Bloodborne Twin Chapter 7
-Dreamland-
Ella sat against the picket fence line with Ming and Marcus, two of her best friends. They were outside the orphanage with the other kids playing around or lounging about. The ones who ran the orphanage, they looked like nuns, and they say it would be a good place for them stay until picked for adoption, but these kids didn't want to be adopted, they wanted to go home.
Meanwhile the two sitting next to her were talking about the good times in their kingdoms, thinking of a way to get home even though it seemed fruitless. Ella quietly listened as she drew a picture in the dirt with her stick. She drew a two story oriental looking house, two adult stick figures who were her parents, and the two smaller stick figures who were the twins. It had been three years, and no matter how many times the nuns would tell them that it doesn't exist, she would never believe them. Between the drawings, her friends, her memories, and her necklace, she knew that world was real, and that someday, she and her friends might find a way to get back there, but they were lost, and they didn't know where to start. What they could do is try to keep their memories intact, to never forget where they came from.
She was just about to draw a circle around the picture when a dirty shoe stomped on the drawing, along with her stick, and smeared it into nothing.
"Oh look," she did not need to look up to know who that voice belonged to. "It's the cat eyed witch and her rubbish friends." The other children behind him laughed playfully, either out of fear of being beaten by him or just tried to be someone that they weren't.
"What do you want this time, Rodric?" Asked Ming.
Since the older boy got here a couple months ago, this orphanage had become anything but safe. He picked on the other kids at first, but when he set his sights on the three, on Ella in particular, they had been abused for no other reason other than they were different. He even convinced the other kids (with either childish coercion or with false promises on something they didn't understand but accepted) to alienate them just to make them feel more unwelcome. Ella had the worst experience in the hands of the orphanage tyrant. He knocked the food off her tray, destroyed her homework, burned her drawings. He even lied to the nuns whenever Ella told on him or got caught in the act, he just kept torturing her.
Ella thought he was just trying to get attention, but the more he bullied her, the more she began to realize she was wrong, and she was starting to lose her patience with him.
He grew an arrogant smirk. "Oh, you know, I was wondering when you guys were gonna leave. You've always talked about escaping, but yet here you are sitting here doing nothing but talk and draw."
"That's because we know we can't go anywhere without knowing anything about this world!" Marcus spat back as he stood up.
"Hah, you blokes talk like Earth isn't your home. Well guess what, it IS your home whether you like it or not! Just accept the truth, weirdos!
"And what about you, witch, huh? Think you can keep that imaginary family of yours forever? Come on, admit it, they left you!" He struck the first nerve, he was beginning to push his boundaries.
"That's not true!" Said Ming as she stood up to defend her friend. "We were brought here against our will!"
"Yeah, likely story, and then you're gonna tell me that monsters and heroes exist. What a load of horse dung!" The kids behind him laughed, just out of supporting him.
"Just what the heck is your problem with her!?"
"What's my problem with her?" Irritated, he points his finger at Ella. "She's a bloody freak and she's crazy, that's what! She thinks she has a family back home who loves her, but where are they, huh? Why aren't they here to take her home?
"I'll tell you why, because she's a witch, and nobody wants to be caught with a witch in their family. Might as well just burn her before she grows up."
Another nerve.
"Come on, she's done nothing to everyone, so just leave her alone!" Said Marcus as he got between his friend and the bully.
"Piss off!" Said the bully as he shoved him sideways to the ground. He then tells his gang, "hold him, and the shrimp, too."
Ming's eyes widened when she realized what he was going to do. "No, leave her alone!" She yelled, but was pulled away by the kids while Marcus was pulled up and dragged away. They struggled to break free, but there were too many hands holding them back. Even from all their exercises to hopefully unlock their aura, they just hopelessly weren't strong enough.
On the inside, Ella's blood was boiling, and her body slowly began to shake. This older boy, this bully, didn't understand what it was like to be forcefully taken away from a family that loved her very much. She didn't know much about his family other than the fact that his parents were the only family he had before something bad happened to them. To insult people's families, however, was just stupid and downright cold, but he didn't seem to care, even after the many lectures he had from the nuns.
