That's right, another one.
I'M SORRY OKAY? I just can't help myself sometimes, and writing these little snippets is fun. Plus I adore Remnant's Reclaimer, so I wanted to start writing my own version of it, considering most time-travel fics are of Jaune *gag*. Don't get me wrong, Jaune is cool, but after 10 fanfictions of the same character going back in time, I wanted a change. Salem doesn't exist in this story, just an FYI.
This is the same as Feathered Rose and Engineer Extraordinaire, I'll be uploading it when I feel like writing it.
And, on with the chapter...
Chapter 1
"Face it Cinder, you've lost!"
Wiping the sweat and blood from her face, Ruby shouted towards the Fall Maiden, her one good eye glaring at the woman as she strode across the ruined remains of Beacon, her last holdout in all of Remnant.
"Oh, how wrong you are little Rose. After I defeat you, there'll be nobody left to challenge me." She said with a smirk, watching Ruby finger the trigger on her scythe.
"And what then? Rule over a Kingdom of ashes? Mercury is dead. Emerald is dead. Neo, Roman, Adam, Lionheart, all gone, and for what?"
"FOR VICTORY!" Cinder yelled out, eyes blazing as she unleashed her powers, incinerating the position Ruby was stood on, though she'd seen the attack coming, bursting into petals and reforming beside Cinder, scythe swinging for her side, which she deftly sidestepped, drawing her two glass swords and falling into a combat stance. "Don't you see, you naive little brat? When I kill you, I'll be strong enough that nobody could ever challenge me again!"
She punctuated this by darting forwards, carving up the air around Ruby skillfully, getting increasingly frustrated as the red reaper darted and dived around all of her swings, finally coming to a head when she brought her arms close to her chest, gathering power and exploding outwards, throwing Ruby backwards through a wall, though using her jerry-rigged power drained Cinder far more than she'd have liked, dropping to a knee and gasping as Ruby stood up from the ruins, more blood flowing from her wounds but still just as defiant as ever.
"People will always challenge you Cinder...No matter how much you beat them down, there will always be a simple soul who will try and find victory, no matter what the cost may be." Ruby said, watching Cinder grit her teeth and stand again, glaring at her as if her powers would simply incinerate Ruby where she stood, though unfortunately for the raven-haired woman she didn't have quite enough power for that.
No more words were spoken, as Cinder conjured up some glass spikes to give her time, sending them hurtling towards Ruby who dissolved around them, and as her petals fast approached Cinder, she raised a hand, firing a stream of flame towards the crimsonette forcing her to change trajectories lest she fly straight through a flamethrower. "JUST DIE!" Cinder screamed as Ruby simply evaded her flames, already feeling the tell-tale signs of exhaustion slipping through her resolve.
Smirking, Ruby placed her scythe behind herself, gathering her power up for another attack, and launching at the Maiden full speed, startling the woman who threw her hands up in a hasty guard, blades seemingly taking forever to appear. Too long.
Cinder watched the scythe slip between the gap her swords hadn't formed into yet, carving straight through her drained aura and into her body, screaming out in pain like liquid fire erupted from the wound. And, as she ground her teeth together to try and push the pain away for a single moment, she got her chance when Ruby slipped up, taking the smallest moment to revel in the final defeat of her hated foe.
Grasping the arm holding her scythe, Cinder snarled, her eyes glowing red and heating up, and at that moment Ruby realized she'd been trapped. Wrenching her arm out of Cinders grasp, she yanked the scythe from her opponent and turned heel, draining every last drop of her semblance to power her motion and bursting away from Cinder faster than she'd ever moved before.
Not a moment too soon, as she threw a momentary glance over her shoulder to see Cinder's body erupt into fire, incinerating her and using her to fuel itself, growing faster than even Ruby was moving and engulfing everything.
Facing forwards again, Ruby pushed as hard as she could, draining her aura as well, anything to fuel her motion and get away from the heat lapping at her back, until she felt the warmth wash over her, she clenched her eye in anticipation of the pain and screamed, though she stopped screaming when the felt it wasn't painful heat, it was just...warm.
Opening her eye, Ruby's jaw dropped, and she could only enunciate a single word.
"What...?"
And the 4 occupants of the room she found herself in all leapt out of their positions as a red mass suddenly appeared in their room, flopping to the floor and letting their hood fall. For Weiss and Blake, they were simply confused, whereas Ruby looked almost catatonic as she stared as the face of the new arrival, and Yang muttered the only quiet word of the group.
"Summer?"
Wincing, Ruby opened her eye, and closed it again immediately hen she realized she'd evidently gone insane.
That was the only logical explanation for why she was now seeing her old dorm-room, complete with roped-up bunkbed, sliced curtains, Yang's stupid Achieve-men posters, Blake's erotica, Weiss's...Weissyness, and her old weapon bits and bobs.
