Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

   The oldest concepts, which supposedly formed the first existence, are Darkness And Light. Good and Evil. Death and Life. Destruction and Creation. And many more. And people have claimed for centuries that the difference is either clear as day or gray as fog. But even that is a misconception.

   The greatest mistake made by the people who studied the concepts, is that of Chaos and Order. These 2 concepts are not parallels of Darkness and Light like so many are. Chaos and Order are the children of Darkness and Light (Metaphorically.) Chaos is born from the battle of these 2 concepts, Chaos is existence, Chaos is humanity. Chaos is the most natural form of existence. Order is born from the lack of this battle. From when Darkness or Light wins their battle. Order is end of all things, inevitable and absolute. The Order Of Light is an endless peace, a harmonized existence where there is no longer difference or individuality. No thoughts, no suffering, an endless peace and lack of true living. And unending ending. The Order Of Dark is nothing. All things are wiped from existence. No thoughts. No people. No land. No ocean. No sun. No god. The everlasting nothingness.

   Light and Dark are eldritch beings. They lack humanity, and in fact have no humanity. They are 2 forces of nature that rarely take true forms or avatars. But Chaos is different. Humanity has long since forgotten the truth of Chaos. For every life is Chaos. Endless ups and downs that make life worth living. Chaos is humanity. It is the yearning for experience. It is the act of living itself.

   But, even without Chaos, there are beings who understand that existence itself is so vast, neither Light nor Darkness will ever truly win. It is simply impossible... Right?

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   "Within Darkness, there is light. Within Light, there is darkness." - Such a common saying, and yet so horribly wrong.

Chapter Text

   "What do you wanna watch?" Mark asked.

   "I kinda wanna see the new Bloodsteel movie! It's playing in an hour!" Chara replied.

   "Elias?" Mark got the attention of his son.

   "Hm? Oh, um... could we go see that new musical? Deathnote: The Alphabetical Army?"

   "I think that's a weird title, no matter how good the movie was." Chara immediately put out.

   This was the Hiasra family in a nutshell. Chara Sally Hiasra (Daughter), Mark Alexander Hiasra (Father), and Elias Jeremiah Hiasra (Son). It was a typical summer Wednesday, AKA Hiasra Family Entertainment Night. They were deciding what they were gonna watch or do in town... They were trying to, anyway. Elias had his head buried in his book and wasn't completely there for the decision making.

   "Which one?" Mark asked. Elias went back to reading, he did not care as long as what they did didn't stop him from reading. Besides, he liked both options, and he picked last time. Chara deserved her turn. Elias was a tall young man. He had rough, shaggy brown hair that always made Chara think of him an oak tree. He had dark violet eyes, lightly tan brown skin, and a short but growing beard and mustache. (He didn't like facial hair, so he cut it short enough so that it could only be seen up close. If only he could get rid of it) He was sitting on the brown leather couch in the living room, ankles crossed, reading his book "The Complexities Of Simplicity" By Ian Malcolm. An autobiography of a mathematician who was very interested in Chaos Theory. Elias wore a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt. (Elias liked his clothes to be simple.)

   Chara was sitting next to him, leaning towards him slightly to try and secretly read the book. Chara was younger than her step-brother/cousin by a year, being only 13. She was shorter than Elias by a head and shared almost nothing with him in appearance. She had golden blonde hair which she tied back into a ponytail, pale Caucasian skin, and had dark brown eyes. She wore a block crop-top with a jean jacket and a pair of baggy brown sweatpants.

   Then there was Mark (In Chara's case, Uncle Mark.) The adoptive father of both children (Chara being his niece.) was about half a foot taller than his son. He had slicked back black hair, dark gray skin, and shining golden eyes. He had a stubbly beard but no mustache. He was sitting in a cushioned rocking chair in the corner of the room, phone in hand. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and dark jeans.

   "Can we please do the Bloodsteel movie? It's only in theaters one more night and then I have to wait months for streaming." Elias nodded to Chara's statement, still not lifting his eyes from the book. Mark smiled and stood up from his chair. "Good, it's settled. Which theater is it playing at and when do we need to be there?" Chara pulled up her phone and got up to show him. "It starts at 8. It's the one on the corner of Hamilton Street and Washington Avenue. Right next to the St. Montague Museum?"

   "Right. Is that the one with the reclining seats?" Chara nodded. "Grab the blankets and we'll leave in," Mark quickly checked his watch and saw it was 7:30. "10 minutes. Elias, would you like to just stay here? It's completely an option." Elias quickly put his bookmark in the page he was on and closed it. "I'll come with. I want to watch it too. The show was pretty good. I really wanna see what happened to Neopolitan. I'm just gonna put my book away." Elias left without a reply. Going through the kitchen, up the stairs, and straight down the hall to his door. He walked in, closed the door, and sat down on his bed, dropping his book on the floor.

   "Wow, it was that bad?" Elias looked to the farthest corner of the room where his mirror stood, not surprised to see the speaker within it. Almost identical to Elias, the figure had Caucasian skin and completely black eyes, like an endless void. His hair was longer and became ragged and tangled at his shoulders. He wore a brown shirt under a leather jacket with gym shorts and had a cross around his neck.

   "You can't sit there and say I'm being too emotional about Ruby, Dar. You still get aggressive at the mere mention of Kaguya-"

   "So, you probably shouldn't say her name." The figure called Dar interrupted. Elias stayed silent for a moment, and Dar sighed. "Fine. I won't bring it up again... Why are you watching the movie if it's gonna upset you?"

   "The Bloodsteel show here is different from RWBY. I want to watch it because I enjoy it. I just have to ignore the fact that I know the main character." Dar said nothing for a moment, before smiling. "It's okay to feel emotions. I don't judge you. We've been friends for a LONG time and we both have changed since then. It's alright. Besides, this is just our human psychology. We know how we really are. Any clues to the challenges?" Elias stood up and started pacing around the room.

   "No. But I have been looking around. He said it would happen while we were 14. I've been looking for signs, I promise. But none of the usual ones are popping up. No lucky scrapes from certain death, no sudden voices in my head. Anything on your end?" Dar shook his head no. They started hearing footsteps on the stairs. "Talk again next week." Elias said quickly. Dar faded from the mirror and it turned to normal. There was a knock at the door. "Come in."

   Chara opened the door wide slowly and looked in. "Were you calling Darius again? Is he doing okay on Nublar?" Elias immediately felt relieved, glad for the existence of Darius. "Yes," He started lying. "He is still on the ship though. I was just telling him we were going to the Bloodsteel movie."

   "Good. Now hurry up, I don't wanna miss the trailers." Chara shot out of the room and down the stairs, forgetting to close the door.

   "I need to be more careful next time." Elias thought to himself. "Don't wanna be caught with Dark and be lost for an explanation." Elias picked up his book and placed it on his bed, then walked out, closing the door behind him.

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   A large throne room. 50 feet tall and 30 feet wide. A long black carpet going from the large medieval doors to the talk black stone chair that was dead center. The walls were a gleaming white quartz and the floor looked wooden. Lining the room and standing on the sides of the doors were statues of soldiers. Standing on her throne, her singular cushion thrown to the floor, was the queen of the throne. The woman in charge. A woman who was only know by her title as The Author. In her current form, she was a Caucasian woman who stood about 7 feet tall with muscular arms and legs and long silver hair. Where her eyes should have been was a mask of black fire with glowing white diagonal semi-circles (Much like venom.) She wore a tight black fabric which only her fingers, feet, and head showed skin from. On his knees with his head down in front of her was one of her youngest subjects, Dreamer. The current form of Dreamer was significantly less impressive. He was short with lanky limbs and was bald, light gleaming off of his dark brown skin. His semi-circle eyes were less bright and smaller. He wore a black shawl with ragged jeans and no shirt, showing his thin body and the ribs outlined on his skin.

   "It's time, Dreamer." The Author said. She would have no time for excuses or negotiations. Dreamer raised his head from his bow. "Please, your majesty. The boys need more time. You have thousands of others, who have already finished their training. Why can't we let them run their course?"

   "DO YOU DARE TO QUESTION ME!?" She screamed, letting her voice carry through the entire dimension. "I HAVE SPOKEN! Incarnate and The Dark One will begin with their challenges now, as I have commanded. Transfer the variants. GO!" Dreamer knew he could no longer argue and teleported from the chamber, returning back to his room in the castle. "I need to tell him. I need to tell him. Goddamnit. What was his name? Elias, right. Elias Hiasra. Fuck. Why did she do this?" Dreamer pulled a list of the names from the void. "Who are they? Ellie Drake, Esmeralda Forest, Miriad Lord, Malben Core, and... no way. What is she planning? Why? Why?" Dreamer dropped to the floor and began to cry. Because while Elias had no idea what was about to happen, Dreamer was sure. Elias would either die, or never be the same again. And either way, Dreamer knew, it wouldn't end well.

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   "Is it me, or is it more quiet than usual?" Chara asked. They were driving down the street to the theatre and Chara had noticed it. The streets in Hare City were almost always rolling with life and activity. But the streets were strangely empty now. They could hear the city in the distance, but it seemed like the whole current area was abandoned and empty. They were the only ones driving on the street and it was almost completely silent except for the wind and other natural noises. It was strange and unnatural. It bothered Chara to a degree, but it wasn't scary. Just... weird.

   "I think you're right." Mark began to say. "That's... It's nothing. Coincidence." They continued driving. But it didn't change. No cars in sight, no house lights on. Everything felt... empty. But you could hear the usual sounds from far away. After a few minutes of driving, it became unsettling. And Elias was getting worried. But his worries were very different from Chara and Mark's. He recognized this situation. Elias began to let his mind wander, until his thoughts were interrupted.

   "DAD, WATCH OUT!" Chara screamed from the back of the car. Elias looked up and saw what was in front of the car. It appeared to be a wolf of some kind. Before Elias could process what a wolf was doing on the East Side of Hare City, his dad hit the brakes and they just barely sent the wolf flying.

   10 seconds. It was 10 seconds of pure shocked silence. "Is the dog okay?" Chara asked from the back seat. "The dog? IT'S JUST A WOLF! YOU SHOULD BE WORRIED IF YOU ARE OKAY! Get out of the car." Mark shouted. He hopped out, opened the door for her and brought her out. "Are you okay? Any injures?" Chara swatted him away. "I'm fine!"

   Elias got out of the car and walked over to the wolf, Mark and Chara following. Upon closer inspection, Elias noticed that the wolf had black fur. It's eyes were closed and one of the legs had a large open wound. "We have to help it." Chara said.

   "Elias," Mark began. "Get my kit in the back of the car. And grab one of the spare blankets. This," Mark took a brief look under the animal. "Boy is lucky to be alive, I can see him breathing." Elias wordlessly ran back to car, opening the trunk.

   "Holy shit, holy shit. I recognize that wolf. From where though? It's killing me. What is going on?" Elias thought to himself, rambling in his head, while picking up the small red box and grabbing one of the white 911 blankets they had in store. Elias closed the trunk and ran back to the wolf with the items and handed them to his dad. He watched as Mark pulled out some bandages and wrapped them around the wound. Mark slowly wrapped the animal in the blanket and picked him up. "Are you fine if we miss the movie?" Mark asked, keep the wolf in a strong grip in case he woke up while in his arms. Chara nodded and raced to get back in the car.

   "Elias," Mark said just he and his son reached the car. "Close the trunk." Elias turned and saw the trunk was open again. Elias didn't question it. He probably just misremembered. He ran, closed the trunk, and hopped into the car. Elias stopped paying attention. The car was silent on the way back home. No music. No conversation. But Elias wouldn't have noticed if there was anyway. He was deep in thought, trying to remember why the wolf looked so familiar. It was beginning to unsettle him. He needed a better look and more time.

   He waited until they returned home to act. If the wolf woke up, he and Mark could fight it and might win but Chara could be seriously hurt. He would protect this sister through thick and thin. As long as he was there. 

   When they got home, they put the wolf in the bathtub to keep it safe while Mark called his veterinarian friend over. Elias sat outside the door while Chara ran up to her room and called one of her friends. When he heard a rustle from within the bathroom, Elias stood up. How was he gonna handle this? How was he gonna go about this? He was panicking inwardly. Should he get his dad or confront the wolf?

   Before he could even come close to making a properly thought decision, the door knob turned from the bathroom and opened. Elias stared through the open door of the bathroom and at a person he knew too well. "Where am I and who are you?" Ellie Drake asked in Japanese.

