One Never Steps Foot In The Same River Twice by ThePalestRose

{ Summary:

At the end of Salem's War, the gods are summoned back to Remnant, and find mankind irredeemable. Ruby convinces the God of Light that only Salem prevented humanity from being united. In return, Light offers her a second chance and gives her the choice to go back and fix all that has befallen them. Ruby accepts, and finds herself on the night of stopping Torchwick's robbery, meeting Ozpin for a second time.

But all is not well, as the God of Darkness has chosen his own champion who will prove that humanity can never be united; and as Ruby changes more and more of her actions, she finds herself recognizing her world less and less.

After all, one never steps foot in the same river twice. }

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: The Final Failure

Notes:

Regarding archive warnings:

Originally this fic had "No Archive Warnings Apply." I have changed this to "Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings." I want to be clear about why. Specifically, this relates to the "Major Character Death" warning. Now, I have no plans for major character deaths in the future, but if I did, changing to that tag would be a massive spoiler. I want to avoid that. It is important to me that the story beats come off as surprises if and when they come. As for the other warnings, I have no intention of ever including explicit sexual content in this fic. I consider myself to be ace, and I have little interest in reading or writing anything sexual. As for graphic depictions of violence, the fight scenes from the show are my guide, so expect canon-typical violence.

If you have any questions about what this fic will or won't include for the purposes of avoiding particular topics, please let me know and I will be more than happy to respond. While we are here, I should mention that this fic does not and will not include Enabler as a romantic pairing.

Please enjoy the story.

~ThePalestRose

Chapter Text

"Relinquish the crown and you need not suffer any longer." Salem's melodic voice reached Jaune's ears. He couldn't give her the crown, nothing was more important than that. He looked to Ruby, being held hostage by Salem. Nothing was more important… right?

"Relinquish the crown and she need not suffer any longer." Jaune gripped the crown in his hand. He would not give it up. His resolve lasted just long enough to see Salem's magic come to life and hear Ruby's scream.

Why hadn't the crown shown him this choice?! Why had it shown him Beacon instead?? How could any other choice be more important than this one?!

---

[ Three Weeks Earlier]

Ruby and Jaune spent nearly two months trying to escape the void after Cinder had thrown them all off of the central location. Even now, only half of them had been able to leave, herself and Jaune, but also Neo. They had begrudgingly helped her escape, in exchange for any information she had about Cinder.

When they arrived at Shade, Oscar filled them in on all that they had missed. Salem still controlled both of the relics, and the sword under Shade had been stolen with barely a fight. Now they had to rush to secure the final relic. Rescuing the rest of team RWBY would have to wait until after they had defeated Salem.

"The crown… where is it?" Jaune asked their former professor. Ruby couldn't tell if it was Ozpin or Oscar that looked at her with sorrowful eyes.

"The crown is on Patch. With your father." He replied. "I should have told you sooner." It wasn't his fault, Ruby told herself. They all thought they would have more time.

After saying swift goodbyes to their allies, the three of them raced to Patch. The others would be coming too, along with all the forces they could muster, but it was imperative that someone warn Taiyang and protect the relic now.

---

"Dad!!!" Ruby activated her semblance and flew into her Dad's arms. He scooped her up and gave her a big hug before setting her down.

"Ruby!" He smiled down at her, relieved to see her again. "I'm so glad to see you're okay. Is Yang with you?" His smile tinged with worry.

"No, but she's safe. She's trapped somewhere right now and we have a plan to get her out, but she's safe." They would need the staff before they could rescue the rest of her team anyway.

Oscar and Jaune brought up the rear, and Taiyang sighed and let his shoulders slump upon seeing them. "This isn't just a friendly visit, is it?"

"I'm afraid not," Oscar responded with a shake of his head. "Salem is on her way to Patch. She controls the other three relics and should she bring them together with the crown there will be dire consequences for us all."

