Chapter 7: Pride of Four
Hey all, this is the Pride of Four starting initiation, where the cast will see the more powerful alternatives in the universe. All of this was written by Sivam who gave me permission to use. Though it brings me some shame that I had to shorten it a bit. Trust me, typing is a pain sometimes.
After this, I'll be spending the next few chapters not focused on fanfiction, but other media types like TV or something. Now start reading.
As the next screening was about to begin, everybody couldn't wait to see what would come next. Although Blake felt uncomfortable as she glanced over at Adam's possibly dead body. She honestly couldn't tell, considering that he had been knocked out by a giant bass fish used by Cinder. A fish that now laid in her lap, after the Fallen Maiden had given it to her.
Blake scowled. I swear to the gods, if she gave me this fish because I'm a Cat Faunus…
She shook her head, clearing her mind of those vengeful thoughts. She looked toward their host.
"Hey, Mayden," Blake asked with a worried tone. "Is Adam going to be alright?"
"Don't tell me you actually still care for him?" Weiss said, looking none too pleased that her friend might still have feelings for the murderous extremist.
Blake just shook her head in response. "N-No. I'm just… you know."
The truth was Blake didn't really like Adam; in fact, it would be fair to say that she despises him. Especially so given how much of a monster he's become. The last screening especially showcased his more… psychotic tendencies. But still, a tiny, rather miniscule part of still cared for him. But only just a little.
Unlike Adam, she actually can feel empathy.
"Don't worry, Blake," Mayden said with no worry. "Adam will be back to life in no time."
"Oh, well, that's a relief- wait, back to life!?" Blake balked, with the audience immediately checking on Adam. True to what Mayden said, the young man was really, positively, absolutely, and undeniably dead… and he was killed by a fish, of all things.
"How Humiliating…" Neo's sign read. Death by fish to the head was a rather pathetic way to go. It was a sentiment shared by everyone.
"Hold on, are you saying we can actually die here?" Ironwood worryingly asked. So far, This "Keeper" has shown himself to be rather irresponsible, especially with these rules placed about their so-called protection. The last thing the general wanted was to die in a manner like Adam.
"Yes, you can." The Keeper confirmed, paying no mind to the many shocked gasps made. "Luckily, I can just revive you in a snap. Okay, well, maybe not a snap. Actually, unlike other keepers, I'm not that great at reviving the dead. It'll take about… ten minutes or so, I'd say. Coincidentally, that is enough time for you all to watch the next scene."
"So he is coming back to life… how disappointing." Cinder frowned, rather upset by this development.
Emerald, Neo, Mercury, and even a few of the hunters agreed in their own way. The Bull Faunus hadn't really endeared himself to anyone, given his typically brooding speeches about "Blah, blah, Faunus, blah, blah, my ex-girlfriend". In their opinion, he would have been more endearing if he didn't act like some teenaged edgelord still going through his Goth phase.
"In any case, I shall start the next world." The Keeper declared, before using his unique powers to lift Adam's body, guiding it to an open door that instantly appeared. "In the meantime, I'll start the revival process… Hopefully, this near-death experience will 'help' him."
They were unsure how to feel about how this would 'help' Adam. Then again, it wasn't like many of them cared, considering the Bull Faunus' many crimes.
"Oh, before I leave I should say one thing. The world you're about to see is a bit… unique, as it has counterparts of you that are OP." Ren raised a brow.
"What do you mean, OP?" Ren asked, recalling that OP meant "Over-Powered" in those comics Jaune reads. Or in those trashy fanfictions that Nora sometimes reads. He often wondered what exactly "Renora" means, but Nora typically just waved it off.
"You'll find out… Bye." With that the Keeper's voice vanished, along with his presence. Cinder secretly tried to summon her flames, but found that she was still unable. It appeared the rules were still in effect. It was just a minor setback, in her opinion.
The screen then came to life, showing an all-too familiar scene, Beacon's initiation exam.
Ruby had to admit, her landing could use some work. It was still pretty early in development, so of course it wasn't perfect, but she would have to work on it sooner rather than later
Her face did not function as a cushion for her fall as much as she would have liked. Rearing her head back, she spewed forth the chunks of dirt and grass that managed to become lodged in her teeth
Brushing the rest of the dirt out of her hair, she pushed herself to her feet and strolled off into the woods. As she traversed the forest, she could make out the distinctive sounds of fighting from the other hopeful initiates. The Grimm howls echoed through the trees, and it made her blood rush with excitement. The prospect of battle was closer than ever now. She had spent so many years just training and sparring with her family members. Signal was excruciatingly boring. Most of the students there barely lasted more than fifteen seconds against either her or Yang
She wanted a challenge.
"Fifteen seconds? Strange," Qrow didn't recall Ruby or Yang ever being that good in a fight. Sure, he'd seen his nieces quickly finishing some spars back at Signal, but they were usually over after a minute. Maybe Yang's counterpart was exaggerating.
Although, holding out on hope in thinking that any Grimm would challenge her was like waiting for a turtle to finish a marathon. The prospect of that happening was just too far-fetched and out of her imagination. No Grimm she had encountered in her life had been tough enough to withstand her overwhelming power. She crushed them like they were made of clay, and made a sport out of hunting them down with Raven and Yang. Summer didn't approve, but it wasn't like she could stop Ruby as she got older. Beowolves, Boarbatusk, Creeps, and Ursa Minor were boring and fell like dominoes when Ruby and Yang started trying. Ursa Majors and Alpha's were a little more fun, but they only lasted about a minute more than their lesser counterparts.
"Raven!?" Yang was shocked to hear that her mother was actually living with her in this universe. She was so surprised that she completely ignored the admittedly noticeable fact that Ruby can supposedly kill Grimm with ease. Even Qrow was surprised, considering that his eyes widened a bit.
"No way… Auntie Raven?" Ruby whispered in awe. While that was shocking, she was more focused on how her mother was still alive. Just what kind of universe was this?
Ozpin's non-existent eyes narrowed, watching the universe from inside Oscar's mind. Just what exactly did Ms. Rose's counterpart mean about Grimm being weak enough to fall like dominoes?
As Ruby continued to walk, she strolled into a clearing and almost immediately was surrounded by a pack of hungry Beowolves. She smirked as she cracked her knuckles, tilting her neck to get out the last few cracks. She bent down, stretching her legs, leaning from side to side as the animals encircled their prey. They had her surrounded, but little did they know that they were the ones who were trapped. She was itching for an excuse to let loose seeing as how she hadn't fought in days, and now she finally got to go wild.
"Beowolves huh? 'Bout seven of you…" Ruby smirked giving one final stretch. "This is gonna be a piece of cake!"
The first Grimm charged blindly towards Ruby, she lazily maneuvered out of the way and delivered a devastating spin-kick to its side. Her foot sunk into its flesh from the absurd force behind the impact. The Beowulf didn't even have time to roar before it blasted off, through the tree line and disappeared. Bouncing on her toes, Ruby dared the next few Grimm to attack, despite the monsters' noticeable hesitation.
