I HAVE RETURNED! I know I've been gone a while, a lot of things happened. BUT, I am starting this story and rewriting some of the others i have in progress. Demon, Bookworm, and Fairy, as well as Omega Fairy, will both be updated within THIS WEEK! Bleach: Arsenal will have at least chapter 1 be updated by next week, and i will try to set up an official schedule for updates. Now, I dont own RWBY, RIP Monty Oum, and onto the show!
Andrew woke to the sounds of fighting. Quickly coming out of his daze, his eyes shot open as he stood up and took in his surroundings. He was in a dead-end alley, and one glance at the entrance allowed him to see a blur of red and black streak from one side to the other. Curiosity struck, and he carefully stepped to the exit of the alley to watch. He spotted a few men in black suits and red glasses groaning on the ground, and two people standing across from each other. One was a short girl in red and black gothic clothing and a red cloak covering her back. She had black hair that changed to red at the tips, and held a gigantic mechanical scythe. Opposite her was a man wearing a white jacket, black jeans, a grey ascot, and a black bowler hat. He had orange hair swept to the right to cover his right eye, and held a cane, the end of which was pointed at the head of the girl. A crosshair popped up from the end of the cane, revealing it was a gun.
"End of the line, Red!" Bowler-Hat announced as he fired his weapon. Not knowing who was good or bad in this exchange, Andrew panicked and took a guess. He lunged at the girl and tackled her to the ground, the shot passing harmlessly over their heads. From his training, Andrew's body didn't stop rolling until he had rolled over the girl and into a crouch, facing Bowler-Hat…or where he used to be. Somehow, the man had managed to get to the top of a ladder leading to a roof in the half-second that the teen was rolling. Growling in frustration, His forearm tattoos glowed.
"Summoner Magic: Hand Cannons! Transport Magic: Step Stone!" the wizard took a step forward as twin white and gold colts appeared in his hands. The singular step teleported him to the top of the building Bowler-Hat just climbed. Deactivating the Transport spell, the mage raised his guns to fire at the man running away, only to glance behind him when he heard a gunshot. All of a sudden, the girl with the scythe was behind him on the roof. Ignoring her for now, Andrew turned back to Bowler-Hat, and found the man was in what looked like a weird jet. Seeing what direction this situation was going, Andrew took aim at what he hoped were the engines and fired. A loud clang rang through the air as his shots didn't penetrate. Bowler-Hat chucked something red down at him and the girl and shot at it. It exploded, with Andrew already in motion to retreat from the blast, but the fire became surrounded by a purple aura. Before the mage could question it, the fire flew towards the jet, causing it to tilt dangerously. Bowler-Hat ran deeper into the jet, screaming something about a 'huntress' as a blonde woman stepped up from Andrew's right. The woman had short hair, and angry green eyes behind a pair of glasses. She wore a white blouse with an opening just below the collar, a purple cape, and a black pencil skirt with black thigh-high boots. She wielded, of all things, a riding crop.
Andrew's attention shifted again when a woman appeared standing just inside the back of the jet. She was too far away and it was too dark outside for him to make out any details other than basic feminine shape. The blonde waved her riding crop, which might as well be a goddamn wand since parts of the roof glowed purple, flew up, and launched at the jet, only for the mysterious woman to shoot fire out of her hands and burn all the shrapnel to crisps. The woman then began to launch fireballs at the trio on the roof, all while the jet flew off into the distance. Once the jet was out of attacking range, the blonde stepped forward, turned around, and sent Andrew and the scythe-girl a seething look. Scythe-Girl either didn't notice, or didn't care.
"Oh, are you a Huntress?" she squealed in excitement. "Can I have your autograph?" Andrew sighed and face-palmed, being careful to not hurt himself since his gun was still in his hand.
Half an hour later, both he and Scythe-girl were in an interrogation room, having complete opposite reactions. He was bored, with his feet up on the table and his hands folded in his lap. Scythe-girl was freaking out over being arrested, as she clearly didn't know they weren't arrested, yet. When the blonde woman first escorted the two teens inside the police station, both she and the officers had requested (demanded) that they hand over their weapons. Scythe-girl complained about her 'baby' being taken away, but did indeed give the weapon to an officer. Luckily, the scythe she carried could apparently fold in on itself into a compact form, so it was only the weight that bothered the policeman. They were much more wary of Andrew when his guns had simply faded away in white light, and they had only continued into the interrogation room when he reassured that he was not stupid enough to take out a weapon in the middle of a police station. Of course, he omitted the fact that it would be hilariously easy to blow the building sky-high with what he had at his disposal. After a few minutes of waiting, the door opened, and the blonde woman walked in. She carried a tablet that showed street footage of the fight in a loop. She glared at the two teens, causing Scythe-girl to squirm.
"Are we in trouble?" she hesitantly asked.
"That would be an understatement." She began to pace. Andrew hated it when authority paced. It made him anxious. "Your actions will not be taken lightly. You two not only put yourselves at risk, but who knows how many others with your reckless behavior!"
"We were only trying to help…" Scythe-girl mumbled sadly. The blonde woman stopped pacing and looked over to the two teens.
