Author's Notes: I did say the next chapter of the series would be SOON, right.

I know an update to this story is LONG overdue, so let's skip the pleasantries, and get started.

Chapter 1: The Return

"We need to send out search parties NOW!" General Ironwood exclaimed.

"And where would we send them, James!?" Glynda countered, "They could be on the other side of the world for all we know!"

It had been several minutes since teams RWBY and JNPR were teleported away by the tendrils of dark and light. Glynda and Ironwood were arguing about how to deal with the situation. Ozpin himself was unsure of how to even comprehend what happened. If it was only the tendril of darkness, he could've guessed who was responsible. However, the presence of the light tendril made him believe the Brothers were involved. Which begged the question...Why are they interested in those eight. If it was only Ruby Rose, then Ozpin might've had a couple ideas why she would've been taken.

He looked back at the portable security feed. Each teacher of Beacon carried a small portable camera, in case certain places that don't have cameras needed to be watched. Glynda placed her's in the top corner of team RWBY's dorm room. Just as Glynda was about to make another yell at Ironwood, Ozpin saw the footage flash brightly. When the brightness was gone, he quickly stood up.

"They're back."

The two quickly dropped their debate, and focused on Ozpin.

"Already?" Ironwood said in disbelief, "It's only been half an hour."

"Glynda, go back to their dorms, and bring them here. But, be cautious."

"Yes, sir." Glynda headed to one of the elevators, and headed down.

"You don't think," Ironwood said, rounding Ozpin's desk to look at the footage, "That they could be dangerous?"

"We have no idea what happened in those thirty minutes. I'd rather be cautious about this."

Back in the dorms, Ruby awoke with a jolt.

'What happened,' Ruby thought, rubbing her eyes, 'I was in my bed, alongside my daughter and grandson. Then I~' Ruby then noticed her surroundings.

"I'm back?" Ruby said in disbelief. She felt commotion beneath her. She remembered that her team made bunk beds when they went to Beacon. Which meant~

Weiss's head popped up from the side of her bed, her look sharing that of Ruby's.

"Ruby?" Weiss said hopefully, "Don't tell me this is a dream."

Ruby reached out and placed her hand on Weiss cheek. Ruby started tearing up with a smile.

"Only your face could feel like this."

Weiss started tearing up as well, before her eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, does that mean…" She turned, seeing Blake had also awoken, but didn't say anything, either out of shock or disbelief. Then, all three looked up at Yang's bed.

"Gah," Yang said, rubbing her neck, "My neck is killing me." Then, she realized that her voice sounded much younger than she remembered. Yang looked around, now seeing that they were back at Beacon. "Wait, was it all a dream~"

"Yang?" Ruby said, tears falling down her cheeks. Yang noticed that all three of them looked at her like they were seeing a ghost. Yang then remembered why, as she herself started to tear up.

"Ruby." She dropped from her bed. Ruby practically jumped into Yang, crying as the two knelt to the ground. Weiss and Blake, tears in their eyes as well, joined the sisters in their group hug.

The door opened, and Weiss looked up to see Jaune and his teammates there, looks of disbelief upon their faces as well. Without another word, the four joined them, tears starting to form in their eyes.

After all the horrors they went through, they were finally home.

From Ozpin's office, he observed them, a hint of sadness in his eyes. Pulling out his scroll, he called Glynda.

"Glynda, when you reach them, be gentle. It's clear that, whatever the eight have been through, was traumatic at the least. If need be, they can discuss what happened in the morning."

"Of course, Oz."

Hanging up, Ironwood looked at the footage closer.

"I don't have reason to doubt you, but, how do you know?"

"Miss Rose's reactions. It seems that they've been gone longer than thirty minutes. Her reaction to being in her room was one of disbelief. And her reaction to Yang. I've seen that face too many times. The face of someone you love returning after you believed they died."

"You think that Miss Xiao Long died?"

"It's a high possibility."

Back in the dorms, Ruby sobbed into Yang's chest, and the eight simply sat there, not letting go of each other.

