It was chaos.

Fire burned everything in the village of Kuroyuri. Blood drenched the ground red. All the people he knew were reduced into limbs that littered the ground. Yet, Ren didn't falter in his step.

"Nora! Nora!"

He kept screaming, the only thing keeping himself and the beasts that ransacked this place was his Semblance; Tranquility, masking his distress from the grimm to sense.

It started with one grimm, a Nuckelavee, then the distress of the villagers invited more grimm into attacking the village. Nevermore, Beowolves, Ursas. All manner of grimm sieged the village like flies drawn to a corpse.

"Nora, where are you!?"

He called his friend's name again, yet, still no answer. Gunshots and roars echoed in the air, heat and smoke from the burning houses around him accompanying his every step, but as time went by, the sounds of struggles were slowly replaced by screams of agony and defiance.

Ren pushed his small body forward, ignoring the pain on every inch of his body. Ren knew his aura was dwindling down, yet he wouldn't rest until he found his best friend.

He shouted her name again, and finally, there was an answer.

"Nora!"

"REN!"

Ren snapped his body to her voice and found Nora's prone body. She was crushed down by wooden debris with bruises and cuts on her skin. Blood caked her skin and Ren prayed to the gods that it wasn't hers.

"NORA!" Ren immediately dashed towards Nora without second thought. He tried to pull her out, but the debris on her made it impossible to do. He then moved to throw the debris off her with what strength he had left.

"Hang on Nora, I'll get you out!" He said to his friend as he desperately threw away debris after debris, yet, it was as if he tried to move a mountain. It was a miracle that Nora wasn't crushed by the weight alone without having an aura.

Ren immediately stopped when he heard Nora's pained hiss. He noticed that the mountain of woods on her started to become unstable. One wrong pull and Nora would be killed.

"No no no, not like this! HELP! SOMEONE! PLEASE HELP US!!!"

He screamed through the chaos, yet, nothing answered his cry. He didn't know what to do now. Ren noticed that there were no gunshots now, only crackles of fire left. Nobody would come to save them, to save Nora.

Dropped to his knees, Ren clenched his hands as despair set in. There were many regrets he had, but one rang the loudest.

If only… if only I was faster. If only my semblance was more useful. If only I was stronger… then... then—

"Hey, Ren, calm down…!"

Nora's weak voice snapped him off his spiraling down. He looked at Nora who wore a soft smile unlike her usual energetic grin.

"Everything's gonna be okay, yeah? You'll be fine. You want to be a huntsman, right? Remember what your mom said; Hunters don't cry during missions, they only cry when everything is over..."

Despite her situation, she tried to calm him.

Despite what happened to the whole village, her focus was for him to not sink into despair.

Despite how bleak the situation was, she still tried to smile now matter how brittle that smile was.

Yet, despite her forced cheeriness, Ren was able to sense her fear. Even if Nora was putting a strong front for him, she was still afraid of what awaits her.

Ren shuffled closer and grabbed Nora's hand, placing it to cup his cheek. He wiped his tears and flashed her a brittle smile.

" We want to become hunters. I won't be one if you're not. We promised to join Beacon, didn't we?" His mother, his father— his family, were dead. Nora was the only one he had now. He won't let her suffer the same fate because of his weakness.

His decision was clear.

So, with what little aura he had, he chanted under his breath.


Nora's eyes widened when she felt a warm feeling engulfed her body. She felt her weak body gradually gained strength as her wounds started to heal. At the same time, she noticed that Ren's aura had flickered out.

Nora was only listening to her instinct now. When Ren fell over unconscious because of his aura depletion, she jumped out and caught her friend before he could fall to the ground.

"Ren! Ren! Wake up!" She tried to shake the boy awake, yet he was too exhausted by everything that happened to hear her distressed cry.

Yet her cry was heard nonetheless…

"Grrrrnnnhh….!"

"...!"

Beowolves, a pack of them, immediately sensed her distress. From the corner of her eyes, Nora spotted their demented form approaching her. She wasted no time. Carrying Ren on her back, she dashed off, away from there.

As she ran, she heard rumbles and roars of the Grimm behind her trail. She pushed her newfound strength to its limit with gritted teeth. Her only objective was to ensure their survival, she even ignored the increasing number of her pursuers.

Her efforts were soon proven to be futile, for the Grimm cornered her to a cliff.

