"What do you mean, I'm expelled?!"
Ryan Murray, known to most as Red, bolted up from the chair, glaring across the desk at the headmaster of Atlas Academy. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt down, revealing dyed crimson hair, before slamming his fist on the desk.
"I know I'm just a second-year, but I'm the most powerful student this academy's got!" Red was already shouting. "You can't expel me!"
"Mr. Murray." Headmaster John Pine gave naught but a cold stare, his blank expression giving way to cold fury. "Sit down, before security escorts you out by force."
"I don't care!" Red advanced forward, now practically on top of the desk with how far he was leaning, his wolf ears flattened against his head. "I'm the only Faunus who's ever gotten this far here! Name one good reason why I should be expelled from-"
"You're a liability, Mr. Murray."
Red blinked, backing down only slightly as Headmaster Pine stared him down.
"You constantly disobey the orders of Atlas personnel. You endanger the other members of team QRTZ with your reckless behavior. You've already injured half a dozen students with your wild combat style, and your poor academics are only matched by your poor attitude."
"The hell are you talking about?!" shouted Red.
"My point exactly." Pine paused for a moment, drinking from a thermos of coffee. "And regarding being a Faunus, Mr. Murray, the professorial council believes you have avoided the unfortunate discrimination due to your aggressive persona."
Red growled, about to speak again, before Pine kept talking.
"Mr. Murray, I find it a miracle that you've managed to stay here this long, but your time at Atlas Academy is over."
Pine turned around as security grabbed the wolf Faunus, amid his violent struggles.
"I wish you the best of luck…Red."
Tai Corrin drummed his fingers against his thigh, eagerly awaiting his results from the Haven Academy council.
This is it! thought Tai. I'm finally going to attend Haven! Don't know why I'm waiting at the headmaster's office, instead of the induction ceremony, but hey! Maybe I'm getting special accolades! I mean, I was the first person to finish the physical test with flying colors, and my marksmanship's no joke either, so-
The door of the headmaster's office opened suddenly, making Tai jump. However, instead of the headmaster's kind face, Tai was met with the face of a middle-aged woman with too much makeup and thick glasses, wearing a bright white lab coat.
"Tai Corrin?"
When he nodded, the woman grabbed his hand, taking him inside rather quickly. On any other day he would question why this scientist-looking woman was pulling him along with such vigor – but the excitement of coming to Haven Academy was too great.
The headmaster's office was immaculate, with almost everything hidden from view. He sat down opposite an old, worried-looking man, a smile still painted across the young man's face.
"So what is all this?" Tai asked. "Was something wrong with my transcripts?"
The old man cleared his throat. "No, your transcripts were fine."
Oh, thank Oum. Wait, then why am I-
"However, there's something…wrong with your physical. You see, you don't have Aura."
Tai breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's it? That's fine! My Aura just hasn't been unlocked yet. I'm sure if someone else unlocks my Aura, then-"
"You misunderstand." The old man grabbed an intricate cane and stood up, leaning on it somewhat as he continued.
"I didn't say your Aura hadn't been unlocked. I'm saying you have no Aura."
Tai paused for a moment, his face falling. "What..?"
"You see, young man, part of the medical exam you took when applying for this school includes Aura examination. Seeing if you've trained already, if you've unlocked your Semblance, that sort of thing."
The man closed his eyes. "And everyone, EVERYONE scores something on that test, because every living thing on Remnant, save the Grimm, has Aura."
"Except you." This time it was the middle-aged woman speaking. "You have no Aura. Not even residual Aura locked away in your system."
Tai's eyes widened, looking down. "But…that's…"
"Impossible," finished the old man. "You're an anomaly. So you're coming with us for study."
This last statement snapped Tai out of his daze. "What? No, I'm not going with you! I'm going to be a Huntsman!"
"Young man, you really don't have a choice."
"The hell I don't!" Tai stood up quickly. "I don't care if I don't have Aura, this is what I always wanted to do! You're not going to stop me!"
The old man said nothing, rather waving his hand forward. The others in the room began to advance. Tai pulled out his weapon, ready to fight for his place at Haven. However, a syringe pierced his neck, and a moment later, all was calm.
The Vacuo Grand Market was abuzz more than usual today. Alistair smiled as he opened his stall for the day, and his usual cries began.
"Fresh kebabs! Get your fresh kebabs here! Made with the freshest beef and lamb!"
As the crowds gathered in the market and he began the work day, he kept his eye open, looking around the market for any signs of a certain mischievous cat Faunus.
If she steals another one today, it'll mark the hundredth week in a row that she's gotten away with it. Alistair chuckled to himself, passing out food quickly to his hungry patrons. Should be any moment now-
As if on cue, a young female Faunus teleported from behind a wall, grabbing a beef kebab from the warming rack.
"Sucker!"
