Ibuki: Disclaimer! The author does not own any of the material appearing in the story. The OC's belong to their respective owners!
BGM: Hades' Infernal Theme (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
"Time! Space! Reality! It's more than just a boring ol' linear path! It's a prism of boundless entertainment! A single choice can branch out into infinite realities and infinite amusement from yours truly! Alternate universes created from the ones that we know and love! I am Lord Hades, your handsome guide to these wonderful and boundless fun of opportunities! Follow me, if you dare… and bask in the neverending torturous question of:"
SUPER RWBY: WHAT IF?
"What If!"
End BGM
"Well, that was pretty great. Weiss becoming a lovable jungle queen and Adam doesn't resort to becoming a cringey try hard with nothing better to do! Hahahaha! And ol' Jacky boy decided to resort to terrorism. Who knew Weiss kept him in line? Oh well, at least he's no longer a problem to anyone else."
He looked through the universes. "Let's see here… what should we do next…" He mused as he rubbed his chin in thought. "I wonder… how's Sapphire Onyx holding up?" He wondered as he went to that particular universe.
"Oooooh… freedom fighters have been either put to death or thrown in jail. The whole world's in chaos as Sapphire is ruling Remnant with an iron fist. I love it! But… as much as I love chaos, I'm pretty sure Sapphire needs to be stopped, along with good ol' Ganny Boy. But who should stop her…"
Hades pounded his fist into his palm. "Ah! I know! In the main universe, Ruby stopped Chaos Ruby from destroying her own world! Perhaps Ruby could do the same with Sapphire!"
He looked into the main universe. "Oh… she's saying goodbye to her mother." He said as he looked away. "I'm chaotic, but I'm not that cruel. I'll wait." He said as he folded his arms, whistling casually, looking at his watch.
"Tum tum te tum~" He hummed, looking at his watch again as he looked back at the universe. "Taking a long time to say goodby- ah!" He grinned. "Now she's sitting on a bench all by her lonesome with a Flutter Mane! Now let me just reach in here-"
He stuck his hand inside the universe. "Come here for a second, my dear Ruby Rose! I need you to do me a favor!"
"WAAAAAAH! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"
"I need you to fix a problem in an alternate universe. Does the name Sapphire Onyx ring any bells?"
"Wait, Hades, what are you DOOIIIIING!"
Hades successfully pulled Ruby out. "Ah, here we are!" He grinned as he turned to the other universe in question.
"What the heck is going on here?!"
"Just gonna do some spring cleaning. Don't mind me!" He said as he started to reach to the other universe. "Oh, by the way, I'm not your Hades. I'm just a different Hades just watching the multiversal chaos for fun!"
"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!" She yelled as he shoved Ruby into the other universe.
"Say hi to Sapphire for me!" He waved as he then looked at the screen with a gleeful expression. "Now this is where the fun begins! Hahahaha!"
What If… Ruby Fought Sapphire Onyx?
"Aaaaaaaah!" Ruby yelped as she free fell into the Mushroom Kingdom, but an aura surrounded her as she landed gently on the ground, then the aura disappeared. "Where… where am I?!" She wondered as she looked around.
She would see Toad Town in ruins, a dark sky covered the land, Peach's Castle having a complete makeover as everything looked absolutely dreary around her.
"What the heck does he mean by… who's Sapphire?" She wondered as she suddenly gasped, flashing back.
"Hey, uh… sis? You mentioned Sapphire Onyx. What was she like?"
"Like an… evil version of you. Her skin was darker, her eyes were black… she was outright sinister. She had dark magic on her too."
"...Holy crap! I had a dream about her a few days ago!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but apparently Ganondorf approached me and he converts me into an underling of this… Demise guy and I'm… sharing some of the Triforce of Power with him. Then I go on and torture Dark Weiss and Dark Ruby… and then… unfortunately, I take over Remnant. I… think I called Yang out at one point? I'm not sure."
"Geez, what the heck kind of dream is that?"
"No idea! …I also had another dream where I'm the Spring Maiden, but the details are extremely fuzzy on that one. I think I was depressed though…"
End BGM
"That… that wasn't a dream… but… that would mean…" Ruby looked up in the sky. "HEY! HADES! What the heck is going on here?! I thought this was a dream!"
"Testing, testing, one two three… you can hear me right?"
BGM: Just Wondering (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
"Yes!"
"Good. Only you can hear me. You see, some people in your universe have crazy dreams where they see themselves in crazy scenarios. Like you with Sapphire and you becoming a Spring Maiden. This phenomenon is called Multiversal Emergency Transmission, or MET for short. This happens when one universe has had something crazy happen in it and tries to send information involving itself to other universes near it."
"...What?"
"For example! There was one universe where Junko became a Phazon Overlord and turned Remnant into a phazon junkyard. In your universe, Junko received a horrific nightmare over it."
"So what does that mean… is it like a warning? Like, warning them not to do it or…?"
"Honestly, beats me! I'm still trying to figure out the whole concept itself but I came up with the term! Pretty neat, huh? Anywho, have fun dealing with your doppleganger! Toodle-loo!"
"No, WAIT!" Ruby yelled as Hades disappeared.
End BGM
"Motherfu-..." Ruby groaned. "I have to deal with another doppleganger… another doppleganger… another doppleganger… another doppleganger another doppleganger another doppleganger ANOTHER DOPPLEGANGER ANOTHER DAMN DOPPLEGANGER!"
Ruby clutched her head in frustration. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" She screamed, falling on her knees and punching the ground in frustration.
"CAN I JUST HAVE A FREAKIN' BREAK FOR ONCE?! I'VE BEEN THROUGH HELL FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR BECAUSE OF DARK RUBY! BEATEN UP! TORMENTED! LINGERING FEAR! ALMOST GET KILLED BY HER AFTER DEALING WITH THE SHROOBS! RUNNING AWAY TO GALAR, ALMOST HAD MY FRIENDS GET KILLED BY DARK RUBY, I DIED FROM A FREAKIN' UNIVERSAL RESET BUT MOM FIXED THAT UP AND REVIVED EVERYONE! I THEN GET HEARTACHE FOR NO REASON BECAUSE I FELT MY PAPER SELF GO THROUGH HELL, I GET SWALLOWED UP BY BOWSER IN A BLORB CRISIS THAT SOMEHOW LASTED AN ENTIRE DAY, DIMENTIO COMES AND TORMENTS ME IN A SEEMINGLY NEVER ENDING WAR, SHOVES ME INTO FREAKING PHAZON, AND THEN DARK RUBY COMES BACK TO HAUNT ME AGAIN, TORTURES ME, ACTUALLY KILLS ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO CHAOS RUBY, BREAK ALL MY WEAPONS, SEVERELY DAMAGES MY ARM THAT IT HAD TO BE AMPUTATED… BUT LUCKILY I FREAKIN' ENDED HER DAMN LIFE!"
