Chapter 5: Training Continues
RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum. I obviously don't own any of it or any other mentioned franchises.
Hey there guys and gals! TTOA here with a new Chapter!
On the 4th of July of 2015 at 9:45 PM EST, I just updated the previous Chapters to fit the format of Chapter 4 (So I just fixed the alignment of my Author's Notes and made them Double-Spaced when I could). It'll be the format I use for all of my Chapters.
In other news, as I am writing this Chapter, 4th of July 2015 at 9:50 PM EST, I am listening to some music to help me write. Everyone has their own tastes, bur I think mine is an... interesting choice. I am listen to some melodic death metal. It is actually a genre (or is it considered a sub-genre?) I just got into around seven hours ago. I find it to be surprisingly fun to listen to. The music is currently from a YouTube video that is just under five hours. I am no expert on this kind of stuff, but I really like a lot of the songs listed in this Melodic Death Metal Megamix as the video is called. If you want to know give it a listen, the video is by YouTuber UnknownMelodeath (I'll have the link on my Profile Page when I upload this Chapter; whenever that is). I might use some of the songs in future stories.
(October 16 2015) I heard I can't have A/N's in the Chapter as it breaks the flow of the story, so I have now placed them at the end and added numbers at points that I want to point out. This is what it will be like for every Chapter of all my stories.
Now on with the Chapter!
"Speech"
Thought
*…* Actions within dialogue
'Air Quotes'
{...} Letters and Notes
Emphasis
Narration/Log
[#] Author's Comments which will be shown at the official end of the Chapter and before the ending A/N.
X-X-X Scene change
Opallios's Log # I'm not keeping track anymore
Day # which doesn't matter by this point since I think I'm not leaving anytime soon
I began my training with Master today. He isn't really strict, but the tasks he gave me on the first day – although not a whole lot of work – proven to be difficult for someone such as myself who barely worked out before. I'm sure the tasks will be increasing in difficulty as time goes on, I do have two years of training to get through before I go to Beacon after all. Master so far has taught me some basic tracking as well as a tiny smidget of alchemy (an art I want to get into). He promised me tomorrow he'd give me some books to read (at last I get to see what kind of books this world has). I have no idea what training holds for tomorrow, but I hope that I can get some aura training in before the first year of training is over so I can hopefully have more focus on my combat. Speaking of tomorrow, I think I'll start my day a bit differently...
Day Two of Training
As per usual, I woke up at 5 AM and did my morning routine, but I decided not to change out of my pajamas this time. I made myself a cup of coffee and decided to do some sit-ups and push-ups until Master called me for today's tasks. Being someone who still has barely done any kind of work out, I was obviously nervous about doing this. Better to begin sooner than later. I thought as I made my way to the back of the cabin.
Being 5 AM reminded me how much light there was. I am not sure how seasons work on Remnant, but my assumption was that the time of year would be about mid-to-late July. I made a mental note as I was 'working out' to ask Master if he has a calendar for me to look at. I was able to about 65 sit-ups and about 53 push-ups within a couple of hours before I gave up for that morning [1]. Seeing how I was sweating, I decided to go ahead and take a quick shower. Walking inside, I saw Master was sitting at the kitchen table with an extra plate of food consisting of bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs on the table.
"I was wondering where you were. Your food is starting to get cold. I'm guessing you were outside – training by the looks of it."
I smiled tiredly, "Yeah I was Master. Sorry about not letting you know sooner. I wasn't sure when you were going to be downstairs, so I made myself some coffee and decided to go and try to get my body to get better. I hope you don't mind me doing this."
"I don't mind at all, but I will make it tougher for you, as I will be supervising your progress. It looks like you did a lot; but the way you are now, compared to a trained Huntsman, your "a lot" is a warm-up to them."
"Then I guess I'll have to work twice as hard," I replied, "But I need to take a shower first. I don't want to stink up the place."
"You go do that. Don't let your food be too cold."
I nodded as I headed upstairs. I undressed and as I stepped into the warm water, I thought about my current situation.
