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. Apparently Team RWBY is fixated on exploration while JNPR is fixated on speed running the story! I still need to let the other Hades know about this so he can hang it over Weiss's head. Hahaha!"
Hades looked through the universes again. "I foresee JNPR becoming speedrunning gamers. Nora especially!" He chuckled as he came upon one universe that caught his eye.
"Hmm? Oh my my my my… you don't see this every day…" He mused. "Goodness, this might be a controversial one! And controversy breeds chaos, my favorite cup of tea!"
He looked up with a smirk. "Soooo, we all know about Dark Ruby, how she's all sinister and no one likes her. We even had a whole cluster of universes dedicated to Dark Ruby getting slaughtered so much that she's giving Damian a run for his money!"
He laughed. "Soooo, with that in mind… what if I told you that, in this universe… she, shall we say, had a vision that caused her to become good? Now I know what you're thinking: "Dark Ruby becoming good? What the HELL?" and to which I say "I see you!" and, I'm pretty sure this is the majority of you… let me just find this Lakitube clip here… ah, here we go! So, you're probably thinking to yourselves: "Dark Ruby becomes good?" followed by this:"
"Now comes the part where we throw our heads back and laugh. Ready?"
"Ready!"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"It sounds too ridiculous to be true, given how obnoxiously sinister she is! …But who knows, this one might be a good one! Or it could be controversial and I'll just drink up that delicious chaos. But anywho!"
What If… Dark Ruby Had a Vision?
"Controversy or not, here we come!"
"P-Please… don't do this…!"
"And why not?"
"I know… that deep down… there's good in you… just… stop this…!"
"Good in me? You think there's good in me? HA!" She tightened her grip. "Don't be so absurd, you stupid whore!"
"Stop it… please…!"
"Hmph. I'll be glad to be rid of you." Dark Ruby smirked, when suddenly Dark Pit flew in and kicked Dark Ruby away on the head and making her let go of Ruby. He quickly dove down and caught Ruby on the wrist before she could fall.
"Dark Pit…?" Ruby groaned as Dark Pit pulled her up.
"Don't think this means anything. I just didn't like how your copy was doing things." Dark Pit said, gesturing to Dark Ruby who the two then noticed was clutching her head.
What they didn't know was that an image of Qrow impaling her with Harbinger flashed in her head. "Nnngh! …What?" She wondered.
"Did…did you kick her too hard?" Ruby wondered.
"Personally, I don't think I kicked her hard enough." Dark Pit said while aiming his Silver Bow. He fired arrows at Dark Ruby, which she quickly dodged them as she tried to attack… only for an image of Bea crushing her head popped in her head as well. "Mmph…"
"Ooooh, look at that. METS at work!"
"Dark Ruby!" Dark Weiss approached, with Dark Blake and Dark Yang not too far.
"...We'll be back!" She said as team Dark RWBY left.
"Ruby!" Yang ran up to her along with Pit and WB. "Ruby, are you okay?" She asked as she took her from Dark Pit and held her.
"Uuungh…"
"I'll take that as a no…"
"We'll get Ruby looked at right away." Palutena said. "...It's weird how Dark Ruby stopped what she was doing though."
Heavenly lights surrounded them and whisked them away, leaving Dark Pit by himself.
"Hmph…" Dark Pit flew up and then flew off right after.
Meanwhile, with Dark RWBY…
"Dark Ruby. What happened out there?" Medusa asked. "You had little red right where you had her and you hesitated."
"I'm… not sure what came over me, but I promise you that it will not happen again."
"See to it that it doesn't." Medusa walked off while Dark Ruby looked at her hands.
"What… was that?" She wondered to herself as another image popped into her head, this time seeing Yang dunking Dark Yang into the Rewind Spring. "Nnngh… what? Visions of the future?"
She shook her head. "I don't know what these are… but I'm not going to let this stop me from destroying that whore." She smirked. "Oh yeah, I'm going to mess her up real good."
Later, at the Lunar Sanctum…
Dark Ruby landed on the ground. "Heh, alright… Dark Pit's here. I'll drop in on them and destroy that bitch!" She smirked and took off running.
…And then an image of Ruby shoving phazon into her mouth popped into her head.
"Nnngh!" Dark Ruby stopped, immediately coughing right after, feeling as if she was tasting it. "Ugh!" She shivered. "What was that…"
She shook it off. "No, don't think about it… just go after her." She continued running, only for images of Chiaki pummeling her rang in her head, followed by Rosalina and Samus destroying her.
"Graaagh!" She leaned against a wall. "Wh-what the HELL is going on…?!" She demanded to know. "Why are these images popping in my head?!"
