Chapter 5: The Wretched

Mercury Black lazed about on a couch, happily enjoying the slow day. Part of him wished that Cinder had gone with her original plan to infiltrate Beacon and blend in with the students until their plan came to fruition. He wanted to get to know his enemy on the personal level before he had the pleasure to destroying them from the inside. Such a concept brought a genuine, happy smile on his face.

Yet, he was also very, very happy that Cinder opted for a straight up surprise attack when Roman completed the next step in the plan. This made his work that much easier, and for that he truly couldn't complain. Instead of getting to know the students of Beacon, he could just lounge about until that fateful day.

Which should be any day, actually. He shrugged. He'd worry about it when it came. No sooner. He closed his eyes, content to take a brief nap. A paper rustling sound drew him from his slumber before it ever began. Turning his head, he saw what he would argue is the most beautiful woman on the face of Remnant. Of course, he'd never say that out loud to anyone, let alone the woman herself. Emerald Sustrai had entered the room with a brown paper bag and was sifting through it; it was most likely a collection of wallets and Lien she had stolen today. Even though he made fun of her for it, he actually found her skills to be quite charming. Again, however, he'd never say this out loud. "What's the take today, Emmy?" he asked.

She paused and glared at him. "Damn it. I thought you'd died in your sleep. Was really hoping I'd finally get this apartment to myself."

He smiled. "Love you too," he said with a sarcastic tone. A shame, really. Because he really didn't feel sarcastic about those words. "But seriously, what'd you get?"

Emerald shrugged. "Five wallets in total. A few credit cards, some paper bills. I'd say I got about eight hundred lien today."

Mercury whistled. "When are you going to buy me a present with your seemingly endless source of income?"

"Bite me."

"Is that an offer?"

Emerald faked a gag. "You're disgusting."

"We both know that if you truly felt that way towards me, you'd have bought your own place. God knows you've got the money for it." He pointed at the brown paper bag as he spoke.

She rolled her eyes in response. "Maybe the fact that we grew up together makes it somewhat easier to tolerate you."

Mercury held back a small chuckle. It makes it easier to pretend to not love you, that's for sure. For both of our sakes. "You want me."

"Please," Emerald said, feeling frustrated. "I'd rather have sex with Roman than sleep with you."

Mercury sat up, genuinely shocked by the statement. "Now, I know that's not true." He tried to chuckle. "You despise him."

"Yeah?" she said with a coy smile. "What's that say about how I feel about you?"

He shook his head. "You're just cruel at times, you know that?"

"Uh huh. Why don't you cry about it?"

Mercury scoffed and laid back down. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was sulking. I wish I could hate you¸ he thought. Both of them received a message from their scrolls; it was from Cinder.

[Roman is at the starting point. Preparations are nearly complete. Soon the signal will sound. When you hear it, proceed as planned.]-Cinder

Mercury nodded as he read it. He wasn't particularly nervous, but he still had that small inkling of fear in his gut. Everyone got that feeling, though. It was a natural response. Kind of like the feeling you get when you go sky diving. You know you're going to have fun, but once you jump out of the plane you don't know for sure that your life is safe. This was similar. He knew he would enjoy the upcoming war, but he couldn't truly guarantee his own safety. He cleared his throat to gain Emerald's attention once more. "Hey," he said in a mellow voice.

She sighed. "What now?"

"If you were to die tomorrow," he began. "Would you have any regrets?"

She paused in her money counting to turn slowly and face Mercury. "This is unlike you to be so serious. What, afraid you'll die when we start?" She tried her best to tease him.

Unexpectedly, he nodded. This made a pit form in Emerald's stomach. "Who wouldn't be? We may have the upper hand, but we can't predict the outcome of the battle." He turned to look into her eyes. "I know you feel the same way. So, would have any regrets?"

She shrugged as she thought about it. "Maybe. I haven't actually been to Mistral. Always wanted to go. Never got to learn how to drive. Haven't seen my parents in years. Stuff like that, I guess."

Mercury nodded with a slight smile. "Such petty things. Except for your parents, of course."

