Dimension Travelers RWBY
Psychicshipping: So here's the edited version. A beta made some notes on how the dialogue seemed to randomly change between Ruby's current thoughts and Future Ruby's thoughts. I also learned from them that chine is another word for the blade of a scythe. So I fixed up some redundant and repeating phrases and words. I also touched up the chapter overall, adding some stuff, taking away stuff that didn't make a lick of sense, etc. This is the version of the chapter I'll be playing off of for the rest of the story and I feel there's enough of a difference to justify posting this as opposed to just editing over the rough draft. I'd like people to have a point of comparison.
Ruby's POV
Things got pretty wild for a while there, but I'm told that's to be expected when David gets in the mix. I can't say it hasn't been fun, but also kinda scary. But I made it to the end and now I get to go on even grander adventures and see all kinds of new weapons all across the multiverse! I'm getting ahead of myself. It all started when I wanted to give Crescent Rose a live combat trial.
I had just finished my latest modifications to Crescent Rose. Uncle Qrow may or may not have tipped me off to a potential burglary so I could test them out. The modification in question? I had reforged Crescent Rose's blade with the ability to shatter aura much easier. At the time, neither Uncle Qrow nor I knew how I had managed it, just that it made sense in my head when I forged it.
This wasn't an uncommon occurrence over the course of my life. To this day, even if I know how my technomancy works, it can still confuse me sometimes. Ever since I could remember, I've been able to look at weapons or machinery or the like and know how they tick and sometimes even get insight on how to improve them. Even if those improvements sometimes broke the laws of physics as we knew them at the time. Because of this, I had become something of living legend. I remember Atlas' army had tried to recruit me at a young age, but Dad and Uncle Qrow had put their foot down. I did still help create things for them at home, but I wasn't inducted into the army. Sometimes I wonder how things would have turned out had I not supplied hardware to Atlas…
As I grew up, my fascination with weapons and mechanical things led me to a profession where I'd be around those things all the time: being a Huntress. I may have also been a little bit inspired by Yang wanting to be a Huntress too. Still, no other job would let me meet all the weapons people make like being a Huntress. Yang and especially Dad were against it at first, but thankfully Uncle Qrow talked them around. Given everything that would happen and that Dad had lost Summer, my mom, maybe I should have been more understanding?
Anyway, I was 15 and attending Signal Academy at the time. Uncle Qrow was a teacher there and also the one who helped me build what would eventually become Crescent Rose and taught me to fight with it. Oh! I should probably describe Crescent Rose.
The original concept was a scythe/gun combo not unlike Uncle Qrow uses. The first changes were the design of the chine and making my blade extend a little bit behind the handle as well. I also knew I'd rather have a semi-long range option as opposed to Uncle Qrow who doubles down on close range with his shotgun attachment. So I modified the barrel into a DMR. I considered making it a true sniper rifle, but as I learned my own battle style and came into my Semblance, it became clear that something with that much kick would be impractical. Since creating the basic design, I'd been tweaking it here and there over the years. Better muzzle velocity, easier removal and maintenance of the chine, amplification of Dust infused bullets, things like that. Crescent Rose was and still is my baby. She's served me well over the years.
As I said, Uncle Qrow kinda told me a robbery might be going down at a Dust store in Vale called From Dust Till Dawn. I will always maintain that it's a cute name, no matter how much Blake complains that I only think that because Yang's sense of humor has corrupted me. It's clearly because David's sense of humor has corrupted me.
Right, I should be focusing on the story, sorry. It's weird to be narrating your own life and trying to decide what's important, what isn't, and all the random tangents you go off on. I think I have a newfound respect for autobiography writers.
