Chapter 2

She opened her eyes. Something was very wrong. She looked around the room. It was dark, but it was still the laboratory she had started in. Her work station was clean, the volatile dust chest was in it's place, the coat hanger on the side of the room was hanging slightly to one side as it always did. She frowned. Wait, why was her work station clear? She looked down at herself. All still there. She moved her hands over her own body, making sure there was no pain and no injury. Lab coat, check. Boobs, check. Face, check. Everything she had started with was in order, so why did everything feel off? She reached forward to push open the glass enclosure and exit the machine.

Crack.

For the second time that day, Ruby found herself on the ground face first in a pile of her own misery. She quickly got up on her knees and clutched her nose, the pain being a little offensive at this point. She turned to look back over at the machine. It wasn't there! Ruby's eyes went wide, and her heart ceased beating. This wasn't supposed to happen. Her eyes shot over to the wall clock in the corner. It showed five-fifteen in the morning.

Her breathing returned to normal as she placed a relieved hand on her chest. Professor Merlot often showed up at five in the morning and moved Ruby's machine out of the lab and into the science closet down the hall, as there was a class at eight and he liked his lab space to be cleared. Her eye twitched a little as she realized he probably wouldn't like that she had left the lab in such a mess before her final test. She knew she could explain it as a miscalculation on her part. The machine had sent her an hour and a half forward, instead of a minute and a half. Simple mistake, he'd understand.

She walked towards the laboratory door, and looked for her school bag, which she thought had been placed next to it. She frowned when she discovered it wasn't there. Oh well, it was probably in Merlot's office waiting for her. She didn't need it now. What she needed was a shower before her sparring match with Blake. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes. Then it came to her.

Holy shit, I just time travelled!

Her eyes lit up and she jumped for joy, spinning around in circles and laughing like an idiot. She had just successfully been the first person on Remnant to actually bend time to their will and pass though it. She needed to make note of it. Pulling her pencil and a note pad out of her lab coat, she scribbled down her first impressions of the journey.

Test #184, March 1st, 2017: first human transfer

Success! I have finally perfected the formula for time manipulation,

and my testing has proved that humans and other organisms are

unaffected by the chronal subfields and radiation effects!

No adverse feelings, My body is in order after the transfer!

I may have made an error in inputting the time code as I

seem to have gone 60 times further forward than anticipated.

This is not an issue, of course, it was only an hour and a half.

Weiss will only be a little upset.

Furthermore, I will continue to make improvements to the machine

and make more jumps later today, once Merlot unlocks the science closet.

She sighed down at her note pad, still a little shaken from her discovery. Time travel. Wow. She wiped her brow, her hand coming down covered in sweat. Gross. She pulled her goggles off of her head and lay them down on top of her note pad on the counter. Perhaps Merlot would see it and return the machine to the laboratory in time for lunch break. He'd kill to see the machine in action. She shrugged the lab coat higher up onto her shoulders slightly, fumbling around in her pants pocket for her wallet. Pulling it open, she smiled momentarily at the small picture of Weiss she kept on her at all times, then pulled a five lien note out and placed it down on her note pad, scribbling for your coffee onto the open page. Finally satisfied and bent on having a wash, she left the laboratory.

The hallway outside seemed different somehow. Maybe it was because she never really saw the hallway in the soft dawn light, never really being one to be up at this hour of the morning. The tile floor of the science building looked almost new, it was so polished. She smiled at the efforts of their cleaning service. The Science Centre was always the cleanest building on campus. She quickly found herself in the atrium, and the early morning sun was shining through the enormous picture window and down onto the set of couches that were positioned next to the info desk.

Ruby paused for a second. Info desk? This wasn't here yesterday. She looked on nervously. Perhaps they had a new one installed last night after dinner while she was in the lab. The science council was always petitioning to have one put back in for the first years who kept getting lost in the maze-like science building. She smiled a little, remembering a story her dad told her of a time him and Qrow unbolted it from the floor and moved it to the athletics complex as a joke, going on about how all of the meat-headed jocks needed direction in life. Back in their day there had been an info desk here. It filled her with a sense of second-hand nostalgia. Anyway, on to the athletics complex for a shower. She pushed the large glass door of the science building open and stepped outside.

Her hand came up to her face to shield it from the sunlight. The courtyard sat before her, the imposing brass statue of the two warriors looked polished within an inch of its life. This seemed a bit out of place. Wasn't this statue a dark faded brown? She payed it no mind as she walked down the long main interlock-stone road that lead to the centre of the complex. No other students were out today, especially not at this hour. There were usually students hanging around out here, playing Frisbee usually, shaded by the canopies of the large trees that lined the...wait, why were all the trees so short?

She stopped mid-stride to have a look. No, it couldn't be. All the trees looked no higher than about five feet tall. Instinctively, she checked her watch. Five-thirty. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She'd been awake for something like twenty hours at this point. She blamed the discrepancy in tree height on her very tired eyes. She increased her march towards the athletic building.

