Chapter 1 – Recollect
*So I'm back after a very long hiatus. Some of you might have already moved on and probably forgot about this, but for those of you who are still here you no longer have to continue waiting. I have finally finished the first chapter of the sequel to "The Black Knight of Remnant" after months of thinking. Now you're probably asking why does it take you months to finish a single chapter? Well, after reading and going over the chapter, there was always something that didn't felt right and I would always change it, but after editing for so many times and contemplating whether to upload it or not it is here. Thank you all again for being patient and I do hope you enjoy this sequel. Feel free to criticize all you want. A sequel should always be better than the first and I aim to make that true.
Jaune Arc, a knight that saw himself below everyone else wanted to become something more. Something that would make a massive difference and become a hero, but what he got wasn't something he had hoped for. Losing Pyrrha at the night of Beacon's attack caused him to undergo a change, a change that heightened both his sadness and rage. From every choice he made, he found it impossible to not give up on the idea of revenge. Revenge itself empowered him to overcome tasks that would deter any other person. Through this, he found a friend and unlikely allies that he would have never imagined he would form. As time digressed, his idea of a hero changed. He no longer cared about his reputation and did what needed to be done for the sake of peace he envisioned. From this, he killed Cinder, Adam, and later Salem, but kill after kill his anger and frustration would not vanish. That lust for revenge expanded and he could no longer contain it within himself. His last battle against Salem caused him to drown in complete and utter darkness. The only way to stop him from harming those close to him was to kill him. There will be those who wish to follow his footsteps, but there are those who can envision a different ending, one that they can grasp. The real challenge starts here and those who will stand up and make their dream a reality, will unfortunately be forced to destroy those who have their own as well. The one who can break through the hardships will achieve it. Such is the want… from the very soul.
Choosing her little sister over the lives of the many is what Yang would have done. Although she continues to have nightmares of that unforgettable night she doesn't regret her choice. The hatred and resentment aimed towards her from Jay is enough to curse anyone about their decision, but not her. She grew up protecting her little sister Ruby and playing the role of the missing mother that the both yearned for. Since her own biological mother left both her and her father, she didn't want Ruby to get the same feeling of being abandoned after the disappearance of Summer. For Yang Xiao Long, leaving her sister all alone is the biggest fear to her. Even though Jaune retook control of his body and prevented any future deaths by his own hands, she can't stop herself from wondering what could have happen had Jaune not stopped himself. No matter how hard she tried to forget, she always came back with this night terror. The nightmare of having to look into those disgruntled eyes.
The sunlight shined through the small gap in the curtains. She awoke to the blinding beam of sunlight hitting her eyes. The room resonated with love and comfort, welcoming any person that entered inside. It had all the things needed to make it look like her home. Pictures of Taiyang, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune were placed on a table at the side of her bed. Blinded by the sunlight, she placed her hand over her eyes and groaned.
"Again." Yang turns her head and looks at the clock beside her. 10:00 am. She slowly got up and felt the soreness around her arms and legs. Yesterday's training was a good one if she could still feel the after effects from it. She slowly slips into her orange sandals and walks down the stairs. Months have passed since the death of Jaune Arc, but many things changed during that time. Team RWBY are now seen as big time heroes and celebrities among the people in Remnant. News spread from kingdom to kingdom about the mission they were given to take out the big time criminal feared by many especially from Mistral. However, there was uproar among the small cities in Vale that were subject to criminal activity and political corruption that the wrongfully accused member of the Arc family managed to clean up before his arrest. With him gone, those cities returned to their natural state of high crime rates which many huntsman and police officers tried to change, but never could. However, something good did indeed come from the mission.
Blake Belladonna a Feline Faunus managed to change many human's views on other Faunus' which ultimately led to a much more friendly interaction between the two. Violence among humans and Faunus' were in an all-time low which was a big success to her. Blake was now in charge of the now divided White Fang. Since the death of Adam Taurus and the news about what he had done to Beacon and Mistral, the members were forced to pick a side and thanks to her father, she was able to face the problems she tried to run away from, not alone but beside her friends and the split organization. Things were going her way and her friends were happy for her, but Ruby still has trouble overcoming the loss of her beloved. The Black knight who was wanted by Remnant… Jaune Arc.
"I was wondering whether you were going to make it for breakfast or not." Weiss stated as she was nearly finished with her meal.
"I see you started without me." Yang said, tying her hair into a ponytail and washing up to eat.
"We have so many things to do today and the last thing I need is to skip breakfast because someone doesn't know when to stop training. If you wonder why you woke up so late, it's because you overdid your training."
"You know me. It's hard to not overdue it and besides, if we want to become better huntresses we are going to need to run that extra mile."
