You asked, and I answered.

Chapter 28 is at long last complete!

Now, before we get started however, I need to get something straight.

Several reviews of the preview chapter have made note saying various things about Asperger's. As I have stated, I do not want sympathy, or pity, or anything like that. I've dealt with it for ten years, so stop saying you know how I feel, or how much of a curse it is, because the truth is, I don't want to hear it. I write this for your enjoyment, not so I can get free therapy.

I apologize if it sounds harsh, but I only put it out there because I needed to get it off my chest.

Chapter 28: The Truth

'Stay calm. It's just two Beowolves. Nothing you can't handle.'

Pressed up against a pillar, and trying to control my laboured breathing, I listened to the low growls of the paired monsters, as they slowly drew closer to where I was hiding. They slowly sniffed the air, trying to pinpoint my exact location.

'Time to try something new…'

Spinning the drums on my elbow, I watched it quietly rotate to three vertical wavy lines. Leaning around to discreetly look at the two prowling Grimm, I raised my arm and fired an arrow, watching it impact into the ground with a quiet pfft. However, the Beowolves noticed it, and quickly looked to me, now aware of my location. With no more reason to hide, I ducked under a swipe, hearing claws cleave through the stone above me. Tipping forward into a roll, I slid onto a hand and two feet, raised arm ready with the blade of my Iridescent Basilisk. The two Beowolves spun around, and lunged toward me, slobbering maws outstretched.

The arrow detonated, releasing a thick blue smoke, the exact same shade of blue as my combat gear. I smirked: ever since having a little extra time to work on combat, I'd decided to rely less on explosive arrows and grappling barbs, and more on other functions of the Iridescent Basilisks. Diving to the side, and rolling onto my feet, the two Beowolves sniffed the air. But it was futile. This particular smoke arrow dulled all sense of smell, leaving me able to slip around quietly without being detected.

Quietly running behind one of the Beowolves, I ran up, and leapt onto it's back, hooking my ankles around it's neck, and squeezing tightly. The Beowolf howled, which was silenced by a quick punch to it's head, in an effort to try and control it. Clearly dazed, my mount stumbled around the courtyard, swinging it's forearms wildly in an effort to buck me off. But it wasn't going to happen. My legs just squeezed around the Beowolf's larynx, causing it to make small choking noises as it struggled for air.

"C'mon, just die already!" I growled, feeling like I was about to pop the Beowolf's head open like an overripe piece of fruit. But still the creature refused to die. Finally having had enough of this monstrous mount, I let my blade flick forward, and threaded it under the creature's throat. Then, jerking my arm back, the Beowolf gurgled softly I had successfully managed to slit it's throat. As it's struggles grew weaker, I hopped onto it's shoulders, and leapt off the creature, performing a quick forward flip for extra style. Looking back, I watched the Grimm, choking on it's own blood, as it fell to it's knees, then collapsed onto the ground, where it moved no more.

I barely had time to celebrate, as a strong black, furry body plowed into my side, sending me careening into the hard stone ground. Dazed, I looked up to see the second Beowolf, which I had completely forgotten about until now, leap out of the smoke, claws outstretched and roaring furiously.

Resisting the urge to cower was quite a challenge, but I still managed to reach a blade upwards, and lodge it deep in it's chest cavity. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it would be enough to force it off me. But somehow, the Beowolf didn't even notice the cold steel in it's abdomen. Instead, it continued to slash it's claws at me. A few raked across my chest, causing it to burn in pain as blood seeped out from the wounds. I pulled my blade out, and thrust it in the shoulder, hoping to sever the tendons in it's arm and immobilize it. But no matter where I buried the blade, the Beowolf never reacted, refusing to cease it's assault on me.

"WARNING: USER'S AURA IS CRITICAL. COMMENCING EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN."

At those computerized words, the Beowolf stopped moving entirely, and began to fizzle in a cluster of large squares, forming a T with it's body, before exploding in a series of flat squares, which dissolved into thin air. The stone courtyard faded in the same manner, being replaced with a wall, filled to the brim with row upon row of weapons. Professor Kor stood in front of me, tapping on his scroll, looking down at it in confusion.

"Strange. I thought I'd fixed that glitch." He muttered. I just sprang to my feet, feeling the wounds on my chest fade away, replaced by the fabric of my tunic. Reaching up to my neck, I gripped a necklet-like device from the back of my neck, and yanked it off, feeling the pain begin to slowly flow away.

