New Divide

All of your life

Guided by truth

Right from the start

Then one twist of fate

In the blink of an eye

And it all falls apart

-Jeff Williams 'Fear'

"We've been at this two and a half hours!" Weiss exclaimed nearly exasperated, "Even I didn't drill you this hard at Beacon for Oobleck's tests."

"Doctor Oobleck." Ruby corrected, enunciating her former teacher's title, "And you most certainly did. I believe we spent nearly four hours one Saturday studying for one of his exams."

"Only because somebody had to move up two years early, missing an entire two years' worth of imperative information needed to follow along in class." Weiss muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. My point is that I am tired, I am getting a massive headache, and I cannot do this anymore today. Ruby, please I need a break." Weiss said helplessly. She felt disgusted with herself for the weakness in her voice, but the amount of forced concentration that Ruby had her do to try and get her summoning to work…it was difficult as well as frustrating.

Ruby was equally frustrated. She was trying to be helpful and understanding. She was trying to recall both Winter and Weiss's explanation on how the Schnee inherited semblance worked, and tried to lead Weiss on the right path, but for whatever reason the former heiress kept hitting wall after wall; only it was like the wall was made out of reinforced Atlesian steel rather than simple sheetrock. She was also aware that she was slowly taking on the 'drill sergeant' roll rather than the roll of being a 'supportive partner and friend'.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby raised her hands in a pacifying manner, "Ok I know we are both getting frustrated. Let's try talking this through: what is not working for you?"

Weiss crossed her arms defensively, "I don't know! If I knew that, wouldn't I have summoned something already?!"

"You know something? I forgot how incredibly frustrating you can be." Ruby growled out.

"And I didn't think you'd be such a drill sergeant!" Weiss yelled out while stomping her foot on the ground, "News flash! I am your partner not your solider!"

The others stood on the sidelines, each taking a break. Yang and Blake had been switching off with sparing between each other and Oscar, having moved from Nora and Ren to the bumblebee pair. Pyrrha and Jaune were also trying to work on his semblance. They were watching the White Rose pair as if watching a tennis match, "Should we maybe get between them?" Jaune asked hesitantly.

"I don't know." Pyrrha commented softly, as if afraid they would overhear the conversation, "I mean maybe if it gets too violent perhaps?"

"I am all for doing dangerous and stupid things, but I wouldn't want to go near that." Nora answered, Ren nodding his agreement.

"Best let them work this out." Blake said wincing as she heard Weiss accuse Ruby again of being a drill sergeant. "I accused you of not training the new recruits hard enough. That you were doing them a great disservice after everything you've seen and done. That it would be your fault if they died just like Yang."Ruby had admitted to them that day when she spoke of how her future-self had been training the recruits, causing Blake to briefly wondered if Ruby is subconsciously working Weiss harder for the exact reason of not wanting to do the former heiress a disservice.

Yang on the other hand wasn't too sure on that. She knew that she was being overbearing and perhaps trying to rein her sister in too much, but she couldn't really help it. She wanted to try and keep the peace, remind Ruby that she wasn't alone anymore; however she stayed back frowning critically as Weiss started to storm off, after Ruby mentioned having Weiss try once more, "Hey where are you going? We are not done!" Ruby called out as Yang winced at the tone.

"Well I am!" Weiss yelled back over her shoulder. Honestly one would think her team leader was trying to replace her father.

Ruby swore under her breath. The way Weiss was acting was as if she was still an heiress to a million lien company and not a huntress…that's it! "It's all about how we think to our fallen foes." Winter's voice comes to her as Ruby had been once studying the Schnee semblance, "The ones who forced us to push past where we were, and become who we are now." Weiss had finished dutifully when Winter had given her sister a proud look.

Brothers, please let her forgive me for what I am about to do, Ruby thought as she shook her head at her own soon to be self-disgust, "Alright fine. I will personally see to it that you are on the next train to Argus then."

"What?" Weiss asked stopping near the steps, turning to face her friend, "Why would you say something like that?"

Ruby shrugged her shoulders and walked passed Weiss when the former heiress marched her way back towards her, "Well clearly you are not well suited for this kind of combat."

"Excuse me?! Who the hell do you think you are talking to?!" Weiss demanded making Ruby turn to face her.

