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
"Now that was a good one. Peach and Ruby switching bodies and everyone was weirded out. I say that one was a success if I'm being honest! Now Peach is a huntress and working with Ruby's team while Ruby is now running the Mushroom Kingdom and is engaged to Pit. I wonder how the father would react to this…"
With a chuckle, he looked through the universes once again. "I wonder what would happen if we did something like that again… but… nah, that probably won't be happening any time soon." He said as he spotted one universe.
"Oh hello, what do we have here?" He wondered as he looked into it. "Interesting! Very interesting…"
He looked up with a smirk. "We all know the story of Summer Rose, how she was able to provide Ruby the courage she needed to stop Dark Ruby from being a pain in the butt. We already touched upon on what if she never died…"
He smirked. "That said, however… we never touched upon what happens if she hadn't come back at all! So let's find out together in…"
What If… Summer Never Returned?
"I wonder what the outcome will be on this one? Let's find out!"
"Where… am I…?" Summer wondered as she found herself floating endlessly in an unknown environment for her.
At that moment, a large hand grabbed her and pulled her away as it was none other than Hades who gave the soul a little sniff. "Mmm, a bit rosy. I like it!" He said. "This soul should not be eaten… no, instead, this soul should be enjoyed."
With a smirk, he threw Summer's soul into a blender.
"Let's see… what button should I go for?"
Juice
Smoothie
Frappe
Milkshake
Fine Wine
A Drink a Dashing Rogue Would Enjoy
"Hmm… ah, I know exactly what to select!" He said, putting the lid on. "I wonder what this last button will do~?"
With a smirk, he pressed the button and then turned the blender on.
"Oooh, off to a wonderful start! Let's fast forward a little, shall we? Because we all know the outcome… for better or for worse." Hades grumbled before hitting the fast forward button.
Super RWBY Sunshine
"Ah, perfect!"
"Hey, Maya." Qrow approached her.
"Yes?"
"You can summon spirits through your powers, right?"
"Yes. Usually for those who want to speak to a loved one for the final time."
Qrow rubbed his chin in thought, before pulling out his scroll and showing it to Maya. "You think you could summon this little lady? I feel like my niece and her family could use it."
"Sure! What's her name, by the way?"
"Summer Rose."
With a nod, Maya closed her eyes and clapped her hands. "O Spirits, hear my plea. Bring Summer Rose back to the land of the living!"
…However, nothing happened.
"Huh?" Maya tilted her head. "That's funny, this usually works… I wonder if I said it too fast…"
She tried it again.
"O Spirits… hear my plea… Bring Summer Rose back to the land of the living!"
Maya opened her eyes, but nothing happened.
"Okay, what's the deal? I swear I'm not rusty…"
"Ah, don't hurt yourself. Thanks for trying anyway." Qrow walked off.
"Maybe I need to say something different? Oh… what would work…"
Qrow chuckled. It's no big deal… thought I could give them a pick me up, but I suppose there are other ways to go about it.
He walked up to a fruit stand. "Excuse me, miss. Do you make non-alcoholic pina coladas and margaritas?"
"Of course!" The Pianta smiled.
"Good. Make two non-alcoholic pina coladas and… hell, make two with them."
"Coming right up!"
Four drinks made later…
"Here you are, sir!"
"Thanks." Qrow nodded as he walked off, where he found the family hanging around at the beach near the lighthouse. "Hey, I got drinks for everyone. Two virgin pina coladas for the girls and the heavy stuff for the two of us."
"Ooooh, thanks uncle Qrow!" Ruby smiled as they took the drinks.
"Tai, I need to speak with you for a sec." Qrow said, taking him by the sleeve and pulling him away.
"Ugh… what is it?" Tai asked.
"Well… you know how that Maya girl is a spirit whisperer or… whatever the hell she does?"
"Yeah?"
"I tried to get her to get Summer over here so she can speak with all of ya, but… unfortunately, it didn't work out."
Tai's eyes widened. "You… you actually tried to get Summer back here?"
"Just for a little bit… thought I could try to give you three a pick me up. It's the least I could do…"
Tai gave him a smile. "Qrow… you didn't have to do that."
"Well… thought I could try to lift you up too, given how Sums… ya know… and how you blame me for it?"
Tai sighed. "You really are a great guy… after all, Ruby and Yang look up to you. I still need to try and let this grudge go…"
"Well, it's a vacation, so we might as well start anew."
"Right… wait… what do you mean by "it didn't work out"?"
"Apparently Maya hit a snag and couldn't get Summer to show up. She says "This usually works", but not that time."
Tai chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It's the thought that counts."
"Right, well… to a new start between us!"
"Right!" Tai nodded, both of them clinking their glasses as they took a sip of their drinks.
Qrow paused mid drink, looking at his pina colada. "Wait… this doesn't have alcohol in it… Tai, does yours-"
"Nope, I'm not tasting any alcohol in mine."
Both of their eyes widened as Tai looked at Qrow. "You didn't…"
"Ah shit… I didn't pay attention to where she was placing the drinks!" Qrow groaned. "I was checking out a lady that was walking by!"
"Ooooh, those clouds are multiplying and they're daaaaaanciiiiiiiiiiiiiing~" Ruby drunkenly giggled.
"Hey Uncle Qrow? I think you mixed up the drinks by accident!" Yang said.
"Oh boy…" Tai sweatdropped as he walked over to Ruby. "Ruby, stop drinking that! That has alcohol in it!"
Qrow shook his head, chuckling in amusement. "I see Sums passed down her "Can't hold her liquor" quirk to Rubes." He said as he walked over.
RWBY: DK 64
"Seriously, that couldn't have been named something else?"
"I believe we can make this work." Byleth said. "Xena, Ruby, I will be your therapist."
Blake's ears twitched, looking up from her book as Ruby and Xena were hugging Byleth in gratitude. "Hmm…" She closed her book and walked off to go find Yang, where she found her chatting with Falcon.
"Hey, Yang?"
"Hmm? Oh, hold that thought." Yang approached her. "What's up?"
"Did you know that Byleth is going to be Ruby's therapist?"
"Oh yeah, I talked with her about it. She asked what she looks like and Weiss went ahead and described what she looked like. I think therapy for Rubes would be good for her!"
"Mmm… I won't disagree on that, but this is with a complete stranger. Someone who we know nothing about."
"I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides, Byleth seems pretty harmless."
"While I won't disagree with that either, I personally would think that you need to be there for Ruby. I mean, yeah, therapy is one thing but perhaps you're going about this the wrong way."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Byleth is from a world that's constantly in war. As far as I know, we're not. Byleth might have good advice, but I don't think it's enough."
"So what do you think?"
"Family bonding. That'd be good therapy."
"Pfft, I'm with my sis all the time!"
"Yes, but when was the last time you were there for her?"
"Oh, that's easy. It was when… uh…" Yang grimaced. "Oh… shoot…"
"You might want to look into that."
"Ah… I'm sure it'll be fine. Ruby's in good hands with Byleth."
The next day…
"Sooooo, how was it?" Yang asked.
