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

"That was a fun time, watching Maki assassinate Jacky boy like she just didn't care. I wonder who sent her that email… I have a theory it could be Ironboy, but that's just me."

He looked through the universes again. "A shame that Willow had to go at that one moment, but it was funny to me! That and, let's be honest, it was a mercy kill for her if you think about it. Either she dies or she puts up with Jacky Boy's shenanigans."

He paused at one particular universe. "Oooh, I wonder how this universe is holding up…" He said as he looked into it. "Mhm, just as I thought."

He looked up. "Remember how Cinder ran away from home? Who wants another crack at it? You do? Great! You don't? Well, we're just gonna have to force you into a chair, tie you up with rope, force your head to look at the screen and keep your eyes pried open at all times! …What, like you wouldn't think I wouldn't do something like that?" He grinned cheekily.

What If… Cinder Ran Away? (Part 2)

"Because I totally would!"

Ozpin looked outside of his window when he heard a buzzer from his desk. "Yes?"

"Cinder and her posse wants to speak with you."

"Send them up."

Ding!

Ozpin turned his head as the trio walked over to him. "Hello Ms. Nikos. Emerald, good to see you. Mercury, I've heard much about you. My condolences for your father-"

"Eh, he was a piece of shit anyway."

"-Father's lack of civility."

"It's fine." Mercury shrugged it off.

"So, Ms. Nikos, you seem to have something on your mind. Something rather urgent, I take it?"

"Yes." Cinder nodded, activating the Fall Maiden powers. "What exactly… is this?"

Ozpin's eyes widened. "You have the Maiden's powers. How did you get it?"

"We had a run in with the Black Widow, and on top of that, she was tormenting this individual named Amber. Luckily, we saved her but it was too late."

"You came across the Black Widow? The most fierce warrior in Salem's crew?"

"The very same." Cinder nodded. "You mentioned "Maiden's powers", what is it?"

"Do you recall the fairy tale: "The Four Maidens"?"

"Yeah? …Wait, that's actually legit?" Cinder asked with Emerald and Mercury's eyes widened in shock.

"Indeed. I was the wizard who gave the ladies their powers. I am not surprised that Amber was targeted by the Black Widow. What I am surprised over is that you were within close proximity and she trusted you with the Maiden powers."

"Oh please, you being the wizard?" Mercury scoffed. "Next thing you tell me is that you were some headmaster during the Fairy Tail era!"

No one laughed with him as they gave awkward glances.

"...I was joking!" Mercury said in disbelief.

"You haven't told him about my… quirk?" Ozpin asked.

"Unfortunately, it hadn't crossed my mind since we were, ya know, saving people from the Grimm?"

"Fair enough." Ozpin nodded.

"So, this means I am definitely on the Black Widow's radar then… because no doubt Salem knows about her failure."

"Or, ya know, she could think that I have the Maiden powers and I have a target on my back and… never mind, the thought of being hunted by that chick is creepy as hell." Emerald shuddered. "Why can't she be hunted by a penguin? That would sound less dangerous… and way more adorable."

"You really want to risk a group of penguins with one of them being the brain of the operations and one having an absurdly excess amount of dynamite?" Mercury asked.

"...Good point." Emerald grimaced.

"Where would a penguin-... never mind." Cinder shook her head. "So, what do you propose we do?"

"Well, for starters, I suggest you train with your new abilities. However, I also suggest you remain here so you don't have to worry about the Black Widow coming after you, which comes to my next offer: You becoming a teacher here at Beacon."

Cinder blinked in surprise. "You… sure about that?"

"Of course. I believe you'd be the perfect teacher to teach about survival skills and applications of different kinds of Dust."

"Sounds interesting. And what about these two?"

"These two can be students if they want to."

"Eh, I've got nothing better to do." Emerald shrugged.

"Oh… what the heck." Mercury shrugged it off.

"And, I know you three are a team, but perhaps, if you want to, you three take part of an initiation that we just put the finishing touches on."

"What is it?" Cinder asked.

"Catapulting into the Grimm infested Emerald Forest at high altitudes and landing on the ground with your own unique landing strategy."

Emerald let out a small whimper. "That sounds dangerous…"

"That sounds FUN." Mercury said with a hint of excitement.

"Let me guess, you make eye contact with the first person you see and they'll automatically be your teammate for the next four years?" Cinder said.

"Indeed. Don't worry though, we've curbed the Grimm population in that forest so there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Last I checked, there are only a few Beowolves and Ursa in the forest… at least, I think that's all there is in there."

Cinder sweatdropped. "You probably missed a few high leveled Grimm in there."

"Perhaps, but I'm sure they won't be an issue."

Cinder looked at her team as they looked at each with determination and a nod. "We're in."

Ozpin smiled. "Excellent."


Later, during the initiation…

"Okaaaaay, what kind of relics are we looking for?" Mercury asked as the trio wandered around. "Do you know what they are?"

"I do not. Ozpin wasn't going to give me a home field advantage."

"Ah, lame." Mercury chuckled as they wandered around. They would see a Nevermore flying overhead, causing them to hide behind the trees. The Nevermore hadn't noticed them as it continued to fly off.

"I swear I saw some red and white on that Nevermore." Mercury said.

"Probably just your imagination." Emerald responded as they walked off to find what they were looking for, only to run into a Goliath that was grazing the fields.

"Ah shit, it's a Goliath…" Mercury grimaced.

"Hang on, they don't typically fight folks." Emerald said as the Goliath turned to face them.

"There's just one problem." Cinder said, activating her maiden powers. "This one's a youth."

