Author's Headnote: Don't expect any tech-based combat abilities from those Omnitools, they're civillian grade. Basically, it's a glorified smartphone/pip-boy hybrid that they have on them.
I'll be also adding communications abilities to Omnitools, an ability they don't have in Mass Effect canon. You see, Mass Effect was released in 2008, before Smartphones became more mainstream in terms of communication. This fanfiction alters this fact to allow them to have textual and calling communication. This is for the sake of convenience, although contacts will still need to be acquired.
Anyways...
Edit: some grammar fixes and Pop-culture reference removal. The one here did not age well.
The Ruby of Cerberus: Scrounging Up
Ruby Rose:
Health: Healthy
Aura: 100%
Semblance: Petal Burst
Weapons: Crescent Rose, M-7 Lancer, M-2 Kessler
Credits: 800 (Currency is by all means important in the world of Mass Effect)
Party Relations:
- Weiss Schnee: She's happy that she got some rest on an actual bed.
- Blake Belladonna: She's happy that she's clean
- Yang Xiao Long: She's happy that she's going to eat something other than toast and oranges.
End of Main character status report
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commerical District, November 30, Unknown Year, Wednesday, Slice of Earth
The four of them were seated and ordered meals that they were curious about.
Ruby was having Chili pepper curry, along with some flavored rice, bread, and a seasoned chicken. It's quite spicy, although Yang likes spicy foods, Ruby's not much of a fan of it. But other than that the flavor is good, even if it burns her tongue.
Weiss was enjoying a vegetarian meal, surprisingly it's not a salad. It's more so can be described as appearing like a cooked block of white stuff... appearing to emulate meat in every aspect. With some greens on the side, of course.
Blake was having rolls of fish, covered in a green leaf. Must be fish-based since she's enjoying it. She's also having a seared fish. Blake always loved seafood... the cat ears she's concealing may be the primary reason for that.
Yang was having something called: 'tex and mex'. As the menu calls it. From the looks of it. It appears to be some sort of sandwich wrap... she doesn't know what the contents are inside, because it's not her food. There's also a salad and beans on the side.
But no less, as the four of them went and ate their meals, they seem to be intrigued by this. Well, the food may be similar to the stuff that'd they'd find back in Remnant. It also tasted different. Guess the places on 'dirt' had very different spices and seasonings. Although Ruby prefers the stuff back home, sure this still is fine, but it tastes... different. Quite similar to the stuff she had to eat in the cerberus prison cells. It is chicken... but it's... different chicken.
"This stuff is good." Yang praised the meal she was eating.
"Glad you're enjoying, sis." Ruby commented.
"What's wrong?"
"It's just... tastes different."
"Tastes fine to me."
"Ya, but something seems... off..."
"Ruby does have a point; the fish here do taste different from the ones back home." Blake added.
"I don't notice anything." Weiss said, after swallowing what she had in her mouth.
"Likely because you never had the white block of mystery stuff before."
"I don't know what they called it, but it tastes like my sides."
"Huh."
"Well, finish up. Because I'm going to have to pay the bills, and then we're going to have to find a way to earn some money." Ruby stated.
"Not to mention going shopping." Weiss added.
"Ya, as much as I like my current outfit, we're going to need more." Yang commented.
"Not to mention, we're going to need a permanent residence." Blake stated.
"Could we just stay at the Hotel?"
"I don't think that's legal..."
"Well, where do we, four undocumented teenagers from another dimension acquire the means to get a permanent home, a wardrobe, and a regular means of transportation?" Weiss asked.
"I think we should restrict our... origin here to private areas." Blake stated.
"Oh yeah, likely chances are we shouldn't reveal we're from another dimension."
Meanwhile, Ruby received a notification on her omni-tool, a bill for 126 credits. In which Ruby paid. Now she's left with 674 credits. After that, the four of them had gotten up and left the restaurant.