"Oh, pretty good. Byleth thinks I just need to fight Dark Ruby alone on a one on one fight so I can finally defeat her." She smiled and walked off. "That's probably what I need to do anyway!"
"Oh, that's nice. Defeat Dark Ruby in a one on o-... HUH?!"
Blake grimaced. "You sure you think Byleth has it covered? Ruby soloing by herself with no one backing her up? She's in good hands?"
Yang immediately took off running after Ruby. "Hey Rubes, hang on a second!"
"What's up?"
"Do you wanna, like… go get some ice cream together? We can probably talk about your technique on your fighting style while we're at it."
"Oh! That's… wow, I haven't seen you taking me out for anything for a long time! Sure, I'd love to!" Ruby smiled as they walked off together.
Blake smiled. "That's more like it."
Later…
"Hah… hah…" Ruby panted. "Whew, that was a heck of a training exercise."
"Yeah." Yang nodded. "So um… listen, I personally think taking Dark Ruby on together is more feasible with a team and not just one on one."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, think about it, she's got her semblance where she slows down time and gives her the upper hand. You're gonna have a hard time with her, sis."
"Not if I can wear her down. Besides, I think it only activates with her eyes. If I can cut 'em off again, I'll be able to wipe the floor with her."
"Mmm… I think she'd be on to that after what happened at the moon base… or whatever it was called."
"You think so? Aww…"
Yang put her hands on Ruby's shoulder. "I know Byleth means well, but I think it'd be the best case scenario if we fought Dark Ruby together."
"I'll be fine, sis. I know what she's capable of."
"She's been giving you nightmares."
"The best option is to face it head on, right? Conquer that fear!"
"Well, yeah… but-"
"I'll be fine, sis." Ruby winked.
Yang sighed. "Alright… if you insist… just… don't hesitate to call us if you're in a bad situation."
"Okay." Ruby nodded and then Yang hugged her, catching Ruby by surprise.
"Love you, sis."
Ruby smiled. "Love you too." She hugged her back.
RWBY: Partners in Time
"Hey bitch!" Dark Ruby called out to her with a smirk on her face.
"Is that her?" Byleth asked as Ruby nodded. "I thought so. You know what to do."
With a nod, Ruby approached as she quickly got in a battle stance. "It's time we ended this…"
"Couldn't agree more. Oh, look at that. Your legs are trembling! This is going to be a piece of cake. I'm going to prove to you that I'm the superior Ruby around here!"
"You're not the superior Ruby… I am!"
Dark Ruby smirked. "You're nothing!"
BGM: I'll Face Myself (Persona 4)
Ruby and Dark Ruby lunged at each other, slashing at each other and colliding their blades against each other as they jumped back as Ruby turned her scythe into a gun and shot her repeatedly but Dark Ruby deflected this with her scythe, making sure the bullets hit Ruby. However, Ruby quickly used her semblance to get out of the way, only for Dark Ruby to lunge and slashed at her repeatedly, as Ruby blocked these attacks as she tried to kick her but Dark Ruby scoffed at the kick as she quickly sweep kicked Ruby to knock her to the ground. She then jumped up in the air to try and stab her, but Ruby summoned her Rose Palm and blasted Dark Ruby away.
Ruby got back up and switched to her Crescent Boomerang and threw it at her but Dark Ruby avoided the attack. "Oh, a new toy? Cute!" Dark Ruby grabbed a hold of it as she disappeared in front of her eyes, and then cut Ruby in the gut with the sharp blade and then kicked her back.
"Wait… did she just… teleport?!" Dorothea asked in shock.
Come on, Ruby! Byleth thought as Ruby growled and then slashed at Dark Ruby with her scythe but she gracefully avoided it as her eyes flashed and stopped time, then she appeared behind Ruby and stabbed her in the back with the boomerang while time resumed.
"AGH!" Ruby cried as she turned around and countered with a slash with her scythe as she tried to disarm her dark self to get her, but Dark Ruby had disappeared in front of her and then she reappeared from the side and slashed her away, then she slashed her up in the air as Dark Ruby jumped up and slashed her down to the ground, and while in midair, she aimed her scythe at her and shot her in the gut and shoulders, making Ruby cry out in pain as Dark Ruby then slammed into her gut and then kicked her away.
"Come on! Is that the best you can do? Face it, you're nothing but a pathetic wimp! You'll never surpass me!" Dark Ruby taunted
Byleth let out a deep throaty growl. "She's worse than I thought…"
"Nnngh…"
"Don't hesitate to call us if you're in a bad situation."
Ruby winced as she pulled out her scroll and tried to call up Yang, but Dark Ruby kicked the scroll off of her.
"Hello? …Ruby? Are you okay? Where are you?" Yang asked and then Dark Ruby crushed it with the heel of her boot.
"What's wrong? You trying to call your friends? How adorable!" She laughed as she grabbed her by the throat. "Who gave you the bright idea to fight me solo?"
"I did!" Byleth jumped in and slashed her away, making her drop Ruby as Dorothea and Xena were by her side, along with a Kubfu that ran to check on her.
"You? What, are you her therapist? Hahahaha! Don't make me lau-..." Dark Ruby stared at Byleth. "That look in your eyes… you actually ARE her therapist?! You crazy bitch, you think she could solo me one on one just like that? HA! You are by far the worst therapist I've ever met!"
Byleth growled. "I had no idea that you were like this."
"Well, guess what? I'm all that! And you know what else?"
Dark Ruby disappeared, reappearing behind Byleth.
"You're nothing." She whispered as Byleth swung the Sword of the Creator at her but she ducked and then shot her in the gut.
"Nnngh!" Byleth grunted as Dark Ruby kept shooting her and then kicked her down, then she disappeared as Dark Ruby then tossed Dorothea, Kubfu and Xena to the side and kicked Ruby down, planting her foot on her back and aiming her weapon at Byleth.
"So what's it gonna be, Byleth? You or her? 'Cause the way I see it-"
Nearby, a motorcycle drove toward them, popping a wheelie as it picked up the pace.
"-Both of you are going to wish for a merciful death by the time I'm done with you!"
Dark Ruby shifted her eyes, hearing a motorcycle getting closer as she turned to see Yang riding on Bumblebee. Dark Ruby smirked. "Well, might as well work on this new move I've learned." She said as her scythe glowed with energy as she swung down and unleashed a dark energy wave at her.
Yang swiftly jumped off of Bumblebee where the energy wave cut through it as it split in half, but then Yang was right above her and with a massive war cry and her eyes turning red, she shoved her fist into Dark Ruby's face and sent her crashing into a nearby tree.
"Yang…!" Ruby whispered.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to get back up!" Yang said as Weiss, Blake and Gloria arrived, all of them with their weapons out.
"This… this is your back up…?! HA! That's a load of-"
Immediately, a lightning bolt shot down as Nora arrived and was joined by her teammates. "You were saying?" Nora asked.
Dark Ruby growled, as she then saw CFVY and ATMC arrive, all of them having their weapons drawn and glaring at her. A heavenly light appeared as Pit descended and aimed his Palutena Bow at her. "Face it, you mess with Rubes, you're going to be dealing with all of us." Yang glared.
