A/N: First attempt at RWBY fanfiction. Really is an objectively bad idea to start a new work now, but The Games We Play just finished and I appear to have exhausted the Internet searching for something to fill that void while I wait for The Lies We Tell.

When you can't find something to read, write it yourself.

Anyway, a quick opening remark. Because Shipping is Serious Business (even in semi-genfics like this one) I want to address that before anyone reads and then gets angry for seeing a ship they don't like.

Shipping is going to be present but not prominent, I expect. The Bumblebee ship, for instance, is hinted at in this chapter. It's likely to be the first ship to set sail in this fic.

Note, however, that my personal OTShip for RWBY is decidedly Pollination, albeit with decidedly platonic R/Y. If polyamory bothers you, be aware that I may move in that direction. It's entirely possible, however, that the story will end with Bumblebee having been the only ship to realize. It's also entirely possible that I won't find an opportunity to 'Pollinate' as it were, and the story will include both White Rose and Bumblebee but not the OT4.

tl;dr: Pollination might happen and at least Bumblebee probably will.

I have some stuff to say at the bottom, about the story's inspiration and themes. That goes down there though. For now:

The Sisters Grimm

"Those who play with the devil's toys will be brought by degrees to wield his sword."
—R. Buckminster Fuller

"In each of us there are two natures.
If this primitive duality of man—Good and Evil—can be housed in separate identities,
Life will be relieved of all that is unbearable.
It is the curse of mankind that these polar twins must be constantly struggling."
—Dr. Henry Jekyll, Jekyll & Hyde

Chapter One: Ruby and Rose

Since as far back as Ruby Rose could remember, there were two of her.

This wouldn't have been unusual if she had been born a twin. She hadn't.

"I'll see you later, Ruby!" her sister—the one people acknowledged, anyway—called as she left for school. Yang Xiao long had a martial arts class before the school day proper, and so left just before seven each morning, an hour before Ruby did.

"Bye, Yang!" Ruby called after her as she heard the front door close. She turned back to the slumbering form in the bed beside her.

"Sis?" she murmured gently. "It's time to wake up."

Ruby Rose mumbled in her sleep. "Don' wanna."

Ruby Rose smiled gently. "Come on. You don't want to miss roll call, do you?"

The still half-asleep double shot up into a sitting position. "Oh, Dust," she moaned. "I have to get ready."

Ruby giggled at her double's misfortune. "Glad I'm not in your shoes," she said lightly.

Ruby Rose—both of her—was fifteen years old. One of them was a student at Signal Academy: a broad training location that prepared students for all sorts of fields, noted in particular for its pre-Hunt program for aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses.

The other was less fortunate.

"You were really tired when you got home last night, Rose," Ruby—the student at Signal—said conversationally as she pulled open their closet and laid out an outfit for each of them. For herself she took her customary red-and-black ruffled dress and leggings, with the blood-red cloak which was her signature. For her sister, she brought out the Dust-weave underarmor and combat shielding that was her uniform, again in their colors. "I was worried."

Rose sighed. "Sorry, Ruby," she said. "Yesterday was… bad."

They had taken different names to avoid confusion. Ruby was the student at Signal—the girl who could still be a little girl. Rose was less fortunate.

Ruby looked at her sister sympathetically. "White Fang?" she asked.

Rose shook head grimly. "Grimm," she said tonelessly, pulling off her pajamas and slipping into fresh underclothes. "Led by a Deathstalker. Breached the East barricades before we knew what was happening." She laughed mirthlessly. "The Fang actually helped us with this one, and we still lost a whole block of the city before we were able to rig up new barriers. At least three Huntsmen are dead, and I know of a couple more who were injured badly."

Ruby paused in pulling on her leggings to embrace her sister. "Did you know any of them?" she asked quietly.

Rose shook her head. "Yeah," she said softly. "We weren't close—one, Noire, was the sister of a friend. I need to see if she's okay today." She snorted, standing sharply and pacing the length of the room, not looking at Ruby. "Assuming we don't have another incursion that takes twelve hours out of my life."

Ruby looked over at her sister sadly. "I wish things were different," she said helplessly.

