A/N: Gloppenboopin pals, and welcome to another chapter of…

The Creed of a Huntsman

Marcus, Team RWBY's dorm (Dream)

Falling. Marcus was falling. A weird way to begin a dream, in Marcus's opinion, but he didn't have anywhere to go from here so all he could do was look forward towards his salvation, a small ravine cutting through the city he was in. He landed back first into the body of water before grasping onto the wooden dock there. After pulling himself up, he stood up and looked at where he had fallen… then he began to raise his head to fully look at the rest of the building; that being Freedom Tower.

"What the… why the fu-" he tried to speak, before he found himself observing the area around him. The dream realm was a fucking weird one, seeing as the world seemed to be in a constant state of fluctuation, almost like the Animus Core. It was his dream, but it seemed like it served as a bridge between worlds, as his dream somehow struggled to load New York City in 2015, and Vale, the ravine dividing the two.

"Why the hell is Vale and New York merging? I-" Marcus tried to figure out the fuck was going on, when his Eagle Vision activated by itself and began to portray a golden path, before deactivating. Seeing as his Eagle Vision hardly ever let him down, he started to follow the path. He climbed the stairs leading him to the rest of the docks and had a chance to look at the inside of the ravine, some pixels popping out of the water. The area had small gondolas rowing through the area, kinda reminding him of Venice. He backed away from the small wall and began to continue along the path, the faint rhythm of the keyboard in Starset's "It Has Begun" blaring in Marcus's earphones, keeping him amused for the time being. Eventually, it led him to a small café where he took a seat in a small table when a waitress came to him and asked him for a drink, deciding on sweet tea. She promptly left when another girl sat in the seat in front of him. She seemed to be wearing a tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging, unzipped halfway to show an orange top. The coat has darker brown short sleeves, a thick collar that completely encircles her neck, a brown beaked hood with a thin gold accented line going down the middle, and two long gold-trimmed rectangular tails. She also wore fitted black pants and her hair was flowing out of her hood.

Around her hips and over the tails of her coat is a brown belt, which has two pieces of dark brown material trimmed in gold attached to it. The first covers from her left hip to the back of the belt and is folded over the belt, and the second is attached from the right hip and almost around to the other piece of material. She wore knee high brown boots with gold caps on the heel and toe, with the toe cap attaching to a gold strap across the front of her ankle, and a gold zipper on the upper half of the front of the boots. A single small buckled strap is on the upper outside of her boots, and a purple bandana tied around her left knee. And to complete the outfit, a pair of black fingerless gloves with long brown cuffs reaching to mid forearm complete the outfit, though he could tell something had happened to the girl, because the fingertips on her right hand were yellow, almost metallic even. Who was this mystery woman?

"Marcus," the woman's garbled voice took him by surprise, she probably had a voice modifier inside the collar, "it's been awhile." Marcus tried to contemplate who she was, when his Eagle Vision flared up and he placed a hand on his forehead and groaned, soothing his migraine, before looking up and the vision revealed the truth.

"Yang? Yang, is that you?" he was in shock. Who the fuck hurt her?!

"Wow, a couple of weeks and you already forgot how I look, did you get memory loss while on assignment?" the usual sarcasm in her tone, just y'now, garbled.

"What happened? How did you-"

"There isn't time for that question, Marc." She shut him down, deactivating the voice changer, her voice somber.

"The hell do you mean 'There isn't time'? I mean, I like the change in outfits, but…your arm." He pointed to her right arm, when she shuffled around, and put it under the table. The waitress came back with the tea and took the lien left on the table, and asked Yang if she wanted something, to which she declined.

"All in due time, young Assassin, the truth will be revealed, and set you free." Yang's voice changed once more, but it was almost godlike, and there was tinges of gold going through her eyes.

The same way it did whenever someone used a Piece of Eden.

"Are you possessed Yang?"

"Yes, in a sense." The godlike voice responded.

"By who… The First Civ?"

"The Isu, not to be politically correct"

"Yeah, but who?" Marcus was more curious than concerned, at this point about who was in control of his teammate/'bedbuddy' as Yang called it.

