Hey everybody! Thank you for all of your reviews. Honestly, this story got a lot of attention fast. Not sure how to take it... Just more motivation for me to continue!
By the way, did anybody see the season finale of Once Upon a Time? Where everything becomes flipped? Just realized how this story is sorta' like that. I stake a claim that I got this out first though, so there. Ha.
Yea, don't have much else to say, so here's the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Edit: 11/19/17. Small Changes and touch up.
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The Nevermore 'cawed' again and sent a rain of razor tipped feathers at the gathered Hunters/Huntresses - like deadly darts at a dartboard of people.
"Scatter!" Ruby shouted and semblanced out of the way of the feathers, making sure that her cloak didn't get stuck again. One: she almost died from the Death Stalker after she got pinned and two: the hole in the cloak was annoying to patch up. Don't want to repeat that experience again.
Weiss used some glyphs to deflect some of the feathers that were heading towards her. Blake used her shadow clones to dodge the feathers, letting them take the hits. Yang took a different approach, literally punching feathers that got too close to her out of the way, her hair glowing. The rest of the people got out of the way as well, except for one fellow that had his leg pierced. As Ruby turned around, she saw another feather go straight into his chest, crushing the armor he had and coming out his back. A crimson stain started spreading across his chest.
Ruby blinked. The stain spread until drops were hitting the ground, then streams of red. No. No. Use your Aura. Heal yourself. Don't die. But her silent pleads went unanswered as the hunter in training coughed a few times, blood coming out of his mouth, then slumped, loosing all tension in his body, his eyes glazed over.
The Nevermore cawed, breaking Ruby out of her stupor. The Grimm stopped its assault for a moment and started circling around the pit, readying for another round. Ruby forced her mind to act rationally by reviewing what she knew about the avian Grimm. Adult Nevermores are a class 'A' Grimm, older ones bordering on 'S' class. Their feathers are extremely resilient to most times of firepower, and when they shoot their feathers they can regrow them at the same speed, so it's like a machine gun with never ending bullets. But it still needs to fly…
Getting an idea, Ruby sped over to Weiss, "Weiss, Ice Flower!" She said, getting ready for the move by planting Crescent Rose into the ground and taking aim.
Weiss however just looked blankly at her, "What?"
"Ice-…" Ruby stopped because she just realized that Weiss really didn't know what she was talking about. Considering how the rest of the day has gone, I guess I need to spell it out to her again. Quickly though. "Create a set of glyphs with Ice Dust in front of Crescent Rose to freeze my bullets as they go through. Should slow down the Nevermore." She said briefly, hoping Weiss understood what she was planning.
Ruby could see the wheels turning in Weiss' head before it clicked and Weiss started moving again. She spun her hand and the series of glyphs for the move appeared, albeit slightly different, as there was no size degradation. Oh well, it's good enough, Ruby thought. She took aim at the approaching Nevermore and fired several shots.
As the shots traveled through the Dust glyphs, they absorbed some of the Ice Dust. So when they impacted, the Dust infused rounds activated and spread quite suddenly. Ruby had aimed for the wing joints to prevent it from flying accurately. Even though it was a moving target, Ruby knew her weapon's capabilities.
They would hit.
One, two, three, four shots hit, two per wing. The ice spread across the joints and the Nevermore gave a squawk of dismay as it suddenly couldn't lift its wings easily anymore. Another unnoticed bonus was that the ice made spikes so that when the wings moved in any moderate way, the spikes would jab into the body, causing the Grimm even more unpleasantness.
The Nevermore, already on a decent dive, couldn't pull up and crashed into the ground, causing everybody to hit the dirt in a dodge. Unfortunately, its crash landing had opened up some of the Grimm pins, allowing the collected Grimm inside to roam free.
Not that they did, strangely. They just stood in their spots, and took cover when the Nevermore came past. A few were crushed from the Nevermore's crash-landing, but Ruby wouldn't shed any tears over it. However she had to resist slicing the head off of an Ursa that was in front of her after she semblanced out of the way. She looked up, and it looked down, but didn't react in any other way. Why aren't they attacking us? Ruby wondered as she took a quick look around. She looked back at the Ursa and noticed something.
Its eyes were black.
Grimm are identified by three main things (four if you count their hatred for humans): their black skin, their white bony plates with red markings on them, and their glowing red eyes.
This one's were glowing black.
Ruby had to shove that thought out of the way and focus on the one Grimm that was actively causing trouble. She looked over and saw her team was on their feet. "Blake! Tie it down!" Ruby yelled.