A knock was heard at the open door, and Jaune looked up to see Professor Goodwitch standing there, concern upon her face.

"Are you all alright?"

While Ruby continued to sob into Yang's chest, the others turned their heads.

"No," Nora said solemnly, "I doubt we'll ever be alright."

"What do you need?" Ren inquired.

"Professor Ozpin, General Ironwood, and myself saw you disappear. We were obviously concerned. He's asked that you come to discuss what happened. However, he said that, if you need to, it can be postponed until the morning."

"No," Jaune said, standing up, "It would be better if we do it now."

"He's right," Weiss replied, "It would draw suspicions if we did it in the morning, with plenty of witnesses."

"Alright then," Glynda softly replied, "Follow me, then."

One by one, the others stood up and followed Glynda, until only Ruby and Yang remained.

"Come one, Rubes," Yang said softly, "Ozpin would like to speak with us."

"You...won't...leave...me…?" Ruby said between sobs. Yang sighed, as something obvious now dawned on her. Not only were they sent back, but they regressed to their original ages. This included their emotional states. She stood up, pulling Ruby up as well

"I never did."

While Ruby continued to sob, she was at least coherent enough to walk.

A couple minutes later, the nine reached Ozpin's office at Beacon tower, having taken two different elevators. Glynda stood next to Ozpin's desk, while RWBY and JNPR stood in a line, some professionally, while others, casually. Ruby had wiped away the tears on her face. When they saw Ozpin, Ruby, Blake, Jaune and Pyrrha all had a concerned look.

Ironwood knew instantly when he looked upon their faces that Ozpin was right. They were gone a long time. Their eyes weren't that of students, but of hardened warriors.

"Before we begin," Ozpin softly said, "I'd like to ask...How long were you gone?"

RWBY and JNPR looked at each other, eventually all looking at Ruby.

"Well," Ruby said, rubbing her neck, "If I had to guess? I'd say somewhere between seventy to eighty years."

Ozpin's eyes widened as he gently placed his mug down, while Ironwood and Glynda's jaws dropped.

"I'd have to say," Nora commented, "That, if we knew that we'd all come back home once we all died, our little 'trip' would've been a lot shorter."

Nearly everyone was aghast at her words.

"Nora," Pyrrha exclaimed, "That's morbid!"

"Says the woman," Blake countered, "Who ripped ghosts from their graves to add to her power."

"That's different, and you know why. The Sith don't play around. Besides, I released them once the deed was done."

"To be fair," Ruby added, "If you had come to me, we could've neutralized Thanaton much sooner. As the Empire's Wrath, it would've been easier for you to build power."

"You only became Wrath shortly before the Kaggath, and you didn't realize what was happening until I went back to Korriban to confront him."

"Touche."

As the eight talked, Ozpin was, for the first time in a long time, unsure of how to proceed. Ripping ghosts? Sith? Empire's Wrath?

"Perhaps," Glynda exclaimed, "You should start from the beginning."

"A wise approach," Ozpin commented, "Let's start with that."

"Right," Jaune said, "Well, before we start, I'd like to say that you might not believe anything we say. So, be very open minded, please."

"Of course."

"Okay. To start, we got teleported to an entirely different galaxy. To top it off, we apparently were sent thousands of years into the past."

"How would you know this?"

"The spirit," Ren replied, "Told us. He said that the galaxy they lived in was on a doomed path. No matter what he did to change the future, it would always lead to the same outcome. So, he sought a solution outside his galaxy, and found us."

"We were separated," Blake said, "Scattered across the galaxy, which was split between two major factions."

"The Galactic Republic," Yang continued.

"And the Sith Empire," Ruby finished, "We had to forge our own paths. This led to us taking very different...directions, I guess you could say. Yang became the most skilled commander of the Republic military," Yang puffed her chest up in pride, while Ironwood raised an eyebrow, "While Weiss became the Empire's most skilled agent. Which still annoys me!"