It was then that she had a vision of herself fighting against Ruby until she was pinned against the wall and then Ruby swiftly cut her eyes out.
"AAAAAGH!" Dark Ruby screamed, covering her eyes as she pulled her hands away, seeing no blood.
"Hmm, curious. I thought you would've been there by now." Arlon said.
"Shut it…" Dark Ruby looked into the next room and activated her semblance. "I have to know…" She immediately went inside and saw the same room she was in in said vision, noticing that everyone was frozen in time fighting Dark Pit.
She then looked at the wall where her eyes were cut off as she looked directly at Ruby. She snarled, aiming her scythe at Ruby… but hesitated as she grimaced. She slowly took a step back where a vision of Summer cut off her leg and arm, causing her to stumble to the ground.
Fear was set in her eyes as she got up and ran out the door as time resumed.
"Hmm?" Ruby looked at the door when it closed. She tilted her head before shrugging. "Must've been my imagination." She then swung her scythe into Dark Pit who blocked it.
Back in the Underworld…
"Master Hades… is there something wrong with me?"
"Of course there's something wrong with you. There's something wrong with all of us! Hahahaha!"
"No, like… is there something seriously wrong with me? I… I swear I'm having visions of people ending my life. Then I had a vision of Ruby cutting my eyes out, and then I had a vision of Dark Yang getting shoved in some pool by her doppelganger…"
"Ah, I wouldn't worry about a thing like that! If anything, you probably just had some really weird dreams. I should know, I had a dream where Bowser became president of a video game company. Could you believe it!"
Dark Ruby sweatdropped. "...Never mind, forget I even asked." She mumbled as she walked off.
"...Yeesh, what's her problem?"
Dark Ruby approached Dark Yang who was drinking a soda. "Hey um… Dark Yang?"
"Hmm? What's up?"
"...Um… if we ever fight Team RWBY near a pool of water, um… just be careful, okay?"
"Huh?" Dark Yang tilted her head. "What the heck do you mean by that, dark sis?"
"I don't know, but something's going on and I just… I just want you to be careful."
"Pfffft! Did you hit your head or something? I'm gonna be fine! …And if we fight Team RWBY at some pool, I'm gonna drown Yang so hard that no one will see it coming. It's genius!"
Dark Yang walked off. "Peace out, Dark Rubes!"
"...You're not understanding what I'm… ugh!" Dark Ruby groaned. "Whatever… it's fine. It's cool. I'm probably just hallucinating or something."
Later, at the Rewind Spring…
"Irritating little pests… time to exterminate you!" Pandora said as she turned to the water, only for a scythe to cut through her. "AARGH!"
"What the…?!" Dark Pit wondered.
"Wait… that scythe!" Yang exclaimed.
"Oh great…" Ruby sighed as Pandora could weakly get up as Dark RWBY walked forward, although Dark Ruby spotted the spring water and the vision where she saw Dark Yang getting dunked into the spring by Yang flashed in her head.
"Nnngh!" Dark Ruby grunted, clutching her head.
"Alright, let's do this!" Dark Yang said as Dark WBY destroyed Pandora and took her powers for themselves, where Dark Weiss took most of the power.
"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!" Viridi yelled.
"Making sure Pandora's powers don't go to waste." Dark Weiss smirked.
"...I know she's a bad guy here but is Dark Ruby okay? She didn't even take some of her power." Palutena said.
"She's been acting weird for a long time… she's no longer fit to becoming leader. As of today, I am!"
"Wait, what…?!" Dark Ruby said.
"I'm the older sister sooooo… BRING IT, BITCH!" Dark Yang lunged toward Yang.
"N-no, wait!" Dark Ruby tried to stop her but Ruby immediately used her semblance to charge at her and attacked her, but Dark Ruby whimpered and jumped back.
"Where's your ferociousness? It was there when you were slaughtering me and now it's gone?" Ruby asked.
"I don't have time for this!" She said, her eyes glowing as suddenly, Dark Blake was in front of Ruby as Dark Ruby tried to switch with Dark Yang as time resumed.
"Huh?!" Dark Blake said in surprise, ducking a swing from Ruby.
"What the…?" Ruby wondered.
"Uuuuh…" Blake blinked, scratching the back of her head. "What are you doing over there?"
"I don't even know!" Dark Blake said as she ran around the spring to fight her while Ruby scratched her head in confusion.
"Would you butt out!" Dark Yang elbowed Dark Ruby to the ground.
"Oomph! Don't push me away, I'm trying to save your ass!"
"Save me from her? HA! I don't need saving… in fact, her hair needs saving from a bad hair day… and I plan to burn it off!" Dark Yang smirked and lunged, only for Yang to catch her fist mid-swing.
