A/N: Everyone, my Grandma, on my dad's side, passed away this month while I was writing this chapter. She died from old age and not Covid just to clear things up. She was one of the most influential people in my life and I want to dedicate both this chapter and the next one in her memory.
[...]
Aaron walked into Beacon's cafeteria knowing that in a few hours from now he would be participating in the school's student Initiation. He had no idea what the initiation entailed, but he was confident he would be able to pass. A Rider's training on Vroengard covered essentially everything, from reading and writing to advanced medical training, the latter of which Aaron was being specialized in when he and Nalia left all those years ago, not that they made it very far.
"There's the leader of team ANCR," Aaron heard from behind him. He turned around and saw Weiss, Elena, and Yang walking in behind him.
The Rider rolled his eyes at the mention of the team name the media gave the four who saved the eight Faunus children the week before. "Yang, you know how I feel about that name. I'm not a leader and the media didn't mention another who was there." In all honesty Aaron wanted to thank the man named Jad for helping both him and Ruby out of that situation.
Yang just shrugged and smiled. "Whatever you say, but try convincing the rest of Vale that."
"Where's Blake and your sister anyway?" Aaron asked as they all grabbed their lunches.
"Ruby forgot something in our room," Weiss sighed. "She'll be around in a few minutes."
"Blake said that she had to go meet with her brother and their friend from home," Elena added. "All three of them should be joining us later."
"Well in that case," Aaron said as the group picked a table, "there's something serious I'd like to talk to you about, without Ruby knowing."
The three girls stared at Aaron with strange looks. "Is this a Dragon Rider thing?" Elena asked.
Aaron sighed. "Kind of, but this is more out of personal concern." The others' faces grew even more confused. "Yang, Weiss, the two nights Ruby spent in the team dorm room, was she having nightmares?"
Realization dawned on their faces. "I take it they've been happening in the Dragonhouse too?" Yang asked.
"From what Nalia says, once per night. She said Ruby wakes up in a cold sweat and has a mental breakdown. Cerise does what she can, but it only lasts the night at most."
"I remember walking in on one of those last thursday," Elena said with sadness in her eyes. "It brought back some painful memories from when my sister, Clare, was going through something similar during our transformations. At least I could use that experience to help Ruby that night."
Yang silently thanked the young Claymore before returning her attention back to Aaron.
Weiss nodded. "It's the same on all accounts in our room, but it happened twice on Friday." She shook her head. "Seeing Ruby overly happy is annoying, but seeing her depressed is scary. I'm just glad last night she didn't have any of those nightmares."
Yang nodded. "She's always happy around Cerise, but after finding out our mom is alive yesterday probably has to do with her sleeping through the night without the nightmares."
"Has she ever told any of you what she saw?" Aaron asked.
Weiss and Elena shook their heads while Yang bit her lip. Aaron turned to the golden blonde of the group. "She asked you not to tell anyone, didn't she?"
Yang shook her head. "She told me in confidence. I'm not going to say anything."
"I get that," Aaron threw up his hands in defense. "But I've seen this before. It could be worse than you think." Of course, what he'd seen is what Nalia saw in him.
Yang dipped her head. She looked to Weiss and Elena, then to Aaron. She sat quiet for several seconds, then sighed. "She said it's always the same," she whispered. "Always all nine, Always all dead… always one of them asking 'Why?'"
Aaron nodded and placed a hand over his mouth. He knew the feeling all too well. "She's blaming herself for the one. The others, I'd have to guess she's worried about what would have happened if she didn't show up."
"Why wouldn't she tell us this?" Weiss looked at Yang, then Aaron.
A new voice was the one who answered. "She probably doesn't want to burden everyone with her problems, and she's probably worried your view of her will change."
All four of them turned around to see Blake standing behind them with the same silver-eyed man from last week and another girl with brown bear ears on her head. Blake sighed as they sat down next to the others. "Yang, Weiss, Elena, Aaron, meet my younger brother, Jad Emberstone and Aaron meet Dahlia Bloodmoon, she's a friend from home whose medical skills could rival your own."
Everyone said their greetings to each other, then Yang faced the group. "No offense guys, really," she stated, "but I'm sure she's more comfortable with the sister she's known her entire life over her teammates she's known for a few months, some friends for about as long and a tutor for a few weeks."
