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Chapter Text

Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another. - Ernest Hemingway

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Once upon a time, in a land where the sun kissed the earth and the moon bathed it in silver light, there lived two kinds of beings that were so similar, but only saw their differences. The first were the humans, creatures of curiosity and ambition that oft turned to fear of the unknown. The second were not much different, save for their blessing of animal traits and a connection to nature. For many years, these two kinds did not know each other, living in separate parts of the world. 

The humans, unaware of the faunus, lived in a state of cautious peace. They knew of the Grimm, shadowy creatures that lurked in the dark places of the world, but as long as the humans kept their hearts light and free from despair, the Grimm kept their distance. The humans believed the Grimm to be just another part of the wild, untamed, but not a threat if left alone.

Then came a day when the humans and faunus met for the first time. It was a meeting of wonder and fear, for while some saw it as a chance for friendship and unity, others felt only distrust and trepidation. The mix of strong emotions, both good and bad, stirred the air like a storm. And like moths to a flame, it attracted the Grimm in numbers greater than ever before. 

The Grimm, drawn by the tumult of feelings, attacked with a ferocity that threatened to consume both humans and faunus alike. Villages were laid to waste, and forests became battlegrounds. It seemed the world itself was on the brink of an endless night of sorrow and rage. 

Yet, hope was not lost. A smaller, simpler soul emerged, seemingly from the pages of a time long forgotten, a woman with eyes as bright and clear as the stars above. The woman arrived with courage in her heart and a steely resolve no one could quite account for. 

She rallied the humans and faunus alike while teaching them that the Grimm were not just creatures of the wild, but monsters drawn in by their fears and hatreds. The only way to push them back was to unite together not only in battle but in their hearts and minds. 

The battles were long and arduous, and many brave souls stood and fell by the woman’s side. But through their sacrifice, a new understanding started to bloom. In some, that understanding began and ended with the Grimm themselves, yet others fully understood what the woman told them. United both would stand tall, divided, they would fall. 

That is the story we’ve told for generations to explain the Grimm. Some families like to alter it to leave out the unity bit. We don’t like those people very much. 

I am Ruby Rose. I am proof that the silver eyes are not just a genetic power to be passed down. My silver eyes may have come from my mother but the true extent of their powers could only have come from me and my soul. Silver eyes have some uses, but the full use… that seems to be a once in a millennia type of rarity that comes from unimaginable strife and pain. I have seen things you would not understand. I have done things that I do not understand. 

This story… this report… whatever you want to call it, is in many ways my good bye letter. 10 years ago, I attended Beacon Academy beside my best friends, my sister, and the woman I love. Over the last 10 years we have waged a war against Salem’s forces, the Black Tide. I have lost each and every one of my friends and family. Some I held as they died. Some I heard about on the news as the casualty reports came in. Each death woke something in me. It continued until all I had left was anger, sadness, desolation… and a strange sense of power. That is why I am writing this final letter to you, whatever remains of the world governments. 

You need to understand that each of the girls you have sent out, be they maidens or silver eyed, have sacrificed far more than you could ever comprehend. None of them wished to live after what they had been through. I don’t wish to live after all of this. 

This is why I am going after Cinder and Salem tonight. They cannot be invincible, I refuse to believe it. I’ve seen her pools of Grimm… they are dwindling. I will get near them. I will kill them. And if I don’t… well, nice to know you. 

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I signed the note with a grim satisfaction, no pun intended. Heh, Yang would have appreciated that. I thought to myself. 

Okay… let’s not think about Yang right now… gotta go avenge her death… yep, yep… all of theirs…

I stood and grabbed my trusted scythe, Wilted Rose. The blade was larger and the handle longer than Crescent Rose. It still had a sniper rifle but the bullet were a slightly smaller gauge. The grip was a decent bit bulkier though in order to house Thorn. Thorn was a second, much smaller, Scythe that could turn into a sword to allow for more versatile combat. 

I was known by most of Remnant as the Bloody Rose of Remnant, Slayer of Grimm, Protector of the Realm. Most survivors knew that I had arrived just by looking at my cloak. In an effort to be more practical, I had discarded my previous cloak and replaced it with a fur lined, dark red and black cloak. Underneath it was my armor. I learned long ago that not wearing armor was foolish and my skirt was just asking for someone to chop off my legs. After wearing it for 10 years, it felt like my pants and armor were just part of me. 

My right arm was a casualty of the start of the war that had, in my opinion, turned into a boon. While Yang had found it hard to accept, likely due to how her weapons worked, I quickly found it to be a true advantage in combat. Yang… A pang shot through my chest as I considered my sister. A shake of my head tried to clear out the sight of her lying on the ground after the White Fang put out her light. 

Breathing deeply I tried to calm my mind, Stop thinking of the past… we’re here to finish this. 

Today was the day I kill them. I could feel it in my bones as I began the 5 mile hike to where Cinder and Salem were stationed in that stupid, supposedly impenetrable, castle.

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As I got closer I could see the hoards of monsters surrounding the castle, among which were some of what I unfortunately felt had to be called her experiments. New Grimm that the brothers never imagined. Yet, I was not here to fight the hoards of monsters. The remaining huntsmen could handle those. No, I was here to stop what no one else could: Salem.

Pouring my aura into my speed semblance I was able to break down into my particles and move past the Grimm like I wasn’t even there and right into the castle. It did not take long to realize that there were few, if any, Grimm in the castle. Thus began my search for Salem. 

I could hear an echo down the haul of someone heavily breathing and followed it silently. As I got closer I heard Salem’s voice, “Stupid girl, do you really think this is how you’ll bet of use to us.” A loud sound of skin on skin reverberated down the hall. 

A voice cried out, “No, I’m sorry your majesty.” Emerald. 

I shook my head, the poor girl never had a chance. I wasn’t here for her though and found myself crouched and ready to try to get the drop on Salem. It didn’t take long for my opportunity to arrive as she yelled at Emerald a few more times before floating out of the room. 

Swiftly I drew back Thorn and moved to slit her throat. A blast from behind me sent me flying. I looked up and growled as I discovered Cinder had also been in the room. In my eagerness to kill Salem, I had missed such a clear danger. Don’t get hung up on mistakes, just move forward.

My aura held strong as I stood up and glared at the woman who had killed every single maiden, “Well if it isn’t the Queen’s Bitch.” 

Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn Salem smirked while Cinder let out a growl.

Salem looked to Cinder, “Kill her. I believe she was stupid enough to bring the final relic with her.” Her arrogance on full display as she backed up to seemingly watch the show.

My eyes widened as I realized she was right. How could I be so stupid?

I steadied myself and faced Cinder, “Hello Cinder.” Wilted Rose soon found its way into my prosthetic handed Thorn in my left. I took my fighting stance and glared, “Let’s dance.” 

Cinder activated her maiden powers and hovered in the air, “You’ve always been a thorn in my side Ruby. As if you could ever compare to me.” The power swirled around her, an attempt to intimidate, of that I was certain. Yet out of her and Salem, Cinder barely even registered. 

Ice started to rain at me as I swatted it away with Thorn and leapt out of the storm’s focal point. She turned to me with a glint in her eyes. “Can’t stand the cold? I’m sure the heat will be more your taste then.” Her eyes glimmered and a cruel smirked started to form. 

I furrowed my brows. I hadn’t fought Cinder since she had taken on the Summer Maiden’s powers. My brain started trying to figure out what she meant when I felt a sudden breeze. I looked down to find my pants being burned away and the heat increasing in intensity. 

My eyes flashed red as I let my power course through me, “Sorry Cinder, you can’t burn the sun.” My hair lit up like fire as I charged forward with all my speed and rammed Wilted Rose into her head. 

Her counter attack found only air as I leapt behind her and prepared another attack. She shook off her daze and pulled out her infamous bow.

With a speed that felt absurd even to me, she trained the bow on me and within moments, fired. Unfortunately for her, she still wasn’t going to be able to hit me with projectiles as I dodged and weaved. Her own semblance, mixed with the maiden’s magic began to take control of the arrows and move them like homing beacons imbued with magic and made just for me. Soon a frost arrow clipped my boot. It hurt like hell for a split second but in not time my aura stitched the wound back together. 

An idea began to form in my mind as I stowed Thorn back in Wilted Rose and glared at Cinder. 

She walked forward laughing, “The Great Ruby Rose. To think, tomorrow they will say you were nothing more than a fool who walked willing to her death.” Her bow turned into two blades and she lazily went to strike me down. 

In a swift movement I reached out and broke my ankle dodging her and simultaneously grabbing her by the throat. “Don’t worry bitch. I won’t be dying to you.” I poured all of my strength into my prosthetic hand, every type of semblance I could think of to make this work and crushed until her aura stopped protecting her. Then, I kept crushing.

For a moment I stared at her lifeless face before dropping her to the ground. I felt the maiden powers attempt to go into me and then promptly reject me as a host. The novelty of that experience had worn off several maidens ago unfortunately. 

As I walked towards Salem, Wilted Rose in hand, my aura fixed my ankle, “I guess that makes you next.” 

Salem laughed at the sight of Cinder, “Well its too bad she didn’t get to live to see the final plan.” She chuckled darkly, “It would have killed her too.” 

She began to wave her hand and her magic flared around us. I ducked and wove as best as I could but soon found myself pinned down by one of Salem’s more Grimm-like appendages. She bent down and took the final relic, the Lamp, from me.

She quickly tossed me aside and I crashed into a nearby wall and right out the window. I recovered mid-air and shot back into the building. 

I tried to rush her but I was too late, “I guess you’ll get a front row seat to the end.” A wave of power seemed to suddenly over take the room and I found myself knocked away, unable to do anything but watch. 

Two dragon like creatures appeared and turned into men. They began to speak to Salem in what appeared to be angry tones. I couldn’t hear but I could see the looks upon their visages. No one in the bubble of power that they seemed to have created, seemed happy. 

I could see the darker of the two brothers getting more and more incensed and with it came a fear I had never felt before. We all knew what would happen when the brothers arrived. We were all going to die. Yet as panic began to over take me I felt compelled to look at the brother of light. Turning my gaze to him I found him staring directly at me. He mouthed “Run.” 

So I ran. I ran faster than I have ever run in my life. As I ran I began to feel heat following behind me unlike anything I could have imagined. I ran until I realized I no longer had legs. It was like my body was disintegrating. In a last ditch effort I activated every bit of my power. Every ounce of abilities and remnants of magic locked within myself with a desperate plea that this could not be the end. My aura failed to mend me and I felt my body die. 

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I groaned as I woke up with my face on a hard floor. A voice echoed through my aching head, “Miss Rose, are you okay?” I looked up and found myself face to face with Professor Ozpin. I must be dreaming, he’s dead. Then again, I’m pretty sure I’m dead. Is this heaven? Is there a heaven? Eh… does it matter if its a dream before death or the actual death itself I guess. 

I looked up to realize that I still had not answered his question. I picked myself up off the floor and saw that I was standing on the same stage where the teams at Beacon are announced. 

Humoring my own delusions I replied, “Yeah I think I’m alright. What happened Professor?” 

Ozpin rose an eyebrow at me, “You fainted right after we announced your team name.” He pointed behind me and I turned around curiously. Standing before me was Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Alive and well exactly where they had been standing that day. 

“Nope.” I murmured as the darkness descended on me again. 

Chapter Text

Slowly consciousness returned to me along with an ache that spread through my head with every heart beat. Man I hope I didn’t drink too much last night. Was my first thought before my memories slammed into me like a ton of bricks. At that point, the only thought I had was, where am I?

I willed my eyes to open and the light in the room only increased the throbbing. A quick glance around the room told me I was alone in what looked like a hospital. Are there any hospitals left? I shook my head and took a deep breath, figuring that I should get my bearings and then start asking questions. Hopefully the doctor will be able to tell me the status of the rest of Remnant. 

My eyes drifted down and began to assess the damage. What the hell! The IV needle was in my right arm. I threw back the covers and sure enough my right arm was there. Completely attached. No metal. Okay this is clearly a trick. Or… oh! It’s my last dying dream. I nodded to myself satisfied with my explanation. 

Figuring I might as well enjoy this strange, strange dream, I ripped with IV out of my arm. Through the pain in my head, I willed my aura to heal the wounds along with my pounding head. I gathered my cloak and clothes at the end of the bed. Grumbling to myself, I threw the clothes on, “Stupid combat skirts.” 

Just as I was pulling my hood up, a man walked in, “Miss! You can’t just get out of bed. We aren’t finished testing you. I’m Doctor Mulberry. I understand you might be disoriented. According to the tests we’ve been running you are having some very strange brain activity and likely a concussion.”

I eye’d him and reached behind me for my weapon. It wasn’t there. Of course it wasn’t fucking there, “Where am I?”

“Vale General Hospital in the City of Vale. Your headmaster had you brought here after you fainted twice in a row,” He explained holding his hands up, “how about this Headmaster Ozpin and your teammates are here outside waiting for you.” 

My eyes narrowed at the idea, “Send in Ozpin,” I sniped. The doctor nodded and Ozpin was sent in shortly after. 

Headmaster Ozpin looked at me curiously at first, “You seem rather out of it Miss Rose.”

I took a deep breath and reminded myself of the words, “Faint light on the horizon, what say you?” 

Ozpin looked taken aback, his voice unsteady, “Darkness may be here but the light will always burn…” Ozpin’s eyes darted around almost as if he was looking for a prank… or a spy. “How do you know that Miss Rose?”

“Before I even consider answering that question, I need proof you’re you. Codename?” I growled.

“Agent Sheen,” Ozpin stated. It was clear to me he was both intrigued and confused at this point.

“Good, Agent Sheen, then if you could lead me to a safe location to have this conversation maybe you can help me figure out what’s going on.” I steeled my face, trying to not give away the hope that was threatening to bloom within me. If I was right, then I had accomplished what the first silver eye’d warrior had. If I was wrong… then this was the cruelest torture Salem could have devised. 

He nodded, “First Miss Rose, you should let your team know you’re okay.” He nodded his head at the door, “I know you just became leader yesterday, but they have been quite worried about you.” 

I shook my head vehemently, my neck threatening whiplash, “Not yet.” The stern look on my face dissolved to sorrow, “I can’t see them yet… I don’t know if I can ever seen then. Please… tell them I’m okay… make something up, but don’t make me face them yet.” My voice sounded like a broken child. That was when it dawned on me, I was a broken child. I was back in my 15 year old body. 

After my outburst he simply nodded, “Very well. I will have them return to the school ahead of us. Then, you and I shall be having a long conversation.” 

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Shortly after they left, I was discharged against everyone’s suggestions but, Ozpin insisted and he had the power to make the demand. 

The airship ride back to Beacon was quiet and surreal. I could see all of Vale. It was pristine. Not a Grimm in sight. Shortly before we landed I asked about my weapon and he informed me it was in my locker. They had figured I wouldn’t need it at the hospital. I conveniently left out that if he hadn’t taken it, I might have killed the doctor earlier. 

Upon arriving at the school, I followed Ozpin to what he referred to as ‘The Vault.’ The description Jaune had given me did not seem to do it justice. It felt somehow both overwhelmingly larger than life and unremarkable all at once. After locking the door behind us he turned to me, “Now Miss Rose, can you please explain what is going on?” 

I nodded and sighed heavily, “Once upon a time, a girl with silver eyes saved humanity from a grimm invasion. Although few records beyond our fairy tales even show it could be true, I was able to find those records. It took a while, but I was able to find out about each of the true silver eye’d girls.”

Ozpin looked intrigued, “The silver eye’d girls? Why would you spend so much time researching them?” 

A small chuckle escaped my lips, “Come on now Ozpin, you have to know what they’ve been rumored to do.”  I took a deep breath, “Either way, the first one… she claimed she had already lived through the war. The council blew her off, of course, but eventually she proved it.” I looked at him and saw the wheels turning behind his eyes.

“Yes…” he murmured, a far away look in his eyes, “I too have heard that story. How does it exactly pertain to you, Miss Rose?”

“Agent Scarlett. The Bloody Rose of Remnant, The Protector the Realm, Shield of the People… and so… so many more. I have earned all of those titles over 10 years of hell. I don’t know why or how, but my soul has returned here. I should be dead.” 

Ozpin looked confused, then his eyes widened, “Surely you’re not suggesting… Ruby, that’s preposterous. That’s just a story.” 

Slack-jawed I stared at him for a moment before I was finally able to find my voice, “Seriously?”

“Well… it is. I would know…” Ozpin paused as if realizing his mistake before he added, “After all, I have looked at all the records.”

I started laughing, almost hysterically to myself. The glare Ozpin gave me only cracking me up further. “I…” I laughed harder, “I can’t believe you would say that.” 

“Ruby! I am not here for you to laugh at. You need to explain yourself.” He seemed to almost snap as he yelled, “Now!” 

I pulled myself together and looked at him, “Ozpin, you’re like… thousands and thousands of years old, can wield magic, and are having the literally worst divorce in history. Are you seriously telling me that you don’t think this is possible?” 

The stunned look on Ozpin’s face was one I intended to remember for the rest of my life. Oscar would have believed me. He frowned and as his brain turned back on he looked at me, “But… wait what?”

I rolled my eyes, “So are we over the initial fucking shock Ozzie? I need your help. This is either an elaborate ploy or the best opportunity anyone will ever get.” 

“A ploy by whom?” Ozpin asked, “From what I can see, you’re the one acting out of strange. Although, short of a psychotic break, I cannot think of any other explanation. ” 

“Salem obviously,” I said with an eye roll and a small flinch from Ozpin, “The last thing I remember, I was fighting Salem and then a big explosion. Then I woke up on the floor of the stage.” 

He nodded with a slight hesitation that screamed he didn’t fully believe me, “Very well. So… you said it had been about 10 years?” I nodded and he continued, “Very well, so how about you give me a few key points that will happen soon and we see if it plays out that way. You interfere only when you absolutely have to and that way we can confirm.” 

A growl passed my lips at the suggestion I was lying and my eyes turned bright red, “How dare you!” The fire started in my chest and moved to my head until I felt the flames in my hair. 

Ozpin floundered, “Is that… is that Miss Xiao Long’s semblance?” 

Those words washed over me and I let go of the anger, “Yes.” I looked down at my feet, “I have the semblances of all those I fought beside… well those I knew well…” My eyes watered as the tears threatened to come but a deep breath pushed them away, “Turns out, that’s the true power of a silver eye’d warrior.” 

Ozpin nodded, “I… I stand by my previous statement of you not changing much until you have to… but I am very inclined to believe you’re telling the truth. There is no known way to copy a semblance.” He paused his eyes flickered between me and the door hesitantly, “Are you ready to see your team again? They don’t know you’ve been discharged but I’d bet they’ll find out soon.” 

Fear gnawed at my stomach at the thought. They would be alive and whole. I was now the only fractured piece of the future left. I would ruin them. My thoughts spiraled more and more as I considered it. I looked up at Ozpin, “You know, I could just leave Beacon and go stop the invasion. I don’t need to stay here.” 

Ozpin laughed and a sad smile crossed his face, “You are truly so afraid of them you’d rather run away? That would alter the future irreparably and you know it.” 

I nodded, “Can I… wait until tomorrow?”

Ozpin shook his head, “Come now Ruby, we’re going to see them whether you like it or not. It’s already late so they won’t ask many questions and just go to sleep.” 

I nodded dumbly and we began our trek from the Vault to the dorm room. 

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When we arrived at the door I took a deep breath and steeled myself to not panic in front of them. They can’t know what I’ve been through. I would not subject them to that pain. I knocked three times and heard movement followed by hushed voices. 

Yang whisper yelled, “Who the dust could that be!”

Weiss sounded like she was growling, “Whoever it is, I will be most certainly be telling them to return at a decent hour. We’ve had a long day and our ‘leader,’” she sounded offended by the concept just as much as last time, “is in the hospital.” She opened the door and her mouth dropped, “Ruby?”

The second I heard her say my name, my heart nearly stopped. God her eyes are beautiful… My heart broke as I looked at a face I hadn’t seen in 2 years. I swallowed sand said in the most chipper way I could, “Hi!” 

Ozpin cleared his throat and motioned for Weiss to take a step back and let us in. She backed up to reveal a clearly very tired Yang and Blake, “Hello Team RWBY. Before I leave you for the night I just wanted to tell you a few things.” I immediately gave him a glare that would have terrified anyone yesterday, and he simply smiled back at me. He continued, “Miss Rose suffered a concussion with minor memory loss. The doctors believe it is possible her personality has shifted slightly. So do not be alarmed, as we believe it will go away in time. Please take care of her and give her your understanding.” 

“Thanks Professor.” I squared out. Frankly, I’d thought he was going to tell them the truth. He nodded at me and left. With his departure came a complete loss of decorum from Yang. 

“Little sis! I was soooo worried about you. But it’s all good, you’re here! You look okay too. Did you knock your noggin yesterday or something at initiation?” Yang squealed and picked me up in a bear hug before plopping me back down and looking at me expectantly.

Blake gave a small smile, “I’m glad to see you’re fine. I’m going back to bed though now.” 

I couldn’t help it. I swear I tried really hard to resist but it slipped out anyways, “Enjoy your catnap.” Blake’s eyes widened for a split second but she seemed to decide if she ignored it then she could pretend it was a coincidence. Yang continued to look at me expectantly.

I smiled at Weiss and tried to emulate what old me would do, “So best friend, sounded like you were worried about me.” 

Weiss rolled her eyes, “We are not friends. I was just concerned that my team leader had died before we could even do anything as a team. Now before anyone else comes and disturbs us. I am going to bed.” 

I looked at the room and realized that without me there they hadn’t made bunk beds. I sighed and figured I might as well rectify it. I made a big show of looking around the room where there was practically no space left, “Boy is it cramped in here.” 

Weiss sat on her bed and looked at me, “I think we’ll just have to get used to it Ruby.” 

“Orrr…” I grinned brightly, “We could make bunk beds!” 

“Are you insane?” Weiss snapped back, “These beds aren’t made to be bunked!”

“I bet I could… debunk that theory.” I retorted and heard Yang snort behind me. Blake was reluctant to get up in general, and Weiss hated the idea entirely, but we finally got everyone on board and thirty minutes later, the beds were bunked almost exactly as they had been before. That being said, even I now realized my bed hanging from the ceiling was a precarious and insane idea. One I still chose to recreate… but absolutely insane. 

Weiss took her lower bunk, and I leapt up onto the bed hanging from the ceiling. I heard a slight creak, but at least I knew I had made this version significantly more stable than the last one. I yawned, curled up, and went to sleep while trying to push my fear that this was a dream away. I knew the only thing I could do now was continue to live and hope it was all real. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It felt like no time had past when my internal alarm clock went off. I woke up with a start and glanced outside. Not even a dash of light showed.  Blast my schedule.

I grabbed my scroll and checked the time; 05:02. Well, I might as well make use of the time. Quietly I snuck out of bed , got dressed, and made my way to one of the school training rooms with Crescent Rose in hand. 

The almost foreign weight of Crescent Rose threw my training off. Every step forward, back flip, attack, they all seemed so strange. The blade felt small and my strikes like I had to concentrate harder to compensate. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was also much smaller. A voice in the back of my head reminding me that I was only 15 and couldn’t handle Wilted Rose even if I had her, went ignored. 

“Ruby!” A voice shouted behind me causing me to stumble in an attack. I cursed my own imbalance as I nearly dropped Crescent Rose on my head. I turned around and there was Yang with that stupid grin on her face. 

“Oh, hey sis!” I said with a forced smile. 

Yang looked concerned but continued, “You’re up awfully early. I know you like to practice but at 7 am? We have class in like 10 minutes.” 

My eyes bugged out of my head, “7am!?” I had been practicing for 2 hours and hadn’t noticed. Once I stopped to catch my breath though, I realized that my younger body wasn’t quite as strong. It couldn’t handle this rigorous treatment if the aches and pains shooting through every fiber of my being was anything to go by. 

My aura on the other hand, seemed to be the one I’d had previously, and that was massive. I could feel my aura spreading through my body to quickly fix the damage I’d done to myself. 

I flashed a small grin at Yang, “Well then, what are you standing there for dummy? We gotta get to class.” I grabbed her hand and we took off down the halls. Every attempt I made to channel my younger self felt hollow, but I hoped that no one else would notice. 

Luckily for me, class would be simple. I could just sit there and listen to the teacher, Professor Port, ramble on and on about how awesome he used to be. No need to interact with anyone else.

Port’s class started as it always did, with rambling. He was talking about a ‘young handsome’ version of himself for so long I thought I might lose my mind. Then came the point of his tedious lecture, “Who among you thinks themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?” 

Weiss, of course, raised her hand. It appeared that even in a universe where I was taking my self more seriously, she felt she needed to prove herself a better leader than I. Unlike last time though, I kept quiet as Weiss fought the boarbatusk. After all, Weiss had only gotten angrier as I offered advice. However, as it turned out, Weiss did not know that a boarbatusk’s only weakness was on their belly. 

A sigh escaped me as my teammates tried to give Weiss ecouragement as she continued to try the head on approach until I finally interfered, “Weiss, it’s belly is it’s only weakness. Attack that.” Weiss glared at me but a minute later, she felled the beast just as I had suggested.

As we began to leave class Weiss rounded on me with fury in her eyes, “How dare you assume I need your help!” 

I attempted to keep myself calm, “I apologize Weiss, I fully intended to not interfere in your battle. That being said, as your team leader I felt it necessary to speak up after realizing you were possibly unaware of it’s weakness.” 

Weiss sputtered at me, “How dare you imply I didn’t know that!” She seemed to take a major breath, “I was waiting for the right moment to attack it.” She nodded her head as though it was so obvious, “I have been trained by some of the greatest tutors in the world to be both a leader and a huntress for years! I have been preparing for this my entire life and you! You just walk in here and it falls in your lap! You don’t deserve your position!” Her volume increased until I was worried it would devolve into simply screaming.

I had a hard time swallowing her words as so many emotions flooded through me. Anger was the first. I quelled that down quickly. She didn’t know she was speaking to someone with 10 years of experience in a war, and, if I had anything to say about it, she never would.

Next came a mixture of sadness and happiness. Happiness at seeing Weiss being so… Weiss-like. I missed her lectures and her occasionally arrogant attitude. It had been so long before this strange situation that even the yelling was appreciated. Then there was sadness at the thought that Weiss didn’t trust me. I knew it would be a long time though, so I would just suck it up and try to re-earn her trust. 

I nodded and heard my voice cracking, “I understand you’re upset.” I steadied my voice and continued, “If you truly believe you should be the team leader, then you should go speak with one of the professors.” Without another word I turned on my heel and left Weiss standing there fuming. I knew from many, many years of experience that what she hated most was when I didn’t give her an emotional reaction. She would prefer shouting, confusion, or pretty much anything beyond detachment. 

Despite not having a reason to run off and talk to Ozpin, history seemed keen on repeating itself as I turned the corner and saw Ozpin sipping coffee, “What is it?” I murmured.

He quirked an eyebrow at me, “Well you took that outburst rather well.” 

I rolled my eyes, “Yes, well you see what you do when someone you love gives you a speech about how she doesn’t trust you that you’ve heard before.” 

He laughed, “Ah, so you and Miss Schnee eventually become close friends?” A small smile crossed his lips, “So this speech of hers, it happened last time?” 

A small nod was all I was willing to give him at first, but an expectant look on his face forced me to elaborate, “Last time was much worse. She’s about to go have a nice chat with Professor Port about how she deserves to be the leader. Port, is response, is going to tell her how amazing of a fighter she is while also informing her she has a terrible attitude. She’ll think on it, come around, and try to be a better partner. Then the world will right itself.” 

Ozpin looked skeptical, “I suppose I’ll ask Professor Port this evening if Miss Schnee actually spoke with him. It will certainly help me clear up my remaining concerns.”

I snorted, “You know, last time I asked you while pretty much crying if you had made a mistake. You said you’d made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child in Remnant but I wasn’t one of them.” I shrugged, “I don’t know if I am or am not one of them, but I certainly believe the rest of the sentiment Oz.” He stared at me unreadably and I continued, “You need to learn that not even you know everything.” 

The stunned look on his face was certainly amazing as I turned and left him in the hall. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I returned back to the room later that night and figured I might as well read one of the textbooks. Practical experience was something I had an abundance of, but if I was honest with myself I never paid attention much to theory or history. After a chapter I found myself drifting off into sleep. 

“Ruby,” a voice cut through the start of my dreams. I knew that voice… the voice of my dreams, “Ruby.” Princess I thought to myself. 

“Hmm?” I groaned out, cracking my eyes open and slowly realizing I was using my textbook as a pillow. 

Weiss’ beautiful face was grinning at me, “How do you take your coffee?”

I shrugged, “Black I guess, what’s going on Weiss?” 

“I…” she hesitated, “I’m sorry for my behavior earlier. I was jealous and upset. I think I have a lot to learn and… I think you have the potential to be a great leader.” I mentally scoffed at the comment but outwardly just smiled as she continued, “I just want you to know, I’m going to be the best partner you could ever have. Be right back.” 

She didn’t know how much her words stabbed through my heart. After all, she was the best partner I could have in every single way that mattered. I fell deep into thoughts of my Weiss and before I could spiral any further this Weiss was plopping a cup of black coffee in my hand. 

I looked up at her and my heart raced, for a moment I could see my Weiss in her, “Thanks Weiss.” 

Chapter Text

The weekend came faster than I expected. As the last bell echoed on Friday, Yang looked to be bursting at the seams, “Let’s go out!” I glanced at Blake and Weiss who looked just as wary as I felt, but Yang persisted, “Oh come on guys, it’ll be so much fun!” 

I quickly realized Yang wasn’t going to drop it, “Alright Yang, let’s go into town and get a bite to eat.” It had been increasingly hard being around my team again, but at this point the only way to fix my fears was to be around them.

The four of us changed quickly out of our uniforms and into more comfy clothing and headed for the airships to Vale. The trip over I noticed Yang was still giving me the strange weeks she’d been throwing all week. 

It felt like every thing I did just made her look at me even more strangely. I put on clothes? Strange look. I drink something. Strange look. It was starting to drive me bonkers. 

So, when we sat down at the restaurant, I ordered food, and again Yang gave me this confused look. Her brow creased like she was thinking very hard and a far away look came over her face as she stared at me. 

“What is it Yang?” I finally snapped, “You look like you’re about to burst into flames if you concentrate any harder.” 

Yang sighed and then bluntly replied, “Something’s off about you.” 

Everyone else at the table looked like they were trying to pretend this conversation wasn’t happening at first, but Yang looked at them for support none-the-less.

Then, it hit me, just like they weren’t my team, I wasn’t their Ruby. Even my own versions of them hadn’t lived long enough to see what I became in the end. 

Blake spoke up next, “You have been quieter than I expected.” I tried to not let my shock show at that statement coming from Blake of all people. 

Weiss crinkled her nose in the same cute way she always did when overthinking things, “Now that you guys mention it… Ruby you’ve been acting a lot… well…. Uh... different than I had expected when you first became my partner. I’m not saying its a bad things, it’s just…” She looked at the other two, clearly floundering for words. 

I finally decided to speak up, “Well, like the headmaster said, I will likely be different. Concussions can do that to you.” 

Yang shook her head, “It’s more than that. It’s like… you’re you, but not. Like you matured over night but also got a lobotomy.” 

Weiss cringed, “I don’t think a lobotomy would quite do this.” 

My brain processed the maturity comment slowly but once I fully grasped it I decided it was time to move on, “Noted. Can we just enjoy our afternoon?” 

Yang shook her head, “Not to mention you are eating less sweet.” 

I sighed, “You said it last week, I’m a growing girl. I simply decided to try to be healthier.” 

A dumbfounded expression crossed Yang’s face before she shook her head, “Weiss even mentioned you had her make your coffee black. BLACK! You hate black coffee. You always take it with 5 cubes of sugar and a ton of cream. I should know! I’m the one who introduced you to coffee!” Yang looked exasperated. I could tell that she had been planning to have some kind of long conversation and I was planning to avoid it. 

