(No trigger warnings here, more details in the Author's Note on the bottom of the chapter)
Two possibilities exist:
Either we're alone in the universe, or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying.
― Arthur C. Clarke
-:-O-:-
Fear is an emotion vital for survival. It's a prime component of our lives, fueled by threats to our well being. This distressing emotion has protected humanity well from the very beginning - even before Dust came into play. To fear is to recognize the threat before us, so we can prepare to fight it.
Ever since the age of man, Humanity was in fear of Grimm.
These creatures of darkness existed only to hunt, kill and destroy whatever humanity has created. They're their natural predator. Endless, relentless and hostile. If it wasn't for the existence of Dust and everything it allowed Humanity to achieve, the civilization as we know it wouldn't exist.
To survive has been mankind's primary motivation. And Grimm was their biggest and most forward threat.
But even so, there were few that looked past the Grimm. There were few that looked at the stars above them - so unreachable and distant. And had one question to ask...
Was there something out there even scarier than Grimm?
The day started like any other day. Ozpin's empty stomach finally won the battle of attrition and dragged him into the cafeteria for breakfast. The classes were already in progress, meaning he saw nobody else in the hallways. The headmaster listened to muffled sounds of professors lecturing the younger generation, teaching and preparing them for the harsh and brutal life of a huntsman.
Then, as he walked the halls of a school he owned, he saw a flash of light on the walls.. Through the window of Beacon, the Headmaster saw a peculiar sight. A cyan disc floating a few centimeters above the ground in the courtyard of his academy.
The headmaster observed it with a furrowed brow, intrigued by its shape and color. It looked similar to Raven's semblance, however it was a different color than hers. His mind wondered if something would happen, and if he needed to rush outside. But as seconds passed… nothing happened. There was a floating blue disc in front of Beacon… and that was it. No Unknown Visitors came from the otherside.
He wasn't the only witness to this… phenomenon, as Ozpin's scroll suddenly started to buzz from the inside of his own pocket. Peter Ports, a teacher, was calling him.
Ozpin accepted the call with "Hello, Professor Ozpin speaking."
"Good morning Ozpin, there's uhh… something in the courtyard. I think you should see it."
"You mean something light blue, that looks like a circle and could possibly be a portal?"
"Ah, so do you know what it is?" Peter asked.
"Not… exactly. But would you do me a favor and keep watching it?" Ozpin asked. "I have some other matters to attend first."
"Sure, I have some free time for now."
"Thank you, goodbye."
"Goodbye."
Ozpin hung up and took a deep breath. Still nothing more happened, which was good. However he still felt like today was surely not going to be a boring day, and this could be the last chance for him to eat in peace. So instead of wasting time to wait for something to appear, Professor Ozpin hurried towards the cafeteria - trusting Peter to alert him if the situation changed.
This period was halfway done, meaning the headmaster had about 20 minutes of peace left before the lessons ended and the students noticed what was just in front of the entrance.
He entered the kitchen and gave the cook his plate, thanking the woman as she put on his breakfast for him. Eating the same food as his students yielded a double benefit; it filled his stomach, and made sure that their food was up to a good standard. If it didn't satisfy him, it wouldn't satisfy the students.
Right next door was the cafeteria, it was completely empty, giving Ozpin a wide array of seats he could take. The headmaster picked the closest spot and ate while catching up with the cook, talking about ideas for the next meals, how the new hire was doing at work, and what they would need for the next week. Something to keep him updated on the state of his school, and letting him check on his colleagues.
While one hand was feeding him some eggs, the other one scrolled through the news. Ozpin kept himself updated on the current events happening around the world. It was a routine at that point. His eyes skimmed past many titles that were carefully worded to pronounce the most clicks and attention. One of them claimed that the world's supply of metals and food was growing smaller as Grimm kept assaulting mines and farms and disrupted the supply line.
While technically true, it wasn't as serious as the media made it out to be. The loss was minimal… so far.
As Ozpin finished with eggs and went onto the buttered bread, he was interrupted by another call. Again from Peter Ports. The headmaster quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and put the phone to his ear. "Yes Peter?"
"Something went through the portal in our courtyard. It looks… It looks like a floating eyeball."