"I thought I was talking to my partner, training with my partner, but my mistake. In plain terms, Ms. Schnee, you are not her. My partner would not give up nor would she throw this type of tantrum." Ruby stated in a superior tone, "So perhaps it is best you take the train to Argus, go the Atlas military base that resides there, and beg a Specialist by the name of Caroline Cordovin to return you safely to Atlas." Before Weiss could intercede, Ruby took a step away from her and continued her lament, "After all perhaps you do belong there. You can beg daddy dearest for forgiveness and he might reinstate you as heiress and you can go back and live in your ivory tower to look down on the commoners."

"Oh shit." Nora gasped out, "I did not think Weiss could turn this red."

"Nor shake this much." Ren observed, "Maybe we should-"

"No." Oscar said softly, repeating Ozpin's words that was coming through to him, "She is planning something. Wait it out a little bit longer." You sure about this? He questioned though. Yes, but keep alert. I am not liking the metaphorical steam that is coming from Ms. Schnee, Ozpin replied warily, and Ms. Valkyrie's observation is correct. That shade of red cannot possibly be healthy.

Blake's ears are folded down as Weiss takes a predatory step towards Ruby, "This isn't going to end very well."

"No it isn't." Yang says, part of her wanting to break this up and defend Weiss, but at the same time knows that Ruby is doing this for a reason, "I love a good fight and goading, but this is going too far."

Weiss stares the reaper down, trying her best to see anything in the silver eyes that everything she is saying, she doesn't mean. However the silver pools are not revealing any contraindication to the hurtful words, "I am not my father." She ends up saying firmly, hand gripping Myrtenaster's hilt tightly as if getting ready for a fight.

"Sure you are." Ruby says offhandedly, hating herself even more than before, "Your temper, your tantrum because something didn't go your way, arguing over you sense of worth. Classic Jacque fucking Schnee, the 'be all end all' of Remnant." Ruby declared at the end.

"Shut up!"

"You know what? I'm done. End of discussion." Ruby says hands up as she slowly backs away from the furious fencer, "I will personally see to it you are on that train I mentioned before and then you can go home to bury your head in the fucking sand and go back to being the good little heiress that daddy always wanted you to be."

"SHUT UP!" Weiss yelled. She whipped Myrtenaster out and slammed the tip down on the ground.

The onlookers' jaws dropped at the large glyph that appeared underneath Ruby. Then in an instant Ruby dissolves into rose petals while a giant sword appeared out of the glyph where Ruby had once stood. Ruby reappeared a few feet away from the glyph as the next thing that came out was another arm followed by a large helmet and then a whole body. The glyph vanished and yet standing before Ruby in a threatening manner that was enhanced by the eerie glow was Arma Gigas, "Alright!" Ruby cheered happily, "Way to go We-" Ruby's congratulations was cut off by the knight swinging it's giant blade, hitting Ruby. The red reaper went flying into the wall, red aura shimmering around her, "I'm ok!" Ruby called out happily…a bit too happily.

The knight lunged again, this time Ruby was ready and dodged another swing. Taking this opportunity, the others went over to Weiss…albeit hesitantly, "Are you ok?" Pyrrha asked.

"I…don't know." Weiss said slowly as she watched Ruby dodging her knight, her hand briefly going to her scar by her left eye, "Did I just do that?"

"You mean making that thing appear? Then yes you did. Although it looks like it wants to kill my sister." Yang explained although her tone suggested she was impressed.

"What is that? I mean you sort of told us how your semblance works and we briefly heard you and Ruby discuss the summoning in the beginning, but what is that?" Jaune asked as they continued to watch the knight fight their leader. No one felt rushed through to help or intercede, since it appeared that Ruby was actually enjoying this.

Weiss's hand that was near her scar, did not move an inch. When she answered, her tone was emotionless, almost mechanical and seemed like she was unware that she was answering a very personal question, "When I insisted on studying at Beacon Academy rather than Atlas, my father's secretary unleashed a Grimm-possessed suit of armor during my training session." They looked at the knight now, horrified at the implication, "My father gave the order to have me fight it as a 'test' if I continued to insist on attending Beacon. They didn't expect me to win."

"It gave you that scar." Ren commented darkly, motioning to her face where her hand still resided.

"Yes." She now lowers her hand, "I was at my limit but I continued to fight until I finally managed to defeat it."

"Ok Ruby is right. Your father is a jackass." Yang comments, "However props to defeating that thing. Couldn't have been easy."