BGM: I'm The One (RWBY)

The Goliath raised its trunk and let out a powerful elephant bellow as it charged directly at the trio.

The trio quickly got out of the way as the Goliath picked up a tree, pulled it from its roots and proceeded to slam it down on Mercury, but he rolled out of the way as Cinder conjured up fire blades as she launched forward and slashed at the creature while Emerald shot at it to get its attention.

The Goliath stood on its hind legs for a few seconds before slamming down onto the ground to create small fissures into the ground to try and bury Cinder and Emerald, but Cinder grabbed Emerald as they both dove out of the way while Mercury created a tornado with his legs to cut through the tree trunk until it was nothing but splinters.

However, the Goliath grabbed Mercury with its trunk and shoved him into the ground, then it raised its legs up to try and crush him, but Mercury used his semblance to push him out of the way right as Cinder flew over and slashed at the Goliath's head.

Suddenly, at that moment, a few green lasers struck the Goliath as the trio, and the Grimm turned to the newcomer as they saw Penny approaching. "Need some help?"

"Uh… sure!" Emerald said. I guess this is our fourth teammate…

"I heard some commotion and decided to come as soon as possible!" Penny said as she quickly fired more lasers to annoy the Goliath as it charged directly at her. Penny quickly avoided the attack as she summoned her blades as she proceeded to have one of them wrap around one of the tusks, and with some effort, plus Mercury decided to push Penny away with the help of his wind, the tusk was yanked off of the Goliath.

"Thank you~!" Penny smiled as she swung the tusk around before swinging it down and impaling the Goliath's head, which in turn caused the Goliath to fall over and fade away.

End BGM

"Well, that's… one way to take down a Goliath." Cinder said.

"Oh. We do that all the time in Atlas with those Megoliaths." Penny said nonchalantly, causing Emerald to jawdrop.

"I've heard Atlesians are built differently… they're definitely not wrong." Mercury chuckled.

"Salutations~!" Penny then greeted. "I am Penny Pollendina! What are your names?"

"Cinder Nikos."

"Emerald Sustrai."

"Mercury Black. Sup."

Penny grinned. "We're gonna have a sensational year!" She said, pulling the three into a hug. "Now come on, let's go find those relics!" She wandered off.

"...You have no idea where they are, do you?" Cinder asked.

"Nope! I was hoping you three would know."

"Well, let's go find 'em then."


A few minutes later…

"Found them~!" Penny smiled as they picked up some chess pieces.

"Of all things… chess pieces?" Mercury wondered.

"I guess that works." Cinder said as she turned her head to see Emerald looking at the ground.

"There seems to have been a struggle recently… and it looks like it went that way."

"Hmm… let's go check it out." Cinder said as they went to investigate… and as they got closer, they would see Ruby running up a cliff while carrying a Nevermore with her scythe until she decapitated it at the edge of the cliff.

"Wooooooow!" Penny's eyes sparkled. "That was amazing!"

"...What a show off." Mercury said.

Cinder shrugged. "Well, there's no rules saying how you have to kill a Nevermore."

"Seems… a bit reckless though." Emerald said.

"Yeah, agreed." Cinder nodded.


Later…

"Cinder Nikos Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black and Penny Pollendina. Your team name will be CEMP. (Camp) Team leader: Cinder."


A few days later…

"You can do this, Weiss!" Ruby cheered Weiss on as she was fighting a Boarbatusk in front of Port. Cinder had walked by the classroom and noticed the fight unfold. She had some time before her next lecture started so she decided to watch on.

"Come on, Weiss! You got this!"

"RUBY! I can't concentrate with your constant cheers of-" The Boabatusk slammed into her. "OOOOF!"

"Ooooh!" Ruby winced, as did Blake and Yang.

Cinder grimaced at the sight, glancing over to see Emerald in the front row. Emerald glanced to the side to see Cinder with a "You saw that, right?" look as Cinder nodded. Weiss quickly regained her footing and proceeded to destroy the Boarbatusk.

Cinder pulled out her scroll and texted Emerald.

"How long have they been feuding?"

"For a while now. Ruby's behavior is driving Weiss insane and it's causing her to snap."

"You take Weiss, I'll take Ruby?"

"Sounds good."

Riiiiiiing!

Cinder swiftly wrote down a note, quickly folded it into a paper airplane and when Port wasn't looking, she flew it directly toward Ruby.

"Hmm?" Ruby wondered as it landed in front of her as she opened it up to read it.

"Meet me in my classroom - Cinder"

"Oh… okay." Ruby nodded as she walked right off, while Emerald took Weiss's arm.

"Heeeey, Weiss! I need your help with a project. C'mere!" She pulled Weiss away.

"Wah!" Weiss yelped, causing Blake and Yang to scratch their heads before shrugging it off.


In Cinder's office…

Ruby walked in, seeing Cinder making some coffee. "You… wanted to see me, Professor Nikos?"

"I'm still not used to being called "professor"..." Cinder admitted with a chuckle. "Have a seat." She requested as Ruby sat down. "So, tell me, how's it going with your team?"

"Oh, pretty good. Yang's rambunctious as ever, Blake is mysterious and Weiss…" She trailed off. "Well, she's a diva to put it lightly."


Emerald…

"She's a total trainwreck!" Weiss complained. "She's fast on her feet, but she's reckless! How am I supposed to keep up with her, let alone acknowledge her as team leader? Not only that, but she's younger than the rest of us! She's a kid compared to us!"

"Well, to be frank, I think Ruby's trying her best. From what I can tell, she was actually cheering you on, which is never a bad thing. Something else seems to be bothering you." Emerald pointed out.

"I should've been team leader."


