"Dammit Raven!" was all I could shout as I saw her open a portal to who knew where beneath me. I'd always hated fighting her. Especially when it came up in life or death situations. She knew how to manipulate my Semblance with her own to the point where she could play me like a damn harp. Nothing for it now but through, was all I could think before plowing through the portal at terminal velocity and appearing over a large desert that looked like it was either outside of Vacuo or Kuo Koana.
As the ground rushed to meet me, all I could think was, this is gonna hurt. I was right. It was all I could do to not scream as I landed too hard to roll and felt something give in my left leg with a sound not unlike the snapping of a green twig.
After what felt like an eternity but what my watch said was five minutes of writhing on the ground, I was finally able to look and see what the damage was. The minute I pulled my hand away, I knew I was in trouble. I had a rather nasty looking compound fracture on my right lower leg, and nothing to help me set it except my bare hands, my knives, and any knowledge I had on combat medicine in emergency situations.
"And Yang thought I was being paranoid when I enrolled in those emergency medicine classes." I said to myself in a huff, "Guess what Yang, your boyfriend is about to walk out of this damn desert after setting his own leg and giving it twenty-four hours to heal after Aura channeling like you can barely imagine"
A new determination to be able to jokingly rub the necessity of emergency trauma care helping to dull the pain, I began crawling in the direction of what looked to be a metal comm tower about fifteen feet tall. Upon reaching the tower, which had a few stabilizing rods driven into dirt near its foundation, I gingerly maneuvered my right foot through so that it would be immobile when pulled against. Taking Ai, one of my combat knives, in my teeth by the hilt, I took three deep breaths, preparing breaths before quickly yanking my leg away from the tower and backing out from the pain.
Coming to my senses, I found myself face down in the dirt with my right foot slightly elevated behind me and a dull ache in that same leg. Looking back, I was elated to find that the bone had been set, and my rather depleted Aura had already closed the wound. The major life threat taken care of and healing, I noticed a sizeable collection of bruises all over my body, both from my ass kicking at the hands of Raven Branwen, and the subsequent fall onto desert hardpan from a rather considerable height.
Speaking of… I looked around to try and gauge how far from civilization I was this time. Looking around I noticed that everything that was high enough to cast a shadow had a subtle double shadow, which shouldn't happen since I'm not in a stadium, and there aren't any spotlights.
"What the hell?" was all I could muster when I looked up and saw not one, but two suns shining down from where should be about 3 in the afternoon. I was about to dismiss it as a delusion from a concussion that I surely had after that fight and fall, before logic took over and I took the evidence that was present to realize that I was a hell of a lot farther from home than I thought.
"Where the hell am I?" was the thought that kept running through my head and out of my mouth as I tried to figure out where I was. All I could think of was getting home and back to my friends and Yang. The thought of her brought me up short.
I am so dead. Wonder what Yang is going to think when she finds out that her mom sent me to a fucking differe…wait. My entire rant against my girlfriend's mother came to a screeching halt as something else occurred to me. I'm on a completely alien planet, where I'm assuming no one from Remnant other than Raven has never been, and I just used a clearly artificial construct to reset my… Who the hell built this damn thing?! Again, I paused as yet another undeniable point finally sank through my disbelief. Okay, so clearly there is intelligent life here, guess I'm gonna have to apologize to Ruby whenever I get back to Remnant.
As I ruefully thought about my coming confession and apology to a certain peppy 16-year-old, there was a screech overhead before a large, silver airship that looked Atlesian went flying overhead. Finally, someone I can hopefully communicate with! Running after the only sign of civilization, I was hoping to not scare any of the locals; and I desperately wanted to keep my chance at potentially getting at home.
After about twenty minutes of running in the direction of the ship and desperately praying to any deity that would listen that the ship hadn't changed direction after I had lost sight of it ten minutes prior, I found it over a low ridge. By the time I had caught up to the ship, they seemed to have landed near a rather sizeable town in the middle of the desert. On second glance, the ship seemed similar to other Atlesian airships that I had both seen and been in, but was far sleeker.
After about an hour of observing them to try and determine whether they were friendly, I saw what looked like a long-haired human, which surprised me, since we were on a different planet; a large amphibian looking humanoid, and what I can only call a rolling trash can. I figured that now would be a good a time as any and introduce myself.
