Thanks for the support of the story so far, everybody. It means a lot for the reviews, follows and favorites. While I know it may not follow the more preferred route of humor/parody like some well known RWBY SI stories, I would like to thank you for giving it a shot and sticking with it so far. As thanks, I decided to pump out one last chapter for it before the year was done. So let's get to it.

Italics: Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks

I sat there in stunned silence as the waves continued to crash loudly against the beach. There was not a single cloud in the sky and I could see endless ocean as it stretched out for miles. Flocks of gulls continued to circle overhead and caw out. With a quick look up and down the beach I could only see palm trees and dried up bushes. It could almost pass for a postcard.

That aside, I was having difficulty trying to think of anything. My mind had come back blank, and I'm sure that had to do with the fact I was still trying to come to terms with everything that had happened. Can you blame me? Pretty sure no one would be taking this remotely better. It's easy to imagine what you'd do in certain situations, but that was because they were hypothetical and designed to challenge your thought process. It's not like it literally put you in that situation and just said "figure it out, guy."

If anyone was in my shoes and thrust here in an unknown land, stranded on a beach in the middle of nowhere, they would not be calm and trying to figure out what comes next like something out of a video game. They would be freaking out. If they said they wouldn't do that, they're a liar. The mind can only take so much before it is overwhelmed and that's exactly where mine was at that moment.

Although I knew this wasn't a dream, I decided to check again just one last time. False hope was still there, but it needed to be done to help bring some form of closure.

My hand lifted up my shirt and I lightly fingered the bullet hole on the chest and lifted it above the wound I had. Just like I remembered from Seraph's office, after signing the contract with him, the wound had sealed shut and healed enough to leave a gnarly scar. Something that could be a cool story later if anyone asked about it, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

Right now I had to regroup and try to figure out where I was.

Let's look at the facts. I'm in a tropical area, in fact it was pretty damn hot. And I was on a beach in the middle of nowhere with no signs of civilian life nearby. This could be a big problem. In this weather and lack of shelter, I could just as easily die from lack of resources. That was a no go, especially after I already died earlier today.

The only option I had was to get off the beach and search for a small town or find a road to maybe hitchhike if it came down to it. That was my first mission. Find some form of civilization and figure out where I was.

My hands fumbled for my pistol that was still attached to my hip in the holster. There was no sand clogging the barrel or caught in the slide after giving it a quick inspection. Before I put it on back at the gas station, I had two magazines that held fifteen bullets. One was in the gun and the other was sitting in the holster. I used four bullets back in that gunfight which meant I had twenty-six left. Sounded like a lot, but it really wasn't.

Next I went for my wallet to see what else may have transferred over with me during the transmigration. I had eighty dollars in it when I was at Miller Park since the food and drinks were expensive and I didn't want to use my credit card. That also included both my driver's license and military ID.

The first thing that caught my eye was that the green cash I had become familiar with was now replaced with some plastic, card-like currency.

"What the hell?" I pulled it out to take a closer look.

This was the weirdest form of money I'd seen. The only thing that I knew was that it was the eighty dollars I had earlier, but converted to fit rules of this world. Until I figured out how currency worked here, I could actually be dirt poor for all I know. Actually, check that. I was poor as shit at the moment. That alone sucks since I had a lot saved up back home.

The final thing I noticed was that both of my identification cards had remained the same for the most part, except my name had changed to my new one. It didn't make much sense in my eyes that they didn't change like the money did, but maybe there was a stretch to how much changed? Guess that's something to ask Seraph next time I saw him.

I tucked my wallet away and got to my feet with a long stretch. My shoulders, back and neck cracked as I loosened up for my hike. Time to get off this beach.

I made my way up the beachhead and climbed up the slope of the hill. The sand was loose and I could feel it pour into my shoes as I climbed. The grainy texture clung to my socks and ground against my feet as I reached the top of the hill. When I finished my ascension I looked out ahead of me and stood rooted to the spot in silence.

Far ahead I could see nothing but large rock formations shimmering in the blistering waves of the heat. Some cactuses stood tall like green spires on top of the dry, cracked desert ground.

The desert. Of all the godforsaken places Seraph could have dropped me, he drops me in the goddamn desert. What an asshole. Yeah, I was in trouble if I didn't find some fresh water soon.