"Do you… think I have what it takes to be team leader? On the one hand, I feel excited but at the same time, I… don't feel like I'm ready."

Cinder gave her a soft smile. "Oh Ruby. None of us feel like we're prepared for certain things. I speak from experience… but we all try to see what we're capable of, and we also have our allies to lean on for support. While it's true you're a lot younger than most, but that doesn't change the fact that you have lots of potential."


"I came to make a name for myself, to make the Schnee name stand above the rest, but how can I-"

"Oooookay, this sounds like you have a superiority complex. We need to dial it down a bit."

"...Excuse me?"

"That whole Schnee thing? The whole SDC is a load of garbage anyway from what I've gathered, especially considering who's running it. You really want to impress your pops even though there have been leaked conversations about his status on Faunus, especially since one of them committed a massacre?"

"I just want to protect my father… because there have been several assassination attempts against him but he's survived every time. I want to make sure that he's safe by the time I graduate."

"News flash, I don't think he'll last long because his daughter dearest is out here in a different continent." Emerald folded her arms. "You really think being a bodyguard will protect your father? What if there was a top class assassin and you get taken out before your father? What then?"

"Don't be ridiculous. The top class assassins have all been killed from that fire in Mistral."

"I highly doubt they're all dead." Emerald said. "Call it a hunch, but regardless… what's the point of becoming a huntress, only to meet your end from an assassin? You know that deep down, your father is an asshole."

"He's just super stressed from the White Fang!"

"Did your father approve of you coming here?"

"No!"

"When was the last time he was ever nice to you? If I had to guess, it was just for show in public when he treated you like dirt in private while hyping you up to be the next head of the SDC."

"That's not true, he-..." She paused, closing her eyes and sighed.

"Nailed it in the head, I take it?" Emerald put her hand on her shoulder. "There's gotta be more to this."

"The truth is… I'm very well aware of what he's doing, but I just try to pretend that he's doing all he can. I've learned about those leaked conversations… that's why I decided to become a huntress here, so I can go back and try to fix everything that he started. My aunt Kirumi taught me that faunus are good people… but the White Fang like to make things… unbearable, so it's easy to jump into the bandwagon and hate the Faunus."

"Mmm… do you really?"

"I'm conflicted, because I've seen how father treats his Faunus servants. It hurts my heart every time I see or… think about it."

"So, with that in mind, why are you so hard on Ruby?"

"In my mind, I'm picturing us staging a coup at the SDC and Ruby will do something to screw it up. She's a kid compared to the rest of us… and my perfect plan is in jeopardy because of her screwball tendencies… but it's not just that. I'm picturing missions where she ends up getting all of us killed. Heck, the intitation? We hitched a ride on a Nevermore and of course she abandons me and… uuuugh!"

Emerald folded her arms. "So Merc was right about that…" She mumbled. "Still, while it's true that Ruby may still be a kid, you just have to learn to trust her. Give her time. Some folks take a while to bloom, and Ruby may as well be a late bloomer… sure, would it be ideal if someone else held the reins? Yeah… but as I said, give Ruby some credit. She might very well surprise you. Just be patient with her."

"I… see."

Emerald walked off. "Oh, and by the way… you might wanna lose the superiority complex. Nobody's gonna want to be friends with you at that rate."

"I…!" Weiss closed her eyes before sighing. "Alright… I'll be patient with her."


"Just be patient with Weiss, she's probably going through something. Who knows, she might make an excellent teammate."

Ruby smiled. "Right. Thanks, professor~!"

"Mmmm…" Cinder internally cringed. "How about we drop the "professor"? It makes me sound old…"

Ruby sheepishly laughed. "Right, sorry Ms. Nikos…" She chuckled and walked off.


Later… at the Forever Fall Forest…

"Is it set up?" Cardin asked.

"Yeah, locked and loaded." Russel smirked.

"Good." Cardin chuckled as he held a jar of honey as he aimed at Pyrrha and Jaune, who were busy chatting amongst themselves. "Here's what I think of you sticking up for that bunny girl, Jaune-y boy."

He threw the jar of sap directly at the two, only for the two to get called over by Nora as they walked over to see what she wanted… and then the jar of sap hit the ground. "Gah!" Cardin yelped.

"...Sooo… do we release the Rapier Wasps now or…?" Dove wondered, when suddenly an Ursa came strolling on in, the scent of the sap having caught it's attention as everyone had turned to see the Grimm that hadn't noticed anyone yet.

"Oooookay, back up slowly…" Cardin whispered as one by one, everyone tried to give the Ursa some space…

Snap!

…Until Cardin stepped on a stick that caught the Ursa's attention. It got on its hind legs and roared as it charged at them, only for Mercury to swoop in with his wind semblance and proceeded to unleash a wind slicing attack that cut the Ursa to ribbons until the head was cut clean off.

"You guys okay?" Mercury asked.

"Uuuuh… yeah. Thanks Merc! We're just gonna go… away from here!" Cardin said as CRDL took off running.

"What was that about?" Pyrrha wondered as Jaune noticed the broken glass on the ground.

"I might have a few ideas…"


Meanwhile, with Roman Torchwick…

Roman walked alongside the streets with Neo by his side. He took out a cigar from his lips and blew out smoke. "I'm tellin' ya, Neo… I'm not sure who'd want to work for us. Everyone's scared out of their minds after that little stunt Little Red pulled on me. "The Rose Reaper" they say. Pah… should've known that Junior's men would be worthless."

["There's the White Fang."]

"Eh, I'd rather not have my internal organs harvested… I like my vitals."

["That's just a rumor from what I've heard."]

