Chapter Text
"Oh, and one last point of clarification about this central location of yours. Do not fall."
As Ruby fell, these words echoed in her mind. How naïve of her to believe that everything would be okay. How gullible, how idealistic.
How stupid.
So this is how it ends, she thought. She tightened her grip on Blake's hand, the only thing she had left to hold before oblivion. And even that was taken away.
But oblivion... never came. Instead, everything felt... warm.
"Rise and shine, sweetheart, you're going to be late for school. Today's the big day, you know."
That voice. The world around her was dark. No, that wasn't right. Her eyes were closed. She squeezed her hand, hoping to find Blake, but instead of her friend, she felt... fabric.
"You really do need to kick that lazy habit of yours if you're going to be a huntress someday."
Again, that voice. She didn't recognize it, but somewhere deep in her mind, it sounded oh, so familiar. Scared of what she'd see, scared of where she was, Ruby Rose carefully opened her eyes and saw a woman in front of her. Wearing hooded cape, white on the outside and red on the inside, and a black dress, the sight of her made Ruby's heart ache.
But it wasn't until she looked at the woman's face that she realized what was going on. The woman had short black hair, tips dyed red. And her eyes... Just like her own, they were a bright silver.
"M...Mom?"
Summer Rose. Ruby Rose's mother.
Dead, for twelve years.
"Of course. Who else would it be? Your father and Yang already left for Signal for the ceremony. If you don't hurry, you'll miss your own graduation. Now, get dressed, breakfast is waiting in the kitchen for you."
With that, the woman who couldn't be her mother turned around and closed the door behind her, leaving Ruby alone.
"Graduation...?"
Ruby slid out of bed. Her own bed, back at her home in Vale, on the small island of Patch. Next to her was a second bed, also empty. Yang's bed. Of course, the pillow covers were even color-coded for them. Yang's were yellow, Ruby's were red.
Everything about this was so nostalgic. So vivid.
So real.
But it couldn't be real. This had to be a dream.
But the smell of breakfast coming from behind the closed door, the sound of the birds outside her window, the feel of the sun on her skin.
Everything felt so much. So strong. And dreams didn't feel that way.
But rather than dwell, Ruby's instincts had already taken over. Before she realized it, she'd already put on her uniform -- her Signal uniform.
She reached to grab Crescent Rose from her closet, but -- it wasn't there. No matter how much she dug through her clothes, under her bed, even in Yang's closet, she couldn't find her companion weapon. Something felt... off.
"Where's Crescent Rose?" Ruby called out from her bedroom downstairs, not really expecting an answer. But an answer came pretty quickly.
"Oh, your scythe? You left it with Qrow the other day, didn't you? He said he'd help with the counterbalancing or something."
Did she? Ruby didn't really remember.
Nevertheless, Ruby eventually made her way to the kitchen. She was lured in by the smell of eggs and toast, with just a little bit of honey mixed in.
"The way Dad makes it..." Ruby muttered to herself.
The woman who looked like Ruby's mother chuckled. "Your father? Please. No matter how much I try to teach him, that poor man can't cook to save his life. Honestly, what would he ever do without me? He may be an excellent huntsman and quite the romantic, but his chef skills are in dire need of work."
"That's not true..." Ruby started to say, but couldn't finish her sentence. The woman turned around, and gave Ruby a beautiful smile. And something inside of her snapped.
Ignoring the food on the table, or even in the woman's hands, Ruby sped over, leaving a trail of flower petals in her wake, and wrapped her arms around the person who could only have been her mother.
"Mom... Mom... Mom! It's really you?"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, sweetheart. I know I was away for a few days, but I really did promise I'd be back for your graduation! There's no need to get so worked up!"
"That's not... that's not what I mean! How are you here? I thought you -- they said you -- they said you were dead!"
Summer gasped. "Dead? Nonsense! I'm not the Silver-Eyed Huntress for nothing. There's nothing I can't handle, you know. All I have to do is think about my daughters, and I have the strength to take on all the Grimm in the world. Don't you worry about a thing." She put down the plate she was holding and wrapped her arms around her daughter. The warmth of her mother's embrace, for the first time she could ever remember, sent a new wave of tears down Ruby's face. If this was a dream, then Ruby didn't want to wake up.
"Now, now. Eat your breakfast before it gets cold." Summer shimmied her way out of Ruby's arms, and returned to the kitchen.
Ruby didn't want to let go, afraid that the moment she did, Summer would disappear again, but her stomach announced that she had to eat. Stuffing her face full of food at the speed of light, Ruby thought to herself, When was the last time I had something to eat? Not since last night, at the Schnee mansi--
Weiss.
Blake.
Yang.
"YANG!" Ruby stood up, shoving her chair back against the wall with a clatter, and shouted her sister's name. Yang, who had fallen off first.
Yang, who had shielded her from certain doom, and paid the ultimate price for it.
Yang, her sister, the one person she trusted more than anyone else in the world to keep her safe.
"MOM, WHERE'S YANG?"
