No Such Thing as Destiny

Chapter One

Do you Believe in Destiny?

I'll find them.

A promise as a Huntress. A promise was a chain, pulling Ruby forward, upward, toward the sky along the tallest tower in the city.

I'll find them, and I'll bring them back.

A promise to her friends, for her friends. Ren and Nora waited at the evacuation point, too worn out and hurt to go back into the fight by themselves. That left Ruby and Weiss to find Jaune and …

"Don't worry about me! Please, you have to save …"

Pyrrha.

Jaune had sounded so desperate over the phone, more than she had ever heard anyone before. But she knew that desperation. She had felt it. Right before Penny died.

Too late. She had seen the threat, but she had gotten there too late to save her. With Yang, Ruby hadn't even known she was in danger until she found her lying on the ground, her right arm ending in a stump, her dreams and ambitions replaced by a few dirty bandages. She had been too late for Penny and too late for Yang, but for Pyrrha, there was still …

Hope. Hope and a promise pulled her forward and upward, her feet hitting against the tower wall as white glyphs appeared beneath her, giving her the traction she needed to fulfill both. Time. As long as the clangs and crashes of battle rang overhead, she still had …

Silence. The noise from the fight between Pyrrha and her opponent had stopped. Too late. No. Not too late, not too late!

She reached the top of what was left of the tower–the roof had been torn off–and landed lightly on all fours, and what she saw burned itself into her memory like a searing flame.

Pyrrha, long red hair and golden armor, the perfect Huntress, the untouchable warrior, on her knees. Before her, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury's teammate, black hair and heels, with a bow pulled taut and an arrow nocked.

And then she let go, and the arrow embedded itself in Pyrrha's chest right about her breast plate. She raised her hand to the arrow and tried to speak, to breath, to …

Cinder stepped forward and placed a hand on her head, gently, as if, Ruby thought, to offer comfort. But Pyrrha's body flashed golden, and dissipated into the air like embers in the night.

A golden circlet fell through the space where Pyrrha had been, and Ruby felt that void like a knife through her heart.

I will find them, and I will …

Save Pyrrha! You have to save …

Too late. Too late. Too …

No. No! It couldn't be! She couldn't … she had to …

The emptiness inside of her, the vacancy that had once been filled with the certainty that everything would work out, collapsed on itself. She screamed out, and everything turned white.

WWW

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! She crashed into me, and then she just fell over."

"I guess your friendly smile needs work. It looks a bit too–"

"Shut up!"

Ruby's view focused, and what first seemed like staring into the sun faded into a ceiling hall light. She blinked and groaned. Her brain felt like it had gone through a blender and her whole body felt sore. The light went out, blocked by a face with red eyes, like Yang when she got angry.

"You okay, kid? I didn't mean to bump into you like that."

"Technically, she bumped into you."

"Can it, Merc."

Ruby shook her head to focus and saw … Emerald. Red eyes, tan skin, green hair–killed Penny–with her hand extended as if to help her up. She backed away and somersaulted backwards to her feet. "You!" Mercury stood next to her, in grey and black.

Emerald blinked, her face a mask of fake confusion and concern. "Sorry, have we met? We're exchange students from Haven, trying to find our dorms, but we must have gotten turned around or …"

She was in the Academy, Ruby realized, just down the hall from her own dorm. How did she get here? She was on top of the tower a moment ago, the roof torn off and gears scattered across the floor, watching Pyrrha … and now she was back here, and why was Emerald acting so nice again?

"What game are you playing?" she demanded.

Emerald held her hands up, palms outward. "Game? I don't know what you're talking about. We're just–"

"It ends now!"

Emerald laughed, as though at a joke she didn't completely get. "What?"

Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose from behind her back and unleashed it, slamming the tip into the ground and pointing the barrel at Emerald. "It ends now!"

Emerald backed away, but Mercury just smirked. "Beacon hospitality. I think I'm going to like it here."

A figure from behind him placed a hand on his shoulder. "We've been here one day." Cinder stepped into view, wavy black hair covering half her face. "Let's not try to wreck the place just yet." A yellow-orange eye that seemed to glow by its own light turned to Ruby. "Nice scythe, kid. I hope you know how to use it."

