Author's Note: Welcome to the second introductory chapter of RDNC! I don't want to waste any time, so let's just get right into it and let the trailer do the talking. Don't forget to leave a review!

Review Responses:

Swordmeister Crona: Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed the fight scenes and the shifts in tone. Those two things are key parts of my writing style, I think, so I appreciate the compliment. And if you think I'm done pushing the limits of the canon RWBY universe, think again. I've got lots more planned. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Felcatty: Well, hey! Didn't expect to see you here! I'm liking Volume 5 so far, which is why I thought now was a good time to start up my own crazy story with super-powered kids wielding deadly and over-complicated weapons. Glad you noticed and liked the parallel setting. As I said at the beginning of the previous trailer, there are going to be a lot of parallels to the original story, mainly with regard to the setting. Everything else will be different, but that's to be expected. I'm also glad you liked the dialogue and character designs. As creating characters and dialogue between characters are key parts of my writing style, it pleases me to know that I've struck a chord with someone. Then there are the weapons, which, while I'm proud of them, are only the tip of the iceberg. It's good to know the previous trailer did what it was intended to do despite its length, and don't worry, all of your questions will be answered once the trailers are done. Here's to the next one!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY, but I do own (or at least assisted with the creation of) all of the characters in this fanfiction.


Prologue II:

D Trailer


Snow. Snow was everywhere. It fell from the heavens, it blanketed the rooftops, and it lined every street and sidewalk in town.

Winter was in full swing, and with it came an overwhelming amount of that glorious fluffy white stuff, bane of nine-to-five adults and love of children everywhere. Two boys in particular were laughing their heads off as they tromped through the sea of snow that had washed over the local park the night previous. Their laughter persisted for a while, but stopped abruptly when the two began the snowball fight of the century and dashed for opposite sides of the park.

One of the boys took cover behind the park's only tree, using his enormous hands to scoop together some fluff to pack into a sphere. After several seconds of fumbling with it, he finally held up a worthy winter weapon, a veritable monster of a snowball. Now all he needed was a target.

Carefully peeking around the tree, he scanned the park for any sign of his enemy, who was no doubt readying his own arsenal of snowballs. He was about to give up and find another hiding spot when something cold and crystalline hit him in the side of the head.

"Gotcha!" a familiar voice called out.

Looking to his direct left, the boy could only growl. His enemy was far sneakier than he had anticipated. "How did you find me?" he whined.

"Your ears were poking out!" his friend said with a laugh.

The boy felt his second set of ears, his black bear ears, fall flat with anger as he readied his super snowball. With a grunt, he pitched it at his friend, who was too busy laughing and reveling in his apparent victory to pay attention. When the snowball struck home and knocked the other boy over, his ears perked right back up and a silly grin stretched across his face.

"Gotcha!" he chuckled.

The other boy popped right back out of the snow and glared daggers at the Faunus boy. "No fair," he cried, "I wasn't looking!"

The bear Faunus simply stuck his tongue out and blew his friend a raspberry before turning and running away. His friend considered this a challenge, and after standing up and brushing the snow off of his coat, proceeded to give chase. The boys spent most of the next hour running up and down and around the park, throwing countless snowballs at each other and leaving behind an impossible number of footprints in the snow.

Despite that day being a weekday, they weren't required to go to school, nor did they require supervision. The only thing required of them was to be home before dark, as they were two of the many children who called St. Martha's Orphanage their home. The only rules they abided by were the rules set by Miss Martha, and none of them said they had to be anywhere in particular until it got dark.

Eventually, the boys ran out of energy and collapsed into the forgiving cushion of the snow, their lungs heaving breath after breath of mist into the freezing air. They stayed there for a while, laying on their backs, the cold wind rushing over them as they recovered from the battle that had just took place.

"Whaddya wanna do now?" the bear cub said after a while.

His friend took a moment to think, then answered, "I dunno. What do you want to do?"

The Faunus boy shrugged. "I dunno."

That's when they heard it. A commotion in the street. Shouting, chanting, a clamor of voices. It was something different from the winter ambiance they were used to, and it piqued their curiosity.