"I know." she began softly. "Your hearts were in the right place, so I can't fault you for doing what was right. If it were up to me, you both would be sent home with a pat on the back…" Scythe-girl gained a twinkle in her eye. Andrew knew better. "And a slap on the wrist!" the blonde barked, slapping the riding crop on the table to better drive the point home. Scythe-girl jumped from the action.
"You said if you had your way." Andrew analyzed. The woman sighed, and nodded.
"There is someone who would like to talk to both of you." The door opened again and in came a man. The man had grey hair and wore a black suit with a green shirt underneath and a green scarf around his neck. He wore a small pair of sunglasses that didn't cover his eyes in the slightest and held two items. In his left hand, was a mug of coffee, according to Andrew's nose. In his right, was a plate of cookies. The blonde woman glared at the mage. The grey haired man slid the plate onto the table before taking a seat across from Scythe-girl and himself. Both teens immediately grabbed at the offered food, but the difference in amount taken was obvious. While Andrew only grabbed one, Scythe-girl snatched the other seven like she hadn't eaten in days. Before things turned awkward, the grey haired man spoke as he turned to Scythe-girl.
"Ruby Rose." That must be her name. Andrew forgot to ask for it. "You have silver eyes." The grey haired man pointed out. The mage blinked before looking at Ruby's eyes. They were indeed brilliant silver. All Ruby could do was stutter.
"So, where did you learn to do this?" the grey haired man asked, gesturing to the video, which showed the girl slicing and shooting at the men in suits.
"S-Signal Academy." She nervously answered.
"Signal Academy?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "They taught you how to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" it took Andrew everything he had not to snort. Not to insult her weapon, it was great, it was just that very nearly all of the items he could summon were more dangerous than a mechanical scythe. Then again, most of those items were godly in nature, so it wasn't exactly the most fair of comparisons. He then realized they were still talking.
"I've only ever seen one other person with a scythe technique like this. A dusty old crow…" Ruby perked up, her mouth full of cookies.
"Das mah U-cle!" realizing her blunder, she swallowed. "I mean, That's my Uncle! He was my teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage until he started to train me. Now I'm all hyahh! Wakkah!" she pantomimed kung-fu, making chopping motions in the air. Andrew smirked at the display.
"I see." The grey haired man announced, a soft smile on his face. Said smile fell away as he turned to Andrew. "And you? What's your story?" he asked, warily serious.
"Andrew Blaqreblu. I'd rather my history not be brought up, but I'll at least give that around 40 minutes ago, I saw Ruby here fighting those thieves." He had only learned who she was fighting from listening to her nervous babble before the blonde came in. "I didn't know who was who, but I took a gamble on who was the good one and got lucky. Then I was thrown into an interrogation room." Both of the adults seemed to accept that.
"Do either of you know who I am?" the grey haired man asked, leaning forward. Andrew didn't, but Ruby luckily did.
"You're Professor Ozpin, The headmaster of Beacon Academy, the best combat school in Vale." Andrew shifted in his seat with that information.
"Correct." Finally, names to faces! Now if only the blonde with a flagpole up her ass would reveal hers. "It's nice to meet the both of you."
"Feeling's mutual." Andrew grunted and felt the blonde glare at him again.
"Nice to meet you as well." Ruby respectfully returned.
"Did you come here to enroll?" Ozpin asked. Andrew chose to remain silent
"My older sister is going this year. I came to see her off."
"Would either of you like to join her?" he asked, taking Andrew's silence as a 'no'. Ruby was flabbergasted.
"But I still have two years at Signal!" Ruby protested
"I don't have money." Andrew revealed with a suspicious look. He got a few odd looks but no one questioned it.
"I'm sure I can pull some strings and allow you both entrance." Ozpin announced with a look to the blonde, who turned away.
"What do you say? Would you like to come to my school?" Andrew and Ruby glanced at each other for a moment before turning to the headmaster.
"More than anything." Ruby accepted
"Get me access to a library and I'm game." Andrew announced. A pleasant smile fell upon Ozpin's face.
"Brilliant. You two may leave. The semester begins in three days, and the Bullheads leave for the school in two."
"Actually, do you mind if I leave for the school tonight? I imagine the school library is more informative than the public." Ozpin and the blonde, who Andrew just decided to dub 'Witch' at this point from how she dressed, shared a surprised look before turning back to the brunette.
"If you're that eager to learn, I don't see why not. Though you may want to bring more than you're wearing now." Andrew spared a glance towards his own form of dress. A pair of worn blue jeans, mismatched running shoes, and a black hoodie over a lime green shirt. Looking back at the two, he nodded.
"Give me a few minutes to grab my stuff, and I'll be good to go." Ozpin waved towards the door, which caused the teen to notice that Ruby was waiting by it.
"We will be waiting next to the police station." Andrew nodded and opened the door, allowing Ruby to go first. She gave a quick 'thanks' before she sprinted down the hallway with an excited shriek. The mage snorted when he saw her pause for half an instant to snatch her folded-up weapon from a random cop before literally blurring out the front doors. For some reason, rose petals followed her path. Shaking his head, the brunette exited the building before accelerating into a moderate jog down completely random streets, memorizing the path so he can return. Once he was far enough, and in a side street, his arms glowed as he summoned a backpack full of clothes, a charger, and some notebooks. A pair of headphones appeared around his head, which he plugged into his phone and started playing music. He then jogged back over to the police station, finding Ozpin and Witch waiting but a few meters from the front doors.
