Hi everyone, hope you like this story. I know OC stories can be a bit iffy at times but I hope you'll give this one a chance, feedback is always appreciated. Also, being a RWBY story, this will obviously have spoilers. Not EVERYTHING is known about the show, so events that aren't already established may be up to my interpretation. Enjoy.

1 line: Scene Change
2 lines: Character Change

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGH!"

I screamed as my body fell through from the skies hundreds of feet off of the ground. 'This can't be happening, please tell me I'm dreaming.' Unfortunately, this wasn't a dream, one way or another here I was basically skydiving without a parachute.

You know...it really is true, your life really DOES flash before your eyes at moments like these. Pleasant memories, mundane tasks...a simpler time when I wasn't about to be reacquainted with the ground for the final time. So where exactly did I go wrong? Well, the one good thing about the fact I'm gonna means I get to watch just WHERE it was that I screwed up...

"Haaaaaah..." A contented sigh escaped from my mouth as the episode of RWBY in front of me came to an end. "What a great way for season four to end..." Honestly, it really was. The finale of this season made me feel full and satisfied. Like I had somehow eaten a big meal...if that's possible. The titanic battle with the Nuckelavee, finally making it to Haven, and hell, RenXNora basically became canon.

Glancing out the window, I noticed the day had REALLY gotten away from me this time. The sky had become a murky dark blue of twinkling stars without my notice. The full moon hung in the air casting it's pale light. Yawning, I lazily pushed myself off the bed stepping over the clothes and trash that littered my room. Yeah, I should really clean this place up. Later of course...if I feel like it.
"Ah pants my mortal enemy, we meet again."

Current laws dictated that I had to wear these in order to go out in public, but that didn't mean that I had to like it. Slipping on a pair of sweatpants, I headed to the bathroom to answer the call of nature. I entered the bathroom, my feet stepping on the cold white stone tiles causing an involuntary shudder. These tiles made it quite unpleasant when waking up in the middle of the night and having to go to the bathroom.

I glanced at the mirror, noticing a few hairs on my chin. Caramel colored skin with an oval-shaped face, and short curly brownish black hair. I had a pair of intense brown eyes which often made me look much more serious than I actually was.
"Seems like I'll need to start shaving from now on."

I put my hand to my chin and turned my head. The tan face in the mirror obediently copying me as I observed the small hairs starting to form on my chin. "Now THERE'S that handsome devil." I said winking at my reflection. "Someday soon the ladies will be lining up for a shot at this hot stuff."

Fortunately, no one was around to hear my embarrassing little pep talk. Though that's to be expected at...hold on let me check. 11:32 pm?! Damn, I guess it really is late. Well, I still have time to sneak in a late night walk before calling it a day. Leaving the bathroom, I was about to leave the house when...

"Where do you think YOU'RE going, Nathaniel?"
I turned around seeing Cameron sitting on the couch typing away on his laptop. Wait, how long has he been sitting there?

"Well now." Cameron adjusted his glasses, peering up from the computer. "Look who finally left their room. I had started to think you died in there or something."

"Oh ha ha. I'm going for a walk, does his majesty find this acceptable?"

"Hmph. 'His majesty' takes issue with the fact that it's too dark, you shouldn't even be up at this hour. What if you wake up late and can't make it to work on time?"

"Look who's talking, Mr. Baggy Eyes? You're still up right?"

"I know I know." Cameron said sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I had to cover someone else's shift today, and this is taking forever since I haven't been able to focus..."

"You need to take a break everyone once in a while or you'll burn out dude. Anyway, I'll be right back."

"You're going out at this hour?" Cameron said with a hint of concern. "You really can't wait until morning? You could get mugged or something."

"Stop being such a baby, I'll be fine." A devilish smile crossed my face "And if I die, I'll haunt you for not stopping me like you should've done."

"That's not funny!" he yelled after me as I closed the door. "If you die I'm still gonna pry the rent from your cold dead hands!"

Heh, Cameron is just way too easy to tease, he's a good guy. And he's somehow managed to put up with me for this long. Something not so easily accomplished by mortal men. Feel kinda bad though, someone as high strung as him doesn't need more work piled on.

*SNIIIIIIIIIIIIFF*
"Haaaaaaahh..."

I took a deep whiff of the night air, the cool refreshing breeze filling my lungs and making me feel healthy and alive. I swear nights like these are the best. It's cool, it's quiet and there's just a sense of tranquility that simply can't be found during the day. "It feels like it was only yesterday that the fourth season of RWBY came out, and now it's over...how long do I have to wait for the next season to start?"

Now feeling a bit listless, I kept walking, trying to push those stupid thoughts out of my head. Looking around the neighborhood, I couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. The reason I wasn't worried about coming out at this hour was that I had done this every other day. Having walked these streets countless times I could probably make it the next three blocks with my eyes closed. 'Ah, this really is a nice night, I can practically feel my tension fading away.

"I wonder how long I'll have to wait for season five." Dammit, I did it again...
BRR BRR BRIIII...BRR BRR BRIII
"Huh?" I fumbled around in my pocket pulling out a phone. "Who the heck would call me at...you gotta be kidding me."

I sighed opening the phone and putting it to my ear. "Dude, I haven't even been gone for five minutes, you need to chill..."

"Say what you want Nate, a little precaution has never hurt anyone."

"Cameron, you keep bothering me and I'm going to hurt you. Well, whatever, I was just thinking about RWBY. Since you want to bother me during my relaxation time I'll use you to talk for a bit."

