The girls of Team RWBY sat in their classroom as they tried to follow of the professor's lecture. Well, half of them are actually listening, while the other half mind wandered somewhere else. Weiss and Yang were the ones listening to the lecture. Weiss was writing notes as usual without showing any struggle. Yang sat there with her head on her hand, listening with a bored expression on her face.

On the other hand, Blake decided to read the textbook of the class. She preferred to read than listening in order to learn something. As for Ruby, she had her attention somewhere else. She was looking out of a nearby window. Right now, Ruby remembered the text conversation she had with Arranis, the night before. She worried about what could dangerous for them to help him.

Later after class, the girls of Team RWBY strolled out of the classroom, happy for the lecture to be finally over. Ruby had an idea. Her face told it all, even the other girls knew she was up to something.

"What do you think if we could get Arranis the stuff he missed out on in class?" Ruby threw out the idea.

"Technically, we will be doing him a favor," Blake agreed.

"You know he will have a lot to catch up on," Weiss stated.

"Doesn't matter, he still our teammate. He just on a sick leave," Yang explained. "Let's go for it."

Ruby nodded as everyone was on board with Ruby's plan.

-*RWBY*-

"What?! Ruby sounded surprise. "What do you mean he was already here?!"

The girls of Team RWBY stood before Professor Oobleck. They were in the office of the professor's room. Oobleck sat behind his desk, going through student's work and grading them appropriately. There were an awfully amount of coffee cups scattered around the room.

"As I said before," Oobleck took a sip from his mug. "Arranis Shadow had arrived here earlier in order to collect some of the worksheet he had missed out on. He apologized for his absence in my class." Oobleck searched through the piles of paper in front until he found the one he was looking for. "Surprisingly, he took one look at the worksheet and filled them out in front of me. After that, he simply turned it in after telling them he had completed them. This is he grade he received for his work."

Oobleck presented the worksheet to the girls. All of them were uninterested in the grade, except for Weiss. Weiss quickly peered onto the paper and then widen her in total amazement.

"How it is possible for him to score a perfect score in such a small amount of time?! Weiss exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm also quite astonished for his work," Oobleck agreed. "I couldn't accuse him of cheating, since he written out his work right before my eyes. So, I don't have a choice but to grade him appropriately for his work."

Everyone stood there with many thoughts on their mind. Weiss wanted to know Arranis' secret to success on homework. As for everyone else, they wanted how they could have missed someone like Arranis.

"How long has it been since you last talked to Arranis?" Yang spoke out her mind. Ruby and Blake had the same question in their mind.

"Hmm, I can't be exact for sure," Oobleck took another sip of his coffee, "but I have to say about ten minutes ago."

"Ten minutes?!" Yang repeated the amount of time. "If it such a short amount of time, they was a chance we just missed him. He could be nearby. "

"I don't know about that," Blake disagreed. "In ten minutes, someone could go a great distance from here."

"I don't understand you girls' current situation," Oobleck interrupted the girls. "Sounds to me, Mr. Shadow is neglecting his class and had gone rogue from your team." Professor Oobleck stood up from his desk. "As a huntsman, I can't allow that."

"That's not it!" Ruby was quick to deny. "There was a reason for his actions."

"And what would that be?" Oobleck was eager for an answer.

"Well, the reason for his absence... is because... well..." Ruby tried to find a good response.

"Arranis has been sick for the last couple of days," Yang helped her little sister.

"That's right," Ruby confirmed. "That's why he hasn't been in class. It was because of today, Arranis felt a lot of better. He insisted he was fine. We were only wondering where he was because we tried to keep track of him, in case anything happens. It wasn't until at this moment, we had lost sight of him."

Ruby finished explaining. Oobleck thought about the Ruby's story a lot. He tried really hard to find any reason to not believe them. As a Huntsman, he can't be led astray from any major issues. In the end, Oobleck decided to believe the girls and their story. The girls don't have a reason to lie to him. The other thing, Arranis had turned in any work he had missed out.

"I will believe on what you have to say," Oobleck believed their story. "Just make sure Mr. Shadow drink enough fluid and rested enough."

"We will make sure."

"Now, if you excuse me," Oobleck sat back behind his desk. "I must resume grading students' paper. If you wish to have a word with me, please visit me in a couple of hours, when I don't have much work to work on."

With that said, that was the cue for the girls to leave. Everyone left the room one by one, leaving the professor to continue to grade his students.

-*RWBY*-

Back at their dorm room, the girls sat around the room with looks of disappointment. After the conversation with Oobleck, they tried to collect work from the other professors. Again, all was in the vain. They all claim Arranis had shown up before they did, received the work, completed right before them, and then turned them in. Weiss was irritated by the fact Arranis would got perfect grades on all of his work. Regardless, their plans were pretty much shattered.

"Well that was a bust," Blake decided to break the tension.

"I still can't believe he had gotten everything perfect," Weiss mumbled to herself.

"Really, Weiss? You're still on that?" Yang questioned.

"How can't I? Weiss retorted, "Arranis had missed out the lecture, but can score perfect on every homework. I just wanted to know how he did it."

"But don't you think it is strange," Blake moved on to the bigger topic.

"What is?" Yang asked.

"All the professors, we had talked to, claimed Arranis came in a couple of minutes before we ever arrived to collect the missing work. The one thing was bugging me..."

"There was a high chance we would run into him, if he tried to grab all his homework," Ruby finally spoke as she finished Blake statement.

"Yet, we have never seen him anywhere."

The room had grew silence once more. Now everyone had the same question in mind. There was a lot they don't about him.

Ruby walked over to one of the desk that had the box with broken pieces of Asarirn's blade. She merely stared into the box.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Yang asked to avoid the silence.

"We still have the plan to search for him after class, which it is now a pretty good time to do," Blake suggested.

"Do you think Arranis would still be here?"

"It's highly unlikely," Weiss commented, "he had finished all of his work, I don't see a reason for him to stay."

The three girls turned their gazes over to Ruby, who remained quiet. Nobody knew what was on her mind, but one thing for sure would be Arranis. They all looked back at each other.

