I'm sorry that I disappeared, I have no excuse but laziness. Still, I want to give this a decent shot. I will not promise scheduled chapters as I felt that devalued my work. The updates will come when they can. Thank you and I hope none of you will take offense to the restart of this story.
[=[=[ Well Then ]=]=]
=[ Chapter 1 ]=
[ That Vulnerable Sensation]
Isn't it strange? Strange that there are those whose existence is based purely on the suffering of others? That, for no apparent reason other than they can, they intentionally harm innocent lives and rupture civilizations with sadistic satisfaction.
It's unfathomable, yet at the same time, you can help but find yourself wondering… what causes what was once a soft, gentle infant to mold, evolve, and corrupt into such a parasitic and immoral creature?
Had life simply dealt them a bad hand? Did their environment and childhood shape them into the criminals they are now? Was some unfortunate fate at birth the deciding factor that lead them to the path they took?
Are we all on a path? Or are we making our own path?
And if so, does that mean we are all vulnerable to such a draw and that it is up to luck whether we grow up to be "good" or "bad"?
Maybe…
Probably…
We're human, aren't we? Prone to mistakes and influenced by everything.
But I suppose those questions are best left to the philosophers and behavioral psychiatrists; let them decide whether a man is evil or not.
Not some college brat coming back to his apartment after a long night of double-shot espressos and solving differentiable math equations with a side of anatomy.
My time that night was spent grueling over lukewarm cups of coffee, a decade-old laptop, and several textbooks the size of small children. All of that to catch up on my summer classes I (once) thought were a good idea to sign up for.
For what reason am I having to trouble myself with this work? I am a horrendous procrastinator.
An entire week's worth of postponing assignments had finally caught up with me and forced me to become comfy at the local café down the street from my apartment for a good portion of seven hours.
It was sufferable and by the fourth hour, my focus was waning so badly that it took me a half hour to accomplish a task that should be only ten minutes.
Note to self: Do not go drinking with engineering-majors every afternoon, they are heavy drinkers and it is not worth the hassle of schoolwork nor is it worth the future liver problems I will most likely develop in my late-40s.
Anyway, it was nearing 2 AM when I finally had made it back to my apartment complex after my "study session" at the Le Petit Café.
My feet thumped along the concrete walkways as the echoing thuds resounded in the surprisingly serene city night. The worn rubber of my shoes was so thin that my socks almost made direct contact with the ground, a side effect of skateboarding being your most common mode of transportation. I grimaced the day I'd had to go into the city to find a new pair, but, that's life.
Inconveniences and compensations.
I reached my apartment door, fumbling for my keys as I scratched metal of the door lock with my dazed, inaccurate attempts to put the key in the slot. At that moment, I thought back to an old roommate who remarked how my sluggish jabs at a keyhole could be symbolic of my functionality in the bedroom.
A small grin curled onto my lips as I finally entered my home and dropped my bag into the corner chair by the door. Pain and pressure left my burdened shoulders as I rolled my arms and neck to stretch out the pain.
The word exhaustion could not even begin to describe the level of weakness and fatigue I felt that night. It was worse than any form of alcohol-induced weariness I had previously experienced.
Which was why I was looking forward to an overdue relationship with my futon and an affair with my comfortable pajama bottoms. As I made my way to the closet, I felt my body become exponentially more relaxed as I inched closer and closer to rest.
However... fate would not have it that way, and as stories go, this one is quite confusing.
Something happened that night.
In all honesty, I have trouble recalling what occurred within those next few hours. In fact, I don't even recall my head hitting the below before sleep. As far as I was concerned, I changed my outfit and went to bed as if it was a normal night of exhaustive schoolwork.
I felt no strange sensation throughout the day, there was no troubling yet unknown anxiety. I didn't run into any suspicious characters recently nor were there any bad omens appearing in my life. Any of the usual "cues" of your life changing didn't signal themselves to me.
My life was normal, content, happy... and then it was changed.