Doing another sweep of the area I could see nothing going up and down the coastline. No signs. No roads. Nothing. I would need to make a decision fast and it was a risky one. Suffer dehydration trying to find civilization or die from dehydration as a result of drinking salt water.

Well, I guess now's a good a time as any to take a risk.

I decided to continue into the desert. My luck was hit and miss and given the way it was going today, it did not seem promising that I would find a town, or a rest stop or even an oasis. At least I had my hat to keep me protected from the sun.

This wasn't the first time I had been in the desert before. I traveled through West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona with my old car. Long car ride and the scenery had its moments, but it was not the ideal place to run into a hiccup. They got hot as hell during the day, especially during the summer and believe it or not, it could get pretty damn cold during the nights.

In fact, this reminded me a lot of Arizona. Flat desert that went on for miles that was filled with dried up wadis, creeks and riverbeds that only came to life during the heavy rains. The air was also dry and the sun unforgiving without clouds to block it out. The ground was hard and kicked up clouds of dirt and dust whenever I took a step on the dry surface.

I didn't have a watch on me either save for my cell phone… wait, that would work!

My hand drifted down to my pocket where my phone would have been, but it ended up going deeper than it should. The phone was like a brick and I could feel it in my pocket whenever it was sitting in it. This this time I actually had to dig down to find it, and it was a lot smaller than before. When my fingers pinched the object in place of my phone I pulled it out and was stunned to see what looked like a device just barely bigger than my thumb.

This is way off. What the heck was this thing? Where did my phone go?

I spun the device between my finger tips and held it up to my eyes to closely inspect it. Nothing too out of the ordinary. It was about the size of a USB drive and upon closer inspection I could make out a distinct line that ran down the center of it. Going on a hunch I pinched each side of the device and pulled it open. A light blue screen popped up between both pieces of the plastic.

"This isn't what I think it is, is it?" I muttered in disbelief.

You see, I'd seen this device before, but it was only something that existed in a web series that I watched religiously, especially when new episodes became available for members on the site. It was a scroll. The cell phones of the RWBY universe.

I could feel my jaw hanging open as I looked at the scroll dumbly, completely shocked with the realization I came to. It was something I was kicking myself for because it should have been obvious after what happened back in Seraph's office. When I was coming up with my new name the registration denied it because it didn't fall in line with a color. A nitpicky rule, but one of the more unique ones of the show. And it was also one that a lot of OC stories in the fanfiction department neglected and shat on. Because hey, fanfiction, right?

Out of curiosity I tapped the screen and it lit up for a moment before buzzing to the main menu. The layout of the scroll was similar to my phone with apps and widgets in place on the screen to go with the settings, the time, my signal, all of that good stuff. One of the apps in particular looked like a miniature globe and going on a hunch, I tapped it.

My belief was confirmed when a web browser came up and big bold letters popped into the center of the screen reading "CCT Network". The signal was low, but I was getting enough juice to at least do a web search.

There was a small tab that had maps as an option and hope swelled through me. If I remembered what those World of Remnant lore videos right, Remnant had no space program which meant no GPS, but maybe they had a way I could triangulate my position using the CCT towers.

The loading bar continued to buffer at snail's pace until it finally brought up a large map that included all the continents. Each continent showed a tower in some random location, most likely each capital of the continent. The towers on the screen flashed blue and a streak of blue light bounced to each one like a pinball. It continued to do that until the light shot off the tower to the far left of the screen and the light stopped just off the eastern coast on the western continent.

Let's see here. There was Vale, Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo. Given the heat and desert setting, I was willing to bet my left nut I was probably in Vacuo. This was good and bad. Good news was I at least had an idea where I was, but the bad news was that I was essentially in the Wild West. No bueno.

I swallowed the saliva in my mouth to sooth my dry throat and zoomed in on my location on the map. Once I zoomed in enough I could see some of the terrain features, but not the ones I wanted. I dragged the map on the screen in each direction to try and find a town or a road. Anything to get me on the right track. Finally I found a hard ball road that was northwest of my position, but it was a long hike. Eight miles, maybe pushing ten. It was kind of hard to get an accurate read without a scale to measure the distance.

