The following is a non-profit fan-made work of fiction. RWBY is the property Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. Batman: Arkham Asylum is the property of DC Comics, Rocksteady, and Warner Bros. Please support the official releases.

Dedicated to Monty Oum, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane

Also, Happy 80th birthday Batman, you've aged well.

Two Knights at Arkham

Chapter 0: Madness

A wise man once said, "Madness is like gravity, all it takes a single push."

It should be noted that this man was also quite mad himself. After all, it took a madman to fully understand the intricate maze that is the human psyche; for they were always the ones to lose their way exploring it. Few ever truly found their way out, and those that did were often changed, and not for the better. But what could push a single person into madness, if one were to ask? Why all it took was one bad day. It only took one bad day.

But how long does it take for an entire kingdom to fully succumb to madness? It took only a single minute, one spectacularly, monumentally, and horrifyingly unpleasant minute. But what could happen in a single minute that would cause an entire kingdom to fall? Jaune Arc knew the answer.

In just one minute, his entire world was turned upside down. He witnessed his best friend accidently murder another girl on live, internationally broadcasted television. Then it turned out that poor girl was a cyborg, an aura-empowered living machine developed in secret by one of the most powerful kingdoms on the planet. Finally, all communications were hacked, with an unknown group broadcasting an ominous message to the whole world, accusing the hunter academies, and their headmasters, as being part of a global conspiracy to control the world. All of this happened in one minute, and it took less than a second for all hell to break loose.

Once the message ended, whatever threads of sanity that remained in the kingdom unraveled. Suspicions were aroused, threats were made, and accusations were thrown. It was only natural for the Grimm to be attracted to such negativity, especially when it was being projected across an entire kingdom. The creatures of Grimm came out in droves, hungry to feast on the cowering humans and Faunus.

Jaune thought that his troubles would have ended there. But like many times before in his life, the universe just finds a way to turn an already horrible situation worse. As the Grimm marched on Vale, the White Fang, an organization of Faunus extremists, attacked his school, Beacon Academy. Then the Atlesian Knights, android soldiers built to protect the festival from attack, were hacked, turning their weapons on the hunters and civilians they were programmed to protect.

Then he and his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, were led into a secret subbasement beneath their school by their headmaster, Ozpin. He didn't know what exactly was going on down there, but he had a feeling that it was something that the council knew nothing about. He would've asked Pyrrha if she knew about it, but she didn't give him an answer. Then Ozpin shepherded her to some kind of strange machine, one that seemed to be two pods connected to the other. For a second, Jaune could've sworn he saw a young, tan woman in one of them. Pyrrha entered the other one, with Ozpin commanding him to stand guard.

What happened next was something that he knew he'll come to regret. As he stood watch, he heard the machine power on, and then Pyrrha screaming in pain. Concern for his partner compelled him to lose his guard, and he ran to his friend and Headmaster. He watched as some kind of energy was being funneled away from the mystery woman's pod and into the invincible girl's, coating he friend in a luminescent energy that he was certain wasn't a semblance. He heard Ozpin apologize, but Jaune didn't know to whom he was apologizing.

Then there was the sound of cracking glass, and Jaune turned to see an arrow had pierced through the glass of the other pod, and jammed itself right into the heart of the now-dead mystery woman. Both he and Ozpin turned, looking to the end of the basement, and met face-to-face with the murderer. To his shock, the attacker was none other than Cinder Fall, a Haven student who had befriended their teams, along with her teammates Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. He didn't need all the evidence to know that she was the one behind this attack. She had played them all for fools, and now the rug was being swept from under their feet.

The machine died out, with the energy returning to the mystery woman's corpse, which then detached from her body and flew right into Cinder, merging with her. Jaune watched in horror as the so-called student then glowed, her eyes literally burning, flames erupting around her. The woman levitated off the ground, with the flames now dancing about her, as though she were showing off her new power. Whatever that power was, it was meant for Pyrrha, and Cinder had taken it. Then he made another mistake he'll come to regret.