"So, you going to admit the truth now, or do I have to beat it out of you?"
How dare he abuse her friends like this. At this point all that anger inside her wanted her to just stand up and beat the life of him right then and there, but she kept holding it back, because she knew the nuns were not around to see him bully her this time. If she did decide to punch him, he would just make up a story and pin the blame on her. That's the cruel reality of being an orphan in her opinion.
Somewhere deep down, though, some strange feeling began to stir, and it was beginning to grow. It wasn't her anger, but it felt like something else. It was warm in a comforting way like a mother would to her child. Alas, she was more focused on controlling her anger at this point, but that ended there when he said the one thing that would push her over the edge.
"What, still not going to say anything? You think that's going to make you special? I'll bet your sister didn't think so when she found out what you really are! I'll bet even she was a witch, too, and they burned her before they sold you to the orphanage!"
'That's… it!' She finally snapped as she then stood up, her body shaking in barely controlled rage. The strange feeling inside her began to awaken faster as well.
She was emitting a dreadful aura about her which made everyone back up hesitantly in fear. Unfortunately for Rodric, he didn't see it that way as he smirked, believing that he finally broke her spirit. "Oh what's the matter? You gonna… Huh?" He then looked confused when he saw… a red colored light highlighting her very being, and when she looked up at him, glaring devilishly at him straight in the eye, he realized in his shocked state that he pushed too far. "Wha-".
"SHUT! UP!" She screamed as she raised her fist, channeling all of her fury into it before she threw a punch at him in the face. She did not realize she was channeling her Aura into her fist, giving it enough power to hit him hard onto the ground. She punched him so hard she literally busted his nose beyond repair and destroyed his front teeth.
He lied on the ground crying and holding his bloodied face in so much pain. Ella meanwhile kept giving him the death glare, her knuckles covered in splotches of blood.
-Line-break to the waking world-
Ella woke up with a short, soft gasp. She was sleeping against a tree in the middle of a forest close to the dirt road, though this was no ordinary forest. She and Eileen were currently in Forever Fall Forest, a mountainous area covered by a forest of red-leafed trees, allowing the whole area to appear red in color, even in the grass. Their red leaves grow and fall from the trees, and soon dissolve once they touched the ground, giving the impression of a forest trapped in eternal autumn. She was told about Forever Fall being such a wondrous and peaceful place, but when the two stepped into the red colored woods and had a late supper here, words were not enough to express its eternal beauty. Although this forest could be crawling with Grimm around every corner, she felt like wanting to build a cottage here, to simply be at peace with nature, but alas, she had more important things to attend to.
Forever Fall, why did the name sound familiar even though she cannot remember being here before?
"Had a pleasant dream, Ella?" She looked up to her right to see Eileen leaning against the same tree she slept against with her arms crossed.
"I wouldn't call it a pleasant one." She scoffed, then she got up and took a stretch.
"Hm, by that attitude I'd say you had a bad memory."
That somewhat surprised her as she stopped rolling her head halfway around a second time, trying to get the cramps out of the way. She looked back at her: "How did you know I was dreaming of a memory? I thought it was just another dream."
"Remember what I told you about myself yesterday?" Ella nodded, remembering how she got here. "Trust me when I say I went through the same process as you, but unfortunately at a much faster rate when I was young. Once I reached the age of nine, and with a certain trigger, those memories started flooding back me."
Ella's expression changed to that of sympathy. "It must've been a difficult childhood then, having all those memories of your past exploits rushing back to you."
"True, and it was frightening at first, but I eventually accepted them as my answer to who I was, and what I still am. Are you ready to go?"
