Author's Note: Wassup bitches? What do we have here? A quick (about two of three days earlier) update! I know, I'm so excited (squeals like a little girl)! The main reason as to why we have a sudden update is because I already had have the chapter written up, but I had to make it a two parter. So when I started I already had half a chapter. Still didn't stop me from making this full of BS (when do I ever).
Chapter 14: Best Day Ever/Welcome to Beacon: Gemstones vs. Metal Pt 2.
Well that certainly surprised everyone. Ruby wasn't really sure what to do when she finally got herself out of the way of being shot at. The three members of Team RWBY, minus Yang who had been eliminated, regrouped. Their opponents, Team BBRS without Sam who taken a wild couple of punches, stood at the very end. However there were some differences that needed to be discuss. Namely Travis' eyes were glowing bright blue, he held a soul-like flame in his palm, and there was a freaking mech on his side. The mech, apparently Travis could summon things, was created from his Semblance. The construct took slow, lumbering footsteps until it stood behind the team of earthlings. The light blue creation contrasted greatly with the green armored knight, the rust colored Mandalorian, and the brown and black warrior. Everyone in the audience went into a quiet hush seeing the intricate creation. No one had seen Team BBRS use their Semblance, it was just one of the many things that added to their mystery. Some assumed they hadn't found their Semblances, and they would be right in the case of Brandon, but this proved them wrong. Travis gave a light chuckle, the wisp in his hand disappeared when he grabbed his axe with both of his hands.
"Let's have some fun shall we?" He asked, not directed at anyone in particular.
From overhead the Victor leaped and sprinted at the three girls who all looked to each other for an answer as what to do. They would not have much time to think so they all took aim at the light blue being and fired their respective weapons. Bullets and energy collided with the construct, but it was not working, the Victor just merely ran right past it slamming its shoulder into Weiss' smaller frame. While its right shoulder was still bashing Weiss the mech quickly aimed the rifle it had for an arm right at Ruby Rose. If she weren't in the heat of battle she might've swooned over it, but not when the nose of the barrel stared at her in the face. Making use of her Semblance Ruby zipped out of the way before the mech fired off a shot. The ground beneath fractured as a blue energy was released from the barrel sending bits of concrete everywhere. When Ruby got to her feet she cocked a bullet in place and aimed her scythe behind her. She fired her weapon sending her flying at the blue summon. She went in to slash across the chest but the blade seemed to pass right through its body, like an apparition. The mech's head turned to Ruby, the lumbering creature locked its rifle arm at a ninety degree angle parallel with the ground. From behind it, though, several icicles sprouted from the ground eventually reaching the Victor. When the tip of the icicle reached the mech it stopped before being thrusted forward onto all fours. Something even happened to Travis who took a wary step. When he summoned the Victor last time it appeared nothing could harm it. Perhaps he was mistaken, not that you could really blame him, he had only summoned it once. A scientific endeavor always requires multiple tests.
After seeing that the construct was not truly invincible, to Travis' dismay, Team BBRS stepped back into the fight. Before Blake could get Ruby out of there Travis threw XYZ just in front of her making her pause. When she turned to see Travis, the Euphonium player delivered a punch to her cheek, the ambush triggered her Semblance and the copy fell to the ground while she managed to jump back. Reese slammed the ground with his fist after narrowly missing Weiss. With a pistol in his other hand he fired off two quick shots to get her away. Weiss avoided them using a speed glyph skating out of the way before coming back around stabbing Reese's Aura off to his side. He got back to his feet with a growl, he was getting a little…heated. Weiss twirled in place then stabbed the ground with Myrtenaster summoning a line of icicles. Reese let the anger and heat overtake him allowing his whole body to be wrapped in flames. The flaming entity then flew in the air with his jetpack.
The two bipolar elements collided, steam hissed in the air as Reese melted through the line of ice stalagmites. Weiss tried to summon a second wave of ice but couldn't due to Reese's flaming body landing a punch on her face. Reese charged Weiss when he landed and all Weiss could do was wait for a good opportunity. The main issue was Reese barely showed any unsafe moves, and when he did they were so quickly recovered Weiss couldn't punish his mistakes. The heiress made a wild choice and longed just as Reese threw a left hook, the two traded blows but Reese went farther back. Weiss took that and leaped in the air bringing the blade down on Reese's head. The Mandalorian moved out of the way slightly and grabbed Weiss' hand, his arm losing the flames (he wasn't going to be that much of a jerk) as he latched onto her arm. Pulling her arm over Reese jabbed a flaming elbow into Weiss' chest followed by him releasing Weiss and kicking her in the stomach. Weiss skidded to a halt and brought up her blade just eye level before dashing off. Reese prepared then aimed a kick in the air spinning counterclockwise, but he missed. The worst part was the Percussionist overcommitted and left himself open, and Weiss was always one to punish. Several strikes landed all over Reese's body as he was sent in multiple directions before the blade sent him in a new direction. Weiss jumped right above Reese and then brought the blade down right on his dome covered head. A small chip flew off the flaming Mandalorian's helmet, if there wasn't fire surrounding him you could see the faintest amount of uncolored grey. Reese looked at the chip, then to Weiss, back to the chip.
"Okay," the scratchy voice said, he silenced the flames returning his body to the normal rust colored amor. He pulled out the two pistols and clicked one over the other. Weiss fully expected the two pistols to transform into the rifle, but she would be proven wrong. After combining the two he flicked his hand along the bottom of it and the two guns shifted in a cylindrical shape. It looked like a telescoping baton, one that a security guard would use to but more deadly. This theory was proven right as the baton sparked with electricity. Weiss would have to learn an important lesson: just like Yang's hair, you don't f**k with Reese's armor. You can scratch it and scuff it, he won't mind too much, but to chip it or permanently damage it? You have to pay for that. He flipped the shock baton in his hand showing his proficiency with how easy it appeared to be wielded and pointed it to Weiss.