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commerical District, November 30, Unknown Year, Wednesday, Markets
As they stepped out, they have a new objective in their minds. Find a job. Given that they're four young human beings with a lot of youth and strength, they can certainly do some manual labor jobs. Or just about anything that doesn't require them to need identification. As far as legal documentation is concerned, they don't exist. She was walking with her team, albeit silently. Well, in the meantime... Ruby could check out the contents of the Omni-tool.
For as she's concerned, there's a status screen that checks up on her heart beat, and health. Perhaps she could integrate some apps from her scroll to this so she could check up on her aura as well. Speaking of... she could just copy and paste it right now... she opened up her scroll and copied the aura app from her scroll aaaaaand... done. Now she can check on her aura with her omni-tool. She'll be telling her team to do that too, along with any other apps they have. Chances are there's no way to charge scrolls in this dimension, so she needs to learn the omnitool.
There's also a web browser called 'Jabberwock Dragon'; something called a 'recycling bin', a radio application, likely for comms or music. Of course, the finance app, which thankfully she doesn't need to make an account for. Since it's stored on the omnitool itself. Finally, a series of executables with various names: Chess, Solitaire, and Mahjong. From the looks of it, these were likely old games made digitalized. Though, Ruby has heard of chess... perhaps that game is some sort of universal thing? are there universal factors in dimensions?
This just seems like a computer to Ruby. Blake said these things can shoot fireballs; she's going to figure out how to use that in the future. There's also this function called an 'omni blade'. Guess these things are also melee weapons.
And as Ruby continued to browse...
THUD!
Ruby bumped her head, not knowing where she went, then she got knocked down... She then looked up and noticed that she bumped into a large alien creature, looks reptillian although much different from Turians or those frog aliens. These ones were... large, along with a hunch on the back. who then headbutted at Ruby.
"Hey! No fighting in the citadel!" A C-Sec officer, a Turian shouted.
"She started it!" The alien accused.
"I was just browsing my omnitool." Ruby defended herself.
"I suggest you look where you're going next time. Unless you want to spend the night in a jail cell for disturbing the peace." the C-Sec officer warned.
"Sorry... I just got this thing yesterday and I wanted to see what was on it..."
"Wait, how have you never used an omnitool before? Aren't you like... fifteen?"
"Sixteen, birthday was a month ago... there was no cake."
"Uh huh... I don't really care, neither does your krogan friend here."
"But you asked my age."
"It was a rhetorical question."
"It was not!"
"Eh eh eh, don't talk back to the officer."
"Alright, sorry... I'll get out of the way. Oh, do you know a place where I could earn some money?"
"You serious?"
"I'm serious."
"You are really serious..."
"I'm quite serious."
"You're in the market district, you can offer yourself to an odd job just about anywhere here!"
"Oh... uh... thank you. I'm gonna go now." Ruby said, leaving the current area to find a job at one of the stores...
"Thank you." The Turian said in relief.
Character Change: Ruby Rose - Weiss Schnee
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commerical District, November 30, Unknown Year, Wednesday, Markets
Apparently, Ruby didn't look where she was going... or paid attention since she was busy meddling with her omnitool while walking. She's seen people die while their eyes were glued onto their scrolls. Well, not literally of course, that would be horrifying.
As for her situation... she has no money, and no skills outside of sword fighting and combat so... she's unskilled, unemployed, and moneyless in the middle of a god damn commercial district in a giant space station. She's out of her element, back in Remnant she had access to her family wealth, here not so much... she's just simply... well... nobody, she doesn't even have proper identification here, so she doesn't even exist. This means that Weiss has no clue to how to get a job, albeit being an odd job.
There's also the suggestion of crime... but... no! She knows better than to stoop that low! And her clothes look too nice for begging.
So, she needs to find somewhere where she could get some money... with her nonexistent skills. Why did the four of them split up? Where did she say the meeting point would be? Eh, she'll likely look for Blake or Yang and then the rest of the party will be gathered.
But no less, she may as well try. She went to the first store she saw, an electronic store from the looks of it. She may as well offer her help. She walked up to the register and announced her presence. The one manning it is one of those frog-looking aliens.
"So... do you need any help?" Weiss asked.
