Author's Note: This version of Ruby is not inspired by anything I have previously read, but on the 'concept' of a gender-swap universe. Any similarities to other works is purely coincidental.

This is the second of a series of one-shots meant to look into various alternate realities of the RWBY universe. In this case, if the entire cast was gender-swapped. Obviously, there will be other differences as I see fit, so let's just see how it works out.

I don't own RWBY in any way.


It was late at night when the shop 'From Dust Till Dawn' was robbed.

Several women filed into the shop wearing identical black pantsuits and red-tinted sunglasses. They were followed by a woman who walked in wearing a white overcoat and a black bowler cap. She took a long drag from her cigar, tapping the embers onto the glass counter top. Her ginger hair hung loosely over the right side of her face as she said, "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?" Her voice almost purred as she spoke, her one visible eye gleaming. She tapped a cane on the hard tile for emphasis.

"Please," the old lady behind the counter wheezed, "just take my lien and leave." She trembled violently, almost like she was moments from falling apart.

The ginger woman shushed her quickly, "Sh-sh-shh... calm down, I'm not here for your money." Green eyes turned to her associates. "Grab the dust." The women got to work filling the empty containers they had brought. Glass cylinders were filled with powder. Cases were lined with colored crystals. They left nothing behind.

One henchwoman spotted a potential snag: a customer in the back of the shop. It was a young boy, clearly in his mid-teens. His dark hair was almost black, but red highlights could be made out in the fluorescent lights. His bright red jacket stood out over his black jeans and red and black leather boots. The boy didn't even notice they were there, likely because of the large headphones he wore over his ear. Hell, even she could hear the music. He just stood there absentmindedly thumbing through a magazine.

Tapping him on the shoulder, she demanded he put his hands in the air. He didn't hear her. After a few moments of random pointing and him removing the headphones, she tried again. This time the boy complied, lifting his hands up to eye level. The woman noticed his bracelets then - just before he jerked his hands back and they expanded, whirling and clicking until they turned into full-fledged gauntlets. The red and silver color scheme matched his clothes.

It only took a few moments before he had not only blasted the closest woman out of the plate glass window at the storefront, but also had taken down the half-dozen or so others that ran over to assist. The boy was a flurry of punches, frequently shooting behind him and using the momentum from the shots to launch himself forward. As the dust settled, the boy examined his work, seemingly satisfied that the assailants were ...mostly unharmed, but they were down.

The ginger woman stepped out into the street, evidently finished with her cigar. She muttered to the fallen ladies, "Well you were worth every cent, truly you were." She dropped the bundle of smoking weeds onto the pavement, cooing, "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening." She crushed the cigar with the cane, then slowly brought it up to aiming height. "And, as much as I'd like to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways." An aiming reticulate popped out of the end, revealing a gun barrel at the tip. The gloved hand squeezed the trigger, sending a large red flare right for the boy's face - which he easily shot down with a bullet from his own weapon.

As the cloud of dust settled, the mystery woman had vanished. The boy spotted movement on a nearby rooftop, orange hair and a black hat running by. Dammit, why did it have to be a girl? He winced, slamming his armored fists together in a show of frustration. I HATE fighting girls.


A woman was sitting in front of him, calm hazel eyes regarding him slowly. She wore a long, loose-fitting black skirt and a dark green dress shirt that was doing a ...bad job of keeping her ample chest from moving about. The black bodice wasn't helping matters either. The boy fidgeted in his chair, the sole light in the room casting glaring shadows in the corners. He found it hard to focus with such a... distraction before him. The only other occupant in the room, a tall blonde man with wire-rim glasses, was in no mood for foolishness. But then, a famous Hunter like Glen Goodwitch was never in a good mood for long. In his hands was a scroll playing a video feed of the boy's battle with the attempted burglars.

"So Signal Academy taught you one of the strongest martial arts styles ever conceived?" The woman in green pondered before taking a sip from her coffee mug. A large 'O' was emblazoned on the side. "And with such wonderful toys, too..."

"Well, one teacher in particular," the dark-haired boy offered. There was a pause.

"It's just that I've only ever seen one fighter use such a style before." The older woman looked to one side, as though looking into the past. Her steel-gray hair shone in the makeshift spotlight.

The boy snuck a smile, saying, "That's probably my mom, Taiyang. She only taught for one year, but she really got the fighting style ingrained in me early. Most of the time I just practice the basics and she works with me on refining it later." He didn't know why his lips were suddenly loose, but it was nice to see that he even could relax with such a good-looking (hot) woman in the room. "Yeah, I was nothing before she took me under her wing. Now I'm all-" and he proceeded to demonstrate with a series of 'Waahs' and 'Wa-chaas,' flailing his arms in karate-like poses.

"And what is a cute boy like yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" The woman's hazel eyes were piercing, even in the dim light. Her smile was thin, but warm.

The boy froze, his inner monologue bursting at the seams to come out of his mouth. With visible effort, he managed to force it down and slowly say, "I want to be a Huntsman."