"You don't have to tell me that. I'm already capable of 4 different summonings with no problem, but comparing it to the number of summonings my sister can perform, it's no different than a child learning how to ride a bike with training wheels. That's why I'm going to visit my sister in a week and hopefully she can help me with that." Yang looked to her side and saw her sister fiddling with an unusually rusted ring.
"What's wrong little sis? What do you got there?"
"I woke up this morning and noticed the ring Jaune gave me years ago broke." She held the two pieces of the rusted ring that was once beautiful to the human eye.
"I've always seen you take good care of it. What caused it to rust away and break like that?" Yang asked.
"I… I don't know, but it slowly turned to rust and no matter what I did I could not stop it from turning like this." Ruby held the fragments of the ring tightly in her hand. The ring was given to her from Jaune that had a special gift, but ever since his death the ring slowly but surely degraded and the little healing it provided Ruby disappeared along with the knight.
"But I'm sure it's my fault somehow. I'll go find someone that repairs rings when I get the chance." Ruby smiled in order to keep the others from feeling worried. The last thing she wanted is her older sister to continuously bother her about how she has been feeling. Although she wants to discuss this with someone, she would rather keep it to herself and endure the pain alone. With the good things that has been going their way, but she can't stop herself from thinking about Jaune and how much she wishes that he was with her. The losses weighed down on her and she could not find any way to change the feeling of sadness that has been wrapped inside her. All she could do is place a false smile.
"Well if there is anything I can do to help, just call my name okay?" Yang said.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. In the meantime, I'm going into the city to pick up more dust rounds. I'll be back shortly." Ruby headed to the door and exited the home.
"So what do you plan on doing today Yang? You don't plan on training again are you?" Weiss asked.
"Actually snow angel, I'll be heading to Beacon. Glynda asked for my help on something so I won't be here for dinner."
"I see, and has Blake called you as of late? I tried reaching out to her yesterday night, but she did not bother picking up her phone."
"No she hasn't. She is probably busy with the divided White Fang. With something like that, I doubt she has any time to talk with us at the moment you know?"
"I know that, but she could have at least taken one of us just to be sure." Weiss said. With what has happened these past few years, it isn't impossible for something bad to happen.
"What's wrong Weiss? You seem pretty stressed out. Care to talk about it?"
"It's just family problems regarding the Schnee Dust Company." Weiss said, vexed of what has been going on with her family business recently. As of late, she wondered why her father had not called out to her about the Schnee Dust Company. Although Weiss became a huntress, owning a part of the company was something she expected to receive, but it did not come to. One thing she forgot to mention was that she would be leaving to Atlas in a week to speak to her father personally about the business.
"If you ever need my help, you know you can come to me right Glynda?" General Ironwood asked.
"I know James, but at the moment I have everything under control. I'll speak with you again when I have the time to spare." Glynda signed off. Ironwood turned to Winter who stood by his desk, a magnificent soldier, one with undying loyalty.
"As much as Glynda hates to admit it, taking the role of Headmaster of Beacons is taking its toll on her." General Ironwood said.
"She was always close to Ozpin for years. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Winter stated.
"Let's hope she does." The General flipped through pages of his notebook.
"At the moment, I need you to take a few soldiers with you and transport the Relic to a safer place."
"Will I be taking Jay alongside me?"
"No, he is staying here."
"Very well, but… may I ask a question?"
"Yes, you may."
"Are you trying to keep all of this a secret to him? If so I have to ask… why? You consider him to be a loyal Hunter, but why keep all of this hidden from him? Wouldn't it make it much more difficult to work together?"
"I wanted to keep the Maiden powers strictly classified. Having many people learn about these secrets will pose a problem in the future. Especially from a person who seeks to sanctify his misdeeds. You may think he is a loyal Hunter, but I can clearly see through his façade. His loyalty does not lie with me, it lies with the people."
"If he unearths information about the relics, what should we do?" Winter asked. If a situation like this should arise, it would be best to know what the best procedure would be.
"To be honest, I don't know what we would have to do. We'll just have to wait if it does happen and come up with a solution from there."
"I understand."
"Ms. Xiao Long, you're finally here." The new headmaster of Beacon said.
"Hiya Headmaster!" Yang exclaimed as she walked out the elevator and waved. Goodwitch raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms. She wasn't fond of what she yelled.
"Oh yeah I forgot. You don't like that I call you Headmaster."
"I find it slightly uncomfortable. Maybe in time I will get accustomed to it."
"You will. I'm sure of it and besides, Ozpin would have loved if you took over for him." Yang replied with her hand on Glynda's shoulder.
"You do know how to cheer people up."