"Are you seriously applying for a job wearing a dress?" the alien asked.
"It's the only set of clothes I have right now..."
"I see... how old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"And... where are your parents, exactly? Surely no good pair of parental figures would let their daughter only have one set of clothes."
"That's a complicated question to answer..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you see... errmm... they're not... here..."
"What do you mean? Are you saying they're not on the citadel?"
"Not just that..."
"Oh, my apologies. But you cannot work here."
"What? Whynot?"
"You are wearing heels."
"What's wrong with heels?"
"They are impractical for humans; in addition, they are not suited for employed work."
"Can you at least give me some clothes?" Weiss asked.
"If what you're saying is true, you'd need be scrounging the lost and found, which chances are where you've gotten that dress from!"
"Hey!"
"If you are looking for job, I think AVINA can list some openings, although you'd need to find attire that you could work in."
"I tried, but it kept complaining about a cat."
"I guess someone lost their cat again... I swear, it's bad enough we couldn't have dogs on the citadel because they make such a mess."
"Why allow cats, then?"
"They apparently are supposed to deal with those issues in a designated spot, dogs do not. Regardless, pets aren't allowed on the Presidium."
"Well, why not?"
"To answer that... hold on, you need to move."
"What why?"
"One of the keepers is approaching and you are in its way." the alien stated, pointing. In which Weiss had seen a spider-like creature managing a holographic computer, heading toward the store.
"Keepers?" Weiss asked.
"A species that's only found in the citadel, nobody knows where they really came from, but they manage citadel activities, it's illegal to disturb their actions, and I don't want to get shut down due to keeper violation, so move!" the alien demanded.
"Alright, alright." Weiss said, leaving the store anyhow since she couldn't find a job... she may as well scrounge the lost and found for some clothes, and other stuff. She then looked that the keeper was managing the store... what exactly are they doing?
Character Change: Weiss Schnee - Blake Belladonna
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commerical District, November 30, Unknown Year, Wednesday, Ship Gallery
For some reason the four of them had split up, although no specified meeting location was mentioned. And in a large area, that is not a good thing, especially since their scrolls can't communicate without a CCT and they don't have any contacts from their omnitools. Did they even set that up?
No less, Blake is browsing various spaceships. All of them are civilian grade, mostly small and can hold a crew of twenty, well... Blake assumes. They all seem to look like they're from various models. There is also a synonymous species of people wearing environment suits here. Likely browsing for ships.
Blake herself is curious... could they live in a spaceship? Do they have to get permanent housing in the Citadel? Does she have the money? Of course not. Ruby has all of the credits. And she's likely elsewhere. Still on the citadel, of course. But not in this location in particular.
The designs from it tend to range, some of them resemble the Cerberus ships she saw, with different color schemes of course. There are also ones resembling the batarian ships. In addition to multiple more designs, the design is quite diverse here. Blake is astounded by that.
"Were you looking to buy... huff...?" the small alien in an environment suit asked.
"No, just browsing." Blake stated.
"Well, I suggest you make room... huff... for paying customers..."
"Is there a problem with just browsing?"
"Yes... store policy forbids... huff... non-paying browsing..."
"I don't have any money."
"Then I suggest... huff... you leave... huff... surprised this time... huff... the policy doesn't kick out a quarian..."
"What's wrong with quarians?"
"Oh, the young ones come here... huff... browse ships without any money... huff... and hog up the space for paying customers... huff... The ones you see here are actually older, and have credits... huff... now leave before I call C-Sec."
"Well, okay... I guess I'd just leave then." Blake said, leaving the store. She just wanted to browse some ships. But she's used to this treatment.
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commerical District, November 30, Unknown Year, Wednesday, Markets
And as she walked out, she noticed that a certain machine was acting up. She had decided to investigate it. As she drew close from it, her omni-tool started to light up. She used that to investigate. Apparently, someone's been trying to steal credits by using this machine... so far, it has tallied 4,000. Well, she's not letting this individual get any free money. However, she does need it... so, she transferred the stolen money to her omni-tool, and then used gambrol shroud to trash the machine.
