Chapter 2: A New Look (Somewhat)
Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth
Hey There Guys and Gals! TTOA here back with another Chapter! I hope you enjoy this. I also want to thank the people who are following and favoriting this story. It means a lot to me.
Now then, onward with the Chapter!
(Update 6/5/2015 sgolek1 pointed out a major inconstancy with this Chapter and I have taken the time to correct it. Thanks a bunch)
"Speech"
'Thought'
Emphasis
Opening Narration/Log
X-X-X Scene shift
Opallios's Log #1
Day One of New Life
2:30 A.M.
Looks like I got something new to write about this time. I was on Earth, my old home and old life, when I received a mysterious package. Not really thinking much on it, I opened it and inside was what I later would find out to be a Lightning Dust crystal. It transported me to Remnant, specifically Beacon Academy, a place where people train to become Huntsmen/Huntresses. I know of this information due to how Remnant existed on Earth. Seeing Beacon first hand was awesome. It was just how I imagined it to be. But meeting Miss Goodwitch was just as terrifying. Ozpin seemed pretty chill though. He even offered me to be accepted into Beacon! How kick-ass is that?! I had to decline unfortunately due to how different I am from the people of Remnant as well as not having any combat training. Ozzy Ozpin (I like giving him this nickname) gave me a Scroll as well as a direction to a smithy in Vale ran by someone named Sathrall. I hope whomever this is can make me some Dust -resistant armor. I'm also giving myself two years of training however I can before I decide to go to Beacon...
Just Outside Vale
I sat there looking out the window of the airship and admiring the view of Vale. Man, my hometown doesn't have anything on this. I smiled to myself.
"First time visiting Vale?" I heard the pilot ask.
"Yeah, it is. It's a great view from up here. I can't wait to see some of the sights." I said.
"Well we are about to touch down."
"Alright."
I sat down as the airship made its descend into Vale.
Downtown Vale
"Thanks for the ride!" I called out.
"No problem kid. Enjoy your time in Vale!" the pilot replied before he took off.
Looking around the city, taking in the sites and sounds, I felt a bit at ease that Vale was similar to most of the places back home. Which I don't think I will be able to see again. But this doesn't seem too bad. I pulled out my Scroll and activated the GPS like Ozpin instructed me to do so. I quickly found the location of the blacksmith. I follow the marker until I arrived at The Hammer and the Anvil. I could tell from the intense heat of the area that this was the place. I took in a deep breath and headed inside. I looked around the store and I saw so many weapons. There was everything from swords to daggers; bows, to boomerangs; and practically every kind of firearm imaginable. This is amazing! I heard some footsteps approaching, and I was greeted by a man. His face looked like it had seen many battles. Although he had no visible scars, he had a mess of blonde hair with a braided one on the right side of his face. His face looked to be in his mid 30s. He had a goatee of the same color and had jade-colored eyes. His build was very muscular, but not beefy or body-builder. His attire had a dark red and black apron with baggy black pants. He also had a hammer strapped to the left side of his body. This guy just screams Skyrim Nord. He looked at me with determined eyes.
"Hello young man. Welcome to the Hammer and the Anvil, I am Sathrall, the best Blacksmith in Vale. What can I do for you?"
He definitely sounds like one too. "Hello. I am Opallios Stone, and I have a request from Headmaster Ozpin. He says his regards," I answered as I handed him the paper Ozpin gave me. Looking it over a few times, Sathrall eyes softened and let out a hearty laugh that placed me at ease.
"I haven't talked with ol' Ozzy in a long time. I will happily do whatever I can Mr. Stone."
"Please call me Opallios."
"No problem! Now I see you have a request for a Dust resistant material. I am assuming that it is armor you want?" Already having an idea on what I wanted due to me thinking it over while making my trip here, I gave him the template I wanted. Giving him my hoodie as a extra template to make it out of. "Is there anything else you want me to do?" Sathrall asked me as he took my hoodie.
I said, "Can you make me two retractable center-gripped shields that go from my neck, to around my knees and around my body out of the same Dust resistant material? I am learning to become ambidextrous, and I think being able to use a shield in either hand would be beneficial for me. As far as a weapon is concerned, I want to have a simple mace, with a slightly pointed tip at the end, but not so much that is doesn't mess-up the weight, so I can have a bit of a thrust to my mace instead of just bashing everything in all the time. I don't want a firearm added to the mace because I don't plan on using one. If you could also add an aura reader to the HUD of my visor for the hood, I would like that too. I think that would be all. I'm sorry if that is too much."
Sathrall gave another laugh, "Not a problem at all my lad! I am going to need to keep your hoodie for a couple of days. It actually shouldn't take me more than two days to get everything done. On the subject on your weapon, it is customary for hunters to name their weapons. What do you like to name it?"
