DMI: When Worlds Collide Chapter 5: Gettin Wild, a rwby fanfic

…

Clover Ebi chuckled to himself as he returned to his vehicle, the conversation with his old friends still echoing in his head. Those jokers would never change, especially Harriet.

In all honesty, this restaurant was lucky to still have them, even if Clover himself had moved on in the world. At times he did miss working the line, shouting orders and dancing between coworkers as everyone worked to get food to the hungry masses. Whataburger was fine, but in his heart of hearts Clover knew it could never compare to Five Guys.

His stomach gurgled with its most recent sacrifice. Yeah, the burgers couldn't compare either.

As he checked his phone for messages and thought about Michael, his newest hire, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. It was little more than a shadow, but it moved like a dog. A very large dog.

He paused, waiting. If it was a stray then he didn't want to scare it into traffic. On the other hand, if it was less than friendly, he didn't want to unintentionally look like a snack.

After a few seconds of nothing, Clover decided to take a look; the shadow had darted around the other side of his Suburban and he hadn't seen anything since. The man stepped lightly around the car, pale green eyes watching for any motion, but found… more nothing. Darn. He gave up and got in the car, disappointed.

He'd barely gotten settled when all at once a massive weight landed on his roof with a loud BOOM, caving in the metal by quite a few inches. Clover cried out in surprise before he could stop himself.

A massive head peered down into the cab. All he could make out through the spiderweb of cracks were a pair of glowing reddish-yellow eyes and a huge row of jagged teeth.

The monster growled.

Clover Ebi tried not to pee his pants.

…

Ruby only lasted a few hours before losing interest in the farm simulation game, turning to a slightly more popular multi-player shooter instead. Her laptop was nowhere near good enough to handle anything above playing mp4 movies, meaning she had to relocate to the living room and Yang's console to get a worthwhile connection.

On her way to the internet, Ruby noticed that R2 had disappeared. In fact, the house was empty.

Weird.

But whatever – she had more than a few Battle Royales to dominate.

…

The girl everyone called R2 Pushed herself in a series of moves she picked up from a dance video, lightly jumping through the air until she found the others. Landing after a good air-run was always a bummer (not the least because she had to borrow Ruby's cheap and hugely uncomfortable flip-flops), but one look at the face of Garnet Rose killed any thought of making a snide comment.

He showed everyone the footage from one of Rube's toys, an image of a shadowy figure lurking around the town. "It's not clear what we're looking at yet, but I believe these are Creatures of Grimm. The drones have confirmed no less than half a dozen of these things all around the town. We need to confirm their identity, and if they are Grimm, they need to be dealt with."

"Grimm…" the fox-eared Ruby grew visibly tense.

"How many of us have Grimm where we come from?" Garnet asked the group.

He and Foxy raised a hand. No one else.

R2 opened her mouth, but the boy cut her off, "There's no time for details; R2 and Rube, go with Foxy to do a sweep of the University. Brandy, you're with me. We need to get eyes on these things as soon as possible."

"You could at least tell us what the hurry is," Rube managed to say before they split up.

Garnet paused, his silver eyes turning hard, "The Creatures of Grimm are monsters made of living darkness. They seek to destroy our civilization, but the mostly want to… consume us."

Foxy added, "Conventional weaponry has little impact. Right now we are this town's best defense."

R2 flexed one hand. Her heart was already starting to hammer in her chest.

Monsters… that eat people?

Before anyone could raise another question, Garnet and Brandy were already moving away. Rube spared a moment to give R2 the stinkeye before putting her 8-ball helmet back on. The reluctant trio set out with Foxy in the lead, no one speaking or joking around. Surprisingly, Foxy not only kept pace with even R2 at full speed, she even pulled ahead at a few points. The fact Rube could keep up at all was likely due to her 'implants' or whatever.

In any other circumstance R2 would've protested about being stuck with the bitch in black, but she understood a little of the danger they might be in. This was no time for getting quippy.

Her world might not have had Grimm… but there were always monsters.