Blake nodded and ran towards the Nevermore, which was trying to right itself on the ground without the use of its wings. She took out Gambol Shroud and flung it, holding onto it by the long ribbon attached to it. It crossed over the top of the Nevermore's neck and Blake fired the gun portion when it rotated and pointed the right way, sending the gun and the ribbon swinging underneath the neck. Blake caught the gun and stuck the sword into the ground, holding it while the Nevermore started struggling.
"Yang, punch it!"
"DO. NOT. CALL. ME. YANG. ROSE!" A mass of flaming yellow jumped up with a dual bang from Ember Celica and came down on the Nevermore's head with an even louder bang from the impact. The Grimm was driven back into the dirt with a crash, creating a decently sized impact crater, obviously disoriented. Impressively, there was now a crack running along the Grimm's headplate from the brute force that was Yang Xiao Long. Yang bounded back, on guard but waiting.
"Weiss, immobilize it!" Ruby called out as she chambered another round in Crescent Rose and got ready to charge. Weiss twirled her hand and formed six miniature glyphs, which then shot out to impact the Nevermore; two on each wing, one around the main body, and the final one below Blake's ribbon. They expanded to encircle the body parts of the Grimm and locked it in place, preventing it from moving.
However, just like all Semblances, it takes energy to use. And with a large Grimm like a Nevermore, Weiss wouldn't be able to hold it for long. I have to be fast, Ruby thought, but then smirked. Fast, I can do. Once all the glyphs were in place, Ruby fired and ran forward, leaving behind a trail of rose petals. The world seemed to slow down around her and each step she took brought her closer to the Nevermore than a normal step would. Ruby loaded another round and just as she was passing underneath the Grimm, she fired downward.
Still with the same speed, she rocketed upwards, hooking Crescent Rose under the neck of the Nevermore, and pulled. She fired again, and again, and again, and again, and once more, each time she felt a little more of the Grimm's neck give as the blade of her sweetheart cut further in. On the last shot she felt the breaking (or more like slicing) point and met no resistance. The blade cut straight through the neck and sent the head spinning and flying away. Ruby braced herself as she flew up a bit, then back down to the ground, letting her Aura absorb some of the shock, while her leg position took care of the rest, something she learned from her Uncle Qrow.
She looked back and saw the two pieces of the Grimm crumple to the ground and smiled to herself. Just like initiation, except without the giant cliff to run up. She took a deep breath and let it go, then made to put away Crescent Rose…
"Miss Rose!"
That voice, when it was in that commanding tone, could instill fear even in Grimm, let alone students. Ruby froze with a frightened squeak escaping her, and slowly turned around to face what was probably her impending doom that went by the name of Glynda Goodwitch. Goodwitch was also slightly different as her cape was completely dark purple it was almost black, and her normally white shirt was now dark grey. It made her even more intimidating.
"What on Remnant happened here?" Glynda demanded as she strode closer to the red-cloaked girl.
Ruby could feel sweat forming all over her. "I-uh, well…"
"You have caused a serious amount of trouble young lady and I believe that I specifically told you to control your Grimm, not slaughter them." Glynda was now towering over the cringing form of Ruby.
"I-I-I did what I had to," Ruby answered, her voice squeaking it out in more of a question.
Glynda sneered at her, "We'll discuss your failure later." She turned around and faced the rest of the pit. She reached to her hip and took out… a whip? Since when did she have a whip? Isn't her weapon a riding crop?... Not that it's much better than a whip but still.
Glynda uncoiled her whip and spun it twice around her head then cracked it in the air. The destroyed fences and gouged out ground suddenly floated and spun in the air before sinking back in the ground where they had come from. Pieces of metal reshaped themselves and fit back into their proper places. The ground smoothed out and refilled, making it so that the Pit looked like it had before, excluding the decaying corpses of the various Grimm. Never gets old watching that, Ruby thought to herself, remembering the food fight and the clean up of the Breach.
"Team RWBY, you will come with me to discuss this event. The rest of you," Glynda directed at the other hunters/huntresses, "put the Grimm back in their correct pens." They scurried around to fulfill the Professor's command.
Weiss, Blake, and Yang had all gathered around, the three of them giving Ruby suspicious looks but not daring to say anything in front of Goodwitch. Just then, Glynda's scroll went off. She picked it up and looked at the caller I.D. Her eyes widened in surprise before she answered, "Yes Commander?" Ruby noticed the rest of her team stiffen at that. Pause. "That is correct." Another pause. "I assume you saw the whole thing?" She said dryly. Pause. "I'll bring them up." She ended the call.
"Change of venue ladies. The Supreme Commander wants to see you all." If possible WBY stiffened even more. Ruby however was just confused. Again. Supreme Commander? Isn't that Ironwood? No, wait; he's just a general. Is it someone higher up on the totem pole? Someone the council put in without anybody knowing? I know they moved Ozpin out of security for the Vytal Festival, so maybe this is just someone they put in.
