It was fun writing about female Nova, arguably the most fun I've had out of all the parts of this fic, but all good things must eventually come to an end.
You might be wondering: "Author, You spent an awful lot of time on what is basically a gag and it's not relevant to the plot at all." To which I say
NAY! Female Nova actually has very important plot relevance in the coming arc so I had to spend some time establishing a firm hold on her. The next major arc, if you haven't guessed already, is Volume 3, but I have couple chapters before I start that arc, mostly just stuff I want to do before well... everything explodes.
Chapter 27: It was fun while it lasted
It was Monday now…. And Monday meant classes, classes meant student population. He would have to deal with this somehow.
With a heavy sigh, he stumbled out of bed and threw on his new uniform… complete with a skirt and all. Weiss insisted he wear these knee socks, claiming that his legs were far too pretty to be walking around shamelessly. He didn't understand what that meant. He wasn't sure he wanted to.
Walking out of his room, he was greeted by the sight of an extremely cheerful Ruby, a brilliant smile plastered on her face that just seemed to lift his worries away. Good morning~!" she said pecking him on the lips causing Nova to turn red.
"M-Morning…" he stammered looking at the floor, he wasn't mentally prepared for such sweet assaults in the morning. The whole relationship thing was new to him after all. his closest comparison was Blake's novels... which held more... adult themes.
Ruby just reveled in the feeling she got from making him blush and took him by the hand, pulling him down the corridors of Beacon Academy.
"Aren't we gonna wait on Yang and the others?" He asked curiously not seeing his friends anywhere.
Ruby continued to strut, linked arm in arm with her boy-girlfriend. "They went ahead of us so it's fine." She pointed out.
The red-leader and white dragon girl made a very eye-catching couple and Ruby had to glare daggers at anyone who so much as stared at Nova, If looks could kill then half the student body would be six feet under by now.
Nova unconsciously clutched Ruby's arm as if to make a point that they were a couple, which turned away some of the attention at least. Once they finally approached the doors of their class, Nova shrank away from her, staring up at the great oak doors as if they were the only thing separating his peace from hell itself. He couldn't do it... not like this. He wasn't ready to be stuck in a classroom with a bunch of people he barely knew...as a girl.
"Ruby… I can't do this…" He said backing away from the door.
The girl just shot him a look, "Oh no you don't" she said pulling him back to the door. "You HAVE to do this, who knows how long you're going to be stuck like this so why don't you just get used to it?"
"B-But… "
"Nova Alexandrite Flareheart. You faced down Adam Taurus in single combat and wrestled with death itself, and you're afraid of a little class? Come on this is nothing to worry about! You'll be fine…"
"Yeah but Nova is a strong, tall, confident prince of dragons…."
"And you're still no different. Even if you are a princess now. Besides…" Ruby cupped his face and kissed him deeply, "You're absolutely gorgeous, so you have nothing to worry about. I'm with you every step of the way."
Nova had no idea why being called gorgeous made him so happy… it was probably because it was coming from Ruby.
He inhaled deeply and nodded to confirm he was ready. Ruby smiled warmly and too him by the hand once more, together they stepped through the doors of the class.
Inside most of the students had already filed into the room, the rest of ASHNRWBY had taken up their seats in the middle of the class, with JNPR right behind.
"Morning guys…." Nova said cheerily as he walked up and took his place with Ruby. Yang had opted to sit with Hex, and Luna was with Weiss so Ruby and Nova sat together in the middle row next to Blake, it was as if the team had planned this...
"Ah, the Dragon Princess has managed to make it. Glad to see you didn't chicken out dude." Yang smirked.
Nova just laughed nervously, "Well I had some… strong encouragement…" he leaned on Ruby and kissed her cheek and everyone just went 'Awwww'. The leader couple was just so sickeningly cute together it was ridiculous.
"Yang why don't you kiss me like that…" Hex pouted looking up at her girlfriend.
"Because we both know that if I try that it will turn less than PG very quickly…" she winked causing the purplette to turn beet red.