"I ain't taking any chances. Still, this crime business isn't as easy as one might think. It ain't easy being a kingpin, that's for sure."

They walked past a store with several TVs stacked on top of one another near an open window. Neo turned her head and stopped before grabbing Roman's wrist and pulled him away. "Wah! Neo, what's gotten into you?"

Neo pointed to the TV as Roman tilted his head. "You're interested in a cartoon?"

Neo shook her head, leaned forward and turned the volume up.

BGM: Bowser's Theme (Super Mario 64)

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! LISTEN HERE, YOU CHUMPS! YOU WANT RICHES? YOU WANT AWESOMENESS GALORE? THEN COME ON DOWN TO THE KOOPA KINGDOM WHERE YOU TOO CAN INVADE THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM AND KIDNAP A PRINCESS!"

"Mariooooo, help meeee!"

"HELP ME GET RID OF THESE PESKY PLUMBERS! THEY'RE THE TRUE VILLAINS OF MY CONQUEST! YOU TOO CAN HELP ME REALIZE MY GOAL! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? COME BRING YOUR A GAME AND BE AWESOME!"

Warning: YouMightGetJumpedOnByPeskyPlumbersAndFlattenedByTheirOverweightShoes. BowserDoesNotGuaranteeYourSafetyIfYouGetStompedOnBurnedByFireFlowerOrGivenASplttingHeadacheFromAHammerBrosSuit. AskYourHealthInsuranceAgentIfServingInBowser'sArmyIsRightForYou.

"Is this real?" Roman asked.

Note: IT'S ONE HUNDRED PERCENT REAL!

End BGM

Roman smirked. "Neo. I think fate has given us her hand. Let's roll."

Neo nodded excitedly as they turned around and walked the other way.


A few weeks later…

"Okay, so humor me for a bit." Cinder said. "Ruby, can you give me Crescent Rose?"

"Um… sure." Ruby nodded as she handed her her weapon.

"Thank you. Now, say that you're fighting a rogue huntsman and he decides to, oh, I don't know-" She tossed Crescent Rose behind her. "Disarms you."

"Ack!" Ruby yelped as Crescent Rose landed on the ground.

"What would you do?"

In a flash, Ruby used her semblance to grab Crescent Rose and returned to her position. "Grab my weapon and return to kicking butt~!"

Cinder sweatdropped. "Okay, not what I had in mind, but sure." She then decided to strap Crescent Rose on her back. "Now let's say your "baby" was held hostage. What would you do then?"

"Walk up to them and demand my weapon back."

"Oh good grief…" Yang sighed.

Cinder smirked in amusement. "Okay, do it to me then. Pretend that I'm a bad guy." She instructed as Ruby walked up to her.

"Hey you! That's my weapon!"

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"I want it back now!"

"Okay, come take it."

In a flash, Ruby used her semblance to get around Cinder, but she expected this as she turned around and grabbed Ruby by the wrist and proceeded to flip her over and into the ground. "Oooof!"

"A lot of folk will know about your semblance the more you show off, so they're going to find a way to counter it, just like I did. If you don't have your weapon on you, you need to learn hand to hand… otherwise, you can kiss your life goodbye."

"So just… do what Yang does and punch through everything fists blazing?" Ruby groaned.

"What? I don't go through things fists blaz-"

"Dance club."

"He asked for-"

"Hair strands."

"Okay, but-"

"That one time Cardin sassed you in a spar and you nearly knocked his teeth out."

"But that was for Vel-"

"You punched a hole in a tree when an apple hit me on the head."

"It was a crabapple! Those things hur-"

"Pyrrha had her shield up and you kept punching her shield hoping she'd fall over."

"That was for an experiment to see if Pyrrha would stay standing after so many hard hits. Even Pyrrha got curious over-... okay, are we done yet?"

"Regardless, she does bring up a good point." Cinder said. "You always go in headfirst without thinking. Sooner or later, that's going to catch up to you and it'll cost you dearly. Now if you go around it, that'll be a different solution. Plus, it helps to mix things up a little. Instead of being a boxer, you could simply throw in some MMA moves to really keep your opponent guessing. Throw out some kicks, you might learn something."

"Ms. Nikos!"

The trio turned to see Ren approaching them very quickly. "What is it?" Cinder asked.

"Weiss, Nora and Jaune are passed out in our dorm room!" Ren said.

"What?" Cinder wondered as she immediately took off with Ruby and Yang following to see Nora, Weiss and Jaune sprawled out with purple ooze coming out of their mouths.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha kept apologizing while Blake was trying to revive the trio by shaking them.

"Come on, stay with me! Don't go into the light!"

Cinder sighed, knowing very well what happened as she pulled out her scroll and called up Ozpin. "Oz, it's me. We got a bad case of food poisoning in JNPR's room."


Later, in the infirmary…

"Mmm… I had the weirdest dream…" Nora began. "...Where I was tied up with chains and sand was poured into my mouth."

"Is that all? I had a dream where I was dumped into pepper extract over and over again. And I hate peppers." Weiss said.

Jaune sighed. "I… need to learn how to cook so I don't eat THAT again…"

Pyrrha, meanwhile, was brooding in a corner. "I just wanted… to make some pancakes…"

Cinder sighed. "I'll make something better to get you guys back on your feet." She said, walking out… but not before giving a comforting hug for her sister.


Waaaaay later…

"We got an urgent message." Ozpin said as he had called RWBY and CEMP to his office. "A good friend of mine has been kidnapped at a neighboring kingdom. You probably never heard of it."

"Try us." Yang said.

"The Mushroom Kingdom."

"I think I've heard of that name in passing…" Cinder admitted. "But didn't think much of it."

