Author's notes:

ArguableReader: For Blake, I think she more represents Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Adam being the beast. Belladonna helps with that allusion. Also, I do know of that. Since the Red Trailer 10 years ago, because of Ruby and the Wolves. xD

Let the next chapter begin!

Patch
December 31
Year: -1

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

This. Is. Awkward.

After the initial ruckus of Tai nearly breaking his doorway to the living room, all four of us now find ourselves seated at the dining room table, eating some piping hot chicken noodle soup in response to the blizzard currently blowing outside. Ruby and I were lucky to have made it to the Xiao Long residence in time; if we were a few minutes later, we'd likely be popsicles by now.

…Well, I'd be a popsicle by now.

Ruby had just finished clearing up the misunderstanding (or attempting too, at least), but Tai still seemed unconvinced. After she told him I lacked an aura, however, he visibly relaxed a bit more. I guess normal civilians don't pose too big of a threat to a literal family of hunters, after all.

…But that doesn't really change the situation at the moment.

It was silent. A simple dull knife could easily cut through the awkwardness lingering in the air. That was how uncomfortable I felt with Taiyang staring unblinkingly at me. He's been at this for 10 minutes now…

"...So. How'd you two meet?" Questioned Yang, trying to break the ice.

"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed. "We met at Forgeman's, you know, the weapons shop-"

"Figures."

"-and I saw Lucian staring at me from the distance-"

"Wait wait wait, what?" Yang interrupted with a raised brow. "He was staring at you? From a distance?"

I gaped at Ruby's poor wording, my blood running cold from the creaking of the wooden table in Tai's direction. I refused to look.

"Hmm? Ah, no, he wasn't glaring at me or anything," she corrected. "It actually looked like he was deep in thought or something. I decided to go over and see what was the matter, and his eyes kinda widened like he didn't expect to see me in front of him."

The creaking slowly subsided. I… I was saved by the skin of my teeth!

Yang nodded at the explanation. She also accepted that answer. "I'm guessing you guys somehow started talking about weapons?" She asked.

"Yup! In fact, the first thing Lucian said was how cool my Crescent Rose was!" Ruby squealed in delight.

Yang smirked, a fork pointing in Lucian's direction. "You really know your way to a girl's heart, eh lady killer?"

"Aha, hahaha…" I mumbled, unable to find any words that wouldn't get my head stuck on a pike.

"Yaanngg, it's not like that!" Ruby whined. "I just met him today!"

Ruby lowered her gaze a little, eyes trailing on her food. "Besides, you know how hard it is for me to find any friends interested in weapons…"

Yang turned her attention to the young reaper with a concerned expression. "Ruby…"

The girl in question lifted her eyes towards everyone in the room, a smile plastered across her face. "That's why, the fact that I finally found someone like that is so exciting!"

Yang seemed stunned for a second, but smiled warmly after. Ruby began recounting the events that took place after that chance meeting, from us talking in the forge to Ruby dragging me across the snow with Grimm trailing behind us. After around thirty minutes Yang was just laughing at my misery, while even Tai's gaze began drifting over to his youngest, eyes softening somewhat. He let out a sigh he didn't realize he'd been holding for quite some time. He looked up in my direction. His eyes met mine.

"Lucian, was it?" Tai asked.

"Y-yes sir!" I responded a bit too tensely.

"..."

I began to sweat.

"...Hmm…"

Please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't kill me plea-

"If I recall, Ruby said you wanted to be a huntsman. Is that true?" He asked.

I was a little stunned by the question, trying to contemplate the meaning behind those words. "Um, yeah. I wanted to be a huntsman when I grew older, so that one day I could protect others unable to protect themselves."

"Is that so? Is that really your reason for wanting to become a huntsman?" Tai questioned, eyes boring deep into mine as if scanning for something. Hmm. I'll have to be a little more serious here.

"...I just don't want to lose the people I care about, sir."

"And who would those people be, exactly?" Tai asked inquisitively.

"You." I answered without hesitation.

His eyes widened.

"All of you." I said while looking over everyone in the room… and everyone else in my heart. "My main goal isn't as noble as protecting the greater good or something like that. Rather, I'm kind of a selfish person," I admitted with a soft chuckle. "The people I care about will always come first. If it's the ones I love versus the rest of the world, I will always choose the ones I love."

