HoloRWBY-Alternate

An: I apologize if this chapter is not the greatest. This chapter became very tedious, and I hope it's at least readable.

Arc 1

Chapter 12: The Idols, an Introduction

Cover Corp. HQ; Seiso City, Japan; 6:25 A.M.

Ruby walked into the elevator with Fubuki. "So, who will I be meeting?" Ruby asked, making the leader of Gamers shrug.

"Not sure. I don't know who's actually on site right now," she admitted as she tapped the button for the lobby. "I came across Suisei-senpai on my way to get you, but she was leaving for a mission. Sora-senpai and IRyS-chan are here, as are the rest of the Gamers, and you've meet Laplus and Chloe."

"Yeah. They're…interesting," Ruby said slowly. Fubuki scoffed.

"They're a handful!" she explained. "They've only become Idols for the money and to recruit new members to their 'secret society.'"

"Why?"

"Oh, they want to conquer the world." Ruby balked at the blunt statement.

"They want to WHAT?!" the Huntress shouted.

"Don't worry. They kind of suck at the conquering thing!" Fubuki assured her. "The only one that actively works towards that goal is Lui, and even then, she's forced to deal with the issues her gen mates' mishaps all the time."

"Still, your boss lets them join Hololive?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide. Fubuki snorted.

"Ruby, one thing you'll learn about Yagoo, is that he attracts some wild people!" Fubuki explained.

"And then give them jobs?"

"Sometimes. Most of us don't really understand his motives, but he hasn't steered us wrong yet," the foxgirl explained, making Ruby fall silent. "Don't worry about it, Ruby-chan! You'll find all of us to be rather good people at the end of the day!"

"If you say so…" Fubuki giggled at Ruby's response.

"You'll see soon enough!" The elevator dinged, and Fubuki smiled. "And I'll be right there to help you in any way I can!" The doors opened to the lobby as Ruby gave her new friend a small smile.

"Arigatō, Fubuki," Ruby said gratefully, making the Idol smile cheerfully.

"No problem, Ruby-chan!" the foxgirl said. "Now, let's go eat!"

Ruby nodded as her stomach growled, and the two exited the elevator. Though it was still early morning, the lobby had a good amount of people bustling through. Ruby, again, found herself in overwhelmed at the sheer diversity on display until Fubuki tapped her shoulder. She turned to see Fubuki gesturing down a hallway. "Cafeteria's this way," she commented.

"R-Right," Ruby said as she turned to follow her new friend. However, they didn't make it very far when all of a sudden, a group of eight suddenly appeared in the middle of the lobby. Fubuki and Ruby quickly turned to the group, and Ruby noticed it was four guys she didn't know, A-chan, a tall blue-haired girl, a child, and a familiar blonde…

"…Jaune…?" she called out softly, making the blonde knight turn towards her. His eyes widened.

"Ruby…?" Jaune called out in disbelief. Ruby didn't need any more confirmation and rushed towards him, easily capturing him in a fierce hug. He was surprised, but he quickly recovered and returned the hug just as fiercely.

"H-How…?!" Ruby gasped.

"Cinder got the Staff," Jaune told her. "Winter and I were the last on the Crossroads, and I…I wasn't fast enough." Ruby's arms tightened around him, feeling horrible knowing Cinder won…again. She had suspected after…after learning Penny died, but to hear the confirmation was painful.

Jaune sighed at the sight of hurt on Ruby's face. "It wasn't your fault, Ruby."

"But-"

"No. You were already blindsided by the bitch and were thrown to the backfoot," Jaune told her. "You did all you could Ruby, and we did the same. She…She knew our plan, Ruby. I have no doubts that she used the last question to figure it out, so she could completely derail it. It was a perfect storm against us Ruby. She…" Jaune swallowed hard. "She got us good."

"J-Jaune…" Ruby struggled to form a proper response; her mind was plagued by flashbacks of the Crossroads. She shook her head. "Jaune…Penny…!"

Immediately, Jaune's arms around Ruby tightened. "Y-Yeah…I-I-I know," he gasped out, his voice breaking. Jaune started shaking, which started to worry Ruby.

"Jaune…what…?"

"I-I…Cinder wounded her. I…" Ruby's heart froze.

'No…'

"J-Jaune…Jaune, please! Don't tell me-!" she pleaded, but it only made Jaune shake harder.

"S-She…She asked me…! Ruby, I…I'm so sorry! I…Penny asked…!" Jaune continued to gasp out. "She…She wanted to…oh gods!"

