Full Disclosure: I DO NOT own any of the RWBY characters from the canon show. They belong to Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum, may he rest in peace. Any characters you see here that aren't in the canon show are my OC's.
"Blah"= Spoken
'Blah'Thoughts
--0--0--
--Matthew--
I'm not gonna lie--I sure as hell dodged a bullet there.
Guess I was right to think about that earlier; about what I'd have as an explanation if they asked about my memories.
Still, I wasn't expecting Qrow to ask! Granted, it's not like he's an asshole or anything like that--I just thought he'd lean more towards the "It's none of my business" mentality...then again, since their mission is to train me, I guess I'm their responsibility to some extent, huh...
"Geez..." I let the word slip out of my mouth with a sigh as I tiredly ran a hand through my hair. My body slid down against the wall of Team STRQ's room, eventually hitting the floor with a slightly uncomfortable impact.
'...you know what? Don't worry about it..at least, not right now.' I mentally instructed myself as I switched to a cross-legged seated position, 'More importantly...' My eyes drifted to the magazine at my side, the background of the cover being gray, as well as the almost completely featureless figure on it, a wide grin on its face. In fact, the only way I was able to tell there actually was a figure was the dark gray outline around its body.
After observing the figure, my eyes then drifted to the title of the magazine--a single word in white that left me slightly furrowing my brows as I read it:
Truth.
...Truth...this feels familiar for some reason...granted, I already know it was in the very first episode of RWBY. That much I remember for sure. It was on the shelves where Ruby was reading before she got threatened by one of Roman's goons.
But at the same time...I feel like there's something else..like a piece of the puzzle I'm missing...
Both the figure and that word..Truth...both of them combined feel familiar to me...but why..?
'Ugh, I feel like I'm going in circles!' I mentally exclaimed in frustration. All I was doing was asking the same question over and over again, and I wasn't going to make any progress like that.
I need to think...or maybe I should try the reverse..?...actually, what the hell does that even mean?!
"Ugh.." I groaned as I placed a hand over my eyes, frowning with gritted teeth. I could feel my head begin to hurt slightly, for once not from any flashbacks. Thank god for tha--...
...wait...now that I think about it, why doesn't it hurt..? Memories about RWBY are still my memories, but I haven't felt any pain from remembering anything about RWBY...but why exactly?
Maybe because they haven't been in the form of flashbacks?...yeah..yeah, that's probably it.
Maybe it's best not to dwell on it for now. While I do want to remember my old life, I don't exactly want to go through the pain that comes with remembering it. At least, not right now, I don't.
'Yeah..right now...' I took my hand off my face and gently rested it on my knee. I lifted my face slightly as I took in a deep breath through my nose, and lowered it as I exhaled through my mouth, a feeling of calmness presenting itself in my mind, 'I should just..clear my mind..'
I took a few more deep breaths and exahles before slowing down my breathing to a more natural pace, my mind at pea--
"Oh? It appears you've finally hit one of the marks, Earthling."
...Wait, THE FUCK?!
The voices simply chuckled at my mental outburst, "I must say, I honestly wasn't expecting you to get here this early. I wonder--Could it be that you're a prodigy? Or perhaps this was just a fluke..?" The voices continued in an amused tone
'Do...do I know you?'
"Come now, Earthling. I'm aware of your amnesia, but you ought to have remembered the conversation you and I had?"The voices asked, still amused,"Or maybe human minds are still too weak to truly remember my existence even after confronting me?" The voices asked, likely to themselves, before entering a small fit of chuckles. After a bit, the chuckles finally died down, "But I can go ahead and laugh at humans some other time. For now, I suppose I could answer any questions you have at the moment."
'Questio--What're you talking about?! I don't even know you!'
"And, while I still find that amusing, it is something that will likely lead to possible annoyances in the future when this occurs again. So, I'll be returning to you your memories of our conversation. Although, you may want to brace yourself.." The voices ominously added with a small chu--...wait...oh no.
'OW!!' I shouted due to the wave of pain that flooded my mind. Though I guess it was more of a mental exclamation, since I wasn't...awake...wait, why aren't I awa--?!
'AGH, SON OF A FUCKKNUCKLE!!!!' My question was interrupted as another wave came, the pain briefer, but sharper.
"As always, you humans are always so entertaining!" The voices remarked in an amused tone that was honestly starting to get real fuckin' ol--..
...wait a second...voices..?..plural..?
"Ooh, and it appears you've finally started to put a few pieces the puzzle together.." The voices said, though it didn't interrupt my train of thought. No, I refused to let it.
'Come on. Think. Think! Where have I heard this before..?'
I tried to focus on my memories, bracing myself for the pain I knew for a fact that would come.
