Sunday, August 30
POV: Aaron
Aaron walked into the Beacon's cafeteria the day of his initiation into the school. He had no idea what the initiation entailed, but he was confident he would be able to pass. A Rider's training on Vroengard covered essentially everything, from reading and writing to advanced medical training, the latter of which Aaron was being specialized in when he and Nalia left all those years ago, not that they made it very far.
"There's the leader of team ANCR," Aaron heard from behind him. He turned around and saw Weiss, Blake, and Yang walking in behind him.
The Rider rolled his eyes at the mention of the team name the media gave the four who saved the eight Faunus the week before. "Yang, you know how I feel about that name, and I'm not a leader."
Yang just shrugged and smiled. "Whatever you say, but try convincing the rest of Vale that."
"Where is your sister anyway?"
"Ruby forgot something in our room" Weiss sighed. "She'll be around in a few minutes."
"Well in that case," Aaron said as the group picked a table, "there's something serious I'd like to talk to you about, without Ruby knowing."
The three girls stared at Aaron with strange looks. "Is this a Dragon Rider thing?" Blake asked.
Aaron sighed. "Kind of, but this is more out of personal concern." The others' faces grew even more confused. "The two nights Ruby spent in your room, was she having nightmares?"
Realization dawned on their faces. "I take it they've been happening in the Dragonhouse too?" Yang asked.
"From what Nalia says, once per night. She said Ruby wakes up in a cold sweat and has a mental breakdown. Cerise does what she can, but it only lasts the night at most."
Weiss nodded. "It's the same on all accounts in our room, except it was two a night." She shook her head. "Seeing Ruby overly happy is annoying, but seeing her depressed is scary."
Yang nodded. "She's always happy around Cerise."
"She ever tell any of you what she saw?" Aaron asked.
Weiss and Blake shook their heads while Yang bit her lip. Aaron turned to the blonde of the group. "She asked you not to tell anyone, didn't she?"
Yang shook her head. "She told me in confidence I'm not going say anything."
"I get that," Aaron threw up his hands in defense. "But I've seen this before. It could be worse than you think." Of course, what he'd seen is what Nalia saw in him.
Yang dipped her head. She looked to Weiss and Blake, then to Aaron. She sat quiet for several seconds, then sighed. "She said it's always the same," she whispered. "Always all nine, always all dead…always one of them asking 'Why?'"
Aaron nodded and placed a hand over his mouth. He knew the feeling all too well. "She's blaming herself for the one. The others, I'd have to guess that she's worried about what would have happened if she didn't show up."
"Why wouldn't she tell us this?" Weiss looked at Yang, then Aaron.
Blake was the one who answered. "She doesn't want to burden us with her problems, and she's worried our view of her will change."
"And no offense guys, really," Yang started, "but I'm sure she's more comfortable with the sister she's known her entire life over her teammates she's known for a few months and a tutor for a few weeks."
"Everyone is susceptible to this type of regret, Riders included." Aaron paused. "I'd say especially people like Ruby. They're so worried about others, they neglect themselves. I've noticed that in Ruby's fighting style too."
Yang sighed. "That's my Ruby. I'm just worried that it will come back to bite her."
"She has us," Weiss said. "We won't let that happen."
Aaron nodded, then saw Ruby come through the door holding an oversized book. "This conversation never happened." He put on the best smile he could given the previous conversation. "So one time in training, a few friends and I decided to play a prank on one of our other friends." The girls looked confused at the change of subject. Yang looked past Aaron and apparently saw Ruby. She immediately leaned in close, a small smirk on her face. Aaron continued his unfortunately true story and elicited laughs from all the girls. "And that is why you never tickle a sleeping dragon."
Ruby finally made it to the table and nearly dropped the huge book on the table, causing everything already on the table to jump. She cleared her throat and started speaking. "Friends, sisters, dragons, Weiss."
"Hey!" Weiss said indignantly.
Ruby continued on like her partner never said anything. "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."
Yang turned to look at her other teammates. "This ought to be good."
"A dream that the seven of us would come together as a team, and friends, and have the most fun anyone has ever had, ever!"
"This is after my initiation, right?" Aaron asked. Ruby quickly nodded.
"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked.
Ruby leaned forward slightly and threw up two fingers on each hand. "I am not a crook."
She's borrowing it, Cerise said. Aaron looked outside and saw both dragons settling down in the courtyard outside. She'll give it back after today.
"There's marker all over the cover! Something tells me the order of everything inside is all messed up to, if it's still there! It's completely unusable!"
