Hey everyone! If you're reading this and you haven't read my original fic, Dragon's Rise, then I highly recommend you do. If you've been thinking about reading it but daunted by the length then this is a chance to learn a little bit more about that world.
Again, mild spoilers for Dragon's Rise if you haven't read it yet.
Summary: Team RWBY falls off the bridge after their fight with Cinder in Atlas. One by one they all drop into the void. Instead of being put into the Everafter, they are instead thrown into cosmic borderlands. A strange higher being has offered them a chance at becoming stronger, to return to their world better than they were before. In order to accomplish this, they are to face a gauntlet of Trials. Little did they know that they weren't the only ones thrown here. How will Team RWBY react when faced with themselves from another world? How will they learn to handle what is to come?
This story is told mainly from the perspective of cannon Ruby Rose. For the purposes of this fic, when characters are referred to, if not specified then it is their cannon variants. Dragon's Rise versions of Team RWBY will be identified as such.
Chapter 1: The Twisted Games They Play
Falling, an endless void of nothing but specs of bright light and stardust. The weightless feeling of her body, the overwhelming sensation of exhaustion. Ruby Rose fell into the abyss below a yellow road made of starlight and magic amidst a space beyond mortal comprehension. They lost...
She lost...
Salem had two relics, Atlas and Mantle completely destroyed, and she didn't even know if their plan even succeeded even halfway. Was Oscar okay? Penny? Team JNPR? Did Weiss fall too?
Was this her fate?
To plummet endlessly into an abyss of nothingness after failing to save Atlas and Mantle? Mere moments before her fall, her team had been knocked down one by one, being the third to fall… was just the kick in the face, the salt in the wound that fractured her already failing mind.
She still recalled their desperate faces, the look on their faces as they stared down certain doom. The hopelessness, the soul-crushing sense of defeat.
"This is the end… we… failed…" The words left her lips as tears leaked from her eyes and drifted into the darkness above her.
How long had she been falling now?
Minutes?
Hours?
Days?
She could no longer feel anything… anything but the abysmal guilt that ate away at her soul. If there was one thing she could have… it would be to fix the things they did wrong. But… what could they have done differently? They were just teenagers, with the weight of the world on their shoulders, in way over their heads. This reality check was a long time coming.
"No…" Ruby thought, drifting aimlessly, "It's not about going back… it's about being better… but that doesn't matter anymore. Our fight is done..." but was it really? Had the light of hope faded completely?
Were her eyes open? She couldn't tell. It felt like her vision reflected her state of mind, nothing but darkness.
Then it happened. Like a sudden beam of light flashing into her vision, Ruby recoiled. "YOU CAN'T GO BACK" Words like bright lights glitched in front of her face… or were they inside her eyelids?
"What…?" Ruby mouthed but her voice was non-existent.
"DO YOU WISH TO LIVE?" each time the words flashed on in a glitching white light, a buzzing distortion reverberated.
Not understanding what was happening, Ruby didn't respond.
"DO YOU WISH TO BE BETTER?"
What was it trying to tell her? The questions piled on but so did the words.
"YOU CAN NOT UNDO, BUT YOU CAN BECOME MORE"
Ruby furiously shook her head, blinking rapidly, "I… I don't understand! What's happening?!"
The words glitched sporadically, fizzling and popping like a broken computer program, "YES, OR NO?"
"Stop! This makes no sense!"
The question repeated itself, "YES, OR NO?"
She had to answer the question. Whatever was happening, perhaps a delusion of her drifting mind, she decided to humor it. She wanted to fix things, and even if the mere possibility was to be entertained, then she had to try. "Y-Yes…?" Ruby hesitantly answered.
Then the words expanded in size, curling almost maliciously as they seemed to radiate strange white energy that crackled like lighting. The next line of text, the ominous reply shot forward.
"PROVE YOURSELVES."
"W-wha…?" she reached out but the words disappeared, and once again the feeling of falling overcame her. The darkness of the void had been replaced by a glimmering night sky, stars abundant over a cold atmosphere, she was falling through the air. She vaguely managed to catch a glimpse of several shooting stars falling around her like meteors, they were far off. She would've been more curious had her current situation not been so alarming.