"Alright, let's go." He followed them to what looked like an oversized helipad, upon which another of those weird jet-things sat. The three of them climbed inside, and the vehicle carried them up towards a cliff, upon which sat a fucking castle?! The teen choked on the water that had been offered to him. With a knowing smirk, Ozpin spoke up.
"Quite the sight, isn't it?"
"I thought this shit was a school." Witch glared at him for the cuss, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Ozpin simply chuckled at his reaction.
"Obviously, we would need the best resources available for what's taught here." Looking back to the window, Andrew prayed to every deity he could think of that he hadn't signed up for something batshit. Once they landed, Ozpin announced that he had to organize Andrew and Ruby's entrance into Beacon Academy, and left Witch to tour the brunette around. He assumed it was a combat school by the literal two dozen training grounds, and kept all questions for himself since he knew that he was gonna spend as much time as he could learning what the fuck this place is. Since that was where he originally mentioned he was going to go, Witch ended the tour by showing him where the library was. He thanked her and went inside, where he grabbed as many books as he could that had 'History' written on it. He found a table, plopped them all down, and started getting set up. He took out an empty notebook and a pencil, downed his medicine since he didn't know when his last dose was, and opened up A Grimm History. Almost off the bat, his right hand was going mad with notes. As a mage, his power came from his intelligence, and the best sources of information were books. Considering he seemed to be in a different world, he also needed an explanation for his abilities. He saved a section in his notebook when he found that this 'Aura' that the book spoke about seemed like it could be his alibi. Was alibi the correct term? He stopped caring when he stumbled upon the term: 'Faunus'. Interesting. A faun is a mythological creature that is half man, half goat of Grecian origin. Perhaps this world has human-animal hybrids? He'd have to grab an anatomy book if so.
Oh. They did indeed exist, but were discriminated against and treated like blacks during the slavery period due to their traits. Why are humans so stupid? And cruel? Hopefully, they had gotten past that point like humans did in his own world. He left a few pages blank for further analysis on Faunus before continuing on. It was saddening to find that all documented historical events were either Faunus or 'Grimm' related. Considering that these 'Grimm' seemed to actually be enemies, and that there seemed to be variants on the species, Andrew saved 'Grimm' related notes for a second notebook. After reading through four other history books to both double-check facts and make sure he didn't miss any events, he placed the books in what he hoped were their original places and searched for what was next on his list. When he returned to his seat, he held three books on Aura, three on Faunus anatomy, and four on Grimm variants. He started with Faunus anatomy.
He counted how many pages he'd saved originally before making a mental note to only fill half of them with notes from the books. If he found a Faunus at this school, he'd learnt, for Huntsman, then he would undoubtedly ask them if he could run a few tests with them. Unlike some that he knew, he had morals. He would wait for permission and he would never mutilate. He tried to learn as much as he could while injuring as little as possible. He almost wrote too much. He luckily managed to refrain himself from crossing over into the space he'd saved for possible physical tests. He flipped his notebook over to the section for Aura, then opened the book onto the index. Once again, he split the blank pages in half and dedicated the second half for a different part, this instead saved for 'Semblances'. He cracked his back and fingers as he stretched. He scrolled around on his playlist, finding a song he wasn't in the mood for had begun to play. He instead played one without lyrics. It helped him focus on the words he was reading/writing.
Aura seemed to be similar to magical energy, but with an extra perk. If he were to compare it, Aura was magical energy that passively activated Enhancer Magic without the drawback of constant energy supplementation. The enhancement only deactivated when there wasn't enough energy to keep it up. Fascinating. Semblances seemed to both be the perfect explanation for his powers, and the worst handicap. Semblances were special abilities people would unlock upon gaining access to their aura, each specific to the user. As much as he wanted to say that his magic was his Semblance, he couldn't. Semblances were specific, and there were two main theories about how they formed: Either Semblances formed around the user's personality, or their personality was subconsciously formed around the user's Semblance. The main problem, was that the information given to the teen explained that Semblances would do one thing, and one thing only, which completely contradicted the inherent versatility that Andrew's magic supplied. He slumped in his seat and thought it over.
He could use his preferred magic by claiming his Semblance gave him the ability to actualize anything he knew how to do scientifically, which both seems a too unrestrictive to be unquestioned and completely denied him use of his most powerful magic. Or, he could claim his Borrower Magic was his Semblance. However, the accompanying problems were that the full effects seemed far too powerful to be realistic and denied him use of slightly over 90% of his abilities. The main cause of indecision was that there were no indications that Semblances were science-based, which pointed the needle towards Borrower, and the added point that the abilities of Borrower seemed more like a Semblance at face-value. Infuriatingly, the metaphorical needle resets when he takes into account both the questioning people will have after thinking over his 'Semblance' for more than two seconds, and the extreme levels of restriction that would result from the Borrower claim. It took nearly two complete hours of contemplation, but the brunette eventually settled on his 'Semblance' being science-based.
