King: Sweet shit! This took forever!

Knox: No kidding. You have fun?

King: I did, yes. Word of warning, though, I did cut it down by a lot. Only two songs made it in because they were my favorites and important to the story overall. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter. Let's do this!

Inspiration: Steven Universe Movie

/\

The screen started to glow again, getting all of their attentions back after last time.

Nora bounced a bit in her chair, because she's Nora, "I wonder what we'll get this time."

Yang sat back with a grin, "Guess we're about to find out."

The screen started black for a moment before lighting up a bright, gem-like blue. A silhouette appeared after a moment to reveal Ruby Rose as she hopped down from a small platform. She was dressed in an old bomber jacket along with her shirt and shorts. A large star was emblazoned on the front of her shirt as well.

Yang's eyes narrowed a second before going wide, "Wait a sec… Is that the gem world?"

Jaune wasn't there, so he was confused, "What?"

Knox appeared after a moment to address Yang, "Good eye. This is the world with the Gems. For those who weren't there, it's a world with extra-terrestrial lifeforms called Gems. They appear as humanoid beings identified by the gemstones embedded in their bodies."

Jaune winced a bit, "Sounds painful."

"By Remnant logic, it would."

Ruby stretched and walked along to an old beach house. As she approached, she noticed her team, The Crystal Gems, standing nearby. The first member of the team was Weiss, a graceful pearl who grew passed her old life of servitude to give her the power to live her way. Though a bit taller than the version in the one in the stands, she wore a more casual outfit with capri pants, a blouse, and short jacket. Her gem was set at the base of her neck, like a pendant from a necklace.

Weiss felt a certain kinship with her counterpart. Though she never lived a life in real servitude, she did know what it was like to have to break away from the life that was forced upon her.

She didn't realize it, but she was hitting the nail on the head with her analogy.

Nora groaned, though, "Aw… I thought we'd get to see Seraph."

This just confused Jaune even more.

The second looked similar to Yang, long hair and all. However, she was stunted a bit in height, being similar height to Ruby. She was dressed in a sport shirt and shorts, giving off a more punk vibe than the others. Her gem was set under her bust and shown off through a torn section of her shirt.

Yang chuckled, "That's different. Looks pretty cool though."

Ruby was celebrating to herself for being a similar height to her sister for once.

The final member of the group towered over all of them. She was a woman that exuded power and a calm visage. Dressed in what looked like a full leotard that somehow also covered her feet like boots. Her sleeves formed together and wrapped around the middle finger on each hand. Both her ring fingers also wore metal bands of green and pink. Her dark hair was tipped by a light orange. This was the Garnet calling herself Lyn, a fusion of the two gems that named themselves Nora and Ren, a ruby and a sapphire respectively.

Yang snickered before her laughter escaped, "So, Ruby isn't a ruby, but Ren is?"

Tai had to laugh a little too, "It is pretty funny."

It's been years since they last had to fight the forces of the gem Home World. It was years since Ruby was taken to the world of gems to confront the Diamonds, the three surviving leaders of the Gems as a race and empire. Years since Ruby learned these Diamonds were once four in number. As they were listed, each version appeared on the screen.

White. A giant woman dressed in a long white dress. Everything about her seem immaculate and bright. To those that knew her, she appeared as Glynda Goodwitch.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. It was a little odd seeing Glynda as what could only be described as an imperial leader, possibly tyrant.

Yellow. A large, but not was tall as White, version of Raven sat upon a golden throne. She radiated a sense of power and strength.

Yang shook her head, a little annoyed.

Blue. A large woman resembling one Willow Schnee in a blue dress reaching to the floor. Her hair wrapped around over her bust as she seemed… tired? No, that wasn't it. It was a sorrowed face, one that knew anguish and empathy.

Weiss blinked in surprise before letting out a slight sigh. Her home life wasn't great for anyone there, especially her mother who retreated into a bottle of wine.

And finally, Pink. The visage of Summer Rose appeared for a moment. She still had her cape and silver like eyes, but she dressed in something more akin to the others.

Ruby blinked in surprise. "Right. Okay, another version," She had to remind herself. "She's not the Rose Quartz."

Pink Diamond chose to protect the life on Earth from the other Gems by masking herself as Rose Quartz and becoming a revolution leader.

"Or… she is?"

But Ruby was able to return the hope they felt they lost when they believed Pink Diamond was shattered. She brought peace to the Gems and even helped them learn more about simple things like please and thank you. In time, they were able to break down the militaristic society. Since then, the Crystal Gems lived in peace for so long on their little blue planet in the milky way galaxy. Their own little happily ever after.

But that was about to change again. As they climbed up a cliff overlooking the ocean (which made the Neptune in the viewing seats seize up in fear) something that resembled a giant, gem-corked potion bottle appeared through the clouds and descended to the ground.

Jaune recoiled in surprise, "What the heck it that thing?"

Nora shrugged, "We didn't see anything like that before. Just the giant hand ship."

"The what?"

Weiss felt her eye twitch, "A spaceship in the shape of a giant hand. That somehow still worked!" She wasn't happy about that because it made no sense to her.

A set of three mechanical legs took position in the ground of the sloping land. Something on top of the device stepped forward. They couldn't tell much about it, only that it held up a horn of some kind and let the tone flow over the area. The bottom of the giant bottle opened and a large drill head impaled the ground, the glowing pinkish-purple liquid starting to drain into the earth.

"That can't be good." Qrow sighed.

The figure jumped down from the top of the bottle, landing on the mechanical base holding the container. They could now see the details and appearance of the person. He wore a black shirt, dark pink pants, and gloves. His brighter pink shoes curled up like that of a jester's. A white cape flowed off his pointed shoulder armor. His blonde hair was disheveled and wild. His heart-shaped gem was placed in the center of his chest, upside down. He looked down upon the Crystal Gems with a mad grin.

Ruby shrunk a bit in her chair, "That's Jaune?"

Jaune felt there was something about that mask he couldn't place yet. He didn't have all the pieces, after all.

Jaune stood, the proportions of his body finally unveiled. His limbs were more noddle-like than actual limbs. To some, he looked like a magician straight out of the rubber-hose cartoons. "Well, well, well, well~" Jaune clapped his hands together and spread them apart to reveal a telescope. He brought the item to his eye, "What have we here?" The camera moved to show the group as he spoke, "You must be the one going by Yang."

Yang's eyes narrowed. She didn't like the way he was acting.

"That makes you the Garnet. What was it again? Lyn?"

Lyn clenched her fists and got ready for a fight.

Jaune continued, "Oh! And what's this? Why, if it isn't Weiss, Summer's personal Pearl."

Weiss raised an eyebrow hearing that. "Okay, so I worked for Ruby's mother in this reality?"

Blake chuckled a bit, "Looks like it."

They could hear frustration building in Jaune's voice. "I see she brought you along! Isn't that just… swell." He said that last bit through a clenched smile.

Yang crossed her arms and sat back, "So, he knew mom in this one as well?"

Ruby felt a pang of pain, though. Something about the way he said that was concerning to her.

Weiss was wide eyed, as though she'd seen a ghost. "It can't be…"

Jaune chuckled. "Oh, but it can be, and it is!" Jaune's body seemed to stretch and contort with each movement, very reminiscent of the cartoons his body seemed to suggest.

Ozpin felt a certain nostalgia. His past life, Oliver (yes, he saw the pattern), had been there for the rise of these animations. It was a way to distract the people from the Grimm threats and help them cope. In the end, it proved to be very effective and quite helpful. These old cartoons brought enough joy into their lives that the Grimm weren't as drawn to the larger settlements.

Jaune grinned and ran his hand through his wild hair, "I got a new style," he moved his hand to tap the thick glass of the bottle, "and a few new toys to put an end to your happily ever after! Once and for all!" His anger grew as he started to shout.

Ruby moved forward to try to dissolve the situation, "Woah, woah, woah. Let's all calm down. I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding. I don't know if you heard, but I was able to settle peace in…"

Jaune interrupted her, "Oh! I heard." Jaune's anger was boiling over, causing the telescope in his hands to bend into a curve. "I've had your little message to the universe… ON LOOP!" Jaune had turned the metal item into a ring, which he through at Ruby, knocking her down and back toward her friends.

Yang appreciated the pun. Not so much the hitting Ruby.

The Gems all drew their weapons, now knowing this was truly a threat that needed to be faced. Lyn drew a pair of short axes, Yang had her gauntlets, and Weiss drew her rapier. Music was starting to well in the background as well.