"Ruby? Is -- is everything okay? I saw Yang this morning, she and Taiyang left for Signal together. Didn't I tell you that?"
Ruby froze. "But I saw her, she... she d... di..."
Summer frowned. "You know that's not funny. It's one thing to tell me you thought I was dead when I'm standing right here, but to say that about your sister? What happened to you last night, sweetheart?"
"I... I saw her... fall. She fell, and... then Blake and I fell, too."
Over the edge. Into the void. Only death lay on the other side.
Is this...?
Riing riing, riing riing. Click.
"Y-ello." Another familiar voice reached Ruby's ears, this time from a scroll in her mother's hand.
"Hello again, Tai. Tell me, is Yang with you?" Summer had the scroll on broadcast, so Ruby could hear the conversation loud and clear.
"Huh? 'Course she is. Say hi, Yang." On the other end was Taiyang Xiao Long, Ruby's father.
There was a beep and a change in audio quality. Taiyang must have switched his scroll to broadcast as well. "Hiya, Mother, what's hanging?" Yang's voice. Yang's cheerful voice, Yang's playful tone. Yang Yang Yang Yang Yang -- Ruby's heart felt like it would burst.
Summer smiled, as if to say I told you so. "Just wanted to check up on you two, see if you've saved me a seat."
"'Course we have. And you're sitting next to me, Mother. I won't let Dad hog you all to himself."
"YANG! You're okay!" Ruby screamed at the scroll, unable to keep herself quiet anymore. Tears were streaming down her face again as she looked at her mother and spoke to her sister.
Two people who were gone. One twelve years ago, and one not an hour ago. Both of them here, alive.
"Whoa, baby sis, of course I'm okay. Just who do you think you're talking about?" Ruby's heart felt so full, so large. So much emotion was running through her. Relief, joy, happiness. She was liable to burst any moment now.
I'm not a baby anymore! Ruby thought to herself, but she had more pressing questions. "Do you know what's going on? Is Blake with you? I don't know what happened to Weiss, but Blake and I fell after you --"
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there. What are you talking about? When did you meet Blake? And who's Weiss?" And just like that, all those hot emotions in Ruby's chest turned ice cold.
What?
"Huh? She's on our team, isn't she?"
"Our team? Ruby, are you feeling okay? Maybe the stress of graduating is getting to you. After the ceremony, you should get some rest."
No. No no no no no. This wasn't right. How could she not know? Unless-
"You're right, Yang. Sorry about that. I guess I'm not feeling so great."
"Don't sweat it, Ruby. I know how stressful finding a huntsman academy was for you. Getting accepted into Beacon was a longshot anyway, but I promise, Radar is a great school, too. Hey, listen, Dad's giving me the stink-eye, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"
Ruby closed her eyes and hung her head. "Yeah, okay. Talk to you later, sis."
"Love ya, Ruby. You can stop glaring at me now, Dad."
Love you, too. But those words never made it out of her heart. Summer and Taiyang had a brief conversation after that, but Ruby heard none of it. She couldn't. Because deep inside, she knew the truth.
That wasn't her Yang, and this wasn't her Summer. Whatever this was, it wasn't her life.
"Is something wrong, sweetheart?"
Summer, sitting across from her at the table, took a sip of her coffee, and looked at her daughter.
Ruby, for all her excitement earlier, had gone almost silent. What could she say?
For all the nights she'd dreamed of this reunion, a life with her mother at home, safe, happy, together, she couldn't shake the feeling that none of this was right.
"Ruby, dear, please. What's wrong?"
"Huh?" Ruby looked up from her half-eaten food, looking at the mother she'd always longed to reunite with. Her smile, her eyes, her childish grin.
Everything she'd ever been told, everything she'd ever seen in photographs, all of it was sitting in front of her, looking right at her. And the look on her face was concern.
"Is this about not getting into Beacon? They only let twenty or so people in a year, you know. It's the most competitive Huntsman Academy in the kingdom. But Yang is right, Radar is very good, too. I'm sure you'll make lots of new friends."
"..." Instead of answering, Ruby could feel more tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
Summer frowned. "I know you wanted to go to school with your sister."
"That's not it..."
"Then what's wrong?"
"I..." Ruby began, but the words got stuck in her throat. She wanted to shout, I don't know where I am! but she knew that her mother would never understand her.
"..." Summer put down her cup, wiped her lips off with her napkin, and leaned over the table. She leaned as far forward as she could, until her face was just inches away from her daughter's. Ruby, even more confused, looked back up at her mother, and saw herself reflected in Summer's eyes. And then --
"OW!" Summer flicked her forehead. "Mom! What was that for?!"
"That's for keeping whatever this is bottled up."
"What?!" Ruby was rubbing her forehead, still in pain from her mother's unexpected attack.
"I'm not asking you to tell me everything. I respect your privacy and all that, but something has got you down, and I don't like it. You need to talk to someone. Even if it's not me, whatever this is, you have to get it off of your chest. It's pretty clear I'm wrong about what's bothering you. This has nothing to do with Radar at all, does it?"
