Chapter 1:
Remnant, a world in a time of peace, but continually ravaged by the forces of darkness. The Creatures of Grimm terrorized human and Faunus alike, but through the combined efforts of the Four Kingdoms and brave and valiant hunters and huntresses, this peace was maintained. This did not mean, however, that life was always fair. On the continent of Solitas, most citizens of the Kingdom of Atlas enjoyed lives of luxury and security, having access to a vast amount of world's most precious resource, Dust. Those miners, who are often taken for granted, slave away in the subterranean caverns gathering this precious lifeblood of Remnant. However, this day would be a day unlike any other, as a new discovery will soon rock the people of Remnant to their very core.
—
"Chief Marcus, Chief Marcus!" exclaimed a miner as he ran toward his supervisor.
"What is it" groaned Marcus, thinking it was too early for a problem to occur? He hadn't even had a chance to drink his morning cup of coffee yet, and already something appears to have gone wrong. "Are those faunus protesting again?"
"No, sir everything is mostly fine on that front, but you might want to watch out for that." The miner said, to which Marcus just glared at him for giving him something else to worry about.
"Sorry, but Gary and his team said they found something abnormal down on Level 5." He quickly said, feeling Marcus was losing what little patience he had this morning.
Marcus sighed, "Just give me a few minutes," he tiredly said as he began to guzzle down the coffee like a man dying of thirst. After he finished he haphazardly threw his cup towards the trash bin where it bounced off the side and onto the dirty platform.
Both made their way into the mine and over to the elevator and pushed the button for Level 5, one of the deepest parts of the entire mine. Once they reached their level, Marcus and the miner quickly walked toward Gary's team, who were in the north-western corner. As they approached the area, they saw a small crowd had formed around where the drill had punctured the wall, in a stunned silence.
"All right boys, I am excited about a hunk of shiny rock as much as the next guy, but remember you're here to work not gawk, so get back to it," Marcus said, sarcasm and contempt dripping from his voice. The crowd dispersed slowly as Marcus walked up to Gary. "So, what did you have me dragged all the way down here for anywa…" he began to ask, but lost all ability to communicate when he laid eyes upon what Gary's crew had uncovered. "… Holy-"
—
"They found a what in the mine?!" Jacques Schnee exclaimed. Receiving a call in the early hours of the morning was already infuriating, but also being told that an entire mine had been basically shut down because of some discovery made Jacques Schnee absolutely livid. On the other end of the phone, General Ironwood let his eardrums recover for a second before putting the device next to his ear again.
"A wall, made of some type of metal," explained Ironwood, "our most powerful drills couldn't even pierce it. From what we can tell from the initial sonar scans, the wall is a part of some type of massive domed structure."
"Well, what on Remnant is it doing in the middle of MY MINE!" Ironwood reeled back for a second time that day. Yet again his close friend was having a hard time seeing the bigger picture, not realizing what kind of impact this discovery could have on Remnant and its history. So he decided to put into words he would be able to comprehend. "I don't know, but whatever may be inside that structure, there is definitely some advanced form of technology that we have never witnessed before. Imagine the possibilities."
Since his eardrums were not being assaulted again by Jacques screeching voice, Ironwood took this as a good sign. "Yes... Imagine." Ironwood could almost feel Jacques facial muscles move to form that cunning businessman grin he knew so well, knowing Jacques would not take a chance to capitalize on a discovery this huge. "We should start the excavation as soon as possible, don't want to keep all of this from the world for long now, would we," he slyly suggested.
To this Ironwood gave a silent eye roll. Despite how sophisticated Jacques displayed himself, he could be swayed by the simplest of persuasions. However, he could not fault him for being a man with straightforward goals, as he himself pursued a similar path. "It's already done, excavation crews are beginning to uncover it as we speak," said Ironwood, glad this had gone more smoothly than he had expected.
"Excellent, I will be dropping by the mines later this week to see how much progress has been done. Can I expect you to be there?" Questioned Jacques.
"Unfortunately no, I am currently helping Ozpin set up for the Vytal tournament, but I am sending Captain Phoebus to the site to meet up with you and check on the progress." While Ironwood would like to see what lies inside the mysterious building, he is needed in Vale, making sure everyone is protected and safe from the approaching storm.
