28

Chapter 28

The sisters knelt in the Beacon gardens, holding each other loosely as they both gathered themselves, both of them visibly calming down, controlling their breathing, drying their tears. Yang found she'd been crying a little as well, and finally they released their hold on one another and sat back, still facing each other, but now sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"OK... so... what do we need to do first?" Yang said shakily. "Save what's his name? Jaune?"

Ruby nodded. "That's job one. There's a lot more. A LOT. But I won't let him die again."

Yang nodded slowly. "OK, so he dies... tomorrow if we don't do anything?"

Ruby waved a hand side to side. "Eh... he LIVED the first time through. But the second time, I wanted to be Pyrrha's partner, because the reason I came back the first time was because I watched her die..." Ruby gestured to the top of the clocktower. "Up there, actually..." She shook her head. "Anyway, I made friends with Pyrrha right away the second time through, and during initiation I used my semblance to intercept her right at the start. We were partners on my second time through..."

Yang blinked. "And... because you partnered up with Pyrrha, she didn't save Jaune?"

Ruby winced, and nodded. "Jaune has no idea who Pyrrha is. And I guess Pyrrha liked that, because she most wants to find someone who likes her for her, not because she's famous and super strong. So in my first timeline, Pyrrha saved him with her javelin... I think because she wanted to be sure she could team up with him."

Yang nodded. "OK. So if we don't change anything too big, Pyrrha will save him again this time?"

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe? It was kind of... well, it's a lot to risk someone's life on."

Yang winced. "Yeah... good point. So... we tell the teachers he doesn't have his Aura unlocked! They pull him outta initiation. He lives."

Ruby sighed. "Well... that would save his life... but... I kind of want him in Beacon. He's... he's a really nice guy."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "A really nice guy who's going to die tomorrow."

"We can save him!" Ruby insisted. "All we have to do is unlock his Aura before initiation, and he'll survive the fall! He's got a TON of Aura."

Yang looked interested then. "How much is a ton?"

Ruby shrugged. "You had to hit him about a dozen times to drop him into the red in combat class?"

Yang blinked. "OK... that IS a pretty decent amount of Aura." She nodded. "OK, so he has potential... but still, if he faked his transcripts..."

Ruby frowned. "I think Ozpin knew about the fake transcripts. He seemed to know everything that anyone is hiding around here. Or almost everything, anyway." She shook her head. "But Jaune is really good at tactics too. He was picked as the leader of team JNPR the first time, because he figured out how they could beat a full-sized Deathstalker as a team."

Yang looked mildly impressed. "So Vomit Boy helped beat a Deathstalker? That's not bad."

"We take on a Nevermore... an ancient one. Had to have a fifty foot wingspan." Ruby bragged.

"We?" Yang questioned. "As in you and me?"

"And Blake and Weiss." Ruby corrected. "We did this whole thing where you knocked it into a cliff... and Weiss froze its tail to the ground, then Blake tossed you one end of Gambol Shroud and you two made it into like a giant slingshot and Weiss used her Glyphs to pull it back and I got into it, and we shot me at the Nevermore... and I cut it's head off with Crescent Rose..." She made swooping and chopping motions with her hands to articulate her description. "It was kind of awesome. And then they made me team leader of team RWBY."

Yang blinked. "Wait... RWBY. Wouldn't that be pronounced Ruby? Like your name? Wouldn't that be kind of confusing?"

Ruby shrugged sheepishly. "Kind of, yeah."

Yang laughed. "Well... it all sounds kind of awesome." She sobered. "But... I'm guessing things don't stay awesome?"

Ruby sighed. "There's... well, too much to tell you today. Honestly, we need to get back to the main hall pretty quick, or we'll miss our chance to keep things as close to the way I remember as we can."

Yang looked curious. "Why keep things the same? Don't you want to change things? Fix what happened? Whatever it was?"

Ruby nodded. "I do... eventually. But for now, the ability to predict what's going to happen next is just too useful to give up. There are certain moments when things come to a head. Places we can change EVERYTHING. But if we do too much now, we'll change things so those moments don't happen, and then we won't be able to figure out how to save everyone, because things will be going down a path I can't predict."

Yang blinked, trying to follow Ruby's explanation. "I... think that makes sense? So we need to keep things the way you remember... so the big things we want to change happen the way you remember... so you can change them?"

Ruby nodded firmly. "Exactly. I'll tell you everything once we have some time... but we really have to move. We need to meet Blake, at the least, to make sure that you end up partners with her."

Yang blinked. "Don't I just meet her in the forest during initiation?"

Ruby hesitated. "Blake is like... really, really sneaky. For all I know, she decided to partner up with you in the forest, but if she didn't know you first, she might have chosen someone else. We can't take chances. We need to recreate how we met her the first time."

Yang licked her lips. "Um... OK. What do we do?"

Ruby hesitated. "Well, the FIRST time you dragged me over to meet her because I had met her earlier in the courtyard and you wanted to help me make some friends. She was kind of standoffish. She was reading her book and I guess she wanted to be left alone, but you kept pushing... you said something about her bow... and... er... I asked her about her book. And then we talked about how you used to read me stories... and Weiss came and shouted at us for making too much noise."

Yang blinked. "And?"

Ruby shrugged. "And that's it. The first time anyway. The second time I went up to her myself, and you followed me. I talked to her about her book, because I'd read it during my first time through, and she kind of opened up a bit more that time... and you were just kind of... supportive and stuff."

Yang nodded. "OK... let's go with the second one. You've done this before, so you go up to her and I'll just tag along and try and act natural."

Ruby grinned. "Sounds like a plan, sis." She sighed. "I wish I could make friends with Pyrrha again... but... well, if we want things to remain the way I remember them best, I should probably team up with Weiss like I did the first time."

Yang looked curious. "Does it matter? You've done it both ways, right? Once with Weiss and once with Pyrrha. You know what will happen either way, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes... but if we're trying to keep things the same... WITH Jaune being alive, then Pyrrha needs to partner up with him. I could tell you what happens in the timeline Jaune dies... but we're not doing that again."

Yang blinked, then nodded firmly. "Right... let's not let anyone die... that's kind of important."

Ruby nodded fervently. "We're saving EVERYONE this time."

Yang smiled just a bit. "Sounds like a plan."

Ruby started hurrying towards the front of the main building again. "Come on. We need to get our stuff and pick a spot."

Yang looked curious. "Hmm?"

Ruby nodded as she hurried forward. "Yeah, we're sleeping in the main hall tonight with everyone."

Yang blinked. "Er... sure. OK."

