Hello fellow readers/writers, OrangeGalen here with another RWBY story! I know, I should probably finish some of my other ones, but my brain refuses to let new ideas go. So here's this story!

This came from a small brainstorm I had, and within half an hour I fleshed out the ideas behind this story, with some modifications later. Basically it boils down to a 'what if' story. I think this'll be a fun one.

Characters will be added to the list when they appear.

*Warning* This story is rated 'M' for a reason starting chapter 4. It contains and is not limited to harsh vulgar language, gore and violence, sour lemons (or at least mentions of it), torture, and other things. Not for the faint of heart (or the easily offended).

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Edited: 11/19/17. Small changes and touch up, cleaning up house.

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"So… whatchya' got there Weiss?"

It had been three days since the Mountain Glenn mission and the subsequent Grimm breach in Vale. The days had been hectic, with clean up and rebuilding taking precedence so daily life could go back to normal. Many teams had been called back to Vale to hunt out any of the remaining Grimm still lurking around the city, with Team RWBY being one of them after they got a good night's rest.

There had been positives and negatives to the breach. Positive: the White Fang had been stopped for the moment. Negative: RWBY was still no closer to finding out the reason for why the Fang did what they did. Positive: Torchwick had been captured and was now sitting in a cell. Negative: they had found out that Ozpin was no longer in control of security for the Vytal Festival, which was disheartening. Positive: the Grimm invasion had been stopped and the creatures were eventually hunted down. Negative: there were many civilian casualties.

It was a very mixed and confusing series of events for Team RWBY, which is why they were now taking advantage of some downtime. Or at least most of them were.

Any moment that she had time to spare, Weiss would be down in the Dust workshop at Beacon, working on something. RBY would periodically check in on her to make sure she was alright, but what would usually happen was that Weiss would give a short reply (or a grunt in some instances) and then say 'now be quiet, I have to concentrate' and brush off anything else. Every once in a while they would hear an explosion of sorts and muffled cursing from Weiss when they were outside the door, but it wasn't that big of a concern.

Team RWBY, over the course of their time in Beacon, had learned that Weiss had a side hobby of experimenting with Dust. It was completely understandable since she was a Schnee from the Schnee Dust Company. She spent most of her life tied to the stuff in one way or another, so it was natural she would use and experiment with it. Weiss would try different combinations of Dust to see what results she would get. Some combinations were previously recorded to have certain effects, but Weiss would try to see if she could make a more potent result with different mixtures or amounts. Recently she started trying to make new kinds of Dust crystals.

Weiss never told them what she was tying to accomplish, and it wasn't from a lack of questions on RBY's part. Weiss was just being oddly secretive -not that she hid herself from the team; she was out and about on occasion (no major food fights so far) and interacted with the Beacon population as normal (which wasn't saying much but she was trying to be more sociable).

Ruby was slightly worried about Weiss, but her BFF assured her that she was fine and just really focused on her project. Not in so many words mind you, just general inference. Ruby knew Weiss well enough to get a good reading on her personality by now, and Weiss wasn't keen on the whole 'sharing your feelings' thing. Problems, yes, feelings, no.

The other two members of Team RWBY were also recovering from Mountain Glenn. Blake finally seemed to have a weight off her chest since the Breach, probably because the White Fang had been stalled in their plans. She knew her former organization was still out there, but was not a pressing concern for her now that was making her loose sleep. It was a slight relief to have her back in the dorm in her own bed instead of sleeping in the library.

Yang however seemed to have switched positions with her partner and now was plagued by strange dreams. She retold the story on the train on how she faced that girl with the pink and brown eyes and hair (her name was Neo) and was beaten (which was another point of irritation for her), but the girl was gone when she came too. However, just as she came to, Yang saw a glimpse of another person – a woman. Not enough to get details, only really catching the person's sword and her long, black hair.

Ruby knew that whatever happened that day changed everything. Vale wasn't as safe as she thought it was. And she blamed herself for the deaths of those people, both civilians and White Fang members.

