The air in the underground bunker was thick with anticipation and the faint scent of burnt circuits. Jaune stepped inside, his boots crunching against scattered tools and fragments of disassembled machinery. At the center of the room stood Ruby, Penny, and Ren, all focused intently on a sleek, human-shaped exoskeleton bristling with concealed compartments and glowing lines of Aura-conducting energy.

"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby called out, her voice as cheerful as ever.

"Hi, everyone!" he replied, his tone wary but curious. "So, what's this all about, Ren?"

Ren adjusted his gloves and gestured toward the exoskeleton. "You know how, despite our efforts, we've been unable to stabilize stored Aura in any object without catastrophic failure?"

Jaune nodded. "Hard to forget. Every time we try, it either explodes or melts."

Ren smiled faintly. "Penny, our robotic friend, is unique. She can use Aura, which means there must be a way to stabilize it safely in artificial constructs."

"That's incredible!" Jaune exclaimed. "So you're saying we could..."

Ruby cut him off, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Jaune, we didn't just figure out the stabilization thing. We took it to the next level! Check this out!" She waved toward the exoskeleton, her eyes sparkling.

"This," Penny added, stepping forward with a proud smile, "is Ruby's new body. Together, we built it to push the boundaries of what a Huntress can be."

Jaune blinked, his jaw slack. "Wait... new body? As in..."

Ruby grinned sheepishly. "Yup! We're transferring my soul into this bad boy. I'll be faster, stronger, and way more explosion-proof. Imagine the possibilities! No more pesky human limitations!"

"Ruby, you can't be serious!" Jaune protested, his voice rising. "You're already one of the best Huntresses I know! Why would you..."

"Jaune," Ruby interrupted, her tone uncharacteristically soft. "I've spent my whole life admiring weapons, the craftsmanship, the ingenuity. And today, I am ready for the next step. I don't just like weapons. I live for them. So why not become the ultimate weapon myself? You showed me how I shouldn't limit myself because of people's opinions. You love explosions and despite everyone criticizing you about it, you just stood your ground. And Penny... she showed me that you don't have to be just human to protect humanity. So I can finally live up to the legacy I've always dreamed of."

Jaune opened his mouth to argue but hesitated. Ruby's resolve was clear in her eyes, and he knew better than to challenge it, like so many had tried to do for him.

"Ruby, if you feel it's your way, who am I to try and prevent you?" Jaune answered with a big smile, placing a hand on the young woman's shoulder.

Penny stepped up beside Ruby, her usual cheerful demeanor tinged with a hint of caution. "Ruby has been working on this for weeks. We've calculated everything. The soul transfer should be safe, though it requires a significant boost of Aura to stabilize."

"And that's where you come in, Jaune," Ruby said, practically bouncing with excitement. "Your Semblance! You can amplify Aura, right? So you're going to help make this dream come true!"

The room went silent as the machinery roared to life. Ruby lay on a makeshift medical slab, wires connecting her to the towering exoskeleton. Jaune placed his hands on her shoulders, his Aura glowing faintly as he channeled his power into her.

"Alright," Penny said, her voice steady as she manned the controls. "Initiating transfer in three... two... one!"

A surge of energy burst through the room, a bright, pulsing light emanating from Ruby as her Aura flowed into the exoskeleton. Ruby's body arched as she let out a mixture of laughter and an unhinged scream. "YES! I CAN FEEL IT! THIS IS AWESOME!"

The exoskeleton began to move, its eyes lighting up with a crimson glow. Slowly, it stood upright, its movements fluid and precise. The newly activated Ruby 2.0 tilted its head, scanning the room before speaking with Ruby's voice but with a cold, mechanical edge. "Ruby Rose, version two-point-oh, fully operational."

Jaune stumbled back, wiping sweat from his brow. "Okay, it worked. Great. Now can we..."

A voice cut him off. "What the heck?!" Everyone turned to see Ruby still lying on the slab, staring wide-eyed at Ruby 2.0. "Wait... I'm still here?!"

Penny frowned, checking the readouts. "It seems only a portion of your Aura was transferred. Both of you now share the same soul, but you're independent entities."

Ruby's shock quickly morphed into excitement. "Wait, wait, wait... Are you telling me there are two of me now?! This is the best thing ever!"

Ruby 2.0 flexed her metallic fingers, a smirk spreading across her face. "Double the Ruby, double the awesome. And double the firepower!"

Before anyone could respond, the bunker shook violently, and an alarm blared. Ren glanced at his Scroll. "Grimm attack. A big one. Vale's defenses are struggling. They're calling in reinforcements."

Ruby and Ruby 2.0 exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up with identical, manic glee. "Race you to the most kills!" they shouted in unison before dashing out of the bunker.

