Freddy looked slightly displeased when an old, run down taxi was the only thing he could arrange for ten lien. It wasn't much, but he still got a ride back to Beacon. Well not exactly to Beacon. He'd still have to walk there for a bit. It wasn't a long walk. But it still sucked nonetheless. His clothes had dried up, but the stench of sea water still lingered. The driver even asked what the smell was, and where it came from. Freddy responded by telling the driver he did not pay him to ask questions.
If you hadn't guessed by now; Freddy was pissed off. Very much so. His entire day had been ruined. He could have gotten shot. He could have actually died today. The thought scared him, and he needed to calm himself down before he started hyperventilating. He asked the driver to roll down the window. The driver happily complied, wanting to get the stench of fish and sea water out of his vehicle as fast as possible.
Freddy stuck his arm outside the window, letting the wind pass by it. He closed his eyes and hummed a soft tone to himself. He really wanted to go to bed. He wondered what Ramses was doing right now. The bar should be closed by now. Ramses was either finishing up the last remaining glasses he had to polish, or cleaning the tables. He smiled at the thought. He wanted to be there.
"Looks like there is a lot of traffic on the road." The driver said, shaking Freddy out of his thoughts and providing the driver with his full attention.
"Must be a busy night." Freddy responded, humming in thought.
The driver nodded, looking in the rear mirror so he could get a better look at his passenger. "So what brings you out here? Your clothes seem kind of fancy, but they're all dried up and—to be blank, they stink. You should be grateful I even let you enter my car. Not to mention you only had ten lien on you, but whatever." He muttered that last bit underneath his breath, not wanting his passenger to hear his insult. He was the one who was going to pay him for the ride.
"If ten is not enough, I can get more. Just drop me off at Beacon and I will let Ozpin handle the rest." Freddy nonchalantly replied, not liking the man's attitude one bit.
That seemed to get the drivers attention as he looked back into his rear mirror and adjusted it slightly, getting a full view at Freddy. The driver's face twisted into a creepy smile. "So," he started, chuckling. "You know the headmaster of Beacon Academy, huh? My ride is going to cost you forty lien in total. Got to pay for the gas—and not to mention the stench that I've got to wash out of my car. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that-."
"Will you shut your mouth and drive!?" Freddy exclaimed, his piercing glare shutting the man up who, in return, gave Freddy a glare of his own. Freddy closed his eyes again and tried to get some sleep. His eyes felt quite heavy and he needed a good night's rest after all that had occurred this day.
Minutes passed and it felt like he was finally comfortable enough to drift off to dreamland. That was until the car suddenly came to an abrupt halt, shaking Freddy out of his (near) slumber and almost making his crash head first into the back of the driver's seat. He looked at the driver in anger and shock.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Freddy asked the driver.
His reply was not what he was expecting. The driver jumped out of the car and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, screaming along the way. Freddy raised an eyebrow in confusion, not knowing what could cause such a reaction to occur. He looked out of the front window and it was then that he realized what caused the driver to take off like that. A humongous robot was heading straight towards them! Freddy watched, frozen in place as the robot made his way through the thick lines of traffic; punching and throwing cars over the bridge Freddy's ride was parked on.
Freddy watched as the robot's distance became less and less from where he was at. He opened the door to his right and got out, running towards the edge of the bridge. He knelt down, covered his head with his hands and watched the robot run over his car, stomping it to tiny bits. The holographic panel, which must have served as some kind of rail to stop cars from crashing off the bridge, flickered because of the impact.
'I'm… I'm going to die tonight, aren't I?' Freddy thought to himself. Great. Freaking great! First he almost gets shot, then he had to swim through ice-cold water, and now there is a giant robot being chased by a girl on a motorcycle and a guy that's sitting behind her!
…
Was that Yang on that motorcycle?!
Freddy's eyes shot open as he watched Yang and the young man on her motorcycle catch up to the robot. He observed the scene, his mouth wide open as he suddenly saw what appeared to be Weiss—he thought he got that right. He'd seen her a couple of times in Beacon itself. Anyway! She created ice! Freaking ice with her sword that made the robot crash into the railing and fall down several feet towards the concrete below. The boy was holding on to the robot, until he crashed into another boy with a tail and fell off the bridge. He hoped that they were alright. He saw Yang, and what appeared to be another girl he'd swore he'd seen before jump down towards where the robot had fallen.
Freddy collapsed against the railing and held his head in his hands, trying to process what he had just witnessed. He breathed heavily, his shaking hands reaching for his pocket. He got out his scroll and with shaky fingers dialed the number he wanted to call. After a few beeps someone finally picked up.
"Yo, yo, what's good?"
Freddy looked at his nephew and replied. "Ramses, I am in a lot of trouble." Freddy stuttered.
