Hello again faithful (and brave) readers, Stark Contrast is here again with a new chapter! Somehow this story has moved into the top 500 favorited stories for RWBY with over 180 favorites...
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Seriously though, thank you for your support and here's to more... everything really.
There'll be more author's notes at the bottom, so enjoy for now.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Edit: 12/6/17- Changes and clean-up. Fixed up a rather glaring incomplete section just after Yang describes Rose's weapon. Also added a future character mention in Rose's part too.
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The feeling of uneasiness, or wrongness, had been growing shortly after she had stepped out of the Dust workshop. It was nothing she could definitively define, but it was a general uneasiness that was gnawing at her. The little differences she noticed maybe were part of it. Perhaps it was how there were just those minute alterations in the architecture of Beacon that one would only notice if they've made it a point to study the school. A different shade of grey there, a column a little thicker here, a door that was not supposed to be there or had moved a few feet down the hall. Changes that were grating on her awareness, raising her ire.
Or maybe it was because of the students and other hunters/huntresses in training. They all wore uniforms that were the same as before, but the overall feeling was different. The air was... something, not the same. She could see the body language and almost feel their emotions. Tensions weren't as high and there was something else… she couldn't quite place it. Almost as if everything felt… lighter. Not as heavy. It was disconcerting to have that ever-present weight suddenly gone. It wasn't nice as it had grown familiar.
Whatever it is, there's something different, Rose thought as she passed by another group of students, who went quiet as she passed and then broke out in whispers when she was further away. And I don't think I like it. It's almost as if I'm back in Signal with the fresh meat who haven't been hardened yet to the life they thought they wanted.
Come to think of it, my team feels the same way… except for Belladonna, but on a far lesser degree. And that means that something else happened, and it wasn't limited to just the Dust shop. Maybe it is me who's having illusions… or maybe some sort of dream world coma? No, stick to the facts. I know that I haven't changed, but the world around me has, and this change is connected to the Red-Black crystal. Conjuncture indicates that the Dust had some sort of effect, and is affecting one of two parties; myself or everyone else.
Rose constantly kept her head forward, but her eyes were anything but still as they constantly scanned the people and surroundings, looking for any signs of attackers or hostile movements. Although Beacon was a school and had its rules, it was the unspoken, unofficial rules that were laid down by the students themselves that mattered the most. Impromptu fights would happen when the teachers weren't around between students who held a grudge, or to show up one another, or gain a favor. There were the occasional mysterious disappearances, and sometimes the student would be found… the state of existing figuratively determined by a coin toss.
Rose knew how to make it look like an accident… or to put the blame on someone else. Joanes found that out the hard way when Rose subtly directed Xiao Long's misguided ire at him. The blonde got the blame, but nobody faulted her, or would punish her: they all knew what messing with her hair entailed. And when he was found with a lock of her hair hanging from his pocket, whistling away… At least there was some body left over for his parents to collect if they ever decided to do so.
Rose put that memory aside as she neared the infirmary doors and opened them. She looked behind her and was amused to see her teammates flinch when she locked eyes with them. As much as this is amusing, I would rather avoid having to explain what happened to the Supreme Commander without a solution to fix this. "Well? What are you three waiting for? A written invitation?" At their hesitation Rose rolled her eyes. "Get. In." That managed to get them moving. She noticed they tried to stay as far away from her as they could without appearing obvious as they slid past her through the door. Rose chuckled, making them flinch again, which only further fed her laughter.
"If you're going to be as skittish as cats then you might as well ask Belladonna if she has an extra pair of cat ears," Rose commented as she followed the other members of her team.
"Okay, look," Schnee started, turning around, sounding fed up. "All this," she waved her hand at Rose, "that you have going on right now, just… keep it inside for two more minutes." Rose had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out the immature 'that's what she said' joke. True, her actual line was "oh fuck Mistress, keep it in there" with the vibrator strap-on, but still.
"Whatever," Rose dismissed her comment and looked for someone that worked there. She saw a nurse/doctor close by. "Hey, excuse me."
The girl looked up, a fox Faunus from the looks of the tail. "Yes?"
"We need to get a look at all of us for high amounts of accidental Dust infusion. There was an… incident down in the Workshop."
"Oh! Sure. What's your team?"
"R-W-B-Y," Rose answered.
"Okay, I'll alert Dr. Gold and he'll check you out," the Faunus nurse said.
"Make sure he checks them first," Rose said, pointing her thumb at her team. The nurse nodded and walked away. I wonder why Dr. Grey isn't taking us. Maybe she's working on another one of her projects… She shivered slightly from the memory of seeing one of them. Our interrogations are humane by comparison…
"Ruby, you should be checked first," Schnee said.
