Chapter Text
A few miles out of Mantle, there was a set of abandoned buildings that worked as a training field for Ace ops. This location was usually utilized when either the Atlas training rooms were full of students or when they wanted to add a bit of spice to their training routines.
Originally a residential outpost for the SDC mines, it resembled a small village. Consisting of a labyrinth of streets and ways, and a huge warehouse at the end, it was perfect for some of the most immersive training, and with the regular Grimm, it was perfect for a challenge
But this time they weren't going to be the ones training. They had come with the first half of team RWBY to test their skills. In all their time they hadn't seen a more close and experienced team of huntresses-in-training... well, former huntresses-in-training.
Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. Those two were an odd pair. Separately, the first would zoom around and assault your cookie stash in less than a second. The second would freeze you in place with a stare, not to mention if you ever say anything harsh to her friends, she would send you flying with one of her glyphs.
But together...
"Weiss! Weiss! Look! I made a snow angel!" Ruby yelled from the ground.
"Stop rubbing yourself with the snow. You are going to catch a cold if you keep doing that" Weiss replied.
"Aww but it's fun to play in the snow! Don't tell me you never made one?"
Weiss answered shaking her head, which earned a gasp from her partner on the snow.
“Then we have to make one right now!” Ruby said, sitting and trying to reach Weiss.
“I’m not going to throw myself on the snow just to play with you Ruby, we have things to do.”
“Aww, come on. You’ll enjoy it!” She said.
“No. Now get up,” Weiss answered with a serious face
Ruby pouted at this. However, she still had an ace up the sleeve, a look that only brought misfortune to whoever looked at it.
Weiss saw the signs, silver eyes transforming into the ones of a puppy. She knew what was coming, so, reacting quickly, she looked away and focused her sight on the mountains before the spell could get her.
“Ruby Rose, don’t you dare put those eyes on me! I assure you they won’t work.”
Ruby stared at her for a few seconds hoping her partner would at least give her a glance but she got nothing and gave up. “Grr party popper”. She muttered.
Soon enough, Weiss offered a hand to help her stand up, but when the crimsonette took the offering hand, instead of rising from the ground, she pulled Weiss down into the snow and rolled with her for a couple of feet.
“Gotcha,” She said, on top of her white-haired partner.
Weiss found herself pinned down under Ruby’s hold, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. Even if she was slightly annoyed for being in the snow, she found it silly that she fell for such an obvious trick. Just by knowing how childish her partner could be, she should have seen it coming.
“Get off me, dolt,” She said with a smile.
“Nope” was the answer. “Not until you make a snow angel with me. Or a snowman,” she said with a smirk. “Do you want to build a snowman?”
“I promise I will be part of your snowy activities. But not right now,” Weiss answered creating a glyph under her partner and raised it a couple of feet so she could stand up.
Once she was on her feet, she looked at Ruby, who was still whining on the platform above the ground, and chuckled. Weiss dissipated the glyph and she fell face-first to the ground.
When she didn’t move from her spot in the snow Weiss approached her, slightly worried. “Are you ok?”
Ruby didn’t answer with words, she just moved both arms and legs in wide arcs, making another snow angel. Weiss only laughed at her partner’s antics.
“Ahem.”
The sudden call out made Ruby stand up and Weiss compose herself; both girls paid attention.
Some distance away, Clover and Harriet were watching them, the former with an amused look, the later with a slightly annoyed one.
“Can you please focus on your mission?”
“Calm down Harriet, they’re just having some fun. Don’t you remember your rookie days?” Clover countered
“I- uh... shut up.” This seemed to embarrass her.
“Anyways, she’s right. We will be starting in just a minute so I recommend you to get ready.”
“Sorry!” Both girls apologized.
"You know the task?" He asked.
"Sir, yes sir!" Ruby answered energetically with a salute.
“We know,” Weiss answered rolling her eyes.
It was simple. Get into the warehouse, fetch the marker from Marrow, and return to Clover before Harriet beats them, all while avoiding many obstacles in the way.
“Great, you two and Harriet, get into positions. In any second now, Marro-”
“Ready to go, Clov!” Marrow interrupted him from the scroll.
“Alright, I guess we are ready.”
Both opponents got on either side of the Ace-op leader now turned referee. To the left was Ruby and Weiss holding hands, to the right was Harriet going solo in an athletic position.