She remembered later that night when they were resting how she knocked a bunch of W.F. members off the train. It wasn't until later that she realized that no one made it out of those tunnels before they were sealed up. The Grimm took care of that. She was the direct cause of their deaths, as it was just as much her fault they died as if she took her blade to them. She, Ruby Rose, had killed. Not by her own hands, but there was little difference. She'd condemned them to death the moment they fell off the train.

Ruby couldn't tell the other members of her Team just yet; the memories were too fresh, just like her nightmares.

Besides, they needed to find out what Weiss was doing.

After three days, Weiss had finally decided to let them come in and see what she was doing. Yang led the opening question as the group neared Weiss' workplace.

"This is what I've been working on," Weiss gestured to the table, which was littered with ground Dust, a sealed box, a bag, and dead crystals. The thing about Dust is one can tell when it's unusable because it doesn't have that internal glow to it. There were quite a few dead crystals still there.

On the side of the workbench was one of the Schnee Dust compressors, used to make the powdered grain Dust into Crystals, depending on the mold. It could heat up or cool down the dust depending on its volatility towards either extreme. It looked like it had been used a lot as there were soot marks all over it. Plus the ruined one in the corner was probably a reason.

"Wow Weiss, I never took you as this much of a hands on person," Ruby said.

"I can be on occasion," Weiss said a little smugly.

"So what is it that you've been working on?" Blake asked.

"Well, ever since the Breach I was thinking of different combinations of Dust to try out. I've tried mixing different Dust together, and forming crystals, and I think I have a few things I want you all to try which I can assure you aren't in stores." She went over and picked up the bag and opened it, pulling out something.

"These are yellow, orange, and red ground dust cartridges that you should be able to use with Ember Celica to make it have a little more… 'oomph'. Each vial has the same amount of Dust as one of your shells, so you just need to change the grain." Weiss handed Yang a set of vials with the dust grain in it.

"Wow, that's amazing! Definitely more Yang for my lien." She said, punning the common saying.

"Now that I think about it, I regret giving her that," Weiss muttered before reaching inside the bag again. "Blake, here's more Dust magazines that you could use later." Weiss gave Blake three clips of Dust grain. Blake took them with a nod and put them in her back pouch.

"What'd I get?" Ruby asked excitedly, bouncing slightly.

"I was hoping that you could help me with that." Weiss said and turned around, putting the bag down. She unlocked the box on the desk and opened it, then gently picked up something wrapped in a cloth and handed it to Ruby. "Be careful with that, I don't want you making a crater this time."

"It was only once…" Ruby opened the cloth and gasped. Inside was a perfectly cut Dust crystal, but what made it unique was that it was a pure combination of red and black. "Ooh, it's my colors!"

"Weiss, did you actually make Black Dust, and then combine it with Red Dust?" Blake asked curiously. "No one's been able to make Black Dust and every time they've tried, they've failed."

"I did," Weiss said, a little proudly. And by a little, she was preening.

"How?" Yang questioned, knowing how finicky Dust can be to new combinations. With her semblance she's set off more than a few vials of Dust before.

"Well, I wanted to try and make a Black Dust crystal for some time, like all Dust experimenters, and thought about the colors of dust. I took some elements from painting and used Red, Green, Blue, Purple, Yellow, and Cyan Dust to make it. Let me tell you it was a pain."

"I can imagine," Blake said.

"I needed to add exact amounts of each grain before I could even think about crystalizing it, then I needed to mix it together carefully then compress it until it was at a constant 754 degrees during the crystal formation process."

"Why 754?" Yang asked.

"Because if it was at 753 it wouldn't bond together, and if it was at 755 it would blow up. Spetacularly." Weiss deadpanned. "It was fun discovering that little fact," she said, gesturing to the ruined Dust compressor in the corner.

"Ah. So that's what we were hearing."

"I have a bunch of pure Black Crystals, but… I need to get rid of them," Weiss decided.

"What? Why?" Ruby asked.

