Well, it's been a long time coming this chapter. I started it, then edited it, then got distracted with other stories, then got sick and only really touched this in the last couple days. This might be one of the hardest chapters I've written just because I wanted to get it just right (the first two scenes in other words). Some of you may know what's coming, most will find out the hard(er) way by reading, but you've suspected. And now I'm delivering and promising. Fun fact, this is the second longest chapter so far (excluding Author's notes and such).
In other news, this story has reached 101 Favorites! Holy F-! Honestly I thought this story would get lost in RWBY fan fiction annals, but it's slowly moving up. Thanks to Jin Rummy for getting this story to triple digits, and Hibiwiki for that 101st Fave.
In other-other news, how about team STRQ (Stark)... Eh? Eh? Eh... I was chuckling to myself when Qrow said that, thinking about this story. I honestly thought it would be QRTS (Quartz) instead, but I'm happy with it.
Anyway, I've been going on for too long. Here's Chapter 11.
Edit: 1/15/16- Changed the cover. I remastered the original color pencil and ink drawing using a drawing program.
Edit: 12/5/17- Small changes and clean-up. [Edit: 1/4/17- corrected a typo I somehow missed]
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
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"Now then, we're all alone. Let's start from the beginning from where we left off in the Commander's office. This all started with a Dust accident. Can you describe what happened in detail?"
"What is your name?"
"Wha? What's this all abou-"
"Answer the question!"
"Eep! Ruby Rose!"
"Date of birth?"
"Um, October 31st, 65, New Vytal calendar."
"Biological mother?"
"Summer Rose."
"Adoptive mother?"
"What? I've never had an adoptive mother. I've been living with my Dad. Taiyang Xiao Long."
"Because I like doing this; it's fun! And this is perfectly me. If you had done any research into us like the good fucking spy you should be, you would know that."
"Rose, Rose Rose Rose, you should know better than to throw a punch at me of all people… but I love it when you're feisty. Makes it much more fun to break you."
"… you are not Ruby Rose. You are an impostor, a fake, and I intend to find out who sent you and how you got here."
"But even then, it boils down to your identity. You aren't Rose, even though you claim to be. Delusions of grandeur aside, you wouldn't even hold a candle to what my Mistress can do. She's… intense, and I doubt that you have the same drive she does. You aren't adaptable or cunning enough, and nowhere near manipulative or threatening…"
"Sounds… Sounds like she's your hero."
"Oh, don't pass out now, we're just starting to have fun. Get behind her, let's see if she likes both of us at once."
"Should I pull out your tongue? No, you still need to talk. Toenails? Might be fun… Oh I know! I'll cut open your skin, starting from your fingers. How does that sound?"
"N-no… please…"
"Well then, just admit to being a spy and then we can move to the really fun stuff."
"I'm… not… a spy. Ruby. I'm Ruby."
"Tsk. Disappointing."
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
"Well, that was a good stress reliever. I hope I can do this again; it was nice. My team would probably like a turn, so you might see them later if you're still, y'know, alive. Though that might not stop some people…" The hunter in training walked out of the cell door and then the video stopped, reaching the end of what was recorded.
Summer stared at the screen, the Scroll reverting back to the background and then turning black, going into power save from being idle for so long. Her mind had gone blank, unable to comprehend what she had watched. Several hours of video had played and Summer had no idea what to think, or what to feel.
Slowly her mind reset itself, little things returning, like how to breathe properly, feeling how dry her mouth was, how stiff her back was. Then she slowly started to recall what caused her to go nearly comatose.
Wh… what did I just watch? Why, how did this happen? Was that really the same girl? Did they really… do all that?... They did that to her? Oh Oum, I'm going to be sick! Suddenly processing everything at once, Summer lurched over to a small wastebasket and vomited what was in her stomach, sickened by what they did to her, even if it was Ru-Rose.
Summer felt a pair of hands suddenly hold back her long black and red tipped hair, massaging her scalp. However she didn't react since she was still trying to get her heaving stomach under control, trying to repress the video. A minute later, moaning slightly, she turned her head and saw the designer white and pink jacket with the brown pants.
Summer grunted. She knew who it was. "I thought you had left earlier," the words sounding off due to the leftover stomach acid taste.
She could feel Neo shrugging. 'I stayed behind.'
Summer groaned and slowly stood up, grabbing a rag to wipe her mouth. Neo and her illusions, fooling even me. "How long?"
'The entire time,' came her sympathetic response.
"Why?" She asked as she now fumbled around for a water bottle, wanting to get the taste of bile out of her mouth. She unscrewed the cap and took a swig, then decided to hell with it and spit it in the trash. I'll have to take it out anyway. Really? I'm thinking about this now?
Neo had a small smile and rubbed her shoulder. Summer really didn't get that one, but it was something to do with support. Neo wanted to support me… after watching that? "Thank you, but… it wasn't necessary."
Neo shrugged and did another gesture, and at Summer's confused look, typed, Not then, but now that it's over you need to talk about it.
"What's there to talk about?" Summer said irritably. "This could all be an elaborate hoax… to get me-us to trust her." Summer cursed her slip, knowing that Neo caught it.
Do you really think they'd go that far? Almost destroying the person they/we thought she was to get at us? No, that was too far. She's not the same girl you knew, the one that denied that you were her mother.
"They might," Summer said, her protest sounding weak even to herself. Neo just stared at her, her eyes both brown. Summer shrunk a bit at the diminutive woman's unyielding stare, and looked away. "They might." Summer repeated, her voice hardening, becoming more stubborn. "This is all just a ploy, an unexpected move by Ozpin…"
She was cut off when Neo suddenly slapped her in the face. "What the hell was that for!" Summer shouted at her.
Neo glared at her. 'You're being an idiot.'