Ozpin blinked at the description. An eyeball? His confusion then quickly turned into a mild panic as a loud sound of the glass cracking reached his ears. The cook yelped in fright and Ozpin's gaze snapped towards the source of the sound.
And what he saw was quite literally an eyeball lazily floating in the air. Bloody tendrils were attached behind it, nerve ends or veins.
"It just crashed into a window of the cafeteria." Peter said.
Ozpin didn't respond, instead he watched as the floating eye stared back at him. He could feel its unsettling, unblinking stare on him. His instincts screamed at him that something was wrong. That he shouldn't let this thing stare at him for any longer. He should kill it. Now. Leave it dead on the street just so it would stop looking at him.
The Eye charged at the window again, making a new crack in it. Surprisingly, the eye itself was fine. It bounced back from the collision, before a gunshot flung it once again into the glass. This time violently and with more force. The window couldn't resist any further and it shattered - the glass falling like a curtain. Another shot from Peter reduced the flying eye into literal pieces.
Peter announced his kill through the scroll. "I've slain the eyeball!"
"...Yes, thank you." And he has also broken the window, Glynda would not be happy. Ozpin stared at the bloodstain left by the… thing Peter just killed. Its blood stained the walls, the floor and a table. A realization struck him.
It left blood.
Grimm didn't bleed.
Ozpin had no idea how to react to this information. But with years of experience on not showing his true emotions, he made a calm quip to his fellow coworker. "Though now I suppose we must clean and replace the window."
"Good thing Goodwitch is with us!" Peter laughed, which made Ozpin chuckle as well.
Today was going to be something special. And not in a good way. While currently Ozpin took amusement from Peter's joke, he was already dreading the amount of work this event will invariably cause. The rumors that will create. And the amount of preparations he would need to do in case something worse appeared out of that portal.
Being a headmaster of an academy preparing a new generation of fighters and warriors wasn't easy. Ozpin quickly ate what remained of his meal, and returned his empty plate to the counter. Then he went to investigate the floating eye.
The doors to the cafeteria opened with a loud WHAM as a woman known as Glynda Goodwitch barged into the room, alerted by the sound of the broken glass. Her gaze snapped at Ozpin, and then at the body Ozpin was poking with his cane. Her menacing aura softened, replaced with a frown as she walked closer to him. "What is… this?" She asked. "What happened?"
"Something appeared in the courtyard, and… this came out of it." Ozpin poked the eyeball with his cane. It was squishy, but it offered resistance. It was an actual creature with weight behind it. Remains of once a living being.
Remains. The floating eyeball that Peter just shot left remains which weren't evaporating. It really was not a Grimm creature. But then what was it? It wasn't anything like they've ever seen before.
Students gathered to watch both of them from the doors of the cafeteria, coming right out of Glynda's class. They must've been curious, and some braver ones even went to check what happened. Glynda watched Ozpin poke the body with a thoughtful expression, while Ozpin had no idea what to think about it. Where to even start asking questions.
"Well, this certainly is strange. And we won't learn anything until we investigate the portal that has appeared."
But the question was how could they safely conduct an investigation. They knew nothing of what was in their courtyard, besides the fact that this Eye came out of there, and it looked remarkably similar to Raven's semblance. That one fact was exactly why Ozpin immediately knew it was some kind of portal. Even then, they had no idea where this thing led to, if they could even go through it.
Glynda turned back to her students, and they immediately started backing away. "What are you looking at?" She snapped at them. "Go back to your class! I'll be back in a moment."
The students ran, leaving the cafeteria for just the three of them. The lady behind the counter watched them in curiosity, yet also standing behind the safety of the counter.
The Eye's body also needed to be preserved and sent elsewhere. Beacon, as prestigious as it was, didn't actually have the means of conducting a thorough autopsy and analysis. That was not the role of this institution.
So at Ozpin's command Glynda stuffed the Eye into an emptied cooler and they left it in the freezer. From there they'll send it to a proper laboratory at a later date. Hopefully their freezer was sufficiently cold to stop the decay. Miss Goodwitch also fixed the window and gathered the blood and rest of the chunks into plastic bags, which were stored inside a different cooler as well.
Her semblance allowed her to manipulate all kinds of objects with her mind. From simply moving objects from point A to point B or preventing it from moving at all, to more complex tasks like re-assembling and repairing broken pieces.