Jaune drew back with a small laugh. "I love that part~ Where the mighty Summer, Pink Diamond, spends the rest of her days on this nowhere planet!" His arms drew back before curling around into a pair of springs.

This caused a few in wince at the implication, but it passed quickly since he didn't seem to be affected by it.

Jaune jumped and turned his arms to the ground to jump off the platform, "with a bunch of nobodies!" He leapt into the air, and his song began.

The music seemed to swap to a jazzier tune, following his theme with the old cartoons.

"That's right I heard the story! Over and over again!"

Jaune bounced along the ground, his body bending to move toward Ruby without using his legs. Jaune stopped directly in front of Ruby, bouncing in place and swing his arms. Again, think old animation.

"Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends~!"

Tai was tapping his heel on the ground in anxious thought. "So, he knew Summer, he didn't know most of them, and only Weiss knew him. I feel like there's something else going on."

"He seems kind of crazy, if you ask me." Winter didn't see anything else it could be.

Jaune moved next to Lyn, who tried to attack him only to find him bending his body around the attacks.

"That's right! I heard the story, don't really like how it ends."

He bent around a confused Weiss before flicking her nose and bouncing away.

This got a chuckle out of her team.

Jaune swung around behind Yang, grabbed her hair and pulled it over her head to cover her eyes and disorient her.

"Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends."

The scene made Yang angry, but she also knew it was a fight. So long as her hair was undamaged, she was fine.

Jaune's arms stretched out and grabbed Weiss before jumping up to wrap his rubbery body around one of the base's legs. He held her up by her feet and toyed with her like an upside-down puppet. His neck stretched out to address his captive face to face as he did so.

"What did she say about me, what did she say?"

Coco winced a little, "The way he's moving is actually kind of creepy."

Jaune dropped Weiss and flipped over to Yang. He slinked underneath and between her legs, knocking onto her back as he slid to the side with his feet remaining beneath her and juggling her like a pair of trampolines.

"What did you do without me, what did you do?"

Jaune jumped off again and grabbed Lyn before wrapping her in a pair of white and gold ribbons. Jaune spun her around to disorient her and knock her back onto his wavy arms, lightly bouncing her about without letting her get her bearings.

"Did you play games without me, what did you play?"

Tai's eyes narrowed a little, "It sounds like he got left behind."

"It seems unreasonable so far." Ironwood crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. "Their society was said to be militaristic. If she was one of these leaders, I doubt she'd have the time to keep track of everything."

Jaune slinked off and snaked across the ground extremely quickly toward Ruby. When he reached her, he popped up off the ground, his limbs stretched out to seem larger and more imposing than his cartoonish body seemed normally.

"Did you think after all this time I wouldn't find out about you?!"

Jaune's limbed spread apart again between the four. His legs wrapped around two while he directly grabbed the other two. He twisted his body to pull the four together and slam their heads together. He then released them and used his coiled form to propel him over to the nearby lighthouse and perch atop the roof, looking down toward them on all fours.

"Oh! That's right I heard the story over and over again. Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends."

Lyn shook off the attack and got back up to a knee, "He's running circles around us."

Yang got up just a little slower, "I'm rusty. Give me a break."

Tai shook his head, "Even if they were at peace, they should always be prepared. At the very least training."

Everyone that used to training regimens all nodded in understanding.

Weiss picked herself off the ground, still in shock, "It really is him… But he can't be serious."

Ruby noticed what Weiss was saying and turned to her and back to Jaune, "You know him? Can you tell us who he is?"

Hearing that just seemed to anger Jaune even further. His eyes, at least the one they could see, turned to pinpricks and he shook in rage.

"Who am I? Who am I?! What are you even saying? I'm the loser of the game you didn't know you were playing!"

Ruby was just confused even more, "What does that even mean?"

"Let's play another game! This time I get to win!"

A small handle-like object appeared from within Jaune's gem. He held it and snapped a button to cause the top to extend upward into a full staff.

"Lives on the line! Winner takes all! Ready or not let's begin!"

The crystal at the end of the staff emitted glowing pink energy that crackled into the shape of a scythe blade on one side and the counter balance on the other.

Now Ruby got to gush again. "Oh my gosh! That's so cool! Can we make something like that?! Concentrated hard light dust, maybe? But how much would I need?" Ruby was lost to her own mind at this point, trying to figure out how such a weapon could be made real.

Jaune jumped off the lighthouse and into the middle of the group, twirling the blade around to force them all apart again.

"Oh! I heard the story over and over again! Gee, it's swell to finally beat her other friends!"

Mercury nodded, "Nice progression from the beginning."

Jaune kicked Ruby away and swung at the other three who were able to keep their distance. The way he twirled the scythe reminded many of them of the way Ruby would, though his weapon was significantly smaller than hers.

"That's right! I heard the story, don't really like how it ends."

Jaune jumped forward toward the drill, his boots hooking on the surface to allow him to bend around the drill and back toward the three. Weiss was just able to duck the attack as he continued to fly forward. His legs stretched all the way to the lighthouse and allowed him to wrap around the building three times to reach the top.

"Gee, its swell to finally beat her other…"

The tension in his legs began to snap his body back around his course.

Blake, whose weapon utilized a similar elastic property in her ribbon, could see where this was going, "Oh… that can't be good."

"Other… Other Friends!"

All three had tried to gather to challenge him, but his movements were too fast. One slash was all it took to bisect all three. The world slowed a bit to show their bodies splitting in half before bursting into smoke.

Jaune didn't know about the Gem's characteristics, so he panicked a bit. "Oh my gosh!"

Yang waved him back down, "It's fine. The Gem's bodies are the actual gemstones. The rest is like a light construct or something. As long as the gem is okay, they can come back."

Four gemstones fell in front of Ruby, who was still from shock for a moment. She snapped back to reality in time for Jaune to close the gap and run the blade down her body to seemingly no effect.

Jaune blinked in confusion, "Wait, why did nothing happen?"

Blake tapped her seat a bit, "Must be like the other Gem things. They were designed to work on their own race rather than humans. And this Ruby is half human, so it might not work very well."

Gira gave a single nod of his head in understanding, "Meaning the weapon is likely for either discipline or fighting dissidents. Since their bodies are actually the gems instead of what we see."

Kali thought it through a moment to reach the same conclusion as her husband. "Like forcing a timeout."

Yang winced at the thought of that, "Heck of a timeout."

Jaune was caught off guard, but started to swing the weapon wildly into Ruby, all to no effect. Ruby grabbed the weapon with both hands, leaving the two in a clash of will over who will control the weapon. Jaune's mad smile never faltered, however, "So, you don't go poof. That's interesting."

Ruby hoped he could be reasoned with, "Why are you doing this?! It doesn't make any sense! Gem space is at peace!"

Jaune laughed in her face, "I know all about it! You're this great hero to all of Gem kind! But I wonder, did you start out as a hero?!"

Ruby knew she had to poof him and get her friends back to somewhere safe. Given the situation, there was only one way to do that. She pushed the weapon forward, bashing Jaune's chest and wrestling the weapon out of his hands. She swung the scythe and cut Jaune from his waist to the opposite shoulder. But his face… His face was stuck in his knowing and malicious grin. His body poofed soon after as his pink heart-shaped gemstone fell to the ground.

Blake felt a chill run up her body. "Did… did he want that to happen?"

"Why would he want that to happen?" Ruby racked her brain to make any sense of that.

Ruby walked over, her breathing heavy, and kneeled next to the gem. "Better put you in a bubble so you can't cause any more trouble." She held out her hand and a pink bubble formed around Jaune's gem, only to pop soon after. "What?" She tried to force it again, but to the same effect. "What in the world?"

Weiss's face soured a bit, "It must disrupt powers. Causing them to lose their forms."

Blake nodded in agreement, "It would explain why she's okay, but her powers aren't working."

Ruby growled but knew she couldn't things like this. "Guess I'm doing this the old-fashioned way." She walked around, picking up each of the gems, including Jaune's, and made her way to her beachside home. She placed each gem on the table and sighed.

The door swung open to show a panting Taiyang. "Ruby! What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine dad."

Tai, despite being a normal human, had become accustomed to the life of the Gems. He did everything he could to be supportive and help in any way he could. He didn't have the powers or the crazy experience the ageless Gems did, but he did what he could.

Tai nodded with a smile, "Sometimes, that's all you can do as a dad."

