Chapter 2: Life on These Remains

Time: 12:11

Location: The Emerald Tower

Event: A Discussion on Worlds

"Mister Potter." Ozpin raised his mug in greeting. "Take a seat."

Harry nodded and sat across from the gray haired man. He looked around the barren room, the only real things of interest being the gigantic cogs and the matching, clockwork desk.

"Where shall we begin?" Ozpin asked, taking a soft sip.

Harry tilted his head in thought then replied, "Let's start with general information." Harry pulled out a large notebook and pen.

"Hmm," Ozpin hummed. "Humanity is separated into large cities called Kingdoms. This is because the large population of Grimm forces humans into these small enclosures for protection and to continue life. There are small villages spread out through the world however, they have a tendency to disappear overnight ... The Kingdoms are governed by individual Councils that communicate with their people and other Kingdoms. They also dictate combat powers such as their military and the Huntsman in their area."

He brought out his scroll and, after briefly scrolling though it, passed it over to Harry. The teen saw that a map of Remnant was on it. "The Kingdom are Vale, Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas. Mistral is to the east, Vacuo is west, Atlas is north and Vale is in the center. Each are very diverse in nature and society. Humanity's defenders from Grimm, Hunters and Huntresses, have special powers called Aura. Aura is the physical and spiritual manifestation of their souls. It is a source of near magical energy that can be either enhanced or shaped through training. From Aura, a hidden ability that is specific to each person is called a Semblance. Scientist have not found a factor that determines a person's Semblance but some families, like the Schnees and Arcs, have been known have hereditary Semblances including glyph-slash-summoning and complete Aura control. Some Semblances rely on our source of natural-found energy, called Dust. Dust can be found in two main forms, crystal and powder. The uses and capabilities of Dust is endless and more are being discovered every day. However, it is found that new discoveries only lead to more questions. Like I said, Dust is our source of energy and most of our technology relies on it to function. I'm sure you have seen, our technology is fairly advanced. We have gigantic Airships, large comm towers located in each Kingdom (called the CCTS), advanced robotics and state-of-the-art weapons. These weapons range from regular melee weapons to firearms to super mecha-shift machines."

At Harry's raised eyebrow, Ozpin explained, "Most Hunters and Huntresses have personalized weapons that usually, and at the very least, can shift into a second form. Most Hunters' weapon include a close range weapon and a long range weapon to cover both aspects of the battlefield."

Ozpin sighed and rubbed the area between in eyes. "Peter has told me that yesterday, you have met Faunus, correct? We, on Remnant, have a certain problem with our resident half people. Most see them less as actual people and more as animals. Others sympathize with Faunus, often to extreme measures. It wasn't until very recently that there are actually efforts to helping Faunus and equality but this only due to the once peaceful group known as the White Fang became much more aggressive in their methods for fair rights. Indeed, many Faunus are hopeful that Earth is much more open to equality." Ozpin stared meaningfully at Harry, obviously wishing for an answer.

Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's … unlikely in some places and very likely in others. The United Kingdom, where I'm from, and Ireland are still having problems giving equal rights to women and see any non-human as beasts that should be treated as such. On the other hand, places like the US and Japan have already overcome these hurdles. They are the most open to new things so if Faunus want equality, they should go there."

Ozpin nodded. "Noted. Where should I go from here? Perhaps medical? Yes. Due to the dangers and brutality of the Grimm, medical technology is quite advanced, ready to deal with any injuries from deep wounds to heart transplants."

A buzz was heard from the scroll in Harry's hand and he gave it back to the headmaster. The man frowned when he received the device and sighed loudly when he finished reading the message. "Sadly, it seems, that we need to finish this talk soon. Perhaps you can begin describing your own world. As with you, general information will do."

Harry nodded. "Earth is the world based on magic, which every single person is born with, though in varying levels. We range these levels from Muggles, who have little to no magic and make up about 50% of our population; to warlocks, who usually have the largest capacity of magic in their country. So far, it seems that the size of one's 'magic core' - and I use this term loosely as it is undefined on where exactly a person's magic lies, some say it lies in people's blood and others in invisible cores inside people's hearts - has no present like genes or heritage." Harry paused. "Does Remnant have religion?"

"I'm afraid that I do not know the term," Ozpin admitted.