The Good Hunter nodded, and were soon back on the trail leading to the city of Vale while at the same time had a small breakfast. Before and after they reached Forever Fall they encountered opposition along the way, but they were minor in numbers and were quick to be dispatched by the two Hunters. During those small battles, Ella observed Eileen's fighting style. Her style was quick and precise like a surgeon, able to kill her enemies far quicker than she could from her previous age, and her Semblance being that of shadow crows? Guess she still lived up to her title of "the Crow" after all. She saw in clear detail how she teleported from one place on the battlefield to the next as a black crow. Eileen, of course, learned much from her companion in the past, the video, and in fighting alongside her.
After spending two hours of walking on the trail, they finally reached the edge of the clearing, only to see the outer walls which stretched on for miles and stood roughly 40 meters tall. She eyed the trail until it ended at what she could assume from a distance was a large gate. She was awed by the effort these people put into building that wall, and she could bet it was really thick, too.
"Ella," she looked to her old friend, "what you will see behind those walls will surprise you. So my advice: try not to take everything in at once." She nodded in understanding. Although she had bits and pieces of strange things in her memory that were explained as best they could. Still, her unprepared eyes were about to be introduced to a whole new world.
They walked the rest of way towards the gate, and as they grew close, the walls seemed to grow taller in height. Eventually they reached the gate, it stood at twenty feet in height and thirty feet in length. It was made completely of reinforced titanium, and with good reason as far as she knew. There were bars connecting to both sides of the gate ending in what looked like a clockwork wheel at the center to complete its uniqueness. The gate had a vertical crack which split the gate in two.
Ella also noticed something else next to the gate; a window which housed a person reading some sort of newspaper. Perhaps this designated him as a guard of some sort.
"Let me handle this, I'll get us through." Said Eileen as they both went up to the window. She rang the buzzer which grabbed his attention from his reading.
"Hm?" He looked up from his newspaper to see who that was. "Oh um, please produce your scroll and have it scanned for identification." She pulled out her Scroll and slid it under the scanner. The light above the scanner soon turned green in confirmation. "Thank you, ma'am, you may proceed." He then looked to the other Hunter. "May you please produce a Scroll?"
"She's with me, the Headmaster sent me to retrieve her." She said as she put her Scroll back into the folds of her coat pocket.
"Well that's good and all, but Council Law says that one must produce a Scroll for identification or else they can't get in." She expected something like this to happen, so she pulled out a card and planted it against the window. The guard took one look at the card and was surprised to see three stars emblazoned on it. He realized his mistake, he knew what they stood for and knew that they had more authority than any Hunter out there. "Oh, you're a Three Star Huntress." He then looked at Ella again. "I-I apologize, please proceed."
"Thank you," she turned to Ella, "let's go."
She nodded, glad that she didn't have to go through that obstacle. They were soon in front of the gate, the guard tapped a few commands, and the clockwork wheel began to spin outwards until it stopped. Suddenly the bars began to retract, and when that was done, the doors slowly split open to reveal a dark tunnel to the other side. They proceeded on through, and as they went further in, the doors began to close, soon enveloping the tunnel in darkness except for the light at the near end of it.
As they walked, Ella heard some ruffling coming from Eileen, and she looked to see her taking off her cape which made her raise an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Making myself a little more anonymous. I don't want people to start staring at a strange woman wearing a strange cape and weapons." After she rolled up her cape and hid it in her large satchel, she then unclipped her weapon. It was similar to the Blade of Mercy in design and function but was made of steel rather than Syderite. The bigger difference between the original and this version was its transformation. When split into two blades it could go into a second transformation into twin submachine guns. She witnessed just how devastating they were to the Grimm she dispatched, and even though they were made of a different composition, they were still just as deadly as their wielder. No wonder she didn't see a gun on her, the blade itself could also be a gun.
"Besides," she continued, "it's part of my profession after all."
Ella looked down at her own gear and wondered, "should… I be worried?"
"No, you'll do fine. Just don't put on your mask, and keep your hood down." She nodded, she took the mask with her yesterday as a way of preserving something, a memory of her past exploit, and perhaps as a way of keeping her identity safe in case she screwed up. Quinn and the others might notice this, especially the man would be disappointed, but they may just not care, who knows.
