Ruby was standing in Ozpin's office with the Headmaster himself, Glynda and General Ironwood, and she couldn't be more nervous if she tried.
Omni was hovering over the Omnitrix on Ruby's wrist, twiddling her thumbs as she was unsure if it was right to reassure Ruby that everything would be fine…
Mainly because Chorina, Omni's apparent mother figure, was also present with them.
'How did our lives come to this?' Ruby thought as she thought back on the past one or two hours today that led up to this particular moment.
(One Hour earlier…)
"How did our lives come to this?" Weiss asked as she looked up to the sky in annoyance at the sight of Team CRDL.
"It's okay, we don't have any intention of doing anything that resembles what we might be known for." Cardin assured them.
"You'd better not, or I will break your legs." Nora threatened, only to hear Ren wince in pain as she made sure he was alright.
"Pardon me, but… Who're these four exactly?" Chorina asked, curious as to who the new group of Students were.
Coco straightened her shades as she sighed. "They are… Team CRDL. Some people who have a bit of a history here."
Ruby was about to press them for info, but Ozpin cut her off. "Why don't we talk about that on our way to the infirmary?" He suggested as James spoke up.
"A lot has happened at different times today, and mostly to the students here." James said as Glynda nodded and looked at Chorina.
"Do you think your friends can help us get them some medical attention?" Glynda asked her as she helped Yang stay on her feet after she stumbled.
Chorina nodded. "Of course, we'd be happy to help." She answered while smiling before looking over to the ship she, Ozpin, James, and Glynda came out of. "That's your cue, you two." Chorina called out as everyone soon heard the sound of… something mechanical roaring to life.
From the ship, a black and white figure flew out of the ship with the sound of rockets being heard. It landed in front of them with a metallic thunk as everyone caught the sight of two arms grabbing the sides of the ship's entrance, resulting in a light-blue figure wearing black clothing catapulting out of the ship and landing on the ground alongside the earlier figure, making everyone gawk in amazement at the sight of the two… alien beings before them.
One such alien being was 9 feet tall at least. With periwinkle blue skin and five eyes on its head that had black sclera with blue irises. The alien appeared to be a male, with a black and blue-striped suit that had four cylindrical devices strapped to his body. As for the body itself, it had six arms, with two of the arms functioning as its legs, while it had black and blue-striped fingerless gloves on all six of its hands.
The other alien was… weird. It appeared to actually be a robot of some kind, with black, gray, and white metal making up its body, which had a… cat-maid theme going for it. It has a maid uniform's skirt on its waist area, arms that had some bits on backs of them that had cat paw-like claw sheaths on them, wheels on the sides of the heels of her feet parts, a cat's tail on the area around where a Human's tailbone is located, and cat ears attached to a headset-like device built on her head. The eyes, forehead part, and inner part of her cat ears also had light green light glowing in them.
Chorina walked up to the both of them as she introduced the two aliens. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce my two most trusted bodyguards." She gestured to the aliens in question. "Ghoadry the Mekanite" The robot alien waved. "And Mesin the Elastaloid" The tall multi-limbed alien nodded in response.
"Hello, Humans of Remnant. It is a pleasure to meet you all, though I wish it were under better circumstances." Mesin greeted them as he looked around, lamenting their situation.
"Regardless, it's good to see that no one got killed, I'm very glad for that." Ghoadry stated as her eyes literally lit up with every word she said. "I'm Ghoadry, nice to meet you all." She stated her name herself before making a small curtsy with her metallic dress.
Everyone was shocked at the sight of the two aliens, while couldn't help but feel… weirded out by the sight of Ghoadry and her cat maid-themed appearance. 'Something tells me this is gonna be brought up later.' Blake thought to herself.
As soon as Ghoadry finished talking, the wheels on her legs revved up as she sped over to Scarlet and Sage. "Now, let's get you all to the infirmary." Ghoadry said as she kept the two young men on her shoulders. "Care to lead the way?"
"Right, can you walk, Ms. Xiao Long?" Glynda asked the blonde Huntress-in-training.
"Y-yeah, I can- Argh." Yang grunted as she held herself in pain.
"I'll hold Weiss." Ruby stated as she put Weiss's arm over her shoulder.
"We'll handle Team JNPR." Cardin stated as he and his team got to help each member of Team JNPR. Dove helping Nora with Ren, and Cardin and Russel helping Jaune out with Sky assisting Pyrrha.
"And I'll handle as many as my arms can carry." Mesin said as his arms got raised up and stretched out to a ludicrous degree, wrapping around Sun and Neptune, and Yatsu and Velvet's torsos.
"Woah… You're body feels so… weird. No offense" Sun admitted.
"Eh, I get that a lot." Mesin said back to the Monkey Faunus.
"What about your ship though?" James asked as Chorina smiled and pulled out what looked similar to a remote, and pushed a button.
This caused the ship they came out of to turn invisible and seemingly fly away, if the sound of the roaring boosters in its previous direction were of any indication. "That answer your question?" Chorina asked, as James wouldn't admit it, but he was amazed at the sight of the ship cloaking itself with invisibility.
(30 minutes later…)
Ghoadry was currently applying wrapping bandages around Yang's arm as she was running out of bandage in the roll she was using, after having finished assisting Weiss, Coco, Sun and Sage.
Chorina was applying medical gauze to Yatsu's back as he hissed in slight pain from the gauze being applied. "If you feel it sting from the gauze, that means it's working. It's a special gauze not from this world that can heal various injuries within a good 12 hours, but given you weren't beaten within an inch of your life, you should be able to recover within a MUCH shorter time." Chorina explained.