Her semblance was telekinesis, and thanks to that the cleaning didn't take her longer than a minute. Once she was done the cafeteria could resume its operation, and Ozpin and Glynda were free to go to the courtyard.
"Is this… sanitary?" The cook asked. "Just leaving that in the freezer?"
Truth be told… Ozpin had no idea. Could that thing somehow, through solid plastic, contaminate their food? He has seen stranger effects from the Grimm before, but they didn't have better options. The Eye had to be preserved.
"We will replace it with a new one." Ozpin answered and left.
The students didn't fully leave, and looked like they had questions. However the mere presence of Glynda scared them away. The Vice-Headmaster had her crop out, which already spooked the students enough. They weren't bothered at all while going to the Courtyard.
"Please stay in your class for now. We're investigating." He told them. He would actually need to talk to them soon, if only to quell any rumors that would surely appear. But firstly he needed to know what they were dealing with.
Peter Ports was still guarding the courtyard, attentively watching the gate for more things that might appear again. But when he heard footsteps approaching from behind, he turned his head at the source of the sound.
"Ah, Professor Ozpin!" The burly teacher smiled, before his eyes flickered to Glynda. "And Miss Goodwitch! You look lovely as always."
She took the compliment with a nod. "Thank you."
"Has something else happened, Peter?" Ozpin asked. "Have you learned anything about it?"
"Well, nothing else has appeared yet. And I dared not to get very close, but this is definitely some sort of portal."
Ozpin and Glynda watched as Peter stepped closer to the swirling blue gate and reached out to it. The tip of Peter's Blowhard went very close to the portal, almost touching it. Nothing happened as he did so. His aura hasn't flared nor has anything happened to his weapon. "However my aura level also doesn't drop when standing here, so I think it's safe to stand near it."
Ozpin was relieved to know that. If the gate gave off some dangerous radiation then he would either need to find a way to close it ASAP… or somehow move it elsewhere. They were in a tricky position because the courtyard was Beacon's main entrance. They couldn't afford to simply close it off.
"That's good to know. But even so we need a way to close this portal. We can't have it here." Ozpin said.
Glynda focused her semblance on the portal before them, trying to move it or force it to close. After a few seconds of struggle, she frowned and gave up. "I… can't do anything to it with my semblance. It just… there's no interaction."
"Now that's a surprise!" Peter exclaimed.
Yes, it was. Ozpin agreed. If Glynda's telekinesis couldn't do anything to the portal, then none of them could. They would need to look for a different way.
From the corner of his vision, Ozpin could see groups of students watching them from the windows. For many this event would probably be their highlight of their day, possibly even a week depending what would happen-
"Wraaah."
-next…
If Ozpin somehow missed the visible gestures of surprise and shock from his students, he certainly heard a low growl coming from the portal. Peter immediately raised his weapon, pointing at the portal - or rather what was coming out of it.
A person. A person was approaching them, but in a condition that surprised everyone. Including Ozpin.
His stench could be smelled from kilometers away. His odor was so strong and thick it was almost revolting. Worse than that, even. His skin was pale, with an unhealthy shade of green, His clothes were ruined and drenched with blood, in some places even torn apart - showing numerous injuries and wounds. Some of them even seemed… lethal.
Ozpin was glad that his students could only see it from far away.
There was a severed arm in his hand. Someone else's severed arm, as this man still had both of his. Where he had taken it from, how he even acquired it…? Why?
Ozpin could say with confidence this was the first time he has seen someone this badly injured. Across his many lifetimes there was never a moment even remotely similar to this. It was a miracle that this man could even stand, much less walk towards them.
He shuffled towards Peter, one hand reaching out while the other seemed to ready the limb for a strike. This spooked Peter enough to put his finger on the trigger, but he didn't fire just yet. Not with Ozpin's hand preventing him from doing so.
This was a person, not Grimm or a monster. He couldn't just shoot him.
Then the man froze, before being lifted about a meter into the air - suspended by Goodwich's semblance. The Vice-Headmaster looked at him, and Ozpin could only look back. He knew about the situation as much as she did. But with the person immobilized, Ozpin could speak to him. "Are you alright, sir?" He asked.
...It was a stupid question to ask. They should've given this man aid before asking anything… but Ozpin asked anyway. Because this man's eyes unsettled him. They were dilated and unfocused. Belonging more to a corpse than someone alive.