I was ripped from one reality and into another.
I never understood why, and I still don't to this day. I sometimes have trouble deciphering whether the change was for better or for worse, or even a change in my happiness at all.
If I wasn't brought here, would my life be as satisfactory as it is now? Was I destined for something even greater before, or is now the best chance I will ever have at life?
Does it even matter as long as I put as much effort here as I did in my old life? Even more?
What if-
...
...
Sigh
...
...
I'm sorry, I tend to go off on over-speculative tangents a lot. I did so at the beginning and now I'm doing it again.
Call it a quirk of someone who has spent their entire life with their face buried in textbooks and head stuck in classrooms. I question everything as if I were a student of life itself.
Leave it to the philosophers, Skye.
I need to learn that some things will never be answered...
Well, back to the events at hand.
So, as I said before, I have no recollection of what transpired between when I fell asleep and when I awoke in the middle of a crater miles away from civilization.
Obviously, something pretty substantial occurred while I was dreaming of being Christina Hendrick's bra. People don't just suddenly wake up in an earthy whole after a long night out.
Except for Jerry. Jerry was on LSD.
I awoke from my slumber as I tried to turn to the right and adjust my sleeping position when I was then met with a tingling sensation on my face and the sound of the earth shifting directly in my ear.
I tried to move my right arm but felt a significant amount of pressure surrounding it. Curiosity awoke my consciousness and my right eye fluttered open as I was met with earthen ground and a few flecks of dirt falling on my head.
"What?" I muttered to myself as I attempted to rise only to find myself in an extremely cramped space with little room for movement. I was slowly stirring awake, my mind trying to come up with dozens of logical reasons as to why I am seeing dirt in my vision.
I felt more flecks fall as I realized the tingling feeling was grains of soil falling on my face. I shake my head to rid of the offending dirt but more soil just fell on my head. I looked up and saw a light blue outline of a human shape above me.
What a minute, that's the sky. Why was there a humanoid shape in the-
I try to raise my arm to scratch my head and rub my eyes but I find it restricted by soil once more, realizing that the sky is not humanoid, but this hole was humanoid-shaped.
I was in a hole in the ground!
My mind was beginning to finally take in my surroundings as I became nervous and frantically tried to stand, stumbling as the damp soil around me slipped and slid as I moved about like a drunken sailor.
The dirt fell harder as I struggled more and the fear of being buried alive terrified me. I panted and scrambled, clawing at the sides for any form of grip to pull myself out as the dirt slipped over me like quicksand. By the time I had managed to just get my torso upright, my lower body was submerged in the soil.
I grabbed the walls as best as I could and pushed myself upward with all my strength. The release of pressure on my lower body was both satisfying and emotionally relieving as the fear of possible burial left my system. However, the situation I was in still held a grasp on my psyche.
Once free, I backed up against the wall where my torso was and began to pant in both temporary exhaustion and fear.
Why am I here? What's happening?
Who put me here? Why?
God, did I piss off some gangster or cartel member?
Did Jerry slip something in my drink again?
Oh God! Why is this happening!?
My panting quickly turned to hyperventilation as I could my feel my body become hot and my arms and legs were shaking with terror.
No! Stop it! You need to calm down! Freaking out isn't going to get you anywhere!
I closed my eyes and started to slow my breathing, trying to focus on the expansion of my lungs and the feeling of air escaping my throat. After a few moments of steadily decreasing breath, I managed to still my nerves enough to think rationally.
Or as rational as someone stuck in a whole God-knows-where could be.
I looked up at the hole's entrance again and gazed at the humanoid shape it held. In a strange way, it reminded me of old cartoons, where the character would fall from a comically high height and leave a perfect outline of their body in the floor as they impacted with the ground.
Wait, that's me? Did I fall here?
Why did I fall? From where?
Jesus Christ! How did I do that?
How am I not hurt from that?
I felt myself beginning to panic again, but I forced myself to calm down once more, taking slow breaths and focusing on the air. Eyes still closed, I pat down my own body and become more relieved as I confirmed that no bones and such were damaged.
