My eyes flashed open and quickly were obscured with tears. Yang's death tore my heart open. It took me a minute to realize I was lying on a bed and not a sleeping bag. I wiped the tears away and looked to my right. Weiss was passed out in a chair next to me, "Weiss," I cracked out. My voice was breaking and it hurt to speak.

Weiss' eyes fluttered, "Oh thank god you're okay Ruby!" She put her hand in mine and then turned and shouted for a doctor, "Do you remember what happened?"

I nodded, "Yang…" I started crying again.

Weiss' brows furrowed in confusion, "What about Yang, Ruby?"

I looked at her like she was crazy, "Yang… she… she's gone…" The tears were flowing uncontrollably and Weiss leaned down to wipe the tears off my face.

She was trying to calm me down when Yang and Blake walked into the room, "Ruby it's good to see you're awake!" Yang was ecstatic until she noticed I was crying. She looked at Weiss accusingly, "What the heck did you do to my sister?"

Weiss put her hands up, "I didn't do anything. She woke up, said your name, and started crying."

Yang looked contemplative and walked over to my bed. I was staring at her with wide eyes. My sister was alive and right here. She was wearing her old yellow outfit. It was like looking at a ghost from my past. That was when my brain finally started to remember. Yang had died years ago… in what was technically an alternate dimension. Yang took my hand in her's and kissed my forehead, "Hey, what's got you crying?"

I stilled my thrashing heart and looked at my big sister, "I had a very vivid nightmare that you died."

Yang nodded, "Well kiddo, do you remember what I used to tell you about nightmares?" She ran her hand through my hair and it felt calming. My tears started to go away and I leaned instinctively into my big sister.

I nodded, "They're just your brain's way of telling you what won't happen." I gave her a small sad smile, "You know, I never really understood what that meant."

Yang laughed and Weiss just looked at Yang like she was crazy. Yang's smile was infectious and she leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Sis… to tell you the truth, neither do I." She patted my head, "Now cheer up. I'm alive and kicking. It's you we're all worried about."

I went to sit up and found pain shooting through me. It felt like my ribs had gone through a grinder. I groaned, "What happened?"

Blake stepped forward, "We were hoping you would tell us." She shrugged, "Professor Ozpin told us to tell him when you woke up. He… wants to debrief you first. Then it'll be our turn."

I had to resist the urge to cry again. That nightmare was a memory of one of the worst days of my life. Yang died and Blake has never seen again. Weiss and I's relationship lasted but it was never quite the same. I didn't want to let any of them out of my sight. Despite my protest and some weird looks from the girls, Blake excused herself from the room to call the headmaster.

While we waited, Weiss held my hand and the girls told me what happened from their point of view.

Yang was the only one who found a silver lining, "We saw you speeding away on that train. I don't know how, but you stopped it. I think that's pretty impressive sis!"

Weiss cringed and looked away. Her grip on my hand seemed to increase in pressure, "What is it, Weiss?"

Weiss looked up at me, "You could have died." She took a deep breath and her eyes were starting to tear up, "You know… we found the shattered remains of Crescent Rose. It was obliterated." She wiped a tear out her eyes, "That could have been you."

I cringed through the pain and forced myself to sit up and run my hand through her hair, "I'm fine Weiss." I squeezed the hand she was holding, "Everything is going to be fine."

Weiss leaned into my touch and found herself chuckling, "You're the one in the hospital with multiple broken ribs and fractures, and here you are, comforting me."

I gave Weiss a brilliant smile, "Always."

Yang rolled her eyes, "You two aren't even dating so knock off the cutesy crap. I'm going to die of a cute overload." It was clear she was amused by all of this, "Although, if you do start dating, I will enjoy teasing you two." She smirked and winked at me. It was like no matter what Yang would always be the same person.

Weiss immediately pulled away from me. It was clear my near death experience hadn't changed her mind. I tried to pull myself out of the dark thoughts as Blake walked back in with the headmaster by her side.

Ozpin looked grim. His normally positive attitude around students just wasn't there, "Girls, if you can please excuse us, I need to speak with your leader." The girls looked unhappy about leaving me, but still shuffled out.

Ozpin sat down in the chair Weiss had been occupying. He accusingly asked me, "Miss Rose, what were you thinking?" He looked a lot older than he normally appeared. There were bags under his eyes and a dark look on his face.

"I was thinking about stopping a disaster," I whispered, "I've seen too many people die. I've seen too much pain. If I can stop it before it begins… I'll do anything."

