A/N: As I think I mentioned at some point in the past, the Shattered Bonds Rewrite! cheering in the distance For anyone new to the story, this is an AU of my own creation, set during their second year, and this was first written sometime during season 2 so, while I will have a Vytal Festival and all that, nothing that happened in season 3 will occur. I want to let you know any submitted OC's (which I will talk about at the end to the chapter) will be properly credited to their creators on both the first and last chapter that they appear in. One major thing I've changed was in creating a crime organization led by Roman known as the Syndicate. Syndicate will pretty much be replacing the White Fang as the main "evil organization" (the WF will still be present, but in a reduced scale of threat). Another thing, this story might/will be a bit darker then most of the ones I write and I will let you know in the authors note if there are things like that (Like the trigger warning in the last sentence of the first POV). I will tentatively put this as 'T' for now, but if you think it should be a higher rating, please, put it in a review or PM me because I'm really bad at rating things like this. I read all feedback, good and bad, so don't hesitate to comment if you see something you don't like. Just so we're all clear, RWBY and all it's content/merchandise belongs to Roosterteeth, and I don't make any profit from writing this story, it's just for fun.

Key:
Normal words and dialogue
Thought
'Recording/reading something (like a poster)'
"Voice in someone's head/reading in recording"
Onomatopoeia of some kind

I think that's it so, without further ado, enjoy!

?'s POV, date unknown, location unknown.

I sighed, staring into the dark abyss of my coffee, and hit the replay button again. Suddenly two voices, one of which was my own, filled the room. The conversation was one that I had heard often, replaying over and over again in a routine so set that I can't help but do it. I sit down heavily as the conversation wares on, not really paying attention to the words that are burned into my memory. The words of my failure, of a warning I should have heeded.

'Legends, Headmaster. Stories scattered through time. We have grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past. "Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness- creatures of destruction; the creatures of Grimm set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void. However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named Dust. Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life."'

'I doubt you went to all the trouble of talking to me to read me a bed-time story, even if it is history. What is it that you really want?'

'Straight to the point, very well then. I come with a warning, a warning that even the most brilliant lights will eventually flicker and die, and when they are gone... darkness will return. I want you to know that you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called "free world", but take heed... there will be no victory in strength.'

'In this we are agreed. Victory is not in strength, but in the simpler things you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul.'

'Ha, and what happens when you realize that your "honest soul" has lied?'

'I will not dignify that with an answer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an academy to run. I would say fare-well, but I try to make it a habit not to lie so blatantly.'

The recording ends with a click, as it has every other time I've listened to it since That Day. I speak into the small room that I reside in, the words repeated so often in my head that it's almost a mantra. A mantra, an excuse, or maybe just the words of a man far to old to keep going.

"I have made many mistakes in my lifetime, but this error has probably cost more then all of the others combined. My blind trust has almost certainly cost thousands of innocents their lives, if not more. I take full responsibility for what has occurred." The room, as always, gives no rely. As always, there is no one around to deliver the punishment I am far over-due for my errors, but not this time.

I say nothing more as I pull the simple handgun out from the drawer, and place it under my chin.

Yang's POV, unknown date many years previously, Beacon library.

"Blake! Can we head back to the dorms now?" My voice cuts through the still environment of the library, wining as Blake took yet another book off the selves and onto the growing pile in my arms.

Blake just gives me a deadpan look, one that withers any more comments I might have given voice to. "You know exactly why we're here." I pout, but don't deny the accusation because I do know why we're here. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

"Blake, I'm bored! We have enough books, let's get back already. I promise that I'll-" I stop mid-sentence when I hear a shout. Looking around, I see students running passed the open doors with panicked looks on their faces. "Uh, Blake, I think something's going on." Blake, who had already heard the noise and seen the students, nodded. I place the pile of books on a nearby table, where they land with a solid thump, ignoring Blake's glare. We hear more shouting, and then a muffled explosion.

Blake an I exchange worried glances. "I'll lecture you on proper book handling later, but for now I think we should find out what's going on." She says, and I nod, slightly glad to have gotten out of one of Blake's 'if you mistreat books I will kill you' talks.

Just as we're ready to leave, seven soldiers in Atlas-level equipment walk calmly into the library. "Okay, everyone down on the ground and no one gets hurt!" He fires a few times for effect, cowing quite a few of the students who came here to study, most of them having left their weapons in their rooms.

I just activate Ember Celia with a grin. "I've got talker and the three behind him, think you can handle the rest?" I ask. A nod is all the answer that I need before I rush for the lead soldier, screaming bloody murder.

