Well now...It sure has been some time. The last real update I gave all of you was months ago, some even believed that this story would not see to an ending like I originally promised.
Though enough of that, you all deserve to know the full story of what happened. What happened to cause such a long hiatus.
To put it simply, in the month of April I believe, I came down with a condition known as Mono. I'm still battling the condition even as this chapter comes out. I've had this condition since the month of April, and have only shown slight improvements.
I sleep for most of the day, which made it difficult to do anything. So you could imagine what being cooped up in my room for six months did for my mental health.
I was and still am fighting depression, though the battle has gotten easier now.
However, during that time, I've had time to do one thing. The only thing I could do for that matter, aside from watching television and playing games. That being thinking.
I've had a lot of time to think. I've had time to think about the direction in which this story was going, as well as time to think about my own idea for an original work I've been working on.
These thoughts are what triggered the desire to do a reboot. I wanted to do better, I knew I could do better with what I've been thinking of. Though I didn't want to completely erase the original, as some of you have told me that you wish for it to remain untouched.
Though this will no longer be a story that takes place within the RWBY canon. This is my interpretation of what was already established, as well as me ironing out the rough edges.
I also wish to give characters who did not originally have time to shine a chance in the spotlight.
So yeah, that's basically what happened. Nothing too grand, it was just a simple case of health issues preventing me from updating the story I have created.
Though I think you've heard enough, it's time to begin the reboot of the story some have you have grown to know, while some may be experiencing this journey for the very first time. Now the time has come to tell an old tale with a more professional title "RWBY: New World Hope"
Let us begin the old, but a more improved journey. Old faces will appear, as well as brand new face's.
...
New Beginnings
Darkness, that was the first thing I saw when I awoke from my slumber. I wasn't sure if I was in purgatory or hell, as I don't believe Heaven had a lot of darkness on its peace driven lands.
I was hoping for purgatory, as I wasn't exactly to keen on the idea of eternal suffering and damnation. I wasn't a bad person per se, though I wouldn't consider myself a good person by any means.
Though that's another story, one that I wish to put behind me.
I've been laying in the darkness for what seemed like hours, maybe even days. Time tends to escape you when you're laying in a room when the only thing you can see is the darkness and depth of the void.
Might have been longer for all I know, who knows?
All I know is that I'm probably gonna be here for a very long time.
How did I get stuck in such a strange set of circumstances you may ask? Well, considering I have nothing but time at the moment, I suppose I can tell you about how the good old leaders of our world decided they wanted to cause the end of the world.
I don't really know the full story of how this little war happened, as these details tend to rise after the dust had settled. Though in this case, I didn't really get to see the end of the war.
I can only assume it was like most wars, one guy decided to mess with another guy, and that said person didn't really really appreciate the gesture, so he decided to fire back at the one who wanted to pick a fight.
The whole thing continued to escalate beyond anyone's control, and the people who put them in power had to pay for the actions they made. Only this time, there was no cleaning up the mess that they made during the whole conflict.
So yeah, that's what I assume what happened. I could be wrong, though who really knows? Not me.
Don't really know what to tell you, I wasn't really on good terms when it comes to authority. Though it's not like I had that much a decision in that matter, then again I did sort of escalate it...
Though it doesn't really matter now, seeing as I'm dead now. At least I think I'm dead that is, I've never actually died before so I can't exactly know if this is what it's supposed to feel like.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, I heard a voice in the distance of the void, causing me to shoot up from where I was laying down.
"..." I darted my head around the empty darkness that was the Abyss, desperately attempting to find the source of the voice. Suddenly, I could see a white light coming towards me, white sparkles coming off of the bottom as it moved towards me.
As soon as I was able to get a better view of it, I saw that was some sort of floating sphere wrapped in some sort of white aura.
"What in the-?" I began, only for the sphere to cut me off mid-sentence.
"Finally!" It said as it moved towards me at surprising speeds. It continued to dart around me as if it were examining me, though, after a few moments of these movements, it finally settled in front of me.
"I finally found you!" It said to me.
The voice was distinctly male, so I can only assume it was male.
"You were looking for me?" I asked, was really the first question to come to mind as I had quite the number of questions running through my head.
"Indeed. The sole reason I came to this place was to look for you." The voice said.
"What is this place exactly?" I asked. "From the looks of it, all that's around here is just nothing really." I inquired, moving my head around the void to make sure we were actually in a place of nothingness.
"You aren't too far off from the truth." The voice said. "Though enough of that, for now, I wish to strike a deal with you." He said.
Yeah? So why the hell should I trust you? You're just this small floating ball of light that I just met a few minutes ago." I asked, pushing the question of where we are to the back of my head for now.
"I understand your caution, though you might find the conditions of this deal to be quite beneficial on your part." The Ball of Light said.
"...Go on." I said, wanting to at least know what I'll be getting out of this deal of his.
