Chapter 7: Old World Exchange

"And I take it you're Blake" Aen stated with his own phlegmatically tempered voice, prodding for answers in a way that wasn't forceful.

"How do you know that?" She responded hotly, ignoring the easily noticeable times her name was said aloud by her peers.

"I listen" Aen replied bluntly.

Though Aen's attitude may come across as short-tempered and abrupt, in reality it was just Aen being realistic and practical, though he still held a code of honor he adopted upon his acceptance into the servitude of the gods, he did not allow it to completely overrule his sense of practicality.

Of course, Blake had not seen Aen for his practical side, and instead saw him as the abrupt and rude man most people thought him to be in situations such as these.

"I don't appreciate people who eavesdrop." She said through a veil of tangible anger.

Sensing the hypocrisy in her statement Aen felt an urge to retaliate with claims of irrelevance, but did not allow his rarely seen impulsive side control his being, and instead sought to resolve their small strife.

"I know you may not find my presence desirable, but don't you think it would be beneficial that we get along?" He asked "You are only raising tensions by refusing to cooperate. Your friends appeared worried with you, and although I've only overheard some of your explanation, I've gathered enough to know that you should be more concerned with your friends rather than me." He finished, hoping it would be enough to bring the girl back to the reality of the situation.

Blake sighed, though Aen knew that not all of her anger had dissolved, she resorted to reason at the least.

"Fine" She stated and once again returned to her lengthy explanation of why she had disappeared, with the occasional add-on from Sun.

Ignoring the insults of eavesdropping, Aen listened attentively to the story the girl was telling, even if it was against what she had wished. He had picked up some of the details, but most remained an enigma, he would need to know more about the girl to pick up on her biggest motives, one thing did stick out to Aen though, she was in The White Fang.

If she was in The White Fang she must have known some of the details of what was happening recently, she could prove to be a valuable source of information regarding Seraphim and his whereabouts. He doubted she would know much of what was happening however, that seemed like information reserved for the people of higher rankings and any close.

However, Aen refrained from asking about that topic as of now, it was delicate ice he was walking on, and with a suit of armor at that.

Blake's story had dragged on for much longer than Aen thought it should have, and he was unsuccessful in pulling out any more information that would be beneficial to his objective, he really did feel as though he was eavesdropping now.

However personal the subject may be that the girl was talking about, Aen saw it foolish to pass up a situation with potential needed information, especially since he had just lost Roman.

Yet, Aen couldn't find anything useful other than the fact of her being in The White Fang, that was a subject that required questioning at a further date. There was one other thing that stood out to Aen aside from her previous allegiance however, she was hiding her faunas heritage from her teammates.

While Aen could understand the girl's actions he didn't deem it wise. Cohesive working with your teammates required coordination, and above all else, trust. If you didn't trust your teammate to do their job, then you would worry of their performance, invoking distrust and a lack of coordination, tearing apart everything that had been built up to that point.

Furthermore, a lack of faith in a teammate would nurture the seeds of hatred that we bare within our bosoms, teasing it with trickles of malignant drops of water until that seed burst forth into a tree of hatred, bearing avarice and indifference, growing through any and all in its path. Yet, the virulent trees could be chopped with an axe of virtue, though not many would wield that axe for they would first have to chop their own tree.

Aen couldn't ignore the thought, but he knew it was unwise to interject on such a sensitive subject, he already held such a wary presence at the time. As for why that wary presence surrounded him though, he couldn't guess, his appearance was surely suspicious and his neglectance to enlighten them was surely even more suspicious. Perhaps their mistrust wasn't unjust.

"Well, how about you tell us a little bit about you then?" The blonde boy named Sun said abruptly, ripping Aen from his sea of secluded thought.

Though he knew he couldn't give away much information of his presence, the questioning was unavoidable, more half truths and lies would yet again flow from Aen's omitted tongue. However, Aen couldn't understand why the blonde boy had brought the attention back to him, of all the people here he would have expected Blake to revert their attention to his presence.

Perhaps the boy was attempting to remove a burden from Blake's shoulders by pulling the heavy air away from her and placing it upon Aen's shoulders instead. Admirable and respectful, yet annoying.

"Well" He began slowly, carefully planning what could be said in his head with quick thoughts and brief run-throughs of the following outcomes.

"My reasoning for my being here is much similar to Blake's" He started cautiously, thinking quickly of what he would need to say about how his motives were similar without revealing too much of his true self.

"And how so?" Blake replied quickly after, giving Aen just an extra moment to think before speaking.

"You say to your friends that Roman Torchwick's presence is strange. I agree with this peculiarity, and feel as though darker motives lie behind the mask of protest these faunas display." He replied, allowing insight towards his motives in a vague enough way that would seemingly give enough information yet leave important points out, making it an unsolvable puzzle, one with missing pieces.

"What do you think is going on then?" The cardinal colored girl questioned, displaying her naivety through her genuine confusion of the subject.

Aen had hoped elaboration wouldn't be asked of him, but he could reply truthfully to this inquiry at least. "I haven't the slightest clue" He stated vaguely.

Of course, the vague response could still not satiate the curiosity and mistrust that Blake held within her being, and she asked for even more elaboration. "If you can't be sure something is actually going on, then why begin in the first place?" She asked, once again failing to notice the hypocrisy in her statement.

Aen sighed, the girl probably was aware of how she was acting, belittling Aen over things she had done just as well. Yet, Aen thought her a smart girl, perhaps she was testing his patience, or, he was just over-thinking it...

"You can't hope to accomplish much if you wait for the opportunity to present itself and only then act. You must seize the moment and take your chances, even if you risk failure" He stated with caged annoyance, "Of course, it all depends" He added for assurance.

"So your impulsive" Blake insulted passively.

Aen chuckled, "No, though most think that. I am, practical to put it simply. My thinking is to the point, and because of that people can be offended with how I operate." Aen stated with his light chuckle returning at the closing of his sentence, it may have seemed sinister but the chuckle was purely lighthearted.

"Practical or not, I'm still not clear what you planned on doing, what are your motives"

The chuckle faded away brusquely and in its place took a noticeable presence of annoyance at the girl's constant questioning, even though it was justified.