"What, you got anything better to say on the subject? I live my dream job every day. There's not much for me to regret."

"I'd have a few things. Never got to meet the creators of my favorite comics. Never ate at a five star restaurant. Never fought in a kick boxing competition. My stuff's pretty petty too." Sitting up and leaning forward, his gaze remained on Emerald. "But most importantly, I'd have some words."

Emerald paused hesitantly. "Words?"

He nodded. "Words left unsaid. Words I haven't told anyone. Words that I've kept bottled inside for thirteen long years."

"Thirteen years?" she asked. "We've known each other for, like, fourteen years. We've told each other everything over the years."

He shook his head. "Not everything." He sighed and leaned back into the sofa. "I never wanted to say these words. Never needed to. Didn't think they'd mean anything to you. Few things I say do."

Emerald stared at her old friend. "I don't like it when you sound serious, Mercury. I can't tell if your joking or not."

"I swear to God that I'm not joking." Mercury wasn't religious, but he still held such a phrase in high esteem. A swear to God was sacred, even to an atheist like himself. "I've fought myself over these words, Emerald. And you know what? I've stopped caring. As of right now, I don't care what you think. Out of all of my regrets, this one is too strong. If, by some chance, I do die in the coming war, I don't want to regret never saying these words."

He stood up and rushed towards Emerald unexpectedly, catching her off guard. Before she could evade him or shove him aside, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. Emerald wanted to fight back, but she was immediately brought to a memory of a time long since past. From a time that they were children, and such moments were common. Back when they truly were inseparable. "M...Mercury?"

"I love you, Emerald Sustrai," he said at long last. "I've loved you ever since we were kids. I've wanted to stay by your side all these years, to protect you when you needed help, and to lift you up when you were down. But...you're so much stronger now. You don't need my help. You don't even want it anymore." He tightened the embrace. "It hurt every time you mocked me, but I never truly cared. I knew we'd always be together in our own way. That no matter how we treated each other, we'd never be apart."

Emerald was shocked, but a slow smile appeared on her lips as she returned the embrace. "Now he tells me," she whispered. "Do you have any idea the kind of burden you've just placed on me?"

Mercury smiled with a shrug as they parted. "If only you knew the kind of burden those words have been for me all this time." He brushed aside a strand of her hair. "But, maybe we can share our burdens now?"

Emerald returned the smile in kind. "I think I'd like that." With those final words, she shoved him onto the couch and straddled him. Leaning into his face, she added with a sultry voice. "I'd like that a lot." Their lips met and she started to grind at his groin. Within seconds, clothes started to fly off, and moans of pleasure reverberated around the otherwise empty apartment.

Roman slammed his fist onto the metal table in anger. "God damn that woman!" he yelled. White Fang agents surrounded him, looking at each other nervously. "Look at this horse shit!" He gestured toward a chart on the table. "What kind of time table is this? She wants to move ahead with this plan before the end of the week? How the fuck are we going to get everything ready in time?" Neo, who was standing nearby, simply stared silently at him, her arms folded behind her back as she waited patiently for his orders. He turned to the White Fang members and growled angrily. "Load the train as quickly as you can."

"Uh...um, sir? When do you need it ready?" asked one of the younger agents. Nearby was the teen that'd had his teeth knocked out by Roman a few days ago. He looked at the other young teenager and shook his head. Don't question him, he tried to warn.

Roman lost his temper all the same and swung with his cane, breaking this young man's nose. "Yesterday, you fucking animal! Get to loading, now!" He looked at the other members of the White Fang that were around him. "Now!" Quickly, they rushed out and got to work loading the train. Roman stepped and slammed the metal door, leaving him alone.

He heard the rustle of clothing being disturbed, reminding him that he wasn't really alone. Turning, he came face to face with Neo. She stared into his eyes and tilted her head to the side. "I know," he said. "I know I'm hard on them. But, it's our necks on the line here. If Cinder isn't happy with our work, we may as well be dead and buried."

Neo smiled at him.

"I know Red wanted to help," he answered. Even though she never spoke a word, he always knew what she was saying to him somehow. "But, I don't want anyone getting hurt that isn't directly related to the job. Only the necessary casualties. Red doesn't need to be involved."

