Cardin woke up in a well lit, carpeted room. He felt his ass stuck in a plastic chair, and something metal around his hand.

He tried to get up, but felt metal pieces keep him there.

He wretched his head up to look down at his hands and feet.

Cuffs.

Shit.

God his head heart - did something happen? The last thing he remembered was being in his dorm having a - well, if he were completely honest with himself, having a nervous breakdown. Or, what his father used to call it - a temper tantrum.

His father's voice berated him.

Wow Cardin - what the fuck was that, you dumb cunt? God, you're so stupid. So fucking stupid. I should have half a mind to bring out the switch on you. Hell, remember when you were a kid, and you got that bad grade in math, and I beat your face in so hard with that thing it was red for a week, and you told your teachers it was an 'allergic reaction'? Of course you do, you always fucking remember, don't you Cardin? Your behavior back there was pathetic - you call yourself a man? Worthless. I've seen little girls act better than that shit - why were you born such a fucking failure? Fuck. Goddamn, you're fucking worthless. Shit, I beat half the reason you got into that stupid fucking school was because of my name, not your 'talent'. The Winchester name, a name and people that could be traced back to the founding of our great nation, to the elimination of the Fanus threat, to the Great war, and you'll be the one to carry it on. You. That's sad. You're sad Cardin. You're fucking path-

Click.

He raised his head up and saw two people enter the room. One was Ozpin - he was more than familiar with that cane and coffee mug - but the other was a new one. He had white hair, with orange patches here and there. His clothing looked like nothing more than rags stitched together over the course of multiple years. His face was downcast, but not sad - he just seemed focused.

And he was carrying a weapon inside the room.

SHIT.

The circumstances weren't looking so good - first the handcuffs, then Ozpin, and now the weapon from some huntsmen.

God, had they finally caught up to his bullying of Velvet? That bitch - that fucking bitch. That fucking whore ratted him out. She fucked him dry. Without lube.

But, why the handcuffs? Most bullies aren't handcuffed, at least from his experience.

And why the weapon? He wasn't going to resist - had something happened?

"Hello, Cardin. This is my associate, Vaja, and he will be here today - don't mind the weapon, Vaja's isn't used to the environment of the school."

Vaja nodded at Cardin.

"What….what's going on?"

Ozpin and Vaja walked to the chairs, sitting themselves.

"Oh, don't worry, you're not in any trouble - we've just heard from some of your teammates about your….current mental state."

Damnit - they think I'm gonna do something dangerous aren't I? Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-

"L-Listen," Cardin began, still feeling groggy, "I-I don't know what you're thinking, Professor Ozpin, but I'm n-"

"A danger? Oh, don't worry - the handcuffs are just there to make sure you don't resist."

"Resist?"

"You were difficult to handle during your relocation."

"What?"

"You are, for the time being, going to be relocated towards a mental health facility. Don't worry, it will all be paid for, and your family won't be charged. They will be notified as well, and given visitation rights."

"Now," Ozpin said, "tell me about this….person who you encountered, before your incident?"

Cardin felt a frog develop in his throat.

The flashes began to come again.

The flashes of gore and death came in and out and he wanted out he wanted fucking out right now right fucking n-

Ozpin grabbed hold of Cardin's shoulders.

"Listen, after you answer my questions, you will never be forced to acknowledge this person ever again. I'm sorry for putting you into this position, but the circumstances are truly important."

Cardin tried to control his breathing.

It sorta worked.

Kinda.

(Not really.)

But he was at least more stable than before.

"Okay, okay, okay. Promise?"

"I promise. After this, the incident will be swept under the rug, and it will never be acknowledged by any of your professors or colleagues."

"Thank you, thank you."

Cardin was surprised - not at the offer, although he was, but it was more at the large amount of emotion in his voice than anything else.

"You're welcome, Mr. Winchester. Now, onto the question."

Cardin thought about it. He thought about it so fucking hard. The dream and the memories began flushing and conjuling together, creating a mixture of reality and unreality that felt real and unreal at the same time. It was hard to determine what was fantasy and what was real, and it was becoming even harder in determining if that even mattered. Either way, they felt more than real.

But he thought about the boy.