"I'd thought I made my motives clear" He stated, "Yet, it seems you question my moral drive rather than my actual goal." He finished, correcting the girl on an unclear statement that may or may not have been intentional.

Blake scowled, "I'd thought I made my question clear." She replied, mocking Aen indifferently, provoking a small spark of annoyance in Aen to burst, but thankfully to no damage. "For connivence, let's say I asked that instead" She replied in a tone which prodded at Aen's patience.

"Well then," Aen began. "I once again feel that I'm similar to you, I'm here to do what is right." Aen stated, making his drive clear enough to the four children around him, it was simple but he hoped it would suffice.

Blake sighed once again, adding to the myriad of times she had done it today "I guess that's the best I'm going to get out of you. You're right I'm really not gonna make any headway if I keep it up" Aen was rejoiced that Blake had allowed her annoyance and rage to leave her being, now they could finally converse humanly.

"Now that our quarrel is resolved, how about some chat. I'm somewhat of a foreigner here you see." Aen's quick change of subject and tone was uncanny and it did not go unrecognized by the group of teenagers around him, it was peculiar but they brushed it off as the Aen being eccentric.

"Oh uh..." The red girl fumbled on her words at the abrupt change of subject, "Well, to start I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose to be exact" She stood from her seated position on one of the few wooden crates they had used as impromptu chairs and gestured to herself with quick hand motions. Her hands did not linger long on herself and with another quick motion gestured to the orange haired girl sitting to her right saying with a sheepish smile, "This is Penny" who waved to Aen silently with a smile. She then gestured across from her to the blonde haired boy "This is... uh" She paused, realizing that she had not known the name of the blonde faunas sitting across from her, "Sun" The boy informed her.

"Sun!" She exclaimed, and then looked to Blake with averting eyes, "And this is Blake! You two have met though, I see." Though Aen could tell the red girl was attempting to wave away the tense atmosphere that hung over their heads, she was making more of a fool of herself with her awkward smiles and speedy dialogue.

Aen didn't show his amusement at the attempts of joy this girl was trying to create, and instead began to talk, trying to bring the conversation into his favor in terms of information. "Nice to meet you Ruby, likewise Sun and Penny" He said, nodding his head to the two names mentioned last.

"If you don't mind me asking, wh-" Aen never finished his sentence however as a shrill ringing caught his ear, causing him to stop his sentence midway. The others visibly cringed at the sound as well, and diverted their attention to the origin of the loud sound just as Aen had done seconds before them.

Aen's and the other's sight was greeted with bright flashing lights consisting of tones of blue and red, that threatened to blind them with their vibrant presence. As quickly as Aen had drawn his attention to the origin he pulled it away, averting his eyes in an attempt to shield them from the bright flashing of the lights, and soon his nonexistent ears joined the fray of irritability as they were filled with the sound of a high pitched ringing that rivaled a demon's screech.

Above the ringing Aen could make out a blaring voice with a strange vinyl-like tone to it yelling, "Vale police! Hands in the air!" presumably exercising a precautionary measure that ensured the speaker's safety.

Aen watched the teenagers he had been talking to quickly comply with the authoritative command and deeming it viable to comply as well, Aen followed in their unintentionally given example. As soon as all of the present fighters had raised their hands, the lights dimmed and the shrieking of what Aen presumed to be a car died away, allowing Aen some reprieve from the noises and sights that irked his senses.

Although the tones of red and blue had died away a bright light still shone into the eyes of the five present suspects, successfully blinding them. With caution, two men sporting armored gray vests and baggy blue pants approached Aen and the others with their metal firearms raised towards the group.

As the two came closer one looked towards his partner with a confused glance, and sensing the confusion in his gaze, his identically dressed partner spoke up, making his confusion known.

"Are you guys huntsman?" The police officer asked quizzically, glancing back towards his partner for assurance and then back towards the group. Ruby was the first to speak up, easily noticed by her higher pitched voice and began to address the police officers.

"Yes Sir!" She yelled proudly "From Beacon Academy just down the way!" She exclaimed, producing a mechanical device with a strange image of two crossed axes with wheat surrounding it on the front, with her picture next to it. Perhaps this was a symbol of her now known huntsmanship?

Aen had observed that fact that the girl was a teammate of Blake's but had not delved too much further into the prospect, now it was clear to Aen that this girl was a huntress, valuable information that should have garnered more of Aen's attention. However, Aen stored it in his mind for the moment and focused on the situation at hand, the arrival of the Vale authorities.

This could present a threat to Aen, however it could also prove to be beneficial, a threat in the sense that if they asked to see his face, which would not be too far-fetched, they could reveal his deathly appearance, and a benefit in the sense that they could give him possible leads on criminals such as Roman. The chances of it being a benefit over a risk though proved itself slim, pushing Aen to adopt a careful and distant approach to their presence.

Unfortunately, Aen's luck did not give him the benefit of the doubt as one of the police officer's had taken notice of the blood that had found itself on Aen's armor. Of course, Aen had forgotten about the blood, he was the only one here that had been tainted by innards of man, he surely stood out.

It was then that Aen had come to a realization, whether the others had too was undeterminable.

Aen had murdered...

Though it came as no shock to him, it surely would to the others. He had observed the fact that the others had refrained from killing outright and instead had opted to subdue their opponents rather than kill. Aen on the other hand had brutally split skulls, severed limbs, and broke bones without a second thought.

It did not bother Aen, but this was an unknown time, what was the social norm now was most likely far different from that of the past. Though murder was not a particularly severe crime back in Aen's time, it still was capable of green-lighting some of the most disgusting and disturbing punishments that had existed, and that was only reserved for the utmost severe example of murder, lesser murders were punishable with a slap on the wrist.

If these fighters so intently focused on avoiding death then what could the consequences of contemporary murder be? It was a thought Aen hoped he wouldn't have to dwell on.

As the police officer approached, Aen racked his mind for ideas on how to distance himself from this encounter and saw no other option than to negotiate.