"Something is only unusable once the user gives up hope," Aaron chipped in, then shrugged, "or if it's incinerated."
Weiss stared mouth agape at Aaron, while Yang laughed. "Are you sure you're fifteen? You've always sounded much older."
"Well, when you have the life I've had, you learn to grow up quick." Aaron placed both hands on the back of his head and broke out a large smile. "I do officially become a man in two weeks though."
Team RWBY stared at Aaron with strange looks. "What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked.
"I turn sixteen in two weeks, why?"
Ruby failed to hold back a short laugh. "You do know you need to be eighteen to be considered an adult here, right?"
Aaron's smile fell apart. His hopes shattering could almost be heard outside his head. "You're kidding me, right?"
The younger Rider didn't even try to hold back her laughter. "Nope. You've got to wait two more years. Look on the bright side, you still get there before me."
Aaron sighed. "Any other things I have to wait more years for?"
"The legal drinking age is twenty-one," Yang said almost deadpan.
"Come on!" Aaron slammed a fist down on the table. "Well this day has gotten off to a great start."
"Think about it like this," Ruby chirped, "you can still start off the semester with a bang with us."
"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" Yang quipped. "Ehh. Guys, am I right?" An apple flew beside Aaron's head and hit Yang in the face. Aaron turned around and saw team JNPR sitting at the table behind them. He didn't even see them come in.
"Look guys," Ruby started again, "it's been an amazing two weeks, heck four weeks, but we haven't really had that much time to do anything together. Which is why I've taken the liberty of figuring out things that we can do after Aaron's initiation."
"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss said. At the same time, Yang grabbed an apple of her own and threw it in team JNPR's general direction
"I don't know," Blake said slowly. "I think I might sit this one out."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. Blake wasn't really the social type, but she still went along with whatever her team did. Something was up. "Just be at the Dragonhouse at the normal time."
"Sit out or not," Weiss began, "I think however we spend this last day, we do it as a team." She stood up. "I for one think that-"
A pie flew out of nowhere and narrowly missed the heiress, but everyone heard it hit something. Just as suddenly, Aaron began to feel an intense heat coming from in front of him. He turned to see Sakura looking completely and utterly pissed off, with bits of pie on her face. Aaron covered his mouth to hide his laughter. He turned around to see Pyrrha in a similar pose and Nora pointing a finger at Ren. Aaron didn't know what exactly happened next, but food started flying everywhere. The table he sat at was flipped onto its side by Yang.
"Okay, so, I'm going to go," Aaron started to walk toward the door.
"Come on, join us!" Ruby called. Aaron turned back to Ruby and saw a fire in her eyes. He glanced over the rest of the cafeteria and saw team Gray building proper fortifications out of the tables while under 'fire' from a few retreating students.
"From what I understand, it's teams of eight here," Aaron said. "I would swing the balance too much in your favor." Some motion in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He turned to look at it and barely caught the watermelon flying at his chest. Aaron shrugged and continued to the door with his lunch.
"Hey, aren't you with them?" a monkey Faunus asked Aaron as he walked out the door. Aaron realized it was the same guy that he occasionally saw with Blake, and the first Faunus he ever encountered four weeks ago. He never caught his name though.
"I'll leave this to the rest of them. I have an initiation to prepare for." Aaron walked to Nalia's side, who was looking through the cafeteria windows at the chaos going on inside.
The people here are strange, Nalia commented. I can't imagine any humans in Alagaësia fighting like this, unless they were drunk.
I'm guessing this is somewhat normal, Aaron said as he pulled a hunting knife out of a saddlebag. He began carving up the watermelon. Then again, I don't have any idea of what normal is here.
We'll figure it out. Aaron finished cutting his section off the watermelon, then tossed Nalia her much larger portion.
Aaron climbed up into the saddle with watermelon in hand. Let's get some flight time in before my initiation. Clear my mind. Nalia nodded, then gently took flight. Cerise stayed rooted on the ground watching the food fight.
Gentle flight always helped clear Aaron's mind. He ate his lunch and looked around the city of Vale. He still couldn't grasp that humans built all of it. Dwarves couldn't even build structures that tall or clean unless carved out of a mountain. Aaron would have been fine looking over the city for hours. A light breeze blew past. The temperature was perfect for the height.
Out of nowhere, Yang flew up in front of Nalia's head, startling both dragon and Rider. Yang smiled and waved. "Come here often?" she yelled, then she plummeted to the ground below. Aaron looked down and saw a hole in the roof of the cafeteria.