Both boys immediately sprung up out of the snow and cocked their heads toward the sound, keen to find out what was going on. Was it a parade? A carnival? Some kind of festival? Whatever it was, it sounded like fun. After a moment spent exchanging looks, the boys nodded to each other in silent agreement and set out, resolved to find out just what was going on.

After several minutes of searching, the boys rounded a corner to find what appeared to be a parade. A large group of people were marching down the widest street in town. Some held signs that the boys couldn't read, but all of them were chanting phrases and slogans that were lost on the boys. They stared for a while, dumbstruck by the sheer volume of people in the parade, watching with wide eyes as they marched past them.

The black bear cub looked to his friend, but he was mesmerized. With a snort, he looked back to the parade-goers, keen on finding out what the parade was celebrating. It took him a while, but after listening carefully to the people's chants, he realized that this wasn't just a parade. It was a celebration of Faunus, people like him! He took another look at the crowd and realized that everyone in the street was a Faunus of some kind.

When the realization hit him, he couldn't help but be compelled to join them. Without saying a word, he walked right into the crowd, not noticing that his friend was trailing close behind until after he had entered the fray.

And for a little while, everything was just fine. The boys proudly parroted the chants of the people around them, all smiles as they marched along. The adults closest to them eyed them curiously, but none of them had the heart to chase them out.

In particular, a young deer Faunus couple, so inspired by the boys' apparent courage, hoisted both boys up onto their shoulders so that they could see over the crowd. More ecstatic than concerned, the boys cheered and laughed and smiled, bringing a kind of vitality to the parade that otherwise would have been absent.

It was when the parade reached city hall that things took a turn for the worst.

Before he knew what was happening, the black bear cub felt the hands of the deer Faunus man whose shoulders he had been riding on grab him and place him gingerly on the ground. He made to ask why, but the sound of screaming and something that sounded like thunder stopped him cold. He slowly turned around to face the direction the parade had been marching.

The parade had come to a stop, but the wall of people in front of him prevented him from seeing why. When he looked back to ask the deer Faunus what was happening, he found that he and his partner were gone. The bear cub was suddenly at a loss.

There was fear in the air. The crowd around him was beginning to shift and reel. Murmurs wandered through the street like phantoms, exacerbating the feeling of panic that was quickly taking hold of the crowd. Instinct told him that something was very, very wrong.

Another loud boom and several sharp cracks served to confirm his instinct's presuppositions.

All at once, everyone on the street began scrambling for something equating to safety. Shouts and screams were quickly followed by deafening blasts of sound, which only elicited more shouts and screams. Before long, the parade devolved into a frenzied stampede of humans and Faunus seeking refuge from some terrifying force.

Thankfully, the black bear cub was able to get out of the crowd and off the main street before things got too serious. His instincts took control of his body, carrying him out of the chaos and into a narrow space between two apartment buildings. When he got there, he braced his back to the brick, careful to keep out of sight. His breath left his mouth is short gasps, sending wisps of white mist into the frigid air.

It was only after he had caught his breath that he realized that his friend was not alongside him. He looked left and right and all around, but the boy was simply not there. A sick feeling started to overtake him, something far worse than fear.

Regret.

He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. He had abandoned his best and only friend, someone who had been willing to accept him for who and what he was when no one else would. Tears stung at his eyes as he tried to stifle his sobs. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. What had he done? What could he do? What was he going to do?

After a moment of hesitation, he looked back to the street.

What met his eyes was a scene more gruesome than his most terrifying nightmare. Bodies of Faunus and humans alike, though mostly Faunus, were strewn about, their blood painting the tarmac and staining the snow with crimson. A few people, dressed in what looked like police uniforms, roamed around with flashlights. It took all of his willpower not to scream or shout for help when he saw them. It took even more to look away when one of the officers called out to him.

While he didn't want to leave without finding his friend, something told him that if he stayed, he would end up dead just like everyone else.

Thus, the black bear cub let his instincts take over once again. More afraid of staying than leaving, he turned and dashed out of the alley, surging into the snow-covered wilderness. Shouts rang out behind him, but he didn't listen. All he could focus on was running toward the treeline in front of him.