Gira nodded as well in understanding, "Just being there for your children."

Tai walked over to the table and looked toward the heart-shaped gem. "Is that the one behind that big thing on the cliff?"

"Yeah. That's him." Ruby sulked by the table. Her friends were all poofed and her powers were acting wonky. She wasn't sure what to think at that moment.

Tai placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey, cheer up. Just you watch, they'll do that thing where they pop back to us in no time." He picked up Weiss's pearl as if to help his point.

This then led to Weiss's gem to start to glow.

Roman chuckled, "That was fast. Seemed like the kind of thing that would take longer."

The gem floated up, surrounded by an ethereal shell. Her voice carried though the gem with a glow effect, "Hello. Please input preferred customization preferences." She sounded almost robotic and lacking in the emotion she'd had previously.

Weiss felt her body go cold, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Tai was taken aback. "Okay… that's new."

"Please state preferred customization preferences."

"Uh… I don't know."

"Default customization selected. What may I call you?"

Tai looked to Ruby, who just shrugged. This had never happened before, so it was hard to make any sense of what was happening. Tai turned back to the gem, "Tai…?"

"Understood. Standby." The gem floated to the ground with the clam shell opening as her form returned to her body. Her attire and style all took on a more formal appearance with tinges of pink throughout. Ruby recognized it from an old memory Weiss held. It was her clothing when she was in service to her mother as Pink Diamond.

"Makes sense for the time…" Ironwood looked it over like a uniform. "Not good for combat by our measures, but I can see it for someone working a civilian job."

"But why does she have that particular attire?" Winter couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.

Ruby was too excited to have her friend back to care about her clothes, though. "Weiss! You're okay!" She ran over to her and hugged the Pearl, but the embrace went unreturned.

Weiss's head tilted slightly, "My apologies, but I am unfamiliar with that name."

Cue the chill and uncertainty.

Ruby's eyes shot open and she held Weiss at arm's length, "What are you…"

Weiss smiled as though nothing was wrong, "I am the Pearl formed in service to the one called Tai."

Tai had to have heard that wrong, "What? What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"I can explain it if you wish." Weiss stepped away from Ruby and bowed lightly toward Tai, "I am a Pearl, a Gem born for the purpose to serve."

"Wait, what?" Ruby's head tilted a bit in confusion, "What does that mean? No one's born to do anything. That's not how it works."

"For humans and faunas, you would be correct." Ozpin took a somber sip from his mug. However, they are neither. They're living gemstones. And I doubt that they go through the stages of infancy and childhood."

Glynda turned to the headmaster to ask, "You think they're born fully formed?"

"Given their biology…"

"Or geology," Yang snickered.

Ozpin sighed, but continued, "It's unlikely they go through something akin to our physical growth. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that each of these Gems is created with a specific purpose in mind. Perhaps they are even preprogramed."

"Then…" Qrow placed his flask away, the moment washing over him, "She lost her memories and defaulted to her original state?"

Tai shook his head, "I'm still lost. Weiss, what are you talking about?"

Weiss blinked before releasing he was talking to her, "Oh. Is that the name you wish to address me as? I will recognize myself as such now." Another gem, a red ruby, started to glow. Weiss smiled, "Oh! I see other Gems are also here."

The ruby formed into the shape of the one they call Nora. She snapped to attention and saluted, "Ruby warrior, cut 7-Nova-0-Ray-Alfa!" She was dressed in old combat attire that matched her gemstone.

Ironwood tapped his chair, thinking that one over. "Must be similar to the military alphabet. So, it's 7-N-0-R-A."

Nora's head tilted back a bit, "Oh! I get it now."

Weiss turned to Tai, gesturing toward Nora behind her, "The ruby is designed as a foot soldier and/or a bodyguard." She turned her head around to glance toward the returned Nora, "It's odd though, rubies often work in teams of three or more. It's so strange to see one on its own."

The sapphire started to glow as well. Ren formed soon after, dressed as though he was something similar to a prince or a high official. Like Nora, his clothing was the same color of his gemstone.

Weiss nodded in understanding, "I see. A sapphire would explain why the ruby is nearby. You see, sapphires are quite helpful thanks to their ability to see the future. No doubt the one the ruby is duty bound to protect."

Nora gasped, "He can see the future?!"

Ren blinked in surprise. "But… how?"

Nora swung her body around to face Ren and saluted, "That is correct! I vow to defend you with my very gem! I will do whatever is necessary to do so."

Ren nodded, rather cold in his demeanor. "I know you will. And that's why you won't last the day."

Yang winced in an exaggerated way, "Damn! That's cold. Ice Queen might have to give up her title."

Weiss felt her eye twitch.

The Amethyst gem started to float up before revealing Yang, who fell onto the couch nearby. Her eyes seemed blank, without any experience or even the programing of the others. Everything, including her attire, seemed less developed than the other Gems in the room.

Weiss recoiled a bit and leaned to examine Yang, "Peculiar. Amethysts are supposed to be much larger. Something clearly went wrong with this one."

Yang didn't seem offended. She just sat there, as if she could just barely understand what was happening.

"So, what's up with me then?" Yang sat forward, a little insulted for her counterpart.

The last gem on the table started to glow now.

This got the viewers on edge. The only Gem left on that table was Jaune, and he didn't exactly seem friendly.

The body formed as a bright pink silhouette, his heart-shaped gem slowly turning right side up again. Jaune's body solidified soon after. His rougher edges had smoothed out and his body seemed brighter. His shirt turned white and his pinks lightened up compared to his previous appearance. His mask had filled out over his entire face, showing a more jovial smile similar to that of laughter. Jaune brought his hand to his mask before removing it to show his smiling face. There was no sense of malus or hate, for once he had an earnest smile.

Weiss chuckled a bit, turning to Ruby, "And lucky you. A spinel. They're quite rare these days, and a perfect cut no less~ A special Gem designed as the perfect playmate and friend."

Jaune gave a thumbs up with a big grin.

"So, he got set back and became happy again?" Nora sat back down and tilted her head from side to side.

"He lost his memories as well…" Ren's eyes fell slightly, "It means that something caused him to become what we saw before. But what?"

Ruby, who hadn't figured out they'd all been reset, turned hostile, "You! What did you do to everyone?! Why aren't my powers working?!" She grabbed Jaune by the collar and tried to lift him up, but he was already taller than her.

Jaune just tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

Ruby growled and pulled the laser scythe from her pocket, "What is this thing?! What did it do?!"

Jaune just shrugged. "I don't know."

Ruby growled, pushing him away. His cartoony body made it so he didn't really notice, but she didn't care enough right now. "Dang it." She returned the item to her pocket. "Let's try asking Coco and the others. Maybe they know what happened… Come on, guys."

Coco raised an eyebrow from behind her glasses, "Oh? So I'm a Gem too, huh? Wonder what kind."

As Ruby started to leave, only Nora, Ren, and Jaune were following her. "Weiss? Yang?"

Weiss was following after Tai, much to his annoyance. She was trying to do everything for him and he was trying to tell her to stop, to no avail. Meanwhile, Yang was just sitting on the couch, not realizing what was happening.

Ruby sighed in defeat and realized it might be better to leave them somewhere safe at least. She continued off again, the shine in the door acting to transition her travel to a town under construction, complete with unfinished tower. Ruby was now standing in front of Coco as she examined Nora and Ren.

Coco was dressed in a full set of forge gear, which makes sense because she was the Crystal Gems' resident forge master.

Coco raised her eyebrow, "Well, that's different. I figured Ruby for the one that would work forges. Seems more her alley than mine."

"In our world, at least." Velvet nodded. "But this isn't ours."

"I know. But still."

Coco stood up again, showing she was easily the same height as the now separated Lyn. "They really don't remember us?"

Ruby shook her head. "Ever since they got poofed by this thing." Ruby handed Coco the collapsed scythe.

Coco, however, didn't take it, taking in a sharp breath. "Ooh…"

"You know what it is?"

"Nasty, that's what. It's a weapon designed to erase memories and force Gems to start from the beginning again. It was supposed to be an anti-rebellion weapon designed to turn dissident Gems back to their most basic programing, robbing them of all their memories of fighting back."

Cinder felt that would actually be rather handy, though she had to lament she'd never have that kind of power. Her underlings also knew she'd love to have that kind of power. However, unlike her, they didn't like the idea.

