Chapter Text
A Second Team(Well Third Team Technically)
It doesn't take long for the group to end up at the temple after Ruby points them in the right direction. They find Blake and Yang waiting for them when they arrive. Immediately upon noticing them Yang jogs toward Ruby while Blake hangs back and observes.
“Ruby, you made it.” Yang isn't particularly hurried or concerned at first, until she gets within reaching distance of her sister. Yang's expression drops in concern.
“Hey Rubes, what's wrong?” Yang looks at her with a familiar face of concern that when she was younger would make Ruby instantly break down and tell her older sister everything. As Ruby is now it just makes her slightly confused. Ruby thought she had got her emotions back under control thanks to Pyrrha. Though now that she thinks about it, after everything she's been through she supposes her baseline emotional state is much more disturbed than it used to be.
“I'm fine Yang, seriously you don't need to worry about me.” Ruby punctuated the statement with her best assured grin. It doesn't seem to assure Yang of anything. Yang's face doesn't brighten at all, the only change is slight twinge of confusion as she softly places her right hand on Ruby's shoulder in attempted comfort.
Against Ruby's will she instinctively shakes her shoulder knocking her sister's hand off. Yang's expression fell farther into concern this time with a twinge of hurt. Ruby bites back a frustrated groan, the last thing she wants is for Yang to treat her like a broken little girl. Even if that's exactly how she feels, Ruby fails to bite back a despondent sigh. There goes the good mood Pyrrha helped her find.
Yang steps closer as if to offer further comfort. Her attempt is interrupted by the sound of Nora entering the clearing shouting.
“Ursa, Ursaa… URSAAA!!” Nora shouted for Grimm as she darted around with her hand creating a visor over her eyes, as she looked around, searching for an Ursa as if she was playing hide and seek with a toddler. When she spots Ruby and Yang she jumps in between them.
“Have either of you seen an Ursa around this big?...” Nora stretches her arms wide standing on her toes as she asks.
“I was in the middle of riding on the back of an Ursa when all of a sudden it vanished.” Yang stares at Nora with her head tilted, a bewildered expression on her face.
“You mean it died and dissolved into a black cloud like Grimm do?” Nora looks at Yang like she made one of her patented bad puns.
“Pfft, I know what a Grimm's death is like and this wasn't it. It was like one second it was there and the next it was gone.” Nora lets out a shocked gasp as she cups her cheeks like she came to a startling realization.
“Or maybe like it was never there to begin with.” She stressed the last two words like a little kid discussing a huge secret. She's interrupted by Ren running up to her out of breath and panting.
“Nora please… don't run… off like that.” Ren can barely get his plea out in-between his gasps for air. Nora has the self-awareness to look sheepish as she chuckles and scratches the back of her head.
“Sorry Ren.” Nora continues chuckling, Ren collects his breath, Yang looks between the two confused, as Ruby sulks with her eyes cast down. Blake walks over to the four of them.
“You're saying, a Grimm just disappeared?” She questions Nora who nods her head vigorously, looking pleased that someone believed her crazy statement. Blake scratches her chin thoughtfully.
“I wonder if that's related to why we're not being swarmed by Grimm. Which is what I expected considering…” Blake's sentence trails off as she waves her hand in Ruby's direction, alluding to the negative emotions rolling off her in waves. Everyone's gaze returns to Ruby, who finally raises her head to notice everyone's attention.
“You know you're right…” Remarks Pyrrha, a look of realization and deep thought on her face. “Ruby was having a full blown panic attack earlier…”
“Ruby was what!?” Yang shouts loudly interrupting Pyrrha, looking wildly between her and Ruby. Pyrrha gives Yang a rueful smile while Ruby looks anywhere but at her worried sister. Pyrrha continues her line of thought.
“It didn't occur to me at the time, I was too focused on Ruby, but the amount of negative emotions pouring out of her should've definitely attracted Grimm but none came.” As she listens to Pyrrha, Ruby begins to catch up on what the others were talking about while she was sulking.