"Thank you, ma'am." Yatsu thanked her as he grit his teeth in light pain.
After all the injuries were dealt with, the entirety of Team SSSN were on beds due to their injuries along with Ren, Yang, and Yatsu, while everyone else had to improvise with how things were getting crowded by sitting around them or standing up in the case of people like Ruby, Blake, Jaune and Pyrrha, and Nora. With Ozpin, Glynda, and James standing by the front door of the infirmary.
"Okay, so. We got everyone stitched up as best we can and situated by just as much. Now, I think it's time that we answer all the questions you may have." Chorina stated as she clapped her hands.
"That certainly sounds fair, but where do we start?" Velvet wondered.
"How about… Who are you three exactly?" Weiss proposed, pointing at the alien beings standing near them.
"Alright, fair enough." Chorina said as she held her head up to her chest. "My full name is Chorina Xenzos Altegori. But please, just call me Chorina. I'm a Weza Izumokita, and I am widely known as one of the brightest and smartest beings in the galaxy, and am the one who created the Omnitrix, as well as the AI and surrogate daughter within, Omni." Chorina introduced herself while gesturing to the Omnitrix on Ruby's wrist.
Everyone was amazed by the prospect of meeting someone called 'the smartest being in the galaxy' including James, Glynda, and Ozpin as they looked at each other in shock.
"And we are good friends and bodyguards of hers. We both introduced ourselves earlier, but I'm Mesin…" He paused for a moment before straightening himself and making some kind of salute, where he bumped his upper-most right arm against what they assumed was the heart area of his chest, before making a fist while having point upward. "One of the commanders of the APC, and bodyguard to Chorina, as well as a proud member of the Elastiloid species. As well as second-in-command-" Mesin was cut off by Ghoadry placing a hand on one of his arms.
"I don't think they need to know TOO much about you Mesin. They did just meet us after all." Ghoadry told him as he looked at the robotic alien.
"Right, sorry." Mesin apologized as he backed up with Ghoadry bowing slightly.
"As for me, I'm Ghoadry. I'm a Mekanite from Chorina's home world and a robotic retainer made by her hands." Ghoadry said as her eyes lit up with every word.
"Woah… Chorina created you?" Nora said in amazement.
"Maybe so, but that's only because her species is very special. In that they are an artificial, yet completely sentient, race of robotic entities." Chorina clarified.
Everyone was amazed at the prospect, as a sentient robot is something they never thought about till now. Even James, Glynda, and Ozpin were impressed by the fact.
"An entire recognized species of alien robots?" James muttered.
"Fascinating." Ozpin said, just as amazed.
"But regardless, we've got other problems to deal with." Chorina told them as she looked at Ozpin. "Like how things going forward are going to proceed." Chorina added.
"Agreed. Now that these kids have gotten into a fight with alien life, there's not much of a point to playing 'dance around the secret' here." Mesin said while using air quotes with his second set of hands and crossing his upper set.
"I calculated a 82.34% probability that hiding the existence of aliens from this planet will only result in bad news, especially if you guys don't address it directly." Ghoadry added.
Ruby got worried about what this could do should it wind up wrapping her and her friends up in it. "What do we do then?" Ruby asked, not sure of what they should do at this point.
"Well, for starters, it's probably not the best idea for me to talk about this here. We need a safe and secure location to speak." Chorina told them as Ozpin spoke.
"I believe my office can do just nicely in that regard." Ozpin stated, making Chorina turn to him with a raised eyebrow.
"Will it now?" The creator of the Omnitrix asked.
(Back to the present…)
"Well, I'll say this much. You've certainly got some style when it comes to your interior decorating." Chorina said as she looked around the office, snapping Ruby out of her thoughts.
"So… I might not be able to make the right call on what to say here, but… What am I doing here again?" Ruby asked awkwardly after pressing her index fingers together.
"Unfortunately… What was your name again, young lady?" Chorina asked Ruby.
"Ruby Rose." The silver-eyed girl introduced herself.
"Of course. Well, as much as you'd probably like to not hear this, Ms. Rose… You're at the center of this dilemma concerning the Omnitrix. So whatever we discuss concerning the Omnitrix starting out, I feel as though you should know the basics of what we may talk about." Chorina explained.
"There is nothing basic about an alien watch able to turn the wearer into actual aliens." Glynda said, secretly wishing that all of this was just a bad dream of some kind.
"Regardless of that, I do agree that Ruby should know about what's going to happen going forward." Ozpin said with a nod of his head.
"So, where exactly should we start?" James asked with a furrowed brow.
"I propose that we talk about how exactly I wound up here." Omni said as she lightly floated over the Omnitrix.
Chorina looked at her for a moment and nodded. "That certainly is a good idea."
Ruby spoke up at that moment. "Yeah, all I know is that the Omnitrix came crashing down from the sky into the Emerald Forest." Ruby noted as Chorina spoke.
"Then I think it's fair if I tell you HOW it fell there in the first place." Chorina said as she seemed to reminisce on the events themselves.
(Flashback…)
"In the chronology of your world, similar to that of my home world, it was a week ago on Izumoria, my home planet." Chorina started.
The sight of Chorina, Mesin, and Ghoadry, walking through a futuristic building interior was seen as Chorina was walking right behind four aliens carrying the container holding the Omnitrix.
"Me, my bodyguards, and a full crew's worth of brave men and women of various species were overseeing the movement of the Omnitrix to another planet, one that would have its intended user on it. Omni was keeping the Omnitrix safe within the capsule, and my allies and I were guarding it from the outside of the capsule itself." She explained.