"Everyone is susceptible to this type of regret, Riders included." Aaron paused. "I'd say especially people like Ruby. They're so worried about others, they neglect themselves. I've noticed that in Ruby's fighting style too."
Yang sighed. "That's my Ruby. I'm just worried that it will come back to bite her."
"She has us," Weiss said. "We won't let that happen."
"Agreed," Hunter said as he and the rest of team SPHR sat down on the opposite side of the table, with Shade sitting furthest away from Weiss.
"Shade, Hunter, Petra, Rona, I would like to introduce you to my little brother, Jad Emberstone and my friend Dahlia Bloodmoon. Jad, Dahlia, this is team SPHR," Blake introduced. Again, they all said their hellos.
With the arrival of team SPHR, Aaron was fully alert trying to make sure no one else walked in on the conversation. Especially Ruby. Luckily he spotted her walk through the door a few seconds later carrying an oversized book with team JNPR right behind her. The five of them apparently were having their own conversation. "This conversation never happened," Aaron whispered as he nodded towards where Ruby was. Everyone quickly looked over and then turned their attention back to the Rider before silently nodding.
"So I was wondering," Jad said, trying to change the topic. "What's up with the two of you?" He pointed at both Shade and Weiss, clearly noticing something going on between the two.
"Shade? Are you okay?" Rona asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm okay," Shade answered.
Rona gave him a look that told him that she wasn't convinced. "What's wrong Shade? You're usually the one that helps us out with our problems. Not the other was around."
Shade simply sighed. "A lot has happened in the last twenty-four hours."
"You're telling me! I hardly remember anything that happened last night," Hunter remarked.
"That's because you were high on Anti-headache medicine," Petra stated, as she glared at him. "Which I am never giving to you again."
"I have to admit that was something," Elena added.
Hunter simply looked down at his food, trying not to look at Petra.
Ruby finally finished her conversation with team JNPR. She walked over and nearly dropped the huge book she was carrying on the table, causing everything already on the table to jump. She cleared her throat and started speaking. "Friends, sisters, dragons, dimensional travelers, Weiss."
"Hey!" Weiss said indignantly.
Ruby continued on like her partner never said anything. "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."
Yang turned to look at the rest of the group. "This ought to be good."
"A dream that the," she paused and began to silently count on her fingers for a moment. "The Eighteen of us would come together as a team, and friends, and have the most fun anyone has ever had, ever!"
"This is after our initiation, right?" Aaron asked, pointing at himself, Elena, Jad and Dahlia. Ruby quickly nodded.
"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked.
Ruby leaned forward slightly and threw up two fingers on each hand. "I am not a crook."
She's borrowing it, Cerise said. Aaron looked outside and saw both dragons settling down in the courtyard outside. She'll give it back after today.
"And that is Cerise," Blake said, trying not to laugh at the shocked look on her brother and friend's faces. "Nalia is the forest green dragon next to her."
"There's marker all over the cover! Something tells me the order of everything inside is all messed up too, if it's still there! It's completely unusable!" Weiss screeched.
"Something is only unusable once the user gives up hope," Aaron chipped in, then shrugged, "or if it's incinerated."
Weiss stared mouth agape at Aaron, while both Jad and Yang laughed. "Are you sure you're fifteen? You've always sounded much older."
"Well, when you have lived the life I've had, you learn to grow up quick." Aaron placed both hands on the back of his head and broke out a large smile. "I do officially become a man in two weeks though."
Teams RWBY and SPHR, plus Jad and Dahlia stared at Aaron with strange looks. At the same time Elena held back a laugh, knowing what was about to happen. "What do you mean by that?" Petra asked.
"I turn sixteen in two weeks, why?"
Ruby failed to hold back a short laugh. "You know you need to be eighteen to be considered an adult here, right?"
Aaron's smile fell apart. His hopes shattering could almost be heard outside his head. "You're kidding me, right?"
The younger Rider didn't even try to hold back her laughter. "Nope. You've got to wait two more years. Look on the bright side, you still get there before me."
Aaron sighed. "Any other things I have to wait more years for?"
"The legal drinking age is twenty-one," Rona said almost deadpan.
"Come on!" Aaron slammed a fist down on the table. "Well this day has gotten off to a great start."
"This sucks and here I was thinking we could go get ourselves a drink when Aaron turned sixteen." Elena griped, finally learning about the drinking age limit.
