Archive of Our Own ^beta

Since attending Beacon Academy, Ruby Rose had found herself in many strange situations.

From mysterious plots, to terrorist attacks, to her team member and new pseudo-sister being a Faunus princess, to Grimm invasions, to her newest best friend being a freaking robot, all the way to a mad scientist who found a way to mutate Grimm! Nothing so far has ever rattled her, and she took pride in handing all the chaos thrown her way in a very mature manner.

This, however, was more than she could deal with.

“They’re all my WHAT?!!!” she screeched, heat blooming from her face as it turned as red as her outfit. Her wide, shocked silver eyes darted around Ozpin’s office at the seven individuals scattered around the room, all different in many ways but all had one thing in common…

Silver eyes.

Ozpin sighed from behind his desk as a tall, tanned skinned man with silver eyes and her hair color pinched the bridge of his nose. The man wore green and dull yellow robes with orange lining, loafers, and orange gloves on his hands. “Well M…Miss Rose,” the silver eyed man said uncertainly, stumbling over her name, likely to stop himself from calling her something else. “I, along with my fellow displaced…siblings…are all your future children, hailing from different timelines.”

“And we all have different daddies, apparently!” a tall woman with Ruby’s hair (albeit with yellow tips instead of Ruby’s red ones) wearing a dark blue jumpsuit and a blindfold exclaimed loudly, a cocky smirk gracing her face as she spun around an utterly furious Yang and snapped pictures of the angry teen as she tried to grab her.

“Gah!” the blonde yelled. “Why! Can’t! I! NAB YOU?!!!” She lunged for the blindfolded woman, who only spun out of the way with a giggle.

“Damn! You are WAY more entertaining as a kid, Auntie Yang!” the woman teased, making Yang snarl.

“Hold still so I can beat some manners into you!” the blonde shouted and jumped at her again. “The quicker I finish with you, the quicker I can get to hunting down the animals that dared to defile my little sister!” Ruby’s face felt like a furnace after that.

“Y-Yaaaaaang!” Ruby whined. “Why did you say it like that?!”

“Heeeeey! That’s totally off base, Aunt Yang!” a Ruby lookalike, albeit younger by two years and wearing robes similar to her friend Lie Ren, shouted indignantly and pointed at the blonde. “My momma and papa were married!”

“I think we can all say that, kid,” a bull Faunus with Ruby’s hair and eyes said with an eyeroll. His attire consisted of camo pants and boots, with a maroon shirt and black leather jacket. “But I don’t think Aunt Yang cares…”

“Miss Xiao Long, I highly recommend you calm down!” Glynda snapped. “And you!” she growled, pointing Disciplinarian at the blindfolded woman. “Stop provoking her!”

“Ah, Glyn!” the woman giggled, headless of the threat. “What kind of teacher would I be if I did that?! Provoking your students does wonders for their mental health!”

From somewhere behind Ruby, Weiss groaned. “Ruby, your kids are just as migraine inducing as you are!” she growled. Beside her, a silvered eyed young man around Yang’s age, wearing a black shirt under a silver jacket with matching pants and red tipped Schnee hair, jolted from where he was spacing out. He turned to Weiss and frowned.

“Now, that’s not fair, Aunt Weiss!” he told her, causing Weiss’s eyes to start twitching.

“I don’t know. She might be onto something!” another teen guy, again with her hair and eyes, laughed. He wore a red shirt and jeans under black and gold armor as a red tipped, black furred monkey tail swung behind him.

“Uuuugh!” a teen girl with red tipped grey hair and silver eyes wearing cleric-esque robes groaned next to Blake, who was writing something down in her notebook. “This is getting us nowhere!” she complained. “Pine! Would you or the Wizard get the Arc on track, please?!”

Ozpin twitched at the nickname given to him, but the silver eyed man nodded. He turned to the blindfolded woman and said, “Vermilion. That’s enough,” he told her. The now named Vermilion rolled her eyes, not that anyone could see it.

