Chapter Text
A small thunk accompanied a loud groan as a girl with blood-red hair let her face hit the desk. "Unnnngh...."
"Is there a problem, Ruby?"
"I still don't get this whole..." Ruby gestured at the textbook. "...export agreement thing."
"You didn't cover it at Signal?"
"Signal doesn't go into international economics until junior year, Weiss." The blonde woman sitting on the bed tapped at a plastic pane. "Ruby got skipped ahead two years, so..."
"Ah." The white-haired girl nodded, leaning over Ruby's shoulder. "Ah," she said again. "In that case, you probably shouldn't start with that textbook."
"But Blake said it's the most comprehensive book on trade we have!"
"It is, but it also assumes a basic knowledge that you are clearly lacking." Weiss looked over her shoulder at the black-haired girl quietly looking through a novel. "What were you thinking?"
"I learned a lot about economics as a kid." Blake didn't even look up from her book. "I guess I figured she'd know about all of that already."
"Hrmph." Ruby sat up, shutting her book with a scowl. "You know what? It's saturday. It's the weekend. And this paper isn't due until wednesday. I've got time."
"Ruby--"
"And you know what?" she continued over Weiss's objection. "We need to have some team bonding! We're doing well in classes, especially after that Boarbatusk incident, but come on, girls!" Ruby stood up, waving her hand around the room. "We'll be living together for years! It's time to have some team fun!"
"Hell yeah!" the blonde shouted, fistpumping as she stood. "What's the plan, sis?"
"I'm glad you asked, Yang! Today, we're going to go out and conquer the Vale Arcade! And there's nothing from Remnant that can stop us!"
She marched to the door, swung it open, and blinked at the purple-and-glitter robot standing on the other side.
"....uh..."
"DELIVERY FOR TEAM RRRRWBY!" the robot declared epically, thrusting out a thin box.
"Um." Ruby took the package hesitantly, uncertainly eyeing the machine's visor. "...thaaaaanks...?"
The robot lifted a fist in salute. "FARE THEE WELL!" It promptly exploded.
Ruby looked at the shattered remains of the metal figure now scattered in front of her.
"...That just happened, right?" She turned around, facing her team with a baffled look. "A glittery Atlas Knight gave us a box and exploded?"
"That... does seem to be what happened," Blake admitted cautiously.
"Oooookay, so... should we open the box?"
Yang tilted her head. "Why wouldn't we?"
"It could be some sort of trap," Weiss pointed out. "Somebody could be trying to kill us with a hand-delivered bomb."
"Okay first of all that's insanely paranoid, secondly, we all have aura, thirdly, if it is true they obviously put the bomb in the robot so they're clearly not the most competent assassins." Yang crossed her arms. "I vote we open it."
Blake frowned. "You both have good points... but I'm going to say we use one of my shadow clones to open it. Safer for everyone that way."
Ruby nodded. "Yeah... here you go. Girls, get ready for an explosion!"
Blake took the box and, as her teammates scattered to the corners of the room, carefully gripped the underside of the lid. In one complicated motion, she lifted it while simultaneously splitting off from herself and diving behind a bed with Yang.
Dead silence filled the room for a moment.
"...I think," Yang said slowly, "that we're all being a little bit ridiculous."
Ruby sighed as she pulled herself out of the corner. "I mean yeah, but this is a package delivered by an exploding robot!" She poked the frozen Blake, catching the box as the black-haired girl vanished in a puff of shadow. "That's just completely nuts!"
Weiss sighed as she extracted herself from the closet. "I think my wariness was perfectly justified."
"Huh." Ruby tilted her head. "It's a scroll--like a big one, the kind professor Goodwitch uses. And there's also a letter."
"Well?" Yang hopped onto the bed, sitting on it eagerly. "Let's hear what it says!"
"Okay okay. Ahem hem hem... 'Greetings Team RWBY, and congratulations on your selection to participate in this Multiple Universe Sociological Experiment.' Okay what."
"Multiple universe?" Weiss frowned. "Is this some sort of prank?"
"'There is in fact another reality in which a popular show chronicles the adventures of Team RWBY, a fictional group to which your lives and appearances are identical. That is to say, to this world, you are a fantasy story.'"
Blake snorted as she sat down next to Yang. "Well if that isn't existentially disturbing, I don't know what is."
"'As a popular series, the show has developed a fandom, and as a fandom, there are many common memes and in-jokes that have been created. The tablet we have delivered has a list of such memes, with the explanations and context mostly scrubbed from them.'"
Yang burst out laughing. "Oh no, this! This is going to be HORRIBLE!"
"'These memes do originate and extend throughout the series, and have been helpfully arranged by volume and other origins. For reference, you are currently a little over midway through volume one. This does mean that the memes in question do reference things that happen in your future.'"
"Because of course," Weiss grumbled.
Ruby narrowed her eyes at the final paragraph. "'Your task is to read these memes, attempt to determine future events through them, and act as you see fit. Exactly what manner and order you choose to read the memes is left entirely up to you, though we have arranged things in a recommended order. Feel free to curse us out if you like, that is also part of the experiment, but know that the future events are crucial to your lives. Signed: Jonerik P. Lot deVize, scientist of Prolific Research and Outrageous Science Enterprises.'"
For a moment, the room was silent.
"...so this is probably a stupid prank," Weiss summed up.
"A stupid prank with an exploding robot and a large tablet," Blake deadpanned.
"Hey, this sounds like the best kind of stupid fun," Yang pointed out. "I mean yeah, it's probably not real, but learning what our so-called fans think of us could be hilarious."
"Trust me," said Weiss blandly, "that's not nearly as fun as it sounds."
"I mean, it's probably fake," Ruby admitted. "Probably. But... if it's real... we should still read these memes?"
Weiss crossed her arms. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... have you ever read a story where the heroes didn't face some sort of trouble?" Ruby looked around at the others. "We're huntresses--or, well, we're going to be. We have a responsibility to protect people, and if something bad is going to happen and we could not make it happen by reading this, then..."
She trailed off, shrugging awkwardly.
Weiss sighed, a long, low resigned sigh. "Well... I guess I don't see a reason not to."
"I'm sure no matter what else, this will be an educational experience," Blake mused.
"Also fun," Yang added. "Don't forget fun. And embarrassing, and hilarious."
Ruby smiled and rolled her eyes, shutting the dorm door on the exploded remains of the robot. "Well I did say nothing from Remnant would stop us going to the arcade... Alright. Let's do this."
Coverart by erughostcat