Skidded to a stop, Nora almost fell to the sea below. Breathing heavily, she spun around to face the Grimm which were also stopped. They growled as they prowled towards her, their red eyes filled with hunger and malice.

She had only two options left; one, to jump off to the sea and prayed that they survived. And two, somehow fight the beowolves back and look for a safer route. The second option was improbable at best, impossible at worst. She had no training whatsoever like Ren. So, the second option was discarded immediately. The first one, however…

As she locked eyes with the monsters, she felt Ren's weak breath upon her neck. She didn't know if Ren would survive the fall. If he had an aura, then she might entertain the idea. But, as young as she was, Nora wasn't stupid. She knew a long drop, even to water, could kill anyone. And she didn't want to gamble with Ren's life if she had other options.

The beowolves were getting closer, pushing her further to the edge of the cliff.

Nora had no other option now, she had to jump or they both perished. With determination, she spun around and dashed towards the cliff—

"Guh!!!"

—that was until a thorny, black vine whipped out of the soil and wrapped her legs.

Nora fell to the ground with a grunt, she spotted the cause of her fall. "Mandrake!"

Mandrake, a plant-like grimm that was so weak it posed no threat. They were an ambush predator type grimm that prey upon small critters. A kid her age could kill them without problem. The only issue was that Mandrakes often buried themselves where other grimms at.

Nora successfully ripped herself free, but in that split seconds, the beowolves were already upon her. Even if she was somehow able to run, one of them would immediately get a hit on her. As she stood up, the grimm grew closer.

one thing was clear for her; it was too late to run, now she needed to focus on keeping Ren alive.

Clenching her teeth, she tightened her grips on Ren and readied herself. She won't let these monsters harm Ren even if she had to fight them with just her legs.

One of the beowolves pounced at her and Nora prepared to retaliate.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang in the distance and wolf-like grimm in the air was blown to pieces.

Nora stared at the crumbling pieces, wide eyed. She was so dumbstruck that she didn't notice another one was coming from her back.

"Eyes on your surroundings, kid!"

A voice followed by a series of slashes behind her pulled Nora out of her shock. She spun around and saw a tall man wielding two swords, one a eastern sword while the other was more of a sharpened steel than a sword. The man wore a black and orange clothing with a strange collar around his neck. He was standing upon the remains of a beowolf who looked like it was shredded with a meat grinder.

"You're bleeding all over. You good?" The man asked and finally turned to her. Nora was finally able to see his face and the first thing she noticed was his horns and black rock-like things on his right cheek.

"Hn!" Nora nodded at the man's question. He must have noticed how she didn't act as bad as she looked, because he nodded and said.

"Stay behind me. I'll pave a way to safety." The man ordered and Nora listened. The man then crossed his weapons and went for an attack.

He was swift, very swift. He was as agile as a bird gliding through the wind and struck hard like a butcher. It didn't take him long to finish the pack that chased her, and while he struck, Nora could see sparks of flames dancing on his blades. Was it his semblance?

Before long, the pack was reduced to nothing but disintegrating pieces. Yet, the man didn't seem to show any reaction other than disappointment.

"Tch, weak." The man scoffed as he flicked his blades then placed his bigger blade to his back. "And here I thought I could find something worthy of my skill in this strange world. Whatever, let's get you two to safety."

After sheathing his blade the mysterious swordsman walked back towards the village. Nora was quick to follow and told him about what happened to the village, the man then answered, "don't worry, there's some survivor. the medics are busy patching them up."

Nora was glad to hear the news. Ren's family might be among those survivors, they were hunters, after all. "Thank you for saving us, Mr…"

"Flamebringer, a wandering swordsman."

"Hn. Thank you, Mr. Flamebringer!" The name sounds fake, yet it was cool to her so she didn't care. Probably a monomer? Monika? A nickname, probably a nickname.

The trek back was engulfed in silence. The man, Flamebringer, didn't speak much and seemed rather relaxed— bored even, after slaughtering those beowolves. Nora kept stealing a glance at the man before her. She was wondering why a faunus would help a human like her and Ren, even in the edge of nowhere that was their village, the news of faunus mistreatment was nothing new.

Nora opened her mouth and was about to ask, but she was cut off by galloping of hooves. Flamebringer seemed to hear too because he instantly drew his big sword and placed himself in the direction of the sounds.

