Author's note: More action.
Weiss, Blake and Yang were sitting in their team's dorm room, waiting for Ruby. A few minutes later, Ruby walked in and looked a bit nervous, causing the others to get a bit worried.
"Ruby, is something wrong?" Blake asked.
"Not exactly," Ruby answered, "But I'd like the two of us to fuse."
"You and me?" Blake asked, "Why?"
"Mostly to see what would happen," Ruby answered.
"Any other reason?" Weiss asked.
"Alright, fine, but promise not to get mad," Ruby answered, "I wanted our fusion to copy Penny's semblance, look into that other timeline, and put what we see on my scroll so I can watch it later and get an advantage over Salem." Blake thought about it for a moment, looking around the room.
"Alright, I'll help," Blake said, and Ruby got happy, until Blake continued, "Under one condition."
"Sure, what is it?" Ruby asked.
"We all get to watch those clips," Blake answered, "The four of us, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Oscar, Penny and Qrow."
"Not Qrow," Ruby said, looking down and fiddling with her hands a little.
"Why not?" Yang asked, both confused and angry.
"I can't tell you," Ruby answered, "It's just important. He's so happy right now, and if he sees what is going on in that timeline, he might not take it too well."
"Does that have to do with Clover?" Yang asked, "He dies in that timeline, right?"
"Yep," Ruby answered, "In the other timeline, Ironwood betrayed us, and this kingdom, when Salem told us that she's on her way. He had us arrested, Clover started a fight in an aircraft, Tyrian got free, Qrow tried to reason with Clover, and they fought. Clover died that day, and Qrow was blamed for it."
"Alright, we'll leave Qrow out of this," Yang said, "For now. But once we know he has himself under control, we'll tell him everything."
"Of course," Ruby said.
"Now then, let's get to planning," Weiss said.
"Let's do this," Ruby said and pulled out her scroll. She had it project a map of the area and marked any large cluster of Grimm on it, with descriptions of number and type, so the team could discuss which to focus on first. As she reached out, Ruby sensed something she wasn't so sure she wanted to sense. Over the following days, she tracked the different packs, and read up on the kingdom's history to find out what she was sensing.
~o~
Qrow walked into Willow's office and had to resist leaving again as the scent of high-quality alcoholic beverages assaulted his nose. He knew he couldn't get drunk any more, thanks to the Poison Immunity semblance Sirena had shared with him, but the smell still brought back memories.
"Thank you for coming," Willow said.
"You're welcome," Qrow said, sat down in front of Willow's desk and asked, "So, what's the problem?"
"I… drink a lot," Willow answered, "I drink to forget, to feel better, but it doesn't work as well as before. So, I drink more. But I need to stop."
"Yeah, I know the feeling," Qrow said and asked, "What do you try to forget?"
"When Whitley was… two, I think," Willow answered, "Someone… got into the house. I fought him. I protected Whitley. We ended up in… one… room. There was… a fireplace. I took a stoking iron, and… killed him. I blinded him, and then, my hands moved on their own. His neck… popped. A horrible sound. His body went limp. I paid someone to get rid of it."
"You were just protecting your family," Qrow said, "Noone's gonna blame you for that."
"He does," Willow said and a large, muscular faunus appeared next to her. He wore a Grimm mask and had a thick tail like a particular type of monitor lizard. The summon turned to Willow and tried strangling her, but Qrow shot it and it disappeared.
"I… see," Qrow said, "Looks like we both have something in common."
"What do you mean?" Willow asked.
"Well, I can't really control my semblance, either," Qrow answered, "If I didn't have my sword, it could just hurt anyone around me. But it seems like you can get better."
"I tried," Willow answered, "I really, really tried. But every time I think back to that day, I am reminded of what I did. What I am. I killed someone, and there is no way to bring him back."
"He wanted to kill your family," Qrow said, "And he broke into your house. You had every right to do what you did."
"Then why do I feel so horrible?" Willow asked, and Qrow sighed.
"I know I'm not good at this kind of thing," Qrow said, "But if Ruby were here, she would probably tell you that you feel bad because you're a good person, or something like that. Bandits, the White Fang, murderers, those are the kinds of people that don't fell bad for taking lives. You're not that kind of person. Your summons are constructs made from your aura, your soul. They are a part of you. All you have to do is accept them, and then you can control it."
"But how can I accept this?" Willow asked, half shouting. She summoned the man again, and he just stood there.