"Now I'm pissed off."
Brandon and Ruby collided with one another, small sparks flying off the two blades. The claw of Crescent Rose almost pierced Brandon;s face had it not been for the Grimm Mourne. With the claw in a perfect position Ruby tried to pull it out of Brandon's hand. The Trombone player decided to let go of the right side of his sword so the scythe harmlessly slid off. The sudden ease screwed with Ruby's hard grip which made her falter. Brandon took a step forward and swung the blade around in an arc so the blade hit overhead and it smashed into her shoulders. He kept up his assault by sending the pommel of his hilt into Ruby's face which stunned her. From there Brandon activated the motors inside the Grimm Mourne making the blade spin. The whirring blade created a small wind around, it was a little refreshing to have a small breeze right next to him since he had broken a sweat a while ago. He gripped his blade on the two different hilts separated by its crossguard and went in for a stab at Ruby. The red huntress took the hit reeling back even more but then used the backwards momentum to switch her scythe into the compact rifle form. She fired shot after shot at the swordsman who was able to dodge out of the way, but since it was an open field he was forced to take a few shots. When Ruby was forced to reload Brandon seized the opportunity, the blade of the Grimm Mourne stopped spinning and locked back in place.
From the circular pommel at the bottom of the hilt a faint white line shined down the whole blade. When it reached the tip the blade then split apart, right down the middle, making two swords. Ruby only saw it when Brandon swung both the new blades down on Ruby knocking her to the side. He held one half in a defensive position while the other was in a regular position. Ruby switched back to her scythe and the two traded multiple strikes, although Ruby was getting the upper hand. Because Brandon split his blade in two, it meant that the half attacking Ruby was much lighter than the heavy Crescent Rose. With each blow Brandon was forced to take steps back and adopt a more defensive ideology. Crescent Rose came down from above like dive bombing airplane, this forced Brandon to hold the scythe in an 'x' shape with his two blades. He planted his foot down and gave a roar as he pushed up on the scythe launching it back up. Ruby's smaller form had trouble controlling the wild movement her weapon was forced to follow which gave Brandon plenty of time. The two blades were swung in different slices and strike making Ruby quickly calculate the arcs hoping to dodge them all. With his right he swung at an awkward angle while the blade went skyward, the blade veering off center. The left blade was parallel with the ground as he swung it at the young girl. Looking at the options Ruby just decided to aim Crescent Rose at the ground and fire. The red clad huntress when into the air before the two blades could converge on her. She then aimed, but not at Brandon, the tip of the blade before she sped into a fight where her teammate was fighting a losing two versus one battle with an axe wielder and a glowing blue mech.
Blake hit the ground, hard, after being slammed down by the Victor's right hand. She had to roll out of the way just before Travis could strike with the axe. The ground where she just was melted as XYZ's blade was superheated with the Fire Dust stored within it. She got back to her feet avoiding an errand punch from the Victor's rifle arm. She went to attack it, but her weapon just phased through it.
How are we supposed to beat this thing?! She asked herself while blocking a blow from XYZ, the construct then launched her after kicking her with one its hefty legs. The mech fired multiple shoots from its rifle, Blake was able to avoid each shot by summoning a clone before running off faster than the mech could turn its body. She threw Gambol Shroud in its pistol form hoping to connect with Travis, but instead the mech grabbed it before it reached its destination. So it can either phase through physical objects or interact with them. What can it not do? The Victor looked like it was about to pull when Ruby Rose ambushed Travis from behind knocking him down. The Victor froze in place looking like it was startled. This made Blake more curious.
"Ruby!" She yelled to her teammate, "Hit Travis again!" The mech seemed to get itself resituated and was about to pull Blake in using her own ribbon. Ruby complied with Blake's request and once Travis over extended on a swing she retaliated by slashing across his chest. The Victor froze in place again each time Ruby managed to hit the axe wielder, which with his bulky armor was easier than one would think. That's it! His Victor can't operate when he takes a hit! Blake ran to aid Ruby, but only to be stopped by Brandon. She wrenched on her weapon and once Travis got hit again the Victor released the gun straight into Brandon's jaw.
The two earthlings were now back to back, both were getting tired and breathing heavily. Neither one of them thought how Reese was doing with Weiss, Travis half expected them to be making out by now.
"Well this is a fine mess we're in," Travis said, Brandon would sometimes look at his glowing eyes.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Brandon said putting his two blades back into the original Grimm Mourne form.
"Got a plan of attack?"
"Yeah: Attack."
"Seriously, we're going to paraphrase the Avengers?"
"Is there an issue with that?"
"No, just, you couldn't quote one of the Hulk's lines? He has some of the best."
"I'm not an angry person, that's you."
"Fair enough."
Weiss made a mental note: never tick off Reese again. There was a certain ferocity in his strikes now. That was also another thing she had to keep in mind after today's events: Team BBRS always seems to have a trick up their sleeve. Between Travis' Semblance showing its face, to Reese and his shock baton, she had a point there. Speaking of shock batons, Weiss blocked a blow by matching Reese's velocity in his swing redirecting his new weapon to the sky. From there Weiss jabbed her blade at him multiple times in the chest which got Reese angry. Deciding not to use the baton this time he used the same hand to clock Weiss in the side of the head, a real ruffian move, then he activated the electricity capabilities and swung the baton hitting the opposite side of her face. The side of her face felt a little numb, it was known that elemental attacks had a tendency to pierce Aura easier that just physical attacks. The two weapons made contact once more only this time Reese eased off the pressure having her fall forward. She practically ran forward and when she was behind Reese, the man struck her in the small of her back. Weiss picked herself up and started to spin the chamber of Myrtenaster. But before she could she saw Reese racing towards her, his jetpack ignited. Weiss tried to get a attack in but Reese angled his body slightly and picked Weiss in the sky.
