Author note: Finished chapter 3 so... here is chapter 1. Questions, comments, concerns, thoughts... really anything. Feel free to review them or PM me or whatever you wanna. Cheers!

PS: If anyone has a better name suggestion for the story I am all ears.

Disclaimer: I do not own this lovely series. Also OMG did you guys see episode 10?! It was fabulous.

I slowly felt consciousness return to me and groaned as my head started to pound. Man, I hope I didn't drink last night. Was my first thought before my memories returned. At that point I began to wonder, where am I?

I opened my eyes and the light in the room only increased the throbbing in my head. As my eyes opened I realized I was alone in what looked like a hospital. Weren't the hospitals one of the first things they blew up? I shook my head and took a deep breath figuring that I should get my bearings and then start asking questions. I mean, there was no way these people didn't know who I was.

I looked down and found myself involuntarily gasping. The IV needle was in my right arm. I threw back the covers and sure enough, my right arm was there. Completely attached. No metal, nothing. I could move it. Okay, this is clearly a trick. Salem couldn't kill me so she's fucking with me.

I pulled the IV out of my arm, willed my aura to heal the wound, and felt the warmth as my aura strengthened and fixed my wounds along with my pounding head. I gathered my cloak, and clothes that were at the end of the bed. I grumbled to myself as I threw the clothes on, "Stupid combat skirts."

Just as I was pulling my hood on a man walked in, "Miss! You can't just get out of bed. We aren't finished testing you. I'm Doctor Mulberry. I understand you might be disoriented. According to the tests, we've been running you are having some very peculiar brain activity and likely a concussion."

I eye'd him and reached behind me for my weapon. It wasn't there. Of course, it wasn't fucking there. "Where am I?" I demanded.

"Vale General Hospital in the City of Vale. Your Headmaster had you brought here after you fainted twice in a row and did not wake up the second time." He explained holding his hands up, "If you'd like your sister, friends, and the Headmaster are all outside the door waiting for you."

My eyes narrowed at the idea, "Send in Ozpin," I sniped. The Doctor nodded and Ozpin was sent in shortly after.

Headmaster Ozpin looked at me curiously at first, "You seem rather out of it Miss Rose."

I took a deep breath and reminded myself of the words necessary, "Faint light on the horizon, what say you?"

Ozpin looked taken aback his voice unsteady, "Darkness may be here but the light will always burn… How do you know that Miss Rose?"

"Before I even consider answering that question, I need proof you're you. Codename?" I growled.

"Agent Sheen," Ozpin stated. It was clear to me he was both intrigued and confused at this point.

"Good, Agent Sheen then if you could lead me to a safe location to have this conversation maybe you could help me figure out what is going." I looked at him with a mix of fear, hope, and determination. If I was right, then I had accomplished what the first silver eye'd warrior had. If I was wrong… then this was the cruelest torture Salem could have devised.

He nodded, "First Miss Rose, you should let your team know you are okay. I know you just became their leader yesterday, but they have been quite worried about you."

I shook my head with such vehemence even I thought I might get whiplash, "Not yet." The stern look on my face dissolved to sorrow, "I can't see them yet… I don't know if I can ever see them. Please… tell them I'm okay… make something up but don't make me face them yet." My voice sounded like a broken child. That was when it dawned on me, I was a broken child. I was back in my 15-year-old body.

After my outburst, he simply nodded, "Very well, I will have them return to the school ahead of us. Then you and I shall be having a long conversation about what is going on."

Shortly after they left, I was discharged against everyone's suggestion but, Ozpin insisted and he had the power to make the demand. The airship ride back to Beacon was quiet and surreal. I could see all of Vale. It was pristine. Not a grimm in sight. Shortly before we landed I asked about my weapon and he informed me it was back in my locker. They had figured I wouldn't need it at the hospital. I conveniently left out that if he hadn't taken it I might have killed the doctor earlier.

Upon arriving at the school I followed Ozpin to what he referred to as 'The Vault.' After locking the door behind us he turned to me, "Now Miss Rose, can you please explain what is going on?"