He had heard all sorts of things about the forest that bordered the town, none of them good, but that didn't dissuade him from seeking refuge there. Somehow, it felt like he belonged there, like it was calling to him. Ignoring the faint voices of the officers behind him, he disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

Never did he look back.


At the southernmost tip of Vale, there was once a town called Kestrel. Due mostly to civil unrest and efforts of a White Fang splinter cell, Kestrel had been utterly obliterated by an outpouring of Grimm. Curiously, word of a far more threatening beast living in the forest surrounding the town reached the ears of the people of nearby communities, most of the reports coming from the survivors of the fall of Kestrel.

They spoke of a beast nearly seven feet tall, perhaps taller, with thick black fur, glowing blue eyes, and claws that could fell trees and Grimm alike. No one saw more of the beast than that, and though everyone could confirm that it killed Grimm, it was said to be no friend to anyone, human, Faunus, or otherwise.

It was ferocious, deadly, and it was exactly what she was looking for.

The wind whipped at her fiery red hair as she approached the dreaded wood, the place where the beast that hunted Grimm was said to live. A ghost of a smile graced her gorgeous face as she came to a stop halfway to the treeline, as she took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the place. Though the gruesome ruins of Kestrel's buildings were behind her, the snow gently graced the jagged stone and split steel, softening it. The forest, meanwhile, gave her no indication of the horrors that supposedly livid within. That did not stop her from savoring every second of the stillness.

"Enjoying yourself?"

The voice came from behind her, a reminder that she wasn't alone.

She smiled, fully this time. "Yes, my friend. Immensely." A moment passed before she turned to face the man, who stood less than a meter away. He was tall, taller than her, with short, slicked blonde hair and sharp blue eyes hidden behind a pair of spectacles.

"Not cold enough for you, I take it?" he asked as he shivered in his fur-lined overcoat.

"Not in the slightest," she said proudly.

The man sighed and straightened his spectacles. "If only I could be so lucky."

She felt her smile widen. Despite how cold it was, she needed no heavy clothing to stay warm. While her friend was dressed to combat the cold, she looked to be dressed for a business meeting. That was all this really was. A matter of business. She ran her fingers through her hair as she gave the world around her one last look. Her eyes scanned over the destroyed town once more. As she watched the snow continue to fall, she felt her heart sink.

"I really wish we could have done something to save this town," she said, her smile fading.

The man folded his arms. "That presupposes that there was something we could have done. It's in the past, headmistress. You shouldn't waste time worrying about it."

"The tragedy that befell this place was almost inevitable. There's no denying that. However, this tragedy was rooted in failure. To forget failure, even to so small a speck of the world, is to foster future failure...and regret."

She made to say more, but she stopped herself. Words without action meant nothing. There was work to be done, and she intended to do it. She had no reason to hesitate. The man moved to reach out and touch her shoulder, but she immediately turned on her heel and started striding purposefully toward the forest, her high-heeled shoes leaving distinct imprints in the snow. When she reached the treeline, she called out to him.

"Don't come after me!" she said. "I'll bring it to you!"

He glanced at his watch before replying. "Very well," he shouted back, "Just don't take too long. It's bloody cold out here!"

She shot him a wink before turning and walking into the forest.


It was near silent in the woods. The trees stood tall, their trunks black as night, their leaves long since fallen. One tree stood in a small clearing, a pariah strung out from its brethren, its roots swallowed by the snow. On that tree, hanging from a branch, was a bee hive. The hive's inhabitants were nowhere to be seen, mostly because the cold made them sluggish.

This made the hive vulnerable, a perfect target for a hungry beast.

With a snarl, one such beast exited the surrounding wood and stepped into the clearing, its eyes glued to the hive. Ever eager to get its claws on the honey hidden within, it rushed forward and slashed at the trunk of the tree that held it up and out of its reach. It only took a few swipes before the trunk was ready to snap.

The wood creaked dangerously as the tree began to tip over, and with one final push, the beast felled the tree. A resounding crash echoed out into the forest as the tree smashed into one of its neighbors, snow and splinters flying into the air before settling around the carnage. The bee hive, most of which was crushed by the very tree it had hung from, was a mess of aggravated insects, honeycomb, and sweet, sweet honey.

