"Alright, peace man." A simple goodbye to a close friend, Kolton, as we parted ways. Little did I know that this would be our final goodbye when I boarded my bus and he boarded his. "Hey Tyler! How are you today?" Asked the driver, a sweet lady in her mid 30's named Mrs. Lane. "Doing fine, how are you doing?" I asked in return, anxious to get to my seat and take a nap before I got home. She nodded in return. "Good, good." I smiled at her when she shot me her own.
I dropped my school bag into my seat and fell in beside it, leaning my head on the seat in front of me. At max, we have about five or six people on. I never really talked to anyone on my bus before, there's this one girl, Alexis Rhoder. She's a couple years younger than me, a nice girl, runs track I think. She would always ramble off to me when she felt bad, and I was happy to be there and listen to my friends problems, even if I didn't get to say mine. She stopped coming on due to a club she was in, so I had nobody to talk to when I rode the bus. My eyes were closed and I was already dozing off when the bus pulled out from the school parking lot, heading down the road to drop everyone off, or so I thought.
I wasn't sure where we were when it happened, about halfway to the first stop I imagine. It came out of nowhere, the tires squealed as the driver tried to avoid having the middle of the bus, right where I sat, hit by a semi-truck. She failed and I only got a moments notice and the sight of the massive vehicle hitting the side of the bus before I was sent flying. Time seemed to slow as my world darkened around me slowly. The bent metal, the shattered glass, all coming my way. The last thought I had before I blacked out was, 'Oh….So this is how it ends?'.
As soon as I blacked out, I jolted awake. Blearily, I searched for my glasses around me, quickly finding them and placing them onto my face, thankful that they were not broken. It was then that I had gotten a good look at my surroundings. sun warmed stone was beneath me and a forest spanned out in front of me. I tried to stand, but fell back down, landing into a kneel. A flash came from behind me, as quick as a camera. I turned my head, first noting the massive cliffside behind me, then the large crate in front of it. 'Oh hell no, this can't be real, this is some serious fanfiction shit here.' I thought, scared for what was in the box. 'Hold on a minute….There are no cliffs in Lafayette...or ruined stone bridges…' It was true. My hometown, Lafayette, Indiana, had no large cliffs like this or these kind of ancient structures. Now I was curious, my fear quickly fading as I tried to stand, successfully this time. I stumbled over to the large box, inspecting the plywood that made up the object.
Carefully, I flipped the latch and moved around behind it. I've played way too much Dark Souls to know how wrong this could go in a second. Grasping the edge of the lid, I pulled it up and towards me, quickly ducking behind the box as I did so. I waited for a moment for any sign of movement or noise from within. I crawled out from between the lid, which had fallen on me, and the box, before standing and using the box to steady myself as I stared in wonder at the contents. "What in the actual hell is going on…" I muttered to myself. Inside the box was a set of fully customized power armor from my Fallout 4 playthrough. The flame paint job and old Enclave helmet staring up at me. I stared in awe as the suit climbed out of the box on its own and shut down beside me. I took another look at the suit. Both of the T-60f arms were intact, the tesla bracer on the left arm and the hydraulic bracer on the right. I looked over the chest plate in wonder. Whoever recreated it managed to add all the attachments, jet pack and medic pump included. With excitement mixed heavily with curiousity, I looked at my helmet, the X-01 Mk. VI Enclave helmet. Rad scrubbers, sensor array, VATS Matrix overlay, the database, recon sensors, and targeting hud, it was all installed somehow. Good things are better left unquestioned in my opinion. Lastly, the legs of the suit. Explosive vents, calibrated shocks, and the overdrive servos, it was all there. I let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the suit.
My eyes shot open in realization. The suit wouldn't matter if the power core couldn't handle the output. I spun around to the back of the suit, spotting the core and pulling it out. It wasn't like the cores that I had seen in game. Instead of nuclear material, the thing contained something else, something odd and not from this world, it reminded me of the Alien Blaster ammunition from Fallout 3, but much wider.. I shoved the glowing blue core back into the suit and stepped back, giddy from excitement. I turned to check out the crate, only to find a small foot locker in its place and the Gauss Rifle sitting next to it. I tentatively picked it up. The gun was much lighter than I expected it to be. I took aim experimentally and carefully placed it back down next to the foot locker. Opening it, I saw a barrier in the middle, one side filled with neatly stacked ammunition, the other filled with neatly stacked power cores. I closed it and looked around. Either I'm dead and in heaven, put here by some god who wants me to be extremely efficient in whatever I do, or I'm still on the school bus and having possibly the best lucid dream ever.