I faintly hear the sound of gunshots, but if any hit me my Aura absorbed the damage allowing me to continue my charge. My fist connects with the man's face, and I fire, sending him hurtling into one of his companions and flooring both of them. The next man doesn't have much more luck, although I can feel his gun strike my midsection, I just power through it and slam his face into a wall. As I turn to the last man, he drops his rifle and draws some sort of baton, which starts emitting arcs of energy. I grin as I blast him with a few rounds of explosive ammo, downing him. The other three are groaning in various states of defeat, and I turn to the other students. "Get to your dorms and get your weapons, these aren't going to be the last of them!" My yelling coupled with the defeated soldiers break them out of their state of shock, and almost as one they rush out, heading for the dorm areas.

I turn to see Blake on her scroll reading messages, a frown etched on her features. "What is it?" I ask, concerned.

"Ruby was out studying when the attack started, and Weiss is almost certain that she was near where these mercenaries landed. That, and a report from the staff is confirming the damages, it looks like about a dozen light assault ships provided an escort for another half-dozen heavy troop carriers. The map shows that most of the east hallways and classrooms are clear, but much of the west halls are deemed lost. We need to make our way to the cafeteria and join the other students and teachers there." Blake replies, the frown deepening as more and more alerts pop up on the screen, each one showing just how outmatched the defenders of Beacon were against their unknown foe. "We should get moving now, or else we might get cut off by more of the soldiers." Her voice is solid, and it eases my fear slightly to hear how calm she is about this.

"Okay, let's go." And with that, we start moving towards the what has become the strategic center of Beacon, the mess hall.

Blake's POV, minutes later, Beacon Cafeteria.

As we ran through the hallways of Beacon, I worried about a lot of things. I worried about Weiss and Ruby, as they weren't with most of the students. I worried about team JNPR. But most of all, I worried about how these soldiers, elite mercenaries under the command of an organization known as 'Syndicate', had bypassed almost all of Beacon's automated defenses. Beacon Academy was not defenseless, far from it. To approach the school by air, one would have to pass dozens of IFF scans and at least one passcode lock, which changed at random intervals no longer than three weeks. If any one of the IFF scans or the passcode was not correct, then alarms would go off and powerful Dust powered AA cannons would begin to track and destroy the target in seconds. There was no way to reach Beacon by land or sea, not without very specialized equipment at least. Which means that either this 'Syndicate' had the technology and expertise to fool the IFF scanners and whoever confirmed the passcode, or there was a mole in Beacon.

Neither option was very comforting, but we very quickly had bigger problems to deal with.

Yang and I reached the cafeteria just in time for all of the monitors flicker and die, the information displayed on them replaced by a spinning logo of a black queen. Soon, that too was replaced by the smug face of Roman Torchwick, criminal mastermind and general pain in the ass.

"Well hello there boys and girls! I'm sure you all know who I am so, hopefully, introductions aren't necessary. Now, you might be wondering what I'm doing here, attacking such a prestigious academy like Beacon, am I right?" No one says a word, silence reigned as even the attack seems to have ceased as soon as Roman started talking. "Hmph. You're all lucky that I'm so patient with you. I'm attacking Beacon… because I can. There is absolutely nothing special about this attack, except to show the world that you're vulnerable. Think about it, go ahead, I can wait. Think about what the world will say when they realize that even Beacon isn't impregnable. Of course, I did have a little help doing it." The camera pans to the left, and I hear everyone in the room gasp at what was being shown.

Tied up to a chair, and with a gun pointed at her head, was Ruby Rose.

The camera panned back to Roman, and I could feel Yang seething in rage at the criminal. "Yep, I've got your little mascot with me, and she told me everything I needed to make this plan happen. Don't worry, I didn't beat her or anything; I just had Emerald here apply some, exotic questioning methods to the girl. Say hello to the Hunters Em." The woman holding the gun speaks faintly, so much so that the camera can't easily pick it up. "Of course, I can't let little red go after all of this, she knows too much about out plans, so I'm afraid she'll be staying with me." With that, he smirks, and the monitors go back to displaying tactical information.

Yang, of course, has a field day with the information. "I'll kill him for this! Let me at him, I'll break every bone in his body!" Yang's battle cry seems to energize those around us, and I wonder if Yang is going to go to far with this.

To be honest though, I can't blame her. I know I'd do the same in her place, although I have a far more violent punishment in mind for the criminal.

Ozpin, calm and rational as always, urges Yang and the others to calm themselves. "I'm sure there's another reason why Roman showed Ruby in such a, distressed state. His goal may well be to lead you into a trap Yang, and if that's true then caution is advisable. We need to learn more about the situation before acting." Most of the students back down as Ozpin sweeps his gaze across the crowd, but I notice that Yang holds his gaze for a lot longer than most. "Our first priority is to protect Beacon because, as much as I am loath to admit it, Ruby Rose doesn't matter in the long run as much as Hunters as a whole."