"The deal is quite simple. I wish to bound my soul to your own. In exchange, I will grant you great power, as well as bring you to a world not plagued by ruin." It said.
"...Run that by me again?" I asked, wanting to make sure I heard the conditions of the deal correctly.
"I understand that the conditions of the deal are quite...strange." He said.
"That's a hell of an understatement! Let me get this straight. You want to bound your soul with my own?" I asked.
"That is correct." He said.
"Alright, what's the catch?" I asked, crossing my arms in suspicion.
"I don't follow." He said.
"There's no way you would do this out of the kindness of your heart, especially for a total stranger!" I said to the ball of light.
"You've known me for ten minutes." The Ball of Light pointed out.
"Not the point. I don't see how this benefits you in the slightest, and you even said that this deal would benefit us both." I said with one of my eyebrow raised.
"...Not bad. Not bad at all." He said. "You would be correct, there is something I wish to gain from this bargain." The Spirit said.
"That would be to leave this wretched place once and for all."
"Come again?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, I cannot leave this realm on my own. I am forever bound to it. You, on the other hand, are able to leave whenever you please." He said. "So once I will bound my soul to your own, I will finally be able to escape the Void." He explained.
"The Void?" I asked.
"Ah, yes I suppose I should explain what this realm we reside in is exactly." He said. "You see, this plain of existence is known as the Void. A realm between the cracks of reality." The Ball of Light said.
"Alright, well how exactly did I get here?" I asked.
"Simple. I brought you here." He said.
"How did you...Wait, then I'm not dead?!" I asked, a wave of relief washing over me.
"Of course not. Whatever brought you to that conclusion?" The Ball of Light asked.
"Well, when you wake up to nothing but a pitch black void, you tend to think that life finally decided it was your time," I said.
"Terribly sorry for the inconvenience." He said.
"Right. So why me of all people? Aren't there like, billions of people to choose from? Surely there must have been more qualified candidates to strike this deal with." I said.
"You are not the only one I considered to offer this deal with. It's just that with the recent war on your world, most of the candidates perished." The Ball of Light explained to me.
Though before I could continue to question the strange being, I could hear a faint roar from the distance, causing both of us to be alert of our surroundings.
"There isn't much time! We must make haste! Do you wish to accept the deal or no?!" He asked.
I stood there in silence as I contemplated whether or not I wanted to take this little spirit up on the deal.
"Be warned, if you do accept my offer, then there will be no going back. You will not be able to return to the place you once called home." He said.
.
.
Well, it's not like there's really a home or family to go back to. The people who decided to go to war with each other made sure of that. Besides, I still have a promise that I intend to keep, no matter what I have to do.
"So how exactly are you gonna send me to this place?" I asked.
"Grab the Ball of Light." He said.
"Kind of thought this was you," I said as I grabbed the ball of light, revealing the silhouette of a giant of a man dawned in armor and various accessories. This caused me to stumble back in surprise, as well as causing the silhouette to disappear from sight.
"Of course it isn't." The unknown being said.
"...Who are you?" I finally asked as I grabbed the orb once again.
"My name is Shade, and I am what is known as a Spirit." The newly named Shade introduced. "Who might you be?" He asked.
"The names Brandon," I said with a smirk.
Suddenly, the wind started to pick up around us, the air forming a white dome around the two of us.
"It is time for us to go! The contract has been forged!" Shade said as the wind started to howl around us, the light glowing even brighter than before. "May you survive the trials that await for you!" He said to me.
The light became blinding to the eye, the wind roaring around us as if we were in the eye of a hurricane. Then, without warning, the darkness consumed me and Shade's voice faded into my mind.
...
The World of Remnant, a world consumed with creatures of the darkness that have plagued humanity ever since it's birth into this cruel and unforgiving world. All life was said to come from the same two creators of ancient times.
Long ago, the Gods of Old created this world long ago. The Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Land, the Skies, and the Seas...even humanity are all bound together as one. However, where there is life, there will also be those who bring nothing but ruin.
That is the purpose of the Creatures of Darkness that roam the world, to destroy the life that was created long ago. They are called many things.
Monsters, Beasts, Devils. Though they all share a single name by the people who reside in this world. They are known simply as the Creatures of Grimm, the enemy of all life in the world of Remnant.
"General Ironwood!" A woman clad in a grey uniform yelled over to a black and grey-haired man in a rather professional looking uniform. "We're getting reports of another Grimm assault in the Southern Part of Atlas!" She said.
The room was filled with the various staff of army that was formed by James Ironwood, the General of the Military that defends of the Kingdom of Atlas. The kingdom in question is known as one of the Four Kingdoms that are a safe haven for the monsters that roam the land.
"Put it up on the screen!" The man known as General Ironwood said, causing her to nod and put the reports onto the screen in front of him. The woman nodded and put the reports up on the screen for everyone in the command room to view.
