Chapter 10: The Bleeding

Nik stood as still as a statue, the face of worry upon him. What was that tremor just now? He shook his head and forced the thought from his head. All that matters now is who will be victorious. Smiling, one final thought crossed his mind. "I might just make a decision today." Pulling out his scroll, he read the list of candidates that were still in the running. He read each one carefully until he get to one name in particular; Roman Torchwick. His name had been crossed out, and one word was written next to it that made Nik's heart sink: Deceased. One less person that could become a Shifter, which did narrow down his options, but he secretly hoped that Roman would at least be a part of the final group of options. I had such high hopes for you. A rogue with few personal rules...he'd have fit right in with many of the current Council.

His face became as stone once again, and he stared intently at the battlefield below. Do not interfere, he reminded himself. But there's nothing wrong with taking a closer look. With that thought, he leapt off of the spire he stood upon. Brom, standing and writing nearby, merely shook his head in disdain. Yet, he didn't say a word to stop Nik.

"Emerald~~~!" Mercury screamed violently, his voice full of rough, raw emotion. "You bitch! You bitch! You killed Emerald!"

Ruby smiled. "You broke my sister's neck. This? This is nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you."

Weiss and Blake were terrified. "Ruby...stop! This isn't like you!"

"Shut up!" the young huntress shot back with bloodlust in her voice. Smiling menacingly, she gave Mercury the most disturbing of glares. "They die. I say it must be so, so it must be done."

Without warning, Ruby hunched into a lunging pose and darted towards Mercury. Instinctively he leapt over the younger girl and dashed to his oldest friend's body. Not wasting time to look her over, he grabbed one of her bladed revolvers, deploying the blade. I better not use the chain. I'll hack my own arms off, he thought, focusing all of his attention onto the fight at hand. Aiming at Ruby, he pulled the trigger three times. In a flurry of rose petals, Ruby dodged the bullets and leapt at the man once again.

"We need to stop her!" Weiss said frantically.

"I'd worry about yourselves first!" Cinder yelled, launching a volley of heated glass at them, forcing them to dodge and deflect. "Don't forget, I'm still here. There's nothing that's going to stand in my way either!"

Blake spat in disgust and glared at the woman. "You're outnumbered two-to-one, and I can promise you that our allies are eliminating your forces outside!"

Cinder scoffed. "What good can a bunch of kids be against my army? You haven't even met my new favorite lieutenant." She faced the doorway that she and her two subordinates had entered from. "Come on out to play, Adam!"

Blakes eyes went wide. Turning to the door, she silently prayed. Not him. Please be a different Adam. Not him! Her prayers went unanswered, as a man in his mid twenties entered the room. Bright red hair grew around and partially covered his bull horns, and a Grimm mask decorated his face. Wearing a black suit with a red dress shirt, he drew his red blade and met Blake's gaze. "Hello...traitor."

"Oh," Cinder said with delight. "You two know each other? How quaint! Adam, dispose of them. I'll kill the red one once she's done with Mercury."

Adam looked slightly confused behind his mask, but only Blake noticed the change in his expression. "Do you intend to let him die?"

"With Emerald dead, he no longer serves a purpose. Even if he wins, he'll be useless. His spirit's been broken. As far as I'm concerned, he's already dead."

Blake smiled. "Is this the kind of person you wish to work for? One who will deem you useless at the drop of a hat and toss you aside? What happens when you no longer serve her purpose?"

Adam smiled in return. "Then I suppose we'll both be exiles. But, the difference between us is that I will still hunt you down, Blake. I always will."

"Weiss," Blake said. "Rest. You and Neo tend to Yang. I'll take care of Adam."

"You know him?" Weiss asked.

"I used to...before he became a monster."

"We're all monsters, Blake. The humans made us that way. That's why I wear this mask," Adam contested.

"I liked you better without it. You were so beautiful to me. I looked up to you. Now look how far the mighty angel has fallen."

Adam smiled, holding his sword at the ready. "In the midpoint of the journey of life, I found myself within a dark wood, with which the true path had been lost."

Blake returned the smile. "Ah! How hard a thing it is to tell what a wild, rough, and stubborn wood this was, which in my thoughts renews the fear!" Raising her blades, Blake followed up with, "You always had a love for the classics. But you're no Dante."

Adam lunged, forcing Blake to block the blade with her own. The old partners locked blades, sparks flying momentarily as the metal grinded on metal, and their faces were up close. "And you are no Beatrice. You belong in that icy circle of the Ninth."

"We're both traitors, Adam. I betrayed you when you betrayed our cause. We both belong in the maw of Lucifer. Frozen for all of eternity with our bodies being chewed upon by the Beast."

He smiled a ghoulish smile. "I guess one of us will be waiting for the other after today. So, who's it gonna be, Blake?" Kicking her away, he lunged once more with more fervor. "Me or you, Blake!? Who's dying today!?"

With a fierceness that surprised Weiss, Blake and Adam dueled relentlessly, their blades slowly chipping away at each other with sparks flying. "The likes of us don't deserve the wisdom of Virgil, or the love of Beatrice! We belong in Hell!" Adam continued. "But which of us will go first!?"