"I am Prometheus."

"Prometheus? Like Ridley Scott, or the Greek god?" the entity in Yang's body chuckled.

"Very funny, but if you would prefer, you may call me Consus"

"Is that your legitimate name, or a name from another life?"

"Does it really matter?"

"No, but for now, I'll stick to Prometheus, since Consus doesn't have the cool factor of Prometheus." Prometheus sighed, and before the golden color of Yang's eyes dissipated and an almost gold and pale being, taking the form of Giovanni Borgia, stood by Yang's side, and time came to a stop for all but Marcus and the Isuan.

"Woah, how'd you do that?" Marcus looked giddy as all hell, because stopping time was a pretty damn cool thing to do.

"Luckily for you, you have lucid dreams frequently; therefore, I may possess a degree of control over your dreams as well," Prometheus explained and walked out the outdoor area of the café, "Walk with me, would you?" Marcus promptly finished his sweet tea, and began to walk with the Isuan through the streets of Vale.

"So you said you were a part of The First Civilization, correct?" to which Prometheus nodded, "So, how is it you are talking to me, and why?"

"I came into contact with you during your mission to Abstergo, when you retrieved my creation."

"The Apple?"

"Correct. During the time in which your species were at war with mine, we were aware of an impending doom. At the time, I was quickly fading from existence. In an attempt to preserve my knowledge, I uploaded my conscience to my creation, The Shroud."

"The Shroud? But-" Marcus began, before Prometheus interrupted him.

"I am getting there. The Isu thought I only uploaded it to The Shroud. What I didn't tell them, was that I preserved my knowledge in The Apple you retrieved as well." Prometheus and Marcus crossed the bridge between Vale and New York, passing Freedom Tower and walking on the side walk through the streets.

"The blinding light when I was hurt, you save my life," Marcus realized, "Thank you dude, I can't thank you enough."

"I'd say your welcome, but due to your increasing depression and alcoholism, I'll take that with a grain of salt" the entity wryly responded, whereas Marcus stopped and glared at him, "At least you have a high tolerance for alcohol, I've rarely seen you drunk.

"So, why are you talking to me? What purpose do I serve to you and your cause?" Marcus's impatience took the better of him, and he wanted answers.

"I am here to help you in your quest for answers, and if possible, return you back home" Prometheus revealed and Marcus was in his face.

"YOU CAN GET ME BACK HOME?" He almost screamed, attempting to grab Prometheus by the shoulders.

"I said 'if possible, IF POSSIBLE', I didn't guarantee your return, as it is a lengthy and difficult process." Prometheus voiced boomed with impatience, as the young man, seemed more eager to return home rather than help this world.

"You've made all kinds of crazy shit, man. Mind control devices, healing items straight out a video game, hell, from what I've heard, even a device that can manipulate time!"

"That was neat, wasn't it?"

"That's beside the point, what I'm saying is, why can't you take me home?!"

"THERE MAY BE AN IMPENDING DOOM ON BOTH OF YOUR WORLDS!" Prometheus screamed at Marcus, causing him to stumble back.

"Wha-Wha-What do you mean?" Marcus backed up, his voice laced with fear, almost tripping on the hood of the car. Prometheus sighed and faced the assassin.

"We believe Juno is playing an attack on both worlds in order to get what she wants, control over both the human race and faunus. She will not stop until she gets what she wants."

"So where do I come in, huh? What purpose do I serve?" Marcus inquired.

"You need to rally a force strong enough to defeat Juno, and erase her from existence." Prometheus concluded, the tone in his voice dire. The Assassin turned his back and stroked his chin, contemplating for several minutes, before facing the Isu.

"Are you going to help in this affair," he began, "or are you gonna stand there, looking pretty?" he finished with a small smirk. He was onboard.

"Yes," Prometheus started before he snapped his fingers, and the world seemed to dissipate until they were in a room, blank, but infinite, "Welcome, to the Nexus where will draw schematics for your weapons, hone your skills, and try to locate Pieces of Eden."