She then started to laugh. "Oh! OH! But let's not forget! I go on vacation with Shantae only to have the devil hunt me down for my soul, I had my soul ripped from my body for a split second, and then I had to watch Oran and Kala get their souls ripped out… and then I get my hip replaced by a FREAKING ELEPHANT HIP FROM A QUACK! And THEN I had to go to Hisui to stop some maniac from destroying the balance between humans and Pokemon, I let out an elephant bellow that shortened my life, almost get KILLED by Dialga, dipped in the rewind spring and had my hips SHATTERED ONCE AGAIN. I just watched my birth mother finally get her rest after I had life saving surgery… AND NOW I'M PULLED FROM MY FAMILY AND GOT DRAGGED INTO THIS UNIVERSE'S PROBLEMS?!"
Ruby clutched her head harder. "Hahaha! I'm going insane! I'm actually going insane! I've been dragged through the mud so many times, all I can do at this point is just laugh at this point! Any other person would have given up a long time ago, but me? Oh no! I endured so much, I just stubbornly went along like a trooper! I don't know how I did it, but I did! I didn't go crazy! But now I have! I finally reached my breaking point! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Lightning flashed in the sky, a loud thunderclap echoed in the area as rain started to fall throughout the land as Ruby continued to laugh. However, tears ran down her cheeks as she kept laughing… her laughing slowly being replaced with sobbing.
BGM: Where is the Hope? (Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age)
"What did I do to deserve this…"
She angrily looked at the sky. "WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO TO GET SOME REST FOR ONCE?!"
A Beowolf slowly approached her, stalking her from behind. Drool escaped his lower jaw as he approached her, growling lowly. Ruby let out a growl, standing up and clenching her fists. '
The Beowolf pounced, ready to devour her…
…And was promptly decapitated by Ruby within a split second. A dark shadow cast over her eyes.
"It sounds like you've been through a lot."
Ruby shifted her eyes, turning around and swinging her scythe… only to stop before the blade could reach its target. Her eyes widening who she just saw in front of her.
"M-Mom…?"
Summer looked at her, unflinching from the blade that almost pierced her neck. "You're not the Ruby I'm familiar with. That arm indicates you're not from around here. However, that doesn't mean anything to me." She said as she calmly walked to her and wrapped her arms around her in a loving hug. Ruby dropped her scythe as tears formed in her eyes and hugged her back, loudly sobbing in her shoulder.
"Shhh, I'm here, Rubes…" She said softly. "You can tell us all about it."
Heavenly lights surrounded them and Crescent Rose, sending them to Skyworld.
End BGM
Meanwhile, with Sapphire…
"Mmm…" Sapphire clutched her chest. "This feeling… why do I feel heartache?" She wondered to herself.
She shook her head. "It's probably nothing." She said as she turned around to see Salem bound in chains.
"You have some nerve binding me here!" Salem growled. "I thought we could form an alliance and this is how you treat me?!"
"Yeah yeah, tell it to someone who gives a damn about your life." She raised her hand up, the Triforce of Power radiating from the back of her hand as the Triforce appeared underneath Salem. "You'll forever be bound in this!" She smirked as Salem was instantly trapped in crystals and then with a snap of her fingers, Salem disappeared. "There, you'll be in the dark realm for all eternity."
"Ruby…"
"Yang, I told you for the last time, IT'S SAPPHIRE!" She yelled, slapping her across the cheek. "When will you get it through your thick head?!"
Tears ran down Yang's cheeks. "You're right… I'm sorry… forgive me, Sapphire…"
"That's much better." Sapphire smirked.
"Please… I'll do anything… just… come back to the sister I once knew and loved…"
"Anything, hmm? Let me think about it…"
Meanwhile, in Skyworld…
BGM: Broken Routine (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
"Holy moly!" Weiss said in disbelief. "That's quite… that's quite the story…"
"So now we have two Rubies going around?" Blake rubbed her head. "One evil, one good?"
"It seems like it." Weiss sighed. "You've been through so much…" She immediately hugged Ruby.
"...Even though you're not my Weiss, this hug still feels genuine." Ruby said, returning the hug.
"So, Dark Ruby took out your arm just like that, huh? Brutal…" Claude said. "Still, the thought of a plant arm sounds interesting."
"So… fill me in… what exactly happened here?" Ruby asked. "I… have a general idea, but I want to know what happened."
"Well, on our end, Yang went to go get Byleth after you guys got back from DK Isle, but Ganondorf spotted you… I mean, our Ruby moping about." Palutena explained. "He took her in and proceeded to change her into a monster. Her team tried looking for her, even when they went to the Beanbean Kingdom in hopes they'd find her there. Then… the Shroobs attacked, and then when Dark Weiss came, Ruby came in and snatched Dark Weiss, proceeding to torment her for information about Dark Ruby. When she wasn't satisfied, she destroyed her. She went on a national broadcast and called Dark Ruby out… then they fought. Once Dark Ruby perished, she was so lost in her darkness that she captured Yang and turned Remnant into a totalitarian state almost overnight."
Pit sighed. "Anyone who fought against her was either eliminated or thrown in prison. Sometimes imprisoned and then executed. Time and time again, we tried to put a stop to her but we were defeated every time. Even Summer couldn't get through to her."
Summer sighed. "You'd think seeing her mother would talk some sense into her, but no… she's fully gone."
"She imprisoned us, but Summer got us out thankfully." Blake said. "However, some of our strongest fighters have been killed by Sapphire to set an example."
"Like Esdeath…" Weiss sighed.