"AAAAAAHHHH!" she yelled out as the darkness was replaced by the open night sky, the rush of cold air striking her face rapidly as an array of dark clouds flooded her vision. Bracing for impact she held her hands to cover her face as she broke through the clouds, the moisture whipping across her face, practically freezing her from the temperatures.
Once she broke through the clouds and removed her eyes, Ruby was greeted by a breathtaking yet hauntingly ominous view. A cityscape stretched her vision to the horizon, buildings as taller than anything from Atlas or Mantle layered in with smaller constructs that combined to form a concrete maze of streets and skyscrapers.
To the north, she vaguely noted a large lake, and to the south was the ocean that expanded endlessly. These gargantuan structures were not pristine, no... they were broken and shattered. Bits of rubble lined the empty streets, strange vehicles she'd never seen before. Scorch marks and holes riddled most of the structures but the wounds were so faded that they had to be older than she was.
Many street lamps that lined the desolate city seemed to be functioning, but that added to the haunting aura surrounding it, as not a soul could be found. The only life that seemed to thrive were the vines of nature reclaiming the once-occupied land. These tendrils of wilderness entwined themselves in the various cracks and holes in the otherwise empty city.
Of course, this observation took mere seconds away from the reality that she was still plummeting to her demise, as her mind reared to a screeching halt when she noticed the oncoming asphalt. She had no time to react or prepare a landing, the hurtling speed was much to fast to even ready Crescent Rose. Every millisecond that passed the ground grew ever closer and Ruby could only raise her arms in front of her face and brace for impact.
"OH GOD NO!" she yelled out, expecting to splatter onto the cold concrete. Ruby crashed into the street with a loud crunch that shattered the asphalt, only registering mild pain before hitting the ground.
Then she passed out.
Ruby awoke in a smoldering crater, deeply impacted into the street, shattered debris thrown to the sides, but she seemed relatively unharmed aside from the throbbing pain in her cranium, "Ungh… Where… am I?" She shook off the ringing noise in her ears and looked around.
She seemed to be in one of the street intersections, smack dab in the middle of it. Surrounded by nothing but ruined skyscrapers and destroyed streets.
"This… isn't Remnant…" she realized, the environment was unlike anything she was used to. The air felt different, the buildings were far too large.
Checking her equipment next she found that Crescent Rose was neatly tucked away in her back holder. Upon touching her weapon, a text box appeared, floating just before her face. It was light blue and transparent, similar to the screen of her scroll.
"What the…?" she read the text: 'Crescent Rose. Weapon Type: Scythe, Weapon Grade: Rare (Degraded due to damage). A weapon of immaculate design created by Ruby Rose. It functions as a Scythe and high-caliber sniper rifle. Can be upgraded further.'
Ruby blinked rapidly, as she tried to touch the screen, but her hand just passed through, "Damaged? What is this? Some kind of information system? Like in a video game? Is this some kind of simulation?"
She sliced her thumb on the blade of Crescent Rose and felt blood leaking from the open wound, "Okay… either reality or a really good simulation. Maybe it works like a scroll?" she swiped her finger across the text box and it disappeared.
"I wonder if…" She touched her right forearm with her left hand and another text box appeared. It read:
Ruby Rose of Remnant Prime.
Current Location: Earth-613, City Block C.
Age: 17, Height: 5ft 4 inches.
Semblance: Petal Burst.
Class: Fighter, Subclass: None
Aura Level: Recharging.
Current Status: No Physical Ailments. Exhaustion level 1 of 6. Confused.
Skills: Marksmanship, Hunting
Ruby rolled her eyes, "Oh haha. Very funny status box…" she muttered dryly. "Classes and Subclasses? What about stats?" the very mention of the word was enough to bring up another box.
She then saw a full breakdown of her stats:
Level: 1
Strength: 16
Agility: 22
Defense: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 20
(A/N: Stats are loosely based on DnD 5e Stats. The key term being loosely)
"Let's see… inventory?" she checked and a small box of 12 slots popped up. Inside it, she saw five bandages and five rations, and five water bottles.
