"Where.. Am.. I?" asked Vic as he stood on a land of clouds, he looked around, nothing but clouds for miles, above was a starry night sky. "Am i dead?.." he asked but got no answer.
He looked at his hands, he was in his old body, the one before he died and was sent to Remnant. He was wearing clothes he used to wear before it all happened. He wondered why he was here, he felt calm.
He doesn't remember much before now. He remembered Acnologia punching him in a giant crystal, then it was all blank. Most likely from the head injury he got from it.
He started walking, where? He didn't know, he just kept walking.
Suddenly the landscape changed to a modern earth School courtyard.
In the distance in front of him he saw his friends, the ones he failed to save. They were running ahead. "Hey! Wait up!" Vic yelled up to them as he started running trying to catch up to them.
He wanted to catch up to them, to be with them, but they were way ahead of him. "Wait up! Please!" he yelled as he started to lose his breath, this body didn't have as much stamina as his old one did, he wanted to talk to them, apologize to them for not being strong enough.
He ran out of breath as he panted and put his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath. He looked back in front of him, his old friends gone. "Wait.. up.." he spoke again, even though they were gone.
He stood up fully as he went to try and keep running, as he passed by one of the courtyard trees, the landscape and everything changed again, he was now in the courtyard of Beacon.
He looked around and noticed his hair in his face that he had gotten used to, it was orange, he looked at his hands, they had the muscle he built up from training and rough skin he'd had also gotten used to. He was wearing his casual clothing, but without his cloak.
He was confused as to what was happening. "Vic!" he heard a familiar voice behind him, he turned and was hit with a familiar red blur.
"Ruby?" Vic said as he looked down at the red reaper who was hugging him, she looked up and smiled. He heard more people, he looked in front of him and saw everyone he's met in Remnant so far.
He saw Yang, Tai, Qrow, Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Jaune. He saw some people in the back as well, he saw all the teachers of Beacon, as well as Ozpin, he even saw Tukson.
He saw Atlas Flame who towered over everyone else, he couldn't miss him. He saw Mavis and Zeref as well, next to them was a blacked out silhouette of Acnologia.
"What..?" he asked aloud as he was very confused, Ruby let go of Vic as she grabbed his hand.
"Come on! Everyone's waiting for you!" Yang yelled to him, as he saw all sorts of smiles and smirks from everyone in front of him.
He felt a presence behind him, he let go of Ruby's hand as the girl gained a confused look, he turned around and saw himself, his old self, right in front of him.
Brown medium long hair in a ponytail and brown eyes, glasses, he wore the clothes he himself was wearing moments ago.
Vic just stared at his old self, behind his old self he saw his old friends, the ones he couldn't protect, they were smiling. He looked and saw how they were both on different sides, on his side was Beacon's courtyard, and on the other side was his old school's courtyard, it looked like any normal one on Earth.
"We.. had a rough life didn't we?" his old self spoke to him, Vic looked down, and nodded.
"We did indeed.." Vic said to his old self.
"Though, not all of it was bad.. We did have those good moments before everything went.. To hell.." his old self spoke as he smiled at Vic.
"Not much has changed though.." Vic said as he looked at his old friends, he remembered how weak he was and still is.
"You do know, I can hear what you're thinking, we are the same person after all.. We aren't weak.. Neither of us.." His old self told him, causing Vic to look at him.
"We couldn't save them! How can we be sure we will be able to protect them?" Vic asked his old self, who scratched the back of his neck, messing with the ponytail he had.
"That wasn't our fault.. You know that.. And we are stronger.. Stronger than ever before, because we have them. We are fairy tail wizards after all." his old self told him as he pointed to Vic's fairy tail guild mark.
"But.. What if we can't protect them! What if we fail again!" Vic asked his old self.
His old self just smiled and put a hand on Vic's shoulder, confusing him.
"We won't fail. We are stronger than you think, because of them, because of everyone we've met. We know we can't and won't fail. I know you can protect them, speaking as yourself, I know it." His old self told him. "We may be different but we are the same. The same person.. Unlike you though.. I belong here.." his old self told him as he nodded his head towards the side he was on.
"And you belong there.. You need to keep moving forward.. We both learned that lesson.. Fairy tail taught us that lesson." His old self told him.
