(Quick note: I added another Drawback to the Saiyans. It might not happen but I completely forgot to include it when I was making this. Tails are very important to a Saiyans power, in GT especially and you can guess what pathway Kaelith is going down.)
"Ka-me-ha-me-ha."
A bluish wave of Energy burst forwards from my cupped hands as I thrust my arms forward. Launching a powerful, yet rather small Kamehameha Wave against the Wyvern I had been hunting.
The Wyvern vanished as a resounding boom could be heard, its body turning to a black mist that slowly dissipated.
This particular technique was simple to replicate. You gathered Ki into your palms, and launched it forwards whilst flowing your Ki into it still. And if you wanted to make it incredibly small, you could.
[Ding! Wyvern has been killed]
[EXP Gained: 2000]
Right, as for why I was hunting this Grimm? I had started doing Mercenary work, which were essentially just Huntsman, without a license in this world. They did the work of a Huntsman, without being trained. But they also were only hired to deal with small-time Grimm outside the time when it can get incredibly dangerous due to how close the more powerful Grimm was.
Since the closer the Grimm was to the town or Arcadia in this case, the more dangerous it was to its people.
The Wyvern here was within 3 Kilometres of the City.
I flew into the air, taking to the sky, and flew back to the City. It wasn't an eventful flight back.
4 weeks have passed since I first came to this world, which meant it was time for me to go to the City of Vale named Vale.
I landed just outside the small outpost that had become the unofficial hub for local mercenary types. A squat, square building with chipped paint and an aura of "we pay late," it looked like the kind of place where the coffee came in one flavour: disappointment.
To the people, my semblance allowed me to manipulate Dust on such a level, but that wasn't actually my Semblance.
I levelled up RWBY Aura 1 time, and unlocked my Semblance.
It was essentially a Getsuga Tenshou, something I could already use thanks to my Ki. It was named Crescent Slash, which sent a slash of my Aura forwards by swinging my hands. It was similar to what Piccolo does in your first fight with him in Kakarot.
The receptionist—a balding man with a nametag that read Greg—barely looked up as I walked in. He was halfway through what I assumed was his third donut and possibly his last hope.
I stepped up to the counter and crossed my arms. "Job ID 0276-A. Wyvern. Dealt with."
Greg blinked at me slowly, like a Windows 95 machine processing a command it didn't like.
"Got proof?" he asked with the enthusiasm of a wet paper towel.
"Yeah." I swiped my scroll, pulling up the automatically generated mission log displaying the kill confirmation, time stamp, and GPS coordinates.
Greg squinted at it. Then tapped something on his own dusty little terminal. A moment later, I heard the ding of a completed transaction.
"2000 Lien. Transferred to your account."
I narrowed my eyes. "That was a Wyvern."
"Mhmm."
I sighed and leaned on the counter. "Gregory. That job listing said 3000 for Grimm as strong as a Deathstalker within a five kilometre radius."
He gave me a blank look, as if I'd just asked him to do the very basic math. "Right, but it was three-point-something kilometres, so it doesn't qualify as full threat level."
I stared at him. "Are you—what kind of bureaucratic discount math is that?"
"It's policy," he said, shrugging. "Talk to the Guildmaster if you got a problem."
"I am going to talk to the Guildmaster. Again."
He blinked at me. "She's on lunch."
"Isn't she always."
With a sigh, I turned away before I punched someone.
I almost had forgotten how stupid the people of RWBY were, but the dumbass there really didn't do a lot to suggest anything otherwise.
I had been running out of reasons to stay in Arcadia, it was one of the better cities in the Kingdom of Vale so it was time to move to Vale. With 1 week left, before Beacon opened up, I needed to make the move to Vale.
Yes, Vale. The City of Vale. Located in the Kingdom of Vale.
I mean, who named this place? Was there a committee? Did someone just point at a map and go "Let's make this as confusing as humanly possible"? Were the other names in the hat "Vale City" or "The City in Vale Which is Also Vale" and this was somehow the best option?
"Welcome to Vale," they'll say. "Do you mean the kingdom or the city?" "Oh, both. Just to keep things stupid."
Honestly, it's a miracle the people here haven't accidentally mailed themselves.
And Rooster Teeth thought this was good in terms of a name? What foolish creators.
