Okay, just want to get this off my chest. I actually had this chapter written back when I was at chapter 6 of this book. I've been looking forward to releasing it, and now the moment's finally come.

Enjoy!

'...the promised...'

'...never to be...'

'...embodiment...'

Weiss couldn't sleep.

For the last five minutes, she'd been in bed, intending to get an early rest. Aside from Blake, who was asleep in one of her 'cat naps' (according to Yang), she was alone. As she'd closed her eyes, small, whistling sounds had started playing in the back of her mind, taking up the space where her logical self normally stood. They'd started out as mere wind, but now, they were full blown whispers, inaudible had she been in a quiet room, yet here they may as well be right beside her, whoever 'they' were.

'...close now...'

'...feelings of...'

'...pain unto prosperity...'

She curled up in a fetal position, clutching her temple, trying desperately to tune the ghostly voices out. Most of the time the voice was incoherent, unrecognizable, like an out-of-tune radio, but there were segments of the spectral sentences that she could make out, now that she had her eyes shut tight.

'...bound one...'

'...upon four...'

'...lay the light...'

It was like a part of her had rebelled and was refusing to give her peace. The incessant words were burning into her very soul, carving their message upon her heart.

'...mark of His...'

'...call of they...'

'...rest in joy...'

Stop it.

'...resist not...'

'...from whence...'

'...two fall to one...'

Stop it!

'...within worlds...'

'...the first coming...'

'...chaos reborn...'

"Stop it!" she hissed at the voices.

"Weiss?" a familiar voice called from above. Weiss opened her eyes, revealing her knees, her arms wrapped around them. Her head was under the duvet, and there was a pair of arms around her shoulders. Looking up, Weiss saw the body of Ruby Rose, and pushed upwards with her legs, surfacing from the duvet as if it were a warm spa. A concerned expression sat upon Ruby's face, clearly worried for her. Weiss laid her head on her lover's chest, trying to seek solace from the ever present voices in her head.

'...lord of creation...'

'...nightmare made...'

'...false monarch...'

"Weiss? What's wrong?" Ruby's whisper accompanied those in her mind.

"I'm hearing things." Weiss replied, shuddering a little. "There are... things whispering in my head. I think I'm going crazy. Can you hear them?" She hoped to everything holy that Ruby did hear them, that she wasn't about to go crazy, snap under these strange whispers.

"I'm not." Weiss' heart sank. "But I think Blake's feeling something weird too." Eh? Blake? Weiss looked up at Ruby with a look of confusion. What did Blake have to do with thi-

She heard the voice.

"Call upon... all those..." Blake's soft voice sounded out from across the room.

'...all those...' the voice spoke in time with Blake.

"Who are touched... with a black mark..."

'...a black mark...'

"Let yourself... be His Night Walker..."

'...Night Walker...'

Weiss slipped out of bed, still hearing the voices of both Blake and the entity inside her head, slowly closing with the faunus. Sure enough, her teammate was asleep, yet she was sleep talking? The same words in her head no less?

This was no coincidence.

"She's saying the same things that the voices in my head are saying." Weiss said, not turning to Ruby, listening intently as she murmured the next verse of her unknowing prayer.

"Upon us... comes the promised time..."

'...upon us...'

"One who... was never to be..."

'...who ...was...'

"The embodiment... of the alternate..."

'...the alternate...'

Weiss felt her heart racing in her chest. A feeling of dread was welling up inside her, as if an eldritch beast clawing it's way out. The ghostly whispers in her mind were growing in volume and clarity. She felt arms around her shoulders, a hand entered her line of view, but she felt none of it.

'We are...close now...'

'Destroy the...feelings of...'

'Fear, pain unto prosperity...'

She was becoming number and number. Her body... it wasn't her own...

'They bound one... and awakened one...'

'Upon four... his fate was sealed...'

'Lay the light... descend the darkness...'

Dizziness. She was feeling incredibly sleepy, almost impossibly so. The world of her dreams was before her, beckoning with open arms.

'The two with... the mark of His...'

'Hear the call of they... who seek...'

'Your own call...rest in joy...'

"Weiss? Weiss!" a muffled voice cried out. The things around her tightened their grip. Her mouth was moving on its own, the words inaudible.

'Resist not... his touch...'

'We from whence... he came...'

'The two fall to one...'

Her vision was darkening. Weiss could feel nothing. Her emotions were dulled. She couldn't be afraid even if she'd wanted to be.

'A watcher...within worlds...'

'Second before...the first coming...'

'He is known as...chaos reborn...'

The darkness took her.

