Let Me Explain

It didn't even take thirty seconds before a couple important looking security figures appeared at the top of the cliff and directed Bryce to follow them. When Ruby asked what he'd done wrong, they simply answered "Professor Ozpin wants to talk to him."

After that he was led through this winding, large building. After ten minutes of walking he was led to a very dull room with nothing inside of it except for three chairs and a table, all metal. No windows, no desks, no notebooks, nothing. It reminded him of the interrogation rooms in the police stations. He was pushed inside and told to "wait for Ozpin." And Alpha was confiscated, much to Bryce's dismay. Alpha promised he'd be fine, but Bryce always felt safer with Alpha's far more intelligent mind helping him.

As Bryce sat, he ran through recent events in his mind as he sat in one of the metal chairs. He particularly took note of what the guards had told Ruby. "Professor Ozpin wants to talk with him." Professor was the keyword that stood out to him. This told Bryce two things. First, he was at a school, and if what that monk guy from earlier, Ren if he remembered correctly had said, he'd interrupted in some sort of 'initiation' for this Beacon school. But what kind of school teaches kids to fight mon- wait. He goes to one at home.

The second thing that comment told him was that Professor Ozpin was fairly important. If Bryce had to guess he was probably the Principal or Headmaster. As such, this was not going to be a good conversation. He needed a cover story as to why he was here, but there was a major roadblock. He had no idea what to tell them.

He couldn't bluff a story, he had no information about this world at all. He didn't know what their power was, what their history is, or even what the monsters he'd fought were called. Beasties? Dark Animals?

The second thought he had was to fake amnesia but that was obviously a bust. He'd given his name and knew how to fight. Unlike how the movies depicted, real Amnesia didn't quite work like that. You forget everything past a certain point. And if he forgot everything, there's no way he could be as trained in combat as he was. Or know his name unless he had a dog-tag on him ... actually, that might not be a terrible idea… No, it was too late at this point.

A third option was to tell them a version of the truth. One that would more fit something along the lines of believability. Issue was that it also required knowledge of this world to a degree. And if he told part of the truth, he might as well come clean. Ugh, he wished Alpha were here. The AI was so much better at this kind of thing.

As Bryce poured over the countless options he had, trying to find one that could work, the door clicked open. Bryce took his gaze from the ceiling to the two people who entered the room. One was a rather well dressed woman with a purple cape, blond hair, and glasses. The second was an older looking man in a suit with silver hair and green eyes that made his glasses shine. Bryce's sarcasm and frustration for the situation got the better of him.

"Are glasses required to be in a leadership position here?"

The man smirked while the woman's eye twitched in anger. The two of them sat down as he commented. "No, but it does add to one's resume when applying. After all, it does bring something to the wise teacher aesthetic."

Despite himself, Bryce chuckled. "You must be Professor Ozpin then."

"A wise observation. Do you perhaps wear glasses?"

The woman next to Ozpin let out a tsk. "Please, Sir, can we not make light of this young man's intrusion of Initiation." Turning to Bryce, she stared him down. "My name is Ms. Goodwitch, I am the combat professor here, and I'll be honest, young man. Your presence is worrisome and I fear you are a danger to our students. It would be wise if you answer our questions truthfully and quickly."

Ozpin laughed softly. "While a little blunt, what Glynda says is true. It would be wise if you are honest in your intentions and answer with truthfulness. We do not wish to take extensive measures, but the safety of our students comes first. I'm sure you understand." Ozpin gave Bryce a look that seemed to be daring him to disagree. Bryce didn't. He had no intention in causing more unnecessary problems for himself, no matter how sure he was he could win in such a fight. He didn't want to see how that would end.

"Yeah, I understand. I didn't come here with ill intent."

"Ah. Speaking of arriving here," Ozpin smiled as Ms. Goodwitch turned a tablet in her arms onto the table. "Would you be so kind as to explain the portal in which you arrived?" On the screen played a video of forest as what Bryce could only assume was a drone was flying towards something. It stopped, however, the moment a black, swirling mass appeared in the air. Over a period of fifteen seconds, the mass formed into a portal with black and blue swirls, and held a red tint to it. Seconds later, Bryce tumbled out of it, barely catching himself before he reached the ground. The drone followed his movements as he talked with Alpha and fell to the ground to fight the monsters as he ran.

