A Bolt's New Day (Post-RWBY, OC-MC)
Warning! This is story is inspired by the 'Team AURM' AU. So, some details are taken from that AU and the rest is my brain at work.
It was morning and... it was another lazy day.
Waking up from bed, getting ready for a cold stroll into the snowy plains of my property, and be a jolly lonely moron with a deep need to fill up the storage house with more wood for the heat pump from the trees around. Usually, a man should be worried of many things when going alone into the deep and scary woods of his 'lawn', but I am not exactly a normal man.
A single swing and the tree would go down. A might worthy of some superhero, but one that was normal where I got it. It wasn't Earth, and it was... home. Sorta. Everytime I thought of it, it was a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
I wouldn't say that I was upset on how things went on, but I guess I did miss them. My team, my friends, those that became my family back in that wacky world about dust and magic and huntsmen.
My name is Vincent Viola, I am 32 and I was once one of those Huntsmen. A rare 'breed' of people that was able to muster what is known as Semblance through the power of Aura. Each Semblance was unique to the noble warriors that were educated to face the ultimate evil, the Grimm and those forces of Darkness that used these monsters to subvert the peace in the world.
Starting at 17, I was a student at Beacon Academy for just a year. I made it through without any issue, but then the Amity Tournament was hijacked by chaotic agents that pretty much wrecked the Kingdom of Vale and caused a massive exodus of civilians and Huntsmen out of the major kingdom to the others.
It had been a major event, one that almost costed the lives of so many important people to me. And yet none truly perished that day as the plans of the one behind the direct plan, Cinder Fall, was beaten back through wits and good luck.
Everyone survived, but that didn't meant the injuries we sustained were forgettable. Some had deeper wounds that went into the physical, others lost their innocence of what it meant to be the 'good guy'. And as years went by, the truth of what was truly going on about the Grimm was told to us.
Salem and the Gods. The former was the primary source of damnation, but the Gods were the most unnerving bunch of 'foes' to face. We never fought them, but Salem was beaten by a combination of allies and the brief revival of magic stopped the Queen from achieving the ultimate destruction of Remnant.
In the end, however, my 'stay' in Remnant was revoked. The Gods had tried to play hard to get the game to last much longer than they had predicted, but my presence had actually 'shortened' the entire plot by a 'significant margin'.
And as I was taken back home, 'rewarded' with a year of good luck in terms of fiscal choices that led me to achieve a rare case of a life of worryless economic stability, I found myself losting much more. I missed my team and... and even as I tried to smile through each day, trying to be brave and strong for them as I consolidated what I got and found joy in my hard work...
I couldn't forget them.
Yet, nothing was unusual about this morning and the ensuing midday and afternoon. Everything played just as usual as it had been for years. I was in my early 30s, but I barely felt like I had left my 20s due to how everything felt monotone.
Maybe I should have sought out new places. Maybe I should have moved away. Maybe this growing 'gut feeling' that I shouldn't leave was more than just 'knowing that I could go back' and more like 'wanting a dream that cannot be true for me'.
Each day the thought would persist and press on my head. I should be glad for the stability I got, but I felt somewhat deprived of chatting with those that had made things so colorful for me. And today, it was nothing more than the same.
I was soon enjoying the brief hour left before going to sleep. I would have to put out the flame of the heat pump, prepare my bed and then go to sleep before I froze my ass while watching more cheesy shows on Netflix.
Life was not... the same. It wasn't fulfilling, but what choice did I really have?
...
Yet, something did happen.
At first, I didn't notice it as I disregarded the strange 'buzzing' coming from my left hand as a bug that was trying to get some blood out of me, but as the jolt-like feeling spread over my arm. I raised the limb, frowning as I realized what was up as violet electricity was trickling all over my skin.
"My Semblance...?"
It's been ages since I had seen it on use to such an extent. I would use it to charge up batteries and save up on costs, but the way it was acting up without my input was concerning. And the worst part was that the feeling it was actually creating was legitimate 'worry'.
A reactive spark. A signal of sort. Slipping out of the couch, I felt the sensation was coming from a specific direction and I looked by the nearest window for anything that could confirm this. From afar, into the dark forest which my property encompassed, I could see light flashing through.
Someone was there. I hadn't invited anyone and no one in this state would dare to visit me at this hour. No, this wasn't normal by any means but... but I couldn't help but pray this was indeed the day I had been waiting for.
"Could it be them?" I mumbled with growing hope.
Picking up heavy clothes and my axe, I left the house with a hardwork flashlight. It was resilient and it had a stronger light to keep up with the cold darkness all surrounding this place. It was standard equipment, and I was glad I had it as it provided brightness beyond forward but also around.
It became useful as I ventured in the familiar woods, and I felt something was wrong about it. As I followed where the flashlight's flickering had came from, I felt animals moving. Fear had spread through the 'locals' as something new was trying to settle in and... it didn't take long for the source of this familiar dread.
I jumped back right as I heard branches snapping, the following roar a noise that gave me a direction where to swing the axe as electricity crackled through and gave more energy to the weapon as it cut through the attacker. Albeit the axe was not a good conduit for my Semblance, it did its job in dividing the disappearing mold of black in two halves.
