Author's Note: Merry Christmas, everybody!
Okay folks… here's the last chapter before they finally start exploring the Multiverse. Promise. Also sorry for the delay, this one was a real bugger to figure out… but I think this'll work. Maybe.
I am trying to remember that this is just a fanfiction – that it doesn't need to be as polished as a proper novel.
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Remnant-5815
(Carmine's World)
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Snow Rosewood, as she knew herself to be, sat in her bed with a heavy heart. The woman called Carmine had just walked out of the room, taking with her all of Snow's hopes and dreams for the future she'd planned for. A future with her very own family. A husband, a daughter, …and plans for a second child.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember their faces. She could picture them now, but who knew what time would do to her? Sam was already starting to grow hazy, and Mari… if she forgot the face of her own daughter, Snow would just shut down and die.
"Weiss," Yang tried cautiously, "You gonna be alright?"
Snow sighed, hoping silently that they would figure this name thing out soon. The Weiss Schnee of team RWBY was gone. Her name was Snow Rosewood… now and forever.
"I… I'll get past this. I have to…" she murmured.
But she really, really didn't want to. For the first time in her entire life, Snow had learned what it was to truly love and be loved in return. And it wasn't just because of her name. Light knows she'd had enough of that.
Velvet gave her a comforting squeeze of the shoulders, then quietly excused herself from the room. She muttered something to the other two before leaving, something important, but Snow wasn't listening. She was just trying to remember her child's face… that reddish-brown hair and those brilliant grey eyes she got from her father. All Snow wanted at that moment was to touch that precious face, to know that nothing she'd gone through these past 10 years was fake.
She didn't try to stop the tears that came, but simply let them fall. Blake noticed them first, Light bless her. "Weiss? I mean, …Snow? Do we need to call Velvet back in here?"
Well at least one of them got it right… Snow finally smiled a bit, even letting out a chuckle, but the tears didn't stop. She could feel her throat tightening.
"No, I… I guess I'm just… … … It's still too fresh, you know? Blood and bloody ashes, if I did go back, nobody would recognize me! Look at me, I'm a kid again!"
Blake nodded, "Well yeah, there is that…"
While Yang could only mouth, "…'Blood and bloody ashes'…?"
Snow added, "Besides, I… … I think it's best that I… d-don't go back… Oh, Light that was hard to say… If I did, and no one knew me, I would just d-die on the s-s-spot…"
There was no stopping the sobs that came next. Snow suddenly had a hard time breathing as her lungs and throat choked out bitter tears. Blake and Yang both quickly darted forward and embraced their friend in a tender hug, arms wrapped around the former heiress.
All Snow could do was cling tightly to them, not wanting to let go. They simply held her, waiting patiently for the emotional torrent to ebb.
Surprisingly, it was Yang who first whispered, "It's okay, Snow… we're right here, and we're not going anywhere."
Followed by Blake, "…It doesn't matter where we are… as long as we're together like this, … … …we're home."
"Dammit Blake, now you're gonna make me cry…!" Yang sniffed.
All three girls shared a brief laugh, not letting go even a little bit. As far as Snow was concerned, she was never letting go of them again.
Never again.
"As much as I hate to kill the mood," Yang lied, separating herself from the other two, "…We should probably get on with this conversation. I wanna head out as soon as Carmine's done setting up, so I'll go first…"
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Chapter 23:
Catching Up
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"Are you seriously still working?"
"What? Oh… Yang, I… I thought you went back… into town…"
"I will soon. I'm just waiting on a chance to talk to the 'other' me first."
"Ah, I see. I guess it's not everyday you get the chance to talk to yourself… I mean, without sounding like you're going mad."
"Whatever. What are you doing, anyway?"
"Trying to lock down some coordinates. Yang… I mean, the other Yang… wants to go back to where Weiss spent the last 10 years and pick up her wedding ring."
"How romantic…"
"The thing I can't figure out is… why did Weiss go to 1148? I know I set her scroll to take her to 8843. I know I did…"
"So you screwed up again."
"Dammit, I know I did it right! I checked those numbers three times!"
"Shoulda done four."
"Like you know better…"
"… … …Sometimes I feel like I do."
"I'm not going to dignify that with a response. If there's nothing else you need, please leave."
"…"
"…"
"…One more question."
"Yang, don't…"
"You said Weiss married someone while she was over there, right?"
"Don't you say it…!"
"… … …Did she marry a man?"
"GODDAMMIT! ! You just couldn't stop yourself could you?! GET OUT OF MY LAB! !"