Rose looked over at her with a sad smile. "They are for you," she said gently. "Keep it that way." She cracked her neck and finished pulling on her armor. Once it was on, she pulled her weapon off of its rack on the wall.

Rose's weapon was a Repeating Dual Assault Scythe. It extended from a compacted box-like form into a seven-foot instrument of death, with a crescent-shaped blade on either end, pointing in opposite directions. Integrated into the haft of the weapon were two separate .45 fully-automatic repeating rifles, one pointing past each blade.

"I need to get in early today," she said, "which means I'll have to leave soon and grab breakfast on the way. You'll be all right without me, right?"

Ruby nodded with a smile at her sister, then cocked her head. "Why do they need you early?"

Rose sighed. "Apparently," she grumbled, "my name's been shortlisted for an op in Old Mantle. For some reason the bigwigs have got it in their heads that we need to get something out of the old ruin instead of, I don't know, trying to take back some of the ground we're losing every day!" Rose was breathing heavily now, and her silver eyes were glimmering with rage.

Ruby finished lacing up her boots and turned to face her sister, making placating motions with her hands. "I hope they have a good reason," she said. "Otherwise it just doesn't make sense."

"Makes as much sense as anything else," Rose grunted, lightly kicking their dresser. "Sometimes I feel like the world just hates people named Ruby Rose." She smiled wryly at her sister. "Then I remember that you exist."

Ruby ducked her head. "I wish you didn't have to go out every day and risk your life like that." she said longingly. "I wish we could just switch places…"

"I don't," Rose said, taking her hand. "You've got a wonderful life, and people who care about you, and I wouldn't take that away from you for the world." She smiled wryly. "'Sides, I don't think I could really be Dad's good little girl anymore."

Ruby swallowed and held back tears. Rose's mother had died before she could remember, just like Ruby's, but Ruby still had her father and sister. Rose's had been killed at the outbreak of the war five years ago.

They both wondered, sometimes, how it would have affected Rose if Ruby hadn't been there. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

Rose was not fooled by Ruby's false cheer and took her sister into her arms gently. "Hey," she said quietly. "It's all right. They're still with you, aren't they? They're not gone, even if I can't see them anymore." She kissed her sister on the cheek. "I've got to go, Ruby."

Ruby kissed her sister back. "Bye, Rose. Be safe."

Rose smiled at the doorway out of their bedroom. "I will," she promised. "See you tonight." And she was gone, out the door and out of Ruby's life for the rest of the day.

It was an interesting paradox that surrounded "their room." Ruby lived in the Xiao Long flat in the western suburbs of Vale—specifically on the island of Patch—and had a bedroom to herself just as she had all her life. Rose, on the other hand, had not lived in the Xiao Long flat in five years, since the island had been evacuated in one of the first major Grimm incursions of the war. Rose lived instead in a small apartment near the city center, in the residential area which had, for her, been converted into makeshift barracks. As a ranking officer, she was given her own quarters.

Somehow, those two rooms on opposite sides of Vale were the same room, and the door opened to different places for each of them.

That oddity, however, was nothing compared to the strangeness of the rest of the world. Every so often, Ruby would pass Rose on the street. Rose would be walking with her fellow officers of the UGCF; sometimes friends, sometimes rivals, always comrades. Ruby would be walking with her friends from Signal, or with her family.

Always, one thing was constant. The only people from the two parties who could see each other were Ruby and Rose. It was as though everyone else existed in two entirely separate Remnants, and Ruby and Rose could only catch a glimpse at the other side through a single, two-way, Ruby Rose-shaped hole.

Ruby sighed and opened the door her sister had just left through. It opened to a staircase down to the ground floor of her father's flat.

She reached over, pulled Crescent Rose from its position where it hung on her wall, strapped the weapon onto her back and descended. It was time to face another day alone.

"This time you're the one home late," Rose told Ruby accusingly as she slipped quietly into the room.

It was a couple of months later. School had let out for Ruby and Yang—the latter having graduated from Signal with accolades in combat. She had been accepted to Beacon Academy and would be attending in just a few more days.