The man groaned something as a response. Not saying any particular word but rather using his voice chords for the sake of using them.
Ozpin was getting bad feelings about this. The alarm bells kept ringing in his mind, alerting him that something was wrong. "Pardon? I didn't catch that." But he needed to keep a degree of level-headedness. Especially when his students were watching.
He received another unintelligible answer. And Ozpin stopped trying. They won't learn anything from him, not with him in this state. The Headmaster turned to his assistant. "Gylda… please take him to the Nurse's office. Gently… and quickly."
Whoever this man was, he needed help.
"Well, I'll be staying here. Good luck." Peter said. The teacher then turned towards the person and gently put a hand on his leg, as that was the closest thing he could reach with Goodwitch hanging him in the air. "It's okay, you're safe now. We'll get you through this." He reassured him.
Glynda left and hurried to the infirmary, and Ozpin followed her. If the students were keeping their distance before, now they really gave way to let them pass. Some tried to say something but Ozpin ignored them. The life of this man had to come first. First they save him, then Ozpin can do anything else.
They had to strap him to the bed.
Their guest didn't want to lie down, he didn't want to calm down, he almost assaulted their nurse with the limb they couldn't take away from him.
Even once the straps were in place he still wouldn't calm down, going as far as to almost bite the nurse's hand when she tried to check his pulse. He behaved like some rabid animal, attacking everyone around him.
The lessons for today were canceled as the staff became increasingly busy with the portal in their courtyard. A floating eye, a sick person, what could be next?
Despite the straps, Goodwitch had to use her semblance to allow their school nurse to continue with her check up. The more they looked at this man, the more questions they had. What sort of hell this man has witnessed that would push him into such a state, that he lashed out at anyone in vicinity?
Ozpin's mind theorized plausible possibilities, but the school nurse destroyed them all with one sentence.
"T-This man, he… he doesn't have a pulse."
"What?"
This was the last straw, Ozpin couldn't keep himself composed any longer. Surprise and shock was plastered on his face clear as day, neither Goodwitch nor the school nurse could blame him. Ozpin touched the man's hand, trying to find the pulse himself.
The man's body was cold. Deadly cold. As cold as an old corpse. The school nurse checked thrice more, and each time she was more sure that all signs pointed to the fact this person was clinically dead.
The lacerations on his body were deep and lethal, the lack of pulse meant his heart wasn't beating… And this color of his skin. Never in his many lives Ozpin saw someone so pale and green before.
"His heart doesn't beat, his blood isn't flowing and his muscles and skinseem to be in various stages of rotting. Professor Ozpin, he shouldn't even be able to move!"
Like a zombie out of story books. The man that shuffled his legs on their courtyard was actually dead. A walking corpse. Gylda looked into Ozpin's eyes, waiting for his word. Her face was pale, unsure of what… all of this meant. Was this some kind of new species of Grimm that Salem has created or... something else? Something way scarier?
Were they staring at a completely new enemy to face? One that they knew nothing of? One with limitless possibilities and potential?
"Keep" working on him? Helping him? "Learn as much as you can about his condition."
What they needed the most was information. A lot of new and mysterious things were popping up right at his doorsteps. Was this Salem's doing? Qrow didn't tell him anything of sorts. Hopefully this was the only portal that has appeared, but Ozpin knew better than to hope. He needed to call other headmasters.
"Gylda. I want you to assist her with whatever she needs. Make sure our patient won't harm her."
Going by the common zombie apocalypse tropes, a single bite would be enough for the infection to spread. Even if the staff had their auras unlocked, Ozpin didn't want to take any risks. This was new, and he had no idea what to expect. For all he knew, just touching them was enough to contaminate them.
Gylda nodded and continued to hold down the patient with her semblance. Ozpin quickly excused himself, leaving those two to work in peace.
The moment he left, he was met with stares from his students. They gathered in front of the infirmary, all eager to know what was going on. All wondering who was the man they've just cartened to the nurse's office.
Ozpin could hear them talking and whispering between themselves, before his presence stopped them. He didn't need any rumors on top of this whole mess, or panic. Panic would be the worst possible thing that could happen at this moment.
"Dear Students, the courtyard and the Nurse's office will be off-limits for the time being."