I nodded and sighed heavily, "Once upon a time, a girl with silver eyes saved humanity from the First Grimm War. Although few records keep the information, I have discovered after years of searching quite a bit about each of the silver eye'd girls. The first one… claimed she had already lived through the war. She told the council she had seen it all, lived it all, and wished to stop it. The council blew her off but eventually, she was proven right and she stopped the war." I looked at him and saw he was trying to calculate what I'd said.

"Yes," he murmured, "I too have heard that story. How does it exactly pertain to you, Miss Rose?"

"Agent Scarlet. The Bloody Rose of Remnant… The Protector of the Realm… Shield of the People… and so many more. I have earned all of those titles over 15 years of hell. I… I don't know why or how but my soul has returned here. I should be dead."

Ozpin looked confused and then his eyes widened, "Surely you are not suggesting… Miss Rose… that's preposterous. That is just a story."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "How dare you! Just a story! You of all people have no right to say that. Mr. 'Have you heard the story of the four maidens'. Well, guess what, I have. I know the fall maiden is currently in this fucking vault. I know you don't know who is after her and I know the answers. I've lived through this already!"

The stunned look on Ozpin's face was one I intended to remember forever. I never quite had the chance to berate him like this before. It was certainly a good feeling overall.

He took a deep breath, "Well you certainly are nothing like the Ruby Rose I met recently… unless you've had a psychotic break this is the most logical answer. What were you doing before you…" He paused unsure of how to phrase it, "arrived here."

I shrugged, "I was fighting the leaders and cause of the Third Grimm War. I'd killed one of them and the second… set off a bomb to destroy humanity. I ran as fast as I could but it caught up. I felt my legs burn off before I died. Then I woke up on the floor of the stage."

He nodded, "Okay, so Miss Rose… you said it had been 15 years?" I nodded and he continued, "Very well, so how about we see if things go a similar path. You interfere only when you absolutely have to. I want to be sure you didn't just experience a very vivid dream."

My nostrils flared at the suggestion and my eyes turned bright red, "How dare you!" I caught fire as the rage filled me.

Yet again he looked utterly shocked, "Miss Rose, is that… is that Miss Xiao Long's semblance?"

Those words had a strange calming effect, "Yes," I said looking down at my feet, "I have the semblance of all those I cared about and fought with… turns out that's the true power of a silver eye'd warrior."

Ozpin nodded, "I… I stand by my previous statement of you not changing much until you have to… but I retract my concern you were dreaming. There is no way you could have other's semblances without your statements being true." He paused looking unsure of if he should ask, "Are you ready to see your team again? They don't know you've been discharged but they should know soon."

I felt a deep-seated fear of seeing them again. They would be alive and whole. I was now the only fractured piece of the future left. I would ruin them. My thoughts spun into fears and the more I considered it the more afraid I became of it. I looked up at Ozpin, "You know, I could just leave Beacon and go stop the invasion. I don't need to stay here."

Ozpin laughed for the first time all night, "You are truly so afraid of them you'd rather run away? That would certainly change the future and you know it."

I nodded, "Can I… wait until tomorrow?"

Ozpin shook his head, "Come now Ruby, we're going to see them whether you like it or not. It's already late so they won't ask many questions and you can just go to sleep."

I nodded dumbly and we began our trek from the Vault to the dorm room.

When we arrived at the door I took a deep breath and steeled myself to not freak out in front of them. They could not know what I'd been through. I would not subject them to that pain. I knocked three times and heard movement followed by voices.

Yang was yelling, "Who the dust could that be!"

Weiss sounded like she was growling, "Whoever it is, I will most certainly be telling them to return at a decent hour, after all, we've had a long day and our 'leader,'" she sounded just as offended at the concept this time around as she had before, "is in the hospital." She opened the door and her mouth dropped, "Ruby?"

The second I heard her say my name my heart nearly stopped. I swallowed and said in the most chipper way I could, "Hi!"

Ozpin cleared his throat, "Hello Team RWBY, before I leave you for the night I just wanted to tell you a few things." I immediately gave him a glare that could kill and he simply smiled jovially back at me. The rest of the team was curious as to why I looked so mad at Ozpin. He continued, "Miss Rose suffered a concussion with minor memory loss. The doctors believe she may behave slightly differently, so do not be alarmed it is simply a side effect. It may go away in time or it may remain. Please treat Miss Rose with the same respect regardless and give her your understanding."