"Focus on what caused him to attack you," Qrow answered, "The Grimm, racism, suffering. Those are what drove him to his actions, and you to yours. Fight those things, not yourself."
"That's easy for you to say," Willow said, "You're a huntsman. You're trained to deal with this sort of thing. I'm just a businesswoman, I acted without thinking. It felt like I was possessed."
"Winter told me a bit about your semblance," Qrow said, "She said you can only summon enemies that pushed you past your limits. So, something in you didn't want to kill that man, but you did it anyway, because you had to. You wanted to protect your family, your loved ones, more than anything. I know a lot of professional huntsmen who could learn that from you."
"What could I teach huntsmen?" Willow asked.
"Acting out of love," Qrow answered, chuckled and said, "Listen to me, I'm starting to sound like Ruby here."
"Ruby," Willow said and asked, "What do you think she would do?"
"Probably something reckless and stupid," Qrow answered, "She always tries her hardest to protect others, especially from Grimm. If she had your kind of money, it would probably go into some fund or such to help people deal with strong negative emotions, so they don't attract Grimm, or something like that."
"That… actually sounds like an idea," Willow said, "If I can help others, and make sure they are not driven to the same extreme measures, maybe he can forgive me one day." She looked over to her summon, who nodded and seemed genuinely happy at the idea. Willow pulled up a new spread sheet on her computer and began charting out expenses, contacting lawyers, and setting up policies for her company's new branch.
~o~
A few days before the team went to have Penny copy Ladybug's semblance, Ruby was walking through Mantle, following a trail of sorrow and hopelessness. She ended up in front of a bar, and the bouncer, a muscular boar faunus with tusks, stopped her.
"Sorry, I'd need to see some ID before I let you in," the bouncer said.
"Alright, here," Ruby said and pulled out her scroll, showing her huntress ID. She swiped right and it showed another ID, naming her the head of a new branch of the SDC, which specialized in civil protection by combating negative emotions.
"Alright, you're good. Just don't get too wasted," the bouncer said and let Ruby pass.
"I won't," Ruby said, put her scroll away and entered the bar. It was a rather poor location, with dirty windows, drunk people half hanging off every third chair, and several people sleeping with their heads on tables. Luckily, the guy she was looking for seemed mostly sober. He was a human with short black hair and red eyes, and wore everyday clothing consisting of black shoes, dark blue jeans and a white shirt. She walked over to the guy and sat down next to him.
"Hello, I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby said and asked, "And you are?"
"Aibek," the man answered and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want to help you," Ruby answered and asked, "What has you feeling so down?"
"It's Niob," Aibek answered, "He broke my semblance." Ruby gasped, but regained her composure and tried to act cool.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know," Aibek answered, "But it doesn't work any more, ever since I tried to catch him."
"You tried to catch him?" Ruby asked, "Why?"
"Because of the bounty," Aibek answered, "I'm a bounty hunter. At least, I used to be. My semblance made my job laughably easy. Until I tried to capture him. He saw through my trap long before he fell for it, brought it all crashing down on my men and me, and got away."
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your semblance?" Ruby asked.
"I call it Perfect Planning," Aibek answered, "It tells me when I'm about to make a decision that'll make a plan of mine fall flat. Over time, I learned to analyze my plans, locate weaknesses, and adapt. I never failed a mission. All I had to do was decide how I'd catch the target, go at it step for step, and my semblance would let me know where I would fail."
"And that doesn't work any more?" Ruby asked.
"No," Aibek answered.
"Can you tell me what happened before that?" Ruby asked and said, "If we know that, maybe we can figure out a solution."
"I got the job, and went to Vale to prepare," Aibek answered, "I went out to sea from Riverguard, as it was the only place where I could plan in peace, according to my semblance. I was on my boat, when I saw a pack of Grimm in the water. The Lurkjaw. Their lures drew me closer to the water, but before I could jump in, a flash of light erupted and knocked me out of my trance, and the Grimm were gone." Ruby gasped and interrupted the man.
"Sorry, but did you say you saw a flash of light?!" Ruby asked, speaking louder than intended and drawing the bar's attention to herself. She calmed down again, rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously, and the other guests returned to their business.
"Yes, I did," Aibek answered and asked, "Why? You think that's related?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Ruby answered intentionally vague, "But I'd need you to do something. I'll teach you to reach a deeper part of your soul, and you tell me what you see, alright?"
"If you think that helps," Aibek said. Ruby used her Mentor semblance to teach Aibek how to enter his soul core.
