Prologue to Land of Nightmares
Disclaimer: RWBY and its characters are owned by Rooster Teeth in Austin, Texas. The OCs however are mine.
Quick Note: They may be a bit long, but the A/N will give you a better idea of what this is going to be.
A New Beginning
Two large, glowing humanoids are standing in the middle of a forest, one is gold and has a pair of Deer Antlers on his head and the other is dark purple with horns that curve back on its skull. Neither of these figures appears to have any facial features. The gold being turns to the other and sighs. "Well, here we go again. How many times have we done this now?" He says. The purple being says "Far too many. No matter how much we change, it always ends the same. Either Salem or someone else gathers the four artifacts and summons us. No matter what happens, they never seem to be worthy, so I wipe them out and we start all over again."
He turns to the gold being and says "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, perhaps we're expecting too much of them. We expect them to unify as a single race, but is that even possible for them? By creating them with the ability to choose between creation and destruction, we unified two opposing forces. If they cannot even truly coexist with themselves, how can they possibly coexist with each other?" The purple being says.
This time, the gold one is the one who sighs. "Have you already forgotten that we were once a single being brother? Creation and Destruction coexisted within us, why can't humans or Faunus do it?" He says. "We exist on an infinite plane brother, they are only finite; can we really hold them to the same standards?" The purple one says. The gold one growls in response, "We will get it right or we won't do it at all. Now stop wasting time and create the Grimm already." He says with a hint of annoyance. The purple one says nothing. He raises his hand and the Grimm come in to existence.
The gold brother raises an eyebrow as he takes in his brother's creations. "I think you might have over done it this time brother. Not only are they far too numerous, you gave them the ability to use dust, technology and even souls, aura and semblances? Some of these Grimm are far too powerful." The gold one says. The purple being says "The Grimm aren't going to be a single unified force this time, and I don't intend to give Salem control over them. I've decided to make them more interesting than mindless beasts bent on destruction. As for the other concerns, only some of the Grimm can utilize dust. They'll have to grow and kill in order to gain souls, technology, aura and semblance." He says as the gold one listens.
"Rather than making them completely soulless, I've given them fragments of souls. They'll have to rise through the ranks by killing Humans, Faunus and even each other to absorb enough of these fragments to construct their own souls. When an alpha gets enough soul fragments, it becomes a General, when a General manages to gather even more fragments it becomes a Chieftain. A General will be able to use dust, technology, aura and semblance, but they still won't be truly independent. They have limited control over the Grimm and act as sub commanders for their chieftains. When they become Chieftains, they gain sentience and an ability to control generals and other Grimm. They will form packs of Grimm from the wild Grimm and establish their own territories. Being sentient beings means they will always have conflict, so the packs will fight with each other, lessening the danger the Grimm pose to humans and Faunus, which is one of the reasons I increased their numbers." He adds before allowing his brother to absorb the information. The gold one grunts in displeasure and says "And where does Salem fall in with this plan? Salem was supposed to be the force of evil with the ability to control the Grimm, not these Chieftains."
"Who said Salem was going to be the villain this time?" The purple one says, causing the gold one to turn to him with what looks to be alarm. The purple one sighs yet again. "If we're going to keep doing this, we need to risk making some big changes. I've been looking throughout the multiverse for inspiration and I came across an interesting development. You remember the heiress Weiss Schnee?" He asks. "Of course I do brother; she and Jaune Arc are two of the only beings in this reality that still exists from the earliest incarnations, aside from Ozma and Salem. If you wish to make it where the two don't end up together, save your breath. I know you ship them and so do I. We literally made them for each other. It's much better than Iceberg, that idiot Neptune reunites Sun and teams RWBY and JNR after Haven and what's the first thing he does? He ignores Weiss entirely and flirts with Ilia Amitola! Who, I might add, is a lesbian! How anyone could ship Weiss with an idiot with aqua phobia who's named after the God of the SEA is beyond me." The gold being says with annoyance.
"Yes brother, but I was thinking about shaking everything up. Why not try something completely crazy, like Nora's Arc?" The purple one responds. The gold one summons a sword of gold light from nowhere and levels it at the purple one's throat in response. "Nora and Ren were made for each other, even more so than Jaune and Weiss. Splitting up White Knight is one thing, we've got Arkos and White Rose to fall back on but Renora? Suggesting anything else is nothing short of heresy!" The purple one rolls his nonexistent eyes at his brother. "We're getting a little off topic here, don't you think?" The purple one says. "Then get to the point." The gold one growls.
"I've come across several variations of our universe where Weiss' color scheme has been swapped out, instead of white hair and blue eyes; she has black hair and red eyes." The purple one says. "And?" The gold one says "We've changed her color scheme our selves many time, what difference does that make." He continues. The purple being chuckles at this. "It's not just that brother, this version of Weiss, who is often referred to as 'Bleiss' is a completely different person compared to the normal Weiss Schnee. She's a lewd, crude, rude party animal with an obsession for Jaune Arc." The purple being responds as he brings up a few realities containing some of Bleiss' antics. The gold brother stares at the man, clearly not understanding his point.