/-/

They got their stuff and set up their sleeping bags in a spot Ruby picked out. She assured Yang that they'd gotten the same spot 'the other two times' and Yang was fine with where Ruby wanted to sleep. Her head was still spinning with the concept. Her sister was a time traveler? Her sister had seen people die? Ruby had seen HER die? Yang blinked. I die in the future. Dang. That's serious. She found it hard to believe. What could possibly happen that would kill not only her, but an entire team, from Ruby's description. Something that apparently had happened a second time despite Ruby's knowing what could happen ahead of time and working to prevent it? Was it some sort of destiny thing? Were people fated to die no matter what they did? Yang pushed that thought aside. She couldn't let herself believe that. She'd work to, as Ruby had said, save everyone if it was at all possible. That was the only way to go at it, in her opinion. If she let the idea that they were fated to fail from the beginning sink in, she might end up making it happen, just because she wouldn't try hard enough or something.

Once they were settled in, Ruby looked around, and nodded to one side. Yang followed her sister's eyes, and spotted the cat faunus. Now that she knew the truth, the bow on the girl's head seemed like an incredibly obvious tell, but then again, nobody else seemed to have any clue that she was hiding anything. And who would suspect it? Hiding an extra pair of ears under a bow just seemed so ridiculous that no one would suspect. Not unless they had a reason to, anyway.

"How'd you find out that... er... Blake..." Yang remembered the name after a second. "That Blake is a..."

"Yang!" Ruby hissed at her under her breath. "Not the time or place!" She whispered fiercely.

Yang winced and nodded. "Sorry, right."

Ruby sighed and started getting to her feet. "OK, let's do this."

Yang swallowed and moved to follow. "I've got your back, sis."

Ruby glanced back at her and grimaced. "Yang... relax. Just act normal. You and Blake will get along fine. You don't have to do anything."

Yang nodded. "Right... we were partners twice already, right?"

Ruby grinned. "Ixnay on the future talk ey?"

Yang chuckled and winked. "Right. Sorry."

Ruby led her over to the girl with the black bow, and smiled at her naturally. "Hey. We met out in the courtyard? I'm Ruby."

"I'm Yang!" Yang offered cheerfully. "I guess you know my baby sister?"

Blake looked up from her book with a disinterested expression. "Yes... I remember. You... exploded, didn't you?" She hesitated for a long moment then continued. "I'm Blake. It's... nice to meet you." She offered politely, although not bothering to disguise the fact that she wasn't invested in the conversation. Yang exchanged a quick glance with Ruby, who nodded back. Ruby turned to Blake once more.

"What are you reading?" Ruby asked with polite curiosity.

Blake looked up at Ruby, as if trying to gauge her reason for asking. "The Man with Two Souls." She answered simply.

Ruby smiled. "I love that one."

Blake raised an eyebrow, looking like she wasn't sure if she was curious or dubious about Ruby's statement. "Which part did you like?"

Ruby thought about it. "Well... the way the two souls started to merge together over time... it was both... happy and sad at the same time, you know?"

Blake blinked. "What do you mean, happy and sad?"

Ruby tried to put her thought into words. "It was like... it was happy, because the man started to be more... I don't know... comfortable being himself. And yet at the same time it was sad, because for the one person to exist, the two souls almost had to... die, in the process, you know? Sure, the parts that made them who they were were still there, but at the same time, it was like they were both gone, and a whole new person was left behind. So... happy, and sad."

Blake looked thoughtful. "That's an interesting take on it."

Yang spoke up. "That sounds really interesting!" She said with genuine enthusiasm.

Ruby glanced at her sister, and quickly added. "Yang always used to read me stories every night before bed. Tales of heroes, and monsters... it's part of why I wanted to become a huntress."

Blake looked at Ruby with slightly more interest. "Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

Ruby shrugged. "I'm hoping we all will..." She trailed off. "Even though I know that's not usually how things work in this world." She straightened up slightly. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to try and live up to the ideals from those stories. To protect people, and try to make things work out right in the end."

Blake smiled slightly. "That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, as you said, the real world isn't actually like a fairy tale."

Ruby shrugged again. "Well, that's why we're here, right? To make it better?"

Yang beamed at Ruby, giving her a hug. "Oh... when did you grow up on me?"

Ruby pushed her away gently. "Maybe when I got accepted into Beacon." She told her calmly, then turned to Blake. "Well... it was nice meeting you, Blake."

Blake nodded. "Likewise."

Ruby smiled at Yang. "We should get back to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a big day."

Yang nodded, rolling her eyes. "No kidding."

"Well... good luck tomorrow, then." Blake told them honestly. "Maybe I'll see you out there."

Yang smiled widely and was about to respond when Ruby started pulling her away. "Come on, Yang." She hissed softly. "It's late, we're going to keep people awake at this rate." Yang rolled her eyes dramatically and Blake stifled a giggle as the sisters walked away.

"Well..." Yang said once they'd gotten back to their sleeping bags. "I think that went well!"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. That went a lot better than the first time."

Yang shook her head. "That's not getting any less weird."

Ruby blinked. "What?"

"You talking about things as if you've lived them all before." Yang explained.

"Well... I have..." Ruby started.

"I know... and that's super weird." Yang shot back. "And should this really be something we talk about in a room full of other people?"

Ruby blinked. "Er... no. No it is not."

Yang chuckled. "Goodnight Ruby."

Ruby sighed. "Goodnight Yang."

/-/

The next morning, Ruby and Yang got into the locker room early enough that there were only a few other people present, so Yang decided to risk asking Ruby some questions.

"OK... so what's the plan? How do we save... er... Jaune? How do we make sure Vomit Boy doesn't get turned into a pancake when he hits the ground?" Yang said quietly into Ruby's ear.

Ruby hesitated. "Well... do you know how to unlock someone's Aura?"

Yang frowned. "Um... no. Do you?"

Ruby looked pained. "Don't you remember how dad did it for us?"

Yang shrugged helplessly. "Kind of... so what... we say the words and... what? Push our Aura into him or something?"

Ruby grimaced. "I... I never learned that part. Damn it... I should have learned how to do this!"

Yang threw her hands wide. "Well, there's no time now. Who unlocked his Aura the first time?"

Ruby jerked her head towards the tall redhead who had just entered the room. "Pyrrha, remember?"

Yang shrugged. "So... we convince her to do it again?"

Ruby frowned. "What... how?"

Yang shrugged back helplessly. "I don't know?"

Ruby thought furiously. "If we... if we tell her Jaune doesn't have his Aura, she'll go to the teachers."

Yang nodded. "Like we should... sis... we can't risk his life!"

Ruby grimaced. "If it looks like Pyrrha isn't going to save him... I can catch him. I'm fast enough, and I can carry another person easily enough."

Yang blinked. "You can?"

Ruby hesitated. "Well... I can absolutely catch him. As for after... I'll figure it out. Once I've got a hold of him, It won't be hard to keep him safe."

Yang hesitated. "Are you sure you can do it?"

Ruby nodded firmly. "I'm sure. Using my semblance in new ways is actually easier in some ways than pulling off new attacks physically. Once I know how it's done, it's all mental. And I'm a lot better with my semblance than you remember."

Yang remembered how Ruby had used her semblance to slip out of her hands and get onto her back, and nodded. "OK, yeah. You WERE super smooth with it yesterday." She frowned. "Ruby... are you absolutely sure you can do it? This is Jaune's..." she lowered her voice to as quiet a whisper as she could, as the room was quickly filling up with other students. "It's his life on the line here."