"Thanks, Professor." I squeaked out. Frankly, I'd thought he was going to tell them the truth. He nodded at me and left. With his departure came a complete loss of decorum from the rest of my team, minus Weiss of course who always kept her poise.

Yang squealed and picked me up, "Little sis! I was sooooo worried about you. But it's all good, you're here, you look okay. Did you knock your noggin yesterday or something?"

Blake gave a small smile, "I'm glad to see you're fine. I'm going to bed though."

I couldn't help it. I swear I tried really hard to resist but it slipped out none-the-less, "Enjoy your catnap." Blake's eyes widened for a split second but she seemed to decide if she ignored it then she could pretend it wasn't a reference to her being a faunus.

I smiled at Weiss and tried to emulate what old me would do, "So best friend, sounded like you were worried about me."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "We are not friends. I was just concerned that my team leader had died before we could even do anything as a team. Now before someone else comes and disturbs us. I am going to bed."

I looked at the room and realized that without me there they hadn't made bunk beds. I sighed and figured I might as well rectify it, "You know what sounds super totally fantastically awesome?" Weiss just groaned in response but at least Yang looked interested, "Bunk beds!" I shouted.

"Are you insane?" Weiss snapped back, "These beds aren't made to be bunked!"

"I know, but you can bunk anything if you try hard enough." Thirty minutes and a lot of suggestions from me later, the beds were bunked almost exactly as they had been before. That being said, even I thought my bed hanging from the ceiling was a precarious and insane idea that my younger self really shouldn't have done. Yet, I accepted that it was simply part of what needed to happen.

Weiss took her lower bunk, and I leapt up and onto the top bed. I heard a slight creak, but at least I knew I had made this version significantly more stable than the one I originally used at Beacon. I yawned curled up and went to sleep. Deep down my fear this was all a dream was tearing at me. I knew the only thing I could do was continue to live and hope it didn't turn out fake.

Sleep overcame me quickly and before I knew it my eternal clock was going off. I woke up and looked around, it was still dark out. Blast my huntress schedule.

I grabbed my scroll and checked the time; 5:02. Well, I might as well make use of the time. I quietly and got out of bed and made my way to the school gym. The gym was exactly as I expected as I began to practice with Crescent Rose. It felt almost foreign in my hands. I figured I might as well practice a bit before I go change it.

Every step forward with the blade in my hand, Every back flip, every attack, seemed so strange. The blade was way too small for my liking but I wasn't in my own world anymore. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was also much smaller so I wasn't sure I could handle Wilted Rose even if I had her. I tried over and over again to perfect my attacks but found them lacking the same ferocity and accuracy as I had with Wilted Rose and Thorn.

Time flew by before I heard a voice behind me, "Ruby!"

I nearly dropped Crescent Rose on my head. I was brooding so much and practicing so hard I hadn't heard anyone approach. I turned around and there was Yang with that stupid grin on her face. "Oh… Hey, Sis."

"You're up awfully early. I know you like to practice but at 7 am? We have class in like 10 minutes."

My eyes bugged out of my head, "7 am!?" I had been practicing for two hours and didn't notice. Once I stopped though I realized that my younger body wasn't quite as strong as my older body. It couldn't handle this type of treatment if the aches and pains I felt shooting through every muscle were anything to go by. My aura, on the other hand, was my older aura. Lucky for me, my aura was quickly fixing the damage I'd done to myself as I trained.

I grinned at Yang, "Well then, what are you standing there for dummy? We gotta get to class." I grabbed her hand and we took off down the halls. I was trying my best to channel my younger self but found it rather hard.

Luckily for me, class would be simple. I could just sit there and listen to the teacher. No need to interact with any one else.

Professor Port started his class just as he always did, rambling. He was talking about a 'young handsome' version of himself for so long I thought I might lose my mind. Then came the point of his tedious lecture, "Who among you thinks themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss, of course, raised her hand. It appeared that even in a universe where I wasn't being completely childish all the time, she felt she needed to prove she was a better leader than I. Unlike last time, though, things were going to go differently. I kept quiet as Weiss fought the boarbatusk. After all, Weiss had only gotten angrier as I offered my advice. Weiss, it turned out, did not know that boarbatusk's only weakness was on their belly.