"I'll only say it once more Schnee: do not call me by that name. Legally, yes, it's mine, but I will never use it willingly," Rose snarled. Seriously, what's with these three? They're egging me on, but then say they don't want to fight. This is… I don't understand, and I hate that.
Before _WBY could ask why, Dr. Gold came in, his hair a platinum blond/gold with light yellow eyes. "So, Team RWBY, you need to get checked out for accidental Dust infusion?"
Rose nodded. "That is correct. However, have them checked first," Rose pointed again at her team.
Dr. Gold blinked and then said, "Maybe you should volunteer fir-"
"I'm volunteering them," Rose said menacingly, booking no argument.
"Okay then," the doctor backed down, pointedly taking note of _WBY's faces and their nervousness. "If you would… please," he added, gesturing to the med-beds.
_WBY looked at each other, then at Rose who was glaring back at them. Go on. Resist. You know you want to say something, and I would just love it for you to give me a reason to fight. Disappointingly they sat down on three different beds and waited. The doctor took out a device and explained, "This will take a small sample of your blood and then scan it so we can see what Dust is in your blood." He looked questioningly at Schnee and she nodded.
He put the device against her arm and the small vial attached started filling up with blood. After a few moments in beeped and he took it away and looked at it. "Hmm, exposure to blue, white, red Dust mainly, mainly residual from lifelong use… and some unknown Dust… what is that? I've never seen that Dust before…" He murmured to himself.
"It's probably Black Dust. I was experimenting with different Dust reactions for the past week and managed to create such a crystal," Schnee explained.
"Hmm, that explains it. Alone, none of these can cause any effect as they are right now and should wash out normally or with White Dust. The concentration isn't high enough to cause any alarm. You're clear, but I would stay away from Dust for a few days to be on the safe side." Schnee nodded in understanding.
Dr. Gold then went to Xiao Long and repeated the process, using a different vial obviously. "Trace amounts of red and orange Dust, along with that other Dust. All signs of long-term usage again, mostly shell residue. Nothing to worry about."
Belladonna was the only one different, but once again, nothing serious. "You have a little more concentrated red, blue, and brown Dust in your blood, but like the others, it's old Dust, at least a week or more old. Once again nothing alarming or something you need to be concerned about."
As he was going about his testing, Rose grew more and more confused and concerned. Only Pet has Black Dust in her blood? And only a little at that? Unless there's been… no, forget that, that's not even logical, or practical. Simulation? Why would this be a simulation? What's there to test? And how would they do such a thorough job with the simulation in such a short time? This is all excluding if this even is a simulation since I have no knowledge of anything that can produce this accurate or interactive experience that isn't extremely intrusive or painful. Am I back to my hallucination theory then?
She blinked as she came out of her thoughts, then again as she saw her team and the doctor staring at her. "Miss Rose? If you wouldn't mind having the test done on yourself?"
"I do mind," Rose bluntly said, "but I'll do it anyway… that is if there's nothing wrong with my team?" She asked, figuring there wasn't. And if there was, it was being covered up in some conspiracy… and that sounded as ridiculous in her head. She held out her arm and the doctor pressed the device against it. Rose didn't flinch as she felt a little pinprick, barely even noticeable and didn't even rate on her pain scale. The vial started filling up and the doctor removed it.
He made a noise of surprise. "Oh my, that black Dust is completely in your system. And there's a lot of it, almost completely bound to your body. I'll have to do a general purge of your body to get it-uhhh!" The doctor cut off when Rose glared at him, freezing him in place.
"You will do no such thing," Rose said. The less Black Dust one has, the less control over their Grimm they will have. A complete purge would have me loose control over all of my Grimm, in addition to severe withdrawal symptoms. I'm not going to make the effort to build my Grimm up again from scratch. That Nevermore was a bitch to obtain.
"Please, Miss Rose, we don't know what this kind of Dust actually does. It's for your own safety," Dr. Gold tried to persuade her.
"I know exactly what you're doing, and it's not happening," Rose stated. If they want to cripple my effectiveness, then I'll return the favor.
"Look Rub-Rose, whatever! That Dust did something to you. Please, just, do what the doctor says," Xiao Long pleaded on deaf ears.
Rose just smirked at her. She reached behind her and pulled out Bloody Rose, then expanded it to its full scythe with the harsh grinding sound she loved. "Try and make me." Why are they so shocked at my weapon? Have they never seen it before? What the hell is going on here? What exactly did that Dust do? These questions without ready answers were driving her further into the 'crazy' category.
"What happened to your weapon?" Schnee asked in shock.