But, frustration with the shit of this world aside, I needed to get to Beacon, which means going to Vale.
Back at the room in the inn I'd been renting, I tapped open my inventory and swapped my Saiyan Armour for something more casual: a long sleeved, deep red hoodie over a black shirt, with shorts, and a utility belt that looked more fashionable than practical.
I stepped into the mirror and looked at myself.
A faint memory played in my mind.
(2 weeks after Sumire started watching Anime:)
"Sumire!"
The shrill, painfully enthusiastic voice of Takahashi Akari tore through the hallway like a chainsaw through pudding. I turned toward the sound, expression neutral, mentally bracing for whatever emotional minefield this was going to be.
She barreled up to me, dragging a squirming, grumbling Yami by the sleeve. The smaller girl was attempting to walk backward at the same time, as though that would make Akari release her. It didn't.
"Clothes," Akari declared as if that were a complete sentence. "We're going shopping."
"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.
Akari gestured at me wildly, like she was a conductor orchestrating a train wreck. "Because you wear the same exact clothes types every single day, and it's not even ironically ugly. It's just tragic."
I looked down. My outfit consisted of a navy blue, plain, hoodie with grey trousers. I'd chosen the same combo because it didn't get in the way and the fabric had enough friction coefficient to resist minor grabs in close combat.
"You wear the same clothes too," I pointed out.
"Because they aren't a tragedy on Fashion. You look like you lost a bet with a sock."
Yami for his part, groaned. "Kill me."
"You're both going," Akari announced, ignoring her best friend, and gave me a look like she'd just signed me up for military conscription. "Sumire, I'm staging an intervention."
An intervention for what, I wasn't sure. Functional fashion?
Still, I followed them.
We arrived at what Akari reverently called the holy land—a glitzy fashion store downtown with music playing too loudly and mannequins that looked like they were about to start a K-Pop career.
It was called Blush. Why. Why was it called that.
The moment we walked in, a staff member tried to hand me a tiny cup of something pink and bubbly. I stared at it. Carbonated sugar water. Possibly poisoned.
Akari clapped her hands. "Okay! We're starting with tops!"
I blinked. "I already have a top."
"You don't have a soul, Sumire. And we're going to fix both."
She shoved a stack of garments into my arms. "Try all of these. All of them. No exceptions."
There were approximately 12 different shirts in the pile. One of them had sequins. One was off-the-shoulder. One looked like it would disintegrate if I breathed on it too hard.
"Is this made of spider silk?" I asked, holding one up.
"Close," said Yami, flipping through a rack labeled "Rebel Heart." "Probably lies and disappointment."
Akari shoved me toward the dressing room. "Go!"
Inside the booth, I stared at the shirts as if they were alien technology. This fabric was thin. This one had holes where no holes were required. One had ribbons.
I changed anyway. One by one.
I exited the room in silence, now wearing a lavender crop top with the words "Not Your Baby" written in obnoxiously large bubble letters.
Yami made a strangled choking sound and collapsed onto a bench. Akari just stared at me like I'd committed a war crime against taste.
"I feel cold," I said. "And mildly threatened."
"No," Akari said, grabbing me by the shoulders and steering me back. "We're going to find your vibe. You just haven't unlocked your main character fit yet."
Outfit after outfit came and went. A skirt that made me feel like I was trying to smuggle wind. A pair of pants that had actual holes down the thighs–pre-damaged? Were they cheaper because they were ruined?–A blouse so frilly I felt like I was about to enter a regency drama and die of consumption
Akari was not giving up.
Yami eventually stopped pretending to care and started texting someone, occasionally lifting his head to say things like, "You look like you lost a fight with a piñata," or "That one screams 'wants a boyfriend for clout.'"
I was learning. Fashion was a complex blend of functionality, cultural context, and implied emotion. Like battle strategy. But glittery.
After thirty minutes, something shifted.
I tried on a deep green tank top layered under a sleeveless black jacket, paired with cargo-style shorts and a set of fingerless gloves Akari called "biker chic." I looked in the mirror.
Something clicked.
I tilted my head. This... wasn't terrible.
The outfit was mobile, breathable, and looked like I could do a spinning roundhouse kick in it without fear of wardrobe malfunction. But it also didn't look like I'd crawled out of the Discount Bin of Depression.