Chapter Text

His breath was like a sauna against my neck

His warm blue eyes met mine

I saw underneath the human illusion

I saw the deeper color

One I had never seen before

One beyond words

His teeth gleamed white

But it wasn't the right color

They reminded me of the moon

His skin was soft to the touch

Too soft

I knew he wasn't human

Did I care?

He was not human

He was more

And he still chose me.

Chapter Text

   "Tell me now!" Ellie Drake screamed again in Japanese. Ellie was a young man about an inch shorter than Elias was. He had greasy and rough black hair that almost reached his sharp and bright green eyes. His skin was a normal caucasian. Your first look at him would make you think he was American. Of course, he was obviously Japanese. He had a long scar on his left cheek, something between a burn and a cut. Elias knew it was both. He wore a light gray blazer with dark turquoise trimmings over a white dress shirt and dress pants along with a red tie and black sneakers. 

   Mark and Chara ran into the hall. Chara was fumbling for her phone and Mark looked confused. Elias had taken Japanese for years so he knew he could talk to Ellie. He knew the language but he was mostly clueless as to what was going on. Not entirely. "Calm down," Elias began in Japanese. "We don't want to hurt you. We accidentally hit you with our car and we brought you here to heal you. How did you go from a wolf into a boy?"

   Ellie zoomed forward and slammed Elias into a wall. "Who are you and where am I?" Ellie had him by the neck. "My name is Hiasra Elias. My father is to your right, Hiasra Mark. My sister is on your left, Hiasra Chara. You are in our house. 8945 Aurora Street, Hare City, East Merica." Ellie let him drop to the floor. "Step away from my son!" Mark yelled. Ellie turned to him. Elias wondered why his dad looked scared for a moment. Ellie looked to be just as old as Elias. Then Elias saw. He had forgotten. In the place of hands, Ellie had black monstrous claws. And everyone could see they were real.

   "I don't mean any harm," Ellie spoke in decent English. He tried the accent but it was a bit off. "I was under the impression I was kidnapped. I'm sorry. I understand now you aren't the people who forced me here." Mark's expression softened and he stepped forward. "Forced?" He began. "Who brought you here? Are you from The Land Of The Rising Sun?" Ellie looked confused. "Do you mean, Japan?"

   There was silence for a few moments. Elias suddenly had a thought. A way to get info without looking like he knew too much. "Japan? That's what The Land Of The Rising Sun used to be called... What year do you think it is?" He came up with the idea of time travel. Perhaps that would lead him to the truth. The presence of an outlandish idea often forced people to tell the truth out of pure frustration.

   "The year? It was 2367. I imagine the year is different here." Elias stood up. "The year doesn't change between countries. It is 2367 though." Elias was deeply confused. How was this happening. "I'm not from another country." Ellie's hands shifted in shape and swirled for a moment before changing color and looking like human hands. "I'm from another world."

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   My name is Ellie Drake. I am from another world. With a different history than yours. I'll try to summarize it. It all began in Keikei City in China, close to 300 years ago, with the news that a baby was born glowing. They were Bio-Luminescent. After that, these "exceptional" individuals were popping up all over the world. It started with children. To this day, nobody knows why it really happened. But just a few decades later the "exceptional" became normal. Fantasy became reality. In present day, 85% of my worlds population consisted of literal superhams with incredibly abilities that, in Japan, we dubbed Quirks. 

   This led to a new profession. The world-wide dream became real. We had superheroes. Of course, not everybody with Quirks wanted to be a hero. Some were villains. Or just criminals. 

   I was born with a special quirk. If I can touch a person with my left hand, I gain the ability to use their quirk by taking on one or more of their features. The more resemblance I have, the stronger the quirk. I can control it of course. If I use too many quirks at once, with my current limit being 10, I start barfing, bleeding, fainting, the whole package. It used to be 5 but with training, I'm able to use more quirks. Sadly, the most quirks I can have available to use are 15. I don't know if there is a way to make that limit grow. Whenever I want another quirk, I have to erase one I already have. I can tell you all of my Quirks at another time, but that's not important.

   I was an orphan from birth. I was just found on the street and nobody could figure out who my parents were. No known Quirks matched mine closely enough to be a relative and my DNA had no matches. But I ended up making friends with a kid at my pre-school. Midoriya Izuku. Everybody thought he was quirkless. See, since the quirkless are such a massive minority, they get a lot of hate, even as children. I didn't like that and Midoriya and I got along well. We both wanted to be heroes and I honestly believed he could be hero, even if he was quirkless.

   Early this year, Midoriya and I enrolled in the most prestigious hero school in Japan. Yuuei Academy. During the entrance exam, where we fought ROBOTS of all things, Midoriya activated his quirk. Turned out, he was a late bloomer. We both passed and we both joined Class 1-A. The last thing I remember, we were on our way somewhere for Rescue Training. The bus was attacked and we were all kidnapped. We were knocked unconscious and when I woke up, it was just me, Midoriya, a classmate of ours named Mineta, and some other people who had similar stories of being kidnapped. We were all tied to chairs, so we talked for a little before we all started talking about our worlds. We realized we were from different universes.

   We had stories that couldn't be from the same world. At first, all of us just thought the rest were crazy. Who wouldn't? If you heard this teenager ranting about stopping an apocalypse from his mother who wanted to kill all gods, you'd think he was crazy too. Unless that's a thing here? Nevermind that.

   After about an hour of arguing and saying we'd demonstrate our powers if the rope wasn't so strangely inescapable, a man walked in. He was the strangest guy I'd ever seen. He floated just above the floor and he was made completely of this black crystal. No eyes, no mouth, but a humanoid crystal. He untied us and then he disappeared. As soon as we were all released he just popped out of existence. Then we did demonstrate our powers. My Quirks were working again and so were everybody else's powers. Then, with a little lie detecting power that a few of us had, we all found that we were telling the truth. Then we escaped.

   None of us knew where we were, but we guessed somewhere in America, because everyone was speaking English. We walked around, and tried to gather info without any success. We could barely steal enough food to survive. It was like that for a week. Then, while I was walking across the street in wolf form, I was hit by a car and... you know the rest.

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   Elias and his family sat quietly and silently. Chara was over the moon that they had a cute boy in their house from another world and was muttering something about anime. Mark was skeptical, but after the demonstration of power in the upstairs hall, he wasn't about to start shouting they were lies. Elias... Elias knew every damn word was true and was panicking inside his thoughts. What was worse about this is that, although he knew everything was possible, it didn't make sense. 

   Elias wanted desperately to ask the names of the other people, but he couldn't find the nerve to ask it casually or even like the clueless person he was supposed to be. It was very lucky then that his sister had similar questions.

   "Where are the other ones?" Ellie seemed to stiffen. He was standing up while the family sat on the couch. "They... are probably on their way here. We had a plan for kidnapping." Mark got up and opened the front door before sitting back down. Ellie was confused. "Why did you-" "If your friends break any of my windows to save you, one of you better have the power to fix it."

   "Well," Elias thought to himself. "At least dad is grasping his own control of this NEVER IN ANY LIFE IN EXISTENCE SITUATION!" Ellie sat down on the floor. "Any more questions?" Elias calmed himself down and began to speak. "Who ARE these other people? How many of you are there?" Ellie was silent for moment. "9 of us, counting me. Me, Izuku, Mineta, Miriad Lord, Gregory Miller, Malben Core, Esmeralda Forest, Ava Damian, and Ein Alastar." Elias pushed down all of his emotional impulse to scream in frustration. He knew most of those names. However, he had never heard of anyone named Miriad Lord or Gregory Miller or even Malben Core. He was grasping at straws now. Nothing made any sense anymore.

   "What do we do now?" Chara asked a very reasonable question. They had a teenager from another universe, more of them on the way, and there was no way in hell they could report them without getting the government up all their asses. How were they supposed to deal with something like this?

   "Dad," Elias began, turning to his father. "I... We should help them. I want to help them. They're stuck in an unfamiliar world and can you imagine what would happen to them if they were found? And, it's possible whoever brought them here is still out there. What if they are attacked?"

   "Good question. What if they're attacked? What if whatever is happening to them holds a risk to you, to your sister, to me, to us? What if they're lying? Yes, the young man has demonstrated... extraordinary abilities, but couldn't he by lying about where he got them? There is too much unknown to allow us to help them."

   Elias stood up from the couch. "They NEED help. We can't just leave them to scrounge for food and supplies just to get killed by some dude made of crystals!" Mark lifted from the couch. "This is final. We will reunite them. We will give them some food and water. Then we leave them be."

   "But-"

   "Go to your room. We can talk later." There was no argument Elias could continue to lift. He wordlessly walked through the house and upstairs into his room. He plopped onto the couch, throwing his book to the floor. "Goddamn it."

   Elias did not like being frustrated. It was one of his 3 worst feelings. Helplessness and Betrayal being his other 2. He wanted to help these people. He needed to. This was more than obviously his challenge. This is what Dreamer had done. It had to be. Dreamer had to be behind it. But what was the challenge? Get them home? Save them? What was he supposed to do? He knew he needed to follow them before he was gonna find out. And then he had his idea.

   Elias picked up a piece of paper and began writing.

   Dear Dad, I need to help them. I can feel it in my heart. I am going to follow them. I have to do this. I can't let them be alone. And thanks to us, they might be in more danger. I am not going to sit at home while I know that a bunch of people are stuck here so far from home. They deserve help. And no matter whether or not you approve of it, I am going with them. I can only hope you'll forgive me when I come back. And I WILL come back, Dad.

   Elias put the letter on his bed and pulled up the second story window. Then he jumped. As luck would have it, they kept a trampoline right outside his window. It wasn't exactly graceful, but Elias didn't break anything and, admittedly, had a little fun.

   He got off and snuck around the house, just in time to see Ellie Drake walking out the front door and onto the sidewalk. Elias was sure Ellie wouldn't approve of being followed, especially not by a kid playing hero. So he stayed low, stepping carefully between shadows like it was second nature.

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   Dreamer watched carefully as Elias crept his way through Aurora Street, following Drake's every move. Dreamer wasn't happy because of it. He would've much preferred if Elias made a wiser decision and stayed home. But Dreamer was a good mentor. He taught Elias to see the signs and to follow every instinct he had about them.

   Dreamer carefully kept himself invisible, using his god-like powers to remain undetectable. One could say he was in spectator mode. "What do we do, sir?" Dreamer turned to The Dark One. In his human form, Dark looked a lot like Elias. But Dark's challenges required him to be a bit more than human.

   The being floating a few feet away from Dreamer was barely human. He wore an armor of black obsidian-like crystals, with only his head being free. Dark had endless darkness in his eyes, a void of only black. His hair was a black fire and on his forehead were a pair of black crystal horns that intimidated even a Void as old as Dreamer.

   "We don't do anything yet. We don't begin the challenge until Elias has met with the rest of them. It's too soon. He has the privilege of coordinating with his partners." The Dark One sneered. "Incarnate is smart enough to handle himself in a tough situation."

   "May I remind you, this is Elias. He is a different person. And besides, it's not about how he handles himself."

   The Dark One did not speak, he only followed Elias alongside Dreamer. And inside his own head, Dreamer kept repeating a single mantra. "The Dark One has no power over me. The Dark One has no power over me."

Chapter Text

   Elias carefully kept himself several meters behind Ellie. It would be disastrous if he was caught after JUST starting his new mission. What was his mission? He still had no idea. But he had a feeling that, deep inside of his pile of shattered glass for a soul, he would know very soon.

   Elias slithered through several alleyways, hid behind many corners, all the while paying attention to where Ellie was going. They eventually ended up at the warehouse that Ellie was talking about. Elias actually knew it's original purpose. It was the old Chuglass Potato Chip storage warehouse. It was only shut down a year ago. Elias felt a small glittery feeling in his stomach. Something was familiar about the chips. "Eh, can't be that important." He thought to himself.

   Elias watched Ellie jump in through an empty spot where a window would've been, now covered by curtains from the inside. Elias ran silently and swiftly across the road and sat under the broken window, listening inside the warehouse. First footsteps, then a chorus of celebration. Too many voices to pick together, then they started individually.

   "You have no idea how worried we were!" A high pitch yet somehow deep voice spoke. Elias recognized it. It was Midoriya.

   "WHY ON EARTH INSANITY WOULD YOU LEAVE US!? WE ONLY HAVE 1 OTHER DUDE WITH HIS POWERS INTACT ENOUGH TO FIGHT ANYONE!" Such a voice of high pitch and whimpering could only be Mineta Minoru.

   "Any injuries? Tell us what happened!" The voice of a girl. It took Elias a moment but he recognized the voice of Ava, the friend of Esmeralda Forest. Elias wasn't gonna do this. Nothing they said was gonna be important. He moved the left part of the curtain just enough to see the group in the warehouse, gathered together. Elias was fairly surprised by how clean most of them kept their clothes. Having one pair has to suck.

