The chapter of September is here! (I am aware it is August 31st, but I just couldn't help it. Enjoy!)

If you wish to support me, please check out my P a treon for future chapter summaries, story ideas and more: p a Treon.(c om) (backslash) themaster4444

Ruby groaned as her eyes fluttered open. That was the weirdest dream she'd ever had. She'd opened a book, then everything glowed silver, and her team had been sucked into a swirling black and gold portal. She'd thought they were in another dimension! With wizards! That was ridiculous! She needed to tell Jaune about it, it was almost as out there as those 'X-ray and Vav' comics he was always reading.

She allowed herself to sink back into her fluffy mattress and pillow. She needed a bit more shuteye after that dream, no matter what Weiss said about their sleep schedule. Still, that Fairy Tail place had seemed fun. That blue-haired girl especially seemed really nice, plus she had a talking cat! With wings! It was like having a pocket-sized Blake that could fly! Though, the redhead woman in armor, what was her name? Erza? She was really scary. Like, almost scarier than Miss. Goodwitch. She didn't even know that was possible!

Nonetheless, Ruby couldn't help the smile that graced her lips. "It sure would be cool to meet a real wizard though."

"Really? I'm glad I could help you with that." A young, sweet voice piped up.

Ruby's eyes shot open. She bolted upright, unable to believe what she saw. She wasn't in her team's dorm. The others were in the same room, slumbering peacefully in their own beds, but the area itself was completely different. While Beacon was made of thick concrete and reinforced steel, it had to be to survive upcoming huntsmen, this room's walls were built of brick and cobblestone, with its flooring showing polished oak wood.

But the most impossible sight was the person smiling at the foot of Ruby's bed.

The girl with blue hair.

Her dark sapphire locks were pulled back in a pair of ponytails, a rich purple dress complimenting her hair perfectly. She looked down at Ruby with an excited grin.

"Y…Yo…You!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the girl. "You're here! You're real!"

The girl's face shrank back, confused by the outburst. "Uh… yes. Ms. Porlyusica made sure you and your friends were alright, but she didn't want to stay too long. She's not really fond of humans. The only reason she helps us out at all is that she's old friends with the Master. But don't worry, I know a lot about healing magic. I've made sure you guys are okay."

"Riiight," Ruby hesitantly replied. It was like meeting Penny all over again, except back then she'd at least been comfortable since they were in the middle of Vale. Now, there was no telling where she was. "Who are you?"

The girl gasped. "I'm so sorry! I'm Wendy Marvell, the Sky Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail."

"Nice to meet you, Wendy. Well, I know we already talked before, but this feels more like a meeting so…" Ruby sighed as she sensed herself start to trail off. This really wasn't the best time for her faulty social skills to act up. "I'm Ruby Rose."

"You already introduced yourself, child. The entire guild knows who you are," a posh voice noted.

Ruby's gaze whirled to her lower bedpost. She gasped. "A talking cat!"

The white-furred feline sighed in exasperation. "Exceed, if you will. Though I suppose you have no way of knowing that, so 'cat' will have to do for now. Happy certainly never makes the distinction."

Wendy grinned. "This is Carla, my partner."

"You have a talking cat as a pet?" Ruby questioned excitedly. Whatever her worries about the situation, talking animals were like Awesome Magic 101. What she wouldn't give to have a conversation with Zwei.

"Carla isn't my pet," Wendy kindly corrected. "She's my best friend."

"Caretaker really," Carla noted. "All the times you've let the others drag you into trouble…"

Ruby rubbed her head shyly. "Oh, I get it. Sorry. Blake's kind of like that too. She's my sister Yang's partner and tries to keep her from doing anything too crazy. Plus, she's a cat faunus, so there's that." Her eyes went wide when she realized what she'd said. "But that's a secret! Don't tell anyone!"

Wendy only looked at Ruby even more confused. "What's a faunus?"

"What? A faunus is a faunus. You know, a person with some kind of animal trait? Though I suppose they might not exist here, new dimension and everything—"

Ruby's mind stalled and sputtered to a halt. And then reviewed the situation. Then it completely crashed. Her silver eyes stretched to their most outward limits in disbelief, her face fell gaunt, and her expression constantly flickered between her rush of emotions.

"Oh, there's a name for that?" Wendy inquired, not noticing Ruby's distress. "There's an acquaintance of ours in Lamia Scale that has some traits of a dog, but he's a lot furrier than your friend—"

"I'm in another dimension!" Ruby screamed.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, this could not be happening! They were in another world, without any idea how to get back to Remnant. They might never see dad, or Uncle Qrow, or JNPR, or Zwei, or anyone ever again. They had no way to get any help. Oh, why did she have to read that stupid book?

Weiss would never redeem her family name. Blake would never stop faunus oppression. Yang would never be able to track down her mom. And it was all because of her.

Some leader she was. She'd led her team to disaster.

She felt a pair of light hands on her shoulders.

"Breathe," Wendy advised. "Just breathe and calm down. Everything's going to be alright."

"Alright? We're in another dimension! How is everything going to be alright?"

"Because you're not alone. You've got your friends," the little girl reminded her. "And with your friends by your side, you can do things you never thought possible."