With a new agenda in mind, I walked over to the Power Armor and twisted the wheel on it's back, watching giddily as it opened up to allow me inside. I took a step in, feeling everything adjust to my body as the suit closed around me. The first thing I saw when the HUD came online was the large amount of red figures sitting in the treeline. Now it was time to be scared again. I stumbled back and picked up the rifle, before placing the stock against my shoulder and peering down the reflex sight. When I did, I noticed the shielding on the barrel along with the capacitator boosting coil, something I never added to the gun. Thankfully, the recoil compensating stock took away most of the recoil as I fired the gun. the bolt from the rifle flew into the trees and I saw one of the red forms disappear from sight. A chorus of howls filled the air as the figures charged from the treeline. Quickly, I slammed the locker shut and secured the hatch before throwing the rifle, which had a sling, over my shoulder. With a mighty leap, I launched myself into the air, the jet pack activating and propelling me further upwards.
I dug my hand into the cliffside, the rock crumbling under the massive metal hand. Again, I launched myself upwards with my one arm, allowing the jet pack to carry me over the edge of the cliff just as the section I dug into crumbled, the debris falling and crushing a few of the things below me. I was about fifteen feet above the ground when my jetpack died and allowed gravity to take over. I dropped the foot locker and crashed into the ground, creating a crater around me. To say the least, it hurt like hell. I opened the suit by pressing my back into it and stepped out. I watched the suit close, and the Gauss rifle with its broken sling fall to the ground before I did, taking comfort in the soft grass and cool wind.
I could feel the footsteps of multiple people approaching me, but I didn't care, I just wanted to go to sleep. Who knew where I was or how I ended up here, but I hoped I would find out sometime soon. The warm sunlight turned into shade, causing me to crack open one eye and find a pair of emerald colored ones staring back at me. Cautiously, I opened both eyes and scrambled backwards at the sight of who stood in front of me. The stern look, the riding crop, that tattered cape, those glasses and the eyes behind them…
It was Glynda
Glynda motherfucking Goodwitch
How the hell did I wind up here….
The woman cleared her throat, hesitation on her face. It was clear that she did not trust me. After all, some guy randomly appearing in the forest would definitely raise more questions than answers. "You. Come with me, the Headmaster would like to have a word with you." I nodded quickly, scrambling to my feet. As she turned to walk away, I walked back over to the power armor, still a miracle in my eyes. 'At least I know where I am now, but what do I do now that I'm here? Should I side with Beacon and it's students, or do I go to CInder and join their organization? So many options...Better keep the butterfly effect in mind' These thoughts ran through my head as I re-entered the Power Armor. I held the Gauss Rifle by the grip, sure to keep my finger away from the trigger, and picked up the (surprisingly intact) footlocker with the ammunition and cores. When I turned to Glynda to follow, I saw her eyeing the suit in both awe and weariness.
My voice cracked from the speakers in the helmet. "Let's go then." I said nervously. The emotion was heavy in my voice as she gathered herself and nodded, walking off towards the school with me in tow.
No surprise to me that the granite floor cracked under each step. After all, these things had to be at least 800 pounds, not to mention the modifications in the legs made the suits steps more forceful. The classrooms we passed had students crowding the doorways to see what was making all the noise. I looked around, lots of unfamiliar faces. However, I managed to catch sight of a familiar group of girls that I would most likely meet later. If Ruby doesn't get overly curious about my tech, Weiss might think that I stole the armor from Atlas, and if neither of those happen, then Ozpin will surely assign me to something that deals with them or their counterpart, JNPR. I feel like me and Jaune would get along rather well.
As soon as we reached the elevator that takes us to Ozpin's office, Glynda turns around to see the small footprints embedded into the floor. I cringed behind the helmet when I saw her eye twitch. I would undoubtedly get an earful from her about it later. The elevator opened and she stepped inside, moving aside for my massive form to enter. The doors closed and the elevator shot upwards. The bell soon dinged and the doors opened, revealing the Headmaster's office. I saw the bell tower from the courtyard, we had to have traveled at least ten stories in under two seconds. I stepped out of the elevator, Glynda following close behind. The man at the desk eyed me over his glasses before brushing his silvery hair from his eyes. He let out a tired sigh and took a sip from his mug.