"Ever since I was a child, I had nightmares. Horrible, horrible nightmares. They…."

He trailed off. Cardin swallowed the air, trying to get it down into his system before he would begin crying. God, he felt so pathetic and weak then. His hands reeked of sweat and perspiration. His greatest nightmare had become a reality, and he couldn't even find the words to process his feelings on that. Could the human language translate those emotions anyway? Cardin hoped it could.

"...they were horrifying. Like a horror movie, but you're there. You're there, and the monster is chasing you in the woods. And when it gets you, it doesn't kill you. It makes you suffer - it makes you bleed. It makes you hurt and cry and….and….and…."

Another deep breathe.

"...and I just saw him."

"Him?" questioned Ozpin.

"I saw him. I saw him, I saw him there. The monster. The white haired monster. He made me suffer. He made me bleed. He made me cry and cry for my mom and dad, he made me count down from 1000 by 7 because he wanted to make me suffer, he wanted to make me suffer and I-"

Cardin again tried to calm himself, but it failed, and he began crying and whimpering in his chair. God, he felt so weak and pathetic. He wanted to die. He wanted to fucking kill himself more in that moment than all of his years of living. He wanted to die more than that time that one girl turned him down at a school dance, more than his mother and father's fighting, and more than being beaten by that fucking cunt Jaune.

God, he just wanted to fucking die.


"What do you think, Ozpin? Do you think this boy could lead us to the creature?"

"I am unsure, Vaja, but I will look into the library records for this boy. Glynda, what was the book recently checked out?"

"Huntsmen; A Political History, I believe."

"Good. I'll have Beacon's Library staff look through the records - it shouldn't be too hard, as it's been less than a week."

"Will this be mine and Smo's job, Ozpin?"

"If you want - however, I will be calling in someone extremely versed in fighting….peculiar Grimm infestations."

"Qrow?"

"Yes, Vaja. I am calling in Qrow."

"Do you think he'll be enough to take this creature down?"

"No, but that's why he isn't going to be alone."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid I must keep that secret, for the time being. However, I will tell you upon telling the rest of the Security Council about this development."

"Understood."

Vaja walked out of the room, pressing the elevator button to the ground floor.

"Ozpin?"

"Yes Glynda?"

"Do you really think it's possible for another creature like this to exist? Considering the recent developments, it's odd that another player has entered the field, so to speak."

"Curious indeed. However, if we are to survive in our war, we must be willing to treat every potential threat as a reality. I'm not taking any chances after the breach."

"Understood. Do you wish for me to contact Mr. Winchester's family about this?"

"Yes, that would be splendid - also, if possible, try to acquire correspondence from Mr. Winchester's to send to his family. It would be unwise to tell them this without a reassurance."

"Understood."

Ozpin turned his chair around, looking out at the empty dark sky. The stars were twinkling, and the shattered moon was starting to wane.


Kaneki looked up at the waning moon, leaning against the cold glass window. The rocks were floating ever so subtly in the fading white glow of the celestial object.

It was so ugly.

It was so wrong.

"Charlie," he called out.

"Y...Yes - YES! YES Kaneki, what?" Charlie said, trying to composure himself, his face covered in definable marks from where his earlier nap on the computer's keyboard.

"Why is the moon shattered?"

"I don't know. Consult a book or something."

Kaneki huffed.

"Any theories?"

"Nope. Don't care, really."

"Why?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I want to know."

"And I don't care to know."

Kaneki walked away from the window towards Charlie. He peeked over his shoulders to see what he was working on.

"Anything regarding our job?"

"Not yet, I'm still trying to think of a plan."

"Hmm. How long till we actually do it?"

"A week, tops."

"Hmm."

"Can you stop that?"

"What?"

"That 'hmm' bullshit. It sounds stupid."

"Alright."

Silence.

This was going to be a long week.


It had been a week since Ruby thought about the incident with that weird kid, and she had completely forgotten what he had said. Something about….child smores? Something like that - her memory wasn't that good to begin with, let alone with something she'd rather forget altogether.

Life had moved on, as it always had, and always will.

The tournament season was beginning to start, and the different schools were starting to send their students. Vacou had delivered all their students last week, and Mistral was preparing. Word was that Atlas was making the finishing touches on their robot units.