Sighing, she opened her eye again, and took better stock of her surroundings. It was definitely her old dorm-room, that much was certain, and the 4 occupants looked, for all intents and purposes, to be younger versions of her team.
Blake was sat in her bed, with Yang next to her, whilst on the other side Weiss was sat down, though Ruby was far too close to her to miss, practically on top of Ruby and staring at her face with bright wide silver eyes. Taking a page from Qrow's book, Ruby reached out with a smirk, rustling Ruby's hair. "Hey kiddo."
Ruby was too far gone to comment, seemingly lost in the past. Ruby had always been told that she grew up to have Summers voice and laugh, something she always cherished, anything to bring her closer to her mother, so to be able to talk to Ruby in their mothers voice was something Ruby was happy for.
"M-mom?" Ruby asked her, and, unfortunately, Ruby had to shake her head.
"Sorry kiddo, I'm not Summer, though I'm told I sound a lot like her. Now, much as I'd like to stay and chat, I need to go find Ozpin. I don't exactly know why I showed up in here, but I'll take what I got and run with it." Ruby said, standing up and wincing when she felt her legs almost completely give out, only now noticing the blood that was dripping from her body and ruining RWBY's good dorm floor. "On second thought, I reckon he'd appreciate it if I didn't drip blood all through Beacon. You girls don't mind if I use your shower, right? Thanks." She said, slipping straight into the bathroom before anybody could even question it, leaving a very bewildered team behind.
"I...I don't even know what happened there. Yang? Care to explain?" Weiss said, and both Weiss and Blake looked at the yellow-haired brawler, who rubbed the back of her head and shrugged.
"I've got no idea. She sounded like Summer, she looked like Summer, but she said she isn't Summer. Only things I can think of is that Summer had another child, or that she is actually Summer but is trying to protect us? Aww Rubes, come here." Yang said, noticing Ruby as she was eyeing the puddle of blood on the ground with teary eyes, who slowly obeyed, walking over to Yang and hugging her, eyes never leaving the area their mysterious acquaintance appeared at.
In the bathroom, Ruby's mind was racing. She could hear the conversation going on outside and Ruby hummed to herself, grateful to Yang for providing a good excuse to avoid having to explain her origins to her team. It hurt her, even considering lying to them, but the alternative, having to explain to Ruby just what happened, and what she'd turn into, was something Ruby never wanted to even consider.
Washing the blood off her body, she winced each time her hands ran over a new wound, and she catalogued all her open wounds to deal with later. After finishing up in the shower, Ruby pulled her small first-aid kit from one of her pouches, treating the most severe wounds and resolving to head to the infirmary as soon as she was done speaking to Ozpin.
Running her hands through her hair, she let one hand fall to her eye, the first of many wounds Cinder Fall gave her, and Ruby felt her aura flare up much like Yang's when she thought about the traitorous bitch who was likely right at this moment planning the downfall of Beacon.
Shaking her head, Ruby stepped out of the bathroom fully-clothed and as cleaned as she could get, sighing when she saw the puddle of crimson on the floor and making a note to tell Ozpin about that as well, lest she forget and make team RWBY clean it up. "Well, thanks for that you four. I'll get out of your hair now, and I'll tell Oz to get that blood cleaned up. Wouldn't want to stain the floor now, would we Ice Princess?" She said with a wink, watching Weiss become flustered and angry, whilst Yang was holding back laughter, sighing when she was stopped as a glyph appeared below her feet holding her in place, and Ruby darted to the door to hold it shut, glaring at her.
"Don't even bother asking." Ruby said before any of the 4 girls could try to question her. "All I'm gonna tell you is that I had to use my semblance to avoid a massive explosion and I appeared back in Beacon for some reason. Now, if you plan on asking more, wait until Ozpin lets me, since I'm not saying a word more than that." With those words, she folded her arms and glared as Weiss, whose resolve chipped away second by second until she dropped her glyph with a grunt, turning to look at Ruby who was still holding the door shut.
"Ruby, let her past. She's acting like Winter, she won't say a word. Though, you will promise us that you'll tell us everything later, right?" Weiss asked of her.
"Anything Oz tells me that I can tell you, I'll share. Now, if you'll move please Ruby, I'd appreciate it." She said, sighing when Ruby resolutely shook her head, eyes still teary as her mind tried to comprehend that someone just like Summer was in front of her.
"No! Not until you tell me what's going on!" She yelled, and Ruby stepped forward to lay a hand on her shoulder with a sad smile.
"Like I said, I promise that anything Ozpin tells me I can share, I'll share it with you all. Sound fair?" She said, running her hand through Ruby's hair and watching as she fought to lean into it, eventually giving up and enjoying the feeling, nodding to her. Stepping back from the door, Ruby watched the older woman leave their room, and practically throwing herself at Yang when she was gone.
