Ruby opened her eyes with a tired blink. All that met them was white. Everything in front of her was just a complete void.
"This was certainly unseen." She tried to turn her body, but every feeling in her was gone. Trying to figure out this new problem, she tried lifting a leg. She felt nothing, but it lifted up anyway. Carefully, she turned around to see the source of the voice.
"The staff was not meant for such a use, but yet it activated." She lifted her head and met pure silver eyes, staring deep into her. A connection she never felt before drove up her spine, returning her feelings into her body. "It seems as though the universe itself chose this. Ruby Rose, you must now guide others to a light they never reached."
Golden yellow hands came forth and cupped her face softly. "You must be their Harbinger ."
Shooting up, Ruby desperately struggled for air. Sweat rolled down her slick, dark red hair, and her throat was as dry as Vacuo. The panic she felt faded away as she nearly collapsed again.
What… w-was that? Her mind felt hollow. Nothing could come to her head, only the vivid dream she just experienced and the sensation of grass in her hands.
Everything slowed, her breathing became normal, and her eyes drifted down to the happy green sea of grass under herself. Grass? Her hands drifted across the waves, sending them under her palm like a boat crossing water.
I… why grass? I was just in… Vacuo. Her memories came swimming back, letting her conscious remind her of the events that brought her here. A great fire, exploding glass, the staff in her hands. The look of terror on Cinder's face as she brought the staff into the ground, sending a golden wave flying in the air.
The staff, I… used it? Her eyes widened as she brought a shaking hand to her mouth. Then… Atlas! Tears welled up at the sides of her eyes as she realized the weight of her action. Atlas was falling. And she was sitting in the middle of the forest. She killed hundreds of thousands just to send herself into a random forest somewhere in Remnant.
Bile rose up her throat, and she almost failed in tilting to the side. Vomiting onto the ground, she was soon heaving up nothing as her throat burned. I killed them, I killed them. Those three words taunted her, repeating like a record as she lost the energy to heave.
She was worse than Cinder. How many did she kill? All of the people in the crater… did they get a chance?
A growl came from the trees nearby, making Ruby snap her head to it. Golden eyes pierced her soul, and she rushed up, ignoring the exhaustion in her body. Reaching behind herself, the sensation of Crescent Rose on her back wasn't there. Her eyes trained on the golden orbs staring at her, she crouched down and brushed her hands around her.
Hitting metal with the side of her hand, she tried grabbing at it. Then a howl soared through the air, and a Beowulf jumped from the bushes, landing in front of her with a slam. Ruby jumped back, hand grabbing onto the handle of her baby, and landed a few feet away.
Her silver eyes jumped around her target, taking notes on the Grimm. It was young, told by the lack of protective bones and spikes protruding from its skin. Still, that didn't mean it was stupid. The Beowulf stood on its hind legs as its claws rested at its sides. It was studying her too.
Ruby spun Crescent Rose around, making the weapon shift in her hands. Now in scythe form, its steel, straight blades gleamed in the sunlight. She lifted it up by its handles and aimed it at the Beowulf. The Beowulf aimed its head right back.
It charged at her with no warning, only huffing as it ran. Ruby fired two shots in its skull before spinning the scythe around and clawing at the Grimm. It took the shots but stopped when she started swinging back. With a low growl, it waited for her to try and get a direct stab, and grabbed the length of the sniper scythe with its sharp maw. It wrestled with her, clawing the chamber and bending the barrel.
Ruby growled herself, furiously slamming her hand onto the side of Crescent Rose. It began transforming, making the Beowulf yelp and let go. It backed away, growling as the weapon made cranking noises like cogs in a machine. The scythe descended near the hilt and the curved blade straightened into a single long one. Holding onto the handle of the greatsword tightly, Ruby felt burning in her chest, like a fire made from her own emotions.
She screamed before exploding towards the Grimm in a flash. It roared as it felt a new sensation of hatred, spikes shooting out of its back. She roared in return, Crescent Rose held above her head. Her eyes burned with a silver flame, and every ounce of fight the Grimm had died.
