"[No! I can't do it!]"
"[Pitiful. Then what can you do, Sigrun?]"
"[All you ever do is fill a diary with perverse poems and treason, even in English of all things! Front and back, up and down, all while turning into a walking sea cow! Don't you understand the position you've put me and Erika in? You embarrassed your own sister!]"
"[At this point, I'm starting to lose whatever hope I have left in you.]"
"[None of you had a right to read it...]"
"Never give up, Noah and Blazokowicz. Never give in to these people..."
"[Mother, perhaps I can show my dear sister how it's done?]"
"We won't give up, Caroline. I swear it..."
"[Do the honors, Erika. You. Hold her head down.]"
"... Noah... I want to thank you..."
"... Caroline?"
"I want to thank you for being there for all of us when we needed you... ever since you, Blazokowicz, and Anya joined us. These past months, when you helped everyone, did everything you could for us all, for the people still alive, you became everything to me... you became a boy I never had... I'll always cherish the great times we've had forever..."
"I love you, my son."
"Caroline Becker. Leader of the Kreisau Circle..."
"Close your eyes, boy."
"The elusive mastermind..."
"Noah, don't look!"
"I've been waiting a long time for this moment..."
"I love you, mom!"
"[DIE, SUBHUMAN!]"
"NO!"
SLASH!
Noah woke up with a loud gasp, his watery eyes widened. He was in a state of hyperventilation from that horrid memory, close to breaking in tears. For a few minutes, he struggled to get his bearings together, pushing the negativity out of his mind as hard as he could. Eventually, he managed to calm himself down and relax his haggard breathing back to normal.
What was able to help him recover from the mental nightmare was the time he took investigate his surroundings. Looking left and right, he learned that he was in a hospital room on top of a bed with himself covered by a basic sheet. He heard a heartbeat monitor checking his vitals and felt a single IV hooked to him. He had some bandages wrapped around his torso that did a decent job easing the soreness. He then realized that the attire and body armor he wore was replaced with a green hospital gown.
He sighed before laying his head back down on the pillow. He knew he wasn't going to be here for long, since his wounds were already healing up fast, aiding the medicine that was being injected into him. Before he could attempt to rest, a nurse came in.
"Oh, thank goodness! You're awake, Mister Oliwa! How are you feeling?" She chirped.
"Um..." The American blinked at her odd bubbly behavior before continuing. "A bit exhausted and sore, but fine I guess."
"Wonderful!" She sweetly smiled as she typed away on her Scroll tablet before she worked to remove the IV and the monitor from him.
"Where am I, anyway?" He asked.
"You're in the Beacon infirmary."
He blinked. He was back at Beacon?
"Beacon has its own hospital?
The nurse giggled. "Not necessarily, but yes. You could say that."
"Who brought me here anyway?" He grunted.
"You can thank Mister Qrow for that. I'm sure you'll be meeting him soon."
There was brief awkward silence in the room before Noah asked another question.
"How long was I in here for?"
"You were in such a coma for an entire day." The nurse rearranged the IV stand back to its respective place nearby.
Noah's eyes widened in surprise. No wonder his health was being monitored like this. Then he remembered all of his equipment. He looked around the room for his weapons (and his clothes/armor) but there was no sight of them.
"Miss, have you seen my guns?"
"They're right over there in that locker along with your clothing. Beacon has financed stitching and stuff like that, so your combat attire should be good as new." She answered, just finishing her work on him and allowing him to move more freely.
The young man mentally shrugged. He could've tried to repair his threads in spite of the time it would've take. At least this saved him from some frustration and spare him from annoying pin pricks. One last question did pop up in his mind.
"So... what happened while I was out?"
"Well, teams JNPR, CFVY, and mostly yours were visiting you from time to time, checking up on you. They were worrying their little heads about you when they heard you were here and out cold."
At that piece of information, Noah couldn't help but feel a little touched at this. However, he wasn't sure if his friends would be pleased once he recovers. He still owed them a long explanation after what happened on the mission. They'll probably never look at him the same way when he's through telling them the truth.
Before he could ponder any further, someone began knocking on the patient's room door. The nurse was quick to answer it and opened it for the visitors who were none other than Ruby and Yang, with the former holding a single bouquet of roses. Upon seeing their male teammate awake, the sisters' eyes widened and Ruby dropped the flowers. Noah was about to break the ice until Ruby ran over to his side and hugged him as best as she could.
"NOAH! I'm so happy you're okay! I was worried about you!" Ruby cried as she mourned into Noah's shoulder.
He winced a bit from the pressure of her grip, but he endured it and embraced her back, a ghost of a small smile working its way on his face. "It's okay, Ruby. I'm here."
Yang snapped out of her surprised state and joined her sister. "I'm glad you're okay." She whispered with relief.
"Hey, I'll live." He patted her shoulder for reassurance.
Interrupting their moment was the giggling nurse who was watching the sweet scene.
"Since you seem to have recovered quite well, I'll go ahead and notify the headmaster. He's requested that once you're able, he'd like to meet you in his office. I'll leave you to yourselves." She spoke before leaving the room.
Noah arched a brow for a moment before the certain circumstances then reminded him. If it was what he thought it was going to be about, he'll cross that bridge. At the same time, the girls eventually let go of their teammate with their worries diminished after all of this time.
"How are you holding up?" Yang asked.
Her male teammate shrugged. "Been well."
Ruby questioned him next, frowning. "Where were you? We thought we lost you."
"I was fighting Grimm almost all day trying to get back to Vale." He knew the whole 'accidently ended up on some alternate Earth' excuse wasn't going to be accepted, at least for right now.
"Are you forgetting about the part where you were found a day later fighting Roman Torchwick himself?" Yang deadpanned.