Aen watched as the police officer's recently lowered firearm was gripped just a bit harder than it was previously.

The officer stopped and looked Aen up and down before releasing a sigh, "I don't know how you got that on you, and frankly I don't want to know." The officer began, easing yet raising Aen's easily influenced worries. "If it were up to me, I'd have you investigated, but since you're a huntsman that's out of my reach" He stated with slight tones of this man had thought Aen a huntsman as well? Rather than correcting the man Aen decided to work with his blessing, this was a very fortunate misconception.

"Clean up." The officer demanded, shoving a canteen of water towards his direction with a forward snap of his hand. Aen took the canteen with disbelief, overjoyed that he had avoided an entire risky interaction with little effort, and began to pour the contents slowly over the bloodied parts of his armor away from the group.

Aen watched as the water rushed over his armor causing the almost dried blood to wash away onto the floor of the concrete dock, all congregating in a crimson pool below him.

As Aen continued to wash his armor he observed the holes and dents that still found themselves on his armor from his previous fight with the CFS leader back in Vacuo. He would need to fix those soon, not only did they provide a safety risk to the integrity of his armor, it also provided a risk towards his identity being discovered. Granted, you couldn't see through the small holes all that well, but if you took the time to stop and study it closely you would just be able to make out the exposed ribs beneath his armor or his lack of skin and organs around his stomach.

With his short excursion to clean his armor and collect his thoughts on his appearance complete, Aen returned to the group who had found themselves back on the wooden crates from before. The police seemed to have stopped their questioning and instead now stood back at their vehicle talking into some strange black box about the situation, a form of communication perhaps?

It mattered little however, what use could he have for police communication devices?

Or perhaps they did prove useful...

If he could get his hands on one of them or even listen in on police conversations he could potentially learn about any crime organizations or criminals, specifically Roman and the White Fang. He needn't worry about it now however, though that would prove useful information to hold onto.

Trying to steal some of their communication devices or even listen in on them would most likely sour his already foul first impression, last thing he wanted was the police keeping an eye on him.

Once Aen returned to the group that had gathered around the wooden crates he made to restate what he had said before he had been interrupted by the loud ringing of the police sirens.

Just as Aen opened his jaw to speak however, the attention was immediately pulled away from him, by the arrival of two other girls. Aen closed his jaw stopping his current train of thought, and directed his attention towards the two new arrivals that had just found their way to the docks.

The first thing Aen had taken notice of was that the smaller of the two girls that had a strict white theme to her outfit, was armed. Aen could make out the shape of what he would describe as a rapier mixed with a lance sheathed at her hip, ready to be drawn at the slightest notice.

Though the significantly taller girl that stood next to the white themed one was not visible armed, visible being the key word, Aen still observed with caution. The weapons of this time were far different than those of Aen's, in appearance and use alike, there was no telling whether or not the girl had a weapon on the standby given this new time's affinity with strange weapons.

If Aen had to reason a guess however, he would put his bets on the yellow gauntlets that had found themselves on the wrists of the voluptuous girl.

They were uncharacteristically bulky, far too bulky in design to operate only as a defensive armor piece, the girl didn't seem too fond of armor to begin with given her... revealing, outfit. What interest would she have in only wearing gauntlets if she refused to wear anything else in the ways of armor, though Aen was out on a whim, he still took that whim with as much seriousness as he would a fact

With his quick study of the tall girl finished he then reverted his attention back to the white themed girl.

She was mad, and she did not do much to hide it Aen noted. Her clenched fists, stern gaze, and forceful deep breaths did little to hide her visible anger, and only made it far more palpable.

At the notice of the white girl Ruby shot up and instantly began speaking to her in a frantic voice, "Look Weiss it's not what it seems!"

Just what had Aen found himself in the middle of...

-S-

Ozpin put down his scroll and quickly moved his eyes to the tattered leather-bound journal on his clockwork themed desk.

The covers of the journal were made of what Ozpin would have to guess was deerskin, the texture of the soft deerskin no longer was the same however, and was now tough and smooth it's original softness gone along with the time. Somehow the inner papyrus pages of the journal still held together strongly given the journal's overall dilapidated appearance. Given, some pages were missing and others illegible, it was still miraculous how it survived for as long as he predicted it was around.

Most of the the leather binding had all but worn away, but enough of it remained to keep the journal bound together, and in working enough condition for Ozpin to freely read through it without fear of it crumbling in his hands.

And so Ozpin quickly opened it, the curiosity in his eyes practically brimming over his glasses, there was no way this could be. It was impossible, but surely Ozpin had seen a lot of 'impossible' things, why would this be any different.

Yet as much as he reassured himself that it was an impossibility, he couldn't shake the thought of it being legitimate from his mind, he had heard and seen enough things to make him believe in impossibilities. Ozpin took a deep breath and opened the journal checking it over for what must have been his third time, yet this time around he was far more focused on the contents.

He opened the journal and flipped through several pages before stopping at one and choosing to begin with the one he had opened up to. It may not have been wise to break the chronology of the reading, but he was looking for something in specific, something that would tie the knot and confirm his suspicions.

4th of the 3rd Lunar month

This makes no sense, why would Bertrand choose me of all people to accompany the Royal guard, I have proved no worth to him other than at the battle of Falks, and even then my performance was not of any commendable value. Though I do not mistrust his judgment I'm not sure I can live up to whatever image he has put of me in his mind, his guile may finally get the better of him.

Nevertheless, it is an honor to serve with the Royal guard and I would be proud to uphold my task of defending the royalty, as much as I may despise them that is.

Ozpin flipped ahead several pages, this was not what he was looking for. Though the information was still interesting the third time through, he cared little for that at the moment, what he wanted was to confirm his theory.

If his suspicions were correct, then this could potentially rewrite history...

17th of the 3rd Lunar month

I can't believe it, they were actually successful, they were able to make it through the outer guardsmen. This whole time we thought that we were so safe, that the slackers on the front line would be able to hold, we were so wrong. How in the world had they been capable of tearing directly through them, it's a miracle that the pigeon even made it back with the message, surely they would have killed it.