"Ok, when do we start?" Marcus rubbed his hands together anxiously and began stretching.

"Next time, I'm afraid. You have to get to classes and prepare for your trip to Forever Fall."

"Wow, even in my dreams I can't escape people telling me to go to school," Marcus dryly responded, and sunk to his knees, "When does the nightmare end?!" he shook his fist at the sky in a mocking fashion.

"Right now," Prometheus answered and began fading, "Have fun and be safe!"

"Wait, what?" Marcus said dumbfounded before his vision faded to black.

Marcus, Team RWBY dorm

The sunlight shining on Marcus's eyes were irritating, to say the least, and before he knew it, he couldn't delay and his eyes flickered open, and shielded his eyes. After a minute of adjusting to the light, he leaned forward and stretched his back, before he let out a yawn.

"HIYA SLEEPYHEAD" Ruby zipped straight to Yang's bed and Marcus let out a girlish scream, before clutching his heart and clearing his throat.

"Damn, wonder who was the loser who let out that scream?" he casually said, trying to play it cool, before leaping off the bed. He saw the RWB portion of the team already in gear, and Yang sitting in a chair, brushing her hair in the corner.

"Apparently the one sharing fluids with our resident brawler." Weiss smugly responded, as Yang smiled and her cheeks became a deep red, whereas Marcus blushed and put his hands up.

"Woah, woah! Where the hell did that come from?" he stuttered. Weiss let out an evil chuckle, and leaned on Ruby's shoulder.

"You aren't exactly subtle about your attempts to get in Xiao Long's pants." She smiled demonically, although Marcus had a comeback to shut her up, as he had a shit eating grin that troubled Weiss.

"I'm not the one who gave Ruby a coffee in the middle of the night" he wiggled his eyebrows as Ruby shuffled awkwardly and Weiss slipped from Ruby's shoulder and began tripping over her words. Blake had a grin on her face and Yang was laughing her ass off in the corner.

With that situation dealt with, he went to the restroom to start the day.

Marcus, Forever Fall

The blood red textures of Forever Fall were the first thing to greet the students of Beacon upon their arrival to said location. It was… eerie, startling, haunting, a crap ton of other words Marcus didn't want to name, but at the same time, beautiful.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." Professor Goodwitch addressed Team RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL, strolling through the forest before coming to a stop, and Jaune, carrying a large case with empty jars, tried to catch up, before bumping into Cardin. Cardin scowled at Jaune, whereas Jaune whistled tunelessly, trying to remain innocent, and Marcus turned towards them both and raised an eyebrow, before turning back to Goodwitch, who lifted a jar and continued to instruct.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

While Team RWBY all smiled, Jaune tried to sneak away from Cardin, and was promptly grabbed by the back of the shirt.

"Come on buddy, let's go!" Jaune miserably looked up at his team, to find Pyrrha's sad stare. Jaune dropped his gaze, and began to follow CRDL. Marcus, who witnessed the scene, sighed and began to walk besides Pyrrha.

"What's up Pyrrha?" Marcus greeted her, and Pyrrha composed herself and warmly smiled.

"Hello Marcus, how are you?"

"Same shit, different day, y'know?" he shrugged, before continued, "Say I couldn't help but notice Jaune going with Captain Cockbite instead of, y'know, his team, did you notice that?" Pyrrha broke her composure, sighed heavily, and drooped her shoulders.

"Yes, it's a complicated story that isn't mine to tell, as it's… personal between me and Jaune. Sorry Marcus."

"It's alright Pyr, I won't pry. When the time comes, I'll listen." He apologized, and shoved his hands in his hoodies pockets, walking with his friends until they reached a destination suitable for them.

Marcus walked up to one the trees and place his hand on it, determining his tree, he unslung his backpack to grab his spout, when a bright light erupted from it. He quickly closed his bag, checking to see if anyone had seen the light, before opening it again, the light fading and he saw the guilty party.

The very Apple that brought him here in the first place. Marcus was puzzled, and reached for a note inside the bag, and set the spout on the floor, then opened the note.