Now that Blake actually has money, she may as well do some shopping. Clothes, for one... which is likely overdue, and some bows to cover up her cat ears. Hats too. Although she may want to focus on fashion later, she wants to get a custom-made helmet. So, she decides to find an armor store to hopefully order a custom-made helmet for her unique head.
Problem is, she needs to find it. And AVINA thinks she's a talking cat, and after the third time she tried talking to one of the VI, citadel security started being dispatched for the area.
And speaking of which, two members of the Citadel Security, one Turian, and one Krogan. She managed to identify the Krogan species the easy way. Simply by listening into context clues. Big, reptilian, have a hunch back. And they are approaching Blake.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Have you seen a cat anywhere? AVINA's been detecting housecat DNA all over this floor." The Krogan asked.
"How exactly does the VI do that?" Blake asked.
"It's an upgrade to the VI, which was installed manually. It has a sensor which detects the presence of housecat DNA within fifty feet. We've been getting notifications from AVINA that there's one roaming around here." The turian officer stated.
"Is a roaming cat that much of a problem?" Blake asked.
"So far, no one's been claiming the cat is theirs. which mean it could be a stray. And that means we've got to bring it to the shelter."
"Why is law enforcement handling animal control?"
"The council didn't want to set up a separate force for dealing with pets, so lower-ranking C-Sec officers are often assigned with pet petrol."
"Is there a possibility that there's a glitch in AVINA's systems?"
"We'd have to check out with the programmers for that. And we'll need to wait for a whole month of these detections before getting them to try and check it."
"I see. Well, I haven't seen a cat anywhere." Blake half-lied. She's the 'cat' AVINA has been falsely detecting, likely an error of faunas DNA analysis. She must be more than just 1% 'cat' if she's triggering silent cat alarms.
"I see, I swear these things are hiding in plain sight." the krogan complained.
He's more right than he thinks.
"It's offtopic, but I am looking to purchase a combat helmet... for a friend." Blake stated.
"Oh, you need to head to the ninety seventh floor." the krogan officer replied. "Just up the stairs on the end of this side, and turn right." he added, pointing toward the end.
"Thank you." Blake said, following the individual's instructions.
She had walked up and found some stairs, which she climbed up and turned right, to find... an armory.
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commercial District, November 30, Unknown Year, Wednesday, Lefdal's Armors.
Lefdal's Armors. The individual up front was one of those green reptilian-like aliens. What were they called... 'Drell' if Blake remembered right... she was talking about alien species earlier with a human native to this dimension. The store has various armors, with various shapes and sizes on display. It also includes some T-shirts and other merch. The room itself is a bright orange, with the counter being grey, behind it... the drell clerk, wearing one of the merchandise T-shirts.
She had gone up to this individual... preparing to order a helmet.
"Welcome to Lefdal's Armors, I'm Lefdal. We've got armor for every size here." Lefdal, the Drell stated, with a confident tone.
"Is that so?" Blake asked.
"Why? You plan on buying?"
"Perhaps, can we discuss the deal in private?"
"Why is that?"
"I'll show you what I mean when we're not at the front."
"Mmmm... I'm gonna need more incentive..."
"I'll pay extra."
"Fair enough, follow me to the back, lass." Lefdal said, offering Blake to follow. In which she did.
When she got there, the room, it was mostly grey with a table and two chairs, along with various crates, likely filled with the inventory of the store.
"Have a seat." Lefdal offered, sitting to the chair across the one he offered.
Blake then sat down.
"So... are you going to show me what's so special about your order?" he asked.
Blake sighed, and took off her bow, revealing a pair of cat ears. Which she had wiggled to prove that they're real.
"My my... mind telling me how you've got a hold of that extra pair of ears?" Lefdal asked.
"I was born with them." Blake answered.
"Mind telling me where you're from?"
"I would prefer to keep that a secret for now. Now I need a helmet."
"You'll need a custom made one. Which will cost you more. You know, I'm excited to actually make this. Most people would prefer getting the pre-made stuff. Although, Kassa Fabrication and Armax Arsenal does make high-quality armor, some of the best manufactured stuff out there. If you're not getting custom designs, I'd recommend those two brands, none other will do."