As the bright light on the other end of the tunnel inched ever closer, Ella readied herself for the inevitable dazzling that would come, but when her eyes finally cleared she stood frozen with shock for an instant, overwhelmed by what she saw: stores everywhere, and buildings taller and more modern than the depressing ones she had grown used to seeing back in Yharnam. People walked by, wearing mixed casual and business fashions, and yet stylish and fresh in ways that would give Yharnamite Tailors a run for their money. Some sort of automated carriages drove right past her.
There was a tickling feeling in the back of her head, telling her she had been here before, but "when" was the question. She still could not remember much about her past, and of course nothing that would even resemble this place. Sure, there was a city festival in one of her memories, but the buildings were different compared to this.
"Where… are we?" Ella asked still being in a surprised state.
Eileen looked to her in amusement. The poor girl was struggling to not take everything in. She chuckled: "This is the city of Vale. As of right now we're currently in the Commercial District."
"You mean it's like a marketplace?" She looked to her companion after seeing everything she could see.
"Close, but no. There are many stores here, but there are also business corporations here and there. Hence the tall buildings you see before you."
"So if we're in the Commercial District, where would Beacon Academy be?"
Eileen looked towards the direction of Beacon Academy. "The Academy is situated east from here." She said this while pointing the finger in said direction. "We'll head east through this district to the docks, and from there we'll catch a ride that will take us directly to the academy grounds."
Ella looked to where she pointed. "I see. Well, you know your way around this city better than I. Lead the way." She gestured for Eileen to lead. She nodded, and lead her through the streets of the district. Along the way she kept admiring the many items and stores they walked by. There was a weapons shop, a clothiers, a large grocery store, a jewelry shop, and there was a bookstore. There was even a dust shop with a name above saying "From Dust Till Dawn," and she thought that was a clever name, if somewhat quaint.
After walking through the district for almost an hour and a half, catching her share of strange stares and whispers about her outfit along the way, they made it to some sort of docking area. Ahead of the docking bay was a huge lake, and beyond that was a tall cliffside with man made stairs. The Good Hunter could just see a green light shining above the cliffs.
Now there were two ways to reach the academy: one would be to take a dirt cheap boat ride to the cliffside and having to walk the steps all the way up to the academy, and the second was to take an airship that would take them all the way up to the academy's landing platform. It was a tad more costly, but hunters could hitch a ride on them for free, and it was the fastest way. And the airship was what Ella was currently staring at nervously while Eileen looked back at her from inside that metal thing.
"What's wrong? Are you scared of something new?" Eileen smiled, amused by her awkwardness.
"A-Are you sure that thing is safe?" Ella asked nervously.
She bowed her head. "Naturally. It's a Bullhead. They're the safest in air transportation, so you don't need to worry."
That still did not convince her to come any closer. She still remembered her first time falling off the ledge in Cathedral Ward because of that monster, and it was the most horrible experience she could ever feel besides being crushed by an Amygdala. From then on she had tried to be more careful of where she stepped. "Well, maybe we should take a boat ride to the cliffside, it could be more relaxing I think."
She sighed in annoyance this time. "I'll be right back," she said to the pilot, and then she got out of the Bullhead and walked up to her and had her arms crossed. "For someone who became unafraid and faced many horrors on her own, one would think that you wouldn't be afraid of flying."
"I know that, but a person flying is not natural. Humans are meant to stay on the ground, and last I checked, Yharnam didn't have flying machines in the sky!"
She rolled her eyes, then she turned serious. "Do you remember what I told you?"
"Um…"
"I told you that without fear in our hearts we're little more than the beasts themselves. But at the same time we need to face and overcome that fear in order to move forward, and you faced your fears many times over. Do you understand me?"
She thought it over for a bit, and with reluctance, she nodded in agreement.
"Good, now enough trembling in your boots." She sets her hand behind Ella's back, and pushes her forward along with her. "You have a Headmaster who's waiting for you."
