"Now Miss Goodwitch, please recount the incident as you remember it."

Glynda Goodwitch sat on the opposite end of a metal table inside a dark concrete interrogation room. It was actually the second interview room of the Vale Police 1st precinct headquarters, but she had a history with rooms like this. They were always for interrogations.

"I had arrived in Vale to shop at Blondo Mollari, you know, that store where blondes shop at?"

The detective nodded. He was a man in his thirties, clean shaven and wearing a standard police uniform, "I am familiar with it. How long before the rally was this?"

"About an hour. I browsed the wares, but I didn't make a purchase before I heard gunshots in the distance," Glynda was as stoic as she always was, although she kept up a base level of politeness.

"That shop is three blocks away. You must have pretty good ears," the detective said.

"My semblance leaves me with some odd perks. Certain sounds tend to collect near my ears."

"Convenient, although," he pulled out a video tape and placed it in front of her. He tapped it and raised an eyebrow at her, "I've actually personally gone through the surveillance logs of the nearby shops, including Blondo Mollari. Yet, I do not see you anywhere. Strange. Any explanation?"

Glynda shrugged then yawned, placing her hand over her mouth, "My semblance again. Sound and light waves curve around my body, a natural side effect of gravity manipulation. I don't always appear in people's, or camera's, sight. It's very convenient when dealing with Grimm."

"I assume so. I'll have to request an update to your USIU file, however. Standard procedure and all that."

She nodded, "Completely understandable, although I will be checking the record later for accuracy. May I ask your name, detective…?"

"Lagoon. Detective Leitus Lagoon, homicide department."

Glynda frowned, "What is a homicide detective doing investigating the White Fang?"

"What do you think?" Lagoon leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms, "Please continue with your account."

"I quickly approached the source of the sound, using my semblance once again. I propelled forward and entered the warehouse. I saw Adam Taurus about to launch a powerful attack at two of my students, so I stopped his attack. And then him," she shook her head, "Surely I don't need to recount it in all its details."

"Try as best as you can," Lagoon said.

"I was angry, I think I insulted him, he lunged at me, I stopped him with my semblance. Then a short pink woman appeared in the middle of my gravity field, grabbed Taurus, and teleported away in a flash of light," Glynda grumbled.

"And that's it, correct? Anything else you would like to mention?"

She shook her head, "No. I was interviewed beforehand, but that was weeks ago. I also gave my students detention afterwards, but that's about it," Glynda frowned, "What does this have to do with a homicide?"

Lagoon frowned, "Adam Taurus was found dead a few days ago. Besides the teleporter, you might have been the last person to see him alive."

Glynda scrunched her brow and frowned, "You think she killed him?"

"She has a history of homicide, although guns aren't her MO," he said, "Still, thank you for your time. If you can think of anything, give me a call."

"I suppose so, thank you, Detective, for calling me out here at eleven in the evening," Glynda sighed, "At least it didn't interfere with classes."

She stood up from her chair, as did Lagoon. He held out his hand and she shook it, "Always glad to be of help," Detective Lagoon smiled.


As she left the precinct, Lagoon took out a voice recorder and spoke, "Glynda Goodwitch, huntress and professor at Beacon Academy, claims ignorance in the death of Adam Taurus, leader of the Vale White Fang. I don't think she killed him, but she definitely knows more than she's letting on.

"Her excuse for lying about her location prior to the White Fang rally, aka Incident 45-B, is plausible and allows for her to lie further. Recommendation for the Unique Semblance Investigative Unit to audit her claims.

"As it stands, Adam Taurus was found dead with thirty-seven gunshot wounds from six different rifles. I believe it to have been the direct result of gang violence, although I suspect an unknown ulterior motive to have been the initial cause."

He put the recorder away and looked into the camera on the ceiling. He was going to have to check to see if Goodwitch flickered in and out of existence on camera. Beacon Academy would also almost surely call and ask about this incident. It was just a simple interview, but nothing was simple in this day and age. His boss would probably want to know why they were getting vaguely threatening queries from the huntsman academy too.

Detective Lagoon sighed.


I groggily woke up and rubbed my eyes. Fell asleep on my desk again, looks like. At least I didn't drool on any student's papers. Gods, when was my next class? I pulled out my scroll and blanched. Ten minutes, great.

