of this night club. Then there was her little song performance which was obviously aimed at them. They didn't know how she had gotten all this money but they wanted to know. Something about all this was suspicious and shady especially with Roman getting a pardon. Tomorrow morning they planed on going to Ozpin and telling him about all of this. What Yang wasn't looking forward to though was telling her dad and uncle Qrow about this.