"I was about to say that, but either way, you get the gist of it."
She sighed in ease. "Even so, it's a miracle a Huntsman got you out of there."
He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Some guy named Qrow saved my hide, whoever that is."
"That would be me." A voice made it self known.
The three teenagers turned to the newcomer* who was leaning against the doorway. The girls instantly recognized him.
"UNCLE QRRRRRRRROOOWWW!" Ruby's eyes sparkled as she hugged the man in front of them on his arm. "Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!"
Qrow chuckled lightly at his niece's antics. "Nope."
Confused, Noah did a look over at the two's reunion, certainly seeing who inspired Ruby's fashion sense. He turned back at a smirking Yang. "That guy's your uncle?"
"That's right." She got up and wrapped the Huntsman in a hug when Ruby popped off. "It's good to see you again, old man."
"Likewise, Firecracker. And don't call me old." He joked, returning the gesture before turning his attention back to Noah. "So you're the tough guy I heard about."
"Yeah." He sat up straight on the hospital bed. "I ought to thank you for pulling me out of the fire."
The older man scoffed. "That won't be necessary. It's better to thank your luck. How's the recovery going?"
"Slightly sore, but otherwise fine." Noah rolled his shoulders to emphasis.
"Good. We're going to make a trip to Ozpin's office."
The girls seemed to have caught on what he was talking about in the sudden serious tone.
"Now?" Yang queried. "We're gonna question him now?"
"It's better now than later. Everyone else is expecting us." He turned back to the elephant in the room. "Get your clothes on. We'll be waiting for you outside."
As he turned to leave, the solace his nieces had diminished slowly. The three teenagers frowned at the reminder. Yang glanced at her teammate with confliction before joining Qrow. Only Ruby stayed and looked at Noah with those puppy eyes and muttered something too quietly to hear, then left. He sighed before he went to prepare.
With his visitors gone, he threw the blanket off himself before removing his gown to replace it with his usual attire. One by one, he zipped up his pants, slipped his shirt and jacket on, and strapped his boots on.
"Well, I'll be damned. These feel like new." He thought in fascination.
With his other belongings packed back up, with his guns all placed in their respective holsters and slots, he twirled his hatchet in hand before setting it away in the last strap to carry it. And so he left to accompany his poetical escort.
The atmosphere in the hallway leading to the tower's elevator was tense, with the source of it being the teams waiting for Yang, Ruby, and their teammate, who was the main subject of their conversation. The same individual who was a recent topic of interest among the student body of Beacon. Neither of them wanted to delve into what they have been referring to as the 'incident'. They had not expected Noah to reappear at the docks of Vale a day later after he disappeared. Not much information was shared to the public asides from the fact the same missing first year Huntsman-in-training was facing off Roman Torchwick and his new henchman until a veteran Huntsman saved him. Nonetheless, it was enough to satisfy the confused masses who heard explosions and gunfire.
"Unbelievable. He vanished for a day and that was how he showed up." Weiss grumbled before sighing. "Why did the headmaster ever place him on my team?"
"Are you kidding?" Jaune asked incredulously. "After he was found fighting that Torchwick guy, everyone's been talking about Noah and us."
"Can you blame them?" Ren countered. "We couldn't find his location, so of course it'd throw us off guard that he would be back in Vale suddenly."
"Then he fought Torchwick and whoever the meanie was." Nora finished off. If it wasn't for the fact he had blood on his hands, she would be congratulating him with praise and pancakes.
"I'm more thankful that he was saved. He was lucky he wasn't killed beforehand." Velvet sighed, leaving Coco to pat her shoulder for comfort. While she still couldn't forget about that massacre on the mission, she couldn't find it in herself to wish harm upon him.
"Tch. They better not associate that... killer with me. My father would never let me hear the end of it." The local ice queen shuddered at the idea. She envisioned the damage it could potentially do to her image.
"Weiss. It won't happen." Blake soothed. "Besides, he'll finally have to answer our questions." And she had plenty of unasked questions. She needed to know what her teammate had to say. She had to get the idea of what kind of person he was. The last thing she wanted was another reminder of her previous life. To be reminded of him.
"Speak of the devil." Fox's comment drew their attention onto what he was seeing. The person they were talking about with Ruby, Yang, and a Huntsman.
"It's about time you showed up." Weiss cynically threw in her two cents.
"Now's not the time, princess." The veteran interjected. The Huntsman then became a brief center of attention for everyone else.
Pyrrha, trying to be formal, spoke up. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced."
"Name's Qrow."
"And he's my uncle!" Ruby chimed in.
Upon her declaration, everyone took a glance at the Huntsman in question before back at her. One thought that crossed their minds was where she took some inspiration from.
"Heh, noted." Coco chuckled slightly.
"Now, if no one else has any observations, the headmaster's waiting for us."
That reminder reinstated the seriousness of the situation. The students all nodded and the party proceeded to be on its way. Heading to the office, there was a collective silence among the group, none daring to glance at Noah. He noticed this and shifted uncomfortably. The silence was so damning.
"Are you guys all right?" He tried to initiate a conversation to ease the tension.
But no one answered him. Some would either just look away to the side or have weary expressions. The others, he couldn't tell. Noah sighed at this.
"Of course, they wouldn't be. They all saw the real me."
Not much time had passed when the group reached the elevator. No other words were exchanged among them. It felt excruciatingly long before they were carried to the top of Beacon's tower and granted access to the office.
DING!
The ride to the top of the Beacon tower ended at that the elevator's bell and the doors opened for them to enter the office where the headmaster was calmly sitting behind his desk. His appearance hasn't changed in the slightest nor did professor Goodwitch standing beside him. The pair seemed to have been in a discussion before they turned their attention to the visitors they were expecting.