"Then I won't go into that. Maybe another time. Our technology relies mainly on Atlantis, a large floating city that resides most of our world's brightest minds and developed most of our technology. Like Dust, most of our technology relies on our magic but factories and vehicles uses fuels like oil to be powered. We have our own terrorist group, called Death Eaters, that believe that all Muggles should be exterminated to 'stop breeding impurity.' Sadly, a large portion of our government agrees with the Death Eaters so no major effort has been made to stop them. We don't have an equivalent to Grimm but there are plenty of dangerous magical creatures, including Dragons, trolls and ogres. Medical wise, we have rather advanced medical technology and with the addition of magic, some state-of-the-art hospitals can perform a heart transplant in seconds, with little to no danger. However," Harry pointed at his glasses. "The eyes and brain have stayed out of the reach of doctors and scientist alike, so complex that magic usually does more harm than good."

"Hmm," Ozpin hummed. "And what of your magic? The science behind it, that is."

Harry chuckled. "Interesting question. There are many curious people that have sought further in how magic works, the history and evolution of human and such. A recent example would be that a man discovered that when conjuring - the act of creating any object through magic -, the object isn't made from noting but rather, small particles called molecules and atoms have chemical and physical structures that are being changed by magic. How is exactly does, I cannot answer. Another example is that a female scientist, using the previous mentioned scientist's discovery, found that when people use Apparition or Portkeys, their bodies actually break down into molecules and use invisible, microscopic tubes that connect everywhere to everywhere to transport people to their desired location. More, in depth studies are being made into this."

"Amazing," Ozpin commented. "Absolutely intriguing. And what of offensive magic? Your headmaster, when he visited, demonstrated that your wands can somehow produce fire. Do you know how this works?"

Before Harry could open his mouth and answer, Ozpin's scroll buzzed once again. A look of frustration and annoyance appeared on his face before the man sighed. "It looks like my time is up." He ran a hand down his face. "Shall we meet, say in two days? Same time?"

Harry nodded. "Sounds good."

Time: 20:11

Location: Beacon's Garden

Event: Pondering Free Time

As Harry walked back to Beacon's Ballroom, he suddenly remembered something and cursed loudly. "Shit, I forgot to ask Ozpin about the Grimm." He sighed. "Meh, I'll ask again next time."

Harry continued on his way to his room and began to delve deep into this thoughts. 'Man, still two weeks until the terms starts. What can I do? I train everyday with the girls and Neville, so that takes a large chunk of our time; including the sleep that always follows after it.' Indeed every night, bar tonight, the four would rigorously train to just have a sliver of a chance against Remnant's Hunters and Huntress. Tonight, though, Harry had planned to talk with Ozpin and the four decided that they could take a break so he could do so. 'Bummer that Ozpin had to attend to other business, would really would have loved to explain more about magic. Maybe could have called in the others to help. The man seemed really interested in it. Maybe because Remnant doesn't have it, themselves? Still, what should I do?'

He looked out towards Vale. "Hmm, it's still pretty early. Maybe I can go out?"

"Sounds like a good idea."

Cursing, Harry jumped and turned to find Daphne, Neville and Hermione standing behind him. "How did you manage to sneak up behind me?"

Over Hermione scolding 'language,' Daphne shrugged and replied, "We just walked up to you. You seemed pretty deep in thought."

Harry nodded, believing the answer. "Well, how does it sound? Maybe go see a movie or something?"

Daphne blushed slightly and grinned at Harry. "My, my, Harry. This will be our first date, won't it."

Before Harry could reply in his defence, Hermione sharply rapped her on the head. "Stop, please, just stop," The girl practically begged.

Daphne shrugged. "Meh, can't. It's funny seeing you get so mad." She turned back to Harry and smiled mischievously at him. "Still, I totally fuck on the first-"

Time: 20:40

Location: Vale's Air Dock

Event: Through the City

As Harry rushed to a nearby trash can, Hermione stomped out of the Bullhead, dragging a tied up Daphne behind her.

"One day, Greengrass," Hermione swore. "One day you'll learn."

"Unlikely," Daphne replied, the silencio wearing off.

"I'll make you learn," Hermione snarled back. "I don't care how long it takes or how I need to do so. Whether stick or stone, whips and chains, you will learn."

"Ooo," Daphne cooed. "Kinky."

As Hermione face-walled, Harry stumbled back. "You practically gave that to her," he informed his brunette friend.

