…
Forward:
Another Note From The Author
First off, welcome! If you've just reached this chapter after binge reading the previous 21 chapters, please take my advice – take a break. Go outside and take a walk, go watch a movie, or even go take a nap. Step away for a bit. Trust me… it'll be worth it. I intended for the next part of the story to follow a short break, anyway.
The point of this chapter is to deliver a large amount of new information in one shot – that's why it's basically two chapters in one. It also establishes what are essentially the 'rules' for the rest of the story. Most of them, anyway.
Important note: Starting this chapter, I've upped the rating to M. I haven't adjusted anything in previous chapters, though – the rough stuff starts here.
Two final notes: First, as stated in Concurrence chapter 12, I'm now adding nicknames to each of the worlds in addition to the numbers. For clarity. Second, this chapter contains a fair bit of strong language (that will be true for pretty much the rest of the story, btw).
Shutting up, now. On with the show!
…
…
…
… … …
Previously on Paradigm of the Rose:
The battle is over. Countless hordes of the Creatures of Grimm have been annihilated by the surprising power of Ruby Rose. The world is safe at last. With the peace secured, the Ruby Army is sent home without incident and the Ruby Squad says its goodbyes.
Once they leave, life seems to return to normal for the four teens of team RWBY, but there was one problem… only three teens remained.
Ruby had vanished.
Moments later, Beacon and the city of Vale were engulfed in nothingness. The entire world simply became… void. All seemed lost.
But a glimmer of hope remained…
… … …
…
…
…
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
A tiny, trumpet-like fanfare rang out from Yang's pocket.
"What was that?" the black-haired faunus boy asked as Yang glanced at her scroll. That was not a sound the blonde brawler was familiar with. The other boys of team RWBY glanced at it as well, their curiosity piqued.
Yang's brow furrowed as she read the words: "Lifeline… Protocol…? There's a button here that says 'confirm' …some kind of new app, I guess?"
"Nothing I've ever heard of," Yang's male counterpart added. The male Blake stood next to him, looking a bit concerned. The male Weiss was acting exactly like the Weiss that Yang knew in how he was aggressively ignoring the overall mood of the group. He was, however, keeping close to the young team leader.
Red was the only one who expressed any fear in that moment. "I dunno, Yang… Carmine gave you that scroll, right? I think we can all assume that we don't know ANYTHING about what it can do."
"Whaddya mean?"
"It said 'Lifeline' right? I'm betting it's a program to send you back home… or something."
"Hmm… maybe you're right. This sure feels like a closing scene… heh…" The blonde brushed her fingers through her hair nervously as she glanced around at the group of four boys.
"Welp… just in case this is goodbye, you boys behave yourselves, ya hear? Big Sis knows where you sleep…"
All four gave a collective gulp.
Red came forward and shook Yang's free hand, nervously saying, "Y-y-you take care of yourself… Yang."
"You too, little bro…"
With that said, she hit the 'confirm' button, and…
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
…
…
Yang suddenly found herself in a pitch-black area.
"This doesn't look like home…" she muttered under her breath.
Straining her ears, all Yang could hear was the faint sound of an air conditioning system running. Her own breathing seemed muffled, which suggested that she was inside a small room. Her eyes slowly began to adjust and Yang started to make out tiny LED lights scattered throughout the space, perfectly normal for a bedroom. Eventually she found a dimly-lit digital clock in one corner that read 6:10. There was nothing to indicate AM or PM.
In truth, it only looked pitch-black at first because Yang's eyes were adjusted for full daylight. She had been outside moments ago.
Yang Xiao Long had just spent the last three weeks with the male version of her little sister, Ruby – a young man simply called Red – but suddenly found herself pulled out of his world as unexpectedly as when she'd first arrived. And now she was in a dark room that seemed empty at first…
But then an angry voice whispered from behind her, "What are you doing here, Xiao Long?"
Yang started to turn around, but the sensation of a hard, pointy object pressed into the small of her back caused her to stop. Her hands went up automatically.
More hissing, "Don't turn around, just walk forward."
Yang wanted to argue, but decided to just do as the voice commanded. The blonde carefully stepped forward, trying not to trip, with no clue where she was going.
That voice had just a trace of a familiar accent, but Yang couldn't place it with only a whisper. She really wanted to ask about it, but the jagged object pressed harder into her back, causing her to reconsider. She didn't feel like getting stabbed today.
"Stop."
In the next instant Yang was blinded by a brilliant light in front of her. She threw her arms over her face to shield her eyes just as her mysterious captor gave her a mighty shove. The blonde toppled forward and nearly landed on her face.
Yang quickly regained her feet and whipped her head around to growl at the stranger, "Hey you little-" but the door had already shut again by the time she found it.
The door slid shut. Like the door of a sci-fi spaceship. A little paper sign with a cute drawing of a bunny was stuck behind the number plate, likely to help identify the owner of the room itself, nut it told her nothing.
Yang blinked, then slowly looked around. It appeared as though she was in the hallway of the Beacon dormitories, but… something was strange about it. She stood to her feet, dusting herself off from the tumble, then made her way to the window at the end of the hall… only to find herself completely breathless.
She was indeed at Beacon Academy… but it looked like she was in the distant future.
She recognized most of the buildings visible from her vantage point, but there were new glass-enclosed walkways spanning the gaps between many of them. A vast network of high-speed trams linked most of the largest buildings and, as far as she could tell, allowed a much faster transit into the city beyond. Vale, by her estimation, looked at least double the size that she remembered.
The fact that it was raining did little to dampen the impact of the sight. Yang had to bend down and pick her jaw up off the floor.
If this was the future for Vale and Beacon, it was a damn good one. Seriously.
As she stared, Yang thought back to Red's world – that Beacon was nearly identical to her own, but if anything actually was different, Yang certainly couldn't tell. In her defense, she had been rather …distracted.
Staying with a team of four boys – all of them good-looking, by the way – had a way of occupying most of Yang's attention.
And they liked lazing around the dorm room without any shirts on.
Oh yes… … … she was quite distracted.
Somewhere behind her came the bing of the elevator bell, followed by a muttering voice, "…don't know what the big deal is… she knows I have a lot of work to do…" Yang turned to see who it was and got the second shock of the day.
It was Ruby.
A much older, worn-out Ruby.
The woman stood a few inches taller than Yang, with Ruby's signature dark red hair hanging down just past her shoulders… though it was more disheveled and unkempt than it used to be, with a few strands of grey now scattered throughout the mass. Her silver eyes sat above dark bags and was bookended by a small amount of wrinkles. A burned-down cigarette butt dangled from chapped lips.
Most telling to Yang, however, was the long white lab coat and the wire-frame glasses. She knew this version of Ruby, though age rendered her almost unrecognizable.
"… … …Carmine?"
The older woman stopped dead at the sound of that name, her eyes wide as she beheld Yang standing by the window. Yang was usually bad at reading emotions in other people, but even she could see that Carmine's face was riddled with both shock and disbelief.