Anyway, I was running low on Fire Dust at the time, so it was pretty convenient for me to swing by, buy my Dust, and loiter around for a bit until Torchwick and his goons tried to rob the place. Of course, I didn't know who Torchwick was at the time or that he had ambitions beyond selling the Dust on the black market, but that all came later. The creeps entered the store and held the shopkeeper at gunpoint and my heart was beating wildly. This was it, my chance to test one of my creations in the real world for myself! I'd show Yang and Dad that I did deserve to be a Huntress!
I would later realize that attempting to stop a robbery in progress with no backup of any kind was childish and foolhardy, no matter how well Uncle Qrow had taught me to fight. It was even more childish and foolhardy to announce my presence before the fight. 15 year old me was nowhere near strong enough to think I could get away with just tossing an advantage like that out the window, yet think it I did. David likes to call me an idiot savant and looking back at some of my decisions, I can't exactly argue with him.
"Hey, leave the old man alone!" I shouted, leveling Crescent Rose at the criminals.
"What's a Huntress doin' here?!" One of the goons exclaimed in fear.
"You idiot!" Torchwick snapped, "Look at her, she's a child. Take care of her while I finish acquiring the Dust."
The goons broke off from Torchwick and advanced on me. Before they could surround me, I sprang forward, catching one of them in the crook of my blade and flung him out the window. With that opening, I followed the grunt out the window. It was better fighting them outside than run the risk of setting off any of the Dust and the more open space was complementary to my fighting style anyway.
I am pleased to report my anti-aura upgrade to Crescent Rose worked as intended. A few strikes and all the grunts were on the ground, some bleeding more than others, but none in critical condition. Learning how much punishment people could take with that particular upgrade had been something of a challenge, but it ended up paying off in a big way. At the time I decided to just keep a separate chine for when I didn't want to use the anti-aura function, but that would eventually become very inefficient. For the moment, I was overjoyed with my success.
"Good help is so hard to find these days," I looked to the door of the store and saw Torchwick carrying a briefcase and sneering at me. He lifted that cane of his at me and I realized a moment too late it was actually a weapon. Thankfully my aura protected me from any real damage, but it dazed me long enough for Torchwick to be halfway up a ladder by the time my vision cleared.
I could have probably ended it there. I had what I wanted, a successful live test of my new modification. Some would probably argue I should have waited for the police or one of the local Huntsmen to show up and maybe catch Torchwick. Like the child I was, I had been riding the badass action hero high and naturally gave chase. Unsurprisingly, Torchwick had been trying to escape to a getaway vehicle, a Bullhead. I got to the roof just as he was climbing inside.
"End of the line, Red!" He shouted and hurled a fire Dust crystal at my feet. It was an effective flash bang, but I wasn't the only one prowling the streets that night. When my vision cleared, a Huntress stood in front of me. She immediately went on the offensive, using her Semblance to pick up small stones and debris from the rooftops and hurl them and great speed at the Bullhead. Then, using ice and lightning Dust, created a hailstorm to try and bring down the Bullhead.
Torchwick slipped into the cockpit of the Bullhead and what looked like a young woman stepped out. I say looked like because at the time she was shrouded in shadow and I could only see her legs and Dust infused in her dress glowing slightly. Cinder, for that's who it was, used her fire based Semblance and her Maiden powers to plant some proximity mines at Goodwitch's feet. She dodged and then captured the rubble of the rooftop in her Semblance and sent it flying at the Bullhead. I was deeply impressed by her fine control, but the Cinder was able to incinerate the rubble.
I tried to provide backup with Crescent Rose's DMR, but Cinder seemingly blocked my shots with her bare hands. I still haven't convinced Cinder to tell me how she managed that trick. Anyway, I was about to swap to some Dust enhanced bullets when Cinder set a chain eruption under Goodwitch and I. We were able to dodge out of the way, but it was the opening Torchwick and Cinder needed to escape with the Dust in tow.
Goodwitch leveled a glare at me, but I was impervious to such things! I was looking at a real live Huntress! Sure, Uncle Qrow is a Huntsman, but family just isn't the same, you know? So I did my stereotype proud.