"Anyway," Weiss carried on.

The girls continued to talk amongst themselves while leaving Ruby by herself. Ruby remained standing by the box of the broken blade with thoughts on her mind. The conversation she had with Arranis last night was the only thing on her mind. The message, "It's too dangerous for you to help me," circled in her head. As she stared at the blade, Ruby felt there was nothing she could to help him. She wanted to know what would makes it dangerous for them to try to help him.

Ruby's idea of weapons popped in her mind. She remembered she told her sister on the first day at Beacon. Everybody's weapon are an extension of oneself and part of themselves.

With that idea in mind, she decided to reach for the handle of the broken blade. She believed if she had a better understanding of Arranis. Anything little bits could help.

Ruby grasped the handle of the broken blade. She held up the handle and simply stared at it. The handle was surprisingly light, considering there was no blade attached to it. Ruby felt there was a good grip on the handle, so whoever wield it had a good control over the weapon.

After she finished examining the handle, Ruby processed to place the handle back down. Before she had the chance to, Ruby felt something flashed into her mind. A voice to be exact. The voice was quiet but still be able to hear it.

"Hello?" A female voice was heard in her.

"What?" Ruby could only questioned.

Before anything could happen, Ruby felt the room began spin for her. Without a moment too soon, Ruby dropped onto her knees before her whole body crash onto the ground. She lost her grip to the handle, slide away from reach. Immediately, Ruby fell into unconsciousness.

Weiss took a look at Ruby just to check on her. The moment she saw Ruby collapsed onto the ground, Weiss jumped.

"Ruby!" Weiss cried as she ran towards her.

The other two girls noticed the situation, and also ran to Ruby's aid.

The three girls surrounded Ruby as they tried to figure out what was happening. Before they could take the proper procedure for medical aid, Ruby's eyes slowly opened.

"Ruby!" Yang felt relieved. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Ruby said quietly as she tried to get a bearing on herself.

"Well this changes everything," Weiss stated to everyone.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby questioned. She stood with a little help from Yang.

"We were planning to go out to search for Arranis. But since you collapsed, it's better to wait and let you rest."

"I'm perfectly fine," Ruby tried to convince everyone.

"No, you're not," Weiss quickly retorted. "You just collapsed for no reason at all. Its better we go at night for him. As of right now, you need rest more than anything."

Ruby looked down in shame.

"Besides," Weiss continued as she stepped towards, "this give me the chance to get some information from someone.

"Who?" Blake curiously asked.

"Nothing real important," was the only thing Weiss said as she walked out of the door.

The three girls watched as the door closed. They exchanged each other looks before Yang and Blake turned their attention to Ruby. Ruby felt their stares were piercing through her.

"What?" Ruby asked.

Yang didn't say anything as she pointed to one of the beds. Ruby knew this means rest.

"Fine," Ruby said as she stamp her feet towards her bed.

"It's better to rest in one of the bed on the ground," Blake added to the mix.

Ruby stared back at Yang and Blake. Ruby felt like a child to be ordered like this, but they won't let her do anything else until she receive her needed rest.

Without warning, Ruby decided to occupy Asarirn's bed. Since he wasn't here, he couldn't say no to her. As she laid on the bed, Ruby felt strange as she was actually tired. Within seconds, Ruby closed her eyes and fell into slumber.

Yang and Blake looked at each other, one last time. Now, their only question would be, what are they going to do for the time being until the night hits?

-*RWBY*-

Weiss sat in a luxury lounge chair as a cup of tea was placed on the table before her. She was inside what appeared to be a private room. Most of wall was occupied with shelves filled with book, reaching up to the ceiling. There were many map laid scattered across the room.

"Is it okay to talk?" Weiss asked with a bit of concern. "You said you had a lot of grading to be done."

Professor Oobleck sat in a chair from the opposite side of the table. Oobleck had his drink as he gave a warm smile.

"As a huntsman, you must be diligent, even as a teacher. You gravely mistaken my ability to grade paper." Weiss stared at the professor as she expect there was an ending to this. "I managed to finish all of paper about a couple of hours ago. Anyhow, you had said you wish to speak with me?"

"Yes, there are some things I wish to speak with you."

"Ah, I love giving crucial information in order for a student to learn and use it later on."

"The first thing I want to know, is it possible for someone to have more than one name?"

"Of course, anyone may have more than one name. It usually takes a form of a nickname, a title, and, of course, they can just call themselves a different name entirely than what their parents named them," Oobleck smiled as he tried to make a mockery of the topic. But Weiss looked rather unimpressed, more irritated by the fact of Oobleck's jokes. "But, I suppose you have already knew that," Oobleck continued, Weiss nodded, "I believed what you are looking for would be 'True Name.'"

"True Name?" Weiss asked with curiosity.

"Yes. When the world was still new for humanity, as history could remember, everybody were born with two names. One name, your parents would name them as part of the family. And the other name, you are literally born with, before your parents named you."

"And that would be their True Name."

"Correct, Ms. Schnee."

"What was so special about these name?"

"Why was these name so special, she said," Oobleck mocked her question. Weiss decided not to say anything to allow him to continue. "These names contain hidden power. Power you would never believe. Because of these names, everyone are unique.

"You still didn't answer what exactly they do."

"Imagine this, Ms. Weiss, what is your semblance."

"I create glyphs that have different properties," Weiss made it short and simple.

"Well, I can tell you this. By knowing your true name, you will be able to evolve your ability to new heights. You will be become a powerful huntress because of it."

"If you say knowing your true name makes you a powerful person, then how does one even figure out their True Name?"

"Ah of course, that would be one of many great questions needing an answer to," Oobleck chuckled to himself.

Weiss looked at him with a confuse look, giving him the signal to explain further.

"People from the past never kept a good record because they would never know the past could help us in the present and beyond. Essentially, we don't know how they possess the knowledge of their True Name. Some records shown people figured out their True Name by coming to them in some way.

"Is it possible for people to figure out what their True Name is, like me for example?"

