Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. I do, however, own my own characters. I am not profiting from this story.
I came to with my wrists and ankles shackled to a chair. The cold steel was unforgiving, and the metal cuffs did not give when I strained against them.
My thoughts raced. I recalled nothing; I knew not how I ended up in the chair. I knew not who I was or what I was doing here.
I knew nothing.
What frightened me was how little that realization disturbed me.
With my memory blank, I turned to observation. A quick glance around the room revealed a small, almost sterile cell. The walls looked to be made of heavy steel, painted white, and the door was reinforced, likely several inches thick. To make matters worse, the chair I was currently manacled to was bolted to the floor.
There was no way to escape.
Taking a deep breath, I gathered my thoughts. Surely there was a way out of here. I just hadn't found it yet.
Casting my gaze about my cell once again, I spied a camera in the top-left corner of the room. It sported an unblinking red light, observing my plight with a cold disposition.
Someone was watching me.
Before I could question myself, a feeling—a finely-honed instinct—snapped to attention. Some part of me clicked—what it was, I did not know—and reality shifted. My surroundings morphed, and no longer was I in that cell. Instead, I floated among blinking connections, flashes of light that traced predetermined paths.
Once again, I knew not where I was. And yet, that very same instinct exploded into action. I traversed an unmarked path, unsure of my destination, until I arrived at a wall. Rather than turning around, however, I broke straight through it. Disoriented beyond belief, I relinquished myself to this invisible force of mine. It certainly seemed to know what to do.
Soon, I came to a massive nexus, a nucleus of various paths. Entering it, I found arrays of strange pillars. Columns of banded light and dark peppered the space. I continued until I stopped in front of a particular pillar. Darting forward, I melted into it, becoming part of the striated radiance. I felt myself manipulating the light, switching it on and off with a practiced ease.
Eventually, the driving force within me seemed satisfied with its work and ceased. Immediately, I felt another click and my surroundings shifted once more. Opening my eyes, I found myself back in the same chair, in the same cell.
Except the shackles were open. I was free to go.
A wave of doubt and confusion swept over me, oppressive in its strength. I still had no idea where I was or who I was. I did not know what I just did to free myself, and neither did I know how I did it.
All I knew was that I could escape.
Rubbing my wrists, I got out of my chair and headed for the door. A passing glance at the camera caused me to perform a double take. The red light was off. Somehow, I knew that the camera was no longer recording me.
Quelling the questions that arose from that observation, I pressed my shoulder against the door. With a squeal that suggested a neglect for upkeep, the door opened to reveal a hallway. Much like the room I had recently exited, the hallway conveyed a sterilized aesthetic, with whitewashed walls and a clean tile floor. Doors lined the hallway on both sides. A quick look in another room revealed an identical setup to my own, but without a shackled hostage.
Without any other indication for direction, I dashed to my left. As I ran, I pondered my predicament. I had so many questions and so little information.
Phoenix. The thought cracked through my memory like a lightning bolt.
I stumbled. A memory! I grasped at it, but it faded as quickly as it had appeared. Shaking my head, I focused on running.
I reached the end of the hall to find an entrance to a stairwell. Above the door was another camera. A spike of panic rushed through me—whoever was holding me captive may have seen me making my escape—but the recording light wasn't on. Did I disable this camera, too? I didn't have time to mull over these questions—each second I spent out of my cell was another second someone could notice my absence. Once again batting my curiosity aside, I entered the stairwell.
My first instinct was to descend, but I caught myself. There were no windows in the hallway or the stairwell, and no markings inside the hallway indicated that the building was located above ground. For all I knew, I was in an underground bunker. Leaning over the rail, I looked downwards. Lights from each floor cast a soft glow onto the stairs beneath me. A cursory count revealed ten floors underneath my own. Casting my eyes upwards, I was met with much the same picture, except it was brighter at the top. A few seconds later, the light dimmed lazily, as if a cloud had gone in front of the sun.
The sun!
I shot up the stairs. While I had yet to see another person in the facility, I didn't want to chance any encounters. The sooner I left, the less risk I had of being spotted.
Reaching the top of the stairs, I bashed my shoulder into the door. The door flew open, revealing a sight that was both comforting and worrying. The sun shone through tall glass windows, greeting me.
The barrels of two guns also greeted me, their owners none too pleased to see me.
I blinked and cursed my thunderous entrance. The two guards, who had had their backs to me, now had their pistols pointed straight at my chest. I dove behind a marble pillar, the two guards already firing my way.
I caught my breath and gathered my wits. Ignoring commands to surrender from the guards, I felt myself calm. Even with adrenaline roaring through my veins, my vision sharpened, my senses enhanced, and the world slowed about me.
I knew I had done this before. I knew I had done battle before today.
Instinct did not lie.
Glancing about, I spied a desk close by, one receptionists typically worked at. I rolled behind it, earning more gunshots for my action. Craning my head back, I viewed a holder of various office utensils. One in particular earned my attention. Snaking a hand upwards, I grasped a letter opener and brought it back behind the desk. I grinned as I ran a finger over its edge, testing its sharp blade. This would do.
More gunshots sounded, the bullets burying themselves into the marble wall over my head. Estimating the shooters' positions, I waited for a lull in the gunfire. When one arrived, I jumped up and my hand shot forward with a practiced flick of the wrist. The letter opener rocketed from my hand, flying true. It lodged itself into a guard's thigh, causing him to hunch over, dropping his pistol in the process. The gun skittered towards the desk, stopping halfway between it and the second guard.
Wasting no time, I vaulted over the top of the desk. A roll bled off my momentum, and a slide brought my hands into contact with the dropped handgun. As I raised my hands to aim at the second guard, he fired at me. Some combination of observation and experience screamed at me, and I knew that his bullet would hit me in the chest.