"Tch… fine… but I'll be back, and this time… I'll bring company that will knock you all out so I can kill that bitch myself!" Dark Ruby declared and then disappeared.
Yang immediately turned to Ruby. "Ruby, are you okay?" She asked with worry, picking her up.
"U-uuungh…"
"We need to get her looked at immediately." Weiss said and with a nod, Yang picked up Ruby and headed straight for Peach's Castle.
Later, when Ruby was fully recovered…
"How is she?" Blake asked.
"She's stable now. A bit on edge, but she'll be fine." Mario said.
"Oh good." Yang walked in with her team and Gloria while the rest waited outside, not wanting to crowd Ruby at the moment.
"Hey… how you feeling?" Weiss asked.
"Mmm… fine, I guess…" Ruby mumbled and then sighed in annoyance. "That didn't even work out the way I hoped."
"Tried soloing her?" Yang asked.
"No, what gave you that idea?" Ruby snarked. "...Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
"It's fine…" Yang hugged her. "I'm just glad we showed up at that moment."
"Yeah…" Ruby nodded before looking away. "I'm weak… that dark clone of mine somehow got stronger and here I am, lying in a bed after getting my butt handed to me by her. …How can I be considered strong? It's…"
"Ruby, you're not weak… you're strong just like the rest of-"
"Oh yeah? Then where's your dark clones? Oh yeah, that's right, you destroyed them because you're more powerful than them." Ruby grumbled before sighing again. "Sorry, I… I'm just frustrated."
"No no, it's okay… Dark Ruby's a whole different beast entirely." Yang said.
Not to mention Esdeath helped out on my end… Weiss thought.
"What the heck am I gonna do? I… I need to get stronger but I have no idea what to do!"
"Hmm… I've heard of this one place in Galar that might help." Gloria said.
"Hmm?"
"It's called Isle of Armor. I've been meanin' to check that place out. I've heard there's a dojo there. Ye wannae go there and see if ye can get stronger?"
Ruby rubbed her chin in thought and then nodded. "Yeah, I'll do it!"
"Great! I'm coming with you two as well." Yang said. "...Just in case if Rubes doesn't try and like… run away."
Ruby sweatdropped. "Why would I even do that?"
"Heck if I know!"
"Well… alright, let's give this Isle of Armor a shot."
RWBY: Isle of Armor
"Okay, I don't know why, but I was kinda expecting Mustard to like… I dunno, make you do something like waxing a car or something."
"Oh, you too?" Blake chuckled.
"How in the heck was this supposed to make me stronger? Gathering three Slowpoke that are faster than they look, gathering mushrooms for some Dynamax soup… then there was that whole fight with Avery and Klara. Was this only meant to make my Pokemon stronger because… I don't feel any different!"
"Well, your Zorua evolved… but…" Weiss said.
Gloria sighed. "Sorry, lass… I was thinkin' this would make ye physically stronger too…"
Ruby gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry about it… I'll figure out some way to-" She glanced over, seeing Byleth approaching them. "...Oh, it's her."
"I thought I'd find you here. Look, about what happe-"
"You trained me up just for slaughter." Ruby interrupted, approaching her angrily.
"Wh-what? No, I didn't do any of tha-"
"You thought me fighting her solo was a good idea, and at first, I was desperate to figure out how to take her down, so I heeded your advice. However, I quickly realized in that fight that you sent me to a fight that I wouldn't have won…"
"I… I didn't even know she could stop time!"
"Of course you did! I even told you in one of our therapy sessions!"
Earlier…
"She can stop time… she can do whatever she wants and slaughters anyone who she fights…"
"Interesting…" Byleth wrote it down. "How does she stop time anyway?"
"By flashing her eyes… or something. It has to do with the eyes!"
Back in the present…
Byleth grimaced. "To tell you the truth, I initially dismissed it because I thought stopping time was impossible." Without the help of Sothis too…
"WHAT?!" Ruby yelled. "You dismissed that entirely?!"
"And now I'm feeling horrible because of it… Ruby, I'm sorry that I-"
"I'm sure you are!" Ruby growled. "But because of you, I feel even weaker than usual! I could've been training this whole time, but instead, I was doing therapy with a quack like you!"
"Whooooa, okay, let's dial it down a bit!" Yang said.
"I don't think I can even stand to look at you… you probably sent dozens of students to their deaths because they followed your stupid "life advice"!"
Byleth's eyes widened, flashing back to her students that she unwittingly sent to their deaths due to an ambush she didn't foresee, and rewound time constantly.
"I don't know why anyone would come to you for life advice, but if you had an app for such a thing, I'd be rating it a one star out of ten!"
"I… I can still help you get strong-"
"You've done enough!" Ruby snapped. "I'd rather find someone who's more capable of helping me with my problems… because you sure as hell didn't do a good enough job."
"Ruby, I think that's enough…" Weiss said.
Ruby clenched her fists and started walking away, bumping her shoulder into Byleth's. "I don't need you, Byleth. I'll figure out a way to take on Dark Ruby by myself and without your help too."
She stopped and turned her head, glaring at the mercenary. "And honestly? You've done more harm than good to me… I don't even want to see you again." She said coldly and walked off.
"R-Ruby, wait!" Yang said as she ran after her.
"Leave me alone…"
"Nuh-uh! I'm not leaving you alone like this!" Yang said as WB and Gloria went after her, the latter stopping to look at Byleth who was trembling with tears running down her cheeks.
"It's… it's gonnae be okay. Ye didn't know what she was capable of. And… I'm sure Ruby didn't mean all of tha-"
"Don't… just… don't…" Byleth mumbled. "She's said everything that she wanted to… and… I can tell she meant every word…"
"Byleth…" Gloria reached out to her.
"Don't… just forget about it." She took off the other way as Gloria looked on and sighed.
"Shite… Dark Ruby's really makin' a mess of things…" She mumbled to herself and walked after RWBY.
Super RWBY Galaxy
"Nnngh… HOW?! Even when I have Grimm Powers, I still get destroyed by you… how?!"
"Well, it's simple… I have friends. You don't have any. Not to mention that you pushed your teammates away… if you can call them that. You said I'd die alone, but in reality… you'll die alone."
"Friends… is that why I lose… IT'S BECAUSE OF FRIENDS AND TEAMMATES?!"
"Yes."
"Rrrgh… let's make it even, then!"
BGM: Shaded Truths (Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep)
In a blink of an eye, Dark Ruby disappeared in front of Ruby and Hiyoko, and then the next thing they knew, they heard Weiss screaming as they turned to see Weiss's aura breaking after being impaled by her.
"WEISS!" Ruby yelled as Dark Ruby did the same for Blake and Yang, their auras breaking as well. "NO!"
"If I'm going to be alone…" Dark Ruby rounded them up and readied to decapitate all three. "...Then maybe I should even the odds! Say goodbye to your precious teammates!"
"No… no…" Ruby teared up. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed, her silver eyes kicking in.