"Can't say for certain," Oobleck sounded doubtful. "As time passes on, fewer and fewer people figure out their True Name. Until now, we don't have any record of anyone actually knowing their True Name."

"But still possible?" Weiss tried to get her hopes up.

"I would say it's possible, but the chance are slim to none."

"I see," Weiss said as her mind trail off.

"I hope this information was helpful for your school work," Oobleck tried to grab her attention. "Is there anything else I could help you with?"

Weiss quickly snapped out of her thought process with a quick shook. "I believed I have what I needed for my research," Weiss said as she stood up from her seat. Before she proceed to head back, her scroll made a small ding sound. That notified her about something.

Weiss reached and procedure her scroll. Her eyes widen in amazement. The search for languages match the inscription on the blade had ended, which had produced a result. Weiss looked at Oobleck with the same look. Oobleck tilted his head as he wondered what was in mind.

"Actually," Weiss finally spoke, "There is one other thing I would like to know."

"Well?" Oobleck was eager to know, "Tell me what it is. I want to know if I have any knowledge. I love when students challenge my historical data."

Weiss took in a deep breath before speaking. "What can you tell me about the language of the Masters?"

Oobleck widen his eyes in surprise for a split second. He looked off into the distance. Oobleck kept that look for a while. Weiss could only assumed he was collecting his thought.

"The language of the Masters," Oobleck repeated what she had said before standing up from his seat. "Another name for it we called, The Weapon Master language. Or the language of the weapon. Well, you get the idea."

"Weapon Master," Weiss spoke the name. She sat quietly in her seat and listened to Oobleck on what he has to say.

"Related to the topic of True Names. Based around the same time. Weapon Master are people who understand the way of the blade far better than any normal human being. They are able to understand their opponents' stance and attack pattern the more you fight them. Essentially, the longer you fight them the more likely you won't be able to defeat."

"So how does the True Name related to the Weapon Master?" Weiss was at a lost.

"There are two things they are related. Their True Name determined which family they belong to, and the other one is you can become a Weapon Master by knowing your true name."

"Family?" Weiss tried to intake as much information as she could. But still at a loss.

"There are a couple of ways of becoming a Weapon Master. There are some have the blood of a Weapon Master from a descendant of one. Or by taking a mastery exam. Either way, to officially become a Weapon Master, you gave to take the mastery exam."

"What is the mastery exam?"

"Weapon Master have mastery over any kind of weapons. Another name for these people we called teachers. Often back in the old days, people, who are officially a Weapon Master, takes student for them to learn the ways of becoming one themselves. Once the teacher determined the student is ready for the mastery. The mastery exam is like a test to see whether or not you are becoming a Weapon Master."

"What is the perk of becoming of a Weapon Master?"

"Imagine vast amount of knowledge about fighting you are able to access instantly in order to defeat your opponent. No matter how intense the fight is, you are able to see clearly on how your opponent move."

"So, are they undefeatable," Weiss sounded a bit concerned.

"Even with their ability, they can be defeated. But, the probability for that to happen would be low."

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Weiss sounded amazed by all the information.

"Well, considering the legends about the Weapon Master ended around the same time as the True Name," Oobleck chuckled a bit, "I wouldn't be surprised if any children, your age, would know about."

"There is something I don't understand."

"What would that be?"

"You mentioned something about 'families' Weapon Master. What were you applying with that?"

Oobleck smiled, he loved the fact one of his students was asking more questions about history.

"During that time, many Weapon Master had a separate family than their own flesh and blood. We usually called their Weapon Master family. With each family of Weapon Master, they have their own art in fighting. An ability or technique that are exclusive to that family. However, since the rule states, every other generation, of the family related to the Weapon Master family, could actually be a Weapon Master of that family."

"Could you rank these families based on their skill and power?"

Oobleck gave some thought before giving an answer, "I suppose you could."

"And what would you say what would be strongest family?"

"Hmm," Oobleck thought hard about this one. He forced to draw the knowledge deep in his memory. Oobleck thought in silence for a while until he found the answer. "Out of all the family in recorded history, I would have to say the Nightlyis family have to be the strongest."

"Wait," Weiss spoke out as soon as she heard the Nightlyis name. "You possibly can't be referring to same evil family that would kill anyone just to get what they want."

"Despite their dark nature and reputation, everyone would acknowledge they are the strongest. I would pray for never to meet a Nightlyis that are described in the history books."

"You mentioned something about officially become a Weapon Master. How can you tell they are an official Weapon Master?"

"They would have mark on their body."

"A mark?"

"Yes. A mark, not only to tell you are a Weapon Master, but also tell what code you follow."

"A code?"

"Yes," Oobleck smiled, "besides following their family path, Weapon Master usually give themselves a reason to pick their vows, a reason to fight. Usually it would consist of protecting their love ones, or just seeking fame or fortune."

"Where can you found these marks?"

"To be honest, I'm not use about that. I'm pretty sure though, the mark could be anywhere on the body."

Once Oobleck finished speaking, Weiss stay sat in her seat and thought long and hard about what the professor had said. The history of the Weapon Master, the mark that Oobleck had mentioned, or the inscription on the blade. Her thought lead back her teammate, Arranis Shadow. For what reason he had this blade? The style of fighting she had witness against Arranis' opponent. The reason he always wore the hood.

Weiss widen her in surprise as she pieced the information together. "Could Arranis Shadow be a...?"

"The look on your face tells me, you know a person who could be a Weapon Master," Oobleck interrupted Weiss' thoughts, "Oh wonderful news indeed! Tell me, who could it be?"

"Right now, I'm not very sure about my hypothesis."

"I see," Oobleck sounded a bit disappointed. "Well, if you actually meet one, please have the person meet with me. I have many questions for the person."

Weiss stood up from her seat once more as she believed this was the end of their conversation. "I will ensure that will happen," Weiss promised, which caused Oobleck to smile happy. "Thank you for your time."

"No, I should thank you for having an interest in history."