"Think about it like this," Ruby chirped, "you both still can start off the semester with a bang with us."
"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" Yang quipped. "Ehh. Guys, am I right" Jad instantly tried to stop himself from laughing but failed miserably, earning a smile from Yang. An apple suddenly flew by Aaron's head and was about to hit the blonde brawler in the face only for the silver-eyed Huntsman-in-training to catch it a second before impact. As Jad sat back down both he and Aaron slowly turned their heads around to see team JNPR sitting at the table behind them. Nora had a look of shock on her face that told them that she was the one who threw the apple.
"Look guys," Ruby started again, it's been an amazing two weeks, heck four weeks, and a ton of stuff has happened. Especially with what happened yesterday, but we haven't really had that much time to do anything together. Which is why I've taken the liberty of figuring out things that we can do after Aaron, Jad, Elena, and Dahlia's initiation."
"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss said. At the same time, Yang grabbed the same apple out of Jad's hand and threw it in team JNPR's general direction.
"I don't know," Blake said slowly. "I think I might sit this one out."
"Uh-uh, not happening sis. You are going to be there or I'll tell everyone what is hiding in your pillow on your bed," Jad stated.
Blake instantly snapped her head towards her brother. "You wouldn't dare," she growled.
"That or I can start telling some of my new favorite puns," Jad responded with a wide grin on his face.
"No, No! Absolutely not!" Dahlia snarled. "I refuse to listen to any more of those awful puns of yours."
Jad simply turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "Ignore the Medibear and her Grizzly views on good puns," Jad said. "At times I think she removed her Punny bone and stored it somewhere."
Everyone at both tables and outside groaned at the puns, except for Yang, who had fallen out of her seat and was laughing on the ground.
"Not another one," Shade groaned.
"Blake! Where have you been hiding this guy?" Yang asked, while wiping a tear from one of her eyes.
"Damn it, Jad!" Dahlia yelled.
"Look you," Weiss growled as she got in the silver-eyed huntsman-in-training's face. "I already have to deal with Yang's awful puns. I do not need you to make things worse."
"Oh really?" Jad asked with a smile growing on his face.
"Yes! And if you both ever-" Jad suddenly jerked his head to the right a split second before a pie flew past and hit the heiress in the face. Aaron covered his mouth to hide his laughter. He turned around to see Pyrrha in a similar pose and Nora pointing a finger at Ren. Aaron didn't know what exactly happened next, but food started flying everywhere. The table he sat at was flipped into its side by Yang.
"Okay, so, I'm going to go," Aaron started to walk toward the door.
"Same here, I need to go get my scabbard and rifle from the quartermaster before the initiation starts," Elena stated before heading out herself.
"Don't want to be late again," Jad said, excusing himself from the group.
"Agreed," Dahlia said as she grabbed a freshly cooked piece of salmon from the air and quickly made for the exit.
"Come on, join us!" Ruby called. Aaron turned back to Ruby and saw a fire in her eyes. He glanced over the rest of the cafeteria and saw team JNPR building a fort out of the tables while under 'fire' from a few retreating students. All the while, team SPHR was standing on the sidelines watching the food fly.
"From what I understand, it's teams of four here," Aaron said, noticing Elena already exiting the cafeteria. "We would swing the balance too much in your favor." Some motion in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He turned to look at it and barely caught the watermelon flying at his chest. Aaron shrugged and continued to the door with his new lunch.
"Hey, aren't you with them?" a monkey Faunus asked Aaron as he walked out the door. Aaron realized it was the same guy that he occasionally saw with Blake, and the first Faunus he ever encountered four weeks ago. He never caught his name though.
"I'll leave this to the rest of them. We have an initiation to prepare for," the Rider said as both Jad and Dahlia walked past and towards the armory's rocketlocker building. Aaron walked to Nalia's side, who was looking through the cafeteria windows at the chaos going on inside.
The people here are strange, Nalia commented. I can't imagine any humans in Alagaësia fighting like this, unless they were drunk.
I'm guessing this is somewhat normal, Aaron said as he pulled a hunting knife out of a saddlebag. He began carving up the watermelon. Then again, I don't have any idea of what normal is here.
We'll figure it out. Aaron finished cutting his section of the watermelon, then tossed Nalia her much larger portion.