…

Coco Adel hung up with a sigh. That Velvet… it was always something with her.

Another beep followed as Ciel put her own device away. "I just got an update on Politan," the girl checked off another item on her clipboard. "She'll be arriving in a few days, no health problems. Hotel reservations are confirmed and all appointments are made. As long as all her luggage arrives on time and undamaged, the cosplay event should go off without a hitch."

Coco stole a look at the paper, nodding absently, "Good work as always." She rubbed the back of her neck and tried not to think about how worried her best friend had sounded on the phone.

The pair looked around at 'Convention HQ', an unused store in the back of Vale Center Mall given to them for the duration of the event. The upcoming convention wasn't a big enough deal to land them a proper building – it didn't even have a proper name, just 'The Convention' - but this would have to do. Overall it was the biggest get-together in the town's history and, in simple terms, it covered pretty much everything anime and video game related with a bit of comic book stuff tossed in for flavor. A little piece of everything, in other words. No wonder the college kids had started calling it WeebCon.

Ciel noticed her agitation. "Everything alright?"

"Ah, it's just Velvet," Coco gestured. "She wanted to warn me about a strange animal she spotted last night. Said it might be dangerous."

"Isn't that something to take seriously?"

"It would be…" Coco peered over her sunglasses, "…except that she's convinced it's a werewolf."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I knew it was a bad idea to let her read that teen vampire trash." Coco stretched a bit, cracking her knuckles, "Let's just get these boxes unpacked and call it a day. I need a burger."

"Only if I get a salad-"

Ciel was cut off by the distant wail of a car alarm. From Ciel's car. Blue eyes went wide for a moment before she sighed and made for the door.

Coco followed close behind, "Good enough of an excuse for me."

"We keep delaying and we'll fall behind."

"Eh, you worry too much."

"And you don't worry enough- ohhhhh shit."

While it was a rare treat to hear the dark-skinned girl curse, the novelty was lost when they saw what set off the alarm; the passenger door of Ciel's car was a wreck, long gashes in the paint displaying the gouged metal beneath. By the looks of it, some asshat didn't know how to keep their own motor between the lines and had sideswiped the parked sedan. No sign of anyone nearby, so it must have been a hit and run…

"GRAAAHHH!"

Something large and black suddenly jumped over the side of the car. All Coco registered was blackness and teeth before-

"GRROOOHHH!"

Another one came out of nowhere and tackled it, the pair of them tumbling end over end through the parking lot and into a different car, knocking it a few feet away. Claws swiped, teeth flashed, and Coco had no chance of figuring out what in the Nine Hells was even happening. Ciel was equally paralyzed, neither girl quite willing to move just yet.

The creatures in question resembled nothing she'd ever seen before, save for maybe the last time she cracked open one of those Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books. Each as big as a Volkswagen, all black except for some bony white parts, both glared with yellow eyes that burned like torches, yet amid the infighting Coco noticed one difference – the first monster's bony face bore reddish lines while the second had blue lines.

No sooner did she see this than a third member of the show appeared; someone or something blurred by the two of them, leaving a trail of blue sparks behind. The blur leapt into the air and dove into the red monster, causing a small explosion of electricity. It screamed with a bestial roar.

This was finally enough to get the girls moving, both turning and running back into the mall entrance to make sure they didn't get caught in the crossfire of whatever freakshow this was supposed to be. Ciel kept running inside, but Coco stayed by the door and kept watching the show. Curiosity had overcome her fear.

The colored blur finally resolved into the figure of a young girl… or boy, hard to tell from here… with a set of distinct tattoos on their arms and legs. Sunlight really did a lot to highlight the stranger's deep red hair.

The reddish monster survived the attack, though it was staggered. The mystery person made a T-pose as their arm tattoos suddenly started glowing red, then they said something quiet – Coco was too far away to tell what they said - before actual fire suddenly shot out of their hands.

The monster roared, then turned and tried to run.