The beast, satisfied with its work, could already smell the viscous golden syrup from its place near the tree's stump. Licking its lips greedily, it sauntered over to the destroyed hive and reached for a large section of honeycomb.

There were quite a few bees still clinging to the geometrical array of wax the beast held in its paws, but it simply brushed them off. When some of the bees made to retaliate, their stingers found no purchase in the beast's black fur, meeting instead a strange blue energy that rippled like pond water when struck with a stone. Feeling this, but apparently unconcerned by it, the beast shrugged the bees off, leaving them to wander aimlessly in the snow or cling desperately to the wreckage of their home.

Finally, the hive's honey was property of the beast. With a grin, it plopped down onto its hindquarters and sank its teeth into the honeycomb, tearing from it a small portion to gnaw on. The wax was surprisingly sweet, charged with flavor by the pollen the bees had collected during the summer and fall. But the honey was by far the most rewarding taste the beast could have asked for. It was sweet but savory, and with every bite, the beast felt more and more like a cub again.


She moved to the edge of a small circular clearing deep within the forest, drawn by a loud sound. In the clearing was a felled tree, the remnants of a bee hive, and, to her delight, what looked to be the beast she was searching for. It was sitting on its haunches, but easily looked to be seven feet tall if it stood on its hind legs. Black fur covered its body, its paws bore sharp black claws, and small oval ears stuck out of its head.

For a moment, she thought it was a bear, but upon closer examination, she realized that it wasn't. Its face was boyish, not bear-like. And while it did have bear ears, she could make out a set of human ears as well, though these were buried under a mess of shaggy black hair. Its body structure was also a clue, as its hind legs and forelegs were too dissimilar.

The answer became clear almost immediately. She was looking not at a beast, but a Faunus. A boy, one that had been altered by the forest; transformed by the very place he called home.

Realizing then what she had to do, she took a very deliberate but very careful step forward.


Suddenly, the beast heard a noise, the distinct sound of feet crunching through snow. Its ears perked up, its black fur bristled, and its eyes began to glow bright blue. Whirling around, the black bear locked eyes with its quarry. His quarry was a woman, but that did not stop him from seeing her as anything but a threat. He pulled his lips into a snarl and growled menacingly, warning her to stay away from him and his honey.

To his surprise, the woman didn't run away. She didn't even flinch. Her expression stayed the same, calm and focused on him.

It was unnerving, so much so that his instincts told him to stand his ground and offer one final warning. He felt a familiar sensation overtake him as bright blue light began to radiate from his body. Safety and assurance flooded through the black bear as he let out a ferocious roar, one powerful enough to rattle the trees and scare the bees into fleeing the immediate area.

Despite himself, a grin formed on his face, his eyes narrowed in determination.

This determination was immediately shattered when the woman, seemingly unconcerned with him, strode past him and to the shattered bee hive. The blue light faded and his expression went from bloodthirsty to bewildered as he turned to watch her sit down next to the trunk of the felled tree and pick up a piece of honeycomb. His honeycomb. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he growled at her, but she simply winked at him before taking a bite.

His eyes went wide with surprise and his head tilted to the side in complete confusion. Dumbfounded, the black bear found himself at a loss. This woman had no fear of him, nor did she have any fear of the bees. Some of the bees that still remained decided to try and sting her, but he was amazed to see their stingers hit nothing but air. She too, it seemed, was impervious to their stings, though she glowed a mellow orange when they struck.

After a few moments of watching her eat the honeycomb and ward off bees, the black bear decided to join her. Once again, he lumbered over to the hive and ripped out a large chunk of honeycomb before sitting down to eat it. For a while, the two just sat there next to the tree, eating in silence. He ate far more than she did, but she didn't seem to mind. She occasionally offered him a piece of honeycomb, and though initially skeptical, he always ended up taking it from her without giving it much thought.