For whatever reason Weiss felt a little comfortable in this position, if she struggled then Reese might've dropped her, and his armor was still warm from the fire that engulfed him. She shifted herself slightly in his warm embra- Wait! What am I thinking?! This is a battle! And he's the opponent! Weiss shook her head trying to get those thoughts out. Unfortunately Reese wasn't thinking like that, he was focused on the battle.
The flying warrior twisted his body and the two were going to plummet in the ground. Weiss, not wanting a concussion, summoned an icicle that forced Reese to avert his path to the side. Weiss then broke free, a bit begrudgingly, of Reese's hold and landed on the ground. She had to take a few steps before completely stopping. When she saw Reese she saw him rocketing towards her again, but this time he was surrounded by flames. Weiss was about to change the type of Dust for her blade but noticed a small nick in the chamber. The chamber was starting to spew out red colored Dust with each move, and since Weiss had been in the air, there was a lot of it now. For some reason she remembered bad things when that type of Dust was left in the air. Her mind went back to the first time she met Ruby, where Weiss lectured her team leader, and also when a vial of red Dust was slightly ajar leading to a-
Oh boy.
And Reese was on fir-
This is going to be fun.
Weiss hoped she could spread some of the Dust a bit farther before Reese got to her, maybe create the reaction before it would hit her. There wasn't time though, and Reese was showing no signs of stopping. She would just have to hope for the best. The Schnee stood her ground as the flaming spaceman came at her, he had not seen the trap. As he got closer Weiss braced herself as she knew what was coming, Reese never saw it. The Dust reacted with the flames Reese was coated in and they all ignited, a large explosion ensued. Weiss went flying out of the smoke by the force of the blast, Reese was sent the opposite direction. Weiss landed outside of the arena, able to stop herself but not before she left the boundaries. Reese, had it a bit rougher, because he was flying at the time he was lifted into the ceiling crashing into it, then falling onto the ground. A lot of people winced at that one. Two loud buzzers sounded off shortly after.
"We have a double knockout!" The Combat Instructor, Glynda Goodwitch, announced, "Reese Martins has been eliminated due to Aura levels, and Weiss Schnee is eliminated for Aura levels and for ring out!"
Weiss somewhat coughed as she saw the collapsed form of Reese try to get himself up, but ultimately fail. She swore she could've heard him say 'Ow' through his radio, but her ears were still ringing from the explosion.
The rest of the fighters sort of stopped right there when they heard the explosion, even the Victor got a good look, but the final four combatants continued. Ruby jumped over a swing from XYZ and fired multiple shots from Crescent Rose which were blocked by the Victor who stepped in. Blake went in to strike Travis casing the Victor to freeze up once again. Out of frustration Travis swung the axe several times around his body smashing into Blake. The superheated blade stinging her sides when she was batted away like an insect. Brandon got right in her face and jutted his knee into her form knocking her back again. The Victor, wanting a bit of revenge, ran up and was about to smash her face with the rifle arm. Blake braced for the impact, but nothing happened, she thought maybe Ruby may've hit Travis. And she would be right as Travis recovered from a nasty attack from Crescent Rose, but something happened to the Victor. It tried to attack again but when it was about to make contact the arm phased right through Blake's body. It was a bit jarring to see something pass right through you and then see that thing's body blink rapidly. Blake turned to Travis who looked physically worn out, the lights in his eyes were flickering like mad, the soul-like flame had returned but had shrunken to a much smaller size.
"Brandon," Travis said quietly, the swordsman turned to his partner a little worried. The lights in Travis' eyes were now completely gone revealing his natural blue colored eyes. The Victor then splintered off into multiple pieces before vanishing into the air in a dust like motif. "I think I'm gonna take a nap now," his words were a little slurred and he stumbled a bit too, "sorry about failing ya in this fight." Travis full on fainted way before he made it to the ground, perhaps it was for the better. He probably just fainted from the fatigue of using his Semblance for a long period of time, this was only the second time he had successfully summoned the Victor. The same loud buzzer went off.
"Travis Basco has been eliminated!"
Brandon Rainwater now stood alone against Blake and Ruby. With a small sigh he hefted his blade close to his shoulder and the blade pointing straight up. The gleaming silver blade of the Grimm Mourne became an oversized drill bit once again, the light reflected off the spinning surface. Blake went in first, she look worried for Travis, but a reassuring nod from Brandon resolved her fears. Blake pulled her blade into two separate pieces revealing the true blade of Gambol Shroud and the cleaver-like sheath. Brandon blocked multiple blows from all angles using the armor he had on his arms to cover his exposed side.
"Ladybug!" He heard Ruby shout.
Ladybug? The hell does that mean? Brandon asked himself, he shortly found out though. Ruby placed Crescent Rose behind her back and fired a shot so she could clothesline Brandon, but he blocked the hit. Blake came in from the other side slashing at his backside. A bit pissed off Brandon grabbed Blake by the collar and slammed her down, he then made for a stomp but was stopped by Ruby jumping on his backside. Rule Three of Wrestling: Never get on an opponent's back, the high school wrestler said to himself before grabbing Ruby by her hood and throwing her down with Blake. He raised the sword above them and brought it down on the two. Ruby used her Semblance to pick up Blake so the two didn't get skewered like fish, the blade ripped pieces of concrete as it stabbed the ground.