“Eh! Sure thing! I got enough pics for my students, anyways!” she said cheerily as she grabbed Yang’s forehead and held her in place. Yang snarled and tried to remove the offending appendage, but she found herself unable to grab the arm.

“WHY CAN’T I TOUCH YOUUUUUUUUU?!” Yang yelled.

“So! The floor’s yours, Big Bro!” Vermilion said in a teasing tone, making Pine chuckle.

“Thank you.” He recomposed himself and turned back to Ruby. “Now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, Miss Rose?” he prompted.

“Y-I-Yeah!” she stammered out as she tried to calm herself down. “M-Maybe a few…”

“Am I right to assume one of those questions is how we got here?”

“Y-Yeah.” Pine nodded.

“Then allow me to explain,” he offered, to which she nodded frantically. “First off, my name is Onyx Pine, and my Semblance allows me to view alternate timelines. With me so far?”

“Y-Yes sir.”

“Please, no need to call me ‘sir.’ Makes me feel like you’re about to scold me!” he joked, which actually helped as Ruby giggled a bit. “Anyways, one day as I was viewing a new timeline I discovered, an old college of mine attacked me, and somehow, during our altercation, my Semblance became supercharged, and suddenly, I found myself in Beacon’s cafeteria, staring at younger versions of my extended family and then temporally displaced siblings.”

“That’s a very concise way of putting it,” the grey-haired girl commented.

“I don’t believe complicating the situation with the technical parts will help this situation,” Onyx explained.

“True.”

“So, uh, question!” the silver eyed Schnee called out. “How did we get thrown here with you?” Ruby turned to him and nodded rapidly.

“What he said!” she agreed.

“Best guess?” Onyx answered. “This timeline we are in right now is the first, the ‘main branch’ if you will. Where all our timelines branch off from. Likely, my entry punched a massive hole in the timestream and while trying to fix it, it couldn’t distinguish one ‘firstborn of Ruby Rose’ from another, and then bam!” he exclaimed, stretching his arms out. “Here we are!”

“So, we just got stuck here by coincidence?” the bull Faunus asked.

“Very likely.” Onyx turned back to Ruby and continued, “If you’d like, we can try and answer any more questions you have, Miss Rose.”

“U-Uh…sure…now, uhhh…Names? Maybe?” she asked as she looked around the room at her…future kids…gosh, this was a lot to take in! Onyx chuckled.

“A reasonable request.” He turned to his temporally displaced siblings and asked, “How about it? Any volunteers?”

Vermilion perked up. “Sure! I’ll go!” Suddenly, the older woman was in front of Ruby, causing the red cloaked Huntress to yelp in surprise and Yang to cry out in shock as she fell to the ground. The tall woman beamed as she pulled her blindfold down to reveal her unusually bright silver eyes. “Hiyah, mini-Mom! Names Vermilion Arc! Nice to meet ‘cha!” she explained with a grin.

“Y-Yeah, I remember you…” Ruby said, her face starting to heat up again as the memory of her entry at the cafeteria replayed in her head. “Y-You called Jaune...” Vermilion just grinned wider, if that was possible.

“Yep! That’s my old man! Geez, y’all never told me he was such a scrawny ass toothpick back in the day!” she exclaimed with a laugh. “Can’t believe my seven-foot tall, muscles-have-muscles daddy was ever that tiny!”

“Arc? With muscles? You’re joking,” Weiss drawled out.

“Hold up. That blonde twig was Uncle Jaune?!” the silver eyed Schnee gasped, wide eyed. “How the hell?!”

“I know, right?! Uncle Jaune’s muscles are so big, it makes Auntie Nora jealous!” the youngest of the children agreed before turning contemplative. “Although, that would make the complaints Auntie has about him make more sense.”

Ruby blushed at the thought of her best (male) friend here at Beacon being the father of her future kid and possibly being married to her. That was just weird! They were buddies! Besties! Why would they make that perfect system weird?!