"I don't think interdimensional travel is one of those things! I didn't even know that was a thing!" Ruby panicked. "We're never going to see anyone we care about ever agai—"

Wendy's grip turned tight. She cut off Ruby's terror and forced her to stare her in the face, silver eyes to brown orbs.

"You will see the people you care about again," Wendy declared, her gaze brimming with conviction. "I know you don't know me very well, but believe me, nothing is impossible for Fairy Tail. We've defeated some of the most powerful dark wizards in the world. We've traveled to another dimension and got everyone back just fine. We even took on seven time traveling dragons that were running amok in the capital. I promise you will see your home again. You have my word as a Fairy Tail wizard."

Ruby could only blink in shock. Just a moment before, Wendy had seemed just as fragile as she herself had felt. Then suddenly her entire persona had changed into some sort of super, mega awesome warrior wizard. No wonder she was called a… what was it? Dragon Slayer?

Wait…

"That last bit about time traveling dragons, did that really happen?"

Wendy nodded. "Last week."

Okay, existential crisis about never seeing home again aside, that was pretty awesome.

"You have dragons in this world?" Ruby gasped. "That's amazing! Can I meet one?"

Wendy's eyes widened, her confident persona shattered like a pane of glass. She nervously scratched the back of her head. "Well, there aren't that many anymore, actually. The only dragon we've seen recently is Acnologia, and he used to be a Dragon Slayer like me and Natsu, but he's not someone you want to meet. The last time we encountered him, he would have killed us all if the First Master hadn't intervened. Aside from that, Natsu, Gajeel, and I have been looking for our parents for years now, but we haven't been able to find them."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Your parents are dragons?"

How would that even work? Is she like a dragon faunus or something? But then why would she be a dragon 'slayer'?

"Yes, my mother is—"

"Wendy, the poor girl just woke up," Carla interrupted. "You can't overload her with details like that."

"Aw, but I want to know about the dragons!" Ruby whined.

"There'll be time for dragons later," an authoritative voice declared.

Ruby's eyes whirled to the entrance of the infirmary. In the doorway stood the short old man in the white furry robe from before, Master Mokareeve or something. Beside him were the two older girls who'd accompanied them into his office, the beautiful one with wavy white hair and a long black dress, and the gorgeous, stern one with long red hair and armor like a knight out of a storybook, Erza. Fortunately, she wasn't using her Miss. Goodwitch stare. Ruby didn't think she could handle one of those at the moment.

Makarov pulled up a stool and sat at Ruby's bedside. "For now, there are other matters we must discuss. I think we need to understand all we can about your situation so that we can help young Wendy keep her promise."

Ruby nodded gratefully, though a frown still covered her face. "Thank you, Mr. Mokareeve."

"Makarov," the short man interjected, albeit with a small smile on his face. The white-haired girl hid her smile between one of her delicate hands while the red-haired one's neutral face deepened into a miniature frown.

"Oh, sorry about that." Ruby apologized awkwardly, rubbing her hand against the back of her head. There goes that social awkwardness again. Sheesh!

"No worries my child." Makarov smiled kindly. "I believe you were saying something?"

"Oh right!" Ruby started. "Thank you, Mr. Makarov. But I think we should wait until my team wakes up. I don't want to accidentally get us into an even bigger mess."

"If your friends trust you as their leader, then you would likely do just fine," Erza comforted her. "Nonetheless, if you wish for them to be present in the conversation, so be it."

The armored woman held up a hand. "Requip!"

A shining glow emanated from the wizard's hand. A moment later, the light faded and Erza held a massive hammer, encrusted with silver and ivory. Then, somehow, it lit itself on fire.

This new world was awesome!

"Um, Ruby," Wendy prodded. "You're drooling."

"Please, show some decorum child," Carla chided. "It's a war hammer, not a cake."

"But it's so amazing," Ruby gushed in wonder. She had to figure out how it split its weight so efficiently that Erza could carry it in one hand with so little effort. Maybe, she'd get a better idea of how it worked after she used it to wake up the others—

Oh, that was a slight problem.

"No, wait!" Ruby protested, waving her arms wildly. "You'll kill them! Well, you'll kill Weiss and Blake. You'll make Yang mad!"

Erza raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure they'll be fine. I wake up Natsu and Gray like this all the time on missions."

Mira winced. "I'm not sure that's the best scale to judge these four at Erza." The white-haired girl flashed a smile that, despite its honest geniality, left Ruby shaking in her bed. "We'll just have to use the other way."

"What?" Erza gasped in horror. "You can't… you can't be serious! Master, they're just children!"

"We have no choice," Makarov solemnly stated. "If the leader does not approve of your method, Erza, then we shall default to Mira's. Whatever the consequences."

The wizard in armor grimaced as she clenched her fist to her side.

Ruby gulped. They both seemed to be really terrified of Mira's way of waking up the others. Maybe she should let them use the hammer?

"Requip," Erza pronounced. The amazing hammer disappeared in a flash of light. And in its place was…

A feather?

Erza handed it to Mira as if she was handling a wild Beowolf cub. "Be gentle with them."

Mira smiled as she took the feather. "Don't worry, Erza. I know it's their first time."

She marched over to Yang's bed and threw off the covers.

Ruby found herself shivering in dread. Was she a bad sister for letting this happen to Yang? Erza and Makarov seemed pretty tough after all and they were cowering behind her bed.

She turned to Wendy, who looked just as confused as she felt. "Is this safe?"