The girl's locker room seemed different than she remembered. For starters, it was actually a segregated and private girls-only locker room. She was too tired to really consider what happened to the unisex changing room she had used not but yesterday morning. She found her locker and punched in her code, but the door wouldn't open. Was she at the wrong locker? Eh, it didn't matter this morning. She'd have a word with the groundskeeper again. This stupid locker needed resetting on the weekly. She moved over to the showers, slowly pulling off the lab coat as she entered the shower room.

There was the very distinct sound of someone already in the shower. Pyrrha usually got up early to shower, but she wasn't sure if she got up this early. Sticking her head around around the corner and into the showers, she could make out the figure of a young woman. She certainly was tall enough to be Pyrrha. And... voluptuous enough. But her messy light-blond hair was a violent contrast to the incredible red she was expecting to see. The new girl turned around, alerted by a noise Ruby hadn't realized she had made. Her dark green eyes, magnified by the thin-rimmed glasses shone brightly in the fluorescent lighting.

"Hello. And who might you be?"

Ruby's voice eluded her. This gorgeous vixen had stolen the speech right out from her throat. The tall blond woman turned her back for a moment and donned a pearl white bathrobe, and upon turning back around, Ruby could see the letters 'G.G.' embroidered across the left breast. Something seemed familiar about this person. Ruby retreated back around the corner. She shook her head. That couldn't be right. There was no way this was who she thought it was.

"I'm sorry, did I frighten you? Please come back!"

Ruby took a deep breath, and cautiously turned back around and entered the showers, brushing her hair from her face and straightening her back. There was no reason to be shy in front of such a beautiful person. The moment she was back in view, the previously confident green eyes went suddenly wide and the girl stepped back, bowing her head. Ruby stopped. Was there something on her face?

"My apologies, professor, it was not my intention to appear rude!"

Professor? Ruby looked down at herself. Still wearing the lab coat. She looked like a teacher! She laughed.

"Oh, I'm not a professor, I'm a student! I forgot to return my coat is all. Weiss says I can be so absent minded, sometimes."

The girl looked perplexed, and stepped forward. Ruby had to look away. The gorgeous blond seemed to glide effortlessly across the wet floor, her long, luxurious legs making her almost float through the room. Bad Ruby. You have a girlfriend. The blond reached her hand out, coming inches from Ruby's hair.

"Hold on, you have something... why do you have a fruit sticker in your hair? And who's Weiss?"

Ruby turned to meet the luscious green eyes, still hidden behind the glasses. Who was Weiss? What an absurd question! Ruby let the woman pull the sticker out of her hair. Probably got there when I fell on the floor, she guessed. So did probably ten pounds of dirt. She rubbed her face on her sleeve. Her nose still stung from its earlier encounter with tile, but a quick check of her sleeve indicated no sign of blood. She smiled internally. At least she wouldn't have a broken nose. She frowned again, remembering the woman's initial question.

"What do you mean, who's Weiss, she's the smartest girl in the school! You know, short, beautiful, silvery-white hair, wears a combat skirt? Student body president? Hangs around with me all the time?"

The blond stepped back slightly, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you alright? You seem a little a little frazzled. I suppose I can understand, the first day of school can get to even the best of us."

Ruby blinked absently a few times. First day of what? The blond extended a hand in a more professional greeting.

"No matter, mother always told me to be courteous, and even strange people need friends. Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Glynda. And who might you be?"

Ruby raised her arm to shake. Glynda, what a lovely name. Wait, Glynda? Why did that seem...

Oh no.

"Glynda? G-Glynda... Goodwitch?"

The blond withdrew her hand nervously.

"Yes, that's my name...should I know who you are, miss?"

Ruby's legs wobbled underneath her. No, it couldn't be true. It just wasn't possible. She staggered backwards, afraid. She had to leave. There was a nauseous swirling sensation in her chest. Her back came in contact with the wall, and she slumped on it for a second. She was beginning to hyperventilate. The blond opened her mouth to speak. Ruby didn't want to hear anything else. The reality of where she was had started to sink in. She needed it to not be real. She bolted for the door.

The wind whipped against her face as she dashed back out into the courtyard, her eyes frantically scanning around for something to prove her wrong. She took off again, towards the Beacon main building, intent on visiting the one person she knew could clear up everything. Just five steps into her blind sprint, she ran into something. Something angry. Both her and her target tumbled to the ground, a mass of fabric and shrieking. Ruby rolled onto her knees, shouting her apology over her shoulder as she stood up to keep running. A very brusque voice shouted after her.

"Watch it, you jerk! Come back here and face me like a man!"

A glance backwards mid-stride made her almost vomit. The person she had run into was sitting on her ass on the ground, her black and red jacket ruffled and dirty, and the long feathery black hair on her head was now more dishevelled. Her piercing red eyes were trained on Ruby, and it made her want to cry as she ran. Not like this, please! The boy standing next to her was similarly imposing in his grey jacket and red cape, his similarly red eyes seemed softer somehow? And he was smiling? Ruby turned her face back forward. She need to see the Headmaster. She didn't want to be right about these two people. It was impossible!