"Okay..." I said out loud as I felt myself becoming calmer than before, enough to think and not simply act.
"Alright man, remember what Dad told you: Focus on Now instead of How." Taking one more deep breath to seal away my fear, I opened my eyes and cautiously stepped away from the wall. I stood in the middle of the 'me-shaped' hole, looking up for ways to get out of this trap I was in.
Minutes passed as I grasped at the lingering roots that would break as soon as I touched them and my attempts at scaling the dirt like a rock-climbing wall didn't fare so well either; not as easy without the rainbow-colored holds for me to coordinate my steps better.
Seeing that I was not getting out this hole on my own anytime soon, I tried yelling to see if anyone nearby could help. Though, I knew I was most likely away from civilization considering I was pretty deep in the ground and there wasn't any water pipes or electrical lines tunneling through the dirt.
"Hello!?" I cupped my hands and yelled up at the hole entrance.
"Is anyone there? I need help! I'm stuck! Please!" I stopped screaming as I waited for a response, a miracle, to happen. Seconds of silence passed as I became scared no one would ever hear me again. I listened as best as I could, but only being able to pick up the dirt around me falling or shifting.
My eyes grew wide as my hope began to crumble before the human-shaped sky.
I sighed, defeat already creeping into me as I solemnly raised my hands to my mouth to shout again, though I wasn't expecting much of a return.
"Hello! I need hel-"
"Hello? Is someone there?" A voice! A freaking angel! They heard me! I was so happy I didn't even try to figure out what type of voice it was at first, my fears of dying alone in a hole completely eradicated as I gleefully shouted up once again.
"YES! YES! I'm here! Please help me! I'm stuck in this hole! Hello! Over here! I'm-"
"I hear you, I hear you. No need to repeat yourself like a parrot, sir. You will attract more Grimm with your squawking. Oh! I made a pun! Good for you Bartholomew!" A surprisingly cheerful voice became clearer as it was obvious the person was getting closer to the hole I was in. The man, as I determined from his voice, had a strange lisp that you would not expect to find in someone away from civilization. Like a senator in the wilderness or a scholar in the Sahara.
His lisp was like he used to have a retainer in his mouth but decided to keep the lippy pronunciation of syllables after he removed it. It was like many of the people at my college, especially the shut-in engineers who literally wore their retainers wherever they went for fear of their teeth returning to their previous misshapen state.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, sir! I cannot tell you how scar-"
"I said be quiet! I was not fooling around when I stated that your voice could attract Grimm."
Grimm? That sounded... familiar? Were they that form of wolf or bear I heard at that forest seminar once? Grimm. That's a terrifying nickname for an animal. Whatever, it doesn't matter, I should just take his word for it. Better to be saved in a non-hostile environment rather than come out of the hole having to run for my life.
I remained quiet as I waited for my soon-to-be-savior to appear at the hole entrance. My prayers were answered with a dark silhouette appeared at the top, the sun glaring behind the man's head as he peered down at me.
His shadow outlined a messy, spiky hairstyle and it seemed like he was wearing circular spectacles as the light had a small refraction at some angles. There was also a dome shape at the top, suggesting there a hat atop his head. He reached a hand up and covered his forehead to view better as I could tell he was struggling to see me.
"I'm here." I half-yelled to reassure him that he found the correct hole while I still remembering that "Grimm" could be around.
Why did that name sound familiar? Grimm...
"Ah! Good, my auditory calculations were not incorrect. Now then, um..." He peered again at me with an analytical gaze, though I could only assume from the man sticking his head further down the hole.
"Young man, would you mind explaining to me how you managed to find yourself in such a predicament as being stuck in an oddly shaped hole in the ground? It is a fairly substantial hole and I find it hard to believe you fell in unawares considering its unique shape."
The mannerisms the man spoke with gave an air of an intellectual: a high vocabulary that avoided using contractions like "don't" or "can't", and a careful pronunciation of his syllables. Reminded me of my English professors.