   On the left of Ellie Drake was Midoriya Izuku. He wore the exact same clothes as Ellie. The UA Student uniform. (If Elias remembered correctly, didn't they wear hero suits on the way to the USJ? Why were they in uniform?) He had emerald green hair, diamond formation freckles, and big adorable green eyes.

   On Ellie's right was a short young man. Elias knew instantly it was Mineta. He had large purple balls growing from his head in a mohawk formation. He had large brown eyes and a small pointed nose. His skin seemed pale and stark, as if he was both sickly and terrified. He wore a smaller version of the outfits Midoriya and Ellie were wearing. Elias turned to one of the others standing around, and he didn't know who it was.

   He was about the same height as Elias, if a little taller. He had wavy golden blonde hair that leaned to the left of his face, almost reaching his eyes. His eyes were green, but Elias could swear he saw golden sparks within them. His skin was a lighter shade of brown. He wore a white long-sleeve shirt under a golden buttoned up sweater vest. He had a pair of golden bracelets on his wrists, engraved with words in a language that even Elias did not know. He also had on a pair of black dress pants and he had a pair of boots with angelic wings on the sides of them. If Elias was gonna take a wild guess, this person was either Gregory or Miriad. Malben was feminine name and there were only three people in their little group who he didn't know.

   A girl stood a little to the side, staying to herself mostly. She was tall, probably taller than Midoriya, and had dark orange hair with heterochromatic Hazel and Blue eyes. She had a pair of small hoop earrings and a tiny nose ring. Elias could just barely see the ink of a tattoo on her neck, but he couldn't identify what it was. She wore a pair of black stockings, dark jeans, and a white T-Shirt with the word "BITCH" written across it. She also had a silver ring on her left hand and a golden ring on her right. Elias, not recognizing her, knew she was Malben Core.

   Elias looked at another group of people and recognized them instantly. Esmeralda, Ein, and Ava. He simply couldn't forget them, but there were a few things different. The only reason Elias recognized them was their bodies. Their clothes were nothing Elias could remember hhavingseen them worn, and they even had small differences in physical appearance that never appeared when he saw them.

   Esmeralda was a tall woman with sharp features and a fairly muscular form. She had a manly look that made her a little handsome. She had a green and white striped baseball cap with a black shield symbol on the bill. She had her long white hair tied into a ponytail through the back of the cap. She kept a pair of black heart sunglasses over her bright green eyes. She had a white sweater and bright blue jeans to finish it off.

   Ava, standing behind Esme, was surprisingly short. Even Elias thought she seemed to be a tiny bit shorter than he remembered. "That's just the illusion with short people." Elias thought to himself. He had experienced the phenomenon several times. Ava had long black hair that was braided down to her waist, it reminded Elias of a whip. She was thin and appeared to be quite fragile. Of course, Elias knew for certain it wasn't the case. She was a black long-sleeve shirt with fingerless black leather gloves and a pair of light gray dress pants.

   Ein, standing a little left of Ava, was fairly tall. He stood maybe a whole foot taller than Elias. It made him a little intimidating. Ein had short dark black hair with dyed blue tips. His hair had clearly been growing for a couple weeks from what must've been a full buzz-cut. He wore a tight black t-shirt that must've been a size too small. Elias could see his waistline and a couple of scars with every movement. Ein also had on a pair of dark jeans that had small openings across the knees.

   Elias only had one more person to look at, one that was either Gregory or Miriad. When Elias looked at him, he made absolute eye contact. Elias would later say "I looked at him. And he looked at me. And I looked at him."

   The boy, and he was indeed a boy, was rather short. He was somewhere between Mineta and Izuku for height. He had light brown eyes with the same golden sparks in his eyes that the other boy did. He had dark red hair that was tied back into a bun. He wore a white long-sleeve shirt under a brown leather jacket that seemed about a size too big for him. He also had baggy brown sweatpants that seemed to threaten to fall, but wouldn't.

   It was a solid 3 seconds that the boy and Elias were making eye contact. "Gregory, what are you looking at?" Asked the other boy. This had solved Elias the mystery of who was Miriad and who was Gregory.

  Soon, every person there was turning to look at Elias, with his head in the curtains. "Elias," Ellie began. "You were the kid who was grounded and asked politely not to follow me." Elias jumped through the window and strode toward Ellie. "Kid? I am just as old as you. And no matter whether I was allowed or not, I was gonna follow you."

   "Why?"

   Elias had not thought ahead far enough to be ready for this question properly. "Well," Miriad stepped in. "Considering how mundane this world is, he probably wanted to learn about our worlds. It's what I would do. I mean, we all did the same with each other." There were mutterings of agreement. "He can't stay here," Esmeralda began. "He can come back tomorrow or another time. It isn't as if we're moving from here anytime soon."

   "I wouldn't be too sure about that." Elias spun around to catch the voice, but was launched backward with a blow from the chest. Elias landed on the stone floor butt-first and barely had enough time to see his assailant. It was a man made of crystal. But he was different than how Ellie described. He has like a writhing mass of the crystals, it was unnerving. His voice was deep and sharp, as if filled with smug darkness.

   Ellie launched forward, his left fist turned into black claws for a swipe or a punch. The crystal man grabbed his hand as it came and swung him back toward Elias, making Ellie land just a few feet away from him.

   "It's too bad," The man snapped his fingers and everybody was covered in full body crystals, only their faces free. "I was hoping to fight you all at once. Fortunately for you however, those are not my orders."

   "WHO ARE YOU!?" Elias screamed. The crystal man laughed. It was horrible gut wrenching laugh. "You can find out later." He said after finishing his mania. "I can't wait to watch each of you die. I do hope you'll allow me to indulge myself a little, however?" Everyone was grunting and trying to break out of the crystals to know avail, choosing to try and ignore the man entirely. Elias couldn't however. He was hanging onto every word. He knew the pattern. He needed to listen. "It was argued for a few straight hours about where we would send you and in what order. We even thought about what worlds would make you the most miserable. HA! We even considered just leaving you here for a few months. But, it would've been too calm. Too consistent. We want you to be tortured. Pain, despair, we want you afraid. And we realized where we needed to send you first. It was perfect. I am ashamed to say it was not my idea. I wish it was. But no matter, success is success. Are you scared yet, Elias?"

   The mention of his name caught everybody's attention. They realized that 'you' was not referring to them, but to him. "Me?" Elias was beginning to understand what he meant. And he was afraid of being right. "Yes," The man began gleefully. "YOU! AH HA! It's so wonderful that I get to be the one to send you off! Of course, I have to give the obligatory hint. I wish we could just kick you and make you figure it out yourself, but rules are rules." The man cleared his throat and leaned down, his face-less head mere inches away from Elias.

   "The book of death, the edged sphere, the blood of the morbid, and the sacrifice of a lie. Not necessarily in that order." The man stood back up and walked to the wall of the warehouse. "I hope you can all figure it out in time. Collect the first three, then when you unite, sacrifice the lie. I'll be seeing you, hopefully in body bags." The man snapped his fingers and a circle of fire erupted around the group. The crystals holding them turned to dust, just as the floor did. They all began falling down a bottomless hole. Elias could not keep himself together long enough to stop from fainting.

-------

   Elias could not see anything beyond an endless dark void. The void in and of itself was not the weird thing about this dream, because of course it was dream. No, Elias knew this dream like the back of his hand. It just he wasn't in the right state to be dreaming it.

   Elias stood and floated in the endless void as it changed. A ground came into existence. A long grassy plain and mountains in the distance. The sky became blue and clear. A blinding sun lit it up. Then they formed. Elias saw them instantly. A young man with bright white hair and dead gray eyes. A young woman holding his lifeless body and crying. Sobbing. Screaming. It was the same thing. From where he stood, Elias could see her silver eyes. Her beautiful black hair. "I'm sorry," Elias said. It never mattered before. He couldn't change this. It was a memory. Then something different happened.

   Elias felt his whole body turn to static. Like when an arm or leg goes to sleep and wakes up, but his entire body. Then a cracking sensation. Like popping your neck. "Why did you lie?" Elias couldn't help but gasp. She never spoke. Never in these dreams. "WHY DID YOU LIE!?" He couldn't breathe right. Everything was broken. Nothing made sense. His heart was spreading faster than it should. Then the world began to die. The mountains faded to dust. The sky fell. The sun screamed. It screamed. The ground fell and everything disappeared.

--------

   "Wake up, you're okay!" Elias shot up like a catapult. He was hyperventilating. His chest ached. He was scared, no. He was terrified. "You're okay. Calm down." Elias turned to his left. He had realized his shoulders were being held. Ellie was sitting next to him, trying to get him to calm down. He had tear marks on his face and blood on his arm. "What..." Elias gasped for air and almost managed to choke on it. "What happened?"

   Ellie looked at his arm then back at Elias. "It's okay. We're alive." Elias looked around quickly. They were in the middle of some forest. Tall trees surround them and a clear sunny sky could be seen above. "Where are we?" Ellie shook his head. "I don't know. The others didn't pop up anywhere around, I checked." Elias look closer at Ellie. His hair was dirty, like crusted mud had gotten to it. His clothes were ripped in small spots. "How long have I been out?" Ellie seemed to hesitate for a moment. "We've been here for a few days. I've been using a quirk of mine to slowly heal you. You had a few broken bones and were unconscious. I wasn't entirely sure you were gonna wake up til you started screaming."

   "Screaming?" Ellie nodded. "I had a nightmare when I first slept here too. I think this forest is evil. Like, the supernatural kind of evil." Elias stood up and brushed off what dirt he could from his shirt and jeans, though it was considerably stained. "You come from a world with super-powers. You also jumped worlds into mine. What counts as supernatural to you?" Ellie smiled and rolled his eyes as he joined Elias in standing up.

   "What do we do next? We're clearly nowhere near home. My home, that is." Ellie took a quick look around. "I think... we should climb a tree and see if there is any nearby civilization." Elias walked over to a tree. "Don't need to sound like a robot navigation system." He muttered. Elias got to one of the taller trees and looked it over. "Why didn't you do it while I was asleep?" He asked.

   "I never went anywhere I couldn't see you. Something about this place sets off my fight or flight. It never seemed..." He stopped and looked at Elias, who was just standing and staring at the tree. "You can't climb it, can you?" Elias said nothing, but walked back over and nodded.

   Ellie used one of his Quirks to elongate his legs and look around. "See anything?" Elias shouted upward. Ellie went back down. "I think I saw a castle." Elias scoffed. "There is no way you saw a castle. Lift me up." Ellie turned Elias around and lifted him up by the armpits. When they reached over the leaves, Elias almost died on the spot. A beautiful structure with a giant spire, a vast courtyard, beautiful trees, powerful stone buildings. But it was not a castle. It was not a palace. It was a school and it's campus. And Elias knew it. Because this was not just any school. This was Beacon Academy.

Chapter Text

   "It's not a castle, Ellie. It's a school." Ellie lowered us back down to the ground. "What are you talking about, how do you know? I couldn't even see anyone." Elias knew how to approach this. He had gone through this scenario in his head already several times. Explaining how you know things about another world that you REALLY shouldn't.

   "In my world, we have this anime. It's called Bloodsteel. That castle is Beacon Academy. I've seen it in the show. I've actually suspected that you and the others are from worlds that have fiction in mine too. But I can't remember anything about them. Your story sounded familiar though." Elias was sure that My Hero Academia and the MyStreet Sagas existed in his world, but he couldn't say too much because he hadn't actually watched them yet.

   "I'm... fictional?" Ellie looked down at his feet and hands for a moment. Elias resisted rolling his eyes and sighing. "No. You're real. There happens to be fictional representations of the world you came from in mine. This world is real. All of this, you and your friends, me. We're all real. But somewhere out there, we are a story. In the multiverse, anything is possible. Including this. And I have no doubts now, we are exploring another universe." Ellie was still staring at his hands. Grappling with the fact he was fictional in another world. The real world?

   "Ellie," He looked back to Elias, not sure whether to listen. "Stop being an idiot. There is an old quote. 'I think, I live, I remember. I complexly am.' Remember that. Do you fill the requirements?" Ellie slowly nodded. "Then let's stop messing around and head towards there. We might be able to get some help. And we need to figure out which part of the timeline they sent us to. I also advise praying to whatever God you have."

   "Why?" Elias didn't answer for a moment. "Because for all we know, my knowledge about the show could be completely useless here. That's the problem with the multiverse. One difference is all it takes for everything to begin crumbling down. Come on. I'll tell you what I know on the way there." He didn't wait for Ellie to respond, he just started walking towards the direction of the school.

