Important (but skippable if you don't care) Note:

Before we begin, some of you might have noticed a few constant updates without any new chapters: I was fixing up some grammar issues and a small mistake in chapter 4. Updates without chapters mean I'm usually dealing with small problems, so pay them no mind. (I'll tell you if it's anything worth a reread in a note at the top of the following chapter.)

Okay, carrying on.

This isn't anything serious, but I'd like to address it here. Recently, I've gotten a review that felt a bit, shall we say... 'Disingenuous', and so I'd like to comment on it here.

Criticizing something you dislike is fine, and holding strong feelings towards what you feel may be a butchered topic is fine too, but if you want to review, at least read enough of the thing to know what you're talking about.

You can either continue assuming everything is just spat out with no rhyme or reason other than 'because the author likes it', or, you can keep reading and see if those thoughts are true; quitting at chapter 3 really didn't help in this regard - its rather obvious, seeing as the complaint about Jay's appearance has already shown itself a problem with multiple parties so far, and we haven't even started the real story yet. As for Junior not making use of Jay... Well, he doesn't trust him; that should have been rather clear - doing one favor, even a big one, does not gain you unparalleled trust.

Now as for the comment about other potential information brokers... it would be a spoiler if I revealed why Junior wouldn't see that as an issue; as would be the ability for Jay to actually walk through the corpse filled freezer despite seeming so timid that he'd run instead.

I'll point out a hint towards that little detail though, and only a hint - this is again a plot point. Keep an eye on the 'random' compulsions the characters feel.

Onto a serious topic though, and one that drew this whole thing into question: suicidal tendencies. Just to point something out for those of you who don't know, but spotting someone who's suicidal is difficult, immensely difficult. Considering the fact they don't want to be found out a good chunk of the time, this should make sense. The mannerisms of the victims are, equally, varied; making this process even more difficult to spot signs of.

I won't go into it further; research it yourself if you want a better breakdown of the subject, as opposed to listening to 'randoms' on the internet - myself included. Anyone can claim they're experienced in anything, so it's best to seek word from trusted sources.

As for people making a show for attention, well... they'd actually need to try and garner that attention. Jay, while outright romanticizing how little his life matters in his head - an intentional character flaw that will come into play later - has yet to show anything to anyone. Jay has, at the most, shown himself as a stuttering coward. Claiming he's just seeking attention - which is an interesting character trait I might write another time - doesn't exactly hold up if he's not actively trying to draw any.

Let's be real here though, the main reason said review exists is because the reviewer didn't like the protagonist's appearance, and felt the depressed anxiety-driven mindset they have is cringe. A fair opinion to hold, but don't go trying to pretend to make an honest review out of it - starting out with light insults and ending it the way you did kind of gave it away.

Just make fun of it normally like everyone else, or just drop the story altogether; simple fix.

Sorry for the long note, but it's for a good reason. I never remove reviews, no matter how bad they are, and so if you post something, it stays up. Keep that in mind, especially if using your own accounts. Guests don't really have this issue of leaving a trail, so… do whatever I suppose.

Anyway, let's continue.

.

Being led by a gun into an alleyway just down the street from the club you'd partied at just moments before your best friend's supposed 'death' wasn't exactly a reassuring thing for Josh.

And following a weird gun's directions wasn't normal either.

Part of himself wanted to suggest the excuse that maybe he was drunk, or even high. Unfortunately for him though, his physically ragged appearance had already caused the police beforehand to do a brief run-through with him, before he identified the corpse of his 'not' best friend, and he was thus proven to be in a perfectly capable state.

Fuck...

Not only was it damn freaky that a gun of all things was leading him on a wild goose chase, or even the fact he somehow knew it was the gun doing it by something as ridiculous as feeling, but he was most disturbed of all by just how close he'd been to the scene of the crime.

Had he been outside, he would have seen the event himself.

Hey!

That feeling inside, the strange combination of tugging in both his chest and head had started to twist suddenly, and looking up he could see why. Before him sat the entrance to an alleyway, and shockingly enough, Josh kind of recognised it.