"Well, I guess it's time for us to check up on it." Taiyang grabbed his gear and motioned for the rest of their small party to follow him.

He led them out into the forest, down a few wooded paths, and finally to a long abandoned barn that looked ready to collapse. He motioned for them to stay put and entered the barn. After a few minutes, he re-emerged with the relic in hand.

"That's it?" Ruby tilted her head. "No fancy vault or flashing lights or immortal being created by the gods? Just an ancient relic just sitting on the floor in there?" Taiyang chuckled.

"I stored it under one of the floorboards for safekeeping." He joked. Wait, was he joking? Ruby couldn't really tell.

They departed with the crown and headed back to the Xiao Long household. "How long until she's here, Oz?"

"She's already on her way. We only arrived early due to unexpected help."

"That limits our options…"

"What about moving the relic somewhere else?" Jaune interjected. "Can we get it off the island? Move it somewhere Salem doesn't know about?"

Taiyang frowned. "As good as that might sound, it's not that simple. The crown can't leave Patch. I've bound it here with my semblance."

"A measure of last resort." Oscar supplied. "Salem cannot remove the relic. We thought that if we could only hold a single relic other than the crown, the four could never be united. That was our- my, mistake."

The group entered the Xiao Long cabin and Taiyang placed the crown on the table. He sat down in one of the armchairs as Ruby and Jaune took the couch while Oscar stood.

Ruby puzzled out the implications of the crown being stuck on Patch. "If the crown can't leave then there has to be some defenses on Patch? Something to at least delay Salem while we grab one of the other relics and run?"

Taiyang only sighed. "Nothing that will hold her for long."

"Yes, she's amassed too much strength, too many grimm. Too many advantages." Oscar mused.

He paced from one side of the room to the other, leaning heavily on his cane. Jaune and Ruby sat and each tried to wrack their brains for some idea, any idea to stop Salem. They couldn't move the relic; they couldn't leave the relic. They were stuck. If they were stuck, they would have to fight.

If they would fight, they had to win. But how could they? Once they were defeated there was nothing preventing Salem from reuniting the relics.

Unless there weren't relics to reunite anymore.

"What would it take for us to destroy the crown?" Ruby asked.

Oscar stopped pacing and turned to Ruby. "It's something I've considered, throughout the years. Ultimately, however, I decided against it. Salem's opportunity to die would be destroyed along with the relics. In such a situation I believe she would destroy all of humanity in her rage." He gestured with his hands. "Aside from the existential implications, there is also the practical. The relics are indestructible."

"What about using the sword of destruction?" Jaune asked. "It might have the ability to destroy the relics."

Oscar exchanged glances with Taiyang as he mulled over the idea. "That might just be our best option, Oz."

---

Stealing one of the relics right out from Salem's nose in the midst of a chaotic battle was not what Ruby considered an easy assignment. But her semblance was the most well suited for recovering the relic. Oscar would be watched like a hawk the moment Salem arrived, Jaune was too slow (sorry Jaune!), and Taiyang would be defending the crown itself.

Taiyang contacted Signal academy once they retrieved the relic and appraised them of the full situation. The time for secrecy regarding the direness of their situation had passed. The headmistress assured him that every measure would be taken to ensure that Signal became the bunker that the world needed it to be.

The small staff of the academy worked around the clock to transform the school. Weapon nests were constructed, barriers erected, and a call went out to Vale for every able bodied huntsman and huntress to join them on the island.

It was at the end of another of these tiring days that Oscar had asked her and Jaune to meet him in their temporary dorm room.

"You want us to put it on?" Ruby asked.

Oscar nodded. "The crown may tell us something we do not already know. Something important about this upcoming fight." With that, Oscar handed the relic over to Ruby. "Long ago I wore the crown, and it showed me a terrifying vision." He sighed and sat down on one of the beds, looking far older than he ever had. "It has not changed since. I believe the day of that vision is fast approaching."