Here I am, training to become a warrior to fight monsters. I have never worked out in my life, apart from what was required at school, and I actually like the idea of being stronger. I'm not self-conscious about my body, but I have to admit I could use a bit more muscle (But doesn't that technically make me self-conscious? Looks like I can add hypocrite to my list of traits). To think I will actually be able to handle myself in a fight. I wish I could tell my family and friends about this, but I may not ever see them again. I wonder what they are thinking about right now since I have been gone for God knows how long. Wow, I even talk to myself in my thoughts. I am weird. I stayed under the water for a couple more minutes before stepping out, drying myself off, and getting into my clothes to head back to go and eat.
I went back downstairs to find out that my food was indeed cold, but I didn't care since I was hungry. An idea came to my mind as to how I could possibly heat up my food. I carefully drew up a bit of my lightning Dust into my index finger and pointed at my food. There was a spark that briefly appeared and I flinched back afraid that the food would explode in my face. When it didn't I carefully picked up my fork and took a bite of my scrambled eggs. As I took the bite, there was a shock in my mouth that followed and I nearly choked on my food.
After drinking some water, I said through coughing fits, "*Cough* Jesus Fucking Christ! *Cough* I nearly died!" I noticed however, that the food was warm and it tasted good. "If I can heat up my food like that, I'll have to get used to that aftershock." Heh; aftershock. Puns. I chuckled to myself as I ate the rest of my heated up food. I cleaned my plate and washed out my glass and placed them both in the sink. I noticed that there was a note from Master next to the sink.
{Opallios, I needed to go deliver some supplies to a nearby village. This would normally be a task I would've given to you, but I decided to be generous and have you take your shower and eat your food. I want you to read the books I've left for you in the living room – remember those are for you to keep – and since I will not be back until late evening, there are a couple of cookbooks for you to make your own meals for when you are hungry (you should have enough ingredients to make most of them). Despite me letting you read the books, I want you to head out back and do 80 sit-ups, 90 push-ups, and cut some more firewood until I get back.}
"I knew he wasn't going to let me off the hook that easy." Placing the note in my pocket, I headed into the living room to see what books he left me to read. I was able to find them on a dining table, and the titles of them seemed familiar to me for some reason. The titles were as follows: {A Herbalist's Guide to Remnant}; {Remnant's Beastiary: Beowolf} (there were others of similar titles, but for the Boarbatusk; Nevermore; Ursa; King Taijitu; Death Stalker; as well as some other Grimm I've never seen before in canon); {Mace Etiquette}; {Controlling Aura}; {The Red Book of Riddles} and lastly, {The Yellow Book of Riddles}.
"Why do I get the feeling I've seen these books before? I really shouldn't dwell on it. But then again, I thought the same thing about the package that sent me here, and look how that turned out." I checked my Scroll and saw it was only 8:32, so I decided to honestly not think about the familiarity of the books. I found an armchair to sit in and decided to read {A Herbalist's Guide to Remnant} for a bit.
Five hours later [2]
As I was reading the book, I found out that it was mostly about various alchemy ingredients and how a certain ingredient can be combined with others to make special medicines as well as potions and even some poisons. Each item had a description along with some details as to where to find it and what is commonly combined with it. I figured Master gave me this book in order to teach me about alchemy, and even though I think it's better to have hands-on training, I understood most of the things in this book. I decided to take a break and make myself something to eat because I could hear my stomach rumbling. I placed the alchemy book down and grabbed one of the cookbooks. I skimmed through it until I found a recipe for Venison Stew. It required some venison (most likely from a deer or something), some potatoes, leeks, and some salt. Again, this seemed very familiar, but I looked in the various cabinets in the kitchen and found everything except the venison. I looked around for a few minutes before I found some stocked in a freezer. I checked the cookbook periodically to see how to prepare the dish. It took me about half an hour before the cookbook told me it was ready, but I let it sit for an extra three minutes to be safe because I wasn't sure how Master's pots handled meals. I looked at my food and found it to be steaming. I poured some into a bowl and brought it over to the kitchen table. I sat down and took a spoonful of it after blowing on it for a bit. I found out that I cooked it very well. Wow, I actually did a good job. I think the meat wasn't overcooked at all. I'll have to save that recipe. It is also a very filling meal. I finished the rest that was in my bowl and decided to save the rest for Master when he got back, so I left it in the pot, but set it aside with the lid on it. After letting my food settle for about 12 or so minutes, I figured it would be time to do the exercises Master wanted me to do. Even though I could obviously skip it and lie about how I did it, but I was pretty sure he would see straight through that and I also wanted to get some exercise in. I headed out back and attempted to do what Master wanted me to do.