Once they saw the results, the chatter from within the room only grew more frequent. This report told similar results as the last one that came in only mere moments ago.
'I don't understand. This shouldn't even be possible.' Ironwood thought to himself as he slammed his hand onto the desk. The results were clear as day for everyone to see. The Creatures of Grimm, while dangerous, did not possess the same level of intellect as humans did. This is what allowed humanity to advance the way it did.
However, the reports that were being shown on the screen were not the normal behavior that the Grimm show. They weren't just getting smarter, they were getting more clever.
They were using strategies, planned attack's and even targeting major checkpoints that were set up by the military of Atlas. The Grimm have shown to get smarter as time went on, though this level of planned attack was abnormal.
"It's the same as before." One of the staff said.
"Any news from the team placed Oslo?" Ironwood asked as he pulled up the map of the continent of Solitas.
"...All good sir! They were able to propel the threat surrounding the area!" One of the men said.
"Excellent! Tell them to hold the front lines!" He commanded, causing the communications team to nod and forward his orders to the team placed in the city of Oslo, one of the various capitals that Atlas held under their jurisdiction.
"What of Helios?! Were they able to propel the sudden assault on their front back?!" Ironwood asked.
"...Helios is still under attack! They're requesting reinforcements! Reports show that Troll's have made their way to the compound!" One of them said to the General.
"Send squad four to assist immediately! We cannot lose Helios!" He said.
"What?!... Are you certain?!... Okay, I will report this in at once!" One of the staff said, causing Ironwood to turn his attention towards the person in question.
"Report!" He commanded.
"Sir! You might want to see this!" She said as she put the new problem that has risen up onto the screen. Once everyone gazed upon the monitor, everyone's blood froze at what they saw.
Clear as day, there was a very powerful Grimm known as Gatlinburg. It was a very powerful type of Boar Grimm, one known to completely ravage civilizations and destroy armies. The recording showed the beast galloping through the snowy tundras of Solitas.
"It seems that they are heading towards the capital of Stavanger!" One of them said. Ironwood growled and started to type a code into his console, causing a woman clad in White and Blue to appear on his screen.
"General!" The stern woman stated as she saluted the General in question.
"Schnee! Gather your team and head to Stavanger at once!" Ironwood commanded. This woman was known as Winter Schnee, one of Ironwood's specialists, a group of elite fighters made to handle situations that the average military ranks are unable to get under control.
"Understood! I will assemble my team and we will make our way to the capital!" Winter said, causing the call to be cut off.
Ironwood took the hard drive containing the reports of the recent attacks on Solitas that had come in and began to make his way towards the door leading out of the command room.
He continued to walk down the hallway until he made his way over to the elevator that would lead him to his office. For you see, not only was this man the General of the Atlas army, but he was also the Headmaster of the Academy designed to train Huntsmen and Huntresses, a special kind of warrior trained to combat the creatures that plague their world.
Though with the recent events that have happened over the past few months, something told Ironwood that they would need more than just Huntsmen and Huntresses to combat this threat.
'Something strange is afoot. I can only hope you have a possible course of action, Ozpin.' The general thought to himself as the elevator doors closed.
...
Meanwhile, in the content of Sanus stood a tall tower on a cliffside of the capital of Vale, a kingdom that inhabited Southern part of the continent. This tower was the communications tower for the Huntsman Academy known as Beacon.
These towers are crucial when it comes to long distance communications, as the towers themselves allow one to contact someone, even on the other side of the world. It also allows messages to be transferred across the seas more efficiently, without the risk of death amongst Couriers.
From the top of this tower stood a Silver-haired man known simply as Ozpin. Though he bore many names, this one has stuck with him through the test of time. However, that is a story for another time.
Right now, the Headmaster currently had his hands full with all of the recent Grimm assaults on the various settlements that surrounded the kingdom of Vale. They had been dealing with the sudden spike in the beast's intelligence for quite some time, though recently they had been dealing with the issue of more powerful types of Grimm appearing within the world of Remnant.
The Headmaster in question needed to send as many Huntsmen as he could in order to propel such threats, all while keeping the kingdom protected from planned attacks by the beasts.
"Things have been getting out of hand, Ozpin." A blonde woman in glasses stated to the man. This woman was known as Glynda Goodwitch, the Combat Instructor of the Academy, as well as one of the school's most well trained Huntress's.
"I am aware," Ozpin said as he shuffled through various piles of papers that were placed onto his desk. "I am doing what I can to propel this crisis at hand, though the protection of the Kingdom, as well as the Relic, is our top priority." He said.
"Do you believe the Relic's have something to do with the recent spike in the intelligence of Grimm?" She asked as she adjusted her glasses into place.
"No. If the Relic's had anything to do with this recent development, then they would have been targeting the Schools, not the capitals of our world." Ozpin said.