The next few Grimm rushed her all at once. Using her jaw-dropping speed, she vanished from sight causing all the Grimm to stop in their tracks. The female fighter appeared above the closest one, throwing her fist down and driving the unsuspecting Beowulf into the ground. Using the momentum from the attack, she rebounded into the air, kicking the next two Grimm that tried to attack her from behind, with both feet, one for each Grimm. The two monsters crashed against nearby trees, their bony exoskeletons snapping and folding in on themselves before the body finally turned to smoke
Ruby landed with a level of grace that would make a gymnast jealous, grinning madly in the process. There was almost a hungry look in her eyes
Without even looking, her sixth sense forced her elbow backward, impacting an attacking Grimm right in the snout. It stumbled back, but Ruby was already on the attack. She turned and closed the distance in an instant. Bringing her knee up, she slammed it straight into its chin, and in the same movement, she flipped, bringing her opposite leg down atop of the Beowulf's neck. The satisfaction of hearing bone crack beneath its flesh brought Ruby a disturbing, yet satisfying smile to her face as the Grimm's wails were silenced, its lifeless body turning to smoke under her leg. That still left about five more Grimm to deal with. She toyed with the idea of using Crescent Rose against fodder like this, but she decided against it.
Her baby wouldn't be wasted against such weaklings like these!
She dashed forward, a grin on her face as she threw her fist forward towards one of the Grimm. It wasn't nearly fast enough to dodge it, and her fist went straight through it, its body dissipating into a smoky black cloud almost immediately. Deciding to use a bit more strength and speed, she zipped around the clearing with blinding speed, flattening and butchering the poor unsuspecting Beowolves before they even had a chance to scatter. With nothing but her physical strength, she had dispatched an entire pack of Beowolves without even breaking a sweat. She straightened up as the last Beowulf evaporated and exhaled
"Barely even a warm up! Come on, I could have easily wasted these creeps when I was four! How do huntsman have so much trouble against these things!? It's like they are made of paper," Ruby moaned as she turned around, giving her arms another stretch. A painful pop in her arm caused her eyes to bulge, before shrinking back into a state of relief and pleasure. "Oh, yeaaaaaaah… that's the spot. I'm so awesome!" she finished as she took out her scroll and swiped through the messages. Glancing at her objective, she aimlessly looked towards the direction she needed to go. Apparently, there was a temple at the end of the forest with relics they needed to retrieve
She shrugged nonchalantly. Sounded easy enough.
If the cast hadn't been surprised before, now they were just completely shocked by what they've seen.
They had just seen Ruby Rose, who couldn't throw a punch to save her own life, take down all those Grimm with her bare hands, and in little to no time. The Ruby on screen even gloated about how a four year old version could beat them up. Just how can she do this? Oh, how they wished Mayden was there with them, to provide some expositional background.
"No way... Am I really that good?" Ruby said with stars in her eyes. Yang was honestly quite impressed by her sister's alternate. Qrow had actually spilled a bit from his flash, being so amazed by this Ruby that he forgotten to screw the cap back on.
Cinder, on the other hand, just stared silently at the young Rose on screen, gauging her strengths and calculating contingency plan. She would need a lot of them, should her Ruby prove to be just as powerful.
As Ruby turned to head off in the direction she needed to go, she saw a familiar girl leaning on a tree watching her. She wore an amused smirk and had her arms crossed in a relaxed manner.
"Thank goodness you're an easy person to find," Weiss stated, rolling her eyes in the process. Ruby practically jumped for joy. "Do you realize how much noise you were making? Compared to everyone else, it was quite easy to track you down from where I landed," she finished, walking up to Ruby and giving her a friendly smile. The smaller Rose grinned, her cheeks flushing red at the embarrassment of being too loud. If Weiss was telling the truth, then half the forest would have heard her.
"Weiss!" Ruby cheered, practically shooting into the air with glee. It was clear to anyone watching that the red-caped girl was on the verge of bursting at the seams with excitement. "Yay! We're partners. I can't believe we found each other this quickly! Oh, we are going to kick so much butt! I can't wait!" she laughed, already bouncing on her feet, throwing a few punches and kicks at an invisible opponent. Weiss merely chuckled, twirling Myrtenaster in her hand.
"Dawww⁓ look, Weiss," Ruby cooed, glomping the heiress. "Even in another world, we're still the bestest of best buddies."
"Yes, Ruby, we are… now please let go of me." Weiss warned with burning cheeks.
"Come on then, let's go. We need to find those relics. That is the same objective right? I checked my scroll when I landed," she questioned. Ruby nodded vigorously. "Very good, we are on the same page. I wonder if the next two people we make eye contact with will make up the rest of our team? Could that be what Ozpin was referring to? If it is, this system is kind of questionable. I'm not sure how I feel about this, although I am glad you are the first person I found," she finished with a smile. Ruby grinned, blushing at the girl's kind words.
"Aw, stop it. You're making me blush!"
Ruby's hug grew tighter, with Weiss still trying to push her off.
"Yeah, you're right," Weiss sighed. "Wouldn't want to inflate your already massive ego. You are impulsive enough as it is," she smirked as Ruby's face twisted into a pout. The shorter girl frowned at Weiss, as the taller girl turned around and walked towards the treeline, aiming for the directions marked on her scroll. She couldn't help but chuckle at Ruby's mumbles from behind her back. Weiss was glad she had made a friend like Ruby, a girl so easy to get along with. It almost felt natural, as if she were used to holding conversations with the girl. It couldn't be because she was a faunus like her, right? That would be ridiculous.
"Faunus!" Weiss shouted in shock. Upon closer inspection, the audience saw that, yes, both the Ruby and Weiss on screen actually having a tail.
"Woah, I'm a faunus in this world. Neat." Ruby simply said, not at all bothered by this. She always wondered what she'd look like if she had a cool trait like that. Blake herself thought that the two looked rather nice.
Weiss wasn't sure how to process this new information, but she ultimately decided to just accept it. Mayden did say that the multiverse was vast, and that contained many unique versions of themselves. So what if this version had a tail? In all honesty, she was just glad that her father wasn't here to see this. Who knew how he'd react?
The two teen female faunus made their way through the vegetation of the forest. It was mostly an uneventful journey towards the temple at the other end of the valley, and they were hoping to reach the area in the next hour or so. They decided it was best to conserve their energy, seeing as they would undoubtedly have to fight more Grimm later, not that it would be much trouble for them, given the difficulty of defeating the common fodder Grimm. Weiss had seen the end of Ruby's little bout with the pack of Beowolves, and she was vastly impressed with the ease and finesse that she dispatched them with.
Her form and grace were on par with her own when it came to fighting, not to mention her concentration and almost second nature movements when it came to dodging attacks from behind. It even served to remind Weiss how much Ruby fought like her. Despite carrying weapons, hand to hand combat seemed to be the fighting style they both prefer
While Weiss thought over her partner's unique fighting along with some faults, Ruby spoke up.