He wasn't sure how long ago it was, but there was a report about this particular alleyway. Before the event, Josh remembered always seeing groups of what he'd assumed were gang members stalking the place, and supposedly - according to rumors around the college - you could get access to some pretty devious drugs from the men stationed there. Due to this, police activity in the area was fairly strict, with cops in disguise being known to spend a good portion of the day peeping around; they supposedly never got anything.

It wasn't until the killing that the gangs appeared to split, abandoning the street entirely, and nobody knew why.

A single policeman was found dead, and while that alone wasn't strange, it was how he was found that put things up in the air. The cause of death was physical trauma, most apparent by the gigantic gash across his torso. At first, it was assumed he'd been beaten by one of the local gangs, but the wound itself appeared more akin to that of an animal. However, the injury was massive, and no local dogs, or even the more exotic pets supposedly owned underground were capable of such damage.

The only thing of note was the fact he was missing his gun... and only his gun.

Josh was being brought to that same alleyway by a gun, a gun which, now that he looked at it with the story in mind, seemed suspiciously similar to the ones carried by local police. Obviously, he wasn't exactly happy with what that implied, but so far things today weren't looking up anyway, so it felt relatively normal in its lunacy.

Deciding it was best to let it go for now, he chose instead to follow the weapon's pull inside, and between those lifeless filthy walls he felt something... shift.

It was almost like he'd been pulled from every side of his body; every angle and crevice was hauled into a different direction. It made him a little woozy honestly, but he sucked in the desire to spill his lunch all over the ground in favor of a new realization. That pull from before, the one who'd lead him all the way here, and who's ability to do so he hadn't questioned hard enough...

It was gone.

In his hands sat the ordinarily familiar feel of pristine steel, and without the strange pull he was even able to appreciate the balancing of the weight in its build. But, without that weight to distract him, he was fully capable of taking in his surroundings. Obviously, he began to wonder just why he'd chosen to follow the pull rather than freak out over something so wild.

Actually, now that he wasn't feeling that pull anymore, he began to question why he was still standing in the alleyway.

I... I don't like this.

Talking to himself internally had always been a source of comfort for the guy; a sort of internal self-encouragement that always served to hype him up when he was down. The fact he didn't feel right was a testament of how far 'in over his head' the previous decision to find his friend had been.

Don't misunderstand, he was still going to find Jay.

No, Josh hadn't given up on his buddy, far from it in fact, he was now more determined than ever to discover what was up with his best friend. Jay was carrying around with him a magical gun, and if that didn't scream something was up, then Josh didn't know what would.

All these thoughts were starting to turn his stomach.

Damnit, I need to get out of here.

Being in the alleyway of his 'friend's' murder certainly wasn't helping him find the man, and so he opted to stroll right on out of the joint...

Into a city he didn't know.

"What the hell?"

His exasperation was released in the form of a faint whisper, heard by none other than himself. Josh wasn't exactly off his rockers, as was previously realized, and his eyes worked perfectly fine to his knowledge. So it was, as he looked around at the somewhat Victorian styled buildings surrounding him, did he begin to question just what the hell was going on.

The streets weren't barren like one would assume for this time of night... if it had actually been night.

The morning sun shined down warmly, and the hustle and bustle of the surrounding area was rattling his ears as boldly as any other day. This was at least comforting with how normal it appeared, because the abundance of people sporting animal cosplay certainly wasn't. Had he somehow ended up on the furry side of town? Maybe that could have been the reason, but the shape of the architecture certainly said otherwise.

Nowhere before had he seen such weirdly shaped buildings, and off in the distance he could see what looked like a giant highway, crisscrossing in all manner of nonsensical angles.

Am I... drugged?

Perhaps a gas had been released in the alleyway; certainly somebody must have seen him, because what he was seeing now couldn't possibly be real.

Something slammed into him from behind, and he saw a man rush by and snarl, spitting out a particularly sharp comment.

"Quit your daydreaming asshole. Or at the very least get out of the damn way."

It faded with the man-dog thing as he passed by.

Is that tail stuck up his ass?! The police would be all over everyone back at the college if they had the balls to wear a wolf butt-plug in public like that, especially one that was battery operated; that thing was moving on its own. The hole in the jeans allowed only the tail out, and it was high enough not to reveal the entire ass, but still...

Josh was confused.