"Can I have your autograph?!" I begged with such naiveté in my heart. Goodwitch's glare intensified.
"Follow me," She ordered and I saw no reason to disobey. That's how I wound up with a criminal record.
"I'm sorry! Don't tell my Dad and Yang!" I pleaded. I was sure they'd never let me out of the house again if they heard I had a criminal record. They both babied me enough as it was, I might have lost it if they smothered me any more than that.
"That, Ms. Xiao Long, has yet to be determined," Goodwitch informed me.
"Uh, it's Rose, actually," I corrected and Goodwitch studied me.
"Not according to the documentation it isn't. I'd think I'd remember the last name of one of the most gifted inventors of the modern day. Rose was your mother's maiden name, wasn't it? You're the daughter of Taiyang Xiao Long, correct?" Goodwitch asked.
"I am…" I trailed off. This had always been a thorny subject for me. Dad and Yang wanted me to carry on the Xiao Long name. They were never demanding about it, but they had made their preference clear. It wasn't like I was opposed to using the Xiao Long name. That was the name that appeared on all my patents, after all. As much as they might frustrate me, I did and always will love Dad and Yang. Even if Yang still hasn't fully forgiven Dad for what he did and didn't do. It was simply that I wanted to keep my mother's memory alive in some small way. So when I was about 9, I told everyone I wanted to be known as Ruby Rose and didn't look back until…well, that's something for a little later.
"Regardless of what you choose to call yourself; your actions tonight were reckless, endangering yourself and others. You could have been killed, you could have gotten the shopkeeper killed, and you could have set off all the Dust in that store! Instead of going to the police or a Huntsman with the tipoff about the robbery, you decided to handle it alone! Not that I expected anything else from Qrow, but I would have thought he'd at least care enough about his niece to-"
"Uncle Qrow knows what I'm capable of! He wouldn't have told me if he didn't think I could handle myself! He cares enough about me to let me test my limits and make my own mistakes!" I shouted angrily. Goodwitch gazed at me with something unreadable in her eyes.
"Whether you leave here tonight with a criminal record is not up for debate. Vigilantism is against the law. However, there is someone willing to make you an offer that would see your criminal record…buried," With that ominous introduction, Ozpin entered the room with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk.
"Ruby…Rose," He said my last name after a pause. He must have overheard my conversation with Goodwitch, "You have…silver eyes." Oh boy did I have silver eyes. Of course I didn't realize what that meant at the time and Ozpin, the manipulative prick, didn't bother to explain why he found my eyes worthy of comment. Ozpin keeping secrets would become a running theme later on and let me tell you, it was very frustrating to know your life was in danger because someone was keeping secrets.
"So, where did you learn to do this?" He motioned to a scroll Goodwitch was holding that was playing security footage from my fight with the goons, "Unless I miss my guess, your uncle has taught you personally." Ozpin said like he hadn't kept tabs on me my whole life for being a Silver Eyed Warrior.
"Yeah, he taught me just about everything I know. I'm studying at Signal, the school he teaches at," I answered.
"Qrow always did have a thing for that scythe of his. But you, that scythe you swung around tonight was no ordinary weapon. Unless I miss my guess, it was able to break these people's aura with little to no extra effort. I daresay that makes your weapon one of the most dangerous ever designed. Not that I would expect any less from a genius such as yourself," Ozpin complimented. He was really laying it on a bit thick. Unfortunately, I fell for his flattery.
"I mean, I've put years and years into Crescent Rose. I love my scythe more than life itself! Of course I'd put my best work into it!" I boasted proudly. Ozpin finally set the plate of cookies before me and I attacked with my usual hunger for best food.
"So how is that dusty old bird these days?" Ozpin asked. Oh how naive I was at the time to think Ozpin was merely poking fun at the way my uncle's name was pronounced.
"He's the best teacher I could have asked for!" I praised, "He's been training me since I was pretty young but he's always let me figure out what style was best for me!"