Immediately he saw confusion, surprise and hints of terror growing on their faces. Understandably so, something alien and unknown appeared quite literally on their doorsteps, and now they were told that the access was being restricted. "But I assure you that this is nothing dangerous, but our nurse must not be disturbed while working on our new guest. He's… in bad shape. If you all could return to your dorms, that would be a big help."
"What's going on?" One student asked.
"A portal has opened up in our courtyard, and an injured person has came through it." That was… true. There was a portal, the man stepped through it, and he was injured. How injured he was however, he would keep that to himself. "We're still investigating what is happening, so please for the time being avoid the front entrance."
He spotted team RWBY in the crowd. The silver-eyed leader was looking at the rest of her team. He could see their mouths move, debating about something.
Ozpin looked away and continued. "Classes will be canceled for today." And depending on the situation they actually might stay closed until he hired additional help, or found a way to get rid of the portal.
Some students were shocked, some were even happy at the news. As long as they would steer away from trouble, Ozpin didn't mind. They could spend that free time in any way they wanted.
"Um, Professor Ozpin?"
Miss Rose spoke up, raising her arm. He, and also quite a lot of people, turned their gaze on the black-haired girl but the girl kept her gaze only on the Headmaster. "Is- Is he going to be fine? That man, I mean."
And here was a problem: How would his students react to the news that this man was actually a dead person, yet somehow still able to move? Not only that but he seemed to be hostile to everyone around him.
"Our nurse is doing everything she can." Ozpin has genuinely no idea what will become of him. He might have to send him to a laboratory, or hospital as well. "However for the time being I ask you to avoid the infirmary to not disturb our nurse and Miss Goodwitch." Hopefully the mere mention that she was in the infirmary would be enough of a deterrent for them.
Sooner or later he would need to reveal the truth, but he would do so in a manner that would minimize the panic. Let the time pass for the emotions to settle, learn more and act accordingly. This could be an opportunity, or trouble. Only time would tell.
Ozpin spent some time reassuring students and answering their questions to the best of his ability. Even if the need to conduct an investigation was great, he couldn't ignore the students. He did his best to quell any rumors, and calm the more fearful individuals.
It wasn't much but he felt like he had delayed a ticking bomb. If that portal turns out to be a new enemy of Remnant… then he would need to start making moves. Bold moves.
When Ozpin returned to the courtyard, he saw another teacher, and also a stranger join Peter. The three of them were circling around another monster - A humanoid wholly covered in an orange fur, who was wearing a green tank-top and blue shorts. Its head and ears were of a fox, with long and sharp nails to match.
It looked more like a beast rather than human.
The beast was on guard as Peter and Doctor Oobleck guarded the entrance of Beacon, while a person that Ozpin hadn't seen yet stood by the portal. It was a small and petite girl, covered entirely in pink: From her hair to her shirt and skirt to her shoes. The only not-pink thing was her white skin, blue eyes and a pair of striped socks that reached above her knees.
She noticed him and waved. "Hello new friend!" The girl smiled widely, before motioning towards the monster. "Please don't kick her ass, she's just having that time of month."
A what time of month? Ozpin thought to himself, his thoughts coming to a halt at the poorly timed attempt at- Wait. Her?
The beast took a swipe at the stranger's face and she ducked underneath the beast's swing. The beast attacked her again, and she jumped out of its reach. Peter and Oobleck wanted to charge and help her, but the girl held out her hand to stop them.
Ozpin saw fluidity and grace in her movements. She had the reflexes and speed of an athletic person, and there was a lack of panic upon being attacked. That girl… She already had some combat experience. A Huntress perhaps?
Oobleck missed, or simply disregarded the girl's sign. His weapon morphed. A small lighter appeared at the entrance of its nozzle - from which he released a fireball. Without even looking at the projectile, the beast ducked underneath and turned around.
It was alert quick, and who knew how strong.
Ozpin readied his cane and waited. The beast looked at them, turning its glowing red eyes at each of them. And to his and his colleagues' surprise, the beast actually spoke. "Danger… Me… Away..." It, or rather she growled. Her voice low, but audibly feminine.
This was the first time they actually had something to communicate with. The first sign of intelligence and Headmaster was surprised, but wary. The girl told them to "not kick her ass" but that thing looked dangerous and surrounded… like a cornered fox.