   Ellie went up next to him and joined him. "Alright, time for a lesson on Bloodsteel."

-------

   First, let me tell you about the world. We might have to hide our identities, so we need to fit in. There are 4 kingdoms. Vale, where we are, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral. Atlas is best known for its military and Dust exports. Dust here is the prime energy source. There are different kinds of dust, each representing an element. There is Fire, Ice, Water, Plant, Wind, Rock, Electricity, and Gravity. It's possible I'm wrong though. I think there was another.

   There are 2 species of humans here. Faunus and Humans. Faunus have animal characteristics. That's it. But there is some mistreatment and tension between them. There is an entire Faunus organization, The White Fang, who are basically trying to take the world for Faunus rule instead of Human. Now, this is a kicker. Like your world has Quirks, this one has Semblances. Powers evolved from ancient magic that is connected to the soul. All of them are almost completely unique and everybody has one. Human or Faunus.

   Then there is the Grimm. Dark twisted monsters who are drawn toward negative emotion. If what you said was true about me being asleep for days, it's possible the Grimm can't sense us due to being from another world. I doubt that defense will last long though. Remember how yours and the others powers weren't working very well in my world? I think that it might be a side-effect of world jumping. Things that don't exist in the world you are in need time to work properly. The universe needs to get used to you.

   Another thing about the Grimm is this. They have a sort of Queen. This part needs to be kept secret. No ordinary person is allowed to know this. She is an immortal witch named Salem, and she rules them. She controls them. You don't need to know anymore, don't want you slipping up too much.

   To defend people from Grimm, there are the Huntsmen and Huntresses. They are kind of like the superheroes from your world, except catching criminals isn't their main job. There is still a police presence here. Beacon Academy is meant to train them. There is an academy in every kingdom for that exact purpose. Now, that is most of what you need to know about the world. There are other things, but we can learn as we go. It won't be too hard to convince someone we just don't know them.

   Now, for our plan of action. We are heading to Beacon Academy for 2 reasons. 1, we don't know how long this Grimm invisibility will last and it would be safe to be in an area literally swarming with Huntsmen and Huntresses. 2, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin, can help us. He will want us protected very much when I tell him where we are from. Bonus, if we can get Ozpin to help us, we will have to be in direct hiding. He can help us go undercover. We're old enough to be students at the Academy so we are very lucky. And you already have powers. Some people are late bloomers for Semblances, so my lack of one can be hidden... for a little while. Any questions?

-------

   Ellie and Elias had reached a grassy clearing and could see a bridge to Beacon in the distance. The birds cawed above and flew near them. "I have a theory, not a question."

   "Shoot."

   "The crystal man said we needed the blood of the morbid. Morbid and Grimm are synonyms, so maybe we just need to kill one of those monsters than we can leave." Elias shook his head. "Grimm disappear when they die. They don't bleed... But maybe that's why he didn't say Grimm. It's probably a riddle related to the Grimm though. It feels like the right track." The 2 stopped talking for a few moments as they got onto the bridge. "How about we get to know each other? We're probably going to be stuck here for a while." Ellie considered it and nodded.

   "Okay," Elias switched to Japanese because he understood how exhausting it was to speak in one language and think in the other. Besides, if Ellie was gonna speak English for him, why shouldn't he repay him? "My middle name is Jeremiah. My favorite food is Cheeseburger Pizza. My favorite color is violet. I like biking, MMORPG's, and I want to become an officer. And I am gay." Ellie seemed to do a double-take on the last part. "You're gay?" Elias nodded.

   "You don't act gay." Elias shrugged, a wry smile tugging at the sides of his mouth. "Do I need to? I don't like stereotypes. More accurately, I don't like people who fulfill stereotypes." Ellie smiled. He hadn't smiled the entire time since he'd been there. "Your turn." Ellie stiffened and started.

   "I don't have a middle name, because it's not common for Japanese people. My favorite food is Beef Shawarma Wraps. I like to fight. I like saving people, helping them. I also enjoy soap operas. You already know I want to be a Hero. And... I've actually never thought about sexuality before. I pretty focused more so on romance than sex. It makes more sense to me to be attracted to someone more-so based on who they are than what they look like." Elias nodded. "That's good. I wish some of old crushes saw it like you do." Ellie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

   "The city I live in doesn't have a lot of LGBTQIA+ presence. I've only met one other gay dude and he was an absolute... He was a jerk." Ellie laughed. "You can cuss, y'know? Not like I can tell your dad. You're 14, right?" Elias nodded. "I don't like to cuss. Only if I'm really angry or in a lot of pain." Ellie just shook his head and walked a little lighter. He put his hands in his pant pockets. They had reached Beacon grounds and still saw nobody around. "Where is everyone?" Ellie asked. Elias looked around, trying to find someone. "The students haven't arrived yet." A man walked out from the side of a house. Elias recognized him instantly. Another small strike at his heart rang out in his head. The pain of seeing this man again. Elias was not the biggest fan of Ozpin.

   Ozpin was a middle-aged man with tousled silver hair and narrow brown eyes, his light complexion accented by sharp, defined features. His striking black eyebrows stood in contrast to his hair, and he wore shaded glass spectacles. A small purple cross-shaped pin adorned the green cowl-scarf wrapped around his neck. He was dressed in an unzipped black suit layered over a buttoned dark green vest and a matching green shirt. In his hand, he carried a black cane with an ornate handle, featuring an intricate floral design and visible silver gears embedded near the top.

   "May I ask who you are and what you are doing on the grounds of my school?" Ozpin showed no signs of aggression or hostility, but Elias knew for a fact he was very dangerous. Ellie seemed to get in a battle position, but Elias grabbed him by the shoulder. "We apologize. We found ourselves in the forest and went toward the closest safe-haven we could find." Ozpin walked closer. "How does one unintentionally end up in the Emerald Forest?" Elias walked right in front of Ozpin. "We weren't sent there by choice. Listen, I know we're not supposed to be here, but we were wondering if you could help us?" Elias found himself making intense eye contact with Ozpin. "Why?" Elias was afraid of this possibility. Ozpin was a generous man, and he would only ask if he was suspicious. Elias had a choice. Tell the truth, or lie cleverly.

   "Because..." Ozpin waited for Elias to finish. But Elias had a completely brain block. "Because you don't want us walking around somewhere else." Ellie popped in, joining Elias. Ozpin raise an eyebrow. "Why do I not want that?" Ellie and Elias looked at each other, and nodded. 

"Because we're from another world." Ellie said. /"Because we're on the run from a certain witch." Elias said. Ozpin said nothing as the 2 boys immediately looked at each other like they had just done something incredibly stupid. And both of them had. They did not know each other well enough for what they did. "Wanna try again? The truth this time, maybe?" Ozpin asked with an amused face. Elias glared at Ellie before looking back to Ozpin. "Look, it's a bit of a long story. But I promise, we aren't bad guys, and we have no affiliation with Salem." Ozpin grabbed Elias on the shoulder. "The very fact you know that is suspicious. And stop saying it. Just because students haven't arrived yet, doesn't mean the teachers aren't here. If you really don't mean harm, stop talking and follow me." Ozpin turned around and started walking. Elias and Ellie followed him silently.

   For 30 minutes, calm silent walking. Then, as they made their way up to Ozpin's office through the elevator, Ozpin asked a question. "How much do you believe you know? On a scale of 1-10?" 

   Elias hesitated for a moment. "About everything in the wide world? I'd say a 2. About you? Probably a 7." Ozpin said nothing, but Elias immediately regretted being snarky. Being talked down to made him angry, but he really shouldn't be so rude to the dude who could be his only saving grace.

   The elevator doors opened to Ozpin's office. A wonderful stone room with large windows the gave a great view of the campus. A mechanical within the glass. The table looked like it had robotic legs and the chair looked like it was from the future. It was so strange and otherworldly. Then again, they were in another world.

   Ozpin pointed in front of his desk, walked around the semi-circle of stone and sat in his chair. "Begin explaining please. And if I catch you lying, I'll be calling the authorities to come and get you."

   Elias and Ellie stood in silence for a moment, but Elias began it. "Me and my friend here, we're from different worlds. His name is Ellie Drake and I am Elias Hiasra. We have no intention of harming you, the students, or even of fighting Salem unless we have to." Ozpin leaned in. "Explain how you know about Salem. And what else you know."

   "I know about these things because your world is so far appearing to match an anime from my world. Me and my sister have binged it several times. I know that you're Ozma, I know about Silver Eyes. I know the story of you and Salem. I know where ALL of the relics are hidden. And I know some things about the future that could help you. I'll gladly help you defeat Salem if you help me and Ellie get home." Ellie had stayed silent. So far observing. Ozpin leaned back in his chair. "How am I supposed to believe THAT? Do you realize how insane what you just said is?"

   Elias placed his hands on the desk and looked Ozpin dead in the eye. "If you don't believe me, I have a way to prove it to you. Hit me."

   "What?" Ozpin was briefly confused. "Hit me. Hard as you can without killing me. You'll find that I don't have an aura. My soul isn't from this world." Ozpin and Elias stared at each other. Ozpin was looking for any clue of lying. Elias was looking for any clue of belief. Then a buzzing sound filled the room. Faint, but distinct and growing. Everyone looked out the window and saw large ships approaching the school. "What can I do to help you get home and for you to help me? I have a few minutes before I need to go down." Elias smiled and stood up straight. "Me and Ellie will go undercover as students. We stay here and I'll give you updates on events just before they happen. And, you need to help us solve a riddle. It's our only clue to getting out of here. Then, if you accept this offer, I will warn you about a completely preventable event that won't affect the timeline too harshly. Do we have a deal?" Elias held out his hand for a shake, unintentionally reminding him of the many times he had made deals just like this one. Except it was often for a different reward.

   Ozpin considered it for a moment. "What if I don't take it?" Elias pulled his hand back and grinned. "Well, I know where to find Salem. I'm sure you wouldn't like us to go to a different source, would you?" Ozpin glared at him. "Look, I just want to get home. Do you want our help while we're here or do you want us to start destabilizing society?" Elias reached his hand back out again. "Come on, Ozma. You know how easy this deal would be. You don't even have to do that much." Ozpin rose from his seat. "Fine. We have a deal." He shook his hand. "Welcome to Beacon."

Chapter Text

He looked down at us

He looked up at us

No matter where he looked from,

And he looked from everywhere,

He saw nothing

Nothing more than specks of dust

If that

But then he saw me.

He saw me, and he stopped.

He no longer saw infinite nothings

He saw people

He saw me

And he liked what he saw.

Chapter Text

   "Mingle in the crowd. I'll have your identities set up in a moment. What would you like your names to be?" Ozpin held his special scroll while walking with Ellie and Elias towards the lobby where he would welcome the students. "I will be Vortex Drahomines." Elias said simply. "I'm fine with Lance Draco." Ozpin handed them the scroll for them to spell their new names quickly. "Good. Now, who are the teams you asked me to organize? You said it was important your arrival didn't change them." To survive this world and guide it toward the ritual, they had to blend in. Any deviation from original events could jeopardize everything.

   Elias was glad to be taking the lead in this mission. He was worried when he had decided to follow Ellie that he would have to take a backseat on his own challenge. Now, he had a plausible reason for all his knowledge. "Teams RWBY and JNPR. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren. If you don't have those teams stable, we all pretty much die. I really don't see how we can avoid it if we don't connect them. Since you confirmed our timeline, they should have mostly met now." Ozpin nodded. They approached the doors and stopped. "Is there a team you would like to be on?" Ellie stepped forward. "If you can make it, we'd like to be on a team for the color violet? We'd be fine on another one though, if we must." Ozpin nodded and they all stepped through.

   "You did that on purpose." Elias stated as they entered the crowd. Ellie said nothing, but smiled a little. They chose a random spot near the front of the crowd and waited as Ozpin began to speak. The mic rang on and Ozpin began to speak. "I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new and important skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy. A need for purpose. Of direction. You assume knowledge will free you from this need. But I am sure that in your time here, you will learn how knowledge will only carry you so far. It is up to you, and only you, to take the first step." Ozpin stepped away from the microphone. Replaced by the instantly recognizable (except to Ellie), Glynda Goodwitch.