Call it righteous anger or vengeful pride, but Jaune lashed out, sword raised and poised to bash the woman's skull in. He didn't even register Ozpin's warning before it was too late. Oh, how stupid he was. Just as he reached her, the energy around Cinder ignited, forcing the knight to bring up his shield on reflex. The energy impacted his shield, tossing him back. His failed attack forced Pyrrha to act, with her forcing the pod open, summoning her weapons to herself, intent on striking the woman who dared harm him. Ozpin stopped her, directing her to take him and seek out help from Goodwitch, General Ironwood, and Ruby's uncle Qrow. He left no room for negotiation. Who were they to argue with an experienced huntsman?

He and Pyrrha immediately fled the area, leaving their Headmaster alone with the newly-empowered Cinder. Once they reached the surface, he immediately brought out his scroll to call Goodwitch, but not without finally asking Pyrrha what exactly was all of that? She had no answer to that question. Then they heard the sound of something rocketing through elevator shaft, the sound of shooting fire echoing through the empty tower and across the deserted courtyard. Cinder was coming. Ozpin had failed. The most highly-skilled hunter in the world, a prodigy unrivaled among his peers, had been defeated by a younger woman less than half his age, using powers that Jaune can only describe as magic.

Everything that had happened up to that point, all the death, destruction, and desolation had been the work of Cinder, he realized. One woman, with one thoroughly calculated plan, had plunged all of Vale into madness. But despite all of that, despite everything he had seen that was causing him to question everything he believed, the one thing that completely jarred his seventeen year old mind was something people would consider mundane by comparison: A kiss.

His partner, Pyrrha Nikos, his teammate and best friend had kissed him square on the lips. The kiss was long, loving, and full of passion, and Jaune couldn't help but reciprocate. He could feel her feelings behind the kiss. This was not a kiss from a person with a crush, rather a girl who was truly head over heels in love with him. Pyrrha Nikos, The Invincible Girl, Mistral Regional Champion, and Pumpkin Pete's Cereal Mascot was deeply in love with him, Jaune Arc, a relative nobody by comparison. How could he have been so blind?

That kiss turned bittersweet once he realized what it truly was. It was a confession of love, alright, but it was coming from a girl who thought, no, knew she was going to die.

The last words she spoke, before pushing him into a locker, were a resigned, "I'm Sorry." The last time he saw his teammate were her beautiful green gazing at him through the slits, longing and taking one last good look at him. Then she launched the locker, sending it away, flying away at breakneck speeds toward a destination where she was sure he'll be safe.

To put it simply, Jaune Arc was having a really bad day.

Jaune thrashed against the metallic walls of the locker. He was crying and begging for the Gods to stop this nightmare, so that he can wake up and see Pyrrha's smiling face looking down at him. He wanted to enjoy a nice pancake breakfast with Nora and Ren, and then go see if Team RWBY was willing to go on a trip to Vale with them. There was no way that this was all real.

But as his fists clashed against the cold metal, with the rushing wind whistling through the slits in the door, and the roars of the creatures of Grimm, the harsh and altogether horrifying reality set in, and he knew realized this wasn't a nightmare. This was real, everything that has happened has happened, and everything happening right now really is happening. His partner and Best friend, Pyrrha, is going to try and fight Cinder.

And Pyrrha is going to die. If Ozpin couldn't stop her, what hope was there that an academy student could?

"Dammit…" He whimpered, only for his rage to take over, shouting, "DAMMIT IT ALL TO HELL!"

If only he had kept watch, if he could have shielded the other pod with his shield, then all of this wouldn't be happening. Pyrrha would have had Cinder's powers, Vale would have been saved, and so many lives could have been saved, if he had just kept his guard up.

It's my fault…

"Gods damn it… DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" The young man cursed again, banging his fists against cold metal.

Tears sting his eyes, threatening to fall. He was filled with shame, regret, and anger. Shame that he was still the same dumb kid from initiation; regret that he never noticed Pyrrha's feelings toward him. He had no idea who he was angry at, but he knew that he was one of the people he was angry at was himself. Such negativity was oozing of the young man.

CRAWGH!