"Touchy, aren't we? Not enough lovey-dovey time with your wife?"
"One more word… ONE MORE FUCKING WORD… and I'm banning you from this campus for LIFE! Now GET THE FUCK OUT! !"
"…"
"God… dammit… Yang… … … … why couldn't you… why…?"
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Remnant-6971
(Genderswap World)
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[ Yang's Story – The Fighter, part 2 ]
…
Yang didn't remember much of what she did upon first arriving in Red's world. In her defense, things were happening really freaking fast. How was she supposed to keep up with it all?
What she did remember was how upset she was upon thinking that Ruby had died… and how scared she was watching her world ending… and how surprised she was to find herself suddenly in the middle of town with no obvious problems…
But most of all she felt rage. Grimm had arrived, signaling the start of the Breach. Again. And Yang would be damned before she let any of them get away.
Everything after that was a crimson blur. All she knew for certain was that she nearly knocked Red's head off in a fit of rage, ignoring the weapons his team had pointed at her head. She must have thought the boy had something to do with her being here, but the details of the event were somewhat foggy.
She also clearly remembered the shock of seeing a male version of herself when she turned around, and thinking, Now I know how Ruby felt when she first saw Red.
…
"Well she looks just like you, so maybe she's a long-lost relative?" the white-haired boy accused Yang's male clone. "If so, she can share your bed tonight."
"I am NOT sharing my bed with a girl, no matter what she looks like!" the blonde boy shot back.
"But I wonder exactly what your reason for that is…?" the black-haired boy in the knit cap mused out loud from his bunk.
Yang was currently sitting tucked into a corner of the team RWBY dorm room, trying to make herself as small as possible. Red was standing nearby, leaning against the wall as the rest of his team debated their future.
"Are you gonna be alright?" Red muttered quietly, trying to keep their conversation private.
Yang sighed deeply, "I… don't know yet. There's a shitload of things I don't know yet, but I'm mainly worried about Ruby…"
Red seemed like he wanted to pry, but chose to leave it alone for the night. It was late and no one seemed ready to settle down yet, so the young man took control of the room. Within half an hour, the lights were off and nearly everyone was asleep.
Everyone but Yang. She'd been given an air mattress to use, but sleep was far from her mind that first night. Fear kept her awake.
Fear for her sister. Fear for her friends. Fear for her world.
Fear… of the unknown.
The images and sounds she had just recently lived through, the end of her world, continued playing back in her mind. Over and over they repeated. She knew they would play through her dreams if she did sleep, but she couldn't just stop.
Slowly, gradually, Yang fell asleep anyway. Luckily it was a dreamless sleep.
…
"Blake, quit staring and go back to sleep."
"Are you serious? Sleep? In the same room as those things?! Dude, we will never get this close to a set of titties again!"
"Hmm… You have a point…"
"Ugh… Why are you two awake? And why are you staring at… Oh…"
"I know, right? Look at 'em sway as she breathes…"
"Almost like they're… alive…"
"You two are idiots. They're just breasts, what's the big deal?"
"Two big deals, if we're being picky…"
"I bet they feel like marshmallows…"
"I wanna touch 'em…"
"Did you actually forget how she fought out there today? She'd twist the two of you into a human pretzel… Huh, on second thought, maybe you should try…"
"The next one who talks about touching anything gets toilet-cleaning duty for the rest of the year. Now shut up and sleep."
"…"
"…"
"…Is she… not wearing a bra?"
…
As the days passed, Yang's unease diminished. Sleep came more quickly and more completely, allowing the blonde brawler to recover her strength sooner. After a few visits to this world's version of Professor Ozpin (an image she would never un-see), Yang was allowed to use an empty dorm room for the duration of her stay… however long that ended up being.
Her first few days were spent getting to know the boys of team RWBY, who were acting as her hosts. What was funny was how similar they were to her own team – other than the fact that they enjoyed lounging around without any shirts on. That was another sight she would never un-see. Not that it was a bad thing… not bad at all.
Instead of a ribbon, the male Blake hid his faunus ears beneath a knit cap. His hair was cut shorter, but other than that he was the same as Yang's own partner. Even read the same books. Including …that one. Needless to say, she scored a few points with this Blake on day 5. Anything to keep Yang quiet about …that book. Heh heh…
Thankfully the male Weiss chose to forgo the combat skirt in favor of white trousers. He also tied his ponytail at the base of his neck, rather than one side of his head. Everything else was the same, including his choice of jacket. He even sported the same scar over his left eye.
Yang's male half could have passed for her twin brother. Not much more to say about him. ("Hey!")