"Good, now go there, and see if you can find an emblem that looks like the environment came to be like that. A natural feature of whatever is down there."
"Well, alright," Aibek said, and slumped over forward as he entered his soul core. Ruby caught him and made sure he didn't fall off his bar stool. He got up again after about a minute, and looked around.
"And, did you find anything?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Aibek answered, "A shark head, crossed with two tridents. I touched it, and heard a voice."
"Sirena," Ruby said to herself.
"What?" Aibek asked, and Ruby panicked slightly.
"Nothing, just thinking out loud," Ruby answered, calmed down and said, "Anyway, I don't think your semblance is broken."
"Then how did Niob see trough my plan?" Aibek asked.
"Maybe he didn't," Ruby answered.
"But, I was sure he did," Aibek said, "I felt tense all of a sudden, as if something powerful and dangerous was near me. He seemed so confident. I've never seen anything like that."
"He uses sound," Ruby said, "His aura can generate sound waves, and he uses them to trigger certain parts of the brain. That's where the nervousness comes from."
"So, he didn't break my semblance?" Aibek asked.
"Nope, probably not," Ruby answered, "He just has more control over his aura than most ordinary people, and uses that to make himself seem even more powerful than he already is."
"How do you know this?" Aibek asked.
"It's… difficult to explain," Ruby answered, thinking back at fusing with her whole team. Blake's knowledge of faunus aura manipulation, Yang's experience with Niob, and Weiss' knowledge of sound came together to formulate this theory, and while they had yet to prove it, it seemed the most logical explanation for Niob's abilities.
"So, he just made me think my semblance was broken?" Aibek asked, and started laughing, "Over eight years. I've thought my semblance was broken for almost a decade, just because of some flashy lights and a guy with bat wings who wanted to enroll at Beacon."
"So, are there any drawbacks to your semblance?" Ruby asked, and Aibek stopped laughing.
"Sort of," Aibek answered, "For one, it can't tell me why my plans will fail, or what I can do to make it work. Also, it gets less accurate the further ahead I plan, and I can't use it to plan for someone else. The best I can do is determine if my plans would be affected by their plan. But other than that, not really. It requires a lot of training to use properly, but once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy."
"I see," Ruby said and asked, "So, want to see if it still works?"
"Well, if you're sure it does, then I suppose it's worth a try," Aibek answered. They started small, with short chain reactions, and slowly worked their way up until Aibek was convinced that his semblance still worked properly. After she was sure that Aibek would be alright, Ruby bid her farewells and left the bar.
~o~
That night, Ruby entered her soul core and headed straight for Sirena's. She wanted to confront her mentor with the new information, which she had kept to herself for the time being.
"I see you've learned one of my secrets," Sirena said, waiting for Ruby at the edge of her soul core.
"I did," Ruby said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.
"Please, let's discuss this inside," Sirena said and led Ruby inside.
"So, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Ruby asked after the two sat down in a small room.
"Because it would have been dangerous," Sirena answered.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"I had several plans where I told you," Sirena answered, "In all, it would have been impossible to save as many people as we did."
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"I do not know," Sirena answered, "I tried my hardest to come up with a solution, but nothing seemed to work. So, I planned out a path where I don't tell you."
"So, what now?" Ruby asked.
"Now you know how I make my plans," Sirena answered, "But you cannot tell your friends. Not yet, at least. When they arrive at your home in Patch, then you can tell them."
"And until then?" Ruby asked, "Also, what about that big Grimm?"
"Until then, more secrets," Sirena answered, "However, I know for a fact that, if you trust in your friends, none will die. And I will not even be needed to help you."
"And what about me fusing with Blake?" Ruby asked, and Sirena chuckled, confusing Ruby a little.
"I cannot tell you everything," Sirena said, "If I did, it would change the chain of events, which might nullify the semblance that makes me such a reliable guardian. I can, however, tell you that it will not force me to step in."
"Can you share it with me?" Ruby asked.
"I could, yes," Sirena answered, "However, there are already two people with this kind of semblance in the world, so they will interfere if our plans ever cross."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"If Aibek or I plan something, we will know when it fails," Sirena answered, "So, if we both planned something, and our plans involved the same thing, it would get difficult. My plan would interfere with his, making him change his plan. Then his plan would interfere with mine, and I would change it. Then my new plan would interfere with his plan, and he would change it again. This would continue until one of us gives up or fails to find a solution."