Cinder watched on with interest from the side. Today has been just perfect.

Ozpin felt something gnawing at his very being. This presence...something is wrong. Cane in hand, he had been making his way through the school dispatching any foe he came upon. Now, he felt something that he never expected. It was fearsome, whatever it was, and it actually filled him with dread. Dread; a sensation he hadn't felt in a very, very long time. I have to hurry. Something is happening in the atrium. Turning the corner, he began to run down the hall when he ran into someone he didn't expect to see.

His blue robes flowed gracefully as Nik came to a full stop at the sight of Ozpin. "Hello, Headmaster," he said casually.

Ozpin smiled. "Is the Shifter finally coming down from his perch to join the fray? I imagine you'd make quite the bird of prey in this conflict."

Nik chuckled. "Still just an observer. But...I sense that today I will make my decision. It's only a matter of time before I see who it will be."

"I sense the same. Something is happening in the atrium. I think your choice is somewhere in there. Shall we?"

"After you," Nik said. As Ozpin walked by, he noticed something odd that Ozpin had said. Is the Shifter finally coming down from his perch to join the fray? I imagine you'd make quite the bird of prey in this conflict. He smiled. You're telling me your secret, aren't you? Those words...they have no meaning to anyone else here. But I'm a Shifter...and those words make sense to me. A bird of prey I am not...but you know who really is. Don't you? "Tell me, Ozpin...how many years has it been since you spoke to Nacht?"

Ozpin froze. Turning to face Nik, he smiled. "Finally figured it out, have you?"

"You chose your words very carefully. I'm afraid that particular Shifter hasn't come down from his perch in nigh on sixteen years. Not since the time that I awakened."

"So...Eudelus Nacht is retired now. Someone must have caught his eye to make him step down. Who leads you now?"

Nik shook his head. "That's not the question that needs asking, Ozpin." He gave the headmaster an accusatory glare. "Tell me; why am I here if this world already has a Shifter? Why have you forsaken your duty?"

"I haven't. The rest of the universe is not under my care. Only Remnant. It is my home. I protect it from its own calamities."

"What about Harbinger? The comet nearly came. One-hundred-thousand-four-hundred-fifty-two times it came and wiped out this entire planet, and in every timeline you died. I stopped it and allowed this timeline to exist. Where were you?"

Ozpin smiled a sad smile. "You are young. I can tell. Let me tell you something, Nik. There comes a time when an immortal must realize something; that his time has come and gone. It's true; I knew about the comet. When Ruby told me about her dream, it filled my heart with dread. I specifically erased all existence of the comet from history books so that my people could have a sense of peace. I felt it's presence, and I knew it was coming. And yet I did nothing. Do you know why?" Nik stared angrilly at Ozpin, refusing to answer. "Because ten thousand years ago, when the Devastation swept through the entire universe and gave birth to Harbinger, there was no such thing as a Shifter. We were normal humans, fighting back against a calamity that we had no hope of defeating. And we defeated it. Shortly there after, during the time that Nacht calls the Aftermath after the Devastation, I awakened as a Shifter. I answered that old owl's call and met with all of the other Shifters of the time. And I made a decision; I decided to break away from your organization to focus on protecting my home. Remnant is mine. Not Nacht's. Not Arletha's. Not Lucia's. And not yours."

"Yet you still did nothing to stop Harbinger this time," Nik pointed out.

"Because I had hope in my people. As I said; my time as the protector of Remnant has passed. I am just a teacher now; training the next generation of guardians. That is what it means to be a Huntsmen. My student's aren't soldiers. They aren't warriors. They aren't sell swords. They are guardians. The defenders of the people. I will teach them...and then I will fade from history. There are a few ancient, secluded fortresses that time has forgotten. I don't mind spending the rest of eternity there."

Nik stared into Ozpin's eyes, now realizing for the first time just how much age there was inside them. Ozpin was older than most, and he clearly yearned for days when he was no longer needed. "Then why go along with my plan? Why let me select a new Shifter from your population if you could just as easily return to the Thoughtspire with me?"

Ozpin sighed. "I believe...it is time for Remnant to join in something bigger than itself. But I am not the man to lead our people into that dawn. You are here at the order of your superior, who does not know what I am, looking for my replacement. I welcome it with open arms." Glancing down the hall, Ozpin's gaze became stern once more. "We must hurry. The battle escalates."

Nik smiled. "You old Shifters...selfish, the whole lot of you. Was everyone this way ten thousand years ago?"

"Can't say," Ozpin replied as he began to walk down the hall once more. "Most everyone I knew back then is dead."

With that final phrase, Nik once again felt the oncoming dread that was immortality. It was coming for him, just as it came for Ozpin. It was only a matter of time.

And Nik had a lot of time ahead of him.

Penny heard the sounds of metal on metal that signaled a battle, and she rushed into the room where she heard the clashing. There she found the atrium, with Ruby and Blake both squaring off against their own opponents. Weiss and a shorter girl with pink and brown hair huddled over the body of Yang, and Penny felt something in her chest at the sight. Her records found that the human expression would be that her "heart sank" at the sight. What has happened? She rushed over in an attempt to help. "How may I be of assistance?" she asked Weiss.