"Their ruler, Princess Peach, has been kidnapped by the tyrannical ruler of the Koopa Kingdom, Bowser. Not only that, but the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi, have been captured as well, leaving the Kingdom in a state of anarchy. Apparently there have been some Grimm activity going on there as well."

"So you want us to go to this Mushroom Kingdom and knock this Bowser guy down a few pegs?" Emerald asked.

"Exactly."

"We'll see what we can do." Ruby said.

"Let's go." Cinder turned around as they headed off for the Mushroom Kingdom.


Later, after meeting up with Toadsworth…

"I'm glad two teams have come to put our minds at ease." Toadsworth said while Ruby was playing with his Stoutland.

"Who's a big fluffy boy? You are~!" Ruby smiled.

"You can count on us to rescue the princess and the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Penny saluted.

"Thank you. Now, Team RWBY and Team Simp, go forth and-"

"Simp?!" Cinder said in surprise. "It's pronounced "Camp"."

"Oh, my mistake!"

"So that's what Coco was snickering about…" Mercury mumbled.

"Alright, let's go!" Ruby said. "Come on, Ms. Nikos, let's-"

"Actually, on the field, just call me Cinder." Cinder winked.

"Oh! Okay." Ruby nodded as they walked out of the castle.

"Alright! So I guess we make a mad dash to the other dark and brooding castle." Yang said.

"I'm calculating an efficient route. Got it! Follow me~!" Penny walked off.

"I'm still trying to grasp that she's a robot." Blake said.

"A robot with a soul." Cinder said, closing her eyes.

"It's okay, you can trust them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. These people are more than trustworthy to know about your secret."

"Okay… Team RWBY… Team JNPR… I… am not a human girl."

Cinder opened her eyes. "I'm glad she's a lot more relaxed around us."


A few optimal routes later…

Kingfin exploded into several bone fragments as everyone had a Penguin suit equipped. However, one bone fragment hit an invisible ? Block, popping out a 1-Up Mushroom. "Hmm?" Cinder swam over to the 1-Up that was starting to sink into a grave, where it gently landed in her hands.

"Hey Penny, what kind of mushroom is this?"

"According to my scans, it is a 1-Up Mushroom. It can bring people back to life! …Curious how it was over this coffin." She said as she opened it up to reveal Dry Bowser's body. "Hmmm… a according to this, apparently he's an old tyrannical emperor that wrought ruin into the Mushroom Kingdom."

"...Why the hell would someone put a 1-Up above this guy? Just to taunt him?" Mercury asked.

"An ill fated taunt if I've ever seen one." Cinder said, putting it away. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Please! I feel ridiculous in this Penguin suit. How the heck do all of you get diving suits yet I'm stuck with this bullcrap?"

"Oh, do not feel bad, Mercury! According to my databanks, there is a power up known as a Frog suit that is much more embarrassing to wear!" Penny smiled.

"THERE'S A WHAT?!"


Later, after Roman and Neo were defeated and Bowser was near defeat…

"Bwahaha! This ain't nothing!" Bowser leapt into the air right at the same time as Mercury jumped in with his semblance, both of them clashing in the air, only for Mercury to use his wind to push Bowser into the lava. "AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Mercury landed on the ground. "Shoot, I meant to push him outside."

"What's done is done." Cinder said and turned to the others. "Are you okay?"

"Those muscles are no joke." Blake said.

"Same with that fire breath." Emerald agreed.

They headed straight for the dungeons, though Cinder stayed behind and waited right as Kamek showed up.

"Don't worry, your hotheadedness, I'll get you-"

A stream of fire pushed Kamek into a wall.

"WAAAAH! OOOMPH!"

Cinder walked off with a hum as stars swirled around Kamek's head. "I'm sure you guys will be just fine." She said, heading into the dungeons.

"Uuuugh…" Roman groaned. "Women…"


Down in the dungeons…

"Hey, you guys need help escaping?" Ruby asked as Penny cut through the bars.

"Thank you so much!" Mario smiled as he, Luigi and Peach walked out.

"We're Team RWBY and Team Si- uh… CEMP!" Ruby corrected herself.

"Nice to meet ya!" Luigi said.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Peach politely bowed as they all walked out of the castle.

As they did, Bowser climbed out of the lava pool, grumbling. "Dumb teenagers…" He grumbled.

As they kept walking, Blake's cat ears twitched. "...Huh?"

"What's up?" Emerald asked.

"I don't know why, but I feel like we're about to get ambushed!"

"Hmm… I'm not picking up on any-"

Cinder shifted her eyes. "GET DOWN!" She yelled, quickly ducking from an acid spitting attack as they would see Tessa approaching them.

BGM: Airship Theme (Super Smash Bros Brawl)

"Hand over the princess."

"The Black Widow?!" Emerald said in surprise.

"Wait, that's the Black Widow?!" Yang exclaimed in surprise as Mario and Luigi immediately got on the defensive as did everyone else.

"You're not taking her." Cinder said.

Spider legs came out of Tessa's back.

"I wasn't asking." She said as she used her spider legs to push everyone away. "Oh Princess, my mistress sees a lot of potential in you. Why don't you join me?"

"I'd never join you!"

"Hmm… then I guess we are done here."

One of Tessa's spider legs was immediately coated in poison and proceeded to stab Peach… however, a wall of fire blocked her from impaling her. "GAH!" She yelped as Cinder approached. "...You… you're the one who-" Her eyes widened. "You have the Maiden powers… how fascinating!"

Cinder pulled out her weapons. "I don't know what you're talking about, it's just part of my semblance!" She said as she ran forward and slashed at her, but Tessa backed away and then had one of her spider legs swing and struck Cinder in the abdomen, with enough force to feel like a wrecking ball had hit her.