Weiss proceed to leave the room with thoughts in her mind. Questions about her male teammate, who could be a Weapon Master.

-*RWBY*-

Ruby laid in Asarirn's bed, after being forced to rest by her whole team. Even though she felt fine moments ago, she felt extremely sleepy. It wasn't long, more like a couple of seconds, for her to fall asleep. With sleep comes a dream.

-*RWBY*-

Within the dream Ruby found herself inside a private library. Shelves of books surrounded the room. A fireplace with a fire burned brightly, giving a cozy feeling to it. At the same time, Ruby, herself, sat in one of two elegant design chairs. Ruby could look around as she tried to figure out what was going on. To her surprise, the only thing that brought light into the room would be the lit candles scattered around the room.

Ruby tried to figure out her purpose of being in that very room. With moments, she really couldn't find the answer. Even though Ruby was in a confuse state, she couldn't help but noticed how comfortable the chair was. Ruby laid back against the chair, embracing the comfort of the chair.

With seconds, a woman walked with a cup of tea in hand. The woman had black flowy long hair with emerald color eyes. She had a simple robe on with a simple slippers. The woman noticed Ruby sitting in the chair and nearly jumped from Ruby's sudden appearance. Ruby jumped by the pure fact of someone she didn't know. However, Ruby couldn't help but feel she had meet this person before.

"Oh," The woman spoke but still surprised by Ruby. "I didn't expect I would have some company. Or the matter of fact, I got the wrong person."

"What is going on?" Ruby finally said something, which caused the woman to simply look at her.

The woman sat in the other chair, facing Ruby from the opposite side. She placed her cup of tea on a small table next to her. The woman looked back at Ruby and then smiled.

"Let's us properly introduce ourselves," The woman continued. "My name is Athena Dawnchaser."

It was at that moment, Ruby had a flashback.

Flashback…

Arranis stood up from the ground after healing the burned out arm he had. He tried to head for the nearest exit. However, a voice called out to him.

"Asarirn," a voice called out to the hooded person.

Everyone were confuse as they tried to figure out who had said that.

"Asarirn? Who's Asarirn?" Ruby asked but her voice trailed off as she noticed of who had might be.

One by one, the girls of Team RWBY and Glynda Goodwitch looked over where the voice had might come from. Each one of them gave a look being surprise to see. Finally, the hooded teammate dared to turn around to the voice, who it seems to call out to. Once Arranis turned around, he froze.

There was a projection of a long black woman, standing over the shattered blade, which had remained on the ground. The woman had a mage looking robe. She gave a look that she pleased to see the hooded teammate after a long time.

"Who's that woman?" Glynda questioned.

"Athena…" Arranis had said as he began to walk towards the projection.

Flashback ended…

Ruby widen her eyes as she realized who she. The woman picked up her teacup from the table stand as she was slightly parched.

"You're Athena!" Ruby called out as she almost jumped from the seat. "You're the one who gave the blade to Arranis."

Athena attempted to take a sip. But the moment she tried, Athena heard her name and stopped. She smiled at her as she placed her tea back down.

"Maybe, I didn't get the wrong person after all," Athena whispered to herself. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"My name?" Ruby was confused for a brief moment. "Oh, right! My name is Ruby."

"Ruby," Athena repeated the name once more. "As in the gem?" Ruby nodded.

Ruby looked around once more. She quickly snapped out of whatever she was thinking of and focused on what was important at the moment.

"What is going on?" Ruby finally asked.

"To put the simplest of terms, you are currently dreaming right now," Athena explained.

"So none of this is real," Ruby stated.

Athena shook her to disprove Ruby's theory. Ruby looked at Athena with a confuse look. Ruby sat quickly in her seat to allow Athena to continue.

"I have the ability to speak to people from the future, only if they are asleep and dreaming."

"So you are talking to me from the past then?" Ruby questioned.

"That would be correct."

"This conversation had already happened, even though I'm currently talking to you right now," Ruby said as she began to confuse herself.

"You are overthinking it," Athena stopped Ruby before she could hurt herself. "Just think of this way, I am talking to you through a dream. Time doesn't have to do with anything right now.

"Right," Ruby understand now.

"You mentioned a blade," Athena had gone straight to the point. "Were you referring to," Athena reached behind her chair and pulled a sheathed blade. Athena pulled the blade from sheath to reveal the blade itself. The blade was simple, other than that, there was an inscription on the blade. That very blade was the same one Asarirn would carry. "This blade."

"Yeah, that the same weapon Arranis had," Ruby explained.

"Arranis," Athena said as she sheathed the blade before putting the blade back where it was. "Are you referring to Arranis Shadow?"

"Yes," Ruby nodded, "but does he have another name. What was it again? As…"

"Asarirn," Athena finished before Ruby could.

Ruby nodded as she recalled the name. "Is one of the names fake?"

Athena shook her head, denying the question. "Technically, both of the names are really his own." Ruby was confuse by the statement, but kept to herself to allow the woman to continue. "For the duration of this conversation, we will be referring to the name of Asarirn."

"Okay."

"Good. So tell me," Athena began to speak. "As of right now, your time of course, what is the condition of the sword."

Ruby gave a grim look before answering, "The weapon is destroy; the blade was in pieces."

Athena gave a look in which she was not in fond of.

"What happened?" Athena asked as she demanded answers.

"Well, Arranis, I mean Asarirn," Ruby quickly corrected herself, "was in fight with the jerk Cardin Winchester."

"A fight?" Athena quickly interrupted, "As in an actual fight?"

"No, no, no, no," Ruby quickly denied. "It was more like a sparring match. It was for a class."

"Oh," Athena finally understand. She ignored the fact Asarirn was in a sparring class. "So tell me what had happened during the match."

"It was a regular fight. They both tried to see who was a better fighter. But what we didn't know Cardin's intention was to destroy Asarirn's weapon." Ruby paused a bit because didn't like the event that happened next. "Cardin managed to knock Asarirn's blade to the ground. Cardin used that chance to smash with his mace. The blade broke into pieces. And then… and then…"

"Asarirn lost control," Athena finished for her.

