Friday, August 14
POV: Aaron
The transport flew over the Emerald Forest at a pace that rivaled that of many Quickwings on Vroengard. Aaron stood by a door watching the trees roll by beneath them. Ruby stood on the other side staring at her feet. The older Rider looked at the younger with concern. Her emotions had been all over the place since he found everyone in the clearing. Now, she was equally likely to explode in rage as to collapse on the floor in depression. Still, as much as Aaron was concerned for Ruby, he was also glad she was at least beginning to realize what her dragon means to her.
They arrived at Beacon Academy faster than Aaron expected. Only five minutes after they left the clearing, the transport was settling down in front of the school. If Cerise was so close, why did it take the healers so long to get there? Also, if these people really were healers, where was the equipment necessary? Aaron knew he didn't know what most medical equipment of Remnant did, or even looked like, but surely they would have things to wrap wounds and dress them on the spot. He didn't see anything that looked like that.. Aaron concluded that his and Ruby's transport never was intended to treat Cerise.
Something is definitely wrong here. Aaron thought as he stepped out of the transport. Ruby jumped out and immediately started walking with purpose toward the center of Beacon. Her mood was made up now, she was furious. She stormed her way across the campus grounds, with Aaron keeping his distance behind her. About halfway to the tower at the center of the school, a group of four casually moved to intercept Ruby. "Hey Ruby, you're back," one of they said, "I thought we planned to-"
"Not now Jaune," Ruby growled. The other group just stared.
Aaron tried to walk past unnoticed, but at least one of the four saw him. "Who is that guy?" the one called Jaune asked his group as the Rider walked by.
"And why is Ruby acting so grumpy?" a female voice chipped in.
"I can't help but feel the two are related," the other woman said.
Aaron quickened his pace to catch up to Ruby. Several people around the courtyard watched the two with interest, probably the combination of Ruby's less than normal attitude and a new guy. As much as Aaron wanted to keep a low profile, that wasn't exactly possible anymore. He lost an egg that was found by a local and the hatchling was severely injured. Ruby and Cerise needed protection, and as much as he was able, instruction. Also, the people on the transport had seen two dragons in a land where there were none. They might be professional enough to not say anything, but Aaron didn't want to take that chance. Better to 'go public' on his own terms.
Ruby entered the tower and walked up to a pair of silver doors. She pushed a button by the side of them then crossed her arms, still in front of the door. Aaron raised an eyebrow at the sight. Why was she just standing there? Where were the handles on the doors? Soon a ding chimed, and the doors opened of their own accord. Ruby walked into the small room on the other side. She turned around and gave Aaron a strange look.
"What, you never seen an elevator before?" she asked with only a slight hint of her normal tone sneaking in.
Aaron walked into the 'elevator' and the doors closed behind him. Immediately after he felt himself moving upward at a surprising pace. "You have some strange magic here," he said. Ruby looked up at Aaron in confusion, then shook her head. Her anger was rising with the elevator. Soon it would spill over if she couldn't control it. Aaron remembered a time where his rage boiled over in a populated area. The result wasn't fun to deal with.
POV: Zach
Earlier...
Team Gray, his team, was walking around Beacon's campus, just minding their own business, reminiscing on good times in the field and resting after having fought a couple of Deathstalkers earlier, one of which Sakura was about to kill, before Zach destroyed it with a Fire Dragon's Roar, while Percy was still pissed about the game of keep away they had played with Riptide.
"Hey Zach, remember the whipped cream bomb during training?" Sakura asked. They all burst out laughing at the memory. They had made a whipped cream bomb and set it off next to Red Team's bunks in the barracks. Red Team was pissed, but had no clue who did it. As they were laughing, Zach noticed a Bullhead land and drop off one very angry Ruby and a stranger who he knew he would have recognized if he had seen him before. Ruby was storming over to Professor Ozpin's office, stranger in tow.
"I'll be right back guys. Ruby's pissed and I want to know why." He said, as he unfolded his two pairs of wings, one white and birdlike, the other black, tattered, and bat-like, and took off, cloaking as he did so via active camouflage. He overheard their conversation from outside the office, completely invisible the whole time.
