Good GOD, this one took a while. Was suffering from a minor case of writers block.
That, and I"ve busted a few of my knuckles while I was bare-knuckling at PT the other day. That"s really limited my mojo for writing.
Anyway, here is the belated Chapter 6! Better go and grab the popcorn, it"s a long one.
Chapter 6: And If You Look To Your Left...
After a few minutes of searching, the three of us finally managed to find where we were supposed to go: the ampitheatre. As we walked in under the arches, I could tell that the place was crowded with students. It reminded me very much of the Great Hall in the Harry Potter books. People were talking; fidgeting, even playing games on what I think were scrolls. Amidst all the chatter, we heard a voice from the third row call out to Ruby.
"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" A blonde girl was waving to Ruby, beckoning her over. Immediately, I recognized her as Yang Xiao Long, the boisterous bruiser of team RWBY. Though I had to say… she was beautiful. With long flowing hair, and her outfit, she was truly a sight to behold in the flesh.
"Hey, guys, I gotta go! I'll see you two after the ceremony!" Ruby bid Jaune goodbye, and dashed off to her sister. Jaune raised his arm after her.
"Hey, wait!" He yelled, but Ruby was long gone. He sighed sadly, and hung his head, turning to me.
"You won't ditch me, though, right?" His pleading eyes begged me to stay with him. I didn't really know what to do, so I just shrugged, and chased after Ruby, curious to hear her conversation with her sister. As I left, I heard Jaune lament.
"Great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?" As he moved into the crowd, I could have sworn I saw a flash of red, but I dismissed it. As I maneuvered through the crowd, I soon had a clear earshot of Yang and Ruby, as they discussed something.
"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire… And, I think some ice…?"
Yang leaned towards Ruby, a broad smile on her face.
"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang seemed to be playing dumb, almost as if she knew that Ruby was hiding something. Ruby scoffed.
"I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, then she yelled at me. And then I sneezed, then I exploded, and I felt really bad, but this nice boy helped me out, giving the crabby girl some lecture about Dust maintenance..."
Oh great. I forgot about this. Causality, the butterfly effect. If I screwed up the plot too much… well, a lot of bad stuff could happen. But so far, nothing too bad had happened. Yet. So far, all that had changed was Ruby mentioning…
"YOU!"
INHERMONOLOGUE! Weiss's outburst had caught me off guard, causing me to topple over in shock, hitting the ground with a crash.
"OH GOD, IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!" Apparently, I wasn't the only one startled by Weiss: Ruby had leaped into Yang's arms, a la Scooby-Doo, and was practically strangling her with her death grip around her neck. Unfortunately, while the sisters were distracted, Weiss had noticed my tumble. She marched over, the same look of fury on her face. Failing to make myself look inconspicuous, Weiss grabbed my hair, and pulled back, staring into my eyes.
"YOU TOO?! YOU HAVE SOME NERVE SHOWING YOURSELF IN FRONT OF ME! WERE YOU EAVESDROPPING?!"
I chuckled nervously, but before I could answer, Weiss had ensnared my right ear into a chokehold, dragging me over to Ruby and Yang.
"Owowowowowowow! Watch it, watch it!" I protested, though it fell on deaf ears. Ironic, as I was sure she would tear mine off if she didn't let up. Finally, when I had been planted next to Ruby, she released my ear, and my hand immediately flew up to the lobe, massaging the pain away. She turned to Ruby, who was still entangled in Yang's arms.
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss scolded her. Yang, who had managed to pry her sister's iron grip loose of her windpipe, turned to her.
"Oh my God, you really exploded." Yang managed to mutter. Ruby stepped back on terra firma, shaking from the shock Weiss had given us.
"It was an accident, I promise! I didn't…" Ruby had started to protest, before she was silenced with a piece of folded paper to her face. Peeling it off, she read the title.
"'Dust for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals?' Isn't that a little…"
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. AlthoughnotmandatorytheSchneeFamilyhighlyencouragescustomerstoreadandfamiliarizethemselveswiththiseasytofollowguidetoDustapplicationsandpracticesinthefield."
Ruby blinked twice, clearly not understanding. I was about to give her a helping hand, when it was my turn to get smacked in my face, only this time with a hardcover book. As I peeled it off, I glanced at the title, rubbing my slightly crumpled nose in pain.
"'The Schnee Dust Company – A Legend Born from Dust.' What is this, an autobiography?"
"Hardly. Read through it for a while, and you'll see why it is a bad idea to mock me." Weiss snorted. Then she turned to Ruby.