"Yeah, just keep her in the sun!" The pink girl advised. "She's not herself when she's not out in the sun!"
That sounded easy enough. They had no knowledge of this beast anyway, and the girl seemed to know what she was doing. Lacking any better options, Ozpin decided it was better to heed her words and keep the beast where she was.
Only for the beast to roar and rush right at him.
Peter took a shot and the beast, in awe-inspiring display, avoided it. Oobleck swung his weapon and she jumped as high as the third floor, using her claws to latch onto the wall of Beacon. Ozpin breathed in as she kicked away from the wall, diving right at the headmaster.
She would have gotten him... if Ozpin didn't step aside at the last moment. The beast, surprised by his disappearance, crashed on the ground. Unhurt. She was prepared for the landing. Ozpin was surprised by the beast's quick recovery, as she followed up faster than the headmaster expected. This beast was intelligent, fast and agile. His colleagues' shouted warnings, while Ozpin tried to get away.
A small white ball appeared between them, then a small colorful explosion distracted the beast. Her aim was thrown off and Ozpin escaped unharmed. With the short glance Ozpin saw the girl in a post-throw position, confirming that the grenade came out of her.
She was not only experienced but also armed. One surprising detail he noted was that the explosion released a small amount of… confetti. The courtyard was now littered with scraps of colorful paper.
The beast didn't chase further after him. It seemed… tired. His ears picked up on her heavy breaths, and he wasn't sure if that was simple exhaustion, or the sun itself doing what it was supposedly to be doing.
"Any second now." The girl said. Now Ozpin was more confident that these were the effects of the beast standing in the sunlight. "See, skin! No wait, that's confetti…"
Ozpin stopped his colleagues from approaching, lest they scare the beast away and allow it into Beacon. The entrance was now unguarded, except for the students that were gathering to watch. If that beast would run off towards them, who knew what would happen.
"We're not trying to hurt you. What's your name?" Ozpin's voice was calm and reassuring. He kept the beast's attention on himself, making sure she didn't feel threatened.
This… werefox glared at Ozpin, but this time it seemed less hostile and more pleading. Begging. "Don't. Come... close. Run. From me."
He didn't. He stayed where he stood. Alert, but not threatening. "It's okay, you're safe. My name is Ozpin." The headmaster introduced himself. "What is yours?"
A patch of hair just fell out of her arm, revealing dark skin underneath. The beast started swaying left then right, like a drunk person after a heavy night. More and more hair started to quickly fall from her body, revealing more skin underneath. The hair that fell down acted strangely however. It turned into slime the moment it touched the ground. Then the slime quickly evaporated into nothing.
Ozpin and other teachers were confused, while the dark-skinned girl gave her one last unceremonious groan before she unceremoniously fell down. The other girl rushed to catch her as she fell, just barely saving her head from hitting the ground.
The trio of teachers watched as the woman in front of them lost more and more hair until only a long and wavy streak of red hair remained. She seemed to be a faunus, but she not only had a pair of fox ears, but also a fox tail. Two animalistic features. Not something you would see on Remnant, but not unheard of in the works of fiction.
Ozpin waited a moment, unsure how he should proceed. Would this woman wake up once more and attack them? Would she stay unconscious? Was it safe now?
The headmaster stared pink girl. "You seem to know something about what just happened."
The girl laughed a little. "I don't really… Nah, I just know her, but I don't really know what's going on." She shrugged as she sat down, letting her friend's head lie on her lap as she talked. "Like, why is it day now? There was Blood Moon, like, 10 minutes ago. What is this place? I have never seen it, or you guys before!? You guys look cool though. You like to party? I love parties. My name is Cherry by the way!"
She seemed… energetic. Talking quickly and switching from one thing to another without the other party's input. "I am Professor Ozpin" He started with the introductions. "And you're in Beacon. And please, any detail on what's going on will help us."
Cherry stared at him. Her face blank. "Your name is Professor?" She asked, this time completely serious with no energy or cheer. "You know… that's not the weirdest name I heard."
He didn't show that it bothered him. "No, that's my profession and title. My name is Ozpin." The headmaster corrected, a small smile subconsciously appearing on his lips. "I run this school," He pointed at Beacon "and this portal just appeared in our courtyard." He pointed at the swirling blue circle suspended in the air. "Do you know anything about this?"