"I feel like we've been walking for hours!" Ruby moaned childishly. "When are we going to get there?" she continued to whine, much to the Schnee's ire. Weiss' eyebrow twitched. While she admired a lot of things about Ruby, this was one thing she did not seem to like. Ruby had the attention span of a toddler. Nothing entertained her except the idea of fighting and growing stronger. She was thoroughly bored of walking, and she paid no mind in letting Weiss know every single little detail.
Weiss looked over at her partner, asking "Really, Ruby, I mean, really?"
Ruby just blushed, rubbing the back of her head and giggling rather embarrassedly. "Well, it's true."
"Ruby, it's been a little more than twenty minutes. I'm sure if we keep at this pace, we will be there in the next twenty," Weiss retorted quickly, trying to hold on to her patience that seemed to be slipping with each word that came out of Ruby's mouth. Weiss wouldn't consider herself the most patient person in the world, but she knew that Ruby's insistent whining would be enough to drive any sane person up the wall. "Besides, it's not that bad. We are just walking; it's better than standing still and waiting for the action to come. We are more likely to run into something if we keep moving."
"It's been twenty minutes!? I can't believe this! I thought initiation was going to be full of action! Where's all the Grimm!?" Ruby whined. Weiss groaned. Thankfully, it didn't take another twenty minutes to reach their desired destination. When they arrived at the temple, they found a small concrete structure with several pedestals. On top of each, sat different colored artifacts. They looked like giant chess pieces, so Weiss was questioning their relevance to the exam, but the picture on her scroll didn't lie. These were the objects they were looking for.
After gazing at the chess pieces for a while, Weiss and Ruby easily concluded that there had to be more concrete structures around. There only seemed to be about twenty odd pieces, while there were at least over a hundred students in this exam, which was the deciding factor for their entry to Beacon! If this was all there was, their year group was going to be disappointingly small, something which Weiss and Ruby hoped wouldn't be the case.
"Oh yeah, you know I was always wondered about that." Qrow thought aloud, scratching his fuzzy chin. He always wondered why there were only a few chess pieces in the ruins. Now, he knew.
"Hey, Ozpin, I have to ask. But did you really do that?" Oscar asked the headmaster in his mind.
"Indeed. I make certain that only those who've proven themselves reach the pieces. Beacon is focused on polishing the diamonds in the rough, as one would say." Oscar had to admit, it did make some sense. Cultivate and train only the best, so that they can become greater than they were. Then he looked at Jaune and he realized something.
"But what about Jaune, I heard from Ruby that he cheated his way in." Ozpin stayed silent for a bit when Oscar mentioned that little bit of news.
"...He's proven himself to be quite the capable warrior."
"But he still cheated." Oscar reiterated, but Ozpin stood by his opinion.
"He still passed, didn't he?"
"I think these are the pieces. That was quick," Ruby commented, causing Weiss to groan. While Ruby was right in the sense that Weiss was expecting their journey to take another twenty or so minutes, she couldn't help but groan at the fact that the silver eyed girl had the gall to say that their stroll through the forest was quick from all the whining she was doing. "I know we were looking for these things, but really? Chess pieces? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not sure, maybe it's supposed to represent something metaphorically?" Weiss replied in a curious tone, picking up a white knight chess piece and tossing it to Ruby. It was only one relic between two pairs, so they decided to pick the most important looking one. They seemed to be the first pair to arrive at the location, evidence being that none of the other relics had even moved or been picked up. Ruby and Weiss absently wondered how they were being graded. Were there cameras all over the forest? How were the teachers keeping track of their progress? "I wouldn't have a clue. Point is we have completed our objective, so we should probably head back."
Ruby nodded in agreement, but as she went to take a step back in the opposite direction, an earthshaking roar echoed throughout the entire valley. It was loud, high, and enough to cause the faunus teen duo to cover their ears in pain. That roar was undoubtedly a Nevermore. Once the sound subsided, the two turned to each other, Ruby's expression showcasing a grin of anticipation. Weiss could only smirk in response.
"We aren't going back are we?"
Ruby just laughed and took off in the direction the roar came from
"Hey! Wait up! Not that I'm complaining, but a little communication wouldn't hurt you!"
"Come on Weiss! We're going to miss all the fun!"
"Oh, so that's how you found the Nevermore, huh?" Nora excitedly said. Ruby just nodded, while Weiss just rolled her eyes.
"I wouldn't say exactly, but it's definitely close enough, I guess." Yang chuckled.
"Come on Weiss, don't be shy." The former heiress just huffed looking away. The screen went dark, before bringing up another member of the team, the image shown being none other than team RWBY'S resident brawler, Yang.
Yang groaned as she walked through the Emerald forest with her hands resting behind her head. She was beyond bored at this point, and she had only landed about ten minutes ago
Sometimes she found herself questioning why she had even bothered coming to Beacon. Raven was pretty against her decision to attend in the first place, and she only had two reasons for going. The first was to get out and explore the world for what it had to offer, and the second was that she didn't want to be left behind by Ruby who seemed to have much more ambition than she did. Combat was second nature to her, and she almost always wanted to use her physical power to solve the problems in her way. Raven and Taiyang had been pretty adamant that brute strength wasn't the only way through an obstacle, although Raven didn't mind it most of the time.
"So, she actually stuck around this time." Qrow wasn't sure if he should feel happy or not. Sure, Raven actually stayed with her daughter, but he knew his sister better than most. Raven hardly associated with anyone outside of the tribe, and she usually had a motive when doing so. Yang was also wondering the same thing. The two listened closely, wanting to find out more about her counterpart's relationship with Raven.
They did notice that this Yang had a long tail and black hair. Strange, but the hair could be explained as Yang taking more after her mother in this world. As for the tail, well, the only theory they could come up was that Tai was a Faunus in this world.
Stuck at home on Patch, training and living with her mother was rough. Raven was a slave driver, and she constantly pushed Yang to better herself and get stronger. Often she would catch her mother lamenting about certain things, and it was no secret to Yang that she secretly desired to return to her tribe. It was later into her childhood that Raven had explained where she and uncle Qrow had come from, and why she had felt the need to return to them. They had raised them and protected them. They had trained them, and when it came time, she and Qrow were chosen to be the ones to go to Beacon to learn how to fight like huntsmen.
Her tribe had needed that skill, and while Qrow had no desire to return, she still had plans on going back. Yang wasn't sure what to think of this, but as it turned out, it seemed that she was the reason why Raven hesitated to return. Raven's unexpected pregnancy with her made the Branwen hesitate and think twice about returning to those thieves and murderers. Despite all of this, Yang couldn't understand the draw that bothered her mother so much
"Unexpected… Wait, what does that mean?" Yang asked in curiosity, looking at her uncle, who just shrugged at her gaze. He didn't have a clue either, considering Raven and Tai had their little baby-making session during their graduation party. But, Raven's pregnancy wasn't really unexpected, considering they were irresponsible enough to forego using protection.
Yang suspected there was more to this story, considering she started to clue herself into her mother's constant departures into the wild to go looking for someone. All her mother had told her was this person had something to do with her tribe and that she needed to find him
Something wasn't adding up.