"You really wanna start making things up to me?"
"Absolutely…?"
"Read that, and never speak to me again."
"Yeesh, that's cold. For the last time: It! Was! An! Acci…" Weiss turned back to me, as if daring me to finish. With her fingers clasped around Myrtenaster, it would be a wise choice to shut up, read the book, and not to piss her off ever again.
Yang placed herself between Weiss and me, holding her hands to our chests so as to prevent any further conflict. Looking down, I saw she was touching my chest. I didn't know if it was by accident, but I savored the moment.
"Look, it just sounds like the three of you just got off on the wrong foot. Why don"t you start over?" she suggested, rubbing the back of her head. Ruby leaned out from behind her.
"Great idea, sis! I'll go first." She offered her hand to Weiss.
"Hello, Weiss. I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies?"
Weiss immediately changed her look of fury, to one of girlish excitement.
"Yeah! And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, like tall, blonde and… scraggly over there!" She offered, pointing her thumb towards Jaune, who perked up at his mention. I looked back, and furiously waved my hands and shook my head, telling him 'No, no, she doesn't mean it, you idiot!' He didn't notice me. I wasn't surprised: I could have held up a massive neon sign that said the same thing, and he still wouldn't get the point.
"Wow, really?!" I turned around, to see Ruby's face light up. Weiss, however, had a grim look on her face, still pointing at Jaune.
"NO."
As I was about to interject, the four of us were distracted by a microphone being tapped over a speaker. Ozpin had taken the stage, and he looked as enigmatic as ever. Adjusting his glasses, he began to speak to everyone.
"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge - to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."
The students began to whisper amongst themselves, perplexed by Ozpin's choice of words. They had expected a warm welcome, or even a "Congratulations", not this… speech, if it could be called that.
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
And with that, Ozpin stepped off of the stage. The woman behind him, Glynda Goodwitch, took the microphone.
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." Goodwitch told us. Then she disappeared after Ozpin, taking the microphone with her. As other students began to talk about what had been said, others began to leave to explore the area.
"He seemed a little… off." Yang commented. Ruby nodded.
"It's almost like he wasn't even there." She added. In the meantime, Jaune had managed to squirm between Weiss and me, and had turned on the charm.
"I'm a natural blonde, you know."
If there was one thing Weiss and I agreed on, it was whether or not now was the appropriate time to slap our hands against our heads in exasperation. A small step, but a first step nonetheless.
"Jaune, remind me again where you picked up your charm. I think you need a refund."
In the hallway, Jaune was nursing a red handprint on his cheek, courtesy of Weiss.
"I don't get it! I was sure it would work!" He whimpered in pain, as Ruby dabbed his face with a damp cloth.
"This might sting a little. Keep still." She soothed. As soon as the rag touched his raw skin, Jaune elicited a shrill scream of pain. Covering my ears, Ruby dropped the cloth and followed suit. As the cacophony died down, I looked over at Jaune's injury, which was now nearly invisible with his pale skin. I extended a hand, and he slapped his into mine. Hoisting him up, we began walking down the hallway, now equipped with a map on Jaune's scroll, so we wouldn't get lost again.
"Ooh, is there a training area for weapons?" Ruby asked excitedly. Jaune tapped his scroll, showing that the weapons area was a couple of turns to the ballroom. Seeing as they were so close, we agreed to see the weapons training area first. I had to admit, I was curious as to what other weapons existed in this world.
After some walking, Ruby opened the door, to reveal a room, larger than a warehouse, where one corner had a wrestling-style fighting ring, another had a shooting gallery, the center of the room was laid out in a grid, dotted with little bumps. Given the technology Remnant had, I assumed it was a hologram arena. Ruby tugged my arm, gasping in joy at what she saw. I turned, and my jaw dropped: an entire wall was a dedicated weapons rack, ranging from battle rifle-chainsaws and war hammer-shotguns, to rocket launcher-gauntlets and naginata-muskets. It was amazing to see the diversity of weapons in this world. I was starting to see why Ruby liked seeing weapons rather than making friends.
"Welcome, welcome! I assume you three are new arrivals to this prestigious academy?" A bombastic voice rang out throughout the academy, echoing endlessly. Turning, I saw a man dressed in an orange robe embroidered with golden and white, with his hands hidden inside the sleeves. If anything, he seemed to resemble someone from Turkey I had met a long time ago. His eyes were covered by a bandage, and two scars spiderwebbed on his face seemed to travel through his eyes, so I assumed he was blind.