I brushed off her concerns as best I could and was able to delay the inevitable for now. As we were leaving the restaurant to head back to Beacon, we heard screams. My instincts kicked in and I ran towards the sound. The other girls hesitated for a moment before running off after me.

Unluckily for them, my semblance meant I had left them in the dust. Block after block passed by me before I narrowed in on the sound and screeched to a halt. Standing in front of me was a dozen White Fang robbing a dust shop. The promise of a fight, good or not, pumped my adrenaline up. A few less White Fang is always a positive.

As the scythe began to expand I growled loudly at the faunus before me, “I’m going to be generous since your organization isn’t quite that bad yet. You have 20 seconds to choose. Continue to steal, or run. You won’t like the results of option 1.”

They laughed. They had the gall to laugh in my face like they didn’t know who I was… Oh my god, they don’t know who I am. Of course they don’t. “Oh give me a break kid,” one of them said almost choking as he laughed.

I shrugged and began to count down while loading frost dust into the chamber of Crescent Rose, “6… 5…” They continued to seemingly ignore me, “4… 3… 2….” I rose an eyebrow and the leader turned to smirk at me, “1”. I swung Crescent Rose at the nearest lackey throwing him back.

Finally they took me seriously. One of them started to lunge at me, but a quick side step and a knee to the chest knocked the wind out of him. 

Three of them looked at each other and nodded, then shouted at the remaining Fang behind them, “We can handle the kid.” 

I forced myself to remember that I couldn’t show all my cards quite yet and determined I could still take them down, even with a self-imposed handicap. 

I estimated it would be about two to three minutes max as I started my dance with them. The first lackey got a face full of Crescent Rose’s handle. I used the momentum from that to turn and swing my blade at the other two encroaching on me. One of them went flying while the other was able to successfully dodge. A quick flip and a shot fired to change momentum in the air, I was able to position myself to shoot the third one’s feet with frost dust. 

Into the building I went where the remaining 8 members of the White Fang were continuing their theft. A quick surveillance of the room and I knew it was just me and the idiots. 

I moved towards the closest one and figured, fuck it. I let Yang’s semblance bolt through me and knocked him out with a single punch and backhanded another one to the floor. 

The room was not made for fighting, so I quickly stowed Crescent Rose and reached for the knocked out guy’s weapon. A simple blade from what I could see, but certainly short enough that I wouldn’t accidentally collapse the ceiling if I used it. 

I saw one of them in the corner of my eye creeping up on me and several others surrounding me in front. I smirked, “I really think you should surrender.” 

“Get her!” Their leader yelled and the men in front of me ran forward. In a quick defense against these men, I had forgotten about the guy behind me but a quick electric jolt through my body reminded me. 

It was unfortunate for him though that his weapon was some kind of taser. I felt as Nora’s semblance flashed through me, absorbing the electricity as I smirked.

I ducked one of the blades of another White Fang member, but threw out a quick kick to the head of the man holding the taser while using the electric energy he had just given me to send him flying. 

I sighed, “I think I’m bored now.” I looked over at the remaining men standing in various states of disarray and threw my hand up. The briefcases and crates of dust they had been collecting, their weapons, everything started to float as Pyrrha’s semblance coursed through me. A quick wave of my hand and all of them were knocked out with blunt force trauma. 

The girls finally caught up to me as I was on my scroll reporting them to the police department, “Yes office. Ruby Rose, officer. I’m a student at Beacon. Of course I’ll wait for the cops to arrive. Thanks, see you guys soon.” 

The girls stared for what felt like forever at the sight. Their tiny, 15 year old leader, had stopped a dust heist all while they were just trying to catch up. 

I hung up on the officers and looked at the girls with a big smile on my face, “Hey, do you guys think you could help me collect them all for the police?” 

Yang’s mouth was agape, “I… uh… Rubes… sis… That… was… AWESOME!”

Confusion crossed my features, “You didn’t even see the fight.”

“I wish I had! I mean… dust it was like 5 minutes between you leaving us in that alley and… well this.” She motioned around at the guys on there ground, “There’s like… 10 of them…” She frowned, “Ruby, how did you take out 10 dudes in 5 minutes?” 

Weiss nodded, “I’d like to know as well. I mean, you seemed capable at initiation but not take out 10 terrorists capable.” 

Blake was staring at the men with a different thought on her mind but stayed silent. 

I shrugged and tried to brush it off before stating, “I think it should be noted, there are a dozen of them.” I then hefted one of the guys over my shoulder and motioned to the others to help with the rest. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I found myself oddly longing for the police interrogation rather than the airship ride home. It started with a dramatic, and highly inaccurate, retelling of what happened for the team. 

However, the look Yang was still giving me made me very concerned as I wrapped up the story and the airship landed, “Rubes, we need to talk.” 

I nervously smiled, “Uh, of course sis.”

She led me towards the courtyard and motioned at a bench nearby. I took a seat and waited for her to start. 

Yang was clearly conflicted as her eyes flickered between colors, “What were you thinking?” It came out more of a growl than anything, but I could understand the question. She took a deep breath, “I mean… yeah it was awesome. I didn’t even know you could fight that well, but seriously Ruby, you could have gotten yourself killed! It’s one thing to take on Junior’s lackeys like you did to get into beacon but… those were terrorists.” 

I smiled hesitantly, “I just… I heard a sound that sounded like someone was in trouble. So I stopped thinking and just… stopped them?” I figured my response was less than stellar but what was I supposed to say.

Yang looked at her feet, took a deep breath and snapped her eyes up to mine, “Ruby, you’re our leader now. You can’t just leave us behind. Even if you… you were clearly capable of handling yourself. I was so worried when you just ran off. Then we found a trail of bodies… and… please don’t do that again.” I had never heard Yang sound so small. 

I tried to think of how to respond but all I could muster was a “I’ll work on it.” 

Yang’s eyes flashed red, “No.” She sighed and the lilac returned, “I want a promise Ruby. You can’t just do reckless shit.” Yang tried to put on her happier face and jokingly added, “That’s my job Rubes.” 

I rolled my eyes, “You don’t get a monopoly on recklessness Yang. Besides, I knew what I was doing.” 

Yang softly punched the bench and I could have sworn I heard it creak, “Damn it Ruby, promise me!” I tried to calm her with a hand on her shoulder only to find her eyes meeting mine again. Tears were clearly threatening to pour from lilac, “I can’t lose you like we lost mom.” 

That hit me hard. I couldn’t exactly explain to her that while she was afraid of a ‘what if’ I was afraid of what had already happened. No Yang… I can’t lose you again. Any of you. I sighed audibly, “I can’t promise anything considering our line of business,” I tried to give her a small smile but the topic dragged the mood down regardless, “I will try to make less reckless decisions in the future.” I hugged my sister tight. I’d missed her so much, “But you… please try to do the same.” 

Yang chuckled and pulled me closer, “Fine, we’ll both try not to be reckless.” 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Monday morning brought combat class with Goodwitch. Jaune was paired against Cardin to begin the class. I watched quietly knowing what was about to begin and started plotting to stop it. I began replaying what I could remember of this week in my mind. 

Just as Jaune was thrown aside by Cardin, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I can’t stop this. It was vital to Jaune and the man he grew to be. As much as I wanted to pound Cardin into a pulp I would have to pretend I didn’t know. 

After Jaune lost, Professor Goodwitch glanced around the room, “We have time for one more match. Miss Nikos, if you would please come up here.” 

Pyrrha smiled brightly, “Of course, Professor.” She happily strode to the center of the arena. 

Goodwitch glanced around the room but her eyes kept coming back to me. Oh come on… please don’t do this. “Miss Rose, if you would please come up here.” 

Okay… options, options. I can either kick her ass or throw the match. She’s one of the best fighters in the school. If I beat her without breaking a sweat… that would be way too suspicious.  I tried to look anxious, which I was but for completely different reasons, “This will be fun Pyrrha.” I beamed, “May the best one win…” My brain continued to work a million miles a minute trying to think of how to throw a match without looking too bad. 

Pyrrha grinned, “I’m sure this will be very fun Ruby. I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to face a scythe wielder.” She politely nodded and I kept giving her a small smile. We both then got into our fighting stances with me holding Crescent Rose and Pyrrha preparing Milo and Akouo. 

“Alright, I want a good clean match with tournament rules. The person to have their aura drop into the red will be considered out of the fight.” My eyes widened as I came to one realization, how do I get my aura into the red. My aura hadn’t dropped that low in about 3 years… unless you counted how I got to this time. 

Pyrrha charged first with her shield and javelin pointed towards me. I rolled out of the way and made a sweeping motion at her legs with Crescent Rose. She leapt over it pretty easily and aimed her javelin at me. She was trying to use gravity to bring the blade down on me. I rolled backwards and kicked up, knocking the javelin our her grip. 

My momentum continued until I was standing with my weapon in hand. Pyrrha though was quick on the uptake and soon her shield was hurling towards my face. I batted it aside and began to dodge and close the gap with my semblance. 

Pyrrha used her own semblance as subtley as she always did and I tried my best to not force her to use it publicly. I never knew why, but when we were at school she seemed to like to keep that info to herself. 

The battle continued as I pulled my punches and made sure to not injure Pyrrha. About 10 minutes into the battle I realized that the only real option I had was to overpower my semblance and force burn out. Right before I could begin my plan, I had a different thought pop into my mind. 

I allowed Pyrrha’s blade to get through my defenses and throw me back onto the floor with a heavy thud, making sure my head hit first. Goodwitch clearly looked horrified as she called the match in Pyrrha’s favor. “Miss Rose are you okay?” 

I nodded, “Yeah, I think I’m fine. Just a little dizzy.” 

Goodwitch looked uncertain but nodded and dismissed the class. Meanwhile Team RWBY stayed behind to check on me while I ‘collected myself’. I turned towards them with a dopey smile, “I’m fine guys, I just thought I had more aura than I actually did,” I lied through my teeth, “I’m going to just catch my breath for a second. I’ll meet you back at the dorm.” 

Team RWBY gave me looks that showed they didn’t really believe me but they nodded and turned to leave anyways. 

I sighed with relief and just laid down on the floor for a moment when I heard, “I’m sorry for injuring you…” 

My eyes snapped open and met Pyrrha’s, “Uh… I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.” 

Pyrrha paused as if debating what she was about to say, “What I’d like to know is why you took it easy on me?” 

“Whh-what.” I stuttered. How could I think a brilliant fighter like Pyrrha wouldn’t notice. “I didn’t take it easy on you.” 

Pyrrha grabbed my scroll, much to my protest, “Your aura is at full capacity. You pulled all of your attacks. You didn’t go full out. Why?” 

I started debating the merits of completely lying or partially lying before I fell on an answer, “My scroll must be broken. I feel exhausted.” 

Pyrrha seemed to have an answer for everything as she pulled out her own scroll and ran the aura testing program designed for field diagnostics on me, “No. Full aura.” 

“Damn it Pyrrha, just drop it. You are an amazing fighter and that’s all that matters.” I growled. 

Pyrrha looked taken aback, “I’m sorry,” she instinctively said. Then she shook her head, “No! I am not sorry. I deserve to know why you held back. Why you didn’t think I was worthy of fighting you to the full. I deserve to know why you threw the match. No one ever gets better when their best opponents refuse to fight.” 

I glared, “Don’t you think it would be weird if you got your ass handed to you by a 15-year-old?” Pyrrha’s eyes widened but I pressed forward, “Yes, I let you off easy. Just deal with it and keep this between us.” I got quiet and added, “Please Pyrrha, no one else can know.” 

Pyrrha contemplated it before stating, “I’ll keep this between us on one condition.” I groaned and motioned at her to explain, “You give me a real fight. No holding back.” 

A smirk flickered across my face, “You’ll keep this to yourself if I fight you?”

Pyrrha nodded, “We have a free period right now, and an arena no one is using for an hour,” she motioned to the room we were still in, “Let’s have this real fight.” 

“Fine.” I got into my fighting stance and positioned Crescent Rose so it was in my right hand while my left hand was free. 

Pyrrha smiled. It was rare to meet anyone who might be able to beat her and she was brewing with excitement at the idea. She took position and started to count down.

When she got to one, I lazily twirled my scythe and fired a round at her using the snipe rifle. Pyrrha held up her shield to block the round but, once she dropped it I was no longer in front of her.

She instinctively turned around and threw the shield at me while turning her javelin into its gun form. She began to fire but stopped for a moment as shock over took her. I had snatched her shield out of the air and was now using it to block her attacks. 

She attempted to use her semblance to retake the shield but it didn’t seem to even budge. I wasn’t about to tell her that I was using her own semblance against her, but boy was it funny to watch. 

I then used the shield to continue blocking rifle fire as I moved forward. A sweeping motion from Crescent Rose forced her to jump and seconds later she found her shield colliding with her face. She fell backwards onto the floor and was about to get up when Crescent Rose found itself next to her throat. 

She dropped her javelin rifle and yielded. I chuckled and handed her shield back, “Sorry about that.” 

She shook her head vehemently, “Don’t apologize! That was so much fun. How’d you get so good? Can you teach me?”

I rolled my eyes, “Sorry, it’s not something I can teach you. You might want to consider teaching Jaune though. He’s a great leader but needs some work on his combat.” I gave Pyrrha a small smile, “Thanks for the fight but I think we need to head to class.” 

We both started walking out while Pyrrha was clearly deep in thought. 

The rest of the week went by similarly to how it had in the past. Jaune was bullied and blackmailed and pushed to the point of almost breaking. He finally broke out of his shell and took the steps towards being a better leader and warrior. 

Team RWBY spent the week doing homework and pretty normal things. Occasionally they’d give me weird looks but I learned to shrug them off pretty easily. I was mostly trying to plan for the Vital festival tournament and the destruction it could bring. I had a few plans but they would definitely change the future. All I could do was hope it would be a positive change.

Chapter Text

A few weeks went by and the Vytal Festival started to be set up. Weiss insisted that we go out and see the beginning of the festival. I agreed, citing the fact we should get to know our opponents. Something felt… almost monumental about the day and I just couldn’t pin it down. It seemed like a regular day but a gut feeling nagged at me that it was important. I shrugged off the feeling as we landed in Vale.

We wandered the city for a while, had some lunch, and started looking at the shops. As we turned a corner, we noticed a crime scene with a few cops chatting. The feeling of deja vu returned, “Excuse me, officer, what happened?” 

The cop shrugged, “Another dust shop robbery.” He was clearly not interested in saying any more and turned to leave our group on the other side of the police tape.

His officer buddy shouted something from inside the shop, “They left the money again! Who could possibly need this much dust?”

The first cop shrugged and jokingly suggested, “An army?” 

“I suppose it’s possible. It’s probably the White Fang,” a look of concern passed over both their faces.

As the officers walked out of earshot I heard Weiss start to complain about faunus terrorist groups and that was when the significance of today came crashing around me. My eyes widened fearfully. I couldn’t just let these events repeat exactly as they did… could I? 

Blake immediately turned on Weiss, “What are you suggesting exactly?”

“Well, clearly those filthy faunus terrorists are planning something big. I can only imagine what a group of animals needs that much dust for.” 

Blake was literally growling at this point, her anger boiling up, “Stop being such an ignorant little girl,” she shot back. It looked like she was planning to punch Weiss when we suddenly heard a noise and yelling at the dock behind us. We turned and saw Sun running from the ship he’d stowed away on. 

I involuntarily let out a smile. I hadn’t seen him in 6 years. He’d died pretty early on and I knew Blake was good friends with him. 

I tuned out my thoughts in time to see him run past us and found Weiss grabbing my hand, “There goes the competition!”

We ran after him, but it didn’t take long before Weiss was on the ground in front of me. Blake and Yang behind us catching up. There, lying on the ground, was Penny. Penny who was both a good friend a ferocious enemy. Poor, adorable, naive, sweet Penny. 

“Dang it, he got away!” Weiss grumbled. I rolled my eyes and pointed at the girl she landed on.

Weiss’ eyes turned to saucers as she scrambled to get off the poor girl, “I sincerely apologize for running you over. We were following a rapscallion who was evading the police. Did you by chance see where that filthy monkey tailed boy went?” 

Blake’s eyes narrowed again and her fist clenched, prompting me to intervene, “Hi, I’m Ruby. Would you like to get up?”

We all introduced ourselves to Penny and in turn she told us she was here for the tournament. Explanations didn’t get much further than that but she was certainly excited about it all. I made sure to tell Penny I would love to be friends, and then we proceeded home as it was getting dark. 

We got home just in time for the fireworks. I wish I meant real fireworks, but… not quite.

“I just don’t understand why you are so upset about my opinion on a group of degenerate terrorists. They are good for nothing trouble makers!” came Weiss’ anger in full force.

“What I don’t understand is how you can generalize an entire group of people! It’s ignorant and frankly, I thought you were smarter than that,” Blake threw back at Weiss who looked scandalized. 

Weiss’ face darkened, “Well, maybe if they didn’t go around killing people, I wouldn’t have reason to think they were just animals!” Weiss yelled back. I was sitting there waiting for this moment. I had a plan this time that I had been formulating since I’d realized what was happening. 

Blake took a deep breath and then just unleashed her anger, “Well maybe if there were less people like Cardin…” she glared, “Maybe if there were less people like you, we wouldn’t have resorted to that!” Blake stopped a moment later as realization dawned on her of what she’d said. That was my cue. Blake started to run.

After she’d left the room, I turned to the remaining team, “I’m going to follow her and make sure she’s okay.” I looked directly at Weiss, “You are going to think about whether or not you would want to be judged based on the actions of others. Then consider if what you’re saying is true or really just kinda racist.” Weiss looked angrily at me and all I could do was smile sadly.

I shook my head, activated my semblance, and chased after Blake.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I caught up to Blake near the fountain; she was breathing heavily and looked like she wanted to cry. Her bow had been discarded, “Hey Blake…”

Blake snapped around, “Damnit Ruby, you shouldn’t have followed me.” 

I gave her a smile, “Why not? As your team leader, it is my job to make sure you’re okay.”

“Oh? Yeah, I’m sure you are checking on the dirty terrorist faunus,” she spat back. 

I shook my head and pulled Blake into a hug. She stiffened at the contact. I knew even in the future she rarely touched people she wasn’t close to but I just couldn’t find it in me to care at the moment, “You know Blake, I don’t think you’re a terrorist. I think your ears are kinda cute, but those don’t make you a terrorist.” 

“But… I was part of the White Fang,” she brokenly whispered.

I nodded, “Yep, you were. Did you notice that was a past tense statement? I know I don’t read as much as you do, and I’m not as academic as Weiss, but I do know when something’s in the past.” I replied cheekily. 

Blake sniffled a little, “Thanks for coming to get me, but I don’t think I can go back to the dorm right now.”

“Okay. Let’s go get dinner. I hear there’s a place set up for the festival that has some killer fish,” I smiled brightly.

Blake stopped and glared at me. “Was that a cat joke?”

I giggled, “Not quite, I mean, yes, kind of, but I also know you like fish. It’s kind of hard to miss how often you order it.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Once we arrived at the restaurant, I could tell Blake was having a lot of conflicting thoughts.“What, cat got your tongue?” The glare she gave me screamed, ‘shut up’, “Sorry… I grew up with Yang.” 

Blake shook her head, “You know, I saw Yang’s face when I… said that. She looked surprised and a little hurt. Weiss looked downright angry. You... you looked relieved.”

I nervously chuckled, “Well that’s a strange way to interpret my confused face.” I am not cut out for espionage… maybe I should have left when I first got here.

Blake gave me a piercing look, “You were very clearly relieved. Why? All day you were tense. I could see it and hear your heart rate.” Her ears twitched as if making a point, “The tension didn’t leave until I said I was a faunus. For Yang and Weiss, that caused tension, yet you relaxed.” 

Well… what’s one more tiny itty bitty, minute, silly little white lie… right? “I knew.” I finally said, “I saw your bow twitch our first week of school. It wasn’t hard to guess. I didn’t know you were… involved with the White Fang though.” 

Blake looked surprised, “So, you were relieved it was finally out in the open?” She looked a little skeptical but I could tell she was leaning towards believing me. 

I nodded enthusiastically, and then the words poured out of my mouth so fast that I wasn’t even sure what I was saying: “Yeah, I mean the entire day was just Weiss complaining about faunus. I knew you were one and that upset me.” I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath, “I wasn’t going to just out you to everyone though… cause that was your secret to keep. And I’m rambling now… please stop me.” I took a large breath.

Blake herself seemed relieved by my response and nodded. She proceeded to tell me all about her life as a White Fang member and how it had changed over time. It was one of those moments that felt like I’d been here before, but I figured I’d let Blake get it off her mind.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After she finally got it off her chest we began walking around Vale. I could tell she wasn’t ready to go back just yet. As we turned a corner, a man suddenly appeared before us hanging from a lamp post. I reached for my weapon on instinct before realizing it was Sun.

Sun smiled, “Hello ladies, you know I was wondering when I’d get to see you again gorgeous.” He winked at Blake. I rolled my eyes at his pathetic attempt but figured it probably had gone a little like this last time.

Blake looked incredulously at him, “Should I know you?”

“Well, I am Sun Wukong. It truly is a pleasure to meet you.” He dropped off the lamp post and offered his hand to her, “I certainly am honored to meet such a gorgeous faunus such as yourself.” 

Blake looked surprised seeing as her bow was firmly back in place from earlier, “What?”

“Oh come on now, your ears twitch under your bow. It’s not that hard to figure out,” disbelief colored his features.

I pumped my fist in the air, “Ha! See! I told you it was easy to catch.”

Blake turned her glower to me, “Yet, you two seem to be the only ones who noticed.” 

Sun shrugged, “Guess we’re both just super preceptive.” 

“I think you mean perceptive,” I whispered to Sun. 

“Right, we’re super perceptive.” He nodded happily, “And now to switch gears, I sorta… left my team behind when I travelled by boat. One of my teammates is sorta… hydrophobic.” 

Blake rose an eyebrow, “Okay? And?” 

“Well, I overheard from some shady looking people that there was a dust heist being planned for the docks… I was thinking, I’m a hunter in training without my team… you both seem capable. Maybe we could team up!” 

I looked at Blake, “It could be the White Fang. I mean they’ve been stealing from shops, the dock wouldn’t be a stretch.” 

Blake shook her head, “I don’t think those are the White Fang. The guy you fought was human wasn’t he?” 

I licked my lips nervously, trying to think of how to get us to that dock, before I replied, “Well… yes, but what if it is the White Fang?” 

Blake looked lost in thought and began, seemingly talking to herself, “The White Fang has no need for that much dust. It doesn’t seem like something they would do. I… I’ll agree to go so we can prove, once and for all, it isn’t them.” 

I nodded, “Well, even if it isn’t them, we never did catch that Torchwick guy.” Well minus that time he got eaten by a grimm.

Blake’s features took on a new determination, “Lead the way then.” She looked pointedly at Sun. 

Sun smiled and then took off in the direction of the docks, while we followed after him. That was when I caught my first look at Torchwick since I returned to this time. He might not have been the brains but the ground work he was laying here would be felt for years to come. I felt anger brewing in me as I looked at him. 

“Oh come on, move it you animals! We have to get these shipments ready to go and out of here,” Torchwick took a swing at a faunus near him, “I don’t know why she thought you idiots would be useful.” 

Blake clenched her fist. “This isn’t right.” She took a deep breath but her eyes burned with an anger that just wouldn’t go away, “They would never work for a human. Especially not one like him.” She gestured at Torchwick with disgust dripping in her every word.

I nodded, “That’s Torchwick.” 

I barely had his name out of my mouth as Blake blazed forward and removed her bow. “Brothers of the White Fang, we need to stop helping this scum. I do not know what he’s promised you but he represents everything the White Fang opposes. Please put down your arms and help fight for our rights instead!” 

Torchwick started to slow clap. “Bravo! Really, that was amazing! I have never heard a more heartfelt speech in my life!” He grinned and laughed, “Really though, get her.” He ordered his men menacingly. The other faunus only hesitated for a moment before charging forward. 

Sun immediately charged out of hiding to help. I, however, knew I had bigger fish to fry than the White Fang. I quietly snuck around the side of the building towards Torchwick. Frustration was brewing in him, “Oh come on you idiots! There’s only two of them!”

I chose that moment to speed forward and attack. Crescent Rose unfolded as I moved towards him. He saw me at the last minute and was able to bring his cane up just enough to take the brunt of the attack. 

“Well, hello Red. I have missed seeing your face but I was not planning for you to be here today.” He swung his cane back and started attacking. 

I fought back quickly but made sure to not show off anything I couldn’t explain to Blake. If he dies here today, that should disrupt their plans. 

I made sure to strike repeatedly and not give him any room to breath. Concern traced his face as my hits struck over and over again. Concern faded to exhaustion as I wore him down, “It’s been nice seeing you again Red. I hope you keep in touch.” He then threw a dust capsule at our feet and smoke began to billow. 

I growled and leapt after him as he headed for the airship. Neo started shooting out of it, and I caught a glimpse of Cinder sitting in the pilot seat. I saw red. 

Before I knew it, I was damaging the helicopter with dust-infused shots, one after the another, and Blake was trying to get me under control, “Stop it Ruby. If you bring that down it could set off the dust on the ground and blow up everything!”

“I don’t care!” I shouted back, “I need to stop them.” Blake held on tighter and her age gave her the physical strength to stop me even as I tried to get out of her grip. I finally felt the wave of anger pass and my mental faculties returned. I could have killed Blake. The sobering thought made me stop fighting. I just slumped to the ground as Torchwick, Neo, and Cinder escaped. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Blake and I returned to Beacon, each of us carrying a solemn air. It didn’t take long for us to arrive back, but as I opened the door to our room, I heard a voice behind me, “Miss Rose, may I speak to you?”

I turned and faced Professor Ozpin, “Very well headmaster. Please tell me this won’t take long; I am exhausted.”

Weiss and Yang were clearly still awake as I heard Yang snort and Weiss practically shriek, “Ruby! Please try to have a modicum of manners. You can’t just talk to the headmaster like that.” 

I mumbled an apology to Weiss, and for her sake, to Ozpin, and then turned to follow Ozpin. I hope Blake and Weiss can work this out without me there. 

“This cannot possibly be about what happened today.” I grumbled.

Ozpin smiled, “Well, partially. I couldn’t just say I need to speak to you about intelligence involving the fate of Remnant now could I?” With how tired I was, his attempt at a joke fell on deaf ears.

I rolled my eyes, and we walked in silence towards his heavily protected vault. After entering the elevator and closing the door I looked at him expectantly, “First of all, Miss Rose, does anyone suspect anything so far?” 

I shook my head, “I had an issue with Pyrrha getting suspicious. I also had a small flub with Blake but both of those have been handled.” I sighed, “I’ll be honest though, everyone seems to be getting suspicious to some extent.” 

He nodded solemnly, “I heard reports that you had to be restrained from trying to explode the helicopter that took Mr. Torchwick away. Do you have any information to add to that?”

I swallowed hard, “I… saw who was on the helicopter.” 

“Do you wish to talk about it?” Ozpin asked quietly.

I laughed, “You know I’ve already killed her: Cinder. That woman is a monster. I didn’t feel anything when I killed her before. I think I was almost numb at that point. All the death… but seeing her alive and knowing everyone else is still alive. That’s she’s still a danger to those I love…” I shook my head, “I saw red. If Blake hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve blown up the entire dock in the process.” 

Ozpin nodded, “I received an encrypted message from your Uncle Qrow; it said, ‘the Queen has Pawns.’ I assume you know what that means better than I do.”

“Yeah…” I shook my head to clear it, “Obviously, the Queen is Salem.” Ozpin rolled his eyes at that clearly useless piece of information but I continued, “It’s more than pawns, though. I’d call Cinder her King piece and a Knight rolled into one. She’s the most dangerous person working for Salem.”

“Do you know her next move?” Ozpin asked.

“Of course, I know where she’ll be very soon. You have to leave her to me though.” I paused and considered my next suggestion, “You should also get Pyrrha on board with becoming the Fall Maiden before the tournament.” 

He looked concerned, “How did you… will she accept?” 

“Pyrrha is one of the most honorable people I’ve ever met. She has a heart of gold and just wants to help. If you tell her that sitting in that machine, then she’ll do it.” I steadied myself. I never wanted others to need to take on these burdens, but I couldn’t be a maiden and we certainly couldn’t let Cinder take it completely. 

I sighed, “Look, just make sure you do it quickly, but don’t let her compete with that power. Have her do the teams match, then transfer the power. Then make sure literally any other member of JNPR goes on to the doubles match.” I explained and hoped he wouldn’t blow off the suggestion. He looked to be thinking it over and then nodded and excused me for the night. 

It was going to feel like forever leading up to the tournament, but, at least I knew I had a chance to stop the disaster. 

Chapter Text

As the first semester at Beacon wound down and our last exam was taken, I found myself with no choice but to finally think things over. The changes for me were strange to say the least. I was surrounded by happy-go-lucky friends and family. 

I knew my own behavior was causing them endless worry and confusion, yet, I simply could not force myself to act like my younger self. This had led to moments of self-imposed solitude which, in retrospect, only fueled their fears. 

The weekend after final exam of the semester, I found myself sitting in an empty training room. I had stowed Crescent Rose away and was using my fists and Yang’s semblance to take out some of my anger. Every swing I took felt cathartic and yet my rage only grew. Thud! I breathed heavily. Thud! Thud! 

My arm was grabbed from behind as I went in for another punch. I turned around and swung back at my assailant. Just as my fist was about to connect I recognized my ‘attacker’: Qrow. “Whoa now kiddo,” I tried to pull my punch but couldn’t completely stop the momentum. He caught the punch in his hand but couldn’t hide the visible flicker of his aura or the small flinch on his face. “Man, you hit hard,” he grumbled.

I smiled brightly and gave him a big hug. It had been years since I’d seen Uncle Qrow and I hadn’t truly realized how much I missed him before this. Qrow patted my head. “Now kiddo, I’m not exactly here for fun and games.” 

“Alright, so what are you here for?” I asked curiously trying to force my childlike demeanor back on, “Are you here for a mission?” I grinned and poked him, “Are you going to fight a big bad monster? Maybe infiltrate some biker gang?” 

Qrow rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Eh… not exactly.” He was clearly unsure if he should tell me the answer. 

My eyes narrowed, “What are you here for Qrow?” The edge in my voice returned.

“I’m here cause of that,” he gestured at me, “Oz… said I might want to come help my niece through a hard time. He seemed pretty convinced you were having issues. Thing is… his request was weird and his explanation was stupid.”

I frowned, “Mind elaborating?” 

Qrow smiled awkwardly and gestured to a seat nearby. I sat down but couldn’t find it in myself to relax as he continued, “Well, kiddo, he wanted me to teach you deception.” Well, of all things I was expecting… that was not it. Qrow sighed, “He said you got a concussion at the beginning of the semester and had been acting out of sorts. Your friends have been… concerned. Yang has been calling Tai with increasing panic for months.” He took a deep breath, “And Oz… he thinks you aren’t going to be fixed.” 

I was perturbed and unsure. “What does this have to do with ‘deception’ lessons?” 

Qrow smiled sadly, “He, uh… he wants me to teach you to pretend that you’re fixed.” 

I laughed. I mean a good, hearty, smile to your eyes, bellyful of a laugh. Qrow gave me a strange look and a wry smile, “At this point, I think you might just be insane.” I only laughed harder.

After struggling to regain my composure for a moment I finally looked at Qrow, “He wants you to teach me to be my old self.” I shrugged. “I wish you could.” I shook my head, “I also wish Ozpin had asked me before getting you involved.” 

Qrow looked around the room and sighed, “Look, Rubes, I don’t see why you can’t learn, assuming you want to.” He shook his head, “But I’ll be honest, the idea of forcing you into your old personality sounds insane. I mean… kids get moody and shit as they grow up. It’s just life.” 

I chuckled softly, “He’s worried if I don’t behave like myself, that will only increase certain suspicions.” 