Vic started hearing voices, ones hes heard before..
"If you are looking back all the time, you'll never get ahead!" he heard Gray's voice, as an outline of gray appeared behind his old self.
"Moving on doesn't mean you have to forget about things. It just means you have to accept what's happened and continue on living." he heard Erza's voice, an outline of her also appearing behind his old self.
These were only 2 of the voices he heard.. He heard more of them as he remembered watching Fairy Tail..
"You remember, don't you?.. Never give up.." His old self told him as he heard one final voice..
"The moment you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on for so long!" he heard Natsu's voice as he saw a silhouette of Natsu behind his old self, Natsu smiled at him before vanishing.
"Fairy tail is the reason we are here today. Our friends keep us going, and we will protect them at all cost. We can't afford to lose if we fight for them." his old self told him as he smiled at Vic, Vic didn't know what to say, he was speechless, he was an idiot.
"The nightmares might never stop.. But know they do forgive us, we already know they do.. We aren't perfect, and they are still our friends... they know that.. You just gotta keep remembering that.." his old self told him as he turned around, and greeted his old friends..
Markus, Andrew, Aria, and Catherine. They all greeted his old self with a smile, and then turned around as they followed him.
"Wait where are you going?!" Vic asked, he wasn't done yet, he needed to see them more.
"We aren't leaving.. We will always be here, we are the same person, we are the memories you hold.." his old self said as he turned his head as he spoke, he faced forward again. All 5 of them raised their right hands simultaneously, and did the fairy tail hand sign as they walked away.
"Even if I can't see you... no matter how far away you may be... I will always be watching you..." he heard the voice of Makarov, it echoed around him.
Vic just stared as they disappeared.. "Vic?" he heard Ruby behind him, he turned to see her and the rest with confused and concerned looks.
"Are you alright?.." Blake asked him.
Vic smiled, and nodded.. "Yeah.. I'm alright now.. Sorry for worrying you guys.." he said with a large grin, causing them all to smile and laughter went through the crowd.
Vic was afraid still of what would happen if they found out who he truly is and what he was.. But that was for the future, he knew it didn't happen right now.. And it wasn't going to..
"Well.. are you coming or what?" Weiss asked as Ruby stood in front of Vic, offering a hand.
Vic reached out his hand to hers when he started to feel everything go hazy.
____________________________________________________________________________
Vic opened his eyes as he was reaching out his hand towards the unfamiliar ceiling, he slowly lowered his hand as he looked around a bit. He was in the medical room or often called the nurses office of Beacon.
He saw he had several bandages on him, most noticeably around his chest and side. He had a headache as his memory slowly came back to him again, he remembered some bits but after being punched in the chest it was all blank.
He noticed a bandage under his eye as well. He just stayed laying down. 'Iv caused them all to worry most likely..' he thought to himself as he sighed a bit.
He knew that dream meant something, he knew what it ment. It was a sign to keep moving and move on.. He didn't want to yet though, but he knew he had to..
He pushed these thoughts aside for the moment, as he tried to sit up. He felt pain all over his body, he wasn't sure how he survived the fight with Acnologia. Deciding it wasn't worth it, he stayed laying down with a sigh and closed his eyes.
He knew his magic wasn't back fully, he was at around ¼ of his normal magic, it was slowly rising. Using the Eternal Flame and his Hybrid Mode at the same time drained it a lot. He should start training those so he can combine them better.
He remembered what Acnologia told him during his fight, he couldn't say he was wrong, because he really wasn't. Vic knew his Dragon Slayer Magic wasn't perfect, it's why he kept training and training, to try and get it closer to being perfect.
Atlas Flames teachings help a lot, but it only helped his Hellfire Dragon Slayer Magic, he needed to better all of it. He's tried many ways, but it always seemed as if he was doing something wrong.
Vic sighed, he wondered where Acnologia was now though, and how did he get here in the first place? Did Acnologia drop him off here or did he just leave him in the forest and then someone found him.
'Probably the second one..' Vic thought to himself as it seemed the most possible for Acnologia to do..
He wondered how long had been here. However long it may be he hoped he didn't worry them too much.