I wiped my lip and cheek of any saliva, then walked over to my cabinet in my bedroom. With a flick of my wrist, purple energy spewed from around me and encompassed my clothes, the cabinet, and the nearby kitchen.

My clothes came off, unzipping and unbuttoning, only to be quickly replaced by an identical item. Sometimes you find a style that just works. In the kitchen, a kettle began boiling water as a mug floated next to it, tea leaves already inside.

Next I walked to the bathroom, changing out my contacts. Then my spectacles flew to me, and I placed them on. I like the look, but the contacts are necessary, giving me green eyes over my real blue. I stretched my neck and yawned as my cup of tea landed in my hands, my hair tying itself into a neat bun. A shower was needed, but it can wait until lunch.

Five minutes left. It would not do to be late. A professor must set a good example for her students. I strolled out of my door and down to the classroom. Second level sparring for the first years, in teams of two. Halfway there, and I realized I forgot my lucky coin.

An old Atlesian coin, minted after the Great War but before plastic currency, it was the last treasure of a world that never was. That had a nice ring to it. Sounds like it'd be on the jacket of a book.

I passed by another colleague late as well, "Morning, Bart."

"Good day, Glynda."

My brisk pace led me to my classroom, and I arrived shortly before class began. I slowly walked to the front. I mustered up an air of confidence, one that made it seem like I came in at the right time. I was not late, this was deliberate.

As far as I could tell, it worked.

"Good morning class," I said in my teacher voice, different from my normal voice, if hard to distinguish. My normal voice sounds like a girl from the boonies. Because I am from them. I continued, "Today will be a team exercise, with each team…"


After class, I retrieved my coin before a short meeting with Ozpin and Ironwood. It was the usual talk: maidens, Grimm, Vale crime, politics, the end of the world, White Fang, it was depressing at the best of times.

General James Ironwood had arrived at the school ahead of his own students, who were due to arrive in a short while.

"Glynda?"

"Hmm?" I blinked before turning to James, "Yes?"

"You seem distracted," he said.

"Quite," Ozpin said after sipping his coffee, "What is on your mind?"

"Just thinking about the students," I replied, "Another strange incident involving Miss Schnee it seems."

Ozpin nodded in understanding, while James asked, "Weiss Schnee you mean?"

"Yes, your right-hand-woman's sister," I explained, "She, along with three other students, recently tried to investigate a White Fang rally by themselves."

"One of our… agents pegged Miss Schnee as the mastermind behind the incident, as well as further reports concerning her odd behavior," Ozpin said.

"Yes, although as I've said, I feel little concern for her behavior. She's just a very eccentric teen," I said. Of all the things Weiss Schnee could be doing, matchmaking was the most benign. A vastly better outcome.

"So why are you worried?" James asked.

"I expect a feud to break out among the members of Team RWBY, and as a teacher, I feel it will spill out and affect other students. Should it last long enough, it might even affect the transfer students," I sighed. Weiss Schnee was always a wild card.

Not to mention all the stuff involving Jaune at the moment, and how he is at the center of it all. He never was good at staying out of trouble.

The conversation quickly turned back to updates on Amber's condition (getting used to her prosthetics, still recuperating inside the vault), the strange dust thefts (nothing new), and the missing Paladins (they still don't know who has it).

Eventually, we said our goodbyes and went to perform our separate duties.


When I was a little girl, I didn't want to be a huntress. I wanted to be a businesswoman.

I wanted to be the next Nicholas Schnee, pioneering the world of commerce and making a name for myself. But life on Remnant was never exactly easy.

I got my coin when my father visited the kingdom of Atlas, and gave each of my sisters and brother a gift. My father misplaced the toy horse he'd gotten me, so he gave me the coin instead, saying it was special, once held in the hands of a Schnee. I laughed and became enamored with it, keeping it in my pocket every single waking moment.

It took a long time, but I eventually did get around to making business deals, although my parents would have definitely preferred I chose different business partners.

That afternoon I was free, so I made my usual trip to Vale. Like all people performing illicit activities, I arrived at an empty warehouse, dressed in my usual white dress clothes and black cape. The cape makes me look cool and mysterious.