"How am I the idiot?!"
Because you're seeing everything but the obvious! You're being as stubborn as Roman. You're avoiding the fact that she's from a different world! SHE CAN'T BE ROSE!
"I DON'T WANT HER TO BE ROSE!" Summer shouted back, but then realized what she said. Neo stared at her in surprise. "I-I mean…" Summer flipped her hood up to hide her face. Why did I say that? Why? That didn't even make sense… right?
Summer felt Neo's hands go on either side of her face and turned her around so they met eye to eye, a question on her face. 'What did you mean then?'
Summer tried to turn away, but Neo held firm. Frustrated with her silent friend, Summer forcefully broke away from her grasp and stood up facing the wall. I don't want to believe that she's different. It would make things easier if she was just Rose, the same girl for ten years that's been the plaything of Xiao Long, Qrow, Branwen, Ozpin… molding her… "I don't want to believe that she's different." Summer said in a soft, slow voice.
"It would be easier for me… for us to continue thinking she's a bad guy. That this is all a trick. We could get rid of her and have one less enemy to fight… A better chance… It would be better, less confusion. No conflicting feelings…"
There was a typing, and then a screen was almost shoved in her face. So why don't you? It would be so easy right now. She's broken, easy pickings. It wouldn't take much. She probably wouldn't put up a fight, especially if it's you. You said it yourself, she's not your daughter, so why don't you?
Summer turned around horrified, and seeing Neo's hungry grin was frightening. "Because she's-!" She cut herself off.
She's what? Neo asked with a triumphant glint in her dual colored eyes.
Summer turned around again. Damnit, don't cry, don't break down now. "Because she's still my daughter…" Neo remained 'silent', letting Summer talk without interruption.
"Even after all this time, some part of me still thinks of her as my daughter, still wants her as my daughter, to have her back as my Little Rose. The bright spot in my life." The words kept tumbling out; Summer was unable, or unwilling, to stop. "After Beacon, I just wanted to live. Occasionally hunt the Grimm, the true enemy of humans and Faunus –I wanted no part in what Ozpin was planning. But when Taiyang approached me that night, I thought about having a family. I wanted to be with him since my third year and he knew it. I knew it was wrong; he was married and had a kid already, but... I hesitated. In one moment of weakness, he took advantage of that… One night of wild passion… And then I had Ruby. I foolishly thought that I could keep her safe; keep her unspoiled innocence of the world.
"But then she turned against me, corrupted by the whispers of Xiao Long and his fucking wife Raven, prodded by her half sister, all condoned by Ozpin. She told me to go away, that I wasn't her mom. My own daughter… I gave birth to her, raised her… It hurt, more than anything I've felt. That day was the final nail in the coffin. Ruby died and a blackened Rose was born. I just didn't want to see it, to believe it. Even after… I still watched. Hoping. Do you know what it's like to see your own daughter turn into a monster? Hope died a bit every day since then… but it was still there, no matter how much I knew it wasn't coming back. I just wanted to stamp it out, to move on! I thought I did…
"But then she shows up, weak and different, saying she's not her, but a different her. And then this… damn video," Summer growled, holding up her Scroll, "didn't help my thoughts at all."
Summer paused, catching her breath. "I couldn't…" Summer whispered. "I haven't spoken to her in ten years. Part of me still remembers… feels like she's my baby girl… a large part of me. But… I've read what she's done, and seen it first hand… the carnage… I can't put it aside long enough to see the other. It would be so easy to deny that she's different because of that Dust accident, and pretend nothing has changed. It was easy just to push her away, not get close to her."
Neo scooted closer. She says she's from an alternate world.
Summer laughed and sobbed at the same time. "So she's not my daughter but another Summer's daughter? That would be easier to believe than if she had a change of heart."
Neo gave her a look that said, 'So why don't you?'
Summer wiped her face from the tears. "I guess… I don't want to reawaken that hope, that we could be mother and daughter finally... I don't want to get hurt again, to reopen that pain for a chance that might exist. And if she is actually from another world, then she'll eventually have to go back to her own family, her mom… So either way I'll have to let her go eventually. What's the point? And I doubt she even wants to see me now after what I said," Summer chuckled dejectedly.
Well, you'll have your chance… now actually.
"Why?"
She got upset and ran off, but she's still in the base. We just can't find her. Oh, nobody died, just so you know.
Summer sighed, split between wanting to help and leaving things be. "And because of my Semblance, you want me to go looking for her in places you can't get to."
Neo shrugged and nodded. 'Basically.'
Silver eyes closed. I don't want to do this. I don't want to be crushed in the end. But… I want this chance, no matter how small or short… But I'm scared I'll be wrong. I don't want to be wrong… God damnit, fuck it. "Fine, I'm going." She said finally, standing up.
Neo smiled and had a look in her eyes that said, 'It's about time.'
"Don't push it. I'm going now before I loose it," Summer said, then walked out her door, glancing left and right before looking up at the air vents. Willing her Semblance to activate, she turned into a multitude of white rose petals and carried herself into the vents. One thing I learned about sneaking, she thought, always go for the vents. You never know what you'll hear snooping around.
It was the quiet sniffling, the kind that is almost inaudible to hear, that caught her attention. The vents make things echo in weird ways, loud sounds are muffled; small sounds creep their way around. And this particular sound was the one that caught Summer's attention. Calling it a gut hunch, Summer followed the sound and quietly slipped between the grates into a decent sized supply closet. She swirled around in petal form before solidifying into her body, letting her get a glimpse of the person crying.
It was Rose.
Or Ruby.
Summer almost growled aloud, hating herself for still being undecided. Damn it, I hate feeling like this. But she kept quiet, not wanting Ruby/Rose to be startled too early. She peaked through a shelf to see the object of her internal turmoil. She wasn't curled up in a ball like Summer suspected she would be, she was just sitting on the ground with her back leaning against the wall. Almost silent sniffs came from her as her body shook slightly.