'Oh yes, if you ever need to consult me, reach this dimension, or a last ditch effort for when all else fails, I managed to leave this in your bag. Be wary when using this, symptoms include nausea, sweating, nose bleeds, etc., etc.

-Your friendly neighborhood extinct precursor, Prometheus.'

Marcus finished reading, and looked back at the bag before glossing over the note again, until he saw the pristine boots of a certain heiress.

"What are you reading Marcus?" she inquired, hands on her hips.

"Nothing special, just a note I found in my locker, probably talking about selling me into sex slavery." Marcus stood up and awkwardly chuckled, pulled out his earphones, and tossed his paper to his right, accidently using his Aura to propel the paper through the forest. They both looked to where it flew and formed their mouths into Os.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Forever Fall…

The note soared almost a mile away from the students, before lightly drifting in the air, until a Ursa accidently inhaled the paper, and surprisingly, coughed. It turned to its fellow Ursa and let out a roar to communicate.

"Disgusting!" it said, but only sounded like a normal roar to most people. The second Ursa responded.

"What are you, Tonald Drump?"

And now, back with our regularly scheduled program…

"Okay…." Weiss drawled out, before returning back to him, "….you don't mind if I join you, do you?"

"No," he shifted his hand to the tree next to him, "have at it."

The two began to feel the best spot to puncture the tree, and channel their strength, and slammed the spout into the tree, the sap flowing freely, and the pair quickly placing their jars there and began to fill up the jars.

"So, how are you enjoying your time here at Beacon?" Weiss figured she try a conversation with their resident 5th wheel, not that she would say that to his face, seeing that Marcus was intimidating enough without that menacing hood, although she could have sworn she heard stories about men and women with beaked hoods helping bystanders from harassment, rich or poor.

"It's going better than I expected, actually, but I do miss my sister." Marcus sealed the jar and twisted the knob, before he grabbed another jar, and repeated the cycle.

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot you had a sister." She told herself, before focusing on the task at hand.

"Yeah. How do you fare, Snowball?" he asked, and Weiss slightly flinched at the stupid nickname.

"I'm doing terrific, thank you. There may have been some bumps in the road, but I have endured."

"How so?" Marcus turned to Weiss, to find her staring at Ruby, not paying attention. He set down his jar and realized the speed bump in the awfully paved road she described.

"I see, you are still stuck there." Weiss turned back to Marcus, and backed up against the tree and brought her knees to her chest.

"I-I just, still can't fathom how someone like Ruby managed to become a team leader over someone who has trained vigorously for years for that opportunity. I know I promised her I would do my damnedest to be the best teammate she could hope for, but, a part of me wishes I could still be the leader."

"Weiss," Marcus began, "the world isn't always going to submit to your will-"

"I am aware of that." She snappily intervened.

"-you wanna let me finsh?" Marcus retorted, and Weiss was about to speak up, but just mumbled to herself and lowered her hand.

"Anyways… you can't exactly alter what has happened, unless you have some sort of super speed to travel back in time."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, it's a stupid reference to a TV show. But, nevertheless, you can, No, HAVE to adapt to this quickly. The world sucks, Weiss, and from what I can tell, you know that extremely well," Weiss rubbed her left arm and turned away from him, before she felt him gently place his hand on her shoulder, "But, you can't let that get to you. You can become better than that, and shape up to outdo your sister, your father, fuck, even your grandfather," She smiled and turned back to him, "You need to have faith in Ruby, as I do in the team."

There was a briefly period of silence and tranquility, the winds of autumn and the chatter of Team RWBY and JNPR fading between the two, before Weiss sighed and stood up, with Marcus following suit.

"Thank you Marcus, for the pep talk, I appreciate it. Not many of people think they amount to anything next to the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, but you don't seem to care, and I'm grateful for that."

"Never above you. Never below you. Always besides you." Marcus quoted, the words his sister Emilia echoed in his mind, although he was pretty sure she didn't say that originally, he could never remember.