"You plan on doing what to my hair?" She glared as she twisted her arm.
"Nnngh!" Dark Yang winced.
"NO!" Dark Ruby tried to attack her but with her free arm, Yang shot Dark Ruby down. "Nnngh!" She winced as Yang threw her into the water, punching the air to keep her from coming up for air until they saw a cloudy skull with crossbones float up from the spring.
"Heh. All taken care of." Yang dusted her hands off as Dark Ruby looked on in disbelief.
"I… I couldn't save her… NO!" She punched the ground as Dark Weiss and Dark Blake looked on in surprise.
"What do we do now? Call Meta for back up?" Dark Weiss asked.
"...We need to leave. WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!" Dark Ruby screamed as she took off running as Dark Weiss and Dark Blake followed suit… all the while a bewildered Ruby watched on.
"Uuuh… what just happened?" Ruby asked.
"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. But in the meantime, let's get Pit back in action." Palutena advised.
"I can honestly safely say that Dark Ruby is all bark and no bite. What a coward!" Viridi chuckled.
With Team Dark RWB…
"What the HELL was that?" Dark Weiss demanded. "You stop attacking Ruby and go straight to trying to intervene in the fight between both Yangs?"
"I… I don't know what's going on with me, but I've… I've been having visions lately and-"
"I'm going to stop you right there." Dark Weiss said. "There is no such thing as visions… so you need to get a grip and get your act together or this team is going to fall faster than a boulder rolling down a mountain!"
"But-"
"And it's because of YOU that Dark Yang isn't here!"
Dark Weiss walked off in a huff while Dark Blake walked after her.
"I…" Dark Ruby looked down. "I… I tried to save her… but…"
She clutched her head again. "What the fuck is going on with me…"
"Should I tell her? Naaaah, let her figure it out. Anyway, let's jump a few stories for the hell of it!"
Later, when everyone was under castle arrest from Bowser…
Team Dark RWB and Meta approached the castle. "Alright, let's get the jump on them. They won't know what'll hit 'em!" Dark Ruby smirked as her team nodded.
…And then a vision of Cinder, Emerald and Mercury slaughtering her popped into her head.
"Agh!" She grunted, clutching her head as she also received another vision of Ruby defeating her and getting blown up by a bomb in Bowser's Lava Lake. "Nnngh…"
"...Guys… how about instead of getting the jump on them… we don't do it at all? We just leave them alone."
"WHAT?" Dark Weiss and Blake looked at her as if she lost her mind.
Meta let out a growl. "Coward."
"Wh-I'm not a coward! I'm just… being cautious, that's all! I don't want to get blown up by Ruby!"
"Okay, now you're just being ridiculous." Dark Blake said.
Meta grabbed Dark Ruby by the arm. "You're coming with us."
"Get your hand off of me!" She demanded as Meta dragged her into the castle. "No! NO! NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Five minutes later…
Dark Ruby ran out of the front doors, putting her hands on her knees. "Hah… hah… no… I'm not going through with it. Absolutely not!" She said as Dark Weiss and Blake walked out, having bruises all over them.
"Thanks to YOU, we got clobbered easily!" Dark Weiss said, slapping her on the cheek as she walked off, then Dark Blake did the same.
Meta walked to her as Dark Ruby backed up slowly. However, Meta didn't say anything. Instead, he shook his head disapprovingly and walked off, leaving her by herself as Dark Ruby rubbed her cheek, then noticed Ruby standing at the doorway. She immediately flinched and took off running.
"...What's going on?" Ruby tilted her head.
"METs at work, my dear Ruby. METs at work! Anyway, off to the tropical paradise!"
At Delfino…
Dark Ruby pulled out a spray can. "Well, if I can't physically harm Ruby, I can easily just frame her and get her thrown in jail and-"
She received another vision. "Nnngh!"
She pictured Blake and Dark Blake duking it out, with the former throwing Dark Blake into the hot magma.
"Thrown into magma…" Dark Ruby looked around. "The only place for lava to appear would be-" She looked straight for Corona Mountain. She whimpered at the sight of it as she turned to see Dark Blake tagging a wall.
"Blake was here, these idiots are losers!"
"Dark Blake!" Dark Ruby ran to her.
"What do you want?"
"I just want to tell you… don't go into a volcano."
"What? Why would I want to go into a volcano?"
"Because I just got a vision that you-"
"Okay, shut up. Just… shut up." She said. "You have been acting extremely paranoid ever since you fought Ruby for the first time and it's been just "Vision this" and "Vision that"... and I'm sick of it."
She shoved the spray can into Dark Ruby's hands.
"I'm leaving this team. If I stay with you a second longer and hear another damnable "vision", I'm going to scream. Tell Dark Weiss and Meta I said goodbye."