"Ready to finish this?" Ruby asked her teammate.
"Sure thing," the cat faunus replied.
Brandon pulled his sword out of the ground, it wasn't as majestic as Excalibur but nothing ever will. Let's end this, Brandon thought, fully knowing the outcome.
Blake got on top of Ruby's backside and she fired off a shot which accelerated the young Belladonna. Brandon pulled up his blade so it split his face right down the middle and gritted his teeth as Blake approached. He raised the Grimm Mourne in the air, but what Blake did surprised him. She stretched out her ribbon and wrapped his appendages in an uncomfortable configuration. The last of Team BBRS tried to break free but the ribbon was too strong and he ended up dropping his blade, it landed with a loud *clang*. Ruby came in shortly, Crescent Rose pointed right at his face. Brandon closed his eyes and prepared for what was going to be a very painful blow. He felt the rush of rose petals whizz past his face but the hit never came, he opened one eye and came face to face with the barrel part of the deadly scythe. A smug look on her face as she stood ready to blow off Brandon's head. Yet, there was something else in the smile too, it almost appeared honest.
"Nice job," the leader of Team RWBY said, the lights coming back on. She look proud of them which made Brandon smile back at her.
Blake eased the uncomfortable wrap her ribbon had on Brandon and he sighed a bit in relief while nursing his wrist. "Thanks," he told the cat faunus.
"No problem."
From the side Glynda Goodwitch came walking in, "And that's the match," she typed a few things in her scroll before looking to RWBY, "wonderful job Miss Rose, if you work on your team coordination then you should have no problem qualifying for the tournament." Glynda then turned to the last standing member of Team BBRS, "It would probably be best to work on your team coordination as well. Team RWBY has several maneuvers pre-planned for whatever the field of battle may hold. If you keep that up you might have a shot at getting in the tournament as well."
"Thanks for the advice," Brandon was completely sincere about the comment, "it's appreciated."
Glynda appeared to be happy about that, she then frowned and looked to Travis, "And it may be wise for Travis not to exert himself so far, it could cost him more than just fainting in the field of battle."
"Well to be fair, this was only his second time actually summoning the Victor, anything else and he's fine. He didn't know how to gauge himself. But I do agree, we'll have a talk when he wakes." Brandon bent down and grabbed the armored student. Dang, all this armor makes him weigh a bit.
Pain. A lot of pain. An excruciatingly amount of pain. That's what Travis felt as he felt consciousness come back to him. His head was throbbing, it felt like he was one of Reese's percussion instruments. It felt like he just woke up from a hangover, not that Travis would know about that stuff or anything, he placed a hand on his temple making small rotations. He groaned as he heard the door creak open. The sound magnified in his current state.
"Well look who is up," the voice that was unmistakably Brandon said, his voice sounded like he was screaming into a microphone.
Travis rolled over slightly to protect at least one of his ears. "What do you want?" Travis said in a whiny tone, a tad justified.
"I just came in to see how you were doing," his team leader replied, "you had us worrying for bit."
"Well, sorry for making you worry," Travis was not in a good mood and his voice reflected it, "now if you excuse me I'm going to get some sle-"
"Travis is awake!" A high pitched shriek nearly tore Travis' head in two.
The entirety of Team RWBY and JNPR came running in surrounding Travis' bed in the- Wait a minute. Where was he? Oh, good he was in his room. He breathed a sigh of relief he might've been in a hospital. God knows the amount of questions he would get from the doctors. Still a pounding in his head ripped him from his thoughts as he once again massaged his forehead.
"Could you please keep the noise to a minimum. I'm currently experiencing what is akin to a hangover."
"We'll try," he heard Jaune say, "but you guys were so cool."
"Yeah!" Ruby yelled once again. Travis winced at the sound of her high pitched squeal and slightly whimpered, something they had never seen the axe wielder do. "Sorry," she quietly spoke.
"Soo Travis?" Weiss said, "What was that 'thing'?"
"The Victor?" Travis sat up slightly in the usually unused bed, "It's a mech from an old franchise I loved back home."
"Okay," Weiss wanted more on the subject," we were hoping for a more in-depth explanation. Like about your Semblance."
"Well it is a good question, I don't fully understand it either," this made them all curious, "from what I understand my Semblance allows me to summon various objects from my mind. However it appears to be only mechanical objects."
"So like robots and things?" Ruby asked scratching her head like a childhood.
"Partially, mechanical objects can be anything that moves without the need of biological sustenance such as air, water, food. For instance I can summon a motorcycle I designed last year in my CAD classes."
"So then why'd you faint?" This was Pyrrha who was talking, "It seems like you have a pretty good understanding of it."
Travis scratched his chin. "The Victor is a bit of a different case than a simple creation such as a motorcycle or pencil. When I summon the Victor is appears to take on sentients, it can think and move on its own. However, it comes at a small cost. Everything that is summoned is using my mind to make all the calculations on how it works. The strength of the metal, the speed of the actuators, the angle for optimum efficiency. There all being done in my mind. Then you add the Victor which requires all those things and more taking what little brain power you have left, it uses my subconscious to operate. I'm using two parts of my brain when I should only be using one, I mentally don't have the fortitude right now to keep it going for long periods of time."
"Then why did you do it if you knew it would do such a thing?" Weiss snipped at the young earthling.
"Well for one, this was the second time I've ever successfully summoned the Victor, all other attempts were met with the same result: fainting and Coco drawing fake mustaches on me in sharpie. Two: I really wanted to beat your asses." Travis appeared to be better now, if his swearing was anything to go by. "By the way, how'd you fare?"
"What do you think?" Brandon deadpanned.