"...No, it doesn't." Ruby looked away. Of course it didn't. Radar? Not getting into Beacon? That wasn't her life. It was someone else's life. Someone else with the name Ruby Rose.
"I see. Like I said, sweetheart, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But you really should talk to someone. Now, let's get you cleaned up. Your face is a mess, and if you go on stage and get your diploma looking like that, someone's bound to think you're being mistreated here at home." Summer pinched Ruby's cheek, picked up the plates, and returned to the kitchen.
Her face cleaned and her cape changed for a cleaner one, Ruby found herself in the car on the way to Signal.
Next to her, in the driver's seat, was Summer, humming a familiar tune.
"This'll be the day we've waited for! This'll be the day we open up the door!" Without a care in the world, Summer sang the lyrics - badly - subjecting her daughter to a unique interpretation on the song.
Ruby, of course, knew the song. It had been a decent hit two years ago. In fact, she'd been listening to it on her scroll the day she first met Ozpin.
Professor Ozpin.
"I can ask Ozpin!" Ruby shouted in the middle of the car, interrupting her mother's rendition.
"What was that?" Summer almost lost control of the car, nearly veering into the other lane - not that there were many cars on Patch, and certainly not with the busiest ceremony of the day in the direction they were already going.
"You said I should talk to someone. I can talk to Professor Ozpin! That is, if he's still around."
"Hmm. He should be, I suppose." Summer thought to herself. "I think he attended your sister's graduation, too. He always goes around to all the sub-academy graduations to see his new students, and there are a few from Patch who did get in... Two, I think? But are you sure he'll talk to you? Have you ever seen him before? Would you know what he looks like?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll talk to him."
Summer tilted her head, and glanced over at her daughter, but Ruby interrupted, saying "Eyes on the road, mom." Summer chuckled, and didn't say anything else, instead humming a different song, this one also out of tune.
"Oh, Ruby, you made it!"
"There you are! We were starting to think you'd forgotten."
"You're never on time for these things, we were just gonna start without you, you know."
When Ruby arrived at the stadium outside Signal, she was greeted by kids her own age. People she hadn't seen in years. They were classmates she'd gone to Signal with, back before she was accepted to Beacon at the unprecedented age of 16.
And now all of that had been undone.
"Y--Yeah, sorry. I overslept again," she said, forcing a laugh, and the other kids just smiled and said, "That's our Ruby for ya," and left it at that.
By no means was Signal a large academy, owing to its location on Patch, which was by no means a large island. All in all, there were only sixty or so students in the entire school.
Ruby's class was a class of fifteen people. She remembered her sister's graduation, almost four years ago at this point, and knew the ins and outs, but she was still nervous. Her plan to talk to Ozpin would have to wait until after the ceremony was over, then find him in the crowd as everyone left.
But before that, she would have to suffer through a graduation ceremony that everyone had rehearsed except for her.
At long last, the moment arrived. Ruby, having found her place in line by awkwardly apologizing to everyone until someone took pity on her and put her in her spot, walked out into the stadium with the rest of her classmates.
The crowd wasn't especially big. With only fifteen students graduating, their families, friends, and the rest of the school were the only ones in attendance, along with several headhunters from other academies.
It didn't take long to find Ozpin in the crowd, sitting next to his assistant, Professor Goodwitch.
Ruby smiled to herself, confident that, since Ozpin was in the crowd, she'd be able to meet with him and make her case. If nothing else, the most powerful person in the world would be able to do something to assist her.
As her eyes scanned the rest of the crowd, her heart fluttered when she saw her mother, Summer, in between her father, and --
Yang.
But even more surprising, was who was next to Yang. Sitting on the her other side was...
"Blake..."
Blake Belladonna. But instead of having her ears on full display, she continued to hide them behind the bow she wore when they'd first met.
I guess the fight didn't happen? she thought to herself, reflecting on her first semester at Beacon.
Next to Blake, were two other people that Ruby didn't recognize. Perhaps they were all part of the same team at Beacon.
Before Ruby could think on it any further, the ceremony began. The headmaster at Signal walked out on stage, along with several of the teachers. Obviously, uncle Qrow was among them. Ruby smiled at him, and he looked up and smiled back at her.
"We're here today to celebrate the graduation of the Seventy-Sixth Class of Signal." The headmaster, a man Ruby only barely remembered, was giving a speech, facing not the class, but the audience in attendance. "Almost a hundred years ago, Patch was a more prosperous island. But the Ideology War brought that to an end, and with it, much of the inhabitants of this once-populous island. Now, as we gather here today to celebrate the graduation of another fine batch of Patch children, we reflect on who we once were, and who we hope to be again in the future."
A standard speech, that ordinarily would have been very moving, but none of the students who were graduating were paying the least bit attention. Instead, every one of them, Ruby included, was focused on something far beyond the edge of the stadium.
"What is that?" "Was that always there?" "It's huge!"
Whispered words amongst her classmates did nothing to distract her from the sight.
Beyond the edge of the stadium, far out beyond the shore of the island, was a giant tree.
