Disclaimer: RWBY is not owned by me. It is owned by Rooster Teeth. This fan-fiction is not for profit.

Credit: Promotional cover art was drawn by KumaFromTaiwan. Permission to post has been granted by artist.

Warnings: This fiction will be rated T for bad language, fantasy violence, and mild sexual themes.

Summary: The Grimm invasion has been repelled and the city of Vale now breathes easy. With the apparent mastermind, Roman Torchwick captured and imprisoned, the danger seems to have passed. But little do they know that this was merely the opening move in a much larger war game. Headmaster Ozpin and his Hunters stand in defense of one end of the board, and Cinder Fall with her forces prepare on the other. As dark clouds gather on the horizon, can Ruby Rose be the heroine that Remnant needs her to be? Can a simple soul truly be victorious against the ravenous teeth that howl in the Darkness?

Or is this Remnant's requiem, the final dirge to signal the end of days?

Act 0

Requiem for Remnant

Chapter 1: Opening

The sky was a canopy of black with millions upon millions of lights glistening across its canvas. The Moon hovered above Beacon Academy like an ever-watchful sentinel, casting its light down upon the school. The three-pronged central spire towered over the campus, its signal light casting back the Darkness and promising safety for all. The main avenue was laid with cobblestone; the path lined with lampposts and flagpoles. Students would walk down the large, wide-open road all the way to an enormous memorial statue. The statue depicted a Hunter and a Huntress standing on a cliff above the reaches of a feral Beowolf. Around the humongous testimonial sculpture were tall white weirwood trees with crimson leaves. Past the stone monument was a breathtaking, enormous set of ancient double doors. Beneath those doors was the historic epic road upon which every great Hunter treaded. New students would become inspired by walking across the same steps where so many heroic figures walked.

Vale's Beacon Academy was the place where legends were made.

Underneath the watchful gaze of the Moon, a young woman walked Beacon's main avenue. She stood before the statues of the Hunters. A gentle breeze rustled through the weirwood branches, casting around leaves as red as roses. The woman's golden hair swept around her.

Yang Xiao Long glared with amethyst eyes toward the figures etched in stone, but the focus of her burning gaze was the person standing in front of her. Between Yang and the statues was another woman, standing tall with purpose. She wore a short black kimono wrapped by blood red obi sash. On her shoulders was a pair of equally red sode spaulders. Tall, thigh-high boots black as night led up beneath a short black skirt. Around the woman's hips was red plated kusazuri armor. Hanging off her hip was a large sheath with a single sword handle protruding. The sheath itself was much larger than the hilt. It appeared to be fitted with a rotary multi-chamber barrel, each chamber filled with numerous colors of Dust. Inside that sheath was enough volatile Dust to level a city block. Whatever weapon slept inside the sheath must be more powerful than anything Yang has ever seen.

The woman looked like a killing machine dressed in black and red. Her entire face was hidden behind a white Grimm mask with four slits for eyeholes. The mask was fashioned like an Ancient Nevermore with a sloping crest, lined with crimson. Past the mask was a mane of wild ebony hair, flowing down to her back. Around her neck was a single chain necklace, hanging from it was a single golden ring.

The weight of her heavy-plated shotguns-gauntlets, Ember Celica, gave Yang no comfort before the intimidating figure. The sinister mask hid the mysterious woman's expression. She could be smiling or baring her teeth. There were no tell-tale signs of an active Aura, but Yang didn't lower her guard. If the woman reached for her weapon, Yang would start her attack immediately. When you don't know a thing about your enemy, you never want to give her the advantage of first strike.

Suddenly, the grim being lifted her hand up. Amethyst eyes converted to blood red as Yang instinctively activated her Semblance. She swung her right fist back behind her as hard as she could. Ember Celica sprang into action, telescoping up both her arms with overlapping golden metal plates. With a snap and a click, the dual shotgun-gauntlets loaded a fire-based Dust bullet into both chambers. Then Yang stepped forward and threw her right fist forward, prepared to launch a fiery assault on the threatening figure.