"...And now I'm glad Byleth found me first." Ruby sighed. "But now I've been dragged into this universe and… I'm tired. I need to take a nap or… something. Hisui mentally exhausted me, seeing my birth mother finally get her rest emotionally exhausted me, and now… now I'm here to deal with an evil version of me… woohoo…"
"You sure you're up for this?" Palutena asked.
"Just give me a Drink of the Gods, that'll perk me up for a while." Ruby requested as Palutena nodded, then Ruby took notice of who was all there.
Weiss, Blake, Claude, Pit, Palutena, Summer… out in the distance, she saw Kirby, Sheele and Hilda, the former dancing to cheer the two up.
"That's all there is? Even Viridi's not here?" Ruby asked.
"I know, Ganondorf managed to imprison her and stripped her of her goddess powers. Now she's just an ordinary person." Palutena said, handing her a Drink of the Gods as Ruby instantly gulped it all down, feeling herself perking up.
'Aaah… that hit the spot." She said, putting it on the ground and slapping her cheeks. "Okay, so… what's Ganondorf up to?"
"Holding Hyrule hostage, although he frequently visits Remnant and helps Sapphire out to take care of some rebels. The last time he came, JNPR and ATMC were wiped out." Pit said.
"Where's Link?"
"Also held hostage by Ganondorf. He's in Gerudo Town but we can't get past the gates."
Ruby folded her arms, closing her eyes. "Ah!" She smirked. "Okay, this is gonna sound crazy but… Blake, we're gonna need you to go into active camouflage."
"Huh?" Blake tilted her head.
"Back in my universe, you became part of a team known as SPBRR, led by Samus. If I recall correctly, my Blake has active camouflage on her… or… wait, maybe I'm remembering wrong, but it still stands!"
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there, plant girl!" Blake said. "What the hell is a Space Brigade?"
"It's a brigade that goes into space, duh! Try to keep up." Claude said, prompting Blake to give him an annoyed deadpanned expression.
Meanwhile, in Gerudo Town…
Ganondorf walked into the prison until he found Link's cell who looked damaged and bruised, also chained to a wall. "What's wrong, "Hero of the Wild"? You look like you've been through hell!"
"Rrrgh… bite me! Where are the other two versions of me?"
"That's none of your concern." Ganondorf pulled out a bottle with a fairy in it. "You see this? It's yours to keep." He smirked, deciding to put it on a high shelf in front of him. He then opened the cell door and walked to him, darkness forming in his hand as he put his hand on Link's head.
"Nnngh! Aaagh…!" Link grunted, feeling the darkness burn him. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Back in Skyworld…
"Soooo, I develop a fear of eels and Metroids…" Blake said as Ruby finished making a helmet with the help of Summer and Palutena.
"And a fear of X-Parasites that kills anyone instantly just by touching them!"
Blake grimaced. "...Is our world really that bad in comparison? I'd rather deal with a crazy version of you over all of that! Hell, what's next, I bond with an X-Parasite and develop a split personality? No thank you! I'd rather have my head chopped off by Sapphire than do all of that! Noooo thank you!"
"Ooooh, where's your sense of adventure?" Ruby teased as she put the helmet on her.
"My sense of adventure has left a long time ago, thank you very mu-... oh wow, this helmet is so snug and… oh goodness, there's a lot to take in with this visor!" She said as Palutena snapped her fingers as a black and white zero suit appeared on her body.
Weiss checked out Blake. "Dang girl, you're looking quite appealing in that!"
"I do? Well, I guess it does give that sort of appeal…" Blake flashed a pose as Hilda, Sheele and Kirby approached them.
"Oh great, the cat's doing model posing…" Hilda shook her head.
"I also upgraded Gambol Shroud. Apparently, according to Palutena, you guys retrieved Samus's armor so we just transferred some of her arsenal into your weapon." Ruby said.
"Plasma Beam, Wave Beam, Ice Beam… goodness gracious!" Blake said as she went into active camouflage and then turned back to normal. "Okay, I'm gonna admit it. I love this."
"Great! Sooooo… now what?" Weiss asked.
"We split into teams." Ruby said. "One team goes to Hyrule, free Link and take down Ganondorf. The other team goes to Peach's Castle… or in this case, Sapphire's Castle and face her head on. Of course, I'll probably be facing her because why the hell not." She rolled her eyes.
"I'll go with you." Summer said as Ruby nodded.
"We only got one shot at this. It's all or nothing." Claude said.
"Right… so let's do this." Ruby smiled.
"Wait, hold up a second! I'm curious about something." Weiss spoke up. "If Blake goes on this wild adventure, what happens to me?"
"Oh, at one point, you get goddess powers thanks to an ancient mask owned by Young Link in my universe."
"Yeah, that's nice, but Young Link has missing for wee-... wait, what's this about goddess powers?"
"You became a version of Fierce Deity and saved me from a skull obsessed lunatic. You basically became one of the strongest members of Team RWBY after that. You became so awesome!"
Weiss blinked. "Can you repeat that again? I became the strongest WHAT of team RWBY?" She asked as Palutena raised her staff up to send the teams to their locations.
"Good luck… you're going to need it."
End BGM
Gerudo Town - Blake, Weiss, Sheele, Hilda
"No, seriously, I become what?" Weiss wondered.
"Let's not worry about that. Let's focus on getting Link and destroying Ganondorf." Blake said as they walked toward Gerudo Town, seeing it being heavily fortified.
"There it is…" Hilda said.
"Alright, let's give this a shot." Blake said, immediately turning herself invisible and walked straight for the guards.
"Looks like we have some troublemakers." A Gerudo guard said.
"Alright, we'll just take 'em down and-" Suddenly, she felt the back of her neck getting hit as she fell to the ground and before the other could react, she was KO'd as well.
Blake revealed herself. "Silent as a cat, I like it~!" She smirked as she turned around, looking through her visor. "The switch should be… ah!" She switched to the Wave Beam and shot through the wall, hitting the switch as it activated the door, opening it up for them.
"Nice one, Blake!" Weiss whispered as the four of them infiltrated Gerudo Town, hiding in the shadows as the guards wandered around.
"They're not even noticing us in the darkness? Wow, they stink at guard duty." Hilda snarked.
"Shhh." Sheele shushed her.
"Okay, do we know where the prisoners are located?" Weiss asked.