"This really blows." I turned myself to face northeast.

The time on my scroll read two-thirty, and that was a punch to the gut. The sun was still rising and it would only get hotter until it set. With this walk I had to do, I had to pace myself and not risk burning all my energy and getting dehydrated quicker. So long as I got to the road before nightfall, I might have a chance. Hard ball roads were always a good sign since that meant it was a main highway and people used it frequently. There was a good chance I could still get out of here if I made it to the road.

At least it wouldn't be insanely hard to navigate my way to the road. Not that I had trouble with it to begin with. I've always had a good sense of direction and it only got better when I had to try and find points during land navigation tests when I was training. Night or day, I found my points and learned how to do it like a pro.

With newfound confidence and hope, I stepped forward and began my walk to the road.

Holy shit, what I wouldn't give to have some water right now. Seraph really screwed me over. He drops me in a desert and knew that from the get go, yet he couldn't give me a bottle of water? For an angel, the guy was a huge dick.

My tongue and my mouth were completely dry and I was experiencing the worst cotton mouth of my life. Kind of like waking up from a long sleep and you are craving for something to sip on and get some form of relief back. This was worse. My mouth and throat was so dry that it hurt when I would stop to take a deep breath of air.

My shirt was drenched with sweat and I could feel my skin chaffing under the rubbing. It was an uncomfortable burn to go with the sweat rash my hat was giving me despite protecting my face from the sun. And of course, can't have a hike in the desert without your underwear being graced with ball sweat the whole ten yards.

In a moment of sick humor I briefly considered wringing out my sweat to drink it, but immediately dismissed the thought. The sun was really getting to me now and I was finding myself stopping to sit down with a light head frequently.

The walk itself started fine, but it offered me little mercy. I was fortunate enough to find some cactuses and large rocks that offered a small bit of shade that I would use to take a decent break to recover, but looking ahead of me now, it looked like it was just flat desert and brush. No rock formations or anything.

The tip of my shoe caught the ground and I stumbled forward. On any normal day I would have been able to keep my balance, but this time I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. My teeth clenched tight and my face scrunched up in minor discomfort as my chest slammed into the ground and sent me into a coughing fit.

You know, now that I think about it, this could be worse believe it or not. It's not like I had my ruck where I got like eighty pounds of gear in it from the last march. Just thinking about that was enough to take my mind off of it with a light chuckle.

That was the key for me whenever I had to push on through the pain during training. Try to find humor or something to take your mind off of it. That was the key. Otherwise it got way too easy to quit, and I sure as hell wasn't quitting now. Mostly because it spelled certain death if I did, so that was a no go.

Embrace the suck!

"This isn't Ranger School, but it's a good mental test for sure." I pushed myself to my knees.

Far ahead through the shimmering heat waves I could see something that seemed to roll over a small hill in the distance. I squinted and blinked a couple of times to make sure that I was not hallucinating. The black line was still there and it still rolled over the hill.

Was that the road? God, please let that be the road!

I was so motivated to reach the road that I started running. Left, right, left, right, left, right. The steady cadence of my feet thudded lightly on the ground and my breath swarmed in and out of my nose and mouth. I could almost feel the dirt clinging to the inside of my nose and the sweat trickled down my face like I was a leaking faucet. The misery my body was going through would be worth it because now I could see the road clear as day and knew that it was not a mirage. I had made it and accomplished the first part of my goal.

I staggered forward and hunched over just as I got to the side of the paved road. Like a lot of my runs during the PT test I took, I had a notorious record for puking because I did everything I could to break a fourteen minute two mile time. This time was no different. The bile shot up my throat and sprayed the ground like a spritz from a sprinkler. Barely much of anything from the lack of water in my body.

It took me a moment to stand upright and regroup because of my lightheaded state and it was difficult to breathe. I was sucking some air right now, similar to how I did when I was training in Arizona. My hands found the back of my head and I tried to get my breathing under control as I looked up and down the road.

The road itself was a standard two lane highway. Cars or semis would be coming from both directions and all I needed was one to stop and pull over so I could hitch a ride to the closest town. Step two was now in play. Just to give you an idea of how desperate I was for a ride, I was about to hand any driver that stopped all of my money. Call it a foolish move, but what would you do in that situation?