Ozpin sighed. He looked unsure of his thoughts but finally, with determination he looked me straight in the eyes, "Miss Rose if you insist on putting your life in mortal peril… then I have no other choice than to require you to confide in your team."

I blanched, "I must have misheard you Ozpin. You can't possibly be suggesting I put that burden on them!" The more I spoke and considered it, the angrier I got. The rage came to the forefront and I felt my body tense. The pain I experienced in response was unbearable. I let out a groan of pain and forced the rage to dissipate a little.

Ozpin looked weary, "Miss Rose, if you had died, you would have only delayed the inevitable. Without you alive… we have no way of stopping the future." He took a deep breath to steady his voice, "I fear with you gone, we have no chance of winning this war."

I glared at him, "And telling those innocent girls is supposed to help? How?" My mind was reeling. I can't tell them… I can't shatter their hopes and dreams.

He nodded, "If they know what's wrong they can help. Further, Miss Xiao Long would do whatever she could to protect you from things like this."

My mind flashed back to the nightmare, "That's what I'm afraid of," I whispered. It was barely audible but he nodded, "You don't understand," I growled out, "I can't watch any of them die again. It broke me once. I still haven't picked up the pieces." A tear dripped down my face, "If that happened again… I don't think I could move forward."

Ozpin nodded, "I understand the pain of losing someone you love. I understand how you are feeling Miss Rose but, it is in the best interest of yourself and those girls if you are honest." He gave me a slight frown and seemed to be considering his options before he finally continued, "I know you wish to carry this burden, but it is not a burden that can be carried alone. You, Miss Rose, were not made to bear the weight on the world. You alone cannot hold back the tide of darkness. I recognize that you are the strongest among us. You are the tipping point in this disaster. Yet, Miss Rose, even the point of a sword must be attached to something. Consider this me forcing you to find grounding in your teammates." He then paused and a dark look crossed his eyes, "I will tell them if you don't. You have until the end of the day."

I felt angry and pain shot through me as my aura tried to react to his threat. He looked at me sadly, "I'm sorry, Miss Rose." He then gave me a slight smile, "On a happier note, your aura is healing you rapidly. It's impressive, to be honest. You should be fine in time for the tournament. Your weapon is a different matter."

He paused and pulled his scroll out of his pocket. He poked a few keys and then held up a picture for me. It was Crescent Rose. It was completely shattered. The blade was warped. The barrel was destroyed. I cringed but, it wasn't the first time my weapon had been destroyed, "Looks like I need a new weapon."

Ozpin gave out a slight chuckle, "Indeed, Miss Rose. As your actions did save Vale from an attack, General Ironwood, myself, and the Council of Vale have agreed to finance a replacement weapon for you. Please figure out what you need and send me the list of parts. I assume you want to build it yourself." I nodded excitedly. I could finally have Wilted Rose and Thorn back. He nodded and went to leave. As he stood at the door he looked over his shoulder, "I'll get the list after you tell your team the truth. Send one of them to give me it."

I glared hard at him as he departed and started considering my options. He was playing a risky game by forcing me to tell the girls. It could backfire on all of us.

It was a half hour before the girls returned. The mood in the air seemed to shift and I felt my nerves shaking. I couldn't possibly tell them…

Yang had a brilliant smile on her face. I didn't want to be the reason it was gone. She sat down on one of the chairs, "So Rubes, now that you've had your mystical debriefing with the good headmaster, you think you could fill us in?"

I wanted to put it off, even if I knew I shouldn't, "I was upset that they took Weiss… so I ran down there and found her. I stopped Torchwick and then I stopped the train." I gave them all a tight smile, "It's pretty simple."

Weiss looked at me like I was stupid or crazy, "And yet, there are a lot of not-so-simple things that happened." Weiss looked me in the eye, "I saw your eyes when you were fighting Torchwick. I saw you look like you were on fire. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought you were Yang." Weiss' stare was piercing and I looked away after a moment.

Yang and Blake looked taken aback. Blake was the first to respond to the Ice Queen's comment, "But… that's impossible. Ruby's semblance is speed."

Weiss nodded, "She used that too." The three of them looked at me expectantly and I started trying to process a way to tell them the truth and not have them take me seriously.

I nodded enthusiastically, "You are all right." They all looked confused by that statement but I continued, "I used Yang's, Weiss' and Pyrrha's semblances to stop the train."

The three of them looked at me like I was crazy. Blake eyed me, "You know that's insane." She shifted her gaze disbelievingly to the other girls, "We can all agree that's insane right?"