Sheen! The Beowulf stood completely still as Ruby skidded on her feet behind it. Moments passed before the Beowulf began smoking black and split in two. The chunks fell to the ground as Ruby gasped for air, the ghostly silver fire near her eyes fading as she gasped for air.
The exhaustion grew in her legs, and she nearly collapsed to her knees. Dropping Crescent Rose, she slowly turned her head and watched the Beowulf disappear into ash. After it was long gone and the forest turned back to whispering wind, she picked Crescent Rose up and hooked it behind herself.
Her aura was already at work, returning strength to her body. Still, it didn't ease the burning around her eyes, which made her rub against them. The thoughts came back to her head, yet not screaming at her like last time.
Instead, it was much worse. The deep feeling of regret in her stomach. She had to sit with her actions, knowing she caused them all to die. If her mouth wasn't dry and disgusting, she would be heaving already. That never happened, but the Fall of Atlas did. Her biggest failure… she wasn't fit to save Remnant.
Looking around one last time, she wiped at her mouth, getting the semi-new vomit on the rolled up sleeve of her black blouse, which covered the sides of her neck. Trying to wipe it off more, she gave up and looked above into the baby blue sky. Calm puffy clouds floated along the painted blue, and she readied her body before jumping upwards.
A cloud of red rose petals flew into the air before landing on top of a tree. Ruby stood carefully on a branch, barely giving her any footing. Looking across the deep green sea, she saw a bright emerald light in the distance. Her eyes widened in disbelief before she choked out, "B-Beacon?"
The main avenue was larger than she remembered. And everything else was different than she remembered too. Beacon Academy looked just as bright and ambitious as it did when she first saw it. Yet she did not feel that young ambition she had the first time she came to this shining school.
Beacon isn't… destroyed. Why? Did they rebuild it? She had a hard time believing that. Every detail she could recall was the same… until she looked down at the statue smack dab in the center of the avenue. The statues of the Huntsman and Huntress were gone, replaced by the King of Vale. He stood on the cliff the other two occupied, looking straight at her.
His stoney eyes made Ruby look away, even if they weren't real. They must've… that's why it's different. But why take me near Beacon? She met the statue's eyes again, and began stepping down the path. The school laid just ahead, and students soon came into view.
She passed them with a strained face. Students are back? Why? When did any of this happen? If this was recent, she would've heard about it when she got to Vacuo. Amity Colosseum was launched by the time she got there, so why was no one talking about Beacon being taken back and restored?
Unless… it wasn't rebuilt. Then how is it here!? Her head ached with confusion. All of this was just so… overwhelming. Why? Why? Why?
Then her whole body slammed into someone, making her fall back and land on her butt. Already she was blurting out an apology. "S-Sorry!" A small, soft hand reached out to her as she winced in pain. Looking up, she saw the hand and the poor victim she hit.
It was a short girl with green eyes and long jet black hair, tied into two long ponytails. She smiled apologetically at Ruby, who slowly took the hand. Once the redhead was standing, the girl took out a scroll and typed at it.
"I'm so, so sorry for hitting you! I was just getting wrapped up in my mind, and I wasn't paying attention!" Ruby said before noticing the scroll held out to her.
' It's okay! I wasn't paying attention either:)' was written on the scroll, and Ruby slowly looked back at the girl.
"O-Okay then, I guess accidents happen, r-right?" Ruby shrugged while rubbing the back of her neck, making a small motion with her hand. The girl nodded back and put away the scroll, before waving at Ruby. She watched as the student walked past her and began skipping away childishly.
Ruby sighed, shaking her head and putting a hand over her eyes. Good goin' Ruby. She grabbed onto the bridge of her nose and continued on, feelings of self loathing dwelling in her mind. Trying not to spare them any thought, she paid attention to where she was walking instead.
The school's double doors were soon in front of her. They were much larger than any person there, just like the entire castle of a school in front of her. The whole school was just bombastic, just like the stories from here. Opening up one of the mahogany doors, she walked inside.
The Main ceremony hall greeted her eyes, a gut feeling of nostalgia hitting her. It was beautiful, in a way she couldn't explain. After going through the forests of Mistral, the slums of Mantle, and the deserts of Vacuo, this seemed otherworldly. As if it didn't belong in the world. Or maybe she didn't either.
