BEGINNING OF CHAPTER 1 (A/N at end)
General POV
As the Airship landed on the plateau and a door opened, Ruby Rose leapt out of the aircraft with exuberance, Nora Valkyrie following soon after and doing a flip before landing. Weiss Schnee calmly stepped out while Blake Belladonna passed some luggage down to her, stepping down with her own soon after as well.
"Woohoo!" Ruby cheered.
"And stuck the landing!" Nora announced, getting into a runner's pose.
"Nora, don't go running off." Lie Ren admonished as he hopped gently to the ground.
"Okay, Renny." Nora sighed with a smile before turning to help Ren with their team's luggage.
"You sure are excited, sis." Yang Xiao Long said as she, too, hopped out of the Airship.
"I'm surprised she would be, since this is less adventure and more documenting whatever we come across." Weiss noted with her arms crossed.
"It's probably since we finally get to head somewhere outside the kingdom." Blake replied.
"Are you excited, too, Jaune?" Pyrrha Nikos asked, landing on the ground after hopping out as well.
"Sure am, Pyr. I'm hoping my camping experience with my family comes in handy here." Jaune Arc replied, getting a helping hand from Pyrrha to step out of the aircraft.
"Why, it sure will, my boy! In fact, we'll in fact be camping within the ruins, so long as we find a secure place! After all, the environment here is nearby the cold water that comes down from Solitas so we packed warmly to mitigate that fact!" Doctor Oobleck replied, somehow having already darted out of the Airship with his large backpack and archaeology gear, already dressed as if he is visiting an archaeological dig site, in a stereotypical, maximum utility with pockets everywhere, tan outfit, Antiquity's Roast in hand.
Taking a moment to look over the teenagers, we see they are not dressed in their normal outfits.
Ruby is sporting a more rugged look, wearing her iconic cape over a crimson long sleeve sweater, as well as a black utility vest with ammunition for Crescent Rose as well as some other supplies, definitely not any cookies, and lastly black cargo pants tucked into her regular combat boots. Crescent Rose rests, as always, on her magnetic carrier on Ruby's lower back. Weiss is wearing a grey three-quarter sleeved blouse with a platinum colored utility belt, as well as cargo shorts that extend below her knees and lastly a pair of white combat boots that she purchased, totally not because Ruby made a good point about not wearing high heels in the badlands. Myrtenaster rests in its holster on her left side as usual.
Blake is sporting an all black jumpsuit with a small black backpack and a black utility belt as well as black combat boots, and as both teams and their professors already know her history and her heritage as a Faunus, her bow is tied around her left bicep instead of covering her ears. Gambol Shroud is magnetically attached to her upper back as usual. Yang is wearing a brown crop top and an open tan utility vest, as well as short cargo shorts and her regular waist cape, and lastly with her regular combat boots and her aviators over her eyes. Ember Celica as always rests retracted on her wrists.
Jaune is wearing camping gear like what he wore on family trips, including a brown utility belt full of various camping supplies, a warm black hoodie that isn't his precious Pumpkin Pete's hoodie, grey jeans and brown hiking boots. Crocea Mors rests sheathed to his side as it usually is, though he also has an old rifle strapped across his back for hunting purposes. Pyrrha is wearing attire similar to Jaune as she followed his advice due to never having gone camping before, she is wearing a dark red hoodie with a black utility vest over it as well as black jeans and black camping boots. Milo and Akouo are carried on her back as they usually are.
Nora is wearing a light grey turtleneck sweater and a pink utility belt, as well as grey cargo pants and pink hiking boots. Magnhild rests mounted to her back where she usually has it. Ren is wearing a loose, long sleeved, dark green sweater as well as dark green cargo pants and dark green hiking boots. StormFlower as always is stowed away under his sleeves.
"Students, gather around for debriefing, please. Doctor Oobleck will be leading the exploration, and should we happen across Grimm, I will lead us in battle." Professor Goodwitch ordered. She is seen wearing a grey fur coat and a black utility belt, her torn purple cape absent, also wearing a pair of slim black jeans and black hiking boots, Disciplinarian folded and tucked away on her belt.
The teenagers did as told and gathered around the Airship door where Doctor Oobleck seemed to almost teleport to, rapidly digging through his backpack before taking out four small black devices, which happen to be Scrolls that are turned off and compacted, though a bit larger than a standard Scroll would be. Professor Goodwitch nearby can be seen sending a message on her personal Scroll, the Airship's engines whining as it throttles up to take off.
"Alright, these Scrolls I have in my hand are special long range Scrolls designed for use in areas where there is no signal from the CCTS! They are also designed to have enough power to send a signal through the terrain, however this does not work if there is too much land between each other! Each partner pair will get one of these Scrolls and are to stick together at all times whilst exploring! Professor Goodwitch and I both already have one of these Scrolls on our persons and yours are to be connected to your personal Scrolls as ours already have been to monitor your Aura! Do you understand?" Doctor Oobleck briefed.
"Yes!" the students answered.
"Good! Follow me, children!" Doctor Oobleck confirmed before zooming off ahead, slowing down as the rest of the group jogged to catch up.
Behind the group, as Doctor Oobleck hands Ruby, Blake, Jaune and Ren the Scrolls, the Airship soars off into the distance off the coastline to return to Beacon Academy.
After a few hours, with some minor battles mixed in including a whole Beowolf pack and a small horde of younger Creeps, the group was finally approaching their destination. As the group drew closer to the mountain range, the first signs of a stone structure can be seen over the hills.
"Oh! I see it! Those are the ruins!" Ruby cheered, before zooming across the relatively short distance to the old structure.
"Don't run, you dolt! Get back here!" Weiss yelled, giving chase to stay close to her childish partner and leader.
A short ways behind the teams are the professors, calmly watching over their happily chatting students, particularly Nora who is weaving a grand tale to her team about what the ruins could be, Jaune having an amused smile while Pyrrha giggles behind her hand, though Ren can be seen smiling fondly at Nora's exuberance. Yang and Blake meanwhile pick up the pace slightly to catch up to their sister and leader.
