I inhale sharp. Cold air rushing into my lungs. My eyes instantly function, and so does the rest of my upper body. My forehead is covered in cold sweat and I feel a slight headache.
Was I dreaming?
Or is this the dream...
My headache stops and I slowly come to my senses. Feelings of relief and confusion quickly rush in to take the pain. I move my hand into view. The thing somehow isn't a mangled mess. My eyes slowly move up to survey the surroundings. They widen as it becomes apparent to me that this isn't my room at home. The surroundings are an interior of sorts, the cabin of some kind of transport.
The floor is a hue of green with white linning the sides. My butt is seated on a long, cushioned surface elevated slightly from the floor. I turn my head and body to face directly behind me. Glass meets my gaze. Clear, polished panels of glass that allowed for viewing of the environment outside.
Only there wasn't anything but the white fluff that is clouds outside. I turn back front.
I'm in an ariel vehicle of sorts.
My brain suddenly becomes internet explorer, processing the sudden realisation at a speed or a snail. I am speechless.
I turn back again, the glass is angled in a way that people can admire whatever was below this ariel vehicle. The view is breathtaking. Concrete structures and architecture look like a playset from here. It takes me awhile but it hits me that I should question "Where the fuck am I." Because the I realise that this place is a thousand times more technologically advanced than Toronto. Than anywhere on earth in general!
I should feel confused, scared that I have been transported to a world foreign to mine without my consent. However, I don't. Infact, it feels familiar. Almost frustratingly familiar because I can't seem to fucking pinpoint where I am but I've seen it before.
And then I notice something off. I look closely at the glass.
No, not the puffy, white clouds.
Its not the magnificent city below either...
And then I let out a loud "HUH?!" Which clearly must've drawn some eyes towards me. My reflection. I look the same.
Well, almost.
My hair is a hue of dark purple. Not the usual black. The pupils of my eyes are no longer the boring old black but instead, azure blue. My hand instinctively reaches to touch my hair and I see fabric. A maroon sleeve covers up to my wrist. I cock an eyebrow. My hands grab my the hem of my top, which extends to my knees. It was a coat of sorts. A coat made of... leather? I think? It felt foreign, mainly because it hardly felt warm in it. My index and thumb lightly grabbed and traced the edge of the coat, this yielded me with the knowledge that there was fur lining the edge of the hood. Inside, I wore a plain, black t-shirt.
Below the waist I donned a pair of dark green long pants with my usual pair of purple and black sneakers covering my feet.
What caught my attention however, was my belt. It was a near-oridnary leather belt: brown belt, silver coloured. It looked normal... until I found a sheath. More specifically, a sheath that housed a sword with a blade the length of one's arm. The golden hilt of the weapon was beautifully craved with swirling the design of a dragon wrapping around the handle. At the end of the hilt was a little key ring. You know, the type one puts a keychain through. My fingers slowly traced the engravings. Which lead me to the guard of the sword. A black quillon guard made out of metal. Nothing really stood out about it, though I still really liked it: simplicity to contrast the intricately worked-on hilt of the sword. Beautiful.
As I admired the piece in its non-threatening form, two things ran through my head- one being "what's a dangerous weapon doing in the hands of a teenager like me" and the other being "OMFGOMFGOMFGOMFGOMFG..."
Yeah.
The temptation to draw the weapon was almost overwhelming. However, before I could do so a voice echoed throughout the cabin, causing the other occupants to leave whatever they were doing and to gather somewhere in front of me.
"Hello! and welcome to Beacon..."
My jaw almost dropped at that word. Beacon... like... as in Beacon Academy... the fictional hunter school in one of the most famous webseries: RWBY.
The next thing that followed only managed to snowball my confusion into full blown excitement and into a near irrecoverable state of extreme pleasant shock.
"Who's that?" An all too familar voice asked chirpily
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch"
"Oh."
My view instantly shot up to find the hologram of the headmistress of Beacon Academy. The strict, yet motherly, riding-crop wielding female: Glynda Goodwitch. And among the crowd of people stood the protagonists of the series: Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.
