When Ruby got word of Ashborn and Amazo's return and the fact they weren't alone, she wasted no time informing the rest of her team.
"They brought people with them," she told the others as they gathered in the common room. "One of them is Ashborn's daughter. And the others… well, I figured you'd want to see for yourselves."
Naturally, curiosity got the better of them.
Team RWBY made their way to the meeting point, a quiet rooftop that overlooked the city's glowing skyline. And there they saw them: a small group standing with a relaxed familiarity. Amazo stood in his Ashborn-like look, his presence muted but undeniable. Beside him was a girl about their age, slim, sharp-eyed, with a strange, stillness in her stance. That had to be Ashborn's daughter. Next to her was another teen with warm features and a gentle smile, clearly a close friend.
But it wasn't them that caught their attention.
It was the other two.
Two women stood side by side, both tall, blonde, and stunning. They were nearly identical, only their clothing set them apart. It wasn't long after that they learned the two women were both Ashborn's girlfriends
Yang blinked. "Wait. You're both dating him?"
The women turned, seemingly unfazed.
"Yep," Kara said with a confident grin. "We're his girlfriends."
Galatea nodded beside her, arms crossed. "We are."
Yang raised a hand in disbelief. "Hold up. You two are sisters? And you're dating the same guy? And you're okay with that?!"
Galatea cracked a slight smirk. "We're not sisters."
Kara added, "Tea's my clone."
That made the air stand still.
Blake tilted her head. "Your clone?"
Yang's brow furrowed. "Okay, now I'm really confused."
Galatea sighed, brushing her blonde hair back. "Some group of mad scientists took Kara's DNA a few years ago and made me in a lab. No consent, of course. And you wouldn't believe how expensive the whole process was."
Blake narrowed her eyes. "Who would even allow something like that? And who would pay for something so messed up?"
Kara glanced to the side. "A very paranoid organization… and, well, Ashborn helped fund the project."
Weiss's eyes widened in disbelief. "He paid to have his girlfriend cloned?!"
Kara quickly shook her head. "No, he didn't know I was being cloned. He thought he was funding a meta-defense project. By the time he suspected something was on, Tea already existed."
Tea jumped in, voice more amused than bitter. "And she wasn't his girlfriend back then. After some stuff happened and the cloning lab fell apart, I shamelessly demanded Ashborn to take responsibility for my existence as I had nowhere else to go."
She shrugged.
"He did. Took me in, gave me a job. Later, we got together. Kara joined the fun after that."
The silence that followed was deafening. Team RWBY stood frozen in place, completely overwhelmed by everything they had just heard. Ruby was the first to speak, voice dazed.
"That's… a lot. It sounds like a crazy soap opera."
From the side, Courtney, who had been quietly observing with arms folded, finally spoke up. "It's all true. As absurd as it sounds. There's nothing normal about this family."
She explained. "The father is a death and darkness god in all but name. The mothers are from a super powered alien race… one is a clone. The son's a sentient god-killing android. The daughter's a metahuman with basilisk eyes and reality-warping abilities."
Silence again. Team RWBY just stared, wide-eyed and speechless.
"They don't know we are aliens to this world" Amazo commented.
No one had a single thing to say.
___________
Ashborn watched the four Huntresses with an amused gleam in his eyes. Team RWBY had gathered around him, their expressions a mixture of frustration, curiosity, and shock.
"You mean to tell us," Weiss started, arms crossed, "that you and Amazo aren't even from this world?!"
"You're aliens!" Ruby blurted out.
"To think you're both so... powerful," Blake murmured. "And you're not native to Remnant…"
"Not just powerful," Weiss added, "Ashborn's practically a god in his world."
Ashborn simply raised a brow, clearly enjoying the chaos his reveal had caused. He looked directly at Ruby, his smirk widening. "Ruby, you remember you sold your soul to me for ten years, right?"
Her face turned ghost-white. "W-what?"
"In the presence of a god," Ashborn said, voice deliberately grave, "you can't go back on your word."
Yang instinctively stepped between them, hand on her hip. "That was just for cookies!"
Ashborn grinned, eyes glowing faintly. "Exactly. I want her to make me cookies. All day. Every day. For the next ten years."
The air went dead silent.
Yang opened her mouth, then closed it again. Weiss and Blake exchanged a glance, equally speechless.
Ashborn finally let out a soft chuckle. "Relax. I'm only joking. You all looked like I'd sentenced her to a lifetime of servitude."
Ruby exhaled loudly, sagging in relief. "Not funny."
"Very funny," he corrected her with a smile.
Then her curiosity got the better of her. "But seriously… why did you come to Remnant? Why stay here?"
Ashborn leaned back slightly. "Amazo became interested in something foreign to him, love. He wanted to find a girlfriend. Naturally, we didn't want to raise a girlfriend, morally questionable, so we searched for one in the wild."