Ruby widen her eyes in shocked by Athena's responds. "How did you know?" Ruby wanted to know.

"This is not certainly the first time this ever happened," Athena explained casually.

"Why though?" Ruby questioned as she wanted to know why, "Is it because he can't control it."

"Is not the matter of he can control it or not," she explained as she took another sip from her tea. "It is the fact of who he is."

Ruby looked at Athena with another look of confusion as she wanted to know what she meant by that. Before Ruby could say anything at all, Athena asked a question.

"In your time of course, how old is Asarirn?"

"Asarirn?" Ruby was confuse for a brief moment before realizing it. "Oh, I believe he is seventeen."

"It would be two year difference," Athena muttered under her breath.

Their conversation ended as soon as they heard a door open. They watched as sunlight basked into the nearby hallway. The two remained still as the door closed, shutting the sunlight away. Footsteps echoed throughout the hallway until it stopped.

"Hello," a voice called out. "Athena, where have you gone?"

"I'm in the study, Asarirn," Athena called out to the person.

"Asarirn," Ruby heard the name.

They heard footsteps walking towards the room. If this is, Ruby believe would be, this would be Arranis, or Asarirn, or whatever at this point for Ruby. The anticipation was starting to kill her.

A young man entered the room where the girls were. He wore simple leather hide chest piece with leather gloves and boots. Other than that, he simple brown and green cotton clothing. However, the young man, Asarirn, wore a green long cloak, which he had the hood up to cover the face.

Ruby looked rather displeased by the fact this version of Asarirn had he hood up. However, Asarirn casually pulled off his hood, showing his face. Even this time, Asarirn had the mark of the Weapon Master on his face. To Ruby surprise, she looked shock as she saw Asarirn's face. To all of the things, Ruby couldn't figure out what was the secret he had with hood. But all that matters, Ruby knew what he looked like. Because of this, she couldn't helped but stare at him. Ruby was mesmerized by his face. Thoughts flowed through her head. One thought about he looked rather cute. Because of it, she blushed slightly.

"You would not believe how much effort I have to put into to get today's catch," Asarirn stated as he let out a yawn.

Asarirn causally walked over to the seat, which Ruby was occupied in. He turned himself around as he was about to sit. Ruby reacted by trying to move away from Asarirn's rear.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ruby tried to stop him from sitting on her.

"Stop!" Athena told Asarirn very quickly.

Asarirn jumped away from the chair. He slid a bit before making his stance. Asarirn quickly reached for a sword, which was strapped around his waist. "What?! What?! What's going on?! Asarirn was on high alert as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Wait, he can't see me?" Ruby quickly questioned.

Athena let out a simple sigh. "I'm talking to another person again."

"Oh," Asarirn eased up a bit. "So, who are talking this time?" Asarirn said with a bit of annoyance in his tone.

"Sounds to me, you don't believe when I say I talked to people ahead in time." Athena stated.

"Considering I can't see any of the people you talked to, this makes the idea hard for me to believe."

"Is that so?" Athena took another sip of her tea.

"Who are you talking with this time?" Asarirn asked with a bit of curiosity.

"A young pretty girl around your age."

"Oh really?" Asarirn said as he was actually interested. Ruby couldn't help but blush slightly. "Now this time I don't believe you."

"You don't believe me?"

Asarirn answered the questioned by shaking his head. Ruby watched at the two, wanting to know what going to happen next. Athena didn't say anything but instead she patted her lap. Immediately, Asarirn gave a weird outlook. Again, Athena patted her lap.

"I'm not going to sit on her lap," Asarirn stated.

Athena, once again, patted her lap without saying anything.

"Don't you want to see the pretty girl?" Athena teased.

Asarirn narrowed his eyes and cast a glare at Athena. He thought hard about whether or not, Athena was telling the truth. Asarirn looked for any signs for if she's telling the truth. The only thing she would do was to pat her lap, telling him to sit. The thinking ended on, what does he have to lose?

Without saying anything, Asarirn unhook the green cloak he had tied around his neck. He unstrapped the sword from his waist. After that was done, Asarirn placed the contents on a nearby table. Asarirn walked over to Athena, which she haven't made any move or had not said anything.

As Asarirn approached close to Athena, he stood in front of her, facing away as Athena.

Awkwardly, Asarirn began to descend down. Ruby felt disturbed by Asarirn's action, but couldn't help to watch. Within seconds, Athena quickly grew inpatient. Athena wrapped her arms around his waist and yanked him down, speeding up the process.

As Asarirn slammed his bottom onto the woman's lap, he felt extremely uncomfortable. Asarirn tried to move away but Athena had her arm still wrapped around Asarirn. Asarirn began to struggle to break free from the awkward state. Asarirn continued to struggle, but shortly stop as he noticed someone. Ruby could tell at this point, Asarirn had finally notice her existence.

Asarirn relaxed a bit upon looking at the girl. "H-hi," Asarirn awkwardly waved at Ruby.

Ruby didn't say anything but waved back. Ruby gave an awkward smile as well.

"You see," Athena presented. "What do you think? She pretty cute. Right?"

"Well anyway!" Asarirn tried to change the topic. "Since I haven't met yet, and I don't know if you met before, but my name is-"

"I know your name!" Ruby quickly explained. "You're name is Arranis."

"Arranis?" Asarirn questioned. "Are you talking about Arranis Shadow?"

"Um... yes?" Ruby was somewhat afraid to answer.

"Interesting..." Asarirn tapped his chin as he pondered a bit. "I haven't called myself that name, in what? Three years?"

"Two," Athena corrected.

Asarirn lowered his eyes, "Oh... right..."

"Wait," Ruby finally spoke as she was confuse, "So which is it? Two or three?"

Asarirn let out a sigh. "To tell you the truth, uh..."

"Ruby."

"Ruby," Asarirn bowed his head. "Three is the actual number, two is the lie. I have to lie to myself about the number of years."

"I don't understand," Ruby was at a loss, "Why do you have to lie to yourself?"