Rainbow colored leaves atop branches as thick as buildings. Whatever it was, it was new. Ruby had never seen it before -- and apparently, neither had her classmates.
But without being able to leave the ceremony and go investigate, they were all stuck where they were, while the headmaster gave his speech.
One by one, the students were called up to receive their diplomas, acknowledging their efforts, and congratulating them on taking their next step.
"Ruby Rose." And then it was her turn.
Ruby stepped forward. This was something she never got to experience before, having skipped her last two years at Signal, moving straight into the incoming class at Beacon.
She could see Yang in audience, and hear her shouting, "That's my sister!" at Blake, who smiled at her friend's enthusiasm.
She could see the other two people next to Blake, nodding along, applauding with everyone else.
She could see her father, giving her a standing ovation, as proud as he could possibly be.
And she could see her mother, Summer Rose, with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes as she watched her daughter graduate from Signal.
"Ruby Rose, you have completed your training at Signal Academy. I hereby grant you your diploma and acknowledge you as a huntress-in-training. May the world be ever more colorful for having you in it."
With that, Ruby bowed, took the paper she was offered, bowed at the headmaster, and waved at her family, before returning to her spot among the students.
Just like that, Ruby Rose graduated from Signal.
"PROFESSOR OZPIN!"
"Glynda, you go on ahead."
As the crowd began to thin, Ruby chased down the old man she'd hoped would be there. Ozpin stopped in his tracks, and turned around. Leaning on a cane and looking at her over his spectacles, Ozpin looked exactly as she remembered him.
"And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking, young lady?" he asked, giving her a slight bow.
"M-My name is Ruby. Ruby Rose. I'm the daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long."
"I see. And what can I help you with today, Miss Ruby Rose?"
"I... was hoping to talk to you about something. I think you're the only one who can help me." Ruby pleaded with him, but Ozpin's expression never once changed. He was unreadable, even now.
"Is that so."
"I don't... think I belong here." Ruby didn't know how to express what was on her mind, so she said the first thing she could put to words. But it seems that her words were misunderstood.
"Of course not. You've just graduated. You no longer belong at Signal. Starting today, you are in attendance at... which school was it again?"
"...Radar Academy."
"Of course. Radar." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice. "You know, Miss Rose, I had high hopes for you. Especially after your sister's performance on Team BLYU. Yang Xiao Long is an excellent huntress-in-training. A trait, I suppose, she inherits from her parents. A trait I'd hoped you would inherit, too. After all, like your mother, you have... silver eyes."
Ruby gasped, and another memory resurfaced from that day.
"That's what you said to me the first time I met you, too. 'You have silver eyes.'"
For the first time, Ozpin's blank expression changed. His eyebrows rose in surprise, if only for a moment. "Pardon me? This is the first time we have met, you and I, is it not?"
But Ruby shook her head. "No. I met you two years ago, on the day you invited me to Beacon Academy. But I guess I was a different person then."
"I know not what game you're playing at, Miss Rose, but I'm afraid I must be going. It was a pleasure to meet you. Best of luck at Radar Academy. Please, send my regards to Headmistress Jade." With that, Ozpin turned around and began to walk away.
But defiance shone in Ruby's eyes, and she wasn't about to allow him to leave her alone without helping her at all. Not after all she'd been through.
Not today.
"I said I need your help, Ozma."
Immediately, Ozpin stopped moving. After ten seconds of silence, Ozpin turned back around. But instead of his blank expression, he had a vague look of anger on his face. "Now just where did you hear that name?"
"Jinn told me. The spirit within the Relic of Knowledge."
Ozpin's mouth opened and closed, then opened again. At a loss for words, he merely gaped at Ruby. "That's not a name anyone but I should know," he said at long last.
"Oscar Pine told us after you merged with him. And then we asked her the second question, and Jinn told us everything. Who you are, about Salem, about the Gods of Light and Dark. The four relics, everything. We... I know what you're trying to do, and I know how powerful you are. And I need your help."
"I see." Ozpin simply said that, and looked at Ruby with a new respect. "It seems that you know too much for it to simply be a lucky guess. But the relic of Knowledge is still safely in its Vault, as I confirmed just this morning, when I saw that."
Ozpin nodded over Ruby's head, and looked at the great tree out over the ocean. "I also know that it's not Ambrosius's work. Should he have created that great tree --"
"Atlas would fall." Ruby finished Ozpin's thought, and he sighed in resignation.
"It seems you know quite a lot. So how, pray tell, could you possibly have this knowledge? There is but one answer remaining, I fear." Ozpin looked at Ruby, and she felt her stomach tighten. Whatever answer he would give her... Whatever explanation he had... Whatever the truth was, Ruby would have to face it.
"You are not Ruby Rose."
Ruby gaped. Of all the thoughts she had, that wasn't one of them. "Of course I am! How -- How can I not be -- ?"
But Ozpin shook his head. "No, you most certainly are Ruby Rose, that much is clear to me. But you are not our Ruby Rose. You are not of this world."