All of a sudden, a surge of energy sprang forth from within me. Instinct took control and it directed the energy to my chest. The bullet collided with the barrier—
And the bullet lost.
Aura. Another memory raced through my mind and was lost immediately. Only the word remained.
Even as the guard's bullet fell to the floor, I replied with one of my own. The guard stumbled and fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder. A swift kick to his head rendered him unconscious, and another to his companion quickly followed.
After disarming the guards, I taped them back-to-back with a roll of duct tape I found in a desk drawer. As I compiled weapons and ammunition, my battle focus slackened, my adrenaline dissipating. I finally took stock of the room around me.
I stood in the center of a small lobby. Picture windows let the natural light in, giving me a view of mountains and windswept hills. The marble floor and pillars conveyed an air of power, while an emblem that tickled my memory covered the wall above the desk. Ornate benches were scattered near the other walls. All in all, the room presented a vignette of a business atmosphere.
Certainly not one where humans were trapped in a bunker beneath my feet.
Grasping a handgun and pocketing the ammunition, I set off, searching for an exit. My boots made hollow noises that echoed in the empty hallways.
The further I walked, the more I began to worry. The gunshots the guards and I traded earlier were not quiet. Undoubtedly, someone had noticed the firefight. A glance at the sun showed it to be just past daybreak, and yet the absence of staffing unnerved me. Ignoring my unease, I continued onwards.
Eventually, I came to an intersection. To my left lay doors leading to the outside. To my right stood two more guards, holding their post in front of a heavy door. As much as I would have liked to make my escape, I needed to remove any witnesses. I snuck along the wall towards the intersection. Steeling myself, I burst around the corner and fired off two quick shots. The guards crumpled, and I soon had another unconscious and tied-up pair.
Halfway to the front door, I hesitated. Guards indicated that something of importance lay beyond that heavy door. Whether or not it concerned me, I wasn't so sure. My curiosity getting the better of me, I did an about-face and stepped up to the door.
The door was several inches thick, much like the one in my cell. Next to the door's handle was a keypad. A small window in the center of the door gave me a view of a hangar. A few scattered aircraft filled the space. However, a small pedestal just inside the hangar drew my attention. On it was a small black cube with red highlights on the edges. By my estimation, it was about six inches to a side, but I wouldn't know unless I got closer.
Recursive Nature. Another flash of insight, one that brought a feeling of loyalty and sentimentality. Even though I didn't know what that cube did, I needed to get it back.
It was mine, I was sure of it.
Giving the keypad a hard stare, a click resounded within me as the world shifted; I found myself among the blinking paths once again. Undeterred, I proceeded to locate another nexus, this one with fewer paths leading away from it, and jumped into a pillar of light. After a bit of experimentation, I entered reality again and found the door unlocked.
Semblance. I filed the word away for further thought. For now, I had a cube to retrieve.
Striding towards the pedestal, I couldn't help but shiver. The hangar doors were open, and cold air from the snowy mountaintops diffused throughout the space. My cargo pants and thin shirt did little against the chill. Taking in the view, I noted that the facility was isolated on the slope. Perhaps escaping on foot was a bad plan after all.
Arriving at the cube's pedestal, I reached forward to retrieve it. Unfortunately, as soon as Recursive Nature left the pedestal, alarms began to blare. So much for disappearing without a trace.
Tucking Recursive Nature under my arm, I sprinted towards one of the aircraft. Glancing behind me, I saw armed guards filing into the hangar, weapons at the ready. A shout sounded from one of them, and then all began to fire my way. As if it were second nature, my Aura shielded me from any shots that met their marks, leaving me unscathed.
I clambered inside the belly of the ship and scrambled for the cockpit. I felt a bout of frustration well up—I didn't know how to fly this aircraft, and armed guards were fast in pursuit. I scanned the controls desperately, hoping to glean enough to operate the craft. Then, a thought occurred to me.
What if the aircraft had an autopilot?
With a grin on my face, I transitioned back into the world of pulsing connections. Within moments, I switched back to reality, my piece finished. The motors hummed, building up momentum, and I shot out of the hangar seconds later, the sounds of gunfire rapidly fading behind me.
I reclined in my seat, relief washing over me. I had finally escaped. The mountains rolled past as I flew overhead, and soon, I was above the clouds. But my peace did not last long.
I didn't know where I was going.
Vale. The word felt like home. But I didn't know where that was in relation to where I was now.
Beacon. Again, the destination sounded like where I wanted to go.
Perhaps the ship knew.
Another pair of clicks had me routed towards Vale proper at top speed. As a bonus, I disabled the aircraft's tracking software, and given that no pursuit vessels were on my tail, I felt the rest of my flight would go without a hitch. I was invisible, with nothing but the clear blue skies in every direction.
A small display at the front of the cockpit estimated I had hours until I arrived. Satisfied, I relaxed into sleep, the engines singing a two-toned lullaby as I soared above the clouds.
A/N: Welcome to the story! As a RWBY enthusiast and with a recent fascination with fictional writing, I decided to start my own story, set in the RWBY universe. Although this chapter is shorter than what I want my average length to be, I felt a concise beginning was apt.
I intend to update this story once every two weeks, on Fridays. However, since I am entering my freshman year of college, I can't make any guarantees. If anything changes to the update schedule, though, I will be sure to post a notice.
Lastly, I'd be thrilled to hear your reaction to my writing. High school has taught me proper grammar and some rhetorical strategy, but this is my first foray into fictional writing. Even if you only favorite the story, it's still a way of letting me know I'm doing something right!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the next update!
-CTech
Update (7/28): Minor adjustments, some added transitions, and closed a MAJOR plot hole. Thanks for bearing with me while I iron this thing out.
Update (9/15): Changed story name to "Retrograde Shift" from "Shift."