Crestfallen that I wouldn't be able to get my hoodie back for a couple of days, I thought of a name for my weapon. "I would like to name her Black Lightning. My shields can be called Gemini Guardians."
"Her? You have your things feminine?" Sathrall inquired.
"It's something that is common back home." I said. "So it will be a couple of days before they are ready, right?"
"That is correct. I'll call you when they are finished."
"Alright. Thanks Sathrall. I can't wait for the results!"
I left the smith and decided to go and see the things Vale had to offer me. I should probably look for a job or something. I'm going to need some money. Sucks that I am not going to have my hoodie for awhile. Let's make make the job something easy for me to do. Bringing out my Scroll again, I did a quick job search at locations near me. I was surprised that the Scroll gave so much detailed information. Huh, there is a place called The Wolf of the Moon that's looking for someone to clean up the place. I'm going to assume it's run by Faunas. Hopefully they will accept me despite me being human.
"Then again, I'm not technically human." I mumbled to myself as I came to a decision to head there. The place was actually not too far from both the smith and the airships leading to Beacon. I arrived there in about three minutes since I take long strides whenever I walk. I took a deep breath and walked inside. I heard the bell on the top of the door ring as I looked around the place. It was an antique store and it really did look like it needed to be cleaned. There was dust on multiple shelves and dirt piled up in various corners of the room. I heard someone approaching me.
"Welcome to The Wolf of the Moon, how may I help- what's a human doing here?" the Faunus said as he saw me. He was a typical wolf Faunus, and he looked to be in his mid-twenties and he also wasn't pleased to see me.
"Hello, my name is Opallios Stone, and I am here for the job opening as far as helping to keep your store clean." I said. "Is me being a human going to be a problem? Do you not hire and/or serve humans?"
"I don't normally get a lot of humans here. I'm just surprised that a human would even consider working here. I honestly don't think all humans are bad. Most treat us like trash, but there are a few diamonds in the rough that treat us with the respect. My name is Jason by the way."
"Well Jason, you can consider me one of those diamonds in the rough. I have a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of racism. It's wrong that only because someone has a few animal-like traits that they are immediately looked down upon and ridiculed. It seems that even here, racism still rears its ugly head. Where I come from, people like me would treated poorly due to our skin color being different; we were known as colored people. We are stereotyped and underpaid, despite having laws that are supposed to make it better for us, and it pisses me off. So you could say I understand what it feels like." I explained.
Jason nodded. "I never thought humans could ridicule one another for a reason like that. I'm sorry for judging you like that. It's just hard to find kind humans these days."
"It's alright. I understand you had your reasons to assume so. I just wish Fauna were treated with the respect they deserve."
Jason paused. "Can I ask you a more personal question?"
I looked at him. "Sure, what's on your mind?"
"What is your opinion on the White Fang?"
I thought about it a bit before answering. "I understand what the White Fang is trying to do, and I admire that they are doing things peacefully. There was a time back home where my people fought for our rights through peaceful protests. I hope the White Fang can make some progress by doing this. However, it seems that said progress is slow in bringing change."
"Interesting answer. I'm sorry for all of the questions. You wanted the job, right?" Jason said.
"It's fine, what do you want me to do?" I replied.
"I just want you to keep watch over the store. Cleaning up the dust off of the stuff is needed. I think that's pretty much it," Jason told me.
"Will me being a human interfere with business? I don't want you to lose customers on account of me," I asked.
Jason shook his head. "I don't get a whole lot of customers anyway. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Alright then," I said and we shook hands. At least I have a job now. "Oh wait, I'm expecting something at The Hammer and the Anvil to be done in a couple of days. I hope it's not too much trouble for me to go and get it when it's ready."
"It's not a problem. If you are getting something from Sathrall, then it must be good." Jason told me.
Satisfied, I got a duster and some gloves and began cleaning up The Wolf of the Moon.
A few hours later
Wiping the sweat off of my brow, I got the place to be so clean that everything had a nice shine to it. Jason walked in from the back and looked around. Whistling, he said, "Man, I haven't seen the store this clean in a long time. Here is your paycheck."
He handed it to me, but I was confused. "Don't I need a few days of working here to be done before I get paid?" I asked him.
"Nah. Since you did such a good job, and I don't get a lot of company as it is, I figured it would be nice to get some money to you. Plus, you look like you could use some. I pay in cash and check by the way. This first one's in cash," Jason said smiling.
Genuinely surprised at such a generous offer from a stranger I've only known for a few hours, I took out the money, 45 Lien, and placed it in my pocket. Thanking Jason, I was about to leave the store, but I realized I did not have a place to sleep for the night. I asked him where the nearest hotel was, and he directed me to where I needed to go. I headed to the hotel, which was once again close to where my job was at, and ordered a room. Man, what a day. At least I have a job that has a good pay by my standards, considering I never had a job before. Jason seems nice as well. I did a journal entry before I went to sleep, knowing that my journey has only just begun.
