Hey guys, thank you again for the support! If this seems to be moving a little slow, I promise it will pick up eventually. I just feel like I need to lay the framework before getting to the action part.

Btw spot a Titanic reference and win a virtual cookie!

New Divide

'Years of scorn will leave you cold: Forget your dreams do what you're told; when disapproval's all you're shown. The safest place becomes alone and isolation's the price you pay; and every friendship is pushed away, but bit by bit now, a step each day I'm slowly starting to find my way.' Weiss groaned as she heard her alarm going off on her scroll. Turning, she reached for it and tapped the stop button and stretched out. She sighed and reclosed her eyes, grateful for the opportunity to actually sleep until her alarm went off. Granted Ruby hadn't used the whistle on them in quite some time, but the girl still tended to make some noise in the morning so she was really appreciative of the quiet.

Wait a second it's actually quiet? Weiss snapped her eyes and looked to the bunkbed next to her and Ruby's. Blake and Yang were still mostly asleep, with Blake stirring just a bit more attuned to sounds. Weiss got out of bed and slowly got up to see Ruby's bed just to find the reaper gone. Weiss hopped down and looked at Yang's bed. The blonde brawler was still sleeping, but after witnessing her worried temper last night; she did not want to find out what she would do to find her sister missing. Looking around she noticed that Ruby's stuff was gone, but then on her own bag was a folded piece of paper.

Looking at it, she picked it up and saw it was addressed to them, "Hey guys, I got up early and went to the gym. I'll meet you guys at breakfast." It was short and simple, but that did not dispel the unease that Weiss felt looking at the note. Just how early did Ruby get up to have time to go to the gym? Since when did Ruby ever go to the gym for that matter?

Turning she heard the beds creaking and saw Blake and Yang just waking up, "Morning." Yang greeted while stretching. She then saw Ruby's bed was empty and didn't hear the shower going, "Where is Ruby?"

"Went to the gym early apparently." Weiss said showing the note.

"Is she even cleared for that?" Blake asked rubbing her eyes and getting up as Yang jumped down to read the note that Weiss handed to her.

Weiss shrugged, "I do not know. Ruby never mentioned restrictions of any sort…then again would she?"

Yang frowned, "Doesn't matter if she is or not. I do not think she should be pushing it." Yang crumpled the paper up, not mentioning that she found her sister's handwriting odd. Not that her sister had sloppy handwriting, this just appeared too formal. It was just another thing Yang made a mental note about.

"Well what should we do?" Blake asked gathering she stuff as she headed to the bathroom.

"We get dressed and we go find her." Yang stated simply as she too started to get her stuff together.

Weiss sighed shook her head as they started to get ready for the day, hoping that things would be better than the day before. Looking outside at the bright blue sky, she somehow doubted that notion the more she thought about her partner's current situation.

Since the obnoxious early morning hours that she had been at the gym, Ruby had trained with her weapon for nearly an hour and a half. Her mind and aura at the level that represented her proper twenty-six year old age. That was a surprise and she was happy with that accomplishment…down side? Her fifteen, near sixteen year old body was not used to the strain and pressure she was going at. In the beginning Crescent Rose felt awkward in her hands, her aura and mind not used to the shorter length; muscles were not used to the movements that her brain had been telling them to preform that had once come naturally as breathing. Never the less, she was not one to give up. Eventually towards the end, she was almost able to get back into synchronization; her mind having finally allowed to compromise with her much younger body.

Her semblance was another story. It was nearly uncontrollable for some reason. Sure she had hit her targets that she was aiming for, but she had a hard time changing directions quickly and sharply. This went on for roughly forty-five minutes before she decided that it needed a lot of work, so she added that to the list. The second to last thing she worked on was her hand to hand combat. This was added on the list of half successes along with the usage of Crescent Rose. She was able to somewhat preform the movements with the proper technique that had been drilled into her, but there was definitely a lack of strength that she was not used to. She did make a note to come up with a workout regiment, trying to recall Yang's workouts that she would have them do, plus her own regiment that she had used. This, she figured, would also help with her weapon training and semblance training.

There was just one more thing she was working on. Something that couldn't wait any longer. Her silver eyed powers. In two three four, out three two one. Ruby thought with her eyes closed as she focused on her breathing. She was sitting on the floor cross legged with Crescent Rose laid across her lap. In two three four…hold two three…out three two one.

