Chapter Text
There was a burst of pain and then there was nothing. Ruby was falling in forever inky darkness with no end in sight. And then, suddenly there was light, sound, touch! One of her favorite songs was blasting from her headphones as her eyes adjust to the light and the object--a magazine--in her hands.
“--kill you!” Came a gruff voice as she's suddenly shoved around. Ruby's eyes widened as she recalled this exact moment from years ago.
"Huh?!" She cries out as he waves his sword threateningly.
"I said put your hands in the air!"
With the strongest sense of deja vu Ruby looks taken aback before responding. "A-are you robbing me?"
"Yes!"
"Oooh." And before he could make another movement a flurry of rose petals filled the shop and wrapped up all of the thugs. The windows and doors burst open as they were flung out of the store at a high speed. Only one Roman Torchwick was untouched. All of his goons were dazed at the sudden movement as they regained their bearings.
"Ooookay," Torchwick drags the word out, surprise in his features before glaring. A little red Hunter in training. "Well? Get her!"
The group tries rushing at her. Ruby nimbly dodges and doesn't even take out Crescent Rose. There was no need to with how slow they were moving in her eyes. As she dodges, Ruby's mind was processing what had happened.
She had died at 24 and had miraculously been reincarnated. But unlike Ozpin and the Maidens, who kept moving forward, she had been shunted to the past. Ruby had only read about situations like these in comic books!
It seemed that both her memory and soul were intact as she knew where she was and could pull off Rose Storm, a skill she had learned when she turned 20.
Feeling a little less confused, Ruby quickly takes out the goons with a few well-placed punches. She adjusts her force since she was in a young body but all that training weaponless was paying off.
"You were every penny, truly you were," Torchwick quips before spitting out his cigar and firing at it. Smoke and dust covered the area as she coughed through it, knowing exactly where he was headed.
Ruby practically flys to the top of the roof as she wiped out Crescent Rose's sniper mode. Before she took a shot at him as he threw a fire crystal at her feet and caused to explode.
It was at that moment Ms. Goodwitch appeared and defended Ruby.
Cinder steps out eyes glowing behind the shadows. Ruby snarls as she narrows her eyes at the woman. Glynda attempts to stop Cinder with Ruby's assistance but the two got. Before she knew it, Ruby is being praised and scolded in the same breath by her former (new?) teacher. It was so forlorn and familiar that she couldn't help but smile.
Glynda takes the young girl's expression to be cheekiness, however before she could correct Ruby, a man entered carrying a plate of cookies.
"Ruby Rose," He says, placing the cookies onto the table. Ruby wasn't sure what face to make at the sight of him, "you have silver eyes."
"Ah yio haov silvuh haer," she replies with a mouth full of cookies. Old habits huh.
"Do you know who I am?"
Yes I do. "You're Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy."
"And where did an adorable little girl learn to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever created? Reminds me of a dusty old crow."
"My uncle Qrow Brawnwen taught me everything he knows at Signal." Ruby replies evenly, "I've always wanted to be a Hunter and he turned me from garbage into well," She did a flash chopping motions with her hands. Ozpin seems highly amused by this.
"How would you like to join my school?" He asks her. She watches him for a moment before smiling.
"It would be an honor, sir."
"Well, okay." Ozpin smiles despite Glynda's roll of her eyes.
***
“Oh, I can’t believe my little sister is going to Beacon with me! I’m so proud of you!” Yang cooes as she squeezes her sister.
“It was nothing, honest.” Ruby replies as she hugs back.
“Are you okay? You’ve been acting weird lately,” Yang pouts, having noticed something was off about her baby sibling. Yang places a hand on her shoulder, “I know you might be lonely and sad after leaving your friends behind at Signal but I know you’ll meet some great new ones!”
Ruby grins at the concerned look on Yang’s face. She gently takes the hand-the one that Yang loses-into her own and presses on it lightly. It was then she saw a familiar face, going for small pouch on her side and pulling out a vial.
“I’ll be fine. Someone once told me that strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet.” Ruby assures a blinking Yang as she approaches a lanky boy who wasn’t looking so well. “Hey, drink this--slowly! Slowly.”
The boy all but downs the vial without question, wiping his mouth as he surprisingly feels so much better.
“T-thanks? What was that?”
“Mild motion sickness potion. Made it myself! I’m Ruby. Ruby Rose.” She holds out a hand and he took it to shake.
“I’m Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you, Ruby.”