Aaron climbed up into the saddle with watermelon in hand. Let's get some flight time in before my initiation. Need to clear my mind. Nalia nodded, then gently took flight. Cerise stayed rooted on the ground watching the food fight.
Gentle flight always helped clear Aaron's mind. He ate his lunch and looked around the city of Vale. He still couldn't grasp that humans built all of it. Dwarves couldn't even build structures that tall or clean unless carved out of a mountain. Aaron would have been fine looking over the city for hours. A light breeze blew past. The temperature was perfect for the height.
Out of nowhere, Yang flew up in front of Nalia's head, startling both dragon and Rider. Yang smiled and waved. "Come here often?" she yelled, then plummeted to the ground below. Aaron looked down and saw a hole in the roof of the cafeteria.
Should we help her? Nalia asked, confusion mixed with concern.
I think if she was worried, she would have asked for help. Aaron shook his head to clear his mind. When did we need to be at that cliff face?
One o'clock, which I believe, Nalia looked at the position of the sun, is soon.
Well, let's get there. Early is better than late. Nalia turned and flew toward the cliff where the initiation would begin. Teams RWBY, SPHR, and JNPR were very tight lipped about what exactly would go on. They only told him that he'd have to fight some Grimm, that melee combat was more effective against them than ranged attacks, and finally to watch out for any Awakened Beings. Even though it was unlikely to 'happen again', as Ruby put it.
Aaron paused in thought for a moment. What happened to Ruby and her friends that made them be so afraid at the mere mention of the words 'Awakened Being.' Also, why did Elena of all people shut down when I asked her about them?
One day we will find out, Nalia said. But now, you need to focus on this initiation. Aaron mentality nodded.
Later during the flight, one of Beacon's Bullheads flew by. Nalia watched it go then mentally growled. I will be faster than those things one day. The green dragon prided herself on being one of the fastest young dragons on Vroengard. She could even out speed dragons several years older than her. After their exile, she joked that she was the fastest dragon alive to lift her spirits. Still, she believed it, and she wanted to remain the queen of the skies. She didn't take humans making machines faster than her very well.
Nalia landed by the Bullhead and Aaron jumped out of the saddle as Jad, Elena, and Dahlia exited the aircraft. Teresa and Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch were already standing by several metal platforms built into the ground. Surprisingly though, no one else stood on top of the cliff. Aaron walked up to Beacon's headmaster. "Where is everyone else?"
"You four are the only truly new students entering Beacon this semester," Ozpin said. "All others are transfers from other schools and have already passed their own initiations."
Aaron, Jad, Elena and Dahlia looked at each other with a slight confused looks on their faces. A few questions drifted through Aaron's mind. Why were they the only four trying to get into Beacon today? Both himself and Elena were from other worlds and most likely had arrived after the previous initiation. But why did Jad and Dahlia not participate in the previous one as well? Aaron looked at the headmaster for a moment. What was Ozpin planning? What did he know?
"All of you, please stand on the platform," Professor Goodwitch said.
All four of the initiation participants complied. Again they were a bit confused. It might just be a ceremonial thing, Aaron thought.
Ozpin cleared his throat. "I'm sure you all have trained for years before arriving here, but for two of you Remnant is a different place. Now your abilities will be tested and compared to our standards." The headmaster looked at the young Claymore. "Miss Silver, your mother has explained to us what you both had gone through, as said this initiation will not be like that mindless sacrifice of lives. As said should anything go beyond what is considered normal, Professor Silver will intervene and deal with the threat. After said threat is dealt with, you four are to continue the initiation as you would normally." Elena let out a sigh of relief. "If you all want to know why we have this measure in place, once you are done here, feel free to look up what happened during last semester's initiation."
The headmaster turned his attention to the Rider. "Mister Benson, your dragon must not follow you in," Ozpin stated. "However, she may assist Professor Silver in dealing with any abnormal threats." Aaron nodded.
"As I'm sure you all know by now," Professor Goodwitch began, "students are assigned to teams of four. However, since you four are the only ones participating in this initiation, you four will be put on the same team should all of you pass."
Why would they tell us this now and not later? Aaron mentally asked his dragon.
Pay attention and you might just find out, Nalia responded with a mental grin.
"But with the possibility of one or more of you failing this test," Professor Goodwitch continued. "Any choices you make will determine the path you take as a student of Beacon Academy."