"Personally, I think that the male to female ratio of this team is getting a little fucking uneven…" Nitro pointed out with a look of disdain.
"Come on bro, you are practically one of the girls…" Hex said lightly punching him in the arm. He sighed, he didn't know whether to be happy he was being included or annoyed that he was being overlooked. He really needed a vacation right now, no drama, no fighting, just some time to rest his brain. Like that's ever going to happen.
"Ugh, tell me about it… I'm still trying to get over the fact that my brother is now my sister…" Luna said.
Weiss genuinely laughed, "Look at it this way, the three of us look like actual sisters now." She gestured to Nova and Luna, then herself.
Everyone gawked at the observation. It was true, they all looked like sisters, they all had practically identical white hair and Luna had blue eyes. With the exception of the horns and minor colour variations… they looked like triplets.
"Holy shit… We have three Schnees…" Blake pointed out looking absolutely horrified.
"Hey! Why'd you make it sound like that?" Weiss felt her sweat drop.
"Or Flareheart triplets..." Hex said studying the three, her index finger tapping on her chin thoughtfully. It was incredibly strange how closely the three resembled each other, Weiss could very well pass as their long lost human cousin or something.
Nova rubbed his temples, "Guys really? Weiss and I look nothing alike. Right Jaune?" he asked turning around to find the blonde boy looking incredulously.
"Um… do I know you?" He asked nervously. Everyone else on team JNPR looked absolutely baffled, how did a super pretty girl know Jaune?
"Fuck…" Nova cursed realizing he completely forgot that he was a girl now and that JNPR would never be able to recognize him.
Weiss reached over and pinched his cheek, "A proper lady doesn't swear!" she berated him.
"YOUR ETIQUETTE CAN FUCK OFF WEISS!" He half yelled and half laughed, lightly swatting her hand away. The heiress just pouted in annoyance.
JNPR watched the interaction curiously, "Anyone going to introduce your friend here?" Pyrrah opted, slightly peeved since the white dragon girl had so casually spoken on such friendly tones to her blonde boyfriend. Nova could feel the underlying tones of irritation, he never pegged Pyrrah to be the possessive type.
Thankfully Luna came to his rescue, "That's my cousin…Alexandra… she um...came in from back home for uh… the tournament…" she lied awkwardly.
All the members of JNPR stared unblinkingly for a few seconds. Nora was the first to speak, "If you think for one second that I'm going to believe..."
ASHNRWBY visibly flinched, "Um I can explain..." Nova started.
"... THAT THIS PRETTY GIRL IS RELATED TO LUNA? Hell yes, I am..." She finished cheerily and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, well nice to meet you Alexandra…" Jaune greeted awkwardly trying to be polite. "Where's Nova?"
Everyone flinched again, earning curious looks from JNPR, "He uh… got hurt really bad during the breach and is… off-campus for treatment?" Yang shrugged. They didn't really have time to come up with a proper lie and were just playing off each other.
"Yeah, that's it… he um… won't be back for a bit… so she's on our team as a substitute? In case Nova doesn't make it back before the tournament?" Ruby explained, turning to her team for approval. They all nodded and looked back at JNPR.
"Well do give him my best wishes, hope he gets better soon." Ren said in his usual stoic manner. If you didn't know Ren, you wouldn't be able to tell but that was his 'worried' face.
Pyrrah's expression softened a bit when she heard the news, "Oh dear... I do hope he's okay... wouldn't want to lose my best rival now would I?" she offered a small smile.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Nora practically stood up. "We. Have. Another. One." She said excitedly looking at Nova.
He felt like a deer in headlights… "Oh shit…" was all he could utter before he was tackled to the ground by Nora and squeezed the life out of.
"LUNA! Ruby! H-Help m-me…." He died as the air left his lungs, his arms stretching toward the heavens in some dramatic effort to save himself.