Neo took a step forward and placed a hand on Roman's shoulder.

"She won't find this place," he assured his daughter's robotic replacement. "There's no way she could." He sat down in a chair, and Neo began to rub his shoulders. "I fuckin' hate my job sometimes."

The bullhead landed and dropped off team RWBY and Doctor Oobleck. They spent the day clearing the city of Grimm, and the good Doctor seemed to have been evaluating the capabilities and personalities of team RWBY. It was somewhat unexpected, but it didn't really bother them. Night had fallen over the ruined city of Mountain Glenn, and Ruby took up first watch. Feeling a dull ache in her legs from sitting for so long, she opted to take a brief stroll through the ruined city. Truthfully, she could barely see in the dark, but she was confident that her sense of hearing would alert her to any nearby threats.

As such, it startled her when she heard a pair of muffled gunshots, followed briefly by the sound of a dying beowolf. "Got it!" cried a man.

"Keep your voice down, you fucking idiot!" replied another. "Do you want to alert the rest of the pack that we're here?"

Ruby hid behind a broken down concrete wall as the voices got closer, and she could imagine that the first man must have shrugged before he said, "To be honest, I haven't seen much of the pack. There's usually dozens of Grimm lurking the streets. Most of 'em are gone for some reason."

Crap, Ruby thought. That's our fault. Poking her head up slightly, she could make out the figures of two men wearing White Fang uniforms.

"Think they might be leaving the area?" the first man asked.

The second shook his head. "Mountain Glenn has been dead for decades. They didn't leave when they slaughtered the place. Why would they leave now?" He looked around and shrugged softly. "They've probably just migrated to another area for now. Let's get back before they decide to come back."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." The two men turned and entered a nearby abandoned building.

Ruby breathed a small sigh of relief, happy that she hadn't been spotted. She watched as the two men disappeared. "That's not good," she whispered. She retrieved her Scroll, but she didn't have enough signal to get a hold of her team. "I'll have to go back for them. Can't risk going in alone." She stood and began to dash towards her encampment, only to hear a slight cracking sound. She paused, afraid that it might have been another White Fang member or perhaps a Grimm. Freezing in her tracks, she realized too late that the cracking sound came from her feet; the pavement broke away and she fell.

She felt that gut wrenching feeling of a sudden drop, making her stomach rise in her torso for just a moment. It wasn't long, but it was enough to make her feel slightly nauseous. She had just enough reaction time to activate her Aura in the hopes that the drop wasn't too far, as she couldn't see into the blackness of the chasm that she had fallen into. It was a good idea, as without warning came the sudden, normally bone breaking stop. "Oof!" she exhaled violently as the wind was knocked from her lungs. Her Aura protected her from the brunt of the fall, and she would walk away with only a few minor, but irritating bruises.

"What was that?" came a voice; the voice of one of the two men from earlier. Suddenly, a bright light enveloped Ruby as a door was opened. The first thing she noticed was how big the chasm really was. The city on the surface was massive, yet the city below was half that size, with buildings just as tall. It was an impressive and eerie display of engineering. The next thing she noticed, as she turned to face the light, was the two White Fang agents who ran towards her with guns drawn. "Hold it right there!" one cried.

Ruby smirked. I can handle them, she thought cockily. She reached for Crescent Rose, and dread filled her soul as she discovered that it wasn't in its holster. She looked around for it and couldn't find it; it was either still on the surface, or it had fallen even deeper into the chasm. Either way, she was unarmed. Staring down two gun barrels, she debated her odds of winning a fight without her weapon.

She knew weapons. Some would even say that she was a weapon geek. As such, she recognized the models as being .45 caliber pistols. Her Aura was tough, but after taking such a hard fall, she didn't know if it could handle such a powerful round. There was also the risk that it was a .454 Casull. While slim, as semi-automatics for such a caliber were rare, it was still a possibility. If it were a Casull, then her weakened Aura would be meaningless. The round would tear through her flesh before she knew what had hit her.