Blake scanned through her visor. "...I was afraid of that. They're deep in the basement."
"How do we get in the basement?" Hilda wondered.
"Only one way through." Blake pointed toward the castle in town.
Hilda blinked. "Welp, we tried." She tried to slink away but Sheele grabbed her wrist.
"We didn't come all this way for nothing. Ruby just gave us hope and luck. We can do this."
Hilda groaned. "I'd rather read comic books in Skyworld…" She sighed as they quickly made their way inside the castle, quickly disposing of any guard or Moblin in their way as they hurried down into the prison cells.
Once they got through, Blake scanned for Link. "Gotta be here somewhere…"
Weiss looked around, seeing such faces like Byleth, Captain Falcon, Sonic, several Rito and Zora, Edelgard and a whole lot more. "This is heartbreaking… all of them have lost hope."
"Not anymore." Blake said as she found him, running to his cell as the others ran after her until they reached his cell, seeing burn marks all over his body. "Oh gosh…"
"Step aside." Sheele said, bringing out her scissors as she cut through the bars.
"What…?" Link looked up as Sheele cut through the chains as Blake immediately caught him.
"Easy…" Blake whispered. "You okay?"
"F-Fai…"
"What is it?" Weiss asked. "What are you gonna say?"
Link weakly pointed toward the shelf. "Fairy…"
The four turned to the shelf with the Fairy in the bottle. "Yeah…? What about it? It's a cute fairy in a bottle." Hilda said.
"Oh! I think I know what he wants." Weiss attempted to reach for it. "...Mmmph, Sheele, can you give me a boost?"
"Sure!" Sheele lifted her up as Weiss grabbed it and then she hopped down, walking over to Link as she opened the bottle up.
"Here you go." Weiss said gently as the fairy came out and flew around Link.
Meanwhile…
BGM: Underworld Castle (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
Sapphire's Castle - Ruby, Summer, Pit, Claude, Kirby
"Oh geez, me… what did you do?" Ruby wondered, staring at the castle as it looked gloomier and less inviting than when Peach was in charge. "Or more like… what did I do?"
"You didn't do anything." Claude said. "Our Ruby did this."
Ruby sighed. "Alright… if I can stop Chaos Ruby from destroying her world, I can stop another version of myself." Would have appreciated it if I had my rest first, THEN I come to stop her… oi…
Summer pulled out her daggers. "You ready?"
"Well… I don't really have a choice, do I?" Ruby said as they walked straight to the castle where they were greeted by a Lynel, charging directly at the group but Kirby jumped in and sucked him right up, then spitting him out into a poison moat.
"Poyo!"
"Really? A poison moat? Yeesh…" Ruby shuddered as Pit kicked open the door, then they walked in.
"Hey! Sapphire! We need to talk!" Pit called out.
"Uuuugh… again? You guys don't know when to quit." Sapphire said as she approached. "But no matter, I'll just destroy you all like last time and-" She paused, seeing Ruby in front of her. "What…?"
Ruby blinked, looking right at her. "Oh gosh, she's worse than Chaos Ruby…"
"Are you… no, this is a set up. You're trying to trick me!" Sapphire said as she smirked. "And I'll punish you severely… because I have a trick up my sleeve!" She said, snapping her fingers as darkness opened up in front of them as Yang walked out, but she looked entirely different.
Her eyes were just like Sapphire's, dark tattoos were on her arms as her hair was in a ponytail as her hair was entirely purple, her clothing had faded as she had spiky bracelets on her wrists.
"Yang…" Claude's eyes widened. "What did she do to you?"
"...I'm no longer Yang. I go by Yin Li now." She said, pumping her now orange gauntlets.
"See to it that you dispose of them, Yin." Sapphire disappeared into the darkness.
"Sapphire, WAIT!" Ruby yelled but she was long gone.
End BGM
Summer looked at Yin Li. "We don't have to do this, honey… just stand down."
"I'm doing this for Sapphire… I made her a promise that I'll do anything for her. And even if it means striking you all down. So be it."
"Sis…" Ruby whispered, closing her eyes as she got in a battle stance. "Forgive us for what we're going to do to you."
BGM: Armed and Ready (RWBY) (Start at 0:23)
Would Do Anything For Sapphire - Yin Li
Blue fire surrounded Yin Li's arms and threw blue fireballs at them. Summer blocked these with her daggers as Ruby immediately flanked her. "Sorry about this!" She quickly slashed her, but Yin Li ducked, grabbing Ruby by the arm and throwing her down to the ground. "Mmmph!"
Ruby shook it off, seeing Yin Li about to stomp on her face but Ruby immediately used her semblance to get away from her. I can't tell if she's depressed or Sapphire managed to calm the savage dragon within her. She's a lot more collected than she usually is!
Claude quickly jumped into the air, firing a few arrows at her as Yin Li put up a blue fire shield to protect her as she then turned to Pit and breathed fire. "Whoa!" Pit rolled out of the way. "Did you swallow a dragon by any chance?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Yin Li said, firing her gauntlets which were made of blue fire. The moment they made contact with Pit, they exploded and sent him crashing to a wall.
"Nnngh!"
No doubt about it, she toughened her up! Ruby thought. …Alright, if that's how it's gonna be…
She split up Crescent Rose, immediately using her semblance to get behind Yin Li and slashed her a few times to knock her back. Yin Li sweep kicked her in response and punched her in the face to send her back several feet. "Mmmph!" She grunted, shaking it off and smirked. "You call that a punch? My older sister can punch harder!" …What am I doing? Am I trying to get myself killed?
"You have an older sister… she's probably more loyal to you than I am." A tear escaped Yin Li's eye as she immediately threw a fireball at her.
Whoops… Ruby immediately rolled out of the way, quickly shooting at her with both weapons as Yin Li returned fire, then Summer slid behind her to trip her up, turning around and kicking her in the stomach as Claude fired a bomb arrow, striking the ground to knock Yin Li back.
Yin Li got back up, jumping in the air and throwing down a blue ball of energy at them. Kirby jumped in and hammered the ball of energy back at Yin Li, hitting her and knocking her to the ground but Yin Li flipped over and landed on the ground.