"No it wasn't." Weiss says slowly as she watches Ruby's dance with the knight as it tried to land hit after hit, but the reaper kept expertly dodging; not even bothering to engage with the training sword that she still had on her person. In fact it looked like Ruby had been fighting the knight for years; in which case, Weiss supposed, wouldn't be too outlandish to dismiss.

Blake lays a hand on the heiress's shoulder, "Remind Yang to not piss you off if this is the result." She says trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey why me?" Yang asks only a bit offended.

"You can be the most infuriating." Blake states with a smirk.

"Ruby was the one who almost got impaled."

"She got me mad on purpose. That is why I was able to summon it." Weiss answers as she takes a step away from her friends.

"She compared you to your father." Oscar observed, "You fought Arma Gigas in order to attend Beacon so you can prove that you are not like him. By Ruby saying those things, got you mad enough that subconsciously you thought of the one foe that could prove her wrong."

There was a crash and they saw the knight's sword get stuck into the floor and Ruby's proud smile still etched on her lips, "Well I think either way, you proved to Ruby that you belong with us, so maybe you can…get rid of it so we still have a place to stay?" Pyrrha suggested lightly.

"Uh…" Weiss chokes out and an unwittingly nervous chuckle escapes her, her stupor of what she was able to do finally broken as she looks at her friends then back to Ruby and her knight, who managed to get the sword unstuck and was just staring the reaper down, as if waiting for some kind of command.

"You can't unsummon it?" Jaune asks stunned.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't say you could either." Nora comments back.

There was a moment of silence as they looked at Weiss, who just shrugged, "Well this is classic. This is just like when your older sister tries to teach you how to ride a bike, explains how to get it started and keep going; lets' go and you are cheering because you are riding a bike, but yet when you come close to hitting a brick wall then you realize that she never taught you how to stop and you end up crashing and in a cast for six weeks! Worst summer ever!" Jaune exclaims. Every gives him a look, "What?"

"That was a realistic scenario." Yang says lightly, "A little too real."

Jaune rubs the back of his neck, "How long have you kept that inside?" Nora jokingly asks.

"Yo guys!" Ruby calls over finally, and they look at her now, "So I've been listening here and there and its ok. I got this." She looks back at the knight and raises her hands to show she means no harm, "I apologize. I did not mean to cause your mistress distress. I was merely trying to help her…in a roundabout way that might have pushed some boundaries that ought not to have been pushed."

The knight let's up on its offensive stance very slightly. Weiss gets a feeling that is not quite her own: protectiveness. She knows that the knight was summoned based on her need to show Ruby that she was wrong; that she was nothing like her father. In that regards, as she watched the scene unfold, she couldn't help but wonder if somehow for that one brief moment that meant that she saw Ruby as the enemy…and that was why the knight was hell-bent on killing her leader…her friend, "I know I crossed lines tonight, but I humbly ask for your forgiveness, otherwise you may strike me here and now." With that Ruby bowed, hands at her sides, showing that she was at the complete mercy of the armored knight before her.

"WAIT!" Weiss yelled, seeing how vulnerable Ruby made herself to be as she rushed over. Ruby glanced over at her partner as she stood between the two opposing fighters, "Don't do anything. It's fine. I'm fine."

The knight just looked down at her, made no move to raise its mighty broad sword against the red reaper in front of it. Weiss felt a bit unnerved by its eerie silence, and even though it had no eyes, just the helmet covering, it felt like it was watching her in silent judgement, "Weiss-" Ruby started to say.

"No. I don't blame you. What you said…" Weiss shook her head, not turning to face her friend, but keeping her eyes trained on the knight, as if willing it to see the earnest in her eyes as she defended Ruby, "Its fine. I forgive you. Not going to lie, the words hurt like a bitch, but you were only trying to help the way you knew how." There was a flash as she shielded her eyes and she saw the knight taking a knee before her. Weiss swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, "Thank you." Arma Gigas vanished before them and relief threatened to swallow her whole as she let out a shaky breath and relaxed her defensive posture.

The others slowly made their way towards the pair, "Wow that was cool." Nora commented.

"How do you feel?" Ruby asked softly, straightening herself to her full height.

"I don't have as much of a splitting headache anymore." Weiss comments, but then she turns and punches Ruby right in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Ruby exclaims rubbing the now sore spot on her shoulder, "Right in the joint! But yeah ok fine I deserve that. Damn you throw a mean punch."

Yang came over now and said in defense of Weiss, "You sure as hell did. In fact…"

WHACK!