The large capsule containing Omni and the Omnitrix was being loaded onto a massive saucer-like ship docked above a large futuristic tower in the midst of shorter, but still tall, towers.
"After the Omnitrix was loaded on, Mesin, Ghoadry, a couple AD trainees, and I all shuffled onto the transport ship and prepared ourselves for launch." Chorina said before Ruby asked a question.
"What are AD trainees?" She asked.
The logo of a stylized red A and blue D were in the center of a purple galaxy with the bottom parts of the two letters connected to each other appeared as dozens of aliens were standing in front of it, regardless of their size or stature.
"The Andromeda Defense, or AD for short, are an amassed force of soldiers and fighters from different planets and walks of life, who strive to keep the peace of the Andromeda Galaxy, the galaxy that both my home planet, and this one Remnant, are both in." Chorina explained.
(Pause Flashback…)
"So the galaxy we're in is called… Andromeda?" Glynda asked.
"Yep. Quite the expansive place we've got as well. Much larger than most normal galaxies, capable of making home for all sorts of life." Chorina said as she twirled her hair around her fingers.
"Given that it's the Andromeda Defense, I assume that there's some threats across space that you find yourselves dealing with?" James asked.
"Of course. Wherever there's free will, there's bound to be some bad to follow it." Chorina said before sighing. "But back to how the Omnitrix came to be on Remnant."
(Resume Flashback…)
"It had been approximately three days into our voyage. And when I, admittedly, thought things couldn't get any more quieter…" Chorina sighed before continuing. "Something unexpected occurred."
The sight of a single ship barreling towards the space saucer Chorina and the Omnitrix were on was visible as it eventually began firing lasers from the bow-mounted cannons attached to its front.
These lasers would strike at the ship itself before it attempted to bring a force field to protect itself, only to be too late, as the ship had already docked itself next to a hole it blasted into the hull of the ship.
From the ship, Brutus and Nelira were seen exiting the attacking ship along with two others as Brutus ran up to a closing door and held it up with pure strength alone.
Nelira and the others slid under it as Nelira used her sniper rifle to provide cover for her three associates.
One of them seemed to place a device onto a terminal near the door they had slid under to hack into a console on the wall before pressing one last button, causing the doors on the ship to all open up simultaneously.
After the doors had opened up. Brutus and another alien, one with a humanoid body, purple skin, and horns charged forward at a series of Weza Izumokita soldiers who were firing laser shots at the two with technologically advanced looking rifles.
Brutus blocked the shots with his heavily armored arms, while the purple-skinned humanoid made a barrier to block the shots that would've hit him. Nelira took a sniping position as the Weza Izumokita soldiers spotted it and ducked. Which was just what the oncoming intruders needed to dash past them. Nelira dropping a smoke bomb behind them as they four dashed away… towards their goal.
"The Headhunterz came at the ship in full force, fully intent on taking the Omnitrix for whatever machinations they had in mind." Chorina explained with what sounded to be a heavy heart. "I have no idea how they managed to get as far as they did by the time I made a decision, but the decision I made in question was detrimental to the safety of the Omnitrix." Chorina said as Ozpin knew where she was going with this.
"You sent the Omnitrix to Remnant, didn't you?" He asked anyway.
"Not Remnant exactly." She clarified.
Chorina was seen typing away on a console of some kind as she was trying to stay as calm as possible.
Ghoadry was seen wrestling control over a struggle with Brutus as she broke the struggle to dodge what looked like electrically charged feathers being tossed at her. Mesin meanwhile was throwing punches at Nelira with his elongated limbs as she pulled the rifle off her back and took a shot at Mesin, who elongated his lower-most legs to dodge, only to get struck in the back by a fireball from the purple-skinned alien.
He spun around before drawing a series of two metallic blades from his sides, each blade dispensing a laser-edge as he narrowed all his eyes at his opponents.
"Ghoadry and Mesin were buying me all the time I needed. And in that time I wound up typing in coordinates to an improperly charted part of space." Chorina added as she continued. "I sent the pod containing both Omni and the Omnitrix through a portal to those coordinates, and wished Omni herself good luck in staying safe and guarding the Omnitrix."
Chorina had just sent Omni through a portal that led to Remnant, not that she knew, just as she turned around to see that Nelira had spotted her doing so.
The cat-like alien snapped her fingers before she and her allies disappeared in a flash of light.
"After having sent Omni off the ship. The Headhunterz managed to catch sight of it. And fled." Chorina said as finished her tale.
(End flashback…)
"And that's how things got to this point." Glynda muttered, cursing the fact that Remnant wound up getting the Omnitrix stuck on it, even for a time.
"We managed to locate the pod that the Omnitrix must've crashed in, but we've yet to extract it." James added.
Ozpin meanwhile was concerned about something else. "But… How DID these 'Headhunterz' manage to infiltrate your ship? Surely you had to have taken precautionary measure to ensure of safe trip, correct?"
"I admit I did feel confident in myself and my ally's ability to guard it, but I never expected something like this to happen… I can only assume that it's an inside job, so once I get back to my home planet, I'll have to take it up with the APC Planetary Council."
"I was thinking the same thing." Omni said as she nodded.
"Yeah, you mentioned this last night, that the only way someone could've known about the Omnitrix was if info on it was told by someone else." Ruby said.
"I admit, it's easy to predict that someone would want it for themselves… it all comes down to the Headhunterz though." Chorina stated as Ruby spoke up.
"Who ARE the headhunterz anyways?" She asked, wanting to know more about them.
Chorina pulled out a device before it brought up a holographic screen as she typed some keys that appeared on it.
