Gamer4 in, and welcome, my friends, to my first fic in another fandom- in this case, RWBY! To be honest, I'm somewhat new to this fandom- I only discovered the show a month or two back, but let me tell you, it was pretty much love at first sight. I've watched through the first two volumes multiple times since then, along with RWBY Chibi, given the third volume a single watch-through, and intend to give the whole series another go-through once the fourth volume is complete! Not to mention watching it all again with my sister. For anyone who knows me, all this translates to, A fanfiction is inevitable, and so it was. I have a few ideas bouncing around for this series, but the one putting the most fire in my fingers is what you see before you. This is, as you probably already guessed, an AU- I'll be toying with characters and concepts from canon, but don't expect this to be anywhere near canon-conforming. The plot of this story will be following the plot of one of my favorite games of all time- Ico, by Team Ico, for the Playstation. If you heard the name before, but aren't sure where, allow me to mention the name of its much more popular sequel- Shadow of the Colossus. I was recently playing through this game for the first time in much too long, reading RWBY fiction on the side, and somehow, through my Mountain-Dew addled brain, something clicked- These two stories could fit together! is what I thought, specifically. There'll be some deviation- kind of bound to happen, when trying to mesh two stories together in such a way- but anyone who's played the game should have an idea of what to expect. That said, having played the game shouldn't be by any means necessary to enjoy this story. Okay, enough rambling- final notes? This should be a relatively serious story, especially by my standards, but I'll try to fit in some comic relief where possible- this is me we're talking about, after all. Alright, let's get started!

Disclaimer: For those new to my stories, (a distinct possibility, given that this is my first time writing for RWBY,) I hate disclaimers. Hate them. You'll get this one, and you will never get it again, so enjoy it while it lasts- I do not own RWBY or Ico. RWBY was created by Monty Oum, Wave Existence rest his soul, and is currently owned by Rooster Teeth. Ico, meanwhile, is owned by, wouldn't you know it, Team Ico.

The Faunus in the High Castle

Prologue

The Greater Good

It was for the good of the village. Blake knew that. Chanting that mantra to herself again and again was all that had kept her sane these past several years.

Waves lapped quietly on the shores of the beach at the outskirts of the village as Blake's friends gathered to wish her a fond farewell. Blake had expected Ruby's reaction- the young girl's eyes were red from crying, just as they had been for Velvet and Sun before her. But even their loss didn't sting the girl in red as much as losing Blake- a longtime resident with her and her sister, Yang.

Speaking of Yang, she stood beside her younger sister, gripping her shoulder tightly, an expression on her face between fury and abject despair. It was often said of Blake and Yang that if one was present, the other was liable to be somewhere nearby. Blake wasn't sure what was more difficult- imagining the remainder of her own short life without Yang, or imagining Yang continuing on from that point without her.

Beside them was Jaune Arc, who was far past despair- he wore the look of a man who didn't quite understand what was happening- the look of a man who'd found himself plunged into a terrible trial without any means to deal with it. While Jaune had never been Blake's first image of strength and confidence, the helplessness he showed now was worse than anything she'd seen on his visage before.

Which only left Lie Ren and Pyrrha Nikos, already preparing the boat that she knew was soon to take her to her doom. Pyrrha was sobbing quietly with every small movement, tear after tear falling down her face as she struggled to keep her eyes on the boat, on the waves, anywhere but on Blake. Ren, meanwhile, was concealing himself behind a mask of indifference- to any outsider, he may seem completely dispassionate, but to those who knew him well, it was a thin veil to hide the screaming pain beneath.

"So, Nora won't be stopping by to say goodbye, huh?" Blake asked, trying to keep calm, attempting to sound as though they were seeing her off on a weekend vacation, rather than watching her sail off to her death.

"I tried to talk her into it," Ren acknowledged. "But she couldn't. After everything, I... I didn't want to force her, to cause her more pain..."

A collective cringe went through the group, imagining the bubbly hammer-wielder in such pain, the smile drained from her face, leaving only despair behind.

Gazing into the water, Blake thought back to two days earlier, when this had begun. The day had seemed normal enough- waking up in her bed at Ruby and Yang's house, clearing the sleep from her eyes, getting ready for breakfast. In the back of her mind, she'd noticed her hearing had grown more acute, but it wasn't until she heard Ruby's scream that it had finally clicked that something was wrong. A rush to the bathroom later, and she'd confirmed the worst- from the top of her head had grown a pair of velvet, feline ears.