And the large, winged Grimm flying near him found his dark emotions delicious. The Nevermore dived for the flying locker, intent on cracking its metallic shell and eating the delicious morsel inside. With a bloodthirsty caw, it dug its razor sharp talons into metal box. Jaune felt the tips of the talons graze his arms before he registered the beak trying to peck at the door's slit.

Damn it! Can this day get any better! The Arc mentally remarked, activating his aura.

The wounds on his arms close up, leaving only drying blood to mark their place. As the avian monster continued its assault, Jaune considered his options. His options, of which there were only three much to his dissatisfaction, were the following.

Option A: Open the door and attack the Grimm, either dying in its stomach or by falling to the ground. He may have Aura, but just how useful was it once he reaches terminal velocity.

Option B: Open the door and try to escape, falling to his death, Aura or not.

Option C: Stay inside the locker, wait for the Grimm, and accept his fate as Grimm Chow.

No matter the option, I die. Jaune glumly thought.

The Grimm's talons were digging deeper through the metal walls, stabbing his arms. He screamed, unable to handle the pain. It's equally sharp beak has finally broken through the small opening. The beast's menacing red eyes hone in on the face of its frightened prey, letting out a victorious screech.

Jaune was going to die. He was going to die and nobody would know. His friends would never know, his family would never know, and the whole world will just continue on without him. What upsets him most is that he'll never know if the people he loves will survive this madness, or even if they'll miss him.

It's like the punchline to a really sick joke.

Accepting his fate, Jaune Arc closed his eyes, waiting for his imminent death. He can only hope it'll be quick.

The Grimm raised its head, ready to chow down on its newest meal.

Yet, neither beast nor man noticed the strange phenomenon happening above them.

Crackling across the heavens, sparking and flashing like lightning, was some sort of strange ethereal blue lights. The flashes coalesce, forming a small spinning circle of light. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from it.

Neither noticed the blinding blue light before it was too late. Both Jaune Arc and the Nevermore disappear in a flash of light, leaving behind a maddened world that had fallen into anarchy. Yet, in all of this chaos, nearly anybody with a conscious mind saw this light. They couldn't help but wonder.

Just what sort of madness was that?

On October 25th, 80 AGW, Jaune Arc disappeared, during what will later be known as The Fall of Beacon. He is listed as MIA.

"Just what sort of madness was that?"

Having lived on Gotham's streets as a homeless vagrant for fifteen years, Willis Jones has seen things. He has witnessed terrible crimes committed at night and in broad daylight, watched many friends become victims of those crimes, and has seen a grown man dressed like a bat delivering justice upon criminals and protecting his friends. Yes, he has seen very worst, best, and strangest of humanity, and he thought he had seen it all.

That was until he saw a bright light flash before his eyes, which nearly blinded him. As he shielded his eyes, he heard the rough sound of metal banging against brick walls, before scraping against the cold concrete pavement. When he opened his eyes, he saw a locker, just like the kind he used back in High School, lying a few feet away from him, and it had what looked like booster rockets attached to the bottom of the metal container. Despite his better judgment, the vagrant hobbled over to the metal container, intent on determining its place of origin.

Was it a prototype of some kind? Did it belong to Waynetech, maybe LexCorp or Queen Industries? If it belonged to any of those companies, then why would they build a school locker with rockets? All these questions along with others filled his mind as he analyzed the strange object.

Willis banged on the locker once, and to his surprise it was hollow. But it wasn't empty as he heard a soft groan from inside it.

Holy shit, there's a guy inside! He thought in shock. Was it the pilot? Did a locker actually need a pilot?

Jumping to his feet, Willis looked around the area, searching for anything that could pry the locker open. Eventually, he found a crowbar, slightly rusted and looking a bit bloodied, underneath some garbage. Gotham always did have dangerous litter.

He gripped the crowbar with both hands and wedged it into the door, and using all of his strength, pulled down on the crowbar. After a few seconds of struggle, the door shot open, with the crowbar flying out of his grip. Willis looked inside the locker and found…

He blinked in surprise and said, "What the hell?"