"You want to slay monsters." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," the boy nodded. Might as well run with it. "I only have two more years at Signal, then I'm going to apply to Beacon. My brother is starting there this year. My parents always taught us to help people, so I thought 'hey, why not make a career out of it?' and I've always thought Hunters and Huntresses are just so cool..." The boy looked down to adjust his jacket, painfully aware that he'd gotten a little carried away. There was no way he could tell them the actual reason was so he could work up the courage to talk to girls...

The break in the conversation was awkward to say the least. The woman and Glen glanced at each other, a look of knowing passed between them. The woman spoke next, never failing to make direct eye contact. "Do you know who I am?"

"You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster at Beacon," the boy fidgeted again, trying to become one with the chair.

"Hello." Ozpin steepled her fingers, looking over them with a calm certainty. "And you are Ruby Rose."

The dark-haired boy winced as though he'd been struck, "Could you not call me that, please? I hate that name. It's ...a girl's name."

The blonde man almost covered his snicker at the comment. Ozpin didn't bat an eye. "What would you prefer?"

Ruby Rose thought long and hard. If this was where he remade himself, it was important to get this right. His mind drifted to his earlier encounter with the ginger woman. She had called him... Red.

"Red Ryder."


"Unbelievable. This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about." The tall boy pinched his nose in irritation but his voice did not raise. His bright white hair did not bounce around as he shook his head since it was greased back too well. The dust and ash were slow to dissipate from his crisp white outfit. Seeing as how he had just been in a small dust explosion, both he and the red-themed new arrival were lucky it wasn't any worse.

The boy, now called Red Ryder, looked very whipped as he said, "I'm really really sorry..."

A sigh, "You're a complete moron, aren't you ? What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" The boy in white gazed at him with piercing, ice-blue eyes. Red was at a loss for words as he'd never seen anything them before. That, and he definitely didn't want to try and explain that Ozpin herself had allowed it after a ...really exciting night. The fact that he was here a full two years early had not been lost on the boy, and the ride on the airship was nothing if not ...eventful. He'd never seen a girl puke like that blonde one did...

Other words were said, but Red had already started tuning out. The boy in white walked away when he had finished, obviously annoyed, but Red still couldn't figure out who he even was.

Another boy behind him, this one with black hair, golden yellow eyes, and a dark gray knit cap, spoke up, "That was Weiss Schnee, heir of the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." His black ensemble seemed to let the boy blend in to the background so he had snuck up behind Red easily.

Red looked over at him, then back at the retreating form of Weiss, then said, "So... a rich boy."

The newcomer nodded, "Yep." He offered a hand. "Blake."

"Red," he said, shaking the hand.


Red stood on the stage next to his new partner for the next four years, Weiss Schnee. Next to them stood the black-garbed boy from this morning and his new partner, the one-and-only Yang Xiao Long. Yang stood as tall as most of the teachers, with glowing blonde hair he kept tied back in a ponytail. His lavender eyes were nearly always half-open, giving the impression that he was almost asleep at all times. His weapon rested at his back in compact form, called Crescent Dragon. It could unfold into a high-caliber sniper rifle and, from there, into a large scythe. Wielders of that particular weapon were few and far between, which gave Yang a major advantage when it came to the student hierarchy.

Ozpin, who had been announcing new teams up until this point, turned to give the four students a smile. "Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, and Red Ryder," Red couldn't help but notice the emphasis placed on his new name, "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as... team RWBY."

Red was lost in thought again, thinking about who would be team leader. It was most likely to be either Yang or Weiss - the boy in white was clearly a strong candidate with his exceptional Dust handling abilities and sharp mind, and Yang was, as stated before, a rare prodigy. The fact that it was Yang's blade that took the head of the Nevermore was further claim for his leadership. Certainly he would...

"Led by... Red Ryder." Again with the emphasis.

To say that any of the four expected this result would be to say that a stone flies in circles. Four jaws dropped, then three sets of eyes turned to regard their new 15-year-old leader. Red had checked out, silver eyes glazing over, but he was brought back to reality by his older brother's arm wrapping around his shoulders in a hug. "I'm so proud of you," he said in a quiet but firm tone. His eyes almost danced in admiration. "I like the new name, too."

Red didn't see it before, but this was the same look Yang had in his eyes two other times; once when Red had given them and a few others a good pep talk before fighting the Grimm during initiation, and again when the younger boy had come up with the plan to kill the giant Nevermore. Sure Yang had made the kill, but without a plan they likely would have suffered a far worse defeat.


CLANG!

The sound of the Ursa's claws bouncing off of Jean's shield rang out through the woods of Forever Fall. The blonde girl wore mostly casual clothes, such as a jacket and blue jeans; over this, however, was a set of handcrafted steel armor. The sword and shield combo was rather inadequate when compared to the modern transforming weaponry of other Hunters, but that didn't mean much to their current wielder.

Behind the smaller girl was a taller, older looking teen with short brown hair. She, too, wore some armor plates, but they had the feeling of secondhand junk that anyone could find in a flea market. The owner of this armor was certainly not feeling like her usual brutish self right now, having been attacked after a major slip up with some tree sap - only to be saved by the very person she had been bullying non-stop for several weeks.

