Chapter Text
Chapter 1
If I had to make an educated guess as to how I ended up in this sticky little situation of mine, I suppose I would probably say that I was hit by a bus.
Seriously, there's not many other explanations that I could work with at this time. The blunt force trauma of a double decker must have sent me flying straight into Hell with a first-class ticket. After all, if I was where I thought I was then I had certainly not checked into that grand ol' hotel in the clouds.
Lying in that field for the thirty minutes or so after waking up, looking up into the night sky at what qualifies as - or remains - a moon, I couldn't help but feel that I really didn't deserve this.
I'd not kicked any stray puppies.
I'd helped at least two old ladies cross the road in my lifetime.
I'd certainly not signed any form of document which would see my soul becoming some cruel god's plaything.
...
Well, at the very least I'd not done any of the above whilst sober, so I would have liked to think that I was safe from reincarnating in fucking Remnant of all places.
Evidently not, considering the surroundings I've found myself in. Still, it's not exactly Warhammer so I suppose there had to be some silver lining in regards to this proverbial haymaker to my jaw.
Right, well, let's take a step back and start from the top and see if we can't figure out what happened and why, shall we?
My day had started just fine, first and foremost. I woke up, showered, dressed and all that normal stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Well, then I was walking to work, stopped at the lights and waited for that dutiful green man to appear.
I'd seen a bus on the far end of the road coming up, but he was nowhere near me when the lights began to change. Once they went red, I stepped out and started crossing.
Then my memory gets real fuzzy. As in, I can't remember a single detail afterwards. Almost like the memory had been knocked out of me.
Again, I blame the bus.
After a bit of screaming, pleading and crying to the Heavens got me nowhere I decided that I'd just have to roll with it for now until I could find somebody to tell me just what in the fuck was going on with this second life I'd seemingly been granted.
Maybe Ozpin would have some answers. Or Salem, considering they're both immortal wizards or some shite.
Then again, Salem is also trying to end the world and kill/enslave everyone with a pulse, so maybe she won't be as forthcoming with what I need.
Joy.
For now, I couldn't just stay where I was forever. Sure, I might have somehow survived whatever got me here but if I stuck around for long enough then exposure would likely finish the job.
If the Grimm didn't find me first.
"Could have been reincarnated in fucking My Little Pony or somewhere similar," I grumble, pushing branches out of my face, "you know, where nothing bad happens and there's not some bitch hellbent on world destruction with creatures that want to disembowel me for the heinous crime of existing."
I've been walking now for at least an hour or so, relying on my surprisingly good night vision to guide me to... wherever I end up. Preferably civilization of some sorts - at the very least somewhere with a phone.
Or a bus. That way, I can throw myself under it and hopefully get sent back home.
"And why the fuck do I sound like a child? What am I, seven? Eight? Fuck sake."
Yeah, turns out that, whatever had happened to me seems to have turned me into, well, a child. I think. At the very least, I'm not the 21 year old that I was earlier today.
My clothes were now ill-fitting and I had to rip parts of it off to keep from tripping over myself every few seconds.
Another good reason for me to be a rather pissed of individual I'd say.
So far, I hadn't really found anything to point me in any particular direction. For the most part I've just been walking in a straight line, hoping for some sort of road or path to make itself visible. So far, I've found nothing but shrubbery. At the very least I've not seen nor heard any sign of Grimm in the forest, so I at least have that going for me.
The small bit of happiness I get from that is quickly replaced by worry when I realise that, should I encounter any in my current state, I am certainly fucked. I have no weapon to speak of and I have no Aura to protect me should I be attacked.
I think?
Looking around, I see a rather large tree just a few yards to me left. Striding up to it, I punch it as hard as I can.
The result really should have been obvious from the start.
I carry on making my way through the forest, albeit now with what feels like a broken hand and with the knowledge that I certainly do not have my Aura unlocked.
Truly, I am a genius the likes of which the world has never seen.
Ignoring the pain, I carry on walking, my thoughts drifting to other aspects of the world that I have found myself in. Storywise, I knew that everything had gone to shit for the cast.
I hadn't seen the newest Volume yet but I did know that Atlas became Atlantis, half the main cast were either dead or in the void and that everyone had gone through the evac portal and landed in Vacuo.
All in all, not the future that I'd like to be living through. Or in, for that matter - I don't even know where I am.
Hell, I don't even know where I am full stop.
Considering my general area, I can probably safely assume that I'm in neither Vacuo or Atlas. With what limited knowledge I possess, I'll have to guess that I'm in one of three places: Vale, Mistral or Menagerie. At least they're my best guesses anyway.