She looked at it for a moment, then looked back at him and crossed her arms - creating an X shape. "Nope. Sorry, nah. Never seen anything like that. Do you know where I am? I haven't seen this building before... I don't think Wilbur built it."
"This is Beacon. A huntsman academy."
"Never heard of it." Cherry admitted, before freezing. "Wait. That's actually really bad. Like… really really super-duper bad. I didn't know there were still safe places out in the world! Where am I? Where is this? …When is this?!"
The fact she didn't hear of Beacon was weird, but Ozpin wanted to give her the benefit of doubt. Maybe she was from somewhere remote with hard access to civilization? As unlikely as that sounded, he should go with the most reasonable option first. "You're in Vale." Ozpin said.
"Uhh…" Cherry drawled out, and Ozpin could see actual dread appearing on her face. This was an expression of someone waking up in an unfamiliar place, and figuring out that they didn't know how to get back home or contact anyone they knew. He felt sorry for her. "Nope. Can't remember hearing about it. Do you have any Recall Potions? I didn't have a chance to take mine because I was too busy running for my life."
That was concerning… For many reasons. Not knowing Beacon was one thing, but not knowing the name of the four kingdoms was another. Were her parents neglected to teach her, or was there some other reason?
Ozpin was grasping at straws here. "You're on a planet named Remnant?"
Cherry shook her head. "Sorry Oz, but I'm lost. Doomed. Hopeless and homeless. I'll not live the next night. I'll return to slime in a few days… Can I call you Oz? Ozzy? Ozymandia? Ozymandala!" She shouted the letter a.
...
Ozpin was now unsure how to handle this girl. She lacked basic knowledge of the world, and yet had some experience in combat… From where? He looked at Peter and Ooblect, and they were just as confused as he was. "Have you ever seen Grimm?"
"Nope, sounds spooky though. Grimmy."
Everyone on Remnant knew of Grimm. Even the most sheltered children knew about them. For this girl to not know about them… Ozpin had no idea what to think, but the answer was most likely tied to the blue portal. There was a place on the other side, full of mysterious creatures and people who seemed to not know about Grimm.
He already knew that today wouldn't be boring, but not this much.
The other girl was already waking up, and luckily she seemed to be not as hostile as before. She was more groggy and confused now. "Urrrh... whatIwasdoing?"
"Oh, hi Vera!" Cherry greeted the fox with some enthusiastic words.
The red-haired girl raised her eyelids, revealing green eyes that looked at Cherry's blue. "Had a good dream?" The pink girl asked.
"I… don't know?" The fox girl frowned.
"It was wild. You were jumping around and even mistook me for a pigronata!"
Vera looked around in confusion, with her gaze going from Cherry to Ozpin and to other teachers.
Ozpin saw it as a good chance to join the conversation. "It appears that you two are in need of accomodations... I can offer you a place to live for the time being."
It was for a mutual benefit. He needed to know more about the mysterious portal, and they, if Cherry's comment about "running for her life" wasn't an exaggeration, a safe space to spend a night in. They could decide what to do next later.
The other girl, Vera, frowned at his proposal. "What's going on?" She asked her friend.
"A stranger allows us into his home." Cherry answered her. "We will be having a sleepover and try to find secret dust people."
This girl… liked to talk nonsense. Her cheer and smile faded only in a few, brief moments. If she decided to stick around then Ozpin knew she would easily fit in with the students. Her energetic side would allow her to make many friends.
"Seems fun… your legs are hard and cold."
"I still have my armor on."
...Armor?
Ozpin tried to take a look at her legs, trying to find whatever armor she just mentioned. He couldn't find anything but knee-high socks and bare skin… Were socks the armor? Was it Aura? Does she have Aura?
The red-haired yawned and stretched, completely unbothered by others' presence. "Where are we?"
"Not home."
"...?"
While these girls would allow him to learn more about the portals, Ozpin needed to do more. If more things would appear as quickly as they appeared then he will need to be quick in hiring more huntsmen. The classes wouldn't be able to continue if teachers had to be constantly delegated to handle anything that came out of that portal.
One question still plagued Ozpin. One that he hoped Cherry and Vera could provide him with an answer.
Just what lied on the other side?