Qrow frowned but chose to ignore that, in part, “Well if you want to learn deception, I mean… we can try. I pretend to be a fully functional human being while mostly operating on booze every day.” He covered his mouth, “Shit, I shouldn’t say that kind of thing to my 15-year-old niece.” He looked barely ashamed. 

I sucked my bottom lip while trying to figure out how to phrase my response, “Thank you for your offer, however, deception has always been my weak point. I’ve tried for a long while but it seems to go against my very nature.”

Qrow looked perplexed, “Now wait a minute, deception is a great skill for a huntsman to have. You’re only 15, I might as well teach you even if you don’t use it for that.” 

I just looked off into the distance, “Lying isn’t the problem. I can lie when I have to…” I drifted off, shook my head, and then continued, “The problem is, while I can lie verbally, I can’t lie about my personality. Not for long bouts of time and I… I don’t want to have to. Maybe I just need therapy.”

Qrow glanced at me like a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve, “Did… did something happen in the forest that changed you that much? I mean… from what I’ve heard and, well, seen, it’s like night and day.” I started to speak and he threw up a hand stopping me, “I’ve been a hunter for over 20 years now. I’ve seen a lot of shit Ruby. I’ve never seen a concussion change someone this much for this long.” 

I just gave him a dark chuckle, “Well, I had one hell of a concussion.” I need more time. I can’t… he can’t know yet. Sitting here, talking to Qrow, was just making me want to tell him and I couldn’t, so I left, “Bye for now Uncle.” 

I gave him a sad smile and before he could react, I sped out of the room and towards the other end of the school. 

The emotional baggage I had been carrying for months… on top of what I had been carrying for years, was getting to weigh far too much. I sat down in an abandoned classroom and cried. I grieved the life I once had. I cried for the ones I lost both physically and emotionally. I was missing my old team just as much as their younger counterparts were missing the old Ruby. Very likely, more so than they were. It really wasn’t fair to anyone involved. 

As my grief consumed me, I fell into darkness and found myself overtaken by nightmares.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The White Fang hadn’t learned much since the war began. They clearly had found better leadership in Salem, but when left without guidance, they continued to manage themselves terribly. From a nearby mountain, I watched through Crescent Rose’s sight as they moved dust from a safe house onto trucks. 

I shook my head and turned to face the teams behind me, “Attention!” Everyone snapped to attention, “Team RWBY, Team JNPR. Our two teams were specially chosen for this mission as some of the best. We’ve always been praised for getting the job done and today will be no different. Jaune, anything to report?” 

The remaining members of Team JNPR stood up straight. Ren and Nora looked determined. Their bond having only grown over the years. Nora was often manic in her happiness but I had learned a while back it was a cover for the depression she was hiding. It went without saying though, Pyrrha’s death had left an indelible mark on them; most of all, on Jaune. 

His normally clumsy and awkward attitude had been replaced by a one-track mind, an unyielding need to win, and prove himself. He had once confided in me that he wanted to prove to Pyrrha, wherever she was, that he could have helped if she had just let him stay.

It broke my heart, but I knew he was wrong. The current him could have helped, but the young boy he once was, couldn’t. He would have just gotten in the way. 

“No ma’am,” Jaune said, “Team JNPR is ready for our orders.” It was still strange being called ma’am. 

“At ease, JNPR.” I was their commanding officer. After about 2 years of war, lone hunter teams stopped being acceptable and the governments of the world found new ways to communicate, leading to a world wide meshing of the hunter corps with the military. Hunter squads were what we were called. Specialized squads, with soldiers underneath them, run by hunters to fight against the unified forces of the White Fang and the Black Tide.

In order to participate, each huntsman had to attend boot camp and several months of militarization. In the end, most teams would find themselves reassigned to new teams based on their strengths and weaknesses. After all, pairing people up by eye contact was not always going to result in good pairings. However, Team RWBY and JNPR were considered exceptions as we had proven just how capable we were as a group. 

When analyzing our individual strengths and weaknesses, they had determined my strengths to be up close battle, group tactics, and leadership. They put me in charge of RWBY and JNPR when our training completed along with the title of Commander. The rest of our group were given the title ‘Lt Commander’. This allowed them authority when the regular military joined us on certain missions. 

“Weiss, anything to report?” I asked. As I was the leader of both groups, a new leader had to be picked to represent RWBY and there was no better choice in my opinion. However, while it is one thing to be in charge of your old dorm mates from across the hall, it is a completely different ball game to be in charge of your girlfriend, best friend, and sister. In fact, I’m pretty sure if we weren’t huntsmen, it would be a crime. That being said, the huntsmen and huntresses of the military were treated differently. 

This however, did not stop Yang from being completely inappropriate, “Yes ma’am!” Yang shouted proudly.

 At the same time, as Weiss said, “No, ma’am.” Then glaring at Yang she added, “Yang, knock it off.” 

“Lt. Commander Xiao-Long, what do you have to report?” I asked dryly. In the end, I was still their leader in their minds and if anyone shouldn’t have something to report, it would be my own damn team.

“Commander Sister, I would like to report that your snoring is starting to wear on me. Please work on that. I want to get a good night’s rest after this mission.” Yang, to her credit, kept her face completely stoic. Her military bearing was, for once, spot on.

My silver glare turned on Yang, and then the rest of our contingency who were in varying states of laughter. Weiss at least had the decency to try and not laugh. She was failing.

“Yang,” I growled.

“Yes, sis, er ma’am? Er… Commander Sister Ma’am?” Yang was still somehow keeping a straight face. 

“After this mission, instead of sleeping, you will be doing laps while reciting the Oath of Huntsmen. You will be singing it, loudly, proudly, and for all to hear.” I took a deep breath, “At ease Team RWBY.” 

They all finally relaxed for the most part and just burst into laughter. Yang started grumbling that she hoped she went out with a ‘Yang’ tonight so she wouldn’t have her punishment.

JNPR was used to these antics and generally either joined in or shrugged them off depending on their group mood. 

“Let’s move onto why we are here.” I then began to brief everyone on the job at hand: infiltrating the White Fang base in the remains of Argus. The White Fang had been, for the most part, absorbed by the Black Tide, although this was not yet public. Due to this, they seemed to have a never ending supply of mechs and people. Occasionally, grimm would appear, however, it seemed only certain members of Salem’s circle could control them, so they were often not with the contingencies of people. 

A scout had reported earlier that day there were approximately 200 hostiles in the base. With only seven of us going in, we had approximately 28 people to take down each, which was simple enough.

Once the briefing finished I motioned for everyone to head to their designated locations.

I put in my communication ear piece and tested it, “Team RWBY, Agent Scarlett, radio check. Over.” 

“Agent Scarlett, Agent Ivory reporting. Over.” Weiss’ voice was crisp, clear, and decisive. As always I had to fight down the urge to pull her from the mission for safety reasons. 

“Agent Scarlett, Agent Ghost, reporting. Over.” Blake intoned quietly. 

Finally came Yang, “Agent Fire here to kick some ass.” 

I groaned into the radio, “Agent Fire, Agent Scarlett, that is not how you respond on a military radio you damn idiot.” I took a deep breath and then hastily added, “Over.” 

Weiss sounded like she was smiling as she added in, “Agent Scarlett, Agent Ivory, respectfully, I think it’s time you give up on Agent Fire learning protocol. I also would like to add, the last time we followed protocol in the field for radio communication, someone almost died due to forgotten the message ordering. Over.” 

I groaned and shook my head. Damn Weiss for making such a good point. “Team JNPR, Agent Scarlett, radio check. Over.” JNPR quickly checked in with Agent Bronze, Wombat, and Lotus. 

I then proceeded to give out orders, starting with taking Weiss’ advice: “For the remainder of the mission, I will be halting all use of formal radio protocols.” I immediately heard Yang’s excited yelling on the radio and rolled my eyes. “We will, however, continue to use code names and code speak. I have no desire to allow anyone in that building to know what’s going on until they’re dead. Now get in position and report once there.” 

I started to move toward my goal, which required me to jump to the top of the building. A short burst of my semblance later and I was preparing to be the quiet muscle. Yang and Nora were the loud muscle. Everyone in the building would know they were there soon. Weiss was going to be back up for all teams, alongside Jaune. She would would wait on the sidelines and cast glyphs that would help, and, if we got desperate, send in her Knight. 

Jaune, who would stay nearby her, was our combat medic. In an effort to keep his aura up he would only come help when necessary as an aura booster. 

Ren and Blake were our stealth specialists. Their orders were to sneak in, assassinate or kill any high ranking officers they found, and, if possible, steal intel. 

After everyone reported they were in position and I was standing above the air duct on the top of the building, I gave the signal and everyone began to move on their orders, “Make the building rock, but don’t bring it down.” 

“Aye, aye Agent Scarlett! Let the hammer time begin!” Shouted Nora. I shook my head. Nora enjoyed this way too much. 

Moments later, the building underneath me shook once. I heard loud bangs and took that as my signal to drop through the roof and into the air ducts. After moving through three floors of ducts I found a room with filing cabinets. 

There were no signs of people, so I dropped down and started searching the room. There was paperwork for everything. Proof that the White Fang was now just a front for the Black Tide, evidence of money laundering, casualty reports, and so much more. What I really wanted though, was an idea of my next target. 

We were a hit and run type team for the past 6 months. We would find a target while attacking this one, decimate most of the combatants, and then phone the General to send someone to clear the rest and secure the intel. Then we would leave to our next target. 

“Yes!” I shouted excitedly as I found the details of a base that Cinder was apparently reported to be at. I’m only a little ashamed to admit I started to do a victory dance. My eyes closed as I pumped my fist in the air while twirling. Don’t judge me. It was fun. 

“Ahem,” I heard quietly. My eyes shot open and in front of me was a man holding a strange looking great sword and a manic grin, “Hello girly. You’ll be a fun play toy I think.” 

I grimaced at the implication and then rolled my eyes. I pulled out my scythe. The newly dubbed Crimson Rose 2.0. I had extended the handle to compensate for my new height and given her a darker paint job. She was still a beauty though. 

The scythe extended with a press of a button and I jumped as it slammed into the ceiling. I cursed under my breath at not remembering the height of the room. The man smirked at me and swung his blade at me. I jumped over it.

He seemed to think my scythe was now useless. What an idiot. I swung my blade forward and caught his blade as he came in for another swing. He smirked and suddenly his blade began to move. It’s a fucking chainsaw?!

Sparks flew as the metal of the two blades collided with each other repeatedly. I grinned, much to his confusion, and fired a shot, causing my blade to propel me away from him. I dropped low to the ground as he took another swing, one quick cut and his achilles tendon was sliced. Thank the Brothers, the White Fang rarely trains their auras. I double checked I still had the documents I was stealing and ran out of the room. 

As I left, I could hear him still screaming, but, eh, he’d live… probably. If he didn’t, who cares. He wouldn’t be my first kill. Certainly won’t be my last. 

I made my way down to the first floor where the main part of the assault was taking place and perched at the top of the cargo room. I saw Nora flailing wildly and the attackers trying to not get too close. 

Yang, my insane older sister, was punching people, and the ground, and emanating flames. She looked like she was lost in her bloodlust. 

I looked around and saw a guy shouting orders. I immediately dropped in front of him, my cloak covering my face. A look I had perfected over the years, a look that screamed death to the our opponents as it echoed stories of the mythical grimm reaper.

The plan was going perfectly until I started to round on the leader. I heard in my earbud, “Agent Scarlett, I’ve been compromised. Repeat, I’ve been compromised. Heading to thee rendezvous point. I got 5 of them before finding a room with a bunch of mechs and a man. I couldn’t stop him from activating the mechs.” His breathlessness showed his concern. 

I parried an incoming attack as I pressed a button to go to everyone’s earbuds: “Mayday, mechs inbound.” 

As the mechs began to flood the room, we took them down swiftly. They weren’t very good fighters, there were just so many of them. Suddenly a Paladin Mech Suit arrived and in its pilot seat was a man I’d never seen before with wolf ears and a predatory grin on his face. He fired indiscriminately. Most of us got away unscathed, but I felt a piercing pain shoot through my side. I looked down and saw my aura flickering and blood coating my shirt. As I tried to process what was happening, I felt a second pain shoot through me, this time in the shoulder. The man I had been fighting had taken advantage of my distraction and low aura. He’d embedded his weapon in my shoulder. 

I could hear my blood pumping. I could feel only pain as I fell to the floor. Distantly I heard screams and panic. Yang sounded like she was getting closer as I could barely keep my eyes open. The last thing I saw before I hit the floor was Ren moving towards me… and then falling over. The lifeless look on his face spoke for itself. 

Chapter Text

Shivering, I awoke drenched in sweat on the floor. My head was lying on something soft and behind me it was particularly warn. Strange. It felt comforting and oddly familiar. I opened my eyes and refocused on this new reality. My head was on a pair of legs covered in a white skirt and a hand was softly playing with my hair, “Weiss?” I croaked out.

“Shh, I’ve got you. I don’t know what you were dreaming about, but it’s okay. You’re okay.” Weiss sounded so broken as she slowed her hand down, “I… I’ve been looking for you the past few hours. Your Uncle said you’d run off very upset. I just found you here a little bit ago.” I could feel her hand twitch in my hair. A weird stress reflex she’d had our entire lives and I knew then and there it must have looked bad. 

“I’m… I’m sorry Weiss.” I murmured, trying to calm myself.

Weiss sniffled slightly and I realized she might have been crying, “You were drenched in sweat and groaning in pain.” Despite the poor circumstances, I couldn’t help but enjoy the familiar feeling of being close to Weiss. As she started to get up, I felt like cold water was poured on me. She didn’t even know I had feelings for her… this was just a small moment in time. 

My heart rate finally found its way back to normal and I sat up, committing to the charade, “I’m sorry for worrying you Weiss.” I gave her a small smile, “Thanks for being such a great teammate and partner. I got… frustrated with my Uncle and came out here to think. I’ve been stressed lately and being alone sounded good.” I tried so hard to grasp the right words to comfort her. 

My head suddenly pounded, “You dunce!” My eyes turned to saucers as I looked questioningly at her. “You can’t just lie to me!”

I sat there stunned. Was I really doing that bad of a job at hiding it?

Weiss was not deterred, but her eyes softened, “Ruby… you’ve been throwing yourself into studying and training… You’ve neglected yourself and your team. You’re supposed to be our leader. You can’t lead us if you aren’t speaking to us.” Weiss gave me a hesitant smile, “I want to be the best teammate I can, but I need you to be the best leader you can be, too.”

I was going to defend myself with hollow words about how I do talk to them when she suddenly pulled me up and wrapped her arms around me. I was stunned. Weiss was never one for giving physical comfort, at least before we got together. I shook my head and cleared my thoughts breathing in the closeness for a moment, “I’ll work on it Weiss. I’ll try to be a better leader.”

I felt her nod against my shoulder before she pulled back, “Very well. In that case, how about you tell me what’s on your mind? I even brought cookies.” She picked up a package next to her and shook it. 

I laughed and tried to wipe away tears I felt like should be there but weren’t. I started opening the bag as the crinkling noise broke the small silence, “Weiss… I am sorry for lying to you… to everyone.” Quieter I added to myself, “constantly.”

Yet, my luck kept getting worse as Weiss rose an immaculate eyebrow, “Ruby, what do you mean by constantly?” 

I scanned her face for the anger that, that comment deserved but instead Weiss looked at me with a mix of concern and slight offense, “If you’re hiding something like Blake, then you should know by now you can tell us.” I opened my mouth to respond but she continued, “Or at least speak to Yang. As your sister she deserves the truth, no matter what it is.”

I just slumped there and played with a cookie in my hand, “I can’t… I can’t tell you guys the truth. Not yet.” I chuckled humorlessly, “You’re just going to have to trust me.” 

Weiss’ face shifted from concern to a glint I was familiar with. A lecture was coming, “You know, Ruby Rose, I am thoroughly disappointed in you.” My jaw dropped and she continued, “Ah-bup-bup-buh no. You will hear me out.” She fixed a glare at me and I slinked back with an odd feeling of shame creeping up my chest. 

When I was clearly not going to say anything else, she nodded and continued, “I liked you. I liked who you were. It was a breath of fresh air. Yes, you irritated me. Yes, I did feel you were unrefined and needed some work. But you were a small spark in the darkness.” She took a deep breath, “Now you’ve been quiet and cold. The only conversation you have with us seems to be weirdly forced like you’re putting on a mask. I’ve started to think, the girl I met before, who I thought could be my best friend, is gone.” 

My heart broke hearing this… had I lost her completely? 

Her voice cut back in, “Now, I don’t think I’m right. I think you can still be exactly who I need in my life. So…” Weiss took a deep breath and looked me dead in the eye, “I’m going to tell you my biggest secret. I don’t expect you to return that yet, but I hope you do someday.” She smiled sadly, “I just happen to know trust is earned and a good first step is being honest yourself.”

She gathered her courage looked at the ground, then at me, then the ground again, “I’m gay Ruby.” She let out a long breath, “Oh dust! I can’t believe I said that out loud.” 

My heart raced as I watched the woman of my dreams lay bare her deepest secret. One I already knew, but still just as precious. I stood up and pulled her into a hug, “Thank you for trusting me.” 

Weiss seemed to be collect herself and then let go of me, “I’m going to head back. Your sister is setting up a movie in the dorm. You should join us.” 

I nodded, “I’ll be there in a bit, I promise.” Weiss gave me a tight lipped smile and left.

What a mess…

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Ozpin had started showing his concern for me. I couldn’t blame him for it though; everyone was concerned. Ozpin just happened to have his own way of solving it. We had a week left of the break when I was summoned to his office. The girls were confused and Yang teased me, but it didn’t take long for me to escape to his office.

After two knocks, all I could hear was rustling, “One moment.” A minute later the door opened to reveal his office in disrepair. His normally well-kept office was strewn with papers, folders, maps, and much more, “Come in, come in.” 

I walked into the office, made a show of looking around the room, and then looked back at him expectantly, saying, “Oz, I hope you didn’t call me here to help you organize.”

He chuckled and shook his head, then looked down at the ground, “Miss Rose, it is with a heavy heart that I request a favor.” 

I shrugged, “What’s the favor Oz?” 

Ozpin had learned, after many months, to ignore my habit of referring to him so familiarly and pushed forward with his request, “I have received some strange intel that there is a group of Grimm who have been amassing in the Emerald Forest. They are acting strangely and we would like more information on them.” 

I rose an eyebrow, “So you’re sending me?”

He nodded grimly, “The rest of our huntsmen are tied up. Without you here… I suppose we could have sent CVFY, but I think it’s too much for them, plus they’d ask questions.” 

I grinned widely, “What’s the makeup?” My excitement was brewing as we talked. Too much for CVFY hmm? In many ways, this would give me a sense of normalcy I’d lost since arriving here. 

The spark had returned to my eyes and I could tell Ozpin was eager to have me begin, “Here’s the mission brief. You are to head to the Emerald Forest as soon as possible. Stop by your room, grab your gear, and get going.” 

I nodded enthusiastically, grabbed the document, and bolted out of the room. A trail of rose petals was all that was left in my wake. I crept back into the room and noticed everyone was asleep. Quietly and quickly I grabbed a pack of clothes and food while debating if I should leave a note. Once I was finished packing I decided one was necessary. 

Hey girls,

The headmaster asked me to do something for him. I should be back in a few days max. 

Take care,

Ruby

It was short, vague, and might make them a little angry, but eh, I was going to kill some Grimm. 

I happily sped through the school to my locker and grabbed Crescent Rose out of it along with a backpack full of dust. Then I pulled up the brief and reread it quickly. The coordinates were quite a bit deeper in the forest than the initiation had been, but it should be easy enough.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

About 30 minutes later, I found myself standing on the top of the mountain from initiation, staring out at the darkened forest before me. I smiled and thought to myself, landing strategies are fun.

Before I leapt off, I took in the view and noticed there were no Grimm in the immediate vicinity. Not a single Beowulf or boarbatusk in sight. I squinted, sure that this was wrong but I couldn’t see anything in the area. I shrugged and prepared myself to run off the cliff face with Crescent Rose ready to be used as a propulsion device. 

I crouched slightly, positioning my leg for maximum speed, and in the blink of an eye, I was off the cliff in a swirl of petals and gunfire. I continuously pulled the trigger to propel myself further. Eventually, I got close enough to the ground and skidded to a stop. 

Glancing at my scroll I could see I had made it pretty far, about two miles in and about half a mile from the coordinates where the Grimm were supposed to be gathering.

I made my way to the general area as quietly as possible and climbed into the tallest tree nearby. The scope sight of my rifle allowed me to see quite far and boy was there a sight to see. Around the noted area of the coordinates were approximately 300 to 400 Grimm of all sizes and types. Most concerning among them were some apathy Grimm. Primarily there were beowolves and boarbatusks but I also counted at least 6 King Taijitus and dozens of smaller ones. A handful of Death Stalkers and at least 3 Nevermores. Even some Goliaths. 

The weirdest part was the number of Griffons. They didn’t normally inhabit this part of the world. 

Well, go big or die trying I suppose. I knew my first job was to see why all of them were here just hanging out. I looked down my sight and noticed that the population density seemed pretty high in the center. Almost like they were trying to get closer to something. I could also see that a new Grimm would join the conglomerate every once in a while. Given enough time this could become the largest known group of Grimm in a single are Wait… My brain kicked in and it all clicked: the Griffons. This is where they collected the Grimm to attack Beacon with. I shook my head, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let this group get any bigger.

The real question became if I should just unleash my full strength and see what happens or try to pick some off first. I could practically hear my Weiss’ voice telling me to not be reckless so I could come home to her. A pang shot through me and I tried to ignore that, that wasn’t an option anymore. 

Yet, her voice still made my mind up for me, I determined I would handle them from the shadows as long as I could first. Before taking action, I used my scroll to quietly record a report on what I had discovered, my theory, and the action I would be taking, complete with photos. I then recorded something apologizing to the girls if I didn’t make it out alive. I used an old trick from dangerous missions, setting it up to auto-send in three days if I didn’t cancel it. I then added a post script asking Oz to tell them the truth if he felt it would help. 

I know it seems morbid, but before any mission that could go south, I always recorded a message. It was both practical and a good luck charm; after all, I haven’t died yet.

I put the scroll away and took aim. Crescent Rose was a lot of things, but it was not capable of taking down a Goliath with a single shot, so instead I aimed at the creatures I knew it could: the Beowulf alphas, King Taijitus, and the Griffons. I steadied my breath for what was going to be a lot of shots at once. 

Bang! My first shot left and echoed through the forest as it met its mark. Bang! The second shot rang and the Grimm were clearly confused. Bang! The third shot brought down a King Taijitu. Bang! Another one gone. Bang! 

I was able to get off a dozen shots before I needed to reload.

At this point, I figured continuing to snipe would achieve nothing more than what I could do on the ground as they had started to look for me. 

Crescent Rose unfurled and I ran out of my hiding spot towards the nearest Grimm. A single slice tore through several Boarbatusks on my path to the center mass. I leapt over a Beowulf and removed its head as I went. I used my momentum to sling the head at the group in front of me before it could disintegrate, while I continued to dash to the middle. I was sent first and foremost to get some answers, I would get them damnit. 

As I got closer to the center I found myself fighting on every side while a Nevermore began to circle. I eyed the Nevermore as I fought off a Death Stalker and any other Grimm that dared to get near me. You see, in many ways Nevermore are stupid and for that I was grateful. It prepared its attack and as it began to fire off its feathers, I jumped onto the Death Stalker and then leaped again. The feathers tore through dozens of Grimm, helping to cut down my enemy list. 

I slid underneath a beowulf’s legs as I returned to running for the center. Once I got to the most dense area I swung Crescent Rose in an effort to get them to back up for a moment. Sure enough, there it was at the center. 

It was a small box with a black queen chess piece on the side. My eyes turned red and I went to destroy it. I took a deep calming breath, breaking it wouldn’t help. I pocketed it, figuring I’d look closer after I killed all these things. 

Finally I took position, took a deep breath and allowed Yang’s semblance to sweep through me. Then I grabbed my pack and pulled a small device I had created out of it.  I cracked my neck and smirked, “You guys ready to die?” 

I pressed a button on the device and tossed it towards the Grimm. Moments later an explosion happened and shards of metal were strewn through the group of Grimm. The smaller ones died, but the bigger ones were simply injured. That was fine by me, that wasn’t the point after all. 

One of them swiped at me, which I caught with my free hand and tossed it aside. I then felt out with Pyrrha’s semblance, and took control of the metal now in the area. A storm of tiny shards of metal began to dance in a thirty foot radius around me. Death by a thousand paper cuts always did sound painful. 

As the storm raged, I changed my blade to frost, and for the first time in two years, I used a Glyph. Everything in a 200 foot radius froze to the ground. I leapt into the air and with my best Yang impression I shouted, “Freezerburn,” and punched the ground. 

A cloud of fog swirled up confusing the Grimm, but I wasn’t done. Some people say my sister is a small sun. They say she could burn indefinitely. In many ways, that is true. Its too bad she didn’t live long enough to discover just how true. I channeled my rage and sadness into burning and knelt on the ground. Instantly the surrounding area was lit ablaze, and then the part of the forest I was in. 

I took a deep breath and released Yang’s semblance. The fog began to dissipate, replaced with ash. A quick look near me told me everything I needed to know: all the Grimm were dead. I checked my aura quickly, 90%. Okay… now… gotta stop a forest fire. 

Unfortunately, I had never picked up a water semblance, although Weiss’ could sorta produce water, it generally came out as ice. I decided to use her and Yang’s semblances together to try to create rain. Before I could get started though I heard a twig snap, “Holy shit sis.” 

I tilted my head to the side… I couldn’t have possibly heard that correctly. I turned around and standing there was both Team RWBY and Team JNPR. 

“Uh… hi,” I said, “whatcha doing here?” I grinned nervously… I was trying so hard to not look guilty but at this point, the forest was literally burning down around me. 

Everyone seemed to be experiencing varying emotions, primarily shock and disbelief. Everyone except Nora, “Oh my god Ruby! This is amazzzzinnnggg.” She singsonged at me, “Why didn’t you invite us to your burn down the forest party?” 

I couldn’t tell if she was actually offended or not but I jokingly replied, “Well, I think it’s more of a ‘stop the forest from burning’ party. Wanna help?” 

All the others looked a little baffled, but luckily I was able to have Weiss and Yang enact my plan instead. Within a short period of time we had created enough water to stop the forest fire. Granted, the scorched earth and remnants of our battle were very clearly strewn around me.

Once it was all fixed, Yang walked up to me and gave me a big hug, “You scared me sis. You scared me so badly.” She buried her head in my shoulder, and I patted her back softly.

Yang released me, and I was quickly hugged again, this time by Blake. After she let me go though, my eyes turned to the one I was most afraid of facing right now. Weiss’ eyes were smoldering with anger and a tinge of fear when she approached me, “Ruby Rose, I swear to dust I will kill you myself if you ever scare me like this again! Do you know how many Grimm your brief estimated were here?” 

I nodded. Of course I knew how many Grimm were here, that’s why I took the damn case. I didn’t, however, say that out loud. I simply nodded and then it struck me, “I hate to ask… why are you guys here?” 

Yang shrugged, “I just asked the headmaster. He seemed eager to give me the coords.” 

Weiss looked a little deep in thought, “He gave us a brief about where you were and the dangers. He didn’t tell us what you were doing there though.” She slumped her shoulders and then pulled me in for a tight hug that brought back too many memories for me. She whispered softly in my ear, “I was so afraid you might be dead. How… how could you think you’d defeat them all?” 

I smiled shyly to myself when I realized she wasn’t letting me go, “The headmaster thought it would be fine.” 

Weiss pulled back slightly to glare at me, “I should have that man fired.” 

I chuckled, “No offense dear, but this isn’t Atlas.” My eyes widened slightly as I realized what I called her, I quickly followed it up, “Besides, I’d say it worked.” 

Weiss finally pulled back completely and shook her head, “I somehow doubt this was planned.” She gestured at the remains of the forest around us.

“Well… I… the idea just struck me out of the blue, to be honest.” I stuttered out a response to her. 

Everyone had varying responses to the remarks but it was Jaune who had the best idea, “So… your mission is over? Cause, I kinda want to go back and get some food.” 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Once we arrived back at Beacon, I excused myself to give Ozpin my mission report. The rest of team RWBY tried to come along as they wanted to know what happened, but I promised to give them a brief description later. 

That seemed to appease them enough, for now, and I headed to Ozpin’s office. It was well after dinner and I could feel my stomach growling as I knocked on the door. 

“Come in,” I heard Ozpin shout. I walked in and it looked like he was in pajamas. I gave him a confused look and all I got back was a bemused grin, “I’m surprised you’re back so soon. I figured it would take you longer to discern the cause.” 

I smiled wryly at him, “Well I found the cause.” I took the small black box out of my pocket and placed it on the desk, “This was at the epicenter of the Grimm horde. It bears the mark of Salem.” 

He picked it up and started looking it over, “This box seems quite inconspicuous, not to mention small, for what it caused.” He seemed to be trying to find a way to open it. 

I shrugged, “I’m warning you now, you should either move it to a more secure location or destroy it.” 

“Oh? Are you worried it's still active?” He asked, now looking incredulously at it.

I laughed, “Of course, it's still active. It was supposed to, from what I can infer, keep accruing Grimm until the end of the year,” A flash of Pyrrha dying entered my mind. I shook my head and continued, “We originally called it the ‘Fall of Beacon.’ Later it was known as the beginning of the war.”

Ozpin’s eyes widened at the concept, “The Fall of Beacon? Are you… are you insinuating…” 

I rolled my eyes. “Beacon fell, and you died. It was tragic. What happened afterwards was more so. So, yes, I am suggesting that Beacon will fall if we don’t stop it.” I realized then how much I had hardened to the realities of war. It was hard to think of the Fall without a detached numbness. It had been the most important moment in my past life, but even though it shaped it, it wasn’t the end of it. 

His eyes hardened as he stared at the object, “How do you propose we stop this?”

I smiled, “Leave most of the work to me; I already have a plan. As for the box you’re holding, if any more unusual groups of Grimm start coming together, then you send hunters immediately.” He nodded at that assessment, “Also, maybe get someone to study that. Who knows, it could give us some important info.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As I walked down the corridor to our room a woman came into view outside our room. Weiss was standing there tapping her foot impatiently, “There you are.” 

I nodded, “Uh, hey Weiss.” 

She shook her head, “Is that all you have to say?” 

I sighed and resigned myself to my fate. “Look Weiss, it is super late. What do you want me to say?” 

“I want you to be honest with me, with our team.” Her glare hardened as she continued, “I want you to trust me.” Then she shook her head, “But clearly, you haven’t decided to do that yet.” With that, she turned on her heel and went into our room, leaving me outside to contemplate what to do. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The rest of our break flew by quickly. I tried my best to actively interact with everyone more. I wanted them to see that I really wasn’t that different. I was just more mature. This seemed to have a positive effect. Yang smiled happily as she watched me down 20 cookies in record time. Weiss seemed happy whenever I said something silly or a bad joke. Even Blake seemed to relax when I allowed myself to relax more. I still wasn’t the girl they remembered, but it was good enough for now. 

Shoot, we even got to enjoy our food fight, followed by a speech from Goodwitch. All in all, the break ended well and the tournament was beginning far too soon for my liking. 

Chapter Text

The first day back at class seemed to be going well. Professor Port rambled, Oobleck spoke a million miles a minute, and Goodwitch was her normal charming self. As it wound down, though, I knew it would be better to nip Blake’s issues in the bud sooner than later, so I called for a team meeting as soon as Professor Port stopped rambling. Everything seemed to be fine. Well… almost everything.

“Sooo Weiss, I was thinking, we should go out together sometime. Maybe this weekend? I could get us tickets to the new action movie that’s out.” Jaune was looking increasingly desperate while Weiss seemed to just be ignoring him. Unfortunately for everyone involved, mostly me, I was actively resisting the urge to strangle him. 