"Aside from the fact that I can assure you they have no elemental or external effects, and as such are unusable for weapons, they just felt… off." She shook her head and handed a Black Dust crystal to Blake.

Blake took it and held it for a moment, then shuddered and handed it to Yang. "You're right, it just feels off. Not revolting, just off... almost uneasy to hold."

"Yea, totally right on that," Yang said and handed the Dust to Weiss.

"Aww, but I want to feel it," Ruby pouted.

"Sorry Rubes, but I don't think you should handle that when you have the Red-Black in your hand."

Ruby pouted, but agreed. She's probably right.

Weiss took the crystal and put it in the box, then locked it up again. "I can understand why most of the research into making Black Dust was scrapped and restricted. But I could get access to them, with me being who I am… In any case," she changed subjects slightly, "to get the crystal to become Red-Black, I needed to pulverize a Black crystal into grain, then mix in another carefully measured amount of Red grain then re-crystalize it again. The end result is what you see here."

"So what does it do?" Ruby asked, holding it up to the light. The red part was partially transparent so her face was lit up with red highlights.

"I don't actually know." Weiss admitted.

"Why didn't you try it yet?" Ruby asked.

Weiss grimaced as if she ate something sour. "Well, since it is your gift, I figured that you should be the one to test it."

"Wait, wait wait wait wait wait… You want me to use Dust?" Ruby asked to clarify, uncertain if her ears were deceiving her.

"Now you understand why I'm so enthusiastic about this." Weiss muttered sarcastically. Ruby knew how to use Dust bullets and the theory behind Remnant's life-blood, but that was about it. She barely scraped by on the practical side of Dust Application.

"Uhh, are you sure it's a good idea Weiss?" Yang asked.

"No," Weiss bluntly said. "But frankly I know and trust Ruby enough to not blow up the school."

"What about the first day here?" Blake asked.

"That was before we knew each other." Weiss defended her change of heart.

"Awww, thanks Weiss!" Ruby tried to glomp her in a hug but Weiss stopped her.

"Ah ah ah, no. Stop, unless you want to blow up." Weiss said.

"Ah, right." Ruby stopped her attempts and stepped back.

"I trust you know what to do?"

"Uhhh…. Sure?"

Weiss stared at Ruby. "You inspire me with confidence. Use your Aura to energize it."

"Alright, here I go!" Let's do this! Ruby held the Red-Black crystal in her hand and concentrated on her Aura. Something all hunters in training learned was how to feel and manipulate their Aura like a second skin. She quickly felt her Aura pulse through her and worked it so that a bit of it would go into the crystal she was holding.

She missed the calls of Weiss to the rest of her team to "back up back up" as she did so.

Ruby could feel the crystal activating as it was drawing on her Aura, but nothing was happening, so she put more Aura into it. Still nothing, so she tried again.

She was startled out of her concentration when Weiss grabbed her arm, accidentally sending another pulse of Aura into the crystal. "That's enough Ruby," she said sternly, "we don't want you completely exhausted now."

Ruby shrugged, not feeling tired. "I'm fine."

Weiss looked at the crystal in Ruby's hand. "So nothing then. It is glowing brighter though…" She looked around for a moment before going to a drawer and pulling out a vial of White Dust. "Here, sprinkle this on and maybe you'll get an effect.

White Dust (not to be confused with the pale grey wind Dust) had been found to have more medicinal and healing properties, and also bolstered a person's raw Aura strength for a time. Areas that were rich with White Dust were home to abundant plant life, incidentally making the Dust a must for die-hard botanists and landscapers. White Dust is also the easiest to mix with other Dust and can act as a catalyst or accelerant for different effects, which is why Weiss was giving it to Ruby at the moment.

"Let's try this one more time, then call it quits."

"Sure thing!" Ruby took the vial and gave a couple of taps to get some of the White Dust grain onto the crystal to coat it a bit, then re-capped the vial and handed it to Weiss.