Pit jumped in and swung an Ore Club at her, but Yin Li ducked and grabbed the Ore Club with one hand and punched Pit in the stomach with the other. Ruby instinctively pulled out her boomerang and threw it. Yin Li turned around and punched the boomerang to shatter it, the pieces flying behind her.
"The boomerang never was your strongest weapon."
"Oooooh, I wouldn't count that out." Ruby said as the pieces turned around and embedded themselves into Yin Li's back, exploding immediately after as Yin Li cried out in pain as Ruby immediately used a Rose Tornado to suck her up as she then jumped through, gathering her boomerang to piece itself back together as Ruby then used her semblance to slam into Yin Li's stomach, slashing her to the ground as she crashed into it.
"Nnngh…" Yin Li grunted, her aura flickering.
Ruby landed on the ground. "Yang, stand down… we don't want to hurt you."
"It's… it's Yin Li. Sapphire gave me this name… and I'm not gonna waste it."
"What kind of blind loyalty is this?! Sapphire's a monster!"
"I led her to where she is because I was not there for her… this is all my fault. I declared my loyalty for her. This is how we'll stay sisters."
"That's a horrible way of looking at it! Even I called my sister out, but I didn't just dump her like that! Sure, we fought but-"
"Enough! You don't know what I went through, and you don't know what Sapphire went through!"
"Dude, she's me! An evil version of me, but still me! I know what's going through, I've been down that road! …Probably not this road, but…"
Yin Li got up. "You're just a false Ruby… I'll take care of you for my sister's sa-"
In the blink of an eye, Ruby was already behind Yin Li, lightning crackling from her body. "I'm not a false Ruby… and you need to get your head out of your butt because it sounds to me like you did this out of desperation just to get her to notice you."
Yin Li clenched her fists. "You don't know what you're talking about." She turned around, swinging at Ruby where she weaved her head and countered by shoving her finger into a pressure point, making Yin Li's arm fall limp.
"What…?" Yin Li swung her other arm, but Ruby ducked and struck her other pressure point, making her other arm fall limp. She let out a growl and breathed fire, only for Ruby to duck again and then palm struck her in the gut, swiftly attacking her other pressure points to knock Yin Li out.
End BGM
Ruby sighed. "Thank you, Bea. I finally had an opportunity to do what ya showed me…" She said to herself.
"Well! I never expected something like that." Claude said as he walked over, sitting down and cradled Yin Li. "You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up."
"You sure?" Pit asked.
"Yeah."
"Poyo." Kirby nodded.
Ruby looked over at Yin Li. "I hope you can prove me wrong, but to me… it feels more like stockholm syndrome." She said as she turned toward the doors.
"You ready?" Summer asked.
"Yeah. Let's go."
Back with Team B…
BGM: Inside Ganon's Castle (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
The five of them climbed up the stairs, Blake swiftly slashing through Stalfos as they made their way to the top of the tower.
Weiss quickly kicked open the door, as they all went in and faced Ganondorf who was playing the organ.
"Hey! Ganondorf!" Blake called out to him but he ignored her.
"Ganondorf! Turn around!" Weiss yelled but Ganondorf still played.
Hilda raised her arm and threw her axe, striking the organ and damaging it. "HEY BOZO!"
End BGM
"I believe you dropped this." Ganondorf said, picking up the axe and throwing it back at Hilda. She quickly caught the handle, the blade inches from her face.
"Phew…"
Ganondorf smirked. "I see you rescued Link." He chuckled. "But know this… this will be the last time you freedom fighters will ever experience!"
"...Ugh, I don't know why but "Freedom Fighters" sound so cliche." Hilda groaned. "Can't we name us something else?"
"How about "Dead"?" Ganondorf smirked, causing Hilda to grimace.
"You walked right into that one." Sheele said.
"Oh shut it!" Hilda got in a stance. "Let's just try to survive this one!"
Link pulled out the Master Sword. "I had a feeling it would come to this." He said as Ganondorf rose up from the ground, laughing evilly.
"You don't scare me… I welcome a good fight!"
Back with Team A…
Sapphire looked out the window into her kingdom, then the doors swung open. Sapphire tilted her head back a bit. "So, I take it Yin Li failed."
"Yeah, she's not our problem!" Pit said as the four of them got in a stance.
Sapphire turned to face them, then looked at Ruby. "Tell me something. Who are you?"
"Who do you think?"
Sapphire closed her eyes. "Ruby Rose… there's a name I haven't heard in such a long time. I shed that old name."
"Why did you?"
"Because Master Ganondorf thought I could destroy Dark Ruby if I served under him." Sapphire smirked. "And guess what?" She showed off her wrist, the Triforce of Power glowing. "I destroyed her, and now Master Ganondorf and I both share the Triforce of Power!"
"You traded your whole life, your innocence… your humanity… JUST FOR POWER?!" Ruby yelled. "All because of Dark Ruby?! …Which, honestly, I can see why because she sucks but you shouldn't shed your true self! That's out of character, even for someone like me!"
Sapphire frowned. "So you decided to go the long route and waited until you were powerful enough to stop her? Lot good that did you, you lost an arm and replaced it with… with… that!"
"I consider this an upgrade."
"Whatever! If you think another alternate version of me will stop me… then you rebels truly are desperate to fight me! This little charade is over. I'll kill all of you and then Remnant will truly have its peace!"
Ruby cocked her scythe. "Then you're leaving us with no other choice."
Sapphire grinned, lifting herself off the ground and smirked evilly. "Come and face me then!"
BGM: Ganondorf Battle (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
The Queen of Darkness - Sapphire Onyx
Ruby immediately got in a stance and immediately used her semblance to charge at Sapphire. "I know all your tricks, Ruby. You're me so I know what you can do!" She shot lightning at her, but Ruby split herself and reformed behind her. She let out a gasp as Ruby slashed her down.
"You don't know me enough!" Ruby said. "Ganondorf got to you when you thought you were at your lowest… but know this, that was not the lowest point for you! I've been down lower than that… and believe me, I've crawled my way out and got stronger!"
"Show me then!" Sapphire swung her scythe as Ruby did the same, both of them clashing as Sapphire shifted her eyes and parried Ruby, turning around and slashing at Pit and Summer, both of them jumping back as the former fired arrows at her. She twirled her scythe to block it as Ruby pressed a button, her scythes forming into a crossbow and fired a silver arrow, striking Sapphire in the shoulder.