Unfortunately, the immediate result of my efforts was a dull, but strong pain in my head, along with sounds of static.
'Agh!' I grunted, feeling like I'd be scrunching my face in pain if I were awake, 'no...gotta...keep...pushing!!' I encouraged myself, imagining the feeling of gritting my teeth.
Just a little more..! Come on..! Please..!
...Dammit...LET ME REMEM--!!!
"Tell me.." A voice suddenly began, sounding worried. I was suddenly presented with an image of a black ball with one magenta eye and...a mouth? Wait, is that the one who's talking?! "Why did you refuse to join me? Why, God? How did I disappoint you?" The black ball continued, its eye shaking slightly.
Who...what is that? Is this a memory?...
"You were incapable of believing in yourself."
...What..?
Both the black ball and I made a surprised noise, though mine only in my mind, of course. But frankly, I don't think that's what's important right now!
Rather, what is important right now is the scene before me, showing the ball turning around, revealing what appeared to me an ironically white silhouette of it, with no eye and a wide gri--...wait...I know this..!
"You stole your power from others. You rejected your human origins and chose to covet the power of what you call God. You never grew beyond your days in the flask." The grinning ball continued, the black ball gritting its teeth in frustration, Did you truly think you would become superior to humans by removing your seven desires? Don't make me laugh!
"What's wrong with that?" The black orb asked, "I only wanted to obtain perfection! I wanted this world's knowledge for own!!" The ball then clenched it--hold up, when the hell did it get hands?!, "Why should I be punished for that? What's wrong with craving knowledge? What's wrong with seeking perfection?!"
The white orb remained silent, still grinning at the black orb, causing said orb of darkness to narrow its eye and grit its teeth further.
"Well, speak.." The noir orb said in a pissed-off tone, "What are you, anyway? Do you even have a name?..WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" The black orb asked angrily as it pointed to the white orb.
And to my surprise, for the first time, the white orb actually released its grin, forming a more neutral expression.
"Who am I?" The white orb asked, "One name you might have for is the World. Or you might call me the Universe. Or perhaps, God. Or perhaps, the Truth."
...Truth...Truth..! Shit, that's right! I knew I recognized the voices from somewhere!!
"I am All, and I am One." Truth continued, "So, of course, this also means that I am--"
'You..' I finished, the memory ending as soon as I mentally spoke.
"Well done, Earthling. It seems you were able to recall another memory."
...You're...you're "Truth", aren't you..?' My question was only met with chuckles.
"A good guess, Earthling. But no, I am not. Rather, I suppose you could call me something of an observer.."
'Then why the voice?'
"If I'm to be perfectly honest, the main reason why I decided to use the voice of 'Truth'.." It paused, chuckling lightly before continuing, "..was because it seemed like it'd be fun.."
'F..fun..?'
But more importantly," It continued, completely ignoring my question, "I suppose I should be sending you back now, since the time limit is almost up, and you appear to be lacking any questions for me to answer."
Wha--?! Lacking any--?!...Wait...FUCK, I forgot!!!
It then began to laugh at me, a feeling of irritation growing in me by the second.
"Hahh.." It released an exhale, my "vision", if I could call it that, suddenly blinded by a bright light, "I still find it an enigma that anyone would fl--.."
"Hey, kid!!" I was suddenly thrust back into reality by Qrow's voice, his hands on my shoulders, shaking me lightly, "You doing alright..?"
"I..." I began, but stopped myself as I felt a very brief, sharp pain in my head. Just enough to shut me up, but quick enough to make it seem like nothing too serious, "..I was trying to see if I could try to remember anything manually.."
"Hmph." I heard Raven scoff from above. I looked upwards and saw her atop her bed with her arms crossed, wearing her school uniform and a serious expression on her face. Not like that was anything new, though, "What if you'd gotten hurt?"
Oh...oh my god, is she being sincere...?
"An injury, mental or physical, would've been a hindrance to your training, meaning that completing this mission would take longer. Meaning you'd be here more often."
I was wrong. I was wrong and I wanna punch her now.
"Hey!" I heard Summer exclaim nearby, my head turning and seeing her in an almost identical school uniform to Raven's, if not for the snow-colored cloak as an attachment.
Huh...so that's where Ruby got that from...go figure.
"While, I don't exactly agree with Raven's...perspective, she's still right that you could've gotten hurt.." Summer said in a manner I could only assume was scolding. Though, to be perfectly frank, the fact that she had most, if not all, of her daughter's adorable charm made it hard for me to see as such.
"..." I remained silent for a bit before sighing and rubbing the nape of my neck as I lowered my head. "..sorry if I made you worry..." I said with a weak smile, my head still lowered, eyes focused only on the dark brown floor.