What were the most disturbing were her eyes. Those same silver eyes that Summer saw whenever she looked into a mirror. Those eyes now had a look, a stare in them that alarmed her and frightened her, one that she had only seen on people who had no reason to continue.
Those eyes had a lack of life in them, as if one had succumbed to the inevitability of the world. She had seen it on Hunters that had been out in the field for years. While the Hunters could control their Grimm, there was only so much Black Dust at a time before the individual ran out. And the hordes of Grimm still rampaged outside the kingdom; no matter how many Grimm were enslaved, there were still more. Death and sorrow clung to those Hunters and wore them down, until they just didn't care what happened. They would do the motions, but they just didn't care. About themselves, about others, about the kingdoms or Remnant.
Such was the look Ruby Rose had on her face.
It jolted Summer to her core to see that expression. On her daughter's face. I never thought I would see something like that on… her. Gah Summer, what do you want? Make up your mind!
Summer started walking around the shelf, making sure her footsteps were audible enough. She heard Ruby shuffle a bit in reaction, but when she turned the corner, Ruby hadn't moved. She just looked up and met her eyes, silver to silver.
Ruby looked up and saw the living ghost come up to her. She gave Summer a doleful smile. "Come to kill me now?"
Something flashed in Summer's eyes and after a moment she asked, "Do you want to die?" She immediately winced for some reason and shook her head. "No I haven't," she stated.
Ruby closed her eyes. "Now you're lying as well. Why? Why now?"
Summer replied, "I saw the videos of what they did to you." Finally Summer saw a reaction in Ruby's eyes, but it was from fear of the memory. Ruby curled up again, her voice shaky.
"No, no. Stop it. I don't want to remember. Stop it." Ruby started breathing irregularly.
"Okay, okay, you don't have to remember," Summer urgently said to calm her. "Focus on the here and now. Breathe." After a few moments all the tension left Ruby and she slumped down.
However, Ruby glared up at her now. "So you've come to torment me instead, huh? Is that it?"
"No," Summer shook her head, "no it isn't… I-I guess…" Summer sighed and sat down across from Ruby, who was eyeing her with unrestrained suspicion. If there's a time for honestly Summer, then now's the time. "I just want to understand."
Huh? "Huh?" Out of all the answers Ruby expected, that wasn't one of them.
"I… this is hard… I want to… I'm sorry," Summer stammered out. Ruby frowned in confusion and Summer clarified, "About yesterday. I didn't know the full story of what happened and… I still don't. Are you Rose or Ruby? Are you from another world? I don't know who you are."
Ruby sighed. "I've already told you, but nobody believes me." I'm tired of this. I just want this to end. Ruby closed her eyes tiredly.
"Then explain it to me." Silver eyes shot open, meeting her not-mother's own. Summer sighed, "You have to understand, for fifteen, close to sixteen, years I've had to watch my Ruby grow up and become the monster she is today: Rose, the one everyone is afraid of. Then you show up claiming to be her but not her from another Remnant…"
Sumer sighed again. "I'm actively trying not to jump to conclusions right now. I'm trying to give you a chance… What I'm saying is nobody's asked you who you are, even me. If-if you are from a different world, then everything must be different for you to be this way." Her mouth speaking as fast as her brain was going, the ideas kept coming. "What is your Remnant like? What are the people like? Who's the same and who isn't?..." Summer hesitated in asking the next question. "What's your family like?... We don't know. I don't-" She cut herself off. Great, now I'm rambling. Good job Summer. "And… I want to find out if… you… are the daughter I could of had."
Ruby was speechless. I… I guess I never thought of it from their perspective. They've been fighting me, Rose, for a long time. No wonder why they were suspicious. And mo… Summer had to watch her grow up like that… Do I want to give her a chance? Even as she thought the question she knew the answer.
"So…" Ruby started. "What do you want to know?"
"Huh?" Summer said, echoing Ruby previously.
"Ask me."
Summer blinked and then a small smile played across her lips. "Well… you are from an alternate Remnant, right?"
Ruby sighed, but nodded, "Yeah." I've been asked that enough times.
"And it was caused by that Red-Black Dust crystal you used? You being sent here I mean. It switched you two around?"
"As far as I can tell," Ruby answered, then something occurred to her. "Wait. That's one major difference! I've never even heard of Black Dust before, but it was brought up a lot here. What does it do?"
Summer was intrigued, "You don't have Black Dust?" Upon Ruby's negative shake, Summer continued, "I suppose that would be why your word is so bright… You want to know then?" Ruby nodded.
"Well… Black Dust lets one control a Grimm as long as you have enough willpower and concentration. It first made an appearance around the time the Great War was about to wrap up. Some crazy person made it up and, as you could imagine for the fledgling Hunter schools, this was a major boon, and a source of irony. Turning our greatest enemy to our side to fight its own kind. But… it changes you. Makes you more prone to violent actions… White Dust can counter that, but not many bother."
"So that's why everyone was… so cruel," Ruby muttered, sobering up.
Summer nodded, "Partially. I would guess that Beacon does things differently from the worlds?"
"Yeah… it's like… normal to do those things for them. And they enjoyed it!" Ruby shouted. "It's disgusting."
"Indoctrination, brainwashing, led by Ozpin," Summer summed up. "They make you do those things and you either learn to enjoy it, enjoyed it already, or you leave or die."
"Like Velvet," Ruby reasoned.
"I guess I was one of the odd ones, that stuck through the entire four years but wasn't majorly changed. Probably because I purged myself using White Dust more than other people did. Black Dust always made my eyes itchy. Probably did the same for Rose," she added with a knowing smile.
