Rehabilitation

Chapter 1: Your Only Chance

In one year's time, all things shall fall

The roses die, the stories end

In one year's time, all light will fade

And mankind burn… in Mountain Glenn

4/9: Sunday

"There it is: Beacon High."

From the road, the ancient high school seemed like castle that ruled over the city below it. Built into the side of the cliff that rose over the city of Vale on its north side, the school was designed in the style of Victorian architecture, from all the building looking like they had been pulled from Baker Street, to the giant clock tower in the center of the campus. Many people criticized the institution as being 'over-designed,' but as it had been there for as long as the actual city of Vale, every building in the valley had adopted a similar style.

While he wasn't a fan of old-fashioned designs, the driver of the sleek black car had to admit that the view was quite impressive. If his passenger felt the same way, though, she was hiding her appreciation very well.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, being sure to keep most of his attention on the road. It wouldn't do to go careening off the side of the cliff due to a lapse of focus.

"Remember our deal: you will be a model student while you're here, and in return, the charges against you will be dropped."

No response. She just sat in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead, the only movement in her green eyes being the occasional blink that still seemed to occur a little too infrequently for his comfort. Still, the driver continued to speak to her, more out of boredom than expectation for a response.

"Oz is throwing you one hell of a life-line, letting you come here." He sighed, running a hand through his own thinning, black hair. It was starting to show signs of silver, and a part of him was considering dying it. "If it weren't for him, you'd be starting your ten-to-twenty today. Make any trouble, and I'll see if I can get a few more decades added to that sentence."

Her eyes shifted to look at him, and a small smirk came to her face. The driver grumbled, and looked away, realizing he had been speeding up as he was talking. She was now focusing on him, and something about her shining green eyes made him feel uncomfortable. In all his years as a police officer, James Ironwood had never encountered someone quite like this young lady.

The rest of the drive was made in silence, the car following the round along the outskirts of the city, leading them alongside dense green woods for several miles, before heading up the side of the cliff towards the school. The uphill road was long and wide, with a special lane for buses on both sides and a pair of monorail tracks going right down the middle. There were also stairs, for anyone insane enough to try and make the trek on foot. Away from the school, this road led down into the city itself, with several other paths branching off into the hills and mountains that surrounded Vale.

The school gate was closed, but there was a sign directing visitors to head around the side of the perimeter wall. The detour led to a large parking lot, which currently only had a few cars and bikes dotted about it. James pulled into the nearest parking spot to the sidewalk, and finally had a chance to get out and stretch.

He heard the passenger door slam as he did, and turned to see the girl looking around with mild interest. Her two black pigtails, which flowed down to her back, fluttered in the wind, as did the school uniform she was wearing. The clothes were a tad large on her, shown by the dangling sleeves, but it was the best that could be down on short notice, even if the black checkered skirt she was wearing was somehow 'just' at her knees. The Beacon High insignia, a circle with two axes crossing each other, was emblazoned on her black shirt, one of the few hints as to the school's origins.

"Follow me. If you wander off, I'll consider it an escape attempt." James commanded, motioning towards the short girl. He purposefully ignored her eye-roll, as she did as she was told and followed him back around to the school gate. On the right pillar, there was an intercom, as well as a key-card scanner.

"Vice-principal Goodwitch speaking." Came the fussy response a few seconds after the button had been pressed.

"Glynda. Good to hear your voice again." James smiled, self-consciously straightening his white suit and red tie. Behind him, he swore he heard the girl gag. A glance back showed her standing there looking innocent, which just convinced him of what he had heard.

"Ah, Chief Ironwood. We've been expecting you…" The voice over the intercom was forcefully cold, which only prompted James to chuckle. She hadn't changed a bit. "You've brought the new student with you?"

"Regrettably, yes." The large man sighed again, crossing his arms. "I don't understand why Ozpin is so adamant about this."

"Neither am I, but this isn't our decision to make. I'm unlocking the gate, go ahead and bring her up to the headmaster's office."

There was a loud click, and the lock in the center of the gate disengaged, allowing the metal frame to drift open.

"You're meeting with Professor Ozpin, so be on your best behavior." James growled, this time earning an actual nod as the two of them entered the school grounds, the gate closing behind them with a loud clang.

"Ms… Neopolitan, correct? Last name unknown." Professor Ozpin was a tall, lanky man. Clad in a dark green suit which matched his silver hair pretty well, he did seem to be the type of person that would go out of their way for someone like her. His voice had an unnaturally high level of patience in it, and his eyes shown with a kindness that was born of past experience. She knew he was going to end up disappointed, but that wasn't for her to be worried about.