"Gah!" Dark Ruby yelped, finding herself in a white void as she turned around and wondered where she was at, before the white void disappeared as Dark Ruby saw all of her Grimm having evaporated as Ruby fell to the ground. "...Okay… I'm not sure what happened, but whatever! You just delayed the inevit-"
At that moment, a Launch Star appeared in front of her as Rosalina aimed her hand, telekinetically lifting Dark Ruby up. "I've had enough of you." She said as she shoved Dark Ruby into the Launch Star and launched her away.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'LL BE BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" She screamed.
End BGM
"Ruby, you okay?" Hiyoko asked, helping her up.
"Nnngh… aside from a migraine…? I think I'll be okay…"
"What the heck was that?" Nora wondered.
"Maybe it was the Chaos Emeralds acting up." Tails guessed.
"I dunno… something feels off about that though." Sonic said before shrugging. "Eh… I'm sure it's nothing."
Later, when Eggman warned them of the impending danger…
"Oookay… a massive supernova is gonna show up and destroy the whole universe…" Ruby said as she took a deep breath. "It's cool… everything's fine… we're all gonna be okay… is what I would say if it wasn't for the fact that WE'RE ALL GONNA FREAKIN' DIE!"
"We have the Grand Stars… so maybe it'll lessen the effect?" Jaune guessed.
"I don't know if that's going to help!" Ruby said with tears forming in her eyes. Yang instinctively hugged her, with Ruby crying in her chest.
"It's gonna be okay… we're going to be okay." Yang whispered.
"I don't know if we are! Ibuki's probably just speaking out of her butt or something!"
"Ibuki totally isn't! She knows we're gonna be fine!" Ibuki said. "So don't fret, Ruby-chan. We'll be A-okay!"
Ruby sighed. "I wish I could have your optimism…"
"Are we going to be okay?" Daisy asked.
"I'm going to make sure of it, yes." Rosalina nodded.
"Oookay, I hope it'll work…"
One universal reset later...
Ruby looked around after everyone had come to. "We're back home… yes, we're back home! YEEEES! Everything's back to normal!"
"See? Ibuki told ya we'd be all right!" Ibuki grinned.
Ruby nodded. "Yeah… never should've doubted you."
"Oh hey, Peach is inviting Bowser and the gang to the festivities!" Yang said.
Ruby smiled. "Well, alright then, let's have ourselves some fun!"
"Now wait just a second."
"Huh?" Sonic wondered.
"Who said that?" Nyx wondered.
"I said, wait just a second."
"That voice… oh no…" Pit whimpered as the ground underneath them shook as evil laughter was heard throughout the area, and then suddenly, the ground exploded as Hades shot out of it and landed on the ground.
BGM: Hades' Infernal Theme
"BOOM! Why, hello do gooders! We meet again!"
"HADES?!" RWBY and JNPR yelled.
"OH HEEEEEEEEEEEEELL NO!" Viridi screamed.
"Oh no no no no no no… not again!" Pit groaned.
"What are you doing back?!" Palutena demanded to know.
"Oh, the universe was restored, correct? For some strange reason, the universe decided to bring me back from the dead! Now I get to mess with you boneheads just like old times… especially you, Pitty Pat!"
"...Greeeeeaaaat…" Pit groaned.
Hades chuckled. "It's a good thing I stored this in my wine cellar. It'd be a shame if it went to waste!" He said, pulling out a wine bottle that was labeled "Summer Rosè" and poured himself a glass.
"He has the audacity to drink wine in front of us… that's lovely." Ren said.
"Wait…" Ruby stared at the bottle, narrowing her eyes and read the label. "Summer… Rosè…?!" Her eyes widened in horror as Hades casually took a sip of the wine. "That's… THAT'S MY MOTHER YOU'RE DRINKING!"
"Huh?! Rubes, what are you-... holy shit…" Yang put her hands over her mouth in horror.
"Hmm? What? Sometimes I purée some souls, I don't know what the big deal is."
"You… you ate my mother's soul… AND YOU TURNED HER INTO SOME FINE WINE?!" Ruby screamed.
"What are you so upset about? She was just another soul that I ate. No big deal."
"You little…!"
"Look, Rosebush. To you, her death was a tragic one. But for me? It was a Tuesday."
Ruby growled deeply. "You… you… YOOOOU…!" She immediately launched at Hades, readying her scythe and slashing him, only he casually flicked her away. "AGH!"
"Careful now, you're gonna get Rosè all over my chest! It doesn't wash off easily, ya know!" He said as he downed the glass. "Ah, that's better. See you clowns later!" He went back into the Underworld.
End BGM
"Ruby… I am so sorry." Palutena said with sympathy as tears streamed down Ruby's cheeks. Her knees fell to the ground and punched it in frustration.
"How… how am I going to tell dad and Uncle Qrow what happened to mom's soul…" She quietly sobbed as Yang quickly hugged Ruby.
Meanwhile…
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
CRASH!
Dark Ruby slammed into the ground. "Uuugh… that… that could've gone better…" She groaned as she stood up and dusted herself off.
"Oh, nice to see you dropping in." A voice said as Ghirahim was leaning against a rock.
"Ugh… hey… where the hell am I, anyway?" Dark Ruby wondered, and then at that moment, a book opened up as Dry Bowser and Dimentio came out of it.
"Ahahahaha! Oh man, it feels good to be alive! …Weird how everything looks different."
"Hmm? Oh, hello Dark Ruby. Been a while." Dry Bowser greeted. "Where's your team?"
"Dead. I'm the only one left, although I feel I should've been mutilated in that crash, but… eh… I'm not complaining."
"Oh, Ruby going to the dark side in this universe, eh?" Dimentio mused. "Kinda beat me to it!"
"Who the hell are you?"
"Ah, I am the pleaser of all crowds, the most charming jester that you will ever meet. I am… Dimentio! Remember the name well…"
"I suppose you have a Ruby in your universe?"
"Yes… made her fall into despair from the Chaos Heart. Now she's a shell of her former self and-"
"WAIT!" Dark Ruby spoke up. "You… you actually made your Ruby fall into despair?!"
"Yes. It was a brilliant moment of mine too. I should've brought popcorn…"
Dark Ruby smirked devilishly. "Say… you wanna help me bring my Ruby into despair?"
"Well, I'm not sensing a Chaos Heart in this universe, but I suppose I can~!" Dimentio smiled. "What would you like me to do?"
Later, with Ibuki and Rosalina…
BGM: Family (Super Mario Galaxy)
"Do you have to leave so soon?" Ibuki asked.
"I wish I could stay… but I have no attachments to anything in this world anymore, aside from my old home. There's no point for me to stay."
Ibuki frowned. "Oh… okay… Ibuki's gonna miss ya, Rosie-chan."
Rosalina formed a sad smile. "And I will miss you too, Ibuki." She said, wrapping her into a hug as Ibuki did the same thing, both of them embracing and not letting go for a while. "Thank you… for being my friend, Ibuki…"
Tears swelled in Ibuki's eyes. "You're… welcome!"
Rosalina parted, suddenly pulling out a Power Star and giving it to Ibuki. "If you need me, hold this high to the sky and I will come."
Ibuki nodded. "Okay…" She said as Rosalina flew up to her Observatory and then an aura wrapped around it and then flew off.
"May the stars shine down on you, dear friend." She said to her telekinetically.
