Ruby let the silence remain unbroken in the air. If she were convinced that she could get back to her own apartment without passing out, she would have left a while ago. Instead, she curled up on the couch, drinking bottle after bottle of water until her stomach felt sore.

When Roman decided not to divulge the details of the supposed "deal" he made, Ruby formed an intention to remain silent and keep their relationship as amicable as possible. She would not have cared either way, but she realized that the best through-line would be on good terms. In the event that both she and Roman did survive, future diverging from what she remembered, Ruby assumed that no matter what she decided to do next, she wouldn't want Roman going after her head.

She passed the time by reviewing the instrumental figures in the year that they had left. Ozpin had a notion of what was to come, so he would likely be of some assistance now. The issue would arise in developing a stratagem to keep their operation under the radar—that is, if Salem and her faction don't already know that Ruby was here. Would there have been some interference that someone else could have picked up on? Was there already a plot in motion to put an end to her schemes? Or could she interpret the lack of significant change in the past as evidence that she was momentarily safe?

In either case, Ruby still worried over the thought of how far she could afford to go in telling other people about the situation. She had no idea if there would be any temporal consequences to telling the public that their fate essentially rests with their local crime kingpin, but she didn't think it was a good idea. Back when she had first discovered that Roman's genetics could be used to reverse-engineer a cure, the few people who knew about it had polarized opinions. Some were willing to give him a second chance in this new development, but others insisted that he should only be kept on life support while scientists make full use of his body until it was no longer required.

In the present moment, communication towers still standing, telling one person would equate to telling the world—if they believed her to begin with. The ensuing reaction would only be galvanized in mass panic of the news that the world could face its end, and Ruby would lose any sort of autonomy in the decision as to what would happen to Roman. The government would make the choice, and Ruby would have no say in the matter.

Ruby coiled up at the thought—as altruistic as her actions may be, she knew that she was going to make the selfish choice. Roman was right. This was no longer her world, and it was hardly her duty to protect it, but if it wasn't her world, too, why was she still in it?

At the end of the day, whether it be her duty or an indulgence of her own wishes, she compelled herself to save Roman's life on her own terms.

Ruby sat up, suddenly inspired to begin forming a plan of action. "I don't know what to do about the White Fang," she said, gathering her belongings, "but you can do what you want and we can figure it out from there."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby saw Roman glance up at her briefly before looking back down at his laptop.

"I'm going," he responded.

Ruby drew in a sharp breath, walking to the door as quickly as she could afford to in such a delicate physical state.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Roman called out.

Ruby stopped, a sudden rigidity running through her as if she had been caught doing something wrong. "Yeah, uh—" Ruby stammered. "I'm good."

"You were dealing with some pretty brutal GI shit. Your stomach is no doubt empty."

"I'm fine," Ruby defended. "You think I can't take care of myself?" Her eyebrows scrunched closer, twinged with annoyance.

"I think you should put some gas in the engine before you push yourself again." He closed his laptop and faced her head-on. "I'll order you some food."

"I don't need to eat right now. I'm good." Ruby turned away from him and pulled the strap of her bag over her head.

Ruby stomped her feet down on the floor as an expression of her defiant and dedicated attitude. Her back still slouched, but the large quantity of water in her gut did her no favors. She held her head up high as she opened the door to the apartment and walked out.

As soon as the door fell shut, the wind in her lungs funneled out of her in a spiraling huff. A numbness prodded her fingertips, signaling an unusually low blood pressure. Unfortunately, she had to admit that he was right. At the very least, she hardly considered herself capable of walking all the way back to her apartment even if she did take the subway. Contrastingly, she had been through worse—and this was hardly comparable.

Ruby puffed out her chest and willed herself to stand upright.


After ten hours of work, Ruby examined her work, all of it pinned up to the wall. She had recreated a thorough timeline of the future, lined with newspaper clippings of events that had already taken place. The wall itself began to haunt her with strange flashes of old memories she hadn't thought of in years. Visceral in her perception, the vision told her that she was still on the same track as she was the first time. Certain headlines gave her the strangest sense of déjà vu even though she was almost positive that she had never read them.

Her memory wasn't the sharpest, but perhaps the few words that triggered a sense of recognition had been tossed around often enough that they made her way into Ruby's subconscious peripheral. She could not shake the nagging feeling that she was missing something, but the instinct was so vague that she wouldn't be able to make anything of it. Ruby had no intention of waiting around when time was only fading, but she had no choice.

Ruby sighed, turning away from the wall and pulling her shirt over her head. She walked into the bathroom, shucking her clothes as she went. Balanced on one foot to pull her shoes off, she turned the knob over the bath. The water ran cold over her fingers as it always did, but she could boil two pots on the stove. One for tea, and one to warm up the bath. Her socks removed, she stuck her foot into the tub to press the stopper into the drain.

As she walked back into the kitchen, she tied her hair into a loose bun. Her eyes grazed the wall once again, spattered with her notes. After firing the stove, she dragged her clothes rack in front of her bed. Ruby may not be able to get the demons out of her head, but the sight of them wouldn't disrupt her effort to sleep—a small consolation.

When the pots began to bubble, she poured one over a bag of cheap green tea, dumping the other into the tub. With the mug stalling at her lips, Ruby ran over the broad strokes of the year to come in her mind. She always knew that there would be some things that she didn't know, but now she was beginning to suspect that some of them could be fatal.

Ruby set down the mug, not having taken a sip, and went to her bag. She removed the burner phone and dialed Roman's number from memory. The line barely began to ring before he picked up.

"Ruby, what is it?" Roman answered.

"I'm missing too many pieces. I need inside information," she stated plainly, walking back to her wall, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"You should know better than I do that you're not going to get what you need from me."

"I know," Ruby said. "That's not what I'm asking." She placed her finger on the day marking the Fall of Beacon. "I need to get inside Cinder's operation."

Roman groaned audibly over the line. "This thing has been years in the making. She's not going to trust someone I just introduced to her."

"No shit," she said. "But then again, she doesn't trust anyone she works with. And I don't want you to introduce me to her."

Roman chuckled. "Huh, sounds fun. Call me tomorrow and we'll. I'm a little, uh, busy right now."

Ruby scowled. "Thanks. Didn't need to know."

"Know what?" he laughed. She could just imagine the smirk on his face right now.

"Bye." Ruby hung up the phone and set it on the countertop.

She feigned a gag reflex as she dipped her toe in the tub.


Ayyyyy what it do, ma peeps? Sorry I haven't updated in a while. If you looked at my post on the forum, you would already know that I have been super caught up with getting ready for next semester. I wanted to make this a little bit longer for y'all because you guys have been waiting for so long, but I figured it would have been better for me to update sooner. I'm probably gonna have the next update up sometime this week.

neverfadehaz: too true. So many good stories don't even make it to the finish line. :'( I promise I will try to finish this story even if homework bends me over.

Thank you guys so much for reading! Have a wonderful week!

-Mima