33

As Jaune got back into his bed, Ruby lay still and silent in her own, her eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling. She stayed quiet, not wanting to keep the others up, or disturb them again, but she knew she wasn't getting to sleep again any time soon.

If she'd had a nightmare like this a few of years ago, Ruby would have asked Yang if she could climb in bed with her. Her big sister would hold her tight, and the nightmares wouldn't come back. But she would never have had a nightmare like that a few of years ago. The things she'd seen, the things she'd done since then...

Bits and pieces of her nightmare ran through her mind, out of order. Her mother's grave. A horde of Grimm approaching down the tunnels under Mountain Glenn. An arrow sprouting from the middle of Pyrrha's chest while the 'invincible girl' knelt before Cinder Fall, about to die. Jaune's body in the forest, mangled and broken from the fall she failed to prevent. Her fault. Her friends fighting and falling, one by one, in that train tunnel under Mountain Glenn... HER FAULT. Her mother's grave... only there were more graves beside it. Pyrrha, Jaune, Yang, Blake... even one at the end for Dr. Oobleck. Her... fault. She knew she'd failed her friends. Gotten them killed. Gotten Pyrrha killed twice. She'd failed. Over and over she'd failed. Her nightmares were all the more terrible for being the truth. Events that had happened, or would have, even if she hadn't witnessed every moment.

She had to DO something. Her only advantage was her future knowledge, and it was going to waste as time passed and things changed. She needed her friends at her side. She needed every advantage she could get to keep any of them from dying, but she didn't know how to tell them! She wrestled with ideas in her head with what seemed like days, but was probably only a few hours, before she noticed it was starting to get light outside. She could see the light of dawn peeping through the window. She checked the time and sighed. It was almost time to get up for their morning jog. Her face firmed. No skipping training, but she'd talk with Yang some more later today, maybe they could brainstorm some ideas, especially now that Yang had had time to adjust to the situation.

Decision made, Ruby slipped out of bed to start getting ready for her day.

/-/

Glynda Goodwitch sat at her desk, sipping her morning coffee. Something was bothering her. She'd dismissed Miss Schnee's concerns about Ruby Rose cheating at the time for multiple reasons, first of which was that all the teachers were careful to foster team unity early on in the year. Such accusations, and other team conflicts often occurred, especially early in the first year, and it was normal to simply smooth things over at first and encourage the students towards teamwork rather than aggravate the situation. Her second reason was the fact that Ruby Rose being TOO competent was a problem she wished she had with ALL of her students, not just one. An especially skilled huntress in training was a blessing, not a curse.

Still... her thoughts traveled back to her own spar with Miss Rose, and she frowned. She'd hardly ever been so challenged. And by a fifteen year old. At the time she'd simply decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was relishing having such a skilled student, and her dreams of having another victory for Vale in the Vital Tournament, especially with both Ruby and Pyrrha on the same team, seemed to be nearly certain, unless something extremely unfortunate occurred. And yet, she couldn't quite get the matter out of her head.

She pulled up Ruby Rose's transcripts from Signal. Her scores in her combat class were quite good. Ruby was apparently the best in her year, although her Signal instructor had noted several deficiencies, particularly in close quarters fighting. Deficiencies that had not been on display during her own match with the girl. There was a note about her semblance as well, simply noting it as a speed semblance, although obviously Miss Rose had further developed it since her last assessment.

Glynda moved on to her academic records, noting that Ruby had decent, if not exceptional scores in most of her non-combat related classes. The only class she'd truly excelled in at Signal, aside from Combat class, was the forging and Weapon Smithing lessons. She frowned in thought, trying to remember what she'd overheard from some of her fellow teachers. Bart and Peter had been chatting about the girl at one point at lunch, hadn't they? Commenting on how well she was doing in their classes, and how surprising and impressive it was for such a young girl? Glynda nodded, remembering more clearly now that she had fixed on the memory in question. Yes, they both attributed it to her father, Tai Xaio-Long being an instructor at Signal, which had also been her own conclusion, but something seemed odd. She checked her records, then pulled up Ruby's sister Yang's transcripts, which, while similar to Ruby's own, seemed to show a student who was much more ready for entry to Beacon than Ruby's. Her grades were better, her scores in combat class were higher, and, of course, this was without comparing Yang's being two grades higher than Ruby.

Glynda pulled up the early notes and grades from all their classes at Beacon, and frowned. Ruby's scores now in every class were higher. Markedly higher, than her sister Yang. While Yang was hardly a poor student, especially in combat class, Ruby was doing better than her in everything. It might not mean anything. Ruby might simply be inspired and pushing herself, while Yang could be simply doing the minimum to get by, and yet, something seemed off with that idea.

Glynda groaned and shut her computer down. She was getting far too wrapped up in a meaningless mystery. Why Ruby Rose was such a competent student really wasn't that important, was it? She had much more pressing matters to attend to. Rising, she went to prep her lesson plan for the day.

/-/

Sitting down in the teacher's lounge for lunch, however, she spotted Bart and Peter once more sharing a table and chatting amiably, and some whim caused her to walk over to them.

"May I join you gentlemen?" Glynda asked coolly but politely. To most observers, her approach might seem cold, but to her colleagues, who were well used to her, it was obvious Glynda was anxious about something, and seeking their advice, an unusual, but hardly unknown occurrence.

"Of course, please sit down!" Bart said, slightly slower and more carefully than his usual blur of words.

"An honor and a pleasure as always!" Peter said with his usual cheer.

Glynda nodded and sat down opposite them, putting her lunch down and staring at it.

"How can we assist you today, Glynda?" Bart asked politely when the woman didn't immediately speak up.

"Just... a bit of a mystery." Glynda admitted. "Probably it's nothing. In fact I can't see how it could be anything at all, and yet..."

Peter raised a bushy eyebrow. "If it is nothing at all, then it will be no trouble at all for us to reassure you my dear. Please tell us what inner strife assails your thoughts!"

Glynda smirked slightly at the boisterous man's ebullient manner of speech. She was well used to it of course, but it was still, occasionally, amusing.

"It concerns Miss Rose." She began. "I know it's... perhaps a bit egotistical of me, but our sparring session in class the other day... I've never been pushed that hard by a student before. Certainly not by a 1st year."

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is the young Miss Rose as much of a prodigy in your class as she is in ours?" He nodded to Bart. "I was just commenting the other day to Bart here how insightful Miss Rose has been in my classes."

"Never answers a question wrong, for all she hardly seems to pay attention in class." Bart agreed. "And her answers are quite detailed. She is quite the apt student of history! I'd say she could probably replace me here at Beacon if she only showed a bit more enthusiasm."