"You're late, Glyn Glyn," Roman Torchwick gloated as he took a drag of his cigar.

"You're early," I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Neopolitan licking an ice cream cone.

"I still owe the runt," Roman winced as Neo kicked him in the shin, "For subbing for me at the rally. And for disguising herself as edgelord Taurus. I'm honestly surprised Cindy hasn't caught on yet."

I shrugged, "Just keep it up. Not like it's hard. Just rant about faunus inequality, vow revenge on humans, and kill things."

Neo grinned and nodded frantically.

He sighed, "So yes, your insane plan to replace Adam Taurus with Neo is working. Except for the part where his body was found with enough lead in him to give the coroner poisoning."

"It's an unfortunate setback but I have a plan," Really, I did. I just needed to fine tune it. Yep.

Roman rolled his eyes, "The White Fang is laying low right now, but their plans in Mountain Glenn are still a go," he frowned, "I still don't know how you knew about that. I found out the details just a week ago."

"Life is full of mysteries, and you're a bit character in them," I replied with as much mystique as I could muster.

"Wow, you are so full of shit. If you didn't handle Taurus like he was a wet blanket, I'd be laughing right now."

Yes, that was how the state of affairs were, weren't they? We needed each other. He wanted to survive being Cinder's lackey, and I needed an inside man.

Neo's there too. She waved at me as she bit down on the waffle cone.

Ozpin didn't know about this. He would have been worried that I was telling Roman much at all. He probably would have also worried about my gang connections that led directly to a man's death.

To be fair, Adam Taurus was a monster.

"Good ol' Cindy tried to set me on fire yesterday, so I'm working extra careful. I delivered the Paladins to the White Fang, with your modifications, as you've asked. What else is there?"

"Watch out for Griffons."

"Yeah yeah, you've told me that four times."

"Then nothing. Keep working for Cinder, avoid Griffons, especially Griffons flying above Atlesian airships," I repeated.

"Pfft, you are a strange as hell woman. But, the strongest huntresses always are," he took drag from his cigar.

Neo waved again as she held up two empty hands.

"Yeah yeah, we can get another one. See later, Glyn."

I rolled my eyes. As the two of them left the building, I took a step forward, and watched reality crumble around me.


I've had a long time to master my semblance. On its surface, manipulation of gravity seemed like a simple ability, but if one took their time to understand relativistic physics, things begin to become not so simple.

Space can be thought of as a sheet of fabric. The planet Remnant and the sun can be thought of as marbles on the fabric. The bigger the marble (as in bigger mass), the more the marble curves the fabric when left on it. That curve draws other objects closer to the marble, and as a result is a two dimensional representation of how gravity works according to the Theory of Relativity.

My semblance manipulates gravity, therefore, I can curve space. If I make a curve deep enough, it can puncture through the fabric of space and lead to an entirely different part of the fabric, a shortcut. This is the basis of a wormhole, and indeed is the same principle Raven Branwen instinctively uses for her semblance.

So yes, I can in fact create portals. They take time and effort, but I can appear anywhere I wish, although I avoid showing it off to people. My single greatest trump card should not be used lightly.

Why did I just use it now? I'm just exhausted.

I appeared a few miles away, inside an apartment I purchased. With a heavy sigh, I sat down at a wooden desk and pulled out some plastic bottle of tea I had lying around. I placed my Atlesian coin down on the desk and took a sip.

The coin began to emit green sparks. I pulled out a small mirror and uttered a childish phrase, "Mirror mirror look at my tea, show the current Weiss Schnee."

My mirror flickered, a white light emitting on it until it faded to show something else.


Weiss glared at Ruby and Jaune, her eye twitching slightly, "What do you mean both of you are going to fail Oobleck's next test? Jaune had an A last time, and Ruby, you were doing fine earlier this month!"

Ruby squirmed. Jaune scratched the back of his neck, "Well you see, I kinda sorta guessed on a lot of the questions last time."

"Define 'a lot'."

"Uhh, forty?" he squeaked.

"... There were only one hundred questions on that exam. Show me your answer sheet."

"Um…"

"Now."

Jaune gulped and pulled it out of his backpack. He slowly handed it to Weiss, who snatched the paper and scanned the sheet.