Ruby grinned at her. "Oh my gosh, Rose," she gushed in a rapid whisper, careful not to wake Yang in the next room. "You will not believe what happened today!"

Rose cocked her head and raised a brow. "Oh?" she asked, amused. "Try me."

"I'm going to Beacon!" Ruby could barely contain the squeal to a reasonable volume. "Headmaster Ozpin found me after I fought off those robbers and invited me to attend early!"

Rose's face blanked and she blinked once, slowly. "Ruby," she said calmly. "Beginning, please. You got into a fight?"

Ruby looked down sheepishly. "Er, yeah," she said. "There were these guys in black suits with red glasses and some kind of mass-produced red swords, stealing Dust from a store I was in. They were led by a guy with red hair in a white coat with a cigar."

"Roman," Rose muttered, looking baffled. "What the hell are you doing on that side, you clown?"

"Roman?" Ruby asked.

Rose shook her head. "He's a field tactician for the UGCF," she said. "I worked with him while I tenured under Captain Fall. He's not a great guy, but he's also not ballsy enough to openly steal Dust like that—not unless he's got a lot of support. I wonder who he's working with?"

Ruby shrugged. "There've been a lot of dust thefts lately," she said. "Maybe his group's behind them all?"

Rose nodded, looking almost sad. "Maybe," she sighed. "It's almost depressing, how people who I fight beside on this end are your enemies over there, just because the Grimm are scarier on this side."

Ruby gave her a wry smile. "I'll try not to hurt him if I get into a fight," she suggested.

Rose snorted. "I honestly don't care about what happens to Roman Torchwick," she said firmly. "He's a bastard, even on this end; he just happens to be Captain Fall's bastard. But…" She looked up at Ruby from her seat on the bed, and her eyes were slightly bright. "If you run into a girl in the White Fang named Blake Belladonna," she said quietly, "please try not to hurt her. She's…" Rose looked away. "She can be a great friend," she said. "Loyal to the death."

Ruby hugged her sister. "I remember you told me about her," she said gently. Blake Belladonna had been a friend to her sister a couple of years back, who had been killed defending a civilian evacuation of Vacuo from the White Fang. "I thought the Fang killed her?"

"She was a member, once," Rose said softly. "I didn't know that until just a bit before… well. She turned to our side when the Fang refused to fall into line with the UGCF."

Ruby nodded slowly. "I'll try to keep her safe if I ever meet her," she promised.

Rose's fists clenched at she shook her head. "No," she said eventually. "It was a stupid thought. If she becomes your enemy, just make sure you survive." The identical silver eyes met. "Promise?"

Ruby smiled. "Promise," she said.

"All right," Rose sighed heavily, blinking and breaking eye contact. "So, Torchwick's guys were stealing Dust? And you were just… there?"

Ruby nodded. "One of them tried to mug me," she confessed. "It was really funny, actually."

Rose snorted. "Civvies," she said derisively. "They never learn. What happened then?"

"Well, Torchwick was actually trained," Ruby continued, sitting down beside her sister, "so he actually gave me some trouble. I chased him onto a roof, but he had a getaway dropship." She ducked her head. "Almost got me with a Red Dust crystal as a grenade," she muttered. "Didn't realize what he was planning until it was almost too late to dodge. But then guess who showed up?"

Rose's brows rose. "Who?"

"Glynda Goodwitch!" Ruby hissed excitedly. "She brought up a barrier to protect us from the blast and then started hitting the dropship with magic missiles! They got away anyway, though. Their pilot came out; she was a real powerhouse with Red Dust. I think she had a Dust-weave dress, too."

Rose frowned. "You didn't see who it was?" she asked.

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. She hung back in the troop pod, and kept the shadows on her face. I think she wanted to stay hidden."

Rose grunted agreement. "So would I, if I were in charge of organized Dust robbery in a world where not every military entity in existence was focused on containing the Grimm," she said.

Ruby nodded. "Anyway, Professor Goodwitch brought me to the Police Station and sat me down in an interrogation room and started chewing me out for getting involved, and then Professor Ozpin showed up, and he had cookies, and he gave me the cookies, and he invited me to Beacon!"