Rose frowned and looked at it, then back up at her rebellious pet. "Nothing. It's the same weapon that gave you that pretty scar on your face. Maybe I should give you a matching one on your other eye."
Schnee took a step back. "What? That never happened! You didn't give me this," she pointed to the scar. "That was before we even knew each other, when I was still training."
Rose growled and shifted her stance. "I'm sick and tired of hearing this. These lies, these falsehoods! You admit the Dust didn't do anything to you, but you are all the ones acting like fucking wusses. It's like you've all had a personality transplant with naïve little kids, and are about as annoying. I know I haven't changed, and you say you haven't. Only one of us is right." And it's me, Rose thought, getting ready for the fight.
Let's see. Right now, only Xiao Long is capable of prolonged fighting since she has Burning Celica on her, and I know how she fights all too well. Schnee may be able to provide support with her glyphs, but Belladonna is worthless at unarmed combat, and anything she does do I can avoid easily. This will be easier than most sparing practices.
Dr. Gold had strategically fled, leaving RWBY alone in the infirmary. Rose was eyeing her team, waiting for them to make a move. Schnee took a step forward. "Ruby-"
There was a burst of black rose petals and a swishing sound, and then Weiss let out a screech of pain as she clutched the right side of her face. Rose leapt back and shifted her hold on Bloody Rose so she could run her finger down the edge of it to collect the blood that now stained the cold, silver metal. She then took that finger and licked it. Hmm, tastes better than I remember. Or maybe it's sweeter because of the occasion.
Xiao Long and Belladonna looked like they were in shock that Schnee didn't have her Aura activated, then Xiao Long turned to face her. Her eyes were now finally fully red and Rose could feel the heat rising in the room. An expression of rage was now splayed across her face.
Rose shrugged off her bag and shifted her stance again, regaining her normal grip on her weapon. "Finally," she said eagerly. "Let's dance."
Yang had no idea what to think anymore. Something had happened to her little sister, and it wasn't for the better. That Red-Black crystal had done something to her mind and body, changing it, warping it, into something dark. She could feel it. They all could. But they had no way of coming to terms with it. Or time. Their sweet leader had become an aggressive… bitch, for lack of a better word. And Yang was 100% certain is was because of that Black Dust in her system.
Weiss had said the Dust felt off, unnatural. It was untested. We had no idea what it could do. But now, it's totally changed Ruby, both in mind and physically. And it changed her weapon too. It looks like a corrupted version of Crescent Rose. The form looked the same as before, but the barrel was a little wider and the ammo magazine looked like it held more rounds in it. The main difference was the blade of the scythe. It was now unevenly serrated, looking like a cruel lumberjack's saw except in scythe form.
When the change happened, Yang thought that, while aggravating and, like Blake said adversarial, Ruby wasn't completely unreasonable and they could talk things through. If they could show her that there was something wrong with her, rather than trying to pick a fight with her, she would calm down and things could get resolved.
But then the unthinkable had happened. Ruby had attacked her teammate, her partner. Yang watched with wide eyes as red started to stream out from between Weiss' fingers as she held them up to her face to stem the bleeding, hissing in pain since she didn't have her Aura up, not expecting such a brash and brutal attack.
Ruby just attacked Weiss. Ruby just attacked her teammate. Ruby just attacked our friend for no reason. Anger. That familiar emotion started to rise up, searing through and boiling her blood. At this moment in time, Ruby ceased to be her teammate, her little sister, and had now become an enemy. One that had attacked someone close to her and seemed willing, eager even, to do so again to others.
Yang was the only one who was armed at the moment, and Weiss was wounded. Blake had some experience with unarmed combat, but against an armed Ruby who didn't seem to want to hold back... that would not be advisable. When Ruby went all out with her weapon, she turned into a red-silver whirlwind of metal, bullets, and rose petals.
Somehow, I think that will be the case here.
Yang didn't wait and placed herself in front of Weiss and let out a blast from Ember Celica, then got ready for Ruby's counter attack that would make it seem as if she had appeared out of nowhere in a burst of rose petals. Yang was a bit startled when Ruby reappeared in her face (she was expecting her to come from the air) and had to duck under a vicious swing, then rolled away from the follow-up reverse attack. She fired another Dust spread and forced Ruby to spin her scythe to deflect the blast.
I need to get inside her guard and disarm her. She's not herself and is being influenced by the Black Dust. Ruby's more or less useless without her scythe. Unarmed combat, save for kicks, isn't her forte. Yang charged forward and had to move from side to side to keep away from the blade that was trying to tear her apart. She blocked a swing with her right gauntlet, and when she felt the impact, she could feel her Semblance build up a little bit more.
