"Deep breath, Drake, deep breaths."

My friend sat next to me. He was trying his best to calm me down, but I was still a solid case of nerves. Sure, the words helped, but I was still about 90% sure I was in the wrong place.

"Why did I let you talk me into this?"

He chuckled. With his black covered face, he was often considered a emotionless sort of person. His voice though, is what was truly expressive. The tenor often showed through all of the expression that the covers took away.

"I didn't bother talking you into it. I just submitted your transcripts along with mine. Of all surprises, yours were good enough to get in."

"Then I know you didn't submit mine. I failed like, half my classes."

"Only about a quarter, and you also aced every subject you halfway cared about. You averaged out. Besides, the reason you flunked out was because you were hunting Beowolves."

"Yeah, but it's not like they are going to care about that."

"Um, yeah, they did. They were very interested to find out that you averaged 10 pelts a week throughout senior year."

"I'm also to old. Your like, 2 years younger than me. Everyone here is 2 years younger than me."

I motioned around, indicating everyone in the flying machine. We were whispering, so it wasn't much of a scene.

"You were held back twice, and there is no shame in that. You were a little brat."

"And you were a pain in the ass to bully."

"Oh, You know I tried my best."

The massive engines roared.

"I think were getting above the school now."

"Oh, your going to look out the window? Have you recovered form the last time you were in a airship?"

"It wasn't that bad."

We looked out the window.

It was a big place. Lot's of gray that didn't blend well with the inhospitable miles of ice and snowy mountains. They said that no one could survive out this far from the city for more than 3 day without food and water, but something in my heart was muttering about how it would like to take that chance. That worried me, as would worry you. It's always a dangerous moment when your heart is more of sarcastic jerk than you are.

I set the bar pretty high.

"You really think I can make it, liege? Cause I don't think I have the strength."

"Thinks I didn't think I would hear come out of your mouth."

"Well, it's easy when you know your bigger than anything your going to meet, but when the test is out of your control..."

"It's a little different, yeah. I think there's more a danger of you breaking the schools foundation in half than you failing."

"Now that's just flattery."

That's Legion. He might be even more of a sarcastic jerk than I am. Or at least he's good at responding to my sarcastic jerkiness. Mmmm, jerky.

The school slowly came into focus. The floor came into veiw as you began to be able to tell the windows apart. The dorm building was as plain as you could posiably imagine. There was not a signle comfortable warm and fuzzy things to be seen. The windows were evidently there only to save on electricity during the day, because they were blocky and thick.

As we docked, me and Legion both gather up gear. He had one 3 foot long case that held his lovingly cared for blade.

"Jeeze, dude. Are you compensating for something?"

I looked behind me to see another student picking up a small case. He was staring at the two massive cases that I was picking up. There was a circular nature to it that came from the object in it. The other was just full of stuff that I needed for the first.

"I just gotta keep my options open."

I walked out with my friend, but I could feel the student was still staring at me.

"Did you bring all of them?"

"Yeah, not sure if I'm going to use the big ones though."

"You should really think about it."

"And you should really think about committing vast acts of property damage yourself."

"Your love and care is noted. I take it it's still acting up."

"The firing pin. I need just a sliver of -"

"You broke another firing pin? That last one was supposed to be it. For good. For life. Your words, not mine."

"I should really install that thing... wonder where I put it..."

The teacher began her talk in hologram. I tried not to be bored until the end. A losing battle, to be honest. But it was welcome student's blah blah blah-blah.

Legion did the usual elbow to the gut when he thought that I was falling asleep. I was never the best with lectures.

Not to be all that mean or anything, but I wasn't excite to attend Atlus. I wanted to be a hunter. I wanted to go out and help people.

I just knew that something wasn't right.

It was all around me, this not-right-ness. It was something in everything. The steel walls, the students, even legion himself looked... off. This... this... this-ness!

There wasn't much I could do to complain, though. I was in and I was on my way. Whenever I brought it up with Legion, he just kinda shrugged and said he didn't see anything, and that it was probably all in my head.

Yeah, that's the problem. It's all in my head. However, the problem with that problem is that IT'S MY HEAD! If something wrong with it, I'M SCREWED!

"Your doing it again, Drake."

Just like Legion, talks out of nowhere to start a conversation like we're right in the middle of it.