In reply, the dark hair girl bowed, the greatest show of emotion she had put on since her capture. She couldn't help but smirk at the irritated look on soldier-boy's face as he stood guard next to her. Their little group was currently gathered in the headmaster's office, the room at the very top of the clock tower, with a glass window on one side that looked out over both the school and the city of Vale. The rhythmic clanking of gears could be heard directly above them, as this room was apparently right beneath the clock itself… She wondered if it was loud when the chime sounded.

"Age: unknown. Place of origin: unknown. Race: unknown…" The woman standing next to Ozpin's chair, a blonde who looked as bitchy as she did hot, read off. She must have been the vice-principal that had opened the gate for them. "Professor Ozpin, please allow me to protest once more…"

"I will, but nothing you will say can change my mind." The principal/headmaster/whatever title this guy used smiled at his assistant, before turning back to Neo. She liked the look in his eyes… it seemed he was planning something even as he spoke to her. That has something she could appreciate. "Is it true that you are a mute, Ms. Neopolitan? Or are you simply uncooperative?"

Technically the answer was 'all of the above.'

"I see…" Ozpin grinned in response to her simple nod of an answer. "Well, you have a sense of humor, if nothing else. Still, I suppose that your condition made things difficult for you when you were younger, hm?"

She didn't nod… or do anything really. She just stared, her eyes narrowing even as the Principal's brightened.

"That would explain how you came to be in the situation you're in now, yes? You did not receive the help you needed as a child, and so turned to the only people you felt would truly accept you… Only for them to leave you to be arrested whenever it suited them, yes?"

Her pale hands clenched, and she felt the desire to reach for a weapon that she no longer had. Any fondness she had for this professor was very quickly being replaced by the same disdain she had for the cop who had brought her here. Even as she did so, Ozpin's eyes softened.

"My apologies, I am not seeking to upset you. I just want to make it clear why I am offering you the chance that I am." He straightened up in his chair, and reached for a mug that was sitting on his desk. He took a sip of whatever it was he was drinking, and then refocused his attention on her. "You've been unfairly treated by life, if I had to guess. And so, I want to give you a second chance."

Well, that sounded just fine and dandy, but Neo knew that this wasn't an action taken out of the goodness of some old teacher's heart. If it was, the police chief wouldn't have allowed it. No… they wanted to… reform her, so that they could make use of her… talent.

Her talent was the only reason anyone tolerated her, after all. When the Boss had no more use for her abilities, he had turned her over to the police. She should have seen it coming, but the pain in her chest would serve as a better reminder to not take everything she was told at face-value.

"You will stay here on campus for a full year, striving to complete a high school education. You will be permitted to go into the city so long as you are accompanied by an approved escort, and you will be free to engage in any after-school activities that you desire. Upon graduation, all charges against you will be dropped, and the city of Vale will work with us to find you a home and a job, so that you can live a normal life from that point onwards. I think this is a rather generous deal, don't you?"

Yes, too generous. He was basically offering her a literal 'get-out-of-jail' card, and all she had to do was… be a normal kid. Neo didn't know what they needed her talents for, or how they planned to manipulate her into using them, and that distressed her somewhat. Still, it wasn't like she any better options, and… maybe pretending to be an average girl could be fun. She did love to play pretend, after all.

She nodded, and Ozpin clapped his hands in satisfaction.

"Wonderful. Your first class is tomorrow morning. Professor Goodwitch has already prepared a class schedule for you that includes all the basics. I know this is short notice, but the semester is all-ready well underway, so there is no time to spare."

He motioned to the blonde, and she extended a paper to Neo. Snatching it up in her grasp, she read it over a few times… from what she knew about high school, it seemed normal enough. Just a bunch of basic courses. Her homeroom teacher was apparently someone named Branwen, Probably the teacher they felt would be the most qualified to handle a case such as hers.

Though she read over the paper quickly, Neopolitan continued to stare at it in order to buy herself a few seconds. Her mind was frankly still a mess, and she wasn't sure how to feel about anything that was happening to her. She had been in this state since her capture, and she was beginning to feel very close to snapping.

But for the time being, she was able to simply hold the paper to her chest, and nod obediently.

"I'm glad to see you're so understanding." Ozpin smiled, and stood, extending a hand to the much shorter girl. "Here's to a new life, hm?"

Neo just looked up at him, and smirked. It was the only response she could come up with, not wanting to actually have physical contact with this kind, manipulative man. A few seconds later, he withdrew his hand, and chuckled. "Well, I still have faith in you. Try not to make a fool of me, ok?"

No promises.