Yang laughed, "Alright Ruby, so how'd you stop the train?" It was hard to believe I'd be taking that smile off her face. A small voice in my mind tried reasoning that maybe they wouldn't be upset. Maybe… just maybe they'd be happy or at least okay.

I huffed, "I just told you guys. I used your semblance so I couldn't be hurt too easily. I used Weiss' glyph to soften the blow from the train and then I used Pyrrha's polarity to push the train to stop. Heck, I only used my own semblance to get in front of the train in the first place."

Weiss looked pensive. She closed her eyes and was deep in thought for a few moments. She suddenly opened her blue eyes and stared directly into mine. Sternly she ordered, "Make a glyph."

I looked at her, "What?" It hadn't occurred to me they might ask for proof.

Weiss growled, "Glyphs are not something you can just make out of thin air. Not without a semblance that can use them and a very good understanding of how they work. So I'm going to repeat, Ruby, make a glyph."

I cringed under the look her icy blue eyes were giving me. I never could say no to Weiss. I laughed nervously and concentrated. A glyph appeared on the ceiling, "There are you happy?"

Weiss looked at me like I was stupid, "Where do you see a glyph? You can't just pretend there is one and think I won't notice. I'm a Schnee for pete's sake."

Even Yang looked confused, but Blake was perceptive as ever and pointed up. Above the hospital bed was a red glyph with a rose in the center. Weiss gasped, "How?" All three of them stared in wonder at the impossible. Weiss turned her gaze back to me as I let the glyph dissipate, "Who trained you to use that?"

I groaned. My eyes screwed shut as I tried to wish away this new nightmare. I finally opened my eyes and saw three pairs of expectant eyes watching me. After months of avoiding it… it was finally here, "I guess Ozpin is going to get his way after all." The three girls looked impatiently at me, "He wants me to tell you guys the complete truth."

Weiss nodded and Yang looked triumphant, "It's about damn time."

I rolled my eyes at Yang's antics and took a deep breath. I was finally prepared to tell them the truth, "Weiss you taught me how to use glyphs." Weiss looked incredulously at me. She definitely didn't remember doing that, "You girls remember when we were announced as Team RWBY and I fainted?" They all nodded, "I didn't faint due to an injury or a concussion. I… I fainted because… the girl who got back up wasn't the one who fainted in the first place… not mentally at least."

Yang looked a little angry and confused, "Are you telling me you possessed my little sister!"

I blinked. That wasn't how I thought that'd be interpreted, "No Yang… I am your little sister. I'm just… I lived through 15 years more of life than your sister." I tried to consider how to say this. In the end, I found bluntly was the only option, "I'm from the future."

The three of them started laughing. Blake, normally stoic, couldn't resist giggling. Weiss was the first one to realize I was still looking seriously at them. She elbowed the other two and, yet again, all eyes were on me. Weiss' blue eyes widened in shock, "Oh god… you mean it?"

I nodded, "I'm from a future where things… don't go well. I died fighting someone and when I woke up I was on the floor. I've been helping the headmaster and General Ironwood avoid a full-scale war." The girls each had different expressions on their face as they took it in.

Blake was the one who seemed most concerned, "The White Fang?" I concurred and she tried to work out what this meant, "They… they start a full-scale war?"

Weiss looked upset as well, "Ruby… you died?"

I chuckled darkly, "My death wasn't that bad. I got sent back to a happier life with a better chance at a good future. So far, I think my death was the best thing that ever happened to me." I then smiled at them sadly, "Then again, sometimes I think this is all just an elaborate way of torturing me. Get my hopes up and then show me the horrors of the world again." I tried to shake the dark thoughts out of my mind and focus on my team instead.

Yang isn't always observant but, when it comes to serious matters, she tends to be, "You… had a nightmare where I died." Her eyes widened, "Oh god, I died in the future."

I grimaced. I really didn't want to tell them that. Yang slumped into her chair contemplating a world where our team members died. Weiss reached over to me, "That's what the nightmares have been about. You've been dreaming about the horrors of the future."

I nodded. The conversation was numbing me in ways I couldn't explain. Weiss grabbed my hand and I felt the warmth of her touch pulling me out of my own personal hell, "We're here for you Ruby. No matter what happens."

I quietly asked for a pen and paper from the girls. I started writing down all the tools and parts I needed to remake my weapon. I then handed it to Blake and Yang. They were sent to Ozpin so I could speak privately with Weiss. They gladly took the chance to get out of the strange environment and think it over.