Her mother was a… strange person, but she loved her anyway
Yang closed her eyes, a part of her feeling a bit jealous about what her alternate said. It appeared that this version of her, while still having some issues, didn't have the same problems as her.
Ruby noticed her sister's dejected look, and wrapped her sister in a comforting embrace. The two resumed watching, curious to learn more about this world, only to become disgusted with what this Yang mentioned next.
Yang was much less sugar-coated than Ruby was. Summer practically spoiled her at every turn. She loved Ruby so much that she managed to successfully hide all the painful details that Yang was bluntly subjected to. Her biological father was some monkey faunus that had a fling with both Raven and Summer, something which disgusted Yang, but she accepted it nonetheless. There was always something that bothered her about that, and Raven's story behind it. She had questioned Summer about it into her later teens, but the soft-hearted woman had always been very aggressive in avoiding the topic altogether
"FUCKING WHAT?!" Qrow angrily shouted, outraged by this news, his nieces sharing in his righteous fury. So that was why they had Faunus traits? Because some bastard took advantage of Raven and Summer, Qrow's own sister and teammate.
Glynda was likewise enraged. In fact, all of the hunters, male and female alike, had the sudden urge to waste this person, to punish him for using their friend's mothers like that. Even the villains wanted to join. They may be unrepentant mass-murderers, thieves, and traitors, but they drew the line at rape.
"I swear if I find the bastard who did this, I'll..." Yang seethed and gritted her teeth, gripping her glowing hair in rage.
"Just pray I don't find him first..." Nora threatened with a dark aura radiating off her, looking ready to break someone's legs. Ren, for once, would not stop her this time.
Eventually, Yang stopped caring who her birth father was.
Taiyang was all she needed. He was there for her and was all she could ever ask for in a stepfather. Qrow was also an exceptional uncle when he wasn't drunk... then he was a comedic uncle that Yang was allowed to knock around for fun.
"That's rather… sweet, actually." Winter whispered admirably. She may not like Qrow, but she respected his dedication toward his family, being one of his few traits she actually liked. Not that she would say those words out loud. She was going to carry those praises to her grave.
Yang herself was also glad her alternate was as sentimental as her. It seemed that this Yang saw Tai as her one true father, much like how she saw their Summer. She missed them both terribly, a feeling which Ruby also shared, as the young hadn't seen their dad in months. Maybe she could talk to Mayden about bringing him here.
As for Summer, well, she doubted the Keeper can bring back those who've been dead for years.
Yang stopped caring about a lot of the negatives in her life, and while Raven still had an overly depressing attitude towards life, Yang continued to push forward to try and make something of herself. She used her talents, which she was excelling at, to find something that she wanted to do. A huntress seemed like the perfect idea when Ruby had suggested it to her. So she and Ruby decided to attend Signal Academy and learn the ways of becoming a huntress. Much to their surprise, it wasn't all that different to what they had expected.
Go figure. They were raised by some of the best huntsmen around.
Signal was boring for the most part, and Yang scraped through with her superb combat skills and battle prowess. Her academics were barely passable, something that she was constantly grilled for by Taiyang and Qrow, both teachers at Signal Academy. Weapon studies and basic academics were subjects she held no passion for, and it was during those classes that she wondered why she had even bothered going there in the first place. She could have been home training with Raven and getting stronger, preparing to battle the real threats to the world like the Grimm and criminal masterminds.
All the while, Ruby had managed to keep her grades to an acceptable standard and stayed equal with Yang physically. Although Yang had to admit, she was still better than Ruby, and the only thing her half-sister had over her was speed. Yang was willing to bet that it was because the girl had a much smaller frame than her, and the red-cloaked girl was much more flexible than her. Her agility was astounding, and she moved at speeds that even made Raven and Summer gawk sometimes.
So now here she was, at Beacon Academy, participating in an initiation exam that couldn't be any more boring if it tried.
"Where are you at Ruby? Come on, make some noise so I can find you," Yang mumbled to herself. As she continued to walk, she came upon a small clearing where it looked like some Ursa Minor were facing off against an unknown opponent. Yang was hesitant to check, noting the fact that she would be paired with whoever she made eye contact with first, but after a few moments, she decided to throw caution to the wind and check anyway. Judging from how easily the Grimm here were getting pummeled, she was sure that whoever this was, would be pretty strong
Walking in, she saw a familiar looking girl wearing a black bow, kick the side of one of the Ursa Minors' face, sending it flying into a nearby tree. Unable to take the massive force, the tree was uprooted and fell on its side. Yang watched with intrigue as the girl proceeded to decimate the rest of the Grimm without even breaking a sweat. To top it all off, when she was done, she didn't even look like she was warmed up at all! A minor inconvenience to her, something that Yang could completely understand. Most Grimm felt like they were made of cotton candy with how quickly she managed to kill them.
The brawler whistled, catching the bowed girl's attention.
"Hey Blake, it's just me and you again." Yang teased with a wink. Blake rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. It was nice to see that she and Yang would be teaming up again in this universe. Hopefully, things won't turn out the same as they did after Beacon's fall.
"Damn, that was like four Ursa, and you're not even bothered! That's impressive. Couldn't help but notice some of those sweet moves you have going on," she complimented with a smirk. The girl glared at her, her amber eyes meeting her crimson ones. If there was one thing this girl had, it seemed to be an attitude. It wasn't exactly hard for Yang to miss that calculating glare she seemed to have when being complimented. "Name's Yang. You must be Blake, that girl my sister was talking to last night. I guess we're partners now."
"So it seems."
It seemed like an eternity, the two just staring at each other, almost as if they were waiting for someone to say something. The longer this awkward situation went on, the more uncomfortable Yang started to feel. She wasn't great when it came to these silent scenarios, and the fact that Blake just continued to stare at her with a stoic, emotionless expression started to really bother her.
"So, are we going to go find these relics or what? I mean, we are partners now," Yang asked, gazing towards Blake crossing her arms. The bowed girl merely shrugged at the question, forcing Yang to frown somewhat at the girl's lack of communication. It must have been at least two or three minutes, and she had only said three words! Yang could understand being nervous when it came to meeting new people, but this girl didn't even look nervous! She looked like a stone-faced model! Absolutely no expression! "Can you stop that?"
"Stop what?" the girl responded, confusion forming on her features.
"You're just staring at me. It's creepy!" Yang exclaimed. Blake merely raised an eyebrow at her outburst. Blake had no idea what she was going on about. Was she insulting her? No… it couldn't be, but why would she mention anything about her face? What was this about it being unnerving? She was just waiting for the girl to say something! Her mother had always told her if she had nothing to say, don't say anything at all, and wait for people to talk to you! Yang didn't seem to have anything to say, so Blake decided there was no need to reply!
"Uh, sorry I guess? I mean, I wasn't aware you didn't like being stared at. If you want, I can look the other way."
