Chapter One

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I came to to the beeping of a heart monitor and the soft light of a shattered moon streaming through an open window. 'It's amazing that something so thoroughly broken is so beautiful...' My focus wavered and I stared blankly at the light, relaxing mindlessly.

A few minutes later I flinched slightly as I came back to myself. I reached and rubbed my eyes, pushing myself up in the bed to sit against the headboard. I froze. Slowly my hand lifted up again, then the other one to confirm that I was seeing what was in front of me. I turned the skeletal appendages around, staring at the back of them. I could see the sheets through the gaps in the machinery. Grey steel hands, barebones to the extreme, barring slots here and there where the rods seemed twice as thick.

My eyes moved further up my arms, not a sound disturbing the room. The strange sight continued. Two rods connecting my wrist to a joint at the elbow, in turn joined to a humerus equivalent. I brushed the sleeve on my left arm up a bit, the loose material fluttering lightly to rest on my collarbone. My collarbone. The metal extended only until the top of the bicep, where it blossomed out to a cup and seemed to fuse seamlessly with flesh. A closer glance revealed soft white tendrils digging into the metal from a spot where the metal wasn't quite merged with my arm yet.

The gap disappeared as I watched, leaving the flesh to smoothly join the metal. I didn't know the intricacies of cybernetic prostheses, but I knew that even with aura it typically took weeks or even months for the body to adapt to the new limb. Even then, sometimes it was the aura itself that fought against the foreign attachment, leading to troubles that could last for years. I was entranced as I saw the little flickers of light, until finally the seam was dark, illuminated only by the moonlight.

Knowing what to expect now, I reached across to my right arm, casually pulling the sleeve up, then I stopped. It was still metal. I slowly pulled it up further, and the metal didn't stop. My breath quickened a tiny bit, the beeps coming quicker on the monitor. The sleeve reached my shoulder and the metal hadn't stopped yet. I reached over my shoulder to where the hospital gown opened up and tried to pull it down.

Half-way over my shoulder I felt a strange static rush though non-existant nerves, and the fingers didn't respond. I grabbed the arm with my other one and pulled it in front of me where I could see the fingers twitching uncontrollably. Slowly, the soft white glow of my aura crept over the limb until it reached the hand. Little feelers of aura creeping forward until it covered the metal like a mat, weaving together and before long the light had settled over the entire limb. Then it sank into the robotic arm and slowly feeling returned to my hand.

In fact, I could feel with it. I hesitantly touched the sheet on top of me, and a slight pressure responded. 'My aura is providing tactile feedback. It feels strange. Is this normal?' I wouldn't get an answer to that now, so I focused on other things instead.

Like what I was doing before the... glitch?

I shook my head slightly and reached back over, pulling the light gown over my chest and down my arm. My entire right side was metal. No, that wasn't right. A full quarter of my torso was metal and a bit more of my pectoral muscle-

A dull feeling of disbelief as I look down and see a spike protruding from my chest.

-Was all shining steel. The scene flickered through my mind, confusing me. When had that happened? Obviously just before this. I brushed the thoughts from my mind again. Or did my mind shy away from them? Either way, I focused on finding out how much metal I had in me now.

The gown came away easily. The ribs and midriff were slightly segmented, allowing the steel to move as I breathed, but I imagined that it could just as easily be covered in armour as well. I pushed the gown further, past my waist. Something snagged on my arm and I noticed the heart-rate monitor pads for the first time on my chest. I carefully unsnagged the wire and left the pads in place, but carried on my exploration. A good portion of my pelvis was gone, replaced by a framework of metal, but it seemed my genitals survived intact. Barely.

Further down, my entire right leg from the hip down was what you would expect to see on a primitive robot, while the left leg was more similar to the arm, a metal limb reaching up to a cup on my upper thigh that joined the flesh. It looked rather surreal.

I wondered to myself whether I was taking this calmly or whether I was just in shock. Maybe a bit of both. I sat back against the headboard and breathed.

A little while later, the door opened and a nurse walked in. She stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes met mine and it looked like she had seen a ghost. Or maybe not, she could just have been very surprised. It was quite dark. The room brightened slightly, my eyes probably getting used to the night. I couldn't see what colour her hair was, but it was dark, so probably brown or black, and everything else was a bit nondescript.

