Summary: The one where Danny's plane hits a wormhole and spits them out in Vale.
Chapter 1.0: Take Me To Your Leader: Vale
The turbulence is the last thing she remembers. Danny wakes up with a sore body, burns and bruises scattered around her lungs and waist, and high on drugs.
But, really bad drugs.
She would have cursed if that wasn't an unseemly thing to do for a person in her position. The ultimate – worst kept secret – ruler of Karm Stequion must be calm in any situation (must not fear death, must handle pain, must hide guilt). She also really needs to find a phone and tell her trusted advisors (underlings, they would joke) she's not dead, lest the world burn with all the blackmail they're instructed to release upon her disappearance.
And any hospital with drugs this bad definitely means the world will burn soon if it hasn't already.
It takes her a moment to adjust to standing, what with the room spinning and the pain not fading. She is definitely making others put extra funding into low-budget hospitals. This is ridiculous!
It doesn't even cross her mind she's been kidnapped. The plane either crashed or she's in some bottom feeder hospital. Good graces, who even makes drugs like these anymore?!
The woman easily finds some passengers. Just open the curtain and voila! She grunts as she walks, wheeling along the heart monitor while fiddling with the IV drip. She checks on a few of the others, frowning at the unfamiliar scrawls across clipboards and medi-packs. Even worse, none of their belongings are around, so she can't steal a com-link or phone.
Once she's figured it out, Danny clicks off her monitors and carefully shuts off and pulls out her drip. She makes a face, pressing a too-pale finger to stop the blood flow. Once deemed ready for action, she wipes the blood on a spare towel and makes for the door. There is no one in the hallway. As much as she would love to bolt, that wouldn't be very ruler-like now would it? She was trained (tortured) better than that. Danny does pick a few things from the nearby nurses' station, and returns to the room to get fandangling.
The nurse that eventually spots her awake runs out of the room, shouting nonsense sounds. Danny snorts and smiles down at her little project, easily hiding it under the pillow before anyone comes back. The doctors don't look like doctors, no white coats, but they talk fast and make exaggerated motions until they realize she doesn't react. Then they talk slower, draw out their words, and Danny doesn't stop smirking because really? Really?
"I don't understand a word of what you're saying," Danny replies, though that maybe a lie. Some words are similar to English, but no one speaks that in her latest life so she's a bit rusty.
The doctors obviously don't understand her, by their crestfallen expressions. There is a lot more talking and finger pointing, before they storm out and leave the nurses to try and handle the woman.
She doesn't let them stab her with anything, not even the neat mouse-eared nurse. A man comes in at one point (with a sword) but even injured she doesn't let them strap her to the bed. She learns a couple swear words, judging by the reaction she gets when she repeats the man she threw out the door. After a half-hour of multiple try-to-restrain-the-patient, they leave her alone once they realize she isn't actually moving, just stopping all injections. They give her a wide berth the rest of the day, even leaving her food at the far end of the room.
Of course she doesn't eat it. Not until someone wakes up late that night and she feeds half of it to them first.
By the morning those in the room with her have all waken up and she's scouted the hospital for others. Three separated families get good news, and she helps them reunite. Others, she has to apologize and explain she doesn't know where their family and friends are.
The whole time she listens to every word from those who don't speak their language. No one recognizes it, not one person from the plane knows a lick of these newish words. It causes a lot of confusion until Danny can start sorting out what is identical in English and translate to her people. She causes a lot of mayhem when she turns back to the doctor and says, in their language, "They're upset because you keep jabbing them with a needle, a*****e."
There are actual, disbelieving laughs from the few nurses hovering as the doctor turns a nice purple shade. Danny mentally high-fives herself. Three days is the shortest she's ever gotten a language.
Of course, now the people who work in the hospital expect her to translate and answer everyone's questions. A few words are still out of her grasp contextually. Why would a bull head fly? Other times it's her fellow survivors realizing who she is and either start pleading for their life or praising that she's here with them. The doctors get really confused and demand she explains. She doesn't.
Danny rolls her eyes a lot the next few days.
Then the monotony breaks as a man in a green suit comes in, unused cane in hand. The doctor, who certainly hates her by now, guides him to her bed and Danny shoos away the children she was telling stories to. She waits with raised eyebrows and a small smirk as the doctor exchanges quiet words before the man with glasses and the suit assures that he is comfortable being alone with the her and not to worry. The doctor huffs and storms away, the kids making faces at him as he goes.