"Do... do you want to take your bow with?" Yang asked tentatively, producing said article of clothing. Blake gazed at it for a moment, before slowly shaking her head. "No- you keep it. I don't need it where I'm going."

The bow had held a special significance to her before- a gift from Yang not long after she'd moved in with the sisters of red and yellow, meant to show that as far as she was concerned, Blake was part of the family. Upon first discovering her newly-sprouted ears, Yang's first instinct had been to order Blake to conceal them behind the bow, rationalizing that nobody would find it odd- Blake was almost always to be found wearing it anyways. Blake had been skeptical from the beginning- such tactics hadn't worked for Sun, after all- but had been willing to give it a shot, if it meant she could avoid her fate.

Ruby leapt up and clung to Blake's shoulder. "No! Please, don't go! Why? Why does it have to be like this?!"

Blake wished she had some comfort to offer the girl, but the truth was, she only had the vaguest idea herself. It was well-known in their village that sometimes, when children attained a certain age, they may take on the body part of an animal- usually ears, but sometimes the tail, legs, or horns. It had not passed them by either that such an event was usually followed by a great fire striking the town, blazing through from the edge of the village to the house where the child lived, taking many lives in its path, and ending with the child's disappearance.

Eventually, at some point in that village's history, they had discovered a way to prevent the tragedy- any child that took on these animalistic traits- the faunus, as they came to be called- had to be sent out to the castle a forest and lake away from the village. Left behind in the dungeons, they would vanish just as they would otherwise, but without the fire and loss of life of other villagers that had once accompanied it.

At first, it had seemed like a nightmare- a story used to scare children into obedience, perhaps. But the truth had reared its ugly head for all to see three years ago, when one of the village's girls, Velvet Scarlatina, had woken up one morning with the ears of a rabbit protruding from her head. The next day, she had been loaded onto a boat and sent across the lake to that accursed castle, never to return.

Blake was jolted out of her thoughts as Ren lightly touched her on the shoulder. "It's time to go," he whispered. She looked to see his eyes, steely in the breaking morning light. She gave a brief nod. "Just... let me say goodbye."

First, Jaune, who still didn't look like he fully understood what was happening. "Why... why?" he kept muttering to himself. "Why you?"

"It's going to be alright, Jaune," she forced a smile. Memories came rushing back of the small, sad smile that Velvet had given her friends as the boat carried her away. She hadn't understood it then, but she thought she did now. "It's going to be okay."

Next, Ruby, who clung to her like a sloth to a tree- an analogy the missing Nora would be proud of. "Please, don't go! There has to be another way! We could- we could-"

"There isn't another way," Blake shook her head. "It's for the good of the village, okay?" For the good of the village- yes, she knew it, but that didn't make this goodbye any less painful. "Take care of your big sister, alright? I'm going to the castle to stop a fire, don't let my efforts be in vain, okay?"

Ruby gave a sad, watery chuckle. It was a very humorless situation, but Blake found herself empathizing more and more with Velvet's desire to send that message- to communicate to her friends that everything would be alright, even when- especially when- she knew it wasn't.

Finally, Yang. What could they say, as those years of close camaraderie came to an end? Memories flashed through Blake's mind as she approached the blond- now that she thought of it, Yang's statement made so long ago, that they were like sisters, only closer, had come more true than Blake would have thought possible before moving in with her. "Yang... it's going to-"

"No, it won't," Yang spoke for the first time that day, her voice steady despite the mixed anger and sorrow in her eyes. "Come on, Blake... I thought we agreed never to lie to each other."

Blake gave a slight nod before being pulled into the most bone-crushing hug of her life. Normally, she'd have fought back, crying desperately for air, but just this once, she allowed Yang all the time she needed. "I... I would have done anything to keep your secret. I would have taken it to the grave if I had to..." Yang muttered through her tears, now flowing freely.

Blake nodded. She knew that too. But truth had a way of outing itself- Sun Wukong had proven that well enough. Not long after Velvet, the local funny man of the village had found himself with a monkey's tail, a fact he divulged only to his closest friends as he strove to take advantage of the appendage's placement to conceal it within his pants. No good- he had been found out and sent off to the castle all the same. So for him, so for Blake.