"P-Penny?" she asked, shocked. "Yang...she's been shot, and her neck's been broken. She's still alive, but I can't stop the bleeding."

Penny, using her mechanical eyes, scanned Yang's lifesigns; she was weak and losing blood. "My father programmed me with several medical procedures. I require some cloth." Neo silently took off her jacket and handed it to the robot girl; the two shared a moment of gazing into each other's eyes, understanding that they were both synthetic. "Use your hands, Weiss. Apply a steady amount of pressure over the entry wound." Obeying, Weiss did as she was told while Penny wrapped the jacket around Yang. "Now, move your hands." She tied the jacket very tightly, effectively capping Yang's wound. "That should take care of the bullet wound. I have a small excess of Aura that I can give up to her that will help the wound heal. Her neck, however...I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. The vertebrae has been shattered, and her spinal cord has been snapped in two. Unless someone, say my father, were to use robotics to help her, she will be forever paralyzed from the neck down." Penny looked up to see the destroyed spirits that were Weiss and the girl, Neo. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"It's...It's okay, Penny. You've done as much as you possibly can. Thank you," Weiss said.

Neo put a hand on Penny's shoulder. "Th-thank...y-you."

Penny smiled, feeling somewhat happy that she wasn't the only synthetic with a seemingly human spirit. "Tell me; who did this?"

Weiss pointed. "Ruby is fighting the man who broke her neck...and...and she's already killed the girl who shot her."

Penny's jaw dropped. Looking around, she saw the bloody mess that was left of Emerald. Ruby did that?

Blake parried another of Adam's strikes, surprised that she could still even match the bull faunus's pace. Perhaps it was their closeness in the past that drove her to keep fighting. Or maybe it was fear. She couldn't figure it out. All that mattered was the battle, and her determination to not lose. She was going to win; that was her mindset. Their blades locked together once again and the two were face to face once more. "You were my Virgil, Adam. The way the humans treated us...that was my Hell. You were my guide. The missions we went on...the humans we killed...I realized what my true sins were. Leaving the White Fang, and leaving you...that was the end of my Inferno. Coming to Beacon has been my Purgatory. I've slowly atoned for my sins. Defeating you is a step on that path of atonement! Only after today can I truly start onto the path into Paradise!" She shoved him back with her swords, and he grunted in surprise.

He smiled a cruel smile. "You really think that there is a Paradise? As long as there are humans on this world?"

She nodded. "Somewhere in this universe, there is a Paradise. A place where there is no hatred. No wars. No race. Only peace, love, and happiness. That is where I will go!"

"Wake up, you damn fool!" Adam spat. "That place exists only in fairy tales!"

Blake smiled an honest smile. Forcing forward once more, she was satisfied to hear Adam's blade snap in two. Her blades rested on his throat, ready to slice, when she paused. Sheathing one of her swords, she reached and pulled the mask off of Adam to look into his gorgeous, red eyes; those eyes that she had once fallen in love with before she became afraid of them. "That's why we exist," she said, referring to Huntsmen and Huntresses. "We make those fairy tale endings come true. A friend of mine taught me that."

Adam was shocked. After a moment, a smile crept upon his lips. He dropped to one knee and looked deeply into Blake's eyes. "You win." Nodding, she bashed the handle of her blade into his head, knocking him unconscious. For the love I once bore you, I will not kill you. She turned to watch Ruby fight against Mercury. "Remember, Ruby. We make those endings come true. Please, wake up. Be the real you again. This...this monster isn't you."

The fight went on still, and Blake felt tears run down her cheeks. "Wake up, Ruby!" she yelled.

Song: The Bleeding- Five Finger Death Punch

Author's Notes

A quick update! Thank god for days off from work! I can't promise when Chapter 11 will come out, but I put a lot of my heart and soul into this chapter! Also, I didn't kill Adam this time! Go me!

This is the second time I've referenced Dante in the Shifting Remnant AU. Can't help it. I love The Divine Comedy!

So: did anyone see Ozpin being a Shifter? I hope I surprised a few of you, but I'd been hinting at it for a while. Oh, we're so close to the end! I'm so excited! Unless something happens, I only have three more chapters left! Well, technically two chapters and an epilogue!

Also, I know I kind of copped out by not describing Mercury and Ruby's fight, but I was afraid that it would be too short if I took the effort to describe it. I leave it up to your imagination how that fight is going. Apparently it's a great fight, because it's been going on for several minutes.

Also, someone asked if Yang's aura failed because of a special bullet. No. That would be too OP. Remember, from Chapter 5 to now, it's been less than a day, and the characters have been fighting almost non-stop the entire time. They've been fighting for hours. They're exhausted, and are barely hanging on by their willpower alone. Lots of stress and all that.

I'm having way too much fun with this, aren't I?

Spoiler alert: Yang will live. I killed her once in the Shifting Remnant AU, and I'll be damned (by the lot of you) if I do it again. I feel like I was allowed to get away with that once, and anymore and I'll be pushing my luck. I'd rather not risk it. Not yet, anyway.

Well, leave a review or a PM to let me know what you think!

Till next time!