Omake: Tentacles Are Better Than RWBYs (Part 1)
This world was strange.
A broken moon, strange technology, different species walking among humans... and not all of them being friendly. The creatures called Grimm seemed to be particularly malicious. It kinda reminded you of Endbringers, only much more widespread. And if the demonic hellbeasts that wandered around weren't enough, somehow the crazy inhabitants managed to weaponize their
souls and use them in combat!
Melody found the whole thing to be fascinating while Aria was salivating over the idea of tasting bits of people's souls. Apparently the only way to eat a soul was to eat the person, but since everyone was wearing their souls on their bodies, it meant Aria could take little "nibbles" here and there without killing anyone.
Melody assured me that it wouldn't harm them at all -- the bits Aria ate would just grow back good as new -- but I still didn't like it. It made me feel too much like a stereotypical villain.
Speaking of villain, there weren't any capes here. People still had superpowers and stuff, but apparently anyone could get superpowers if their "aura" was awakened and they trained long enough. Evidently aura turned every fighter in this world into high class brutes with healing factors, on top of the stuff that made them able to work their weapons and give them their own personal powers. No triggers, just hard work and perseverance.
It kinda made me tempted to awaken my aura and see if I could do that type of stuff too -- if it weren't for the fact that it wouldn't work on me. I asked one of the Hunters -- the people who hunt Grimm -- to awaken my aura and when he tried he passed out. Waking him up had been a chore and a half and when he did wake up, he said that it "wasn't possible". He also asked me not to eat him and started crying and curled up into a ball.
He lost all memory of the incident an hour later, and couldn't remember no matter how much I tried to remind him. He got real interested in my abilities though, and took me to this guy who wore a lot of green and had white hair. A few hours of discussion later and I was going to a Hunter school called Beacon.
I kinda took it in a stride. I mean, it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go ever since the whole Scion thing back home. And I do love being a hero and helping people, so becoming a Hunter in this world wasn't all that different. The Grimm were much easier to defeat at the very least, though the older ones were a bit of a challenge to kill. Aria liked the taste of them though.
Stepping on the airship, I was met by a familiar sight of people in costumes. Or at least, they looked like costumes. All of my future classmates were wearing some of the most colorful and elaborate articles of clothing that I have ever seen. It reminded me of the capes back home, only no one was wearing any masks. And everyone seemed to have a wide variety of hair colors -- pink, blue, purple, green, etc. -- that made me wonder if there was a requirement for everyone to dye their hair. Either that or these people had some crazy genes. It wouldn't be weird, considering the fact that half of the population had animal parts.
Being surrounded by all these unique and colorful people made me stand out all the more for how ordinary I was. All I was
wearing was a regular jacket, a T-shirt, my utility belt, and some jeans. The jacket and T-shirt had some slits cut in the back for when I needed to bring out Melody's wings, but that was it. I got a few stares and whispers which made me feel a bit self conscious.
"Don't worry about it Taylor. You'll do fine!" Aria chirped.
"But what if I missed out on some dress code or whatever? I stand out like a swore thumb!"
"That Oz man would have said something. It's probably a stylistic choice, an aspect of the culture," Melody said.
"Besides, there's bound to be someone dressed like you here!"
As if on cue, a blond boy who was wearing casual clothing with bits of armor here and there ran by me and threw up in a trashcan.
"See? He looks normal! You should go talk to him!"
"Um..." I eyed the puking guy before shrugging. Why not? "Hey, are you okay?"
The guy looked up at me for a second. "Huh?"
"Are you sick or something? Do you need help?" I probably had a med kit somewhere in my body space, though I wasn't sure how to treat chronic puking.
"No I --" He puked in the trash again. "Ugh. I'm just not used to flying on airships. This is my first time on one."
I winced in understanding. "I know what that's like. I've had my fair share of trouble on pla -- airships in the past." I never went on planes all that much back on Earth Bet, but the first time I did was... memorable, to say the least. American Airlines still had a grudge against me and the FBI still had my wanted poster pinned on their wall. Man, I had a
fun time explaining that shit to my dad. "My name's Taylor by the way."
"Jaune." The airship started to shutter and shift as it started to land causing him to puke even more. "Nice to -- urg -- meet you."
I smiled and waved before heading out the now open doors. "Nice to meet you too, Jaune."
