Requiem for the Hollow Rose

by sreshtiyer

After witnessing the death of Pyrrha, white fills her vision and the Rose huntress finds herself in a desolate and bleak place. Confused, lost and still grieving the loss of her friend and her own helplessness, little does Ruby realize that was just the beginning of her arduous journey. Innocent to Mature Ruby. Rated M for psychologically disturbing themes (non-sexual).

46. Chapter 46: Unseen Revelations

Chapter 46: Unseen Revelations

Despite the plethora of students giving them curious looks, strange eyes, whispers and murmurs, none of the ramblings and protests of Cinder, Emerald or Mercury seemed to bother Glynda or Ozpin as they made their way towards the Headmaster's office located at the top of the tower. Their pace was brisk, hurried and just short of jogging speed.

"Headmaster, we have done nothing wrong! She's the one that attacked us out of nowhere! Why are we being restrained? We were told that Beacon academy was a place where many reputed and respected Huntsmen graduated from. We are nothing but guests here to attend the Vytal Festival. Could you atleast give us a reason as to why we are being restrained? If this is about our legitimacy, you can contact Headmaster Leonardo to confirm our identities yourself" justified Cinder as she was helplessly being taken along with her teammates by Glynda's semblance. The bespectacled disciplinarian said nothing, merely continuing to go towards Ozpin's office, as did Ozpin. Ruby was sure the duo had a multitude of questions to ask her and Cinder's gang. Heck, she was sure that Glynda herself had a few questions to ask Ozpin. But it was also clear that they were unwilling to do anything outside of their bubble of secrecy, even if it meant ignoring a student's very sensible ramblings that could lead to big repercussions for the school's reputation later on. In the meantime, Ozpin had been typing away at his scroll, and from occasional glances, Ruby could tell that he was trying to get in touch with a few people of interest. But right now, she was more interested in following Ozpin and Glynda, considering that she was still trying to jog her memory about where everything in the academy lay.

Over the many numerous hallways and courtyards they went, finally going up the central elevator that would take them up to the headmaster's chambers. And once they were behind the closed doors of his office, the atmosphere changed completely. Glynda was almost successful in pouring the questions in her mind onto Ruby, for Ozpin took that chance from her first. He took out his cane, pointing it at the three students who were still bound. Ruby could see a wispy trail coming out of the tip of the cane envelop them, causing them to go unconscious.

"With this, should they be who you claim to be, they will not hear anything that happens in this room. Now….if you could kindly tell me young lady…..are you really Ruby Rose..?" questioned Ozpin, his tone calm yet hinting business. "I find it hard to believe that the leader of team RWBY, a child whom we know to be no older than 15 and still just a huntress in training would possess knowledge of names and beings that are known to just a handful of people in all of Remnant. And yet, here we have a faunus, a much older one at that possessing said knowledge. If you do claim to be Ruby Rose, can you prove it?"

"A faunus?!" exclaimed Glynda, surprised. "I thought Miss Nikos mentioned her tail and ears being accessories?"

"They appear to be real, Glynda" replied Ozpin, "I noticed them move and wiggle as I brushed against them when we walked here. It would appear that Miss Nikos was mistaken herself. Which further reinforces my belief that our impostor is quite skilled; one who was able to show herself off as Ruby Rose, despite not being her age nor the same race. And she was able to successfully convince her own team members and friends of the same. Even we were fooled. And that is not to mention her fight from before. No doubt our imposter is quite skilled. But Miss Rose certainly was not. I fear that something may have happened to the real Ruby Rose. And perhaps 'capturing' them was part of that plan as well. Because…there is only one way she would have knowledge about Salem, the maidens as well as….my original name. Because the only one in this world who knew that was Salem herself"

Glynda instantly went wide eyed, bringing out her riding crop and pointing it at Ruby. "You…..you don't think….this could be our interloper do you…?! The one said to be working with Salem?! Yes…yes, that could make sense! If she did steal the power of a maiden then….!"

Just above, in the ventilation ducts were an whole group of huntsmen in training listening in to the entire conversation, albeit cramped together, struggling and squirming against each other within the narrow space.

"Heh heh, spying in on secret conversations from the ventilation ducts...classic!" smirked Nora.

"Hey guys, try not to squeeze me too much! Move out a little bit will you?" requested Jaune.

"Deal with it! It's not like there's a better way..! I'm still surprised I forgot that Renny boy's semblance can only mask emotions and not our presence! Otherwise we would've been caught long back! And keep it down, will ya? I can't hear what they're saying otherwise!" hissed Nora, putting her finger against his mouth.

"Um guys...not to be rude but could you please try not to shake so much? I'm using my semblance to make sure the metal paneling underneath us doesnt give away under our weight, but it would be bad if I lost focus..." commented Pyrrha, straining to maintain her concentration.

"Maidens….Salem….just what are they talking about?" questioned Blake.

"I don't know…but….from the way they're talking, it would appear that this 'Salem' is clearly not someone on our side. I have to say….they do make some good points…..we never really considered it did we….that this Ruby could be an imposter…." Suggested Weiss.

"NO!" hissed Blake angrily. "She's not an imposter….she's not! I know she's not!"

"Do..don't get so agitated guys, please, these ducts arent that strong, I seriously don't want to fall through!" warned Pyrrha, struggling to maintain her semblance.

"But you know…..they do have a good point..and…it's not like we can prove it…" said Jaune. Yang could only watch via the small grid next to her downcast, her expressions darkened.

"Shhh! Again, stop causing a ruckus you guys, we'll miss out on what we came to hear!" shushed Nora, clamping Weiss's and Jaune's mouths.

The ex-rose huntress on the other hand, was completely taken aback, and was watching the whole thing mildly amused. And before she knew it, she couldn't help but sigh exasperated and couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle.

"And just what's so funny?!" demanded Glynda, pointing her riding crop closer.

"Sorry, it's just that…..this was completely unexpected and not at all how I thought where this was going" she replied softly. "I'm surprised, professor. I mean, you're so much more cautious that I thought. But then again, I knew that myself. If so….why did things turn out the way they did, professor? How…could you be so cautious and yet overlook things that were happening right underneath your eye? Like right now, the answers are right in front of you, and yet, neither of you can seem to notice it….." Ruby then looked subtly towards the ceiling, a small smile adorning her face.

"What do you…"

"You're right to have the doubts you have, Professor Goodwitch, Professor Ozpin" said Ruby. "And I have no reservations about explaining myself. It's just that there's so much to tell, that I can't just summarize in a sentence or two. Which is why I was waiting for an opportunity where we could all talk slowly and clearly, at our own paces. And…I promised that I would tell everything that I have to say with everyone present. But I just want to clear out a couple of things. Pyrrha and the others were not mistaken. They know that I'm a faunus now. She only said that to you professor Goodwitch because she wanted to learn more about me, just like you do. And she knew that if you came to know I had suddenly transformed into a faunus, you would stop the match and take me away to have me examined. As for the other, I can assure you that I am indeed the real Ruby, professor. I know…things have happened, things that are naturally not very clear to any of you. But I promise I'll explain everything, once everyone is here. After all, if I really was working for Salem, I could've easily disarmed you both and got what I needed. And yet, I didn't even resist when you pointed your weapons at me. Isnt that enough to tell you that I don't mean any harm?"

Glynda and Ozpin continued to observe her, but it was evident the duo were reconsidering things.

"Even if what you say is really true, it still does not prove that you are indeed the real Ruby Rose. Even for argument's sake we assume that you mean us no harm, it still does not prove much else" argued Ozpin slowly.

"True. Then, how about this? Professor, you once told me that I've been burdened with a daunting responsibility and that I should take some time to think about how I plan to uphold it. Let's just say that you have no idea how much time I've had to reflect upon my responsibilities and act on them, as well as how much I've done to take care of those I love and care about" she said, smiling.

Ozpin raised his eyes, looking at her for a while before finally lowering his cane.

"Professor…?" called out Glynda, still on her guard.

"We were alone when I said that to her" Ozpin replied, adjusting his glasses. "I don't think anyone else could have known about those specific words. It may not seem like anything important but….I do remember the circumstances when that conversation came up between us. And that is precisely why I believe that she is indeed Miss Rose. An imposter would not bother to remember something that mundane. Glynda, lower your weapon"

Glynda did as she was instructed, but remained vigilant nonetheless. Just then, there was an alert at the entrance to his office, alerting Ozpin of visitors.

"You may come in" signaled Ozpin, following which the doors automatically opened. Standing by the entrance was James Ironwood, accompanied by his trusted companion, Winter Schnee.

"Ozpin….we received your message. So what is this important information you wanted to discuss?"

"Whoa….wait a minute….that's Winter…!" hissed Weiss, surprised. "What's my sister doing here in Beacon…?! I thought she was going to be in Atlas! And that's general Ironwood!"

"That's your sister…?! You mean that mean looking older Weiss clone? I can see the family resemblance" commented Nora, earning her a glare from the ice princess.

"Stop talking! We don't want them knowing that there are seven people right above them listening to everything!" suggested Blake. "Also, Yang, stop kicking my ears, move your legs to the right a little bit!"

Back in the room, Ironwood was cautiously watching the scene in front of him while Winter had her hand on her weapon.

"Ozpin….what's going on? Who is this young lady? And why have you bound three unconscious students in your office?" he asked.

"Hello General, Winter" said Ruby, offering her hand. Though reluctant to take her hand, after a quick nod of approval from Ozpin, the general obliged, as did Winter.

"James, Winter, this here is Ruby Rose, a student of mine who is the leader of team RWBY, the very same team to which your younger sister, Weiss Schnee belongs to. She has…..some very important information she wishes to talk about, as do I. Information that I assure you can change our course of actions for the foreseeable future" he informed them.

"Ruby Rose..? So, you are the Ruby Rose that my sister writes to me about all the time. I must admit, you portray a completely different presence in person as opposed to what she has told me about you in the letters. For one, I do not ever recall her mentioning that her leader was a faunus. Or one who was older than her" questioned Winter.

"There are…..reasons for that. Or we believe that there are, at the very least" answered Glynda.

"Right" said Ruby. "But we still have a few more people missing. Professor…..where's uncle Qrow? And Where's Raven? Please let me know. I don't want to start this without either of them"

"Qrow and Raven…? Why do we need them here?" asked Winter. "Excuse me Glynda, but could you please tell me what's really going on here?"

"I'll explain everything soon, Winter. But if you need to know, Qrow and Raven are my family. Qrow is my uncle and Raven is…well, technically she's my step mother and Yang's mom. And I know that she's been…..away from the rest of us for a while now. But she's family nonetheless. I assure you that it'll make sense later. Please just tell me where they are now"

The four adults looked at each other, before Ozpin answered. "Well, I'm sorry to say but we have no clue about Raven's whereabouts. I'm...not sure why you would bother, Miss Rose. She has made it quite clear she wants nothing to do with us. She has been very cautious in making sure she stayed hidden from prying eyes. I have a suspicion that she has been moving from place to place in order to remain hidden. It doesn't help that the Branwen tribe has been well known for their brutal and ruthless ways. No one wants anything to do with them, and there was no reason to ever search for such a dangerous group"

Ruby hung her head in slight disappointment. "Ah….is that so…I suppose it can't be helped then…oh well, I could just find her later. What about Uncle Qrow?"