   Glynda was a poised, middle-aged woman with very light-blonde hair neatly tied into a bun, a single curl draping down the right side of her face. Her striking bright green eyes were framed by thin oval glasses, and she wore teal earrings that complemented the matching pendant at her collar. She donned a white, long-sleeved pleated blouse with a wide keyhole neckline and flared gauntlet cuffs that pleated at the wrists. A black high-waisted pencil skirt, detailed with bronze buttons, covered her lower half, paired with stockings that faded from black to brown. Her footwear consisted of black boots with bronze heels, and she wore a cape—black on the outside, purple within—stylized with a dramatic flame-and-arrow cut. Along the back, a row of diamond-shaped bronze beads led up to an emblem resembling a tiara, symbolizing her personal insignia.

   "Tonight, you will gather in the ballroom. Your initiation will begin tomorrow. Be ready. You are dismissed. Sleep well."

   Elias, no, Vortex got his friend Lance's arm. "Come on, Lance. I know who we should meet if we want to make our time here less stressful. Follow me." Vortex pulled his friend through the crowd. Vortex actually got distracted and ran into a girl. "I am so sorry, I-" Before Vortex could finish his instinctual apology, he saw who he ran into and stopped dead.

   She was a tall, athletic young woman with long red hair tied in a loose, waist-length ponytail and striking green eyes accented by soft green eyeshadow. She wore a brown corset with a lighter center stripe, a black mini skirt, long brown gloves, and a red sash around her waist. She also had a bronze hip plate with her emblem, a circlet with dangling green emeralds, a bronze neck-piece (Also called a gorget), and an armband. She also wore bronze armor pieces on her legs and arms, with brown high-heeled boots trimmed in bronze.

   Vortex recognized her instantly. She was Pyrrha Nikos. "No, it's okay. I should have seen you coming. Are you okay?" Vortex quickly gained as much composure as he could. "Yes, I'm fine. And really, it was my fault. I had no intention of running into you, Miss?" Vortex left it open. He needed to meet her like this. By not knowing who she was. And it worked. Pyrrha smiled at him. "Pyrrha Nikos. And you are?"

   "I am Vortex Drahomines. My friend here is Lance Draco," Lance waved awkwardly. Pyrrha looked at their clothes. "Did you two get hurt in the explosion in the courtyard?" Vortex laughed. "No, we just had the unfortunate privilege of getting lost and falling in mud... and maybe a wild raccoon." Pyrrha laughed. "I hope we end up having some classes together, Vortex. Then I can get to know the fastest crasher on earth." Vortex scoffed and nodded. "Yes, I hope we will. I have to go find someone. I'll see you later." Vortex grabbed Lance again and burst away as Pyrrha waved him goodbye. He barely registered Lance's voice over the sound of his pulse pounding. Meeting Pyrrha had gone well—too well. He couldn't afford to get distracted again.

   "Isn't Pyrrha going to be on Team JNPR?" Lance asked. Vortex nodded but didn't speak or slow down. He moved through the crowd. He slithered through people, being more careful thanks to his accident. He knew who he had to find and he wasn't backing down. Vortex had a plan. He needed to blend in with the story. Become a part of it. To disguise himself as just another piece. If he did that, he could work covertly on what he wanted to do. He had limited time. "Elia-Vortex, who are we looking for?"

   "We're looking for the character of this show that will allow us to keep in with the others. Pyrrha was actually a good start. Although, I wouldn't get too attached. No, we're looking for the character who will get us in their group, and we will be disguised as one of them. We need the main character, Ruby Rose." Vortex let go of Lance and accidentally tripped and fell onto the metal floor. He hissed in quick pain before turned to see what he tripped on. It was a foot. Vortex turned to look at who he had tripped on, and went dead silent. He couldn't think coherently. Every instinct in his body told him to run. To hide. To call for help.

   "Are you okay?" The young woman who he had tripped over asked. She leaned down and stretched a hand out for him. She had short ashen-black hair that covered her left eye but otherwise didn't reach below her neck. Her eyes were a bright amber that seemed to hold no malice. She wore a red sweater that didn't cover her shoulders and she had on dark black jeans with a short fire-orange skirt. Vortex slowly reached for her hand and allowed her to help him up. But he was scared. It was like every five seconds, he was getting another surprise. He was not having a good couple days. Everything was moving so fast and he was getting carried away.

   "I... I'm fine." The 2 stared into each other's eyes. Both for different reasons. Vortex cleared his throat and tried to stand up straight in his fear. "I'm sorry," The woman said before he could apologize. "I didn't see you coming. If I had, I would've let you through. I'm sorry." Another moment of silence. "It... It's okay. I was running too fast anyway. At least I didn't bump into you like the last girl. Then I'd be even more embarrassed than I already am." The woman giggled. It was small and real. It was real. That wasn't good. "I'm Cinder Fall. My friends call me Ella."

   "I'm Vortex Drahomines. It's nice to meet you." Vortex and Ella looked at each other, a brief examination. "This isn't your first year, is it?" Ella smiled. "Yeah. I'm actually a Third Year. I just like watching the newbies react to being at Beacon. But you're definitely starting this year, aren't you? Your "Undead-Chique" look is a dead giveaway. I heard there was an explosion in the courtyard. Was that you?"

   "No. I wasn't in the courtyard. I arrived here with Ozpin." That piqued Ella's attention and Vortex realized he slipped up. "Who are you to be arriving with Ozpin to Beacon Academy?" Vortex scoffed, quickly finding his cover story. "Ozpin is like my uncle. My dad and him are pretty close." Ella seemed skeptical but chose to believe it. "If you don't mind me asking, Ella, do you have any tips for winning the initiation?" She looked up and thought about it for a moment. "If you aren't able to get a partner in time, go looking for a chess piece. A red one, I think it was. They basically give you a second chance. And you should steer clear of a cage-like ruin. If you see it, get away from it." Vortex nodded and noted it in his head. "Thanks. Do you think we'll have any classes together? It'd be easier to have a Third Year around to help."

   "Maybe, the combat classes join together every month or so. Maybe we can spar." Vortex nodded and smiled. His heartbeat slowed. It wasn't her he feared, just the memory she sparked. And he needed to be friends with her too, if he was now gonna make it out alive. He needed to throw his original plan out the window. "I need to go," She said. "But I'll see you around. Stay safe." Vortex bowed his head and they separated. This was when he realized he did not know where Lance was.

   He took a quick look around the crowd and tried to back to where he had been with his friend. "We just got lost, it wasn't too bad." Vortex found Lances' voice and tried to follow it. "Oh, did you guys get healed? The explosion on the courtyard was pretty bad, but nobody was seriously injured." Vortex moved a little faster. That was the voice of the person he was looking for. "It's alright. If you have the time, could you help me find him? We got separated in the crowd. Honestly, I'd figured it would've lessened by now."

   "People like to be in groups. I've never really understood. I prefer weapons to people. Most people. My sister and my dad are an exception." Vortex finally found himself mere feet away from Lance and the girl he was talking to. Ruby Rose. Vortex knew this moment was gonna come. He planned it himself. He wanted to speak to her. To see her again. But he was quickly reminded that planning something was a lot easier than doing it. "Hey, Vortex. There you are. Have you met Ruby?" Vortex was more than glad that Lance had gotten Ruby before him. He was beginning to think he wouldn't have the time to find her. So, Vortex decided to do something stupid to snap himself back to reality. "You... have silver eyes." Ruby looked confused for a moment, her short black hair and red highlights bobbed when she tilted her head.

   "Right. And you have violet ones." Lance accidentally snorted. He apparently found it quite funny. Vortex did not. He was not doing well. Seeing Ruby again was making him feel weird. He was happy to see her, sad that she did not know him. Happy she was safe, sad when he remembered this was not his Ruby. She wasn't his Ruby. That girl, the one who smiled at him like he mattered, was gone. This Ruby was just a stranger with the same face.

   She had on a black hoodie with a red thin-cloth hood and tight red shorts with black fishnet leggings. She had a thing tied to her back by a leather band that looked like a giant closed switchblade. "I... Sorry. Silver eyes are a rare color. They caught me." She smiled. "Violet ones are just as rare I think. I got mine from my mom. Lance already told me who you are. Vortex, right? I'm Ruby Rose." Vortex forced himself to act normally. If he could act normal in front of Ella, he could do it with Ruby. "It's... It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruby." 

   "Would all students please go to their dorms? I repeat, please make your way to your dorms." The voice of Professor Goodwitch reached everyone across the school, and everyone made their way to their dorms. Vortex was personally glad. He had narrowly avoided ruining himself. He hoped wherever the others were, they were doing a lot better than he was.

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(Meanwhile)

   Esmeralda, Miriad, and Mineta were happy to have been taken in by such a lovely family. The Yagami's were nice to give them shelter for a few weeks while they found a way to get home. They came up with a good story about abused runaways. Mineta already had some marks to convince them since he actually did grow up in an abusive household.

   Esmeralda was just glad that she and Sayu Yagami were the same size. She was beginning to like the young girl. Even if she only got every other word of what she said and had to ask Mineta or Light Yagami for help.

   Miriad and Light were getting along like best buddies. And Light was the only one who knew they were from another world. His insanely intelligent brain had solved it when they met. The father, Soichiro, was very kind to the kids. Telling them he'll keep them in the house until he can find them a better place to live.

   The only thing concerning was the presence of a strange god-like figure that was slowly rising in Japan. His name was Kira. And for some strange reason, Esmeralda knew that she would have to meet Kira soon. And he would be the key to getting back home and finding the others.

-------

(Meanwhile)

   Izuku, Gregory, Ava, and Ein were in a much worse situation than others. That was a fact. They were stuck in a strange world made of blocks with 13 minutes of sunlight and 7 minutes of night. The night was filled with monsters that killed almost everything in their path. They were lucky to have found a village of the world's natives. They couldn't speak the language, but they were given safety by the villagers and allowed to stay there.

   The 4 were exploring the world in the day, and sleeping through the night as best they could. The world made no sense. You could collect a square meter of dirt in a few punches and collect it in an invisible storage system. Nothing made sense. On top of that, they found journals of a man named Steve who also once lived there. And it implied this world was connected to another universe that was actually like their worlds.

   Nothing made a lot of sense. Even physics. If you broke a block in the tree, the tree would float. It was like insanity. They did learn how the building worked though, and they were trying to make their own houses. It wasn't working out well. Crafting became confusing pretty quick though.

   Then there was the strange structure near the village. It was the portal they came through. It glowed a dark green when it spit them out, then it just stopped. The journals said it was supposed to be blue to lead to the human universe. But the only way to ignite it was on the other side. This left them stranded and no help was coming. But Gregory, with his ingenuity, was beginning to plan a way to rescue Steve from the evil Nether dimension , and use him to help them get home.

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(Meanwhile)

   "Elias is off to a good start. The others are doing decent too. Given the other 2 groups unfamiliarity, they are doing wonderful. It was also a smart idea to pair Elias and Ellie with each other. The Analyzer says it should take them a few months at least to complete the ritual if they continue on the track they are. Any requests, my liege?"

   The Author considered it for a moment. The news that The Dark One was giving was useful. But she needed to throw them off their own tracks. They needed to adapt to surprises. It was, after all, why all of the worlds were different from the way they were meant to be.

   "Send a message to Salem. Tell her to launch a full scale attack on Haven Academy. Tell Malgosha to attack them in the Overworld. And tell the Shinigami King it's time to begin our plan. All in a month please. I need them to start taking proactive action. We need to see how they survive under more serious pressure."

Chapter Text

   Vortex (Who was starting to accidentally think of himself as Vortex instead of Elias) had awoken on a nice sunny morning. The only problem was his nightmares. They had come back again. More powerful. And he still wasn't sure why.

   "Are you okay?" Vortex leaned over the side of the bunk bed. Lance was looking at him with a worried face. Vortex was surprised to see it. But he was not gonna reject an opportunity to vent. "I'm fine. I just have this nightmare sometimes." Ellie sat up on the side of his bed, showing his new black onesie with stars on it. "How often?" Elias sat up on his bunk and looked out the small window on the other end of the run. Sunlight was pouring in slightly.

   "When I was unconscious. Last night too. I used to have it when I was little." Ellie stayed silent for a moment. "What is it?" Elias was scared to answer. He had only ever talked about this with one person. The person who he now had no way of contacting. "I don't recognize the place. There are mountains all around us. A grassy clearing dead center. In the middle, my dead body. There is... this girl. She's holding my body, crying over it. As if it was her fault." Ellie used the ladder on the side of the bunks and joined Elias. "Does it feel like her fault?" He shook his head.

   There was a knock at the door of the room, and they stopped. "Mr. Drahomines and Draco. It's time. In your lockers are the outfits you asked for. I've set up some things in your suit, Vortex, to make up for Aura and Semblance. I'll guide you to the locker rooms if you need it."

