Chapter Seven: The Plaything of Fate.
Neo had been so off put by the discomfort of trying to make conversation with the…visually impaired that she almost didn't finish her food in time to go and get dessert. Of course, it hadn't thrown her off enough to stop her entirely. If anything, all it did was delay the inevitable. And when that 'inevitable' came, Thea's jaw almost hit the table. Neo couldn't pick between the various dessert options, so she simply had to have one of everything. And that was why her pudding was twice the size of her main course. Brownies, cupcakes, slices of three different varieties of cake, meringue, cream, strawberries…and three different bowls of ice cream.
What surprised the poor girl even more was how Neo was managing to eat it all. She had started with the ice cream – lest it melts – and had finished the third bowl before it could even look vaguely melty. Then she moved on to the meringue, cream, and strawberries, before trying the cakes, cupcakes, and brownies. All in all, the whole ordeal took roughly twelve minutes.
Neo nodded in approval of the dishes served, whilst Thea just rubbed where her own eyes should be in disbelief. Tapping her chin in thought, Neo began to mentally organise which dishes had satisfied her the most, in comparison to the others. Though it was all based on her mood – yes, even cake during 'cake mood' is better than ice cream when it's not 'ice cream mood' – she placed the strawberry ice cream first, closely followed by the vanilla. The chocolate ice cream came on a bit strong for her tastes and left her mouth feeling oddly dry. As for the cakes, the red velvet cake with vanilla icing was a glory to taste. Then came the chocolate sponge cake and, lastly, the jam and cream variety. There was nothing wrong with the latter; it simply didn't fare as well as the other two due to its simplicity. The meringue paired nicely with the cream and strawberries. It would make for a good snack when she was feeling like something lighter than usual. The brownies were a little hard and dry but would surely go nicely with some cream if she were to do it over again. Lastly were the cupcakes. They were simply smaller versions of the previous cakes, which made them perfect sweet treat material.
She nodded once more in approval, having appraised the desserts to her heart's content, before catching Thea's mouth still partially agape. Had she been able to see them, Neo was sure her eyes would have been wide in shock, judging from how she had somehow managed to turn a shade paler.
"…How did… Was that… Are you… human?" She stammered, making Neo just silently giggle in response, before patting her stomach. She then withdrew a handkerchief and daintily dabbed her lips with it, as if she hadn't just eaten like a starved animal only a few minutes before. Thea took this to mean that she did this often and this was no big deal for the short, hat-wearing mute.
Whilst Thea was too bewildered by Neo's eating habits to notice, the clock on the far wall soon indicated that school was no longer in session. To Neo's knowledge, students basically had free reign to do as they pleased, as long as they were back in their dorms by 10pm. In Neo's case, she had been informed that students who have yet to be assigned a dorm will be sleeping in the amphitheatre. Essentially, students had four hours of free time after cafeteria.
Neo had a lot of plans for how she wanted to spend that time but, now that it had arrived, she had choice paralysis. Should she invest in her long-term goals? Pursue her ideals? Focus on her short-term aims? Just wander around? Try to make connections? So many options and so little time.
But, of course, there was only one thing to do. It was time…to go shopping.
'Shopping?' you may ask. But it will make sense with just a little explanation. You see, if you may recall, Neo only had a few items to her name. No extra clothes, no toothbrush or toothpaste, no school supplies, no scroll charger and not even a folder to keep her notes in. Essentially, she had nothing at all. It was time to fix that.
And so, before anyone could stop her, she strode into the streets of Vale and began browsing various different shops. Whilst she would, ideally, like to visit a large department store in order to get the most variety and have the convenience of everything she needed being sold in one place, she wouldn't mind having to visit multiple stores to get what she needed. If she had had the time, she would have done several price comparisons in order to get the most out of her limited funds but, alas, time was also limited.
Due to the inconvenient location of the Academy, it took some time to begin her hunt. However, she soon got in the swing of things, and she began to vaguely remember some of her usual shopping spots. Or…whatever 'Past Neo' did at those places.
After a few hours of exploring and shopping, she returned to Beacon with a small collection of new thingamajigs. Firstly, a second outfit for when her usual outfit was in the wash. It was nothing extravagant. Just a comfortable pink and brown t-shirt and a white pair of jeans. Then there were her pyjamas. She didn't need anything particular, so she just got some soft, simple, loose-fitting ice cream themed pyjamas which were in her size. It basically consisted of a pink, thin, cotton shirt which had a picture of a bowl of ice cream front and centre, and some plain, black shorts of similar material.