One funny event happened on the evening of day 7. Yang was in her dorm room, accompanied by the boys as they hung out and chatted. She wanted to go to bed, but they didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave. Her irritation was only cut off by a sudden idea.
Clearing her throat (which made the boys turn to look), Yang started to take her top off.
The room emptied out in a flat second.
A cloud of dust hung in the air from their hasty exit. All four of them called back some form of 'Good night' before returning to their own room.
Yang had a good laugh at that. It was the first time she'd really laughed since…
Since before Ku died.
…
"Damn, that was close…"
"Why'd you pull me out? We almost saw them!"
"That's exactly why, numb-nuts."
"Are you telling me you don't want to see… the glorious…?"
"Look, I'll admit they're big… and nice to look at…"
"And here I thought you were secretly gay."
*ahem* "I don't know what you're talking about…"
"Knock it off and get to bed. We have training tomorrow."
"What? Why? We get a break from classes after the Breach, remember?"
"Did I say anything about classes?"
"Oh. Oooooooh…"
"Maybe we could train with water guns… and invite her…"
"Two words: 'human pretzel.'"
"Oh yeah…"
"You know, Red… you seem rather familiar with her. Are you ever gonna tell us who she actually is?"
"Just calling her 'Big Sis' doesn't really tell us much…"
"I told you her name is Yang, remember? The 'Big Sis' thing is so we don't have two different people answering to the same name. That's all you need to know."
"So is she some kind of clone…?"
"That's all. You need. To know."
*Tsk* "Fine."
…
In general, Yang's stay with the boys of team RWBY was uneventful. Mostly.
Her first week was spent recovering from the trauma of losing her home and her friends. Weeks two and three were mostly hanging out and killing time, waiting for something to happen. Hopefully something good. Grimm attacks were not on that list, by the way.
There was, however, one event that helped the blonde brawler pass the time much more thoroughly.
…
"Run that by me… one more time," Yang said slowly on the morning of day 8. She blew a strand of golden hair out of her face as she looked at the redheaded boy standing before her. Maybe she heard him wrong? Before coffee, anything was possible.
"I was hoping… you could help me… um… find a g-g-girlfriend." Red's face held a full blush as he spoke, which was a rather impressive shade of scarlet. "Starting today."
Yang blinked, running his words through her head again. And again.
It was too early for this shit.
Normal thought returned after the first cup of coffee, motivation after the second. She agreed to help, but he had to make it happen. All she would do was make the introductions. And maybe provide a little push.
Wrapping her mind around the whole gender-swapped-world concept, Yang ran through a mental list of the hot guys she remembered from back home – since they were all girls here – and got started.
Soon motivation became annoyance – the introductions were easy enough, as most girls thought Red was at least cute, but the boy stumbled over his words worse than anyone Yang had ever met. She got the sense that he was …terrified. Not once did they meet a potential candidate that Red could act normally around.
It took some severe questioning to get the redheaded boy to finally fess up to his actual fear of girls. While disappointing, Yang had already promised to help and something like this would not stop her now.
…
About three days into the search (with a score of 0-9, by the way), Yang was approached by another member of the all-male team RWBY…
"Are you free for a minute?"
"Several, if you're nice."
"I'll make it quick, then. I understand you're …helping Red to look for a …potential girlfriend?"
"In not so many words, yeah. What about it?"
"Does that mean you have …experience in …attracting someone's attention?"
"Weiss… in case you haven't noticed these by now…"
"Point those things away from me…! Sorry… yes, of course I've seen them. I meant in …other ways…"
"You clearly have someone in mind, don't you? Okay, I'll bite. Whaddya need?"
"…Humph. There is …someone who has caught my attention, let's say …but it seems this person has yet to notice it. How do I go about attracting …this person?"
"You've got me curious now, Jack Frost. But I can give you a few simple pointers-"
"Call me that again and you'll see just how cold I can be…"
"First pointer: Drop the act. I know that deep down you're not as cold and detached as you want others to think you are. Show …this person …how the real you can be."
"…"
"Second pointer: Learn. Watch and learn everything you can and get to know …this person …as best as you can. Show them you're interested. Nothing could work better to show them you care."
"… … …Anything else?"
"Not really, no… Start with these and the rest should follow naturally."
"Very well."
"So… can I guess who it is?"
"Absolutely not."
"So cold… I guess I'll just call you Mister Freeze, eh?"