"Ah, the excitement of children to learn about history is always refreshing!" Doctor Oobleck said with a happy sigh.
"I'm not sure its excitement, so much as its the chance to get a break from school." Professor Goodwitch replied with a tired sigh.
"Ah, Glynda, just let them have their fun. So what if they are excited for the wrong reasons, I'm sure they'll soak up this experience like a sponge, then come back wanting to explore more!" Doctor Oobleck replied.
"For a moment there, you almost sounded like Ozpin." Professor Goodwitch said, staring flatly at Doctor Oobleck, who just lightly chuckled.
Near the temple, Ruby slides to a stop and gapes at the large structure of cracked and aged stone, moss covering lots of it and grass keeping short due to the year-round chilly climate. Weiss huffs as she stops behind her leader, catching her breath after running after her, though she too is struck by the grand visage of the ruins.
"Holy crap, its like some giant temple!" Yang exclaimed shortly after as she and her partner catch up.
"It does seem like one." Blake replied, an interested glint in the normally book-entranced girl's eyes.
"Wow! Renny! Its like some kind of temple of time or something!" Nora excitedly exclaimed, zipping about the pillars in the clearing at the foot of the mountain.
"Nora! Don't touch them." Ren admonished after running since he saw Nora was about to poke one of them with her hammer.
"I would have to agree with you there, Mr Ren! We have no idea how old this temple is, and therefore we have no idea if all it would take it a poke in the wrong spot or something with significantly more force to break the stone!" Doctor Oobleck explained, having caught up quickly.
Professor Goodwitch as well as Jaune and Pyrrha soon rejoined the group as the students all gawk at the large stone structure.
"If you think this is amazing, students, just wait until we get inside! It appears to be dug into the mountain so no doubt there's a lot more inside, tucked away from the harsh winds that winter brings about this area! Make sure to take pictures while exploring!" Doctor Oobleck stated.
The group then made their way to the ruins, taking out head lamps from their equipment and lighting them up, seeing as the ruins are quite dark inside, especially given the collapsed wall in front of the entrance, a fact that unsettles Doctor Oobleck and Professor Goodwitch both.
After splitting up to do some exploring and to map out the structure, the students and professors regroup in the main room of the ruins, which is a large stone foyer-type room with a stone table to one side and formations of rotted wood spaced evenly around it, suggesting that heavy wooden chairs used to surround the table. Uneven dust and somewhat square patches of dirt on the table suggests old scrolls or parchment used to rest atop it, though time has rotted those away into dust already. Elsewhere in the room, there are formations of pulverized stone in a way that suggests something was destroyed by brute force, a wide, uneven trail of damaged stone floor running to the back of the room.
"So! What have we found whilst I was mapping the ruins!" Doctor Oobleck began.
"Me and Weiss-" Ruby began.
"Weiss and I, Ruby." Weiss corrected.
"Weiss and I found some kind of room that almost looked like a study, I think." Ruby finished.
"It was dusty and smelled of rot. Although, the desk was made of stone and had some kind of small stone box atop it." Weiss added.
"Like a sarcophagus?" Doctor Oobleck asked.
"Perhaps, yes. We didn't dare raise the lid for what might have been inside it." Weiss answered.
"Hm. Fascinating. Perhaps it contains some parchments on what this place is. Ms Belladonna! What did you find?" Doctor Oobleck asked.
"Yang and I found a sort of chamber where what looked to have once been a large bed was, though a sealed stone box was also in there acting as a sort of end-table." Blake replied.
"That's interesting. Perhaps more parchment, or maybe something more important given its place in the bedchamber. Mr Arc! What did you find?" Doctor Oobleck continued on.
"Oh! Uh, Pyrrha and I found a room that may have been a vault or something behind a room with stone counters, though whatever it may have had inside it was long decomposed into soil, so maybe a cellar or a storeroom?" Jaune replied, somewhat unsurely, though a pat on the shoulder from Pyrrha brought his spirits back up.
"Hm, sounds like you are correct that it was a storeroom. Those counters would've been part of a kitchen at one point perhaps, that is if someone indeed lived here given the presence of the bedchamber. Mr Ren! What did you find?" Doctor Oobleck asked.
"Nora and I found a room that had eight pedestals in it with these spherical crystals on top of them, though one was missing its crystal." Ren replied.
"Ooh! Maybe its some kind of ancient energy crystal that powers some massive ritual in another room!" Nora exclaimed.
"Hm, those pedestals are definitely odd sounding, and you two were exploring near Professor Goodwitch, yes?" Doctor Oobleck asked.
"They were. It makes what I found more concerning. I came across an antechamber with a large door on the far end. What looked like circuits ran from eight points around the door across the walls and the ground before leading through the walls in one corner." Professor Goodwitch replied.
"So they must be connected to the pedestals for some reason. This actually makes Ms Valkyrie's theory more plausible, apart from the ritual part." Doctor Oobleck pondered.
"Really?!" Nora exclaimed in glee.
"Yes, Ms Valkyrie. Now, students! It is already late, as we arrived here in the afternoon, so before retiring to sleep, make sure to record everything you can remember about the rooms you explored and send me the notes once you are done! Leave no detail out, no matter how small! Also, send the pictures to my Scroll when you are finished." Doctor Oobleck commanded.
The group split up to set up their sleeping bags, Professor Goodwitch taking first watch with Disciplinarian in hand as the students recorded every detail they could remember. Soon enough, Doctor Oobleck's Scroll pinged a total of eighteen times, that being nine sets of images and nine sets of notes. The students then began preparing themselves for sleep.