The stranger stepped out of the elevator calmly, but Ruby exploded past him. "Why did you make us leave Cerise out there?" she yelled. Her anger poured off her like a waterfall, more literally than metaphorically.
The stranger looked at Ruby in shock. He put a calming yet firm hand on the Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, calm yourself," he said.
Ruby just shrugged off his hand. "You knew that Cerise was severely injured. That wasn't a medical Bullhead. They didn't even have any medical gear on there! Why didn't you send people who could actually help? You had cameras out there too! Why'd you let them get so close? Why didn't you tell me before it happened?"
Glynda contorted her own face in anger. "Mind your tongue, Miss Rose," she scolded. "Keep your emotions in your own head as well," She rubbed the top of her head like she had a headache.
"Calm down Glynda," Ozpin soothed as he stood from his chair. "Ruby has every right to be angry with me." He took a sip from his mug, then set it down on his desk. "I will say, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck were dispatched as soon as I noticed what was happening, but you arrived just as they were leaving Beacon. I did have a medical transport being prepped at the same time as the one that picked you up. Which one I sent depended on him." Ozpin looked at the unknown individual.
Ruby stared up at the person in question, her rage redirected. The boy just stared back at the other man in confusion "Me?"
The other man nodded. "I'm sorry, let me introduce myself. I'm Professor Ozpin, headmaster if Beacon Academy. This is Glynda Goodwitch, my right-hand woman." Ozpin gestured to the woman in the room, who just nodded.
"I'm Aaron Benson, Rider of Nalia Quickwing," the now named Aaron responded. "Now, how do I fit into this?"
"You have been recorded since your arrival here two weeks ago, including when you healed your own dragon after it was ambushed by Deathstalkers and a Nevermore."
"'She,'" Aaron corrected as he crossed his arms. "So, you know when we came here, that I can heal severe injuries, and I'm guessing you know where we sleep at night. What else do you know about us?"
"I know you have been into the city on several occasions, I know you ran out of a bombed building, escorting one person out and carrying another over this morning," The man picked his mug up from his desk, took a small sip, and then looked Aaron in the eyes. "I know you aren't from Remnant."
Aaron blinked twice, but otherwise had no outward reaction. Ruby was listening to the conversation while trying not to explode again and calm herself down. "How is that possible?" she eventually asked.
"That's a long story, Ruby" Aaron sighed. "Most of it I will only speak with Nalia about. But I am not from Remnant."
Aaron, after looking unfocused for a second, then focused back on those in the room. "I'm from a land called Alagaësia. Nalia and I are members of the Dragon Rider order; defenders of the land from war, crime, and other disasters. To put forward a comparison to here, we're the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Alagaësia.
"We aren't exactly here by choice," Aaron continued slowly. "We were betrayed by several of our own. I don't know the details since we were away from our island at the time, but our Order fell in a matter of hours." Aaron looked at his feet and dropped his voice to a whisper, one that I could hear thanks to my retarded hearing being powerful enough to hear thoughts when I want it to. "As far as we know, we're the only ones left."
Ruby's anger completely vanished, Glynda gaped, while Ozpin just nodded in sympathy.
"We've been running for three years. Somewhere along the line we found a way to leave Alagaësia behind. We intended to find help from another country, or at least other Riders to bring back, but now that we're here I know there is no easy way to get back."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Ruby asked.
Aaron scoffed. "It's not exactly something I want people knowing, and really, would you have believed me before the clearing?" Ruby just looked down at her feet and mumbled something that I, somehow, didn't catch, likely because I was paying more attention to Aaron.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Ozpin said, "but now we need to talk about what to do now."
Aaron looked at the older man. "The way you say that sounds like you already have an idea."
"This part is for both of you, or rather, your dragons," Ozpin looked at both riders in the room. Ruby immediately looked up with a mixture of hope and skepticism in her eyes. Aaron just recrossed his arms. "There is a warehouse that has been cleaned out in expectation of building of a new dorm building in its place for the next school year. However, now I feel if the space would be better served by housing your dragons."
Both of them looked at Ozpin in surprise. "Yes!" Ruby blurted out. She immediately covered her mouth and recomposed herself. "I mean, that would be very much appreciated."