The moment of tranquility was broken by the roar of an Ursa, and all members of CRDL, save for Cardin, came running out of the forest, screaming Ursa. Marcus, deciding to be a dick, stuck his foot out to where he tripped Dove with his toes, and he landed awkwardly, Family Guy style, yet, Dove still sprinted away from the forest, while Yang grabbed and interrogated Russel.

"What Ursa?! Where?!"

"Back there!" he still ran in the air, trying to escape, all the while pointing at the forest, "It's got Cardin!" he almost shrieked, and Marcus inquired something.

"Guys, what about-"

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha finished for him, dropping her jar of sap, while Ruby entered leader mode.

"Marcus," he turned to his leader as Yang let go of Russel, "You take Yang and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!"

Marcus nodded and pressed hid index and middle finger to his forehead to give her a two finger salute, and the three of them took off, with Pyrrha giving Ren and Nora the order to assist them.

Marcus leaped from branch, as the high ground was as much use to him as it was to Obi-Wan, trying to locate Goodwitch. He felt his tree wobble, before quickly giving way for the second time this semester. He barely managed to leap to another branch, but due to the sudden fall, he missed the branch and hit another branch stomach first, having the wind knocked out of him, and fell to the forest floor, gravity and his activated Aura creating a small crater the size of his back, and groaned from the pain. Shortly after, he felt his favorite bombshell by his feet.

"Fucking shit, Marcus, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I actually remembered to activated my Aura this time," he still lay there, trying to regain his breath, "the others?"

"I sent them with Goodwitch, told them I would make sure you were okay."

"I figured."

"What the hell happened?" Yang asked, and Marcus was going to answer, when his eyes widened. She was about to ask again, when she felt his foot strike her stomach and she went flying, dazed and confused.

Marcus brought his legs up as a giant paw smashed where his feet once were, before kipping up as the other paw smashed where his head was. He quickly spun around, the ends of his jacket swaying as he came to a stop to face the creature. The Grimm seemed to be a form of Lion, the top half of its face covered in a mask, the mane pure white and horns adorning its legs.

"This is really weird considering the ecosystem lions live in at home." Marcus said aloud and casually, as Yang pulled up aside him, ready to fight.

"The fuck are you talking about?" she asked, getting into her battle stance, fist raised.

"Nothing, let's kill this damn thing!" he shouted, charging, Yang following suit. The creature let out a mighty roar, and charged as well. The creature leapt in the air and attempted to get the drop on them, but Yang, being the fearless individual she is, tackled the Grimm mid-air and landed on top of the creature with a hard thud. Yang punched the creature in the face five times, before the Grimm smacked her to the side not anticipating Marcus's attack, in which he swung his sword to the left, imbedding itself in the creature's torso. The Grimm cried in pain, and swiped its claws downwards, Marcus activating his aura to prevent himself from getting his skull split into 5 pieces, and brought up his hidden blade, the blade barely standing up to the power of the Grimm.

Marcus, staggered by the attack, barely rolled under the Grimm's next attack, in which it attempted to bite Marcus's head off, and sliced the creatures front leg, incapacitating the creature briefly, before hopping on the back of it in a attempt to defeat the thing.

"WATCH OUT!"

Marcus barely managed to turn halfway to the voice, when someone slammed into his back, catching him off guard, and causing some serious injury. A tree managed to stop their flight, with both of them landing face first. Marcus rolled over and moaned in pain.

"Damn, is this for note recycling that stupid note?" he groaned, and questioning whatever divine being had a habit for going eco-friendly. Getting to his feet, he dusted off his shirt, and saw the creature a couple meters away, the sword still imbedded in it. Said creature began to drag its right paw against the dirt. Marcus, knowing what the creature was challenging him to, assumed the position, crouching down with his right foot as far back as it could.

The creature let out a roar before charging, and Marcus screamed 'Hoorah' and did the same. With every step Marcus took, the tension in the air rose, and the harder the footsteps. Finally, when the two meet, Marcus brought his hands up and slammed them against the Grimm, stopping it in its tracks. The pain from his previous injuries instantly surged back, and Marcus realized he had depleted his aura. Now Marcus was holding it back through sheer strength and willpower, an impressive feat for someone who was drained of 80% of his total energy.