A mold of black that I knew from the skull-like armor was none other than a Beowolf- a Grimm. And those should no longer be around as far as I was concerned since I had been one of those that destroyed the last polls with those fuckers.
Using another ability within my electric arsenal, I sent a pulse all over the forest to check on the current situation since I doubted that this was the only monster here. As predicted, I perceived roughly five more, two wandering towards me, while three were clearly hunting down-
Two returning signals.
I was weirded out by this detail since my 'Electric Pulse' would not get a 'return'. If it found normal beings, it would just 'notice' them but nothing else. Instead I actually got perfect 'returns' that not only told me the general direction, but flashed at me their current emotional state.
Distress.
I rapidly moved towards the source of the signals, facing the rabid Grimm monsters coming at me with enough ferocity to make up for years of letargy. The first one was destroyed the same as the unlucky sob I killed mere minutes before, with the other one getting smacked to the side against one of the trees and then given a clean decapitation.
With no hesitation, my body moved mechanically as Aura pumped through my legs and pushed my body to go beyond the usual chores it would. It kept me warm and awake as I bolted after the signals, and I eventually found the last two Beowolfs. They were distracted, growling at one of the signals as I heard a young feminine yell as a blast of golden flames wrecked one of the monsters, but exposed the source of the attack to the other Beowolf.
Pushed away, the young girl readied her gauntlets to attack more, her yellow eyes showing a familiar determination that was quite intense and yet unprepared due to her lacking outfit for the current environment. A sleeveless white shirt, a violet bow around her neck and shorts truly was a wrong combo for a snowy environment.
And as she was clearly suffering due to the chilling temperature, the Beowolf prepared to attack her again... yet got surprised as an axe suddenly slammed onto its head from above as I jumped and slammed the bastard dead.
The monster vanished in dark particles, but as I thought on what to say or do with this curious little huntress that had stumbled out of Remnant, I was stunned to see her rush towards me. I thought she was going to attack me due to the desperate look on her face, but i was quite surprised when she just collided against me and took hold of my jacket.
"H-help her! Please!"
Panic flared again as my confusion made way to realization: there were two signals in the area. One was the cat-eared dark-haired faunus and the other was... the other girl that was currently resting unconscious against one of the trees.
Wearing an eerily familiar white cape over her blue dress, the white-red-haired girl was older than the cat-girl as I could tell from her height. And even thought her eyes were closed, I had a feeling these were silver. That face... it was Ruby's face.
And yet I didn't linger to this detail for long as I focused on the issue: a large three-marked gash on her side caused by one of the Beowolfs. She wasn't bleeding out, but the exposure to the cold without aura was not pleasant at all.
"C-Can you-"
"I got it, worry not," I muttered soothingly, removing my gloves as I prepped my 'zappy touch' to kickstart the unconscious girl's healing factor.
The 'Healing Pulse' was something that had saved many lives, and I have to say it could get quite miraculous depending on how much energy I put into it. I was planning to do the same in this case, but right as I moved to press my palms on her exposed skin, I tensed up as I felt the energy of the pulse dispersed as the girl's body outright drained the electricity out of the hands.
It was a soft drain at that, just enough to get her system to work autonomously as her body healed up on its own. The wounds closed up, and her skin gained a hint of pink darker than before. Not what I had wanted to do, but it was still a success and-
"You did it!" The little huntress cheerfully proclaimed.
I nodded, smiling at her beaming. "Told you that I had it," I replied, keeping away the fact that this was an odd result. "Are you hurt?"
The faunus shook her head. "No, but... where are we?"
I couldn't crack the truth just yet. Not in this unpleasant location.
"Nowhere near your homes, I am afraid. I will explain once I bring you to a safer place," I assured, trying to not alienate myself now that I needed the kids in a warm spot to avoid them to fall ill. "I am Vincent."
The cat-girl smiled at my kind words. "I am... Well, everyone call me BeBe. That's Snow, my cousin."
How curious... Yang used to call me ViVi.
"Nice to meet you, BeBe. Do you mind if I take you both to my house?"
"No... you are nice! And you are not a stranger."
And there wasn't much of a choice, I could tell she was thinking of that thought herself.
Nodding, I shifted my axe to my back as I latched it on my backpack. BeBe appeared surprised as I offered to pick her up, trying to play it tough about being able to walk but proceeding to sneeze as her weak aura wasn't doing her any favor in this unsavory weather.
The warmth of being under my jacket seemed to soothe her 'wounded pride' as I took the two girls back to my home.
I had so many questions on what was going on between the Grimm and the appearance of what I thought being two young girls that looked to be related to my friends but...
The biggest mystery was what was up with my powers and these two- why was my Semblance reacting this way?
AN
Introducing Snow Schnee(-Rose) and Belle Beatrice 'BeBe' Belladonna(-Xiao Long). Their appearance on Earth is driven by a mishap unfolding back in Remnant, one caused by a foe thought to have been dead for many years but in truth still around and operative.
The next chapter shall focus on... a 'White Rose' waking up.