Ruby knew. She knew how to use Crescent Rose more than she knew anything, but would it be enough? Cinder had been able to defeat Pyrrha–kill Pyrrha–and Mercury had been a near even match for Yang. That wasn't even counting Emerald. Any of them alone would be more than a challenge, but all three of them together?

All three of them together turned around and walked away. Ruby blinked. She stood there with a high caliber sniper rifle pointed at them, and they ignored her like she was nothing more than a little girl playing with toys. Before she could decide whether to feel insulted or relieved, they were around a corner out of view.

Ruby let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding and looked around. It was the Academy, alright, just like she remembered it. Exactly like she remembered it. She looked out a window, and instead of seeing marauding bands of Grimm, there were only city lights.

She refolded Crescent Rose, put it on her back, and opened the door to her dorm room. She didn't know what she expected with Yang and Blake ready to be loaded onto transport and Weiss, she wouldn't have come back here, right?

She looked inside, and saw her whole team, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, standing around the room like nothing had ever happened. And for a second impossibility on top …

"Yang!" Ruby said. "Your arm's back!"

Yang blinked. "I'm armsback? What's that mean?"

"I–it means–you're all better now!"

Yang looked at Blake and Weiss. "Um, thanks? But really, I'm not sure what's going on."

"How do you think I feel? The last thing I remember was you and Blake fleeing the city, and there were Grimm all over the place, and an army of robots, and, and … you're all looking at me like I'm crazy."

"Never crossed my mind," Blake said.

"Hold on, are you still talking about the game?" Yang said.

"Game? What game? What are you talking about?"

"You know, the board game we were just playing?" Yang asked. "The one we left in the library? The one you just left to go get? Ring any bells?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, no bells are ringing. This is so weird. I don't know if this is a major case of deja vu, or …" She gasped. "What day is it?"

"Thursday."

"No, what day is it?" She bolted forward and snatched Weiss's planner off her desk. Weiss scheduled every event of every day, and checked it off as soon as she was done. Ruby flipped through it, looking for the date.

"Hey, that's mine!" Weiss said. "I gave you no permission to rifle through my things!"

Ruby reached the final unchecked page and gasped again. "Is this true?"

"Yes," Weiss said, swiping the planner away. "This is mine, not yours. If you want to play with it, you have to ask."

"No, is it really the twenty-eighth of August?"

Weiss gave her one of her looks. "Is that what you wanted? Why didn't you just check your scroll?"

"Lost it. It broke during my fight with Mercury."

"You got in a fight without me?" Yang said. "When did this happen? Did you win?"

August twenty-eighth. The Vytal Festival hadn't even started yet, and the tournament was still more than a month away. Was that even possible? It did explain how there weren't any Grimm in the city and how Yang had both arms again, and it was hard to argue with Weiss's planner. She pulled her scroll out of her pocket, and it was as good as new.

"Okay, little sis, now you're just teasing me."

But if she was right, then … "Be right back!" She raced out of the room and burst into JNPR's room right across from them. And just like with her room, JNPR's room looked exactly like she remembered it.

"Oh, come on, Ren. Please?"

"No. What did I tell you about being in the kitchen?"

"That I look great in an apron and you need my help?"

"That any chef's job is hindered when the ingredients are actively being consumed."

"Well, sor-ry, Ren! I thought you were done."

"Cookie dough, by its definition, is not done."

"Cookie dough, by its definition, is delicious!" Nora looked towards Ruby standing in the doorway, as though noticing her for the first time. "Isn't it, Ruby? Tell Ren that there's nothing wrong with it."

"Besides salmonella," he said, "there's nothing wrong with it at all."

"And with enough sugar, you can't even taste the fish."

"That's not …" He sighed. "Ruby Rose, my apologies. What can I do for you?"

Ruby smiled weakly. "Okay, this may sound really weird, but is Pyrrha here?" If she was right, then Pyrrha would be right around here as though nothing had happened (because it hadn't yet), but still, Ruby had to see her with her own eyes.

"She's on the roof, sparring with Jaune," Ren said.

"Right," Nora said. "They're not making out, they're just sparring. And nothing else."

"Of course they're just sparring," Ren said. "Why would you even suggest otherwise?"

"I wasn't. I was denying anything else."

Ren shook his head. "Anyway, would you like me to call her down? Nevermind, it sounds like they just finished."