"Summer?" Ozpin asked, his mug of coffee forgotten as he darted up from his desk, his eyes peering closely at the woman stood before him, shaking his head when he looked closer and saw the differences. "No, you look similar but you look more like her daughter. Please, explain yourself." Ozpin said with a wave towards the chair, the subtle threat not missed by Ruby, who just shrugged and sat down.
"Well, where to start? Oh, I know. First off, I am Summer's daughter. And no-" She said, raising a hand when Ozpin opened his mouth, "-she didn't have a secret second daughter. I am Ruby Rose, and I travelled back in time somehow. I'm sure there's some blood test you can do to prove it, but right now I'm not interested in proving my knowledge. You are Ozpin, but your actual old name is Ozma. You are the wizard from the seasons fairytale, the fairytale is real, Amber is in the vault with half her power stolen, Qrow, Glynda, Ironwood, Theodore, Lionheart and you are all members of your secret circle. need I go on?" Ruby said quickly, watching as Ozpin went from surprise to slow acceptance.
"I can't say this is something I planned for. I'm not sure I can believe you immediately, but you do have a lot of evidence on the contrary. Tell me, how exactly did you come back?" He said, folding his hands together and staring at Ruby.
"I was fighting the ring-leader, Cinder, your 'Queen'. She'd lost all her pawns, and I was the last huntress left standing. Ev-" Ruby had to stop for a moment, as her tears threatened to betray her, biting back her emotions and continuing onwards, "-Everyone else was gone. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Y-Yang, Blake, Weiss. They all fell, some in battles against the Grimm, some against Cinder and her pawns, and some from betrayals. Until it was just me and her. We fought, I won, and she tried to take me with her, blowing herself up. I ran. Faster than I ever have before, and then when I felt the fire catching up, I pushed a little more and closed my eyes, and when I re-opened them I was face-down on the floor of my old dorm-room with my old team and my younger self staring at me like I was their long-lost mother. Pretty apt description huh?" Ruby said, chuckling at the thought.
"Anyway. Most importantly, Lionheart is a turncoat. He's been sending Huntsmen on missions to get them assassinated, he knows where and who the Spring Maiden is, and he's been feeding Cinder information for a long time. If you don't want to believe me, fine, but pretty soon he'll send a team, team CMEN, to Beacon for the Vytal Festival, the leader of which is the ringleader of the whole ordeal, Cinder Fall. Mercury and Emerald are her subordinates and loyal to a fault, and Neo works for her because she has Roman Torchwick by the balls. If you can ensure him that Cinder won't be able to touch him he'll likely turn traitor on her to get away from her, since he isn't an idiot, and he knows he's just a tool to be used and disposed of."
"This...is a lot to take in Miss Rose." He said, watching Ruby wince at the use of her last name. "For the time being, I shall give you the benefit of the doubt and trust your judgment. Though I am loathe to believe that Lionheart has turned on us, if there is evidence of what you said, then we must act fast. For the time being, if it's acceptable for you, I shall see about getting you instated as an assistant teacher to give you an excuse for being in Beacon, though we'll have to pick an alias and cover story for you."
"Oh that's all easily done Oz. Call me Crimson Rose and say I'm Summer's secret child, raised by my father in Yarma and coincidentally trained how to use a scythe. My moves have been adjusted enough that I won't act like Ruby does when I fight, and Crescent Rose has been modded so heavily that when unfolded it looks pretty much completely different. If anybody looks closer, all they'll find is that finding more information about me is physically impossible."
Humming to himself, Ozpin took a minute to mull the whole situation, finally nodding to Crimson and gesturing towards his elevator. "Well, for right now, I shall have you stay in the staff ro-" He said, cut off when Crimson raised her hand and shook her head.
"Two things. First, I kinda left a blood-patch in team RWBY's dorm, so that may need a clean-up. And, secondly, if it isn't a big deal, can I stay in team RWBY's dorm? I know my younger self, and I always wanted to share with somebody, Ruby won't mind." She said with a smile.
"I suppose you do. Very well. This will also help ingrain it in peoples minds that you two are sisters." He said, waving towards the elevator and dismissing Crimson. This will definitely be an interesting year."
"What were you fighting, a flaming Ursa?"
Kitsune, the school nurse, shook her head at Crimson, the woman who just came in murmuring about wounds and slumping down on a bed with her back to the nurse, shrugging her cloak off and surprising the faunus with the scars and burn marks marring her back like patchwork, said woman just shrugging.
"It was a fight. Can't say more unfortunately." The crimson-haired woman said with a smirk, leaning her head over her shoulder to watch as the nurse prepared some medical supplies and began administering it.