Emerald took the weapon from Ruby. She was dressed in attire of full green and black with a yellow visor over her eyes. "Coco is correct about everything but one. The item was never put into larger practice. This is a custom device that had to have been made thousands of years ago." No one questioned her logic as Emerald was a former engineer in the Gem's empire structure. She tended to know a lot when it came to Home World technology.

Neptune walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Mercury was dressed in a deep-sea blue, standard fare for a Lapis.

Mercury chuckled, "So, Emerald is an emerald?"

Emerald just rolled her eyes choosing to start ignoring him again.

Jaune tried to amuse Ruby to help get her mind off of what was stressing her, but she just pushed him away. "How can we fix them?"

Jaune was trying his hardest to be the best friend, as was his programming, and this led him to end up helping. "Why not just put them back together?"

Ruby turned to Jaune, a concerned look on her face, but one that had some level of hope. "What?"

"Well, if they're broken, why not put them back together? Like a puzzle. You know, put the little pieces together so they get the picture!"

Ruby let what he just said wash over before responding, "That… might actually work. If we get them to relive their lives until now, they might snap back to normal."

Emerald popped up between the two to get Ruby back down to reality, "Are you nuts?! We're thousands of years old! That'll take forever!"

Qrow couldn't help but laugh. "Kids look pretty good for being at least quadruple digits."

Ruby didn't let that get to her though, "Then we better start now." She glanced toward Nora and Ren, having Nora move in front of Ren to defend. Ruby turned back to the group that still remembered her, "I'm betting that we don't need to go over everything, but that we just need to go over the important bits. If we can get them to fuse again, maybe that'll jolt them back to normal."

"Easier said than done. Right now, they see each other in separate stations. If want them to relive it, it'll need to be under similar circumstances."

Emerald thought for a moment, "If I remember the story…" she walked over to a large container, holding various items she'd collected or built, "then they need be put under threat. If we can threaten them, then it should subconsciously return their instincts to fuse."

Ruby did not like that idea, "What?!"

The people in the audience didn't like the idea either.

Glynda huffed and sat back in her chair, "I can't imagine that actually working."

Port disagreed, however, "On the contrary, I can see the principle in question. I don't condone the action, but I can see the logic. It's about exploiting the instincts they possess, something that wouldn't be erased with memories.

Emerald tossed a knife away before finding a large industrial saw, "Here we go!" She pushes the saw into Ruby's hands.

Ruby remained indignant, though, "I'm not going to threaten them with this!"

Emerald looked over the item, "Good point. We need to turn it on." She pressed the button to start the item, causing it to start to spin. "That should do it! Plenty threatening."

Coco placed a hand on the shaking Ruby, the weapon being a little more powerful than she'd expected, "Ruby, we're not asking you to actually hurt them. It just needs to be convincing."

"Yeah!" Emerald gave Ruby an encouraging slap on the shoulder, causing her to drop the saw.

Ruby was mad now, "That's a terrible weapon grip! You shouldn't have such a weak grip with a mechanical weapon!"

The saw blade embedded into the ground before gliding across the ground and into the tower's wall. The blade soon began to ascend the wall and cut into the scaffolding.

Ruby felt every bone in her body, "It doesn't even have a dead man's switch?!"

Jaune turned to Ruby, a little concerned now, "A what?"

Ruby was fuming, but she still explained, "A button or a lever you have to hold to hold down in order to have something work. The idea being that if you lose your strength or let go, the machinery would stop to avoid accidents! Like what's happening right now!"

Nora got in front of Ren, but he tapped her shoulder, "I have no fear of this. The rubble will never strike me."

Nora turned him, "What do you mean?"

"The closest I will come to damage will be the iron rod that will bend and fly toward me, missing my head by a minor margin."

As he spoke, one of the iron bars snapped and a piece flew passed his head only to miss by a hair or two. He didn't flinch, however, knowing it would never cause him harm.

Nora gasped, "That was awesome! To be able to see the future and just stay still without flinching like that! Badass!"

Nora watched on, amazed, "Wow… That's amazing!"

The previously cold Ren cracked a smile, deciding to show off now. "The barrels on the scaffolding will fall and the Bismuth will be able to catch two of the three."

The large metal barrels fell as he said they would and showed Coco catching two before the third rolled away.

Most of the room was genuinely amazed that someone could ever truly see the future.

Ren looked up toward the rest of the tower. "But this is where we will part ways. A large crack is forming in the scaffolding and a massive anvil will fall on top of you, shattering your gem."

Cue the giant crack and the anvil leaning toward the edge.

Nora looked up toward the anvil and saw that it wasn't leaning toward falling on her, but rather on Ren. Her eyes went wide and she spun to run toward him, pushing him away. The anvil was directly over him, with no hope of survival.

Weiss had to take in a sharp breath, "So that's why he said she wouldn't last a day if she pledged to protect him."

Nora felt a certain pained emotion. On one hand, she was happy that she could get to protect him, but wasn't happy it would cost her everything.

Ren, as a sapphire, was supposed to be cold and focus on the good of the whole. This ruby was supposed to protect him and that's exactly what she did. Her purpose should he complete. But his hand reached out on instinct, pulling her away from her fate. He tried to save her no matter the means necessary. This caused the two to begin to glow before merging together into Lyn again.

"Oh hey! It worked! And we both live~!" Nora giggled happily.

Lyn, as the reset version, looked more like a Hodgepodge of the two Gems that formed her. Everything about her was mismatched and clashing, a visual representation of her inner confusion at this new emotion. What could it be called? Perhaps it's love. However, even now, she wasn't quite whole.

"Lyn!" Ruby shouted before she felt herself deflate a little. "Even after all that… It's obviously still not enough."

Ren nodded with arms crossed, "That's actually a rather interesting way to tell, and it makes sense. If I remember from last time, the fused Gems combine into a new form with a distinct personality. If I had to guess, when her emotions are finally understood, the two colors and forms will truly merge into the version we saw before."

Ruby took a breath before steeling her resolve. "Okay… Maybe we can get Yang's memories first. I know her pretty well so it might be easier. Can you guys look after Lyn for now?"

Coco sighed, but with a grin, "Don't worry about it. We got this. Good luck with Yang."

Ruby nodded and walked off, followed closely by Jaune. A montage followed soon after of Ruby and Yang going through the city and surrounding area to recover her memories. Favorite foods, old hangouts, familiar faces. Until eventually, they return to the place where she was born from the rockface, a land called the Kindergarten.

Port started to snicker before bursting out laughing. "Oh my goodness! Kindergarten?! They literally grow more of their species?"

Yang started to laugh as well. "Okay, that's funny."

Yang seemed to slowly grow with each as more pieces were added to her mind. Finally, with everything in place, her form started to glow before returning to her normal self. As she returned to the ground, she took a breath and placed a hand on her chest. "Good to be back!"

"Yang!" Ruby ran forward to hug her friend.

Yang grinned and her eyes were drawn off to the pink and white figure nearby, "What the… You!" She pulled Ruby to the side and drew her weapons.

Ruby moved between the two to stop her, "Hang on, Yang! He doesn't remember anything that happened. That weird weapon scrambled everyone's memories. He's harmless right now."

Jaune bounced up next to Ruby, "That's right! I'm Jaune! Ruby's best friend~"

Ozpin tapped his finger on the table, "There's more going on here. Though it is a little unnerving that his sense of friendship is preprogrammed."

Penny nodded, "I am thankful such programming does not exist in my coding."

Yang paused a moment, her weapons disappearing. "Best friend, huh? That was a quick turnaround. I remember it took Emerald a month to stop trying to kill us."

Mercury laughed a little.

Ruby sighed, "Right now, we need to focus on… the others…" Ruby trailed off, distracted by what she saw.

In the distance, the large device Jaune had brought sat on the hillside. The area around it seemed to have grown dark, a miasma of death rising from the land. Everything about the area was twisted and unnatural.

Cinder let out a breath, silently acknowledging she'd seen a place like that before. It reminded her of what many dubbed the Grimmlands. Though she didn't think there was an actual name to it.

The scene transitioned to Coco, Neptune, and Emerald working in the area near the device. Ruby ran up toward Emerald beside a console, "Emerald! What's going on?!"

Emerald turned to them, a small smile cracking, "Oh hey! You got Yang back. Neat. You're all just in time for the end of the world."

"What are you talking about?"

Emerald handed Neptune a small orb with what looked like a visor. Neptune flew off on wings of water and toward the device again.