Bryce groaned internally at the video. Of course it had to get more difficult. Now all the options except the full truth were chucked out the window. Thanks so much, fate. It's really appreciated. Ozpin smirked at Bryce's forlorn expression, while Ms. Goodwitch's eyes gained a steel in them.

"Is there a reason for that expression, Mr. Anderson?" she asked as she crossed her arms. Bryce wanted to be shocked they knew his last name, but he was still frustrated with being found out because a drone happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"No, more just complaining about my luck." Bryce leaned forward a bit more, his spite dying a painful death. "How'd you know my name?"

"Ms. Rose was interestingly quite worried about you and questioning if you'd done anything wrong. It wasn't hard to ask her what she knew about you and she so freely gave us your name and your stellar experience with your weapon. Now, let's not play the game of dodging questions, shall we?" Ozpin said, gesturing to the video playing on repeat. Bryce slowly nodded. Guess he had no choice.

"Okay. What I'm about to explain is a bit… crazy, but hear me out."

"Mr. Anderson, we've heard and seen many insane things in our lives. By all means, surprise us."

Bryce laughed under his breath. "Well, to start off, I'm not from this dimension. Or a human, if I'm correct. I'm an alien from another universe."

Out of all the things Ms. Goodwitch was expecting Bryce to say, it obviously had not been that one. "Pardon?"

"Let me simplify. I'm an alien from another dimension who came here by accident and can't go home." Bryce said. He so wished he had a camera at that moment to capture the looks of utter shock on the two adults' faces.

"Young man, if this is a joke, I assure you-" Ms. Goodwitch began but Bryce cut her off.

"I promise I'm being one hundred percent serious. Allow me to back up some steps and explain it a little better," Bryce said smiling as he leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. He silently relished in the attention they gave him, completely in awe at him and the reality they now surely faced.

"I am a I'm from is called Universe H1, or Home One. We live in the Kentro galaxy and our civilization spans multiple planets. My species has learned to manipulate two basic energies called Creative and Destruction energy. While simply named, the things we can do with them are not." Bryce thought for a moment before continuing, "It might be easier if I showed you."

Ms. Goodwitch and Ozpin slightly tensed as Bryce brought his hand forward before placing it on the table. Bryce took a moment to convert all that falsely created power, whatever it was called, back to creation energy, then focused it, thinking of what he wanted it to do before exerting it into the room around him. The two professors watched in silent awe as the cell room began to change dramatically. The walls and floor grew larger, increasing the rooms size by ten or so feet. The walls became blue and had ornate, beautiful paintings hanging from them. The table shifted from a regular metal table to a luxurious wooden table with a lazy Susan on it, and small snacks. The chairs changed from uncomfortable metal chairs to comfortable wooden chairs with cushions on them.

"W-what? How?" Ms. Goodwitch stuttered, looking at the room in awe. She absentmindedly picked up a cracker from one of the plates. She looked over to Ozpin, only to see him also silently looking around in, while less obvious, surprise.

"This is an example of creation energy. We can use it to create or change things as we will. It's our first use of combat power and we use it to change the landscape around us, create weapons and armor, enhance our physical capabilities, and heal wounds."

"The second," Bryce said, "is Destruction energy." The room was filled with low burning flames. The flames ate away at the things Bryce had created, returning the room to the condition it had once been. "It allows us to weaken or destroy things, or removes things we've created or enhanced and return them to their original state. In combat, we often use it to create destructive attacks, weaken our enemies and their equipment, or even destroy the creations of other Septonians."

"Interesting. You have quite the power," Ozpin said, smiling. "But that still does not quite explain why you're here."

Bryce stared blankly at the two Professors before he felt a strong desire to face palm. He really wasn't thinking, was he? This was not going anywhere near what he'd hoped it would.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. The best way to explain it is that I go to a military academy called Epilara. It's where most Septonians where I'm from go to train their abilities for Combat and learn how to use them properly. One such thing we learn is dimension jumping."

"I believe it is safe to assume your appearance here was the result of this 'dimension jumping?'"

"Yep." Bryce nodded. "Or, it is, but it wasn't intentional. You see, each dimension has a certain weight to them and are attracted to different kinds of people. So some dimensions are easier for others to get into while those same dimensions may be impossible for others to get into unless someone 'opens the door for them,' so to speak."

"And this Dimensional weight, you spoke of?" Ms. Goodwitch asked. "What does that rightly entail?"