"Not of this world..." Ruby repeated those words to herself. She looked at Ozpin, who died over a year ago. She turned around and looked at the stadium, her parents and sister watching from a distance. Summer, who should have died. Yang, whose right arm was still there in full. Standing nearby was Blake, with the ribbon over her Faunus ears, along with two people Ruby didn't recognize. Over their heads, the giant tree, that never existed in her world... and apparently not in this one, either.
"I know not how you came to be here, Ruby Rose, and I am afraid I do not have the answers you seek on how to return. But in light of what I've seen here today, I can offer you some solace. You are not the Ruby Rose who applied to my Beacon Academy, I can see that you are much more talented and much more headstrong. Should you choose, you are more than welcome to attend my school next semester."
"What?" Ruby almost screamed at him. The offer was unexpected, completely out of nowhere, and Ruby didn't know how to respond.
"That is all I can offer you at this time. There is no magic in the world that can cross the boundary between worlds."
"But the vaults--" Ruby interrupted, but Ozpin shook his head.
"The vaults do not lead to different worlds, merely a temporary space. It is not a parallel Remnant, as yours is -- or to you, as this one is. I cannot use one to send you home. However, I can see that you are a very different girl than the one who did not pass the entrance exams. There is incredible potential within you, and I hope to hone and harness it. Perhaps you are the soul I have been waiting for all this time. Should you choose to accept, I would welcome you to my academy and do everything in my power to find a way to send you home. Perhaps we can request Jinn's assistance on the matter. But as I said before, I really must be going. I look forward to your reply, Ruby Rose of another world."
With that, Ozpin turned around and left, leaving Ruby by herself, staring at his back as it faded away.
"So? How did it go, sis? Did he help you?" Yang was the first to speak when Ruby returned. Yang tousled Ruby's hair with her hand -- her flesh-and-blood right hand -- and smiled a cheerful smile. Just like she always did when they were younger.
Ruby sighed and gave her sister a hug. When she was done, she looked at everyone and answered. "No, he wasn't really able to help me. But he did... offer to enroll me at Beacon."
"WHAT? You're gonna join me at Beacon?!" Yang shouted in joyful surprise, and Taiyang pushed in and gave Ruby a big hug. Only Summer had a look of concern on her face. And Ruby knew that Summer had come to the same conclusion -- something was wrong. Something was different.
But her mother, as polite and respectful as she was trying to be, refused to push the issue. After a moment, she smiled and said, "Congratulations. I assume you'll be accepting his offer?"
"I --" Ruby began. I will, she was going to say. She wanted to go to Beacon with her sister, to become a huntress with Yang, to make new friends, to make happy memories.
But the words caught in her throat. She couldn't. Because...
That would be the same as giving up. Of accepting where she was. Turning her back on her Yang. On her friends, her life.
Her world. Ruby Rose's world.
And she already had friends. She was a huntress. And while her world wasn't happy, not by a longshot, she had happy memories. She had made a difference.
Hell, they just saved all of Mantle.
Accepting whatever this place was, accepting the position at Beacon, meant that she was rejecting all of that and giving up.
"Can... Can I talk to you, Mom? Just the two of us?"
"Oh my, am I in trouble, sweetheart?"
"No! I just. I want to talk to you. I want to tell you everything."
Summer smiled again, but this time, the smile looked terribly sad. "Of course you can," she said, and took Ruby's hand. The two of them walked back into the stadium together, leaving Taiyang alone with Team BLYU.
"You think they'll be okay?" Yang asked, tugging on her father's sleeve.
"No idea. I never really understood those two," he replied.
When they were finally far enough away from the others, Summer turned to Ruby. Ruby could see that her mother's eyes were wet, and tears were beginning to flow.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
"I've figured it out, you know," Summer said cryptically. "Why you're so shocked to see me, to see Yang. How you knew how to find Ozpin."
Ruby's heart thumped in her chest, as she watched her mother's sad smile, as she watched more tears form in the corners of her mother's eyes.
"How..."
"Oh, don't give me that. I always was the smart one on Team STRQ. Your father loves to punch things, and Raven was great with a sword, but she was always hot-headed. And don't even get me started on Qrow's inferiority complex. There's a reason why I was the leader."
Summer laughed at her memories of her teammates, as though all of it was years ago. After a moment of reflection, she shook her head, wiped her eyes, and continued. "It doesn't take a genius to know that you don't belong here. I knew something was wrong the moment you said breakfast smelled like your father's cooking."
"I..."
"So tell me. What happened to me? Was it a Grimm I just couldn't handle? Or did Raven want to get back at me for sleeping with her husband after she disappeared? Or did Qrow have a bone to pick?"
"I...!" Ruby wanted to shout, wanted to scream, wanted to cry until there was nothing left inside of her, but looking at her mother, who herself was barely holding it together, she knew that she had to stay strong. And then she heard the next question.
"Was I at least a good mother to you?"
Ruby broke down, falling to her knees. She leaned her head against her mother's stomach, and began to cry.
"Don't tell me..."