It grew harder and harder as his statements became more desperate, “Weiss, I was thinking, we could go have a picnic? Maybe go to the beach together? Or study? Or you know… just… hang out in the same general vicinity.” 

Finally the Brothers seemed to take pity on all of our souls and the bell rang, “Weiss have you heard anything I said?” Jaune asked.

She responded to his questions as politely as she could muster and then left Jaune behind looking despondent. I tried very hard to resist the urge to mutilate him, but I had to at least say something, “Jaune.” He looked up at me with these sad, sad eyes, “If you don’t knock off hitting on Weiss, I will show you why I’m the youngest person ever admitted to Beacon.” 

The words came out colder and angrier than I’d intended. I really do like Jaune but… well, he was hitting on my wife. Well… former wife? Future wife? Hopefully some day wife? I shook my head, an issue for another day.

Jaune just continued looking like a kicked puppy, “Why won’t she give me a chance? Is there something wrong with me?” 

That cooled my rage quickly as I realized my good friend was pretty torn up. I had honestly forgotten about his schoolboy crush on Weiss until it was thrown in my face. I forced myself to plaster on a smile, “There isn’t anything wrong with you Jaune.” I looked him dead in the eyes, “But, you do need to realize that when a girl says no, she means it. Hitting on her over and over again is disrespectful to her. It certainly won’t make her want you.”

“But…” he started to say something and I held up my hand.

“Jaune, you’re a good man. I’m sure you’ll be a good partner to someone, someday, but do you want to be with someone you had to force to date you?” 

His eyes widened and he went deep in thought before looking at me again , “Thanks Ruby, I think… I think I needed to hear that.” He looked sad as he added, “You’re a good friend for doing that for me, and Weiss.” He then left the room and I walked out after him.

What I hadn’t expected was Weiss herself to be standing outside the classroom. Jaune didn’t notice her, too lost in his own thoughts, but I immediately saw her, “Ruby… I don’t know why you did it, but thank you.” She gave me a dainty hug and a small smile. I was liking this new hugs-a-lot Weiss.

I grinned at her, “I was getting tired of him bothering you. Plus, there are plenty of other fish for him to go after,” I then quietly added, “After what you told me, I figured you didn’t want him to keep it up.” 

Weiss nodded her approval and her cheeks colored. I wanted to pump my fist in the air. I was finally getting somewhere with her. She cleared her throat, smiled shyly at me, “Let’s go meet up with the others. We have a long day ahead of us.” 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Ten years is a long time, I know that, but it is crazy the things you can forget, for instance, the fact that Sun and Neptune decided to literally hang out outside our 3^rd story window. The second Sun popped his head into our room, I threw the cookie I was eating at him. It was an automatic reaction, I swear.

He barely dodged the oncoming pastry in time, “Whoa now, let’s calm down and not throw tasty cookies around.” I glared at him as did the rest of the team.

Weiss spoke up first with a growl, “How’d you get up here?”

Sun shrugged, “It’s easy; I do it all the time.” He clearly had not thought through that sentence as Yang’s eyes blazed with fury and Weiss looked pissed.

Yang was the first one to pipe up, “You do what all the time?” He started sputtering as he realized what he’d implied, but Yang continued, “I know we’re all hot,” we all gave Yang a wary glance, “But seriously, you aren’t allowed to just come check us out whenever you want. We are not books, and this is not a library!” Somehow her own puns had calmed her down as halfway through she started struggling to resist laughing. 

He finally sputtered out, “I just climb trees a lot. I swear, I’m not coming here to check you girls out.” He then winked at Blake, “Not that some among you aren’t gorgeous.” I had to try not to laugh out loud as the only one in room that knew the direction Blake and Yang’s relationship was headed. 

Sun landed in our room, “So, let’s do this!” 

I tried to explain it was a team plan but he brushed it off and brought Neptune in. Poor guy was apparently just hanging out trying not to fall outside. After contemplating it, I gave him, “Fine, Neptune with Yang. Sun go with Blake. Weiss and me, will go to the tower.” I may have wanted to separate Sun from Blake, but unfortunately, no one else could pass as a faunus. 

Admittedly, I was also trying to keep Neptune away from Weiss. Back in my time, Weiss had tried to use him as a beard. Neptune had fallen in love with her, which I can’t blame him for, and I had spent the entire time depressed. Needless to say, I wasn’t looking for a repeat.

Neptune started complaining about the partner choice but I just rolled my eyes, “As the leader of Team RWBY, it is my decision how this mission goes as it is our mission. If you want to be part of our mission, then follow our rules.” That shut them up quickly although they both continued blatantly checking out certain women.

I grabbed Weiss’ hand and pulled her out of the room towards our mission point. After a moment, I dropped her hand blushed deeply. I hadn’t even considered the implication for her. I knew she had started to have some feelings towards me around this time, but hadn’t dealt with those for at least another year. Then throw in that I wasn’t the same person I used to be… I hope she still wants me.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

On the way to the CTT, I spotted Penny trying and failing to blend in with a crowd. I sighed, Weiss could handle this without me, but Penny was someone I needed to save. I couldn’t do that without her trust, “Weiss, I see Penny over there, do you mind if I go check on her?” 

The look on Weiss’ face transformed to a familiar one. Most people would assume it was annoyance, however, I knew that look: jealousy. If only she knew the truth. I smiled brightly, “Thanks for understanding! Bye! Call me if you find anything super important.” 

I sped off toward Penny who proceeded to act like she didn’t know me, “Penny, we need to talk alone. I know you’re nervous and your father doesn’t want you to talk to me. I also know a few other things, please its important.” 

She hesitated for a moment before taking my hand and dragging me to a safe space to talk. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Weiss watching us with a furrowed brow. Yet, Penny was one of the losses that had hurt the most. AI or not, she was still technically technology. It had turned out they had a back up of her, plus a little of her dads aura, made a new Penny. However, the new one… had no choice in her attacks on us. It wasn’t a very happy reunion. 

“Ruby, my friend, what seems to be the problem?” Penny asked with a bright smile on her face. I could see her eyes darting around to make sure no one was nearby. 

“Penny…” I debated my words before saying, “I know you’re technically an artificial intelligence.” 

Penny’s eyes stopped wandering and snapped to me, “I think I heard you wrong Ruby.” She made a big show of cleaning out her ears, “Can you please repeat that?”

“I know you were made, not born.” I stated and her eyes widened in shock. 

“That, is just silly Ruby. How would that even work?” She shook her head, “No, I am a real girl, Ruby.” A small hiccup broke up the conversation

I chuckled sadly, “Penny, you just lied. You hiccup every time you lie…” For a moment my brain trailed off, “I did always wonder why you hiccup though. Did they code that in? Is it a manifestation of your own guilt about lying?” I shook my head, “Sorry for getting distracted.” 

Penny stared at me dumbfounded, so I continued, “I don’t care that you aren’t technically human. You’re an amazing person, a great friend. You don’t need all those squishy guts to be a person.” 

“Oh Ruby!” She exclaimed and pulled me in for a very tight hug.

Even with my extraordinarily large aura, her hug felt crushing and I groaned out, “Maybe a little softer, Penny.” Sweet, sweet Penny, seemed to panic and practically dropped me in response. I straightened my clothes and smiled, “I’m here to help Penny.” 

Penny looked confused at me, “Help with what Ruby?” 

I smiled, “I’m here to make sure you get the chance to be you. I know you’re combat ready and you love your father, and I think that’s great.” I patted her shoulder, “But you’re a person too. They made a real person and you deserve an equally real life. You deserve to enjoy your life.” 

Penny nodded shyly, “I… would like that. But I was designed to protect and serve the people of Atlas. The General has been looking forward to my test run at the tournament.” 

“Well, I think you should also get the chance to test-run being a 17-year-old girl.” I gave her shoulder a small squeeze, “So don’t let combat consume you.” I thought to myself if there was anything else I could reasonably add, “If you need any help with anything, please feel free to come ask me.” 

Penny nodded enthusiastically, “I have one teenage experience I’ve really wanted to try, but haven’t had the opportunity.” 

I raised an eyebrow. That was fast. “What is it?” I asked curiously. 

Penny blushed. Oh my god, they coded embarrassment in her? I thought to myself as she continued, “I want to go on a date… I know there’s that dance coming up. I was thinking, maybe you’d be willing to go with me.”

“Oh… Oh!” My eyes widened in shock. “Penny… I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” 

“Oh… I’m sorry, Ruby, my friend. I know that some people frown on same-sex couples and I am technically female presenting. Although I would argue I would qualify as non-binary… but they did give me the…” I threw my hand up to her mouth to stop her. 

“Okay… Okay. So…” I tried to collect my thoughts. Of all the ways this conversation could have gone, I was not thinking it was this way, “So, you being female presenting, is definitely not a problem.” Penny nodded enthusiastically as I explained, “I just happen to have feelings for someone else, and I wouldn’t want to give them the wrong impression.” I quickly added, “Heck, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.” 

Penny frowned and looked contemplative, “But you are not with this person?” 

I nodded, “Technically, yes, I am not with them.” 

Penny went to open her mouth again when her face contorted, “They’re here,” She whispered at me. Damn handlers… “Ruby, please hide. I’ll deal with them.” She smiled, “We can continue this conversation later.” I grumbled to myself and swiftly left up the wall to the top of the building, pointedly avoiding the nearby dumpster she’d pointed at.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As I stood on top of the building, I watched Penny get escorted off and my scroll started to blow up. I pulled it up to answer and was instead greeted by loud noises and Blake screaming for backup. Sun sounded panicky about the “giant robot that a dude is inside. The robot didn’t eat the dude; the dude is controlling it or something.”

It was, without a doubt, the dumbest description of a situation I had ever heard from an operative in my life. I acknowledged the information and looked at the landscape from the building I was on. I could see them heading towards the highway. 

Hopping building to building, I got closer to the highway where I could make out the mech suit. I arrived nearby in time to see Weiss jump into the middle of the highway and turn the ground to ice. I fought down my protective instincts and jumped below the highway where he’d be falling shortly. 

Metal hitting pavement alerted me of his arrival. I spun Crescent Rose, unfurling her while I positioned it to aim at him. 

“Hello Red. Long time no see.” Torchwick said amusedly as the rest of Team RWBY landed beside me, “I see you brought friends this time. Pity this Paladin will make short work of you.”

I glared struggling to not just kill him then and there and shouted, “Freezerburn!” Yang and Weiss jumped at the order and soon we were fighting in fog. I rushed forward and started to attack his legs. We were all hitting from different directions and I could tell even with me holding back, we were going to finish this quickly.

“Bumblebee!” I hollered causing Yang to grab Blake’s weapon from one end and be hurled towards Torchwick, knocking his left arm off. 

I could hear Torchwick swearing; his eyes narrowed and he began firing off rockets. One of them, aimed directly at Weiss. Without a second thought, I sped and leapt in front of the oncoming rocket. Crescent Rose, strengthened by my aura, took the brunt. I looked behind me, “You okay?” Weiss nodded. She was clearly stunned but recovered quickly. 

I smiled at her, and then started yelling out more orders. Soon Torchwick found himself down a mech suit. Yang went in for a decisive blow only to find Neo blocking it, “Who the hell are you!” Yang growled.

The sight of Neo sent hatred burning through my veins in a way I hadn’t felt since I last saw Salem herself. I sped forward blinded by rage and struck the pair. They shattered to glass and my voice shook as I let our an angry cry. 

Behind me I heard, “Hey, it’s okay Ruby. We’ll get them next time.” Weiss touched my arm and I looked up at her. Her beautiful blue eyes widened, “Ruby… your eyes.” 

Those words were like a bucket of ice water as I realized what she had seen, “Huh? Are they okay?” I tried to play it off.

Weiss looked even more confused as she stared very intently at my silver eyes, “I… I swear they were red a second ago.”

Yang snorted, “That’s absurd; red eyes are my thing. Lil’ Rubes can’t just go around stealing my eyes.” 

Blake looked a little suspicious, but we all agreed to head back to Beacon.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As the week unfolded, Blake started getting bags under her eyes and Yang could do nothing but fret. Whenever Blake wasn’t around she would complain that Blake was overworking herself. The saddest part was Yang’s conviction that Blake wouldn’t listen to her. 

I did have to agree, in part, with Yang. Blake was way too obsessed with the White Fang. I’d argue even more than I was. 

We tried a group conversation with Blake but that ended poorly as well. Finally I got over it and walked over to Yang, “Sis, I think if anyone can get her out of this funk it’s you.” 

Yang frowned and, again, started to argue, “She won’t listen to me. You’re our leader; maybe you should try.” 

I smiled tightly, “I’m not who she needs to talk to. You’re her partner. Go talk some sense into her and then ask her to be your date to the dance.” 

Yang blushed deeply, “Ask… Blake to the dance? That’s… what. No. I… we aren’t.”

Luckily for me, Weiss had the decency to continue to pretend she wasn’t there as I pressed Yang further, “I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. It’s not exactly what I’d call platonic.” 

Yang blushed harder, “But… I don’t like girls.” 

I raised an eyebrow, “Are you certain about that Yang?” 

A furrowed brow was my first sign she was thinking, “I’d know… wouldn’t I?”

I shook my head, “That depends, Yang. Some people grow up thinking that straight is the default, so they never think about it.” I paused while I thought of how to phrase the next sentence, then continued, “There are definitely bisexual and lesbian women who spend their lives thinking that how they feel about women is platonic, not realizing it’s actually romantic because someone gave them bad advice at some point.” 

Yang sat there, staring off into the distance, “I…” She seemed truly lost, “What… what if you’re wrong and it is just friendly?” 

I smiled softly at her, “Sis, you don’t have to answer me, but think about it yourself. How do you feel about the idea of Blake being with someone else? Like… Sun? Would that make you uncomfortable? Either way, talk to her. You can decide for yourself if you ask her as a date, or a friend.” 

Yang nodded and continued to look contemplative before announcing she was going to the work out room to clear her head. 

As Yang left to go decide what to do with her own love life, I was left alone with the woman I loved. A woman who had, about thirty minutes prior, announce she already had a date in mind, “So Weiss…” 

Weiss looked up, “Yes Ruby?” 

“You said you have a date in mind huh?” I giggled and jumped onto bed, trying to not be suspicious, “Let’s have girl talk for a moment since the others are gone. Who is she? What’s she like? Have I met her?” I was trying to play up the curious best friend.

Weiss’ smile suddenly turned fake, “I was going to ask Neptune.” 

Suddenly everything came to a screeching halt, “You what?” I exclaimed. 

Weiss nodded, “He’s a nice guy. I’ve been thinking it over. My father is going to want me to date and eventually marry a man. It doesn’t really matter what I want.” She shook her head, “Besides, I’m sure I could grow to love him.” 

I felt my heartbreak at that statement. She, even after telling me the truth, was going to still try and run off with Neptune. 

My chest constricted and I felt like I might have a panic attack before I forced myself to calm down for Weiss’ sake. “Well… that’s… nice.” My voice cracked ever so slightly, “I’m glad you’ve figured it out.” 

I got off her bed, gave her a wire-tight smile, “Well I’m going to go do some… maintenance on Crescent Rose.” I left quickly while fighting the urge to cry. I am a grown ass woman and I should not be crying about this. I told myself as I shoved the feelings down. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I had hoped I could avoid dealing with this a second time. I really thought she’d be mine first. Stupid fucking Neptune. I sat down in the courtyard by the fountain and tried to hold back my tears. After a few minutes, my body complied, and I sat there stoically staring at the water.

A noise startled me and standing there, was Jaune. I inwardly groaned. I couldn’t handle his issues and mine at the same time, “Hey Ruby.” He was moving rather nervously, wringing his hands and running one through his hair, “Can I sit here for a moment?” 

I shrugged, shoved my feelings back into a box, and turned my full attention to him, “What’s up Jaune?”

“I was wondering…” Jaune paused, “I mean… if you want to…” He grumbled to himself before continuing, “I know it may be weird…”

I tried to decipher what he was saying. The boy really needed to stop stumbling over his words. Finally I just snapped, “Spit it out Jaune.”

He laughed nervously, “Will you come to the dance with me?” 

Of all the things he could have said… that didn’t even make the top 100 guesses. I just told him to stop asking out Weiss and here he was, asking me instead. Damn it Jaune, just go ask Pyrrha! I tried to formulate a response to him that wasn’t mean or condescending and I just landed on a simple truth, “I’m gay.” 

Jaune looked dumbstruck, “What?” 

“Is that a problem?” I snapped and gave him a semi-playful glare. I knew he wasn’t homophobic after all. 

“I… no, that’s not a problem. One of my sisters is gay.” He looked like I slapped him, “I just… every girl I’ve tried dating isn’t interested.” 

I laughed a little, “Jaune, seriously, every girl?” 

He nodded solemnly, “I mean… you and Weiss. I even tried asking out Velvet. No one is interested.” He looked downright despondent and it was both sad and kind of funny. How could any single person be this damn blind?

“Well, how about you go with a friend of yours. I mean, ask Pyrrha. You two are partners and even if you don’t have a date-date, it’s still someone to hang out with.” I suggested with a smile. I really was hoping he’d go for it. 

He shook his head, “Pyrrha has too many people asking her out. I’m sure of it. She isn’t dateless, unlike me.” I almost face-palmed at his stupidity, but I suppose this was just something he’d have to learn on his own, “So who are you going with?” He waggled his eyebrows and I rolled my eyes.

“I will be happily going stag.” I replied. I hoped that putting emphasis on ‘happily’ would convince him.

Unfortunately, he was a lot more perceptive than I normally give him credit for, “Don’t try that with me. Who do you want to go with?”

I just sat there and figured confessing I also had an unrequited ‘crush’ would actually make him feel better, “I… want to go with Weiss… but she’s going with Neptune.” 

Jaune’s eyes widened and his mouth flapped like a fish, “That’s why you told me off.” 

I blushed and nodded, “I know… I had ulterior motives… but also I was right about her not being interested in you.” I then quietly added, “I just didn’t want to accept or notice she wasn’t interested in me either.” 

He gave me a soft side hug, “Hey Ruby, it’ll be fine. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that right?” 

I chuckled sadly, “Yeah…” Too bad I already found the one I’m meant to be with.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After our heart to heart, I headed back to the rooms to find Weiss looking kind of annoyed. “Where in the world have you been?” 

“I, uh… I was out at the fountain with Jaune.” I replied back and Weiss’ eyes narrowed.

Weiss’ glare suddenly went ice-cold, and I could tell she was fighting her own jealousy, “Oh, you tell him to stop hitting on me just so you can date him? Real mature, Ruby.” 

My eyes widened at the leap she just made, “Excuse me?” 

Weiss growled, “You didn’t look okay when you left, so I followed you and saw him ask you out. Now you’re back here looking a lot better than when you left. So clearly, you said yes.” 

Fuck it. “Yes, exactly, I am mooning all over Jaune. He is my dream man.” I then did a poor impression of the main characters in Blake’s stories, “Oh Jaune, please, sweep me off my feet. Oh Jaune, my Jaune.” As I dropped the dramatics, I leveled a glare at Weiss, “You don’t know me very well if that’s what you think.” 

Weiss scoffed, “Of course, I don’t know you very well. You don’t even let your sister know you lately. You’re around more but I still don’t even know what you’re ‘constantly lying’ about.” I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off, “Maybe you aren’t a good team leader. You looked upset earlier, no matter what you say, and instead of talking to a teammate, your partner, you run off to whine to some boy you’re fawning over.” 

I felt something snap in me. Weiss and I were never the perfect couple. We fought sometimes. We had ups and downs. But, in the end, we loved each other and got through to each other. One reason for that… we had a bad habit of accidentally telling each other things, “Well I am so sorry, I wasn’t enjoying listening to the person I wanted to ask as my date, talk about how she was going out with a blue-haired monstrosity instead.” 

The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Only part of me could muster the regret, as the rest of me felt oddly relieved, but none-the-less I stood there slack-jawed at my own audacity. Meanwhile Weiss had a hand over her mouth as an audible gasp escaped at my confession.

“You’re… gay?” She asked quietly.

I couldn’t trust myself to speak at this point so I just nodded. Luckily for me, we were saved by the bell… or more accurately Belladonna. Blake walked in the room cheerily talking to Yang about the dance. Yang, ever so oblivious at times, just smiled and said, “Hey guys!”

Weiss and I glanced at each other, a silent agreement passing between us to shelve the conversation for later. Weiss spoke up first, “So, Blake, you decide to come to the dance then?”

Blake nodded with a soft smile, “Yang explained to me that I should try to slow down so I don’t hurt myself, or others. She’s also kindly agreed to escort me.” 

Yang looked awfully proud as she gave a small wink to Blake, but their relationship at least gave me hope. I just smile and headed to bed shortly after. I imagined Weiss would need some time to process what I’d said just as much as I needed to process Neptune.

Chapter Text

The night started off rather normal all things considered. I was dressed in a simple red dress, wearing heels. Stupid death traps. My weapon was on speed dial on my scroll, and I was planning to have a good time; maybe even dance with Weiss. Yet, I knew that my main concern would be stopping Cinder.

Standing at the top of the stairs, I could see everyone. Yang and Blake were dancing fairly closely. My eyes drifted to Weiss, she was sitting alone with a sad look on her face. 

Meanwhile, Jaune was outside talking to Pyrrha. Hopefully, he gets his head out of his ass and realizes what he has. I decided I would take this chance with everyone else distracted and began walking over to Weiss. Maybe we can have that convo now. Yet, as I got closer to her, Neptune showed up holding a drink for her and a bright smile. 

Yang caught my arm and pulled me into a small hug, “Hey sis! How’s the night going?” 

I shifted out of her grip and plastered on a faux smile, “It’s fantastic. I love what you’ve done with the decor.” 

Yang beamed at me and tossed her arm over my shoulder, “Thank you, thank you very much. Although, I can’t take all the credit. The Ice Queen helped a lot.” I tried to resist tensing up but couldn’t, “I was worried the night would be icy, but it seems even the Ice Queen can thaw sometimes.” Yang gestured to where Neptune and Weiss were chatting. The gnawing in my stomach increased and I pushed it back down again. 

In the corner of my eye, I noticed Jaune in a dress dancing with Pyrrha. Some things never change. I looked to Yang and nodded curtly, but then I noticed a mischievous look in her eye, “You’re mad at Weiss!” She shouted and if we hadn’t been in a packed room I would be worried everyone would have heard it.

I gritted my teeth, “Yang, please keep it down.” 

Yang smirked, “Hey, the balcony is free. Let’s go have a chat.” Yang practically dragged me outside and right past Neptune and Weiss. My brain began to race through every worst case scenario as we stood out on the balcony, the cool breezing helping me feel numb. “Hey now, Rubes, are you even listening to me?”

I finally dialed back into the conversation, “Uh… no. Sorry Yang. I was just thinking.” 

Yang’s playful smirk grew, “I know, I know. It must be tough watching your first crush run around with your best friend.” 

My jaw dropped and I struggled to form words.

Yang took my hand in hers, “It’s okay. I know you like Neptune, but there’s no need to flounder, the sea is brimming with better catches.” She chuckled at her own joke, “You see what I did there sis?” All she got in response was an eye roll, “Oh come on sis, that was funny.” 

“Yang, is there a point to this conversation beyond you saying crazy things? I don’t like Neptune.” I said exasperated. 

Yang shook her head, “Sis, it’s cool. And, you know, he’s going back to his school at the end of the year, so you won’t even have to see him be with someone else for too long.” She was trying so hard to be a comforting big sister right now. It was sweet, but mostly baffling. 

While trying to formulate a response, I heard a noise behind me. I feigned being ashamed and looked over my shoulder. Damn it, she’s already on the move. 

At that point, the only thing I could do was ditch Yang quickly, “Yang, I don’t like Neptune.” I held up my hand as she was about to make another joke, I’m sure, “You were right. I do like one of them. You just picked the wrong one.” Yang looked confused and I used her confusion to slip away quickly, “I’m going to bed for the night. Enjoy your date with Blake, you two make a lovely couple.” 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

My semblance was the only reason I could take my 30 second head start away from Yang and use it to get minutes away from her. I used my scroll to call over Crescent Rose while contemplating that I had just come out to Yang and told her I liked Weiss. Oh well, I already told Jaune and Weiss. What’s one more person at this point? Once Crescent Rose landed, I used my semblance to get to the CCT as quickly as possible. 

As she had the first time, Cinder was standing in the control room typing away on a computer, “You know, the party is in the other building. It’s also not a masquerade.” Cinder’s eyes flashed to me for a moment, but she appeared unconcerned with my presence as I started to move forward.

Cinder stood up and smirked at me before tapping one final key. My eyes widened; I had been too late. Again I had failed to stop the program. And why? Because I was so busy worrying about my social life? 

She waved her hand and tossed some crystal-form dust at me. I rolled my eyes and kicked my heels off. I charged forward, ducking underneath them. She didn’t seem fazed. I tried to quickly process a plan; I couldn’t reveal my true power to her without risking everyone else seeing it or, worse, destroying the CCT. 

I whirled around to slice at her leg. Her weapons seemingly materializing on contact. Clang! She parried my attack and made a move to push forward. Her glass blade got awfully close to my throat, but I wasn’t concerned. I twirled Crescent Rose, batting away her blade as I positioned myself to fire at her. 

My first shot, she ducked. Bang! Her glare hardened and she prepared an attack. Bang! The second shot rang but the bullet met her blade in the air. Clang!

The situation began to agitate me. Fighting like this fucking sucks. I pressed forward when I suddenly heard, “What is this!” I abruptly stopped and whirled around to see General Ironwood standing there. 

When I turned back, Cinder was gone. My eyes flashed red and I turned back to Ironwood with rage coursing through me, “I had her!”

Ironwood sighed, a mixture of defeat and confusion in his expression, “He wasn’t lying then.” Questioningly I cocked an eyebrow, “Come Miss Rose, I feel we have much to discuss with your headmaster.” 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The walk to Ozpin’s office felt like it took an eternity. Upon arriving, Ozpin motioned for both of us to take a seat. Ironwood declined, clearly troubled.

“So… what am I doing here?” I asked, attempting to play the innocent child card.

Ozpin chuckled while Ironwood scowled. Finally, Ironwood spoke up, “Are Miss Rose’s eyes normally red?” I groaned as I realized her semblance must still be active. I had learned how to control and turn on, at will, almost every semblance I’ve learned. Yet, Yang’s always seemed to be the one I couldn’t turn off easily. 

After my eyes returned to their normal color, Ironwood continued, “Ozpin told me a very peculiar story last week about a girl with silver eyes. I don’t suppose you’d like to comment on that.”

It was my turn to glare as I realized Ozpin was having loose lips, “General, if I thought you could help, I would have told you myself.” My remark came out far more scathing than I’d intended, but it was true.

The General looked offended, “Are you saying you don’t trust me?”

I shook my head,  “General, I have great respect for you. I served under you for three years. I know you’re a good man… sometimes you carry your convictions a little too hard, but over all I know you’re in this fight for the long run. I simply didn’t see any benefit in informing you at this juncture.” 

The General’s posture changed and that was when I realized my mistake. He thought he could order me around, “Well, Miss Rose, what was your rank then?”

“Last I checked, it was General since you died.” I growled back.

He frowned, “I died? What was your rank before that?” 

“When I served under you, I was Captain Rose of the 6^th Hunter Division.” I gritted out.

He seemed to put some pieces together and eventually nodded, “From what I’ve seen, you aren’t lying. From what I’ve heard… it is best to listen to your advice.” It was strange seeing ol’ Ironwood so damn humble, “So Miss… Captain Rose, is there any assistance or help I can offer you?”

I sat there thinking it over, “Don’t trust the CCT at this point. She put a virus into it. Don’t mess with it, don’t try to remove it.” I paused and thought for a second, “Don’t let Penny go into the singles round.”

Ironwood looked perplexed, “That’s why she’s here.”

I shrugged, “I’d don’t want to see her dead.” Then, deciding hat showing some emotion might help my cause, I let my mask slip slightly, my voice cracking, “Please keep her out of the singles matches.” 

He pursed his lips and I wasn’t sure if he’d listen to me or not. For a moment he looked deep in thought before he stated, “I will see what we can do.” 

It then occurred to me, one other thing he could do, “Send your robots home.” 

He looked even less understanding now, “Pardon me? Did I hear you just suggest I send my army home? If something big is going to happen, this is exactly where they need to be!” 

I tightly nodded, “In any normal situation, I would agree. In this situation, they are going to use the robots in the attack. Your peacekeepers were seen across the world slaughtering innocents.” I shook the memory from my head, “I plan to stop this, but if I fail, they’ll only make it worse.”

It took a little more coaxing, but eventually I got a promise from Ironwood to send the majority of them home and headed back to my room.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Upon arriving back at the dorm, I found Yang and Weiss sitting there quietly chatting on Weiss’ bed. Blake, however, was no where in sight, “Uh… maybe I should come back later.” I whispered.

Yang hit her head, and Weiss nearly fell off the bed as they realized I was there. Weiss’ Ice Queen demeanor melted a little, “You dolt! Where have you been!?” She exclaimed, stalking up to me, “Your sister said you had gone home, but you weren’t here.” The concern in Weiss’ voice sobered me up quickly.

Yang looked content to watch our interaction after what I’d told her earlier, so I focused on Weiss instead, “I saw someone sneaking into the CCT. I followed them and I don’t know what they were doing, but we got into a fight.”

That got both of their attentions for very different reasons. Yang grinned, “You stopped another bad guy? What happened? Was it a good fight? Come on Rubes! Spill!” 

I giggled a little at Yang’s idiocy, “We fought, she escaped. I just debriefed with Ozpin and the General. Whoever it was, they seemed concerned about her.”

Yang nodded along and then suddenly her scroll dinged and a little pink crept into her cheeks, “Well ladies, I have to go. My date wants me to meet her somewhere.” She winked and then bolted out of the room before I could say anything else.

I stood there dumbly staring at where my sister had been and turned to Weiss, “What’s going on with Yang?”

Weiss shrugged, “I believe the ruffian rented a hotel room for some private time with Blake. It appears they are officially an item.”

I was suddenly struck by how much I had changed. They didn’t get together last time until after Yang… lost her arm. All of the changes were slowly piling up. It had started small enough but they were just getting bigger, “Well, good for them.” I tried weakly and then cleared my throat, “I’m going to bed.”

Weiss’ face went from her normal level of iciness to visibly annoyed, “Aren’t you going to ask me how my night went?”

I huffed. This was not something I wanted to discuss, “Fine. How was your night Weiss?”

Weiss got a playful glint in her eye, “Well, I’m glad you asked. It was horrible.” I went to respond, but she just kept talking, “Did you know Neptune can’t dance? That’s why he rejected me in the first place. He wasn’t even able to get his own courage to tell me that. Someone had to talk him into it. Of course, I am a Schnee, so I tried to put on my ‘PR’ face. Yet the whole dance, I kept wondering where the girl in the red dress was.”

I felt a blush creep up my face and again, went to respond but she continued, “I kept seeing her awkwardly standing there.” She let a small smile grace her lips, “I was anticipating having at least one dance with her. She is my best friend, you see.” 

I smiled and shot back, “Oh? I didn’t realize that Neptune’s dancing would make dancing with me preferable.” 

Weiss blushed, “I may have wanted to dance with you even if he could dance.” 

I stood there staring at the beautiful woman I had already spent my last lifetime in love with, and I felt like my breath was stolen. She was still wearing her gorgeous dress and her hair was done up perfectly. It was so very… Weiss. I walked forward, offered my hand, and as charming as I could be, I asked, “May I have this dance?” 

Weiss’ blush deepened but she still tried to maintain her cold attitude, which I knew was how she tried to maintain control when she felt she had little, “Without music? What do you take me for, a commoner?” 

I stuck out my tongue and cheekily grabbed me scroll. I hit play on a slow song, then turned back to her and tried again, “My lady, the amazing Weiss Schnee, may I please have the honor of dancing with you?” 

Weiss smiled and took my hand in hers. She pulled me close and buried her in my shoulder. The closeness made me feel like my old self. The woman I had been before I lost her.

