Chapter 2: Town Defense
A/N: For those wondering what Luna's color theme is, think of the colors the moon turns during a Lunar Eclipse.
By the time I reached the town, the place was already being hit. Some of the adults had taken up arms, defending the town from the Grimm as they continued to attack. I had seen a few outside the town on my way in, men and women, faunus. They'd been ripped apart by the Grimm. I then noticed something, there were no humans defending the town, rather, they were all cowering away in the town hall.
As for the Faunus, they were all trying to fight, desperately. The cowardice of the humans here…I can't believe this. "Hey, you! Watch out!" One of them shouted. I rolled to the side as a large claw slammed down where I once was.
'Skill Created! Dodge [Lv. Max]- When an enemy is going to attack, roll or jump to the side. The higher your Agility, and the higher your speed, the faster, and more often, you can dodge. Enjoy dancing around the attacks of enemies.'
I lifted my bolter and shot the Ursa in the face. I almost dropped the gun in favor of covering my ears. My god, those things are loud. I didn't think it would be that bad. On the plus side, there was a pleasant splatter, as the Grimm's head exploded, splattering black ichor everywhere.
'Acquired; 200 Lien'
'Acquired; 1 Dust phial, Fire, small.'
"You, over here! Move, we'll cover you." I quickly ran over to the barricades and hopped over to the other side. I then spun around and shot down a pair of Beowolves. "What're you doing all the way out here? I don't recognize you, and you sure as hell don't look like a huntsman." One of them, a bear faunus, said to me.
"I just woke up in the forest a few minutes ago." He sent me a strange look, "Don't ask me how I got out here. I don't have time to explain, what I don't have time to understand." Not the truth, but he didn't need to know that. "Fair enough. Hey, it doesn't matter. You help us defend the town, and I won't make you explain yourself. Deal?" I simply raised my Boltor and shot another Ursa, causing the Faunus near me to wince again.
"Damn, that gun is loud." Someone else said. "Either way, let's be glad that…uh, what's your name?" he asked me. "Luna, Luna Eclipse." He nodded. "Let's be glad that Luna here is on our side." The other faunus with us just settled for nodding. Suddenly, everyone's ears twitched. A bullhead had arrived overhead. The ramp opened, and a man with a gray dress-coat on jumped out. He landed right in front of us. Our noses scrunched at the heavy smell of alcohol on this guy.
Of course, unbeknownst to the others, I knew who he was the moment I saw him, Qrow Branwen. I was surprised to see that he was the one sent to help. I was expecting one of the teams, not this guy. "You can all sit tight, I'll handle things from here." He told us, drawing Harbinger in its sword form.
"Like I'd sit back and let you do all the work. Much like you, I just arrived here." I said, climbing over the barricade. "You've got some guts, kid. Alright, we'll do this together. What's your name, kid?" I lifted my bolter and shot a pair of Beowolves. "Luna, Luna Eclipse." I said, rolling to the side as a Nevermore feather impacted where I was standing. I then lifted my gun and shot the bird from the air. "Look, save introductions for later, we've got a town to save." I said. "Alright, you seem to have this group handled. I'll see what I can do about the other group that was trying to sneak up from the back gate." He said, then ran off. It clicked when I realized what he'd said. I didn't have time to think, as I had to dodge to the side.
'Hey kid, you're gonna need a boost for this one.' I could see why. The Deathstalker I had just dodged was way above my level. 'Here, try this shout.' Three words suddenly flashed in my head. I smiled, this would be fun. "Muul Quah Diiv!" a massive burst of power spread through my body. I felt my shape changing. My whole body became more like that of a Dragon's, my shirt tearing to shreds as something sprouted from my back. From the shadow I was casting, I was able to tell that I'd grown wings.
[Play Naruto; Boruto the Movie OST; Spin and Burst]
'Temporary Skill acquired. Dragon Aspect. [Lv. Max, temporary] A gift from an unknown ally, you have been granted the Dragon Aspect shout for a brief time. Use it to destroy your enemy.
Timer; 4:59, 58, 57…'
So, I had to be quick, huh. I spread my wings and propelled myself skyward with a single flap. I had to quickly get the hang of flying though, because I had to dodge out of the way of a Nevermore swooping at me. Just before it could get out of reach, I snapped my left hand out and plucked one of its feathers.
I then turned my focus towards the Deathstalker. The giant scorpion screeched, then flicked its tail at me. I used the giant feather I had stolen as a shield, blocking the venom. I then put my Bolter away, then switched the feather to my right hand. Drawing my arm back, I threw the feather like a spear. There was a loud cracking noise, as the feather skewered the scorpion, going right through its body with no issue at all.
With that problem done, I turned and faced the massive horde of Grimm that was approaching. They'd all stopped in their tracks. I lowered my head, then threw it back, unleashing the loudest roar I could manage. The response, I'm sure, would get a lot of jaws to drop. The Grimm turned around and fled! They must've all been quite a low level to actually fall for something like that.