He caught the scent of someone coming towards the door, it was most likely a nurse or doctor. They knocked before they entered. It was a male doctor, they looked at Vic as he stared back, a look of surprise came over the doctor.
"You're awake!" the doctor said as he rushed over towards Vic, "How are you feeling?" the doctor asked him.
"My whole body hurts, but I'm feeling just peachy." Vic told the doctor who chuckled a bit.
"That is to be expected, well we need to go over the usual check ups, then i will notify Ozpin of you being awake, alright?" The Doctor told him, Vic just nodded with a smile.
He had a feeling today would be a very long day.. Even longer if he didn't get something to eat.
Vic went through the regular check ups with the doctor's, it was the normal things he had expected, they did question the scales on his back, but he just told them it was a part of him being a dragon faunus, which they accepted.
The thing they were confused about is his dragon marking's of Atlas Flame. He just told them it was a tattoo he got, and they seemed to accept it pretty easily.
They finished the check ups after an hour, they told him what his injuries were. A broken rib, and because of the broken rib, it was a bit out of place so he was told that they did surgery on him to put it back in place so it could heal properly, which it was now. He also fractured a couple bones but none were out of place. They told him he lost a lot of blood which is why he was out for so long.
He had a giant one that went around the left side of his waist, it reminded him of Natsu's one, but much larger, not that he expected less of Acnologia. Though he did think he went overboard with it. He also had a small-medium scar going under his eye on his cheek that went to his ear. He still wishes Acnologia didn't go overboard for a friendly spar.
Though he thought he looked kinda cool with them, not many can say they fought against Acnologia one on one and lived to tell the tale! Though he knew Acnologia wasn't going serious at all, he was testing him. Though he was still proud to at least live through it.. Barely anyway.
The doctors soon left as they had finished their check ups, Vic sat up on the bed, he had to so he could get the full check ups. They gave him some pain reliever which helped a lot once they started work.
He would definitely need to start his training again as soon as possible, but he doubted that would happen anytime soon. He was given new clothing to wear, it was just a regular shirt and pants but it was good.
It also seemed he was good to go, he'd just be sore for the day.
After the check up, Vic caught the scent of two familiar people, Ozpin and Glynda. They entered the room just after the doctors left.
"Vic, I am glad to see you doing better." Ozpin told him.
Vic just stayed sitting and smiled a bit, "thanks, can't say I'm back to being full fighting shape though.." Vic told them.
"Well that is to be expected with how badly you were injured." Ozpin told him as he made his way over to Vic, who nodded.
"How long was I out for exactly.. I didn't get the chance to ask the doctors.." Vic asked Ozpin.
"You've been out for 2 weeks and 3 days." Ozpin told him, causing a sigh to escape from Vic's mouth.
"How did I get here?" Vic asked.
"A man carried you over here, he said his name was Acnologia, he told me you two had a friendly spar.. Was this the man who you warned me about over the scroll?" Ozpin asked him, Vic's eyes went a bit wide in surprise. He didn't expect Acnologia to bring him here.
"Friendly spar.. That's one way to call it.. But yes it was.. It seems he isn't here to kill me like I thought he would be.." Vic told them, 'It certainly felt like I was going to die though..' Vic thought to himself. "Where is he now..?" Vic asked.
"That i do not know, but he has been visiting every 3 days or so to check up on you. He didn't say a word though each time and left without saying a word as well." Ozpin told Vic who was in surprise.
'He.. visited me?.. Why?.. This is all so confusing!!' Vic thought as he sighed internally..
Vic had one more question though, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know though, "How did team RWBY and JNPR react?" He asked Ozpin.
"Well, all I can say is they will be very happy to hear you are awake, it was obvious they have been worried about you." Ozpin said to Vic, who looked down.
If only he could've seen that attack coming, then maybe he wouldn't have been injured as badly..
"Well, before we notify them of you being awake, I'd like to ask a question if that is alright.." Ozpin asked Vic.
Vic nodded, he had expected this, "Yea, that's fine.." Vic said as he got comfortable on the bed.
"Who exactly is Acnologia.. You seemed to already know him?" Ozpin asked, Vic sighed internally he had expected this question.
"Well, he is a powerful magic user, one so powerful as I said to you prior he could wipe out nations.. That is all I will say about him. He most likely won't want me to tell anymore, if i did he might just kill me." Vic said as he scratched the back of his head with a chuckle at the last part. He knew it was true though..