She walked off, flipping Dark Ruby off along the way.
"W-wait! You can't just leave us just like that!"
"Watch me."
Dark Blake disappeared from her as Dark Ruby screamed in frustration. "For crying out loud, I'm trying to save you people!" She groaned as she looked at the graffiti, immediately grabbing a bucket of water and washing it off immediately.
"I feel like the graffiti is what snowballs into killing her... " She looked around. "...In fact…" She took off running and grabbed a mop. "I'm gonna make sure NO ONE dies here!"
She immediately mopped everything up overnight to the point where she fell asleep underneath a palm tree after cleaning everything up.
She didn't wake up to where when RWBY and co arrived, Ruby spotted Dark Ruby asleep underneath the palm tree.
"What in…?" Ruby wondered as she instinctively pulled out her scythe… but stopped. "...She hasn't been doing much to me…" She said as she put it away. "Eh, I'll leave her alone."
"Zzzz… five more minutes… zzzz…"
Dark Blake meanwhile, sat upon the bell tower and watched Blake walking around. "There you are… but with that sizeable team, I'll be outnumbered. How do I separate her from the rest?"
"Are you sure?" A Pianta walked by.
"Yeah, I'm positive. If you open up the gate to Corona Mountain, the whole area will be flooded."
Dark Blake's cat ears twitched.
"That's just a rumor."
"Rumors are meant to be taken seriously!"
Dark Blake smirked. "Is that a fact…" She chuckled with a smirk on her face as she jumped over to the roofs while nearby, Dark Weiss drew a mustache on Dark Ruby's upper lip, also writing "loser" on her forehead.
"There we go. Good as-"
Suddenly, she heard a loud crash as she turned her head. "What in the- WHAT THE HELL?!" She yelled as a massive tidal wave slammed into Delfino and swept everyone away.
"BLUB?!" Dark Ruby woke up underwater as she swam to the surface and climbed over a roof. "What the hell just-"
"THIS IS A D.E.B.S ALERT. THE SHINE GATE BURST OPEN AND FLOODED DELFINO PLAZA. GET TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY."
"What the hell just happened?" Dark Ruby wondered as she saw Dark Blake dragging an unconscious Blake toward Corona Mountain. "...No…. no no no no no… DARK BLAKE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She yelled as she swam after them.
As for Dark Weiss, a police boat came driving over as they saw her unconscious in the water as they pulled her out. "Hey… isn't this that Schnee girl from Atlas?"
"Yeah, looks like it."
"...Her father must be worried sick."
"Come on, let's take her to Atlas."
The boat turned around and went back to the airport to take her to Atlas.
In Corona Mountain, Blake coughed out water and shook it off. "Where… am I?"
"Where do you think?"
Blake turned to face Dark Blake. "You… you dragged me into the volcano?"
"It's time we settled this."
"I couldn't agree more!" Blake flashed her claws as the two proceeded to fight, when outside, Dark Ruby drained the water out of her cloak as she ran inside… right when Blake kicked Dark Blake off of her and into the lava.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
"No…" Dark Ruby whispered, falling on her knees as Blake shot her in the face to put her out of her misery.
"Farewell, dark clone." Blake turned around to see Dark Ruby. "...Oh. Another clone."
Dark Ruby flinched, getting up and taking a step back. "I… I uh…"
"You want to join the clone?"
"I… I'm not a clone… I'm… I'm the real Ruby! I…" Dark Ruby teared up. "I swear I'm my own person!"
"You're not a real person, you were born from a mirror. That doesn't make you human at all. In fact, you're just Ruby's dark side personified. You're not you, you're just… a fake."
"I'm not a fake… I'm… I'm a-"
"Reflection of someone's inner self. You're not who you think you are. You are a clone born from a mirror… and above all else, an abomination. Just ask Dark Yang and Dark Blake… oh… wait… they're not here anymore. You all don't deserve to be here, in fact, all of you are blood sucking leeches that need to be destroyed. You don't deserve to exist, in fact, you shouldn't exist at all!"
Dark Ruby's eyes filled with tears. "I'm… my own person…"
"Stop lying to yourself." Blake aimed Gambol Shroud at her. "And take your death like a warrior…"
"No… I'll… I'll prove that I'm myself… that I'm… I'm…" Tears fell. "I'M THE ORIGINAL RUBY!"
"You're a fake!"
Dark Ruby clutched her head again, images of Sonia throwing her into the Fog, Dimentio destroying her, and even the Belladonnas and Schnees, along with Grimm Weiss, popped into her head.
"I… I…"
She also had a vision of being thrown into Grimm liquid to be turned into a Grimm herself.