She purposely had worn her body physically down in order to calm the raging thoughts in her mind. She tried to remember what her state of mind actually was, but as the war waged and she started to use her powers more often, it just turned into second nature; not needing the trail of bread crumbs to activate them. As she focused, she recalled the incidents that had occurred since she 'came back' between Yang and Weiss. On some subconscious level, she knew that they were somewhat activated, but just like her training earlier taught her, her teenage body was much different than that of her adult body. Was it a fluke, or were they really unlocked?

In one two three…hold…out three two one…in two three…out two one. The gym vanished from her awareness as she focused on her body, her aura already healing the self-inflicted muscular damage she had caused. She felt the healing energy and took another deep breath in, and then slowly exhaled out focusing the energy coming out of her core and spreading all over her body until eventually she felt a floating sensation and then total weightlessness.

'Focus on your body, quiet any and all emotions.' The ghostly voice of Maria Calavera came to her. She did as the voice instructed, 'Channel your aura. Focus on your core, then focus on it going to the rest of your body. Now breathe in, hold….breathe out.'

Ruby repeated that for another minute and then the former reaper appeared to her again, 'Ignore all thoughts and emotions for now. Just focus on my voice and do exactly as I say.' Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly, doing exactly as her mentor told her to do, 'You are in a corridor…'

Ruby opened her eyes and knew instantly she was in her own mind. Looking around, she saw herself in ancient looking stone hallway. She smiled to herself when she saw it, this is almost like what happened when she unlocked her powers the first time. She heard the opening of a door. Looking further down the hallway she saw a small fleck of light appearing out of a room on her left hand side. Approaching it, she slowly pushed it open further and was sadden at what she saw inside the room. It was covered in all sorts of toys that ranged from dolls to rocking horses. It was also brightly lit and radiated a cheerful presence. A warmth of nostalgia overcame her and she smiled sadly. It was a room filled with innocence from a completely different life time.

She didn't have time to dwell much on it, so sighing she exited the room and slowly shut the door. Wandering down the hallway, she felt a cold wind that caused her to shiver. This was definitely familiar to her. Up ahead, she saw the cause of this: a massive metal door. It appeared to be made of a dark and ancient looking metal with bolts all around it. Right smack in the middle though was a depiction of her rose insignia with an eye in the middle of it. Getting closer she saw that it was open a crack; as if it was jammed when someone tried to open it themselves. She guessed this might have happened when her soul had merged with her younger self, 'Reach out and touch it.' Maria's voice echoed in the ancient hallway.

Doing as she was told, Ruby reached out she could feel the ancient magic coursing through her body as her hand rested on the cool handle, 'When I say so, you will open the door. What is behind that door is yours by birthright.' Ruby took a deep breath, waiting for instructions from her phantom mentor, 'One, two, three;' Ruby pulled the door open and was engulfed in a flash of light.

She was gasping, staring up at the ceiling of the gym. A seemingly massive ball no longer coiled inside of her. She felt as if she had a new awakening. It was a liberating type feeling as she slowly sat up and placed a hand to her head still panting as if adrenaline was running through her veins, "Ruby!" She turned her head and saw Yang, Blake, and Weiss running over to her, "You alright? What happened?"

"I am fine, I was just doing some workouts and mediating." Ruby said wincing at the loudness of Yang's voice. Great, she thought sarcastically, now I have a headache. I forgot about that part.

"Mediating? Since when-you know what? Never mind." Weiss said with her hand raised, "Come on we are going to be late for breakfast and I still want to review the homework with you." She said instead as Yang helped her sister up.

Ruby stood up, but found that the room was spinning. Giving herself a moment she processed Weiss's words and sighed, "Wow its breakfast time already? Time flies when you are having fun. I'll meet you guys down in the cafeteria." They watched her limp off with her bag slung over one shoulder and Crescent Rose on the other.

"Yea we are waiting for her to come back." Yang said not moving from her spot, her arms crossed glaring in the direction towards the locker rooms.

"Mediating? I didn't think Ruby knew what that was." Blake commented lightly.

"You and me both." Weiss replied not liking this newer version of her leader one bit.