"I see..well then.. Glynda notify them of Vic being awake, I'm sure they will make their way over quickly." Ozpin told her, she nodded and started doing something on her scroll.
"Thank you" Vic thanked him with a smile, Ozpin nodded.
"Well we should be going, do not push yourself too hard." Ozpin said to him and warned him, Vic just nodded and smiled as he watched them leave the room.
He grabbed the mirror the doctors gave him and he re-looked at his scars, the doctor told him that the bandages had been on since the surgery was done, so they didn't see them yet. He wondered how they would react to them.
He put the mirror down and stood up, he stretched a bit, it felt good as he cracked his knuckles, arms, and neck. It felt good to do that after a while.
He had to admit, those pain relievers helped a lot. He wasn't feeling any more pain, he felt like he could fight now. Though he knew it was best to not fight. He wished he could replenish his magic faster but he would need some type of his element, like a dust crystal or something.
He finished stretching as he caught the familiar scent of some people he knew, he smiled softly as he knew these people. They were team RWBY and JNPR, they seemed to be hurrying to his room.
'I've worried them so much..' Vic thought to himself as he smelled them getting closer.
He walked over and sat on the bed turning around facing the wall sitting with his legs crossed, he had a few predictions of what could happen. He was also nervous about how they would react to his face scar, as he thought prior he thought it looked cool, but he could never be sure. He knew they wouldn't say anything bad about it, but it just won't get out of his head.
He heard them stop outside the door, he heard the door slam open.
"Ruby! Yang!" he heard Weiss quietly say to her two teammates.
He smelled the familiar scent of roses, as well as Yang, who.. Vic really couldn't place a specific smell on, but moving on from that. He felt himself get hit in the back by a familiar bump.
"Vic..?" he heard Ruby ask, as she hugged him from behind as he was sitting on the bed. He made it so she couldn't see his face with his long hair.
He smelled the rest of the teams slowly entering, "Vic you've got a lot of explaining to do" Yang said, he knew Yang would be the one to say that.
He just nodded, "I know I do," He said as he turned and faced them. He saw their reactions to his face, "But first, what do you think of it? I think it looks pretty cool," he said as he pointed to his scar with a slight smile.
He saw their reactions of shock, as they looked at his scar. Their reactions shift though.
"Woah! Cool!" Ruby said as she looked at his scar, he smiled a bit more.
"Yea! Looks awesome!" Nora said standing next to the red reaper.
Vic saw Weiss who was in the back, she touched her own scar she had.
The rest stayed silent, with looks of surprise on them, until Yang spoke up, "Yea, it is cool and all.. But what happened? Ozpin wouldn't tell us anything besides you were fighting a dangerous horde of grimm.. What grimm could've done this to you?" Yang asked, it gained everyone's attention causing Vic to sigh.
"It wasn't a Grimm, actually I just had Ozpin make that up.." Vic told them, causing looks of surprise from them. He was going to tell them some stuff, he had a few ideas of how this could work.
"If it wasn't a Grimm, then what did happen?" Jaune asked him.
"It is better if I explain some other stuff first. As you all know.. I possess what seemingly is more than 1 semblance." He said, getting nods and yes' from them. "Well, it's not actually a semblance at all, it's magic." He told them, he got some looks of surprise, but some seemed unfazed.
"I figured it wasn't a semblance.. But it makes sense that it is magic.." Weiss said to herself quietly
"That really does explain a lot of things we've seen you do..." Yang said aloud, getting agreements from everyone.
Vic sighed, he knew he really didn't try to hide it well, he saw no real point, "Now that has been covered, who did this to me was someone who can also use magic, though he is much more powerful than I am." Vic told them.
"If he was stronger then why did you fight him? There had to be another option.." Ren asked Vic.
"We had a small chat, he wanted to have a friendly spar.. I accepted it, because I also wanted to test myself, though I stood no chance." Vic told them.
"Friendly!? I don't think putting you in this condition can be considered a friendly spar!" Yang spoke with anger in her voice.
"I do have to agree with Yang.." Blake said as others nodded.
