Somewhere in the afternoon, Beacon infirmary.
For the first time in the last twenty-four hours, Roy woke up peacefully. He slowly opened his eyes, the steady beeping of his heart monitor and the white ceiling indicating him where he was. Roy tried to get up, but instead of the expected pain from his broken ribs, he was stopped by a pair of hands.
"Don't try to get up, your body is weak enough as it is."
"Oh... you speak English... nice."
Roy's voice wasn't right. It felt rough, and his throat was aching a bit. Maybe he yelled a bit too much last night.
"English?"
The woman was nurse, probably in her thirties. She was smiling, and the uniform didn't look military. So, they were rescued, not captured. Or maybe it was an elaborate plan.
"Uh, never mind...Where...am I?"
This time it was a man's voice. Calm and soothing.
"You're in Beacon Academy's infirmary, young man."
The white-haired man looked important, but not intimidating. His coffee mug and cane probably helped, too. He was smiling slightly, perhaps he was taking pity? Roy couldn't waste too much time dazing off. He had a team, he needed a status report. Roy tried to get up again, only to be stopped by the nurse.
"The others, where…"
"I'm afraid but your group didn't fare well. Despite our best efforts, we could only save four of your friends. One of them is in the infirmary, just like you. The others were relatively unharmed and are currently given a tour by some of my students."
"Wait...Students...Academy… wh... what…"
"Yes, Beacon Academy. We train some of the finest Huntsmen and Huntresses here. Surely you've heard of the place."
Roy shook his head. The man didn't look upset. Instead he looked intrigued. Maybe it was an interrogation after all.
"What… what happened? What the hell did we run into?"
The man frowned. Perhaps the discussion wasn't heading the way he wanted. Perhaps whatever happened, he wasn't willing to tell.
"You've been through a lot, young man. Get some rest."
"Wait! Who are you?"
"My name is Professor Ozpin. I am the headmaster of this academy."
Roy fell back in his bed and looked around. The infirmary was pretty big, but mostly empty. He quickly found Eizan, still sleeping. There was an empty tray of food on the table next to him, so the man probably woke up before him. Roy looked back to the nurse, who was already gone to another patient.
"When are the others coming back? I need to talk to them."
"Oh, they probably still have plenty of things to see. I will contact Ms. Rose to inform them of your request."
"Okay, do that, I'll just… wait here… yeah…"
Roy slowly sunk into the softness of his bed, closing his eyes. Next thing he knew, it was already dusk, and some voices were calling him.
"Hey El-Tee, had enough nap time yet?"
That was Oliver, no doubt about that. Roy opened his eyes and saw half a dozen figures looking at him. Oliver was grinning like he just received a promotion. Yeah, that wasn't gonna happen anytime soon. The thought made Roy smile.
"Good to see you on your feet, sir. Well, awake I guess..." The blonde medic, Stella, was it? She was stern and saluting him, but seemed uncomfortable.
"At ease, soldier. Can any of you tell me what happened?"
Roy looked at the six figures. There was Oliver, Stella, and four girls he didn't know. He recognized the red-hooded one, looking a bit uneasy. Then there was a white-haired girl with a scar on her left eye, a black-haired one with a bow, and a blonde one with massive…
"Ahem" Roy looked immediately up, almost blushing from embarrassment. The red-hooded girl stepped forward and started talking.
"You, uuhh… landed… well, crashed in one of our training grounds, the Emerald Forest. Before we could reach you, you were already under attack by the Grimm, so we rescued you and brought you here."
She was smiling gently now, almost giving a thumbs-up. Roy smiled back and looked back at Oliver and Stella.
"Thanks for the heads up. What's our status? How's our gear?"
"Uuuhh, we're pretty much stuck here. Could go to the city, but then we'd be stuck there. Can't even buy a bloody pint."
"They say it'll be about a week until they dig up our Raven and bring it back here. In the meantime, I think Eizan and Hot Dog will investigate the local techs and see if they can fix ours."
"Oh yeah that airship of yours looks so weird, where did you come from? How does it fly? Can you teach me? Whatisitmadeof?"
Roy couldn't understand what the red girl was babbling about at this point. He saw her waving her arms and look at them with puppy eyes. Truly, an adorable sight if it wasn't giving him another headache.
"Ruby, stop! That's no way to treat a guest!"
That was the white-haired one. The voice of reason, then. Roy noticed that Eizan was up, with Stella helping him. Roy took a moment to process what he heard and sighed.
"Ugh… a week? That bad?"
"Not really, they just don't want to suspend classes for something that can be done on the weekend."
"Classes? They're sending in teachers?"
"Yeah, we're not in the most… conventional of schools. We'll show you tomorrow. They've given us a room, and they said you'll be out of the sickbay for dinner."
"Screw that, I'm leaving now." Roy tried to get up but couldn't feel the ground below him. As soon as he left the bed, he landed face-first on the ground. The fact that he was in a patient's gown and showing his ass was even more embarrassing. The red girl, Ruby, according to her white-haired friend, barely managed to suppress her laugh.