It was just a kid, probably in his late teens. The kid had blond hair, was dressed in jeans and a black hoodie, and was wearing some kind of white armor protecting his chest. Was the armor real? He then noticed that a sheath was attached to the boy's belt, which had a sword in it. Willis has seen a grown man dressed like a bat, but never had he seen a teenaged boy dressed like some kind of discount store knight.

Is this one of those cosplay things the kids are doing these days? If so, it's not a very good one.

Questions for later, right now he needs to see if the kid was alright. He nudged the boy's arm, "Hey, kid, you alright?"

His question was answered with the teenager groaning in pain. The boy's eyes slowly opened, revealing two bloodshot blue eyes. Slowly but surely, the boy rose, albeit very groggily and wincing slightly with each movement. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were darting around the place. Willis had seen that look many times on some of his friends, some of whom were veterans. The Discount Knight was either going through a bit of an episode or coming off an adrenaline rush, he honestly can't tell.

It took only a few seconds for the boy to calm down. Once he had fully relaxed, he looked at Willis and asked, "Where am I?"

"Morrison Street Alleyway," The vagrant answered.

"Where is that in Vale?" The boy asked.

"The hell is Vale?" Willis balked, "You sure you don't have a concussion, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm sure; just tell me is the school safe?"

At that, Willis raised a questioning brow. Just what was the kid going on about? What school was he talking about? Was a school being attacked? It was late at night and all the schools are closed for the summer, so why would a closed school be under attack?

"I don't know what you mean, kid." He helped the boy out of the locker, "But all the schools are closed for the summer."

The boy looked at the man as if he'd grown a second head. He then indignantly remarked, "Summer? What are you talking about? It's close to the end of October!"

"Kid, I think that rough landing scrambled your memory, because it's August."

The boy looked at Willis like he was crazy. It wasn't the first time that Willis had been mistaken for crazy. He knew many people who've lived on the streets who've had some kind of mental illness. He had known a few who lost themselves completely and were taken to Arkham. Willis knew enough about the Asylum to know that's the last place anyone would want to go for treatment.

The boy, ignoring the comment, then asked with a desperate tone, "Where in Vale are we?"

Now Willis looked at the boy strangely and said, "Oy, Again with the Vale. Listen, Kid, I've been living on these streets for nearly fifteen years and I've never heard of a place called Vale."

"How can you not know where Vale is? We're standing in it, right now!" The boy nearly shouted.

Willis, nonplussed, calmly told the boy. "No, this is Gotham City."

The boy blinked once and asked, "Gotham? Where on Remnant is that?"

Willis could feel that this one could take a while.

Never before in its long life, had it tasted such sweet, delicious malevolence.

After the blinding light, it felt the hard, rough stone fields that the inferior creatures made. It had thought it landed in Vale, but it could not sense the presence of its brethren. It couldn't feel the guiding hand of its mother. But it did feel. It tasted the air and it carried so many delicious tastes.

It tasted the fear, the anger, the sadness, and hopelessness. This place, wherever it is, was not Vale. Vale never had such richly textured malevolence and negativity, and this place had it in droves. So many servings and morsels, and it was all concentrated here, just to sate its own appetite. It was a bountiful buffet and it shall have its fill.

Then, it heard the sound of glass shattering against pavement, a woman screaming in terror, and a man shouting for her money. Its dinner time and it has found its first serving.

Two wings, feathers black as midnight, open. It ascended into the air, like a shadow taking flight and melding into the night. It then flew off, searching for its first meal.

As it flew, it noticed a strange sight in the sky. Dark clouds were forming, the tell-tale sign of a coming storm. A beam of light shone right into the heavens, colliding right into the largest cloud.

Against the backdrop of a cloud, the shadow of another beast took flight.

The Nevermore could not tell if it was an actual animal, but it could see with its devilish red eyes what it was.

It was a bat.

Alright, everybody, I hope you enjoyed this little teaser. Don't worry, more will come and soon the Dark Knight himself will appear. I took up this challenge mainly to challenge myself as a writer and because I was inspired to do so by the other Fanfictions that were done as part of this concept. If you can, please read them.

Also, The Invincible Whitley Schnee will be updated soon. After a hard semester, I'm gonna have to get back into the groove of things.