Carmine shot across the short distance between them in the blink of an eye – literally – as she quickly gave Yang a thorough once-over. Her hands were trembling the entire time.
Yang tried to say, "Hey, what are you-"
"Shh! No talkie… not yet… Let me look at you…!"
Finally Carmine pulled her scroll from her coat pocket, but her hands were trembling so badly she almost dropped it. She hit a few buttons, muttered, "Hold still," then held it up to Yang's face.
The device beeped. Carmine gazed at the readout, then back at Yang, then at the readout again. Her look was now one of intense relief. "1802… 1802… it's really you… you're…" she said between gasps.
Yang, cool as can be, reached up and plucked the cigarette butt from Carmine's mouth, then held it up and said, "Really, sis? These things are gonna kill-HRK!" but got cut off as the Mad Scientist tackled her in a mighty hug.
"I thought you were dead… I thought I… lost you guys… oh gods…"
Odd… she hadn't been gone that long, had she? And why did Carmine look like she'd aged a good ten years? None of this made sense.
But then, with Carmine the Mad Scientist, nothing ever made sense.
"Alright, alright… I'm right here. You can let go of me now," Yang tried to pat the woman's back to comfort her, which wasn't easy with her arms pinned. "Seriously, let go… you smell like smoke."
Carmine pulled back and wiped her eyes, somehow moved to tears by meeting Yang again. "Sorry," she said in a slightly stronger voice than before. "A lot's happened since I last saw you guys. Are the others here, too? Weiss? Blake?"
"I think we got separated back there," Yang shrugged. "I haven't seen anyone since… that happened."
Dark red eyebrows furrowed as silver eyes darted back and forth. "Wait… the Lifeline Protocol… by the gods, how could I forget about that?!" She slapped herself in the forehead as she cried out.
"I had a feeling that was one of yours," Yang commented dryly.
Carmine looked back at the blonde, and Yang could now see the old spark back in her eyes. She hadn't realized it was missing before now. "I have so many questions for you, so many things to find out, so many new numbers to calculate…"
Her scroll beeped again, and Carmine quickly read what it said… but then her face morphed from a look of excitement to a look of oh-shit.
"I… um… I just remembered why I came up here in the first place… um…" The Mad Scientist was suddenly at a loss for words. "Head over to my lab and wait for me… I, uh… I'll be a few minutes. And don't touch anything 'til I get there."
"And how the hell am I supposed to find this 'lab' of yours?" Yang asked irritably. "Last I checked, Beacon Academy didn't have it's own zip code!"
In response, Carmine spoke to the ceiling, "Path to Main Lab… Visitor."
A brightly-lit yellow line suddenly appeared on the floor leading to the elevator. Or maybe it was in the floor? All Yang could see was that it vanished behind her as she walked along it. "Oh…"
"The elevator knows where to go and the path continues from there. I've got a pot of coffee by the terminal if you want some," Carmine added, then turned towards the door Yang had been so rudely shoved out of and gulped.
The door once again slid open, revealing a black space beyond. "Here we go…" she muttered before stepping in. The door slid shut behind her.
Yang blinked, unmoving. She was still trying to process everything she'd seen in the last few minutes.
A futuristic Vale and Beacon Academy.
Carmine's lab just downstairs.
Carmine herself.
That could only mean one thing… Yang had somehow found her way to Carmine's home world. Not her own. Damn.
But that was a good thing. If anyone could answer her questions, it was the mad scientist version of Ruby Rose. The one who started this whole mess.
…
… … …
… … … … …
PARADIGM OF THE ROSE
Chapter 22:
The Reunion
… … … … …
… … …
…
…
… … …
… … … … …
Designation: Remnant-5815
Status: Cultural advancement progressing at an accelerated rate. Environment stable. Economy stable. No problems detected.
Condition: Green
Recommendation: Have a nice day.
… … … … …
… … …
…
The yellow path really did lead to a massive computer laboratory on the second floor of the building. At least, Yang assumed it was massive. With everything she'd seen so far, it could have been seen as 'standard size' by comparison.
For the first several minutes of her visit, the blonde simply looked around in awe. Numerous giant monitors took up the whole of one wall, while dozens of space-age gizmos and gadgets filled the rest of the room. A number of glass containers in one corner caught her eye – Yang saw what looked like clear glass Dust crystals within them, like nothing she had ever seen before.
"Those are my Resonators," Carmine said as she calmly walked in. A fresh cigarette now adorned the side of her mouth, the end glowing faintly. "They're the main reason I've come as far as I did. They power most everything in here, including my transport devices."
Yang was getting dizzy from looking around so much. "Gods… so much tech… brain… melting…"
"Good to see you haven't changed," Carmine said with a grin. She poured herself some coffee from a nearby carafe, then offered Yang a mug which was eagerly accepted. "You were sent to …Red's world, if I remember right. How long were you there for?"
Yang took a slurp as she thought, then answered, "I think close to three weeks…"
Carmine choked on her drink, "Pfft- …Three weeks? That's all…?"
"Uh… it might have been a bit longer, but yeah."
The Mad Scientist sat down at her workstation and rubbed the sides of her head wearily. "I will never get used to this time displacement phenomenon. Three goddamn weeks?" She took a shaky puff, blowing the smoke up and into a corner where a ventilation fan rapidly whisked it away.
Yang was getting confused. "Is that bad?"
Carmine sighed before she answered, "Yang… after everyone went home, I came back here to find that your timeline had vanished. That was three years ago."
This time it was Yang who choked on her coffee. Vanished? Three years? What the crispy crap?!
A new voice buzzed over the intercom, [Hey boss…? You might wanna check camera 14… you're not gonna believe this.]
Carmine replied tiredly, "Nora, you'd be surprised what I'll believe right now. What is it?"
Yang blinked, more confused than ever. Nora?
[Oh, is that… hey Yang! Did you grow your hair back out?]
"Focus, Nora. Camera 14?"
[Oh yeah… it's Blake! I don't know how, but it looks like our old kitty friend got herself stuck on the roof. Didn't trigger any of the sensors...]
Within moments, Carmine had the camera feed in question brought up on one of the monitors – and it showed none other than Blake Belladonna herself. She was clinging to the top of one of the school's spires, in the middle of the pouring rain, and looking royally pissed about it.
"Nora, go bring her inside please. And get her dried off."
[Roger!]
Yang watched her partner on the screen with some amusement. There was no audio feed, but both women could somewhat read her lips. "Heh… mad as a wet cat. Oh, wow… I didn't know she even knew that word…"
"Better get her some strong tea as well, Nora…"
…
Fifteen minutes later, Blake had joined them in the lab. She had a blanket draped over her shoulders and a steaming mug of tea in both hands. Her hair was still soaked and her ribbon was flat against her head as she shivered slightly. Yang tried using a bit of her semblance to warm Blake up by rubbing her shoulders lightly from behind. It seemed to help.