"Your uncle, however, is mostly away on missions, just like this time. It shouldn't be too hard to track down the location of his scroll. If you'll give me a minute…" said Ozpin, as he ran his fingers across his own scroll. After he did, he tapped away at his foot before raising his eyes once his scroll sounded another notification. "It would appear that your uncle is quite nearby. A tavern called…"

"The Speaking Tree?" answered Ruby, surprising Ozpin.

"How do you..?"

Ruby, Glynda and Winter gave an exasperated sigh. "He's out drinking himself to death, isn't he?" the three groaned at the same time, making Ruby giggle and the other two women look at each other and then at Ruby suspiciously. "Alright, I'll go get him" she said, tapping the air with her fingers. The occupants of the room gasped when a small void opened in front of her as she disappeared behind it.

"Wh..what was that..? A portal..? Like Raven's…?" asked James, surprised.

"If that's her semblance then I suppose she really is Raven's kin…" said Winter. But Ozpin and Glynda had completely different reactions.

"Ozpin….that was…!" gasped the blonde Disciplinarian. "That would mean….the person we saw in the footage…that was Miss Rose..!"

"….it would appear so, Glynda. It matches our findings. And her skills…." Noted the headmaster.

"Footage…? What footage..?" inquired James. Ozpin then explained to him briefly about their discussion prior that morning and showed them the footage in question, surprising both of them as well.

"What's the meaning of this Ozpin…?! Why didn't you inform me of this sooner?!" demanded James. Glynda stopped the general from raising his voice further, admonishing him with a glare. Ironwood then exhaled slowly, calming down.

"So….professor, you mentioned that she was just a huntress in training and yet, to defeat a pack of Beowolves so effortlessly and even do so much damage would mean that she is clearly at the level of a trained huntsman. Why is she even in a team to begin with when she should be out there as a professional huntsman?" questioned Winter. "And I suppose you wouldn't want me to ask why you kept such a development from us"

"Mostly because we didn't want to raise a false alarm for no reason. At the time, we had no reason to believe that the person in the footage was Ruby Rose. And even now, Miss Rose has given us almost no information to go on. The reason we called you here was because Miss Rose possesses knowledge of the maidens and of Salem. She claims that this student here, called Cinder Fall from Haven academy if I remember correctly, is the Fall Maiden that we've been looking for and that the three of them are working for Salem" explained Glynda.

"WHAT?!"

Glynda visibly and irritably flinched as the General and Winter both roared in surprise. Winter's outcry was mostly in genuine surprise whereas the General was angrier and more surprised. He was almost immediate in drawing his gun and pointing it at the unconscious Cinder. But Glynda blocked his arm with her riding crop.

"Oh for the love of god, must you be this obnoxious?!" snapped the disciplinarian, rolling her eyes. "She's already out cold and bound! And we have no proof that she IS the Fall maiden!"

"James, as we've mentioned, we are just as much in the dark as you are. The reason we called you here was precisely because of this development. I suggest you not react so visibly when we have almost no confirmed information. Miss Rose gave us her word that she would make everything clear very soon"

Almost as if on cue, a void opened near the four adults in the room, making them jolt in surprise. From within appeared the dark haired faunus almost dragging a certain huntsman out into Ozpin's office.

"Wh..wh..whoa….what the…..where am I…?" he rasped, looking around. "Oz's office…!? The heck am I here for?! How the…? What's going on? Who're you missy..?" he asked, turning the faunus girl around who was still holding his hand. Upon doing so, he blinked furiously a few times, leaning in closer to observe her and then finally took a few steps back in surprise.

"What the…Ruby….Kiddo….is that you?! You look…..different…I could've swore it hasn't been that long since I—whoa!"

Before the drunk huntsman could finish his sentence, Ruby rushed forward, pulling him in a tight embrace. "I've missed you so much, Uncle. Sorry for dragging you out here all of a sudden. The thing is…..urgh, you reek of booze! I know you were at a bar but come on, this is too much! And in the middle of the day to boot! Just how much did you have?" she scowled, pinching her nose and pulling her uncle's ear with the other hand.

"Ow ow owwwww! You know…you're the spitting image of your mother when you did that just now….who would've thought I'd ever see that again! As for the rest…..I uh….well…that's…." he fumbled, scratching his head. "Well, leaving that aside, you mind tellin' me how I wound up in 'ol Oz's office? And what're those two doin' here in Vale?" he asked, pointing to Ironwood and a scowling Winter. "And what do we…wait a minute….that's the crazy chick who attacked amber and me! The hell is she doing here dressed as a student?! And those two are here as well!"

The moment said words left his mouth, Winter, James, Glynda and Ozpin did a double take.

"Wait, what..?!"

"So it's true..!"

"Qrow are you absolutely sure?"

"Sure? Of course I'm sure! You think I'll forget the faces of the three stooges who were the reason I failed the mission so spectacularly? It was them, no doubt!" rasped Qrow. "The weirdest thing is while I was approching Amber as she was being pummelled, I could make out their faces from a certain distance. But when I was right next to them fighting them, their faces were blurred, like someone put a filter on them or something. And apart from their faces, I'm pretty sure not many people have those features. Question is, how in the world are they here, bound and helpless? That chick was pretty damn strong, strong enough to hold out against Amber, the Fall Maiden and even put her in that state!"

"Why, it was your niece who captured them for us" pointed out the headmaster, looking at Ruby. "Quite effortlessly too"

"Say what…?!" Qrow faced his very faunus-looking niece once more, gaping at her smiling face. "You captured all three of them by yourself? I must have drank too much, cuz I ain't seeing this….how in the world….when did all this happen….I'm so confused…."

"Drinking too much is right, but you are definitely seeing this uncle. As for how, let's just say that….many things have happened. But perhaps this will convince you?" she said, holding up Qrow's Harbringer. Going wide eyed, Qrow reached out for his back, noticing that his weapon was indeed gone.

"Woah….when did you…?!" he exclaimed, blinking his eyes.

"….H..how..?! I didn't even see her move..!" gasped Winter.

"Not even you two could…I…..have no more words at this point…" mused Glynda, maintaining her composure somehow. "It almost feels like…..we finally have some hope….."

"She grabbed it just now, she always gets a bit too excited when she comes across weapons. But then again, she does get that from me" answered Ruby with a mischievous grin. "Anyways, that should be enough to convince you, right?"

Still reeling in shock, Qrow could come up with no response as he slowly took his weapon back from his niece. "Woah….kiddo….what the hell happened to you….? When did you learn to do that…? And that tail…and ears…..what the….they….they're wigglin'….you shitting me…?! They're real..?! And how in the world did you become older…?! Was this the result of something ol' Oz did or something, like the way he turned me into a-?"

"I'll explain everything Uncle. And now that we're all here, there's just one more thing" she said, using her weapon to give a sharp tap to one of the ventilations ducts. The panelling gave way along with the seven people it was barely supporting.

"Owowowowowo!…..Oops….ahahahaha…! Guess we're busted huh…how in the world did you even figure out we were here? Not even they noticed…." Nora giggled sheepishly, rubbing her head. Yang, Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren and Jaune were trying their best to either look away or look confused, but the air around them was nothing short of awkward. The adults in the room took a whole second to even realize they were present before a certain blonde disciplinarian flew into an understandable rage.

"Teams JNPR and RWBY?! How long have you been there?! Have you been eavesdropping on our conversation?! This is absolutely unacceptable behavior! Shame on you! You WILL be penalized for his! How dare you do something so underhanded as to listen in on our conversation after I specifically told you to go back to your dorms?! And you Miss Schnee, Miss Nikos and Miss Belladonna, I expected much better from the three of you! You-!"

"WEISS!" came Winter's sharp, condescending voice, cutting in Glynda's rant. The aforementioned Schnee shrunk into herself. "Is THIS how you present yourself?! On your insistence, you were specifically placed in Beacon instead of Atlas and this is what I come back to?! Eavesdropping in on the Headmaster's conversations?! You are coming back home THIS instant before you can embarrass yourself and me and drag our family name through the dirt. You can make sure father will-!"

"Oh come on, they're just being kids. Cut them some slack, ice queen. And besides, if they were skilled enough to listen in on us for that long without any of us noticing, then maybe we're the ones to blame. You go kiddo!" winked Qrow, flashing a thumbs up to Yang.

" 'You go' ? Have you lost your mind, Qrow? The matters we were discussing here were of utmost secrecy! They had no business listening to any of this nor being here! Getting suspended is the last of their problems!" snapped Ironwood. "They will be penalized and measures will be taken to ensure that these 'kids' can never speak of what they have learnt to anyone. That is the nature of the information being discussed here"

"They're not one of your soldiers, tin man. You touch one hair on them, especially my niece, you can be sure there'll be one less person to talk about the things we're discussed here" barked Qrow, his hand reaching for his weapon.

"Is that a threat, Qrow?" James inquired, maintaining his stern gaze.

"And what if it is?!"

"You three need to CALM down!" snapped Glynda. "They are our responsibility and neither you nor the Atlesian military has ANY authority to administer any kind of punishment upon OUR students!"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Glynda. Breaking school rules and the like is one thing. But our talk about the Maidens is information that does not fall under any kind of authority. Wasn't that how you put it, Ozpin, to ensure that individual kingdoms don't have the chance to use their laws to find loopholes to leak information? As such, I have just as equal a right as any of you do in deciding what happens with those that pose a risk to such information being leaked" retorted James, keeping his tone monotonous.

"Like hell it does. I'm warning you, you try anything….." growled the Branwen huntsman once more, drawing his weapon. In response, the eldest of the Schnee sisters drew her own, pointing it at Qrow. "No one threatens the general in my presence, Qrow. Back off"

"Alright, that's enough, all of you" said Ruby slowly, raising her spiritual pressure slightly. Instantly, the entire room went eerily quiet as a sudden pressure literally crashed down upon them. Instantly, the cheery, laid back demeanor of the cheetah faunus had become dead serious, her sharp eyes narrowed down on the adults in the room. Winter, Qrow, James, Glynda and Ozpin froze from the bloodlust emanating from the eyes of the faunus in front of them, and the pressure coming from nowhere was making it difficult for them to even stand firm. Teams JNPR and WBY were already on their knees.

"Wh…what is this pressure…?! The air….it feels so heavy….like there is an ocean upon my head….is that….her doing…?!" Winter thought to herself, looking at the sharp eyes of the cheetah faunus, her face strained and intimidated.