She shook her head of those thoughts. ‘No. Stay focused, Ruby!’ she thought. “A-And you?” she asked the boy beside Weiss, who looked shocked for a moment before brightening up and nodding.

“Sure thing! My name’s Taiga! Taiga Schnee!” the now named Taiga proclaimed proudly. Suddenly, Yang snorted, making everyone turn to her.

“Really? ‘Taiga?’” she said, flashing a grin at Ruby. “Well done, Sis! I knew you had it in you!” Ruby as confused for a moment until Taiga groaned and placed his head in his hands.

“Aunt Yaaaaang!” he whined, making team RWBY truly see he was Ruby’s son. “My name is meant to honor my grandpa!”

“Whatever you say, Taigar!” Yang teased, making everyone, especially Ruby, groan.

“Yaaaaaaaaannng!” Ruby whined. “Don’t make puns of my son’s name!”

“Well, it looks like she’s adapting now!” Vermilion told Onyx with a smile.

“Give it a few minutes,” Onyx retorted.

“This is great!” Yang sighed as she flashed a grin and a thumbs up to Taiga. “You have my approval!” Taiga glowered at her.

“Really? You were just talking about hunting my dad down not five minutes ago, and he hasn’t even met Mom yet!” he accused.

Yang rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m still gonna pummel ‘em,” she promised. “But, since you’re living proof my little sister secretly does enjoy my puns, or at the very least loves irony, I might be willing to let the bastard walk away with only moderate injuries.”

“I do not love your puns, Yang!” Ruby shouted.

“Love you too, Sis!” Yang shouted back sweetly, making Ruby scream into her hands in frustration.

Weiss rubbed her temples to stave off her oncoming migraine. “Moving on,” she hissed. “Given you have my Semblance, I assume your father is my brother, correct?” she asked the boy. He nodded.

“You’d be right, Aunt Weiss,” he confirmed.

“I never imagined Whitley would ever settle down with anyone, much less a sugar addicted dolt like Ruby,” she mused, making Ruby pout.

“Geez, thanks for the flattery, Weiss,” the reaper said sarcastically.

“Well, to be fair, Jacq did show more interest in him than you or Aunt Winter,” Taiga told the heiress. “And in all fairness, at some point, the two of you just stopped trying to communicate with each other, which helped Jacq drive a further wedge between the two of you. So, you not knowing much about Dad shouldn’t be all that shocking.”

Weiss felt her blood burn at the accusation, but she merely huffed in response. “You are not…completely incorrect in your assumption…” she allowed.

“But we’re getting off track!” Taiga spoke louder and pointed to the monkey Faunus. “Next!” The Faunus grinned and jumped up from his seat.

“You’re right! So let me set the speed round record here!” He flashed a bright, toothy grin at Ruby. “Hey, Mom! Name’s Nacht! Nacht Wukong, son of you and Sun Wukong! And before you go off Aunt Yang, I’ve heard all the puns, and used them myself, so let’s not get into them right now.”

Yang huffed. “Really?”

“You’d be surprised how many times I’ve told the bad guys ‘I’m Nacht Wukong!’ and they immediately let me in, no more questions asked,” Nacht explained, making Yang laugh.

“…I’m so proud!”

“Yaaaaaaaaaaang!”

“How did Ruby get with Sun?” Blake asked curiously, deciding to speak up.

“Later. For now, you munchkin!” Nacht said and pointed at the youngest in the room, making the girl pout.

“Don’t call me munchkin!” she growled at him before turning and smiling at Ruby. “Hey, Momma! My name is Cesium Ren! My papa is Lie Ren! But you can call me Ceci!” she exclaimed and saluted her. Ruby was floored again.

“E-Eh? Even Ren?!” Oh, god! How did she survive NORA long enough to even marry Ren?! Ceci blinked in confusion.

“What’s wrong with Papa, Momma?” Ceci asked. Blake just groaned and rubbed her temples again.