"I don't know maybe you discovered your Semblance last minute and did a heroic last stand beating the ever living shit out of Ruby and Blake."
"No, not that at all, I got beaten like two minutes after you passed out."
"Oh. Well that's disappointing."
"They have trained most of their entire lives and we've only been doing this whole thing for half a year. I think we should proud of ourselves for how well we did."
"Oh definitely, we put on quite the show for everyone. By the way, where are Reese and Sam?"
As if on cue, the other two members of Team BBRS entered the already crowded room, still in their combat attire but Reese had removed his now chipped helmet. "Hey good to see you're up," the Mandalorian noted, "Ozpin wants to talk to us ASAP."
"Ozpin?" Both Brandon and Travis questioned.
"I don't know," Reese threw his hands up, "Goodwitch just told us to get over to the tower."
"Okay, we'll be down shortly," he turned to the two teams native to Remnant, "sorry but it looks like we will have to cut this conversation short."
The two teams grumbled before leaving, Yang though turned around and made the iconic 'I'm watching you' motion with her two fingers. Perhaps she remembered what Travis had told her, about ruining Ruby's innocence. Dread crept through his body. If Remnant did have a god, then Travis was praying to it.
The four members of Team BBRS all piled into the elevator, not much was said as they all jerked up when the metal confine moved up. The low hum being the only thing heard while they all stood quiet. They were silent because none of them knew why Ozpin wanted to talk to them they never really did outside of the first few weeks because of questions that needed answering. After that though, Ozpin played a restrained role acting as if the earthlings were like any other student. It was nice knowing that they weren't given special treatment even if it meant they never conversed outside of the usual greeting. They were all nervous in reality. What could Ozpin want, that he wouldn't have his assistant say to them. A lot actually. Despite the fact that Teams JNPR and RWBY knew of their origins, it was best not to discuss it aloud, out of fear someone else might hear it. You can only give the same speech a few times before it gets tiresome. The bell sounded off with a *ding* and they all sighed, internally or externally.
Let's see what Ozpin wants from us, Brandon thought as the doors opened.
The four earthlings saw the sun and clouds behind the green garbed figure Ozpin, the headmaster was sitting on his desk. There was a second person in the room, this one they did not recognize. He turned to them holding his arms behind his back, it reminded them of a militaristic pose. The man was clothed in a white jacket, he gave off a weird vibe that Brandon and Travis didn't like.
"Welcome Team BBRS," Ozpin greeted and motioned his hand to have them come closer, "why don't you come in?" The four walked in, they were all a bit wary to do so, "Mister Basco, it is good to see you back on your feet so soon."
"Thanks Ozpin," the summoner said, a bit of ice in his tone he pointed to the second man in the room, "who's this?"
"I am General Ironwood," the general said in a tone that exuded strength, "Headmaster of Atlas Academy. Please to make your acquaintance."
The entirety of Team BBRS all gave each other odd looks, as if they were confused. Brandon raised a finger to pose a question. "You're part of the military?"
"James is the general of Atlas, while being the headmaster of its academy," Ozpin explained.
This only got more questioning, almost worrying, looks. Brandon kept questioning, "Isn't that a potential conflict of interest?"
"I beg your pardon?" Ironwood asked.
"Well, if you run the military isn't in your best interest to keep the huntsman and huntresses that go to your academy, that you also run by the way, to improve your own military strength. Hypothetically weakening the rest of the kingdoms since you steal a fourth of the potential huntsman and place them into the military?"
Ironwood looked to Ozpin, somewhat surprised by the response. Ozpin sort of shrugged, "Told you they were smarter than they appeared."
Travis raised a curious eyebrow, "And what pray tell, did you tell this man from the military?"
"I am aware that you are from an alternate world," Ironwood put simply. Being the trained soldier and leader, Ironwood knew how to read people, and he could tell the air turned hostile real fast. The one called Travis could be heard cracking all of his fingers and knuckles one hand at a time trying not to be noticed. Brandon, the team leader and the one who questioned, narrowed his brow and kept a neutral but aggressive expression. Reese, the odd one with the odd armor, slowly reached for one of his pistols slowly but didn't make any sudden movements. The last one Sam just took a single step back angling his body slightly almost preparing for a fight. Ironwood thought it would be better to explain himself now. "I have been aware of the world called 'Earth' for some time now."
"And how's that?" Travis asked, his tone was implying something sinister, "Did you create an interdimensional portal generator where you attacked our Home? Perhaps you kidnapped people from our universe? Maybe you were the one who brought us here?!" Even though he had passed out in the fight, his eyes were glowing a faint blue barely noticeable if you weren't looking directly at him.
"Mister Basco," Ozpin said snapping Travis out of his rant, and removing the blue tint in his eyes, "I can assure that James has never done anything of the sort."
"Well then I would definitely like to hear this," Travis still had a sneer.
General Ironwood brought up his scroll and called one of his soldiers, "Bring them up," was all he said before ending the call. He looked to the angry teenagers, then sighed, "Almost half a year ago we received an anomaly from one of our outposts. We originally thought it was a weapons test from the White Fang so we went fully expecting a fight. I sent one of my best specialist to scout out what we were up against, but by the time they got there the place was deserted. The only thing they found was a frozen automobile that didn't match anything we had previously designed or created. They fuel system and specifications, along with the tech inside puzzled our top scientists. That was until we report from a nearby village that a group of four people had just shown up, with nothing to their name." Ironwood noticed Travis eased up in his stance, he now relaxed and crossed both his arms. It appeared he understood where the general was going, "When we tracked them down we somehow got engaged in an argument where the White Fang got involved. Thinking they had been double crossed a three way firefight ensued."