Neptune tensed up. It was hard not to, given the entire thing took place by the ocean. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't afraid of water. He had a deep-seeded fear of the ocean. Ever since he was a young child and he nearly drowned. He never got over it.

Coco handed Emerald a chunk of the ground, which put into a scanner. Paper with formulas and stats rolled out the side, which Emerald tore after a moment. She groaned a bit when she saw the results. "Just as I thought… Bio-toxin, and it's the pure stuff on top of that. It's a powerful terraforming tool designed to kill all organic life on a planet."

Cue Ruby's panic, "All organic life?!"

"Yeah, you know. The plants, animals, insects… people." Emerald used a tablet to show them the diagram of the drill and what was happening. "At its current rate of injection, I deduce we have 41 hours before total planetary devastation and the death of all organic life."

Ruby glared toward the device, "Then we need to get that thing out of the ground!"

"We tried that! But any attempt to forcibly remove the device will result in an increase in the injection process. We need to figure how to shut it down without touching it."

Jaune sighed, "Which means they need me to figure it out."

Ruby nodded somberly. "Since he turned it on, he has to know how to turn it off. But to do it, they need to get his memories back."

Ozpin nodded as well, a bit in praise for the two being so observant, "However, they are unaware of Mr. Arc's life before this."

The Ruby on screen knew this as well, "Which means we need Jaune to remember it…"

Yang shrugged with a grin, "Hey, whatever you did for me, just do with him."

"That's different! I know you. I don't know the first thing about him!" She paused, looking toward him as his first appearance played back in her mind. "But Weiss did…"

"Oh yeah!" Nora perked up, "She did know him!"

Weiss tapped her heel, "So, they need to get my memories back first in order to get his."

Ruby grabbed Yang's shoulders and shook her as she spoke, "Weiss knew who he was! If we can get her back, we might be able to get him back!"

Yang grabbed her wrists to pull her hands off, "But won't he just try to kill you again?"

"It's either that, or everyone dies to the injector. It's the best option we've got."

Sun sat up in his chair with his legs crossed together, "That's a good point, actually. Two bad options with a small hope that they can work things out…"

The scene moved up to transition to Tai finishing preparations for a rock concert being held later that day. Or at least, he was trying to. Weiss was driving him up the wall with her constant help. He keeps trying to tell her that she doesn't need to, but nothing he say will stop her.

Ruby ran up to her father, with new best friend Jaune following nearby, shouting, "Dad! Where's Weiss?"

"Where do you think…" He pointed to the Gem currently rummaging through his things to prepare everything for him.

Tai felt his body go cold a bit. "I hate when people go through my stuff… Even when they think they're helping, something always ends up out of place."

Qrow chuckled, "I remember back on the team when Summer went through this whole spring-cleaning thing and tried to get everyone to clean up in pairs. You looked like you were going to bite her head off when she got near your trunk."

Tai huffed and sat back, "I just like to know where my things are. If someone else goes through my stuff, something usually ends up lost."

Tai sighed, and fell into a foldable chair, "I can't get her to stop trying to help me."

Ruby grabbed her father's shoulders, shaking him lightly, "Listen, we need to get Weiss's memories back now!"

"Oh thank goodness. So, how do we do that?" Tai's grin fell one he really took in his daughter's face, "Why the look? That's your 'we're all in serious danger' look. Why the look?!"

As Ruby recounted the danger at hand, the camera moved to show Weiss moving items to prepare, with Jaune walking over to help her soon after arriving. Weiss was acting as a servant to Tai while Jaune was trying to be a good friend to help Ruby's father.

"Jaune's such a nice guy in this." Nora clutched her chair a little tighter, "What turned him into what he was at the beginning?"

"Hmm…" Oobleck rubbed his chin in thought.

Port turned to his old friend, "What is it, Bart?"

"I think I have a hypothesis. As we have seen, he was born to be a friend of some kind. And his song earlier denoted a sense of being left behind. I believe he feels a sense of abandonment, thus leading to a subconscious desire to follow Ms. Rose and be quote 'the best friend' to avoid being left behind again."

Ruby started to pace in front of her sitting father, "And now we need to get Weiss's memories back. We just need a big display! A large rebellious moment that should jolt her back to normal, like how she rebelled against Home World with mom. Think! Where can get a big display of rebellion?"

Tai raised an eyebrow and held up a poster of the rock concert he'd been planning for the better part of a month.

"Oh. Right."

Tai chuckled a little, "I'd almost call that perfect timing."

"A little cliché, but I guess it works." Qrow takes another swig, pretty sure he'd seen it all by now.

The camera hung on the poster, transitioning to the concert that night. Tai was standing in the audience, taking in his hard work and grinning. Once, he was Taiyang Xiao Long, the Great Golden Dragon, a performer and a minor rock star around the area. Though he gave it all up when he had to choose between his career, with a manipulative manager that tried to use him to get famous by proxy, or Summer, and later to raise Ruby. He never regretted his choice. Now, he put his time and money, which had a serious influx thanks to recent events, into public works and local performers.

Port chuckled a bit, "Quite interesting! Truly a wonderful use of time and resources, and very Tai. Using his knowledge to prop up the next generation!"

Tai grinned and let out a slight chuckle, "Yeah, I guess if you look at it like that."

However, Weiss refused to leave him alone. She even went so far as to clap for him after performances.

Yang laughed, "Dang! That's overboard."

Weiss just sighed, happy she didn't know anyone that bad in real life.

This finally got Tai to snap, "Weiss! Please, stop. What would it take to get you to stop serving me?"

Weiss didn't skip a beat, "So long as you exist, I shall always be here to serve you." She bowed lightly as she finished her statement.

Ruby was nearby, hearing what Weiss had just said. "As long as you exist…" she whispered to herself. After a moment of realization, she took her father's arm and pulled him to the side, just far enough that Weiss didn't register she needed to follow. "Dad! I've got an idea!"

Tai turned to her after making sure Weiss was focusing elsewhere, "What's up?"

"Okay! Hear me out. Weiss went through her epiphanies after mom disappeared. That's the last piece of her puzzle. We need to make it seem like you disappeared."

"And how do you propose we do that? If you haven't noticed, we can't exactly go too far without her following me."

Ruby knew that, obviously, but she hadn't gotten far enough in her plans to figure out how to actually do that.

Yang laughed, "Sounds like Ruby, alright."

Ruby turned to her sister with a glare, "Hey! I'm not that bad."

Weiss nodded, "She can actually be very proactive in creating plans. Even if it involves stealing my binder…"

Ruby chuckled nervously.

As she stalled slightly to come up with an answer, she saw Lyn in the crowd. Ruby's eyes went wide and she grabbed her father's arm, pulling him close to whisper her plan in order to keep Weiss in the dark as best as possible.

Tai's eyes went wide when he heard the suggestion, "Are you nuts? Would that even work?"

"It's worth a shot right?"

Tai sighed. "Alright… Let's try it. What've we got to lose?"

"What do you think they're talking about?" Nora's head tilted.

Ruby shrugged. "I guess we're about to find out."

Ruby and Tai moved around the crowd, this time making sure Weiss saw them. As they approached the stage, Ruby tossed Tai a decorated red guitar with a metallic golden dragon painted from base and up the neck beneath the strings. This was the Dragon's Fire, Tai's custom model guitar. Tai brought his hands to place and let the guitar sing.

Everyone in the audience felt a shiver run up their spines. It was a beautiful sound that was on another level. Make no mistake, this wasn't a slow beautiful you'd think of with ballads or anything like that. This was pure, grade-A classic rock and roll. A few in the audience may even have a new favorite genre if they find it back home.

Qrow closed his eyes and let out a satisfied breath, "Damn. You don't hear this kind of stuff these days."

And, when you grow up the daughter of a rock star, you pick up a few things. Ruby had her own guitar, a black face with a red rose petal pattern. When her father paused, she let her own instrument sing in response. After a moment of pause, the two began to play in unison. It started as two similar yet distinct riffs before forming into a harmony between the two.

Tai sat back, slight concern painted on his face, "Okay, it sounds nice, but I don't see how this will help."

Nora perked up then looked back to the screen, "Hey, yeah! What would that do make him disappear? That's what they need right?"

Ruby tried to think everything through first, "Maybe a trap door?"

Jaune tapped his chair arm in thought. "But why would Lyn get her to think of that?"

Nora turned to her leader, "You think they can fuse? It would make him disappear."

Velvet leaned forward to join the conversation again, "Can they do that? I thought it was only between the two Gems."