"No!" Yang quickly denied. "You were just staring at me in silence. I was, uh… kind of waiting for you to say something," she finished. Blake's mouth opened in realization, before quickly shutting it. It seemed like this girl was just as equally socially awkward as she was. However, Yang clearly wanted to be friends with her and was trying to make conversation. Since they were going to be partners for the next four years, Blake didn't see any harm in getting to know the girl. Hopefully she was more understanding than other faunus and humans. She did have a similar tail and condition. Brown tail that didn't match the color of her hair. Maybe she had more in common with this girl than she thought
"A tail…" Now Blake was surprised. It was one thing for Yang, Ruby, and even Weiss to be Faunus, but this was a shock to her. Faunus only had one trait, not two, and she definitely did not have a tail.
Did this extra appendage cause any problems for her alternate? From the way her counterpart acted, it most certainly did. Hopefully she at least had her parents around, and that this Blake didn't make the same mistake as she did. The last thing she wanted was to hurt her parents again.
"Sorry, I'm not much of a talker," Blake retorted. She watched as Yang walked up to her and threw her arm around her shoulder. While the gesture made Blake suddenly feel very self-conscious, it wasn't entirely uncalled for. She wasn't entirely sure if making friends was such a good idea, but she at least had to give it a go. All the awful experiences she had endured when she was younger had brought about such a cynical view of bonds and friendship. For the longest time, Blake swore she could do without social interaction, but as she got older, she started to crave it. It was why she held so much value in the people in Menagerie that gave her the time of day. Some people grew out of prejudice, while others embraced it and amplified it. She was lucky that most in Menagerie came to see her as a good person instead of a freak
A faunus with two characteristics.
It truly was a curse.
"No, it isn't." Yang quietly said, but only Blake heard. Blake's response was to smile at Yang in gratitude. While this version of her certainly had her own problems, Blake knew that now she had Yang by her side, things can only get better.
The villains, save for Emerald, honestly didn't care. They just wanted things to move along. No more emotions or touchy-feely fluff, they wanted to see someone suffer. Emerald, on the other hand, was simply watching with rapt attention. She'd always been a sucker for drama.
However, Blake hadn't met someone with Yang's personality before. In a world so dark, it was rare to find someone so carefree and relaxed. She could only hope that if their friendship blossomed enough, that Yang wouldn't see her as a freak when she came to reveal who she really was. In a way, the idea terrified her. She could already tell this partnership was going to be an interesting experience.
"Oh, well that's not a problem. I'm sure that's something we can work on later, but right now, I need to know if you have my back," she questioned. Blake toyed with the idea of replying with a smart, sarcastic comment about the girl having too much hair to even see her back, but she decided against it.
"Sure."
"Then that's all there is to it! Come on, let's go find these relics. I'm getting cramps standing around here. I need some action," Yang replied, slamming a fist into her opposite hand. Blake merely folded her arms and smirked. As Yang turned to walk away, Blake followed without hesitation. As boastful and noisy as Yang seemed to be, Blake didn't mind it all that much. She seemed to hit it off pretty well with this charcoal haired girl. Despite her intimidating appearance, she seemed to have a bubbly personality and attitude. In this dark world, Blake wasn't sure she minded such optimism.
It certainly made for a refreshing experience. She had never had a friend like this before.
Then again, she couldn't remember the last time she had a friend her age.
With their partnership off on a bumpy start, both Blake and Yang traversed the terrain, heading towards the temple at the end of the valley. The two made small talk along the way, small conversations to break the silence seeing as they had yet to run into any danger. It was a rather easy exam, something both of them found a lot of disappointment in. A lot of it was walking, dealing with Grimm, and making sure you didn't get lost. Although that was rather hard considering they had their scrolls to give them proper directions. It was almost impossible to get lost, meaning that this exam was more of a test of common sense more than anything
Without even a shred of difficulty, the two girls made it to the temple and walked up to the pedestals that held the relics they were meant to take. There were only a couple missing, giving off the impression that they weren't the first ones here. The charcoal haired duo strolled up and examined the relics, comparing them to the ones they were sent on their scrolls. It wasn't that difficult to tell them apart, considering they looked like oversized chess pieces. Yang picked up a white knight piece and juggled it with her hands
"How 'bout a cute little pony?"
"Cute?" Blake questioned with a slight frown. "You don't strike me as someone who would label things 'cute'."
"Hey!" Yang shouted, scandalized by this Blake's assumption.
"Sorry, Yang, but I kinda have to agree with her." Ruby said with some others also agreeing.
"Likewise," Weiss agreed, nodding fervently.
"I always thought you were a bit of a tomboy." Nora threw her two lien in.
"Definitely," Ren added.
"Sorry, firecracker." Qrow apologized, agreeing with the others.
"You did break my legs." Mercury said, finding satisfaction in the blonde's increasingly rattled feelings.
"Okay, that one was on you, Peg-legs!" Yang shouted, pointing at the hitman.
"Wow, Yang, just wow. It's one thing to cripple a guy, but to mock the disabled, have you no shame?" Mercury countered, smirking at the girl's flustered face.
Huffing, Yang just turned around, not liking everyone's criticism of her character. So what if she liked motorcycles, boxing, and excitement. She could like cute things too! It wasn't a trait that wasn't exclusive to the so-called girly-girls. Nearly everyone loved cute things.
Well, except maybe Cinder and Adam, considering their personalities.
"Hey, there are some things I find cute. Case and point, your bow," Yang retorted with a shrug, completely missing the slight flinch from Blake. As strong, prideful, and boastful as she was, she still managed to get in touch with her feminine side. Not as much as Ruby seemed to though. The red-caped girl seemed to somehow mix her innocent, naive feminine qualities with her tomboyish fighting addiction. Yang found it humorous sometimes, seeing the reactions from many of their peers. That girl truly was unique, and that gave Yang all the determination to stay ahead of her.
"Uh, thanks," Blake responded awkwardly. She wasn't used to being complimented so often since she lived with her parents. Here she was, being praised for the way that she looks, by Ruby the previous night, and now her sister. The last thing she thought she was going to be complimented for was her looks, and especially by people she didn't really know.
"Yang?" a voice called out, causing both girls to turn. The teen in question turned her head to see Weiss strolling into the area. In her back pocket, a relic was tucked away, and it seemed rather easy by the way her pants were stretching. Seeing as Ruby had a combat skirt with very little pocket space, it seemed Weiss had to carry the object. "Did you just get here?" she questioned lightly. Yang nodded as she gestured to Blake.
"Yep, and sorry but Blake's my partner," Yang retorted with a sympathetic expression. Weiss raised an eyebrow and chuckled slightly.
"Oh, no don't worry about it. I found Ruby. She's my partner."
"Oh?" Blake voiced, looking rather interested in the aspect of those two being partners. If she had any guesses as to the way this exam was playing out, she wondered if the four of them would all end up on one team together. The odds of that happening seemed murky at most, but she still couldn't deny the possibility that it might happen. She definitely wouldn't mind it, seeing as the three girls she had met last night all shared similar faunus traits to her, aside from the hidden cat ears. Blake was more than curious to get to know them should she end up on a team with Weiss and Ruby. "Where is she?" the bowed girl questioned.