"What?"

"Spinning yourself out. Pay attention, you nearly knocked over a girl."

I looked around. We were walking toward a massive outdoor meeting area. I had nearly knocked over a girl, and she was still cussing at me under her breath. Something was so wrong with this place.

There was something wrong with the guards. Yeah, granted, they were mostly the dime a dozen robots that Atlus military tech had been putting out like mad, but there was something wrong about that too.

It was like there was a chain over my heart that said, 'you can't get far enough here'. It's astounding that chains could talk.

"Remember that feeling I was telling you about?"

"You never let anything go, do you?"

"Try not to, anyway, that feeling is just getting stronger."

"Just give it time. Things will work out."

"That's true for you, at least."

"Drake."

"Don't 'Drake' me." I said, sarcasticly copying his warm and caring tone that was inexplicably honest.

He looked me in the eyes.

"It's true for you too."

I tried not to roll my eyes. I respected him to much for that. Mimicking is one thing, He's used to that. Eye movement would push him over the edge. Maybe.

"I know. It just that I don't know what the feeling is. It's the uncertainty that making me uncertainly uncomfortable."

"Students! Please end your conversations!"

Legion looked at me once with a look that said that we would continue this later. A tall man walked up to the stage.

"Welcome to Atlas Academy! I am the headmaster, General Ironwood. I would like to thank you for considering this school your choice for your futures."

I didn't have a choice. Something about that was clanking around in my brain.

"Let me begin by stating that today is your last easy day. Some of you might have trained hard to come here, some of you might have had hard lives train you to come here, but from here on out there is no easy way. You have made a choice to do something incredible with the incredible gifts that you were given, and that requires effort. That requires will. If you do not have both, you will not survive here. I do not mean, however, that you might be expelled. That is the least of your concerns. You might die here."

He paused for effect. Yey, pauses for effect!

"Let the seriousness soak into you reality. You will not go home the same. From the first moment that you leave this room, great expectation will be put upon you. Accept it, and know that the very nature of my job and every instructor at Atlas is the help you meet those expectations. Give me your best, meet my expectations, and I will work hard to make sure that you have the tools and the skills to met the expectations of world. For home, for safety, and for ATLUS!"

This cheer was copied through out the students. There were some that just yelled out "For Atlus!" Most at least, pumped there fist in the air.

I didn't. I don't know why.

I looked at Legion. Standing in front of me, I watched him put his hand over his heart. He was so serious about his love of his country. His father had been, when he was alive. It had been so long ago since I had seen him like that.

Something around me still didn't feel right.

"Wonder what his problem is."

I heard it being muttered around me.

"Guess he just doesn't care."

"gosh, does it hurt to be a little patriotic."

"I hope I don't get pair with that tall guy."

I kept my head straight. I should have done something. I should have said something.

We were told to sleep where we had been standing, and be ready for assignments in the morning. In the open amphitheater, I watched as people pulled sleeping bags and rucks out of nowhere. Legion, being his usual self, started to talk to other people.

I looked around, and I just couldn't bring myself up to say anything. I just stood there awkwardly. Looking at people. No one really came up to me, though, for about an hour.

I eventually laid down, using the case for my weapon as a makeshift pillow. I hadn't planned on sleeping in the cold, but it didn't bother me much. I had done it a lot, really. More than I cared to remember.

Then, of course, Legion threw me a blanket, before he laid down parallel to me.

"People are starting to call you stupid."

"Am I though?"

"Nah, just stupidly forgetful. Luckily thought," he said as he pulled out another blanket for himself. "Your predictably forgetful."

I looked at the blanket. It was long enough for me to lie flat, and kinda thick. He had obviously known I would forget something like this beforehand. For the life of me though, I couldn't remember a time that I had forgotten something like this before. I had always kinda gone without. Even when we hunted together, I had slept under the stars nearly naked.

The added layer of protection felt good though. It felt a bit like home. With it around me, I didn't feel so bad in the place I was in.

It still felt wrong though, and I just couldn't explain it.

We got up the next day and they took us to the lockers and explained there use. They encouraged us to learn to use them, and explained the six digit codes. The machines were supposed to fire off and land in our proximity to provide us with our weapons, in the case that we were ever without. She gave us a set of codes that we were supposed to remember, and where they led too.