Doctor Oobleck stood from his place on the floor, Scrolls in one hand, Antiquity's Roast in the other as he sips a more powerful blend of coffee than his normal. He silently plods closer to the old table before setting up his backpack like a desk and sitting down in front of it, black Scroll to the back in extended tablet mode with the pictures up on one side and notes on the other, and his personal Scroll in the center in tablet mode ready to record his own notes. He begins to read and examine.
Many hours later, Antiquity's Roast down a good portion of coffee, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, or Bart as his peers call him, is rereading the notes and studying the high definition photos closely, absorbing every detail over and over to build an accurate picture of the ruins, now determined to be a temple or a sanctum of sorts.
The traces from the antechamber certainly lead to those pedestals in the room closest to it, as the traces lead in the same direction, so he can only assume the spheres to be some kind of power source to open the large door, especially given the identical arrangement of the door chevrons and the pedestals. There are eight pedestals in total, the fourth pedestal from the right being the one missing its glass-like sphere, instead having a fine powder atop and around it. This position in the room matches the position of the sealed stone box in the bedchamber when compared to other similarly sized objects, leading Bart to presume a connection between the two as ancient civilization was known to be heavily symbolic, a fact known despite most of their history being missing from public knowledge beyond a few hundred years.
Having taken the time to open the sealed box in the study found by Ms Rose and Ms Schnee, Bart had found parchment in surprisingly good condition, a find within his expectations, but what was out of his expectations was the contents of the parchment.
[Reuben Rosenfeld, Wellspring of Beginnings, Creation Record MCCCLXXVI:]
[I hath done my project. At long last, I hath created an functional silver-light construct! The divine machine is awaiting use. My ears can nearly hear the Beings of Darkness at my entry hall, but the holy waters are most active at this moment! The time of action is imminent, lest I be quartered by those Beasts.]
[Shouldst my body be rent and I fail to use my life's work, the waters will remain still for the next millennium. This phenomena of the Wellspring hath been descended through my clan, its secret kept secure by our kind. The intent is to connect to the Wellspring in a past timeline, preferably many years upon years in the past if at all possible, as it has been my goal to witness mankind from whence the Brothers graced the surface of our world.]
[The Creatures of Darkness are approaching, I can hear them now. I can feel them in my old bones, so too my mug of brew is disturbed on my working space. When I use the divine machine, one Soul Orb should destroy itself so to prevent other Silver Eyed Warriors from using the Wellspring in future. Certainly, I maintain a ninth should I drop one, but would anyone think to return once the Darkness reduces this place to rubble? I think not. So too do I doubt any else has the red barrier that hugs my skin, the one for opening the door. I had nearly died before it surged into being and healed my rent flesh. Alas, I truly must depart.]
[Always Avoiding Apparent Annihilation, Reuben Rosenfeld, Eight and Three Tens and One Hundred Years Strong, Last Progenitor of the Rose Bloodline.]
Bart raised an eyebrow at the title given for this Reuben Rosenfeld, also noting his status as a Silver Eyed Warrior, the same as Ms Rose. He recalls Ozpin's Inner Circle, and how their job is to protect Remnant from the shadows, and to shelter Silver Eyed Warriors and the Maidens of the four seasons from the grasp of Salem. Despite not being an active member of the Inner Circle, much like his coworkers and friends Peter, Harold, Lina, Iris and Ann, he still knows the basics of the very ancient history from millennia ago, the Age of the Brother Gods and the Age of Magic. Reuben also seems to have had Aura, though at the time it was still a major unknown. Did Humanity not have Aura back then, but rather instead Magic? Are Aura and Semblance remnants of Magic?
"Bart, its your turn for watch." Glynda informed him quietly with a stifled yawn.
"Ah, yes, thank you Glynda." Bart replied absently.
"Is there something you found?" Glynda asked, kneeling beside his makeshift desk.
"Yes. Yes there is. The one who was last in this temple, or sanctum as I'm inclined to believe, had Silver Eyes just like Ms Rose. Those spheres on the pedestals when fed Aura either from the door or directly, we'll have to test it, open the room in the antechamber to a large pool of water that was called the Wellspring of Beginnings, and the last keeper of this place was a 138 year old man named Reuben Rosenfeld. He called himself the Last Progenitor of the Rose Bloodline." Bart summarized.
"Silver Eyes?" Glynda asked in mild shock.
"It came as a shock to me as well. The Grimm were hunting him down, too, rather violently if his account of the ground shaking at the end of his last record is to be believed. He used the machine he made above the Wellspring considering he explicitly said one of the spheres, or Soul Orbs, would be destroyed, and I'm inclined to believe his account given the glass-like dust covering the empty pedestal." Bart explained.
"Should be open the door tomorrow? Would it be safe?" Glynda asked.
"Yes. It should be safe, considering this all happened over a thousand years ago. No Grimm would stick around a pool that only becomes active once every thousand years. Even 'she' would have no reason to guard it, nor could she use it." Bart replied.
"So we have a plan now. Are you good to stay up longer?" Glynda asked.
"I am. I've stayed up far longer and kept in top form all the while many times before this, and my Semblance certainly helps in this regard. This is nothing new for me. Good night, Glynda." Bart replied.
"Good night, Bart." Glynda returned with a small yawn.
Bart smiled, seeing something no student ever sees of the stern headmistress. Of course, nobody would believe the rapidly talking, poorly dressed history professor was once the leader of Team Optic of Beacon Academy. Its still a shame that Glynda's cane-wielding, Ozpin-inspired partner left after they had a truly terrible fight and became the most notorious thief in Vale, she used to be so easy going before that.
Bart checked the time on his Scroll, finding it to be the wee hours of the morning, a scant few hours before wake up time. He chuckled quietly, shaking his head in disbelief and fondness both, noting how Glynda hasn't truly changed from the doting team mom she used to be as a student of Beacon Academy.
Doctor Oobleck was about to blow his whistle until Nora shot awake.
"Good morning, everyone!" she called to the heavens, startling everyone awake, including Professor Goodwitch.