"I'm sorry," Asarirn began to apologize. "For that part, I can't tell you."

"Oh... I see."

"Anyway," Asarirn wanted to change the subject. "How much do you know about me? Are you willing to tell me your tale?"

Ruby gave a quick nod. "But, I have a question first."

"What would that may be?"

"Do you have stay sitting on her lap in order to see me?"

"Well, this one is the easiest to perform. There are other ways for me to see you," Asarirn explained.

Without notice, Athena used her hands and moved Asarirn's to face her, interrupting him. Athena instantly pressed her lips against Asarirn's. Ruby widen her eyes upon seeing this. Asarirn struggled for air after a bit. Asarirn moved away as he grasped for air, his mouth hanging open. Athena didn't hesitant and gone back for Asarirn's month. Asarirn felt a tongue invading into his month. Ruby couldn't help but look away, her face bright red, because she believed they would think it will be weird for her to watch them kiss. Asarirn and Athena's tongue dance and twirled together.

After a couple of seconds later, Athena finally moved and her mouth away. Asarirn gasped for air once more. A trail of saliva form between their mouths, and broke off after reaching a certain distance.

"Or you could do that," Asarirn tried to catch breath. He stood up from sitting on Athena's lap. Asarirn walked over to the nearest wall and lead against it.

"So," Ruby tried to avoid any awkward silence that may take over. "Can you still see me?" The question was referred to Asarirn.

"I can see you," Asarirn responded.

For some strange reason, Ruby couldn't help but not believe him. Ruby held up her hand with three fingers out. "How many fingers am I holding?"

Asarirn gave a confuse look before answering. "Three."

"I thought you need to sit on her lap to see me."

"To put in simplest of terms, I had 'borrowed' her ability," Asarirn held up his hands and made some air quotes.

"Okay then," Ruby felt that didn't really answered her question. There was a slight pause from as she looked at Asarirn and Athena. Ruby couldn't help but asked what's on her mind. "So, are you two a couple?"

"No!" Asarirn was quick to deny. "I am far too young for her. I'm only fifteen and she..." Athena quickly cast a death glare at Asarirn. "Uh... twenty-three."

"So any reason... you two... you know..." Ruby voice trailed off as pressed her two pointer fingers together.

Asarirn let out a sigh as he figured out what she was on about. "As I said before, I temporary borrowed her ability to see."

"Do you have to do that every single time?"

"We have to establish a connection between us in order to borrow my ability," Athena decided to explain," There are many ways of establishing a connection. The one we use was the fastest and easiest to execute."

"It is rather convenient we are both of the opposite of gender, other than that I wouldn't have worked."

"I see," Ruby sat quietly as she tried to process anything at once.

"Anyway," Asarirn tried to change the subject. He looked straight at Ruby. "You mentioned my other name, Arranis. I'm interested in how you knew that name. Are you willing to tell me your tale?"

Ruby actually gave a serious look this time. She nodded as she complied with Asarirn's request. Maybe, telling them would gave her the answer she was looking for.

-*RWBY*-

Ruby sat in the same chair as she told them her tales of what happened. Both Asarirn and Athena listened carefully to fully aware themselves with crucial information. Both of them have questions in minds they wanted to ask the girl about. Ruby, herself, have questions of her own. Once she was done talking, Ruby sat quietly in her seat and watched their reaction.

"So let me get this straight," Asarirn began his questioning. "We meet because we were fighting an enemy, who called himself Blaze."

Ruby nodded. She didn't corrected him by the fact they meet in the forest, where the team were nearly defeated by Grimm.

"Do you know anybody by that name?" Athena asked.

"Based on," Asarirn looked at Ruby, "Ruby's description, I know someone who match that description. However, he didn't call himself by that name."

"Maybe something happened."

"Perhaps."

"Do you always wear a hood in front of others," Ruby asked. It was her turn to start asking questions.

Asarirn raised an eyebrow by the context of the question. "I don't usually wear a hood. Why do you ask?"

"Because," Ruby spoke, "you always wore a hood and won't allow anyone to see your face."

"So is this the first time you actually see what I look like without the hood?"

Ruby nodded. "Do you regret showing your face to me?"

Asarirn shook his head. "Not really, you seem a nice person. I don't see the reason to not show."

"If only you're like that," Ruby muttered.

"What was that?" Asarirn couldn't hear Ruby's comment.

"Nothing," Ruby quickly answered. "Anyway, if you a reason to wear a hood, what would it be?"

Asarirn pondered the question. "The only thing I could think of would be two reasons. One would be concealing my face, as in I don't anyone to know who am I. And the second one, I don't anyone to see the mark I bared," Asarirn said as he point to the mark on his face.

Ruby gave a confuse look as she did not understand. "What does that mark even mean?"

Asarirn gave a look as he was both surprise and confuse. He glance over to Athena for her reaction. She only shrugged as she did not expect that reaction as well. Asarirn turned to Ruby once more.

"You don't know what the mark means?" Asarirn asked, hoping for a responds.

"Uhhh... no..." Ruby shook her head. She was a bit afraid to answer.

"Really?!" Asarirn questioned. "You don't know the mark of the Weapon Master?"

"Weapon Master?" Ruby thought to herself.

"How could you not even know about Weapon Master?' Asarirn continued. "Why are you from?"

"Vale," Ruby hastily answered.

Both Asarirn and Athena looked at each other with confuse expression before looking back to Ruby.

"As in Clockwork Vale?" Asarirn wanted some clarification. "Where everyone have to effectively use time for everything."

"No."

"Are you referring to the Vale of Internal Peace?" Athena suggested.

"No," Ruby shook her head. "I'm talking about the Kingdom of Vale.

Once again, Athena and Asarirn looked at Ruby with confuse looks. It only took moment for Athena to realize what was going on. Asarirn, on the other hand, remained clueless.

"How would you call your world?" Athena asked the important question.

Asarirn widen his eye as he realized when Athena asked the question.

"We called the world, Remnant."

"Now, everything makes sense," Asarirn stated.