I spun her around in my arms and then pulled her close again. A cocky smirk crossed my lips as I showed off my dance moves. She giggled and kept time with me.

After several songs went by she gave me the most blinding smile, her face flush, “You, Ruby Rose, are an immaculate dance partner.” 

I learned from the best. “I’m just glad that a commoner such as myself is dancing to your standards.” I joked back. 

Weiss smiled sadly, “I don’t want you to think… this can’t… we can’t.” She shook her head, “But I am so, so sorry for not realizing how you were feeling.” Weiss looked distant as she continued, “You… in another life. Where I wasn’t a Schnee, this is everything I’d ever want.” She took a deep breath and I could see a tear threatening, “This is already everything I want,” she admitted quietly. 

“Weiss, there’s nothing stopping you from having what you want.” I said quietly looking into her gorgeous blue eyes.

She shook her head, “I wish that was true. I can’t… my father won’t allow me to do that.” She pulled back slowly.

My heart shattered but I nodded, “That’s fine Weiss. We’re best friends. That’s all that matters.” Weiss sniffled and I could see her heart breaking too. I took a step back and kissed the back of her hand gingerly, “Thank you for the dance, my lady.” 

I gave a small prayer to the Brothers, hoping this wouldn’t be the last time I held her like that before going to bed. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The next day came with the announcement of a week long field trip. All of the teams were sent back to their rooms to pack after choosing a mission. Just like last time, we were headed to Mountain Glenn. Arriving at our room, we found a package that made me so happy, but I played it off with an obligatory, “What is it?”

Yang grinned brightly, “Who knows? But dad sent it, so I’m sure it’s awesome!” She opened it and poured the contents on the floor. Out popped Zwei.

I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the cute pup and found myself hugging him tightly. Zwei barked in my ear and I giggled as he started to lick my face. Both Yang and I were ecstatic. Weiss and Blake were more confused for a moment. Yet, after hearing the barking, Blake jumped onto Yang’s bed so fast you’d think she had my semblance. 

Weiss, on the other hand, stared at Zwei and started to walk towards him ,”Do you mean to tell me that this filthy, slobbering,” I watched in real time as the ice melted to just pure Weiss, “adorable, cute, wittle puppy dog is going to stay with us forever and ever?” Weiss started petting and fawning over him.

Blake meanwhile crouched on Yang’s bed like she was expecting an attack, “Please keep him away from my belongings.”

Yang raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend, “Oh come on, he’s a real sweetie, sweetie.” She even chuckled at her own joke. Yang hopped onto the bed with Blake and started having a quiet conversation that ended in a peck. I could tell Blake was still unsure about Zwei, but she seemed more willing to give him a chance. 

Weiss took Zwei from me and the pup was loving the attention. 

I then realized we were on a schedule, “We gotta start packing guys. We have to meet our assigned hunter at the airship soon.” 

They all nodded and Weiss put Zwei down reluctantly, “I’ll be back for you, you adorable puppy. Yes, I will.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

We approached the airship with our stuff and were met by Dr. Oobleck. My teammates looked confused and a little annoyed by his presence, but I knew he was capable. I addressed them shortly after Oobleck told us to hurry up and ran ahead himself, “He may not seem like much, but he is a licensed huntsman.” I smiled and added, “Don’t judge a book by its cover girls.” They seemed skeptical but agreed to reserve judgement for now.

The job proceeded fairly similarly to last time with Dr Oobleck finding Zwei and being excited I brought him. We received our brief just like last time and began our journey through the abandoned city. 

We made short work of pack after pack, but the most interesting part of the day was when Dr. Oobleck started questioning the team, “Miss Xiao Long, why do you want to be a huntress?” 

Yang’s explanation left much to be desired and as they all explained themselves, I realized that they really didn’t know what they were getting into. It was strange to realize that I, too, once didn’t really know what I had agreed to.

Eventually we set up camp and I went to speak with the doctor, “Doctor, I have a question.” The truth was, I had a whole slew of questions. I never got to know Oobleck too well, but from what I’d seen over the years, he was a wealth of information.

“You want to know why I’ve been interrogating your team.” I simply nodded my agreement, “Well Miss Rose, it’s quite simple. You see, I became a huntsman because I see a place like this and all I see are lives that could have been saved. I also see lives I can save in the future with what I learn here. There is nothing in this world better than being a huntsman, even if you aren’t fighting grimm.” I furrowed my brow, he still hadn’t answered my question.

He saw the look on my face, sipped his drink, and explained, “I have always felt that no hunter or huntress should stand ready to protect humanity without the desire to do so.” 

“So why haven’t you asked me?” I probed.

The grin on his face took me by surprise, “It’s simple Miss Rose. I have never seen any student as driven as you. Looking at everything you have done, even before you came to this school, it is clear what you want. I have no doubt you will be one of the greatest huntresses to graduate from our institution. You are the only one on your team doing this to protect people.”

My eyes narrowed, “Blake is doing it to protect people.”

He shook his head, “Miss Belladonna is doing it to prove to herself, and to others, that change can happen a better way.” He smiled sadly, “She is doing it just as much for herself as others.” 

“Even selfless desires can be ultimately selfish.” I pointed out.

He chuckled, “Sure, to some degree. Yet, the fact is you have put yourself selflessly in danger repeatedly for others with no regard for your own safety. Is it stupid? Surely. Is it what a true huntsman should do? Yes… yes it is. I have complete faith in what you fight for, because I know you have complete faith in it.” 

I tried to comprehend the answer I never asked for the first time, “But…” I found words failing me.

He smiled, “Your team will find their purpose eventually. My questions were only meant to push them towards their true reasons.”

We took a moment to gaze out at the landscape before he spoke up again, “Now, Miss Rose, let us return to your team.” I followed slowly behind him contemplating his words.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After taking first watch and completing it, I found myself slipping into sleep easier than I had lately. Maybe I had just gotten too used to sleeping on the ground, or maybe it was because I knew Yang would be able to protect us.

I woke up hours later to Zwei barking loudly in my face. I groaned, “What is it boy?”

Zwei looked almost panicked. His bark got louder and louder until everyone was awake. That’s when it hit me. The person who was supposed to be on watch wasn’t there. Where is Weiss?

Zwei took off running and I chased after him. Everyone else followed closely behind, but dread was building in my chest. We arrived at a giant hole in the ground and there, next to it was Myrtenaster. I gasped as my hand wrapped around it.

“They took her,” my voice came out deadly. My eyes turned red as I lost all control. I grabbed Crescent Rose off my back and bolted down the hole in a whirlwind of rose petals. I vaguely heard Yang shouting my name as I descended. 

Immediately I listened for sounds and once I heard some, I ran after it. A large group of White Fang soldiers were loitering aimlessly when I found them, “You’ll show me where you took the woman you found.” I was only going to give them one warning.

They didn’t take it and immediately opened fire. I nodded, “Very well.” I felt my body engulf in flames as my anger coaxed Yang’s semblance to further heights. I sprang forward, augmenting her semblance with mine. The result was a path of flames and burning petals. I sliced through each of them until only one was left. 

I quenched the flames and grabbed him by the throat, “You will tell me where she is, or you will die.”

His wide green eyes stared into my flaming red ones and he started stuttering in fear. I growled and started to increase the pressure on his neck. He looked on the verge of tears as he finally got out the words, “She’s down the tunnel to the left… Tor-torchwick is holding her.” 

I threw him aside with enough force to knock him out, and then I sped off down the tunnel. As I turned a corner I saw Torchwick taunting Weiss, “Oh I wonder how much daddy dearest would pay me to give you back.” Weiss was maintaining her icy facade but I could see the cracks even from where I was.

“Torchwick!” I bellowed. He turned in my direction with a look of surprise. “You will unhand her or I will kill you.”

Weiss was shocked by the use of the word ‘kill’, however Torchwick didn’t seem the least bit phased, “Well hello Red. You know I’m starting to think you’d be a lot more fun on my side. You really should reconsider. We have a great medical plan.” He smirked, “Once you get a little older, I might even have a few ideas,” he winked just to punctuate his point.

“If only you lived to see the end of this act.” I murmured in his ear. He went statue still as he realized I had moved in a blink of an eye. My blade pierced his chest, shattering his aura. He dropped to the ground howling in pain, “We’ll see how well you survive now,” I growled. 

Weiss finally got a good look at me and was shocked. My eyes were still red and heat was pulsating off me in waves, “Ruby, calm down. I’m okay,” she whispered. I felt the heat fall away and my eyes softened. She pulled me in for a hug, “Thank you for coming for me.”

I gave her a small smile, “Always.” 

Torchwick coughed up some blood on the ground, “Can you two make goo-goo eyes elsewhere?” He looked furious, and shouted loudly at the men on the train, “Go! Now! The plan starts now.” 

I moved away from Weiss as my eyes blazed back to life. Weiss gasped and I closed in on him, “I will not allow this to happen again.” Confusion crossed both of their faces, but I was too consumed by thoughts of what could go wrong to realize what I’d said. My foot connected with his face and he was out cold, “Wait here,” I ordered Weiss. 

She nodded before realizing that she had no idea what I was doing. 

While she stood there, confused, I hopped onto the train just as it took off. I stood atop it and watched as Oobleck, Yang, and Blake caught up to Weiss. Time to do what I do best.

I knew it wouldn’t be a clean solution… but a crazy plan is better than none. What I did next… probably should have landed me in a psyche hospital. 

I ran to the front of the train and looked for a way to disconnect the lines. They appeared to be welded together but it didn’t matter. I used Yang’s heat to melt them and Pyrrha’s semblance to pry them apart. The front of the train continued forward while the rest began to slow down.

That was when I realized, at the speed it was going, the front car was still going to collide with Vale. Even if it wouldn’t be quite as bad as before, it could kill hundreds. 

I took a deep breath. I hadn’t done something quite this stupid before. I ran as fast as I could until I stood about 100 feet in front of the train. I sent a silent prayer up and started mixing more semblances at once than I ever had before. Blake’s semblance was partially used to anchor my feet in with ice dust via a partially made shadow. Weiss’ semblance was used to create a gravity well. Then came the main ones necessary for success: Yang’s semblance to tank the incoming damage and Pyrrha’s to apply reverse pressure. 

The train kept moving forward except this time I was in front of it trying to not be flattened. I pushed back with polarity harder. More and more power. Soon, the drain on my aura became apparent, making me feel sluggish. Yang’s semblance could take a lot to store for damage later, but an entire train seemed to be pushing it. 

I decided to use what little aura I had left and pushed all I could into polarity before slipping into darkness, right on the train tracks. 

Chapter Text

Four years had gone by since the Fall of Beacon. Four long years. Ren’s death was only the beginning. I started getting letters and messages about fallen friends and classmates. The remaining two members of Team JNPR left my unit shortly after Ren’s death. They were given leave to mourn, but requested a change. I knew Jaune didn’t blame me for Ren’s death, but he seemed to lose his ability to be on a team at all.

Nora on the other hand… first she fell into a deep depression. Once the depression broke, she seemed to be permanently manic. It became apparent to the military that she was no longer fit to be in the field. Nora didn’t care. After she was officially discharged, we heard stories from allies and enemies alike about a hammer-wielding demon arriving on the battlefield. At least she’s still alive. 

The airship landing startled me from my thoughts. I looked up and there was Weiss smiling at me, “Come on dear, it’s time to go greet the troops.”

My return smile didn’t quite meet my eyes, “Good idea, babe.” I exited the airship with my team following close behind. We had landed at an improvised fort near the now abandoned desert Kingdom of Vacuo. 

There were currently about 50 soldiers deployed here, one of whom was waiting to greet us, “Good morning ma’am and welcome.” He saluted and I responded in kind.

“At ease, soldier.” I eyed his uniform for his rank, “Master Sergeant, please debrief me.” 

Master Sergeant Snow looked to be in his forties and appeared battle hardened, “Ma’am, our men arrived here two days ago. We have set up a general safe zone and have a rotating 3 man patrol going out every hour. We sent out a scout earlier today who reported the Black Tide have a contingency approximately 10 miles north.”

I nodded along, “Any recommendations?”

He appeared contemplative before responding, “Respectfully ma’am, permission to speak freely?”

I raised an eyebrow, “Permission granted.”

“Ma’am… I heard a rumor that the General died… is that true?” The Master Sergeant asked.

A grim look passed my face, “Yes, Master Sergeant. They still haven’t appointed a new General yet, but luckily his plans were extensive. While they wait to decide we’re all just continuing on. Anything else?”

“Ma’am, I’m not going to pretend I know what huntsmen are capable of. I’ve never been attached to a unit like yours. What I do know is our odds don’t look very good.” He sighed and slumped a little, “Honestly ma’am, we are out manned and out gunned. Most of my men have never fought more than a stray Beowulf.”

“Very well Master Sergeant. Thank you for voicing your concerns. Please go inform the troops we will be having an all-hands meeting in an hour.” I smiled a little, “We’ll find out soon if I’m the best or the craziest CO you’ve ever had.” He looked confused, but I just smirked and said, “Dismissed.” 

The older man moved with purpose as he began yelling at the troops about our meeting plan. 

Behind me I heard a small giggle, I rolled my eyes, “Yang, could you keep your bearing for more than five fucking minutes?” I turned around to see her barely holding in laughter.

She shook her head furiously, “Of course not! That’s a silly question sis. C’mon let’s go find those snazzy officer tents. I need a little alone time with my wifey.” She winked and Blake and I just face-palmed, “Oh don’t give me that. I know for a fact you cannot wait to get a little Weiss-cream tonight.” 

I shook my head annoyed, but before I could retort I felt a soft hand on my arm, “Come on Ruby. No need to get worked up. Besides, these soldiers aren’t used to Huntsmen teams. I don’t think it would do well for them to see you two have a brawl. Even if it is your idiot sister.”  

I nodded, and we started to head towards our tent to unpack a little. I leaned over and couldn’t help but whisper, “You know, she is right about one thing.” 

Weiss looked at me confused for a split second and then was quickly replaced by a scowl, “Is that all you ever think about, Captain!” I waggled my eyebrows. “You are sleeping alone.” She stormed off, but the sway in her hips and the look she gave me over her shoulder, told me that was a lie.

Some of the troops were pretending they didn’t hear anything, but unfortunately they weren’t very subtle. I’ll have to address that too.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Weiss and I unpacked in our tent. Our team had been assigned two officer tents and, as usual, Weiss and I got one tent, while Yang and Blake took the other.

I finally sat down with our sleeping bag unrolled and looked up Weiss with a twinkle of mischief in my eyes, “Hey, snow angel.”

Weiss glanced up from the map she was focused on, “Hmm?”

A smirk danced across my face and I dashed forward, snatching the map out of her hand with my prosthetic hand. I leaned down and captured her lips, as my left arm circled around her waist. I pulled back and murmured, “Let’s have some fun.” 

She giggled and kissed me back. Even in a war zone, she made me feel at home. I pulled back for a moment to just drink her in. She was one of the few people I knew who still sported a combat skirt. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun and her blue eyes sparkled at me. I gave her a small peck, “We need a vacation.”

She rolled her eyes, “Maybe once this is over, you can finally take me on that honeymoon you promised me.”

“Yes!” I picked her up and twirled her around excitedly; her laughter at my antics warmed my heart. “And, we can eat a bunch of cookies, and get fat, and enjoy life. Ooo can we go in a hot tub? I’ve always wanted to try one!” 

“Ruby, put me down.” She suddenly cut off my rambling and the smile left her face.

“Why princess? Don’t like feeling out of control?” I teased.

“No, Ruby, the Master Sergeant is right behind you,” she quietly pointed out. I accidentally dropped her a little rougher than intended. 

I whirled around to find Master Sergeant Snow standing there chuckling, “So it really is true what they say about you ma’am.”

Genuine curiosity piqued in me, “What exactly do they say about me?”

He smiled, “You’re good hearted and fight for those you love. I mean no disrespect ma’am. It’s just… your team has become a bit of a legend for working together so well due to such… close relationships.” He motioned at me and Weiss. 

I shrugged, “So I take it it’s time for the meeting?”

“Yes ma’am.” The Master Sergeant straightened up and I felt sadness encroach on me as I remembered why we were here. We weren’t here for fun or games. We were here to take Vacuo back. 

We exited the tent, after Weiss straightened her skirt, and followed the Master Sergeant. Yang and Blake caught up to us quickly and soon we were moving as a team.

We might have been together, but we weren’t all in one piece. Glancing at my team I was reminded of failures and near disasters. Yang sported a missing arm, as did I. Blake was missing one of her cat ears. Weiss… my beautiful wife, despite the perfection she projected on the outside, carried scars under her uniform. One in particular had almost destroyed her shoulder. She had barely made it out alive. 

As we approached the troops I heard the Master Sergeant call, “Attention!”

All the troops snapped to attention, giving thousand yard stares. There appeared to be about forty men present, “At ease, soldiers.”

They all immediately relaxed and stood anxiously waiting for me to continue, “First of all, I am Captain Rose of the 6^th Hunter Division. I’ve been sent here to lead the charge to retake parts of Vacuo. I am your commanding officer. Next, to my right is my Executive Officer,” Weiss took one step forward.

There seemed to be some looks passing between the men so I continued, “Commander Weiss Schnee, she is also my wife. I am sure you’ve heard a few things. Do not think that just because I am married to my XO, I will allow that to get in the way. The mission comes first.” This seemed to relax some of them.

I nodded to Weiss who took a step back, “On my left is Lt. Commander Yang Xiao-Long,” Yang took a step forward and gave a cocky smirk along with a little wave. I could tell those mixed signals were already confusing some people. “She will be leading a squad on my behalf, and yes, she is also my sister. I have full faith and confidence she can and will lead her team well.”

I nodded to Yang and she took a step back before I continued, “On the left of Lt. Commander Xiao-Long is Lt. Commander Blake Belladonna. She will be leading a very small scouting and infiltration team. That team will be chosen by her.”

With the introduction out of the way, I gave a small smile and then began the briefing, “Now that the boring part is over, let’s talk about what we are here to do.” I pulled out my scroll, hit a button, and brought up a projection of the area.

“In a few days, we will be attempting to begin the campaign to retake Vacuo. I recognize that this has been tried before and failed, however, it is believed that we have a better chance this time.” I hit a button and showed some aerial footage of the forest which included some large concentrations of Grimm, “I recognize that many of you have never fought a Grimm before. Do not worry, the four of us have killed countless.” 

I took a deep breath and walked forward, “But, I do not want you to think that is all we are capable of. Each of us has seen combat against the White Fang and the Black Tide. We have been fighting this war since before there was a war.”

One of the soldiers scoffed, grabbing my attention, “Yes, soldier, do you have something to say?” He looked surprised that I was addressing him, “Please, I insist you speak freely.”

His eyes narrowed, “With all due respect, ma’am,” he practically spat out the honorific, “I doubt you are old enough to have been fighting at the beginning of the war.”

I grinned, “Of course, I was only 15 years old when the Fall of Beacon happened.”

“Exactly,” the man growled out, “I’ve been fighting since the attempt to retake Beacon. So respectfully, don’t tell me you’ve been fighting longer, ma’am.” 

I nodded, “With all due respect, I fought at the Fall of Beacon. I was in the arena when the Grimm attacked and I fought back instead of fleeing. I can even say that I injured Cinder that day. The scar she famously carries comes from me.” I paused and pointed at team RWBY, “My team has been fighting against the White Fang, Cinder, and the Black Tide since this started and we are dedicated to repaying them for every single life they’ve taken.”

I then turned to the rest of the men, “So, are you with us? Are you here to stop the demons who call themselves the Black Tide? Are you here to stop the plague of monsters that Salem and Cinder have overrun Vacuo with? Because if you are, we start soon. It might take months, or even years, but we will move forward and the Black Tide will be stopped!” I then took a deep breath and shouted, “Are you with me?”

The voices of the men blasted in my ears and I grinned, “Good, now get back to work. We will be heading out in four days. Dismissed.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The days seemed to drag on. I might be good at making plans, but I hated actually doing them. The bright side was during free time. We spent meals with the troops as I had learned a long time ago you get more trust if you let your troops know you. Beyond meals, I set aside an hour each day just to relax with my team.

My watch read 9 o’clock so I jumped up excitedly, “Free time!” 

Blake nearly jumped out of her skin, “Damn it Ruby! You just made me make a line on the map.” Her glare promised pain but I knew she didn’t mean it. We were all just so stressed.

I nodded, “Then you should probably erase that. Anyways, we move out tomorrow, so we’ve got one more night before the battle.” I was grinning like an idiot but I didn’t care. I just needed a break.

Yang nodded along, “She’s got a point, let’s enjoy our hour of relaxation and then we can go to bed.”

Weiss and Blake exchanged a look of silent communication before Weiss finally sighed, “I think this is a horrible idea honey.” She moved over to me and looked me in the eyes. It felt like she was trying to mind control me into agreeing.

It wasn’t going to work, “Nope snow angel, as the CO I demand, we relax.”

Weiss growled, “I hate when you pull that.” 

I smiled cheekily, “Well, when I die, you can be the CO and work every day.” Then I giggled, “Until then, let’s play a card game!” 

I grabbed out the deck of cards while Yang dragged the work table over and cleared off the copious maps. Blake and Weiss were not amused, but they gave in. Yang started shuffling expertly and then looked at me, “What are we playing Cap?”

“How about…” I paused as I considered the games we could play. Most of them would not be fun without alcohol and as much as I’d like a stiff drink… now was not the time, “Bullshit?”

Yang grinned, “Oh, I love bullshit! I’m great at it.” She excitedly started dealing out the cards.

Once I had my hand, I pulled it up and saw I had a good selection of cards, but not the starting card. Once everyone finished rearranging their cards Blake began, “Three, twos.”

The game went on for several rounds before someone finally called, “Bullshit.” 

Weiss looked rather proud of herself as she flipped over her cards, “Read em’ and weep Yang. There really are four queens here.”

Yang looked appalled and reluctantly grabbed the entire stack of discarded cards. The whole game felt surreal. Everyone was laughing and joking. I eventually found myself with my arms around Weiss’ waist. She grumbled I was trying to cheat, but we both knew she wasn’t planning to stop me.

As the game wound down and Blake won, we decided to call it a little early night. Blake and Yang returned to their tent with a wink from Yang.

Meanwhile I grabbed Weiss after she finished cleaning up and whispered in her ear, “Alone at last.” 

Weiss smiled but shook her head, “Yes, and it’s also time for sleep.” She grabbed my hand pulled me to the sleeping bag we had. She laid down and I couldn’t resist, I straddled her, “Really, Ruby, we are going to fight tomorrow.” 

I leaned down and gave her a peck that I deepened into a passionate kiss. She responded in kind and soon we were losing ourselves in each other. My hand started to move on its own but before it could reach its destination she stopped me, “Ruby, I love you. I love you so very much. Tonight though, is for sleep.” 

I groaned and got off her, “But Weiss!” I whined and she just giggled at me, “We could die tomorrow.” 

Weiss propped herself up on her elbow and raised an eyebrow at me, “We aren’t dying tomorrow, you goofball. I am not some random girl you picked up at a bar the night before deployment. That line is not going to work on me.”

I grinned and kissed the tip of her nose sweetly, “Why not?”

She looked in my eyes and I felt the mood shift, “I won’t let you die tomorrow, Ruby, and I know you would do anything to keep me safe.” She leaned over and gave me a soft kiss, “You’ve proven every day since we met that you will be there to protect me.” She chuckled to herself, “I even remember when you saved me during that food fight. I wasn’t even in danger and you were still my knight in shining armor.”

I moved closer to her and nuzzled my face in the crook of her neck, “We weren’t even dating then.”

She kissed the top of my head, “No, we weren’t. It might have taken a while to get my head on straight, but even then I thought it was cute.”

We curled up, her back curved into me and my arm protectively around her waist. I stayed up listening to her breath for a while before draftily off. No matter what tomorrow brings, as long as I have you, I’ll be okay.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The morning came too quickly. My scroll started beeping and Weiss grumbled asking for five more minutes. I giggled and leaned over her, “Honey, we have to get ready. It’s time.” 

Weiss groaned and rolled over to face me, “Sometimes, I hate you.”

I gave her a lopsided grin and a peck on the lips, “Only sometimes? Here I thought our relationship was built on mutual hatred Ice Queen.” 

She huffed at me and got out of the sleeping bag. Within a half-hour we were both presentable and ready for the long day ahead of us. After exiting the tent, I located Master Sergeant Snow, “How are preparations going?”

He looked contemplative, “Ma’am, the teams are all set and the bags are packed for mobilization. We should be ready to move within an hour.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Master Sergeant, what aren’t you telling me?” My voice took on a demanding tone and he flinched under my glare.

“Ma’am… Lt. Commander Xiao-Long and Lt. Commander Belladonna haven’t left their tent yet.” He replied. Before I could interject he continued, “I sent one of the corporals to check on them. He… he said he thought he was going to get murdered.”

I chuckled and a dark glint of mischief passed through me, “Don’t worry Master Sergeant, they’ll be up and ready soon.”

I dismissed him and marched over to the soldiers who were making finishing touches on preparations, “Which of you was sent to wake up the Lt. Commanders this morning?” 

The men looked nervously at each other. Finally one of them stepped forward and raised his hand slightly, “I was ma’am. I’m Corporal Slater, ma’am.” 

“Very well Corporal. Can you tell me what happened?” I inquired.

“Lt. Commander Xiao-Long… her eyes turned red like a demon,” he took a deep breath, “Then… her hair looked like it was on fire and she yelled at me if I didn’t leave… well ma’am she said I’d never have children.” 

I smiled, “That sounds like her. Alright Corporal, go get me a bucket of water. Doesn’t have to be potable.” 

The Corporal nodded and ran off to grab the bucket. Upon his return he stood there awkwardly awaiting further orders, “Corporal, you are to accompany me, to their tent.” His eyes widened with fear, “Don’t worry, I can handle her easily.” 

He followed me reluctantly, but as we approached I gave him a signal to keep quiet. We snuck into the tent and I looked at the sleeping form of my sister and her wife. I took a step forward and my boot made a slight squeaking noise. Blake’s cat ear twitched at the noise but it didn’t seem to wake her. This is going to be awesome!

I took a deep breath and then bellowed out, “You have got to be shitting me! Everyone else in this camp is awake and you’re just lounging around!” 

Yang jumped up, her usual anger from being woke up started immediately. Her eyes turned red and her hair lit on fire. Blake, on the other hand, had the decency to look a little ashamed. Yang’s glare turned on me, “Are you kidding, sis! I was enjoying that dream. I already told that one twerp I’d castrate him and you think you should wake me up!”

I smirked broadly and shouted, “Now!” Corporal Slater did not think this was a good idea, but he also knew better than to question his CO, so after a second of hesitation, he acted. He threw the bucket of water on the fiery Yang Xiao-Long. 

Blake used her reflexes, which may or may not be cat-like, to get out of the way. Yang was drenched. Smoke was coming off her and soon she was laughing, “Damn Ruby! That was a good one.” She grinned and then glanced at the corporal, “Sorry about earlier. I really don’t like being woken up.”

I dismissed the corporal, who at this point probably thought his superiors were crazy, and then turned back to Yang, “Get ready, we are supposed to move out soon.” Yang and Blake nodded and went to prepare. It was going to be a 10 mile hike into enemy territory and then a nice long fight. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

We’d been hiking for about an hour and had made good time, placing us approximately 2 hours away from our goal. I was playing eye-spy with a reluctant, but amused, Weiss.

Blake was taking her assigned troops ahead of us to scout out the enemy. Yang had a group of ‘berserkers’ assigned to her for maximum chaos.

Weiss and myself would be leading the main contingency of our soldiers with the plan being to flank them upon arrival. 

Suddenly, a shot was fired from a nearby tree, “Everyone take cover!” I shouted. More shots were fired and I grabbed my radio, “Agent Ghost! Hostiles are shooting at us. I need a distraction.”

We had stopped most technical radio speak ages ago, “Copy that, Agent Scarlett,” responded Blake.

I looked over at Yang, “Freezerburn!” The order came out louder than expected, but no one else knew what I meant.

Yang and Weiss nodded and in seconds we were surrounded by a thick fog. The troops used the fog to find safety while Yang moved to see if she could get a visual on the enemy.

It didn’t take long for Yang to chime in on the radio, “I count at least 50 enemy combatants. Seems to be just White Fang soldiers, no Grimm. I also don’t see any Black Tide with them.” 

“Copy that. Do not engage.” I ordered out, but before I knew it, there was muzzle flash in my scope. She was fighting.

“Damn it,” I growled out, “Team Bravo, move forward to engage the enemy. Draw their fire from the Lt. Commander. Do not interfere in the fight beyond that. If something happens, radio in.” The berserkers gladly headed to help Yang.

Meanwhile, I used my scope to try and locate any further enemy combatants. Fifty White Fang wouldn’t be a problem for Team RWBY, let alone Team RWBY and a ton of soldiers. 

Everything was going well until Blake’s urgent call came in, “Mayday, Agent Scarlett! Black Tide appears to be sending in their Huntsmen.” 

“What do they look like? Weapon types? Semblances?” I growled back, “This was not how today was supposed to go.”

Within about a minute I heard Blake’s voice again, “One of them looks like Cardin. The other two, I don’t recognize. One is wielding a crossbow, the other appears to be unarmed.” Blake paused for a moment, “There could be more, but that’s all we’ve located so far.” 

I nodded to myself and started to calculate. Cardin should be an easy kill. He was barely competent in school. The other two were an unknown quantity. I turned to the troops that remained with me, “We’re moving in toward Yang. Aim for the guy with a mace, headshots. Shoot until one of the bullets gets through his thick skull.” Then I looked towards the fight, “Leave the rest to us.” 

The soldiers nodded and I signaled for us to move forward. We rushed to join Yang who had already taken out a good chunk of the enemy.

I had Wilted Rose expand to its full size and glared at Cardin, “You’re a disgrace to those you swore to protect.” 

He smirked at me, “You should know better Rose.” He swung his mace around and moved to attack me. Unlucky for him, a hail of bullets showered him. He started having to deflect a constant barrage. 

I smiled to myself for a moment before turning back to the other huntsmen.

The one with the crossbow was a small girl with jet-black hair and a look that told me she wasn’t all there. The ‘unarmed’ one was a rather bulky man. He seemed to be in his twenties, with an air of arrogance I thought only Yang could match. Naturally, Yang moved to start in on him.

I trusted Yang to handle him and turned my attention to the small girl. Weiss herself was staying out of the fight, having been delegated to tending to the wounded. That didn’t stop her from occasionally landing a hit on Cardin as he slowly was gradually worn down by the soldiers. 

Blake hadn’t been seen in a while, as I dodged another attack, I pulled up the radio, “Agent Ghost, are you there?” No response. She must be near enemy territory. 

I charged at the young girl as she shot explosive bolts from her crossbow. I ducked under one and swung Wilted Rose at a second. She was clearly trying to create distance from me. It made me think she wasn’t able to fight in close quarters.

I let a burst of my semblance out and closed the distance between us. My first strike landed and she let out a grunt of pain. I hadn’t pierced through her aura but I could tell from that strike that she was a bit of a glass cannon. 

She glared at me and transformed her crossbow into two, one-handed blades. It reminded me vaguely of the weapons Ren once carried. I side stepped her as she moved to hit me in the face and caught sight of Yang and the man fighting in the process. They both looked a little worse for wear, and he had an arrogant look on his.

I took that moment to decide I would take this crazy bitch down quickly. I struck her in quick succession and then did a back flip. A dazed look crossed her face and I used that as a perfect time to fire my sniper at her. It struck her in the chest and she was flung back. Her aura shimmered and she couldn’t seem to get back up. I chanced a look at Yang, but this time, she seemed to be swinging wildly, even at empty space. Damn it, I hope she doesn’t have a brain injury. I glanced over at Weiss’ location and saw that Cardin had been neutralized.

I turned back to the girl, read to deliver the final blow. She wasn’t there. I growled and looked around. There was no one there. My mind was reeling. Who had I been fighting?

