---

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGH!"

I screamed, desperately flailing around as my body fell through from the skies, hundreds of feet off of the ground.

'This can't be happening! Please tell me I'm dreaming!'

Unfortunately, this wasn't a dream. One way or another here I was basically skydiving without a parachute.

You know...it really is true, your life really DOES flash before your eyes at moments like these. Pleasant memories, mundane tasks...a simpler time when I wasn't about to be reacquainted with the ground for the final time. So where exactly did I go wrong? Well, the one good thing about the fact I'm gonna die means I get a front row seat to watch just WHERE it was that I screwed up...

---

"Haaaaaah..." A contented sigh escaped from my mouth as the episode of RWBY in front of me came to an end. "What a great way for season 4 to end..." Honestly, it really was. Finishing this episode made me feel full and satisfied. Like I had somehow eaten a big meal...if that's possible.

Glancing out the window, I noticed the day had REALLY gotten away from me this time. The sky had become a murky dark blue of twinkling stars without my notice. Yawning, I lazily pushed myself off the bed and stepped over the clothes and trash that littered my room. Yeah, I should really clean this place up...later, yeah later.
"Ah pants my mortal enemy, we meet again."

Current laws dictated that I had to wear these in order to go out in public, but that didn't mean that I had to like it. Slipping on a pair of jeans, I headed to the bathroom to answer the call of nature. I entered the bathroom, my feet stepping on the cold white stone tiles. These tiles made it quite unpleasant when waking up in the middle of the night and having to go to the bathroom.

I glancing at the mirror noticing a few new hairs on my chin. Caramel colored skin with an oval shaped face, and short curly brownish black hair. I had a pair of hard looking brown eyes which made me look more serious than I actually was.
"Seems like I'll need to start shaving from now on."

I put my hand to my chin and turned my head. The tan face in the mirror obediently copying me as I observed small black hairs starting to form on my chin. "Now THERE'S that handsome devil." I said smiling at my reflection. It's not like I was some drop dead supermodel but I do look pretty good if I do say so myself. Though, that might just be my ego talking.

"Someday soon the ladies will be lining up for a shot at this hot stuff."
Fortunately, no one was around to hear my embarrassing little pep talk. Though that's to be expected at...hold on let me check. 11:32 pm?! Damn, I guess it really IS late. Well, I still have time to sneak in a walk before I call it a day. Leaving the bathroom, I was about to leave the house when...

"Where do you think YOU'RE going, Nathaniel?"
I turned around seeing Cameron sitting on the couch typing away on his laptop. Wait, how long has he been sitting there?

"Well now." he said, adjusting his glasses as I approached him. "Look who finally left their room. I had started to think you had died in there or something."

"Oh ha ha. I'm going for a walk, does his majesty find this acceptable?"

"Hmph. 'His majesty' takes issue with the fact that it's too dark. And you shouldn't even be up at this hour. What if you wake up late and can't make it to work on time?"

"Look who's talking, what about you Mr. Baggy Eyes? You're still up right?"

"I know I know." Cameron said sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I had a lot on my plate today, and this is taking forever since I haven't been able to focus..."

"You can't focus because you're too high strung. Anyway, I'll be right back."

"You're going out at this hour?" Cameron said with a hint of concern. "You really can't wait until morning? You could get mugged or something."

"Stop being such a baby, I'll be fine." A devilish smile crossed my face "And if I die, I'll haunt you for not stopping me like you should have."

"That's not funny!" he said calling after me as I closed the door. "I can't pay the rent without you!"

Heh, Cameron is just way too easy to tease. Despite what I might have said, he's a good roommate. And he's somehow managed to put up with me for this long. Something not so easily accomplished by mortal men. He's calm enough when there aren't any problems but when there are...well, you saw what happened back there.

I took a deep whiff of the night air, the cool refreshing breeze making me feel healthy and alive. I swear nights like these are the most relaxing time to go for a walk. It's cool, it's quiet and there's just a sense of tranquility that simply can't be found during the day. "It feels like it was only a few weeks ago that the fourth season of RWBY came out, and now it's over...how long do I have to wait for the fifth one to start?"