"It... It was Salem. Sh-She took you from me... from us. I was only four years old. I don't remember you. All I ever had were stories from dad and uncle Qrow."
"Oh dear..." Summer ran her fingers through Ruby's hair, and the sensation brought a new wave of tears to Ruby's eyes. She wiped her eyes on her mother's dress, and looked up, only to see her mother with tears of her own. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you. I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I couldn't be the mother I always tried to be for you and your sister. I hope you know that... I'm here for you now."
"It... It wasn't just you." Having started, Ruby realized that she couldn't just end her explanation with her mother's death. So much had happened. "I wanted to be a huntress because of you, because I looked up to you. I worked hard to make you proud, and Ozpin accepted me into Beacon when I was only 16. But... Salem came back, and she and the people who work for her... destroyed Beacon. So many friends were lost. Pyrrha... Ozpin... Yang lost her right arm. And it wasn't just here. We lost so many people, in every kingdom we went to. But it wasn't all bad. We saved Haven. We're saving Atlas right now. We've done a lot of good..."
"My, my, you've certainly done a lot."
"But... All I wanted... was to see you. Was to tell you everything. Was for you to be proud of me. To have my mom back."
Ruby's deepest secret, her deepest wish, was to be reunited with her mother.
"Now you have me. So what will you do?"
Ruby wiped her eyes, and stood up. She looked at her mother. She was older than in the photographs she'd seen, but that came with having lived another fourteen years. But it was still her. Undeniably, unquestionably. Standing in front of Ruby was her mother, Summer Rose. Her greatest wish, fulfilled.
So.
Why did she feel so empty?
"What will you do?"
The question repeated itself in Ruby's mind. But an answer didn't come to mind. It couldn't come to mind, because there was one major problem.
"What can I do?"
"The way I see it, you have two choices. First, you can stay here, with us. I know we'll have a lot to catch up on, and things won't be easy for us. A mother whose daughter disappeared, and a daughter whose mother died when she was a baby."
"Disappeared?" Ruby frowned, not really understanding.
"If what you say is true, then you're not really my daughter. Whatever happened, she woke up with your memories and your personality. If you stay with us, I may never see my Ruby again, and you will never see your Summer again. But the two of us will have each other, and we'll love each other and be happy together. I can't promise it will be easy, and it'll take a while for us both to adjust. But as your mother, I will be there for you and take care of you. I will make you happy, and make up for all the years I couldn't before."
Ruby's eyes started watering again as her mother spoke. Summer's sweet voice filled her head, and her heart ached with yearning. This, right here, was what she always dreamed of. This, right here, was what she wanted ever since she could remember. A family, a life, with her mother.
"Or," Summer continued, "your second option, would be to go home."
"Home." The word caught in her throat.
Home. This place wasn't home. Her home didn't have Summer in it. Her home had a Taiyang who did everything he could to hide his own misery at the loss of the mothers of his two girls. Her home had a Yang whose arm was lost in the Battle of Beacon. Her home had a Beacon Academy that was overrun with Grimm. Her home, her home, her home...
Her home had her memories.
Her home had her friends.
"Weiss.... Blake... Penny... Everyone..." Their memories filled Ruby's heart with warmth. She'd never forget how close she'd gotten with Weiss, ever since they met and fought nonstop. She'd never forget the way Blake always fought for what was right, even if it ran herself into the ground. And she'd never forget just how much she did to keep Penny safe.
Summer smiled at her daughter, and sighed. "Well, Ruby, it looks like you have your answer."
"Huh?"
"Look at you, sweetheart. The look on your face when you look at me, it's filled with sadness, pain, loneliness. But just now, when you were saying the names of your friends. You looked happy. You looked hopeful."
"Hope...ful..."
"You have friends to get back to, don't you? Friends who are waiting for you, back where you came from."
"But you're not there, mom. Is it really okay if... you're not there?" Going back meant giving up on her biggest wish. It meant giving up on being with her mother.
"Do you even have to ask that?"
"Huh?"
Summer flicked Ruby's forehead again. "Come on, Ruby. Do you really want to live in the past forever?"
And that's when it hit. Ruby going to Beacon again. Making friends, learning to be a huntress. She'd gone through all of that. And things wouldn't turn out the same way this time. Maybe her life would be peaceful, but her friends - Team JNPR, Weiss, Blake, Penny, SSSN... Everyone she'd met along the way, everyone she'd helped, and everyone who'd met her, they wouldn't be here. All of that would be gone.
All for the sake of seeing her mother.
Did she really want to throw away everything for her mother?
"I'm proud of you, Ruby sweetheart. I'm more proud of you than any other mother in the world could ever be of their daughter. I'm really, truly grateful that I could get to know you. But you don't belong here." Summer's sad smile had returned, and Ruby, in turn, felt herself ready to cry once more.
But she held it together, just like her mother was trying to. And so Ruby asked the only question she could.
"How... do I get back?"
"The answer to that should be... by the tree."