   "Thank you, we'll be right out!"

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(Lance/Ellie POV)

   "Just through that door. Your lockers are 127 and 129 respectively. Will you be fine on your own?" Vortex burst through the door without replying. "I think we'll be good. Vortex knows what this place is all about." Ozpin looked down at me for a moment. His face was calm and frozen. I didn't dare take my eyes off him, his stare kept me in place. "You should watch him a little more closely." Ozpin walked away, not waiting for my reply. I didn't understand it, but it didn't seem to mean anything big. Elias didn't have any powers and I did. I probably needed to protect him a little.

   I turned and walked into the locker room, repeating the numbers in my head. The whole place was silver and everything looked slightly futuristic. Even compared to my world, this place was pretty strange. I walked through the lockers, looking over each number. Then I realized a problem. I recognized that the numbers were in English, but I also realized I didn't know what they were. I knew how to say them, but I was never too good at reading. So, I just chose the alternative. "VORTEX! MARCO!"

   "Polo!" I walked around the room and found him on the other side, going through two lockers. "How did you get them open?" I asked. "They're not assigned to anyone yet and aren't locked. Our lockers will be assigned later. That one is yours." I walked over to one and looked inside. There was an all black jump-suit inside with fingerless gloves, knee and arm pads, and what appeared to be 2 obsidian diggers and a shotgun. "Why do I have a shotgun?" I asked to Vortex in Japanese. He shrugged. "Guns are excessively common for Huntsman and Huntressess. They make the American police force and military look like wussies in the gun department."

   I pulled out the suit, pads, and daggers, but I left the shotgun in there. "I don't need guns. Besides, you're not allowed to own a gun if you're not a police officer in Japan." Vortex nodded. I looked at what he had in his lap. It was a small green triangle. It seemed to glow a little. He also had a similar dagger to mine, except his appeared to be made of stone and the hilt was golden instead of the leather and stone I had. "What does the triangle do?" I asked.

   He looked as though he hadn't even heard me for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Ozpin will probably show me when we get there. In fact the announcement should sound in a few-"

   "Would all first year students, please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all First Year Students, report to Beacon Cliff immediately." We heard a pang of metal in the locker room and a falling noise. Ignoring it, we left and began our way to Beacon Cliff, deciding to follow the crowd of other students.

-------

   "Welcome, students. This will be your initiation test. For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your skills and abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. I'm sure many of you have heard about how we assign teams here at Beacon. I am here to put an end to that confusion. All of you will meet your future teammates TODAY. Your teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at beacon. Maybe longer. It is in your best interest to pair with someone that you can work well with. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

   "WHAT?!" I looked next to me and saw Ruby in her battle outfit, looking distressed at what Ozpin had said. She had a combat skirt on with a belt that had a silver rose on the clip. She had a red cloak that was pinned to her black sweater. Her hood was pulled down, but it seemed baggy compared to the thin fabric of the cape-part of the cloak. She had red ruffles at the end of her sweater, and from where I was standing I could see her weapon, Crescent Rose, tied to her belt. Must've been a powerful belt. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet obstacles along the way, I am sure. Do not hesitate to clear the path, or you will die."

   "You will be monitored and graded for the entire duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene unless absolutely necessary. At the end of the path, there is an old ruin. We have placed several relics there. Each pair must choose one, and only one, then return to the top of the cliff. The item you choose, as well as your standing, will allow us to grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

   A young man on the left of Ruby tried to speak, but was interrupted. "Alright then. Good. Take positions and formulate a landing strategy. And quickly, because I will only give you five seconds before you are thrown." I turned to Vortex who still had his green triangle in hand. "Did he just say thrown?"

   "He said it differently in the show." Then I was launched by the platform under me and thrown into the forest head-on. Along with everybody else. And I'm not sure quite how, but I think I heard Ozpin sip his eternal coffee and laugh. That was also the first time I thought Vortex might have photographic memory.

-------

(Meanwhile)

   "We have been at this for an hour. Would you just give up?" I sat off to the side of his bed. I was going through his Japanese-English dictionary, trying to see if I could memorize certain words to better communicate. It was a little tiring, asking Light for help every other second. Mineta was sitting beside me as well. His grasp on English was very limited, but good enough for decent communication. Esmeralda knew Spanish and English, and surprisingly a little French, but nothing else.

   Light was sitting at his computer, tapping away like a maniac. "No. I will not. This Kira case is incredible. Don't you remember last week when he killed that Lind guy on live television? He needs to be stopped." Light had light brown hair, flat as paper on his head, and dark brown eyes. In the time we had known him, he had proven himself to be a clear genius and possibly one of the most determined human beings on any Earth.

   "Yes I remember. But, if this is that important, should you really be messing with it? What if your dad finds out? This HAS to be some sort of federal crime." I wasn't sure what Esmeralda meant by Federal Crime, we didn't have a federal system in my world. But it seemed that hers and Mineta's worlds were more closely related to this one.

   "There is," Light's English was incredibly skilled. Almost flawless. If he got plastic surgery, he could go undetected as an American. "But do you plan on telling me? Besides, I'm also seeing if there are any reports matching your friends." The room became silent except for the tapping of Light's computer.

   There was a knock at the door and Sayu walked in. Light's sister. She said something and Mineta nodded. "Ready dinner." He said. We got up and Light finally stopped so we could go down and eat. But then something changed. I felt it. The air became stranger. "Tell her we'll be down in a minute, I need to check something." Light did. I didn't pay attention to what they said for a moment. I looked around the room for a moment.

   "Is everything okay, Miriad?" Esmer's question brought me back to reality. My eyes were resting on a spot under the vent. "My powers come from magic," I began. "They come from gods, myth, and everything that is Divine or Supernatural. Something is setting me off. We're being watched." Light walked over to the door. He knew I was being serious. Esmer and Mineta got into a battle stance. "Who are you?" I felt the presence move side to side, and I followed it with my eyes. It had a physical form, but it was almost completely invisible in every sense. Except for my special sense. My powers allowed me to sense the Divine and Supernatural energies of my world. The presence in this world was different, but it was something that I could feel.

   I felt it's brief fear. "My powers aren't strong enough here to actually observe it with any of my human senses. But I can feel it." The presence moved rapidly around the room. I followed it's movement. It was trying to see if I was bluffing. Then it left. "It's gone."

-------

(Meanwhile)

   The black portal, made of what the journals called Obsidian, stood as it always did. I watched it. Studied it. I tried to find any way that it could open from this side. Or just simply how it could open. The journals said that while an earth crystal could be retrieved again, there was only one Orb Of Dominance. The artifact that seemed to be able to manipulate this strange world. According to the journals, there is a history to this world. There used to be humans here. People like Steve. They built monuments to some Gods that used to exist here, but disappeared. The world had been threatened twice. Both times, a group of humans would come and save it.

   They left behind journals as well, but due to the villagers not leaving any history of their own, everything in-between is unclear. The Zombies, Creepers, and Skeletons used to be friends of the Villagers, fighting in the First Piglin War. Then they teamed with the Arch-Illager in his quest for the rulership of the Overworld. There is barely any record left of the human civilizations who were here before that, but they did exist.

   I had been considering going to the Nether for some time. Steve might know how to open a portal back without the orb. Ava and Izuku had come up with the plan to go and save Steve. They were waiting for my vote. I had been praying to Irene for the last few weeks. Asking for her to open the portal. Although from what Miriad talked about with multiple other gods and such, I was beginning to doubt that my Goddess would have the ability to help me while I was worlds away.

   But that is why I continued. I would not lose faith for a moment. My goddess would protect me. She always had. She sent me Esmer. Then she led me to Ava. We were under her rule. She was our goddess. Irene never disappoints.

   In our time here, me and Izuku and Ava had gotten or powers back. My ears and tail had grown back as well as my speed and strength. Ava had gotten her horns back and her fire. Even Izuku could access his Quirk, Super Power, and had begun training in this world. We'd been theorizing why this was possible. Unfortunately, we had no experience with these kinds of things and were at a loss.

   I was spending all my time, staring into this portal and praying. I really did not want to go to this dangerous dimension and get killed trying to save some guy named Steve. But I would if it came to that.

   The wind whistled around me while I watched the sun move across the sky. I could see the buildings made by Steve from where I was. The stunning villager statue. It was all fairly cool. In truth, I was impressed by what had been built. Even with the strangeness of the world, it was dangerous to go high. Falling hurt more from different heights than it usually did.

   "You done?" I turned around and saw Ava, standing over me. Her curled purple horns on the side of her head made a spiral, kind of like a snail shell. "No. No I am not. I will wait here until I see a sign from Irene." Ava sat down next to me on the strange grass. Both soft and solid. "And what if that sign points to Steve?" I stared forward, through the portal and into the distance. "Then so be it." Then, the portal opened in a flurry of blue.

-------

   "WHY COULDN'T THIS PART BE DIFFERENT!?" Vortex screamed as we ran across the forest. Well, I ran. I held him in my arms while I used a speed enhancement quirk I'd gotten a long time ago. It was very weak compared to what it usually did, but it was working nonetheless.

   We were being chased by a giant skeleton bear. Vortex called it an Ursa. And it was not friendly. "USE THE TRIANGLE!" I screamed. "I'M TRYING!" Vortex was pressing every part of it, trying to find a button. "SLAP IT ON YOURSELF OR SOMETHING! MAYBE IT'S ARMOR!" He tried that too and nothing happened. "FOR THE LOVE OF REMNANT!" He cried out. Then the damn thing glowed. "THAT'S THE PASSWORD?! REALLY!?" I yelled out in frustration.

   "I AM SO GONNA USE THIS AGAINST OZPIN IN COURT AS EVIDENCE OF CHILD ENDANGERMENT AND NEGLIGENCE IF WE LIVE THROUGH THIS!" Vortex slapped it on his chest and it grew. I threw him forward and watching him transform mid-air. He went from peasant to knight in a matter of moments. The armor had to be 3 inches thick. His face was protected by a tinted red visor. He kind of looked like a snake. The daggers which he had kept in his hands had grown in length.

   Vortex reached the ground and started running alongside me. "When I say go," His voice was slightly electronic, a speaker system was allowing him to speak. "Turn around and attack with your daggers. Go for the eyes. I'll go for his underbelly. GO!" I spun around jumped forward. I pulled my daggers out of my wrists (I had used my elongation quirk to keep them stored safely) and stabbed the giant beast in the eyes. I managed to see Vortex split open the beast's stomach with his blades. The monster stopped roaring and fell forward. I jumped away just in time to avoid getting crushed.

   I breathed in and out aggressively. "That... was insane. I was NOT trained to kill things... Hey, is that...?" Vortex turned to where I was looking and we both saw a small ruin. It didn't look like a temple though. "Lance, go get your blades. I'll go... pick our piece." Vortex moved towards the temple. I turned back and saw the Ursa's body. "I thought you said these things disappear?" I yelled back to him while I pulled my daggers. I didn't hear him reply. I stopped moving and listened. There was no crunch of leaves, no crack of sticks. I turned back and saw Vortex just standing there. He was staring toward the temple. "Vortex?" He still didn't move. "The pieces... we shouldn't... it isn't..." I walked towards him. "Vortex?" He was muttering now. He didn't appear to notice me.

   "Her piece... we changed it. Those... Why didn't she... I thought we were early... where... why isn't she..."

   "ELIAS!" He stopped. He turned to me. "Teams RWBY and JNPR's pieces are gone as well as Team CRDL. But... there are mord pieces left. Our team is the only one that should be left. Something isn't right... Go get our piece. We need to RUN back to the cliff. And fast." I didn't bother arguing. He clearly thought we were in danger. I rushed forward and grabbed a random piece. A golden pawn. I turned and ran as fast I could, Vortex was actually able to keep up with me this time. "Don't stop until we get to the cliff. We need to make it back."

   "Why?"

   "Because we should've gotten here early, and their pieces are gone. There are EXTRA pieces than I remember in the show. Something has changed and we need to find out why. Because if we don't... we might not survive long enough to see either of our homes."

Chapter Text

   "Elias, is that what I think it is?"

   "Yes, Lance. That is the decapitated body of a giant monster bird."

   We were just a little away from the cliff, and laying on top of a large ruin was a giant withering body. It slowly disintegrated into the air, disappearing with every second that went by. "They got here faster than we did." I stayed silent. The sight of the bird's body was mesmerizing. It was... not beautiful, but something close. The way the dust floated through the air then faded. It was hard to take me eyes away.

   "How do we get up there?" I asked. Vortex walked forward and clapped his hands together. "We climb."