Ironwood shook his head in disbelief, "Surprisingly two of them could shoot just as good as my men. When the fight was over we…took them in…for questioning. I personally met with them and asked them many questions, mainly about where they came from. The answer was always the same, 'Earth'." The elevator door went off again, Ironwood nodded to Ozpin.
"Come in."
Team BBRS turned their bodies to see who was in the doorway, Travis was almost half afraid to see if his suspicion was correct. From the elevator came four teenagers, in Atlas Academy Uniforms, once they saw Team BBRS they went wide eyed. The two teams were in a staring contest fueled by disbelief.
How? Travis asked himself. Just, how?! How could they be here?!
"May I introduce you to Team KKLF (pronounced 'clef'). From the last to the first letter we have Franklin Apple, Lavender Bessette, Kylie Payne, and leading the team is Kendra Raven." He was more or less saying it to only Ozpin as the two teams were still staring at each other.
There they were, the others in the second car the day of the explosion, they were their friends, perhaps the only ones who understood their position. Here was Team KKLF; Kendra, Kylie, Lavender, and Franklin. They were attending Atlas doing the same exact thing as Team BBRS, but more importantly they were alive. The first one to move was the Team KKLF leader, Kendra, and she ran up and hugged Sam tightly.
"Sam," Kendra was practically in tears, her usually quiet voice choking on sobs, "is it really you?"
Kendra Raven was senior in the band, one of the better Clarinet players. Instead of the typical Clarinet she played what was known as the E Flat Clarinet or, if you asked anyone in the band, the 'Devil's Instrument'. While she was quiet, you could always know she made a mistake in her music because she gave the loudest groans. She had a thin body, akin to Weiss in many ways. Kendra had a freckled face and had an inch or two on Sam. Since no one in Earth had crazy hair colors, she just had brown hair that was in a ponytail that lead to her shoulders. Her eyes were blue, a dull blue, not like Travis' which made the sky pale in comparison.
Sam was in shock, they all were, but him especially. He just gave a small sincere smile and hugged Kendra back, "Yeah it's me cuz, good to see you."
"Cuz?" Ironwood said.
"Those two are cousins," Brandon explained, which got a small nod from the two headmasters.
Travis suddenly felt a heavy palm slap on his shoulder, "Oh god," he breathed out in pain.
"Ha, ha!" The only male in the team said, "Travis! How've you been?"
Travis looked at Franklin, motherf*****g, Apple. A junior, and a pretty decent Trumpet player. This meant he had the personality of a Trumpet player; loud, outgoing, sometimes annoying if not always, and a general pain. How Travis could deal with him was a mystery to the entire band. He was had flat brown hair with a pair of black rimmed glasses covering his brown eyes. In terms of his body, he looked pretty average when it came to a school training teenagers but he was a little on the pudgy side. It was probably him being around five foot seven instead of six feet like most males at Beacon, or in this case Atlas. As said earlier no one really knew how someone as loud and bashful could get on the good side of Travis Basco, easily one of the most temperamental people in the whole school. It still is, even travis doesn't fully understand it.
"Good to see you too Franklin," Travis in droll sarcastic voice.
"Well I see you haven't changed much," the Trumpet player shot back.
"When do I ever?" Travis asked with a small bow.
Brandon turned to the general/headmaster. "Thank you for keeping our friends safe." Ironwood nodded. "If it is alright with you, I think it would be best if we took our conversation elsewhere. You probably don't want to hear us ask a thousand questions to each other."
"I don'-" Ironwood began.
Ozpin stood up, "Of course Mister Rainwater," Ironwood shot Ozpin a small, but noticeable glance, "we'll see you tomorrow."
"Thank you," Brandon spoke for all of them on that.
The moment they were out of the elevator Kendra squealed, which made them all jump in the air. No one thought it was possible for Kendra to make that kind of sound, Reese and Travis were both a little freaked out.
"I can't believe it!" She yelled swallowing her cousin and Brandon in a hug.
"Oh god can't breathe," Sam barely managed to get out.
"What happened to you guys?" They turned to the third female in the team, or the 'L', Lavender Bessette.
Lavender Bessette was a junior, and a flute player in the band. As Reese got a better look at her, it hit his head that she was the one he bumped into this morning. Why didn't he recognize her? Seems like a pretty good question since seeing a friend from Earth would be a big f*****g deal. Well for one it had been nearly six months and their minds had been elsewhere, two he never got a good look at her face, third her usually brown hair had been colored purple. It appeared she had taken the whole 'we have crazy hair colors because why the f**k not' thing to heart. And seeing as how she was named 'Lavender' it only seemed fitting. If there were an equivalent to a personality in Remnant it would have to be Yang. A cocky attitude, smugness, and not to mention the teasing. In fact you could probably switch the two's bodies, color their hair, and it would almost be impossible to tell a difference, well Lavender would have to start wearing contacts but that isn't the point
"Last we saw you were ahead of us on the freeway."
Travis stepped forward to explain. "When Brandon saw the car about to hit the tanker we all made a beeline to get the hell away. The explosion happened a few seconds later and we wake up, somewhat separated, in a forest in Vale. Thankfully, we were found by a team of students on a mission. We were brought to Beacon and Ozpin offered us seats at this lucrative establishment. That's been our lives for the past six months, what about you?"
"Pretty much the same," Franklin explained, "except for we landed in Atlas, we nearly got convicted, we met an Atlasian Specialist with a surprisingly short temper, after telling the General he thought it would be best to admit us into the academy, he says it's to keep an eye on us but I think he wants to see how we stacked up." Apparently arrogance was another feature of Franklin's personality.
"Sure," Travis deadpanned while giving his three teammates a glance.
"What?" Kendra asked noticing Travis' not so subtle glance.