"It seems you still do not understand your place…" Glynda scolded, walking alongside Neopolitan down the cozy-feeling halls of the school. For all its complicated design, this school did feel a lot less like a correctional institution than others Neo had been in before. Ironic, considering the woman leading her to her dorm room was currently wielding a riding crop and seemed to be searching for an excuse to use it on Neo. "While Professor Ozpin may be trusting of you, the rest of the staff here feel that it was a mistake taking you in. We'll give you a chance to prove us wrong, but we are not expecting you to take that opportunity."

Blah, blah, blah, same lecture that Ironwood guy had given her on the way here. No wonder those two were sleeping together. Neo just did her best to stealthily tune the woman out, focusing on the school around her. Despite being in the dorms, there weren't a lot of students around. From what she had been told, most of the kids went into the city on the weekends, or hung out in the library or the gym. She had seen a few out in the courtyard from the windows that dotted the hallway, but the actual building they were in was so quite she could hear the clicking of Glynda's shoes echoing in both directions.

At the very end of the third floor hallway, which didn't have a stairwell exit for some reason, Glynda stopped in front of the last door. She took out a key, and opened the door.

The room was… small. It had one bed, a desk with a lamp, a bookshelf, no windows, a closet, and a bathroom. It was certainly nicer than the holding cell Neo had spent the last week in, but it had the exact same feel to it.

"Most dorm rooms are shared, but considering your situation, we decided it would be best if you were... solitary for the time being." Glynda didn't even step inside, simply moving to allow Neopolitan to enter, handing her the key as she did so. "There is a vending machine at the other end of the hall if you get hungry tonight, but you are not to leave the dorm after curfew, which is eight PM. Do not be late for your classes tomorrow."

With that, Glynda closed the door. Neopolitan listened to her walk back down the hall, and then went about exploring her little room. She checked the bathroom first, which was really just a shower, toilet, and sink, and was delighted to find a small glass cup sitting next to the sink. There was a plain-looking toothbrush and generic brand toothpaste, which she supposed she should have been grateful for, but her attention was only focused on the glass for the time being.

Carefully she picked it up, then walked back out into the rest of her room. She looked at the door to the hallway, and her plastered on smirk suddenly gave way to a furious scowl. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, and she hurled the glass against the door.

It shattered in a satisfying twinkle of shards, and Neo felt better. It was the first time she had an opportunity to break something since being arrested.

Sadly, there wasn't much else to break in her dorm room. The closet only had a few extra pairs of the school uniform, apparently the only thing she was expected to wear, along with a cardboard box of shoes and undergarments that still had tags on them. Surprisingly, the bras were her size, which distressed her a little the more she thought about it.

Further searching yielded only an alarm clock on the desk, which she couldn't break for fear of sleeping in. The lap had light-bulbs, but those were more trouble than they were worth. There was also a school bag under the desk, which had books, pens, and pencils inside. She could break the pencils, but… no, that would take too much effort. She was already feeling the weariness from the day's events.

Disappointed, but still feeling a little better, Neo tossed her uniform onto the floor and took her hair out of the ponytails she had tied it into. It cascaded down her bare back, tickling her skin. Boss had always liked it long, which is why she had let it grow out so much… She might get it cut now, if she could ever get the money for it. The bitchy teacher hadn't mentioned anything about a school barbershop.

The bed was softer than she had been expecting, so Neo happily snuggled up in the covers. She liked soft beds and warm blankets, even if she wasn't used to having either. She knew this whole 'school' thing wouldn't last, but she was going to enjoy any of the benefits of it while she could. Though, all the negatives would kick in tomorrow, so this would probably be the best day she spent at Beacon High.

That thought in mind, she drifted off to sleep.

"Court is now in session!"

Neo's eyes opened, one shining pink and the other brown in the dull blue light of the courtroom. She stood before a simple wooden podium, upon dark blue carpet that ran back through empty aisles of wooden benches to a barred, metal door at the other end of the room. To her right sat a jury box, empty as the pews, and to her left a long desk… also empty. Directly in front of her, however, was a huge judge's stand, from upon which a very strange-looking man was gazing down at her. He was clad in the traditional black robes of the position, but everything else about him was off: his ears were long and pointed, as was his nose. His eyes looked to almost be bulging out of their sockets, his eyebrows resembling wings that were equally eager to depart from his face. Only a ring of white hair remained on his mostly-bald head, and an even whiter Cheshire grin was threatening to rip his entire face in half. And yet, Neopolitan felt no disgust when she looked at him. Rather, he gave off a very calming aura, even if his appearance should have made that impossible. His smile seemed to widen as she looked at him, and Neo couldn't help but match his wide grin as much as she could.

"The honorable judge Igor presiding."