Clover pulled out a flare gun and loaded it.
“Remember, it doesn’t matter how fair you play, the first to get back here is the winner.” He aimed at the sky.
“Ready...” Hands held strong. “Set.” Glyphs formed along their path. “Go!”
And they were gone. Both teams were already far from Clover even before the flare had reached high. Two colored blurs could be seen speeding in the distance, one of them leaving a trail of white and red petals while the other left a trail of snow melting lightning.
After Weiss found a way to use her Glyphs combined with Ruby’s Petal Burst to make her go faster than Harriet, they decided that they needed to perfect that strategy. They discovered that if they would need to use it out of the set path of the training room, Ruby would end up hurt since Weiss could not foresee any sudden directional changes by her partner.
That small incident where Ruby rammed them both during one of their practices was painful but not without lesson. It made them realize that in this position, Weiss was close enough for her to communicate with her speeding partner. So they practiced and practiced until they dominated the technique, and of course until Weiss stopped feeling sick with the speed.
Whenever they had to use their semblances together, both girls would hold hands, not only to stay in the petal burst but to use them as a code. If Ruby needed to deviate from a straight line a small pressure or a word would indicate her partner the exact angle and direction, and the time dilatation glyphs would give her enough reaction time to route them.
A small pressure with her pinkie and they steered right, one with her index and they went left, both middle and ring fingers made a turnaround. The four of them were just a full stop. And of course, any combination with them, filled the gaps.
The race against Harriet was a close one. They kept up with each other with the same level speed for many seconds until Ruby and Weiss started to take the lead by a few feet, and it seemed their opponent didn't receive it well.
"When are the obstacles coming, huh?" She said through the scroll channel they shared.
"Fore!" Elm shouted.
Soon after, something that looked like a huge rock, landed between the two speeding teams. It was probably launched by Elm.
“What in Remnant was that?” Weiss yelled, she and Ruby supposed those would be the obstacles. Not even a second after she asked that, another, and another, and another fell down.
Both partners and Harriet had to zigzag in order to avoid any incoming projectiles, most of them falling directly in front of them. But since their reflexes were good enough and they could see the boulders on their way, they easily avoided all of them.
A few miles went like that until the manmade meteors stopped falling, Elm must have run out of them. But that would not be the only obstacle they had to pass.
“Now it’s my turn,” Vine spoke calmly
He could be seen in the distance, using his aura to elongate his legs until he was well above the ground. Once the speedsters passed under him, Vine started to follow them, using the length of his legs to move just as fast as them and using his arms to strike and swing where they were.
Ruby and Weiss evaded graciously any of his swipes, but they were slowly getting tired. It was a lot of communication and a lot of aura used in so little time. It wasn’t much for now, but it would become exhausting in a while.
However, the challenge was just about to get even harder.
“Pack of Grimm coming from the northeast,” Marrow informed from the radio. Their final destination was due north.
“What?! I see another pack from the west!”
“Try to hold them off for a while, Elm. Vine, can yo-” Clover said.
“Wait! ” Harriet interrupted them. “Can we add them to the course? ”
A moment of silence. Vine had stopped following them and they had slowed a bit, deliberating.
“I’d like that” Ruby said, “What do you think Weiss?”
“I admit it would be interesting. I’m sure we can handle them as well.”
“Alright then, kill the Grimm then get to Marrow. Vine, Elm, stay close just in case.”
“The team that gets fewer kills pays the other's ammunition for a week!” Harriet yelled, accelerating into full speed.
“Hey! No fair!” Weiss shrieked before Ruby could even open her mouth. No words were exchanged as they accelerated to match Harriet’s speed.
Not much time passed before they saw the first pack of Grimm. It actually wasn't too hard to evade them since they were going barely slower than the speed of sound. One by one the Sabyrs fell down by the huntresses, their scores staying equal, only differing by seconds.
Harriet hit the Grimm at incredible speeds, only losing a bit of momentum whenever she connected. The strength of her punches at that speed was slightly weaker than a semblance charged hit from Yang but no less devastating. Ruby and Weiss slashed and pierced them respectively in turns while the other took control of their velocity. They lost a considerable chunk of speed but since they were two, their kills were much more efficient.