Carmine was rapidly typing things into her computer while mumbling to herself. "…1802… … …appeared at these coordinates… … …difference of half an hour or so… … …Lifeline Protocol sent her to…"
Yang slowed her rubbing and quietly said, "You alright?"
Blake nodded slightly, taking a sip of her tea. She didn't speak, though.
"She says we all got sent to separate worlds, and I was with Red. So… I'm assuming you were with Rose, right?"
Another nod, this time accompanied by a blush. Yang grinned – there was a good story behind that blush. Hopefully she'd get to hear it soon.
"How long?"
"Two months." Blake just managed to hide any emotion from her voice as she responded. "Give or take a few days."
"Was Ruby there? …Our Ruby?"
"No… sorry."
Yang sighed, then slid another chair around next to Blake's. She sat down and rubbed her partner's back companionably.
"I'm glad you're alright, Blake," Yang said quietly.
"You too," Blake responded.
They spent the next several minutes just sitting next to each other, enjoying the company. It hadn't been that long for either of them, yet it felt like ages.
The last time they'd seen each other, both teens were sure they were going to die. Their world was literally collapsing around them. Grey walls of nothingness engulfing the city and the school. The ground rumbling like it was going to blow up. It was well beyond scary.
But then they were taken away by Carmine's magical scrolls.
Yang had found herself smack in the middle of the Breach all over again – only this time, she was joined by an all-male version of team RWBY, led by Red himself. She'd spent the following three weeks getting to know them all, as well as trying to help Red get over his secret fear…
[Hey boss… got another one! Ice Queen on camera 3!] Nora's voice interrupted Yang's thoughts rather abruptly. Still… at least it was good news. [Why is everyone so young-looking all of a sudden? That's not fair!] Her voice carried a pout.
"Weiss?" Blake's ribbon perked up at the nickname.
"Camera 3… that's the cafeteria…" Carmine was already bringing up the feed on the screen as Yang and Blake reached her.
The cafeteria was empty, so the sight of Weiss standing alone amidst the tables was rather jarring. It was definitely her, though… no one else could pull off the full-white ensemble like she could.
A few more keystrokes, and Carmine said, "Yep, it's her… 1802 energy signature confirmed."
Yang sighed with relief as Blake gave her a light hug. That was three of the four members of team RWBY all alive and accounted for. Now all that was left was to find Ruby herself. Maybe she would just pop up like everyone else had been doing…?
"Wait a minute…" Carmine stared at the readouts as they started to change. "Something's wrong. She's getting more agitated."
"More… what now?" Yang asked blandly.
"More upset," Blake offered. "She should recognize where she is as Beacon, but…"
The small white figure was, indeed, looking more upset by the second. She was looking around rapidly like she'd lost something, her body language giving away her panic. Like last time they didn't have an audio feed, so none of them could hear what she was saying.
But then Weiss reared her head back and screamed.
There was a flash of blue-white light, then the camera went to white noise.
All three women felt the distant boom shudder through the floor.
"Oh crap…!" Yang was already running for the door, the other two right on her heels.
…
The doors to the cafeteria had been blown off their hinges by the time they reached the building – but not by any explosion. Large, jagged spikes of ice had impaled them, ripping them clean off the frames.
Yang had to punch a path through the ice before they could reach the inside, where they found Weiss still screaming bloody murder. Waves of Aura continued to emanate off of her in bursts. Those waves of power seemed to be building up the ice. It was almost like she had lost control of her Aura.
"Weiss! Chill out!" Yang cried over the heiress' screams.
Blake slapped her on the arm for such a mistimed pun. "Ass."
Yang couldn't help but grin, "It was there, I had to use it."
The heiress whipped her head around to glare at the two teens, ice-blue eyes bloodshot and wide with pure rage. "WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE?! WHERE IS MY MARIGOLD…? WHERE IS SHE?!"
Whoa. Both teens recoiled at her words. This was not how Weiss ever spoke before. Something was very wrong.
And who or what was her 'Marigold?'
Carmine came in behind them, staring dumbly at the ice and muttering something about rampant Aura. As soon as Weiss spotted Carmine, she moved – the Mad Scientist was pinned to one of the nearby stalagmites by the surprisingly strong hands of the heiress as she shrieked,
"YOU! DID YOU DO THIS?! LIGHT BLIND YOU, TAKE ME BACK! TAKE ME BACK TO MY FAMILY! TO MY HOME! MY MARIGOLD! MY SAM! TAKE ME BACK TO MY FAMILY, BURN YOU! ! !"
The pure, unfiltered rage flowed off her even more clearly than the Aura that continued to form more ice around them. Yang looked to Blake for answers but got only an identical look of confusion. Marigold? Sam?
"She's lost it…" Blake muttered.
"Weiss, you are home," Yang tried to say between Weiss' rantings.
Just as Weiss turned to shout at Yang, a new hand shot out from behind her and touched the heiress' forehead. "DON'T CALL ME… THAT… … That's not… my… … name… … … anymore… …" she said just before she collapsed.
Weiss Schnee was caught by a grown version of Velvet Scarlatina. Where the hell did she come from?
Yang stared as the rabbit faunus pressed a few fingers to Weiss' neck to check her pulse, then fixed those chocolate brown eyes on Yang and Blake. "You two, with me. We need to get her stabilized."
The two teens shook themselves out of their trance as Velvet picked up the heiress and started jogging out of the room. They followed close, trusting that the tall woman knew where she was going.
Neither of them looked back to see Carmine collapse to her knees as the ice quickly disintegrated around her.
And neither of them noticed the distant, haunted look in her eyes.
"…What have I done?" she murmured to nobody.
…
"What did you do?" Yang asked after Velvet had Weiss hooked up to the medical devices in the clinic.
"It's a little …talent of mine," she replied. "Several years ago, I discovered that I have strong… empathic abilities. Like, I can read people's emotions, and to a point I can also 'tweak' them a little. If I understood the details right, you guys are still one or two years away from finding that out about me."
"So you 'tweaked' her into sleeping?" Blake asked with a small level of wonder. She rubbed her shoulders shakily at the memory of Weiss' anger.
"Something like that. It involved 'relaxing' her completely so her body would naturally fall asleep."
Yang rubbed her temples wearily, then sighed, "Okay… first Nora works here, now you're here and you're some kind of psychic… but where are we? Where's team RWBY?"
Velvet sighed, "Uh… it's a long story, and I don't think I'm the one who should tell you. I'll let Ruby explain later."
"Ruby… you mean Carmine?" Blake asked.
"Oh yeah… I forgot about that. Yeah, you guys called her Carmine." Velvet sighed again, then rubbed the back of her neck. Yang noticed how weary the woman was with that movement. She didn't have as many wrinkles around her eyes as Carmine did, but there was evidence that it wouldn't be long before they started to appear. "The team… they… had a bit of a falling out a few years ago."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Like I said, I'll let Ruby explain."