"Mr Jasper?" I nodded. "How are you feeling?" She did sound quite concerned.

"I..." I coughed briefly, my throat drier than I had realised. The anaesthetics, most likely.

"Here, I'll get you some water." She put down the clipboard in her hands and filled a glass of water. "Small sips, now." I reached out and took it from her, nodding my head in thanks.

"Thank you," The words croaked passed my lips, but they were there. "I'm feeling fine, thanks."

"Fine?" She sounded sceptical. She looked sceptical too. "Any pain? Issues adapting to the prostheses?"

"No, miss. I feel... fine." She stared at me for a long moment, then went to go look through the readouts on the machines.

"No anaesthetic left, not even a light painkiller, heart rates constant at fifty-seven for the last four hours, blood pressure fine... Aura..." She was mumbling to herself, but it was just loud enough for me to hear. "Hmmm..."

She looked back at me. "Yes, you do seem to be doing... fine."

A lapse gathered as she carried on looking through the readouts, before coming to a conclusion. "We'll be able to release you within the week, depending on what the doctor says in the morning. Gods know how, most patients with half your wounds were bedridden for months. Even with aura."

"I..." She hummed in acknowledgement, "What happened, miss?"

"Aah, I understand. The mind often represses traumatic incidents until you are able to cope with it. You were..." She took a moment to gather her thoughts, "On a flight from Patch, if I remember correctly. The bullhead was attacked-"

Blood red eyes set in an ivory mask, staring in at me with the purest of hatreds.

"- and crashed into the Vale docks. The pilot had managed to alert authorities before the crash, so there were paramedics on site to get you stabilized as soon as you hit the ground. There were remarkably few flames around the crash, if I remember correctly, so it was easy enough to get to your body." She paused as she remembered something, "Um, after they cut through everything you were impaled on."

"I..." I stopped and thought for a while. That sounded true, like something that I was sure had happened, but couldn't remember the details of. Almost like a dream. "That sounds right, miss. Thank you."

"No problem, Mister Jasper. Now, I came here to check up on how you were doing, but you are obviously in far better condition than we expected, so I'll give you a few choices. We can't let you eat solids yet, luckily none of your digestive tract was damaged, but it's still not a good idea, however-"

"Um, sorry miss," She stopped talking, raising her eyebrow, "Could you tell me how long I've been here?"

"Aaah," She mused, "Yes, you've been here for four nights now. Haven't uttered a sound since the surgery. Until now, of course. Even then, we expected you to be asleep for the next few weeks, at the least. Especially with how little aura you have."

"I... I don't know, miss. I just... woke up."

"Never mind that." She tallied a few things up in her head, "Are you feeling tired?" I shook my head. "Well, would you like something to read? We couldn't recover any of your possessions, but you could use my scroll until you feel ready to sleep. Just leave it on the table." She patted the bedside table and took out her scroll, unlocking it with a quick swipe, "The password is three-two-jenny-two-three if you lock it again."

"Are you Jenny then, miss?" I asked her as I took the scroll from her.

"No that's my daughter," A small smile played on her lips as she said it.

"Thank you anyway, miss. May I know your name?"

"I'm Nurse Jean Haleigh, nice to meet you, Mister Jasper. And it's no problem at all."

"Nice to meet you too, miss."

She puttered around for a few minutes longer and I started looking through her scroll for something to read. Eventually I settled on something, and soon enough I fell asleep.

I could almost forget about the cold steel attached to my flesh as I drifted off.

The door opened softly, rousing me from my sleep. There was sunlight streaming in through the window now and I could see some trees outside. A park, maybe?

"Mister Jasper, are you awake?" A nurse's head popped in around the door, it was a different one to yesterday.

"Mmm," I hummed comfortably.

"You have a visitor, Mister Jasper. The doctor has to see you first though. How are you feeling?"

"... M'Fine." A few moments later and I woke up fully, "Yep, I'm fine nurse." The last few seconds replayed in my head.

"A visitor?"

"Yes, Professor Ozpin from Beacon Academy. Do you want to see him?"

"Um," I swallowed reflexively. Professor Ozpin? Why... no. He probably wanted to see me because of the crash. It was... "Miss, what's the date?"