But he took the advice regardless, more so seeing as he didn't want to bump into anymore furries; who knew what they were doing over the past few hours - considering a few 'pluggers' were walking around as if it were normal, he didn't want to know. Actually, something strange he did notice about these people was their general appearance. Taking a second to rub his eyes, believing something might have been in them making his vision blurry, did nothing to change the crystal clear scene.

Everyone looked… 'weeb-like' was the best he could come up with.

It was something right out of a cartoon... well, at least the ones he'd seen Jay watch from time to time before. Everyone had this almost cell-shaded sort of look, which was a style he'd once tried to draw in before. He got good at it, but dropped it soon after; it just wasn't his cup of tea, or in his own case, brand of liquor.

Did I hit my head or something?

It would certainly make sense with how dark the alleyway beforehand was, and yet, he didn't feel like he'd been knocked out or anything. He could still move and think on his own, and the fact he questioned anything at all told him he probably wasn't asleep: which was where this would all seem normal to his sleepy mind. Josh thought himself awake, and thus, what he was seeing had to be real...

Or so he hoped.

Seeing as he wasn't really getting anything done standing around, other than gawking at the insanity of the situation, he chose to take his chances and wander out, merging with the crowd as he stumbled along. Much like any ordinary day, the people wandered about, committed to their daily grind, or so Josh often liked to call it. He didn't know what they were up to, but during those few moments where he was part of the sea of people, he felt somewhat in tune with things.

This, at least, gave him a sense of normalcy, which in all honesty didn't last long; not that it could really be expected to, especially with how crazy of an 'adventure' he was on had quickly turned out to be.

On the note of adventure, turning to inspect some of the shops and the like which lined the place he'd found himself emerged into, Josh caught sight of his reflection. He too had been dolled up in a sense, taking physical basis apparently in line with everyone else. Seeing this, he looked over his hands and body, much to the odd looks of the immediate crowd.

I... could probably draw this.

Not exactly the most relevant thing to be pondering, but nothing was making sense right now, so he had no issues affording himself the simple luxury of an innocent idea. It was as he looked back up that he just managed to catch sight of a vehicle passing by, a red car from the looks of it. His eyes followed it down the road for a few seconds before it made a turn.

Then came the gunshots.

Normally, this would put a sense of fear in anyone's heart, and Josh was no different. He shook, and he wasn't ashamed of that fact, but his wonders over the noise were quickly cut short by some faint yellings off in the distance, loud enough to drown out even the crowd's quickly growing panic.

Wrongness then started to seep in.

He felt... sick to his stomach, and for a moment he wondered if he was about to tumble over. It left almost as soon as it came, replaced with an urge so sudden and inexplicable it took center stage in his mind.

Jump.

The idea rang and rang, unhindered by the lack of sufficient reasoning as to why he was feeling the urge, or where the hell it had even come from. Everyone around him looked to blur a little, and it was here Josh was stabbed with a senseless realization: a belief with no apparent source, and one so strong as to put martyrs to shame. There it was again, that pulling sensation, but unlike before it didn't tug him towards a specific direction, and it never came from the gun hidden within his jacket either. Despite no idea as to why, Josh knew one thing for certain: should he not jump, right here and now...

Then he would die.

Illogically, he obeyed, and the moment his feet left the ground he was hit with weightlessness. Everything blurred and dulled, colorless in its appearance, before it all appeared to just... shift away. It was as if the land below had been tugged aside, and he stood there again, full of life and hue, watching the crowds wander about peacefully.

Seeing that same red car pass by once again.

Okay, now I'm losing it.

His eyes followed it again, all the way down the block, and only moments later he heard the gunfire and screams. Perhaps he was losing his mind, but to that end, it somewhat justified his curiosity, and doing the one thing you should not do in this situation.

Josh sprinted towards the sound.

.

.

"Why is it always crowded this time of day?" Coco mumbled under her breath as the group waited at the back end of the gathering. "I swear, they do this just to spite us."

"Seeing as it's mid-day, I'm fairly certain everyone had the same idea of taking a break." Weiss held a grumble within her voice, scanning the crowds with a sore eye; more annoyed than anything. "Although I don't know why they're all blocked up here."

"Aren't there a couple lunch spots around here?" Ruby tried, her voice being much less stilted than the rest.