Glynda raised an eyebrow, then nodded. This was not really news. She already knew Ruby's scores were extremely good. "Miss Rose apparently is at the top of her class in every class this year. All while being two years younger than any of our other students."

"A true prodigy!" Peter boomed happily. "Quite a joy to teach someone to promising!"

Glynda wrinkled her nose. "As for that, I wonder if I have anything to teach Miss Rose. Her combat style is quite developed, and too different from my own to give her much in the way of pointers, and aside from Miss Nikos, I can't imagine another student that would truly challenge her in the arena. I'll probably have her start fighting whole teams before the semester ends, just to give her a challenge."

"I'm afraid I fail to see the problem." Bart said with a slight frown. "We have an extremely gifted student. A gift, rather than a curse, correct?"

"Of course." Glynda confirmed. "But a mystery at the same time. I checked her transcripts from Signal. They were... acceptable for a student of her grade level... but hardly exceptional, and this was for classes two years behind our curriculum. Also, while her scores in combat class were indeed at the top of her year, there was no indication of such a prodigy that could... well... I know it's unbecoming of an instructor to be too proud... but there was no indication of anyone who could actually drive me into the yellow!"

Bart and Peter chuckled. "Ah... I see. A bit of a hit to the old ego, I say!" Peter commented, winking. "Hardly surprising, seeing how you have been all but undefeated for all these years. Do you good, to have someone who can push you!"

Glynda blinked at that. She hadn't considered that she herself could benefit and learn from Ruby Rose, but she had to pause to consider it. Perhaps she should, in fact, schedule another sparring session with Ruby. It would benefit Ruby's own skills, and it couldn't hurt to hone her own skills further on a truly worthy opponent. Still... it was a dangerous precedent to set. She really shouldn't show favoritism.

"That's actually a surprisingly interesting idea." She found herself admitting. "Although it wouldn't do for me to show favoritism..."

"Nonsense." Peter exclaimed. "Shining up a diamond in the rough like Miss Rose might produce a truly valuable huntress in time!"

"I need to give my attention to ALL my students." Glynda corrected firmly. "My time with them may save their lives in the future, and we can't afford to send less than perfectly trained hunters and huntresses out into the wilds. In fact, it is the less skilled students with whom I should be affording greater effort. As I said, I hardly think I can improve greatly on Miss Rose's technique at this point."

Having stated it so flatly, Glynda all but dismissed the idea of seeking out another sparring session with Ruby Rose, but some small part of her twinged in disappointment. Perhaps after Ruby graduated, it would be appropriate to maintain a relationship for that purpose, however? It was only a few years to wait, and at that point, using her own private time to spar with her would hardly be a breach of ethics.

Glynda was almost surprised at how nice the thought was, then simply smiled to herself. Perhaps she was simply missing properly competent people in her circle of friends, and if anything Ruby Rose seemed extremely mature and competent for her age. She very much reminded her of herself... although being fair, Ruby was obviously more dedicated and skilled than Glynda had been at that age. Still, young as she was, it would be better to wait...

Glynda shook her head. "I'm sure you're right. Still, I can't help but wonder why she's shown such improvement since her arrival here?"

"She might have simply been bored at Signal." Bart suggested. "Prodigies such as Miss Rose often find a lack of proper challenge as much of a difficulty as too much of one. Without proper stimulation, she may have simply not felt the need to push herself."

Peter Port nodded sagely, and Glynda was forced to agree that Bart's suggestion was a likely explanation. "Well, I apologize for monopolizing your lunch hour, gentlemen." Glynda said with a smile and nod. "Excuse me."

"Always a pleasure!" Peter boomed, obviously with complete sincerity.

"Not at all." Bart assured her. "Discussing Miss's Rose's potential is a pleasant subject to contemplate during our break, after all."

Smiling genuinely, if minimally, at her colleagues, Glynda nodded, stood, and left.

When she was out of earshot, Peter turned to his friend. "Into the yellow!" He exclaimed. "Can you credit it?"

"Astonishing." Bart agreed. "And at fifteen."

Peter had pulled out his scroll and was tapping away, entering his password for access to the school computer. "I've got to see this!"

Bart slid over slightly in order to be able to see Peter's scroll better, and waited till the portly man had pulled up the relevant video up. Naturally, combat classes were recorded, and there hadn't been much combat footage yet, so the file was easy enough to find. Eagerly, Peter started the video file, fast forwarding to the point where he noted Ruby Rose entering the Arena floor. "Ah, here we go!"

Silently, the two men watched the footage of Ruby's spar with Glynda, growing more and more impressed.

"My word!" Peter said as the fight ended. "What a monster!"

"Peter, language!" Bart chided. "Obviously Miss Rose is extremely skilled."

"Quite!" Peter said with glee. "Oh, that Vital Trophy is ours for SURE this year!" He tapped on his scroll, copying the video file, and, with a thought, forwarded it to a name in his contacts. "Tai will get a kick out of watching his daughter doing so well against Miss Goodwitch. He'll be over the moon with pride, I've no doubt." He shook his head. "Honestly, I'm shocked he hasn't been bragging about his little prodigy every time we see him. He must have been coaching her constantly!"

Bart shook his head, smiling. "He has something to be proud about, certainly. Quite the fighter, Miss Rose. She's obviously seen some real fighting as well, I think. This is hardly the results of sparring alone."

"Well, Patch is a bit isolated. No doubt they have to deal with Grimm from time to time." Peter reasoned.

"That's probably it." Bart agreed. "Still... such skill in one so young. Amazing."

Sitting behind his desk at Signal academy, about to head back to class, Tai glanced at the notification of a video file having been sent his way by Peter Port. "Huh... Peter's teaching at Beacon. Is this about the girls?" He had to get to class soon, but surely he could check to see what it was about.

Reading the short message Peter had sent him about the video. "Let's see... he wants me to watch Ruby's sparring match with Glynda..."

Tai broke off in horror. "Oh no. Don't tell me Ruby actually accepted that insane challenge that Glynda gives at the start of every semester." He slapped his forehead in exasperation. "I TOLD her not to piss Glynda off. This is going to be bad..."

Wincing, he started the video, already knowing what he'd see. His baby girl getting humiliated by the experienced combat professor of Beacon. To his utter astonishment, that wasn't what he saw at all.

"What? What?!" Tai nearly sprang from his desk in astonishment. "Where did Ruby learn to fight like THAT!" It didn't make any sense. He sparred with both of his girls pretty regularly. He'd always wanted to make sure they knew how to defend themselves, especially when they'd chosen to become huntresses, so he'd take some time every month to get in a spar or two to make sure they were progressing acceptably. He trusted the combat teacher here at Signal, sure. The man was no slouch, but who would blame him for being a bit extra protective of his girls. But this... this wasn't the Ruby he remembered. At all. "Glynda should have mopped the floor with her!"