"This is exactly like some kind of game…" she grunted in annoyance, "Maybe… map?" she called out and ironically enough, a large map of the area showed up. She almost gasped after realizing just how large the nearby area was. She was but a small red blip with the rose symbol, but the map only showed details of her immediate surroundings. Everything else was blanketed in a fog.
"So… I need to explore in order to figure out what's around me? What about getting out? Am I the only one here?"
She asked these questions and a list appeared in the form of a drop-down box labeled "Party Members".
Tapping on the incorporeal box, it showed a list labeled 'Team RWBY-Prime: Ruby Rose (Self), Weiss Schnee (500m away. Status: Alive), Blake Belladonna, (750m Away. Status: Alive), Yang Xiao Long(600m Away. Status: Alive'.
Breathing a sigh of relief she relaxed a bit knowing her teammates were alive and in the world with her. "Can I track them? Like you mark objectives in a game?" as she said the word Track, her digital map marked the locations of her party members.
"That's convenient." By their locations, Weiss was undoubtedly the closest, but they were all spread out all over the map, each in different cardinal directions. Weiss was to the East, Yang was to the West and Blake was to the North.
After observing the map a little more, she realized that her team was all on the move but Weiss wasn't moving at all, rather it seemed that Blake and Yang were moving south toward her location but Weiss was… walking in a circle?
Yang played a decent amount of video games so she probably got the hang of the system and Blake had good senses so she was probably trying to get a vantage point but Weiss was not a gamer, she had no idea how to work the system without a manual.
Realizing her partner was helpless, she picked the eastern street and wandered down.
Walking through the streets with the system map on her left so she could make sure she was going in the right direction, Ruby slowly made her way toward Weiss.
The system then popped up another notification, 'Side Objective: Regroup with your scattered team. Status: 0/3. Rewards: ?'
"Quests? I'm starting to think I'm delusional and this is just some crazy dream… but, there's no way I'd ever dream up this…" she spoke aloud, glancing at the looming buildings and night sky. Street lights still worked at least, but the silence and lack of life were creepy.
There were no lights in the buildings, only darkness and shadow seeping through the shattered windows and boarded-up doors. Vaguely she wondered if it was possible to enter them, but she didn't want to get sidetracked. "If this is the type of game I'm thinking about then these buildings would probably have supplies or loot in them."
Her wondering mind was suddenly ripped out of the daze as the screen suddenly flashed, "WARNING: THREAT INCOMING!"
"WHAT?!" she screamed, pulling out Crescent Rose. Momentarily realizing her weapon had indeed been damaged, the trigger was stuck and the blade was chipped in several places. "WHERE?!"
The mini-map popped up again and she saw around her were the icons of Grimm masks closing in on her location from all around her. There appeared to be five of them.
Getting into the battle position she scanned the area. Currently, she was in the middle of a long street, surrounded by two tall buildings, so the Grimm had to be coming from…
*CRASH* glass and concrete shattered, exploding onto the street as Grimm shot out of the abandoned buildings, jumping from the second and third floors down to the ground and surrounding her. It appeared to only be Beowolves.
She noticed nameplates above their heads in bright red, 'Common Beowolf. Lvl 5 Threat Level: None
Threat level and actual level? That was different.
The Beowolves on the other hand didn't give her much time to think about it as they began lunging for her all at once. Dashing in from all angles, Ruby petal burst into the air but realized she'd done so far too early.
"They're slow!" she realized. "Maybe this is what the system meant by no threat level… these guys are just mobs! With one graceful slash, she cleaved the heads off of all five before landing on the ground. The Grimm dissipates into nothingness.
System Prompt: 'EXP +25 Gained, Level Up! Lvl 2' All stats increase by +1
"That was… weird…" Ruby muttered as she saw a little red light appear over her body, her Aura recharging to full, "I don't feel any different."
The system then showed itself again, 'Congratulations! You have earned your first level and passed the initiation! Welcome to The Cosmic Borderlands!'
Ruby stopped her pace and stared at the screen, "Cosmic Borderlands? Is that what this place is called?"
'The Cosmic Borderlands is a place where warriors of legend come to prove themselves and become stronger. In this world, you will face many trials and challenges! Survive and overcome them to become even stronger and return to your world!'
Ruby gaped, "AHA! So there is a way out!"