"And what will you give me?" The tied girl asked, winking at the bespectacled boy.

"Nothing," Hermione snapped, coming back to her senses.

To avoid another fight, Neville asked, "What should we do?"

"Oh, we should go to a weapon's shop." At his friend's looks, Harry explained, "Well, I noticed that you guys are having a hard time fighting in close range. So I think that getting melee weapons can help."

Hermione and Neville nodded in agreement. "Soundly like a good idea."

Daphne hummed in thought. "I actually want to go to a Dust store. Goodwitch, in one of my detentions, mentioned that Dust can be pretty useful in both close and long range."

Harry brought his scroll. "Hmm, the closest Dust shop is 'From Dust Till Dawn'. It's on the way to a nearby weapon shop."

Hermione nodded. "Sounds good. Let's go."

The group continued on there way, ignoring the looks of other civilians as they stared at the still bound Daphne.

Time: 21:04

Location: Vale's Air Dock

Event: Through the City

"Gosh, Dust is expensive." Hermione murmured, carry a small bag of dust in one hand.

"No, kidding," a no longer tied Daphne agreed. "I'm glad we have a rich sugar daddy with us."

"I resent that comment," Harry stated, carrying two large bags, one for himself and the other Daphne's.

"Hmm," Neville hummed, a similar bag to Hermione's in hand. "I can't help feel that something was suppose to happen."

"How so?" Harry asked.

Neville shrugged. "I don't know. Just a feeling. Like a higher being far beyond our comprehension wanted something to happen. Like a meeting of similar souls whose fates are intertwined and meant for higher purpose than that of normal beings."

The other three were silent, soaking in what Neville had said with a mixture of befuddlement and awe. Meanwhile, Neville blushed and tried shrinking into his shirt, hiding himself from the rest of the world.

"That's some deep shit, Neville," Harry declared. Hermione and Daphne could only nod in agreement, too shocked to reprimand Harry or reply with a dirty comment.

The group continued on there way. Behind them, a red hood and a white knight entered the shop.

"How far is the weapon shop?" Hermione asked.

Harry pulled out his scroll. "About ten minutes. We need to take the next left and pass through the commercial district."

Hermione nodded. "What weapon are you going to use, Neville?" The girl inquired as they passed by a cane wielding man and his mob-like group.

"I was thinking-"

"Hey, kid!"

Harry paused and turned to look. A man with a cigar and cane peered at him under his bowler hat. "Yes?" Harry replied. There was something familiar with the man but Harry couldn't place it.

"You buy out that shop?" The smoker asked, jerking a thumb at the shop behind them.

Harry snorted and shook his head. "Nope, my wallets not big enough to do that."

The man chuckled in response. "Good, good," he drawled. "That's good."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that but the man turned back, his band of goons following close behind.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked as they began walking again.

Harry shrugged, turning the corner. "Heck if I know. Maybe they need a lot of Dust."

Neville rubbed his chin. "I don't know, that guy seemed familiar."

"I got that same feeling," Daphne said with a nod. "Maybe he's from Earth? And was on the same Airship?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so. He was dressed very stylishly. He has to be from Remnant."

Harry frowned but said, "It's not a big problem."

"True," Hermione agreed. "I still think-"

A loud hum was heard through the air as a Bullhead passed overhead at top speeds. "W-wo-woah!" Neville exclaimed. "That was way too close for comfort!"

"Someone needs to reevaluate that pilot's license," Hermione muttered angrily.

"We should go," Neville pleaded. "I got a bad feeling."

Daphne snorted. "What the worst-"

A loud explosion was heard as the sky lit up. Turning sharply, the group saw that a familiar blonde 'witch' was just dispersing her glyph, standing on a rooftop as an equally familiar Bullhead hovered next to said rooftop. They watched as she attacked the Bullhead and a person from within the flying machine began defending the aircraft, a magnificent display of purple energy bolts, an icicle storm, columns of fire and so much more. The four couldn't help but gawk in awe at the rather impressive display of power; something expected from two mastery-level wizards - or in this case, a top-tier Huntress and an equally powered, unknown assailant.

