Remnants of a World I Once Knew: Volume 2

Chapter 7

As usual, Blake was the last to wake up. "Mornin!," Yang hollered at her very closely. "Yang......it's barely 8:30 AM. You don't need to yell," Blake moaned. "Oh come on. Lighten up, it's a beautiful morning that'll bring nothing but something.....SOMETHING NEW!," Ruby announced. "Yeah! Team RWBY with the thinking!," Yang jeered on. Blake moaned in exhaustion. Finding it hard to fall back asleep, Blake got off her bunk and went to brush her teeth. "Weiss. Up and at it!," Yang began. "Nah. Let's give Weiss some extra time to sleep. Probably exhausted after her fight," Ruby replied as she began to change out of her pajamas. Yang was busy combing her hair and humming. Blake came out, putting her leg stockings on. All three were dressed in their school uniforms. "Okay Weiss, time to wake up," Ruby chirped. Normally, Weiss would moan with annoyance at having to wake up early. It should've been taken into account that when Yang pulled the curtains to reveal the blazing sunlight, Weiss did not respond one bit to the burning glare as she would always do. "Weiss?," Ruby approached her bunk and shook her. Weiss didn't respond. It looked as if Weiss had a cold.

The concern caused Team JNPR to see what was wrong. None of them, not even Pyrrha could find out. Fives noticed the door ajar and knocked, opening it. "Hey, what's all the commotion?," Fives asked as he entered. "Professor. Weiss won't wake up!," Ruby looked scared. "Okay Ruby, no need to freak the heck out," Fives reassured and approached Weiss's bedside. "Weiss, come on kiddo, up and at it," Fives shook her shoulder. Weiss still didn't respond. "Weiss?," Fives grew concerned. He looked at the side of her neck and noticed something. It looked like thorns of a branch. Fives pulled the back if Weiss's pajamas down a bit, only to see more of these branches of thorns.

What came next was a flurry of utter shock. A woman, wearing a purple baggy sweater with black latex leggings and a big purple hat entered the room, with Ozpin and Glynda behind her. The woman held a staff that looked like a pool net. "You are sure this is the target I seek?," the woman asked. "It is. The target is inside Weiss Schnee, Shion Zaiden," Fives replied. Shion approached Weiss's bedside and touched the markings, slowly gliding her fingers up and down. "This is the target then," Shion nodded. "The target?," Ruby began. "Yes, the target is called Nightmare. A type of Grimm that possesses and amplifies by draining aura and feeding off of nightmares," Shion replied. "And you're a Nightmare Hunter?," Jaune asked. "Yes," Shion nodded. "Shion. This Nightmare. What if it's him?," Fives asked. "The Brother? It is a possibility that hasn't been scientifically proven yet," Shion asked. "You of all people should know that the supernatural realm does not need to be scientifically proven to be real," Fives reminded."Wait, the God of Darkness? From the textbooks, I understand that he's the maker of Grimm but I never picture him to be anything worse," Blake began. "Not everything is recorded in the books," Fives replied.

"Back to counterpoint, he is a possibility but unlikely in this scenario," Shion replied as she opened her suitcase, revealing an assortment of what looked like a jar, couple of dusts and dreamcatchers. "Alright, the closest friends must each take a dreamcatcher and old it in front of them. Then we shall commence," Shion replied. Her dreamcatcher staff emitted a pink like rope that bind Weiss's arms and legs to the bed. "What are those for?," Yang asked. "Well, the Nightmare will act as a demon possession to try and spew out negativity and toxicity," Shion sighed. "Oh I don't like the sound of that," Ruby moaned. "No one has," Shion sighed and began to hover her dreamcatcher staff over Weiss's head.

"I....I don't understand. You....you're me..," Weiss replied. "Yes. I am you," her other self replied. "Why....why am I wearing Atlas Military uniform?," Weiss asked.  "Because you will become a leader if you stick to your roots," her other self continued. "How do you mean?," Weiss asked. "When you first arrived, you were strong and committed to being the best. Look at you now. Going soft by befriending lesser class," her other self replied. "I figure that it wouldn't matter what type of friends I make. As long as I become the best teammate," Weiss continued. "Oh yes but why must you befriend the lesser class? We are meant to stand out in the crowd," the other self continued. "It's not....all bad...," Weiss continued. "Your gun-hole teammate is all brawn and no brain, your other friend is always brooding and your so-called leader could barely act as one," her other self continued. "Well, yeah but it's not like I can BUY my way to leadership," Weiss replied. "And what do you mean by stand out?," she asked. "Father cares only for his business. Mother acts less of a mother. Brother is a pet and a pest and Sister is a glorified paparazzi. We however....are perfect and we can become so much more. We can even rule the world. Be queens of times and kingdoms. Make those Faunus pay for their crimes. For the origination of the accursed White Fang" her older self continued. "Okay. Stop there. As much as I would like all that, I will not accept. I can't change the past. So I will focus on the future. Becoming the best teammate," Weiss objected. "What if I can show you your future?," the other self began to walk around her. "I will not accept your nonsense," Weiss backed away. "Oh but trust me. It is the truth," her older self began to walk backwards. Half of her legs began to disappear.