'Be warned, this world might look different and feel different, but it is very real. Death in this world is death for real, so don't die! Fight! Survive! Win and be rewarded! The key to victory lies in your hands! This isn't a competition so don't worry about racing to the end! Take your time, learn, and become stronger! The Borderlands lives to make you better!'
"It's like they're trying to sell me something…" Ruby said blankly. "At least now I know how to get out. But nothing good ever comes without a cost…"
Deciding to stow her questions for later, Ruby continued along her journey, a thick gray fog was beginning to roll in.
After about twenty minutes of walking through the urban jungle, she approached a large open area, a grand park in the middle of the city. Large trees scattered the edges of the park followed by a protective fence made of black metal and a gate. It was still the dark of night and clouds continued to cover the sky, but the street lamps along the park shed enough light.
"Ruby…? Is that you?" the red leader instantly recognized the voice, whipping her head toward the corner of the block she noticed Weiss sprinting toward her.
"WEISS!" Ruby squealed, tackling the girl in a warm hug, "I'm so glad you're safe…" She held the embrace tighter.
Weiss sniffled and squeezed back, "Ruby! I was so worried… I saw everyone fall and… then I woke up here and no one was around. I thought I was dead… or worse you guys were. Then this stupid text box kept showing up and I tried to look for you but I kept getting lost and…"
Ruby sighed as she released the hug, "Weiss, slow down… I'll explain everything, but we need to find…"
"RUBY! WEISS?!" It was Yang who called out to them as the two saw the blonde brawler and Blake running at full speed from the western side.
"YANG! BLAKE!" Ruby and Weiss met them in a tight hug.
"Thank god you guys are alright… this place is terrifying… where are we?" Yang asked.
Ruby looked at them, "Alright… so here's what I know…" She began explaining the ins and outs of the system and what she learned. Blake and Weiss seemed to grow more confused but Yang understood the mechanics of it quite easily.
"So… we're in some sort of game?" Weiss asked in confusion.
Ruby shook her head, "No… this is real. I'm not sure how it's possible but it's real… besides even if it wasn't… do we really want to take that risk?"
Blake scratched her head, "I… no… we shouldn't. We don't know anything about this place outside of the little you just told us. Let's try and figure out our strengths and weaknesses then. If we are going to survive then we need to understand what we can and can't do."
Yang snapped her fingers, "OH! RIGHT! Status window!"
Yang Xiao Long of Remnant Prime
Current Location: Earth-613, City Block B.
Age: 19, Height: 5ft 8 inches.
Semblance: Burn.
Class: Berserker, Subclass: None
Aura Level: Full.
Current Status: No Physical Ailments. Exhaustion level 1 of 6. Excited.'
Skills: Uplifting Spirit
Status:
Level: 1
Strength: 24
Agility: 16
Defense: 16
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 16
Yang's brow furrowed, "What? Why are my intelligence and Wisdom so low?! I'm not an idiot…"
Blake chuckled and silently pet her, "Hey, it's not that bad, Ruby only has a 14, and mine's not much better at 16." The cat Faunus showed her status.
Blake Belladonna of Remnant Prime
Current Location: Earth-613, City Block B.
Age: 19, Height: 5ft 6 inches.
Semblance: Shadow.
Class: Ninja, Subclass: Assassin
Aura Level: Full.
Current Status: No Physical Ailments. Exhaustion level 1 of 6. Enamored.'
Skills: Stealth
Status:
Level: 1
Strength: 16
Agility: 24
Defense: 10
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 14
Once Blake saw the 'Enamored' status she blushed furiously and quickly closed the window before Yang could notice.
"Wait how come you have a subclass?" Yang asked confused, completely oblivious as to why she hurriedly closed the window.
Blake shrugged, "Not sure… maybe it's because of how my semblance works?"
"I have one too!" Weiss pointed out as she showed them her status.
Weiss Schnee of Remnant Prime
Current Location: Earth-613, City Block B.
Age: 19, Height: 5ft 3 inches.
Semblance: Glyphs.
Class: Mage, Subclass: Swashbuckler
Aura Level: Full.
Current Status: No Physical Ailments. Exhaustion level 1 of 6. Disoriented.'