"You… you got every single guess right. Of the sixty you did answer without guessing, only fifty were correct. Somehow, through incredible luck, you got a 90% on it," Weiss squinted at the paper.

"Is that good?"

"No. Because probability dictates this score is incredibly unlikely. You hit the veritable jackpot, but based on your doodles, you have only a 65% chance of repeating this fortune."

Ruby raised her hand, "That's actually really good. Jaune can guess like there's no tomorrow!" she beamed.

Jaune blushed, "That's sweet of you to say."

Ruby grinned through red cheeks.

Weiss coughed, "While Jaune has an incredible luck stat—which reminds me, I need him to roll in my gacha later—it will definitely run out sooner than later. I'm estimating one exam and two life-or-death situations at the most. Which is why I'm going to teach both of you my study method."

Ruby clapped her hands at that, "Ooh how do you get straight As? And memorize like a bajillion names and dates of the top of your head?"

"That's half memorization strategy, half natural ability to recall information. That being said, I'll show the other method I use to study. Behold!" Weiss wheeled out a chalkboard from around the corner. It was completely filled to the brim with diagrams and words, all written down with flourishing handwriting.

Jaune raised his hand, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Indeed!" Weiss said, "A complete psychological profile of one Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, with annotated notes from his classroom lectures, homework assignments, and published academic articles and books. Study this chart and it will guarantee you at least a 90%, without any need of luck."

"Never mind, I was wrong. I thought it was a cheat sheet," Jaune lowered his hand as Ruby giggled.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "The remaining ten percent is hard work and determination, by the way. I will mentor you two in that."

Ruby booed as Weiss pulled out a pointer. Ruby grumbled as Jaune sighed.

Weiss pointed at the chalkboard, "Now let's start from the top left. The early Chieftains of the first…"


I stared at the mirror and rubbed my eyes. Shit, I think I was too successful in pacifying Weiss Schnee across my multiple attempts.

With one touch, the mirror turned back to normal and pulled out my scroll. I typed out a plan of action to Neo. It was the best I could do on short notice, if we wanted to avoid Cinder's suspicions. After I finished, I sighed.

There was much to do, but nothing else could be done now. I had free time, but all of it was spent worrying. Maybe I should just take a nap. Yes, that would do. A nice nap to recuperate, maybe even with a nice dream.

And with a single thought, I jinxed myself so hard. My eyes closed as I leaned back into my chair and dreamed of a past I'd rather forget.


"There's no one left," I sat still after the realization hit me. It was an empty field on the outskirts of my hometown. I had searched everywhere, and there was no one.

In all of Ansel, not a single soul was left. No humans, no faunus. Just me. I clutched my coin and I cried that first night.

A month passed, and I began wandering the roads. My semblance was new to me back then, at most I could pick up small objects and spread dust in people's eyes. Grimm were still around, but in smaller numbers. I couldn't fight them. I ran away.

It took me days before I had found the city of Vale. For that was where my brother had run away to, all those years ago. Another month of wandering the streets came before I found someone else. It was a boy only a couple years older than me.

He was spooked at first, but he cried when I smiled at him.

"You're real, really real," he'd said, "I thought I was the only one left."

"I did too," I said. I told him my name.

"Ozpin," he replied.

"The headmaster?" I frowned.

"Yeah, let's just call it a semblance for now. But I really am him."

The next few months passed in a trickle. We talked about nonsense and passed our time exploring the empty city. He was incredible, able to take down a Beowulf in one strike.

In time, he taught me as well. He helped me hone my semblance, allowing me to pick up Goliaths and toss them around, to bring Nevermore down from the sky. It was a small bit of happiness as the world fell apart.

Then one day, even that came to an end.

The wind changed as a black cloud began swirling with lightning as a dragon's head appeared from within, searing the landscape with its blood red eyes.

"She's coming," he quickly whispered, gathering all my things in a rush and pushing them into my hands, "You have to stay quiet okay? Let me do something that will keep you safe."

A bright glow came from his hand. It was every color and yet none of them at the same time. As his index finger touched my forehead, he chanted, "May you be unseen and undetected, lest your mission fail. The very last drop of my power shall become yours. I beseech you, oh lords of this world, for I am Ozpin, the only survivor."