…
Despite her best intentions, Yang never learned who Weiss' potential love interest was. And not because she didn't try… the boy was more subtle than she expected. In fact, it seemed as though he might not have been telling the whole truth. He never seemed to pursue anyone Yang expected (such as the female Neptune, who was surprisingly hot).
At the start of Yang's third week, the male Weiss actually began to follow her and Red around town. She only suspected it was due to their nature as partners (the Weiss from back home sometimes had episodes of being 'nice' like that). That was her first thought, anyway. As the days passed, Yang only grew more confused watching the two of them. The male Weiss almost seemed to be …guarding Red.
There was one incident in which a potential girlfriend tried to lean in close and give Red a peck on the cheek – nothing too intimate, just a friendly greeting – but suddenly the male Weiss was pulling the young leader away like a bomb was about to go off.
To be honest, Yang simply didn't get it. Was he jealous or something?
Sometime during the night, apparently, Red had a change of heart and called off the search. He never explained why. In fact, no one told Yang anything that happened during that last week. Everyone seemed to start behaving differently while she was around, like they were all keeping a secret from her.
Odd as that was, watching Red and Weiss was far more odd. The two of them seemed …closer? But since no one explained any of that to Yang, the girl was left to her own devices to understand it all… and she most definitely failed to do so. Subtle things like this often went right over her head.
Yet, by the time her scroll popped up with the 'Lifeline Protocol' screen, everything seemed okay. The boys promised to behave themselves for Big Sis, and Red was alright with his… issues.
She resigned herself to letting Weiss take care of her 'little bro' from then on.
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Remnant-5815
(Carmine's World)
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Night arrived quickly.
Since the washroom was only big enough for two of them at a time, Yang elected to wait in the room while Blake and Weiss… er, Snow… got cleaned up and ready for bed first. She drank another glass of water while she waited, cooling her throat after telling her story. Blake was next, and the blonde was certainly eager to hear about her partner's romp in another world.
Not surprisingly, both Blake and Wei- Snow gave her a look of pure confusion as she finished. Apparently they figured out what Yang had missed. And they wouldn't tell. Sometimes things like this could bother the blonde for a long time, but tonight she decided to just drop it and focus on recovering. And preparing. Carmine would be ready tomorrow, which meant she had to be ready too.
Snow mentioned that while she still needed more time before she told them her story, she needed to update Yang on a few important things before anyone was transferred out. Things like… the fact that Dust didn't work in that world.
Yang was still reeling from that one. How would that even work?
Suddenly the older Yang Xiao Long walked into the room and looked around quickly. Nodding in satisfaction, she looked at the younger Yang and roughly said, "We need to talk. Alone."
What little good mood Yang still had by that point was rapidly fading now. "Then you'd better make it quick. They'll be back any minute."
The mechanical arm and the flesh arm crossed in barely concealed anger, "Don't get smart with me. It's important. It's about… … … the future. Your future."
Yang sighed, but relented, "I'm listening."
"Okay, here goes… … No matter what your Ruby does in the years to come, I need you to promise me that you will be there to support her in anything she chooses."
"Um… did you forget I'm her big sister? I do that anyway…"
The older woman grabbed the teenager's shoulders roughly and growled, "…I don't think you're listening to me. I said …anything."
"…You're gonna need to clarify – my brain's a bit worn-out right now."
She released the teens shoulders with a sigh. "I presume you know about Ruby… Carmine's marriage?"
"To Velvet? Yeah, she told us."
"When she told the three of us about it, I was… I was… gh…!"
"What?"
"…When Ruby went off to Atlas Academy for a year without telling us first, I was already pissed at her. I held a grudge all the way until we graduated. Ruby introduced us to Velvet as her …fiancé …on our fucking graduation day! That was more than I could handle and I… … … I… … …"
"…"
"…I fucking blew up, okay?"
"Oh. Damn."
"No shit. I said so many things I can't take back, hurt people that used to trust me, and broke bonds that should have been life-long. I abandoned Ruby when she needed me the most. Do you understand me?"
"…"
"I killed team RWBY…!"
Those four words seemed to hang in the air, lingering like a bad smell. Yang beheld a woman who suddenly represented a potential future for herself. A bad future. A future in which she let her anger lash out and hurt the ones she loved the most.
Now she understood a little about why this older Yang's eyes remained red at all times – she was permanently angry at herself. The woman must have been suffering every day since it happened. So much pain…
Quickly wiping away a stray tear, the older Yang suddenly turned and said, "I should go. I've already overstayed my welcome."
"Thank you," the younger Yang said quietly, causing her older self to pause at the door. She added, "If you're sorry it happened, can't you make up with everyone? Can …this… be fixed?"