"Ibuki wishes you the best!" Ibuki called out to her, sniffling to herself and wiping her eyes.
End BGM
The Burning of Rome
"OHOHOHOHOHOHO!" Eggman laughed after he finished his broadcast. "Now that was worth it in the end."
"Doctor, what should we do now?" Orbot asked.
"We'll figure that out in due time, Orbot. For now… let's just watch the chaos unfold."
At Beacon Academy…
"He-hello! Guys? H-hey!" Ruby called out to everyone who was either panicking or screaming at one another.
"How could you have not suspected Cinder was a bad bitch!"
"Oh, like it was my fault?!"
"You piece of shit!"
"GUYS! HELLO!" Ruby yelled out to them before sighing. She pulled out Crescent Rose and tried to fire it into the air… but hesitated. Would it be worth it?
"I… don't think you're gonna get their attention." Yang said.
"Aaagh… wish there was something we could do!"
"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" A voice boomed as everyone quieted down as Master Hand appeared before them. "...Hello!"
"AAAAAAAAAH! A GIANT DISEMBODIED TALKING HAND!" One of the students cried as everyone who wasn't familiar with Master Hand screamed in horror.
"Ahem, yes, I see that there could be that reaction, but… simmer down! …Simmer down. Hello? I said simmer down!" Master Hand requested but everyone was still screaming.
"IT TRULY IS THE END TIMES!"
"IT'S THE END OF THE WOOOOORLD!"
"SIIIIILEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENCE!" Master Hand yelled, snapping his fingers as a wave of energy went throughout Remnant, making everyone freeze, including the other worlds that were connected. "There, that's much better!"
"Wh-what are you gonna do to us… eat us?!"
"What? No, I'm not going to do any of that. I'm not going to harm you. But I need you to listen!" He said. "Now I know things are pretty grim at the moment, given how Eggman revealed everything in Remnant, including the lady named Salem. However, there is no need to panic, otherwise you'd have more on your plate with a lot of Grimm!"
"How can we stay calm over something like this?!"
"Simple! We all need to band together. Sure, Salem may seem unstoppable, but even people who seem unstoppable have weaknesses. If we can exploit those weaknesses, I'm sure we can put an end to this nightmare! And I should know… I've been through a similar experience when I had folks band together to defeat a common enemy…"
Master Hand chuckled. "But let's not worry about that. You are all one people, humans and Faunus alike. There is no reason to pin the blame on others for what Eggman has done. Yes, what Cinder has done or would have done is horrible, but that is not important at the moment."
"It's not?"
"Of course not! What we really should focus on is that we need to rely on each other, create team building exercises and squash this threat when the time is right. We have to focus on building relationships and trust. Focus on strengthening others and building each other up and not belittle them."
Master Hand turned around to face other students. "You are all better than this! Salem wants you to fail for this is her possible true goal! She wants to crush you when you are at your most vulnerable! So stop pointing fingers at each other and let's work together and stop this tyrant from walking all over you! Now who's with me!"
Coco raised her hand up. "I'm with you!"
"So am I!" Yang cheered.
"I am too!" Ruby smiled.
Soon, one by one, all the students raised their fists up and cheered loudly as people in other worlds raised their fists and cheered as loud as possible.
"Now let's unite as one!" Master Hand declared.
Super RWBY Galaxy 2: Galactic Conquest Prime
"I don't understand it…" Peach said as she paced around what was left of the party. "Bowser is dripping with Phazon, Dark Samus and Ridley are starting a conquest… why is this happening?"
"I have no idea…" Daisy said. "They sure made a mess of things though."
"And one other thing, we can't all fit in Samus's ship! We're gonna have to load up on a much larger ship… like the Blue Typhoon or the Halberd or… something!"
Ibuki rubbed her chin in thought and then had an idea, pulling out the Power Star Rosalina had given her. She gently held it and closed her eyes. "Rosie-chan… we need you."
A few minutes later as everyone was trying to figure out what to do, the ground shook as rocks started to levitate off the ground. "Whoa! What the heck is going on?" Mario wondered.
"Look!" Luigi pointed up in the sky.
BGM: Behold a Pale Horse (Halo 3) (Start at 1:30)
A comet flew down towards them as gravity started to distort around them, but then the comet shot upward, causing some cosmic wind to fly about, uprooting trees and shattering windows and causing a few homes to unintentionally collapse.
The aura disappeared, revealing the Comet Observatory. They all looked up in awe as they were surrounded by force fields as they were brought up to the Observatory once more.
End BGM
"That was quick~!" Ibuki smiled.
"I told you I'd come." Rosalina smiled as the two embraced. "So, what did I miss?"
"The whole universe is about to get fucked over by Ridley and Dark Samus." Samus explained.
"What exactly do you mea-" Rosalina noticed the phazon that was spread all over Toad Town. "...Oh. I'm sensing a lot of radioactivity from this place."
"Yeah, and they're gonna be spreading it around the cosmos." Samus said.
"Fill me in." Rosalina requested, quickly making the Observatory fly off back into space.
One explanation later…
"Hmm…" Rosalina paced around. "So ever since I left, Eggman made a broadcast that shook everyone to their core, and then Ridley and Dark Samus made their move?"
"Yeah, and not only that, but because of what Egghead did, Ozpin got extremely paranoid to the point where he's not talking to anyone." Yang said. "And if he does talk to someone? It's only through a mission… a mission where he sends people to their deaths. No casual chatting like he usually does… hell, he's not even trusting Glynda, Oobleck or Port anymore either!"
"Goodness…" Rosalina whispered. "Alright, let's see if we can't knock some sense into Ridley or Dark Samus before it gets out of hand."
"I feel that'll be easier said than done." Samus mumbled.
"But we can do this no problem!" Ibuki grinned.
Samus sighed. "Your optimism ought to be more infectious…"
"But never mind that! There's going to be hell to pay!" Sarge chuckled.
"Yeah! Let's do this!" Simmons said. "It can't get worse from here, right?"
Later…
"Simmons, you had to say something!" Sarge growled.
"How was I supposed to know about this clown?!"
"A hero will fall to despair into despair and succumb to the temptations of the Chaos Heart. While there's no Chaos Heart in this universe, I can pretty much do an encore with this dear Ruby."
"Pl-please… m-make it stop…" Ruby sobbed as everyone else was frozen by his magic. Rosalina tried to fight it off, but Dimentio made sure she had extra just to make her struggle.
"You really want to make it stop? All you have to do is take my hand…"
"I… I-"
"I wonder what your mother would think?" Dimentio wondered. "Oh wait, she's been eaten by Hades. 'Tis a shame, honestly… I bet she would try to stop me~"
"You… damn clown! That's enough of out of you!" Yang yelled.
"Sorry, are you her mother? I didn't think so."
"YOU DAMN CLOWN! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ryuji yelled.
"Ahahahahaha… I'm just having some fun with Ruby~" Dimentio smiled. "After all, she has no mother to comfort her… I'd say that the God of Underworld did something right for once, or otherwise this would have proved to be difficult. After all, in my universe, Hades did the same thing with her~"
Ruby's eyes widened. "N-No…"
"So, what do you say Ruby? Shall we cause destruction like last time? For old time's sake? Chaos Ruby managed to kill a few of her friends, including that Scottish girl and blonde boy. Sure, she was defeated and I was killed, but my death was… greatly exaggerated."