"Why," Weiss replied, "Unlike me, you can rip ships apart without touching them."

"Because, of all the people who get a sniper rifle, I'm not one of them!"

Ozpin slightly smirked. Even after all their ordeals, they still acted like children. Though, that may be more because their minds reverted back to children. Though, what Weiss said interested him.

"Pardon the interruption," he said, putting his mug down, "But, when you said Ruby could rip ships apart without touching them, what did you mean?"

They all went silent, and Yang, Ren, Nora and Weiss all backed up.

"Guys?!" Jaune said.

"Hey," Nora yelled, "You four deal with the Force more often than we do, so you explain it to them."

"The force?"

"The Force, which is spelled with a capital F, is…" Ruby looked in deep thought, "Oh, how do I explain it without seeming biased."

"It's an energy field created by all living things," Blake interjected, "It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together."

"Thanks, Blake. The Force is what dictated the course of the galaxy, in a way. Whenever the spirit attempted to alter the timeline, the Force would correct it. However, since we existed outside that galaxy, we couldn't be influenced by the Force. Some of us could use it, but it couldn't dictate our lives."

"You talk about it like it was something oppressive." Glynda inquired.

"Well," Pyrrha said, "The Force was something that guided individuals down certain paths. Their destiny, as you might say. The spirit who...recruited us, did say he hated destiny. And, even if our actions resulted in the death of the galaxy, it would be the galaxy's path, not the Force's. Personally, I don't think it's that malevolent, but that's just me."

"If you are now outside that galaxy," Ozpin said, "Does that mean you can't use the Force?"

"That's," Yang said, "An interesting question."

Jaune raised his arm and outstretched his hand. Soon, his eyebrows narrowed. His arm began to slightly shake.

Then, Ozpin's mug twitch. Then again. And again. The mug then lifted up two inches into the air. It began to float towards Jaune, before dropping after a foot, spilling the drink.

Jaune took a deep breath before sighing, "Sorry, Professor. Needed an item to demonstrate."

"No need to apologize, Mr. Arc." Ozpin replied, picking up his spilled drink, "My only regret is the wasted coffee."

Glynda swished her crop, sending all the spilled coffee into a small trash bin adjacent to Ozpin's desk.

"Why didn't it work, Jaune," Pyrrha inquired, "You are one of the best Force users. A simple levitation should've been easy."

"I have two theories: One, since the Force doesn't exist in our galaxy, it's much weaker. Or, since our bodies have regressed back to our original ages~"

"It means that," Ruby finished, "While our powers are still there, they are dormant. Makes sense. It took us years to fully utilize our skills, and decades to master them."

"As much as I would like to continue through the night discussing all the things that you've done," Ozpin said, "I do believe you'd like some sleep. However, it's quite clear that all of you have gone through a very traumatic ordeal." Ruby shifted her gaze towards Yang, who only nodded, "Would it be too much to ask you to have therapy sessions?"

"I don't see that as out of the ordinary." Ruby replied.

"Thank you, Miss Rose. On Mondays Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, Glynda will be waiting after school at 4 and 6 P.M. Does that sound alright to you, Professor?"

"That will be fine." Normally, Professor Peach would be the school's therapist, however, with a situation as unique as this, he'd rather keep the number of people who know about it limited.

"Each of you will have a separate session. So, for example, on Monday it will be Yang and Jaune, while on Tuesday it would be Ruby and Weiss."

"Makes sense," Blake said, "This gives us plenty of opportunity to not only discuss what happened, but also work up on our own skills. Maybe regain some of our dormant powers."

"Well," Ozpin said, taking a drink of his remaining coffee, "I do believe we are done here. Miss Goodwitch, please escort them back to their dorms. And welcome back, all of you."

Weiss took Ruby's hand and the eight began walking to the elevators.

"Team JNPR," Ironwood exclaimed, "Mind if you stay for a moment longer."

All eight looked at him suspiciously.

"Sure." Jaune replied. RWBY entered an elevator alongside Glynda, and headed down.