Tai rewound the video and watched it a second time, his mind racing as his trained fighter's mind analyzed the details, gleaning information on both fighters as if he planned on fighting them himself. Glynda... wasn't sandbagging. At least not so much as he could tell. Not using dust to enhance her semblance right off might be considered her going easy, but even so, Ruby shouldn't have stood a chance. He noted Ruby's new tricks with her own semblance. An abrupt new understanding of her own semblance could have happened suddenly, and it could explain a lot of what he was seeing... but still, the way she was using it should have taken her months to perfect to that degree, and unless Ruby had been sandbagging in their own sparring sessions for months... she hadn't had the time to do that. Ruby had always shared everything with him. She loved to brag about learning a new move. He couldn't believe she'd have hidden so much from him. But she obviously had.

His heart sagged. His own daughter had been holding back on him for who knew how long. It didn't even make sense. He'd been easily beating her in their spars. He'd even been holding back a bit. He'd held back less and less over the years, but Ruby had never pushed him to his limits. Not really. She was just a kid, even if she was skilled for her age. But this... this was a fighter skilled for HIS age. He wondered if he could beat her if she fought like this, and wasn't sure he could. He wanted to feel proud, but he couldn't help feeling hurt. Why had his baby girl hidden her skill from him? Was he a bad teacher?

Morose, Tai walked sluggishly off to class. He had a job to do... but his heart really wasn't in it today.

/-/

After they got out of their last class for the day, Ruby pulled Yang aside. "Hey, big sis, care for a match in the training room?"

Pyrrha held up a hand as if about to protest, then dropped it, looking mildly frustrated.

Ruby noticed, and turned to her. "What is it, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha hesitated again before answering. "Well... I was hoping you would finally be ready to spar with me."

Ruby blinked, then blushed. "Of course... I'm sorry Pyrrha, I did say I'd spar with you, didn't I. I'm sorry for making you wait so long."

Pyrrha immediately looked both happy and a bit guilty. "I don't want to interrupt your time with your sister..."

Ruby glanced at Yang, who shrugged helplessly. "Hey, I'm kind of curious to see this myself."

Weiss nodded. "I have been anticipating this match for some time as well."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Of course you have." She turned to Pyrrha and nodded, then waved to her team and Yang's. "OK, you all can watch if you want."

Nora shot a fist into the air. "Oh yeah... this is going to be GOOD. The Invincible Girl verses the Crimson Reaper..."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "The Crimson Reaper?"

Nora shrugged. "I'm work-shopping it."

Ruby sighed. "Of course you are."

Reaching the training room, Ruby and Pyrrha wasted no time syncing their scrolls up to the arena screen, and they both moved to opposite ends of the arena floor, while the others all gathered together in the small section of seating available for observing matches in the training room.

Pyrrha was looking focused, but pleased, as she readied Miló and Akoúo̱, holding the shield out in front of her and Miló in it's short sword configuration to her side. Ruby spun Crescent Rose off her back and into it's scythe mode, twirling it once for style before she laid the haft of the massive weapon across her back, the scythe blade pointing forwards and upward.

Yang raised a hand. "OK, you start on three... finish when one of you is in the red. One... two... three!" She lowered her hand even as Ruby zipped into rose petals, hurtling at Pyrrha like a red comet. Pyrrha had stayed put, and had already started lowering her stance in anticipation of weathering or deflecting a heavy hit.

Ruby's petal burst swept directly at Pyrrha, the red haired girl's eyes starting to go wide as for a split second it looked like Ruby would collide into her directly, but at the last possible moment, she altered course just enough to zip past her. Some instinct caused Pyrrha to duck and raise her shield as Ruby came out of her semblance, already moving past Pyrrha, only the blade of her scythe still to go past... but of course, the huge blade wasn't aimed to miss. Pyrrha's sudden shift saved her, Crescent Rose slamming into Akoúo̱ and scraping off of the shield before being deflected upwards... but not before dragging Pyrrha off of her feet.

Pyrrha felt herself coming up off her feet in astonishment. Her shield arm stung from the impact, and she was actually airborne? Her body was already reacting, going with the momentum to let herself fall and roll back upright as quickly as she could to regain her center of balance. If Ruby could capitalize quickly enough...

Ruby was twisting to get a bead on Pyrrha even as she flew past the girl. She'd anticipated the heavy hit and apologized silently to Crescent Rose for the abuse, but her sniper scythe was designed with such stresses in mind. Still, she knew she'd at least dulled the blade with that strike.

Those thoughts were in the background, however, as she took aim, not even bothering to reconfigure her weapon before firing at Pyrrha's center of mass even as the 'invincible girl' was spinning over backwards in an attempt to roll to her feet.

Pyrrha felt a heavy impact as a sniper round hit her in the stomach. The pain nearly drove the wind from her lungs. She hadn't taken a hit like that in... since before her first tournament win, four... five years previous? She rolled to her feet but knew she couldn't afford to simply get her balance, throwing herself sideways in a hands free cartwheel as she also spun mid air so that she not only landed on her feet ten feet to her left, but had rotated entirely around to be facing Ruby, her shield at the ready.

"Damn!" Nora hissed in astonishment. The others paid Nora no mind, just as riveted as Nora by the battle.

A second shot passed through the air just missing Pyrrha mid-leap, and a third struck Akoúo̱ a glancing blow as she barely managed to get the shield in the way in time.

A fourth round missed her knee by perhaps as much as an inch as Pyrrha started to race towards Ruby, shield up, trying to close the distance. She leapt forward at the last moment, her whole body stretching out behind her shield, spinning mid air even as she did so. Her shield caught one round, and another missed, and then Ruby was dodging back and to the side, getting one more shot off as Pyrrha twirled over yet another shot and managed to close the distance just enough by extending Miló mid thrust from short sword to spear to just catch Ruby a glancing blow herself.

Ruby spun Crescent Rose, deflecting several more blows from Pyrrha as she sidestepped around Pyrrha to the left. Meanwhile, Pyrrha finally had solid footing and she started engaging Ruby fiercely with slash after slash, bringing both shield and sword into play on the attack.

Ruby managed to circle around enough to be able to leap clear, and blurred into rose petals again just as Pyrrha's answering lunge swept through the tail end of her petal burst.

"Ooh..." Yang winced, noting some damage to Ruby's aura from the slash. Ruby blurred across the room, then came back to physical form on the opposite side, digging Crescent Rose into the ground to stop her flight and give her a stable point to aim as she started shooting again.

