Chapter 11: The More They Stay the Same (Part 2)

Beast Boy had forgotten how boring stakeouts were. His scroll had been buzzing nearly off the hook since he had sent the message to RW(B)Y, and that meant he couldn't try to find an app to play on it to kill some time..

'Hey dudes, don't worry, Blake and I are alright and we'll be back sometime tonight!'

He honestly didn't see the issue, or why they were freaking out, but it must be a girl thing, since Blake had turned red when he tried explaining why he couldn't entertain himself.

Girls are still weird, at least that hasn't changed.

Before he could think to harass the Faunus further, he noticed a subtle change down on the docks. The workers were gone, and now there were Faunus wearing… Grimm masks. That sent a powerful shudder down his spine as he turned to Blake. From the way she was acting, this was definitely the White Fang.

"Why the masks?"

"In part to keep anonymity. Also in part a reaction to the way humans treat us. They act like we're monsters, so we act like them and look like them…" Blake's amber eyes narrowed when she saw a redheaded human strutting around in a fancy coat, bowler hat, and cane.

"Who's he? I thought the White Fang dudes didn't like humans." He looked over to his partner, only to see a blinking outline of where she had been. Looking down, he saw that Blake was stealthily making her way towards the redhead.

"Oh man, what is with my timing today? Where'd that cute catgirl go?" Beast Boy almost jumped a foot in the air as he turned and saw the stowaway Faunus from when he had last seen RW(B)Y.

Instead of saying anything, Beast Boy gestured downwards, to where she was getting closer and closer to the man dressed to the nines.

"Roman Torchwick? Working with the White Fang? That's not right…" The monkey Faunus peered over the environment before turning to the changeling. "Yo, the name's Sun Wukong."

"Beast Boy." He nodded in response, tuning in his ears to hear what was going on down below.

"Can't believe I have to dogsit, but at least you guys are house-trained." The redhead Blake was creeping towards, Roman Torchwick if Sun was right, smiled at a brutish looking White Fang member carrying a crate of Dust, who huffed and ignored him. "That's just weird, She picks the weirdest-" He was interrupted as Gambol Shroud was held to his throat. " Oh for f-" He was interrupted yet again as Blake spoke up.

"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang, why do you assist this man in his crimes? We stand for peace and equality, not helping a petty crook!" Her voice was strong, even if Roman looked unamused.

"Didn't you get the memo kitty-cat? You work for this petty crook now, and this isn't just a simple robbery." He said this all as if he were merely discussing the weather, and as if on cue, a Bullhead reached them, massive in its scope. Unfortunately, that distracted Blake, allowing Roman to wrap his cane's hook around her neck and send her flying, crashing against a wall with a thud.

"We need to help Blake. I'll take the White Fang, you help with Torchwick?" In response Sun smirked and gave him a fistbump, before… throwing a banana peel at Roman Torchwick… and then kicking him in the face. The criminal shook it off without even moving, and Beast Boy froze when he saw the redhead's hair move. Was that…?

It was.

Trigon's symbol of servitude. That strange 'S' that Slade had once donned. However strong they thought this guy was, he had one helluva upgrade. Enough that it terrified him to think about.

"Sun, switch out! He's stronger than you think!" Beast Boy leaped down, and the Faunus turned to acknowledge him, and that ended with a high explosive roman candle sending him crashing into a warehouse, courtesy of Roman's cane.

"And who are you Greenie?" He asked with a smirk, even as he dodged Blake's ferocious attempts to maim him, or seriously injure.

"Someone who knows that mark on your forehead. Get ready for an ass-whooping buddy, you won't forget it anytime soon." Blake actually paused at that, allowing Roman to approach the changeling with a strange red glint in his pupil.

"Oh? Tell you what buddy. Call off your pussycat and I'll let you have one free shot." Beast Boy clenched his fists, but nodded, turning his eyes to Blake.

"Help Sun. This guy's outta your league. Hell, probably mine too. Call the others, this is gonna get messy." Blake motioned to her scroll, which had broken with the force Roman had thrown her. "Shit."

He unsheathed Emerald Remembrance, looking around. This guy had Aura, and was theoretically about as much of a badass as Slade when he was powered up by Trigon, maybe even more so.

He shifted them into Blood's Thorns via Raven's magic figuring he may as well start strong with a Kamehameha. He didn't shout the name of his attack though, this was serious business after all, and he needed to take this guy out before he brought about another end of the world.

"Eat… This!" He let out a primal roar as his instincts partially took hold, the Beast aiding his movements from within so that the second the beam attack left his hands he was shifting into a cheetah and running around behind Roman, who had held his cane out, using his weapon as a conduit for his Aura and firing off a red attack similar to Beast Boy's that cancelled each other out.