The purple one sighs. "She gave me an idea, there are plenty of universes where Bleiss exists, but none of the other palette swapped characters really have anything other than their appearances and names, even then, it's only for the four members of Team RWBY. As I said, we see plenty of Bleiss out there, but Bluby? Wake? Rang? There's very little known of them." He says. "So you wish to create an inverted version of Team RWBY then?" The purple one shakes his head. "No, I'm thinking bigger. I'm thinking we change everything and everyone, even Remnant itself. Salem will be the reincarnating force of good and Ozma will be the immortal villain; just without the ability to control Grimm. And most everyone else will be on the opposite side as well, at least initially." He responds. The gold one sighs at this. "I suppose it's worth a shot. Shall we?" He asks as he raises his hand. The purple one nod as well raising his hand as the screen fades to black.
Ozma's POV
Ozma's voice appears in the void. "I suppose I should explain the way this is going to play out leading to the beginning of our story. The path doesn't truly diverge until sometime after the events of the Girl in the Tower. Instead of me dying, Salem is the one who falls ill and perishes. Because of this, I am the one who attempts to trick the Brother of Darkness into resurrecting Salem, only to be cursed with immortality."
"Just as Salem did before, I decide to rally the people of the world, claiming to have stolen the gift of immortality. However, unlike Salem, I realized that even with the support of the people, it won't be enough to defeat them. So I began a quest to find the means to defeat the two brothers. After years of research, I uncover the existence of an artifact known as the Blade of Abandon. This artifact is said to be capable of not only killing the two brothers, but also stealing a small portion of their power. The powers will only be fully restored if both powers of creation and destruction are reunited in one being. After a few more years of searching I finally managed to find the Blade of Abandon."
"From there I head to the Fat King, the Stern Queen and the Zealous King in order to gather my army. The army launches their magical attack and the Brother of Darkness retaliates by wiping everyone but me from existence. Having hoped for this, I pulled out the Blade of Abandon and a flash of light consumes the two brothers, leaving them mortal and crippled. I proceeded to use the sword to slay the Brother of Light. His body vanished and I was bathed in a yellow light feeling a rush of power unlike anything I have ever experienced. I approached the Brother of Darkness, but the God manages to launch a surprise attack, seizing the Blade of Abandon before vanishing in a puff of black smoke. From then on, it was my goal to seize the Dark Brother's power so I could become the one true God of Remnant." He says before falling silent.
Salem's POV
Then Salem's voice speaks up in the void. "The Brother of Darkness manages to flee to the area between Realms, but he knows he is going to die. In an attempt to keep his power from Ozma, he revived me and explains that humanity will return eventually. He gives me the power to reincarnate and gave me the Blade of Abandon. He asks me to kill him so I can absorb his power and I do. I was bathed in dark purple light as I too felt a rush of power no mortal had ever experienced. From there I faded until humanity was born anew."
"When I revived for the first time on the island which would eventually be known as Vytal, I used my magic to create a vault in which to hide the Blade of Abandon."
"Centuries later, I found myself on Vytal again. This time, I was trapped in a fight to the death with the Ozma's forces, which were determined to steal the Blade of Abandon. I and the first incarnation of my army, the Queen's Fist, fought valiantly, but one by one, they fall. Eventually, I was left with only four dying soldiers to the North, South, East and West. I used my power to create the Four Sigils and bind them to the four men, healing them and granting them immense power.
They become the first of the Knights of Oblivion and defeat Ozma's army. Like the Four Maidens, the Four Sigils are granted to the man they are thinking of as they die. If they aren't thinking of a man at the moment of their death, a new Knight is chosen at random. I decided to use their power to create a series of four magical locks on the vault which only they can unlock and sent the four Knights to the ends of the world."
"There was another peculiarity that occurred within our reality. Apparently, the Faunus in this world are much more numerous, making up one of every three people of Remnant. It is believed that the Faunus were once hated by humanity, until the Faunus Rights Revolution occurred at some point thousands of years ago. Over time, this hatred appears to have faded. However, all records of this war and the years to follow seem to have been lost to time. As such, all evidence of such conflicts comes from nothing more than legends."
"The Great War was far more brutal in this universe due to the increased presence of Grimm as well as the destructive power of those with Ascended Aura. When the war was finished, both sides had suffered devastating losses and it looked as if the four Kingdoms were doomed to fall before Ozma revealed himself."
"Using the powers of the Brother of Light, Ozma managed to save the four Kingdoms, eventually uniting them under one banner, the Ozman Empire. The noble families of the four kingdoms came together on the island of Vytal and a new fifth Kingdom was born. The Kingdom of Vytal became the seat of power for the Ozman Empire. Ozma was worshipped as a God and King of the world while Salem and her forces were reviled for a time. Over time, the Ozman Empire revealed its true nature as an oppressive, totalitarian government which appointed all powerful Governors over the four Kingdoms rather than councils."
"Despite uniting under one banner, the divide between the four Kingdoms caused by the Great War was extreme, so Ozma had to find a way to truly unite them. He came up with the Unity Project, which saw the four Kingdoms come together to create a new Kingdom. He used the stolen powers of the Brother of Light to terraform the once barren deserts of Menagerie (which at the time was an unnamed land) into a more hospitable environment. From there, the four Kingdoms invested time, resources and man power to create a new nation. Thus the Kingdom of Unity was born."