Or was that just a warning, did they let the pigeon go for a reason? Gods, this is horrendous.

Again, Ozpin flipped ahead several pages passing by what was once very interesting information to read, now it was only filler, none of it was what he was looking for.

25th of the 3rd Lunar month

They did it, they actually did it. They made it through the third line, we're all that's left, we need to move the king now, we can't keep him here. Yet, if what the generals quietly whisper about is no myth then we may have no clear path out of the city, why aren't they sending the vanguard out to clear a path, we'll need to retreat. Surely they have gone mad, we can't sit here backed up against a wall, we need out, and fast.

However, if they do get here I won't let them through, they've already taken enough from me, the last thing I would let them take from me is the world. If it means my life for tomorrow then so be it.

Ozpin was close, he knew it. Something in here had to confirm his suspicions, the thought of it seeming impossible was beginning to slip his mind. Something in this journal would tie it all together and he just had to find it, he never did finish reading it after all.

2nd of the 4th Lunar month

I saw it. It's stature is petrifying, I wanted nothing more than to attack the demon but there was something deep down inside of me that was keeping me from doing it. Was it fear? No, fear didn't make a man turn to stone, fear didn't make a man stop and consider suicide rather than face what was in front of them. No, that was terror, pure terror is what makes a man freeze, and after everything I had said, I couldn't face the terror.

I only did react when it was right upon me, and even then I was too slow, I could only fend off two blows before I felt its heated blade down my back. Had Dunbar not pulled me out of the castle, I fear I would have found my end within the palace.

Ozpin's skin itched, yet it wasn't a physical itch. It was an itch of want, he knew he was so close, maybe just a few more pages, the unknown was proving far more annoying than he thought.

16th of the 6th Lunar month

I knew they would have it ready soon, they were gods after all. I could finally reverse the roles I could take the fight back to those demons, with their blessings I could carry the entire army back to Falks, push them all the way back to the fracture. I mustn't lose my head however, I need to keep my temper in check, this is no longer about pride or revenge, this is for the sanctity of our own land now.

They have desecrated it far beyond all reasonable bounds, this is our chances to rid all evil from this world. The new sword Balder made will be more than enough for me to take back our rightful land, what's to stop a sword that can make it's form into that of every weapon.

That was all Ozpin needed, this confirmed just what he had thought, however the language he had thought metaphorical now held a deeper more serious meaning. Were demons actually real, or were they never here to begin with, not much was known of ancient civilizations after all.

He flipped back to the first page of the journal, he just needed to confirm one last thing.

23rd of the 9th Lunar month

My name is Aen Connell, everything that will be written in this journal will tell my story, although one not likely, I am one with hope.

Ozpin closed the journal, satisfied, and reached his hand over to his scroll pressing a button in the center.

"Sir?" Glynda's voice rang through the scroll.

"Call him in" Ozpin stated ambiguously, not many others but Glynda would know what he meant. "Understood" She responded in her authoritative voice.

Ozpin stopped the extremely brief call and leaned back in his chair with his coffee in hand, "This will be interesting" He said, before taking a sip.

-S-

The girl with an affinity for white stood before Blake with her eyebrows creased, her significantly smaller stature did little to betray her palpable anger as well. Whatever it was that had made her so angry went unknown to Aen, however if he had to reason any guess he would say that it had something to do with Blake's disappearance.

Was this another teammate of Blake's?

The others did not seem to know much of Ruby's strife aside from the blonde faunas, and even then he was part of the disappearance. The only people that seemed to know exactly what was going on were the teammates of Blake, and Blake herself. So if Aen were to guess, this must have been a teammate of Blake's, however that didn't address the taller girl that stood behind the white one with an expression that displayed sympathy rather than the one of anger that the white one wore.

Aen had little evidence that would lead to him marking her as a teammate of Blake's but since she accompanied the white one who Aen solidly believed was a teammate, he would settle with writing her off as yet another teammate. Why else would she accompany the angry girl if she was not a friend or teammate?

However, like everything Aen's active mind thought up, it only raised more questions that required even more thought, and then, in turn, raised another question. Aen preferred to think over every aspect of a situation though, so it proved itself as no nuisance to him.

The question that had been raised though was that of the amount of teammates that Blake could have.

If Ruby was a huntress and Blake was her teammate, then that would suggest that Blake was a huntress as well, and if Aen's assumption about the white girl being yet another teammate was correct, then that would suggest that they were perhaps a team of huntresses.

Yet again, that still didn't address the yellow girl.

Maybe they were a team of four, though a team of four huntresses sounded a small bit excessive, given their observed skills. Or, perhaps they were some of the lesser skilled people in this time, in turn requiring a large amount of teammates. Aen wondered about the skill of these new warriors.

Deciding that his internal thinking had gone on for longer than he thought reasonable, Aen stopped himself, and brought his attention back to the two girls. The tension between the two was only growing as they sat in silence staring at each other, though the only one that displayed real anger was the white one. Blake's own expression was much more forced, and it seemed as if she was displaying that emotion more for intimidation rather than anything else.

"Weiss" She began, her voice solemn and genuine. "I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang" So the girl's name was Weiss, an interesting name but a minute detail at the time, what was far more important was what Blake was saying, and not strange names.

"Back when I was with th-" Aen, nor anyone else was able to hear what Blake had to say as she was immediately cut off by Weiss.

"Stop" she interrupted, her voice was low and serious but displayed a small amount of anger, which was contrary to her appearance, perhaps she always looked like that?

"Do you have any idea how long we have been searching for you?" She continued, her voice displaying even less anger this time around, with only slight passive aggression traceable in her voice. She spoke as if she was a mother scolding a child rather than the part of an angry girl that she had displayed earlier.

Weiss paused "Twelve hours" She scolded, Aen now had an idea of how long she had gone for.

Yet, twelve hours hardly seemed like a long enough time to warrant a large search and this much concern, or had she been gone for multiple days and this was only twelve hours of searching for the day? The information was not of the most concern, but it was information that Aen hoped to have all the same, he could work without it if need be however.