Professor Kor had called me to test this hologram arena, in preparation for classes in the second semester. Rather than try and have students spar against practice dummies, he had designed this system to give students a chance at virtual combat. With a neural interface strapped into the back of one's neck, the aura of a Hunter was measured, and appropriate feedback was funneled into the body in response. A hit would land, and pain would emerge from the wounds, while doing no physical damage. Essentially, it was controlled combat with realistic enemies. What game designers wouldn't give to get this sort of system...

"Professor, what happened there?" I asked, confusion in my voice. He looked up, bandages refusing to give away any hint of emotion.

"My apologies, Darrel. I had a feeling the system wasn't quite up to snuff. It's probably a miscalibration in hitbox recognition. I'll try and fix it, but until then, I'll mark your result as 'inconclusive'. Thanks for all your help!" He answered. I just nodded.

"No probs, Prof. And thanks for letting me beta test your system." I responded with a wide grin. Deciding to get some rest, I turned, and walked to the door. But before my hand gripped the handle, I heard a beeping on my scroll, holstered on my hip. Pulling it up and opening it, I saw a priority message from Professor Ozpin. Tapping it, I began to read.

'Darrel, it's time. You need to tell your friends about your origins. I've gathered them in your team's dormitory. Meet them there.'

I looked back to Professor Kor, who was now kneeling over one of the holographic emitters embedded in the ground, looking into his scroll, an exploded view of the emitter reflected on the screen. Shutting my scroll, I opened the door and left the blind professor to his devices.

Trudging down the halls, and thinking back to recent events, I thought about how I would break the news to my friends. It wasn't just a simple matter of saying 'Hey, I'm from another dimension': matters like these had to be handled tactfully. After all, every word that came out of my mouth for the past three months had been nothing more than an intricate web of falsities. It wouldn't be surprising if somebody wanted to castrate me for stringing them along for so long. And to be brutally honest, I deserved worse.

Arriving at Team RWBY's dormitory, my hand reached for the doorknob, before I pulled it back, doubt beginning to cloud my mind.

'Would they even believe me? Would they ever trust me again?'

I just spun around, letting myself fall onto the wall in a squat, before sliding to the ground, cradling my knees in a fetal position. It wasn't just this that was bugging me. All my knowledge of what happened after the raid on the docks was essentially zero. Everything I knew had come and gone, and now, I was flying blind.

And it scared me beyond belief.

But what choice did I have?

Getting to my feet, I inhaled, and tentatively gripped the doorknob, pushing the door open gently with a quiet creaking of hinges. Opening my eyes, both teams RWBY and JNPR turned to look at me, clearly interested in what I had to say. Shutting the door behind me, I turned to the audience of eight, all giving me looks ranging with a myriad of emotions.

Ruby and Weiss were sitting in chairs, a little too close to one another. Blake was lying on her bed, her leg, bandaged in medical gel, strapped in a small sling tied to the slats of Yang's bed to keep it still, and a pair of crutches nestled in the gap between the window and her bed. Jaune and Pyrrha stood near the window, while Nora kept swinging on Ruby's bed, with Ren nonchalantly pushing it away as it came dangerously close to his head. Yang was lying on her bed, looking at me nervously before turning away, her fingers moving to her lips. Taking a breath, I let my mouth talk.

"So… I'm guessing you've all been told why you're here to listen to me. Well, the truth is… I owe you all an apology. Ever since I've introduced myself to all of you, I've told lies about my background. My family aren't traveling merchants, I've never been anywhere on this planet outside Vale, and… I'm not a Hunter. I never will be." I sighed. Met with no response, I continued to talk.

"It's not for trivial reasons. There isn't a drop of blood in me that suggests that I could be a warrior, because where I come from, the most exciting thing in school is the dreams I have in class. There's no Dust, no aura, no Grimm, no weapons… all of it is just one day after another going through the motions of teenage life, school, work, and boring lives." I summed up.

"Where I come from, this world is a fantasy, a web show put out there by a group of people I really respect. Only, no one had any idea that it was an actual world that existed somewhere in the cosmos. And I still don't know how I got here, but the point is, I've seen everything happen from a bystanders point of view." I finished. Ruby and Weiss looked to each other, while everybody else looked at me in shock. Weiss stood up from her chair, and scrutinized me intently.