"Ah! Good morning, Ms Valkyrie, I was about to wake everyone up for the day." Doctor Oobleck greeted.
"Hm... Five more minutes..." Jaune mumbled into Pyrrha's shoulder, who herself was blushing up a storm after realizing the position of her dearest partner.
"Wake up, Fearless Leader!" Nora exclaimed, picking up Jaune and dropping him on his feet where he stumbled before finding his balance.
"Ah? Oh, You alright, Pyr? Did you catch a cold or something?" Jaune asked Pyrrha after seeing her frozen in her sleeping bag with a flushed face.
"N-No! I-I'm fine!" Pyrrha replied, bolting upright.
"What was in the box, Doctor?" Ruby asked excitedly.
"It was parchment containing the final record of the last inhabitant of this place, this sanctum. In it, the man, Reuben Rosenfeld, detailed the operation of the door via the glass spheres and the pedestals using what was certainly Aura, as nothing else matches the short description he gave, such as a barrier coating his body. You've all learned that sometimes an Aura is unlocked on the verge of death, thus Reuben certainly had Aura." Doctor Oobleck explained.
"What happened to your energy, Doc? Yesterday you were darting everywhere and talking a mile a minute but now you're all normal." Yang, oh so eloquently, pointed out.
"That's rude, you brute!" Weiss scolded.
"Ah, well, Ms Xiao Long, that would be both due to my lacking of caffeine, but also that we have plenty of time ahead of us today. There is no rush to speak or explain, or to teach anything in a limited window of time, for now we observe and test." Doctor Oobleck replied.
"Did you all sleep well?" Professor Goodwitch asked, already tidied up and appearing ready to explore again.
"We did, professor." Ren answered her query, accompanied by nods from the other teens.
"Well then, shall we pack up and continue? We have a glass sphere to find and a door to open." Doctor Oobleck said.
With that, the group packed up their gear and went deeper into the sanctum.
Following Doctor Oobleck's map, they made their way to the bedchamber to open the stone box. Both Yang and Nora grabbed the lid after Ren cleared it of dust and dirt, and lifted the surprisingly heavy object. Ruby and Weiss very gently lifted the heavy glass sphere out of the box, Professor Goodwitch abstaining from using her Semblance due to the Aura residue it leaves behind. Ruby and Weiss very carefully handed the sphere to Jaune and Pyrrha to carry due to its weight as Yang and Nora place the lid back on the box.
The group soon found themselves at the pedestal room. A small pinch of Wind Dust from Myrtenaster was enough to clear the empty pedestal of glass dust, where Jaune and Pyrrha gently placed the sphere atop the stone. A slight mechanical hum reverberated throughout the room, briefly harmonizing between the crystals before silence fell once more.
"Hm. I presume all the orbs must be fed Aura at the same time, though the strain that would present is too much for any one of us alone... Students, spread out and place a hand on a crystal, feed it your Aura slowly while I observe the traces at the door." Doctor Oobleck requested.
The students each went to their own orbs, from left to right being Ren, Pyrrha, Nora and Jaune, then Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang. Professor Goodwitch stood to watch over them as they each lit up their colors, though Jaune appeared to have a bit of trouble drawing his out before he quickly got used to doing it.
Outside, Doctor Oobleck watched the traces along the wall until they passed through the wall to enter the antechamber. He saw them each glow their own colors, that of magenta, crimson, pink, white, red, blue, purple and yellow. Inside the room, the traces lead to the eight chevrons surrounding the door, arranged in the same manner as the pedestals in the other room, though the top right chevron glowing red has a thicker border around it. The traces suddenly snapped to a solid color, the teens in the other room finding themselves unable to push more Aura into the crystals.
A groaning sound echoes through the sanctum, the teens and Professor Goodwitch jogging to the antechamber in time to witness the groaning stop and a grinding sound to echo as the door slides backwards a couple feet and then apart in two halves, the massive stone wall between the chevrons being the door itself.
Within the giant room beyond the antechamber, the sound of bubbling water is heard and a dim light shimmers through the cavern. A softly glowing pool of bubbling water is seen deep inside within a giant stone fountain or well at the far wall. Moss is growing on most of the surfaces within, some vines hanging from the ceiling and the faint sound of drops of water hitting wet stone. This tranquil scene is broken by a brief sipping sound, Antiquity's Roast relinquishing some of its life-giving nectar to its wielder.
"What a magnificent sight. We must document this!" Doctor Oobleck commented, taking snapshots of the cavern as he begins to dart around with more energy than earlier.
"Wow! Look at all the vines, Renny!" Nora exclaimed.
"The water is glowing!" Ruby noted, darting forward.
"Why is the water glowing?" Weiss asked herself, perplexed.
"Its quite a peaceful sight, isn't it Jaune?" Pyrrha said.
"Yeah. Its like the perfect nature date." Jaune said absentmindedly, causing Pyrrha to blush.
"Don't go too close to the water, Rubes!" Yang called.
"Its okay! I won't!" Ruby called back from the water's edge.
"You really shouldn't though. If books have taught me anything, its that glowing, bubbling water is probably not good news." Blake commented.
"That's all fiction, though. That stuff never happens." Yang dismissed.
"Gasp! You just triggered an event flag, Yang!" Nora gasped dramatically, pronouncing the word.
"Ah, I'm sure we'll be fine!" Yang reassured, mostly towards herself given her gut telling her something is going to go wrong somewhere.
"Two event flags!" Nora counted.
"Children, please stop arguing. This isn't a place to play around." Professor Goodwitch said.
Suddenly, a distant boom is heard, and Yang chuckles nervously in the abrupt silence. Then the cavern shakes briefly without warning as if a large boulder fell to the ground close by. Which, incidentally, considering their location under a mountain, is a likely scenario. But regardless, Ruby, being a bit too close to the pool of water, fell forward and face-planted into the glowing waters with her eyes open, whilst everyone else stumbled and Jaune fell flat on his back, taking Pyrrha with him when she tried to help him stay upright.