"Speaking of which, Qrow had recently reported in on the situation in North Witch," Glynda stated as she pulled up the papers containing the report. "The Will-O-Wisps have been located within the city, as well as exterminated." She said.
"Excellent. That's one less problem for us to deal with." Ozpin said to the women. "What of the Lake District?" He asked, typing a code into his console which caused a map of the Southern part of Sanus.
"Professor Arno is doing the best he can to propel the threats, though recent reports show that Gargoyles have made their way past the cities defenses," Glynda stated, causing Ozpin to clench his fist.
"The Grimm were able to sneak past there heavily guarded walls and waters? I must say, this isn't good." Ozpin stated.
"Indeed, it seems the Creatures of Grimm are adapting faster than we anticipated," Glynda said to the Headmaster. "Do you think it is her doing?" The Combat Instructor asked, referring to the enemy that Ozpin has been fighting for years upon years.
"It's entirely possible. Though I do not know how she could have found such a method for this sudden evolution." He said. "Then again, it has been a very long time since I had to face her," Ozpin commented.
"I see," Glynda stated.
"Though enough of the enemy, what of Mary's research on these Grimm?" Ozpin asked, referring to their archeologist, Mary Naturae.
"Unfortunately, she has not found any possible explanation for the sudden evolution of these Grimm. She seems to be rather focused on her past affiliations more than anything." The Combat Instructor growled.
"Peace, Glynda. You know full well that her intentions are for the good of humanity." Ozpin said.
"Is it, or perhaps it is to set her own consciousness at ease?" Glynda countered.
"..."
"Moving on from that, I have instructed Qrow to make his way to Castle, as well as continue his search for the culprits behind Autumn's condition." She informed to Ozpin.
"Excellent." He said as he reached for his cup of coffee.
"What of the Beasts that lie by our doorstep?" Glynda asked.
"Do not fret. I have sent Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port to handle the situation." Ozpin said. "Let us hope that no one unfortunate enough is wondering the forests that protect our walls." He said.
"Indeed." The Blonde Huntress stated as the connection to the call was cut off. Once Ozpin only had himself to talk to, he picked up his cane and walked over to the balcony that was placed at the very top of the towers.
He gazed upon the Kingdom he helped create with the last King of Vale all those years ago, as well as the Academy he had worked too hard to create. He gazed up to the skies he's worked so hard to protect.
The man had made many sacrifices to get to where he was today, some of which he questioned if they were truly worth the price he paid. After a few moments of silence, he shook his head and made his way back into the top of Beacon Tower.
...
.
.
What the hell just happened? That was the first thought to cross my mind once I started to slowly regain consciousness. I still wasn't able to move my own body, though at least I was able to form thoughts in my head.
So little by little, I suppose. I feel like my head's splitting open though, so that really isn't pleasant. Was this the result of Shade and I's soul's being bound together or was it that strange light that started to form around us once I actually grabbed that Ball of Light?
Slowly but surely, I was able to awake from my state of unconsciousness, allowing me to get a sense for my surroundings. I was in some sort of forest, one filled with lush green trees and a waterfall that came from a cliffside and into a lake.
Once I got up, I took a big breath through my nose, wanting to smell the air around me.
Well, there's no scent of copper in the air, which is a big plus because that means I wasn't just scammed then brought back to my desolate world. I looked to my right to see the water was rather clear.
...Well, I am pretty parched, haven't had anything to drink all day.
I quickly walk on over to the water and take a big scoop of it into my hands. Once I cleaned my thirst, I dunked my head into the water in hopes to get rid of the massive migraine I had.
"Whew! I feel alive again!" I said to no one in particular. Though in the corner of my eyes, I could see a strange object sitting beside the tree where I laid unconscious for lord knows how long.
"The hell's this?" I asked as I moved towards the said object to get a closer look. It was a strange mask looking object, though it was too small to fit on anyone's face. It looked like it had some sort of seal on the top as if it were holding something.
It as pitch black, while the holes where the eyes seemed to be hollowed out. It looked like it had some sort of wooden look to it, though it was clearly made out of some sort of metal.
Maybe this is Shades. Speaking of which, now that I think about it since our souls are now bound together, shouldn't that mean I'm able to talk to Shade. It's worth a try, the only thing I have to lose is a little dignity because it'll just look like I'm talking to myself if it isn't the case.
"Hey! Shade! Where the hell did you drop us off?!" I asked as I placed the strange object into my pocket.
Though the only thing I was met with was the cold sound of silence. I didn't even hear a single breath from the Spirit in question, which wasn't exactly reassuring considering he knows more about this place then I do.
"Uh, Shade?" I called once more in hopes to get a response from the Spirit, though just like last time, I was only met with the sounds of silence. "Well that isn't good, guess I'm on my own until I get some sort of response from him," I said.