"I was just checking up on you, there's still loads that need to be done."

"You waste my time, I'm wasting yours. You could probably use a break anyway."
Cameron sighed on the other end, having resigned himself to his fate. He had watched a little bit of RWBY at my request. Mostly because I wouldn't shut up about it until he did.

"Alright, but only for a little."

"Who's your favorite character?"

"Favorite character? Umm...I kinda like that blonde guy."

"Sun Wukong?"

"Who's that?"

"The monkey guy."

"No no, the other blonde guy."

"Other blonde guy?" 'But who would...wait he isn't talking about...' "Cameron, you're not talking about Jaune are you?"

"Oh yeah, Jaune. Jaune...Art?"

"Arc."

"Right, that guy."

I let out a groan and pinched the bridge of my nose. "You've got to be kidding me. Him?! He's your favorite character?"

"What, he's a dork but he makes me laugh sometimes, plus I can admire how hard he works. Who's your favorite character?"

"Qrow Branwen."

There was a brief pause on the end of the phone. "I...don't know who that is."

"Oh he's awesome! You see..." I quickly went over some of the details about Qrow. His weapon, his personality, his funny moments and a few other things. Cameron silently listened the entire time until I had finished.

"So basically...your favorite character is a drunken man-child."

"What?! He's not-" A sudden bright light forced me to squint my eyes as an eighteen wheeler truck roared past next to me on the street. "Qrow is not just some drunken man-child! You take that back!" I could hear Cameron laughing on the other end of the line. That's right, laugh it up you little dweeb. Coming to the edge of the sidewalk, I looked both ways before crossing. It was a little pointless considering that at this hour there were only a few vehicles that could be seen far away in the distance. "Well, I'd certainly do a lot better than your favorite character Cameron!"

"You really think you could do better? This isn't like those stick fight wars we had as kids."

"Of course I do! If I was in Remnant, I'd be kicking all kinds of ass!"

"As if! You think you'd do so well over there? You can barely take care of yourself in the REAL world!"

I immediately came to a stop on the side of the road, unsure of what to say. Silence hung in the air between the two of us, the only sounds being a few whispers of a faint breeze. The night somehow getting even colder than before.

"I'm...I'm sorry." Cameron said quietly. "That was uncalled for." The awkward silence continued as neither of us spoke for a while. "Well...I should get back to my work." Cameron said, sounding a little unsure of himself.

"Yeah okay...see you soon I guess..." I sighed hanging up.

Well...THAT sure put a damper on my mood. I suppose he's not wrong, I'm not exactly rolling in money. But now I feel worse than before. At times like this, there's only one place to go to lift my spirits.

"Fast Stop..."

My feet stopped in front of a familiar-looking store. I came here quite often, pretty much only to buy ice cream. But hey, they sell a pint of Ben and Jerry's for two bucks! You try staying away from that! In any case, they're an odd store that was still somehow running at this ungodly hour, though probably not for much longer. This place was...how do I say it...unprofessional looking. I mean, just walking in you could see food crates stacked near the entrance because they'd run out of space to put their items. Most of their items didn't have price tags, some of the items had damaged packaging, and there was only one register. Honestly, it's a wonder they hadn't been shut down yet. Still, they had good deals, so who was I to care?

Walking in, a middle-aged woman with black hair and glasses turned to look at me from her chair at the register.

"Ah, looks like you made it just before we closed." She gave a wry smile and propped her face up with her hand. "I WONDER what you're gonna get this time." she said in an amused tone.

I chuckled walking to the back of the store to the freezer so I could gaze at my options. "Let's see, what do we have here. Oat of this swirled, Boom-Chocolata, A swirled of difference, Americone dream. Haha, not bad..." A good deal of the ice cream had stupid puns. But every so often, I'd find one that made me crack a smile. I looked over the options before choosing 'Chocolate Therapy' and 'Strawberry Cheesecake'. and brought them back to the register.

"If I ate as much ice cream as you do I'd wouldn't be in very good shape." the woman said processing the item. "That'll be four even."

I fished out my wallet, only finding a lonely five dollar bill. Yikes, looks like these are my last treats for the month. I could dig into the rent fund but...nah, Cameron'd kill me. "I walk to work, that probably helps." I said handing her the money. She took it, typing in a few keys.

"Is that it? Maybe I should try that. How long does it usually take"

"I dunno, about two hours?"

"Two hours?!" The woman gave me a dumbfounded expression. I can't really blame her either. Taking two hours to walk to work every day wasn't exactly 'normal'. She shook her head before setting the bag on the counter.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather save your money for the bus?"

"But then I wouldn't be able to see your beautiful face every so often. I'd certainly say it's worth it."

The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head as she handed me my bag. Trying and failing to hide the obvious smile on her face. "Hah! Maybe come back in about 30 years." she chuckled. "But thanks. I'll see you later Nathaniel."

"Alright, bye." I said giving a small smile and waving back.

Getting back home, I opened the door and walked in. As expected, Cameron hadn't left his spot, still busy on the laptop. He looked up as I locked the door behind me.

"Listen, about what I said before...I shouldn't have-."

"It's fine." I said dismissively. My lips then curled into an evil smile. "Besides, I get to go to sleep in a nice comfy bed while you're up working for god knows how long."

"Ugh..." Cameron groaned putting his hand to his face. "Don't remind me."