This caused a much larger holographic screen to appear in-front of her, showing mugshots of four members of the Headhunterz's members.
"The Headhunterz are some of the most dangerous bounty hunters in the sector of the Galaxy next to this one, which my home planet is in. Their leader doesn't show himself often, and has his associates do the jobs they take for him more often than not."
Chorina said as she focused on a mugshot of the Minotaur alien glaring forward. "Brutus Spearhorn, the muscle of the Headhunterz and the most physically powerful, he's got a warrior's heart and is often a man of his word, but when he's got a job in the line, he'll break through a steel wall to get the job done." Chorina explained.
Ruby flinched at the sight as she remembered how she was literally sitting next to and talking to him. With the mere thought sending chills up her spine.
"Next is Nelira Nekomax, the trickiest and most cunning of the Headhunterz. She specializes in using misdirection and tricks in her combat, psyching out her targets before either making an escape or ending them. She's also an expert marksman with a sniper rifle, making her a great… assassin." Chorina said with a hint of hesitation.
Glynda gasped at the thought. "Some of our students were going up against an alien assassin?" Glynda muttered in shock, counting them lucky that none of them had died.
"Yes. If I may be frank, these two alone were enough to kill every one of them had it not been for Ruby driving them off… and then holding back too." Chorina said ominously.
This got Ruby to be grateful she used the Omnitrix when she did, otherwise, things could've gone much worse then she thought it could.
"Next is their magic expert, Avo." She then focused on the mugshot of… a purple-skinned humanoid with horns on his head.
Ruby gasped at the sight. "That's the guy that helped the other two escape." Ruby exclaimed as she pointed at the screen.
"And you said that he's exceptionally good at magic?" Ozpin asked, his tone showing his shock and slight awe.
"Indeed. He comes from a species whose entire culture thrives off of the application of magic. He was tired of the 'mediocrity of his talent's application', his words not mine, and took to the stars to become a bounty hunter. Eventually becoming head magic expert on the Headhunterz." Chorina explained.
"So he must've been the one that conjured that barrier around us." James noted with his hand held up to his chin.
"And the one who warped us away to the Emerald Forest." Ozpin guessed with Chorina nodding a yes to them both.
"Next up is one you aren't aware of, Ruby." Chorina brought up another mugshot, this one depicting a feather-covered reptile with yellow feathers and a large beak.
"Wait, I've seen this alien. It's one that I tested out with the Omnitrix." Ruby stated.
"I see…" Chorina paused as she continued. "This particular member of the Headhunterz is the elemental expert of the group. And an impromptu strategist, and second-best hacker of the group. With the only alias he goes by being Electron." Chorina explained.
That got Ruby confused for a moment. "Hacker? But as far as I… personally know, that species isn't all that smart." Ruby said.
"You're not wrong. Even we have no idea how this member of the Headhunterz got so smart for their species, which admittedly are only somewhat smart, with the tech on their planet making them about a tech level 2 civilization." Chorina explained.
"Wait, what's a tech level?" James asked.
Chorina nodded in understanding of the question being asked. "Tech levels are a galactic scale used by the APC to measure how advanced a civilization or species is or can be." She explained before sighing. "Though, I'll be the first being not of this world to admit it. It's quite a common place however for this scale system to be an excuse for one species to look down on others." Chorina admitted with her hand rubbing her face.
James, Glynda, Ozpin, and Ruby were slightly amazed by this, but Ruby began to ask. "What would be the tech level of Remnant?" She asked in honest wonder.
"Given what little I know of planet, factoring in how you managed to achieve anti-gravity tech without the variable of space travel…" Chorina began muttering to herself as she thought on how to answer that question…
Until Omni floated up from the Omnitrix and went to Chorina ear. Omni whispered in her surrogate mother's ear, Chorina nodding in understanding at what she was saying, before making one more nod, and straightening herself.
"I'm gonna be generous and say a tech level 3." Chorina said.
Glynda raised an eyebrow at the statement, before asking her own question. "And what's the highest tech level a species can reach exactly?" She asked.
"Level 20 is the highest." Chorina said.
"WHAT!?" James shouted in shock at the statement.
If what Chorina said was true, then it would mean that the best technology on Remnant didn't amount to a quarter of the maximum level of advanced technology other civilizations reach.
"Woah… Are there any species in this galaxy that achieved that tech level?" Ruby asked.
"It's a very rare feat for any species in ANY galaxy to achieve such a grade on their tech level. My species, the Weza Izumokita, have achieved it thanks to our strides in research of both technology and genetic/species preservation." Chorina explained.
"They actually achieved it via Chorina's creating the Omnitrix, and myself." Omni boasted with her hands on her hips. Ruby chuckled at Omni's words as Ozpin smiled, with even Glynda bearing the same kind of smile as well… Though the General of Atlas wasn't moved.
"Are there any other species that have reached this tech level status?" James asked, unwavering.
Chorina cleared her throat before speaking up. "Well, there is the Galvan of the Milky Way Galaxy. But they have a bit of a jealous rivalry with my people, so if they find out about the Omnitrix, I… admittedly don't know what will happen." Chorina cryptically said.
"Do your species and these Galvan hold animosity towards each other?" Glynda asked.
"That depends. If by animosity, you mean a grudge stemming from a competiton meant to determine the smartest race in both the Milky Way and Andromeda, and my people wound up winning… Then yes, we hold animosity towards each other." Chorina said as she pointed her hands up and down while she spoke.
The humans were confused a bit by the statement, but Omni sighed and simply said… "Not the time to ask about it." She said with a facepalm.
