New Divide

Time is a valuable thing, watch it fly by as the pendulum swings.

Watch it count down to the end of the day; the clock ticks life away.

It's so unreal, didn't look out below watch the time go right out the window.

Trying to hold on, but you didn't even know; wasted it all just to watch you go.

I kept everything inside, and even though I tried, it all fell apart.

What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of:

A time when I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn't even matter.

-Linkin Park 'In the End'

"I'm from the future."

Three

Two

One

"Bull shit!" Yang yelled, "I call bull shit."

"We are not playing BS Yang." Ruby sighed out as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Regardless," it was Weiss that spoke up this time, effectively cutting off Yang's would be retort, "I agree with Yang…minus the vulgar words, I too think that your answer is ludicrous in nature."

Ruby shook her head, "You believed me in regards to the Maidens, Salem, the Relics, and the Brothers; yet you find it difficult that I am from the future?" Then motioning to Oscar she says, "Let's add the fact that our headmaster is a reincarnating wizard."

"Uhm…he kindly requests that you not call us that." Oscar says timidly.

"Oh please just calling it like I see it." Ruby stated as a matter of fact.

"Ok you might want to start explaining before you start random tangents." Blake said irritatingly.

Ruby sighed, "Why does it matter? You don't believe me." She paced momentarily before saying, "You know what? I'll tell you everything and sweeten the deal."

None of them liked the sound of that, Pyrrha included, "How so Ruby?" She asked, "I already believe you."

"Wait what do you mean that you believe her?" Jaune asked. He thought for a moment, "You said for her to tell us." He muttered slowly to himself, "You-"

"She told me out of necessity; however I too respect the fact that I shouldn't tell someone else's story." Pyrrha said softly giving Ruby a look, "I was going to talk to you after Headmaster Ozpin's story…to apologize for my behavior."

Ruby gave her a soft look, "You don't have to."

"I was still horrible to you."

"Can someone please," Nora yelled getting everyone's attention, "just tell us what is happening before I start cracking skulls."

"There is something about the Relic of Knowledge-" Ruby started to say.

"Ruby." She looks to Oscar, once more voice wavering and sees his eye twitching, "He wants this-"

"Played close to the chest? Yea no that isn't happening." Ruby said, "Admittedly it is rather hypocritical for me to even say that because of what I've done, but this is something I was going to reveal anyway." She gave him a challenging glare seeing that Oscar was going to comment back, but he shrunk back. She let out a breath she was holding and muttered, "My gods I can't wait until you grow a set."

Yang's eye flared to life once more, "Ruby…"

Blake placed a hand on Yang's shoulder, also surprised by the attitude in their team leader, "Please Ruby continue." The words may have been polite enough, but the warning tone was there.

Ren also had a hand on Nora's shoulder, but he too was looking annoyed. Weiss had her arms crossed and Jaune was torn between feeling betrayed and simmering anger, "The Relic of Knowledge has a wonderful, and incredibly dangerous ability." Ruby slowly paced towards the other end of the room. Her tone was slow, deliberate, and quiet. She paused for a moment and listened carefully to any unfamiliar sounds in the hallway. Sensing it was safe, she started to explain once more, "Its user can ask any question, and the lamp will provide an answer. However, it's not without drawbacks. The lamp cannot tell of events that have yet to happen, and it will only ever answer three questions every one hundred years."

"Ok so that means what for us?" Jaune asked rudely.

Ruby swallowed and took a shaky breath, "The lamp as of right now, I hope, is that she can answer two questions."

"So you already know someone already asked one of the three questions." Pyrrha said slowly. While Ruby had told her mostly of happened, she hadn't explained much about the Relic; just merely passing it off as 'not her story', and focusing on some of the cliff note facts, "But do you say hope?"

"Because in my previous life, she was able to answer two questions as well. However there were certain…factors that had me ask a question." She gave Oscar a meaningful look, before focusing back on her team, "Thus we had one left. At a later time, a 'hail Mary' as you would call it, I again asked a question, which didn't get me too far where I needed to go."

Ren sighed showing a rare sign of frustration, "And again, what does this have to do with this 'sweet deal'?"

Ruby took a deep breath, there was no going back once this was done; "My deal is simple. I will tell you everything here and now. I will not leave anything out." They just stared silently at her, waiting for her to continue, "If you feel the need to validate my story with proof-"

Oscar straightened up from his position on the wall, and started to get Ruby's attention per Ozpin, "Ruby uhm-"

"Nope." Ruby stated already know where this was going, "We tried things your way one time before, now we are doing this my way." This made Oscar go silent and lean against the wall again arms crossed. Looking back at the others she says, "You can use her to answer a question, so long as I can use the other one to ask what I need to ask."