Dimentio smirked. "Do you wish for this despair to end? I could make you stronger…"
At that moment, Hat Kid's ship arrived as Jaune and Pyrrha noticed what was going on as they immediately sprang into action and slashed/fire punched Dimentio away. "Rrrgh!" Dimentio growled as he shook it off.
"Step away from Ruby, whoever you are!" Jaune glared.
"Ahahahahaha! The dam's already breaking. It just needs an extra push… but no matter, I'll be back to seal the deal. Ciao~!"
Much later…
Ruby sighed, her grip lessening on Crescent Rose after they freed up Iggy. "I… I don't know if I have it in me anymore…"
"Don't listen to that clown. He's just trying to get to your head." Yang said. "We'll be fine!"
"I sure hope you're right." Ruby nodded as they walked off together, only for Dimentio to appear and shoved her into a pool of phazon with a magic blast. "AAAAAAAAAGH!"
"RUBY!" Pit yelled as they tried to get her out, but then suddenly Dark Ruby teleported over to them.
"Sup?" She smirked, snapping her fingers as a dark wall blocked them from advancing.
Ruby continued to scream as she was wallowing in the phazon as she tried to get out, but Dark Ruby turned around and shot her back in. "Ooooh no, you don't!"
"Yes, wallow in that radioactive despair!" Dimentio said as he then pulled out his hand. "Come… take my hand." He requested as Ruby closed her eyes, trying to turn around and tried to crawl the other way. "Oh, gonna be like that, eh?"
He snapped his fingers, as magic struck Ruby in the head. "Nnngh…!" She groaned, as she saw Summer appearing before her.
"Take my hand, sweetie!"
"M-Mom…?" Ruby whispered as she desperately took Summer's hand… but then Summer turned into Dimentio.
"Was that so hard~?" Dimentio smirked as magic coursed through her body as Ruby lifted up from the phazon as she let out a scream, glowing with dark blue energy as she landed on the ground while Dark Ruby smirked evilly.
"Ladies and gentleman, I give you… CHAOS PHAZON RUBY!" Dimentio yelled as Dark Ruby dismissed the wall.
"R-Ruby…?" Yang whispered as she approached Ruby. "Ruby! Please tell me you're-"
Ruby opened her eyes, suddenly telekinetically lifting Yang in the air and threw her off the planet, but luckily, Gloria went into her Latias form and flew down, grabbing her before a black hole could take her.
"Ruby!" Weiss called out to her.
"She can no longer hear you. She is the despair!" Dimentio laughed. "And now, we must make preparations for her. Strengthen her up before she can make her grand debut and destroying you all! Ciao~!"
"Later, losers!" Dark Ruby taunted as the three of them disappeared.
"Ruby…" Gloria whispered while Yang punched the ground in anger.
"Damn you… DAMN YOU!" She yelled.
Even more later…
Dark Samus appeared in the Observatory, smirking without her helmet. "You guys may have secured those POWs and you might have taken the Doom Slayer away from us… but here's something I've been cooking for a while!"
BGM: Vs. Metroid Prime (Metroid Prime)
She snapped her fingers, when the Grimm Metroid Prime burst out and roared at them all. "Have fun." She said and then disappeared into a portal.
"What the hell is that?!" Yang yelled.
"A Grimm version of herself…" Samus said gravely as the Grimm Metroid Prime lunged at them, swiftly attacking them with phazon missiles and a laser beam from its mouth.
The Blood Gulch crew proceeded to shoot at the Grimm Prime together with the Huntsmen, the Mario Bros, Peach and Daisy as even Doom Guy proceeded to shoot at the Grimm Prime, but the beast proceeded to lunge into the air and slammed into the ground, destroying the Grass Dome as it breathed fire at everyone.
Ibuki strummed her guitar, shooting out electric bolts at the Grimm Prime, making it back up… only for it to turn to her and fired a laser, forcing her to get out of the way as the Fountain Dome was struck.
Above them, Dimentio appeared near the Engine Room and chuckled. "My goodness, we seem to be fashionably late!" He said as both Rubies appeared, then he turned to Phazon Ruby. "Alright, you know what to do. Go wild on them!"
"Right…" Phazon Ruby nodded as she jumped off and landed on the ground.
Blake's ears twitched as she turned around. "Guys!" She said as Yang turned around to see her.
"Ruby…" She whispered and then clenched her fists. "I'll save you!" She said as she jumped in.
End BGM
BGM: Rundas Theme (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption)
Corrupted Despair - Phazon Ruby
Phazon Ruby immediately swung her scythe down into Yang, but she immediately rolled out of the way. "I don't want to fight you… but I've no choice here. Forgive me, Rubes…"
Yang immediately jumped in and punched Ruby in the face, but Ruby ducked and Phazon punched Yang in the gut to knock her back a few feet. Yang growled, throwing out a Hadoken at Ruby but she telekinetically caught it and got rid of it as Ruby swung her scythe around to create a phazon whirlpool and threw it down at Yang.
The firecracker swiftly jumped out of the way as the phazon splashed and nearly struck a few Lumas hadn't they got out in time, while nearby, Doom Guy pulled out the BFG and fired at the Grimm Prime, which was enough to disable it temporarily as Samus unleashed a Super Missile Barrage at it, then had Chell fire a portal as she fired a charged beam attack at the beast as Nora jumped in and fell out on top, hammering said beast into the ground.
The Mario Bros jumped in to help Yang, both of them launching fireballs and lightning bolts at her but Ruby put up a force field to block said attacks, only for a Psybeam to strike her as she was knocked away, then she looked up to see it belonged to Gloria.
She then found herself surrounded by Weiss, Blake, Peach, Marnie, Hop, Bede, Neo, Roman and Bowsette as the latter breathed fire at Ruby, but she disappeared, reappearing behind Bowsette and slashed her, but she caught with her hands and then flip kicked her into the air.
Ruby teleported again, this time appearing behind Yang and Phazon kicked her away. "Rrrgh…! Ruby, snap out of this!"
"Ahahahahaha! She won't listen to you, my dear firecracker! She only listens to me and her dark clone!" Dimentio said, casually eating popcorn.
"You… YOU…" Yang growled as she glowed with energy. "You destroyed my sister… not once… BUT TWICE. You.. YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THAT! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed as she glowed brightly as her eyes turned draconic as a golden aura surrounded her.
"What the heck?!" Roman wondered.
"Is this that form that Ryu was talking to her about?" Blake asked.
"Sorry about this." Yang immediately breathed fire into Ruby, but she jumped up into the air and threw down a phazonic energy blast at her. Yang immediately unleashed a stream of fire to cancel it out.
Ruby snarled, taking a step back and unleashing a phazon laser from her mouth, as Marnie jumped in front of Hop and swiftly used Nayru's Love to send it back as Neo jumped in and impaled Ruby a few times while Roman shot her.