"Hey," I said, stepping out. "I don't hate this one."
Yami blinked at me. "Oh. That's actually kind of hot."
Akari's jaw dropped. "Sumire, yes! You look like an anime tomboy side character that everyone secretly wants to romance!"
"I'm not sure what that means," I said honestly, "but I think I agree."
"Say something cool," Yami said, crossing his arms with a smirk.
I looked at them, thought for a moment, sighed and then—
"I don't need a weapon. Your standing on mine."
Yami let out an actual cackle. Akari looked like she was going to cry. "You're learning!"
Was this… fun?
I checked in with my body. My heart rate was slightly elevated. My facial muscles were attempting a small upward motion.
Enjoyment: 36%. Huh. That was… new.
We left the store an hour later with three bags, one of which Akari insisted on paying for "because if you dress like a fashionable delinquent, I can't be seen with you looking like a goblin the rest of the time."
My outfit was still on. I had refused to change back. Not because I cared what anyone thought, but because I could actually move in it. Comfort mattered. And this felt like… something me.
Something new-me. Not White Room-me.
Outside the store, we passed a couple holding hands. They were laughing, heads tilted toward each other in that soft, stupid way people did in anime and real life. I didn't understand the mechanics, but I filed it away for analysis.
Then Yami nudged me and whispered, "So, got your eye on anyone yet?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You know… got a crush?"
Crush.
The term did not refer to the act of physically compressing someone into oblivion, unfortunately. I had learned this from Akari's long and impassioned speech about shipping anime characters.
I thought about the word. About feelings. About that odd, chest-tightening moment when I'd heard Mei play her violin for the first time.
"No," I said automatically.
Yami gave me a look that said liar, but also I'll let it slide—for now.
Later that night, I stood in front of the mirror in the inn room. Same body. Same face. Same Axiom Memory constantly analyzing, storing, calculating.
But the clothes were different.
And somehow, that made everything feel different.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't wearing something that had been selected for maximum efficiency, minimum personality. I had chosen this. With help. With friends.
And I liked how I looked.
I wasn't beautiful. I didn't know if I wanted to be. But I looked like someone who existed. Not a weapon. Not a ghost.
Someone real.
I smiled, just a little.
And somewhere deep in the archives of my memory—somewhere between bloodless fights and solo training sessions—I filed this moment under something new:
Belonging.
(Back to Kaeltih:)
The memory faded as my Saiyan Armour was sent into the inventory and I stepped out into the street, heading toward the airship docks.
Arcadia's docks were modest. A few civilian ships. The occasional Huntsman transport. And of course, the Vale Express, which despite sounding like a high-speed train to somewhere glamorous, was really just a rust-coloured barge with seats that vibrated like a washing machine full of gravel.
The ticket booth was manned by a teenager who looked like he'd rather die than do customer service. "Ticket to Vale," I said.
"150 Lien, please."
I transferred the payment, grabbed the digital boarding pass, and found my way onto the airship. It was already half full. Mercs, traders, a couple of students in wannabe-Huntsman uniforms trying not to look nervous.
I found a seat by the window, stretched out, and let my head fall back. The flight would take about an hour. I could use the time to rest. Meditate. Or silently judge every single person on this transport. The options were endless.
Wait isn't that?
A familiar girl caught my eyes.
Orange hair, turquoise eyes, wearing collared black sleeveless vest, with a blue central front section with red accents over a white sleeveless shirt which has a heart-shaped cut-out above her breast line in the centre accompanied with a pair of white detached sleeves on each arm And wouldn't you know it a pair of light pink fingerless gloves.
Fuck, it was. But then where is her boyfriend that isn't yet her boyfriend? Oh no, I see him now.
The ship lifted off with a rumble and slowly veered away from Arcadia. I watched the city shrink in the distance as I mentally sighed.
Vale was where the real stage was set. Beacon Academy. The actual Huntsmen. The actual nonsense that RWBY was known for. Giant scythes. Gravity-defying fights. Logic-defying plot holes.
I was heading straight into the belly of the glitter-covered, Dust-fueled beast.
I mentally opened my status. A little power trip never hurt anyone–and if it did? They were weak. Darwinism, baby.