I noticed it took me just under two hours to complete both the sit-ups and the push-ups, slightly less time than when I started earlier in the morning today, that told me I was slowly making progress. My unused muscles were screaming to take a break, but I needed to continue my training. I headed to the chopping log and decided to cut firewood for the rest of my time; however long that was going to be.
I wasn't paying attention to most of the things around me, but I heard Master calling me. It jolted me out of my training trance. I looked around and noticed that it was getting dark out here. I glanced at the stacks of wood I chopped, and saw the piles were about as tall as me. I decided to head back inside. I asked Master if everything turned out alright. He nodded and noticed that the stew I made. He already had some when he called me back inside and complemented on how good it was. I told him I didn't get very far in my books due to me making notes in {A Herbalist's Guide to Remnant}. He told me to take my time with the books since they were mine to keep.
"I'm going to give you a lot more tasks tomorrow, and hopefully we will be able to go ahead and train your aura," he told me.
I nodded and made my way upstairs. I did what I normally did and went to sleep.
Day Three of Training
I woke up at my usual time and got dressed and made my way downstairs. I went out back after drinking some coffee and tried to do as many sit-ups and push-ups as I could. After a couple of hours, I was able to do 90 and 100 respectively; however, I didn't think that was enough, so I went over to a nearby tree and decided to punch and kick it as much as I could without my armor. I got to keep training if I am going to survive out here. I continued to punch and kick the tree even after the skin on my knuckles started to bleed. I kept going for another couple of hours until my body could barely move. I slowly made my way back to the cabin where I found Master looking at me with a frown on his face.
"You shouldn't be pushing yourself like that. If you wanted close-quarters combat training, you could have just asked," he said with a hint of concern.
"I want to use my muscles that I don't use all that often. Even if I am in pain, I will continue to train." I said.
"-And I have no problem with that, but over-exerting yourself will do more harm than good. For now, I want you to go ahead and just do the tasks I give you. I will decide when I will teach you about combat. Am I clear?"
I was silent for a bit. I sighed, "Yes Sir. What would you want me to do now?"
Satisfied with my answer, "We are going to go back to that Beowolf den we discovered a couple of day ago and see if their whereabouts have changed. We will then head to a village where you will be providing assistance wherever you are needed. After that, I want you to go back to read some of the books." he explained to me and he turned around to leave.
I quickly followed him. After a bit of walking, he quietly asked me if I knew where to go, not because he didn't know, but to see if I remembered. I thought for a bit and I checked my surroundings to get my bearings. I looked at the position of the shadows of the trees, but I didn't get much from it. I decided to go with my gut and continued to head eastward. After a couple of minutes, I could smell something dead, and I saw in the distance some large stones. I made my way over there as quietly as I could. It was then I found the tree that I marked that I knew that we found the den. Master and I waited and watched as the Beowolves went in and out of the cave on occasion, not sensing our presence. I noticed that the behavioral patterns of the Beowolves were similar to actual wolves back home, and I was amazed that we were able to be so close to them with being spotted or smelled. Master beckoned me to follow him back after all of them went inside the cave.
I went ahead and turned around, but as luck would have it, I stepped on a branch.*SNAP* Shit. I froze. Master eyed me, and he slowly drew his weapon as we both heard the Beowolves growling. He made a motion for me to get behind him since I didn't have my armor on me or Black Lightning since this was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission and I thought that carrying them would make too much noise. Shows how wrong I was.