Emerging from the dark forest was a grimm Nora had never seen before. It was centaur like, but with a whole horse body and a humanlike one on its back. Like all grimms, spikes and bone plates covering its body, forming grizzly armor and horned helmet.

The new grimm looked at the man and the children with barely restrained hunger.

Nora took a step back, fear coursing through her veins. She felt Ren stirred on her back, unconsciously making her grip tightened.

Meanwhile, Flamebringer…

"Hoooh… you looks nothing much, but I can feel it; your strength. You're not like those dark fangbeasts, you're stronger."

The man flashed a sharp grin, his blades suddenly caught fire. He crossed his blades and took a battle stance, "Now come, show me your strength! hit me with all you got!"

The grimm howled like a mad beast and charged towards the man. Nora was starting to think that Flamebringer forgot he was with them because the man in question looks very eager to fight, yet Nora didn't feel afraid. She believed in the man's strength to kill the grimm. To save them.

But it seems they would never come into blows.

"Honestly, you impatient man."

In a flash of blue suddenly the grimm lost its balance and hit the ground in a heap. Flamebringer's eyebrow twitched and slowly turned his head.

A woman flew out of the trees and landed gracefully upon the seemingly unconscious grimms.

She was another faunus, dressed in blue with bows adorned on her long, blonde hair. On her hand was an ornate staff with four blue lights orbiting its tip. She had feline ears and tails… wait wasn't faunus could only have one animal trait? Nora's eyes then wandered to the man that saved her and Ren, now she finally noticed his sharp, thin tail.

"Oi, what the hell did you do…?" The horned man's tone was dangerous, yet the feline woman only scoffed.

"I'm saving your hide, of course. Honestly, did you forget you're escorting a pair of children?"

"I can handle that thing and protect them."

"And I don't want to take any chances. If you want to satiate your hunger, you can do it when the children aren't around."

"Tch, you're coddling them too much, Iris. They already see what the world's like, there's no use wrapping back the wool over their eyes."

"Hmph, whatever. I didn't come here to argue about philosophy, I'm here to escort them to safety."

With a show of agility and grace, the woman, Iris, jumped off the grimm and landed beside Flamebringer. The man just stabbed his blades to the ground and turned to Nora. "Go with her, I won't babysit you now that I found what I seek."

Nora was shocked and also a little bit hurt by his statement. Iris then smacked the man over the head and chided, "use some tact around children! They just went through a traumatic event, be more mindful!"

"Okay, okay… geez, you dreamcastle lot and children, I swear…"

"It is the Castle of Dreams. I doubt a meathead like you could understand so I will save my breath instead." She sighed and turned to Nora instead. Iris now had a more gentle smile, easing her uneasiness. "Are you alright dear? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Um… no? I mean I was, but Ren unlocked my aura and they already healed."

"I see… it is quite interesting–this aura. If I may ask, what is the name of this brave young lady?"

"Um… Nora. Nora Valkyrie, and this is my best friend, Lie Ren."

"It is nice to meet you, Nora and Ren. Now, let us move to a safer place and leave this… man with his less than savory hobby."

Flamebringer clicked his tongue, yet someone responded to Iris' jab.

"Miss Iris, please don't mock Mister Flamebringer. I know what he did was reckless, but I'm sure he could handle that horseman grimm like what he did to beowolves! I mean, he was like Tshing! Slash! Tshing! 'Tch, you're weak!' He was so cool! He's like those samurai Ren showed me!"

As Nora defended her savior, she became more animated. Iris was taken aback by the defense, but she smiled regardless. Flamebringer meanwhile shot the feline a smirk. Nora continued to speak, but Iris raised her hands and finally conceded.

"Alright, alright, I won't make fun of Flamebringer again, promise. Although, it seems Nora agreed that his action is quite reckless, and as a leader assigned by the good doctor, I think he needs a punishment. So…"

With a flashy twirl, Iris hit the bottom of her ornate staff to the ground. Flamebringer eyes widened at the display and shouted, "NO–!"

In a flash of blue, the unconscious grimm suddenly turned to dust. Nora also noticed that all the blue lights around her staff's head were missing now.

"Alright, now that's over, let's go to the evacuation point. We'll treat your friend and you can rest. Let's go!" Iris said with a victorious smirk.