"Okay...dinner maybe…" Oliver grabbed him and put him back in his bed.
"No need to hurry, El-Tee. There's nothing to do around here anyway. See ya later, mate."
And with that, everyone left, including Eizan. How was he walking while Roy could barely move? The hell with that? After what seemed like an hour, the nurse came back in the room. According to the clock above the door, it was just five minutes, though. He tried to raise his arm to get her attention but gave up and coughed instead.
"What did you do to me? Why can't I move?"
"You were gravely injured. I had to activate your aura to give you a chance to live. Now your body is recuperating. Nothing to be afraid of, give it time and you'll be out of here for dinner. That is, if you stop trying to get out of bed."
Roy sighed, and gave up. He looked back at the clock, which said 6:35 p.m. What's dinner time? Seven? Eight o'clock? Roy looked around, searching for his clothes. He found his grey uniform nicely folded on the table next to him, with his purple beret stacked on top. Roy then realized that Oliver and Stella were also in their uniforms, not in their combat suits. Was it confiscated? Were they prisoners, and not guests? He had a few more questions for that Prof. Ozpin now, but as the others said, he had to rest.
Dinner time, Beacon's dinner hall
Oliver, Stella and Eizan were sitting on a table with their food trays. Oliver and Stella were in their army uniforms, while Eizan was in his dark blue navy uniform. For all of them, it was essentially a glorified gray or blue jumpsuit with pockets and insignia. Everyone else around them was wearing Beacon's uniform and was eyeing them like some freshmen just got lost in a final year's lesson. Eizan broke the silence first.
"So, I heard Hot Dog's got a new job."
"Yeah, old man's gonna fly one of their birds until he gets his girl back. I hope he brings us some bottles with that pay of his."
Oliver was remarkably calm and joyful. Maybe he had a couple of swigs from a nowhere-to-be-seen source of alcohol.
"McKelley, are you ever going to stop thinking about ruining your liver?"
"What? A man's gotta drink up, especially after all the shit we've seen."
All three lowered their gaze, a sad look on their face. Eizan broke the silence again.
"How's the lieutenant holding up? He looked like shit this morning."
"He'll be fine, the nurse said he should be out soon. Whatever meds they gave him, it does wonders to broken bones and internal bleeding."
Oliver grinned and nodded toward the hall's entrance.
"Ha! Speak of the devil! Guy's already got a girl, too!"
Eizan and Stella turned around and saw the lieutenant, limping towards them with Ruby holding him up. His long hair was no longer tied in an intricate braid to fit in a helmet, but in a simple ponytail. Despite his young age, Roy still inspired authority. Maybe it was just the beret and shiny badges, though. Behind the two, the rest of team RWBY walked slowly, keeping their pace with the two leaders. After fetching some food, the group sat next to the soldiers. Both groups were eyeing out each other, wondering who would start the conversation first. Yang was the least patient.
"So, where's the last guy? The one with a funny name?"
"If you mean Hot Dog, he's probably in a meeting with your school's staff. Something about the new job he's got."
Roy stopped holding his head and turned to look at Stella in the eyes, clearly not happy.
"He did WHAT?"
"Found a new job, sir. Said he didn't want to, and I quote, sit in a hole with his thumbs up his arse until we restore the chain of command."
"Oh, that motherfucker..."
Technically, the pilot outranked him, which wasn't going to help to convince him to NOT do as he pleases.
"Language!"
Roy looked up at the voice, it was Yang again, not really happy about the curse words. Roy looked at the four girls more carefully. They were all teens, barely younger than him. Ruby seemed to be the youngest. She couldn't be older than sixteen.
"Right, sorry about that. I'm Roy, pleased to meet you."
Ruby looked at her team, then back at Roy, and cleared her throat.
"I'm Ruby, leader of team RWBY. This is Weiss, Blake and my big sister Yang." Each greeted the lieutenant, who was about to present his team, but remembered that he was the only one knocked out for the whole day.
"I… guess you already know my team, then, Ruby, leader of...ruby? Did you pick the name?"
Ruby rubbed the back of her head, slightly blushing.
"Eheheheh… not really, prof. Ozpin chooses every team's name."
"I see… say, I don't want to be rude but… how old are all of you?"
"Oh, I'm fifteen, Yang, Weiss and Blake are seventeen. How about you guys?"
"Umh, I'm nineteen, Oliver's eighteen and uuuhhh…" Roy looked at Stella and Eizan, who picked up the clue.
"I'm twenty, and Stella here is nineteen like the lieutenant."
Before anyone could add anything, a grinning Oliver acted before anyone could stop him.
"Are any of you ladies single?" Stella stabbed him with her elbow, but it was too late. Ruby was bright red, Weiss had a death glare, Blake was looking at her meal and Yang crossed her arms, mentally judging the young private. Roy sighed, and tried to defuse the situation.
"Forgive him, for he knows not what he does…" Their reaction, well, Yang's reaction, wasn't what they expected. She eyed Oliver and laughed before fist-bumping him.