Status:
Level: 1
Strength: 12
Agility: 18
Defense: 12
Intelligence: 24
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 8
"HEY! Why is my Charisma so low?! What does this system think it is?!" Weiss fumed causing the others to snort and giggle. "Well, at least my intelligence is pretty high. It seems we all have at least one stat that we each excel at. Ruby has speed but she has more all-rounded stats, Yang has strength, Blake also has speed and I have intelligence."
The system flashed, "Side Quest Complete! Rewards: 4 Rations, 4 Waters and 1 Weapon Repair Kit"
"It's the system again!" Blake shouted, her eyes standing on edge as she watched the text box disappear. Each one of their members received an extra ration and water, Ruby received the repair kit in her inventory.
"We got rewarded just for meeting back up?" Weiss asked dumbfounded, "What kind of idiot designed this thing?"
Ruby suddenly had a flashback to her encounter in the void, shaking off the feelings she answered, "No clue… but we're stuck here until we complete whatever these trials are…"
As the team conversed and explored each other's strengths and weaknesses, they didn't notice the sound of someone approaching.
"Ruby? Weiss? Yang? Blake? I-Is that you?" a small voice, sounding frightened and hesitant spoke from their right.
The team turned to see a small girl with bright silver hair and cyan-blue highlights walking toward them. She wore a dark blue gothic-style dress speckled with bright blue spots that looked like stardust. The most notable thing about her besides her short height, standing about 4ft 9 inches, was the pair of black horns poking out just over the top of her head.
"Who's the pipsqueak?" Yang whispered to her team as the child approached them.
"Holy shit it's really you guys!" the girl smiled broadly and ran up, wrapping Ruby and Weiss in a tight hug.
"She's got a mouth though sheesh," Yang commented again.
The team were taken aback by the sudden action and awkwardly tried to detangle themselves.
Ruby cautiously put some space between them, "Uh… do we know you?"
The little girl blinked rapidly, "Guys… it's me? Luna? Did you hit your head…" Then she suddenly gasped, "OH NO DID THE FALL MESS UP MY FACE BEYOND RECOGNITION?!"
Ruby held out her hand in panic, waving them frantically, "Woah! WAIT! I'm so sorry uh… kid… we don't know who you are…"
Luna blanched, "There's no way! You have to know who I am! Unless… you guys have amnesia! OH NO! DON'T WORRY GUYS I'LL FIX YOU!" her eyes were large and filled with tears as she held their hands one by one.
Team RWBY did not know how to react to her at all.
"Wait…" she then noticed something strange, "What are you guys wearing? I don't remember you guys wearing those outfits since Atlas. When did you switch back?"
Blake frowned, "Switch back? We've only been wearing these for a few months… wait how do you even know who we are?"
It was Luna's turn to be confused, "Few months? Guys… Atlas was like… more than a year ago. Did that fall make your sense of time go off? And where are the rest of the guys?"
"Rest of us?" Yang narrowed her eyes, "You mean team ORNJ?"
"ORNJ? I mean the rest of my team, you know… ASHN? Missing the A, H, and N?" Luna scratched her head. "I mean… if you haven't found them then they'll probably turn up sometime soon…" then she squinted hard, "Did you guys get younger?"
While Luna was trying to make sense of everything, a loud "OH YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME! STUPID PIECE OF METAL!" followed by a loud clanking of something being kicked away. It sounded like a very frustrated young man.
This was followed by a girl saying, "Dude, I told you to watch your step. Can you not be clumsy for like… two seconds?"
"Hey! It's not my fault some whacked me on the head with a metal pole because they thought I was a Grimm!" the man responded again.
Two figures appeared from the dense fog that was rolling in around the streets. A redheaded boy with green eyes, about nineteen years old wearing a black jumper plated with steel along his shoulders, chest, and legs emerged next to a tall dark-skinned girl with purple hair and lavender-colored eyes. The girl wore a purple jacket over a black tank top and camouflage-patterned parachute pants. She had a large satchel strapped around her left shoulder.
"I told you that was an accident! It's this damned fog!" the girl argued back.
The boy turned in their direction and pointed, "OH HEY WE FOUND LUNA!" he yelled, waving to the girl, "WASSUP MINI-BLUE?!"