The healer nodded. "Mirajane is one of the nicest people in the guild. She wouldn't do anything to hurt your friends." She tilted her head and thought about it a little more. "Probably."

Ruby shuddered. Probably or not, her team needed to hear whatever Makarov needed to tell them. And this had to be better than being woken up by a hammer. If it seemed like it was really dangerous, she could always speed over with her semblance and push Yang to safety. If the wizards didn't have some kind of slowing magic on her at least. That would be a problem.

Mira pulled off Yang's boot, and slowly pressed the feather to the bottom of her foot.

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"She tickled you?" Ren repeated incredulously.

"That monster!" Nora exclaimed, far more terrified by the prospect. "How did you guys survive that kind of agony?"

"Eh, in hindsight it wasn't that bad," Yang remarked. "It was more of Mira's force of personality that was scary at the time."

"Agreed," Weiss concurred. "The entire guild was kind to us during our stay, but Mirajane was always especially accommodating. Right, Blake?"

Blake had crawled up into a ball and was currently rolling against her bed, her amber eyes wide with terror. "So many pillows. So many pillows…"

"Um, is she okay?" Jaune worried.

"Oh, don't worry, she's just having a flashback to her training," Ruby explained. The red reaper shuddered. "Mira was the nicest person you'd ever meet, but as a teacher…" All of Team RWBY shuddered. "She was called The Demon for a reason."

"I can understand that. My own mother was quite similar," Pyrrha declared. "Her training made me who I am today, but it was quite… excessive, in some ways."

Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you were training me the same way you were trained."

Pyrrha patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jaune. But I care about you too much to inflict that on you."

Jaune gulped. If a training regimen was too much for his partner, who had risen to the top by spending far more extra time improving her skills that anyone should have, then he was thankful she'd been thinking of his wellbeing.

"That's right fearless leader! You're way better alive than dead after all!" Nora joyously whooped in a voice which was in complete contrast to the message she spoke.

Everybody laughed at Jaune's expense, including Jaune himself, along with Pyrrha, who couldn't resist showing a slight smile.

"So, this Mirajane woke you all up," Ren noted, bringing everyone back on track. "What happened next?"

"Well, we told them who were, about Remnant and Beacon. And then Master Makarov explained everything about Fiore," Ruby informed them. "You know, without us passing out. It went about as well as you'd expect."

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"Calm down!" Erza commanded. "I understand your distress, but panic will not help your situation."

"Easy for you to say!" Yang exclaimed. "You're not trapped in another dimension!"

Erza decided against informing them that she had, in fact, been in their situation before. Only she had been trapped as a magic crystal, and then after she got back to normal had to immediately face off with a misguided version of herself for the sake of her family. Her experience did not give her the right to condescendingly judge their emotions, especially not after she had allowed Mira to wake them using that horrid technique.

The Titania shuddered. She should have burned that infernal feather long ago.

To their credit, the girls' second reaction to their situation was much improved from their first. Ruby had already had a bit of time to process from her talk with Wendy, so she was helping Weiss comprehend what had happened, though the white-haired girl was still softly muttering how interdimensional travel was impossible. Yang was the fiercest on the matter, 'freaking out' as one would say. Blake just stared off into the distance, her eyes not quite looking at the wall.

"I'm the only one. The only faunus on this planet," the cat-eared girl muttered in shock. "I'm alone."

Yang immediately calmed down, looking to her teammate with earnest worry. She leaped out of her bed and rushed over to the other girl, enveloping her in a sisterly hug. "You're not alone, Blake. You've got all of us."

Weiss shook her head and gazed fondly on her friends, her eyes still cracked with worry, but soothed somewhat. "She's right. Other dimension or not, Team RWBY sticks together."

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "This won't stop us. We'll figure out a way home and be back before the Vytal Festival!"

Weiss' shoulders slumped, tears rushing down her face. "But we have no food, shelter, money, or connections in this entire world and only the dust we brought with us for our weapons!"

Ruby's face fell. "Oh right. That's… a bit of a problem. But… we can do this. We can… totally do this."

"Ruby, we appreciate the optimism, but this isn't really something to be sure about," Blake noted. "We… we might be stuck here."

All four girls, even Ruby, looked down at down to the floor, despair evident in their eyes. Erza knew that hopelessness well, the crushing terror of believing there was no escape. During her childhood at the Tower of Heaven, she'd had it in her own eyes every day, just as everyone else had. Save Jellal. And that, if anything, was proof that sometimes it was easier to live without hope. There was nothing to be crushed then.

But there was also nothing to live with, to move forward for. Jellal's hope had provided an opening for Ultear to control him, and that had caused more tragedy than anyone should have had to live through, but they did live through it. And they were still living. Simon's death had not been in vain, and even now Jellal sought to seek atonement and better himself in his memory. Whatever her feelings on her friend (and that wasn't a mess she was willing to touch with her longest spear), she could be proud of his commitment to moving forward towards a better tomorrow.

These girls, Team RWBY, she could not allow them to fall into the same despair that had nearly claimed her.

Fortunately, the Master had more than enough experience to beat her to the punch in this matter.

"Do not lose hope, my children. Though your road may seem unclear, it is far from impassable," Makarov comforted them. "And, if you'd like, I may be able to offer you an opening path."