"What about me?" Aaron asked Beacon's headmaster.
"I understand that you also need a place to stay, but what I have to offer you comes at a price," Ozpin said.
"The only way I can get you a place to stay is for you to attend Beacon, as a student."
Aaron was clearly surprised again, but not as much as the Red Reaper beside him. She looked back and forth between Ozpin and Aaron. "What?" she asked either one of them.
"You would be treated like any other student," he continued, "and as such you will need to go through an initiation trial before you start classes. If you fail, though, there is not much else I can do."
Aaron took some time to think, then turned his attention to the headmaster. "We accept, and thank you for your offer." Ruby beamed up at the other Rider. She could barely contain herself if the emotions she put out were any indicator. Ozpin merely smiled while Glynda wore a slight scowl. Apparently the second in command of Beacon didn't approve.
"I am glad to hear it," Ozpin stated. "There is an open room in the dorms currently. I'm sure Miss Rose can show you the way."
Ruby looked up at the headmaster. "Um, me?"
"Room 315. I'm sure you know the way. The keys will be waiting for you with my secretary downstairs." Ruby's eyes brightened up even more and looked up at Aaron expectantly, which kind of unnerved him. Ozpin picked up a Scroll from his desk. "It looks like your dragons are on their way here right now." The two of them immediately turned back to the elevator and entered it. "Oh, and Aaron, welcome to Beacon." The elevator doors closed, and the box started to descend.
Zach went back to his team and told them what he found out. Having dealt with crazier shit, like the gods, this hardly even phased any of them. They then hear a roar roll over the campus, and saw a small green dragon, at least, compared to dragons from Earthland such as Igneel and the biggest pain in their asses, Acnologia. Students ran outside to see what made that roar, several with weapons drawn. Team JNPR was among them. "Uh, Ruby, what's going on here?" Jaune asked, a hand on the pommel of his sword.
Ruby just smiled up at him. "Well, a friendly dragon just landed,"
Jaune looked at Ruby in confusion. "Friendly? How can you know?"
A small red-scaled head poked out from behind the green dragon. Cerise out a soft, high pitch roar and jumped off the larger dragon's back. Ruby's face lit up again. "That's how." She started running to her dragon, who was doing the same thing. The two met, and due to Cerise' larger mass, she tackled Ruby to the ground.
If students didn't have their weapons drawn before, they did now. Well, all but team Gray. All drawn weapons were pointed at the red dragon. No one in the crowd moved, and many held their breath. Only a few looked up when the doors on the Bullhead opened up and the rest of team RWBY stepped out. They froze in place staring at Ruby and Cerise. Yang burst out into laughter, startling everyone on the audience. "Hey Aaron, does this happen a lot?" she called.
"Until they're about six months old," he responded as he walked up to the green dragon, presumably his. The tension in the air was slowly draining away. He heard parts of several conversations, a good chunk of them wondering why Ruby's team wasn't coming to her aid.
Aaron put a hand on the green dragon's snout, and she hummed low and long. When Aaron turned back around, most people lowered their weapons, those that still had them raised were unsure. Aaron smiled.
Ruby crawled out from beneath Cerise and held her dragon's head in both hands, looking into her eyes. Ruby's facial expression changed every few seconds. Eventually Ruby touched her forehead to Cerise' snout. "I'm glad you're okay," she whispered.
Aaron took a closer look at the young dragon. Cerise was panting and her legs were shaking uncontrollably. Aaron put a hand on the other Rider's shoulder. "Ruby, we should probably get to the warehouse," he said.
Ruby nodded and stood up. "The warehouse is on the other side of campus. Ozpin left the keys with your other things. Let's get moving." With that, the Riders and dragons slowly made their way through the crowd. People stared but got out of the way. The other members of team RWBY formed a small honor guard around Cerise. Team Gray silently decided to help team RWBY and walked with them about 10 feet from the smaller dragon, with a hand ready to grab a weapon at a moment's notice and beat the shit out of anyone who would dare to try and hurt the dragon.
After about 15 seconds of it, Ruby asked "Hey Zach, what are you guys doing?"