"And that means I've had twelve hours to think about this, and in that twelve hours I've decided" She paused again, leaving everyone to exchange concerned glances filled with anticipation, was her opinion so important?

"I don't care" She stated straight up, the shock was clear on Blake's face along with the faces of the others, it seemed this was an unexpected answer.

"All I care is that when something this big comes up, you come to your teammates" So they were teammates, Aen's theory was now fact and it made him proud that his analysis was correct. Aen only spared the detail a mental nod and instead brought his attention to the utterly shocked expression Blake wore.

She clearly had not expected such an answer, which made Aen think that perhaps they were not on the greatest terms to begin with, and this was a subtle sign of acceptance for Blake. That thought was solidified even more in Aen's mind when a solitary tear ran down Blake's cheek, which she quickly wiped away in an attempt to hide her emotions. This clearly meant a lot to Blake, and Aen didn't feel that he was in any position to interrupt the heartwarming moment, he would wait for a later time to gather more information.

"Of course" Blake stated with a smile, her mood visibly lightening in the process. Blake's mood was not the only one lightening however as Aen had observed Ruby's expression become increasingly more giddy with each spoken word until she couldn't contain it and made her happiness known with a shout of "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" It was clear she was happy.

Aside from Aen, everyone had stepped in to cherish the warming moment that would undoubtedly become a fond memory for the group. Even Sun had joined in on the moment, stepping in alongside everyone else, even if he was possibly not a member of the team like Aen had assumed.

Aen felt this assumption was a fact once Weiss pointed towards him with an accusing finger saying, "I'm still not sure how I feel about you!" Which the blonde faunas only responded to with a nervous laugh.

Sun backed off and allowed the team to have their moment, and Aen felt that he was more or less in the same boat as him and turned towards him for conversation while he allowed the team to have their moment.

"She has had it rough has she not?" Aen questioned, beginning what he hoped to be a friendly conversation with no real ulterior motives at play.

"What?" Sun questioned, clearly caught off guard by Aen's sudden attempt at friendship.

"Blake, she hasn't had an easy life, has she?" Aen repeated, making his question known to Sun through some minor elaboration.

"Well, I don't really know her well enough to tell you, but from what I know, yeah." Sun stated, allowing Aen some insight into Sun and Blake's relationship, the two must have met recently given Sun's lack of knowledge about Blake.

"I see... What of you? Anything interesting from your life?" Aen asked, once again posing another question for Sun to answer, he just hoped he wasn't being too forceful.

Sun looked towards Aen with minor signs of disbelief present on his face for only the briefest moment before it was wiped away. Was he really all that taken back that Aen wanted to make friends?

"Not much I guess. I'm from Haven and the rest of my team is there right now, they should get here soon though." He stated, allowing Aen to know that he was part of his own team of what he guessed were huntsmen.

"Other than that there's not much going on with me, how about you?" Sun directed the question back towards Aen, and although he would have preferred to keep the questioning one-sided, he knew that wasn't possible.

"I cannot say much unfortunately as I know little myself at the moment. As you know I'm here for Roman Torchwick, and mostly on a whim, and now that he's gone I'm back to step one." Aen stated, allowing Sun a bit more information than he had given the others, for some reason he felt comfortable around the boy. He felt this unwarranted sense of trust and as much as he would have liked to betray the instinctual feeling he thought it unwise.

"I'm not sure how much I can help you on this one then. I just sort of got roped into this whole thing." Sun responded.

"I understand, not much different from my own situation" Aen said, thinking back on the events that had lead him up to this moment, there were some obvious similarities.

"However it pains me to know that I haven't a direct lead." Aen stated making his conflict known to Sun, perhaps he could offer some help with enough prodding.

"I don't think I can help you on my own, but I get the feeling that this is only the beginning. If you stay around for long enough then you might get a lead, it's just a guess though" He added for assurance at the end, the boy had helped Aen more than he had thought with that one sentence though. Aen now had an idea of what he needed to do next, wait...

Whether it be with Rex and Danny, or with the huntsmen though Aen had trouble deciding, it seemed smart to stay with the huntsmen as they would likely be the more active of the two. Yet, he wanted to keep good relations with Danny and Rex, perhaps he could move back and forth between the two, it seemed doable, but he still needed a way to stay with the hunters, he doubted he could just walk into their academy.

"Aen?" Ruby said, catching Aen off guard as she had caught him whilst he was absorbed in thought. Aen turned to face the now hooded girl and looked down at her, waiting for her to continue her thought.

"It's Ozpin, he's the headmaster of Beacon academy." She paused. "He wants to speak with you, he said it's urgent."

Aen was dumbfounded, this was beneficial turn of events.

He needn't worry of how he would get to the academy anymore, he was invited right in. The proposition was highly suspicious, but highly useful at the same time, it had practically decided on his choice for him, he would be going with the huntsman now it seemed.

"Well, this a sudden turn of events. Tell him I'll be present as soon as possible" Aen responded, to which the red hooded girl responded to with a nod and then lifted her scroll to her ear speaking words that Aen was only able to make out vaguely.

"He said he'll come" Was all that Aen was able to make out before she walked off back towards her group to exchange some brief words.

Sun, who was still stood next to Aen looked towards him, "Wow, looks like you could have a lead on your hands."

Aen replicated an unseen smile with his cadaverous face, it seemed as if he never actually went back to step one.

One step backwards but two steps forward so to say...

-S-

If Aen could feel sick, he probably would.

This had to have been one of the strangest feelings he had ever experienced, there was movement all around him, but he stood still with the moving object all whilst in the air. It played with his senses making him unable to determine whether he should be falling or standing.

Of course, he had experienced feelings similar to this one, on a boat specifically, but even then his experiences with boats were limited. He had only ever been on one once within his memory, and he had felt the same misleading feelings he was experiencing now. Yet, this was similar but so different, these airships were exactly what they were titled, ships in the air, however that didn't make it any less disorientating.

If the strange and unnatural movements wouldn't make him sick then he was sure that the vertigo would do it for him. While he did find the sight from within the airship to be beyond beautiful, he couldn't ignore the fact that he was as high up in the air as he was.