"Sorry bro… you're on your own…" Luna snickered evilly. This was payback for all the times he left her to the orange-haired girl's assault.
"Settle down now everyone! Class is about to start…" Port said striding into the classroom causing Nora to unwillingly pry herself off of Nova and back to her seat.
Pyrrah leaned down and helped him up, "My apologies Alex… our friend is very… excitable."
Nova wanted to say he was quite aware but held his tongue, "No problem… miss…" he pretended not to know her name.
"Nikos, Pyrrah Nikos." She cheerily introduced shaking the dragon's hand, the two were interrupted when Port called out to the two.
"Miss Nikos and Miss uhh… my apologies but I don't know your name…" Port interjects, alerting them that class had indeed started.
Nova's face turned red and everyone snickered, he stood up and walked to the front of the class, this could be his moment to dispel some of the unwanted questions he'd receive later, "Hello everyone," he waved to the class with a cute smile, "I'm Alexandra Flareheart… as you all may or may not know… my cousin Nova… most of you know him as Alexandrite… is receiving medical treatment off-campus."
There was a series of murmurs spreading throughout, apparently no one knew Alex's real name was Nova… well that was to be expected since they didn't exactly make it public… Most of the girls in class had shocked looks on their faces, holding their hands over their mouths. He could see Ruby getting physically angry, her hands gripped tightly but refusing to let her emotions explode.
"I'll be filling his place on his team until he recovers." Nova finished with a light bow. Most of the boys in the room couldn't help but stare.
There were a few whispers of, "Wow she's so pretty… who knew Alex's cousin was this hot." And someone replied, "Well, of course, they would be hot, have you see him?"
There was a point in time where all strings must snap, and the one that was holding Ruby's temper in check just did. *BAM!* With a resounding slam, Ruby smashed her textbook on the table effectively silencing everyone.
"Sorry… My book slipped." She said with a dangerous smile that silently said, drop it and leave it alone. To which everyone gladly complied. The sheer danger signs she was giving off surprised everyone, especially her team. Who knew that when it came to her boy-girlfriend she would be so possessive?
Port coughed into his fists, "Ah yes thank you Miss Flareheart, you may return to your seat."
As he strode up to take his place at Ruby's side, he accidentally tripped on one of the stairs, barely managing to catch himself before the fall. The act was so gracefully adorable, especially the squeak he made as he fell, combined with the rearview that most of the class received, made most of the guys in the room swoon.
Quickly dusting himself off, he sat next to Ruby and huddled close to her without actually touching so they seemed to be a healthy distance apart.
"Nova?" Ruby asked without turning to the dragon, her gaze fixated on the front of the class.
"Hm?"
"If any of them so much as looks at you? I will not hesitate to murder."
"Please don't break any laws."
"No promises…"
-Three Days Later-
"AHA!" Elain exclaims loudly from her lab. She'd been working on Nova's cure tirelessly, mostly because the Vytal tournament was coming up in a few weeks and he needed to be in top performance.
She'd finally made a breakthrough, though the cure wasn't complete yet. She was would have continued further tests when Nova burst through her lab door looking like someone stabbed him… even though he had no physical wounds, the only sign he was in pain was the look of bloody murder on his face.
"WAH!" She cried out startled almost dropping her instruments. She calmed down when she saw her… daughter. "Oh hey sweetie what do you… holy shit what happened to you?" she asked referring to the pained expression he had. It'd been roughly a week since Nova had become a girl and he'd been adjusting nicely. He certainly learned to act the part and had taken a deep liking to the skirt.
"Moom… I think I'm sick…. I have the most awful stomach ache…" He said walking up and leaning his head against his mom's chest. The older woman smiled lightly and placed a hand on her son's face.
"Here let me use my semblance…."
"I really think it was something I ate… Luna told me, she said "Nova don't eat the three-week-old cheese, it's rancid and you're lactose intolerant" but I didn't listen… thought my semblance would sort it out…" he said, his voice muffled by his mom's lab coat. The woman had to concentrate very hard not to burst out laughing at his story.