"Making sure no one tries anything stupid with the dragons. Is there an issue with that? If so, just let us know and we'll leave you guys be." He replied, not taking his eyes off of the people around them. Not that they could see his eyes through his black visor anyways.
"Oh, no, there's no problem with it. I was just curious." Ruby said, somewhat rambling. Fuckin' social awkwardness.
Several of the ones in strange armor smell like dragons. Why? A voice in his head asked. He looked at everyone else in the group to make sure he wasn't hearing things. Of course he wasn't. The Fates hate him, so why would he be imagining it.
"I'll explain when we get to a secure location. I swear. Just not in public." he said, making sure that only those he wanted to hear heard what he said. They reached the warehouse without incident after that.
Ruby walked up to a smaller door, unlocked it and walked inside. A few seconds later, the large door opened with loud screeching sounds. Aaron winced at the sound, as did everyone else, especially the Faunus and those with dragon hearing. Ruby slowly came into sight covering her ears. When the noise and the door came to a stop, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, even the dragons. "Anyone have some DW-30?" Ruby asked.
"I think it will take a little more than that to fix it," Weiss sighed. The group walked inside, and they all took a look around at the place. The majority of the room was a dull gray color with random stains across the floor. Lights hung from the ceiling some forty feet off the floor.
The condition of the building was not lost on them. "What was even stored in here?" Blake asked no one in particular.
"Dust for sure, but judging by the floor, I'd say a little bit of everything," Weiss chipped in.
Cerise rumbled unhappily up at Ruby. "I know it's not my room, but it's better than the cave, right?" the new Rider comforted her dragon.
The green dragon walked to a corner of the warehouse and settled down as best she could. Aaron removed all but one of the saddlebags.
"Now then, care to explain what Nalia said?" Weiss asked.
"Is that the name of the green dragon?" He asked.
"Yes, now explain." Aaron said.
"First, I want you all to swear upon the River Styx to reveal this information with only those that we agree to share it with, alright." He got a chorus of questions, mainly about why swearing upon a river, but they eventually relented and did so, resulting in a thunder clap in the distance. "I'm not even going to attempt to sugar coat this. We're not from this world. We're from a world separate from your own known as Earth."
"Zach, you're forgetting that I'm actually from Remnant." Sakura butt in.
"Ok, but you still grew up on Earth. Like I was saying, Earth has many differences, but one of the major ones is that there is a multitude of gods and goddesses there, that have a tendency to fall in love with mortals, aka normal human beings. FYI, Faunus don't exist on Earth. But, back on topic, they end up having kids with mortals, and those kids are called half-bloods or demigods. All eight of us are such."
"If that's the case, then who are you're 'godly' parents?" Weiss asked, voice dripping with sarcasm on the word 'godly.'
"Me, Nick, and David are all sons of Hephaestus, the god of the forge, fire, and volcanoes."
"My mom's Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She also seemed to find a way to Remnant, but only stayed long enough to have me, then left the world. From what she told me, I'm her only kid from Remnant." Sakura said.
"My dad is Poseidon, the god of the sea, storms, and earthquakes." Percy said.
"I am a son of Ares, ze god of war." Gregor said, his German accent plainly visible.
"Which makes it all the more ironic that you're the best medic of our group." Sakura added.
"Hey, do you vant me to bring up zat incident on Mars in 2510?"
"You do that, and I will pound your ass into next month."
"Good luck, I'm our best CQC fighter."
"Alright, that's it, as the highest ranking officer, I am ordering you two to shut the hell up." Zach said. "I would threaten you with dish duty and prohibit the use of your semblances, but we aren't on the fleet for me to do so."
"Yes, sir." Sakura and Gregor replied instantly, going ridged and saluting as they did so.
"Now then, moving on, I'm a son of Zeus, the god of the sky." Momaw said, with a very miniscule amount of an Irish accent present (Think like Terrorizer from YouTube).
And I'm a son of Hades, the god of the dead, the underworld, shadows, and riches. Ponda said, getting looks of shock from team RWBY and getting Aaron to put a hand on his sword.
"Why didn't I feel his presence in my head?" Aaron asked.