Pyrrha was in her element now though, and she began her evasive charge once more. Ruby had time for one muttered curse as Pyrrha closed the distance across the arena far too quickly to get more than a couple rounds off, and she blurred into petals once again before Pyrrha could reach her. Ruby circled the arena once, coming out of her Petal burst while traveling sideways at the opposite side of the arena, Crescent Rose in it's carbine configuration as she opened fire at Pyrrha again, somehow managing to fire accurately at the champion even while flying sideways at what was probably at least sixty miles an hour.

Pyrrha deflected one shot and was grazed by a second striking her in the left knee, which nearly dropped her, but Ruby had to go back into her petal burst again to avoid slamming into one of the arena walls, giving Pyrrha a moment to recover. Pyrrha did so by, again, going with the momentum of the hit to her knee, diving and rolling forward and coming up again with Miló also in carbine mode. Pyrrha fired just as Ruby came out of another burst of her semblance, and both girls exchanged rounds. Pyrrha spun mid air, still firing even as Ruby flew sideways, firing without really dodging, but with a speed so high that striking her was never-the-less extremely difficult. There was a wild grin on Pyrrha's face, and she was practically laughing, although her concentration on the fight never wavered.

Pyrrha landed a hit, however, before Ruby could, and Ruby tumbled to the arena floor, then slid into the wall with the remains of her momentum.

Pyrrha continued firing, but somehow Ruby was already going into her semblance again before Pyrrha could land another hit, the rounds missing cleanly.

Yang had one hand gripped on Blake's shoulder and was pointing at the monitor. "She's in the yellow! Look!" Blake glanced up to discover it wasn't Ruby in the yellow... but Pyrrha. Ruby was just barely in the green still, although it was obviously a close match.

"Could Ruby actually win?" Blake asked, incredulous. She'd seen her fighting Professor Goodwitch, of course, but to challenge the aptly named "Invincible Girl" this much was incredible. She winced as Yang's grip on her shoulder made her own Aura flare. "Yang... you're gripping me kind of tight..."

Meanwhile, Ruby and Pyrrha had had several more exchanges of fire. Both girls had scored another hit, but Ruby's much heavier sniper rounds were taking their toll, and now Pyrrha's aura was dangerously near the red.

Pyrrha brought her shield up again and once again began to attempt to close the distance. Ruby blurred away with her semblance, but Pyrrha was relentless, and amazingly quick. Ruby could barely get a shot off before Pyrrha would get into range, and Ruby finally ran her clip dry.

Rather than changing her magazine, Ruby zipped back into her petal burst once more and started swirling around Pyrrha once again. Then she zipped straight towards Pyrrha, who started to ready herself as if preparing for another last moment swipe from Crescent Rose as Ruby went past. But instead, Ruby came out of her semblance several feet in front of Pyrrha, still coming straight for her, Ruby thrusting out one leg for what she liked to call her 'rocket powered side thrust kick.'

But somehow Pyrrha had anticipated this... or her reactions were just fast enough. Rather than take the blow on her shield, Pyrrha pivoted out of the way with an elegant grace and speed that Blake found breathtaking, even as she brought her short sword down to swipe at Ruby as she flew by. Ruby was spinning in place mid air when Pyrrha's thrown shield struck her in the side. Pyrrha caught her shield and was on Ruby before she could reorient, slashing at her with Miló again and again.

Ruby took two more hits before blurring into petals once more, but the buzzer was already sounding.

"And that's the match!" Nora yelled. "Ruby is in the red!"

Ruby came out of her petals, landing on her back and sliding to a halt as she looked up at the monitors. She was, in fact, in the red, if barely, while Pyrrha's aura was still in the yellow, although not by a lot.

Pyrrha's eyes were shining, and she walked over, the smile nearly splitting her face as she reached down to give Ruby a hand up off the floor. "Amazing!" She declared. "That was wonderful!"

Ruby took the hand and let Pyrrha draw her to her feet with a wry smile. "Thanks. I've been thinking about this match for awhile..."

"As have I." Pyrrha said with a warm smile. She wanted to KISS this amazing, brilliant, beautiful girl. "That was even better than I'd hoped. Oh... if only I had had more opponents like you during my tournament days. It feels like I've been waiting for an opponent of your caliber for years!"

Ruby blushed in embarrassment. "Oh... no. I just..."

Pyrrha laughed gaily. "No false modesty, Ruby." Her laughter sobered, but the joy was still so strong on her face that it shown. "You were magnificent. You'll be far stronger than I in time." Her eyes flashed and she shivered in anticipation. "And I for one, can't wait to see it."

The other six members of their two teams descended upon them then with congratulations and questions, although Blake held back, glancing at Yang, who was standing quietly for once, her face, for once, showing very little emotion.

"Heh..." Blake joked. "I swear it looks like Pyrrha wants to kiss your sister right now."

Yang blinked, then grinned weakly. "Wouldn't be surprised."

/-/

Her spar with Pyrrha had been amazing, but she'd sparred with Pyrrha Nikos before. She'd lost... she'd given Pyrrha a good match, at least. In fact, it was the closest she'd ever come to beating her.

It had been fun, but in a way, oddly unsatisfying. This Pyrrha wasn't quite as skilled as hers. She didn't have the Maiden powers, and she'd never really had the chance to spar seriously with Ruby. Ruby could remember all the times Pyrrha had casually defeated her in their previous timelines, especially the second one, where they'd trained together so often. Pyrrha had grown even as Ruby had, and had always been able to handle her with ease. This time though, it almost felt like cheating. It practically WAS cheating. She knew Pyrrha's every move, and Pyrrha had barely had a chance to get to know how Ruby fought. It wasn't fair. The Pyrrha she knew... the one she missed, would have won the fight handily, not barely scraped a victory. The match felt almost hollow to her.

The others filed out of the room, chatting and talking. Pyrrha looked pleased, at least, and had thanked her for the match. Yang hung back as everyone exited, explaining that she did want to spend some time with her little sister after all.

When the last of their teammates left, and the door was shut, Yang turned to Ruby. "I'm guessing we're not here for a spar?"

"Not after that." Ruby said wryly. "After that fight one good hit from you will shatter my Aura. But I was really hoping to talk. I need help trying to brainstorm."

"Still... you really were amazing, Ruby."

Ruby frowned. "I've fought Pyrrha dozens of times. And my Pyrrha was even tougher than this one. It almost feels like cheating." She sighed. It felt good to admit it out loud, but at the same time, it didn't change things. Her Pyrrha... and her Blake, they were in the other timeline. These were younger, inferior copies... Ruby shook her head dismissing that as unfair. They were the same as her Pyrrha and Blake. They had all the same potential, and she'd bring it out if she could... and she promised she would. They'd be even better than she remembered in time. She knew it.

Yang hesitated, looking at her sister with a frown and a bit of sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry sis. I can't imagine how hard all this must be for you."