Before I could though, another pair of humans left the ship and called out to the other group in Valian, which brought me up short. "Wait!" the one on the left called out. The rest of their conversation was too quiet for me to hear, the distraction allowed me to get around and in front of the group.
As I came closer to the group seeming to be in argument, my Semblance activated. I knew that the darker skinned man would be turning back to the ship, while the other four were going to step out. What surprised me was that the other man, who I could see much more clearly, was the only person that I couldn't get a read on; it felt like he was shrouded from my Semblance. This made me pause, wondering what was going on and who the one person I would have trouble with was. Still, I knew I needed to make myself known.
"Hey there!" I called out to them when they came into easy speaking distance. "I was wondering if you could help me?"
The group had rather different, if slightly comical expressions. The old man had a look of rather tired exasperation, while his orange companion shrieked and threw his hands up in the air quite comically. Problem was, I knew he was going to be someone I wanted to avoid since he would be no end of annoyance. The girl on the other hand, had the most intriguing expression cross her face. She had a look of guarded suspicion and a sense of superiority that I had only seen and felt in Yang and Ruby's white-haired teammate, Weiss.
"What can we do for my young friend?" called out the old man quite cordially. Despite this, I could tell that he was trying to move closer if things came to blows.
"For starters, you could stay out of reach," I responded a little coolly, just so that he knew that I was aware of what he was attempting to do. "But aside from that, I'm a little lost. Problem is that I know you wouldn't believe me even if I told you."
"And why would that be?" the young woman replied quite icily. Which caused me to smirk
Yeah, total nobility at least, probably royalty. I thought with a silent chuckle. Let's have some fun then, "Because your Highness," both visibly tensed at this, confirming my thoughts. "Unless you can believe that I teleported here in the middle of a battle, fell more than a thousand feet with only a slight compound fracture that I set and was able to run on twenty minutes later, have no idea what planet I'm on, then there is no point in me even relating my story." The absolutely rage filled face of the young woman was only matched by the serene face of the older man, which surprised me.
"That is quite the tale young man," the young man stated with a serenity that mildly annoyed me. "is there anyway that you can validate your claims?"
I just chuckled, then winked at the young woman, who scowled and looked away. "look at me," I said gesturing to my attire; Brown steel toed boots, Dark jeans, an unbuttoned, light blue flannel and an ice blue beanie over my white hair and secondary ears that I would no doubt be questioned incessantly over when they were revealed. Under the flannel was a leather shoulder holster slung under my right arm, a white V-neck t-shirt, and a sheath for one knife on my belt at the small of my back and another on my right hip. "do I look like a local?"
"No, but you definitely don't look all that trustworthy to me." This rather scathing remark came from the young woman to my right.
"Again Princess," yet another flinch. "I have no reason to say anything unless you want to believe something truly unbelievable." The snort I received as a reply was all the answer that I needed from her. Turning to the old man again, I continued. "Apologies, but I have a slight attitude problem." A smirk followed but he stayed silent, so I continued. "But I have no idea what is going on. To be honest, I don't even know how to get home." As we talked, my voice went from slightly mocking to a much more docile tone. "I guess I should intro duce myself, since I'm the one asking for help. I'm Nathan Beixiong."
"Qui-Gon Jinn, At your service." The old man replied.
"Meesa Jar-Jar Binks" the rather animatable orange amphibian said.
I turned and looked at the young woman, who seemed rather irate with me and not all willing to offer her own name. I just gave her a vaguely apologetic look and attempted to offer an olive branch of sorts. "Look, I apologize for calling you Your Highness; as I said I have a bit of an issue with those who think themselves better simply because of influence, birth, or wealth." At this I received a scoff and eyeroll that just reminded me more of Weiss. I gave her a small, but sincere smile in return. ", would you prefer a rather mocking nickname? Or something a little more appropriate and respectful, such as your name?"
She seemed to think it over for a minute before turning to Qui-Gon, "what do you think, Master Jedi?"
The hell is a Jedi? I thought looking between them while Qui-Gon considered her question. Counselor? Body guard? No matter. I looked to Qui-Gon as he seemed to come out of his deliberation.
"I sense nothing dark or sinister in his purpose, milady." He spoke slowly, as if weighing his words carefully. "I feel as if this young one was placed into our path for a reason."