Weiss scoffed. "We're incredibly grateful for your hospitality sir, but with all due respect, what can we possibly do?"

"Join Fairy Tail."

The four girls' heads shot up, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Erza didn't blame them. She, Wendy, and Carla also had incredulous stares locked on their master.

"That's a great idea, master!" Mira cheered.

Erza couldn't help but disagree. She sympathized with the girls quite a bit, but they literally just showed up out of nowhere. Even for Fairy Tail, that was a bit fast. Plus, the more obvious problem.

"Um, that's really nice of you, Mr. Makarov," Ruby stuttered. "But, we're not… you know…"

"We're not wizards," Yang finished bluntly. "How the hell are we supposed to be a part of a wizard guild when yesterday we thought wizards were made up?"

"We will handle your instruction. With the combat skills you've gained from this huntress training of yours, it should not be too difficult," Makarov assured them. "For the time being, you are stuck in our world. That means you will need work. You will not find a more nurturing environment than Fairy Tail. We've had clients from all over this continent, providing us with a vast information network. We can use that to help you search for a way home. And, if worst should come to worst, perhaps this guild can be your new home. What do you say?"

The four girls worriedly looked to each other. They were unsure, a reasonable state after being offered such a tremendous decision in their situation. But really, what else could they do?

Ruby gulped and turned to the Master. "I guess, we're in."

"On a trial basis," Weiss interrupted. "Just because you say learning…" Her face contorted as if she couldn't believe what she was about to say. "Magic… Just because you say it will be easy to learn magic doesn't mean it won't have some adverse consequences for us. Just because we look the same doesn't mean our anatomy is identical. We are from two different worlds after all."

Makarov nodded. "Very well then. Welcome to the guild. Mira, please get them their guild marks. Wendy, please stay with them in case there is something to this different anatomy thing."

"Of course, master," the Maiden of the Sky replied.

Makarov nodded, and walked out of the room, flashing Team RWBY a grandfatherly smile as he left.

Erza gave the girls a genially nod herself before she raced after the Master.

"Master, what are you doing?" she inquired as they strode through the halls of the guild. "You're not one to allow those who are not already wizards into Fairy Tail."

"This is hardly a normal situation, Erza. Besides, what do you suggest? Throwing them out onto the streets," Makarov retaliated.

Erza shook her head. "I am not averse to providing them support. I will gladly pay for rooms in Fairy Hills for them myself until they can get on their feet. But if they cannot use magic, perhaps it would be better to put them in contact with some of the mercenary guilds. Not everyone takes to magic as easily as the founders did."

"Which is why I'm going to be entrusting their instruction to you," the Master declared. "You heard Weiss. They don't have enough of their 'dust' to maintain a combat career with their world's methods. They need to at least understand the mechanics of our world if they are to be safe until they find a way home."

Erza frowned. "There's something else. Why are you so concerned for their safety?"

Makarov stopped and sighed. "There is something stirring in the world since the Grand Magic Games. The First Master has sensed it. Dark magic, as old as Zeref and possibly just as powerful. Something dangerous is coming, and I don't think these girls' arrival is unconnected. Or if it is, something of similar strength to the Black Wizard has designs on them. Either way, no mercenary guild will be able to protect them from whatever force is interested in them."

"Can Fairy Tail?"

"If we can't, then no power on Earthland can," Makarov declared. "Besides, you've seen their spirits. How can we allow such bright and brilliant young souls to be smothered by the misfortune that has been thrust upon them?"

Erza smiled. That was just like the master. Like Gajeel, like Juvia, like Gray, Natsu, and even her, Master Makarov would never sit by and allow innocent youngsters to be left adrift in the unpredictable tides of the world. She'd been a broken soul when they'd met, a frightened, lonely little girl who'd only ever known suffering and loss. But he'd put her back together. He'd given her a family.

"I'll begin their instruction immediately," she informed him. "By this time next week, they'll be halfway to S-Class."

Makarov's face fell. "Maybe don't push them that hard. Otherwise, they might take Natsu up on his offer for a rematch, and we just got the guildhall back…"

She really shouldn't have, it was disrespectful to her father figure's struggles after all, but Erza couldn't help but laugh.

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"How did you know about the parts you weren't there for?" Jaune inquired.

Ruby chuckled. "We did talk to people about this stuff, you know. They told us most of it, and whatever they didn't we bribed Happy for."

"That nosy tomcat shouldn't have been eavesdropping on people like that," Weiss grumbled.

"Maybe," Yang shrugged. "But it sure makes it easier to tell the story. Easier to bribe someone when they take fish."

"Who cares about the how?" Nora exclaimed. "You guys became wizards! You learned magic! What was the magic training like?"

"I must admit, I'm rather curious about that too," Pyrrha admitted.

Blake cringed. "It… really wasn't as interesting as you'd think it would be."

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"And that is how one absorbs ethernano from the atmosphere into their body and through their origins in order to use magic," Erza lectured, smacking a scribble covered blackboard with a rod similar to Miss Goodwitch's. "So, are there any questions?"

All four members of Team RWBY, now with Fairy Tail guild marks on the back of their hands, sat cross-legged in front of the red-headed wizard. Yang's eyes were white with blatant incomprehension. Blake kept reaching for one of the books strewn about the floor, only to repeatedly put it down, probably after being painfully reminded that she was a dimension away from her emergency 'Ninjas of Love' collection. Weiss had a notebook and pen she'd borrowed from Wendy's teammate Lucy and was attempting to dutifully take notes as she usually did, but for some reason, her brow was furrowed in befuddlement.