Rose was looking at her oddly. "So let me get this straight," she said slowly. "Goodwitch starts chewing you out for doing your job as a Huntress-in-training…"

"Well, she said I needed to go find a professional Huntsman, or the police," Ruby said, "because I might not have been able to handle them."

"But you knew you could," Rose said flatly.

"Well, yeah."

"So my point stands," Rose said, looking displeased, but not at her sister. "And after that, Ozpin comes in with cookies and an offer?"

"Yep," said Ruby cheerily.

Rose looked at her warily. "You do know he was manipulating you, right?" she asked softly.

Ruby nodded. "Oh, totally," she agreed. "It's honestly kind of flattering. He clearly really wants me at Beacon. I'll watch for more of that from him, but since I wanted to go anyway… I didn't see the harm."

Rose sighed, still watching her, now looking sad again. "And that's another thing," she said quietly. "Why do you want to go to Beacon early?"

Ruby smiled at her. "I know, I know. We talked about me having a childhood and all that. Honestly, though… We're fifteen now. My childhood's basically over anyway. And Yang's going to Beacon this year. If I go now, we'll be in the same classes… and you and I also talked about appreciating her." She shrugged, grinning wryly at her double. "I had to choose, and I figured going to Beacon now was the right call."

Rose nodded wearily. "You're probably right," she murmured, swinging her legs onto the bed—carefully, so as not to hit her sister. "Hell, who am I to say? It's your life. I hope it goes well." She looked sidelong at her sister. "You know you'll have roommates there."

Ruby froze. "I didn't think about it," she admitted.

Rose had enlisted in the UGCF before the draft, when the barracks were still empty enough to give her a room of her own. By the time that had changed, she was already an officer. Neither of them had even lived in a room that wasn't entirely their own. The closest equivalent was when Rose was away on missions of a week or more, and in these cases she simply didn't return to the room until she got back.

It was always a time of quiet terror for Ruby, who knew that if her sister died, she would never hear from her again, and would have no one to turn to. They had long since agreed that if such a thing happened, Ruby would tell Yang the whole story so that she would have someone to support her. Until it was necessary, however, it was simpler just to keep the secret.

"We don't know what'll happen," Rose said comfortingly. "Maybe it'll be fine, and I'll still see you every night, even if we won't be able to talk much in front of your teammates."

Ruby nodded unhappily. "Yeah," she agreed, trying to keep her fear out of her voice. "Maybe."

"Come on," Rose said gently. "Get changed and come to bed. You've got a lot to get ready before Beacon."

The next few days went by all too quickly. Yang was beyond excited to learn that her sister would be her classmate, and Taiyang was positively glowing with pride the whole while.

Even Rose was proud of her, and told her so every night.

"It's all right, Ruby," she said quietly, the next night after Ruby's meeting with Ozpin. "It's not goodbye; you'll be back in the winter."

"It's longer than any mission you've ever been on," Ruby muttered, clutching her arms around herself. "We've never been apart for this long before."

"And we'll survive," Rose said confidently, taking her sister into her arms. "And you'll come out of it one of the strongest Huntresses your Remnant has ever seen."

"I'd rather have you," Ruby whispered.

"And I, you," Rose smiled, kissing her on the forehead. "But you know as well as I do that Remnant—both Remnants—need us more than we do. Someone has to fight the Grimm, and I'm proud to say my sister is one of those happy few."

The only member of the strange, binary family who was less than pleased was Ruby herself.

But now it was the morning. Today she left home for longer than she'd ever been away before.

"Ruby," Rose whispered in her ear. "It's time to get up. You don't want to miss the airship."

At the same time, Yang knocked on the door. "Ruby!" she sang. "C'mon, little sis! We're going to Beacon!"

Ruby's silver eyes opened slowly, reluctantly, and sought her sister's mirrored ones. "Rose," she whispered.

Rose smiled. "I'll leave a note every time I go on a mission," she promised, "with the day I left and the day I expect to be back by. That way, if I'm gone when you get back… you won't wonder."

Ruby swallowed. "I can't lose you," she whispered.