"Were you the leader of your Team?" Ruby asked, interested.
"Yep. Me, Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Branwen and her brother, Qrow forming Team STRQ (Stark)."
"I'm a team leader too! We form team RWBY… and yes that does cause a bit of confusion," Ruby said, making Summer laugh. Ruby blinked, forgetting what she was about to say. She has a beautiful laugh, Ruby realized. Is this what my mom sounded like?
"Ruby?" Ruby's attention came back.
"Yes?"
"You spaced out a bit," Summer pointed out.
"Oh right, sorry. I was just thinking…" Ruby trailed off. She forced her mind back to what she was going to ask. "Who's Raven? I know everyone else, but not her," Ruby asked.
"Raven? She's Xiao Long's wife. Yang's mother." Ruby's eyes grew big. Yang… maybe I can find out something, to find your mom. This may be what you need.
Summer looked at Ruby in puzzlement. "You… didn't know that?"
Ruby shook her head. "No. Yang's mom, in my world, left before I was born. Yang is a little obsessed with finding her," Ruby chuckled, remembering Junior's club, or what was left of it.
"So I- her- raised you?" Summer asked tentatively.
"Yeah, for a while… until…" Ruby went silent, but her eyes were moving around, not looking at Summer.
Summer felt something grow cold. I know that look. "What happened?" She almost didn't want to know the answer. So many things could have happened.
"You… went out on a mission," Ruby started, tears forming in her eyes, "but then… you never came back."
Summer gasped a breath in. That's better than some of the things I was thinking off, she thought, but then she immediately felt terrible for thinking that. She lost her mom as well… So that's why she took my rejection so hard, Summer realized. She's not the only one wanting a family…
"'Thus, kindly I scatter.' That's what's written on your tombstone," Ruby gloomily said.
"How… how long ago did she die?" Summer asked quietly.
"About ten years ago. I didn't know her that well, but I miss her," Ruby said. "I still visit her a couple times a year." Summer suddenly had a mental picture of Ruby in a red cloak standing on the edge of a snowy cliff, talking to a white gravestone.
"And then I showed up much like you did," Summer said, trailing off.
Ruby chuckled without any humor. "I guess we both overreacted."
"I'm sorry Ruby," Summer said, causing Ruby to look up. "It's mostly my fault. I… was unprepared for the emotional turmoil and handled it in the worst way. I lashed out at what I thought who you were to hide my pain."
Ruby sighed, "It's understandable. I might have done the same thing…"
They both fell into a silence. Neither one knew what to say next. Until…
"Can… can I-" Ruby started but stopped. No, it's stupid. There's no way it will happen.
"Please, anything I can do I want to," Summer said, meaning it wholeheartedly.
"It's, this is silly. You lost your daughter; I lost my mother, yet here we are. From different realities."
"Inside a storage closet," Summer said amusedly. Ruby cracked a grin at that.
"I guess…" She grew silent again. "I just, I want… we both want…"
Summer, without hearing everything, scooted closer to Ruby and just held her. Ruby clutched her desperately, both of them now crying. "I think we both know what we want. I… I know I can't take the place of your Summer… but… maybe, in the future…"
"If- no, when I find a way back to my world… I won't go until I find a way to bring you too… M-Mom." Ruby sobbed. Summer started crying in earnest, finally hearing what she dreamed of for years.
"Ruby." The Roses held each other until the tears dried. Their scents came through their noses. She smells like roses, they both thought.
"So… since I've been gone from your life, and you from mine… maybe we can start over?"
"Sounds fine to me."
"So, tell me about your life. I want to know what I missed."
And so they talked through the night and into the next day. They talked about the differences in their worlds, the people they met, what sort of crazy adventures they got into, but most importantly, they got to know each other. They may have been from separate realities, from different worlds, but in heart and soul, they were mother and daughter, reuniting after so long.
After all the words had run out, the two just sat there in silence. At least until both of their stomach rumbled in sync. Both of them gave embarrassed grins on their faces. "I guess we're both hungry," Ruby said.
Summer checked her scroll, "Well considering it is a little after 6:30… in the morning. You gave everyone a worry when you ran off," Summer said.
"Oh." There wasn't much Ruby could say for that.
"So how are you feeling? Any pain or soreness?"
"No, well except from sitting too long," Ruby admitted.
"I think you might have made a full recovery in my un-expert opinion," Summer said. Mostly, they both knew.
"So, can we get something to eat?"
"Sure… but I think you should change first," Summer said, giving Ruby a once over in her hospital gown.
"Yeah, I wish I was back in my hood now. It's been too long."
"Then let's get your gear. And some food."
"Sure… Mom?" Ruby said after a moment of hesitation.
"Yes?"
"Please… don't leave me again."
Summer enveloped her reclaimed daughter in a hug. "Never again."
"Tell us where the White Fang meet," came the unusually cold voice of Yang Xiao Long. "All of the places."
A bear Faunus was shackled to the wall and he was littered with bruises and slashes. A hole in his left had would make sure he could never use it again, and with him missing several toes, courtesy of Schnee, he'd always walk with a limp.
"I've told," cough cough, "you already, you fuckers. The building, the apartment, and the old abandoned theater. You can't beat any more out of me since I don't know any more," he chuckled. "Might as well kill me, eh?"
"Why do they always get so defiant towards the end?" Belladonna asked as she slinked out of the shadows.
"Because he still has hope, hope that his torment will end," Schnee said as she held up a burning red poker. The Faunus flinched back from it.
"Oh fuck, no more! Please! I don't know any more!" He screamed, panicked, weakly thrashing to escape the chains holding him to the wall; a far cry from the strength he demonstrated when he was first captured.