"Nnngaaah!" Cinder grunted, her aura already breaking as she was knocked on her back.

"Consider that payback for what you did to me." She said as Cinder got up.

"...Alright."

Flames shot out of her eyes as she lifted herself from the ground and proceeded to unleash hell fire on Tessa. She swiftly avoided the flames as she spat out acid from her spider legs, but she was able to fly around and then raised her hand up, as a pillar of fire struck her from underneath to knock Tessa in the air as she flew over, proceeding to conjure up a fiery sledgehammer and threw it into Tessa's abdomen, sending her crashing to the ground.

She snapped her fingers as a circle of fire surrounded Tessa and closed in on her, she clutched her fist as the fire exploded. "Gaaah!" Tessa grunted as her aura broke on her.

With a growl, she rose up. "I know when I'm beaten… but mark my words, I'm coming for you!" She said as she took off running.

End BGM

"I'm definitely going to be needing a lot of help to defeat her… even with my powers." She said as she landed gently on the ground.

"Cinder…?" Ruby spoke up as Cinder turned her head. "What was… that?"

Cinder sighed. "I was hoping this wouldn't have been discussed, but you deserve to know…"


Later, after telling them and proceeding to get conscripted by Palutena…

BGM: Solo Menu (Kid Icarus: Uprising)

"Uuungh…" Cinder rolled her shoulder while wincing as she had an ice pack on it.

Their fight with the Great Reaper had gone smoothly, but the giant reaper pulled a fast one on her and managed to dislocate her shoulder. Not only that, but the Great Reaper also had managed to knock out Mercury while knocking around Penny's circuitry that she had to get emergency repairs.

"How you feeling?" Palutena asked.

"Well… sore, at best." Cinder responded. "I'd hate to leave Emerald by herself, but I know RWBY has her back."

"Right." Palutena nodded. "If you want, you can take a dip in the hot spring. They just made landfall in the Labyrinth of Deceit."

"Alright… I'll take a soak." She said. "How're the others?"

"Merc's stable, but Penny's getting a makeover. Apparently she was more banged up than we all thought."

"Good to know." Cinder nodded as she walked off. "Ugh, mama could use one…"

End BGM


Meanwhile, with Emerald…

"What in…?" Emerald wondered, staring at the Mirror of Truth in front of her.

In her reflection, she had yellow long hair tied into a ponytail, while wearing a red sports bra and some light blue jeans and wore spike high heels. not to mention her eyes were crimson red.

"That's not what I look like."

"Says you…"

Dark Emerald walked out with a smirk.

"I'd say you're the one who looks like trash."

"WHAT THE?!"


Later…

Cinder blinked while having a towel around her neck. "Okay, okay, slow down. This mirror made dark copies of yourselves?"

"Pretty much." Yang said.

"My copy's totally chaotic by the sound of it." Weiss said.

"Mine's a total foul mouthed hag. There's no way I swear!" Ruby said.

"Well, uh… mine's a total emo, I suppose." Pit added.

"Mine's… I'm not sure what she is, but she's a fan of glass manipulation and will use it to cut me up." Emerald grumbled as she was covered in bandages.

"Yikes…" Cinder sweatdropped. "Alright, so I guess we're going to take care of those clowns? Merc's still recovering and Penny is… getting a makeover, I guess." She shrugged. "But let's go see what we're up against."


At the fighting grounds…

"Give it up, bitch!" Dark Ruby cackled. "There ain't no way you can win against me!" She said, holding her own and Ruby's Crescent Rose as she started slashing at her, as she had tried to weave around and deck her in the teeth, Dark Ruby had made her fail every single time.

"You! Can't! Hit me!"

Dark Ruby knocked her down after her aura shattered, as she proceeded to stab Ruby in the abdomen with her scythe. "AAAGH!"

"Any last words~?"

In an instant, a fiery spear impaled her from behind, going through her and coming out of her abdomen. "AAAGH!" Dark Ruby cried.

"I've got a few." A voice said as Dark Ruby shifted her eyes to see Cinder behind her, maiden powers active. "Go fuck yourself." She backed up and snapped her fingers, which in turn caused the spear to detonate and causing Dark Ruby to detonate as well, proceeding to explode and sending blood everywhere, leaving only her calves and feet behind.

Cinder then knelt down and removed the scythe from her body before she quickly seared the wound, causing Ruby to cry out in agonizing pain. Cinder offered her hand to squeeze as Ruby wasted no time in doing so.

"Just a little more, you're doing so well… okay, we're good!" She said, pulling away as Ruby sat up with a groan.

"Th-thanks… but you should've warned me you were gonna do that."

"Sorry, slipped my mind." She said, casually kicking Dark Ruby's calves into the spike stalagmites. "Now let's go get the others."

"Right." Ruby nodded, then noticed Dark Ruby's weapon as she picked it up. "Wonder if I can fuse these together…"

"Well, I'll just add another coin into "Dark Ruby dies again" jar! A few more and I'll give myself a free chocolate milkshake! Alright, let's see how the rest of this goes-"


Waaay later…

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! It's hard to believe… that you all actually managed to beat me…! The nerve of you…!"

"OH, UNDERWORLD DAMMIT, WHY DID WE TIME SKIP TO ME DYING IN THIS UNIVERSE?! YOU COULDN'T HAVE HAD THE DECENCY TO NOT SHOW THAT AT ALL?!"

"...You guys hear something?" Blake asked.

"Probably just the wind…" Mercury said, rolling his shoulder.


