AN:

Just a few questions before I start the chapter:

Peter Dinklage or Nolan North? Which voice actor do you think suits Drei better?

If you had to pick a voice actor for Lux Sylphid and Prometheus-23, who would they be?

Do you imagine Summer Rose being voiced by Tara Strong or is it just me?

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Chapter 29

Saturn was the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest in the Sol System, after Jupiter. It was a gas giant with an average radius about nine times that of Earth. Although only one-eighth the average density of Earth, with its larger volume, Saturn was just over ninety-five times more massive.

The planet had a prominent ring system that consisted of nine continuous main rings and three discontinuous arcs. Those rings were composed mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust along with a number of derelict ships of the Golden Age and the recent addition from the Awoken and the Hive.

Sixty-two moons were known to orbit Saturn, not counting the hundreds of moonlets comprising the rings. Over half of the official moons were reduced to mere space debris during the Collapse but Saturn's largest moon, coincidently named Titan continued to endure well past the Collapse and onto modern time.

Not only did Titan have its own substantial atmosphere but it also seemed like it would continue to persist until the end of time much like the Guardian class that shared the same name as it.

That was until it exploded into millions of pieces without warning.

"Shit, I totally did not mean to do that," Lux Sylphid winced as she stared at the projection of what was left of the second largest moon in the Sol System.

The Warlock sat on a throne that was designed for someone over twice the size of the Awoken so she looked like a mere child sitting on a chair far too big for it. An array of glowing otherworldly runes surrounded her, which she could interact with some like buttons on a touch screen. The runes would have been beyond comprehension for anyone, be they Guardian or not but with the help of Toland's journal, Lux was able to have a meager understanding of them to help control the Dreadnaught.

But it was not enough to avoid any adverse repercussion as she had accidently activated the weapons system and destroyed one of Saturn's moons.

Hopefully no one would notice that, right?

Her comms instantly came to life and she could hear the frantic voices of Cayde-6 and Prometheus-23 through it.

The two Exos were outside of the Dreadnaught in their jumpships to better examine the hull breach caused by the Skyburners' ship, the Dantalion Exodus VI as best as they could so they could find a good method to fix it. It wouldn't do to have a flagship with another smaller ship sticking out of it.

So they too witnessed Saturn's largest moon being completely vaporized and had assumed that the worst had befallen the person who was supposed to figure out how to fly the Dreadnaught.

"Lux, are alright!? Respond!"

"By the Traveler, please tell me she's fine, Cayde!"

"I'm fine," the Warlock replied, easing the two Exos' worries, "But I may have destroyed one of Saturn's moons by mistake."

"…What?" the Hunter Vanguard and the Titan deadpanned through the comm lines.

"Look! The controls were too big. I had trouble reaching some of the buttons and my hand just…slipped!" Lux tried to explain but it sounded ridiculous even to her ears.

Prometheus let out a deep sigh to express his frustration with his teammate. He may love the other two members of Fireteam Nero like they were his family but dealing with both Summer Rose and Lux Sylphid could be quite trying at times. If he wasn't so patient to a fault, he would have broken under the stress a long time ago.

But it was a good thing that Exos couldn't get headaches or it would have made the Titan's patience falter ever so slightly.

"Yeeeaaahhh, that is not gonna work for Zavala and Ikora so you better give me a better excuse or you might face expulsion for this," Cayde warned her.

"Uuuhhh…" the Awoken tried to rack her brain with something that was a far better explanation to what she gave them earlier before she tentatively proposed, "We could blame it on the Cabal?"

The Cabal's most common strategy was to use excessive firepower to overwhelm their enemies and if it didn't work the first, then they weren't using enough. They were also well known to vaporize moons and planets for the simple reason of being in their way so it wouldn't be overselling to say that the Cabal was responsible for the destruction of the second largest moon in the Sol System.

"Alright, the Cabal tried to take control of the Dreadnaught so we activated the weapons system and shot them down in retaliation, destroying one of Saturn's moons in the process," the Exo Hunter said as if recounting actual events that happened earlier, "That's our story and we're sticking with it, got it?"