As I started walking away, I couldn't help but feel kinda sorry for him. I pondered something for a minute before tossing one of the pints of ice cream at him "Here, catch."

"Wha? Ha! Oh!" He fumbled around before catching the item and scowling at me. His eyes widened at the cold pint in his hands. "What's this?"

"It's a pick me up, I guess you can have it. Probably need it a lot more than I do to be honest."

"Oh. Well...thank you." he said with surprise.

"And you'd better enjoy it too." I said jabbing a finger at him. "That's my last treat for a while."

Cameron put on a tired smile. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to do that. Goodnight."

"Ugh..." I let out a groan shoveling the last of the Chocolate Therapy into my mouth before tossing the pint at the garbage bin. The pint bouncing off the edge of the rim before narrowly landing in the garbage. "Score..."

Maybe I shouldn't have eaten all of that chocolate in one sitting...I mean, my taste buds were happy but now I felt like crap. "It was worth it...I think." I propped myself up, pulling the covers over my body, but some reason I couldn't sleep.

"As if! You think you'd do so well over there? You can barely take care of yourself in the REAL world!"
Why is it I'm up laying in bed at midnight thinking about the most pointless shit? Great, now those words are stuck in my head. Admittedly, I'm not exactly living a glamorous life by any stretch of the imagination. Work, goof off, buy a few treats here and there, then rinse and repeat. It's okay to live like this for now but what about several years down the line, when I'm in my mid 20's? 30's? 40's? Any bonehead could do what I am right now. I guess...I mean, this life is kinda fun, but it's really not satisfying ya know? What do I have to show for living over a decade? At this rate, when I die, the only thing that's gonna be written on my tombstone is a name and date, just like millions of other people. Damn it Cameron, now I'm actually a little scared.

"I really hope this is just the ice cream talking..." I sighed, taking one final look out his window at the starry sky and the full moon. I was about to turn away when a light flickering across the stars caught my attention. "A shooting star...might as well." I paused before closing my eyes. "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." I chuckled at my little nursery rhyme.

"I wish I could have a chance to do something big. Something to really prove I have worth as a person..."

.
.

"Whoa!" Aero ducked as a claw whizzed over his head, barely missing him by a few inches. He did a flip backward, landing on his hands and pushing off onto his feet once more. "Almost didn't see you there."

A third Beowulf had nearly caught him by surprise while he was focused on the two in front of him. Letting out low growls, the three of them suddenly sprang forward, hoping to catch him in a pincer attack. Aero chuckled, raising a silver and purple spear catching the claws of the Grimm in front of him. Extending his free hand backward, the two approaching beasts behind suddenly halted in their movements as if caught in an invisible net.

"Three of you huh? Guess that's enough for one final warm-up."

Aero's leg lashed out to the Grimm in front of him catching the Beowulf behind its leg where the knees would be. The creature let out a surprised cry as it's leg gave out causing it to kneel. Putting two hands on the weapon, Aero jabbed the pole of the spear horizontally, slamming the Grimm in the face and following up with a quick slash to its throat once he had gotten some distance between them.

"Grrrrrooooooowwww..."
It let out one last growl before collapsing onto the carpet of grass. Immediately, the force surrounding the other two Beowolves disappeared and they mindlessly shot forward intent on tearing him to shreds. Aero twirled his spear, taking a stance as they both ran at him. He blocked a claw swipe and immediately angled his weapon to catch the other as it lunged at him, catching the pole part of the spear in it's mouth, snapping shut inches from his face.

"Phew! Your breath stinks!"

Aero pressed a small button on the side of his spear causing the bottom part of the spear to open up into a three-pronged claw and catching one of them by the legs. Heo took a solid stance and roared, swinging the spear to cause the trapped grimm to go flying. It slammed into a tree as the chain on the spear extended. Pulling on it once more, the dazed grimm was yanked forward crashing into it's companion before having the spear thrust through it's chest.

The last beowolf stared helplessly as Aero approached it, the previously stabbed grimm still on top it not having dissolved yet.
"Be a good boy, and I'll make this quick."

The Beowolf felt an unusual sensation surround it before seeing the Huntsman in training raise his weapon and bring it down onto it's neck causing it's vision to go black.

"Phew."
Aero leaned his weapon against a tree and wiped the sweat off of himself looking around. The sun had already started to set, casting a few shadows around the vibrant green woods. Today was his last day before his future would be decided. He let out a sigh and picked up his spear, starting towards home. "Looks like I'd better get used to all this fighting, I'll be doing it a lot from now on."

It wasn't as though he hated fighting, it was fun at times, a good stress reliever and he was certainly good at it. No, part of the reason he took issue with it was that as a huntsman, fighting was pretty much all that he'd ever do. "Encounter the grimm, fight it. Encounter the White Fang, fight them. Encounter any sort of problem, fight it. Such diversity I have to look forward to..."

However, these were all just minor grievances. The real reason why he was opposed to the path of a huntsman, was one that was picked for him...

"I'm home!"
Aero walked into the small house with a sigh and tossed his coat on the couch before falling onto it himself, feeling rather spent.
"Welcome back." called a friendly voice a room away. "You're a little later than usual."

"Yeah sorry about that, I encoun- *SNIIIIIIIIIFF*"
Aero stopped mid-sentence as a tantalizing aroma entered his nostrils. Immediately, the fatigue filling his body was washed away, and he instinctively found it's way to the kitchen where he saw his mother in an apron holding a tray smiling at him.