Ruby nodded firmly. "It's more than just one life." She whispered back. "I'm not going to sacrifice Jaune to save everyone else, but him being here... it could help me save everyone in the end."

Yang sighed. "Then... I'll trust you."

Ruby nodded to her. "You have your own job to do."

"Go for distance, head for the temple... find Blake." Yang agreed.

Ruby nodded. "Be yourself. You love stuff like this."

Yang grinned. "Getting thrown by a catapult into a forest full of deadly monsters? What's not to love?"

Ruby held out a fist, and Yang bopped her on the knuckles. "Yeah." Ruby agreed in a tone much more like the Ruby Yang remembered from... two days ago. Had Ruby really changed so much in such a short time? Just two days ago, her baby sister had been carefree, playful, and mildly irresponsible. This Ruby seemed more like the older sister than the younger. Her eyes were... older. Weary, as if she'd been fighting for a long time. Her sister's eyes now kind of reminded her of her father's, back in the bad times, or her Uncle Qrow, when the man wasn't being all joking and playful with them. Ruby was still... Ruby, but at the same time, she was utterly different. It made Yang's chest hurt to think about it.

Ruby looked at Yang in confusion. "Yang? Are you OK?"

Yang shook her head as if to clear it, then grinned at her sister. "I'm good to go. Let's save the day, sis!"

Ruby grinned back. "That's what we do."

Yang nodded and rose. "OK, I'm going ahead. See you on the cliffs."

Ruby nodded. "I'll be out there in a bit." She watched Yang leave, then looked over to where Pyrrha and Weiss were talking. Weiss was doing her best to convince Pyrrha to team up with her, pretty much how Ruby remembered her doing her first two timelines. But Jaune... where was Jaune? He should have come over and interjected himself into the conversation, hitting on Weiss and being blissfully ignorant of Pyrrha's identity till Weiss finally managed to get the fact of Pyrrha's fame through to him.

But he wasn't there. Ruby spun around, looking for the blond boy, and found him at his locker, pulling out his sword and shield.

Ruby went over to him, curious. "Hey Jaune... how's it going?"

Jaune looked over at her and smiled brightly. "Hey Crater Face!" He greeted her cheerfully.

"Hey Vomit Boy." Ruby shot back. "You ready for today?"

Jaune shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Ruby hesitated, then tried to prompt him. "So... I hear there's going to be teams... are you going to try and team up with anyone in particular?" She glanced back at Weiss and Pyrrha, the latter of whom was politely agreeing with Weiss without actually committing to anything. "Like... how about with them?" She said, gesturing with a motion of her head.

Jaune looked over at Weiss and Pyrrha with mild sadness. "Who... Weiss? I'm pretty sure she doesn't know I exist."

Ruby blinked, confused. "Well, you could go introduce yourself?"

Jaune shrugged. "Nah... I think she's already picked out her partner anyway."

Ruby blinked again. "Well... you shouldn't let that stop you. If you like her..."

Jaune looked surprised. "I never said I liked her. Who said I liked her?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "It seemed kind of obvious to me." In fact, he hadn't shown much interest in Weiss at all yet this time through, which was puzzling the heck out of her.

Jaune shrugged. "Well... have you heard her sing? She's... wow... she's amazing. And she's here to be a huntress as well?"

Ruby blinked. "You like Weiss because you heard her sing?"

Jaune shrugged again. "Well... yeah, I guess. I suppose you must think that's kind of shallow?"

Ruby hesitated. "Well... I don't know, people like who they like, I guess." She gestured to Pyrrha and Weiss, who looked like they'd finished talking and were headed their way. "Why don't you just... go talk to her?"

Jaune hesitated. "Do you think I should?" His eyes went to Weiss, who stared back at him coldly, then looked away as if in dismissal. Jaune sighed. "Nah. I think I'll just... try and wing it. See who I meet up with out there."

Ruby shook her head in confusion. "Well... if you say so."

She followed Jaune out to the cliffs, glancing at Pyrrha to see if the Invincible Girl had taken any notice of Jaune at all, but she seemed to be focused on Ozpin's words, and then on the forest ahead, and never so much as glanced in Jaune's direction.

Ruby sighed, and prepared herself. Her launch pad was right next to Jaune's, so she'd be fired up first. She'd need to stay in the air for a few moments, get a line of sight on Jaune, then intercept him before he hit the ground. And then... somehow, find Pyrrha in the forest so she could unlock his Aura. If she couldn't manage that... it'd be better to take Jaune right back up to the top of the cliffs, and take her chances elsewhere. The odds of meeting Grimm rose swiftly the farther you got from Beacon. If she couldn't get Jaune's Aura unlocked right away... she would need to bite the bullet and get him to safety, timeline to preserve or no. Him meeting up with Pyrrha was already seeming remote. In fact... she realized, she was about to make him HER partner... and possibly even jeopardize her own entry into Beacon if she ended up with a partner that she then brought back to the teachers on the cliff. It'd be the best way to keep him alive, but would they allow her to go back down into the forest without Jaune after she brought him to safety?

Ruby sighed even as she was launched into the air. She spun herself to face the cliffs she'd just left and fired Crescent Rose several times to lose momentum and stay high for a few moments longer as she watched Jaune be launched spinning up into the air behind her. Ruby tracked his flight, and blurred into rose petals, zipping down into the treeline to intercept Jaune's parabolic descent.

The one good thing about trying to catch Jaune was that he didn't have any way of changing his angle of descent. He was essentially a rock. A fragile, spinning, very loud rock with arms and legs. But still, figuring out his path was child's play, and Ruby intercepted him just under the tree line.

She came out of her petal burst just long enough to grab hold of him by the waist, then she went back into her semblance, taking Jaune with her. It was a strain. Jaune was pretty heavy compared to her, or Blake. But she'd had to try and take Penny with her once, and compared to that, Jaune was easy.

She spiraled them downwards, zipping upwards at the last second to bleed off the last of their downward momentum before coming back out into reality again.

Ruby landed hard, catching Jaune in a princess carry, her knees bending with the strain. But she was a lot stronger than she looked. Even at fifteen, years of practicing with Crescent Rose made her significantly stronger than even a large man without any Aura. But Ruby had been training with her Aura for long enough that her muscles were already super-humanly strong. Even if she was significantly weaker than people like Yang or Nora, who focused more on strength than speed.

Ruby set Jaune down on his feet, but the blond boy promptly keeled over anyway, heaving as if he was about to vomit.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked him worriedly. "Jaune, are you alright?" She looked around quickly, realizing that in her effort to get Jaune down safely, she'd neglected to figure out where Pyrrha had landed. Hopefully it was close.

Jaune Arc shuddered and forced his breathing to slow. "I'm... still alive, I guess." Jaune said shakily, turning to Ruby. "Why did they think firing us off a cliff was a good idea?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, even if you're not good at landings, your Aura should be able to save you from a simple fall like that."