Perhaps on Earth my answer would have been different, but here on Remnant, what with everything that I know, the people that I grew up watching are worth far more than the no-names of this world. After all, if they die, we all die.

Yang and Ruby exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond.

"Why us? You just met us, so how could you consider us people you care about?" Tai asked, unconvinced.

A good question. I'll need to come up with something somewhat convincing fast, yet still vague enough so as not to bring up how much I know about them already.

"Aside from being saved by your daughter, it's because I can tell how much you all love each other. It's… similar to how my own family was…"

Tai seemed confused, until Ruby whispered something into his ear. His eyes widened in surprise. He looked down at the table in contemplation. After who knows how long, the blonde man clapped his hands.

"Okay then," he said. "If everyone's finished eating, let's go back to the living room."

"Um, sir, what are we-"

"You want to be a huntsman, right?" Tai interrupted with a raised brow. "Well, there's no way you could do that as you are now."

My eyes widened. "You don't mean-"

"That's right. I'm gonna unlock your aura."

Ruby cheered off to the side, while Yang crossed her arms with a smirk and a wink. Is this it? So fast? I'll finally have my aura unlocked? A rush of emotions rolled over me. It's been nearly two months since I arrived in this world. Not too short or long, but I didn't expect to get my aura unlocked so early on in the game. This is a very good thing. If I have my aura unlocked, I'll be able to train much easier and perhaps even find my own semblance to help aid me in battle. I was itching to know what it was.

I looked up at Tai with eyes of gratitude and determination. "Please."

Tai harrumphed, but couldn't hide the raising of the corners of his lips. "Okay then."

Tai bent down on one knee to better match my height (No, I'm not upset about that), placing his hands over my head and heart. Then, he spoke his mantra:

"For it is in love that we find pain. Through this, we strive to overcome our fears and rise above the chains of the past. Absolved from loathing and triumphant over grief, I release your soul, and from my heart, strengthen thee."

Hearing Tai's speech, I felt like I understood a little bit more why he reacted the way he did to me. He was just keeping his girls safe. He would never want them to go out and experience the emotions he went through when Raven left. Especially with Summer already gone. Tai essentially suffered two massive heartbreaks for two different reasons, neither of them being in his control. The man in front of me was far stronger than anyone gave him credit for. For a huntsman like him, it's easy to win a fight. But some matters just can't be won with fists; the heart being one of them.

I felt Tai's aura moving around me, enveloping me. It was a weird sensation to say the least. After a bit of time his aura went to work, opening up mine. In just a little while I'll finally have my own au-

"Ghhhkkk," Tai winced.

Huh?

Tai's forehead began to perspire, sweat dripping down his chin as he tried to maintain focus. His breathing was turning ragged, and his right eye was half-shut in pain.

"S-sir? Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah… I- Ughkk, I'm fine. It's just… Gah, your aura- Ckkk- I-It's stronger than I thought!" Tai wheezed out.

Ruby and Yang were beginning to get worried for Tai's health, me included. What's going on? My aura, strong? Did I possibly miss something? After thinking through all my knowledge of RWBY, this sort of thing never seemed to have happened in the show. The only time anyone was ever winded from this was when Pyrrha unlocked Jaune's aura, but it was an informal ritual and Pyrrha, despite her strength, was still just a huntress-in-training. Tai is a full-blown veteran huntsman! There shouldn't be any problems for him, especially with his level of strength, right?

Finally, Tai's legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.

"DAD!"

"DAD!"

Ruby and Yang both screamed out, rushing to help their father off the ground. I stood there dumbly, wondering what could have gone wrong. Was my aura that large? Or was something else at play here?

Tai's breathing began to stabilize, patting Ruby's tear-stained hand to calm her down. "I-I'm okay girls, just a bit winded is all."

Yang's eyes glowed red. "You."

Her glare locked onto me. Oh no.

"What did you do to dad?!" Her hair began to rise while glowing a bright yellow. She was pissed.

"I-I don't know!" I frantically responded.

Yang was about to stomp towards me, when a hand grabbed her by the wrist.

"YANG!"

Yang shook for a moment, then let out a breath. Her golden aura faded away. The hotheaded girl's eyes drilled into mine for half a second, then turned away. "I'll be upstairs."