With the threat gone, I descended and landed. But I had noticed something while I was in the air. There was no horde at the back gate, no sign at all. Which means, Qrow didn't want to fight the Grimm, rather, he wanted to see how I'd handle myself. 'You know what smart decisions get you by now. +1 intelligence.'
I landed on the ground. The timer on my HUD had dropped to two minutes. Walking towards Qrow, I noticed the awed looks on the faces around me. As I walked, I felt the power start to fade, and I was feeling tired. I decided to check my active effects and see why. 'Fatigued- due to your use of a very powerful ability at a low level, you are fatigued. A refreshing drink or a quick nap in a safe place will remove this effect.' Ah, that's why I felt tired. I also saw the Gamer's Body and Gamer's Mind abilities. I'm sure everyone knows what those are by now, but I'll explain them anyways.
Gamer's mind- provides immunity to psychological effects and makes it to where you can stay calm in even the most stressful situations. And Gamer's Body- lets you live with the body of a Video Game character. Although, I had the blood of a Dragon, so I got a mix that could, possibly, become brokenly overpowered.
"Kid, what the hell was that?" Qrow asked me as I got closer. "That, was Dragon Aspect. It's part of my semblance. Although, that shout can be taught to anyone, it would take years to learn. But, for a Dragon Faunus, it could be learned instantly." He raised an eyebrow. "A Dragon Faunus? I thought your kind was extinct. Doesn't matter really. Since you wanted to hold off, I'll tell you now, my name is Qrow Branwen, and I know a guy who would like to meet you." I already knew his name, but he didn't need to know that.
"Alright, I'm guessing that this guy is the headmaster of Beacon." 'ding' Qrow nodded. It wasn't too much longer before the same Bullhead from earlier had flown in and landed. "Hey, kid. Thanks for saving the village. If there is ever anything you need our help for, just let me know." The Bear faunus from earlier, said as he walked up to me. "By the way, my name's Boris, nice to meet ya." He offered a handshake, and I accepted.
"I'll keep that in mind, Boris. For now, I have places to be. I'll come back by and visit later." I turned and walked to board the Bullhead, but I didn't miss his last comment. "The White Fang could really use someone like you as one of its leaders." So, you're in the White Fang, huh? Sorry, Boris, but I won't be joining you guys, not yet anyway.
"Kid, come into the Mindscape, my…friend, and I, would like a word with you." There's the unknown voice again. "Something on your mind, Mr. Eclipse?" I heard Qrow ask me. "No, sir. While we fly to Beacon, I'm going to zone out for a bit, I may even fall asleep. Just wake me up when we get there." I answered, sitting down in one of the seats on the left-side, up front. I didn't listen for any confirmation, I just closed my eyes and relaxed.
-Mindscape—
As soon as I arrived, I heard a voice. "Come sit with us, kid." Following the voice, I found two other guys. one had black, jagged horns growing out from his black hair, and blood red eyes. He was wearing armor similar in design to Dragon Plate, with a solid black coloring, red light seeping from the seams. His armor was covered over by a black cloak. The other, looked rather young despite his gray hair. He had a cloak on over his body and a pair of black pants and combat boots. Much like the former of the two, he had glowing red eyes. However, his arms were marked with blue markings. In fact, his face and pants had the same markings, too.
It didn't take long to figure out I was in the presence of the First Born of Akatosh, and the Black Dragon King, Alduin and Acnologia, respectively. "Come, sit with us, boy. We have much to talk about, and plenty of time to do so." Acnologia said. I complied with his orders. It was bad enough that Alduin was here, worse that Acnologia was too. The last thing I'd want is to piss either of them off. And for good reason, the level for both just showed as a dark red "?"
Oh yeah, I had found out that there wouldn't be an Observe skill, since my HUD already showed my target's level, as well as their health and aura bars. That would come in handy for fights against other huntsmen or huntresses. As I sat down, Alduin gave a small smile. "Good, let us begin, we have a lot of things to discuss, including a training schedule. If you're going to be this world's Dragon Emperor, there is a lot of things you're going to have to go through. Including an eventual battle with myself and Acnologia here."
Acnologia added; "He is right, do not think the fights will be easy, even with extensive training. Our training will not be easy, either. It will be hell, it will be torture. But you are a dragon, and we both expect you to endure it." I nodded at their orders, internally sighing. This was going to be a long talk, and training would be even worse…not to mention, my eventual clash with them. It would make one hell of a mess.
End
And so, it is revealed how Luna will get his training. From the World Eater and the Black Dragon King. As his aspiration to be Dragon Emperor implies, he'll eventually clash with other dragons from other dimensions. Since, the way I see it, all dimensions are connected by hell, for the fanfiction world at least.
I know it seems kinda...slow. But we'll see more of Luna's scheming, like using Beacon as a cover-up for his plans. The students who will join his inner council, which is what his new Akatsuki will become, will survive the events of volume 3. So, if you want Penny and Pyrrha to make it out of that mess, make sure to vote for them in the poll.