Red eyes glanced back, now glimmering with unshed tears. "It's too late for me, but not for you. Don't ever forget… no matter how strong she seems, no matter how much she may look like she's grown up… she still needs you. Ruby will always need her big sister."
And with those words, the older and harder Yang Xiao Long left the room. The teenager who remained suddenly felt like she might never see that woman again.
"I won't forget," she quietly vowed.
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Remnant-2789
(Random Team World)
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[ Blake's Story – The Lover, part 2 ]
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Blake literally fell into Rose's lap when she first arrived. Luckily for both of them, the room was otherwise empty.
The next hour was spent trying to get Blake to calm down – she had just come from a world that was ending, remember – and the three hours after that were spent explaining things.
Blake went first, updating the muscular redhead about the events that took place between Rose leaving with the others and Blake's arrival – it didn't take long, of course. Still, it was a lot to take in. Rose was rather adamant that Ruby was not dead, and was able to help Blake come to terms with her new environment.
For Rose, five days had passed since she got back. Right away she was able to diffuse the fight between her Yang and Coco by knocking the former into the water just off the dock. She baited Coco by giving her a bar of extra dark chocolate – apparently this is Coco's number-one weakness (the Coco from Blake's world had given her the chocolate ahead of time). Rose's former partner was currently being held for observation in a mental ward.
Soon after they finished speaking, Rose took Blake to Ozpin's office and explained things as best she could. Long story short, everyone worked together to fashion a cover story for the cat faunus – she was now a temporary transfer student from Haven Academy and would be taking Coco's place on team ROCC until further notice.
But then Rose introduced Blake to Octavia and Ceil as her 'girlfriend' rather than just a new friend. This caused no end of surprised looks from everyone they met from then on. In fact, Blake would be the recipient of many, many jealous looks from then until she went home…
Blake had been told stories about how popular Rose was in her own world, but once she got there, the truth really sunk in. The girls really did love her, it seemed. Rose assured her it was almost entirely the fault of her pheromones.
It seemed like a lifetime ago that Rose had explained to the group that she had a pheromone imbalance that caused various people (girls) to start acting funny around her. As in, falling in love with her. That did go a long way in explaining the actions of everyone, but… for Blake, there was something else going on.
Blake didn't need pheromones. She was already in love.
Even from the start, Rose had fully captured the brunette's attention. That deeper voice, those rippling muscles, and that adorably goofy grin – everything about Rose made her heart race. She didn't truly know until right before Rose left, but this was a real love. It had nothing to do with body chemicals.
The night after Rose called Blake her girlfriend, Blake could not hold back any longer. Neither could Rose, for that matter. The two of them came close to waking up the entire dormitory with their… noises.
And so, other than the fact that she was part of a different team, Blake was practically back home. She and Rose frequently interacted with the older team WYZE, which happened to include Weiss and Yang, so she was still around people she knew… for the most part.
However, that's not the point of this story. The important event happened at the beginning of the mid-year break, about one month after Blake arrived.
And it nearly killed her.
…
The first of the three days started out totally normal. Blake and Rose were walking to the cafeteria for breakfast, but Blake noticed that Rose was keeping one hand in her pocket the whole time.
"I have a reason for that," Rose assured her companion. "I've been reading up on my condition in the file Carmine put in my scroll. It's the same one that had the formula for my medicine. According to her research, certain genetic patterns dictate if someone is immune to my smell. Or weak against it…"
Blake nodded, keeping quiet. She was genuinely interested.
Rose continued, "Her findings suggest that every 'Ruby' has the genetic code to make them immune… but they're not the only ones. Other people can be immune as well, and to them my smell is super repulsive. I put a tiny drop of the concentrated pheromone spray Carmine gave me on one of my fingers – and I want to see what happens this morning…"
"Surprisingly thorough…" Blake mused as they entered the vast room. "In that case, I'll just… keep my distance…"
"Good idea…"
Blake stood back and watched the show from a distance. Even with her enhanced faunus hearing, she had no chance of catching the distant conversation.
Rose approached team WYZE, namely Emerald Sustrai, in a friendly manner, just chatting a bit. At the right moment, Rose pulled her other hand out and tried to pat Emerald on the back during part of their talk.
The reaction was instant – Emerald quickly jumped back, her face contorted in disgust. She waved one hand in front of her face to make it clear what the problem was. Rose sheepishly put that hand back in her pocket and made her way back to Blake.
"Emerald's immune…" the redhead started to mutter. "This changes things… lots of things…"
"How so?"