"Regardless… The Omnitrix, while powerful, must be wielded with responsibility. I'll simply take the Omnitrix an-" Chorina was interrupted by Ruby.
"Wait, take it away?" She repeated.
"Unfortunately, Ruby, the Omnitrix wasn't made to land in your hands. I'll have to-" Chorina was once again cut off, this time by Omni.
"Actually, Chorina. I'd like to propose that Ruby hold onto the Omnitrix in place of the intended wielder." Omni stated as everyone except Ruby was shocked by the statement.
"WHAT?!" Glynda and James exclaimed as Ozpin's eyes widened.
Chorina also seemed surprised. "Pardon me- Omni, you know what we-" Omni cut her off again.
"I know… I know what we agreed upon, but I wanted to tell you something." Omni said as she floated over to Chorina's ear.
Omni began whispering in her surrogate mother's ear. Chorina herself nodding with what Omni said, at some point, Chorina's eyes widened a bit before looking towards Omni's direction, until they broke away from each other. "I see…" Chorina said slowly before bringing her fingers to her chin.
She closed her eyes to think for a moment before smiling and said to Ruby. "Ms. Rose. Why don't you and Omni head back to the infirmary to check up on your friends." Chorina suggested.
"Huh? Ar- Are you sure?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. I have something I'd like to talk to these kind folks personally." Chorina said as she looked at the older Humans with a smile.
Ruby was nervous about what she was talking about, until she felt a warm sensation from her arm the Omnitrix was on, and looked down at Omni, who had a smile on her face that reassured her as to say…
"Everything will be fine."
Ruby smiled before nodding to Chorina. "Alright, I'll go. Thanks for including me in this talk." Ruby said as she began to turn around.
"Can you tell us everything that happens from here on to us later?" Omni asked, making Ruby raise her right arm to make the Omnitrix AI see Chorina.
"Of course. Now run along, we have many important… matter to point out." Chorina ushered with a smile.
Omni nodded as she walked to the elevator as it opened up, she stepped in with the door closing behind her as Chorina straightened her jacket and rolled up her sleeves.
"Now then, let's chat about how things from here on could go." Chorina said with a light smirk.
(10 minutes later…)
Ruby was on her way back to the infirmary as she had just walked past where the fight between her and the Headhunterz took place, as she remembered how hard she had fought, and how it was nothing like the fights she'd been used to throughout her life.
"Man… I never thought I'd have to fight as hard as I did today." Ruby lamented as she kept thinking about the fight and all that happened.
Including how her trusty Crescent Rose got hacked into pieces because of that cat lady Nelira.
"I'm so sorry, Ruby." Ruby raised the Omnitrix up as she saw Omni with a sad expression on her digital face. "It must be difficult having to deal with so much in one day." Omni said.
"Yeah… But, it's not all bad. I have you after all, it feels like you always know what to say to me, which… I will admit, my Crescent Rose couldn't do at all." Ruby admitted with a forced smile on her face.
Omni frowned at the sight of Ruby's forced expression. "Ruby, it's okay if you want to cry. I heard from Chorina that tears aren't a sign of weakness." Omni told her.
Ruby immediately dropped the smile as she let tears leak from her eyes. "Sorry Omni. It's just… I made that weapon with my own two hands, I never had that many friends when I younger, so when I forged Crescent Rose…" Ruby dried her tears as she had new ones replace them. "It felt like something finally filled that empty space, apart from the actual friends I eventually made." Ruby admitted.
Omni didn't know what to say if she would be honest. This girl loved her weapon so much, it was like a friend no one else could see to her. Omni tried to put on a brave face as she spoke. "Well, you may have lost a precious weapon you thought of as a friend, but… You at least gained a weapon that you know is a friend." Omni said as she outstretched her arms.
Ruby put on a genuine smile as she finally stopped her waterworks. "Thanks, Omni. I think I needed to hear that." Ruby said as Omni bowed.
"Anytime, Ruby." Omni said.
After a bit more walking, Ruby was finally in a hallway of the same building the Infirmary containing her friends was in. "I hope everyone is doing alright." Ruby said as she held up her arm bearing the Omnitrix on it.
"You have nothing to fear, Ruby." Omni said as she appeared over the Omnitrix again. "The medicinal gauze and bandages we used to help them with their wounds, along with the healing properties of their Auras, should be enough to help them recover good as new." The Omnitrix's AI told her.
"That's great, we should probab-" Ruby was cut off by the sound of unfamiliar voices from a nearby hallway.
"Are you positive that THAT'S what you two saw?" A calm and slightly rough male voice asked from around the corner.
"Come on, Nero. I know what I saw." An excitable female voice said.
Those two sentences made Ruby and Omni look at each other as they crept towards the corner closer to them and looked around it. Seeing four strangers that seemed old enough to be students of Beacon.
Two of them were girls. One was wearing a red shirt with blue jeans and black and white shoes, and had red hair tied in a ponytail, with light blue eyes.
While the other had orange hair that was long enough to reach her tailbone and green eyes, and wore an orange turtleneck sweater with a brown striped skirt along with black socks with cat-ear shaped bits on the top of them and white shoes, and she also wore earmuffs over her human ears while fox-like ones poked out from behind them.
The other two were guys, one wore a black hooded jacket with a white shirt underneath, and gray pants accompanied by black shoes with blue stripes. He also had jet-black hair with a purple strand in them with jet-black eyes as well.
The final guy of the four, wore a light-green shirt and a khaki colored short-sleeved jacket over it, both having red marks on them that resembled slash marks. The same marks being present on his shorts, which were brown in color. He also had dark green hair and eyes, sharp teeth in his mouth, and a lizard's tail on his tailbone.