Suddenly the pool began to glow brightly, and then Ruby let out a scream of fear, leaping away from the water and backpedaling rapidly with her eyes glowing a bright blinding silver, the light like water flowing into the space above the water. The distant roar of a huge Grimm can be heard through the sanctum as well as a constant thunder of feet or paws hitting the ground in rapid succession.
Ruby's POV
Ruby fell forward after the ground suddenly shook. She managed to move back enough so as to not fall into the water, but her face still managed to be submerged briefly with her eyes open. The water stung her eyes for a moment before they began to feel warm. Her vision twisted and she began to see something else entirely.
Ruby opened her eyes, that were somehow closed before, and looked out through the vision of someone taller than her, with black hair with red tips like her own, but longer, as well as a familiar red cape. The problem was when she saw an older version of Yang get backhanded by the wing of a huge dragon attacking the city they were defending, which was Vale, though the city itself appeared to have seen better days, riddled with old damage and recent repairs.
Her dear sister went flying through the air, her Aura having shattered on impact along with all her ribs. All Ruby knew at that moment was that the person she was viewing through the eyes of felt the same form of white hot fury she felt, though her own fury was greatly tempered by the intense fear of the dire situation she was seemingly thrust into as well as the fear that Yang was not alright in any way. She could hear the voice of the one she was inside of shouting orders to her remaining teammates, before she zipped forward in a burst of rose petals and high speed, a massive serrated scythe blade whirling around and slicing off the wing as she bolted past it, the beast roaring in agony and hatred. She vaguely witnessed her driver send out a trio of wired blades into the ground to swing around and bolt back again in very short order, lobbing off the beast's other wing.
Belatedly, she recognized her precious baby, Crescent Rose, as well as the hair, the cape and the rose petals, and matched them to her own, presuming her driver to be an older version of herself, especially given Yang's appearance and the older Ruby calling out orders to Blake and Weiss. Her older self leapt at the dragon with her eyes ablaze, stunning it and turning a small part of it to stone before her baby's blade cleaved through its partially petrified neck. Soon enough, she felt a wave of fatigue hit her like a wall before she closed her eyes.
Opening her eyes again, Ruby witnessed another scene, feeling the extra weight of a pair of all-too-familiar gauntlets on her forearms, watching with a deep depression in her soul as the poisoned form of Blake was pronounced deceased at a hospital in Atlas. She fell to her knees and cried, before a white hot fury erupted within her. The next scenes were a blur, but they culminated in the beheading of a deranged Scorpion Faunus, and not a single drop of guilt or sorrow to be found within her, only a grim satisfaction and a feeling of minor fulfillment. The weight of the emotions and Ruby's sorrow at her older self killing someone had her close her eyes again.
For a short moment, Ruby saw herself and Weiss entering the familiar looking sanctum to explore and map out the interior, including recovering the parchment they had found in her own time just the day before. Though the absence of both Yang and Blake put a massive damper on her mood. She and Weiss found the crystal in the box, though they left it inside and soon departed to write the mission report.
Upon opening her eyes once more, Ruby saw the moment Weiss was impaled from the front by a thin estoc blade attached to the tip of a parasol as she had jumped to defend her downed leader. The eyes of the owner of said parasol looked towards Ruby with guilt and resignation, as if having accepted her fate of becoming a pawn. Ruby felt once more a white hot fury burn inside of her, her eyes also burning as she forced herself to her feet and drew forth a familiarly shaped katana from under her cape. The swift but intense exchange of swords ended with her left eye being sliced through, as such she couldn't see out of it, as well as the resigned young woman being impaled the same way as Weiss was but with black ashes briefly bursting from around the blade emerging from her back, though instead of guilt and resignation, the young woman could only look at Ruby apologetically with gratitude and a peaceful expression as the light faded from her eyes. Future Ruby's bitter crying afterwards showed her fully crimson red dyed hair.
In one more scene, Atlas was being besieged by tidal waves of frenzied Grimm, throwing themselves at the walls and dive-bombing directly from the air. Her left eye couldn't see anything and she was speaking with a tall half metal man, the General her mind supplied, before she saluted and quickly darted off, briefly stopping to wish Jaune, Ren and Nora good luck while she went off on her mission, causing her to wonder where Pyrrha was. The General's words of comfort rang hauntingly in her older self's ears, enough for Ruby to hear it. "Even if you don't succeed, don't blame yourself wherever you end up, because we're past the point of no return. There's only two options, you get incredibly lucky and change the past, or you don't get lucky and nothing about our situation changes. There's no real pressure here since civilization is already doomed to fall. So good luck Scarlet Rosenfeld, or should I say, Ruby Rose. May you get lucky and live on happily regardless of the outcome. It was a pleasure leading all of you guys. Penny and your team would be proud of you."
Ruby found herself entering the sanctum, though the darkness overhead painted a gloomy and haunting image. She vaguely heard the chattering of a small voice from in her left ear as well as she herself responding to it, the weight of the gauntlets on her arms, the weight of the backpack-mounted weapon, the heavier weight of Crescent Rose as well as the weight of the katana on her back as well. She took a familiar route as she and her friends did earlier the same day, smashing open the stone container and grabbing the crystal before running it to the pedestal room. She summoned up her red Aura and spread it out across the room into the four crystals in front of her, though the four to her sides lit up a vibrant green color instead. The door opened and she ran towards the pool of glowing water, her right eye burning hot in its socket as a silvery glow erupted from it, visible through her left eye for some reason. The pool glowed before bright white gears made of light started to form high above her, burning away the vines and moss before beginning to turn, a much larger gear centered above a stone platform above the water's surface, now visible due to the light. Surrounding the larger gear are eight smaller ones turning faster and faster. Ruby darted forwards and landed atop the platform just as the gears reached a certain speed and her vision went white.
