Outsider Chronicles: A New Arc
Dieing and ending up in another world is one thing. That world being one infested with monsters is quite another. This is gonna be fun...
Hello and welcome back. Nothing to say here, so lets dive right in. Enjoy!
Chapter 5
The next day, I woke up feeling more alive than ever. Sure, I was less than pleased with finding out I was a Wild Card as it meant I'd likely be at the center of a fight against an insane being bent on world domination. Then again, I guess it could be worse.
The next day was mostly for us new students to become familiar with out new home with the Team announcements being scheduled for the end of the day. The morning went by without incident, but at lunchtime, I was approached by a rather subdued looking Nora. I had noticed that she had seemed down all morning as well, a sight that I admit was more than a little disconcerting.
"Do you need something Nora?" I asked, looking up from my sandwich.
"I...I need to apologise," she said, "For what happened yesterday in the forest."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you need to apologise?" I asked, "You didn't do anything wrong."
Nora shook her head.
"Thats not true and you know it," she said, "When Ren got hurt, I lost my temper and got taken down as a result. As a result, we nearly all died."
I stared at the girl for a moment. That...wasn't what I was expecting from her at all. Seeing Nora like this didn't suit her at all. I let out a sigh and took a sip of my tea before I responded.
"Look Nora, we all make mistakes," I said, "I get the impression that you and Ren have been friends for a long time, right?"
Nora nodded.
"In that case, its perfectly understandable for you to get angry when you saw him get hurt," I said, "Besides, thats in the past and I gained a new skill out of the bargain, so I see no reason to hold a grudge."
Nora smiled hesitantly at me before looking down.
"Ren...hes the only friend I ever had," she whispered, "If I lost him…"
She trailed off and I caught sight of tears glistening in her eyes, despite her attempt to hide them. OK, this was now really starting to make me uncomfortable. I knew Nora as an excitable, hyper girl and seeing her sad just seemed so damned wrong! I reached across the table and put my hand on hers.
"Don't worry Nora, you're not alone anymore," I said, "Not only will you have a team that will help you, but I am your friend. We fought together out there and, even though you made a mistake, I would be honoured if we could do so again."
Nora looked up at me in surprise, before she gave a watery smile and nodded.
"I-I can live with that," she said, "Thank you Jaune."
She squeezed my hand and stood, walking back over to where Ren was stood, watching us. I met the green clad boys eyes and he nodded to me. I stiffened as I felt a new bond snap into place.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
You have acquired a new vow.
I shall become the blade of light
That severs the bonds of the Dark Future.
With the Birth of the Temperance Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
will lead to Freedom and new powers.
I sighed as the sensation faded. I guess I couldn't argue with that. After all, having a bond with my teammates was to be expected and with every bond my strength would only grow. I glanced down at my sandwich and pushed it away. I wasn't hungry any more.
The afternoon went by quickly and before I knew it, we were gathered in the main hall for the Team Announcement.
"Welcome," said Ozpin, "You have all worked hard to be here and passed every test placed before you. Now, you have finally reached the beginning of the path to become great Huntsmen and Huntresses. After today, each of you will be a part of a team that will go to do great things!"
He tapped his cane on the stage and the screen behind him lit up.
"Now, let us begin."
The first team came up on screen and Ozpin started the process of calling up each team and announcing their name in the order that the members had returned. Finally, he reached the last teams.
"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie," said Ozpin as we stepped up to the stage, "The four of you retrieved the white Rook pieces. From this day forth, you will work together as Team JNPR."
Nora gave a happy squeal and wrapped her arms around Ren, making the green themed boy jump.
"Lead by Jaune Arc," said Ozpin, ignoring the byplay.
I nodded and smiled at Pyrrha as she patted me on the back as we walked off the stage.
After team RWBY had been announced, everyone dispersed, heading ot their newly assigned Dorm rooms. As we were about to leave the room, Ren stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I glanced at the other teen and noticed that he was giving me a serious look.
