(Grim Dawn – Malmouth)

Being unable to sleep at night made Braylon both angry and uncomfortable. While everyone else around him would fall blisfully into the dream realm, he was forced to spend his time on gear maintenance or other equally-boring activities. But that night things took a drastic turn. That night, Braylon was able to fall asleep without the haunting memories or voices screaming in his mind.

And there was a benevolent dream included too. One of those dreams that make sleeping a blessing in disguise. Braylon found himself sitting near a lake, with a wooden cabin on his right. A thick wall of trees encircled the place while countless stars shone brightly in the sky for few seconds, only to get replaced by other newly-formed stars and so on. It was a sight that reminded Braylon of that lake he encountered before reaching the undead-infested village. The big moon reflected its shape on the water of the lake, as did Braylon's.

There was absolute peace in that dream. A peace that couldn't be broken by anything. There were no gunfights, no bandits, no demons, nothing. Just him and nature. Such a pleasant place was impossible to find on Pandora, only on tropical or milder planets scattered in the galaxy. Most of them are so beautiful that they quickly became tourist attractions as soon as they were discovered. Naturally, such a process quickly meant the immediate construction of hotels and other tourist traps. Who had money, had the power to live a carefree life.

He could live a carefree life too. Money in his pockets was practically endless or at least enough to last a lifetime. Yet he rejected such lifestyle and dedicated himself on being a Vault Hunter, a job once thought simple, that turned quickly into a source of traumas and nightmares. His life revolved around guns, jobs and payments. But it was also true that, thanks to that job, he was able to visit unique places and gather once-in-a-lifetime experiences that shaped and built him both physically and mentally. It was dangerous, without a doubt, but somewhat worth it.

What troubled him though, even in a calm dream, was the constant reminder carved on his hand. It was still present, he couldn't escape from it. He knew all to well what that meant, but it was his only way to set things back to normal. At least he thought it was.

"If only I could find better help..."

It amazed him how the dream felt real. Almost as real as reality itself. He could breathe, blink, think. He supposed it was far better than being unable to control it. The breeze that became slightly stronger interrupted his chain of thought as did a column of light that seemingly came from the heavens just to illuminate him. It didn't took him long to realize that the light came from the moon, which now had a large black pupil stuck on its face.

"What the..."

That pupil was what set off the alarm bells in his head. Was something invading his dream? There was only one way to find out; waiting. He did and, much to his anger, it turned out to be true. It really was an invader, which made itself visible by stacking large yellow bricks around the eye, forming a pyramid. A brief flash later, the invader was finally formed. And its form was the most unnerving simply because it was too bizzare.

"I think I know a guy!"

A yellow pyramid with an eye wearing a tiny black hat and a bow tie.

"What."

The pyramid reduced its size and descended down to Braylon's level.

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here!" It said cheerfully. "You don't really see people coming out of that hole everyday, am I right? Name's Bill Cipher, by the way."

Braylon took a step back. That sentence made him even more wary, since it implied things that he really had no desire to deal with at the moment.

His reaction annoyed it. "Relax pal, will ya? I am not a degenerate like them. Come on, I wear a hat and a bow tie! Show some respect please!"

"Why are you here? What do you want from me?"

"Oh, you know... I was supposed to be a secret boss fight for you to get cool stuff but... that won't happen anytime soon." It said with a smug tone, then clapped its hands together before Braylon could even process what he heard. "So!" He jumped slightly, thinking that "Bill" was about to attack him. "About your question. I bet you think "what does this handsome triangle want from me", right?" It flew behind him. "I've been keeping an EYE ON YOU" Bill's voice became so loud and deep that took Braylon off guard. "and all I want from you... is a favor."

"Favor? Why?"

Bill rolled his eye. "Don't play dumb with me. You stirred up quite a huge nest. Not many can do that, I tell you."

Braylon gulped. The situation became worse by the minute. How much time will it take for another entity to appear just to abuse him for their personal plans? Bill formed a glass filled with some red liquid then threw it towards the eye, which inexplicably turned into a mouth before becomeing an eye again.

"The point is, I like you. You have potential to achieve greatness and in right hands, you could practically do everything."

"No thanks. I already met one." Braylon frowned as he raised the hand where the carved symbol was. "I don't need more trouble."

Bill only laughed in response. "Boy, you sure are a funny guy! Honestly? I don't think you even realize what you're in for."

"Don't forget who defeated your brothers back in that cave and village."

"Ha! Right, you "defeated" them." Bill made air quotes with his fingers. "Please tell me, what's the name of the one who gave you that?"

Braylon was about to answer but then he realized that he had no answer at all.

"See? You don't even know with whom you made the deal! Now that is what I call a rookie mistake!" Bill then formed a document. "With me, things are different. My words are the law. You can trust me."

"As if I would ever trust a demon."

"Oh, the irony." Bill shrugged. "Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me. Now excuse me, there is a midget who is trying to summon me to his world. Toodles!"

The triangle-shaped entity clapped its hands. And just like that, Braylon found himself staring at the ceiling.