And was it dangerous?
Ozpin glanced back to where the stripes of colored paper would be, and to his surprise he found that all of the confetti had disappeared. He knew for sure it couldn't just be the wind.
He had so many questions, and not enough time.
A man emerged from a portal in the cold lands of Atlas. Clad in a blue shirt, a beige vest and a pair of brown pants. Wilbur D. Rennet was seemingly completely unprepared for the harsh weather.
And yet he was perfectly comfortable.
As wind blew over his brown hair, he noticed he wasn't alone. Around him were corpses; Blood Zombies, Possessed Armors and even a single Goblin Scout lay dead by his feet. The snow he was stomping on was coated in blood and other visceral liquids… But these were not slain by his hand.
Killed by explosions and gunfire, these monsters were killed by what was in front of him.
A massive army surrounded him.
Dozens of airships occupied the sky above him. Some were ships bigger than any other airship he saw. Others were small enough to be mere dots in the sky. On the ground hundreds of soldiers stood in his way, with heavily armed machines standing tall behind them.
What was this place, and why was this army here? Wilbur had no idea. But he could see structures in the distance, behind the army. A city. A strange and beautiful city - pristine and alien in its design. Wilbur was amazed to witness something like this, but he withheld his amazement. Staring at the defenders of this place, his mind worked on a way to approach this.
Were they a foe, or a friend? How did they survive here for so long? Corruption and Crimson should've overtaken the rest of the world by now.
They all had their weapons pointed at him. Ready to reduce him to another corpse on the battlefield. The weapons they carried were new to Wilbur. He had never seen a design like that before. They were all unknown to him.
But the hostility towards him was the same as always. No matter the place, the rule was unchanged.
Wilbur reached towards his belt, his fingers snuck into the purple sack attached to it. His whole fist went into the seemingly bottomless pouch - from where he pulled out a pink staff. Not a weapon in itself, but something just as useful.
The first shot was fired by an airship. A beam so massive that it consumed Wilbur whole. That was it - some of the soldiers thought. There was no way someone could've survived something like that.
They were in for a surprise… as Wilbur came out of it unscratched. His left arm was raised, and Wilbur's face was obscured by a purple shield. Its only detail was a golden ankh in the middle. A moment later the shield vanished, revealing Wilbur's unamused face. They weren't here to defend at all, they were gathering here to conquer. That… He would not allow it.
A moment of silence fell between both parties… broken by Wilbur vanishing. And then… screams. The battle has started.
A battle that would change the future of Remnant. An introduction to a monster that was just unleashed unto Remnant.
On the continent of Solitas, the Atlas Military has engaged Wilbur D. Rennet.
The Last Hero of Terraria.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Welcome my readers, both new and old alike! Welcome to my newest project The Astral Bridges! Hopefully this first chapter will interest you enough to read further. I'm actually not writing this one alone! My editor is MortalitasBorealis and you can also find him on FF net.
However before you continue, I must get some things out of the way first… Trigger warnings! They're a very popular thing to put in the story, and to be honest I can understand why. On the other hand… I don't really like the idea of spoiling you guys that X or Y will happen in the story.
So I warn you... That I'm not going to warn you. At all.
Whatever happens in the story, I'm not going to put on trigger warnings and spoil you stuff.
But I will make one promise… nothing sexual will happen in this story. I haven't really planned anything like that and it's not really something that I want to write about. So no rape or something like that.
Anyway, every Terraria story I've read focused heavily on the Terrarian and the Guide. That. Here, you can expect some other NPCs to get some love too! Starting with our resident furry girl, the Zoologist and the fun-loving Party Girl.
And for those who still haven't realized it - Cherry is the Party Girl and Vera (full name: Veronica) is the Zoologist.
But the Zoologist doesn't attack you when she transforms.
While that makes sense from a gameplay perspective (it wouldn't be fun to have a friendly NPC turn hostile at the drop of a hat), her lines when she transforms actually implies that she's dangerous to everyone around her.
While I'll be trying to preserve gameplay features of Terraria, in some cases I'll be forced to take some liberties. For the sake of writing a better story I'll also be adding and creating lore and backstory to the Terrarian side of things. You can already see some of the first bits of it.
Thank you guys for getting this far, and I hope you will enjoy my work.
- Harmless Orange.