"Yeah, that sounds confusing," Ruby said and asked, "Anyway, do you ever have problems with this semblance?"
"Occasionally, yes," Sirena answered, "When my teammates and I were talking with Sienna and Adam, for example, I knew their camp at Lake Matsu would be safe, due to this semblance, but I did not know how their safety would be ensured. The best I could do was promise they would be safe, ensure Sienna that I had a plan, and hope that she believed me. I did not know that Ilia would copy Guardian's Gambit or Deathzone, and had no idea those semblances would even come to be."
"So, you're sometimes surprised by your own plans?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Sirena answered, "The book I bought is another example. I wanted to offer the woman a pact, or write a copy of the book from memory for you. But the semblance told me that those options were not going to save as many people as I could, so I changed my plans."
"I see," Ruby said, "Anyway, I'll go back now, bye."
"Yes, goodbye," Sirena said. Ruby left the castle and returned to her own soul core, before returning to the waking world and her sleeping body.
~o~
Team RWBY, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Penny, Oscar and Maria were on their way into the tundra, looking for a pack of Big Ursai they wanted to use to have Penny copy Ladybug's semblance, and vice versa. The aircraft landed in some distance to the Grimm, the group left, and Ruby took Blake's hand.
"Don't break her, you hear?" Yang asked jokingly, looking at both Ruby and Blake.
"Well, guess we need to change our plans," Blake answered jokingly, and Ruby giggled a little. They hugged each other, and their auras lit up and merged. When the dark purple aura faded, the group saw a fusion with shoulder-long black hair with red tips, silver eyes, and cat ears on her head. She wore a rather light outfit, consisting of black boots with three retractable steel spikes at the toes, a black cat-suit, a pleated red belt holding her two hand scythes, a dark red tailcoat, and brown leather gloves with retractable climbing claws in the palms.
"I… don't have a hood," Ladybug said after looking at herself a bit.
"Well, at least Ruby is fine," Yang said and asked, "Blake, you in there, too?"
"Yes, they're both fine," Ladybug answered, "Now, we need some-" She suddenly fell into her own shadow with a surprised yelp, and disappeared. The others looked around, confused where the fusion had gone.
~o~
Ladybug fell out of the shadow of a tree and looked around, not sure where she had ended up. The only thing she knew for sure was that there was a pack of Beowolves nearby. One of the Grimm noticed her and alerted the rest of the pack, and they all came running towards her. Suddenly, Arevik dashed in front of her with Petal Burst and killed one of the Grimm with his claws before it knew what was happening. Ladybug unleashed the power of her silver eyes and turned the Grimm to stone, but also copied the tiger faunus' semblance.
"Who… are you?" Arevik asked when he saw the fusion.
"My name is Ladybug, I'm a fusion between Ruby and Blake," Ladybug answered and asked, "But, where am I? And… where is that music coming from?"
"You're in Mistral," Arevik answered and asked, "What music?"
"A song, it sounds pretty angry," Ladybug answered, "This is the coming of the tide, when opposition's swept aside."
"I don't know," Arevik said, "I don't hear anything."
"It's over now," Ladybug said, "Anyway, about my semblance."
"Right," Arevik said and asked, "I copied it too, right?"
"Yes," Ladybug answered, "It lets me disappear in any shadow, and come out of any other, as long as it is near a Grimm."
"That sounds pretty useful," Arevik said, "Especially considering my own semblance."
"Yep," Ladybug said, "Anyway, I really have to get back to my friends now, we have a big thing planned."
"Alright," Arevik said and asked, "One more thing, though. How do I use your semblance?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Ladybug answered, "I just think of saving people from Grimm, and it lets me do that."
"I see," Arevik said, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."
"Alright, bye," Ladybug said and thought of saving her friends from Grimm. Unfortunately, information from all kinds of timelines made it almost impossible for her to tell which set of friends she wanted to protect, and before she could figure it out, she fell into the shadows of the forest floor.
~o~
Ladybug fell out of another shadow and looked around. She saw Cinder, with two natural arms, and steel swords, standing in front of a woman Emerald and Mercury were holding in a kneeling position for her. Cinder had a white glove on her left hand, with a small Grimm sitting on her palm.
"Who are you?" Cinder asked, stopping whatever she was doing. Ladybug held her right hand towards Cinder.
"I… am the Fall Maiden," Ladybug said and shot a burst of energy at Cinder. The hit sent her flying, and Emerald ran after her to make sure she was alright. The Grimm died and the glove dissolved.