Coco thought for a moment before replying, "But Ruby isn't just a Gem. She's also half human. Maybe that means she can fuse with other humans?"

The two began to move closer, soon back to back as their duet hit a high note. With one last cord, the stage beneath them erupted with smoke and concert pyrotechnics.

Weiss's body jerked up in shock. Since she saw Tai in the role of her master, and her programmed loyalty to him, she started freaking out.

Jaune didn't fair any better, but more from a scared friend side.

In the place of the two stood a man easily over 7 feet tall, a side effect of fusion being greater height. His blonde hair was cut shorter, but they could still see the red formed at the tips of his hair. He wore a black vest, dark jeans, and boots. His right arm was adorned with a sliver scaled dragon with a golden mane wrapping around with rose petals seeming to fly around it in the wind. Opening his eyes, they saw a gleaming blue-tinted silver.

Nora gasped, "Oh my gosh, it does work!"

"But what do we call him?" Coco asked.

Pyrrha tapped her cheek in thought. "That is a good question, actually."

However, there was one issue they had to think about. Yang looked up toward King, "Um… Considering the fusions we've seen…"

King cut her off with the answer, "No. Fusion is a technique that requires trust and the two to remain on the same page, but it isn't exclusively for couples, let's say."

Yang sighed in relief. "Okay good."

The guitar the two once held had morphed together with them into a bright red and gold guitar. The new figure turned back to the audience, who had become accustomed to Ruby and the Gem's powers and antics. He smirked raised a hand, pointing to the night sky. "The name's Xing Long! The great dragon of the stars!"

Nora chuckled, "I guess that's what we call him."

King nodded, "Quite. And before anyone asks, a fusion isn't just a combination of the two. Unlike in other realities with similar abilities, this fusion is inherently a separate personality."

Ren heard that and started to piece something together, "That must be why the fusion between myself and Nora wasn't enough to get us back to normal. It's because there isn't two of us, but three. And the third individual still needs to be reminded of their memories."

King nodded, "That's what I think, anyway."

Xing brought his hand down with a cord echoing around the area. Weiss felt her body go stiff from the sound. It was unlike anything the Gem race could create. With Tai gone, her panic was starting to fade as her old instincts took over. His song was fading into the background as the music flowed around her. Her open hand formed a fist in what felt like the first time, though it really wasn't. Her body shook as memories of rebellion played back in her mind. Though, throughout it all, she was always too dependent. As a Pearl, she was always dependent on others. Be it Pink Diamond, her later life as Summer Rose, or even her team. When Summer disappeared and Ruby took her place, she started her way to something she never had before, and the missing piece of her story; independence.

Weiss felt that sentiment to her core. She was always at the mercy of her father's whims. It was part of the reason she selected to leave Atlas and attend Beacon. Ever since, she felt like she was finally allowed to be herself instead of her father's puppet.

Xing's song continued as he started to glow. With a leap into the air, he started to float, using powers known to belong to Ruby. Weiss looked up, her form shifting back to normal. Soon, she felt Yang's hand on her shoulder and pushing her up to the stage. Weiss started to float as Xing's powers affected her, soon followed by Yang and the still new Lyn. The team flew, dancing through the air to Xing's song.

Nora was bouncing in her chair, "That's so cool!"

All but one. Jaune looked up, expecting to join them. After all, he was Ruby's friend too. Right? But no powers flowed over him. All he could do was watch on as he was left behind.

"Aw…" Nora's smile instantly faded.

Something inside Jaune stung. His hand raised to his heart-shaped gem with slightly widened eyes. He shook and his breathing was heavy and pained, though he didn't actually breath but let's ignore that for a moment. As their song came to an end, Xing separated back into Tai and Ruby. As he saw them all celebrating, it only made his feeling worse. Everything was ringing before he ducked out from the crowd and ran off.

Yang clutched onto her chair, "I… think I know what happened…"

Port sighed, "It's more than being left behind. It's a sense of abandonment. And to him, it seems to be happening all over again."

Ruby smiled, but soon started to fall forward, thankfully caught by Weiss. "Thanks…"

Weiss helped her stand, concern painted on her face, "Ruby, it would be best for you to rest now. That fusion seems to have taken a lot of energy out of you."

Ruby brushed it off, "I'm fine. We don't have time to rest. We need to get Jaune's memories back to shut off the drill. What do you remember about him?"

"Remember? Honestly, there isn't much to remember. I rarely met him, what with he and Summer's constant visits to the garden."

"Garden?"

The camera moved upward and transitioned back to the home base of the Crystal Gems. Ruby walked up the outside stairs to reach the transport room they saw from the beginning when she returned. Jaune was kneeling on the surface of the teleporter, hunched over in a torment no physical pain cold replicate. But even now, he was still the basic form, his memories remaining clouded. But the pain in his chest wouldn't go away.

Ruby walked up behind him, "Jaune…? Are you okay?"

Ozpin took a long sip from his coffee. He knew she was making the right choice by asking that, but also knew it could easily backfire on the emotionally unstable. Something that may well describe this version of Jaune at the moment.

Thankfully, Jaune was stable enough not to take offense to her question, "I don't know… When I saw you with everyone, I felt this pain in my chest. Some kind of hurt that I've felt before…"

"Then, do you remember? Things like the Garden?"

Jaune's eyes went wide. "The…" He clenched his teeth and slammed his fists into the warp pad, causing them both to get caught up into the teleportation.

Ruby wasn't prepared for this and had a moment of disorientation as they flew through space. "Where are we going?!"

Jaune was looking straight ahead, "To the place… I never left."

"So, we get the exact situation that caused this." Yang was a little scared to see it. Because if it was true, that would mean Summer was the one to abandon him.

They landed on an old warp pad, vines wrapping around the form with some broken plants showing it once covered the top as well. Ruby fell slightly but looked on in awe at what she was seeing. Well, perhaps awe wasn't quite right. It was a large overgrown area with vines, grass, and flowers taking over a crumbling Gem structure in space. It all looked extremely old, older than anything he'd ever seen on her own planet.

Jaune was clearly less than happy, but he still walked down from the high platform to the garden proper, or rather what was left of it. He walked down the steps to a small pyramid holding the warp.

Ruby followed him after a moment, "What… what is this place?"

Jaune looked around, a certain level of nostalgia forming on his face. "This… was our Garden. Where Pink Diamond and I would spend most of our days. Where we would play so many games and enjoy ourselves." His hand tightened into a fist. "At least… that's what I believed at the time."

Blake's fist tightened. "I feel this will be… heavy."

Yang nodded, "Agreed."

The world seemed to show them the Garden as it was, events playing out as Jaune spoke. It showed Summer, as Pink Diamond, looking around the Garden. A finger tapped her left shoulder and Jaune popped up on her right side with a giant grin. When she looked back toward him, he released a popper and made Summer jump before laughing.

Kali gushed at the scene, "Aw~ That's so cute."

Jaune walked passed the past event as he continued, "I always thought this was as good as it could ever be. But, Pink… Summer, wanted her own colony, like the other Diamonds. One day, she finally got her wish."

Summer was standing before a communication device showing Yellow Diamond (Raven) and Blue Diamond (Willow) speaking to her silently. Summer looked excited, but soon showed a level of irritation as Jaune started to celebrate in his own cartoony way.

Jaune turned back to the pyramid as the scenes shifted.

Summer was walking passed old pillars and toward the warp, only to have Jaune following her. He seemed excited, even though he wasn't entirely sure what it meant that she was given a colony. He assumed she'd still have the time for them to play now and then.

Summer suddenly stopped, aware of Jaune's presence behind her. She took an exasperated breath and turned back toward him. He was just smiling and waiting to hear what she wanted to say.

Music started to pay soon after. A song sung by Jaune as the events played out.

Summer knelt down, being considerably taller than Jaune. Even though they saw her lips moving to the song, it was still Jaune singing, recounting the events.

"Here in in the Garden. Let's play a game. I'll show you how it's down."

It was slow. Much slower than his last song.

Ruby blinked in surprise, but she soon felt the realization wash over her. "The game you didn't know you were playing."

Yang turned to her sister, "What?"

"From Jaune's first song. He said he was the loser of the game I didn't know I was playing."

"Here in the garden, stand perfectly still."

The past Jaune smiled, unknowing, "This'll be so much fun!"