Mentally exhausted from the note-taking and ability contemplation, Andrew checked the time and gaped. It was almost sunset, of the next day. He neatly put way his belongings and returned the books to their original places before exiting the library. Being more comfortable with it in a place as unfamiliar as this, and totally not forgetting where the dorms were or if he even was allowed into them, the mage found a bench next to a statue and laid down, falling asleep quickly with his backpack full of clothes being used as a pillow.
"Andrew! Wake up!" groaning in complaint at the high pitched voice and its intents, Andrew brought his hood up. "Andrew, it's me, Ruby!"
The mage froze, before opening his eyes and bringing his head up. Indeed, Ruby was standing in front of him, smelling slightly burnt and with a blonde boy standing a couple feet back.
"Why do you smell burnt?" a blush appeared on Ruby's face before she turned to the blonde, who began to panic.
"You said I didn't smell!" she yelled.
"Ignore why you currently smell, tell my why you began to smell." The brunette interrupted. The girl turned back to him as he sat up and stretched, joints popping. She began to nervously grind her toe into the ground with her arms behind her back.
"Well, after we got off, my sister abandoned me for her friends, even though they saw each other like last week, and I bumped into this girl who started yelling at me and I tried to say I was sorry and she just started yelling louder, and then I sneezed, and I exploded. And then I met Jaune." The blonde boy waved. The mage gave a half-assed wave back before sighing.
"How long ago was this?" both teens blinked.
"Um, like, 10 minutes ago?" the red-tipped-haired girl responded. The wizard nodded before holding up a hand, and activation of his magic caused his tattoos to glow. Both Ruby and Jaune 'aw'ed at the glow.
"Time Magic: Rewind." He whispered. Ruby's clothes fluttered lightly before turning a shade lighter as the burnt smell went away. His arms stopped glowing as he deactivated the spell.
"What did you just do?" the scythe-wielder asked.
"My Semblance. I can actualize anything I can scientifically understand. I understand the movement of Time, and therefore can manipulate its flow. I reversed the time around you by 15 minutes, to before you got hit by the explosion." Jaune's jaw was on the ground, but Ruby had stars in her eyes in amazement.
"THAT'S SO COOL! WHAT'S YOUR WEAPON?!" Andrew blinked in surprise by her response.
"My weapon?"
"Yeah! With a Semblance like that, your weapon must be amazing!"
"How about you two show me yours, first?" he questioned, hoping to have some grasp of standard weaponry here before choosing his own. Of course, he knew Ruby had a scythe, and he could take a guess from the scabbard at Jaune's hip. In excitement, Ruby grasped the contraption from her back, which unfurled into its scythe form and stabbed into the ground.
"This is Crescent Rose, it's both a scythe, and a high-impact sniper rifle! Built this beauty myself!" Interesting, by the tone she gave, weapons with dual effects were commonplace in this world. Although, sniper-scythe wasn't a good combination. Of course, if she could control the fight and keep the enemy at medium to long range, it would be nearly unbeatable. However, if the enemy managed to get close and she wasn't able to escape, it would speak disaster.
"Um, what's a high-impact sniper rifle?"
"Strong-ass gun." The brunette summarized. "What do you got, Blonde?"
"I've got this sword," he revealed, meekly holding it up in a loose grip. He held up his scabbard, which unfolded into a knights' shield. "And this shield, which can fold into a scabbard so it's easier to hold."
"Doesn't it weigh the same, though?" Ruby questioned. Jaune nodded before nervously sheathing his sword. Both teens then turned to the brunette, who luckily had managed to think of something.
"Summoner Magic: Excalibur. Kusanagi no Tsurugi." With a flash of light, a pair of swords appeared in his hands. In his left was a golden straight sword with a blue handle. Even though it was the middle of the day, its brilliant glow was still noticeable. In his right, was a serrated blade made of chipped obsidian and a hilt made of cloth wrappings. In contrast to the golden blade, the black weapon rippled with a sickening aura of darkness. Wisps of absolute black danced along the metal. Given Ruby's reaction of seeming fangirling, Andrew made a mental note to not mention the literal thousands of other weapons he could summon. Jaune stared at Excalibur, almost in a trance.
"THOSE LOOK SO COOL! CAN I TOUCH THEM?" the mage laughed before flipping both blades in his grip with practiced ease. He held them out to her.
"The golden one is Excalibur. The black is Kusanagi no Tsurugi." She squealed in delight before snatching the pair.
"Can they transform? What do they transform into?!" she demanded before he managed to decipher her first question.
"They don't transform, but that's because they have…special properties about them. I'm not gonna say what," he announced upon seeing the question form on Jaune's face. "But they aren't all that I use." Ruby seemingly teleported in front of the brunette.
"tellmetellmetellmetellmetellme!" with another flash of light, a pair of white and gold long barrel colts appeared in his hands. He spun them so that the handles were facing the scythe wielder as his swords disappeared from her grip in a flash of light. She immediately filled the gap with the guns. Her eyes sparkled with amazement. He chuckled at her reaction, before the guns flashed away. The red tipped girl pouted, which made Andrew laugh.