Ruby didn't know why. Erza may have been as intimidating as one would expect from some strange mix of Pyrrha and Professor Goodwitch, but her explanation had made sense. The strange symbols she'd put on the board were completely incomprehensible, but her verbal lecture had been way more to the point than Professor Port's were. Still, if the others were having trouble…

"So, just to be clear, we meditate until our bodies can absorb ethernano, then our origin converts that into magic power and stores it until we release it as spells," the red hooded huntress clarified.

"Correct," Erza confirmed, smiling proudly at Ruby. "Though how much magic power one's vessel can hold varies from person to person. And in pitch battle, you will likely expend magic far quicker than your body can absorb new ethernano."

Ruby nodded. It was similar to aura, only instead of the soul, the power came from the outside world, which at least for this world meant they would never run out of power in the long run. Though in the short term, you could use up all your energy if you didn't measure your output for each spell, like using your semblance would cost you aura. It was really weird that the two systems were so similar, yet with such a crucial difference in their energy source.

Yang whirled on Ruby. "You got all of that?"

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah. You didn't?"

That was weird. Yang was usually pretty good at academic stuff. Not an honors student or anything, that was Weiss' turf, but when their dad was a teacher they couldn't afford to get lazy. They both usually passed with B's in class, Yang being a little higher. It wasn't that Ruby didn't try as hard, it was that she was usually better at using whatever lecture they were listening to as background noise while she focused on doodling possible new weapons than giving it or the notes her full attention. They were just so boring. If she put all her attention on it, she'd just fall asleep. Yang usually used whatever notes were put on the board.

Weiss cocked an eyebrow. "Ruby, how in the world did you read… well, that?"

She gestured at Erza's writing on the chalkboard. Their wizard tutor scowled at the insult.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Weiss, we're in another dimension. Do you really expect the writing to be exactly the same?"

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Ruby…"

"That's just unreasonable. This is a whole new world. With magic! With a whole different culture."

"Ruby…"

"It's like one of Professor Oobleck's 'What If?" papers. How would the world have developed if dust never came to be? Well, they've had to develop with magic! There is no possible way we can expect their language and writing to be exactly the same as ours—"

"Ruby!" Blake shouted. She held up one of the books she had been looking over. Written across the page, clear as day, were easily identifiable letters. "It is."

Ruby's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "No way!"

Weiss sighed. "Honestly, you dolt. How would we even be able to talk to them if the language wasn't the same?"

"But… but… but…" Ruby stuttered. "Alternate dimension!"

Yang shrugged and put her hands behind her head. "Guess we got lucky. We'd be pretty dead if we got stuck in a world where we couldn't talk to anyone."

"But then why can't we read the stuff Erza wrote on the chalkboard?"

"I doubt there is only one written language in this entire world," Weiss pointed out. "It's likely she is just using another, one we don't have on Remnant."

"That is possible. But not the case this time."

The girls turned around to see Lucy, Wendy, Carla, the blue cat and those other two guys from their team walk into the backroom.

Lucy grimaced. "Erza's handwriting just… isn't the best."

"What are you talking about?" the one they'd landed on (Natsu! That was his name!) inquired. "Erza taught me everything I know about reading and writing after Igneel left."

"My point exactly," Lucy remarked.

Erza trembled and spun away from everyone with a huff. She crossed her arms in front of her as she sulked.

Wendy came over and sat down next to Ruby.

"I'm sorry Ms. Erza," Ruby called. She turned to Wendy. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine," Wendy assured her. "Ms. Erza is really tough."

"Though her penmanship is truly atrocious," Carla declared.

"I'm sure your handwriting is amazing, Carla," Happy complimented.

Natsu smacked his fists together, small flames sparking out of his hands. "Who cares about handwriting? Are you guys ready for our rematch? 'Cause I'm all fired up!"

Yang leapt to her feet, a hungry grin across her face. Ember Celica deployed into combat mode. "That is the first thing I've understood all morning, pinky. But the others won't need to stress themselves out. I'm gonna keep you all to myself."

"Yang! We have limited dust, remember?" Weiss reminded her. "We have to conserve it for when we really need it, not waste it on petty squabbles."

"Aw, come on, Weiss. It's just a sparring match," Yang pleaded. "I get to beat him up and he can't complain because he literally asked for it."

"He's a wizard! You have no idea what he's capable of!"

"Then this is an easy way to find out."

"Yang," Blake interjected. Her amber eyes pleaded with her partner. "Not now. Not today. We just got here. Let's get the lay of the land before we pick any fights, even friendly ones."

Yang held Blake's gaze for a moment, but in the end, Ember Celica retracted. She sighed. "Fine. I'll hold off on kicking his ass."

"Aw. You sure?" Natsu pleaded. "Drat. I really wanted to see what this dust stuff you guys keep talking about can do."

The black-haired guy, who had taken off his shirt since he'd entered the room, snorted. "It'd probably turn you into dust."

Natsu whirled on him. "You want me to use you for a warm-up, snowman?!"

"You couldn't get me above freezing, lizard face!"