"You remember the Emerald I fought back in your world, right? She could cause hallucinations? And she was on the other side?"
"That's… a pretty big conclusion to jump to, you know. It looks to me like she's behaving just fine."
"But she claimed she had a crush on me before. If she's immune, that's impossible."
"… … …I'm not sure if I should respond to that or not."
"Look, the point is that something about this whole situation stinks. And not me, either. I've got a bad feeling that something's gonna happen…"
"In that case, why don't we… go back to the room… and take advantage of the other's not being there…?"
"… … …Do you ever get tired?"
"You haven't worn me out yet…"
Blake hooked her arm through Rose's as the pair made their way back out of the cafeteria without a care in the world.
Neither of them bothered to turn and check on Emerald. If so, they would have noticed her crimson eyes locked onto the two of them as they left, set in a look of determination.
…
Midway through the next day, Emerald approached Blake. She wanted to head over to the BMAC to tweak their weapons and talk about Rose for a bit (most girls here loved talking about Rose, so it was no big deal).
Still convinced that this Emerald was on the side of good, Blake casually agreed and went along. She would later curse her naiveté.
Moments after she entered the main building, something struck her on the back of the head. She blacked out instantly.
…
Blake awoke in a room that was almost pitch-black, the only light coming from the crack under a door. Her hands were tied behind her back, but her feet were left free. She could barely move, but other than a headache there was no pain.
But then the door opened, and Blake was quickly blinded by the light from outside. Several hands roughly propped her upright against the wall as her eyes adjusted, and an eerily familiar voice mused, "Well now… I knew you were resourceful, but I never expected you to make it all the way here…"
Another Blake Belladonna stood before the stunned teen. On her face was a mask nearly identical to the one worn by Adam Taurus.
Her smug grin was also the same as his.
"I thought leaving you tied and gagged in Haven's basement was enough to keep you quiet, but I guess I'll have to break both of your legs this time. No one gets in my way… least of all myself," she chuckled.
The men with her all wore White Fang masks, but she didn't recognize any of them. They carefully placed a large block of stone under each of Blake's knees as the masked copy pulled a sledgehammer from her side. Amber eyes went wide as Blake realized what was about to happen.
Masked Blake's grin turned feral as she growled, "…This won't hurt a bit!" and swung the hammer down, aiming right for Blake's left thigh…
But it was stopped short by a gloved hand. A hand that came out of nowhere.
"What?!" Masked Blake barked.
Where and how Yang had appeared was almost as mysterious as everything else that was happening right now. Blake was getting dizzy trying to make sense of it all. Yang was a blur as she made short work of the White Fang grunts that were holding Blake down.
"You okay? Did they hurt you?" she asked as she got Blake untied.
"I'm… I'm alright…" came the breathy reply. That was too close for comfort.
"No one could find you yesterday, so Rose had me hit up Emerald for information. That's what led me here. Was that your evil twin or something?"
"Your guess is as good as mine…"
At first Blake assumed the duplicate to be the original Blake of this world… but what she said didn't fit into that theory. She almost seemed to be a …replacement for the original, instead. Like she was here to kill the original and take her place…
If so, that meant there was another Blake out there who needed help… but that would have to come later.
Yang and Blake quickly dashed outside, where they were joined by Rose. The masked Blake had been stopped in the main square just beyond the BMAC main building.
"Ah, my Rose… my lovely Rose… I was going to wait a bit longer, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. Come to me, my love!"
Rose responded by leveling her massive Crescent Rose Mk-II at the masked imposter and growling, "Blow it out your ear."
"Well said," Blake declared as she took a stance next to the muscular redhead, Gambol Shroud drawn and ready to go.
Yang took a stance on Rose's other side, not replying but still looking ready to kick someone's ass. Just like old times.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a massive wall of ice suddenly surrounded the area they were in, forming a massive enclosure. Weiss landed lightly beside Yang, taking up her own attack pose.
Team RWBY had gathered… in a world that it didn't even exist in.
Four-on-one should have been an easy fight, but the masked woman had a ferocity that Blake had rarely seen in anybody. She fought like Blake, but faster and stronger than the faunus could have ever imagined. She used a similar semblance, but rather than shadow clones, this Blake created one solid clone at a time that could move around and fight for a minute before dissolving.
It was a hard fight. Everyone sustained some sort of injury before it was over. Blake was startled at how well Yang and Weiss could work together in this world. She and Rose were not as coordinated, but they managed well enough.
Blake managed to land the killing blow, but not before taking a bad cut to the cheek. That mask fell away at the last moment, giving Blake alone a look at the imposter's unmasked face…
Her eyes were not amber yellow – they were silver. Like Ruby's.