"Wait for it." Weiss simply said.
"Wait for what?" Mercury asked, wondering what exactly she meant by that comment.
Before Weiss had the chance to answer, a giant black blur flew over the clearing above them. Upon further investigation, Blake and Yang managed to deduce that it was a Nevermore, one of the stronger and more dangerous types of Grimm. It's sheer size and strength warranted multiple huntsmen, maybe even a team or two to take those things down. The older Grimm were more intelligent and wary of the world, and it was often displayed by the size. Nevermore came in a lot of different sizes, and generally, you could tell how old and strong it was by its size. This one seemed comparable to about two bullheads.
The largest recorded Nevermore that had been killed was said to be about five to six bullheads wide, some saying it could destroy cargo carriers just by flying past them. However, Nevermore were only one type of Grimm, and the different species of Grimm had many different ways to inform the people how old and powerful they were. Size, bone structure, and armor. It could be a multiple of various factors, but with the Nevermore specifically, the size was the way to tell.
The Schnee sighed in an exasperated manner. "She's up there."
The Nevermore roared, accompanied by a shriek of laughter from an otherwise, excited huntress.
"Riding that Nevermore."
"Awesome!" Nora squealed, finding her Ursa-riding tame compared to what Ruby did. Even Glynda was impressed
"Okay, even I can admit that's pretty cool. Props to you, Lil' red, props to you." Mercury complimented, applauding the girl approvingly. Even Neo held up a sign that showed a thumb up. These words of praise immediately earned a stern glare from their Cinder, whom they simply ignored. One had to give credit where credit is due.
Qrow just laughed it up, impressed by his niece's never-ending surprising behavior. Ruby simply blushed under their praise, raising her hood up to hide her red face.
Yang groaned and facepalmed while Blake let out an amused chuckle. The three girls watched from below as the Nevermore circled the sky while Ruby sat on top of its head, Crescent Rose lodged inside of its neck. Ruby was sitting on the edge of the handle, her tail wrapped around it tightly so she couldn't fall off. She looked like she was having the time of her life while the Nevermore was squawking in agony. Yang wasn't sure what she should have been more concerned about. The fact that Ruby delighted in causing monsters physical pain, or the fact that she actively went looking for this kind of amusement.
"A bit sadistic, this one seems," Winter observed, watching the other Ruby's personality.
Ironwood was also in agreement, having known a few comrades who also had the same kind of thrill-seeking sadist streak.
"Wonderful," Yang sighed as she cupped her hands to call out to Ruby. "Hey! You gonna get down from that thing any time soon, or am I going to have to shoot you down!?" she called out. Ruby, from her perched position, managed to gaze over the broad wings of the Nevermore and glance down at the group of three standing around the temple. She waved from her seat, a grin plastered all over her face.
"Hey, Yang! Hey Blake! Are you two partners!? Because that would be really cool!" she shouted back. Blake folded her arms in amusement, as did Weiss as Yang and Ruby opted into having a shouting conversation
"Yes! She is, now can you get down from there so we can talk!? Besides, I remember Summer telling you that riding Grimm was reckless and stupid! You're going to get yourself hurt!"
"Hurt!?" Ruby shouted indignantly. "You worry too much, Sis! I have totally got this!" she finished. However, as she did, she accidentally applied too much pressure to the impaled Crescent Rose and dug further into the Nevermore's neck. It wailed in pain as the flesh holding its head together seemed to rip apart from the strain. Crescent Rose ended up slicing through the neck, beheading the Nevermore completely unintentionally, causing Ruby to fall suddenly.
"Oh, no, I'm falling!" Ruby cried out in fright.
"Don't worry, Ruby, I'm sure you'll be fine." Yang reassured, comforting her sister with a hug.
Weiss' felt her jaw hanging open, her face frozen in a silent scream of terror. Once she was over it, she asked, "Are we just going to ignore the fact Ruby just easily sliced the Nevermore's head with enough force to crush a watermelon?"
Yang just shrugged in response.
"Yeah, I can see why Mayden considered these alternates overpowered…" Jaune commented, with his teammates agreeing with him.
She had just enough time to look back as her precious Crescent Rose freed itself from the monster's neck, her eyes bulging in bewilderment. Blake and Weiss watched with mild fascination as Ruby plummeted to the ground before them, screaming all the way down. She impacted painfully, forming a large crater several meters away from the trio. Yang sighed as she walked over and gripped the end of Ruby's cape, dragging her out of the small hole in the ground unceremoniously
"I'm okay…" she mumbled, the words spilling out her dazed mouth, along with stray bits of dirt and grass. Yang rolled her eyes.
"Oh shut up," she retorted blandly. "I've got this, Yang! Don't worry!" the charcoal haired girl mimicked her sister's voice mockingly. Ruby continued to groan as she was pulled by her red cloak. Once Yang had finished pulling Ruby back towards Blake and Weiss, she let go of the cloak, causing the back of the smaller girl's head to collide with the dirt audibly. Weiss merely rolled her eyes while Blake tried to hide her hysterics. The white coated girl wanted to laugh at the red themed girl's misfortune so badly. Such a free-spirited, happy go lucky girl. Blake couldn't believe a girl like her could even exist in a world like this one.
"I warned you that was a stupid idea," Weiss scolded her partner. "Let's just kill the Grimm. No Weiss, let's ride it. Come on, it'll be fun!" she finished with a scowl. Ruby managed to get to her feet and dust herself off. With her tail still wrapped tightly around her weapon, she unwrapped it and picked it up, quickly folding it down to size so she could clip it to her back. Once she was done, she gave both Yang and Weiss a childish scowl.
"You guys are no fun." Ruby whimpered, wishing her counterpart's team could be as fun-loving as she was.
"Oh, come on! It was cool! I totally would have had that if you two didn't distract me. Besides, this exam is so boring! I was expecting way more Grimm than this!" Ruby complained. Blake raised an eyebrow at this, seeing as Yang had been complaining about a similar thing, but here she was pretending to be the older more mature sister. She really had stumbled upon a group of interesting and likable people. Nothing about these three had rubbed her the wrong way so far. She hoped it would stay that way, seeing as she was beginning to like them. Ruby was about to continue ranting when two strangers emerged from a treeline, one seemingly riding an Ursa.
"Oh yeah!" the orange-haired girl cheered. The Ursa collapsed and seemingly died under her. She pouted childishly. "Aw… it's broken," she moaned. Upon hearing this, Ruby immediately turned to Yang with a scowl, while the older sister tried her best to ignore her sister's glare.
"So she's allowed to ride Grimm, and I can't!? How's that fair?" the small girl cried childishly. As the hammer-wielding girl and her male partner walked up to the group of four, Ruby seemed to be content in starting another argument with her sister. This was becoming apparent to Blake and Weiss, as something of a regular occurrence with the two. After enough glaring, Yang finally turned back to Ruby with a maternal, protective fire in her eyes.