Well, I guess the saying goes, if you want something done then you gotta do it yourself. Let's just hope that what I find actually gives me more answers than questions, though something tells me that isn't going to be the case.
Seeing as I was on my own for now, I began to inspect my surroundings to see if there were any abnormal happenings that could give me some clues as to where I am.
Let's see, I've already looked around the forest. What about the skies? Maybe there's something up there that can tell me where I am.
I look up towards the sky, though unfortunately, the only thing I see is a blazing sun, soft clouds, a blue sky and birds flying around the trees of the forest I was stranded in. Which were all things I could have easily found in my original world.
Hmm...Ah! That's it! Wild Life! There's bound to be some unknown creatures in this world!
As if luck would have it, I could hear the bushes rustling from behind me, causing me to spin my head to face the source of the noise. It was at this point where I realized that I also hadn't eaten anything all day.
Alright, time to go do some hunting.
I looked around the lake to see if there were any objects that could possibly be used as a weapon. I eventually settled on a decently sized stone that I was able to wrap in the palm of my hand.
With the rock at my side, I slowly started to walk towards the source of the noise, which was only getting more restless as I moved towards it, telling me that it was aware of my presence.
Though before I could continue to move any closer to the creature, I could see its blood red eyes through the leaves of the bush. A sudden chill started to go down my spine as if those beat red eyes were glaring deep into my soul.
"..." I slowly dropped the rock and began to move away from the set of red eyes, seeing the potential danger of the situation at hand. Though before I could even make it to the lake, the Beast emerged from the brush, causing my blood to freeze upon what I was gazing at.
Clear as day, in all, it's terrifying glory, was one of the Creatures of Grimm told in stories. Before me, was a creature of Grimm.
...There's no way this is real, right? I mean, that all was just fiction! There's no way in hell that any of this is actually-!
However, before I could even finish the thought, the beast roared in my direction, the air around it picking up as the beast let out its mighty war cry. So I did what any reasonable man would do in said situation.
I turned around and ran in the opposite direction, the footsteps of the Grimm thundering behind me as it gave chase. I didn't really know where I was going, and to be frank I didn't really care.
As long as it was away from the beast that was chasing me down. I did whatever I could to get away from the beast, jumping down hills and attempting to throw the beast off in hopes to shake it off my trail.
"If anyone wants to do something about this, then, by all means, go for it!" I called out in hopes for there to be someone out there. I eventually came across some sort of cliff path, and in the distance, I could see two men.
One of them had green hair and was wearing what looked like to be safari gear, while the other one was a grey-haired, mustached man with a red coat and a blunderbuss.
"Hey!" I yelled, causing the two men to look towards my direction.
Meanwhile, the two men were looking over at me with puzzled expressions on their faces. These men were known as Peter Port, and Bartholomew Oobleck, two professors at the Huntsmen Academy of Beacon.
The two looked like they were talking about something amongst themselves, which only fueled my frustration and panic.
Meanwhile, with Oobleck and Port.
"Peter, is that a boy?" Oobleck asked as he adjusted his glasses that were placed on his face.
"I believe it is, my friend!" Port said to the Doctor in Question.
"What is such a young boy doing out in the woods all by his lonesome? He doesn't appear to be carrying any form of weaponry." He commented. "He seems to be conveying some sort of message towards us," Oobleck said.
"Ah! Perhaps he is a fan of my various escapades! My tales reach far and-!" The Mustached Huntsman said, only for the Grimm that was chasing the young boy to smash through the stone walls, causing him to continue his escape.
"...I believe we should go and assist." Port said.
"Yes, a good plan indeed!" Oobleck stated as he and Port started to rush to the boy's aid.
Meanwhile, with Brandon.
Some help those two were!
I continued my escape down the cliffside as the beast attempted various methods of ambushing me. If there was one thing I noticed about the beasts that weren't exactly told in the stories that were told, is that these things were surprisingly smart.
So escape was much harder than anticipated, as this thing kept attempting to use various strategies in order to end my life. When Shade told me that he would grant me great power, he sure as hell didn't go into how to use it!
Though before I could continue to plan another form of escape, the shadows from behind me started to get bigger. I turned around to see that the beast was holding a giant boulder above its head, letting loose a sinister snarl.
I gulped and started to walk back, though I was quickly stopped by the cliffside in question. The beast roared and threw the boulder at me, though before I could even react, the silhouette of Shade appeared in front of me and pushed it's palm into the air, causing the boulder to shatter into various pieces.
It was only for a second, though the Spirit gave me a few seconds to plan out another escape route. However, the beast jumped from the cliffside and landed on the rock path that I was standing at the end of.
Alright, Brandon, how exactly did you smash that boulder earlier? Figure that out and you might just stand a fighting chance here! I tried doing everything I could possibly do in order to do that attack from earlier, whether it be mimicking the movements that Shade did, or just attempting to will it.