She still debated, however, on whether or not she should fight back. Well, Yang did show me how to throw a proper punch. She cocked her arm and hit the first man square in the jaw. Her fist made contact, and didn't budge. The man simply glared at her, barely acknowledging the small amount of pain he felt. "Crap," she whispered.

With the handle of his firearm, he whipped her across the head, creating a small gash on her cheek. "Gah!" she yelped as she fell backwards.

"Take her," he said. "Boss is gonna want to see this." The other man approached and kicked Ruby in the gut before grabbing her arms. Violently, and without any real effort, he dragged her sore body away.

"Uuugh," she muttered, feeling her already sore limbs grow worse and worse. At this point, she couldn't really resist. That doesn't mean that she won't try, however.

Roman stared at the cargo that was being loaded into the train. This is a terrible idea, he thought. She wants me to drive this mother fucker into the city square, detonate it along the way, and let Grimm infest the city? That's insane! He shook his head. Cinder was smart too. She only paId half of his fee when she hired him. The rest would come after she succeeded in her plan. To beat it all, he didn't even know what he plan was. Truthfully, he was in the dark for the most part. All he knew was that Cinder was dangerous, ambitious, and a rampaging bitch that even he feared. If Roman Torchwick, the man who could stare down the barrel of a gun with no Aura put up and laugh in death's face was afraid, then the rest of the world should follow suit.

Neo looked at him with concerned eyes, asking the unspoken question. "I don't know what she's up to, sweetie," he said. "But I don't like it either."

"Hey boss!" he heard from outside the train car. "You should see this! I found something you might want to look at!"

He sighed. Please be good news. For the love of God, please be good news! Worries aside, he put on his aloof debonair vibe that he always gave off when he interacted with his underlings."Is it good or bad, because, let me tell you, I have had~ a day!"

"Uh," the man replied, unsure of the correct answer. "It's...a little girl."

Roman's eyes went wide, and Neo stared at him with uncertainty. Quickly, Roman poked his head out from the train car and saw his fear realized. No, he thought. How did she find us? He saw, in the White Fang agent's arms, the limp, bruised, and tired body of Ruby Rose; the girl he now affectionately, though once mockingly, called Red. Spitting out his cigar, Roman frowned. "That would be bad."

He leapt from the train and approached, uncertain. He couldn't look uncertain, however. As far as the White Fang was concerned, he was moving with purpose, intently sizing up his hostage and plotting what to do with her. In reality, he didn't have a clue as to what to do. "She'd fallen in a hole and landed here," the agent explained. "She must have been sneaking around on the surface and stumbled upon one of the sinkholes. She may have back up nearby."

Fuck, Roman thought. She does. I know Red; she wouldn't have come this far into such dangerous territory without her team. "Is that so," he said with a mock smile. "Tell me, little girl, have you found what you were looking for?"

Ruby looked up and met his eyes; a fury glowed behind her silver eyes that gave Roman pause. With a slight smile, she answered, "Yeah! You guys should work quieter. All this ruckus lead me straight to you!"

"Silence!" the agent yelled, elbowing Ruby in the stomach.

Roman resisted the urge to wince as he heard Ruby gasp for air before doubling over in pain. "That's enough," he said evenly. He realized that he'd just said something he normally wouldn't say, so he quickly followed it up by jamming the end of his cane into Ruby's thigh, digging into the flesh and bruising her muscles. "I can't let you hog all the fun."

"Gyaa! Aaaaugh!" Ruby yelled, feeling the blunt, dull cane digging into her leg. She could feel the beginnings of tears forming, but resisted the urge to do so. They can't see me cry! She thought. I'm stronger than that! They'll learn just how strong I am!

Roman pulled away with the cane before swinging it and whacking her back, knocking her to the ground in full. "You know, I really needed this!" He laughed and gave the agent his approval. "Good work. Neo!" The stoic, robotic girl approached. Her acting was just as superb as Romans. Though synthetic, she still felt sympathy and sadness for Ruby. She knew, however, that her father was not truly being malicious. He was being cautious. "Take her to my quarters. I'll deal with her at my leisure."