Tai let her go, sighing. "Sorry about that, Lucian. Yang is a little… protective, after everything she's been through. I hope you don't take it personally."

"Um, don't worry sir, I won't," I awkwardly responded.

"Mmm."

Tai picked himself up, Ruby supporting his weight as best she could. "Dad, what happened? Did you unlock Lucian's aura? Why are you so tired? This never happened when you unlocked our auras! Is his aura that large?"

Tai took a deep breath and looked at the both of us. "No, it's not that," he started, slowly limping towards the couch with Ruby by his side. "His aura isn't necessarily large, so to speak. In fact, he probably has the same average amount of aura any other person has."

"Huh?" Ruby questioned. "That doesn't make any sense. Look at you! You can barely walk! There has to be something different about his aura, right?"

"There is." He responded matter-of-factly. His eyes turned to me. "It's not that his aura is larger. It's that the potency is far stronger than it should ever be."

My eyes widened. My aura… was stronger? More potent?

"Sir, what does that mean?"

"I'm… not sure," He responded with doubt. "I've never seen this before. In anyone. Sure, some people may have slightly stronger auras, but to the extent of yours? Never."

This doesn't make sense. Is this a good thing, or bad? If my aura was too strong for even Tai to open, then… Can anyone in this world open it?

"Hmm."

I looked towards Tai, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Actually, there is someone that may be able to help with this."

"Really?" Ruby asked. "But if you can't do it, who can?"

"Ozpin."

My breath got caught in my throat.

"Ozpin? The professor of Beacon Academy?"

"That's right," Tai responded while rubbing the top of Ruby's head. The man looked up at me from the couch. "If we want to unlock your aura, our best bet is to see ol' Oz. Perhaps he might have a way to-"

"NOO!" I shouted without thinking.

Tai and Ruby sat stunned, unable to comprehend what just came over me. Damn, out of panic I just blurted out my thoughts.

"I-I mean, I think I'd like some time to think things through after what just happened. It's almost New Years, right? We can do this tomorrow. Yeah." I said, trying to ignore what just happened.

Tai and Ruby exchanged short glances, and they both nodded.

"Uh, sure?" Tai said with a hint of confusion. "We can continue this tomorrow if you want."

"That's great," I responded. "Well, I think I should get going now. It's already so late in the night-"

"What? No!" Ruby shouted. "It's far too dark right now, and there's still a blizzard going on outside!"

Ah, that's right.

"Ruby's right. You should rest here for the night. It just so happens we have a spare guest room right upstairs." Tai offered.

"Oh, uh, thanks, sir."

"Haha, call me Tai," Tai said with a smile.

"Um, okay then, Tai."

It feels a bit weird to call him by name now, but I'll get used to it.

After a bit of chatting to burn the time, Yang surprisingly came back down. It seems she just needed some time to think, and after a small apology the four of us had a lot of fun playing a few board games for the rest of the night. Particularly Remnant: The Game. Boy is that game fun. Finally, the clock struck 12. New Years. I could hear popping sounds coming from the distance, more than likely from the town nearby. I guess fireworks are also a tradition in this world.

When Ruby began to nod off, Tai picked her up and carried her to her room. Yang remained downstairs with me, the two of us being the last ones standing in this round. Unfortunately for me, my luck had apparently run out. Yang drew just the card she needed to put my army down, and I sighed in defeat.

"Ha! The Yang reigns supreme once again!" She beamed with pride. "I hope you have a stretcher, because you just got crushed!"

I rolled my eyes, but still chuckled softly. That actually wasn't that bad of a joke, all things considered. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I'll definitely take you down next time."

"You wish!" She laughed.

Tai came back down the stairs, shushing the both of us. "Ruby's in bed, and I think I'll be following her example. You should too, firecracker."

"Aww, but I was just getting warmed up!"

Tai gave her a look. "Yang."

"Ugh, finee." Yang trudged back up the stairs, unsatisfied, but happy nonetheless.

"And what about you, Lucian? I'm sure you also had a long day today."

"Yeah, I think I'm going down as well."

"Okay then. Your room is just across the girls. If you need me, I'll be down the hall."

"Thanks si- um, Tai."

"No problem."