"That, is most certainly, a lie," Schnee said, and shoved the poker against the stubs of his feet, cauterizing the open would, rewarding the three huntresses with a shriek of agony. The smell of burnt flesh was added to the other odors that permeated the room.
The Faunus' scream was cut off when Xiao Long punched him in the gut, driving the air from his lungs. "He doesn't understand that nobody leaves unless we allow it. And we don't." Xiao Long said as she cracked her knuckles loudly.
"Look, I don't know any more! We have separate cells! We barely interact! That's all I know!" The Faunus was now pleading, tears streaking down his face.
"What do you think; drugs, or remove his toenails?" Schnee asked.
"Why not both?" Belladonna rhetorically asked.
"Good point." Schnee went over and grabbed a syringe and a wicked looking bladed clamp. She handed the syringe to Belladonna, "Half dose this time. We still need him coherent."
"For now anyway," Belladonna muttered, but took it anyway after holding it up to the light make sure it was up to her standards.
Xiao Long stepped back and waited for the other two members of her team to work their magic. Didn't think I'd actually miss her, but damn it isn't as fun without Rose here. Now she makes this look like a work of art.
Schnee had just put the clamp on the Faunus' middle toe, earning a trickle of blood, when her Scroll went off, putting a halt to all of their festivities. Growling a bit, she answered pleasantly, "Yes, Professor Goodwitch?"
"Miss Schnee, Team RWBY is requested to go to the Commander's office at your earliest convenience." That of course meant, right now.
"Of course ma'am, we're on our way," Schnee replied and closed her Scroll. She turned to the bear Faunus, "Well, seems like you get a bit of a break now. When we return, you better hope you have more answers for us." Looking at Xiao Long and Belladonna, she said, "We're needed in the Commander's office, let's go."
Belladonna tossed the syringe back on the tray in a huff and Schnee took off the clamp. The three of them exited, leaving a sobbing wreak of a man behind them.
Beacon was quiet considering it was the middle of the day, but it made sense. Most of the students were out on missions hunting down rebels and other criminals as per the Commander's orders… just shy of two weeks ago.
And the trio of huntresses were currently in their 'down' part of the operation. Sure they busted several rebel meeting points and killed most of those in there, they hadn't actually gotten any closer to their main goal: to find the impostor Ruby Rose and bring her back to Beacon. Schnee had started creating another Red-Black Dust crystal, but as it was before, it was taking a while with careful measurements and timing.
So even though they had a good success rate, they were still failing. Hence why they got pulled from the field.
They reached the top floor and they all exited the elevator, moving to the center of the room before in sync kneeling. "Team RWBY, reporting as requested, Sir," Schnee announced.
The ticking of the giant clock was the only sound before the scraping of a chair was heard. "I find myself in a conundrum with you three," Ozpin said as he walked around his desk, cane taping on the floor. "You all are considered to be the most aspiring Huntresses this Academy has had for years, yet recently your actions in the field have been somewhat… lacking. Yes, you complete your missions and objectives, but you're making slips of judgment, poor coordination, and hindering yourselves and the world in the process."
"But I suppose it's understandable, given the nature of your goal, to capture someone that looks like one you knew and have some emotional ties to, be it positive or otherwise." The three girls wisely chose to stay silent.
"Stand." The three girls stood and faced Supreme Commander Ozpin, who was leaning against the front of his desk.
"Now, I have made my decision. I may be the de-facto leader of Remnant, but I am also the Headmaster of this school, and therefore must look out for my students. While Miss Schnee has done an admirable job of leading RWBY so far, there was a reason why Miss Rose was decided to be the leader. For this, I have decided that you will need… a more experienced hand when going up against the White Fang." Ozpin gestured behind them and they turned.
There was a woman standing behind them that they hadn't noticed. She was colored red and black, with a shallow cut black dress, a red girdle-belt and gauntlets, with thigh length boots. She also had some object hanging off of the belt that vaguely resembled Grimm pelt. Lastly, she had a large sheath with a sword inside of it, having a visible rotary Dust chamber as part of the sheath.
In her hand was a half Grimm mask that, if it were on, would go over the right side of her face. Schnee and Belladonna blinked, looking from the woman to Xiao Long. If Xiao Long's hair was black, or the woman's hair blond, then they could have been looking in a mirror.
"Oh, hey mom," Xiao Long said.
"Yang," she greeted. WB blinked. Mom? This is Xiao Long's mom? Even though she had a smile on her face, she exuded an aura of an apex predator, much like Rose could do on a bad day.
"Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said, getting their attention, "this is Raven Branwen-Xiao Long. For the time being, she'll be leading Team RWBY in your search for the White Fang and Ruby Rose as an expert Huntress."
"Oh man, this is gonna' be great," Xiao Long said, eager to get going now that her mother was working with them.
"Indeed," Raven agreed. "We have a lot to talk about."
"Sir," Belladonna asked respectfully, "are we to not engage any of those Ember Rebels?" She noticed that he seemed focused on her former organization.
Ozpin shook his head. "While eliminating them when you find them remains a standing order, it takes less precedence now. Our agent inside the group has confirmed that there has been no sighting of Rose in the compound that mob is using; unfortunately, due to special circumstances, our agent is unable to disclose the location or the leader's name. But we are getting closer to finding them."
"So that just leaves the Fang then," Schnee deduced.
"Correct," Raven added, putting him her knowledge. "They have been stirred up from the inside about something, right about the time Rose was liberated. While I haven't heard anything outright, their de-facto leader, Torchwick, seems to be concerned about someone he has right now. Three guesses who that is and the last two don't count."
"So," Ozpin said, "as of this moment, team RWBY is under the leadership of Raven, coincidentally completing the team name again. You are to follow her instructions as, if not better than, you would follow your team leader's. Tomorrow, your hunt resumes. Now I believe you three were in the middle of something? Why don't you lead Raven down so she may give you some pointers."