Jaune blinked. "My what?"

Ruby looked at him shrewdly. "Your Aura."

"Er..."

"Jaune." Ruby said slowly. "Do you not know what Aura is?"

Jaune licked his lips nervously. "Of... course I know what Aura is! Do YOU know what Aura is?"

Ruby sighed. "Jaune. Have you had your Aura unlocked?"

Jaune blinked. "Um... was I supposed to?"

Ruby glanced around nervously. Grimm could appear at any moment. Where was Pyrrha? She hesitated. She had one other option, although she had no idea if she could actually pull it off.

"Jaune..." Ruby said. "Aura... is like your soul... except it's on the outside. It's... it's what powers our semblances and protects us from harm. It makes us strong, and lets us hit harder and faster."

Jaune blinked. "Semblance?"

Ruby sighed. "Right... anyway, if you don't have your Aura unlocked, any Grimm can just... swipe your head clean off."

Jaune gulped. "Clean off?"

Ruby made a swiping motion. "Swoosh. One swipe. No more Jaune."

Jaune swallowed. "Um... so... how does one do the... unlocking thingy?"

Ruby frowned. "Well... I've never done it before... but... I kind of remember how it was done to me. Maybe I can...?"

Jaune blinked. "You'd do that for me?"

Ruby smiled. "Well of course. We're friends, aren't we?"

Jaune smiled back. "We are?"

Ruby shrugged. "Sure." Her face turned solemn. "But Jaune, if I can't do it... you can't stay out here. It's too dangerous. Without your Aura unlocked, you could die. You'll probably die."

Jaune paled. "But... you can do it, right?"

Ruby looked around with a worried frown. "I'm kind of hoping someone else around here might know how to do it... but... I can't be sure we'll find anyone before we find some Grimm... and you don't want to be around Grimm without an Aura to protect you."

Jaune swallowed again. "OK... well, maybe you should try doing it yourself first?" He smiled uncertainly. "If you want to, that is?"

Ruby sighed. "I'll try. I can't promise it'll work though."

Jaune smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm sure you can do it, Ruby. You're already so good with your... rose petal thing..."

"That's my semblance." Ruby corrected. "But I suppose I am pretty good with it."

Jaune nodded quickly. "You were amazing! You just zipped up to me like... like a cloud, and then you grabbed me and we suddenly were both zipping around like... like clouds, except really fast and stuck together... and... well, anyway... you were really cool."

Ruby beamed at him. "Aw... you're just saying that."

Jaune shook his head. "No, really. You saved my life, Ruby. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't caught me."

Ruby grimaced. "You'd have gone splat."

Jaune winced. "Er... yeah. Probably that."

Ruby took a deep breath, then reached up to put a hand on the side of Jaune's face. "OK... let me see if I can remember the words."

Jaune blushed lightly, but still looked curious. "There are words?"

"There won't be if I can't remember them." Ruby hissed. "Now shush!"

Jaune shushed, and Ruby concentrated, trying to remember. What had her father said? Ruby took several deep, long breaths, and tried to say what was in her heart.

"For it is in perseverance that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of hope and light to rise above darkness. Infinite in compassion and bound by duty, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, help thee." As she said the words, she pushed her Aura into Jaune, trying to feel... what? Something... anything. And after several long moments, she felt something. A warmth. A well of warm power... deep inside the body of the boy standing before her. A huge amount of power. She tried to lift it... to raise it to the surface, but it was heavy... SO heavy, there was just so much of it. Ruby sagged, her strength flagging, but before her own Aura gave out, Jaune's body glowed bright white with the light of his soul.

Ruby sagged against him, and Jaune held her. "Ruby? Are you alright?"

Ruby nodded and pushed herself upright again. "I had to... use my own Aura to unlock yours... it kind of tired me out. But... your Aura is unlocked... and... you've got a whole lot of Aura."

Jaune blinked. "I do?" He looked curious. "Is that good?"

Ruby grinned at him. "Yes Jaune, that's very good."

/-/

Yang had finished off the first of two Ursas with a series of punches enhanced by her semblance and blasts from Ember Celica, when the second Ursa, which had appeared about to attack her, had instead fallen flat on it's face in front of her.

Blake stood behind the beast, and with a flick of her wrist, yanked her weapon out of the dissolving beast's back and back into her hand.

Yang grinned at her. "Hey... partner."

Blake gave her a sly grin back.

The two of them made their way through the forest in companionable silence. Yang would have normally liked to fill the quiet with some conversation, but with Grimm and their fellow hunter candidates in the woods, it seemed wiser to proceed relatively quietly.

They came upon what appeared to be an old ruin after several minutes, and Yang noted that they held chess pieces, just as Ruby had predicted. "Looks like we've made it." Yang announced unnecessarily. She looked around. "Question is... where is everybody else?"

"Worried about your sister? Blake asked curiously.

"Nah..." Yang dismissed. "Ruby can handle herself." She frowned. "Not so sure about some of the other students..."

Blake nodded. "Not everyone is going to pass initiation."

Yang sighed. "Yeah... I'm guessing I'm going to be the only one out of my old class at Signal."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

Yang shrugged. "Well, they were OK guys... but... not really suited for the life of huntsmen, to be honest."

Blake nodded back. "I understand. Not everyone is cut out for this life."

Yang looked at her in interest. "Well, you certainly seem to be." What Ruby had told her about how Blake and she had partnered up in both of her previous timelines, and the notes on Blake's stealth skills in the description Ruby had written about her, had made Yang consider the fact that it might not have been simply coincidence. She decided to give voice to a suspicion that had been growing for awhile now. "How long were you stalking me before you came to help?"

Blake blinked. "Not long... I was thinking about partnering up with you anyway... but I wanted to make sure you could... um..."

Yang grinned. "That I could handle myself in a fight?" She nodded with an easy smile. "Fair. I'm glad I didn't disappoint." She looked curious. "What would you have done if I wasn't strong enough?"

Blake blinked again, then answered honestly. "I'd have sniped the Ursa from the trees and drawn them off you, then gone to look for a different partner... probably." Blake wrinkled her nose. "That sounds kind of... mercenary now that I think about it."

Yang shrugged. "Nah, I get it. You want a good partner if you're going to be stuck with someone for four years. And it's not like you'd have let them kill me."

Blake's eyes widened. "No! Of course not! If I had to, I was committed to partnering with you if that was the only way to keep you safe. Although you obviously didn't need the assistance."

Yang nodded. "Yeah, I get you. I'd have probably done the same in your shoes. Honestly... I think we'll make a great team."

Blake smiled. "I have no complaints so far."

Yang laughed. "Well, wait till you have to wait for me to get out of the shower! Hair like mine takes some time to take care of!"

Blake chuckled. "I think I'll survive."

Yang looked at the relics with a frown. "Well... I suppose we should pick a Relic and get back to the cliffs?"