“Ignore her,” she moaned and turned to the robe wearing girl. “And you are?” The grey-haired girl tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.

“Artemis Black, daughter of Ruby and Mercury Black,” she responded.

“Oh, come on! EVEN that weirdo?!” Yang growled, starting to get angry again.

“Hey. Even I’m confused,” Artemis explained. “My old man never really did explain how he fell for Mom. And well…” She stopped herself. “Leeeet’s not get into that. Your turn,” she said, turning to the last silver eyed individual. He shrugged.

“Marshal Taurus,” he introduced. “Call me Mars.” Blake’s eyes widened.

“T-Taurus?” Blake asked hesitantly. Everyone turned to her. Mars rolled his eyes.

“Yes, that Taurus, Aunt Blake,” Mars told her. “Different timelines, different circumstances.”

“Wait. What Taurus?” Ruby asked in confusion.

“Nothing to be concerned about right now,” Mars told her. “But that’s all of us. What next, Pine?”

“So, any more questions from you, Miss Rose?” Onyx asked Ruby. She shook her head.

“I-I mean, I do! But…I don’t think they’re relevant right now,” she told him. Onyx nodded and turned to Ozpin.

“Might I trouble you with finding us some lodging until I can work some way to send us home?” he asked the headmaster. Ozpin nodded in acceptance.

“I don’t mind,” the man told him. “I can think of a few places the seven of you can stay until we can sort this situation out.”

“Fuck that!” Vermilion scoffed.

“Miss Arc!” Glynda hissed, but the woman continued unabated.

“This is a golden opportunity that I, for one, will NOT let fly by!” Vermilion exclaimed. All of her temporally displaced siblings looked at her in confusion.

“What are you getting at, Arc?” Mars asked making the woman grin.

“Why, I’m gonna go kill me an immortal witch!” she proclaimed boldly. “THAT’S what I’m getting at!”

Ozpin spat out his coffee at the declaration, and Glynda made a noise similar to that of a strangled cat. Team RWBY, however, looked to each other in confusion.

“Who’s Sa-” Ruby tried to ask, but she was abruptly interrupted by Ceci screaming.

“AH!” the youngest Rose shouted and threw her arms in the air. “Why didn’t you lead with that, Big Sis?! That sounds like a blast! Let’s do it!”

“Hey! That is an idea!” Taiga grinned widely. “I wouldn’t mind killing her again, myself! Count me in!”

“Huh?! You’ve killed Salem before, Tai?!” Nacht asked excited, even as Ozpin looked like he was choking on his tongue.

“Sure have!”

“Sweet! We’ve got the advantage! I’m in!” the monkey Faunus exclaimed and pumped his arms in excitement.

“Well, this just got more interesting!” Mars said, giving the group a disturbing grin. “You’ve got my vote!”

“Now hold on!” Artemis barked. “Remember, she’s not alone! She’s got minions too! Now, I can take them down easily, but we still need to plan for them!”

“Great!” Vermilion clapped in excitement. “We’re all in agreement! So let’s discuss-”

The sound of a throat clearing caught their attention. “Um…” Suddenly, the six siblings stopped talking and turned to the younger version of their shared mother. “Who’s Salem?” she asked. The siblings blinked for a moment before adopting very sheepish looks. Vermilion opened her mouth to explain, only to be interrupted again.

“No one you need to be concerned with, Miss Rose,” Ozpin said suddenly, startling the Huntress-in-training. He stood and continued, “I suggest we shelve this discussion for later-”

“She’s an immortal witch who desires the genocide of humanity,” Onyx explained blankly, startling Ozpin and Glynda as team RWBY gasped. The oldest Rose sibling sighed and walked up to Ruby.

“Mr. Pine, I-” Ozpin tried to interrupt, but Onyx continued.