General POV
"RUBY!" Yang cried, shaking her unresponsive sister whose eyes just dimmed their glow to bearable levels.
"Huh?! What happened?!" Ruby asked fearfully.
"I was hoping you could tell us that, Ms Rose!" Doctor Oobleck asked.
The sound of snarling Grimm could be heard from the entrance to the cavern, gunshots and solid thumps as well as the sound of metal striking bone reverberating through the cavern. Ruby turned briefly to see Beowolves and Creeps scrambling to enter the cavern before swiftly being cut or smashed down by either Professor Goodwitch or her friends. Suddenly, the pool began to glow brightly as the monumental glowing gears formed above the pool, illuminating the platform. The Grimm even backed off for but a moment, though their sudden pause allowed the defending Hunters cut many more down and push through the door to the antechamber.
The body of a woman, Scarlet Rosenfeld, Ruby's mind supplied, began to materialize, standing on the platform above the pool. She had crimson hair and emerald green eyes, a strange black patch on her left temple and a half headset-glasses combo with a lens over her left ear and eye, also of note was that her left eye's pupil was glowing a dim red. Her hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. She was also wearing what appeared to be an armored Atlas battle uniform customized to be crimson and black in color, similar in overall styling to Ruby's own standard outfit, but with gloves as well. She had a familiar red cape and a familiar looking red box-like object on her lower back, though the black and red thick bracelets on her arms were familiar for the wrong reasons, likewise the sword handle above the red box-like object. The hints of a black and green backpack could be seen below the cape. The combat boots on her feet were also of similar design to Ruby's own, colored the exact same, although her whole attire showed hints of wear from a very long time being in use, especially the cape which sported a few sewed-up tears and frayed edges.
Scarlet came to full consciousness to witness the scene in front of her, specifically the Grimm horde and the younger version of herself. Her left eye pulsed with green light briefly before both her eyes turned back to silver, twelve wired swords lancing out from Floating Array under her cape and into the ground as she lunged forward, practically hovering over the water briefly as she twisted her wrists to deploy familiar looking black and red armored gauntlets, Impact Rose, over her arms with a belt of ammo around each. She vanished in a blur of wind and rose petals, weaving between Professor Goodwitch and Team JNPR alongside Weiss and Blake, only to start punching through and shooting buckshot at the Grimm at a blistering pace, the horde of younger Grimm posing little threat to the veteran Huntress. Of course, this was greatly helped by how her right eye was softly glowing and each Grimm would freeze briefly every time her eye swept over them.
As the Grimm horde was pushed back through the antechamber with sufficient room to move, Scarlet flicked her wrists again, Impact Rose retracting as she drew the familiar looking sword as it transformed into a kusarigama, a katana called Cleaver Rose, from her back, Floating Array stabbing into Grimm left, right and center as she became a blur, dicing through the dozens of fodder-level Grimm before her. Now having driven the Grimm into the hallways, she swiftly folded and returned Cleaver Rose to her back and drew the big box out, unfolding it into its true form of a very familiar looking sniper scythe called Crescent-Aster Rose. The woman zoomed forwards, spinning like a tornado, the dozen wired swords slicing into the Grimm as the scythe diced them into many pieces.
As the two teams and the professors got their wits about them after the sudden showing by Scarlet, they began to assist in culling the Grimm horde and made very quick work of them now that all hands were on deck as Ruby was fit for battle once more. Within a couple minutes, the horde was exterminated and the group of now eleven breathed a collective sigh of relief from their place outside the sanctum. Scarlet retracted her scythe, which had a grimly familiar revolver mechanism built into it near the blade, and turned to Ruby to give her a look up and down, taking a cool looking, confident pose.
"Hey Mini-Me, looking good in those explorer clothes. I go by Scarlet, nice to meet me, or you, or whatever." Scarlet said, losing her coolness by the end.
Now that the threat of Grimm was gone, for now, the others registered Scarlet's words and the shared appearance between her and Ruby. The cape, the eyes, the face, the scythe, the voice even, all just about matched between the two despite the fact that Scarlet was taller than Yang by a couple inches and more filled out than Blake, though not to Yang's level in that regard. Even her hair was showing signs of it being the same familiar black color but dyed a crimson to match Pyrrha's hair. Though they all noticed the dim red glow in her left pupil.
"Huh?" Ruby said absently.
A roar sounded out through the mountain range, a sudden quake rumbling the earth below them. A giant Beringel landed on the stone courtyard, cracking the ground and causing the students to stumble and fall, though Scarlet, Professor Goodwitch and Doctor Oobleck stayed on their feet. Scarlet quickly blurred forwards with a very short trail of rose petals, unraveling Crescent-Aster Rose as she approached, the revolver spinning to a blue Dust vial. The Beringel tried to swing at her with its left arm, but a violet Aura drew its fist away from her with a wave from Glynda's riding crop, Disciplinarian, as she leapt into the air off of a light red Glyph on the ground, her scythe fully extended and blade now glowing blue. Floating Array's blades burst from under her cloak and stabbed into the Beringel's body, pulling taut as she pushed off of another, darker red Glyph above her and wrenching her down towards the beast, Scarlet's scythe slicing deep into the Beringel's right shoulder, ice bursting forth from the wound and causing the giant armored gorilla to roar in anger.
A sudden burst of yellow fire from Antiquity's Roast melted the ice instantly into hot steam, cauterizing the wound and forcing the Grimm's flesh to tear even more. A wheel of wired blades from Floating Array spinning like a saw blade landed in the center of the wound, severing the arm in under a second. The Beringel released a deafening shriek of noise, spinning to its right and swiping its left arm wildly at Scarlet now that the Hunters were stunned, though Scarlet leapt to her right with help from Floating Array and left behind a misty afterimage that took the hit, leaving her on the Beringel's right side again. A wave from Disciplinarian gathered nearby rubble and began to pelt the back of the Beringel's head with significant force, cracking the bone armor with each hit. Antiquity's Roast was swung at the back of the Beringel's left knee, causing the beast to roar and tilt to its left.