"Are those..."
"Barbecued pork cutlets? They might be." the woman said with a knowing grin.

"Yes!"
Aero reached out taking one of the pieces on the tray before letting out a yelp at the hot meat and retreating his fingers to his mouth. The pain however disappeared and a contented smile formed on his face as he tasted the barbecue sauce. His mother giggled.

"You might want to let them cool down first. I made them to celebrate your first day at Beacon."
Aero paused after hearing this and shook his head.
"That's okay...I'm not hungry anymore."

The woman frowned, setting down the tray before sitting down.
"Dear, I know you don't like this idea, I'm not crazy about it either. But your dad is just trying to do what he thinks is best."

"For himself." Aero scoffed. "Do you remember what I got for my sixth birthday?

His mother sighed, having had this conversation a few times already. "Dumbells?"

"That's right. Instead of something normal like a soccer ball or a dart gun he got me a pair of dumbells! It's like I didn't have a choice from the start."

His mother put her hand on his shoulder. "I know this is hard, but give it a try. It might not be as bad as you think." she gave him an amused smile. "And please don't disappear right before the examination like the last time. Your dad nearly had a heart attack when you left and couldn't attend the academy. If you do it again he might just put a leash on you."

Aero muttered picking up the entire tray of riblets and taking them to his room to prepare for tomorrow.
"I'll go, but I make no promises about staying..."

"Let's see." Aero said going over a mental checklist in his head. "Got my clothes for tomorrow laid out, packed some snacks, weapon is waiting in the closet. Am I forgetting something...?" he said tapping his chin. "Ah, right! Can't believe I almost forgot my journal!" He picked up a weathered journal with the cover a dull, faded red. He'd had this thing for years now. Originally, he'd been opposed to the idea, thinking it was girly writing in a diary. But now Aero thought differently. He could vent his frustrations, record interesting events and write down his spear techniques for later reference. Reading it was like watching himself from a neutral perspective and he actually learned from reading his own thoughts.

"Okay, now is that really everything?"

Aero was a very meticulous person, a trait he had unwittingly picked up after having to pick up the slack from his dad who was always seemed to be doing something. He found it annoying at first but later on, it felt oddly satisfying to check things off and know things wasn't a single thing that might go wrong with his plans. Having finally crossed his T's and dotted his I's Aero lay down in the dark room. For nearly 20 minutes he lay there trying to sleep before turning over to look outside. The shattered moon of Remnant still hung in the sky, it's crater not visible at this time of the month, allowing the light of the full moon to fill the night.

"It's not fair...why is it I don't have a choice in what I get to do with my own life?"
"I just wish I could live my life in whatever way I wanted. Is that so much to ask?

He sighed and shut his eyes, hoping sleep would finally take him.

And thus, my little misadventure began...

BRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

An incredibly loud ringing screamed out of nowhere, ripping me out of dreamland and assaulting my ears as if the apocalypse itself was happening right in my bedroom. "WAAAAAUUUUGH!" Naturally, this caused me to wildly flail about like an epileptic turtle who had fallen onto it's back, before finally lashing out and turning off the alarm clock from hell.

"Haa...haa...haa..."

My heart was still in overdrive as I tried to figure out what the heck just happened. A black alarm clock had mysteriously appeared where there wasn't one before reading 7:00.

"SEVEN AM?! Who wakes up at seven?! I don't even HAVE an alarm clock!"

While that was incredibly surprising, a quick look around told me a new alarm clock was the least of my worries.

"This...isn't my room." And indeed it wasn't. MY room had clothes and trash scattered about, but this room couldn't possibly be compared to mine. The floor was free of any items and was practically sparkling for Pete's sake! The open closet clean with rows of clothes hung up, the TV which was there before I slept was now replaced by a neat and tidy writing desk

"Okay calm down, I...did I check into a hotel last night? No, I only left the house to go for a walk." As much as I'd like to remember getting here, I distinctly recall passing out after gorging myself on copious amounts of chocolate ice cream last night. "Please let this be a dream." I raised two fingers to my cheek and...OW, not a dream. If I didn't come here on my own then...this can only mean one thing.

"Someone drugged me and brought me here!?"

What the hell?! Why me?! Not to brag or anything but I'm an unimportant nobody! I can't think of a reason why a big shot would even know my name! Much less kidnap me! Pulling off the covers, I made an even more disturbing discovery.

"They even changed my pajamas! Is nothing sacred?"

Looking around the room, I noticed it seemed...kind of empty. At least that's the impression I got from it. A bed, a drawer and a desk with a few books on it. That was it. It's like this room only had the bare minimum. While looking around I noticed a set of clothes neatly folded on the drawer. A pair of blue jeans, white T-shirt and socks, black sports shoes and a thick sleeveless vest. Obviously left out for so I could find them after waking up. "You want me to wear these clothes? Is that what you want Mr. Kidnapper?"

Seeing how I wasn't exactly in a position to bargain, I begrudgingly relented. "And it's a perfect fit...these guys are good."

I was obviously dealing with professionals here. I don't know why I'm their target, but they've obviously done their homework on me. Well...might as well see how I look. Maybe they're a mirror in the closet.

Turning to the other end of the room I found a closet but.

"What in the world?!"

There wasn't a mirror in the closet, there was however a BLADED STAFF leaning against the edge of the closet wall. Who keeps a spear in their closet?! It was an ornate looking one too...silver and purple spear with black rubber grips near the center.