"It's the... twenty-third of September, why?"

"The Beacon Initiation starts today."

"Ah. That explains why Professor Ozpin is here then. I'll let the doctor know you're ready for your checkup, then you can speak with the Professor, alright?"

"Thank you, miss."

She left the room, and I took the opportunity to sit up again, waiting until the doctor came in. Nurse Jean's scroll wasn't there anymore, so she probably took it while I was asleep.

Soon enough the doctor came in. She had soft blonde hair, a pretty face, and bright blue eyes. I stared.

"Good morning, Mister Jasper, how are you feeling?" Her voice was light, soothing. Memorable.

"I know those eyes." I blurted, "I know you!" My brain caught up with me, but I was too far gone to blush, "No, I don't. I do though, I've heard your voice... where?" I wasn't sure if that came out curiously, or aggressive. I hoped it was the first.

She seemed taken aback for a moment, then chuckled lightly, "It's alright. I certainly know you well enough, seeing as I put you back together."

"Hey, don't worry. You're nearly there. Everything is okay. Just calm down. Shhh... Just relax, it's all alri..."

"You!" I breathed out, half in awe, half in shock from the memory that flitted through my mind.

"Me?" She smiled, "Yes, I had to do quite a bit of work on you that night. Let's see how you're holding up, shall we?"

"Um, sure. I'm feeling fine, really."

"Hmhmm, Nurse Jean told me that this morning, but I just need to check to be sure." She walked up to the side of the bed, "Lift your arm." She tapped my left arm with a pen. I lifted it. She tapped the right arm, and I lifted it as well. "And down." I dropped them. "Lift them both and rotate." I lifted them and started to rotate, then that strange staticky feeling from last night washed through both of them and my arm stopped responding, fingers twitching.

"Interesting."

"It did this last night as well, miss."

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Doctor Alice Blou, nice to meet you, Mister Jasper. Do you want me to call you Tawn?"

"Yes, please, Doctor Blou."

"Very well, back to the matter at hand. You mentioned that this happened last night as well? How did you recover?"

"Well," I noticed the same thing that I did yesterday, tiny fibres of aura beginning to creep across my arms, both this time, "Just watch." It took nearly two minutes, judging by the clock on the wall. Doctor Blou was enraptured the entire time, mumbling things like, "Incredible," and, "Unprecedented."

When it was over, she nodded and looked at me, "What is your semblance, Mister Jasper?"

"I, um, versatile telekinesis, Doctor." She seemed surprised by the answer, as if she were expecting something else.

"Okay, let's move on. I'm going to give you a slight poke, and tell me how it feels."

Poke. "It's fine, Doctor." It was just my chest.

Poke. "Same thing." A bit lower, just above my heart.

Poke. "Still the same." My left shoulder, near where the metal joins the flesh.

Poke. "Fine." My left arm, on the metal cup that connects to my shoulder.

"You can feel that?" She was surprised again.

"Yes, why?"

"It usually takes a few months before the aura starts to impregnate a cybernetic prosthetic enough to give tactile feedback. Although given what we just saw, I would say your aura is adapting as quickly as possible to anything that may be wrong. It could explain why you were still alive after being impaled through your lung and had the entire right side of your body crushed for several minutes."

We were silent for a minute as I processed that. "Okay."

"Okay?" She asked.

"Okay." I nodded.

Poke. She carried on for a while, testing everything from the seams where the flesh joined metal, to bare flesh, to between the rods of the structure that made up the right-hand side of my pelvis.

"You are free to modify your prosthetics however you wish, but do keep in mind that the excess mass you see on some of the components will slot into place as you age, keeping your limbs approximately the right size for your age. When you reach twenty-one the prosthetics will be fully extended and allow you to use all the space for whatever purposes you require. For now, I would recommend sticking to an outside casing, and maybe a few extra pistons for added power."

"Thanks, Doctor. I'll keep that in mind."

"Now," She leaned in a little bit closer, "How's your eye doing?"

"My... eye?" I was confused, then realisation hit, and resignation set in.

Sympathy covered her face, and she picked up a mirror, silently holding it up in front of me.