'Why were clothes so important?' you may wonder, 'Can't you just…illusion some up?'
The answer to that is yes, but no. To explain, Neo's semblance has two main forms. Physical illusion and intangible illusion. Physical matter cannot exist within a physical illusion unless the illusion is hollow and fits the object. Whilst making physical clothes is possible, manipulating them in a way which isn't mentally taxing would be impossible. At a moment's notice, the illusion could break and then she'd be naked in public. Think of it like trying to wear wet sand as clothing. Most of your time would be spent making sure that it stays held together and, whenever you moved, cracks would appear. Alternatively, an intangible illusion would only serve to give the appearance of clothing. Whilst that would work better and not be as mentally taxing, it would be rather chilly and if anyone touched her, they'd just feel flesh. Very awkward.
Why the pyjamas? Simple. Neo couldn't possibly concentrate on maintaining an illusion in her sleep. The second she drifted off; she'd be wearing whatever she wore to bed to everyone looking at her. And, if you're implying what I think you are, she'd just be in her undergarments. Whilst that was normal for many, Neo would rather not sleep in the nude when she had eleven strangers in the room with her. That's right, there were eleven other students sleeping in the amphitheatre. Enough to form three different teams once the initiation was done. As she looked around, she only recognised three of them.
There was Thea who was sat in the corner, being brooding and mysterious. Then again, maybe that was just the aura which she gave off. Someone trying too hard to be serious when they're actually a bundle of joy when you interact with them. Anyway, she was sitting in the corner, reading her braille book. Whilst we're on the subject of the blind girl, Neo had a pretty good idea as to how Thea had seen Neo looking at her back in class. She had been using an intangible illusion to make her real body blend into the classroom, whilst making an intangible stand-in. Naturally, since the intangible illusion is simply a construct of light which has no physical aspects, Thea would be unable to see the illusion, but would be able to see the camouflaged Neo. Well…that was her current working theory, based on what the girl had explained about her semblance.
Next up was the hands…guy. Yeah, she still didn't know his name. He was sat in the middle of the room upon a bundle of pillows, blankets, and an air mattress. Floating in the air were a series of different holographic screens, which he interacted with using all six of his hands simultaneously as if they were truly extensions of himself. His main hands were typing in a large document, whilst the floating ones browsed different web pages, entirely independently. One scrolled through pictures and videos, and Neo recognised that he had been recording the sparring matches before dinner. She wondered if he had any malicious intentions with his research, or if he was just trying to understand the strengths and weaknesses of his potential rivals and teammates. He seemed too cooped up in his own little world of information to notice Neo looking at him. Not surprising, since he had anywhere from four to twenty floating screens in front of him at any one time.
Lastly, there was…helmet…person. Neo knew even less about that one, since she didn't even know what they looked like or what gender they identified as. They were sat off to one side, polishing some incredible-looking platemail armour and a similarly potent-looking halberd weapon. Whilst hands guy was definitely hitting the quota for 'science-fiction novel,' helmet person had missed that memo and thought it was the 'medieval jousting tournament.' All that Neo could determine about the person now was that their attire came with trousers, instead of a skirt. But that still could mean anything since many female Beacon Academy students also prefer trousers. Heck, even Neo preferred trousers to skirts. Probably because her fighting style left a lot of room for kicks, spins, and jumps and the threat of being up-skirted mid-combat would be unavoidable with a skirt. Back to helmet person, they were still wearing that helmet and their form was quite androgenous. Tall and muscular, but still with refined and slender features. Under that helmet may as well have been a fish's head for all Neo could tell.
She just lay down upon the blankets and pillow which had been provided to her. It wasn't uncomfortable, and the pyjamas fit her nicely. But she still felt restless. How could she even begin to consider sleeping, considering everything that had happened, today? Waking up with oddly patchy memories, running into the equivalent of a celebrity, beating up said celebrity in order to attend a violence school, having a massive meal, and then going shopping as if everything was fine. At least she had managed to kinda figure out what the mysterious list she had pertained to. It was her own memories. The more she considered it, the more it made sense. She knew about Remnant, her own personal details, had an uncanny fighting instinct, knew how to use a scroll as soon as she picked one up, and had an unshakeable desire to abide by the law. The fact that she knew about things which had not happened yet only implied that she was from…some kind of future. Was she a time traveller? If so, why here? Why this time? Did she have some kind of purpose here, or was it entirely arbitrary?