Ruby looked at the crown in her hands. With a deep breath, she placed it on her head.

Instantly, she was blinded by flashes of light, shining like mirrors. In front of her, the god of light shimmered in his dragon form. His mouth did not move, even as sound filled the space.

"You have my eyes, my child. I once offered Ozma a similar choice. Now, I give you this choice in the hopes that you can remake this world in the image you desire."

The world around them flecked and blurred. The background was an empty white nothingness.

As soon as Ruby attempted to regain her senses, the vision disappeared, like a feed that was abruptly cut.

"What did you see?" Jaune asked.

Ruby blinked several times as her vision returned and she took off the crown. Should she tell them? Seeing the gods again, that couldn't be a good sign. But if that was what was going to come to pass, they all needed to know.

"I… I saw the god of light. He offered me a choice." Jaune's face fell once he processed the news. "Maybe it's not what it looks like. Maybe it's in the future, or- or we summon the gods ourselves! Or-"

"… or maybe we don't win." Jaune finished. He took a deep breath. "We should see what the crown shows me."

Ruby handed the crown over to him and watched as he placed it on his head. Jaune closed his eyes and stood stock still for a few moments before removing it.

"Did you also see the gods?" Oscar asked.

"No, I didn't." He hesitated before explaining, his brow furrowing. "I saw Beacon. And it wasn't destroyed. It was… whole again. I was a student there and…" Jaune trailed off, his voice faltering.

Oscar raised an eyebrow at Jaune's description. "The crown shows choices from the past?" Ruby asked.

"I wasn't aware that it did. Only a handful of individuals have worn it other than myself, and my vision has never changed over the years." He said thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's the far future? Maybe Beacon gets rebuilt and that's what Jaune's seeing? That means we're going to win then?"

Jaune looked away as Oscar spoke up. "Then there may yet be hope."

---

Salem's arrival was expected. She wasn't bothering to hide anymore, and tracking her movement across the world wasn't difficult. It helped that every grimm in all of Remnant flocked to her. Beacon itself emptied as the entire legion of grimm occupying it left to join their master.

Signal was prepared, but preparation wasn't enough. It was not a question of if Signal would fall but when. As the battle for Signal commenced, Ruby sat on the sidelines, watching, waiting.

Ruby could hear the thunderous batteries of the academy open up as they bombarded the waves of grimm. They had only enough dust for each gun to fire twice. Jaune had pointed out that using it at the start, when the grimm were at their densest, made the most sense.

After the artillery fire ended, the grimm let out an ear-piercing screech. The grimm reached their target and the huntsman began to clash with them, with grimm screaming and weapons being fired all around them.

Ruby wanted to join them, felt compelled to join them. She was a huntress and here she was, as far from the action as she could be. In her hand she held a pair of binoculars, and scanned the battlefield to find where the grimm were emerging from.

"You will have only one shot at this." Oscar had cautioned. "When the battle reaches a fever pitch, Salem will personally come for the relic. That is when you have your opening. Find the sword. Destroy one of the relics. If all else fails, run. Run as far and as fast as you can."

Oscar next turned to Jaune, to whom he handed the crown. "Keep it safe. When the defense falls, keep it mobile. Salem will first come for me and when she discovers I do not have it: she will tear the island apart to find it. You must hide should that come to pass."

The three of them stayed together that night, instead of each using their own rooms.

And now, the opening Ruby was waiting for had arrived. The barricades they had put up were in flames, one of their dust stockpiles had caught fire before exploding into a shower of sparks. Dust and ash choked everything. The hunters were retreating, back towards the walls of the school itself, abandoning their outer defense. Ruby watched them retreat. They were still in good order, but eventually their guns would run out of ammo, and their aura would deplete.

With the outer defenses taken care of, a massive grimm shaped like a giant squid emerged from the woods. It flew up, snapping several trees in half as it made its way forward before sinking lazily into the field in front of signal. Inky slime seeped from its limbs, forming ever more grimm.