What?... I don't enter people's heads, I just 'speak' to them without talking.
And why don't you just talk normally? Nalia asked.
Ponda raised his hand to his neck, and pulled the bodyglove off of it, revealing a large scar on his throat. M6D Magnum pistol, 12.7x40mm, M225 SAP-HE rounds, nine of 'em, point blank. I'm bloody lucky to be here.
"You know, you survived the Outback, and nine rounds point blank to the throat. I don't think anything can kill you." Percy said.
I think you might be right, mate.
"Two things. One, I find that extremely hard to believe, the children of gods part, not the 9 shots point blank part, and two, I fail to see how this has to do with you smelling like a dragon." Yang said.
"I'm getting to it. Hold your horses. We've dealt with all kinds of bullshit, including alternate dimensions, if you want to call them that. The first alternate dimension, as I'm calling them, that we wound up in is known as Earthland, and is filled with literal magic."
"Magic doesn't exist." Ruby said. "Right?"
"Ok then, Momaw, Iron God Pillar."
"Coming right up." Momaw said, followed by his forearm turning into a black metal pillar.
"What the heck?!" Yang exclaimed.
"Magic." Sakura said, shrugging as she did so.
"Back to Earthland, there are all kinds of magic, ranging from being able to create objects out of ice, to the ability to use fire to slay dragons." Both Riders inched slightly closer to their dragons, preparing to draw their weapons. "Dragon Slayer Magic, as it's called, allows one to slay a dragon, but turns them into a dragon over time. Each of us learned at least one kind of magic while there. My kind is known as universal magic, and allows me to use just about any kind of magic I've seen, including my go to, Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. However, despite its name, there has only ever been a few dragons that I actually would try and kill with it, namely, one Animus and one Acnologia, both of whom are already fuckin' dead. Sakura uses Archive and a slightly different form of Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, Percy uses Water Dragon Slayer Magic, Gregor uses Rune and Poison Dragon Slayer Magic, David uses Lightning Demon Slayer Magic, Momaw uses Iron God Slayer Magic, Nick uses Ice Dragon Slayer Magic, and Ponda uses Telepathy at times and Earth Dragon Slayer Magic."
"I'm going to need some time to process this." Weiss said.
"I think we all do." Yang said.
"I figured as much. We'll clarify more about the truth regarding us later. For now, we'll leave you be and let you process that." Zach said, shortly followed by team Gray leaving.
POV: Aaron
"You ready?" Ruby asked.
"I got everything I need," He replied.
"Okay! This way to your-"
No! Cerise interrupted. Everyone turned to look at the young dragon. She was laying in the corner right by the main door, too exhausted to move any farther. Her eyes were wide and pleading. Stay!
Ruby walked up to and knelt by her dragon. She gently caressed Cerise' head. "I'm not leaving you like that again. I'll be back in ten minutes, maybe less." Cerise hummed and licked her Rider's cheek. Ruby stood back up and fast-walked back to and out the main door. All the other two-legs followed.
As the group walked, many other students stared at Ruby like she suddenly grew a second head. Seeing Cerise tackle her and Ruby being okay with it must have struck an unusual chord for them. Ruby either didn't notice the attention she received or didn't care. Still, no one stopped the group anywhere across the school.
Ruby lead the way through a dorm building and stopped by a room labeled '315.' "Here we are! Your new home! Hopefully!" She handed Aaron his keys, then ran three doors down and entered the room.
Aaron unlocked his room and stepped inside. It was rather large for one person. A bed sat in the back-right corner of the room and small desk on the other side. All of the walls were the same shade of off-white. The only real color in the room came from the red curtains and bedding. For the people of Remnant, it was probably rather bland, but for someone had been running for their life for the past three years, the room might as well have been a mansion in central Ileria.
Aaron threw his bags on his bed as he heard footsteps thunder past his door. "Would someone please explain what's going on here?" he heard Jaune yell in the hall. Aaron walked out of his room to see the commotion. Team RWBY minus their leader stood by their room. Across from them stood the four that tried to talk to Ruby earlier.
"Sorry about Ruby," Yang apologized. "She's had a rough day."