But most of all, there was one thing on this list which stuck out: 'Remember to tell Ruby Rose that I'm sorry.' That was certainly something she remembered. But…the reason as to why was lost on her. If she really was some kind of time traveller, was this an apology for something she had already done, or something which she would do in the future? Or both?
She didn't know much about this supposed Ruby Rose character at all, to be honest. She knew about Pyrrha since she – and her subsequent death – was a massive part of Mistraltan history and, as such, was covered by the clause of knowing about the world of Remnant. Ruby, on the other hand, Neo only knew a few things about, and most of it transpired in the supposed future, like Pyrrha. Apparently, Ruby had her fair share of crime-fighting to do in the future…followed by beating up the military and being in charge of a mass evacuation to Vacuo after the fall of Atlas. Guess she made a lot of enemies in the pursuit of her idea of what was right. From what she could recall, Ruby Rose had dark hair, a scythe weapon, and silver eyes. The person which she knew as 'Ruby' could very well fit those parameters, but it would be better to not jump to conclusions for the time being. After all, how would one even go about apologising to someone you've just met, for a sin which you are yet to commit?
Still, despite the noisy headspace, she had to get some rest. Her initiation was tomorrow and being prepared was paramount to success. In this case, the best way to get ready…was to go to sleep. And so…she moved her hat from her chest onto the floor by her side. She always held onto that hat when she felt lonely or unsure and it helped ease her nerves. Like a friend was with her, holding her hand through the pain. With her scroll charging from the battery pack she bought, she laid down and began to drift off into sleep.
Darkness filled her vision as her eyes closed. A calming silence filled her mind as she took deep breaths and imagined television static. And then, she found herself alone in her mind, adrift upon the waves of visions. Falling from above, drifting in an invisible breeze, came a leaf. Then another. And another. They came faster and faster, until they flooded her vision. A rainbow cacophony of falling foliage eclipsed the darkness. And then, she saw where the weird colourful leaves were going. A massive teacup which swirled and rippled with multicoloured liquid.
She reached her hand forwards to grasp the handle of the cup but noticed that it was not her own hand. This was someone else's hand. Said hand featured long, black fingerless gloves which she could only just make out from the bleak backdrop. It moved on its own, now, taking the handle and lifting the cup in a way which bent proportions. The once massive teacup was now normal sized. It was lifted and brought to her lips, as the luminous liquid began to drain into her mouth. And then she lowered the cup as it was empty, only to find herself somewhere new. A strange house with broken walls and a pair of double doors which were flung open and hung off of loose hinges. Standing in that doorway were four oddly familiar faces which she could not place. But their colours felt familiar. Black, White, Golden and…Yellow. The image of their horrified faces and disbelief were the last thing Neo could envision before the floor suddenly crumbled underneath her, and she fell.
'Offing Little Red can't be all you wanted…right?'
Those words echoed into her head for a moment before she sat up suddenly, clutching her mouth and throat with her hands, out of reflex. Why did this odd, meaningless dream stir such…vivid emotions in her? And why were those emotions… jealousy, regret and…fear? Maybe that dream wasn't as meaningless as it had seemed. But it seemed so…abstract. How could it possibly be grounded in reality?
Still, she hadn't the time to consider the implications and similarities between reality and fantasy. There was a great commotion around her as several alarms had gone off from various students' scrolls. People were beginning to stand up and get ready for the day, whilst Neo could barely roll over and check the time. 7:15am. Urgh. When was breakfast, again? 7:30am. Well, darn. No time to really sleep in for a while, then. Not without having to rush around at the last moment, at least. She tossed the blanket over herself, fully, and then began to get dressed underneath the sheets. She could just use her semblance to make a small changing room for her to use, but she still didn't want people to know about the extent of her abilities. This would have to suffice for the time being.
Once she was done changing, despite the discomfort, Neo stood up, brushed herself off and packed up her stuff into a backpack which she had bought. Said backpack was then tossed into her assigned locker on the way to the cafeteria. Though she was groggy, Neo was eager to find out what was served for breakfast, and she was not disappointed. Hash browns, sausages, eggs, beans, bacon strips, toast… the list went on. And so, it didn't take long for Neo to fill her plate with a little of everything. However, her eyes and stomach were bigger than her time schedule. She couldn't quite polish off her plate before it was time to suit up and get ready for the upcoming initiation. Guess time flies when you're stuffing your face with delicious foods.