Ella walked forcefully towards the Bullhead, and once inside she took her seat across from her. "We're in," the former Crow Hunter said, and the pilot activated the airship and closed the sliding doors shut. Ella grew more nervous as the engines grew louder, and when the Bullhead finally started lifting off, she held onto the armrests for dear life. She groaned, believing that this thing might fail mid flight at any moment. She kept staying that way until she had a flashback to when she first had her experience of flying.
She was sitting in a comfortable seat inside some kind of large flying machine, but that's not what was bothering her. The plane was beginning to move, and she was groaning out of fear. Thankfully, her mother was sitting right next to her.
"Dear," said her mother in a gentle voice as Ella then looked up to her. She could see her face more clearly now. She had pale white skin and pitch black hair, tied in a Mistralian (Greek like) bun, with strands of her hair dangling next to her eyes. Her face was sculpted to be like that of a goddess, and her eyes were blue. "What is the matter?"
"This is scary, I don't like it." She grew more scared as the plane sped faster.
She thought for a bit when she made a look of an idea that just might work for her. "Do you remember how we do our meditations?" Ella nodded anxiously. "Well, how about you do that. Just close your eyes, and block out everything around you but my voice. Breathe in and out regularly, and imagine the one place you love seeing."
Ella did all this while listening to her mother. She continued her meditation even after the plane took off.
The flashback ended with Ella having her eyes closed and breathing at a regular pace. She imagined the village of Huckleberry, eating dinner outside with Quinn, Ginger, and Lavi. Meanwhile, Eileen tilted her head to the side with an eyebrow raised in confusion while she watched Ella do her breathing meditation.
'Did she just learn that on the fly, or did she just remember?' She asked herself, although her mind was leaning towards the latter.
Two minutes later the Bullhead settled on the landing pad in front of the courtyard, its sliding door opened for the two hunters to disembark. Ella walked a little further after they got off, and took in all the sights this place held. The academy was huge, it was like a castle straight out of a fantasy novel, its architecture breathtaking. She had almost compared it to Cainhurst Castle, but that castle had nothing on this one, the complete opposite of the gloomy and dark keep she once explored.
"Magnificent, isn't it." Said Eileen who stood right beside her.
"Truly it is." She muttered in awe.
"Good to know you like the view. And there's more to see inside, if you'll follow me." She nodded as Eileen walked past her towards the courtyard, and she soon followed behind her. The path to the main door was surrounded on both sides by a line of lantern posts with holographic banners hanging off each of them. Beyond them were man made ponds, and their islands had a line of pillar like arches that went in an arc, and behind those on land were another wall of arches. They soon reached the center of the courtyard, where there were four paths which all ended on a red leafed tree. Situated in the center was a fountain with a sculpted statue of two hunters, one male and one female wearing cloaks and armor and wielding a sword and an axe. They were standing triumphantly on a rock with a beowolf crouched underneath.
In her point of view it symbolized what it meant to be a Hunter, to always be the guardians of humanity and to always keep the darkness at bay through courage, honor and sacrifice, or perhaps at whatever cost.
While she still admired the scenery, they eventually came upon the main doors, and with little effort, Eileen pushed open the doors and headed on through to Beacon Tower.
-Eighteen minutes later, Ozpin's office-
Ozpin was currently reading through the lists of requests on his Scroll, ranging from more assignment papers and jars for Dr. Oobleck's class and for Professor Peach, to the replenishment of certain medical supplies for the good Dr. Ashcroft. The other few teachers outside of Beacon had made requests to be considered for employment, and he had yet to read their files.
He was alone in his Office. His assistant Glynda Goodwitch was currently teaching her students in the combat arena, and it would only be awhile until her class ended.
He was about to make a few calls for the shipment when the elevator dinged. He looked away from his Scroll and towards elevator opening to reveal Eileen finally returning, and following behind her was the guest of honor, Ella herself, being dubbed the Missing Native. Without her mask he now had a good look at her. Black hair, pale skin, and quite the rare color of amber eyes.
"Ms. Corvo, welcome back," he greeted with a soft smile. He then nodded in Ella's direction, "and it is good to see you in person as well, miss Ella. I am Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy."