"It was also a test for myself.." Vic said, as he looked at his hand, it really was a test, a test to see how strong he was compared to someone who was known to end era's..
"A test?.." Ruby asked, a bit confused.
"It was to see how strong I actually am, it was an eye opener to how much stronger I can become." Vic told them as he clenched his fist, he looked up at them, and smiled.
They all were in silence, thinking, some seemed confused, others seemed worried, he could tell some were a mix. Vic could read their emotions with his Yin and Yang Dragon Slayer Magic, though he didn't always keep it activated, it felt kinda wrong to always be reading what emotion someone has without effort.
He jumped up from the bed, "I apologize for worrying you guys, I'll make it up to all of you!" Vic said as he smiled at them. He would do anything for them, to make up for it.
"You better! I would ask you to promise to not do it again, but we already know you can't keep a promise related to not fighting." Weiss told him, causing everybody to laugh a bit at the last part. Vic joined in the laughter.
Vic enjoyed these moments, he would enjoy them for however long he could. He knew they might not last for long. He also wanted to go see Acnologia when he could, he had a good feeling about this..
Everyone in the room heard a slight growl, and Vic was reminded of his hunger, "Can we get something to eat! I'm starving!" Vic told them with a smile, causing a bit more laughter.
They all made their way out of the doctors office, and made their way to the cafeteria
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3rd POV.
A week has passed since then, Vic was healing slowly, he no longer needed pain relievers thankfully. He had tried to go and train but both RWBY and JNPR stopped him, they wouldn't let him train at all. Vic had regained his magic by now as well, a lot of dust crystals as well as just random elements he could consume and it was back.
Vic still promised he would make it up to them, which he was going to keep.
Vic noticed during what little training he did when RWBY and JNPR weren't looking, that he had gotten a bit stronger, he wasn't sure why though.
Vic was right now walking the hallways of Beacon, alone because he was finished catching up with his classes, when his nose caught the scent of someone, Acnologia. His head turned automatically in the direction of it, Emerald Forest. He had to go see him, he needed to, because he wanted answers.
He made his way through the halls quickly, following the scent out of Beacon, and into Emerald Forest.
Vic, using his magic to boost him, finally found Acnologia, who was sitting on a rock facing towards him. Vic looked around, they were in the part of the forest with no Cameras around.
"Hm, faster than expected, that's good." Spoke Acnologia as he stood up, "Good to see you in better shape than before." Acnologia told him, Vic just smiled a bit and nodded.
Vic was still confused as to what was happening, "So.. uhh why did you want to see me this time?.. Are we going to fight again..?" Vic asked, Acnologia shook his head no at the last part.
"I did not come here for a spar today. I came to just talk to you about something." Acnologia told him.
"So.. what is it?" Vic asked, still confused.
"I hate beating around the bush, so I will just say it. You do remember what I said during our spar, right?" Acnologia questioned, gaining a nod from Vic. "You are full of them when using your Dragon Slayer Magic, you lack the visualization for your slayer moves, they could honestly be considered just simple spells with Dragon Slayer Magic imbued into them. You also lack the combat ability, I can tell you don't have any hand to hand combat teachings, for being self taught you are good, but good isn't enough sometimes.." Acnologia said, pointing out Vic's weaknesses.
Vic wanted to speak up, but he knew it was all true.
"For being a self taught dragon slayer like myself, you are decent, but you still hold untapped potential inside of yourself. From what I saw during our fight, you can't activate Dragon Force at will, or even perform a Secret Art, two of the most powerful things a Dragon Slayer can do." Acnologia told him
"If I may ask, where are you going with this?.." Vic asked, he was aware of these weaknesses..
"My pride won't allow that untapped potential to go to waste, and my pride as a Dragon Slayer, won't let me allow you to be this weak, you could also serve as a fun challenge in the future if you do master you dragon slayer magics completely." Acnologia spoke, Vic's face shifted to one surprise.
'What.. does this mean what I think it means?' Vic thought to himself, hoping it was.
"Seeing as you need one, I will become your teacher in a sense, to help you become stronger faster. " Acnologia told Vic with a smirk.
Vic's eyes widened in surprise, Vic hoped for this. He was going to be taught by Acnologia! This was going to be awesome, "Please, I will accept all the help I can get from you" Vic said as he smiled.