“In our pasts, your future Miss Rose, you put an end to the threat she poses,” he told her. Ozpin’s and Glynda’s eyes widened, as did team RWBY’s, at this revelation. “The single most dangerous entity on Remnant currently, and you, in so many timelines, are the one to end her tyranny.” He stopped in front of her and knelt so he could look into her eyes. Silver met silver as Onyx spoke again: “And now, my foolish siblings are planning on streamlining her inevitable downfall a few years earlier than intended.”

“W-Wait! Wha-H-Hold up?! I’m meant to beat some immortal bad guy?! Why me?!” she asked as her eyes widened. This was too much to process all at once! “And why are they trying to stop her now?! W-Wouldn’t that mess up the timeline?! R-Return to the Present style?!”

Onyx shook his head. “Time isn’t as difficult as it is in the movie, Miss Rose,” he explained. “It’s…actually rather fluid. That’s why we, your potential future children, exist here all at once. Think of time like a tree, and any alternate future you can think for yourself a branch off the main trunk. They’re all different sizes and shapes, but they’re all one tree, right?”

“O-Ok, I guess so, but…!” She fidgeted as she lowered her gaze to her feet before looking back at him and the others with a fierce intensity. “Why would you all do that?! Why would you fight someone like this Salem woman?!”

“It’s simple,” Onyx told her. “For you.” This caused Ruby to flinch back.

“M-Me?!”

“That’s right. You fought her and won. In all our timelines, you won the greatest fights for Remnant. But even then, it wasn’t without loss. Miss Rose, Ruby,” Onyx sighed. “To become the woman we all remember in some shape or form in our timelines, you go through so much loss and/or change that even in the ‘best’ ones, you have scars that won’t heal. Fighting an immortal with near limitless magic and horde after horde of Grimm at her disposal was never meant to be an easy route, but despite everything she threw at you, you stood strong and dealt it back a hundred-fold.

“So, why wouldn’t we, as your family, as your kids no less, want to repay you for your love and kindness by making sure you never have to suffer as badly as you do in the War against Salem?” he asked her, making her eyes widen in shock.

“Wait! Nyxy, are you implying…?” Vermilion asked, a smug smirk crossing her face.

“That I’m planning on joining this crusade against Salem? Yes, yes, I am,” he told her as he stood. “In the end, I’m just as much a fool as the rest of you.”

“Haha! Yes!” Vermilion cheered and clapped her hands. “Lucky number 7, and we is in business!” she cheered.

“Welcome aboard!” Taiga shouted.

“Rose siblings, unite!” Nacht agreed.

“Heh,” Mars grinned.

“What he said,” Artemis commented, pointing at Mars.

“This is great!” Ceci said gleefully, jumping in place. “Now we have Big Bro-!”

“NO!” Everyone in the room turned to stare at Ruby, who was the cause of the outburst. Her face still bore a look of utter confusion, but now it had a twinge of fear and worry.

“M-Momma?” Ceci asked hesitantly.

“I-I can’t let you do that!” she shouted at them.

“Hm? And why not?” Artemis asked in confusion, tilting her head. “It’s not like you could beat her at this moment.”

“And like hell am I letting that crazy bitch get the chance to try and get near you!” Taiga growled. “Not after everything she’s done!”

“Besides, we’re all pretty strong,” Mars agreed. “Strong enough now that a single one of us could at least incapacitate her for a few days. Combine all seven of us against her, one of which has already killed her before, we have quite the shot to end her for good.”

“That’s not the point!” Ruby cried out, startling them again. “It’s that you all are just…just…” Her shoulders shook as she struggled to find the words to say. She stomped her foot and yelled to the ground, “You said in most timelines, I defeated this Salem woman, right?! So, what if you’re all wrong?! What if you seven killing her now makes it so you will never be born in the first place?! What then?! What if me not defeating her makes it so you seven are never born?!” she shouted at them.

She wasn’t sure why she was having such a reaction to this. Was it because they were her children in various timelines, and she was subconsciously feeling something akin to motherly concern for their wellbeings? Was it just the thought of other versions of herself losing their firstborn because they decided to be stupid and prevent their birth that filled her with sorrow?