Marcus turned to look behind him and saw Yang standing up, and gathering her bearings. It was at this moment that Marcus came up with a plan.

"Yang!", he called, getting the girls attention, "I need you to rush this thing and attack, I've got a plan!" he exclaimed. Yang nodded and broke into a sprint and jumped high in the air. Marcus, meanwhile, had used his strength to shove the creature back without knocking it on its backside, and pulled his sword from the chest of it, the thing screaming. Then, Yang landed a sickening punch of the Grimm. The Grimm landed flat on it back.

Marcus then broke out into a run, and kicked off a nearby tree, and swung his sword downwards. The Grimm trying to recover from its previous blow stood no chance.

As soon as Marcus's sword sliced halfway through its neck, the creature disintegrated into a flutter of roses, ala Wight Walker style. When Marcus feet touched the ground, he lost his balance, and rolled onto the ground, laying there, catching his breath.

"Marcus! Holy crap!" Yang exclaimed, getting to his side immediately and placing his head in her lap. She looked extremely worried, fear in her eyes.

"Hey there, pretty bird." Marcus whispered, before chuckling or coughing, he couldn't tell. Marcus noticed she looked extremely attractive from that angle.

"Jeez man, you had me spooked there." She muttered, barely even speaking, and brushing Marcus's hair past his eyebrows. Marcus took her hand into his, soothing her.

"Please," he chuckled, " It's gonna take more than a deformed lion to kill me." He reassured her, "Yang… that look of worry doesn't suit you."

Yang managed to form a smile, infecting Marcus with the bright grin, as the both of them stared into each other's eyes. The bright emerald and lilac dancing, easing the two teens.

They almost died, well, sort of. They could have been seriously injured, even crippled in that fight. It was a moment like this where the both of them were grateful to make it out relatively unscathed. Where it made them realize this was THE moment.

Yang slowly leaned forward, knowing damn well what she wanted at this moment. Marcus began to lean forward as well, trying to satisfy not only his need, but Yang's. The duo could feel the warm mint scented breath brushing across their lips, as they were about to meet each other's lips. Inches… away.

"Marcus, Yang, you guys ok?!" Ruby's childlike voice echoed from the trees, shooing away some birds.

SO. CLOSE.

The two of them backed off, and Yang offered Marcus a hand to pull himself up. Marcus generously took her hand and got on his feet, slinging his arm over her shoulder.

"Yeah, we're fine! Just a lil' bit winded!" he replied as Team JNPR, RWBY, CRDL and Goodwitch burst through the tree line.

"Do you need any medical assistance?" Goodwitch asked worried for the health of her students.

"No," Marcus barely breathed out, "just a good support for the long haul back." He joked, and patted Yang's shoulder with his supporting arm.

"Very well."

And so the group began to return to mainland. A couple of minutes of walking and worried glances throw his way, Marcus mustered up the courage to ask Yang a question.

"So, are we gonna discuss what was about to happen back there?"

"Not now. However, I'd feel very much incline to 'discuss' it with you when we are alone." She flirted, whispering in his ear, giving him goosebumps.

"I'd like to discuss it as well, Xiao Long." He purred.

"Discuss what?" Nora jumped in front of them, halting their advance.

"Uh, nothing, Valkyrie." Yang coolly replied in an attempt to get them off their backs.

"Right, and Ozpin and Glynda aren't secretly dating…"

"What?!" Yang exclaimed, although Marcus did agree with Nora's point,

"You heard me, blondie! I know you guys are doing a different version of 'The Hokey Pokey.'"

"Why are you so interested, hm? Do you and Ren need some back up?" Yang quipped as Ren awkwardly rubbed his arm as Nora tried to explain that they weren't "Together, together."

Marcus stuffed his right hand into his jean pocket, and felt a paper he knew probably wasn't there before. He pulled it out to see the paper, and turned to hide it from them.

It was a fortune cookie note.

Marcus, sighed, and flipped the note over.

'Try recycling next time, jerk. Even Remnant needs some green friendly people.'

-Prometheus

What an ass.