Nero awoke slowly, light slowly filtering into his vision, as he stared up at the checkered ceiling. He could hear the beep of a heart monitor, steady, and a glance down at his arm revealed that he had an IV hooked up to him. He looked over at his devil bringer and saw that it was back to its normal blue glow, but now had black feather like crest in the center of the top of his hand that gave off a faint black glow.
Nero sat up, noticing that he was wearing only his jeans underneath the blankets covering him. His back felt sore, particularly around his shoulder blades, but he shrugged it off and blamed it on the hospital bed. He removed the IV, and smirked as the wound healed instantly. Being whatever he was had perks. He looked around the room, not seeing any sign of the rest of his clothes or his weapons, but he noticed someone sleeping in a chair against the wall.
It was one of the girls from before he passed out, the one who had pretty eyes. Ruby, he remembered. She was breathing lightly, and seemed like she was in a complete state of serenity. A glance to window on the opposite side of the room revealed that it was night, late into by the way the, holy shit was the moon shattered? Nero shook off his surprise, he was in another dimension so things would be different, or at least he thought he was, Argus' notes weren't clear on exactly where or what the modified hellgate would take him to but he knew that it was inaccessible from his old home now that the hellgate was used. He got lost in his thoughts until the door to the room opened, revealing another girl.
Blake was surprised to see the person who had rescued her and her team awake and seemingly aware. The doctor had told her, Yang, and Ruby that the teen was so drained of his aura he should be dead. Blake took a second to look at her savior. He was thin, there didn't seem to be much muscle on his frame, but there was no fat as well, but he did seem well toned. He had a gold necklace around his neck in the shape of a four winged angel and a tattoo wrapped around his shoulder of a black cat, which made her blush a little. On his left bicep was a red rose, and on the meeting of his neck and arm was a small golden sun. She wondered how he came about them, and why he chose such images.
"Are you gonna stand there or come in?" Blake was shaken from her stupor and blushed slightly in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry. I was just looking at your tattoos. They're quite striking."
"Tattoos? I don't have any tattoos."
"I see three on you though Nero, all along your left arm." Nero looked down and looked over his arm, sure enough, there were two he could see and he could make out another in his peripheral vision.
"Where the hell did those come from? I didn't have them when I left Fortuna." Nero was thoroughly confused, Argus's notes made no mention of tattoos occurring from passing through the hellgate, and the forms on his arm didn't look alchemical in nature so they weren't from passing through the gate.
"That's strange, do you think." Blake was cutoff by a loud yawn from Ruby, who had been awakened by the conversation that was taking place.
"Uhhhhh. What's going on? Nero! You're awake! Are you okay? I was, we were really worried when you passed out like that" Nero smiled at the girl's energy, finding comedy in the way she went from barely concious to jumping up and down with questions.
"I'm fine Ruby, my back is just little sore. Blake and I were just talking about how I have tattoos on me now for some reason."
"I think you should go easy on him Ruby, remember what the doctor said? He should be dead." Ruby looked a little downtrodden and nodded in agreement. She had wanted to learn everything she could about the young man who had come from a hole in the sky.
"It's fine really, but what do you mean I should be dead?" Nero was only a little concerned, dying for him had become nigh impossible since unlocking his devil trigger and obtaining Yamato.
"Your aura was completely gone, as though you didn't have any." Blake crossed her arms and tilted her head, her bow giving a subtle twitch.
"Aura?" Nero had a feeling that his lack of it was a big deal, and might lead him to revealing his true nature a little sooner then he thought would be necessary.
"Yeah, aura. You know the manifestation of your soul?" Ruby smiled at the teen for his absent mindedness.
"We don't have that where I'm from." Ruby gave him a look of disbelief and Blake looked like she was deep in thought. "Listen, I understand that you might think I'm crazy but that hole you saw in the sky that I came out of was a portal from another world."
"What? Are you sure your okay Nero?" Ruby was worried now and approached the young man and placed her hand against his forehead, "You don't feel feverish."
"I think he's telling the truth Ruby." Ruby backed away from Nero and gave Blake a funny look. "His lack of knowledge on aura is alarming, as someone with his skill in combat would have to know of and use it in our world. His arm is not like anything anyone has ever seen and any attempts the doctors made at getting a tissue sample just broke their scapels." Nero frowned at that, he didn't appreciate being unknowingly dissected. "According to your examination of his sword it doesn't use dust to propel itself like you thought and instead uses some strange combustible liquid and his gun fires ammunition of a make you've never seen. Plus he possesses unnatural strength and speed for a human, even one using aura. It makes sense that he's not from Remnant."