What if the floor gave way, or the ship no longer flew? Though he knew that these ships were sturdy and not even a cannon could stray them from their path, it didn't stop him from running many 'what if' scenarios through his mind like he always did. Even though his body physically couldn't get sick, his mind could still get sick, his senses battled to determine what was what, what was up and what was down.

Though Aen may have made it a little dramatic in his mind he still couldn't avoid the disorientation that he felt within it, he felt dizzy. It was as if the world was moving without him and the added fear of the height did very little to ease Aen's ever rising worries. So rather than focusing on the downsides and the dizzying feelings that plagued his mind, he drew his attention towards the resplendent views that he was able to make out through the large side windows.

The water and beautiful drop off were sights that Aen believed he would rarely ever see again and though they were gorgeous it only made Aen more disorientated as he stared out the window. He ignored the feelings to the best of his abilities however and instead focused on making out all the small details of the academy that he could just make out in the distance.

The academy was certainly a sight Aen wouldn't be relinquishing from his memory very soon, the architectural design of the building wasn't all that different from that of his own time, yet... it was.

The beauty of the building alone rivaled all of the known palaces and castles Aen had seen during his time, human architecture certainly was getting better over the years. The tall pointed roofs and adjacent buttresses reminded Aen much of the capital from his time, Adwik palace was certainly a sight to behold, but when put next to this symbol of architectural perfection, it paled in comparison. The bright lights and florescent colors even challenged the supposed "aura of serenity" that the nobility claimed Adwik had surrounding it, the lights were so colorful and diverse that it made Aen's eyes confused to look at it, as if he was squinting to make out a blurry image.

It was the large tower located in the center of the mass of perfectly designed buildings that caught Aen's eyes however. It was tall, far too tall for a human to build Aen thought, the structure and size of the building was only comparable to the few demonic towers Aen had seen erected during his search for Seraphim.

Yet he doubted that demon's had built this, their structures, while similar in design were far different in terms of atmosphere and look. Where this building held an aura of peace about it, despite its intention of training fighters, a demon's building felt hellish and uncomfortable, as if hell energy was freely flowing throughout the building like pungent air.

This building was far more easy on the eyes, though it was jagged with its high pointed roofs being clear examples of that, it was nowhere near as jagged as a structure from hell. The angles always met in sharp ends, castle rooftops stopping at a point, triangular archways, a throne with a backboard that met in a point, whatever it was it always seemed to end in a point. It was as if the demons were trying to make the castle permanently uncomfortable, making it so that if you ever bumped a hip or slammed your shin, than you would feel immense pain, perhaps even some bleeding.

While Aen did feel that points did add to an overall aesthetic of the building, any overuse of it became monotonous and dull, proper building required a mixture of curves and points. Or at least that was what Aen thought, he was no architect anyway, just a delegate of the gods.

"It's quite the sight isn't it"

Aen turned on his heal at the sudden words which had shaken him from his stupor, at the expense of his fright that is.

When he turned he was greeted with Ruby's lithe frame and the yellow one's own curvaceous figure that she seemed to have little trouble flaunting.

Aen had guessed that it was the taller one that had spoken though as the tone of the voice was unfamiliar, not like Ruby's own high pitched and fast one.

"I would agree, this a sight that I cherish. Though this ship is much less cherish-able" Aen spoke, replying to who he had thought was the one that spoke.

"Ah quit the fancy talk big guy! No need to be so formal with me" She yelled with glee, "Name's Yang by the way, Yang Xiao Long!" She added with a wink, reaching her hand out for a handshake that Aen grabbed with a firm grip, responding with a short pronunciation of his own name. He had hoped his strength was not too unrestrained and he had not damaged the girl's hand, he had no reliable way of judging his strength with no muscular constraints.

Yang just smiled however and tightened her own grip, Aen worried that his gauntlet would begin to dent as the girl held an approving smile saying, "You've got a good grip there, almost as good as mine!"

When the girl released his hand, she immediately lost all air of the brief formality she just barely gripped and threw her arm around the smaller girl who's hood was shadowing her face.

"My sister here wanted to talk to you, but since she's so anti-social she couldn't do it on her own." She teased with a smile.

Aen listened to details as she spoke, yet the detail that they were sisters was curious. They bore little to no resemblance to each other, the way that she had called her a sister was a far-fetched claim.

That was unless their father or mother had perhaps remarried, it was a possibility and the only logical answer to the peculiarity that was the sisters' appearance. The only other logical claim he could think of was adoption, that seemed more likely than remarrying Aen thought to himself, he couldn't dwell long on the prospect however and he instead listened to what the red hooded girl had to say.

She didn't talk, was she gathering her thoughts?

Just as Aen was about to speak up Ruby began talking, lifting her head up only for Aen to conceive the red hue that masked her cheeks. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping out with Blake." She spoke quickly, almost too quickly for Aen to follow in fact.

Aen chuckled, the girl was obviously not the most adept in social situations, whether that was because of a lack of social contact or just natural Aen couldn't determine.

"I respect your thanks, but it is unneeded. I just happened to arrive at the right time." Aen responded humbly, flustering the girl with embarrassment even more, she truly didn't enjoy talking with strangers did she.

"Oh, sorry" Ruby responded, seeming defeated.

"No need for a sorry either, I am nothing special" Aen responded, he knew it was a lie however, he was just attempting to be humble. He was anything but 'not special' a walking skeleton was most likely a sight one would consider special.

"Looks like you're just an all around good guy then." Yang responded sarcastically showcasing yet another one of the differences between the two supposed sisters.

"It looks as if." Aen responded in his own sarcastic tone, which earned him a chuckle from the blonde.

"So, Aen was it?" She began, to which Aen responded with a nod, "What's the headmaster want to speak to you for? You two old friends?" She questioned, proposing a topic to Aen that he knew little of himself, yet he tried his best to respond to the girl with truth.

"To speak truthfully, I don't know why he would call for me. I haven't met the man before." Aen added. It was true he didn't know the headmaster, nor did he know most of the important figures of this time.