She wonders about the lack of Grimm; she comes to the conclusion that it has to be because of whatever magic the Great Tree used to send her to the past. Though Emerald Forest suddenly having zero Grimm was very strange, so strange in fact that it had her doubting she was really in the past. Perhaps this was actually just a really vivid vision and she'll be back in the Everafter in no time. The thought fills her with anxiety.
“The kids are right, Professor. I've checked all of our cameras in the Emerald Forest and can't find a single sign of any Grimm.” Exclaims Glynda as she scours through all of their cameras. Ozpin's brain was already moving a mile a minute, searching his long memory for any similar example of Grimm vanishing from a vast area for no apparent reason.
He couldn't recall anything like this happening before, which obviously has him put on edge. The immediate theory that came to mind, of course, is that somehow for some reason Salem recalled the Grimm to her. Which would definitely be cause for concern though doing so without a trace was a new trick if true. His attention switches back towards Ruby as thinks back on what happened earlier.
“Glynda can you check the recordings, specifically the moment of Miss Rose's strange instant relocation. If my hunch is right you should be able to narrow the timeline of the Grimm's disappearance to that same moment.” Glynda wastes no time in following Ozpin's direction. Oz continues his appraisal of Ruby as she does so. He wonders what secrets she's holding, what her connection with the Grimm's disappearance could be but most of all, he wonders if she can be trusted.
Pyrrha's rumination of the weird lack of Grimm in the Emerald Forest is interrupted by Weiss walking up from behind her. Turning towards the heiress she's greeted by the sight of a rook chess piece being held towards her, Pyrrha notices a matching rook in Weiss's other hand.
“Here, I figured that the matching of pieces denotes which pair of partners will be put on the same team.” Before Pyrrha can comment on Weiss's deduction she's intercepted by Jaune.
“Ah Weiss… forgive me but… I'm pretty sure that was… uh, my idea?” Jaune mumbles nervously through what should be a statement but he poses as a question. Pyrrha raises her left eyebrow at Weiss measuringly. The heiress blushes and furrows her eyebrows with a look of frustration on her face.
“Yeah well, you just said what we were obviously both thinking. Like who wouldn't figure that out?” She grumbles clearly lying and embarrassed about being called out. Pyrrha shakes her head at Weiss's posturing, part of her was annoyed at her lying to get on Pyrrha's good side, the other side of Pyrrha knows that like Pyrrha Weiss has spent most of her life in the public eye where posturing is a requirement.
In the end Pyrrha's understanding won out over her annoyance, so she accepts the offered chess piece and moves the conversation on to spare Weiss further embarrassment for the moment.
“Well, I see while the rest of us were distracted by the lack of Grimm you stayed focused on the mission. How commendable…” Weiss preens at the compliment though her shoulders slump only slightly as Pyrrha continues. “of the two of you.”
Weiss seems disappointed to share the praise with Jaune, but the grin on his face assured Pyrrha it was the right move. His excitement is short lived, as he catches on to the other part of her statement.
“The lack of Grimm?” He questions clearly confused. Weiss also leans forwards with an interested expression. Pyrrha wastes no time explaining to them what Nora said, as well the rest of their assessments. The two of them both seem bewildered Jaune more so.
“Ruby had a panic attack?!” His confusion is clearly over powered by his horror. His attention switches from the two of them to the red clocked girl. His unabashed concern was heartwarming, so much so that it even softened Weiss's cold demeanor. Weiss looks at Ruby like she's seeing her for the first time.
Jaune doesn't hesitate to walk towards Ruby. Pyrrha instinctively reaches out to grab his arm and halt him. His head fiercely whips towards her looking upset at being stopped from comforting his friend. Pyrrha shakes her in a negative, with a sad look on her face.
“Not in front of so many people, she's going to feel ganged up on. Better to do it in private later.” Jaune recognizes the wisdom in her warning and his shoulders sag. Weiss steps forward, worrying Pyrrha who thinks Weiss is ignoring her advice.