All at once, Yang realized something. She finally recognized that accent. "Hey, wait a minute… were you the one who… threw me out of that room earlier?"
Velvet flinched, a move that spoke volumes. "Um… yeah, that was me. Sorry if I was a bit rough. In my defense, you did appear in the middle of my bedroom, Yang. Woke me up from a good nap, too…"
"Sorry about that."
"Don't sweat it. Ruby explained what happened, so we're all good." The rabbit faunus smiled warmly, a look that more than confirmed her forgiveness. "I honestly thought you were the older… you."
"The… older…?"
"On top of that, I sleep naked. It would have been very awkward if you had turned around, you know…"
Both Yang and Blake sputtered and turned bright red. Velvet ignored them and continued checking up on Weiss.
Yang just barely registered the sight of something sparkling on Velvet's finger before the room's other faunus spoke up. "Where is Carmine, anyway?" Blake looked around curiously.
That was the moment that they finally noticed that the Mad Scientist was nowhere in sight. Velvet's brow furrowed, then she gazed off to one side. After concentrating a moment, she breathed, "… …Oh no…"
The rabbit faunus gave Weiss one last check, then barked, "Blake, stay here and keep an eye on her. Yang, you're with me. Hurry – we have no time."
They were already jogging out the door as Yang asked, "No time for what?"
Velvet chose not to answer, but focused her attention on a message she was typing into her scroll as she ran for the elevator. Yang felt her heart drop as they made their way to… wherever it was they were going.
She was getting another one of her bad feelings – and by this point, she was learning to trust that particular instinct.
…
The rain was still falling outside, but not very hard. It was enough to quickly soak the blonde as she and Velvet stepped out onto the roof of the building.
Carmine stood before them, standing on the edge of the roof. She was facing the drop-off, her body swaying slightly. Her movements felt wrong to Yang. Like the woman wasn't in control of her own body.
"Ruby…" Velvet started saying carefully, her ears bent down to shield her eyes from the rain, "What are you doing?"
"I've made her suffer…"
The dry tone of voice sent chills down Yang's spine. This was bad. This was very bad. Even Velvet seemed to feel how cold the redhead was.
"I've made… everyone suffer…"
Carmine didn't bother turning around, but it didn't take much for them to hear how broken and sad she sounded. How… depressed.
"And now… I'm going to end it all… and save the rest of them… from my meddling…"
"Ruby, we talked about this…" Velvet crossed her arms in annoyance. "No one's jumping off any roofs today, or any day. How many times do we have to have this conversation?"
Yang's eyes grew wide. 'How many times?!' How often had this happened that she was now used to it?
Carmine finally turned around and Yang could see how red her eyes had become. Even beneath her soaked hair, she was a complete wreck. "You don't understand, Velvs… no one does… I caused her so much pain… I can't… I can't take this anymore!"
Velvet's arms twitched, and Yang finally noticed how hard the rabbit faunus was holding herself back from jumping after the woman. "Ruby…" she said carefully.
"NO! You won't stop me this time! I'm really gonna-"
BAM!
The moment Carmine turned back to the edge of the roof, a metallic fist collided with her face. The woman was sent flying backwards, a stream of blood flying from her damaged nose. Her glasses landed a few feet away, lenses cracked. Velvet was next to her in a heartbeat, checking the damage and wiping off the blood.
Yang barely had time to process any of this before an eerily familiar voice spoke: "You're really gonna what, little sister?"
An older Yang Xiao Long stood before the stunned trio.
The years had not been kind to this woman – her right arm was robotic all the way up to her shoulder and her face bore quite a few 'city miles,' as Dad would have called them. A single scar stood out most prominently across her face, diagonal over the bridge of her nose. Most shocking to the younger Yang, however, was the fact that the older Yang's hair was shoulder length.
Wow… someone must have died a horrible death for that to happen…
Other than those differences, the older Yang wore a sleeveless outfit of mostly black leather, including one fingerless glove on the left hand, cargo pants and a pair of combat boots. She also looked royally pissed. The raindrops hitting her short hair were evaporating from the heat it gave off, causing a small cloud of steam to form around her head. Her eyes shone with a blood-red glow.
"So lucky you showed up in time…" Velvet said as she checked over Carmine. The relief in her voice was tangible.
The older Yang crossed her arms and grunted, "Lucky for her… if she had jumped and somehow lived, I would have fucking killed her myself."
After hearing that, the younger Yang couldn't stop herself. "Isn't that going too far? She just tried to commit suicide, she needs help! Not more anger!"
Older Yang finally turned to look at Younger Yang, her expression shifting into one of stunned shock. The two blondes locked gazes for several seconds.
"Fuck me… she really did it, didn't she…?" Older Yang quietly growled.
By this point Velvet had Carmine in her arms and was making her way to the stairs. "Yang Xiao Long, meet Yang Xiao Long. Now if you two will excuse me, I have to get her dried off and patched up. Both of you are welcome to join us in the clinic when you're done here."
"… … …" Older Yang watched them until the door closed, then turned back to Younger Yang and said, "So… what's your story? She kidnap you for one of her wacky experiments?" Though clearly more calm than before, Older Yang's eyes remained red. Not a good sign.
Younger Yang shrugged before heading for the door, saying, "I still haven't figured that out yet, but I'm going inside to dry off before I catch a cold."
Just before heading inside, the younger teen bent down and picked up Carmine's forgotten glasses. She frowned at the large crack across the lens. Shaking her head to dry it a bit, the blonde took them inside and closed the door behind her.
"…How did I ever live with all that hair?" the short-haired woman muttered to herself.
Silence reigned on the rooftop. The older, taller, and more grizzled Yang Xiao Long was left standing alone. Most of the rain slid off her leather outfit, but she still became more and more damp as her mind raced.
A younger version of herself had arrived from another time… possibly another world entirely… and she was still mostly… undamaged.
"I can't believe she did it… damn… this changes everything. Maybe I can help them avoid it… this time."
She remained on the roof for a further five minutes before also heading inside.
…
Two hours later, all six women sat or stood quietly around Weiss' bed in the clinic. All were clean and mostly intact.
Weiss was conscious, but quiet as the grave. Her gaze never lingered long on anybody's face before returning to her lap. Blake and Yang were both seated and sipping from their various beverage choices.
Velvet was carefully finishing her care of Carmine's busted nose, while Carmine herself sat meekly in a distant chair. Her silver eyes darted towards the elder Yang occasionally. That Yang was standing by the door with her arms crossed, looking like a bouncer – like she was there to make sure no one left the room. Her robotic arm gleamed in the fluorescent lights.
Every so often Carmine would reach up to her face like she was ready to take a puff from a cigarette, but then shakily put her hand back down. No smoking in the clinic. When the hell did she start that habit, anyway?
Weiss finally broke the silence, speaking slowly and carefully, "Where… am… I…?"
Keeping a neutral tone, Carmine cleared her throat and replied, "Remnant-5815… my home world."