Team RWBY had already restarted their monthly board game bonding activities.

They had began studying more and more for tests.

They had began practicing for the tournament everyday.

They were getting stronger and better and everything else.

Everything almost seemed to be going back to normal.

Except for Cardin.

Normally, the brute wouldn't have caught Ruby's attention - and why would it? Other than being strong and related to a famous name, what did Cardin have going for him? Being a massive jerk? Being a racist prick? Being an elitist snob?

No thanks - Ruby already had one elitist snob in her life, and, as much as she loved her, she'd rather not have another one, thanks.

But still, the absence of Cardin was, in of itself, concerning. As annoying as he was, his presence was always felt. With him gone, it was gone.

Normally, having such a horrible presence lifted would have felt pretty good - getting rid of the horrible racist? Sign her up!

But instead it was replaced with something….different. As if something had happened. Something horrible.

"Professor Port?" asked a student one day, uncomfortable shifting in her chair. "Do you know where Cardin is? He's usually here by n-"

"Cardin is taking a mandatory break from school for an extended period of time - if you wish to contact him, take it up with Headmaster Ozpin."

And the subject was dropped.

There were rumors, of course. Some witnesses. Unsubstantiated claims. Involving screaming. Crying. A boy. A new boy.

A white haired boy.

Ruby grew uncomfortable when she heard that detail.


"Okay, the first annual Team RWBY planning meeting has finally commenced!"

"Why is it annual?" asked Weiss, annoyed at her being pried from her studies.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be better if it was every month or so?" remarked Blake.

"Nah, I think it's nice," responded Yang, twirling a pen in her hand.

"Do you even know what the word 'annual' even means?"

"It's, like….two years, right?"

"QUIET I'M TRYING TO HAVE A SUPER SERIOUS MEETING HERE!"

"Okay geez Rubes, what's gotten into you?"

"It's about Cardin. Something bad must have happened to him."

"...and we care why?" questioned Weiss, one of her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, why do we care. Cardin's a bully - he was probably expelled."

"Good riddance - I'm only disappointed that I didn't have the opportunity to smash his skull in."

"It's more than just Cardin - it's about that guy we met at the Cookie Corral."

Silence.

Uncomfortable, awkward silence.

"Do you guys not remember? His name was….his name was….I'm trying to remember, Weiss, do you remember his name?"

"Kaneki," she said, shifting slightly, tugging at the sleeves her jacket.

"Yeah! Yeah yeah! Kaneki - Kaneki something-or-other. Doesn't matter - I think he had something to do with Cardin. And no, Blake and Yang, I DON'T think he was expelled."

"What do you think happened to him then?" asked Blake.

"I think Kaneki did something to him."

"Like what?"

"I, uh, didn't get that far ahead of the plan - but fear not! I think it's best to find him and interrogate him!"

"Well, if we're interrogating him, I'll play bad cop."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaang, I wanted to play bad cop!"

"Ruby. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?"

"I'm only a little cute."

"Stop lying to yourself."

"Stop! We aren't interrogating anyone - first of all, why do you even think that Kaneki caused Cardin to be away from school?" asked Weiss.

"Rumors."

"...and so you're basing our entire operation under the assumption that school yard rumors are accurate sources of information?"

"Yes."

Weiss facepalmed so hard her forehead stung.

"Listen, Ruby, even assuming its true - which, I doubt - what's the likelihood that we'll just find him wandering around the city?"

"Excellent question, my feline friend!" Ruby exclaimed, her finger pointed in the air. "You!"

"M-Me?" Blake blubbered out.

"Yes you! With your amazing powers of scent, you could track him down - you remember his smell right?"

"I wouldn't forget it for the world, but Ruby, I don't-"

"Great! While out there, you can interrogate him about that too - maybe he had a bad day and fell into some Grimm slime. Anyway, all in favor?"

"Aye!" screamed Yang.

"Aye!" followed Ruby.

"Nay," said Weiss.

Blake sighed. Part of her really didn't want to do this, but on the other, she knew she was going to be pulled along anyway. Like most things in life.

"Aye…."

"Yay! We'll start on Saturday, which is ….five days away!"

What could possibly go wrong? Thought Ruby.