"You may go Professor." He said, glancing over at Glynda. The woman nodded and turned, re-entering the elevator and going down. I turned back towards the man, who was now standing in front of me. He examined the front of the helmet before beginning to circle me. "Not Atlesian military….something else." I stiffened up at his words. "N-No sir, not Atlesian. I made this myself." I lied. He finished his inspection and nodded, going back around to sit in his seat. "Please, have a seat."
Hesitantly, I nodded. I set the foot locker and Gauss Rifle down beside the suit and exited it. I watched as the suit closed and fell into its standby mode. I straightened the black, blue and grey striped hoodie I had on and dusted off my black jeans, looking down at my scuffed black converse's. I felt to make sure my glasses were intact before walking around the suit, my arms hanging beside me. He took one look at me and gestured to the singular chair in front of his desk. Nodding, I took the seat, my back straightened as I looked between him and the rest of the room. "Coffee?" He asked. I nodded in response. "Yes please. Four sugars and cream." He nodded, pulling a drawer open in his desk. From within, he removed a clean mug into which he put four cubes of sugar followed by a small amount of cream from a small pot. He then removed a coffee pot from the drawer and filled the mug. He replaced the pot and closed the drawer before sticking a small spoon into the mug and pushed it towards me. Grateful for some caffeine to calm myself, I stirred for a moment before taking a long drink.
"Very good sir, thank you." I said politely and quietly. He nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. "So, let's get to the questions then as I am sure you are eager to leave." I smiled lightly. "Very well….What is it you would like to know?" I asked, my voice still quiet. He nodded, pulling out, what I assumed to be, a scroll. "Alright, your name?"
I hesitated. Should I give him a fake name or my real one? "Li Merle" I replied slowly. He looked at me for a moment before quickly typing it out on his scroll. "Where are you from?"
"Vacuo."
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"You're race?"
I ran my hand through my short, dark brown hair. I did this both for a bit of comfort and to check if I had also turned into faunus. No ears so I think I'm human still. "Human."
"What do you wish to do in life?"
"Military. Hunter at best."
"Alright, the official questions are over with. Now for the personal ones." He said, closing the scroll and setting it aside. "DId you really build your armor and weapon yourself?" I shook my head. "No, it was a gift. The weapon was too." I said, looking him in the eye. "Okay, are you proficient with them?" I shrugged. "Haven't had them for very long. I was dropped in the forest before my armor and weapon so I haven't had much time to experiment. I do know what my suit is capable of however." Most of what I said was truth. I did know what the Power Armor was capable of and how to use both it and the Gauss Rifle. However, how i got there is still a mystery.
Ozpin nodded in thought, his hands clasped together on the desk. I took another sip from the mug as he asked his next question. "Where are you really from Li?" I almost spat out my coffee. I swallowed with a few coughs. What should I tell him? Should I be honest and say 'Hey! I'm from a different dimension!' or should I try to lie again? Ah butterfly effect...how annoying you are. "Menagerie." I said quickly. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Oh really? How was that?"
I shrugged, hoping my lie was working. "Wasn't bad. Being the only human in my area was a bit odd, but fun nonetheless. The faunus were all nice to me and never treated me badly, I gave them the same treatment. It was a good life." He nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer.
"Now, the biggest question. Would you like to enroll here at Beacon?" I've read enough fics to know he would ask that question. I nodded in response. "I would love to sir, but I haven't graduated from a combat school." He waved it off. "No matter, we will train you. Do you know where the courtyard is yet?" I nodded. "Passed through it on my way here with Professor Goodwitch. Why?" He stood and I followed his action. "Would you mind waiting there? I'll have someone meet you there while I set up your living arrangements, scroll, classes, and physical set up." I nodded. He held his hand out to me. I smirked and took it, shaking it lightly. "Pleasure to meet you sir." He nodded. "And you as well."
I turned towards the suit and twisted the valve on the back, allowing it to unlock and open up. I entered the Power Armor and allowed it to close around me, once again feeling it adjust to my body. I rolled my shoulders to get a feel for the suit again before reaching down and picking up both the Gauss Rifle and the foot locker. Nodding my head, I entered the elevator and hit the button leading to the first floor.
A.N. Hello everyone, in my absence, I started to write this story as another way to help push me back into writing. This chapter and the next will help give a bit of insight as to who I am. Anyways, comment, favorite, follow, you know the usual. Stay cool everyone, catch ya in the next chapter.