Ruby, meanwhile, felt a painful numbness pierce her chest. Her heart burned in retaliation, making her feel like her breath was about to ignite. "J-Jaune, w-what are…what are you saying…?"

"I…I'm sorry, Ruby!" he said again. He buried his head into her shoulder. "Penny asked me…I…I had no choice…! Weiss was about to be killed! Penny didn't want Cinder to-!"

"No…Please…" Ruby started pleading. "Don't tell me you…Penny wouldn't…!" She felt tears prick the sides of her eyes, but she smothered them as she latched on tighter to Jaune. "Oh, Penny! Why?! You idiot! Why?!"

"I'm sorry!"

Ruby felt her control slip for a moment as a few sniffles escaped her lips, but with some effort, she kept herself from completely crying out. It was then she felt Fubuki's hand on her shoulder. She looked up and turned to see Fubuki giving her a sympathetic nod. She nodded and turned to see Jaune turning to see a blue haired young man, who had his hand on the Huntsman's shoulder.

Jaune finally looked up and noticed they had an audience and flushed. "S-Sorry!" he mumbled.

"No. None of that, buddy," the blue haired guy said. "This…Well, this was bound to happen…I'm sorry we had to witness such a private moment."

"It's…It's fine…" Jaune mumbled. Meanwhile, Ruby turned to Fubuki and nodded shakily.

"A-Arigatō, Fubuki," she mumbled.

"Are you going to be ok, Ruby-chan?" she asked gently.

"I…I…" Ruby shook her head fiercely. "Y-Yeah…E-Eventually…" Fubuki frowned, but before she could continue, Jaune spoke up again.

"Uh…Ruby…?" he asked slowly. "When'd you learn to understand and speak fluent Ancient Mistrialian?"

"Whoops! Hold on!" A-chan called out as her hands glowed purple for a moment. The glow formed several magic seals which vanished when A-chan snapped her fingers. She smiled and said, "There we go!"

"What did you do?" Jaune asked her.

"Translation spell for all the ones in the area who don't have good grasps on foreign languages," A-chan explained. "Easiest way to prevent communication issues within the group."

"Oh. Sweet. But that doesn't answer my question to Ruby," Jaune pointed out.

"O-Oh! Uh…That's…" Ruby's words failed her as she tried to think of a way to explain her partial-Alteration. "It's a long story…"

"Then how's about we talk about it on the way to the cafeteria?" A-chan suggested. "And we can introduce everyone in this group on the way to the others."

"Sounds like a plan!" Fubuki said with a smile. She turned to Ruby and Jaune and asked, "How about it?" The two looked at each other and nodded.

"But before that, here, Ruby, right?" Altare asked as he presented Crescent Rose to her. Her eyes widened as she reached for it, but she hesitated. Jaune saw this and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, making her turn to look at him. She nodded in thanks and took her beloved weapon from the Hero.

Cafeteria

Sora grinned as she looked to everyone around. While not as many of the others were around as she'd have liked, she was confident that there were enough talents available that Ruby-chan would not have time to think about yesterday's events. She again looked to the entrance. Fubuki and Ruby should be here any second now. Good! Everything was set.

"Sora-senpai!" Sora turned to see IRyS jogging up to her. With a smile, the Nephilim saluted her and said, "Gen 3 isn't here, and Ayame-senpai is the only Gen 2 member here. But most of Gens 1 and 4 are here, and I hear Holo-X is here too!" Sora nodded happily.

"Perfect! Everyone from my Gen is here except for Sui-chan! She had a mission she had to take this morning!" Sora explained. "I also talked with some of the ID members, and they'll around later!"

"Great! Now we-!" Suddenly, IRyS's face freezes and immediately drops. "Dammit!"

"IRyS-chan?" Sora asked. IRyS holds up her hand for a moment while she composes herself. She turns to the Idol with a solemn look.

"I just got sent back by Kronii. She just arrived with Tempus, Kobo, and A-chan with a surprise guest: Ruby's friend Jaune Arc," IRyS explained. "She took me aside and explained what had happened after Ruby fell at the Crossroads and sent me back to this moment."

"What did she say?" Sora asked, instantly serious.

"The situation is worse than what Ruby reported, but the biggest thing is…" Here IRyS hesitated. "Apparently, Penny asked Jaune to kill her before Cinder Fall could steal the Maiden powers from her." Sora grimaced at this and sighed.