Legion still stood beside me. He raised his hand.

"How would we figure out codes for off campus things?"

"You shouldn't need it for off campus things, but the codes run in a manner of trajectory. Later on in the semester we will explain them, but until then, I would keep your weapon on you at all times. Those place that I have given you codes for are meant to be the only exceptions."

And they return to the academy within a period of time?"

"That is right, so you should remove your weapons as quickly as possible, before they leave you behind in your terrible situations. It can also function as an emergency escape, if your brave."

"Thanks, Drake, whats the coordinates for Mr. Abernathy's classroom?"

I had been doing the math in my head. "983624."

He entered the number and the locker rocketed off.

"Young man, what do you thing your doing, sending it off campus could lead to property damage and-"

Legion voice shared his hidden smile.

"He said I couldn't make to here, because I was too small."

I looked her in the eye.

"Me too, I was too stupid."

The teacher was a stiff lady. Something about her gleaned in her eye though. Something that spoke to an understanding.

"I'm sure we shall hear about it later, but we are going to go on toward the next assignment."

We walked out into pad with a waiting airship. Getting on-board I felt someone shove me.

Something in my heart died. I didn't respond, I didn't even look at the person, I just kept on walking. It was so useless. Legion was far in front of me and didn't see it, but I felt that was a good thing. It kept him from getting involved.

I was probably just being a idiot. I knew that back in the day, when I would have done something like that, Legion had been the first to get in my face. He'd have gotten in the way, and tried to get the bully to focus on him. That's not what I wanted though, and I doubt that would even matter.

What I wanted hadn't mattered in a long time.

As we landed onto the field of battle, I felt my mace on my back. I felt the backpack straps pulling on my shoulder. It was a long bag, with a number of openings for me to easily grab what I needed. I hope though, that I wasn't going to need much from it.

I felt the weight on my legs. There was even more ammo in the massive cargo pants that I had on. Every pocket was filled to the brim with clips and single rounds. I had sewn them up myself, sizing each pocket to fit as much as possible.

They truly looked like shit, but that's not something that I particularly cared about.

There were a few things padding the massive multi-lined patchwork hoodie that I was wearing, but that was mostly food rations and such. It fit loosely, and waved a bit as I moved. This piece of clothing had been made for me by my mother, all those years ago, or at least some of it had. The original hoodie had ripped a bunch of times, but it still gripped me a little tight in the right arm. It reminded me of how much I had grown, and how long it had been since I had seen her. Slowly it had built up, as I had worked to repair the stitches as best I could. Some places the fabric was 5 layers deep, some areas there were only a layer of wolf fur and handmade chain-mail between me and the elements.

My stomach rumbled. They didn't feed us much, and didn't give us to much time to eat it. I was really hungry, but I had managed to store a bit in my pockets for later. Knowing me, I was going to be one the slowest people to finish. That might mean having spread these leftover further than planned.

General Ironwood greeted us from where we landed. He gray hair and stoic face did not make me feel welcome.

"Good morning Students. Today we are going to be picking your teams. Or rather, you are. You will be thrown into the Sapphire forest that you see behind me. Your will traverse through it, a trip that would take several hours. There you will find some ruins with a totem. Bring me one totem back from the ruin. You will team up with the first person you make eye contact with."

He looked around, serious pause for effect. His glasses were slightly askew.

You teammate will be the person that you will train with, and eventually graduate with. Make no mistake in the person that you join up with, as your fate rests with them."

The last part was said so seriously, that I could feel a lot of people become more focused. I knew that if I didn't meet up with Legion I was probably going to have a bad time.

I went over to plate on the ground, and I watched as the others were launched into the air.

I couldn't myself, I always calculate trajectories for some reason. Mass, force, and acceleration always interested me for some reason.

I just wasn't light enough, when I was launched into the air, it was in no way far enough. I was far more heavy than any other classmate that had been launch from that platform before. I knew exactly where I was going to land, and it was nearly a mile away from anyone else. I knew exactly where they were going to land, well, close enough, but they would move randomly from that point, and it would take me at least half a hour to get to any of them, accounting for actual monsters.

The woods and trees below my feet whizzed by. They were the evergreen trees that were everywhere in the north. The forest was a tundra and danger all it's own.