A pause, then, "And… what… happened… t-t-to us…?"
Everyone in the room was watching Carmine as the woman carefully replied, "I still don't know for sure, but something caused your world to collapse. Three of your scrolls successfully activated my 'Lifeline Protocol' and got you guys out of there in time. Once my system confirmed your safety, it automatically pulled you all here… though I'm not sure why it took almost three freaking years to do so."
Blake choked on her tea. This was the first she'd heard of the time difference, but another detail jumped out at her first, "Three…? What about the fourth? What about Ruby?"
"All I could find was an error message. Her scroll didn't activate properly, so I have no idea where she is… or if she's still alive…"
"…She… … …is… … …alive…" Weiss whispered with finality, ending any and all debates over the fate of their young team leader.
Several minutes passed by without any words exchanged. No one wanted to break the silence first.
Yang finally spoke up, asking, "So why was there such a large difference in the times we spent away? You say three years passed here, but for me it was more like three weeks. Blake said it was two months for her. And Weiss was out… how long?"
Everyone in the room turned to look at the heiress, waiting for her to speak. Silence reigned for a few minutes as she considered her answer… but no one expected what came next:
"T-t-ten years… three weeks… and six d-d-days."
Blake was lucky enough to be between sips, but Yang had a mouthful of coffee that was quickly spit out. Even the grown-ups in the room were not prepared for such a …large number.
Ten goddamn years? No wonder she freaked out when she got here – after that much time, she probably forgot all about Beacon.
Yang spoke, acting on a sudden idea, "So… if I was with Red and Blake was with Rose, that means you were with Sapphire, right?"
Weiss gave the blonde an empty stare, looking right through her. "I… … …d-d-don't remember anyone… … … by th-th-that name… … … I d-d-don't remember… … … anyone's name… … … b-b-besides you g-g-guys… … … and Ruby…"
Yang and Blake exchanged a confused look. How was that possible…?
No one spoke for a moment as Weiss took another deep, shaky breath and said, "That all… … … really d-d-did happen… … … right? It wasn't j-j-just some …fever d-d-dream?" Her slender hands trembled in her lap.
"Weiss…" Carmine seemed shaken as she processed what the heiress was saying.
"I mean… I spend t-t-ten long years letting go of my old life… … … my f-f-friends… … … even my name… … … then all at once I wake up… … … right back where I flaming started…"
The young Schnee choked on her words as she continued, "I grew up… met the man of my d-d-dreams… brought a ch-ch-child into the world… and I finally realized what it meant to just be c-c-content with my life… … … then all of a sudden, it's ALL GONE…!"
Yang was on her feet in an instant as Weiss started shouting, ready to grab hold of her arms if she needed to be restrained. Velvet gave her a wait-a-moment gesture, then said, "Weiss… tell us. Don't hold it in."
"My name… is Snow Rosewood. Wife of Samuel Rosewood, mother of Marigold Rosewood. Proud citizen of… of the town of… of… OH LIGHT IT'S ALREADY FADING! ! !"
Now they did grab hold as Weiss started flailing and crying out in a shrieking voice. Velvet quickly grabbed the side of her head and did her trick again, and the heiress soon slumped down into unconsciousness. A few lingering tears slid down her cheeks and hit her jacket.
Yang had to take a breath to calm herself before asking Velvet, "Gods… Will she be okay?"
"I don't know for sure," the rabbit faunus replied. "I've never dealt with mental trauma of this magnitude before. I'll do what I can, but I think we can expect a few permanent mental scars."
Blake looked ready to sick up. "I can't imagine what she must be feeling right now…"
Velvet, who actually could, looked up at her with a flat gaze and said, "You really don't want to."
Her own throat tried to clench up as Yang gazed down at the still form of the fencer of team RWBY. She gently reached down and wiped one of the girl's tears away, then looked up to say, "So what happens now?"
Carmine opened her mouth to answer…
"Before we get into that…" a new voice suddenly spoke from the doorway, "why don't we start with you explaining something to me?"
Rain, the ancient Ruby look-alike, had walked in. She was staring at Carmine as she gave her challenge.
Yang blinked. She was still here? Forgot all about that one…
"And what could the mighty immortal possibly need me to explain?" the Mad Scientist replied with a sarcastic sneer.
As per usual, Rain said nothing – she merely walked forward and handed Carmine her scroll, opened to a recent photograph. Yang couldn't see it from her vantage point, but she could see Carmine's reaction to it. It was rare to see a jaw drop so far…
"What is it?" Blake asked.
Rain slowly panned the device around the room, giving each member of the group a good long look at the image. It showed a room, likely Rain's own room, and in the center of the floor was a small woman in pajamas laying partly underneath a thick comforter, apparently asleep. There was also a pillow under her head, but no sign of any mattress or bedframe at all.
Yang felt her gut start to tense up. It may not have been Ruby, but she knew that pink and brown hairstyle.
Neopolitan.
…
"As soon as I took the photo, I made sure she was tied up. I'm not that stupid, you know…" the ancient Ruby walked around the angry midget at a safe distance as she explained. Neo was now fully awake (and mysteriously fully-dressed) and bound with a long rope on one side of the room. Her pink and brown eyes were glaring daggers at each of the other occupants of the room. Her umbrella sat just out of reach.
Yang and Blake had followed Rain, along with Carmine. Velvet offered to stay with Weiss in the clinic, and the older Yang remained with them.
Carmine simply stared at the small, angry woman in a complete stupor, muttering under her breath. Yang only caught the odd word or two, "… … ..didn't even… … … never intended for… … … someone's working behind my… … …"
Rain stood in front of the scientist and spoke, dragging the taller woman out of her trance, "I thought we agreed that you would warn me if you were going to transport anyone into my room? What happened?"
"I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!" Carmine roared suddenly.
Rain simply blinked, likely since she wasn't expecting that reaction. She turned her silver eyes back over to Neo, seeming to study her for a moment.
Yang had her arms crossed as she growled, "Why did she appear and not Ruby? How is that fair in any way?"
So many questions, and hardly any of them with any answers. Yang's head was starting to feel like an overfilled balloon – a few more blows and she'd just …pop.
After a few minutes of no one doing anything at all, Carmine suddenly jerked her head up. Her eyes had a new spark as she muttered, "…Wait a fucking minute."
Rain's room had a smaller version of Carmine's computer built into the walls so the girl could work on various projects on her own, and it was here that Carmine rushed over and quickly logged on. Rain didn't bother to protest.
Carmine's fingers were an absolute blur as she powered into the database, looking for something important. Yang almost thought she saw smoke rising from the keys as the Mad Scientist hit Mach speed.
"Ah-HAH! There it is!" She suddenly cried out, causing everyone else to jump.
A readout was currently displayed on the monitor, but half the people in the room had no idea how to translate it.
"Back when I… when we… got back from you guys' world, this was what the computer displayed back in my lab. See this? Lifeline Protocol…" she pointed to a few lines among the code where those two words were written.