With no cars coming I decided to follow the road north. Handrailing the road was my best option to be seen, but I had to be careful of drivers that may not be paying attention. Didn't want to get turned into a hood ornament.

As I walked I pulled out my scroll after taking a look at the sun. It was now four-thirty. It was a two hour walk from the shore and through the desert to find the road. I took a risk and it actually turned out in my favor. It felt good, but it was going to be all for nothing if I couldn't score a ride.

I could feel the wind caress my exposed skin and whoosh loudly as it blew by me. When it died down I felt myself shiver. It felt great to have nature's air conditioning hitting me full blast and I waited patiently to get another round of it.

A small smile spread across my face when I heard it coming from behind. Wait a minute, behind? It came from my right just a second ago.

I quickly spun around when it got louder and I threw my arms up in the air and waved them like a drunk maniac. Far down the road I could see a vehicle coming towards me.

Please pull over! Please pull over! Please pull over!

The vehicle got closer and closer and I could see it slowing down as it reached me. There was a god in heaven! The sound of a loud motor was like music to my ears as the driver came to a stop just in front of me and parked.

The vehicle was reminiscent of an old Jeep Wrangler. Its windshield looked as though it was painted with sand save for the visible wiper marks that allowed the driver to see. The black paint was chipped in various places to show white and grey scratches. There were no doors on it, something that made me a little uncomfortable since it offered the chance to fall out. Despite it looking beat up, it sounded strong as it idled.

Through the windshield I could see the driver. It was a young woman who had sun kissed skin and long white hair that was tied in a low ponytail. A couple of stray bangs shielded her forehead and came just above the dark sunglasses over her eyes.

The woman stepped out of the jeep and her heavy footsteps met my ears as her boots landed on the pavement. After she came around the front of the jeep I got a better look at her. She was fairly tall, about my height. Her outfit consisted of some cargo pants that hugged her flared hips and underneath her utility vest was a blue tank top. The getup alone screamed mercenary and my hand dropped down to my waist, close to my pistol.

The woman said nothing and merely pulled her sunglasses down enough to look at me with her piercing blue eyes.

"You lost?" She asked me.

Straight to the point. I like that.

"Yeah," I managed to croak back. "Can you give me a ride?"

The woman pushed her sunglasses back up and rested her hand on her hip.

"Maybe, but do me a favor first and show me both of your hands. Slowly," she said.

I did as she asked and let my hands hang freely by my sides. She seemed to relax a little bit after I did that and she walked closer to me.

"What's in it for me? I'm wasting time by stopping to check on you, and in my line of work money is everything," she said with a cross of her arms.

My hand was fast to pull out my wallet and that was enough for the woman to draw a knife and hold it at my throat. Her eyes were no longer friendly and I could see their edge through her glasses alone. My free hand was up in a plea to keep her from attacking.

"I'm willing to give you all the money I got in my wallet if you just take me to the next town," I said as I opened it to show her the lien.

"How much do you have?" She asked.

"I honestly don't know. Look, I'm having a really bad day and could use all the help I can get. The money's yours if you just take me somewhere."

She sucked her teeth and lowered her knife and took my wallet with her other hand. For the longest moment she looked down at the lien in my wallet and I could see the grimace on her lips. That alone told me she was disappointed with whatever I had, which I knew from the beginning wasn't much.

The woman sighed and fished out two of the plastic cards and tossed my wallet back to me. She pocketed the money and jerked her thumb to the jeep.

"All right, look. I took twenty-two hundred lien from you as payment for gas. I left you with some money because you look pathetic right now, and unless you know how to fight or steal, you're going to have a rough time when you get to town," she said.

She took how much? Fuck, how did the currency work here? I mean, she did leave me money at the end of the day, but I needed to figure out how to do the math here if I wanted a chance to save some of my money and use it wisely. They were never specific on how lien worked in the show, but from the sound of it I always guessed it was equivalent to pesos or yen. Definitely something to look up on my scroll on the ride to town.

"Get in or I'm leaving you here," the woman said as she climbed in the jeep.

I snapped from my stupor and hopped in the passenger seat. Even though the seat itself looked uncomfortable, it was actually nice and pleasant. It offered a nice rest for my legs and that was what I needed.