"When you have a younger sister, cheering people up becomes an affinity. So why exactly did you call me here? Is there a new mission that you want to assign me? If so…" Yang cracked her knuckles and…
"I'm ready for anything." Punched her fists together.
"Do you ever get tired of fighting?" Glynda asked.
"Nope. I find it exhilarating. To be honest, it's the only thing I find entertaining."
"Well this isn't a mission. I wanted to discuss something important with you."
"What did you want to talk about?"
"Follow me." Glynda walked towards the elevator along with Yang and headed underground.
"Ozpin had always kept his own personal library hidden away from the students down here."
"Why keep one down here away from the students?" Yang asked.
"As you already know the Four Maidens was believed to be a mere tale, but as you can see… that's not the case." Upon reaching their destination, they turned to a door that did not seem like it was out of the ordinary, but upon entering inside she was surprised by the vast amount of books neatly placed in shelfs from such a height that required a ladder above the normal demand. The amount of books was more than the school's library would have.
"Wh…where are we?" Yang asked, in awe.
"We are at Ozpin's personal library that was kept secret from everyone else except for me and your dear uncle.
Yang walked towards the books near her and quickly skimmed through the pages. She stopped and skimmed through the other books as well. Each book surprised her even more than the last. She quickly slammed the book shut and looked towards Glynda.
"These books talk about certain tales that we were told as children and for whatever reason they give more information on these tales than any other book that I have seen outside of the room. Just what kind of library is this Glynda?"
"These books contain information of tales told throughout time which most people believe to be all fantasy and have little truth behind them, but the truth is… most of these tales are all real. Ozpin has been walking among remnant for thousands of years and have witnessed many of these tales first hand. He never mentioned when he was born or where he came from, but all these books are basically journals written by Ozpin and placed here or future reference. All this information hit Yang like a truck. She couldn't process the information she was given and needed some time to comprehend what she was hearing.
"Just how much stuff has Ozpin been keeping away from the world… from all of us?" Yang asked as she wandered through the endless aisles of bookshelves.
*BZZZT* Jay's phone vibrated. He looked and saw the General's name displayed and a message that read:
"I need you in my office now. I have an important mission for you." Jay arrived to the office with his normal student attire.
"How can I help General?" Jay asked.
"I have received information from the Schnee dust company that large containers of dust were recently stolen from a group of Faunus in Mantle wearing masks. We have reason to believe that the White Fang have finally decided to expand their operations here in Atlas. Witnesses say that White Fang members were recently seen sneaking around by an abandoned shipyard by Mantle's docs. If they were going to ship the containers to different locations without being suspicious it would be there. It makes moving the containers to other kingdoms much easier. However, the info is unreliable.
"Unreliable?"
"The person who sent the information was someone who would not give his or her name. They used a voice changer to alter the sound of their voice so we were unable to determine whether the caller was male or female. We also couldn't pinpoint the exact location of where the call came from so this might very well be a…"
"A trap."
"Correct. There is a high probability that it could be, but that is why I'm sending you there. You specialize in infiltration which is perfect for you. I'm also sure if things do not go well those new gloves we developed will be beneficial." Ironwood stated.
"I haven't had a chance to try them out, but from what I heard, it will make taking down my enemies much easier."
"However, I would prefer you refrain yourself from confronting the enemy. Fighting is your last resort. Remember that."
"Will anyone else join me?"
"No. This is a mission just for you. No one knows that you still live besides us, team RWBY and the last surviving member of JNPR, Nora Valkyrie. To the world, you are just a student who died months ago while on a mission. I would have asked Winter to go along with you, but I assigned her a different mission outside Atlas.
"Why is she still outside of your watch? She and her family will have a huge target painted on their backs if someone figures out that she has one of the maiden powers. She needs to stay with the kingdom and…"
"That mission doesn't concern you and I don't need you to tell me how to run my job Mr. Vanquisher. I understand your concerns, but rest assured, as long as I'm around I can guarantee you that she and her family are well protected." Jay became more irritated that he already was with the general.
"With all due respect general, after working alongside her for months outside of Atlas, she doesn't know when to stop when those she cares about are disrespected. She gets too upset that she goes ahead and…"
"That's enough Jay. I've already given you your task and now go. You're dismissed." Jay nodded his head and left to retrieve his gear.
"This is probably going to be the final tape that I will make to ease your concern about this newfound power that has awakened inside you. The important thing you must know is that you are in control, not the other way around. When the dark appeared so did a semblance. I don't know whether it will be the same for you, but the semblance I was given was the ability to teleport objects away through a black hole and retrieve things through it. I never tested it out with living creature nor did I ever think to try. Maybe it was because I wanted to throw away every problem around me so easily. Maybe that's why such semblance was given to me, but then again… this is all mere speculation. This semblance appeared quickly so maybe the same happened to you already. However if it did not, surely it will appear soon. Maybe it already has and you just haven't noticed. That's too farfetched so it's most likely that you already know what semblance you got. This is the last tape that you will watch and I do hope you will use this for something good and not evil, but then again… what exactly differentiates evil from good? Maybe the stuff I've done is considered evil. I've rambled long enough. I hope these recordings helped you."