Should we help her? Nalia asked, confusion mixed with concern.
I think if she was worried, she would have asked for help. Aaron shook his head to clear his mind. When did we need to be at that cliff face?
One o'clock, which I believe, Nalia looked at the sun, is soon.
Well, let's get there. Early is better than late. Nalia turned and flew toward the cliff where Aaron's initiation would begin. Team RWBY was very tight lipped about what exactly would go on. The only thing they said was that he'd have to fight some Grimm, and that melee combat was more effective against them than ranged attacks.
During the flight, one of Beacon's Bullheads flew by. Nalia watched it go then mentally growled. I will be faster than those things one day. The green dragon prided herself on being one of the fastest young dragons on Vroengard. She could even out speed dragons several years older than her. After their exile, she joked that she was the fastest dragon alive to lift her spirits. Still, she believed it, and she wanted to remain the queen of the skies. She didn't take humans making machines faster than her very well.
Nalia landed by the Bullhead and Aaron jumped out of the saddle. Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch were already standing by several metal platforms built into the ground. Surprisingly though, no one else stood on top of the cliff. Aaron walked up to Beacon's headmaster. "Where is everyone else?"
"You are the only truly new student to Beacon this semester," Ozpin said. "All others are transfers from other schools and have already passed their own initiations."
Aaron nodded, though a little confused. He was the only one to get into Beacon? Why was he getting all that special treatment? Aaron had done nothing to earn anything Ozpin gave him. What was Ozpin planning? What did he know?
"Please stand on the platform," Goodwitch said. Aaron complied, but he was a little confused. It must have been a ceremonial thing.
Ozpin cleared his throat. "I'm sure you have trained for years before arriving here, but Remnant is a different place. Now your abilities will be tested and compared to our standards. This initiation is for only you, Aaron. Your dragon must not follow you in.
"As I'm sure you know by now, students are assigned to teams of four. However, since you are the only new student, your choices in the forest below will determine if you are placed with another first year team or if you will continue alone.
"After you've landed, proceed north into the forest. You will meet opposition on your way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Aaron cocked his head. What kind of test was this? Not even a Rider's training could be that lethal.
Nalia shared his sentiment. If you do come close to the point of death, I will take care of whatever is killing you. She puffed a small amount of smoke out of her nostrils. Then I might just have to kill you myself.
I love you too, Aaron thought back.
"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Choose one and return to the cliff. We will regard that item as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Do you have any questions?"
Aaron cracked his knuckles, then adjusted the hat on his head. "When do I start?"
Ozpin blinked. "Now."
A strange whirring sound started underneath Aaron and the platform vibrated slightly. He looked down to see what was going on. Before he knew what was happening, he was flung into the air, spinning head over heels. A few choice words shot through his mind as he tried to level out. As he did, he saw the ground rushing up to meet him. "Letta," he yelled, and he froze in place about ten feet above the forest canopy. He ended the flow of magic and dropped into the trees.
Nice recovery, Nalia called, chuckling with her mind.
Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Aaron shot back. He drew Redemption and removed his shield from his back. The Rider slowly proceeded through the forest. He hadn't spent much time in the trees since his first two weeks on Remnant. Aaron called back memories of flying over the forest with Nalia to try and narrow down the places the abandoned temple could be. There were several abandoned structures in the forest, and any one of them could be it.
Several minutes passed with no signs of a man-made structure or Grimm. Aaron expanded his mind out into the forest. He didn't feel the rush the elves felt when in contact with nature, but it was still an amazing feeling. Several Grimm minds were in range, but instead of recoiling from their evil thoughts, Aaron noted their approximate locations and avoided large clusters of them.
One Beowolf, though, caught his scent. It notified its pack and about twelve Grimm started running at Aaron. The Rider turned to face the incoming threat. He cleared his mind and got into a defensive stance. The monsters burst into the clearing and surrounded Aaron. They slowly circled their prey waiting for an opening. Even though his opponents snarled and drooled at the Rider, he kept calm and never lost focus.
After a few seconds of circling, one of the smaller ones attacked Aaron from behind. Aaron spun around and cut off the creature's head almost like it was an afterthought. The attacks didn't stop there. The Beowolves charged one after the other, never giving Aaron a free moment. Their plan backfired though. None of them attacked at the same time. Even though the Grimm attacked from different sides each time, Aaron sliced off heads and other limbs left and right. He was too fast for the Grimm. In less than fifteen seconds, all of the Beowolves lay decaying at Aaron's feet.