"So," the man speaks, drawing her eyes back to him. He leans on his cane, as if wanting to study her but unsure how close is appropriate, "how well can you understand me?"
Danny crosses her legs and shrugs. "Well enough." She leans forward to pat the end of the bed, impressed that he doesn't lean away. "Have a seat."
He nods politely and does. "Would you be able to tell me how you and your people came to crash land in the outskirts of the city?"
"So we did crash?" Danny hums thoughtfully. "No one's told much. At least, not that I could understand at the time."
"Ah, yes," a smile pulls at his lips. "I hear there were some issues in the beginning."
"Nothing I couldn't handle."
"So I've been told," he says, still smiling, with a glance to the door she's thrown multiple people (and guns) out of. "You haven't answered my question, though."
She smirks back. "Airplane hit some turbulence, but I can't remember anything after we dropped a couple hundred feet."
"Airplane," he says the word, showing the first sign of confusion. "I do not believe the metal tube we found you in can turn into air or looks very plain."
"That is an airplane," Danny chuckles, leaning into the backrest. "Large metal flying machine. Your own look much different than ours."
He glances at the window, to see one of their planes taking off. "Quite." When he focuses on her, there's a flatness to him that can only come from years of experience. She should know, it's the reason she was the first human to be chosen to rule. "Do you know where you are?"
"Doctors say the city of Beacon," Danny replies blandly, catching a smile on him before it returns to flat. "I have tried asking what world," she makes a circle with her hands, "but to translate is not easy."
He nods. "This is Beacon, in the city of Vale. Vale, a kingdom in the world of Remnant."
Danny blinks, breath leaving her. Memories of her first life - of a time when things were simple and she didn't know how to create the hack-everything device she has hidden under her pillow - rise to the surface. And with them comes a few glimpses of the same white haired, glasses wearing, green suit, cane wielding man in front of her now. "The world of Remnant." She cracks a shaky smile, passing it off as shock rather than fear. "Well, since I don't recognize it, we must be a long way from home."
Ozpin looks almost concerned. "I'm sorry."
Danny waves him off, taking the excuse to look out the window and not at a figure from a storybook. "Don't be. Pretty sure it's not your fault."
"Oh?" he says softly.
"There are some crazy things on my hone planet," Danny smiles wistfully. "Never had wormholes, but there's always a first for everything." There is a pause before Danny takes a breath and smiles at him. "I'm Danny, in case the doctors haven't told you."
"My name is Ozpin," he nods, smile coming back to his face. "And I believe your doctor has mentioned your name once or twice."
She scoffs, smiling keeping in place easier. "If he would stop trying to knock me out, I'd be a little nicer."
"Sounds fair," Ozpin agrees with mock seriousness.
"Oh, absolutely," Danny crosses her arms and strikes a pose.
He chuckles and gets to his feet, holding out a hand. "Thank you for speaking with me, Danny."
"I appreciate you not talking to me like I'm slow," she replies, shaking his hand. The woman doesn't flinch at the strange, calming tingle starting at their connect palms; that isn't proper of her title. Ozpin seems to take great interest, even after they let go. "If you have any more questions, I've been playing translator."
"I may take you up on that," the man nods, grateful. "Until next time."
She waves and stretches out her legs. One of her fellows asks what that was all about. Danny tells everyone listening about the conversation, and then goes back to playing with the kids.
Secretly, she wonders if their plane landed on the witch of the East.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights belong to its respective owners.
A/N: I was searching for certain OC/RWBY-Character stories and wasn't having much luck with what I wanted to find. So, I decided to do a 'maybe' drabble series by throwing one of my favourite original characters, Danny, under a (metaphorical) bus of plots. Whoops.
I do hope that whoever reads the stories enjoys them.
This is also a way for me to practice writing categories I wouldn't normally; such as hanahaki disease, different soulmate AUs, and things that could have happened in my other stories but didn't. If there is anything (OC-pairing or AU-wise) that you would like to read here, please let me know (and please keep it clean)! I can't promise everything will make it, but I'm always looking for things to try out writing-wise.
Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a great day.