Yang blinked. "You make it sound like you were on a safari."
"Our search," Ashborn continued, undeterred, "led us to your world. And we found Penny. Amazo took a liking to her. I liked her too. She had that sparkle."
Kara, lounging next to Ashborn with her chin in her hand, sighed. "No need to be surprised. Over the years, Ashborn's done many stupid and unreasonable things."
He raised a brow. "I didn't."
She ignored him. "Adopting Amazo was one of them. The android was on a rampage at the time, flattening entire teams of heroes."
Ruby blinked. "Wait… Amazo was really a killer robot?"
"Not that far but he was not friendly, and Ashborn didn't even fight Amazo," Kara said flatly. "Just talked him into an adoption plan out of the blue. Somehow that worked."
There was a pause. Then Blake looked around. "Speaking of, where is Amazo? Haven't seen him in a while."
"He went to Atlas," Ashborn replied casually. "To ask Penny to be his girlfriend."
Weiss gasped. "But General Ironwood won't allow that! There's no way!"
Ashborn just smiled, slow and confident. "He'll allow it. He has to consider the survival of his kingdom before making that kind of decision."
Weiss looked horrified. "Wait…are you saying you'll destroy Atlas if he says no?!"
"Of course not, I am a civilized good natured citizen from a friendly neighboring world" Ashborn said, waving it off. "That's his way of thinking."
He leaned forward slightly, voice low and ominously amused.
"Personally, I believe… where there is a slap, there is a way."
That line froze the air. The girls exchanged horrified looks, collectively remembering the "White Fang slap incident" during the Vytal Festival, a moment none of them would forget.
And now they imagined the same thing.
General Ironwood.
In public.
Getting slapped.
Ruby and Blake paled.
Yang muttered, "Poor guy…"
Weiss whispered, "He doesn't stand a chance…"
And they all collectively felt a deep, unfamiliar fear, not for themselves, but for the general of Atlas.
___________
That night, as the stars blanketed the skies of Remnant, a sleek ripple of light shimmered outside Beacon Academy. Moments later, Amazo stepped in Beacon with Penny beside him, her face beaming brighter than ever. The two walked to Amazo's group rooms and the moment Amazo entered:
"She said yes," Amazo announced flatly, but there was something different in his voice, an edge of pride, maybe even excitement.
Penny giggled, holding onto his arm like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I did! I said yes!"
Ashborn observed it all with a faint smirk as the others congratulated Amazo. He stepped forward after everyone and placed his hand on Amazo's shoulder with a proud look, in Ashborn's eyes, his unlikely child had grown now.
Exactly as Ashborn had expected, General Ironwood feared that refusing the match might bring Ashborn's wrath crashing down upon Atlas, and so the general wisely kept his silence when Amazo asked Penny to be his girlfriend.
Penny twirled once in place, waving to Team RWBY as they came running out.
"Penny!" Ruby shouted, hugging her tight.
Yang grinned. "So... it's official now?"
Penny nodded happily. "Yes! I have a boyfriend! And he's AMAZING and shiny and strong and logical and so smart! And he got me flowers when he asked me!"
Introductions followed soon after. Amazo, with his mechanical precision, introduced Penny to each member of their unusual group.
"This is Kara, Galatea, Courtney, Ace, and you already know Father," he said.
The group's reaction to Penny was unanimous: unfiltered amusement.
"She's like a puppy that got turned into a person," Kara muttered, smirking.
"She's adorable," Ace added with a tilt of her head.
"An innocent ball of pure joy and excitement," Galatea concluded.
Penny just smiled at all of them. "Thank you!"
Over the next few days, the group extended their stay in Remnant, choosing to explore the four kingdoms. From the flying city of Atlas to the cultural richness of Mistral, the group moved together, sometimes walking, sometimes flying, sometimes teleporting, causing ripples of curiosity, awe, and mild chaos wherever they passed.
Roman and Neo, having nothing to do, tagged along, sometimes disappearing and reappearing with armfuls of local snacks or mysterious souvenirs. Roman and Neo just smirked, enjoying everything.
Finally, the day came to leave.
They gathered on Beacon's cliff that overlooks Vale.
"We'll be going now," Ashborn said calmly.
Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Weiss stood close, saying their goodbyes. Penny hugged Ruby tightly one more time before turning and walking through the portal beside Amazo.
Roman and Neo gave a casual wave, Roman muttering he will actually miss little red.
And just like that… they were gone.
The portal closed, leaving only the breeze and the sound of distant birds in its wake.
Team RWBY stood silently for a moment.
"Did that… really happen?" Blake asked.
Yang crossed her arms. "That group is like a fever dream."
Ruby smiled softly. "But it was a good one."
Weiss exhaled. "Let's just hope General Ironwood doesn't get slapped in the future."