"There are some things we have with the general," Reese said.
"Like what?" Lavender said, a bit shocked by their statement, "The General took care of us, gave us a second chance. What reason could you possibly think of to not trust him?"
"How about the fact that he basically violates a line of church-and-state?" Brandon offered, "The guy runs the military, the strongest military at that too, and runs an academy that trains warriors. Seems a little suspicious if you ask me."
"Brandon," Kendra said, she seemed remarkably understanding of Brandon's assumption, "from one team leader to another, I can assure you that General Ironwood is not what you're thinking. He is not a corrupt man trying to control the whole kingdom. Sure he can seem cold and distant, but after you get to know him like we do, you can see he's fine. He appeared to be understanding and believed us, it took a while, especially what happened with Kylie-" Kendra's eyes widened once she realized what she said. Kylie's head shot down, and her two teammates gave Kendra a damning look.
Each member of Team BBRS immediately raised suspicion upon seeing that, and they all turned a bit defensive. If one of the bastards that slither on the ground here in Remnant hurt one of their own, blood would be spilt. "Kylie," Brandon said, "what happened?"
The second 'K' of Team KKLF was Kylie Payne. She too, like Kendra, Brandon, and Travis was a senior member in the band. A Clarinet player, a regular Clarinet not the Devil's Instrument, who was like Sam in her passion for music. She was easily one of the many heartthrobs for a ton of the guys back Home, her golden hair kept just past her shoulders caught many males by the mouth. However despite her beauty and talent, not only in music but in gymnastics, she was one of the most humble and kind people many would ever meet. She even managed to get on Travis' good side and crack a few laughs with him. Her usually bright gaze was hidden, her golden locks hiding her usually blue eyes, a soothing blue beanie covered the top of her head.
"Kylie," this was Travis, his tone was stern but sincere, "you can tell us. You're among friends here and we promise that whatever happened we will not judge you for it."
Kylie sniffled, this only added worry to all of Team BBRS, she breathed before looking up slightly, she looked like someone had kicked her in the stomach. The pain in her eyes made them all assume the worst. Kylie reached for her hat, they were all curious about it but just thought it was just a fashion choice, Kylie was like a toned down Coco in some ways. Her hat fell to one side as she looked them, almost ashamed, her head hunched over while they all stood shocked. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. On top of Kylie's head were two short, dog ears. The outer side fur was colored the same blonde while the inside was colored brown.
Kylie Payne was a faunus.
They were all thrown for a loop. The first reaction they all had was different, Travis kept his internally just because of the mad ramblings to try and explain how a phenomenon could occur. Kylie was from Earth, not Remnant, their planet had no faunus, he was about to say something but Reese stepped in.
"Okay," he simply said, he just stood there smiling as if nothing happened.
"What?" Kylie asked surprised by Reese comment, "You're just oka-"
"So you have dog ears," Reese interrupted, he then shrugged, "does that change the Kylie Payne who we knew back Home? Does it change who you are now? " He didn't wait for Kylie to respond, "No matter what anyone from this world says about you, you are still the girl who we've all made friends with. In fact, I kind of like them, I think they complete you."
Kylie was shocked, as were the others. That was such a mature approach to the situation, Blake would definitely be proud by it. Travis sighed and laughed at the same time, "Why don't we go to one of our rooms and have a nice chat? I've been dying to ask a few questions about Atlas?"
"Okay," Kendra said not opposed at all, "should we head to your room?"
"Umm," Brandon intervened, "maybe that's not a good idea."
"Why not?" Lavender asked as they started to walk.
"Let's just say our neighbors may know a bit about us, and I don't think you would like to answer all their questions. Why don't we go to your guys' room?"
"Sure, sounds good," Kendra agreed, and they led the ways to their dorm that was so graciously with the rest of the visiting students. Kendra realized something Brandon had mentioned, "Wait. What do you mean some of your neighbors know some stuff?"
Travis chuckled a little, "Why don't I handle this?" Travis didn't wait for any objections, "You see it all started when I first called the Deputy Headmistress a 'broad'…"
-Back in the Tower with Ironwood and Ozpin-
"Why'd you let them go off like that?" Ironwood wasn't angry at Ozpin, but he wasn't pleased by just having four students he didn't know walk out with Team KKLF. He wanted to keep them safe at all times.
"James," Ozpin turned in his chair, "you have to keep in mind that these eight students of our two academies are not like most, or any for that matter. They come from a different way of life, a different culture, a whole other world very different from ours. They have been through perhaps the greatest hardship I can think. They are alone. No one else in this world will ever truly know what that is like, it's not like they can waltz into an establishment and connect with our people. So when they see someone from their Home, you could see the craving for camaraderie in their eyes. We must let them be who they are if they are ever to connect in this unforgiving world. They have been through much more than any of us will ever know and keeping them constrained will only harm that. As much as we would both like to think otherwise, they are still children, they are no older than our students. So let them play the part, I guarantee it will not be one they get to play for long."
"I just want to keep them safe," Ironwood said.
"As do I, but nothing good will come of it if we don't let them adapt to Remnant's way of life."
"Believe me I'm not trying to do that, they have made strides after they got over the initial shock of being here," Ironwood began to walk out of the door, but he remembered something from earlier, "Ozpin, you never answered my questioned. Do you think you're children, and not only that but these children, can fight a war?" Ironwood left to let Ozpin to ponder on the question.
He had his answer, he always had an answer to that questioned.
"I hope they never have to."
It was quiet and peaceful in the visiting students dormitory.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Except for that.