"Ow! Hey I didn't even have a go at you!" Ruby yelled now as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Might as well have, since you know we are supposed to be a team?" Blake stated as she gave Yang a side long look at the blonde's shit-eating grin, "You feel better now?" She asks the blonde.

"Much." Yang said with extreme satisfaction. Then she glares at Ruby, "Blake is right, you took a very shitty and cheap shot at someone that is meant to be your partner. Might as well spat on the team in general."

"I know and I feel just as disgusted with myself." Ruby's shoulders sagged, "I didn't want to, but I felt that I needed to get some strong emotional response from you and that was the only way I knew how. You weren't at the Fall of Beacon, so I couldn't exactly replicate the feeling that you had when you were at that stupid charity ball."

"When I…she…summoned the Boarbatusk?" Weiss asked curiously, "What did I…she…feel exactly that you couldn't have used that?"

Ruby stepped passed them and went over to the bench and sat down. Leaning forward she rested her chin on her hands as everyone sat down around her, "You made it sound like it was righteous fury. No one gave a shit what the ball was for. The woman in question was bad mouthing Beacon and Vale in general and you ended up snapping. You saw Beacon as your home, and some bimbo was trashing the ever loving hell out of it."

"What does the Boarbatusk have to do with it?" Ren asked on behalf of Weiss as the former heiress took in the information.

Ruby looked at Weiss expectantly. Blue met silver and it clicked for her, "Port's class. You were trying to help me fight it on the sidelines."

"And?"

"I tore into you. I said awful things."

Ruby shook her head, "No…well yes, but no that is not the moment I was referring too. After that class you came to me later and promised to be the best partner I would ever have. It was because of that moment you were able to summon that particular persona of that specific Grimm. It was because of the boarbatusk fight that brought you to have the ability to push past where you were, and become who you are now."

"But being at that Fall…" Pyrrha started to comment as she looked between Weiss and Ruby, "It shouldn't have mattered now. You could have had her summon that particular personification if you reminded her that she wasn't a stuck up heiress but your partner." Then turning to Weiss she said, "Sorry I could've phrased that better."

Weiss merely shrugged as a response. Normally she would have a combat ready, but she could feel the adrenaline she used to summon the knight fading from her system, and the exhaustion slowly come back to her core, "Its fine no offense taken. I admittedly was a bit high strung."

"A bit?" Nora commented with a roll of her eyes.

"I wasn't that bad!" Weiss shot back despite herself.

Ruby chuckled softly, "No you weren't; just a lot to take in at once." Weiss let out an indignant 'hey!', and the others laughed at her expense until Ruby sobered up first, "In all seriousness though, as a response to Pyrrha's comment, I couldn't. The trauma of that night hadn't happened to her." Ruby said motioning to Weiss, "There is a difference between seeing it and actually being there. Yes you all lost something that night by watching on your scrolls before the CCT fell. However the enormity of actually being there is not a burden you carry in the here and now. So no, I couldn't play on that. I had to play on something stronger…much stronger."

They watched as Ruby diverted her silver gaze as a moment of silence fell on the group as they digested the information. Yang carefully observes the red clad young woman in this moment, so much trauma and a heavy burden laden on her shoulders, but there was something else that was left unsaid, "That also means you took away our opportunity to grow as well."

Ruby let Yang's comment sink in a bit. It was true, she supposed. By taking away the difficulties and the horrifying trials they all went through, she did indirectly take that away, "You are correct." Ruby finally said after mulling the thoughts over in her head, "I guess I am still following the 'no good deed goes unpunished'."

"But we are still growing." Ren comments in his calming tone, "Through different trials than in your time perhaps, but still learning none the less. Including yourself."

Ruby smiled sadly, "So just to be clear," They looked at Jaune as he spoke up now, "Weiss has started to master her semblance more in your rather…tough love approach to it."

"Is this going somewhere?" Weiss asked eyebrow famously cocked and her arms crossed.

"Is there a way you can force it out of me like you did for Weiss?" Jaune asked hopefully to Ruby. Just like Ruby and Weiss had been working nonstop, so had he and Pyrrha. Not that he didn't appreciate all the effort she had been putting into helping him, he felt like he needed a jump start.

Ruby's face went instantly pale and they watched as her eyes swiftly shifted to Weiss, then to Pyrrha, before looking away before making a huge effort to swallow. Even though she was knocked unconscious, she still recalls that moment before:

"Are you going to let her die too?" Cinder had taunted Jaune.