The warm blue light eventually faded and Elain looked at her son quite perplexed. "Well, my semblance isn't picking up anything abnormal in your body…"
"Are you sure? Cuz my stomach hurts like a metric fuck-tonne." He said swearing vehemently and sitting down on one of the beds.
Elain pondered, "Hmm… that's the equivalent of twenty-five metric shitloads. That is serious… Can you show me exactly where?"
Nova lifted his shirt and pointed to his lower stomach, bordering his waist. "Like right here, I swear to Oum I am in the motherload of all pains." He groaned looking visibly pained.
Once Elain saw where he was pointing, she burst out in a fit of laughter, and all Nova could do was look on in absolute confusion as his mother was practically wheezing.
"MOM THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" He continued to groan in protest, half horrified that she was laughing at his pain and half irritated.
"FWAHAHAHA! Sorry…but… I think… I know… why… you're… in pain!" She said in between bouts of laughter.
Nova was not amused. "What's wrong with me?"
Elain finally calmed down and placed a gentle hand on her son's face. "Sweetheart, you're not sick…"
Just then the infirmary doors burst open to reveal a disheveled looking Ruby, Yang and Luna. "What's going on? Nova looked like absolute shit and we saw him coming in here. Is he okay?" Yang asked concerned, seeing the pained expression on Nova's face and the contrasted laughter of Elain.
"Oh, girls you're just in time. I was about to explain to our recent girl here why she's feeling 'sick' " she said with air quotes.
"What's wrong with him mom?" Luna asked confused.
"Brace yourselves for this one ladies…" She said with suspense. They all leaned in closer in anticipation. "Nova here…IS ON HIS PERIOD!"
Nova paled and Ruby fell over. Yang and Luna burst into a fit of laughter. "HOLY SHIT! THIS IS GREAT! AHAHAHAHA!" Yang roared.
"You know I didn't think you'd ever evolve to this stage. The fact that you get periods means your body has now fully adjusted to being a girl." Elain affirmed looking at the pouty expression of Nova. His face resembled that of a kicked puppy.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm still working on the cure; I should be done pretty soon. For now, you'll just have to ride this out like the rest of us girls do… unless you want the unfinished cure now and risk turning back into a guy who bleeds from his dick." She continued.
Nova felt his sweat drop…. "I think I'll live with this…"
"Good… Ruby can you take care of your boy-girlfriend today? She won't be going to class since this is a pretty big deal. We have no idea what a nanomachine fuelled fire dragon is capable off on her period."
Ruby smiled sheepishly, "W-Will do Mrs. Flareheart!" she said walking up to grab Nova, who just blushed and gratefully latched onto his girlfriend's arm.
Elain waved her hand, "Ruby darling, drop the formalities. You're dating my son..err daughter, and from what I've seen you two make the absolute cutest couple. You can just call me Elain, or Ellie… or Aunty or... Mom if you want."
They all visibly flinched at that last term, looking to Ruby in slight worry. "I… haven't called anyone mom since… my own mother…" she went silent.
Elain's expression softened and she looked rather guilty after realizing she'd stepped on a potential landmine, "Oh dear, sweetie I am so sorry… forget I ever…"
Ruby just smiled and hugged the older woman. "It's fine. It was years ago anyway." She took Nova by the hand and walked out the door. "See you later Aunty Ellie!" Elain just smiled warmly; she really did like that kid. Ruby was the sweetest girl she'd ever met and she'd be damned if she didn't approve wholeheartedly of their relationship.
"So how the hell are we dealing with this?" Yang said gesturing to her leader who was rolling around on his bed in pain.
Ruby scratched her head, "I guess… the same way we deal with it?"
"Right so… Nova usually gets me all the junk food I want, a heated pad and relaxation." Luna said with a finger on her chin in thought.
The other two girls looked at her incredulously, "How would he know…"
"I had to be a mom. I learned how to take care of her the hard way." Nova said, his voice muffled by the sheets of his blanket.