Weiss stared at her partner, a stare so threatening it spelled 'danger'; but Ruby now laughs at the face of danger…only she didn't do it out loud and just met Weiss's stare back as the heiress says, "So you'll talk to us. If we don't believe you, then we can use the relic to ask for your story. Is that right?"

"Well you were in the top percentile of our academics classes. What do you think…Ms. Schnee?" Ruby asked in a mock teaching voice.

"You said you were from the future," Nora cut in before Weiss could comment with an equally snarky reply, "however as you previously stated- 'the lamp cannot tell of events that have yet to happen'- so how the hell can we ask for your story when the lamp cannot even tell us?" They looked at her now in question and confusion, "What? It's a valid question."

"That was just…" Weiss started to say.

"Mighty perceptive of you." Blake said slowly.

Nora scoffed, "Please, I do have the ability to pay attention and retain information you know." Ren shook his head while Pyrrha allowed herself a smile and Jaune crossed his arms, eyebrow cocked upwards.

"She is right." Ruby said proudly to her friend, "That is an excellent point."

"Damn it Ruby enough with the games!" Yang yelled eyes blazing red with fiery, "Tell us. Now!"

Ruby raised her hands up, "Ok sheesh. It's just all…complicated. However going back to Nora's question, you should get an answer. Yes it will be like asking for your 'future', but it will be really about my 'past';" there was a pause and they saw a trace of 'their' Ruby as she momentarily hesitates, "At least that is the hope. It is only recently that I've been questioning that concept."

Blake was starting to get a headache listening to this, but was too invested now to claim a break was needed, "If…and this is a big if…we believe you ok? Say for the sake of argument that we believe you. Wouldn't you being here cause things to be unpredictable?"

"Thus we are getting to the root of the dilemma that I've been questioning." Ruby stated, "Yes, though if that's what you are looking for."

Jaune snorted, "Please." They looked at him, "We are actually considering this? Come on guys! This is like something out of a terrible science fiction movie." They continued to stare at him so he further explained, "Time travel? Creating a…alternate reality…seriously? This is bull!" Then he looked at Pyrrha, "And you just admitted that you believed her!"

Pyrrha looked taken aback at this, "I'm sorry?"

Jaune threw his hands in the air, "You know what? I can't do this. Not tonight anyway. I'm out of here."

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out. He opened the door and slammed it shut causing them to wince. She hesitates looking between Ren, Nora, and Ruby.

Ruby nods having recalled his attitude towards Oscar when they told them of Oz's secrets, "Go. Between what you know, what I've to explain, and what you heard from Oz, maybe this is best if we table this conversation."

Pyrrha nods, "Ok. Ruby? I am sorry." Ruby smiles sadly and watches the warrior leaves.

"That was a thing." Nora says grimly, "You really are not going to explain anything?"

Ruby shrugs, "I will try, but I'd rather not explain something twice…or rather three times. If Jaune doesn't feel like listening right now, then maybe it is best we obtain the relic. My offer will stand regardless."

"You are placing a lot of faith in this relic." Ren noted, "What if it only has one question left?"

Ruby pauses, not having considered that scenario too much, "I guess we will have to cross that bridge if it should come to that."

Nora snorts and shakes her head, "We'll see you all in the morning." With that she leaves with Ren following after her, leaving just Oscar, Weiss, Yang, and Blake.

"I am going to get a room." Oscar said slowly as he sensed the tension between the three girls and Ruby. He went slowly towards the door, but paused for a moment. He muttered something under his breath before sighing and giving Ruby a look, "Ozpin has one more message for you for tonight."

Ruby sighs and says, "I'm listening."

Oscar took a deep breath, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that." He paused for a moment then said more slowly, "Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Without saying anymore, he left out the door.

Ruby shook her head. It would seem that her former headmaster sensed something dark in the story that she would eventually tell. Magic was an interesting concept that's for sure, "What did he mean?" Blake inquired looking at her 'leader'. She used the title loosely now, staring the silver eyed girl down.

"I guess he sensed the…unpleasantness that I was going to explain."

"Oh you mean that you were actually going to explain something?" Yang asked sarcastically, "Because I just sensed more bull coming from your mouth sis."