Fire Hands blurred again, shot forward and gave the thing a slap right outta Hell. This finally ended the fight by turning the thing into ash.

What. The. Frick.

"Curses…" the stranger finally noticed the damage to the car. "Another one. We must end this before more of these vehicles suffer undue collateral damage."

The blue monster looked up at them and gave a questioning growl.

"No it was not your fault this time, worry not. Though I fear we shall burn through all my gleanings in compensation if we do not make haste. Come, the hunt is not yet finished!"

The stranger's tattoos glowed again, this time with the same blue electricity from before, as they turned back into a blur and vanished. The blue monster lumbered a few steps behind them, then took a flying leap and soared into the fricking sky.

Leaving behind a mangled passenger side door, a few scorch marks on the pavement, and a very stunned Coco Adel.

"…"

Suddenly Velvet's claim of seeing a werewolf didn't seem all that crazy.

…

Rube still didn't like R2, but she had to admit… the kid could fight.

It hadn't taken long before they found two of these 'Grimm' things lurking around just outside the University campus. Rube's first impression was that she was looking at a monster from a video game that had escaped into the real world, as they didn't look anything like living creatures. Garnet's comment about them being made of living darkness didn't seem so far-fetched now. The creatures in question were huge, lumbering things that only vaguely resembled bears. Foxy quickly drew her sword and went after one.

The other bear decided the kid and Rube were easier targets.

Before Rube could even get Number 3 and 4 into the air, R2 was already moving – and no, Rube still didn't buy the whole 'psychic powers' excuse – the kid drove forward hard, sliding through the things legs to get behind it before launching straight up.

Flecks of black rubber could be seen flying through the air upon that initial launch. Yep, she forgot to take off the flip-flops. Idiot.

Though that was as far as Rube's complaints could go; R2 used her illegal implants will a level of experience that bordered on the absurd. She understood the laws of motion better than anyone Rube herself had ever had to deal with. Every attack in one direction either had a matching push in the other to counter the force or it sent her flying. Every action had an equal and opposite reaction.

R2 used her momentum to fly up behind the bear and directed herself to be directly above it, sending more attacks downwards with her feet (an absurd idea even for her, who in their right mind would install Repulsor Implants in their goddamn feet?) while simultaneously adjusting her postion in midair with both hands. The barrage of force did little more than annoy the bear, who roared up at her and took a swipe. It was more than big enough to reach R2 at the height she was maintaining.

The kid almost took the hit, barely reacting in time to push the claws away with one hand. This, of course, sent her hurling in another direction, but she reoriented herself with startling ease, landing on the grass with no visible strain.

The bear monster didn't wait for her to recover before charging, jaws open and claws at the ready. R2 waited until the last second before pushing herself out of the way, then moving rapidly to put one hand almost up against the things side (the other was pointed away) and sending another attack point-blank. This time there was visible damage; the thing didn't have red blood, but instead it howled as a stream of liquid blackness came out in a spray.

It turned, eyes blazing, and lunged at the kid with jaws open.

R2 quickly brought up both hands together and attacked one more time, yelling with effort.

The back of the monsters head blew out.

R2 went flying backwards, only stopping when she hit a tree. The bear's body landed heavily and… for some reason… began to rapidly dissolve into black mist. Rube stared dumbly at the scene before her, trying and failing to process everything.

Hmm… maybe it would be best not to antagonize the kid anymore.

Foxy returned in that moment, silver eyes wide with delight as she helped R2 back to her feet. "Incredible! You destroyed the beast on your own?"

R2 groaned and held her back, glaring at Rube, "Yeah. On my own."

Rube looked around to confirm there weren't any other monsters and said, "I take it yours is gone?"

"Naturally," Foxy puffed out her chest, ears pointed high. She adjusted the sword at her hip and declared, "Such a beast as that is no match for the Rose of Anima!"

R2 blinked. "You named your sword?"

Foxy blinked back. "Is that unusual?"