Where once there was an orb with a white sclera, brown iris, and black pupil, now there was a dark grey spiralled shutter, leading sharply to a pure black pupil. A scar dug into the skin to the bottom and top edges of the socket, and I wouldn't have been surprised if whatever took out my eye also nicked a bit of bone along with it. I noticed the shutter of my new eye rotating open as I focused on a darker area of the room, and I closed them both. I frowned and took a deep breath.

When I opened them, I just nodded at the Doctor, and she inspected it.

"Everything looks good. Do you have any questions or concerns, while I'm here?"

I just shook my head.

She busied herself checking readings, asked me a few more questions, and noted some things down on a clipboard. Finally, she said she would send Professor Ozpin up and left me alone.

I picked up the mirror and looked into my own eyes. For a brief moment, the pupil lit up with white as I assumed my aura fixed something it didn't like. I concentrated on my being for a moment, and the glow intensified, along with a pleasant feeling inside the eye, like an itch had just been scratched. The room looked a bit... sharper when I looked away.

Of course, that was the moment Professor Ozpin walked in. Me sitting in a hospital bed, chest uncovered, barebones prosthetics on display, a mirror in my hand, and a glowing eyeball.

"Well, good morning, Mister Jasper. Are you enjoying yourself?" The Professor's voice was as nonchalant as they came. As if he were discussing a particularly mild bit of weather.

"Um," My brain stuttered, and I robotically, heh, lowered my arms, "I guess? Uh... nice to meet you, Professor?"

"And you as well, Mister Jasper." He studied me in silence for a few moments, "I trust you have been recovering well since the accident?"

"Uh, yes, Professor. I've only been awake since last night, but it's been fine."

"Good. Now, I trust you are aware of the fact that Beacon's initiation formally starts at noon today?" His voice betrayed nothing, and his face was too calm for me to read into that question. Was he feeling pity, because I wouldn't be able to take part? Anticipation, because he was going to unveil some scheme to allow me to take part anyway? Amusement at me trying to decipher his intentions? I wasn't sure.

"Yes, Professor."

"Contrary to popular belief, however, the true test of the initiation only takes part on the second day." He gave me a moment to take that in for myself, "Tomorrow.

"Thus, if you are sufficiently determined to join our academy, you should be fully able to demonstrate that determination. I have had a brief conversation with your doctor, and, based on my personal observations, I do believe that you could join us tomorrow." A pause, "What do you say?"

I looked down at my hands in my lap. The gunmetal steel interspersed with a few wires here and there, little motors at the joints running off of my aura, responding to my intentions. There was a slight strain that I could notice from powering the limbs, but if I were to quantise it I doubt it would be more than it took to "power" your natural limbs. A thought and the hands closed, tightening into fists with a slight whiz. I released them, then clenched them, and released them again. Finally, I looked back up to Ozpin.

"I'll do it."

He smiled at me and nodded calmly, "Then we have some things to take care of, don't we?" He pulled up a chair, "I am aware that your equipment was destroyed in the crash, but there isn't enough time for you to be able to re-forge a weapon. You will unfortunately have to use the gear that we have stored in the Armoury. It will not be your own personal equipment, but you should find our stock more than suitable for your purposes. You will, of course, have full access to the forge at Beacon once you've completed the initiation." Amusement twinkled in his eyes for a moment, "I daresay you will find the facilities more than sufficient for your needs."

I frowned for a moment, thinking about that. Then I realised. 'Of course Beacon would have a state-of-the-art foundry. Hell, it's probably more advanced than anything I've ever seen! "More than sufficient," my ass. Although...' I looked down at my hands, 'In all likelyhood, I'll probably need it. I have... a lot more hardware to take care of now.'

I looked at the scroll in my hand for a moment, then back up at him, "Thank you, Professor." It is often difficult to express sincerity with only a few words, but I liked to think that he understood.

"It is no problem at all, Mister Jasper. Now, one last thing before I leave you to your own devices. You will be picked up from the hospital at six tomorrow morning. There will be a Beacon Uniform inside, should you wish to wear it. I don't believe a hospital gown would lend itself well to fighting. If you pass the initiation, you will be provided with a small stipend to replace the rest of your belongings lost in the accident. Should you fail..."

"I understand, Professor. Thank you again."

"Good. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Mister Jasper."

"You too, Professor."