It ended when the fighter in the Bullhead launched an attack that forced Glynda (and another person with her) to dodge and the Bullhead used the moment of stalled combat to escape, flying fast as a descent broom. The four knew that Glynda could have easily brought down the aircraft if she so wished but doing so would bring about casualties when the Bullhead was forcefully brought to the ground. Especially if the attackers survived the crash and decided to attack civilians in retaliation.

And thus, the Headmistress of Beacon could on watch in barely concealed anger as the Bullhead into the distance.

Time: 21:27

Location: A Random Vale Street

Event: Reflecting the Battle

"That was awesome," Harry commented as they stood in front of some random shop, having been escorted away by the police as they flocked to the scene of the crime.

Hermione nodded in enthusiastic agreement. "Quite! Absolutely thrilling to see two Hunters battle! Completely dangerous and life threatening but nonetheless, draw dropping."

"Yesh," Daphne said with an eye roll. "Can you be more of a fangirl? And last time I checked, Goodwitch is female."

Hermione snorted as she began to lead the others down the street towards the weapon shop. "I know the Headmistress is female! I just didn't know if the person in the Bullhead was male or female!" Hermione defended herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So you don't deny being a fangirl?" Neville asked, actually curious on the answer.

"I absolutely deny being a fangirl! It's just that, if you think about it, in time, we can be just like that! After all, the plan is that we'll stay here for the complete four years," Hermione reminded the black haired girl.

Daphne paused in thought, realising what Hermione pointed out. "Wow … actually didn't think of that." A wicked grin began appearing on her face. "Then I can totally kick my sisters arse!"

"What?" Harry deadpanned.

The perverse girl shrugged. "Astoria is a lot like you, a prodigy in DADA. Every summer, we would go to our aunt's dueling ring and she would demonstrate what she learned and reaffirm how good she was against me and my father."

"Yikes," Harry said with a wince. "That sucks. Getting beat up by your younger sister."

"Nah," Daphne said good naturally. "She terrible at everything else. She mainly just focuses on DADA because she good at it."

"Oh," Hermione said. "But I'm sure that if she tried enough, she could be good at other subjects."

The girl shrugged again. "Maybe. She's just unmotivated. But it's kinda late for that, as Astoria is in sixth year."

"Oh? Really?" Harry asked. "Then that means she's the same age as my younger, twin sisters."

The girl snorted. "You really don't know?"

"What?"

"My sister and yours are, like, best friends," Daphne said with a chuckle.

Harry blinked. "Really?" He asked.

Hermione snorted. "Harry, this year, you need to be more sociable. You're like a hermit crab."

Harry frowned. "I'm fine," he insisted. "Just, not the most outgoing person."

"Harry," Neville interrupted. "Take this from an introverted mess of a guy: you're worse."

Time: 21:33

Location: A Certain Weapon Shop

Event: Finding a Match

"How does this look?" Neville asked, hoisting a halberd onto his shoulder.

"Nope," Harry said, popping the 'p'.

"What wrong with it?" Neville asked, throwing a longing look at the metal weapon in his arms.

"Doesn't fit you, the thing is too long and your arms too short. It'd be awkward to be wield and swing around," Harry pointed out.

"When did you become the weapon master?" Daphne asked, one hand holding a bagh naka and the other a slim dagger recognized as a schweizer dolch, otherwise known as a swiss dagger. With a flick of her wrist, the bagh naka's blades extended to twice its length. With her other hand, she swung the dagger downwards and a small compartment near the tip opened up. Another curved blade flipped out and the mech-shift completed to form a sickle. "Dual Length Hand Claws and Momentum Shifting Sickle-Dagger," she murmured, reading the tags.

Harry shrugged and withdrew a small booklet from his moleskin pouch. "I'm not but this gives me some basic knowledge. Along with ten other books that I kept in my trunk. Dumbledore thought that it'd be wise to learn more about weapons seeing as how every Hunter uses one."

Neville blinked in surprise. "Ten books? In your trunk? That's something I'd expect from Hermione!'

"Hardy, hardy, har," Hermione said sarcastically as she arrived, a bag in hand. "Good one, so funny. Very original."

While Neville blushed and Daphne laughed, Harry frowned at the bag. "I could have brought that for you."

Hermione rolled her eyes in response. "Don't worry about it. I do have money. Though, I did appreciate you paying for my Dust, seeing how inflated Europe is in comparison to Remnant."

"So what did you buy?" Daphne asked, interrupting before Harry could complain.