"As said," Teresa began, "this initiation will be like every other one before. Once you begin, proceed north into the forest. You will meet opposition on your way. Do not hesitate to destroy the Grimm in your path, or you will die." Aaron cocked his head. What kind of test was this? Not even a Rider's training could be that lethal.
Nalia shared his sentiment. If you do come close to the point of death, I will take care of whatever is killing you. She puffed a small amount of smoke out of her nostrils. Then I might just have to kill you myself.
I love you too, Aaron thought back.
"While you make your way towards your objective, you will run into the other participants. The first person you make eye contact will be your partner for the rest of your time here at Beacon."
"Finally, after partnering up, continue north until you find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics," Ozpin said, as he began to wrap up the speech. "Each partnered pair is to choose one and return to the cliff. All four of you will be monitored and, with the items you retrieve as well as your standing, grade you appropriately for the duration of your initiation. Does anyone have any questions?"
Aaron cracked his knuckles, then adjusted the hat on his head. "When do we start?"
Ozpin blinked. "Now."
A strange whirring sound started underneath the four initiates and the platform vibrated slightly. Aaron looked down to see what was going on. Before he knew what was happening, he was flung into the air, spinning head over heels. A few choice words shot through his mind as he tried to level out. At the same time he saw Elena, Jad and Dahlia in a similar situation as himself, though Jad had already stabilized himself and was gliding through the air with a pair of Aura bird wings on his back. As Aaron managed to level out he saw the ground rushing up to meet him. "Letta," he yelled. Aaron froze in place about ten feet above the forest canopy. He ended the flow of magic and dropped into the trees, losing sight of the other initiates.
Nice recovery, Nalia called, chuckling with her mind.
Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Aaron shot back. He drew Redemption. And removed his shield from his back. The Rider slowly proceeded through the forest. He hadn't spent much time in the trees since his first two weeks on Remnant. Aaron called back memories of flying over the forest with Nalia to try and narrow down the places the abandoned temple could be. There were several abandoned structures in the forest, and any one of them could be it.
[...]
Elena dusted herself off after what was her roughest landing in her life. No amount of training could have ever prepared her for the sudden surprise of being flung into the air like that. She looked back and saw five large trees were cut cleanly through from her claymore. The sixth, however, managed to catch the sword halfway through. Why is it that every initiation I've been in, I always find myself falling flat on my face, Elena thought to herself as she climbed up the tree and retrieved her claymore.
The young Claymore hopped down and sighed. She closed her eyes and focused her sixth sense into the forest around herself. Elena began to sense the yoki in the nearby Grimm, quickly taking note of a small Beowolf pack nearby. The sound of gunfire and the sudden disappearance of yoki from the Beowolf pack caught her attention.
Elena opened her eyes and took off through the brush. As she ran, Elena felt a sense of familiarity with her situation. The feeling of running through a forest with Empathy in her hand brought back memories from the year before. But now, the situation was a lot better than when she was working for the Organization. No random man in black controlled where she went and told her what to do. No one blamed her for the Organization turning her into a monster. People actually cared for her well being and safety. She has friends and a family again, even though her sister Clare doesn't know about Remnant yet. And finally, instead of bringing fear to those around her when fighting the monsters of the world, she would bring hope and comfort to those threatened by Grimm and monsters from her homeworld.
Elena vaulted over a fallen log and landed at the edge of a small clearing. The pack of seven Beowolves apparently had surrounded one of the other initiates. A pair of Grizzly bear ears stuck out among the small crowd of Grimm. The young Claymore saw the pack's Alpha growl at Dahlia, its rage filled red eyes staring into her calm blue. Elena drew her new rifle and quickly took aim at the Alpha, using Empathy's hilt as a quick makeshift gunrest. A special scope unfolded itself out of the top of her rifle, helping the young Claymore focus in on her target. She gently squeezed the second trigger and the burn dust round exploded out of the lower barrel of her rifle.
The bullet flew straight through the air until it came into contact with the Alpha's bone mask, breaking through and out the other side of the Grimm's skull. The Alpha's body crumpled to the ground and began to face away. The rest of the pack looked to where the shot came from and spotted the young Claymore. Half of the pack broke off and rushed towards Elena while the other half began attacking Dahlia at the same time.