"How do you do that?" Jaune asked "Make them appear and disappear?"
"My Semblance. I know how those weapons were made, so I recreated them, and then created a portal from where they were recreated directly into my hands. To me, it's just matter manipulation and minor spatial distortion." Both teens gave a deadpanned stare to explain they didn't understand. "Don't worry. I understand, and that's all I need. Now, don't we have an entrance ceremony to get to?"
"Oh, yeah. When we first saw you, it was because we thought you might know where to go?" Ruby answered with Jaune nodding along. The mage laughed once again before waving for them to follow him as he sauntered towards the auditorium. He lead them inside, where Ruby grabbed onto the brunette's right arm and dragged him along, yelling something about meeting her sister. He waved to Jaune sympathetically, who nodded in understanding. Once he felt that Ruby stopped dragging him, the teen stood up straight while rubbing his arm, which was now sore. Ruby reached up to grab his shoulders, reminding the brunette that she was incredibly short, and spun him around to face a blonde woman. Unlike Witch's platinum blonde, this girl had a more glowing yellow tone to her long hair. It almost shined from how clean it was. A quick glance at her attire, and while Andrew was sure another mans' attention would be kept elsewhere, the teen focused on the matching bracelets on her wrists. Having found nothing else on her form that resembled a weapon, the mage assumed that she wielded flip-out gauntlets or something of the sort. He looked up to her lilac eyes. She had a confident smirk on her face as she put out her right hand to shake.
"Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's sister. Heard some funny things about you." She announced. He felt a smirk fall upon his face as he shook her hand.
"Andrew Blaqreblu, can't say I know much about you, though." She raised an eyebrow
"Nice last name. All I heard from Ruby was something about guns and teleporting."
"With what I've told her in the past 10 minutes, you're gonna get a whole lot more info via hyper-speech. Your name's just as awesome. Sounds like it means something?" her smirk grew into a full smile.
"Little Dragon" the brunette chuckled.
"Got a fiery personality to match?"
"You know it!" Ruby popped up between the two.
"Yang! Now that you introduced yourselves, I need to tell you about Andrew's Semblance! IT'S SO COOL!" Ruby froze for a moment before turning to the teen shyly. "Can I tell Yang about your Semblance?" both older teens burst into laughter before the wizard nodded. The younger teen cheered as Andrew crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for what her version would be. Before she managed to say a word, however, an angry voice shouted at the trio
"YOU!" all three turned to find an enraged girl with pale skin, white hair in a ponytail, and wearing a white and red dress stomping her way towards them. The fabric seemed to be high quality, and a double check on her appearance matched hers with that of the typical Schnee. Andrew's face narrowed into a glare. The Schnee Dust Company, owned by the Schnee family, was arguably the world's most profitable Dust mining company. Dust was a natural resource that existed in this world, it was an odd mineral that exhibited elemental traits. There was a Dust for every element you could think of, and the Schnee Dust Company had squashed all competition it had for becoming the main provider of the mineral. The family that founded it lived easy lives and without care. That, combined with their well-known hatred of Faunus and horrible working conditions, pissed the mage off to no end.
"Oh no, it's happening again." Ruby whined.
"You're lucky we didnt get blown off the side of the cliff!" the Schnee scolded. Yang looked questioningly over to Andrew. He made a gesture to let her know he'd explain later.
"It was an accident, I swear!" the younger girl begged. "An accident!" in response, the white haired girl took out a pamphlet and shoved it towards Ruby. Instead, the brunette grabbed it.
"Dust for Dummies and other Inadequate Individuals?" he asked, careful to not go off on this girl he didn't know.
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries sustained while operating a Schnee product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field." came the automatic response. The teen gave the pamphlet a once over before finding the entire phrase, word for word, on the introductory panel. All Ruby could do was stutter, causing the girl to huff.
"Do you really want to make it up to me?"
"Of course!"
"Read that and never talk to me again." the girl snarled. Yang got between the two.
"Ok, obviously you two got off on the wrong foot." Because of his irritation, the mage kept silent. "Why don't you two just start over and try to be friends?"
"Great idea, sis!" Ruby exclaimed with excitement. She turned towards the girl with a hand out. "Hello, Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies." she supplied. The now named Weiss gave a deadpanned stare.
"Yeah," she sarcastically remarked. "And we can pain our nails and talk about cute boys, like tall, dark, and glowing over there." Despite how the last two parts of the description contrasted, it was obvious the pale girl had been referring to Andrew. Ruby didnt seem to understand
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"...No." the heiress denied. Ruby slumped in disappointment, and Yang placed a hand on her shoulder for comfort. A microphone wined, drawing the attention of the quartet. All the students in the room silenced and looked towards the stage, where Ozpin and Witch stood. The headmaster cleared his throat before beginning.
"I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you are finished; you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." He cast his gaze across the horde of students. "When I look amongst you, all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose. Direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge will only get you so far." Andrew refrained from mentioning his abilities were almost exclusively reliant on his knowledge. "It is up to you to take the first step." The man finished his speech and stepped back. Witch took his place.
"You will all meet in the ballroom tonight. That is where you will sleep. Tomorrow, your initiation will officially begin. Be Ready. You are dismissed." Both professors left the stage.