The Battlefield

The battlefield was chaos, the air thick with the roar of Grimm and the screams of fighters. But nothing could have prepared anyone for the sight of two Rubys tearing through the horde with reckless abandon.

Ruby 2.0 leapt into the fray, her metallic arms and legs transforming with a sickening mechanical whir into scythes. She spun with deadly precision, slicing through Beowolves like a whirlwind of death.

"Come on, squishy me! Try to keep up!" she taunted.

"Squishy?!" Ruby huffed, flipping through the air as Crescent Rose cleaved through an Ursa Major. "I'll show you squishy!"

The two Rubys moved in perfect synchronization, their combat styles eerily similar yet distinct. Ruby 2.0 relied on raw power and her transforming limbs, while the original Ruby weaved through the chaos with her trademark agility.

Ruby 2.0 laughed, her laser eyes vaporizing a cluster of Creeps. "This is too easy! What's your count, organic me?"

"Thirty-seven!" Ruby shouted, firing Crescent Rose mid-air.

Ruby 2.0 smirked. "Fifty!"

Ruby pouted mid-swing. "Hey, no fair! I don't have built-in laser eyes!"

"Actually, Ruby, silver-eyed Huntresses are renowned in ancient folklore for their deadly gaze against Grimm," Penny intervened.

Ruby stopped dead in her tracks.

"I could have laser eyes?"

She squinted, visibly concentrating on the pack of Beowolves charging her. They were almost to her when suddenly, her eyes glowed and a silver beam erupted from them, disintegrating the Grimm.

"You too have laser eyes! We both have laser eyes!" Ruby 2.0 cheered.

"This is the best day of my life!" Ruby screamed happily, becoming a mobile turret of silver fire.

Team JNPR was observing the carnage perpetrated by the two Rubys. As per standard procedure, they were only here as a last recourse.

"That's so unfair we can't go in," Nora pouted. "I don't see how she is any less 'environmentally destructive' than us!"

"Well, Ruby 2.0 and her laser eyes are both a very new development. I wouldn't be surprised if she was subjected to the same restrictions as us after that," Ren explained.

Indeed, the street leading to the breach in the wall was a scorched mess, half-melted tarmac with scythe marks.

"Nora, I think we should invite Ruby for our next girls' night. I've spotted a very nice Nevermore nest for target practice," Pyrrha said, joyfully.

"Yeah, definitely!"

A Bullhead landed next to Team JNPR, bringing the rest of Team RWBY.

"I thought JNPR was forbidden to engage unless express authorization from the City Council and Headmaster Ozpin," Weiss interpelled Jaune with an accusatory tone.

"And we didn't lift a finger! It's all Ruby," Jaune explained.

Yang's jaw dropped as she watched her sister and her sister's robotic twin, tear through the Grimm with unrestrained glee.

"Jaune," Yang repeated, her voice eerily calm despite her blazing crimson eyes, "you will tell me what you did to my sister."

"Which one?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Precisely, Vomit Boy. Precisely. Since when do I have two sisters?!"

Jaune scratched his head, trying to make sense of the situation. "Uh... I didn't exactly check the time. About 10 minutes, I would say."

Yang let out a frustrated roar, shaking Jaune again. "How do I fix this?!"

Ren interjected, his tone unusually calm. "It's not as simple as that. The Rubys seem... content with the arrangement. And as for Penny, she's been very... supportive of Ruby's new endeavors."

Yang's frustration was building to a fever pitch. "I don't care how content they are! We can't have multiple Rubys running around!"

Yang stopped as the two Rubys stood up in unison, both waiving innocently at her. "Hey, Yang!" they said in perfect synchronization before returning to the slaughter.

Yang's eye twitched. "Jaune... Ren... You're going to fix this. Now."

Yang dropped Jaune, rubbing her temples as the two Rubys skipped off with Penny. "I'm gonna need so much therapy after this..."

Ruby turned to her metallic counterpart. "So... what's the kill count?"

Ruby 2.0's eyes flickered as she processed the data. "Eighty-seven for me. You?"

Ruby groaned. "Eighty-five. Ugh, I'm gonna have to step up my game."

"They both need to stop," Weiss muttered, approaching cautiously. "This isn't a competition! It's a disaster waiting to happen."

Jaune, watching the two Rubys high-five over a pile of disintegrating Grimm, could only shake his head. "Well, at least Vale's safe?"

Weiss glared at him. "Safe?! Look at the destruction! They've made you look responsible!"

Ruby 2.0 smirked, clapping her on the shoulder with a metallic hand that made him wince. "Relax, Weiss cream."

Penny clapped her hands. "I think they did wonderfully! Double the Rubys means double the safety for Vale!"

Weiss glanced at the destruction around them and sighed. "Yeah, sure. Safe. That's exactly what I'd call this."