I had only taken a few steps onto the walkway that would lead to my new school when I heard an explosion. I turned to see some girl in red sitting in the middle of a crater, coughing and waving the smoke out of her face while some girl in all white yelled at her. The girl seemed okay -- the people of this world were stupidly durable because of their aura -- but I was still a bit worried. She had taken an explosion to the face after all and that girl in white didn't seem to be willing to help her out. Meanwhile some girl in black was reading a book and giving the two of them glances.
...was everyone here color coded?
"Hey, you okay?" I walked over and gave the girl a hand. "You uh, looked like you took a big hit there."
She gave me a grateful smile. "Oh thanks! It was just a little mistake, I --"
"Little?! You blew us up! Ugh!" The girl in white crossed her arms and glared at her. "Ugh, what are you even doing here? Aren't you a little bit young to be attending Beacon? Do you know what place this is? This is a place where we'll be hunting Grimm, not messing around and --"
I cut in. "Hey, give her some slack alright? I'm sure it was just an accident."
She glared at me, her expression reminding me too much of Emma and the way she'd look down on me at school. I grew past that part of my life, but it still grated every now and then. Especially when I came across spoiled brats like this one. "Who are
you supposed to be?"
"Taylor." My response was clipped. "And you?"
"
Excuse me? You don;t know who I am?" The mere fact seemed to offend her on some level. "I'm Weiss Schnee!"
"Ooh, is that the name of a muffin? 'Cause that sounds like the name of a muffin!"
I smiled a bit at Aria's commentary before focusing back on the girl in front of me. "Never heard of you."
"What do you mean you've never heard of me?!"
The girl in red interjected. "Um, maybe we shouldn't fight? This is our first day and all, and it'd
probably make a bad impression if we all started yelling in the courtyard."
Weiss whipped around and gave the girl in red a glare. "I wasn't talking to you!"
"She's got a point." The girl in black walked up to the three of us, holding a jar full of what looked like red dust. "The teachers would probably be upset. You don't want to get in trouble on the first day, do you?"
Weiss growled -- literally growled -- and snatched the jar from her before stalking off.
I watched her go. "What a bitch."
Red gasped, pointing her finger at me. "Hey, language!"
"What?"
"You said a curse word. If we were back home, you'd probably have to put like two dollars in the swear jar!"
I must have looked incredulous because almost immediately the girl seemed to shrink in on herself. "I-I mean, not that that type of thing matters, am I right? We're all adults so we can say whatever we want, right? I'm just, uh, making conversation! Heh heh heh..."
"Wow. She's even more socially awkward than you used to be!"
"Quiet, Melody," I whispered.
"What?"
"Oh, um, what's your name? My name is Taylor Hebert." I held out my hand and she shook it, giving me a bright smile.
"Taylor, huh? That's a weird name." Then, probably realizing what she said sounded rude, immediately back tracked. "I-I-I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that! It's just --"
"It's fine. I'm well aware of how odd my name is." It didn't take me long to puzzle out the weird naming system everyone seemed to have here. Colors seemed to be the basis for whatever reason. I never had the chance to figure out why since I only arrived in this world a few months ago; maybe if this place has a library I could check it out?
"Well, my name is Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet you."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a familiar face walking towards us. "Jaune?"
"Oh hi, Taylor!" He gave you a cheerful wave and walked towards you. "Sorry I missed you when he got out of the ship. I, uh, had to go to the trashcan."
"Felling better?"
He shrugged. "Mostly. I'm just happy that I didn't mess up my clothes." He gestured towards Ruby. "Whose this?"
"This is Ruby. Ruby, is this Jaune. We talked a bit during the end of the trip."
"It's nice to meet you." She squinted at him for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Oh wait! You're that guy who threw up during the flight! Vomit Boy!"
Jaune did not look pleased. "Aw man, there's already
nicknames?"
"Well, my sister was the one who called you that. And I think that's mostly because you threw up on her shoes."
"I remember that," I said. "I've never seen someone look more disgusted in my life!" And that was really saying something, considering the things I got up to while I was working with heroes.
"I don't know why she looked disgusted. That substance on her shoes looked delicious!"
"Gross, Aria."
The two of them turned towards me. "What?"
"Oh, uh, nothing, nothing. Hey, maybe we should head to the main hall? I think that's where everyone is meeting up anyway." I reached up into my sleeve and mentally told Aria to hand me the map through one of the slits in my arm. "I think we just need to turn right near that fountain over there to find the doors."
Jaune leaned over my shoulder. "You have a map? Where did you get it?"
"Yeah!" Ruby chimed in. "I though I would have to wander around for the next half hour to find it! This place is
huge!"
I arched an eyebrow at them both. "There was this little basket near the bathroom on the airship. You guys didn't see it? It was pretty obvious. There was a sign and everything."