The Beowolves came up from the bushes and I leaped to the side while Master charged them. I saw him take out the first Beowolf with no effort. Soon, others began to come from the cave, and I was in awe of the combat skills of Master. He was slicing up the Beowolves like knives through butter, properly countering at critical moments. However, I noticed that there were the three Alphas like Master said, with each one having two smaller Beowolves at their sides, and even though he was able to take down one group and began fighting the second one, the last one was approaching from his blind-spot and I knew that Master would soon be overrun. I was about to call out, but I wanted to do something than just stand here like many characters I've seen in anime. A stupid idea came to mind, and I started to hover my hands over each other as if I was making a charged attack. I could feel the energy building up as I waited for my attack to finish.
I saw Master turn to me to say something, but I didn't hear it as I focused on the last Alpha and shouted, "LIGHTNING CHAIN!" and released my hands in an outward motion launching the built-up energy. What followed was something amazing. The 'chain' started when the lightning struck the Alpha like intended, but the lightning continued going through the Alpha's chest and the chain linked up with the remaining Beowolves, leaving holes in their chests as well. As soon as I launched the attack, it finished just as quickly. I felt drained, but I was able to save Master. I felt myself falling into unconsciousness and my last sight was Master running over to me.
I woke up and I checked my surroundings. I noticed that I was in a bed. The bed felt familiar to me. I looked around and when my eyes adjusted, I saw that I was in my room and back on Earth. I got out of bed and ran down the stairs. I saw my Mom, Dad, my little sister, and my dog sitting in the living room watching TV, looking like they were in mourning. I tried to go see them, but they kept getting farther away from me. I tried calling out, but no words came out. They started to be enveloped in a bright, almost heavenly-like light, and I tried to follow; but every step I took felt like my ankles were attached to weights. My voiced echoed, "MOM! DAD! SIS! DAKOTA! I'M HERE! I'M BACK!" They were getting farther and farther away until I couldn't see them."WWWWAAIITTTTT! COME BACK! DON'T LEAVE ME! I'M HOME! I'M RIGHT HERE!" I dropped to my knees. Unable to move anymore, I began to sob.
"Opallios! Opallios! Dammit wake up Opallios!" Master was violently shaking me.
My body was tossing and turning, "NOOOOOO! DON'T LEAVE! I'M HERE! I'M RIGHT HERE!" I cried as I curled up into a small ball.
"Opallios WAKE UP!" Master shouted.
*!* I shot open my eyes and looked around. I saw that I was back on Remnant in Master's cabin. There were tears still running down my face and I could feel my nose started to bleed from me crying. On instinct, I jerked my head back as I felt some blood leave my nose to end up somewhere and some blood ending up in my mouth as I was forced to have my blood go down my throat. Master saw my nose-bleeding and immediately left to go get something. A few seconds later he came back with a couple of towels and some more pillows. I was sniffling to stop myself from crying and to force the blood back into my nose, which brought me into a coughing fit. Master was able to keep my head elevated with the extra pillows and he placed one of the towels on my forehead with the other one on my neck with them both being cool on touching my skin. I lied down on the pillows and slowly began to calm down, with a couple of sniffles every-now-and-again. Master looked at me with grave concern in his eyes and stayed silent. As I lay here, I was briefly reminded of how this was the exact same way my parents took care of me when I had a nose-bleed. The tears came back even though I thought they were dry and I knew my face stung from the dried up tears on my face. It was about 25 minutes before I was finally calm.
"I'm going to go get you some water." Master said with a tone that was barely audible as he got up to leave. I proceeded to remove the towels from my neck as I felt my body temperature return to its more stable state. He came back with a small cup and another towel as I slowly sat up to take a sip of the water. The water felt good since it furthered calmed me as well as partially remove the metallic taste of my blood from my mouth. We sat in silence for a few minutes.
"I'm sorry if I got my blood on anything," I said quietly.
Master was surprised. "After going through all that, the first thing you tell me is something that can be easily forgiven? You continue to amaze me."
I sighed. "I have a tendency to place others well-being before my own," I finished off the water and used the towel to get the dried blood off my face and I placed both of them to the left of me. "What happened back in the forest? How long was I out?"
Master chuckled. "You actually saved me. You used an extremely large portion of your Lightning Dust to create a new attack that killed the remaining two Alphas and three Beowolves. I was actually about to kill the second Alpha when I felt your aura getting larger. When I turned around, you yelled something and in a flash the remaining Grimm were dead. You blacked out and I had to carry you all the way back to the cabin. About ten minutes later, I heard you crying and screaming, possibly a nightmare, and you were finally able to wake up."