Ren watched Yang and Blake's final hug with his arms crossed and his head bowed, clearly no more eager than Blake to end it. It may have been a minute, or five, or thirty before he finally intervened. "I... it's time to go, Blake."

Yang slowly allowed her arms to go limp, allowing Blake to back away, eyes fixed on her friends as she climbed into the middle of the boat, Pyrrha on one side, charged with ensuring she didn't attempt an escape, and Ren on the other, charged with rowing.

Ruby's sobs heightened in intensity as the boat pushed off, while Yang stood beside her like a statue. Blake closed her eyes, losing herself in the rhythm of Ren's rowing. Thunk, swish, drip. Thunk, swish, drip.

Pyrrha, despite her job to keep an eye on Blake, kept her eyes on the boat's floor instead, trembling with her tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..."

Ren, however, kept his eyes fixed ahead on his goal- the castle enveloped in the morning mist. Blake could tell by looking at him- despite his calm demeanor, he knew what he was doing just as much as Pyrrha- and despised himself for it.

Thunk, swish, drip. Thunk, swish, drip. The sound of rowing filled Blake's ears- human and feline. Her mind filled with images of those who'd come before- Velvet's small, sad smile, Sun's winning, confident grin, even as they were rowed off to what they knew to be their deaths...

As they approached the cliff below the castle, Blake spied a small aperture in the cliff's face, leading into a small, underground cavern that seemed to double as a dock. Ren led the two girls off the boat and to a small shrine where a long, white rapier waited. Noticing that Pyrrha seemed in no condition to utilize it, Ren took hold of it instead. He led the troupe to a nearby door. Electricity crackled around sword and door alike as they approached, until the door slowly opened for them. Next came a long flight of stairs, ending in a grand hall made up almost entirely of cells- cells that, Blake shuddered to imagine, must have once held all the faunus that had ever been sacrificed to this place over its years of existing.

Ren quietly led them up a single flight of stairs to one of these cells, complete with a mat on the floor, and not much else. Clearing his throat, he spoke. "Our orders are to lock you in there, and return to the village. What happens after that... I wish I could tell you. Any last words?"

Blake shook her head. "Just do it," she muttered.

Ren nodded curtly, reaching for the door, unlocking it, and opening it up. Before entering, Blake turned to Pyrrha, still sobbing, still apologizing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..."

"I forgive you," Blake whispered as she embraced her. "Always, totally, and completely."

The words seemed to do little to comfort the redhead- she continued crying as she stepped back, only for Ren to surprise Blake as he pulled her into an embrace of his own. It lasted longer than Blake would have expected- the only time she'd seen him hug anyone else, ever, was Nora, and even then, she was usually the instigator. After a while, he let go of her, having whispered only five words to her- words that, at the time, she could make neither head nor tails of: "You'll know what to do."

He backed away, and watched as she stepped behind her cell's bars. He pulled the door closed, and rattled the bars a bit to ensure that they were locked. "Well, then," he whispered, his gaze unbreaking until the end, "Bye."

With that, he extended a hand to guide Pyrrha by the shoulder back down the stairs they'd ascended through. To Blake's surprise, as they descended, a wall slid into place behind them, sealing the stairway off more effectively than any door could have. For a moment, Blake glanced around, ensuring that she was truly alone, before finally allowing tears to fall.

It was for the good of the village. She knew that. But it didn't make it any less painful.

XXXX

Kind of a downer for a first chapter, I know. Things will start looking up a bit next chapter, promise. I've got the whole story planned out, for a change- if all goes according to plan, it'll cap off at nine chapters- including this prologue and an epilogue. As far as shipping goes, since I'm sure some of you are wondering, I'll say up front that, despite any ships I may or may not support, they won't be appearing here. The relationships in this story are intended to be primarily friendship. Of course, if you wish to see romantic subtext, I won't stop you (like I could anyways,) but the only ships the main text will focus on are friendships... I'll take my coat and go.

Anyways, now that I've ruined any emotional impact this chapter may have had, time for me to sign off. Until next time, please R&R, constructive criticism embraced, flames, not so much, Gamer4 out.

PS: The cover art is 'Nostalgia of the Infinite,' by Giorgio de Chirico, inspiration for the game Ico's cover art, and within the public domain by this point. Just imagine that those figures at the bottom are Blake and Weiss. This time for real, Gamer4 out.