"Whats up?" I asked.
"Thanks for what you said to Nora," he said, "She's been beating herself up since the fight. It...hurts to see her like that, but I didn't have any idea what to do to help her."
I smiled and patted my teammate on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," I said, "I meant what I said. Doubly so now we're officially teammates. I hope we can be friends as well."
Ren smiled slightly and nodded, holding up his fist. I bumped it with my own and suppressed a sigh as I felt another bond snap into place.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
You have acquired a new vow.
I shall become the blade of light
That severs the bonds of the Dark Future.
With the Birth of the Strength Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
will lead to Freedom and new powers.
Once the sensation of the bond faded, we hurried after the girls and caught up with them. As soon as we did, Nora plastered herself to Rens side, much to his apparent annoyance. However, I could see the gleam of affection in his eyes and knew he wasn't as annoyed as he looked. We arrived at our room, across from team RWBY naturally, and went inside. It was pretty much as I expected, a relatively large room with four beds, four side tables and four wardrobes. Space was limited, but we still had more than enough room for all our stuff once we were unpacked. We spent the rest of the night getting to know one another and sorting out bathroom schedule. It was midnight before we went to bed, but we got everything done.
Of course, I wasn't quite done for today as I opened my eyes and found myself in the Velvet Room.
"Welcome Mr Arc," said Igor, "I must say, I'm impressed. Its only been one day and you have obtained two new bonds."
Rose pulled out two cards and placed them on the table. They were similar to Pyrrha's, depicting Nora and Ren in fighting stances with their weapons, the Arcana name across the top and their names and titles across the bottom. In this case they were the 'Shocking Light' and the 'Silent Shadow'. At least those weren't as ominous as Pyrrha's.
"Fair enough," I said, "So, do you want to tell me how I can obtain new Persona?"
Igor smirked.
"Thats easy, you must destroy the Darkness that hides their form," he said.
"Thats not helpful!" I snapped.
Igor's only response to widen his smile, even as the Velvet Room faded and I slipped into sleep.
I woke up feeling annoyed. Creating these bonds was all well and good, but it didn't do me any good if I couldn't get more Persona to actually make use of them! I got out of bed and stomped into the bathroom to wash my face, nodding to Ren who was currently shaving in the mirror. Once I was done getting ready, I got dressed and, after looking at my still sleeping female teammates, pulled out my gun and loaded a blank into the chamber.
BANG!
My teammates jolted awake, looking around wildly for the source of the loud noise.
"Wakey wakey," I said, "We got a big day today and I'd rather not have it on an empty stomach."
"Ohmygosh, breakfast!" yelped Nora, scrambling out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready.
"Urrg, couldn't you have just used an alarm clock?" groaned Pyrrha as she followed Nora.
"Wheres the fun in that?" I asked, "Good morning by the way."
My response was a two fingered salute that had me laughing.
Two minutes later, Nora and Pyrrha rejoined us, dressed and looking much more alert as we headed out to get some food. I was tempted to bang on team RWBY's door, but decided against it. It would be more fun to see if they remembered they had lessons today.
As it turned out, they didn't if them coming stumbling into Port's classroom two minutes late was anything to go by.
"S-sorry we're late sir," panted Ruby, "W-we lost track of time."
"Hmmm, I'll overlook it this time," said Port, looking disapproving, "Just make sure it doesn't happen again."
With a murmur of assent, Team RWBY quickly made their way to their seats. Once they were sat, Port cleared his throat and began his lecture.
"Monsters, Demons, prowlers of the night," he said, "Yes, the Creatures of Grimm have many names. But I mearly refer to them as prey!"
I glanced down at where Team RWBY was sat on the row below and blinked when I saw that Ruby was already asleep.
"How did…?" I muttered, before shaking my head and going back to 'listening'.