Walking ahead, she continued onward, soon heading out of the building. Now standing in the center of Beacon, she looked ahead at Beacon Tower with regret. The view of the Wyvern tearing it down completely haunted her mind. Then after that…
She nearly choked out a sob before reality came back to her. Not wanting to break down in public, Ruby covered her eyes and made her way to a bench. Sitting down, she tried calming herself with slow breaths. Her hand came up and grabbed the cross necklace around her neck, which was held on by its left side.
With her thumb running over it, she felt her heart stop racing and go to normal. The thick knot in her throat stopped choking her, and she looked back up at the tower. If it's back to normal, what about everyone else? Who's the new headmaster? Whoever was up there, Ruby had to give them the news. She needed to tell them about the staff, Atlas, all of it.
Her mind looked back to her encounter with Headmaster Theodore when she left Atlas with the staff. He took the news by storm, and getting him to try and get the council to help Atlas was her biggest challenge yet. Although she was glad he was prepared to fight "The Big One" as he put it, it made her confident they had more allies in the world.
But whoever was up there, she had a feeling they would be different. What if it's Goodwitch? The Witch of Beacon, as students had called her due to her behavior, would've been the most qualified. But what would they say if I told them… no, they won't find out. I'll just say the staff got lost. The thought of another betrayal that happened with Ironwood came to mind.
She should've told him the truth sooner, keeping secrets would only make things worse. Looking down at the necklace in her hand, she shut her eyes. But only if you keep learning, if you never stop moving forward. A voice that wasn't hers played out in her head.
She stood up and looked at the entrance of the CCT Tower. She needed to keep going, or else Remnant wouldn't.
Ozpin took a sip of hot chocolate as he looked at the scroll in his hands, showing different feeds of the school. The Vytal Festival was already being prepared, and students were arriving by the thousands. And of course, Glynda was worried.
"This is the perfect time for her to strike Ozpin, I'm simply worried that our students won't be able to handle an attack." She said as she stood near the large window behind his desk.
Ozpin swiveled in his chair and sighed, "Glynda, I believe that our students are confident enough to handle any Grimm that comes at them." His scroll shut quickly.
"It's not the Grimm I'm worried about. I'm afraid that she has people with her. Who knows who she's twisted under her will." Glynda said as her hand tightened into a fist.
"And we'll deal with them in time. Look around you Glynda," Ozpin stood from his chair and walked up to the window next to her. "We are in a time of peace, for eighty years it's held strong-"
"But she'll be watching… waiting to take a victory over us." Glynda interrupted, eyeing him from the side.
"You seem to forget, victory comes from the simpler things. Things from a smaller, more honest soul." Ozpin said with a smile, each word sounding practiced as if said a thousand times.
Glynda huffed before looking back down, watching an Air Bus land at the airship platforms. Ozpin took another sip from his mug before the elevator chime caught his ear. Turning on his heel, he walked back to his desk and sat down.
"Please, come in." He said before the doors opened up, revealing the visitor. As he crossed his hands and leaned forward, he caught a look at the person. Then his eyes widened and his mouth fell open slightly.
The person, a girl, looked nearly identical to Summer. Her hair was exactly the same, hanging near her shoulders, brushed to the right. Braided hair curved to the back and silver eyes stared at him… it had to be her.
Yet it wasn't. A bright red cape was hooked around her neck, and her outfit was mixed with the bloody color. That with dark greys and blacks, and the amount of Rose symbolism everywhere. Her corset had black rose bushes climbing upwards, and a familiar cross necklace was around her neck.
When he caught sight of the rose symbol on her belt and the red weapon on her back, his mind paused. "Miss Rose?" He started slowly, peering at her in confusion. Something he hadn't noticed was how she seemed equally surprised.
"O-Ozpin?" She whispered, loud enough for Glynda to actually take notice of what was happening. After looking at the girl, she seemed to join them in awe.
"I… how are you back!?" The girl nearly screamed. She had thrown out her arms towards him as he fixed his grey hair, which was swept back now.