When he finished, he rushed out into the clearing, screaming at the churning storm like a madman, arms out wide.

"You win, Salem! You hear me!? You win! No more devotion to the gods, no more teammates or allies, no more friends and family, no more schools and students, you have me all to yourself! Are you happy now?!"

Lightning struck the ground before him as a pillar of thick black smoke fell from the heavens, "You and me, alone in the end! Isn't that what you wished for? Well I'm here now!"

Another bolt of lightning slammed down next to Ozpin and he shouted, "Come on you bitch! Take what you deserve! I'll say it again and again forever! I! Will! Never! Lo—!"

Thunder drowned out his words as a bright light filled the empty world. The storm above screeched and raged and turmoiled before it imploded into nothing, scattering black ash onto the ground below.

When it was all over, I rushed over to him. A burnt cinder, there was no hope of him being alive. I parted his black hair, burnt an even darker shade than before. His freckles were gone, covered in black. Just a few minutes ago, he was alive with so much youth and life and now, he wasn't.

As Ozpin laid dead, I wept.

But I didn't weep for long. The hairs on my neck stood up as I felt energy in the air. I turned around to see a bright blue ball that slowly morphed into yellow. It was as if the sun had landed on the ground, blinding me.

When the light subsided, I saw a lone figure. A young woman my age had appeared from the ball. She had a stoic look and wore a blue beret.

She stepped towards me and asked, "A survivor?" she tilted her head and raised eyebrow, "Strange. Perhaps you have a Haven?"

"A what?"

The woman held up a coin— an identical one to my own— and asked, "Do you have one of these?"

I nodded quickly as exasperation filled me, "Yeah, I, I have one."

"Then that explains it," she said.

"Explain what?" I asked. A strange feeling hit me in the chest. Nothing was right, It was all too much, "What's happening right now?"

"The end of Remnant," she said, with little emotion on her face. As if the world dying out was just a typical day, "The last person in an empty world," she shook her head, "Survived only by luck."

"How am I alive?" I whispered.

"The coin. It protects agents from Category One extinction events."

"Agents?"

"Temporal agent," she stuck out her hand, "Agent Ciel Soleil, I'm here to survey this version of Remnant and determine whether it can be saved."

"Save it? But everyone's gone already."

"Perhaps so, but what if I told you that time travel was possible? That the mistakes of the past can be prevented?"

I barked out a laugh, "The only other person in the entire world just died to a giant monster thunderstorm, after everyone else vanished right after all four kingdoms fell to the Grimm. Then you show up in ball of light. Of course time travel is real, what isn't?"

Ciel tapped her chin and looked away in thought, "Talking crabs. Those are not real. At least not in this universe."

I just frowned at her, "Are you being serious?"

She tilted her head at me, "Of course. This Remnant has a somewhat unstable timeline that can be rewritten a number of times before inertia sets in. If the changes were made on the inside, it will help the stability without a doubt. How about it?"

"Are you… recruiting me?" I whispered.

"Sure, why not?" Ciel gave me a soft smile, "You want to change what has happened here, don't you?"

I nodded, "Can I?"

"It will be difficult. There's no chance of success and you'll spend years doing potentially unsavory things to correct the end."

"Yes. Anything."

"Follow me. We'll have to give you orientation from AC," Ciel gestured me to enter to glowing orb. I ran forward into it, propelled by my own semblance.

Several months later and twenty-one years earlier, I staggered back to my feet and walked in the cold to Atlas Academy. As I entered the atrium door, a teen named James greeted me, but I waved him off. I had work to do.


Urgh. I wiped my eyes of sand and sighed. Now I have a headache too. I glanced at a nearby clock and looked into my looking glass once more.

"Mirror mirror, less than zero, show me Adam who's actually Neo."


Adam growled at Cinder and her subordinates. Or, rather, Neo disguised as Adam created an illusion that made a sound similar to a person growling. Since she was mute.

"I faked my death," the fake Adam said, "The police and Beacon want my head. It is not yet time to reveal the White Fang's designs to the world. Not until Mountain Glenn and the festival. Then, we will control the narrative."

Cinder Fall looked at him and smiled, "Very well. If you are to lay low, then dear Roman will take the reigns for the Glenn operation, while your second-in-command rallies your subordinates together."