"He woke me out from my own dream?" Braylon thought as he rose from the bed. The sun was already shining brightly in the sky. Even Claptrap was awake, busy with something he couldn't see. The robot noticed him and spoke.

"Morning."

"Morning." Braylon rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing there?"

"Making coffe."

"Coffe? With what?"

"Coffe machine, dumbass. Duh."

"And where did you get the coffe?"

"No comment."

Braylon stood up and began a quick exercise consisting mostly of squats and push ups. After the exercise, he reached the table where two mugs filled with coffe waited to be taken by someone.

"Why are there two mugs?"

"I drink too."

He deadpanned. "You are a robot."

As resposne, Claptrap opened its robotic "mouth". "*****, I have a mouth, you know?"

"That is a DVD player at best."

"At least my mouth isn't a benis holster."

Braylon picked up one mug and sniffed its steaming contents. "You didn't spike the coffe or, God forbid, put poison in it, right?"

"Who, me? Puah! You really think I would fall that low? For shame, fleshbag, for shame!"

"Good." He nodded. "Also because neither poison or drugs have no effect on my implant-enhanced body."

"...Mother****er."

The two began drinking their coffe, with Claptrap dumping the warm liquid into his "mouth", seemingly not bothering about damaging any important robotic parts.

"So..." Claptrap began. "How did you come on this crappy planet?"

"I... uh..." He wasn't sure if he should tell the truth to him but still decided to respond honestly. Hopefully nothing would go wrong. "We, you and I, are in another reality."

"...Say what?"

"I know, I lied to you, but before you start screaming, hear me out." He placed the empty mug on the table. "Listen, I... dunno how exactly you got here. What I do know is that I screwed up, big time. The whole multiverse is in danger."

"If you are feeding me bull****-"

"I don't. This is the explanation why you had no data about this planet. Because it is in another reality altogether."

"Is there... um... a way to go back?"

"No idea. If there is, I have to find it. Until then, we are stuck here."

Claptrap silently turned around, went to the bathroom and closed the door behind himself. Two seconds later, a long stream of loud, censored swearing could be heard from behind the doors. Braylon shrugged and checked his clothes.

"Time to become the average student..." He sighed as he opened the door while also reminding himself to keep the symbol on his hand hidden from sight. The first thing on his to-do list was to meet with neighbouring teams so they don't get suspicious when he suddenly dissapears to do his main objective. He approached the door on his left and knocked.

"Yes?" Answered none other than the blond whom he met during the initiation. He wore a neutral expression on his face, yet Braylon could clearly see that he wasn't really welcome.

"I, uh... hello neighbor! Heh..."

"Hello."

"Came by to meet with the neighbors."

"I see."

The situation became awkward faster than Braylon could predict. So he finished his conversation and turned around to face the second, and last, team that was near him. He heard loud bickering as he approached the door. He knocked twice but nobody responded, then he found out that the door was actually unlocked. Entering the room, Braylon received a pillow in the face as the bickering filled his ears.

(One Punch Man – One Day)

"Cut it out, princess!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"And you stop acting like you own everything! Otherwise, you'll get pillow'd once again!"

"...But the pillow missed her..."

"Yang Xiao Long, if you do that one more time...!"

Everyone turned to face Braylon as he coughed awkwardly in his fist. The first to respond was White, who pointed a finger at him.

"You! How did you get in here?!"

"Uh, the door was unlocked..."

"So you took it as a sign that you could burst in here? Just like that?"

"Maybe he came to watch our pillow fight? Boys love that."

"Ugh, Yang!" He heard Ruby squeak in protest.

"Uh, no. I just came to meet the neighbors. I'm Braylon."

As White crossed her arms and turned around, it was Red who came forward and bothered to reply. "Hey, you are the guy from Vale."

"Yep."

"I'm... uh..." She turned to the blonde who replied with a smile and a thumbs up. "...Ruby. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Braylon expected from Ruby to give him the names of her teammates, as dictated by good etiquette. Instead, the girl lowered her head and began twiddling with her thumbs.

"Well, oh dear team leader?" White turned around again. "Aren't you going to introduce us too?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!"

"Um, the girl with white hair is Weiss... uh... t-that is-"

"I'm Yang! Ruby's big and awesome sister! Like what you see?"

Braylon could feel Ruby begging the earth below to open and swallow her. He had no idea why though, so he frowned.

"What is there for me to like seeing? This is just a room."

The one called "Yang" smiled even more. "Ha, you are such a tease alright!" She then placed her hands on her hips and struck a pose that would show him her breasts the most, which only made him even more confused. "Like them?"

"...Why would I be interested in seeing mammary glands?"

Everyone silently agreed to ignore Ruby's pathetic whimpering and desperate attempts to hide her head.

Yang's smile dropped instantly. "Oh... you are that kind of guy..." She sounded dissapointed for reasons unknown to Braylon.

"I'm Blake." The fourth girl said without moving her eyes from a book.

"I need to get out of this room before I loose my mind. Alright." Braylon clapped his hands together. "I see you started unpacking... so I bet you don't want anyone to bother you... I'm going now. Thanks, bye!" He slammed the door behind himself and let out a massive sigh of relief. "For fuck's sake, these people are more insane than those on Pandora!"