Something cold dropped in my lap and I looked down to see a large bottle of water. The woman's hand returned to the steering wheel a second later as she started to drive. Not wasting a second I immediately unscrewed the cap and guzzled the water down. The elixir of life never tasted so good. I even pulled my hat off to drench my hair with some of it and felt the ice cold liquid drip down my head and soak into my hair.

"Thank you," I said to the woman as I put my hat back on.

"Put your hat back on. It'll keep your face from getting burned," she said back.

I did as she said and pulled my hat back on and leaned back in my seat. The wind that met me felt great and the steady drive was allowing my muscles to relax to the point I was ready to fall asleep. Falling asleep would make the drive go by faster and just as I was about to close my eyes, the woman next to me spoke up.

"So, do you want to tell me why you were wandering the desert without any gear?" She asked, not once taking her eyes off the road.

I said nothing and kept my eyes closed. There was no way I could tell her the truth without coming across as insane and I knew this woman could probably kick my ass if I followed the logic of physics in Remnant. Everyone here had aura and if it was unlocked, they were essentially superhuman.

Instead, I took a leaf from my younger days and decided to lie. Everyone lied and I did too, but definitely nowhere near as much as I did when I was younger. The reason was because every time you lied and it got bigger, it would eventually burst in your face and your punishment was practically a humiliating money shot.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," I lied with a shake of my head. "Don't even remember how I got here. Just woke up on a beach way back that way."

This got a reaction from the woman and I saw her head turn to me with a small raise of her brow.

"You woke up on the beach and you made it to the road?" She asked as if she was somewhat impressed.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You're lucky. A lot of people die in between here and the coast without some company or a vehicle."

"How's that?"

"Use your head. You're in the desert for starters. Not only that, there are some nasty Grimm and bandits out here."

The color from my face drained and a small chill went down my spine. I completely forgot about that. Maybe I caught a break? I mean, you'd think they would have been over me with how negative I was being earlier when I woke up. Guess I must have calmed down enough to avoid detection.

"What kind of Grimm?" I asked.

"Too many to list, but the ones you need to watch for out in the desert are Crustbusters," the woman answered back.

"Crustbusters? What do they look like?"

"Have you ever seen a centipede?"

I nodded back and she smirked lightly.

"They look like that, only they're huge, black and heavily armored. Takes about five people to take one of those things down," she said.

"Oh…" I simply said in return.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about that. There were tons of Grimm that existed and the fans were only exposed to a few of them that became staple in the series. That's where creativity came into play and it brought both incredible ideas and a lot of stupid ones to balance it out. But back to the matter at hand, five people against one Crustbuster to take it out reminded me of how Team RWBY and JNPR took down the Nevermore and Death Stalker respectively. Big Grimm meant teamwork.

"How big are these Crustbusters?" I asked, almost regretting doing so.

"About the size of a house," the woman replied casually without missing a beat.

A house!? Are you kidding me? That was the average size of one of those things? Holy crap, I guess I did luck out.

"They like to burrow underground and will attack anyone that walks over them or they sense with negative emotion. Word of advice, if you ever see the ground rise and start to move, run for the nearest rock."

Okay, that just screamed Tremors.

More water shot down my throat when I took another drink and relaxed deeper into the seat.

"How did you end up on the beach? Did you fall overboard? Piss off some mercenaries and they left you for dead?" She asked.

"Don't know. I don't remember anything before waking up." The lie continued.

The woman let out a sigh and gave me a firm look.

"Look, we got a long drive and I hate awkward silences. It's nice to have someone to talk to, so can you not be a stick in the mud?" She asked.

You're kind of asking me for a lot right now, honey.

"Long story short, I got caught up in a botched robbery. I got shot in the chest and the next thing I know, I wake up on the beach," I said.

"Ah, so you were lying," she said with a small smirk.

Her face scrunched up in confusion as if she reflected on what I said and she slowed the jeep down enough to take a look at my chest. Her eyes spotted the bullet hole and her hand drifted to touch it. When her finger crept inside and probed my chest she looked up at me again.

"How are you still alive?" She asked.

"I guess my aura saved me?" I weakly defended.

"Bullshit. You wouldn't have that wound if your aura saved you."

"What do you want me to say?"