"I….I can't breathe…..and…..wh….what is that bloodlust….?! Is that really Miss Rose…..?!" stammered Glynda to herself, feeling what she could describe as extreme unease and fear, a feeling that she was getting towards on of her own students no less. It was certainly not a feeling she got often.

Meanwhile, Qrow could do nothing but watch in awe and in panic at his niece who was making every muscle in his body tense with her glare and the pressure she was seemingly exuding. Not even the few close calls he had with Salem's masked minions nor with his own sister at times ever came close to the feeling of fright he felt from Ruby, the one he had considered the sweetest and most adorable little girl he'd ever seen. "Kiddo…just what the hell happened to you….?"

"….I'm…..I'm sacred…..I can't breathe…..I…I feel so heavy…what is this…I is this really Ruby…..? I…..I don't….I can't…." Yang was nearly on the verge of tears as her knees wobbled under the pressure that fell upon her. But more than Ruby's spiritual pressure itself, her own thoughts, feelings and internal doubts and conflicts felt far heavier. In essence, she feared looking up at her own little sister and finding out the expression she wore on her face now with such bloodlust oozing out of her. She could tell that the rest of her teammates and friends were just as stunned and frozen. Weiss was already in tears, while Blake looked frightened, her ears drawn back. Pyrrha looked the most composed of them all, but even she was surprised to a certain degree and was helping Jaune. And for the first time in her life, Ren witnessed Nora go completely silent and could not read her expression.

Ozpin clutched his cane, taking a step back as he tried not to stumble.

And then, the pressure was gone, as was her piercing gaze. The expressions on her face and on her eyes softened as she exhaled slowly. "Professor, the reason I was fine with you calling over the general and Winter was because you trusted them. Ideally, I would've preferred if I could have explained things to my friends and family first without involving people I'm not too familiar with. I hope you can understand that the things I want to talk about are not something I like talking about over and over. But it's fine. Honestly, I'd rather just do this once than over and over again whenever someone else I know pops up and I have to explain things to them all over again. But make no mistake, Professor, General. I trust my team and my friends and family with my life. Regardless of what you want, I won't leave them out of the dark" said Ruby, looking at the two aforementioned figures.

"T..that's not..! You can't just..!" protested James but found himself getting shut down almost instantly.

"My uncle is right. They aren't your soldiers, General. They're my family. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect them. And I trust them with my life. I promised to them that I would tell them everything. And there is nothing either of you can do to tell me otherwise. You see, that's how I show that I love and care for them, unlike how you all hide and lie to each other, which to me is one of the biggest reasons for the fate of my home. It's very self-centered of you all, isnt it? You want people to put their faith in you and tell you every little thing they're hiding and yet refuse to do the same. Whether it be androids or immortals, none of you have been clean with each other and yet expect the others to be compliant with you. After all, isnt that the whole reason we're in this mess to begin with? Surely you understand where I'm going at, don't you, Ironwood? Ozma?" said Ruby coldly, stressing on the general's and head of beacon academy's names making Ozpin flinch in guilt and look away, shocked and surprised while Ironwood backed away in a similar fashion.

Ruby then went and put her arms around Teams JNPR and WBY, bringing them closer. "But….I don't completely blame you. I sympathize with you in that I fully recognize that in the end, all of you do want to keep my home and our world safe from Salem and that in the end, sometimes our fears and anxiety can lead us to do things we can't possibly imagine. And that's why, I don't mind involving you in telling the things that I want to tell. True, I never wanted to do this the moment I got here. Honestly, I was hoping to be able to spend a few days in peace living the life I never got to experience properly. But it doesn't matter I guess. In the end, it was a bit optimistic and sooner or later, I would've had to do this anyways. Might as well get it over now. Because in the end, there is absolutely no doubt that I am on your side. I will help you, professor, Miss Glynda, General, Winter, because we're in this fight together. But you try and do anything to those I love, then you can be very sure that Salem will be the last of your worries" she said, narrowing her eyes again.

A very tense second later, Ruby let out a soft chuckle, her relaxed and peaceful expression back on her face. "And yes general, that is a threat. But of course, you have nothing to worry about. Because at the very least, I trust that you wont do anything to harm them. I know deep down, you do have their best interests at heart. Your semblance is to blame at times too, so I can overlook it. And of course, considering how much Weiss means to Winter, I doubt she'll just stand by and let anything happen to her. Not that you need to worry Winter, your sister is in good hands, I'll die protecting her before anything happens to her. And….ahahaha! I hope you won't *ahem* suspend me for talking back to the headmaster and threatening to finish off his staff, headmaster Ozpin. After all, I know you're really understanding, so I'm sure you'll overlook it this instance considering that I was doing it to protect the very same students under you. Oh and sorry for cutting in your conversation, Miss Glynda. I know you hate it when people do that, but I'll keep it in mind next time" Ruby finished with a cheery smile on her face, as she went ahead and patted Ironwood, Winter, Glynda and Ozpin in that order as she spoke before going back to Qrow and the youngsters.

What caught them completely off guard was not the bizarreness of the whole situation but rather how quickly the atmosphere had changed around them. One second Ruby was ready to put four expert huntsmen in their places, and in the next, she was by her team and her friends without a care in the world, smiling and talking to them as if nothing had happened. But all in all, to team WBY and JNPR, it was no exaggeration to say that it was a day they would never forget; a day the adorable and innocent Ruby Rose changed overnight, bested the one known as the best huntress in training with a single move and the day she put their headmaster, the ice cold Glynda Goodwitch and even the General of the Atlesian military in their places with a single glare. And the day wasn't even done.

"H…hey…Ruby….is everything….ah….never mind…..please don't do that again….I don't think I can take it if you did…." Stammered Yang, her hands reaching out to her sister initially, but a second thought made her stop and withdraw. Ruby turned to look at her sister wearing an expression of fear, unease and distraught. She pulled Yang's head close to her chest, slowly patting and running her hand down her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry…..you don't have to worry Yang. I won't do that to you. I promise…" She then turned to the rest of her team.

"Guys….sorry about that. I just got a little carried away. To be fair, I just couldn't stand by and let them bicker like children and talk about dealing with you. I just felt I needed to make a few things clear as well as show you guys that you have nothing to worry about as long as I'm here" apologized Ruby, her ears drooping slightly and her tail lowering down to the ground, a sign that Blake immediately recognized.

"Well….I won't say we weren't shocked Ruby. But…I could tell from what you told them that you really were doing it to protect us. Technically we were at fault for eavesdropping too. So….sorry about that" replied the cat faunus.

"Yeah exactly!" chimed Nora. "Sure, you did scare the crap out of us and Jauney boy did look like he would've pissed his pants if not for Pyrrha, but hey! We got a total feast for the eyes in return! Do you know just how AWESOME you were when you shut down ol' Oz and the Miss Dominatrix? The look on their faces! Haaah!"

Jaune, Ren, Pyrrha, Blake and Weiss went wide eyed uncomfortably, their eyes switching between the unsuspecting Nora and Glynda who had the same look on her eyes as Ruby did moments ago.

"Gyahahahaha! You're something, you know that kid! I like your guts!" cut in Qrow, patting Nora in the back. "I think you and I will get along quite well!"

"Nora I think you should MAYBE stop, I don't want to get expelled because you happened to call Glynda a Dominatrix! She already looks ready to kill us all! Just because it's true doesn't mean you need to tell them!" hissed Ren, whispering furiously to Nora who didn't bat an eye.

"Baah! It's fine~~! Ruby says she'll protect us no matter what happens, right? I think it's only fair that we let loose some of this tension in the air" she winked, looking at Ruby.

Although she was tempted to tell Nora that she was on her own for things she brought upon herself, she was indeed grateful for her to diffuse the mood in the air, and hence let it fly, if only this once. "Anyways, I think there are more important things to be discussing, aren't there?"

"Hold up kiddo, before that, what was that you did….?" asked Qrow, unsure of how to handle talking to his own niece. In hindsight, his mind was skeptical to accept that she was indeed Summer Rose's daughter. "What was that pressure…?"

"Oh that? I just raised my spiritual pressure a little bit. Oh, right, by that, I mean that….hmm…well, in a sense, you could say that I just projected my aura a little bit. You felt pressure because of being 'enveloped' in my aura" explained Ruby.

"Aura…?! That was your aura..?! But how's that possible? Your aura is the manifestation of your soul, and as such it should be within your body, acting like a veil, like a shield! So how could you just 'project' it outside?" questioned Weiss.

"And you mentioned 'Spiritual Pressure'. I'm afraid that I….no, we do not follow, Miss Rose" added Glynda.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but for now, just follow me please. I know just the right place! And you don't need to worry about Cinder and her companions. She's not going to break those bonds anytime soon. And you put her to sleep with your magic, didn't you professor?" confirmed Ruby, to which the headmaster gave her a subtle nod.

"Magic..?" questioned Blake.

"They probably mean with his semblance or something" waved off Nora.

Ruby tapped her fingers in the air once more, opening another portal similar to the one the adults had seen her create. This time, gasps and 'oohs' flew from the huntsmen in training as well as Qrow.

"Whoa whoa whoa….hol' up kiddo….that's like Raven's semblance..!…..when the hell did you learn how to do that?!" blinked Qrow, observing the portal.

"Mom's….? That's like mom's semblance….?! Wha….how…..?" blabbered the blonde girl, looking back and forth between Ruby and the portal and her uncle with a gaping mouth. "Ruby when….how….is that really…?"

"That….can't be. It can't be her semblance….her semblance was super speed, I'm sure of it! There's absolutely no evidence of someone's semblance suddenly changing into something completely different!" argued Weiss.

"Just follow me guys, I promise you, you'll be fine" sighed Ruby, grabbing teams WBY and JNPR and pushing them through one by one until they disappeared behind the portal.

"Just wait a minute Miss Rose! You can't just let students leave the academy to god knows where without aaaah-!" The blonde disciplinarian didn't so much get to finish her sentence before she was shoved into the mysterious looking gateway to an unknown location.

"I'm afraid I will have to refuse you, Miss Rose. I cannot simply leave the premises like those here, I do have my fleet to get back to after all-whoah-!" Winter watched dumbfounded as her superior officer was hauled out of Ozpin's office like a sack of dust being hauled by one of the workers at Schnee Dust Company.

"Well? I could yeet all of you like I did them or you could go willingly with some grace. What'll it be uncle? Headmaster? Winter?" smirked Ruby mischievously, her hands pointing towards the portal.

"Heh…dammit, I wish I'd seen you do that to her and the tin man when I wasn't this drunk. I would've enjoyed it so much more. You'd better tell me everything kiddo, starting with how in the world my adorable niece became the kind of cat lady that could kick my ass" rasped Qrow with an almost proud smile, patting his niece in the shoulder once before walking in. Winter followed after, mostly not wanting to leave her general all by himself.