No words were said during the fight. Jean, the smaller blonde girl, struggled to ward off the Ursa's claws before slashing it's face with the sword. The two combatants exchanged blows for a while, Jean's Aura taking more damage than she wanted - but since Peter Nikos had only unlocked it during initiation, that was to be expected. Regardless, this had to end. Jean charged, shield raised, sword ready - the Ursa barreled forward with front claws held high.

Peter watched from a nearby bush. Seeing the chance, he 'pulled' Jean's shield up into position for a proper block. Jean's sword quickly removed the Grimm's head from it's body.

Jean Arc had been the clumsy newcomer to Beacon who nearly died during initiation. She was now a force to be reckoned with.

Red, who had been watching the exchange next to Peter, shivered. I better stay on her GOOD side. Hate to think what that sword would do to me if she gets pissed...


Before him sat Ramona Torchwick, master criminal and the ginger woman from before, surrounded by a legion of White Fang goons. Above them, a few bulwarks circled as air support and potential getaway vehicles.

Next to him was an even scarier sight: Percy Polendina. Red's mind returned to an old movie he had watched a few years ago about a killer robot from the future that had been sent back in time. Percy looked just like that character, albeit more disturbing since his giant, muscular body was tightly squeezed into a white and blue sailor uniform that was much too small. He also wore sunglasses for some reason. The man (thing?) regarded Red and said, in a seriously deep, macho voice, "DON'T WORRY, FRIEND RED! I'M COMBAT READY!" He then began to fire red lasers from his eyes. Red didn't remember anything that happened after that...


The sight that met the young Red's eyes was one he would not soon forget. A line of truly massive Grimm, called Goliaths, marched through the woods some distance from their vantage point at the edge of Mountain Glenn. Profe- er, Doctor Oobleck spoke more slowly than she had all day, her eyes hidden behind her thick glasses as she said, "Red, not every Grimm is mindless; rather not every Grimm is still mindless." She turned to look out over the distance again. "You see the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you've fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years."

There was more said, but the boy had already tuned her out, thinking I never thought I'd meet a Grimm that scares me more than dealing with women...


The two figures walked through the ruined city while the teacher solemnly said, "I am a Huntress ...because there is nothing in this world ... I would rather be." She gave the boy a sideways smile, forcing him to wonder what was on her mind.


Time had slowed to a crawl for Ruby 'Red' Rose. Sure he was on a runaway train full of explosives. Sure the cars were breaking away one-by-one and blowing holes in the tunnel to let in hordes of Grimm. Sure they were fighting for their lives against the White Fang. But that wasn't his problem.

Before running off to fight the assault mechs, Doctor Oobleck had kissed him on the forehead for luck.

A woman had kissed him.

A woman.

Red wanted to die from that alone.

Then all at once, time came to a full stop. The tunnel walls froze in place, still in a strange motion blur as though still moving. All around him, his team remained completely still. Ahead was the end of the tunnel and beyond that was ...well, if Red understood right, beyond was the unguarded city center. The whole point of their mission was to stop the train from breaching Vale, but it was clear that mission had failed. Yang, Blake and Weiss had appeared on the roof of the train next to Red in defeat, but still alive. Until this moment, however, Red had been certain that being alive was almost over.

[If you do nothing more, that is what will transpire.]

Red's mouth failed him. There was a voice in his head and he couldn't even respond. He wanted to ask who it was, but there were no words. There were no other noises around him.

[Who I am is unimportant. The question is: who are you?]

Okay, so it reads minds. Well, he thought, I can do that. What do you mean who am-

[Are you a warrior or a pretender?]

Miffed, he thought, What kind of a question is-

[A hero, or a coward?]

Red paused, unsure of how to answer.

[You lack the courage to do what is necessary. To overcome your obstacles. To face your greatest fear. Without that courage, the four of you will not survive the coming battle.]

There was no need to continue. Red's face flushed as he knew exactly what fear the voice was talking about. But how do I do it? What do I lack?

[Come with me, and I shall show you. Stay, and you face certain death.]

If this was a joke, it wasn't funny. Go with an otherworldly voice to gods knew where or stay and die. It wasn't a choice.

I'll go.

A blinding flash of light erupted from behind him, and Red turned to see everything wash away as he disappeared into the radiance. Only a small spark of blue-green energy remained where he once stood.

[Six-Nine-Seven-One, transfer confirmed. Heh, they'll have fun with this one.]


Okay, so the point here was to show that Red's story is pretty much the same as Ruby's with a few key differences made mention of - I didn't drag it out since you guys already know what happens (right?). Once he nears the breach at the end of volume 2, though, that's when something odd occurs... but I won't spoil it yet.

If any of you are familiar with the anime "My Bride is a Mermaid" then you might know the image I was thinking of when I described a male Penny. If not, google image search "my bride is a mermaid edomae papa" and you'll see him.