It took a while, but the black bear eventually warmed up to the woman. He acknowledged and appreciated her apparent lack of fear, and she seemed to respect his true nature. It was in the little things. When she smiled at him, he was compelled to grin back. When she ran her fingers though his thick black fur, he didn't do anything other than enjoy it. Finally, he was compelled to ascertain her true nature. He decided to do it the only way he knew how, which was through smell.

Curious more than anything, the black bear leaned over to her and took a deep breath in through his nose...and almost sneezed for his trouble. The scent was familiar, but it was strong, so strong that it stung. It felt like his nasal cavity was burning. Fireplace, something in the back of his mind said.

She laughed as he shook his head and pawed at his nose, as he rolled onto his back and let out several frustrated sounding growls in rapid succession. He didn't see her get up. He didn't even notice that she had moved until she was standing over him. But when he did see her, he was mesmerized.

Her wild red hair stood out against the stark gray of the sky, and her bright blue eyes were full of life and energy. Her skin was flawless, her features were gorgeous, more beautiful than anything he had seen in ages, and her presence was warm and inviting.

That was why when she turned to the black bear and said, "Follow me," he did.

He rolled over onto his paws and lumbered after her as she made her way out of the clearing and into the forest. For a while, he stayed on all fours, but as they pressed on, he started to put more weight on his hind legs. Before long, his forelegs touching the frigid air rather than the icy ground. His posture straightened, his hind paws became steadier, and his forelegs fell to his side.

With each step, the black bear became less of a bear and more of a man.

When the two finally exited the forest, the black bear was more confused than he had ever been. What was he doing? Why was he standing upright? Who was this strange woman? No answers came, only a smile from the woman as she looked up at him with kindness in her eyes.

"Do you have a name?" she said.

The black bear once again found himself at a loss. He hadn't used his mouth for anything other than growling, roaring, or eating in a long time. Words came to his mind in a rush, but they were jumbled, muddied by years of inexperience using them. At last, one word came to mind. It was almost surprising, but it was unmistakable nonetheless. It was the name he had been given so long ago, one of only three names he could remember.

He struggled with the first letter, and it escaped his lips in a stutter, but he finally settled on, "Darius. Name...Darius."

The woman smiled. "Darius. A name synonymous with courage, strength, and quiet reflection."

Darius just tilted his head, confused.

"It suits you," she said with a chuckle.

"I second that," a new voice said. "Though I must say, I never expected the Scourge of Spruce Forest to be a Faunus."

Darius instinctively turned his head to see who was speaking. There was a man with slicked blonde hair standing not too far away. Had he been there the whole time? If so, it was a wonder that Darius hadn't noticed him until just then. Without thinking, he tromped over to the man and took in his scent, which elicited a raised eyebrow from the man.

This time, he actually did sneeze. He smelled like a dusty room. Library, his inner voice said again. "Smell like...books," he said gruffly.

The man gave him a cross look, but the woman was forced to stifle a chuckle. Darius backed away and pawed at his nose again, confused. He couldn't really figure out why this woman had led him out of the forest to begin with. The forest was his home. It had been for a long time. What was so special about this place?

He paused and stood up straight, scanning the surrounding area. His eyes landed upon a collection of broken stone covered by the snow. Only after he had examined it thoroughly did he realized what he was seeing.

It was a crumbling city, a skeleton of a place he had buried deep in the back of his mind. Dark memories began to surface. Fear struck him in an instant, and his instincts told him to run, but when he saw just how little was left of the town, how empty it was, he hesitated.

He turned to the woman with the red hair. "Who you? Why you bring Darius here?" he growled.

"My name is Olivia, and I brought you here because I believe that this was once your home."

Darius didn't understand. "Forest home," he said, jabbing his thumb at the treeline behind him.

"Perhaps, but it doesn't have to be. The harsh law of the forest may have molded you into a survivor, but you cannot stay here any longer. I can take you to a place where you'll be safe, where you can sleep soundly, where you can learn to live a normal life again."

He felt his eyes widen in surprise. Again?

Memories started flooding back to him. Kestrel, the park where all the children played, the main street, city hall, Miss Martha's, that day many years ago when everything went wrong, the blood, the screams, the last he saw of his best and only friend. It was bittersweet, remembering what he had had, as he also had to remember what he had lost.