The next day
Here I was at my job keeping The Wolf of Moon clean, when my Scroll vibrated. Digging it out of my pocket, I saw that I received a notification from Sathrall concerning my armor. It said that it was finished early, and after Jason let me go get it, I left the store and headed to get my stuff. Walking inside to see Sathrall, I saw he had everything I needed. I looked at what would be my armor, and it looked just how I wanted without activating it; just like my regular black zipper hoodie with bits of red in it.
I said as I put it on, "Man, this looks nice. How do I activate it?"
Sathrall said, "This is one of my best works. In order to activate it, you need to have it zipped all the way up, have the hood up, and in the pockets there are two switches that activate the full armor."
Trying it out, I got it all to work and it covered my whole body. The colors were a mixture of black armor with streaks of red along the shoulders, arms, chest area, and legs. It reminded me a bit of something out of an anime, but I couldn't remember which one it was specifically.
"It doesn't seem to weigh that much. Is the material light-weight?" I asked.
Sathrall nodded. "Yeah, the material is light-weight, but it acts like a full suit of armor. You got some really good stuff. I also added the aura reader to you HUD like you asked. Also the hoodie itself is made out of the same material."
Looking at it, I noticed that he had a lot of aura while I didn't seem to had any. I frowned. "I don't know how much I have. I think my aura is still locked."
Sathrall raised his eyebrows. "What?! Your aura is locked?! If you are going to be a huntsman, you are going to need your aura unlocked. I'll do it for you."
"Are you sure? I heard the process takes a lot of energy. Will you be okay to do this? I don't want to harm you." I questioned.
"It should be fine. Just make it another thing I can help you with." Sathrall reassured me. "Now you are going to need to hold still as I unlock it okay?"
"Alright. If you are okay with this." I said as I stood still.
Sathrall placed his hand on my shoulder and closed his eyes and spoke, "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."
I felt something inside of me being awakened. I was engulfed in a yellow aura. Sathrall, opened his eyes and took in a deep breath, stumbling a bit. I caught him asking him if he was okay. He told me it was fine. I noticed that my aura reader on my HUD shot up.
"Looks like you have a lot of aura. Haven't seen someone with that much in a long time." Sathrall said.
"Seems like I do, according to my aura reader on my HUD." I replied.
"Oh that reminds me, flick your wrists and it will activate your shields."
Flicking my left wrist, my shield opened up and covered most of my body. Happy with the results, I activated my other shield, and I saw it was the same. Feeling the weight of it as I held it in my hand, as it wasn't really attached to my wrist, it was just where the shields were stored. Sweet.
"One more thing," Sathrall told me as he went in the back of the store. He came back with my mace. "Here's the weapon you wanted. I hope it's to your liking."
He handed me my Black Lightning and I looked at her with awe as it was my first weapon. Feeling the weight in my hand as I balanced it and giving it a few small swings, I was overjoyed with the results. I also liked how the tip was pointed , but it wasn't long enough to hurt the weight.
"This is amazing! Thank you so much for everything Sathrall!" I said as I placed Black Lightning in my holster and deactivated my armor.
"No problem Opallios! I'm happy to have another satisfied customer. If you need any kind of repairs, let me know. I will always welcome you." Sathrall said with a smile.
"Thanks. I will." I replied. Being how I just remembered something very important, I had one more question for Sathrall. "Can you give me a location for someone to train me? I planned on getting into Beacon in a couple of years after I gotten some training."
Thinking it over for a minute, Sathrall got out a piece of paper and wrote down an address. "When you have the time, head here. He is an old friend of mine. I don't just give his location to just anyone, so he will know that I sent you. Fair warning though; his methods are a bit forceful at first, but they produce results."
"Thanks Sathrall. I'll head over there after my shift." I said.
"You actually got a job; and in only a day? Nice!" Sathrall said.
"Thanks for the tip!" I said good-bye and headed back to Jason.
X-X-X
I was back at The Wolf of the Moon and I decided to show Jason my new armor. He was amazed that it looked so casual normally while the armor itself looked liked it something out of an action movie. I decided not to show him my weapons due to possible damage to the store.
"Well, what kind of weapons do you have?" Jason asked me.
"I just have a slightly pointed mace. I named her Black Lightning because I want to utilize the Lightning Dust inside me to give it an extra punch." I said.
"Sounds awesome! At least you can help defend the store." Jason said.
"Wait? Do you robbed often?" I asked him.
"No. It will just be added protection. Who would rob an antique store anyway?" he asked rhetorically.
"I guess that makes sense. Now, I'm going to meet someone to train me; and I think it will interfere with the job. Are your hours flexible?" I asked with a bit of worry.
"Yeah man, I'm totally flexible. If this will help you become a Huntsman, then I can work around it."