And boy did it show in the air. But once I was up there, I felt a bit more at peace. I was outside of the school. I was free to act how I wished. The thing that had felt so wrong lifted, if only a little. Course, I was flailing and tumbling end over end from the air resistance, but that was minor.

A lot of people have fear of heights, which sometimes made sense. If you really think about it, it's not really the heights that you are really worried about.

Its the fact that there is ground on the bottom.

I saw other people prepare elaborate measures to slow themselves down and create survivable falls. Girl jumping off trees and shit...

I just pulled a little of aura around me and waited.

*THUMP* I hit the ground with a great deal of force.

*Thump* I hit it again. Smaller impact, but a rock hit me the wrong way in the spleen.

*chasssssssshhhh* I slowly grounded to a halt in the snow. I was still holding my spleen. The coolness of it made everything numb.

I picked myself up and shook myself off, pulling out snow from unmentionable places. This was going to be a fun year if that was the starting point.

I looked around. There was freshly fallen snow everywhere. This being the north, that wasn't an uncommon sight. No matter how many times I saw it though, it touched my heart. I tried not shed blood onto fresh snow. It didn't deserve that dyed up fate.

Slowly I got up and started to move away from where I had made two rather serious craters. That is the direction that I had fallen, and they had said we had to trek through the forest to get there, so it seemed like that would be the best bet. Eventually I would stop and climb a tree or something to look around.

A rustle in the bushes woke me from my daze. I wasn't sleeping, but walking was just growing so boring. I hoped that it was some classmate still looking for a teammate. I didn't think anyone was tracking me. I had spent a lot of time in the snow, and though my pockets were stuffed with metalic objects, they were also padded to not make a sound. Every clip was held separately.

I had spent to much time hunting to be the big dumb noisy guy. Now I was just big and dumb.

However, as the masked head popped out, that hope quickly died. It was a Ursa, and it was coming right at me. Not quickly, but with a hint of caution. It was sizing me up. We were face to face. My left was it's right, and it's left was my right.

Oh well, at least it's some exercise.

I reached behind my back and pulled the clips off the harness. The thing was far to big to carry in a sheath, and that would just be pointless anyway.

The round solid body gleamed slightly as I raised it up off the holder and forward to rest in a two-handed grip between me and the bear creature.

It charged quickly raising a massive right claw over it's head. The paw was almost as thick as my mace, and had sharp claws ready to tear my face off.

I twisted to the left and threw myself into the path of the strike. I straightened my stance so that it pointed straight up, and the tip of the weapon glazed the massive creatures paw. For a second my back lay exposed to the creatures right flank as I threw my weapon out to the side and continued to turn more. As the full 360 degree turn completed, I felt the mass of momentum that had built up in my club.

I let it rip into the beasts now unguarded face. It's claw was slightly embedded in the ground, and the sheer speed was enough to take many be surprise. This was a young Grimm.

And a dead one. As soon as the mace hit, it was over, it didn't go straight through.

It brought a Ursa along with it though. The creature went flying, the tremendous weight of the club breaking whatever is akin to Grimm bone there is. It eventually went through a tree, the Grimm, that is.

None of that really surprised me. This wasn't a nevermore, or any other creature that had some age and bulk to it. While it wasn't a Beowolf, I had been sending beowolves flying for years now. They only weight about 200 pounds anyway.

I walked away as the Ursa slowly disintegrated.

I really need to say something cool when I do something like this...

Oh, shoot. I should really have a line planned for these occasions. What does Legion always say?

Wait! I don't think he says anything!

Is that what's cool?! I don't know!

Ummmmm... ummmmmm...

"Go back to the play ground."

Ahhh, shit, did I really just say that?

The forest was silent in it's answer. No grimm came out the bushes to respond.

No classmates fell out of the trees laughing either.

I guess if you say something stupid, it's really best to get it out of the way when no one can hear.

If an idiot says a stupid line in the forest, but nobody is around to hear it...

Oh, who am I kidding. I heard it, and it was dumb.

Dumb dumb dumb dumb.

Gosh, I hope I turn the corner and be cool soon. That's what happens right. You suddenly have this super cool moment where you can be confident and that's the thing that you copy to eterinity, right?

Oh, who am I kidding. I'm always going to be an idiot.