"Miss Rose…..are you sure this will be alright? Leaving them here by themselves?" asked Ozpin, looking at Cinder, Mercury and Emerald.

"It'll be fine headmaster. I've bound them with Kido. It's a form of magic that requires considerable skill to break open. And the higher the level of the user, the harder it is to break. Right now, neither of them are anywhere near my level. So even if they wake up they're not going anywhere" assured the cheetah faunus. "And….we're not going away for long. Just long enough that we can discuss a few things in a better place. I'll open a portal right back soon enough"

"Since when have you been able to use magic, Miss Rose…?" he asked skeptically.

"I'm not sure Kido and Magic are very interchangeable and I think there's more to it, but I'd say for a long time now. Though it's mostly limited to binding and sealing spells" replied the cheetah faunus. "It'll make sense later"

"Well, alright, if you say so Miss Rose. The sleeping spell I used on them should keep them asleep. And likewise, no normal means should be able to awaken them. Very well, just give me a few seconds to lock up here and give out a few notices. After that, we can depart" answered Ozpin. Ruby watched the headmaster quickly do the things he told her he would, making sure he didn't leave anything out in the open. And following that, he walked through the portal. Ruby walked over to Cinder, ensuring that her kido bonds were still intact.

"Stay right here. We'll be right be right back" she said, following which she walked through the portal and the entire office was wrapped in silence once more. Almost half an hour after, the doors to Ozpin's office opened once more, following which a lone figure walked in, bearing a striking resemblance to the headmaster of Beacon. Looking around, the figure's eyes narrowed down on the still unconscious Cinder Fall and her companions, following which 'his' eyes went wide with surprise for just a moment. The figure then sneered at the bound trio, fishing out a scroll from his pocket and typing away speedily.

"Found them. The fools appear to be put to sleep and bound with some dust based attack. Unsure of what resulted in them being reduced to such a state. Returning to rendezvous point. Thanks for the help with breaking into the old fool's office" he typed, and pressed the send button. The image of the headmaster then shattered, revealing a girl with pink and brown colored hair, her eye colors matching her hair but on opposite sides. She was sucking on a lollipop and was wearing a white colored cropped wide, broad tailed jacket with a pink interior, collar, a single pink button and large pink cuffs. She also had brown pants with a dark belt that has a gray buckle and an additional narrow belt under it. Under her jacket was a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. And by her right hand was a pink, folded umbrella.

The girl slapped the three of them in an effort to get them awake, but to no avail. A frown adorned her face, and she was half tempted to slice off the yellow dust like bonds binding them, even if it meant she could harm them. But remembering her mission, the girl grit her teeth, and with surprisingly strength for her small stature, brought the three of them around her shoulder and slowly dragged them out of the office. Changing her form once more she walked towards the elevator, hoping to run into some of the students who would help her with carrying her payload. Though she had questions regarding who could be skilled enough to restrain Cinder Fall of all people in such a manner, she dismissed it once she remembered that ultimately, it was none of her business as long as she and Roman Torchwick got the money they were owed for all the trouble she was undertaking.

And in that front, she was definitely optimistic.

---

The first to arrive at the wooden cabin house surrounded by soft, grassy ground were teams JNPR and WBY as they tumbled and stumbled, trying to catch their balance from when Ruby had shoved them. Looking around, they found a scenery very different from the one they were at mere moments ago, but to one particular blonde, it was a place she knew very well.

"Wait….this is…..this is home…!" she exclaimed, going closer to the familiar looking cabin house.

"Home…you mean…this is Patch?!" followed Blake, equally surprised.

No sooner had they arrived, a series of other members followed after, the first one being Glynda, and then Ironwood, and then Qrow and Winter.

"What the….where…what is this…?!" questioned the general, looking around.

"Ah General! You're safe! I can't believe she just…!" Winter protested, going to Ironwood's side and drawing her weapon.

"I know this place….this is Taiyang's…!" answered Glynda in disbelief.

"Patch…?! She sent us all the way to Patch?!" replied the general in disbelief.

"Whoa ho ho….it's been a while since I've been back here….." mused Qrow, looking around. "I don't see Oz or Ruby…"

"Wait….so this is your home…?" asked Weiss, skeptically. "That's….not what I had in mind…..this place is even smaller than some of the rooms we have in the Schnee manor! How could 3-4 people have possibly lived in such a small space?!"

"Well excuse me for not being a rich spoilt princess, us country folk rather like living in places like this. And we have more than enough space for all of us" retorted Yang.

"Ya got that right! Nothing beats the good old country side with plenty of sun, grass forests and the smell of damp mother Remnant!" chimed Nora, laying flat on the ground.

"I dunno….for one, how do you even go out and do groceries all the way out here? I remember how much hell it was whenever I had to buy provisions for my seven sisters by running all over the place, and that was when I was in the city!" Jaune replied. "I can't imagine how it'd be here…..yeah, I probably wouldn't want to live in such a faraway place…"

"Really….? That's a shame I suppose…..I don't know, for me, it seems like a paradise of its own. You cant imagine how awkward it is whenever you just want to walk around town and people swarm around you asking for pictures and autographs or even challenge you to fights….I do like the peace and quiet of the countryside" answered Pyrrha.

"Come on Jaune, it's not THAT bad living out in the boonies…" reasoned Ren.

Their discussion was interrupted when two more parties walked through the portal, following which the portal disappeared.

"Ruby! Finally! I thought you were going to leave us here with no way to go back….why DID you bring us all the way out here anyways?" asked Weiss.

"Sorry about that everyone, but I feel rather comfortable here. And well, dad is one of those that needs to hear this as well. So I thought it would be nice if I brought everyone here rather than bring him there. And this isnt out final stop anyways" she replied, going up to the door and knocking a few times. Needless to say, Taiyang was NOT expecting such a large gathering outside his home, some of whom he hadn't seen ever since his school days.

"What the…..sweetheart? You're here…? I thought you were supposed to be at school? Yang sweetie, you're here…?! And…..whoa….Qrow? Winter?! James!? Glynda..and Oz too?! What's going on…?" Tai blinked his eyes as he counted everyone standing outside, some looking confused, some upset and irritated while some others were aloof and talking amongst themselves.

"Well, what can I say dad? I didn't think I'd have to do this so soon, but I guess things happened and I thought I'd bring them here so we can sit and talk about….well, everything. And I did promise that I would tell you everything one day. It's a bit underwhelming, I know…" replied Ruby awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. "I made it sound as if I was talking about some big, ultimate hidden truth and made it sound as if I would be able to tell you everything at the right moment. It's a bit…undermining when I just come back the same day…but here we are. Best to just get it over with. I suppose I really should've just done this from the beginning. Anyways, think you can go and put on some tea and coffee, dad?"

"Yeah….sure thing sweetie.." he said slowly, "Well, come on in! It's a bit cramped for so many people, but I'm sure we can all squeeze in. Oh, and don't mind him, he won't bite!" As if on cue, Ruby could hear the familiar scampering of the welsh corgi running up to her, his tail wagging excited. Ruby wasted no time in crouching down with a huge smile on her face, running her hands all over Zwei, her own tail standing upright to show her excitement.

"Heey! I'm here too you know!" cut in Yang, rubbing her face all over Zwei. "Oh man….now that's good stuff…! You have no idea how much has happened today buddy….oof, I need this…". Blake locked her eyes cautiously with the corgi, shying towards the wall and backing away.

"You…have….one of those…that thing…? A….mangy…..drooling…..adorable….cute dog?! Come here!" The snow princess first had a face of disgust and apprehension, which did a complete 180 as her face lit up with joy and she too joined her teammates in petting the welsh corgi, who by now was so overwhelmed by the amount of touching, petting and rubbing he was receiving that he tried his best to make a getaway. The others slowly walked around the trio, leaving their shoes by the doorway before entering inside.

"I'll be talking these as well" said Ruby, walking up to them and getting all of their weapons. "I'll leave them by the coat rack so you can pick them up later"

"Hey you can't just..!" protested James.

"Sorry general, this IS my house after all, and I personally don't feel comfortable when my guests bring in their weapons into the living room. I hope you can understand" replied Ruby, giving a faint smile. Qrow snickered, thoroughly enjoying watching the general put down so easily throughout the whole day while Winter looked quite uncomfortable at the aspect of an 18 year old pushing around her superior.

"When in Atlas, you do as the Atlesians do, isn't that right, general?" answered Ozpin, more than happy to follow along.

When all was said and done, they were now seated roughly around in a circle, with some sitting on the floor, some by the sofa and some on the arm rests. Taiyang brought in cups for each one and two large flasks, one with coffee and one with tea, along with a tray of snacks and small bowls of milk and sugar for those that wanted to help themselves.

"Right….well, help yourselves to some tea or coffee, this is going to be a long story. But before that, I think we should all be on the same level. So to start with, guys, I'll just give you a quick update on a few things" started Ruby, turning her attention to teams JNPR and WBY, telling them about the leader of the Grimm, the tale of the maidens to those who were unfamiliar as well as the existence of the same maidens and the old man in the tale who was none other than their own headmaster, who was in fact a man who lived millennia through various reincarnations, and how it all connected to the recent events of the Fall Maiden, Cinder and why Ruby attacked and captured her. Throughout the whole narration, Taiyang for one couldn't help but see a bittersweet connection between his now faunus daughter and his wife. At that moment, Ruby looked no different than Summer used to whenever she was narrating one of the tales of legend to her daughters back in the day. Maybe it was indeed Summer who was narrating, he thought to himself. After all, it was impossible to tell who was in control of Ruby's body. And the children too, were listening to Ruby with rapt attention as well as an array of emotions. In contrast, the adults looked very uncomfortable, with Ozpin, Glynda, Winter and especially Ironwood squirming in their seats, looking away and getting the urge to stop Ruby before she said anymore. But with Qrow and Ruby's collective gazes, as well as Taiyang's occasional interruptions, they could say no more.

However, what really surprised Taiyang, Qrow and the adults was how natural she made it sound to the kids. It literally felt as if Ruby was doing nothing more than narrating tales of legend and slowly blended in real facts in a way that would make even the more skeptical person accept her words. By giving the right number of pauses and changing her intonation and pace as and when they were required, what was considered top secret information no longer sounded any different than texts one might find in an encyclopedia.

"And there you have it. Any questions so far?" she asked slowly, exhaling slowly as she finished. The adults expected an uproar upon hearing information that was so highly protected and classified. But little did they know that like everything else that day, things went in a completely different direction.

"You didn't tell us you could turn into a crow…..wait, don't tell me THAT's why you're called Qrow…..so…..I have several questions….regarding that…" started Yang. "Why didn't mom ever mention…"

"Yeah! Like why's it spelled with a 'Q' !? Shouldn't it be 'C' 'R' 'O' 'W' ? Also, did ol' Oz give you the power to transform you into a crow because of your name or did you change your name to 'Qrow' because it sounded cool with a 'Q' and because you can become a Crow? Well?!" demanded Nora, almost running into Qrow's face as she inched closer to him with crazed eyes.