"Ah, Mister Oliwa. Welcome back. So I can safely assume that you are back in good health after going through quite an ordeal?" Ozpin inquired calmly.
"You assume correctly, headmaster." Noah nodded.
The man in charge took a short drink from his mug before going to the point of the meeting. "Now, before you awakened, the teams with you informed me that while the mission was a success, you took... counterproductive action when you encountered armed hostiles alongside machines of unknown design and creatures similar to the late Beast of Vale. Not just that, they also stated that you and this unknown third party seem to have known each other as enemies. As you may understand, they all have questions regarding the incident if you do not mind answering them."
The students all turned to the person at issue for his response while the other adults remained silent. Noah frowned meanwhile; he braced himself as he began stepping into the middle of the office to turn back to the teams.
"What do you all want to know?"
"Let's have you explain everything we don't know." Weiss dictated before the headmaster could speak.
"Well... where to start..." He sighed, rubbing his hands together in nervousness.
(Outsider - Myuu)
He spent a great amount of time telling his collected audience his true origins, from who he really was to his arrival on Remnant. He didn't bother sugar-coating his words or describing anything subtly. He figured that the best way to tell them the truth was to be blunt about it, never sparing any detail. He told them all about his own life story, his home world of Earth, the Nazis, their creations, and their atrocities. He answered any questions that were thrown at him with all he knew. There were a handful of times where he had to catch himself when he had to remember a few painful memories, especially those involving his family, something that wasn't unnoticed by the headmaster. Everyone, save for the adults present, was extremely skeptical as any sane person would be. Someone claiming that they were not from their world and was an infamous killer of tyrannical psychopaths didn't sound like a believable story. He figured that they wouldn't fully understand him without any concrete proof, so he requested for the Headmaster to show them the footage.
Ozpin agreed to this and, seeing the hesitance of being present in the boy's eyes, ordered Qrow to lead him out of the office. There were several events he knew Noah would not want to relive again, even if it was to prove his tale true. As expected, a few protested against this decision (Weiss especially). A hand rose from the headmaster was needed to silence them just as the elevator closed for a departing Qrow and Noah.
"I brought you here because I have something to inform you about Mister Oliwa." Ozpin explained before taking a sip from his mug. "In a way... it's the creditability to his story." He spoke grimly. He could only imagine their reactions.
"Creda-what?" Ruby quizzed innocently, clearly confused.
"Evidence to all of that stuff he pulled up." Coco explained.
"Oh."
"Whatever it is, it could be-" Yang was going to continue until Goodwitch interrupted her.
"Miss Xiao Long, we have reviewed it ourselves for hours and confirmed that it was not forged." Her softspoken declaration slightly unsettled the teenagers for a pair of reasons; she was rather strict for a professor who shouldn't have the right to speak like that. But the fact they could barely see her downcast expression on the window's reflection worsened it.
Glynda Goodwitch couldn't forget about all of the horror she, Qrow, and Ozpin learned that Noah faced when they analyzed the footage to ensure he was telling the truth. As much as she wanted to step in and comfort him, she knew the damage was done a long time ago and it was far too late to do so now.
"The poor child... he was forced to mature too early."
"What if I told you that he was honest throughout his time enlightening you?" The headmaster proposed.
"If he was, how can he prove it asides from what video he gave you?" Nora pointed out. Like all the others, she was in denial despite how cool it would be if her classmate was truly an alien.
Ruby was about to join Nora's doubts before Jaune spoke up.
"Wait... there was that one room we came across back at that base..."
"What room?" The SDC heiress obnoxiously asked.
"You know..." His face grew a tinge of green. "With the..." He gulped. "Tortured bodies..."
The teams' eyes widened in remembrance.
The wall of debris crumbled before the power of Nora's Magnhild with the ease of toy blocks. Electricity sparked off of the ginger who cleared the way for the teams. The impressive display of power, however, couldn't numb away the concern that they, mostly R(R)WBY, was flooded with. Shortly after the disappearance of the sole young man of the team, it took all of Yang's strength to hold a crying Ruby back from going down to the collapsing cave's rapids to try and find Noah, who no doubt ended up somewhere deeper in the caverns or worse. The heart wrenching sight from earlier further dug a pit into their being when Ruby broke down into hot tears, forcing herself to accept that he's out of their reach.
"We need to find him." Ruby sniffled.
"But he could be anywhere down there, you dolt! He may very well ended up in another kingdom for all we know!" Weiss complained.
"Isn't that a bit farfetched?" Coco commented. "I mean, there's no way a cave could go that far."
"Calm down." Blake tried to negate the argument. "We'll find him before..."
"He kills again..." The little red hood whispered sadly.
It was disturbing with how much gore was left behind in her teammate's wake. The smell of fresh decay, tinged with the atmospheric taste of blood. There was no end in sight for the trail of violence. It took a lot of willpower for her young mind to not breakdown and cry. But, why? Why would someone like him do something like this? Then there was the fact Noah saved Yang from the collapsing bridge. If he was truly as heartless as half of her innocence proclaimed, he would have left her sister to die. Perhaps there was some measure of good within him?
Her mind continuously replayed those two opposing sides of him. As hard as she tried to understand it, it didn't make sense to her in the slightest.
'This is the worse day ever.' She thought.
"I just hope we don't suffer because of... this." Ren reluctantly gestured to the bodies strewn about.
"This is all my fault. I'm a horrible leader."
"Ruby, it's not your fault if he did such a vile act." Pyrrha attempted to cheer the younger girl up.
"That murderer will get what he-"
A hard gasp from Jaune interrupted Weiss. The others turned and saw him, mouth gaping in horror with his hands pressing the double doors open.
"Jaune? What is it?" Velvet asked.