Elena resheathed her rifle into its spot on her back and raised Empathy in time to block three sets of claws. With her left hand now free, she grabbed the bottom of the sword's grip. In a wide arch, Elena cleaved through all six limbs and continued through the skull of one the Beowolves and down the rest of its body until the Grimm was split into two.
One of the Beowolves lunged its head at her side. Instead of tearing into warm flesh, every single one of its teeth was broken as Elena raised her right foot and kicked through its mouth and out the back of the head. "Oh!?" Elena said with a surprised look on her face. "I didn't think that would work."
The last Beowolf tried to bite at the young Claymore's head from her blind spot, but Elena's sixth sense helped her keep track of it the entire time. She leaned back and twisted her body as the Grimm soared over. As Elena began to spin, she raised her claymore and decapitated the Grimm, then kicked its head out of the air with her left foot before landing.
The young Claymore shook the evaporating Grimm off her right foot before focusing her attention on the Faunus in the clearing. Dahlia was apparently strangling the last Beowolf to death with its own leg. Wait what? Elena looked at the Grimm's legs and saw one was indeed cut off and what looked like some sort of saw blade attached to an SMG embedded into the ground where the leg was severed.
A loud crack came from the Beowolf's neck and It's head went limp. Black smoke began to rise from its body, signaling the Grimm was indeed dead. Dahlia got up off the Grimm and retrieved her weapon. She pulled out a rag from one of her side pockets and quickly wiped the dirt off the blade before resheathing the weapon.
"Hey there little miss dimensional traveler!" Dahlia said with a smile. "Nice kick back there by the way."
"Uh, thanks?" Elena said, unsure what to say. "I guess we're partners then."
"Looks like it." Dahlia walked over to the young Claymore and looked over Elena's left arm. "I remember patching up part of your missing arm a few weeks ago. That arm and hand is all natural, not a single piece of bionics anywhere. Do you have a regenerative semblance or something?"
"No, I don't know what my semblance is just yet. One of the things we Claymores have is a powerful regenerative ability. Some of us are better at it than others. It's the one thing I'm better at than my mom," Elena explained.
Dahlia's eyes practically lit up. "That is awesome!" she squealed. "You have got to let me see how you do it sometime. I'll try to keep it as non-invasive as possible."
"Well, if we pass, we are going to be on the same team together. You may see it happen more than once." Elena said before she turned her head towards the northern side of the clearing. "I think we should continue finding those relics."
"Agreed," Dahlia said as the two began walking out of the clearing. "But you have to tell me as much as you know about this ability. Any tiny bit of information can help me with something I've always wanted to do."
"What is that?" Elena asked.
"Invent a machine that can help heal others better than even what my semblance can do." Dahlia then went on to explain the implications of what would happen if such a machine ever was invented as the two women walked through the Emerald Forest together.
[...]
Several minutes passed with no signs of a man-made structure or Grimm. Aaron expanded his mind out into the forest. He didn't feel the rush the elves felt when in contact with nature, but it was still an amazing feeling. Several Grimm minds were in range, but instead of recoiling from their evil thoughts, Aaron noted their approximate locations and avoided large clusters of them.
One Beowolf, though, caught his scent. It notified its pack and about twelve Grimm started running at Aaron. The Rider turned to face the incoming threat. He cleared his mind and got into a defensive stance. The monsters burst into the clearing and surrounded Aaron. They slowly circled their prey waiting for an opening. Even though his opponents snarled and drooled at the Rider, he kept calm and never lost focus.
After a few seconds of circling, one of the smaller ones attacked Aaron from behind. Aaron spun around and cut off the creature's head almost like it was an afterthought. The attacks didn't stop there. The Beowolves charged one after the other, never giving Aaron a free moment. Their plan backfired though. None of them attacked at the same time. Even though the Grimm attacked from different sides each time, Aaron sliced off heads and other limbs left and right. He was too fast for the Grimm. In less than fifteen seconds, all of the Beowolves lay decaying at Aaron's feet.
"Too easy," Aaron said out loud.
Careful what you wish for, Nalia warned.
You worry too much. Aaron continued moving north and avoiding Grimm. A few normal animals roamed the forest, but one approached Aaron. The Rider probed the minds of a few of the creatures to see if they might have some idea of where the temple was. Not surprisingly, none of them knew anything.