Ruby slipped out of Signal and made a dash for where they thought Salem was holding the other relics. Salem had not been able to summon another beast as large as Monstra, but the Kraken that she currently used was nearly as impressive.

Behind the fighting everything was quiet. Ruby made her way to the entrance of the beast and, taking a quick look back at Signal, rushed inside.

She unspooled her semblance to lead her down hallway after hallway. At some point along the way, the creature shuddered, emitting pulses from wherever she touched. Ruby weaved her way closer and closer to the center of the labyrinthine halls, until at least she came upon a center room.

Unsheathing Crescent Rose, she scythed through the door, and into the chamber within. In the center of the room, proudly on display, stood the sword of destruction.

Ruby rushed into the room, only for her veins to turn to ice upon hearing the same voice that had emerged from the seer back in Atlas.

"My dear Miss Rose. How pleasant for you to join me." Ruby turned to find herself face to face with Salem.

---

Jaune had never fought so hard in his life. How long had he been fighting the waves of endless grimm? It didn't really matter how long it had been, only that he kept fighting until Ruby returned.

As Jaune slashed apart another wave of creeps, he took a moment to recover his aura. While his recovery speed had improved immensely over the years, the pool from which he drew was still very much finite. And that was a well that was starting to dry up.

Jaune heard the cry of yet another wave of grimm and readied himself to repel them along with the hunters around him. Instead, no wave came. The grimm stood only at a distance as Salem herself came forward.

Trailing her, wrapped in grimm appendages, was Ruby. Jaune's eyes widened in horror as he realized that Ruby had not been successful. He briefly considered bolting at the sight, but as he looked up he realized Salem's gaze was locked onto him. Jaune looked briefly at the relic before steeling himself and walking forward to meet Salem.

"Relinquish the crown and you need not suffer any longer." Salem's medolic voice reached Jaune's ears. He couldn't give her the crown, nothing was more important than that. He looked to Ruby, being held hostage by Salem. Nothing was more important… right?

"Relinquish the crown and she need not suffer any longer." Jaune gripped the crown in his hand. He would not give it up. His resolve lasted just long enough to see Salem's magic come to life and hear Ruby's scream.

The sound was torturous and he tore his eyes away from the sight in front of him.

"I care not whether she lives or dies. Should she die I will simply take the crown from you anyway, whether I must step over your bodies is entirely your choice." Jaune looked up at Salem, conflicted.

"Jaune, don't give it to her!" Ruby cried. But why not? The crown had already shown them that this was the end. The gods were going to return, there was no beating Salem. And he was so tired. So very tired.

Jaune unhooked the crown from his belt. His hands shook so hard he was afraid he would drop it on the ground.

"Jaune!!" Ruby tried to flail against her restraints.

Tears started to form in Jaune's eyes as he raised the relic to Salem.

"The crown didn't show me the future, Ruby. I saw Pyrrha. It showed me the past." Jaune's hand wouldn't stop shaking as Salem advanced towards him. She grabbed hold of the crown and tore it from Jaune's grasp as he weakly tried to hold onto it. His arm fell back to his side, defeated.

As Salem held the crown in her hands, it started to glow with golden energy. The other relics emitted the same golden light and began to levitate. They floated towards each other and orbited around one another faster and faster until merging into a single ball of light.

The orb became a beam of light, then spread out in all directions, an all-encompassing blindness.

"Who has summoned us back to this world?" A deep voice asked. The brother gods stood before them, their dragon forms on proud display.

Salem looked up at the brother gods. "I have summoned you, to judge humanity." She stepped forward and raised her arms. "This world is in disrepair. Mankind fights amongst-"

"Begone." The Darkness commanded. In a single moment Salem turned into a column of dust and scattered to the wind. Ruby fell to the ground as the bonds holding her dissolved into nothingness and hurried to rush to her feet.