[Name: Kaelith]
[Age: 16]
[Race: Saiyan]
[LVL: 84]
[EXP: 2000/357400]
[HP: 30000]
[MP: 255000]
[Faith Energy: 850]
[Strength: 220]
[Agility: 250]
[Vigor: 150]
[Intelligence: 2550]
[Wisdom: 1500]
[Luck: 80]
[Faith: 85]
[Stat Points: 840]
[Affiliations: None]
[Occupations: None]
[Drawbacks: If your tail is cut off, you lose half of your stats and ? becomes extremely strenuous to use.]
In all honesty, everything was going fine.
As the clouds thinned and the horizon opened, I saw the city at last.
Vale.
I mean, seriously. What's next? "Mistral City in Mistral Kingdom"? "Atlas, Capital of Atlas"? Why stop there? Why not "Beacon Academy, of the Beacon Academy Campus, located inside Beacon Academy County, formerly known as Beacon."
Lazy worldbuilding.
But okay, fine. I was here now.
The airship descended slowly, coming in for landing. Vale looked... well, like a city. Slightly more advanced than Arcadia, more tower-heavy, a bit cleaner. It had the themes of European design, but was fine.
As we docked, I stood up and stretched. Time to see what this glittering pile of recycled anime tropes had to offer.
Time to shake things up.
I stepped off the ship and into the crowd.
Now to find my way to the shop with the name that referenced a song from my old world.
Navigating my way through the small crowd of nameless people, I began my search for the store. Lost.
That was until a highly cheerful girl called out to me, asking me a random question that would be obvious to everyone else.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
Ren stepped forward, explaining in the same, stoic manner he had in the show. "We noticed you watching us earlier and wondered if you needed assistance."
I smirked, wanting to annoy the shit outta them, with something from my old world.
"New to Vale, I am," I admitted in a... new manner of speech. "Unfamiliar I am, some guidance, I much appreciate."
Object-Subject-Verb, otherwise known as Yoda speech. A rather uncommon form of ordering words in the English language, as it is an inversion to the typical way one speaks the ancient, yet ever evolving language that belonged to the British.
Nora beamed. "We'd be happy to help! I'm Nora, and this is Ren."
"Kaelith," I introduced, offering a slight smile.
Ren tilted his head slightly, polite smile wavering just a little. "Ah... I see. You're... not from the city?"
"Not from anywhere near, I am. Far I have traveled."
Nora blinked. Then smiled brightly—too brightly. "You talk funny!"
"Funny I am not. Simply... distinct, my manner of speech is."
There was a beat of silence. Ren looked like he was running a full diagnostics check on my grammar while Nora beamed as if she'd just found a new species of cute animal.
"Well, distinct is cool!" Nora said cheerfully, throwing an arm around my shoulder like we were long-lost friends. "Come on! We'll show you around!"
"Grateful, I am," I replied, biting down on a grin. "Lead on, you may."
Ren's eyebrow twitched. Just a little.
Ah, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of verbal chaos.
The streets of Vale were... weirdly clean. Like someone had told the entire city it was about to be judged in a beauty pageant and the place took it personally. Smooth sidewalks, sleek buildings with the kind of glass that screamed "touch me and die," and glowing Dust-lamps lighting the streets like they were trying too hard to be magical.
Nora bounced beside me, practically vibrating with energy, like someone had replaced her bloodstream with soda and childhood dreams.
"So what brings you to Vale, Kaelith?" she asked, peeking up at me from the side with a grin so wide it could've been classified as a minor anomaly in spacetime.
"Travel I do. Learn I must. Stay... perhaps," I said, keeping up the Yoda speech pattern because it was still mildly funny and Ren was now visibly recalibrating his internal dictionary every time I spoke.
He gave me a side glance. "You're heading to Beacon, aren't you?"
I shrugged. "That, my destination is."
"Cool!" Nora chirped. "We are too! Or, well, we will be. Beacon's gonna be amazing! We'll fight monsters, learn cool stuff, eat cafeteria food until we hate ourselves—"
"And train to become Huntsmen," Ren finished, more subdued, but there was something determined under the calm. That kind of silent resolve that said, yes, I could kill you with a butter knife, but I won't unless you really deserve it.