About a mile ahead of where he was, Aaron felt the mind of an injured deer. He slowly made his way over to it. If Ozpin wanted a test of his abilities, he'd get a show of skill and character. Most people would just ignore the poor animal, or put it out of its misery. Aaron had other plans.
Aaron found the deer lying on its side in a clearing. Its front right hoof was bent at an unnatural angle. The Rider knelt down next to the animal, who tried to move away from the human using its good legs. Seeing the deer's fear, Aaron soothed the poor creature using his mind.
He turned to look at the injured hoof. It didn't look too bad, just a broken bone and possibly some torn ligaments. First Aaron gently moved the hoof back into its natural position, nearly getting kicked by the deer's other legs. When the deer calmed down, Aaron fixed the broken bone. He cast another spell to figure out what else was torn internally, and healed the ligaments near the ankle.
Hesitantly, the deer stood up and tested its weight on its previously injured foot. Feeling that it was fully healed, the deer looked at Aaron with its big black eyes. Aaron stuck out a hand and stroked the side of the deer's face. It took the light petting for a second, then ran back off into the forest.
Nalia, don't eat that one, Aaron told his dragon.
Was that really necessary? Nalia asked.
Not really, but it took my mind off of killing things for a few minutes. As Aaron stood up, he felt something… different inside him. It wasn't emotion, he didn't feel like he was about to be attacked, and it wasn't a normal bodily function. He tried to ignore it, but after a few more minutes of walking, the feeling refused to be ignored.
Aaron found a relatively defensible location in the trees and sat down to better focus his thoughts. He cast several spells to figure out what it was, but none of them said anything was wrong.
Confused, Aaron cast his mind at the problem. He gasped as he realized what it was. A natural power he didn't even know he had. Is this my Aura? he thought. Why didn't I find this sooner? He grabbed onto it with his mind and 'pulled.' The massive energy surge caught the Rider by surprise. His entire body tingled and he noticed a slight green glow around his body. He suddenly felt stronger, faster, and a good chink of his earlier fatigue disappeared. Aaron couldn't help but laugh.
Aaron! What's wrong? Nalia called, her mental voice dripping with concern.
Nothing's wrong, Aaron responded. I believe I've just unlocked my Aura. Sorry, but it was a much more pleasant experience doing that over my first time touching you.
Nalia launched a mental attack at her Rider, only succeeding in causing pain because she was already in Aaron's head. Well then, if you don't appreciate me, maybe I'll just take on another Rider. I think Pyrrha Nikos would be a suitable replacement.
Aaron couldn't help laughing again. You win. Bonding to you was way more meaningful than unlocking my Aura ever will be. Smiling, Aaron stood up and began to proceed north once again. He didn't get more than five steps before a figure hopped out of the forest canopy and landed in front of the Rider.
"Congratulations on unlocking your Aura, Aaron," Jad said.
[...]
A/N: I am sorry I didn't get this chapter out sooner. As said with the length of how things were going, this chapter is actually half of what I originally planned to write and the rest will be in chapter 29. Things are going to pick up from here.
A few other things happened. First off, the Pacific Rim anime intro has been released a while ago and I can't wait to see it. Though I will be calling it by the original name, Pacific Rim: The Dark Continent, instead of The Black. Makes more sense. Second another anime I wasn't expecting was that Wildcard studio released their own trailer for both the second Ark game and an anime for the first game. If you haven't seen any of them I strongly recommend doing so.
Now onto the Reviews!
TheSilentChloey: happy to hear and thank you.
Jacob9594: Glad you are enjoying the story. I'm just going to say it is going to be a learning curve for everyone and I have some plans for Tucker as well as the rest of the Reds and Blues. I may have hinted to one already.
Berix: After this volume, yes there will be another universe added into this storyline but it won't be any of those. It will be some time before that happens but here's a hint, It won't be introduced on Remnant.
Ultimatrix bearer: Lol I enjoy that meme whenever I see it. Also thank you.
SteampunkBlack: Glad to hear and thank you for the inspirational words. Also I'm happy you liked the part about Summer. That part was originally Rocketmce's idea, though it did clash with Pokeman1280's story. I believe I managed to find a way to fix that.
LordMatthaios: again sorry I'm late. Here's the chapter.
Well that's all the reviews/comments from the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
One last thing. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone! See you all next chapter! I'll try my best to get it out by the end of next month.