"Should I bring this with me for protection? No...I shouldn't act recklessly. Someone who can afford to leave weapons lying around is not someone I wanna mess with."

I gulped putting my hand on the doorknob.
"Okay...here I go!"

I slowly opened the door hoping to try and be stealthy, expecting to see some sort of grand room bustling with guards, but no. Instead, I was greeted by a small dimly lit hallway. Before I could try and make sense of the situation the door next to mine opened causing my heart to clench.

*Yaaaaaawwwwwwn*
Out walked a tired looking woman with tan skin and denim blue hair. Is it sexist I expected my kidnapper to be a guy? You know, a beefy intimidating looking dude with a black suit and sunglasses? That kind? Upon seeing me frozen in the doorway she gave me a warm smile.

"You're still here." she said approvingly. "I'm proud of you."
"Uh...thanks?" was all I could think to say.

"Go freshen up, I'll heat up some food while I still can." and with that, she turned around and walked down the hall without giving me a chance to respond. Huh...maybe she's just a maid for whoever owns this place.

Contrary to my expectations the bathroom wasn't grandiose either. It was actually a little cramped. "Seriously, what's going on?" I splashed some water on my face from the sink and looked up at the mirror, only to see someone else staring back at me. "AAAH! Sorry! I didn't know it was occupied!"

The person jumped back the same time as I did copying my apologetic expression.

"No..."

I reached up in disbelief and touched my face. The stranger in the mirror mimicking my moves with startling accuracy. "No no no no!" It really WAS a mirror! "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FACE?!" I yelled, starting to lose it again before taking a deep breath "Okay calm down! You were just drugged, kidnapped and...given plastic surgery..."

The face was tan like my usual one but distinctly different. I reached up grabbing a lock of hair on my head. I normally had small black curly hair. While still black, my new hair was straight and reached my ears. I'm not sure if it's possible to lengthen hair, but it's definitely not possible in one night.

"Aero." A female voice called. "Are you alright in there? Your food is ready."
"Who's Aero? Am I Aero?" Biting my lip, I started to get a sinking feeling of what was really going on.

"Ah. There you are sweetie." The woman in question looked up from her coffee smiling at me as I entered the room at sat at the table. "Hope you like your food."
"Thank you...mom?" I said slowly, watching her reaction.

"Is that a question?"

"N-no."

Not knowing what else to do, I busied myself poking small bites of the eggs that had been placed before me with my fork. My 'mom' going back to her newspaper.
'I don't know how, I don't know why, but SOMEHOW I ended up in another body!'

"Dear are you alright? You're starting to look pale. Are you nervous about your first day at Beacon?"
I dropped my fork. "Beacon?"

Her forehead wrinkled.
"Are you still half asleep? Go take out the kitchen trash, maybe the fresh air will help."

Maybe that's a good idea I really COULD use a little air to help me sort things out. "Alright then..." I left the table and picked up the trashcan heading outside. As the door clicked open, sunlight poured from the outside forcing me to shield my eyes for a moment, but when I opened them...

"Wow..."

I wasn't in the suburbs anymore, before me stretched a veritable metropolis! Buildings as far as the eye could see, countless people bustling by with each one of them having somewhere to be. My breath caught in my throat as I came to a realization. This place looked familiar, very familiar...but I couldn't quite place it. It's like the answer was at the very tip of my tongue but still out of reach. "I know this place...I do."

Of course, I was zoned out the entire time while walking causing me to bump into someone.
"Hmmm?"

I heard an old grunt in front of me and looked up, when I saw who it was my eyes practically bulged out of their sockets! Right before me was an old man with no hair on the top of his head but with gray hair on the sides. His eyebrows were massive and his eyes were unimpressive black lines. He looked at me and waved, giving what I'm pretty sure was a friendly sounding grunt. "YOU! You're that old man from the show! The one that basically runs every store!"

"Hrmmm?"
He turned his head and let out a confused grunt. I swear, it's like the only way this guy can speak is in different kinds of grunts. I'm...not actually sure if I've ever heard him say a single word. Keeping true to this tradition, he nodded and gave me a small grunt before wheeling some big box into a nearby store.

"I don't believe this, if he's here then...I'm in Vale!?"

No sooner had I said this when a dark figure walked by. This person was completely black as if they were made out of darkness. Just casually strolling along with no one else paying him any mind as if his appearance was completely normal. It wasn't the only one either. In fact, many of the residents moving along the city were also shadow-like people.

"Ha...ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..." There was doubt about it now. Where else would you find such a ridiculous sight? What, have these characters not been unlocked yet? "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..." I just stood there giggling like a lunatic, I probably looked pretty strange but right now I didn't care.

"YEEEEEEEES! MY WISH ACTUALLY CAME TRUE!" A couple of people on the side of the road stopped, giving me weird stares but I ignored them.

"Aero!"

"Huh?" I turned my head to the voice coming from my house.

"What's taking so long? Don't tell me you got lost taking out the trash."

"Ah right..." Though this does raise an important question though. What happened to the REAL Aero, Did he just be okay? What about Cameron? Would he be okay without me there? These were some seriously troubling questions, but right now I didn't have the answer to any of them. Dumping the trash into a nearby alley I hurried back into the house for a moment and put the trash can back into the kitchen.

"Hey uh...mom, I'm gonna go take a look around the city for a bit."

Aero's mom blinked in surprise, setting down her coffee mug. "Look around? Haven't you already seen most of it by now?"

"Er, yeah but I'm just gonna go for a walk. Clear my head, you know?"