"And then she smiled. That's what I'm after. A smile in her eyes, the sound of her laughter. Happy to listen. Happy to play…"

Summer stood again and turned, walking to the warp pad and disappearing into space.

"Happily watching her drift… away."

Tai took in a sharp breath, "Yikes…"

The sentiment flowed through most of the room. It was one thing to drift apart from friends, another thing to simply split apart from an argument, but it was something entirely twisted to leave someone behind the way this version of Summer had done to Jaune.

The past Jaune was still standing there, a smile on his face that said he would play this game that his best friend had suggested to the best of his ability. A smile butterfly flew up and onto his head for a moment, getting him to react with a wider grin.

"Happily waiting, all on my own, under the endless sky."

The sky above started to rotate, stars becoming blurring lines to represent the passage of time. A leave flew over the camera and showed Jaune still standing in that one spot, covered in vines and overgrown vegetation. The Garden around him wasn't any better off, resembling the shambled mess of the present.

"Counting the seconds, standing alone, as thousands of years go by."

The past Jaune was now more disheveled, but still resembled his happier self.

"Happily wondering, night after night, 'Is this how is works? Am I doing it right?' Happy to listen. Happy to stay. Happily watching her drift away."

Yang was feeling her temper boiling over. She hated the idea of people abandoning others. But she also felt a certain instinct trying to keep her in check. It was Summer, even if she wasn't the Summer they actually knew. Some people would think that reaction would be reserved for Raven because she was her mother. However! Her father told her something as a kid that stuck with her. Anyone can be a mother, but it takes someone special to be a mom. As a result, Yang started to see Raven less and less like someone worth knowing, even if she still wanted answers.

The Jaune singing, the one in the present, went through a small crisis on his face. It only flashed for half a second before he shook his head lightly and replaced it with a sense of contempt. He walked off, this time followed by Ruby, as he continued.

"You keep on turning pages… for people who don't care. People who don't care about you."

Jaune produced a small book from his sleeve, opening it to let the pages fall before tossing it in a nearby pond.

"And still it takes you ages! To see that no one's there. Everyone's gone on without you…"

The past Jaune was still standing in that same spot, covered in vines twisting around his feet. But something got his attention behind him. The communication device in the Garden was blinking with a pink light.

"Finally something, finally news, about how the story ends. She doesn't exist now, survived by her child, and all of her brand new friends."

Port's eyes clenched a bit tighter. "That's… quite the jump. Left alone for thousands of years…"

Ren was trying to focus on something else though, "I doubt it would distract you… but this song actually fills in the gaps from the first one. Why he was 'the loser of the game,' and now, why he didn't like the end of the story."

The past Jaune pulled himself from the vegetation to run to the communicator.

"Isn't that lovely? Isn't that cool? Isn't that cruel, and aren't I a fool?"

The past Jaune fell to his knees as the communication ended. His face said it all: anguish, pain, sorrow, a sense of betrayal. His eyes welled and tears fell.

The people in the audience, most of them anyway, all felt a tinge in their hearts for this. even in such a short moment, so much was conveyed in his face. A pain only capable by betrayal and anger but soaked in true sorrow. Thousands of years of trust, shattered.

"Happily watching… Happy to stay. Happily watching her drift… drift… away."

Jaune's body was glowing as his memories all returned, not that he had many to recover. He now stood as he was when he arrived on Earth.

Ruby tried to diffuse the moment with a slight smile, but one holding empathic sorrow, "I… see you got your memories back."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah… I did."

Nora frowned, "He doesn't sound happy about it…"

Yang clutched her chair a bit tighter, "Be honest, if that was your memory, would you?"

Ruby took a step closer, "I'm sorry that happened to you…"

"Too little too late." Jaune seethed. "I was left behind! I stood there for SIX THOUSAND YEARS!" Jaune turned back to Ruby with pure hate in his eyes. "I trusted her! For thousands of years, I never questioned her! I questioned myself! Do you know what that's like?! Can you even begin to imagine that?!"

Ruby's face turned to shock, but as he ranted her expression hardened again. "I wouldn't know. Because I never knew her. I had to grow up with just stories about her. I grew up hearing the stories about Summer Rose, the freedom fighter. Then, I learned she was also Pink Diamond, the naïve Tyrant. The more I learned, the less I liked. Truth be told, your situation doesn't surprise me anymore."

Tai frowned hearing that. "Well… that's certainly different."

Jaune swung around, his eyes still filled with anger. His arm was raised, about to swing at her, only to spin around with a roar and destroying the pedestal holding the communication device. Jaune let out a breath and fell to his knees again.

Ruby slowly stepped closer before reaching to place a hand on his shoulder. "Listen… I know it hurts and I can begin to imagine how badly… But she's gone. You don't have to let this hold you back. You can move passed this. I don't know how long it'll take, but you can love again."

Jaune hitched in surprise but turned to her. There was a warmth in her statement, someone who truly believed it could be better for him. That alone made him feel something so new to him; hope. Hope that it really can get better for him, that he can, as she said, love again.

Ozpin knew many people, himself included, who had gone through something similar. It was always painful, but once he'd learned this lesson it felt less so. He nodded knowing this lesson was all too important to learn for all involved.

Jaune stood slowly. He knew it wouldn't be easy, maybe not even happen any time soon, but that hope let him feel like he could. And that's all that mattered right now.

The screen changed again to show Ruby and Jaune returning to the injector. Jaune clasped his hands together and produced a horn from seemingly nowhere. With a loud tone, the injector pulled itself from the ground and sealed itself again.

The student group all celebrated quietly to themselves. It was good to have things work out now and then. This lasted until they realized it was still going.

Ruby grinned and nodded, "Thanks Jaune. Now, we just need to get Lyn's memories back and we can get everything back to normal." Ruby turned and started to walk back toward her friends.

Jaune's face sank a bit as he turned toward her. "Back to normal? What about me?" He wasn't exactly part of Ruby's normal and a part of him got worried hearing that.

Ruby turned back to him, "What? Well I mean, we can just move on, you know? Forget this never happened."

Ozpin took in a sharp breath, "That was a poor choice of words."

"Forget? How am I supposed to forget all of this?! Everything Pink Diamond did to me! I almost destroyed your planet!" Jaune grabbed Ruby by her shoulders and shook her enough to cause the collapsed scythe to fall out of her pocket. Jaune froze up seeing it and how she scrambled to pick it up again. "Why… why do you have that?"

Ironwood followed Ozpin's lead with a sigh, "And that made it worse."

Ruby could tell this was a bad look, "Wait! I just needed to keep it somewhere and I didn't have anywhere else to…"

Jaune cut her off with bitter laughter. "So that's it?! You get me to turn off the injector and then we forget this ever happened? You mean I forget this ever happened, didn't you?! You use me and toss me aside when you're done with me!"

"No! I…"

"SHUT UP!" Jaune punched Ruby back and jumped back atop the injector. "You think you can use me like that and get away with it?! Your stupid speech about being able to love again actually got to me. Gave me hope… But apparently it was all a lie!" Jaune blew into the horn again and the injector impaled the ground once more, this time tearing up the ground around them.

Ruby scrambled to try to stand again, only for Jaune to slam a foot into her gut and holding her to the ground. Ruby tried to force him up but enough weight was placed on her to keep her in place, "Jaune! Please, this is all a misunderstanding!" Unfortunately, she still had the scythe in hand.

"You know… In a twisted kind of way, I'm actually kind of flattered that you find my old self so much better. Happy, loyal, carefree… stupid. Well it looks like it backfired on you."

"Stop it, Jaune! That's not true!" Ruby, to prove her point, extended the weapon and broke it over her knee, hoping that would make him see she was being honest.

Ruby cried for the awesome weapon. But at the same time, she knew it was for the best.

Jaune was too lost to his anger, but her words did reach someone. Lyn was nearby, Ruby's words reaching something within. It was more than just love that she felt in her fusion, it was a deeper sensation. A deeper truth.

When Jaune swung his hands to produce a giant mallet, Lyn moved to defend Ruby. The hammer slammed down onto them creating a dust cloud. But Lyn stood with a hand extended into the hammer, her body a glowing silhouette. Soon, she reformed into the Lyn they had met at the beginning of this version. Lyn smirked and lightly tossed off the hammer before punching it away and into the air.

Nora jumped up in celebration, "YES! That was so cool! Go us!"

Ren nodded, but remained his usual stoic self.

Yang and Weiss jumped down to surround Jaune on all sides as the battle began in earnest. Without his weapon, and with them knowing how he moves, the battle moved from one-sided slaughter to an even brawl between the two sides.