Back at Beacon…

"Hey, um… Cin-... er… Ms. Nikos?" Ruby walked up to her.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I… just want to thank you for what you did to Dark Ruby. I think I would've been a goner if you hadn't shown up."

Cinder smiled. "You're welcome. How are you holding up after that?"

"Honestly, still a bit shaken up… but I'm glad it didn't get worse."

"Indeed. Last thing we need is for that to drag out for far too long."

"Oh goodness, I'd probably scream if that happened…" Ruby laughed a bit. "Still, I've wanted to thank you for that but I hadn't gotten around to it."

"No prob- oh!" Cinder said in surprise as Ruby hugged her. She smiled and hugged her back. "If you ever feel the need to talk to me about Dark Ruby bugging you, I'll be around."

"Okay!"

Ruby walked away and waved goodbye as Cinder waved as well, before the latter sighed. "Still, Dark Blake, Weiss and Emerald are still at large… we have to be wary for the fights ahead."


Much later, around the time they defeat Octavio at Corona Mountain…

"Uuuurgh… foiled again… for the third time…" Octavio groaned as his machine started to glow. "CROSS FADE TO BLAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

His machine exploded, causing the platform they were on to braek as they all fell… only for Emerald to land on a stain glass platform.

"Oooof!" Emerald grunted as she shook her head. "What…?"

"Hey bimbo."

Dark Emerald walked over to her, casually conjuring up a glass sickle. "Thought you could get away from me?"

"You again…"

"Ya know, Dark Blake drowned in the lava, Dark Weiss got arrested and Meta decided to split. That just leaves me with you… and I wasn't going to accept my defeat on Gelato Beach just like that."

"Ugh, you're so ANNOYING." Emerald growled.

"Em!" A voice said as Cinder flew up and landed on the ground next to her. "We'll take her on together."

"Right!" Emerald nodded as the two of them got into position.

"Oh, this is just cute." Dark Emerald chuckled. "But this is where I cut you into ribbons!"

BGM: Blooming Villain (Persona 5)

Glass Manipulator - Dark Emerald

Dark Emerald ran ahead and threw her sickles at Emerald, but she rolled out of the way while Cinder flanked her and unleashed a powerful stream of fire, but Dark Emerald put up a glass shield, then shattered the shield and send shards straight for Cinder, who used a wall of fire to make the glass turn to dust.

Dark Emerald shifted her eyes as she turned around and sweep kicked a flanking Emerald to knock her to the ground. She smirked and then raised two fingers as a pillar of glass impaled through Emerald's knee.

"Aaagh!" Emerald grunted as the glass disappeared as Dark Emerald proceeded to make glass clones of herself as they went to dogpile on Emerald, but Cinder quickly made a fire ring to turn them all to dust as Cinder then launched herself and fire punched Dark Emerald in the jaw to knock her back.

Emerald got up, groaning as she sat up and fought through the pain. Cinder had made an opening for her the moment she got up as Emerald limped out before she ran as Dark Emerald was focused on Cinder as Emerald swung her arms down and impaled Dark Emerald's back with her sickles.

"Gaaaah!" Dark Emerald grunted as she manipulated some glass and shoved her away, pulling off her sickles as Emerald yanked them back. "Lucky shot, bimbo."

Dark Emerald made a glass pillar rise up behind her as it proceeded to shoot out at the duo, where Emerald quickly tried to get out of the way while Cinder blocked with some fire, however some were quick enough to get past the fire and nicked Cinder a few times as with Emerald.

"I want to turn you into a mural!" Dark Emerald declared, quickly trapping Emerald in a glass case as it opened it up as glass arrows were shot into it, but Cinder quickly caused the glass case to burn and turned into dust as Cinder quickly hit Dark Emerald with a blast of fire that knocked her back.

Dark Emerald growled, turning to Cinder. "Alright, I've had enough of you! This is between me and her!" She said, quickly trapping Cinder's legs in sharp glass as she ran forward, watching Cinder struggle as she swung her sickles into Cinder.

…Only Cinder disappeared and was replaced by a rock wall that the real Cinder created. "Huh…?!" Dark Emerald wondered, trying to get her weapons un-stuck from the rock wall.

Emerald ran over straight for her dark clone, having a protective fire aura courtesy of Cinder with some fire birds as backup. Dark Emerald growled, using her free hand to shoot her with glass, but they turned to dust as they hit the fire aura.

Emerald let out a yell and swung her sickles down, cutting through Dark Emerald's neck as her head went flying in the air as her body fell limp. Emerald rolled forward and caught the head.

End BGM

"Good riddance." She punted the head into Corona Mountain, where the lava did the rest of the work right as the glass platform broke apart, but Cinder grabbed a hold of her and gently descended toward Delfino Plaza.

"You feel a lot better?"

"Yeah, thanks for that." Emerald smiled.


Much much MUCH later, where Bowser almost conquered the universe…

"We'll take it from here!" Ruby said as they launched away in a Launch Star and flew off directly to the final planet that Bowser had created.

At the same time, webbing grabbed a hold of Cinder in a split second. "Wah!" Cinder yelped as she was yanked away.

"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed as she, Mercury and Penny went after her.

Cinder broke free of the webbing as she turned to see who was responsible for the attack. "Oh, it's you. You really are a pest… no matter how many times we fight, you simply just keep coming back for more."

"Aww, you getting sick of me already?" Tessa taunted. "But this is where I take your Maiden powers from you, bitch."

"I should let you know, I'm a lot stronger than I was last time we've met… and believe me, I'm not going to let Amber down."

Tessa smirked. "I'm going to take what is rightfully mine, and you are definitely alone!"