The crack of a pistol firing rapidly was heard, Cleaver Rose in its pistol form and firing Dust rounds at the Beringel, licks of fire burning away its face around its eyes and blinding it soon enough. As it roars in agony, a purple glow surrounds its remaining arm and pulls it to its side, causing the Beringel to list to that side as Antiquity's Roast is swung down hard, pulverizing the shoulder and disabling the arm. The Beringel falls forward and tries to move its arm to stay upright but quickly finds itself unable to do so, face-planting on the stone.
Scarlet leaps high into the air with the help of Floating Array acting as wings and thrusters, a green glow wafting off the blades and downwards as they form like wings behind her, Impact Rose deploying over her fists with a click-click sound. Both arms are raised high in a position to pound the ground, a violet glow holding the Beringel's head still as Scarlet falls to the ground like a meteor, her hair blazing gold and right eye blood red, bladed wings pushing her down faster. She draws her arms back at the last second and thrusts them forward, a crack of buckshot sounding off and the sound of shattering bone reverberating through the sanctum's eroded courtyard, the Beringel giving one final gurgling roar before falling silent, its body starting to dissipate into flecks of black dust that lazily drift upwards into the air before vanishing, too small to see.
The students throughout the short, heated battle of perhaps thirty seconds or so could only look in awe at the sheer prowess between the Hunters before them. For the students who had seriously doubted the combat prowess of the quirky doctor of history, they were surprised at how much power he could pack with his dinky looking but surprisingly hardy thermos-mace-flamethrower. But most surprising was the weapons and abilities used by the woman known as Scarlet. The familiar revolver chamber on Scarlet's Crescent Rose that is identical to the one on Weiss' Myrtenaster, alongside the familiar Glyphs. The familiar katana-pistol-kusarigama nearly identical to one half of Blake's Gambol Shroud, alongside the Shadow Clone. The familiar shotgun-gauntlets on Scarlet's wrists nearly identical to Yang's Ember Celica, alongside the blazing hair and red eye. But lastly, the wired sword backpack under Scarlet's cloak with green-power-symbol-hilted swords identical in form and function to that of Penny Polendina who fought alongside Team RWBY at the docks against Roman Torchwick and the White Fang earlier in the semester.
Ruby was the first to break the silence, darting towards Scarlet and getting perhaps slightly too close for comfort to her face.
"That was so cool! Where did you get those weapons?! Is that Crescent Rose?! Why does it have Myrtenaster's revolver on it?! How do you have Ember Celica?! Why is Gambol Shroud's katana on your back?! How do you have swords like Penny does?! How did you get Crescent Rose's blade to light up with Dust?! Are you controlling Penny's blades?! How do you have our Semblances?!" Ruby began to rapid fire questions.
"Woah, woah, woah, Little Rose! Slow down! We may be the same person but even I can't understand you right now." Scarlet replied, placing her hands on Ruby's shoulders to stop her from hopping up and down, before rubbing her hair in a motherly fashion, a gesture Yang found very familiar. She also noticed the red light in Scarlet's left eye dim to black and her head turn slightly to the left.
"First, how about you tell us who you are and why you came from the fountain, Ms Scarlet?" Professor Goodwitch requested.
"Well, I'm Ruby Rose, I'm 32 years old, I go by the alias Scarlet Rosenfeld and colored my hair red and my eyes green to avoid public outrage after Doctor Merlot sullied my reputation beyond repair, and I've been an Atlas Specialist for 9 years, Atlas is working with the Solitas Alliance of Mankind to hold back the frenzied Grimm incursion from wiping out mankind completely as we are holed up in Atlas. Alas, my presence here means we failed and I'm in a different Remnant rather than my own Remnant's past since I never found out about the Wellspring until a few years ago. This whole expedition you guys are on here never happened for me." Scarlet explained, the last bit of information earning her subtle winces from the students, sans Ruby.
"And the weapons and Semblances?" Ruby pressed on, unaware of the others' reactions.
"For Crescent-Aster Rose here, I added a revolver chamber like Myrtenaster has to give the blade Dust capabilities. To help overcome my shortfalls in hand-to-hand I made Impact Rose in the image of Ember Celica. As a backup bladed weapon and mid-range Dust firearm I made Cleaver Rose in the image of Gambol Shroud. And lastly, Floating Array Mk1.5 is the very same weapon that Penny has. She upgraded to a far stronger version at some point and gifted me this reworked and upgraded version after merging her mobility weapon, Flight Unit, into the laser gun-swords themselves. Basically, I can fly now. And Semblance is a lot less rigid than we thought." Scarlet explained.
The students looked on, clearly impressed by her capabilities, some of which was shown in the brief battle alongside their professors. However, Professor Goodwitch, Doctor Oobleck and Yang all noticed the tiny changes in her expression that belied the presence of darker, but more importantly, sadder, emotions under the professionally crafted mask that looks exactly the same as Ruby's natural joy to any outside observer.
The three took note of a very subtle wince when she said the name 'Crescent-Aster Rose', a wince present when she spoke the names of the other three weapons as well. This combined with the expertly masked regret and guilt in her eyes as she looked upon both Pyrrha and the rest of her own team suggests to them a life with big losses one after another. Professor Goodwitch found her team mom instincts coming to life once more, Doctor Oobleck found himself considering offering her his help as a school counselor, and Yang felt her big sister instincts kick in just the same as when Ruby is feeling down or particularly unhappy. Despite this, the three held back from saying anything, instead choosing to bring it up later, one-on-one.
For Scarlet, the expressions on Professor Goodwitch, Doctor Oobleck and Yang's faces did not go unnoticed, but a brief reassurance from Sylvie in her left ear had her relax a bit more, actually considering that counseling from another Human being rather than an AI with a soul would be more beneficial for her mental health in the long run, a subject she has been aware of for the greater half of a decade already.