Rose smiled down at her. "You won't," she said, brimming with certainty. "No Grimm's going to keep me from home."

Ruby hugged her, ignoring Yang's calls for her to wake up. "I'll miss you," she said in a choked sob.

"I'll miss you too," Rose said, embracing her back. "But remember, every day, that I'm back here, waiting for you… and it'll make it easier."

They lay there for a moment, silent, before Ruby sighed and let go, drying her eyes on her pajama sleeves. "I need to get the door," she murmured, "Or Yang'll break it down again."

Rose smiled and helped her up, then stood back as Ruby faced the world.

Ruby pulled open the door a crack. "Yang?" she asked.

There was an actual pause as Yang met her sister's eyes, words dying on the blonde's lips as she studied the smaller girl. "Are you okay?" she asked, usual exuberance gone. "Were you crying?"

Ruby smiled at her. "Sorry," she said. "I'm just… already homesick."

Yang stared at her for a moment, face concerned. "Are you… sure you want to go through with this?" she asked hesitantly. "I… guess I get it if you don't want to skip ahead."

For one moment, crystallized, Ruby wondered. She really could back out of it now. She could say that she wanted to stay with her friends at Signal for a little longer, that, despite her skill in combat, she wasn't ready for higher education, and for living in the dorms on her own.

She could turn around now, and close the door, and Rose would still be there, and they would have more time.

And then she blinked and smiled.

"I'm sure," she said, and she didn't even have to pretend to be certain. "I'm ready."

Yang grinned at her. "Aw, yeah! That's the Ruby I know! You'll show Beacon who's boss!"

Ruby chuckled slightly. "Not in my PJ's I won't," she said. "Shoo, go away! I'll be down in five minutes."

As Yang left she closed the door and turned back to where Rose was smiling at her from the corner. There was an odd look on her face, but Ruby knew her sister well enough to recognize even the uncommon feeling.

"I don't think I've ever been this proud of anything before," she said softly, and her silver eyes were shining. "You'll go far, Ruby."

"As long as I have you behind me," Ruby said, crossing the room to pull her sister into her arms one last time.

The day seemed to fly by until suddenly they were there, at Beacon Academy. The airship ride had been largely uneventful but for the appearance of a newscast confirming what Ruby had suggested to Rose—that Roman Torchwick was involved in more than one Dust theft.

As Ruby followed her elder sister off of the ship, the world seemed to open in blinding sunlight. They were level with lower-flying clouds, and even the highest ones didn't seem too far out of her reach up here. Before her was the Beacon citadel, its spires forming a striking silhouette against the endless sea of blue.

"Beacon Academy!" Yang laughed, stretching luxuriously. "Say hello to our home for the next four years, Ruby!"

Ruby looked up at the great central tower and the luminescent Dust-carillon atop it, and found herself smiling sadly.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Home…"

Yang looked sidelong at her. "You all right?" she asked.

Ruby smiled at her. "Fine," she said. "I'm fine." She looked around. "Sure seems busy," she said quietly.

Yang nodded, surveying the crowd. "Oh, hey!" she called, waving at someone in the distance. "There's a few friends of mine!"

Ruby smiled. "Oh, from Signal?"

"Yeah!" said Yang, continuing to wave. "They were in the grade above me—graduated last year. Anyway," she said, turning to Ruby, "I guess we could head in now and explore, but do you want to wander around outside for a bit; meet people?"

Ruby shrugged. "Sure, I guess. You sure you don't want to go talk to them?"

Yang grinned at her, spreading her arms ambivalently. "They'll be here for the next four years," she said confidently. "And I've had them in class before. You, I have not had in my class before, and I don't get to spend time with my little sister often enough. C'mon! Is there anyone you want to meet around here? See any cool weapons?"

Ruby smiled and looked around. One girl—a dark-haired beauty with a bow atop her long locks—caught her eye with a customized blade in a sharpened sheath, clearly including a component firearm. "She's got a nice weapon," she said.

"Her weapon isn't the only nice thing on her," Yang agreed, whistling approvingly. "You've got good taste, sis."