Weiss collapsed against Ruby, saying no more, her weight causing the crimsonette to fall backwards onto the carpeted floor. Heart racing, she pushed the heiress off her and pulled herself into a kneeling position. Weiss laid there, the slow breathing telling her that the heiress was... asleep? How?

Ruby was so scared. Just after Weiss had told her that Blake was saying the same things as her 'voices' were, she'd just stood there. Ruby had wandered over to her, and she heard Weiss speaking, at the same time as Blake, and the words were the same! She'd tried to hold her, to help her, but she hadn't moved, and then-

She needed to get help. Right now.

She bolted out of the door, not caring about the fact that she was still in her pyjamas.

Straight away, barely two steps out the door, she collided with none other than Professor Ozpin.

It was like hitting a brick wall. Ruby jumped and stepped back. He had his hand on the shoulder of Professor Goodwitch, who had her eyes closed, in the same manner as Weiss, murmuring words.

"Professor! I'm sorry!" Ruby babbled, sure that a scolding now was not what she needed. Ozpin didn't look angry though, he looked... was he worried?

"Ms Rose. Is there something you need at this hour?" Ozpin asked, keeping a firm grip on the shoulder of Goodwtich, who seemed to be struggling a little, determined to go forward. Was she like Weiss?

"Um, yes actually." Ruby said, deciding to guess that this was the same thing. "Two of my teammates are like Miss Goodwitch, and I don't know what to do! Weiss was so scared before they fell asleep, and they're saying things I don't understa-"

"They're saying things?" Ozpin repeated. There was a pause, and Ruby had the feeling she was being checked for any lie by the old headmaster. "I see. Please return to your dorm room, and I will come soon."

With that, he moved swiftly up the corridor, leading his sleep-walking colleague out of sight. Ruby, doing as she was told, retreated back inside the dorm room.

Once inside the dark room, she could hear the voices of Weiss and Blake once again, saying the same words, only this time, they were a bit louder.

Ignoring them, she scooped up Weiss in her arms, moving her over to the bed, before laying her down and pulling the covers over the heiress' pale body. If there was one thing she could do, it was make sure that Weiss was safe.

But there wasn't anything she knew that would stop those... voices that Weiss had been talking about.

Following Ozpin's return, he had remained silent as Ruby explained the situation. Now, both were by Weiss' bedside. listening to the now complete words as the crimsonette pulled up a chair, offering it to Ozpin, who took it with a nod of thanks. Weiss had a pained expression on her face, and Ruby laid her hand on her shoulder, powerless to do anything.

"May I listen to her?" Ozpin asked.

"Sure." Ruby replied.

Ozpin leaned towards Weiss' mouth, which was murmuring complete sentences now, and Ruby copied him.

"Come forth, the lord of creation..."

"Within a nightmare made real..."

"Take the place of the false monarch..."

"Fallen, rise with him now..."

"Unto the world, impart your change..."

"Unveil your fantasies upon the stage..."

"Let none stand in your path to eternity..."

Ruby looked up at Ozpin.

"This does not bode well." he said. "How long have these two been doing this?"

"I don't know, maybe ten minutes?" Ruby replied. Why was that important?

"Tell me, are you familiar with the tale of the Night Walkers?" Ozpin asked, his gaze still on Weiss.

"No." Ruby replied honestly.

"It is not a tale many hear." Ozpin explained, clasping his hands in his lap. "Long ago, a young man, youthful and gold-hearted, wished to become the strongest in the land, in order to keep it peaceful from those who would do them harm. He grew stronger and stronger, training tirelessly under warriors and sorcerers alike, until he was at the peak of what mankind could achieve. He was the strongest man alive, able to best any in combat or sorcery. But people grew jealous of his strength, and among them, a very clever, very devious warlock."

"What did he do?" Ruby asked, her attention on the old headmaster. Normally, she would have loved this story, but here and now, she needed to be serious. Ozpin didn't do things without a reason.

"The warlock had only one thing that the hero did not. An ability to make anyone sufficiently powerful enough a deity, except himself. He knew that this man would be strong enough, but the warlock knew of a way to be rid of him for good. He approached the man, and confessed of his ability, making himself seem a friend, an admirer. Thrice he won the man's trust, until, at last, he cast the spell. The hero became a god." Ozpin continued.

"So what happened?" Ruby egged him on.

"But part of the spell was an imprisonment." Ozpin said with a bitter smile. "The newly born god was trapped in a magical prison, never to see anyone, never to talk to anyone, until he was released. The warlock knew he would be released eventually as the hero's own power grew, but he knew he had won. Ages passed, many millions of years passed, and yet the god persevered. Yet the god was no longer golden-hearted, no longer wished for peace. From within his prison, the darkness seeped into his heart, and he became corrupted. Nobody knows what he'll do when he exits his prison now. He entered it a god, but when he leaves, he will be a dark god, just like the Warlock knew he would. In the end, he got the proverbial last laugh."