“There's no point in worrying about where the Grimm are, instead we should be thankful that we can achieve our objective unimpeded.” Weiss leaves no room for argument with her tone, as she diverted the group's attention from the Grimm and Ruby. Ruby's demeanor perks up as she looks at Weiss with a grateful expression.
“She's right. This is still an initiation and we still have a job to do, so let's grab our relics and get out of here.” The rest of the group respond and get ready to head out. Ren very gently grabs Nora by her arm and guides to the last podium with a chess piece grabbing the knight piece that Yang and Blake had grabbed before the rest of the group had arrived.
As the rest of the group headed out, Yang stayed backed and observed Ruby with a concerned frown. Blake grabbed her comfortingly by the shoulder. Yang sighed reservedly.
“I'm fine. Let's just get going.”
After they returned from the Emerald Forest, the eight were split into two teams. Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune are team PARS(Paradise). Ren, Nora, Blake, and Yang are Team LNBY(Lingonberry).
It's hard to put into words just how Ruby was relieved to not be the leader this go around. Jaune not being the leader surprised her at first, but then she realized since there was no fight with Grimm this time he didn't have the chance to show off his leadership skills.
Now obviously Ruby knows she has to change things if she wants things to be better this time around. That being said, the more things her presence changes, the less she knows what to expect and the more her anxiety grows. She's pretty sure at some point she should tell Ozpin, she's from the future, she'll need his resources to actually make a difference. Though it's tough for her to be confident in him of all people after everything she's learned about him.
Not to mention it's been tough to find time to think, with how often Yang's been bothering her, trying to get her to open up. Ruby understands where she's coming from, literally days ago Ruby was her usual awkward but happy self, and now she's reserved and avoidant.
Her gut tells her she can confide in her older sister however in order to tell her about the future she has to tell her about all of her screw-ups that led them to where they were. She just can't see herself telling anybody about her failures, the guilt is just too much. If she's honest that's probably more of the reason she hasn't told Ozpin than just her mistrust of him.
Thinking about all of this she can feel her heart rate start to rise. She takes a few deep breaths to try and calm her anxiety. She can feel her heart rate slow, up until she sees Yang walk towards her. She can't help but think to herself ‘oh crap’ as she loses control of her breathing.
Ozpin sighs as he sits alone in his office staring at his scroll. Apparently Qrow heard about Ruby's panic attack from Taiyang who heard about it from Yang and has been blowing up Oz's scroll asking about it. Ozpin told Qrow the truth, that he has no clue what caused it and that he's monitoring her mental state closely.
Qrow expressed doubt when Ozpin said he didn't know what caused the panic attack. Not because he doesn't trust Ozpin's heart, at the moment he still has Qrow's trust and Oz hopes to keep it that way, but Qrow knows that Ozpin keeps secrets. Qrow just trusts that Oz is keeping them for a good reason.
Ozpin is grateful for that leeway though at the moment he wished would believe him, that he's not keeping any secrets regarding his niece. Ozpin winces, as he realizes that he is keeping a secret regarding Ruby he didn't tell Qrow about the disappearing Grimm and connection Oz suspected they shared with Ruby.
The centuries old wizard groans as he massages his forehead. Has he really gotten so used to secrets that he can't always notice when he's not sharing them? Ozpin shakes his head before getting out of his chair and making his way out of his office, perhaps a walk around campus will do him some good.
Yang approaches Ruby carefully, her little sister has been avoiding her ever since initiation, it has Yang hurt and confused, but most of all worried about her sister. Yang steps next to Ruby's left, the two of them were walking through one of Beacon's many hallways. It's been four days since initiation and they had their last class of the day.
Ruby split off from her team the moment class was over. Yang saw Pyrrha and Jaune watch her leave with worried expressions, which let Yang know that Ruby wasn't confiding in her teammates either. The first thing Yang notices upon reaching her sister's side is her hurried breathing.
Realizing that her baby sister's having a panic attack Yang reaches forward her shoulder, only for Ruby to sidestep her hand walking quickly behind Yang moving around to walk on the blonde's left side. Before Yang can say anything Ruby speaks.