I wished he'd focus more on saving me than asking questions that could wait, but I guess anyone would be curious if they found a stranger in a hole out away from civilization.
I humored him, not wanting to be rude to the man who's trying to help me.
"To be honest sir, I have absolutely no idea. I woke up in this hole with no clue how I got here. Do you have a rope with you?" A hint of impatience in my voice at the end, hoping he took the hint to get me out as soon as possible.
"Ah! Why yes, I do! Hold on a moment while I retrieve it, though I suppose you do not have anywhere to go." I frowned a little at that last comment as I saw his silhouette retreat from the hole entrance.
I heard a thump hit the ground followed by a zipper. I assumed he must have had a backpack on and the rope was in his pack.
Without warning, a line of rope fell down the hole and hit me on the head, making me jump slightly in surprise.
"Do not begin climbing yet, I need to tie this to a heavy support in order to hold your weight. Oh! Not to offend your weight if you are sensitive towards that subject!" The man yelled as his voice got more distant, most likely running off to tie the rope like he said, probably to a tree or something.
I took hold of the rope and wrapped a section around my wrist, forearm, and midsection before having a firm hold to hoist myself up upon. I felt the rope tug as the man's silhouette appeared again.
"We are all set, you may now begin climbing, young man!" The man yelled as he retreated from the hole and I began to heave myself up. I struggled for a little while as it was difficult to gain good footing on damp, slippery soil, but it didn't take very long to finally climb out of that infernal hole.
A final groan escaped my throat as I landed on the ground above the hole and fell on all fours, breathing slightly heavier than before as relief washed over my body.
I made it! I'm no longer stuck in that God-damn hole.
I was only in there for what I believed to be a few minutes, but the implications that I could be stuck in there forever felt like hours of agonizing self-torture.
I looked up and saw the man who saved me untying and coiling up the rope with his back turned to me. He wore a tan-colored trench coat and dark-green slacks. Not exactly clothes I'd take to go on a walk, and he looked more like he was an explorer from the 1920s. The rounded beige cap atop his head only added to his attire's theme.
What did shock me was his green hair. I mean, I've seen women with dyed-green hair, but a man? A mature and professional looking one at that, if his voice was any evidence of his stature. Strangely, it seemed to fit him and the persona I've built of him in the few moments I've had with him.
It didn't seem like it was crappy dye-job he did in his bathroom sink with dye from a gas-station, it looks almost... natural?
Can that actually be his natural color?
I didn't get to finish my thoughts as I saw the man stand up and shove the coiled-up rope into his large rectangular traveler's backpack, fitted with a rolled up sleeping bag on top. He turned around and faced me with a smile as I finally got a decent look at the man.
His underclothes certainly didn't fit with his trench coat. A white untucked dress shirt with a crinkled yellow tie (not to mention a messy collar) and a tan vest on top, though it did add to his intellectual status in my eyes.
His face was fairly sharp, a diamond-shaped head that could cut you if you slapped it and circle-shaped glasses seemed a little too large for his head, though I assumed at this point strangeness was a thing for this man.
I looked down at the concrete as I-
Hold up a second. Concrete!?
I looked back towards the hole as my thoughts were confirmed.
"I fell through fucking concrete!?" I yelled aloud to no one in particular as I began to pat my body down once more, feeling for any detrimental pains or wounds. I found none, just like before, which both relieved and scared me. I brushed a shaky hand through my brown hair as my wide-eyed face showed the panic coming back to me.
How am I not fucking dead!? It looks pretty clear I fell from somewhere, and I fell through the concrete of all things!
God, I must be drunk. Or high. Or tripping. Or all three!
I stared around at my environment as I saw that I was in what appeared to be an unfinished construction project.
Concrete structures with their columns showing and no progress made beyond their basic skeletons were everywhere like a city was being made but lost funding in the early stages. I felt the ground with my palm as I saw that the streets were a mess of broken concrete with holes and damage appearing all over this city-like area.