"I can't believe that attack worked. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to pull it off." I said trying to avoid the elephant in the room.
"You did well Opallios. To pull off an attack using that much aura and Dust is truly amazing. I promise to train to you control your aura in a couple of months, but I need to address something." I broke eye-contact with him. "What was your nightmare about? I need you to tell me."
I hesitated. "I-I-I don't know if I can say it, b-but I-I'll try," I said still shaken up. "I woke up in my hometown. I made my way downstairs and I saw my family watching TV. They all looked like they were mourning. I knew I have been gone for a long time. I tried to call out to them, but they never heard me. I tried to run after them, but I could never reach them." Master gestured for me to continue. "I am very far away from them. We lived outside the four kingdoms, but I was separated from them when a storm hit our town. According to the journal I keep, I think it's been about a week-and-a-half and I have never seen them since nor do I think I ever will again."
"I'm sure you'll be able to-"
"NO I WON'T!" There was more silence. "It's much more complicated than it seems."
"How so?" I said nothing. Master placed a hand on my shoulder. "Opallios, you can tell me anything and I will listen no matter what it is."
I took a deep breath and I told him everything that has happened to me up to this point: how I am not from Remnant but from Earth, the true reason why I need to keep the Dust-resistant armor, and about why I may never see my family again. I also told him my real name.
I let this sink in for Master since I knew a lot of what I said was hard to believe. He looked at me. "I understand now why you want to train so badly; you want to make something of yourself and live the life you thought you could never live. I am terribly sorry for the loss that you are having. It must be such a heavy burden."
"It really is, but I know that they do miss me. I wish there was someway for me to contact them, even if it is only for a moment."
Master took in a deep breath. "To think that other worlds exist and that you are not from here, yet your knowledge of this world is great. We truly are not alone in the universe."
"The people of my world would say the exact same thing if someone from Remnant came to Earth. Life is funny like that." We shared a laugh.
"Do you prefer to be called by the name you gave yourself or the name you were born with?"
"I honestly would prefer Opallios and I would only liked to be called my Earthly name around others who know of it as well."
"Does anyone else know your real name?"
"You are the third one. Ozpin and Glynda were the first." Master nodded before putting a serious look on his face.
"I want you to take a break for the rest of the week. Since you are still shaken up about this, I'll let you off the hook; however, I want you to continue training by next week. When November comes around, we will begin aura training. For now, I still want you to build up some strength before we really begin training. Even though I am giving you the rest of the week off, I would recommend you do at least some training, whatever that may be."
I nodded. I then remembered something important, "What are the days and months like here on Remnant? Are they similar to Earth's?"
"From what you have told me of Earth's cycles, it is the exact same as on Remnant." [3]
That's one mystery solved. I decided to go ahead and get some rest. I woke up an hour later feeling like something was missing. That's right! My journal! I was about to get up to go look for it, but I saw it to my left. Master must have placed it here. I smiled. I picked it up and stared at it for what seemed like forever. I kept turning it over in my hand as if it held the secrets of the universe. I realized that, along with the clothes I wore when I came to this world, my journal was basically the only thing from home. It made me cherish what little things from home I have here as well as what isn't here compared to home that I took for granted. I made the journal entry a little more personal this time, placed it down, and went back to sleep.
X-X-X
The next day [4]
Once again I woke up at 5 A.M., but then I realized I could sleep in. I got the rest of the week off. Who am I to not take an opportunity to sleep in? I went back to sleep. The next time I opened my eyes, it was 10:30 A.M. I felt that it would be a good time to wake up, so I did my daily routine and went downstairs to make myself a simple breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast, as well as make myself a cup of coffee. I saw Master sitting in the living room reading.
Not looking up from his book, "So you finally decided to get up. If this kind of thing is common, I might not let you slack off do much."
I chuckled. "This used to be a common thing I did back home, but that was when I realized how much of a morning person I am. I do enjoy getting some extra sleep, but I also like being up in the morning as well."