'Oh no…' Ruby thought to herself as she looked beyond the group of four and saw a door with a sign over it. 'Infirmary' it read, clear as day. 'They're blocking the way to the Infirmary, what do I do?' Ruby thought in a panic as she looked down to Omni, who pointed behind her and made a gesture with her hands involving a circle in the air beside her head. Telling Ruby the best thing to do might be to go back and loop around.
"I know what I saw too. It was a winged Beowulf-like creature fighting against a minotaur and cat-woman." The red-ponytail bearing girl explained, making Ruby clamp her mouth shut in fear.
'She saw the fight?!' Ruby thought in even more panic.
"I mean, I could make out the sounds of a fight, but are you sure that's what you both saw? I just find it really hard to believe." The dark-green haired boy told them.
"Sorry for doubting what you both saw, but we just want to make sure it's actually what you saw." The guy in the black jacket told them.
"I'm telling you both, that's what I saw, and I bet that Ruby girl has something to do with it too." The orange-haired girl wagered, making Ruby nearly squeak in panic.
'Oh nonononono. THEY'RE ONTO ME!' Ruby shouted in her mind as she slowly stepped away from the corner she was hiding behind…
Not noticing that the four people beyond it had gone silent all of the sudden.
Ruby was so laser-focused on getting away as slowly as possible, she didn't hear rapid footsteps approaching her until the fox-eared rocketed around the corner and dramatically pointed at Ruby. "AAAAAAHA!" She declared.
"EEEEEP!" Ruby let out in panic at the sight of the girl, not thinking to use her Semblance because of how nervous she was of being caught.
"Guys, she's right here." She called out to her compatriots, as they suddenly peaked around the corner.
"Oh hey, it IS that Ruby girl." The dark-green haired boystated.
"And she's shaking like a leaf." The guy with the black jacket added.
"Don't be rude, everyone. We're not here for a fight or anything like that." The girl with the red hair said as she came out from behind the corner. "So, you're that Ruby girl, right?"
"Y- Yes." Ruby said without thinking. "What do you want?"
"Don't worry, Winona's right. We don't want to fight you." The guy with the black jacket said.
So, you're on your way to the Infirmary, right? I could tell that there were quite a number of people in there." The fox-eared girl said to Ruby.
"Whaaaaaa… Noooooo. I'm just trying to find my, ummmm…" She shot down to the floor to pick up a bit of lint on it. "My lucky lint, ahaha. I found it, guess I don't need to go to the Infirmary after all." Ruby lied with the biggest forced expression since Jaune's bullying with Cardin.
The four people in-front of her were undeterred as her path was blocked by the dark-green haired boy, who had leapt over her head, hopped off the wall and stood in front of her, blocking her escape.
"Okay, I'll admit, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know a lie when I see one." The Lizard-tailed boy told her, making Ruby deflate from how her lie was seen through.
"Hey, it's okay. We really don't want anything resembling a fight to break out here." The red-haired girl told Ruby as she turned around.
Ruby sighed as she could tell there wasn't an easy way out if her situation, and using her Semblance to escape would only delay the inevitable. "Okay, you got me. Sorry for lying." Ruby apologized, only for the Fox-eared girl to hold her hand up and wave it off.
"Water under the bridge… Ummm… You ARE Ruby, right?" She asked Ruby, who nodded before speaking.
"Oh, yeah. I'm Ruby Rose alright." Ruby stated as she stood up straight.
"Nice. I'm Marle Vixen, nice to meet you." The fox-eared girl said with a smile and small wave.
"I'm Nero Kusho, a pleasure to meet you properly." The guy with the black jacket said with a light bow.
"My name's Rex Talos, good to finally have a face to put to the name Ruby." The dark-green haired boy said as Ruby turned to him for a moment.
"And I'm Winona Draconis, I function as the leader of our third-year team, Team WVRN." The red-haired girl said while puffing her chest out in pride with her hands on her hips.
Marle rolled her eyes with a smile as she grabbed Ruby's hands with a smile and slightly shimmering eyes. "It's so good to finally be able to talk to you properly. Can I just say that I love how you use that scythe of yours in battle, it's so inspiring." Marle said excitedly.
On any other day, Ruby would've felt happy to know that. But today… While it did put a smile on her face, it only lasted a few seconds. "Thanks, I… Just wish my Crescent Rose was still in one piece so you could see it." Ruby said dejectedly.
Marle backed off as her excitement turned to morbid curiosity as she backed up. "What happened, di-" She would've continued had it not been for Nero placing his hand on her shoulder and silently mouthing a 'No' to her.
Rex sighed. "It got sliced to bits, didn't it?" He guessed, making Ruby and his teammates look at him.
"REX!" Nero and Winona exclaimed at him.
"I know that look, Ruby." He said before Ruby looked a bit puzzled. "Weapons ARE virtually an extension of ourselves, after all. We make our weapons how we want to fight, and if we lose those weapons, it makes you feel like a part of yourself is gone, right?" Rex went on as Ruby found herself nodding in agreement…
Which was when the Omnitrix lit up. "So THAT'S why Ruby felt so cold when she saw her scythe get hacked to pieces like that." Omni's voice said as Ruby held up her wrist subconsciously, allowing Omni to appear above it.
Making Ruby panic at the sight. "AH! Omni, what're you-" Ruby was cut off from her panicking as Omni spoke up.
"Sorry for the unprompted appearance, Ruby. But I don't think these guys would go for a long time without knowing what the Omnitrix is, they seem pretty sharp, I admit." Omni explained as Marle blushed.