She nervously bit her lip, silent for a moment, her eyes intently studying me. " Just a short walk? You PROMISE you're going to come back?"

"Well yeah." 'What's she so worried about?' "Why wouldn't I return?"

The woman gave me a bemused expression before shaking her head. "Alright Aero go ahead, in the end the choice is up to you. Just PLEASE come back before 8:30, before the transport leaves for the academy."

"Eight-thirty got it, be right back!"

"Holy moly..." Around me endless structures towered above, as if they were reaching into the sky.

I've never been in a big city before, kind of only ever lived in the suburbs. It's not like I've never seen big buildings before, just not so many close to each other like this. Even more impressive was the towering highway bridge that somehow stood even taller than most of the buildings! I mean, that is kind of practical since there's more room for vehicles, but if an accident ever occurs, those guys are screwed. There was just an amazing kind of energy to Vale, almost the city had come alive.

"Extra extra! Faunus rallies on the rise, read all about it!"
"Get your piping hot schnitzel here!"
"Departing now for 87th and Brine! Last call for entry!"

Everywhere I looked, it seemed as if there wasn't a single business or person who wasn't occupied with something. The city that never sleeps.

"I'm just glad I'm here in Vale..."

'Things would be a whole lot different if I was in one of the other kingdoms. The freezing Atlas, the shady Mistral or ugh...the desolate Vacuo.' I shuddered, imagining myself trying to live in the scorching wasteland of Vacuo. I really did kind of luck out when it came to where I was...

*GRRRRRRWWWWWW* A low growl and gnawing sensation came from my stomach interrupting my train of thought.

"Oh...right, I left in such a hurry I didn't get to eat anything before going sightseeing. Let's see..."

Looking around, I spotted an outdoor restaurant. Each table with a large white and orange umbrella above it as well as a vase of colorful flowers adorned on it for decoration. That seems like a pretty good place to start with.

"Hello sir, my name is Taupe~" A cheerful voice greeted me as I entered. A young faunus woman with chestnut colored dog ears and hair walked right up giving me an engaging smile "Welcome to Outdoor Bistro. Will it be just you dining with us today?"

'My first encounter with a faunus...' Look at those fluffy little ears, I just wanna play with them...I wonder if she'd let me tou-

"S-sir?"

"Huh?"

Snapping back to reality, the girl looked at me with a guilty expression, her brown ears flat against her head. Aw shit, she caught me staring...

"I apologize!" Taupe quickly bowed her head. "Would you prefer if another employee assisted you?"

"What?" The heck is she apologizing for?

"I'd understand if you did, whatever makes your dining experience here a better one."

"No look...it's fine, you didn't do anything wrong."

The waitress touched her chest letting out a sigh, visibly relieved. "I apologize for that sir, do you have a preference of which table you'd like to sit at? Would you prefer to eat indoors or outdoors?"

"I would prefer outdoors."

"Right this way then." she led me outside to the tables, before handing me a menu. "I'll be back to check up on you soon, let me know if there is anything else I can do to make your experience here a good one."

"Thank you very much Taupe."

With a brief nod and a smile, she left me alone to look at my menu.

"Well, that was weird..." *GRRRRRROOWWWWWWLLLLL* "Ugh..." I gripped my gut as my stomach once more voiced it's displeasure at being ignored. "Alright alright, I get it, shut up." Let's see, what sounds good right now? Blueberry pancakes sound nice but I don't want something too buttery and sugary right now. Come to think of it, how much money do I even have?

Digging into Aero's wallet, I found lien of various colors. Light blue, light purple, light pink, light yellow and light green. "Okay...?" I turned over the various bills in my hand. "Where are the numbers? How much is this shit worth?!"

"E-excuse me, are you ready to order or is something wrong?" Taupe returned holding a pen and a notepad with an uneasy expression.

"Er, it's nothing. I'll take the hashbrowns and breakfast quiche."

"Of course, good choice sir." Without another word, she took the menu and quickly left not looking back. 'Seriously...what's with her?'

With it being a while until my food arrived, I lazily looked around the city for something of interest when I saw something that made my breath catch in my throat. In a shop ahead, not far from my current position walked a familiar face. A male with distinctive spiky silver hair, relaxed expression, and a condescending smile on his face appeared. Mercury Black lazily rested against the side of a bookstore waiting for someone. Shortly after, there was a light ringing sound of a bell as the door next to him opened and a dark-skinned female with light green hair, reminiscent of a dark elf walked out.

'What's going on?! Why are Emerald and Mercury HERE of all places?! They weren't present in the early episodes, they aren't supposed to show up until later!'

The two of them stood roughly 20 feet from when I was seated outside of the restaurant. Leaning back in my chair, I pretended to be immersed in deciding what to pick from the menu trying to listen in.

"Well, how'd...the old buzzard...generous terms?"

"He's...albeit reluctantly. This...long run...for now."

"Relax, we'll...for now...the job. What do you..."

Sadly the bustling city was anything but quiet, even being this close to them, I could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation, and it wasn't exactly useful. Taking a deep breath, I took the risk, carefully turning around to watch the two of them to see if I could find out anything more. At the very least I might be able to see where they were headed to next. Emerald and Mercury continued to talk, oblivious to me watching.

"Cinder...not happy."

With a sigh, Emerald lightly shook her head in response to something Mercury had said when all of the sudden she perked up and glanced in my direction causing our eyes to meet. 'Oh no...' My heart sank in my chest, I casually looked around from left to right as if taking in the sights of the city and turning back to my menu.