"So what's a girl like you doing studying to become a Huntress? Surely someone of your talent could be running a multi-million Lien research and design company with no issue. Certainly a much safer occupation," Ozpin remarked. I would later learn Ozpin has a thing about giving people the illusion of choice. Maybe because those he takes over for reincarnations don't have a choice at all? I think this was him offering me an out by suggesting I become a researcher in a lab.
"Being a Huntress won't stop me from inventing. I just think I can do some good while enjoying something I love. I can fight monsters and protect people while studying the weapons everyone else makes for themselves. Sure, I could just stay cooped up in a lab all day, but I want to live! Does that make sense?" I asked.
"More than you realize," Ozpin replied with a faraway look in his eyes.
"So in two more years I'll be done with Signal and then hopefully move on to Beacon. My sister, Yang, is starting there this year," I rambled a bit.
"Do you know who I am?" He asked.
"You're Headmaster Ozpin, the guy in charge of Beacon," I answered readily.
"And you want to come to my school?" He questioned.
"More than anything," I replied with an eagerness I no longer feel. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I went to Beacon and met my wonderful friends. I just wish I knew what I was getting myself into at the time.
"Miss Goodwitch already mentioned an offer. I think you'll find it very agreeable…" And that's how I found myself on an airship with Yang headed to my first day of Beacon.
"I can't believe you got advanced two whole years! That's my genius baby sister for you!" Yang had been going on about it since she found out yesterday. True to his word, Ozpin had covered up the actual reason I had been at the From Dust Till Dawn with Crescent Rose ready to go. No one would think it too strange if I, self proclaimed weapons nut, just so happened to be carrying around my newly upgraded weapon when the store I just so happened to be shopping at got robbed. Crazy coincidences happen every day, right? I wonder if Ironwood helped sweep it under the rug? Seems like something he'd be able to do and as far as I know he was absolutely loyal to Ozpin at the time.
"It was nothing, just me getting a little lucky," I lied.
"What are you talking about?! I saw the fight footage! Everyone at Beacon is gonna think you're the bee's knees!" Yang squealed.
"Really, I just want to observe everyone's weapons and build in peace. I don't want to draw any more attention than I already do," I grumbled. As much as I enjoyed having an adoring public as much as the next person, as an introvert, I preferred a few degrees of separation from people, especially large crowds. I've gotten better about handling it over the years, but some things don't change.
"Too late for that, Rubes, getting bumped ahead two years is gonna get people to be interested, regardless of who you are or the reasons you got advanced," Yang pointed out.
Just then a news report came on one of the holographic screens. That's when I heard Torchwick's name for the first time. To the shock of no one, the man already had a criminal record thicker than some novels. The news also started to cover a Faunus protest gone violent when Goodwitch shut it off to make an announcement.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glenda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. The world is a dangers place and we need Huntsman and Huntresses to help protect the citizenry. You are the future Huntsman and Huntresses. Such an occupation will require courage and skill. It will be our duty at Beacon to refine what you have already learned in your combat schools and help you blossom into the Huntsman and Huntresses you are destined to become," With that speech finished, the hologram faded.
Out the window, I spotted Signal, my old school. I could almost see Uncle Qrow preparing to greet the latest batch of students. I could almost hear the voices of my friends I was leaving behind. It was definitely a bittersweet feeling. Over the course of my time at Signal, I had only managed to make two real friends. Calista and Mimi… I had hopes of them joining me in Beacon in two year's time and I would be able to show them the ropes and get to play the cool upperclassman and we could all laugh at my pretentious act. That never happened, obviously. It still breaks my heart to think of what happened to them.
My thoughts were interrupted by a boy who was clearly having some pretty bad motion sickness groaning in misery. Thankfully, before he could toss his cookies, another boy walked up to him and had him take something. A few moments later and the blonde boy looked to be right as rain. I admit I was curious as to how anyone could cure motion sickness that fast, but I put that on hold as Beacon came into view and our airship started to make preparations for docking.