The calm voice drug Neo's attention down to the base of the podium, where a dark-skinned girl stood, staring at some-sort of electronic tablet which glowed with a green light. A dark blue beret sat atop her dark hair, and her yellow eyes glimmered in the shine of the device. A small yellow star was emblazoned on her forehead, and her white shirt was decorated with golden buttons. Black sleeves ran down her arms, adorned with golden rings around her wrists, and her blue skirt went all the way down to her shoes. As soon as Neo had finished examining the strange girl, her head turned, and their eyes locked.

"Presenting the defendant." The stranger nodded to Neo, and then turned her attention up to the judge's stand. Igor, as his name apparently was, clasped his long hands in front of him. Neopolitan shifted uncomfortably: while she had no clue what was going on, she seemed to be on trial again, in probably the strangest courthouse in existence. She really wouldn't be surprised if someone started screaming demands of beheadings at this rate… but she also felt no threat towards herself at the moment, even from the calm-sounding girl.

"What does she stand accused of?" The judge asked, his voice harsh and high-pitched, like what you did if you wanted to whisper loud enough for a whole room to hear you, with an odd air of whimsy mixed into it all. Just from the tone of his voice, Neo understood that this stranger already knew everything about her, and small bit of worry started to creep into her mind.

"Criminal negligence. The defendant possesses the powers of the Wild Card, but only uses them for her own gain." The bailiff, or at least that's what the other girl was acting like, recited from her tablet. Neopolitan didn't understand half of what had just been said, but it seemed to have something to do with her ability.

… Did everyone just know about that now? Before, only the Boss had known about her special powers. That was why he had kept her around in the first place.

While she was contemplating this, the case was moving on without her.

"My, my, quite a serious charge." Igor chuckled, his voice indicating he wasn't taking it that seriously. "But are you sure it was intentional? She doesn't seem like the type of girl to go against orders, does she?"

"Hm… You may be right." The bailiff agreed, scrolling through some text on her tablet, before refocusing her attention on Neo. "Let us hear what the defendant has to say, then?"

Without even thinking, Neo opened her mouth to reply and protest her innocence about… whatever she was being accused of this time, only to frown in embarrassment when no sound came out other than a soft exhale.

"Oh dear. It seems she can't speak for herself…" Igor clucked his tongue, though his mouth never opened. "This won't due at all. Is there anyone who will speak for her, Ciel?"

Ciel, the bailiff, shook her head, still scrolling through her notes. "No. Her former associates turned their backs on her. She stands alone."

Well, just rub it in, why don't you? Neo felt her cheeks puff out in anger at having yet another person flat-out state how she had gotten into this bizarre situation in the first place. Really, this weird blue courtroom was just run-of-the-mill at this point.

"Well, it would be quite unfair to try someone who cannot even defend themselves…" Igor leaned forward, and directed his grin at Neo once again. "Don't worry. We will allow you to muster a proper defense before we continue with this case, Ms. Neopolitan. You should seek out those who would speak up for you… and who you would defend in turn. Do you understand?"

While she really didn't, shaking her head didn't seem likely to get her out of this fever dream any faster, so Neo simply nodded and smiled. Igor returned the gesture, and leaned back again.

"Then we will adjourn the court for the time being. You have quite a lot to do, little fool… consider this visit motivation to begin working towards a new life."

"We will call you back to review your case at a later time." Ciel made a few quick taps on her pad, and the light faded. "Return to your sleep for now. We will disrupt you no longer tonight."

Igor raised a gavel, and brought it down hard on his stand.

The pig-tails were Ironwood's idea. The police department hadn't been able to uncover just how old Neopolitan was, so he had decided it would best for her to appear as young as possible… which wasn't terribly hard, considering her size.

Still, Neo didn't mind this look. Her black hair cascading in two loose ribbons of hair along both sides of her head was actually pretty cute… she wondered if he would have liked it.

The broken glass from the night before crunched under her shoes as Neopolitan exited the bathroom. She had forgotten about it when she woke up, so pre-occupied with her dream, and had spent the first fifteen minutes of the day digging shards out of her feet. The pain didn't bother her that much, but she had no desire to ruin her shoes and leggings. Still, she had enough time to get to class, even if getting her hair properly fixed had taken longer than she would have liked. As much as she didn't want to follow the orders of that blonde windbag, living at the school was currently better than the alternative. She had already spent more than enough time in Ironwood's jail, thank you very much!

That thought in mind, Neo unlocked her door, hefted the pre-prepared bag over her shoulder, and headed out, ready to begin her certainly short career at this stupid school.

Until she was stopped mid-stride by something warm and sturdy.

"Oh! Salutations!"