Yang glanced at her own scroll, remembering those same words displayed just before she was transported here. So Red was right – hitting that was the reason she was suddenly pulled here.
Strange to think that she could have easily avoided hitting the 'confirm' button and simply stayed in that alternate world for the rest of her life.
Like Weiss almost did…
"I created the Lifeline Protocol as an emergency measure to keep you guys safe. It was designed to transport you to a designated 'safe' timeline in the event that your own became too unstable… or if it collapsed entirely. After that it would wait for you to confirm your location, then it would bring you back here."
Yang noticed Blake taking on a look of realization as Carmine spoke. Apparently she had seen the same 'confirm' button. Now it made sense why it was there. Must have caught her off guard, too.
"But this…" she pointed to another line further down, "was what I wanted to find. Einherjar Protocol."
"Eye-In-Hair-what?"
"I don't know, either… but that's what I intend to find out…" Carmine's fingers once again reached subsonic speeds as the computer fought for it's life to keep up with her. Rain offered the others a dry cookie from her pantry while they waited.
Yang was honestly still reeling from the discovery of Weiss' stay in another world lasting ten freaking years. Then suddenly Neo just… shows up. How much more could the blonde take before she ended up in the bed right next to Weiss? Or better yet, locked in a straight jacket?
"Dammit! I can't get through this firewall without the password!" The tall redhead slammed her fists against the counter in frustration. "That never happens! Someone really doesn't want me to get into this program…!"
Rain calmly walked over and stuck a cookie in Carmine's mouth (who munched it angrily), then said, "Can I try?"
The Ruby-clone slowly hunt-and-pecked 14 keys, then hit Enter. The system gave a pleased bing.
Yang was the first to loudly say, "This was your fault, then?!"
Followed closely by Carmine who said, "… … …'Gormality pigs'?"
Rain calmly turned to answer Yang first, "No, but I have reason to suspect that I had some kind of hand in the program's creation. Logically, I figured I'd try my own password… but I didn't expect it to work first time."
She then turned back to Carmine and said, very seriously, "Don't. Ask."
"Fine, then… shall we?" The older Ruby look-alike pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket with a shaking hand, then held one of the sticks up to Rain. The shorter girl automatically pulled a lighter from her pocket and lit the thing before Carmine stuck it in her mouth and took a deep drag. The tension seemed to melt off the scientist, in spite of the rank smell.
Yang had the clear sense that she was looking at two people who had grown so accustomed to each other's presence that they would have a hard time getting along on their own again. How many long nights of work had they spent together, just like this? What sort of things had they accomplished when they were fully in-sync like they were right now?
The blonde's mind drifted back to the short time she'd spent with Red. The boy was an exceptional fighter and a great guy overall, but she soon found herself feeling… empty while around him. Like he was no longer… enough.
She soon realized what was missing – Ruby. She wanted her sister back.
No matter how much confusion and craziness she had to endure, Yang had to know what happened to Ruby. Was she dead? Missing? Lost in the multiverse like they had been up until recently? She had to know.
And Carmine was the key to finding those answers.
By this point in time, Carmine had found what she was looking for. "Okay, so someone created a program that acted similar to my Lifeline Protocol, only this one was based out of this terminal…"
Rain gave a scoff.
"And it seems to have been programed to select a random group of people. Wow, this group selection doesn't make ANY sense…"
Yang and Blake gazed upon the list now displayed before them. Seven names and corresponding images were listed next to various four-digit numbers. Neopolitan was, indeed, on this list and set to come right into their midst – destination: Remnant-5815.
Other names on the list gave credence to the idea that it was purely random. Names like Adam Taurus, for example. Why the hell…?
"Why would they select Cardin Winchester?" Blake quietly mused to herself as she read the screen. "…Or Penny?"
Suddenly Carmine burst out in a choked laugh, holding her sides and gasping for air. One shaky hand pointed to the last name on the list and the number next to it.
Roman Torchwick.
Remnant-0113
"Oh gods… GAHAHAHA! That world is just… too perfect… AHAHAHAHA!"
Yang shared a look of confusion with Blake. Carmine obviously knew which world that was… but why would she think it was that funny?
Just where the hell did Roman Torchwick end up?
…
… … …
… … … … …
Remnant-0113
(Chibi World)
…
That was the exact question Roman asked himself as he looked up at his new surroundings.
He could have, and would have, sworn on all the gods in existence that he was just on the crapper at a run-down motel on the outskirts of Vale mere moments ago. On. The. Crapper.
So how the flying fuck he just get to Beacon Academy? And the front gate, no less?
"AHH! A giant Roman Torchwick!" An annoyingly shrill voice cried out just to the man's left. A familiar voice, too. He groaned as he turned to look.
At first glance, Roman thought he was looking at a seriously distorted version of That Damned Kid In The Red Cloak. Her head looked to be the right size, but the rest of her had shrunk waaaaay down. Standing next to her was the blonde girl of her team, but in a similar state of tiny-body-giant-head. Both were staring at him with big, anime eyes.
Looking back at the school, the tall man finally noticed that the buildings were roughly half their usual size. He felt a little like a giant right now.
The two tiny girls giggled and ran away, leaving the man quite at a loss as to what was going on. It could only be a dream… right? Maybe he just passed out from pushing too hard…?
A pinch of his arm proved otherwise. On the plus side, at least Roman still had his cane with him. If anything tried to piss him off in this weird, super-deformed world, he could just shoot it.
Besides… it might be fun to just walk around and scare those little shits.
…
…
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Blake woke up slowly, which was very unusual for her – life as a member of the White Fang forced the cat faunus to always sleep with one eye open in case she got attacked. She always slept very lightly.
"Mmm… Mornin' Blake…" But then a deep voice greeted her from a few inches behind her head, causing her to begin purring in spite of herself.
"Morning Rose," she replied, then turned around to give the toned redhead a peck on the lips before snuggling back against her underneath the covers. Rose wrapped her arms around the faunus and nuzzled her nose deep in Blake's hair.
Ever since Rose had introduced Blake to the rest of team ROCC as 'her girlfriend,' Blake couldn't hold herself back anymore. She already had a hard time keeping her hands to herself, but now that she had permission… dear gods…
It was still a bit depressing to think about the fact that she'd likely never see her real team again, but that was counteracted by the relief that her love for Rose was no longer impossible. If she was to stay here, so be it.
Blake had to fight off the memory of Rose's skilled hands from the night before… they couldn't start every day in the throes of passion, after all. She tried to gently scoot herself to the edge of the bed, but two strong arms held her firmly in place.
"No…" Rose mumbled with a lazy smile. "Bad kitty…"
Wow… could it be they've become a bit too comfortable around each other? …Does an Ursai shit in the woods?
Dammit, now she was making Yang-jokes!