"Don't you two start in here!" Erza yelled, whirling on her teammates. "This is a place of learning and you will not disrupt our new members' education! Am I understood!?"

"Yes, mam!" both boys screeched, their arms hugging each other close in terror.

Everyone in the room shuddered. Well, everyone except Ruby and Wendy. The young huntress couldn't speak for the other girl, but while Erza's outburst was truly intimidating, there was something about her force of personality that Ruby couldn't help but admire. She got her teammates back in line without a second of hesitation. While Ruby didn't really have a problem with the way she led her team, she would be the first to admit she lacked a similar commanding aura. Most decisions outside of battle, she usually just left up to a vote, like who they'd have compete in the doubles' round of the Vytal Festival.

And, she just remembered that there was no guarantee they'd actually make it back in time for the tournament. Unexpected interdimensional travel sucked.

Yang scooted over to Lucy. "Is she always that terrifying?"

"Most of the time," the other blonde replied. "Don't worry, expect with Natsu and Gray, she doesn't usually break it out unless someone's getting really rowdy. Which, given this place, is pretty much every day."

Yang gulped. "Okay then. Stay out of the crossfire. Thanks for the tip."

"No problem."

Erza coughed into her hand, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "Well, now that that's done with, Lucy, please draw up more… legible copies of these notes for them to study later."

"Sure, Erza."

"Excellent," the armored woman declared. "Now then, there is one more facet of performing magic that I have not mentioned yet. It is arguably the most crucial component of the entire process."

Team RWBY listened with rapt attention. If the previous spiel had only been the prelude to this element, it must have been a truly complex concept, maybe even more than Weiss Advanced Aura Control stuff.

"A wizard's feelings."

Weiss blinked mindlessly. "Come again?"

"A wizard's feelings!" A voice far more jubilant than Erza's exclaimed.

Team RWBY rolled away, their surprise driving them into combat stances, Ruby's hand halfway to Crescent Rose.

In the center of their previous huddle stood a girl about Wendy's height, her waves of pale blond hair nearly reaching down to the floor. She wore a light pink dress with a pair of white wings on the top of her head. She grinned at everyone with a smile as radiant as the sun itself.

The Fairy Tail members looked unsurprised.

"Oh, hey First Master," Natsu greeted nonchalantly. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see our newest members," the girl explained. "It's so rare we get new family members who we get to teach magic to. It made me so nostalgic for when I learned how to do it, I couldn't help but take a peak. I'm sorry if I couldn't control myself just then."

"Not at all," Erza assured her. The armored woman bowed reverently. "It is an honor to have you here, First Master."

"Thank you," the blonde turned back to Team RWBY. "A wizard's feelings are the spark to the fuel of ethernano. If you use your care for those around you and know what you are fighting for, you can vastly accelerate your output of magic!"

"That's sounds… incredibly vague," Blake noted.

"And fake," Yang added. "Like something you'd pick up from a health guru. 'Think positively and you'll lose weight' and all that."

"There may be something to that," Happy interjected. "Lucy is a very negative person after all."

"I hang out with you monsters. I'm not negative, I'm realistic. And I am not fat!" Lucy finished lecturing Happy and turned to Yang. "Though, you shouldn't underestimate the power of a wizard's feelings. It might sound corny, but it's made the difference in a ton of our fights. Heck, we would have all been obliterated on Tenrou Island if the First Master hadn't harnessed our feelings to cast Fairy Sphere."

"Really? Obliterated by what?" Yang smirked.

"The Dragon of the Apocalypse."

"Okay, wizard's feelings. Got it," Yang gulped. "Hey, Ruby, have I mentioned how much I love you yet today?"

"Aw! I love you too, Yang!"

A bead of sweat dropped from Lucy's forehead. "I don't think that's how it works."

"Wait, First Master?" Weiss inquired. "As in, the founder of this entire guild?"

The flighty girl nodded, joyfully holding out a hand. "Mavis Vermillion. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Weiss replied politely. "But, forgive me, I was under the impression this guild had been active for quite a while."

"It has," Mavis confirmed with a grin. "Over a hundred years."

"Oh," Weiss noted. "But Master Makarov is your successor?"

"Yup. He is both the Third and Sixth Master."

Ruby leaned into Wendy. "What happened to the Fourth and Fifth?"

"They didn't die if that's what you're thinking," Gray cut in. "Macao's still around, but he knew he didn't have the stuff to control the guild and stepped down. Gildarts just left to get drunk and didn't come back."

"Bastard was afraid I'd finally beat him," Natsu grumbled.

Lucy sighed. "Yeah, sure. That was the reason. Not like he took you down in one punch every other time you challenged him."

Weiss continued to stare at Mavis, confusion plastered across her face. Beside her, Blake shrugged.

"We don't know the limits of magic in this world," the cat faunus proposed. "It's not too large a stretch to imagine that it can increase one's vitality."

"Ooo… you're a smart one," Mavis complimented earnestly. "But while that's true, it isn't the case here. I'm just a spiritual projection, one only Fairy Tail members can see."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "A spiritual projection?"

"She's a ghost," Happy translated.

"Oh." Ruby's eyes shot up in terror. "Wait, a ghost!"

Yang grinned ferociously. "Oh yeah, now we're talking."

"Sure. Ghosts. Why not?" Weiss dryly muttered.