Rube sighed. None of her active drones detected any more shapes in this area, so they were done here. Good thing, too; if there was one thing Rube E. Roze hated, it was waste. R2 had dealt with this one, and Rube had gained some valuable intel by simply watching, thereby saving them all both time and effort down the line.

Fight smarter, not harder, as Dad used to say.

…

"What's your status, Rube?"

[Just took care of two of these things by the campus. We're done here.]

"Good to hear. Brandy and I also found one, but it was… uh… already taken care of."

[…The way you said that makes me slightly worried.]

"Don't be, I'm dealing with it now. Are there any other Grimm in the area? Your drones-"

[They're doing a sweep of the town right now, but I haven't seen anything for a few minutes. Didn't you say there were half a dozen of these things?]

"Yeeeeeeah… I'll get back to you on that. Head on back to the house, we'll meet you there."

…

Garnet closed his Scroll with a sigh and took in the sight one more time; yet another variation of Ruby stood before them, this one vastly different to the others so far. Tattoos on both arms and legs were the most obvious trait, but also unusual was the jacket tied around the waist. None of the others wore such a thing, at least not so far. It has barely been a day, so…

"You appear to be a sort of leader, yet you also don't seem to belong in this world," said the silver-eyed person. Garnet could not tell if he was looking at a boy or a girl. "Am I to assume you are an Outlander like me?"

"Outlander?"

"A common term referring to those who have been taken from their own world and dropped into another."

"Maybe common for you."

The person gave an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of their head – a gesture both Garnet and several of the lookalikes commonly did – and said, "I suppose there is much to discuss. I am called Ruby Raspberry. It is an honor to meet you."

Garnet blinked. That was almost a new name. "Garnet."

The pair stood just outside of a gas station (he only knew that on account of the sign by the road saying so), the body of the last Grimm already having disappeared. Apparently this person killed it. When Garnet arrived there had been two Grimm, but one was actively attacking the other. This Ruby caused it to vanish in a blue light the moment after Garnet had arrived.

Luckily he'd sent Brandy back to the house first, or else this encounter would get weird.

Not that it wasn't already weird, but… whatever.

"I sense you are wary of me," said Ruby Raspberry. "Be at ease, I am an ally."

Garnet crossed his arms, "Then please explain what's going on around here. You seem to know something about other worlds, as you called them…"

"I do indeed. Much of my studies are centered on theories surrounding the multiverse concept."

"So is this your doing? Did you bring us here?"

"Not at all! I was pulled into this realm against my will the same as you. Though your words have piqued my curiosity… are there more of us?"

"Five more, in fact. With you here there are a total of seven people who either look like or answer to the name 'Ruby Rose.'"

"But one of them is a native of this world, no?"

"She is, yeah. The rest of us 'Outlanders' are staying with her until we can find a way back home… to our own worlds… and I guess for now we'll have to have you stay with us. If nothing else you can bring the rest of us up to speed."

"Wonderful. That is fantastic news," the odd lookalike smiled warmly. "I do hope she is more agreeable than her uncle."

In any other situation, Garnet would not let this person leave here without a thorough examination about what they knew, how it related to the situation at hand, and why the heck those tattoos were emitting light just now. At best he could only assume it was some kind of Semblance, but no more. Inviting them to join the group of castaways felt like the only sensible course of action.

Aside from that, part of his mind returned to their current patrons… and how he knew they're react when they arrived. "We should be getting back there soon, we've been out all day without explanation. Have you been hunting the Grimm too?"

"Indeed, Fabel and I have slain quite a few in the last several hours."

"…Fabel?"

"My familiar. You saw him briefly upon your arrival here."

"Familiar? Is that a magic thing?"

"…Yes?"

"Your familiar is a Grimm?"

"I admit I did not anticipate fighting these creatures – where I come from it is common to summon Creatures of Grimm as familiars – but rest assured my Fabel is not a threat to anyone. You need not fear him."

"I'll… take your word for it. Uh, I've got eyes around the town in case any more Grimm show up, but for now… I guess I gotta introduce you to… haaaaaah.~"

"…?"

