Hello again FFN and time for the second prologue of FORCES, this time looking at Remnant's side of the prologue. Special shout outs to LordUnderDragon, my first follow, TenWings my first fave, and to Starboy34tcoos, my first review.

Update:
New Intro
Extended Narrative
From this point, the story starts 2 years before the events of RWBY

"Normal voice" "Skull Knight"

"Idea of Good" 'Thoughts'

"Demon voice"

RWBY is a property of Rooster Teeth while Berserk is a property of Kentaro Miura. I own nothing but the plot of this story

RWBY
~FORCES~

Prologue 2

Legend of the Black Swordsman

Legends, stories scattered through time. Man has grown quite fond of accounting the exploits of Heroes and Villains, forgetting so easily that we are Remnants, byproducts of a forgotten past. Man born from Dust was strong wise and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of Darkness, the Creatures of Grimm, set their sights on man and all of its creations. These forces clash, and it seemed the darkness were intent on returning man's brief existence into the void.

However even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named, Dust.

Nature's Forces in hand, man lit their way through the Darkness. And in the shadow's absence, came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.

But even the most brilliant lights flicker and die.

And when they are gone, darkness will return

So you may prepare your Guardians, build your monuments to a so called "free world", but take heed:

There will be no victory in strength.

Or perhaps victory lies in the simple things we've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul...

You are both so naive.

True that there is no victory in strength alone, many have fallen trying to do so. In my name and against it.

But neither is there victory in simple honest souls, the darkness we face is too thick, to powerful. All you'll have is a purer, more gullible darkness than before.

Victory is in the tainted, those who succumbed to the darkness and clawed their way out. Those tainted who also wields strength enough to further resist the darkness. Those tainted, unafraid to toss "Pride" and "Fairness" to combat the equally spineless darkness.

We must fight fire with fire.

The question is:

How much must be sacrificed to fuel this "Saving Fire"?

The moon was bright tonight on Beacon's grounds, bright enough to light most of the library within. On one of the tables is a huge pile of books, reports and other forms of data both physical and digital. From the aisles of the library came the one collecting all that data. A scrawny looking man with unkempt green hair, thick glasses, a worn button up shirt, and a thermos full of somehow still hot coffee. His other free hand is reading through a small book, a much older retelling of a fairy-tale many, if not all, have heard their whole lives, The "Legend of the Black Swordsman".

It was one of his most favorite stories of his entire life, not just for its "moral" of never judging a book by its cover, what with the hero being clad in the most menacing armor he had seen, complete with such an intricate, almost decorative, large sword, the same one he uncovered and preserved in the Vault beneath Beacon (though he knew there was something... off about the sword), but also for its mysterious quality of having so little proof to track its historic source, but the evidences themselves are so conclusive to not search for more.

But with the recent rise of this new "evolution" of Grimm, and how it connects to this old legend, he sometimes wishes he didn't know this much of the legend.

He was distracted from his musings by the library doors almost silently creaking open. He turned to see a man in a black business attire, green scarf, small tinted glasses and silver hair, walking by a strange cane on his right hand, and holding his own mug of now-warm coffee.

"Headmaster! Forgivemeforstayingup,I'llbecleaningupnow." said hurriedly by the green-haired man, suddenly dashing into a blur towards his table.

"Calm down Oobleck, No need to stop what you're doing so suddenly." the 'Headmaster' said with a raised hand still holding the mug, easing up Beacon's Premier Archaeologist, Bartholomew Oobleck. "And it's okay to be a bit formal, Bart. It's just us both here, friend."

"...Then I'll continue till you say so, Ozpin." replied Ooblek to the Headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin.

"I see you're looking back on everyone's favorite hero." Ozpin says almost enthusiastical, taking a seat opposite to the archaeologist.

"I felt that with the recent rise of this, 'evolution' of Grimm, There had to be some fact as to what they are, how they came to be why they came to be."says Oobleck.

"And all evidences only point to this very legend." he adds, holding the book up for emphasis, showing that it was the usual grittier, darker, older retelling of the legend, something only the professors of the school have access to, along with the many research papers regarding its factual inspirations and origins.

At the mention of the theory, behind Ozpin's curious eyes eyes, his mood stiffened a bit.

"What I found is highly unsettling. Many, if not all of the new "Grimm" have a striking resemblance with most of the creatures painted on this book, especially the new Nevermore that recently appeared in the Initiation grounds." he said as he brought up from his Scroll the clearest images they have of the "Nevermore" when it appeared.

Upon closer inspection by Ozpin, it was during Initiation, ambushing Team CFVY, blinding and scarring Fox all over his body, and forever mentally scarring Miss Scarlatina. Thankfully that day, the Team was perfectly able to hold it off, even grievously harm it long enough for the emergency Bullheads to arrive. Fortunately they also already got their respective artifacts, and still considered as passing the Initiation, though as far as everyone knows, that thing is still out there. And Ozpin did not like that.

Then Bart searched through the pages of the old book and finally found what he was looking for, setting the open book next to the image of the "Nevermore"'s face. On the book was a drawing of a creature, almost identical to the "Nevermore" on the screen, except it had look of an unholy mix between a bat and a raven, its skin a sick grey. Under the image was either its name or its title, "Shax".