With a scream, Ruby punched the ground to create a phazon explosion to send everyone away as she teleported to Yang and held her by the throat.
At the same time, the Grimm Prime was picked up telekinetically by Rosalina and sent it flying to the side, throwing a comet at it for good measure.
However, the Grimm Prime made a portal and went inside, reappearing near the Keyblade Wielders and unleashed missiles at them, sending them flying right when Palutena used a Mega Laser at it and Samus unleashed another Super Missile barrage at it, while also shooting it with the Plasma Beam.
"Ruby…" Yang whispered before closing her eyes. "I'm sorry…"
Her fist caught ablaze and then punched Ruby in the gut to send her back as she flew up in the air and threw out a massive fireball, but Ruby disappeared, reappearing next to the Grimm Prime as it let out a roar before collapsing… and then turning into the Prime Essence.
Ruby stared at this before she flew over and grabbed a hold of it, absorbing it for herself.
"What is she doing?" Dark Pit wondered.
"She's…" Weiss's eyes widened in horror.
"Absorbing the Prime Essence? Fascinating!" Dimentio mused.
"Ha! This is better than striking her down." Dark Ruby smirked.
"Told you!" Dimentio chuckled.
Ruby's skin turned translucent blue as veins were shown outside of her blue body, her hair turned white, her eyes glowing silver, and her clothes were absorbed into her skin.
End BGM
BGM: Dark Samus (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption)
Essence of Despair - Phazon Essence Ruby
"RUBY!" Yang yelled.
"Dammit…!" Samus growled, aiming her arm cannon at her as tentacles shot out of Ruby's back and struck the ground, absorbing the energy from the Observatory before she unleashed a phazonic shockwave that knocked them all down.
With a snap of her fingers, meteors conjured up behind her as she threw them down, creating pools of Phazon as Fission Metroids came out as they all hissed at them and launched at them as they all fired back at the Metroids.
"Pika… CHUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt on Ruby. Ruby turned her head and fired a laser at him. His eyes widened as he jumped out of the way as the laser struck the ground and exploded.
"RUBY! SNAP OUT OF THIS!" Yang begged as Ruby unleashed a shockwave to knock her down as Yang got back up and flapped her wings, sending fiery shockwaves to block the attack.
Ruby aimed her hand at Yang, charging up an attack… when suddenly a few lasers struck her. She looked up to see her assailant, seeing a Galaga styled X-Wing flying by.
"Luke Skywalker?" Simmons wondered.
Ruby aimed her hand as the tentacles launched out and grabbed the X-Wing, crushing the wings with her tentacles as it started to catch on fire and then exploded, but out of the flames, someone flew out with two creatures, them being Mew and Meloetta while the person in question wore Iron Man's armor.
"Nope, it's Tony Stark!" Grif said.
"...The armor looks feminine, don't you think?" Makoto pointed out as Chiaki fired pulse beams into Ruby.
Ruby let out a growl and fired lasers at Chiaki as she flew away to avoid it as missiles came out of her shoulders and fired, striking Ruby as she let out a screech before a tentacle lashed out and struck Chiaki's chest plate, proceeding to let out an electronic pulse that launched Chiaki out of her armor.
"Nnngh!" Chiaki grunted before looking into her powers and summoned the Hook shot as she fired and latched onto the Observatory as she shot toward where it latched on to as she safely hit the ground.
"Chiaki-chan?!" Ibuki said in shock as Mikan and Hiyoko looked on in surprise.
"Fight whatever this thing is first, reunion later!" Chiaki said.
"That's my sister in there! Dimentio caused her to despair!" Yang said.
"Dimentio?!" Chiaki said in surprise before she summoned the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. "Alright, buy me some time! I have an idea…"
"That's easier said than done!" Ann yelled as Ruby teleported toward Chiaki and telekinetically picked her up, but Ibuki strummed her guitar and shot her with an electric bolt to make her drop Chiaki.
"Don't even think about it, Ruby-chan!"
"Alright, I've had enough!" Sora said, aiming his Keyblade at Ruby and firing a beam of light, making Ruby roar in pain as Roxas, Terra, Aqua, Riku and Kairi did the same.
Xena got up, brushing herself off and then telekinetically held Ruby in place as Rosalina telekinetically held the tentacles in place, Gloria helping Xena out with Psychic while Samus finished off the Fission Metroids.
"Alright, this might sting a little!" Chiaki warned as she raised the Master Sword up high and then threw down a Skyward Strike, where Ruby roared in pain from this as Chiaki charged up again and proceeded to unleash a flurry of Skyward Strikes as it was enough to get the Prime Essence out of Ruby, where Sora AirStepped toward it and slashed it down, then Chiaki ran over and leaped into the air, unleashing Fatal Blow to finish it off.
End BGM
"Uuungh…" Ruby groaned, rubbing her head as she was covered in Prime Essence scarring all over her body. Her hands were also permanently stained blue.
"No no no NO!" Dark Ruby screamed as she teleported toward Ruby. "You were supposed to-"
Yang grabbed her by the throat, draconically glaring at her. "Shut. The hell. Up."
Without even missing a beat, she grabbed Dark Ruby by the head and snapped her neck, pushing her down on the ground and breathed fire to burn her remains.
Dimentio, meanwhile, chuckled nervously. "Good heavens, would you look at the time!" He said and disappeared.
Yang turned around, turning back to normal and pulled Ruby in close. "Ruby…"
"Y-Yang…?" Ruby whispered before she hugged her tightly, loudly crying in her chest as Yang rubbed her back.
"Alright, status report. How many did we lose?" Samus asked.
"We took a heavy hit. The majority of CFVY and CRDL were wiped out, Velvet and Cardin are all that's left. Bernadetta, Hilda, DJ Grooves, Tatsumi, Mine, Sayo and Blanche were also lost too." Adam reported. "Oh, and the Strike Team got obliterated as well."
"Dammit…" Samus growled. "I was hoping we'd get out of this without a casualty…"
"Unfortunately, that was not the case…" Adam said, closing his eyes in solemnity while Ibuki, Hiyoko and Mikan all hugged Chiaki, the four of them crying with smiles on their faces.
One Phazon War later, and everyone returning home…
Ruby sat on a bench, her eyes heavy as Yang sat down next to her. "I… I killed our friends… all because of what happened…"
"Yeah…"
"How… how am I gonna live with myself?!"
Yang pulled her in close. "We'll… we'll get through this together…" She whispered as Ruby continued to cry in her arms.
Meanwhile, at Raven's camp…
"Aaaagh…" Raven fell on both knees, her aura having shattered while her camp was already obliterated by Maleficent.
"Surely, the Spring Maiden can do much better than that." Maleficent said. "Unless you had no time to prepare for such an ambush."
"Sh-shut up…!" Raven groaned, as she staggered to her feet.
Maleficent smirked. "You are quite the adversary, Raven Branwen. I will make you a deal… join us and we will leave the rest of your camp alone. If not, then I will destroy it all."
"Don't… don't listen to her…! Don't join her…!" Vernal grunted.
Raven growled, getting in a stance. "I would rather DIE than join a bitch like you!"