Weiss' hand had not moved from mine in what felt like ages. It was a comfort that I was not ready to give up. She seemed to be lost in thoughts so I smiled at her, "Hey snow angel, what's on your mind?"

She rolled her eyes at me, "Do you call me that in the future?"

I smiled broadly, "Every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. It took a while for you to not get angry when I said it. Eventually, though, you got over it."

Weiss shook her head, "It's weird to think you know a completely different Weiss. You have all these memories… with… me. Memories I don't know." She looked at me and gave a small smile, "Do you think you could tell me some of these memories?"

I was unsure if that was smart, but figured I'd give her a chance, "Depends… there might be certain things I don't want to talk about. You can ask, but I might not answer."

Weiss nodded, "So what's your fondest memory of me… well future me?" Anyone else might think Weiss was fishing for a compliment. I knew she just wanted to understand my side of the relationship we had.

I smiled as happier times flooded my memory. I forced myself to look away from our intertwined hands, "Weiss… I… if I tell you this memory it comes with information that could change how you look at me and our friendship." I paused and just thought it over, "I don't think that's a good question."

Weiss frowned and her hand tightened on mine, "If I promise I won't allow it to affect our friendship, will you please tell me. I mean… it cannot be a bad memory if you're fond of it."

I couldn't help but look up. I wasn't disappointed either, the look on her face was adorable. It was like she was trying to solve a problem with no answer. I finally caved, "You know… I've never been good at saying no to you." Weiss was clearly unsure of how to take that. For her, she had only known me for a year. For me, it had been 15. A small wistful smile spread on my face and my eyes were sparkling as I considered her question, "My favorite moment of you was when you said 'I do'."

Weiss looked surprised, "Your favorite moment of me was my wedding?" Weiss smiled giddily, "I bet I made a lovely bride. I can almost see it in my mind. You in your little red dress as my maid of honor. You probably were trying to not threaten the groom."

I dropped her hand. She still didn't understand. Weiss looked confused, "What's wrong Ruby?"

I chuckled humorlessly to myself, "Come on now Weiss. Are you telling me you haven't seen where we are heading?" I rolled my eyes, "I'm starting to wonder if you live in that large of a bubble of denial."

Weiss' eyes flashed with anger for a second and then something uncertain passed over her features. Her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes started to dart all over the room. She seemed unwilling to meet my gaze, "I… but… I couldn't… my father would kill me." She was a stuttering mess but the pink in her cheeks gave away her real thoughts.

"Weiss, on our wedding day, you stood across from me with a gorgeous dress on that was worth way too much. I had a custom made black and red tuxedo on. You thought I was being an idiot for trying to 'trick' your father into thinking you were marrying a guy." I giggled, "The truth is I just thought I looked adorable in it." I took a small breath to stop my laughter at the memory, "Your father was furious. In the end, though, he couldn't stop you from doing what you wanted." I smiled sadly at her, "The only person who could stop you from being happy, is you." I reached over and touched her cheek, "You are the greatest gift in my life."

Weiss blushed and leaned into my touch. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the closeness we were sharing. Suddenly, her eyes open and she blurted out, "That's why you freaked out so badly about me being kidnapped." It was all coming together in Weiss' mind, "Ruby… you seemed so worried about me and furious… and it's because you… like me, like me."

I rose an eyebrow at Weiss, "Who are you? Nora? Come on now, you can say the other L word." Weiss blushed and shook her head, no.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with me and Weiss making jokes and enjoying each others company. I think Weiss hearing that we were married made her realize that she couldn't avoid our relationship forever. It certainly felt like we had made leaps and bounds in both our friendship and our romantic relationship. I fell asleep due to exhaustion with Weiss holding my hand. It was an amazing experience. For once, my nightmares were gone. Instead, I was treated to dreams of our quiet moments and wedding vows. It was refreshing.

All moments pass and when I awoke in the hospital alone, I knew that our shared quiet moment, had passed. I looked over and sitting on the table was a note. I moved to grab the note and cringed expectantly. The pain I was expecting gave me only a small sharp jolt but was otherwise, not bad.

Hey, Rubes!

It's Yang! And Weiss and Blake. Yang just doesn't like to acknowledge when her betters are in the room. Sorry about that Ruby, Weiss seems to think she should insult the sexier members of the team. Since those two are busy fighting. Just wanted you to know that Ozpin wants us to return to class. We will take notes for you and you should be getting released either today or tomorrow. Ruby, I will make sure you get notes and I will personally catch you up. Pfft, it's almost like dear ol' Weiss wants to spend some alone time with our team leader. And they are fighting again… get better. We'll see you after class unless you get released before then.