"And how do we know you're not lying? How do we know this isn't some excuse for your secret-keeping behaviour?"

"Because I know he's telling the truth. I've seen his planet with my own two eyes."

All eyes fell on Yang as she finally spoke in my defense. She hopped off her bed, and walked to my side, still talking.

"Darrel comes from a planet called Earth, and yes, it's a stupid name." she began, which was met with multiple nods of approval. I just rolled my eyes and sighed in irritation. Weiss just scoffed.

"Well, it is! If you're going to have so little respect for your planet, you may as well just call it Planet Dirt!" She protested. I opened my mouth to retort, but Yang piped up before I could get a word out.

"You think that's bad, Schnee? You should hear what they call the seventh planet!"

My hand slapped against my forehead in irritation. This was getting out of hand. What had been intended to be a confession had descended into debates on how ridiculous the name of my home sounded. I had to try and steer this conversation back on track.

"Okay, we're missing the point! The point is that I've been so secretive and all-knowing because I've seen this all happen before!" I said through gritted teeth. Everyone got the message, and shut their mouths. I just looked back to everyone, and went on with the truth.

"Up to the raid on the docks, I knew most of what happened. Initiation, Cardin's bullying, the docks… I knew every little detail. Everything played out like I had seen. But they all had a negative outcome in some factors, so I thought I could change it. But it never worked out like I'd hoped. The Nevermore damn near gutted me, Cardin used Yang and Velvet to try and ruin me, and… well, you all know how the docks went." I finished, looking at Blake's bandaged leg. No one else spoke for a few minutes, until Ruby finally opened her mouth.

"So… what does this mean? You're going to tell us about what's coming, right?" She asked, sounding almost hopeful. Everyone looked at me expectantly, curious about what I'd say. My mind went blank: truth be told, I didn't know what would be coming next. All I remembered seeing after the docks episode was Torchwick's boss, and her two cronies. Aside from that, everything was now a complete blank slate.

And besides, every attempt to better the events I had seen always resulted in disaster. Whenever I fixed a situation, a new problem, worse than the one I'd just rectified, would rear it's ugly head. Blake's injury happened because I tried to change the outcome. Something worse could happen if I did it again. And I was not about to let myself get laden down with guilt again. Not after that week on the streets. Inhaling, I answered the question.

"No. I'm not." I answered after a long period of silence. Everyone gasped.

"But why not?! You're our greatest weapon! You know everything about what's coming! You could–"

"It's not to keep you in suspense! It's for your own safety! Every time I tried to change something, another factor wedged itself in and I failed to adapt. It was difficult enough having to try and deal with these unforeseen consequences, and if something happens where I can't adapt… if someone gets hurt because of me… then I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

No one spoke for a while, clearly trying to take in my explanation. I just looked at everyone, as they processed my words. Nora had finally stopped bouncing, and to my surprise, had finally stayed perfectly still during my explanation. Ren just looked at me intently, his hard expression refusing to budge. Pyrrha just looked uneasily at me, while Jaune began to rub her shoulder, and tried to comfort her.

Blake just rubbed the medical gel on her leg unconsciously, while thinking everything over. Ruby and Weiss whispered to each other quietly, in a conversation only they could decipher. Yang just looked at me and placed a hand on my shoulder, giving a furtive squeeze. Finally, Weiss spoke.

"So… we're just supposed to trust your judgement, are we? If you act irrationally, we're to assume you know what fate has in store for us, correct?" She asked, her eyes narrowing into slits. I shook my head.

"Weiss, I'm not telling you about anything that'll happen in the future not only because I want to keep you safe, but I actually… don't know what's coming." I shrugged, tapping my fingers together, embarrassed about having had to admit the truth.

Expectedly, everyone just looked at me with blank expressions, followed by a collective resounding of thumps, groans, and shattering of worlds as they all collapsed in shock. Weiss was back up on her feet in a flash, thrusting an accusing finger at my chin.

"How could you not know what will happen?! Are you deliberately being dense, or are you just insane?!" She asked, on the verge of the yelling. I just grabbed her finger, and shoved it aside roughly.