The ground had a layer of hard dirt and cracked pieces that scraped my palm when I came out of the hole.
A rough pat on my shoulder brought me to back as I saw the man scarily close to my face with a finger on his lips.
"Shh! If you are not going to choose to stay silent, I may have to put you back in the hole when the Grimm arrive. It would exponentially safer than fighting them alone like we are, especially in Mount Glenn of all places. Just how in the world did you even get here young man? This area is off limits to all civilians!"
And again with that word! Why do I know what fucking Grimm are? And now Mount Glenn! Why do I know that too!? Are they some sort of monster that feeds on people or something!? And why is Mount Glenn so dangerous for us and for the fucking Gr-
...
...
I paused as I felt an inkling of revelation creep into my mind, pieces of the puzzle beginning to put themselves into place. I felt sick.
Grimm...
Mount Glenn...
A professor with green hair and circular glasses...
I shook my head and grasped my pounding head, a headache beginning to come on as the impossible began to formulate in my head.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! This is not happening! I'm going insane! I'm not HERE! THEY don't exist! HE is not-
I paused again as I looked up at the man I now recognized, but denied who he was. I hoped with all my heart that I was wrong.
"W-W... What's your name, sir?" I was terrified to hear his answer.
"Ah! Where are my manners? My name is Bartholomew Oobleck! But that is Doctor Oobleck to you young man, I did not work for my Ph.D. for nothing you know?"
I stared at him as face drained of all color and I realized the improbable- The Impossible! Had occurred...
A fantasy comes to life. Something only possible in the novels my mother would read as a child. A stranger in a new world full of different wonders and sights. Everything impossible in our world yet seemed like a dream in theirs.
A world of monsters who feed on the fear, distaste, sorrow, and anger of people. A world where magic is not considered magic and is called Dust instead. A world where the youth are named based on hues and pigments and are trained from a young age in the art of physics-defying combat in order to survive the harsh reality of this world.
The world… of RWBY…
Cold sweat dripped down my face as I felt the contents of my stomach ready to show themselves to the fictional characters in front of me at any moment. Or perhaps, the very real and alive character of Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck.
My eyes were on his brown shoes. No longer did they have the bold black outlines nor were their textures cartoonish. It was real. Leather with designs of imprints and work. I could see the scuffs where he bashed the shoe against another object.
Travelling up his leg was his very real pants, and very real coat, and very real vest, tie, shirt, glasses, hair, hat, face.
Everything was real when it shouldn't be!
I fainted as Oobleck barely managed to catch my limp body before it fell back in the hole I had just escaped from.
"Gosh, I knew I had a reputation but I am no celebrity you should faint for! Haha." He chuckled awkwardly to himself as he dragged my body away from the hole, my incoherent mumbling being the only noise heard from me.
Leaving me in a safe corner, the doctor scanned my body as his gaze turned from interested to curious.
"Civilians clothes, no discernible combat equipment. Aura is present but… Oh! It is not unlocked... Interesting. How could you have survived out here? How did you survive the fall?"
He peered into the sky and didn't see any discernable objects from which I have could dove from and create such a drastic hole in the ground as was present a few feet away.
Doctor Oobleck's sight returned to my unconscious body that was shivering and mumbling.
"You are a peculiar sight, young man." He stated as I whispered the word "RWBY" before my mumbling came to an end and I fully passed out. No more stirring or whispers, just sleep.
"Well then," Oobleck said aloud as he was unsure what to do with me. He looked around, as if expecting someone to take responsibility for the boy before him, but in the abandoned city of Mount Glenn, there was little chance of that occurring.
He clapped his hands together. "Very well!" He leaned down and picked up my body over his shoulders with ease.
Adjusting his shoulders a little, he glanced at my sleeping face and pondered "What are you, young man?" With a slight skip in his step, he began to trot along as if the body on his shoulders was a new toy he found in the store.