He didn't answer. Whatever he was fixated upon, it rattled him into silence. Everyone else went to see what he discovered until they too had similar reactions. Little did they know they entered the base's laboratory and got to bear witness what was in the cursed chambers.
Unlike the small monster and those doctors from the looks of it, these corpses of faunus and humans, bare of clothing, were severely emaciated with signs of bruising and scars. What disturbed the teams to the core was the fact that some of them were either attached to the meat hooks or were deliberately treated as if animals to a dissection on those tables. The thing that stood out was the way these bodies were shown, they seemed to have been there longer than the soldiers. Their blood was long dried where as the strangers' blood still ran like wine. It took several seconds for it all to lead to one conclusion.
This wasn't Noah's doing.
What they told the headmaster would plague them for the remainder of their days. If one paid attention to detail, he would see Ozpin subtly clenching his fist. Not in anger, but at how the unfortunate souls had to endure such cruelty. Glynda was eerily silent.
Fox audibly sighed, visibly shaken. "That was messed up."
"But there's no way all of that could be connected to Noah's lie! What kind of heartless criminals would do that?! It's probably just some unexplained coincidence!" Weiss exclaimed.
"The key word is 'probably'." Blake spoke. If she was concerned, she did a good job not showing it in contrast to her voice. "As much as I don't want to believe it, what if he is telling the truth?"
At this rate, she was unsure what to believe. How else can she describe everything she has seen so far? Being his teammate, she used plenty of opportunities to observe him in action. The first obvious sign was the weaponry Noah used, especially the one that looked like it came out of a science fiction novel. The second sign was his initial obliviousness to aura and his combat style. No other person she met could fight like that. Unlike others who finely tune or wish to express their abilities, he used raw power, like an animal. He fought to kill. Now was the handful of historical events he described. She knew nothing of what he said, but judging from the way he was talking about it, he spoke as if it was common knowledge.
While most were uncertain how to answer that, few were either deep in thought or still had their doubts.
"On the topic of that, there was some weird... writing at the base. How Noah was able to understand the gibberish crap is beyond me." Yang mentioned, earning a few acknowledged confirmations from those who were just as confused as her. "Even some of those mercenaries were talking nonsense."
Inwardly, Ozpin narrowed his eyes. "They likely encountered the enemy's national language."
"There was another detail prominent at the base." Yastuhashi brought up. "Everywhere we turned, we would keep finding a symbol we couldn't recognize."
This time, Goodwitch turned to the tall student and asked. "Can you describe it in detail?"
"It was shaped like an X, but the ends were bent in a strange pattern."
Now with a frown, Ozpin used his scroll to project a grainy image that showed a red banner that held a white sphere in the center. In it was the symbol the samurai mentioned. It earned the other students' surprised attention. Even Coco moved her sunglasses to get a better look.
"Is this what you have seen?" The headmaster motioned to the hologram.
"Yeah, that's the one." Jaune answered. "Where did you get that from?"
"The very footage Mister Oliwa gave us. What you have been telling us has been matching quite well so far with what he showed us."
The audience was perplexed. They didn't want to believe the saga they were told. They didn't want to believe a group like Noah described exists. They wanted to believe this was something else entirely. As far as they all knew, it shouldn't be possible. But with the arguments they brought up, those were crumbled before their feet by the proof that was supporting the young man's story. They wanted to dismiss it all as bogus, but they couldn't. Was it truly all real? Only one was courageous enough to speak her mind.
"A-are you sure he's actually telling the truth?" Ruby asked hesitantly.
"Why else would he suggest that you view the recordings?" Ozpin looked to the collection of students, who seemed unsure. "It is entirely up to you. If you don't believe you can handle this, we will understand."
The children looked at one another, having a silent conversation before they turned back to him with determination in their eyes.
"Very well." The headmaster turned to Goodwitch. "If you would."
Glynda took her scroll to arrange a couple of files before she placed it onto Ozpin's desk as it synced up. And so began the footage.
Screams of horror and gasps of shock could be heard after a few minutes.
The two were walking down the vast hallways of the academy, both having different destinations in mind. The youngest received stares from students who passed by them with some whispering to one another. A few of their conversations could be heard faintly about Noah and his recent debut against Torchwick. While he was the topic of various conversations, he was relieved that it seemed like they were not informed of the White Fang involved.
"Is that who I think it is?"
"Yeah, it's him!"
"How did he survive all that?"
"Tch. He doesn't look much."
"Did you see those weapons of his?"
"That hatchet sure looks sharp."
"I'll say."
"Is he dating his entire team?"
That last one overheard did earn a slight blush from Noah. Throughout their walk, the veteran Huntsman would occasionally glance at the student every once in a while, who was looking down with a frown as if something was on his conscious. Likely the invaders he learned about himself the other day. Qrow was still coming to terms with the fact that Remnant may have a new threat on the horizon. Nonetheless, they were all lucky to have some aid in the form of a Da'at Yichud Chosen whom more than likely now holds the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Poor kid." He sighed internally.
The pair hadn't spoke a word to one another. That was until Qrow killed the silence.
"They were worried about you."
That caught Noah's attention, evidenced by him slightly raising his head at him.
"My nieces, your teammates, and the rest of your buddies. When they got back here, they kept asking questions about if we found you and what not." He then became slightly serious. "They also told us about what happened in Forever Fall at that little base you all found, how you wiped the floor with those soldiers there. You scared them all to death."
"I can't say I fault them." The younger man suspired.
"Then you disappeared for a whole day." If Noah was surprised, he didn't show it. "None of the best first and second year students could get a trace of you. And you showed up at the docks taking on Torchwick and his partner. No other Huntsman-in-training should be able to pull that kind of a stunt. Let alone a first-year like yourself."
"It's either a knack of mine for running into trouble or a case of bad luck."