I was near speechless. My jaw hung in an agape state. Now I understood the feeling of familiarity: I've been somehow transported to- no...-I've read enough fanfiction to know better- resurrected in the world of RWBY. The sides of my lips slowly curve upwards into a smile.
All those times.
Writing fanfiction.
Creating original characters.
Feeling like nerd that needed a good, hard dose of reality.
Now reality has bent, in my favour. What people once called a mere daydream, is now the world I live in.
I'm literally living the dream.
Slowly, my palms exert themselves on the seat, pushing myself off the seat. So this is one of those "unnamed airships" in the canon, I always wanted to know how it felt like riding in one of these. However, that was not the main thought in my head. My hands trembled as I made my way towards the protagonists of the series, right fingers slowly pulling my arm up in the direction of Ruby Rose.
What was I going to say?
Would they even give me a chance?
My fingers inched closer.
Oh god I'm getting so close
The pale skin of my index was literally a centimetre away from the fabric of the red hood.
How was I going to introduce myself
Then I stopped.
That's right.
How WAS I going to introduce myself?
No one in RWBY takes on the name of Bobby, Jimmy, Keith...
Bryan.
My fingers dropped, lightly brushing the hood but thankfully not calling Ruby from the daze that was listening to the head mistress-slash-famous-hunter-slash-idol talk. I was hit with the realization of a con of being reincarnated.
I had to take on a new persona. I was no longer the son of Mister and Misses Lambert, the shy, quiet nerd in High school. I was a new student, a hunter-in-training. Everyone in the RWBYverse was so interesting, and I had to be too to fit in.
And one negative thought led to another. Soon I found myself wondering whether anyone else made it here. I genuinely did hope so, at least I'd have a familiar face. It felt like I was starting a new school term in a foreign country: Your faults, mistakes, past are all erased, you find that the chance to retell your story is not as exciting as you thought it would be and all you do is hope someone talks to you- hopefully before lunch.
I sighed, my hands finding their way into my pockets.
My body stood there, the only motion being the slight expansion and contraction of my chest as I breathed. Solemn filled the atmosphere.
Well, I finally started to want to function again, no point standing around here doing nothing might as well start thinking of that name.
I inhaled. This earned me an adorable yelp as the red-clad protagonist jumped back. I was shook by the reaction and immediately looked up at her. Apparently I had forgotten the position I had been standing at and startled the 16 year old as I accidentally breathed on her neck. Her and her now-alarmed sister spun back to face me.
Oh shit their looking at me... fuck fuck fuck please don't start a conversation.
Ruby sighed, relieved, while her sister just rolled her eyes as the sides of her lips curled.
"U-ummm..." yeah, real good way to counter what you just thought bro. *internal sigh* just apologise to her. "S-sorry bout that..."
"Nah its fine. My sister's a little jumpy anyway, haha... you know... new school and everything"
Don't. Answer.
"Hah... y-yeah..."
You dumb shit.
An awkward silence filled the air. okay, now's your chance, back away...
"W-well," I somehow found my breath within this new body, now I might be able to speak without stuttering "I'll see you two around." Nailed it. I backed off as casually as possible, raising my hand as a sign of friendly goodbye. I turned around, making my way to the other end of the airship.
alright good-
Yang returned the temporary farewell. "Err yeah! Seeya- ummm... didn't catch your name."
I froze
damn her and her super friendliness
alright... think...you make enough OCs. Colours. No, not enough time. J-just throw out the first word that comes to mind and hope it's cool
"B-"
yes that's it
"Byzan."
what kind of a fucking name is Byzan
"Byzan?" Yang cocked her eyebrow.
A warmth slipped to my cheeks.
"Y-yeah... Byzan... Byzantine."
The busty (what? I am a red-blooded male) blonde gave a face of realization. As though "Byzantine" was a commonly used name in Remnant.
"Byzantine. I see... nice name! I'm Yang and she's-"
"Ruby?"
The two sisters were clearly appalled at the slip of my tongue, their gaze turned to face each other's before returning back.
"Ummm... yeah. How did you know?"
I internally face palmed myself, noting to never do that ever again.
I tried to get my act on again.
"Oh really? Just a lucky guess, reminds me of a friend going by the same name."