"Whoa whoa slow down there kiddo…one at a time…"

"Wait then are you some kind of half faunus or something?" questioned Blake. "I mean…..technically you ARE part animal and part human so…"

"I'm not sure it works that way…." Answered Yang. "More importantly, how could you not tell me that mom was half bird! And you!"

"Ahahaha don't be too hard on him Yang. I'm sure he would've been more than happy to tell you if not for the headmaster" replied Ruby with an amused smile.

"Leaving aside his….unique…whatever it is that helps him become a crow….so….that's it? That's the big secret you've been supposedly protecting…that only a handful of people in all of Remnant know?" asked Weiss, raising her eyes skeptically and looking at the gaping faces of her sister and the general.

"What do you mean by 'that's it'?! You have been privy to information that has been protected through many generations, information about the leader of all Grimm kind and existence of beings more powerful than you can ever imagine, one of whom was caught right in front of you and yet, that's what you can come up with?!" responded the general. "Not to mention powerful artifacts that can accomplish feats untold by human history!"

"Uh…why should we be? I mean, it's not that far fetched to think that if there are 'evil beings' we fight, they would have a leader as well. All you've been protecting is her name and the fact that she is indeed their leader. As for the maidens, sure, it did sound a bit far-fetched to think there could be people who use abilities without needing to rely on their dust or aura. But as Ruby said, the world is a big place and that by looking far enough, you're certain to find truths that you didn't know existed before. We LITERALLY have people who can teleport instantly, conjure things from nothing using their aura and even magically lift things with their mind. Why would we think that someone who can conjure flames, turn themselves into crows and ravens and a bit of wind would be any different? Sure, the relics, the headmaster's real nature is something of a big surprise honestly, but well, as Ruby put it, there are things we haven't seen out there" answered Blake.

"I….I suppose you have a point but still.." answered Glynda.

"I mean, this stuff is literally in every other RPG video game! Reincarnating wizards, magical swords, lamps, artifacts, beastmen, magic and evil queens and demons and heroes and the like! Haven't you guys played Legend of Link? The protagonist of that game, Xelda can literally transform into a fox in the Daybreak Prince installment! She even has the legendary Mistress Blade, which sounds so much better than the 'Sword of Darkness' we have here. Or Secret of Aura? Or even that one with the reincarnating evil vampire and the family of vampire hunters called Dungeonvania! This Salem chick literally reminds me of the antagonist of that game and you're pretty much like the family of vampire hunters who protect people through secrecy with each generation! And these ones are old school! I think it's amazing that we have those in real life!" answered Yang. "I think I even watched that animated show about something exactly like this!"

"Well, to be fair they're from a generation that probably didn't have video games or anime, so I suppose that's why they thought it would frighten us" reasoned Nora. "I mean hey, you know how boomers are. The most they'd know is probably old boring sitcoms or nature documentaries about Grimm in the wild or whatever boomer things boomers watch. And well, knowing the headmaster, he's old enough to be King Boomer". Ruby and Qrow burst out laughing, while Glynda, Winter and Ironwood obviously had different senses of humor. Ozpin could do nothing but sigh, letting out a small chuckle himself.

"I have no words to describe my feelings on the fact that knowledge we've been protecting for centuries has been reduced to nothing more than a punchline for a teenager joking about the previous generation…" facepalmed Glynda.

"Well, that's just how most things are Miss Glynda. We tend to become so paranoid and apprehensive about some things that we're more than ready to blow it out of proportion. Humanity's fear of the unknown I suppose" answered Ruby. "But I understand that this is also knowledge you could not have every layman know, considering how weird and easy it is to get a maiden to transfer her powers to themselves. You can be rest assured that neither them nor I will be so careless that we'd just blurt out things we've learnt here. Having said that, this proves my point, professor. To me, there really was no point in keeping this hidden. Most people can atleast come up with theories about the Grimm and given enough time, some could even theorize that the tales we've written are true to a certain degree. You can tell people something in a way that they take it more naturally rather than freak out. It's all in how you put it"

Ozpin sighed, realizing that one, Ruby was true to her word in telling them things she wanted to speak about, regardless of his own opinion on the matter and that despite everything, she was still not as unreasonable as he thought she would be. "Perhaps you are right. But I do appreciate it"

"But Ruby….how did you know all this? I mean…..you said that this Cinder….she fought the current Fall Maiden and that she stole her powers…right? And that your uncle, the headmaster of Beacon and every known associate of his were doing their best to find her out right? So then how did you know…?" asked Pyrrha.

"I mean….this Cinder….wasnt she skilled enough that not even the headmaster or the people he knew were able to find her? And she was in our academy the whole time, which is a whole different scenario to talk about too. I'm just…surprised that you found them so easily and even bound them so effortlessly" added Blake.

"Oh yeah….now that I think about it…" Jaune admitted.

"We're curious to know that too" cut in Ozpin. "How you, a….15(?) year old was able to do something that none of us together could"

"Well, I can answer your question, but before I do, there is still a few more things to clear up. Something that our dear headmaster has been keeping from what you already know. Before I explain anything, you all need to know this first" she added. However, just as she got to talking more about the Girl in the Tower, Ozpin was the first to shoot up in an outcry, surprising all of them.

"STOP Miss Rose!" he shouted, his calm and composed voice replaced by something that was very desperate and frantic. "You must not…! I don't know how you know about it….but you absolutely must not! If they know about it….then…everything will fall apart…! I plead you! I beseech you! You shouldn't!"

"Professor, this is EXACTLY what will make them paranoid! There are good and bad ways to convey something as I said earlier, and if you're this scared, naturally everyone else hearing it will be sacred as well. Sit down. If we're on the same side, then let's start by breaking down the walls around us. Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, I'm telling them one way or another. Please don't force my hand" she said in a low voice, narrowing her eyes.

Ozpin grimaced, and even faltered under her gaze for just a fraction of a second. But ultimately overcame the feeling and stood his ground. "I'm sorry, but I simply cannot"

"Well, I warned you, Ozpin. Bakudo #61, Rikujokoro" Six glowing beams or condensed energy clamped around Ozpin, immobilizing him.

"Wh..what was that…?!" questioned Winter.

"That…how could you do that without any dust based weapon or using your semblance!?" questioned Ironwood.

"That was….the same thing she used on that Cinder chick..!" exclaimed Yang.

"So….is that magic then…? The one you talked about?" asked Weiss. "Wait, is that how you created portals and stuff? You didn't get the power of a maiden did you?"

"That can't be, this doesn't look anything like a maiden's power. This is more like the magic Oz uses.." replied Qrow. "So that's how you captured our missing Fall Maiden….but why can you….? I don't ever remember you being able to use magic…."

"Magic…? Ruby can use magic..? Then….could we also…?" wondered Jaune, looking at his hands.

"Perhaps….it's not unreasonable to think that if some people can do it, we can too.." added Ren.

"Except….she used it on ol' Oz….why can't people be nice to each other..?" sighed Tai.

"I'll get to that in a while guys, but with that, I can proceed in peace. Sorry professor, but here, let me show you how you tell something without scaring the hell out of your listeners" said Ruby, making the immobilized Ozpin sit in his chair, bound, while she returned to her own place. "Alright. This goes not just for you guys but for you all as well" Ruby announced, looking at Teams JNPR, WBY and then at Tai, Qrow, Glynda, Winter and Ironwood while Ozpin could only observe uncomfortably. "What I'm about to say may sound grim, but trust me when I say that you have nothing to worry. And please don't detest prof. Oz too much. It may appear he did this for very underhanded reasons, but you have to remember that objectively speaking, this was by no means a pleasant memory for him. Right now, I feel bad even telling this myself rather than allowing him to talk about it. Please try and sympathize with him. In the end, he did suffer his fair share. So I don't think we should add to his misery. No, you don't have to say or ask anything yet, it's just for you to know"

There was a pregnant pause following which they gave silent nods. Ruby let out a long breath of air, and continued to tell them about the origin of their world, starting with the tale of the brother gods and the Girl in the Tower. As before, she used the necessary pauses and time she needed to convey what she knew about Remnant's history, as well as adding bits of light hearted moments and everyday references, again going back to using examples from video games and pop culture of Remnant as Yang had done. She was sure a good deal of time had passed, despite her initial assurance to Ozpin that they would be done soon. And she wasn't even done telling them her side of the story.

On and on she continued to tell them about Salem, Ozma, the gods and the rise and fall of Humanity, as well as the relics and all of the events surrounding them until the present day, as well as the fact that Salem was cursed with immortality and that Ozma had to suffer, being killed and being reborn multiple times right in front of Salem while the gods argued, as well as all of the things that Salem herself had to undergo for her sole sin of wanting to reunite with her loved one. Things she had learnt about from her mom, who in turn learnt about them when she went to face Salem all those years back before being transported to Earth.

"So you see, nothing is as black and white as you all think and honestly, there's nothing 'panic inducing' here either" said Ruby slowly and solemnly as she munched on some of the snacks in front of her. "You have to understand that this isn't a horror story; it's a sad and tragic one and should be treated as such. Though she's an 'evil queen' as you put it Nora, don't forget that at one point, she was just as human as any of us. A human being that had to suffer for eons just because she wanted to be with Ozma and her daughters. Her own children who were KILLED because of their parent's own faults. A fact that I know she regrets to this day. Imagine having to watch me die and reborn again and again and again right in front of your eyes like I was some kind of meaningless thing"

Ruby took another small pause "How would you feel, Yang? Weiss? Dad? Uncle? Blake? Or anyone else that you love for that matter. And imagine being unable to die, watching humanity go on as you alone were left there, unchanging and unable to move on, with everyone you cared about either dead or stuck in a state similar to you. There's no way you can even comprehend that. And the same goes for the professor too. Imagine going through all that and being forced into a quest that you can't escape just because of a responsibility dumped on you by the gods who promise annihilation if you failed. And imagine having to devour the person you share a body with unwillingly, only to be reborn somewhere else and repeat the same cycle over and over. There's no way you could trust anyone after that. There's no way you could have a humane way of looking at life ever again. The Grimm have always existed alongside humanity. Salem only came in later. In fact, her taking in the reins meant that there was some sort of control, some leash over beings that could have easily run wild with no one controlling them. Yes, she has done terrible things. Yes, people we all cared about have died, either because of the Grimm or her. But it is also true that when you look at the whole picture, you can't completely blame them or Ozpin or anyone else. Ozpin tried his best to do what he felt was right, which was to protect humanity. Even if it meant people would despite him. Even if it meant he had to get his hands dirty. A task that was infinitely harder than any dirty move you've had to undertake under the influence of your semblance, General. And Salem too is where she is right now only because of the series of unfortunate things she's had to endure herself. This was all just…..a series of unfortunate people stuck together in unforgiving situations that led to unfavorable outcomes"

"But in the end….it is true that Salem intends to collect all of the relics and display them in front of the gods in hopes that they would end her miserable life. But she's mistaken. All that will happen is that the gods will destroy the planet as they promised, leaving Salem to wander in outer space for all eternity in that dark, cold, frightening void. I….intend to stop her, both for our sakes and hers. I'm fairly certain she won't go through with collecting the relics once she knows of this. And I believe that she's not beyond redemption. But if she does turn out to be hopeless, it's still not an issue. Because I know how to defeat her. She may be immortal, but I've fought with an immortal before, one who was far craftier, far more powerful, far more dangerous than the likes of Salem ever could be. So in either case, none of you have anything to worry about" finished Ruby, letting out another long breath of air.