"This makes things a bit more difficult," Sora commented. She sensed a modest group approaching the cafeteria and noted A-chan's presence with them. "We'll discuss it later. Top priority is helping Jaune and Ruby." IRyS nodded.

"I agree!"

"Don't tell the others just yet," Sora instructed. "Let's get their minds off the bad stuff for the moment and focus on helping them know they're not alone." She looked towards the exit and said, "Act natural!" With that, she marched up to the cafeteria entrance, with IRyS following closely behind her.

Meanwhile, Ruby and the others were walking down a hallway as she explained what had happened to her after falling to Earth, and Jaune relaying his misadventures on Earth. This was subtly suggested by A-chan to help keep the two's minds off the tragedies of the Crossroads. Understandably, Jaune was terribly upset at the idiots that attacked Ruby, while Ruby was concerned about Jaune due to his confrontation with the Earth equivalent of a Sasquatch Grimm, which led to a surprising admittance to the blonde knight.

"Wait. You and your team fought a Sasquatch Grimm before?!" he asked incredulously.

"Uh, yeah. Merlot had one on his island," she revealed with a slight shrug. "It was brutal fighting that thing. But it had nothing on the mutated Deathstalker…"

"A mutated…Deathstalker…?" Axel asked.

"A Deathstalker is a giant scorpion Grimm," Jaune explained.

"And someone had the brilliant idea to mutate one? There's always one, I guess," Magni scoffed.

Fubuki took note of Merlot for later and shook her head. "As interesting as this all has been," she commented as she stopped at a set of double doors. Everyone turned to her as the doors opened to reveal Sora and IRyS standing in the entryway.

"You've made it!" Sora chirped happily. She walked up and hugged Ruby tightly, making the teen tense for a moment before she relaxed. The first Hololive Idol pulled away and asked Ruby, "Did you sleep well, Ruby-chan?" Ruby nodded.

"Yeah." Sora nodded and turned to Jaune with a smile.

"And you must be Jaune Arc! Ruby-chan told me about you, and Kronii told IRyS you were here!" she said, confusing the Remnant natives as Kronii hadn't left the group.

"You're welcome," Kronii said smugly.

"It's nice to meet you, Jaune!" Sora continued. "My name is Tokino Sora! And beside me is IRyS!" The Nephilim of Hope smiled and waved at him, winking suggestively at him. He blushed a bit and shook himself.

"N-Nice to meet you! And yeah, I'm Jaune!" Jaune introduced himself, making the two smile.

"And it's good to see all of you again!" Sora addressed the rest of the group.

"To you as well, Sora-senpai!" Vesper said, nodding. "Altare's gathering some of the other Holostars to introduce to Jaune." Sora nodded to that.

"Good thinking! And speaking of that…" She turned to the interdimensional foreigners and said, "I'm sure you two are hungry, so how about a meet and greet alongside breakfast?"

"Um, actually, Sora," Ruby said hesitantly, "I-"

"RUBY-CHAAAAAN!" Suddenly, Ruby was tackled from the side by a brown missile.

"Oof!" Ruby barely held off from falling as she looked to see the missile straighten up to reveal a smiling Korone.

Her tail wagged as she started dragging Ruby away. "Our table's over here!" she announced.

"W-Wait! Korone, stop!" Ruby cried as she futilely tried to free herself from the dog-girl Idol's grip. Jaune watched in visible confusion while Sora, IRyS, and Fubuki giggled.

"Well, I guess we follow Korone-chan!" Sora said cheerfully.

"Not me." Everyone turned to Kronii. "I've got matters to attend to. If you need me, send Baelz. And ONLY Baelz! Later!" Kronii then vanished, leaving a rapidly vanishing clockface in her wake.

"What's got her riled up?" IRyS asked.

"Not sure," Vesper admitted. "She's been like this since Jaune introduced himself to her. I think it has something to do with his arriving on Earth before he was meant to." That concerned the Nephilim. Very little rattled Kronii.

"I think I should investigate that," IRyS commented. "Gomen, Sora-senpai, but this could be important."

Thankfully, Sora decided to speak up at this. "No worries. Do what you need to. Right now, we have new friends to meet! Right, Jaune-kun?" she asked, startling the young man.

"H-Huh? O-Oh! Yeah!" Soon enough, Jaune and the others were sitting at a table with Ruby and the Gamers. As everyone was properly introduced and food was obtained, Jaune decided to take the initiative as he poured syrup on his waffles.

"So, meet-and-greet, huh?" he asked. Sora nodded eagerly.