"I'm a Grimm…"
"You sure act like one." Blake pressed her finger on the trigger.
More tears fell from Dark Ruby… and then she immediately stopped time and ran off, resuming time as Blake stared at nothing.
"...Coward." She mumbled as she walked out of Corona Mountain.
Ruby looked around the rooftops. "Okay, this is an odd way to start a vacation…" She said as she noticed Dark Ruby running off with tears running down her cheeks as she hopped onto a boat. "Hmm?"
"Get me out of here… anyway but here!" Dark Ruby sobbed as the driver nodded and took her away from Delfino.
"...Is she okay?" Ruby tilted her head.
Once back on the main land…
Dark Ruby put her hands in her cloak, putting her hoodie on as she walked around with blank eyes. "I need answers… I'm my own person, right…?"
"You seem to be in need of some help."
"...Huh?"
Dark Ruby turned her head to see a hooded fortune teller just outside of Toad Town. "Come to me, if you will…"
Dark Ruby walked over to her. "Who… are you?"
"Me? I am just but a humble servant… I used to be in a painting, but I escaped before I could be retrapped within another portrait. You may call me… Madame Clairvoya."
BGM: Talking with Ghosts (Luigi's Mansion)
"Okay… tell me… I… I've been having visions lately, but I've been gaslighted into thinking visions aren't real."
"Aaaaah, those people are fools for not believing in visionaries. Visions are a gift, treasure those if you haven't already… for you may regret it in due time. Tell me, child… what ails you?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Child…" Clairvoya took off her hood. "I am but a spirit. Nothing sounds too outlandish for a spirit like me."
"...i was born from inside of a mirror."
"Okay, that's kind of outlandish."
"Told you."
"Anyway, it appears to me that you were born from some reflection."
"Ruby Rose."
"Aaaah, Ruby Rose. King Boo kidnapped her once… I'm not sure what purpose he had to kidnap her because he was only aiming for the Mario Bros, but… alas, I don't know his mindset."
"I'm a dark clone of her… no… I'm the real deal, but…"
"You seem to be troubled, my dear. Tell me everything."
"Okay…" Dark Ruby began explaining everything from when she was born from Pandora's Labyrinth to the current time, where she also explained she's been having visions of people killing her and adding visions of Dark Yang and Dark Blake's death.
"Hmmm, fascinating…" Clairvoya said. "Tell me something child… don't you find it odd that your name starts with "Dark" and not just "Ruby"?
"I… I thought it was just a title."
"Is it though? Because titles are meant for important political figures like Princess Peach or King Bowser or even Princess Zelda. Same goes for knights."
Dark Ruby's eyes widened. "And… I'm none of that…"
"Indeed. For you see, Ruby Rose is actually the real deal. You are actually just a clone."
Dark Ruby nearly fell over. "Oh…"
"Oh… oh! The crystal ball… it speaks!" Clairvoya said as she wrapped her hands around it. "Crystal Ball, tell me… no… tell us… what is Dark Ruby's ultimate fate!"
Clairvoya closed her eyes. "Mmm… oooh…" She nodded and opened her eyes. "Those just aren't any visions, they seem to be some type of message from different universes. I had a feeling there was a multiverse out there… tell me, what other visions did you have?"
"I had one where… Ruby was a grim reaper and took my soul… another was when she was under the influence of a Gerudo King… and… I think someone by the name of Junko killed me too."
"Aaaaah… those are different universes calling out to you to either shape up or be doomed to a grisly fate."
"What…?!"
"You also received visions of your friends dying but you couldn't do anything in your power to save them. Do not worry about them, worry about yourself, for these are warning signs that if you don't get your act together, you might suffer a horrific fate just like those who have fallen in the multiverse."
"How do I stop this fate?"
"The only option is to go on a journey of self discovery. From there, the hands of fate may soon leave you alone… otherwise, you will be just another casualty."
At that moment, a rubber ball came bouncing over and hit her ankle. Dark Ruby turned her head and saw a few kids looking up at her across the street. She pulled out her scythe and was ready to pop it… but she froze, and put her scythe away and picked the ball up, then threw it back.
"Thanks, lady!" A Toad Kid waved and ran off with his friends.
"Your journey has just begun."
"...It can't be that simple." Dark Ruby walked off.
"Child, it may be your only ticket for survival."
End BGM
Dark Ruby walked on the sidewalk. "Journey of self discovery… ha… good one…"
"Don't you find it odd that your name starts with "Dark" and not just "Ruby"?"
Dark Ruby stopped, pulling her hands out of her pockets and looked at her palms. "...I really am just a sham…"
She looked at the road and reached her leg out to take the first step into traffic… but she stopped herself.