The boisterous amount of laughter came from the Atlas Academy floor, the second floor of the building. The room was 234, the room assigned to Team KKLF, which now had four extra occupants. Team BBRS and Team KKLF, newly reunited were sitting about the room in various positions. Travis claimed the chair because he was Travis, and an asshole (if that wasn't already obvious).
"Wait," Franklin had to take a small breather to collect yourself, "you gave this Yang chick a steak layered in gravy to get back at her?!"
"Yeah," Travis said calmly before the Team KKLF kids starting laughing, Team BBRS simply chuckled, "I mean she stole my notes, not to mention she kept flirting with me."
"Hold up," Lavender said, "she flirted with you?"
"Yes, why do you sound surprised?"
"Well you're you," Lavender explain.
"Oh wow," Travis appeared hurt by that, "f**k you."
"Well glad to see you still swear like a sailor."
Travis gave thumbs up, "You can never take that away, even in this world."
They all laughed at Travis' bravado. Franklin then spoke, "So Reese I noticed something about you."
"What?" The Percussionist asked.
"Why are you dressed like Boba Fett?" Everyone looked at Reese, his helmet off to the side.
"Oh that's easy," he stood up, "because why the f**k not?" He put his helmet on completing the ensemble which changed his voice, "Plus I look like a badass."
"Wasn't disagreeing with you there," the Trumpet player defended, "just wondering why you didn't got for a Jedi instead?"
"Uhh, duh," Travis interrupted smacking his own head, "because the bounty hunters and the Empire are way cooler than the Rebel scum."
"Hey," Franklin pointed a finger at his Euphonium playing friend, "them's fighting words."
"Okay," Brandon stood up breaking the potential war between Empires and Rebels, "it's been nice to catch up, but we should probably get going. It's getting late."
They all looked to the open window and were shocked to see it was already dark. "Yeah, probably a good idea since we still have classes tomorrow," Kendra nodded.
"And some of us got our shit kicked in," Reese snorted.
"You do realize RWBY is one of the better first year teams," Sam argued.
"Yeah, and we did manage to take out two of their teammates, not to mention the damage we did to the other two before I got eliminated," Travis decided to leave out the whole 'fainting' part just because he would undoubtedly raise more questions then he was willing to answer at this late time.
"It's good to know that you guys are alive," Kendra said, "you have no idea how much of a burden is lifted off of all of us."
"Don't worry we were thinking the same about you," Brandon said as he opened the door.
Reese left after Brandon giving a quick salute, Sam pulled Kendra in for a hug that warmed all their hearts, and Travis was the last to leave. "If you need anything, let us know." He closed the door after that and sighed. He looked to the other members of his team and appeared to be dumbfounded. "Well I'm still shocked."
"Yep," was all Reese said.
"Tell me about it," Sam said in disbelief, "I'm just glad she's safe."
"And apparently a team leader," Brandon added, "they're in the exact same position as us."
"Just with a more militaristic approach it would seem," Travis quickly quipped.
"That doesn't bother me too much," Brandon surprised the trio with that, he had been so vehement about Ironwood's position that it made him look like an opponent. He felt like he had to prove them wrong, "I may not like General Ironwood's approach to how he runs his academy but if he protected our friends, then he has my highest respects."
"A good perspective to have," Travis noted, "if Atlas is the world leader in technology then I imagine it be best to be on his good side, if he finds a way Home for us."
"I thought you wanted us to do that ourselves?" Sam asked as they walked down the halls.
"I never explicitly said that, it just appears that Ozpin was going to take a hands off approach with our current predicament. This Ironwood character seems more proactive, he might want us to go back Home just as much as we do."
"Let's hope," Reese said which they all nodded to.
They walked down the stairs back onto the ground level, they turned into a corner where Travis accidently bumped into somebody. "My apologies," the knight said offering a hand. The person he said was from a visiting academy, they were female. They wore a black blazer with a checkered skirt. Obviously a female, she had mint green hair and red eyes.
She looked and grabbed Travis' hand where he lifted them up, "Thanks," the girl said. Travis noticed a male with grey hair wearing the same uniform just with pants instead of a skirt (that would be scarring) walk in from the other side.
"Jeez," the grey hair kid quipped, his sarcasm almost Travis proud, "can't go ten feet without running into someone can you?" The girl sneered and shot a glance to the teen.
"Where you guys from?" Travis completely disregarded the rising hostility.
"We're from Haven," a third, calming, almost seductive voice said from the other side. From the other side came a beautiful woman, who looked almost too old to be in an academy. She had jet black hair that cascaded past her amber eyes that could shine for miles. A small, dark smile across her lips gave Travis pause. Something seemed off about her was his conclusion.
"Oh, I think they're on the top floor," Travis said pointing with his thumb, "again sorry about that. Wasn't watching where I was going." Travis then locked eyes with the girl with amber eyes, something in her expression made Travis shiver, but he also got a weird feeling in his gut. He didn't like this feeling and he needed to get out of there. Now. "Well then good night to you and welcome to Beacon." He left the group of three and regrouped with his ragtag group of idiots.
"Where the hell were you?" Reese asked.
Travis stared off into space thinking about that one girl, he just couldn't shake her. His mind brought him back to reality. "Huh, what? Oh, sorry I was just thinking about something."
"Like what?" Sam said with a scoff.
Travis brought a hand to his chin, "Not important," he said with a stern tone, "just a weird encounter."
"Should we be worried?" Brandon questioned.
"No, I doubt I'll see her again."
The group then walked down the rest of the way back to their room. Brandon then picked up his head as a thought found its way into his brain. "Wait, her?"
-
And there we have it. There is a second group of band students wandering around Remnant. We will get more into them soon, like within the next few chapters because I just introduced them. As always hope you enjoyed, always a pleasure when it does. Anyways, see ya later suckers.