"Too easy," Aaron said out loud.
Careful what you wish for, Nalia warned.
You worry too much. Aaron continued moving north and avoiding Grimm. A few normal animals roamed the forest, but none approached Aaron. The Rider probed the minds of a few of the creatures to see if they might have some idea of where the temple was. Not surprisingly, none of them knew anything.
About a mile ahead of where he was, Aaron felt the mind of an injured deer. He slowly made his way over to it. If Ozpin wanted a test of his abilities, he'd get a show of skill and character. Most people would just ignore the poor animal, or put it out of its misery. Aaron had other plans.
Aaron found the deer lying on its side in a clearing. Its front right hoof was bent at an unnatural angle. The Rider knelt down next to the animal, who tried to move away from the human on using its good legs. Seeing the deer's fear, Aaron soothed the poor creature using his mind.
He turned to look at the injured hoof. It didn't look to bad, just a broken bone and possibly some torn ligaments. First Aaron gently moved the hoof back into its natural position, nearly getting kicked by the deer's other legs. When the deer calmed down, Aaron fixed the broken bone. He cast another spell to figure out what else was torn internally, and healed the ligaments near the ankle.
Hesitantly, the deer stood up and tested its weight on its previously injured foot. Feeling that it was fully healed, the deer looked at Aaron with its big black eyes. Aaron stuck out a hand and stroked the side of the deer's face. It took the light petting for a second, then ran back off into the forest.
Nalia, don't eat that one, Aaron told his dragon.
Was that really necessary? Nalia asked.
Not really, but it took my mind off of killing things for a few minutes. As Aaron stood up, he felt something…different inside him. It wasn't emotion, he didn't feel like he was about to be attacked, and it wasn't a normal bodily function. He tried to ignore it, but after a few more minutes of walking, the feeling refused to be ignored.
Aaron found a relatively defensible location in the trees and sat down to even better focus his thoughts. He cast several spells to figure out what it was, but none of them said anything was wrong.
Confused, Aaron cast his mind at the problem. He gasped as he realized what it was. A natural power he didn't even know he had. Is this my Aura? he thought. Why didn't I find this sooner? He grabbed onto it with his mind and 'pulled.' The massive energy surge caught the Rider by surprise. His entire body tingled, and he noticed a slight green glow around his body. He suddenly felt stronger, faster, and a good chunk of his earlier fatigue disappeared. Aaron couldn't help but laugh.
Aaron! What's going on? Nalia called, her mental voice dripping with concern.
Nothing's wrong, Aaron responded. I believe I've just unlocked my Aura. Sorry, but it was a much more pleasant experience doing that over my first time touching you.
Nalia launched a mental attack at her Rider, only succeeding in causing pain because she was already in Aaron's head. Well then, if you don't appreciate me, maybe I'll just take on another Rider. I think Pyrrha Nikos would be a suitable replacement.
Aaron couldn't help laughing. You win. Bonding to you was way more meaningful than unlocking my Aura ever will be. Smiling, Aaron stood up and proceeded north once again. Oddly enough, Aaron felt something...different in the forest around him. Every animal had something else to it. A couple of Beowolves crossed his path, which the Rider quickly dispatched with ease. They, however, didn't have the extra feeling. Aaron thought it over for several minutes before having an epiphany. He never felt it before having his Aura unlocked. None of the Grimm had it while all the animals did. The Rider didn't know how, or if the knowledge would be useful in the future, but it was still handy to know.
Eventually he came upon a clearing with a large structure in the center. Inside, Aaron saw several black and yellow objects sitting on pedestals in a semi-circle. He walked inside the circle and looked at all the objects. On closer inspection, he saw they were chess pieces. Weiss brought in the game one day while waiting to see if an egg would hatch.
Aaron figured they were the relics that Ozpin was talking about. He looked them over again to see if there was anything different about any of them. Not seeing anything, he grabbed the nearest one, a knight. Aaron thought it fit. Change the horse for a dragon and add some magic and it would be a Rider. He stuffed the piece in one of the pockets in his jacket and turned back to the cliff.
As he turned though, something caught his eye. Aaron focused on one of the chess pieces set apart from the others. The black king. The air around the piece gave off an evil energy. Aaron froze in place. How could the Traitor follow me here? Still, it was just a chess piece. The Rider strode up to it, then sliced it in half with Redemption. You won't get the best of me, Traitor. He left the ruin, his earlier good mood shattered.