"Yes Sir," the three girls exclaimed, bowing. Raven gave a nod and followed WBY out of the office.
"So mom, anything interesting happen that we may have missed?" Xiao Long asked as they walked back to the interrogation cells.
Raven rolled her red eyes in amusement. "Always. Your Uncle got in a bit of a tussle with some giant brute of a Faunus who wielded a chainsaw sword of all things. If it weren't for his White Fang groupies busting in and setting fire to the place, he would have had him."
"Sounds interesting."
They talked a little bit, with Schnee and Belladonna mostly staying silent until they reached the cell. The bear Faunus inside shrunk back as much as he could when the door opened.
"Told you we would come back," Schnee said as she walked in.
"I- I-"
"Did you rethink your position at all?" Belladonna asked, prowling closer like a seductress about to take a bite out of her prey.
"I-I- don't, I haven't, don't," he stuttered.
"Hmm, a pity then," Belladonna slinked back and looked to Raven. "Do you want us to start off where we left off?"
"Of course," Raven nodded. "It'll be interesting to see how techniques have changed and evolved." She backed up and leaned against the wall, uncaring of the dried blood on it.
Schnee picked up the same clamp from before. "So, which toe was I about to de-nail?"
His agonizing screams were blocked from echoing throughout Beacon by the soundproof walls, keeping his torture inside the small cell.
"So this is it?"
"Yep. Oh look, they fixed that rip, how nice of them."
"That looks like Neo's work… That's your weapon?"
"Behold my sweetheart! Crescent Rose!" Shwish-chick clank clunk. "Oh I missed you!"~
"Dear god, it's like looking in a mirror when I was your age. We both were weapon fanatics."
"I think the correct term should be 'are'".
"... You're not wrong."
"I'm going to get changed now… Mom? What's wrong?"
"You still have this? The cloak?"
"I would never trade it for anything."
"Let's… Hurry up and then we can eat."
"Okay!"~
"It's been all night, where the hell are they?" Roman growled as he rubbed his hand against his face. The past couple nights hadn't been restful for him as he'd been thinking about many things, Rose mostly prominent in his thoughts.
Neo, however, was suspiciously perky this morning, having a small smirk as a constant expression on her face. Roman finally got fed up with her expression. "You know something, don't you?" He accused.
Neo pointed to herself and made an innocent face. 'Who? Me?'
"Yes you. It's just like you've had two bowls of ice cream. And double the chocolate syrup."
'I don't know what you're talking about,' Neo shrugged, that smirk growing just a smidgen larger.
Roman growled again and was about to retort when two things crossed his mind: Neo's smirk suddenly grew into a full-blown smile as she stared over his shoulder, and there was a sudden silence in the ramshackle mess hall. Considering there were only a few early birds (not entirely figurative) that wasn't saying much, but it was the sudden change in the air that came with it.
Knowing he was going to regret it, he turned around. What he saw was something he was never going to forget.
Two cloaked figures, one in red, the other in white, were walking side by side each with a small plate in their hands of food. They looked like mirror images of the other, except the one in red was shorter. The one in red said something and the one in white chuckled, eyes alight in mirth. It would have been a touching scene.
Except that Roman knew who both of them were.
"What. The. Hell," Roman muttered and Neo started giggling, further depriving him of sanity. Unable to take it he got up and went over to the pair, making sure he had Melodic Cudgel in hand. Sudden movement behind him told him that Neo was joining him.
Summer was the first one to notice Roman's approach. "Hoo boy."
"What?" Ruby asked and then took a look. "Oh." She then took a quick bite out of the strawberry she had and wolfed it down fast.
By then Roman had got up to them, but Summer had stepped in front to confront him. "Is there a problem?"
Roman hesitated, recognizing it a little bit from Cinder's warning/question she likes to use. And as usual, he decided to bluster through it. "Uh, yeah, several. First off, where the hell were you," he pointed to Ruby behind Summer, who to her credit didn't flinch as she popped another strawberry in her mouth, "what happened after we left," he moved back to Summer, "how did you get your stuff," back to Ruby, "and how in the world are you two in the same area without trying to kill each other?" He finished looking at both of them.
Ruby and Summer looked at each other. "Should I answer or you?" Ruby asked.
"Why don't we answer the questions he gave us?" Summer said, a hint of mischief in her voice. Ruby soon returned the grin.
"Well, I ran away and locked myself in a supply closet," Ruby said.
"And I watched the videos, then Neo convinced me to find her, which I did," Summer picked up next.
"I got my stuff when M-Mom showed me where you keep things like that." Ruby. "And we both sorta'-…"
"-came to an understanding and decided to mend the broken bonds between us," Summer finished. "Or make new ones," she added as an afterthought. By then Neo was supporting her weight on her parasol because she was laughing so much, silently of course.
Roman had alternated looking between the two as they spoke, and his eye was twitching. He turned and shouted, "Hey Perry, could you get Doc in here?"
"Sure thing," Perry said from across the room, and went to do just that.
Roman pinched the bridge of his nose, "There are so many things wrong with this. Ebony- or Red now I should say," he changed after looking at her outfit, "is still supposed to be under guard. We don't know what she'll do-"
"Yes we do," Summer cut him off, any friendliness gone from her voice. "I've talked to her… talked with her all night Torchwick. And I'm doing what I've been missing out on for neigh on ten years. Being her mother. Ruby's been telling us the truth. We just didn't want to see it. Most of us anyway," she said, giving a grateful smile to Neo, which she returned.
Roman raised an eyebrow. "About that whole 'alternate reality' thing? Sorry Red, but I still don't believe it."
"Don't call me that," Ruby suddenly said, her voice soft but cold.
Roman looked at her in confusion. "What, Red?"