"Wait, what?" Amber asked. Mercury tried to hit her with his gun boots. Ladybug caught his leg with one of her own and redirected it, making him hit Cinder, just as she was about to get back up.
"Run, I'll hold them off," Ladybug said, helping Amber to her feet, and whispered "Go to Patch. Look for the Xiao Long Rose family, and protect the silver eyes. Tell Ruby to unleash the light within her to protect her loved ones from darkness." She called down a powerful lightning between Cinder, Emerald and herself, temporarily disorienting everyone with the sudden flash of light and sound. After she had regained her senses, Amber ran away safely, eventually running into Qrow, and Ladybug managed to beat and arrest Cinder, Emerald and Mercury. A licensed interrogator with a truth-seeking semblance managed to confirm that the three had planned to destroy Vale, and they were tried accordingly. A few days after arriving, Ladybug left the timeline again.
~o~
Ladybug dropped out of another shadow and quickly scanned her surroundings, something she had gotten oddly good at, considering how unlikely it was for one person to run into alternate versions of their friends. She stood in front of the Atlas vault, with Salem and Cinder walking away and Ironwood on the floor. Ladybug grabbed the staff and lamp with the ropes attached to her weapons and tossed them through the gateway, just as it closed.
"Oops," Ladybug said and asked, "Did you need those?"
"What have you done?!" Cinder shouted, and she and Salem attacked.
"Emerald sends her regards," Ladybug said and blasted Cinder with her maiden powers, knocking her off the walkway, and disappeared into her own shadow. She popped up behind Salem and froze her, then disappeared into her shadow again and left that timeline, now that she had done all she could. Cinder's aura depleted on impact and Atlas killed her, and with her final thoughts being of her former victim, her powers went to a better person. Salem was buried under the rubble, and while she would come out eventually, the massive city coming down on her, filling with water and being encased in ice would make for a long prison.
~o~
Weiss and Yang looked around, trying to find the fusion that had just gone missing, while Jaune tried to sense her aura, and Ren tried to locate her via empathy. The Grimm had attacked them, forcing them to kill the monsters.
"Just great," Yang said, angrily kicked some snow, and asked, "What are we supposed to do now?"
"I'm sure they'll come back," Weiss said, "I mean, Ladybug disappeared through her shadow, so she must come out of one as well. And all of us are casting shadows." A pack of Sabyr approached them, and just as they got ready to fight them off, Ladybug jumped out of Jaune's shadow. She landed in front of him, her hand scythes in hand, and looked at a point only she could see.
"This is my timeline, right?" Ladybug asked, and after seemingly receiving an answer, she said, "Finally."
"Who are you talking to?" Yang asked.
"Don't worry about it," Ladybug answered, "It's… complicated." She and Penny dashed towards the Grimm, and Ladybug used her silver eyes to turn them all to stone, copying Penny's semblance in the process. She looked into another timeline, careful not to fall into it through her shadow, and transferred what she saw onto Ruby's scroll.
"So, what was that about your timeline?" Yang asked, walking up to Ladybug. Maria turned one of the stone Grimm into oak wood and lit it on fire with some fire-dust.
"Well, I can come out of any shadow near Grimm," Ladybug answered, "And apparently this includes shadows in other timelines. I've prevented the Fall of Beacon in multiple ways, saved Ren's parents, and even met a magical girl version of Ruby. It's actually really fun to see what's going on all over the multiverse."
"A magical girl?" Weiss asked, genuinely clueless.
"Yeah, but we'll save that for later," Ladybug answered, "Now I really want to split up again, before my semblance decides I need to be somewhere else." Her aura broke and she split up again, and both Ruby and Blake passed out from exhaustion and pushing their fusion too long.
Author's note: The music Ladybug heard when talking to Arevik is Coming of the Tide by Amon Amarth. It's on the playlist I listen to when writing about Sirena, or related characters, and I was listening to it when writing that part, because it was mostly about Ruby.
I've also written a little spin-off that focuses on Ladybug's multiverse adventures.
The magical girl version of Ruby is a reference to my crossover fanfiction Go! Huntress Precure, where the Princess Perfumes and Dress-Up Keys from Go! Princess Precure decide to go to Remnant, and Ruby becomes the next Cure Flora.
Also, yes, there is now one timelines where the staff and lamp fall into the void, Cinder is dead, Emerald is the new Fall Maiden, and Salem will be incapacitated for a few years until she is freed by chance.