"Oh my gosh! This is impossible! I mean, how does that work?! Did you-no! Did you merge with Oscar!?" She blurted out nonsense as Glynda and Ozpin looked to each other with a look. Glynda brought up her crop before slapping Ozpin's desk with it.
Ruby shut up then, freezing in place as Ozpin nodded his head. "Thank you Glynda, now then. Miss Rose… would you please explain what the issue is?"
The girl froze before quickly walking up to his desk. She put her hands on it and leaned forward. "I have some things I need to tell you."
The fractured moon watched from above, its pieces floating next to it as men carried boxes and cases full of prime dust into a warehouse. They set the boxes down into piles, and some loaded up Bulkheads full of them.
"We need more men, Cinder. It seems every time we set out on a robbery, someone comes and attacks us. We nearly failed our last one at the docks, remember. And not to mention that freak."
"Roman, I understand that. But that's all going to change when we get the White Fang." Cinder calmed him as she twirled a piece of glass between her fingers. She watched him trail a gloved hand down his cheek, right along an ugly scar.
"Why'd you mention the girl? Are you scared of her or something?" Emerald chimed in as she crossed her arms and snickered.
"Says the one always snorting fire dust when she gets the chance. How about you run back to the streets instead of crawling around?" Emerald stopped and glared at him, seeing Neopolitan stick her tongue out with a triumphant look.
"How about I cut out your tongue instead!" Emerald growled as she reached for her holstered pistol.
"Enough you two!" Cinder yelled as she straightened up and pointed a finger at them. Emerald looked to her apologetically and calmed down. Roman smirked and winked at Neo, while Mercury watched Emerald with an amused smile.
"Now I want you two to drop it. That girl is a valuable asset to us. We wouldn't be here otherwise."
"Hey!" A voice cut through the warehouse, coming from the platform above. Some of the workers stopped and looked at her, before returning to their jobs.
"You guys talking about me or sumthin'?" She questioned with a curious look, making Cinder click her tongue. The girl jumped down, rose petals accompanying her as she landed next to them.
Roman narrowed his eyes at her while Neo unholstered Hush, sliding the blade out and copying Roman. "Hello master… how nice of you to join us." Mercury said in a monotone, making Cinder glare at him for a second before turning to Ruby Rose.
"I was wondering when you were gonna show up. Now, would you gladly tell me where you've been?"
"Oh, y'know… walking around town. Met a weird girl acting like a robot, killed that White Fang traitor guy." She explained casually, putting her arms behind herself. Cinder nodded in understanding before Mercury decided to talk again.
"Why'd you even kill him? Me and Emerald here were gonna try and visit the rat ourselves." He said while crossing his arms, tilting his head to Emerald.
"Wasn't he a cat or something?" Emerald questioned as she raised an eyebrow. "Naw, he was like a puma." Ruby quickly answered her.
Cinder deadpanned the three before grabbing the bridge of her nose. The incompetence… Her clothes lit up a fiery yellow before Emerald caught her attention.
"Wouldn't killing faunus not make the White Fang join us?" Good point, Cinder noted to herself. Quickly, she went to explain.
"The White Fang makes an exception for traitors. Haven't you seen their members going around town for them? If you betray the Fang, they'll go after you. No matter if you're faunus."
"Speaking of which, what exactly is our plan once we get all of the animals here?" Roman asked, rolling his hand as he stared at Cinder questioningly.
"As I've said before," Cinder said in frustration. "We hire the Fang and they help us in our mission at Mt. Glenn. Then we help them take the Agricultural District in return, using the Grimm from the panic."
"Right! And my master's already increased the Grimm activity nearby!" Ruby sent a small salute, gaining weird looks from the others around her. Cinder, though, looked pissed.
"And when will we hear from your master again?" She said through gritted teeth.
"Or see her, for that matter." Roman joined in, giving a suspicious look to the Red Riding Hood. Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You'll see her eventually. Jeesh, "In time" or whatever people say." She put a hand on her hip before a scroll's ringing could be heard from her. Coughing into her hand, she took it out and paused.
"Uh... Hold on." She walked away and answered the call, before seemingly freaking out and leaving in a flash of rose petals.