Ruby grimaced. "That's what Torchwick from my world calls me. It's… ugh," Ruby shuddered. "Just… don't." She finished.
"So Ruby then?" Roman questioned.
Ruby grimaced again. Wow, that sounded even worse than his nickname for me. "On second thought, just call me Red." Sounds less strange coming from him.
"Whatever, now I will call you Ruby," Roman grinned in satisfaction as Ruby groaned. "But I still don't believe it."
"Wow, you're even more stubborn than me," Summer said, in mock awe.
"What do I have to do?" Ruby asked, surprising Roman slightly. "When will you believe me? If my mom who -sorry mom- wanted me dead then now sees me, who I am now, then what do I have to do for you?"
Roman frowned in thought. After a moment of consideration, he said, "Until Doc get here and does a check up on you, I want to hear what your plans are right now. What do you want?"
Ruby stopped to think. What do I want? I already have Mom, something that I never thought I would have, like ever. Getting home is a must… What do I?- An image of those burning red eyes floated through her mind, and then the memory of pain. "I love it when you're feisty." No. NO. Not now Ruby. Get a grip. What do I want?
"My main goal is to go back home, to my Remnant, and to take Mom with me," she said, smiling up at Summer, who returned it. "And… until then… I want to help you. The White Fang, the other group. Both of you. This isn't how it's supposed to be… And I want to make things right, to stop the Hunters." Those red eyes. Ruby clenched her slightly scarred fist. "And I want payback for what they did to me," she whispered, keeping her anger in check for the moment. "I want to look the monsters that are Rose's teammates in their eyes as I make them pay," she snarled. "They could have let me be, but they didn't. They enjoyed it like sickos."
"And what would you do if you had them right here, right now?" Roman questioned.
"I'd beat them up," Ruby stated with absolute clarity.
"And then what?"
"Huh?" She wasn't prepared for this scenario to continue.
"So you beat them up, good job. But what happens when they recover? Will you keep them imprisoned indefinitely? They'll just keep coming at you, and they won't just stop at 'beating you up', and there's even less chance of them having your turn-around change of heart. You should know that."
Ruby clenched her fist, both in anger and fear, for she knew all too well what they could do. "I know," she ground out.
"Roman, that's enough," Summer interrupted. She doesn't know the harshness, what we have to do to survive yet. "Ruby's on our side. That's what matters." For now. She has yet to realize that not all monsters are black, with red eyes and white masks.
Roman glanced between the two of them. And then to Neo who was glaring at him. "Fine. Fine! Whatever. Ruby's on our side now. Whoop-de-do… Doc! Thank you for finally showing up!" Roman announced as the purple haired man came in.
DuFrense walked up and had to do a double take as seeing the two Roses side by side. "Uhh…"
"Yeah, apparently Ruby here has made a full recovery. Make sure of that will you?" Roman said, ignoring DuFrense's glare.
Ruby sighed. Well, if it's the only way they'll be sure. "Fine, let's get this over with," she stepped out so Doc could see her clearly. She saw him concentrate and felt the feeling of being x-rayed again, but tolerated it for the time being. If this is what it takes.
After a minute, Doc looked away and the feeling faded. "Aside from Aura depletion and tired muscles, she's perfectly fit. I think you might have overused your Aura when you ran. You're recovering quite well."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, what about the important thing," Roman impatiently asked. "What about her mind?"
Doc looked directly at him this time. "There is no sign of mental tampering at all," DuFresne said. "her mind is now healthy... relatively."
"Meaning…" Roman prompted.
"That her memories are her own. Nobody altered them or implanted them. In other words everything she said is true. All of that did happen. She's not Ruby Rose, or rather, our Ruby Rose."
"Finally," Ruby muttered as Summer hugged her from the side. She looked at Roman. "Good enough for you Torchwick?"
Roman had a constipated look on his face as he tried to realize what had been said. "Well… that's…" he looked up and met the two pairs of silver eyes. "Humph. Fine. She's actually not Ebonly…" He trailed off as the consequences of what he said came to him. The others noticed his change.
"What?" Summer asked.
"If this Ruby," he gestured to her, "is here, and she was brought here by that Dust crystal, then-"
"That's how I can get back!" Ruby said excitedly. But then it dropped immediately. "But I don't know how to make Dust crystals like that. That's always Weiss' thing."
"Something will come up," Summer comforted Ruby.
"So what I was going to say, before I was rudely interrupted," Roman continued, "is if this Ruby was brought here by that crystal, then the other one's… probably in your Remnant right now.
Ruby's eyes grew big as she understood what that meant. Rose in her world. With her teammates. At her school. She had been there for almost two weeks. She looked exactly like her…
"Oh god…"
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(Twelve Days Previously…)
"Well Schnee, what did you make that is so important you called me here?" Rose inquired as she walked into the Dust Workplace in Beacon Academy. The workplace at the moment was abandoned save for her wonderfully submissive partner. Weiss Schnee had been working almost the entire week on some project that she wanted to surprise her Mistress with. Rose really didn't care and let her have her fun, just making sure that she was present when required, both for the school and for her needs.
Schnee liked experimenting with Dust, probably stemming from her family's company. She needed to have some sort of hobby, just like Rose's happened to be weapon design amongst others.
Schnee looked up from her workbench and her eyes lit up, both in eagerness to please, and minor anger and fear. As it should be. "Mistress, I made a new Dust Crystal that you might like to use…" Blue eyes blinked as she saw two others walk in past Rose's black cloak. "I… didn't think you'd bring the rest of the team Mistress."
"Well tough luck," Yang Xiao Long said, being, unfortunately, Rose's half-sister. "We're here snow bitch, what'cha gonna' do about it?"
"Ohhh, so many things, Whore," Schnee said as she unhooked Myrtenaster.