Blake frowned lightly. "Do you want to wait here for your sister, so we can go back together?"

Yang hesitated. "I kind of do, actually. Do you mind?"

Blake shook her head. "Not at all. At this point, I'm no longer worried about passing initiation, so I don't mind sticking around for awhile."

Yang smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks. I've kind of looked after Ruby for most of her life. I know she's a strong fighter... but it's kind of a hard habit to break."

Blake smiled back. "I think it's nice that you care so much for your sister. You're a good big sister to her." She looked curious. "How old are you anyway? Not that it matters... but if Ruby is your younger sister... is this your second or third try at entering Beacon?"

Yang chuckled. "No, my first time. I'm seventeen."

Blake looked confused. "But Ruby is your younger sister... and Beacon doesn't take anyone under seventeen?"

Yang shrugged. "They made an exception for Rubes. She's fifteen. She was two years behind me at Signal, but I guess Professor Ozpin saw her in action and decided to let her try out a couple years early."

Blake blinked. "That's... very impressive. I thought she looked a bit young to be here... but I didn't want to say anything. She doesn't act much like a fifteen year old."

Yang frowned. "Yeah... she's... kind of grown up a lot recently." Inwardly she remembered Ruby's words. Ruby had... according to her, spent a year and a half, at least, at Beacon, training and fighting. Her baby sister was... what, sixteen and a half, at least mentally... and seemed hardened by it. She had changed drastically, and Yang wasn't sure she liked the change.

Before they could talk further, a pair of huntresses came running into the clearing together. Yang remembered their names from Ruby's list. Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos. The two newcomers slowed to a walk as they approached.

"Hello there." Pyrrha greeted them politely. "I suppose these must be the relics?" She gestured to the chess pieces laid out on short pillars in the ruined temple.

Yang nodded. "Looks that way." She held out a hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yang."

Pyrrha smiled brightly and shook her hand. "A pleasure. My name is Pyrrha."

Weiss was already striding up to the relics, and after a moment, she selected a knight piece. "I have our Relic, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha sighed softly, then forced a polite smile on her face. "That's excellent, Weiss."

Blake wrinkled her nose, then strode up to the relics as well. Eying Weiss with mild distrust, she selected a rook.

Pyrrha looked around the clearing. "Are we the first ones here?"

Yang frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure... at the moment, I'm waiting on my baby sister, Ruby. I'm hoping she'll get here soon."

Pyrrha looked worried. "Do you think she's alright?"

Yang shrugged. "Ruby can handle herself. But I figured that we might as well head back together once we have our relics. Safety in numbers, you know."

Pyrrha nodded agreeably. "That seems wise."

Weiss came up to Pyrrha, looking mildly displeased. "I'd prefer it if we could be the first ones to return to the cliff face."

Yang raised an eyebrow at that. "It's not a race, Princess."

Weiss sniffed. "I don't know about you... but I prefer to excel at every task. Just doing the minimum is beneath us as huntresses."

Blake strode up to Yang. "I don't think looking out for our fellow hunters and huntresses should be considered doing the minimum. We've gotten our relics, and we'll bring them back. We've as good as passed initiation, but it doesn't hurt anyone if we look out for the others on the way back."

Pyrrha smiled in agreement. "A noble sentiment. I have no issue with waiting a bit longer."

Weiss sighed. "Very well... I suppose it is our... obligation to see to the protection of our lessers."

Yang's eyes nearly went red, but she forced herself to calm. According to Ruby's notes, Weiss really did mean well, she'd just been raised poorly. If Ruby was right, Weiss would thaw out considerably in a few weeks, and would be a good friend. Although it looked like Ruby wouldn't be partnering with her this time through.

Moments later, an Ursa came roaring and swinging into the clearing, a short red head with a huge hammer which Yang knew Ruby had, at one point, redesigned, followed by a boy with long black hair wearing green. Nora and Ren, from Ruby's notes.

Nora spotted the relics at once and sped over to them, grabbing a rook. "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" She sang merrily.

Yang stared past them toward the forest. Where was Ruby? Had she rescued Jaune?

Nora was happily introducing herself to Weiss, Pyrrha, and then Blake, but Yang kept her eyes on the treeline.

Finally, less than a minute later, Ruby broke the treeline, followed by Jaune Arc, the latter of whom was panting and wheezing from exertion.

Ruby ran up to the relics, and, seeing both castles and one knight missing, grabbed the second knight, figuring that Yang must have claimed it just as she had the first two times.

"What took you so long, Sis?" Yang asked curiously.

Ruby shrugged and stepped in to speak quietly. "I wanted to give Jaune a chance to face off with some Grimm on the way. I let him handle a couple beowolves. I wanted to see what I had to work with."

Yang nodded. "You had to catch him, huh?"

Ruby sighed. "Yeah. Pyrrha never even looked his way. I must have missed something... but things haven't exactly gone as I remembered."

Weiss tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Are we waiting on any more strays?"

Yang shot her an unfriendly look. "Nope." She shot back. "That's everyone."

Ruby glanced into the woods in mild concern. "Well... not everyone... but I think maybe everyone who's going to make it."

Pyrrha nodded firmly. "Then we should return to Beacon."

Ruby smiled at Pyrrha and nodded agreement. "Right. Let's go."

Ruby was almost disappointed in how anticlimactic their return to the cliffs was. Somehow, this time through, they'd failed to provoke the giant Nevermore at all... as well as avoiding the Deathstalker cave. There were, indeed, more Grimm along the way back, but the group of eight students hardly broke stride dealing with them.

Ruby made a note to herself that both giant Grimm WERE still out there in the Emerald Forest. Perhaps at some point she should bring her team out to hunt them for extra training?

It wasn't till they got back to the top of the cliff and presented their relics to Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch that Ruby realized her mistake. Somehow, Blake had grabbed a rook piece instead of the knight Yang usually grabbed. How had THAT changed? But that meant... Ruby quickly went over the pairs and which pieces they'd grabbed and sighed. That meant the teams were completely different than they'd been in her previous timelines. How was she supposed to predict the future accurately if things kept changing so much!

/-/

They were on the stage once again, and Ruby listened as Ozpin called each group of four students onto the stage. Team Cardinal had once again formed. Ruby realized that... for some reason, she'd NEVER seen any of them in the forest, and the black bishop pieces they'd collected had always been gone from the temple before she or her friends had ever arrived. How DID Cardin and his friends manage to collect their pieces so quickly?

Ozpin was speaking again, calling up her sister and her team. "Yang Xiao-Long, Lie Ren, Blake Belladonna, and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you have collected the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team Iron, lead by, Yang Xiao-Long."

"Go Yang!" Ruby cheered for her older sister. As much as she disliked having Yang be on a different team, she had to support her success. Still, that name... Ruby sighed. "YRBN? I guess that kind of sounds like iron?"