Nodding, she picked up Ruby with ease, in spite of the girl being a head and a half taller. Carrying her off, Ruby drowsily glared at Roman, a wave of confusion. passing over her.

Ruby fully expected Neo to be as violent as Roman was. She had no reason to suspect that she wouldn't just throw her onto the concrete floor of Roman's private living area. Instead, what happened amazed her. Neo, carrying Ruby with only one hand, quietly opened the door and strolled inside. Using her foot, she gently shut the door. Ruby was ready to welcome the hard floor, but Neo deviated and carried Ruby to a nearby cot and gently laid the young girl down.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked the stoic girl.

Neo looked Ruby in the eyes and smiled with a slight nod.

"You...aren't going to hurt me?"

Neo shook her head.

"Why not?"

Neo's smile never faltered. She turned and approached a metal desk. Opening a drawer, she retrieved a first aid kit. Returning to Ruby, she opened the kit and began to dab Ruby's scrapes, scratches, and even the one sizable gash on her face with a disinfectant.

"Ah!" Ruby said sharply. "Careful. That stings."

Neo gave Ruby an apologetic frown as she worked. Quickly and expertly, she bandaged the worse of the wounds and left the others with a small layer of disinfectant on them. Smiling softly, Neo waited for Ruby to speak.

"Uh...thanks," she said, feeling unsure of her situation. "Why...why are you being so nice?"

"Because she likes you," came the voice of Roman who entered the room. He shut the door and locked it. Approaching the two girls, he wrapped an arm around Neo and gave her a tight squeeze of a half hug. Her face became a slight shade of pink for a moment until Roman released the brief embrace. He sat down and lit a new cigar, having thrown away the one he had earlier. Inhaling deeply, he calmly watched the smoke leave his own mouth. "What the fuck are you doing here, Red?"

Ruby was appalled. This was the same man who had just participated in beating her moments ago. "How?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"How can you flip a switch like that? One moment you're having fun kicking the crap out of me, and the next you're calm as a cucumber, ignoring the fact that you did anything to begin with?"

"What would you have me do?" he asked with a dead serious tone. "Hm? Behave around you the way I want to? The second I show them," he pointed at the door, referring to the White Fang. "How me and you get along, they will report straight to Cinder. My life would be over. And for what? Half a million lien that I can't spend once I'm gone, and a fake daughter that would be left alone in this world. Assuming Cinder would even let her live."

Neo's head dropped, clearly saddened by the thought.

Roman inhaled from his cigar. "You need to understand something, Red. This isn't just about your safety at this point. Yes, I don't want you getting hurt, but your presence puts me in jeopardy, as well as Neo. The stakes have always been high, but we've already gone all in. Our cards have been dealt, we haven't looked at our hands yet, but we've put all of our chips on the table. The house is going to win this gamble, unless I've got the right hand. You understand? There's only one way for this to go right, and a million it can go wrong. You're being here makes it that much harder for us to come out alive."

Ruby looked back and forth between Roman and Neo. "I'm sorry that you've gotten into this mess," she said. "I wish I could help you, I truly do. But the fact of the matter is, no matter how much I like you two, or how wrong everyone is about the two of you, you're both still my enemies." Neo nodded, clearly understanding what Ruby meant.

"Red, I told you to stay out of it. Stay home! Stay in school. Anything except follow us. Don't investigate any further! Those were my words! Why the fuck are you here?"

Ruby felt afraid of Roman's wrath, but she steeled herself and glared at his eyes. "You and your employer are risking the lives of innocent people. I may not know what you're up to, but it's my sworn duty as a Huntress to stop you. This was destined to happen."

"You're not a fucking Huntress!" Roman yelled as he stood up. "You're a god damned student! You're in school! You don't have the paperwork, the diploma, or the fucking experience to be a Huntress yet! Don't you get it? This was not your job! Anyone else, a Huntsmen or Huntress, or, hell, the damned Vale Symphonic Orchestra for all I care should be here to stop me. Not you!"

Ruby was going to counter his argument, but the fact of the matter was that he was right. She wasn't a Huntress. "You're right," she said sadly. "I'm not qualified to do this." She looked at Neo before returning her gaze to Roman. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try."