Cinder watched the rose petals disintegrate on the ground before sighing in disbelief.
"I'm surprised we even let her live when she came to us, or even trusted her." Mercury piped up, making Cinder whip her head to the pawn.
"Can you ever be quiet-"
"Hey, that's Neo's job." He interrupted, and Cinder nearly snapped. Instead, she calmed her temper and continued.
"But Ruby is our best candidate besides Neo here for spying in Beacon. She can see what the teachers are doing, or even go to dear Ozpin without raising suspicion."
"Really now? And here I thought kids could get better GPA's than murderers!" Roman said sarcastically, emphasizing the last bit. He gained an offended, but obviously fake, frown from Emerald.
"Hey, we're right here." She waved a hand between herself and Mercury. Roman rolled his eyes before seeing Neo angrily looking at him, actually offended. It was made obvious with the floating "YEAH" next to her.
Cinder shook her head frustratedly before continuing, "I don't like having her here as much as you do, but… we don't have a choice." She closed her hands into fists as Emerald moved closer. The green haired girl faltered when she saw the glare Cinder gave her.
"Hey now… what is that?" Roman said, gaining the attention of the others. He was looking over to a dark, shadowy part of the warehouse. Out from the shadows came a small figure with a mane of pink and brown hair, and a bruised eye. Everyone froze as the familiar lookalike of Neopolitan wobbled on her feet, using Hush as support.
Her outfit, a brown winter tailcoat with pink fur, a grey scarf, and Roman's bowler hat, was cut and stained with blood. She stared back at them, and met eyes with Roman. A startled gasp came from her before she fell over, landing on the ground with a painful thud.
Time seemed to unfreeze around them as Roman looked to Neo. "This isn't funny, Neo. Whatever this is, stop it." The girl was quick to deny him as "THIS ISN'T ME" formed next to her. Roman then looked at Emerald, glaring at her with his piercing emerald eye.
"Alright Emerald, you gotta stop it. I mean, I knew you were low, but not this low." Mercury said, losing his joking tone for a second. Emerald quickly shook her head.
"I'm not doing this! She's... real." Emerald brought a hand near her mouth as Cinder's eyes widened. Roman was the only one truly doing something as he went over to the Neo lookalike's side. He pressed two fingers to her neck before nodding.
"Well, she's alive. Neo, come help me pick her up." The short henchwoman nodded, coming to his side and helping him pick up the… herself? She didn't know, but she helped anyways.
Picking the bruised girl up, the two brought her over and set her down on a table. Emerald and Mercury ran over and looked at her, trying to make sense of why she was there.
Cinder came over to them and looked down at the girl. Her face strained as her eyes burned. A memory she wasn't familiar with came to her, of a burning ache and a torturing pain. It faded soon as she gripped the table with enough force to break it in two.
Emerald and Mercury backed away as Cinder brought up her hand. A small queen chess piece sat between her fingers. "The timeline has changed. Emerald..."
"Yes Cinder?"
"Inform Ruby of our new… arrival. Put the girl in one of our cells. I need time to think." Cinder rolled it in her hand before walking away. The leader stopped and looked back at the girl on the table, who was barely able to breath.
The sound of glass tapping on the floor was the only thing they could hear as Cinder went up onto the platform above, scowling and crushing the chess piece in her hand.
The timeline has changed.
Notes
Sup, crossposting this fic from AO3 now. I guess this is a bad time too, because as of this moment the fic is on a major hiatus. BUT!
I'm still gonna be posting the chapters that I've done on here! Also, I guess this is obvious but this fic was inspired by Remnant's Reclaimer. Although that fic hasn't updated in years, I'm not trying to go with the vibe of that fic. Ruby isn't gonna be a horn dog, Tai isn't gonna get a heart-shaped scar on his ass. I'm not tyring to copy it. I'm simply trying to do a, "What if the characters traveled to an alternate dimension of themselves... where everything is fucked up a little?" kind of thing.
So yeah, wanted to make that clear. I know time travel and dimension travel type stuff usually don't get finished, but I genuinely want to finish this just to spit in that claim... even if its true lol.
Anyways, until the next chapter!