That was the last message Blake watched. In order for her to understand what she had she needed help from someone who has already went through the problems she is going through. These recordings were more than helpful to Blake and luckily she had someone close to help her endure these problems together.
"Blake?" Sun called out. He walked through the hallway and was quickly greeted by Blake.
"Hey Sun"
"Are you ready? The others are set and we're ready to head out.
"Yeah… I'm ready. Let's get going. The sooner we figure out what they have planned the sooner we can stop it." The group of Faunus stepped out of the cabin and entered the snow covered car and drove off.
"Thank you and come again Ruby! Make sure you take out some Grimm for me!" The clerk yelled. Team RWBY became a well-known team in many parts of remnant. The death of Jaune Arc spread like wildfire throughout the kingdoms and it didn't take time for most people to recognize each huntress in broad daylight. Their accomplishments on the job were also taken notice by many people who aspired to be successful huntsmen like them.
"Hey isn't that the leader of team RWBY?" A young man asked.
"Hey it is! I never thought I would see such a celebrity here!" A young girl exclaimed.
The only thing Ruby could do was wave at those who called out to her and smile, but there are also those who hated this team, the team that killed a former huntsman who had wiped out criminal activity in certain parts of the kingdom. Scowls, glares, and shoves were also given to Ruby. Those who did not see Ruby as a hero could not find it within themselves to forgive her for what she did. A misdeed to their eyes.
"They don't know the truth. I didn't want to kill him." Ruby whispered. That's all she could do, whisper these words silently for no man, woman or child will ever learn the truth.
"They don't understand anything at all." Ruby said. Placing her head low and looking straight at the concrete sidewalk.
"But I know that you are looking at me from the sky above Jaune. I know that you will always be by my side wherever I go."
"Ruby!" A familiar voice was heard yelling from behind. Ruby turned to see Nora come running towards her.
"Nora… you're here too? I thought you were out helping the new students get settled in Beacon."
"I was, but I already finished that an 30 minutes ago. I thought I should go ahead and by some ingredients to cook back at the house later tonight."
"That sounds great. What did you have in mind?"
"You'll have to wait and find out!" Nora said as she spun around Ruby.
"Dinner is ready!" Nora yelled. Ruby rushed downstairs to take her seat quickly. Her stomach could not handle another 5 minutes of waiting.
"Yes! Food! Oh how I missed you so!"
"You never get tired of eating do you?" Weiss asked.
"You can't fight Grimm with an empty stomach! Let's dig in!" The sounds of spoons, forks and knives struck the plates in the lit room.
"Do you have any idea why Yang was called to Beacon?" Ruby asked.
"Yang didn't give me the details, but she says that Goodwitch might assign her another mission."
"Does she ever get tired of accepting missions? She's never stops working hard and watching her just makes me feel tired." Nora said.
"Yang has always been the hardworking type. Not once has she ever slowed down especially when we were little, always taking care of me."
"She basically played the role of mother right?" Weiss asked.
"… Yeah… she pretty much did."
"I wish I had a sister like that growing up. Taking care of you and all the fun things you can do together! Like go on trips, do each other's hair, ooh ooh and talk about boys! Ehhh!" Nora said as she elbowed Weiss who sat next to her.
"Please, there's not a single boy out here who is worthy of gazing upon me. None of them are even worth mentioning at all." Weiss said, continuing to eat her food.
"Oh come on! There has to be someone that has caught your eye. What about you Ruby?" Nora asked.
"Me?"
"Is there someone you like? Surely you've seen someone good looking around Beacon right?" Nora asked.
"Umm… well… not really…" From the back of Nora's head was a window revealing a person with orange hair and eyes that glowed green in the night.
"PENNY!?" Ruby yelled.
"You have a thing for Penny?" Nora asked.
"No I mean it's Penny!" Ruby pointed to the direction of the window and from the window the feminine robot waved her hand with a smile. They signaled her to the entrance of the home and welcomed her with open arms.
"It's nice seeing you all again."
*So there you have it. The first chapter of the sequel to the Black Knight of Remnant. I'm also going to add small chapters that work the same way as the world of remnant in RWBY. Think of them the same way since they are there to give a better understanding on the history of Remnant and have a better impact on the story. I hope you all enjoyed it and I will hope you stick around until the end.