His request for him to meet was supposedly 'urgent' but Aen didn't know what could be so urgent to warrant inviting a stranger. Or, perhaps, he wasn't so much of a stranger to the man, Aen had no record of his existence in this new time but it was possible that the headmaster could be observing him given this new time's technology. It was an unlikely idea but possible nonetheless, his position of headmaster surely garnered him access to many things that he could use at his disposal, and considering the importance of these academies he had to reason a guess that whatever he had access to would be undoubtedly useful.

It was a scary thought that he could be watched at all times.

"Well that's strange." Yang spoke confused. She then turned to her younger sister, or at least she looked younger, and said "What do you think Ruby, you were the one with him." It was obvious that the older sister was teasing at the girl by putting her in an obviously uncomfortable position, it was surprising how much this girl disliked social interaction.

"I don't know" She muttered silently, at least she had talked.

Yang frowned, "You're no fun"

She slapped her the back proudly with a smile and yelled, "Come on Ruby you need to lighten up! How else are you gonna find a man if you don't even want to talk." That last part was probably not meant for Aen to here but he had still heard it nonetheless and watched as the girl's face lit up like a bonfire, the red hue that masked only bits of her cheeks before now covered most of her face.

Yang released a hardy laugh and watched as her sister quickly pulled her hood over her head in an attempt to cover her red face. It had worked surprisingly well and Aen only released his own light chuckle at the action, she clearly was not good with strangers.

When Yang's laughter died down she grabbed at her sister's shoulder and looked to Aen, "Well we'll probably see you around, if you ever want to talk with us come to the dorms we'll be there!"

It was an inviting gesture and also incredibly useful, more so than this girl had realized, He now had competent fighters on his side. If they would agree to help him when the time came it would be undeniably useful, and after observing the fighting prowess of one of their team members Aen was confident that they would prove useful. The way that Blake had fought was very unorthodox the way she incorporated jumps and pirouettes into her fighting was fluid and graceful, surprisingly effective as well, it showed high amounts practiced fighting.

However Aen still had not addressed the way the girl seemingly disappeared and reappeared as she fought, it was a strange ability that Aen had not seen used before by anyone or anything he had fought. It made her one of a kind, and on top of that, unpredictable. Yet Roman had still been able to block and dodge her attacks with some amounts of ease, perhaps she was not so much one of a kind, yet she was still unpredictable to Aen.

If Aen had a chance he would want to ask her how exactly she was capable of employing that magic like ability into her fighting. He would have to guess that this was probably a demonstration of semblance though, he had yet to see one and given how this was the first time he had seen such a peculiar occurrence, it made sense that it would be one. However Aen was still unclear of what semblance was, he had learned little from Aesir's mind transfer as he had little a clue of what it was as well.

He had hoped to learn more from Danny when they talked on the boat before leaving, but even then it was still a small amount. It made him realize just how little he knew of this new time, there was much to learn and much to be explored, he was sure that Aesir was salivating at the thought.

Actually, what was Aesir doing? Aen knew that when he had last talked to him he was focused on studying that weapon, Aen wondered how the progress was coming. He was sure he had figured out its workings by now, but doubted his ability to recreate it for Aen. It was a while ago when he talked to Aesir, the last time being just before he left for Vale, Aen had not been keeping track of time but he was sure it had been well over a week since they had last been in contact.

He would have to contact him as soon as he could, hopefully after he had talked with Ozpin, assuming all things went well.

Soon after Aen had finished his thoughts, the airship jerked forward and then stopped it's moving. The sudden movement had caused Aen's sense of balance to become confused, but thankfully had done no more than that.

Aen looked about, what had just happened? His confusion soon turned to worry as his mind ran wild depicting all of the outcomes that could have been happening, however his worries settled when he looked out the window.

The ship had just landed, it was not crashing, nothing had failed, it just landed. Aen couldn't determine just why that ship made him so excitable, he trusted it to work according to its intended use, or was he just telling himself that.

Aen's attention was then brought towards the area where he had entered, he could see the ramp beginning to lower in a fashion similar to that of a castle drawbridge. It slowly came to a stop as it made contact with the ground allowing Aen a chance to step off of the disorientating ship.

It had appeared that his attempts distracting himself from the ships movements had worked. While he had still not lost all feelings of misbalance or disorientation it still held a presence in the back of his mind, though it was small and did little to affect him directly.

He just hoped that when he exited the ship that his senses would return to him, so with noticeable haste Aen walked towards the exit, not wanting to overstay his long expired welcome.

When Aen stepped off the ship he was greeted with possibly one of the most beautiful sights he had seen so far. The ship could not have chosen a better place to land, it had put Aen directly in front of the academy allowing him to finally take in all of its details from close up. What once seemed small from the air now looked larger than ever, the pointed towers and buttresses now toward high above him in the expanses of the interconnecting buildings.

Not to mention the entrance to the academy, it was beyond extravagant. The grass trimmed to a perfect level, hedges lining the walkways acting as a brilliant path marker, the trees surrounding the complex maze of stone structures just outside were all grown to a similar height, their leaves trimmed identically. However they were able to grow the trees so similar to the last was a perplexing thought, but Aen cared not as the beauty was what had enraptured him.

Even in the night the building still seemed to shine brightly, the lights illuminating the elegant building didn't fail to bring out a whole new beauty. Aen would have to guess that building was just as beautiful in the times of day as it was at night, if not than possibly more so.

Aen began to take his first steps forward before he had experienced an epiphany, he hadn't the slightest clue where he needed to go. He was confident he could figure out where he needed to go given enough time, but he didn't have much time to spare, if what the headmaster had to tell him truly was important than it would be within his best interest to be present as soon as he could.

Aen looked around, hoping to find the two sisters in the immediate area, surely they would know the building well. Aen felt his heart jump when he caught sight of the two girls walking towards the building all while being accompanied by their two other teammates, he rushed towards them.

Before long Aen had encroached upon the group of girls and they had turned to greet him, all sending a welcoming gesture or look, all except Weiss, who he had learned was named earlier into the night.

Weiss's look was condescending, yet not rude, it was as if her eyes tested Aen's own, looking for any moral weaknesses or slip of the tongue that could possibly put her above him.