Bryce took a deep breath. "It's… it's like jumping into a pool of water with a weight on your foot. Each dimension is their own pool of water, and has a weight that gets attached to your foot each time. Some pools have a little weight, making it easy to escape. Some have large weights on them, meaning it takes a lot of energy to get out of them."

The facts clicked and Ozpin looked sadly at the young man in front of him." You did not intend to come here, did you? You were simply training. And our world… our dimension, if you prefer, has too high of a dimensional weight for you to leave."

The young Septonian smiled softly. "Ding ding ding, we have a winner." Bryce looked down at the floor, the sadness and worry hitting him once again. "I can't go home. Maybe if I regain enough energy and my family can reach me, but… there's no guarantee that will ever happen."

The two adults looked at the forlorn teen, worried for his mental state before the teen sighed, lifting his head, his eyes showing a calm that wasn't there previously. "Does that sufficiently show I'm not here with ill intent?"

Ozpin nodded, laughing a little. "Yes it does, indeed." Ozpin's laughter ceased as he looked into Bryce's eyes. "But it does beg another question, one I ask out of worry for your mental health."

Bryce felt a piece of nervousness enter his heart, and he gulped. "Go ahead."

"Why are you so focused on combat? We didn't ask for your fighting prowess, but it seemed to be so natural for you to talk about it. Why is that?"

Memories and History flooded Bryce's mind. He hadn't even realized he'd mentioned how they used their energy to fight. But it was really all Bryce knew. It'd seemed only normal for him to bring it up. But when Ozpin put it that way…

"We, uh… don't exactly have it easy, where I'm from. Almost a thousand years ago, we couldn't control creation or destruction energy. Didn't even know it existed. My species was naturally amazingly intelligent. We're quite gifted with technology and as such we had outstanding tech that none of the other races had. However, at the time, my ancestors were peaceful people, and wanted nothing to do with war. But other people wanted their tech. So, they began attacking them, often kidnapping hundreds of them, forcing them to make tech for their own use."

"So, our forefathers got desperate. They studied and researched in secret to find anyway to defend themselves. It was during these desperate studies they came across Creation energy."

Bryce stopped for a moment, and gauged how the two professors were taking it. Seeing they were listening intently, he continued. "We Septonians apparently have a natural affinity for manipulating energies. It's what makes us so intelligent. As such, my ancestors were able to quickly learn to use creation energy and turn against their would be captors, and free their people."

"A mighty fine story," Ozpin commented. "But where does this 'destruction energy' you spoke of come into play?"

"About two hundred years later. You see, every universe has a natural sense of balance. It's not necessarily conscious, but it aims to maintain a balance. Good and evil, Light and darkness, life and death… And creation and destruction." Bryce took a deep breath. "The universe does all it can to maintain balance, and will do whatever necessary to restore it."

Ms. Goodwitch visibly stiffened as she realized where Bryce was headed with this. "You mean-"

"Yeah. It tried to get rid of us. It created monsters to attack us." Bryce tried to think of a way to describe them, but couldn't find the right words. Then, he remembered the monsters he'd fought in the forest. "Those creatures the students were fighting. What are they called, exactly?"

"Grimm. Creatures of Grimm." Ozpin said, leaning forward to lean on his hands. "They feed off of negativity and evil emotions. They're devoid of souls, and more animalistic in their behavior, but extremely dangerous."

"Okay. Well, imagine if the Grimm suddenly became sentient, became humanoid, and instead of feeding off of negativity, they generated it, even holding anger and malice towards you to the point it could physically affect you. That is the monsters the universe created to destroy us. The Nekropsychi. And they were good at their job. They destroyed town after town, a single one being enough to take an entire platoon of soldiers. They emanated enough fear to paralyze some of the bravest men in terror. We were powerless to stop them."

"And so, desperate once again, my ancestors turned to research and tried to find anything that could save them. It took their near extinction to find something. Destruction energy. With its discovery, some began to be able to fight back against the Nekropsychi, killing them and capturing a rare few. Because of this, we were finally able to develop countermeasures, and were truly able to defend themselves against their executioners. With their powers now balanced, the universe calmed down. It didn't actively send Nekropsychi after us anymore, but the damage was done. The other species were afraid our existence would bring more of them, and while many of them have made peace with us, there are some that still make war against us, daily. And, for whatever reason, the Nekropsychi returned just fourteen years ago. Stronger than before, and more determined to wipe us off the map than last time." Bryce laughed soberly. "So here we are. A species trying to survive, more powerful than so many others, yet constantly fighting because of it."