I sighed as my teammates tried to give Weiss encouragement as she continued to try the head on approach until I finally interfered, "Weiss, it's belly is it's only weakness. Attack that." Weiss glared at me but a minute later felled the beast just as I said.

As we began to leave class Weiss rounded on me, "How dare you assume I need your help!"

I rose an eyebrow, "I apologize, Weiss, I fully intended to allow you to battle with the boarbatusk without my interference. That being said, as your team leader I felt it necessary to speak up after realizing you were unaware of its weakness."

Weiss sputtered at me, "How dare you imply I didn't know that! I was waiting for the right moment to attack it. I have been trained by some of the greatest tutors in the world to be both a leader and a huntress for years! I have been preparing for this my entire life and you! You just walk in here and it falls in your lap! You don't deserve your position!" Weiss nearly screamed.

I had a hard time swallowing her words as so many emotions went through me. Anger was the first emotion. I quelled that down quickly. She didn't know she was speaking to someone who had experienced 15 years of war and if I had anything to say about it, she never would.

Next came a mixture of sadness and happiness. Happiness at seeing Weiss being so… like Weiss. I missed her lectures and her almost arrogant attitude. I missed speaking to her for so long that even the yelling was appreciated. Then there was sadness because frankly, I wanted Weiss to gain that trust in me that she once had. It would be a long time coming though so I knew I had to suck it up.

I nodded, "I understand you're upset. If you truly believe you should be the team leader then you should go speak with one of the professors." I then turned on my heel and left Weiss standing there fuming. I knew from future experience that what she hated most was when I was almost nonresponsive to her anger. She would prefer shouting, confusion, or pretty much anything beyond a detached acceptance.

I had no reason to go run off after class and talk to Ozpin and yet history seemed doomed to repeat itself as I turned the corner and saw Ozpin standing there sipping his coffee cup. "What is it?" I murmured.

He quirked an eyebrow at me, "Well you took that outburst rather well."

"Yes, well you see what you do when someone you love gives you a speech about how she doesn't trust you that you've heard once before," I muttered and glared at him.

He laughed, "Ah, so you and Miss Schnee eventually become close friends?" He looked happy at that piece of information, "So, this speech of hers happened last time?"

I nodded, "Last time was much worse. She's about to go have a nice chat with Professor Port about how she deserves to be the leader. Professor Port in response is going to tell her she's got great potential and is clearly conceited and selfish. She'll come around and decide to try and be a better team mate since she isn't the leader. Then the world will right itself."

Ozpin looked skeptical, "I will have to ask Professor Port this evening if Miss Schnee actually spoke with him. It will certainly help me prove you are from the future."

I snorted, "You know last time, I asked you while pretty much crying if you made a mistake with making me the team leader. At this point, I can't even muster an attempt at keeping with what past me did. Have a good day Ozpin." He nodded simply and turned to leave.

I returned back to the room later that night and figured I might as well read one of the textbooks. I might have plenty of practical experience but I never paid much attention in history class. After a chapter I found myself drifting off into sleep.

I suddenly heard a voice, "Ruby." I knew that voice, "Ruby." Snow angel. I thought to myself.

"Hmm?" I groaned out cracking my eyes open and slowly realizing I was using my text book as a pillow.

Weiss grinned at me, "How do you take your coffee?"

I shrugged, "Black I guess, whats going on Weiss?"

"I…" She hesitated, "I'm sorry for my behavior earlier. I was jealous and upset but I have found that I too still have a lot to learn. I think you have the potential to be a great leader." I mentally scoffed at the comment but just nodded along as she spoke, "I just want you to know, I'm going to be the best teammate you have ever had. Be right back." She returned moments later with a coffee black.

I smiled, "Thanks, Weiss." Inside I was excited. She had no idea how spot on she was. She really would be the best teammate I ever had. I drank my coffee and finished studying before putting the textbook away and catching some shut eye.