That was when the woman reached up with her hand and removed her mask. Yang froze in place, her fist held motionless beside her ear. Her lungs caught. Nothing could have prepared Yang for what was behind that fearsome cover.

It was like looking into some opposite-world mirror. The woman had exactly the same face as Yang. Her chin was the same shape. Her nose was in the same place. Her ears were curved just like Yang's was. And worst of all, her eyes were the exact same shade of red that Yang's eyes currently possessed. Even her hair, now that the Grimm mask was out of the way, was just the same flame-licked style as Yang.

Petrified in place, Yang could only stare in wonder as the woman clipped her Nevermore mask on her belt. Then the woman looked at Yang square in the face. Red eyes locked with red eyes. Her lips curled up. The woman was smiling with her mouth, but her scarlet orbs held so much sadness. Yang couldn't tell if the woman was cheerful or heartbroken. The woman was the first to break the silence.

"We have a lot to talk about."

Unable to say anything else, Yang uttered a blunt, "What?"

Smirking, the woman rested her hand on her hip opposite of her weapon. It was a posture that Yang was very familiar with. With effort, Yang managed to step out of her attack stance. She didn't yet retract Ember Celica though. Instead, she crossed her armed gauntlets in front of her bosom. Yang's heart was pounding in her chest so loudly. She couldn't tell what she was feeling yet, so she adopted an angry expression. In her mind, she imagined herself looking like a fearless Huntress. She just hoped that she could pull off the same look on the outside.

The woman's ruby eyes roamed Yang's body like she was admiring her. Yet that wasn't quite right. She didn't seem to be lusting, nor was it admiration. It was something else, like approval? She looked at Yang's face especially, as if she were making the same comparison that Yang had made just a minute ago. Instead of focusing on the similarities, Yang tried to find differences between them. For starters, the shape of the woman's eyes was slightly more upturned in the corners. The woman's forehead also seemed to be narrower compared to Yang.

"This woman looks like me, but she isn't exactly like me." Her thoughts were a little comforting. Relaxing slightly, Yang felt her Semblance drain away like a dying flame. She blinked and her eyes returned to their natural amethyst color.

Suddenly, the black haired lady's smile disappeared. She grabbed her mask off her belt and looked like she was going to re-adorn her face. Yang opened her mouth and shouted without thinking.

"Wait!" she cried out. Ember Celica collapsed into a compact form as she reached toward the woman. Stepping back, the woman held the mask over the lower half of her face. Her red eyes locked on with Yang's purple. Her black eyebrows were upturned and tight together. The woman looked at Yang with uncertain eyes, as though she was realizing that she had made an error. Lips hidden behind the mask, the woman murmured in an anxious voice.

"Do…" she stopped herself and breathed heavily.

"Do… you…" Each word sounded like it took enormous effort.

Yang stood in silence, her hand dropped to her side.

"…know who…"

The mask began to drop away, exposing the woman's lips. She was biting them hard enough to leave white marks. More confused than ever, Yang simply waited and listened. Finally, the struggled sentence was completed with:

"Do you know who I am?" Her voice was so small it could have come from a frightened child.

Suddenly, Yang's eyes lit up and she beamed in realization. "Of course I know you!" she exclaimed loudly, breaking the tense atmosphere. The woman dropped the mask in surprise, her mouth forming an 'O'. She stepped over the mask and prepared to take another step when—

Yang cheerfully proclaimed, "You're the lady that saved my life."

There was a sharp gasp. The woman staggered back. She looked like she had been punched in the face.

Yang couldn't understand this reaction. "That was you on the train, right? You drove away that ice-cream bitch. Afterwards, you jumped in a portal something. Sorry for not recognizing you right away, my head was kind of groggy back then."

It was like watching a clam shut its shell. The woman's transformation was so sudden that Yang almost missed it. Seconds ago, the woman was actually walking toward Yang with her arms rising up as if she were planning on embracing the blonde. Now she stood as still as the statues behind her, with an expression to match.