Bryce sat silently staring at the ceiling, thinking of his family and the terrible situation they lived in. Ozpin watched Bryce quietly, thinking many things. He nodded finally, before saying anything.

"As hard as that was for you to share, I sincerely appreciate it. It allows us to more honestly trust you around our students." Ozpin sighed. "I will be honest. In your efforts to return home, we can offer you very little. We have barely attempted to leave the planet, let alone attempted to leave this dimension, though many have theorized about it. But, I can offer you a place to stay."

Ms. Goodwitch looked to Ozpin in surprise, but seeing the look on his face, she simply bit her tongue and nodded. He could tell this boy needed somewhere safe to stay. And being on the streets would only end in pain for whoever ran into him, and did nothing to help his mental health. Whether he realized it or not, Bryce Anderson was not fully okay. Maybe, just maybe, they could help him with that.

"While I would love to offer you a place as a combat Professor, I fear having a teenage professor would raise one to many red flags. As such, I offer you a place in our academy as a student until you can go home."

Bryce considered his options. He didn't really have anywhere else to go, and while this place was undoubtedly no Epilara Academy, it was something. And any level of normalcy was needed till he could get home. And it would give him a place to learn about this world in safety and peace. There were too many pros, and almost no cons. That and… They had hope. He could tell they still had hope in overcoming the monsters they fought. Things weren't as Grimm here as they were at home. Maybe… Maybe he could learn something from that, and even help them gain more hope.

"Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't mind having a roof over my head till I can get back."

"Good. I ask one favor of you then."

"And that is?"

"There are two teams of students this year that I have a feeling that will benefit from your experience. Teams RWBY and JNPR. I'll have you in the dorm near theirs, and all I ask is you watch over them and make sure they get involved in nothing more than they can handle. Will you look after them for the time being?"

"Ozpin, are you sure-" Ozpin silenced Ms. Goodwitch with a look. She only nodded forlornly, understanding that he was saying "We will talk later."

"Yeah, no problem." Bryce said, before asking, "Is there somewhere secluded I could study for a little while. Somewhere no one could find me?"

"We have some private rooms meant for guests to Beacon. Why?"

"Well, if I'm gonna pass myself off as a student, I gotta act like I'm from…" Bryce stopped, realizing he didn't know what this world was called, and waited for Ozpin to fill in the blank.

"Remnant."

"Remnant then, thank you. So I'm going to need to learn as much as I can before I start 'attending' Beacon."

"Wise idea. We'll provide what we can to help you prepare. When you're ready, we'll officially enroll you in the school's registry, Bryce Anderson. Is there anything else?"

Bryce grinned. "I'd really like my sword back. I feel a little defenseless without it, honestly. Besides that, I should be good."

"Alright then. We'll have that brought over shortly. For now," Ozpin stood up and extended a hand to Bryce. "Welcome to Beacon. I hope you learn something valuable from your stay."

…

Zach slammed his hands into the desk in front of him in anger. He'd been searching and searching for hours, and nothing. He'd hadn't found a single trace of dimension R1. None. It just seemed like it disappeared from the face of the multiverse. It was beyond infuriating.

"Anything?" Zach looked to his wife, who sat next to him. She had brown hair with fiery red streaks going through it, and beautiful purple eyes. However, her eyes were marred by the amount of worry and fear that covered them like a lense. She was scared. Reaching out, Zach took her hand, gripping it tightly.

"Nothing. Not even a blip. I… I don't know what caused any of this. And I can't figure out a thing. None of this makes sense. Our soul signatures should be enough for me to at least cause it to blip, but nothing. And there's no sign of it anywhere."

"Well… We can do more at the lab, right?"

"Eliza…"

"Zach, there has to be something we can do." She insisted, tears in her eyes.

"I don't know." Zach began to cry, pulling his wife into his chest, hugging her tightly for his own comfort. "I really just don't know."

Eliza cursed as she hugged her husband. "We have to find out. I want to know why he's gone."

"I know. You're not the only one." Zach said as he got a hold of himself. "The girls aren't going to take this very well."

Eliza laughed sadly. "Are we? We're about to fall apart at his disappearance, just like last time. I don't know if I can say if this is better or worse than last time. The last time we didn't know where he was or what had happened. This time, we do know but there's nothing we can do about it."

Zach nodded. He didn't say anything, just pulled Eliza closer and sought comfort in his wife. He felt responsible. He should've stopped Bryce sooner. He should've teleported to grab him. There were a million options, and when Bryce needed him to remember any of them, he'd forgotten them all.