"It's alright." Ruby said softly. "Coming back again means I get to try again to save everyone. I'm already one up on last time. Jaune is alive... and this time I'm not losing anyone else." She took a deep breath. "If the price is having to make new memories with my friends? Well, that's hardly the worst fate in the world." She turned to Yang, her shoulders straightening as she became serious and focused. "Anyway, we do need to talk."

Yang nodded, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Right. Time travel, the destruction of Beacon, everyone you care about dying horribly..."

Ruby snorted. "It's not funny..."

Yang grinned slightly. "No... but I'm going to make a joke about it anyway."

Ruby shook her head, but smiled. "You would." Ruby nodded, then went to sit in one of the observers benches near the wall. "OK, so we need to figure out how to tell our friends about time travel... about me coming back from the future... without them thinking I'm completely insane, or that we're playing a stupid prank on them or something."

"Or Blake thinking we're going to turn her over to a gang of terrorists, or to the cops or something?" Yang interjected.

"She does have a bad habit of trying to run away when she thinks things are going bad." Ruby admitted. "And she's hard to find. I'd prefer not to have to chase her down a third time."

Yang raised an eyebrow at this. "You had to chase Blake down twice?"

Ruby nodded. "Once in each timeline. Although that was just because people found out she was a faunus... and possibly because they found out she was an ex-terrorist. Actually, I think Weiss kind of thought Blake was still a terrorist... at least at first."

Yang winced. "OK... so we stay away from talking about the White Fang or faunus?"

"Well... that's easier said than done." Ruby admitted. "We need to stop the White Fang from blowing a hole in Vale and helping destroy Beacon. We'll need to deal with them sooner or later." She sighed. "Preferably sooner."

Yang nodded. "Right. So we need to broach faunus related stuff... carefully?"

Ruby shrugged. "Or we could tie Blake to a chair and talk to her till she calms down." She shook her head. "That probably won't work, she'll just make a clone and escape."

Yang blinked. "She can do that?"

Ruby nodded. "Oh yes. She can make Shadow-clones of herself, remember? When she combines her power with dust she can make elemental clones that can act as shields, or explode... or just freeze around your weapon when you hit them..."

Yang looked thoughtful. "Right. Pretty useful, although I guess we should really get her some more dust?"

Ruby nodded again. "We really should. We need to get stronger every way we can. Still, we don't need to gear up TOO much just yet. We'll need a good load-out for Mountain Glenn, but for most of the stuff we'll be facing in the near future we should be OK."

"OK... good to know." Yang frowned, then scuffed her foot against the floor. "So... what do you need from me?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know. I've wracked my brains but I'm coming up blank. Maybe throw some ideas at me? I need a fresh perspective."

Yang hesitated. "I'm not the one who's done all this before. I'll probably just have lame ideas you've already tried."

Ruby giggled. "Maybe... but it can't hurt, can it? Besides you could think of something that would never occur to me."

Yang shrugged. "OK, I'll give it a shot." She looked thoughtful. "OK, seems simple, but why not try what you did for me? Like... leave them a sealed letter with a bunch of things on it that will happen in the future, right before all of those things actually happen."

Ruby nodded. "It's not bad, although we'd have to be sure they don't open the letter early, or they could interfere with events and keep things from happening the way I predict."

Yang looked thoughtful. "I'm sure we could figure out how to work around that."

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Well, I have already thought about that, but let's go over what I can remember about the near future." She pulled a small notebook out of one of her ammo pouches and flipped through it."

"Why don't you just take notes on your scroll?" Yang asked.

"Scrolls can be hacked." Ruby answered. "I mean, Penny is an android... and someone hacked all the Atlas Robots at the same time. Some scroll you can buy at any store can't be all that secure."

"Who is an android?" Yang nearly shouted. "You know an android?"

"Well, I don't know her yet. Not in this timeline. She's coming... um... in a couple months, right as the preparations for the Vital Festival are starting." Ruby explained distractedly. "Same day as Sun, actually."

"Sun?" Yang asked, then remembered. "Oh right, your rival for Blake's affections."

"He's not my rival." Ruby said with a slight chuckle. "He never had a chance."

"Oooh... burn." Yang said appreciatively. "Good one."

"Anyway, we could predict meeting Sun and Penny... they're pretty hard to miss. But there's something else before that." Ruby nodded. "Right, we're going to go on a field trip to Forever fall in about three weeks from now. Professor Peach will ask Miss Goodwitch to have the class collect some sap for her. I don't remember what it's for... although it's pretty tasty, but since it's for Professor Peach, I'm guessing it has... medicinal properties or something?" She scratched her head. "Funny I never asked what it was actually for. It's probably something we learn in the second or third year?"

Yang blinked. "Well, I guess we could look it up if it's important?"

Ruby shook her head. "It's probably not important, but what is important is that I'm pretty sure Professor Peach hasn't asked Miss Goodwitch yet... and Miss Goodwitch doesn't have it on the schedule yet. So we shouldn't be able to know about it. So... we could use that."

Yang nodded. "OK... that's... well it's not as good as you predicting a fricking robbery... or the exact spot where Junior was going to land..." She chuckled. "Although in hindsight, that was awesome."

"I know, right? I really enjoyed that one." Ruby agreed.

Yang nodded. "OK, so we need to kind of move on that one... as soon as Miss Goodwitch changes the schedule to show we're going your prophecy is kind of lame."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, better use a letter for that one. I think we want to hit them with as many as we can in a row... makes more of an impact, I think?"

Yang frowned. "Well, I know you had me going crazy trying to figure out how you were doing it. Actually being from the future was really not on my bingo card."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You were impossible. I mean, I thought I'd have you by the end of the first day, but it took me breaking down and crying because I didn't want Jaune to die to do it?"

Yang winced. "Well... it IS a really tough pill to swallow."

Ruby sighed. "Tell me about it. It was SO much easier after my first jump back."

Yang frowned. "What exactly made it so easy?"

Ruby thought about it. "Well, I think part of it was that I'd been making small mistakes all year. I think you and Pyrrha and Blake had been talking about how weird I'd been acting, and how I seemed to know too much, and be too good at stuff?"

Yang blinked. "Well, check there. Everyone is already saying that. I mean... everyone. Blake was seriously freaked about you knowing the name of her weapon. And nearly beating Professor Goodwitch? And being top of your class in every class? When you're supposed to be fifteen?" Yang shook her head. "Sure, everyone is thinking it's because Dad and Uncle Qrow coached you... except I'm not a super student like you. So why did they only help you with knowing everyone's weapon and fighting style? I wonder if they just think I'm a bit slow compared to you, or if you're just some sort of super genius prodigy."