Almost in tandem, they gained sheepish looks on their faces and started muttering excuses.
"Right..."
The three of us mostly talked about mundane things on the walk over there. At some point Jaune and Ruby started arguing about whether or not motion sickness was an actual disease and whether or not to now call Ruby Crater Face. Me, I mostly listened to them, rolling my eyes here and there when the argument seemed to get
too childish. I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia as they talked; it reminded me of when Emma and I used to playfully argue with one another. Those were good times.
Call me crazy, but a part of me still missed her even after all this time. I wasn't sure why -- we hadn't talked in years and neither of us made amends before her death. Even now, having understood what she went through and how she became the person she did, I still hated her. At the same time, I did miss her. Or at least, the person she used to be. The friendship we had was good while it lasted.
But still, I moved on. Made new friends, both inside and out. Speaking of...
"I'm hungry."
"You're
always hungry."
"Didn't you eat before the flight?"
"Well yeah, but that was three hours ago! When are we having lunch? And dinner? And a midnight snack?"
"I'll make sure to feed you when we get to the main hall, alright?"
"Okay..." She perked up a bit.
"Hey, can I stick a tentacle out now? I wanna see the castle!"
"I would also like to get a look. The place seems interesting."
I was a bit leery of just putting my tentacles out in the open without cutting off my face. I was so used to keeping my identity secret back home; just showing my abilities to anyone who would see it seemed unthinkable. I know there aren't any secret identities or heroes here, but I can't shake the habit of keeping my powers secret. This is a whole new world and I know I'll have to get over it eventually, but I kinda want to keep a few things to myself while I can. "Maybe later, when no one else can see."
"Okay!"
"Alright."
"Taylor? Who are you talking to?"
"Hmm?" I look up to see Jaune and Ruby giving me odd looks. "Nothing. Sorry, i zoned out for a minute. What were we talking about?"
Ruby gave me an odd look before gesturing towards her weapon. "Well, we were talking about our weapons! This is my scythe, Crescent Rose! It's also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle."
"She means a gun." Jaune held out a long sword. "I have this. It's a family heirloom. And a shield." He raised it, only for it to collapse and turn into a sheath. He fumbled for it a bit, before catching it and strapping it to his side.
"What weapon do you have?"
I took out one of my knives from my utility belt and held it out. Ruby stared at it for a minute, a look of confusion on her face. "What is it?"
"It's a knife," I dryly replied.
"Well, does it do anything?"
"It can stab and cut things."
There was an awkward silence.
Jaune spoke up. "Well, maybe it's like my sword? You know, it might have some special meaning or --"
"I found it on the ground of a warehouse a week ago. I have like, five more just like it."
Even more awkward silence.
Ruby clapped her hands. "Okay! Now where is that main hall?"
The three of us went our separate ways once we reached the main hall. I kinda wanted to stick around with them for a bit -- if only because I wanted to be around people just as clueless as I was -- but I had to feed Aria before she decided to chew on my shirt again.
"That was one time!"
"No it wasn't."
"Yes it was!"
"No, Taylor's right. You chewed her clothes a total of seventeen times in the past."
I could feel Aria pouting in my internal dimension.
After getting something to eat and coming back to listen to Professor Ozpin's "inspiring" orientation speech -- seriously, it was like he was giving a speech during an Endbringer battle -- I settled down into my sleeping bag. Before I went to sleep, I made sure to check up on Rest.
"How is she guys?"
"She's still in that healing coma, unfortunately."
"She looks way better though!" Aria said.
"Most of her body is regenerated and she kinda looks like she's sleeping."
I let out a relieved sigh. "Good. I've been worried about her ever since that Scion fight. She really stressed herself out when she ate all of those golden beams."
"Yeah! I never thought she could overeat herself. I never even knew it was possible!" I could feel Aria's worry.
"Do you think I could overeat too?"
"I'm pretty sure that is not possible."
"Yeah, you're pretty much a bottomless pit. No offense."
"None taken!"
Initiation apparently consisted of standing on the edge of a cliff, about to be launched into a forest full of monsters. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but that wasn't it.
Still, I didn't have a problem with it. I had wings after all. Everyone else looked pretty confident expect for Jaune, who looked scared by the minute. I made a note to myself to watch out for him just in case.
Professor Ozpin gave another speech, which I tuned out for the most part. The part where he said that the first person I laid eyes on would become my partner for the next few years though, that caught my attention. It seemed like an insane was of choosing partners and from the looks on everyone's faces they agreed. Ozpin didn't look like he was in the mood for complaining though because before I knew it, I was launched high up in the air.