"Your words, not mine," Ruby giggled, approaching the girl. "Hi!" she introduced cheerfully. "I'm Ruby. This is my sister, Yang. What's your name?"

The girl blinked at her for a moment before responding quietly in a low, velvety voice, "…Blake."

Ruby blinked.

"Blake, huh?" Yang said, stretching her arms behind her head. "Where are you from?"

"…Around," the girl said evasively.

Sounds about right, agreed Ruby, studying the girl with new eyes. If this really is Blake Belladonna. White Fang members don't have stable homes. I wonder if she's still working for them?

"Ooh, mysterious!" Yang said, one brow raised flirtatiously. "I like that."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Don't mind her," she told Blake firmly. "She was dropped on her head as a baby."

"Hey!" Yang accused. "I'm the older sister—I'm supposed to say that about you!"

Blake snorted. "I'm definitely seeing the maturity," she said caustically.

Ruby thought Yang probably didn't miss the sarcasm, but she just swelled with pride. "You know it!" the blonde agreed.

"Did you build that weapon?" Ruby interjected, trying to change the subject before Yang finished burning the bridge.

Blake nodded at her slowly. "Yeah," she said warily. "Why?"

Ruby grinned. "Because it's really cool! How's it work? What features does it have?"

"Ruby's… trigger-happy," Yang explained, and Ruby saw her rolling her eyes.

Right, Ruby grumbled internally. Like you've got room to judge.

"She built her weapon when she was only eight, and she's been modifying it ever since," Yang continued, as though she hadn't heard Ruby chastise her. Which, of course, she hadn't. "So… she likes weapons."

Blake raised a brow at the smaller girl. "That's… impressive. What's your weapon, then?"

Ruby smiled excitedly and unslung Crescent Rose from behind her. "This is Crescent Rose," she introduced, extending the seven-foot scythe. "She's a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe. She has 32-round magazines and a peak firing rate of 2 .50 rounds per second." Ruby smiled at the weapon. "Isn't she a sweetheart?"

Yang actually had to support herself on Ruby's shoulder she was laughing so hard. "It never gets old," she gasped to Blake. "It's one of the most psychotic weapons ever conceived and she calls it sweetheart!"

Blake seemed to be trying to contain her laughter. She was better at it than Yang.

Ruby frowned at her sister. "It's better than being a mother hen over my own hair…"

Yang rolled her eyes, still laughing. "Look, Sis, if you had hair like mine, you'd be protective too!"

Ruby shook her head and turned back to Blake. "So?" she asked. "What about your weapon? What's its name? What's it do?"

Blake shrugged and drew the blade from its sharpened sheath. "Its name is Gambol Shroud," she said, holding the katana out for examination. "It's a Variable Ballistic Chain scythe; I hook the katana onto my wrist with a Dust-weave ribbon, enhanced for durability, and then swing it around, using the integrated pistol to improve its velocity. I can use the sheath as an off-hand weapon."

Ruby nodded absently, studying the integrated firearm in the hilt of the weapon. ".44?" she asked after a moment, considering the width of the barrel.

".38," Blake corrected. "Sacrificed stopping power for economy and size. It needed to fit into the hilt of a katana, after all."

Ruby nodded. "I guess if you're using it for sudden velocity changes, .38 works almost as well." She smiled up at Blake. "Thanks!" she said. "Weapons are kind of my thing."

Blake shrugged, sheathing Gambol Shroud. "No problem," she said. "I guess it only makes sense for Huntresses-in-training to bond over how we'll kill Grimm."

Yang snorted. "Sounds about right. Hey, it looks like people are heading inside."

Ruby looked around. It was true; slowly but surely the students were filtering into the citadel. "Orientation?" she wondered aloud.

"Probably," Blake said. "We wouldn't want to miss that."

"This is great!" Yang said, leaning on her arm and studying the rest of the crowd. "It's like a massive slumber party!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, full of people we don't know."

Yang flicked her in the temple with a finger. "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. Stop being so glum! Besides, Blake's a friend now!"

Ruby snorted. "You sure you don't mind me getting to know her?"