"Thanks, although I don't know what kind of training I will get or how long my training will be on a daily basis, so I might not be able to be at work all that often." I told him.
"Again, it's fine. You'll be training to be a Huntsman. I understand that training will be tough. As long as you show up a few times, that's all that matters to me. If you are able to, tell me how it goes. Are you going to go after today?"
"Yeah, I was going to head there after my shift. I wanted to start as soon as I can." I explained.
Jason nodded in understanding. "I guess I'll let you leave early so you can get to your training." He told me.
"Are you sure? I can work for a few more hours if you want." I asked him.
"Nah, it's fine. Better to start training early than start later on." Jason answered. "If I am not going to be seeing you all that often, I guess I should pay you. It's in cash again. Let me know when you make an account so I can start paying you with checks."
"Thanks boss! I'll try to get an account as soon as I can. I'll also give you some insight on how my training goes" I thanked him as I left. I looked up at the sky to see the sun was going down. Damn it. Looks like I will have to start my training tomorrow. My stomach rumbled. I just realized I haven't eaten anything since I got here. I wonder where the nearest place is. I checked my Scroll to see where I could grab a bite to eat. I saw that there was a cafe nearby. After a ten minute walk, I made it to the cafe. Sat down in a booth near the back of the place. A Faunus waitress asked for my order and I said I just wanted a sandwich with some water. After a few minutes she came back with my order. I ate my sandwich in silence as I wrote in my journal. I wonder what kind of music they have in this world? Hopefully some Rock or Metal. I was about to elaborate on this when I heard a scream. I turned around to see the waitress about to be beaten by someone. Noticing that no one came to help her, I got up and went over to the man.
"HEY! What the fuck is your issue? Leave her alone!" I said darkly.
The man looked at me and said, "This animal doesn't deserve to be here."
"Bull-fucking-shit! You need to get the FUCK out of here!" I threatened as I activated my armor, but did not draw Black Lightning.
"You want to go beast-lover? You don't stand a chance." the man said.
He went ahead and threw a punch at me which connected with my face. My armor protected my from most of the hit, but it still hurt. Damn it! That hurt like hell. The man sneered as he got ready for another punch. Suddenly, I felt something in me change. I clenched up my fist and was ready to throw it, and I felt my aura get powered by it. I blocked his punch with my hand and threw the punch with, not realizing how powerful it was going to be. When the punch connected, there was a charge coming from it, and the man crashed into a few tables and was nearly knocked out. I stood over him, fury engulfed my face as I said two simple words, "GET. OUT." The man looked at me in fear and scrambled out of the cafe, which was met with silence. Deactivating my armor, I looked around the cafe with an annoyed expression.
"What's wrong with all of you? None of you decided to help. Do you have no heart? It's people like you that make me lose faith in humanity. I don't know why you just stand there when someone needs help, but show a little concern. Just a little can make all the difference." I told them. They all looked a little down. I looked around them again, "I understand that some of you wouldn't have acted in place in my position, that is why I am training to become a Huntsman. I have a zero-tolerance policy for racism. I don't want any of this to happen anymore to anyone. Can I count on you all to make a difference? Even if it's not much, the smallest pebble can cause the largest avalanche." I saw the faces look up with understanding. Happy that I was able to make some changes of heart for some people with my less-than-stellar speech, I walked over to the waitress. "Are you alright? I hope I didn't frighten you." I asked with a look of concern.
She looked shaken up, but she said, "Y-yeah. I'm fine. Thanks to you."
I smiled. "My name is Opallios Stone, but I like to just be called Opallios. I'm sorry you had to be treated this way. It's inexcusable."
"My name is Catlin Lilly. Thank you for helping me. It's very rare to see humans treat Faunas fairly. And it to find the cute ones." she said with a small smile.
Blushing slightly and scratching the back of my head in embarrassment, I said, "It's fine. I do hope that humanity will treat the Faunas with the respect they deserve sometime soon." Thanking her for the food, I paid her extra and headed back to the hotel. What the heck happened back there? I got angry and I think my fist got charged with a mixture of my aura and the Lightning Dust. But what was with me blocking the punch. I wouldn't have been able to block that since I can't fight worth a damn. "So what happened?" I mumbled to myself as I reached my room. It's nothing to dwell over. I am confident that training can figure it out. I'm also going to need some more clothes. Can't wear the same thing for three days straight. I did another entry in my journal before drifting off to sleep.
Man, I'm tired. How many words was this?
*Checks word count*
Wow, that's a lot for me to do.
Okay, so I now have a job, I got my armor and my mace. As well as made some friends.
I really can't thank you guys enough for waiting so patiently for this Chapter. College is really taking its toll on me. I hope you liked it!
This has been TTOA and I will see you all in Chapter 3!
Peace!