My glare fell on her and she stared back at me expectantly.

"I'm just trying to understand how it's possible. Excuse me for trying to make conversation," she said before speeding up again.

"That makes two of us," I mumbled back.

Silence fell between us and I immediately felt bad. This woman was kind enough to take me to a town and all I was doing was acting like a jerk. She was similar to me in a way when it came to car rides with other people. It felt weird to sit in silence, and although silence is golden at times, it just felt odd. Try not saying something to someone on a ride the entire time. It feels awkward and tense, and I hated that feeling.

My eyes trailed back over to the woman after I finished off the bottle of water. I spotted a tattoo on her shoulder. It was dark brown and in the shape of a fox's head. Out of curiosity and a need to repair the damage I caused, I decided to talk again.

"What's with the tattoo?" I pointed at it.

She didn't answer back and I shifted quietly in my seat. Guess I deserved the cold shoulder after that one.

"It's my group's mark," she finally spoke back.

"Your group?" I asked.

"Each mercenary group has its way of marking its members. It's an honor and privilege to have one because it not only shows how strong you are, but it shows everyone who you represent and it helps gain new clients. More clients means more business, more business means more money."

Huh, that was kind of cool. It was similar to earning a tab in the military. Tabs were like extra points for being a badass depending on which one you got. My dream tab was the Ranger tab to go along with an Airborne or Air Assault badge, but I never got the chance to try and earn it.

"Which group are you with?"

She spared me a quick look and smiled proudly.

"Desert Fox. We got a reputation for being the best mercenary group around. Whatever the job, we always complete it. For the right price, of course," she said.

A mercenary group named after one of the greatest tank commanders in the world, Erwin Rommel. Well, okay, it was his nickname, but damn that guy was a monster. If this mercenary group was one of the best like she claimed, then it was a fitting name.

"How did you become a mercenary?"

The woman shrugged and let her arm rest on the back of the seat.

"I got an offer from the leader of the group since I worked with him back when I was a soldier in Atlas," she answered.

It wasn't uncommon for people in that line of work to pursue something along the lines of a PMC. It got hard to leave that lifestyle behind for something else after being in it for so long, and I guess that's what happened with the woman beside me.

"The money was good and I was bored, so here I am." She shrugged.

"Huh." I nodded in return.

Well, I didn't know much about this woman, but she already had my envy. Not for having a cool job or being a badass, but for going after what she wanted. I had things I wanted, but lacked motivation and drive to go get it. The few times I made that happen was because I really wanted it, and it was a bitter reminder as I dwelled on it. My lack of drive for my goals only told me that I did not want it enough despite telling myself I did want them.

I was trying to do something that did not fall in line with me and make it work, but no matter how hard I tried, it only made me jaded.

What the hell did I want in my life?

"What's your name?" The woman looked at me.

Her question roused me from my deprecating thoughts and I turned back to answer her.

"J-." My mouth quickly closed shut. I almost let my old name slip.

"Dustin Stone," I managed to correct myself.

My early slip of the tongue earned a quick look from the woman, but she seemed to dismiss it without much thought. She nodded and brought her bottle of water up to her lips.

"What about you?" I asked.

The woman paused after setting her bottle down on the seat and gave me another sideways glance. She turned her eyes back to the road and kept her mouth closed.

"Hail." Her voice carried over the revving of the jeep's engine.

A name relating to ice? It was a nice name, but my gut was telling me that it was probably a call sign or codename. You would never want to give your real name out in this profession. You make one enemy and they got their hands on anything about your personal life, they would do everything they could to break you.

"That's a nice name." I nestled back in the seat.

Another bottle landed in my lap. More water.

"Keep drinking." Hail returned her hand to the steering wheel.

After unscrewing the fresh bottle I took another long gulp. It tasted just as fresh as the first one.

Although my day had been crappy after I died, maybe I finally hit the bottom and was starting my way up.

That's the chapter folks. We meet Hail, the first of a handful of key OCs that will play a big part in the story before we get to canon. Next chapter we will get to see two of our favorite canon characters. If any of you are curious to the lien to dollar standard I'm running in the story here, I'm basing it off of yen. 112 yen supposedly makes a dollar, Hail ended up taking about twenty bucks from me at the end of the day.