Now feeling a bit listless, I kept walking, trying to push those thoughts out of his mind, but to no avail. Crap, now what am I supposed to do? Looking around the neighborhood, I couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. The reason I wasn't worried about coming out at this hour was because I'd done this every other day. 'Ah, this really is a nice night, I can practically feel my tension fading away.'Having walked these streets countless times I could probably make it through here with my eyes closed...though I'd REALLY prefer not to. My eyes moved to a random SUV that was parked just ahead of me. Coming to the left of it, I saw my reflection in the window and winked at it.

"I wonder how long I'll have to wait for season five? Crap here comes my tension again."
BRR BRR BRIIII...BRR BRR BRIII
"Huh?" I fumbled around in my pocket pulling out a phone. "Now who would call me at...you gotta be kidding me."

I sighed opening the phone and putting it to my face to answer it. "Oh my god, did you really just call me? I left the house not two minutes ago."

"Say what you want Nate, a little precaution has never hurt me."

"Cameron, you keep bothering me and I'm going to hurt you. Well whatever, I was just thinking about RWBY, guess I'll use you to talk for a bit."

"I was just checking up on you, I've still got work to do."

"You waste my time, I'm wasting yours. You could probably use a break anyway."
Cameron sighed on the other end, having resigned himself to his fate. He'd watched most of the show too, probably because I wouldn't shut up about it until he did. After a while, he eventually grew fond of it. "Okay, but only for a little."

"Who's your favorite character?"

"My favorite character? I'd have to say it's Jaune Arc." Those two hated words came out of his mouth, forever sealing his fate.
"Okay, that's it." I said shaking my head. "We are no longer friends anymore."
"What, he makes me laugh sometimes, plus I can admire his how hard he works. Who's your favorite character?"
"Qrow Branwen."

"And why's he your favorite?"
"He's awesome, you see the crazy stuff he's done? His battle Tyrian was to die for. Plus he's a chill guy, he's serious and childish at the same time which is really amusing. His semblance is kinda interesting too, I've never heard of a passive type semblance before."

"Okay, so, a good deal of why you like him because of the impressive feats he's done right?"
"I guess?"
"Then going by that logic, Cinder should be your first choice."

"What?"
"She infiltrated an enemy base, turned her enemy's weapons against them, stole the powers of a maiden and killed the headmaster right in his own kingdom. If that doesn't fit your definition of 'awesome' I don't know what does."
"Yeah...but...shut up."

I could hear Cameron laughing on the other end of the line. That's right, yuck it up you little dweeb. Coming to the edge of the sidewalk, I looked both ways before crossing. It was a little pointless considering that at this hour there were only a few vehicles that could be seen far away in the distance, but still.

"Come on she's not THAT impressive."
"What, you think you could do better?"
"Of course I do! If I was in Remnant, I'd be kicking all kinds of !"

"As if! You think you'd do so well over there? You don't even have a good track record in THIS world."

"..."
"I'm-I'm sorry." Cameron said quietly. "That was uncalled for."

There was an awkward silence as neither of us said anything for a while.
"Well...I should get back to my work." Cameron said, sounding a little unsure of himself.
"Yeah okay...see you soon I guess..." I sighed hanging up.

Well THAT sure put a damper on my mood. I suppose he's not wrong, I certainly wasn't rolling in dough. But now I feel worse than before. At times like this, there's only one place to go to lift my spirits.

My feet stopped in front of a familiar-looking store. I came here quite often, pretty much only to buy ice cream. But hey, they sell a pint of Ben and Jerry's for two bucks! You try staying away from that! In any case, they're an odd store that was still somehow running at this hour, though probably not for much longer. This place was...how do I say it...unprofessional looking. I mean, just walking in you could see food crates stacked near the entrance because they'd run out of space. Most of their items didn't have price tags on them, sometimes leading a bit of confusion about the amount required, and there was only one register. Still, they had good deals, so who was I to care?

Walking in, a middle-aged woman with black hair and glasses turned to look at me from her chair at the register.

"Ah, looks like you made it just before we closed." She gave a wry smile and propped her face up with her hand. "I WONDER what you're gonna get this time." she said in an amused tone.

I chuckled walking to the back of the store to the freezer so I could gaze at my options. "Let's see, what do we have here. Oat of this swirled, ha ha ha ha." I loved these stupid ice cream puns sometimes I'd choose an ice cream based on how good the joke was rather than how it tasted. "Boom-Chocolata, A swirled of difference, Americone dream. I swear I could be here all night."