Yang giggled. "I suppose it's her near-fetish level of red dressing?" This earned the blonde a slap on the arm by her sister.
I chuckled, answering with a "possibly."
The blonde returned the chuckle. Much to my relief, she began closing the conversation after this. Too much human interaction in one day is bad for me.
"Well, it's been nice knowing you Byzan. I guess I'll see you around-Woah!"
The airship's altitude dipped slightly but sharply at the same time. Not enough to alarm one's senses of impending danger but just enough to remind one of safety precautions. The three of us (and the whole cabin basically) felt the force of the dip and stumbled alittle. A loud beep and the sound of the loudspeakers being activated followed.
"Students this is your pilot speaking. Do take your seats or hold on to something as we go in for a landing. When we land please proceed out of the cabin with as much haste and order as possible. Do not forget your belongings and we hope you enjoy your time in Beacon Academy."
The speakers clicked off. And almost on cue a blonde, this time a male sprinted for the toilet. His hands cupping his mouth as though to keep, god knows what, from spilling out. Yang and Ruby went back to their own conversation, part of it commenting on the boy that just made his way past them in a hurry, evident from Yang rolling her eyes and the words "vomit" and "boy" coming right after.
Many students followed the instructions given, taking their seats or holding on to the poles at the sides of the cabin. The altitude started to decrease at a smoother rate now.
As I reached for a nearby pole, I inhaled deep and exhaled. This would be ALOT of getting used to, and adapting was not my best trait.
Well, that is just a small price you pay for being able to live out your fantasy, literally.
The cabin jerked once more, indicating its reaching of a point where its altitude can no longer lower. The sound of engines slowly dying came soon after. Once the mechanisms within silenced, a welcoming, doorbell-like sound came, signifying that one had reached the end of one journey, only to be at the start of another.
Well, this is it
The doors of both the cabin and the over head lockers opened. The former letting in the fresh air of Remnant and the latter, well, creating a flock of students rushing to the lockers to retrieve their belongings, which meant more human interaction, which I REALLY didn't need for now, not until I get things figured out.
I really need to get out of this shell of anti-socialism-and-being-a-prick
I moved to the other end of the cabin, waiting for the crowd to clear before I retrieve my own. I was joined by a short girl in a white, button-up shirt with a black, sleeveless cotton vest over it. The most distinguishable trait about her was the bow on her head-
Oh, great, just what I needed
Thankfully, Blake was too engrossed in the little book she was reading at the start of episode 2. Her gaze never lifting to once ponder the human male that stood beside her.
Oh yeah, was I human?
That thought initially slipped my mind but now I realised, I might be a faunus. My hands reached around my body (well, mostly my head, it's a public place, I know what is socially acceptable goddamnit), feeling for any abnormality.
Nothing.
I was not sure what I felt, probably a mixture of relief and disappointment. Having cat ears or a fox tail would've been fun. But now at least I wouldn't have something ELSE for people to step on.
The crowd slowly faded, making their way out of the doors. Blake and I then proceeded to retrieve our belongings.
In the dark, depth that was the overhead locker, I could faintly make out a crimson-red luggage. Blake already had her baggage so this had to be mine. I reached in and pulled out the load. It was surprisingly light. The design was simple, just plain red and a bit of black for the interactable parts. I put it on the floor and pulled the handle up, bringing it into the "drag mode". While pulling up, my eyes fell onto the tag that was a on the handle. A simple tag with words that made my eyebrows raise.
"Byzan"
Ummm...
I blinked twice. Stunned for a moment. This day just kept getting better and better. I came back to reality and began making my way out of the cabin when a familiar voice called out.
"Umm... excuse me?"
My head instinctively turned as I stopped my walk. Blake had called out for me. I raised an eyebrow.
"Uhh... yes?"
"I think this is yours? I saw you put it in here when you entered the ship." Her eyes had momentarily left her book to gaze upon the random mortal that had decided to be a lone wolf like her. Her book was transferred to her left hand and she pulled out something from the locker. What it was almost made my lower jaw drop.