"Got it/Understood," Lux and Prometheus voiced their affirmation at the same time.

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Saying that Ruby had a deep fondness for weapons was like saying that the sky was blue or the moon was shattered. It was not uncommon for the young leader to openly gush over other people's weapons and imagine the various ways that they could be used in combat.

But the majority of her adoration fell unto her own weapon, Crescent Rose. The scythe-sniper rifle hybrid was her own creation and Ruby held immense pride for it since it was a weapon that she could call her own and she knew that Crescent Rose would never fail her.

Except for when…

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The massive curved blade sunk into the flesh of the woman as the tip burst out through the back with blood spurting out like a crimson flower in bloom. Horrified, the wielder quickly pulled the scythe out of the woman with a wet slick and the woman collapsed to her knees.

The woman's helmet came off and fell to the ground to reveal the face of Summer Rose to the person who had just impaled her.

"Mom?"

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Ruby tried to tell herself that it wasn't her fault so many times but to no avail even with the help of her loved ones. Logically speaking, there was no way for her to know that her mother was still alive and that she was one that had fought and beaten Qrow so Ruby had done all that she can under the circumstances. She shouldn't blame herself for what she had no control of.

But in her heart, that moment would haunt the young girl for her whole life and even though she hid it very well, a part of her innocence died that day as well.

The Red Reaper even felt a bit of relief when the instrument of her mother's death, Crescent Rose was broken in half in spite all of the hardwork that she put into building it in the first place. Everytime she looked at the scythe, she couldn't help but think back to when she plunged its blade into her beloved mother so she actually delayed Crescent Rose's repairs.

But then her mother said this:

"Better yet, why don't I give your weapons certified Guardian upgrades?"

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"Guardian, I don't think it's wise to experiment with something like this," Drei nervously said, "Especially when it involves weapons. Maybe we should wait after the Vex are dealt with and then take them to see Banshee-44 or Lord Shaxx for upgrading their weapons."

As talented that Summer may be with handling weapons, she still had a lot to learn before she could reach the same level as the old Exo gunsmith and the Crucible Handler. Even the improvements that she gave Wilt and Blush would be considered subpar to those two. Either of them would do a better job with providing adequate upgrades for Team RWBY's weapons than the young Guardian could.

"Drei, who knows how long it would take us to deal with the Vex or to find a way back to Earth," Summer replied, waving off his idea dismissively before adding through their telepathic link, "Besides, this would be a good time to spend time with my kids."

Every Guardian could communicate with their Ghost telepathically due to their souls being so intertwined with the Ghost's existence that the older Guardians had trouble distinguishing their individuality from their Ghosts. It wasn't unusual for the pair to develop a link between their minds but with the Ghost's supercomputer-like mind, they rarely used it for long periods of time unless they were Exos.

It could still be used to deliver short non-verbal messages.

Drei had to concede to Summer's argument but he still had some reservations for this idea. Nevertheless, he would follow his Guardian's lead since his purpose was to provide support for his partner.

"Really!?" Ruby exclaimed excitedly, reminding the Ghost of a certain weapon enthusiast.

Drei found it quite disconcerting that the young girl was the spitting image of his Guardian. The leader of Team RWBY also appeared to share the same mannerisms with the White Rose that if he didn't know any better, he would have thought the young Hunter had tried to clone herself again and that Ruby here was the result of it.

"I don't see why not," Summer said with a friendly smile before she glanced towards the other students, "Your friends are welcome to join us for upgrades if they want."

"Well, I do need to repair my Gambol Shroud," Blake chimed in, "One of the blades was damaged during the attack and I haven't found the time to have it fixed yet. I might as well add some improvements while I'm at it."

"I don't see how Myrtenaster needs any improvements," Weiss said haughtily, remembering how her older sister held a grudge with the White Rose, "But I do wish to see how a Guardian's weapons matches against a Huntsman."

"Sure, I'm game. Anything to make us more awesome," Yang grinned, brimming with confidence before she turned to Team JNPR and Team CFVY, "What about you guys?"

Having nothing else better to do besides either practicing or waiting to be dispatched on a mission, Team JNPR decided to accompany the all-female team and the Guardian for weapon upgrades.