Flamebringer just sighed defeatedly and strapped his weapons to his body. Nora put a hand on the man's arm and nodded in sympathy while saying.

"Don't worry Mr bloodknight, I'm sure there are more of those horse grimm thingy out there. Don't lose hope!"

Her statement actually caught the two's attention, "you sure?" He didn't know? Odd

"I'm sure, I mean, Ren's mom said there's a lot of grimm outside of the village, then that means there's still more of the horseman grimm out there in the world! All you need to do is find them!"

Life slowly returned to the man's face as he nodded, "you're right, seeing how many of those beasts ransacked your village, there has to be more of these… grimm horseman out there. All I need to do is ask doctor and Amiya to–"

"Yes, yes, you can bring up your vacation plan to them later. Let's go before the others worry."

The four then trekked back to the remains of the village. The fire had been put out, the soil now drenched and became muddy. Tents were also dotted the place with people running in and out of them.

Nora noticed that there were more faunus with more than one trait treating the injured in those tents. There was also a group of humans with white hair and dressed in black. On their back were simplistic looking weapons ranging from a simple great sword and… was that a buzzsaw?!

Sadly, Nora was too exhausted to care. As soon as Iris took them to a tent, she immediately dropped to a bed after letting the medics take care of Ren. As she laid there, trying to fall asleep, Iris came and sat beside her bed. She then started to tell Nora a bedtime story about a place called "The Cradle." It sounds like a lovely place, and as Nora drifts off to sleep, she begins to dream about the most beautiful castle she'd never see.


Not far from the remains of Kuroyuri, a landship loomed over the forest, its metallic frame casting shadow over the trees. The ship was about 800 meters long and 600 meters tall. Its matte black body and bulky appearance made it look more like a fortress. On the stern was a giant, yellow tank with 'Rim Billiton' printed on it.

Upon the landship's landing zone, stood a man dressed in black. His features were shrouded, showing not an inch of skin. The man was just standing there and watching the horizon, in his head, he was busy recounting the events a few hours prior.

Two teams had been dispatched when the scout team had spotted an attack. One led by operator Iris, and another by Elite operator Hibiscus. Their mission was to repel the attack and gather information. He had received a report from Hibiscus that there were survivors and requested to move the injured to the landship.

Two aircraft carriers were sent just a moment ago. Now, he was waiting to meet the dispatched teams and learn of what they could gather.

He sighed and facepalmed. It had been two hours since they were stranded in this new world. Originally, they were testing a prototype of a dimensional traveling device in hope to bring team Rainbow back to their home world. They were able to scrounge some pieces of information on how the team was sent to Terra, and the brilliant minds of Rhodes Island were able to make a headway on the subject of dimensional traveling (with some help from the feranmuts, of course.). The first test was with robots and it had gone smoothly, they were able to establish contact with team Rainbow's home. Second test was using live subjects; beasts, which was also spectacularly done. More tests were done and all of them were successful.

It all went wrong on their seventh test.

"Who could have known it reacted violently when exposed to a human being…"

It was an absurd error, something that shouldn't be possible. They had sent live subjects in and out, and there were no issues. Healthy, infected, they all successfully transported without any side effects.

But the moment a human being got near the interdimensional gate it reacted violently. Thank the gods that nobody was hurt, but as a result the entire landship was thrown to another world entirely.

The doctor looked up to the moon above. Unlike Terra, this world only had one moon, and unlike Earth, this one was in pieces.

"They should've created a ring around the moon. Now I'm wondering when this happened, recently? Or does this world work with different rules of physics?"

The man continued to mumble theories after theories. He only stopped when a brown haired gal approached him and said.

"Doctor, you're needed in the monitor room. Amiya and Doctor Kal'tsit is issuing a meeting!"

"I'll be there in a few. Thanks for the update, Roberta."

With that the two went inside the landship and proceeded to the meeting room.

On his way, the doctor continued to wonder what would happen next? What was the correct next step to deal with a situation like this?

Hopefully Kal knows what to do. She's the oldest around here, after all…


Notes: another story while I'm gathering steam for my other stories (and to keep me busy with things) hopefully y'all like it. This story is a series of one off stories, so each arc may or may not be connected to each other. Be warned that I haven't watched RWBY past 3rd volume, so I'm using a huge amount of creative liberty, of course, I'll be using the wiki to double check things. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story and I'll see you again next time.

Have a nice day!