I turned around just in time to see Yang on the ground coughing up blood. The man then squatted down above her and moved his hand to her throat. I ran towards her as soon as the scene registered in my head. Before I could get there, he bowed and smirked at me before vanishing. I leaned down; blood was everywhere. Yang was coughing violently. Tears started to run down my face as I got on the radio, “Weiss… Weiss come here. Please get here now.” I lost all concept of military etiquette as Yang began to slip away in my arms.

Weiss was there quickly and started trying to patch her up. How could I let this happen? Weiss let out a choked cry, “Ruby…” I looked over at Weiss. My eyes were blank and my heart was working overdrive, “She’s gone,” Weiss whispered.

Part of me cracked in that moment. Suddenly a voice cut through our mourning, “Finally, the big bad Yang Xiao-Long is brought down. Man, it is wonderful. To think, if only you two hadn’t fallen for Emerald’s trick. Your big sis might be alive.” He seemed so proud of himself. 

Emerald’s name made everything click into place. She had toyed with us both. The hatred and anger inside me began piling up. I couldn’t explain the feeling that was consuming me. I was normally a happy person, even out in this tragedy that was our lives, but the rage intensified. Weiss looked at me warily and instinctively took a step back.

Within seconds, I had my prosthetic hand around his neck and Thorn in my other, “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.” My voice was full of hate and my eyes were blindingly red. The sound of him choking brought an odd peace to mix in with the anger.

Suddenly, I saw Blake and Yang standing off to the side of him. I shook my head and closed my eyes, “You will not trick me again Emerald!” I shouted. I threw the man onto the ground and started punching him with my good hand. I vaguely noticed the burns my punches were leaving on his face. 

He went limp within minutes, and it took even longer for me to stop hitting him. Another 20 minutes passed before I could even get a small grip on my emotions. I vaguely noticed Weiss returning to my side before she pulled me close to her. She’s all I have now. I stopped myself. No, she isn’t… I still have Blake. “Where’s Blake?” I croaked out. I couldn’t imagine having to tell her.

Weiss looked down at me sadly, “Since we secured the area… we’ve been trying to get ahold of her, but received no response. We’ve sent out some scouts but so far, no news.” We sat like that in the forest, surrounded by bodies, just trying to take in the horror of what happened.

When I’d finally calmed down enough, Weiss asked me a question that had been burning inside her, “Is the eye thing… like a genetic semblance? Like my glyphs.” 

Even through my grief I could feel the confusion, “Eye thing?”

“Yeah…” Weiss took a deep breath, she didn’t want to make me start bawling again, “When… when you beat up that man, your eyes turned red, and you caught fire… sort of like… like she would.”

I sat there confused, I had never done that before. That was Yang’s semblance not genetics. The thought of Yang’s semblance brought my emotions back to the forefront and all I could do was cry. 

Weiss, knowing someone had to stay strong, took command while I tried to recuperate emotionally. We took Yang’s body and the bodies of the soldiers we’d lost back to camp and waited on a report from Blake. The report never came. 

Chapter Text

The pounding in my heart felt like it could only get faster as my eyes flashed open and tears poured through me. Yang’s death tore my heart open. It took me a minute to realize I was lying on a bed and not in our sleeping bag. I wiped the tears away and looked to my right, “Weiss,” I cracked out.

Weiss’ eyes fluttered, “Oh thank the gods you’re okay, Ruby!” She put her hand in mine and shouted for a doctor before turning back to me, “Do you remember what happened?”

I nodded, “Yang…” The tears returned and I sniffled trying to keep them back.

Weiss’ brows furrowed in confusion, “What about Yang, Ruby?”

I looked at her confused, “Yang… she… she’s gone…” Weiss leaned forward to wipe the tears off my face.

She was trying to keep me calm when Yang and Blake walked into the room, “Ruby, you’re awake!” My eyes snapped up upon hearing my sister’s voice. Her eyes met mine and she glared at Weiss accusingly, “What the heck did you do to my sister?”

Weiss put her hands up, “I didn’t do anything. She woke up, said your name, and started crying.”

Yang approached my bed with a concerned look. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her. My sister was alive and here. I felt like I was staring at a ghost from my past. That was when my brain finally started to kick in. Yang had died years ago… in what was some kind of alternative time line. Yang took my hand in hers and kissed my forehead, “Hey sis, what’s got you crying?”

I stilled my thrashing heart and looked at my big sister, “I had a very vivid nightmare that you died.”

Yang nodded, “Well kiddo, you remember what I used to tell you about nightmares?” She ran her hand through my hair calmingly. My tears started to slow down and I leaned instinctively into her touch. 

I smiled softly, “They’re just your brain’s way of telling you what won’t happen.” My smile turned a little confused, “You know, I never really understood what that meant.” 

Yang laughed and Weiss just looked at her like she was crazy. Yang’s smile was infectious as she leaned down and jokingly whispered, “Sis… to tell you the truth, neither do I.” She patted my head, “Now cheer up. I’m alive and kicking. It’s you we’re all worried about.” 

I realized suddenly I hadn’t moved much since I’d woken up, and went to sit up. Pain shot through me. It felt as though my ribs had gone through a grinder. I groaned, “What happened?”

Blake stepped forward, “We were hoping you’d tell us.” She gave me a sad smile, “Professor Ozpin told us to let him know when you wake up. He wants to debrief you first, and then it’ll be our turn.

I resisted the urge to cry again as I got a good look at Blake. That nightmare was one of the worst days of my life, topped only by one other day. Yang had died and Blake was never seen again. Weiss and my relationship lasted, but it was never quite the same. I didn’t want to let any of them out of my sight. 

Despite my protests, Blake excused herself to call the headmaster. 

While we waited, Weiss held my hand while the girls told me what happened from their point of view.

Yang was the only one upbeat about the whole experience, “We saw you speeding away on that train. I don’t know how you stopped it, but it was super impressive…” She paused for a moment, “Minus the severe injuries.” 

Weiss cringed and looked away as her grip on my hand tightened, “What is it Weiss?” I asked. 

She looked up at me, “You could have died.” She took a deep breath and her eyes started to tear up, “We found the shattered remains of Crescent Rose. It was obliterated.” She wiped a tear away, “That could have been you.” 

I cringed through the pain and forced myself to sit up and run my free hand through her hair, “I’m fine Weiss.” I squeezed the hand she was holding, “Everything is going to be fine.” 

Weiss leaned into my touch and chuckled, “You’re the one in the hospital with multiple broken ribs and fractures, and here you are, comforting me.” 

I gave Weiss a brilliant smile, “Always…” 

A throat cleared beside, me and I was suddenly reminded that it wasn’t just the two of us in the room. Yang chuckled, “You two aren’t even dating, so knock off the cutesy. It’s giving me cavities.” Amusement laced her every word, “Although, if you do start dating, that will really help me with teasing you.” She smirked and winked at me. It was like no matter what, Yang would always be the same person.

Weiss immediately pulled away from me. It was clear that she still didn’t know what she was doing. I tried to pull myself out of the dark thoughts threatening to spring forth, as Blake and the Headmaster entered the room.

Ozpin looked grim. His normally positive attitude around students just wasn’t there, “Girls, if you can please excuse us, I need to speak with your leader.” The girls looked unhappy about leaving, but still shuffled out.

Ozpin sat down in the chair Weiss had been occupying and asked me accusingly, “Miss Rose, what were you thinking?” He looked like he’d aged overnight, with bags under his eyes and a dark look.

“I was thinking about stopping a disaster,” I whispered, “I’ve seen too many people die. I’ve seen too much pain. If I can stop it before it begins… I’ll do anything.”

Ozpin sighed. He looked unsure of his thoughts, but finally, with determination, he looked me dead in the eyes, “Miss Rose, if you insist on putting your life in mortal peril, then I have no other choice than to equally insist you confide in your team.”

I blanched, “I must have misheard you Ozpin. You can’t possibly be suggesting I burden them with this!” The more I thought about it the angrier I got. Unfortunately, as Yang’s semblance attempted to activate,  all I felt was unbearable pain. My aura must be incredibly low. 

Ozpin looked weary, “Miss Rose, if you had died, all you would have done is delay the inevitable. Without you alive, we have no way of stopping the future.” He took a deep breath, “I fear with you gone, we cannot win this war.”

I glared at him, “And telling those innocent girls is supposed to help? How?” My mind was reeling. I can’t tell them… I can’t shatter their hopes and dreams.

He nodded, “If they know what’s wrong, they can help. Further, Miss Xiao-Long will do whatever it is to keep you alive.” 

My mind flashed back to the nightmare, “That’s what I’m afraid of,” I whispered. It was barely audible but he nodded, “You don’t understand,” I growled out, “I can’t watch them die again. It broke me once. I still haven’t picked up the pieces.” A tear dripped down my face, “If that happened again… I don’t think I could move forward.”

Ozpin nodded, “I understand the pain of losing someone you love. I understand how you are feeling perhaps better than you doubt, it is in the best interest of yourself and those girls for you to be honest.” He gave me a slight frown and seemed to be contemplating his options before continuing, “I know you wish to carry this burden, but it is too large a burden to carry alone. You, Miss Rose, were not made to bear the weight of the world. You alone cannot hold back the tide of darkness.” 

He paused and looked off in the distance before turning back to me, “I recognize, you are one of the strongest among us, perhaps even stronger than me. You are the tipping point in this disaster. Yet, Miss Rose, even the point of a sword must be attached to something. Consider this… me forcing you to find grounding in your teammates.” He then paused, and a dark look crossed his eyes. “I will tell them if you don’t. You have until the end of the day.”

I felt angry, and again, pain shot through me as my aura tried to react. He looked at me sadly, “I’m sorry, Miss Rose.” He then gave me a slight smile. “On a happier note, your aura is healing you rapidly. It’s impressive to be honest. You should be fine in time for the tournament. Your weapon is a different matter.” 

He paused and pulled his scroll out of his pocket. After a moment, he held of Crescent Rose up to me, completely shattered in parts and the blade warped in others. The barrel was destroyed. I cringed but, it wasn’t the first time my weapon had been destroyed, “Looks like I need a new weapon.” 

Ozpin chuckled, “Indeed Miss Rose. As your actions did save Vale from an attack, General Ironwood and myself have agreed to finance a replacement weapon for you. Please send me a list of necessary parts. I assume you’d like to build it yourself.” 

I nodded excitedly. As nostalgic as Crescent Rose had been, I truly missed Wilted Rose and Thorn. As he was leaving, he added, “I’ll get the list from you after you tell your team the truth. Have one of them send me it.” 

I glared at him for being smart enough to truly force my hand. He was playing a risky game by forcing me to tell the team. It could backfire on all of us. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Over the next half hour, I debated with myself on what to say to them when they returned. How to phrase things… When they returned, the air seemed to shift. I can’t do this.

Yang had a brilliant smile on her face. I didn’t want to be reason it was gone. She sat down on one of the chairs, “So Rubes, now that you’ve had your mystical debriefing with the Headmaster, you think you could fill us in?”

I wanted to put it off, even if I knew I shouldn’t, “I was upset that they took Weiss… so I ran down there and found her. I stopped Torchwick and then I stopped the train.” I gave them a tight smile, “Pretty simple.”

Weiss looked at me like I was stupid or crazy, “And yet, there are a lot of not-so-simple things that happened.” Weiss caught my eyes with her own, “I saw your eyes when you were fighting Torchwick. I saw you look like you are on fire. If I hadn’t known it was you, I’d have thought it was Yang down there.” Weiss’ stare was piercing and I could do nothing but look away after a moment. 

Yang and Blake looked taken aback, but Blake was the first to recover, “But… that’s impossible. Ruby’s semblance is speed.” 

Weiss nodded, “She used that too.” The three of them looked expectantly at me, and I started try to process a way to tell them the truth without them taking me too seriously. 

I nodded enthusiastically, “You are all right!” They all looked befuddled at that statement, but I pressed on, “I used Yang’s, Weiss’, Pyrrha’s, and Blake’s semblances to stop the train.” I paused, thought for a second, and then added, “And technically my own I guess?”

The collective jaw-drop will forever be etched in my mind as they looked at me as if I’d lost it. Blake, again recovered first, “You know that’s insane.” She shifted her gaze disbelievingly to the other girls, “We can all agree that’s insane right?”

Yang laughed, “Alright, Ruby, so how’d you stop the train?” It was hard to believe I really did have to take that smile off her face. A small voice in my mind tried reasoning that maybe they’d take it well.

I huffed, “I just told you guys, I used your semblance so I couldn’t be hurt too easily. I used Weiss’ glyph to soften the blow from the train and create a bit of a gravity well to slow it. I used Pyrrha’s polarity to push back against the train.”

Weiss frowned, “Didn’t you say you used Blake’s too?” 

“Oh right, I used Blake’s semblance partially to lock my feet to the ground. Admittedly, that did not help very much.” I said jokingly.

Weiss looked pensive. She closed her eyes and was deep in thought for about 30 seconds before she opened them and stared directly at me, “Make a glyph.” 

I looked at her, “What?” It hadn’t occurred to me they might ask for proof.

Weiss growled, “Those glyphs are not something you can mimic or make out of thin air. They are specific to my family and on top of that, you need to know how they work. So, Ruby, make a glyph.” 

I cringed under the icy look she was giving me, but I never could say no to her. I laughed nervously and concentrated. A glyph appeared on the ceiling, “There, are you happy?” 

Weiss, however, did not notice it. “Where do you see a glyph? You can’t just pretend there is one and think I won’t notice. I’m a Schnee.”

Even Yang looked confused, but Blake was perceptive as ever and pointed up. Above the hospital bed was a typical glyph Weiss used for making platforms; however, in the very center was a small rose. Weiss gasped, “How?” All three of them stared in wonder at the impossible.

My aura wasn’t too happy, so I let the glyph dissipate. Weiss rounded on me. “Who trained you to use that?” 

I groaned. My eyes screwed shut and I tried to wish away this new nightmare. I finally opened my eyes and saw three expectant women staring back at me. After months of avoiding it… it was finally here, “I guess Ozpin is going to get his way after all.” The three girls looked impatiently confused at me. “He wants me to tell you the complete truth.”

Weiss grinned and nodded, “It’s about time.” 

I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath, “Weiss, I learned glyphs from you.” Weiss looked incredulously at me. “You girls remember when we were announce as Team RWBY and I fainted?” They all nodded, “I didn’t faint due to a concussion. I fainted… I fainted because the girl who got back up wasn’t the one who fainted in the first place, not mentally, at least.”

Yang shouted, “Are you telling me you possessed my little sister?!”

I blinked. That wasn’t how I thought that’d be interpreted, “No Yang, I am your little sister. I just… lived through 10 years of more life than her.” I tried to consider how else to say it before I finally just said, “I’m from the future.” 

Yang burst in uncontrollable laughter. Blake chuckled a little and mentioned some book she’d read. It was Weiss whose eyes searchingly looked into mine. She suddenly elbowed the other two, “You mean that, don’t you?” 

I nodded, “I’m from a future where things… didn’t go very well. I died fighting someone, and when I woke up I was on the floor. I’ve been helping the Headmaster and General Ironwood avoid a full-scale war.” The girls each had different expressions on their faces as they took it in ranging from fascination to horror. 

Blake looked like a mixture of confusion and curiosity, “The White Fang?” I concurred and she tried to work out what this meant, “They… they start a full-scale war?” 

I shook my head, “They join an organization that initiates a full-scale war. They’re not really the ones in charge at that point.” 

Weiss looked very upset and grabbed my hand, “Ruby… you died?” 

I chuckled darkly, “My death wasn’t that bad. I got sent back to a happier life with a better chance at a good future. So far, I think my death might’ve been the best thing that ever happened to me.” I smiled at them sadly, “Then again, sometimes I think this is all just an elaborate form of torture.” I threw a hand over my mouth, shocked at what I had just said.

Yang isn’t always observant, but when it comes to serious matters, she tends to be, “You… had a nightmare where I died.” Her eyes widened, “Oh god, I died in the future.” 

I grimaced. I really didn’t didn’t want to tell them that. Yang slumped into her chair, contemplating a world where she had died. Weiss reached over to me, “That’s what the nightmares have been about; you’ve been dreaming about the future.”

I nodded. The conversation was numbing me in ways I couldn’t explain. Weiss grabbed my hand and I felt the warmth of her touch pulling me out of my own personal hell, “We’re here for you Ruby. No matter what.” 

I quietly asked for a pen and paper from the girls. I started writing down all the tools and parts I needed to remake my weapons. I then handed it to Blake and Yang. They both left to speak with Ozpin as I could tell Weiss needed to talk to me alone. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

We sat in silence for a while with Weiss’ hand intertwined in mine. It was a comfort I was not ready to give up. She seemed to be lost in thought as I gave her a smile, “Hey Snow Angel, what’s on your mind?” 

She rolled her eyes at me, “Do you call me that in the future?”

I smiled broadly, “Every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. It took a while for you to not get angry when I said it. Eventually you got over it though.”

Weiss shook her head, “It’s weird to think you know a completely different Weiss. You have all these memories… with me? Memories I don’t have.” She looked at me and gave a small smile, “Do you think you could tell me some of them?”

I was unsure if that was smart, but I figured I might as well, “Depends… there might be certain things I don’t want to talk about, but I’ll try my best.” 

Weiss nodded, “So… what was it like learning glyphs from me? How does that even work?”

I sighed and looked away before I started to speak, “Yang… Yang died and I unlocked her semblance in the process. We thought it was directly linked to her death, but you insisted we experiment.”

Weiss frowned, “Your sister died and I thought you should experiment instead of grieving?”

I shook my head, “No, no. It was months later. I had grieved quite a bit but we needed to move forward. If it was just Yang’s semblance, that would be fine, but if it was more, that would be even better.” I raised my hand and a small glyph appeared on it, “With your guidance, I learned glyphs faster than any other semblance.” 

Weiss nodded, “What about the others?” 

I chuckled softly, “That was a bit harder. After we proved I could use your semblance with training and Yang’s, mostly when I’m mad, I used my memories to recall others. Pyrrha’s semblance was the hardest since it had been so long before I’d seen it last.” 

Weiss frowned, “Blake didn’t teach you her semblance?” 

My brain whirled as I tried to think of how to deflect. “I thought you wanted memories about you,” I said teasingly, sticking my tongue out.

She smiled, “Okay, what is your favorite memory of me… well, future me?” Anyone else might think Weiss was fishing for a compliment, but I knew she wanted to understand how I felt towards her in the future.

I smiled as memories of happier times flooded my mind. I forced myself to not look at our intertwined hands, “Weiss… if I tell you this memory it comes with information that could change how you look at me and our friendship.” I paused and thought it over, “How about I look for a different memory.”

Weiss frowned and her hand tightened on mine, “If I promise I won’t let it to effect our friendship, will you please tell me. I mean… it can’t be a bad memory if you’re fond of it.”

I couldn’t help but look at her. I wasn’t disappointed either, the look on her face was adorable. It was like she was trying to solve a problem with no answer. 

I finally caved, “You know, I’ve never been good at saying no to you.” Weiss frowned at that statement, clearly unsure how to take it, “My favorite memory of you was when you agreed to marry me.” 

Weiss looked stunned, “I did what?”

I chuckled humorlessly to myself, “Come on, Weiss, are you telling me you haven’t seen where we are heading.” I rolled my eyes, “I’m starting to wonder how you can survive in so much denial.”

Weiss’ eyes flashed with anger for a second and then uncertainty crossed her features. Her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes darted around the room. She seemed unwilling to meet my gaze, “I… but I couldn’t… my father would kill me.” She was an adorable stuttering mess and all I wanted to do was kiss her.

“Weiss, on our wedding day, you stood across from me in a gorgeous dress that was worth way too much. I had a custom made black and red tuxedo on. You thought I was an idiot for trying to ‘trick’ your father into thinking I was a guy.” I giggled. My face turned more serious for a moment, “Yes, your father was furious, but there was a war going on and he couldn’t do anything to stop you from doing what you wanted.” 

Weiss tried to wipe away a tear with her free hand and looked away from me.

I smiled sadly at her, cupped her cheek and looked in her eyes, “The only person who can stop you from being happy is you.” I wiped the tear out of her eye, “You are the greatest gift in my life.” 

Weiss blushed redder than my cloak and leaned into my touch. She closed her eyes and the two of us enjoyed the closeness for a moment. Suddenly her eyes opened and she blurted out, “That’s why you freaked out so much when I was kidnapped.” It was all coming together in Weiss’ mind, “Ruby, you seemed so worried and furious, and it’s because you… like me, like me.”

I scoffed and raised an eyebrow at Weiss, “Who are you? Nora?” I chuckled, “Weiss, you know there’s another l word right?” Weiss looked shyly away. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent with me and Weiss making jokes, swapping small stories, and enjoying each others company. 

I think, Weiss hearing that we were married helped her realize she couldn’t avoid our relationship forever. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt like we had taken leaps and bounds in a few short hours.

Eventually, I fell asleep due to the exhaustion of my aura constantly healing me with Weiss holding my hand. It was an amazing experience, for once my nightmares didn’t follow me. Instead, I was treated to dreams of our quiet moments and wedding vows.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The fleeting moments had been bittersweet, and waking up alone in the hospital cemented to me that we were in a different time. As I looked around, I noticed a note on my side table. I moved to grab it and cringed as the pain, although lessened, made itself known. 

I picked up the note:

Hey Rubes!

It’s Yang! And Weiss and Blake, Yang just doesn’t like to acknowledge when her betters are in the room. Sorry about that Ruby, Weiss seemed to think she should insult the sexier members of the team. Since those two are busy fighting, I just wanted you to know that Ozpin wants us to return to class. We will take notes for you. Hopefully you’re released soon. Ruby, I will make sure you get the notes and I will personally catch you up. Pfft it’s almost like dear ol’ Weiss wants to spend some time alone with our team leader. And they are fighting again, get better. We’ll see you after class unless they release you before then. 

Signed,

Team RWBY

Ps: I’m glad you’re doing better. I… really miss you being around. - Weiss

The note made me smile and laugh. It was nice to see that even with the life changing revelations, the girls were still able to be lighthearted. It’s because they don’t know the pain. I’m just going to have to make sure they never do. 

I sat there for a while twiddling my thumbs and playing with my scroll until a knock on the door invaded my thoughts. “Come in,” I called out.

Standing there was a man I’d hoped to avoid. “Hello Miss Rose. I’m glad to see you’re doing better. After your last visit, I was hoping you wouldn’t end up here again.”

I smiled tightly, “Thanks, Doctor Mulberry. So… do you think I can get out of here soon?” I really did not like hospitals. 

He chuckled, “So eager to escape I see. Just like the last time.” He nodded, “We haven’t found any lasting damage. You do have a new scar on your stomach. From what we can tell, it was from the shrapnel of your weapon.” 

Confusion colored my features. “My aura protected everything; why would that have hurt me?”

He grimaced, “Well… there’s a little known phenomena that has been observed. It’s rare, but there are a few cases. As far as we can tell, if a hunter or huntress gets too attached to their weapon, normally from long term use in high stress situations, their aura can consider it an extension of themselves. It’s rare, especially in someone as young as you, but my bet is that your body allowed the damage because it didn’t consider your weapon a threat.”

I sat there stunned. That was a concept I had never heard in my life. The idea felt absurd. My aura was ignoring damage from my own weapon. I just sat there trying to understand it, and further, trying to find out if I was in danger then, “Are you saying someone could take my weapon and attack me with it?”

He seemed thoughtful, “Well… mind you, this hasn’t been tested, it’s mostly theory and a few dozen cases. However, we believe if you were unaware someone else had it, and they struck you, your aura wouldn’t protect you.” He then quickly added, “That being said, we do believe if you visibly saw someone else with it, then your aura would protect you.” 

A new idea began to form in my mind, a quick way to dispose of Cinder. It’s a pity Salem doesn’t use weapons. Although… even if she did,  that wouldn’t kill her anyways. The thoughts swirled in my mind as the doctor proceeded with his check up. 

After he explained that I need to take it easy for a day or so, he brought me my release papers. I was ecstatic to get out of there. The tournament was closing in and I still needed to make my new weapons and handle Emerald and Mercury. Soon, I’ll have stopped the beginning of the war… hopefully, they don’t make a new start to the story.

Chapter Text

Before I realized it, the day before the tournament had arrived, and I was attempting to relax in my bed with one of Blake’s less risqué books. My bed suddenly rocked and I leapt out of bed in a panic.

Standing there, laughing, was Yang. She had a stupid, smug look on her face, “See, I told you girls it’d get her out of bed.”

I growled, “Oh dear sister of mine, you are lucky I promised myself I wouldn’t maim you.” She just chuckled and rolled her eyes.

Glancing at Weiss, I couldn’t help but smirk. Her eyes were clearly roaming as I stood in my shorts and a tight shirt. Weiss’ eyes shot wide open as she realized she’d been caught, with her cheeks turning pink as she looked away. “Ruby, we should… uh… discuss the plan for tomorrow,” she stumbled out. 

I raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

The girls appeared baffled by my response, “You said the tournament was really important, sis. I’d think you had a plan.” 

My eyes rolled involuntarily, “Yes, I do have a plan.” Weiss started tapping her foot impatiently. Why does she have to be so cute? “Well, girls, as the leader of team RWBY, my plan is simply that we win,” I deadpanned.

If the glares were anything to go by, they did not appreciate my plan. 

After a pregnant pause, Weiss looked me dead in the eye and demanded, “Ruby, what is the plan for tomorrow.”

I groaned and slumped down on Weiss’ bed. She gave me a pointed look for that, but I brushed it off as I explained, “It’s simple. We’ll downplay my abilities and take a victory for team RWBY. Our… enemy,” I flat out refused to give them names if I could help it. I didn’t need any of them acting suspicious, or Brothers forbid, taking matters into their own hands, “has only seen me fight a few times. They don’t know what I’m capable of and see me as a normal student. So we showcase your abilities while I play the weak link.”

Blake nodded, “If they’re anything like the White Fang, they’ll think they can take advantage of that.” 

Weiss frowned, “Ruby, one issue.” I looked at Weiss confused and she continued, “Your aura doesn’t seem to ever… well, go down.” 

I nodded earnestly, “Yeah, that’s been a problem since I got here. Unfortunately, can’t control that.” 

Blake frowned, “Is it really that high?” I nodded, and she looked even more confused, “How? Was it always that high?”

A deep sigh escaped my lips and I looked away, “No. No, my aura used to be between yours and Weiss’ I’d say.” 

Weiss looked at me pointedly, “So, why is it so big?”

“Well, every time I learn a new semblance… my aura seems to increase with it.” I shrugged, unsure of what else I could say about that.

Yang’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? Oh my god! Let’s just have you learn every semblance!” Her excitement was palpable and I could see the other two cautiously agreeing with her.

I shook my head, “Not possible. As far as we were able to tell, I can only learn the semblance of people I had some kind of emotional attachment— well, a positive emotional attachment.” I let out a frustrated sound and continued, “I tried to learn some of our enemies semblances but got nowhere.”

Blake, seemingly sensing my discomfort, changed the subject back, “So, we fight in the tournament… and?”

I gave Blake and appreciative smile, “The plan is to keep some key people out of the finals to avoid the worst of what’s to come. If I make it to the finals, that alone should avoid one disaster that happened. I also advised Ironwood and Ozpin regarding their people. I think we can avoid the start of the war here. For now, that’s all you need to know, okay?”

They accepted that fairly easily. Yang and Blake went back to a movie they were watching together. It was so cute how they were trying to do at least one thing together a day. 

After they’d left us to our own devices, Weiss gave me a small smile, sat down next to me, and leaned her head on my shoulder. We weren’t officially dating, but we were getting more touchy feely by the day. I silently wrapped my arm around her. She looked up and blushed, then snuggled in closer. 

For a moment, I felt complete. Like this nightmare had never happened. Sadly, nothing good can last forever. Weiss let out a resigned-sounding sigh and asked, “When… when do you think you’ll want to talk about what you’ve been through?” Taking in a sharp breath, she added, “You witnessed your sister die. That must have hurt.”

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, “Some things are better left unsaid, Snow Angel.” 

She gave me a sad smile and probed further, “Alright, well, when are you going to let us see what you’re capable of? I understand not wanting the enemy to see, but we’re your team. We need to know your strengths and weaknesses.”

I jokingly retorted, “Or else you can’t be the best teammate?”

Weiss smacked my arm and pulled out of my grip. Shit, I didn’t want her to let go. She went to lay down on the bed and pulled me backwards with her. Soon I found her half laying on top of me. 

She kissed my cheek, and as I felt a blush creeping up, she whispered, “When will you let me see all of you?” She asked softly. 

Conflicting emotions of love and fear sprang within me. “You are damn persistent,” I sighed, relaxing. “Honestly, Weiss, you’ve seen most of what I’m capable of. If you hadn’t stopped me at the train… I might have killed Torchwick. I was planning to..”

Weiss tensed at the remark, “Ruby, don’t say that. I can’t see you ever being willing to do that.”

I chuckled darkly and shook my head, “That’s the problem Weiss. You girls don’t deserve to know the things I know, to understand them. You can’t understand what it’s like to lose everything you love and I don’t want you to either.” 

Weiss looked perplexed. “You mean when you were sent back here? I thought you said that was a good thing.”

I rolled my eyes at her naivety and just laid there until I felt a poke in my side. I grumbled, “Weiss, you don’t want the answers you’re asking about.”

Suddenly Weiss was propped up on top of me, glaring down, “How dare you tell me what I can and can’t handle or what I do or don’t want.” Her stare terrified me as she growled, “Just answer the question, or don’t but don’t patronize me.” 

My eyes widened and I let out a soft sigh, “Fine, fine. I’ll… I’ll answer. Just, please lay back down.” Weiss huffed, but complied and I continued, “The world is a pretty dark place already, but what it was in my time… it was a nightmare. On that fateful day, I had nothing left except a desire to stop them. That’s why I willingly walked to my death— I either stopped them, or found peace.” 

Weiss’ grip on me tightened, and I heard a small sob escape her. Running my hand through her hair, I whispered, “I promise you, someday… someday I’ll tell you my story. Even if I can’t say it all aloud, maybe I’ll write it down.” After kissing her cheek and then her forehead, I offered a small smirk, “But it won’t be until after you’ve decided what we are.”

The days ahead might be tough, but I had a great team and the perfect partner.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Anticipation was not a feeling I ever enjoyed. Although excited to finally use my new weapons, the tournament itself filled me with odd nerves. I knew we would win our upcoming battles, yet the anxiety of how my planned changes would affect the future loomed large. Soon, predicting anything might become impossible. 

We stood in the arena, amidst the audience, while Dr. Oobleck and Professor Port made commentary on each match. Suddenly we heard, “Oh, this will be quite interesting. Yes, I think this will be enjoyable! Ladies and gentlemen, next up is Team RWBY of Beacon facing off against Team ABRN of Haven!”

Professor Port burst in, “Yes, I think this will be an astonishing fight. You know, despite being a first year team, Team RWBY has shown themselves to be quite capable. Team ABRN is considered to be one of the top 2^nd year teams at Haven as well.”

I led team RWBY towards the competitors entrance. Yang’s excitement was palpable and slowly spreading to the rest of us, who were far more subdued. Blake was trying to remain serious, but I could see from the small smile threatening to break out that she thought Yang was adorable. Meanwhile, I felt Weiss take my hand and squeeze it briefly before dropping it.

When we got to the center, we sized up Team ABRN. They weren’t the best huntsmen in the world, but their help during the Fall had been nothing to scoff at. Arslan Atlas, the leader of ABRN, gave me a respectful nodded. I smiled and waved back enthusiastically. The rest of ABRN rolled their eyes at me.

Our teams readied ourselves once the countdown began and the moment we heard, “Begin,” we started blitzing. Our team had their assignments, and they knew to play to their strengths. 