Ruby smiled, "Alright you guys get the stuff I'll stay here with him. Usually, I'd prefer to be alone but I think maybe having his girlfriend around would make him feel better."
The blonde and the other dragon just cooed in awe before leaving.
Ruby lay on the bed with Nova playing with his hair. "It's only this bad because it's your first one and you're like sixteen. I mean only last week you were a boy."
"Ugh how do you girls deal with this every month…" he groaned and cuddled up to Ruby, snuggling into her tummy.
Ruby giggled, his antics were too cute, "Girls are strong like that. I remember our first one." She said referring to herself and Yang. "Dad was freaking out… if it wasn't for mom he'd never be able to handle us." She snickered.
Nova had to think back now about his mom. Surely, she'd want to take part in this rite of passage but she was working on his cure. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he got his mom back. He certainly didn't expect them to go back to being a happy family but he had to admit, her work-oriented priorities felt… right.
"Hey, Ruby?" He asked turning his face to meet her eyes.
"Hm?"
"What was your mom like?"
Ruby was silent for a moment, she certainly hadn't been expecting this question but it wasn't unwelcome. "Mom was… I guess what you would call a 'super mom'. She could do everything, cook, bake and fight monsters. She was the kindest person and made me feel safe no matter what. She used to make the absolute best…"
"Chocolate chip cookies?" Nova finished for her.
She giggled, "Correct. How'd you guess?"
"It's one of your favourite things to eat." He returned with a smile. His cervical pain became a dull sensation as he relished in the comfort of his girlfriend. His aura and semblance were adapting his body so he was able to handle it better. Still, he didn't want to give up this intimacy so he sat up and brought his nose up to hers.
She blushed realizing what he was about to do, she closed her eyes in anticipation for the pair of warm lips that planted themselves softly on hers. It was a gentle and kind kiss, not laden with passion but one that conveyed pure love and care.
"Alright, kids I brought the…." Yang came in followed by Luna.
"I leave you two alone for a few minutes and the first thing I come back to is you two face munching again." She said with a lopsided grin.
Luna chuckled, "Told you they would be…"
The couple broke apart in embarrassment, "Hey guys, what'd you get me?"
They then proceeded to lay out the copious amounts of snacks, Luna may or may not have gone overboard.
-One Week Later-
Nova was feeling much better than he was previously. His pains long gone now, attending class felt easier than at the start of the week and he certainly enjoyed being a girl… but he missed his old body. He just wasn't feeling very feminine that day at all. As if the universe had heard his inner turmoil, the sound of rapidly tapping shoes was heard outside the class door.
"ALRIGHT WHERE'S MY SO- NIECE?!" Elain burst through the doors of Oobleck's class, thoroughly scaring the occupants inside, some people even fell out of their seats in surprise that the new school nurse was in their history class.
Even the professor himself was quite startled. "Ahem… Doctor Flareheart. To what do I owe the pleasure of this interruption." He said pushing up his glasses.
" Oh sorry bout that moss-head. I just need to see Nov… err I mean Alexandra in my lab…."
Nova perked up, "Is it time?!" He practically fell out of his seat while all his classmates looked on in amusement.
Elain nodded, and, with a speed faster than Ruby, Nova took off out the door following his mom leaving the rest of ASHNRWBY confused and disoriented.
Inside the infirmary, Elain set her son down on the cot and began rummaging for her instruments. The entire infirmary had been converted into a lab at this point and it looked more akin to an advanced doctor's office than a school infirmary. It also looked like Elain had been sleeping in the lab... evidence being that she was wearing the same clothes as two weeks ago and the ungodly amount of cigarette butts in a brown ashtray atop her desk.
"So… where's the cure?" he asked looking around for some new drug or surgical device.
Elain smiled, "Well about that…"
Nova deadpanned, he was getting rather tired of all the ambiguity that his mom was throwing around. It was if she enjoyed torturing him with suspense.