Her face twisted into an even deeper scowl as she responded, "I do not believe the queen would appreciate you adding yet another…"
Her scowl deepened as Qui-Gon cut her off, "the queen will have to trust my judgement on this, young handmaiden." I simply looked between them in utter confusion.
Handmaiden? Queen? What have I stumbled onto? As I finished my musings, I tuned back into their conversation.
"You assume much, Master Jedi." She said in a dangerously icy tone, "perhaps too much. I will not allow you to endanger all of us simply to satisfy your curiosity!" she declared rather vehemently.
Qui-Gon simply gave her a level look and spoke as if speaking to a young child, "Milady, I will not allow him to enter the ship; nor will I allow this young man to jeopardize our purpose here." His voice seemed to harden, as if stating a decision that would not be swayed. "I simply would like to get to know this young man and see if there is a way for him to return home. Please do not think of me as a fool because I make decisions beyond your understanding."
Sighing heavily, the young woman looked to me and finally said, "My name is Padme Naberrie." She turned to glare at Qui-Gon, "I hope you know what you are doing."
Smirking, he turned away and began walking to the town. But as we began trekking I heard him mutter quietly under his breath, "As do I, as do I."
After about ten minutes of awkward silence, I finally turned to Padme, saw the distracted frown that graced her features, and thought better of asking her anything. Instead, I turned to the man leading us into town, "Qui-Gon, what is a Jedi?" I asked innocently. "I've never heard of that term before today."
Our entire group stopped for a minute and simply stared at me silently as if I had stated that the sky was red instead of blue. After a time of increasingly uncomfortable silence, we continued our way; while Qui-Gon began to speak after gathering his thoughts. "A Jedi is someone who has a stronger connection to the force than most other beings in the galaxy," he began, sounding like this was something he had not had to explain in quite a while. The problem was that it was simply confusing me even more.
He continued, "we are trained in the ways of the force. These skills include telekinesis, the ability to sense the thoughts of others, and enhanced senses and reflexes." As he turned towards me, I could do nothing but stare at him in mild confusion. At the same time, I decided to spare one of my companions from a rather embarrassing situation. "Jar Jar," I stated without looking towards the mind-numbing amphibian. "you might want to watch your step." As he looked down, he noticed the animal manure that he was about to step in.
"Oh! Thank yous, meesa muy muy thankful to you sir," he practically gushed.
Smirking and turning back to Qui-Gon, I didn't miss the look that Padme was giving me. Nor did I misread the look that Qui-Gon was giving me. "What?" I asked rather innocently. "I figured he wouldn't want manure on the bottom of his foot."
Qui-Gon gave me a look that clearly said he wanted a further explanation. "And how did you know it was there when you were looking in the almost opposite direction of him?" he asked with a slightly suspicious tone.
"My Semblance," was my simple statement in reply. Strange looks were all I was given. "Well, that and my sense of smell." This statement seemed to confuse them even more.
Padme was the first to break the silence. "What is a Semblance?" she asked, slightly confused, and more than a little curious. Qui-Gon seemed to give me a more guarded, suspicious look, but allowed Padme to continue. "Actually, where are you even from? You seem quite adamant we won't believe your story, and since we will be spending time around each other, we might as well hear it and judge for ourselves, don't you think?" At this she seemed almost eager to disprove my story, which the Faunus in me took as a challenge that I readily accepted.
"Before we begin," I started with a tone of finality, "I would ask that you hold any and all questions until I finish." Despite the slightly crestfallen look on Padme's face, she nodded her consent. Looking to Qui-Gon, he gave a single nod for me to proceed. "The planet that I live on is called Remnant, and please don't ask where it is because I have no clue. My civilization is actually has never been to space," At this I got disbelieving looks from all present, even a disbelieving warble from the rolling trash can. Nevertheless, I continued, "The reason that we haven't tried to get to space is that our technology is geared more towards overall survival than that of scientific curiosity, or demand for more resources."
I continued with the history of Remnant, both the official and the original legend. I explained the two different races and the history between humans and Faunus, but neglected to mention I was one. As I was describing the Grimm and the discovery of Dust, and its properties, I could see that all were curious as to what it was. In example, I pulled out Heping; my .45 caliber Dust pistol, and removed one of the cartridges.