Bolin Hori quickly found himself on the wrong end of Yang. I shifted my focus towards my opponent, their team leader. All things considered, Atlan seemed like the best choice for a handicapped me. Being an up-close fighter meant I could keep my distance and snipe at her. My semblance allowed me to seemingly dematerialized, and I sped off behind her. Reemerging, I had my sniper rifle trained on Atlan. Each shot fired caused ripples in her aura. Atlan’s weapon, a combination of a dagger and rope, proved adaptable as she began using it to close the distance between us. 

In my peripheral vision, Blake was driving Nadir up the wall, running rings around him. Her constant movement meant he couldn’t land a single shot, and even from my vantage point, I noticed his growing fatigue.

Atlan finally started to close in on me. I waited for her to try and punch me. As she propelled herself towards me, I twirled Wilted Rose right into her path. She realized too late she couldn’t stop the collision and threw her hands up to protect herself. 

The impact echoed with a bone-shattering sound. Grunting, she slowly picked herself up from where she landed. Slightly disoriented, she tried to throw another punch at me. I started dodging punch after punch and could visibly see her frustration rising. One thing I’d learned over the years was that my speed was great for more than just running. If you have the ability to move faster than anyone, then you can move out of the way. 

Each missed attack made her sloppier until her sluggish moves were getting kind of sad. I finally moved out of the way and stuck my foot out forcing her to crash to the ground. 

Seizing that brief reprieve, I surveyed my team and immediately noticed Weiss, defensively engaged with Reese Chloris. She’s going to need some help.

Atlan took advantage of my momentary distraction and wrapped the cord of her blade around my body, trying to trap me. She grinned, thinking she had me.

Suddenly I heard, “Oh! And there goes Mr. Shiko. That looked like tough luck. Miss Belladonna’s semblance is quite remarkable.”

Atlan started to walk forward, reeling back for another punch. I calculated the situation and realized the best thing I could do was take the punch. I felt a fist collide with my stomach, my aura absorbing the brunt of it and repairing any damage she’d actually accomplished in seconds. A small groan was the only satisfaction I gave her as I fought down Yang’s semblance. I popped Thorn out of Wilted Rose and transformed it into it’s sickle form.

Atlan moved in for a follow-up punch when a flash of black entered my vision— Blake coming to assist. “Blake, go help Weiss,” I growled.

Blake gave me an unsure look, but complied. Atlan, who had overheard the comment, looked confused. Understandable as she was technically beating me up. Her confusion intensified as she chanced a look at our auras. While hers was teetering at 10%, mine was proudly at 97%.

Swinging Wilted Rose, I clocked her in the head with its broadside, then used the momentum to slam the hilt of Thorn into her stomach with a little added strength from Yang’s semblance, “Oh, that looked painful. Looks like Team ABRN is now down two members.” 

I turned around and saw Weiss and Blake still handling Reese Chloris. Girl can really hold her own. They had taken her out last time, so I figured they’d be fine. Bolin Hori was also on his last leg. He appeared to be swinging wildly at Yang. I smiled to myself, aimed my snipe with a touch of frost dust, and fired. In an instant, he couldn’t move and Yang was barreling towards him. He stood there horrified as Yang knocked him out. 

Shortly after Reese was also knocked out to a roar of applause for our 0 casualty win. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Our walk to the fairgrounds, after the fight, was entertaining, with Yang announcing our victory to everyone we passed, while Weiss and Blake couldn’t stop smiling. God, they look so happy.

As we neared the noodle restaurant, a voice I’d hope never to hear again called out behind us, “Hey guys, I think you might have dropped this.” My teeth ground against each other while every muscle in my body tensed. It took everything in me to not react. 

I saw the girls look confused and turn around. After what may have been a moment too long, I turned around myself. I forced a smile while my knuckles turned white from gripping my cloak. 

Deciding to avoid looking at her, I faked shyness while willing my red eyes, that I knew had to be there, away. I quietly whispered, “Would you guys like to join us for lunch?” 

Emerald declined and then tried to dig for information. The situation was so transparent, it could be mistaken for a window, “Mercury and I are preparing for our doubles match. It should be a lot of fun!” A curious look took over as she added, “Who did you guys decide to send to doubles?”

The other members of Team RWBY went to speak but I cut them off, “It’s still up in the air. We’re thinking about doing rock, paper, scissors or something to decide who goes first.” I tried to add in a laugh and it came out sounding like I was coughing.

Emerald eyed me strangely before the facade returned, “That’s cool! I can’t wait to watch the match. I gotta get back to my team now though. Later girls!” 

After she turned to leave, my team gave me confused looks. I waved them off, promising to explain later, which seemed to appease them. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Emerald ranting to Mercury. I will destroy you again. I swore to myself.

Weiss pulled me close suddenly and whispered in my ear, “Ruby, calm down.” Shocked, I looked at her, but let her presence soothed my nerves. She smiled softly, “There we go, back to pretty silver.”

Once we arrived at the noodle place, we sat down and started ordering. Weiss’ phone, buzzed loudly for the umpteenth time that day. She continued to ignore it. To our shock, Weiss’ card was rejected. 

I shook my head and leaned over to Weiss, “You know, I think you need to figure out what to do with your father.” 

She glared at me and snapped, “You may be our team leader, but that doesn’t mean you can tell me how to handle my personal life.” 

I nodded and put my hands up in surrender, then leaned back in and whispered, “If you don’t want advice from the girl from the future, then so be it.”

“I’m still not even sure you are from the future.” She said with a huff.

I knew she didn’t mean it, however I couldn’t resist being a smart-ass about it, “In about a minute, team JNPR is going to show up and Pyrrha will offer to pay for lunch.”

Sure enough, thirty seconds later, Pyrrha was offering to cover our lunches while Weiss looked at me in shock. After she shook off the surprise she grumbled, “Fine, we can talk about my father in the dorm tonight.” 

I grinned victoriously. Maybe this time, I can help them salvage their relationship. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Team JNPR’s fight went better than expected. Jaune had taken a few suggestions from me over the past year and was able to smooth out team operations ahead of time. I couldn’t help but giggle to myself about my own personal inside joke when Jaune’s shout of, “Flower power,” actually went smoothly. 

The truly nerve wracking experience though, came the next day, “Ruby, I need you to come meet my sister.” I found myself agreeing before I could even process what she’d asked, “Oh thank you Ruby!” 

As my brain caught up I began to panic. Winter meant the world to Weiss. I didn’t quite get to know her, but from what I knew she was an amazing woman. We heard she’d fallen when Salem attacked Atlas. Winter took up the mantle of the Winter Maiden and died protecting Atlas to the bitter end. This time, I wanted to get to know her. Weiss deserved that and so much more.

As we walked towards the landing zone, I resolved to do my best. I hadn’t known her for long in my past life and hoped, for Weiss’ sake, that I’d get to know her a lot better this time. 

The closer we got, the more excited Weiss was. I rolled my eyes good-heartedly when Weiss saw Winter and practically squealed, “Winter! I’m so happy to see you!”

Winter on the other hand, approached slowly. Her hair was done up in an intricate bun. Part of me appreciated the military professionalism she was show, however, another part of me detested how she treated her sister sometimes. 

Weiss, after rambling for a moment, seemed to suddenly remember she was supposed to be ‘serious’, “Oh!” She said, “Right, your presence honors us.” I raised an eyebrow. After so many years, it was easy to forget how stuck up she could be sometimes. I could feel someone staring at me and looked away from Weiss to find Winter staring curiously at me. 

Choosing to ignore the strange look, I focused on their conversation instead. When a hand moved swiftly towards Weiss, instinct took over, and I blocked the smack. Winter turned to glare at me, “And who do you think you are to interfere in family matters?” 

I knew Winter wasn’t going to truly injure Weiss, but I could never stand by and just let someone hit her. I smiled nervously as I dropped her arm, “I’m Ruby Rose, Weiss’ team leader,” I straightened up, “I don’t appreciate people hitting my team members.” My eyes narrowed, “I especially don’t appreciate you hitting my friends.”  

Winter looked me over, then turned back to Weiss, “So, this is the team leader you wrote of? I was worried she would be a child, but she seems to be rather mature for her age.” Her glare found it’s way back to me, “And a little too precocious.” Finally, Winter let out a smile, “Thank you Ruby Rose, for taking an interest in my sister.” 

I gave Weiss a coy smile, then turned to Winter, “What can I say, your sister is interesting.” 

Winter gave me another strange look before turning to Weiss, “I would like to examine your quarters and speak with you in private. I feel there are a few questions you may be able to answer for me.” Winter gave me one last look as they left. 

Knowing exactly where this was heading, I watched as my Uncle Qrow approached Winter. I moved to get a good view and watched with a smile as my Uncle fought Winter. If a drunk man can keep up with you… how good of a fighter are you? 

Weiss glared at me, “What is wrong with your Uncle? He didn’t seem this bad when I met him last.”

I smiled at Weiss, “Oh come on, he’s not that bad. In fact, he’s running circles around her.”

Weiss’ glare could have frozen the sun. She smacked my arm and turned back to the fight, murmuring under her breath, “Is he always drunk?”

I nodded somberly, “Yeah… he’s had a hard life.”

Weiss’ tensed for a moment and then looked at me, “I… I hope you haven’t considered that a solution.”

I rolled my eyes, “Why would I? I got everything back that I lost.” Weiss didn’t look like she believed me. Her hand quietly found its way into mine as we watched the rest of the fight.

“Schnee!” My ears were rang. When I identified the sound as Ironwood, I pulled Weiss out of the way. The General looked quite upset as he tore into Winter. Winter had the same kicked puppy look on her face that Weiss would rarely wear, only Winter had somehow made it more subtle. 

Ironwood turned to Qrow, “And you! What do you think you’re doing here?”

Finally, I decided to intervene, releasing Weiss’ hand. Her confused look followed me as I stepped forward, asking, “General, may I be able to help?”

Ironwood whipped around to see who was speaking to him. He visibly relaxed when he saw me, “Yes, Miss Rose.” He paused for a moment and looked between Qrow and I, “He’s your uncle right?” I nodded and he continued, “Take him to the Headmaster’s office.”

I grabbed Qrow’s arm and began leading him away. On our way to Ozpin’s office, Qrow alternated between grumbling about not needing a babysitter, attempting to ditch me, and resuming his grumbles. When we finally arrived at Ozpin’s office, Qrow looked at me and gave his most convincing smile when he said, “Thanks kiddo. I think Oz can handle me from here.”

I raised an eyebrow at Ozpin, who was sitting there, observing us. His silence irked me. “I’ll be staying for the meeting, Uncle.”

Qrow laughed, “Kid, I’m not here to discuss your academics. You can’t stay for this meeting.”

I gave a faux smile, “If I didn’t like Ozpin’s office so much, I’d suggest we have a fight over it. However, I don’t think the Headmaster wants me to wreck his office.” I glanced over to Ozpin, “I do believe I’m being invited to this meeting.” 

Ozpin looked contemplative while Qrow was just laughing at the audacity of his niece. Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, and Winter Schnee walked in to see Qrow doubled.

Goodwitch immediately rounded on Winter, “What we you thinking, starting a fight like that?”

Winter frowned and pointed at Qrow, “He was drunk and rambling! I had to shut him up somehow.

Glynda glared and waved her hand at Qrow, “He’s always drunk! That doesn’t mean you should start a fight in our courtyard.” 

Ironwood held up his hand and silence descended, “Qrow, why are you here? You’re supposed to be in the field.” Before Qrow could answer, Ironwood took notice of me, “Miss Rose, I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us.” 

Goodwitch, Ironwood, and Winter seemed to notice my presence simultaneously, their scrutinizing gazes making me uncomfortable as I chuckled out nervously, “Hi.” 

Ironwood grumbled, “Very well.” 

Professor Goodwitch looked horrified while Winter was becoming more and more confused, “What in the four kingdoms is my sister’s team leader doing in a private meeting?” She turned to glare at Ozpin, “You had better have a good explanation for this.” 

Ironwood raised his hand again, silencing Winter instantly as he paced forward, “It’s classified, Specialist Schnee.” 

Winter’s confusion fully morphed into hidden rage at that point as she rounded on me. The general stepped in again, “Specialist, go back to the ship and await further instruction.”

Winter saluted, “Yes General.” On her way out, she glared at both Qrow and myself.

After she left, Ozpin looked at me, “Miss Rose, if you could, please explain your presence for Glynda and Qrow.”

I nodded and the two adults in question looked at me expectantly. I put on a broad smile, “Well, it’s quite simple. I have silver eyes.” Ozpin looked like he wanted to smack his head into the desk while Glynda and Qrow were giving me varying looks of ‘Are you stupid.’ “Fine, fine, I’ll be more specific,” I grumbled. “Silver eye people save lives. I have silver eyes. I will stop war.” I figured childishly explaining it might break the ice. It didn’t.

Finally I let out an audible groan, “Oh for the Brother’s sake Qrow! You’ve been off doing field recon, while I’ve been here, keeping an eye on the enemy.”

Qrow looked shocked at my first coherent statement, “Kid, you aren’t suppose to know about this kind of stuff.”

At last, Ozpin, with a hint of amusement, stood up to help, “Qrow, Glynda, while I can’t disclose much about her current situation, rest assured that Miss Rose has been pivotal in the fight against the White Fang and Salem’s forces.” He smiled at me and continued, “In fact, her intel has given us the key players and the fact that the group is called the Black Tide. So, I ask that you look past her age and accept she is here for a good reason.” 

Ironwood nodded in agreement. “The intelligence provided by Miss Rose has been indispensable. You might have noticed I brought only two ships instead of the planned armada. Her insights made me realize the potential for panic my original plans could have caused..” 

Qrow eyed me suspiciously, “You guys are taking advice from my 15-year-old niece?” He scoffed, “And you lot say I’m the drunken crazy man.” Qrow shook his head and looked at Ozpin with resignation in his eyes, “If you trust her intel… I guess I don’t have a choice do I?”

Professor Goodwitch, who had been deep in thought for most of the conversation, finally piped up, “This has something to do with your supposed injury at the beginning of the year, doesn’t it.” 

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, “Why would you say that?”

Goodwitch gave me a melancholic smile, “Miss Rose, I have been teaching at this institution for a decade. Never in my life, have I seen such a change in skill and maturity as the one you underwent. One day you were a child and the next you were a mature woman with an occasionally childish attitude.”

Goodwitch looked perplexed as she finished what she said and turned to Ozpin, “Is she… like you?”

Ozpin shook his head softly, “Although the consideration had never crossed my mind, I’m afraid her situation is, in some ways, far more complex than my own. However, it is her right to keep whatever secrets she wishes to. As you said, she is a mature woman.” 

While Goodwitch appeared appeased, Qrow was incredulous. “My niece is nothing like you Ozpin. Just because you… I don’t know, possess people for eternity doesn’t mean she’s anything like that.” He took a long swig out of his flask and then looked at me. The sadness in his eyes sent a small stab through my heart, “Rubes… you’re not… are you… are you okay?”

I rolled my eyes and gave him a smile, “Qrow, I’ve never been better. You’re right, I’m not possessed. Just leave it at that. If, and when, I think you need to know, I’ll tell you. It’s just safer this way.” 

Qrow looked hurt but accepted it. The rest of the meeting went by rather well. The discussion turned quickly to a clear plan to minimize unrest. I assured them as a competitor, I had a much better chance at stopping the unrest than they did. 

Hopefully… this time doesn’t end in so much death.

Chapter Text

As the doubles matches were announced one by one, I noticed some changes. Emerald and Mercury didn’t go up against CVFY but instead secured a decisive victory over Sun and Neptune, while CVFY faced off against a team so forgettable, I couldn’t even recall their prior fight. 

Penny’s match seemed to be going by quickly and we had already been informed that Yang and I would face off against team FNKI.

I watched from the sidelines as Penny smashed their faces into the ground and I snickered to myself. Glancing over at my team though, I noticed they weren’t all excited, “Come on, this will be fun.”

Weiss looked unsure, “Why Yang? Why not me or Blake?”

Yang rolled her eyes and gave a cocky smirk, “Its clear that my little sis just wants to put them through the ringer. Who better to take them out than me?” 

I face palmed at Yang’s logic, then explained to Weiss, “You and Blake are amazing fighters, but I need someone who can… pack a major punch, especially since I’m still handicapping myself. No offense to either of you but, Weiss you’re best as support and Blake is best at sneak attacks. Neither of you are the type to walk up and punch someone in the face.” I paused and cracked a grin, “Seeing as I need someone like that, and I can’t take Nora. I picked Yang.” 

Yang huffed out, jokingly insulted about the Nora comment. I just smiled and put my hand on her arm, then turned to the rest of the team, “I need you guys to remember,” I quieted down and whispered, “this isn’t about winning. There’s a lot more to consider.”

All three of them nodded their agreement. Blake grabbed Yang’s hand and pulled her aside for a private conversation. I suspected Blake was delivering her own version of a ‘go get ‘em’ pep talk. Weiss walked over to me and awkwardly looked at her feet before meeting my eyes, “I just…” her eyes took on a sad look, “I want to be the one by your side. I want to help you.”

I grinned at her remark and took a step forward, hugging her tight, “Weiss, you always will be. There are just some fihghts we can’t all participate in.” 

Weiss nuzzled into my shoulder, murmuring “As long as you’ll let me help when I can… I guess I can accept that.” 

I laughed as I pulled back, “Of course, Snow Angel, what else would I do?”

As the announcement for our match echoed through the arena, Yang pulled me aside. I hadn’t warned Yang about Team FNKI, thinking Neon’s taunts would strategically fuel her temper. 

Beside me in the arena, Yang wore a big smile. “So, I spoke to Weiss about Atlas,” she began.

I raised an eyebrow at Yang. She sounded like she had a big reveal for me, “Uh huh?”

She grinned, pride evident in her voice. “She said that the academy and the armed forces are connected. So, we should expect soldier hunters.”

I scoffed, “Not quite sis.” Pointing at the incoming Team FNKI, I noted Flynt with his trumpet and Neon twirling her nunchakus. Clearly, they were far from the typical soldier image. Yang’s face, etched with disbelief, was priceless. I leaned over to Yang, “Alright, you take on the trumpet guy. He doesn’t move much and relies on his weapon to keep him far away. The girl on skates, moves a bit too much for your style.”

Yang nodded and took her fighting stance, “This’ll be fun.”

“This’ll be fun.” Neon mimicked back at Yang. A sly grin crept onto her face, “You’re right, this will be fun! Have you ever tried rollerblading? Well…” She look over at her teammate and then back to Yang, “Never mind… you probably wouldn’t be any good at it.” She giggled and added, “Cause you’re, you know, top heavy.”

Without looking, I could sense Yang’s frustration radiating like heat. I grasped her arm and shook my head, “Don’t take the bait. Not yet.”

Yang’s only response was an audible grunt and a short nod, just as Professor Port’s voice boomed the countdown, “3! 2! 1! Begin!”

Flynt wasted no time and began his trumpet assault, his melody generating a gust that hurled Neon toward us. Seizing the moment, I unfurled Wilted Rose, executing a backflip to position it under my feet. I then fired a shot and propelled myself into the middle of the wind. Flying backwards in the sky, I could see Yang moving towards Flynt. 

I finally landed on the rocks behind me and swung my scythe just as Neon tried to take a cheap shot. She giggled, taunting, “Hey now kiddo, didn’t they tell you to not run with oversized pruning sheers?”

I smirked, “You have seen nothing yet.”

The girl rolled her eyes, “Pfft, I’m going to make sure you and blondie know who’s really in charge around here.” She started firing off dust at me and I found myself running quickly to avoid the dust contact. I took a leap myself, right into the volcanic portion of the map.

A quick glance revealed Yang fending off Flynt’s quartet, her aura building in power with each assault she endured. 

I deliberately slowed, allowing Neon to catch up, and smiled at her just as she swung her weapon at me. I dodged out of the way and smiled as I saw Yang rearing up to knock Flynt’s lights out. 

Neon growled in frustration, “Stop moving so much. This is stupid.”

I chuckled to myself as I dodged again and pointed behind Neon, “I think you’re about to lose a teammate.”

Neon’s eyes widened, “You’re lying.”

With a smile, I spun Wilted Rose in a wide arc, disrupting her barrage of attacks. In her attempt to evade, Neon’s gaze shifted, finally catching sight of Yang and Flynt in combat. Yang had gotten close enough to land an attack and was now smacking Flynt up and down the area. His weapon lay discarded, a good 50 feet from where they were. “Now Ruby!” Yang shouted as she tossed Flynt into the air. I aimed Wilted Rose and in seconds he was disqualified. 

Neon’s eyes widened, “You were the distraction!” I gave her a small shrug and Yang started to move in. As Neon abandoned me to fight Yang, I put in a new clip, took aim at her rollerblades, and fired. 

Yang smirked, “This is for calling me top heavy!” She immediately started firing at the pinned girl. Neon kept trying to defend herself, but it didn’t take long for Yang to close the gap. With one powerful swing, Neon was knocked into the red. 

As the match concluded, Neon sprang to her feet, surprising Yang, and rushed over, exclaiming, “Oh my god! That was amazing!” She gave me an evaluative glance, adding, “And you, hot stuff, are quite agile,” as she winked playfully.

Flynt, limping slightly, approached and graciously thanked us for the match.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

That evening, a summons from Ozpin drew me to his office, a sense of foreboding filling me. Upon arriving, Ozpin was already speaking to Pyrrha, “Miss Nikos, what is your favorite fairy tale?”

I approached and shook my head, “Ozpin, don’t even go down that path. It’s stupid.” 

Pyrrha looked up at me, confused, “Ruby, what are you doing here?”

I smiled, “Hi Pyrrha, I’m sorry to interrupt but I was invited.” Pyrrha visibly relaxed at the idea I was there for the same reason she was.

Ozpin cocked an eyebrow at me, “Miss Rose, do you have a better suggestion on how to explain this to her?”

I shrugged, “Sure, I’ll try, Oz.” Pyrrha looked scandalized by how I addressed him but waited patiently for me to explain. I looked at her and smiled sadly, “Pyrrha, you are a wonderful fighter.”

Pyrrha blushed, “I… I wouldn’t say I’m anything special.”

I shook my head, “Now is not the time for modesty Pyrrha.” I pursed my lips and then continued, “We are here because we need your help. We are… part of an organization of people who are preparing to fight a war. You’ve been determined to be an integral part in that.”

Pyrrha’s brow furrowed. “War? Ruby, that’s absurd,” she protested, turning to Ozpin for reassurance. Yet, the concern etched on his face only deepened her unease.

I sighed, “Maybe your way is better.” Ozpin looked, for a moment, smug. 

Ozpin recaptured Pyrrha’s attention, as he continued, “Have you heard the story of the maidens?”

Pyrrha nodded emphatically, “Of course, the four sisters who gained powers to rule the seasons.”

Ozpin nodded his affirmation, “They aren’t just a fairy tale Miss Nikos. Just as the tale of the Silver Eyed Warrior is not just a fairy tale.” He then paused and glanced at me for a moment before continuing, “Your family is one of the few that still has records on that particular tale right?”

Pyrrha looking surprised, nodded in agreement, “The Silver Eyed Warrior tale is ancient. Its morphed into countless versions over time. It may speak of heroism, some versions even delve into time travel, but it’s all just a story.”

Ozpin chuckled, “Indeed, but remember, every fairy tale harbors a grain of truth. Women with silver eyes wielding immense power, the four maidens— these aren’t mere myths. They’re grounded in a reality far more fascinating and bizarre than most are willing to recognize.” 

Pyrrha gave her full attention to Ozpin as he explained the four maidens powers and their relationship to magic. After his explanation he finally said, “We believe, Miss Nikos, you are the next fall maiden.” 

Pyrrha’s nervous laughter broke through as she glanced back at me. “What’s next? You’re going to tell me she’s a silver-eyed warrior?” With an eye roll and a heavy sigh, she faced Ozpin again, “Sir, I want to believe you. I want to think I can make a difference, but this… this is beyond belief.”

Losing patience with the circular conversation, I interjected, “Pyrrha, I am a silver-eyed warrior who is, hopefully, destined to help save the world and if you give Ozpin’s plan a chance, you can be too. We are about to go to war. A war unlike any in the history of mankind. If you don’t want to help, then that’s fine. I understand it’s a burden, but don’t think we’re lying to you simply because you don’t like what you’re hearing.” 

Pyrrha’s eyes snapped up and met mine. She apologized quietly and then glanced at Ozpin, “If Ruby really is… this silver eyed warrior, why doesn’t she become the maiden?”

Ozpin’s eyes widened in realization, “Miss Nikos… that is a good point.” He turned to me, “You would be the perfect candidate given your immense power and the knowledge you carry.”

I chuckled humorlessly, “I wish. Anytime the maiden powers try to go into me, it seems whatever makes me the way I am, rejects them.”

Ozpin frowned, “How peculiar. How many times have you tried?”

I raised an eyebrow, “Are you seriously asking me how many maidens I’ve watched die?” 

Pyrrha looked very concerned to hear that but Ozpin paid her no mind, “Well… I am mostly wondering how many times the power has tried to join with you.” 

Shaking my head, I replied, “I stopped keeping track after I proved it wouldn’t work but I think I’d say… I don’t know, like, seven times?”

Ozpin shook his head and turned back to Pyrrha, “The others should be arriving soon. We only have a small amount of information we can impart on you before you make your decision. It is… a heavy one, but it is my understanding that it is necessary.” He looked at me with questions dancing behind his eyes, but those would have to wait. 

Pyrrha and I passed the time as we waited on the others to arrive by discussing the matches we’d watched so far. Ding! The elevator announced itself and off stepped Goodwitch, Ironwood, and Qrow. Qrow’s disapproval of my presence continued, but there was nothing he could do as we all headed down to the vault. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When the elevator let out at the vault, Pyrrha looked stunned. She was even more stunned as General Ironwood explained the coming threat and the fate of the prior fall maiden. 

After explanations and warnings were over, I requested a moment alone with Pyrrha. The others clearly didn’t like being left out of the loop, but we were allowed to go to a more private part of the vault to talk. 

“Pyrrha, I know, I probably could have handled our conversation earlier better. I apologize for that. I need you to understand that the burden you are being asked to take on is immense. We don’t even know how it’ll effect you.” I took a deep breath and gave Pyrrha a sad smile before continuing, “You must understand that the fate of the world rests on every action and choice we take over the next week. I… I cannot begin to explain the consequences if we fail.” 

Pyrrha frowned, her voice tinged with optimism, “Ruby, just because you think it will go wrong, doesn’t mean that it will.”

I chuckled as a single tear dripped down my face from the memories flooding me, “I can tell you that I know better than anyone what the future could have in store for us. I… I want nothing more than to take the power of the maiden instead of you. I’d like to spare you the potential side effects and the life of being potentially hunted.” Poor Pyrrha. “You are one of the best amongst us. Jaune is very lucky to have you. But, both you and I have to be selfless. I… will do anything to keep my team safe, to keep Weiss safe. The real question is, are you willing to do that too?” 

Pyrrha looked taken aback by my statement, “Weiss? I didn’t realize you two… I… wow… that really explains some of your behaviors.” 

I glared at Pyrrha half-heartedly, “We are not a couple… not due to my lack of trying… that isn’t the point right now. I think you should take an hour… or a few hours and think it over. I don’t mean to pressure you, but we do need to decide as soon as we can. If you choose to do it, then we need to do it tonight and a different member of team JNPR needs to go onto the finals.”

Pyrrha smiled wistfully, “Jaune would do well I think.” 

I looked at her skeptically but decided to not comment on that. I just looked down and giggled to myself before continuing, “I’ll be with the others in the main room. Please feel free to talk to me about anything.” 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Pyrrha reappeared an hour later with a sad but determined look on her face. She glanced at the adults in the room before her eyes landed on me. She gave me a solid nod and then spoke, “I will do it. If it is my destiny to take on this burden, I will do so.”

The adults looked at each other and sighed. They were clearly not happy about forcing this on Pyrrha. Ozpin finally spoke up, “Very well, follow me, Miss Nikos. Everyone else, please clear out.” 

The others made to leave, but I hung back. Ozpin glared at me uncharacteristically, “Miss Rose, I believe I asked you to leave as well.”

I nodded, “Yeah, you did. However, last time, someone showed up and stopped it. So I’ll be staying here. If anyone can stop Cinder, it would be me.” 

Pyrrha looked confused about the concept of ‘last time’ but didn’t press the issue. Ozpin grimaced but accepted. Pyrrha willingly entered the chamber and the process began. It took about thirty minutes, and luckily we were not interrupted, although the sound of Pyrrha screaming kept me on edge the whole time. 

When Pyrrha finally exited the chamber, she was clutching her head tightly, “Pyrrha, how are you feeling?”

She groaned, “Everything hurts. Opening my eyes hurts. Your voice hurts.” She moaned in pain, “My own voice hurts.” 

I nodded, “Ozpin, hand me my first aid kit. It should be right next to you.” He picked it up and tossed it at me. I tried to be cheery as I turned to my friend, “Alright, so I’m going to take some basic vital signs and see what your symptoms are currently. I’m betting your body is trying to adapt to the power increase and the presence of an additional soul.” I paused for a response and then quickly added, “If it hurts too much to speak, just nod your head for yes, or shake for no.” 

Pyrrha nodded her head yes and we moved towards a chair in the vault. I pulled out a pulse oximeter from my bag and hooked it up to her finger. “This will tell me your pulse and if you have enough oxygen.” 

I then took a blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around her other arm, “I’m also going to take your blood pressure and run a few other checks. After that, we’ll check your aura levels, okay?” 

Her pulse was going far too fast and her blood pressure was through the roof. Each test I ran gave me strange results. Finally, I checked her aura level and compared it to her previously recorded aura level. It was about 50% larger than normal. I looked at Ozpin, “The increase in aura is causing these symptoms. Her body is trying to accommodate and doesn’t know how.”

Ozpin nodded, “Should we hospitalize her? These symptoms aren’t quite the same as when a maiden takes on the powers naturally, but even those Maidens needed medical attention.” 

I grimaced, “I agree she needs some medical treatment, but I don’t know if the hospital is a good choice. Suspicions might be drawn or the wrong people could find out.” 

I pilled some emergency medications from of my pack, deciding to treat the symptoms, “Ozpin, we need to sedate her. That should allow her body to go through the normal process without the pain. Her aura is still increasing.” 

Ozpin frowned, “I take it you’ve treated this before?” 

I chuckled, “Well, my aura’s increased several times in my life. It sucks, but you get the right meds and you’ll live.” 

Ultimately, we agreed that Pyrrha would be sedated and kept in a secure room in the teacher’s wing at Beacon. I was left with the job of informing her teammates that she had come down with a contagious illness and was temporarily quarantined. I felt bad for lying to JNPR, but it wasn’t the time for the truth.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The next morning, I made my way to the secure room, knocked lightly on the door, and waited. Soon the door was open and Goodwitch was staring at me with scrutiny, “Miss Rose, shouldn’t you be with your team?”

“Professor, the rest of my team is enjoying breakfast. I felt there was somewhere more important for me to be.” I gave her a warm smile, “I need to check on Pyrrha.”

Goodwitch rolled her eyes but moved aside. As I took in the room, I noticed Pyrrha was sitting on the floor next to the bed. She didn’t seem to be in pain anymore, but she was lost in thought. I coughed loudly to get her attention, but she didn’t react. Goodwitch spoke up, “She hasn’t moved from that position or spoken since she woke up. We believe she will come out of it in time.” 

I sighed, “We don’t have time.” I stepped forward and knelt down beside Pyrrha before murmuring to her, “I am so sorry about this Pyrrha. Really, really sorry.” A loud crack echoed off the walls of the small room as my hand hit her face. Goodwitch moved toward me, but I held up a hand, and she stopped, watching us. It was Pyrrha though, whose eyes opening, shocked both of us. Pyrrha’s normally green eyes were flecked with an amber brown color and a few flecks of red.

“Welcome back to the living, Pyrrha,” I murmured. 