-------

   "Team OPAI (Opaline). Led by, Oscar Pine." Another chorus of claps and celebration. This time, Vortex winced. I though he just had sensitive ears, so I patted him on the back. It was interesting that everybody up on stage kept getting surprised by the leader. The first name in the acronym is the leader. I guess it was less obvious to the others than it was to me. Ruby's team was especially surprised. "Now, for the final team on the list. Vortex Drahomines, Isaac Abercrombie, Lance Draco, and Theodore Grayson." Me and Vortex stepped up with the other 2. Vortex looked nervous. Afraid even. He was definitely getting more and more anxious. "You collected the pawn pieces. You will be Team VILT (Violet), led by, Vortex Drahomines." Vortex nodded, but he didn't smile. He didn't react all that much. I was worried about him.

   We stepped off the stage and I asked him. "Is everything okay?" I decided Japanese was the best call since nobody spoke it in Remnant, as he had told me. Plus, speaking English was a little tiring. "Yes. Everything is okay. I only need a minute." Just as we finished, our new teammates walked over to us. "Hey, I guess we're a team now. All the other teams met each other, I'm surprised we didn't. What happened to you guys?" Isaac asked.

   Isaac was a tall and burly young man. He was only a little over my height, but I knew I was tall. He had a dark brown skin that, in my world at least, usually implied Hispanic heritage. His eyes were a light brown, and there was a small scar on his chin. His was pretty muscular. From what I could see, most students were slim and used that to their advantage, so this was kind of odd. Isaac wore a green unbuttoned trench coat with golden ruffles along with black dress pants and a brown shirt. Despite his appearance, he had a warm smile that left me without a feeling of intimidation.

   Theodore was fairly short. He stood a little smaller than Vortex, who definitely smiled the moment he noticed Theo's height. He had light brown hair that curved to the back of his head with an oddly tall cowlick. He had light caucasian skin and bright green eyes. Despite his height, Theo kept a fairly average figure. You couldn't call him slim or fat, he was in the soft spot in-between. He wore a brown unzipped aviator jacket over a white shirt with black jeans.

   Vortex seemed to brighten at having more people to talk to. I think he was beginning to get lonely. "Right, sorry. We happened to be a little slower than everybody else. Ms. Goodwitch said we barely passed. Were you guys there when that girl Ruby decapitated that Nevermore?" Theo groaned. "No, we missed it. We got back faster than they did and were already being walked to the school when it happened. If I had known there would be that much action, I would've stayed longer." Theo had a light voice, higher pitched. Isaac laughed a little. "I think if we stayed, we might have died. I don't think I could take on a Nevermore." Isaac had a hearty voice, something deep and filled with power. "She had help from her team and Team JNPR." Ozpin had appeared beside them. It truly was impressive how a man so recognizable could get from place to place without so much as a footstep being heard.

   "Follow me. I'm guiding your teams to the dorms." Ozpin began to walk away and we followed without another word. He grabbed Team RWBY, JNPR, and then OPAI on our way. RWBY was made up of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Weiss looked more like a snow princess than anything else. Blake kind of seemed gothic, but she didn't have dark make-up or anything like that. It was just her personality and the black and white color of her clothing. Yang was very lively and seemed like a thrill-seeker. Ruby told me they were sisters, and I honestly have a hard time believing it. One of them HAD to be adopted.

   Team JNPR had Jaune Arc, nicknamed Vomit Boy for a reason I had not learned yet, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos (Who was happy to see Vortex, it so appeared), and Lie Ren. Ren had Chinese leanings, it seemed, but language and varying culture appeared to not exist in this world as it did in mine. There was just English. Nothing else. They probably didn't even call it English. Pyrrha, as I had recently learned, was famous in Remnant. She came from a city called Argos, and was practically invincible. Nora was... it could not be more obvious she was Thor. The hammer was a dead give-away. She seemed wildly excitable and way too happy. All the time. I think she and Ren were partners. Poor dude.

   Team OPAI was something else. Oscar Pine, Penny Polendina, Alyx Liddell, and Ilia Amitola. Oscar and Ruby were 14, both being admitted into Beacon 2 years younger than the usual students. It was interesting. As we walked to our collective dorms, the 2 appeared to be getting along well. Penny seemed... odd. She was plainly excited about everything, she kept mentioning how glad she was to have friends, and something about her just felt... unhuman. Alyx seemed a little... bored. Like Beacon Academy was just some fancy restaurant without any normal food. Ilia was... kind of the same. But where Alyx was apathetic about it, Ilia seemed like she was a little angry. Like this wasn't where she wanted to be.

   Ozpin eventually guided us to our dorms on the West Wing of the school. Second Floor, Third Hall. The doors were numbered on top. 12, 13, 14, and 15. Ozpin stopped at the end of the hall and turned to us. "You and 2 other teams are who we have at Beacon as Freshman this year. It is unfortunate that it has come to only 6 teams this year, but I suppose peace brings apathy, doesn't it? I am very glad we have all of you to join us here at Beacon. I have full confidence that all of you will do great things. Team RWBY will be in Room 12. Team JNPR will have Room 13. Team VILT will have Room 14. And Team OPAI will have Room 15. Before you ask, the reasoning for non-separation of gender, is that, while your privacy is top priority, there are sensors in your rooms to detect... sexual behavior and alert the staff. We find that making it impossible to get away with it works better than just making it harder. It also makes it so that you have to get to know your teammates. Now, are there any questions I haven't answered that you have?"

   I raised my hand. Ozpin appeared hesitant for a moment. Probably hoping I didn't ask a stupid question due to my unfamiliarity with the world of Remnant. "Yes, Mr. Draco?"

   "I have a question about combat classes. What if someone hasn't unlocked their aura or their semblance or maybe one or the other?" Ozpin smiled. Vortex shifted where he stood with a small smile, probably happy that I had asked as well. "Good question. When you get to your combat classes you need to tell Professor Goodwitch this, so that she can accommodate those obstacles accordingly. It's a very common issue, and we have procedures. Anything else?"

   He was met with silence. I wondered for a moment, how it was that we were the only teams at Beacon. And, what would they have done if an uneven number of people applied? There were so many things that could come into the equation. But, I kept my mouth shut. They were probably common knowledge answers anyway. "Very good. I highly suggest getting to know each other. Your classes are going to be mostly the same. I'll be in my office if you need me." We cleared the way of the hallway and let him through. Then it was an awkward silence. Nobody knew quite how to start. Then a hero rose from the darkness of awkwardness. The cape crusader of ice-breaking. And I mean that sarcastically. "Does anybody want to get something to eat?" Theo asked.

-------

   As it turned out, Theo's semblance was something extraordinary. He could transfigure food. By which I mean, he could turn a loaf of bread into a pepperoni pizza. The taste was right, too. We all had lunch in Team VILT's room. I sat over on my new bed, next to Ren. Across the room I could see Oscar and Vortex talking and getting along well. "Hi," I started. "I'm Lance. Lance Draco. You're Ren, right?" He nodded quietly. He was having some vegetable soup. "I... You grew up outside the kingdoms, right? I did too." He nodded again. His head was down and his eyes didn't leave the soup. "I know what it's like." Ren seemed to stiffen. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly.

   "I know what it's like to lose people... people you couldn't save. Your friend didn't tell me. I can just see it in your eyes." Ren stayed silent for another moment, the sat a little straighter. "How old were you?" He asked me. It had been some time since I could actually talk about this. "I was 3. I barely remember everything that happened, but I think about it sometimes. I see a woman, I think she was my mother, but it's been so long and I was so young. A man, probably my father. They were... they were everywhere. Another man was standing over their bodies. Not a monster, a man. Maybe worse, actually. My memory is... fuzzy. What about you?" Ren looked off out the window for a moment.

   "A Grimm attacked my and Nora's village. Kuroyuri. I lost my parents and she lost hers. We decided we'd become Huntsmen that day. Nobody deserves to lose their families to those... beasts." I had made a friend. Sure, trauma-bonding wasn't what I preferred, but making friends is fun. I looked over back at Vortex and saw he was talking to Ruby and Jaune. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I was glad to see him happy.

-------

   "Team PRDA (Prada)?" Vortex asked. Oscar looked like he was going to laugh. "Yeah, a team leader club, so to speak. We work together, help each other out. Professor Ozpin said we should all get to know each other. What better way than planning team events together?" Jaune had a good idea. It would work to keep us together. And I was working on business for tomorrow's first day of school. "I think it would be pretty cool. But the name is a little weird. Aren't team names based off the first letter of your FIRST name?" Vortex asked. Jaune sighed. "Yeah, but I couldn't find any good order, so I used our last names instead. Besides, we wouldn't be an ACTUAL team. It works, doesn't it?" He was right. No combination of ROJV sounded like any kind of color or word that I knew.

   Vortex swirled his cup of Professor Pepper. "That... is a good idea. I would be glad to participate. It makes it easier to keep track of each other. We could also learn how to fight better together. Like how you guys fought that Nevermore." Jaune and I look at each other with embarrassed faces. "It... wasn't that big of deal." I tried to say. But I was lying. It was one of the greatest achievements of fudgin my life! But it is good to stay humble.

   Vortex scoffed at me. HE SCOFFED AT ME! "Really? If you can decapitate a Nevermore, you can turn a Wyvern to stone." Oscar almost spit out his drink. "A Wyvern? That's a little bit of a jump, isn't it?" Vortex just laughed to himself. I wasn't sure whether or not he was serious. Although, he was nice.

   "How about," Jaune began. "This is our first meeting. According to the class schedules in our scrolls, we all have the same first class tomorrow. Let's plan ahead. Our History teacher is Professor Oobleck-"

   "OOBLECK!" Vortex spurted! "THE BARTHOLOMEW OOBLECK?! He is my favorite Huntsman of all time!" Jaune took a quick look at his scroll and nodded. "Uh, yeah. That's him." Vortex put his drink on a dresser. "It's official. We need to plan to become his favorite students. Team PRDA has it's first mission." I broke out laughing. So did Jaune and Oscar. Looking around the room of people who I knew I would soon know like family. A great big family.

-------

   Combat Class at Beacon Academy were much more impressive than at the smaller Combat Academies like Signal or Manticore that existed in Vale. The students in Professor Goodwitch's class found this out the hard way. Yes, they had the same rules. Classmate versus Classmate. Your aura determines whether or not you could continue. Semblances were allowed. No lethal force. The impressive thing, was the arena. At Manticore, you just fought in the gym. Here at Beacon? The classroom had a built in battleground which also had it's seats set as a stadium for the fights. And another change at Beacon, was that the classes were mixed for different years. So, when Vortex walked into class for the first time, he was surprised to see the girl he had met in the Entrance Hall. Ella was sitting in the front row, by herself, and was waving him down to her.

   This was another difference, but it was not a powerful one. It was small. It did not matter. The Butterfly and Domino Effects only came into effect every so often. The odds were in his favor for this one. He hopped down the stairs and took a seat next to her, the rest of Team VILT soon following. "Hey, Ella. Guess we have the same Combat Class. Where is your team?" Ella turned down to the arena and Professor Goodwitch with a smile. "My partner transferred to Haven halfway through the first year and the rest of my team got expelled. They shouldn't have held an orgy in their dorm." Vortex snorted, then coughed and tried to throw it off. "Yes, those are quite the good reasons for not having a team."

   Goodwitch cleared her throat and the class fell silent in their seats. "Today, students. We will be jumping right into the sparring matches. I know you all understand the rules already, but I must go over them again at the start of every semester. You will fight with as much power as possible, limiting lethal force. If your aura reaches red on the monitor," She pointed above to the giant screen which was turned off. "You will no longer be able to fight and will lose the match. If you can restrain your opponent for more than 5 seconds, you win. If your opponent walks out of the arena, you win. Semblances are allowed as long as they are not completely lethal. Would anyone like to participate in our first sparring match?" Ella, Vortex, Pyrrha, Penny, Jaune, and Oscar raised their hands.

   Goodwitch paused for a moment, taking each of the students into account. Then she decided. "Cinder Fall and Vortex Drahomines. Please step down to the arena."

-------

   "Professor Goodwitch, I don't have any Aura Protection or my Semblance, is it okay if we play with safer rules?" Vortex asked rather shakily when he got into the arena. "Of course. Special needs battling is-" Something in Vortex reacted to the words "special needs" and he interrupted. "No. Wait. Fair fight. I don't need special treatment." Goodwitch smiled and handed him his obsidian daggers. "Do your best."