"Oh stop it, you're mak- Wait, that's not what I should be focusing on. Who the heck are you?" Marle asked Omni as she pointed at the Omnitrix's AI.
"Are you… Some kind of AI?" Nero asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Indeed actually, I'm Omni, an artificial intelligence made specifically to help and guide the one who wields the Omnitrix in times of necessity, or act as moral support, as Ruby most certainly needs." She explained making Ruby blush for a good moment.
Winona smiled as she walked up to Ruby and knelt down to Omni. "Well, thank you Omni for complimenting us on being sharp enough to know something about… What did you call it, the Omnitrix?" Winona said as she pointed at the alien watch-like device with a curious expression.
"That's right. And you are welcome." Omni politely said as Ruby thought to herself.
'Huh, it's weird… I… Never had conversations like this with complete strangers before, I know I should do a better job of keeping the Omnitrix a secret, but… I feel like I can trust them, as much as I probably shouldn't.' Ruby thought to herself.
Winona chuckled a bit before talking. "Well, we're burning daylight out here. Why don't we go and have Ruby check on her friends? It'll be awkward if we come in with her right away." She said as Ruby remembered why she came up here.
"Oh right, I need to talk to them. Thank you." Ruby said as she dashed off to the infirmary, leaving Team WVRN behind to watch her do so.
"Something tells me she's gonna be fun to be around in the future." Rex smiled as Nero gave him a dirty look.
"Really?" Nero said as he walked away. "Come on, let's head back to our dorm room so we don't get chewed out for sneaking out." He said as Marle and Winona caught up with him, along with Rex who lagged behind for a moment.
"Well, he's not wrong. That Ruby girl feels like she's going to be a magnet for excitement." Marle said as she held her arms over her head.
"I'm not denying that. I'm just saying that… It's what KIND of excitement that could wind up putting her through the proverbial ringer." Nero clarified.
"You think so?" Rex asked, as Nero looked at him.
"I know so, and you do too, right Winona?" Nero said while asking their team leader.
"Yeah… I hope her telling us about the Omnitrix doesn't come back to bite anyone." Winona said as they walked back to their dorm room.
(5 minutes later, in the infirmary…)
"So people really DID see the fight from a distance." Mesin said after Ruby told her friends and the aliens in the room about Team WVRN.
"Yeah. Sorry the fight couldn't have been taken somewhere else, it all happened so fast." Ruby quickly apologized.
"Squirt, it's alright. Given how I was recording you, it would only be a matter of time." Cardin said. "If anything, I should be sorry for doing so behind your back." He told her.
"The boy's right, it's not something you need to apologize for, young lady. That was your first fight against actual aliens after all." Ghoadry told her as it seemed that didn't help much.
"Well, maybe, but… if we had just handled the situation differen-" Yang was cut off by Mesin, when he placed a finger on Yang's lips from halfway across the room.
"Don't worry too much about what has happened, it won't solve much of anything." Mesin told her. "You lot fought against them in an attempt to protect the Omnitrix, while I admit that was brave of you, there's only so much kids like you can do against seasoned warriors like the Headhunterz." He lectured as Ruby took over.
"He's right guys. They were holding back the whole time. If they weren't and we had even the slightest mistake, someone could've-" Ruby stopped herself as she felt a small tear form in her eye out of stress.
"All that time, those two were just… holding back?" Dove asked as everyone was shocked by the statement.
"Damn…" Russel muttered in shock.
"They did seem a bit carefree while we were fighting like our lives depended on it." Sun said, making everyone look at each other in silent agreement.
They all stayed silent until Blake spoke up. "So… What do we do now?" She asked.
Ghoadry's eyes lit up in a blue color for a moment before she placed her right hand up to her head, as if she was communicating through an earpiece. "Madam Chorina… Uhuh." Ghoadry said as everyone looked at her in confusion. "Right… Okay…" The robotic alien said in five second intervals before continuing. "Yeah… That's right." Ghoadry answered before waiting about ten seconds and… "Alright, got it. See you in a bit." Ghoadry said before lowering her hand down.
"What was that?" Cardin asked in confusion.
"That was Chorina. She said that as soon as you guys feel as though you can move again, you can return to your dorms." Ghoadry answered, shocking them.
"Wait, seriously?" Coco asked.
"Actually, my wounds are starting to feel a lot less painful now than before." Velvet said, getting everyone's attention.
This made Blake take a risk and undo one of the bandages on her arm, only to find… "It's perfectly healed." Blake realized.
"Yep. Alien medical practice at its finest." Ghosdry said in a cheerful tone. "The gauze and bandages we used to help your injuries were made after tireless research into the miraculous healing power of the Ohforians. An alien race who specialize in treating injuries and diseases of various kinds." She said as she was practically jumping around while she talked.
Everyone was slightly puzzled before they all looked at Mesin. "She likes explaining alien powers and cultures to those who don't know much about them." He said as they all nodded.
Everyone checked their injuries and found that many of them were much better than when they first got to the infirmary. Team SSSN found themselves able to stand up right, as the injuries they sustained seemed to have diminished at least, allowing them to walk on their own.
"Regardless, if you all are able to stand and walk, you should make your way back to your dorms." Mesin instructed. "The Headhunterz won't be coming back anytime soon, so you'll be safe." He added.
Cardin crossed his arms in response. "Doesn't matter, these guys are in no condition to defend themselves after what happened. Team CRDL, we're splitting up. Russel, you're with me on Team SSSN. Dove, Sky, you watch JNPR and CFVY's backs. Are we clear?"
"You bet/Understood/Yeah." Russel, Dove, and Sky said at the same time before going to their teams.