"Wait until you see mine." Qrow chuckled. "Point is even after all of that, they still care about you. Just give them time."
The student didn't reply. Everything seemed to have moved fast when the two found themselves outside of the main building near the statue. Noah was continuing his way to the dorms when the Huntsman interrupted him.
"One more thing."
He looked back to Qrow, who brought something out from his pocket. It was the leather journal that he was returning.
"After learning about the kinds of monsters you've faced, I honestly don't blame you for what you had to do on the mission. The biggest lesson people seem to forget about is the world isn't black or white. It's plain old gray." He then departed, leaving Noah to his devices.
The student traced his thumb across a corner of the book he held before setting it into his pack. Wordlessly, he gazed at the statue in front of him. For a split second, the architecture seemed to have warped into a marble statue of Hitler standing upon Blazkowicz's corpse. Baffled, Noah subtly shook his head only to see nothing has changed; it still displayed a Huntsman and Huntress looming over a Beowolf.
"What the..."
The echoes of thunder brought his attention over to the distant gray clouds looming over the sun that began to settle for the late afternoon. At the sight, he went to resume his walk to the dorms, to some area where he can be by himself. He didn't see the crow flying off to parts unknown away from the academy.
(Bipolar - Lucas King)
It was quite fortunate that the headmaster always had a garbage can in his office. Usually, it was for the empty packets of imported hot chocolate mix that he would use. He always did have a taste for exotic rich flavors. Right now, it was required for the two or three students who had developed the urge to lose their lunch.
The footage used was cut into several notable clips for the teams to spare them from hours of unedited recordings. Unlike the adults who had dealt with their own reactions ahead of time, the children were in a mess. They varied from looking away in silent horror to becoming pale in tears. Four of the notable examples were the girls of RRWBY.
Blake was horrified at the actions of these monsters dressed in human skin. She bore witness to hatred fueled clashes between humans and faunus before, but what set that apart was it never once at the extent these 'Nazis' had. That one part of the footage with the laboratory made her skin crawl. When she saw the clip that displayed various bodies in the middle of experiments, she darted for the trash can and regurgigated her fish from earlier today.
Weiss can be cold at times. That alone is a fact. However, she knew right from wrong. She was raised on enough moral to teach her the makings of being a Huntress. She may not be able to trust faunus, but she would never want them locked up and abused like lambs to the slaughter. Especially to be subjected to such atrocities that these cold hearted people had no problem with doing on countless civilians. Execution squads. Medical experiments. Death camps. And corpses converted into those supersoldier things. Her thousand yard stare frozen in mortification pronounced her horror.
"Oh my gods..." Could be heard from Yang as she cupped her mouth with both hands. Watery reddened eyes freed rivers of tears. A conglomeration of emotions raged against one another. Out of all of them, a few stood out. Terror at the unspeakable crimes that these Nazis (whatever that means) have done to countless victims. Disbelief that people who would casually kill innocents actually exist. Anger at how they could get away with unrestrained cruelty. And grief for all of the lives who were lost to these monsters. Grief for the losses her teammate had to endure. She tearfully winced when she remembered calling Noah a monster. Did she have any right to do so?
Ruby sobbed the loudest out of the four. She struggled to hold it all in to put up a brave face despite seeing the horrors that were made by those murderers. Mentally, she tried focusing on the few and far between good things of the footage, like the camaraderie Noah clearly showed with other rebels, especially with the likes of that man named Blazkowicz who looked like he could pass off as a huntsman. She caved into the affliction when the evil people beheaded the Caroline woman and collapsed to her knees. She could still hear the anguish of Noah from the recording in her mind. The sight was too much for her fifteen year old mentality.
The bombardment of negativity came to a sudden halt when Goodwitch paused the video. "We wanted you to hear what he had to say and see this for yourselves because you have the right to know. As unbelievable as it is, Noah's been telling the truth."
Neither of the teams said anything. What they had seen was far too lifelike to be staged on a film. The constant screams of desolation and death were too realistic for actors. Even the injuries that they had seen Noah receive on the video was too life threatening. The point of view gave them plenty of shots of an entirely different world that made the untamed wilderness of Remnant overrun with Grimm more preferable.
Coco took off her sunglasses to wipe them. "I'm heading out... I-we need to be alone for a bit..." She stated solemnly before sauntering to the elevator with her equally disturbed team following suit.
"I trust that our discussion will remain between us?" The headmaster questioned, not minding their departure.
"Yes, sir. I doubt anyone would believe us anyway." Fox replied, allowing a grief-stricken Velvet and a silent Yatsuhashi to enter the ride down first.
When CFVY left, Ozpin turned to team JNPR. "You are dismissed. I understand you will need time to process what you had to learn today."
"Yes... of course. Thank you, headmaster. " Pyrrha mustered enough will to start moving again.
She looked like she was taking it well, but she was trying to maintain a facade to defy overwhelming negative emotions. Ren, meanwhile, was holding a crying Nora close in an effort to calm her down; even then, he was distressed himself. Jaune didn't say anything. In fact, he only stared at the paused footage blankly, focusing on the scroll's frozen hologram. When Pyrrha saw him in this trance, she tried to get his attention. The spartan lookalike called to him again, but was ignored. Out of concern, she placed her hand on his shoulder which earned a jolt from him, snapping him out of it.
"Y-yeah, Pyrrha?" Gods, his coarse voice sounded horrible. His dark blue eyes were reddened, likely from mass distress.
"Are you okay, Jaune?"
"A... I'm f-..." He brushed a hand roughly against his hair. "I... I'm sorry." He sighed loudly, his voice cracking slightly. He stormed into the elevator with Nora and Ren. Pyrrha hurried alongside him in concern for his wellbeing.