She replied in a detached tone. "Yes, that was me." Gone was the strange and frightened child-like demeanor. Though her mask was lying at her feet, Yang felt as though the woman was now wearing another. Just what had Yang seen in her eyes before? Why did it seem so much like longing?

Still rather weirded out by this unknown woman, Yang tried to keep her unease out of her voice. "Well, thanks for that and all Miss… um…" She forced a laugh. It sounded false even to her ears. "I'd like to thank you by name, but I don't know yours."

The ham-fisted attempt at prying a name from the woman was met with silence. Reaching her hand behind her head, Yang tried laughing again. For some strange reason, the woman did not laugh along. Instead, the woman reached behind her back with one hand. She produced something from what could only have been a hidden pocket and held it in front of her face. Her red eyes left Yang for what could have been the first time since the conversation started. She stared at the object in her hand intently. Yang could only see that it was circular, silver, and fit easily in the woman's hand.

Cursing beneath her breath, the woman put the silver discus back behind her. She then knelt down and retrieved her mask from the ground. She hooked it back onto her belt and then finally answered Yang's hanging question.

"Raven," she said crisply.

"That name…" Yang began. For an instant, the woman—or Raven now—seemed to be watching Yang with hawk-like eyes. "…really suits you." The instant passed and Raven only seemed to grow colder. Just what was Raven's deal? First, she says that she wanted to talk, then she acted like a lost child, now she seems like she would rather be anywhere else! Yang had just about enough with Raven's attitude.

"Okay then Raven," Yang spat the name like a curse, "you want to talk? I want to talk too!"

The black-haired doppelganger returned to her previous posture, her hand on her hip. Yang adopted the same posture, thrusting her hip to the side and propping her hand against it. Her Semblance flared up in response to her temper, staining her amethyst eyes bright red once more. Red eyes locked with red. The two women glared at each other with rising intensity.

Yang was the first one to snap. "Why were you on the train in the first place? My team and Professor Oobleck were the only Hunters assigned to that mission. How do I know you aren't an enemy?" she accused.

Raven retorted hotly. "In case you forgot, I saved your sorry ass from little Miss Neo. You'd be cold meat on a metal slab if it weren't for me." She thrust her finger at Yang crossly.

"And I thanked you for that! Now I want to know why you were there in the first place! You ain't exactly gaining my trust here, sneaking into Beacon and wearing that White Fang mask." Yang swung her hand in front of her body as if deflecting Raven's pointed finger from a distance.

Suddenly, Raven burst out into a hearty-yet-still-condescending laugh. "You don't know anything about me! You don't even know where you are!"

"Just how crazy are you?" Yang blew up. Her hair flickered like growing flames. "I'm standing in front of Beacon Academy! We're in Beacon right now!"

"Then how did you get out here?" Raven asked coolly. The corners of her mouth twitched as if she were trying to hold back a smile.

Just about ready to punch the smug expression off Raven's face, Yang opened her mouth and—

Wait, what?

"Do you remember getting out of bed, walking all the way out to the edge of the campus, and then walking back toward the Academy to meet me here?" Raven pointed at the Academy, which was far behind her. Yang couldn't remember that sequence of events at all.

"I—I don't get it…" Yang stammered; her anger suddenly extinguished.

"Not everything is how it appears, little girl," Raven cooed.

Suddenly, the whole world seemed false. The moon looked flat in the sky. The stars weren't winking the right way. Even the large memorial statue looked like it was made from cardboard. Yang spun in place, noting that everything from the lampposts to the weirwood trees had taken on a different texture.

"Where in the hell am I?" Yang exploded. Nothing made sense anymore. Her head was pounding.

"You were actually half-right before," Raven admitted. "You said we were in Beacon, but that's only half true."

Turning to face the dark clad woman, Yang shouted, "What do you mean? How can that be half true?"

"As far as I know, you're still in Beacon. But that's not where I am," Raven explained. As she spoke, small wisps of steam left her lips.