Jaune blinked several times at seeing his mortal enemy defeated so easily. They had poured how many years of their lives into accomplishing what Darkness had done with a flick of the wrist, and if they displeased him, humanity could be next.

The hunters stared at the gods, unsure of what to do. The grimm cowered, not wanting to approach.

"Which of you is Ozma?" The Light asked. Oscar shuffled out of the crowd, looking battered but still upright. He leaned on his cane. Ruby ran up to support him as Jaune came over to help him as well.

"Thank you." He told both of them. Oscar raised his head to the gods. "I am Oz."

"You have done as I asked, and reunited the relics. Humanity will be judged."

The winds shifted, picking up steadily and whipping a column of golden leaves around the three of them. When it dissipated, Jaune found himself in a world unlike his own.

---

The large outdoor forum was circular, half was decorated with golds, greens, and whites. Regal columns and pristine banners. On the edge sat the Light. The other half was decorated with blacks, purples and blues. Skulls and twisted trees littered the floor. Darkness sat within his domain.

The decorations were more pronounced then Ruby remembered in the vision that Jinn gave. More grandiose and ostentatious.

Ruby stood in the center with Jaune and Oscar, both looking as confused as she was.

"Do you recognize this place?" She whispered to Oscar. He shook his head. She cast a questioning glance towards Jaune, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

Light spoke first. "Humanity stands united." His voice carried through the space.

"Only in their fear of her." Darkness countered. "What of their squabbles before? What of the conflict that still brews? Will they remain united when their common threat is gone?"

"Humanity must not always be peaceful for it to be united. Mankind is capable of creation and destruction."

"Are they not capable of choice? They choose destruction, to destroy what their fellow man has built."

The gods were arguing for the fate of her world, and Ruby felt compelled to say something. But she just wasn't sure what to say. How should she even talk to an entity that could snap their fingers and erase everything??

Light said nothing in response, and Darkness continued. "They mine dust to attempt to recreate the magic which we took from them, they make a mockery of creation with their forays into artificial life," Ruby scowled, knowing all too well that Darkness was referring to Penny.

"They squabble with each other in the dirt and yet you say they are united?" Darkness laughed, deep and hollow. "They are not united, brother. Let us be done with this experiment."

"Wait!!" Ruby shouted. Oscar's gaze snapped to her and his eyes widened, but she shook her head before continuing. "This world is united. We all banded together to stop Salem. Vale, Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo. Faunus and humans. Huntsman and civilian, young and old. All of us together."

"What say you of the humans that helped Salem?" Light asked.

"There are no more humans helping Salem." Ruby replied. She had seen firsthand how they all had abandoned her.

"Salem herself was human, she was not united with humanity."

"She stopped being human when you cursed her!" She was shouting now. "You caused this- this entire thing! You could have stopped her whenever you wanted, instead you cursed her and let it be the rest of the world's problem!" Oscar was frantically looking between her and the gods with mounting horror.

Darkness laughed. "You are spirited. But we have already decided."

Ruby could scarcely believe her ears. How much more united could mankind get?! They were all working towards one purpose, stopping Salem. What else could the gods ask for?

Light held up a hand. "This is not just your decision." Darkness scoffed.

"You would rule on the side of these mortals, and confine ourselves to our failed creation?"

"You can't just write off all of humanity!" Ruby implored. "We're not perfect but every day we are struggling in a world that is unfair to us, and we do our best."

Light addressed Ruby directly. "It is clear to me now that Salem is what prevented humanity from being united."

"What are you saying, brother?" Darkness interjected.

"There were extenuating circumstances. Tell me, child, if you had the opportunity, would you do things differently?"

Ruby barely had to think about the question. Of course she would do things different. There was hardly a day that went by where she didn't think about the mistakes she had made, the mistakes they had all made.

"You have my eyes. A gift I never bestowed upon anyone, and yet you stand before me. You will unite humanity." Light continued.