Luna's smile brightened, "NITRO! HEX! Holy hell, so glad you guys are okay!"
Hex and Nitro gave the girl a small hug, Hex having to bend down due to her immense height, the contrast between Luna and the 6ft 2 muscular girl was jarring.
"Who the hell are these guys?" Weiss asked now seeing more people join the party.
Ruby frowned, "Not sure… they seem to know us though…"
Hex spotted them, "Oh sweet! You guys are here too?! Thank god you're okay!" she rushed up and suddenly hugged Yang tightly, "I'm so glad you're okay babe, I was so worried…"
Yang immediately jumped back, blushing furiously while Blake was ripe with jealousy, "I'm sorry, normally I'm not one to complain when a hot girl hugs me but… who are you?"
A look of hurt washed over Hex's face and Yang immediately regretted her words. The dark-skinned girl looked shattered.
"Yang? It's me? Your girlfriend? Please don't tell me you have amnesia…" Hex worriedly searched Yang for signs of injury.
The blonde brawler took a step back to her team, "Hey… I'm uh… sorry if this hurts, but I don't know who you are. I've never met you before in my life…"
Luna took Hex by the hand and shook her head, "They seem to not remember us at all… it's so strange… and they look like they did back at Atlas. You don't think they were flung through time do you?"
Hex scrunched up her features, "No… even if they did… to out rule us entirely? It's almost like… we didn't exist to them…"
"And where's Nova? You'd think if Ruby's here then he'd be close by…" Nitro commented as he was letting the situation sink in.
That's when Luna looked at Ruby with a fire in her eyes, "Ruby, please tell me you know who Nova is… he's the one person you have to remember..."
Ruby, like a deer caught in headlights, just stared blankly for a moment then answered sheepishly, "I have no clue who this Nova is… well I don't know who any of you are but you seem to know who we are."
Hex let out a heavy sigh, resting her hands on her knees she spoke, "This is crazy…"
Luna was mortified, "She has no idea who Nova is. Wait… Are you imposters?! Disguised monsters?! Quick, Weiss what's your shoe size?!"
Weiss looked appalled, "Excuse me?!'
As they were about to continue a system notification suddenly popped up in large letters above the park.
"WELCOME TO PHASE ONE OF THE COSMIC BORDERLANDS! CHALLENGERS PREPARE TO FACE YOUR FIRST TRIAL!"
"For the love of… the stupid system!" Hex shook her fist in the air, "WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW?!"
"Trial No. 1: Objective: Defeat all Oncoming Waves of Grimm. Time Limit: No Limit. Rewards: ?"
Luna pinched the bridge of her nose, "So this is what they meant by trials. Of course. Hex, Nitro, in the absence of my brother we'll move on my command."
"Yes ma'am," they answered simultaneously. Hex drew out Loki and Eres, a pair of swords attached to a long chain that connected the two blades. Nitro flexed his arms and a pair of steel sleeves covered his arms with fins on the back, Atomizer.
Yang noted them get into a fighting stance, "Are we doing this?" she asked Ruby.
The red leader nodded, "We don't have much of a choice, I think. Battle formation and be ready."
"Defeat all the Grimm? That sounds doable," Weiss said.
Yang banged her fists together, "Good, finally some stress relief!"
"Looks like we're doing this…" Blake took out Gambol Shroud.
Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and readied herself.
The air stood still, no wind dared blow as the dark clouds swirled overhead in a spiral. *CRASH! BOOM!* Lightning struck the earth as grand pillars of electricity arced from the heavens, smashing into the center of the park, decimating trees, and sending chunks of dirt flying. From the arc of lightning, a massive tear in the very fabric of reality appeared, like a gaping wound in the air, filled with a myriad of lights and colours.
The Creatures of Grimm began to storm out of the tear, all shapes and sizes of Grimm, from Beowolves to Nevermore. It was perhaps dozens, more than Team RWBY had seen in one place… well at least not before Atlas.
The Grimm all had the same strength: "Common Grimm, Level 10: Threat Level: Easy"
"NOW!" Luna yelled as she unclipped a black metal pole from her hip and expanded it into a great axe with blue-glowing ends. The Axe was almost twice the size of her body but she swung it with ease, charging headfirst into the onslaught of Grimm.