After a second, Jacques said, "Very well, good luck with your endeavors James, and if you see my daughter tell her to pick up the phone. Good day." and promptly hung up before Ironwood could get a sentence out. Perturbed, but still satisfied with the outcome of the call, Ironwood strode out of his temporary Beacon quarters and made his way towards Ozpin's office, he would have to fill him in on these new developments.
—
Two weeks later, Jacques Schnee stood on a platform overlooking the mine from one of the higher offices of the facility. The excavation was going at a steady pace and had already uncovered more of the structure, as he was seeing through a camera placed down on Level 5. Jacques could hardly wait to see what type of technology was inside this massive treasure chest, having a feeling this find would change the course of Remnant as the world knew it, and the Schnee Dust Company would be responsible. Security had been upped since he had arrived, in fear that his presence would lead to a potential White Fang attack. However, with Captain Phoebus, his soldiers, and a squad of Atlesian Knights on standby made this presumption seem incredibly unlikely.
Soon, however, his scroll began to shake, Jacques postponed reveling in his triumph for a bit and answered his call. "Any problems down there Phoebus?" questioned Jacques.
"No sir, none at all, everything is going quite smoothly," said Phoebus in a bright tone, "but I thought you might want to join us down here to check on the progress yourself."
"I tend to get a little claustrophobic in those mines, so I will watch the progress from the safety of my office thank you, very much," said Jacques as a matter of fact.
"Well, alright sir I will keep you updated on any new development-" Phoebus began to say before his attention was caught by one of his soldiers. "-Which just so happens to be right now."
"What is it? What did they find?!" questioned Jacques eagerly.
"It appears they have uncovered what appears to be some kind of entrance, I will keep you posted," Phoebus said as he hung up the phone and rushed over to the where the door had appeared. As they made there way over to the site, Phoebus looked at the dark grey wall they had already uncovered. While he was amazed at the size of the structure, he could not help but have an ominous feeling churning inside him, as he did not know what the contents of the building would mean for Remnant. As they arrived, Phoebus approached the portion of the wall they where the door was, just a small portal-shaped frame in the middle of the wall. To the side of the door, there appeared to be some kind of scanner, similar in design to Atlas' own security measures.
"Nice job, gentlemen," praised Phoebus "now we might be able to get inside sooner than we predicted." Feelings of fear were soon erased from Phoebus' mind, as an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and curiosity took over. "Now let's try to find a way to open this crate up."
With that, the miners all went back to work, dutifully working to uncover the rest of the structure, while some stayed behind to help General Phoebus open the door. "It appears to run on electricity and the scanner indicates some type of computer is involved. I should have one of our computer specialists look at it and see if they can hack the door," said Phoebus as he examined the door. One of the miner's curiosity had gotten the better of him as he approached the panel and made a move to put his hand on the scanner pad. Phoebus saw this at the last second, "Wait!" he yelled at the miner, but it was too late. The man's hand was placed down on the scanner which begun to whir to life and a light appeared above the panel and began to scan the man from head to toe. No one dared move a muscle, in fear of what the machine might do if they did. Soon the scanning stopped and the miner stayed completely still, until a robotic voice said "Unknown entity trying to gain access to The Hall. Eliminate intruder." Then a red bolt of energy shocked the miner, who screamed in unimaginable pain, as he was vaporized on the spot. Standing petrified by the events that occurred before him, Phoebus slowly reached for his phone to make a call. It rang two times before Mr. Schnee picked up his scroll. "Mr. Schnee, we have a problem."
—
On the inside of The Hall, an interminable gloomy darkness spread over the facility. Levels of dark rooms filled the facility, waiting to become of use to its occupants. Lining the walls were numerous pods, which gave off an eerie light, preserving those inside of them. These children were the last line of a great legacy from before Remnants existence, a time where super-powered beings either protected the world from danger or sought to take what they believed was rightfully theirs. Some were almost godlike in strength, while others used their keen intellect and inventions to match up against more powerful foes. The Hall served as a bunker to protect this generation from the last cataclysm that befell their world before it was reformed into Remnant. They are the children of plunderers, thieves, and world conquerors. They are Super Villains, and it was time for the beginning of a new generation to take the stage and lead their Society into a new age.