The thought of Faunus central makes me pause quickly. Time to double check something. Teeth? Normal. Tail? Nope. Hands and feet? All accounted for and nothing out of the ordinary.
I rub a hand through my hair, sighing in relief. Still being human means I get to stay sane a little longer and, at the very least, means I'm not going to be designated a flight risk at Atlas international anytime soo-
I frown, coming to a stop. I flick my ear and the sensation makes both of my ears twitch. My furry ears twitch.
Not human, then. Yay.
"Oh wonderful, yet another thing to add to my growing list of 'Things that are suddenly going wrong in my life'." I mutter ruefully, trying my hardest not to start screaming in misery and despair.
What am I exactly then? As in, what type of Faunus? They feel like dog ears. A wolf, possibly? Sure hope not - that would just be unoriginal as fuck, that. Regardless, I guess it would explain how I've managed to see so well in the dark up to this point. Were I not trying my best to not curl up into a ball and cry Id have probably clocked on to that peculiar fact earlier on.
Curling up into a ball can come later, then. For now I need to keep moving and find a settlement or something resembling civilisation. Debating my ongoing existence can wait until I have a roof over my head and a drink in my hand. Until such a grand time, I just need to-
A sudden squawk from up above has me jolting in place, letting out a rather unmanly yelp.
I turn quickly upwards towards the noise, finding a crow having perched atop a branch just above my head, staring down at me with its beady red eyes. Letting out a relieved chuckle, thankful that it wasn't anything bigger, I give it a friendly wave.
"Hello, Mr Qrow." I say, smiling innocently at the avian. Yeah, imagine my luck if I've been wandering around just to stumble on best Drunkle in the middle of nowhere. That would be really funny, that.
The bird tilts its head in what I assume is curiosity at the noises coming from the creature below its perch, before looking up behind me and squawking again, this time a bit louder.
Huh, if I didn't know any better I'd have thought it was trying to warn me. I follow its eyes and my smile instantly evaporates.
My bowels nearly do so also.
Standing a good dozen or so meters behind me is a Beowolf.
Well shit, how’s that for bad luck?
For a few comical seconds I stare at it in silence, wondering just how it managed to get so close behind me without making even a sound. I suppose I'm lucky enough that it hasn't made a move yet but that was most definitely besides the point.
Alrighty then, I think I have time for some quick maths before I get bloody devoured. How about an ‘X’ plus ‘Y’ equals ‘Z’ scenario.
That thing is a Grimm.
I don't have a weapon or any means of self-defence to speak of.
If ‘X’ is the former and ‘Y’ is the latter, then the result must logically mean that ‘Z’ equals me moving right the fuck away from here rapidly.
And by rapidly I mean right fucking now, please and thank you.
I don't have to tell myself twice before breaking out into a sprint, diving headfirst through the bushes and onwards. Behind me, I can hear the Beowolf giving chase, its oversized bulk ripping right through the shrubbery behind me as its growls grew louder and closer with each passing second. As it was I had no hope of outrunning it just as equally as I had no chance of fighting the damn thing.
Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Lucky me.
Suddenly, my instincts scream at me to dive. I do so, just in time for the Beowolf to pounce over me, its claws passing through the space where my torso just was. It lands clumsily and tumbles into a nearby tree, momentarily stunned as it thrashes on the ground.
Finally, some good luck.
I don't even think twice before taking advantage, clambering back to my feet and continuing my sprint through the forest, my little legs burning from the exertion. If I can just keep dodging it, maybe, just bloody maybe I'll end up finding help. Who doesn't want to help a child in need, after all?
Another scream from my instincts has me dodging yet another swipe of an oversized claw, leaving me desperately scrambling up and forwards once again.
Have I mentioned just how much of a fan I am with my current situation? If not, just know that I am positively dying of joy right about now.
I make it only a good few feet before my foot catches a stray outcropping and I'm sent tumbling forward, landing face first into a small clearing. I have just enough time to roll over onto my back before I find myself looking up at the snarling Grimm, its baleful red eyes staring down at me with evil intentions.
With nothing else to lose, I decide that my best course of action is to throw the biggest punch to its face that my childlike body possibly can. It served to do nothing but anger the beast and to further aggravate my already injured hand, eliciting a pained and despairing wince from yours truly.
As if savouring the moment the Grimm took its sweet time, slowly opening its mouth and showing off the great many teeth within its gaping maw.
Well, I have to say my short stay here was most certainly not enjoyable and I that I will certainly not be recommending it to my friends. One star review, coming right up-
A loud bang reverberates through the forest and directly into my ears. All of them, that is.