"Hai! They'll be around soon!" Sora commented. "After breakfast, we'll be going shopping, so you two will have clothes for your stay."

"Thanks! If it wasn't for Kronii, what I'm wearing right now would be utterly trashed right now!" Jaune admitted.

"Well, once Altare arrives back with the other Holostars, they can show you the best places for clothing!" Sora told him.

"Sora-chan!" Everyone turned to see a young woman with long pink hair dressed as a shrine maiden with green eyes. Sora's smile widened as she stood and rushed towards the newcomer.

"Miko-chan!" Sora cried as she and the girl embraced each other in a cheerful hug. The two giggled a bit before Sora broke the hug and turned to present the newcomer to the others. "Ruby-chan! Jaune-kun! Allow me to introduce to you one of my fellow genmates: Sakura Miko!"

"Nyahello!" Sakura Miko greeted with a wave and cheeky smirk. "So, you're the interloper plus one, huh?" she asked, giving the two a once over. Ruby nodded.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Ruby Rose. Pleased to meet you!" she said as Jaune raised his hand.

"And I'm Jaune Arc! Nice to meet you!" he agreed.

"Same. Welcome to Hololive!"

"Thanks," Ruby told her. Noticing movement to the side, she turned to see three other women walking towards them, breakfast in hand. This time, it was Fubuki who smiled as she jumped up to greet them.

"Mel-chan! Aki-chan! Matsuri-chan! Over here!" the fox girl called out.

"Hey, Fubuki! What's up?!" Natsuiro Matsuri said cheerfully as the three turned and walked towards the group.

"I've got some new friends for you to meet!" Fubuki stated, presenting Ruby and Jaune. "This is Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc! They recently fell to Earth via the Void!"

"Oh! These are the two that IRyS mentioned?!" a short blonde girl with amber eyes wearing very short black and yellow sleeveless shirt/vest combo and equally short shorts of the same color scheme. She smiled to reveal two fangs as she said, "Hey there! Name's Yozora Mel!"

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc! My name is Aki Rosenthal!" a blonde about Ruby height commented with a smile. She had blonde hair, with her pigtails not being attached to her head, which the Remnant-borne natives found weird, and wore a blue and white dress. Her purplish-blue eyes displayed a bright warmth that soothed their souls.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Natsuiro Matsuri!" Matsuri introduced with a grin. She wore a short black shirt with a short yellow vest and white skirt. Her were light blue, and she had long brown hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Nice to meet you," Ruby said, with Jaune agreeing. The three sat down with the group, and instantly, Ruby and Jaune were engaged in conversation with the Idols. It wasn't long before the embarrassing stories came out.

"Hahaha! Wait! You mean he really wore a dress?!" Mio laughed as Ruby recounted their time at Beacon. Ruby couldn't help but laugh at the memory as well.

"Oh, yeah! Jaune said he'd wear one if Pyrrha didn't have a partner for the dance! And she didn't!" she relayed. Jaune huffed.

"Forgive me if I thought someone as beautiful as Pyrrha would be single for such an event!" he defended.

"But she wanted you!" the silver eyed girl teased, making him huff again, and the Idols giggle.

"Yeah! But I didn't know she wanted a loser like me!"

"Because you were stupid!"

"Oh, shut it, Crater Face!"

"Never, Bunny Knight!"

"Crater face? Bunny knight?" Okayu asked in amusement.

"She exploded, like, literally caused an explosion by sneezing because of Dust!" Jaune explained.

"He's such a Pumpkin Pete cereal fanboy, he sent in like fifteen box tops for a bunny printed hoodie!" Ruby explained.

"It was fifty!" Ruby couldn't help but laugh again at this. The Idols giggled at the exchange as Jaune mock-glared at her.

"Heh! I think we found a Pekora fan!" Matsuri teased.

"Who?" Jaune asked.

"One of the Divas of Hololive!" Startled by the sudden male voice, Ruby and Jaune turned with the group to see Altare walking up with a small group of people consisting of three guys and two girls, plus Altare. The first guy long red hair with golden eyes and wore a long sleeve black shirt with black pants, and a white sweater over top of it. His features were effeminate.

The second guy was shorter and wore a bulky yellow sweater. His teal eyes were highlighted by his yellow streaked blue hair. His smile was a bit more hesitant compared to the first guy's and Altare's. In comparison, the third was tall, blonde haired and blue eyes. He wore a formal school-like uniform and had a sword at his side. He projected confidence and assurance as he walked over to the group.