A few minutes later and Yang and I were taking our first steps at Beacon Academy. It was amazing, seeing all those students with all those unique and interesting weapons. I felt that this was exactly why I had chosen to become a Huntress in the first place. I admit I went full geek mode.
"Relax, sis, they're just weapons," Yang said patronizingly. She knew full well how much that line annoyed me.
"I guess I won't upgrade your Ember Celica anymore, it is just a weapon, after all," I said haughtily.
"Wait! No! I'm sorry Ruby! Anything but that!" Yang begged.
"Well, I guess I could be merciful today. It is our first day as students at Beacon, after all," I said with a smirk.
"Alright, well now that that's settled, why don't you go meet some of the owners of those weapons? Try and make a few friends?" Yang suggested.
"Why would I need to make friends when I have you?" I asked blankly.
"Ruby, you can't cling to me like that. I have my friends and you should have yours. I worry about you, especially about things like this. Please, at least try?" Yang requested.
"I...guess…I can try," I admitted defeat. I didn't intend to try very hard, but I would at least try.
"Good, now I'm sure you don't want your stuffy older sister cramping your style and I see my friends, so talk to you later!" Yang left before I could get another word in edgewise. Like a prisoner on death row, I turned lifelessly to what I thought was my execution. I immediately crashed into Weiss' luggage trolley, sending the suitcases of Dust scattering on the ground.
"Watch where you're going! Are you completely braindead?! You could have set off all this Dust and killed someone!" Weiss picked up a case and started to inspect the contents for damage, "Honestly, what kind of idiot doesn't even look where they're going?! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Uh, some of the Dust is leaking?" I pointed at one of the bottles Weiss had picked up while yelling at me.
"Dang it!" It shouldn't have, but it did and still does amuse me that Weiss swears like a little kid. I know these days she's absolutely capable of swearing with the most drunken sailors, but I think back then she was physically incapable of saying anything worse than 'poop head'.
"I'm sorry. Do you want my help cleaning up?" I asked hesitantly.
"NO! You've caused quite enough damage!" Weiss sneered, "What's a child like you even doing here? There's no way you're old enough to be at Beacon. Unbelievable, not only are you a clumsy clod, but you're not even supposed to be here!"
"I already said I'm sorry, Princess!" I was getting upset at being yelled at.
"Heiress, actually," Blake corrected as she walked into our argument like she had been a part of it all along, "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. What's a spoiled rich girl like you doing in a place like this? Tired of being waited on hand and foot by your Faunus slaves?"
"They are not slaves! We pay them same as any other employee!" Weiss protested.
"OK, I believe you," Blake's body language betrayed how truthful her words were.
"I don't have to stand here and take this!" With that Weiss stormed off.
"Sorry again about the Dust, I'll make it up to you!" I called after Weiss' retreating form, "What a way to start my first day…So, what-" then I noticed Blake was walking away too. I admit I felt a bit defeated. My first interaction with new people in a new school had gone horribly and I was sure it was a portent of the future. Fortunately, I was proven wrong very quickly.
"You're looking a bit down, kiddo. Wanna talk about it?" I looked to see the two boys from the airship.
"Hi, I'm Jaune," The blonde one introduced himself.
"I'm David," The raven haired boy greeted.
"Ruby," I replied.
"The Ruby Xiao Long?" Jaune asked in surprise.
"Yes, but please call me Ruby Rose," I requested.
"Uh, sure," Jaune readily agreed.
"So, Miss Rose, tell us what weighs upon you," David requested.
"It's nothing, it's silly," I tried to brush it off.
"That look on your face didn't look silly," Jaune noted.
"My sister wants me to make friends and so far all I've managed is to spill some Dust and start a racially charged argument," I groaned.