"Mercury...watching us..."

"Finally...excitement."

'Shit!'

What do I do?! What the hell should I do?! Putting my shaky hands on the table I briefly considered running before discarding the idea. 'There are two of them to run from!' Even if I could escape, Emerald had already seen my face so I'd have to watch my back 24/7. ! 'I don't have my weapon right now, so fighting them isn't an option either!'

The footsteps behind became louder as the two of them started towards me. Each step forming a dark pit in my chest. 'If I can't run, or hide, or even fight, then that just leaves one option...I just hope I can pull it off...'

With my back still to the two of them, I stealthily reached forward, pulling the fresh flowers out of the vase on my table and placing them in front of me. No sooner had I finished this when the footsteps behind me stopped.

"Well now." Mercury said, casually slinging an arm around my shoulder. "I couldn't help but notice you'd taken a particular interest in me and my friend here. Mind telling me why that is?"

'Shit...stay calm!' My throat was dry, a cold sweat covered my forehead, my heart beat so fast I was worried the two of them could hear it. 'Just go with the plan...'

Grabbing the bouquet, I removed Mercury's hand from my shoulder and whirled around. Emerald had already reacted, getting into a battle stance with her hands on her hips ready to draw her weapon when I thrust the bouquet towards her.

"Please go out with me!"

"W...what?"

The both of them froze dead in their tracks after hearing that. Mercury had a quizzical expression while Emerald looked utterly stupefied. My shouting had drawn some attention from around us as well. Many people were looking in our direction, I could hear a few giggles and murmurs at my public confession.

"Yes, I have taken a particular interest...in you!" I took a step forward ignoring my heart pounding in my ears. "I saw you from a distance and couldn't help myself!"

The silence lasted for a bit longer before... "Ha ha...HA HA HA HA HA!" Mercury broke from his stupor and laughed uproariously. He doubled over holding his side, unable to catch his breath.

"W-wait timeout!" Emerald took a step back from the bouquet of flowers, holding her hands forward helplessly. "You were HITTING on me?!"

I could feel myself starting to become bolder as she I saw her reaction. My fear starting to disappear. "Of course!" I took a big step forward, holding the flowers at my side, my face only a foot away from hers. Emerald immediately staggered back with a frightened look on her face "How could I not with a beauty like yours? Would you like to get a drink with me?"

"L-look, that's very...nice of you to ask but-"

"WHOOO!"
"You go man!"
"Say yes!"

There were a few shouts and whistles of encouragement from the onlookers around us. Emerald's expression sank, she desperately looked to the side at her partner for him to say something. Mercury for his part just shrugged with a smug look on his face, evidently enjoying the show.

"Yeah Emerald." Mercury chuckled, chiming in. "Will you?"

She scowled at him for a brief moment before turning back to me with a forced smile. "Thank you for...being interested, but right now my friend and I are very busy, aren't we Mercury?"

"C'mon, we're not THAT bus-"

Without waiting for Mercury to finish, Emerald yanked him along by his hand, making her way towards one of the alleyways. In the distance, she could be seen yelling at him over some unknown topic. A few of the people around me gave a few mutters of disappointment as the two of them left.

"Better luck next time kid." said an elderly looking gentleman giving me a consoling pat and following the dispersing crowd.

"That...that was close..." My legs shook, nearly giving out as the tension in my body disappeared all at once. "Holy shit...I almost died."

If Mercury or Emerald were suspicious as to why I was following them, they probably would've waited until I was alone and murdered me.

"Here you are sir." Taupe returned shortly after that incident, holding two trays with hashbrowns and quiche on it. Immediately leaving after having dropped off my food and check, but right now I was too busy to care and started digging into my food.

"I'll need to be far more cautious from here onwards." If that little experience with Mercury and Emerald is any indicator, I can't exclusively rely just on what I've seen in the episodes. Those two might've appeared later on in the show, but that didn't mean they weren't already in the kingdom. They're probably here setting up for Salem's plan to-

"SALEM'S PLAN!"

That's right! The attack on Beacon shouldn't be for some time now, and I KNOW about it! This is it! This could be my chance for something big and great! I can DO something about it!

"What time is it?" Pulling out a scroll from my pocket, I fiddled around with the buttons for a minute or so before the screen turned on revealing 8:02 am. "Shit, I gotta hurry back home or I'll miss the shuttle." Finishing the rest of my food, I grabbed the check and headed inside to the cashier at the counter to the familiar dog-eared faunus girl.

"Alright, I'm ready to pay the bill, what do I owe you?"

Taupe gave a nervous smile tapping away at the register. "Let's see, with the early bird special your total comes to ninety-eight lien."

Fishing around in my pocket, I pulled out a lien of each color holding it out to the faunus and watching her reaction. She raised an eyebrow at me before only taking the pink colored lien and handing me two green ones. Huh, so pink is like, what, one hundred?

"So sir, has everything so far been to your liking?"

"Well...I guess."

Taupe froze up, the ears on her head laying flat. "Was there something wrong with my service?"

"Your service was fine no problems with that, it's your behavior that's weird. You're all fidgety and twitchy around me. As if you're worried I'll suddenly attack you or something. Are you alright? I didn't do something to offend you did I?"

"What?! No no no!" she waved her hands back and forth. "Not at all, I was just worried that...well..."

"What?"