Though no matter what I tried, I couldn't replicate the attack from earlier.
"Damn it! Come on Shade! A little help would be-!" I began, only for the beast to pounce towards my direction. Time seemed to move slowly as the teeth of the creature of darkness grew closer and closer.
However, just as it was about to sink its teeth into my flesh, a beige blur could be seen speeding in front of it before whacking it with the mallet it wielded. This caused the beast to go flying back towards the stone wall, causing it to crack upon impact.
"Fret not, young man! The professionals will take care of this!" Oobleck said to me as he twirled his weapon around, a small flame being lit on the end of the mallet. As the beast managed to regain its bearings, the other warrior, Peter Port, came crashing down onto it's back with a mighty thud, a wave of bronze aura appearing around them in a cone shape as they made contact with the ground.
"Ho ho! The thrill of the hunt! This one is especially powerful!" Port said, jumping from the back of the Grimm and beside his ally.
"Stay back! A Beast of this level will surely bring a destructive battle!" The Doctor said.
"Indeed! Worgen's are rather formidable foes!" The Mustached Professor stated.
Oh, so that's what it's called.
The two men charged towards the Worgen, causing the beast in question to roar to the sky and rush towards the set of Huntsmen. It swung it's massive claws at Oobleck, causing him to use his mallet to jump up into the air.
Port quickly rolled around the Grimm and sliced at one of its legs with the axe on the end of his Blunderbuss. The beast snarled and quickly grabbed the professor underneath him before throwing him at Oobleck.
The Doctor in question jumped up into the air and pushes his palm outwards in attempts to catch his friend. He used the flames from his mallet to propel himself in the opposite direction, preventing them from crashing to the wall.
However, The Worgen used this opportunity to slice at the duo, causing them to split apart. Oobleck began to rapidly dodge the attacks the beast was sending its way, making for an easy distraction for Port to deal a devastating blow.
Port's aura flared around his body, causing him to charge towards the Beast in question. He slammed his fist onto the back of the Grimm, sending it sliding across the rocky ground.
Oobleck rushed towards the Worgen, dashing around him while bashing various parts of its body with his weapon. Meanwhile, Port started to charge towards the Beast in question with a determined expression plastered on his face.
The Worgen roared and attempted to slash at the Professor, though he easily parried its attacks and grabbed a hold of its arm before sending it flying into the air with its strength.
Oobleck then started to rapidly slam his mallet onto the surface of the Grimm before slamming him back down to the ground. The Worgen growled before slamming its claws into the ground and making a smokescreen of dust that consumed the area.
"Be on your guard!" Port said.
However, the two did not expect the Worgen to appear from behind them. Before the duo could react, the Worgen grabbed the two before slamming both of them to the ground with enough force to create a small crater.
The Worgen threw Oobleck towards the stone wall while attempting to crush Port with its massive hands. However, with the teacher's massive strength at hand, he was able to just barely prevent it from crushing him.
The Beast growled and slammed Port onto the ground before digging its fist into the professor in question. Suddenly, a bronze aura started to glow through the dust, and Port was seen growing in size, his muscles tearing through his shirt.
"Rah!" Port roared as he clasped hands with the beast, holding it in place. The wind around them started to pick up, the ground beneath them cracking under the pressure of the sheer force of the Professor and The Beast.
"Oobleck!" He roared to his ally.
As the Dust cleared around the Doctor in question was twirling his mallet around in a circle, the flame surrounding it grew brighter and brighter as it made a complete cycle. Oobleck was counting upwards as his bat made a complete cycle.
"Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five!" He muttered under his breath.
The Worgen, sensing the upcoming danger coming from the duo, attempted to shake off the professor holding him in place by rapidly headbutting his forehead in attempts to knock him unconscious.
"Aha! I live for moments such as this!" Port roared, tightening his grip on the Worgen.
"Forty-Nine! Fifty! Ready!" Oobleck yelled, causing him to charge at the Beast in question. Port threw the Worgen towards the Doctor, giving him a clear shot for his attack. With one final slam of his mallet, the Doctor made a large explosion that consumed the very being of the Beast, sending it to oblivion.
As the dust settled, Port was seen reverting back to his original size while Oobleck's mallet was seen with a clad of smoke around it, the area where he had hit the monster being covered in residue.
"Ah! The thrill of the hunt! Even now the excitement only grows and grows as one gets older!" He said with a proud smile.
I stood there in complete shock, completely baffled with what I had just witnessed from the two professors. It was one thing to watch it from a screen, though another thing entirely to watch the action first hand.
"Fret not, young man! You are safe now!" Oobleck said as he collapsed his weapon back into his travel cup. Though before we could catch our breath, various other types of Grimm started to move in towards the cliffs.
"It seems our battle has attracted some unwanted attention. I suggest a tactical retreat at once!" Oobleck stated, placing his cup into one of his belt pouches.