"What makes sense?" Ruby now found everything confusing.

"We are from different worlds," Asarirn explained. "The world we are in is called, Lydius."

Ruby sat silently as she tried to process everything. Everything now made sense; how no one knew exactly who he was.

"Then why are you in Vale," Ruby asked Asarirn.

"I would like to know also," Athena added, "that would mean you..."

"Yes, I'm aware I'm being counterproductive," Asarirn finished the claim. The way Asarirn had said it, he sounded very annoyed. Ruby tilted her head as she wondered what he meant by that. Asarirn quickly changed the subject.

"Any reason you would be in our world?" Ruby continued asking.

"Two things. I just wanted to explore your world. Or something forced me to go to that and I couldn't go back."

"Do you know why?"

"How should I know? It had yet to happen."

The room returned back to its quiet state once more. Ruby had a question in mind. She was afraid to ask because they could end the conversation from there. However, there was a possibility they can actually answer her question. With determination, Ruby asked the question.

"Why does everyone think you are dead?" Ruby asked with a serious look.

The room remained quiet. Ruby wanted an answer, but they just stared at her. The reason she asked was the result of the aftermath of the fight between Asarirn and Cardin. When the projections of Asarirn and Athena appeared with line of "Why! Everyone think you are dead!"

"Well," Asarirn started to speak, breaking the silence. "I can't say anything about it. I don't know what you mean."

"Would you mind telling us what you talking about?" Athena was curious about what Ruby was referring to.

Ruby felt she had messed up bad by asking about something that probably didn't happen. Their reaction was something Ruby didn't hope for. Telling them about the future could change everything.

"If I tell you about the future, it could change thing," Ruby explained what might happen.

"The thing about Athena's ability," Asarirn spoke for Athena. "She is the only one who can remember this conversation." Ruby tilted her head as she was confuse. Asarirn sighed as he continued. "Meaning, after this conversation, I won't remember any of it."

"Oh I see then," Ruby felt she could relaxed a bit.

Ruby processed to tell the tale about her tale of the events of fighting between Asarirn and Cardin.

-*RWBY*-

Ruby spend a greatly amount of time telling them what happen. She tried very hard to give as much detail as she could. Asarirn and Athena listened carefully once more. Once Ruby finished with her story, Asarirn couldn't help but sighed in frustration. Even Athena knew why he was upset. As for Ruby, she doesn't.

"I can't believe I lost control because of a broken blade. Even all this time, I don't have complete control over equilibrium. But the thing I don't understand, what was so special about the blade?"

"It was the blade I'm going to give for completing your training."

"I see."

"What happened to cause everyone one you are dead?" Ruby asked at the point she wanted to know.

"How old am I in your time?"

"Seventeen."

"There is a two year difference."

"Is there something you are going to do later on?" Ruby asked anxiously.

Asarirn gave a quick thought for a moment. It felt like he was put on the spot. "The only thing I'm planning on doing would be joining the guild, the Silver Rangers. I won't join for a couple of months though."

"I don't really see your point in joining the Silver Rangers. I heard not very positive things from that place," Athena protested.

"I don't really know myself," Asarirn answered vaguely. "The only thing I know is fighting, killing monsters, and helping people in need. You know, might as well make a career out of it. The Silver Rangers seems to be the only guild that fit my criteria."

Ruby smiled by what Asarirn had said. The way he would plan out his future was the same way as Ruby wanting to become a Huntress. She quickly focused on track.

"Do you think anything is going to happen over there?" Ruby have to ask.

"You're just full of questions, are you?" Asarirn commented. "I'm not really sure, only time could tell us what happens next."

Before the conversation could proceed forward, Athena felt lightheaded. She grasped her as she tried to fight off the dizziness. Asarirn immediately noticed her symptoms.

"Athena," Asarirn called out to her as he kneeled beside her. "What is wrong?"

"It's nothing," Athena tried to act, but she not fooling anyone. "I am reaching the limit of my ability. I need to end this as soon as I can."

Ruby felt she haven't gotten all the answers, she was looking for. Before she could blur out many questions as she could, Ruby gazed upon her hands. Her hands started to become transparent, soon after, rest of herself.

"Can I ask one more thing before I go?" Ruby asked as this was her last chance.

Both, Asarirn and Athena, looked over to Ruby to acknowledge her request. Asarirn peered over to Athena, since the decision was really up to her. Athena responded with a smile.

"You may ask one last question," Athena gave permission.

Ruby smiled as this was the final question. She quickly put on a serious face and looked straight at Asarirn.

"Asarirn," Ruby said to Asarirn's attention. "After the sparring match, you had with Cardin, you never came back because of what happened during the fight. What can I say to you to convince you to come back?"

Asarirn thought a bit to come up with an answer. Ruby was a bit inpatient as she suspect this could take too long.

"The only reason I would leave is because I was afraid," Asarirn answered.

"Are you afraid of what you are?" Ruby quickly questioned.

"That's part of the reason," Asarirn replied, leaving Ruby in the state of confusion. She didn't spoke anymore to allow him to continue. "The only thing I would be afraid of your change of view of me. I am the way I am because of what I am, and because of it, I want to change it."

"Then what can I say?"

Asarirn stood up and smiled at her. "Things happened for a reason. We must learned our mistakes in order to prepare ourselves for the future. If you haven't broken your vow, then nothing can stop you."

"Will that work?" Ruby asked, ignoring the fact of what vow he made.

"The only thing you could is find out yourself," Asarirn ended from there.

Athena stood from her chair, despite feeling lightheaded. Athena walked over to Ruby without saying a word. She stopped in front her. Athena placed her on top of Ruby's head. Despite Ruby being transparent, Ruby could feel the hand pressed down on her head.

"Hopefully, this is the last time we will ever meet like this," Athena spoke her final her to Ruby, "I believed I have all the information I need."

With that said, Athena closed her eyes and focused her mind. She drew in a deep breath. Within seconds, Ruby began to glow brightly. Even she could feel she was leaving their plane of existence. Before she disappeared, Ruby looked over to Asarirn. He responded by smiling and waving her goodbye. Ruby smiled once more before disappearing in a flash of light.