Ruby heard the metallic clangs of a ladder being climbed, and Jaune climbed in through the window. He walked stiffly, like he was sore all over. Ruby could sympathize. "I'm not quite dead. I might not be getting any better, but I'm still alive."

Pyrrha climbed in after him, tall, graceful, and alive. "Oh, don't be so hard on yourself. You've made remarkable improvements on your form." She noticed Ruby, her green eyes as vibrant as they had ever been. "Good evening, Ruby. Can I help you?"

She swallowed. "You're … you're alive."

"Pardon?"

"You're alive!" I'll find them, and I'll bring them back. Mission freaking accomplished. Up yours, Death! I got time travel! "And if you're alive, then Penny is too!"

Pyrrha frowned. "Are you well?"

"I'm not crying, I swear!" she said, wiping her eyes.

"Who's Penny?" Nora said.

Team RWBY isn't going to believe this! "Hold that thought." She ran back into the hall and burst into her room.

"For how long?" Nora called after her.

"Guys!" Ruby said, slamming the door behind her. "Guys guys guys guys!"

"We heard you the first time," Weiss said. "What?"

"You'll never guess what I just did!"

"You've committed yourself to a mental institution?"

"No, Weiss, even better! I managed to time travel!"

Weiss made a face. "Better seems like a strong word for this situation."

"Hold on," Yang said. "Do you mean that in the 'everything stands still' sort of way, or the really really complicated sort of way?"

"The complicated one. Yang, Weiss, Blake? As of today, I am from–the future!"

"Neat!" Yang said. "Do we win the Vytal Tournament?"

"Um, yes."

"Excellent!"

"Hold on," Weiss said, turning on Yang. "Are you really going to humor her on this?"

"As long as it's funny."

"But then you got disqualified because the fight was sabotaged," Ruby added.

"Aaand, it's not funny anymore."

"And you lost an arm."

Yang looked up. "Really? Do I get it replaced with a really cool robotic one?"

"Um, you got first aid. I kind of time traveled before you had the chance to become a cyborg."

Yang sighed. "Man, the future sucks."

"Tell me about it."

"Could we focus on reality for a bit?" Blake asked.

"This is reality!" Ruby said. "The future is real, it's horrible, and we have to change it!"

"Reality is another strong word," Weiss said. "The way I see it, our fearless leader has either run so fast time went backwards …"

"Is that a thing?" Ruby asked. She had been using her Semblance a lot right before the end.

"Or, you ran so fast you hit your head on something."

"My head's fine! I'm from the future!"

"Sure you are." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should postpone our plans until Ruby is … maybe 'normal' is the wrong word for this situation, but you know what I mean."

"Plans? What plans?"

"Investigating the White Fang," Blake said. Her eyes narrowed. "You seemed really enthusiastic about it five minutes ago."

"But five minutes ago was back in August!"

"It is August."

"Not in the future!" Hold on … White Fang? She remembered that, vaguely. "Wait, was that the time we fought the giant robot?"

"Of course it was," Yang said. "Now, why don't you lie down, and I'll take care of everything."

"But I'm not tired. And I'm not crazy! The future needs us!"

"I know it does. But the future also needs someone to pack up the board game before it ends up in the lost and found." Yang walked out the door without another word.

Ruby turned to Blake. "You believe me, don't you?"

Blake gave her one of her looks. Weiss's looks were mostly condescending, but Blake's were more calculating. "Are you serious?"

"I'm always serious!" Blake gave her another look. "Okay, but I'm serious about this."

"Saving the future? Protecting people? Making the world a better place?"

"Well, that is what being a Huntress is all about, right?"

Blake gave her a third look, one Ruby couldn't read. "Then what does it matter why?"

"Because," Ruby said, "time travel is so much cooler than just being mopey and pessimistic. I mean, no offense, you make it look good, but, um …"

"I'm going to bed now."

"Yeah, okay."

WWW

So my friend Magery (who also edited this, thanks man) got me started on RWBY, and it was all gumdrops and icecream until season three happened. I'm pretty sure that one of the stages of grief is to rewrite history via fanfiction, so here I am.

I know I'm going to get a lot of the details wrong and I'll be making up a lot of stuff because, well, artistic license and all that, but for the record, I'm assuming that the last episode of season three happened on October 31 (which has no corresponding holiday on Remnant, yet), giving Ruby about two months to save everyone.