"Good. Trust me though, I won't be going easy on you at all, so be prepared." Acnologia told Vic, with a sinister smile, which made Vic unsettled a bit.
"I'll take whatever you can throw at me!" Vic told Acnologia, who's smile went wider.
"Good, Now then, we will begin training, in about a week's time. It should be enough time for you to fully heal up." Acnologia told Vic. 'I will train you to become the Dragon King of this world...' Acnologia thought as he looked at Vic.
"I don't think I can wait.." Vic said as he laughed a bit, causing Acnologia to smirk.
"Fine then, i will give you a starting lesson that shouldn't be too hard.." Acnologia said as he stood up off the rock. "We will start with your visualization, it is good but you still need to improve." Acnologia told him, Vic looked at him.
"You use your body as a weapon mainly which isn't wrong or bad, but you're also forgetting, you can also use everything else as a weapon too. And make those weapons around you instead of coming from you, like my Eternal Flare." Acnologia told him, Vic understood what he was saying.
"So I have to use everything as a weapon.. Not just my body.." Vic said and Acnologia nodded.
"This will also help with making your Secret Art, because you can use your surroundings for it as well." Acnologia told him, Vic nodded, "It may take time at first considering you've always been just using spells related to using your body as a weapon, but with time you can also do it." Acnologia told him.
"I think I understand now.. Visualize it forming around me, not it coming from me directly?" Vic asked, gaining a nod from Acnologia.
"Try it out, and see what you can do." Acnologia told Vic, who nodded.
Vic closed his eyes a bit, he faced a tree, he thought of a few ideas, but finally went with one. "Hybrid Dragon's Reaping Scythes!" Vic spoke.
8 scythes formed of different colors around Vic, which started to spin around him at a rapid speed, they slowly rose above Vic and took off in the direction he was looking, cutting down trees before disappearing.
Vic looked towards Acnologia, "How was that?" Vic asked.
"It needs work, but for a start it is good." Acnologia said with a slight smirk, he had a feeling Vic would be a quick learner.
Vic smiled, he wouldn't let this training go to waste, Acnologia was going to be his teacher, he couldn't afford to let it go to waste.
"Now try again, this time visualize more clearly as well as your surroundings." Acnologia told him as he went back to the rock and sat on it and began to watch Vic.
Vic looked towards another tree, and closed his eyes. He sniffed the air, and sensed his surroundings. He visualized what he wanted the spell to do, he thought of different ideas until he settled on one.
"Hybrid Dragon's Undying Glare!" Vic spoke as he brought up his hands, in a flash of multi-colored lights, 8 trees were cut down instantly. Vic opened his eyes and saw what he did.
"You are starting to get it now, but you still need more practice with it." Acnologia told him, Vic smiled at this, he turned and faced Acnologia, "Enough of using your surrounding elements, let us work on your visualization forming, you did a good job with the Scythe, but you can also make other things if you can see them clearly. It will also make your spells become stronger and waste less magic if you can do so." Acnologia explained to Vic who nodded.
"So, overall I just need to work on my Visualization?" Vic asked, gaining a nod from Acnologia. "
"We will also work on your hand to hand combat. Throwing Punches willy nilly is good, but also leaves you with lots of openings, though we will work on that after you've fully healed." Acnologia told him.
"Alright, can't wait for that!" Vic said excitedly, Acnologia only smiled.
Acnologia stood up from the rock, "For the time being, work on visualization for a week, and when that week is up, show me how much progress you have made." Acnologia told him, Vic nodded.
Acnologia turned and started walking away, "I won't disappoint you!" Vic told him, as his eyes lit up in determination.
Acnologia turned, he saw those eyes, he only smirked before facing forward again and walking off.
Vic was excited, but also a bit scared, Acnologia was going to teach him. Who knows what hell he will have to go through.
Vic looked at the rock Acnologia was sitting on, he brought hand up, and then in a fast motion, a multi-colored aura followed his hand and made its way to the rock, slamming down on it causing dust everywhere. "I still need to train more.." Vic said aloud as he walked away to train for a bit before RWBY or JNPR found him.
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Hey! Hope you enjoyed the Chapter!
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Thanks for reading the chapter! Ill see ya next one!