Ruby thought for a second before nodding her head, "I guess your right Blake. I mean all the evidence is there."
Nero put in his two cents, "I'm surprised you two are actually believing me. I expected I would have to do something drastic to prove myself."
Blake nodded in response, "I doubt that everyone will look at the facts like we have, so you may still have to prove yourself to others."
Nero shrugged before running his arm over his new tattoos, he would be a little upset normally at having permanent marks he didn't choose to recieve on his body, but for some reason having these felt good, like they meant something. "Do either of you know where the rest of my clothes are? I'd like to get out of this hospital, assuming that's where I am."
Ruby piped up with an answer, "Your clothes are underneath the bed, I folded them for you. I have your sword and your gun back at our room. I'll go get them for you." Before Nero could reply Ruby had zipped out of the room, rose petals floating in her wake, leaving Nero alone with Blake.
"Since she was headed to her room I take it we're not in a hospital." Nero stood up from the bed and removed the heart monitor cuff from his arm. He found his belongings and set about putting them on.
"No you're at Beacon academy, the school that Ruby, Yang, Weiss and I all attend. We're huntresses in training." She watched as Nero dressed, the way he did so was methodical, as though he knew every stitch of his clothing by heart.
"I take it you hunt creatures like the one I dropped in on? And the four of you make up some kind of combat unit?"
"Yes, all students are placed in a team of four at the beginning of their training and remain in that same group till graduation."
"So this school, does it have military connections?" Blake nodded in affirmative and was about to explain the way hunter's work in Remnant when she was interrupted by the presence of the school's headmaster himself.
"I'll take it from here Ms. Belladona." Nero took in the new individual who had entered the room. He was dressed in green and black, wore glasses, and carried a steaming mug with him. He possesed an aura of control, one that reminded Nero a little too much of Sanctus for him to be comfortable, and carried himself like a leader.
"Who are you? Cause you better have a reason for interupting our conversation." Nero didn't like authority figures much now, even before the incident on Fortuna he had issues with people trying to tell him what to do, unless they were telling him to tear apart demons.
Ozpin gave Nero a once over, staring for a while at his devil bringer before meeting Nero's eyes. Ozpin could tell the young man in front of him was powerful, that the way his students described his slaying of the nevermore was just the bare minimum of what he could do.
"I'm the headmaster of this school, and we have much to discuss." Nero looked at Blake who was looking at him expectantly.
"Alright, go ahead then."
"I was hoping we could speak in my office, where certain sensitive pieces of information will not be heard."
Before Nero could reply Ruby arrived with Red Queen and Blue Rose its holster in tow. "Here you go Nero! You have to let me look at them some more or at least explain them to me. I've never seen a sword like this before and the firing mechanism for your gun is so cool! Oh, headmaster, I didn't notice you." Ozpin simply smiled at the girl.
"Hello Ms. Rose. I was just about to escort Mr. Nero here to my office so I could explain some things to him, I recommend that you and Ms. Belladonna return to your dorm as it is very late." With that Ozpin turned and left.
Nero smiled as he returned Red Queen to its rightful place on his back and buckled his holster around his leg. He felt naked without his trusty sidearm and his blade on him. "I'll see you guys later I'm sure." Blake nodded and Ruby smiled as he left following Ozpin.
"Blake, is it me or is he just way to cool?"
"I agree Ruby, I agree."
Nero followed Ozpin closely, not wanting to get lost in the sprawl of buildings and complexes that made up Beacon academy. The two walked in tense silence, Nero knowing that the incoming conversation would be a major one. Eventually the pair reached an elevator and rode it up, coming to a stop in a room high up that contained only a desk in front of a panaoramic window. Ozpin took his seat behind the desk and motioned for Nero to take the seat opposite him.
Nero felt uncomfortable, he didn't like being alone with this Ozpin guy.
"I'll be blunt. I know you possess the blood of Sparda and are from another world." Nero narrowed his eyes.
"Explain." Nero had drawn Blue Rose and had aimed it square at Ozpin's head. His devil bringer was glowing brighter and brighter, energy flowing into his gun.