"True." Coco allowed a little breath to escape, still not happy, but a pint less upset. "Now that you point it out, I suppose we just got caught up in the rush: everyone's coming from everywhere, going everywhere else all at the same time."

"Of course we'd get stuck in this." Weiss tossed an eye over to Coco. "Isn't there another way we can take? Better yet, where are we even going?"

"I've got a friend who runs a salon a little ways up near the front entrance. She lets me do some work from time to time, and in exchange, she saves me some of the more exotic colors she gets brought in; dyes, polishes, and all that."

"You have a friend..." Weiss felt a brow twitch; Coco had a friend, because of course she did. Oddly enough, it was the least surprising thing today; Coco seemed the type to fancy that sort of stuff on the regular.

As for the less predictable discovery, well... he was standing silently behind with his 'friend', merely staring at the crowds of people as they squashed around the mall floor. Unassuming, quiet, and striking far too similar in appearance to her leader, Weiss couldn't help but look at him in a less than stellar light. According to Yang, he'd molested Ruby, which was then confirmed by the guy himself; even if it was then also made true to be an accident as well. Accidental or no, however, Weiss couldn't fight a strange urge as she looked at him. It wasn't anything remotely violent or wild, but rather just a single inkling.

She didn't want him alone with Ruby.

Weiss couldn't fathom why, but she didn't like the idea of leaving the guy alone with her leader. Was Ruby capable enough to defend herself if he tried anything, oh most certainly; this guy didn't seem like he could even run for more than a few minutes before losing breath. As far as she could tell, based on first impressions at least, this man had no aura, and was a bit of a pushover.

And yet, the idea of him being left alone with Ruby soured her stomach.

"I think I know a way." The comment ripped Weiss from her inner thoughts, drawing them to the woman clinging to the guy's side. She herself was also a mystery, but unlike the man she held fast to, Weiss didn't get that looming sense of unease with the thought of her being left alone with Ruby.

And it was here Weiss stopped, letting her inner monologue take over.

Great, now I'm imagining everyone alone with Ruby.

"Well, don't just leave us waiting: shout it out~'' Coco, being understandably chipper at having heard that, sent all her sassy focus towards the one practically mirroring her own savvy.

"Just over there."

Weiss liked to think of herself as rather attentive when it came to a multitude of things; she wasn't so easily taken aback by anything at all when it came to people. So, when she saw the target of Yang's rage stiffen and throw himself over his partner, tackling both to the ground, she was naturally a little lost.

That was, until her aura started taking hits, and the screams began to fill the air.

"What the dust!?" Coco, apparently, was shocked by the sudden turn of events as well, although Weiss never got too good of a look due to the crowds doing their expected thing and rushing into a panicked flurry.

She wasn't sure where she heard it, but she could have sworn somebody said 'White Fang' throughout the sea of vocal terror. While Weiss had been trying to figure everything out, she was taken aback by the sight of her leader, Ruby, who'd whisked herself away into a series of petals deeper into the mass of frightened people.

"Ruby, wait!" Weiss, seeing her partner leave, gave chase.

While those two were running into the thick of things, a certain someone was situated on the floor with the woman he'd taken with him, staring up with wide eyes.

The White Fang is here!?

Jay never recalled the group outwardly attacking a mall. Actually, come to think of it, the only real times the organization's actions were shown in Vale included the introduction of Ruby herself during the first episode, and when the team as a whole were speaking of the festival at the docks. The first time was more Roman's doing though, and even if he was working with the terrorist group, the only people who knew that were the Fang themselves, and Cinder's crew.

It was only at the Vytal Festival where they really let loose... or it was, until now.

A hand clamped over his mouth right as he was about to mutter aloud, and he was pulled down and pinned to the floor by Miltia. She rolled over on top of him, and brought a finger to her lips, shushing him.

"Stay down, and don't move: got it?"

Jay nodded, and with a small smile, she let go and patted his cheek.

"It'll be okay, I'll handle this."

She stood once more, dusting off her dress before beginning to make her move through the people. Being on the floor left Jay with nothing but confused thoughts, all the while being stepped on by many a ruffled store-goer. He brought his arms to cover his face, all the while trying to make sense of what was going on.