"He seemed kinda…off." Yang deadpanned.
"Yeah, it's like he wasn't even there." Ruby mumbled. Silence rang for a few seconds
"Well!" Yang announced, drawing the attention of Ruby and Andrew. "What's this about getting blown off the side of a cliff?" the youngest of the trio blushed in embarrassment. The mage decided to help out the short girl.
"According to her, she bumped into Weiss, who got pissed. In the middle of getting chewed out, Ruby sneezed, which I believe set off some Dust." Yang blinked at the explanation before looking over the red-tipped girl for injuries.
"You sure? She looks fine." Somehow, that got Ruby excited.
"Yeah! That's because of Andrew's Semblance!" that explains the excitement.
"Oh, yeah, you didn't get to say what it was because of Weiss-Cream." Ruby groaned at the pun while Andrew cackled and fist-bumped the blonde.
"Well, anyway, he said his Semblance is something about actualling anything he knows how to do with science!" Yang turned to the male curiously
"Is 'actualling' a word?" he shook his head.
"I can actualize anything I scientifically understand. In simple terms, if I know how it works, I can do it with my Semblance."
"Cool. Either of you know where the ballroom is?" laughing, the brunette waved for them to follow him as he moved to exit the building. Due to both girls' attention being drawn away regularly, it took until nightfall for the trio to get to the ballroom, where almost all floor space was already taken by students. Ruby and Yang changed into their nightwear before they managed to find a spot just large enough for the two to sit together. They were saddened that they couldn't find a spot big enough for the three of them, but the wizard waved it off with a smile and said goodnight to both. He wandered around for a few minutes before finding an empty spot by a wall. He sauntered over and saw a trio, two girls and one guy set up right next to the place he saw.
"Excuse me," all three turned to him and he pointed to the empty space. "This taken?" The girl with the green hair and the guy with the silver hair turned to the girl with the black hair.
"No. Go ahead. It's not as if there's really any other place." She spoke. He nodded and dropped his bag against the wall before kneeling before it and searching through it. He took out the usual stuff, toothbrush and toothpaste, his pill bottle, and a set of clothes that seem normal to sleep in. He downed a pill with ease before slipping the bottle back in his bag. Having seen others do the same and finding he didn't care either way, the mage casually began to put on his clothes of choice. Socks, a pair of black exercise shorts, and a green top. He dug through a little more and took out a trench coat he had found a few years back. It was perfectly intact, save for stains. He then adjusted everything so the coat would work like a blanket and his backpack, a pillow.
"That doesn't seem all that comfortable for sleeping." Turning his head, Andrew found that the dark skinned girl with the green hair had pointed out his set up. She was wearing tan sweatpants and a green crop top.
"I've slept in worse." The teen waved off. "Andrew Blaqreblu, by the way."
"Emerald Sustrai."
"Cinder Fall. Pleasure to be of acquaintance." The black haired girl asked. She was wearing a red and black nightgown. Silence rang for a moment before the guy with the grey hair got elbowed by Emerald.
"What?" he complained. Emerald and Cinder motioned towards the mage. "Oh. Mercury Black. Nice to meet you." He was wearing a grey tank top and sweatpants with loafers that fully encompassed his feet. With greetings out of the way, Andrew got up towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once finished, he returned to where he was sleeping for the night and took out a notebook from his bag, this filled with information he saved on Grimm variants. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cinder reading some book, and Emerald and Mercury bickering with each other. Not wanting to seem as if he was eavesdropping, Andrew held in his smirk and continued his studying. He heard shouting, and looked up to see Yang, Ruby, and Weiss arguing with each other while some girl wearing a bow and holding a candle watched. Sighing, he grabbed his phone and headphones and listened to some music to drown them out. They eventually went to sleep after the girl with the bow blew out her candle. Luckily, Andrew didn't need any lighting, since his eyes glowed bright enough to illuminate the pages. Though, it did make everything take on a neon green hue. He skimmed the pages for a few minutes, memorizing the most important features of the beings. Ursa Majors can fire their spines, each head of a King Taijitu controls that half of the body, Deathstalker joints are unprotected, Nevermores can regrow feathers as fast as they fire them. Checking the time after a while, the mage put his notebook away before snuggling into the coat to go to sleep.
When the brunette woke up, he realized he was one of very few awake. Looking around the room, he saw a total of four people awake other than him. Cinder was stretching next to him, the girl with the bow from last night was missing, presumably for breakfast, a man with black hair that had a single pink highlight was performing some morning exercises by a window, and a redhead girl in workout attire was stretching out her legs for what the mage guessed was a morning run. Getting up, the teen completed his own pre-exercise stretching before falling and completing a set of 100 push-ups with ease, then stitching positions and performing 100 sit-ups. He then stood and completed his morning routine with 100 squats. He grabbed his stuff and walked over to the cafeteria, which was serving a breakfast of eggs and bacon. He had a coffee join his meal, and by the time he returned to the ballroom, almost everyone else had woken up. Seeing most of the students going towards the locker room, the brunette followed.