"Sounds like a plan," I stated as I started to move towards one of the caves on the cliffside, the two professors running ahead of me.
...
We kept running within the caverns of the caves, doing whatever we could to not attract the attention of the Creatures of Grimm. Luckily for me, Port and Oobleck seemed to know the layout of the caves more than I did, so traversing it was much easier.
Port peeked his head out from a small crater we were hiding in to see if the monsters that were chasing us were still following our trail. Meanwhile, Oobleck had a map of the caves by his side to plan the safest route to what I hope would be the Kingdom of Vale.
"Escaping such beasts have proven to be more to be quite difficult these days," Port stated as he scanned the area for any potential threats. "Though we should have time to catch our breath for now." He said.
"Now that we have the time..." Oobleck began, looking up from the map he had. "Just what in the name of the gods are you doing out here by your lonesome?! Especially without some form of weaponry?!" He asked.
Hey, I didn't exactly ask to get thrown into a world filled with Monsters!
Never mind that, though. I should probably focus on getting out of here alive. Though the question is, what exactly do I tell them? That I came from a distant world and was transported here by some Spirit?
...That probably wouldn't go over well, at least not in this situation. Or any situation for that matter, for now, I should try to make something up before I look suspicion on their end.
"Well, I heard the kingdom of Vale was right over the mountains. Seeing as I had nowhere else to go, I thought it would be nice to stop by before I hit the road again." I told them.
"As for why I don't have any weapons, I dropped my only gun near the cliffside. I didn't have time to go and get it, so I just kept running away from that Worgen." I explained.
It wasn't a complete lie, I did lose a gun of mine earlier today. The even just didn't occur in this world is all, though we can leave that part out.
"I see," Oobleck said, though quickly caught on to a small detail of my sentence. "Hold just a moment, what do you mean-?" He began, only for the sound of a roar to be heard from the other side of the cave.
"No time! It seems that we have attracted the attention of one of the cave dwellers!" Port said as he picked up his Blunderbuss and travel bag before grabbing my hood to get me on my feet.
"Right! It's time to continue our escape!" Oobleck stated as we continued to run through the cavern. It was rather dark without any form of light, so the only thing keeping me from getting separated from the duo were their voices.
"Hmm, I believe we should be nearing an exit." The Doctor pointed out.
After a few more moments of various paths and slopes within the cave, we finally managed to see the light at the top of the hill. However, Oobleck and Port suddenly stopped dead in their tracks, as if they had sensed the danger that was looming near us.
"Time for another battle!" Port stated as he and Oobleck readied their weapons once again, causing the various boar monsters to swarm down from the ceiling. The two were handling the swarm rather easily, as they were rather small in numbers for there to be any real threat.
However, the duo noticed that the boars were being rather passive. Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to shake, causing me to turn my head towards my back to see a much larger Bull Grimm charging towards us.
"Behind us!" I yelled, causing both Port and Oobleck to turn towards my direction. The duo looked at the Bull in question, then back at the lesser monsters that it had before they suddenly connected the dots its plan.
"They're trying to block us in!" He yelled.
Alright, so these things are way smarter than I originally thought! They set this whole thing up! How the hell did they do that?! I thought they were supposed to be mindless monsters!
Though I can deal with that later! I need to make sure this thing doesn't block us in here while those two deal with the smaller ones!
Though suddenly, the small object that I picked up in my pocket began to shake, causing me to turn my attention towards it. Seeing no better plan in front of me, I quickly grab the object out of my pocket, only to see some sort of black aura oozing out of the object.
The Aura consumed the strange object as the object, turning it pitch black and giving the eyes a white glow. It was only for a second, though everyone within the cave could feel the dark pressure emanating from the object.
Before I could examine the object, the Bull attempted to trample me with its massive hooves. Slowly but surely, I could see the object open its mouth as well as some sort of handle popping out from its mouth.
I quickly grabbed the handle, gripping it tightly before swinging whatever it was the object was spitting out at the Monster. As if luck would have it, it was some sort of pale white blade.
The silhouette of Shade appeared once again with a blade of his own, mimicking my movements as his silhouette sliced the head of the Bull clean off and turning it to ashes. With this opportunity, Oobleck and Port managed to fend off most of the smaller beasts before the rest of them made a tactical retreat.
I looked behind me to see the silhouette of Shade standing before me, his eyes glowing with the same white light as before, and his expression letting off one that of a demon.
Though just as Shade had made his appearance, he disappeared just as quickly. It seemed the duo had not seen the Spirit in question, though they had seen the strange object that spat out my blade.
"Whoa." I took a sharp intake of breath, examining the blade to see if there was anything strange about it.
"Young man," Oobleck called over to me, causing my head to turn his direction. "Where did you get that?" He asked.