Clenched fists shaking at her sides, Yang nearly lost it. "Are you trying to piss me off? Stop with your vague bullshit!"

"You are in Beacon Academy, sleeping in your bed."

Her mind processed this for a moment; then Yang relaxed her fists and sucked in a sharp breath. "I'm dreaming?"

"Finally, she gets it," Raven sighed, shaking her head slowly. With every breath, she blew a little steam.

"Huh," Yang put both hands on her hips and looked around, "my dreams are getting too Meta. Why is my dream telling me that I'm dreaming?"

"That's because I'm not a part of your dream, Yang." Raven pointed her thumb at herself as she said this. "I've entered your dream to talk to you."

"Hold on!" Yang exclaimed loudly. "You're a real person? You're actually the person who I saw on the train?" Raven nodded and her black hair bobbed along. "If you're not a figment of my dream, then why do you look like me?"

Suddenly, Raven began reaching for her mask once more. She put her hand over the mask. She dropped her chin to her chest and paused in consideration. Then she left the mask on her belt. When she lifted her eyes back to Yang, Raven's expression was completely unreadable. When she spoke, curls of white steam blew from her soft lips.

"Your appearance in the dream world does not reflect your real physical exterior."

Yang crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Is that right? So that's not what you really look like?"

Suddenly a sympathetic expression dawned on Raven's face. "That's also why your current form doesn't match what you look like in the real world."

Looking down on her body, Yang searched for any discrepancies. Surprised, Yang yelped. "Wow, I guess I didn't go to sleep in these clothes."

Her attire was nothing out of the ordinary for Yang, but it certainly wasn't her sleepwear. Yang was wearing her brown biker jacket over a yellow tube-top. She was dressed in a brown skirt over black short shorts. Hanging over her ass was a white cape adorned with a burning golden heart, her emblem. Her boots reached up to her knees, leaving just her pale thighs exposed.

Yang chuckled in embarrassment. "I guess I should've realized this was a dream sooner." Still, there was something about Raven's concerned face that gave Yang pause. "What's wrong, Raven?"

Raven suddenly began to walk toward Yang. There was sorrow in her eyes. As the distance between the two women closed, Yang began to get nervous. Raven reached behind her back again. Yang stepped back instinctively, her gut twisted in anxiety.

Pulling it out from behind her, Raven held a simple hand-mirror up to Yang's face. She looked like she was prepared to regret herself. Yang reached out and grasped the mirror. She peered into the mirror. Amethyst eyes locked with amethyst.

"I—I don't see anything wrong," Yang said after a moment. "Why are you showing me this?"

Finally, Raven intoned soberly, "Do you remember what that ice-cream bitch did to you?"

Silence fell between them. Then Yang opened her mouth and moaned in horror. In the mirror, Yang's reflection changed as her memories resurfaced. Dark purple and red bruises began to spread across Yang's mug. She could feel more damage manifesting beneath her clothes.

"Oh no…" Yang bemoaned as a glistening black shiner formed around her left eye. That strawberry shortcake bitch had kicked Yang's face so hard that her nose had felt broken. As if on cue, a stream of ruby red blood began trickling out of Yang's nostrils. Yang quickly pinched the bridge of her nose to stem the flowing tide.

"Oh shit…" Grimacing, Yang fought against the sudden wave of nausea that washed over her. She didn't even want to know what the rest of her body looked like. "This is going to hurt when I wake up, isn't it?"

Raven laid a tender hand on Yang's head. "Sorry kiddo, but that's what happens when you get your ass beat. If it's any consolation, my real face isn't nearly as pretty as yours."

"If this is a dream, can I stop this bleeding?" Yang snorted blood up her nostrils. Raven ran her fingers through Yang's golden locks. Gradually, Yang felt warmth run through the point of contact. It was a strange sensation, foreign yet not unfamiliar. In the mirror, Yang's reflection began to change again. The shiner faded until it was just pale white skin again. The numerous bruises shrank until they were almost gone. The vivacious scarlet fluid that flowed from Yang's nose came to a dribbling stop. Eyes wide, Yang blurted out, "What are you doing?"