"Mr. Arc," Ironwood exclaimed, "When you all left, Glynda placed a portable camera in RWBY's dorm room."

"Makes sense," Ren replied, "You had no idea when we'd return. If we returned."

"Yes. However, one thing has me curious. Obviously you all died~"

"James." Ozpin implored his friend. He didn't want James to overstep his reach.

"However, when RWBY returned, they all had a sharp reaction to Yang. What happened to her?"

They all looked at each other, none of them wanting to answer that question. Finally, Jaune spoke up.

"I'll simply say this. When we all reunited in the other galaxy, we made a vow to get back home together. Yang dying broke that dream."

"There's more to it, though, isn't there?"

"Yes. Though, I'll save that for the therapy."

"Of course. Forgive my intrusion."

Jaune nodded, and JNPR entered an elevator and headed down. When the elevator began moving down, Jaune and Pyrrha's faces became serious.

"Pyrrha," Jaune said, "You felt that?"

"Yep, and I'm guess so did Ruby and Blake."

"Felt what?" Nora inquired.

"When we saw Ozpin, we got a...strange feeling."

"Strange how?" Ren said.

"Something like…" Jaune wasn't even sure he should say his next words, "Like Valkorian."

Ren and Nora instantly tensed up. Ren's hand went to his hips, expecting his blasters to be there.

"Don't tell me," Nora exclaimed, "That Valkorian somehow jumped galaxies?"

"No," Pyrrha quickly replied, "Not Valkorian himself. But, more like his...age."

"Age?"

"Like his soul is far older than the body it inhabits."

"Should we tell RWBY?" Ren inquired.

Jaune considered Ren's words. Though they may be back home, the people they saw as heroes may not be as heroic as they once thought.

"Yes, but not tonight. We all need rest."

"Well," Nora said happily, reaching an arm behind Ren's back and pulling him close, "Whatever happens, I'm just glad we're back."

Pyrrha smiled, wrapping her arm around Jaune's, "So am I."

Jaune and Ren smiled, just as happy as they were to finally reach Remnant.

Back in Ozpin's office, Ozpin himself, for perhaps the first time in centuries, speechless. He always knew there had to be life on other planets. If the Brothers created life on Remnant, why wouldn't they create life on other worlds. But, to hear that an entire galaxy existed without the involvement of the Brothers. It was both fascinating and horrifying.

"James, your opinion?"

"Personally? I'd say that, given everything that they've been through, once the Vytal Festival is over, they should be given their huntsman licenses immediately."

Ozpin smirked. Of course his friend would suggest that. He himself had that thought. However~

"The Vale Council will not approve, though."

"Don't tell me you're going to let that stop you?"

Ozpin smirked, "You know me more than you think. Though the law says that underage huntsman students can only get their licenses under the approval of the Council that runs the country, if three of the four academies approve of it, then the Council's decision is overruled."

"You plan to tell the others?"

"At least Theodore, and possibly Leonardo. I'd like to keep this as small as possible."

"Oz, you know how skilled they could become."

Ozpin's eyes then narrowed. It seems that James wanted the students as Huntsman for a different reason besides their new skill level.

"You want them to join our circle."

"Yes. They could become invaluable against Salem."

Ozpin pinched his nose. "James, this is too much to bear for one night. Get some rest. The Festival is still a month away, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss things."

Ironwood nodded, heading to an elevator and heading down.

With only Ozpin left, he placed his mug down and looked deep in thought.

'He's not wrong. I'd say they might be just as skilled as fully fledged Huntsman, if the time they've been gone is true. However,' For the first time in a long time, true hope gleamed in his eyes, 'The powers they have come from outside our world. Could that mean that they could finally kill her?'

Regardless, Ozpin knew that things were about to get more chaotic faster than he ever wanted.

Author's Notes: So, JNPR may be on to one of Ozpin's secrets. And Ironwood wants to induct both teams into Ozpin's circle against Salem. Wonder how they'll react to that.

Leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all next time.