"I couldn't fully cure you… since your DNA is extremely complex…instead, I worked on something better than a cure. Since I wasn't able to separate and revert your DNA…. I used the semi-liquid dust to… control it." She said sinisterly.
Nova gulped, "What does that mean… exactly?"
"It means that by wearing this…." She held out a bracelet that looked rather bulky. It was at least one inch off his wrists and looked like circular with a flat face. It was at least two inches thick and was pieced together of three layers of red and silver. There was a tiny button on the underside of the wrist area and the inside looked like a series of tiny needles. (A/N: Picture the Armlets from God Eater)
Nova looked it over hesitantly. "Uh… Mom… this looks kinda…horrifying... If this is your idea of a cure I'd hate to see what punishment looks like."
"This, my child, is a biological, neural to cellular control device. It latches onto your nervous system and connects to your brain. From there you can push the button on the underside and think on whether you want to be a girl or a boy and your body will alter to suit." She explained.
"Wait how the hell is that supposed to work? I'm shorter than my male body so wouldn't that mean I just get shorter overall? How do you just spontaneously change my gender?"
"It deactivates the nanomachines in your body that holds the Maiden DNA, while simultaneously keeping them powered. In other words, It allows you to freely change…" She continued.
"Why though… I like being a girl don't get me wrong but… why not just revert me completely?"
"Haven't you been paying attention you dingus. I couldn't change you back completely so this was the best solution. That being said… if you ever take that bracelet off or it breaks somehow, you will revert back to being a girl, since that's pretty much your body's default setting." She confessed.
Nova inhaled sharply and placed his left wrist inside the bracelet. Instantly it clamped down, the needles felt painless as they were too small to be considered a serious penetration of the skin. He pushed the button on the underside and thought I wish to be male again. And concentrated on his previous form.
Aura enveloped his body in a bright fiery glow, his scales began emerging all over him and disappearing in an instant, starting with his hands and, in a wave-like motion, traveled up and around his body. His height returned to normal, his breasts disappeared and his body became bulkier. Once the light was over he glanced down to see himself practically tearing out of his girl clothes. A set of rock hard abs and toned muscles over his body.
"YES! IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK!" He fist-pumped. He began hugging himself awkwardly and Elain felt like she had to avert her eyes.
Elain studied him, checking over his body to ensure he was completely transformed, "It seems transforming consumed almost all of your aura..."
"Well, I do feel kinda woozy..." He explained realizing he was feeling much weaker than before. If transitioning his gender meant going through this feeling, he'd better not make it a habit. "Thanks mom!" He hugged her tightly and squeezing her a little.
The woman chuckled, "Have fun kid, the bracelet's made with Incidium so it should be pretty durable. I modeled it with the idea that you'd be fighting a lot… since you are a huntsman in training after all." She smiled and returned the hug, silently glad he was back to being a he.
He took a quick stop at his dorm, changing into his original uniform before heading back to class. He smirked devilishly as he prepared to make his grand re-entrance.
" 'Sup bitches I'm back!" He said bursting through the door with grandeur, a bit of swagger in his step.
Everyone in the room had a brain malfunction. "Who is that?!" was the resounding murmur.
Nova smirked, "Who am I? How have you forgotten, Nova Alexandrite Flareheart?!" He said with a mock bow.
"WHAT?!" They all gasped while team ASHNRWBY smiled like idiots.
Oobleck coughed, "Good to see you back Mr. Flareheart… please refrain from such language in my class again… now please return to your seat."
"Yes, well my time off-campus was… interesting… I must say it's incredible to be back."
Most of the girls and a few of the guys in class made a simultaneous, "HI NOVA~"
He waved a polite hello to his few fans and sat back down, next to Ruby.
"I'll explain later." He said looking at their quizzical stares.
AAAND He's back... more or less. It feels great to now have the freedom to write between the two versions of Nova. I got a really long break this weekend so I could try to do a few more chapters.
'Til Next time you beautiful people (^_^)