"I am keeping my death a secret, and my life an even closer kept one. In the meantime, I have unfinished business to attend to."

Cinder waved him away dismissively, "So long as it doesn't interfere with anything important."

Fake Adam growled again and left.


I massaged my temples as the headache worsened. At least that was solved. A loose thought hit me. My mind was always worrisome. I would have to ease it, "Mirror mirror, full of wonder, show me my older brother."

The mirror flickered again to show Beacon Academy, inside the hallway of the first year dorms.

"Hey Weiss, what are you doing up?" Jaune said as he yawned.

Weiss sat down in front of her door in a dressing gown with bleary looking eyes, "I had a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jaune sat down next to her. He wasn't wearing footie pajamas anymore, something that Blake had taken offense to and forced him to change.

"In the dream, I was… a monster. A monster in human form. I killed Blake and Sun, and forced you and Pyrrha into some evil mind game. Ruby was there, working with Penny and a police officer trying to take me down," Weiss shuddered, "I killed people because I was bored. But what scared me the most was how much it reminded me of a bad time in my life. Did I ever tell you how I started playing video games?"

Jaune frowned and shook his head, "No, not yet at least."

"I was eleven when the White Fang first attacked my home. Back then, they were even more wasteful than now. That very first bomb killed half a dozen of their own members. I remember just standing in my bedroom, a dozen dead bodies surrounding me. But to tell you the truth, I wasn't scared," Weiss whispered.

"You weren't? Why?"

"I-I was curious. I looked down at a White Fang member that tried to attack me, only to be stopped by Mister Sieben, my butler. It was surreal. The way everyone was just laid out and the blood and and—" she shivered.

Jaune draped his hand over her shoulder, "It's alright."

Weiss sniffled, "In Mister Sieben's hands was a present. He wanted to give it to me for my birthday. Him! An old butler in his sixties, wanted to give me something! He made so little, I was so so shocked he spent his own Lien to get me something," Weiss shook her head.

"It was called Reaping Sun, a kids game about running a farm. I liked it well enough. But one thing I was deeply intrigued by and fretted over was trying to get my character to fall in love with this other character using gifts and events," Weiss yawned.

"Sounds like a fun game," Jaune whispered.

"It was. They some sequels that were also pretty good too," her eyes closed, "The idea of the romance captivated me because it reminded me of, well," Weiss murmured as she drifted off to sleep.

The door to her room opened and Ruby popped out, "Jaune, how is she?"

"Well she rambled on about the time she watched a lot of people die and how that led to her playing dating sims," Jaune said.

Ruby nodded, "She had a rough night. Apparently a new horror dating sim came out and I think it drudged up some bad memories for her."

Jaune nodded, "Yeah that makes sense. Did she mention any weird dreams?"

"Yeah, something about me being a reformed yan-deer-ay, Pyrrha's a stalker, and Blake was made into a puppet by a girl named 'Ilia'?" Ruby shivered, "I guess Weiss doesn't like horror and it gives her really vivid nightmares."

Jaune shook his head, "Come on, help me get her back into bed," he carefully lifted her by the shoulders as Ruby carried her by the legs.


I adjusted my spectacles in concern. Memories from another timeline were bleeding through it seemed. Luckily, Weiss was troubled by the mere thought of committing murder. I bit my lip and closed my mirror.

Jaune was comforting someone. I didn't think he had it in him, to be the shoulder to lean for anyone else but me. I'm glad he can be.

I sighed. I will never be Cerise Arc again, but I'm fine with that, if it means saving my family.


Interlude One: The Strict Teacher Calls Him Big Brother?! Time Traveling Little Sister, Claim Your Onii-Chan! Isn't This Plot Getting Convoluted, Weiss-chan?!


A/N:

Yes, that is an explanation of Einstein's Theory of Relativity in a fanfic about Weiss playing a real life dating sim. The USIU is a concept I dabbled with a while back. It's essentially CSI in a world where a large percentage of the population has unique semblances.

I needed a little sister archetype that wasn't Ruby, since it's almost obligatory. As such, I decided to throw in the time travel trope so common in anime and RWBY fics in general.

Don't worry, there will only be one other interlude, and it will be a few chapters down the line. Next time we return to our normal stuff.