Mavis chuckled cutely before rushing up to Ruby, her gaze wide with curiosity. She focused in on her face. "Ooo… this is interesting."

"What?" Ruby's hands shot up to her face. "Am I going to turn into a ghost too?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Mavis assured her. "It's just your eyes. They're amazing. I've never seen someone posses organs other than their origin that can hold magic. Especially not Silver Spirit Slayer Magic."

"Spirit Slayer?" Lucy murmured. "Like Dragon Slayer or God Slayer?"

"Yes," Mavis confirmed. "Except for spirits."

"That seems a bit obvious," Blake snarked.

Natsu shrugged. "Eh, if it ain't broke…"

Ruby frowned. "Silver Spirit Slayer Magic? When I opened the book, the one that made the portal that brought us here, everything went white. The others said my eyes shot out this silver light into the book, almost like they were powering it."

"Mmm…" Mavis hummed. "There is certainly enough magic energy stored up in there to power a device such as that, at least in some limited capacity, but it would have to be made specifically to accept that kind of magic. Whoever sent you that book knew about your abilities."

"How?" Ruby wondered. "I didn't even know about them."

"Maybe the device itself can provide some clue," Erza suggested. "Did the book have a title or any markings on it?"

"It was called 'Fairies of the Shattered Moon'," Ruby recalled. "And on the cover, there was a star above some creepy eye thing with a pair of hammers crossed under it."

"Crossed hammers?" Erza muttered.

"Fairies?" Lucy squeaked.

Gray's eyes narrowed. "Sounds like whoever made that book meant for you guys to end up here."

"How?" Yang wondered. "If they're from Remnant, how the heck could they know about you guys?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Natsu queried. "If they've got a way to send you guys to this world, they've probably got a way to go back and forth themselves."

"Oh my gosh!" Happy exclaimed. "Natsu said something smart!"

"I'm always smart!"

"Annnnd, now he's back to being dumb."

"It is a possibility," Mavis noted, ignoring Natsu and Happy's argument. "But if they needed the full power of these eyes, and their world lacks widespread magic, then acquiring the necessary energy to reliably travel the dimensions would be quite difficult."

Erza hummed. She went over to the blackboard and drew a pair of crossed hammers. "Ruby, was this one of the symbols on the book?"

Gray and Lucy's eyes widened at the symbol now on the board, shock and terror written across their faces.

"Yes!" Ruby cheered. "That's exactly it! Those are the crossed hammers!"

Weiss cocked an eyebrow. "How did you know how to draw that?"

"A theory," Erza scowled. Her fist clenched around her chalk stick. "perhaps whoever created the book does not possess a reliable means of traveling to this world but does have a way to communicate with allies they came into contact with on some initial incursion. Your mention of crossed hammers reminded me of a certain organization of this world. This is their emblem."

"That's great," Yang cheered. "That means we just need to find these guys, beat them up, and make them give us a way home."

"Perhaps something a little more tasteful, but it's a good enough plan," Blake concurred. "What's this organization?"

"The most powerful dark guild in the kingdom," Erza declared gravely. "Tartaros."

RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFTFTFTFT

"Uh, guys," Jaune interrupted. He pointed outside the window, where night had fallen across Vale. "Not that this isn't incredibly interesting, but it's getting late and you kind of got away from the whole ''how you learned magic' thing."

"Yeah! You can tell us about your ultimate battle of ultimate destiny with the forces of evil later! We want to know how you guys became wizards!" Nora demanded. She crossed her arms and leered at Team RWBY. "Unless your magic is making us miss our bedtime so that we're all tired for the Vytal Festival."

"But we were building context!" Ruby whined. "We can't just tell you guys what our magic is? Where's the gravitas in that?"

"Sorry Ruby," Pyrrha apologized. A short yawn escaped her lips that she barely managed to politely cover with her hand. "But we all have the tournament tomorrow. We're representing Beacon, so we have to be at our best. Perhaps the short version is best for now."

Yang smirked. She leaned back against the beds and crossed her hands behind her head. "Or we could just show you guys when we face you in the tournament, add a little spice to the mix, give the crowd a good show, you know? Besides, you guys are probably the only ones we'll need it against."

"That sounds like a cop out," Nora accused. A smug, taunting smile crossed her face. "I bet you guys don't even know magic. You probably weren't even in another dimension."

"Nora, we saw them fall out of a portal."

"Smoke and mirrors, Ren. Smoke and mirrors."

"Nora, we all know it wasn't smoke and mirrors," Jaune stated. "No one would ever fall for that kind of taunt—"

"Requip!" Ruby shouted, her hand held out before her.

A brilliant white light flashed, forcing each member of Team JNPR to shield their eyes. When they opened them once more, their mouths dropped.

In Ruby's grip, where there had very obviously been nothing before, now resided a magnificent crimson and gray scimitar.

The leader of Team RWBY smirked. "Still think it was smoke and mirrors now?"

"Woah!" Nora zipped forward, reverently gazing upon the new weapon as if it were a stack of freshly made pancakes. "You just made it appear out of thin air! What is this thing?"

"This is Waxing Petal," Ruby declared with pride. "It's actually just a really strong sword. After Erza taught me Requip Magic, I started making as many weapons as I could at the guild forge. Now that I finally can carry every weapon into battle, why shouldn't I? Erza suggested I make some armor as well, but I have something special in mind for that that's taking a bit longer than I thought it would to work out. Still, when I show it to her, it's going to blow her socks…off."