He thought he had lost it all forever, and looking at the snow-laden ruins of Kestrel, that seemed to be very much the case. But, if he was here, talking with this woman, standing on his hind legs of all things, then there was hope. There was hope that he could rekindle that spark of happiness, to find that person he had cared so much for, to find new people to care for.

Something told him that it wouldn't be the same, that his hopes were foolish, that the transition would be rocky and impossibly painful, but he didn't care. All of a sudden, he was tired of the forest. He was tired of the trees, tired of hunting for food, tired of hiding out in caves and burrows, tired of those gruesome black creatures with glowing red eyes, tired of watching the seasons change year after year after year.

He was sick of it all. But it was what he was used to. He had spent what felt like an eternity in that dark wood, fighting and clawing and tearing and biting, but surviving through it all.

He considered the alternatives, considered what it would mean if he acted in spite of his instincts, but he couldn't bring himself to go back to the forest. It was suddenly alien to him. Wherever this woman was planning on taking him had to be better than that wretched place.

When he finally snapped out of his thoughts, he turned to Olivia and said, "Where? Where you take me?"

"To Beacon," she replied.

"Beacon...Beacon..." he tested the word with his tongue. For some reason, it didn't sound right to him when he said it out loud, so he tried to make it so. A memory came to mind, the smoky smell of cooked pork. That sounded good, so he settled on that. "Bacon?" he asked hopefully

Olivia giggled to herself before bursting into uproarious laughter. The man rolled his eyes and let out a disgruntled sigh, apparently more miffed than amused. Darius just frowned, disappointed.

"No, Darius. Beacon," Olivia corrected with a knowing grin. "It's a school."

Darius raised an eyebrow at that. It made no sense to him. He thought he didn't like school very much. In fact, he knew that he had never liked the idea of school. It seemed boring. Why should he agree to it now?

"Darius no want to school. School boring," he said with a pout.

"I can assure you, my school is not boring. Every day is a chance to seek out exciting opportunities. Every class is a chance to learn more about the world. Every lesson is a chance to acquire new skills and tools that you can use to better others." Olivia paused to gesture at the snow-laden scene around them. "The people of this town and the Grimm of the forest have made you out to be a monster. But when I'm through with you," she said with determined eyes, "You will be a Huntsman!"

Darius took a moment to digest her offer. Being a Huntsman didn't sound too difficult. He had already killed plenty of those black wolves, and quite a few of the black boars. But the bigger monsters, like the black birds, had always forced him to run away for fear of death.

He didn't like running away. It made him feel weak. Yet another thing he was tired of. Perhaps it was time he left the forest for good. Being a great Huntsman sounded like fun. More fun than living in the wilderness, at least.

He let a sigh out through his nose. Pain was one thing, but he had been bearing pain his entire life. There would be more pain. He knew better than to think the opposite. Even so, he found that he had the resolve to shoulder that pain, the pain of his destroyed home, the pain of his long-dead friend, the pain of his lost childhood.

If he could survive that, he could survive anything.

Olivia stretched out her hand, a gesture that demanded a response. "Follow me, Darius. The time has come to show you the world you never knew existed."

Darius did not hesitate. He immediately took her hand in his own and held it tight. "Darius follow," he said with a smile.

"Well," said the man, "Now that that's settled, can we get back to the airship? I'll be damned if I catch a cold out here."

Olivia just smiled. "Of course, old friend. Far be it from me to let the winter winds have their way with you."

He and Olivia turned on their heels and walked away, leaving Darius to trot after them.

"To Beacon?" the man said.

"To Beacon," Olivia confirmed. She glanced sidelong at their new traveling partner and added, "Though we may need to stop and get him some clothes."

"Nonsense," the man scoffed. "He can wear one of the castle tapestries. I'm certain they're the only things large enough to cover his titanic form."


Author's Note: Haha! I did it! I managed to do the impossible and get this out to you all before the end of the year! Consider this a holiday present from me to all of you. Hope your 2017 was a good one. I look forward to writing more fanfiction for you all next year. Happy holidays, happy New Years, and thank you for all of the support on all of my stories. Cheers!