When the last of the north group was eliminated they ended with a score of 13 - 11, a win for the White and Red pair but this wasn't the final score yet since the other group from the west had not yet been seen.
It was uneventful along the way until one Sabyr jumped from an alley directly onto Harriet, and another jumped from a low roof onto Ruby and Weiss. They dodged and killed them easily but that made them realize that they wouldn't see them coming since they were coming from the side.
The count was even at 25 and their auras were starting to feel low. The non-stop usage of their semblances had taken a toll on them and evading the incoming Grimm was a mental strain that didn't help at all. Even for the trained huntress that Harriet was, it was starting to become difficult to keep up. The promise of a challenge was already paid and if she were to be honest, she didn't know how her opponents were still fighting. That earned the duo her respect.
But Ruby and Weiss weren't as okay as Harriet thought. Their auras weren't on the red yet but they could drop anytime due to exhaustion. Ruby even doubted they could get back to Clover once they reached the checkpoint, Maybe she could suggest a break once they showed up.
“You okay, kids? ” Harriet asked them “ This is eating more aura than I expected. How are you holding up? ”
“I think I’m fine, but what about you, Ruby? You’re doing all the effort here.”
“Well, I guess I could use some rest at th-”
Ruby got interrupted by, what it seemed, the alpha of the Sabyr pack breaking through a building right next to Harriet. She could barely evade the Alpha’s claws but not the debris that came after that. A large piece of wood hit her at the back of her right leg and made her stumble, taking away her speed, and then impact a large piece of concrete with her head. She was vulnerable to another attack so Ruby quickly redirected herself and her partner to help her.
A few more Sabyrs appeared behind the Alpha and the partners chose to secure Harriet first. They separated and Weiss took her with a Glyph while Ruby stood there, shooting at the Grimm in a suppressive fire. Once the semiconscious Harriet was out of danger in a building, Weiss used her scroll to call for reinforcements and left to aid her partner. The lesser Sabyrs in front of the alpha jumped at them. Hopefully, Elm and Vine were as close as Clover wanted.
It wasn't as hard as they thought it would be. One by one, the Grimm fell by the huntresses’ blades. But when there were just a couple of them left, Ruby noticed that the Alpha had disappeared. She looked around searching for it while her partner was trying to finish the last of the lesser ones. Then the moment she looked at her she heard a roar from above them. When she looked up she saw the alpha, which had climbed a rooftop and pounced over Weiss. She was struggling with her rapier inside the mouth of the Sabyr. She was definitely going to take a hit.
Ruby had used her semblance a lot more while fighting and knew her aura was probably in the red. Weiss’ fighting style used hers even more than herself so she would be worse than her. Maybe she could resist the first hit but there were two Grimm and very little time. Ruby decided not to risk that. So, thinking quickly and calling for Weiss, she folded her weapon behind her and used the last of her aura to power her semblance at a speed that, before, could only be reached with the aid of her partner.
She wouldn't let her be harmed, not while she was still standing.
Weiss heard Ruby’s scream from her left. To her right, the Alpha’s fangs were only a few inches away from her, Myrtenaster locked in the jaw of the other Grimm. There was no time to react. As a reflex, she tried to create a glyph but she hadn't changed the dust in her rapier. The result was a time dilatation glyph instead of a gravity one. And she suddenly felt her partner tackling her from the left.
There was no time to steer. Ruby was moving incredibly fast directly at the Grimm when she touched Weiss, and the glyph only raised their speed. She saw no other choice but to try something she had only done once when fighting that Beringel.
Both of them, in Ruby’s semblance, separated into three red and white petal bursts to pass around the Grimm and reform behind it.
A mistake.
Just as they separated, an incredible pain shot through their bodies enough to make them scream. In their agony, they reformed and Ruby let go of Weiss. They stopped seeing red and white and all they saw was blackness.
Weiss opened her eyes, breathing heavily. She was in a white room, the light almost hurting her eyes. As she regained senses she heard the slow beeping of her heart rate next to the bed. She controlled her breathing but the calm didn't last long.
"Oh, you're awake!" Elm's voice startled her. "I'll go tell the others."
"How long have I slept?" Weiss asked, closing her eyes again and placing her hands over her eyes, a headache returning with her senses. Her voice didn’t sound well, her ears were probably still not functioning properly.