Ruby's grin disappeared, the red reaper's face morphing into an expression of melancholy.

"Uh, everything okay, Ruby?" Jaune inquired.

"We're back," Ruby stated simply. She pushed up the sleeve of her right arm, revealing a larger tattoo above her guild mark, still red, but with a more stretched out version of the Fairy Tail emblem surrounded by some sort of arrowhead. "Mavis… she gave me this and she told me the others would be watching over us wherever we were but… Wendy and I were going to make cookies next week, and Erza was going to show me how to pick the best strawberries, and Alzack and Bisca and me were going to finally see which one of us was the best shot in the guild and…"

Yang immediately leapt up and engulfed her little sister in a hug. "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay sis, it's okay. We've still got the book. We just need to figure out how to get it to work when we want it to and we can pop back and forth for a visit whenever we want. And if we can't… then it doesn't matter. You know what Gramps was always saying. No matter where we are, no matter how far apart, our friends are with us forever."

Ruby sniffled, but she managed a soft smile at Yang.

Jaune awkwardly cleared his throat. "Hey, Ruby, the training arena should still be open. Do you want to show us what that new sword of yours can do?"

"Yeah!" Nora cheered, her gaze locked on her friend's emotional state. "It's probably the awesomest thing since pancakes. Which means Magnhild is still better."

Ruby chuckled. She wiped her red eyes with her arm, rolling her sleeve back down as she did so. A competitive grin came onto her face. "In your dreams, Nora. Your hammer may be amazing, but it's not gonna be enough."

"Big talk from a little girl."

"Little?"

Nora laughed and dashed out of the room, Ruby playfully following behind. The red reaper could have easily run the other girl down with her semblance, so it was clear to the others that everything was fine. Still, they had to make sure they didn't destroy the school on the eve of an international event, so Yang, Jaune, and Ren quickly gave chase.

Pyrrha made to join them but turned back to Weiss and Blake when she reached the door. "Are you two not coming?"

Weiss shook her head. "Our energy isn't as boundless as our teammates. I think we need a bit of a break from hooligans who think breaking everything in sight is a way to wind down."

Pyrrha cringed. "Fair enough. I'll try to keep them from getting out of hand."

"You'd be the first," Blake mused.

"Maybe. Have a good night guys," Pyrrha said. "And I know it wasn't that long on our end, but it's good to have you back."

Weiss smiled. "Thank you, Pyrrha. Good night."

The Invincible Girl nodded and left the room.

Blake drifted over to the window, her eyes locked on the night sky and its occupants. "I'd nearly forgotten how it looked shattered. I'm going to miss full moons actually being full."

Weiss walked over to her bed and picked up the book that had sent them to Earthland. Even with the auspicious symbols on its cover, it was hard to believe such a simple looking thing had the power to cross dimensions, even if they now had a somewhat better understanding of how.

"Do you feel it?" the white-haired girl asked her teammate.

Blake nodded. "I thought it was just the aftermath of the portal, but that cleared up already."

"Then Ruby's requip proves it," Weiss declared, coming to stand beside her friend at the window. "There is ethernano in the air. There is ethernano on Remnant. Which means…"

"Magic is possible here," Blake finished. "Maybe it was always possible here and we just didn't know how to see it. If the capability has always been here, someone in history must have figured out how to do it. Heck, Ruby's eyes are proof that some power has been here for a while."

"As well as the fact that someone got the book to us," Weiss noted. "Sitara certainly didn't do it."

"There is some sort of time discrepancy between the worlds. Maybe Tartaros will steal it from her in the future and send it to whoever their ally is over here in the past," Blake theorized.

"Argh!" Weiss groaned. "It is way too late for this mess. Let's enjoy a night in our own beds before we try to figure out the mechanics of crossing dimensions."

Blake smirked. "I can agree to that."

Weiss smiled back. "How are you feeling, by the way? Your magic doesn't work like the rest of ours. How much power do you have left from Loke's last recharge?"

Blake held up her hand and curled it into a fist. A soft golden glow emanated from her arm.

"Not much," she surmised. "I've got enough to make a big flash if I really need it, but otherwise I'm back to just being a normal huntress."

Weiss grinned slyly. "Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem, at least for now. After all, the only people competing in the Vytal Festival are normal huntresses."

Blake frowned disapprovingly. "You're planning to cheat with our magic to win the Vytal Festival, aren't you?"

"It's not cheating! It's our power!"

"That no one else had a chance to gain."

"I spent six months naked on Mt. Hakobe with a crazy water wizard out for my head! I earned this!"

"You also befriended said water wizard, and Gray was naked that whole time as well."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Blake smirked. "Suure, you don't."

"Just… Just… Just go read your smut, furball."

In the past, Team RWBY learns the basics of magic, but will Team Natsu be able to stop them from going after foes way out of their league?

In the present, Weiss and Blake try to sort out various revelations of their trip and return, while Ruby reveals her magic learned under the Queen of the Fairies herself.

Team RWBY's magic will be revealed steadily over time, each girl likely getting their own chapter to both learn it in the past and reveal it in the present.

A huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction and Cool guy.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!