Pyrrha’s eyes snapped to my face. She appeared to be analyzing me. A sick feeling churned my stomach, what if she wasn’t Pyrrha. “Ruby Rose, your eyes are silver.” The first thing out of Pyrrha’s mouth made me want to laugh and cry.

A small chuckle escaped my lips before I regained my composure, “Indeed.” I turned to the professor, “Professor, can you please excuse us?”

Goodwitch’s glare hardened, “You are dismissing me? In my own school? Miss Rose, I cannot and will not simply leave you here because you asked. Frankly, I’m not sure which of you I consider a bigger danger.” 

I nodded, “Understandable, Professor. I would suggest you leave anyway. I won’t harm Pyrrha, and she cannot harm me.” 

Professor Goodwitch looked like she wanted to argue, sparing a glance at Pyrrha, who was still sitting there. Eventually the professor sighed, “It’s a good thing Ozpin seems to trust you. If he didn’t, this conversation would have ended when you knocked on the door.” She seemed to be contemplating her options, “I’m going to go tell the headmaster that Miss Nikos is awake. You have until we return.”

I mumbled a thank you and turned my attention to Pyrrha. Upon hearing the door bolt shut, I knew we were finally alone. “The Fall Maiden, correct?” 

Pyrrha’s strange eyes flashed over my features, “As you are the Silver Eyed Warrior.” She continued to stare at me for a moment before continuing, “We find it… strange, that you would put such value into our abilities.”

I sighed and took a seat on the floor across from her. I had seen the transference of a maiden’s power several times, but always naturally. None of them had a soul transfer. “So you’re both in there, huh?” Pyrrha simply nodded at me and then looked expectant, “I’m just one person. It takes many people to stop the end of the world.”

Pyrrha’s eyes dropped to the floor and then she seemed to visibly relax. When her eyes met mine again the brown and red were completely gone. Only Pyrrha’s own green remained, “Ruby, this is very confusing.”

I smiled, “Welcome back Pyrrha.” 

Pyrrha slumped against the bed frame, “What is happening to me?” She sounded afraid. I moved in close and gave her a hug. She leaned in and sighed, “I have… two voices in my head… I don’t know. I hear myself, and I hear another. The other seems to be confused. It is almost like she is both the previous maiden and the concept of the maidens at the same time.”

I hugged her closer and Pyrrha sounded on the verge of tears, “Pyrrha, everything will be okay. Once you and Amber sort out the situation, everything will be better.” 

Pyrrha sniffled, “I can… see her memories. You know, she has a weird version of the tale about silver eyes. She… she seems to think you’re practically invincible. She asked me what your motives are.” 

I stiffened at that. I had never considered Amber might have information. I had never considered she might be able to speak to Pyrrha, “My motives are to save humanity,” the words came out tasting like ash. It was true, but as I regained my old life, it had turned rather selfish. I now needed to protect those I loved and the best way to do that, was by protecting everyone. 

Pyrrha nodded, “That’s what I told her. That’s why I agreed to this. To protect our people. To protect Jaune.” She wiped a tear from her face, “I will continue to do whatever is necessary to keep us all alive.”

I thanked her quietly. We waited for Ozpin to arrive for another thirty minutes, discussing her future. She would need proper training with her new powers. Luckily, Amber was in her mind to help with understanding them fully and I was here as a good test subject for practice. Unluckily, Amber seemed to want to explain things about me to her. 

Amber even went so far as to suggest to Pyrrha that I had traveled through time. Pyrrha had mentioned it and immediately dismissed it as fantastical. I never confirmed, nor denied. I did decided then and there that Pyrrha needed to know the truth. She, like me, was stuck in this for the long haul. Even if others died, myself and Pyrrha would be fighting for the future of all of us. I couldn’t in good conscience leave her ignorant for long. 

Chapter Text

Glancing around the arena, I felt a mix of anticipation and unease. Nearby, Nora brimmed with excitement, sending me a small wave— a stark contrast to the glares she cast at the other competitors. My planned survey of the twenty odd other competitors was cut short as my gaze fell on Mercury. A surge of anger crossed me, my veins icy with restrained fury. The thought of ending him right there was tempting, yet the live broadcast and the memories of what happened in the last tournament kept me restrained. 

I forced myself to keep calm and focus on literally anything to stop myself from killing him. My gaze flicked to the arena’s giant screen, where the randomizer began to choose its competitors. As it ran, I felt a small hopeful feeling begging that I would get to fight him myself. 

“First up, we have Ruby Rose of Beacon!” The randomizer started to roll my opponent and, sure enough, it selected Mercury. Probably rigged. My loathing for Emerald ran deep, nearly as strong as my hatred for even Cinder and Salem, with Mercury trailing close behind.

All of the other students walked off the stage while Mercury and I faced off. This time, no arena map sprung forth. It would be just me versus him with three ways to win: low aura, ring out, or conceding. 

Wilted Rose felt heavy yet familiar in my grasp as I twirled it, the motion fluid and comforting. Leaning on it, I watched the countdown. At the signal, I surged forward, Wilted Rose arching toward Mercury. His quick reflexes moved him out of the way, his feet springing off the blade in a backflip. The clash of metal sent a thunderous roar through the arena. 

He landed on his feet, eyes narrowed at me. Then, smirking, he unleashed a barrage of dust-infused attacks from his boots. His movements were rapid, yet familiar. I recognized the pattern from his match with Yang.

Moving forward, I let Mercury’s foot slam down, unleashing a storm of dust around me. The storm he had created battered against me, but I tapped into Yang’s semblance turning the pain into a swell of power. The sharp sting faded, replaced with resolve.

As the storm finished, we both heard Port’s loud commentary, “Amazing! Even after such a ruthless attack, Miss Rose’s aura appears to be barely affected!” 

Mercury’s confidence faltered, his eyes darting to the overhead board, noting the stark difference between my 94% aura and his dwindling 52%. Seizing the moment, I flicked Wilted Rose, extending Thorn to its rarely used pistol form. Shot after shot, I fired Thorn at him. The first shot landed, snapping his attention back to me, his eyes blazing with fury. 

He closed the gap swiftly, unleashing a barrage of kicks. I shifted Thorn back to its sickle form and parried his assaults, each clang of metal echoing our escalating battle throughout the arena.

An idea sparked in my head, pulling a smirk onto my lips. Mercury, sensing the shift, hesitated, his confusion morphing into aggression as he directed a vicious kick at my head. I channeled Pyrrha’s semblance and subtly altered the trajectory of his attack. His boot swooshed harmlessly past my face causing a harsh landing for him. 

I swung Wilted Rose while hitting the button to extend its handle. He attempted to roll backward out of the way but miscalculated the length. Wilted Rose connected solidly and the impact sent him hurling aside. 

A pained groan escaped him, and I spared a quick glance at the overhead aura meter — his was plummeting, now a mere 20%. I angled Thorn for an upward swing as he began to attack and dodge around me. His jump kick was intercepted as Thorn hooked around his ankle and tossed him to the ground. 

Advancing with a confident smirk, I sheathed Thorn, leaving one hand free. Grabbing Mercury by the shirt, I pressed Wilted Rose’s blade against his stomach, “Do you yield?”

His response came as a grunt, his pride battered and bruised under the weight of shame. Few in history had ever yielded and the thought seemed to gall him. Meeting my gaze with a resentful glare, he finally conceded, “I yield.” 

Acknowledging his surrender, I released him, letting him slump to the ground as the arena erupted in applause. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Emerald staring intently at me. Turning to Mercury, I offered a casual smirk. “No hard feelings, right? There’s always next time.” 

As I anticipated, what I was sure was the fake Mercury, lunged towards me in a last-ditch attack.  Feigning confusion, I threw my arms up to block the phantom strike, which dissipated into thin air. Emerald’s frustrated scowl only added to the satisfaction of my triumph as I exited the arena. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

My team rushed to greet me in the fairgrounds. Excitement was evident on their faces, “Ruby!” Yang’s voice shouted. “That was so cool! How did you do that?”

I laughed softly, “I think you’d be surprised how much you helped me out there sis.” I winked at her when I suddenly felt a familiar pair of arms around my waist. A smile naturally found its way to my lips, “Hey Weiss.” 

Weiss’ voice was soft, almost a whisper, as she released me from the hug. “Hey, dolt,” she murmured, her hand slipping into mine, spreading a warm happiness through me. “I have a present for you for properly representing our team in the tournament.” 

My curiosity piqued, I tilted my head, “Weiss, you didn’t have to get me anything.” 

She raised her free hand up, gesturing dismissively, “No, I did, because I wanted to. However, it is back at the dorm.” 

Confusion colored my features, “Back at the dorm?” I sighed, “Do I need to open it now?” I hesitated, half-jokingly, “Is it something urgent, like a puppy trapped in a box?” 

Weiss looked confused, “Well, no. Why?” 

I offered a rueful smile, squeezing her hand reassuringly, “I have to go check on… something for Ozpin.”

Disappointment shadowed her features, “You’re still keeping secrets from me?” 

Before the moment turned even more serious, Yang’s teasing voice cut in, “Hey, girls, we are… not going to stay for your… not lovers? Lovers? I don’t know, but your whatever spat…” She grinned, “So, we’re going to go watch the matches. If anything fun happens or anyone we know is up, we’ll let you know.” She grinned, pulling Blake towards the arena. 

Left in the unexpected quiet, I sighed, trying to keep the weight of everything from pressing down too harshly. “I’m sorry Weiss. There’s some things I fear would do more harm than good if I told you.” 

Weiss’ frustration broke through her usual restraint, “No, that’s bullshit, Ruby.” My eyes widened at her cursing as she continued, “You need to start trusting us more.” 

I exhaled slowly, “Can we talk about this after the tournament?”

Her response was a growl, “You mean after the potentially world-changing events you don’t want to discuss.” 

The determination in her eyes told me I couldn’t side step this conversation anymore. “Weiss, if you want to talk about this, we can do that back in the dorm.” 

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, “To the dorm room you just implied you weren’t going back to right now?”

I shook my head, “I decided that what I was going to do, can wait. Let’s go.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Back in the dorm, the air was thick with unspoken words, Weiss sat on her bed staring me down like a judge awaiting my testimony. It felt like a staring contest. 

After a tense silence, Weiss spoke, her voice steady but probing, “Ruby, let’s start with something simple. What happens at the end of the tournament?” 

A hollow laugh escaped me, “Oh… well… I assume you mean what should have happened at the end of the tournament.” At her nod of agreement, I continued, “Yang would have faced Mercury and would have been tricked into severely injuring him on international television after he already lost.” 

Weiss’ expression turned to shock, eyes wide, grappling with the implications, “Wait… how does that… why would she…” 

“One of their people has a semblance that allows them to make you see things. For instance, they made me see Mercury attacking me after I had already won.” A small smile crossed my lips, “Luckily for me, I already knew this was going to happen, so I reacted as passively as I could.” 

Weiss’ voice barely went above a whisper as she pressed on, “Okay… so what happens next?” 

The vivid and harsh memories flooded back to me as I recounted that day, “Well, a lot of people freaked out that Yang ‘dismembered’ someone. After that, we were treated to a few more matches before Pyrrha and Penny faced off.” My voice faltered, sadness lacing its way through me, “Pyrrha accidentally killed Penny, and then the Grimm invaded.” 

Disbelief covered Weiss’ face, “Pyrrha would never kill Penny… or anyone. Pyrrha is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.” 

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the grim absurdity of it all, “Yeah, she is very nice. No, she didn’t choose to. She just didn’t know Penny was an AI, and she didn’t know what Emerald was capable of either. Penny was particularly at risk against Pyrrha’s semblance.” I continued, “I don’t think it had to be Pyrrha though… she was just the best choice.” 

Weiss’ expression darkened, “What have you been doing to stop all of this?” She leaned forward, her hand finding mine, and pulled me to sit beside her on the bed, “You have been doing something, right?”

I let her pull me down so we were lying together, a positive we’d been finding ourselves in more and more lately, “Yeah.”

Weiss smacked my arm lightly, “What have you been doing?” 

I let out a small laugh and a half-smile, “Alright, alright. I made sure Pyrrha isn’t competing and I told Ironwood to keep Penny out of it too. In theory, that should minimize our problems.” Suddenly, a light bulb turned on in my head, “Oh, also, that big group of Grimm I killed a few months ago, we’re pretty sure they were an assault force. It’s likely they’ll still be able to attack with some, but it won’t be as large of a group.”

I felt Weiss’ grip tighten and then, she sat up abruptly, confusion weaving in her every word, “Hold on, Penny is a what?” 

Looking up at her, I couldn’t help but laughing hard, “Oh god… you guys… that’s right! No one knows!” Once I finally got my laughter under control, I explained, “Yeah, Penny is the world’s first artificial human. She’s able to produce an aura.” 

Weiss looked fascinated, her mind clearly racing before she paused and refocused, “I might have more questions about that later, but for now, the Grimm invade, and then what” 

I hesitated and felt like a cold bucket of water had been dumped on me, “Weiss, if everything works out, there won’t be a ‘then what.’” 

Weiss, however, persisted, her gaze piercing, “No, it’s not about what will potentially happen to us. It’s about what already happened to you. Now tell me.” 

The weight of her gaze held me in place and I found myself searching her eyes for an answer to the questions that burned me just as much as my past burned her, “What are we?” 

She looked as if the question itself was a blow, “I… what?” 

A sad smile touched my lips, “I don’t want to share this, I really don’t. But you are the one person I might be willing to talk to about these things. I need to know, are we partners, or something more? I’ll answer your question either way, but I want an answer to mine first.” 

Weiss’ eyes softened, and she reached out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear, “Isn’t it obvious, Little Rose?” 

The endearment sounded unfamiliar, yet it sent a mix of hope and fear through me. “I don’t want to get my hopes up and then lose you.” 

Her smile was tender, “I’m sorry if I made you think I’d leave you, Ruby.” She drew closer, her breath warm against my skin, her whisper barely audible, “I would like to be your partner in more than just battle.” 

My heart raced as I bridged the gap between us, our lips meeting in a kiss that seemed to stop time. In that moment, all of my uncertainties dissolved, replaced purely by joy.

When our kiss finally broke, I was uncontrollably grinning, “When’d you change your mind?” 

Weiss rolled her eyes, “Honestly? Weeks ago, when we stopped pretending we didn’t want to cuddle all the time. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.” She nestled back in my arms and her lips brushed briefly against mine again, “Now I answered your question, you answer mine.” 

With a heavy heart, I acknowledged the truth, “A promise is a promise. After the Grimm invade, so does the White Fang. Blake’s ex, Adam, he… he cut off Yang’s arm.” The words tasted bitter.

Weiss, clearly seeing the pain etched on my face, ran her hand through my hair soothingly, “It’s okay.” She whispered encouragingly.

I took strength from her as best I could as I continued, “Pyrrha decides to try to stop Cinder on her own. You and I go to bring Pyrrha back because, as far as anyone can tell, no one there can stand a chance against Cinder. We’re too late and I watch Pyrrha die too… Ozpin is never seen again, originally presumed dead. At least until much later. That’s a story for another time though.” I shook my head, trying to clear the memories, “That was the beginning of the end. This week… this week is the beginning of the end if I messed up.” 

Weiss’ touch was gentle, her smile tinged with sorrow, “Ruby, I am so sorry that happened to you.” She ran her hand through my hair, “No matter what happens, we’ll be by your side. Yang, Blake, and I won’t be leaving your side.” 

I pulled her close, grateful for the peace her words brought, “Thanks Weiss.” 

The moment was shattered by the buzz of her phone. I watched a frown cross her face as she stared at it, “Ruby…”

I leaned in anxious, “What?” 

“Yang sent over a picture of the match that just started… I thought you said Penny wasn’t competing?”

I sprang to my feet, snatching the phone. The image displayed the randomizer: Penny vs. Coco. An icy dread gripped me, “I need to go. Now.” 

Without another word, I raced from the room, Wilted Rose clutched in my hand, leaving Weiss in a whirlwind of confusion. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The race against time echoed in my every step as I dashed toward the arena, pushing my semblance to its limits; unfortunately, I never had achieved flight. Impatience and fear mixed within me as I waited for the shuttle to the arena. All I could do was pray to the Brothers that Penny would be okay.

Once aboard, I shouted, “To the arena, immediately.”

As we neared the arena, I could clearly hear Port’s booming voice crackling with excitement. “Oh! It looks like Coco means business as she unpacks her bag.” 

“That… was a terrible joke,” came Oobleck’s dry reply, before he continued, “this match has been seemingly one sided so far with Penny doing an amazing showing. Yet, it looks like Coco is breaking out her own semblance finally. Will it be enough to turn the tides?” 

The shuttle’s doors had barely opened before I was out, sprinting with a singular goal: to halt the match at any cost. Skidding to a halt near the arena’s entrance, I scanned for an official, but the collective gasp from the crowd turned my blood cold.

Whirling around, I was met with a nightmarish echo of the past: Penny, torn apart on the ground, her components strewn about. My legs gave out and I crashed to my knees as a silent scream built but never came. 

Penny didn’t deserve this. I could have done more… I should have done more… Ironwood should have listened to me. Why the fuck did that man not listen to me… I have to make sure Penny doesn’t become a monster again. She deserves so much better than this. 

“This isn’t her end.” I vowed, more to myself more than anything.

Suddenly I was shaken out of my stupor by Yang, “Ruby, come on, get up.”

I could hear Cinder’s voice echoing over the loud speaker, “This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children…” I tried to drown her out and focus on what was important. We needed to stop any Grimm that did enter, stop the White Fang, and successfully repel this attack. 

Finally, I stood up with defiance in my eyes, “Do you have a lightning dust crystal?” 

Yang frowned, but grabbed her school bag and handed it to me. Sure enough, inside it was one lightning crystal. “Thanks. Be right back,” I said in a monotone.

Before she could response, I leapt up and was off in a moment in a puff of rose petals towards the systems room. 

Upon arriving, I psyched myself up, grabbed the lightning crystal, and shoved it directly into my arm. A small scream escaped me right before Nora’s semblance kicked in. Once the lightning worked its way through my body, I redirected it into the system managing the speakers and screen. It shorted Cinder out mid-sentence. 

Again I burst into rose petals and found my way back down to the arena. Looking up, I could see the Grimm were already here. Not as many as before, but still enough to be a problem. A Nevermore began pecking at the arena’s shield while several Griffons poised ready to attack once it broke through. 

I glanced around at those still in the stadium, my friends, my competitors, “Let’s handle these ones and then go save the rest of Beacon,” I commanded. 

Chapter Text

The Nevermore’s relentless assault on the shield echoed ominously through the area. It took only a moment for me to realize I was the only armed one. “When the shield fails, have your scrolls ready to get your weapons here,” I ordered, voice steady but my heart pounding with possibilities of how this could go badly.

Yang and Blake nodded and I continued, “Relay that to everyone else. I’ll handle the Nevermore, you make sure everyone is armed.”

Wilted Rose unfurled in my grasp as Thorn snapped into my other hand. I steeled myself for the battle, pushing aside the haunting image of Penny’s lifeless form.

A resounding crash echoed as the shield broke and the Nevermore swooped down in a fury of feathers. I propelled myself forward, my focus narrowing to the beast before me. It snapped its beak menacingly, but I met its gaze with a smirk, sidestepping its attack. 

With a fluid motion, I brought Wilted Rose down, aiming for the creature’s wing. Try to fly now bitch.

Its cry of pain reverberated through the arena, but I didn’t pause, dragging Thorn along it’s ruined wing, sprinting towards its head. Channeling the last remnants of electrical energy in my veins, I leapt high, spinning in the air and brought Wilted Rose down, decapitating the Nevermore in one swift clean blow.

Landing softly, I surveyed the arena, catching the varied expressions of awe and determination on the other students’ faces, their weapons now summoned and ready in their hands. I chuckled, “Alright everyone, we should…”

My words were cut off by Oobleck’s urgent voice, “Impressive as that was, you students should get moving. We will handle the evacuation protection from here.”

For a moment, I considered protesting but the bigger picture snapped into focus. “Let’s get moving, everyone,” I commanded.

I lingered at the rear, my eyes scanning the crowd to ensure that all of the students with me made it out safely. Sun in particular seemed surprised by me but I waved him on.

Once we finally neared the airship landing pad, I saw red as Ironwood came into view, “Ironwood!” I shouted, my voice cutting through the chaos.

He turned, and I could almost hear the tension in his flinch. “Miss Rose.”

“What the actual fuck just happened?!” I felt my temper getting out of hand and was certain my eyes had changed at that point, but I didn’t care.

Ironwood, attempting composure, adjusted his tie. “I… was outvoted by the council. It is hard to make an argument about keeping our greatest technological advancement not being tested on the word of a 15-year-old.”

“Did you even fucking try?” I growled, the flames of my anger building, flickering at the edge of my vision.

His expression hardened, resilience settling over his features, “Miss Rose, you identified Pyrrha as the core issue and removed her from the equation. Why should I have expended my political capital on a resolved matter?”

I took a step toward him, my anger morphing, when suddenly a calming hand rested on my shoulder, “Ruby, we need to help people right now.”

My rage simmered down, replaced by the cold resolve of duty. Nodding, I shot Ironwood one last piercing glare, “At least go get her body. Trust me, if you can fucking do that. You’ll prefer if you are the ones to rebuild her and not someone else.” I turned on my heel and tried to contain the rage I was feeling. We have more important things to worry about.

Approaching the airships, I scanned the students, mentally ticking off the teams: ABRN, CVFY, FNKI, SNNN. A frown creased my brow. Shit… then where is JNPR. I knew where Pyrrha was, but last time the rest of the team was here.

I pushed aside my mounting list of concerns and addressed the group in front of me, “Look, what’s happening below is far worse than anything here. If you choose to leave, no one will hold it against you. But I’m staying to fight. I believe as a Huntress, it is my duty to fight for the innocents.”

Sun met my gaze, a determined glint in his eyes. “I’m not running away like a coward,” he stated firmly. Around him, nods of agreement rippled through the group. As much as I wished to shield them from harm, I knew this wasn’t a situation I could single handily solve.

Once we boarded the airship and started to head to the ground, I turned to Yang and Blake, “I need you two to go find Weiss.” They nodded their agreement, but I knew I had to add, “Adam is likely here.” I looked pointedly at Blake, “If he is here, be very, very careful. His obsession with you is dangerous. Not just to you, but to everyone. Do not approach him without Weiss or Yang.”

Blake’s face morphed into sadness and then anger quickly, “He’s here?!” Her eyes widened, “The… the White Fang is really here?”

I nodded as Yang put a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked at me, “I promise sis, I won’t let her out of my sight.” She then started to talk in whispers to Blake. 

I took that as my cue to focus on my next objective. I pulled out my scroll, dialing Ozpin. He answered promptly, his voice laced with urgency, “Ruby, status report.”

“So far, the only casualty I can confirm is Penny,” I began, my voice steady despite the sadness I was barely containing. “I’ve had words with Ironwood regarding that already. Our current priority is two fold. Cinder will be doing something to release a giant Grimm. If she succeeds, I need you to be outside prepared to kill it.” 

Ozpin sounded confused, “Won’t that leave the tower vulnerable?” 

I chuckled darkly, “That thing is what will destroy the tower.” Noticing the confused glances of those nearby, I pressed on, “I will be going into the tower to kill Cinder. I don’t know if she’s a threat to you with only half of her powers, but I’m not willing to take any chances.” 

Ozpin’s pause was longer than I would have liked, laden with unspoken concerns, “And Pyrrha?”

I exhaled slowly, “I don’t know if she’s in the right state of mind to help right now Oz. All I know is that we need to handle the two biggest threats. Everything else can be dealt with by everyone else for now.”

I could almost hear the weight of the world in Ozpin’s sigh. “Very well, miss Rose. I will prepare to face this beast. You do what you need to.” The call ended with a soft click as the airship began to land.

I shared a brief, but intense hug with Yang, a silent exchange of courage and fear before we went our separate ways.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The Headmaster’s tower loomed ominously. A silent promise of what the potential consequences of what would happen inside it. Cinder was near, her presence like a dark cloud over Beacon, and I would make sure to end her threat.

Stepping into the building, weapons in hand with a determination I hadn’t felt since the day I had ‘died’. The elevator’s ascent was agonizingly slow, each floor passing with a mechanical ding that grated on my nerves.

Finally, at the top, the doors slid open to reveal Cinder, rifling through Ozpin’s desk frantically. Her muttered curse, “Where is it!” sliced through the tense silence.

I couldn’t help but laugh darkly at the absurdity, “Whatcha looking for?”

She whipped around, eyes narrowing, “Oh,” her posture relaxed as a predatory smirk spread across her face, “it's just you.”

Another laugh bubbled up. “Yes, it’s just me,” I taunted, falling into a combat stance, muscles coiled and ready. “I’m here to finish this.”

Her derisive snort clear as she dismissed me, “Oh please, you’re a child playing at war. You’re too young for this school, let alone able to kill me.” With a lazy flick of her wrist, she sent a barrage of glass bolts hurtling toward me.

I twirled my weapon Thorn, slicing through projectiles as glass rained down around me. “You’re going to have to try a hell of a lot harder than that,” I growled.

Charging forward, I wove through her relentless assaults, muscle memory from countless battles allowing me to dodge with ease.

Her blades seemingly materialized out of nowhere, I ducked under a sweeping arc, feeling the wind of it brush my cheek. As I parried the next attack, a clang of metal echoed through the room. 

A feral growl tore from my throat, “Fuck this.” Channeling Yang’s fiery rage, I let the flames engulf me, casting my weapons aside. As one of Cinder’s blades arced toward me, I blocked it with my hand and held it there. A quick painful reminder hit me that I did not have a prosthetic anymore, but I pushed through it. The flames began to melt her blade much to her surprise.

My red eyes locked onto her. My free hand shot out before she could respond, seizing her throat. I inhaled deeply, unleashing the light inside me. The silver cascaded through the room as Cinder’s screams pierced the air. The Grimm essence within her began to burn away in the glow.

The transformation was instantaneous, her Grimm side obliterated. With a concerted effort, I reined in the power, the light receding as I closed my eyes. Upon reopening them, I gazed down at the defeated figure before me.

Cinder was a shadow of her former self, one hand obliterated, an eye gone. Her once formidable presence reduced to nothing. Grasping her roughly, I checked her neck — the tattoo that marked her corruption had vanished. My long-held theory was confirmed: I could purge the Grimm influence from people like her.

Weakly, she tried to rise, her voice a whisper of despair, “What have you done?”

I rolled my eyes, “You’re lucky to be alive.” My voice was a mix of threat and contemplation, “I’m still deciding whether to end you.” 

The Silver Eyes seemed to have cauterized all of the damage, leaving her permanently disfigured, yet she wouldn’t be powerless necessarily. The light couldn’t stop her from being a Maiden. I hummed to myself, the power of choice heavy in my hands. “It’s your decision,” I declared. “I can let you live, but I’ll remove any chance of you being a danger. Or you can die here.”

Her aura flickered, defiance igniting a desperate strength as she lunged at me with a newly created glass blade, “I will never quit!”

I dodged her sloppy attack easily, “Very well.” Using Pyrrha’s power, Thorn flew back to my grip. In a fluid motion, Cinder’s end came swiftly, her power flying off to find its new host.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Leaving the tower, a sense of relief coursed through me. Her absence meant disarray for the forces here, tipping the scales in our favor. As I headed towards the sounds of fighting, I realized Cinder hadn’t managed to summon the ancient Grimm. Our odds were ever increasing.

I noted that there were a few Grimm wandering around, but nowhere near the hordes that had attacked in my last life. The White Fang’s presence, however, was unmistakably larger.

A hopeful thought flickered in my mind. Maybe we can stop them in their tracks today. 

It didn’t take long for me to run into a large group of the White Fang. I don’t know why but I felt compelled to call out, “Brother’s of the White Fang, turn back now and I’ll spare you.  Stay and you won’t like the consequences.” 

Their mocking laughter cut through the air, one voice rising above the rest, “We are here to free our people from you filthy humans. We’re not cowards.” The man brandished a chainsaw. 

The story Weiss once told me of her encounter on the train echoed in my mind. I growled back, “I see you survived the train.” He momentarily faltered, bringing a smirk to my face. Unfurling Wilted Rose, I declared, “I’ll have to correct that mistake.”

He sneered and charged forward, his weapon roaring to life. Unfazed, I tapped into Yang’s semblance, feeling the surge of fiery strength coursing through my veins. I met his charge head-on, with a deft twist of Wilted Rose, I easily parried the chainsaw sending sparks flying.

The other White Fang members rushed to join the fray in a chaotic surge. Dancing among them, I moved in a lone red whirlwind, my scythes an extension of my will. Blake’s semblance allowed me to leave behind shadow clones that distracted and disoriented my opponents, each exploding into a burst of petals for added confusion. 

One by one, the White Fang fell at my blades. Weiss’ semblance allowed me to propel myself at an increasing speed alongside Wilted Roses’ shots increasing my speed. 

The chainsaw wielder, now alone, grew desperate and began to swing wildly. With a cold calculating precision, I disarmed him with Thorn, sending the chainsaw clattering to the ground.

I pressed the tip of Thorn against his throat, voice laced with disdain, “You should have run when you had the chance.” A quick drag of the blade over his throat ended any chance of him being a threat to Weiss in the future.

Standing amidst the defeated White Fang, I allowed myself a moment of satisfaction before continuing on through the battle going on around me. All that mattered at that point was stopping the remaining invaders and finding my team. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The attackers seemed to be getting fewer and farther in-between as I tore my way through the campus. Thankfully, I had yet to see the body of anyone I knew and every report I’d been getting, we were pushing them back with relative ease. It’s funny how much can change with a smaller horde of Grimm and no giant monster.

Every student had been receiving a rendezvous point for the past twenty minutes and arriving there, I was relieved to see everyone was alright. Oobleck seemed to be triaging effectively. 

He smiled when he noticed me, “Ah, Miss Rose! It is good to see you.” His voice lowered as I got closer, “Oddly, Ozpin left orders to defer to you if necessary.” 

I rose an eyebrow, but rolled with it happily. “Status update?” I inquired.

Oobleck nodded, “So far, no reported deaths of Beacon students, however, we have lost several civilians who were caught in the crossfire. We set up this defendable point as a place to regroup and heal the injured.” 

I glanced around the area and noticed that most people were uninjured and just trying to recoup some of their aura, “Any idea on the number of hostiles left?” 

Oobleck hummed contemplatively before responding, “As far as we can tell, it won’t be very long before were able to push them out. The White Fang aren’t exactly the best fighters.” 

I nodded, “Very well, I’m going to head out and see if I can find any stragglers.” I paused and softly added, “And the rest of my team.” 

Oobleck patted me on the back and then turned back to his patients. 

The trek back through the school to the side I hadn’t checked yet, felt eerie. I knew that no deaths had been reported yet, but I couldn’t help but fear the first would be one of mine. 

Every step filled me with anxiety. Nothing ever went this well in my life. Why would it start now?

Yet, as I arrived near a burning building, I saw Yang, Blake, and Weiss exiting. Yang was clutching her side, but appeared to be mostly unharmed. Her signature smirk reassured me she really was okay as I ran over and hugged them, “You’re okay!” 

Yang chuckled, “As if some White Fang scum could keep me down.” She winced in pain as I pulled back.

Before I could ask what was wrong, Weiss pulled me in for a crushing hug and then a deep kiss. When I finally pulled away, my heart pounding, I kept my arm around her and turned to Yang, “Are you okay?”

Yang nodded, “A little sore, but not too worse for wear. I think my aura should be able to heal it in a few hours.”

Blake smiled softly, grabbed Yang’s hand, and kissed the back of it. “You really are my knight in shining armor, you know?”

I raised an eyebrow, “Oh? What happened?” 

Blake laughed and cheekily replied, “I think that’s a story for later.” 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It only took another hour to fully repel the attackers. The school was worse for wear and a few deaths were eventually confirmed most notably: Reese Chloris of ABRN and Ciel Soleil from Penny’s Team.

The worst part of the final report for me, was learning that Adam, Emerald, and Mercury all escaped to fight another day.