Weiss looked around as she was slowly being surrounded by black smoke. "What are you....no....stop it!," Weiss shut her eyes and used her hands to cover them so she wouldn't see when she opened. "Know yourself. Know what you SHALL BECOME!," her older self replied. Weiss groaned and moaned in anger, hearing a chorus of sadness and grief. "I said NO!," Weiss stomped her foot down. As her boot made contact, a huge snowflake appeared and began ti illuminate. Her older self growled and tried to reach for her but the light go so bright that both Weiss and her older self could not see each other and forced themselves to closed their eyes.

Weiss gasped at shot up. "Weiss! Are you okay?!," Ruby asked. "I'm LATE!," Weiss panicked, upon realizing it was 10:00 AM. "On the contrary, this reason is quite excusable," Ozpin chuckled. "I just had the craziest nightmare," Weiss sighed. "Yeah, we kind of known that already Nora replied, holding one of the dreamcatchers. "A Nightmare Grimm?," Weiss asked. "Quite," Shion nodded in approval. "Speaking of, where did it go?," Blake asked. "Unknown, it is likely to dissipate or run loose in its' weakened state. Either way, it shouldn't be causing trouble," Shion replied. Fives suddenly began to bend forward, as if to vomit. "Professor?," Ruby asked. All heads turned to Fives. "I don't think it's gone," Fives groaned. "Wait...where could it be then?," Glynda asked. "In me......I think that thing's in me," Fives began to back away. "Wait! We can help!," Yang began. "No! Stand back," Ozpin warned. "But...," Yang began. "He's right!," Fives replied. Just like Weiss, he closed his eyes tightly and covered them, as if trying not to see. "I will not look!," Fives continued, hearing the sound of maniacal laughter, lightning, Padme's plea to Anakin, Obi-Wan's voice to remind Anakin, Palpatine's voice, and finally, hearing a cold breathing noise. He knew who that breathing belonged to.

Strangely enough, Ruby began to feel cold....even though it was still summer. "...G...Good soldier follow....orders...," Fives strained. "No....NO. I SAID GET OUT!," he yelled. A small Grimm flew out, wounded by Weiss and Fives's rejection. It flew towards Ruby. Shion used her dreamcatcher and caught the Nightmare Grimm. The Nightmare Grimm began to fissile and finally disappear into dust. "Are you okay?," Yang and Jaune ran to help Fives up. "Yeah...," Fives panted. "What a nightmare," Jaune replied. "Henceforth the namesake," Shion replied. "I suggest you warn your students to take extra caution," she looks at Ozpin and began to pack her things. "What was that thing...you said? Something about soldiers and orders?," Pyyrha asked. "Just a recurring nightmare. Nothing I care to share," Fives replied. As he was about to leave, Ruby looked at him. "Professor?," Ruby asked. "Yeah?," Fives asked. "How did you know about this Nightmare Grimm? You recognized the markings on Weiss's back. How?," Ruby asked. "Heh.....I thought it was obvious..," Fives chuckled. "Obvious?," Ruby asked. "I went through this before," Fives unzipped his black clothing, revealing multiple scars on his back. "A few years back, Fives was hit with a series of Nightmare Grimm attacks. That's how he got those scars," Ozpin continued as Fives zipped his uniform up. "Yeah....turns out that I had some PTSD issues from.....an event," Fives nodded. "Care to share?," Yang asked. Fives shot one of Remnant's most terrifying glare. "Like I said. Nothing I care to share," Fives replied before leaving. "Alright now. Off to class. The lot of you!," Glynda replied to the students. "He's going to the bar again," Glynda sighed at Ozpin. "At least he's able to hold his liquor. Unlike the other one," she continued. "Come now Glynda. You know what he saw. You know that happened," Ozpin replied.

Fives continued to look at his scroll while drinking a shot. He kept scrolling down the pictures of himself, Team STRQ, Ahsoka and even the photos uploaded from his datapad. The bar's female employee placed another shot down. "I uh.....didn't order this," Fives looked up at the lady. "From the lady upstairs," the employee replied and left. Fives glanced upstairs before taking the glass and proceeding to head upstairs. It would only take one glance for him to realize who called him, with the added bonus of how no one occupied the tables of the second level. "A bar of all places. Runs in the family. Ain't that right, Raven?," Fives walked over, pulling a chair, stopping once he looked down at the white Grimm looking mask and then a raised eyebrow. Raven growled and pulled the mask to the side of the table. Fives sat down. "A girl can't do some catching up? Even with her ol' friend?," Raven smirked with a sense of sarcasm. "She can but you lost that right," Fives replied. "So get on with it," he continued. "With what?," Raven asked. "Don't play dense. These little meetings. Qrow's told me about them. And every time these happen, you get something out of it. So spill. What do you want?," Fives asked.