Signed,

Team RWBY

Ps: I'm glad you're doing better Ruby. I… really miss you being around. -Weiss Schnee

The note made me smile and laugh. It was good to see that even with life changing revelations, the girls were still able to be light hearted. It's because they never felt the real pain. I'm going to make sure they never do. I sat there for a while, just twiddling my thumbs and playing with my scroll. Eventually, there was a knock on my door and I looked up, "Come in."

Standing there was a man I had hoped I'd never seen again, "Hello Miss Rose. I'm glad to see you're doing better. Although after your last visit here, I was hoping you wouldn't end up in this kind of situation again."

I smiled tightly, "Thanks, Doctor Mulberry. So… do you think I can get out of here soon?" I really did not like hospitals.

He chuckled, "So eager to escape I see. Just like last time." He nodded, "We haven't found any lasting damage. You do have a new scar across your stomach. From what we can tell, it was caused by shrapnel from your weapon when it broke."

I looked at him confused, "My aura protected everything else, why would that have injured me?"

He grimaced, "Well… there's a little-known phenomena that has been observed. It's rare, but there have been a few cases. From what we can tell, if a hunter or huntress gets too attached to their weapon, normally caused by years of use, their aura will consider it an extension of themselves. Your aura doesn't protect against your own body. It's rare, especially in someone who isn't a fully fledged huntress, but my bet is your body allowed the damage because it didn't consider your weapon a threat."

I sat there stunned. The concept had never been told to me. I had never had my weapon injure me. At least, that I knew of. The idea felt absurd. My aura was ignoring potential damage from my weapon. I just sat there trying to understand it, and further, trying to understand if this was a danger. I finally opened my mouth and asked, "So… are you saying someone could take my own weapon and try to attack me with it?"

He seemed thoughtful, "Mind you, this hasn't been tested… I believe… if you didn't know they had it and struck you, your body would assume it was okay. Your aura uses your own perceptions to decide dangers. If you were unable to decide it was a danger, then yes. If you saw that the enemy had taken your weapon. Your aura… at least I believe so, would react to the new information."

A new idea began forming in my mind. Could I use Salem's weapon against her like that? She was estimated to be incredibly old. Does she even have an aura? The thoughts swirled in my mind. I gave the doctor permission to do my check up while I sat there trying to formulate a plan. It was possible, but it was also possibly insane.

After he explained that I needed to take it easy for a day or so more, he did bring me my release papers. I was ecstatic at finally getting out of there. The tournament was getting closer and I still needed to make a new weapon and figure out exactly how I wanted to handle Emerald and Mercury. It was going to be a tough week before the tournament, but at least the end of the beginning was near. Soon I'll have stopped the beginning of the war… I just hope they don't make a new start to the story.

Author's Note: First of all, sorry, this author's note is going to be a little long.

Knight7572 - Yes, all the military dreams/nightmares are flashbacks.

Bill Gopher - Okay... so I don't intend to do even a chapter on boot camp cause... boot camp is horrible and I can't imagine Ruby going through that. Frankly, I feel like that would have been part of what toned her down a little. That being said, I figured you might have a good point that some people would be confused on the team picking up that stuff.

So, I am in the military. I have been for about 2 years now. The way, at least in the US, that boot camp works is that it's about 2 months or teaching you how to be in that branch. So for instance, in the Navy, the word for the bathroom is actually 'head'. If you don't say "Petty Officer, permission to use the head?" At boot camp, you will be doing push ups until said petty officer is tired. Essentially, every sailor leaves Navy boot camp with a pretty good understanding of the slang and vocab used in the real navy. It's not because it's a fantastic learning environment but because you will learn it or you will be punished. So, considering my first military chapter has team RWBY in the military for the past two years, I feel it is completely logical. I've been in about two years and it only took 6 months to fully understand most of the way it works. For instance that 'Belay my last." Meant that what I just said was an accident and I actually mean something else. Or that a 'Blue Falcon' was a snitch.

Finally, I want to say thank you for all the reviews. I am sorry if anyone feels like I don't respond to reviews enough. I generally try to only respond to questions or if people seem confused on an issue. I don't, for obvious reasons, want to give away plot points or anything. Anyways, back to writing!

Corvus Nyx