Sadly, I didn't have that kind of time so I looked over the options before choosing 'Chocolate Therapy' and 'Strawberry Cheesecake'. and brought them back to the register.

"If I ate as much ice cream as you do I'd wouldn't be in very good shape." the woman said processing the item. "That'll be four even."
"I walk a lot." I said pulling out my wallet and finding a lonely five dollar bill. Yikes, looks like these are my last treats for the month.

She took the money I gave her. "Is that all it takes?"

I gave a light shrug before replying.
"I also walk to work."

"You walk to work? How far away is it?"
"I dunno, about two hours?"
"Two hours?!"

The woman gave me a dumbfounded expression. Yeah, I don't really blame her for her surprise, taking two hours to walk to work every day wasn't exactly 'normal'. She shook her head before setting the bag on the counter.
"Wow...no wonder you haven't gotten fat."

"Alright, bye." I said giving a small smile and waving to her.
"Bye."

Getting back home, I opened the door and walked in. As expected, Cameron hadn't left his spot, still busy on the laptop. He looked up as I locked the door behind me.
"Listen, about what I said before...I'm sorry about that."

"That's fine." I said dismissively. My lips then curled into an evil smile. "Besides, I get to go to sleep in a nice comfy bed while you're up for god knows how long."

"Ugh..." he groaned and let his head fall back and hit the couch frame. "Fair enough."

As I started walking away, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy, dude seriously needed to relax. I pondered something for a minute before tossing the strawberry pint at him. "Think fast."

"Wha? Ha! Oh!" He fumbled around before catching the item and scowling at me. His eyes widened at the cold pint in his hands. "What's this?"

"It's a pick me up, I guess you can have it. Probably need it a lot more than I do to be honest."
"Oh. Well...thank you." he said with surprise.

"You better enjoy it too." I said jabbing a finger at him. "That's my last treat for a while."
Cameron put on a tired smile. "Don't worry." he chuckled as I left. "I'll be sure to do that."

---

"Ugh..." I let out a groan as a tan arm fed me the last of the Chocolate Therapy before tossing the pint at the garbage bin. The pint bounced off the edge of the rim narrowly landing in the garbage. "Score..."

Maybe I shouldn't have eaten all of that chocolate in one sitting...I mean, my taste buds were happy but now I felt like crap. "It was worth it...I think." I propped myself up, pulling the covers over my body, but some reason I couldn't sleep.

"As if! You think you'd do so well over there? You don't even have a good track record in THIS world." 
Why is it I'm up laying in bed at midnight thinking about the most pointless ? Great, now those words are stuck in my head. Admittedly, I wasn't really living a glamorous life by any stretch of the imagination. Work, goof off, buy a few treats here and there. It was fine now but what about several years down the line, when I'd be in my mid 20's? 30's? 40's? Any bonehead could do what I do. I guess...I mean, this life is kinda fun, but it's really not satisfying ya know? What do I have to show for living over a decade? At this rate, when I die the only thing that's gonna be written on my tombstone is a name and date, just like millions of other people. Damn it Cameron, now I'm actually a little scared.

"I really hope this is just the ice cream talking..."

I sighed, taking one final look out his window at the starry sky. I was about to turn away when a light flickering across the stars caught my attention.

"A shooting star...might as well." I paused before closing my eyes. "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. Wish I may wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight."
I chuckled at my little nursery rhyme.

"I wish I could have a chance to do something big. Something to really prove I have worth as a person..."

---

.
.

---

"Whoa!" Aero ducked as a claw roared by his head his head barely missing him by a few inches. He did a flip backward landing on his hands and pushing off onto his feet once more. "Almost didn't see you there."

A third Beowolf had nearly caught him by surprise while he was focused on the two in front of him. Letting out low growls, the three of them suddenly sprang forward, hoping to catch him in a pincer attack. Aero chuckled, raising a silver and purple spear catching the claws of the grimm in front of him. Extending his free hand backward, the two approaching beasts behind suddenly halted in their movements as if caught in something.
"Three Beowolves huh? Guess that's enough for one final warm-up."