"The honor is all mine," she bowed and crossed one arm around her waist in a hunter's salute.
He nodded his head approvingly in return, tacitly commending her courtesy, and made a gesture for the seat in front of his desk, which he had easily set up for this occasion. "Please, have a seat." Ella did as she was asked, so Ozpin asked straight away: "So, how has the hospitality of Huckleberry been?"
She smiled. "Very nice, I must say. I felt glad that I could finally meet a friendly populace for once." Truth be told, she still was glad she had not been attacked at first sight.
"That is good to know. And how have you treated the villagers?"
"I-I treated everyone with respect, but…," She slowly lowered her head, in both shame and dread of what she had attempted to do out of fear and instinct. She had seen and experienced things in Yharnam that would scar anyone for life. "I'm just not used being around people."
He already expected her to have acted like this, and he knew where she had her behavior from. He could only hope that it was not too severe. "Hm, well I do hope you haven't lashed out at anyone out of instinct."
Her eyes widened by his assumption. "N-no, well there were attempts, but I was stopped from even doing so."
He was a little surprised by her answer, but he grew curious in knowing who stopped her, although he may already know the answer to that. "Oh? Who stopped you from lashing out?"
"It was Quinn, he stopped me when I was about to… attack everyone surrounding me the first night. He understood… well, sort of understood what I went through, and from then on he stayed with me. To make sure I never did it again."
He smiled again, "ah, Quinn. The hero of Huckleberry. Did he ever tell you his story?"
She nodded. "He did, or perhaps the short version of it."
"I see, that is just like him." He chuckled, but he then spoke sympathetically this time, "but back to the topic at hand; I did expect that answer from you, knowing how you had to endure the whole night in Yharnam."
His mention of Yharnam surprised her. "Wait, how did you know I came from Yharnam?"
"Eileen told me everything there is to know of this 'other world' including Yharnam and the plague," he replied. "At first, I thought she was just telling some disturbing fantasy as a means to get under my skin. But then she brought other hunters to my office who explained the same thing in their point of view, thus confirming her story."
She looked to Eileen, silently asking if all of this was true, that he could be trusted. She nodded, and a sense of relief flooded the Good Hunter from a tension she never realized she had.
"So that means you will believe everything I say then?" She asked.
He nodded. "Without a doubt, yes."
She made a quiet sigh of relief. At least she would be taking comfort in the fact that someone truly believed her.
Ozpin continued: "Eileen has told me much about your exploits, but I would like to know if you ended the Hunter's Night."
She nodded, but her expression showed otherwise. "Yes, I did end the Hunt. But it was not as I expected it to be."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow, and Eileen looked puzzled. Both of them being confused as to why she answered it that way.
"What do you mean when you say it was 'not as you expected it to be'?" He asked.
"Well, to my discovery, I was contracted to kill a Great One; an infant Great One." She answered, and that surprised them, more so from Eileen.
"How was that possible?" Asked a stunned Eileen.
"Well, to begin with, the source of the scourge turned out to be a nightmare made by the school of Mensis. They used to be part of the Healing church to what I've gathered, but as time passed they eventually became separate from the church, and used all manner of nightmarish rituals in secret to try and make contact with the Great Ones. They did succeed by using a Third Umbilical Cord, thus granting them audience with Mergo, but it resulted in the stillbirth of their brains, and to have their consciousness be trapped in the nightmare of their own making."
Ozpin's skin was beginning to grow pale hearing this, but was in confusion to one certain subject. "Hold on," he interrupted by raising his hand to silence her, "what exactly is a Third Umbilical Cord?"
"A Third Umbilical Cord is made by an infant Great One and are a precursor to the Umbilical Cord. They are used to gain insight, or as a means to contact the Great Ones as I mentioned earlier. That is all I know about them."
The headmaster bowed his understanding. "Is there something else?"