Suddenly the door burst open, sending him tubling towards the opposite door, which also opened seconds later. He soon found himself on the ground, staring at the ceiling.

"I hate this planet already." Holding his head, Braylon saw the two neighboring teams run down the hallway. "Wait, are those uniforms? I have to wear fucking uniforms?!"

It was his turn to whimper pathetically.

"So this is what a classroom looks like."

Braylon stared in awe as he sat on one of the chairs. Due to him having libraries upon libraries worth of knowledge, there was no need for him to go to an actual school. He couldn't go even if he wanted, because most citizens of Pandora were illiterate, so unless one had a family member who was willing to teach others, there wasn't other way to educate yourself. Opening schools was out of the question, since they would end in the same way as the orphanages. In flames.

He wondered what would they learn in that class. If there was something he already knew, he would most likely be bored to death. But when he looked closely at certain objects in the room, that thought quickly moved away. There were several depictions of Grimm, some of which he encountered and fought while some were completely unknown to him, a blunderbuss with a double-bit axe acting as the stock and a golden bust of a man he didn't know, although he felt that was how the professor looked like.

"Geez. Talking about having an ego the size of a God-damned blimp."

(Gintama – Prince Hata)

Everyone became quiet as a plump man with a large moustache appeared in the classroom. He silently walked until he reached his table, took a good look at everyone present and began talking.

"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names."

Braylon suddenly felt like he was robbed of any will to live and not just to learn. Something in the professor's voice caused a wave of agony to spread through his being. It was impossible to avoid the devastation. His only defense against such a tactic was to act calm and interested in the lecture. The fact that most students around him boldly announced their current mood did nothing to ease the pain. Ten minutes of heroic endurance later, Braylon gave up and focused on his PDA.

While the professor kept talking, the Vault Hunter connected his device to Remnant's version of ECHOnet to search for anything that would tell him more about Huntsmen in general. One website explained in detail things that locals referred to as "Aura", "Semblance" and "Dust".

Aura, for all intents and purposes, was a primitive version of his Shield. To clarify, an Aura is one of the two ways an individual's soul can manifest and be perceived by senses, which are limited when it comes to such phenomena. Each individual has a different Aura. As such, each Aura has specific strenghts and abilities, which can only develop through experience, training or just plain talent. However, every Aura manifestation shares same properties; forming a protective barrier around the user, increase the user's abilities and even affect weapons and armor, thus increasing their efficiency.

Like most things, Aura had its drawbacks. Its strenght degrades with use. The more damage its user suffers, the more Aura they have to deplete to protect themselves. Even if Aura can be recharged through time, it is a serious disadvantage during a fight. As for the weapons, Aura being capable of manipulating a weapon's usefulness implies that the firearms were built for those who could manifest Aura in one way or another. It also means that Remnant weapons were of lower quality than whatever he had in hsi arsenal, since his guns rely on either gunpowder or energy.

This brings us to the next point of interest, which is Dust. If there was one thing on Remnant, among many others, that made Braylon furious, was this substance. The first text he read talked about Dust as "Nature's Wrath", an energy propellant and even a natural resource that could be mined from earth, refined and then used for basically every piece of technology those people had. From aircrafts and cars, to weapons and clothing, Dust came in a variety of colors and properties. Red Dust could spontaneously combust, Yellow Dust was a natural battery and so on. It was marvellously versatile, yet limited to Remnant due to it becoming inactive when leaving the planet. In certain ways, it was very similar to Eridium which, thanks to his updated knowledge gathered from the recent events, made Braylon quite suspicious. He needed to go deeper with his research, which also reminded him of the weapon he took at the initiation.

"Are you ready? Start!"

Braylon's head rose to see what was happening. There was a Boarbatusk attacking Weiss and everyone just stood in their positions, watching the fight. The moustached professor limited himself to provoke the girl whenever she did something that he probably thought of as stupid. Weiss' weapon was a simple rapier, or "useless toothpick" as Braylon put it. Useless, because it did no damage whatsoever against the Boarbatusk's armor.

"Stop getting sidetracked and concentrate." He scolded himself before reading further.

Last thing he needed to know was Semblance, the second manifestation of a soul. Unlike Aura, a defensive technique, Semblance was largely an offensive technique with main focus placed on superpowers. Yes, you heard correctly. Superpowers. We are going to leave it like that.

"I hate this planet."

"...And remember, your next lecture will be held by professor Goodwitch at the arena, so that's where you need to go. Until next time, students!"

Braylon saw everyone standing up and heading for the door.

"Wait, arena?"

This is where I will end the chapter. I wanted to include the arena part as well, but then it would be way too long and I am not really sure if you readers would like it. If you have no problems with it, then please write it in the comments. As always, feedback is appreciated and very much needed.

M1rzaTheBroJo: First question, he probably will. Second, like I said, I cannot guarantee it. I once tried to write a romantic scene and it was really cringy. Third question; in the previous story, that part would have come soon, right after the last written arc was finished. I cannot tell much, since that part will still happen in this story.