It was a spear- wait no a halberd, of sorts. It donned a beautiful paintjob of crimson red and black highlights. The halberd looked segmented, signifying that it could possibly be split down into smaller, more compact weapons for a fast approach to an encounter. I could not wait to get my hands on that.
but that could be someone else's
who cares finders keepers
dude come on, take it first, then go ask around, see if any poor kid's got no weapon to fend off the Grimm tomorrow
come on that shit's so big. If it belonged to someone then they would've already found it missing. They'll just ask for it from you while you're walking.
Shut up
no, you shut up
But- but I was a nice person, I can't- but it's so cool- ahh fuck it.
"Yeah it is. T-thanks."
Without a warning, Blake tossed the halberd over, my hands stumbled as they proceeded to catch it due to the lack of time to brace myself. It was surprisingly not as heavy as I expected. I steadied the damn thing, tapping its other end on the ground.
I must be the unluckiest person alive because the tap somehow triggered the mechanisms within the halberd, causing it to collapse into a more compact mode. That would be fine IF PART OF IT WASN'T IN THE MIDST OF CRUSHING MY RIGHT FINGERS. I let out a yelped which became a scream of agony when the hilt of the halberd hit. At the corner of my eye, I spied the cat faunus rolling her eyes as she exhaled exasperatedly, her slender hands fell onto the luggage as she made her way out of the near-empty cabin, ignoring my pleas for help.
Goddamnit.
The sound of engines whizzing to life began once again, signifying the return trip of the airship was beginning. I found myself giving up all efforts to remove the collapsed weapon on my fingers and mumbling "come on…" as I began making my way out of the airship.
Miraculously, the weapon decided to return to its drawn mode as soon as I made it out of the exit and on the floating concrete that was the school grounds. Throbbing pain took the place of the sharp one where the skin of my fingers have turned red. I winced as I rubbed my hand, ignoring the fact that I had let the halberd drop and return to its collapsed form.
Fuck that thing.
As I sucked in through my teeth, I slowly spun my body around. What stood before me was a marvel, making me forget about my hand for a moment. In the anime, Beacon looked so docile and just plain beautiful from the small screen of my laptop and occasionally my phone. Standing infront of it now, I can clearly understand how the protagonists felt when their eyes laid upon the school building. The courtyard was huge to say the least. Its white cement structures highlighted the concrete pavement very well. The effect was further enhanced by the colorful flowers in antique, intricately-carved vases and the plain, simple-looking street lamps. The institute looked spectacular in real life.
It was like they were welcoming us.
Welcoming me…
Not just Beacon, but this world. Open arms as I ascend into my new existence. The freedom I once lacked, the way society carved a path for you to walk, those diverging from it defined as radicals, abnormalities, mistakes of god. Here, I need not be another gear in that corrupted world's machine, need not wake up knowing that I'd need to drag my load of a body to another boring day. My life was about to get interesting, my days a whole lot better. And so as I stepped on, making my way to join what little was left of the crowd from earlier on, halberd in my left hand and luggage in my right. I thanked god, for allowing me to be reborn, for allowing me another chance.
This was more than a coincidence.
This was fated.
Epilogue:
Ashley POV
My hair cascaded down the sides of my shoulders, creating crimson waterfalls.
I groaned.
There were few things I hated in this world, and one of them is donning the accursed long hair. I sighed, holding the hair together for a ponytail for the umpteenth time when I realized (again) the absence of a rubber band.
Why do you plague me hair...
I let go again.
Well, I supposed that was a small price to pay for being allowed to set foot in this world, a fate that would be a dream to thousands of others around the world. Physically, I watched as burly men helped the heiress in white unload her baggage from the transport, planting them onto bell carts in unstable towers. Mentally, I was a world away, pondering the new identity I'd taken on.
Well for starters, my name's is similar to that of the never aging protagonist of Pokemon now.
-end chapter-
A/N: And that's chapter one of Fated ^^ hoped you enjoyed it. First off, I'd like to apologize in advance as my update schedule for chapters may be irregular due to my workload. Though I will do my best to stick to 1 chapter every 2 weeks to a month. Secondly, thankyou for your time in reading Fated, it's my first resurrection fic and it was inspired by the childhood dreams of mine. I'll see you in the next chapter ^^
Bryan Byzantine
Ashley Ash