Aero's leg lashed out to the grimm in front of him catching the Beowolf behind it's leg where it's knees would be. The creature let out a surprised cry as it's leg gave out causing it to kneel. Putting two hands on the weapon, Aero jabbed the spear horizontally slamming the grimm in the face and following up with a quick slash to it's throat once he had gotten some distance between them.

"Grrrrrooooooowwww..."
It let out one last growl before collapsing onto the carpet of grass. Immediately, the force surrounding the other two Beowolves disappeared and they mindlessly shot forward intent on tearing him to shreds. Aero twirled his spear, taking a stance as they both lunged at him. He blocked a claw swipe and immediately angled his weapon to catch the other as it snapped at him.

"Phew! Your breath stinks!"

He pressed a small button on the side of his spear causing the bottom part of the spear to open up into a three-pronged claw and catching on of them by the legs. Aero took a solid stance and roared, swinging the spear to cause the poor trapped grimm to go flying. It slammed into a tree as the chain on the spear extended. Pulling on it once more, the dazed grimm was yanked forward crashing into it's companion before having the spear through it's chest.

The last beowolf stared helplessly as Aero approached it, the previously stabbed grimm still on it not having dissolved yet.
"Be a good boy, and I'll make this quick."

The Beowolf felt an unusual sensation surround it before seeing the Huntsman in training raise a fist and bring it down on it's neck where everything went black.

"Phew."
Aero leaned his weapon against a tree and wiped the sweat off of him looking around. The sun had already started to set casting a few shadows around the vibrant green woods. Today was his last day before his future would be decided. He let out a sigh and picked up his spear, starting towards home. "Looks like I'd better get used to all this fighting, I'll be doing it a lot from now on."

It wasn't as though he hated fighting, it was fun at times and a good stress reliever and he was certainly good at it. No, part of the reason he took issue with it was that as a huntsman, fighting was pretty much all that he'd ever do. "Encounter the grimm, fight it. Encounter the White Fang, fight them. Encounter any sort of problem, fight it. Such diversity I have to look forward to..."

However, these were all just minor grievances. The real reason why he was opposed to the path of a huntsman, was that he didn't pick it himself...

"I'm home!"
Aero walked into the small house with a sigh and tossed his coat on the couch before falling onto it himself, feeling rather spent.
"Welcome back." called a friendly voice a room away. "You're a little later than usual."

"Yeah sorry about that, I encoun- *SNIIIIIIIIIFF*"
Aero stopped mid-sentence as a tantalizing aroma entered his nostrils. Immediately, the fatigue filling his body was washed away, and he instinctively found it's way to the kitchen where he saw his mother in an apron holding a tray smiling at him.

"Are those..."
"Barbecued pork cutlets? They might be." the woman said with a knowing grin.

"Yes!"
Aero reached out taking on of the pieces on the tray before letting out a yelp at the hot meat and retreating his fingers to his mouth. The pain however disappeared and a contented smile formed on his face as he tasted the barbecue sauce. His mother giggled.

"You might want to let them cool down first. I made them to celebrate your first day at Beacon."
Aero paused after hearing this and shook his head.
"That's okay...I'm not hungry anymore."

The woman sighed, setting down the tray before sitting down.
"Dear, I know you don't like this idea, I'm not crazy about it either. But your dad is just trying to do what he thinks is best."

"For himself." Aero scoffed. "I got a pair of dumbells for my sixth birthday. Dumbells! It's like I didn't have a choice from the start."
His mother put her hand on his shoulder. "I know this is hard, but give it a try. It might not be as bad as you think." she gave him an amused smile. "And please don't disappear right before the examination like the last time. Your dad nearly had a heart attack when you left and couldn't attend the academy for an entire year. If you do it again he might just put a leash on you."

Aero muttered picking up the entire tray of riblets and taking them to his room to prepare for tomorrow.
"I'll go, but I can't promise I'm gonna stay."

---

"Let's see." Aero said going over a mental checklist in his head." "Got my clothes for tomorrow laid out, packed some snacks, weapon is waiting in the closet. Am I forgetting something...?" he said tapping his chin. "Ah, right! Can't believe I almost forgot my journal!." He picked up a weathered journal with the cover a dull, faded red. He'd had this thing for years now. Originally, he'd been opposed to the idea, thinking it was girly like writing in a diary. But now Aero thought differently. He could vent his frustrations, talk about nice things and write down his spear techniques. Reading it was like watching himself from a neutral perspective and he actually learned from reading his own thoughts.