She nodded and traced back to where she left off. "The Mensis ritual, as it was called, was sealed away by Rom, also known as the Byrgenwerth Spider, thus creating a barrier so that no normal being would be able to see the true horrors surrounding them. I had to kill her in order to find the source. Of course, doing that removed the barrier and revealed the red moon… which caused the inhabitants to become beasts that much faster." The last sentence she spoke solemnly in guilt.
Their faces grew pale, Eileen more so after learning of this new information. Why the scholars of Mensis went to such drastic lengths to make contact with the Great Ones so badly, only to end up creating an even bigger problem was beyond her, but at least she would take comfort in knowing the Good Hunter had ended it.
Ella had to bury it back down in order to continue. "I eventually found the school of Mensis, and I went into the nightmare by touching the corpse of what I believed was Micolash. I've met him in the nightmare, being clearly insane by being trapped in that realm for so long. I slew him in order to reach Mergo. Once I reached the top of the tower I encountered Mergo's Wet Nurse, and by killing it also ended Mergo's life."
"And thus you fulfilled your contract and ended the Hunt." Eileen finished. Ella looked to her and nodded in confirmation.
Ozpin seemed satisfied enough to know how it all ended… if not technically more disturbed than before as his skin went pale with all that he heard. "Well that was… an interesting tale, although this may give me nightmares for the next few nights."
Now she started feeling even more guilty for telling them all that, but there was no other way to explain it other than by saying she had killed a Great One. "I'm sorry, I wish I could have described this less crudely."
"No, don't be. It was better to know the details… well, more so for her I suppose." He tilted his head once towards Eileen for emphasis as he then set his elbows on the glass desk and clasped his hands together. "Now onto the important question; why have you decided to come see me?"
"I came here hoping that you would help me find who I am and where my sister could be."
"I see, but do you remember your last name?"
She opened her mouth attempting to answer it, but it came up blank. Slowly she looked down, trying to remember but to no avail. And so she sighed. She knew this would complicate matters further.
"I cannot help you there, since you still cannot remember your family name. But that doesn't mean that we will not help you in that regard." He said.
She looked up to him, a little surprised he was willing to still help her.
"Really?" She asked.
"Yes, and I would like to offer you this. You can stay here until you've fully recovered your memories. You will have access to the library, the cafeteria and the gym, and visiting the city will help you be familiar with the cultures and people here. But you will have it under two conditions."
"Which are…?" Suddenly, the elevator door dinged, and she turned her head halfway as it opened up to reveal lady Goodwitch returning from class while looking down on her Scroll.
"Ah, miss Goodwitch, perfect timing." Said Ozpin. Glynda looked up from her Scroll to see, to her small surprise, Eileen returning from her mission, and also someone else looking back at her.
"Is this who I think it is?" She asked.
"Yes. Glynda, this is Ella, the one who fought the Grimm in Huckleberry." He answered as he addressed the two. "Ella, this is Glynda Goodwitch. She is my assistant, and is a teacher for combat class."
Ella stood up from her chair as she turned and gave a small bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss."
She nodded back, but with a stern expression. "Likewise." She then looks at Ozpin, albeit suspiciously knowing him. "I get the feeling I'm needed here for a reason."
He nodded. "Yes, I am giving our good huntress an opportunity to stay here until she has recovered her identity and has been rehabilitated, knowing what she has experienced." She was about to speak in protest but Ozpin halted her with a raised finger. "But not without restriction."
He returned his focus to Ella now: "It would be unwise to have you go anywhere outside of this school without an escort, so it would be best that you be paired with either Ms. Corvo or Ms. Goodwitch for the time being until you've become more comfortable with the populace, and since you look to be in your early twenties this means you will not be able to attend this school as a student, but perhaps you can work here as an assistant and substitute."
Those two subjects had her curious. "An assistant to whom?" She wondered.
"Why, the very teachers here in this academy by request, though mostly you'll be helping Eileen of course, since you both are familiar with your profession."
She looked towards Eileen with raised eyebrows. "You're a teacher here?"
She nodded neutrally. "Yes, I attend the nightly hunt classes on the weekends. It will not be about hunting beasts in the city, it will be about understanding how to hunt in the urban jungle."