"It was bad enough when it was just the five of us. One more is gonna make Weiss start climbing the damn walls."

"Um, mayhap don't say such things; my Weiss back home can actually do that."

"…Is it creepy?"

"It is terrifying."

"I rest my case."

…

It was normally difficult to pull her attention away from a good book, but something about the heavy thud on her roof was enough to do just that.

Penny sat up and rubbed one eye behind her lens, wearily looking at the clock next to her desk. Wow, where did the time go? She quickly placed a bookmark in the proper spot and closed the tome, then took a moment and wiped her glasses on her shirt.

The thud came again, further down her roof. It was quickly followed by a crashing noise as whatever it was tumbled into the side fence. Penny's window wasn't in the right place to catch it, but she was just able to hear a faint moan from outside. Almost a whine.

Too big to be a cat. Did a dog get on her roof and just fall off?

Moving quickly in case whatever it was might be injured, Penny made her way to the back yard and around the corner. The first thing that caught her eye was a bright red tool on the ground just before finding the broken fence, but it didn't resemble anything she seen before. Of course, Penny wasn't the kind of girl to browse the lawn tools at Home Depot, so it might not have been all that odd.

The creature before her, however, most certainly was.

Laying on a jumble of broken wood was something like a dog with rust-colored fur, but stuck in the middle of changing into a human; long hind legs that ended in backwards ankles and paws, a fluffy tail sticking out from clothes that wouldn't be out of place on a cosplayer, and a head straight out of Blacksad. There was no mistaking the snout and ears of a dog despite the mop of deep red hair sitting above it.

As Penny rounded the corner, the animal-person recoiled for a moment and looked her right in the eye before passing out. She hesitated, unsure if it was safe, before turning and running back in the house to call Father. This was not something she could handle on her own. Father would know how to treat the creature, and Penny hoped it wasn't too badly injured. She hadn't seen any blood, but there was no way to be sure without a full examination by someone who knew what they were doing.

That eye… it was silver. The same as her neighbor from down the street, Ruby Rose.

What could it mean…?

…

Author's Note: I dunno about you, but I'm finding fight scenes to be a bit easier than when I started this hobby. Do let me know what you think with a review. Anywho… next bio!

_/_/_/_/

NAME: Rube E. Roze
AGE: 19
RACE: Augmented Human
GENDER: Female

RECIPE: 60% Ruby Rose (RWBY), 25% Rinzler (TRON: Legacy), 10% Corben Dallas (The Fifth Element), 5% David Martinez (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners)

SUMMARY: Rube lives in the lower end of MegaVale, a bustling metropolis run by more than a few tech corporations, none of which employ her in any way. It's not that she's lazy or anything, it's just that the corps don't appreciate her work ethic. No one does. After blowing most of her savings on a set of laser drones, Rube is forced to take any odd job to stay afloat in the ever more expensive world of Remnant, often meaning she has to go after bounties or criminals wanted by the government. It's a rough life, but it's all she's got.

Rube has no "friends" per se, but she does have a few allies who both help and interfere in her bounty hunts in equal measure, causing her to prefer solo missions. Other people are annoying. Her drones aren't exceptionally powerful, but their ability to travel nearly anywhere within one mile of their carrier is quite powerful for someone who needs to get a good layout of the environment. Has bionically enhanced knees and ankles in addition to her drones, but those were gifted to her as a reward for one particularly difficult bounty. She'd have sold them ages ago if they weren't so damn effective.

_/_/_/_/

So that's another "Ruby" joining the team, and don't worry… we'll learn more about them, along with the newest face at the end there, as time goes on. I do have an ending in mind for this whole thing, but it'll be some time before I get there. My plan is to let this one linger for a little while, more episodic than a tight, self-contained plotline, so after the initial introductions they'll just kinda… hang out and have shenanigans. Then they'll go home afterwards. Hope you stick around for it!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them in the reviews (I moderate those btw, so behave yourselves). I'm also present on Twitter, my handle is the same as my username here.

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