"That's an Ursa! I would like to argue that while still horribly reckless, it isn't nearly as stupid as trying to ride a Nevermore!"
"Sure it isn't, Weiss."
"What was that, Ruby?"
"Nothing!"
"I wasn't trying to ride a Nevermore. I was riding a Nevermore! You distracted me, and I put too much force into Crescent Rose! You made me behead my flying taxi!"
"Why are you so childish!?"
"Why are you such a buzzkill!?"
"You rode a Nevermore!?" The orange haired girl cried, breaking Ruby and Yang out of their spat. "That's so cool! How did you manage that!?" she continued, gushing at the mere idea of riding on the back of a Nevermore. Ruby grinned, about to respond until the girl's partner held up his hand, looking more than concerned at the prospect of riding Grimm in general. "Please, don't encourage her," the boy panted, clearly still recovering from the exhausting venture he and his partner had just endured. However, she was unaffected by it, to his utter astonishment. To this day, Ren couldn't figure out where Nora got all of her energy. It must have been something to do with her semblance having some passive effect on her. Ruby, apparently unhappy at the fact she couldn't tell her fascinating story to Nora, frowned and crossed her arms childishly. Weiss was about to say something when a girlish scream sounded from above them, prompting everyone to look up
"Oh boy…" Jaune groaned, as his face turned red, which he tried to hide with his hands. He recognized that voice better than anyone. The Beacon students and faculty also knew whom the voice belonged to, offering the young man their pity.
"Was that a little girl?" Jaune felt he like he was stabbed in the gut.
"Nah, can't be, Em, it sounded way too high-pitched, even for a girl. What do you think Cinder?" Jaune now felt his pride take a hit.
"Perhaps it was a lost child, Mercury?" Whatever was left of Jaune's dignity was vaporized.
"Ozpin, please tell me you didn't let small children into Beacon."
"Don't worry, General Ironwood, Ozpin said he would never do such a thing."
Jaune simply sunk into his seat, too ashamed to sit proudly.
Jaune Arc had been flung through the air, and before he even had a chance to call for help, he crashed face first into a tree. Everyone cringed at the crack they had heard, and some of them weren't sure if it was the tree bark or his skull. Weiss and Blake were betting on both, seeing as the boy slid down to the ground and practically lay unmoving on his stomach. He couldn't help but notice the vibrations coursing through the ground beneath him, something that the others noticed as well.
"Isn't that Jaune?" Weiss queried with a slight hint of dissatisfaction in her voice. "What's he doing?"
Those who had thought had the scream belonged to a 'girl', looked to Jaune, surprised that he could scream like that. The young Arc groaned, having had to relive this embarrassing moment again. Nora and Ren simply patted their leader on the back in sympathy.
"Forget that!" Ruby squealed in excitement, as she pointed towards the treeline, just in time to see Pyrrha Nikos dive through it, narrowly dodging a swipe from an angry Deathstalker. "It's a Deathstalker! I've never seen one of those before! Oh my gosh, look how big it is!" she beamed. She dashed forward but was immediately stopped by Weiss who grabbed the back of her cape before she could truly speed off. Ruby gagged as her body tipped back and hit the ground. Weiss and Yang merely rolled their eyes
"Good job, Weiss." Yang said, thanking the heiress for saving her sister from an untimely death. This Ruby seemed strong, but she didn't seem that strong. Oh, how wrong she was.
"You are not running off again. Deathstalkers are rumored to be some of the most powerful Grimm. It takes at least a team of four to take them down, you impulsive buffoon!" Weiss insulted, causing Ruby's eyes to widen. Weiss immediately realized what she had just said and spluttered to find words of apology. That was until Yang burst into tears of laughter while Ruby giggled to herself, wiping tears of hysterics out of her eyes. Weiss stared dumbfounded at the two of them before Yang explained
"My mom often calls us buffoon's because we often act before thinking. I kind of grew- well, to be fair, I had it beaten out of me, but Ruby still does it most of the time," Yang explained. The red-caped girl shrugged innocently as she climbed back to her feet.
"I can't help it. The idea of fighting a Deathstalker had me fired up!" she exclaimed. An audible smack was heard as Pyrrha landed right next to the group of teens, looking exhausted. She by no means was hurt, but it seemed she had been running for quite some time. "Oh well, I already had some fun with that Nevermore, I think I can let someone else have a turn. How about you, Weiss?" she asked, turning to her partner with a grin on her face. Weiss gazed at the oncoming form of the Deathstalker. In the next twenty seconds, it would be upon them. Unfortunately, Weiss once again didn't have time to respond.
"Hell no! This one is mine!" Yang declared as she strolled forward. Blake raised her eye at this.
"Oh sure, Yang, say I can't, but you can." Ruby complained, pouting childishly as she crossed her arms.
"Not my fault, you already had dibs on the Nevermore. It's my time to shine now." The blonde warrior smugly said, excited to to see how this Yang fought.
"You think you can take a Deathstalker? You sure you don't want any help with that?" she questioned with an amused tone lacing every word. Yang simply turned her head as she continued to walk towards the oncoming monster. She grinned confidently
"No way! I've got this."
"Alright then," Blake smirked. "Show me what you can do, partner.
Yang turned back to the Deathstalker, cracking her knuckles in the process. Any moment now it was about to take a swing at her, it just needed to close the distance a little more. She wiggled her fingers a little, getting the blood running through her hands since they had been rather cold since the start of initiation. Curling them into the center of her arm, she tensed and slid into a comfortable stance. After a few seconds, the Deathstalker finally had closed the distance, and in a split second, it's left claw came in for a swipe at Yang. The girl maneuvered her body out of the way, dodging it with ease
She then quickly jumped back as its stinger impaled the ground, and using her momentum, she pushed off, firing her gauntlets at the same time to get a speed boost. She zipped right through the middle of the Deathstalker, bypassing its stuck stinger and claws. With a roar, she slammed her fist right into the Grimm's face with incredible force. The bone armor it had to protect its face cracked and shattered like glass. Yang's arm punctured the soft flesh underneath the Deathstalkers armor and plunged her hand right into its face.
Cocking her gauntlet, she fired a few times until the Grimm went limp. She ripped her hand out of the Grimm and watched with satisfaction as it started to evaporate into smoke. Turning, she walked back to the group of teens with a grin on her face. She took pleasure in looking at the shocked expressions on some of their faces. Ruby was laughing while Weiss looked slightly stunned. Blake looked impressed as Yang raised a hand to high five her. Blake hesitated before accepting the high five. Yang fist pumped
"No way…" Cinder gasped in awe, preparing more contingency plans make plans in case her RWBY proved to be this troublesome. Everybody else, including the girls themselves, were also shocked by this.
"Holy cow, Yang just killed it without even trying." Nora said, equally surprised and excited.
"Ozpin, has there ever been anybody this strong?" Glynda asked Ozpin's vessel, the boy allowing Ozpin to take over so that may answer.
"Never, not as far as I can remember and I have an absurdly long memory." Ozpin answered, completely astounded by what he had just seen.