The blonde boy named Jaune Arc appeared to be very eager for a better and cooler weapon since all he had was a simple broadsword and a sheath that could change into a shield.

Unfortunately, Team CFVY couldn't join them since they were supposed to depart for a mission later. Due to the second year team already having extensive experience with the Vex, the Headmaster saw it fit to send them to one of the remaining outposts to reinforce its defenses.

After bidding their upperclassmen friends good-bye and good luck, Teams RWBY and JNPR led Summer to the workshop where students could perform maintenance on their weapons.

Besides the gaping hole that led to the outside, the room was in relatively operational conditions. It came equipped with everything one needed to perform weapon maintenance and its location was also convenient since it was next to the locker rooms where their weapons were being kept most of the time so the students wouldn't have to go far. There was even a firing range to check if the weapons were functioning on optimal conditions.

A quick check from Drei informed her that the walls of the firing range were heavily reinforced to prevent any misfires from the other side but since most of her guns that she had on the Cloud Errant were equipped with armour-piercing capabilities, the Ghost warned her to refrain from using them or to not aim at the same spot for so long or else they would punch a hole straight through the walls.

"Alright ladies!" Summer loudly announced before she added as an after thought, "And gentlemen."

"May I present to you the fruits of my labor! My tools of death and destruction! My sweethearts!" she boldly declared to her captivated audience (mostly Ruby and Nora Valkyrie) before she took out something from her inventory and then placed it on the ground with a resounding bang, "BEHOLD!"

The Guardian stepped back to reveal to the two first year teams a small cylinder shaped object on the floor. Whatever they were expecting, this certainly wasn't it and they were seriously underwhelmed by it. As they were about to voice their thoughts, blue particles errupted from the object and they gathered together to form a rack with over dozens of guns hanging in display.

And this collection was nothing compared to what Summer had back in the Tower.

Ruby and Nora were shaking so much in excitement that if the others were paying attention to the young girl and were not rendered speechless of the sudden appearance of the weapons, they would have feared that the two hyperactive girls might spontaneously combust on the spot.

"Wha-but how-where?" Weiss babbled as she stared uncomprehendingly at the rack of guns that appeared out of nowhere.

"I set up a transmat zone so Drei could transport the armoury I had on my ship here," Summer explained while not really explaining at the same time since they had no idea what a transmat zone was.

Before the young heiress could demand a proper explanation, the Guardian took out a sleek grey automatic rifle that had a short barrel and a simple iron sights. She removed the magazine to see if it was full and then jammed it back in with an audible clack.

"This little puppy is called the Hard Light. It's an ionized polymer synballistic attack platform designed for tactical spaces," Summer said as she cocked the rifle and aimed it at the firing range with one hand. Holding a rifle with two hands would increase her accuracy but with this special tactical assault rifle and the enclosed space like the hall of the firing range, accuracy was no longer needed.

Squeezing the trigger, she unleashed the entire contents of the magazine across the firing range and the bullets trailing through the air resembled more like lines of light at the velocity that they were. The projectiles soon reached the metal targets but only a few managed to hit them.

However, the bullets that hit completely penetrated the targets and slammed into the wall behind it, leaving small holes with the edges slightly glowing orange on the metal panels. It was impressive since those targets were also made to take a whole lot of damage before they needed to be replaced.

It didn't stop there though.

The bullets that initially missed their target either into the walls on the side of the firing rang, the floor or the ceiling before they ricocheted off the hard surfaces and headed towards the metal targets while the ones that hit the targets bounced off the back wall and hit the targets once more.

In a matter of seconds, all of the targets in the firing range were turned into many tiny pieces of slightly steaming scrap metal as Summer smoothly slid the empty magazine out and then jammed in a new one.

Hard Light may not be infused with the Solar attribute but the projectiles that it shot moved fast enough to generate heat on its own to cause some minor burns on their victims and would almost instantly cauterize the inflicted wounds.

"Well then," the Guardian said as the gun in her hand dispersed into blue particles and rematerialized back in its place on one of the weapons racks while she turned to see the students reactions, "What do you think?"