At Yang's frown, she elaborated. "You were laying the moves on her really thick, Yang. I wouldn't want to get in the way…"

Yang was immune to teasing, and just waggled her eyebrows. "I definitely don't mind; you made a great wingman—er, woman. She thought you were adorable."

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't that almost exactly not the idea behind a wing…woman?"

Yang's grin widened. "Oh, no. If my little sister's adorable, I, by comparison, look smoking!"

This time Ruby threw the pillow. "That would be because your hair's on fire," she told her older sister caustically.

Yang pulled the pillow off her face and grinned at someone behind Ruby. "Hey, Blake!" she said, patting the ground beside her, across from her sister. "Set up here!"

Ruby turned. Blake was standing over them, a book in her hand, a rolled sleeping bag on her back, a hint of pink dusting her cheeks, and an amused look in her eyes. "I think I'll keep to this side," she told Yang, laying the sleeping bag out beside Ruby. "Wouldn't want you trying anything on the first night here."

Yang was still unaffected as ever. "I would never!" she said, laughter in her eyes despite her feigned offence. "I save all the naughty things for night two and onward."

Blake rolled her eyes, but Ruby noticed her blush grew a shade more prominent. Yang, knowing her, probably noticed too; if Ruby looked over right now, she was sure her blonde sister would be preening visibly. "How… controlled of you," she said, lowering herself onto the sleeping bag and placing her book beside where her head would lie.

Yang tossed her head in a passable impersonation of a snob. "Controlled?" she asked. "How dare you? I'm a wild ride, baby, just wait and see!"

In response, Blake turned to Ruby. "Is there any way to get her to stop?" she asked.

Ruby giggled. "Let her have it," she advised. "Just be glad she hasn't brought out the puns yet."

"Oh, you're right, those are late," Yang said, clapping her hand to her brow in dismay. "I'll have to be more punctual in the future."

Blake stared at the blonde, open-mouthed. Ruby looked over at Yang to see her grinning proudly.

"You've got to be joking," Blake said eventually. "There are actually people like you on Remnant?"

"Ha! Definitely not!" Yang raised a fist to her ample chest proudly. "I'm one-of-a-kind! I'm Yangtastic!"

"Yes, Yang," Ruby said over Blake's horrified groan—and those of everyone for several feet around them, for that matter—as the lights went out. Ruby patted her sister on the head. "Yes you are."

A/N: All right, now you've read what you came for, let's see if anyone cares enough to read this stuff.

This is a Butterfly Effect/For Want of a Nail fic, which is a very well-loved trope in RWBY. But it's also not at all that, because it's not an event that changes… not really.

The Sisters Grimm is inspired by Split Second, an incredibly dark My Little Pony fanfiction whose main character serves as a deliberate foil to the cartoon's main character. But the similarities end in inspiration.

For one thing, as far as I can tell, no ponies will appear in The Sisters Grimm.

For another, Split Second, thematically, discusses the line between being a 'person' or a 'monster' through the character of Sparkle, who toes the line between the two. The Sisters Grimm will get into that a little, I think, near the end, but its main themes are entirely different.

The Sisters Grimm is about two things: the power that one connection between two people can have, even without anything concrete flowing between them; and the effect of war and loss on a person's personality.

Let's see if I can do those themes justice.

With all that said, I can't promise to update this consistently. I expect it to be like my other stories: written in bursts. Sometimes, as in the recent few chapters of Walking Backwards on a Tightrope, those bursts last several chapters. (Each chapter is a minimum of 5000 words, by the by.) Other times, they fall shy of one. I'm on a RWBY kick right now, so there might well be one more chapter before I move back to another fic. That should be out in the next week or two if it happens.

Short version, if waiting for updates bothers you overmuch, turn back now. Sorry, but I have other priorities than making myself write for free.

One last note: Reviews and comments are often treated as gold by writers of fanfiction. Not so for me. Reviews are appreciated but unnecessary. Leave one if you have something to say and I'll be grateful—not least because it boosts my story's ratings and makes it easier to find in the archive. Do not, however, expect a response unless your review asks a very good question. If it does, I'll respond by PM.

Thanks for reading!