With elevator closed again, the only team left was RRWBY. The little leader could only mutter the question that was on her teammates' minds.
"Why...?"
"Your teammate, from what I have observed, facing the darkest embodiments of mankind, was forced to commit things that I'm sure he would never do in any other circumstance. Until now, he kept the truth about himself hidden to hold the burden of this magnitude soley on his shoulders." The headmaster answered.
"B-but we're his teammates! We're supposed to trust each other in anything, no matter how difficult it is!" Ruby stuttered in tearful disbelief.
"True, but picture yourself in his place. And besides that, would you believe him?"
"... Still! Why not tell us before?! Why keep it a secret?! Why hide the pain?!"
"It may have something to do with the fact we didn't know so much about him until this point." Blake interrupted, having finished vomiting beforehand. "Take us for example. We know about each other enough to write an essay, but what about Noah? Where is he from? What's his hobby? What's his favorite color? What reason would he have to trust us?"
"Are you joking me? Of course, he wouldn't trust us!" Weiss shrieked for the first time after half an hour, her expression still giving away that she was beyond unsettled with the revelations of the sole boy of her team.
"Actually, he told me..." Yang trailed off when she remembered the night before the mission, getting the floor. "He told me that his home was taken over and abused by a corrupt police force, here on Remnant." She realized that he practically lied to her.
"It may have been inconsiderate of him to lie to his teammates, but ask yourself why would he." When no one answered, the headmaster continued. "It was very likely he didn't want any harm to be brought upon you. In his eyes, he was trying to protect you from what could have endangered you at the cost of his scarred psyche."
Upon bringing up another part of the meeting, he disabled the scroll with the paused footage, to the relief of the remaining team. The next several minutes involved the headmaster bringing up concerns that the feats Noah accomplished and the losses the girls' fifth teammate experienced could've left a lasting impact on his mind, which was agreed upon the party present. Neither of them would have thought that someone around their age would have to carry such a burden so soon in life. Even Weiss could not help but be sorrowful, more or less. The topic did reach a conclusion where they were satisfied with how Noah would be assigned to weekly appointments with the academy's psychiatrist to monitor his well being.
"I am sure you realize how much he needs help as soon as possible. And who else could help him more than his own teammates? Do not rush things, give him time, help him. Please, be patient with him. When I look at him, I see a lost and hurt child who was deprived of a life he was not fortunate of having."
Ruby gazed at the headmaster with bewilderment, as if she was given a new purpose as a Huntress-in-training. "Yes, headmaster... Now that I think about it, he's kinda mysterious like Blake when Yang and I first met her." The mentioned Belladonna rolled her eyes. "You're right, headmaster. We never knew much about him. But if we show him how much we still consider him as a friend, he can be saved! And he'll be able to get his life back! Go team RRWBY!" She then frowned after attempting to uplift optimism. "But we still can't forget the fact that he... he... and..." Her eyes watered again with her lips quivering. "And all of this..."
Ozpin frowned in understanding. He knew she would still be distraught over what has been revealed to her, a feeling that was shared among her teammates. "I know, Miss Rose. But that is something you need to solve. You and the other teams are excused for the rest of the week." He took a sip of his hot chocolate. "You are dismissed."
"... Thank you, headmaster." The team leader muttered before she and the rest of the girls left in tow on the elevator, each of varying emotions from processing everything they had to learn today.
Once the students were gone, the two adults could now discuss about other pressing matters. From what they understood based on the information gathered during the students' mission, the invaders have already started exploring their world; most likely as reconnaissance.
"Our worse fears have been realized." The headmaster sighed.
Glynda looked to Ozpin. "Should we tell the others? It won't be long before they learn of the invaders. They will demand answers if we remain quiet about this for too long."
He contemplated about it before answering. "If they become too suspicious of our silence, we will inform them accordingly. We cannot create a mass panic with the Grimm waiting for an opportunity to strike. However, should they suffer from any unprecedented attacks by the new enemy, they have the right to know who they are against."
"What about General Ironwood? You know how he is, especially his colonel."
"I will help him understand how delicate this news is. As for Colonel Colhart, we will face him when the situation calls for it."
Goodwitch was unsatisfied with the answer. Nevertheless, she pressed onto another matter. "Until then, what do you suggest we do about this new threat?"
"For now, we will have to wait for them to make their first move. When they leave any signs behind, we will be able to stop them before they gain a foothold. Mister Oliwa will have to be called upon for these tasks, as he understands their nature and his combat efficiency speaks for itself. He will have to be the metaphorical shield as a Chosen, just as it was written."
"But if his team and their friends learn of him leaving to fight the invaders on his own, they'll more than likely attempt to help him. And if they're facing the enemy themselves, they will not be able to find the strength to do what will need to be done, especially if they are have to fight another human being." Glynda mentioned out of concern.
"In reality, Huntsmen and Huntresses often find themselves in life threatening situations where they are forced to take action they normally wouldn't do, even if it means having no other option, but to kill." He showed a sympathetic glance to Glynda. "As much as I wish it is not too soon, when the time is right, they will know when they must do so."
The deputy had her scroll opened and focused on the data about the teams' mission; in particular, a highlighted section about a device mentioned by Noah. "This is what unsettles me the most. If what he said about a 'portal generator' is true, if there is a possibility more is out there, I'm afraid a conflict will be coming. A conflict unlike any Remnant faced before."
"I agree." Ozpin commented. "And the Da'at Yichud Chosen will be in the middle of it."
The pair watched the outside world through the office's windows. They silently knew that the upcoming times will change Remnant forever. Those times inched closer by seconds, and the ticking of the clockwork did little to ease the tension.