Roman sighed. "You're going to die," he said flatly. Neo looked at him with shock on her expression. "It won't be my fault or Neo's. But you will die if you pursue this. There's no stopping Cinder. It's gone too far to be stopped."

"What do you mean?"

"This is my second to last job," he said, pointing to the door again. This time, he referred to the train. "After that, I will receive a signal to where the final phase would take place and will move to rendezvous with my...colleagues." He met Ruby's gaze. "I don't know what Cinder has planned, but it's not good."

Ruby went silent. Cinder...why does that name ring a bell? Suddenly, a memory came to her. A memory of a dream.

Beacon was burning. White Fang agents leapt over the fortified walls as the City of Vale was haunted by the sound of howling Beowolves. Ruby stared with hatred in her soul at the chaos before her. She knew the woman responsible. She was going to kill her. Penny was slaughtering her friends on one side of the field, clearly having been lied to about who she worked for, and Cinder stood on the other, facing off against Ozpin and team JNPR. Her eyes shifted, changing color as she contemplated her options. After stopping Penny and helping Weiss, they returned to help their friends and headmaster fight Cinder. Ren was killed and Penny's arm was ripped off, but Cinder stood with a mocking smile on her lips. Ruby hated that woman. Though she felt fear when Cerberus appeared, she felt no remorse when that bitch of a woman was swallowed whole by the beast, leaving only a single hand.

Ruby stared blankly at the wall. "W-what?" she asked. "My...my nightmare?"

Roman arched an eyebrow. "What nightmare? The one you told me about?"

She nodded, confused. "In my dream, amidst the chaos that was caused by the Grimm, a woman named Cinder attacked Beacon. She killed dozens of my friends before a giant three headed Beowolf ate her."

Roman's jaw hung loose, letting his cigar fall to the ground. "You...you saw Cinder in your dream? Really?" Ruby nodded. "That's...that's creepy. I can't imagine how that's possible."

"Nothing else in that dream has been real," she said. "But...I know I saw Cinder."

"Alright," Roman said, unconvinced. "What did she look like?"

"Red dress," Ruby explained. "She had dust infused into the dress. She used some sort of burning substance. I don't know what it was, but she could use it to create spears and the like. Her eyes are yellow, her hair is black and swept to one side. She wears glass high heels. She was aloof, mocking, cruel, and she enjoyed torturing Penny when she ripped her arm off."

"You...you just described her perfectly," Roman said flatly. He heard gun shots come from outside. "What the fuck?" he asked. He approached a nearby window, covered by blinds, and peeked through it. He saw a green haird man, and the rest of Ruby's team attacking the White Fang. "Fuck," he said. "You're team found you," he said.

"Roman, help us!" Ruby cried. "Like in my dream. help us fight Cinder. Resist her!"

Roman paused and looked at Ruby before looking at Neo. "I'm sorry. I don't know how it was in your dream, but I need this money. I want to retire and live somewhere quiet. Just me and Neo here. To get that money, I need to complete my job." He glanced at the window. "We're...going to remain enemies for a while longer."

Ruby looked at Neo and pleaded with the fake girl. "Neo, please! Talk some sense into him!"

Neo looked at Roman and seemingly pondered her optioned. At long last, she gave Ruby a sad look. Though no words were exchanged, Ruby understood completely what she was saying. My father's word is final, she seemed to say.

Ruby slumped sadly. "Well," she said as she turned back to Roman. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

Roman nodded. He grabbed Ruby by the shirt and lifted her up, careful not to hurt her. "Can you put your Aura up?" he asked.

Ruby nodded. "Just a little."

"Do it. This is going to hurt otherwise." Ruby obeyed just as Roman twisted his body. He swung and let go of the younger girl, launching her through the window and back into the chasm where here team awaited her. Amidst the shattered glass, Ruby felt saddened at the sight of Roman. When she landed, she stood and watched him turn and leave the room, racing towards the front of the train.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled as they approached. "Are you okay?"