Aen ignored the look however and turned his attention to Yang, she had been the friendliest of the group when they had met.

"Pardon my intrusion" Aen began, "But could you tell me where I would need to go to talk to the headmaster?" He asked.

"Sure thing!" Yang smiled. "You see that huge ass tower right there" She pointed directly towards the center tower of the academy, "Head right towards that and you'll be able to talk to him if they let you through." Aen couldn't tell if the girl was being sarcastic or not, but he still took the information with truth, he hadn't another lead anyway.

Aen expressed his thanks and walked ahead, hoping to make his way to the headmaster's tower, what a fitting place to put a headmaster.

-S-

It had not taken Aen long to find his way to the tower entrance, though he still had small amounts of trouble navigating the halls to find it, he still had found it within a timely manner.

When he had entered through the doors at the base of the tower he had been greeted with a relatively spacious room filled with comfy seating and small tables to rest your feet on, had Aen not needed to be in at the top right away, he wouldn't have minded sitting down and relaxing. The room was awfully cozy and had what he had assumed was the school symbol emblazoned on almost everything in the room, from the small pillows on the seats to the desk that sat across the room from him.

Behind that desk was a blonde haired woman working away at something unseen, presumably papers with the way she moved her hands and eyes about. She must have been very engrossed with her work as she had not taken notice of Aen even as he had entered through the door and walked towards her desk, she only did take notice of him when he was only a mere few feet away. When she lifted her head she expressed slight surprise but as quickly as it had arrived it dispersed, her face then filled with an expectant look instead.

She pushed her small glasses further up the bridge of her nose and spoke, "I presume you are Aen?" She questioned.

Her voice was highly demanding and Aen couldn't ignore the fact that this woman seemed to hold an air of authority about her, she sat with her back straight and her shoulders back, showcasing proper posture, and indirectly showcasing authority.

After hearing her speak Aen felt that he needed to answer immediately after, something about this woman just made her seem very... superior, for lack of a better term. Following this realization, Aen responded to her quickly after she had asked the question, for some unwarranted reason he felt that if he didn't she would do something to punish him, Aen would be lying if he said that the woman was mildly intimidating, yet he couldn't put down a reason why.

"Yes you are correct, I presume that you have been expecting my arrival?" He questioned, not wanting to lose any amounts of formality in front of this lady or the headmaster.

She stood from her seat grabbing a riding crop out from underneath the desk. Gods... what did she need that for Aen wondered.

What lady carried about a riding crop within a school, what would she even need it for? Aen didn't get much time to think about the peculiar and unnerving fact however, as the lady had spoken as soon as she had stood.

"Come with me, Ozpin's been waiting for you." She spoke vaguely and demandingly.

Aen followed, his suspicions about what could be happening only increasing as the two approached a reflective steel door. Once they had reached the steel door the woman pressed a button on the wall next to the door and waited, Aen was slightly confused for a short moment, but his confusion then turned to surprise once the door opened without a touch. Self-opening doors?

That was strange, but what was stranger was that behind the door was only an empty room which the lady stepped into, gesturing for Aen to follow. With slight hesitation Aen stepped into the enclosed room, trusting that it wasn't a trap, surely the lady wouldn't also get in if it was.

Once Aen had stepped into the cramped space he looked around, studying all of the nothingness that was inside the small room, why had the lady brought him into this room there wasn't a thing in it.

Aen was about to speak up before the door closed on its own and the room immediately lurched upwards, catching Aen off guard as it did so. He flinched when the movement took place, and was met with a judging glance from the woman next to him, Aen was horribly confused, what had just happened?

He didn't even get to fully consider the thought before the door opened back up revealing Aen to be in a different room than where they had been before.

"What?" Aen muttered to himself silently in confusion.

Once the lady had stepped out he followed after her and once he had exited the room came to the realization that he was at the top of the tower that he had seen from outside.

Aen continued to follow after the woman before she stopped in front of a solitary desk with one member sitting in a chair behind it. Aen studied him, his gray hair and small spectacles made him seem old, but his face spoke otherwise, he seemed middle aged at best.

It appeared that Ozpin was studying Aen as well and silence reigned over the three members before Ozpin broke the silence.

"Well... Aen Connell, is it?"

-S-

I'm back! And once again I'm sorry for the wait, I know that I'm a slow uploader and tons of authors upload way faster than me, but hey you're getting chapters at least! I hope that this was a good chapter, although I'm not sure how good I can make a dialogue heavy chapter, it may come across as disappointing that you guys didn't get any real action in this chapter, but I trust you guys enough to get the idea that these chapters are needed if I want to progress the story.

Also, I hate myself for trolling you guys so hard by leaving it on a cliffhanger directly before Aen talks with Ozpin, I know that this particular chapter can prove to be some one of the most interesting ones in a fic and I hate myself for leaving it out. I just thought it would be better to split the chapters, but that could just be me being lazy, If you wanna something to blame for this cliffhanger, blame my laziness.

So here's some review responses for all of you.

Review from AKS-784 - "And now he's met RWBY. The inevitable talk with Ozpin should prove to be extremely interesting. I've gotta say, I'm really excited to see how the story will progress from here, and I know it'll be awhile, but I'm curious to see how the various students at Beacon react when they discover Aen's true identity. Keep up the good work!"

Response - First off, thanks a lot man for the positivity, you have no idea how much it means to me, that's what really keeps me motivated. Also, I feel really bad for skimping out on you and cutting out the Ozpin talk, I know how interesting that can be. Also, you might be in for a surprise.

Review from Bankerrtk01 - "Well they meet...some what and yea I can tell fun at beacon I definitely will continue to read this, you've done good so far keep it up ps don't burn your bread"

Response - Yeah I know that the meet up in the last chapter was kinda lackluster, but hopefully this one will be a bit better for you. Just keep reading and you'll be getting even more interactions between the two! Don't worry I won't burn my bread.

Anyways guys, thanks again for the support, next chapter comes out whenever I get around to it, could be soon, could be late, who knows nowadays?

-Stay Toasty, From Loasty Of The Toasty