A strange trumpet-like ringtone played into the silence of the dorm room just then, giving the two teens cause to look up in wonder. Neither of them had a ringtone like that… but then Blake remembered that her scroll was still rather new. Probably hers, then.
"Where did it even go…?" she wondered out loud.
"I think your clothes went… um… under the bed?" Rose offered.
Blake looked back over to her otherworldly girlfriend and gave her a light flick of the nose, then bent down to check. Sure enough, there it was. The faunus grabbed the device and quickly ducked back under the safety of the blankets – it could be rather cold when you're only wearing a pair of panties…
"Lifeline Protocol? What's that?" she asked as she read the display.
"Dunno," Rose replied as she looked over Blake's shoulder. "Looks important, though. Maybe like an update? I get notifications for those all the time, but they're hardly ever worth it…"
"I'd better go for it, though. Just in case…"
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
…
…
…
… … …
… … … … …
Remnant-5815
(Carmine's World)
…
Blake would continue to regret hitting that damn 'confirm' button for as long as she lived. There was no doubt about that.
But at least she was back with Yang again. Her Yang, not an older version who was far too uncomfortable around her own sister. Out of all the people Blake had known during her life, Yang Xiao Long was one of the very few she could fully trust.
Adam once held that distinction… but that was a lifetime ago.
As the assembled group of displaced travelers watched Carmine dig through the code for answers, Blake thought about many things.
She thought about Rose – obviously – and about how she would miss that very sexy girl. She didn't even get to say goodbye before suddenly appearing, fully clothed, on the tippy-top of one of Beacon's towers. So yes, she cursed the sky. And the rain. And every god she could think of. Who wouldn't?
She tried very hard to not think about the nights she and Rose spent together. Yang would not be able to miss her heavy blushing, so better to avoid that line of thought entirely.
She thought about Weiss, too. In spite of their initial relationship (or lack thereof), Blake thought she and Weiss were finally starting to get along pretty well… at least, before this whole shitstorm kicked in. She knew as well as anybody that people can change a lot in only a few years, so how much did the heiress change given a full ten?
And for that matter, why did Weiss still look 17 years old? If she'd aged 10 years, shouldn't she look closer to 27? How was that supposed to make any sense?
And she also thought about the angry midget tied up near the corner. The fact that Neo didn't seem to even have a scroll with her was nonsense. How did she even get here? Someone… or something… had ripped her away from their world, disregarding all of the rules.
She blinked as she realized that she hadn't even questioned this Neo's world of origin – somehow she just knew it was the Neo from her own world. Almost like an instinct.
"I suppose I'll have to go clean up this mess… since it seems I'm somewhat responsible…" Rain said as she made her way to a nearby closet.
"No one's blaming you," Carmine said from the console.
"I am…" Yang growled, her arms crossed irately.
"You're not helping," Blake growled back.
Rain emerged holding a small device that looked like a metal bracelet of some sort. "It's alright, Blake," she said as she dusted the thing off. "She's probably right. I've literally been to hundreds of different points in time by now. Maybe thousands. I suspect this Einherjar program is one I haven't actually made yet… but soon will."
Yang groaned and held her head gently.
"This thing," she said as she held up the device, "should make the clean-up process easier. I built it a few years ago, but never really tested it out. It has all the same functions as your transport device, Carmine."
"Say what?" The scientist blinked as she finally turned away from the console, her face a picture of disbelief.
"It's my Portable Lightweight One-piece Transmission Device."
Blake snorted loudly, trying not to laugh too hard.
Rain had built a PLOT device.
Goddammit.
The item in question was built like a wide armband that covered most of the forearm, and had what looked like a computer built into one part of it. The input device consisted of a few odd buttons and a keypad, as well as a narrow LCD display for the numbers.
"With this, I can better control where I go. That, and it should allow me to transport other people… assuming I'm holding onto them tightly enough," Rain explained. "Haven't had much chance to test that part…"
"How the hell did you get the CF322 circuit to fit in that?" Carmine asked with a clear note of incredulity.
"I, uh… might have borrowed the Micro Forge for a while…" Rain answered awkwardly.
"You said that thing was out for repairs! I could have used that!"
In lieu of an answer, Rain merely averted her eyes. Carmine gave a low growl from her chair.
Rain latched the device onto her arm, the began hitting buttons. "Guess I'll start with Torchwick. 0113, right?" She also moved herself to the middle of the room, apparently for the space.
All of a sudden, Neo struck.
Within the span of a second, the pink-and-brown themed girl was on her feet and dashing across the room… right at Rain. She grabbed hold of the ancient Ruby in the instant before the device activated.
Both girls vanished in a burst of light that left two people-shaped afterimages in Blake's eyes.
"That little shit!" Yang growled from beside Blake as she rubbed her own eyes hastily.
There was really nothing anyone could do, so for the next few minutes everyone simply stood there and let the afterimage fade from their vision.
Carmine was more calm than expected as she stood from the console and said, "As much as I'd like to know what just happened, I know Rain. She'll be fine. All we have to do is wait and she'll come back on her own."
Blake stared as the Mad Scientist made her way out of the room. How much trust did the woman have in Rain to be this calm? Blake would never have understood it, no matter how hard they tried to explain.
"I'm worried, too," Yang admitted, "but I'd rather not get left behind." The blonde quickly made her way out of the room, following Carmine. "Place is too big…"
Blake was left alone, staring at the ropes used to keep Neo tied up. Considering whose room this was, she had every reason to believe those ropes hadn't been tied all that tightly. The midget's umbrella was gone, too. Must have grabbed it when she made her move.
Rain was capable of cold-blooded murder – a little act like that would be easy to pull off.
Taking the time to explain how her device worked? Letting everyone see the program readout, including the numbers? Actually being caught off guard? All Blake could see was that Rain wanted Neo to take that device, but didn't want it to look like she was aiding a criminal.
Tricky little thing…
Oh well… no real reason to mull over it now.
…
Night had fallen before any more answers could be given. Yang and Blake had elected to sleep in Weiss' room – they'd spent enough time apart, thank you very much.
The heiress was kept asleep by various medical instruments, but the blonde conked out from sheer exhaustion.
Blake was wide awake.
The bathroom nearest the clinic had a good-sized mirror, giving Blake a perfect tool to examine herself. And what she saw was… a bit disturbing.
During her time with Rose, Blake had battled with… something… that left a few bad cuts on her face. Those cuts were gone. Not just healed… gone. There was also a small pimple just under her ear that she'd popped after she got there – it was now back, and completely undamaged.
Add to that the fact that when she vanished from Rose's bed she was almost naked – then she was suddenly fully dressed with ribbon in place once she got here – and the implications were not great.
But there was nothing she could do about that now. Better to try and knock herself out and wait for tomorrow.
Without Rose next to her, though… that might be a challenge. She'd grown used to sleeping in someone's arms. Yang might oblige, but the cat faunus would rather sleep on the goddamn roof than ask for something like that. Maybe another night.