"Weiss, I only saw episodes up to the White Fang raid! Nothing else was shown to me between then and now, okay?! So for once in your life, would you please JUST GET OFF MY CASE?!" I shouted back, finally being pushed over the edge for having to tolerate her attitude towards me. Ever since day one, she had treated me with nothing but disdain and suspicion. And I was sick and tired of it.

"Hey! That's enough!"

Pyrrha forced herself between us, pushing us apart to prevent us from killing each other. I lunged forward angrily, to find myself restrained by both Ren and Jaune, who held one arm each in a tight grip. Nora and Ruby had done the same to Weiss, but she wasn't struggling as much as I was. If anything, a sad look had crossed her face.

"Save your fighting for our true foes, not each other! You're teammates, so start acting like it!" Pyrrha scolded the pair of us. I glared angrily at the heiress, who just shrank away from me. Nora and Ruby released her, but she didn't rush at me with Myrtenaster at the ready. Instead, she just started crying. My struggles ceased, and my glower changed to a look of confusion.

"I–I'm sorry, Darrel! M–my father's company i–is at stake, and I–I need to protect it, and if my f-friends get hurt… if you get hurt… t–then what good am I? J–just a scared, spoiled little girl who got everything s–she ever wanted, e-except wh–what she really needed!" She began to cry, falling to her knees, and pounding the ground with a small fist. I gestured to Jaune and Ren to release me, and they complied. Walking forwards, I reached out warily, gently resting my hand on Weiss's shoulder. She looked up, cheeks wet with tears and a little bit of mucus dribbling from her nose.

"Weiss—" I began, but she just shrugged me off, looking at me, her eyes still watering.

"F-father always thought running the Schnee Dust Company was all I needed, b-but he was wrong. I wanted— no, I needed friends. A-and now we know something's on the horizon, and if someone gets hurt…" She sobbed. I looked away guiltily, remembering all the times I had cut Weiss down a peg. Out the front of the academy on the first day. In the Emerald Forest during initiation. After class where I had duked it out with the Boarbatusk. She had only gotten angry because she was worried for our safety. How could I have not seen it?!

Before I could respond, Ruby grabbed Weiss's arm and hoisted her to her feet, pulling her into a gentle embrace, Weiss's body heaving with quiet sobs.

"Weiss… it's okay. You won't ever lose us. And we won't ever lose you. You're more than just our friend. You're family." She whispered to the crying heiress. I heard her quietly mumble 'thank you', before she composed herself, slowly leaving Ruby's arms, and dabbing a lacy handkerchief to her puffy eyes. Yang smiled at Ruby.

"Wow, look at you, little sis. Never thought you'd be the one to warm her Weiss-cold heart." She laughed. Everyone gave her a dirty look.

"Booooo…" Nora cried out. Yang just shrugged.

"What?! We were all thinking it!" She protested. I decided to get the topic back on track, as daylight was quickly burning. (Great, now she's got me doing it.)

"Anyway, don't ask about what happens now, because I don't have a clue. So now you all know. I'm from Planet Earth—"

"Planet Dirt." Blake grinned, earning a quick laugh from everybody present. I let my hand slap against my forehead before continuing. How long would they let this joke go on for?

"Whatever! …and… yeah, that's it, really. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but I swear to God it's the truth." I shrugged, unsure of how to properly end my confession. After all, it was a story that had no real evidence to back it up. All I had was the chance someone would take it at face value.

"Darrel?"

Ruby's voice caused me to look up. She was giving me a wide grin.

"Who cares if you're telling the truth or not? If Yang believes you, then it's good enough for me!" She cried out, drawing me into a hug. Feeling the wind forcibly expel from my lungs with a grunt, I looked at everyone else. They all nodded, smiling.

"You may be a dolt, but you're an ally. So long as you fight alongside us, I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe." Weiss smiled.

"I'll admit, I feel as though I shouldn't trust you after your involvement at the docks. But after hearing your explanation… I have no reason not to believe you. You can count on my support." Blake breathed.

"I know what it feels like to be out of your depth. My team will stand by you, no matter what." Jaune grinned.

"As long as you don't turn a ray gun on us, and go all "PEW! PEW! PEW!" and try to take over the world, I'll stay by your side!" Nora cheered.

"If Jaune believes in you, then so do I. I'll help you in any way I can, Darrel. I promise." Pyrrha beamed.

"Nora believes you. So I do too." Ren stated simply.