Ramses looked at his uncle, confused and skeptical about his reply. "You aren't playing games on me, are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
Freddy looked at him angrily. "There is a giant robot running rampant through the streets of Vale. I almost got CRUSHED by it. I am fearing for my life! If that comes over as "playing games" in your book, then holy fuck you just earned yourself ten points!" he replied, slowly getting up.
Ramses' expression turned serious. He nodded to his uncle, inhaling a deep breath of air. "Listen, I'm going to give someone call. Whatever you do, do NOT let yourself be seen by that robot or anyone else for that matter. Walk away from it as fast as possible. I'll have someone pick you up ASAP!"
Freddy nodded slowly. "Just… just make it quick, I'm not feeling too well at the moment." He confessed, holding his hand to his mouth. "I think I'm going to throw up." he said, walking towards the edge of the bridge.
"Uncle, wait!" Ramses shouted.
It was too late for anyone to stop Freddy. He dropped to his knees and threw up his lunch from a few hours ago. He wheezed for a good minute before it finally seemed to settle down a bit. With teary eyes he looked at the scroll he was holding and saw his nephew shaking his head with an expression of disgust ton his face.
"I did not need to see that up close." Ramses commented, rolling his eyes slightly. "Uncle, listen to me. Get out of there, NOW! It's dangerous."
It sounded like an order, and by the tone of his voice; Ramses was dead serious. He decided to listen to his nephew for once and got up. He looked at the scroll and gave a small smile of appreciation, and then hung up. Freddy looked down at the concrete below him and saw something that made his stomach turn again. There was the robot, in its full glory, towering over four girls that were desperately trying to fight it off. One of the girls got punched into a support beam, making it crack and eventually shattering it to a million pieces. The girl fell down… but before she reached the ground the robot punched her straight in her stomach, sending her flying towards the ground.
Freddy's eyes widened when he realized who got punched.
"YANG!" He shouted, fearing this was the last time he'd ever see the girl. "No, no, no! Why does this have to happen when I'm around! Haven't I suffered enough for today?!" he asked himself, shaking his head furiously. He looked down at the robot in anger, hoping there was some kind of miracle out there that had yet to occur. He saw the other three girls, one he could identify as Ruby Rose because of the trail of rose pedals she left behind as she swiftly maneuvered herself around the robot.
As fate would have it, a miracle did occur. Yang got up and looked angry. Very angry.
The robot, having lost one of his arms because of a combination attack that had occurred a few moments before—something Freddy had to miss out on because he was too busy emptying his stomach—re-tracked its huge metal arm backwards and shot it straight towards Yang, hoping to finish what it has started. But instead of killing her, the robot stopped. Or actually, it was stopped by someone. That someone being Yang; who had blocked the robot's fist and simply punched it back, shattering its other arm!
The robot flinched, but recovered quickly and kicked Yang back, sending her flying through the air. She was, however, caught by one of her teammates who threw (what appeared to be) a rope at her. Yang had caught it and was now being catapulted straight towards the robot! There was so much happening at once, that Freddy did not even notice the robot now appeared to have crystals on its entire body. They looked like ice. Ice crystals? Who knew that was a thing in weather conditions like this?
Were this a video game, it would have screamed "finish him!" Because Yang was launched towards the robot, increasing her speed by shooting shells out of her gauntlets. Her fist collided with the robot, and it was sent flying backwards instead it being the other way around. The robot shattered into a thousand pieces, and a man wearing a white coat came rolling out of the debris. Was he piloting the robot?
Freddy watched as Yang shot one of her shells at the man, causing Freddy to gasp. She was going to kill him!
But before the shell could hit, another person stepped in to intercept it with… and umbrella? She just stopped a shotgun shell with an umbrella? How does one apply physics to this? Or even common sense? Freddy watched as some looks were exchanged. The girl with the umbrella bowed formally, although it was probably meant as an insult or even a sarcastic gesture. Yang shot forward and punched the two—that being the man in the white coat and his associate. They too shattered into a thousand pieces.
Not the strangest thing he'd seen all day. Freddy fell backwards and hit the concrete with a loud thud. His eyes felt too heavy to keep them open. So he closed them and let his mind take over. Probably not the best place to faint. But a man has to make do with what he is presented with.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Breathing heavily, with sweat dripping down my neck and forehead, I haphazardly made it into the hallway where my room was located at. Twisting the doorknob, I quickly opened the door and hurried inside, closing it behind me. I turned around and was greeted by three faces, one of which looked very tired and beat.
"Uncle Freddy," I softly muttered, walking towards him, still wearing my working clothes. He was sitting on the edge of his bed and had his head drooping downwards, his gaze fixed upon the floor. I knelt down in front of him. "I am so, so sorry." I said, closing my eyes. "I never should have sent you out there. I didn't think this through and now look what happened. I should have kept a closer eye on the timeline but… it's so hard to keep track of everything. And now I almost got you killed not once, but twice today. I know asking for forgiveness is the last thing you'd want me to do, but it's all I can do at this point. No stupid talks, no stupid insults." I shook my head, rubbing my neck afterward. "All I can say is: I'm sorry, uncle."