As I did so, both Padme's and Qui-Gon's eyebrows went almost to their hairlines for some unknown reason, probably just surprised I was armed. Its kina hard to see this pistol under my shirt. Grabbing the bullet itself between my teeth, I pried it out of the brass cartridge that held the Burn and lightning dust combination that acted as the propellant. Pouring it into my hand I held it out to them, saying "this combination is more powerful since it is a personal mixture to help with handling Grimm since they have rather thick bone masks over their faces. Dust itself comes in crystals that spontaneously regenerate and are constantly mined to be refined."
At the mention that Dust was a spontaneously forming crystal that would regenerate before the refining process, he started to do something odd with his belt.
"Would you mind if I took a small sample of this 'Dust' as you call it?" he asked, expression carefully guarded preventing me from discerning what he was after. "I have a suspicion as to what it may be, but I would like to be sure." As he finished he pulled a small device that looked like a tv remote before pulling a small slot open in the base and after collecting a small sample, pressed a button on its face before speaking. "Obi-wan, can you hear me?"
"Yes Master," a voice responded, slightly tinny from the small speaker. "what do you need?"
"I need an analysis of a sample I am sending you." He said, sounding rushed and vaguely nervous at whatever his thoughts were. "can you tell me what it is?"
"Of course, Master" the voice, Obi-wan, responded. "One moment."
While we waited for the analysis to come back, Qui-Gon questioned me about Dust, its properties, and the different kinds that were known on Remnant. After about ten minutes of this line of questioning, Obi-Wan called us back on what must have been their version of a scroll.
"Master, where did you say you found this?" he asked almost hesitantly.
"A new friend," was his short reply.
"Well we might want to let the Council know about your new friend," Obi-Wan responded. It seems he has access to an unknown variant of Kyber Crystal." At this, Qui-Gon's expression turned grave. Obi-Wan continued, oblivious to his mood, "I've never even seen a kyber crystal this pure," he stated in mild disbelief. "Kyber crystals generally have imperfections and impurities, don't they?"
"they do, Obi-Wan" Qui-Gon stated gravely. "We are almost to the spaceport, we will contact you when we have located the parts we need."
"Very well," was Obi-Wan's curt reply.
Putting away his communicator, Qui-Gon turned to me and the expression on his face would have given even a Goliath pause. "Nathan," he started, his voice like steel, "You have been nothing but open with us, but for me to continue to trust you; I must ask for your permission to search your mind."
Search my mind? I thought incredulously, Is he serious? How the hell will he be able to do that? Aloud I asked, "how do you plan on doing that?"
"along with more physical abilities than the norm for any race, the Force also allows us to communicate telepathically, sense the emotions and surface thoughts, and determine the intentions of others." He stated simply, to my growing disbelief, followed by anger.
"So, you mean to tell me, that you have been following along more by reading my mind than listening?" I asked, incredulity and anger turning my words scathing. "is there anything your 'Force' can't do?" the look I leveled on him probably would have lit an ursa on fire just from the heat of it.
Qui-Gon however, was less affected by my glare, and almost dismissive of my anger. "I cannot read more than immediate thoughts without a lot of effort, and doing so without harming you and escaping your notice would take more focus than I can afford at the moment. What I am asking is for your permission to simply find memories of this world you speak of."
"Would this allay and suspicions of whatever you now believe about me?" I asked with an icy tone. "And along those lines, will you explain what in the name of Oum you are searching for afterwards?" Seeing his hesitance at this request I continued, "it's the only way I will let you do this. And I know friends whose semblances involve manipulating the mind in different ways. I will know if you try anything."
When he acquiesced, we moved to a small collection of rocks that were large enough to sit comfortably on, despite the desert suns. Placing himself across from me, he stated, "when I begin, you will be able to both feel, and follow me through your mind. If there are topics you would like me to avoid, simply raise a wall to notify me."
Nodding my acceptance, I felt him enter my mind. After a few minutes of him searching mostly through my time at Signal, Beacon, and any information I had of Dust, he withdrew. Opening my eyes, I could see that he had been severely taxed by the exercise. Looking to Padme, I stated simply, "we need to get him out of this heat and into shade with access to water." She nodded and we each took one arm and began to quickly but gingerly began to make our way to the "spaceport" as Qui-Gon called it.