My focus on the floor was suddenly broken was I felt a hand on my shoulder, my eyes widening slightly in response.
"It's alright.." I heard Taiyang begin in a reassuring voice, "I get it. We all do. You're in a hurry to remember who you are, how you lived, your family, friends--all of it. Even if it hurts, you still want to know. And I can't blame you." I felt my fists begin to clench slightly, moreso as an automatic response...but that didn't mean there wasn't any reason behind it, "If I were in your position, I'd be doing whatever it took to remember who I was. Trying to remember my loved ones, my friends..my team.." Taiyang continued in a soft voice, and I could've sworn I felt his grip on my shoulder tighten ever so slightly, "But that doesn't mean you should rush into it. From Ozpin said, it sounds like your flashbacks have been painful, to say the least." I winced slightly, feeling my eyes water a tiny bit.
'No. Fight back the tears..' I commanded, but found it a little difficult due my head still being lowered, gravity helping one tear escape, streaming down my right cheek and dripping off it, hitting the floor with a damn near inaudible splash. 'Dammit...'
"You shouldn't try to rush into remembering as much as you can. If you did that, then you'd probably end up getting back way too many memories at once, and who knows how much pain you'd be in then. Trying to rush things and ending up in a ton of pain isn't going to help you. For now, you should just..try to take it slowly..one step at a time...alright?" Taiyang asked, though I couldn't respond. I was too busy holding back tears to concentrate on any vocal response. Instead, I nodded weakly, my fists clenched even tighter while I bit my lip, felt my nose get a little runny.
Before they could say anything else, I stood up, keeping my head low and making sure my hair would mask my eyes while I walked to bathroom and closed the door behind me.
"..." I placed my hands on the sink and stood there for a bit before beginning to reach for the sink with one hand and stopping just as I was about to touch it.
'No...don't do it yet..' I told myself as I pulled my hand away from the sink and to my side, clenched into a fist. 'They can't see you here. And they aren't the type to eavesdrop either...so just...' I thought, choking on silent sobs.
Dammit Taiyang...I hate it...I hate that he's right..I don't want to admit it...I really don't, but he is...I'd been trying to ignore it the whole time...but I can't...I just fucking can't..!
...Mom..Dad...somebody...anybody...please help me...
'Let it go..'
And so..I did...
--0--0--
--Qrow Branwen--
"..." We all remained silent a few moments after Matthew went into the bathroom. And, as much as we hated to eavesdrop, our trained senses as Huntsmen and Huntresses let us hear a few choked sobs emanating from the bathroom.
"Looks like it's been weighing even heavier on him than we expected..." I said in a slightly low voice, making sure he wouldn't hear our conversation. Best to let the ki-...let him let his emotions out in peace..
"Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't break down sooner..." Taiyang said sadly in a voice as low as mine, "I guess the fact that we're training kinda made me forget he's still a normal guy around our age for the time being, even if the Headmaster said his past involved fighting. He was going to reach this point eventually.."
"..this still changes things." My sister spoke up after releasing a light sigh, "We were given a mission--To train him in combat, in the hopes that it would help in restoring his memories. But now..." Raven continued before slightly turning her head to the side,
"But now what..?" I asked, Raven remaining silent for a few moments before responding.
"It depends on his resolve." Raven stated. Needless to say, we were all surprised to some extent, for the same reason.
"His resolve? He's been trying to remember his past since he got here!" Summer exclaimed in a low voice, "This'll just make his desire to remember who he is even stronger..!"
"Or it could crush him." Raven replied immediately, a hush falling over the room, "This sort of revelation of his loneliness may cause him to lose hope and give up. At which point, we might not have a mission anymore."
"But--.." Whatever retort Summer had was cut short was we heard the doorknob of the bathroom turn, followed by the door itself opening, Matthew walking out a moment later and immediately going for the door to our dorm room.
Though not before I caught a glimpse of his eyes and smiled.
Silently, he opened the door to the dorm room and closed it, leaving everyone else confused.
"Well, sis.." I began with a smile, "looks like you just got your answer." Raven rose a brow in response.
"What are you talking about? That didn't answer anything.." Raven said, causing my smile to grow a little.
"You sure about that?" I asked, remembering his eyes as he left the dorm, "...because I saw fire in those eyes.."
-The End
A/N: Hello readers! GOH426 here, with another chapter of Newcomer! This one admittedly took a while to right, even though many may consider it short. Though, I'm not an author capable of pumping out 5-8k words every chapter weekly (not yet, at least..I hope).
But anywho! I don't really have much else to say, aside from asking you guys to leave your thoughts in the comments.
With that out of the way, onto the Responses!
Comment Responses:
alertpoet91: Thanks! And, Tadaa~~, another chapter!