No sooner did Blake register this detail than the body of the imposter… melted. The body simply flowed into flesh-colored goo and went splat all over the sidewalk.
Needless to say, no one quite knew what to make of that.
…
The rest of Blake's stay was pretty boring by comparison.
Rose and Blake, as well as Yang and Weiss, updated Ozpin on what happened. The headmaster immediately contacted Haven Academy regarding the possibility of a student trapped in the lower levels of the school. Before the day was out, they had their answer – another Blake had been found and rescued, and was now in the care of a Mistralian hospital.
Emerald Sustrai was arrested and placed in the same ward as Coco, mainly due to her sudden bout of maniacal screaming about 'master' and 'the goddess' which seemed to come out of nowhere. She also complained of pain in her neck, but there were no obvious signs of any damage.
As such, both teams ROCC and WYZE were each left without one member. Ozpin proposed that the remains of the two teams work together on missions until the issues were settled, which all six students agreed to.
Team WYZ-ROC was born. Rose and Weiss shared leadership duties.
And of course, Rose and Blake shared a bed. Every night.
Octavia and Ceil ended up moving into team WYZE's room for the duration of Blake's stay. Their reason? Too much noise at night.
Blake certainly wasn't going to complain about it.
By the time the 'Lifeline Protocol' screen appeared on her scroll, Blake's face had gained a scar from that cut. Her heart had also gained a scar – since she'd settled with the fact that she'd likely never see her real friends again.
But in return, she had Rose. And that was enough.
If only she had never hit that 'confirm' button…
…
… … …
… … … … …
Remnant-5815
(Carmine's World)
…
How Carmine remodeled half of her lab overnight was quite the mystery. Where once there had been a vast computer bank and lots of techno junk, there was now a vast computer bank and a large teleportation… room… of some kind.
How much coffee had been consumed to get this much done in less than 12 hours? That was a scary thought…
"Okay guys, let me walk you through this thing. You'll be using it a lot before this is all over…"
Carmine hopped up onto the vast platform and pointed to the first of three glowing circles in the floor, as well as connected circles in the ceiling above each. "From left to right, these are platforms 1 through 3. Each one is connected to your scrolls remotely once used, so when you return, you end up on the exact same platform you left from…"
Yang, Blake and the newly-named Snow stood watching the proceedings. Only two of the three seemed to be paying full attention.
"Yang, you can use platform 1 today. Blake, I'm putting you on platform 2."
The brunette responded quickly, "Wait, what? Why me? Where am I going…?"
"I'm sending you out to replace a sensor that went offline. It'll be a simple job – just get in, swap the sensor with a new one, then leave."
Blake merely blinked, trying to process this new information.
Carmine glanced at the group, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes, "What? Did you think I set all this up just to send one of you out? Once? I've got a ton of back-work to catch up on, and you three are the perfect guinea pigs… I mean, volunteers… to get it done for me. :3"
"Wait… you're putting us to work?" Snow asked carefully.
"I quit," Yang said a moment later.
"Your other option," Carmine said threateningly, "…involves raw sewage and mechanical repairs. And there isn't enough shampoo in all of Vale to keep up with that…"
Lavender eyes flashed crimson.
"Don't sweat the details, it's fairly simple work. At least, Rain never complained…"
"We're doing her job…?"
Carmine paused her machinations, "…I admit, she usually doesn't stay out this long. I still think she's fine, but… no sense waiting around forever."
"What about me…?" Snow offered.
"Not for a few more days yet, Weiss…"
"Snow."
"Sorry… Snow… Your body needs a bit more time to re-adjust to a different world. Any travel is still to unhealthy for you right now. At most you'll need another two days."
Snow sighed, holding back a smile of relief, "Very well."
The Mad Scientist handed Blake a small device, which the cat faunus stowed in one of her belt pouches. "Your scroll will direct you where you need to go and give you directions on what to do once you're there. Now then…" Carmine sat at the console and began prepping the machine. As before, most of the electronics made very little noise – other than a light hum, no one could tell things were running at all.
As Blake stepped up to the mysterious 'platform 2,' Snow stopped Yang and gave her a tightly folded piece of paper. "This is the location of my house," she said calmly. "…And directions to my jewelry box. It's not locked. My ring is white gold with a large sapphire stone. You'll know it by the color – it looks like the inside is frozen in ice. Sam said it was called a 'Snow Sapphire.'"
"Wow," Yang said as she tucked the paper in one pocket, "Can't wait to see that."