"Can I truly be more than just… some clone of Ruby?"
She clenched her fists. "Alright… let's see what I can do."
BGM: You Can't Take Me (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron)
Out in Vale, a man was working on hammering a roof into place when he accidentally kicked down his ladder, causing him to dangle over his roof. Dark Ruby walked by and noticed this as a part of her wanted to shoot him down for the fun of it, but… she fought against it as she walked over to him and put the ladder back into place as his feet firmly touched the steps.
The man turned to see her as he waved at her. She simply waved back and walked off, where she felt something warm and fuzzy inside of her.
At a river, a kid was fishing when he felt a tug on his pole as he started to reel it in, only for it to pull him into the river as his mother reached out for him, only to scream when he was dragged under.
However, to her surprise, Dark Ruby appeared in front of her as she held the kid and a giant Cheep Cheep in her arms and handed them off as she walked off. The mother blinked before she waved her goodbye.
Out at Atlas, Dark Ruby spotted a mental hospital as she curiously walked in, and then came out five seconds later with Seryu on her shoulder, the latter blinking and wondering how the heck she got out as she then placed her in a real hospital in Atlas.
"Treat her. She looks like she needs it."
"Ah, but Jacques said that he was taking care of her in the mental hospital."
"Why would you listen to that racist buffoon? Look at her, she's a faunus and was at a mental hospital and you think Jacques was taking care of her?" She immediately pulled up Seryu's shirt to show off the SDC scar. "You think this is taking care of her?"
The nurse put her hand over her mouth. "Unfortunately, my hands are tied. Only Jacques has access to her."
"...I'll be right back."
Dark Ruby disappeared from the both of them… and then reappeared all bloodied. "I'm back."
"Did you…?"
"Let's just say I took him for a walk in a watermelon patch that, shall we say, a few spontaneously exploded." She winked as the nurse blinked before slowly nodding.
"All yours~!" Dark Ruby walked off.
"...Who was she…?" Seryu wondered.
"A guardian angel with a… weird sense of justice."
In Toad Town, a Koopa ran away from the supermarket with a handful of items, but when he turned a corner, Dark Ruby tripped him up and sat on his shell until the cops arrived, then she kicked him into the back of the car and returned the groceries.
A hiker climbed up a mountain all by himself, whistling as he got to the peak… and noticed Dark Ruby meditating to herself, deep in thought. He scratched his head before shrugging, sitting down next to her as he pulled out a sandwich bag and split it in half, handing it to Dark Ruby. She opened her eyes and took it, nodding at the hiker with a smile on her face as she took a bite, then was handed a thermos as she drank out of it as well.
Back at Toad Town, the Shroobs started shooting everywhere in town as a few Toad kids ran away from a UFO, only for the UFO to be sliced in half as Dark Ruby landed on the ground in front of them as the UFO exploded behind her.
"Woooow! That was so cool! What's your name, miss?"
"I… don't even know if I have a name, to be honest."
"Oh, well, everyone deserves a name! How about… uh… I'm not good with names."
"Sarah? Sophie? Mara?" Another Toad wondered.
Dark Ruby chuckled, patting them on the head as they all hugged her. "Cute…" She said as she turned around and saw some more UFOs flying about. "You kids go inside now. I'll take care of this!" She said as the Toad Kids ran inside as the UFOs turned toward her, aiming their blasters at her as she got in a stance.
"YAAAAAAAAAH!" Dark Ruby lunged toward them.
End BGM
Later…
Dark Ruby took an apple off of a tree and handed it to Toadette. "Thank you!" Toadette smiled and walked off.
"Anytime." Dark Ruby chuckled as she turned her head and saw Ruby chatting with Byleth and Dorothea. "...Ruby…?" She wondered, then spotted Byleth as a vision of her cutting her down rang in her head.
"Mmmph!" She clutched her head with a wince before she took a deep breath and walked over to them.
"So anyway, I've just… concerned for Yang." Ruby said. "She seems pretty alright, but I think K. Rool taking away her semblance did a number on her."
"That would do it…" Byleth mused. "Has she felt any better after she got it back?"
"Knowing her, she just puts a smile on her face… but I can tell that she's bothered by-"
"Hey, Ruby."
Ruby turned her head. "...Oh, Dark Ruby. I haven't seen you in a while."
"I've just been… reflecting on some stuff. I've been told that I'm actually just… not who I think I am."
"What do you-"
"I've been on a journey of self discovery, figuring out who I truly am…"
"Oh, that's nice."
"But there's one thing that's bugging me…"
"What is it?"
Dark Ruby pulled out her scythe. "Looking at you… I… I just want to confirm something."
"You want to fight?"