"Might I be the first welcome you all! This is the weapons quarters, and I am this room's manager and caretaker, Professor Kor! Might I be so inclined to ask for the labels you youngsters refer to each other as?"
The three of us looked at the man confusedly, bamboozled by his manner. Jaune finally stepped forward, shaking nervously, raising his hand.
"Um, hi. I'm Jaune Arc. This is Ruby Rose, and Darrel Conway. We're new students, just exploring." He said, twiddling his thumbs. Professor Kor let out a jolly laugh, and clapped Jaune on the back, sending him sprawling on the ground with a grunt.
"Jaune Arc! I've heard much from that family lineage. Well, Mr. Arc, I'm expecting great things from you, great things indeed!" He chuckled, then turned to Ruby, who had begun to shy away.
"Ms Rose, I presume? You need not be nervous. Professor Ozpin speaks highly of you. He has heard from Professor Qrow about your exploits for some time!" Ruby seemed to cheer up at these words, and smiled. Then out of nowhere, the professor produced an oatmeal cookie. Ruby's silver eyes seemed to grow wider, as she reached for the delicious treat being offered to her.
"Take it, I insist." Ruby blinked, and snatched the cookie, shoveling it into her mouth. It was a sight to see: as soon as it touched her lips, the cookie literally disappeared. Professor Kor laughed again.
"You like it? It's my personal recipe."
Ruby nodded, crumbs falling from her smiling lips.
"Theesh are the besht! Thanksh, Professhor!" She muffled, her mouth full of cookie.
Professor Kor leaned forward, and placed his hand on Ruby's shoulder.
"And remember, if you are having trouble, you can always come here to unburden yourself of any issues you may have. My door is always open, Ruby Rose, so do not hesitate to knock should the need arise." He offered. Ruby nodded enthusiastically.
Finally, Professor Kor turned to me.
"Well, now... You are a strange one. I can't say that I recognize your Aura. Where might you be from? Atlas? Vacuo? Mistral?"
Uh-oh.
"Uh, I'm not really from anywhere. My family were traveling merchants, we kept moving from place to place."
Please believe me, please believe me, please believe me...
Professor Kor scrutinized me intensely me with his bandaged eyes. Then he chuckled.
"A traveler, eh? You must have seen everything under the sun, then! I envy you, my boy!" He laughed.
At that moment, a tone sounded over the speakers, followed by Glynda"s voice.
"Would all first year students please gather in the ballroom in five minutes. Again, all first year students gather in the ballroom in five minutes."
Ruby let out a soft groan as she trudged back from the towering weapons rack, while Jaune climbed out of the wrestling ring.
"It was nice meeting you, Professor Kor!" Ruby thanked the professor, who smiled.
"And a pleasure meeting the three of you! Do not hesitate to talk to me again anytime you are in need." Professor Kor waved us away, and disappeared in a flash of his robe.
"He seemed nice." Ruby shrugged, as we began to walk to the ballroom.
Jaune nodded in agreement.
"Top bloke." I chimed it. Ruby and Jaune looked at me, and after a few seconds, I realised my mistake.
"It's a form of praise I heard in Australia." I blurted out. Ruby looked at me suspiciously, while Jaune scratched his head. Uh-oh, cover's beginning to slip!
"It's a small island in the south. Not many people know about it, but they like their privacy. Rumor is, they are some of the greatest warriors who have ever lived." I lied.
Ruby nodded in understanding, as did Jaune. Before they asked more questions, I decided to try and get away.
"Well, I gotta dash, guys! See you later!" And before the two could protest, I ran ahead down the hall, cursing myself for being so lenient with my psuedobiography.
I ran to the ballroom, and quickly hid in the bathrooms. Pulling out my change of clothes, I threw them on: a blue tank top with the design of a snarling Ursa slashing through the fabric, and a pair of black track pants with a golden stripe streaking down the sides. Stepping out, I saw that a lot of other students had changed into PJs, including Ruby. She seemed to be writing in a journal of some kind, though I had the feeling that she had had enough of me for the day. Finding an empty spot was harder than I thought: a lot of the bags were occupied, so I decided to lie in the corner, near the window. As I set up the sleeping bag, I looked up at the cracked moon, and sighed wistfully. Home... would I ever see it again?
*beep* *beep* *beep*
My backpack began to rumble silently. I rifled through it, trying to find the offending source, until my fingers clasped around a crimson scroll. Gripping the sides, I opened it to reveal a woman wearing a crimson dress, her face framed in shadow, and her hair covering her eyes so that I couldn't identify her.