Ruby nodded, ignoring the handful of new cuts and scratches. "I'm fine," she said. "It's just...things didn't work out the way I wanted them to."

Blake approached. "This is yours," she gave Crescent Rose back to its proper owner.

Ruby accepted and deployed the weapon. The train began to move, and Ruby thought briefly on her and Roman's parting moment. "Let's go," she said calmly. "I think I've figured out their final move."

"What is it?" Weiss asked.

Ruby cocked her weapon. "History is going to call The Battle for Beacon," she said. "Time waits for no one, though. The train is leaving. We need to stop it."

Atop one of the spires of Beacon, just before sunrise, Nik found himself standing alone once more as he checked off bits of his list. He felt at ease and relaxed. He could be seen as a sort of workaholic, but he enjoyed his work when he could actually appreciate the intricacy of his tasks. However, something would always break his concentration. The sound of space tearing did just that.

"Ah," came an old, raspy voice. "I nearly forgot you were still here on Remnant, Nik." Nik turned and found a hunched over, elderly man by the name of Brom. He was viewed as the most well read scholar in the universe, and every book in the Thoughtspire was handwritten by him. In fact, he personally experienced much of what was written in the history section.

"What brings you to the backwoods of the universe?" Nik asked.

Brom simply smiled. "I got that ache in my bones again," he said. Snapping his fingers, a blank tome and a pen appeared before him. "History is about to be made here. I intend to record every second of it."

Nik arched an eyebrow, feeling unsettles. When Brom got these "feelings in his bones", everyone could be certain of two things.

Firstly, history would indeed be made. It was always something significant and it would be remembered for all time.

However, it was always something bloody. When Brom got that feeling, it was usually before a major battle or catastrophe. Nik once heard about a volcano on a world called Earth by the name of Vesuvius. Brom was there when it erupted, wiping out an entire city. To think, something like that was about to happen here at Beacon.

Nik was, for the first time in a long while, afraid.

Song: The Wretched-Nine Inch Nails

Author's Note

Another long chapter. I didn't know where to stop. I thought about stopping after the battle with the Grimm in the city center, but that was just too far off. That may very well be the entire next chapter, actually. From here on out, I am deviating from Volume 2 for good. In case you missed it, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald have not infiltrated Beacon. I have a different route of entry for them. I omitted Zwei as a character. Not because I don't like him, but simply because I already have one voiceless character that I'm having a hell of a time personifying. Robo-Neo is tough. I don't know why, but she is. I feel like Zwei would have made it even harder.

Also: has anyone figured out that The Frail and The Wretched are actually the same song? If you play them both back to back, The Frail leads into The Wretched. I decided to play on that a little bit. Chapter 4: The Frail showcases how nervous team RWBY is going into their first mission, and just how small Remnant is in comparison to the universe (as seen with the exposition between Lia and Nik.) Chapter 5: The Wretched shows Emerald and Mercury, two baddies, in a much lighter tone, while still allowing us to understand that they are not the good guys in this story. Same goes for Roman. He wants to be good for the sake of Ruby, but he has his own agenda. While not inherently ambitious or evil himself, he is still wretched in the sense that he refuses to help stop someone who is clearly mad and power hungry. Ruby's line, "things didn't turn out like I wanted them to," is a direct quote from the song itself. Too much explaining? Too much explaining!

I forgot how fun this AU of mine is. I didn't realize how much I missed writing it until I started writing it again. Also, this AU has an official name now! I didn't want to call it a part of my Shifted Universe, because it would be non-canon on several different levels, and neither did I want to refer to the story as a whole by any of the 3 working titles I have (The Longest Night, Eternity Rising, and a planned prequel, The Darkest Night.) So, since its one part RWBY, and one part my Shifted Universe, I have decided to call the AU as a whole: Shifting Remnant. This being a play on both The Shifted Universe, and the fact that my AU of Remnant is ever changing, constantly in a state of flux due to exterior influence from the universe. Neat, huh?

FunFact: I'm going to a Cherry Blossom Festival this Saturday (April 11). I'm gonna eat lots of food!

Till Next Time, when we must be liberated from hell!