Chapter 1:

Ruby walked through the streets of Vale, rubble still strewn about. Two weeks had passed since the end of the Vytal festival. Many buildings had collapsed and the streets were deathly quiet. She looked up toward the skyline, to see the silhouette of Beacon. And right at the very top of Beacon tower was the frozen form of the massive Grimm dragon.

Ruby shuddered as she recounted the events at the top of the tower. She had arrived to see Cinder Fall put an arrow through Pyrrha Nikos. She watched helplessly as Pyrrha's life was snuffed out, along with whatever remnant of her existence there was. She remembered the emotions that ran through her mind. Shock. Pain. Sadness. Disbelief. Fury. The next thing she knew, she was back at home, waking up to the embrace of her father.

Ruby clasped her mouth with her hands and sank to her knees as fresh tears streamed down her face. She still couldn't believe it. Pyrrha was gone. The greatest of them in their whole year, now nothing more than memory. She wondered what kind of life Pyrrha would have wanted, the kind of Huntress she'd become had that chance not been so cruelly denied before even her first year at Beacon.

She wondered how Jaune had taken it, along with Ren and Nora. She had tried calling them, but they wouldn't respond. She hadn't tried a second time. They had lost someone so important to them, it was only natural that they would be distraught, perhaps even more than she was. When she heard about her mother's death, Ruby had reacted the same way. She knew it took time to heal such wounds, and some needed more than others.

And as if that wasn't enough on her plate, she had to learn that her very existence was special. She looked at the frozen dragon upon the tower and still couldn't believe she was responsible for its current state. She eyed a piece of glass upon the floor, its surface now reflecting her own face back at her. Through her drying tears, she could see her eyes, pure silver orbs, staring back.

You see the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. She remembered her uncle's words. They were the best of the best. It's said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down.

She stroked her face, barely touching her eyes. She had never really cared much about appearances in the past, but after everything Uncle Qrow had mentioned she had to wonder, what sort of power now lay dormant within her? And could she control it to make sure what had happened would never happen again?

Ruby shook her head and slapped herself. So many questions with next to no answers anytime soon. It didn't matter. There was a reason she had to be here in Vale, right now.

With Ozpin gone, it had fallen to Qrow to pick up the slack. Currently, repairs in the city were slow, along with the repairs for the Atlas ships that had been damaged in the battle. Since then, the students were being called home. Worried parents, teachers, and friends who needed some peace of mind knowing those they cared for were safe. But then, one had to wonder, what would be their response to those who have died?

Under Qrow's leadership, Vale was starting to get a semblance of order back, though people were still scared, nervous. Atlas troops now patrolled the streets, being met with wary eyes and nervous expressions. The Huntsmen of Vale were put on high alert, and mechanics moved swiftly, attempting to repair the transport ships that would ferry students home. With a request to her uncle and a-very grudging-agreement from her father, it was Ruby's job to help out with whatever relief effort was needed.

Currently her efforts were finished, and she now walked toward the hotel that for now served as the living quarters for the entirety of the students who had yet to leave. Thankfully, the hotel staff were quite tolerating of the Atlas troops, and allowed a minimum number within their walls. She arrived at her destination minutes later, showing her scroll to the guard outside. Promptly, he let her enter. She figured the first order of business was getting back to Qrow. She ought to at least report on her assignment.

Her stomach growled. Ruby looked downward, realising she was hungry. Come to think of it, what was the time now? She glanced at the clock, seeing it was 3:30pm. How had she missed her usual lunch hour? Deciding it would probably be a while before Qrow returned, it be best to grab a bite. The last thing she needed was to keel over from hunger, not because she was about to kick the bucket.

As she opened the door to the restaurant, she froze. Now that she thought about it, wouldn't students also be around at this time? Additionally, wasn't it entirely possible that everyone saw the bright flash of light that was her last memory atop Beacon tower? Wasn't it also possible that people knew about her decision to return to look for other students?

And was it slightly possible that people may have put two and two together regarding everything?