Taupe bit her lip, looking around to see if anyone was listening. Fortunately, the restaurant was mostly empty at the moment. Save for a few old-timers who had come for the early bird specials. After confirming this, she leaned in, speaking in a hushed voice.

"Well...you seem alright I suppose. Some people aren't exactly...thrilled to for their waiters to be faunus. Accusing me about contaminating their food by handling it or other nonsense like that. I saw you staring at my ears and was worried you were one of those people."

Oh yeahhhhh...so that's what that was about. In all the excitement I'd kinda forgotten faunus got the short end of the stick... "Does this king of thing tend to happen to you often?"

"No, this doesn't happen very often. If it were just jerks then that'd be fine but..." Taupe paused looking to the left at a door marked 'Employees Only'. "A few of these people leave complaints and I can't afford to lose this job. It was hard enough to find it."

"Oh...that sucks. I'm sorry about that..." I'm actually kinda surprised, I thought things would be better for them in Vale. I remember hearing about faunus protests here, but never actually SEEN them mistreated. Kinda just assumed this was about the dust shops.

"Don't be sorry." Taupe handed me back my check. "Thanks for talking with me about this. I feel a bit better at being able to vent a little." she smiled, this time a genuine one. "Will that be all for you sir?"

"Yeah, but please don't call me sir, makes me feel old. My name's Nath-er, I mean Aero."

"Alright, you have a nice day Nath-er, I mean Aero."

"Please tell me you didn't just say that..."

Taupe laughed, waving goodbye before returning to her work.

Having explored and gotten something to eat, I made my way back to Aero's house in order to meet back up with his mom. The woman in question had already dressed in herself in professional looking attire wearing a pair of reading glasses and had her purse looking ready to go. With one final swig of her coffee, she fished around in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Here." she said slapping it on the table. "I gotta run, the dropship will pick you up here." She briskly walked past me and then paused. Turning back around, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Huh?!" She caught me off guard, so my hands hung at my side until I remembered her 'son' should probably hug her back. This is strange...I know she's Aero's mom but...she's not MY mom.

"I'm so proud of you sweetie."
"Uh, me too."
'Me too?! What, that's the best response you can think of Nate?'

"I'm sorry Aero." She said pulling me in tighter. "I know you're not the huggy type but I just can't help but think of you as my itty bitty baby."
'Please stop...'

Though I thought that, this wasn't...entirely unpleasant. After a time she let go and looked at me.
"Be sure not to forget anything, maybe try and visit me when you can? You know on second thought maybe I could convince your dad to let you wait another year if you think you're not ready..."
I put my hand to my mouth trying and failing to suppress a chuckle. The woman sighed and gave a sad smile.

"You're right. I know you'll do great Aero, good luck son."

With one final look back at me, she gave a wave and left, shutting the door. Leaving me alone in the house unsure of what to do. Now I feel kinda bad, I'm not the Aero she knows. Part of me just wanted to ignore what just happened and enjoy myself but is that really the right answer? I returned to Aero's room heading towards the closet. Just as before, the silver and purple spear still waited, leaning against the wall. Only this time...it was mine.

"So this is Aero's choice weapon huh?"
Reaching out, I picked it out of the closet. The weapon felt cool to the touch the grip in the center, seeming to fit Aero's hands pretty well. Makes sense considering this was probably made just for him. I thought it'd be heavier though, guess Aero's stronger than I thought. As my fingers slid over the smooth surface I noticed a small oval shape sticking out.

'What's this button do?'
"WHOA!"

The pointed bottom of the spear split into a three-pronged claw and shot out with a chain attached to it.
CRYYSSS!

The claw dug into the wall and held fast.
"Shit...good thing Aero's mom already left. Now how do I get that claw out without ripping a chunk out of the wall?"
Fiddling around with the weapon for a bit, I pressed the same button I had before and the claw's grip disappeared. Okay good, maybe I'll experiment later when I'm not indoors. After hiding the claw marks in the wall by pushing a dresser in front of it, I hurried off to follow the map I was given earlier.

Getting aboard the dropship was a completely new experience for me. If I thought the view from the ground was impressive then the view from the sky was spectacular. I've never really flown before, the closest I'd ever come to that was jumping off of the roof as a kid, which didn't end well by the way. The people on the ground looked like tiny black ants moving about. The sky had other fascinating ships moving about, some of them really big and others average sized. Most of the buildings didn't look TOO different from the ones back on Earth. I wonder...in about 50 to 80 years would my world be like Vale is now?

I cast a glance around the room.
"If only the view INSIDE the ship was as interesting as the outside..."

Seriously, I'd thought that being picked up was going to be an amazing experience where I'd meet a bunch of new characters that I'd never seen on the show before. I mean, I'd already met that faunus waitress, but nope. Almost EVERY person that I passed by was one of those freaking shadow people! It was fun before seeing a few of them in the street but this is ridiculous. Worst of all I couldn't even communicate with them either. Standing right by a small group of three shadow people I could only hear them muttering most of the time with only a few small sentences occasionally appearing like:

"Did you hear about..."
"So anyway I..."
"That's so like him..."

I let out a sigh, deciding to just walk back to the window and enjoy the view when...
"OH I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY SISTER'S GOING TO BEACON WITH ME! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"

My body stopped. My heart stopped. Hell, TIME might've stopped as far as I was aware. "That voice..."

Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead as I slowly turned still in shock. And there she was, the golden-haired goddess of puns herself...Yang Xiao Long.