Tai went back upstairs, his door gently closing shut. I followed shortly after, entering the room to the right of Ruby and Yang's. After shutting the door I immediately flopped onto the bed, reminiscing on everything that had happened today. I met Ruby by chance, joined her to see her mom, got chased by Grimm, and was nearly killed by Taiyang. What. A. Day.

I chuckled a little, then fell deep into thought.

"Ozpin…"

The man, the myth, the legend. Ozpin himself. He was both a reliable rock and a slippery snake. If there was anyone who could unlock my aura, it'd be him.

"But why couldn't Tai do it?"

Taiyang mentioned that my aura was just too strong, but what does that mean exactly? Is it more potent? I pondered hard, utilizing all the knowledge I had of this world… but what if the answer wasn't from this world?

"Could it be… because of me?"

I was an outsider to Remnant. Obviously, my aura could very well be different from everyone here. And, if it is as everyone says and that the aura of a person is basically that person's soul, then…

"My soul… is stronger?"

Taiyang mentioned that my soul was basically the average amount, same as anyone else. Thus, someone like Jaune still has way more aura than I do. But the strength of the soul… the potency... That's when it hit me.

"A remnant of what they once were…"

When the brothers left this world to fend for itself, the god of darkness took back his gift of magic to the people of Remnant. Theoretically, nobody should have any form of magic on them, yet there is still one thing that may have lingered in everyone. A semblance. The definition of a semblance is basically having the outward appearance of something, but is in fact something else. A semblance could be anything, but no two semblances are exactly the same. And a person only ever has one semblance. Could a semblance just be a byproduct, or residual effect of magic that was once there? Or something else entirely? It all depends on whether aura comes from magic or not.

No, perhaps that's not the question I should be asking. Could it be that when the god of darkness took his magic back from everyone, he ripped it straight from their very souls? Nobody from this era compares to the humans that lived during Ozma's time, when magic was abundant everywhere. Nowadays, they're only a fraction of what they once were. But where does that leave me?

"I'm not from this world… So could that be the reason as to why my soul appears so much stronger?"

It's not that my soul is stronger than the others… Rather, it's everyone else whose souls are fractured! But at the same time, I don't think I can wield magic like the people of this world used to do.

"Makes sense. There is no magic in my world, so unlike the original humans here, I don't possess it. But the soul… My soul should be just as strong as anyone from this world's past."

That answers that, I guess. Still, I do have to wonder. If my soul never had magic, does that mean I also don't have a semblance? That would be kinda unfortunate… Still, I have a more pressing question right now.

"Should I meet with Oz…?"

Ozpin, formerly Ozma, has lived for a millenia. Likely longer. There's no way I could outwit a man like that, and with his knowledge of magic and aura he may very well come to the same conclusions I did about myself. My soul isn't fractured. My aura is 'whole'. And when he learns about that… His eyes will be on me like a hawk.

…But is that a bad thing, or a good thing?

Ozpin is for the greater good. That shouldn't be debated. However, it's because of this ideal that he is known for making sacrifices towards individuals. His own allies. If one were to put his close friends versus the lives of hundreds on a scale, his moral compass will always save the majority over the people closest to him. In my opinion, it's his greatest flaw. One Salem loves exploiting all too much. Compared to him, someone like Qrow is quite the opposite. I doubt he really cares all that much for what happens to the rest of the world as long as the people he loves most remain safe. It's why he chooses to fight. Ironwood… struggles with his own mind. He has Ozpin's mentality, but rather than putting his faith in others, the only one he truly trusts is himself. And Glynda? Well, despite how intimidating she is, I can say for a fact that she is definitely the voice of reason in their group and the most competent person of them all. Bar none.

If I catch Ozpin's interest, I'll be catching all of their interests as well. At this point in time it isn't really a bad thing, however Ironwood would pose a bit of a problem. He'd very likely want me in his sights at all times. The other three, on the other hand, would probably keep him off my back, thankfully. The most information Oz would get off of me is that my soul is much stronger than most. There really shouldn't be anything else that would catch his attention. So I guess it's safe?

"Ugh, I really need my aura unlocked, but this seriously puts the weight of my decision on a scale…"

The problem is, if I don't have Ozpin do it for me, I may never get my aura unlocked. And I can't trust that I'll somehow find a way to naturally unlock it myself one day. I guess I'll sleep on it for now. I'll decide in the morning…

Slowly, I drifted off into the land of dreams.