There was yet another solemn, long pause while the listeners looked at Ruby and Ozpin with expressions of shock, disbelief and pity.

"I think I'll give you a little time and room to talk amongst yourselves before I continue" said Ruby, slowly getting up and leaving the hallway.

"Ozpin is that..!" started Ironwood, but not before Glynda had her own way.

"Headmaster" she repeated in a very lone and deadly tone. "All this time, in all the time we've known each other…..did you not trust me even a little? You know that no matter what happened, I would always be at your side, supporting you in what you did and assisting you in helping those whom you cared about. True, I may only be just another person you come across in one of several lifetimes. But even so, I never thought of it that way. I thought, despite how small I might be in your life, I would try my best to support you in your ventures. How…..how could you just….live on as if nothing happened, carrying on that pain with no one to share with? How could you let ME stay by your side as your subordinate, unknowing and naïve while you carried all that burden? Wasn't that why I was there? Isn't that what we were there for? To help you shoulder something you could not alone….?!" She demanded, looking straight into Ozpin's eyes.

In all of the time he'd known the blonde disciplinarian, he'd never seen her so emotionally shaken. He knew that one little push and she would burst into tears. Her eyes already looked red and on the verge of tears. In response, the headmaster could do nothing but turn away.

"I'm…..sorry, Glynda. I didnt realize I had…..no, I didn't realize I would cause you so much pain. Regardless of how you put it, in the end, the things that happened to me back then were things that happened many, many millennia ago. Things I thought I was over with. Things that I thought should not affect those I had by my side right this moment. And…..I suppose I was just tired….of having to share my twisted tale with each passing life. Because from all of my experiences, all it has gotten me so far is people leaving me once they learn of it, or people showering me with their pity. Both of which were things I detested" he replied, looking away.

And to his dismay, Ozpin couldn't even move an inch from the binding spell Ruby had put on him. At that moment, all he wanted to do was run away and never look back. He couldn't, not again. He couldn't bear the thought of those in front of him turning their backs on him once more.

"Is that so? Please rejoice in that case. Because you'll find that you're quite mistaken and rather presumptuous, headmaster. For what I feel for you is neither pity nor hatred" said Glynda, walking up to him and-

*CRAAAAASH*

The loud crunch from Ozpin crashing into the wall behind him rang out uncomfortably throughout the entirety of the living room. His face was bleeding, and his glasses lay on the ground, broken and useless. It didn't help that being bound, he had no real way of soothing his physical pain.

"All that I feel is anger. A lot of it. Anger that you'd assume I was the same as everyone else you've met in your life. Because all that Miss Rose's story about you did was steel my determination of seeing this through till the end, regardless of YOUR wishes. I don't feel pity for you, but I do feel sorry for you. It's a big difference. However, I think rather than my sympathy, I can give you my resolve. Both of us know you'd rather have that, don't you headmaster?" she questioned.

"She's not the only one who feels that" rasped Qrow, walking up to his fallen form rather briskly and slamming his foot into him with all of his weight behind it, burying it into his core and sending him into the wall once more.

"G..GURRAAARRGH…!" Ozpin coughed violently, spitting out saliva and blood.

"You're a real bastard, you know that? You know….you're lucky my niece was so patient with you. Otherwise….I really might've done a lot worse" he rasped. "But…..I'll admit that it did make a few things clear about you. I think we can finally be on the same page, cant we old man? Well? Anyone else wants to have a go? Because I'd like to kick him a few more times before he passes the fuck out"

"Language!" cried out Winter and Weiss in unison.

"Oh for fucks sake, you heard all that from him, there's this….moment going on and you're worried about the fucking language?! And what's with the mimicry? I guess snow princesses will be princesses no matter what happens" he snapped, earning him a sharp bonk from Winter.

"There are children here!" scowled Winter. "And is violence the only way you know how to convey your feelings?! You really are such a barbarian…however, this once, I suppose I can overlook it" she glared, going over to Ozpin herself. "You…..we trusted you. My general trusted you. He was willing to give up everything, even go against the nation he protected if it meant that it would do something to help you. He placed such faith in you. And yet….just as Ruby said, you expected such complete loyalty without giving the same in return. I even placed my sister in your care. My sister who means the world to me. But you were willing to put her in danger, send her to pointless ventures just to satisfy your own wishful thoughts, in hope that one day Salem would just disappear on her own, weren't you?"

"Winter that's…." began Weiss softly.

"Stop Winter" ordered James. "This…..this is just too much to take in. And don't get me wrong. I feel rather betrayed that the man I put all my trust into was hiding such crucial and vital information, starting with the fact that he never trusted us fully to begin with. However, I suppose Miss Rose had a point. We haven't been clean with them either"

"In the end, as Ruby said, none of you have been clean with each other, building walls of secrecy and expecting that the other one be honest and truthful. None of us have the right to blame him, just as much as he has no right to do the same to us. If you ask me, the most sensible thing to do right now is to calm down, collect our thoughts and start fresh, with no more secrets between us and just be clean from the start. For one, I'd rather you not beat him up any more than that, I don't want a dead man in my house, not to mention broken walls…" sighed Tai, walking up to Ozpin and helping him up.

"But…this doesn't mean we're through yet Oz" glared Tai, lifting him up by his collar. "In a way….you're the reason I lost Raven. That Qrow lost his sister and Yang lost her mother. You're the reason Summer left us. You're the reason we risked our lives without knowing that you were only doing it to maintain a notion that we had some hope. If you'd just been clean with us from the beginning, none of it would've happened. I think Glynda is too forgiving. But I'm not the same. You put my family in danger. And you were still ready to send my daughters on missions without knowing if they would ever get us closer to Salem. And you were willing to continue doing it if it meant you could maintain that illusion. But…I know you didn't mean badly. After all, you were still trying to protect the maidens and in turn the relics, both of which would be the cause of our doom if Salem got her hands on them. And thanks to Ruby, I know that you were just a broken old man driven to desperation by forces he could not control. For that and for the sake of my daughter, for those two reasons alone, I won't berate you any longer, just for today. However, I….all of us WILL call you out for it from time to time. Be it Glynda's anger, or my frustration that will come up from time to time, or anyone else's here for that matter. If you can live with that, as well as the fact that we're still here despite hearing about your story you were so afraid to tell, I think we'll be just fine. Well? Won't that work with everyone?"

"….I suppose…." Answered Qrow.

"Perhaps….."

"….Fine…"

The headmaster could only muster a bittersweet, apologetic, crooked smile, a small tear leaking from his bleeding and beaten up face.

"That bring us to the next thing. Oz, is Salem really immortal? I mean, technically, you are too, since you can just continue resurrecting over and over in different bodies. But from what Ruby told us, it seems like she's the real deal; someone who just can't die" questioned Tai.

"…..yes" he answered weakly. "I have seen her being burnt alive, being skewered by swords, daggers, being perforated by guns, exploded by dust. Nothing works. No matter how badly she's injured or to what state she's reduced to, she can always revive. And…well….as Miss Rose mentioned, when I questioned the lamp, Jinn answered 'You can't' when I asked her how I could defeat Salem"

"Th…that can't be….." stammered James. "If that's the case then….how…how are we even supposed to end this? Does this mean that our fight is never one that is meant to end?"

"Hold on James" Glynda stopped him. "That may be so, but weren't you listening to her? Miss Rose mentioned something about fighting an immortal before, someone who was 'far craftier, far more powerful and far more dangerous than Salem ever could be'. And considering that Miss Rose is here and not dead, one can only assume that she has indeed managed to defeat such a foe"

"I…I find that hard to believe" answered Ozpin. "I have lived in this planet for far longer than any other human being. Except Salem. If there really existed such a being, I would have heard about them"

"Hold on" called out Pyrrha. "Sorry for interrupting your conversation….professor, Winter, General…I realize this may seem out of place for us to talk when the adults are talking but….she said that she defeated this other being. Defeated, not killed. That could only mean that she used some other means to do it. Also….professor…..you may be missing a very fundamental part here. When you asked the relic of Knowledge if 'you' could defeat Salem, the spirit answered 'You can't'. But….what if we took another look at that? Couldn't we argue that she simply meant that the 'Professor' could not defeat Salem? If so, maybe that is the role of someone else. Perhaps it is Ruby's role, seeing as how she mentioned being able to face an immortal before. Or maybe Jinn simply meant that 'you' could not 'kill' her, though this seems less likely since you specifically asked the spirit how you could defeat her"

Ozpin's eyes went wide upon hearing her answer. How had he missed such an obvious interpretation?! For eons, that answer had plagued his mind, giving him endless, sleepless nights and it was the thing that started off his addition to coffee to begin with.

"Hmm….rather observant. Yes, that may very well be the case. I suppose it isnt that outlandish to theorize that Ruby did very well find an alternative method to handle such an opponent" remarked Winter. "Pyrrha Nikos, was it? Yes, I know about you. The rumors and information that I came across don't lie"

"But how….? There's not much you can do to an undying enemy can you?" reasoned Qrow.

"Well, maybe you could seal them somehow" suggested Ren.

"Or perhaps she convinced them into not being a threat" added Blake. "Maybe….they were just someone who was misunderstood. And maybe Ruby just gave them a chance to explain themselves. If there's anything we've learnt from Ruby's story, its that this Salem is just as ill fortuned as the professor here. And that though she may have been the leader of the Grimm, humanity's own atrocities are no less evil. For one, I can totally understand what it feels like to be shunned by a particular group or race without having a chance to prove our innocence. That's why if Ruby says that Salem is someone similar, I'm willing to take that chance"

Given her faunus nature, it was easy to see why such a suggestion came from Blake, despite the odd looks she got from those around her.

"…Whatever the case, I am unconvinced" replied James. "Why does Ruby Rose know all of this? Why does she know information that Ozpin never told anyone, not even to us? Information that only associates of Salem could have known? The moment she finished her story, I was sure none of you would buy it. And yet, before I could ask Ruby Rose, you more or less confirmed that she was indeed telling the trust, furthering my belief that she could very well be Salem's pawn. Why are we talking about Salem rather than Ruby Rose, who right now is a far greater threat if she is what I think she is?"