"Though I would like to show you more of the Grimm and their counterparts in the legend, I'm afraid I don't have access to the images right now for comparison. I assume only you have access to these for now?"

"Yes, for safekeeping, lest anyone has to see the... results, of the incidents in full detail." the archaeologist shuddered at the reminder of what those images contained.

"...Yes, indeed no one should have the misfortune of knowing what's within those files."

There was quite a heavy pause between the two

"But that brings me to another unsettling discovery..." Oobleck states in a somber, sad tone.

"Oh... and that is?"

"...It isn't out of their nature to do such." The revelation made the mood even worse.

It was silent for another moment. Then as Ozpin looked up eye-to-eye with Bart, the archaeologist saw it.

Cold fury piercing at his very soul.

"So you're telling me, that almost surgically removing one person's entire coat of flesh and waving it like a flag, ripping apart civilians in the goriest ways possible for show, and demanding chosen sacrifices for meals for half a decade, and god forbid, the brutal mating rituals on civilians are all inherent to their instincts!?" Ozpin asked, seething and trying his very best not to just scream out the question and flip the entire table in outrage. How can any creature be this cruel, this evil by nature.

"...Yes... sir..." were the only thing the archaeologist can utter at the face of a silently enraged Ozpin.

"But..." Oobleck adds, hoping the sound of a possible solution would lift the Headmaster's spirits. And the almost instant curious and slightly hopeful look on Ozpin's face immediately put a smile on his own face.

"If all the equipment, holy places and historically passed accounts of the Black Swordsman, a savior might be in our midst!" Then Ozpin's face lost most of that optimism.

"Bart, Oobleck, we don't need some rumor of a "Chosen hero" coming in like a fairy tale hero to declare the world is safe as long as he breathes. We need actual, working methods to stop these new breed of Grimm." the Headmaster retorts, obviously not amused with the archaeologist's flimsy excuse of a solution.

"And as far as the "evidences" of his return are concerned, they are far from reassuring. All we have is a prosthetic hand hiding a cannon, a temple we can't enter even after pounds of Burn Dust explosives, and a sword that you yourself admitted was dubious and off. How exactly is knowing that an old fairy tale hero's equipment is actually rather crude, mundane, and possibly even fake supposed to help our situation?" asked the Headmaster, his patience growing very thin.

"...Forgive me then, Headmaster... I shall take my leave then, if it helps you." says Bart, feeling dejected having failed to ease his friend's burden.

"... You may go then..." was the only, somber reply.

The archaeologist started packing up and returning all borrowed books and files to their proper shelves in his usual blurring speed, only a bit more quiet to give his Headmaster some much needed silence.

As Oobleck was finally leaving, the Ozpin was left to his own thoughts.

'... I think I may have been too harsh on him. All he wanted was to help, yet I only made him feel bad for trying.'

He looks to one, almost conveniently left out strip of paper. He picks it up and reads the single word on the sheet, his mood worsening at what he saw.

'But what truly enraged me the most, was how I knew all this already. Walking in on Bart, hoping he has more positive findings to debunk what I know, only for him to confirm more of what I feared.'

Then he sets down the strip of paper and opens up his own Scroll to show... a digital copy the single, oldest version of the Legend of the Black Swordsman.

Or as the old text on its cover says, "The Berserker"

It was the oldest and possibly most accurate version of the book only he, Glynda and James have access to this copy. Not even the kings know this exists. It was a darker retelling of the fairy tale, almost like a Gothic Horror.

The Black Swordsman may be the hero compared to what he faced, but here, he is far from heroic, even being called the eponymous Berserker. His heroics in this tome were achieved by near atrocities. Using children as shields and bait, executions by torture, no regard for leaving massive genocides in his wake. It was near impossible to root for the man if it weren't for his much more atrocious adversaries, Hell's Grip.

Everything Oobleck has told him about the new Grimm were just the tip of what he read they could do, what he knew they could do. But on those pages a single edit was placed over very utterance of one specific word or phrase.

'Looking back, maybe I shouldn't have dismissed the possibility of a savior. After all, since I found this book along with Glynda and Jim, I had high hopes that the Black Swordsman himself may return, even if not in his full regalia. In fact there is no need to, the equipment is coming to us, he'll need our help, we'll be equals.'

Then after he reads through the last page, he turns the digital page to the last word written, the title of the book. Except this title has a word scribbled over it.

But it's not just a word, it is a name. The same name he found scribbled over all mentions of the title "Berserker", a name he has longed to hear as a real name in this day and age since he first had the gall to finally finish this Gothic tale.

"So is this a sign that you will actually come to reality and claim what is rightfully yours, Guts?"

FORCES

Prologue 2

End

Aaaaaand that wraps up our Prologue Chapters. Few warnings of things to come: 1) Characters may die. Berserk is a sad, dangerous, and fucked up world, and character death, major or minor, is a prominent occurrence in the series. 2) The start will seem a bit slow as it will focus on Guts adjusting to how this world works before anything really happens. And 3) It might take a while before any other major RWBY characters will appear as it will focus on wherever the hell Guts will be at.

Other than that, please R&R, constructive criticisms, positive or negative, are always welcome.

~CE~