"What do you plan on doing today?"
As I put my armor hoodie on, "I'll probably head back to Vale. I'll go see Jason and get some work hours in so I can go ahead and buy some music. I've been wondering what kind of music this world has." I slung my backpack over my shoulder. "Will most likely head to a gym or something to get a workout in. See if there are any small, legal jobs I can do around town. Basically I'll try and make some money while getting some stuff."
"Don't be gone for too long. Don't want to find you in the back of some alley or something." he called as I placed Black Lightning by my side.
"I know my limits and I have an excellent teacher. I shouldn't have any problems." I said as I left the cabin and made my way over to Vale.
Vale
Huh. I'm not as tired from the walk here as I used to be. Looks like the training is beginning to pay off. I thought to myself as I made my way over to The Wolf of the Moon. I walked inside and heard that familiar bell ring and saw that the shop was in really good shape. I saw Jason coming from the back of the store and when he saw me, he smiled.
"Hey Opallios! It's good to see you! Are you here to get some more work done, or are you 'just stopping by'?"
I smiled. "I'm still training, but my teacher gave me the rest of the week off, so I decided to come by and get some work done."
"Good to hear! How is your training going if you don't mind me asking?"
"It's going well. I'm just trying to build up some strength at the moment. In November, I'm going to start practicing to control my aura before I go ahead and get some combat training."
He nodded. "Well, if you're here to work, you can start by sweeping up the place as per usual. I'll also need some packages delivered and I would appreciate it if you could do that for me."
"Not a problem boss." I said cheerfully and I began to clean.
It took me about half an hour or so to go ahead and clean up the shop. I saw Jason bringing out a small stack of seven boxes which I assumed to be the packages I needed to deliver. I took note that the top three I could carry on my own, while the rest I could fit in my backpack if I would to carry them individually.
"How many of these are considered fragile?" I asked.
"Only the top three, the rest are not, but the bottom one is the heaviest. I don't mind if you make multiple trips from the places they need to go and back here. If you need directions, you can scan the addresses into your scroll and it will show you the way."
"Cool." I took out my Scroll and scanned all the addresses on the boxes. I carefully took the top one and set it aside while I then proceeded to take the fifth box and place it in my backpack while I went to go grab the first one. "Should there be anyone I need to worry about?" I asked.
Jason thought for a moment, "The only one you need to worry about in terms of hostility would be package number six. That one is going to someone who owns a club or something. Numbers four, five, and seven are a bit far away from Vale if my memory serves me. One through three shouldn't be any trouble, just be careful not to drop them." I nodded and left the store to make my way to my drop off package number one.
As I made my way to the place where the first package was going to go, something crossed my mind. I should make a scouter-like object. Even though my armor has a built-in map, I need to make one for casual wear. I think I'll make it sunglasses or a hat of some kind. I'll see if there are any books I could read to give me an idea on how to make one. I don't really have any knowledge about making things, but I'm confident I can make something with my intelligence that my parents would always say was the best thing about me. I checked back at my Scroll that was in my pocket, and I noticed I was really close to the first address. I came up onto the house and knocked. The door opened and I was greeted by someone I did not expect.
[Author's Comments]
[1] It's about how much I am able to do in real-life as I am now.
[2] Yes I can sit and read a book for that long if I find it interesting. Sometimes longer.
[3] I honestly don't know if Remnant and Earth are similar in that regard, but I will keep it the same so it isn't so confusing.
[4] I'm going to say it's Wednesday. I'll start making a habit of keeping track of the days of the week.
I'm going to end the Chapter here. I know it's a really weird place for me to end one since all of my other Chapters have ended when I would go to sleep. I am honestly really tired and I just want to go to bed. I find it funny that I started writing this Chapter on July 4th 2015, but don't finish it until the 9th. I think the length can show the amount of time I've spent on it. I could honestly made this longer, but I really need my sleep (It's currently 11:07 P.M. EST at the time of me finishing this sentence).
Who is the mysterious person I meet at the door? Find out in the next Chapter of RWBY: The Hunter from Earth!
This has been TTOA, and I'll see you all next time.
Peace!