Port watched and narrowed his eyes a little, "Quite impressive. Despite them now having the advantage, it seems fairly even."

"Likely a result of Mr. Arc's unorthodox fighting style." Oobleck pointed up to the screen.

Jaune swung his arm and threw a series of razor-edged playing cards, some of which popped like distracting balloons on impact. The Gems were able to see through the false attacks and knock away the true threats. Jaune leapt to strike at Lyn, only for Weiss and Yang to grab his legs as he flew and stretched. Lyn grabbed his arms as the two others ran off in the other direction. Jaune could see what they were up to, but it was too late as Lyn released him and made him fly like a rubber band into a large outcropping of stone.

"Excellent maneuver!" Port laughed, "Using an enemy's strengths against him!"

Jaune shook his head and growled. He leapt back up to the top of the injector and produced a giant horn before blowing into it. The injector beneath him and it forced the rest of its contents into the ground. The area, and town nearby, was torn apart as the Bio-Poison tore the land asunder like a glowing purple river of lava. The town they called home now more resembled an apocalypse.

The scene made everyone feel a chill run up their spines. The idea of such an event terrified them. After all, they didn't really have anywhere else to go. The Kingdoms were the only haven against the threat of the Grimm. If it ever toppled, they would have nowhere truly safe to live.

Ruby saw this and spun around to the others, "Guys! You need to get to town and save everyone! I'll handle Jaune!"

Yang wasn't so sure, "Are you crazy!"

Lyn cut her off with a hand on Yang's shoulder, nodding, "We got it. Let's go." Lyn ran off with a less certain Yang and Weiss following soon after.

"If I had to guess," Gira folded his arms and sat up in his chair, "the poison doesn't affect them given that they're presumably nonorganic."

Ruby looked back up to the injector and took a deep breath. "Okay… Come on powers…" Ruby focused and used her abilities to leap into the air. She reached about as far as the upper lip of the injector before starting to fall again. She was barely able to grab said lip before falling too far. Letting out a sigh, she climbed back up to the top of the pink top of the injector. The camera zoomed away to show the top 'cork' was a dark pink gem shaped to form a heart, similar to Jaune's gem. Reaching the top, she looked up toward the only other person atop the gem, "Jaune, please listen to me…"

Jaune was standing with his back to her, looking around at the devastation he had wrought. He shook his head, "I don't want to play anymore…" There was true sorrow and hopelessness in his words.

And that sense broke their hearts. Well, most of them anyway.

"Jaune! This isn't a game!"

"That's not the point…" Yang's head hung a little lower than normal, eyes obscured by her hair. "He was abandoned in the guise of a game. He thinks Ruby was going to do the same thing to him again."

Jaune took a breath and slowly turned to her. "You're right. It's not." He swung a punch into Ruby's jaw, knocking her to her back and causing her to bleed from her nose. He ran forward and kicked her in the side and toward the edge, only to catch her with an extended arm by her sleeve. "I'm tired of games! I'm not going to let you hurt me like she did!" His grip loosened just that little bit to cause Ruby to jerk downward a bit while remaining hanging over the edge.

Ruby was panicking. Her powers had been failing her, and if she fell from this height, she was sure she was going to die. She tried to grab at something but found nothing that could save her. She glanced out to the world around her, her mind racing. I don't get it. What am I missing? Everyone got their memories back by remembering something important and reliving their lives. So why aren't my powers back? Everyone is in danger, my powers aren't working right, and I'm forced to deal with some crazy thing my mom did before. So, what am I missing?! What changed?! Ruby's eyes shot open in shock. "Changed…"

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"That's it… That's what I'm missing!" Ruby grinned. "All this time, I forgot my greatest power of all! That I can change!"

Ozpin blinked in surprise before letting himself smile, "That's actually a rather pertinent lesson for life. That we aren't set in stone, that we grow and learn from our experiences. A lesson many still have trouble learning."

This gave the younger viewers something to think about. For some, though, it was a lesson they new very well despite their age.

Jaune tried to toss her off but Ruby stopped herself midair, with her powers returning. Ruby grinned and created her pink shield on one arm before creating another on the other arm. She morphed them together into a pink bubble around her shifting to have spikes, then to a crystalline form, then bursting outward and knocking Jaune back.

Blake nodded with a grin. "Definitely an improvement from the first time we saw a Gem version."

Ruby landed back on the injector and turned to Jaune. "Jaune, please, I don't want to hurt you. I didn't want to hurt you! This is just a bad misunderstanding! Jaune…" Ruby's tone fell to a more somber note, "there's still time to fix this. To change."

Jaune roared and let a fist fly toward Ruby, only for her to block it with a bubble-covered fist. Jaune let the attacks fly as he shouted, "Easy for you to say! When you change, you change for the better! When I change, I become… THIS!" Jaune brought his hands together and slammed them down on top of Ruby.

Ruby shifted her bubbles to a full shield and held back the force from Jaune's attack. "Jaune! Nothing says you need to stay like this if you don't like it! You can still change again!"

Blake thought to herself for a moment. It made her question something important, can anyone really change again? To change once is one thing, she'd seen it happen to Adam as he fell from freedom fighter defending Faunas to an extremist madman that sees Humanity as lesser. She wondered if it was possible for him to change back into what he used to be. She sighed and shook her head, knowing it might be too late for her old mentor.

Jaune roared and swung a punch under the shield and into Ruby's jaw, sending her into the sky. Ruby was forced to look up as Jaune jumped up over her with his fist reared back, "You can't solve everything with a stupid speech!" Jaune slammed his fist into Ruby and sent her falling like a meteor into the injector's top. The gem top sent cracks through the entire form with Ruby sitting in the center of a large crater in the crystal.

Ruby shook her head, her Gem physiology allowing her to get away with a lot more damage than her human half should. She looked up just in time to see Jaune falling after with a hammer reared back. She brought up her bubble shield in time to snap the hammer and keep Jaune at bay.

Jaune reared back a fist and slammed it into the shield again. He unleashed a flurry of attacks over a few seconds before he started to slow. "I won't be hurt anymore!" Another strike echoed through the bubble. "I don't want to be left behind!" Another strike. "I didn't want to…" Tears began to fall from Jaune's eyes as he slammed his fist into the bubble. He fell to his knees as he let out a bitter laugh, "I didn't want this… What am I doing? I'm supposed to be a friend, and here I am trying to kill you…"

Ruby lowered her shield slowly and stood up again. "Jaune…" She was about to reach out before the gem around them started to glow.

After a moment, the erupted in a large explosion, taking the injector and hillside with it.

Everyone jumped at the sudden explosion and watched in concern.

The camera showed Ruby falling to the ground in her bubble with Jaune lying behind her.

Those with good hearts let out a sigh of relief.

Once they hit the ground, the bubble popped and dropped the two to the ground. Ruby groaned and shook off the shock. "Well… guess we don't have to worry about that anymore."

Jaune silently stood with his back to her. He took a breath and let out a sigh before starting to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

Ruby's question caused him to stop. Jaune couldn't bring himself to face her. "Anywhere… I ruined your home, attacked your friends, destroyed your happily ever after."

Ruby shook her head, "There's no such thing as happily ever after. There will always be something we'll need to face…"

Glynda nodded and turned her eyes toward the students, "Remember this, students. We all imagine a happy ending, but things are never so simple. Even as we grow older, new threats will emerge with time. We must always be ready."

The students, to their credit, all understood and nodded.

Jaune still kept his gaze away from her. "But I…"

"Jaune, when I first met Emerald, she tried to kill us all with a cluster of Gem fragments in the planet's core, Coco tried to shatter my gem with a giant point weapon, and Neptune stole the oceans, nearly drowned me, and gave up my friends to Home World."

"Wow…" Blake chuckled a bit, "They are a very forgiving bunch."

Jaune saw them earlier and turned to her in surprise. They all seemed like good friends with Ruby so hearing that shocked him.

"What I'm saying is that you can turn things around. If you take the chance." Ruby held out a hand toward Jaune.

He was skeptical but also apprehensive. He didn't want to be hurt the same way he had, but something in Ruby's voice made him hopeful again. Soon, his hand reached hers and a new chapter began for them all.

Jaune let out a breath with a small smile. This ending felt very hopeful, and he was happy for such endings. Even some happy endings can feel bitter. He smiled, happy to see things turn around for his counterpart.