"Mostly the prodigy thing..." Ruby said with a wince. "I've overheard people talking."

"Well, if you want people to be suspicious, check and double check." Yang confirmed wryly.

"I was actually kind of going for that, since I knew it worked last time." Ruby admitted. "But I'm still worried about Blake running. Suspicious is probably not a great place with her."

"Right, cat-girl is a flight risk." Yang said, shaking her head. "Got it." She sighed and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Sorry... I know you like her. Heck, I like her. She's snarky and chill all at the same time. Not to mention bad ass and kind of mysterious."

"You always do have a thing for her." Ruby said softly.

"Didn't you end up with her though?" Yang asked. "I dated Pyrrha, right?"

Ruby nodded quickly. "Yes. And you two were amazing together, really! But you kind of liked Blake more at first."

Yang shrugged. "Hey, you love her. I mean... LOVE her. It's obvious. I'm NOT stepping on my little sister's toes like that. I'm going to help you hook back up with our resident cat-ninja or die trying."

"Well don't do that." Ruby said with a shaky laugh. "How about you live trying. Dying is so second Yang's thing. Don't steal it."

"Ouch!" Yang said with a wince. "I'm not sure if that was a burn for me, future me, or past me, but wow, that one stung."

"Well, you dying was worse." Ruby leaned against her. "So don't do that again, OK?"

"Sure." Yang said with a small smile, putting an arm around her younger sister's shoulders. "I promise. I'm not going to die on you."

"You can't promise that." Ruby said with a sigh.

"Sure I can." Yang said confidently. "If I die, you can't yell at me for breaking my promise!"

Ruby groaned. "Stop with the jokes. Seriously."

Yang laughed. "Never."

Ruby chuckled and they both went quiet for awhile. "OK... back to how we save the day and keep everyone from dying..."

Yang grinned. "Right. What's the next thing you can think of that makes a good prophecy?"

"Well... Dust to Dawn gets broken into. Day before we meet Sun and Penny, actually. It's what caused the fight between Weiss and Blake in the first timeline that made Blake blurt out that she was a member of the White Fang..."

"Because Faunus robbed the place?" Yang asked.

"The cops thought so." Ruby agreed. "Probably was them. Roman Torchwick starts using the White Fang for minions after I kicked the ass of his original crew. I think you said they were Junior's men?"

Yang blinked. "Oh. So he upgrades to terrorists? Why would the White Fang work for Torchwick? That guy isn't a faunus, is he?"

"Nope." Ruby said with a frown. "I'm not sure, actually. I think Cinder set it up somehow. She was behind everything as far as I could tell..." she trailed off. "Although she couldn't be the big boss... down in Mountain Glenn there were like... a couple more super strong bad guys. Like... right up on Cinder's level. Older guys. One was a scorpion faunus... he was actually poisonous. He got Pyrrha, and the other was like... huge and he would stab himself with dust crystals and get powers..."

"I think we're getting off track." Yang said quellingly. "Although I'm going to want to hear all about it later. What else is going to happen soon?"

"Like I said." Ruby explained. "Dust to Dawn gets broken into. Again. Sun and Penny show up. Penny is an android... that'll be a pretty good one if we can use it, although I honestly am not really all that comfortable with outing Penny just to prove I'm a time traveler. I mean, she's a sweetie."

"The android is a sweetie?" Yang repeated, sounding astonished.

"She's built to look like she's our age... because she's supposed to compete in the Vital Festival to show her off or something." Ruby explained. "But I think she's probably... I don't know, less than a year old? And she's still learning. Like a little kid, all innocent and sweet?"

Yang hesitated. "So... she's nice, this android?"

"Super nice." Ruby confirmed. "You'll like her. She has an aura you know. Like... her own soul."

"How does that work?" Yang asked in confusion. "Machines don't have aura."

"Penny does." Ruby said with a shrug. "I guess somebody in Atlas developed an Aura transfer machine? Anyway, I think having an Aura made Penny into... well into a real girl, kind of. She's got emotions and... she's a person. At least that's what I think."

"Well, maybe we can still use that." Yang said carefully. "I mean, if we're careful to make sure everyone is chill about it and doesn't spread it around or anything."

"Maybe. I mean, everyone WAS pretty chill about it, and nobody blabbed as far as I know." Ruby admitted. "So that could work. Of course, the fact that I can tell everyone exactly what ship Sun stowed away on... when and how he leaves it, and I think I can remember what people said when he first jumped off the ship... I'll try and get it down as close as possible... it was kind of memorable."

Yang nodded. "Oh, that sounds good. I don't know how anyone would explain how you knew exactly when and where some random student would jump ship..." She looked curious. "He IS a student, right?"

"From Haven in Mystral." Ruby confirmed. "He stowed away so he could get here early for the Vital Festival, which is kind of dumb, but he's an alright guy. He helped us fight the White Fang a couple times. He was there when we crashed out of Mountain Glenn the first time too."

"OK, OK. And you said he's distinctive?" Yang asked.

Ruby nodded quickly. "Oh yeah. Blond. Monkey faunus, has a prehensile blond tail. Pair of gun-chucks he calls Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. He's got some kind of... energy clones he can summon. They can fight a little and throw him around. And he acts like he doesn't know how to use a shirt properly."

"That's pretty unique." Yang agreed. "OK, so that sounds like the day to do the big reveal."

"Hmm?" Ruby blinked. "What day?"

"The day Penny and Sun show up. I mean, you can predict the robbery, the android, and the stowaway one after another. Hard to disbelieve that... and it all happens pretty close together, right?"

"All within two days. Well... three if you count Torchwick trying to rob a shipment at the docks. I know right where and when Torchwick will hit, too. As long as the timeline doesn't change too much."

"Does anything really bad happen between now and then?" Yang asked curiously.

"Noo..." Ruby said slowly. "Not that I know of. Although things start getting bad pretty quickly after that. Tuckson is killed... and we meet Cinder and her team for the first time... although that part isn't actually bad, so much... although I swear the first time I saw Cinder in the second timeline I almost had a heart-attack!"

Yang nodded. "I bet. She's the one who killed Pyrrha your first time through?"

"Right." Ruby agreed. "She's in charge of Torchwick and most of the other bad guys. At least she was until we stopped her in the second timeline. Then those other really tough guys showed up, which tells me that there is probably a bigger bad out there somewhere."

Yang groaned. "Great. And you don't know who that is?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not yet. Maybe I should talk to Uncle Qrow and ask if he knows about any evil organizations that would have a bunch of henchpeople that are like... pro huntsman level. Better than that. Like, solo Pyrrha and you at the same time good."

Yang winced. "Ouch. And we have to fight a bunch of these guys?"