Deciding to try his best to keep his magic a secret, he summoned his suit inside of his bag. Once he set it down on a bench, he took out his suit, piece by piece, and began the process of putting it on. There were five parts to his suit: the black diamantephene-lined spandex suit that ended at his neck, ankles, and wrists acted as the bottom layer and had several points upon which the other parts could lock onto. Then there was the grey exoskeleton with green highlights and his hero symbol engraved onto the chest. He slipped his elbow-length gloves over the sleeves of the suit and locked it in place via the zipper that wrapped around his elbow. He grabbed the hooded mask that he usually wore and clipped only the hood in place so the mask hung off the back of his neck. He then released a suffering sigh and began the irritating process of his boots. Because of the way it was manufactured and the armor the teen added atop it, putting on his boots involved moving a lot of said armor and hooking things into other things.
Once everything was comfortably in its place, the mage did a few more stretches to get readjusted to wearing the uniform. He then began on his way towards where Witch had asked the students to meet, only to have his instincts scream at him. He ducked under something and reached up, grasping a metal shaft and holding on tightly. Something that had been connected to what he grabbed flew off and hit a wall with a groan of pain. Andrew looked up to see it was Jaune. Blinking in surprise, the teen looked at what he grabbed and saw a gold and red mechanical spear.
"U-um, Excuse me?" a girls voice asked from behind him. He turned and saw the redhead that had been stretching earlier. She wore a red and gold outfit that reminded the brunette of a Spartan, but she also seemed really nervous. "M-may I please have my weapon?"
Shrugging, the teen did so, but before he let go, he spoke up
"Andrew Blaqreblu." The girl made a surprised noise
"What?"
"My name. Andrew Blaqreblu."
"Oh, my name is Pyrrha." He let go of the spear. Pyrrha clicked a button and the spear became a sword, which she sheathed on her back, behind a shield the mage just noticed.
"If ya don't mind, why did you throw a spear at poor Jaune here?"
"Weiss asked me to." Just the girls' name brought the teen irritation.
"And why did she ask you to?"
"He had been bothering her." That doesn't seem like Jaune. He may have only spent a few minutes near the man, but it was obvious that the teen had no self-confidence. There was no way he would be able to talk long enough to bother the pale girl. He'd have to get the full story.
"I see." He announced. "C'mon, we need to get to the cliff. I'm not too sure, but I think Ozpin's gonna make us jump off it."
"I-I'm sorry?" she asked as the two began walking.
"Why else would we be at a cliff for an Initiation? I speculate that the forest we passed over on the ride here is full of Grimm, and we'll probably have to fight them off while we prioritize another objective."
"You have put a lot of thought into this." The Spartan remarked
"This is a combat school training us to be warriors. We need to be able to make connections and strategize accordingly."
"I understand. If it's not too private of a subject, where is your weapon?"
"I'll keep what it does a secret for now, but I can materialize my weapons at will thanks to my Semblance."
"Oh, my. Whatever your Semblance is, it seems powerful!" the brunette chuckled.
"You have no idea." Once the duo made it to the cliff edge, they found Ozpin and Witch waiting for them. Ozpin told them to wait upon pads on the ground until everyone was there. While waiting, Andrew planned his actions under the assumption that his theory was correct. If the initiation prioritized objective over time, then the teen would find a clearing and do his best to draw the attention of the Grimm. He wanted to fight them so he would be able to find an average ability for as many variants as possible. The more he could take on, the more accurate that average would be, and the better he would be able to point out weaker and stronger variants. Considering the teachers apparently blatantly left teens to fight these creatures, he assumed they were more of the mindless horde types. Considering this was a training academy to better fight Grimm, he also assumed they were of the easy-once-you-know-how variety. Multiple sources agreed that while negative emotions were the most efficient for drawing the beings, loud noises and bright colors were almost as effective. Luckily, that almost perfectly coincided with the bright colors of his magic and his preference for blasting music while fighting.
However, if the mission prioritized time, he wouldn't be able to take that many on. He'd obviously have the horrific advantage of his Transport spells, with both their teleportation and flight capabilities. He also had his Time spells, which could freeze time, and accelerate his movement speed, not including the Time God Magic: Specter spell, which allowed him to phase through objects through some seriously complicated magical maneuvers. Though, for most of his spells, people wouldn't understand the scientific elements of them. Elemental magic was easy to explain, Summoner was believable, and Time was doubtful at its best, but many of the more complex Transport spells involved spatial distortion. He was absolutely sure people would question any of his flight-based spells. Jetpack could be hidden as a fire-based spell, but White Wings was hard-light. Thought, there were the Cloud Runner and Wind Walker spells. Cloud Runner solidified high-density clouds under his feet, allowing him to essentially float, and Wind Walker granted him the ability to literally kick off of the breeze. It was most effective on a windy day, since that granted him multiple 'platforms' he could move around with. He was interrupted from his musing by Ozpin.
"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." The teen just noticed that all of the metal pads had a student standing upon it. Witch spoke up
"Now, I'm sure that many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." Wait, what? "So let us put an end to your confusion right now. Each of you will be given teammates…today." Andrew heard Ruby whimper a few meters off, and he was inclined to mimic her, although for presumably different reasons. Ruby seemed uncomfortable with people she wasn't familiar with, but the mage was more worried of the questioning of his abilities. Ozpin began once again, the two professors seemed to be alternating.