"I need to get it out of my system… because I want to know if I'm actually you or if I'm just a sham…"
Ruby immediately pulled out Crescent Rose. "Very well then."
"Do you need help?" Byleth asked.
"No… I don't think I will." Ruby said as she got in her stance.
BGM: Miracle (RWBY)
Red Like Roses - Ruby
Dark Ruby immediately lunged and slashed at her, but Ruby quickly blocked with her scythe, both of them clashing as Ruby looked into her eyes. Is she even okay? She wondered as Dark Ruby jumped back as she morphed her scythe into a gun and proceeded to shoot her but Ruby used her semblance as she used a Rose Tornado to suck her up, but she didn't slash her down. Instead, she heel kicked her to the ground.
Dark Ruby sprang back up and slashed her but Ruby blocked again and sweep kicked her as she then jumped back and peppered her with lightning dust. "Aaagh!" She grunted, shaking it off as she jumped over, twirling her scythe around and slashing at Ruby like a buzzsaw but Ruby blocked and countered it, then she pulled out her Rose Boomerang and threw it.
A boomerang? Dark Ruby wondered as she ducked as it went past her as she turned her head to watch it, only for Ruby to use her semblance and turned herself around and drop kicked her into the boomerang. Nnngh… a distraction…!
She's not even putting her heart into it… Ruby thought as she kept swinging until she shot Dark Ruby away. "Okay… I've seen enough!"
"I… I can still go a few more minutes…"
"Can you though?"
Dark Ruby's grip loosened. "I… I'm not… I'm not so sure…"
End BGM
"Heeey, what's going on over here, lass?" A voice asked as they turned to see Gloria approaching.
"Oh, nothing too major, Gloria." Ruby said as she turned to her dark clone.
"Wait, is this the bitch that ye told me about?" Gloria asked, immediately cracking her knuckles.
"Wait! She doesn't mean any harm…"
"...Ye sure?"
"Yes."
"I hate to admit it, but… she's right." Byleth nodded. "She doesn't mean any harm whatsoever."
Gloria put her arms down. "If ye say so… but if she tries anythin' funny, so help me…"
Ruby looked at her. "What's going on? You weren't like this when we first battled…"
"I…" Dark Ruby sat down. "I'm not sure anymore… I ran into this fortune teller because I kept having visions of myself dying across the multiverse and I was just gonna be another statistic if I didn't shape up…"
"Is… that what was bugging you all this time?"
"I've done some great deeds here and there… it made me all warm and fuzzy but it's just… I don't get it!" Dark Ruby threw her Crescent Rose away. "I don't even know who I am anymore! I thought I was the original person, but instead, it was pointed out that "Dark" wasn't even a title in my name and I'm just… I'm just some dark clone meant to die by YOU! …Or someone else like big tits over here!"
Byleth blinked and looked down. "...Are they really that big?"
"I would certainly say so~" Dorothea giggled.
"I… I don't know who I am. Dark Ruby is just… a distant memory at this point or something." She grumbled in a fetal position. "You can laugh about it if you want, I could care less… at this point, I wouldn't put it past you if you killed me right here and now."
"Aw come on, would I look like a killer to you?" Ruby asked.
"...In a few universes, yes."
Ruby sweatdropped. "Aside from that… I'm not going to kill you. Yang and Blake killed theirs, Dark Weiss… actually, I don't know if Weiss killed hers yet but Dark Weiss ended up disappearing and… Meta… I'm not sure where he is. I think he ran off with Washington? I don't even know."
"What am I going to do…" Dark Ruby mumbled.
Gloria rubbed her chin in thought and then snapped her fingers. "Well, here's a funny story… I was actually gonnae invite Rubes to tag along with me to Galar. There's some place I've been wantin' to go and I thought maybe she'd come."
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"Isle of Armor." Gloria smiled.
"Ooooh, that sounds good… but, how about we take her with us? Maybe she can have more of a self reflection there." Ruby said.
"You… sure about that?" Dark Ruby asked.
"Absolutely! Here, let me just call the girls and we can all go together!" Ruby smiled and looked at Byleth and Dorothea. "You two wanna tag along?"
Byleth shrugged. "Sure, why not."
"I'd be down for a little vacay!" Dorothea smiled.
Later…
"Soooo… let me get this straight." Weiss said as they were on a tram in Galar. "Your dark clone is having an identity crisis?"
"Pretty much." Ruby nodded.
"...That's a new one." Weiss said.
"I think this is a waste of time, honestly. We don't know if she's trying to pull a fast one on us." Blake said.
"I wouldn't be so sure. She left her scythe behind." Ruby said as Dark Ruby was sitting next to her with a sigh.