“Since when do you start carrying medicine let alone make your own?” Yang asks as she steps up beside her sister, looking Jaune up and down before determining he wasn’t a threat. “I’m Yang, Ruby’s sister.”
“Ever since--” Ruby’s cut off by Glynda’s appearance and short speech with Yang and Jaune paying attention to the Professor’s words. Half an hour passes by with the trio sharing childhood stories and showing off their weapons. Jaune’s super impressed that that the two sisters actually made their weapons!
“I’m just saying,” Jaune points out as they walk off the ship, “Motion sickness is a much more common problem then people think it is.”
“Whatever you say, Vomit Boy.” Yang teases though he hadn’t thrown up thanks to Ruby’s foresight.
“Don’t call me that! It’ll stick for the next four years!” Jaune cries, not paying attention as he’s walking and bumps into someone. Ruby moves quickly and pulls this person into a dip. A million things race through her mind as silver meets glacial blue: words they had shared, phrases that had gone unsaid, and declarations Ruby wished she had voiced.
“Careful, princess.” Ruby settles on with a smile. The girl Ruby has saved from a spill has snow white hair and a deep frown despite the blush on her pale face.
“Wha-who-??” The girl stammers but before she can form a proper sentence a voice chimes in.
“It’s heiress, actually. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company--” Comes a cool, slightly deeper feminine voice. Ruby makes sure Weiss is upright as she turns. Dressed in black with a little bow atop her head, enters Blake. A book in one hand, she picks up a vial of dust and narrows her eyes. Ruby notices now how cat like they are when she’s angry and wonders how she had missed it in her original timeline. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Yang’s eyes lock onto Blake and can’t help but smirk inwardly.
“Well I’m glad someone respects my name,” Weiss says. She goes to dust herself off when she realizes Ruby hadn’t let go of one of her hands in helping her steady. Roughly, Weiss takes back her appendage though before she can ask Blake’s name, it’s gone downhill.
“--owners of the largest generators of Dust not to mention their questionable work environments for the faunus.” Blake all but snarls.
“Why I never!” Weiss cries, before storming off in annoyance. Before she disappears however, she throws a look in Ruby’s direction. It’s one of confusion and intrigue but Weiss doesn’t speak on it before sashaying away. Blake also has made her exit even as Yang goes to call out to her.
Ruby's eyes go to her sister's outstretched hand, the robotic limb superimposing over Yang's current one.
"Since when did you become so suave?" Yang's voice pulls Ruby to the present, a cheeky grin on her face. Ruby can't help but blush a little as she fully realizes how she had acted.
"I was just trying to help!" Ruby cries as Yang turns her full attention to teasing her sister. The sound of laughter follows them as they entered orientation room.
Ruby looks around and easily heard the bubbly Nora amidst the crows with Ren beside her. Ruby stops when a flash of red hair catches her eyes. She can't help but tear up as Pyrrha Nikos enters her vision.
"Hey are you okay?" Jaune asks her. Ruby rubs at her eyes and shakes her head.
"I'm fine! Hey, you see that girl over there? Go introduce yourself."
Jaune straightens his back and puff out his chest only for Ruby pat him.
"Just be genuine! Say where your from, how nervous you are, maybe bring up your sisters."
"Wait how-" Jaune starts to ask before Ruby has all but teleported him. Besides him is a beautiful, muscular red headed girl. "Uh, hi I'm Jaune? Who are you?"
Ruby nods with a satisfied grin as Jaune and Pyrrha hit it off. It does take long before they are laughing together.
"And now you're playing matchmaker? Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Yang asks, a hand on her him as she playfully narrows her eyes.
"I just felt like they'd get along is all. And I was right." Ruby explains.
"Excuse me?" Comes Weiss's voice and Ruby turns to look in her direction.
"Yeah?" Ruby asks in reply.
"I-" Weiss hesitates, biting her tongue and looking over shoulder before continuing. "I wanted to thank you for the assist earlier. That could have resulted in an explosion. As you're aware I'm Weiss Schnee but I didn't catch your name?"
"Ruby Rose. I was lucky enough to skip ahead." Ruby says catching how Weiss's eyes shine when she implies she's younger. Ruby holds out a hand. Ruby can tell Weiss thinks she's some sort of child prophecy. Weiss quickly glances at Pyrrha who's hitting it off with Jaune before nodding to herself and shaking Ruby's hands.
"Nice to meet you Ruby. This might just be fate."