Snow leaned in and gave Yang a gentle hug, "Thank you… for doing this for me."
"Don't thank me 'til I get back, you know?"
As Yang and Blake took their positions, Carmine shot a few more words their way: "Once you're there, you're there to stay until you trigger the return program on your devices. It's best not to linger too long, but you have more time than you think. No longer than a year should work before you risk …damage."
The three teens blinked at each other. A year was more than enough… right?
"Also, I'm setting your devices to bring you back to exactly five minutes after you leave. Whether you stay for a week, a month, or six months, only five minutes will pass here. All I can do on my end is monitor the status of your device – once you're out, there's nothing I can do to intervene."
Snow waved a meek goodbye as the two novice travelers were engulfed in a bluish-green light…
\_ … _/
\_/
Yang grew up on the island of Patch, so she was familiar with the ocean – she just hadn't seen it since joining Beacon.
It now sat in front of her, just begging her to jump in and splash around like a little kid again. The salty smell of the air, the cool sea breeze… this was real. On either side of her, the sandy shoreline stretched for miles in both directions. Off to her right stood a tall lighthouse on a rocky bluff – it was morning and a clear day, so the light was off.
Before the blonde even had time to pull Snow's note from her pocket, an irritated voice behind her growled, "Oh you have got to be kidding me…!"
Yang expected several things as she turned, but what she saw was certainly not one of them: Sapphire Schnee. The Atlesian Specialist from another world was standing less than 50 feet away, looking exactly as she did the day she was sent home.
"Well… you're here, and this is most definitely not home. It appears Carmine screwed up again."
\_ … _/
\_/
Blake was, once again, stuck on the tallest spire in the city.
At least it wasn't raining here.
Either the gods hated her or Carmine was being an ass. Maybe both.
All around her stretched a gleaming city of steel and glass, far more expansive than anything she'd seen before, but no less modern in design. Numerous other buildings stretched to the sky like the one she was on, but none as high as this. As far as she could see, there was no way down save for jumping…
"Excuse me, miss… I don't know what's wrong, but this isn't the answer. I can recommend a few good therapists, so please don't jump."
Blake turned slowly, hoping against hope that the voice belonged to someone she wanted to see. And for the most part, she wasn't disappointed.
It was Yang. And she was flying.
The blonde was dressed not unlike a superhero from the comics Ruby always read. She wore a black and red jumpsuit that left a few areas of skin revealed at the hips and shoulders, as well as a billowing red cape. Matching boots and gloves finished the ensemble.
And she was flying.
"I wasn't planning on jumping, dummy," Blake said loudly over a sudden gust of wind. "Instead of gawking, how about getting me down…?!"
"No need to shout, you know. And my name's not 'dummy' …it's Ruby."
…
… … …
… … … … …
Remnant-0113
(Chibi World)
…
Roman's eye had been twitching all day. These …tiny people were slowly driving him insane.
After the initial shock of seeing everyone from back home in that weird super-deformed shape, all the man could do was tuck himself into a corner and hope none of them spotted him. One corner near a building worked fine for that, and he'd been standing there for the better part of the day ever since.
That Damned Kid was the one he saw the most, running around and causing general mischief. Her team was never far behind, nor a few others he'd seen off and on.
If something didn't happen soon, That Damned Kid would be the first to get herself shot by his cane. Or maybe he'd just kill all of them…
Roman's thoughts were interrupted by a brief flash of light just to his left. He looked, expecting to see another mutant person, but this one was a taller version of short. She actually reached higher than his waist… just.
Neopolitan, gods bless that little woman, found him quickly and grinned. She gave her umbrella a twirl as she bounded over to his hiding spot. The only thing different about her was a big-ass watch on her wrist. It looked like a spank ray, really.
"Please, please tell me you can get us out of here," Roman pleaded, ready to fall to his knees and beg if he had to.
The multicolored woman proudly patted the device on her wrist, then placed his hands around one of her arms, making sure he held on tight. She used her free hand to hit a few buttons, then…
The pair vanished in another flash of light.
The chibis were none the wiser.
… … … … …
… … …
…
A/N: Wow, that got deep in the beginning didn't it…?
This chapter marks the end of the prelude stuff. Starting next chapter, each member of the team gets a starring role in a whole new world (but not Weiss, not yet… she'll join in when she's ready). Each set of worlds they visit before heading back to Carmine's world to regroup will be called 'Rounds.' Chapter 24 will be the first part of Round 1.
And no, I haven't forgotten about Ruby… ;)
=^w^=