"Well… there's a first for everything! I wouldn't mind if she tags along!" Yang said. "After all, I invited my boy over!"
"Yup!" Claude wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek.
"Mmmm… I'm still unconvinced." Blake said.
"We… could give it a shot." Weiss said.
"She's a sham!"
"She's broken." Ruby said.
Blake sighed. "Alright… but I'm not trusting her."
Dark Ruby awkwardly shifted, rubbing her arm as she looked up to see Blake glaring at her as she looked away.
"Ding ding! Now arriving at Corviknight Flights."
Once at Isle of Armor…
Everyone walked out with Dark Ruby close to Ruby. "Woooow, talk about a paradise!" Yang said.
"I have to admit, it looks pretty neat." Weiss said.
Gloria grinned. "Awright, let's go see what this island's all about!"
"Excuse us!" A voice said as they turned to see Avery and Klara approaching them.
"Who are you?" Ruby asked.
"I'm Klara and this is my good friend, Avery. Hey, so, we were wondering where the Dojo is at."
Dojo? Dark Ruby perked up.
"Uh… no, we just got here." Gloria said.
"Oh, well, that's a shame."
"Hey, Klara?" Avery pointed toward the distance. "I think that's the dojo."
"...Oh my gosh! That's so embarrassing… forget we asked!" She took off running as Avery calmly walked behind her.
"I can't get passed that top hat." Claude said.
"That girl seemed a bit… odd." Byleth admitted.
"Well. Let's go see where- wait, Dark Ruby? Where'd you go?" Ruby looked around. "Hey Dark Ruby! Where are ya!"
Inside the dojo…
"Excuse me!" Dark Ruby spoke up when she went inside.
"Hmm?" Mustard turned to look at her. "Ah, you seem lost and unsure of yourself." He said as Avery and Klara walked in.
"Huh?!" Klara looked at Dark Ruby and looked outside, then back at her. "Where did she… how did she… but she was with that group a second ago… HOW?!"
"Curious…" Avery mused.
"What is your name, child?"
"I… discarded my name. I'm just… a wandering nomad looking for a purpose."
"Ah, you want to know where you're going in life?"
"Yes… I want to become more than just some copy of the original. I want to become my own person."
Mustard smiled. "Well, my dear… you've come to the right place!"
Meanwhile, at the Atlesian Mental Hospital…
"Mmmph…" Dark Weiss paced around her room. She looked out to see Whitley being free to leave as Esdeath was waiting for him.
Dark Weiss opened up the door. "Come on! He gets to leave freely and I don't?!"
"You have violent tendencies. You are to remain here indefinitely."
"Come ON!" She complained as she sat down on a couch with a grumble.
"Can you believe it?" A worker walked by. "It took a while but Seryu's treatment was finished. She's a free woman!"
"Remind me how she got out?"
"She had blue hair and a dark cloak-"
Dark Weiss perked up.
"I didn't get her name but I think she goes by Ruby, one of the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Wow… busted her out of here? Glad she's in a better place. Could you imagine what'd happen if someone like the violent Schnee girl met her? I bet this whole place would burn to the ground!"
"Hoo, I'm thankful…"
Dark Weiss's eyes widened, followed by violent twitching. "...My one ticket out of here… and Dark Ruby busted my one chance? THAT LOSER?! THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING TEAM LEADER?!"
"Ah, there you are, Weiss! Time for your lunch! I made you some steak that I freely cut, so here you can eat it with a fork!'
Dark Weiss glared at the worker, immediately grabbing the fork and impaling the worker in the neck with said fork as she ran off, impaling anyone that got in her way until she busted into the weapons vault, grabbing her rapier, not caring if the alarm sounded.
She immediately walked downstairs into the basement, seeing a gas generator in front of her as her rapier caught ablaze.
"I'm going to find you… and when I do… I'M GOING TO KILL YOU OVER AND OVER AGAIN!"
She immediately stabbed the gas generator, causing the entire facility to explode and killing everyone in it.
However, Dark Weiss emerged from the flames, completely enraged with her eyes going feral and gritting her teeth angrily.
"DARK RUUUUUUUBYYYYYYY!"
"Oh my! Looks like Dark Weiss is gonna be the new Dark Ruby in this universe! This is so exciting but we're gonna have to put this on a cliffhanger for now! Until next time!"
So this What If idea was suggested by Log! Although when I was sharing a scene at one point, a few friends went "Hey, what if Dark Weiss became even more unhinged and became the Dark Ruby of this universe?" hence the cliffhanger since it might be a while for that idea to fully cook.
Ibuki: Dark Weiss is the new Dark Ruby... oh boy...
Deadpool: Two words: Oh crap!