"Can we get back to my order? I need a helmet that can fit my ears."
"Ah, yes. The Ears... be right back." Lefdal said, getting up, walking toward somewhere for a couple of minutes, and heading back with a paper and pencil. "It's an old way of illustrating, but it gets the job done."
"You need to illustrate something?" Blake asked.
"And write stuff down. Measurements. I got to get the right stuff written down, I can't have the helmet be too big or too small, after all. It's custom fitted for you."
"Right..."
Character Change: Blake Belladonna - Yang Xiao-Long
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commercial District, November 30, Unknown Year, Wednesday, Random Nightclub
Well, so far, she likes this place... the music, the free drinks guys get her, and the best part is that this club didn't have a bouncer! She just walked right in and started to party.
As for the location itself. For being a nightclub, it sure loves the colors white and blue everywhere. She didn't catch the name, she just heard the music and followed. The dance floor doesn't have dynamic colors. Although the other patrons would need to learn to dance better. The decorations and drinks are fine, nonetheless. Yang was having quite a good time. She'd figured that the other three members of the group would get money, so Yang's just having a good time. Which is likely overdue, being kept up in a cell for one month, and then dropped off in an alien planet and did some fighting. She needed some time to relax, though the others may feel the same, and just don't put it high on their priority list.
And she's at her fifth drink, already she feels a bit more than buzzed, but who cares? She's having a good time! Back in Vale, she got kicked out of pretty much every bar and nightclub for being underage or causing trouble. The former is no longer an issue, and the latter is a non-issue. She's drunk, happy, and having a good time!
"Woooo!" Yang yelled. "Ya, this shizz rocks!"
She then went and got on the dance floor and danced in a drunken behavior. Thanks to her experience being drunk since she was fifteen and her experience as a huntress, her drunken movement is a bit more coordinated than the average party goer. This means despite being drunk, she could dance in a professional fashion without any issue from the disdain of drunkenness. Her dance skills rocked the dance floor, she swears people were recording this, but she doesn't care! It's a non-stop party and she's having a blast!
"Ya! Come on! Party aaaaaallll night! Wooooooooo!" Yang yelled at the top of her lungs. "I'm gonna need more drinks!"
She's not drunk enough for her words to slur, but enough for her to act like such. For what is normally a depressant, it seems to bring Yang's spirits higher than the sky! Yet again, this may not even be human stuff she's drinking! Could be one of those alien drinks that gives off the same effect. But she doesn't care, she doesn't even know the time of day, she just wants to party right now, and partying is what she's doing right now!
She's showing off her moves at the dance floor, her sister would have been totally excited to see this! Wait, where's Ruby? Ah, she's sixteen! She'll be fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine! Ruby can find her own way back to the hotel, for now, she's going to make sure she's the star of the dancefloor for the night! She's the queen of parties and her throne won't be usurped, even if she's in another dimension!
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commercial District, December 1, Unknown Year, Thursday, Entertainment Sub-district
The entertainment part of the commercial district is similar to the markets, although they don't let anyone keep the stuff once they spend the money. It's where movie theaters, nightclubs, restaurants, arcades, and casinos are primarily located. Sure, they are present across commercial areas, but the sub-district has them all chucked up together in one place instead of being surrounded by stores.
Yang, however, was waking up with a hangover, right outside of the nightclub... which was closed... she was either kicked out or passed out. Either way, she needed to make her way to the hotel. Her clothes were still on, which means she didn't worry about that certain problem. But what she needed worry about is...
How to get back... she'll need to navigate her way back... is there a map she can use... she brought up her omnitool for a map... she's near the entertainment sub-district... and the hotel is... across the other side and two floors up. She hopes there is an elevator, because she does not want to deal with this hangover she is having right now.
"Yang! There you are!" Weiss yelled in the background. Yang had looked up and seen the rest of team RWBY, all of them were likely looking for Yang. And they were walking toward her.