And then, it was her turn. "Pyrrha Nikos, Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. The four of you have collected the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team Raisin, lead by... Ruby Rose." Ruby looked up at the monitor. RASN. Using their last names, it kind of worked. And Raisin was a color. A kind of brown, right? Ruby looked at her team. Pyrrha and Jaune were smiling at her. Weiss was... not quite fuming, but Ruby knew the heiress well enough to recognize that look. Weiss was furious, but concealing it. Ruby sighed. She'd have had to deal with Weiss's anger over not being picked as team leader even if her original plan had worked. It made little difference.

The teams were very different though. Ruby wondered how the new makeup would change events down the line. She'd have to give some thought to how much of the original timeline would continue, and if she could figure out how the changes would unfold. Roman and Cinder and the White Fang should be all still acting as they'd always done. Those plans wouldn't alter because of a changed team configuration. But how Ruby would be able to respond to those threats... that would almost certainly have to change. Ruby wasn't sure yet exactly how things would go, but she needed to make a plan. She couldn't make the same mistakes that she had in her last two timelines.

/-/

They'd found the room that would be their dorm for the next four years, and Ruby was pleasantly surprised that, once again, she'd gotten the same room as she had the previous two times through. That did make certain things more convenient, although she wouldn't have been too out of sorts if it had been a different room.

Yang and Blake not being here with her was the oddest part. It was nice to be on the same team as Pyrrha and Weiss though... and she DID like Jaune, even if he wasn't the strongest of fighters.

Jaune was probably going to have to be her priority for awhile. Being her partner would mean he would have to be stronger if he was going to survive. A whole lot stronger. Either that, or she'd have to ditch him whenever she needed to get something dangerous done, which would leave her team short handed.

It was late, and everyone else seemed content to stow their belongings under their beds, except for Weiss, of course, as the heiress had a great deal more luggage than the rest of them, and try and get some sleep before classes started the next day.

By popular agreement, Jaune changed for bed in the bathroom, while the girls used the bedroom at the same time to change into their pajamas. Once she'd changed, Ruby laid down on her bed and opened her notebook, reading what she'd gotten down so far. Yang had her notes on their friends still, not that Ruby needed her notes to remember quite a bit more than her notes had written down, but she still had her notes on what would happen next written down.

The next event Ruby could point to with reasonable certainty of it happening was the borbatusk in Professor Port's Grimm Studies class. The question was, did she use that knowledge? She could try and use her future knowledge to convince her team she was a time traveler... but even Yang hadn't wanted to believe her, and she'd shown her a ton of things that she shouldn't have been able to manage.

Still... the longer she waited, the less evidence she'd have. Right now, she had a ton of personal details about both her and Yang's team that she could use to convince them. She could tell each of them details about themselves that she shouldn't possibly be able to know. But would that convince them that she was telling the truth, or drive them away from her... making them all think she was a spy, or a freak?

She pulled out her scroll and texted her sister.

GunscytheGirl: Hey Yang, you still awake?

It took half a minute before Yang finally texted her back.

YellowDragon: Yeah of course. What's up sis?

GunscytheGirl: Do you think I should try and tell everyone on our teams I'm from the future?

YellowDragon: Everyone? Really?

GunscytheGirl: They're all good people. And if we could be working together right from the start, it'd help.

YellowDragon: Maybe. But are you sure you can convince everyone?

GunscytheGirl: Not sure. Maybe we should drop some hints and see how everyone reacts?

YellowDragon: Because that worked so great with me.

GunscytheGirl: That's sarcasm, right?

YellowDragon: Well, I'll admit, telling me that you were going to fight criminals, and get arrested wasn't a good start.

GunscytheGirl: But that was what was going to happen!

YellowDragon: I get that. But it was hella scary. And then telling me that somebody was gonna die?

GunscytheGirl: So... start with small things first?

YellowDragon: Yeah, if you're going to do it, starting small might be good.

GunscytheGirl: OK... so tomorrow morning Professor Port will have a Borbatusk in his Grimm Studies Classroom.

YellowDragon: Really?

GunscytheGirl: Weiss fought it in my first timeline.

YellowDragon: How'd she do?

GunscytheGirl: She beat it, but she was mad at me for trying to tell her how in the middle of the fight.

YellowDragon: OK, well, we can lead with that, I guess.

YellowDragon: So... can I tell anyone on my team the stuff you've told me?

GunscytheGirl: Like what?

YellowDragon: Like... stuff you wrote about them?

GunscytheGirl: Maybe Ren and Nora? I think Blake might freak out if she knew we know she's a faunus.

YellowDragon: Really?

GunscytheGirl: There's more to Blake then what I told you. But she has reason to be nervous about people finding out more about her.

YellowDragon: Anything bad?

GunscytheGirl: Bad stuff in her past, yeah. Not bad stuff about Blake, exactly... but...

YellowDragon: Anything I really need to know now?

GunscytheGirl: That Blake will always do the right thing. She's just not always sure what the right thing is. And if you scare her, she'll probably run away.

YellowDragon: So... easy with the pussycat?

GunscytheGirl: Don't let her hear you call her that!

YellowDragon: Yeah, yeah. Lips are zipped.

GunscytheGirl: Good. Don't scare Blake away. Be nice to her!

YellowDragon: I'll be super cool. Don't worry about it.

GunscytheGirl: Good. Blake is the best. Be good!

YellowDragon: Goodnight sis.

GunscytheGirl: Goodnight Yang!

When Ruby put her scroll away, she noticed Weiss looking at her in annoyance. "Finally done texting your boyfriend?"

Ruby blinked. "I don't have a boyfriend."

Weiss looked dubious. "Who were you texting to then?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "My big sister, Yang."

Weiss frowned. "The blond girl who's the leader of team Iron?"

Ruby nodded. "That's the one."

Weiss blinked. "You don't have the same last name..."

Ruby hesitated. "Well, we're technically half sisters. I'm named after my mom, and Yang is named after our dad."

Weiss blushed lightly. "I apologize for bringing it up then."

Ruby shook her head. "It's OK. It's not a painful subject or anything. That's just... how my family is, I guess?"

Weiss looked like she wanted to ask another question, but wrinkled her nose again and said nothing. Ruby knew that look, however.

"You can ask." Ruby encouraged. "We're going to be teammates for a long time. We might as well get to know each other."

Weiss hesitated. "So... you and Yang have different moms?"

Ruby nodded. "Yang's mom... left when Yang was really little. Then dad married my mom. Summer was... well, she really was mom to both of us. She read us stories, baked cookies... and fought monsters. She was kind of like... super mom." Ruby sighed. "I don't really remember her all that well, but Yang does. Yang tells me stories about her."

Weiss hesitated again. "Is it alright if I... ask...?

Ruby nodded softly. "Mom... she went out on a mission, and she never came home. Nobody knows what happened, but, well... being a huntress can be really dangerous."

Weiss bit her lip. "I'm... really sorry, Ruby."

Ruby nodded back. "It's OK. It was a long time ago."

Weiss wrinkled her nose, as if trying to come up with a change of subject. "What about your father? What... what does he do?"