"No, that's wrong James" argued Tai. "She IS my daughter. She's NOT with Salem. Because…I spoke to her. She came here first early morning today, right before she said she was going back to school"

"She…she came to visit you dad…?" asked Yang, surprised. "So….that's what she was doing….that's where she was…."

"….I see. So when she opened that portal from the Emerald Forest, she was actually going to visit you here in Patch…" reasoned Glynda.

"And yet, Taiyang never questioned her, despite being her father. So that still does not answer my question" repeated the general.

"That's because…!"

"I'll take it from here, dad" came Ruby's voice, the attention of the room's inhabitants falling on Ruby, who walked back into the living room. "I hope….you've had some time to digest everything I told you so far. Because what I'm about to say is not easy for neither me or you" She then went and took her seat.

"I'm sure…..all of you have several questions. And I overheard your doubts, general" she mentioned, looking at Ironwood and making him look away rather guiltily. "But I understand why you'd feel that. However, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I want to STOP Salem. Not aid her. And I will. And you are indeed right to say that I should not know a lot of things. But once I tell my side of the story, I'm sure it'll make sense"

People who were standing began going back to their seats, and Ruby removed the restraints on Ozpin, handing him some water, a towel and some cloth to clean his wounds and ease his pain.

"That was rather cruel, Miss Rose. You bound me, and riled them up and left while they had their way beating and berating me up" remarked Ozpin with an amused smile.

"Well, I'm not so sure. Considering all the things that you are….sorry, considering the things that you would have originally done, I'd say that I was being rather mellow" replied Ruby.

"Things I would have done….? What are you…?"

"Most of you here have the same question, or questions that relate to the same thing. 'How could she know all that?' or 'Why does she look so much older?' or 'Why is she so different?'. They have the same answer, but it's a long one. However, I can start by saying that…..technically, I'm from the future. Or rather….I was…."

There was yet another pause while Ruby waited for her listeners to pitch in any questions they had.

"The…future….?..." repeated Jaune aloud.

"You mean….like….like in the movies? Like they show in anime…?" asked Yang.

"That's….."

"Well, it would be more accurate to say that I inhabited my own body after many, many things happened in the future. As we near the Vytal Festival, in the original timeline, Cinder manages to infiltrate all of Beacon's security systems and even sabotage the matches. She and her companions, which also include the White Fang and Roman Torchwick using their abilities are able to cause untold chaos in a stadium full of people. Which then becomes the pivotal point for many elder Grimm to invade the city, causing more untold destruction and mass panic, that also results in the CCT being destroyed, resulting in worldwide panic and crisis. Not even the Atlesian army being there helped. In fact, their looming presence only made things worse. Before things get to that point, you professor, along with Winter, uncle Qrow, Glynda, the General agree to make Pyrrha the Fall Maiden after you realize that Amber wasn't going to live" she said. All eyes then fell upon Pyrrha, who herself looked confused.

"Yo…you mean….I was about to be….made the Fall Maiden…..?" she stammered.

"…..That was something I already had in the back of my mind...for sometime now…I even pitched forward the idea in passing…" replied Ozpin. "If you know about that….then….."

"But hold on…..you….Ruby…you said that the White Fang are allied with….but….how…?! There's no way they would ever work with someone like Cinder Fall or Roman Torchwick…sure we saw them that day being commanded by Roman but….." interrupted Blake.

"I don't know the full details but Cinder struck a deal with Adam Taurus and the Vale Branch of the White Fang he controls. Perhaps she threatened him, or perhaps it was something else she offered. But then again, considering how things go in the future, I suppose all he needed was an excuse to cause untold riots and chaos for his cause. Still...for all the rights for Faunus he supposedly fights for, it still didn't stop him from murdering Sienna Khan in the future. Of course, I wasn't there when that happened, but I do know it does happen for sure. Atleast from what I was shown" she replied, causing the adults as well as Blake to go wide eyed.

"Th…Adam….?! You mean he…..h…how could he…" fumbled the cat faunus.

"That's….real bad news…..Adam Taurus is notorious for his extreme actions and hatred against humankind….and his extreme methods" frowned Ironwood.

"And Roman Torchwick as well….!? Just how did we miss all of this?!" exclaimed Glynda. "Such a massive incident with three major groups, all of whom are extremely wanted and yet….they manage to pull something of that caliber off?!"

Ruby nodded. "That tells you just how skilled they were. Of course, they have more people working for them. Just by themselves, they wouldn't have been much of a threat. But we're going off topic here. This is all stuff that would have happened. I already stopped Cinder much before she could do anything. As for Adam Taurus and Roman Torchwick, I'll do something about them as well. You have nothing to worry about. But the important thing is, while you were about to transfer the Fall Maiden's powers from Amber to Pyrrha, Cinder interrupts the procedure and kills Amber, acquiring the maiden powers for herself. You, professor, try to stop her, but your battle with her ultimately results in your death"

There was yet another pin drop silence as all eyes that were on Pyrrha now fell on Ozpin, who looked rather curious himself.

"After that….Pyrrha….you….you rush off after her, thinking that it was your fault you couldn't make up your mind in accepting the responsibility of becoming the Fall Maiden soon enough. You, who were always shunned for your skills and strength and never had people who could understand what you went through. Accepting that responsibility meant that you would truly have been at a level where none could ever reach you or understand you. But in the end, your desire to keep the people safe as well as your guilt in not being decisive made you go after her all by yourself. But…" she stopped herself, looking at Pyrrha with a soft look. She gauged the faces of her teammates, who did indeed look as if they were not ready to hear what was coming next.

"Well…? But what…?!" asked Nora.

Ruby sighed. "I rushed after you. You were fighting with Cinder at the top of Beacon Tower, who now had the full power of the Fall Maiden. But….when I got to the top of the tower, I saw you die at her hands. And then….that became a trigger for something. Something I never knew I had before that. I could feel a strong sensation from my eyes. And then….everything was blank. And it was then that I ended up in Hueco Mundo"

Another dead silence, and Team JNPR were looking at Pyrrha with solemn and shaken looks, as was Team WBY. But the adults felt the heavy air as well, for it implied that through all that, they allowed a student under their responsibility to die to their enemies. Of course, there was also the fact to consider that in all of the chaos that Ruby mentioned took place, there was no doubt that many others would have died.

"Pyrrha….dies….?" asked Nora slowly, in a tone very unlike her normal cheery self.

"No….." mumbled Weiss

"Is that…..is that what you meant…when we fought….Ruby..? That you would protect me and…." Asked Pyrrha.

Ruby nodded once more. "None of you have any reason to worry about any of that. I've already made sure such a future doesn't come to pass. Me stopping Cinder here already took care of that. And as I mentioned, I will never allow anything to ever happen to them ever again. And right now, thankfully, I have the means to keep that promise. But even if I didn't, I would do whatever it took to make it happen"

"So…Pyrrha won't die then…right?" asked Ren.

"Of course she won't. None of you will"

"Miss Rose….are you suggesting that….your eyes…..they caused you to go back in time…? No…I recall you mentioning that you found yourself in 'Hueco Mundo'….is that right…?" asked Ozpin.

"Hueco Mundo….? Where's that..? It doesn't even sound like the name of a place you'd find in Remnant…." Answered Tai.

"Yes. You're right dad. That's because it's not in Remnant. What if I told you that…..after the gods abandoned this world, they created another one, a much more advanced world in an effort to create something better than their previous failure? After the gods deemed this world of no value? A world so similar to ours and yet, very, very different fundamentally? A world called Earth" questioned Ruby.

"A..are you suggesting that..?!"

"Yeah. After I saw Pyrrha die at the end of the Vytal festival, I found myself on Earth, Specifically, a realm that was a part of Earth, called Hueco Mundo. A part of the world that was created by the brother gods after this one" she said.

"….Y…you can't be serious….outer worlds….time travel…Ruby…..how….nothing you say sounds believable…!" argued Weiss. "There's no way….."

"I…I find it hard to believe that the brother gods would….just abandon this world after putting me on my quest…." Retorted Ozpin. "If so….just what I have been….."

Ruby sighed. "I know….it sounds like total nonsense. But….seeing is believing they say. I didn't want to go back the moment I'd just arrived. But…we don't have to stay there long. Just long enough. I know just the perfect place. Alright, we're done here. Follow me everyone. We're talking another short trip"

The cheetah faunus then urged her listeners to follow her outside, her dad included. They grabbed the half finished cups and trays, putting them away, grabbed their weapons, going outside.

"Well….I haven't tried this yet, I'm interested to see how this goes.." she said to herself.

"Ruby….are you…really going to take us to this other world…?" asked Blake.

"Yup. It'll only be for a short while, but….there's someone who wants to meet you all. And she can't do it here. And besides, the rest of what I want to say will make more sense if we are at the right place. So if you're all ready…." She replied.

"Wait..!" called out Winter. "Ruby….are you really sure its wise to leave Cinder out there unattended…? And…how long will we be gone..? Will we really be alright..?"

"It'll be fine, we're not going to stay long" assured Ruby. "And you'll be fine. Although….you might find several changes to your body, since you will be forced to conform to the rules of Earth. But not in a dangerous way. For example, you might be able to feel Aura much more easily. Anyways, this will make a lot of sense once we're there" She then tapped the air as before, but this time, the portal looked slightly different and was glowing. Before saying anything more, she jumped in, leaving the others to ponder.

"…aren't we going…?" asked Qrow, walking closer.

"Well….I'm…just….thinking if…." Started Jaune.

"It IS safe…right…?" asked Ren.

"…..I'm going in. It's where….all the answers are right..? I don't care what's there…but that's Ruby…that's my sister…there's no way I'm…" Yang said confidently, before jumping in, as did Blake and Weiss.

"I shall as well" said Pyrrha, "Come on, let's go together" she said, grabbing Nora, Ren and Jaune, jumping in with them.

"I'm a bit worried about leaving Zwei all by himself here but….ah screw it" he said, going through himself.

"Hey don't just go leaving me with these guys!" called Qrow after Tai, following him in.

"Well Glynda? Care to join me? Winter? General?" called out Ozpin.

"…She always rushes in without any care for consequences…." Sighed Winter. "General….would you please allow me to-"

"Very well, let's go" he sighed, and finally, Glynda, Ozpin, Ironwood and Ozpin stepped through, following which the Xiao Long residence was quiet once more.

---

Sand, sand and more sand. The moment Team JNPR and WBY found themselves on solid ground once more, the first thing they noticed was their feet sinking slightly on soft, white sand. Though it had been around evening when they left Patch, here, the sky was blanketed by an inky, cloudless night sky with a crescent moon overlooking them. The first of many things they noticed.

"I…is this it..?" asked Jaune to the others, looking around. "Wait…are we really in another world….?"

"I feel….strange…..hey….does anyone else feel that..?!" questioned Weiss. "It's almost like…..it almost feels like I can feel this…..pressure. This light….from all of you…!" said Weiss, looking at her team mates as well as Team JNPR.