"These teammates will be with you during the rest of your tenure here at Beacon. So it would be in your best interest to pair with someone you can work with." Another whimper from Ruby was heard. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after you land, will be your partner for the next four years." Fuck you. The brunette heard Ruby 'eep' in fear.
"After all of you find your partners, you will make your way to the northern end of the forest. Remember, this area is wrought with peril, so do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path…or you will die." Empty threat, the wizard guessed. He assumed that if a student was actually about to die, then a spectating staff member would jump in to save them. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene on your behalf. At the end of the path, you will find an abandoned temple containing several relics. Each pair will grab one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and we will grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Andrew spoke up
"Yeah. Is this timed in any way?" Ozpin smiled
"No. So long as you complete the previously mentioned tasks, however long it takes is of no importance."
"Sir, I have a-" Jaune was cut off.
"Take your positions." Although confused by Ozpin seemingly ignoring the blonde, Andrew brought his mask upon his face and clipped it into place before getting into a position, since he had immediately figured the pads were launchers.
"Sir, I have a question." The blonde repeated. Out of the corner of his eye, the mage saw Weiss get launched, which she was wholeheartedly unprepared for. He smirked.
"So this landing strategy thing, are you, like, dropping us off or something?"
"No." The headmaster took a sip of his coffee. "You will be falling."
"I see…" Man, that guy does not seem fit for a school like this. "So did you prepare parachutes for us or something?"
"Dude," the brunette cut in. "Does it look like anyone here's got parachutes?"
"Like Mr. Blaqreblu is implying, you will be using your own landing strategy."
"S-so, what is a landing strate-GYYYYYY!" Andrew couldn't stop himself from cackling at Jaune's grief. He was the last one on the cliff. The temptation too much to resist, the teen turned to Ozpin and Witch
"I hope my performance brings you both some entertainment." He announced before formally bowing. Before he was able to straighten, he was flung off the ground. Twisting in the air, the mage basked in the feeling of soaring through the sky for a moment. Sighing in happiness, his tattoos began to glow as he looked towards the ground. He spotted a clearing and focused on it.
"Transport Magic: Ringer." He performed a flip, and he was suddenly standing in the middle of the clearing he had spotted. After cracking his neck and knuckles, His tattoos glowed again.
"Summoner Magic: Speaker." The item in question appeared a few feet away, next to a tree. Music immediately began playing, and Arsenal grinned in anticipation behind his mask. His mask was probably his favorite part of his suit. It was silver and black with green highlights, and he had welded on a mouth in the midst of laughing over the mouth guard. Seeing red eyes begin to peak out from behind shadows and bushes, his grin widened into an excited smile.
"Summoner Magic: Excalibur, Kusanagi no Tsurugi." His two favorite swords appeared in his hands, and he shifted into a battle stance. The chorus of the song screamed out, and the creatures of Grimm sprang forth. It was mostly Beowolves, but there were a few Ursa Minors scattered about and a couple Beringel. Cackling in excitement, the teen dashed forward. Then he reached the first three Beowolves, he jumped up and stabbed the black blade of Kusanagi into the middle beasts' neck. He swung around to the left, decapitating the creature on that side and spinning around to throw the impaled being around him into the wolf on his right. The two bodies slammed into a tree with enough force to splinter the wood, and both wolves released inhuman squeals of pain as their spikes pierced each other's skin. The teen bisected the next two wolves, and hopped atop the Ursa before switching his weapons.
"Hand Cannons!" the colts replaced the blades, and the bear-like being's head disappeared with the sound of the guns firing. He kicked the corpse in the chest, causing it to soar into a duo of Beowolves. The smaller, lighter monsters were crushed under the bears' weight. Upon landing, the brunette spun and blasted four holes into the Beringel that had been behind him. He then lunged onto his hands and donkey-kicked the other Ursa in the knee. He landed behind it as it fell forward with a broken leg. Crouching, he shot once, blasting a hole through the bear's torso. Instincts told him to jump, so he did. He saw two Beringels collide with each other where he had been previously, and he sang with the song as he switched to his swords:
"Without you I am broken, left to thirst out in the Heat!" he landed with his weapons buried hilt-deep in the skulls of the ape-like monsters. He rolled back, swords slicing out the top of their heads and into the air, which caused the Beowolf that had jumped at him to be sliced into thirds. Switching out Excalibur for a Hand Cannon, he blasted a hole in the right head of the King Taijitu that had appeared in front of him. The snake creature immediately slowed down, half its body now unresponsive, which left it helpless as the mage dashed past it, severing the remaining head from its body. Excalibur returned, and Andrew spun like a saw as he tore the oncoming Alpha Beowolf to shreds. He stopped to analyze his surroundings, and found two things. A) The rest of the Grimm that had appeared were fading to smoke on the ground, and B) a woman was standing a few meters away, arms crossed over her chest, and an approving smirk on her face. Allowing his swords to disappear, he bought back his mask and stepped forward with a hand out.
"Seems we're partners, aren't we?"
"It seems so." Cinder Fall announced, shaking his hand.