A roar came from behind Aaron. He froze once more. The last time he heard a roar like that was back when he and Nalia first arrived. He turned around and saw a giant Nevermore flying right toward him. Aaron switched his sword and shield for his V4. He aimed up at the bird creature's wings and fired a burst of Burn Dust rounds. The bullets hit and exploded on contact, but the bird creature never slowed down.
Aaron swore under his breath as he remembered what Ruby said about her team's fight against a Nevermore. Yang fired several shots into its mouth, and it did nothing. Still, Aaron fired more bursts at the creature to get its attention and hopefully draw it in close.
The Nevermore had other plans. It stopped in the air and shot its iron-like feathers down at the Rider from its original height. Aaron raised a hand to the incoming projectiles and yelled "Letta!" All the feathers stopped in their tracks. The Rider focused his attention back on the Grimm. "Gánga." The feathers flew back toward their former owner. The Nevermore screeched and barely dove out of the way. Back on the ground, Aaron felt the full force of the energy drain. That trick would not work twice.
This time, the Nevermore dove at Aaron. The Rider moved to switch from his ranged weapon to his melee set, but his shield and V4 interfered with each other's positioning. Because of this, Aaron didn't have his shield ready when the Grimm attacked. Aaron hastily swung Redemption, and barely managed to nick a claw on one of the creature's feet. For the first time, and most likely not the last, Aaron wished there was a better way of carrying the two weapons.
As the Grimm flew around for another pass, Aaron got an idea. Of all the Grimm minds he touched, none of them noticed his presence, and none of them had their minds shielded. The Nevermore should be no different. Even if he couldn't control minds like other Riders, he could still figure out what his opponent was about to do and lightly influence their decisions. He stretched his mind out to the bird Grimm, and immediately sought out the creature's plans. Aaron smirked. He had the over-sized bird beat.
Sorry Ruby, I'm stealing your idea, he thought to himself as the Nevermore flew at Aaron at incredible speed. He had to time the jump right, or else the Grimm could adjust to attack him, or Aaron would be nothing more than a red stain on a black wing. Aaron waited until just the right moment, then leaped, barely making it over the creature's head. He landed facing the wrong direction on the back end of the Nevermore's body. He slowly turned around as the Grimm gained altitude. When it reached a decent height, it dove, rolled, flipped, anything to get the clinging human off its back. Still, Aaron held on. He drew Redemption to cut off the Grimm's head.
Aaron started to influence the Nevermore's mind. He planted the idea that there were undefended humans back on the cliff he was launched from over an hour ago. The creature turned in that direction, its hunger redirected. Aaron also concealed himself from the Grimm's memory, with a little difficulty. The unwilling living transportation flew straight and true to Aaron's target.
Within minutes, Nalia came into view on top of the cliff. She was standing upright, her whole body rigid, ready to spring into action if her Rider was in danger. There was no need though. The Nevermore's confusion at the lack of people didn't last long, as Aaron cast a spell to put the creature to sleep. The bird fell from the sky like a rock. Aaron jumped off just before the Grimm collided face first with the cliff. The creature's head broke the ground and came up beside Aaron. The Rider swung his sword down and removed the Grimm's head. The rest of the body fell down the cliff.
Show off, Nalia huffed, with a hint of pride in her voice.
Aaron shrugged his shoulders. I try. He turned to face the two Beacon professors. Goodwitch looked genuinely shocked while Ozpin merely smiled.
"Well done, Aaron," Beacon's headmaster said. "May I have your relic?"
Aaron walked over to Ozpin and handed the knight over. "I went through a lot of trouble to get that, it better be worth it," Aaron joked.
Ozpin nodded. "It will be, I assure you. Please report to the amphitheater in one hour to receive your team assignment." With that, he turned away and walked to his transport with Goodwitch in tow.
Nalia walked up beside Aaron. Well done out there, she hummed. You really made an impression on the purple one.
Aaron smiled. "Well, apparently it's not every day one person kills a Nevermore. They are tough."
You have some new skills to hone as well. This new energy within you is impressive. I wonder how you would fair against elven sword masters now.
"Don't get too confident. Still, I don't think I'll lose in under a minute anymore." Aaron climbed into Nalia's saddle and strapped his legs in. "Well, let's get back to Beacon. I should probably freshen up a bit before I'm assigned to a team."
FYI, the food fight was between team Gray and teams RWBY and JNPR, and Ruby almost won, but because Zach nearly broke his bare hand by punching into the floor to hold himself in place, he was able to avoid the fate that the rest of his group faced and then hit Ruby with a flying tray to the back of her head.