"Hello, Darrel. I've been waiting to see you for a long time, but circumstances permit that we are only limited to this form of communication."
She sounded familiar... But for now, it was time for the millions of questions to be paired with answers.
"Who are you?"
The crimson-clad female shook her head.
"Who I am is not important at this moment in time."
Well, so much for that. Next question.
"Why am I here?"
"You have been... marked, so to speak. Whether you like it or not, your presence is an unfortunate necessity."
"Why?"
"Remnant and Earth are at risk of complete annihilation, and I am seeking a way to prevent this. Only, I cannot do it alone. You are going to help me prevent this cataclysm. And when your purpose is complete, you will be sent home with no memory of your time here."
I processed this. A way home? But only if I help this woman I know nothing about? Something seemed off here. But I thought of Dad, and my brother. They must be worried sick about me. In the end, I didn't know what to do.
"You have a choice. I'll let you think about it. But it would be wise to cooperate, Darrel. As cliché as it sounds, you may be the only one who can stop this." She said. And with that, the image was replaced with static. Folding the scroll back up, I contemplated the recent info dump. She was charismatic, I'll give her that, but something burned in my gut, telling me not to trust her.
"OH NOT YOU AGAIN!"
Looking up at the harmonious yell, I saw that all four members of Team RWBY had gathered. I slipped the scroll into my backpack, and lay down, hoping no one had noticed my secret conversation. As the fight continued, I saw Blake pick up the nearby candelabra and blow out the candles, bathing the area in darkness.
"Ruby, Yang, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'll see you later." She said as she walked away to her sleeping bag.
"I'm sorry, Weiss. I didn't mean to wake you up." Ruby apologized, but Weiss held up her hand.
"Don't bother, you dunce. Just be more careful!" She lectured Ruby, then stormed off. Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby"s shoulder.
"Don't worry about her, Ruby. Like I said, two friends, one enemy. It's still an increase." She consoled. Ruby brushed her arm loose, and turned to her.
"Enemies are worth double, Yang. I'm still at zero." She said sadly, trudging back to her sleeping bag. Lying down, she pulled the sleep mask over her eyes and was quietly snoring. Yang looked at her, a small frown encompassing her lips, then for some reason, her eyes wandered over to me. As she walked over, she started to smile softly. Standing over me, she prodded me with her toe.
"Hey, I know you're awake. You wanna talk?" She asked.
I looked up, seeing Yang look me over. I sat up and leaned my back against the wall.
"Why not? I can't seem get to sleep." I offered, and patted the area next to me. Yang leaned against the one I was leaning on, sliding down so she was sitting.
"So, you're Darrel, huh? Name's Yang. I"m Ruby's sister." She extended a hand, and I shook it.
"Nice to meet you, Yang." I said nervously.
"You know, you don't have to sleep here. There's an empty bag next to me. If you want, you're welcome to it." She offered. I was confused.
"Wait, why me? Why not Jaune?" I asked.
"Well, uh, you're here alone, and the moon"ll keep you awake. C'mon." Before I could respond, Yang had hoisted me up to my feet and shoved my backpack in my hands. Then without a word, she walked back to her bag. I shrugged and followed suit, laying my bag beside Yang's pillow. As I slid into the warm receptacle of the sleeping bag, I heard Yang ask me something, but I didn't know what.
"Sorry?"
"I said, do you snore?" She asked, yawning.
"Uh, yeah. It's not so much of an issue, but it can happen sometimes." I answered ashamedly. But to my surprise, Yang flashed me a thumbs up.
"Good. Ruby says I snore loud and wake her up. It'll be nice to pin the blame on someone else for a change." She whispered, flashing me a wink. Then she rolled over, and moved no more.
I rolled away, and thought about today. Ozpin's speech kept playing through my mind. It had to have some meaning, but it was difficult picking it up. And that woman… what did she really want? Things just aren't adding up anymore. But there wasn't any point figuring it out, because some time later, my eyes closed, and I fell into a pleasant dream.
Well, this is getting interesting...
And, for those curious, Professor Kor is based off of the Indian tale 'The Blind Men and The Elephant.' Also, big thanks to RWBYForums for the help in naming and designing him.
Anyway, next chapter won't be out for a while. Right now, I'm a little focused on getting back to TAFE, so, yes, there will be some more delays.
Also, one more thing: This story has nearly 1,000 views in total! I had no idea I would be THIS popular!