Were the White Fang still doing random attacks on businesses? Jay knew they were after dust, because it was the main plot of the first three volumes, but he'd never considered if they were actively still raiding. With these thoughts at the forefront, he rolled over onto his stomach, looking up through the cloud of legs in search of any indicator for the group of killers themselves.

He didn't see much, and to be perfectly honest he didn't expect to, especially with how many people there were, but he did see something. It was Ruby's petals, and following another set of gunshots and the plopping of a few bodies hitting the ground, Jay caught on to the fact that not only had the initial gunfire shocked the people into a panic, but he was also seeing some of said people fall to the floor.

They weren't moving.

He was feeling sick again.

Witnessing one monstrosity should have been enough, but here it was again, albeit in less direct detail, what with all the motion surrounding him. There was only a single positive to the sight however, and that was how he couldn't quite tell if anyone was dead. There was a chance the wounds had only grounded them, and without being able to actively check, Jay was able to stay content with the idea that maybe they were just injured.

For some reason though, knowing he wasn't alone to witness all this made the terror more palatable.

He was startled a little when something flew beside him, landing at his right, and in essence causing him to get out of the way. It was a single Fang grunt, groaning with his weapon broken in his hands. If it hadn't been fully cemented yet in Jay's mind that the Fang were responsible for all this before, it sure as hell was now.

Funny, and here he thought Remnant might give him a reason to stay alive, but it was looking like the place was doing everything in its power to convince him otherwise; then again, Remnant wasn't supposed to be real, and so maybe he was already dead, and this was his punishment for being so pathetic. A strange intensity befell his chest at that thought, and for a second it gave him pause. This was, unfortunately, a mistake, as the phantom pain of something tearing through his forehead awoke him from his pondering. Much like the blade before, it felt all too real, and yet, despite feeling the pain of death, he was still supposedly alive; it was as if the world was teasing him.

It was only now Jay realized he'd made the mistake of standing up during his initial dodge of the downed terrorist, and his body made to instinctually dodge whatever coming dangers awaited; again, as it had before.

Or it would have, had he not been once again brought to the floor by a weight.

"JAY!"

That voice... no, it can't be...

His vision took a second to focus from the sudden displacement of his body, and there was a dense pain in his back where he hit the floor, but looking up at the face had outright confirmed his impossible guess as to who'd just taken him down. That stupidly clean cut which was just short enough to still feel rough, all the while not being so short as to see the skin of the scalp. If Jay had to describe it, he'd call it the 'emo' cut, but seeing as it didn't cover an eye, and instead spiked out to the side, calling it such would be lying.

Even dolled up in Remnant's style, he still looked similar enough for Jay to recognise.

The man had never cared too much about his appearance anyways, only keeping himself clean most of the time. The hulking brute was roughly six-foot eleven, and despite his intimidating height and body structure being mostly hardened muscle, his voice was somewhat raspy with a hint of boyishness.

"I knew you were alive!" His grin was crazy wide, and Jay himself was left with nothing but a single thought of his, however, escaped the confines of his head and echoed aloud; low from disbelief, but not quite a whisper.

"Rex?"

Author's note

...

That was a ride... I think.

This time we get some more attention on Josh, who's arrived with his own can of bullshit - also being called 'Rex' by Jay for some reason. What just happened? Why did it happen? What does it all mean? All valid questions, and if you stick around, you'll actually get the answers.

Again, the main plot still hasn't shown itself, but it will; this isn't going to be like BD, it ain't gonna take 30 chapters for the main cast to show up - you have most of them already - and you won't be waiting a subsequent 40 for the plot to make itself known. This is a simple story, with a simple answer, and simple reasonings, and so we don't need tens and twenties of chapters for buildup and foreshadowing just to make sense of it all.

Also, we only have one era to keep track of, so that kind of helps.

Early chapter I know, but getting riled up by poorly made accusations tends to ruffle my feathers a bit. See that everybody? Complaining does get you results… Well, not really. In truth, I just so happened to have a little bit more time available this week, and so set to work finishing this chapter early - as well as making that note up top. It was either an extra chapter for this, or L&K, and seeing as that one is nearing its end, I opted to kickstart this a bit more.

Until next time.