"Ahem," said Port, apparently a bit off balance at the lack of reaction from the class, "And you will too upon graduating from this prestigious academy!"
It was at that point that I completely tuned him out. His story was so damn boring, it nearly put me to sleep. The windbag might be a skilled Huntsman, but he sure loved the sound of his own voice. By the end of the story, I was about ready to start banging my head on the desk. Still, the fight between Weiss and the Boarbatusk was interesting, even if it did go exactly the same as in canon.
"Excellent work Miss Schnee," said Port once Weiss had killed the Grimm, "Now, can anyone tell me what she did wrong?"
"Sir, she let herself get distracted," said Pyrrha, "In battle, you have to maintain your focus."
"Exactly, anything else?"
I put up my hand.
"She ignored good advice," I said, "While Ruby probably shouldn't have shouted like she did, what she said was good advice."
Ruby looked sheepish at that.
"Exactly right Mr Arc," said Port, "Now, perhaps you would like to be our next volunteer?"
He waved at a second caged Grimm. I shrugged and stood.
"Alright," I said.
"Excellent, Miss Schnee, return to your seat," said Port, "Mr Arc, you have five minutes to collect your gear."
Five minutes later, I was back in my coat and facing down the caged Grimm.
"Are you ready?" asked Port.
I nodded.
"Then lets get started!"
Port slammed his weapon down on the lock and a large Beowolf erupted from within the cage. The wolf-like Grimm barely paused as it charged me. I narrowed my eyes and readied myself. As it drew back its claw to strike, I ducked under its paw and grabbed its shoulder, swinging myself up and onto its shoulders. I was showing off, but this was just a lesson. The Beowolf immediately bucked, trying to loosen my grip, but I grabbed its mask to steady myself. What I wasn't expecting was for my fingers to slip under the bone mask and, when the Beowolf threw back its head, tear the mask of its head. I went rolling away, completely taken off guard by how easily the mask had come off. The Grimm froze with the sudden loss of its mask as black mist leaked from the place where it had been. Then, it let out a howl and seemed to explode into black and red liquid that surged together and erupted, forming into a new shape.
I watched in shock as the fluid vanished, revealing that the Grimm had transformed into a small, winged Humanoid with wings dressed in a blue one piece, gloves and boots. The rest of the class seemed just as surprised as they erupted into chattering. However, I had bigger things to worry about as the Pixie drew back its arm and thrust it at me, lightning sparking around her fingers. I flipped backwards, avoiding the Zio with ease as my mask formed on my face.
"HUNTSMAN!" I shouted.
My Persona appeared and drew its sword, swinging it at the Shadow. I felt my stamina drain from the use of Cleave as the Pixie staggered back in the air.
"Lets see if this works," I muttered as I pulled out my gun and fired a round at Pixie.
The bullet hit and the Pixie immediately fell out of the air and dissolved into red and black goo that reformed into the now deceased Beowolf. I felt a rush of energy and felt a bit stronger. Huh, apparently I got EXP or something similar for beating these things.
"Oh my, that was very impressive young man!" said Port, "And thats a very impressive Semblance you have there! I've never seen a new Huntsman deal with a Beowolf quite so easily!"
I blinked. Wait, what? Didn't he see it transform? I frowned. That was strange. It got even stranger when I returned to my seat and was congratulated by my Team and Team RWBY. Apparently, they had only seen me fighting the Beowolf and had assumed that I had slipped when its mask had come off. Even the use of Zio had passed them by as they had seen the Grimm taking a swipe at me.
"What the hell is going on?" I muttered.
And this is where I'll be leaving you. So, he gains his bonds with Ren and Nora and get a nod to Nora's less than pleasant past. We also discover something rather odd about the Grimm of Remnant. They're actually Shadows!
What could the fact that no one could see the Shadow transform mean? Will we find out? Of course we will!
A nice short AN this time. Don't forget to leave a review. I keep thinking my emails busted when I don't get the alerts.