"Well, whatever you were fighting, maybe be a bit more careful next time, hmm?" The woman said, already used to the regular visits she'd get from Qrow, and considering this woman came in much the same way, and Ozpijn had sent out a notification to the staff about a mysterious new transfer teacher, the Faunus just shrugged her suspicions off and went to work.
"YOU!" Both nurse and patient jumped when the loud and high-pitched voice pealed across the small room, coming from the white-clad girl stood at the door.
"Me." Crimson replied dead-pan, much to the Heiress's irritation, though she was stopped when she saw the scars adorning the womans body, her hand raising to her mouth in open revulsion.
Behind her, Ruby stepped in close, darting under Weiss's arm to slip into the room, hurrying over to Crimson with a million questions. "Howdidyougetallthose?Dotheyhurt?Whydoyouhavesomany?" She let off in a rapid-fire barrage, only stopped when Crimson placed a hand on her mouth.
"Alright there little Rose, slow down a bit. I have them all from battling so many things, some of them hurt a little bit, but not much, and I have so many because I'm a bit incautious sometimes. Now, Weiss, why me?" She asked of the girl, who had calmed from boiling anger to a slow simmer.
"I don't recall ever agreeing to sharing my room with you!" She yelled, pulling her scroll out and thrusting it in Crimsons face, making the woman wince when it was shown, in big bold letters, that Crimson Rose would be sharing their dormitory room, and that she could be asked if they had any questions.
"Well, I was talking to Oz, and the idea of me sharing with Ruby came up." She said, turning to face Ruby, who after a moment of disbelief threw herself at Crimson.
"HOWDIDYOUKNOW?!" She yelled into her ear. "Sorry." She said quietly when she realized she practically tried to deafen the poor woman, who just chuckled.
"I was much the same at your age Ruby. And I'd be so similar because, well, I'm actually kinda like Yang." Sticking her fist out for a fist-bump, she quirked her mouth into a smirk. "Half-sisters." And winced when Ruby's grip on her tightened drastically.
"IHAVETWOSISTERS!" She screamed again, leaping onto Crimson and hugging her close.
"Ruby Rose, please stop torturing my patient, that's my job." Kitsune said, shaking her head at the excitable girl. "And you, Crimson. I'm sure you already know this, but change the bandages regularly, and come back if and when you get more injured."
"Will do doc!" Crimson said, standing up with Ruby still wrapping her arms around her neck, saluting to Kitsune and walking out of the infirmary, one arm around Ruby and the other fiddling with Crescent Rose, still tucked under her cloak, a fact Ruby only just noticed.
"Is that..." Ruby began.
"It's a high impact sniper scythe." She said, running her hand over her weapon with a smile. "And yes, it looks a lot like your own. I had my father help me design it, and I guess he must have seen yours at some point. Hey, if you want to, maybe at some point we can go over each others scythes, I want to see how yours works as well, considering you look ready to disassemble mine!" She said with a laugh, rubbing Ruby's head while the girl still attached to her pouted.
"Wait, high impact? Not high caliber?" Ruby said, finally noticing the difference between her own scythe and Crimsons, earning her another head rub, which Ruby frowned at for a moment before simply enjoying the feeling again.
"You noticed huh? Yeah, Cres-Crimson Harvest here isn't actually high caliber, she doesn't fire very high caliber rounds at all." She said, watching as Ruby puzzled over it and finally gave up. "She's high impact because the rounds she fires aren't propelled just by dust. Or, technically it is all powered by dust, so you could say the rounds she fires are all dust-propelled, but I don't just use dust as powder. When I fire, gravity dust along the barrel is used to magnify the acceleration of the bullet, propelling it far faster than conventional weaponry. Thus, high impact, not high caliber." Crimson finished, placing her hand on her hip and smiling at Ruby, who seemed absolutely awestruck.
"Oh god there's two of them." Weiss quipped behind them, earning identical glares from the two girls. "We already have one gun-nut on the team, now we have two?"
"Ah-ah-ah Weissicle, I'm not on your team, I'm just bunking with you all." Crimson said, ignoring Ruby's pout in favor of answering Weiss. "And hey, we have to make up for the fact that you didn't make your own weapon." She said, sticking her tongue out at Weiss who was tongue-tied.
"I...You...HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW THAT?!" Weiss yelled at Crimson, who darted off quickly, carefully to not use her semblance lest she tip them off about her identity, Ruby still somehow holding onto her, laughing all the way.
That was fun to write. Little bit of fighting, some hilarity, some forced Ruby-pairing because I think it's adorable, all good.
Seriously, picture it. Ruby cuddled up with the older version of herself in their canopied-bed, it's such a precious sight to me.
This story is going to be the same as the others, yadda-yadda. It's also far more light-hearted and focused on being adorable. It doesn't make actual sense that Oz would let Crimson sleep in the same room as Team RWBY, but I wanted it, and I control this Universe, so screw your logic it's cute!