Glynda started marching them back to Beacon, once again attracting many stares. Ruby looked over and saw those two transfer students from Vacu- no Haven, Emerald and Mercury. They didn't look any different, which was somewhat relieving. Ruby had never had a long conversation with them (excluding when she was examining their weapons [see: disassembling with her eyes]) and only a few short chats, but she could get the dynamics between the two. They were nice people, Emerald was slightly childish (this coming from Ruby) but was mature enough, and Mercury was laid-back and sarcastic, sorta like how she thought Ren would be if he talked more while strangely also more anti-social (once again, coming from Ruby).
She gave those two a small smile and a hand wave as she passed and was once again confused when they looked confused as well. She looked away and sighed. Why does it seem that everybody looks at me with fear, hatred, or confusion now?
They moved on and went to the elevator doors. Glynda pressed the top floor button and they all went inside and up.
"Did'ja see that?"
"Of course I did, why would she smile at us if she wasn't about to eviscerate us?" Emerald said to her grey haired partner.
"That wasn't the Rose we met before." Mercury commented.
"She looked the same," Emerald started, but then thought about it. She did look a little nicer…
"Not exactly. Her cloak was red and her leggings were black. Plus I couldn't read her semblance anymore."
Emerald was surprised. Mercury's own semblance was the ability to identify other people's semblances and see a way to negate or minimize their effectiveness, but only when they were used against him. However, once he read their semblance, then it would stay unless they learned a new trick or something. That's why he often sparred with others and then quickly surrendered, just so he could get that valuable information.
So if he couldn't read Rose's anymore… "Then that means-"
"She's not Ruby Rose."
"What does this mean for our mission?" Emerald asked, wanting to verify her own suspicions.
"We wait. We figure out who she is first and where the real Rose is. If it turns out that she is the real Rose…" He shrugged.
Emerald smirked, "You do realize that it's my turn this time. You got Tukson last."
"Only because you ran away."
"I did not 'run away!' I ducked." Emerald protested.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Mercury chuckled.
"Seriously, that money's still available and could be yours."
"Nah. Where's the fun in that?"
"Goddammit."
Ruby was trying her bestest not to twitch and jump around, letting her nervousness show. Frankly it all started when she woke up and found Yang swearing and threatening her, and only increased from there. Everything seemed different and wrong, but also maddeningly familiar. And it was wearing at Ruby. It just seemed so wrong, as if it was deliberately antagonizing her and making her paranoid.
She realized that they were headed up to the Headmaster's office and wondered about that. Is this commander guy person in Ozpin's office right now? Why would he meet us there, rather than his own office?
The elevator 'dinged' and the five stepped out with Glynda taking the lead. She crossed the anteroom and knocked on the door before it slid open. Ruby hesitated a moment before she followed her team in.
It was exactly how Ozpin's office looked before, except there were now podiums displaying various weapons and items on them placed on the perimeter next to the walls. The inner mechanisms of the clock were still in full display above and below them, ticking loudly away. It was getting towards the end of the day, judging by the shadows and the position of the sun through the glass, creating interesting patterns on the floor.
Speaking of the floor, once everyone was inside, Glynda and WBY all kneeled to the floor, leaving Ruby awkwardly standing. What? Why is everybody-? She got distracted as Yang backhanded her leg and forced her to one knee in a facsimile of a kneel. Ruby questioningly turned to Yang, who still had red eyes.
"Do you have a death wish?" Yang hissed.
"What? I don't understand-"
"Just. Quiet!" Yang bowed her head, along with Blake and Weiss. Ruby just looked back and forth at them.
Glynda stood up. "Team RWBY as you requested Commander."
Ruby looked up to see who the commander was, but Yang roughly grabbed her hair and forced her head down so she was looking at the floor. Yang, I swear, once things have calmed down-
Once again, her thoughts were interrupted when there was a sound of a chair being turned around and a clink of a mug being set down. "Thank you Glynda, please stay until this is over." Ruby's eyes widened. I know that voice! That's Ozpin's voice… Wait, he's the commander? I thought he was just the Headmaster?
"Please, rise." At that, Yang's hand on her head let go –after a yank- and RWBY stood up, with Ruby rubbing the back of her head.
Ruby looked up and saw Ozpin sitting at his desk, a mug on his left and a scroll in his right, playing a clip of something. Ruby had a suspicion it was what just happened in that Grimm pit, since he managed to get a recording of her fighting Torchwick immediately after it happened. How did he get those camera angles anyway?
After several moments of Ozpin looking at the video he placed the scroll on his desk and looked up. There wasn't anything overtly different about him, just that the greens were just a tad darker, but that might have just been the light playing tricks. "Well?" It was such a simple question, said with just the barest hint of curiosity. It was more of an opening for a discussion than an actual question needing answering.