And I guess I'll go deaf as well whilst I’m at it just before I get eaten.... alive.... oh, maybe not.
The now headless Grimm doesn't move for a few seconds before it topples to one side, its body already beginning to disintegrate before my very eyes.
I blink, not exactly sure just what in the fuck had happened.
I'm not too sure I want to know just what in the fuck had happened either.
"Hey kid," a man off to the side, his gravelly voice very familiar, "not sure what you're trying to achieve out here, but there's easier ways to get yourself killed."
I turn my head to the side, looking up at the man with his big fuck-off scythe with smoke emanating from a pair of barrels at the weapons handle. He's staring down at me with what looks like amusement. Or annoyance. I'm not too sure, considering my position on the floor. "Do you maybe feel like going somewhere that's not gonna turn you into Grimm food?"
I'd laugh at how I've somehow managed to just have Qrow Branwen stumble across me in the middle of nowhere to save my life, but I think I'd rather just nod and follow along before something else decides that I'd be a tasty morsel.
I do just that.
Mayhap my luck is actually turning around, hey?
The two of us sit in silence for a few moments, enjoying our drinks in peace. I was given something non-alcoholic which completely sucked considering I could really do with blacking out after today's events, but I guess even Qrow is responsible enough not to give alcohol to a literal child. What a Saint he is.
The tavern he had brought us to was a quaint little place and certainly a much more pleasant environment than that damn forest and it's horse sized man-eating wolves. The silence is broken after a while by Qrow, who seemed to have been unsure on quite what to say to the lost child in front of him.
"So, Harrow, yeah? You, uh, got anywhere to go?" He asks, eyeing me with uncertainty.
Qrow had quickly put me on the spot shortly after we arrived, the older man having been mostly quiet whilst he brought me to the town. I had to make up a hell of a lot of bullshit to pass off as a backstory. I couldn't exactly say to the guy, "Oh you know, I just woke up in the middle of nowhere after probably dying in a previous life, finding myself in a fictional world where everything not walking on two legs wants to eat me alive and everything else with two legs have giant weapons and soul powers and want to either murder me, enslave me or otherwise do mean and horrible things to my person," and hope he took it well.
That would be silly and, whilst I may be going crazy with each passing second, I don't think I'm that stupid.
So long story short? I introduced myself under the newly made-up alias of Harrow Grey, telling Qrow that I had been shipwrecked by a Grimm attack on my way to Vale from Atlas and that, for the past few days or so I had been slowly trying to find civilization - or fellow survivors - and trying my best to keep away from any wandering Grimm.
He didn't seem to believe me at first, so I made up some stuff about how I had lost my parents in a mining accident and that I was constantly mistreated due to my Faunus heritage in the orphanage I was placed in, leading me to run away and stow away on the first ship I could find.
Mentioning the mistreatment seemed to get me some points - he likely knew all about how Faunus weren't exactly first class citizens in Atlas of all places, even more so when it came to the mines and their SDC owners. He didn't seem to enquire much further about my past after that which served my purposes just fine. The less details in a lie, the stronger it was to uphold.
Thank God I can still bullshit my way through life, even when forced into a new one out of the blue.
Furthermore, I now knew that I was not in any of the places I had assumed earlier. Turns out I'm on Patch, that little island just off the coast of Vale. Not the most important of places in regards to the story I guess, but famous enough for me for being the home of best girl Ruby herself. I suppose that's not too bad, then. There are certainly worse places that I could have ended up in, I guess? Certainly would have been the final nail in my proverbial coffin if I'd ended up in the Grimmlands.
Last I checked this place has Signal Academy, yes? Maybe an option for later, if I need to learn to be a Huntsman.
Then again, do I? Going there would mean learning to fight and whatnot which, whilst very, very essential considering where I am, that path likely leads to Beacon as well.
Well, maybe not exactly but, with my foreknowledge of future events I'd certainly be a very useful individual at Beacon in terms of keeping people alive. It's certainly-
Okay, no. That train of thought can stay at the station for now. It is far too soon to be planning for anything in the future when I'm still trying to wrap my head around the present. Still, disregarding what just just happened with the Grimm nearly an hour ago, the island is probably a good place for me to, well, get my bearings I guess.
At the very least, having met Qrow I can maybe try and get on his good side. Or try and get in good with Taiyang and his girls - knowing some of the main characters on a first name basis will get me closer to that damn Wizard in his high tower.
Maybe. Fuck If I know what I'm doing in regards to how I approach Ozzy Ozbourne over there. That's even if I get the chance to do so.
One step at a time, Harrow. Future later, present now. Learn to walk before you run and whatnot.