"Eventually, the oppressive tactics of the Ozman Empire took its toll, and many began to resist; culminating in an open revolt in the Kingdom of Vacuo roughly ten years prior to the story itself. It was then that Ozma devised a dastardly plan to force the world back in line. A few years earlier, a new type of Dust was discovered deep in the tundra of Solitas. This new Dust, dubbed Nightmare Dust has the ability to warp the morality of an individual upon ingestion, transforming them into violent, remorseless killing machines."
"Ozma had his Special Forces break in to the mines that contained the Nightmare Dust and steal large quantities of the Dust. He used the Dust to poison Vacuo's central water supply and blame it on me and the Queen's Fist. The results were devastating. Within days of the poisoning, complete anarchy had broken out, as people began mindlessly slaughtering each other in the streets. This gave Khanus (the Chieftain in control of Vale and its surrounding area) and his pack the perfect opportunity to strike, so he sent an overwhelming horde from Vale to Vacuo. This resulted in the destruction of the Kingdom, the deaths of over 96% of its population, and the death of one of the Grimm Chieftains."
"From there we can begin our story, introducing a familiar yet completely different cast of characters." Salem concludes.
A/N: Hello readers! I'm back to writing, and I've got a whole new project I'm working on. To tell the truth, this project actually has me a little intimidated. It could either go very well, or be a complete disaster. This is a whole new world, so we will not be following the cannon storyline. Just a fair warning, this fic is rated M for a reason. There won't be any smut, and swearing is going to stay at a minimum, but I need to warn you, this story is going to get really, really DARK at times. Some of the things that will be showing up are gore, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, mental illness, discrimination, slavery, children dying, suicide, drug use, cannibalism and actions that would be considered war crimes.
This is going to be a Bleiss project, only with Bluby, Wake and Rang as well as the rest of the cast, but so much will be different. As this is a Bleiss style project, there's guaranteed to be a LOT of OOC behavior here, since that's kind of the point. The amount of change will vary; with some of them not really changing much at all, while others will be just barely a step away from OCs. They'll be able to come with new outfits, new colors, new symbols, new personalities, new combat styles, new semblances, race changes (this world has a lot more Faunus, some of whom will surprise you) and even new weapons.
Now I won't be using the names Bleiss, Wake, Bluby and Rang, because that would just get confusing. Where does it stop? Blardin Winchester? Bloman Torchwick? Doctor Blarthalmew Oobleck? That being said, Bleiss is definitely still going to be Bleiss, even if she is still called Weiss Schnee. As for the others, there's not really much to go on with Bluby, Wake and Rang, outside of a few Discord discussions; Bleiss is the only one I've ever seen getting any actual fan fics. The more minor characters have even less to go on. This is why I intend to make my own versions of everyone else.
Another note is that not all of the characters will be there. Mercury and Emerald are two big examples of this.
As for Human/Faunus OCs, don't expect much there. Willow, Weiss, Whitley and Winter have a different husband/father, but that's pretty much it.
As another word of warning, the characters here are going to be OP to the extreme. They have to be in a world where the Grimm number in the hundreds of millions. Weapons will be stronger, there will be new, powerful types of dust, technology will be more advanced and Semblances will cross the border of extreme often.
In terms of character development, most of the characters will be on opposite sides here at the start. Some on the villain's team may not necessarily be evil though, just on the wrong side of things. I do intend on flipping some of the villains and heroes to opposite sides though.
Another note is that discrimination against the Faunus isn't really going to exist in this world. Humans and Faunus have a new race to hate on instead.
As for the Grimm, the idea for how they are structured is based largely on the Primal Zerg from Star Craft 2. Most of the OCs in this story is going to be the Chieftains. So far, I've got Fenrir, a Beowolf and Khanus, a Boarbatusk. There will be more of them though.
The relationship between the Kingdoms and the Chieftains is a bizarre one. While normal Grimm are mindless engines of destruction, the Chieftains are smarter than that. They understand that Human and Faunus negativity is what gives them their strength, so rather than destroy them, they try to protect the ones inside their territory and can sometimes even play a role in the creation of new Kingdoms or settlements. They will attempt to destroy Kingdoms in rival territories if they can't take over said territories though. They will also attack the Kingdoms in their territory if negativity starts to wane in order to create more negativity, but they aim to cause chaos, not destruction.
The ships have been decided, and although Bleiss will definitely show interest in Jaune initially, she will not be paired with him. Since the entire purpose of this fic is flipping everything we know about the series, there will be some ships that are considered crack ships normally. The main ones are going to be Weiss x Yang (Freezerburn), Jaune x Nora (Nora's Arc) and Adam Taurus x Cinder Fall (Bleeding Red). There is also likely to be other ships as well.
Finally, the prologue will contain a character short for each member of teams RWBY and JNPR (Other characters may show up in the shorts as well). Fenrir may also get his own character short. After this, I plan on progressing to the story itself. Just a heads up, the first short (Blake), is going to be really, really dark.