"WHAT IS THAT KID DOING?!" Yang yelled in panic as she watched the girl charge in by herself.
Hex and Nitro looked at each other and nodded, dashing in behind their interim leader.
Once Luna reached the frontline she smashed her Axe, Galaxia, into the head of an Ursa, and threw its stuck body into a hoard of them. She then jumped into the air and coated her body in bright cyan-blue dragon scales, glowing faintly with the same colour she aimed her axe downward like a pile driver and smashed into the ground, decimating dozens of them.
"That kid's got some serious destructive power…" Blake mouthed.
Nitro activated the jets on his gauntlets and blitzed into the horde at sonic speeds, crashing into Grimm and sending them flying like a certain red-suited superhero from a comic book.
Hex grabbed her swords by the chains and whipped them around in circles, spinning them like a blender as she danced through the Grimm and eviscerated their numbers.
"Come on guys, we can't let them do all the work!" Ruby yelled as she jumped into the fray slashing down Grimm with Crescent Rose.
It was an all-out brawl, Weiss summoning her knight to attack the Grimm while Yang was blowing holes into several as well. Blake made mincemeat out of a few herself.
As the numbers looked to be thinning, another tear opened as the first one closed and more poured out.
"EVEN MORE OF THEM?!" Weiss yelled as she stabbed into a Berengel with Myrtenaster. "Do they never end?!"
Ruby dashed into the horde and spun her scythe like a buzzsaw, carving a path through the Grimm when a large Beowolf Alpha was sent flying over her head and crashing into another horde before being crumpled up like a paper ball and disintegrating into black mist.
"You're moving kinda slow there Ruby… are you okay?" Luna asked curiously as she strut over to the girl who looked a little tired. Her eyes were filled with genuine concern.
Ruby panted, "Yeah, just… there's a lot of them…" she spoke through gasping breath. "LOOK OUT!" a Deathstalker was charging up behind Luna.
Without turning behind the little girl grabbed the oncoming stinger of the creature, her hand was covered in blue dragon scales as she sunk her claws into it and crushed it before smashing her axe into its skull.
Ruby could only gape at her reflexes, "Ruby… this isn't like you to get tired after only this much…" Luna said.
"Only… this much…?" Ruby panted again.
"Probably just need to warm up, you'll be back in no time," Luna chirped and pat Ruby on the shoulder before skipping off to kill more Grimm.
Ruby noticed a serious contrast between the three strangers and her team. While her team was melting through the Grimm with relative ease, their numbers were still exhausting their strengths. Meanwhile, the three strangers were killing Grimm with expert precision, efficiently and effortlessly they were slaughtering the horde as if it were child's play.
"What in the world…?" Ruby was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice, high above her head, a dark shadow loomed over her.
*CAWWW* a giant Nevermore was getting ready to strike, its feathers in firing position.
"Oh shit…" Ruby mouthed, preparing to take the feathers head-on, but as she stared up at her enemy, something shot out of the corner of her vision. A blur of red, a burst of petals that looked hauntingly familiar.
"RUBY!" Yang called, her other team members caught the alert and rushed to their leader's side as the giant Nevermore was about to be taken down. Ruby didn't notice them, as her eyes were fixated on what was happening in front of her.
The petal form dispersed and Ruby saw it in slow motion, a girl with short black hair with red highlights and a red cape, wielding a dangerously sharp mechanical scythe stabbing into the Nevermore's head like a sniper bullet out of nowhere. The giant creature flailed in the air momentarily but the person's scythe was stuck in its brain as she yanked over her shoulder, flipping the creature so when the two crashed she would land on its corpse. It plummeted to the floor and crashed, skating along the ground almost until it reached the kneeling Ruby Rose.
The person riding atop the fallen beast pulled out her scythe and landed in front of Ruby, the red leader could only stare in awe at the person before her. She wore a grey shrug jacket over a black sleeveless t-shirt which was over a fishnet undershirt. This was accompanied by a red skirt and black leggings. She was taller than Ruby, about 5ft 6 and her haircut was the exact same.
"N-No way…" Yang mouthed as she witnessed the person removing their scythe from the corpse of the giant bird.