"Okay, now is that really everything?"
Aero was a very meticulous person, a trait he had unwittingly picked up after having to pick up the slack from his dad who was always doing something. He found it annoying at first but later on it felt oddly satisfying to check things off and know things wasn't a single thing that might go wrong with his schedule. Having finally crossed his T's and dotted his I's he lay down in his dark room. Aero tried to sleep for about 20 minutes before groaning and turning over.
"It's not fair...why is it I don't have a choice in what I get to do with my own life?"
He lay there looking at the ceiling.
"I just wish I could live my life in whatever way I wanted. Is that so much to ask?

He sighed and shut his eyes, unaware of a shooting star passing outside his window.

---

And thus, my little misadventure began...

---

BRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

An incredibly loud ringing screamed out of nowhere, ripping me out of dreamland and assaulting my ears as if the apocalypse itself was happening right in my bedroom. "WAAAAAUUUUGH!" Naturally, this caused me to wildly flail about like an epileptic turtle who had fallen onto it's back, before finally lashing out and turning off the alarm clock from hell.

"Haa...haa...haa..."

My heart was still in overdrive as I tried to figure out what the heck just happened. A black alarm clock had mysteriously appeared where there wasn't one before reading 7:00. "SEVEN AM?! Who wakes up at seven?! I don't even HAVE an alarm clock!"

While that was incredibly surprising, a quick look around told me a new alarm clock was the least of my worries. "This...isn't my room." And indeed it wasn't. MY room had clothes and trash scattered about, but this room couldn't possibly be compared to mine. The floor was free of any items and was practically sparkling for Pete's sake! The open closet clean with rows of clothes hung up, the TV which was there before I slept was now replaced by a neat and tidy writing desk

"Okay calm down, I...did I check into a hotel last night? No, I only left the house to go for a walk." As much as I'd like to remember getting here, I distinctly recall passing out after gorging myself on copious amounts of chocolate ice cream last night. "Please let this be a dream." I raised two fingers to my cheek and...OW, not a dream. If I didn't come here on my own then...this can only mean one thing.

"Someone drugged me and brought me here!?"

What the hell?! Why me?! Not to brag or anything but I'm an unimportant nobody! I can't think of a reason why a big shot would even know my name! Much less kidnap me!

I pulled off the covers to make another startling discovery. "They even changed my pajamas? Is nothing sacred?"

Looking around the room, I noticed it seemed...kind of empty. At least that's the impression I got from it. A bed, a drawer and a desk with a few books on it. That's it. It's like this room only had the bare minimum. While looking around I noticed a set of clothes neatly folded on the drawer. "You want me to wear these clothes? Is that what you want Mr. Kidnapper?"

Seeing how I wasn't really in a position to bargain, I slipped on the clothes and went to the closet to go find a mirror.
"What in the world?!"

There wasn't a mirror in the closet, there was however a BLADED STAFF leaning against the edge of the closet wall. Who keeps a spear in their closet?! It was an ornate looking one too...silver and purple spear with black rubber grips near the center.

"Should I bring this with me for protection? No...I shouldn't act recklessly. Someone who can afford to leave weapons lying around is not someone I wanna mess with."

I gulped putting my hand on the doorknob.
"Okay...here I go!"

I slowly opened the door hoping to try and be stealthy, expecting to see some sort of grand room bustling with guards, but no. Instead, I was greeted by a small dimly lit hallway. Before I could take a step out of my room the door next to mine opened causing my heart to clench.

*Yaaaaaawwwwwwn*
Out walked a tired looking woman with tan skin and denim blue hair. Is it ist I expected my kidnapper to be a guy? You know, a big intimidating looking guy with a black suit and sunglasses? Upon seeing me frozen in the doorway she gave me a warm smile.

"You're still here." she said approvingly. "I'm proud of you."
"Uh...thanks?" was all I could think to say.

"Go freshen up, I'll heat up some food while I still can." and with that, she turned around and walked down the hall without giving me a chance to respond. Maybe she's just a maid for whoever owns this place.

Contrary to my expectations the bathroom wasn't grandiose either. It was actually a little cramped. "Seriously, what's going on?" I splashed some water on my face from the sink and looked up at the mirror, only to see someone else staring back at me. "AAAH! Sorry! I didn't know it was occupied!"