Good. I liked them already.
I hadn't planned on meeting them this early, but the universe apparently had a thing for narrative convenience. Still, it was worth the risk. Having them on my side might make the Beacon nonsense a little less tedious. Or at least more entertaining.
"So, what kind of weapon do you use?" Nora asked, practically skipping as we walked. "Ooooh! Is it a hammer? A sword? A hammer-sword??"
"Weapon, I need not," I replied, smirking slightly. "Weapon, I am."
Ren blinked. Nora's eyes lit up like someone had turned on a sugar-powered lightbulb.
"That is so cool! Wait, wait, wait—are you, like, one of those martial arts types who punches Grimm into submission with raw aura power or whatever?!"
"...Yes," I said, because honestly, that was close enough.
She gasped. "Ren, she's like you, but cooler!"
"I'm standing right here," Ren said mildly.
"Still true," she said, grinning.
I exhaled, amused despite myself. Vale's streets weren't too hard to navigate, especially with local guides, even if one of them could double as a small, excitable meteorite. People passed us without much notice—humans, faunus, Huntsman trainees trying to look more mature than they were. A few shopkeepers out front sweeping. Neon signs buzzing gently as afternoon edged toward early evening until we arrived at a nearly empty area.
And then it happened.
A sharp crash split the air like glass screaming.
We all turned, simultaneously.
Down the block, a Dust shop. One I'd been intending to visit, in fact. The glass front had been shattered—completely caved in as 2 figures flew out, one laid on the ground, knocked out whilst a girl stood in the middle.
Not just any girl.
Red cloak. Black combat skirt. Crescent Rose folded neatly into scythe form in her hands as she spun, whirling it through the air like a bullet with style before bringing it down, digging it into her headphones as she prepared to fight.
My eye twitched slightly.
"Okay. Get her." A voice from a man called out, and 8 guys surrounded Ruby.
Wait, 8? There was only 5 in the scene I watched. Did 3 extras get added?
Nora had already taken a step forward, eyes wide. "That girl's outnumbered!"
Now I knew she could take them all down, herself. And you know what I could've let her.
But there was no reason to let the future protagonist hog the spotlight. Especially not when I wanted to take a moment
Without another word, I took off.
One thug turned toward me, just in time to receive a spinning roundhouse kick to the face. He went flying, slamming into a shelf of Dust canisters with a very satisfying crunch. Two more turned, yelling something about "back up," but Nora arrived like a goddamn candy-coloured wrecking ball.
"Magnhild says hi!" she shouted, flipping and bringing her hammer down with enough force to crater the concrete beneath her.
Meanwhile, Ruby blinked. "Wait—who—?"
But before she finished that sentence, 5 small spheres of Ki, which would be my Semblance to them hit 5 of them in an instant. Then I simply said, "Allies, we are. Tell, I can, criminals, they are."
Ren cut the tandem of a guy with ease, and span kick his neck, knocking him out.
A soft clap came from the man with green eyes and fiery orange hair, as he looked down, "And you were all worth every cent, truly you were." He sarcastically said.
"Well, you 4, I must say it's been an eventful evening and as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid we must part ways."
I stepped in front of them all as his cane shot fire dust out, moving my hand in front of me. Generating a shield of Aura. The first and only time I'll use my white Aura to do anything cause I have yet to figure out how to do the same with my Ki, right now.
An explosion of orange occurred from the fire dust, but my shield tanked it, as Roman, tried to get away.
Within an instant, I leapt from my spot, after him.
Now, I had to let Canon play out for a bit, after all Cinder is required for V3.
An airship arrived, and Roman got on it as I charged a sphere of Ki in my right palm. Ruby, Nora and Ren arrived soon after with Roman yelling out, "End of the line, Children!" Before throwing yet another form of Crystallised fire dust at us.
A blondie appeared, her expression stern as she guarded the attack with what looked to be a Magic circle, that was not actually Magic but rather her Semblance that is Telekinesis. Making a small, "Hmm," she pushed her glasses up and waved her cane, firing several streaks of purple telekinetic, or dust projectiles using her semblance. The show never made it clear if she used it here.
The ship was hit, and started to shake.
Roman switches with a "mysterious" figure, that is Cinder.