Blasting through the doors of the main building, she narrowly avoided slamming into a muscular blond boy who was having a friendly sounding argument with a very tall green-haired boy just inside the door. She turned back to look at them, but their identities didn't click in her head. The final corridor towards the Headmaster's office seemed like it was a thousand miles long as she sprinted towards it. Stopping just short so she didn't break through, she hammered her fist on the door. After a moment of silence, a quiet voice came from inside.

"Come in, child."

Ruby very briefly hesitated, but opened the door and walked in. There, sitting behind a desk, was the one person she desperately needed to see. But even he was different. His usually silver hair was very dark, with hints of grey around the edges. Freckles adorned his face, and his eyes had more colour in them. He was still the man she was expecting, just so much younger. No matter, she pushed on.

"Professor Ozpin, sir, I..."

He held up a hand, silencing her. She wanted to keep talking but she somehow found herself unable. He stood up slowly from his desk, circling around to the front, infamous cane in hand. His expression was soft and understanding. He gestured for her to sit. She sat.

"I know who you are, and why you are here, Miss Rose."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but the headmaster raised a hand and gestured for her to be silent. He strolled calmly over to the side of the room, before pouring himself a cup of coffee from a spherical glass carafe. He paused to take a sip of his coffee, the steam from the cup fogging his thin circular glasses. He turned from his spot across the room, looking over at her. Ruby felt confused.

"Do you like fairy tales, Miss Rose?"

Ruby nodded after a few seconds of contemplation. She wondered why this would be relevant at this moment.

"Then I assume you've heard the tale of the Four Maidens. Do you remember how they acquired their powers?"

She sat back in her chair, perplexed. She remembered, of course. The great wizard of the seasons bestowed the abilities of life upon the four women, granting each the power to create life. This fairy tale had been proven true to her, having herself actually met the Fall Maiden, a young woman by the name of Amber. She was nice. The part of the story pertaining to the wizard himself was widely disputed as being just a clever part of the story. She wondered precisely what the Headmaster was insinuating.

"I will spare you the long details, Miss Rose. I will put it like this; you are not the first person to travel different to the passage of time, but you are the first to do it artificially. Now, before you assume that I was the one who gave them their power, no, I did not. But I am aware of the person who did. We are one and the same, yet different. Do you understand?"

Ruby shook her head, no.

"We exist at the same time, but years apart. Our auras are in a constant state of being, as one. Myself, the man before me, and the ones after, it is the true nature of our semblance. A sort of... temporal loop, like you created, or rather, will create, with the infinity apple. And yes, I know about that, Miss Rose."

"W-what do I do?"

The headmaster smiled at her from behind his glasses, and walked over to the cabinet that sat on the other edge of the room. Upon opening it, he pulled out a long white hooded cloak, gingerly examining the fabric in his fingers. Why was he frowning at it? The cloak was placed into her hands.

"Blend in, for now. Become a student. I will help you rebuild your machine, should you wish to go home, but I warn you that anything you here do will forever change your future, Miss Rose. Do you understand?"

Ruby looked up at the man, concerned. She understood. This was fundamentally against every rule she knew about time travel. Kill even one bug, she remembered. It was her own rule. She stood up, trying to look determined. But she was scared. Her voice wavered.

"I understand, Professor Ozpin, sir."

"Excellent, Miss Rose. And Call me Headmaster Pine, for the time being. I am not Ozpin yet. Not for another ten years, at least."

Ruby allowed herself to be guided back to the door, nodding. Was she prepared for the reality of the situation? She had to be. It just became real in her head. The machine malfunctioned, and instead of being sent forward one and a half minutes in time, she had been sent one and a half decades backwards. And she had met Glynda. And run over Raven and Qrow. She suddenly realized that she may have also run into Doctor Oobleck as well, but his blond friend still eluded her conscience. She was just too tired and way to worried to remember him right now, as her head was just a mess of screaming. She pulled off her lab coat and donned the white cloak, handing the coat back to the headmaster. She looked up at the man as she did up the top of the cloak around her neck and pulled the hood over her hair. He was smiling down at her.

"I trust you to act to your own best interests. Don't forget about initiation tomorrow morning. You'll need a weapon, and perhaps a new outfit."

She took the credit card he held out to her, examining the Beacon Academy logo embossed across the front. She pocketed it, turning her hooded face up to his again.

"Thank you, Professor."

He placed a hand in her shoulder and turned her around, gently pushing her away from his office. She needed to go, now. And she needed to prepare herself. She was a first year again. Again. And with her parents! Her heart skipped a little when she realized that she'd get to meet her dad as a student. As well as her... mother. I'm not prepared for this. She walked cautiously away from Ozpin's office, turning back over her shoulder after a few strides. Ozpin was giving her a determined smile.

"Good luck. Summer."