The person jumped back the same time as I did and copied my apologetic expression. "No..." I reached up in disbelief and touched my face. The stranger in the mirror mimicking my moves with startling accuracy. "No no no no!" It really WAS a mirror!

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FACE?!" I yelled starting to lose it again before taking a deep breath "Okay calm down! You were just drugged, kidnapped and...given plastic surgery..."

The face was tan like my usual one but distinctly different. I reached up grabbing a lock of hair on my head. I normally had small black curly hair. While still black, my new hair was straight and reached my ears. I'm not sure if it's possible to lengthen hair, but it's definitely not possible in one night.

"Aero." A female voice called. "Are you alright in there? Your food is ready."
"Who's Aero? Am I Aero?" Biting my lip, I got a sinking feeling of what was really going on.

"Ah. There you are sweetie." The woman in question looked up from her coffee and smiled at me as I entered the room at sat at the table. "Hope you like your food."
"Thank you...mom?" I said slowly, watching her reaction.

"Is that a question?"
"N-no."

Not knowing what else to do, I busied myself eating small bites of the eggs that had been placed before me. My 'mom' going back to her newspaper.
'I don't know why, I don't know how, but SOMEHOW I ended up in another body!'

"Dear are you alright? You're starting to look pale. Are you nervous about your first day at Beacon?"
I dropped my fork. "Beacon?"

Her forehead wrinkled.
"Are you still half asleep? Go take out the kitchen trash, maybe the fresh air will help."
Maybe I really COULD use a little air. "Ah, alright then..."

I reluctantly left the table and picked up the trashcan heading out the door. As the door clicked open, sunlight poured from the outside forcing me to shield my eyes for a moment, but when I opened them. "Wow..."

I wasn't in the suburbs anymore, before me stretched a veritable metropolis. Buildings as far as the eye could see, countless people bustling by with each one of them somewhere to be. My breath caught in my throat as I came to a realization. This place looked familiar, very familiar...but I couldn't quite place it. It's like the answer was at the very tip of my tongue but still out of reach. "I know this place...I do."

Of course, I was zoned out the entire time while walking causing me to bump into someone.
"Hmmm?"

I heard an old grunt in front of me and looked up, when I saw who it was my eyes practically bulged out of their sockets! Right before me was an old man with no hair on the top of his head but with gray hair on the sides. His eyebrows were massive and his eyes were unimpressive black lines. He looked at me and waved, giving what I'm pretty sure was a friendly sounding grunt. "YOU! You're that old man from RWBY! The one that basically runs every store!"

"Hrmmm?"
He turned his head and let out a confused grunt. I swear, it's like the only way this guy can speak is in different kinds of grunts. I'm...not actually sure if I've ever heard him say a single word. Keeping true to this tradition, he nodded and gave me a small grunt before wheeling some big box into a nearby store.

"I don't believe this, if he's here then...I'm in Vale!?"

No sooner had I said those words when a dark figure walked past me. This person was completely dark as if they were made out of shadow. Just casually strolling along with no one else paying him any attention as if his appearance was completely normal.

"Ha...ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..." There was no way to doubt it now. Where else would you find such a ridiculous sight? What, that character hasn't been unlocked yet? "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..." I just stood there giggling like a madman, I probably looked pretty strange but I didn't care. I was ecstatic, you probably could have dropped a brick on my head and wouldn't have noticed.

"YEEEEEEEES! I DID IT! I'M HERE! MY WISH ACTUALLY CAME TRUE!" A couple of people gave me some weird stares but I ignored them."Ah, this does raise an important question though. What happened to the REAL Aero?" That was a seriously troubling question, one I didn't have the answer to.

"Aero!"
"Huh?" I turned my head to the voice coming from the house.

"What's taking so long? Don't tell me you got lost taking out the trash." Aero's mom said in a humorous voice.
"Ah right..." I dumped the trash into a nearby alley and eagerly hurried back into the house. The woman in question already had her purse and looked ready to go. With one final swig of her coffee, she fished around in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Here." she said slapping it on the table. "I gotta run, the drop ship will pick everyone up here." She briskly walked past me and then paused. Turning back around, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Huh?!" She caught me off guard so my hands hung at my side until I remembered her 'son' should probably hug her back. This is strange...I know she's Aero's mom but...she's not MY mom.