Hermione smiled … coyly? "It's a secret." Hermione patted the bag reassuringly. "You'll find out eventually, maybe in training or during Initiation."

"Initiation?" Daphne whined as Neville disappeared behind a shelf. "That's two weeks from now! Are you really going to wait that long?"

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe?" She said mischievously.

Harry shook his head. "First sarcastic? Then playful? What happened to Hermione Granger?"

Hermione snorted. "I can be humours when I want to. I don't always-"

"Have a stick up your-" Daphne began to interrupt.

"Seriously, Greengrass," Hermione snapped. "Not one minute. You didn't last a minute. Must you always be so perverse?"

"It's part of my personality." Daphne smirked.

Hermione gritted her teeth and did not rise to the bait, instead settling with a glare and crossed arms.

"Hey!" The three turned to see that Neville had returned, an oddly lengthed, jousting lance in hand, about a metre long. "Check this out!"

Neville pressed a button on the handle, and the trio jumped back. The lance extended four times its length, becoming a normally sized lance. "Awesome, right? It has more than just this length too!" He asked excitingly. "It's a Multi-Length Jousting Lance!"

"HEY!" The man at the counter yelled to the group. "Didn't you read the sign?! Do go using weapons in my shop!"

"S-so-sorry!" Neville called, returning the lance back to its normal length.

"Don't do it again or you can kiss your ass goodbye!"

"Got it!" Daphne yelled back. With a grunt, the man returned to reading his magazine.

"So," Neville began, once he regained his wits. "Will this work?" He asked Harry, a hopeful look on his face.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You really like that, don't you?"

Neville nodded enthusiastically. "It's really cool! I've never seen anything like it."

Harry rubbed his chin. "I think I remember Ozpin mentioning that most Hunters have something similar, something about how most Hunter's weapon has an alt-form or something."

Hermione nodded. "That a really good idea. A weapon like Neville's allows him to compensate for close and medium-long range."

"Ozpin said something like that, I'm pretty sure," Harry said, remembering.

Daphne grinned, definitely not missing what Hermione said. "Oh? Neville, compensating for anything else?"

Before Harry could facepalm or Hermione could answer back angrily, Neville replied, with a sharp tongue, "Meh, not really. Though, it is really similar to how this works and is just as long."

Silence reigned between the four friends. Daphne's and Hermione's jaws had dropped, Harry was trying his best to not burst out laughing and Neville had turned a bright red, realising what he just said.

"Brilliant," Harry managed to whisper between giggles and chuckles. "Absolutely brilliant, Neville. I'm totally buying you that, just for that."

Time: 23:50

Location: Another, Certain Sidewalk in Vale

Event: Another Night

Harry sighed as he ran a hand down his face. He was angry and frustrated. While he loved his friends, he could only go so far. Really, he put up with more shit than a toilet, like a brand new one, the ones that are all electronic and has those things that literally shred apart your crap so that it goes down easier. So, Harry was searching for one thing and one thing to relive his rather high, accumulated amount of stress.

A bar.

Or something similar. Really, anything that served alcoholic beverages. While he did have any plans to get absolutely-out-of-his-mind drunk, he did want to drink something, just to take his mind off some things. Mainly Daphne related things. After all, a healthy male could only deny a rather attractive girl's advances so much before feeling the … urge to relent and give in. It didn't help that Daphne was getting more aggressive with her 'offers'. Thouh he still didn't know if the girl was serious or not, either godfather style (which instantiated that while she/her was joking, he/she was totally up for it) or actually, well, serious. The teen hoped that a night away from the girl would allow her to realise how much she was affecting him. That, and the bar he hopefully found served something similar to firewhiskey.

Immediately, the boy perked up when he stepped up to what looked like a bar, though surprisingly, there was no bouncer. Shrugging, and concluding that maybe that either the club didn't have a bouncer (as stupid as that was) or he was inside, the teen headed inside.

The teen had totally been expecting a full, totally lively nightclub. After all, it was a Saturday night (Man, it had been real surprising for the two worlds to learn that the other, somehow, used the same calendar system. Totally convenient, but did lead to a bunch of unanswerable questions) so one could easily expect that people would want to use their night getting drunk and such.

So it had been a totally surprise to enter the club only to find a man shooting rockets at a blonde girl …

'... nope!'

With that, Harry turned and head back out.