But I wasn't going to wait around, I poured a little over 1000 MP, into this one sphere of Ki I already had, causing it to turn into a fiery orange colour with a faint yellowish outline. This was unique. And was my first truly original technique.
Galactic Burst was made as a test, but this?
This felt truly original.
I thrusted my arm forwards, releasing the Ki blast with 2 words, spilling from my lips before I could stop them, "Shining Star!"
I purposefully missed, but it detonated close enough to the ship to make it look like I attempted to hit it, it gave Glynda the opportunity to summon a circular storm cloud out of a glyph through manipulating Ice Dust above the Bullhead and, with a flick of her weapon, she causes ice shards to hail down onto the ship from the cloud.
Many hit it, causing the ship to buckle, one shard breaking through the windshield, narrowly missing Roman's head by an inch as he dodges it.
Cinder then arrives at the airship's doorway, creating a flame on her hand and causing the elaborate designs on the arms and chest of her dress to glow. She fires a burst of fire at Glynda, who blocks, but the flame splatters behind her as molten liquid, exploding as Cinder raises her hand.
I leapt back, dragging my 2... almost friends–as reluctant as I am to admit that they remind me a lot about Akari and Yami, and thus I can actually see myself becoming friends with them in the future–out of the way. Ruby was already outside its range.
Glynda back flips out of the explosive beam confidently.
"I'd help, but…" She frowned, glancing toward the damaged buildings and the innocent bystanders gawking from alleyways. "Grenades plus civilians? Not my smartest plan."
Ren stayed where he was, calm but focused.
"My blades can't touch that ship. Not from here. And I'd be wasting ammo by firing at it."
And Ruby—Ruby was frozen, wide-eyed, realizing she was standing before an actual Huntress. The awe had rooted her in place.
"Good, you lot should stick back for now." Glynda said, in a disciplinary tone.
Then she did what she did in canon, going through a series of gestures that gathers the shards of broken material to create a large arrow made of debris and launches it at the air ship, Cinder disrupts the arrow with several fiery blasts, but it reforms.
The ship tips to the side just in time to prevent being hit broadside and the debris makes harmless contact with its top. The arrow separates into three encircling the jet. However, Cinder notices and creates several glowing rings around herself that release a burst of energy, disintegrating them.
I gathered Ki into my palm, preparing to fire, and fail to take it down, with Ruby who upon breaking out of her stupor, reverts her scythe into its rifle form and fires at Cinder, who simply blocks each shot with a small Aura shield projected from her hand. Cinder then creates several circles on the ground around me, and the other 4.
I make it clear, that the Ki blast fizzled out as I lost my focus when I, Ren, Nora, dodged, whilst Ruby was saved by Glynda using her semblance whilst she herself dodged the attack.
By the time they all recover, with me making it look like I recovered at the same time, the ship was gone.
Roman and Cinder escaped like they did in Canon.
And of course after Ruby excitedly asks for an autograph we are brought to an interrogation room.
"I hope you lot realise that your actions tonight will have consequences and are not to be taken lightly. You lot put yourselves and others lives at risk."
Me, Ren, and Nora were in a separate room from Ruby as Ozpin chatted with her.
"What were we meant to do? Let an innocent man's store get robbed? And from what I saw, it seems as if they attacked little red first. We want to go to Beacon, from my understanding and be Huntsman in training. I have experience fighting..."
Glynda cut me off, "You, Kaelith are known to me as the one who won the Arcadian tournament last week, without getting hit once." Her next words didn't shock me, but the other 2 became flabbergasted, "And the one from another dimension. You see, Qrow told me and Ozpin all about how you are from another world, and what he told you."
"Did you have to spill that secret so casually near my new friends?"
"Unfortunately, we are short on accommodations at the moment, so privacy is something you'll need to forgo—for now. Though judging by your behaviour, I suspect secrecy was never truly your intention."
"Ugh." She hit the spot. I knew whoever I teamed up with in Beacon, I would tell them the partial truth of how I'm from another world.
Not the fact that I have past life memories.
"Now tell me," she said smoothly, "why did you hold back? Why did you miss with that little 'Shining Star' of yours?"
Nora and Ren turned to me in unison—just realizing I'd aimed off on purpose.
Fuck. She's sharp.