I was shocked. This story I had just told them sounded absolutely ludicrous and impossible, and they believed me? Straight off the bat, with no proof whatsoever? This seemed too good to be true.

"You all believe in me? Even after everything that I've done?" I gasped. Yang stood in front of me, smiling warmly.

"Darrel… who cares where you're from? You're with us now. And as long as we believe you, who cares what anybody else thinks? We're always here for you." She said, her arms outstretched to gesture to everyone present.

I smiled, and a hot tear began to drip down my cheek.

They trust me. Even after all I'd done…

They trust me.

Overcome with emotion, I stumbled forward, feeling my cheeks stain with tears as my eyes began to overflow. Falling into Yang's soft embrace, I finally let everything loose.

"Thank you." I whispered softly. She didn't respond, only patted my back gently as I continued to stain her brown jacket with tears.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me! I take it you two have… you know?" Ruby gesticulated oddly to the pair of us. As we broke away, Yang looked confusedly at her sister, whilst my hand instinctively raised to my lips, wiping my eyes dry in the process with my other hand. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was referring to our kiss.

"Um… what are you talking 'bout, sis?" Yang asked, cocking her head to one side. Ruby just made small kissing noises while tapping her clenched fingers together. Yang blinked, and looked at me for support.

"Uh… yeah. Yeah, we did kiss." I admitted, my face beginning to flush. Nora let out a whoop of delight.

"I called it! Alright everyone, Lien on the table, and I'll make sure you all get the share!" She squealed excitedly, bounding down from Ruby's bed, and donning a dealer's visor, which she had pulled out from somewhere on her person, along with her scroll. Opening the tablet, she began tapping on it rapidly, showing a table with names of the members of Teams RWBY, JNPR and a long list of other names I didn't recognize.

"Alright, Ruby, as you bet on two weeks, you get division 4, which means you get 12.50 in Lien. Weiss, you… bet 'never', so you don't get anything. Blake, you bet 10 weeks, so… ooh, so close. Division 2, I'm afraid. 24.95 in Lien for you. Jaune, you guessed two days, so division 7. 2.95 Lien for you! Pyrrha, you guessed 12 weeks, so you get division 1, and that means you get the total prize pool: 54.80 Lien! Congratulations! I'll send a message to everyone else soon."

Utterly bamboozled, I stepped forwards.

"Wait, wait, stop. You mean to tell me that… you were betting on us?!" I was nearly yelling, shocked that they would go this far

"No, no, it's not betting. We just put some money into a communal account, and depending on when you two engage in certain activities together, we each earn a little bit depending on when we said it would happen." Nora explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head nervously. I narrowed my eyes and looked at her hard.

"This better just be you six involved." I growled. Ren gave a small cough.

"Actually, she got most of the school involved. Teams CFVY, CRDL, BRKE, PRDT, SLYR, MLDY, RVIW, WYRN… and that's just the first year students at Beacon. She's gotten everyone involved."

Clenching my fists, I scowled at Nora. She just shrugged.

"Hey, everyone could see it. I just wanted to spice things up a little." She grinned.

"Give. Everyone. Their. Money. Back." I growled gutturally, trying to restrain myself from killing her. Nora just nodded rapidly, in a way that could be perceived as nervousness, but with the smile on her face refusing to budge, it just seemed like she was just agreeing to my demand. As she silently handed the cards of Lien back to their respective owners, Yang grasped my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine.

"Come on. We'll let them talk it over, and we can spar a little." She offered, leading me to the door. But before I could move, I saw Nora tapping on her scroll again, still wearing the dealer's visor.

"Alright, now that you're holding hands, I need to start handing out the money for th—"

"Nora!"

She looked up.

"What else is on there?" I asked through gritted teeth. She just shrugged again.

"Oh, you know, when you go on the first date, whether it's good or bad, when you admit you love each other, when you boop—"

"If that's a euphemism for what I think it is, I'm going to hurt you."

And there's the full chapter. I know it may not appeal to everybody. Writing a piece where the main character reveals their origins is always difficult. But I gave it my best shot, and if it doesn't appeal... well, I can't say I tried.

Anyway, don't expect an update soon, because something big in my life is on the horizon.

Apparently, I'm going to be trying out for an animation course at Deakin University...

EDIT: Well, I clearly suck at biology. Thanks for pointing out the error, kkrraakk!