"You're giving them a second chance?" Darkness asked. Light nodded in ascent.

"This one is my champion. She has my eyes. She will succeed in perfecting our creation where Ozma failed."

"Then I shall choose a champion as well, and prove humanity can never be united."

"Very well, it is decided." Light and Darkness stood side by side and addressed them. "Humanity shall have a second chance."

Ruby barely had time to open her mouth before the forum vanished and she alone was transported into another realm. Oscar and Jaune were nowhere to be seen as she stood before Light, in his imposing dragon form.

"You have my eyes, my child. I once offered Ozma a similar choice. Now, I give you this choice in the hopes that you can remake this world in the image you desire.

"You will go back to when this conflict began for you, and be given the opportunity to make the choices that will unite humanity. I believe that humanity can be united. My brother does not agree. He will give another human the opportunity to remake their world too. Be warned."

Ruby could barely process what the god was offering. A chance to make everything right? How would that even work? Would it be just her?

Ruby weighed her options briefly. Total annihilation due to the whims of capricious gods or a 'second chance' given to her by capricious gods.

"I want to make everything right." She told the god of light. It was hard to tell if the god smiled, but he spoke calmly.

"You have my blessing."

"Who will your brother pick as his champion?"

Light had to ponder the question before answering. "Someone who will bring about humanity's doom. Someone who will do the most to prevent it from being united. Someone with something to lose. Beware them."

The bright white background grew in intensity until it overwhelmed everything. Ruby shielded her eyes until it abated. She found herself in a dark room, sitting on a chair while a spotlight shone down on her.

"But… there is someone here who would like to meet you." The voice was instantly familiar, but Ruby struggled to place it. Looking out, Ruby saw a man walking out with a plate of cookies and a mug of hot chocolate. His silver hair and eyeglasses made him look much older than he was.

"Ruby Rose…" He leaned towards Ruby. "You… have silver eyes."

Ruby's mind tried to take in everything going on around her. Ozpin was in front of her, asking about her silver eyes again.

"Um…" Ruby replied dumbly.

"So, where did you learn to do this?" Glynda held up a scroll showing Ruby stopping Torchwick's robbery. She looked so small in the frame, and her technique was terrible, but her opponents were worse. Were those guys even aiming for her with those guns??

"S-Signal Academy?" Ruby responded. With the phrase her thoughts detoured to thinking back to what was going on at Signal. Had everyone made it out? Did the grimm leave? Were Jaune and Oscar okay??

Ruby let the rest of the conversation play out, attempting to answer the same way she had years ago. Ozpin asked question after question until he hit the one she had been dreading.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked.

It used to be such a simple question. But now, what was the answer to that? You're Ozma, the infallible hero of legend. You're Ozpin, the man who made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child on this planet. You're Oscar, one of my closest friends. Was it okay to tell Ozpin that she knew? What would he think?

Faced with the split second decision, and with the face of her former headmaster still scrutinizing her, Ruby decided use the same answer she had last time.

"You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon." He smiled at the response.

"Hello."

"Nice to meet you…" Ruby trailed off, much less enthusiastic than she was the first time she met Ozpin.

"You want to come to my school?"

"More than anything." The response wasn't a lie. Ruby wanted to go back to Beacon more than anything. To change so many things.

"Well okay."

Was this real? Had she actually died and now was just seeing her life flash before her eyes? It was too good to be true. She could fix everything that had gone wrong, protect everyone like she couldn't before, so long as whoever Darkness picked wasn't too much trouble.

---

"You're… giving me a second chance…?" A figure addressed the Dark god in front of them.

"Yes." Darkness replied. "You have lost much and more than most. Every day you have prayed for deliverance. I have heard those prayers and will answer them. I can save the ones you love. All you must do is agree to be my champion."

"…I can save her?" The figure asked, their voice near a whisper. Darkness smiled. This one would suffice.