Rose sighed internally. Xiao Long just loves to grate on other people's nerves. I know because I have to live with her for some goddamned reason. "Xiao Long," she spoke, holding her arm out to stop the blonde's murderous march, "lest you forget, we're in a Dust storage room. Unless you want to blow yourself up, save it for the field. There are enough Grimm and people for you instead of targeting our team…" Rose glanced over at Belladonna, "Or save it for bed."
Xiao Long grunted and took a swing at her, which Rose dodged easily, not even using her Semblance this time. "Sloppy," was all she said in response.
"Wasn't trying," Xiao Long shrugged.
"Now that that is out of the way," Belladonna walked with obvious feline grace into the workshop.
"Right," Schnee said as she calmed down from Xiao Long's abrasive behavior and put back her weapon. "Anyway, I've been prepping for the Vytal tournament and future missions by trying to make new Dust combinations." She gestured to the table. "This is what I've accomplished." The table was littered with ground Dust, a sealed box, a bag, and dead crystals. On the side of the workbench was one of the Schnee Dust compressors, which looked like it had been used a lot recently as there were soot marks all over it.
Schnee went over and picked up something that was wrapped in a cloth and handed it to Rose. Intrigued, Rose opened the cloth, and then quirked an eyebrow. Inside was a perfectly cut Dust crystal, but what made it unique was that it was a pure combination of red and black. "A Red-Black Dust crystal? Impressive," she admitted.
"Thank you Mistress," Schnee said, "though I do believe the nature of each Dust color changed when they were combined. I am… unsure of the effects it will have."
"So you gave me something that may just blow up in my face then, Pet?" Rose deadpanned.
Schnee tried to find the right words as she panicked momentarily, ignoring the chuckles from the other two members. "No no! I highly doubt that it would do that Mistress. It's… I already tested it and couldn't get any reactions. I even tried White Dust and that didn't work, but I suspect that may be the key." She looked up and met her eyes. "I'm sorry. If you want I can try again Mistress, for you."
Rose smirked, loving it when she groveled, especially when her collar was even more visible around Schnee's neck when she begged. "No. That will be fine. I'm curious and want to try it myself now," she said as she held it up, the red parts of the crystal casting a glow on her face from the overhead lights.
Closing her eyes, Rose concentrated on channeling her pulsing Aura into the crystal. She could feel it activate and start drawing on her Aura, but after a moment, nothing happened. Frowning, Rose tried again. She could feel the crystal absorbing her Aura, sucking it up like a dry sponge, but it seemed to do nothing except glow brighter.
"So you made an impressive glow stick, good job," Belladonna commented dryly.
"If you have nothing helpful to say, then stay quiet." Rose hissed, shutting up their resident cat Faunus. I don't want to deal with their comments right now. One false move and I can reduce this room to scrap. I can tell it could by the amount of energy this thing is taking. She looked at the crystal and it was glowing nicely, and Rose could tell it was reaching critical mass, but never tipping over it. What do I need?
Casting her gaze about, she saw some White Dust vials nearby. Right, Pet said something about it needing White Dust. She walked over and grabbed one, then tapped the Dust onto the crystal. That should help. Just a little bit more of a boost. She disliked using White Dust as it made her eyes itchy, but its uses couldn't be ignored. She concentrated again, pushing her Aura through the White Dust into the crystal. She ignored Schnee's gasp and the sudden retreating footsteps. I can feel it. It's almost enough. But just not there. I won't be denied.
Growling to herself, she forced one last bit of Aura into the crystal. That finally broke through and tipped the balance. The crystal in her hand started glowing even brighter than before. She ignored the warnings and shouts her teammates were giving. The crystal let out one giant burst and shattered, releasing the Aura inside and activating the crystals effects.
A bright flash came through the room and Rose crumpled to the ground, looking slightly different now with her cape now red and her leggings now black.
Schnee, Belladonna, and Xiao Long uncovered their faces and looked at their downed leader. "Well, that happened." Xiao Long said. "I'll wake her up now."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It's been the most asked question...
You've been waiting...
And you shall receive...
Yes, that last bit means we've finished the first Arc (goddamn it Yang) and we're moving on to the second, featuring Rose in Ruby's Remnant. *Celebration!*
What did you think of Summer and Ruby? Joyful tears? Honestly, that was what held up this chapter so much because I wanted so many things to feel right and to get Summer's reasoning down. Please let me know what you think. :S
Now for the unfortunate part, the second arc won't start until sometime next year.
*Holds up hands to stop the murderous comments* Let me explain.
I have stories that I haven't updated since March that I still want to work on, plus new stories that just won't leave me alone (and I hate myself for it). Plus Finals for me are next week and god takes breaks on test days. So my schedule is a bit crowded.
Right now, my plan is to crank out another RWBHY: The Aura Mage chapter and at the same time, go through and edit most of my Frozen stories and get new updates for them as well (I'm dreading writing the next chapter of On The Road, Far From Home; it's gonna be like 20,000 words... help :C ), plus work on some new stories. And before somebody says "that's too much" I agree. Unfortunately my creative writing mind doesn't. And that's the problem.
Eh, if I can study ten minutes before a test and feel pretty good about how I did, I'll be fine.
At any rate, to ease your probably now concerned minds, this story will never be abandoned. There might be breaks, but never abandoned. The last bit of this chapter is actually the first bit of Chapter 12: A Rose by any other Name... as a teaser sorta thing. Rose will wreak havoc... you'll be witness of that.
Anyhow, I've gone on for long enough. As always, please Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow (R.R.F.F) this story.
Signing off for now
-OrangeGalen
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Edit: 12/12/15
Just saw episode 6 of RWBY V3... oh holy fucking shit. This changes things... a lot of things. Gahh! My heart!