"I'm really sorry but..." She started with a low tone. "It has been 10 years."
"WHAT?!" Her hands went up to her hair in panic as she sat and looked at her in disbelief.
"Hahaha! Naaah, I'm just kidding. It's just been a couple of hours."
She groaned and returned to her previous position, closing her eyes again to deal with the still lingering headache. "I hate you so much."
"I'll take that as a compliment, Ruby."
Ruby? "The name is Weiss."
"Naah, I'm pretty sure you're Ruby."
Weiss sat and stared at her again, her hands emphasizing her question. "What do you mean I'm-" But she interrupted herself when she saw her hands.
Her usual blue gloves were replaced with brown fingerless gloves. Her eyes investigated further seeing that her sleeves were also different. That was confusing, why were her clothes different? Following a hunch, she took the sheets away and quickly looked down confirming what she feared.
"Why am I wearing-" Again she interrupted herself when a few red-tipped strands of hair appeared right in front of her sight.
Was this a joke? Did they really go that far with whatever prank this was and dyed her hair?
"Do you have a mirror?" She couldn't even think of yelling, she had to know what they had done to her hair. In the back of her mind, she tried to ignore how her voice sounded different too.
"I guess this works," Elm passed her a silver tray on a table nearby.
Weiss couldn't even think, she was in a hurry. A hurry that disappeared once she saw her reflection. Not only was her hair different or was she in other clothes, but her face...
'I have silver eyes. I am Ruby. That's not possible. Am I in Ruby's body? Have we switched bodies? How?...'
She didn't realize that her rising heart rate was being exposed by the machine she was connected but Elm took notice of it. "Hey, you ok kid?"
"W-where is-” ‘ Ruby? Weiss? ’ “Uhm, where is... my partner?" She asked not knowing what to say.
"Oh! She’s still asleep-" A scream came from another room. “Well, she’s not asleep anymore”.
Weiss, in Ruby’s body, quickly removed the few cords that were connected to her right arm and stood from the bed. But when she went for the first step, she stumbled a little. ‘Of course, Ruby is slightly taller than me and she doesn’t wear heels.’ She continued walking while holding on to something. She controlled it a few steps later but she still wanted to be sure.
“Where to now?” She asked the Ace-op once she exited the room.
“First room to your right,” Elm answered still sitting and slightly confused
“Thank you.”
‘What’s going on!!... Where am I? And why am I wearing Weiss clothes... Wait a minute, I’m Weiss! But I can’t be Weiss, I’m me!... Uhhh, where am I? Where is she? Is she ok? Ow, my head hurts. My head? Her head? Uuugghh I don’t know what’s going on here!!’
“Ruby?” She heard just outside of the room, the voice was strangely familiar. When she looked at the door she found... herself!
“AH WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BODY?!”
“Ruby, it’s me, Weiss,” Her body answered.
“Oh... Hi, Weiss... WEISS WHAT HAPPENED?! HOW ARE YOU THERE AND I’M HERE AND-”
“Ruby, breathe,” Weiss said reaching her shoulders “I don’t know what is happening but you need to calm down, we will figure out what is going on together.”
Ruby took a few deep breaths until she felt better and nodded.
“Now, from what I see... You are in my body and I’m in yours, correct?” A nod. “Ok. So it seems that we have... switched minds, as crazy as it sounds. Do you have a clue as to how this happened?”
“Uhm... Ok, the last I remember is that we were fighting Grimm... but from there it’s just fuzzy” She said, now sitting on one side of the bed.
Weiss sighed “Same here, I don’t remember much from that too.”
“Maybe Harriet knows? She was with us there.”
“True, let’s ask her then,” Weiss said helping Ruby to stand up in her heels. “Oh right, be careful.”
Ruby whined with the thought of using those deadly traps for shoes. “I hate you, lady stilts,” She muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?” Weiss asked with slight annoyance.
“Nothing! Let’s go, Weiss!” Ruby said. Elm, who followed Weiss, spoke from the door.
“Alright, I’m so confused right now.”
Both of them looked at each other and then at the entrance.
“Oh boy. This is going to be weird, isn’t it Weiss?”
“Yes, yes it is. Just... let me explain... at least what I understand...”
Little did they know that it'll only get weirder from here.