"No you're right…..I feel it too…it's like when I can see in the dark as a faunus….but different…." Added Blake. "Speaking of which, my vision looks different too…"

"Yeah…I can feel that too…" agreed Ren. "Quite clearly…it's almost as if…it's a sense I never knew I had…perhaps…could this be…our auras?!"

"What feeling…? Guys…I don't feel anything like that…are you sure..?" asked Jaune.

"Yeah, me neither…" added Nora.

"Really? I can feel something too…I think" said Pyrrha.

"Hmm…I do feel something when I go close to one of you but…." Said Yang, scratching her head. "Wait a minute….Blake…! Your cat ears…! They're gone..!"

"Wait..what…?!" exclaimed the ex-cat faunus, running her hands over her head where her cat ears used to be, only to find nothing but air. "H..how can this be..? What just…? But…I don't feel any pain…."

"Was this one of the things that Ruby mentioned…? About how we might change…?" reasoned Pyrrha.

"So….faunus become human….? Well…you don't see that everyday…" mused Nora. "Still….I have to say…you do look…odd without them.."

"Tha….that can't be…I…I'm a human…?!" she stammered, taking a few steps back, stumbling on the sand and falling on her back. And then, she saw the moon. "Th…the moon…it's not shattered and crumbled….that IS the moon…right..?"

"Where's Ruby…?! Didn't she leave right after us?" questioned Jaune. They were interrupted when Ozpin, Tai, Qrow, Winter, Glynda and Ironwood appeared.

"Dad!"

"Winter..!"

"Headmaster..!"

"Whoa….what's…?"

"Sand…? Is this a desert?" asked Tai to himself. "Wait…is this Vacuo or something..? I thought she was taking us to this other world?"

"Hard to say…" commented Ozpin. "However….I feel rather different….and….the sky does pique my interest me"

"The sky….? What the…the moon..! It's…not broken…" commented Qrow.

"I can….feel something….how absurd…!" said Glynda, observing her surroundings. "This pressure…this light…from all of you….."

"I can feel it too, rather clearly…" added Winter.

"Hmm…we don't appear to be in Vacuo...or any place we know. White sand is…." Commented Ironwood, looking around.

"Where's Ruby..?! Where are we..?!" asked Tai, looking around. The group gathered around themselves, looking around to find nothing but endless sand as far as eye could see with no other structure around them. The only thing nearby was the enormous rocky cliff they stood next to, which had an opening at the base like that of an entrance to a cave. Their thoughts were interrupted when approaching footsteps caught their attention, one that was coming from a path beside the cave. Some reached for their weapons, while others took a few steps back. However, what approached them would make all of their jaws drop all the same.

Standing before them was a woman in her mid to late twenties bearing a striking resemblance to Ruby, with a white colored tailcoat and pants that were adorned by black colored cuffs and collar, and a katana that hung on her left hip. She had two red markings running from the base of her eye down to her face, like the markings on the face of a cheetah as well as sharp, dull silver eyes. What stood out most however, was the upper portion of a skull of an animal on her head, reminiscent of the mask of a Grimm.

"R…Ruby…is that…you…?!" asked Weiss.

"You….you look like an….an adult…." Stammered Yang. "And…what's with…that sword…? And that mask…?"

"Yo…you didn't have to change into that outfit just because we couldn't imagine you in it you know…..seriously….? Don't tell me this is another growth spurt or something…" mused Nora.

"Kiddo…that...really you…?" called out Qrow

"Sorry about disappearing so suddenly" said Ruby, her voice now much more relaxed and slightly deeper, more akin to that of an adult. "But yeah, this is me as I really am. Or well, this is actually my soul you're seeing. I just left my body temporarily back there so that I could appear like this. This feels a lot better…"

"Your soul….? How does that even…?" started Blake. "And….you…you're back to being a human too…."

"You can just 'leave' your body? Ruby….I don't understand…" said Yang.

"I'll explain soon" she said. "But before that…..there's someone else you need to meet"

"Someone…? Who..?" wondered Yang.

"Boo!"

"YAAARRRGH!"

Teams JNPR and WBY, as well as the adults yelped and almost instinctively drew their weapons as some jumped back, while others stumbled from the new voice that came from behind them. Hysterical giggling and laughter filled the air.

"Real funny you- uagh!"

Yang, Tai, Winter, Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood and Qrow's eyes went completely wide, their mouths open agape. Standing there, in front of them wearing completely black robes and a white belt around her waist, her dark, shoulder length hair with red highlights tied behind in a small knot with manic silver eyes and a wide grin on her face was a woman with features almost identical to Ruby. But there was absolutely no mistaking who she was.

"Gotcha!" she said in a cheery and enthusiastic voice, splaying her hands as if playing peek-a-boo with her child.

"I….I don't believe it…." Exclaimed Qrow, taking several steps back.

"I…it's you….!"

Yang felt her knees give way as she fell on the soft sand with a dull thump. "….M…Mom…?!"

---

Edit: I noticed a few inconsistencies in the chapter, as well as some minor grammar mistakes. I admit my lack of familiarity with RWBY's lore as well as having watched the show a long time back are both reasons as to why I made these mistakes. I'm always asking many people and looking around sources and wikis to make sure I am updated with the lore and remain as accurate as possible. But, of course mistakes do tend to happen and I can only try harder not to repeat them and fix things when possible. So I decided to post an edited version with some stuff fixed, such as Ren's semblance (which I honestly thought blocked his 'presence' as opposed to 'invisibility' since I was certain that even if he masked his emotions, the Grimm should still be able to 'see' so it wouldnt have worked unless he could make himself be 'ignored', as in, people can still see him there, but chose to 'ignore' his presence. In this chapter its mostly played for gags so the change itself isnt all that big of a deal, but it's good that I am corrected before I carry on the mistakes to later parts of the story. The other part was Qrow recognizing Cinder despite Emerald having blurred their faces. That segment of the fight was quite short and I think a few details here and there are definitely up for debate. And finally, Adam Taurus and him killing Sienna Khan, which happens in vol 5. Ruby was talking about things that eventually happen when talk about White Fang came up, things she'd been shown by the God of Darkness, but I changed it so that it was clearer. I've put it in a way in this chapter in hopes that it makes sense. Naturally I am thankful for anyone willing to point out mistakes and giving me the oppertunity to fix them, as well as understanding that its normal to make mistakes. This kind of 're-editing' a posted chapter wont happen often, I promise. Once again, I deeply apologize for not paying attention to the details. Thank you for understanding and thanks for reading!

A lot of conversations between the cast of RWBY, I know. I kinda just wanted to get a few things out of the way first before getting back to the Quincies. Next chapter will focus on the more interesting side of the conversation as well as some focus on Raven's side of things.

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Response to reviews:

Guest: Yup indeed.

SunlitOverdrive: I can assure you that RWBY cast won't be at the same level they are right now. They will definitely get to the point where they can also fight in the war.

Monster King: Thanks!

Lucian Naruto: Yup, that's a battle that will happen sometime!

rama alif: Haha true! And there's a lot more of that to come!

Cyan-Snake: True, and well, if you went by their personalities, their actions are not that surprising. As far as her confrontations goes, I think it's logical that she would run into them. I'm merely giving emphases on some of the more obvious conversations that one would expect will come up given her situation. As for the last bit, well, the Quincies are here and as for how, that will come soon!

Arashi Uzukaze: Yup indeed.

Argorok: Thanks a lot! Yeah, and there's a lot more things to cover still!

Fregreg: Thanks! That was the idea, to show things apart from the battle itself so that I could properly portray the mood around the whole thing. Well, the Vytal festival is the last thing on their mind I think.

Vedahzii: Yeah and the quincy part will come back in the next chapter.

Salamandra134: Well, maybe. There will still be a bit of parts from Remnant though, even though our cast is now in Hueco Mundo. As for Ruby's story, the question is, just what version of events will she give to her family and friends?

cassnova5242: Haha yeah!

MaxHD2490: Yup, yup and yup! Yeah, it feels nice to be back after the break! I know I didnt explore much of the quincu's story, but we'll get there, soon enough.

Robbie2413: Yeah they are indeed Quincy. True, but there's an explanation for why the Quincy could reach Remnant, one that will be explained in the next chapter.

Mobian: Yeah, she did indeed. Well, the question is, when WILL Ruby face the Quincy? Are they here to fight or for some other motive? Time will tell. Haha Yang as a politician? Now that's something! And thanks a lot!

firewyrn2: Hmm...well, I try to be very accurate with the powerlisting. My go to reference is VS battles wiki, which I think is fairly accurate. And that's what I'm using in this fic. Personally I think even the likes of Qrow and Winter are hardly fast enough to counter anyone using decent shundo. I'm not sure I'm aware of Blazblue Cross Tag, what is it? As for Ruby's artwork, I more or less gave her characteristics from her resurreccion. But I think faunus having animal ears instead of human ones isnt all that odd.

PoofyOhio: Ahahaha true!

Crimsomgear: Well, it kinda is the only canon and major arc left (nope, I'm not going to be tackling the fullbringer arc). Yeah as well as the fact that Ruby is simply too different from her friends. Thanks a lot!

fightingchampion: Glad to hear from you again! Thanks a lot! Yeah, they are indeed. The Sternritter are stronger than many of the arrancars even, let alone captains of the Soul Society. Ruby herself is in deep trouble if she gets into a confrontation.

Spellflame: But will things go that way though? We shall see.

Rairi Valelira: They are quincy under Juha Bach/Yhwach, the leader of the Quincy. Basically, this is the beginning of the last arc of bleach which will not take place in Remnant and on Earth.

NEGATARO: Thanks a lot! Hmm, you've come close in on some of the things that will happen, but I wont tell which ones just so I dont spoil things! Thanks a lot for reading as always!

PUSSYSMASHER: Ahaha well, she was 'frozen' thanks to the bakudo spell and left unable to even more, so maybe its not that different!

ranjira1988: Haha thanks! Glad you liked them!

Xeno01: Thank you so much! I will make more fanart as and when time passes.

Ahaha honestly I couldnt come up with something better!

Well, Blake has been shown to be quite nice to other faunus.

Exactly. Right now, Ruby will do whatever it takes to protect her family and friends.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed them! Yeah, she will likely only give them a 'watered down' version like she did with Ichigo.

True...but Remnant's air is filled with aura and other spirit particles. Maybe it's not as sparse as it appears. After all, it WAS the land where humans were using magic freely at one point. And well, the Sternritter are more powerful than most arrancars. Before her friends, Ruby herself will need to survive if she encounters them.

Yeah, I wasnt planning anything for them. Raven, yes. But the rest, not so much. I dont want to add more characters unecessarily after all.

RandonName3064: Dont worry, this is only the start. Things will move soon enough. And the cast of RWBY will be at a level where they can participate in an equal manner.

Haha thanks!