I shrug, looking away from Qrow and at the table in front of me, putting on a show of looking like the sad, orphaned child. Shit, I really need to figure out how old I'm supposed to be. A 21 year old stuck in a child's body.
It would be a lot funnier if it didn't sound very illegal. Or if it also wasn't exactly what was happening to me.
"Not really." God I hate how young I sound. I sniff loudly, willing tears to appear in my eyes. "I don't wanna go back to the orphanage - everyone is m-mean to me there." So far so good, he looks sympathetic. Keep pressing, Harrow. Looking up at the man, I give him the best teary eyed look that I can muster. "D-do you know wha-what I should d-do?"
Christ alive, this hurts my pride. I'm a grown man, for fucks sake.
Regardless of the battering my self-esteem was taking it works in getting Qrow to nod sympathetically, his hand coming up to scratch at the his stubble. A few seconds later and he grins, a mischievous look in his eyes.
"Yeah, I might have an idea with what to do with you. Not sure if he'll agree, but I don't think he'll have the heart to turn you away, kiddo."
Well happy days, progress. About time something went my way.
Wait, he? Who exactly is 'he' supposed to be?
An hour later and I was sitting on the floor inside the Xiao Long households living front room, willing myself not to throw myself out of the nearest window. It would be bad manners, after all.
"Girls?" Taiyang says, drawing the attention of the two girls away from me for the moment. "I'm just going to talk to your uncle a bit more, okay? Play nice."
"We will!" Ruby and Yang reply, watching as their father turns and heads into the next room, the door shutting behind him. With that, they turn back to me, happy to continue from where they'd left off.
My ears twitch at their touch and I scowl, though they cannot see it.
I'm going to throw myself at that bus with a damn smile on my face.
I was hoping that Qrow would put me up in a room somewhere and leave me to it, or, at the very least, maybe he'd have a friend willing to take me in for a few days whilst I figured out just what in the hell I was supposed to do with my new life.
I mean, he did go with the latter, I just wasn't expecting him to hand me off to fucking Taiyang. Sure, I said earlier that I would have liked to meet some of the main characters, I just wasn't planning on sleeping in the same house as them on day one.
Ah well, if there's any positive to this it's that I now have a better grasp at how old I am and where I am in terms of canon. I'm only slightly taller than a 7 year old Yang, so I'd like to think that I'm more or less correct now in my assumption of being a 7 year old, likely pushing on 8. Not great, not terrible, just simply annoying as all hell. At the very least I don't have to be stuck living throughout the toddler era.
There's a reason nobody remembers their early years and I am in no mood to find out why. So long as I can walk and talk, I can work with that.
Furthermore, timeline wise? Well, if Yang and Ruby are seven and five years old respectively then that should put me a solid decade before the events of Volume 1, right? Ruby is fifteen by the time she starts Beacon after all, so I should have quite a bit of time before the shit hits the fan.
Plenty of time for me to figure out how and where to run off to before the inevitable.
That's one less thing to worry about then. For now, I won't have to worry about anything horrendously life threatening, I guess. So long as I keep out of that forest for the foreseeable future anyway.
Turns out also that there are barely any - if any at all - Faunus on Patch from what Qrow told me on the way here. This means I'm the first Faunus that Yang and Ruby have ever seen. As a direct result I had fallen victim to their childlike curiosity and wonder at seeing someone with wolf ears. It was equivalent of a child seeing a dog for the first time, promptly followed by the inevitable reaction of wanting to poke, scratch and cuddle with the fluffy four legged creature.
Except I have two legs and I sure as shit didn't consent to this.
Oh and yes - turns out my earlier assumption about being a wolf? Taiyang and Qrow had confirmed it for me before I had stepped foot in the house.
Pop off me, I guess.
"Your ears are really fluffy, Har-rooow." The older sibling says, the big grin on her face showing just how proud she is of that particular pun. I can only stare forward at the wall, refusing to take the bait and encouraging the blonde's likely beginnings of what will be a long and miserable string of abysmal puns. "You are paws-sibly adorable!"
I swear to God, I will end myself right here and now.
Ruby, who is sitting to my right and is thankfully being a damn sight more gentle with my other ear frowns at her older sister, pointing at her as menacingly as only a five year old child could.
"Pway nice, Yang!" Ruby says, before the frown melts away and to the gleeful expression she was sporting a moment ago as she returns to her slow yet amazingly satisfying scratching with a wide smile.
...Okay, maybe not right now.
Ear scratches first, planning second, bashing my head into a wall until things begin to make sense third.
Never let it be said that I can't prioritise the essentials.