Ruby was suddenly facing the eyes of hundreds of students from Atlas, Vale, Mistral and Vacuo. She recognised a few within the group. Team ABRN were sat together on a single table at the far right of the room. She noticed Flynt Coal and Neon Katt had also stopped their music making and chatting to look at her. Even Sun and his friends were there with the same expressions.

A pit formed within Ruby as stage fright slowly took over. She had never been that great with crowds. It reminded her of her first few days at Beacon and the initiation. Back then, she would have been comfortable with just Yang, and despite making more friends along the way, she had taken a while to get used to all the attention.

Then, she remembered something else. Team RWBY was fractured. Weiss's father had taken her home with concerns regarding her safety in Vale, meaning her partner was miles away. Blake had vanished and Yang was still recovering from both physical and emotional wounds. Never before had Ruby felt so alone in the world.

"Ruby?" A familiar voice called. She turned to see Jaune, Ren and Nora behind her, with team CFVY bringing up the rear. Velvet blinked in surprise while Coco and Yatsuhashi merely looked on in astonishment. Not much could be said about Fox. Ruby was still trying to figure out his facial expressions.

She now remembered that possibly the last thing anyone would have seen of her was her unconscious form being sent back to Patch. For Jaune and the others, this would be the first time seeing her in two weeks.

Reality appeared to stand still in the whole room. No one knew what to say or do. All the students merely remained as they were, Ruby's presence being the lock upon the transition of time. No one knew how to remove the lock. No one knew exactly what could do so.

And then, Ruby's stomach growled. It was long and drawn out. Were it any deeper, one could have sworn an Ursa would be nearby.

Ruby's face flashed a bright shade of red as the pangs of her hunger echoed through the room. She gulped, hoping no one had heard-nope, they definitely heard.

Jaune stared at her before his face relaxed. "It sounds like you are hungry…"

Ruby bit her lip, nodding slowly. "Well, uh… I haven't exactly eaten yet…"

Ruby now remembered her first victory at the festival, where Blake's stomach had somehow created an awkward situation for them all. From there, she remembered all the times with her teammates. She remembered meeting Jaune for the first time, how he had grown from class wimp to a resourceful warrior in just the span of a year. She remembered other friends she had made through them all. Sun, Neptune, Penny. Images of them flooded her mind.

"I heard that there were some cookies being served." Jaune continued. "They came in assorted flavours. Chocolate chip is running out fast though…"

Ruby remembered every itty bitty detail of the whole year she had spent. She thought it would be just the normal life of cramming schoolwork, training, a few supervised missions here and there. Who would have thought it would have led to this now?

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded as her eyes began to water. "I better get right on it…"

Ruby now sank to the floor, her body shaking with sobs. Some of it was out of sadness. More of it out of joy. Perhaps her team was gone, but what was truly important was the memories of them all. Every one of every person she had met. She had to preserve them for as long as she could, because time could not be turned back. That was just how feeble and fleeting it could be.

"J-Jaune…" Ruby sniffled as she tried to blink back her tears. "I… I'm so sorry… About… Pyrrha…"

Someone ran forward and now embraced Ruby. She could register the soft cooing of Velvet Scarlatina, but also the slight sobs the rabbit Faunus had in the process.

"No Ruby…" Jaune shook his head, also beginning to tear up. "It, it wasn't your fault. I should be the one…" Jaune gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. "If only, if only I was stronger… Maybe, I could've…"

And slowly, the tension eased. Jaune knelt down and hugged Ruby as well, with Ren and Nora following suit immediately. Coco knelt down, a hand placed on Ruby's shoulder. And with that, everyone else in the room followed suit. The students left their tables and walked to the small bunch who now embraced each other on the floor.

"Dude, are you crying?" Sun asked Neptune, who then blinked a tear.

"I have dust in my eyes is all man…" Neptune choked.

Neon Katt sat down and placed her own hand on Ruby's shoulder. Flynt said nothing, but tipped his hat in respect. Reese Chloris of team ABRN also joined them soon enough, though the rest of her team hung back, not wanting to smother Ruby.

Jaune looked up into Ruby's silver eyes. Wiping his own tears away, her shot her a lop-sided smile. "Welcome back Ruby."

Ruby panted for a bit before she dried her own eyes. "It feels good to be back Jaune."