"Melody?"
"On it!"
Through the slits in the back of my skin and clothing I could feel Melody's wings emerging. Taking control of them, I quickly gained control of my flight and flew towards where I saw Jaune careening in the distance. My worry started to grow as I saw him approaching the ground -- before a yellow spear pinned him to the tree, bringing him to a stop. Moments later, a red headed girl helped him down.
Well there goes my partner option. Good thing he managed to land safely though. Maybe I could partner up with Ruby?
I banked left and headed in the direction where I saw Ruby land. Hopefully she didn't land herself a partner yet.
Spotting Ruby's red hood in the distance, I flew down and landed right in front of her. "Hi Ruby."
"Oh. My. Gosh! I didn't know you could fly! Or that you were a faunus!" A flash of red and suddenly she was right in my face. I jerked back, suppressing the urge to lash out with my tentacles. "Can I touch them? Huh? Can I?"
"Er, sure. I guess."
"Yay!" She started stroking Melody's wings, a look of excitement on her face. "They feel so smooth! And the color is awesome! I've never seen something so black before!"
"Thanks. Um, does that mean we're partners now?"
Ruby froze and gave me a sheepish look. "Um, I already have a partner. She's just... not around."
"Not around?" Was she making an excuse to not be partners with you?
"Yeah, she just kinda ran off. You know that girl we met this morning? Weiss Something?"
I immediately felt sympathy for her. "I'm so sorry."
"She's not
that bad, she's just... a bit angry. All the time. That's all!"
"Right." I shook my head and flapped Melody's wings, rising from the ground. "Let's go find her then. She shouldn't be alone in a forest like this."
"Wait!" Ruby was looking very nervous and hopeful at the same time, and was fiddling with her fingers. "Can, um, can you carry me?"
"...why?"
"'Cause I wanna know what its like to fly," she mumbled.
I rolled my eyes. "Sure, why not."
"Yay!"
"But I'm gonna have to hold you in place with my tentacles," I said, rolling up my sleeves and taking out my knife.
"What do you -- oh my God! No!"
I dodged out of the way as Ruby tried to take my knife. "Ruby, what --"
"Why are you doing that? Don't do that! You don't need to do that! There's no reason for you to! You're fine! Everything's fine so just --" Tentacles started coming out from the slits in my arms. "-- uh. What? What."
"This is how I use my powers," I explained. "I have to open slits in my arms in order to use my tentacles. See?" I waved a tentacle at her, the eye forming at the end and blinking. Ruby had this fascinated yet horrified look on her face, one that I have long since gotten used to. "And don't worry, it doesn't hurt."
I curled my tentacles around Ruby's waist, making her yelp and squirm as I gently lifted her off the ground. "Just hold tight and don't squirm too much."
"This is awesome!"
Ruby had gotten over the appearance of my tentacles very quickly and was now adjusting to flight like a champ. She had her arms spread out wide, a look of joy on her face as we dived and weaved through the trees. You'd think that looking for a girl dressed in white in a green forest would be easy and you'd be wrong, since it's been ten minutes since we launched and we still haven't found her. Just where the hell is she?
"There!" Ruby pointed towards a small smudge flying in the distance. I squinted and could just make out the figure of Weiss as she was... flying on top of a giant bird?
"Oh my gosh, she's riding a Nevermore!"
Oh, it was a Grimm. That made sense. "She doesn't look like she has control of that thing. In fact I think it might be trying to shake her off."
"Quick, let go! I can launch myself over there with Crescent Rose!"
"Are you sure about that Ruby? Because I can always --"
"Yes, I'm sure! Now come on!"
I gave her a doubtful look before letting her go, tensing just in case I needed to catch her again. Fortunately she seemed to have it handled; seconds after I let her go she was using her ginormous weapon as a means of propelling herself. I made sure to fly up and to the side so I wouldn't get caught in friendly fire, tentacles poised for action. As an extra measure I took out my knife and quickly cut off my face, stuffing it into one of my pouches on my utility belt. I made sure to roll up my sleeves and cut into my arms and the small of my back as well, letting more tentacles through my arms and allowing Melody's tail to come out. I wasn't sure how tough Nevermores were, so I needed all the help I could get.
"Get ready, Aria. A big meal is coming your way."
"Yay!"
...yeah, I'm not sure where this came from either.
Was gonna make the entire thing in one go, but got too tired. Probably make it later.