"Such a pity." Maleficent said as Raven ran to her and slashed her, but she calmly moved to the side and then green fire shot up from underneath Raven, causing her to scream before she fell to the ground on her back. WIth a smirk, Maleficent transformed into a dragon as Vernal's eyes widened in horror, then Maleficent breathed fire and incinerated the entirety of the camp.
Maleficent turned back to normal, chuckling to herself as she felt an aura wrap around her. "Hmm… fascinating!" She said as aura shot out of her eyes. "Now I am the Spring Maiden. Hmhmhmhmhmhm… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
RWBY: Fell Star Strikers
"Hey, um… Ruby? When was the last time you spoke with Byleth?" Blake asked.
"...Since the Isle of Armor. Why?"
Blake frowned. "You think… maybe you should go apologize to her? It's been so long and… well, I think it would do you some good."
"You think so?"
"Yeah… this is kinda my fault because I knew Byleth's heart was in the right place, but I wasn't sure if that was the right call for you." Blake said.
Ruby sighed. "You're right… I shouldn't have snapped at her like that." She said. "Of course, she's gonna be surprised when she sees me like this."
Blake put her hand on her shoulder. "You'll be okay. I'll be right with you."
With a nod, Ruby and Blake headed off to Garreg Mach.
Meanwhile…
"Gragh!" Byleth grunted, her back hitting the stairs as Nemesis tossed her there. "Nnngh!"
"You put up quite a fight, but this is over. My men may have been defeated, but that means nothing!"
Byleth got up, wiping the blood from her mouth as she charged at him, letting out a war cry and slashing him, but he parried her effortlessly and shoved his sword into her chest.
"BYLETH!" Dorothea screamed as Edelgard's eyes widened.
"My teacher…" Edelgard whispered as tears streamed in her eyes before a burning rage overtook her. Rhea also watched as she let out a loud roar as Edelgard burst out, activating her Summer Maiden powers as she slammed into Nemesis, forcing him to back up as he pulled the sword out of Byleth's chest. She started to fall but Bereto immediately caught her. Nemesis swung his blade into Edelgard, both of them clashing as Edelgard violently attacked him as Rhea flew over and landed on the ground behind Nemesis.
Both Rhea and Edelgard looked at each other and with a nod, they both unleashed fire into Nemesis as he tried to fight them off, but then he was sniped in the head by Claude and then Dimitri flanked him and impaled him on the side.
"Sis, stay with me now… stay with me!" He said, cradling her.
"Bereto…" Byleth weakly said as she touched his cheek. "S-sorry… th-that… I… was such a… bitch…"
Tears swelled in his eyes. "Don't die on me now… no…!" He begged as Byleth's hand fell limp right as Dorothea came to her side.
"Byleth…? Honey… speak to me… BYLETH!"
Bereto punched the ground in sadness. "No…"
Nemesis fell on his knees, attempting to stagger to his feet… until Edelgard jumped in and cut through his neck to finish him off, where Nemesis fell in defeat.
Edelgard immediately turned around and went over to Byleth, immediately feeling for a pulse… but she felt nothing as tears swelled in her eyes as she started to cry loudly.
At that moment, Ruby and Blake walked over. "What's going on? Did someone die?" Ruby wondered as they took a closer look, and saw Byleth.
"...Oh gods…" Blake whispered.
Ruby's eyes widened, putting her hands over her mouth as tears swelled in her eyes. "No… no…!" She said as she took off running as Blake immediately ran after her.
Blake would soon find Ruby in a fetal position on the front steps of the mansion, where Blake gently walked up to her. "Hey…"
"I killed Byleth… if I hadn't snapped at her, she'd still be alive! My last words to her was nothing but disdain…"
"Ruby…"
"What am I gonna do?!" Ruby cried as Blake pulled her in close as Ruby sobbed into her chest.
"It's going to be okay… I know it will…" She whispered.
Super RWBY 3D Land
Ruby and the group wandered through the desert, making small talk amongst themselves until Dark Pit stopped walking, his eyes turning behind him sharply.
"Uh, Pittoo? You okay?" Pit asked.
Dark Pit turned around, and without even hesitating, he fired his Dark Pit staff. They all turned to see what he shot at… and saw Oran having blood pour out of his chest as he looked at Dark Pit with a "But why…?" look in his eyes as he collapsed.
"DUDE! You just shot a child!" Chiaki scolded.
"He was following us. If anything, he could've been an agent of Salem." Dark Pit said.
"But he was a child." Cloud pointed out.
"So? We don't have to worry about him anymore." Dark Pit said as Laxus immediately went to check on him and sighed in annoyance.
"Dead."
"You just murdered a child." Nora glared at him.
"Again, agent of Salem. That's just an act."
"I… have my doubts…" Ruby said.
Later, at Oran's village…
"Oh hey, look at this." Ibuki said as she pulled out a letter. "It's a letter."
"Let's see here…" Mario looked into it as his face darkened and handed it over to Luigi… who immediately felt sick and handed it to Daisy.
"...You sure he was an agent of Salem?" Daisy asked as she handed Dark Pit the letter.
"Let's see here…" Dark Pit mumbled to himself as he read the letter. "Dearest Oran, if you're reading this, we may have not survived the fight… but stay strong for all of us, for you are a strong willed armadillo. Love you - Mom."
"Dude…" Chiaki whispered.
Dark Pit dropped the letter in horror, putting his hands over his hair with a look of guilt overwhelming him. "Oh my goddess, I just killed an innocent child!"
RWBY and the Seven Sirens
"Thanks for inviting me, Shantae… I… feel like I really needed this vacation." Ruby said.
"You're welcome!" Shantae smiled. "Just relax and let your cares melt away!"
"You're right…" Ruby nodded as they checked into the hotel as Ruby put her bathing suit on and went out to the pool, putting some sunscreen on and laying on the beach chair. "Haaaaa…" She closed her eyes.
At that moment, the Devil appeared before Ruby. "Heheheh… this is all too easy!" He said, putting his trident over her body and sucked her soul out of her right as Shantae came back with fruit drinks.
"Hey Rubes, I'm not sure what drink you wanted, so I thought-" She gasped, staring at what was happening.
"Her soul is mine!" The Devil declared and then disappeared.
"...Oooooh crap." Shantae grimaced as she pulled out Ruby's scroll and contacted Yang. "Heeeey Yang, this is Shantae. You're gonna have to come over… why? Because a goat man just flippin' sucked Ruby's soul out of her body!"
"Will they ever get Ruby's soul back? Who knows for sure! Until next time, everyone!"
Sorry about the massive wait! Life is getting a bit crazy... but it's not like I'm not writing, I've just been busy with work as of late. (Yes, I've had a job since last year. I work at a greenhouse!) and I come back and write as much as I can before taking the rest of the night off. Not to mention I've been playing Advance Wars and learning the hard way I can't just brute force it like I do with Fire Emblem. (Seriously, can Fog of War go to hell...) Buuuut anyway, this What If chapter was suggested by Wyvern and later on, Log pitched in with several ideas for this What if!
Ibuki: Boy, is Ibuki glad Summer-chan stayed for the long haul.
Deadpool: No kidding!