"Any one of you care to explain why you found it prudent to start killing the Grimm rather than simply recapture them?" Ozpin continued.
In a rare moment, Blake was the first one to speak. "Rose decided that it would be better if we killed the Grimm rather than recapture them. We followed her orders during the situation."
"I see," Ozpin said. "Well then Miss Rose, care to explain your reasoning?"
Ruby stepped forward slightly nervous. "I saw wild Grimm that needed to be killed. We're hunters, right? We kill Grimm. I don't know why we even have all those Grimm in the first place." Ruby said, her confusion and frustration coming out.
"Don't know why we have Grimm?" Yang said incredulously. "What happened to you when that crystal activated?"
"Crystal?" Glynda pounced on that slip.
Weiss spoke next, "I created a new type of Dust crystal, a Red-Black crystal to be precise, and M- Rose used some white Dust grain and activated it."
"You know how dangerous new Dust combinations can be Miss Schnee. You should know better." Weiss hung her head. "Moving on, what were the effects?"
"Unknown," Weiss said in a professional manner, "however we have noticed some differences in Rose, such as clothing and weapon changes, as well as a massive personality change."
"Weiss, nothing is different about me. I would have to say that you are all the ones that have changed." Ruby said.
"Well for your information you little-" Yang started.
"Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin's voice cut through anything she was about to say. She immediately snapped back to attention. "I have a theory, so please be silent and let your sister talk," he said, his smile appearing to be appeasing, but having a somewhat mocking vibe to it.
Ruby could hear Yang mutter, "she's not my sister…" under her breath. It hurt more than she ever thought it would.
"Now then, Miss Rose, I have a couple of questions. Your weapon, first off. I noticed that you've changed the functions on it and the blade. When were those made?"
"I haven't made any changes to Crescent Rose in ages," Ruby said truthfully.
Ozpin's eyebrow lifted a minuscule amount. "Indeed? And your cloak, when did you color it red?"
"I haven't colored it! It's always been like this ever since I got it from Mom. Well, excluding the patching and sewing I've done over the years," Ruby added.
Ozpin's eyes narrowed, "And who is your mother?" He questioned.
That's an odd question. "You should know that Headmaster," she said, a tiny bit of defiance creeping in.
"Don't speak to the Commander like that!" Glynda said, her hand reaching for her whip before Ozpin raised his hand to stop her.
"Indulge me, if you would," Ozpin said, waiting for her answer.
It felt as if this is the make or break moment, where everything depended on this answer. "Summer. Summer Rose." Ruby said, hidden emotion in her voice.
Ozpin looked at her as if he had x-ray vision (not X-Ray as in Jaune's comic book character) as she could feel his gaze going through her. He nodded and then said, "Glynda, Miss Schnee, Belladonna, Xiao Long, please take this impostor to the interrogation facility. This is obviously not Ruby Rose."
What? "What?" Ruby said, shocked. "But I am Ruby!"
"No, you are not. Your cape and weapon changes are not something that you've had before and are too spontaneous. Also since those Grimm became free of control, in means that either one of two things happened: either Miss Rose voluntarily released them, which is highly unlikely since she's spent years gathering them, or she's dead. Until we can discover where your allegiances lie and what happened to Miss Rose, you will be under our… through care. Glynda if you would," he gestured and turned away.
Ruby was too shocked to react until she felt something snap around her neck painfully and tug, causing her to stumble backwards. Glynda's whip had closed about her neck and she was leading her out of the room. "Come on, impostor, let's find out how you tick."
Weiss looked somewhat confused, but also determined. Blake was impassive but watching on with interest. Yang was… terrifying as her red eyes seemed to glow with delight. "I've been waiting for this moment," she said lovingly to herself.
They exited the Supreme Commander's office in various states. The door closed behind them. Ozpin picked up his mug and took a sip of his Earl Grey tea before starting the playback on his scroll again, watching the fake Ruby's fighting style and the orders she gave to her team – a rarity considering RWBY's collection of personalities.
"Very interesting…" He muttered to himself in his empty office.
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What do you think? Ruby's in for a hard time since she's been found out(?). Yeah you all know that she's in an alternate world, but they don't know!
Note: 11/19/17: Since Mercury's Semblance still isn't announced, my theory as to what it is isn't wrong, as all that breakdancing wind bullet storm thing he does is caused by the Dust in his boots/bullets. His ability to read others Semblances and see their weaknesses fits with the idea he's the son of an assassin - as such a Semblance would be very helpful in that line of work.
Oh, by the way, the next chapter will be the one to bump up the rating, to keep watch for that...
More to come! Don't forget to R.R.F.F.
-OrangeGalen