"Three... I think. Maybe five?" Ruby said. "I mean, Emerald and Mercury were pretty decent fighters too. Not on Cinder's level, or that Scorpion faunus, but better than most of us. Well, most of us now. I'll have the team up to their level by the end of the semester. Pyrrha can already probably handle one of them alone." She frowned. "And there was also Blake's ex... Adam. He's also kind of the the leader of the White Fang around here I guess? He's super dangerous. Blake and I took him together though. We beat him, but he was NOT easy. And I'm talking about... this me. That was like... a week ago for me now? And I was way more buff by then. And I had a bunch of extra weapons. He is very bad news."

"Yikes. Super buff you couldn't handle him solo?" Yang said with a grimace. "That's not good."

"I think I'll be able to handle him next time." Ruby promised. "I've seen him fight now, and I've beaten him. I know how to beat him again."

Yang grinned. "That does not suck. I mean... that's right. You know how all our enemies fight, right? We can plan for each of them!"

Ruby nodded. "Unfortunately they'll know us too. I mean... Cinder is a transfer student here for a bit. So is her whole team. They'll see us plenty in combat class."

"Can't we do anything about that?" Yang asked. "Like, kick their asses as soon as we see them?"

Ruby shook her head. "And get arrested for assault? What do we say when the cops ask us why we're trying to murder three random students? Oh, they're going to do terrorist stuff in the future?"

Yang sighed. "Right." She looked curious. "So, how did you get them the last time?"

"I almost caught Cinder in the act doing... something in the CCT the first time. The second time I'd figured out who the mysterious masked woman was, and we all went into the CCT and kicked her ass. She was doing something to the tower... and I'd waited till she'd dropped a couple guards before I went in."

"Did they die?" Yang asked, sounding worried.

"I..." Ruby hesitated. "I'm not sure. I mean... General Ironwood's men were all over the place." She tried to think. "A bunch of them were down in the lobby... what did the General say?" She thought hard. "I think one... maybe two died."

Yang frowned. "So... waiting to stop this Cinder will get at least a couple guys killed?"

Ruby winced. "I didn't know that at the time. I just... I knew that the CCT would be attacked. I knew when. But we had to catch her in the act. Beacon fell, Yang. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people die. Vale was being overrun with Grimm..."

Yang nodded slowly. "But we know some guys die at the CCT. So... we do better this time?"

Ruby chewed on her lip. "I think it's still the best way to stop Cinder... but we can figure something out to save Ironwood's men as well. I mean... all we have to do is catch her in a mask trying to break into the CCT... we don't have to let her get to the top floor or anything. She'll start fighting for sure. We could probably just have her use the Maiden powers in front of Ozpin. I think that would be enough."

"OK then. That's one plan. So how do we tell everybody? Go for the old sealed envelope trick?" Yang asked.

"It's good... and the timing is good... but I'm still worried about Blake." Ruby admitted.

"OK... was there any reason in particular that you think we all believed you the last time?" Yang asked.

"Well, like I said earlier... we were all dating at that point. There was a lot of trust built up." Ruby said with a shrug. "I mean, we were really close when the truth came out."

Yang nodded slowly, a grin starting to appear on her face as an idea came to her. "Right then... I'm going to call this plan... how to catch two cats with one bird!"

Ruby blinked. "What?"

"You know, like... how to kill two birds with one stone?" Yang made an expectant face. "Eh? Eh?"

Ruby just groaned. "Wow... that one was BAD."

Yang sighed. "Fine, they can't all be winners." Then she brightened up. "Anyway, we can solve two problems with one solution. It's actually surprisingly simple!"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked curiously.

"We've just got to get you and Blake back together, duh." Yang said. "If she's your girlfriend again, she'll stick around to listen to your whole story. Just like last time, right? You get to get back together with Blake, AND manage to convince her you're a time traveler in one go!"

Ruby blinked. "Do you think that would work?"

"It already did, didn't it?" Yang asked. "You've just got to be a little faster on the whole... making Blake fall for you thing."

"That doesn't sound so easy." Ruby said with a frown.

"You know what she likes, right?" Yang asked. "Her favorite foods, what books she likes... that sort of thing?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "Sure... I know just how to give her ear scritches too..."

Yang's mouth fell open. "You scratch her behind her kitty ears? Does she purr? Please tell me she purrs!"

Ruby blushed. "Yang... that's personal. And a little racist."

Yang winced. "Ah. Sorry. I have no idea what's appropriate when you're dating a faunus."

"Well, Blake's pretty chill with the whole... not knowing how to deal with her being a faunus thing." Ruby admitted. "Just... learn from your mistakes when she corrects you, and it'll be fine."

Yang nodded. "Right... she is one cool cat, huh?" She winked. "Eh?"

Ruby sighed. "Yang... please... no." She giggled. "And she does purr. Don't point it out though when she does... she gets super embarrassed."

"OH MY GOD..." Yang's eyes were practically stars. "That must be the cutest thing EVER."

"Yeah..." Ruby's face went soft, remembering. "She really loves to be touched. Backrubs, and foot massages. I think that's how I won her over in the end, you know."

Yang nodded sagely. "Smooth moves, sis. You've got this."

Ruby hesitated. "Still... last time... it was Blake who asked ME out first. I'm not sure how well it'd go if I made the first move."

Yang frowned thoughtfully. "You're not on the same team anymore though. It'll be harder for her to get to know you unless you make a move." She shrugged. "That's what dating is for though... to let her get to know you, right?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "Assuming she says yes in the first place. I mean... her last significant other before this was a guy."

Yang blinked. "Oh right."

Ruby sighed. "I mean... he was also the leader of the White Fang chapter in Vale... and he's super dangerous. And he probably wants to kill Blake for leaving him..."

Yang winced. "OK, so she's bi?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "Yeah... but does she know it yet? I mean... it wasn't until you started asking me some... er... pretty pointed questions that I figured out I liked girls. And I think you did something similar with Blake and Pyrrha. Sounded them out on their preferences I mean." She shrugged. "You were... really helpful, actually."

Yang grinned. "Awesome. So I got all three of you to realize that you liked girls?"

Ruby thought about that. "Well... Pyrrha is... I think it's called Demi? That means she likes people that... er... she's only really attracted to people that she already likes a lot. Blake is bi... I mean, if you check out what she likes to read it's a big clue I think... and... er... you're kind of bi too."

Yang blinked, then nodded. "Well, I guess so. I mean, I was dating Pyrrha in your last time line, right?"

Ruby nodded. "We all dated at least once. You liked Blake a lot too."

Yang nodded slowly, blushing. "Er... yeah. I can see why. I really do... I like her a lot."

Ruby hesitated, frowning. "Do you want to... do you want to try and date Blake yourself? I mean... that's how we did it last time. We all dated each other a few times, and then once we all had gotten to spend some time with each other individually, THEN we decided how we were going to... er... pair off."