The first of the young women wore a white dress and tan jacket. Her long black hair framed her model-like face and bright light green eyes. Beside her, the second girl wore a pink sweater and…metal chaps? No, the more Ruby looked, the more she realized the girl's legs were mechanical, to her shock. Her hair was long and dark red, and her eyes were amber in color.

Altare smiled as he walked in front of the group. "Jaune, Ruby, meet my senpais in Holostars!" He gestured to the red-haired young man. "This is first Holostar: Hanasaki Miyabi!"

"Pleased to meet you!" Miyabi said with a smile.

"And from the second gen: Astel Leda and Kishido Temma!" Altare finished, gesturing to the blue haired one and blonde one, respectively.

"Hello…" Astel said quietly.

"Good morning!" Temma agreed.

"Hey," Ruby greeted back.

"What's up?" Jaune said.

"And these ladies are two other members of my gen!" Sora explained as she stood to introduce them. "AZKi and Roboco!"

"Greetings!" AZKi greeted with a smile.

"Hello booo!" Roboco called out with a wave, making Ruby fail to smother a giggle at how cute it sounded.

"Hey there. I'm Ruby," Ruby said again as Jaune introduced himself as well.

"Nice to meet ya!" Roboco said cheerfully. "I heard about your friend, Ruby-chan." She walked over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You have my condolences. She sounded like an amazing person." Ruby's eyes closed tightly.

"Y-Yeah…she was…" Ruby told her. Roboco smiled at her.

"I know it's tough, but you're not alone here. We're here for you if you need us!"

"T-Thanks." Jaune took her hand and squeezed, startling Ruby for a moment before she squeezed it back. Sora and Miyabi smiled at the scene and looked at the table.

"Well, it seems you all are almost done eating, so how's about we clean up and continue this on the road? I know our friends here need some basic necessities!" Miyabi suggested. Sora nodded at the suggestion.

"Sure! I don't mind if the others don't!" Sora said and looked at the others. They all quickly agreed and started cleaning up. Ruby grabbed her plate before pausing.

"Hey, is it ok if I go on ahead? I…I'd like to get some fresh air for a moment…alone…" she asked. Sora nodded to her.

"Sure thing! We'll meet you outside, Ruby-chan!" she said. Ruby nodded and walked out of the cafeteria while throwing her trash away. As she returned to the lobby, she was once again stunned by the diversity again before she shook herself and walked out the doors.

The sounds of the early morning bustle of the city assaulted her systems as she walked out of the building. The familiar chaos of city life helped soothe her mind a bit as she inhaled deeply through her nostrils. She exhaled slowly as she absently remembered the events of the past hour. A queasy feeling settled in her stomach, but she tried not to think about it. She took another deep breath as she ran into someone.

"Gah! Watch it!" the person, a young woman, exclaimed.

"S-Sorry!" Ruby apologized. "I just…my mind was somewhere else…"

"Hah?" The girl turned, and Ruby saw she, like IRyS, had two different eye colors, one light blue and one pinkish-violet. She had long purple hair with-wings?-wrapping around her head. She wore short denim jeans and a short sleeve shirt with a circlelike symbol with a rainbow in place of one section and the word "NIJISANJI" written across the fabric. "Really? Why?"

Ruby grimaced a bit. "…It's a long story…"

"Yeesh. That bad, huh?" the girl asked, grimacing too. The two stood in silence for a moment before the girl shook her head and said, "Hey, listen. Sorry about the attitude. I just got here to Japan, and already I've been dealing with bullshit. This is supposed to be a vacation, and I'm having to do grunt work for my bosses!"

Ruby chuckled. "No, I should be apologizing. Everyone inside was trying to keep my mind off everything that's happened, and I needed some space," she admitted. "I should have watched where I was going."

The girl laughed. "Guess we're both having a shit day, huh?" Ruby laughed with her.

"Yeah. Guess so." Ruby pointed to herself. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose!"

"Nice to meet cha, Ruby!" the girl said. "Name's Selen Tatsuki!" She waved. "Hope everything works out for ya.! I gotta split! Bye!"

"You too! Take care, friend!" The two shared a wave as Selen ran off. Ruby watched her fade into a crowd of people as the others walked out of the building. She turned to them.

"You guys ready now?" she asked. Sora nodded.

"Hai! You? Everything good?" Ruby nodded, making Sora smile. "Then, let's go!"

An: And so we've got more Idols introduced as well as some Holostars! Plus a special appearance! Hope the chapter was good! See you next time!