"You remember that night when Ruby 'fell out of bed?'" Weiss asked. Jaune just nodded. "That was the night Cerise hatched for her."
"Cerise? The dragon?" the red-haired girl asked.
"Why didn't she tell us? I bet that dragon was cute when it was young!" the orange haired girl rambled.
"She," Aaron cut in. All the other students looked over at him, just noticing the Rider in the hall. "Cerise is a she. As for why Ruby hid her, I'm sure she had her reasons."
"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met," the red head said.
"My name is Aaron Benson, Rider of Nalia Quickwing."
Jaune nodded after a second's hesitation. "Well, I'm Jaune Arc. This is Pyrrha Nikos," he gestured to the red-head, "Nora Valkyrie," the orange-haired girl, "and Lie Ren," the other guy with a pink strip in his hair. "We're team JNPR, first years like team RWBY."
Aaron looked over the newly introduced team, then nodded. "Well met, team JNPR. I'd stay and chat longer, but I need to get back to my dragon." He turned around and started walking back to the dragons' warehouse.
"Well met? Uh, you guys know where he's from?" Jaune asked someone quietly, but Aaron heard it anyway. The Rider shook his head. He added the phrase to a growing mental list of things he needed to stop saying. As much as he hated having to cut even the smallest ties to his home, he needed to blend in. Well, as much as he could with a green dragon following him everywhere.
Instead of walking straight to the warehouse, he wandered around the grounds for a while. He thought he recognized what some of the buildings were. A forge, an armory, the buildings with the stacked bedrooms. Then there were a few that were large enough for several dragons the size of Master Glaedr. With no dragons native to this land, why would buildings need to be that size?
Eventually Aaron set his sights on the warehouse. He didn't realize how long he walked around; the sun was setting over the ocean to the west. His stomach rumbled for his attention for the first time, and the Rider realized he hadn't eaten since his meal with team RWBY nearly eight hours ago. During that time he expended a lot of energy healing Cerise. He knew he'd be eating like a Kull in the morning.
Be quiet when you open the door, Nalia said as her Rider approached. The others are already asleep. Aaron opened the human-sized door slowly and looked to his left. Sure enough, Ruby had her arms wrapped around Cerise' neck while a wing covered the girl.
Aaron smiled at the sight. Her arms are going to be sore in the morning. He quietly walked up to Nalia who already lifted up a wing for her Rider.
By the way, Ruby left a little food here for you if you're interested.
That caught Aaron's attention. Where?
I moved the box to your usual spot. Somehow Aaron didn't notice the small red box by Nalia's belly. He opened it and saw four light brown circles with black spots scattered around each. Aaron smiled. The last time he had cookies was before Vroengard.
She say what the black spots were? Aaron asked.
I think she said, 'chocolate chips,' or something along those lines. Aaron cautiously took a bite, then his eyes rolled into the back of his head. The cookie was nice and warm, whether it was from being fresh or from being so close to a fire breather, Aaron didn't know or care. He guessed the chocolate chips were something only Alagaësia's elite had access to, if even them. Aaron stuffed the remaining cookies into his mouth, then collapsed against Nalia, satisfied.
Well that was something, Aaron thought happily.
Little Cerise had some too. She had the same opinion.
Aaron took a look around the warehouse. I'll see what I can do about this place while we're here. Get these stains out of the floor, add some color to the place, and just make it livable in general.
Well, you don't have to worry about that now. Rest. We're all tired.
Aaron yawned. Well, good night Nalia.
Good night Aaron. Nalia dropped her wing, sealing her Rider in for the night.
So yeah, another chapter done. I'll try and include team JNPR more, but no promises. Coming up on Volume II as well.
Hopefully this will be the last of the cookies showing up for a while. As for why Aaron doesn't know what chocolate chips are, as far as me and pokeman1280 can tell, Cocoa Beans wouldn't be able to grown anywhere in Alagaësia. Also, Cookies-Ex-Machina (ding!).
And finally, the example for the ancient language came from the ventriloquist comedian, Jeff Dunham, with his puppet, Achmed, while performing the song, Jingle Bombs, live. You can find it on YouTube.