Sapphire turned around to face Ruby, only for Summer to slash her from the side as Kirby Hammer Flipped her over the head to knock her to the side. Sapphire quickly teleported in the darkness, reappearing behind Ruby with a smirk. Ruby shifted her eyes and turned around, swiftly blocking the attack as electricity crackled in Ruby's hand and electric punched her in the cheek to send her sliding.
Ruby planted her rose hand to the ground as Sapphire charged up a dark spell… and then vines suddenly shot up from underneath Sapphire and wrapped around her. "Nnngh! What…?!"
"Told you it was an upgrade." Ruby smirked as she used her semblance as Sapphire wrapped herself in dark fire to burn the vines away as she threw fireballs at her. Ruby went around these, only for Sapphire to telekinetically pick her up and threw her to a wall.
Sapphire turned her head to face the others, unaware of Ruby hitting the wall and Triangle Jumping back, wrapping herself in electricity as she caught Sapphire in an electric tornado. "Wh-what in…?!" Sapphire yelped as electricity zapped her repeatedly as Ruby appeared on top, pulling out her Silver Bow and fired a few Silver Arrows, embedding them in her stomach as Ruby then slammed into her, slashing her to the ground and jumping off.
End BGM
"Nnngh…" Sapphire groaned as Ruby stood tall.
"...Whoa." Pit looked on in awe. "Incredible!"
"Poyo!" Kirby's eyes sparkled.
"Ruby… you truly are that much powerful." Summer said in awe.
"Uuungh…" Sapphire tried to get up. "How…"
Meanwhile…
"Uuungh!" Hilda was thrown to a wall as Sheele was knocked down. Weiss was on one knee as Blake shot at him with the Plasma Beam as Link batted away a powerful energy attack with his sword, but Ganondorf swung it directly toward Hilda. Crap! Hilda immediately dove for cover as the energy exploded, destroying a wall.
"I… I don't know if he's gotten more powerful or if he was just holding back this whole time!" Weiss grunted. I need the Fierce Deity mask… but where is it?
Hilda looked at the destroyed wall, noticing a treasure chest inside of it. "Hmm?" She went into it out of curiosity.
"Hahahaha! Even with the Master Sword, you're nothing!" Ganondorf laughed. "Even if you were re-energized, you've gotten rusty over the months locked in that cell!"
"Rrrgh…!" Link growled.
Ganondorf laughed. "Farewell!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Everyone froze, turning toward the hole in the wall as they saw Hilda on her knees, a treasure chest opened up near her as her hair was completely silver, pink and silver armor surrounded her body as her eyes were white blanks with pink markings on her cheeks. Two silver hatchets were in her hands.
"What?! How did you uncover the Fierce Diety-" Ganondorf's eyes widened, recalling the energy blast he threw at her but was distracted by Link. "No!"
"Ha… hahahahaha…" Hilda stood up straight, smirking. "I NEVER FELT SO ALIIIIIVE!"
"...You gotta be kidding me!" Weiss pouted.
BGM: Between Heaven and Earth (Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes)
Ganondorf threw a ball of energy at her but Hilda swiftly batted them away with her hatchets as Ganondorf tried to backhand it but got struck by it as Hilda threw a hatchet at him, striking his chest. "Rrrgh!"
Hilda immediately lunged at him, jumping up and slashed Ganondorf down to the ground as Hilda landed in front of him. She raised her hand up to recall the axe to her as she swung her arms down in an X, cross slashing energy waves at Ganondorf as he brought out his trident and tried to block them, but the energy waves was enough to send the trident flying away.
Hilda immediately charged at him as Ganondorf brought out his sword and swung down, but Hilda crossed her hatchets and caught the blade as she parried him immediately and then embedded her hatchets into his stomach and chest and then swung up to knock Ganondorf in the air. She swung her hatchets down as a lightning bolt came crashing down as he slammed into the ground in defeat.
End BGM
Hilda raised her arm in the air. "Hilda! Hilda! Hilda!" She cheered as Link shrugged at this and walked over, placing his foot on Ganondorf's stomach.
"I wouldn't have to do this… but you leave me with no choice." He said, raising his sword up in the air.
Ganondorf smirked, closing his eyes as the Triforce of Power glowed. "Sapphire… the rest of the Triforce of Power belongs to you!" He declared as Link impaled him in the chest to finish him off.
"Wait… did he say "Rest of the Triforce of Power"?" Sheele asked.
"...Oh no… we gotta hurry!" Weiss exclaimed.
"Hahaha!" Hilda laughed. "I am so keeping this mask! I don't even have to do anything in the battlefields anymore. I can just put this on and scare them away! It's the ultimate laziness tactic!"
Everyone sweatdropped, giving her deadpanned looks.
"...What?"
Back at Sapphire's Castle…
"Okay, you…" Ruby picked up Sapphire by the collar. "We need to talk."
At that moment, the Triforce of Power shined brightly in Sapphire's wrist, in fact, the Triforce of Power glowed underneath them.
"Ruby! LOOK OUT!" Summer yelled.
"Huh?!" Ruby dropped her and jumped back as red light covered Sapphire.
"Hahahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sapphire laughed as she emerged. "Master Ganondorf is dead… but I have the full power of the Triforce of Power!" She declared.
"Sapphire… no! Be reasonable!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Reasonable? Hahahaha, oh my dear Ruby… you all exhausted my patience. I've been merciful to those who I've slaughtered. Esdeath, Samus, Ridley, Dark Samus, Meta Knight… but now I'm at the limit of my mercy for you keep getting in my way of peace!" She smirked wickedly. "And right now… this is me. Being. Reasonable."
BGM: Last Battle (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
She clapped her hands and unleashing a powerful dark explosion that destroyed the entirety of her castle.
Once the dust settled, Ruby got up only for Sapphire to snap her fingers as Ruby was caught up in chains and pulled into a wall. "Mmmph!" She grunted.
"You want to be the hero, Ruby? That's fine! Go ahead and die like the hero you are! But first… I'll go and slaughter your friends here just to make you watch!" She smirked. "In fact… I think I'm capable of destroying ghosts!"
Ruby's eyes widened. "Destroying ghosts…?!"