As the Faunus started to run away, Alistair shouted after her, though he was smiling as he did so.
"How dare you steal from me, you rapscallion! I'll have you know my kebabs cost far more than 'free'!"
He halfheartedly called after her, but as she blinked again and disappeared around the corner, Alistair stopped, smiling to himself and going back to his grill. One wouldn't think that the Cat Burglar would make for one of the appeals of the Grand Market, but Alistair certainly wasn't the only one who 'secretly' enjoyed her antics. And judging by the people swiftly going back to their business around his stall, they didn't mind either.
"Don't worry, my good sir. I'll make sure that little thief is brought to justice."
Alistair's eyes widened as he turned away from his food to view a foreign Huntsman, clearly from Vale. Bearing a long green scarf with the symbol of Beacon Academy, the young man gritted his teeth, drawing his weapon. It appeared to be a vintage Great War rifle, though upon further inspection was only modeled after it, not an original. Under the scarf, the Huntsman wore an old Valian uniform, the buttons polished until shining.
Great, Alistair thought to himself. A recent graduate. Idiot looks like a Great War reenactor.
"Tell me, sir! Upon which way did that cat burglar abscond?" The Huntsman looked at Alistair. His bravado and old way of speaking was already giving him a headache. As he gestured vaguely in the direction of the Cat Burglar, the Huntsman immediately began running.
The Cat Burglar had turned a few corners, snickering as she viewed her prize. The alleyway was dark – tall buildings on either side blocked the harsh Vacuan sun.
"Ali's always got the best food," she giggled, quickly taking a bite from the skewer.
"Thief! Stand and deliver!"
The cat Faunus raised an eyebrow, turning to see the Huntsman raise his rifle and fire, without a second thought. However, when the smoke cleared, the Huntsman was surprised to discover the Faunus standing five feet to the left of where she was.
"Stay still, you fiend!" He fired again. And again. Each time, she seemed to move a little more to the side.
Damn. The Huntsman lowered his rifle for a brief moment. I'm not that bad of a shot, am I? Unless… He quickly swiveled the gun to the Faunus' left, firing.
She had been using her Semblance to teleport short distances, dodging his bullets. However, this time she had teleported right into the path of the bullet. While her Aura protected her from any injury, the force of the impact blasted her back into a wall, cracking it.
Damn, son! She grinned as she looked up, feeling her Aura drop rapidly. One hell of a gun you've got there! Shame you're not gonna get to use it!
As the Huntsman walked forward, aiming his rifle again, the Faunus teleported backward into the building, managing to avoid the next shot. He glanced around, his eyes narrowing, before hitting the building with his fist.
"Suck it, loser!" Before he could react, the Faunus sprinted up the building, careful not to lose her stolen food.
The Cat Burglar had won the day.
"Careful! She could be dangerous! Move in on my command!"
The six Atlesian officers moved in on the young woman, still smoking from the recent explosion. She was at the center of the crater she had created, looking confused.
What…happened? What's going on?
"Sir, her Aura levels are decreasing rapidly!"
"Good. Move in once it hits zero."
Where am I? Who am I?
"What is she doing?"
"Get back! She's about to release another one!"
The explosion, this one resembling an explosion of lightning Dust, rocked the nearby soldiers, sending some to the ground. Sgt. Donovan remained unfazed – he had seen far weirder than this. The woman fell to her knees at the center, clearly scared out of her mind.
"Aura levels at zero!"
Donovan nodded at the other members of his squad, who moved in to sedate the woman.
Celeste.
The woman blinked, as her most recent thought had not been hers.
"Celeste..?"
The Atlesian soldiers gave no second thought to her first spoken words as they sedated her. Donovan sighed as he lowered his weapon, and prepared to call the Atlesian fleet for extraction.
"From what I've heard, the suits over in Engineering are starting to roll out functioning prototypes for robotic limbs! Full one-to-one motion and everything!"
Major Ironwood chuckled as he overheard the idle chatter of his men. Don't think I would enjoy robotic limbs over my own. He glanced over at the door, greeting the guard as he entered the board room. Another project to review.
It almost feels like I turn down half a dozen of these projects every week, Ironwood thought idly as he sat down. He was only 26, but with the rank of Major, many hopefuls thought his inexperience would lead to their underexplored projects being approved for military use.
Clearly, none of them have ever met James Ironwood. Despite his age, his face showed signs of maturity and stress beyond his years. He was also quite the imposing figure, as he had been on frontline combat for years, and never really grew out of that mold. Rumors among the new recruits said that looking into his eyes were like looking into the eyes of an Alpha Beowulf.
Ironwood glanced over as the door opened, revealing one of the Atlesian engineers. He recognized the uniform – it was one of the more experimental divisions.
"So," Ironwood said, taking a long drink from his coffee, "what new project does Atlas want me to review today?"