"I'm so proud of you sweetie."
"Uh, me too."
'Me too?! What, that's the best response you can think of Nate?'

"I'm sorry Aero." She said pulling me in tighter. "I know you're not the huggy type but I just can't help but think of you as my itty bitty baby."
'Please stop...'

Though I thought that, this wasn't...entirely unpleasant. After a time she let go and looked at me.
"Be sure not to forget anything, maybe try and visit me when you can? You know on second thought maybe I could convince your dad to let you wait another year."
I put my hand to my mouth trying and failing to suppress a chuckle. She sighed and gave a sad smile.

"You're right. You'll do great, good luck son."
With one final look back at me, she gave a wave and left, shutting the door. Leaving me alone in the house unsure of what to do. Now I feel kinda bad. I'm not the Aero she knows. I sighed plopping down on the couch, and turning to a mirror that hung on the door she left out of.

"What am I supposed to do?" I said shrugging my shoulders at my reflection. "What do you mean what are you supposed to do!? You're in Remnant! Go live the adventure you always wanted!"

"But this isn't my adventure, it was supposed to be Aero's. I can't just REPLACE him, that is seriously messed up. I don't even know what happened to him!" My reflection shook it's head. "Look, what did you wish for?"
"I wished to go to Remnant."

"Did you wish to replace someone?"
"Well no but-"
"But what? We don't even know how we got here outside of making a wish. Even if you wanted to do something as stupid as giving all of this up for morality, we wouldn't know where to start."

Well I'm not wrong there. Unless, repeating the situation might reverse it, I really doubted it'd work though. "Okay, I'll TRY and fix this, but if I can't, oh well not my fault." As for Aero's mom...well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I ran back to my room closet chuckling in excitement. Just as before, the silver and purple spear still waited leaning against the wall only this time...it was mine.

"So this is his choice weapon huh?"
Reaching out, I picked it out of the closet. The weapon felt cool to the touch and seemed to fit Aero's hands pretty well. Makes sense considering this was probably made just for him. I thought it'd be heavier, guess Aero's stronger than I thought. As my fingers slid over the smooth surface I noticed a small oval shape sticking out.

'What's this button do?'
"WHOA!"

The pointed bottom of the spear split into a three-pronged claw and shot out with a chain attached to it.
CRYYSSS!

The claw dug into the wall and held fast.
"...good thing Aero's mom already left. Now how do I get that claw out without ripping a chunk out of the wall?"
Fiddling around with the weapon for a bit, I pressed the same button I had before and the claw's grip disappeared. Okay good, maybe I'll experiment later when I'm not indoors. After hiding the claw marks in the wall by pushing the dresser in front of it I hurried off to the spot where the students were going to be picked up.

---

Getting aboard the drop ship was a completely new experience for me If I thought the view from the ground was impressive then the view from the sky was spectacular. I've never really flown before, the closest I'd ever come to that was jumping off of the roof as a kid, which didn't end well by the way. The people on the ground looked like tiny black ants moving about. The sky had other fascinating ships moving about, some of them really big and others average sized. Most of the buildings didn't look TOO different from the ones I'd seen on Earth. Which made me wonder...in about 50 to 80 years would cities be like Vale is now?

I cast a glance around the room.
"If only the view INSIDE the ship was as interesting as the outside..."

Seriously, I'd thought that being picked up was going to be an amazing experience where I'd meet a bunch of new characters that I'd never seen before, but nope. Almost EVERY person that I passed by was one of those freaking shadow people! It was fun before seeing a few of them in the street but this is ridiculous. Worst of all I couldn't even communicate with them either. Standing right by a small group of three shadow people I could only hear them muttering most of the time with only a few small sentences occasionally appearing like:

"Did you hear about..."
"So anyway I..."
"That's so like him..."

I let out a sigh, deciding to just walk back to the window and enjoy the view when...
"OH I CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY SISTER'S GOING TO BEACON WITH ME! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"

My body stopped. My heart stopped. Hell, TIME might've stopped as far as I was aware. "That voice..."

Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead as I slowly turned still in shock. And there she was, the golden-haired goddess of puns herself...Yang Xiao Long.