Ruby took a breath and closed her eyes again, concentrating on her Aura again. She let it flow through her and into the crystal. She could feel that the crystal was doing something, and that the energy was reaching a critical mass, but it still needed a bit more.

Peaking open her eye and keeping the flow of Aura going, she saw that the crystal was glowing and the White grain was luminescent on top of that as well. It was about as bright as a flashlight, or as a glowing lantern, but Ruby could feel that it needed a bit more before it did… whatever it was going to do.

Just a little more, then I'll stop. As much as I'd like to find out what this crystal does, with the amount of Aura I'm pumping into it there's a high chance that it will make a crater, regardless of what it's actually supposed to do. Ruby continued for a few more seconds, and when nothing was happening, she started to cut down the Aura stream.

However, this was where things went downhill.

As Ruby was cutting down the Aura flow, Weiss grabbed her arm again. This startled Ruby enough so that her Aura flow reversed and increased, pumping in a bunch of Aura at once because of her surprise. This caused the crystal to finally reach that critical mass and start glowing in her hand even brighter than before.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted at her for the distraction, and the heiress let go of Ruby's arm. But it was a little too late as the crystal let out one giant burst and shattered, releasing the Aura inside and activating the crystals effects.

A bright flash came through the room and Ruby crumpled to the ground.

Ohhh, my head. What happened? I'm tired, that's strange. Aura use?

"-se. Rose. Wake up you bitch."

A sudden stinging sensation on her cheek caused Ruby's eyes to shoot open. "Gyah! I'm awake I'm awake!"

Ruby looked up and saw her sister's eyes staring back at her. But they were that dangerous shade of red that Ruby had grown to know that meant someone or something was about to get smashed.

"The fuck happened?" Yang asked, her eyes still red.

Ruby frowned at Yang's language. Usually when she cussed, Yang would try and censor herself around Ruby, and only when things were really bad. Ruby ignored it for now and focused on the question. "I don't know. The crystal just exploded after I pumped in too much Aura and I guess I fell unconscious."

Yang growled and stood up off of Ruby. "Still as stupid as ever. Didn't Mom teach you about Aura usage?"

"Well if Weiss hadn't startled me that probably wouldn't have happened!" Ruby shot back, slightly hurt at her sister's insult. Wait… Mom?

Yang frowned in confusion. "The fuck are you talking about? Snow Bitch wasn't anywhere near you."

"Hey, don't call Weiss that Yang, it's not nice." Ruby said, defending her partner, forgetting her question about their mom. Weiss and Yang may still have some issues but they're not that bad.

Ruby was shocked when Yang laughed, "'Not nice?' That's rich coming from you Rose."

"Hey, Yang, calm down. What's wrong with you?" Ruby asked.

Yang's red eyes suddenly focused on Ruby's silver ones. "We are not on a first name basis Rose. I thought I beat that into you when you were eight."

Ruby was shocked once more. "What?" When I was eight you treated me to go to my first weapon shop, then baked me two sheets of cookies. There was no beating involved at all. What's going on?

A sudden hand came on Yang's shoulder with a black fingerless glove over it. "It's not her fault Xiao Long," came Blake's calm voice, "I think she's been affected by the Dust."

"What do you mean?"

"Her cape's red." Blake gestured to Ruby.

"Well, yea, it's always been red." Ruby said, confused.

Blake stared at her blankly.

"Snow Bitch, what did you do with that crystal and what did it do to Rose?" Yang shouted.

"I already told you, you brute," came the snotty voice of Weiss from behind Ruby this time, "It was something new I made and thought it needed White Dust to use. As for what happened to Mistress, I don't know."

As everybody descended into an argument, Ruby had one thought on her mind.

What happened?

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Well, what do you think? Things will be different and confusing, just as they are for Ruby, but it'll clear up later.

Just a warning, chapters will be updated sporadically, so please don't hold your breath for the next chapter.

So please let me know what you think by Reading, Reviewing, Favoriting, and Following (R.R.F.F.)

See ya

-OrangeGalen