I felt a hand on my shoulder, but it wasn't my uncle's. I looked behind me and saw Ozpin. The look on his face made it hard to tell what he was thinking right now. He probably thinks I am an idiot or something. I bowed my head slightly.
"Your actions put your uncle in grave danger today, young man." Ozpin began, looking down at me. "You should have planned out your moves more carefully. You could have talked this over with me. You're lucky I got Glynda to go and fetch your uncle on such a short notice." He said, looking at his assistant and most likely one of his trusted allies.
Goodwitch shrugged. "It was easy locating him. The smell helped." She joked, looking at Freddy.
"Yeah, you smell pretty bad, uncle." I said, nudging his shoulder. Again I got no response out of him. He must have been really scared back there. I felt my heart ache seeing him like this. I placed my hands on his shoulder. "Uncle, please say something. I don't like it when you go all quiet on me."
It sounded like a plea, perhaps it was. I just wanted him to say something. Anything.
Ozpin cleared his throat, getting my attention. He motioned for me to get up from the floor, and so I did. I looked him straight in the eyes and could see that he was about to continue his scolding. So I just prepared for the worst.
"Why did you send your uncle on such a dangerous task? I though you knew the events of the future—or so you have led me to believe." Ozpin said, his gaze piercing into my very soul. "If you knew what was bound to happen, then you purposely put your uncle in danger because of the need of information about your world—more specifically how to get back to it. Your actions have put him in a place he was not meant to be in. He could have died, and you would have been all alone." He finished, placing his arms behind his back. "I know this might sound rude and offensive, but I am being honest with you. You have to think these things through."
I glared at Ozpin, clenching my fist. "Don't you think I know that?" I said through gritted teeth. "I knew that this was going to happen. What I didn't know was that it would happen today. I never got any mention about it, nor was I aware of it. Team RWBY was out there, fighting against Torchwick in that hijacked Atlesian Paladin. I didn't know they were gone, because I was working at the bar. So don't blame me for something I had no control over!" I pointed my finger at him accusingly. "What about you? What secrets have you been hiding from us? Why won't you tell me what happened to Summer Rose, or who Salem is! I'm sharing everything I have with you and here you are, giving me nothing in return."
"I gave you a place to call your home, a paid job and shelter from the evils of Remnant. I think that is fair payment for a little bit of information." Ozpin countered.
"Information that could save all of your lives!" I retorted, punching the wall beside me in anger. "You think I want to keep everything a secret? I don't want to cause more harm by telling you everything I know! That could have serious consequences. Ever heard of the butterfly effect? Yeah, that is what I'm going to cause if I tell you anything more."
I was breathing heavily, my face red from all the pent up frustration from the scolding Ozpin had given me. Goodwitch seemed to be quite surprised at my sudden outburst. Even Ozpin went silent for a few seconds. Before anyone could say something, a voice from behind me spoke up.
"I am not angry, just unsure of what to do."
I spun around with a smile on my face. "Uncle! Are you okay?"
Freddy looked at me with tired eyes. "Yes, I'm fine… I guess. I've seen some pretty messed up things today." He turned his gaze towards Ozpin before he continued. "Your students… they fought against a giant robot and beat it. I saw Yang getting hit by that thing. It should have killed her. As much as it pains me to admit it, she should be dead."
Ozpin nodded slowly, taking this all in. "I have reason to believe, from the information Ramses has provided me with, the concept of aura is alien to your planet. You see, aura protects us. It acts like a barrier that makes us stronger, and makes it able to take more hits than normal humans. Every being with a soul has an aura. This is exactly the reason why the Grimm have none. Which begs the question," he said, looking at me again. "Where is your aura? Why have you not unlocked it?"
I shrugged. "Because we do not have it." I replied, motioning to myself and my uncle.
Goodwitch nodded in agreement. "Ms. Nikos and Mr. Arc have told me an interesting story. I believe I have informed you of this, sir."
"Yes you have," Ozpin replied. "But it still begs the question of "why". I have to do some research into this. The logical explanation would be that the two of you have no soul." He chuckled after he made that comment. "But if you did not then I would have noticed. You two are perfectly fine human beings, complete with a soul… but no aura." He held his chin in thought. "Well, I guess that is a question for another time. Take some rest, both of you. You will need it for tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow about again?" I asked.
"Why the dance, of course. A day we can all relax and have some fun time to spend with one another." Ozpin replied.
My eyes widened. This did not go unnoticed By Ozpin and Goodwitch.
"I have something to tell you all. Tomorrow at the dance…"
A/N:
Well, well, well, looks like the dance is coming up. How will this event turn out? Will Ramses be able to turn the tides and change the event that set in motion the destruction of Beacon? I guess we'll have to find out what he has in store for us next.