"This isn't possible…" Weiss gasped, and Blake could only stand by in amazement.
"Hey, you okay?" the person reached their hand for Ruby to take it, "You really shouldn't space out on the battlefield…" she chuckled after helping up Ruby.
Ruby Prime's mouth dried up, "H-How is this possible…?"
The girl blinked, then looked at Ruby then did a double take, "W-WHAT?! N-No way…"
"YOU'RE ME!" They both pointed at each other and yelled simultaneously. "This is so weird…"
Ruby wasn't sure how to respond until…
"INCOMING!" What sounded like Weiss yelled from overhead as a giant icicle hurtled through the air, smashing into the ground where the tear was. The ice shattered into a brilliant explosion of snow that froze the nearby ground.
Weiss rubbed her eyes, "I-Is that… me?! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT POWER?!"
Ruby Prime looked at the source and found a taller Weiss wearing a snow-white fur-lined jacket over a blue undershirt and matching blue skirt that faded into white. Her hair was tied up in a long ponytail with her bangs over her face. This new Weiss landed next to the new Ruby.
Weiss Prime had a look of absolute astonishment on her face, "N-No way that's me…"
Yang Prime whistled, "She looks a lot more mature… but they don't look that much older…"
"We're almost done, looks like their numbers are starting to thin," New Weiss said placing her hand on her hips and looking at the two versions of Ruby… then did a double take.
"Okay… am I seeing double? Or are there two of you?" New Weiss asked flabbergasted.
New Ruby just scratched the top of her head, "Uh… I'm not sure what's going on…" She then gestured to Weiss Prime who was pointing and stuttering at her other self.
"ME?!" New Weiss exclaimed, "HOW?!"
*BOOM* A massive explosion of bright yellow burst across the park with a reverberating shockwave as another Yang wearing a bright yellow jacket with black lightning streaks over it showed up. The jacket covered a brown vest and khaki cargo pants followed. It seemed the explosion came from her fists as they were still radiating with power.
The new Yang strode over and leaned on Ruby's shoulder after dusting off her fists, the energy fizzling away, "Things are cleaning up nicely… and holy shit there's two of you guys!"
It was Yang Prime's turn to be awestruck as she just tugged on her other self's sleeve, "A-Are you… me? Damn, I look good..."
New Yang blinked rapidly, "I'm going to need a drink… either that or I need to lay off…"
Blake's eyes narrowed, "Wait if there's one for each of us then where's…"
Suddenly a harsh wind blew through the area and the ground was blanketed in a thick cast of shadows.
"What's happening?!" Weiss Prime gasped as the shadows curled around their feet but left them alone, instead, they shot up as spikes and impaled all the remaining Grimm in the area. The shadows then receded and a Blake wearing a black long coat over a black shirt and jeans showed up.
"Oh, sup Blake, nice of you to finally join us," New Ruby smirked.
New Blake smiled, "Hey, it takes a while to set up the attack sometimes… and why am I seeing two of everyone?"
That's when Luna, Nitro, and Hex arrived on the scene, the little girl saw the two versions of team RWBY standing side by side and fainted.
Hex on the other hand snapped her fingers, "AHA! I GOT IT!"
Before Hex could explain what she was on about, the System flashed above their heads again.
"Trial No. 1 Passed! Congratulations Warriors! Rewards will now be distributed!"
Glowing rings appeared around everyone present as they each gained five levels and their statuses went up.
System: "Now you all have some time to rest! Explore and relax before the next Trial. Due to the nature of the completion of Trial No. 1, Trial No. 2 will be re-evaluated, therefore you will be notified three days in advance before it is prepared. The Park of City Block B has now been determined as a safe zone. Monsters will not spawn within 20km Radius of this area."
With that the system dissipated, leaving the two Team RWBYs and three members of Team ASHN.
Each member of Team RWBY Prime stood before their counterparts, still dumbfounded and confused.
New Ruby looked at Hex, "You figured it out." It wasn't a question.
The purple-haired girl smirked, "Yeah but we might want to sit down for this. Let's set up camp first and we can talk over some food. I'm fucking starving!"
Alright Chapter 1 down, now for the other 2 in the mass release.