Ruby beamed. "Dad's a teacher at Signal! He sometimes does huntsman work too, but he's been pretty much staying at home to take care of Yang and me after... well..." She shrugged. "He's planning on going back out on assignment occasionally now that Yang and I are in school."

Pyrrha, who had been trying not to be too obvious about the fact that she'd been listening, chimed in. "Is everyone in your family a hunter or huntress?"

Ruby smiled at Pyrrha. "Pretty much! My Uncle Qrow also taught at Signal for awhile. I modeled my Crescent Rose off his Harbinger, and he taught me how to fight with a scythe. He does lots of missions. He's super strong. Both my mom and Yang's mom were on a team with Uncle Qrow and my dad here at Beacon, actually!"

Pyrrha smiled hesitantly. "So, being a huntress runs in your family."

Ruby nodded. "Yes. Mom was leader of her team as well. I guess it's something for me to live up to."

Weiss looked a bit disgruntled, but said nothing, and this time, Ruby didn't pry, guessing why Weiss might be unhappy with the topic of Ruby being team leader.

Jaune came out of the bathroom about then, wearing his blue Pumpkin Pete onesie.

Ruby snorted once, then tried to keep herself from laughing out loud.

Jaune blinked. "What?"

Ruby pointed at him, unable to stop herself. "Bunny slippers?"

Jaune looked down at his feet. "Hey!" He protested defensively. "It's really comfortable!"

Pyrrha giggled lightly. "I'm sure it is."

Weiss just rolled her eyes and ignored the lone male in the room.

Jaune made his way over to the bed next to Ruby's at the far end of the room and sat down. "So... what are you all talking about?"

Ruby glanced at Weiss, wondering if the heiress would answer, but when it became obvious Weiss was now ignoring the rest of the room, she spoke up. "I was just sharing a little about myself. Like... my dad, my uncle Qrow, my mom, and Yang's mom were on a team here at Beacon together."

Jaune looked interested. "That's pretty cool." He hesitated. "My dad's a huntsman. And... I guess my great-great-grandfather was kind of famous in the great war or something."

Weiss looked interested. "Anyone I would know?"

Jaune shrugged. "He was a general or something? I have his sword, Crocea Mors."

Weiss nodded once, as if filing that away.

Silence fell over the room and for awhile, nobody spoke.

Finally, Ruby broke the silence. "Anyway... I know something useful about tomorrow, if anyone wants to hear?"

Pyrrha spoke up. "What is it, Ruby?"

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Well, Professor Port is going to have a borbatusk in a cage during tomorrow's Grimm Studies class."

Weiss blinked, turning to look at Ruby with interest. "How do you know that?"

Ruby shrugged. "That's a secret. But I do know the best method for beating one... if anyone wants to show off in Professor Port's class?"

Weiss snorted. "A borbatusk is hardly a noteworthy opponent."

Ruby shrugged again. "But they can be a bit tricky if you've never fought one before."

Jaune spoke up. "OK, what's the best way to beat a borbatusk then?"

Ruby nodded. "Well, if they're far enough away, and you've provoked them, they start spinning at you like a... spikey wheel. Fast. And that can be kind of hard to deal with. And they're pretty well armored in general. They're unarmored along the belly, so that's your best target, but of course, when they're on their feet, or spinning, their belly isn't exposed."

Jaune looked like he wanted to be writing this down. "So... how do you beat one?"

Ruby grinned. "Well, if it was Weiss, say... I'd get it to charge me, then put a Glyph in it's way. That'd make it fall over, and she could stab it in the belly after that." Weiss raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing.

She pointed at Jaune. "If it was you... well, you could try blocking with your shield, but they hit hard. You'd have to brace really well. If I were you, I'd provoke it, then put my back to a wall, then jump out of the way at the last second. If you time it right, the borbatusk would hit the wall and fall on it's back, and then you could stab it."

Jaune nodded thoughtfully. "Get it to fall over, then stab it. Got it."

Ruby nodded. "Of course, if you're strong enough, you could just turn it over or knock it into the air, or sweep it's legs... but that's kind of tough if you're new to fighting them."

Weiss looked at Ruby curiously. "And how would you defeat one?"

Ruby thought about it. "Well... I'd probably just sweep it's legs before it got going. I hit pretty hard with Crescent Rose, and my style involves a lot of momentum, so I could probably take out a leg right away, or knock it over with my first attack." She gestured to Weiss. "Myrtenaster is great for slashes and stabs, but it doesn't have any weight behind it."

Weiss frowned suspiciously. "How did you know what my rapier is called?"

Ruby blinked. "Um..." She fought for an answer. "I saw it in a magazine?"

Weiss looked dubious. "A magazine. That had the name of my weapon in it?"

Ruby sighed. "OK, that's a lie."

Weiss frowned. "Why would you lie about that?"

Ruby shrugged. "Because... I know about your weapon the same way I know about Professor Port's class tomorrow. And I can't talk about how I know."

Weiss blinked. "What do you mean you can't talk about it?"

Ruby frowned. "I just can't, OK?"

Weiss frowned deeper. "Did a teacher tell you? Professor Ozpin?"

Ruby shook her head. "I can't talk about it."

Weiss was looking at Ruby in annoyance. "Is it because your father is a teacher? Is that why they made you team leader?"

Ruby blinked. "No. My father is a teacher at Signal, not Beacon."

Weiss shook her head dismissively. "Nepotism. I should have guessed. How else could a fifteen year old child get into an Academy like Beacon? Much less become leader of a team!"

Pyrrha sat up, looking mildly distressed. "I'm sure Ruby deserves to be here as much as the rest of us."

Weiss snorted. "On a team with you... and ME in it, they make this untrained child..."

Ruby spoke up. "I'm trained! I've trained for years for this!"

Weiss looked down her nose at Ruby disdainfully. "I have studied, and trained, under the finest teachers in Atlas. I EARNED my place here in Beacon."

Ruby frowned. "I'm not going to argue about this with you, Weiss. I earned my way in as well."

Weiss sniffed. "Through your father, no doubt."

Ruby sighed. "My dad didn't want me to come to Beacon early. He was pretty upset at Professor Ozpin for inviting me."

Weiss blinked. "Your father was upset?"

Ruby shrugged. "He agrees with you, I guess. Or maybe he just thinks I'm too young to be here." She sighed again. "But you're partially right. It is because of my dad that I'm here. Because of my dad, and my Uncle Qrow, who spent day after day training me outside of school. Because of Yang, who took care of me and helped me learn how to fight Grimm." Ruby turned on her side to face Weiss. "You're a great fighter, Weiss. I saw enough in the forest this morning to tell me that. And I'm sure you learned everything you needed to know to get enrolled into Beacon. But I'm a pretty good fighter too. I've killed hundreds of Grimm. I've fought criminals, even ex-huntsmen, and I'm still here."

Weiss blinked. "Hundreds...?"