"To be honest, I just sort of found it. It looked pretty valuable so I thought that I could sell it for a high price." I said.
"I see..." The Doctor stated as he turned towards his ally who simply stared at him with a serious expression. "Well, time is of the essence! We wouldn't want to attract any more Grimm!" He said as he and Port started to make their way towards the exit.
Suddenly, I could feel Shade's hand lightly slap the back of my head, though considering he had abnormal strength, it felt like I was just punched directly in the back of my head.
"Ow! I was kidding, jeez!" I stated.
"Did you say something?" Port asked.
"Huh? Oh, no. Just...talking to myself." I said with a nervous smile. Port seemed to accept that answer before walking up the path leading towards the exit. I looked at the strange object, which had stopped glowing, before putting it back in my pocket.
I threw the blade over my shoulder before following the two professors out of the caves.
"Ah! Now that's quite a sight to be held!" Port commented on the edge of the cliff.
Sure enough, the kingdom of Vale was on the horizon of the forest, the tall buildings towering over the wall as well as Beacon tower shining brightly for all to see. I had never seen it, nor did I believe I would.
"Well! I suppose this is where we part ways!" Port stated, causing me to do a double take.
"Huh?!" I asked.
"Indeed! You wished to head towards the kingdom of Vale, no?" Port asked. "Now that the lovely city is on our horizon, getting there should be no problem at all!" He said.
"Ah, yes. We should make haste! Good luck to, young man!" Oobleck said before the two started to walk off, only to quickly stop once they noticed I wasn't actually going down the other path.
"Is something the matter?" He asked, adjusting his glasses into place.
"Well..." I began.
"...Ah, I see. I thought I had noticed something in our little chat of ours." Oobleck stated. "Tell me, do you even have a home to go back to?" He asked.
"..." I merely stood there in silence with a rather upset expression on my face. I wasn't exactly sad that I would never be able to return to my home, as I was sad because of the fact I had nothing to go back to.
Though that's a different story entirely, one that I wish to put behind me.
"I'll take that as a yes." He said with a rather quiet town.
We stood there in awkward silence, neither side really knowing what to do with the given situation.
"Well! We wouldn't be able to consider ourselves Huntsmen if we turned down a fellow such as yourself in need!" Port said as he walked up to me and patted me on the back. "Besides, perhaps we can make use for a fighter such as yourself!" He said.
"...Right." I said before the duo started to walk down the path.
"Come now! The Kingdom is just over yonder! We should be able to make it there before sundown!" Port said with a good-hearted laugh.
"Indeed! Now stick close to us! You never know when there will be an ambush!" Oobleck stated.
"Yeah," I said with a slight smirk.
I looked at the hearty pair before looking at the kingdom of Vale. I shook my head and started to follow the duo down the stone path.
So, this is my new life now. It sure looks like it's gonna be a strange one, though I'm pretty used to abnormalities already. I walked along the stone path with a determined expression on my face, gripping the handle of the blade tightly.
You guys may be gone, though our hopes still burn brightly, even after all that's happened.
"Ah! How foolish of us! We've yet to ask you for your name!" Oobleck stated.
"Oh. The names Brandon."
...
Thus, a new chapter of our story begins.
Many trials are on the horizon and those who would wish to disrupt the peace plot in the shadows. Brandon, a boy originating from a familiar world now brought to the World of Remnant.
With only a strange object by his side, a blade, an unresponsive spirit and a promise at his side, he now goes to the crowned kingdom of Vale. There are many trials ahead, and while an old story has come to a conclusion, a brand new one begins.
Credits
Writer: Quebec
Editor: Smitten
Big thanks to Smitten for editing this chapter, as well as possible future chapters coming. With her help, our story will play out much more smoothly.
If you want to check out her content, please go to her Tumblr which is fittingly titled, Absolutelyxosmittenxo.
...
Next Chapter: The Kingdom of Vale
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Ruby's Guide to The World of Remnant
Worgen
The Worgen is a subspecies of the Beowolf line that is the result of decades of evolution. It sacrifices its speed and mobility for more physical strength and durability.
Due to its massive power, it's hunger for blood becomes all the stronger.
While escaping from this beast is much easier than escaping from its descendant, facing it in combat is a different story entirely.
Combat Style
The Worgen is more ferocious than its counterpart, making fighting it all the more problematic.
Normal Beowolves will sense the danger of a situation before engaging in combat, though this beast will combat any living creature it comes across.
It stands at ten feet tall, and its claws are strong enough to punch through even the most durable of armor.
How to Combat
Fighting this beast in a team is highly recommend. Due to its size, it isn't as quick as its descendant, making its attacks much easier to predict.
Constant movement is key when fighting this beast, as well as a hard-hitting fighter for its thick skin.
King Worgens can negate the speed drawback entirely, so engage on at your own risk.
Stay Safe, and Happy Hunting!