“I'm fine Yang, you don't need to worry about me.” Yang could tell Ruby tried to sound strong but her voice cracked towards the end of the sentence. She hears Ruby mutter what sounds like ‘shit’ under her breath. Ruby raises her head to look her in the eyes, Yang's breath hitches at the vulnerable look in her eyes.
Ruby's mouth opens as if she is about to speak, making Yang hopeful that she's finally going to tell her what's wrong. Before a single sound escapes her mouth, Ruby's gone with nothing but rose petals left to show that she was there in the first place. The sight has her echoing her sister's earlier sentiment.
“Shit!”
Ruby speeds through the halls until she finds herself outside in the courtyard. She comes to a stop just as the tears become too much for her to see through. She begins to rub at her cheeks and eyelids when she hears a voice that causes a cold to envelope her heart. Turning to her left she sees Ozpin giving her a sad smile.
“Hello Ruby…” He takes a pause as he looks down seemingly looking for the right words. As she waits for him to continue sheepish feels her tears dry up. She couldn't cry in front of him. Something in her core just wouldn't let her shed tears in front of Ozpin.
“It's obvious to anyone paying attention that you're going through a great deal. Though what exactly you're going through, isn't quite as apparent. You know, I've been through a great many things in my time.” Ruby couldn't help but let out a short cackle at that understatement of all understatements. Ozpin frowns briefly but quickly continues.
“So I can assure you whatever it is that's weighing on you, I can offer advice on ways to lighten the load.” The white-haired man takes a step closer, it takes a great deal of restraint for Ruby to not step back. The look Ozpin gives her surprises her, she expected many emotions, such as pity maybe, but guilt she wasn't expecting.
“Even though I don't know what's bothering you I can't help but feel like I'm responsible for it, so please… Ruby, let me help you.” To Ruby's surprise once again she feels the cold grip around her heart dissipate. She still doesn't feel trust, but the deep hesitancy she felt towards him is gone.
Logically she's known she must confide in him, the only thing stopping her was her emotions. After hearing his plea she feels like her emotions have calmed enough for her to tell him.
“OK Professor, I'll tell you, but we have to do it in private. Give me till tomorrow.” Ozpin visibly relaxed.
“I don't mean to be difficult, but I think we both know how fragile your mental state is right now and there's no guarantee you'll still feel up to this tomorrow.” Ruby feels the cold edge return slightly and she does hesitate in her response.
“Tomorrow or not at all Professor.”
Weiss was trying to focus on her homework, but she struggled to do so, with Jaune pacing holes in their shared room. Jaune was mumbling about Ruby and her obvious turmoil that won't let them help with. His pacing is interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
To the surprise of both of them it was Ruby, who normally returned much later in the day, in order to avoid conversation with them easier. Ruby seemed surprisingly present even giving the two of them a small smile before sitting on her bed, which was tucked away in the corner of the room.
She pulled out her scroll and began typing. Jaune watched her intently. For almost two whole minutes the only sound in the room was Ruby's typing. Weiss could almost still hear Jaune's mumbling despite his mouth having remained shut since Ruby entered.
Having enough of his nonsense, she grumbles frustratedly before storming over to him, grabbing his arm and dragging to stand next to Ruby's bed.
For the love of everything, Ruby, Jaune's going to talk and you're going to listen and then when he's done you're going to talk back understand?” She phrased it like a question but spoke it like a statement. Jaune looked at her rattled, clearly concerned that her lack of gentleness will ruin Ruby's decent mood.
Judging by the look on Ruby's face Weiss doesn't think it will. The young girl looked surprised, but oddly comforted. Weiss wasn't sure why, but she wasn't going to question her about it, cause she had a hunch that actually would ruin her mood. Ruby looked at Jaune expectantly who took a quick breath before speaking.
“Ruby, I know our friendship is relatively new, we've only known each other a few days after all.” Weiss doesn't think Jaune notices but Ruby's expression falls slightly at that, which Weiss found odd.