Ruby nodded firmly. "Two days ago, I was walking home from my mother's gravestone to our house on Patch. Fifty beowolves surrounded and attacked me. Honestly, it was the biggest pack I'd seen for awhile, but I guess they were attracted to all the negative emotions I was giving off..." she stopped. "And you probably think I'm bragging."

Weiss frowned. "Not bragging, exactly..."

Ruby sighed. "It doesn't matter if you believe me right now or not, Weiss. You'll get to see my skills for yourself soon enough."

"I've seen enough of your skills already to know that you're telling the truth." Pyrrha said softly. "You're strong, Ruby. I've seen enough to know that."

Jaune nodded agreement. "You're amazing, Ruby! The way you unlocked my..."

"Locker!" Ruby shouted. "I unlocked your locker!"

Jaune blinked, and Pyrrha and Weiss looked from one to the other of them in confusion.

"I mean..." Ruby said while carefully looking at the ceiling. "It was no big deal, sometimes they get stuck. And I do get a pretty good arm workout slinging my baby around."

Jaune laughed nervously. "Right... you are a lot stronger than you look!"

Ruby nodded to Weiss. "Weiss, your semblance is amazing. And you're really good with a sword. I'm really glad to have you on our team." She paused a moment before continuing. "And I know you'd have been a great leader too. But I'll be the best team leader I can be. I really have trained for this. I know all about the classes we'll be taking, and I've already got plenty of ideas for team attacks and tactics. You'll see. I won't let you down."

Weiss's frown had softened. "Very well... I suppose I will suspend my doubt till you have had a proper chance to show what you can do."

Ruby nodded firmly. "I won't let you down, Weiss."

Weiss spoke up. "But seriously, how did you know what my rapier is called?"

Ruby shrugged, and told a half truth. "I'm a bit of a weapons nut. I forged Crescent Rose from scratch. I know what everyone's weapons are like in our year. And a lot about the weapons of some of the second and third year teams as well. I've already got an idea for upgrading Nora's Magnhild."

Weiss blinked. "I... see."

Ruby tried another half truth. "I know several weaponsmiths... and we talk sometimes. And I really do read all the weapon magazines."

Pyrrha looked curious. "So... you know my weapons as well?"

Ruby nodded. "Miló and Akoúo̱. And they really were in a weapon's magazine. Triple changers are pretty rare."

Pyrrha nodded. "I remember doing that article. It was... one of the more relaxing ones I did."

Jaune blinked. "You had your weapons in a magazine article, Pyrrha? That's really cool!"

Pyrrha smiled weakly. "Yes... I suppose it was rather cool..." she said unconvincingly.

Jaune leaned back. "That's so awesome. That must have been the best thing that ever happened to you, huh?"

Pyrrha blinked. "Well... I'm not certain I would say that."

Jaune grinned at her. "I mean... you're practically famous! I've never been in a magazine before."

Weiss looked astonished. "Practically famous? Jaune, do you not know who she is?"

Jaune blinked. "Um... what do you mean?"

Weiss gestured at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

Jaune shrugged. "Never heard of it."

Weiss brightened. "Ah! She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row... A new record!"

Jaune blinked. "The what?"

Weiss clapped a hand to her forehead in frustration. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

Jaune gasped in astonishment. "That's you? They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

Pyrrha smiled wanly. "Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."

Jaune looked down at his onesie. "I... kind of eat a lot of Pumpkin Petes."

"Who would have guessed." Weiss said dryly.

Ruby broke in. "It doesn't matter if Pyrrha was famous before coming to Beacon. All it matters is that she's part of our team, and a fellow student." Ruby smiled at Pyrrha. "And a potential new friend."

Pyrrha beamed back at Ruby. "That sounds lovely."

Weiss groaned. "We did not come all the way to Beacon to make friends! We came here to learn how to defeat monsters!"

Ruby looked at Weiss. "I'm already really good at defeating monsters, Weiss. But I could use some friends. Because no huntress or hunter can fight all the Grimm in the world alone, you know? Huntsmen form teams for a reason, and not just to learn. Learning how to work together as a team is the most important thing we can learn here at Beacon."

Pyrrha smiled widely at Ruby. "Well said."

Weiss frowned. "Perhaps you're right... but still, we don't have time for frivolities..."

Ruby shook her head. "Oh, trust me Weiss, I'm not planning on going easy on any of us when it comes to training. We all are going to need to get a lot stronger before we graduate. But don't discount the importance of making friends. We're going to be teammates for a long time. Things will go a whole lot easier if we actually take the time to learn to like each other."

Weiss glanced dubiously at Jaune, then sighed. "I... suppose I can understand your point."

Ruby smiled. "Well... just try and keep an open mind. I promise you, you won't regret it."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "I suppose we'll see."

Ruby nodded. "You will." She yawned, and stretched. "Well, in any case... it's late, let's get some sleep. We have a long first day tomorrow."

/-/

If anyone wonders exactly why Jaune doesn't approach Pyrrha and Weiss in the locker room in this timeline, it's because Ruby failed to duplicate a few crucial details precisely.

After they got into the ballroom in the Canon timeline, Ruby meets up with Weiss a second time as Weiss hands her a pamphlet. At Yang's suggestion, Ruby tries to make friends, suggesting they 'go shopping for school supplies together.' Weiss sarcastically blows her off, mentioning "talking about cute boys, like tall, blond and scraggly over there." and she gestures towards Jaune.

This is the first moment Jaune and Weiss have any interaction. Jaune obviously notices the exchange, although he doesn't seem to quite catch the disdain of Weiss's words regarding him, probably only catching "Cute" "Tall" and 'Blond" in reference to himself. He comes over very shortly after that to inform Weiss that "I'm a natural blond, you know..."

Now, if this isn't common knowledge, in my experience at least, teenage boys Jaune's age need only a little bit of encouragement to try and talk to a pretty girl. But usually they need at least a LITTLE encouragement. By talking about him.., and referring to him, even obliquely as a 'cute boy' Weiss gains Jaune's attention and gives him the mistaken impression that she might be interested in him.

Obviously Jaune has known of Weiss before this, as he's a fan of her music, (unless, of course, he just happened to research her AFTER reaching Beacon, which, while stalkerish, is quite possible), but in either case, I feel like it was that initial interaction that gave Jaune the push to try and talk to Weiss in the first place. So, since Ruby didn't talk to Weiss after their initial interaction in the courtyard... (which Ruby deliberately triggered in order to get Blake's attention and to try and set up her later partnership with Weiss) Jaune never gets that initial push. Ruby forgets that she needs to interact with Weiss a few more times to properly replicate her original timeline, which, after all, is now a very long time ago for her. Not to mention Yang pulling her out of the hall keeps Weiss from meeting up with Ruby the second, crucial, time.

Ruby can remember her first meetings easily enough, but she shies away from continuing to argue and fight with Weiss after their first encounter, as it's something she doesn't enjoy doing. This is where Ruby fails... and why she ends up partnered with Jaune Arc instead of Weiss this time around. But on the plus side... Jaune lives! Yay?