The slackjawed expressions on most of their faces and Ruby's starry-eyed look told all Summer needed to know. Expectedly, the young leader was the first to recover.

"That was AMAZING!" she exclaimed in excitement as she adorably beamed up at her mother.

"I'm glad you like it," Summer stated cheerfully.

Hard Light was a highly impractical weapon even by the quirky Hunter's standards so she wouldn't normally bring it to battle but it was great for turning a hallway into virtual meat grinder and also for showing off. With its ricocheting bullets, she made sure that the bullets wouldn't bounce back and hit them instead since they had a tendency for friendly fire if handled incorrectly.

"You wanna see what the rest can do?" the Guardian suggested, gesturing to the rest of the weapons on the rack.

"Boy, do I!?" Ruby replied, looking like Christmas had just come early for her.

"Alright but first show me yours," Summer told the girl, making her deflate from her good mood.

"But I-it's-I mean," the red hooded girl nervously stammered as if trying to divert the subject to somewhere else while her mother waited patiently.

"It-it was broken during the Vex attack the other day and I haven't really gotten around to fixing it yet," Ruby finally said, nervously rubbing her arm and looking to the side.

"…This makes now a good time as any to have it repaired," Summer said, thinking of several ways to go about fixing what she remembered of her daughter's weapon, "And while we're at it, I can add some adjustments so it won't break so easily next time."

"With that said, do you want a fire scythe? Because I think a fire scythe would be awesome!"

Mood brightening, Ruby beamed at her mother as they began to throw potential weapon upgrades back and forth. Team JNPR and the rest of Team RWBY felt like they trespassing on a particularly private moment between mother and daughter while Yang smiled fondly at the scene with just the barest hints of jealousy.

Ruby had always been their mother's daughter and it was something that the brawler couldn't help but be a bit envious of. She also felt a little left out.

Summer may not be Yang's biological mother but she loved her just the same.

"You children should inform her on what kind of upgrades that you desire for your weapons now," Drei told them, taking note of the older sister's expression, "At this rate, they might take hours before coming to a final decision."

"You're right, thanks," the blonde girl said, grateful to the Ghost for including her into the conversation between the Rose family.

Yang didn't know what to make of the mystical artificial intelligence that had resurrected Summer at first and she might have a resented Drei for taking their mother away from them for so long but she was starting to believe that he wasn't so bad after all.

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AN:

Okay, this might be a dick move to end it right here but as much as I wanted to write the upgrading of the weapons, I don't have the time for it if I wanted to meet my personal deadline of posting a chapter every week so I will give you guys a basic description of what I have decided for Crescent Rose instead.

Crescent Rose:

Void damage - this weapon causes Void damage.

Mecha-shift – this weapon could transform between a melee weapon (scythe) and a gun (sniper rifle).

Warp Reaper (can only be used in conjunction with Ruby's semblance) – launches the wielder at high speeds towards the enemy while coating their body with the power of Void to deflect minor attacks and to 'phase' through obstacles en route to their target.

Accurized Ballistics – More range and impact but increased recoil.

Mulligan – missing a shot has a chance to return ammo directly to the magazine.

Lightweight – when held, this weapon grants bonus agility.

Thus Kindly, I Scatter – The wielder becomes invisible for a short time after rapidly killing three enemies in a row with Warp Reaper.

I know a lot of people wanted Ruby to use either Arc or Solar but Robo Reader 21 was the only one to have suggested to use Void and it then got me thinking. Remember in the Red Trailer where we first see Ruby fight Beowolves with her deadly mechanical scythe. It was confirmed later on that she used gravity Dust to propel herself faster and farther so that is what made the final decision for me since I figured it would work better for Ruby that way.

That and I just love the comedy skit from RWBY Chibi episode 3 where Ruby is testing out different kinds of Dust with Crescent Rose. I chuckled when she was thrown back by the gravity Dust.

As for Warp Reaper (name subject to change if you don't like it), I based it on the biotic charge from Mass Effect and before you ask, I am indeed a huge fan of Mass Effect so look up the Mass Effect biotic charge on youtube or something if you want an idea on how Warp Reaper would look like.