Noah never thought he would be so focused on his paradox views of death. His hands were drowned by so much blood of the wicked to the point he became accustomed to the concept of its idea. And yet, whenever someone he has grown close to is embraced by its sickly touch, he has to scream at the heavens for taking them away. His cat, his family, freedom fighters he bonded with, Caroline, and now Blazkowicz himself. He can not forget about that image of his severed head falling to the awaiting flames. How can one forget staring into the dead eyes of another close to him? Questions tangled in his mind like numerous webs. What happened to the Kreisau Circle? Are they still safe? Will they still find the strength to fight? Is his sister out of harm's reach?
(Fiver's Vision - Watership Down)
A drop of liquid landed on his cheek. His fingers traced it off.
Eyes widened.
"Blood?"
What started off as a steady trickle soon roared with the severity of a hurricane's winds that blew him away. Everything around him was painted in red. Trees, sidewalks, buildings.
Then he saw them all, akin to hail in the storm when he stood back up.
Severed heads that shattered the world around him like glass upon impact. He was stupefied at how he was floating in the black void.
"What the hell's going on?!"
All of them were from the Kreisau Circle. A few stood out to his horror.
"No...!"
Max, Super Spesh, Bombate, Set, Grace, Wyatt, Sigrun.
Anya.
All of them with that sick pale look.
Two little forms could be seen.
Her unborn infants still attached to their umbilical cords.
A crowd chanted in the distance.
"[Citizens of the glorious Reich, today we have won!]"
His blinking eyes welcomed him to the sight of numerous Nazis and Engel herself.
He was stuck, but he could see the shattered moon in the distance.
"[We have finally captured the last of the Kreisau Circle, Noah Rodzina Oliwa, alive!]"
He was to be executed, exactly the same way Blazkowicz died. He tried to break free, but to no avail.
He was pushed to the edge where he saw the fire.
The same fire that hid four familiar forms that were incinerated. A charred rose emblem resisted the heat.
"Ruby?!" Tears blocked his vision.
"[Now this demonic hellion will face the justice he denied to countless lives!]"
He was lowered facing upward.
"[Let the glorious Reich remember this as the last day of the resistance! Sieg Heil!]"
That accursed quote boomed around him.
Grief turned into defiance.
The bloodstained sword was ready to strike him down.
Defiance turned into anger.
(Beerus Hakai - Dragon Ball Super)
Blood-like lightning pounded through his veins.
Anger turned into hatred.
He saw red.
The shackles yielded to his rage.
He grabbed a startled Engel and tore her body in two.
The scrambling guards around him popped into showers of gore.
Panicked screams howled. Banners were dropped as people ran.
The drones nearby were shattered beyond repair, just like the mockery of the monument he stood on.
The Nazis attacked with everything they had. Bullet, fire, rocket, laser, electricity, EMP, grenade, acid, mortar rounds, missiles. Atom bombs were fired from the distance.
He leapt into the armies below.
He burned.
The world around him burned.
He was invincible.
He was death incarnate.
He was hallucinating.
(Despair - Myuu)
In reality, he jolted up. Glancing around and instead of seeing copious amounts of blood, he found himself standing in the courtyard close to the dorms. In front of him was a cracked pillar with a sizable crater made from his bloodied fists. Even his aura couldn't hold back his rage.
He was alone, for other students have already retreated back into the dormitories when the darkening clouds began to rain. He sat down on one of the benches away from the damaged beam, ignoring his own injuries. Not even the thunder was enough to break him out of his troubling thoughts. That damned fear of his made him question if the Kreisau Circle still lives.
"With BJ gone and the Nazis doing Lord knows what out there... how am I supposed to stop it all?"
This was a rare situation where he felt lost. He'd look up to his in-law as a hero who inspired him to take up arms against the Germans. Despite all the pleas to steer clear of the Nazis a year or two ago, a defiant Noah chose to fight rather than to run, much to his sister's initial dismay who didn't want to lose any other member of her family. It took a while for his prowess and determination to make an impact on everyone, especially the war veteran who would take the young boy under his wing on mastering his combat skills. Then came that day when he was injected with the Blood. It was made clear that he was destined to fight the Third Reich. But now, he only had himself.
If the Earth was in fact doomed and he had to protect the good left on Remnant from the Nazis, he didn't know exactly where to begin that task. It escalated when he had to see an invasion of the Germans in an entirely different reality from both worlds firsthand. With that kind of technological feat, the Nazis could practically go anywhere they wanted to. With what felt like a second, he had the sickening feeling in his gut that they were already marching upon other worlds, without a doubt corrupting them into their own image.
Where could he possibly start?
The sound of movement caused him to spin around off the bench in a combat stance, only to loosen up when he realized it was his team. There was a familiar atmosphere he could tell was affecting them.
"So, you and the others saw everything?" He asked with no clear emotion.
Nothing was spoken. The silence answered it.
Stepping out of the four, Ruby ran to him and surprised him with the tightest hug she could offer. She had her face buried in his chest lamenting. She wasn't the only one who had the idea; a desolate Yang joined her in crying for their friend. Blake and Weiss may not be as close to him as the half sisters, but they looked upon him with sorrow.
"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" Yang could be heard whispering to him. "I didn't know... I just didn't know."
Noah struggled with this sudden source of comfort, but he eventually caved into the group hug. He was too forlorn to refuse it. He needed it. Now was the time to mourn. For them to mourn for his losses and for him to mourn for the dead. The dead who will never know the life without tyranny. Only one can carry such raw emotions for so long to drown in if it was all let out too late. Something he never thought he would indulge in again since the day his life changed for the worse. Since he lost his parents.
Roman Torchwick was terrified, to say the least. So was his partner.