The room grew quiet. Asarirn and Athena stood where they were when Ruby disappeared. There was a lot of information they had obtained from the girl from the future. Information, in which, they could provide quite useful. Yet, they haven't said a single thing since Ruby departure. The reason for that, they are thinking of the same thing. Asarirn broke the silence by letting out long doubtful sigh.

"Since you forced to erase Ruby's memories in order prevent timelines from forming, are you forced to erase my memories also?" Asarirn asked causally.

Athena turned around and looked straight at Asarirn with a smile. "How long had you figure this out?"

"For quite a while," Asarirn laughed to himself. "Ever since your ability has been messing with my daily journal entries. I have my suspicious on you from time to time."

"You know what I have to do then, right?" Athena asked as she walked up to Asarirn. She place her hand on the side of his face.

"I'm assuming you will be making tonight's dinner, since I will be out for quite some time," Asarirn returned with a smile.

"What do you like to have?"

"Do you think I would be friends with the girl like her?" was the only Asarirn said.

With that said, Athena's hand glowed for split second. Asarirn closed his eyes as he fell into an unconscious state. He fell forward, but Athena caught him in her arms.

"I don't know why you would stop at being friends, even though you two could be much more," Athena answered smiling, even though Asarirn was unconscious. "Maybe you are still just a child after all."

Athena dragged the unconscious Asarirn out of the room. She forced herself to do the deed to prevent bad things from happening later on. Even what Ruby had said, bad thing are going to happen regardless.

-*RWBY*-

"Ruby…" Ruby heard a faint voice.

There was a small light coming from a distance. Ruby moved closer and closer to the light. The light grew bigger, the closer Ruby was.

"Ruby," the voice called out once more.

Then, there was a flash of light.

Ruby opened her eyes. Her vision was blur as her eyes tried to adjust to the light. She slowly rose up from the bed.

"Ruby," the voice called her name one final time.

Ruby looked towards the source. She realized the voice was from her sister, Yang. Yang stood beside her sleepy younger sister.

"How was your long nap?" Yang smiled to her sister.

Ruby noticed she was surround by familiar faces of her team. She let out a yawn of exhaustion.

"All I can say, I had the strangest dream," Ruby spoke with yawns in her voice.

"Really? What was it about?"

Ruby froze as she couldn't remembered anything from her dream. She thought long and hard about what had happened in her dream, but she was coming up with blanks. Ruby grabbed her as she continued to figure out. Everyone thought Ruby was going to hurt herself, if this continued on. Ruby stopped her struggle in defeat as she couldn't remember anything.

"I can't remember any of it," Ruby said in a depressed tone.

There was a slight silence from the room. They can't figure out, if they should feel bad for Ruby or what.

"Well, it happened to all of us," Yang tried to comfort her sister. "I'm sure you will remember again."

"Yeah, I suppose," Ruby tried to find a silver lining. She noticed her partner, Weiss, was among the group. "Hey Weiss, I thought you leave to do something."

"I have completed what I need to do a while ago," Weiss stated.

"Wait," Ruby was in a total confusion, "How long was I asleep?"

"You have been out for a while," Yang explained.

"It's nighttime right now," Blake added.

"What?!" Ruby was in a total shock. She quickly turned and peered out the window. Ruby noticed the time was definitely nighttime. She slowly turned back around in surprise.

"We were debating whether or not you were ever going to wake up," Weiss said.

"That's why I wanted to check," Yang claimed.

There was quietness from Ruby as she tried to figure out what was going on. The rest of the girls were concerned about Ruby.

"Maybe, if you're this tired, then we should look for Arranis another day," Yang suggested.

"No," Ruby protested. "This feel like this is our chance to find him."

The girls gave each other looks before looking back Ruby.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Yang asked, hoping for honestly.

Ruby hopped off of the bed and gave everyone her energetic smile. "I'm perfectly fine. I just took a nap and I'm wide awake. If this is not a perfect opportunity, then I don't know what is. Come on team." Ruby picked her Crescent Rose and her scroll. She proceed to head out the door. "We have a teammate to find."

With that, Ruby was so eager to leave, she sprinted out the door leaving a trail of rose petals behind.

Weiss let out a sigh by her partners recklessness, but she suppose she doesn't have a choice. The girls grabbed their respective weapons and thing. They all left the room in order to find their missing comrade.

-*RWBY*-

The night loamed over the city of Vale. Everything seems to be at peace for the night. However, a particular event was going to happen soon.

Asarirn sat on the ledge of a random building with his feet hanging out. He wasn't interested in the scenery of the city's light, but more on what was going on in front of him. Asarirn had his hand held up in front of him as he looked at the palm. There was a magic circle suspended above his hand. Every time Asarirn moved one of his fingers, the outer ring of the magic circle either rotate and/or the sigils change to another one. Asarirn moved his finger at a rapid pace, focusing on the change of the symbols.

Dark Asarirn suddenly appeared behind Asarirn. Asarirn was fully aware he was behind him but choose to ignore him. Dark Asarirn stretch out his arms like he had taken a nap. He took in a deep breath and then exhale with force.

"So tonight is the night," Dark Asarirn stated.

Asarirn continued to modify the magic circle until he stopped. He stared at the magic circle for a bit, analyzing his work and checking for mistakes. Once he was satisfied with his work, Asarirn clenched his hand into a fist. The magic circle dispersed and vanished.

"Indeed," Asarirn agreed, which caused Dark Asarirn looked at him with interest. "Tonight is the night to determine an outcome. Hopefully everything goes perfectly as planned."

Author's Notes: Sorry i haven't posted a new chapter in the last four months. This chapter meant to be two separate chapters. Only one of them was really short, so i decided to put them together. On a side note, mainly the reason it took forever to me to upload was i messed up half through the chapter and i have to completely redo it. So if you noticed where have i messed then... good... i guess. Anyway, sorry for being inactive. 7/7.