"I see you don't waste your time, I can respect that. And yes, we're all single, for now" Yang winked at Ruby, who blushed even more.
"Yang! Don't say things like that!"
Roy couldn't help but laugh. It was a good change of pace, being back at high school. Certainly better than fighting for your life, that's for sure. Both groups got to know each other a bit more, before a certain Ms. Goodwitch called them in. Apparently, Ozpin wanted to have a chat with all five of them. The outsiders, he called them. In a way, he wasn't wrong. After a little walk to the central tower, which was surprisingly huge, the group reached the elevator. Ozpin's office was big, and pretty empty. Massive gears were clicking in the walls and roof, giving the impression to have a meeting in a clock tower and not an office. Maybe it wasn't that far off from the truth. Instinctively, the five "outsiders" stood at ease in front of Ozpin, with Ms. Goodwitch walking to Ozpin's side.
"Now, I think we all have plenty of question, so I'll begin. I am professor Ozpin, headmaster of this academy. This is Glynda Goodwitch, my assistant and a teacher here at Beacon. You are?"
"2nd Lieutenant Roy Anderson, Federal Army."
"Lieutenant Lawrence Spencer, Federal Space Force."
"Petty Officer Eizan Nakao, Federal Space Force."
"Private First-Class Stella Sternberg, Federal Army."
"Private Oliver McKelley, Federal Army."
"Mmmhh… except for Mr. Spencer, you all seem awfully young to be soldiers...And I have no memory of any federal army either. Tell me, are you familiar with the world of Remnant?"
Roy and the others looked at each other before the lieutenant gave Ozpin an answer.
"If that's how you call your planet, then I'm afraid the answer is no."
Hearing this, Ozpin sighed and sat back in his chair, this was going to be a long, long evening. The conversation then followed to the crash, then to the Kashgar, then some explanation on the Grimm.
"Professor Ozpin, I can't help but notice that my men and I have been disarmed. I hate to ask this bluntly but, are we your prisoners?"
"Goodness, no, you are all free to leave. However, since you have no idea where you are, I don't think it would help you that much."
Hot Dog, no, Spencer, that was his real name, leaned and whispered into Roy's ear.
"He's not wrong, kid."
"May I ask where our equipment and our comrades are being… kept?"
"The bodies of your comrades have been transferred to Vale's Police Department. Once they are done with their investigation, they will be buried in the city's cemetery and their equipment will be returned here. You will, of course, be invited to the funerals. As for your equipment, Glynda had it stored in the school's locker room."
"I see… I apologize but I must ask you to return their equipment immediately. We are not keen on letting anyone have their hands on our tech."
"Of course. I will contact the police department and… arrange for their delivery here."
"Thank you, this is much appreciated, professor."
"Mr. Anderson, I must ask, what are you planning to do with all of this? After all, you are lost in foreign land. What would your orders be?"
Roy looked down, pensive, before looking at Ozpin. He took a long breath and explained his plans.
"We… weren't the only ones to reach the ground. Our ship's still out there, somewhere. And there were two other crafts with us. They're out there, too. We have to find them somehow and find a way back home."
"I see. And what would be needed to accomplish this goal?"
"For starters, we need our Raven back up and running, then, with some luck, they'll be within radio range. Otherwise, we'll have to look for clues and whereabouts. That's… that's not such a great plan is it?"
Ozpin chuckled and took a swig from his coffee mug.
"No, but it's a start. Most of my students here wouldn't even have a first step. You lived through some very tragic incident, and it is unfortunate that we meet our first… extraterrestrial guests in such conditions. Tell me, do you know what kind of school Beacon Academy is?"
Roy struggled to answer, the memories of the last day resurfacing. Stella took over, especially since she spent a good part of the day sightseeing.
"It's some sort of military academy, to train the best warriors and peacekeepers."
"Well, I hope our school's not nearly as strict as a military academy, but yes, that's the idea. Now, Mr. Spencer, here, has already agreed to join our staff as a senior pilot. Would you be interested in enlisting in my school? You'd be given a room and free meals for the duration of your studies. In addition, I may call some favors from the other headmasters to help you in your search."
Roy looked cautious, while Oliver stepped forward.
"Hell yeah, I would!"
Roy looked at Oliver, surprised at how fast he accepted the offer. He then took a deep sigh, closed his eyes and smiled. He looked back at Ozpin and offered his hand.
"We don't have much of a choice now, do we? We're already indebted to your students. You can count us in, sir."
"Please, no need to be so formal. I am merely a headmaster, not a general. I would appreciate if you could avoid saluting my staff as well. Of course, your existence as… outsiders will need to be kept secret. Given your names, you will be…. Ah, yes, you will now be team ROSE, Glynda will show you to your room. Welcome to Beacon."
As the group left the office, Ozpin turned back toward the window. His Scroll chimed, and the professor looked at the message. It was from Qrow. Something happened. We have a new player.
"Looks like this will be an interesting year, indeed…"