The giant tree. Summer and Ruby climbed to the top of the stadium, where they could get the best view. Over the shore, far beyond the horizon, yet close enough to see its leaves, was the massive tree. Its trunk the thickness of a castle, towering up into the sky. Its leaves a rainbow hue, shining in sunlight that seemed to be reflecting nothing at all.
"What... is it?" Looking at the beautiful tree, Ruby didn't know what else to say. It stood in defiance of everything she knew.
"That, Miss Rose, would be Yggdrasil, the World Tree."
Ruby turned around. Walking up steps of the stadium behind her and Summer was none other than Professor Ozpin.
"Professor?"
"I suppose, in the world that you came from, I may have been your professor at some point, Miss Rose, but as I've only extended you the offer in this one, there's no need to call me that." Ozpin walked up the steps, and stood next to Ruby, gazing out over the ocean at the tree.
"R-Right. Old habits, I guess."
"So it would seem. I had my associates in Mistral ask where you came from, but it seems that things aren't so cut-and-dry. For starters, Jinn would not take questions about other worlds. I must say, I was rather shocked to discover something else she would refuse to answer." Ozpin sighed, but had a wry smile on his face, as though he found the whole thing ironically amusing. "But she did say where you came from, and what that tree is. As I said, that is Yggdrasil, the World Tree. It connects many worlds together as one. Each branch leads down a different path, each tree a different end result. As more and more choices are made, more and more leaves and branches, and even smaller trees around it, grow. It is there that you will find your way home, if you so choose."
Ruby looked at Ozpin, then looked back at the World Tree, at the edge of the horizon. "So what's it doing here?"
"I cannot say, but my guess would be that when you arrived here, the World Tree came with you, to grant you passage home. It exists in this world only for you, Miss Rose."
"Only for me, huh?"
"But you do not have to return. You can choose to stay here. You seem to know quite a lot. And I would be eager to learn what your Ozpin has tried that I have not."
"Honestly, he really didn't tell me much of anything at all. It was Oscar who told us her name, not Oz."
"I see. Then perhaps I, too. will discover how to journey to the World Tree myself one day."
"Uhh, what's going on? Who's Jinn?" Summer looked between Ruby and Ozpin, clearly left out of the loop.
"Ah, my apologies, Summer. It seems your daughter has a wealth of knowledge about Remnant that was forgotten long ago. She used that knowledge to enlist my help, but I am, as they say, only human. Even I have my limits. But I have scholarly friends who know much more than I, and this is what we discovered."
"Right." It seemed that Summer didn't really believe Ozpin's story, but she wasn't going to press the matter. That's my mother for you, Ruby thought, pleased that her mother could tell when Ozpin was hiding something.
"So now, Miss Rose, you have a choice. You can return to the World Tree, or you can stay here."
Ruby looked at Ozpin, then at her mother, then once more at the tree. But in her heart, she already knew the only answer she could ever give.
"I want to go home."
Ozpin frowned, disappointed, but he quickly recovered. "It is as I expected. I have requested that Glynda bring a boat to the academy docks for you to use. Please go there and see her. I will wait here a while longer and watch."
Ruby took a step down the stairs, but turned around and looked back at Ozpin. There was still a question she needed answering. "Why are you helping me?"
"Pardon?"
"You used one of Jinn's questions for this. Why? What do you get out of this?" Ozpin was never so magnanimous in her world. Was this one truly so different, simply for having Summer spared?
"I see. Put simply, I have little hope of my fight ending in this era. Using the rest of my questions, while disappointing, is no waste. I can simply wait for the next era to ask more questions. But as for why I asked one for you, specifically?"
Ruby nodded, and watched Ozpin's face for any clues he might give, but instead of being subtle, Ozpin just looked dejected.
"It is because I believe that your world is far closer to winning this fight than ours. It only feels right to return you to do your work. I am also curious to know what will happen. Will you disappear, or will our Ruby return in your stead? What will she remember of today? Will she retain any of your memories? So be on your way. Good luck, Ruby Rose." With that, Ozpin turned back to the World Tree to gaze.
Ruby turned back around, and almost continued down the stairs, but she looked back up. "Are you coming, mom?"
"Oh, me? Yes, of course, sweetheart. I'm coming." Summer grabbed Ruby's outstretched hand, and the two of them headed down.
"Hey, wait, Ruby, mom, where are you going? We're all over here!" Yang waved her hands to get Ruby and Summer's attention.
Ruby turned around, and saw her sister. "Oh, right. I was actually going to the docks. Glynda is bringing me a boat so I can visit the big tree."
"Huh? Glynda? You mean Professor Goodwitch? Why is she bringing you a boat?" Yang scratched her head in confusion. Apparently, she wasn't entirely sure how Ruby and Glynda even knew each other, which made sense. This world's Ruby never met Glynda on that rooftop fighting Cinder.
"Oh, that was Ozpin's doing. I guess what I said to him really got through."
"But... what did you talk to him about? And why are you going to that tree? You promised you'd get some rest!"
"I'm sorry, Yang! I really will get some rest, but this is something I have to do, for me." Ruby looked at her sister, who was as confused as possible, and felt her heart throb. It may not have been her Yang, but it was still Yang. And there was only one thing to do for Yang.