Soon enough, the students funnelled out to where they needed to go. As for the students taking the final batch of initiation tests, they were to go to the locker rooms to finish their preparations. Neo didn't have much to do, aside from ensure that her parasol was up to scratch and the blade was sufficiently sharpened. The material of the parasol had taken some damage during the battle with Pyrrha, but Neo knew how to repair her weapon. Quite simply, Hush uses a mixture of a powerful fabric material, a unique opening mechanism which helps absorb shock and distribute weight and, finally, a sprinkling of gravity dust. Why gravity dust? Well, under normal situations, gravity dust is used to push or pull an object. In this case, it is used to soften blunt force by repelling it when the material is stretched to a certain limit. It's how the material is an odd mixture of puncture and slash-proof. The only thing which could really threaten to pierce Hush would be something like a lance. A long, heavy piercing weapon which has all of its power and momentum concentrated in one place.
When the time came, Ozpin, himself, arrived on scene and took a rollcall to ensure everyone was present. Whilst most students called out when their name was announced, Neo simply held up her hand to indicate that she was here. Looking around, she saw a plethora of students she didn't recognise with a variety of weapons. But she was most interested in knowing what weapons the people she did know had. From the looks of it, Thea had a typical-looking longsword with a bright blue, glowing pommel. She was caressing it closely as if it were a close friend. Helmet person had a large halberd with two small metallic wings jutting out a little way away from the blade. Hands-McGee over there just seemed to have a large satchel affixed to his waist, which made Neo curious.
Ozpin, in the meantime, had finished his registration and led the students into a large underground chamber. It was, like most things in Beacon, a circular room which had a high ceiling. The area was dim, but there were twelve glowing runes embedded into the floor, each of which bearing the emblem of Beacon Academy.
"Would you all kindly stand upon these glowing icons?" Ozpin asked, as several students immediately obeyed, and others did so a little more hesitantly. "It doesn't matter which one you stand upon, since they will each randomly place you within the initiation grounds. Proximity is irrelevant. When the trial starts, you will be dropped into a large labyrinth. It will be filled with various Grimm, naturally. The first person you encounter will be your partner for the remainder of the trial…as well as the next four years. Together, you will traverse the maze in search of treasure. Once you have obtained a relic, you must navigate to the middle of the maze. Just a word of caution…beware of the Minotaur." Ozpin explained calmly, before taking a sip of his hot cocoa.
There were murmurs of confusion, and several hands were raised in question. However, Ozpin elected to ignore them and simply pressed a button upon his cane, causing the floor underneath the sigils to drop. Those murmurs of confusion quickly turned to screams of panic, much to Neo's amusement, as all the students suddenly plummeted downwards. The man had made himself perfectly clear in his instructions. Any questions which the other students may have was merely nit-picking the details of the situation. How big was the maze? How many Grimm were there? Who's this Minotaur? Foolish questions: you'd surely find out the answers soon.
As Neo descended into the maze, she found that each sigil dropped the student onto a small, slanted platform which was laced with gravity dust. As such, students were catapulted this way and that at nearly random angles. It surely did help test the landing strategies of each student, as well as their perception since one could see the whole labyrinth for a few seconds, but it certainly did discombobulate many of the unsuspecting students, since some had landed at obscure angles, only to be sent flying backwards as if they had been uppercutted by an invisible force. Neo, however, was agile enough to have landed briskly on her feet and catapulted swiftly upon contact with the platform. After Neo's launch into the air, she simply deployed Hush and floated downwards, aiming to drift towards the middle of the maze, in order to minimize the time spent navigating.
The maze, itself, was a massive series of stone corridors, twisting passages and dead ends. The walls were thick and tall, as to be as imposing as possible whilst still allowing the whole aerial drop intro. Sure, one could technically try to land on top of the wall, but the corridors were so wide that just jumping from one side to the other would be quite challenging. Anyone attempting to do so would be either brave, foolhardy or have access to some kind of flight or levitation.
However, no sooner had she touched down, she found herself staring at the worst possible outcome. Aside from landing in the Minotaur's mouth, of course. She had somehow landed right next to the corridor which Thea Paradox had just emerged from. Neo's heterochromatic eyes locked with the white bandages of the girl and the two shared an awkward moment of realisation.
Well, it looked like they were going to have to find a way to communicate. And quickly.