"Well, shall we return to Beacon? I haven't seen the place in years." Scarlet prompted.
"Ah, yes, I guess we shall! I will hail the Airship to return, we will simply retrace our steps to the plateau we arrived at! Come along, children!" Doctor Oobleck, sensing the reason for the sudden shift in attention, agreed.
At his request, the students began walking in pairs behind Doctor Oobleck, chatting with each other about both Scarlet and the sanctum they just explored, whilst Scarlet and Professor Goodwitch took up position at the rear, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Professor Goodwitch, Glynda, took this time to take glances at Scarlet's expression, noting each change and what she focused on when said change occurred.
What she noticed painted a somewhat sad picture. Scarlet would become sad and guilty, akin to survivor's guilt she noted, when her eyes landed on either Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake or Yang. The slight pain that crossed her expressions was the least with Pyrrha, and notably at its worst with Weiss, suggesting events with Pyrrha are old memories for her whilst events with Weiss are rather recent. Scarlet would gaze at her younger self with pity but also a hint of jealousy, and her gaze upon Jaune, Nora and Ren was one of longing, akin to missing a dear friend that hasn't been seen in far too long a while.
Glynda could summarize a rough idea of Scarlet's history from such expressions, a necessary skill when a reincarnating wizard with history's most impressive poker face is your boss. It is safe to assume that many years ago for Scarlet, something tragic happened to Pyrrha that she felt she could've prevented, a very old and deeply rooted guilt. From there, its likely she grew a lot closer to Team JNPR and her own team, but the pity she showed towards her younger self suggests she went through very troubling times. At some point, something bad must have happened to both Yang and Blake within a somewhat close period of time to each other, things she blames herself for. Though the hint of a dark satisfaction relating to Blake suggests whatever happened to her was something Scarlet got revenge for, a revenge she doesn't regret in the least, something that worried Glynda. The guilt relating to Weiss however is one that appears bitter, something Scarlet will certainly need help with. And lastly, the longing towards JNR suggests she left them behind not too long ago before her arrival in their own Remnant.
All told, what Glynda could glean from Scarlet's expressions did not paint a good picture, but at the very least it can be considered a blessing that Scarlet remains mentally stable, if a bit walled off from everyone around her, a common reaction to experiencing too much hardship in too short a time. Glynda decided that sending Bart a message with her findings would be a good idea, to help him get a clearer picture in future counseling sessions should Scarlet accept his offer.
The arrival back to Beacon was rather uneventful, mostly due to Scarlet laying herself down across a few seats and promptly passing out. Ruby reflected on the scenes she saw after her eyes began to burn from the Wellspring water, scenes she now recognizes as some of Scarlet's memories. She began to feel a bit of guilt for asking so much about her weapons when she so clearly made them in such a way to remember her fallen teammates, to remember her sisters.
Intuition was telling Ruby that Scarlet's explanation was cleverly masking the real truth behind her weapons, but thanks to her love of all things weaponry she could tell what it was. Crescent-Aster Rose's revolver chamber wasn't made like that of Myrtenaster, its very name suggests even that the revolver chamber is the exact same one from Myrtenaster, simply repainted to suit the red and black color scheme. Likewise, Impact Rose looks exactly like Ember Celica, shotguns and all, though with sleeker armor plating and a new paint job. And lastly, Cleaver Rose looks just like Gambol Shroud, just missing the sheath-cleaver and ribbon and given red accents. At least Floating Array looks just the same as Penny's swords did apart from a new backpack, assuming Penny even had a backpack though Ruby couldn't remember for some reason, but then that leaves the reason why Penny would part with her personal weapon to replace it with a new one rather than simply upgrading it.
But looking at Scarlet's unsettled sleeping face, Ruby decided to hold off on asking. She may be the younger sister, but darn it she knows when not to ask something! And everyone always treats her like a child! She knows about stuff, too! Its far easier to just play dumb anyways. But the really mystifying part was how Scarlet could use her teammates' Semblances! Like how does that work? Doesn't a Semblance define who someone is? But, regardless of this internal deliberation, Ruby decided that Scarlet had the right idea in taking a nap, so she leaned back across a few seats and closed her eyes to rest.
END OF CHAPTER 1
A/N: I had some ideas piece themselves together in my mind after reading a few fanfics over the Summer Break, like "Distorted Mirror Images". The idea of multiple parallel dimensions existing for each different outcome possible was something fun to toy with, so I decided to create something that would bridge the gap between two parallel world-lines. Due to Scarlet activating the Wellspring of Beginnings at the exact same time that Ruby accidentally did so, their two world-lines were linked briefly. Since Scarlet activated it with the intention of returning to the past, she traveled to Ruby's version of Remnant, however this means there is no bridge that connects back to Scarlet's Remnant, and thus its considered her mission was a failure and her Remnant's Atlas fell soon after to the frenzied Grimm.
It would be prudent to mention that the main difference between the world-lines is that Scarlet's Remnant had the Age of Magic end 17 years earlier than Ruby's Remnant, and thus the date of Scarlet's activation of the Wellspring was also roughly 17 years in the future from Ruby's perspective. Deviations did happen in Scarlet's Remnant, mainly in ancient history, but some more notable discrepancies will be revealed as Scarlet reflects on her memories and shares her story with the cast.
My whole goal with this was along the lines of "what if an older and war-hardened Ruby Rose went back in time to change the past?" as well as "what if Ruby learned to wield her teammates' weapons?". Now, the idea of her wielding Floating Array came from another fanfic called "Rogue Rose", and my budding plan for the "time travel" was put into motion by two other fanfics called "Sins of the Future" and "Re:Generation", but hopefully I can write something unique and interesting, that is if college leaves me enough time and energy to do so.
Before the next chapter I'm going to put some bits of information about Scarlet in an extra not-chapter, chapter, thing.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me what you think of it so far.