Idly wondering if that counted as a beam war, the changeling sprinted at him, turning into a Sasquatch and sending a brutal haymaker at the criminal, who once again didn't react to the blow at all, instead just puffing on his cigar.

"Come on, that the best you got? At most you'll wrinkle my suit." Roman scrunched his nose up at the thought, nary a scratch on him, not even his cream colored suit was damaged. "Have to say, kinda weird Semblance you've got there. We could use someone like you Greenie." Beast Boy laughed, even as he heard the whispers of the members of the White Fang.

"The Master of Beasts?"

"Could the legend be true?"

"Why isn't he helping us?"

"Sorry bud. I've got friends that would kick my butt if I even thought about betraying them." The changeling responded, charging up his Aura and firing a Kamehameha at the Bullhead, only to deadpan when he saw it hadn't done much. He'd have to charge it for much longer to do any real damage, and he couldn't do that while also taking on Torchwick.

"Hey now Greenie, that's gonna come outta my haul!" Roman's body flickered for a moment, and suddenly the criminal was in front of the hero, slamming his cane into Beast Boy with the force of a hurricane behind the blow, sending him crashing through a crate of Dust and causing an explosion of ice and fire… and lightning.

His Aura was fine, but he couldn't move due to temporary paralysis. Fortunately, reinforcements had arrived, but they weren't the ones he expected.

"Beast Boy!" Terra- Gaia, he meant Gaia- leaped into the fray, alongside Penny. Neither were armed.

"Gaia, Penny, this is serious business! Leave before you get hurt!" The duo saw him, but they both smirked.

"Not to worry Beas- Garfield Logan, I'm combat ready!" Penny shouted with a fist held high, as thin swords with the symbol for power on them, at least 50 of them, appeared from behind her, taking the shape of wings as she suddenly sweeped her hand in front of her, sending the White Fang sprawling before they started spinning in front of her, faster and faster as energy built up.

"And don't worry about me either… Gar… I've got this!" Gaia looked unsure calling him that, but nodded as if it felt right, before she clenched her fists and uprooted a chunk of cement the size of a car, sending it around herself to pick up dizzying inertia as well as maim or permanently injure the poor fools who were too close.

In perfect synchronization, Gaia threw her sizable heap of manmade material as Penny blasted a massive amount of energy from the center of her circling swords, both tech and earth flying towards the Bullhead at impressive speeds.

The ensuing explosion, caused by the reaction of Penny's Aura beam with the Dust within the Bullhead, was deafening, bright, and knocked everyone onto their rears. When Beast Boy could see again, Roman was standing over him, taking a puff from his cigarette.

"You know Greenie, we could have worked together. It would have been grand having someone competent under my command. But hey, no skin off my back. If the lady, or even that bullheaded leader of the White Fang wants their hands on you, that's their business. But remember kid, in the eyes of me and my real boss," He tapped the symbol on his forehead, his pupils flashing red, "You're an enemy. Stay out of our way, or I'll kill you." With that, the cane met his skull and everything went dark.

He looked up and saw Titans Tower, rended into Trigon's twisted throne. In it sat the demon itself, who glared down at him with four glowing malevolent eyes.

"You aren't much of a threat you know. Without my daughter, you won't even be able to know when I come, much less survive my arrival. Soon my strength will have fully returned, and I will finally take the world you have thus far denied me." The voice boomed, making his dreamscape ripple even as it tore a migraine through his brain.

"I'm… stronger than I was last time. I will only get stronger. When you arrive, I'll be ready." Beast Boy spoke with conviction he didn't feel, reaching for weapons and not finding them, and even finding shifting beyond his reach.

"I welcome you to try…" The voice laughed, an evil, distorted sound that ripped everything away from the changeling, forcing him to drift through an inky void, devoid of all feeling.

It remained this way for what seemed like days, weeks, months, perhaps even years; he couldn't tell. Had Trigon arrived? Was he dead?

Were RWBY and JNPR dead? Gaia? Penny? Sun?

No… No! He couldn't just float here, useless, while the world Ends again. While his friends die again. He had to do something. Anything. He had to move…

He had to wake up!

Emerald eyes tore open, and they met eleven different sets of eyes, his friends as well as Gaia, Penny, and Sun. They were all looking incredibly relieved.

"Hey dudes…" He sat up, wincing as his head complained very painfully. "Anyone get the number of that Boarbatusk?"

And so ends Volume 1 of Changeling the Remnant. Hope you all enjoyed it! This story will be continuing on through canon, but will receive several changes. Some obvious, and some that won't be.

And now: Shameful self advertising. If you like my work, you could always check my Fictionpress (Under the same name: CDSoundtrack), and check out my original content, which currently is only one story but... Y'know. There'll be more in time.

Now that that's over with I hope you all let me know what you think, and answer the poll on my page about Jaune's ever mysterious Semblance!