Yang blinked. "You don't mean you and I...?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "No, dummy. You and Blake, me and Pyrrha, you and Pyrrha, me and Blake, and Pyrrha and Blake."

Yang nodded slowly. "Oh yeah. That makes more sense." She grinned at her younger sister. "Speaking about Pyrrha... she looked like she wanted to grab you and take you right there on the arena floor for a minute!"

Ruby blushed bright red. "YANG! She did not!" Yang just looked at her smugly, and Ruby had to admit her older sister had a point. "OK... OK. You have a point. I HAVE seen that look on Pyrrha's face before... although she never really looked at me quite like that."

"Oh?" Yang asked, grinning.

"Yes, she looked at you like that. Before one of you dragged the other one off to your bedroom." Ruby said with a snort.

Yang grinned. "Nice." She frowned. "Wait... that means that Pyrrha is starting to really... like like you. Like... really."

Ruby looked worried then. "No... I mean... it's just that Pyrrha really likes to fight... and she has been wanting a good opponent for like... forever. She kind of looked at Dad that way after he beat her in a fight."

Yang blinked, then looked mildly horrified. "She looked at our dad like that?"

"A little..." Ruby admitted. "Dad beat her... although she really gave him a fight first... and after that she was a bit... you know, dreamy eyed around him."

Yang groaned. "God damn it dad... even my girlfriend?"

Ruby laughed. "I don't think Dad knew that Pyrrha..." She broke off. "OK, he probably realized, but he played it cool, went all dad mode. She cooled down pretty quick."

Yang sighed. "Well, at least dad didn't score my girlfriend out from under me... even though apparently he could if he wanted."

Ruby looked a bit ill. "Don't even joke about that Yang... I mean, he's DAD. He's all... old and stuff. And DAD."

Yang nodded. "I know! I mean... I kind of get it. He's a pretty good looking dad. I've seen the way the single ladies at Signal look at him. But still, Pyrrha is WAY too young for him."

Ruby shook her head. "Well, it would never happen, and we shall never bring it up again."

"We're also not letting dad spar with Pyrrha." Yang decided.

"Agreed." Ruby said, then giggled.

The sisters shared a smile and a laugh before Yang got serious again. "Seriously though... if you aren't careful, you'll have Pyrrha asking you out. Or getting jealous if you go after Blake."

Ruby sighed. "Just like last time." She muttered, then shook her head. "It worked out last time, but I think that was partially because you had a talk with Pyrrha and Blake about... er... taking it easy on me? And nobody wanted to cause trouble with our team, so we kind of went pretty carefully. And it still got really tense at a few points."

Yang nodded slowly. "Well, if it gets to the point where it looks like Blake and Pyrrha are going to start fighting over you..." She grinned. "I'll gladly make sure to distract one of them..."

Ruby knew Yang was making a joke, but at the same time, she took her seriously. "I'll hold you too that. I WOULD like to see you and Pyrrha together again."

"Well... if the way to Pyrrha's heart is by nearly beating her in a match..." Yang started with a grin, then lost steam. "Then I'm probably toast. I mean, I'm good... but Pyrrha...? She'll kick my ass. And she's training with you now! She's going to keep getting better faster than I can catch up!"

"I'll help." Ruby promised. "I'll help you train too!"

Yang sighed. What had she come to, needing her baby sister to train her. But she knew that if she wanted to get even close to the skill level Ruby and Pyrrha were already at, she would need to train harder than she'd ever done before. And Ruby could help more than anyone else right now, save perhaps their father.

"OK... so... back to you winning over the cat-girl."

"Don't call her a cat-girl." Ruby warned.

"Oh, sorry, is that offensive?" Yang said with a wince.

"Well... Blake didn't seem to mind THAT much when you teased her about being a cat." Ruby admitted. "She doesn't mind that we liked her kitty ears either. She says people like what they like and you shouldn't kink shame."

Yang shook her head. "I'm liking this girl better and better all the time."

Ruby tilted her head. "Yang... it's sounding more and more like you'd like to be the one asking Blake out on a date."

Yang blushed. "Maybe... but... saving the world?"

Ruby chuckled. "Saving Vale, maybe. And our friends. Not quite the world... and... can't your plan work if YOU end up dating Blake? I mean, so long as she's happy enough that she wants to stick around long enough to hear me out... does it matter which one of us she dates?"

Yang frowned. "But... you love her."

"I do... but a lot of that was MY Blake." Ruby said sadly. "This Blake has the potential to be just like her... she's already very much like the Blake I knew, but this Blake hardly knows me. She's certainly not in love with me. And..." Ruby hesitated. "I don't think I should force this. I'll miss being with her, and sure, if she falls for me again I'll be really happy, but..." She frowned. "Maybe... maybe we should do it the same way as last time?"

Yang blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... ask both Pyrrha and Blake out. Have dates with each of them... both of us."

"How are we going to swing that?" Yang said incredulously. "I mean... that kind of sounds like it was a pretty unique circumstance. Can we swing something like that a second time?"

"For them it'll be the first time." Ruby said. "And... I think we can? At least... I think we should try."

Yang looked curious. "Why exactly? Why not just try to get back what you lost?"

"Because..." Ruby answered after a moment. "Because last time, in the end, it was what Pyrrha and Blake wanted that mattered most. You and I? We both liked both of them. A lot. For both of us, it was hard to choose. But when Blake chose me... it was suddenly easy."

Yang blinked. "Oooh." She nodded slowly. "I get it. You want to give them the chance to choose."

Ruby nodded. "Yes. I mean... I could go after Blake exclusively. I... I could probably win her over eventually, and part of me wants that more than anything else. But... it's like the fight with Pyrrha tonight. It would kind of feel like cheating."

"Cheating?" Yang asked, then looked thoughtful. "Because you already know her so well. You could overwhelm her... make her think you're perfect for her, when it's because you've already dated her in the other timeline." She nodded slowly. "OK, yeah. I get that. But still. She did love you. You loved her. Is it so wrong to cheat a little to get that back?"

"It's not wrong, exactly." Ruby said back, then shrugged. "But you found someone too. I don't want to take that from you if I can help it. Let's see if we can get them to both date... both of us. Crazy as it sounds... I think that's exactly what we should do. Again."

Yang grinned. "Well... if nothing else, the next few weeks are starting to look like they're going to be very... very interesting."

"Isn't that a Mystralian curse?" Ruby asked.

"Yup."

/-/

Yes, Ruby is going to try and recreate the the romance that she found back in her previous timeline, including the set up to it. Of course... the butterfly keeps flapping it's wings... things aren't likely to go exactly according to plan.