"Fair enough I deserve it." Ruby said. She ran a hand through her hair and took a seat back at her desk, motioning for the others to take their seat. The girls eyed her suspiciously before reluctantly sitting on the beds-Weiss on hers and Yang and Blake on Yang's bed. Ruby closed her eyes and thought for a moment, "Alright fine. Just give me one more minute."

She pulled her scroll out and found Pyrrha's information. The warrior picked up on the first ring and Ruby placed it on speaker, "Ruby now isn't a good time I'm afraid." They heard Jaune's voice in the background yelling something followed by Nora, Ren, and surprisingly Oscar's voice as well.

"Tell them Pyrrha. Everything I told you…tell them. I'll fill in the blanks tomorrow." Ruby said looking at her team.

There was silence and Ren's voice was heard, "What?"

"You don't want to see me right now, much less listen to what I have to say. Maybe if you hear it from Pyrrha then…well…I don't know."

"Ruby…are you sure?" Pyrrha asked unsure.

"No, but it needs to be done. I'll explain to my team here." She hung up the scroll and turned the device off, placing it face down on the desk before resuming making eye contact with her team, "Ok…so I am not sure how to go about explaining any of this. I had it in my head the way this was going to go, but clearly that was blown to hell. So I am open to suggestions."

Silence followed suite to Ruby's confession. This was the first time she had been so straight forward with them. The three girls shared a look with one other, Yang was eerily silent, staring Ruby down as if she were staring at a Grimm. Blake was suspicious and guarded. Weiss, well she was glaring hard, but not one of malice. It was more analytical, "Alright fine. How about some sort of proof."

"Proof?" Ruby asked slowly, the word foreign on her tongue.

"Yes." Weiss said, "Proof. I am using it as a noun to mean evidence or argument establishing or helping to establish a fact or the truth of a statement." Ruby rolled her eyes, but Weiss was undeterred in her determination to get the information they all needed, "So tell us something. Show us something."

"Going back to the problem Blake brought up earlier is that you are assuming that I know how events are predicted to unfold. While that is true to the major extent, I am starting to realize that I already have altered the flow of history. So whatever your lives might have been, if the time continuum was disrupted, your destinies have changed." Ruby paused for a moment then admitted, "At least I hope in a good way if I have things my way. On the flip side certain events have happened out of order. Like the timeline is trying to re-establish itself."

"I think we need to have your head examined again." Yang stated, "Jaune is right. What movie are we in? The one with the kid and talking genius dog?"

Blake spoke up before Ruby could make a comeback to that, "What did you mean 'in a good way' and the timeline trying to fix itself?"

"Some things you cannot change, they are meant to happen." Ruby said bitterly, conjuring the words that act as an echoing in her head. Looking at her team she says, "It is a warning I received. Look I don't know how to exactly provide the proof. You will just have to take my word for it." She adds seeing they are about to comment. She looks at Weiss now and says, "The only clue I can provide you with proof is by saying I have a strong suspicion you were disinherited already to explain why you couldn't pay for the rooms earlier."

"What?" Weiss whispers, looking slightly sick. Blake and Yang give her astonishing looks.

Ruby nods, giving her a sympathetic look, "Yea. In my timeline you caused a scene at some charity ball for Beacon Academy after its fall in Atlas. You summoned a Boarbatusk and nearly attacked this snobbish bitch that badmouthed the school."

"Wait, hold on. Summoning? I haven't mastered that yet. Furthermore, why would I be at a charity ball…without you guys?" Weiss demanded, "And how-"

"Team RWBY was temporarily disbanded in my original timeline after Beacon's fall." Ruby said sadly, "Your father took you back to Atlas."

"Disbanded? Yea right." Yang said not believing this, "Nothing could separate us. We are-"

"YOU LOST YOUR ARM AND FELL INTO DEPRESSION!" Ruby yelled now, fed up with the flippant attitude of her older sister. Then quietly she said, "Your flame was essentially extinguished. You wouldn't come out of your room. You wouldn't talk to me. Hell I said 'I love you' and you didn't say it back."

Yang didn't know what to say other than, "I…what?"

"Blake you ran." The faunus cat's ears perked up in alarm at this, "You thought that Yang losing her arm was your fault so you ran. The one thing you feared most occurred."

"Adam? He-"

"Yes."

Once more looks were exchanged and a silent agreement was made: there was no way Ruby was making this up, "Sis?" Yang called softly. Ruby winced and then made eye contact. Silver met lilac, "I think you better start at the beginning."

Ruby nodded, "Ok well it started at the dust shop in Vale: From Dust til Dawn…ten years ago…"