I jump in front of Yang, hoping to stop her from doing something rash. I make it just in time to intercept her lunge for the headmaster.

"LET ME AT HIM!" Yang shouts, and I feel the heat cast-off from her semblance growing more and more unbearable.

"Yang, you need to calm down! This isn't the time to lose it, not when Ruby needs you." I looked her in the eye, urging her to see the reason behind my actions. She does, thankfully, and disengages. She stalks away, muttering something under her breath that I can only just understand because of my Faunus ears.

"Come on, let's go get Ruby back."

I cast a glance back to Ozpin, who just nods and goes back to leading the other students, and I hurry to catch up to Yang before she gets herself killed.

"Yang, Blake, wait up!" We pause as Jaune and Pyrrha jog towards us. My unasked question is answered immediately by Jaune. "We want to help you guys save Ruby." Yang doesn't say anything, she just turns around again, although after a moment she pauses to make sure we're following. Don't worry Ruby, we're coming.

A/N: I mentioned OC's before, so here's more info about that: If you have an amazing someone that you want to be in any of my stories, then please feel free to PM them to me. I do want to make it clear now, though, I don't want it to seem like I'm forcing you to do anything, so don't send me an OC if you don't want to. NOTE: not all OC's have to be huntsmen, I will have soldiers as a major group too, and you can send me people you want to be soldiers or even non-combatants (like a shopkeeper) if you want. You can send individuals or teams (more on teams a bit later). Information you should include: Name: First name, Last name (If you can, please use Monty's rule for names); Age (no less than 13 unless they're a civilian); Clothes they would wear in combat (For Ruby, this would be her combat skirt and cloak, for Roman; his suit and bowler hat. Soldiers will have armor in combat, but they could have light, medium, heavy, or special armor (special armor would be something like a mech suit, other than that, you would choose what it would do and what weapons it would have (within reason)); Weapon(s) and Weapon Name (soldiers have assault rifles, battle rifles, snipers, LMG's and the like, as opposed to some of the more outlandish Hunter weapons. Also, anyone can name their weapon, but only Hunter OC's need named stuff); Semblance (not necessary for soldiers, but you can if you want. Soldier semblances will probably be less interesting or outright powerful than Hunter semblances, else they'd be Hunters); Personality and other personal quirks (not really necessary, but they make the characters more interesting); Fighting Style (CQC or ranged, lone wolf or team player, heavy and stationary or light and mobile, etc); Amount of Aura (a number is not needed, a size is fine, example, Jaune has a lot and Roman has a little. Aura is not necessary for anyone other than a Hunter. If they have Aura but no amount is specified they will get a medium amount. OC's must have Aura for a Semblance); Gender (male, female, other); Faunus Type (if any); Some back story (not necessary, but it would help. If no background is given, then I'll probably make a very basic one); Team Name (if applicable, if included, please tell me what it sounds like, I am very bad at this, if not included I will do my best to make one with other Hunter OC's); Faction (Hunter/Huntress (and which Hunter school they go too), Cinder and Co (may sometimes be Syndicate), Atlas Military/Special Forces, Syndicate (Roman and co.), none (non-combatant/civilian), White Fang, other (Merc or Grimm). If you have a Merc, know that I might ally them with one of the other factions); and finally what story you want them in (at the moment it's just Black Rose and Shattered Bonds but this list will be updated as stories come). Grimm will be accepted with two additional requirements; how rare the Grimm is (Beowulves and Ursa's are very common while a Giant Nevermore would be uncommon or rare), and what it's power level is on a scale from 1-10 (10 is very powerful, 1 is not. It it's powerful enough, it might be more then 10). I will give a shout out to OC's and their creator at the end of their premier chapter and the chapter that they die in (Not all will die, I promise). NOTE: Your OC may not be included, or it might be weakened. This will be on a case by case basis and is not meant to be an insult to you, your OC might just be too powerful, and I will always ask you if I can change your OC. YOU ARE FREE TO RESCIND YOUR APPLICATION AT ANY POINT OR ASK NOT TO BE NAMED IN THE SHOUT OUT! IF YOU RESCIND AN OC I WILL NOT USE THEM IN MY STORY, EVER (If they were already introduced I will kill them off quickly)! OC's may not be a major player, they may just be a background character, again this isn't meant as an insult, it's just the way things might turn out. This information will also be on my profile page and the first chapter of Black Rose.

The next chapter will be about what Weiss has been doing during this time.