I leaned back in the chair, arms crossed. "What would've happened if I hadn't missed? If we took that Bullhead down?"
Neither of them answered.
I shrugged. "People would've died. Innocents. And sure—I don't care who I hurt. But they do." I nodded toward Nora and Ren. "They'd carry that weight like a badge of shame. Me? Not so much. But I'm not cruel enough to break my new friends before we've even started."
Glynda raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
I continued, voice a little drier, "Besides, I can't exactly conquer planets anymore, can I? Ship's gone. Home planet? Gone. Oh, and did I mention being stuck in an entirely different dimension?"
I met her gaze. "I'm stuck here now, so why not make the most of it?"
I had lied, I had options out of here once Salem was dealt with, but nobody knew I knew that information. And I wasn't revealing anything about the Gamer.
Glynda stared at me for a long moment, eyes narrowed just enough to let me know she was filing away every word, every inflection, every breath. Like I was a particularly rebellious student she couldn't decide whether to expel or recruit as a teaching assistant.
Ren was still processing everything. He hadn't said a word since the "other dimension" bombshell dropped. Probably running mental diagnostics again. Poor guy. His whole worldview probably just sprouted an extra axis.
Nora, bless her over-caffeinated soul, looked about two seconds away from either asking me fifty rapid-fire questions or declaring me her new best friend.
"Right," Glynda finally said, standing with a rustle of her immaculate cloak. "Ozpin will want to speak with you himself, Kaelith. And the three of you, for that matter." Her gaze flicked to Ren and Nora. "Regardless of the circumstances, you acted with bravery… and remarkable efficiency."
"Damn right we did," I muttered.
"Still," she continued, ignoring me, "we'll be watching you. Closely. Beacon does not take reckless power lightly, no matter how effective it appears in the moment."
I gave her a dry smile. "Reckless power is better than useless potential."
She didn't dignify that with a response—just turned on her heel and left the room like a mic drop in heels.
Nora leaned in as soon as the door shut behind her. "Sooooo," She drawled out, "Other dimension. That's a thing, huh?"
I sighed, rubbing my temple. "Yeah, that's a thing."
Ren tilted his head. "Another world… strange. But you carry yourself like someone who belongs here."
"Gee, thanks. I moisturise."
"I mean energetically," he said, almost apologetic. "Aura. Spirit. Whatever it is—it's… familiar. Odd, but not hostile."
"Well, glad to know I'm not radiating 'invader from the void' vibes. Also sorry about that strange manner of speaking, I was bored and wanted to mess with someone."
Nora squinted at me not noticing the apology. "Wait, wait, wait. So like—are you an alien alien? Or like a fantasy-protagonist-woke-up-in-a-new-world alien?"
"Yes."
She blinked. "That's not how yes or no questions work."
"Neither does this world, apparently," I muttered, leaning back and letting my head thump gently against the wall. "Look, the short version? I fled from my home planet, avoiding it's destruction, then this tear in reality appeared, bending time and space, and then I crashed my ship near Arcadia. Realised Grimm were dangerous, read to learn more, and realised that this world can't touch me."
Ren gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. "Acceptable."
Honestly? I'd expected more questions. Maybe a few accusations. Certainly some "are you evil?" eyebrow raises.
But instead, Nora grinned and said, "Well, if we're gonna be friends, I need to know your favourite breakfast food. This is important. Life-or-death levels of important."
And that? That threw me more than anything else tonight.
Because, I didn't know if my taste buds were affected by becoming Kaelith. And the shudder down my spine that came when I realised I might, no longer like a classic Omelette was... pretty telling. I also only ate cereal and the like, testing the new food in this world for the past 3 weeks...
I need to fix this.
"I'm not exactly sure. As a Warrior, I didn't have the time to complain about the food I liked, or disliked."
That... reminded me of the White Room.
She gasped. "Oh no! We need to fix that! Ren, we must help Kaelith here."
Ren exhaled, very quietly, in the tone of a man preparing for the apocalypse.
"Okay, Nora."
I sighed.
Geez, this was exactly why I was so lenient with them. They're literally like Yami and Akari all over again.
I guess dying the way I did, was truly selfish.
With that thought, I exited the station, thinking about... the place where I belonged.