Before Yang could retaliate, Ruby jumped back and collapsed her weapon into its gun mode and fired. However, unlike her old weapon, this one fired a three-round semi-automatic burst instead of just one single action bolt. Yang felt it hit her Aura, and some part of her thought that it stung a little less than her normal high-impact rounds. Yang ducked and weaved through the bullets now coming in -some hitting, some missing and striking other pieces of equipment in the infirmary- and tried to get close to Ruby.
Ruby wasn't having it and begun backing up slowly and surely, keeping Yang at range. This isn't working. However, she felt a shift. There was the recognizable sound of Weiss' glyph forming, and then a black blur shot past Yang in the form of Blake. She actually managed to tackle Ruby, but the force threw them out of the infirmary doors.
Yang turned to look at her white teammate. Blood was staining her face and framing her right eye, but there was a hardness in those blue orbs, the kind one gets during combat. "Are you alright?" Yang asked. Stupid question I know, but I need to ask.
"I'm fine," Weiss spat, "just go after her. She's not herself right now."
Yang nodded and rushed after them, leaving unsaid the 'I know.' It took a few precious seconds to catch up since Ruby had driven Blake further away, Blake barely staying ahead of the swirling scythe as it tried to flay her. It was a continual retreat aided by liberal usage of her Semblance's shadow clones. And the entire hallway was filled with black rose petals that were slowly disappearing.
Yang charged forward, a battle cry erupting from her lips. Her fist punched forward and hit metal from where Ruby held up her scythe to block. Yang tried to grab it out of her hand, but Ruby Semblanced away and then swung again, missing as Yang dodged.
"Pathetic," Ruby said as she swung again to try and catch Blake. "All of you save Xiao Long unarmed. What would the Commander say?" She moved out of the way of Yang's shotgun blasts and then tried to kick Black out of the way but only hit shadows. Blake landed behind Ruby but unfortunately was hit in her abdomen when Ruby drove the spike of her scythe into her. Thankfully her Aura blocked it, but Yang was incensed seeing this.
"I'm not going to let you hurt her," Yang shouted as she fired both arms backwards and then went for a punch. This time she actually hit Ruby, though it was a glancing blow. It was still enough to send her tumbling down the hall.
"We can't keep this up," Blake said, and Yang nodded in agreement.
"Let's try to get her outside, then call your weapon so we can stop her."
Ruby stood up, an evil smirk on her face that looked completely unlike her. Then she disappeared in a burst of rose petals, but Yang was already punching, seeing this trick again, in a wide shot-spread. They exchanged blows, Ruby taking the shot with her Aura, and Yang taking a full swing. The sisters shot away from each other, propelled by the other's attack. Yang could feel her Semblance kick up another two notches. I've almost forgotten how hard she can hit me with that…
An idea formed. Yang shifted over to her left in front of a window. "Is that it? C'mon Rubes, just because I'm your sister doesn't mean you just give me those little love taps in a fight."
She was slightly surprised when she was suddenly flying backwards with broken glass and black rose petals surrounding her, not even knowing they had moved. Then her back hit the ground and she rolled a bit, then wobbled up to her feet.
Ruby was stalking closer to her; the scythe dragging on the brick ground in a vicious scrape, sending up sparks. "You are not my sister," Ruby growled. "We may have the same father, and had to live together, but we are not sisters. Even mom acknowledges that especially how you made that clear to all of us."
Mom? Summer? When… no, her memory's been affected. Don't listen to her version of history. "I won't argue with you, only because that Dust did something to your mind and anything I say will be rejected. Ruby, you have to get that Dust out of you. We don't know what happens when it stays inside a person for too long."
"But I do," Ruby said as she sped forward and slammed Yang with her scythe, her movements a blur. Yang tried to avoid them but was largely unsuccessful and felt several hits against her diminishing Aura. On the plus side, she was getting stronger. Much stronger.
Yang spun and then used both her gauntlets to block the next downward strike, causing a shockwave to erupt from both of them. They didn't stay like that for long before they broke apart. Yang saw Ruby concentrate, as if she was thinking, but then her face grew confused and distracted. "What?" She barely heard the whisper of dismay Ruby uttered before Yang noticed the now calculating look in Ruby's eyes, the analytical decisions taking place behind them. She's trying to find a way to get around my Semblance. Probably by using a lot of attack that don't have much power but will whittle down my Aura…
Thankfully I don't need to see what that will do. Ruby disappeared and Yang felt a blow against her back that propelled her forward. She turned it into a roll that let the next scythe move barely miss… and for Blake to charge over her head, Gambol Shroud in hand. There was a clang as metal met metal, then the two most agile members of Team RWBY started clashing. They were two black blurs as they danced around each other, interspaced by flashes of red, white, and the silver grey of metal.