"I'm sharing my Aura with you," Raven said. "My Aura can heal your body until your own Aura recovers."

Yang's mouth gaped open like a fish out of water. "I didn't know that was possible."

"It is possible, but only under certain conditions." She sounded tired. White clouds billowed out of Raven's mouth.

It was then that Yang finally noticed it. Raven was close enough for Yang to see her lips. The black-haired woman's lips were darkening into blue. On top of Yang's head, Raven's hand was ice cold and shaking. Beside her ear, Raven's teeth began to chatter.

Yang lashed out with both hands and pushed Raven away. As soon as their contact was broken, Raven stumbled backwards as if in slow motion. "Hey!" Yang hollered. "What is sharing your Aura doing to your body?"

For a moment, it looked as though Raven would topple over. Her lids fluttered nearly closed and her eyes rolled back. Sluggishly, Raven righted herself and stood on unsteady feet. Her teeth were chattering so hard that they could chip themselves.

"…C—c –can't share Aura if—f—f… I'm using it…" she mumbled under her breath. Her whole body quaked as if she were trapped in a blizzard only she could feel. Bewildered, Yang did the only thing that she could think of. She wrapped her arms around Raven's quivering form. Her skin was ice to the touch.

"Why are you giving me your Aura?"Yang implored. She tightened her clinch around. She didn't know how to return Raven's Aura. She could only hope that warmth was somehow transferable over dreams.

"...D—d –don't want see y—you hurt…" Little by little, the shaking slowed.

"I don't get it. Why am I so important to you?" Yang pleaded.

"…B—B—Being stup—pid… You're a—a—a big—g g—girl now…" Warmth crept back into Raven's skin.

"Are you still back at Mount Glenn?" Yang inquired.

Without warning, Raven viciously struggled against Yang's embrace. Eyes wild, the black-haired doppelganger tore away from the blonde-haired Huntress and ran a distance away. Breasts heaving, the scarlet-eyed woman reached behind her back and produced the silver discus again. When she looked at it, she looked like she was ready to faint.

"No mo—more time left," Raven gasped. "I wasted too much. I have to say it now."

Before she could say another word, the entire world began to shift. The memorial statue exploded into a million shards of stone. The trees rocked back and forth as though there was a tremendous earthquake. Cobblestones began to erupt out of the pathway around Yang and Raven. Chunks of Remnant began to geyser into the air. The moon overhead detonated into so many pieces there wasn't even a word for the number.

"What's going on?" Yang screamed. She covered her head as sharp fragments of Beowolf rained down.

"You're being woken up!" Raven yelled. She dropped to the ground and rolled just as a meteorite impacted the ground.

"Will I see you—"

"Shut up!" Raven barked over the clamor. "You have to listen right now!" Yang stifled another scream and did her damnedest to hear Raven's words over the cacophonous upheaval. "Beacon is not—"

The next word was drowned out as the Moon impacted Beacon Academy. Yang could only watch Raven's lips move to form the word.

First letter: teeth slightly apart with the tongue on the roof of her mouth.

Second letter: almost the same as the first, but with her cheeks pulled back and her tongue down.

Third letter: biting her lower lip and speaking from out of the corners of her mouth.

Then the dream world exploded.

Amethyst eyes snapped open. Yang sucked in a deep breath and catapulted herself out of her bunk bed. As fast as she could remember it, she worked her mouth the exact same way she had just seen in her dream and exclaimed one word.

"Safe!"

End Chapter 1: Opening

Author's Notes: I have planned out multiple story arcs. This is Arc 0, the build-up before the actual story begins. I have so much story to tell you. There will be times cheerful and lighthearted. Then there will be times dark and angst-ridden. Characters will grow and develop as they fight against the forces that conspire against them. This is my story about the unforgiving world of Remnant.

RWBY and its characters may belong to Monty Oum, but I will be interpreting his vision differently.

Please read and review.