With a deep sigh, Blake shut off the light and went back out. Sleep came slowly, but it finally came.
…
Morning came far too quickly.
"Hey there, champ," Yang said quietly to Weiss, who was awake again. Velvet was currently sitting behind the heiress and gently brushing out her gleaming white hair. Blake wasn't sure if it was the brushing or the close contact with the empath, but Weiss was looking much better than before. Calmer.
"Hey, yourself," the young Schnee replied mildly. Her voice hadn't changed at all, but the brunette detected a fair degree of extra warmth in her words.
Blake spoke next, saying, "How do you feel?"
Weiss glanced at the faunus, then closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "I… … … still don't have an answer for that. If anything, I feel like I've just woken up from a ten-year coma."
"If it makes you feel any better, I think me and Blake can …kinda understand how you feel. Once we got here, it was like nothing had happened." Yang's tone was that of an empathizing friend. "It sucks."
"Agreed," Blake added. "All I have from my time with Rose is the memories. No proof that any of it was real."
"Proof," Weiss said, almost too quiet to hear. "That's what I need… proof. Something tangible… so I can be sure it was real… that I didn't dream them up…"
"Weiss?"
"If you don't mind," she calmly stated, "I would prefer that you call me Snow. It's the name I've lived with all this time, after all. I let go of the name Weiss Schnee half a decade ago."
"That might be… tough," Yang grimaced.
"If you're okay with something small…" Carmine said as she made her way into the room, "I think I can help with the 'proof' part…"
The Mad Scientist looked like she hadn't slept a wink, and she was now bearing a tray of fresh coffee in a carafe, as well as a steaming tea kettle and numerous empty cups and mugs.
"First, I should explain something important. You guys have probably noticed it by now, but you are all under the effects of what I call the 'Persistent Status Phenomenon' …which basically means that every time you transfer to a new world – be it this one or the ones you were each in – you arrive in the exact same state that you left your original world in. Any previous changes are negated once you arrive at your next destination. It's like a 'save state' in a video game."
Yang's eyes glazed over slightly as Carmine spoke, but for Blake this was the missing puzzle piece. This was the reason she arrived in a state of full dress.
"And Weiss? That's why she's… our age again?" Blake offered.
"So that's why I lost those ten years…" Weiss said quietly from her bed. Velvet's brushing slowed minutely, then resumed at normal speed. She was definitely working hard to keep the heiress' emotions in check. "Now I'll have to grow up all over again…"
Blake poured herself a fresh cup of tea before saying, "You mentioned helping Weiss get some proof…?"
"Ah, yes…" Carmine said as she slurped from her own mug. "Because of that phenomenon, normally you can't take anything with you from world to world – but I found a loophole. If it's small enough to fit in your pocket or if you can fully seal it in a pouch, then you can bring an item with you from one world to another."
Weiss' eyes sparkled as she processed this information. "In that case, I know exactly what I want… my wedding ring. I know right where I left it, too…"
Blake and Yang exchanged a look, the blonde's eyebrows going high on her forehead. A ring that the former Schnee heiress wanted that badly must have been a sight to see.
"I can already tell what you're thinking, Weiss… and I can safely say that I cannot send you back there. It's far too dangerous. For you, specifically."
Weiss' shoulders slumped. Velvet patted her back in sympathy.
"You've become so attuned to that world after so many years there that if you tried to go back now, you wouldn't survive the trip. I'm sorry, but I can't risk that."
Just as Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, Yang spoke up and bravely said, "I'll go find it, Weiss. She can send me. Just tell me what to look for and I'll get it for you. It's the least I can do…"
She put a hand on Weiss' other shoulder companionably. Weiss put her hand over it, smiling more warmly than Blake had ever seen her smile before. She was like a whole different person with that expression.
"I'll have to make a lot of adjustments to be sure you arrive at the right point in the timeline. While I'm working on that, why don't you guys… I dunno, tell each other what happened to you? Tell your stories?" Carmine made sure to smile at each of them as she said this, making it clear what she wanted them to do. "I'm sure you all have a lot to get off your chest."
Blake immediately began censoring parts of her own story in her head.
Yang also looked as though she was considering what to say.
Weiss simply zoned out again as Velvet continued brushing.
"Well, while you guys work on that, I'll be in my lab," Carmine said as she turned to leave. "Anything else I can do for you?"
"I have a question…" Yang raised her hand like she was in class.
"Yes, Miss Xiao Long?" Carmine replied smartly.
"Although it's actually for her…" she pointed to Velvet. More specifically, to Velvet's left hand. "I noticed it earlier, but now I gotta know… who's the lucky guy?"
For some reason, both Velvet and Carmine flinched at that last word.
The rabbit faunus fidgeted a little, now the center of attention in the room, and held her hand up so everyone could see her ring. Blake took a sharp breath when she saw the stone on it – large and sparkling, it was a diamond that must have cost a small fortune. How did she miss that?
In a smaller voice than any she'd used so far, Velvet meekly said, "Well, actually… it's not a guy…" She played with her ring as she spoke, unsure of what else to do with her hands.
Yang and Blake's eyes met, a flash of understanding passing between them. The blonde caught on to the level of tension in the room and nodded, saying, "Ah, okay… I wondered if you'd swing that way someday. It actually doesn't surprise me too much."
Both of the adults sighed with relief. Strange.
Blake nodded her assent. Of all the girls she'd known, Velvet was high on her mental list of teens that seemed ready to come out (she'd never admit it, but Yang was also on that list).
"Okay… so…" Yang continued her earlier thought, "Who's the lucky girl?"
Rather than give a response, Carmine chose that moment to walk into the room, lean over Velvet, and… kiss her. Slow and steady.
All three teens just stared in stunned silence.
Wow.
Once she was done making everyone uncomfortable, Carmine stood back up and displayed her own left hand – it bore a simple band of silver set with numerous small diamonds along the edges.
"She's my wife," Carmine declared, waiting for anyone to challenge her.
No one spoke for several minutes. No one made a sound.
Blake's brain had just crashed, and she was waiting for it to restart. Carmine was married to Velvet? What would they learn next? Would it ever end?
"Okay…" Yang finally muttered, "…did not see that coming…"
… … … … …
… … …
…
A/N: Dizzy yet?
This nice and long chapter will serve as the entry point for the team's grand Multiverse adventure. Tune in next time as we revisit Blake and Yang's stay with each of the alternate Rubys they were sent to join.
As for Weiss, well… don't count on her to open up for a while yet. I hate myself for putting her through the emotional meat-grinder like that, but it had to happen if she was going to grow as a character. And trust me… she will grow.
I look forward to seeing where they all go from here… and they have a long way to go. (Who wants to see me reach 100 chapters? Woo-hoo! Hey, who threw that tomato?)
…
Author's Recommendation: Now would be a great time to detour back to Concurrence and read chapters 9-12. You can read further if you want, 17 would work, but I advise you to not go past 25 just yet.
=^w^=