The three girls had been watching Ruby for the last ten minutes. It had been odd watching the young reaper during that time. She had been so still and seeing the vibrant red aura surrounding her was eerie, and yet they found themselves transfixed at the sight. What had freaked them out the most though was that in the last few minutes a pool of silver started to slowly swirl around her red aura just before they saw a flash of silver light and then Ruby collapse on the ground, "I want to know what the hell that was." Yang said determined, "There is something not right with my sister."

Blake and Weiss just looked at each other and sighed. Not all too sure if they want to be present for this or not. Ruby exits the locker room finally and is surprised to see her teammates waiting for her. Yang is about to storm over to her, when Weiss puts a hand on her arm to stop her, "We can talk to her later; we only have forty-five minutes left until breakfast is over and then we have class."

"Hey I thought I said I'd meet you over there?" Ruby greeted. She looked at her sister and Weiss in confusion and slight wariness. Blake stood off to the side awkwardly not knowing what to do or what to contribute.

Yang shook her head and pulled her arm away from Weiss, "Yea well, we wanted to make sure you got there alright. I didn't like how uncoordinated you looked after your workout."

"I am fine." Ruby stated, "Just pushed myself a bit too hard is all. It didn't help that I hadn't really eaten anything before my workout either." She shouldered her bag more, having left Crescent Rose in her locker and led her team out of the gym.

"Did you have water or something on you at least?" Blake asked slowly, trying to get a read on her.

Ruby chuckled nervously, "Knew I forgot something else."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "You are a dunce sometimes you know that? You just got out of the hospital wing, I thought you said you were told you weren't welcomed back anytime soon?"

Ruby smiled sheepishly, "It won't happen again."

They entered the cafeteria just in time for any last calls. Gathering their food, they made note that Ruby grabbed an actual healthy breakfast. She even grabbed only one cookie instead of five, and once again took her coffee black. Going to their table near team JNPR, Ruby pulled her homework out and gave it to Weiss, "Here you go."

Weiss nodded as she started eating and reading through Ruby's papers. Ruby sat quietly as Nora started to talk to them about a weird dream she had, Ren was trying his best to fill in the necessary blanks as to why said dreams occurred in the first place. Jaune and Pyrrha were doing their best to not laugh at the duo, and Blake and Yang were listening adding some of their own experiences to whatever Nora was mentioning.

It was surreal to the reaper as she just sat ideally and listening, and observing. It almost reminded her of the travels after the fall of Beacon. How she had to join up with Jaune's team and the closeness she had come to be with them and then reuniting with her own team just before Haven. Weiss made a nonchalant comment about something that Ren had said, and that got Yang laughing a bit and Blake smiling. This is how it always should have been, Ruby reflected now realizing that the first time around they hadn't really been all that close while they had been in school, "You alright there?" Pyrrha asked now realizing how quiet Ruby was being.

"Oh yea sure. Just enjoying myself is all." Ruby stated as she picked at the piece of fruit she grabbed.

"And just what is so special about this that you seem to want to commit to memory?" Jaune asked her curiously.

Ruby just smiled, "You should always take time to appreciate everything and commit it to memory because you do not know what you have until it's gone." She looked away from them and started to butter the bagel on her plate, not realizing she had their rapt attention. Her voice got soft, almost as if she forgot who she was exactly with as she continued on, "Life is a gift and I don't really want to waste it. You never know what hand you're going to get dealt next, so I've learned to take life as it comes and to make each day count."

"Well said Ms. Rose." Ruby turn swiftly and saw Ozpin standing behind her. Her eyes nearly widened as she saw her old Professor standing before her, in the body that she had come to know him as, and not Oscar. He smiled at them and said, "Do you mind if I borrow your young philosopher here for a moment?" He nodded his head to her and she smiled nervously and got up from the table.

They watched her walk into the hallway with their professor and team JNPR looked at the remaining three girls, "That got a bit deep…" Nora commented slowly.

"Almost a bit too philosophical." Ren stated almost knowingly as he saw how the reaper's eyes looked downcast and lost.

Pyrrha nodded, "Is she really doing alright?" The girls shrugged not really know what to say or how to respond.