"Man, am I glad that I wasn't punched by her." Mercury said, shuddering at the thought. He was glad this Yang hadn't battled him during the tournament. He doubted his legs, and everything above those, would survive something like that. Even Neo was glad that her Yang wasn't as ridiculously strong as this one. She may love the rush of battle like anyone else, but she wasn't suicidal.
"Hell yeah! That's how you do it! What a rush!"
"Nice job," Blake commented casually. "A bit ruthless, but quick and effective."
"Eh, fighting people is much more exciting. Grimm feel like they are made of butter, always dying after a couple of hits. It's kind of boring," the blonde shrugged arrogantly.
"Yeah, I have to agree. Fighting other people is much more exciting," Ruby pitched in. Weiss merely sighed
"I suppose," the silver-haired girl commented. "Although I wouldn't know, seeing as I have yet to fight any Grimm as of this initiation. Ruby took all the fun.
"Psh…" Ruby waved off, giggling a little. "You're just too slow," the girl finished. Weiss scowled at her, causing Ruby to burst into a fit of uncontrolled laughter
"We should probably head back now. We got our pieces, so we just need to head back to the cliffs," Yang interrupted as she and Blake turned to head back in the opposite direction. Ruby and Weiss silently agreed as they ran to catch up with the two girls. Meanwhile, Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, and Ren were left gawking at the sheer strength Yang just displayed. As the four girls walked off, aimlessly chatting towards one another like nothing out of the ordinary just happened, Jaune raised a shaky hand and pointed to the last, disappearing remains of the Deathstalker.
"Did… did she just…"
"Yeah," Pyrrha replied, still in utter disbelief. "She did.
"Awesome…" Nora practically drooled.
Ren merely exhaled, exhaustion starting to overwhelm him. These next four years were going to be full of excitement, and he couldn't even begin to comprehend what he had signed up for.
The screen went black.
"Okay...I guess now we know why the Keeper said some alternatives would be OP." Jaune said, to which everyone nodded. Somehow, at least in that universe, team RWBY had become a whole lot stronger. So strong, in fact, that they could tear a Grimm apart within mere seconds. It was a terrifying power; one that Ozpin felt could destroy even the mightiest of the Grimm. Perhaps, even Salem as well.
Cinder wondered rather her mistress could even take on such a threat that those girls represented. A sliver of fear entered her system. One that immediately turned to anger, realizing that her alternate in that universe would no doubt be defeated. This was beyond an outrage in her opinion.
"So how'd you all enjoy." Everyone froze for a second, hearing the Keeper's voice again. From a small light Adam also came back, asleep though but alive evidenced by his shallow breathing.
"Enjoy?" Mercury parroted, staring at the Keeper in shock. "Those girls were freaking monsters."
Team RWBY booed at his words, but he ignored them.
"Yeah, well, that's what happens when one is given the power of a Saiyan."
"A Saiyan, what, pray tell, is a Saiyan?" Ironwood asked.
Mayden went on to explain, "Long story short: They were a race of intergalactic warriors with abilities that would make even the strongest on your world seem like novice pushovers. Their powers are so strong, that the strongest Saiyan could rival and even beat actual gods. They're capable of destroying worlds, even at their weakest."
The strongest Saiyan could overcome the gods? The weakest could destroy entire planets? Now the audience was practically shaking in fear. But then what Mayden said further shocked them.
"In fact, Weiss, in that universe, has an evolved power which all Saiyans can reach. She has the ability to become 'Super', essentially increasing her power, making her powerful enough to destroy the planet if she wanted to." Whatever fear they felt immediately turned to terror, as that just plain unfair. All of team RWBY was that powerful.
Cinder was angrier than before, realizing that nothing in that universe would stop those girls at all. No doubt her alternate would face an easy defeat. The Keeper may be an annoyance, but he certainly wasn't a liar. To think, that there was world where she would be defeated by half-alien huntresses. She fell into despair, into a rut that she feared she'll never escape.
That is, until the Keeper said these next words. "Of course, there is a slight problem with their Saiyan heritage."
"Huh, what do you mean?" Cinder asked, perking up and suddenly intrigued by a possible weakness.
"How can I put this?" The Keeper asked himself, "Well, in the prime universe where the Saiyans originate from, they are most definitely strong. Way too strong, stronger than this version of team RWBY. But that strength is also their curse."
Cinder liked where this was going, "A curse, you say?"
"To compensate for this strength, whenever these Saiyans defeat a powerful foe, they are suddenly facing another and far stronger one. Then they beat that one, and then another shows up. Rinse and repeat, and sometimes it might be an old enemy who became stronger than before."
"So you're saying… A Saiyan's existence is a never-ending battle." Ironwood asked, with the Keeper ringing a bell, as though it were a game show.
"Correct, but not that they mind, since most Saiyans relish the chance to fight a stronger opponent to test their strength against." As the Keeper continued to explain the Saiyans, while also recounting their fiercest and craziest battles, Ozpin realized something.
"Hold on," He asked, using Oscar's body to answer. "Are you saying that since Ms. Rose, Schnee, Belladonna, and Xiao-long have this power... that they'll soon be facing a stronger foe?"
It wasn't a question, just a cold hard truth.
"Pretty much, yeah," Team RWBY were shocked by this revelation. "In fact, the current god- another god, mind you-" Ozpin sighed in relief. "Actually gave this version RWBY these gifts, because he hates how his world is near collapse yet Remnant hasn't been giving them a challenge. So he and his entourage are going to… Hehehe… spice things up a bit."
"You mean, as in facing a stronger foe, one powerful enough to blow up Remnant with a snap of their fingers?" Ruby asked nervously.
"Yeah, Solaris didn't like how your alternates were always taking the easy road with their gifts. So he and his gang will start giving them a reality check that will definitely make them see that they aren't as powerful as they are. What happens next, I'm not entirely sure, but the creator of that world is still making plans."
Team RWBY gulped, not liking how their dimensional counterparts were about to face such a coming disaster. The villains weren't taking this news any better, if that version of RWBY was beaten, what hope was there for them to survive?
"Hey Keeper, can we see them eat dirt?" Mercury asked, wanting his bruised pride healed. Once again, he ignored the menacing glares of team RWBY.
"I did get permission to see a small parallel of a fight so… yeah. But it'll be quite a while before we do." Mercury nodded in acceptance, just glad he could see those arrogant huntresses eat dirt.
"Anyway, on to the next show, to a universe where logic is thrown right out the window and into a bottomless hole from it can't escape." Mayden said as he began the next clip.
And there ends that, hope you all enjoyed it. Because it was a pain to type down. And as the Keeper said, the cast will see that version of RWBY battle. I got permission from the author to make a non-canon battle, just like with the Invincible Schnee and The Amazing Jaune Arc. For now though, where about to see a new world. One with big heads might I add. Until next time.
P.S. New record on word count. Yay!
Note: The story does not involve actual rape. If you know this, good. This note was meant for anybody who didn't know and read the story and misunderstood.
(Beta-Readers note: Oh, god, my poor fingers.)