"Stop messing with me!" Jaune had yelled back.

Cinder had smirked, "If that's what you want..." Cinder then ignited her scimitar. Coated in flames, she and Jaune had proceed forward to clash.

She had took notice of this, briefly distracted from her fight with Emerald. The two moments overlap between her activating her eyes at Haven versus her witnessing Pyrrha's death at Beacon. It was because of that moment of weakness when Emerald had disabled her that Jaune had a brief opening, but Cinder had saw her own opportunity and conjured an obsidian spear.

Jaune had explained that once Cinder had thrown the spear, it had impaled Weiss through her abdomen. Briefly, for a moment, everyone had stopped fighting and watched as the spear disintegrated and the former heiress went motionless, just to slump forward.

Ruby violently shakes her head, trying desperately to clear it of her partner laying so pale and lifeless while her friend had been working trying to save her life, "No. I'm afraid we cannot do that to you." She said in a tone that should have clued them in that she was done talking.

"What? Why not?" Jaune calls out frustrated. Ruby either ignores him or really doesn't hear him, "Tell me damn it! Why can't we use the same technique on me?!"

Apparently it was the former because Ruby springs into her semblance and slams the young man into the wall. Her arm pressing on his throat, "Because we would have to mortally wound someone you care deeply about that's why!" she yells in his face, silver eyes gleaming in anger.

No one made a sudden move as Ruby's statement had echoed through the training room. Jaune's face was that of shock and all he choked out was, "What?"

Ruby let up pressure some, but did not release him just yet, "Your semblance is aura amplification. It was the reason why I had begged you to save Yang from dying when we were in that White Fang hideout. In my timeline you unlocked it at Haven after Weiss was mortally wounded." This shocked team RWBY, Ruby did explain that Jaune had unlocked his semblance at Haven but not the how, "She was nearly killed by Cinder. You were still torn up over Pyrrha and wanted revenge. You two were facing off. While she was momentarily distracted you managed to get a hit in; however you also became distracted because Weiss was facing off against Vernal. Cinder saw this opportunity to torture you some more and gave her what should have been a death blow."

Jaune feels Ruby let up completely, he catches Weiss's eye and sees that Ruby didn't tell them this part at all. Pyrrha moves passed the reaper and goes to his side, "He unlocks via strong emotion." Pyrrha comments sadly as she watches his face lose the shock and dissolves into sorrow.

Ruby doesn't comment and starts to walk away again, "Ruby?" Blake calls out.

"We will find a different way. End of discussion." Ruby throws out not turning back around, "Get cleaned up. I'll fix a late lunch, early dinner thing."

"Dinner?" Nora asks and they all face the window and saw it was midafternoon, "Wow time flies huh?" Ren shook his head.

Jaune slumped to the floor, "I didn't expect her to react that way. I am just so tired of being a hindrance."

"You're not though." Pyrrha said following his lead, "You really have improved. It will just take time."

Jaune shook his head, "Time we don't have. You heard her. Haven is approaching and Weiss just got the beginnings of her summoning, and I still haven't unlocked my semblance, and Oscar…how are you anyway?"

Oscar shrugged, "Sore, but ok I guess. I mean I was a farmhand all my life with no combat experience."

"You're hand to hand improved quick enough." Yang supplied but kept her eyes to the stairs that Ruby had gone up, "A bit more practice and you will be able to handle yourself fairly decently."

"Only thanks to Ozpin's memories. My muscles haven't been used for fighting before so I mean I understand the whole time thing." He replied and looked at Jaune encouragingly, "Besides I haven't been able to even begin thinking about Ozpin's semblance either." I will help you the best I can on that, he heard in his head, "Maybe we can help each other?" Oscar added as extra encouragement and in response to Ozpin's words.

Jaune shrugged, "I guess it couldn't hurt." He then got up and helped Pyrrha up as well, "We should go get ready, and I have to apologize."

"I think Ruby won't hold it against you, you know." Blake said, "Yes you hit a nerve, but we are all pretty stressed right now too."

"Still…" He scratched the back of his head and led them to the stairs.

"No, no still. You lot go get ready. I still want to talk to her." Yang comments.

"Perhaps it is best I do that." Oscar said, "Or we do that. I mean we are sort of the same after all." Then in a quieter, and hesitant tone as all eyes are on him, "I am still a bit of a stranger, so maybe she won't have as strong as a reaction?" They each look at one another and nodded. It couldn't hurt after all.