"What does this have to do with Weiss and Blake?" Ruby asked, jumping despite herself when Ozpin's gaze finally met her own.

"I am glad you asked, Ruby. The rest of the story goes like this. As the dark god now searches for ways to release himself, pieces of his power manifest on other people, while they are asleep. Their eyes close, their bodies lie still, and then move. They move and talk like other people, can even see, but they are asleep. The Night Walkers, as they are now known, move around, completing some hidden motive for their master, before waking up, as if nothing ever happened. Can you see now where this tale is relevant?"

"So this god... he's now evil... is doing this to Weiss and Blake? Isn't it just a story?" Ruby muttered confusedly. She heard a light chuckle from Ozpin.

"Evil is not the right word." Ozpin commented. "He's dark. There's a profound difference, Ruby. Where once he was peaceful, seeking only peace, now his mind is addled, to whatever extent is anyone's guess. He seeks escape, but what he will do with the world once he is released will likely be different from complete peace, unless he has somehow resisted through the ages. And in this world, Ruby, a story could just as easily have been as real as you or I. But that is not important right now."

"You're right, Oz. It isn't." Vade's voice sounded out from above. Ruby jumped and looked up, to see him perched on her bed, which was swaying a little.

"Vade?" Ruby hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"Answering a call from an old friend, way past office hours." Vade replied with a barely stifled yawn. "And here was me thinking that after twenty years of silence, I would never hear from you."

"There was a reason for this silence." Ozpin replied, sternly, and Ruby felt a flash of ice down her back at his tone. Had Vade done something to anger Ozpin? And they'd known each other for twenty years. Vade hissed softly at his words, slowly slipping off Ruby's sheets, landing lightly on the carpet below, eyes locked with Ozpin in an icy, crimson stare.

"Just as there was a reason for my actions back then." Vade retorted. "Now, do you want my help or not?"

"Only if it doesn't result in the death of so many innocents this time." Ozpin responded harshly. "I require assistance in diagnosing the cause of Ms Schnee and Ms Belladonna's sleep talking. Something I hear you have experience of as of late. You will be paid, of course."

For Ruby's part, she kept out of it. There was something between Ozpin and Vade, for sure, but what, Ruby almost didn't want to know.

"Oz, being in your company again is enough payment." Vade replied, stepping past the older man. "You know, I actually enjoyed seeing you again."

"A feeling that, most unfortunately, is not mutual." Ozpin said. Vade rolled his eyes at Ruby and crouched over the body of Weiss, listening. A minute passed, and he did not raise his head. For Ruby, sitting in silence, hearing nothing but those same words, that minute was an eternity. A second had passed before Vade lifted his head.

"Interesting." he said, more to himself than to either her or Ozpin. "So she's one of them." He retreated from Weiss' bedside, turning to face them. "Welp, she's been marked by the Night Walker phenomenon. So has Miss Bella-whatever." he said, pointing at Blake's bed.

"Meaning?" Ozpin asked. Ruby was feeling really uncomfortable now. She'd never seen Ozpin or Vade like this, cold anger and borderline hate for one another.

"Meaning that you, my good man, have been checkmated." Vade responded with a cruel smile.

"I'm sorry?" Ozpin asked. Ruby stayed silent, staring at Vade.

"Check. Mate." Vade repeated slowly, as if stating the obvious. "I don't know why you called me in the first place, Oz, but you know you lost the moment Glynda joined the Night Walkers."

"So why come?" Ozpin countered. "Why come when you know all the deeds you've done?" At this, Vade gave a quiet chuckle.

"Jeez, you make me seem like the bad guy." he replied quietly, before his mouth made an 'o', as if he'd realized something. "Wait, don't tell me you think it was me who killed Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai?"

Wait. Mercury was dead now too?! And Ozpin thinks it was Vade?

"I don't think you did, I know you did, old friend." Ozpin stated, the last two words with obvious sarcasm. "You've additionally been meddling with my students, tampering with many of them, not just this team. Many fall in your web of lies, and my staff have been picking up the pieces."

Ruby was in disbelief. Vade, the man she thought she knew, the one she was going to start calling a friend, he-

"So that's how you see me." Vade responded. "Very well." He turned around. "I missed those times with you, Ozpin, but you will see just how far I fell. How far I'm still falling. You think I betrayed you? Tch. Enjoy my master's rebirth."

Without another word, he vanished, leaving a deadly silence in his wake.