"Now as for being a substitute," said Ozpin, "you will be taking over Ms. Goodwitch's class from time to time in case she is needed somewhere else."
Glynda looked unsure about Ella's proposition of being a substitute, but to have free rein to roam around the school was another matter of concern. Sure, this young woman had battled beasts on the streets of Yharnam for one long night, but she had been told that Ella had killed people before, which was precisely what she was concerned about. The Hunt could have turned this girl into an emotional wreck ready to snap at the drop of a hat. Who knew what could cause her to lash out? Having someone that unstable around her students…
"Professor, are you certain it's wise to let her be roaming around this academy freely? What if something were to happen and she starts attacking students left and right?"
"I appreciate your concern, Glynda," replied Eileen, "but she has yet to lash out at anyone, and last time I checked she was doing just fine in the village. And we went through the city's market district without incident."
"That is a relief indeed," said Ozpin as he then looked back at Glynda, "and I doubt any student would want to pick on her."
Inwardly she sighed. "Alright, but I would like to watch over her performance once during the combat duels."
He nodded in understanding and looked to Ella. "Is this agreeable?" he asked.
Ella thought it over. This deal made her feel like, in some way, a hostage. But she knew she was still not able to be fully comfortable in crowds yet. Spending four days in a village wasn't enough to change oneself so quickly, so at least agreeing to this will help along the way of improving her condition. Plus having access to the library and a job wouldn't hurt to gain some pay and insight along the way.
"Yes," she said as she nodded.
He half-smiled, "good, but before you can join Beacon, we have a tradition of putting both new staff associates and students through initiation. If they succeed, they will be granted full entry into Beacon. Call it a test of skill to see what you're capable of, if you will."
"I see," she wondered, "and what does this initiation entail?"
"That would be a secret for the next half hour."
As if on cue, her stomach began to growl. She looked away feeling embarrassed. "Perhaps you could make that an hour? She and I went on a small breakfast."
"Of course," he nodded, "Eileen, will you show Ella the kitchen please?"
"Certainly." She gestured for Ella to come along.
"Thank you," she said to Ozpin, and the two were soon in the elevator going down.
"What are you thinking, Glynda?" He asked. Rather rhetorically, as he already kind of knew what she was going to say, but Ozpin was not one given to making pointless assumptions.
She narrowed her eyes. "You're putting a great deal of trust in her, but I'm still uncertain if I can trust her to stay under control in this school, or even in the city for that matter. You do remember the stories Eileen told us."
In that one case, his guess had been spot-on. "If you trust Eileen's stories, then you have to trust her word as well. What would the alternative be? Not to welcome her? Then she could explode somewhere out of our sight and people would get killed. If the worst comes to pass, there is plenty of people here who can contain her.
"It is a gamble we have to make. We already have discovered the phenomenon of Hunters coming from another world to stay here, but to have a native of our world returning from Earth. She has become a puzzle piece to a mystery we have yet to understand."
Well, here you have it folks, chapter 7. I know that there was little to no action here, but we are going to have Ella go through initiation. That should be something to look forward to, right? Also, sorry I didn't reveal her last name, it just didn't feel like it was the right time to do so. Otherwise it would have felt like I'm accelerating her memories.
I hope you guys liked the dream memory of Ella punching her bully hard to the ground. Now I have a message to all victims of bullying: now depending on the bully, you can either fight back, showing that you no longer tolerate his/her arrogance; or just don't fight if it gives him/her the excuse to torture you even more. It can be a cruel world out there, so please, be strong about it and stand tall, because you know you're going to have a better life than whoever is picking on you.
Now as for any bullies reading this; stop being a bully, because you never know when one of the victims of your bullying is going to come back to haunt you in ways you don't want to imagine.
Oh yeah, shout out goes to CruxMDQ for his proofreading and editing.
Plus, there is a reference in this chapter to a forgotten game. If you can find it and remember the name of the game, then brownie points for anyone who gets it.
This Kyro2009, signing off.