It was another night of a failure. First, he ended up losing a considerable amount of Dust in the recent run-in with a Huntsman-in-training. Then he lost more than necessary 'assistants' in his heists. He knew his boss wouldn't be pleased with the most recent turn of events, if the paced clicking of high heels wasn't any indication. And here they were, in a hideout of Vale's slums. Roman was putting an effort in not looking so nervous.
The fact that she wasn't alone didn't make the situation better for him. She was accompanied by a high ranking faunus from the White Fang who was equally as infuriated as her. He was a tall man with auburn hair joined by a pair of reddish-black horns. He wore an asymmetrical black, long-sleeved, double-breasted stylized high-collared blazer with slit sleeves along with red thorn sigils adorned with a white crest that lined up on his left shoulder. His suit jacket had crimson lining atop his red shirt, with red thorn sigils atop a black flap attached to the bottom of the left hem and his wilting rose emblem on the back over an emblazoned white sigil resembling the curved stems and flower of the deadly nightshade plant. His blazer was half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it. He wore long black dress pants, black shoes with red soles and black gloves with red sigils resembling the Omega symbol. What made him stand out was his mask that was whitish-tan with red, Japanese-looking style, horn-like symbols decorating the front and two slits on each side.
"So, explain this to me again." The woman spoke with frustration. "How after having plenty of our volunteers from the White Fang help you throughout the nights getting Dust, and after having the brat at your mercy..." Her eyes glowed a fiery yellow. "You ran away!"
The crime lord of Vale took a few steps back while Neo stood her ground. It was evident that it was not a good idea to anger their boss.
"N-Neo and I assumed that he was alone and he would've been a piece of cake. Then we had a run-in with a Huntsman. I realized that more of those goody-two-shoed jackasses would be coming, so we had to bail out and-"
"Not only were two warehouses worth of Dust destroyed, several of my people got themselves killed!" The bull Faunus declared for the first time and pounded his fist against the table in anger, causing any item on it to bounce. Unlike the woman, it wasn't Roman that he was mad at; it was the human who dared murder his kind in cold blood.
"I'm afraid this little incident has made me question your ability to carry out my plans, which was why our friends from the White Fang have agreed to send in their best to deal with the problem." She turned to the Faunus. "Bring them in."
The Faunus nodded and summoned, from the shadows of the hideout, a small squadron of personally handpicked White Fang enforcers of different backgrounds from all across Remnant who made their name known in criminal history. Each of them stood at attention with an atmosphere of authority; An orangutan, an elephant, a python, a wolf, and a vulture.
"Uh... boss? What is this?" Roman voiced his confusion.
The boss's associate ignored him and turned his attention to the awaiting terrorists. "All of you are skilled assassins and tacticians. The target that I have selected is to be considered heavily armed and dangerous. Your task is simple; Kill him, and then come to me to take your place by my side when we, the Faunus, finally rise and take up arms. I don't care who plays fair or who plays dirty..." He ignored the python giggling. "...or who kills each other and other humans and traitors to our cause. As long as only one is at my side in the end as my right hand."
He then pulled out a picture and presented in front of his audience.
"This is your target."
A picture of Noah taken by a surviving grunt.
(Season 1 Credits: The Partisan by Mick Gordon (feat. Tex Perkins))
Journal Entries
*Qrow: "What shall we do with a drunken sailor? Toss him into another universe, early in the morning! Make a badass out of him, early in the morning! Write his name to sound almost like a bird's, early in the morning!... I think I've said enough."
- Race: Human
- Affiliation: Beacon Academy
- Semblance: ?
- Weapon: ?
AN: Oh, how much fun I'm gonna have with season 2 with all of these ideas I got planned for it after my long hiatus! It was the one good thing that happened during my absence at least. I plan to revisit a few chapters to fix several things because there was a handful of stuff I wasn't happy with, especially now that I've been working to improve my writing outside of fanfiction. Nothing will change plot wise, but there will be some typo corrections and extended typing so to speak.
Prepare for new enemies, RWBY characters from other installments, new conflicts, new OCs, Noah's reactions to anime clichés brought to life, a few new weapons with their own upgrades, more organ parties, and more deaths of Nazis Doom style. And most of all, times to rattle the world of the RWBY cast.
In regards to the harem that won the pairing vote, I plan to process through it with various chapters via character development while at the same time not instantaneous, depending on the individual girl's personality. Heck, it'll be quite a while before it's official. And worry not, it isn't going end with an army of girlfriends like what we've seen in some works. I'm aiming to limit it down to no more than eight as the maximum amount of lovers. Below is what the harem will be composed of (the last one is left as blank intentionally to avoid spoilers).
Freedom Fighters harem: Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Coco, Velvet, ?, ?
Also, Renora and Arkos will be a thing. These couples are perfect.
Fun fact about Somewhere Beyond the Sky; The reason why I included Dino D-Day into this story's mix was because originally when I was younger, I contemplated a crossover between it and Wolfenstein. It was only after watching several volumes of RWBY and playing The New Colossus installment that I eventually came up with the idea in the first place. That and I wanted the Nazi faction to be as OP as possible, bringing in old and new units into their armies if you understand what I'm attempting to say. Heck, I'll even throw in some supernatural aspects into the party soon. And yes, I will confirm that Shamblers will make their debut eventually.
It's also important to note that there was another idea I considered working on alongside this fanfiction. Should I work on a prequel for this story in order to flesh out the story a little more? I have created a poll for you to vote on which will end on 10/01/2023. I could get started on it, but I want to know if you wish for this to be a reality.
In the next chapter, we'll revisit the crew and BJ himself back on Earth.
Next Chapters in Order: Meanwhile... (Season 2 intro), Chance to Live
Upcoming Bonus Chapter: Trailer (starring the OC)
Upcoming Spin-Offs: RRWBYstein Chibi, When the Brave knew Fear