Outside in the hallway, Ruby was hit with another massive dilemma. It was one that she had even asked the Gods before stepping through the door. Could she tell her friends what happened? The truth? Looking at her Professor only brought back more memories of what had led to her personal circle of utter hell and heartache. It ignited the raw feelings that she thought she had forgiven him for: sadness, disappointment, pity, and anger. Despite writing it down in her book, it just reminded her as to why Cinder had come to this school in the first place, the Vault where he was currently protecting the Fall Maiden…does she have a right or obligation to tell him what is or will be happening in the next few months? Right now she feels like she'd rather face Caroline Cordovin's obnoxious robot in Argus again, rather than be out here with her professor in this moment.

"How are you doing today?" Ozpin asks easily looking at his student. He senses that something is off, but wants to give her the opportunity to tell him.

Ruby's throat is dry, but she coughs and puts on her best smile, "I am doing alright. Honestly I've had worse than what happened yesterday…" She rubs the back of her head. What she said was true after all, she has had worse…loads worse. Not like she would let him know that anytime soon.

He watches her and leans on his cane, "Mr. Arc has told me what he could about what happened. Do you think you could fill in some blanks?"

I could, Ruby thinks as she straightens herself to match his posture, doesn't mean I am going to yet. Honestly, how could she have been so stupid to not think of a plan in how to deal with this? "I really do not know what to say. One minute I am arguing with Jaune and the next I am waking up in the hospital wing."

Ozpin nods and looks at Ruby, but Ruby feels as if he is more analyzing her rather than actually seeing her, "I heard there was an altercation as well."

"Oh that…well I didn't know where I was. I was trapped in some kind of nightmare. I had mistaken Weiss as an enemy and I reacted." This was said in a true apologetic tone that left no cause of doubt in Ozpin's mind, not that he believed that Ruby would intentionally hurt anyone.

Despite this however, he knew that she was hiding something. He had felt something was off all morning. The bell had suddenly rung and the students started to leave the cafeteria. He nodded to her and said, "Well I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I looked at your file, your instructors were also given a copy of the incident report; you are cleared for everything as you know. Just try to not push yourself too hard for a few days." He motioned over her shoulder where her team and JNPR were waiting for her, "I think your classmates are ready for class."

Ruby looked to where he was pointing, "Thank you Professor. I'll try." She was about to go over to them, but something stopped her from doing so. There was something in the back of her mind that was almost telling her to come clean to him.

"Ms. Rose;" She looked at him again, and as if sensing her dilemma, he came right out and asked, "is there something you wish to talk to me about?"

Ruby looked at him. His eyes in particular caught her off guard a bit as they stared at her. Even when he would communicate through Oscar, he always had this power that could make her tell him everything she was feeling: her fears to her eventual unchecked rage. In this moment, she was surprised that she did want to tell him everything. However something also told her now was not the right time. She looks towards her friends and knows that if or when she does come clean, she wants them to know first…or at the very least the same time she tells Ozpin and whoever else she decides that should be in the know, "No sir." She answers looking at him, "Nothing. Have a good day sir." With that she walked away from him and all he could do is watch as Weiss hands Ruby her bag and a napkin with her bagel on it, and telling her something.

Ozpin couldn't help but feel disappointed as he watches them walk to class, "Ozpin." He sighs as he hears Goodwitch's voice come next to him, and hands him an envelope, "This was dropped off for you this morning."

"Thank you Glynda." He says as he places it in his pocket to look at later, "You have your combat class today correct?"

"Yes, why?" She asks as she looks at him and stares in the direction he was looking at confused.

He sighs and starts to turn away and walks in the direction towards his office. She follows him and waits for his response, "I would appreciate it if you could send a message out to the faculty involved with Ms. Rose."

"Ruby Rose?" Glynda asks surprised at his request.

Ozpin smiles a bit amused, "She is the only Rose here, unless I am missing something." Then sobering up a bit he nods, "Yes, any faculty involved in Ruby Rose's lessons. I wish to speak to them. Do not tell them what it is about, but just send that message out please."

"I will do that." She responds as they pause in the hallway, "What time?"

"After the school day, preferably before dinner." He answers and starts to walk away once more. He then stops and turns to see her walk back down the hall, "Glynda?" She turns and looks at him, "Keep a close eye on her if you can."

"Should I be worried?" She asks slowly as he turns and walks away.

"I do not know." He mutters to himself as he pretends to not hear her question.