"That's right… and lookie here!" Sapphire telekinetically grabbed Summer and brought herself over to her.
"You'd kill your mother?!"
"If she's siding with the rebels, then YES!" Sapphire smirked, grabbing Summer by the throat.
"Nnnngh!"
"You'll kill your mother…" Ruby whispered as Sapphire's hands swelled in darkness.
"Any last words~?"
"...You'll kill my mother…"
Summer grunted, trying to fight her. "Ruby… don't do this…!"
"Ruby's gone." Sapphire smirked, raising her other hand and reaching for her head…
…When a massive lightning bolt struck the ground.
End BGM
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
In a split second, Sapphire was punched in the face and sent her flying into a destroyed wall. Summer fell to the ground.
"That's… ENOUGH."
Ruby emerged from the smoke, having transformed into her Rose Zinogre form.
BGM: Red Like Roses Part II (RWBY)
"You're not killing ANYONE here! NOT ANYMORE!"
Sapphire looked on at Ruby in surprise, before smirking. Shadowy wolf claws came out of Sapphire's hands, her eyes turning feral. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."
The two of them put one hand on the ground, both of them baring their fangs as they both lunged, both of them clawing each other, only Ruby was quicker and slapped Sapphire away. Ruby immediately conjured up lightning bolts and threw them at Sapphire.
"Mmmph!" Sapphire grunted, immediately charging up dark energy and threw them at Ruby as she put up an electric force field to block the attacks as Sapphire disappeared into the darkness, reappearing behind Ruby and slashing her away.
Ruby immediately turned around, growling at Sapphire as she lunged again. Sapphire shadow clawed her… only when she did, she was met with an electrical explosion as the real Ruby was behind her and Palm struck her away.
An explosive after image…?! Just how powerful is she?! Sapphire grunted, lifting herself off the ground and throwing dark energy balls at her as Ruby swiftly ran toward them, sliding underneath them and quickly making an electrical Rose Tornado as Ruby jumped up and axe kicked Sapphire to the ground.
"Ruby…" Pit looked on in awe as Kirby had brought out pom poms and was cheering Ruby on, all the while Summer looked on in surprise.
She's grown so much in her universe…
Sapphire grabbed Ruby by the ankle, only for Ruby to kick her with other foot as Sapphire punched the ground to create a small dark explosion to knock Ruby back, then Sapphire lunged and punched Ruby, where she caught it with her hand.
"You call that a punch?" She immediately returned the favor with an electrical uppercut to her gut. Sapphire coughing out spit as Ruby then electric kicked her in the face to knock her on her back.
"Nnngh…! No… I should be… I should be strong with my powers…!"
"That's the thing, Sapphire. You have this dark power within your fingertips, but you never enhanced your powers. I did!" Ruby swiftly lunged again, as Sapphire shot her with a point blank dark laser, striking Ruby to knock her back but she used her plant arm to hold it in place as Ruby snapped her fingers as a lightning bolt struck her from above.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" She screamed as Ruby jumped in, pulling out her scythe after pinning her foot on her gut as she swung her scythe. Sapphire closed her eyes, covering her face with her hands.
…But felt no pain.
End BGM
Sapphire opened her eyes, seeing the blade embedding the ground near her as Ruby immediately picked her up by the collar.
"Give up. Give up this poisonous dream of yours, Sapphire!"
"Why should I?!"
"Because you're becoming just like Dark Ruby, IF NOT WORSE!"
Sapphire looked at her in shock. "Wh-what…?"
"Look around you! Does this look like the work of Sapphire Onyx, or does this look like the hands of Dark Ruby? You may have killed her, but she's getting the last laugh out of all of this!"
Sapphire looked around, seeing that her castle, no, Peach's Castle was in ruins. She looked to see the poisonous moat outside and saw Toad Town vacant and destroyed. Dark clouds looming over the entire world.
"What… no… I killed Dark Ruby… I used my power to-"
"You've become the one thing you swore to stop. You wanted peace just like I did, and she only craved violence. Ganondorf used this opportunity to turn you into who you are now."
"She's right…" A voice said as they turned to see Yin Li leaning against the doorway with Claude keeping her steady. "I've been… trying to tell you but you wouldn't listen…"
"You gave up your humanity for power to stop Dark Ruby… and look what you did."
Ruby let go of Sapphire, the latter looking around as she fell on her knees. "What… what have I done… I…"
"I know there's still good in you, Sapphire. You can still stop this."
"How can you tell if there's still good in me? I killed innocents… I brought Remnant to ruin…"
"You left Yang alive, didn't you? You didn't kill her." Ruby said.
"I deserve to die… just end me already."
"I can't bring myself to end you. I killed one version of me, I'm not going to kill another evil version of myself." Ruby knelt down, putting her rose hand on her shoulder. "Just stop this…"
"I can't fix it by myself… it can't be undone…"
"They can rebuild." Ruby looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds parting as the blue sky shined through Remnant again.
"I need to leave." Sapphire said, rising up. "I can't bear to look at everyone ever again."
"Sapphire…" Yin Li whispered as Sapphire wrapped herself in darkness and disappeared.
"I think I know where she's going. Probably back to Gerudo Town." Summer said.
"I'll go after her." Yin Li said as she disappeared in darkness as well.
Ruby closed her eyes, turning back to normal… and fell on her back, only for Summer to catch her. "You okay?"
"Now I'm physically exhausted…" Ruby chuckled to herself.
A few minutes later…
"WHAT?!" Ruby yelled in surprise. "You mean to tell me that HILDA took the Fierce Deity mask?!"
"And I'm not giving it up~!" Hilda smiled.
Ruby sweatdropped. "Well… that's a crazy change of events…"
"I dunno what we'll do now…" Weiss said. "Team RWBY's good as dust at this rate."
"Maybe change the name? Maybe you can be leader." Ruby said. "You could be-" She looked at Weiss, Blake, Sheele and Hilda. "Um… W-B-S-H."
"What do you call that?" Weiss asked.
"War Bush. In my universe, it's War Cry spelled out as W-A-R-C-Y."
"...I don't get it but, ooookay."
"I guess we got a lot of rebuilding to do." Blake said.
"Aw maaaan, do I have to lift?" Hilda pouted.