She wasn’t sure.

“R-Ruby…” Yang mumbled in shock. Weiss winced and turned away while Blake fidgeted in place. The silver eyed time travelers all started to look uncomfortable.

“H-How could I allow you all to do that?” she asked, struggling to keep her emotions in check. “Those other versions of me…your mothers…” She looked up at them with a fierce glare and growled, “Could I even face them and tell them how stupid their kids were if you all go through with this?!”

The seven were left stunned at the rant. “…Damn!” Nacht groaned.

“…Well said…” Artemis agreed.

Onyx stared at Ruby for a moment before chuckling. She stared at him in confusion. “I see where my sister gets it from now!” he mused. “But you make a good point. What if I’m wrong?” He shrugged. “Then I die. Simple as that.” Ruby’s eyes widened.

“B-But-!”

“Ruby,” Onyx said softly, gaining her attention again. “I understand your concern, and if I’m being honest, it’s a concern for me, too. However, I’ve learnt a long time ago, where the Grimm are concerned, there’s no time for concern of the self.” He gave her a long, hard look and continued, “I’m here, and Salem’s the biggest threat on the Grimm’s side. Ergo, my sense of self isn’t the concern, especially since I’m keenly aware of everything she’s ever done, or could potentially, do to you.”

“I’ve fought her before,” Taiga told her softly, gaining the room’s attention. “I know how she operates. I know what she’s capable of; what she’s willing to do. And I’ve even seen what she does to others like us. Those with Silver Eyes…” He looked up at Ruby and said, “That alone gives me more than enough reason to fight her right here, right now. Because if saving countless lives, yours included, comes at the cost of mine, then it’s an easy price to pay.”

“I never knew you, Momma,” Ceci whispered, making Ruby gasp. “Or Papa. Salem’s allies attacked our home one night when I was still a baby. You and Papa won, but you...” She visibly shook. “You both died. Auntie Nora found me and took me in. Raised me. I’ve only ever known you through the bedtime stories Auntie Nora and others would tell me.” Ceci looked up to Ruby and said, “If dying killing Salem means you can live, to raise me or one like me, then it was worth it.”

“You are in a coma in my timeline,” Vermilion said bluntly. “Tyrian Callows and you fought in one final bout to decide my fate as a kid, but while you won, his poison put you in a hospital bed. I hated you for not being there for me as a kid, for Grimm knows how long! I wanted nothing more than to pull the plug on you, but…an incident showed me how foolish I was. I finally saw, for the first time in my life, everything you ever tried to tell me growing up, and now…” She put her blindfold back on. “Well, in the end, no matter how much I tried avoiding it, I am my mother’s daughter. If my life saves others, fine. If it means saving yours, then all the better. I’ve got a lot of shit I need to repent for where you’re concerned.”

“You died giving birth to me, Ruby Rose,” Artemis explained. “Giving my life to spare you pain is the bare minimum I can do to repay you for bringing me into this world.”

“I ain’t got a fancy explanation,” Nacht said. “You told me once I had a good heart, and I should use it to help people. Well, this falls into the ‘help people’ category!”

“…” Mars was quiet for a moment. “Let’s just say, I’d rather die here, and be remembered for something good, than to go home and be seen as a monster, if I’m to be erased from existence killing Salem,” he said simply. “And I’d rather you not suffer, like my version of you has.”

Ruby’s eyes filled with tears. The seven simply walked over to her, and in unison, gave her a group hug. “You’ve sacrificed more than most, especially for us,” Onyx told her. “We intend to return the favor. Maybe we die here. Maybe we don’t. But even if we did, we’d still exist. Maybe not like we are now, but we seven are the firstborn scions of Ruby Rose. That’s a fixed point that’s gonna be hard to erase.”

Ruby shook at the words, unsure of how to respond to them. Weiss, Blake, and Yang, stunned into silence, did the only thing they could do at this point: walk over and join in the hug.