   The lights faded. Vortex stood at the eastern (left for the audience) side of the arena. Opposite to him, was Ella, with a smile. "You really want to fight me? I have an advantage. I know you don't have an aura or semblance, and you don't even know mine." Vortex grinned. "Don't be so sure of that." A bell rang and Vortex burst forward. Ella did the same. As they reached the center, Vortex dropped and slid on the floor, surprising Ella enough to make her jump as he went under her. He grabbed her ankle and pulled, stopping himself from sliding more and slamming Ella to the ground. A peek at the monitor showed him he had just gotten about 6% of her Aura.

   Vortex released her foot and got back up in time to turn around and see her throw a fire ball at his arm. He twisted to his right to get away from it and jumped forward. He was halfway over her when she grabbed his foot. Vortex grabbed his dagger and slit the back of her hand, forcing her to release him. He heard her hiss when he landed on the other side of the arena. He peeked the monitor again, 20% loss. He smiled, and felt a sharp pain in his back before being launched just against the barrier of the arena, where he would've been ringed out.

   "Not so fun, is it?" Vortex launched himself to the left side of the arena, directly under the monitor, and saw Ella standing like she hadn't even been touched. "No, it isn't." Vortex launched one of his daggers at her, a move Ella hadn't expected, and sliced her left arm. The dagger flew out of the arena and at a wall, making it impossible to get back. Vortex didn't bother to look at the monitor now, he could see he was about to win. He ran forward and pushed her. She stumbled enough, then stopped and grinned at him. "Nice try, you-" Then she stopped. Voortex had his arms crossed and was grinning smugly. Ella looked down at her feet, and saw she had crossed the arena barrier. "Vortex Drahomines wins."

-------

   "Where did you learn how to do that?" Lance asked Vortex after class had ended and a few more matches had taken place. "I didn't," He lied. "Reflexes just kicked in." He leaned in and whispered. "I think we are beginning to adapt to this world." Before Lance could reply, Oscar and his team came up to them with Theo and Isaac. "Hey, guys. We were making plans to go out to Vale this Saturday and wanted to know if you'd like to join us. It's first weekend of the school year, and we wanted to do something fun. As it turns out, Team RWBY and JNPR already have their own plans. What do you say?"

   Vortex was overjoyed at the thought of doing such a thing. Lance however, appeared hesitant. "I don't know. Shouldn't we study for that test Oobleck is giving us Tuesday?" Vortex scoffed. "I listened to his lectures and I have enough notes to conquer the test and make it harder. I can help you guys study up Sunday. We should do this. Come on, Lance. For me?"

   Looking into his partners eyes, Lance was reminded of something. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something shone in those eyes that strung him as familiar. "Sure... Let's do it. What do you guys have planned?"

-------

   "They have a Zoo in Vale?" Lance asked, leaning over Oscar to see the map he was holding. "Yes, they do. You aren't from here?" Vortex jumped in. "Me and Lance come from a village outside the kingdoms. Harustafu, if you've heard of it." Oscar shook his head and shrugged, looking back at the map. It impressed Lance how easily Vortex could lie. There was no signal that said Vortex was lying, and the quirk he had for detecting those things kept going haywire when he tried to use it. Lance had gotten somewhat used to the idea of other worlds needing adjustment to his powers. However, Lance had really begun to hope that his power returned in full soon. He felt like something dangerous was coming. Not a quirk sense, but something in his soul. A quiet anxiety that rose with every day. "Come to think of it, are any of us from around here?" Teams OPAI and VILT all shook their Heads. "I'm from Atlas," Penny started. "All of Team VILT grew up in villages outside the kingdoms. Ilia is from Menagerie. Oscar is from Mistral. And Alyx is from Vacuo." Everybody made small sounds of confirmation. Penny was right.

   "So, in other words, we're a group of tourists?" Alyx asked with a tone of sarcasm. Penny did not catch. "I suppose you could say that. Although, since we live here now, we could simply be considered new arrivals!" Lance couldn't help but laugh a little. He had found Team OPAI to be quite fun. He decided that when he got home, he'd try to find a way to contact them. "If I get home..." Lance accidentally whispered to himself. His thoughts returned to Izuku and Mineta, and how they could be doing. He'd been having dreams of demons and of large pig-humanoid creatures attacking his friends. He knew they were just dreams, but they still haunted him.

   "Wait, why did you guys decide to come to Vale, if you all came from other Kingdoms?" Theo asked. Penny squeaked and answered joyfully, she had clearly been waiting for this question. "I came here because I wanted to learn more about the world. I spent most of my life in Atlas, I wanted to see another kingdom. I drew straws and picked Vale." Ilia huffed to herself. "My... parents had me attend this school. I wanted to stay in Menagerie, but it doesn't matter." Oscar leaned a little, losing that stiff stance he held. "My mom told me Beacon would be better for me. I wouldn't get any special treatment there."

   "Why would you get special treatment in Haven?" Alyx asked, looking down at her scroll. "My mom is the Headmistress at Haven." Both teams came to a full stop. Oscar took a few more steps before he turned around and saw them, standing in the middle of the sidewalk with gaping expressions (except for Penny who just smiled and waved at Oscar from a few feet away.) "What?"

   "Your MOM is Dorathen Kincaid?!" Alyx half-shouted. Oscar sped back over. "Yes. She is. It's not a big deal, so can we please-"

   "Not a big deal?" Ilia interrupted. "Your mother is famous. She is in the Top Ten Huntsman And Huntresses, OF ALL TIME! She is the youngest Headmaster ever. Your mom is a legend!" Oscar rubbed the back of his neck and his cheeks turned pinker than usual. "Yeah. That's my mom. Look, can we please forget about it? I don't like people fawning over me because of my mom." Ilia looked like she was gonna say something, when Vortex stopped her. "Of course. It's okay. We understand. Now, how much further is the Zoo?" Oscar smiled and turned back around. "It's only another mile. Let's go, the snake show is in an hour and I don't wanna miss it."

"Did you say snakes?" Asked Vortex with fear.

Chapter Text

The field was covered in a bodies. Living and dead and undead and robotic and gelatinous and too many different kinds of others. But it wasn't just the field. In the sky above, there will incredible ships filled with soldiers. Flying creatures, adorned with armor, battled eachother.

Insignia's, logos, symbols, ranks, and images of the kind littered the sky. Identifiers of the multiple organizations that were joining the fight. All united under one purpose. Not an organization, a single unified goal that would only last for this battle. The goal of continuance. For all of existence to go on. The words villain, hero, enemy, and friend all meant nothing.

But they had a leader. A single being who brought them here. A being called Chaos. For this was the final battle. Of Chaos and Order. This battlefield was not endless. Their enemy was in front of the. A wall of swirling black energy and white mist. But a being was controlling it. A man who wore a crown that shone like a black hole and armor made of light.

This was Order, the fusion of the 2 beings known as Dark and Light. Order would fight against Chaos and then, when Chaos was no longer a threat, Light and Dark would battle eachother. But that moment was not yet happening. This was still the battle. And if Chaos won, it would be the final one. This was the final stand for existence.

Huntresses, Huntsman, Serpent's Hand members, Cosmic Marine Corp soldiers, Demons, Angels, God's, Secret agents, Demi-humans, Dragons, Elves, Power Rangers, Wizards, Witches, Android people, Living Planets, walking pieces of food, and many more.

But then there was the enemy. Fighting for darkness, entities made entirely of black hole energy and anti-matter. Fighting for Light, were the same diverse quality of soldiers. Beings who had been taken control of by the hive mind Light ruled. Slaves of a conceptual primordial entity. Some tried not to kill, but others didn't care. Just more dead bodies. They were already gone. Their souls and personalities were anyway. Not even vestiges of their former selves.

This was the legendary prophesized battle. With an open ending. But this battle wasn't simply happening on the field, it was happening in every world. Every level of existence up to the Ultimaverse. Infinite representatives of Chaos. Infinite representatives of Light and Dark and Order. An infinite battle. But the true result was going to happen here. It could only end here.

But how?

Chapter Text

   Midoriya, Ava, and I were standing away from the portal with Diamond Swords in hand. We decided to hide and wait rather than jump through the random portal. It was opened by someone on the other side, so they would come eventually. Gregory had declined the offer of helping, instead choosing to stay in the village and continue studying the villagers' language. Izuku decided to stay with us, though, and prepare for a fight if one were needed.

   "Do we have a plan yet?" Ava asked for the fourth time in twice as many minutes. I sighed, adjusting my enchanted diamond armor. "I already told you. We wait, we watch, then we see if we have to fight them or if we can ask them a few questions."

   "That is not a plan! That is a hopeful scenario!" Ava whispered, shouted. "What if it's an army that comes through there? What if the portal actually leads to some sort of dimension worse than the Nether!?" Midoriya looked like he was about to pee himself. I was just mildly annoyed. "The chances of that are seriously low! The journal said it leads to a human world. Like ours. Just no werewolves, magic, or quirks... so a boring human world. There are no dangers that can come through that portal." The Orb of Dominance flew through the portal and onto the ground in front of it, encased in a glass box which was missing a wall. Before Ava could yell the words "I told you so!" at me, 4 more things came through that portal. People.

   The first person to fly in looked like a young boy. He had dark curly hair, a red hoodie, and jeans. I couldn't see anything more because he flew too fast. My eyes had not yet come back to full power. The second person was a girl, or a young woman. She was taller than the boy, but she had the same skin and hair. She wore some kind of robe jacket, and I was not able to get anything more before she landed on the ground. Knowing how hard the ground was here, I winced. Hopefully, they didn't break any bones. Then 2 more people flew in mid-air. A large bearded man in a pink leather jacket and a... proud woman. Midair, they knocked into each other and it would've been funny, had I not also currently been worried. The portal stopped spitting out people and objects, so I turned my sight on the group of people who had come through.

   We watched them stand up in the grassy field and look out into the vast Overworld. I was also pretty amazed when we landed, but I didn't get to enjoy it long when I realized everybody else was gone. Just me, Ava, Midoriya, and Gregory. It felt like, and I would never say this out loud, the sidekicks all got sent here. Except that Mineta dude. But, maybe that was the point. The people behind this wanted us confused, split up, and vulnerable. I was not gonna let them win.

   The group was talking, but we couldn't hear what they were saying. Before we could act, the sun shifted. The once blue sky whirled over the land and turned dark. The moon took its rightful place in the sky. And that made the monsters rise. Midoriya said something in Japanese that must've meant something along the lines of "Oh, crap." I ran forward into the clearing and got in front of the group. An arrow came flying through the air, directed at the face of the boy who came in first. I used my sword to block it. Lucky that my instinct and some of my speed were coming back.

   "FOLLOW ME!" I shouted, the 4 humans kept talking, and I wasn't paying attention to what they said. I ran toward the village, and when I turned back, I saw them running with me. Midoriya and Ava came running with us. I saw that the kid still had the Orb. I looked back and crashed headfirst into a zombie. It tried to slash at me, but I rolled to my right and dodged it.

   I jumped up and swung my sword through the creature's midsection. The beast became gray smoke, and its strange, floating flesh dropped. Didn't it use to take more than one hit to kill them? I didn't think about it longer before running again towards the village.

   But I was stopped in my path.

   The boy had figured out the blocks and was building a wall from wooden planks. I grinned. It was a clever move. I had some wooden planks in my... Steve called it an inventory. I helped him build it, so did Ava. Midoriya was gathering the others inside the wall. They were talking again, asking who we were and what was happening, and all the other questions we had tried to ask. Midoriya wasn't the best when we spoke fast in English, and these people were talking before light and sound could reach them. It was understandable, but it got annoying when you were on the other end.

   I walked over to them and started an explanation. "Listen, my name is Ein Barclay. Her? Avalon Shakal. And his name is Midoriya Izuku. We were trapped here before you about a month ago. This place is called The Overworld. The First Realm of Minecraftia. We are as confused as you, and you have the key to getting us out of here. I can explain more when we have time, but there are monsters. And we have to stay alive." They kept trying to talk, but I didn't care. I needed them alive. I'd give them the full truth when it was day again. It was funny. When I was a kid, my parents were always blunt about things and didn't explain anything more. Now, I was on the other end of that feeling.

   I ripped a two-block hole in the wall and kept a steady stance with my sword. I was making sure that the zombies noticed me and crowded toward the door. Ava got next to me and readied herself too. "God, I hate zombies."

-------

   Gregory carefully sorted through the items in his hut. Nothing was not in its place, and everything held an aura of belonging. This was peace for Gregory. So long as all was in order, in his order, then life was perfect. And so he knew instantly when someone had changed something in his hut. The items in his chest had been moved around, but nothing had been taken. Who had been in his space? Then he felt it. The presence of a person behind. Too late, he realized as a large object collided with the back of his head and knocked him out cold.