Eliza, being the loving wife she was, sensed Zach's internal pain. She knew him too well for it not to be obvious he was hurting and blaming himself. She kissed him through her own tears, smiling as best she could.

"Don't blame yourself for this, Zach. No one could have seen this coming. And we both know when you dimension jump, there's no stopping it once you connect. You did the best you could to save him."

"But none of that was normal. I should have at least tried. There were so many small chances to make sure our son would be here and I wasted all of them. All because I wasn't expecting it."

"Zach." Eliza says, leaning her forehead against his. They sat there silent for a moment before they were interrupted by a knock at the door to the classroom.

"It's after school hours," Zach muttered, before calling out. "Who is it?"

"Mr. Anderson?" The two parents paled as they heard the voice on the other side of the door. They'd recognize it anywhere. "It's Natalie. I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a question. It's about Bryce."

Eliza looked to Zach, both unsure of what to do. Slowly, Eliza sighed, before nodding towards the door. "She deserves to know, just as much as his sisters do."

"I… I know. It doesn't make telling her any easier." Zach took a deep breath. "Come on in, Natalie."

The door to the classroom opened slowly, revealing the distressed girl, her eyes filled with an anxiousness and unsurety that neither parent was used to. But at this moment, they could offer her no comfort.

"What is it Natalie?" Eliza asked as she moved to sit next to her husband and face her son's girlfriend. Natalie approached the two rather slowly. Her anxiety was growing the more she looked at Bryce's parents.

"Do… Do either of you know where Bryce is? He always meets me after school so we can hang out or go on a date. But I haven't seen him. And I can't find his soul anywhere." Natalie rubbed her arm as she looked to the side. "Did he leave on a mission again? Is he doing testing for his… Other energy at the capital?"

Zach shook his head to both. "Natalie. I believe it's best you sit down."

Natalie's heart fell to her feet at those words. That is the exact opposite of what she wanted, no, needed to hear right now. "W-what is it?"

"I'll… I'll answer your questions first. Bryce isn't on another mission right now. And he isn't testing his Omni-energy. Since we both possess it, we do most of our testing at home."

"Then where is he?"

"Natalie…" The younger girl looked at Eliza in fear as the older woman took a deep breath, her own voice shaking. "Bryce was learning how to dimension jump a-and th-there-" Eliza did the best she could to swallow the lump rising in her throat. "There was an accident."

"W-what do you mean? What kind of accident?" Panic began to set in Natalie's voice.

"He attuned to a dimension that's Dimensional weight is too great to get out of." Zach answered. "It's the second highest ever recorded, and unlike Asfaelia, it doesn't stay near anything nor anyone long enough to mount a rescue effort. For all intents and purposes, it's disappeared."

"W-what about Bryce?"

"He's gone. And until we can locate that dimension, we may never get him back."

Natalie's world shattered into a million pieces at that last sentence. She sat there, stock still for a good minute, her face having lost all color, before she slowly stood up, and walked out of the classroom, giving the Anderson's a very hoarse goodbye before leaving. Zach grimaced as she left.

"She's acting exactly how I feel right now. And her reaction only makes me even more worried about the girls." He admitted. Eliza nodded her head in agreement as she leaned into his shoulder.

"I only hope that they won't let this tear them apart. With how close they all are to him, I worry they may shut down."

Zach didn't say anything for a long time, just silently staring up at the ceiling. It was a full minute later, he slowly stood up, tears streaking down his face, and he roared. The sound shook the classroom before he finally yelled.

"WHAT IN ARCHON DID HE DO TO DESERVE THIS?! WHY HIM!?" Zach leaned against his desk, sobbing now as Eliza joined him in crying. "Why is it always him that gets taken away from us? Why couldn't it be me?"

Natalie hadn't made it ten feet away from Mr. Anderson's room before she fell to the floor sobbing her heart out. She'd lost him. Again. She couldn't handle this kind of pain. Why? Why does it always have to be him? Why couldn't she ever be with him?

She leaned against the lockers as she curled up into a ball, crying into her knees, letting all the fear and heartache, the longing for his jokes, his sarcasm, his kisses, his touch, anything. But she couldn't remember any of it without feeling more sorrow. It was over an hour before she could look up, finally having run out of tears to cry, her face stained by her tears.

"Bryce. Where are you?" She asked. "Why can't I be there with you?"