"She's not alone!" Penny's voice said as she landed on the ground as Mercury and Emerald joined her.

"She's got us." Mercury said as the four got ready to fight.

Tessa chuckled, smirking. "Well, I guess I'll have my dessert first before I have a proper meal~"

BGM: Rivers in the Desert - Scramble (Persona 5 Strikers)

The Black Widow - Tessa

Tessa conjured up a toxic green ball as she tossed it on the ground to make it splash, but Penny took the brunt of it to protect Emerald and Mercury. She smiled before she fired lasers into Tessa as Cinder launched up into the air, her hands crackling with electricity and launched burning bolts of electricity into her, making Tessa cry out as Mercury launched forward and kicked her in the face to send her sliding while Emerald ran around and shot at her.

Tessa turned to Emerald and swung her spider leg into her, but Emerald slid underneath as she used her sickles to wrap around the spider leg and pulled it back until it was yanked off. "AAAAAGH!" She cried as she fell to the ground and writhed in agony as her spider legs regrew. She let out a shrill growl as Cinder flew down and punched her, where Tessa responded by delivering swift and powerful blows, attempting to even chomp down on Cinder's neck like a spider, but Cinder had kept her distance.

Tessa put her hands on the ground to form a toxic wave, forcing Cinder to get out of the way while Penny flew through and punched her clean in the face and then sweep kicked her, then fired a laser to the chest. Tessa hissed and spat out corrosive acid into her stomach, but it didn't melt her.

"What…?"

"Oh yeah, Palutena's mechanics made me immune to corrosive elements~!" Penny smiled.

Tessa gave her a weird look while her eye twitched. "Who the hell is Palutena?" She wondered, before getting hit with some wind blades from Mercury as Cinder dropped down on her, but Tessa had two spider legs grab a hold of Cinder's body to prevent her from moving. However, Cinder froze the spider legs and then Penny flew up and kicked the legs to shatter them, before they both struck Tessa in the chest with lasers and fire.

"AAAAAGH!" Tessa cried, falling to the ground and writhing in agonizing pain as she screamed as her legs regrew once more. She glared at them with pained tears as she spat out a poisonous fog, where Penny flew in and grabbed Mercury and Emerald while Cinder flew up. Tessa jumped up into the air and grabbed Cinder, both of them crashing down into the ground but Penny flew and grabbed Cinder before she could inhale the toxic fog after putting Mercury and Emerald away to a safe distance.

"Thanks!" Cinder said after they landed as Tessa leaped toward her, but Cinder made a stone pillar rise up and smacked Tessa in the chin, but she used her spider legs to climb up and shot webbing into Penny and Cinder to fully cover them, then she went to stab Cinder with her sharp spider-y tendrils, but Mercury cut through them with his wind semblance, making her cry out while Emerald cut through Cinder and Penny's webs.

"I feel a bit sticky…" Penny said.

"You never get used to it." Emerald responded as she shot Tessa in the face as Cinder put up a few fire plumes underneath Tessa's abdomen, causing her to screech in pain before she spat out venomous icicles, but Cinder weaved her head to avoid it and then flew up and heel kicked her in the head.

"Penny! I'll take the left, you take the right!" Mercury said.

"You got it!" Penny nodded as they both took off while Emerald used her semblance as Tessa found herself surrounded by several thousand Cinders and her teammates and while she was distracted, Mercury sliced through the legs as did Penny, cutting through them like butter.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Tessa screeched as she fell on her hands and knees, crying out in agony. "You… you…!"

Cinder flew up and landed on top of Tessa, putting her hand on her back as she burnt the spider Grimm from within, which at the same time, caused her insides to boil as well, slowly starting to melt her organs while also destroying the spider grimm.

End BGM

Cinder jumped off of Tessa's back as she coughed out blood. She slowly rose as her fake memories disappeared and were replaced with her original memories. She slowly backed up as she looked at everyone.

"Th-thank… you…" She weakly said as her heart stopped as she slowly fell backwards and fell off the platform as she fell into the lava and slowly sunk into it.

Cinder closed her eyes. "You're welcome…" She said with a saddened expression before falling on her knees. "It's… finally over…"

Emerald turned her head, seeing something going on. "Uh… guys…?"

She pointed to the distance as they turned to see the galaxy collapsing in front of them.

"It's collapsing…" Cinder whispered as she slowly rose up as she embraced all three of them. "I love you guys…"

"We love you too, Cinder…" Penny whispered as they closed their eyes as the universe collapsed.

…But thanks to some determined Lumas…

"Do you hear the baby stars? These newborns will grow up to become galaxies someday. When stars die, they turn to stardust and scatter across the cosmos. Eventually, that stardust reforms to create a new star… and so the cycle of life continues. But the cycle never repeats itself in quite the same way. So… you'll see."

Cinder opened her eyes to see blue skies as fireworks exploded in the sky. The next thing she heard was a guitar being played courtesy of Ibuki. She sat up and turned around to see everything was back to normal as everyone slowly rose up.

"Ugh… what happened?" Mercury wondered. "Did the universe just reset itself?"

"I believe it did." Emerald nodded.

Penny smiled, standing up with a grin. "Well, I say we enjoy ourselves, wouldn't you agree?"

Cinder nodded, sitting back up. "Yeah. I say we should." She agreed as she looked up at the sky, greeting the new universe with a smile on her face.

"Sooo, I guess that's what happens when Cinder decides to leave the orphanage. Until next time!"


Ibuki: Ibuki'll happily take that cameo~!

Deadpool: Aw man, I was hopin' I'd make a cameo too. Ah well!

Shout out to Kaizer for the second half of this What If of his!