"Sounds rough," David said sympathetically.
"I just want to look at people's weapons and invent in peace, but I promised my sister so here I am," I sighed.
"Does your sister attend Beacon? You're a little young to be here otherwise," Jaune wondered.
"I skipped two years, so I'm now in the same freshman class as her," I explained.
"That's impressive," Jaune said appreciatively.
"Yeah, and I owe it all to this!" I pulled out Crescent Rose and had it fold out into its full scythe form.
"I had heard your personal weapon was a scythe, but to see it in person is pretty impressive," Jaune complimented. David, on the other hand, was content to just look Crescent Rose over with a look I had seen before on my own face.
"Does it fold into a war scythe as well?" He eventually asked. I showed off the feature to him and he looked appreciative, "Sniper rifle or DMR?" Almost no one asked me that question.
"Fully automatic DMR that I can pump action to infuse extra Dust into the bullets," I answered proudly.
"How do you handle recoil? You look strong, but not that strong," David inquired.
"I use a gravity Dust injection to kinda…eat the recoil? I'm not sure how to explain it. I can turn it off and let the recoil propel me around a fight too," I explained, "So, what have you two got?"
"Uh, I've got this sword," Jaune unsheathed his blade, "And a shield too," It was one of those collapsible models that served as both sheath and shield. Fairly standard, but useful too. I assumed he must have just gotten it because he fumbled with it as it opened and closed randomly. A quick look at his sword with my special talent and to my surprise I saw it was positively ancient. As an inventor on the cutting edge, seeing a basic sword like that almost offended my sensibilities. However, I couldn't deny the craftsmanship of a sword that's been in use for over a hundred years and still in one piece. Much to my dismay, Jaune still hasn't let me upgrade it, no matter how much I pout at him.
"As for me, I have more weapons than I know what to do with. But I do have one tried and true, my very first weapon," With those words, a strange weapon suddenly appeared in his hands! It had black and purple seemingly clashing along its blade, but it had some kind of heart-like symbol sticking out the side of the blade. It had a red outline and a single red, jagged line across a black interior. The weapon also had a hand guard that again looked like a black outline of a heart. Finally at the end was what looked to be a keychain in the shape of a black Penrose Triangle.
"WHAT?!" Jaune and I shouted for different reasons. The weapon looked pretty cool and it had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, but that wasn't what grabbed my attention.
"What is that thing? It's there and not there? Metal but not metal? I've never seen anything like it!" My talent was going wild trying to make sense of what I was seeing. It was like staring at a contradiction of everything I had ever known about physics and the way the world worked. Sure, I had made things that had no explanation as far as our current understanding of physics went, but this weapon was like that multiplied by a hundred in my sight. It would be a long time yet before I was able to nail down the properties of a Keyblade and start copying some of their attributes, but the satisfaction when I finally did it was well worth it.
David, for his part, seemed just as surprised as I was. Looking back, it's almost hard to believe how much of the world around me had been hidden, just slightly out of sight. I had briefly pulled back the curtain once or twice, but thanks to seeing a Keyblade for the first time and later on David's tutelage, the curtain was torn down and set on fire.
"When did you make that? How did you make that? What is it called?! Tell me everything!" I begged.
"That's going to have to wait. Aren't we supposed to be at some kind of orientation?" David wondered.
"Uh…" Jaune said.
"Uh…" I agreed.
And that's how everything got started. I think it's Yang's turn to go from here! So, uh, have fun with her being narrator for a bit!
Psychicshipping: The one and only review I got thus far was asking where to find the rest of my Pokemon story. It's still ongoing, but you can find it at worldsofallkinds . blogspot I fully admit that I've been slacking on it, but I've been working on projects over at Fimfiction that have captured most of my imagination for the moment. Hopefully I'll come back to it soon. I can already predict the questions so my Fimfiction page is www. fimfiction user / 118178 / The+Dimension+Traveler.
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