"Let's go." Sheele said, taking her arm as they walked away.
"No, I don't wanna sweat! It's so icky and gross and ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"
Ruby sighed. "Never change, Hilda."
"Hey um, Ruby?" Summer approached her.
"Yeah?"
"What was your universe's version of me like?"
"Caring, kind, a bit impulsive…"
Summer sweatdropped. "Yeah, that sounds like me…"
"She left about a day ago in my neck of the woods. She stayed when Dark Ruby was being a pain in the butt and when she finally died, she stuck around a bit longer so I could get back on my feet."
Summer nodded. "That'll do it. Do you still miss me? Er… her?"
"I do. I mean, I have a new step-mother now and she's really amazing but… it's not going to repair the hole in my heart, even if I was ready to part with her."
Summer frowned. "Saying goodbye is always the hardest." She said as she wrapped her arms around her. "Listen, Ruby. You may not be my daughter, but I can still give you some advice. In time, the hole in your heart will mend. Yes, you'll still miss her, but she would want you to be happy."
BGM: Friends in My Heart (Kingdom Hearts II)
Ruby looked at her. "Mom…"
Summer smiled. "She still lives within your heart, and to me, those memories will fill that hole until it's completely repaired. As long as you still think of her, she will always be with you. She'll never truly leave."
Ruby teared up as Summer poked her chest with a smile. "She'll be right here, and even if you have a new step-mother… she'll always be your number one mother."
"My… my heart feels so… warm… all of a sudden."
"Just think of that as her giving you a hug. She'll cheer you on in your many battles, as will your new step mother. Just don't forget about her."
"I… I think I needed to hear that…" Ruby sniffed as the two embraced. "Thank you…"
"You're welcome, sweetheart." Summer then broke the hug. "Well, now if you'll excuse me, I must be off."
"You're leaving?"
"I think I'll stick around a bit longer. Hang around Hyrule, ya know?" Summer walked off but then stopped. "Oh by the way! Who's your new step mother?"
Ruby smiled. "Rosalina!"
Summer's eyes widened before smiling. "She sounds like a lovely person! I hope you make memories with her!" She waved and walked off.
Ruby giggled. "I already have…" She said, wiping her tears as she put her hand on her chest.
End BGM
Meanwhile, in Gerudo Town…
"Sapphire!" Yin Li approached her.
"Go away… I've been a terrible sister."
"So have I, honestly…" Yin Li put her hand on her shoulder. "But… maybe we can start over. Start new lives in Gerudo Town."
"Are… are you sure?"
"Yes. You hold the Triforce of Power, I'm sure Gerudo Town would have you as their new queen."
"I… yeah…" Sapphire sighed. "Look, Yang… I'm sorry for doing that to you."
"And I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but I promise you… I'll be there for you, Sapphire."
Sapphire gave her a sad smile. "Just call me Ruby."
"No… we're starting new lives. You're Sapphire… and I'm Yin Li. We'll rule Gerudo Town together, but not as Ruby and Yang."
Sapphire looked at Yin Li, closing her eyes and chuckling. "Alright, might as well do that, I suppose."
"Hey! Hey! Let us go!"
The girls turned their heads, walking over to see the Gerudo pinning down Claude and Pit.
"You're not going anywhere, Voe!"
"Geez, at least buy me dinner first, ladies~!" Claude grinned.
"Really, Claude?!" Pit looked at him in disbelief.
"Hey hey, what are you doing?" Sapphire asked.
"These voe trespassed in our turf! What is your command?"
"Release them. Effective immediately, these two boys are the only ones allowed in Gerudo Town." Sapphire said as the Gerudo looked at her in shock before nodding, releasing them as Pit and Claude immediately went and embraced the two.
"Alright, I guess this is our new lives together as the four of us ruling Gerudo Town." Sapphire said. "...Although I can't help but feel like we're forgetting something."
"Um… have you released the prisoners yet?" Pit asked.
"Prisoners? What the heck are you talki-... OH SHOOT, THE PRISONERS!" Sapphire quickly ran off to free them as the three of them laughed, shaking their heads as they went after Sapphire, unaware of Summer landing on the ground.
"Hmm, this place could definitely be a fixer upper."
"And there you have it! Ruby defeated Sapphire and this universe is looking a lot brighter! Until next time, everyone! This is Hades signing o-"
"Hey! Hades! Can you hear me? I'd like to get back to my universe!"
"Oh! Whoops!" Hades reached in and picked Ruby up. "Almost forgot about you." He said, putting her back into her universe. "There ya go!"
In the main universe…
"Ruby? Ruby! Where are you? Ruby!" Pit called out.
"Hey Rubes! Where are you?!" Raven called out. "Seriously, my semblance doesn't work for her? What's going on?"
Immediately, a rift opened up as Pit and her family turned to see Ruby coming out of the rift. Hades patting her on the head and going back into the rift, closing it.
"Ruby!" Byleth exclaimed.
"Oh thank Oum!" Yang sighed in relief as they hugged her.
"Misdrea Drea!" Flutter Mane cheered happily.
"Where have you been? We've been so worried about you!" Dorothea said.
"It's… a long story." Ruby said. "I'll tell you what happened and… take a nap right after. I seriously need one…"
Meanwhile, with Wild Zelda…
"Let's see here…" Zelda said, pulling out a scroll to look at the timeline. "Okay… yup… mhm… just needed to refresh my memory on all three timelines. Yup, one, two, three, four timelines."
Zelda put it back up, only to stop and pulled it back out. "FOUR timelines?!" She wondered as she saw a fourth one branching next to the Adult Timeline.
Sapphire Onyx Timeline - A timeline where Ganondorf turns Ruby into the dastardly Sapphire Onyx and bring Remnant and Hyrule to their knees after destroying Dark Ruby
Ruby vs Sapphire - A date where Ruby Rose fought her Sapphire counterpart and brought peace to Remnant and Hyrule
Zelda clutched her head in confusion. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF HYLIA IS THIS?!"
Much needed closure for Ruby, that's for sure!
Deadpool: Welcome to the Multiverse, Zelda. You might wanna get comfortable!
Ibuki: *snickers*
Massive shout out to one of the guys on Discord who suggested it. I can't remember if it was Max or Flaminax who came up with the crazy idea though...