"And us?" Blake asked with an eyebrow, only to be met with Cardin pointing a thumb towards Ruby, more specifically the Omnitrix on her wrist.
"I think the literal alien super watch will suffice as enough protection for you." He defended as he went to properly help Sage onto his feet.
Omni folded her arms. "Well, now isn't the time to toot my own horn, but…" She then reached behind her and pulled out a clown horn before…
Honk, Honk!
That made the students from Beacon chuckle a bit as Nora was laughing out loud, which resulted in some of the students laughing their woes away, with the more stoic ones like Ren, Blake, and Yatsu smiling at Omni's antics.
Even Mesin and Ghoadry were happy at how the huntsmen-in-training were laughing. "Well, that's one way to lighten the mood. I'll watch Team RWBY's back on their way to their room, Mesin, you go secure the ship." Ghoadry told the multi-armed alien.
"Understood." Mesin said with a salute as they all began to slowly shuffle out of the infirmary.
(15 minutes later…)
All the teams were eventually taken back to their rooms, with Cardin and Russel talking to Team SSSN at their door. "So, Ghoadry asked you to see them back at the infirmary before you go back to your dorm room?" Sun asked the two of them.
"Yeah, though we don't know why." Russel answered.
"I have a good idea what it could be, but that's aside the point. You guys gonna be alright?" Cardin asked while crossing his arms.
"Oh come on, if you knew us well, you'd know that we're A LOT tougher than what you saw back there." Neptune boasted.
"Yeah, we won't keel over that easily." Sun remarked with a smirk. "But… seriously though… Thanks for at least trying to keep it secret, the Omnitrix I mean. It… really means something to Ruby." Sun told them as he held out his hand.
"Yeah, I can literally only imagine." Cardin said while taking Sun's hand in a handshake. "Given how we only learned about it today, but I want to see it in action eventually, you got that?" He jokingly added.
"We'll see what we can do." Sun told him as prepped to close the door. "Oh, and… Thanks for not being as big a jerk as we thought you'd be." He thanked the infamous bully.
Cardin could only chuckle awkwardly at that. "Well, let's just say that those explosions were one hell of a wake-up call." Cardin told him. "Get well soon, you here?"
"Got it, later." The Monkey Faunus said as he shut the door. Afterwards he leaned against the door and sighed.
"Are you alright, Sun?" Sage asked out of concern for their team's leader.
"I don't know. Those aliens were tough to deal with already, and when Ruby said they were only holding back… I hope we'll be able to fight them and actually take them down next time."
"You and me both. That Nelira girl was tough, and she looked like she couldn't even punch that hard, at least compared to her literal bull of a partner." Neptune added.
"Well, we'll just have to train harder than ever for that eventuality." Scarlet told them.
"That's the spirit, Scarlet! As soon as we can wield our weapons properly again, we're gonna train harder than EVER!" Sun declared while punching the air, only to feel his arm ache from his injuries.
"And you know… That eventually means that Neptune is gonna have to get over… That." Sage said as Neptune flinched.
"Uuuuhhhh… Get over what?" Neptune asked.
"Your fear of water." Sage answered plainly before Neptune visibly went pale at the word.
… And then fell to his knees and wailed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
(Meanwhile…)
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FAILED!"
Brutus and Nelira were currently being chewed out by someone as Brutus was back on his feet, rolling his arms around to shake off what little numbness there was in them, while the purple demon-like alien, now known as Avo, was busy breaking Nelira's leg out of what ice was still stuck to her.
"It was a matter of being met with unexpected resistance, boss." Nelira said as her leg was finally busted out of the ice itself.
"Yeah, I can confirm it. It would appear as though that girl using the Omnitrix had some time to test the Omnitrix's capabilities prior to our arrival." Avo told their boss as he could only sigh.
"What I'm concerned about though, is why those children were using weapons, and pretty competently at that, it's like they're training for some kind of war or something." Brutus spoke.
"I admit that is concerning, but what I find more concerning is why you gave that kid time to transform, or better yet, JUST HAUL HER DERRIERE ONTO THE SHIP!" Their boss chewed them out.
"If we did haul her on here, and she managed to use the Omnitrix to escape, our ship's cover would be blown." Avo argued.
"Not only that, but we thought she was going to give u-" Nelira was interrupted by a metallic tentacle reaching for her face and silencing her by coiling around her feline mouth, keeping it shut.
"I don't want to hear anything out of you two anymore. You both are lucky Avo was there to bail you out, otherwise we would've lost you both." Their boss said, before he sighed again. "But that doesn't matter, what matters now is that we try to find another way to get the Omnitrix… Only this time, it'll be more than five times harder with that blasted Chorina playing support for tho-"
A door leading into the room slid open from the middle of it, as another member of their group, Electron, burst through the door with a holographic tablet held in his claws. "BOSS, we've got a status update from the client!" Electron told him.
"Oh great, he's probably going to chew me out for mistakes that aren't my-"
"That's not it, boss. Take a look for yourself." Electron handed his boss the tablet before the boss himself looked at what he was referring to.
The boss's metallic tentacle from his back moved to remove the goggles over his eyes, revealing his mismatched eyes with blue and green irises and gray and white sclera respectively. His eyes widening at what he was reading.
"What's up boss?" Brutus asked, before he noticed his boss's grip on the tablet tightening before he calmly handed the tablet back to Electron.
"Dammit…" A second metallic tentacle sprouted out from his back before both tentacles had metallic fists form on each of them, and they slammed straight into the metal floor beneath him. "HE CALLED OFF THE JOB!"