"Whoa, sis!" Yang yelped as Ruby threw her into a massive hug, squeezed her full of all of her affection for her own sister. Right now, this one would have to do, until she found her own. And if Ruby was alive, if Ruby could make it to the World Tree after falling into the abyss, then she knew that her Yang would be able to do the same. But right now...
"I love you so much, Yang. You really have no idea."
"No, I think I'm starting to get the idea. That -- That hurts, you know! Ow ow ow ow ow!"
"Sorry, Yang. Oh, and one last thing." Before leaving, Ruby had a parting gift for her sister. Not anything tangible, of course, but just a bit of advice. Something that would help. "You should try and get Blake to open up. I have a feeling that the two of you will make a great team together if you get that out of the way." With a wink, Ruby nodded at Blake standing off to the side, looking completely bewildered by the bizarre Xiao Long Rose family. Atop her head, covering her cat ears, was her black ribbon.
"You think so?" Yang turned and looked, and gave Blake a smile.
"I know so."
Ruby and Summer approached the dock. Standing by a small speedboat was Glynda, looking frustrated.
"You must be Miss Ruby Rose." Short and to the point, just like she remembered. Another wave of nostalgia hit, but Ruby held it together. Of all the people she felt comfortable crying in front of, Glynda was not high on the list. Though they'd clashed quite a bit, Glynda was still fiercely loyal to her school and her students. "Honestly, I don't know what goes through that man's head ninety percent of the time. We were in a hurry to return to Beacon, but all of a sudden he has me bring a speedboat to someone who failed the entrance exam."
Ruby scratched her head and let out an awkward laugh. "It's kind of a long story."
"Oh, I don't doubt that. Be careful, would you? I'm not allowed to go with you, but it won't do to have you get yourself hurt out there. Who knows what you'll find when you get to that thing. Do you plan on bringing it back?"
"Me? No, but you'll get your boat back, I promise. One way or another." Though she had no way of knowing what to expect, in her heart, she suspected what would happen when she approached the tree.
"And what about you, ma'am. Are you going with her?"
"Oh, me?" Summer spoke up, surprised. "No, I'm not supposed to go. The World Tree is for Ruby alone."
"'World Tree'? Oz, what in the world are you doing, getting innocent children mixed up in something like this?"
"No, this isn't his fault. This is all my own doing."
Glynda let out a deep sigh, as though she'd had enough of nonsense grandiose plots for one lifetime. "If you say so. Like I said, be careful. I'll be waiting here."
"Thank you, Pr-- Miss Goodwitch."
Glynda nodded awkwardly, handed the engine key to Ruby, and walked down the dock, back to the academy, where she would wait for the boat's eventual return.
"So it's just us, then," Summer said, with a smile.
"Just us," Ruby agreed.
"..."
"..."
Mother and daughter alike were at a loss for words. Both stared at the other, filled with questions, filled with words they wanted to say, but couldn't.
Ruby turned around and stepped onto the boat.
"I'll miss you."
Ruby turned around when she heard those words. Her mother's smile was now stained with tears, and Summer was openly crying on the dock.
"I only knew you for a few hours, and I know I'm not your real mother, but I'm so proud of you, Ruby. You've done so much, you've helped so many people. I know that if your Summer were there, she would say the same thing. I just wanted to let you know that I'll never forget you, for as long as I live."
Ruby, her vision now blurry due to her own tears re-forming in her eyes, gave her not-mother a sad smile of her own. "Mom -- Summer -- I'm so proud of you, too. I'll never forget you, either. This was everything I'd dreamed of, everything I wanted. I got to see my mom again."
"Go. Don't keep your friends waiting." Summer had pulled out a handkerchief and was dabbing it at her eyes, trying to burn the vision of her daughter into her mind.
But instead of leaving, Ruby had one more thing to say. "Mom?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"I... I love you."
Summer smiled. "I love you, too, Ruby. Forever and always, thus kindly I scatter." She spread her arms out, as though releasing flower petals out in front of her, letting her words spread out into the world.
And with that farewell, Ruby turned her back on her mother for the last time.
The speedboat was pretty fast, once Ruby got the hang of how to drive it. The dock disappeared behind her in no time at all. But no matter how far she got, the World Tree never seemed to get any closer. It was as though it was at the edge of the horizon at all times, moving away from her at the same speed she approached it.
If Ozpin was right, and the World Tree really was meant for her, shouldn't she be able to get close?
She continued speeding along.
After half an hour, Patch was barely larger a speck on the horizon. She couldn't see her mother or the dock anymore, no matter how hard she looked.
And the tree --
No. Somehow, the tree was now looming right ahead of her. There was a beach within view. A giant beach with trees, a cliff, and more trees. And in the middle of all of that, was Yggradsil, the World Tree.
And as soon as she had that thought, everything faded out.
Ruby Rose from another world vanished, and Ruby Rose from this world returned in her place. And as though it was all an illusion, the World Tree disappeared with her.