"Sparda came to this world during a period of great upheaval. All of remnant was fighting a losing war against the Grimm, and he appeared one day out of a portal in the sky in the middle of a great battle. He vanquished the swarms of grim effortlessly with one swing of a blade he called Yamato. After he lead many fights against the Grimm. His presence in our world is completely forgotten, as is much of the history in this world." Nero lowered Blue Rose and summoned Yamato in its sheathe. Ozpin's eyes widened at the sword, he had seen illustrations of the legendary blade but now he was looking at the genuine article, or at least assumed he was. "I take it that you inherited the blade from him."
"Something like that. I know his son, I worked with him as a demon hunter. I'm related to Sparda as well, but I don't know how. I went through a series of events a year and a half ago that led me to obtaining this sword and awakening my powers even more. I obtained this arm about two years ago, when I was sixteen."
"I see. The reason I know the things I do is that when Sparda left he left behind some of his belongings, sealed in a tomb. He told the leaders of Remnant that someone from his world would come to Remnant once more, bearing Yamato, and that someone would bring deliverance from the Grimm."
"How do you know this? How do you know I didn't just steal Yamato and I'm actually just a small time demon ammassing power?"
"Because of your tattoos." Nero gave a confused look.
"In order for someone to pass through the hellgate that leads through to this world they must have the blood of Sparda, he ensured us that. He also instructed the leaders that whoever entered this world would have his soul tied to others to anchor his presence. The hellgate is meant for temporary travel, so your long term presence would strain your soul to the point of destruction. The tattoos you bear symbolize who your soul is anchored to, in your case, three of my students."
Nero eyes narrowed. He came here to get away from depending on others, not be forced to habe his existence hinge on someone else. "Who? The girls I helped? Minus the ice queen right?" Ozpin nodded in affirmative. Nero let loose a hollow laugh, his circumstances were just too ironic. "You have no idea how fucked up this is man."
"How exactly is this, 'fucked up'?"
"Because my circumstances for coming here were because of a girl, and Sparda's son. I wanted to get the hell away from all the blood of Sparda bull. I don't even know who I am or what I am. I was raised by a bunch of crackpots that wanted to destroy my world and remake it. Then the reason I had for being, was killed right in front of me." Nero had tears streaming down his face, he was falling apart. All the stress and loneliness and general bullshit he had been putting up with, and for the first time in two years, he cried.
Ozpin could tell that the young man in front of him was incredibly powerful, but possessed an incredibly broken heart. "Nero, how would you like to be a student here?"
Nero wiped his eyes and looked up, suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed. "You do realize that I'm incredibly unstable and I'm a living conduit for demonic energy." Nero wasn't one for receiving charity, but in this situation he had little choice.
"Nero, this world owes a great debt to Sparda, whether it knows it or not, helping you would be just the bare minimum of what this world can do in return. Tomorrow night I'll take you to the reliquary. Normally students must undergo an initiation to determine their placement, but as all the first year teams are full, and you single handedly slayed a giant nevermore, I believe an exception can be made in your case."
"Who will I be teamed up with? Blake said students operate in a group of four."
"Seeing as your existence in this world is tied to them, I would think it best you were paired with team RWBY, that way you can protect them."
"Why would I need to protect them? They seem to be plenty capable."
"I'll be blunt Nero, they each have circumstances that will undoubtedly cause them to be in the center of conflict with very dangerous individuals. You need to be their ace in the hole, so to speak. A way to prevent those individuals from hurting them."
"I guess I can do that, I mean three of them sort of have my soul anchored to them. It's just them right?"
"For now."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"The nature of the anchors is not completely known, as your world's alchemy is based on the laws of your world. Remnant is different, so the anchors behave differently. It is possible that as you form relationships and strengthen them that you may anchor to others and the already existing anchors will grow. If you let them remain the way they are now, you will lose your soul still. They are weak, so I'm letting you know that it is best that you become close to the girls who you are tied to." Nero scowled at this information, he was trying to be independent again, now he no say in the matter.
"That's just great."
"I'm also going to schedule appointments for you with a friend of mine who can offer psychiatric help to you."
"What? Why would I"
"Because you are unstable, like you said."
Nero nodded. Maybe talking to someone would actually help him. When he lost, when he lost Kyrie, talking to Lady was the only thing that made him feel better, but he didn't want to think about her, not now at least.
"I had a room arranged for you earlier, its small but it should be sufficient for you."
Nero nodded and stood, he was tired, and had a lot to think about. When Ozpin let him into his room, he placed Red Queen against the wall and promptly passed out in the bed.