“But despite that, I care about you and I want to help you. But it's not just me, Pyrrha, your sister and even Weiss want to help you so please, talk to us.” Jaune delivers his plea with sincerity Weiss has a hard time imagining another person being able to match. She's not sure it has the desired effect by the way Ruby looks away.
“Jaune… I… I'm sorry but I can't make any promises. I don't have good control of my emotions lately. My head is clear at the moment but I'm not sure how long it'll last, and what I'm working on is just too important to put on hold for our friendship so while my head is clear I need to focus on this.”
Weiss can't help but find it ironic that the most words she's heard from Ruby since they became a team is her telling them that she can't talk to them. Jaune gazes into Ruby's eyes in contemplation.
“I'm not sure what you mean by what you're working on. That being said, I'll drop it for now, keep in mind though that it's only for now. I'm not giving up on our friendship Ruby.”
The next day Ruby wakes up earlier than normal, several hours before the rest of her team. She made Ozpin agree to meet before anyone else wakes up so she can avoid any questions from her team. She sneaks out with her scroll grasped tightly in her hand.
As she walks down the hallway she stares at her scroll, specifically the notes she spent all of last night writing. She wrote down every important detail she could remember, she knows it's only a matter of time before she falls back into her state of self-loathing. Which is why she needs to make sure this conversation with Ozpin goes perfectly since she doesn't have a clue when she'll be able to have a productive conversation again.
“Ruby?” The sound of Pyrrha's voice coming from behind her stops Ruby dead in her tracks. She bites back a groan at the fact that the one thing she woke up early to avoid was happening anyway. Putting on best determined smile Ruby turns towards her partner, something she's still very much getting used to calling Pyrrha.
“Is everything ok?” Pyrrha asks as she softly walks out of their room still in her night clothes, red pajama pants that match the color of her hair with a plain loose fitting white t-shirt. She's clearly still very tired, her concern apparently giving just enough energy to get her out of bed to posture Ruby.
“I'll be fine Pyrrha you can go back to bed.” Pyrrha frowns in response before shaking her head and approaching Ruby with a steady pace.
“Jaune shared with me what you told him yesterday Ruby. About how whatever you're dealing with is too important for you to spend your energy on us.” Pyrrha comes to a stop right in front of her forcing Ruby to crane her neck upwards to look into the much taller girl's green eyes.
“However I can't accept that, you see, I'm the leader of our team, more than that you're my partner Ruby. Which means it's my responsibility to support you.” Pyrrha lays her hands on Ruby's shoulders with a gentle but firm grip. All of the fatigue that had been in Pyrrha's eyes mere moments ago seemed to have been completely replaced by determination.
“Therefore I cannot just leave you alone like this. Like it or not Ruby, we're in this together.” The fire in Pyrrha's speech puts Ruby on the backfoot, she prepares to tell Pyrrha once again to go back to bed only for the horrible memory of Pyrrha's last moments to flash through Ruby's mind.
The sight of Cinder's arrow piercing the fierce redhead's heart is a stark image that can never be erased. If Ruby was in a less clear headed state then the image would've sent her spiraling. As she is at the moment it just made her realize something so simple, that she felt like an idiot for not thinking about it sooner.
Pyrrha's just as relevant to Ruby's long term goal as Ozpin is. Pyrrha was the first true failure to rattle Ruby. It was that horrible memory of her death that formed the pit in her stomach that eventually grew to the point it consumed her heart.
There were several other contributing factors of course, Ironwood, Mantle, and Penny. But it started with her not making it in time to save Pyrrha. All of this is why telling Pyrrha about the future is just as important as telling Ozpin. Now that realizes this the tension in Ruby's shoulders fades.
“OK Pyrrha you win. I have a private meeting with Ozpin. That's where I'm going, it was going to be just the two of us, but honestly you just helped me realize something that should have been obvious.” Ruby hears the sound of Pyrrha throat hitching. Ruby had her undivided attention, clear as day.
“I should have invited you from the start, but Pyrrha we're not going to wake the others, this meeting is just going to be me you and Ozpin, ok.”