"So Belladonna, finally coming out to play?" Ruby taunted as they attacked one another. "Of course you couldn't resist having your girlfriend injured now would it?" Blake didn't respond and just upped the tempo of her strikes, Ruby easily matching.
Yang stood up and waited for the right moment, concentrating her Aura and Semblance to her fists. Then she jumped up and came right down in the space Blake had just vacated for her. A small crater appeared where she landed, a shockwave of condensed air and fire blew outwards, knocking back Ruby enough so Blake could shoot her weapon out with the ribbon attached to wrap around Crescent Rose. Blake yanked on the ribbon, but Ruby had too much of a grip on it for it to be retracted.
Then an evil smirk appeared on her face. Time seemed to slow as Yang watched Ruby let herself be pulled along with the ribbon, gaining even more speed by using her Semblance, charging at Blake. There was a schick and then Blake's scream of pain as the spike at the end of the scythe entered her abdomen, completely bypassing her Aura as it was too much force in one area for it to protect as that place was hit before. Ruby withdrew the spike and then watched gleefully as Blake fell down to the ground.
She turned around, her black cloak fluttering in the slight breeze, and slowly brought up the spike and tenderly swiped her fingers against it, staining them red. She brought those fingers up and then licked them lovingly, swirling her tongue around each digit, cleaning them off, finishing each finger with a loud smacking sound. "Delicious," she hummed, then offered her fingers to Yang. "You want a taste of your girlfriend?"
Red. That was all Yang saw. An inhuman screech of anger and fear came out of her mouth and she shot herself forward, all façade of calm gone. The fact that it was her sister that just did that barely even scraped the surface of the rage-covered mind. Her fury grew when all her fist met were rose petals as Ruby got out of her way. Yang turned and charged forward again, missing again as her corrupted sister dodged each punch or shot.
After a moment, Yang took a breath and her rage calmed down due to slight exhaustion. She glared at Ruby, standing there with a mostly calm face with just a hint of smugness on it. "How! How could you do something like that!?"
"She deserved it," Ruby spat back at her, her silver eyes narrowing, "for defending you and Schnee when you both deserved it. I don't allow many fuck-ups on my team, and you all took it too far. Now you all will deal with the consequences!" Ruby shifted, getting ready to sprint forward again, and Yang got ready to meet her charge.
There was an unexpected sound and they both looked at the source. Behind Ruby was a black glyph, with Weiss standing off to the side, supporting it. Her face was haphazardly bandaged, allowing her to see without getting blood in her eye, but not much else. It was enough for her to help however.
Yang turned back to Ruby and fired once, the shot catching her black clad sister in the chest. The force sent her into the glyph, which amplified the momentum and caused her to go flying backwards into a pillar, which cracked under the force.
"Enough!" Yang suddenly couldn't move and saw that Weiss was in the same predicament. There was a clacking of heels, then Glynda Goodwitch appeared in her field of view. "Would you four care to explain what is going on here?" She snapped, demanding them to try and answer.
Ruby shifted and smirked. "Well Miss Goodwitch, glad of you to join my little lesson for my team." Goodwitch was not in the mood to deal with Ruby's behavior and threw a piece of rubble against her head, demolishing the last of her red Aura, knocking her out. The black clad leader of RWBY slumped against the pillar.
Despite herself Yang sighed in relief that the fight was over. But then she heard the mutterings. She looked around and saw that at least half of Beacon's current populace was in a wide circle around them, confused with worried looks on their faces. Yang wasn't much for cussing, but in this case it was needed.
"Well… shit."
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That's the end of the chapter... goddamn, finished the last part in about a day. I enjoy writing the fighting scenes so that went by fast.
Now for some comments I'm sure I'm going to get. This chapter marks the beginning of the altered cannon (Weiss getting a second scar, etc.) and while things will play out differently, basic events will go as they went in the Volume.
Speaking of which... V3Ch12 destroyed me... 'nuff said. #SaveTheRWBYRedheads
Anyway, so there will be changes, and for the naysayers I might have... "Oh readers, have a little faith." I have an idea, and I know how to do it. If things seem missing or incomplete, it'll be addressed in later chapters. And characters/events will continue. That includes the whole Salem thing... in both worlds... he-hee (fun times ahead).
Anywho, after reading this, go check out my new story An Unexpected Rose, a RWBY/Hobbit crossover... It'll have those (mostly) happy feels RWBY destroyed with the Volume finale.
And as always, Read, Review, Favorite, and Follow. (R.R.F.F.)
-OrangeGalen