"Hey..." Yang uttered.
"Oh my god! You were drunk!" Ruby yelled.
"How did you...?"
"Trust me, I know when my sister drinks. I've had to deal with your drunken bum many times! You know how much lien I spent for orange juice just to sober you up!?"
"That's why we had orange juice?"
"Yes, now get up before you embarrass yourself further..."
"Further?"
"You were drunk, chances are you were partying way harder than normal."
"Where were you guys?"
"I was just cleaning up a store and got 50 credits from it. I only did it for like thirty minutes..."
"I ended up wearing a mascot costume and got 40 credits from... I just took the tips and quit." Weiss stated.
"I... acquired money and ordered a helmet. Should come around in a week." Blake said, discreetly.
"You stole, didn't you?"
"It was already stolen!"
"Girls! Let's just get Yang back to the Hotel!" Ruby demanded.
Weiss and Blake scoffed, followed by grabbing Yang and escorting her back to the hotel.
"This isn't usually like you; you tend to have a head on your shoulders." Ruby scolded.
"I know, I just needed some time to unwind, that's why I grabbed the Karaoke machine." Yang said, in an apologetic tone.
"I see... Let's just drop this until we get back into the hotel!" Ruby demanded.
Character Change: Yang Xiao-Long - Ruby Rose
Unknown Star, The Citadel, Commercial District, December 1, Unknown Year, Unknown Time, Thursday, Unknown Time, Rented Room
The four of them re-entered the room. Being said in mind, Weiss had managed to organize the four girl's armors. Sure, armor didn't mean much in remnant, with aura and stuff. But given different dimension, they may have different standards. For sure, they at least know aura still works in this dimension, but things are going to get a bit suspicious when they fight without it.
Blake had managed to reveal her faunas trait to a guy running an armor store, in order to acquire a custom-made helmet for her special head. In terms of money, they needed to pool together enough money to pay for the next night to stay here... This is going to be a complex week, they need to work for money, unwind all of the stuff they've been through here...
"Alright... This new dimension is... different from our own." Ruby announced.
"Yes, can you tell by the regular space travel and the aliens?" Weiss asked rhetorically.
"Time and place, Weiss. For now, we need to plan a way to regularly acquire money."
"I think everyone, but Yang actually tried to think responsibly."
"Can you not bash my sister?"
"It's actually quite weird for Ruby to be the responsible one this time around." Blake commented.
"I think we all need some time to... adjust... being that our first exposure to this dimension outside of a science laboratory was a hostile planet filled with people wanting to shoot us! We could all use some downtime. However, Yang will have to do all of the money making, and seventy five percent of what she earns has to go to us." Ruby stated.
"What? Why!?" Yang asked.
"It's only for today, and Weiss won't stop pestering me unless I do some sort of punishment toward you."
"So... you finally caved in?" Blake asked.
"Alright, let's just drop the subject for now! Go, play with your omnitools or go do whatever... Yang, do odd-jobs and report back." Ruby ordered.
As usual as the cheerful team leader would be, she honestly quite lost her cheer for a bit... being that she has little working space, and no money to acquire basic necessities. And she can't go hunting because there's no wildlife. So, she'd have to confine to scraping by like a low-income household. She has to stay strong in this world... though one thing is for certain, she worries about what exactly went down in that party Yang went to.
Author's Footnote: And that's the chapter for now... I'm gonna explain why the AVINA Cat thing. In this timeline, all installments of AVINA have a program which allows them to detect the presence of cat DNA, and send a silent alarm to C-Sec, why specifically cat DNA? Well, Cat's are quite mischievous creatures, they don't want them roaming around the Citadel willy-nilly now.
As for why I'm ending the chapter here... well, I'd say that I needed a little side-filler before we get into more action. And Yang's partying will have some aftermaths that take place after this chapter, I initially planned for Blake to steal... but I figured it'd be out of character. So, I'd figured stealing from someone stealing from a machine would suffice, that will also have its own sub-plot.
So, anyways... I'll need to Update Festival of Blood and then we can get to the next chapter.